Luna sat at the massive dining table, playing with a few toy soldiers as she waited. As hungry as she was, she wanted to have dinner with her big sister tonight. She felt so lonely, over the past few centuries she and Celestia had spent less and less time together. Even when they were in the same room, the elder alicorn felt distant. The pressure of ruling had changed Celestia; she now was quiet, reserved and kept everypony at legs length. Luna knew that in only a few decades, she would begin ruling along side her sister. Hopefully then, Tia could rest.
Several hours passed, Luna could feel the sun drop below the horizon. She instinctively raised the moon. Not that anypony saw the sun or moon anymore. Discord’s chaos ruled the surface, here they were safe. Trapped, but safe. A tear escaped Luna’s eye, she missed her sky, her stars, her moon, she missed her night. She waited and waited for her sister. Her eyes felt heavy, both Tia and Mr. Smith had skipped dinner, for the fifth night in a row. She pouted as he went to tuck herself into bed. She shut her curtains so the eternal daylight would no longer bother her, pulled up the covers and focused her magic. A hazy image of Smith appeared at her bedside. Luna deepened her voice to try to sound like her adopted father “Goodnight my little pony, sweet dreams.” The illusion faded as Luna drifted off to sleep, tears still in her eyes.
The main throne room was full of arguing nobles and commoners, complaining about everything from recent crop failures to the massive overpopulation. Celestia overlooked them with her recently acquired, stoic expression. Overpopulation, unemployment, food and water shortages, decaying housing, minor cave-ins, and crime were only a few of the worsening problems the subterranean society had been dealing with in recent years. However most of their discontent had been directed at their guardian Mr. Smith, and why he never did anything to help. They knew he could stop Discord, but spent the years locked in his forge, doing nothing. Who was once seen as a savior, was now considered no better then Discord.
Celestia was ignoring the commotion below; all of these problems had been said hundreds of times before and would be said hundreds of times again. The mountain held several million ponies, far more then Celestia had ever imagined. Their ancestors had come here for safe haven from the god of madness, and were truly grateful for the protection provided. But that gratitude faded over the years, as more and more problems emerged. Celestia loved he subjects, being unable to help them was killing her emotionally. There was only one solution, destroy the chaos-lord.
Celestia had tried in the past, twice sending an army, which Discord transfigured into sea turtles. She had even tried meeting him herself. That had been the biggest mistake she ever made. In the battle, the draconequus had snapped all four of her legs, pulled out most of her wing muscles, and nearly snapped off her horn. She thought it was the end until Smith teleported her back to the mountain. She was unable to walk for nearly five years, and another seven before she could fly. The only pony that stood a chance against the raging god, was hidden, deep beneath the city, making heaven knows what.
Since his battle with Discord, he would vanish for weeks at a time, working in his forge. When she did see him, his mane was unkempt and long, his coat was covered in soot, he smelled of coal and alcohol, and he was starving.
Celestia felt the familiar tug of the moon rising into orbit. She had missed yet another dinner with Luna. Celestia hated ignoring her sister, but running the kingdom was far harder than she first thought. She longed for the simpler days, before Discord, before the kingdom, back when she was happy.
She chastised herself as she lest the throne room. “Celestia, you can’t think that way. You mustn’t, for your people. You can’t be selfish…selfish” the word continued to ring in her head. She decided to take a detour, out of the castle, to the statue out front.
She arrived at the stunning, marble statue, beautifully carved to show Mr. Smith, Luna and herself. She used her magic to push it slightly back, revealing hidden stairs. She walked down the hidden passage closing it behind her.
After about an hour and a half of walking she reached the entrance to the great furnace. Within were the thousands of weapons and sets of armor he made in his down time. Smith stood at his anvil, shrouded in a bright blue light. Intense magic washed trough the room, nearly knocking Celestia off her hooves. She adjusted her balance and said “Mr. Smith, I must speak to you immediately”
“One moment, my dear.” Mr. Smith said, struggling with his mystic concentration. The blue light reached a near blinding level, and immediately faded. With the light gone, Celestia could see a golden necklace with a pale blue gem in the center, where the light once originated from. Smith levitated it to a side table where five similar pieces of jewelry say “And with that, the Element of Laughter, the sixth Element of Harmony is completed.” Smith turned back to Celestia with a smile and said with a bow “To what does this humble smith owe the honor of a visit from the benevolent monarch of this land?”
“Smith, did you just complete the sixed element?” asked Celestia with a grin.
“Indeed” responded Mr. Smith, out of breath. He looked as if he hadn’t slept in days. Celestia rushed in to hug him, but he put out his hoof to stop her. “But before you say anything, they are not ready. I cannot yet help you my dear.”
Celestia’s joy turned to anger. “What do you mean?! You told me that you needed six elements of harmony! You have them, so why are we waiting!”
“I do not understand what is wrong.” Mr. Smith sighed and looked back at the elements “But, one day, there will be a threat far greater than that fool, and you will need the elements. I am sorr…” A sharp pain in the back of his head, and he fell unconscious.
“No, I am sorry.” Responded Celestia, dropping the mace she had pulled from the wall “But I need to put my ponies first.” She grabbed the elements and returned to the surface.
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Celestia and Luna returned to the city, triumphant. Discord had been trapped in stone, order had been restored. They walked to the castle to share the good news to hear a loud commotion.
They saw a crowd of ponies, shouting and cheering. At first Celestia thought that they had heard of Discords banishment, but then she saw the statue of Mr. Smith crash to the ground. Luna ran to castle leaving a trail of tears. When the mob saw Celestia, they went quiet.
“What is the meaning of this?” Celestia said with a glare “My sister and I leave temporarily and return to this? Vandalism?”
The leader of the mob walked forward, a brown earth pony with a pile of gold for his cutie mark, Celestia recognized him. His name was Dirty Money, despite his name he was one of the more honorable noble, he consistently spoke out about the problems had by both the both the upper and lower class. He said sternly “Today marks the last day we live in fear, we will march out into the chaos and try our luck there. This city was once a beacon of hope, now, all it’s just a trap.” The crowd cheered.
“You are correct, today was the last day. Today, I forgive this minor act.” Celestia gave a large smile, surprising the angry mob. She levitated her three Elements of Harmony “With the Elements of Harmony that Mr. Smith spent over five centuries working on, completed last evening, my sister and I…” she paused, the mob was enraptured by her speech, Celestia had not been this openly emotional in centuries. “…have defeated and imprisoned the draconequus known as Discord!”
There were a few cheers but for the most part the crowd was awkwardly silent. A minute passed before Dirty could bring himself to speak again “Your majesty, I beg you, we knew not what had transpired, please, do not punish any of them. It was I who did the heinous act.”
“Destroying a statue is hardly…” Celestia began, but she was cut off by Money.
“Please.” He said solemnly, pushing the state back to reveal the secret stairs “Follow me; I have much to answer for.”
Celestia was stunned, not only did her subjects riot, but they had somehow discovered Mr. Smith’s secret forge? She realized, I left it open, when I rushed out! She followed him as the crowd hung their heads. She followed him down, down to the great furnace, in complete silence.
They reached the door and Money lead Celestia in side. Mr. Smith was nowhere to be found. On the anvil near the massive magma-powered forge, lay a piece of paper. Celestia went to examine it but the earth pony began to speak “My lady, last night I committed a horrible and unforgivable act. I murdered the guardian of this mountain.”
The remains of Celestia’s royal façade shattered. She was shaking in anger, fear and sadness all at once. She couldn’t believe what she had just heard. The stallion who raised her, the stallion who went hoof-to-hoof with Discord, the stallion who helped her build her kingdom, died at the hands of a run-of-the-mill pony? It was impossible. He couldn’t have died.
“After you left the audience last night, the ponies assembled there decided, no matter the cost, Discord must be stopped. I saw you rush from the passage beneath the statue, and decided to see where it lead.” The brown stallion bowed his head “I had no idea it would lead me to our protector, Mr. Smith. When I arrived he was struggling to his hooves, I tried to get his attention but he ignored me, and just mumbled to himself and scribbled on that paper.”
Celestia looked at the paper. Dozens of words were written and crossed out, but two were circled. Duty and forgiveness. Dirty Money continued “Once I got his attention, I pleaded to him, I begged for him to help us destroy Discord. He laughed and said ‘I have more important matters to attend to’. In my rage, I rushed him. He must have been weakened some how because I accidentally pushed him into the magma furnace. He caught the ledge but had not the strength to pull himself up. I offered to help him, if he agreed to help stop Discord, but he refused. I left.”
Celestia was pale, she felt responsible for Smith death. If she hadn’t assaulted him, perhaps he could have defended himself. She banished those thoughts from her mind, focusing her rage on the pony before her. He was the one directly responsible. He would meet the same fate. Her telekinesis grabbed Money and floated him over the edge of the furnace.
“My liege, I am truly sorry, but I can never be forgiven. If I may make one final request, do not take this out on my family.” The pony said, tears in his eyes “These were the actions of a single, foalish stallion. Let it end with me.”
Celestia put him down. Smith’s forge was too good for this cretin. “I’ll tell you what is going to happen. You will be locked away, deprived of food and water, for the rest of your short life.” Tears formed in her eyes “Perhaps if you are lucky, I won’t destroy your family like you destroyed mine!”
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Luna sat on her bed, sobbing into Celestia’s wing. She had just heard the news of her father’s fate. She didn’t know what to do, the fact the she hadn’t seen him in over a week before was eating at her. She cried, she cried until she ran out of tears.
“Sister” Celestia said sternly “the one who did this to us will pay, I promise you.
“NO!” Luna shouted “NO! NO! NO! YOU CAN’T!” She gripped her sister tight.
“Sweet Luna” Celestia responded coldly, distantly “It must be done. Justice must be served. Vengeance must be taken.”
“THEN WHAT?” Luna shouted “THEN HIS FAMILY WILL WANT VENGANCE ON YOU! AND THEN I’LL WANT VENGANCE ON THEM! AND ON AND ON AND ON! FOREVER” she walked over to her night stand and hugged her tattered doll “Please, listen to Mr. Smith…”
“HE’S DEAD!” snapped Celestia, tears returning to both sister’s eyes “He…he can’t help us any more, we’re alone now.”
“His last note. Forgiveness.” Responded Luna, with a sad smile. The word struck a cord, Celestia had been blinded by the pain of loss, she hadn’t even remembered the note. “He knew. He knew what would happen. He always knew.” Celestia began to cry once more. This time they were true tears of sadness, not anger. She felt Luna’s nose on her neck. “And we’re not alone, I have you. And you have me.”
Celestia hugged her sister tight “Never leave me, dear sister”
“Never” said Luna
Several hours passed before Luna fell asleep. Celestia crept to the door and whispered “Sweet dreams my little pony.”
She made her way to the previously never-used, dungeons. She looked in at a sleeping Dirty Money. She had to do this now. If she didn’t, she may never again find the courage. “Mr. Money, please wake up. I must speak with you.”
Dirty Money woke; in shock he sat bolt upright. Terror coerced through his body, so much so he could barely speak. He feared the end; he feared she had eliminated his family, until he saw her face. He saw a soft frown; she was sad, not angry.
“I told you a lie; Mr. Smith did not give us the Elements of Harmony. He didn’t want us to use them but…” Celestia bit her lower lip “…but Discord needed to be stopped. I hit him with a mace, and stole them. He was weakened because of me. You are not responsible for his death…”
“Stop.” Dirty interrupted “You cannot blame yourself, you did what you had to. You and your sister saved your people and we are all grateful. It was not you who pushed him. It was me.”
“But I…” Celestia tried to start again.
“You are a wise ruler. I should have trusted you.” said Money “In this new age, you will be an amazing ruler. I wish that I would be there to see it.”
“You will.” A warm smile came to Celestia’s face as she opened the cell door. “What you did was truly despicable. Your punishment is to live the rest of your long life, teaching your family to never make the mistake you made.”
Celestia turned to walk away, but before she could she heard one word. “Why?”
“I’m not sure. Maybe he would want me to forgive you? Maybe I fear that your family would seek revenge, the same way I did? Maybe I want this new age to begin on a happy note?” Celestia turned back to the dumbstruck earth pony “I just think it is the right thing to do.”
“Thank you, Princess of the Sun.” Dirty Money bowed “I strive to prove I am worthy of this second chance.”
“I know you will” Celestia said as the scene faded.
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Luna did her best to hold back the tears; she tried with all her might, but to no avail. She found herself hiding in the corner, crying like a little filly once again. She felt a hoof on her shoulder. She turned to see a warm smile from Twilight. She was able to calm down as the others walked over to comfort her.
“So, that is why the unicorn called us thieves.” said Twilight after a long silence “The Elements were stolen.”
“Yes, it is the most shameful secret my sister and I have ever needed to bear.” said Luna “It…feels good, to finally speak of him with somepony other than Celestia.”
“Princess, I have so many questions,” Said Twilight but she saw Luna looked exhausted. The magic required to maintain the shard vision must have been astronomical. “but they can wait until morning.”
“Thank you, Twilight Sparkle. The guards have prepared your old room, as well as two others.” Luna said with a sigh of relief “My sister should be arriving around lunch time tomorrow. I will…meet with my sister first. We shall continue this at dinner.”
They said their good nights and the six mares left. Luna went out to her balcony and stared up at the sky. A tear rolled down her eye as she whispered “Good night, Mr. Smith.”