Chapter XVI .– Surreal Sensations
If the Castle at Brelset was a testament to the abilities that the ancient ones possessed, then the long and spacious keep that wove into the very mountain itself was a veritable shrine to their inconceivable skill. Though many Ekina had been inside the Castle Brelset, Ento himself had never so much as seen the inside of its doors. With an astounding sense of awe, he realized now that those that had ventured inside held a grand privilege, indeed.
As the parade entered into the grand audience chamber, the first thing he noticed was the way it seemed to be carved out of the very walls of the mountain cavern itself. In place of the more common stained-glass windows, there were huge tomes scribed into the stone walls. These were punctuated throughout by magnificent etchings of fierce battles and valiant heroes, a few which he recognized.
There was Entar’Ma the Brave, of course. Amesius’Be, the guard-captain of the original Qa Family Legion- which had evolved into the modern day Centuriori Royal Guard- stood proud and tall along almost half the eastern face. Upon another wall was scribed the epic poem of the original rulers of Strei, its ensuing struggle for peace, and the ruling of the Qa Family.
With an uncomfortable sensation, he realized that not a single tome was written describing the ponies that had fought in the war, though there were several spots that the artistry did seem rushed or unnaturally added.
At the eastern side of the chamber, vast rows of stone benches were carved carefully into the wall of the cave, and they all faced a tall pedestal subjugated by seven moderately-sized metal chairs. These stood for each elder of the original seven families. The pedestal plateaued into two grand metal thrones, inlaid with richly-adorned silken cushions.
With a slight wave from the Lord, Ento watched as the Centuriori splintered off into two groups on steady hooves.
Group one took position around the foot of the royal pedestal while the seven elders took their seats, and the second group ushered themselves and the ponies up onto the benches. A single guard broke off and marched towards Ento, and proceeded to attach a pair of ebony-metal cuffs to his forelegs.
Great, Ento thought wearily, a prisoner, yet again. As the locks snapped into place around his ankles, though, he felt a familiar sinking feeling threatening to overtake him. The angry defiance that had lit up from seeing Twilight’s pain was slowly being replaced by blind panic as the reality of the situation dawned on him. He swallowed hard as he turned to face the Lord and Lady, who sat regally upon their imposing metal thrones. A side-long glance revealed that everyone else had settled themselves in the stand seats.
“Ento’Ba, son of Krya’Ba, son of Alseoir’Ba,” boomed the bearded Ekina’s opulent voice, “It seems we have found you in a particularly… uneventful position this day.” The Lord smirked at his manacled subject. As he leaned forward, Ento remarked silently that his eyes stood bloodshot, and felt his own eyes ache as sleep pried at his conscious mind. He tried to stand taller as the Lord’s voice went on.
“The Princesses Celestia and Luna have discovered you in their land, and we here discover you in violation of the Law of Origins,” boomed the Lord. Within the grand chamber, his voice was magnified ten-fold by the hard stone walls. Ento flinched as the Lady’s shrill voice continued on for her husband’s.
“Ancient law decrees a jurisdiction be called the following light of twilight to decide the fate of you, the guilty party. It is, at that time, that we will decide an appropriate punishment for your transgressions.” At the last word, the Lady bent forward in her tall throne the same as her husband, sending a depreciative glance down at her prisoner. Her glaring eye stood as brilliant and emotionless as ice. “Do you understand?”
“Yes,” Ento croaked. He hadn’t used his voice in hours, and stopped to clear his throat. He added another quick yes with more emphasis. The Lady lay back in her throne, nodding slightly.
“Very well.” She paused, and gestured with a graceful hoof towards the princesses’ hooded forms. She accompanied the motion with a glance that was just as cold as her voice. “And, of course, ancient law dictates the presence of the returning parties. Celestia and Luna, rooms have been prepared for you in the eastern wing. You are to remain there until the hearing begins, and to be unseen throughout the trial as impassive observers, nothing more. I do not want to hear a word out of you, for reasons I am sure you already know.” Ento watched smugly as she shot Twilight a similar glare, her voice dripped with barely-contained contempt. “And I trust that your… guest will stay out of trouble while she is here? I do not know why you have brought her along, but I want no trouble from any of you.”
The white-robed princess nodded curtly.
“Twilight Sparkle is a fellow Princess of Equestria. I have brought her here under her request, and she will follow my word to the letter. We will, all of us, show the utmost respect for your land while we are your guests here.” The sun princess’s voice reverberated off the walls with the same stately power that the Lord and Lady held. This emitted a deep sigh from the chestnut-maned Ekina as she reclined delicately in her throne. She turned back to Ento, who felt pricks of ice on the back of his neck as the Lady’s animosity shifted onto him.
“Very well. This assembly is thus far disbanded. Official jurisdiction will meet at the first light of twilight.” The matron’s spell was broken from Ento as a gentle mumble of multiple hooves clopped down the stone stairs and departed down the western hall to their respective chambers. A guard nudged Ento forcefully in the opposite direction, and proceeded to slip a rough blind over his eyes. All vision was lost to blackness as he stumbled sightlessly into a maw that, he realized, would lead to his untimely demise.
. . . .
A single stump of a candle burned in the corner of the cramped room, casting gruesome shadows on the flat walls as a robed figure paced back and forth from one end to the other. The figure’s sweeping robe billowed around her as she turned, and a fiercely determined look lay planted upon her features as she looked at the room before her. A single metal-frame featherbed sat in the corner, accompanied by a small wooden table, on which the solitary candle burned away meticulously.
But she wasn’t alone in the chamber. With a cursory glance, she looked over at the two figures hidden in the shadows that stained each corner in murky blackness. One stood prostrate, head bobbing slightly. A smirk of unbridled hatred was its only definitive mark, and, lit up by the candle, the thin smile seemed to be smeared on the wall by some cruel artist.
The other phantom sat huddled up into itself, acting as if the further it receded from the light, the safer it would become, almost as though it were trying to be absorbed into the very stone wall itself. A scathing voice called out from the right-most corner.
“Ento seemed awfully happy to see you, didn’t he, Twi?” Anger’s sneer turned to a simpering grimace, voice dropping to a mocking tone. “Of course, who wouldn’t love to see the very pony that put him in this awful mess, am I right?” Anger turned to the whimpering form next to her with a similarly-demeaning look. “Really, Fear. Is now the time to be cowering in a corner? Can’t you see Twilight is busy trying to come up with some half-assed plan?” A sharp, barking laugh split out in the room, making Twilight wince slightly.
This only incited Fear’s sniveling cries. Between choking sobs and sniffs, Twilight heard her pitiful psyche call out to her, pleading.
“P-Please Twilight. No more, no more, I can’t take it! Just stay here. It’s pointless to try anything, especially now. We’re stuck in the manticor’s den, and for all we know, they’ll kill us, too!” Fear hid behind her snarled-up mane, moaning aloud and covering her head in bloody hooves as Anger simply laughed at her tortured suffering.
But Twilight wasn’t about to give in to these false feelings. She knew they were only a trick of the mind, somepony’s gruesome idea of a joke. With a determined glare, she set to pacing once more.
How I am going to see Ento before this trial is called? Twilight thought to herself, ideas popping away in her ever-active mind. Her plan was solid. She knew that it couldn’t possibly fail. She’d run it a hundred times over in succession. Each projected outcome had come as close to each other as was physical possible.
Now, she just had to figure out how to execute it. She could feel her brain physically racking itself as it went through list after list of spells that she knew by heart.
“How cute. She thinks she knows what to do. Now, this will prove fun,” the harsh voice called out from the shadows. Only a mumbled sob could be heard as a response. Twilight went on, ignoring the phantasms.
Teleportation spell? No, she thought, much too loud. He’s certain to have guards in the vicinity of him. And I don’t know the layout of this castle. For all I know, I could materialize in a room with some fifty other guards. Her face sunk at this thought, but she picked up her pace as another thought jumped into consciousness.
“Just give it up, Twilight.” A sigh.
Confusion hex? No, no, she contemplated, adding a solemn shake of her head for emphasis. I only know how to stun somepony for a brief time, and only one or two of them at that. The guards would know what I was doing as soon as the spell wore off anyhow.
“Idiot.” Twilight could hear the harsh scowl in Anger’s voice.
“Please, Twilight… Come away and just get in bed…”
Twilight felt her smile lessen dramatically at the pair’s jeering. Looking at the candle that sat in the corner, though, she felt a similar flicker of inspiration.
Candle… Light… Illumination… illuminationis… Falsum illuminationis! That’s it!! She felt her small smile return as the idea hit her. Walking up to the candle, she contemplated it carefully: the cherry-red flame burned away joyfully, absolutely oblivious to the fact that it would soon be extinguished from forces outside its own control.
“What are you doing?” said the irritated voice. The pitch jumped dramatically as Anger’s ire cracked slightly. It knew that it was losing its grip on Twilight’s mind. “Get away from there, Twilight! Don’t you dare…!” it commanded furiously, rage rising as it tried, vainly, to move from its static position.
Closing her eyes, Twilight incited the spell she knew from memory. She felt the familiar sense of building energy growing just behind her skull.
“Falsum illuminationis.” A solitary whisper.
With a crackle, the single flame was extinguished, damning the cold stone room to pitch black darkness.
. . . .
“Did you hear that?” Luna interrupted her sister. Celestia, mouth still open mid-sentence, glanced over at the moon princess, who sat on her bed, head cocked and ears pricked up. Celestia cocked her head similarly, straining to hear anything that she possibly could.
But there was nothing to listen to. Even with a bit of magic to expand her keen hearing, she heard nothing but Luna’s bated breath and her own drumming heartbeat. She felt her face fall slightly as she turned back to her sister.
“Luna… I don’t hear anything. Are you sure...?” The princess was cut off by Luna’s deliberate gesture for silence. A few moments of muffled stillness hung in the air once more, and Celestia felt the inane urge to roll her eyes. As she waited for whatever this was to pass, she looked around the room. The stone walls were of a similar fashion to that of the audience chamber: carved straight out of solid rock, they stood garishly-painted in surrealistic forms. The beds they both sat on were splendid and well-made, stacked high with small silk pillows. A cheerful fire burned in the corner, lighting up the room grandly, along with several candles that sat lazily around the room. Finally, her sister let out a curt snort and turned to Celestia.
“I thought I had heard something coming past the hall. Guess I was mistaken,” she said plainly. “Now, what were you saying, sister?”
Celestia cleared her throat, and sat up to her full height. What she had been discussing deserved the utmost importance, after all.
“I was saying, maybe this whole situation is a catalyst for something much bigger. Perhaps we should take the opportunity that we have been given here in order to re-establish diplomacy with the Ekina. After all, a thousand and a half years should have put some salve on the wounds of old, yes?” She glanced at the dark princess, a hopeful glimmer shining in her heart at her sister’s reaction.
The feeling soured, though, when she saw Luna’s face drop drastically. She snorted once again, though this time it was not in annoyance.
“Celestia, I hardly doubt this is an appropriate time to open up diplomacy with the Ekina. We've just returned with a prisoner of their own land. They suspect us of framing him, as well.”
“They do not, Luna. I think—” Celestia interjected, but was cut off by her sister mid-sentence.
“It pries at their thoughts, you know this! They are creatures that can hardly be trusted. It has been this way since we have first met them.” Luna’s gaze turned icy cold. “Need I remind you what they have done to us? To Equestria?” The darkness that swirled in the ebony mare’s eyes almost dared her sister to give a retort. Fully taken aback, Celestia found it took every fiber of her self-control not to flinch under her sister’s leer.
“I—” Celestia’s voice cracked slightly. Panicking, she repeated herself, trying to calm the uncomfortable sensations that pried at her emotions. “I think that there is no harm in trying. What damage could come from simply requesting to open up talks between the Lord and Lady? Honestly. It would certainly be the best for the kingdom, for everypony!” she shot quickly as her sister’s gaze grew more and more shady.
Something seemed to click in Luna’s demeanor, however. Although her gaze softened, and her mannerisms evened out slowly, Celestia still caught an anxious energy about her. With a slight sigh, Luna said:
“I suppose so, sister. As you said, I guess it really can’t hurt to just try.”
Celestia nodded along.
“Yes, yes. We will make sure to open up the option whenever we can with the royal pair.” Celestia paused, eyes brightening expressively at the thought. “It will be wonderful! Ponies and Ekina together. Just think of the incredible things that Equestria will gain from this union!” She glanced over to her sister approvingly. Luna simply shook her head morbidly.
“We are here to overlook the fate of a helpless traveler, not pave way for some grand new unification, even if it were to make every pony’s life that much better. I think you are too focused on the big picture here, my dear sister. It seems too much time alone on the royal throne has distorted your sense of individualism.” She shot her sister a look that could only be described as imprudent. Celestia countered her sister’s statement, perhaps more cynically than she meant to.
“And it seems being gone for so long has numbed your sense of duty before personal worth.”
“Time alone has given me far more individual perception than you will ever hope to gain, Celestia,” Luna refuted in a dark tone that was far more than familiar to the two.
The mare’s eyes met, interlocking; light pools of calm violet clashed with dark puddles of inky blackness. A tense sensation sat over the princess’ chambers, seeming to slow time itself down to a stagger. The argument was no novelty. The pair had been sharing the same disagreement since Luna had returned from exile.
Finally, though, time picked back up. The pair broke the spell that held them both over, and glanced down in similar expressions of shameful guilt for having been so obstinate to one another.
The crackling fire pervaded the silence that hung in the room. Almost as a casual afterthought, Celestia broke the stillness after a time with a question to her sister.
“What do you think about Twilight being here?”
Luna snorted. Celestia merely held back a smile. She knew Luna was privately jealous of her old student, and never stopped reminding her of it.
“I think you’ve made a grave error in bringing her here, Celestia,” she said, shaking her head slowly. “I've seen the way she looks at the Ekina colt. She holds a strong attraction towards him. Not to mention, she is an incredibly headstrong pony. I doubt that we'll get through this evening without a single comment from her.”
Celestia’s face dropped slightly to hear this from her sister. She had been expecting a completely different reaction from Luna.
“How do you know she has feelings for Ento?” she inquired carefully. Luna’s face turned enigmatic, about as readable as the inky blackness of a moonless night sky.
“I can see it in the pull of her spirit. The two of them, there is something incredible about them, as a whole.” She nodded slightly as she said this. “Being the princess of the night comes with far more powers of perception than you might think, dear sister,” she added, as the sun princess’s face grew more and more puzzled.
It was Celestia’s turn to huff in irritated confusion. Shaking her head, she said, “Regardless, Twilight will listen to what I say. I’ve never known her to stray from my word, and do not expect her to do so here. She knows the consequences of her actions, especially given the circumstances.” She glanced at her sister deliberately, putting emphasis that this was her final word on the matter.
Luna did not seem content with the answer she had been given. Shaking her head once more, she spoke solemnly.
“You would be surprised what love can do, Celestia. And you will be stunned, shocked, bewildered, and amazed.” She glanced darkly at her sister. Her inky black eyes swirled with a hidden intensity that made Celestia want to shout out in uneasiness.
Instead, a small shiver escaped as she felt a spidery sensation crawl up her spine. Blaming the reaction on the coolness of the room, she promptly got up to find another log to add to the fireplace.
. . . .
Luna found it curious that her sister didn’t use magic to retrieve the logs, instead choosing to walk into the next room and retrieve the wood by hoof. Though, she was glad of the short time to herself.
Celestia’s gung-ho attitude about putting the kingdom before herself concerned her deeply. She knew it was her job, though. Hay, it was both their job to make sure Equestria was put before anypony else...
But it had taken her back significantly to hear that Celestia hadn’t so much as noticed Twilight’s slight movements, fleeting glances, and veiled feelings towards Ento. Fighting off the whole town for an alien stranger... What motivation could there be in it other than love? Even Luna had seen it as blazingly obvious, though she had never mentioned it to Celestia.
Maybe my sister is losing her grip, she thought morbidly. Maybe I do need to intervene. A princess is nothing but a figurehead without a heart, after all… Luna could feel dark thunderclouds rolling around in her mind as she tried to tackle the difficult thoughts that sprung up.
It’s settled, she thought finally. This evening, things go in a drastically different direction. I love you, sister, but I must show you what’s happening to you in the only way I think will work.
Luna was so enraptured in her thoughts that she didn’t even notice as Celestia entered the room with a large log gripped in her magic.
“Is everything okay, Luna?” the alicorn, genuinely concerned for her sister as she spotted the darkening look that sat on her features. Luna felt her mind crack back into reality, and glanced over to her sister as she placed the log onto the fire.
“Yes, yes. Just... tired, is all, my dear sister.” Luna looked into the fire as sparks swirled around the hot coals that smoldered away in the stone fireplace. She felt the all-too familiar tug of bittersweet revelation at her heart as she watched Celestia smile sidelong at the crackling fire.