//------------------------------// // >> interlude << // Story: Elements of Insanity // by Emeral Bookwise //------------------------------// Princess Luna Equestris, the mistress of the moon, steward of the sun, and sovereign protector of the three tribes looked out across her kingdom… or rather what was left of it.  Chunks of land floated through the air, rivers flowed backwards, and the very heavens themselves churned and convulsed, not a single aspect of the natural order had been left unviolated. The worst of it, however, was the screams of confused horror, of minds driven past the breaking point and into a never ending madness.  It was not a real sound, but she knew it was there all around her for she'd lived through it all before, and she knew its malevolent source all too well.  That is what had brought her here, to the base of this otherwise unassuming hill, and now she gazed with resolute defiance up at the black throne atop it. She approached from behind, not that it would likely matter, as the beast no doubt already knew she was there.  She should have known better than to force a direct confrontation, but what other choice did she have?  She had not the Elements of Harmony to wield, nor even her sister to stand by her side.  She was alone, and even with all her alicorn might, Luna stood no earthly chance of defeating the beast who sat upon that throne… yet she marched up the hill all the same. To her last breath she would oppose the beast, and so gathering all of her magic she reached out, spinning the throne full about to face the beast who sat upon it. "Dis…!" the name died on her tongue, however, as she found not the familiar visage of her ancient and most hated enemy, but rather an unassuming ordinary pink earth pony with a curly striped mane and spinning propeller beanie.  That is, unassuming in all ways except for the mare's eyes — endless spirals which betrayed her true nature. "Sorry," the mare giggled, "But daddy's still asleep where you left him." "You lie, chaos spawn!  This nightmare could only be of his twisted designs." The mare giggled. "Really?  And here I was thinking you were the nightmare," she said while casually holding up a silvery-blue helmet with one hoof.  It was an all too familiar piece of armor that Luna –or rather a tainted portion she'd split off from herself– had once worn on that fateful day a thousand years ago when she had been forced to confront her own sister… or rather the tyrant Corona. As if taking that stray though as cue, suddenly the mare was instead holding a golden crown wreathed in flames "Or was it the other one?  You alicorns are all just so dreadfully boring that I have trouble telling you apart.  Though in all the myriad paths of history, maybe it doesn't really matter," and with that the crown evaporated back into the nothing from which it had been manifested. "ENOUGH!" Luna's eyes turned a pure glowing white as she bellowed her echoing demand "I have not the time to indulge in these juvenile games." The throne was gone now as well, and the pink mare instead skipped along a hopscotch grid. "Aww… but I like games, and if we played together then it'd be twice as much fun!" Pausing suddenly in midair, the mare began rubbing her chin in contemplation, "Wait… I think I messed that quote up." The alicorn snorted in frustration as she raised and then brought down a single crystal-shod hoof, splitting the ground beneath it in twain. "Try not my patience, chaos spawn!  I will ask you but one more time; where is he?" The pink mare, who was now jumping rope, sighed.  She hopped aside, leaving the rope to spin through the air unattended. "Not he, silly.  I already told you; daddy's still asleep where you left him.  This time it's a she." "She…?" Lune queried in confusion as the light faded from her eyes, "Surely you are not attempting to insinuate that my sister could ever do anything like this?" "Nah… she doesn't get her big screentime until next season." Luna scarcely had time to ponder the meaning of that before the pink mare shoved a box in her face.  The pastel blue and green box was heart shaped, much like the kind young lovers might give their special somepony on Hearts'n'Hooves Day.  Inside however, were not the expected chocolates, but plastic wrapped lemon drops. "You want one?" asked the pink mare as she proceeded to pop one of the sweets –wrapper and all– into her own mouth. Luna only glared in silent riposte. With the box no longer anywhere to be seen, the pink mare simply shrugged her shoulders. "Your loss." She then spat the now empty wrapper from her mouth, having tied it into a bow like the ribbon atop a Hearth's Warming gift.  Before it reached the ground, however, the bow flapped and flew off as though it were a butterfly. "I grow weary of your inane parlor tricks.  Now, if it is not he who sired your kind who has wrought chaos upon the land, then tell me the identity of this she so that I may restore the balance of harmony." Yawning, the pink mare adopted a canine-like posture as she scratched behind one ear with a hind hoof.  She then circled in place once, twice, three times before laying down upon the blue checkered grass and yawning again as her eyes grew heavy and lidded. "Is that really all you ever think about?  Harmony this, balance that…" then lifting her head she gestured to her own mouth as she stuck out her tongue and made a retching motion. "Did you ever stop to consider that maybe you aren't the hero of this story, or if this is even your story at all?  Besides, I couldn't tell you even if I wanted to." "If you will not cooperate willingly," declared the midnight alicorn as her eyes again began to glow menacingly. "I have ways of forcing the information out of you?" Completely without concern the mare waved a dismissive hoof. "Gee… for somepony so old you really can be quite dumb.  How could I tell you the name of a pony you've never met when all of this is just your dream?" "Dream…?" and with that the world was nothing but empty blackness in which Luna stood alone.   A faint sound grew, until it rang out as a sinister laughter, not of the stranger mare, nor of the ancient beast, nor even her insane sister, but of some unfamiliar stranger. … The Princess breathed sharply as her eyes fluttered open and with them brought back the light of the waking world.  Dreams were her domain, and so it was a rare thing for her to have one without awareness of such.  As she rose, Luna wondered, had it truly all been just a dream… or was it perhaps an omen? She turned her gaze to the south-eastern horizon and felt an uneasy dread creep across her.  Something foul, something sour, wafted upon the winds — or maybe it was all just the weary product of her own paranoid imagination mixed with the lingering taste of limoncello on her lips. As a rule Luna abstained from alcoholic intoxicants, but after recent events in a little known hamlet called Oaton, well… there she had seen one family reunited, only to face the prospect of being torn apart again, if only temporarily.  She had also seen another family struggle with the tragic uncertainty of a loved one whose fate still remained uncertain.  More than that though, she had seen so many other families simply rejoicing in a hard earned victory and a new found unity with ponies they had long thought their enemies.  The restless mixture of emotions had left her –not for the first time, and certainly not the last– longing for family of her own. Upon returning to Canterlot she'd taken the bottle of Cavallian liquor from its special shelf in her private study.  Normally she had all the alcohol in the palace kept far away from her, safely stored in the cellars and with her most loyal servants tasked with keeping it guarded, lest she ever attempted to sneak any in a moment of weakness.  This bottle, however, was one of a very few exceptions. Ostensibly it was meant to be shared with visiting dignitaries.  In truth, Luna kept it close at hoof because it had been a gift from Princess Mi Amore Cadenza… the daughter she had once abandoned, and whom she still hadn't ever told the whole truth. Regardless, even in her temptation, Luna had hesitated, leaving the bottle to sit on the corner of her desk as she had read over various pending documents.  Eventually though, she had opened it and inhaled deeply the pungent aroma before allowing herself a single glass before retiring for the afternoon. Maybe that alone was enough to explain her unusual dream.  The bottle was after all very old, perhaps even the last of its vintage, and so might very well have fermented one century too many. In spite of herself, Luna found her gaze lingering on the bottle.  Using her magic, she popped the cork, allowing herself to once again waft in its alluring scent… she briefly considered downing the remaining contents in a single swig, but then what?  Tempting as it might be to further raid the cellars until she'd had her fill –which given her immortal metabolism was a sizable amount indeed– as Princess, however, she had long since resolved never to indulge like that again.  She simply had too many inescapable duties to attend — chiefly at the moment being a series of tedious negotiations with various griffin dignitaries to ensure the myriad treaties with Equestria's northern neighbors remained intact. Re-corking the bottle, the Princess returned to her desk and the arduous process of sorting through the stacks of documents, however, she found her thoughts still distracted by lingering though of the dream.  Most ponies might have already forgotten such a thing, but for Luna dreams were as real as the waking world, which is why it still troubled her that she could have been so easily fooled by it. What could it mean? Luna had faced many foes over the millennia, but there was one who held a special contempt above all others.  Now he was gone though –FOREVER– locked away and buried where the world would never know his blight again… and yet. Had she not once thought Corona also gone forever as well?  And what of the other foes she'd also thought equally vanquished.  Again she thought of recent events in Oaton, and the foul shadow of a greater evil that her apprentice had faced there.  It pleased Luna to know that Trixie had triumphed –if not without great hardship– but what if there were other such shadows still yet lingering elsewhere in Equestria, or even beyond… Then there was also the matter of the date that had been marked on her calendar for nearly 500 years now.  She hoped that now that her apprentice had restored the Elements of Harmony, they could together find a more permanent solution to that particular problem.  In these increasingly uncertain times, however, could she truly rest easy in the naivete that enemies once vanquished would actually remain so? Immortality had never been a burden for Luna, but it did give her perspective.  She could watch the ebb and flow of history as it unfolded and see the cyclical cycles of mortal ponies play out time and time again — both favorable and ill.  Was there perhaps also a grander cycle though, one that even her immortal years had not yet borne witness to?  Was her nation doomed to fight all of its old enemies a second time?  In ages yet to come would there then only be a third, a fourth, a ceaseless struggle that could only be endured, but never stopped? These were thoughts most troubling, but she set them aside.  The mysteries of the future were perhaps best left to the future itself.  That said, she did make a mental note to check once again on the chaos beast's eternal prison, just to make sure every possible precaution was still in place. Not he, silly… This time it's a she. As the dream mare's words echoed in the back of Luna's mind she wondered, might she only be leaping to the wrong interpretation.  If it was an omen, had it perhaps been warning not of an ancient evil returned, but instead of some new danger?  But if so, why would it take a form so similar to her greatest enemy of old.  Unless, could it maybe be… No, that would be impossible.  It was true that her foul nemesis had left behind tainted seeds of his malevolent influence — discordant hybrids, each infused with a fraction of his chaotic escence, but could it really be these children which troubled her mind? The bloodline only grew all the weaker with each passing generation, and as such, it had been well over a millennia since they had all but faded into myth.  Most who still carried the taint went their entire lives without ever even learning of their cursed lineage, while the few who discovered it most often sought to suppress any abilities they unlocked –or more specifically the side-effects– and just lead normal lives as best they could.  Yes, there were always some who tried to abuse such powers, but given how unstable the corrupting influence could be on both body and mind… well, they invariably always proved to be more a danger to themselves than to anypony else. …but could things somehow now have changed.