//------------------------------// // Chapter Twenty-Four – The Last Midnight // Story: The Scion of Harmony // by Thornwing //------------------------------// Twilight burst through the outer doors of Celestia’s bedroom and wouldn’t have even acknowledged the occupants had they not addressed her; her mind focused on a single task: read the book! “I assume everything went smoothly, Princess?” Cadance asked. With some effort, she reached down to pull the covers away and slide off the bed. Unsteady on her legs, yet willing an escape from her recovery bed, she wobbled for a moment trying to regain her balance. Cocking his head around and taking note of Twilight’s entry and his wife’s exit, Shining Armor still looked like he had seen better days. “Is everything alright, Your Highness?” he added, squinting against the subdued light of a pair of candles in the middle of the room. The flicker traced a silhouette of the princess pair, one each against opposite walls. “It’s still me, guys. And no, it’s not alright—not yet anyway.” Twilight launched herself toward the private study. “You’ll have to excuse me; I’ve got a book to read!” Twilight laid her hoof against the glass doors of the study which rattled in their frames at the abnormal touch. Pushing through the arch, she spied the gold tome laying on the bench peeking out from under the flap of her saddle bag right where she had left it hours ago. She quickly removed it from the pouch and settled into the window seat. With a ginger step full of all the grace she could muster, Cadance traced her way over and held in the shadow of the doorway effectively blocking what small candlelight shone through from the main room. Twilight looked out the window, tipping the book toward the night sky searching for a bit of moonlight to read by. Watching as the storm filled the sky overhead, that too quickly faded as the rain began to ping against the window glass. Cadance lit her horn, and a wall sconce flamed to life. “If you are going to read, you’re going to want more light than the moon can offer, especially with a storm rolling in to steal what’s left of that.” “Thanks,” Twilight whispered. “It’s good to see your magic is regenerating.” With a pang in her voice, she added, “how is my brother doing?” “He’ll be fine,” Cadance replied with an unconvincing nod. “He just needs some more rest. The real question is, how are you doing, and what happened to the sun?” With an exasperated sigh, Twilight’s hoof fell over the fringe of the golden book laid out before her on the window bench. “Discord.” She looked up at the usually soft but currently haggard face of her fellow princess. “He lowered the sun and was somehow punished for interfering with my Trial. The others are taking care of him, but I need to find out what’s in this book. He said it has the answers, and I need to find out what that means.” Pulling back her hoof, the book cover reflected the torchlight against the shadows on the far wall. “I have to make this right. I have to pass this Trial. Hopefully the answer is in this book… at least, I hope Discord is telling the truth.” The cover looked plain enough, a simple title with a small drawing beneath. Shiny, yellow metal pages with a slightly buffed edge turned easily in Twilight’s hooves and seemed to be unaffected by the passage of time. The writing on the first page flowed in an ancient etched script tightly packed in the precious small space. The night was young. There was a lot of work to do. Twilight stared at the first line. The squiggles and cross marks stared back. For all her years of study, the language of the book remained indecipherable. Word by simple word, she struggled to make sense of any of it. Staring at the page and concentrating did little more than start to make her head start to hurt. The swirls and strokes all ran together resembling, if anything, a made up language of the type only Pinkie Pie would understand. Flipping the page back over and returning to the cover, Twilight took another look at the title. “I don’t understand,” she said. “A few hours ago I could read this; I knew what this said. I can’t make heads or tails of any of any of it now!” “What do you mean?” Candance asked as she approached. “Is it not written in Olde-Equestrian?” “No, it isn’t,” Twilight replied. “I thought I recognized the words earlier, but now I can’t even read the title.” Staring down at the cover, the once familiar letters balked at revealing their secrets at present. “If I recall, it’s supposed to say: The Pillars of Creation.” Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath. “I don’t know what I’m going to do now.” “Twilight,” Cadance said, leaning over and laying a hoof on her shoulder, “do you remember when you were young and I was taking care of you? Do you remember how you would always get mad at yourself if you couldn’t come up with the answer to a problem, even if it was something you weren’t expected to know?” “Yes, and I remember how you had the weirdest way of helping me get over it.” Twilight’s lip curled into a little smile. “Take a break,” Cadance said. “Go for a walk, take a nap, have a snack. Do something to take your mind off the problem.” “I can’t,” Twilight replied. “Everypony is counting on me. I have to stay focused. If I can’t figure this out before morning, bad things are going to happen, I just know it.” “Is there anything we can do to help?” Rainbow Dash shouted from just outside the arch. Twilight craned her neck around to take stock of the newly arrived. Applejack stood next to Rarity in the archway with a semi-soaked Rainbow Dash preening her wet feathers behind. “Not unless you can help translate whatever language this book is written in,” Twilight said with a sigh. “Honestly, Twilight,” Applejack said, “if this had anything to do with apples or farming, I’d be the pony with all the answers. But I’m not so sure there’s much I can do with all this magic stuff.” “Even if it meant giving up my magic forever, I would gladly try and raise the sun for you, but I’m not so sure that would help either,” Rarity added. “Come on,” Rainbow Dash chided, slipping between the other two and into the study, “there’s got to be something we can do. Captain Spitfire grounded the weather teams for the night, but I know there’s something else I can help with. You just say the word, and I’m on it!” Twilight crossed her hooves over the page and lowered her head. “Discord said the answers were in this book, but I don’t even know what language it’s written in. I’ve never seen these characters before—I’m not even sure how I was able to read the title of the book earlier.” “Perhaps I can be of assistance.” Applejack, Rarity and Rainbow Dash stepped aside and allowed Luna room to approach. “Show me the book that you spoke of.” “Princess Luna!” Twilight exclaimed, rising from the bench. “I thought you were taking care of Discord?” “Your friends seem more than capable of that,” Luna replied. “I wanted to see this book that he seemed intent on you reading. May I take a look?” “Of course,” Twilight said, stepping aside. Luna took the book in her magic and levitated it off the bench. “Curious,” she said as she turned the book over and flipped through the pages. “I do remember this, but I am sorry to say that I cannot help with the translation. The language is far beyond my years. My sister and I spent countless hours with the most learned scholars of language and history back in the day and have yet to understand what the book contains. If I recall, not even Starswirl was able to decipher what it said. I wish I could help, but I do not even know where this book originated.” “But, I could read it earlier,” Twilight rejoined. “When Discord first showed me the book, it took a few seconds, but I could at least read the title. Maybe he knows what it says.” Twilight gasped. “Maybe he cast a translation spell on the book—or on me—and it’s broken now that he’s… he’s…” “He’s sleeping,” Pinkie Pie said. The latest addition to the group stood in the archway with a forced smile on her face. “Fluttershy’s got it all under control. She wanted me to tell you that.” Twilight stared back at Pinkie with the usual look of confusion with all things Pinkie related. “Are you sure he’s just sleeping?” “Well,” Pinkie replied, lifting a hoof to her chin, “he’s in bed, and his eyes are closed. I’m pretty sure he’s sleeping, but he could be faking it. He’s really good at playing games, so I can’t be totally sure. Fluttershy told me to tell you he was in a cone… or maybe a con… well, something or other, and I think it’s just a fancy way of saying he’s asleep. But his bed is more of a rectangle than a cone, so—” “Pinkie,” Twilight interrupted, “I think we get the idea.” “Let me get this straight,” Rainbow Dash said as she flicked her tail, spraying a touch of water from the still dripping hairs. “Discord was trying to help?” “Yes,” Luna replied. “And it seems he did not take the warning seriously.” Twilight’s ears perked up. “Warning? What warning?” “Why, Starswirl’s, of course.” Luna padded to the back corner of the small study and turned to face the entire group. “When Starswirl came to visit last week, he didn’t say much to me. Most of his message went straight to my sister, behind closed doors. What he did say to me, however, was directed at both myself, and also to Discord. He warned us that, while we were free to assist indirectly, we were not to interfere directly in your Trials. He made it clear that not only would we be putting ourselves in danger, but the whole of Equestria would suffer as a result. I made a promise to him and to my sister that I would focus on my own tasks barring the dark omen to follow otherwise.” Twilight’s ire brightened. “So, why did you let Cadance lower the sun, and why did you teach Shining Armor how to raise it?” Face flushed, she turned on Luna. “Why didn’t you tell us there would be consequences like this?” “Because…” Luna paused, shrinking just a little. “Because my sister told me not to.” “What do you mean?” Cadance asked, the question begging an answer in light of her condition. Under the questioning eyes of two other princesses, Luna rose up to confront the accusations. “She told me it might come to this, that Twilight might need additional help, but that I could not give it, no matter what. She forbade me from altering the course of the sun. In addition, she wanted Discord to stay far away from all of this until everything was settled. She feared that he would not listen to the warnings, and so, she gave him other tasks to perform. It seems as though her suspicions were warranted.” Slumping down on her haunches, Luna’s countenance dropped. “I fear, in my zeal to comply with my sister’s wishes, I may have doomed us all.” “Excuse me,” Fluttershy said, only slightly poking her muzzle through the door into the already crowded study space. “I’m sorry if I’m interrupting anything, but I wanted to let you all know that Discord is asleep and won’t wake up. I’ve done all I can for now, but it looks like he just needs to rest. His burns…” Twilight made her way through the crowded space, ponies shuffling aside to try and make a path. She took Fluttershy in a hug. “I know it must be hard for you to see him like that.” “It’s… okay. I’ll… I’ll stay up and keep an eye on him tonight.” Fluttershy took a step back to break from the embrace. Her eyes were already puffy and red. The fear in her voice was hard to hide. Twilight bit her lip and had to think twice about asking her next question. “Would you let me know the moment he wakes up? We need him to help with a spell. It’s very important, and I wouldn’t ask you to rush anything with his care…” “It wouldn’t have anything to do with that book over there, would it?” Fluttershy reached out a hoof pointing in the direction of the window bench and the golden book, pulsating in the flickering light of the torch sconce above. Twilight turned on the book. “Whoa now!” Applejack called out. “It tickles!” Pinkie exclaimed. Rarity blushed. “Oh my!” “What gives?” Rainbow Dash added her own comment to the mix. The pulsating glow from the book throbbed in time with the undulation radiating from the rainbow markings that each of the element ponies sported. All five cleared what little room they could and focused on the book as it rose from the bench and hovered out from the window space into the middle of the room. “This… is not my doing,” Luna said from the back corner. Her concern carried in her unsteady voice. “Me neither,” Cadance added, backing away slowly. Rarity reached out to steady her before she tumbled over her already shaky hooves. Twilight’s curiosity got the better of her. She stepped forward and reached up to touch the book without so much as a second thought. As soon as her hoof made contact, she felt a pulse of energy erupt along her horn. A hundred images flashed before her eyes. Puzzle pieces randomly scattered and formed together again in various pictures that played like a daydream vision in a mirror reflecting something only she could see. The light overwhelmed everything else in her sight. Even when she closed her eyes, it continued, unabated. With a cough, Twilight released the breath she held in for what seemed like forever, give or take a minute or two. The picture show faded to the reassuring glow of the torch light. She felt her legs buckle, the floor rapidly approaching, only to stop just before impact. The book hovered just in front of her face wrapped in a light bluish aura. Luna’s response time came much improved from the last. Twilight stared at the open book in front of her. The strange arrangement of symbols seemed to leap off the page. Dots and lines rearranged themselves into a more familiar grouping making up letters to words she could actually read. Lifting her head under her own power, she placed her front hooves on the ground and sat up. “I don’t know what just happened, but I can read this now.” The words rolled off her tongue as the excitement rose in her voice. Pinkie scooted forward and peered down over her shoulder. “I don’t know, Twilight. It all looks Greek to me.” The others came in closer and took turns taking in the sight. “I’ve never seen that kind of writing before,” Rarity said. “I can’t make heads or tails of any of it,” Applejack added. Rainbow Dash slapped a hoof to the side of her head still coaxing the last bit of rainwater to drain from her ear. “I’ll read it when you’re done, just don’t spoil the ending.” “How about I read it out loud?” Twilight said. “It’s written plain as day for me.” “Sounds great!” Pinkie bounced over to take a seat on the window bench patting the cushion to invite Fluttershy to take up the spot next to her. “Bedtime stories are my favorite!” Luna relaxed her hold on the book, settling it down in front of Twilight. Twilight smiled and nodded before turning back to the book and settling her hoof down against the first line on the page. “In the beginning, there was One. The One was all, and all was One.” Rainbow Dash let out a sigh. “Hold up a sec. Let me grab a pillow. I can tell we’re going to be here a while.” Zipping through the doorway, across the bedroom, and out into the main hallway, it wouldn’t take her long to return with a pillow stolen from somewhere in the castle. “Might want to have a bite to eat before we get into it too,” Applejack said, holding up a shiny red apple. Twilight reached out and took up her offering. “Thanks. I guess I’ll have a quick bite to eat while everyone gets settled.” Chomping into the apple, she only then realized how long it had been since she last ate. “We should probably move to the larger space if we’re all looking at settling down for the evening,” Rarity said. “I’m certain that some of us need our beauty sleep, but want to hear the story as well.” “That sounds like a good idea.” Twilight stood up and tucked the book under her wing. With the small group following, the party moved out into the bedroom proper. Rainbow Dash returned with a pile of blankets and pillows in tow. After relocating the group and a swift distribution of the assorted bedding, they all settled in for the promised story. “Take two,” Twilight said, opening the page once again and starting from the top. The hours slipped by. Everypony, with the exception of Luna, eventually found the call to rest stronger than the desire to listen to Twilight recite ancient history. Twilight’s mind raced across the pages. Everything from the beginning opened before her in varying detail. Millennia crossed under her hoof as she scanned through it all. Certain passages, barely relevant to the history, seemed to catch her eye and caused her to wonder at the meaning they should convey mixed in with the altogether mundane. She paused between the lines of text to let the information fully absorb into her understanding. Harmony is the key to creation. The One is in all, but by itself is alone. To create is to serve; to serve is to create. The balance of harmony and chaos is essential to harness the power of the Elements. There is magic in everything and everyone. Nothing exists by itself. Live to serve, and never lose sight of the goal. Friendship is magic. Twilight stopped. Her mind froze. The letters on the page began to swirl into garbled scrawl. Luna tilted her head and took note of the pause in Twilight’s recitation. “Is everything alright?” For all the regalness that would normally accompany Princess Celestia, Twilight broke the standard. She bolted upright. “I know what I have to do!” She spun toward the balcony doors. Tipping her head toward Luna, she asked, “How long before sunrise?” Luna’s horn buzzed with her blue aura, testing the air and connecting with the moon above the clouds of the raging storm outside. “A little under an hour,” she replied. “I have to hurry.” Twilight tapped her hooves against the hard floor impatiently. “Make sure everyone is ready and waiting for me in the observatory when I get back—we have to time this perfectly.” Luna nodded her head. “Go with haste, Princess. We will await your return.” Without another word, Twilight pushed through the door and out into the storm. Spreading her wings against the beating rain, she hauled herself into the air and furiously drove toward Ponyville.