See, Hear, and Speak: Unseen Clues

by AilingStar

Prologue: Before

"Sister... are you sure about this?" Luna asked her sister. Sure, Celestia was an extremely wise ruler, but she had a tendency to fret and worry. "They are in the human world, not even the one that the mirror connects us to! How could you be so worried about them attacking us?"

"Being in another world didn't stop Sunset Shimmer," Celestia responded, "and they are much more persistent than her. I have little doubt that they will find a way into our world, despite there being no feasible way to do so."

"So we prepare our guard for an attack. I don't see how this situation is different from any other."

Celestia shook her head sadly. "Driving them off is not an option. They would just return time and time again. We'll have to take the offensive, and for that we need allies that are familiar with their world."

"But we cannot just take them from their world by force!" Luna shouted. Of course, she knew that her sister had no intention of doing such a thing. She also knew that there was likely no other way to get Celestia to tell her what she was really planning on doing.

True to form, Celestia calmly responded to her sister's outburst. "That's why we are to find candidates who are in dire need of assistance, and would gladly stand against them. Also, you could have asked."

Luna cringed at her slip-up. Even after her release three years ago, she still wasn't entirely used to the 'new' Celestia. "I apologize, I-"

"Don't." Celestia smiled warmly at her sister. "You are still getting used to a completely different time period and a completely different sister. You have nothing to be sorry for.

"Anyway, I was going to ask a favor of you, Luna. Could you be the one to find appropriate candidates?"

Luna faltered. "M-me?! Surely there is someone more suited for this task!"

Celestia shook her head patiently. "That's nonsense, Luna. You are the only pony who can enter dreams and see the true thoughts of the pony - or in this case, human - who they belong to.

"I also sense something strange with this world; its magical field is completely barren, so any pony sent there will have to live off of their own magical reserves for the duration. I am not sure if a lesser pony has enough magical reserves to survive long enough to make suitable progress, yet at the same time it would be nigh impossible to reliably find candidates when disguised as that world's population. Believe me, this is not something we can afford to take lightly. I cannot risk sending anypony but the best."

Luna hesitated. She didn't even know what she would be dealing with. Celestia had refused to say anything about what exactly worried her, insisting on referring to them as, well, 'them'. Still, Celestia had a point; if what she had said about 'them' were true, they would quite possibly have to take the offensive. To do that, they would doubtlessly have to find allies who knew what they would have to deal with, who were used to not having a pool of magic to rely on.

Soon enough, Luna had made a decision. "I'll do it."

Celestia smiled gratefully. "Thank you Luna."

"Thank me if I return successfully."

"Don't you mean when you return successfully?" Celestia playfully responded, returning to her regular, if slightly trollish, demeanor. " I will ready the transportation spell. Luna... stay safe."

"I will, Celestia."

The two princesses nuzzled each other affectionately, then separated. "I would take care of your duties while you are gone," Celestia told her sister as she prepared the spell, "but I am not be able to help our subjects in their dreams. You will have to be sent back here after six hours, but we can repeat this as many days as we need to. You will also be able to return on your own if need be."

Luna nodded. Even if she was on the clock, it was nice to know that a single slipup would not cost her the mission. Her body felt strange, as if she was entering a dream. "Wish me luck!" Luna said as the world shimmered in and out of view.

"*ood lu**!" Celestia's voice was distant, and within moments, Luna could not see her or the castle.

In their place was a cold, imposing location that reminded her of the old dungeons below Canterlot. They two locations were very nearly the same, except that that the rooms here were smaller and instead of shackles, each cell had a bed and a strange, ceramic bowl.

'What purpose does that bowl serve? Humans are strange creatures... or is it I who is odd?' Luna mused, feeling the oppressive atmosphere of the new world.

A thought struck her; Twilight had mentioned turning into a human when she had gone through the mirror, could the same have happened to her? Curious, the princess looked at herself found she was nothing more than an amorphous blob of night sky, much like... the Tantabus. 'This... could be useful, though I would prefer something that did not remind me of that abomination...'

Deciding not to wast any more time, Luna used her amorphous body to slip through one of the vents, out into the strange human world.

<<One month later>>

"AAAAAAAARRRRGHH!" Luna shouted in her Royal Canterlot Voice as the other three adult princesses looked on. Twilight Sparkle and Cadence had only just arrived after being sent a letter by Princess Celestia, and were quite surprised by Luna's outburst. "It has been a whole month and we still have not found a human worthy of this role, much less one in need of our assistance!"

The assembled princesses looked on with varying emotions. Twilight was terrified of the Lunar monarch, but hiding it surprisingly well. Most ponies would have left by that point, but Twilight was only hiding behind Cadence and Celestia.

Celestia was not really bothered by her sister's outburst. She had heard worse from her, even discounting anything before Nightmare Moon and anything relating to 'prince' Blueblood.

Cadence was just glad that she had left Flurry Heart with Shining Armor. She did not want her infant daughter hearing the words her aunt was currently spewing.

"Calm down, Luna." Celestia spoke, interrupting her sister's rampage. "We know that your efforts have been less than successful recently." She looked around the conference table, specifically at the two more recent princesses. "In fact, that is why I've called you two here."

Cadence rose an eyebrow. "I'm afraid I still don't understand what we're all doing here." Celestia cringed; she may have rushed a bit when writing the letter.

Twilight, upon hearing this, visibly perked up. "Ooh, I have the letter with me!" Celestia rolled her eyes at that remark. Typical Twilight.

Twilight explained the situation in all the detail she had been given, then turned to Celestia. "Was that all correct, Princess Celestia?"

"Exactly right, Twilight."

"Alright, but who exactly are we dealing with?" Cadence asked.

Celestia opened her mouth to respond, before Twilight piped up. "Princess Celestia didn't say, but I did some research on the subject before leaving, and I think I figured out who we're up against."

That got everypony's attention. Twilight quickly took out the notes that she had taken, cleared her throat, and began. "Many years ago, after Celestia imprisoned Luna in the moon, she decided that it would be best to find new bearers for the Elements of Harmony. She quickly found six ponies that the elements would likely accept.

"However, she was afraid that they would not live to see the day the Elements would be needed. So she tried to cast a spell of immortality upon the newly chosen bearers.

"It worked, but at a cost. The spell did grant them immortality, but it also blackened their hearts. They turned against the princess, and with a heavy heart, she banished them to a land far, far away, where they would not be able to return." Twilight put away the notes and once again turned to Celestia expectantly. "They're who you were worried about, right, Princess?"

Celestia blinked, then sighed. "You're correct Twilight. I had not thought of it until a month ago, when the veil between our world began to erode. It was concentrated, intentional. I have little doubt that they are trying to form a gate between our worlds. I would have told you all earlier, but... I'm sorry, it just stirred up too many painful memories."

Celestia started to tear up when she felt a wing on her shoulder. She turned to see Luna warmly smiling. "We've all done things we've regretted. I completely understand why you wouldn't want to speak about it."

Celestia embraced Luna, ignoring the looks from the other princesses. "Thank you Luna."

The embrace continued for a while before Celestia cut it off. She turned to face all the other princesses at once. "This is hardly a good time to dwell on the past. As you may have gathered, we are having trouble finding suitable candidates. I believe that, in this case, three ponies will be more effective than one. I need to stay here to cast the spell, and I am still not sure how the spell will react to normal ponies. Twilight, Cadence, could I ask you to grant us your assistance?"

"Of course, Princess Celestia!" Twilight immediately responded. "I would be honored to help!"

Cadence hesitated for a moment. "I'm... if I was to help, I would probably need to arrange things with Shining Armor and... well, I won't be free for a while or for very long, but I'll help when I can."

Celestia smiled. "Thank you both. Cadence, I wish you well with the empire. Twilight, we'll begin excursions tomorrow. You all may go."

Twilight left first, seeming quite excited about going to see a new world. Cadence talked a bit with Luna, then also departed, leaving the two royal sisters alone.

"So... what were they like?" Luna inquired. "If you don't mind me asking."

Celestia sighed, and began the story, hoping it would relieve some of her pain.

"It began with a filly named Shining Dusk..."

Author's Note:

And so starts a new saga written by a new scribe.
I would love critiques. Hate mail is not accepted.
The name 'Dusk Shine' was introduced to me as a one-off joke by The Fiery Joker. I hope you don't mind, FJ.

Edit: Just a few minor changes here and there, changed Dusk Shine's name to Shining Dusk for obvious reasons.