Land of Friendship and Magic

by Archmage Ansrit


Soul-Searching Travel

(Last night)

Luna took a step, beckoning her sister to follow.

The way was a river of stars, and the distance - for all the meaning that word had there - was composed of nebulous colors and glinting lights.

Celestia tentatively stepped onto the star-road, seeing to the sides in hopes of seeing a comet or something that would distract her from the sometimes-empty places her hooves were standing on.

In her defense, she was still half-asleep because she had once again just popped every duplicate at once and had twenty different petitions, four court cases, and at least two novels land in her mind at once.

Still, sleep had never been more restful since her sister had been returned to her side. Even now, Luna was laying down next to her back in the waking world, and that alone comforted her.

Luna took out the mirrored scroll - that is, her own memories of having it - and held it in front of her as if a portable window to see what she intended to see.

“You choose what you want to see.” Luna said, holding the mirror towards her. “And I choose to see the way to Typhon’s mind.”

She started cantering forward despite holding a completely-blackened scroll, startling Celestia, who trotted slightly more hurriedly to be side to side.

“I do not think that was the intended meaning, sister.” Celestia commented, making Luna chuckle.

“I have said the same to him on occasion.” She replied, and the scroll presented a scene upon its surface.

”While We appreciate the containment of the flood, that was not the intended meaning of Our call to ‘freeze’.” The projected Luna said to a younger Typhon.

”Words, semantics, and loose definitions are my tools, Luna.” He answered, breaking off a spike from the frozen wave that held back the rest of the river that had suddenly risen to three times its usual flow from a freak storm blown in from the sea. ”Check this out - transmutation, so now it’s grape juice. Ta-da! Instant popsicle!”

He had slapped it with a glove that appeared on his hand as quickly as it vanished, making a light and leaving the icicle purple in color.

“It was a refreshing treat, to be sure.” Luna awkwardly commented as the scroll returned to a black, featureless ‘map’.

That was why you were so glad when you received an ice-box full of them after your first day back.” Celestia was surprised by another realization. “And he probably had them sent in the first place.”

“I think there is something here.” Luna said, approaching a vaporous bubble giving off a flowery scent. “It is not what we are looking for, but it is in the way.”

The sisters entered, only to see the human form of Kat Shifter, planting flowers along a pony - a pegasus mare. They were ‘far’, however, so whatever the human had said that made the mare laugh was lost to the ‘distance’. The world around them blurred, Kat remaining on her knees with a spade in her hand - once everything focused again, they were in front of the small cottage belonging to Fluttershy, with the usually shy pony happily chatting as she lowered a few seeds into the upturned earth.

Then everything started to fade to nothing - Fluttershy faster than the scenery, leaving the human alone on her knees, tears streaming down her cheeks.

Celestia moved closer, but before she could offer words of comfort, or just be there, they, too, faded back into the ever-changing realm of dreams.

Luna wordlessly drapped a wing over her sister.

“Everyone always has a chance at happiness.” Celestia said resolutely. “She does not have to sit in the dark forever.”

“Sister, do remember that the Dark is much more forgiving, allowing us our weaknesses and tears.” Luna held her sister tightly as the scroll turned into a scene of Celestia blowing out a candle, leaving her in the darkness of night to cry for her lost sister.

“I know, I just-” She was interrupted by Luna nudging her chin with her muzzle, leaving the two of them in the silence of the land between dreams.

They continued like that, Luna using her own nature and bond with Celestia to hide her, as her Light might attract unwanted attention. Celestia, for her part, allowed herself to be guided, blanking her own mind with the training she had gained in magic, while trying to ambush Typhon, and while relaxing after a stressful day dealing with unpleasant petitioners.

Anything looking for them would have to run into them by chance, and so they were not putting Typhon himself at risk.

“Maybe if I were to think of the familiars it would help bridge us closer.” Luna said, and the scroll once more changed into a screen.

“Oh, Kind Fluttershy, it is lovely!” The Luna from the past spoke with the shy mare, who was cradling a pink spider the size of a rugby ball.

”Isn’t he a cutie?” She responded, snuggling the arachnid and nuzzling him fondly. ”He came out of one of those papers.”

The representation of Fluttershy pointed at something beyond the reach of the screen, causing it to pan to the right and focus on a small stack of papers.

”Ah, these are Typhon’s spells.” Past Luna clarified, holding one in front of her. ”The ways he mixes runic languages and makes them mingle are interesting, but I never had the chance to examine one up close like this.”

”Yes; he said I could have some, that I would like them.” Fluttershy replied as she snuggled what Celestia thought was a huge pink monstrosity that she would never want to see Live.

”Hmm… I cannot read this - too many different runes.” The Luna from the memory pursed her lips. ”I understand small parts that speak of ‘bring the spirit-heart into the world’, ‘refer to the scroll of the body’ and what is either ‘anchor to the honorable tag’ or ‘centered on the divinely-respected note’... runes are nuanced like such.”

”What do you do, little one?” Fluttershy asked the spider with a motherly tone, making Celestia shudder and grimace - she thanked she was merely looking at a memory, and not actually there.

The spider spat - spat! - a pink wad at the door, which made it become wrapped in pink silk all over, and likely glued it shut.

Celestia was really glad she was not there.

”Remarkable.” Of course Luna would think that - she had managed to give huge tarantulas their own section of the Royal Gardens! Those ‘Goths’ that kept Luna company during the night… Celestia would never understand them.

“Those spells are more like citations - footnotes calling for a bookmarked place in another document.” Luna added. “They direct the magic to the true spell elsewhere, then retrieve it, apparently without regard to distance.”

Celestia was just grateful she didn’t have to look at the huge spider any more.

They walked some more, Luna directing through the strange whims of her apparently-blank map.

They came across several black… things - according to Luna, those were objects exiled from their world into the Void (Celestia was slightly worried that they had managed to cross over to there without her noticing). However, the Void does not play by the usual rules - in regular ‘space’, the odds of something with the size of the black spheres hitting something at all were minimal; something of importance, even fewer… something that might be in actual, direct danger from the exiled artifact? Infinitesimal…

But the Void has no rules, and probability was no different.

After dodging a sphere that whispered ‘crystals’ or somesuch, things became much quieter, making it easier for Celestia to keep herself from ‘shining’.

Sometimes, she could have sworn they were doubling back…

Still, no rules - so no rule saying that tracing back your steps will actually lead back where you started.

“Is there something more that could get us closer to wherever, whenever he hides his mind?” Celestia whispered; having lost track of time had always bothered her more than her sister.

“I think he once spoke of crafting golems…”

The scroll’s blackness twisted.

*****

It was never focused much.

Move.

Movement.

Nothing else had much importance, or place; just movement for the sake of movement. It did not think to think of ‘place’, actually. Just Space, which was filled with movement, but with movement… moving… there was always space to fill, because movement lacked where it had moved from.

That was OK, because there was still movement.

Just movement.

Then there was ‘other’.

Other movement. Movement not It, but movement all the same.

It moved with that other movement, and attention was brought to other things. The movement was many things - speed, direction - that were identified. Distance, that which made the not-It movement not-It - Separate! Another concept. Coordination - one moved in one ‘way’ while the other in a different one, maybe with the same ‘speed’, maybe not; after speed, came ‘timing’ and after ‘timing’ came ‘rhythm’.

Dance.

The space was filled with dance, and movements gained meaning.

Then the other stopped.

It was moving around Other, having learned of distance, to measure the size of Other.

This other movement was so much more than It. And it gave It a choice: Move away, dance through the space with all It had gained already, or become more like Other.

Other was not yet clear, but It could feel Other. Other taught. Movement not of body, but information - another new thing. There was communication, words, but not ‘voice’, not yet…the little shaking of space was ‘noise’, and it was a form of movement - sometimes noise had meaning, but other times it did not.

Confusing, but Other was smart, and patient - another thing! How could Other resist moving for so long? How could Other decide to repeat the same movements over and over just to help It understand them? Other was smart, and Other had words - many, many words with meanings.

‘Noise’ became ‘sound’, and sound could become ‘music’ using rhythm. Music moved something besides space, just like dancing did; besides It or space, that was. It was shaken, deep ‘inside’ - the shaking was felt, but not felt.

Time was a thing. Time did not ‘wait’ like Other did; Time waited for nothing, making It think that maybe Time was not able to wait. Other said Other could make Time wait for Other, but there was ‘risk’. Danger, risk, so opposite to that shaking that came from music and dance that it was hard to comprehend.

Still, appreciation of Time was learned.

There was movement within Other. A beat with a very special rhythm.

Th-thump. Th-thump. Th-thump.

Time became important, as Time was the measure of the beat. This beat was part of Other, and it was important to Other, and... and Other was important to It, so Time was important. If the beat was fast it meant one thing; slow meant another thing - but too fast or too slow was a problem, as the movement would be all wrong for the space within Other.

There was another choice; go away with the knowledge already gained, or get even closer to Other.

After the choice, Other taught more difficult things. Light, Darkness, things so much, much more difficult. Color became something, and it was fascinating. Color was Light that moved in a specific way, and colors could be moved, then placed, so that they would cause that ‘shaking’ inside; colors could move, too, and with colors and dance and music Other and others like Other could make magnificent things.

Color and Light and Dark became ‘Picture’; moving pictures became ‘Animated’.

Other taught affection - something It could now understand, because It held Affection for Other, and now could tell what the shaking was. The lessons that came later sometimes helped understand the lessons that came earlier. Other cared for It - Other cared for a lot of things.

The inner-shaking from music and dance became Emotion, Fun. Fun was great! It wanted more emotion.

It wanted to become more like Other, because Other made It more than something that just moved. Other cared for a lot of things, and It wanted to know those things, maybe even care for them as It was cared for.

Other gave 'voice'.

"I want to learn."

"You have to change."

"All these wonders you teach; what change would that be?"

"You need to come with me."

"What would happen to me?"

"You would become something amazing. You would become part of a World."

It agreed.

Mind. Heart. Knowledge... that and more was given.

-----

She opened her eyes for the very first time, coming face-to-face with Typhon.

"Hello. Your name is Irida." She heard, and she knew; it was written in her as was his name.

I-ri-da… colors being called forth in a name.

"Hi, Typhon." That, too, was written. Her voice was a ‘melody’, composed by being written first, then turned into a pattern, then that pattern engraved in her.

It was written on the things that made her- in the things that made her; she was made of things! Lots of little things, with some of those telling the others how to make her, and told her how to make herself do things. She was made of the things, and she told the things what to do - some things they did on their own, because it was easier that way. Numbers, the things she was seeing! So much to do! Where to start?

"Let me show you your home."

'Home'... it was something special; being in a home, and being accepted as part of that home, was...

There was a response - a procedure, almost.

"I'm home."

“Welcome home.”

*****

“Alright, that’s enough of that.” A familiar voice, if slightly deeper, said as the scroll was lowered and taken from the sisters by a gloved hand.

“Typhon?” They both asked, turning to the human.

He was wearing a radically-different kind of glasses, as the current pair was round, smaller, orange - almost yellow - and covered the sides in such a way there was no angle in which his eyes could be seen; his hair was longer (huh, it was a very open wave, not completely straight, Celestia noted) and one of his bangs covered part of his face; he was wearing a scarlet Ulster coat with the cape not quite reaching the elbows, while he wore a suit of a deep, dark grey underneath with a large red cravat - of the bow variety - and black boots; crowning his head - and they somehow thought it was appropriate to describe it as such - was a wide-brimmed hat of the same color as the overcoat, a center dent and with white bands instead of a more-traditional ribbon.

“No, I’m Carmen Sandiego! Guess where I am!” He grinned, revealing that his canines were abnormally-long for some reason.

He patted his cheeks sharply, as if trying to rid himself from sleep.

“Sorry, sorry. Couldn’t resist - I’m just a fragment, you know? One of the myriad Facets that comprise the whole, see?” He relaxed, inhaling deeply to calm down.

“What do you represent, then?” Celestia asked with trepidation - she was dealing with a rather-uncomfortable variant of someone that took her by surprise often, so it was easy to guess why.

“I am his desire to take enthusiastic walks through the woods.” He happily replied, with a grin to match.

“And find somepony to sink your teeth into, I take it.” Luna deadpanned.

Very enthusiastic walks.” He responded, and started chuckling for a moment, before breaking into roaring laughter, unsettling Celestia even more, and making Luna feel awkward.

“I cannot believe I got to say that one!” He guffawed. “I mean, I even dress the part!”

He abruptly put a hand over his mouth, forcing back his laughs - even if he had to choke on them for a bit.

He coughed - politely - into his hand, and once more tried calming himself through a breathing exercise.

“I apologize; I am, as you could have guessed had you recognized the reference in my wardrobe choice, Typhon’s darkest Facet.” He made a grand, sweeping bow and scrape, taking off his hat and placing it over his heart. “Bloodlust, at your service.”

“Dark- I see.” Luna muttered under her breath. “It does make sense.”

“Doesn’t it?” He smiled more gently, and offered his arm to the princess he had the closest; Luna. “May I escort you so that you don’t reveal memories unnecessarily?”

“How would we walk like that?” Celestia asked with a raised brow; she recognized the gesture, but it was an awkward one for a quadruped.

“You don’t; it was a distraction.” He chuckled again and turned around, grabbed at something like he would a doorknob, and twisted.

They walked out of was apparently a supply closet, if the label on the door was to be believed; Celestia thought it wasn’t.

The place was, contrary to expectations, an attic with large windows that let in large amounts of sunlight. It was full of boxes with labels such as ‘Crystal-Floater airship: Eureka - pronounced eu-RE-ka, not jui-REE-ka-’, and ‘Angel-class, Defense-intensive, (Remember to pick a name) (Alexis, Mimi, Gwendolyn, Rachel) (Remember to get the sisters’ help for this one)’.

“So! What can I do for you?” Bloodlust asked, twirling in place and letting himself fall backwards - a high chair rose from the ground to intercept him, however. He crossed his legs as he slouched sideways, propping himself up with his elbow.

“You are awfully cordial for someone that threatened to cut down a god and overshadowed the spirit of a demonic sword.” Celestia pointed out, feeling somewhat confused given that it was odd even by his standards.

“I am still me; I just loathe to hurt people, but there is only so much one can take, you know?” He shrugged. “Still, I do not walk too far away from Mercy... it’s just that I enjoy breaking my enemies thoroughly, pushing them to the edge both physically and mentally, breaking apart their worldview piece…by…piece…”

He stopped to inhale as if savoring some phantom scent, and his throaty chuckles of satisfaction made the princesses remember how much of a threat he could have chosen to be.

“Still, if they stop being a threat, then my work is done and I pass them over to Mercy and Kindness. They build them back up.” He turned to the side, using the throne-like chair’s armrests for his legs and back. “My job is looking for the fatal lapses in concentration and defense, not babysitting the stuff I beat.”

“We just wanted to be sure everything was stable, mentally…” Celestia mentioned. “It is hard to be sure when you are like, well, like that.”

“You want stable? Fine, you got it.” He snapped his fingers, and then both sisters found themselves on a cloud, overseeing a forest; in the distance, they could see a mountain with some structures on it not unlike Canterlot, but more fortified.

Opposite to the mountain - well, there was Typhon, the complete one if his choice of apparel was any indication; behind him, however, was an impossibly-large tree with several accesses built into its trunk, and likely inhabited, if the tiny dots flying in and out were any indication. Large forests lay at the tree’s base, some on mountains, some with tiny structures poking through their canopies, rivers and lakes crossing and dotting the green sprawls, with the occasional snowy area thrown in for good measure.

To one side, ’South’, something told them, mountains were much more common - although none as tall as the mountain that that ‘something’ told them lied at the ‘center’. Forests gave way to jungles, then hotter and hotter climates, until ‘South’ became desertic and volcanic areas. Even then, there were signs of life.

To what could only be ‘North’, snowy areas became more frequent, until the climate, too, changed back into tropical expanses of nature…side-to-side with glaciers and polar areas. The land opened into a sea without any visible end, with islands of all imaginable varieties and sizes on it. Neither sister had any doubts about finding inhabitable structures there, given that it looked like there were massive ships both upon the water and the skies... and they were reasonably sure that some of those islands were moving.

Cloud structures were ubiquitous, although most of the ones they could see - and largest and most elaborate - were close to the central spire-like mountain.

“Hey there.” Typhon waved at them. “Sorry for that, but making golems is our little personal recipe, and I’d like to keep it like that for a little while longer.”

“Like that box that said ‘Familiar for Luna’?” The very intended addressee asked.

“Kinda - look, when I left Earth, we didn’t even have the tools necessary to create the tools required to create nanotechnology; real tiny factories that assembled the required microscopic product. Then again, magic hadn’t progressed that far, either... so I did as I am prone to doing, and cheated. I went to 'more advanced' worlds, I also had computers to make the calculations, and magic to assemble the golems - you can see why I want to keep that secret.”

“While having a golem crafter playing around with the building blocks of life is just one more in a long list of concerns, the current one seems more relevant.” Celestia gestured with a wing towards the tree - a large cluster of dots more specifically. “I question the wisdom of splintering your mind and soul in so many fragments.”

“What, those?” Typhon turned around, even though he did not need it. “Nah, those are... Tulpas and spirits and yokai and all sorts of crazy things.”

“Wait, is this not your mind then?” Luna asked in bewilderment - she had come across complex mindscapes, so this was not that much of a surprise, but then-

“It is! It is; those are mostly... representations of friends and spirits I’ve contracted and such.” He rolled his shoulders. “I’ve worked with many of them, after all; both here and inside the Void.”

“Mostly?” But of course the princesses were perceptive enough to notice!

“It’s what we do.” He shrugged. “We let people in - we trust them. My mind just... has a different level of malleability, that’s all.”

“And is it still sound?” Luna asked, with a heart-warming amount of concern, it should be noted.

“Of course! Why wouldn’t it be?”

“There were reports of strange storms deeper into the Badlands.” Celestia stated. “Lightning doesn’t strike in quite that way outside of some of the Anomalies.”

“I’m being compared to wild, wild magic and space-time distortions now? I’m flattered.” He spoke with a kind of half-sincere, half-mocking cheer that reminded the sisters way too much of Discord to be entirely comfortable. “I was training, girls; that’s going to be the site for my all-out with the Kings, and I need to make sure everything is kept contained.”

“And you are certain nothing is troubling you?” Luna asked.

“Not really - if anything, I’m much better than both of you.” He shot back in reply, making them blink.

“What?” Celestia grimaced; that had sounded a lot less intelligent than she wanted to appear.

“Excuse me, but We do not have representations of our inner darkness proclaiming they are our desire to exercise.” Luna deadpanned.

“And that is why you are bored all the time.” Typhon tuted and shook his head. “But now, seriously; this is nothing to be worried about.”

"We would like more than simply your word." Celestia's deadpan expression simply reinforced what Typhon already had guessed.

"Well, how about going through the experience?" He asked, pulling a sword out of nowhere - the one with the brush on its hilt, the same he was holding when he had 'died', they noted.

"And what would said 'experience' entail?" Luna asked, carefully watching how he reversed the sword, holding it by its scabbard.

"Why, the trials of character I went through, of course." He spoke as he passed the brush over the cloud; stone greeted their eyes where the brushstrokes passed, and then, while they were focused on that drawing, it expanded to cover everything around them.

The scene was that of a large cave, every stalagmite, wall, and rock looking as if it had been painted into existence like his familiars did.

"Please, sit down, let's open our chakras." He plopped down on the ground, legs crossed and hands resting upon his knees.

"I've heard about them." Celestia mumbled to herself as she sat on her haunches. She 'removed' her regal attire, which, being simply a mental projection of herself, merely involved thinking about it.

"I remember hearing about them, as well." Luna replied, more for her own ears than anything, but following Celestia's example. "Were they not supposed to be difficult to open?"

"Ah, that is the beauty of living in our world, and for so long, as well. Here, take this." Typhon smiled as he offered them a pair of bowls with something... weird in them. "You have been through everything already - you need simply to acknowledge it and to realize it. Besides, ours is a world of fantasy; internal conflict can be externally-represented and dealt with much faster than in the world of my birth, as magic is the... semi-tangible expression of our spirits - at the least, you can feel it and interact with it, as opposed to Earth, where it can and has taken people an entire lifetime to find the kind of self-realization and fulfillment that foals go through when they find their cutie marks."

"If they find it at all, you mean." Celestia said as she took her own bowl.

"Bingo."

Luna took a mouthful from the bowl, only to spit it back out the next moment.

"It tastes like pureed bananas with onions!" She exclaimed, making Celestia take a tentative taste only to spit it back out as her sister had done.

"Because that's what it has!" He cheerfully gulped down from his own bowl, then upended it to show it had been drained. "Yum yum!"

"You did this yourself, right?"

"Of course."

"So there's no chance you'll give us anything else until we're done." That was a statement, not a question.

"None whatsoever."

"Fine."

"We'll start with the Earth chakra; it's located at the bottom of the spine... well, for ponies would be below the dock, I guess." He rubbed the back of his head. "It has to do with survival instinct, mental stability, sense of security, and it's blocked by fear."

Both of them flinched slightly.

"What is it that you fear? This is the realm of mind and spirit; let them show themselves clearly before your eyes."

Luna's seat broken and empty, vacant. Twilight/ /Sparkle lying down on the cold stone floor, lifelessly, body/ /broken and limp between her hooves, the task having been too much for the young/ /mare. The only living soul in a desolation of eternal starlight.

"Remember, this might be your mind, but it is not real. You are worried about the survival of others, over your own; that is proof of your love towards them, but you need to have more faith. Have faith, both in yourselves, and in their own abilities; Twilight Sparkle is an exceptional pony, and you need to let go of that fear. Acknowledge it, but do not let fear cloud your mind and choke down your magic."

Celestia wiped away the tears on her eyes, taking a calming breath; opening her eyes, she was greeted with the image of Twilight, smiling up at her and wearing her Element. Blinking, even that vision disappeared, but Luna remained at her side, as she had been since that day.

Luna was not alone, nor consumed by the forces she herself had invited in her grief. Celestia was beside her, and that would not change without either sister fighting it.

After Typhon drew on the floor, they saw water through the window of 'ink'. They sat on a rock by a riverbed, with a large waterfall to their left, and the ocean further to the right.

"Next is water, at the sacrum; it deals with relationships, basic emotional needs, and pleasure; it governs reproduction, creativity, joy, and enthusiasm. It's blocked by guilt... what do you blame yourselves for?"

"I... I nearly wiped away the life of the world." Luna whispered.

"I've hurt so many po- people; you included." Celestia said. "I-I banished my own sister, without thinking-"

"There, there. All that is in the past - learn from it, but do not allow it to poison your mind. Celestia, while there truly were other options, all of them were much riskier, both to you, other ponies, and even Luna herself; you might have had problems, but you truly wish for the betterment of everyone, without regard as to how they have hurt you or could hurt you - that is something that is very rare, and I want to extend that same courtesy to you, not to mention that that involved my own failings which I have to correct. Luna, while that was one of the possible outcomes, you didn't; you didn't, and that is what matters; you were in pain, alone, lost, and confused, but if you are to truly learn from it, help your sister, and become the princess you were - and are meant to be, then you need to forgive yourself."

Luna smiled and sighed at the same time. That was not too different from what she had been told over and over by both her sister, and Twilight and company - the ponies most in direct danger from her weakness and delusion.

Celestia wondered what he meant, or how he intended to correct his own failings.

Next, they were in the middle of a vast, rocky plain, with columns of steam rising from cracks and holes on the ground.

"Fire, sitting around the level of the stomach. This is the transition from simple and base emotion to more complex ones; willpower, personal power, expansiveness, and all matters of growth. It's blocked by shame - tell me, when did you disappoint yourselves?"

"When I allowed myself to turn into Nightmare Moon. I lost sight of the ponies that loved me and needed me in my jealousy and pain."

"When I found out just how much troubles I caused because I didn't allow myself to admit my mistakes. Luna paid for them, and you yourself have seen...-"

"You can't grow if you deny parts of yourself; to change, you need to recognize that which you are trying to change. Luna, it is not that simple; you endured many years of loneliness, and the Nightmares did everything to make things worse - the average person is ill-prepared both mentally and emotionally to endure such abuse, let alone for so long, and even at your darkest all you desired was love. Celestia, you were aware on some level, because you surrounded yourself with ponies that would give you honest advice, and you have already started with the process of healing just as Luna has."

"I do feel... lighter." Luna commented. "Ever since I visited Ponyville the second time, I truly felt... accepted."

They were now in the middle of the clouds. Each cloud was a collection of brushstrokes like wisps, yet with that thick, inky outline around it and each curve that was there only if you looked at it tangentially.

"The chakra of air, residing in the middle of the chest... needless to say, it's easy to see when something is wrong with this one in a pegasus or Gryphon. It involves complex emotions, compassion, tenderness, rejection,well-being... It governs love; unconditional love for both yourself and others, passion, devotion... Did you know that, the first time I looked at you - after having awakened my senses, that is - it actually hurt a little?"

Celestia blinked.

"Really?"

"You are one like few others. Others? They do not bother to build up Equestria according to the Elements - they find it easier to be dishonest, to make terrible things then just sweep them under the rug, all for the sake of the 'greater good' - yes, I do remember warning you against that, but even so... would it be in your character to exile the Pookas because it was easier than keeping them as a part of Equestria?"

Celestia made a face like she had been doused in ice water, and Luna briefly tensed.

"There you are. You take the higher road, because you love the country more than you want to take the easy way out; after all, if the roots are rotten, how will the tree stand, let alone grow?"

Typhon, producing another pair of bowls, gave them away.

Both ponies simply drained them in silence.

"This is more for your sake, Luna, but Celestia should take note regardless. This is blocked by pain. Remember, however, love. Luna, your sister loves you dearly, even if she forgot to remind you of this; you have plenty of people who love you, and the love of those who have passed lives on within you, becoming new love and new friendships. The pain of loss should not be allowed to distract you from finding love."

Celestia wrapped a wing around her little sister, cooing soothingly as she sniffled.

"I am, myself, not letting my own pain blind me. I have, just recently, found out that my plans already succeeded - I need merely find the way."

"I remember..." Celestia said, making memory. "You said Starswirl did not truly die..."

"I need to find out how is that possible, but until I do, we cannot even meet - if a paradox were to happen... well, the least invasive 'corrective' measure would be for the timeline to erase whatever caused the paradox; the most drastic would be eliminating the whole divergence, taking everyone living in it with it, then trying again in a duplicate without said divergence."

"I have mixed feelings."

"I promised, Celestia." He twirled his brush, making the scene shatter and turn into the three of them in the middle of a mountain road, a cliff on the other side of the sharp drop.

Typhon inhaled.

"Sound chakra; located in the throat. It's communication, truth, growth through expression... governing fluent thought, independence, and a sense of security." He paused, feeling at his own throat for a moment. "It's blocked by lies - the ones we tell ourselves."

"I... we both have been there." Celestia breathed out, ears flat against her head.

"In a sense, Luna went at it strangely." Typhon said as he waved a hand. "She felt alone, yes, and did not acknowledge the need for balance - even though that was more the work of the Nightmares than hers - but she never once denied her nature, or her needs and desires. Her problem was of a different nature. You need each other, and the world needs both of you; we are beings of balance, your highnesses, and both of you make the balance that was missing in the ponies for the past thousand years."

"Is... is that the reason the nobles did not..."

"Give you two as much trouble as they could have? Most likely." Typhon nodded. "Even back then, when things were at their worst and the echos of Sombra's magic still roamed the leylines of Equestria, your absence made quite the waves, Luna; ponies did not feel safe at night, even in their own homes, and rest was not as invigorating. This was fixed almost miraculously when you came back - there is a reason half the day is night, after all. We did what we could, of course, but your horseshoes are too large to fit just like that, even if you were not aware of it, Luna."

With another twirl, the three of them were inside a large hall, with the light of dawn pouring in from large windows. It was plain and unadorned, but it just emphasized the sheer volume of the place, and the light coming in and bouncing from the clouds gave it its own ambience.

"The sixth is the chakra of light, located in the middle of the forehead. It deals with discernment, balancing of the selves, and trusting inner guidance. Its visual consciousness, and clarity on an intuitive level. It's blocked by illusion... Pinkie is actually an expert on this one."

"Oh?"

"Really. See, one of the biggest illusions in this, and many other worlds is that of separation."

*****
(Canterlot, night, North Star's room)

The unicorn who the room belonged to was writing in her diary, having received yet-another letter from Pinkie.

That mare had given her a lot to think about, even back them. It had been, what, five seconds? Ten at most. Ten seconds of contact, and a childish song to go with the scandalous act, but it was enough to change everything.

Speaking to her was even... not worse, per se - more different?

'In her letter, she speaks of how she had always felt like she did - amidst some rambling in strange tangents - but it was not until she met Typhon that she could put words to the feeling.'

She dipped her quill, and allowed her eyes to roam back to the letter. She then kept writing.

'Separation is an illusion; earth ponies, unicorns, pegasi - we are all ponies. Even the nations, or the races, we are one world. A smile is a smile, and she does not care about the "what" or "who"; we are all connected, and if I hurt, that hurts her, too.'

The more she talked to the living sugar rush that was Pinkie, the more she felt... silly... for distancing herself like so from her fellow ponies just because of their economic status. Spike, the young dragon that followed Twilight Sparkle everywhere, was of a similar mentality - perhaps from that childhood sincerity most ponies have but forget once they 'mature' - and made friends both with Ditzianna and Applejack, the farmer mare from the Gala.

And he could go and Speak to Hoity-Toity just like that, with the same ease...

*****
(Elsewhere)

"One has to be careful with this one. Being too open without a clear goal in mind can lead you to waste energy thinking about things that don't matter, thus distracting you from the present. Pinkie has some trouble with tangents, even as she throws around impressive feats as, literally, party favors."

"It's also associated with seeing the future." Celestia commented with a dainty eyebrow lifted high.

"Well, Time and Control are illusions at times. Time is the reference frame, and control... well, all you can truly control are your choices - the effect those choices have on others and your surroundings, well, that is something we have to learn ourselves." Typhon fingered the hilt of the sword in contemplation. "But yes, I can 'see' things, some of which have not yet happened."

"Figures."

"I can see, sometimes, the direction of things; I cannot see in a direction I do not understand, however, and some choices - both of others and myself - that I do not understand are similarly obscured on occasion. I can see and read attacks, even if I sometimes do not understand why I am getting attacked, for example."

"So... if you did not understand what was happening..." Celestia spoke softly, although with much more confidence that the previous times the topic had turned to- "That day; you didn't know what was happening, or how it was possible, didn't you?"

"A complete blank, yes. To be fair, I knew how I could do something about it, but then again, that involved creating a stable loop, which brings us back to the part where I cannot see a direction I do not understand."

"Is that the reason Pinkie..."

"Pinkie is an enigma wrapped in a mystery, sprinkled with comedy and baked in the oven of cartoon logic. I. Don't. Know. Seriously, there are dozens of completely-plausible, equally-probable explanations: She's got powers from a construct like I do, or she's been touched by fate, or simply being that good with earth-pony magic." Typhon shrugged, leaning on his sword.

"So, it's still a mystery." Luna tilted her head.

"Mh hmm."

Then they were on a flat, circular rock. Stairs spiraled down from it, until an uniform cover of clouds swallowed them. Both the sun and the moon were in the sky, which was midmorning in one half, and starry night in the other.

" The last one is at the crown of the head, or 'above' it. It's the one that has to do with Universal consciousness and unity in mental action, and 'Being', emotionally-speaking. It connects us with the cosmos like the Font connects you with Magic. It's blocked by earthly wants, which many... misinterpret, and makes this one one of the hardest to open."

"I was wondering about that, given that the first one is about bodily preservation, the second is pleasure... but then again, 'Love' isn't exactly 'earthly'." Luna mused out loud.

"Thank you!" Typhon raised his arms to his sides, then let them fall against his body. "You've just earned a diploma on the matter. I'll sent it to you on the mail."

"I take it you had a speech prepared?" Celestia smirked.

"Not really; I had a scene of a movie in which a little green man with strange speech patterns said how we are 'luminous beings' instead of just sacks of flesh, nothing too fancy." Typhon sat down on a familiar stone bed that rose from the floor to meet him on his way down. "It has to do a little bit about this, and how I can fly now."

"That's- that's the stone slab with your symbol on it!" Celestia gasped. "I just thought it was- I don't know, a meeting place!"

"See, I used to have two bodies - my 'normal' body, and a 'dreamself', which was originally only supposed to be used while I... well, dreamed." He said, then pointed to the side.

Another 'him' appeared, wearing golden-and-purple clothes with the same crescent moon Prosperity's dress had. Typhon himself was wearing a simple black shirt, green jacket, denim pants, and red tennis shoes.

"Dreamselves awaken fully after the dreamer faces something they refuse to acknowledge about either themselves or their surroundings. Normally this is harder for teens, but I was in my twenties... then got age-regressed." Typhon shrugged, then his other self started talking. "Eh, I started dreaming lucidly, which made things get strange. Dreamselves are precisely like dreams - unconcerned by earthly things, and driven mostly by the subconscious. I could make my regular body nearly-weightless, either by my powers or some weird mechanic of reality... still, it wasn't until I died that I became this."

Typhon changed back into the blue clothes he wore so often nowadays, while the princesses stared at him blankly.

"You died?" Luna asked.

"My 'real' self, upon this bed. It's a special mechanic to grant the 'user' the totality of their power - a real self doesn't have the degree of control of one of 'me'. It also grants me conditional immortality."

"Heroic or Just." Celestia muttered.

"Exactly." He nodded. "I became 'one', gained conscious use of what unconscious powers I hadn't already, and got boosted on all my abilities. You can draw the obvious parallel, I'm sure."

"That was the event? The day your body escaped the stone..." Celestia grew quiet, but Typhon threw an arm around her.

"Don't be like that - let me tell you something: The original, intended way was for the user to give their own life, for various motives." He said. "I'm not going to let something like this stop me, you know."

"I suppose that... that your mind is as sound as it can be, given the circumstances." Luna stated with some uncertainty - not about what she had said, but about how to process everything.

"Yeah. The Nightmares want my body, but it doesn't work the way they think - it's not going to become the perfect host or anything, and they can't replicate this. I just need to recover the Crystal Empire, then set up things, and we aren't going to be bothered by them again."

"I suppose you would want assistance?" Celestia asked with a quirked brow.

"Nope. In fact, don't send anyone; the guards already 'there' have the wrong location altogether, and Cadence should be well away from there." He crossed his arms in an exaggerated gesture, but spoke slowly and darkly. "If you send Cadence or Twilight, Sombra won't hesitate to go for the kill - this one is different from others; he knows who you would send."

Celestia swallowed, hard.

"I know it's asking a lot, but the Empire is better off without your intervention. Once things calm down again, then Cadence can reclaim her legacy. To ensure that your remember this, you are going to wake up now." He then threw some sparkling powder at their faces.

When they opened their eyes again, it was to a dark bedroom.