--* The goblets hideout, five days after the departure *--
Moonprayer was walking on the path through the forest. She was deeply in mind and didn't hear the branches and leaves moving around her. Her thoughts were with the princess and the goblet. The honour she could earn was overwhelming her. She would finally be able to confess to the prince when she was renown for bringing it back.
At the same time, the prince was walking through the winding and branching paths the forest had prepared for him. He was well aware of the sounds around him and walked slowly towards another crossroad. There was another mark he had made. He came from the way he had chosen to take beforehand.
Nonetheless, he was still motivated to find the exit. His mind was occupied by the thought of finding the priestess and leaving this cursed place. He had no interest left for the goblets. As long as the priestess would be save, he would be happy.
What neither of these two ponies should ever know was the fact that they had crossed each others paths several times. Both were lead in circles around the centre of the forest. While Moonprayer was too enchanted to notice that she should have arrived at the centre some time ago, taken that she had walked a relatively straight path, Conglatius had lost track how many times he had already changed his path and found his own marks.
But neither of them were willing to give up and the forest, an ancient, living being, had decided that the two of them were worthy of finding what was hidden deep within it's core: a decision to make.
Conglatius noticed the path's turn towards the centre while Moonprayer still was oblivious what happened to her surroundings. At least until she entered the clearance. She first looked to her left where Conglatius enter the clearing. Only when she noticed that he was staring in the centre she turned her head.
The view that presented itself was astonishing. The light from the ceiling shone upon a small island in the middle of a tiny sea. It's waters were merely the length of fifteen ponies in each direction at the longest distance between the lakes edges.
On this island stood a structure of white stone and leaves and dark branches. The structure itself looked as if it would have fallen apart entirely if it weren't for the leaves and branches. Only the arcs remained. Through the wide gaps the goblets were visible. Two were standing there. They were clean and in good shape.
The two ponies walked towards each other. The only sound that they could hear was the sound of the water. Both looked each other in the eyes and blushed. As soon as they turned their heads the leaves were moving again. Both turned towards the source of the sounds and saw a strange creature entering the clearing.
The noticed both that it walked on two instead of four legs. It didn't seem to have any hooves. Both decided that this was what had to be feet. But what they thought was even stranger was the fact that it was made entirely out of the wood of the forest. And when it began to speak they were forced to listen; the deep voice was enchanting and assured of the good intentions.
"I welcome you as my guests, beings from outside. I am the forest's voice. I am sorry that you were guided around here but it was necessary that your hearts were tested. As long as you walk through me I can sense your thoughts. But first, how are the men of New Lyon?"
The two ponies looked at each other again. Both were puzzled what the voice could have meant with the word men. The prince had heard it once from the soldiers of Icewind's army but it just meant the ponies in common. To Moonprayer it didn't say anything at all.
And it was her that asked "What is this men you are talking about?"
The tree replied with a sad tone that was resonating within the two ponies. "They are extinct it seems. I worry that I can't tell you much more, only that they came from far away."
"How far away?" the prince asked.
"Further than the borders of this continent reaches. Further than the borders of the world you know reach, to be more precise. Either way it was them that brought certain words into this world. Like foot which is the answer to the gate's puzzle. An easy question if you are human or at least know them. But for you to know it wasn't simply luck. Especially under these circumstances."
Silence returned for a few seconds before the strange creature continued, "Either way, I can sense your intentions, but not your reasons. Why have you decided to enter this place sacred to many over the aeons?"
It was Moonprayer which answered. "We are searching for something. An ancient object capable of creating the stability our realm has need for since centuries. It is weakened and only recently it is re-establishing it's former might."
"What is the mind you are talking about." The voice seemed to come from all around them. The resonating vibration was an honest interest as well as fear. Moonprayer thought about what a forest hidden from the sight of ponykind could fear. In her mind the goblets appeared over and over again. The strength it gave to those who could use it. The peace it could bring. Or the destruction of realms, surprised by attacks from places they had never expected.
But Moonprayer couldn't find an answer to his questions in the process. She cursed herself for the choice of words. Conglatius on the other hand looked at her. Her look showed him that he had to do something and so he said the only thing that came to his mind.
"Harmony."
The brimming voice spoke up. "Harmony? Say, mare of his, are his words true and honest?"
Moonprayer looked at Conglatius and would loved to fall around his neck. "It is. The kingdom had been created for the ponies to be united under the full moon of the princess of the night. It was good as long as she was there. She had vanished a millennia ago but now she has returned and she will reunite us. And with the goblets, we can maintain peace and unity ourselves. These are the plans of our glorious leader my mentor."
Conglatius looked confused. He had never heard that the princess was Moonprayer's mentor. Neither from her nor from anybody. But he knew she didn't say it in ill thoughts. It was her wish to be tutored by the princess. And in some way it could be true. What else could explain the decisions she had made concerning the priestess since he met her.
The forest spoke again. This time the resonance was relieved. "I see. I believe giving you this choice is unnecessary in your case but I have to give it to you. Do you want to take the goblets, a tool to ensure the stability of empires long before the dawn of ponies? Or do you want to receive the gift of nature, a long and healthy life and the power of sensing the feelings of others?"
Both hesitated for a moment. Conglatius looked at Moonprayer, and as much as he would prefer the power of nature to get more time with the mare beside him, he had sworn to protect her in bringing back the goblets. So he said "We will take the goblets." and sensed a comforting vibrant feeling on his skin. He looked at the creature and understood. They could feel his sadness. He smiled a little and so changed the vibrant feeling to a happier one.
"So be it. You may each take one and then leave. But before you go, listen to what I have to say." Both looked up to him. "The moon is a light sunken in darkness. Sometimes it gets darker and sometimes it brightens up. And as the tides change, so change the moons powers. Once in darkness it destroys, another time in light and it completes. But it reaches it's strongest at the end of the cycle. When it is both dark and bright it can destroy and complete and thus create a new world. These are the powers you must beware of and these are the powers that you must embrace."
The two ponies stood there, puzzled and thinking about the warning. Suddenly, a path opened which lead directly to the entrance. Then the creature started to dissolve again. The sticks and leaves dropped to the floor and remained still as the voice carried over them again, brimming with the best wishes that could be carried by it.
"We will guide you home now. Don't forget why you came and then return safely home. We wish that you can lift your blindness towards those nearest to you."
"What do you..." Moonprayer began before she realised that it was futile. The forest had spoken it's last words and remained silent. Conglatius tipped her should and signed towards the island. A bridge of root had appeared and they walked over it to get the goblets and back again. The roots vanished as soon as the had set foot back on the ground. As they went through the forest back to the entrance, the trees closed the path behind them.
"Thank you." Moonprayer whispered silently and a nice shiver rushed over her skin as if someone had just shown her gratitude.
The packed their things and returned to Westbrucke. Both kept silent the way back. It had been much to take in and the goblets were too heavy than to be bothered using their breath on talking. It was only when they returned to the village that Conglatius broke the silence after leaving the goblets with the guards.
"I like you."
Moonprayer looked at him as if he had said something strange. "Thank you. I like you too."
"No I really like you. I had some time now to think this over and I want to ask you something."
He fell on his knee. The guards and ponies around were all shocked and looked at him. He looked around and asked her silently to prevent her answer to be afflicted by others: "Do you want to marry me?"
She looked at him. She began to smile creepily, then to cry. Conglatius jumped up excusing himself and trying to calm her down when she jumped forward. The both lay on the floor. Moonprayer stood over him and her tears hit his nuzzle. "Yes. Yes you stupid arrogant prince." Then she kissed him. It was a long kiss and they would have kissed for a few more minutes if the guards hadn't disturbed him and signed towards the wagons waiting as they blockaded the road.
They stood up and went to the church. The first thing Moonprayer wanted to do was to tell the princess that she had a fiancée. And then she wanted to go to her house with him. Spending some time with a stallion should be nice. Something she hadn't done for a while.
--* North of Flankrium, thirteen days after the departure *--
The ponies from Flankrium arrived before the king and his guard. The flags the carried were rammed into the ground and showed that this was a neutral conversation. No blood should flow and no live wasted.
"I welcome you to our city, king of Icewind. We have eagerly awaited your arrival since we heard of your involvement with Westbrucke and we hope that you could lend us your hoof in an urgent matter that is taking place within the walls of our once glorious city."
"I welcome you too. As you may have noticed, this is an army meant to besiege your city. Why would you ask me to help you out in this mess that can only benefit us if we leave it alone?" the king asked. He was sure that the envoys would be surprised, at least annoyed by his question. But they were grinning.
"In this case you might lose more men that we predict you will if you help us."
"And how many what that be if you may say?"
"None."
The king stood there, baffled by the certainty the envoy had said it. No man dying while besieging a city? What on earth did these ponies want from him? The king was questioning the answer, but the gain he could make was too great to be ignored. "Tell me what you had planned. If I like it, I will help you."
"Assign a temporary leader and begin to negotiate with him. Then you shall be rewarded with telling the princess that the city of Flankrium has been liberated and is under her control once more."
The king just stood there. "Are you telling me that I had moved my army for nothing out here?" he asked with a mixture of anger and embarrassment.
"Not for nothing majesty. Your troops arriving in Westbrucke gave the rebels hope to stand up to the suppression of the dictatorship that had been established a century ago. Multiple generations of the citizens of this once beautiful city were used like slaves. Instead of being an important centre for culture it was turned into a factory. Instead of artist we were living machines. And all this just because one pony couldn't have enough."
The envoy turned his head towards the city and spit to the ground. "Just thinking about him makes me want to murder somepony. But revenge is near, and death will be a joy to him after we are finished with him. Luna should damn his soul that his filth may never touch the other side and we will never see him again."
Te king shook his head in disbelief. This much anger towards one single pony. The situation in the city must have been harsh. Nonetheless it wasn't the time to talk about the past. "Guide me to the town hall and I shall assign a new mayor for this town."
So they did. Two days later the army had already departed again, taking with them a few contracts that were made with both Westbrucke and Icewind. Flankrium was again a part of the Kingdom of Winterwald.
The new mayor the king had chosen was neither royal nor a scholar. It was a rather smart farmer which just happened to see the king and ask one simple question. "Wouldn't the best choice be from the lower ranks?" he asked, thinking that if he chose somepony from the lower ranks it would give hope to the poorer and the situation would get better in no time.
Indeed his wisdom wasn't the one from books, it was a practical one. The choice of the king was wise. This practical wisdom and the understanding of the common town folk gained the mayor a reputation that lead not only to more wealth for all the citizens. It lead to a cultural revolution. Where once statues of the dictator stood were now places for concerts and other entertainment. People exchanged wisdom at these places and the city turned greener than it ever was. But this would be in a future that would come after the disasters of Osttor.
-* Canterlot, four days after the departure*-
It was a nice morning when Luna sat alone in the library she had ordered to be cleared for her to study. She had taken some books with themes she wanted to read about. Most of the books contained information about Equestria's history. These books were incredibly detailed and were only visible to a small number of scholars. Mostly due to the fact that the details describe secrets that could lead to revolts in the street.
"Interesting what sister let happen in the past." the darkness whispered in Luna's mind. "Looks like she has ordered some of these things. Many ponies died because of her. Mostly shortly after I was banished. Oh, and this looks rather interesting. A plague that would only kill unicorns. Looks like those that survived did solely because they could pay sister for the cure. Look at this picture. This disease was horrible. All this blood. And only by breathing the air around decayed ponies would one get sick, too. Very effective indeed. Maybe it was engineered. Maybe even by sister."
"Silence." Luna thought. She didn't want to hear the commentaries of the darkness inside her. She still couldn't accept that this could be herself thinking these things. And it was already enough to read about the things her sister had to do. She put the book away and took another one. The title read 'How to exorcise yourself of evil' and was not as old as the history book she just put aside.
"You really don't like yourself, do you?" the darkness asked. It sounded horribly honest and worried. Luna couldn't understand why the darkness was still thinking they were one.
"I don't like you. I am fine with just being myself. I will even feel better as soon as I got rid of you." she answered.
The darkness giggled. "How many times do I have to tell you that we are the same? How could I have the same memories as you elseways? Just for your information: You can't get rid of yourself. Believe me, I tried. It would have killed us."
"We aren't the same." Luna answered rather unpleasently. "We are seperate entities and I will prove it to you right now."
Luna cast the spell she just read in the exorcism book. She felt how the darkness lost hold of her. But at the same time she grew weaker. She felt the further away the darkness went, the further her own life slipt. She stopped and confusedly looked at the book again. She opened the first page. It was a book she had written herself just before she had been banished by her sister. The little sign beside the authors name is unmistakebly her own. She had forgotten that she did write this book and there aren't any memories returning either.
"I told you that I tried to get rid of you. Is this prove enough that we are one and the same?" the darkness answered. It was angry, Luna understood as much. It must have written the book, too. But she couldn't exactly comprehend why it was angry. Because she tried to get rid of it? Or because she didn't believe it? And most importantly...
"What does this mean?" she asked herself. She thought hard about what she had done. She had tried to get rid of her sister and plunge the entire world into a neverending night. Was she evil?
"You are not evil. It is true that the way I tried to bring us happiness was a bit different from the common conception of being good, but there would have been no lasting harm. Neither on our subjects nor on sister. I thought I told you this already."
"Might be." Luna was not in the mood to discuss this further. "I admit one sole thing. You are a part of me. I can't kill you without killing me. That doesn't make us one and the same, only reliant on each other. You are still Nightmare Moon and you are seperate from me."
"Good enough. For now at least. You will see that I told the truth. When you accept me you will gain the power you hide from yourself. The power of destruction that lives within yourself. The other part of the power that could compete with sister. Without it you are even weaker than Twilight Sparkle without her element. And she's not even an alicorn."
"Don't forget she is a prodigy and tutored by Celestia. My sister had chosen her few students very carefully and Twilight Sparkle has even the power to bear one of the elements of harmony. I am certain that there is no stronger unicorn living right now. One day she might even surpass the unicorns of times harsher than this one. Maybe she will surpass Starswirl the bearded."
The darkness kept silent. Luna blushed, feeling dumb that she would justify herself from her darkness. She decided to return to her room. On the way there she didn't notice the guards and servants greeting her. She was too deep in thought about what the darkness had told her.
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Celestia stood just beside the door to the library when Luna rushed out and walked away in the direction of the royal chambers. She seemed to be deeply in thought that she didn't stop and talk to her sister. She didn't even greet her and Celestia was already worried from what she had just heard.
She had only heard two things. As she had arrived, her sister was muttering about something being seperate from her. But what she said about Twilight was what really worried her. Luna seemed to be very interested in her student, but not in the friendly way. The words in itself were friendly but Luna almost spit them out. A tone that she had never allowed if Luna had told this to her.
Celestia walked to the guards and ordered them to be more cautious around Luna. They didn't ask why but their eyes were questioning the order. "It is for her own safety" she said to the guards. "She seems to glide into the darkness again and I won't banish her a second time. I can't. It would break my heart to send her away again after she just returned." The guards nodded and gave the orders to their superiors.
Celestia walked back to the throne room. She still had some tasks to fulfill and then make plans to protect her student from any harm. She will invite her and her friends to stay at the castle for a week, maybe two, solely to protect them if the need arises. In the meantime she will keep a closer look at her sister and, more importantly, talk with her. She hadn't had many chances to speak in privacy and it was about time that happened.