Luna stared into her sister's set eyes, playing the aggressor in their unspoken tug of war.
The Princess of the Night was not pleased, to put it simply. Sadly, her day and night had actually been rolling along quite well. She had attended an opening ceremony for the refurbished Canterlot Public Archives; crafted a lovely, new constellation to adorn an empty pocket of this season's night sky; and, most triumphantly, had reduced her paperwork from five days behind schedule to three. She had been making an upbeat stride through the castle's hall in preparation for her own appropriately-named Night Court when the sound of her sister's lecturing voice had drawn her attention.
Normally, Luna would disregard it; it was a tone she had heard enough of in her youth. By some other magnetism, however, she had decided to oblige the compelling urge to listen in for a moment. Sure it was eavesdropping, but what harm could truly come out of a minute? she figured, Her sister was most likely just addressing one of the ever-persistent nobles. How wrong she was, she found out within a long instant.
Although Luna had missed out on the beginning of the conversation between Celestia and the young Twilight, she put enough clues and contexts together to get a perspective on the wider view told by the serious banter she had heard. She was initially confused, in part due to the foggy details still left out of her knowledge, but her befuddlement had turned into intrigue in time and then, in turn, into a simmering animosity. However, she knew better than to let the building irritation get the better of her, so she waited until the others' conversation had ended. In her waiting, she did notice one thing; she saw through the crack of the chamber door the teacher and student in an embrace. It only phased her for a moment.
Eventually, Twilight did finally leave, allowing Luna to make her long-awaited entrance, which is what found her in her current position of staring down her sister.
"Sister," she said, her tone as flat as it were cool, "Yes, I overheard your conversation with Princess Twilight. However, I did not hear all of it. Would you care to enlighten me on some recent events I may not have been informed of?"
Celestia returned Luna's awaiting gaze with her own serious one. Her sister's tone of voice was clear in sending its message. There would be no questioning of her eavesdropping, but instead, she would actually help in the eavesdropping. The solar alicorn knew better than to pursue the matter anyways; a squabbling exchange would do nothing but waste time and effort. Thus, she obliged. "A human—you remember them, don't you?—appeared in Ponyville through unknown means. She was taken in by Fluttershy and, after some problems due to her unexpected fear of equines, became friends with Twilight another resident of Ponyville. I met her after a week bearing the news that she would not be able to return home."
Luna didn't show any signs of agreement, instead asking, "You are referring to the old gateway being closed, yes?" Celestia nodded. The royal sisters were in the select group of ponies that still knew about the existence of it. Being there at the time of its discovery would allow that. Not being there at the time of its closure was a source of confusion to the restored Luna a few years ago, but she had accepted it as already having happened. "And I suppose you reasoned it as necessary for the safety of our subjects?" Another nod.
Luna closed her eyes as she drew in a breath. She held that breath for a pregnant pause before letting it back out, the musty courtroom air lacking in the refreshing quality she preferred. She then opened her eyes, forming a striking glare. "Although I may agree that keeping our subjects safe is first priority," she started, words rolling off her tongue fluently, "I am not as humbled and accepting as your former student. Tell me, dare say, what lead you to the conclusion that the human race is so bad that you have sentenced an innocent being to exile?"
Celestia's eyes expanded at the final word. Exile? she thought. "Exile?" she said, "It is not exile. Exile would be sending her to the wastelands with no help whatsoever."
The lunar alicorn's face twisted into a dry sneer. "Exile is being taken away from everyone and everything you hold dear. You could send a pony to a paradise and still call it exile if they are trapped in solitude. Is Ryan's situation truly not an exile?" She perked an inquisitive eyebrow, letting no moment go wasted.
The other, however, did let a moment go wasted. A fair few, in fact, as she sat at her desk, silently grasping for an appropriate response. Finally, she said, "That is subjective. It varies from view to view."
Luna held back an indignant snort. She easily could've called her sister out on her, pardon her Prench, complete crap of an explanation, but like her sister's own time-minding decision, she let it go by. Besides, her real question had remained unanswered. "Once again," she reiterated, realigning the conversation, "What has lead you to believing closing the gateway was necessary?"
Celestia answered immediately and much more properly than needed: "Simply put, those on the other side are too dangerous to be allowed the possibility of entry to our land. You've already heard the story of the noble some time ago and my conversation with Twilight now. You already know all of my reasons."
Luna narrowed her eyes, a suspicious glint touching them. "So it would seem," she said, "However, I believe you are failing to see the picture in its entirety," she declared. Her constant staring never let up. As Celestia perked an eyebrow, Luna continued, "Sure, there may or may not be a risk at opening the gate, but couldn't said risk be eliminated? Set up a guard post that is much more secure and connected to us in case something happens. Or perhaps maintain a shield around the entrance."
"We do not know what they are capable of," Celestia chided, "We could over-prepare as much as we could underprepare. And how would we sustain a shield for years on end?"
"We are goddesses," she supplied simply.
"Our power is not infinite," she replied, "It would take massive amounts of effort."
Luna cocked her head. "So the thing keeping the human away from her home is the fact that you do not want to put in the effort of a shield."
"It's not like that," Celestia defended, her voice rising the subtlest of amounts, "The power needed would be obscene."
"Yet we have four alicorns at our disposal."
The sun goddess gave her nightly counterpart a hard stare, her brow slightly furrowed as annoyance crept in. She directly addressed, “You know full well that it is not that simple.”
“But it is possible,” she countered, “And that is not even the only solution. I’m sure there is a multitude of possibilities that could be done if you give it a chance.”
“Give it a chance?” she repeated, “Why take the risk if we don’t even know what’s on the other side? I know I must sound repetitive, but that’s the simple fact of the matter. Only a fool would lead a battle with no knowledge of the opposition.” She gave a firm nod to herself at the end, as if to reaffirm it herself.
Luna cocked her head, eyes half-lidded. “So this is a battle?” she observed.
“Luna,” Celestia said, her tone heatedly cool, “I’d appreciate it if you stopped putting words in my mouth.” She spoke with the dry strength only a younger sibling would recognize, and the lunar alicorn was no exception. The little bit of younger sister in her told her to relent in her tirade, but a few millennia or so of dealing with her sister had led to the voice shriveling into an ignorable squeak. Besides, the voice preaching sibling rivalry always yelled louder.
“I am sorry, sister,” she replied her tone not matching her words, “But I am merely speaking what I hear.”
Celestia paused a moment, forcing herself to straighten her frazzled thoughts. Finally, she said, “Why are you acting this way?” she asked, drawing an inquisitive look at the unexpected turn, “You clearly feel strongly about this despite having just heard about it. You only give me this attitude when you’re irritated.”
The other alicorn blinked as she registered the shift in conversation. The opened face returned to a scowl as she spoke again, her words betraying only a gritted fierceness. “Because,” she stated, “I know exactly what Ryan is being put through.” Celestia opened her mouth to speak, but Luna continued, “I said that her situation is an exile. And trust me when I say I know what an exile is…”
The solar alicorn’s eyes widened.
“Yes,” Luna continued, “I am talking about that. I may have been Nightmare Moon when I was banished, but my true consciousness was fully awake, watching the events transpire. True, I may have agreed with the Nightmare’s decisions at the time, but that is beside the point.” She paused to clear her throat, purposefully letting her own gaze stray away from Celestia's. Her sister would hear this whether she liked it or not.
“It was a just a few mere years in when realization hit me. I was exiled. Taken away from everything I loved. I knew that when I came back—if I came back—everyone I knew and loved would be dead. My friends, my family… They would all be gone. I would never see them again, much less say my goodbyes.
“For centuries after I was depressed, felt worthless. While the Nightmare toiled in anger, I was left to my own regret and solitude.” Her tone grew solemn. “I could see my home in the lunar skies above me constantly. It was a reminder of everything. It teased me, sister, it sat there just barely out of my reach yet always pulled away as I thought I had it within my grasp. And each time, I thought to myself, I would give and do anything to go back. No matter the consequence.”
She stared at her sister for a pause. Celestia nodded slowly, a sinking feeling dragging down on her.
"But do you know what the worst part was?" she asked rhetorically, "Depression is, by far, the most horrible feeling I've ever felt. It's... It's like drowning. But with no lifeguard to help you. You can scream and thrash or silently stress but no one will ever hear or see you. It takes control of you; everything and everyone that would bring happiness before can only distract you on the best of days. And after all that, there's always a small, whispering voice telling you to give up. Truly, that is solitude..." She took a controlled breath.
“That,” she finished, “is why I feel so strongly about this. What you’ve done to Ryan is easily the worst possible crime. No one, no matter who they are or what they've done, should go through what I have.”
Celestia remained quiet for a long, long date. She suddenly took in a sharp inhale, signaling the crumbling of the last of her resolve. The royal alicorn who had been through millennia of times through hardship and not fell into a teary-eyed state, one she had not been reduced to in almost a thousand years, fittingly enough, for a similar reason. “I’m so sorry!” she gushed, stepping down from her podium to reach out to her dead-tone sister. “I-I—”
Luna merely stayed quiet, letting her sister have her moment. She was pulled into a close embrace, and remained that way, the sun leaning to the moon, who returned with a shoulder of comfort. Finally, the Luna spoke near-silently in a whisper, "It is alright. I’ve long forgiven you. It was my fault in the first place."
“But… I didn’t—”
“No. You did what was necessary; I recognize that.” She gently pushed her sister away, looking into her eyes. “What happened to me is over. For now, let us focus on the task at hoof.”
Celestia stared back, her reluctant, puffy eyes disagreeing. She, however, nodded, not taking her sight off of Luna, holding on with a stare as if to make sure she would always still be there. “Alright…” she said.
"Now," Luna said, her voice much softer, "I've already said that there's a number of things we could possibly do, but those would require much time and experimentation. However, this could all be nullified if we were to eliminate the need for these precautions." She paused as her sister nodded, her head slightly cocked afterwards. "As Princess Twilight said, are humans really that bad?"
Celestia's eyes widened at the inquiry. Of all the things her sister could have asked, she had expected the (likely fruitless) quest to find another way to the other world; if not, perhaps just some kind of support Luna knew Ryan would need. Reflecting, however, she realized that the question was more logical than it first appeared. Her sister had only seen humans from over one thousand years ago before her banishment. She'd missed out on a lot, and historical recounts could only provide so much. At the silence, Luna raised an eyebrow, prompting Celestia to shake off her momentary surprise. "Sorry," she said, "I just did not expect the question..."
"It is fine." She waved her hoof dismissively. "I am just out-of-date, so to speak," she said, confirming Celestia's thoughts.
"Simply put," the solar alicorn said, "Yes, I do believe so."
Luna frowned. "What have you to base this off of? Other than the noble?"
"..." Celestia didn't say for a moment too long. She spoke, "Yes, there are other things as well. I've heard their stories."
Luna responded immediately, "As have I in my times here. However, I question if mere stories are enough to pass judgement on an entire race."
Mere stories? the other thought, I hardly think tales of war are mere stories. Besides... "You weren't there at many of the meetings. You've only heard old, now outdated ones."
"Mm..." Luna hummed aloud as she thought. "I don't believe that should make too big of a difference, sister. A culture may change, but what makes a people who they are does not."
"A millennia is a long time, Luna."
"Maybe," she admitted, "But what I was initially getting at is that you are going purely off of stories. Those do not define an entire race. There are probably just as many good as bad."
Celestia shook her head, not in disagreement, but at the reasoning. "Even if that is true, there are still those who would pose a threat. The noble is evidence enough."
Luna pursed her lips. That was true; there was no getting around it. She considered making the argument that those who were good would defy a possible threatening advance, but she knew that was far too weak. It hinged on far too many what-ifs and luck. Instead, she found a new train if thought to board. "I assume we are comparing them to our own species, yes?" Celestia nodded after a brief hesitation, albeit looking curious. That was the baseline, wasn't it? "Can we really say we are any better then?"
The solar alicorn's eyes widened in surprise at the shift. Her mouth opened and closed a few times as her taken aback mind scrambled for an answer she couldn't quite formulate.
Seeing the confusion, Luna elaborated, "What right do we have to judge them if we aren't much better, if any? We aren't a utopian society. We still have the need for jails and courts and prisons. We—"
"Luna," Celestia gasped, "We are far from them. We don't declare war and slaughter each other over petty matters!"
The Princess of the Night nodded, quickly maneuvering to continue her words. "Yes, I agree they are rather violent, but it's the motivation behind the actions that matter. I would argue that if we ignored the response, our motivations, and thus, nature, would be the same."
Celestia's features portrayed a small scowl as she rebutted, "I disagree. Even if our reactions were the same, the actions they lead to are just as important. You cannot punish a criminal for merely considering a crime."
"In that case," Luna started, "Consider my actions one thousand years ago."
The other's face softened slightly again; however, she said, "Luna, you can't be—"
"I am bringing this up again," she interrupted, "Just think about the consequences of what I tried to do. I tried to abuse my powers; my powers that our subjects depend on to grow food and navigate and so much more. The entire planet depended on me, and I failed them all because I was jealous."
"That was the Nightmare's influence," Celestia tried, her tone more pleading than confident.
"And I fully supported it... I am just as guilty." She broke her gaze for a moment, looking anywhere but her sister. "The worst part of my betrayal was not my disloyalty to my subjects. The worst part was my betrayal to you, Celestia. I tried to harm my own blood in my irrational anger."
"Luna..." she said, losing the strength in her voice.
The lunar alicorn paid it no heed as she continued, "If I, a goddess that was so looked up to by and carried so much responsibility, let something as petty as jealousy let me fall from grace..."
"No..." a tone of seeking desperation said.
"That how can any of us be any bet—"
"We are above them, Luna!" the Sun Goddess snapped, her tears flowing ever so slightly once again. She looked away immediately, trying to hide her face from her sister and the bare words she uttered.
Luna's eyes widened. Just for a moment, she was actually stunned. However, it was just a moment. She narrowed her eyes as she spoke in a controlled tone, "That's the truth you've been avoiding... You believe them to be inferior."
Celestia sniffed. "No..." she said weakly, "That's not it..."
The other alicorn remained silent as her thoughts raced around in her head. As much of a denial it sounded, she did believe her sister. Celestia wasn't one to let prejudice determine her thoughts. Then what is it? she pondered before blinking. Yes, what is it? she thought again, emphasizing the question itself. "Celestia?" she said, her tone soft, but not forcibly so, "There's another reason you feel so strongly about this, isn't there?" She remembered something Twilight mentioned. "And it's also why you're former student mentioned you seemed cold to Ryan, isn't it?"
Silence reigned for a long pause as one side looked on expectantly and the other looked anywhere but at it. Solemnly, Celestia nodded. She spoke, her words hushed by tension and sad recounting, "Yes, something did happen."
Luna took a step toward her sister, gently putting a comforting hoof on her shoulder. Celestia didn't react. "Tell me?" Luna asked.
Celestia slowly looked up to her sister. Her eyes sang a sad ballad of emotion. Though, after a look into her sister's sympathetic face, she nodded. With a sigh, she began an old tale.
Luna listened with utmost intent.
Ryan stumbled to her knees in a nauseous haze, her hands splayed wildly out in front of her as she tried to find relative stability.
"Whew!" Discord called from behind her, "We actually made it. I'm not too accurate when someone's freeloading a ride." Ryan congratulated him by holding her mouth shut as her stomach threatened her.
"Not... helping," she managed in between heaving breaths.
"Oh, don't be like that," he laughed giving her an encouraging and completely unwelcome pat on the back.
Her stomach decided to fully congratulate him.
"Oh..." he said, much more apprehensive, "Don't be like that." He whistled a tune as he took a step back, arms folded behind his back.
Once her lunch was firmly acquainted with the soil, she put a stern glare his way. He responded by smiling warmly while pointing behind her. She narrowed her gaze but obliged, half-expecting some kind of unfunny prank from the draconequus. She snorted at the thought as she pulled herself up, settling into a position on her knees. What could be so...
A mere walk away stood a gleaming city of crystals, high walls and towers dotting the landscape into a dreamscape out of myth. Even from the small hill she stood on, she could sense to sheer bustling workings of the priceless machination; trains whistled to and from the station, caravans of goods marched through the fortress gates, the crystalline structures glowed with magical prowess.
Ryan blinked. "Oh."
Discord sniggered at the sight of her. "There it is!" he announced, "The Crystal Empire in all its wasteful glory."
"Wasteful?" she muttered, her awestruck senses thoroughly disagreeing.
"For all of Celly's complaining about the economy, never once does she consider selling jewels instead of building castles out of them." He looked smug at the thought.
Ryan shook her head. No time to marvel at the grandeur. "Alright," she said, "What did you have planned?"
Discord grinned at her. "It's as simple as something you would come up with: You're going to waltz right in."
"Uh," she said, recoiling. For the sake of progress, she let the insult slide. "Really? What's the plan?"
"That is the plan," he said simply, "At least, until you get inside the castle. But that should be easy."
She stared up at him. "You do realize that's not as simple as you make it sound," she said, "A two-legged thing would stick out like a sore thumb in a town of horses."
He looked back, a completely straight face adorning his features as he said, "That's right. A two-legged thing would stick out in a town of horses."
The two stared at each other in silence, blank expressions matching each other.
"So..." Ryan started, "What are going to do then?"
The sound of a facepalm rang out. "Mother of me, you're hopeless," the chaos god uttered. As Ryan opened her mouth to rebut, he held up a silencing paw. "Don't even say anymore. Let me work my magic." His paw turned into a snap. "Literally."
Instantly, Ryan felt her body begin twisting and convulsing in an unnatural series of movements. She cried out, but her throat's sudden rearranging silenced her, making the shifting features of herself anti-climactically silent. The entire ordeal didn't feel painful, to her surprise and relief, but more tingly and uncomfortable, somehow reminding her of when her foot would fall asleep, if not for the harsher intensity and full-body experience.
She found herself panting and dropped to all fours by the end of the ordeal, which had actually only lasted a few moments. Although the tingling feelings had subsided, she still felt uneasy, wrong. She shook her head in a vain attempt to clear the anxiety.
"Mm, not bad, if I do say so myself," Discord's voice spoke.
Ryan lifted her head towards the sound. "Discord," her own voice croaked, "What... Did you get taller all of a sudden?" He held back a laugh, responding by summoning a full length mirror in front her. Curious, Ryan didn't question it. She looked into the reflection, the woman seeing a horse looking back.
She reeled back, her eyes going wide.
The horse also reeled back, its eyes matching the action.
Ryan looked away with a flick of her gaze. "What did you do?" she demanded.
"Isn't it obvious?" he said teasingly, "Just look at your... hoof!" He burst into a maddening fit of laughter.
Her eyes widened, and her head darted back down in flash. At the end of her newly fur-covered arm, sure enough, was the finger-less form of a hoof. She let out a rather undignified squeak of mortification. "What did you do?!" she hissed through shock.
"I turned you into, as you put it, a horse! Now you can waltz in without a problem."
"But, but, I'm a horse!" she cried, "I don't want to be a horse!" She took another look into the mirror only to look away with a shudder. Trying again, she turned her head around to see the unfamiliar, equine body draped in unfitting clothes. Underneath the fabrics, a lush, golden coat shown, highlighted by her dark blonde hair-now-mane plus tail. An odd, morbid fascination came to her, lessening the chills it gave her.
Discord laughingly watched her, saying, "You can't even look at yourself. Ha! Oh, but don't worry about the horse bit. You can change back anytime you like."
"Really?" she asked, her tone leveling out again.
He waved a claw. "Probably. Now then..." He stroked his goatee. "You'll fit in quite nicely as long as you don't have a panic attack. However, you'll have to lose the clothes."
"Uh," she said, leaning back, "What?"
"They don't wear clothes," he monotoned, "Remember? Besides, those don't fit you anymore."
"But... I..."
He stared at her expectantly.
"...I guess," she admitted, "I mean, it's normal for them; no one will have two thoughts... I won't like it though."
He raised an eyebrow. "I hardly think your comfort is important at the moment."
She nodded after a pause. Her head turned to regard herself again; however, she had a feeling Discord was still watching her. "Um... Would you mind not watching me?" she requested meagerly, an unhelpful, rosy blush spreading across her cheeks.
Discord looked unamused. "Alright, I say we've wasted enough time on your makeover. And that means a lot coming from me." He snapped again. In a swirl of fabric, the clothes around Ryan morphed and reshape themselves into a scarf fashioned around her neck. "And yes, those will transform along with you since it matters so much to you." He rolled his eyes.
Ryan held up the hanging scarf to her eye, more holding up than grasping. "...I feel exposed... but thanks, I guess." She looked over herself again, gaining a proper once over of her quadrupedal form. "What's this?" she muttered, seeing an out-of-place patch of color on her thigh (or whatever the term was; she didn't know).
The draconequus smirked at the sight she pointed out. "Your mark is a gateway. How fitting."
Straining her neck around, she found she actually recognized the symbol. "Actually, it's a picture frame. It was a tattoo on my arm. Now it's my cutie mark for whatever reason."
He scoffed. "Cutie mark... I never liked that name. Too..." He snapped in a non-magical way, looking for a proper description.
"Childish?" she suggested.
"Boring," he answered.
She cocked her head. "What would you have named it?"
He gave wry smile as he thought. "Label. Now then, the answers to your next three questions are: the body will help your instincts move around in the same way 'Loray' got around; no, I cannot magically make your fear go away to make this easier; and yes, I'll tell you the plan."
"..."
"You need to go find the central castle. Considering that it's the tall one in the middle of the city, it shouldn't be too hard. I'll be there every step of the way until then. I'll tell you what happens next when we get there. Understood?"
She nodded along with a blink of her eyes.
"Good!" He clapped his hands together. He gave her a reassuring grin before she vanished in a flash of dissonant light. His own grin then turned into a cynical glance as the light faded away, leaving behind no trail.
"...She's about as bright as my honesty streak." Then, with his own flash, he was whisked away as well.