106 - Moonrise
Luna stepped free of the train that had brought her. "She is there," she spoke to herself, taking note of the obvious presence of Twilight's castle. It was difficult to miss. "The humans..." She turned in place to set her eyes on the distant landing pad. "There."
The question became, which way to go. Confer with Twilight, or approach the matter at hoof directly? She shrugged her shoulders and began trotting towards the landing pad. She did not come all that way to listen to Twilight over-ventilate about things.
"Oh, your highness." There was a local, bowing to her.
Luna inclined her head. "I apologize, business calls." And she moved on. There was no time for chatting with random ponies, even if she knew them. She had seen their dreams. She knew of that mare's secret obsession with the texture of whipped cream. A good mare, even including her confectionery habits.
It would be up to Luna to ensure such experiments could continue unbothered.
"Luna!" The Cutie Mark Crusaders closed on her. They were all smiles and waves, each glad to see her.
She wanted to press past them, but the sight of the happy foals made her pause. "There is work to be done," she deflected with a tone that sounded lame in her own ears.
Sweetie waved it all away. "Oh, we don't want to hold you up, Luna. We just wanted to say hi."
"We don't see ya much," continued Apple Bloom.
Scootaloo bobbed her head. "Good luck with whatever you're doing!"
They did not try to follow her. She was free to continue without brushing them aside. "I thank you. If I can, I will seek you out before returning to the castle." And she accelerated into a canter, hoping to avoid any other interactions.
"Princess?" asked a male voice.
Luna grunted and hit the ground, dirt kicked up as she turned quickly. "What is it?!" But that wasn't a pony. That was a human, and one she knew. Her frown grew. "Laud Mountbatten. And..." Her eyes moved to Gregor. "Another." She didn't recall that one's title.
Twilight dipped her head, advancing. "I didn't expect to see you here, but it is a good surprise. What--"
She had been hoping to avoid just that, and yet Twilight had found her. "You wrote of a dire threat, and yet you are still with them. I would know the full measure of what harm approaches our people. Sister is confident in her visions and dreams, but it is I who guards them." She clopped a hoof down. "Since you are here, bring me up to date."
Gregor spread his hands with a friendly smile. "Sister of Princess Celestia?"
Twilight moved between the two. "That's right. Luna, we have a situation." She glanced about at the small smattering of other ponies that were taking note of the ever increasing density of Important Ponies. "Let's walk, together. I can catch you up as we go."
When Twilight began to walk towards the landing pad, Luna let out a little sigh. Perhaps things would work out! "Please. I know of their ships." She raised one hoof up towards the sky. "Invading my domain as we speak. We were warned of this, Twilight. Do you understand that?"
Laud walked with the others, his attention secured by the words. "Warned, by who, of what?"
Luna turned an ear towards him. "It was long ago, before Twilight first walked this world. Before I was banished. Before I took on the crown."
Twilight's eyes began to shine with the prospect of ancient untold history. "Do go on."
All of them, human and pony alike, went quiet to hear what Luna had to say, each with their own reason for wanting to hear it. Luna let out a small sigh. "When I was but a filly, if you can imagine such a distant thing, my own mother did speak to me. 'Daughter, I speak to you of a tale passed to me, that you may do the same in time. Keep it well and close.' As you can see, I did. Celestia did not, but she has other... distractions." Luna rolled her eyes softly.
"As I was saying, she spoke of the origin of life. All life on this world." She swung a hoof in a slow semi-circle to her left as she went. "Life is a tenacious thing, a vine that will grow in any soil fertile enough to support it. But one requires that seed. I know not how the first came to be, wherever that was, but we were brought here, as seeds, planted in the giving ground, and bidden to grow well and healthy."
Twilight inclined her head. "That is... quite the claim. Xenogenesis has its supporters, but it's not prove--" Luna's hoof found her mouth and plugged it up instantly. Twilight blinked, vanishing and appearing a foot away, but did not try resuming her speech.
"As I was saying," repeated Luna firmly. "That was a tale, told for simple people to remember it. I thought it much a fancy, but out of respect for my mother, I listened. That is also not the important part. She was told to be watchful. There were gates, she was told, if something were to emerge, it would be a peer, and an enemy." She circled around, cutting off the humans to stare at them. "They would be threats beyond any we have known before. Tell me, and be truthful. Was that also fancy?"
Twilight was shaking her head vigorously. "That story doesn't hold together. She went from being placed on the planet to 'beware gates'? That--"
Laud raised a balled hand. "Your mother's words ring true."
"I would prefer it not so," sighed Gregor. "But the wisdom is difficult to argue. The gates are the remnants of greater beings, Anunnaki. Ancient of race, they swam the stars before humans came to be."
"No." Laud threw the balled fist down. "That explains too much. Damn it all, sorry, father. Why your world is..." He suddenly diverted off their path and pointed at a doorknob of a random pony's house. "Explain the genesis of this device."
Gregor was quite confused at the idea. "A simple thing to open doors?"
"Of course it is that, for those with fingers." He grabbed the knob, demonstrating how it fit neatly in his palm. "Now why would a hooved species engineer something like it, or half the other things they take for granted that are terribly designed for their specific needs?"
Luna stalked towards Laud and the suspect door. "What are you implying, Laud Mountbatten?" Her eyes darted between the knob and the man speaking about it.
Bon Bon clopped her forehooves together. "How did I not see this?!" she exclaimed with a little gasp of realization. "It doesn't make sense until you look at it the right way." She hopped up and trotted towards Laud. "Primitive ponies didn't trust other species. We barely trusted each other. We didn't get the design for a doorknob from minotaurs, and yet there they are."
Lyra rubbed at the side of her head. "There... we are? I'm really not getting it, Bonnie. Can you break it down for the slow kids in the class?"
Twilight turned back towards the landing pad. "We're getting distracted, as fascinating a distraction as this is. Let's keep moving. Now..." She began to walk, but kept musing as she went. "Are you suggesting these ancient people showed our forebears what these things were, and that's where they came from? Interesting, but not helpful to the current situation."
Spike raised a finger, suddenly breaking his silence, "So, wait, that could be important. If these ancient whatevers... had fingers, and did they look like any of us?"
Gregor had the answer for that, "None can speak with utmost certainty, but their children are very humanlike among the alien races."
Spike pointed to Bon Bon. "Similar enough to start families with, apparently."
Everyone was looking at Bon Bon, who began to color. "This isn't about me!"
Gregor saw where Spike was leading, however. "Which means the people of this world may yet have human souls. Depending on the timing, we may have pony souls. It would be impossible to say and the difference means little."
They had reached the landing pad, their hooves and shoes striking the hard surface beneath them that was built to handle the intense weight of huge ships. Spike hurried up next to Gregor. "How hard is your magic? I mean, if we could learn it, that would be proof positive, right? You can't argue evidence like that, right?"
"It would be... an honor," allowed Gregor. "To accept a student who could glow from within. But to learn the liturgical arts is not something performed in a day, or a week, or a month. We don't have that manner of time to try as you suggest, as lovely an answer as it would be."
Laud accelerated towards the merchants' ship. "Let's put aside those thoughts for now and see if we have another ally or not." He advanced up the ramp towards them, thrusting a finger out to press the call button just as he reached it.
"Yeah? Oh, Sir Mountbatten, what's up?" asked the male voice.
Laud had to smirk at that mixture of proper and sloppy greeting. "I would speak with your leader of matters dire. Are they available?"
"Sec." There was a click, the person likely leaving their post.
Laud turned to the others that had caught up with them. "The merchants have two basic choices. They can stand with us, or flee."
Luna shook her head. "You have not explained what they are standing with us against."
"My former brothers and sisters," sighed Gregor. "They prepare for a cleansing of the world."
Luna's eyes widened, understanding it better than most of the other ponies. "Tell me why I should not begin striking the vessels from the sky! I can dash them to pieces, right now. Equestria would be safe."
Laud's color began to drain. "You have such power?!"
Gregor was not far behind. "Goddess of this domain, please have mercy on us foolish mortals for a time. Your people deserve better than a future vanguarded by blind fury."
Luna hiked a brow high at the priest. "You would call me a god?"
Laud looked about as surprised. The very thought that a priest would call anything save the Pancreator as a proper god was...
"Of the universe, no, clearly not. But of these people, of this place..." He turned to the smiling form of Lyra. "Is she not one of your gods?"
Lyra inclined her head left and right, looking confused a moment before she bobbed her head. "Assuming 'God' is a funny words for 'Princess', which means 'that thing that is in charge of a thing and is that thing, basically, yeah, she's our god of the night, protector of dreams." She hopped up in place. "Also a cool mare who I hope I get to hang out with after we finish this."
Luna knew Lyra, she couldn't avoid it. She'd been in that mare's strange dreams. She shook her head slowly, looking towards the door.
"As I thought," spoke Gregor, seeming entirely confident. "No Pancreator, obviously. A small god, small as the people she guards. One of the sources of their light." He looked to Twilight then. "As are you, are you not? You are the missing sources of light we had been looking for."
"Hey," came a voice from the intercom. "Boss says he's not leaving. Wanted me to ask; the Hawkwoods are all in, right?"
"We will stand firm," spoke Laud in almost a shout as if just projecting his voice would convince the universe of the fact. "Are you with us then?"
"Moment." They could hear faint talking, something shuffling, a door close? "Yeah. You know how to add a radio line to your headpiece? Shoot, you have a headpiece?"
Gregor shook his head. "I do not. Sir Mountbatten?"
"I do... but the operation--"
"--We'll send a tech," cut in the voice from the intercom. "Just wait there."
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Huh. Is Lyra's description here accurate for your version of Equestrian Princesses? If so, I have a question. Are they supposed to be stand-ins in this world of fantastic sights for what would otherwise be forces of nature ? Or are they avatars/living manifestations of said forces? So, are they a pantheon like the Grecian or Roman Gods? Or are they like what Christian Mythos paints Jesus Christ as, an avatar of the ever unseen pancreator, but just on a much smaller and more local scale?
10287492
Ponies have no One True God. They praise the sun! Oh, your fur is especially bright today. Would you like some tea?
10287495
I know they don't believe in a pancreator. That isn't what I was asking. I was asking if they are avatars of primal forces, or if they themselves are stand-ins for what would otherwise be primal forces.
10287503
Celestia is not the sun herself. It's up there, all bright and warm. Celestia, however, does have many sun-like qualities and does control its motion. Luna has many moon-like qualities and controls its movements. And the two are unaging diarchs of the kingdom.
While Luna seems eager to throw her moon at things, Celestia has never so much as implied she'd ever do anything with the sun besides raise or lower it.
Even in the magic retrofuture we still need tech support. XD
I continue to enjoy this story. :)
10287516
Some truths are universal.
Merchant reaction "Let this world be razed? Hell no there's profit to be had!"
10287649
Its more like, the merchants are used to the church and state giving them cerain trees that have fallen down in certain locations for their transport needs, now theyve just found an island where the locals have happily given them the knowledge and skills to make rafts, dugouts, sails and oars.
The knowlege in Equestria will unlock trade accross the entire Galaxy.
And to prevent that is what the Church and Power in this case is willing to wipe a world for.
Luna is just wanting to respond in kind.
Somehow, this does more than anything else to illustrate the state of their technological base.
10287510
Yup. Like, I have seen a fic fics with more "spirits" like how Discord is seemingly an avatar of chaos. Sometimes I have a creator like deitiy. One fic I found had older Alicorns become avatars of concepts, like entropy
10287717
I didn't even notice that, but great spotting there.
Let us hope the Hawkwoods prevail in this coming battle.
10289571
Yeah, I think that got impressed on me while I was complaining about it so it petered off. Maybe its a cultural difference that it's the first thing that comes to his mind, though. Good on you for depicting a made up culture?
Maybe it's not that he thought of it, but that he talked about it to Lyra. Seems a bit out of taste, especially since she seems to have a crush on him. I guess it's better than leading her on when he doesn't feel anything for her.
10290036
He ended up developing more actual feelings for Bon Bon, bonding as two warriors. That connection has started to bridge the gap between him and his strange wives, and he gives Lyra gentle pets while trying to avoid the world ending.
10290047
Little spoilery for someone only 25 chapters in but about what I expected
10290113
Gah, you replied on chapter 106 and I thoroughly forgot. Sorry.
so just finished chapter 7 so I'm still learning but I'm wondering what "Faded Suns" is? I'm assuming it's some kind of book series, if it is, what's the name of the first book? I'll look it up it sounds interesting.
10290214
It is a tabletop RPG and videogame.
10290121
np, its not really a major turning point or anything.
10287763
Well, they are linked to the sun and the moon to the point that if something happens to the Princesses, the sun and the moon are affected. Alicorns seem to be at the very least embodiments of such concepts. Like Luna's "Princess of the Night" not just letting her raise and lower the moon, but also walk and guard dreams. Cadance is capable of spreading love wherever she goes, to the point where she alone was capable of powering a love-fuelled artefact normally empowered by an entire city, and Twilight got a magic map that lets her pin-point and solve friendship problems, and use it to banish evil.
Such a shame we never got to see what other things are linked to Celestia's title as Princess of the Day.
10292040
True, plus they can do what it took a team of unicorns to do
Cool your jets, Luna, you have nothing to prove by being rash. Keep the hair trigger, but don't seek to antagonize their reaction.
Laud plants a rather important seed in many important persons' mind. Let's hope their subconsciousnesses band together to present a solid and convincing argument to the Church. They'll either accept Laud's progeny as proof or reject it, but either way they need to change...
Keep going! ;)