Acclimation
Over the next several days, Solaria was subjected to a treatment that the commoners called ‘mothering’ from the earth pony mare that had first taken her in after she had arrived. The mare, Smart Cookie, had shown her to a room that she could use temporarily before practically ordering her to lie down. Any objections were buried under several layers of warm comforters before the candle in the room was blown out and the door closed quickly.
The night had passed quickly as the disguised alicorn had attempted to process all the information she had learned over the previous day. The exact moment the sun came over the horizon, her door flew open and Smart Cookie entered with a bewildering amount of good cheer. Before any questions could be levied or objections voiced, Solaria found herself wrapped in a coarse, thickly woven cloak and hurriedly dragged out for a tour of the village.
Dozens of ponies were seen and introduced, and Solaria found herself struggling to keep them all straight. Places and roles were easy enough for her to remember, such as the blacksmith’s forge or the common hall that the majority of the ponies stayed in. The individuals were another thing entirely. The majority were earth ponies, followed by the pegasi, and the minority were the unicorns, and each had their role to play in the hidden community.
After a week’s worth of this treatment, Smart Cookie dropped the thoroughly overloaded ‘Sunny Skies’ off with Starswirl and Lulu before trotting off to talk with Clover.
“So, are you finally settled in, child?” Starswirl asked with a smirk. “I suppose I should have warned you of what would happen when we got here. I was expecting to have at least a day before she swept in to show you how everything works here.”
“I might have considered the treatment condescending if it wasn’t so useful,” Solaria said truthfully as she watched the mare in question move alongside Clover to rub against him. What does that behavior mean? I know the commoners have a word for it…
“The first step to learning is admitting that you don’t know everything,” the elder stallion said with a smile as he retrieved a small jug of water and began to sip from it. His sharp gaze peered over the container at Solaria as he continued, “I do not know where your talents lie, but any unicorn will be immensely helpful to the community if you choose to stay. Based on what you saw from the tour, did you see anything that you might be able to contribute to? I know the unicorns working on keeping the fields warm could definitely use some help.”
“Teacher!” Lulu shouted as she hopped up. “Sunny said she would teach me! I bet you know all kinds of magic, don’t you? What can you teach me first?”
I had honestly forgotten about that promise. Solaria thought as she tried to divide her attention between the bouncing filly and the interaction between Clover and Cookie, plus the conversation with Starswirl. “Well, how about…” This is rather vexing, as I know the mortals have a word for this. Ah! I have it! “Concubine!”
Water sprayed from Starswirl’s mouth as he shot an alarmed look at Solaria, then in the direction she was looking. His horn flashed and a silence spell fell over the trio before he spoke. “Sunny, if you value your life you will never say that word in Clover’s presence,” he warned as he wiped the remaining water from his beard.
“What’s a concubine, and why would that make Clover angry?” Lulu asked, puncturing the suddenly tense situation with her innocent question. “Is that some kind of special magic? Is it some kind of magic that he can’t do?”
“No, it’s not, Lulu. And that’s a grown up word so you aren’t allowed to use it,” Starswirl said firmly, and his swift reaction combined with the slightly exasperated expression was a sure sign that it wasn’t the first time that similar topics had come up.
As soon as the phrase ‘grown up word’ left Starswirl’s mouth, Lulu’s expression took on a cunning edge. “Like ‘plothole’?”
“Yes, exactly like that, Lulu.”
“What about--”
“Lulu, did you hear that Clover and Cookie are expecting a foal?” Starswirl asked in an attempt to stave off the perhaps not-so-innocently listed profanity. When the filly’s scarred expression lit up as much as it could from behind the hood, Starswirl added, “Why don’t you go ask them about it?”
“Okay!” Lulu cheered before dashing off towards the pair. She only stumbled once before skidding to a halt and barraging the couple with increasingly uncomfortable questions, judging by the adults expressions. Cookie’s expression went from surprised to positively glowing, then to slightly embarrassed as she did her best to keep up with the barrage from the filly. Clover’s expression was a pointed glare at Starswirl that usually preceded a political assassination, and it only intensified as the elder stallion grinned and waved a hoof.
“Sunny, I know things are different here, so I urge you to tread carefully,” Starswirl explained carefully. “Everypony here is an equal, and most of us consider each other friends. It’s a fragile thing, but there’s something special that happens here when everypony works together. It gets stronger every day, but tension still exists between the three tribes. Making assumptions about somepony’s role here might offend them, so please come to me first if you have questions.”
Solaria blinked with honest confusion at the lecture. “I’m not certain what you mean. Their relationship is servant and master. If she assisted in the cleaning of his chambers, she would be a maid. If she assisted with his personal effects, she would be a carry-all. Unless my eyes deceive me, she likely assist him with more… carnal needs. The title of one in such a position is co--”
“Do not speak that word,” Starswirl snapped, and with far more heat than the disguised alicorn had expected. “You hear my words, but you do not understand my meaning, child. In this place, all are equals. She is his wife, and he is her husband. They love each other as much as anypony can love another, and their race does not matter to them. Whatever their foal turns out to be, they will love it as much as any child can be loved by its parents.” When Solaria tried to speak, Starswirl cut her off. “It does not matter if you have a horn, or wings here. It’s not the what, but the who that matters.”
The explanation smacked against everything that Solaria knew about the people she ruled, and no matter how she approached the knowledge, it just did not fit. I suppose there are exceptions to every rule, and with a lack of suitable partners then it makes sense that Clover would look beneath his station to provide his heirs, she finally concluded. Rather than dwell on the subject, Solaria chose to latch on to something else that Starswirl had said… something that might explain the unreality of this community. “You mentioned that there was some force at work here that bound everypony together?”
Starswirl’s head tilted enough so that she could see an arched eyebrow beneath his wide-brimmed hat. “Everypony that has chosen to stay here to keep this place alive and successful has exhibited several clearly defined behaviors. When these individuals work together they can achieve far more than if they did so individually. They even achieve far more than the same number of ponies attempting the same thing under Solaria’s rigid caste system.”
The alicorn in disguise managed to resist the temptation to snort in disbelief, but her expression must have given her away as Starswirl showed his tired, patient smile.
“Honesty. Loyalty. Generosity. Kindness. Laughter. These five things you will find in abundance in this hidden village, and in all my years I’ve never seen the like,” the elder unicorn explained. “Scoff if you must, but something is happening here that is real. Tangible even. It’s more than just simple friendship regardless of birth or status. To be a part of something like this, it’s empowering. I’ve never felt as young or hopeful for the future in years.”
Empowering… Solaria mulled the possibilities that the word implied, even though she tried to make sense of what Starswirl was saying. There was a power in this land long before I arrived and began to shape the species to serve my purposes. Perhaps there could be a way to harness this power… to capture it in physical form and use it to break the Traveller’s hold upon me.
“Regardless, we’ve dithered on this subject long enough. I hope you take my original instructions to heart, or you may not be long for this world,” Starswirl said, and the silence spell around them dissipated. “Come, we should go to the fields. Something tells me you will be uniquely suited in assisting with this duty.”
------
Solaria had expected to see the vast and vibrant fields of produce that were commonplace prior to the rebellion. The fields that sustained the village were a pale shadow of that, much to her surprise. Instead of the billowing wheat fields or tall stalks of corn, the cultivated rows boasted only pathetic sprouts that barely reached past her fetlock.
What was more surprising was the amount of effort that was being invested in the weak harvest. A dozen earth ponies patrolled the rows, and each hoof that touched the ground channeled just a bit of magic into the surrounding soil and plant life. Half as many unicorns also paced around the field, each one maintaining a small flock of flickering flames that hovered over their respective areas. Several pegasi darted through the air to keep the normally overcast sky clear so that the sun could reach the field for the few hours that it was in the sky.
“This is what keeps our community going, Sunny. Without all three tribes working together, we would likely be starving right now,” Starswirl explained, and when he glanced to Solaria and saw only confusion on her face, he continued, “I suppose if you spent most of your life in the capital, you probably didn’t see much farming, right? Under ideal circumstances, earth ponies can grow and tend to the crops with no help necessary. Due to the current conditions, unicorns are vital in keeping the crops and the soil from freezing, and the pegasi have to keep the skies clear while the sun is out. The Windigo’s winter is a cruel thing, but we will survive it.”
“Windigo?” Solaria asked, more curious as to the unicorn’s biting tone than about the term itself.
Starswirl affixed her with one of his looks that was too good-natured to be considered suspicious before continuing. “The windigoes were creatures that fed on emotions such as anger and hatred, and they were well known for the wintery weather they brought with them. It’s been several hundred years since any have been spotted, and I suspect they were the victim of one of Solaria’s purges. The griffons and dragons were spared extinction when they surrendered to her, but I suspect the windigoes did not. It is ironic that ponies are speculating that Solaria is a windigo, and that her purge of them was less about the protection of ponies as it was a greedy coup so she wouldn’t have to share.”
Starswirl’s story brought up vague memories of emotional vampires made of ice and snow, but nothing concrete came to Solaria’s mind. After all, there were far too many dead species at her hooves for her to remember all of them. The last sentence piqued the disguised alicorn’s interest, though. “That assertion is absurd. Why would anypony believe that Queen Solaria is anything like such creatures?”
“Besides her apparent affinity for ice and snow?” the stallion asked with a bemused expression. “On its face, the caste system creates a perfectly functional society if everypony in it operates like a cog in a machine. Unfortunately, they don’t. Resentment, cruelty and hatred are rife within all of the castes, and Solaria does nothing to mitigate this. Thus the windigo theory was born.”
“Surely you do not believe this, do you?”
“No, I don’t. I don’t think Solaria is one of the windigoes. I think she just doesn’t care.” The statement was laced with a bitterness that the disguised queen found surprising. After all, he was completely correct. Before she could ponder on the subject any further, Starswirl let out a sigh before continuing, “Now is not the time for the old and jaded to place the burden of grudges on the young and hopeful. I was actually hoping to see what you can do with your magic, so we can find the best place for you. Do you think you can make a globe of fire like the unicorns out in the fields?”
“Of course I can,” Solaria said with absolute certainty. The particular spell they were casting was one she had never attempted, so a quick glance was needed to dissect the exact formulae they were using. To her surprise, the base of the spell was actually a highly modified spell that the battle magi had used, with a variety of minor changes that were unimportant. With a slight inhale, she closed her eyes and cast the spell using her normal routines.
A globe of fire was summoned before her, cast as easily as a master of the arcane craft. Unlike the warm spheres in the field, though, hers was like a sliver of the sun.
“By Tartarus, child, do you not know restraint!?” Starswirl’s yell broke Solaria’s concentration, and she opened her eyes to see just what had elicited the comment.
The stallion was surrounded by a shimmering shield, but the edges of his hat and robe were blackened and a look of panic was in his eyes. The packed snow outside the protection of his shield had melted almost instantly and the ground directly beneath where the sphere had appeared had scorch marks. The nearby fence beside the field had also been blackened, and several wafts of smoke could be seen rising from the wooden crossbeams. Solaria’s cloak had also been scorched near to cinders, though not a hair was out of place on her disguise.
Starswirl’s shield dropped as he approached with a far more wary expression on his face. “That was… well, unexpected, Sunny. Are you unharmed? I must admit to being surprised, child. The spell was well formed, but the power behind it was rather excessive.” The wariness gradually morphed into contemplative evaluation. “You have too good a grasp of spellwork not to have been tutored extensively. Did your teacher not instruct you on how to throttle your power?”
“Well… no,” Solaria answered after a long moment. It is technically the truth. I have never had a need to ever restrict my power.
“No, of course she wouldn’t teach you that,” Starswirl muttered under his breath before he cleared his throat. “How about we move away from the fields and we’ll see about fine tuning your casting for just the right amount of heat, okay?”
------
The sun was setting as Solaria tried and failed, again, to produce a sufficiently restrained globe of fire. The small clearing that they had chosen for practice was peppered with scorch marks and melted slurries from all of her attempts. Despite Starswirl’s patient and calm coaching, the alicorn was becoming increasingly frustrated with what should have been an extremely easy test. It also hadn’t helped that the unicorn stallion had chosen to offer his advice from several body lengths away.
A modest crowd had gathered around the perimeter to watch Solaria’s pyrotechnic displays, which made every failure seem far worse. This is far too vexing! Surely there is something more useful and significant that I can do other than warming the fields, the disguised alicorn thought. She started to ask Starswirl for a different role before her pride stopped her. It’s nothing but a simple spell, a manipulation of the world around me. I am Solaria, I will not be defeated by so simple a thing!
The problem, however, did not meekly surrender to her might as she tried three more times with no progress. The root of the problem was less about the spell itself and more about the power that was required for the desired effect. Specifically, Solaria couldn’t reduce her power enough to produce the warm torchlights that were necessary. Even with the supercharged incendiary globes, she couldn’t feel even the slightest draw on her power to gauge the consumption and thus had no frame of reference as to how to achieve the desired effect. If she tried to assist in the fields in her current condition, the plants would likely be incinerated…
Once that realisation struck her, Solaria knew exactly how to defeat at least one of the challenges that had been set before her. She whirled around to face the crowd of onlookers and shouted, “I require a…” the words ‘test subject’ were almost said, but stuck in her throat. What do the mortals call it when they offer their services? Ah! “...volunteer!”
The amused crowd recoiled slightly at the request, and nervous glances rippled back and forth through the crowd. Several long moments passed before somepony shouted, “I’ll do it!” The crowd parted to reveal an adolescent pegasus colt on the cusp of adulthood as he cantered out into the clearing. His confident demeanor faltered when he hit a patch of recently refrozen snow as he slid and stumbled forward. His hooves finally found enough purchase for him to right himself before he smiled brightly at Solaria.
“Sunny, what are you--?” Starswirl asked, before a look of alarm entered his expression. “Sunny, wait!”
The gentle crackle of flames was the only sound that could be heard in the clearing, and a tiny globe of fire hovered nearby the volunteer. Everypony observing held their breath, Starswirl included, and the volunteer began to look somewhat panicked once he realized just what he had volunteered for. Once it became apparent that the colt wasn’t going to burst into flames, the assembled crowd let out a collective sigh of relief.
“Success!” Solaria gloated at the tiny ball of flame, and a sense of… accomplishment filled her. If my magic cannot hurt anypony, then using the volunteer allows me to gauge the proper amount of power! Her grin grew as she ran a test and duplicated the tiny spark on the opposite end of the field. “Haha! The success has been doubled!” She repeated the process again and again a dozen times over, until the clearing was as well lit and warm as a summer’s day. She nearly lost concentration when the crowd approached her to offer congratulations and other accolades. The smiling faces and kind words brought a new emotion to the alicorn in disguise, one that she was not familiar with but was still… pleasant.
Solaria was so enamored with the experience that she didn’t notice Starswirl hanging back with Clover, or the eager look that the elder stallion gave the younger.
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Obligatory author placeholder comment! I'll fill this in later!
5713673
Obligatory comment response!
5713735
Obligatory non-committal non-endorsement/denial of obligatory speculation.
5713739
[insert preferred trollish comment here]
So Starswirl thinks that "Sunny" was taught by Solaria, that is ironic.
Oh Starswirl you are a fantastic dealer. You have given Solaria her first hit of the goodie good feels and she might just be hooked.
5714105
First taste is free...
Do you mean scared or is it supposed to be scarred?
Yay! A chapter! I can't wait for the next one
Did a paragraph get eaten by parasprites or something because I don't see how "concubine" is in any way an answer to
Solaria seems like a textbook case of Socratic Evil: she simply doesn´t know how to be good.
5714250
Solaria was only half-listening to the conversation when she finally remembered the word she wanted for the relationship between Clover and SC. She said the word the moment it came to mind regardless of the conversation she was actually having.
For whatever reason, I couldn't help hearing Led Zeppelin's "Immigrant" while Solaria was checking out the village. Must have been something about the ice, snow and gods among mortals.
Other observations!
1. Time Lapse - Seems like my initial theory of Solaria being absent for a while were right. A couple hundred years is enough to destabilize the natural order but just long enough for you to be remember, both for good and ill. The second-hand history lesson she's receiving with her tour must be as shocking as the state of the town itself.
And speaking of history...
2. Separate and Unequal - So, treating your living, thinking subjects like cogs in a machine is harmful to society as a whole? Not surprising to us mortals but probably blasphemous to the solar tyrant. It seems like her main problem (aside from being way too quick on the petrification spells) is the opposite of Discord's; she only cares for the system and not those who live in it. Where Discord becomes so involved with other beings he inevitably throws them off balance Solaria couldn't give a damn whether her subjects were healthy or suffering so long as order was maintained.
And, from Starswirl's account, it sounds like the caste system was rife with suffering in all three tribes. Concubine being a taboo word around Smart Cookie leads me to believe earth ponies were borderline slaves during her reign and used by the other tribes for any purposes they desired, willingly or not. Maybe Smart Cookie was intended to fulfill one of the more "carnal needs," as Solaria put it.
3. Wendigos and Elder Gods from Space - Sounds like wendigos aren't entirely made-up in the Stardust-verse if Solaria remembers them. The fact that ponies started speculating she was a wendigo is a neat bit of world-building. What better way for beings that feed on hatred and fear to thrive than to take hold of a nation and plunge it into unrest? Personally, I wouldn't count the theory out yet. Besides the snow and ice motif, Solaria built her system on fear and subjugation. Maybe she is one and hasn't yet realized it and was fulfilling her instinctual drive to feed.
Or perhaps she's a roaming eldritch horror from the stars? Or maybe the the two are one and same?
And now for my favorite piece of new lore...
4. Equestria's Power and Harmony - And now we learn there is a force that has existed on the planet since before Solaria. Though the elements had yet to take form, the power of harmony was still present and felt. Solaria's meddling (and destruction) of the various species probably disturbed that balance to the point where they were defened to it. Not to get all Captain Planet tree-hugger, but Solaria's constant world engineering could be a good allegory for our continued attempts to mold nature to our whims. We've altered our lands, ecosystems and bodies to the point where most can't imagine living in a completely natural world devoid of man's cities and technology.
Alright, that last statement made me sound like a hipster environmentalist blogger. Better go do donuts in a hummer for a few hours to re-assert my dominance over nature.
P.S. - Noticed some sections of Solaria's thoughts weren't italicized. It happened in a few places last chapter. You probably already had some people mention it, though.
5714321
Don't forget to feed your extra crude coal into your engine and lay on the obnoxious horn while you do it. :P
Edit: I also greatly enjoyed your speculation. Just wanted to get my snark out of the way. :P
5714337
Extra crude coal?! Do I look like I'm made of money? No, it'll be good old-fashioned baby seal oil for that beast.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got a couple shotguns and a six-pack of hard cider to pack for the drive.
i874.photobucket.com/albums/ab302/Church0/Applejack%20-%20Questria_zpschcvyfme.png
Beautiful. Her way of gauging her power output on a target she cannot hurt is a brilliant idea. Discord's kill-block will automatically restrict the fire sphere's heat to harmless levels when cast near a pony... really, that's brilliant!
Also Starswirl suspecting her of being Solaria's protegé... and the idea of having such then became history and tradition :)
5714231 I'm pretty sure it is scarred. I remember Luna(r whatever) being disfigured, as isn't she blind as well?
[edit: Lunar Lullaby, and Most of the coat on her face had been burned away, and the flesh that remained was puckered and wrinkled. Unblinking, milky-white eyes stared blankly at Starswirl as the washcloth began to wipe away the snow and dirt from her face.]
And now a moment of silence for the species Queen Solaria sent to the "great pasture in the ether", including (but not limited to): Snipes, wild-and-wooly-Haggises, one-eyed-one-horned-flying-purple-pony-eaters (not to be confused with a drunken Princess Twilight after an accident with a doorknob and a case of the munchies), honest politicians, and striped biologist taunters.
While it will probably NEVER be mentioned here in this story or Mente Materia, Arad confirmed to me via comments in the Gdocs that this young colt grew up and had foals of his own, who in turn had many more generations of ponies from his bloodline.... with one of his descendents being THIS loveable clutz: images1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20130408014161/goldencartoons/images/5/51/Derpy_hooves_vector_by_durpy-d4bwgwf.png
(I had guessed Rainbow Dash given his propensity to act first and think of the consequences second lol.)
5714321 Dude, the only emotions that Solaria ever showed before she was 'discorded' by The Traveler was annoyance and anger (with the latter being whenever something was out of her control). She is VERY much a logical creature, so her thinking of her subjects more like cogs in some grand machine certainly fits the bill.... she's like an evil Vulcan, only on four legs and a lot more likely to induce an uncontrollable urge to cuddle and apply brushies.
I love this story so far, i mean this is a new way of taking things (from what I've seen) I really love this, thank you for the story.
Gentle breeze guide your path, a warm smile welcome your return.
Well, that's an interesting origin for the Elements.
Wait... A couple hundred years? Where'd you get that? The only place I see that figure is how long ago she killed the real Windigo and that's something that happened long before she vanished.
Starswirl seems to clearly remember Solaria and believe she could have tutored Sunny. That means it's been a lot less than a hundred years since she vanished, unless you're saying unicorns live for many centuries.
You're going to pull one of these with Lulu, aren't you.
40.media.tumblr.com/08cb383d949a589f989801dfa79a5501/tumblr_n0gb2jH2YX1rgu2c4o1_1280.png
The answer to the test was... try to roast someone alive and see when the curse steps in? I don't think your spell's having the desired effect, Discord...
5716369 And thus Discord unwittingly laid the foundation for the development of a weapon that would one day break his dominance over all other immortals. And it is so very much Solaria to first and foremost think of a way turn her ponies' ideals into a devastating piece of artillery instead of something worth of aspiring to. I love this story so far.
5714489 Whoops
I suppose Solaria must have been an ordinary biologicall creature originally if she reacts like that to admiration? I can't imagine an elder god having much use for the instinctive fuzzy-wuzzies.
Given how she singed Starswirl it looks like she can still cause harm with her magic, just not intentionally. Interesting. Maybe that becomes something she worries about in the future when shecares about causing collateral damage...
That's a pretty clever trick.
Anyway, it's interesting how the windigo legend is already developing and adapting around the current time's knowledge. Sound like Solaria's just going to go with it and present herself as an appropriate successor to, well, herself, just with a different appearance, temperament, and preferred power set. Hell, she may even actually learn about Harmony along the way.
5748264
Typically, other vampires take some kind of physical toll on their victims to extend their own existence (blood, salt, neural energy, what have you) while emotional vampires drain a specific emotion or emotions. Generally, they try to invoke and inflame the emotion they want to feed on since, well, that means more food.
Physical vampires may have mental or emotional powers, or even specifically cause emotional situations, but this is all the in the cause of getting their physical property fix.
Conversely, emotional vampires may cause physical distress or harm, but this is all the cause of getting their emotional fix.
This story is incredibly good. The characterization here is amazing - it's been a long time since I've seen blue and orange morality executed in such a superb manner. What makes this story even more interesting is the implied requirement that Solaria turns into Princess Celestia and thus must somehow go from a moral system that is completely orthogonal to mortal emotions to one based on friendship and cuddles.
I was reading along, thinking, "Well why doesn't she just lift that enormous fireball of hers a bit higher to warm a larger area somewhat ...less thoroughly? It would be kind of like she was raising the sun!" But then the "success has been doubled" trick wouldn't have happened.
Yeah, your way works better. Especially 'cause you got two jokes out of it instead of just one! The pun has been--oh, you know...
This story is awesome! It basically takes the cannon Mlp fim story and says, THIS IS ALL A HUGE LIE!!!!
The exiled queen is learning things that she never thought to learn before. Empathy, control and even the ability to qustion her decisions! I wonder if, by the end of this, she will even be Solaria anymore.
Of course she won't. That was Discord's plan all along.
Instead, she'll use a different name. One that she chooses for herself.
She'll also start calling her young apprentice 'sister'.
5717456
Huh. And the tropes page mention that the EoH may do exactly that.
Which is why Discord doesn't want her to be hit by the EoH
Three! Three created alicorns, ah ah ah! (This also explains why only Celestia was present when Twilight ascended.)
Onwards! Om nom nom nom…
I have to admit I chuckled at "Concubine!". Seems to me that offering herself for that position would indicate that she does not see anything inherently objectionable with providing pleasure to others (and I guess she has needs too, if that's the first thing to come to her mind) but is totally disconnected with the reality of most of the ones that are in that situation.
I just started reading this after I got done catching up with Mente Materia, after her big scene there I'm really enjoying the world building and the look at Celestia's past and what it is that really goes on in her head.
Shouldn't that be in italics?
5713673
Obligatory pointing out that, as the years pass, this comment is unfilled!
7700558 Obligatory comment was already filled.
Fridge logic:
Why didn't it occur to Starswirl or "Sunny" to put her baseline globe of fire a hundred yards above ground level?
That would warm the entire field with one "unicorn"'s effort, freeing up the others (on her shift) for other tasks.
Good thinking Solaria good thinking. But now since you had done that the elders of the town are even more suspicious of you then they already were. If you get found out... well, entire town will get a little bit or really angry to see their queen in their hidden town.
The heck... I said upvoted... dumb phone. Okay well it is now. Not much to add yet other than bahahahahhaha this chapter was hilarious. It would seem Luna's awkward behavior is a learned trait rather than a lack of social understanding? She's just imitating big sis.
Random thoughts since I'm already commenting... Magister's Terrace was mentioned a chapter or two back... WoW reference or coincidence? Either way, interesting social structure ponies had under Solaria. Horrible, sure... but interesting. I liked the solution to her power issues. Forget Discord, that pegasus colt is the real hero.
7874065
Fridge Brilliance: Doing that would have been sending a signal flare to the "main" pony population that they were hiding from. Solaria may not have thought of that, but "limit my power's effects" hadn't crossed her mind at all, thus all but precluding that sort of lateral thinking.