//------------------------------// // Prologue // Story: The Astral Vow // by NorthernDweller //------------------------------// Far above Canterlot, tucked away in a spire that loomed over the rest of the castle, Princess Luna sat deep in thought, a frown on her face as she examined her night sky. She looked to her charts splayed out across the surface of the table and back to the stars. She stared at the sky and her brow creased in confusion. Something was wrong. “What are you doing there?” Luna muttered to herself as she focused on one of the countless stars that adorned the sky. Fantasia minor was supposed to be in the southern hemisphere that time of year. Unless she'd been too hasty in her arrangement of the sky – something entirely possible given her lack of sleep the past few days – it seemed like it had somehow drifted back to the north. Luna supposed she'd have to investigate further. She closed her eyes, focused herself, and reached. She felt herself disjoint from her body, becoming nothing but thought as her mind drifted through the night sky. She felt each star greet her as an old friend as she searched the heavens and she made sure to return the greeting of each star in kind. It didn't take her long to find Fantasia. As soon as she laid eyes upon it, she felt her heart skip a beat. The star's aura was wrong. She couldn't think of any other way to describe the dark and heavy gloom that pervaded its light – it was just wrong. Luna's curiosity got the better of her and she steeled herself to reach out with hesitant force and take hold of the star. As her power reached Fantasia, her magic divided and scattered like sand thrown to the wind. She reeled for a moment, staggered but undeterred. Luna reached out once more, more insistent this time, and concentrated her magic into a beam aimed straight at her target. White hot pain raced through her. Her mind was torn from the skies and before she knew what had happened she found herself back in her body, splayed on the cold stone terrace of the astronomy tower. She tried to rise to her hooves but her legs were shaking too much to support her weight. As she fell back to the ground, another blast of pain jolted through her and she couldn't help but cry out. She wasn't sure if it was minutes or hours before she was able to catch her breath and raise her head. Bright dots flashed before her eyes, exploding and popping like fireworks. She looked to the sky and gasped. Fantasia minor was in the same place but it had been joined by three other stars, each twinkling innocently in the night. None of them should have been there. Luna reached out with her magic once more but found the same resistance from the new stars. They weren't going to move. She pulled her magic back as fast as she could and shakily rose to her feet. Her mind raced as she tried to think of why her stars would betray her. A thought came to her and her eyes widened. “No...” The word came out in little more than a whisper. It took her a few moments to even notice that she'd spoken. She staggered to the tower stairs as fast as she could, foregoing packing away her beloved telescope and astral charts. She was in no condition to fly down to the lower floors and every second mattered. Her sister had to know. A pounding on the door jolted Celestia from her sleep. As her eyes adjusted to the darkness of her room, the white alicorn kicked the covers to the foot of her bed and rubbed her eyes. What was it this time? Ambassadors from the Griffin Kingdom had been staying in Canterlot over the past few days for trade talks and had been more than accepting of Celestia's extension of hospitality. She'd gotten used to being woken up several times a night with increasingly trivial requests. One of the ambassador's pillows was too hard, another's wasn't hard enough, another wanted a glass of water. As happy as she was that the talks had concluded on a successful note, she'd been hoping for an uninterrupted night's sleep. “Just a moment, please.” Celestia said. She quickly purged the negative thoughts from her mind and stumbled out of bed. No sooner had her hooves touched the floor than the door burst open with a crash and three ponies fell into the room amid a sliver of light from the hallway. Two of the ponies were guards dressed in their armor, apparently out on patrol. The third pony was her sister. The haze of sleep instantly vanished from Celestia's mind. “What happened?” Her voice assumed an authoritative tone as she raced to the door. One of the guards looked up at her and shook his head. His eyes were wide beneath the brim of his helmet. The way his words trembled when he spoke did little to ease Celestia's worried thoughts. “I don't know, Your Majesty. Silver Shield and I were patrolling the hallways and we found Princess Luna like this.” He nodded down toward the alicorn on the floor whose breathing was growing increasingly ragged. “She said she needed to see you immediately.” Celestia dropped to the ground in front of her sister and gently nuzzled her face. Luna's eyes flickered open and her words came out in short gasps. “'Tia...it's bad...” Luna's eyes drooped back shut and Celestia's breath hitched in her chest. She closed her eyes and concentrated on nothing but her breathing and the pounding of her heart. She had to concentrate. Whatever was wrong with her sister, she'd be no help to her if she couldn't maintain her composure. After allowing a few seconds to collect herself, she stood to her full height and looked down at the guard who'd spoken to her. “Go get Summer Breeze. She should be sleeping in her quarters, bring her back here at once.” The guard nodded and left with a quick salute. Celestia turned to the other guard who was standing at attention for his orders. “Silver Shield, raise the alert. Nopony enters or leaves the castle. Set up patrols and search the immediate area around Canterlot for anyone trying to escape.” The second guard saluted in the same way as the first and he too galloped off down the hallway until the clacking of his hooves on the floor faded into the distance. As soon as he was gone, Celestia let out a breath she didn't know she'd been holding. Ever so carefully she raised Luna from the ground with a levitation spell, carried her across the room and set her gently on the bed. Small orbs of flame flitted from her horn to the lamps around the room, casting the bed in a warm glow. “Luna...” Celestia could only manage to whisper her sister's name at the sight of her. Luna lay on her side, breaths coming much too infrequently and much too shallow. Her mane had lost some of its translucent luster and the stars within it had started to dim. Celestia sat and concentrated as she tried to recall every healing or rejuvenation spell she'd learned over the centuries. Each spell that came to the front of her mind was quickly shoved out of the way. What if Luna had been poisoned? What if she had some sort of fever? Celestia didn't want to make things worse by casting a spell without knowing what had happened. Celestia finally settled on a standard invigoration spell. She watched as Luna was enveloped by the light from her horn and had to fight the urge to cry out when her sister's eyes opened once more. “'Tia?” Luna's voice was weak. “It's all right Luna, you're all right,” Celestia laid down on the ground next to the bed and offered a smile to her sister. “The doctor's on the way. What happened?” Luna looked at Celestia with wide eyes. “I can't control the stars.” “What do you mean?” Celestia's brow furrowed. Luna shook her head as much as she was able and frowned. “They were...taken. Taken from me. They're fighting me. Sister...think about it. Cadance...Twilight...” Celestia blinked. She stared blankly at her sister as she tried to make sense of what Luna was trying to say. She was about to ask for clarification when a thought crossed her mind – a terrible, petrifying thought she'd buried under years of peace. The color drained from her face. “You don't mean...” Luna nodded. “They're coming.”