//------------------------------// // Part 2 - Celestia // Story: ASMD // by Rokas //------------------------------// “Luna?” Celestia asked, as she opened the doors to her sister's study. The sun princess doubted she'd find her sister inside as no guards were in attendance by the doors, but after two days of absence the white alicorn was starting to become worried and was willing to check just about everywhere. And unfortunately, that worry is not assuaged, Celestia thought, as she looked around the orderly room and found it untouched since she had last been inside. Not a single moved scroll, nor quill nor book out of place, she mused, as she slowly walked towards her sister's desk. Even her work area is clean... Something about this triggered an idea in the elder sister's mind, and she soon remembered that while Luna was organized, she didn't keep her workspace quite this pristine. There are always scrolls and papers and notes lying about, and quills, pencils, even charcoal at times for sketching. The only time Luna cleans up her desk is when she's hiding something. Another memory popped up, recalling one of the last conversations the two sisters had before Luna disappeared. Celestia felt her chest tighten in fear as a new idea entered her mind, and she turned to trot out of the study and head for her sister's bedroom. Heavens above, please don't let my worry be true, the alicorn thought, as she quickly reached Luna's bedchamber only a short distance down the corridor from her study. Here were two of Luna's personal guards, though Celestia did not automatically take it as a good sign as this was a post that was always ponied whether the alicorn was in her room or not. “Starchaser, Kurokaze,” the elder princess spoke to the guards, as she approached and then halted before the doors. “Is my sister in?” The two guards blinked in surprise at this – unlike with outsiders, they felt no need to maintain absolute composure with the palace occupants – and then briefly glanced to one another. “I'm sorry, your highness,” the first pony said, before turning back to address the princess. “But we're not quite sure. The guards from two nights ago reported that she went into her bedchambers, but never came back out. Since then there has been no sign, at least not at our post.” “I see,” Celestia said, and then thought for a moment. “Kurokaze,” she began, as she turned her head to address the pegasus on her right. “I need you to run an errand for me. Go to the guards barracks and find a messenger pegasus, and then bring him or her back here.” “Yes, highness,” the black-coated pony said, as he saluted with one of his wings. He clearly disliked the idea of leaving his post, but an order from the sun princess carried weight, even with her sister's guards. Thus he quickly snapped open his wings and then launched himself into the air before zipping down the corridors, his flight eerily silent. With that taken care of, Celestia turned to the unicorn on her left. “Starchaser, attend me,” she said, even as her horn glowed with the golden aura of her power. The doors to Luna's bedroom parted at the magical command, and Celestia marched in as soon as they were open, leaving the brown and white speckled unicorn to belatedly follow. Celestia spied the runes and markings on the floor almost immediately, and the white alicorn barely stifled a frown as she stopped by the complicated layout and inspected it. “What do you make of this, Starchaser?” She asked, as the guard came up beside her. A brief look of worry crossed the young mare's face, but she soon suppressed it as her training took over. “Your majesty, I may be a unicorn,” she began. “But I am nowhere near proficient enough with magic to even begin to make heads or tails out of something this complex.” “I understand,” Celestia replied, and then graced the smaller pony with a brief, wan smile. “You have my apologies, for I misspoke; I am not looking for an analysis from you, I just wish for you to look it over and see if any runes have been disturbed or damaged. My eyes may tend to miss small imperfections.” “Yes, highness,” Starchaser said, after managing to swallow briefly in mild panic. Oh dear heavens, she apologized to me? That doesn't make sense! Nevertheless, she did as ordered and spent the next several minutes tracing her eyes over every rune she could see. Celestia did likewise, and soon enough the layout centered around Luna's bed had been inspected twice. “It seems like everything is in place, highness,” the guard offered. “Indeed,” Celestia replied, sotto voce. Further comment was preempted, however, by the sound of wings and eight hooves touching down on the granite floor of the palace corridor. The white alicorn and the guard both turned and faced the door as a crimson pegasus with a white mane trotted into the bedroom. The badge-wearing pony stopped before the princess, and then bowed. “You called for a messenger, your majesty?” He asked, respectfully. “I did, Crimson Streak,” Celestia replied, her tone even. “You are to fly to alert Grand Vizier Golden Nebula at the Royal Mages College and Professor Möbius Strip at Canterlot University that I require their presence immediately.” “As you wish, highness,” Crimson Streak replied, and then turned and without further ado bounded into the air and then raced off through the palace on his wings. “Starchaser,” the princess said next, and then turned her head to regard the unicorn. “Resume your post, and let nopony in here without my consent.” She paused at this, and then lowered her head just a tiny bit to give a more direct look to the guard. “No, pony.” “Yes, highness,” Starchaser barely managed to speak, as fear at Celestia's sudden intensity tried to choke her windpipe from the inside out. “By your command,” the unicorn added, and then saluted with a foreleg before she turned and trotted back to her post. Celestia watched the young mare leave, and then turned to carefully pick her way to Luna's bedroom desk. As I thought, the alicorn mused, as she glanced over the various notes on the desk and the scroll that she knew to be at the center of her sister's disappearance. Well, I have the two most studied mages in casting and theory coming here to assist. Celestia nodded to herself, and then lit up her horn with magic again as she opened one of the desk's drawers and looked for a fresh scroll. And it will not hurt to have a young savant's eye to check over everything, she mentally added as she pulled out a blank scroll and a quill. I hope it will be enough. For Luna's sake, it must be. * * * * “Well, there is good news and bad news, highness,” Golden Nebula, a – predictably – gold-colored unicorn with royal blue mane and tail, said in a nervous tone, and then glanced around the alicorn's study. Thousands of years of experience allowed Celestia the self-control to completely and utterly stifle the sigh that wanted to escape her body. Several days of studying and analysis by the three most learned and/or talented mages in Equestria had produced little results, and even the sun princess was finding her vast well of patience starting to run low. “Please, Vizier, what have you learned?” Celestia asked, revealing none of the emotions that roiled beneath her warm exterior. Golden Nebula glanced to his left and right, where Möbius Strip and Twilight Sparkle stood, respectively, and then cleared his throat. “The good news is that, after careful analysis, we have determined that the spell princess Luna utilized in fact worked as designed.” He hesitated at that, and then grimaced slightly. “At least, at first.” Celestia leaned back slightly, and then shifted on the cushion she lied upon. Heavens, give me strength, she thought, and then nodded. “Please, go on,” she invited, in an even tone. It was Möbius Strip who spoke next, however. “From vat ve haff determined, a strange energy signature was overlaid upon ze main spellverk,” the native of West Griffony began. “It has a very curious tinge, almost as if it ver not organic in nature.” The white alicorn raised an eyebrow a fraction of a millimeter at this, though even that slight change was enough to make the three unicorns in front of her cringe slightly. “I am not sure I follow, professor,” Celestia evenly said. “There are three classes of non-organic magic: solar, lunar, and terran. Am I to take it from your hesitation that you have found something that does not fit into those categories?” “Indeed, your highness,” Golden Nebula replied, for his colleague. “The magic trace we've detected is unlike any school or discipline I've come across. Nor has professor Strip been able to identify it.” Celestia considered this for a moment, and then turned to look at the young mare on her left when she noticed the purple unicorn's “tell” that told the alicorn that Twilight had something on her mind. “And you, my faithful student?” Celestia asked, her tone a curious mix of lightness and deadpan. “You seem to have something you wish to say.” Twilight Sparkle blinked in surprise, as she was not expecting to be directly questioned so soon. She glanced to her left, and was relieved when she saw the two elder unicorns give her nods to proceed. “Princess, there is a form of magic that I've felt before, that is... similar to what we found, but it is by no means the same.” An idea crossed Celestia's mind at that, and she found her self-control taxed severely. “The Elements of Harmony?” She asked, secretly hoping for a negative answer. The purple unicorn's head nod dispelled that hope, however. “The magic trace felt similar, but different. It was like...” Twilight frowned in frustration as she searched for the words she desired. “It was like something was missing.” “I see,” Celestia replied, and then fell silent for several moments in thought. The three unicorns in the room shared looks of concern, and they were about to start fidgeting when the alicorn cleared her throat. “Was that the good news, or the bad news?” She asked, carefully. The gathered mages seemed to relax a bit at that, and Möbius Strip answered for the group. “Zat vas ze bad news, majesty. Ze good news is zat ze trace haff made it easy for us to track ze origin. Ve believe zat vith a few days of study, ve can not only detect ze proper reality princess Luna is in, but also tie ze teleport spell to home in on her unique magical signature.” A weight seemed to lift from Celestia's back at that, and this time she did not stifle the reserved, relieved sigh. “I am glad to hear that,” she said, though worry continued to nibble at her thoughts. “I know I've pulled all three of you away from your normal lives long enough already, but I would ask you to conduct this study and create the spell to find my sister.” “But of course, your majesty,” Golden Nebula replied, with similar simultaneous statements from both Möbius Strip and Twilight Sparkle. “We live to serve, and no pony should be left to the mercies of some strange alternate reality.” “Indeed,” Celestia said, and then graced the little ponies with a wide smile. “Then I shan't waylay you any longer. Please, see to the work immediately. I'll make sure that the palace staff will set up quarters for all of you.” “By your leave, then,” Golden Nebula said, and then led the three unicorns in a brief, shallow bow. Then to Celestia's surprise, the two stallions looked over to Twilight, and then turned and trotted out. I know that look, Celestia thought, as she saw the purple unicorn fidget a bit. “I take it there is something else?” Celestia asked, patiently. “Er, yes princess,” Twilight said, her gaze dropping to look at the floor in front of her. “When we were looking over the runes in princess Luna's bedroom, we found signs that there may have been some kind of thaumaturgical distress or contest.” “A magic struggle?” The alicorn asked, unable to keep the surprised tone from her voice. Twilight gulped at that, and then brought her head back up to meet Celestia's gaze. “Maybe. I- I'm not too sure, and the professor says it's not really the same thing and the vizier-” Celestia raised a foreleg at that, which cut off Twilight's increasingly nervous rant. “My dear student, I asked you to help because I value your input as much as I do that of the grand vizier and the professor,” she said, and then graced the unicorn with a small, yet all too brief smile. “Please, go on.” Twilight bit her lip for a moment as she considered her words. “Although the lines and runes were undisturbed,” she began, speaking carefully. “I let my own magic track along them, and I found places where the crystals were ruptured. I mean, I'm sure you know that spellcaster's chalk already uses ground up crystals, but even those retain their molecular structure. The pieces I traced over felt... Well, like they had exploded apart at a basic level.” The purple unicorn nervously paused at this to look over her mentor's face, worried that she might have made some sort of mistake. The alicorn showed no signs of reproach, though, so the purple unicorn took in a deep breath to calm her nerves and then continued. “Since crystals tend to shatter when exposed to magical power beyond their capacitance, I theorize that a large amount of thaumaturgical energy was released during the spell, far more than the engine itself required. Though, I am not sure whether it was Luna or whatever she interacted with that caused it.” Celestia remained silent as she pondered over her student's words for several moments. “Thank you, Twilight, for bringing this to my attention,” she said, and then slowly stood. “I think you may be right, for it would explain why Luna hasn't yet returned. She did this in secret, after all, so I would assume she planned on keeping it such until her return.” The white alicorn paused to again ponder, and then nodded her head. “Yes, it starts to make a bit more sense now,” she said, and then turned her head to focus the full effects of her steady, even gaze upon the young unicorn. “However, this means that an additional precaution should be taken when we initiate the spell to find my sister.” “Additional precaution?” Twilight asked, as she automatically took a step back. “Quite so,” Celestia replied, nodding again as she spoke. “To that end, I must ask you to write your friends in Ponyville and have them come here to Canterlot. The Elements of Harmony may yet be needed.” “I see,” the purple unicorn said, and then gave a brief bow. “I'll get on it right away, princess,” she added, and then waited for the alicorn to dismiss her. Twilight was surprised, though, when Celestia seemed to ignore her for the moment, and instead turned her head and levitated a scroll off of her desk and floated it over to hover between the two ponies. “Just one more question,” Celestia said, and then turned the scroll around, showing it to be Luna's personally drawn diagram of the spell runes. “Where were the disturbances you detected most prominent?” The young mare blinked as she thought, but then lit up her horn and magically set several of the markings on the scroll glowing. “Those runes, your majesty,” Twilight said, as Celestia rotated the scroll back around. “Specifically – that is, if I am reading princess Luna's notes correctly – the ones that support the recall function, and also...” Her voice trailed off at this, as Twilight feared to give voice to what she dreaded. Celestia, too, felt fear tighten her chest, but centuries of experience gave her the control to press on. “And also the runes that tie together the temporal frames of reference,” she softy spoke, finishing the purple mare's sentence for her. The white alicorn looked up from the scroll at that, and her eyes unfocused as she seemed to stare at nothing at all. “When we find her, any amount of time could have passed in that frame.” “Yes,” Twilight said, unable to add anything more. Another moment of silence passed before Celestia blinked, and then brought herself back under control. She looked down at the purple unicorn and gave her another wan smile. “I thank you for your diligence, Twilight,” she said. “Now, please go see to the preparations we spoke of. We shall speak later tonight.” “Yes, your majesty,” Twilight replied, and then gave another little bow before she turned and walked out of the study. Celestia watched her go, and closed the doors to gain some privacy once the little pony was well away. Heavens, no, the alicorn thought, as her visage finally cracked and tears started to form in her eyes. Please, not again, not another lengthy abandonment. Memories of banishing her sister to the moon rolled through Celestia's mind, and she turned away from the door so she could lie down on her seat cushion again. I swore to thee, to myself, that I wouldn't let it happen again. Luna is so strong when she has a foundation of family and friends beneath her. But without that... She shuddered at the thought, and silently wept. Not again, please, not again. * * * * Celestia watched with a practiced eye as four unicorns methodically created the runes for the altered engine spell. Any race of pony could have done it, of course, but the designs had to be exact, and so only the three most power mages in Equestria – and a certain white unicorn with exceptionally fine-tuned telekinetic control – worked on laying out the lines of chalk to form the proper energy-focusing symbols. Almost time, the princess of the sun thought, as she observed the network nearing completion. She then raised her eyes a bit and slowly swept her gaze around the throne room and the ponies within its confines. Guards stood at every doorway, both to keep the room secure to prevent interruptions of delicate spellcasting, and also as a second layer of defense should whatever had happened to Luna – or whatever had taken her – tried to do something even worse this time. Of course, the third set of ponies in the room were part of the first layer of defense: those who, with the two unicorns assisting Golden Nebula and Möbius Strip, were the bearers of the Elements of Harmony. The four ponies, two earth and two pegasuses, waited nervously with their elements already adorned. Only Rarity's necklace and Twilight's tiara lay in the elements' special case that sat on the stone floor near the idle bearers, a dozen feet beyond the perimeter of the rune circle, the two unicorns preferring to keep the heavy objects from interfering with their concentration. Despite the tense situation, Celestia had to stifle a smile as she watched Pinkie Pie bounce in place, chatting randomly about various subjects with the three ponies waiting with her, though they all looked to be several degrees of bored and/or nervous and so did not speak back much. Always so optimistic, that one, the alicorn thought, as she found some strength in the pink pony's persistently pervasive perkiness. The eternal optimist, always looking to the bright side, she is such a perfect balance to the more... serious members of the bearers. Celestia cast her gaze back to the purple unicorn in the room just then, and her thoughts soon turned to more important things. I shall wait until we are ready. Unfortunately for the princess only a few more minutes passed before the last of the marks had been placed, and the four unicorns carefully picked their way out of the runic array. “The layout is complete, your highness,” Golden Nebula said, though his face showed some embarrassment at stating the obvious. But for an important spell like this, one must adhere to protocol, Celestia thought, and then bit back a kneejerk condemnation of her sister that sprung from the dark place of her mind. No, none of that now. I cannot blame Luna for this, not when the spell worked and she was only taken after some sort of struggle. Celestia blinked suddenly as she realized that while in the midst of her thoughts she had failed to reply to the grand vizier. “Thank you, Aurum,” she said, with a smile as she used the nickname the pony mage preferred over the first half of his name. “All you require is a physical anchor at the center, then?” “Yes, majesty,” Golden Nebula replied, with a nod. “Anything will do, though the more mass the better the spell will focus on it.” Celestia thought about this for a moment, and then nodded. “Very well,” she said, and then lit up her horn. Before anypony could guess as to the reason, a flash lit up the room and temporarily blinded all who stood within. The effect faded quickly, though, and soon all eyes turned to the center of the runic circle, where a life-sized, yet stylized statue of a pony stood. A few gasps were let out once they realized that instead of being carved from stone, the statue appeared to be something more precious. “Is that gold?” The white unicorn, Rarity, asked from where she stood near her friends. “Seventy percent pure,” Celestia replied, which startled the various ponies in the room as she had already risen from the throne and was descending it when she spoke. “It was commissioned by the Royal Alchemical Society after they found the key to turning lead into gold,” the white alicorn continued, as she reached the bottom of the throne stairs. An amused smile crossed her muzzle then as she recalled the past. “It was a pity they did not realize that the transformation only lasted three days until after their brief spending spree. The whole organization went bankrupt and had to be folded into the Royal Academy after that.” The smaller ponies in the room looked somewhat shocked at the revelation, and Twilight Sparkle cleared her throat. “If that's so, princess, then why are alchemists still looking for the so-called Philosopher's Stone?” Celestia chuckled briefly. “The Philosopher's Stone is merely a poetic name for a mineral or chemical that the alchemists hope will stabilize the transformation and make it permanent,” she explained, and then shook her head. “Ah, but we digress from what is important. Golden Nebula, Möbius Strip,” she added, as she turned her neck to look at the two elder unicorns. “Please begin charging the circle.” The two mages shot confused glances between them, before Möbius spoke. “But princess,” he began in his accented voice. “Ve haff not decided who vill reside in ze circle and control ze spell.” “You have not, but I have,” Celestia stated, and then lit up her horn again. This time, the golden aura enveloped her royal regalia, and to the other ponies' shock, began to remove the various jeweled pieces. “Your majesty, you cannot mean you wish to do this?” Golden Nebula protested, even as Celestia sent her crown to go and rest upon the seat of the throne. “You are needed here, in Equestria!” “I am needed by my sister,” Celestia rebuked, without so much as a glance at the unicorn as she stepped out of her gold-alloy overshoes, and then levitated them to join her crown and gorget. “And I have made provisions for my departure,” she said, and then glanced over to the element bearers, who to a pony gulped nervously. “Twilight Sparkle,” Celestia said, her voice firm. “Attend me,” she added, and then turned and walked a short distance away. Twilight gulped a second time in fear, and then glanced over her friends. Their supportive, concerned looks all worked to steady her, and the unicorn took heart from her connection with them. She gave them a wan smile, and then turned and trotted off to join the sun princess a few dozen feet away. As she drew up beside the white alicorn, though, a sudden spell swept over them, and Twilight yelped in shock as a dome of white light covered the area in which the two ponies stood. “I am sorry for surprising you,” Celestia said, and then turned to regard her student. “But what I have to say to you now is not for anypony else to hear, and this spell shall keep our conversation private,” she explained, even as Twilight glanced up to see the alicorn's horn glowing. “Oh-okay,” Twilight managed to stutter out, the confusion over her mentor's actions working with the purple pony's usual fear of making a mistake to drive her discomfort to stratospheric levels. Her ears folded back and she shuffled her hooves a bit as she waited for the other horseshoe to drop. Celestia stifled a grimace as she watched her student's physical response, and the alicorn sighed. “Please, calm yourself, Twilight,” she said, and then graced the unicorn with a warm smile. “I am not upset with you. I simply wish to give you a new, important mission to carry out for me.” Twilight perked up a bit at this, her ears turning up again as her interest was piqued. “A new mission, Celestia?” She asked, her tone shifting from concern to curiosity. Thank heavens she remembers to use just my name when we're alone, Celestia thought, as she briefly remembered having to be firm to get the purple pony to use even that level of familiarity in the past. Best ponder that later; time is running thin. “Indeed. It concerns you and your friends,” Celestia said, as she pushed her memories aside. “I admit I have a secondary motive for having you all here. While I do wish the Elements to be nearby just in case they are needed to defend our world, there is another purpose, almost as important, that I need you six to be ready to do if needed.” “O-of course, Celestia,” Twilight said, as she stood up straight, and then puffed her chest out a bit. “Whatever you ask of us, we're ready to do it.” “Good,” Celestia said, with a nod. Her smile disappeared then, and she sighed. “Before I get to that purpose, I must tell you a secret that only myself, Luna, and perhaps three other ponies in the realm know.” The alicorn paused at that and gave her student a hard look that sent chills along the unicorn's back. “I must ask for you to swear yourself into secrecy regarding it, though, before I divulge.” Twilight Sparkle blinked hard at this, and her eyes shifted side to side as she contemplated what was being asked of her. “I have to keep it secret, even from my friends?” She asked, as she gave her teacher a pleading look. “Even them,” Celestia replied, her tone firm. “Do I have your promise, Twilight?” The purple mare gulped yet again, and then took in a deep breath as she rapidly thought. Finally, though, she let out the breath, and then nodded. “You do, princess,” she replied. Celestia nodded to her student, and then took a moment to compose her thoughts. “As you may remember from the Hearthswarming Eve play you took part in, the old stories tell of how the unicorns worked in concert to raise the sun and moon,” she began, carefully picking her words. “I'm sure you've already read how Luna and I came along after that, and then took those duties from them?” Twilight nodded at that. “Yes, I remember that from my studies,” she answered. “Then I regret to inform you, my student, that you have been lied to,” Celestia said, and then paused as Twilight gave her a stunned look. “The unicorns never rose the sun; they would have been hard-pressed to even nudge the moon, let alone move it across the sky. No pony can affect such objects, not even myself or my sister.” “B-b-but,” Twilight stuttered. “The histories! The magical theories! Your own Summer Sun and Winter Moon celebrations!” “All part of the Big Lie,” Celestia said, as she shook her head. “You see, Twilight, the world was a much different place before our kind founded Equestria. The Hearthswarming story tells this, but it understates just how ruthless the different tribes were at the time. The unicorns and the pegasi were constantly at each other's throats, warring left and right for control of territory. Most of the earth ponies were either serfs to the unicorn nobility or pegasi warlords, or outright slaves in some cases. The sole exception was the United Republics, which consisted mostly of earth ponies with some disaffected unicorns and pegasi. “The fiction of the Big Lie was started even before the last round of warfare that, when combined with the shift in climate, forced ponies to abandon our ancestral homes to the north. The unicorns were powerful, but were much hated by both the pegasi and the Republics. They knew that if their foes were to unite against them, then even the entirety of their feudal kingdom would be crushed,” Celestia paused at this, and regained her breath before she continued. “So they worked together. Even though the worst internecine civil wars, even through the Great Migration, they worked together to create and support the Lie, by using illusion spells and careful orchestrations of their superior astronomical knowledge to inculcate their populace, and eventually all ponies, into believing that the sun and moon would only rise and set according to the will of their greatest mage circles. The truth is, in fact, that this world simply spins on a rotational axis, creating night and day as any given spot faces or turns away from the sun.” Twilight Sparkle sat in stunned silence as her teacher ended her narrative. This... this cannot be! Her formal education railed against this new information, yet her heart and respect for Celestia made her mind process and accept it. She could not, however, let it go without at least some questions. “But, if that's so, then why is your cutie mark that of the sun? Why is Luna's the moon?” Twilight asked, her voice strained. “Why keep up the lie? And how did Nightmare Moon create eternal night when she returned from exile?” Celestia sighed, as her hopes that the mere story would be enough were dashed. But of course, I knew better, she told herself. I do not pick fools to be my students, after all. “To answer those in order, Luna and I have our respective cutie marks because the sun and the moon are the sources of our power. We may not be able to raise or lower the celestial bodies, but we are still immensely powerful because we are attuned, more than any other pony, to the magic the sun and moon generate and focus. It was with that power that we were able to finally bring about the final uniting of Equestria under our rule and end the last wars between ponies. “That, of course, brings me to why we kept up the lie,” Celestia added, and then briefly shook her head again. “It was so entrenched into the populace that to undo it would take generations of education, and we did not have generations. We had to consolidate our power base rapidly, and ironically it was the Big Lie that helped us and led to the nobility's undermining. Our cutie marks, combined with our considerable magic, was able to sway the populace to our side and force the signing of the Magna Canter, which made all nobles subservient to the Canterlot throne.” Again the alicorn paused, and then sighed as memories long suppressed resurfaced in her mind's eye. “We had no choice but to continue the Lie. If we recanted it, then ponydom would have splintered: the nobility would have attempted to regain power, the push by some for a return to republic would have turned into open rebellion, and many would have been disenchanted with Luna and I, personally. It would have resulted in the worst civil war in pony history, and it could have forever ended all hope of ever uniting our people under one government.” A moment of silence fell over the two ponies as Twilight Sparkle once again struggled to absorb the shift in her paradigm. “And?” she finally asked, her voice almost a whisper. “Nightmare's return? How did she create eternal night if she couldn't control the sun or moon or even the earth below?” Celestia gave her student a tired look that held the weight of her thousands of years of life behind it. “Answer me this, my student,” she began. “What specifically do illusion class spells do?” Twilight frowned at that, as her mind struggled to shift gears. “They manipulate light to create false...” Her voice trailed off as she hit upon what her mentor had suggested, and the unicorn's eyes went wide. “She cast a spell on us to make us think it was night?” Twilight asked, shocked in tone. “Not on you specifically,” Celestia clarified. “She cast one to simply redirect the sun's light away from our world; a much easier task than trying to move a celestial body weighing hundreds of thousands of times than the very globe we walk upon, or even halt the world's rotation.” Twilight blinked at this and lowered her gaze to stare into the distance while her mind traced over what she knew about such spells and matched it with what her teacher had just explained. It is possible, she told herself. It would require a lot of power, but you've seen Luna animate spider toys and call storms to her just by being in a bad mood. Surely, if she really tried and focused, she would have such power. Twilight's mind ground to a halt at this, and before she knew it her knees had buckled and she fell to the floor. Celestia flinched a bit in surprise as she saw her student collapse, and the white alicorn quickly moved to kneel next to the smaller pony. “Twilight, are you alright?” She asked, concerned. The purple unicorn opened and closed her mouth silently for a few seconds, seemingly unable to vocalize. After a moment, she shut her muzzle, swallowed, and then nodded to her mentor. “I... I'm fine, Celestia,” she said, her tone quiet and contemplative. Another silent moment passed before Twilight Sparkle finally seemed to regain her self-control, and then turned to look up into Celestia's face again. “Why... why are you telling me this?” She asked, quietly. The alicorn shook her head in reply as she stood back up, and then turned to walk to the opposite side of the magic dome the two were under. “You know I am leaving to find my sister,” she stated. “I will not foist her salvation upon other ponies again, not when I am actually capable of accomplishing it myself. “I am concerned, however,” Celestia continued, and for the first time Twilight could ever remember, she saw a trace of fear upon the alicorn's face. “Luna is almost my equal in power, yet she has not returned on her own, and your investigation showed that she may have been taken against her will. I cannot discount the possibility that there is something more powerful than myself in that other reality, and that I may be only following my sister into an untimely death. “If that were to happen, then obviously neither one of us would return,” the white alicorn explained, and then paused to sigh. “And I will not risk that without providing for some form of continuity for our ponies. Of course, the parliament and bureaucracy can run the government, but the Big Lie of the day and night cycle is still ingrained into the populace. If both Luna and I disappear, then panic could erupt in the streets from ponies fearing the end of the world. And afterward, they would realize that it was a lie, and then that civil war I feared so long ago would rear its head, and pony kind would once again battle one another for control. “I will not risk that. Which is why I called your friends here,” Celestia added, and then turned to face her student again. “It is well known by now that the Elements of Harmony are a magic more powerful than any single being, even an alicorn like myself,” she said, and then nodded to the unicorn as the latter stood up. “It will not be a stretch of the imagination for the common pony to believe that the Elements, in order to maintain harmony in the world, could and would be used to move the sun and moon across the sky.” Twilight's face turned ashen at this. “You... want us to continue the lie?” She asked, her tone once again shocked. “To violate the tenant of honesty?” “Yes,” Celestia replied, and then sighed again before she walked back to stand just in front of the purple mare. “Twilight, you must understand that I only want to prevent the suffering and pain that would come from the infighting that would arise should the truth come out. I have ruled, both with and without my sister, on the basis that we control the skies themselves. Because of this, our word is law, and we have done our best, I have done my best to ensure that everypony, commoner or noble, rich or poor, wise or foolish, strong or weak, can live a life free of the worst that this world has to offer, free of the fear of war, of famine, of plague and death. I do not want to see that undone, no matter what the reason. “So please,” Celestia added, as she brought up a hoof and placed it on Twilight's shoulder. “I ask you, nay, I beg of you to keep ponies safe from those things by keeping them safe from themselves.” Twilight bit her lower lip as the princess finished her plea. Several moments passed in tense silence before she finally sighed, and then nodded. “I will, princess,” she said, somewhat reluctantly. Celestia felt relieved at that, and she allowed a smile to cross her muzzle. “Thank you, my wonderful student,” she said, as she brought the hoof on Twilight's shoulder back to the floor. “I know you must have your reservations and fears about this task, but I applaud your ability to rise above them. Know, however, that your friends will be with you, and if it does look like Luna or myself won't return then I give you permission to tell them the truth so that you all may continue to do your duty to the realm.” “Of course, princess,” Twilight said, somewhat automatically as she placed a fake smile on her face. Celestia was not fooled, of course, but she declined to comment on it, and instead closed her eyes and then dispelled the privacy dome. The throne room came back into their vision, and both ponies turned to see the others in the room looking towards them with concern and worry etched on their faces. “Your majesty!” Golden Nebula called out from where he and Möbius Strip were focusing power into the spell ring. “Is everything alright?” “Quite alright, vizier,” Celestia said, as she led Twilight Sparkle in a walk back to rejoin the others. She noticed the hesitant nature of her student's movements, however, and inwardly sighed. I know this will be hard on you for a time, dear Twilight, but you are a smart pony and will figure it out yourself, the alicorn thought. As they reached the spell circle, though, she shifted mental gears and then nodded towards the two elder unicorns in the room. “Is the spell engine ready?” She asked. “Almost,” Nebula replied. “The seeker algorithm has been tuned to track along princess Luna's connection to the moon, and the modified engine will provide the rapid calculations necessary to sift through the various realities she could be in.” “Ze teleportation spell is ready,” Möbius added. “It vill tie into ze seeker algorithm and bring you directly to your sister vonce she has been found.” “Excellent,” Celestia stated. “Where shall I stand to utilize the spell?” Golden, Möbius, and Twilight all shared a series of looks at that, clearly still uneasy that their princess was about to leave. “Your majesty,” the professor of the group began. “I must ask, vat vill happen if- if you take longer zan a few hours?” “That is why I spoke with Twilight Sparkle,” Celestia replied, which only made the purple unicorn cringe as everypony's attention fell to her. The alicorn continued, however, as if it were nothing of consequence. “If necessary, the Elements of Harmony shall maintain the balance and ensure that the sun and moon will continue their procession across the sky.” Everypony in the room – save Twilight Sparkle, of course – looked surprised at this, though soon enough the Canterlot ponies took it in stride. Twilight's friends, however, retained various expression of shock on their faces even after the purple unicorn gave them an uncomfortable, sheepish smile. Again Celestia forced herself to ignore the emotional situation, lest she become distracted. I will make it up to you all when I return, she silently promised. ...If I return. She pushed those thoughts aside, and then turned to face Golden Nebula again. “Now, vizier, where do I stand?” The gold-colored pony opened his mouth to say something, but then apparently thought better of it and bit it back. “Over here, your highness,” he said, using a minor spell to create a glowing light over a blank part of the runic circle. Celestia nodded to him, and then carefully picked her way over the markings on the floor with a grace that belied her superior size. Once in position she turned and faced the element bearers, who all now wore their respective artifacts. “Remember, I am charging you all with keeping Equestria safe while I'm gone,” she said, her voice even but firm. “Keep true to each other, and you will prevail,” she added, and then cast her gaze specifically to Twilight Sparkle. “Equestria will prevail.” The six seemed to take heart at her words, and at the last Twilight stood up straight and then gave a serious nod to her mentor. Celestia nodded back, and then looked over to Golden Nebula and Möbius Strip. “Gentlecolts, please begin.” The two replied with nods of their own, and then started to push the charged spell into motion. It was a change from the original spell, Celestia knew, but they had all agreed that whomever would go through to the other side would need to conserve his or her energy as much as possible for whatever awaited there, hence the modification to accept outside power and guidance. I still need to contribute, however, Celestia reminded herself, and then started to channel power from the sun itself, using her special connection with it to bring down a steady supply of magical energy, though she was careful to moderate the flow lest it overwhelm the spell or the casters adding their own touch. Only a moment passed before the white alicorn felt the spell coming to life around her, and Celestia quickly but gently reached out with her mind to take control of the thaumaturgical engine. There was little for her to do at the moment, though, as the engine spun up, but she wanted to be ready for anything at a moment's notice. For now, she simply waited as the spell engine finished powering up and then started to run the search algorithm. Images flashed by in her mind's eye, fed to her by the engine as it swept along the dimensional axes, though most of them went by too quick to comprehend as the engine screamed along faster than thought. Celestia did get a few ideas of strange creatures and unusual landscapes, but these were fleeting impressions that did little but be a mild distraction. Suddenly, though, the engine lurched as the search algorithm detected its target. The mental images spun like a kaleidoscope for a brief second before finally settling on a location that at first made no sense to Celestia. As she took in the scene, however, she realized that she was looking down on some kind of oceangoing vessel in the middle of a large drydock, similar to the ones in Manehattan or Seaddle, albeit one of unfamiliar design. A bit of movement caught her eye, and Celestia almost yelped in joy as she saw Luna running across the deck of the strange ship. She may be wearing clothes, but I would recognize her anywhere! The white alicorn thought, as she quickly ramped up the teleport spell. “I see her!” She said, speaking aloud for the benefit of the ponies in the throne room with her, excitement leaking into her tone. “I'm going!” “Wait,” Golden Nebula said, as he brought up a hoof. “Your majesty, we must check to make sure the area is safe first!” “If it is not safe, then she needs my help even more!” Celestia replied, and then without further argument, engaged the teleport spell. Another brilliant flash lit up the throne room, and when it cleared the ponies within all felt a sense of worry and dread when they saw that for the first time in two thousand years they were bereft the guidance of the sun princess. * * * * A wave of nausea washed over Celestia as she steadied herself following the teleport. That should not be, she thought, as the ill feeling rapidly ebbed. It almost felt as if something was fighting the teleport spell. The sound of wings flapping in the air drew her attention, and Celestia looked up to find herself at the bend of a large corridor that led between the outside drydock she had seen and the blue-lit interior of a building. Scarcely had she time to consider this when she saw Luna glide down in a graceful arc to land just beyond the wall that marked the corridor. The moon princess rapidly tucked in her wings and then turned to run towards where Celestia stood, though her attention was almost entirely focused behind her, with her head and neck canted back to look over her shoulder. Celestia felt the happiness swell in her heart, so much so that she did not even notice that Luna was levitating a strange object beside her, and had a banner affixed to her back. “Luna!” The white alicorn called, as she strode forward to meet her sister. The sound of her name apparently startled the other alicorn from the way her head whipped around. “Gah!” She yelped in fear, as the object at her side flipped end over end and pointed towards the source of her surprise. A searing flash and a jolt of intense pain in her face were all that Celestia felt then, just before the world went black.