• Published 17th Apr 2014
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The Luna Cypher - iisaw



Sequel to The Celestia Code. When the monsters created by the dark crystal engine escape their prison, it's up to Princess Twilight to deal with them. She gets help and advice from Princess Luna, but things don't go as planned.

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11 Preparations

Chapter Eleven
Preparations

The dark magic monsters were a more serious threat than I had first thought. I went over Csharreee's information carefully, adjusting my plans once again. I still had confidence we could wipe out the monsters with minimal risk, but we would have to do it quickly. Once we engaged them, they would adapt to counter our forces. Just during the short time we had fought the first group, Big Ugly had managed to produce many more capable flyers in response to our aerial attack, and Csharreee reported that after several skirmishes with her people, the monsters besieging them now closely resembled changelings.

At the top of my checklist of that day's tasks and preparations was one little empty box: armor conditioning. I grimaced. I had left my armor in Canterlot castle. It was a convenient excuse to have a day off from carting all that weight around, but the blank space on my list stared back at me accusingly. Well, I was scheduled to have tea with Celestia and I could pick it up then. Half a day off would have to do.

I went through everything else on my list, then went out and checked on the work on Evenstar. The structural repairs and modifications were complete, and the new patches were being painted over. If there had been time, I would have included magical armor similar to Solar Flare's, but beyond the fitting of the wire, it needed complex and tedious spellwork I'd never be able to finish before we needed to leave. I noticed that there was a simple sun-and-moon symbol in gold paint next to the portside bridge hatch. Below it was the words: Ironwood Pass. It wasn't any bigger than my hoof, and it hadn't been a part of Evenstar's original decoration.

"Excuse me," I called out to the pegasus working on the hull nearby. "What's this?"

He glided over and gave me the little head bob that took the place of a bow for a pony in flight. "Oh, that's her battle medallion, Your Highness. Hasn't been one of those awarded since the Second Griffin War, I hear."

"Ah, I see." I had very mixed feelings about that. "And Ironwood Pass is where we were?"

"Yes, ma'am. Well, we were about three miles from the pass, but that's the nearest named place that anypony knew of."

I almost told him to paint over it. I didn't want my sweet, pretty pleasure craft turned into a weapon of war. But there were now firing ports cut into her hull, armor plates over the rudder and elevator joints, and attach points for anti-boarding netting. Evenstar was now a warship because she needed to be. It was too late to pretend otherwise.

When I had entered my second year at school, mom and dad had talked with me about what I wanted to do with my education. Magical research was my top choice, and maybe a teaching position as well. Me being me, I had had several backup careers all planned out as well. Nowhere on the list was "princess" or "defender of the realm."

I sighed and touched the Wheel of the Moon; it was time for tea and armor.

= = =

Celestia was waiting for me in the gazebo in the upper palace garden. A sumptuous high tea had been set out: lots of little sandwiches, sweets, and cakes in addition to three different pots of tea.

I was determined to make it a pleasant hour or so. It would be the last time I would see the princess before I left for the Badlands, and I wanted to take away only simple, happy memories.

If I hadn't known Celestia so well, I might have managed it.

She apologized, again, for the scene in the castle dining hall, and I reassured her that I was deliriously happy with Luna and that I was still performing all my princessly duties.

"Well," she said, smiling kindly, "if you are happy together, then perhaps everything will turn out fine."

And right then, I knew. Despite her attempt to hide it, Celestia was sadder than I had ever seen her before. Combined with Shining's little slip-up at dinner the night before, it pointed to only one conclusion.

"There's something you're not telling me. Something important."

Her smile slipped a tiny bit for brief moment and then she laughed. "Yes, of course there is, Twilight. I can't tell you everything. It would take too long, for one thing."

I put on my grumpy face. Celestia's smile went all indulgent. The battle of facial expressions went on for another few moves until Celestia sighed and said, "It is not something you need to concern yourself with, Twilight. The business of the kingdom often brings—"

"No, it's something to do with me, isn't it?"

"Twilight—"

"I want to know," I said letting my ears flicker back and forth erratically. "You know how I can get when I'm frustrated."

She sighed. In a flash of magic, she brought forth a small, jeweled box and put it down on the table in front of us.

I peered down at the decoration on the curved top of the box: a painted lotus blossom with elongated petals that resembled flames. Anypony with an interest in history or lurid tales would have recognized it. "That's Fireflower's mark."

"It is," Celestia said, and lowered her head to tap the mark with the tip of her horn. There was a click, and the lid of the box popped open slightly.

I looked at the box as if it might have contained a viper. "From everything I've read, she was known as the Mad Wizard of Serpent's Spire, and an enemy of Equestria."

Fireflower's reputation was not a good one, but there were no records of anypony doubting her ability. Celestia lifted the lid and took out one of the tightly rolled scrolls within. To my disgust, I realized that it was actually parchment. Fireflower's dealings with the Griffin Empire must have influenced her in unsavory ways if she had kept her records on the dried skins of dead animals.

"No, she wasn't my enemy, though she certainly wasn't a friend, and she was not mad," Celestia said. Her head came up slightly and her eyes lost focus for a moment as she thought back to distant times. "She had the gift and the burden of prophecy. When the ruin of her tower was searched, this box was found. It will open only to my touch. Inside were twenty scrolls that could not be unrolled or read until a certain date had passed. In the past, some of them have been very helpful to me. Others... well..." Celestia's mouth twitched briefly in what I thought was distaste and then she continued. "At the last new moon, this scroll's seal dissolved."

Celestia passed the scroll to me, and I held the revolting thing up and opened it. The angular brown lettering was a little difficult to decipher, but it still only took a short while to read the entire thing.

Begins the setting of the Sun,
When Night and Evening join as one.
To save the Day who sits on high,
The mare of darkest hue must die.

I never thought that the old expression "my blood ran cold" was anything but a bit of poetic hyperbole. But that was exactly what it felt like when I finished reading. No wonder Celestia had been so opposed to Luna and I getting together!

"You should have told us," I said.

Celestia nodded. "Yes, perhaps keeping this from you was a mistake, but to deny your happiness out of fear for myself... no, that is worse. I am sorry, Twilight. I should not have shared this with Cadance and Shining Armor. You and Luna deserve happiness, and you must not—"

At that moment the answer to the riddle snapped into place and I laughed. Celestia looked at me like I was crazy. "Oh, sorry!" I said. "Maybe Luna hasn't mentioned it to you, but the Nightmare has been lurking around in the Dream Realm, pestering me. She's the mare with the darkest coat. Nothing's darker than black, right? Once we deal with the monsters from the desert, she's next on my list." I beamed at her. "See? Problem solved!"

"I thought the Nightmare was sealed away and beyond our reach. But if…" Celestia blinked. "Could it be that simple?

"I don't see why not. I'm sure all the little nudges I've been getting from that black nag are leading up to something nasty, so I'm just going to shortcut her plans by finding out some way to get rid of her for good. Don't worry; it'll be fine!"

Celestia smiled again and shook her head. "If it were any pony but you, Twilight Sparkle, I would dismiss your assurances, but with your past record, I am greatly encouraged."

I grinned and popped a little tea cake into my mouth. "You'll see! Everything is going to be just fine!"

= = =

The armor felt much lighter as I put it on. I'm sure my mood had something to do with it. I stopped by the jeweler's and picked up my order, then flew over to the infirmary.

Captain Speedwell met me there, and we talked briefly about how we were going to do the presentations before entering the ward. Once inside, we moved from bed to bed, speaking with each pony and then awarding them the various medals I had commissioned. I felt a bit hypocritical, actually. I couldn't see how passing out little bits of gold was in any way reward enough for what those ponies had been through, but they seemed truly touched by the gesture, and I guess that was good enough.

When we got to Private Flicker, he actually managed a smile. "Thank you, princess. And... I've made my decision. Could you tell Princess Luna for me that I'd like to join her guard?" He seemed a bit hesitant.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, Your Highness." He paused and grimaced. "My mother isn't too happy about it, but it's the only way I'll be able to go with you back to the Badlands."

"I'll tell her," I said, marveling that a pony with such an easy excuse to hoof would be willing to throw himself back into battle after suffering such a crippling wound.

Rainbow Dash was just as eager, but that mare is crazy. Everypony knows it.

"Check it out, Twi!" she called to me, waving all four legs in the air. "Casts are off and I'm ready to fly!"

"Then why are you still in here?" I asked in some confusion.

Fluttershy flipped back the sleets, revealing a broad strap cinched around Rainbow's waist. "She's tied to the bed."

"Stupid doctor says I need more rest! He doesn't know me very well."

Someday I, too, will be calm and imperturbable enough to be above rolling my eyes at my friends' little quirks, but I wasn't at Celestial levels of serenity that day. "Look at it this way," I told her. "Solar Flare leaves here the day after tomorrow. You can't go aboard until then, so you might as well sleep here."

Dash crossed her forelegs over her chest let out a huff of air which flipped up her forelock. "It feels like I've been here forever!"

"Just one more day," I told her. "And I believe Captain Speedwell has something for you."

The captain went through the formal words and set the medallion on Dash's chest.

"Wow!" Dash said, grinning her head off. "A real medal. For bravery!"

I leaned over and tapped the little sun-and-moon disk with the edge of my hoof. "It says 'For Bravery', but in your case it's actually for insane recklessness."

Dash laughed. "It's the same thing!"

That was the classic Rainbow Dash attitude, and it was something that was going to have to change. Fortunately, I had a plan.

= = =

I grabbed a quick bite to eat at the florist's and then spent the rest of the afternoon learning to pilot the old airship, Hazina. I already understood a lot of how aeronautical concepts like wind levels and thermoclines affected airships from the days when I had learned to pilot my old balloon, and I had taken the helm of Evenstar on many occasions, but Hazina was a quite different experience. She was old and cranky, with propulsive fins instead of propellers, and her controls were both more complex and less accurate than modern equipment. She even had two rudders, one on the envelope and one on the hull.

It didn't help that Hazina's hanging hull design made steering a very touchy process. Any overcorrection set up an oscillation between envelope and hull that was very difficult to ease out of. Gudgeon told me that there had been cases of novice pilots on these old types who had fallen into the trap of "chasing the needle"[1] and actually tearing the ship apart in their frantic efforts to get back on course, particularly in bad weather.
----------
[1] Even the most responsive airship turns very slowly. A pilot who thinks she hasn't given the ship enough rudder because the compass needle doesn't begin to turn immediately, will often oversteer, then overcorrect when trying to compensate, sometimes leading to wild oscillations.
----------

Gudgeon and the rest of the crew were very patient with me and, when I had gotten comfortable with normal flight, I practiced maneuvering without one or more of the big fins to simulate battle damage. I knew it would take me a much longer amount of time than I had to get good at that sort of thing, but it was a good idea to at least have a grasp of the concept. Even with both rudders completely disabled, I could steer the ship by varying the amount of power to the two propulsive fins.

"The worst scenario is if you've lost one power fin and the hull rudder," Gudgeon told me. "We won't try that today because it's dangerous even under controlled conditions and in good weather. In that case, it's best to shut down power completely and use your ballast or gas venting controls to get to an elevation with a wind going the way you want to go."

"That, or abandon ship," I said.

"Well," Gudgeon said, squinting at me out of one eye. "I don't reckon you're planning on bringing her back in any case, Your Highness."

I smiled at him and gave him a little nod of acknowledgement. Clever pony, that Gudgeon.

= = =

I left Hazina to her delivery crew and flew back to Ponyville on my own. I arrived about an hour before sunset and was greeted by my secretary in the council chamber. She had a stack of papers and a stationery box floating by her side.

"Miss Rarity wishes to see you as soon as possible," Periwinkle said, passing me a note on lavender paper. "The mayor is showing signs of panic about the presence of Queen Chrysalis and her entourage." A scroll with the Ponyville seal. "The chef wishes to know what changelings eat and how many there will be for dinner." A nearly indecipherable scrawl on the back of an old menu. "And Captain Zephyr would like an update on the schedule." A crisply folded slip of white paper. "I've handled all the rest myself. I can give you a summary if you like, Your Highness."

I hastily wrote out replies to everything but Rarity's note. I added a letter to the treasurer instructing her to raise Periwinkle's salary by ten percent.

"Where is Rarity now, do you know?" I asked Periwinkle.

"She is in your chambers," she said. "She is complaining about the lack of closet space."

I hot-hoofed it to my suite to find the doorway half blocked by a large chest and a portable clothes rack. There were also several pastel-colored boxes scattered about.

"Oh, darling! I'm so glad you're back!" Rarity said. "I just can't seem to find space for everything and you must help me decide on your evening wear!"

"Evening wear?"

"You're dining with a royal princess and a queen tonight! You simply can't go au natural! Yes, I know that Chrysalis is of dubious quality, but she is royalty, nevertheless, and that outfit of hers is quite striking. The gothic look is passé, but she seems to pull it off well enough." She sniffed, hung up the dress she had been levitating, and lifted a necklace out of one of the boxes. "Don't worry, I'm sure that we can do better. Hmn... these opals are nice, don't you think?"

"Beautiful," I assured her. "But right now I'm going to get out of my armor and take a shower."

"Oh, of course, dear! But please, before you go give me a hint about what sort of look you want to present. Stiff or casual elegance? Perhaps stern and commanding on the eve of battle?"

"You can do that with just a dress?"

"Darling, you would simply not believe what I can do with 'just' a dress." She smirked at me.

Huh. Well, there was only one pony I was worried about making an impression on, and it certainly wasn't Chrysalis. "Can you make me look... uhmn... attractive?"

Rarity dropped the necklace.

"What?" I asked, after she had stared silently at me for several seconds.

She sighed and shook her head. "Twilight, you are a very beautiful mare. I can enhance or emphasize your various qualities, but I will only be accentuating what is already there."

Rarity is a great friend. It was really sweet of her to try boosting my confidence like that. I smiled at her. "Whatever you think Luna will like," I said as I began unbuckling my armor.

After an invigorating shower and grooming, I returned to find that Rarity had already completed the dress. She did my mane and makeup, added bits of jewelry, then stepped back to assess her work.

She nodded in approval. "It says, 'I am the most gorgeous thing you've ever laid eyes on and if I deign to glance in your direction for more than an instant, you will feel like the luckiest pony alive.'"

"It says all that? Really?"

"Verbatim, dear. Come look in the mirror."

I had to admit, Rarity had made me look really good. The slinky black dress, combined with star sapphire accessories and a bit of makeup did wonders for me. The shimmering fabric flowed and swirled as I moved, revealing an occasional flash of leg. The jewelry sparkled in the light and the up-swept hairdo with ringlets to either side of my face gave it all a touch of elegance.

"You're astounding, Rarity!"

"Yes, I rather am, aren't I?" She gave me a peck on the cheek. "Go forth and conquer, darling! All I ask is that you describe, in detail, the look on Luna's face when she first sees you!"

= = =

=

Author's Note:

Released early because I will be hiking far from cellular reception all through the holiday weekend, and I didn't want to make you guys wait until Monday. To all mah fella' 'merkins, I hope you have a great Independence Day and don't blow off any of your parts!

A mis amigos, AcademicPony y statoose, muchas gracias por la asistencia! (Yes, I've run out of ways to say it in English, so I'm improvising. I'll probably end up by tapping it out in Morse code at the end of chapter ninety-seven.)