//------------------------------// // Chapter Ten: Celebration! // Story: Princess of Shadows, Darkness, and Light // by jwizard //------------------------------// Equestria, Canterlot Castle, 06-09-05, 11:00 A.M. A.N.M. (After Nightmare Moon) A palpable level of festive anticipation hung over the crowd of ponies gathered in the Throne Room of Canterlot Castle. The assembled nobles had been shocked to discover that a previously unknown alicorn was going to be crowned. Though there were those who knew, they had been conjoined by said alicorn to not tell anyone until the moment arrived for the crowning. What was more surprising was a number of ponies that few ever saw. Sitting in the front row were Priests of the Temple of Light. Priests seldom left their stated Temples unless their services were needed; often, ponies went to them for their needs instead. What’s more, the Circle of Light was the most secluded of all the Priesthoods. That they were present- and in such numbers -was a sign of major changes to come. Princess Celestia waited on the dias with the other three Princesses of Equestria, a small smile of happiness on her muzzle. No matter how she initially felt, the fact that she was going to formally recognize another princess was indeed a cause for celebration. Not only that, she was also happy that she would now be able to confirm another that had long struggled to defend Equestria. “Citizens of Equestria, We stand before you today with momentous news! Several months ago, I and my sister sent Princess Twilight Sparkle, and Dame Rainbow Dash, Bearer of Loyalty, on a journey to the far north. They were sent to find clues to a danger towards both our land, and the fully Awakened land of the Crystal Empire.” “After much hardship, Dame Rainbow Dash rose up and faced down a Shade of Darkness in defense of another. In battle, she proved herself more than worthy to wield the Power that We Princesses share. She has become the Guardian of a Realm once thought Lost. Citizens of Equestria, it gives Us great pleasure to present to you all Princess Rainbow Dash, Princess of the Aurora and The Alicorn of Light!” Cheers rose up as Rainbow Dash made her stately way to the dais. She gave a cheeky wink to Scootaloo, who waited in the front row with Rainbow's eldest sister, Silent Aria. She was the only one who was able to arrive in time for Rainbow's coronation. With a smile, Celestia levitated the crown that Rainbow had received in her formal crowning the day before. Celestia waited until the cheering had died down before continuing. “Citizens of Equestria, while the Crowning of another of your heroines is much cause for celebration, there is another equally joyful task before Us. Due to the unlawful actions of those thought to be in the Service of Equestria, we now have a new High Council. However, this one has proven bolder and wiser than those before them, and has formally requested the return of one that has long defended our world.” “To understand the meaning of my words, one only needs to go back in history to remember the aid that she gave the Founders in their Time of Need. Despite this, she was pushed away; even so, she labored from afar to defend this and many other lands. Now the High Council has requested that We formally recognize her as a princess of this land. She is the Guardian of the Heart of Harmony itself, the Bearer of the Sacred Flame of Friendship. Citizens of Equestria, it gives me great pleasure to welcome Our Sister, Princess Hope, Alicorn of Harmony!” A palpable hush fell on the crowd as Hope made her way towards the other alicorns, followed by the heralds selected for her. She was already crowned; she had been a princess for far longer then there had even been an Equestria, having been crowned by the nation of Roam before it vanished. Hope was tall; as tall as Celestia herself. Her coat was a light lilac in color, almost the same shade as Twilight’s. Upon her flank was a cutie mark of six bound circles surrounding a heart. Each circle was one of the colors of an Element of Harmony. Hope nodded towards her fellow alicorns. Turning towards the crowd of ponies before her, Hope bowed. “I have long considered myself a Guardian of this land. Clover herself charged me with the duty to help preserve it, and it gives me great pleasure to be able to do so more openly than I have been able to in centuries.” The ponies in the throne room all cheered; they had not one but two new princesses to celebrate. Few realized that this was a sign of even more changes to come. The party that Pinkie Pie threw after Rainbow Dash’s coronation would go down in history as one of the best that the pink party pony had ever thrown. Sure, Pinkie had done some amazing parties over the years. The one for Twilight’s coronation was almost as grand. However, there was more than just Rainbow Dash’s coronation that Pinkie was celebrating. First of all, this was the first time that Princess Hope had ever had a party celebrating her-- that Pinkie Pie was aware of anyway. Hope wasn’t saying anything to the contrary either; far be it for her to break the heart of Laughter. Those in the know also knew that this was a party that celebrated couples. It was a rather understated way for Pinkie to celebrate Twilight and Rainbow Dash being a couple without an official announcement being made. Rainbow Dash smiled as she saw the rap duel between Vinyl Scratch and Pinkie. She wouldn’t admit it to anypony beside Twilight and Fluttershy, but she was actually glad that she had been named as a Princess of Equestria. It wasn’t as if she was expected to do any sort of ruling; she’d already made it plain that she didn’t want any kind of jurisdictional duties. She already had enough on her plate with her own Realm. Rainbow’s thoughts were interrupted by Rarity coming up from behind her. “Having fun darling?” the fashionista asked. Rainbow nodded. “Pinkie Pie’s parties are always fun. Better now than things were just after my coronation; I met with the Captain of my Guard. That was a little tense,” Rainbow said. “I got the impression going in that Spitfire wasn’t happy with Celly’s decision. She changed her tune after I formally challenged her for the Captaincy. If she won, she’d get to keep the ‘Bolts-- without a PPP commission. If she lost, then she’d have to listen to what I had to say.” Rarity smiled. “Since I see a number of the ‘Bolts here, I take it that you won?” Rainbow shook her head. “Nope, I lost. I even hit Sonic Rainboom speeds, and I still lost. Spitfire is fast; she’s one of the fastest pegasi alive.” Rainbow shrugged. “I knew that going in; that was all to prove a point. I knew that I wouldn’t be losing my Guards; even though the ‘Bolts would no longer be commissioned with the PPP, each ‘Bolt still was. None of them had served yet, and I made it plain that I wasn’t going to release them until the end of the year, after the tour season was over.” Rainbow chuckled evilly. “For being a dumb jock herself, Spits had gotten the impression that I was too stupid to know that their PPP commissions were still valid. Once Spits realized that I knew that, she got angry. Basically accused me of forcing the issue; the ‘Bolts can’t afford to miss even one month’s worth of airshows, let alone an entire season.” “When I pointed out that serving with me would fix their financial issues, she realized that she had completely misjudged me as well as the whole situation. Fleetfoot rightly pointed out that I wasn’t even trying.” Rainbow snorted. “Of course not; I’m an alicorn. I’ve got more pegasi mana in my right front hoof than the entire winged branch of the PPP, and any foal knows this. Turns out that her commanders had promised the reinstatement of Wonderbolt’s Academy if she could find some way to ‘take me down a peg or two.’ They’re no longer commanders of anything; they’re now serving drudge positions at Fort Last Hope the last time I checked. Spits is going off to the Crystal Empire tomorrow; she’s to take a course in Basic Leadership from the Captain of the Ruby Guard. Rarity chuckled. “Well, it doesn’t seem as though the others are too angry that Spitfire’s no longer on the team; I got the impression that she was a great Wonderbolt, but a poor Captain.” Rainbow snorted. “She was too busy signing autographs to make an effective Captain. Fleetfoot and Soarin’ did all the work anyway, and Spitfire knew it. Fleetfoot runs the show now, with Soarin’ as her Number Two. And I got the Royal Guard to recommission the Academy; new recruits are going to go through Basic as well as those tests they had us do. I’ll take Spits back as a Wingleader if she can prove to me that she truly understands what it means to be Loyal. If not, she can serve the rest of her commission out at Fort Last Hope.” “Well darling, it looks as though you’ve proven yourself worthy to your new title,” Rarity said after a bit. She smiled slyly at the fetching blush that rose onto Rainbow’s cheeks at that statement. “Oh come now Rainbow Dash; you’re telling me that a simple compliment like that is enough to embarrass you?” Rainbow could only nod. The two mares continued to sit next to each other, just enjoying the company of old friends. They were soon joined by two more. The two turned to see Luna and Twilight trotting up to them. “Rainbow, we just got word that Priss Polomare has filed suit against you for wrongful termination of employment. You don’t need to worry; she hasn’t a case,” Twilight said quickly. “I just thought you’d like to know.” “We informed her that she has little chance of winning against a princess, but she refused to back down,” Luna said after taking a sip of watered-down wine. “My Guard are busy trying to find evidence to link her and her sister both to what you and Princess Twilight discovered in Mareago. Nothing so far, and not for a lack of trying.” Rainbow snorted. “Other than Suri Polomare owning Wholesome Shipping, there isn’t any. I don’t think Priss was involved at all, and Suri was doing that smuggling operation with Hoity Toity at the time.” “Indeed she was, though we have recently found evidence that shows that she was looking to use that as a way to frame Dame Rarity.” Luna nodded at the appalled look on Rarity’s muzzle. “Centurion Marigold has informed me that there was a convoluted plan to besmirch the reputation of each and every one of the Elements. None of it would have worked; the whole thing stunk like five-day-old socks.” The ponies gathered all laughed at that. “I’m more concerned what it all means though. Why now all of a sudden? They’ve had opportunities before, but to time them at a point where we were looking for them makes no sense.” Twilight looked tired as she took a sip from her own cup. Rainbow sighed. “I don’t know Twi; I’ve been trying to figure out that myself.” Luna had a reason though. “Those of us who protect this land will be targeted by those with ill intent. It has always been thus; like moths to a flame, they descend upon us in order to remove the obstacle we are to their base desires. ‘Tis fortunate that most are as stupid as they are unoriginal; we have far more to worry about those that hide in the Shadows, waiting to strike.” Rainbow nodded. She wrapped a wing around Twilight in comfort. “Yeah, and things are only going to get worse before they will get better. They will get better Twi; we’re past the starting line now, and things should be looking up from this point forward.” The four just sat there for a few minutes before joining the other Elements in a rousing round of Limbo. Even Luna sacrificed her dignity to have a bit of fun. Time enough for kingdom business tomorrow; now was time for celebration. Equus, Somewhere, 06-10-05, 12:24 A.M. A.N.M. (After Nightmare Moon) Luna floated- for lack of a better term -over a featureless plain. Once more, she found herself on Lune’s surface. What was worse was that she was not caught up in the rage that was Nightmare Moon; no, this was a dream that she’d been having as of late. What this dream was about, she had little idea. It often seemed as though this was something that she should remember. That she could not was obviously by dint of her own actions, for she could not even glean a single hint. There! Off to the side! Luna floated over to a much younger version of herself, clad in dark armor. It was her, make no mistake about it; though the armor was that of her Nightmare form, the face was that of her own. This must have been one of those times then. At certain points during her imprisonment, the Demon of Envy would flee, leaving her in a moment of relative lucidity. Even so, such was her sister’s Power that she was unable to escape in her weakened state. Her past self wandered in an air of sadness and pain. Luna suddenly remembered this; it was several hundred years after she had first been imprisoned. Lost and alone, she had used what little power she had to force the demon back, though it cost her. Indeed, it was that very reason that kept her sealed on Lune; she was as weak as a newborn kitten afterwards, and was never able to gather enough will to leave. Plus, she didn’t feel as if she deserved to do so. Past-Luna sighed. It wasn’t a desire to be free that gave her the will to fight Envy, but the presence of a young mind somehow wandering her prison. A Dreamwalker was somehow here, wandering the Wastes. The mind was one that she had felt briefly a few times before. Past-Luna had searched fruitlessly for the mind then, and it seemed as if she would do so now. In this she was mistaken; not two paces away from her was a young pegacorn mare that Past-Luna had never seen before. For Present-Luna, the young face was one that was achingly familiar; she had seen it many times in her dreams, though something had kept her from remembering who she was. This time, it seemed as though the dream- or rather memory -was coming to her from another perspective. It was almost as though somepony else was allowing her to see what she herself was unable to remember. “Who are you, miss? Why have you been crying so? I’ve felt your tears touch my mind; travelling like this is a danger for me, but I must know why you sound so sad.” Past-Luna surprised the young pony by embracing her. “Thank you for showing me such kindness little one; I was unsure that my efforts had borne fruit, but it seems  that my Calls were at least heard. I am- or was -one of the twain that watched over the lands of Equestria; banished here for actions most unbefitting, I have been sealed here for many centuries now.” The young pegacorn looked shocked. “Then you must be Princess Luna! I have seen your face in my dreams since I was a filly, ever since the teacher told me of what happened all those years ago. Many blame you for our troubles; it has been worse for us Exiles ever since you were sealed away! Why would you do such a thing if it brought you such sadness, such grief?” Past-Luna sighed. “I gave into Envy young one. I wished to be as loved as my sister, but conniving noble-ponies did dastardly things to rob me of the renown due me; that was on top of the diurnal nature of all ponies save those of Nocturne ancestry. But that dost not concern me; what of you? Why do you call yourself an Exile?” “Princess Luna, have you truly forgotten what you yourself did years ago? How you took many young ponies that did you service and sequestered them on the far side of Lune, past the barrier that Star Swirl had erected to Seal away the Dark One? How you then Blessed them and their children, that they might share in your gift of Dreamwalking; how you taught but a few the knowledge to do so? Have you truly abandoned us, or did you do something to yourself that caused you to forget?” The young pegacorn looked sad instead of angry as she asked these questions; there was a hesitancy, as though she rejected the words she was saying. “I vaguely remember doing all that you said and more. Much of what I do must have been sealed when I first came here, likely by my own efforts; my Enemy is crafty, and what I know, It knows.” Past-Luna sighed. “What is your name child? I need something at least before I send you away; my Enemy will soon return, and It cannot know that you were here.” “My name is Nightingale, Princess. I am an orphan, having lost both parents to Shadow-spawn when little. I’m a pegacorn as you can see; that garners little respect, as we’re judged as mis-born by the Moon Council; it bears little resemblance to what you first set it to be. I wish I could stay longer; even now, I can feel the presence of a great Evil heading this way. Princess Luna, if you truly wish to be free from Envy, you must accept that it is a part of you; one shouldn’t deny those darker emotions, only seek to not be ruled by them.” The young pegacorn then flashed away in sparkles as her astral form returned to her body. Present-Luna turned away as Past-Luna’s muzzle twisted in rage. She had no desire to see her form twist in that dark fashion as had happened the first time she’d had this dream. Tears rolled down her muzzle as she was finally able to put a name to a face that had been on her mind ever since her return. “Why am I being tortured so? Have I not done enough since my return to be able to see my memories properly?” “This is not your memory dear Lulu, but the memory of another,” said a voice from behind her. Luna suddenly realized that she was standing on the surface of the Moon once more. Turning, she looked to see the presence of Selene. “You see the memory of Nightingale, she that those of the Moon Kingdom call their Princess. This was the memory of your first meeting; for her, it was as if she was first witnessing it. You would have naturally seen it in the same fashion; however, your mind is shielded by dint of your own hoof. I’ve been unable to help you before this point because of the barrier you see; it keeps the Dark One bound in such a way as to divide his attentions.” “You came here seeking solace, and her sleeping mind answered. If you truly wish to meet one that I know you yearn for, then you must follow the path you once made ages ago. Search the dates of the last major war between the Gryphons and the Minotaur; there you will find the clues you left there.” So saying, Selene faded away… Just as slowly, Luna woke up. Luna rubbed her face sleepily as she woke, groggy. She looked at the scene around her in a daze. She and a number of all the other party-goers were all draped around various pieces of furniture of a dark blue. Blearily, Luna realized that she and most of the Element Bearers had fell asleep watching a few of the movies in her private collection. Blinking the sleep out of her eyes, Luna looked at a nearby clock. She gave a soft eep as she realized that she was overdue in the Dream Realm. Time enough for mysteries tomorrow; she wasn’t about to be lax in the one duty that had always brought her joy. Arranging herself in a restful form, Luna projected her mind along the paths so familiar to her. Even while on Lune’s surface, she was able to Dreamwalk; indeed, it was one of the few things that made that time at all bearable. To her shock and pleasure, Luna found that she wasn’t alone. Waiting in the garden that linked the Paths was Rainbow Dash of all ponies. “Certes Princess Rainbow; I was not certain if Dreamwalking was something thou wert Blessed with.” Rainbow snorted softly. “I’m not actually. Well, not any more than any pegacorn or alicorn is; we all have a touch of it, just like any other pony magic. No, this has more to do with my role as Guardian; anywhere where the Light touches, I can be as well as see.” Rainbow frowned. “In fact, if it weren’t for Serenity helping me filter, the seeing part would be driving me bat-shit insane. Some of the things that have come my way are the sort of stuff I’d rather not see.” Rainbow blushed at the salacious grin Luna was wearing. After a moment the lunar mare chuckled. “Certes, it gave me more than a pause the first time I wandered into a dream that I thought was a nightmare, only to see the private revels. I tend to see my way away from such things unless I know the sleeper is truly stressed. “ She frowned. “What bothers me is how you are here if you are not Dreamwalking. That requires moonlight at the very least.” Rainbow nodded. “That’s it exactly. I’m the Alicorn of Light LuLu; that means all light, visible and invisible, Sun and Moon. Every single wavelength of Light is one that I can touch.” She sighed. “That’s likely why the Dark One has feared one like me for so long. There’s basically nowhere he can go that I can’t follow. Not that I want to mind; I have enough on my plate right now with all of his Shades that are still in my Realm. At least they’re not in any way a danger; they can’t leave with me Guarding the doors.” Luna thought for a moment as she selected one of the doughnuts that Rainbow had provided. Curiously,  the food was real; it seemed as though Rainbow Dash was truly present as she had stated. “Mine sister and I cannot claim to have faced the Dark One as such; he was defeated by another years before Equestria was ever formed. As to how, we’ve never got a satisfactory answer.” Rainbow just shrugged. “Eh, there’s really not much to it. Unicorn sage that thinks he was more skilled than anypony else fights against one that is his opposite, finds out that he’s not his equal at all, and Calls upon all of the Elements to seal his enemy away in three different places without even bothering to discover if he had other ways to escape said binding. If it had been me, I’d have asked for help before going in.” Rainbow scowled. “Now I have the unenviable task of overseeing a nearly empty Realm because his war Sealed all of them away. What’s worse is the key to it all is somewhere I can’t See for some reason; I know where, I just can’t See how to get there. That’s maddening.” Luna chewed for a while as she recalled all that Star Swirl had taught her. It wasn’t much; she had learned more from Clover the Clever than Star Swirl. “Mine sister dealt more with Star Swirl than I. Which is odd, considering; Star Swirl made friends of course, but he wasn’t one that touted the Power of Friendship. That is why his last spell was unfinished; he misunderstood the representation of Harmony it described.” “You don’t wanna go mentioning the Harmony spell to Twilight. She thinks that the spell was actually developed by Clover the Clever as a way to instruct her mentor in the Power of Friendship. They separated at that point according to history.” Rainbow took a few bites of her own doughnut before continuing. “It all really doesn’t matter to me anyway; all I know is that my ponies- or at least part of them anyway -are still suffering because of him. And there’s not a single thing I can do about it.” Luna tilted her head questioningly. “Rainbow, you said yourself that you can see where Light touches? Canst thou not travel to such places as well?” Rainbow shook her head. “There are limits to that. First off, I need to have visited the place enough to remember details. Then there needs to be a pre-existing bridge I can use. Even then, I can only take others who have power similar to my own when there is no Gate to use; right now, the only one I can is Celly.” “Serenity seems to think that this problem isn’t for me to solve anyway. Since what I do know about the key suggests that it’s somewhere on Lune’s surface, she’s probably right. Only getting to that point is literally impossible unless one takes the right path. There’s one from my Realm; I was forced to Seal it as part of the fight against Sombra’s Shade when I first accepted the role laid before me.” Rainbow scratched the back of her head. “The other one is on the far side of Lune oddly enough; there’s something there, but I have no idea what is. Serenity’s blocking me from Seeing over there, and I’m not sure why.” “Where is the last one Princess Rainbow?” Luna asked slowly, fearing the answer. Rainbow shrugged again. “Somewhere in Equestria; it doesn’t seem to have a fixed point. I think it did once, but all that changed at some point. Serenity is being cagey when I ask her. All I really know for sure is that it’s connected to Lune in two places. Which is odd; that means the tunnel branches at some point.” Rainbow frowned as her eyes got a faraway look to them. As Luna looked on, they started to glow softly. “Huh, I’ve never seen this kind of pattern before, but the weave looks familiar for some reason. Wait, I get it! It looks like a dream catcher of all things! The entrance is tied to the Dream Realm in some way; that’s why it doesn’t seem to have a fixed point.” Luna started in shock. “Mine Realm you say?” she asked the cyan alicorn as her eyes returned to normal. Rainbow shrugged, nodding. “Then it must have been something that I myself or another Dreamwalker did that made it so. Since there are none but myself with that level of power over this Realm, then it was by mine own hoof. But then why do I not recall doing so? Couldst thou See it’s age when you Looked Princess Rainbow?” Rainbow shook her head. “All I could See was the shape of the pattern; that I only recognized because my mother collects dream catchers. I’m not skilled enough yet to recognize everything about a spell form; Twi’s teaching me, but it’s slow going.” Rainbow’s eyes glowed again as she Looked once more. “Hmm, actually, there is something I can say; the pattern is one that you don’t see often in modern dream catchers. It’s old; probably Circa 2nd Century A.D.” Luna facehoofed at that. “Then it was mine own hoof that altered the door; that pattern was a favorite of mine, designed by one of my pupils. You have been of tremendous help to me Princess Rainbow; you have given me more clues to a personal conundrum that I have been dealing with as of late. I thank you.” Rainbow Dash blushed at the praise. “Hay, we’re here to help each other LuLu; that’s what’s being a friend is for, right? I only wish I was able to do more than just offer fleeting clues.” “Still, it is yet enough to go on. Time enough tomorrow to search out old things; it’s waited this long, one more day will make little difference. I have been remiss in my duties, so I will take your leave Princess Rainbow.” So saying, Luna made her way from the glade, moving deeper into the Dream Realm. Rainbow frowned to herself as she left. “Serenity, I sure hope you know what you’re doing; I don’t like that you kept me from telling LuLu all that I had Seen. Her heart is just as lonely as it ever was, and keeping her from the one that can fill it will only hurt her more.” Rainbow sighed before making her way back to her own Realm. “Still, if I’ve learned anything in my own journey, is that these things must take the right course.” Rainbow Dash then walked away, leaving the glade to its serenity.