The afternoon sun hit Twilight Sparkle’s face, forcing her to close her eyes shut after trying to wake up from the strangest dream ever. She groaned and covered her head with her blanket; exhaustion consumed her body as if she had not slept at all, so there was nothing she wanted more than to close her eyes again. However, the fabric trapped the smell of vanilla tea that emanated from her coat. With a louder groan and her magic’s strong pull, she threw the blanket off herself and across the room.
“I am never going to drink vanilla tea again.”
“You have an eternity to find that out, Twilight Sparkle.”
Twilight’s eyes opened wide and she sat up abruptly. There, sitting by the vanity and reading a familiar piece of crumpled paper she held magically, sat Princess Luna.
“Luna!” She swiftly got down from the bed to greet the princess as properly as she could with her hair in an afro. “Um, good morning! I’m sorry about the mess.”
“I believe this room was already messy to begin with.” Only when Luna levitated a strawberry to her mouth did Twilight notice the tray with pancakes and fruit salad resting on the vanity. The scent of the freshly cooked meal made her much more aware of the empty pit that her stomach was. “Talonhart’s servant prepared you some late breakfast. She is currently occupied, so I took the task to deliver your meal safely.”
“So you’ve been standing guard. Over my breakfast.” Twilight deadpanned with a raked brow.
“If you put it that way…” Luna shrugged with a small smile, her eyes never leaving the scribbled paper. No matter how many times Twilight tried to remember where she saw it, she was only met with a growing headache. “We have a lot to discuss.”
“We… do?” Suddenly, it all came back to her. Twilight’s eyes widened; that paper contained the griffon’s research notes. “W-wait, so last night-“
“You could call that a dream, but it was very real. And this paper here, too.” Twilight wanted to walk closer to Luna just to inspect it herself, but then she remembered.
“Um, yes. I would absolutely love to have a very in-depth conversation about that, but, you see…” Twilight’s eyes darted from place to place. They were hard to keep away from the delicious looking breakfast, the research paper, and Luna herself, but it was harder to come up with a delicate way to say what she needed to. “I… need a shower.”
The comment made Luna’s eyes snap up from the paper, mouth slightly agape, but it didn’t take long for her to break into giggles.
“I won’t stop you. I will be waiting at the dining room.”
After filling her stomach and taking a long awaited shower, Twilight made her way to the dining room. Every inch of herself felt infinitely refreshed and her coat smelled of the sweet lavender soap she had fortunately remembered to pack. She was supposed to be upbeat and happy, with a renewed motivation for solving this ghost ordeal, but instead, a frightened and agitated Twilight almost tore the doors from their frame as she ran inside the dining room and shut them close behind her.
“Twilight!” Luna stood from her seat and trotted closer to Twilight, who stared at the door with wide eyes as she tried to catch her breath. “Is something the matter?"
“As… as I walked here, there were… vines. Living vines… that grew at an abnormal rate. They wrapped around my hooves and tried to… This is like another Everfree Forest!”
Luna delicately placed an indigo wing around Twilight and gently guided her to a seat next to hers. The presence of the tranquil alicorn calmed Twilight’s heartbeats enough for her to focus on her surroundings. In front of her she saw books primarily dealing with magic, and even the cursed teapot that had returned to its pure white state, but what caught her eye was a diagram drawn on a very old looking parchment located at the very center of the table.
“What is this?” Twilight spoke in a hushed voice, as if she were talking to herself. Her breath had calmed down considerably, if not completely, taken away by the diagrams drawn on the parchment.
“It is a representation of our world and how it works.” Luna said, returning to her seat. “I will get to this, eventually, but for now you should ask any other questions you may have.”
Twilight scratched her chin in thought. She had many, many questions, but no idea of where to begin.
“Last night’s... ‘dream.’ Did it happen because we drank that tea before going to bed?” Luna simply nodded. Some seconds of silence passed, but the explanation Twilight expected never came. “Um… it doesn’t have any marks anymore.”
“The spirit said what it had to say. Now we can only wait for another one to appear.” Twilight’s ears went down to her skull. Did that mean more tea?
“Griffons… they usually have four claws. This one had five.” She said to herself as she scrutinized the teapot. It was probably a malformation that had little to no relevance, but it still fascinated her. Suddenly, her ears perked up and she gasped, then she looked at Luna, who already had her muzzle buried in a book, with obvious excitement. “You can pray to the Sun and Moon for magic?”
Luna looked up from her book to stare at Twilight with an indecipherable expression.
“No. I just happened to… be on the moon at the time.” Luna closed her book and stared at the distance with furrowed brows. Again, Twilight had to resist groaning in frustration, having reminded Luna of bitter times once more. “I seem to be recalling something…The moon can be beautiful to admire, but it is quite a lonely place. At least for the lone pony who knows it inside and out. So I could reach out to the earth below me and just… listen.”
“When this griffon was ‘praying’, I must have heard him. Or her.” Luna chuckled. “By then, I was joyous somepony, or somebody was doing such silly rituals for me instead of my sister. I suppose I weaved the spell for it from afar, both for my own amusement and perhaps as a desperate attempt to have someone spread the word of how the moon everyone used to be afraid of aided somebody who called out for it.”
“Did you… recognize the spell? Did you know if it would work?” Twilight asked carefully, trying to stay away from the personal side of Luna’s story.
“Spell grammar isn’t the first thing in your mind when you’re trapped in the moon to regret and coexist with the wicked being who ruined your life for a thousand years.” Luna stated nonchalantly, opening her book back to the page she had been on. Twilight winced in response, which Luna noticed and made her look up from her book to give her friend a soft gaze. “I… am sorry if I am being terribly blunt and making you uncomfortable. Given the circumstances, I am aware of how unsettling it must be to hear me speak, but you must know that I have long since buried that bitterness and I am nothing but an open book, especially for a dear friend.”
“I… thank you, Luna.” The two mares had content smiles on their faces, and the lavender coat of one turned redder by the second.
“However, please do tell me when the term ‘dear friend’ no longer suffices.”
If Twilight had been drinking tea right then and there, she would’ve done a very clichéd spit -take. Partly because of the surprise, and then because the coughing fit served as a distraction. However, Twilight could do nothing else but stupidly stare at Luna with burning red cheeks, and then giggle.
“R-right. About that.” The thumping in her chest which came along with this topic returned. If a ghost was going to interrupt again, it had to do so soon, or so Twilight wished. She cleared her throat and collected her words while Luna stared at her with a glint of curiosity in her eye.
“Yes? Go on,” Luna insisted.
“U-um, what you said… yesterday. About being… interested in me. Did you mean it?”
“I don’t remember ever saying that.”
Color drained from Twilight’s face. Her eyes were fixed on the books and drawings on the table until they found the teapot. Air did not leave or enter her lungs, and her heart seemed to have disappeared. Or died, due to a dangerous mixture of shame and disappointment.
“Oh.”
“But I suppose I did imply it. It is true.”
Twilight swiftly raised her gaze with a gasp. Almost instantly, all life came back to her; a blush replaced her paleness and the thumping against her ribs was back.
“I-I see.” Twilight struggled to not become a nervous wreck or a giggling mess, and tried to come up with something to say in response.
This had all been somewhat expected, but at the same time it wasn’t. Whatever it was, Twilight was completely unprepared. Why had she let Spike convince her not to take any romance novels with her?
When she snapped back into the real world, she found Luna was still staring at her expectantly, awaiting an answer to her confession. It would’ve been much easier to say something if Twilight only knew just what Luna had admitted to.
“I have… always admired you, Luna.” When she realized it, words were flowing out of her mouth. Her voice was low and hoarse. “You were a mystery to me. You intrigued me ever since you were just a mere fairytale, or a faint outline in the moon. At Nightmare Night, I ached to… interrogate you about everything, but even after getting to know you a little better as a pony, you were still… somewhat intimidating.”
“I apologize for that.” Luna giggled as she traced the leather cover of the book in front of her with a hoof. “I received the short end of the stick regarding charisma skills. Unlike before, I am currently uninterested in competing against my sister.”
“Right! That’s the thing! I didn’t know you before, so I… sort of expected you to… be a darker version of Princess Celestia?” Twilight explained, stumbling over her words and retreating further into her seat. A knot tightened in her stomach when she saw a faint scowl taking over Luna’s features.
“You wouldn’t be the first.”
“But I have gotten to know you now, and you can’t be defined only because of your differences. You’re warm, friendly, loyal, trusting, knowledgeable…”
“You are so expressive, Twilight.”
“A-and you’re so hard to read!”
Luna gazed right into Twilight’s eyes, which sent shivers through her spine.
“Why read when you can ask? We are close friends, not children of feudal lords, forced to court when we know nothing of each other.” Luna broke their eye contact, closed her eyes, and sighed. “I am following Celestia’s advice, or rather, request, and trying this ‘opening up’ business out. Right now, Twilight Sparkle, I can assure you that I will answer any question you may have with utmost sincerity and patience.”
Luna’s gaze lowered to the book.
“However, I understand if you still see Nightmare Moon in my eyes, despite all that has happened between us since then.”
“Of course I don’t, Luna!” Trusting her chances, Twilight scooted closer to Luna and briefly pressed her cheek against the soft coat of her neck. “You have been a great friend and I appreciate this trust you place in me. I just… this is all so new to me. I feel like I’m reverting to my old self, stuttering, shying away…” She sighed and met Luna’s gaze with renewed confidence. “But… I feel the same way about you.”
“Do not misinterpret my words. I do not wish to force you into anything you disagree with.” Luna said with a frown, but it changed into a gentle smile. “It does make me glad to hear that.”
“I… yes.” Both princesses remained silent in their seats for the next minutes, doing some reading on their own. Twilight had been too flustered at first, but it didn’t take her long to focus on some actual reading for once.
She had forgotten how relaxing it was with everything happening around her and interrupting her thought processes. This conversation had brought enough peace to an area of her mind, which was more than enough.
Briefly lifting her eyes from her book, she noticed another ancient piece of parchment on the table; the griffon’s scribblings. Closing her book, Twilight magically brought it closer to her. She was amazed by how many things could fit in a single piece of paper and still be somewhat readable.
It was more of a translation than anything. Twilight remembered the faintly glowing runes on the door. The griffon had attempted to translate them into modern language, revealing very vague and ambiguous instructions. Something about stone, stars, and… faith.
On the back of the page there was the actual spell, and the actual cluttering of words and drawings. The handwriting was incredibly small, but still intelligible. As Twilight read on, she was more and more amazed at how a creature without magic could come up with such things. How could he or she have even tested the runes? Did Luna have to perform the spell for it multiple times?
Twilight ached to go back to her room and analyze this spell further, along with the runes on the sealed doors. Perhaps she could get the correct spell and the griffon would be able to rest in peace.
With a shake of her head, Twilight reminded herself she would be able to do this later. There were still things she had to know, like the diagram in the center of the table.
“I was hoping you would explain this, Luna,” said Twilight, levitating the parchment closer to herself.
A wheel was shown; in the outer surface, there was grass, mountains, and seas. Ponies, dragons, griffons, and many other creatures walked and flew along it with clouds soaring over them. In the inner part of the wheel, were ghostly images of these same creatures walking in an opposite direction. Faint lines were drawn from them towards a circle in the center. At the sides of the wheel, there notes and arrows drawn, but they were hard to make out.
“Indeed. Thank you for the reminder.” Luna stood from her seat. “Now that you are an alicorn-“
Just before Twilight could receive her long awaited answer, the dining room’s doors opened, revealing a regal white alicorn. Princess Celestia strode inside with elegance. She, unlike her sister, still wore her golden regalia, minus her crown.
“Good afternoon, my little ponies.” Twilight’s ears perked up at seeing her mentor on an informal occasion, so she didn’t hesitate to trot towards her to nuzzle her white neck. “How has your stay been, Twilight?”
“It has been…” She contemplated her answer. Looking back at Luna, she recalled everything that had happened up to that point.
What had only been two days felt like an eternity, and seeing Celestia again made her feel like a young unicorn again, when she used to arrange visits to Canterlot and convince Spike to watch over the library while she was gone. Back then, she used to be barely tall enough to barely reach Celestia’s chest, but becoming an alicorn had added a few inches to her height. Twilight felt old.
However, when she focused on Luna herself, she noticed her neutral expression was almost a… scowl. It was as if their discussion a few moments ago had not happened at all. Twilight returned her gaze to Celestia, who was still smiling down at her. Even her simple glance felt like hours of pondering a proper, yet truthful answer.
“…eventful. But we have everything under control.” Twilight confidently assured her with a smile and a slight puff of her chest. However, a question Twilight had not had the chance to answer popped into her mind. “Though, I do have to ask… This castle looks heavily damaged, wouldn’t it be more convenient to find a new one?”
“Hm? I trusted Lulu here would explain.” Celestia said with raised brows, directing her magenta eyes at Luna.
“I was, but we got terribly sidetracked. And interrupted.” Luna answered, walking closer to the two other alicorns. Twilight tried to hold her blush back in order to keep Celestia, who eyed them both suspiciously, from making any audacious comments.
“I see.” She smiled, seemingly content with the reply. “I suppose a lesson wouldn’t hurt.”
Twilight let the excitement show on her face. Another lesson, even after her graduation? This confirmed that whatever the circular diagram meant, it was going to be very important.
In a matter of minutes, the three princesses arranged the books on one side of the table while they occupied the other, Celestia sitting at the very end with Twilight and Luna next to her, facing each other. The older sister nodded to the younger and their horns lit with the fires of their magic, conjuring an illusion at the center of the table. Twilight stared intently, trying her best to ignore the nostalgia bubbling up in her chest; the last time Celestia had done this was when she was a filly, but Luna had not been present.
Twilight focused all of her five senses on the illusion and on her former mentor’s voice.
“Our world is governed by a cycle of balance.”
Shining strands of magic formed the shape of the wheel. Clouds moved, ponies walked, griffons and dragons flew through the skies. In the inner part, the ghost creatures strode on and lost their shape as they went, light emanating from them and traveling to a bright ball in the very center.
“When a living thing is born, be it a pony, griffon, dragon, animal, or plant, they contain equal amounts of what we have come to call ‘harmony’ and ‘chaos.’”
The wheel dissolved and a small foal was shown, exploring his surroundings, sniffing flowers and playing with animals.
“As this being grows and explores our world, this inborn balance will experience constant change. By the end of its life, its soul will walk through purgatory. It is not what you believe it is, however.”
The small foal began trotting, greeting every creature he passed by. As his journey continued, the foal grew into a stallion, and his life went on until he became an old pony that dissolved into dust. This dust formed a ghostly silhouette of the stallion, looking around himself. The plants, animals, and creatures were gone. Only darkness surrounded him.
“It will walk its circular path, and as it does, its influences over the world will be transferred to our world, be they positive or negative. The soul will start to lose the shape of its previous container, and its levels of chaos and harmony will revert back to neutrality.”
The stallion walked on as the voice continued its tale, his outline dissolving more and more until it was reduced to a floating ball of light as the dust left him and transferred to a shining ball of energy above him.
“The world will use this energy to maintain its own cycles, and the cleansed soul will go back to the surface to take on a new body.”
Around the ball of energy, a new foal began to materialize, and it began to explore the world around him, just like his predecessor.
“In a way, both animate and inanimate objects are a manifestation of the world keeping its balance and maintaining itself. Both wind and life keep the wheel constantly turning. However, one cannot live without the other. For life to be created, earth has to provide some of its energy, but it will always get it back at the end.”
The complete spinning wheel was shown again, illustrating the very same cycle of death and rebirth as before.
“However, for this to happen, the soul has to part from the body and pass on to purgatory. If it never does, then it will keep this energy for itself. Without this energy, the world won’t be able to maintain itself, and without this, we may lose valuable resources for our survival.”
The wheel slowly rotted away, leaving shining dust that disappeared into the heavens.
“This is why putting the spirits of this castle to rest is a very important task. There is no doubt there might be more than one haunted house in Equestria, but I can feel the increased concentration of energy here, which has been ignored for far too long.”
“Yes. Do not fret, Twilight. We are not here as cleaning maids for Talonhart.”
Twilight was far too preoccupied by absorbing every piece of information she had just been provided to giggle at Luna’s joke. The sisters bickered on, Celestia saying something about manners and Luna snorting in response.
“Wait, so what about alicorns? They- we live forever, so there is no way we can pass on our energy to the world.” She interrupted, making Celestia and Luna share a glance.
“Have you noticed how we need pegasi to regulate weather, while in other parts of the world no such thing is needed?” Twilight nodded in response to Celestia’s question.
“That is because of us. The same applies to the Sun, Moon, and stars. The energy the world used to perform these tasks on its own was spent on our creation and as such, we had to take over.”
“Now, Twilight, I must request you keep this information to yourself. This cycle is something that could be exploited by evil minds. Only the highest ranks in royalty all over the world know this.”
“Understood.” Twilight answered with a nod, but her mind was far too busy. Concern washed over her, had her question earlier been too insensitive? Looking for another place for Lord Talonhart certainly seemed like the way to go, considering the occurrences in the castle.
However, these were tormented souls of creatures that had been trapped for over a millennium; they deserved peace, whether the world needed the energy or not, or if the castle had to be occupied or not.
And if Twilight could give them that, then that’s what she would do. Suddenly, this seemed like the way to go; everypony- no, everybody would be happy, though the reconstruction of this old castle still sounded like an expensive and ambitious project. Wouldn’t rebuilding be better, anyway?
Celestia stood from her seat and began slowly walking towards the door.
“Well, I am afraid I must go; Lord Talonhart and I have a meeting arranged. Originally I had planned to come along to see you briefly, Twilight, but it has been a pleasure to teach you once more.” She looked back and winked at Twilight.
“It was my pleasure to be taught, Princess.” Twilight said, resisting a giggle, standing up and curtsying.
Even as a princess, the formality between her and Celestia had not disappeared, but it had become a light hearted little game they held to reminisce about the old days when she was still a unicorn under her tutelage.
“Celestia, where are you holding this meeting of yours?” Luna had walked closer to her sister with a knowing look.
“Well, in our ro-“
“Can we discuss this matter outside? In private?” The anger was visible in Luna’s features. She had extended her wings in a desperate attempt to somehow block the scene from Twilight’s view and to usher Celestia outside the room. “I will be back shortly,” Luna added, glancing back at Twilight.
When the doors closed, Twilight found herself alone once more, something that she appreciated for once. As much as she would’ve liked to spend more time with Luna, there was nothing she wanted more than to sit and analyze ancient runes like she used to. However, she did wonder what had made Luna so angry, but the sister’s business was theirs and theirs alone.
Twilight smiled contentedly and made her way to her seat, but before she could get any closer, the ground below her began to tremble, and cracking sounds rumbled in the room. As they grew louder and louder, Twilight could identify they came from the very center, right below the table.
Suddenly, thick, long vines shot from the ground, tearing the stone floor apart, and less than a second later, splitting the wooden dining table into two, sending every book, paper, and teapot, flying into the air.
The teapot.
Twilight willed her magic to catch it in mid-air and conjured a magical shield around herself. Her wings had instinctively wrapped around herself in protection. The magenta-colored field deflected shards of wood and stone that flew in her direction. When the shield was reluctantly brought down, a wall of dust fell around Twilight.
She stared in awe at the destruction that had taken place in mere seconds with a slack jaw. In place of the table, there were three enormous vines protruding from the ground with big, sharp thorns lining them. Destroyed chairs, rubble and torn book pages covered the floor. Then, Twilight remembered the teapot in her telekinetic hold.
It had another mark. This time, it was a big circle of the dust-like substance that encompassed one third of the white surface of the teapot.
Seconds later, the doors crashed open, revealing the alarmed sisters plus an agitated Piece of Wheel with a stack of papers in her magical horn. Twilight’s head snapped in their direction, thinking it was some other monstrosity springing from the floor. Before any of the three ponies could ask any questions, they stopped to stare at the three vines and the destruction around them with horror and shock. A booming, raspy voice made the three occupants flinch.
“And I had grown rather fond of that table…”