Every self-sustaining timepiece in Equestria said it was ten in the morning.
The sky was still frozen at twilight.
Princess Cadance sat upon the throne, facing a large group of tense unicorns, some barely a few years older than her, others so ancient their skin hung in dense, leathery folds. Shining Armor stood at her side, face haggard and eyes bleary.
"Thank you all for coming," Cadance said as two unicorn guards closed the doors. "Everything you are about to be told is in strictest confidence. I apologize for summoning you in the middle of the night and then keeping you waiting, but I had matters to attend to that took longer than expected." Her gaze briefly strayed to the tall, ornate mirror that stood off to the side, a unicorn guard and a pegasus guard standing sentry over it.
"Is it true what they're saying?" a wizened old stallion asked. "Princess Celestia has fallen ill?"
Cadance grimaced. "I have asked the pegasus guard to spread that news in order to stall for time," she said. "The truth is far worse, I'm afraid."
The crowd of unicorns shifted and milled, glancing around with expressions of shock and unease. The same stallion asked, "Surely you don't mean to say she...passed away?"
"No!" Cadance replied frantically, her wings flaring. "No. As far as we know, Princess Celestia is alive, and we have no reason to believe otherwise." She glanced to Shining Armor, then braced herself. "However, she is...missing."
There was a collective gasp.
"Missing?" a middle-aged mare cried. "How...how can she be missing?"
Cadance glanced at the mirror. "I know this will sound strange," she said, "but she vanished through a magic portal contained within that mirror."
One of the oldest unicorns groaned. "Starswirl's besotted portals!" he hissed. "I have read about them. I thought they had all been sealed permanently!"
"Why would the princess pass through one of those old portals?" an ancient mare asked. "What could possibly be worth the danger to Equestria?"
"Can she not simply be retrieved by the guards?"
Cadance blinked. "You all...know about the portal?"
The first unicorn spoke up. "Only those of us who have been around for a very long time," he said. "Starswirl the Bearded's experimentation into space-time magic falls under the category of the most protected magic in Equestria, and only the most learned and trustworthy scholars are allowed to research his most advanced and dangerous spells and secrets." He stood and approached the mirror; the guards tensed, but Cadance waved them down. He studied the mirror, rubbing a hoof along its polished surface. He frowned. "Is it sealed?"
"It appears to be," Cadance said. "According to the guards who were present at the time, it sealed itself behind Celestia and Sunset Shimmer."
A collective hiss rose from the group.
"I should have known," the middle-aged mare growled, pawing the floor and snorting.
"That child!"
"She was such a promising student, but lately..."
"Sunset Shimmer has doomed Equestria!"
"What was she playing at?"
"QUIET!" Cadance called, her voice echoing. The unicorns stilled. Cadance pressed a hoof to her chest, took a deep breath, and let it out slowly, extending her hoof forward. She opened her eyes and regarded the crowd. "We are facing a crisis the likes of which Equestria has not seen in a thousand years. I need all of you right now. You represent the greatest collective of magical knowledge ponykind has to offer." She stepped down from the throne. "Right now, we have two problems. We need to find a way to open that portal and retrieve Princess Celestia..." She took another deep breath. "And until she can be brought home, I need to learn how to move the sun and moon."
The crowd of unicorns shifted uneasily.
The eldest stallion coughed. "Princess, we...we can go through Starswirl's research on the portals and try to get Princess Celestia back, but..." He glanced to the middle-aged mare.
"We have no idea how to move the heavens," the mare said.
Cadance blinked. "What? But...!" She drew back. "No! In ancient times, before the founding of Equestria, unicorns moved the sun and moon! Every schoolfilly knows that!"
"That may be true, Your Highness," the mare said, "but over two thousand years ago, Princess Celestia herself sealed that knowledge. She destroyed all ancient records of the unicorn spells that controlled the sun and the moon."
Shining Armor stepped forward. "But why?" he asked. "Why would she—"
"She did it to protect generations of unicorns," the old stallion said. "She believed as long as she was connected to the sun, there was no need for unicorns to pass down such knowledge, and our ancient unicorn ancestors..." He bowed his head. "What isn't spoken of in school is that the unicorns who moved the sun and moon sacrificed their own magic to do so. It took large teams of unicorns to control the heavens, and no unicorn could endure the strain of moving the sun or moon for more than twenty years before permanently losing their magic. Even Starswirl the Bearded himself burned out his power as part of the sun team."
"It was Celestia's taking over the moving of the sun that restored the unicorns' magic," another stallion said. "After she learned how dangerous it was for any lesser pony to move the heavens, she ordered the knowledge sealed for all time, and personally destroyed all records of the spells that controlled the sun. Princess Luna did likewise with the spells to control the moon."
Cadance and Shining Armor looked at one another. Shining Armor's ears folded back. "Then...we're doomed," he said.
Cadance set her mouth grimly. "Unless we can open the portal and find Princess Celestia—"
"This portal...I don't think it can be forced open," the eldest unicorn said. His horn glowed, tracing the edge of the mirror with his magic. "I'll need access to Starswirl's notes on the portals to be sure, but some of them were designed to open and close on their own at set intervals. Legend has it that one such portal was created specifically to, erm...dispose of three dangerous creatures of dark magic that threatened Equestria long ago." He frowned, tapping his chin with a hoof. "This could well be that very portal."
Cadance gasped. "Then Celestia is in danger from dark magical beings?"
The old unicorn snorted dismissively. "Hardly likely, that was over a thousand years ago," he said. "Besides, it's Princess Celestia. She can certainly look after herself while we work to retrieve her." He frowned. "If we can."
"Portals to other dimensions are not forced open lightly," the middle-aged mare said hesitantly. "Starswirl was centuries ahead of his time, and no unicorn since has had his raw talent and intelligence. It could take months, even years to unravel his research and figure out how to open this portal. And even then, how would we find Princess Celestia in whatever world she's trapped in?"
"She's likely to stay close to the portal if at all possible," another mare said. "She might even be trying to open it from her side."
"We can't assume that," a younger stallion said. "We need to act, and we need to act quickly."
"But we can't act too quickly, or we could destroy the portal instead of opening it, and then she'd be lost forever!"
"If she isn't found quickly, Equestria will be doomed forever!"
"That's why our first priority needs to be—"
"Gentleponies, please cease your nickering," a deep, cultured female voice said. "There is nothing to be gained from this fruitless bickering!"
Every pony in the room fell silent, turning to the great doors of the throne room. The guards by the doors tensed.
A cloaked figure stood at the back of the throne room, halfway between the assembled unicorns and the guarded doors.
She hadn't been there before. The doors had never opened.
Cadance took a step forward as the unicorn scholars parted. "Excuse me," she said gently. "Who are you, and how did you get past the guards?"
"I have my ways and means," the cloaked mare said. "I'm afraid some of your guards are lost in their dreams."
Shining Armor trotted forward, head low and horn glowing. "I'll take care of this," he said. "The last thing we need right now is—"
"Stay your magic, I am not your foe," the mare said, raising a hoof. The folds of her cloak parted slightly, revealing an ash grey coat with dark stripes. The edge of a golden bangle peeked out from beneath the heavy brown fabric. "I have come to assist you in this time of woe."
Cadance waved Shining Armor down, then stepped forward, tilting her head curiously. "What do you mean?" she asked. "Who are you?"
The mare lowered her hood, revealing more stripes, stormy blue-grey eyes, and a stiff mohawk, alternating between white and dark grey. Enormous gold hoop earrings hung from her ears, and gold bands encircled her neck.
"My name is Zecora, and this is no lie: You will need my assistance to unfreeze the sky."
I honestly think the Cadance stuff is the most interesting parts of this story. Is that bad?
Goodness no.
I wish.
The answer to those questions are, in order, Sunset Shimmer, Sunset Shimmer again, and because the portal's closed for roughly 2 years (I think.)
Besides, if you're going to survive, you all need to work together as a united front.
I figured.
Ah.
Considering the Dazzlings have yet to be mentioned until now, no.
Smart guy.
And who are you?
Zecora. What? The rhyming tipped me off.
(Couldn't resist.)
OoooOOOoooh...
my reaction to these Cadance chapters:
[youtube=Xbk1nHaRBSM]
Another interestin' chapter.^^
7297291 nah, not really. Dealing with how to un-fuck the planet and get a goddess back through an ancient sealed portal is more interesting than learning what bras are for, to be honest.
Also I only just noticed that this isn't a Sunlestia ship, so I'm teetering on the edge of if I still want to read this or not.
7297292 Roughly two and a half years, assuming 'moon' as a lunar moon. However, that may not be the case.
1.) A lunar moon is the amount of time it takes the moon to revolve around the earth, which is around a month. In Equestria, the equivalent would be one day, because the planet is stationary and the moon revolves around it. So, it could be a 30-day portal period. Not so bad now, is it?
2.) The implications of the Sirens being around and acting like they haven't been living in the human world since the Ye Olde times when they were supposed to be thrown through the portal a thousand years in the past implies a very heavy time dilation effect, and time will flow much faster in the human world- Perhaps in an attempt to stabilize the 'moon' unit of time, as it may be shorter in the Equestrian world than the human world, as seen above. This would also explain why Celestia and Twilights' friends were sitting outside the portal waiting for her even though it had been over a day for Twilight: It could have been only a few hours for them.
Mind you, these are still just theories, and even with time dilation to resolve the 'lunar moon' problem, the sirens still should have been living in society for around 30 years, so... Of course, that assumes that ponies have human-length 24-hour days, and I have no way to check that.
But then again, what if Discord messing with the lunar/solar cycle messed with the Portal's interpretation of how many days had passed and make time pass even faster in the Human world comparatively...
Well, I should probably stop now. I could theorize for hours.
Zecora! If she can't help solve this no one can.
Yeah, having a horn and wings doesn't automatically mean you can manipulate the heavens, and Cadence isn't exactly a magical scholar. Heck, she's only had her horn for, at most, a few years at this point. Even Twilight barely got it going, and her skills are clear given the archmages' estimates on reopening the portal... though they don't have a convenient quantum-entanglement journal on hoof. Not yet, anyway.
Still, this is very concerning. Thank goodness for Zecora; without her, I'm not sure if they'd have been able to figure this out before the atmosphere started liquefying.
I'm surprised no one reacted when Luna's name was mentioned. She was been made forgotten to cover her up from the Nightmare Moon incident by turning it in a story tale and a holiday.
I can believe the eldest may be aware because of their credential, but I doubt all the lot here would be aware.
Yay! Zecroa! Dat makes me happy~
She'smyfetishhohoho
Nice chapter man, nice chapter! ANd more then one portal? Interesting...
ideeeeeeeeaaaaaa~
wow, i like where this is going, since zecora showed up, i was imaging that she'll brew some potion, then somehow pour/ throw it to the sun
7297421 Thirty moons is thirty lunar months. Not thirty days. Anyone who's read any of my stories or blogs knows I actively loathe the "it's just thirty days" nonsense. The rest of your theories are flawed and don't hold water. The Sirens have been around for a thousand years, period, end of story. It doesn't make sense and it doesn't have to.
7297503 Everything about Starswirl and the portals comes from the comics. Most of those other portals go to more directly parallel Equestrias, though some of them go to...odd parallel worlds, such as a dinosaur world. See the "Reflections" arc of the main series. (I'd look up the issue numbers but I'm lazy.)
7297604 Because everything Zecora knows about magic is related to potions and powders. Have you forgotten "Magic Duel"?
7297633 well, i do forgot the fact that zecora knows about magic. and pardon me for the weird comments
Very interesting... Just one question, if Cadence keeps getting these chapters dedicated to her, shouldn't she have a character tag?
7297619
7297503
Issues 17-20 I think. It was arc 5 and each major arc is 4 issues long unless we have 2 mini arcs spanning 2 issues which was arcs 3 and 4 I believe.
Also technically depending on how much of an AU this is from canon in terms of events going down, the Dazzlings would actually have been banished to modern times so they'd be on Earth I'd say maybe around the time Sunset enrolled in Canterlot High if not a year in. Temporal/spacial displacement given how Starswirl's banishment spell worked. 1000 years go by for Equestria, only a few minutes for the Dazzlings though without Equestrian magic on Earth they won't be much of a threat til Rainbow Rocks happens which would be a very long time away now compared to canon cause no Element of Magic to steal yet thus no source of magic to look for.
7297619
7297740
I'll have to check those out when I can, my netbook can't read the comics x.x
But thanks for the tip!
7297386 I guess that's true...though I'm not still sure.
7297740
You pulled that out of your ass. There is absolutely nothing in canon that says they crossed time when they were banished.
Twilight and Pinkie kicked your collective asses in less than five minutes.
7297831 7297831 FIENDship is Magic issue 3 The Dazzling's origins issue. After a music competition with Starswirl where repeated attempts to beat them that would be known as the music wars failed, all 4 created new genres and instruments. Starswirl in a last attempt used the Crystal Mirror to banish them from Equestria to a world without magic that can deal with them easily as they'd be crippled in a way as they needed magic to control others. He hoped this new world could succeed where he failed as he sees being unable to defeat and reform them his greatest failure. They end up in modern Earth at Canterlot and quickly realize there's no magic in the world but Adagio notices their pendants have enough magic to help them survive til they find a way home. At what point in modern Canterlot it doesn't say so it could be anywhere from maybe a decade to a few years before Equestria Girls starts since they sensed the magic at the end of the movie leading them to the school. Still the point is they did cross time as otherwise they'd land in what the middle ages or something?
7297972 I had forgotten the last page of that comic, which I have in fact read, thanks. My earlier comment is retracted. Still, it makes no sense for the Dazzlings to have appeared in modern times in the human world, so I don't think I'll be going back and changing anything, thanks.
7298001 Perhaps but if the portal was opened when they were banished it's possible the spell acted as a temporal one too. Kinda like Samurai Jack where Aku tore open a portal in time and flung him into the future. Either way it does set up why they're there now if they were banished 1000 years ago Equestrian time otherwise the entire plot of Rainbow Rocks wouldn't make sense cause why would they be in Canterlot then otherwise? It'd just be random placement if there wasn't an explanation. And very well.
Nice to check in on Cadance again. Until the end, I was actually kind of relieved most of the crowd remained relatively calm, even if most of what they had to report was bad news- I'm sure parts of Equestria are already panicking with Princess Celestia not having been seen for days. Makes sense Celestia would get rid of those spells, with her around no need for unicorns to sacrifice themselves. Though after Luna's fall, a backup plan for moving sun and moon in case anything happens to her would have been nice. Then again, if some threat managed to defeat Celestia, moving sun and moon would be a relatively low priority compared to end of civilization as they know it.
Huh, didn't expect to see her in this fic. She is usually one one of the wisest (and older) mortal characters though, so it makes sense, great idea to have her show up to help. And I don't blame the scholars for having no idea how to force a portal open, not like they have a convenient cross-dimensional journal to serve as a link.
Interesting to see Zecora here.
7297740 That's the comics, though. And those are secondary canon at best; easily ignorable. (Much like the chapter books in that regard.) Frankly, if it's not in the show or the EQG films themselves, I ignore it.
7298102
You didn't pay close enough attention. The second interlude is set the morning after Celestia's disappearance. Granted, one moonless twilight night and the sun failing to rise the following morning has undoubtedly caused widespread panic.
Whoops, forgot about that. With how much else is going on (Celestia and Sunset settling into their new circumstances), I forgot about the timeline.
I sometimes wonder just how much Celestia keeps secret, so it was helpful that at least some of the scholars could identify the portal, even if Cadance finding out just how much trouble they're in (portal only opening on a set schedule that they have no idea about) isn't good for morale. And not like getting a group of Element bearers together would help (assuming anyone other than Celestia even knows about them at the moment).
7298001
Though the Dazzlings discovering that a thousand years have passed in Equestria would make a nice story. Frankly it would make a nice story for any of the villains who were sealed up in a can.
7298001
You dont have to retract anything, since I think, while you had stated here that the Dazzlings were banished from Equestria a thousand years ago, theres currently no confirmation on the EqG side that they had arrived there thousand years ago, meaning they can still be written in the story to have been shot right to the future when transported, just like what the comic had done.
I kinda want to see someone explore this situation, since most of the time the Dazzlings are told in each of those fanfictions to have roamed the planet for a millennia, controlling kingdoms and surviving witch hunt or what not. But then they are easily defeated by a group of highschoolers.
Holy moly! Zecora is here! Will she alleviate the ponies' fear?
Lol.
7297619 Okay, sorry, I haven't read any of your other stories or taken a look at your blog posts yet. (About to do so now) I was just trying to postulate reasonable theories. I'm sorry if I upset you somehow, I didn't intend it at all.
7299408 My bad. The "thirty moons is thirty days" thing a lot of people come up with is kind of a pet peeve of mine.
7298786 HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
This chapter really does shed a light on what Cadance has to deal with due to Celestia's absence. I can see her struggling to stave off the impending despair that slowly looms over Equestria like a blanket of darkness. She has an entire collective of knowledgeable unicorns by her side, so hopefully they can start finding some answers.
Wow. Brilliant move Celestia. Obviously, nothing could ever happen to you, so it makes perfect sense to destroy any backup plans that serve the greater good.
7297866
That's because they had a wedge stuck in the portal by way of the journals.
Of all the ponies that I thought that could help this predicament.
Zecora was NOT one of them.
As long as Cadence can use the Alicorn/Dark magic required, there is a certain potion Zecora knows how to brew that can solve their problem. Cadence needs information from the past, and it's Canon that Zecora has a potion that can let her see into the past, right?
Heck, just think about what happened in the show when Celestial and Luna went missing and the Sun and Moon got frozen? Who showed up to help then?
In truth, I think this is something Chessmaster Celestia set up. How would the Zebra's know how to brew a potion that only Alicorns could use if an Alicorn didn't help them invent it?
My current headcanon is that Celestia gave the Zebra's the knowledge of what to do in case she went missing long ago. It keeps the unicorns from hurting themselves trying to raise the sun, as only an Alicorn can get at the knowledge... and the Zebras probably have some sort of ancient treaty that says one of their shamans with knowledge of the potion and what to do with it hangs out in Equestria all the time, just in case.
The fact that Celestia can see the future explains so much of why she acts as she does. She seems careless, trusting Twilight and company to handle problems she should be throwing everything she's got at... but if she has regular prophetic dreams, then everything makes sense. She's not making dumb moves, she's making moves only she can see.
Her visions are obviously incomplete, but, mich like Zecora's potions, they obviously must show her the important bits, like exactly what piece to play, and where.
Twilight must go to Ponyville to meet the Elements of Harmony.
I need to send Twilight her friendship letters back now.
Shining Armor's shield will defeat the coming threat... (I can see how that vision nearly went wrong... but it's also a clue to how they work)
Fluttershy will be the one to reform Discord.
And...
The Zebra's need to keep a Shaman in the Everfree.
7300953 Why Zecora is a Jedi Mistress
"Zecora, how can we ever repay you for saving Equestria?"
"Ponies who see me all cower in fear,
please help me by telling them what I did here."
"Sure thing, I'll have Forgetful Joe get right on it. Don't worry, it's just a name."
Zecora? All my yes!
7301180 It's not that cut and dry. It's easy to sit there and say "This is the right thing and the only thing to do", but you're not thinking deeply enough into the situation. You're only involved in it as an outsider. Try putting yourself in the characters' shoes.
Try putting yourself in Desert and Satin's place.
Would the truth be welcome? Would the truth only make things worse?
What IS the "truth"?
Think about that.
7300606 The books still exist, not that they know about them. They still managed to solve the problem in the time between Zecora first speaking and revealing herself.
7297291 You and me both. I hope that they figure out the whole "How do we lower the sun?" thing. But I think Cadence can do it, especially with Zecora now.
7297705 Very good point! The third alicorn princess deserves a nod.
7297866 In all fairness, they don't know that.
7299471 Don't blame you--it makes no sense to me either.
7301871 Thank you! Nice to see someone agreeing with me.
...Zecora. Zecora is the best plot devise!
7187877 If it was going to be there, this thing would be rated M!