Irreversible

by Trick Question

Two Queens

Twilight Sparkle found herself standing in a small, dimly lit room with a central table at which two alicorn sisters sat, staring at one another in silent contemplation. It was easy to recognize them as Celestia and Luna, but they looked remarkably different. Princess Celestia's coat was a light pink, her mane and tail were a darker pink, and she did not have the magical mantle billowing through them. Similarly, Princess Luna's mantle was missing, and her mane was the same cornflower blue Twilight remembered from when Luna had temporarily lost her mantle. Both ponies were smaller. In particular, Luna was no larger than Twilight herself.

The only sources of light in here were the glowing table and the curious magical runes around her. The markings covered every part of the walls, ceiling, and floor, and they pulsed with the same soft aquamarine light as the familiar hologram on the table's surface. Twilight immediately recognized the table as a version of the Cutie Map, but her attention was taken by force when she realised precisely where she was standing.

This had to be the fabled War Room of the Palace of the Two Sisters. From the legends Celestia had told her, this room was once the most anti-magically fortified site in all of Equestria—even stronger than the anti-magic throne of the Changeling Queendom. The room had been destroyed by massive stone structures falling upon it during Celestia's battle with Nightmare Moon, and even then it probably took an impossible amount of force to finally crack the structure. At least, that must have been how it happened. The War Room couldn't have been damaged by magic, because that was an impossibility.

At first it seemed equally impossible to Twilight that she could see this room at all, even through somepony else's memories. The magic here was so strong that even Celestia's recollections of the room should be just as fortified against magic as the room itself. However, Twilight quickly remembered the restriction on Zecora's potion: it required the magic of friendship to function. That made all the difference.

Her attention turned to the Cutie Map, and she noticed something very odd. In addition to the crystal table hosting the Map, there were two floating crescents of table on either side. They hovered slightly above the rim of the table, extending its circular shape into an ellipse. One was labeled Tartarus, and the the other was labeled Quifons. Tartarus looked exactly as anypony familiar with the dungeon realm would expect, but Quifons was very unusual. It appeared as a swirling mist of colorful, sparkling energy. It was difficult to see well, because it was represented by a very dim hologram backlit by an aquamarine glow obscuring the details.

Even so, that tiny, blurry glimpse was the most beautiful thing Twilight Sparkle had ever beheld.

Luna finally spoke, drawing Twilight's attention. "Nothing in all of Equestria can stand against the might of Friendship, not even Friendship itself." She clenched her lips tightly together for a moment. "There is no reason to doubt the safety of our future."

"I agree, Luna. Friendship is unassailable," said Celestia. "But our connection with Friendship could change by means beyond our reckoning, which would still be a problem. The plan I propose is merely a precaution."

"Quifons is in no danger, Queen Celestia. No pony, no thing, could possibly mar or change it in any way! Only the realm of Equestria may be altered. You are falling for the lies of that patchwork serpent," said Luna, gruffly. "Nothing he says can be believed, not even on those rare occasions upon which he admits his lies."

"Again, I agree. However, when another one of the Twelve predicts that under our leadership, Quifons will one day come to ruin, we must take warning... even if the prophecy has emerged from Discord's tainted mouth," said Celestia. "You and I may be Queens of all we survey, but our new world continues to change despite our best efforts to keep it in stasis. The effects of Chaos appear to be an essential part of the nature of all things, not merely Equestria herself. Discord and Star have both confirmed this multiple times—back when the former could still be trusted, that is. If somehow Quifons were affected by our citizenry, the complexity of Equestria would undoubtedly increase once again."

They used to be called Queens? thought Twilight. Well, that was definitely left out of the history books... Twilight also wondered what "complexity" referred to. The map was mostly barren, but its features were nearly identical to the Equestria she knew.

Luna snorted. "Ridiculous. As if Equestria could grow any more convoluted than it is already! That creature spoke from his multifarious hind end! He does not deserve to be one of us. His lies were yet another sad, desperate attempt to convince us Equestria would be safer trampled beneath his hoof and claws," she said. "He knows we shall swing the axe of Friendship eventually, and he is clearly more fearful than he lets on with his pretense. Our leadership is limited neither by the passage of time nor the advance of Chaos." Luna paused for a moment, her muzzle scrunched up in obvious displeasure. "However, if you are yet troubled, dear Sister, all that need be done is for one of us to abdicate the throne. Then, surely, his prediction could not come to pass." Luna glared across the table.

Queen Celestia sighed, but otherwise retained the perfect poker face Twilight had come to know very well. "Obviously, as the Demon of Chaos, our brother cannot be trusted. This is true by the very definition of his Element," she said. "Still, I remain concerned. I believe it would be best to allow our citizens to forget their past connection once the change has taken them. If anything, it will reduce stress, as they would no longer be pining for what they have become unable to directly experience."

"The Decision which led to this this 'Equestria' nonsense was a terrible mistake to begin with, Celie. We cannot relate to other stallions and mares, for we shall never be 'normal' adults, and neither can we fully relate to other foals. Aside from you, I, and Star, the remainder of the Twelve are either missing, estranged from us, changed beyond all recognition, or dangerous fools like Discord," said Luna. "The Saddeth thing is usually acceptable, but sometimes it is so horrifying it can actually yank a foal who witnesses one of them out of Quifons before their time. This leaves them as lost as you and I, for many years. And even in those cases where the Saddeth is clean and anticipated, the mourning period is atrocious and painful."

"We can't go back, Luna. You know this," said Celestia, very gently.

"Based again on the word of that beast! Perhaps there is some way we have not thought of," said Luna, though her tone of voice indicated that even she did not believe in the truth of her words.

Celestia tilted her head and raised a brow at her sister. Luna closed her eyes for a few moments, grimacing.

"Fine, we cannot go back," said Luna, her shoulders slumped forward. "But recognizing our past mistakes will allow us to prevent future mistakes, and surely you agree the Decision was a terrible mistake. It essentially ended Theia, for Friendship's sake!"

"I know, Lulu. It hurts me as well, but it is apparently what she wanted," said Celestia. "I would certainly take back the Decision if we could... not that our votes would be any less impotent. It was born of avarice and sloth, well-intentioned though it may have been. Nonetheless, this Equestria is a remarkable and beautiful thing, despite its many flaws."

"It is not right, Celie. We are the only rational adults remaining who can see the source directly. Now you wish to make adults not only blind to Quifons, but to forget that Quifons even exists?" Luna huffed and crossed her forelegs. "It is like adding salt to a wound."

"Sister, I too feel the burden we, including Star, carry as the only sane beings to straddle both worlds. Somepony must bear it, and it is only logical for it to be us," said Celestia. "The new plan is not terrible. Everypony has some connection to Quifons, even after the change. It's smaller for adults, but it's still present. Removing their memories will not damage that connection."

"It may seem like a trifle when compared with the Decision, but it is still wrong," said Luna. "Already ponies need be taught to respect and honor the Saddeth, yet somehow not fear it, and this has proven difficult. Without the light of Quifons in their memories, it may very well be impossible."

"Our citizens may number in the thousands, but they can teach one another to believe the truth with a little hidden guidance from us," said Celestia. "The population is unlikely to grow much further as it is."

"The population has already grown beyond simple pony forms, Celestia. We cannot so easily influence other species of sapient being," said Luna. "There are griffons now, and dragons, and even stranger forms than these. The mindsets of these creatures grow increasingly alien."

Queen Celestia placed her hooves on the table and leaned in. "This has to happen. It is the only sensible option, and I'm certain you know this already. Please, Queen Luna, do not oppose me in this."

Luna's eyes grew misty. "I hate sensibility. I hate the very fact that I have become sensible, and I hate that you and I must now rule this sensible Equestria! If this is insufficient to express my ire, I also hate my ability to hate things." Luna lowered her head to the Map, her voice muffled between her forelegs. "How many areas of knowledge must be blocked in order to keep Quifons a secret?"

"Only three. Star has been able to divine that with high certainty," said Celestia. "We must censor the study of astronomy beyond simple observation with visual telescopes, prevent our citizens from learning about the true nature of magic, and block knowledge of nomenmancy altogether. These three combined should be sufficient to safely wall off Quifons from rediscovery once the change of adulthood has taken a citizen. We should also try to limit communication technology from developing, but there are other benefits there. Counterintuitive though it may be, brother Star has clearly shown how advanced forms of communication would eventually lead to sloth and weaker friendships."

"The censorship I have no quarrel with, and certainly not the limits on communication. Those are far less a concern than the Decision. The problem is that we are deleting something indescribably beautiful from the minds of those citizens responsible for raising the generation which will follow. Are you most certain this is a path we can walk and still live with ourselves?" Luna's words were passionate, yet carried a hollow ring to them, like somepony phonetically reading from a script in another language.

Celestia slowly nodded her head. "You and I have no choice but to live on. Star can prevent what happened to Theia from happening to the three of us. But as I've already said, it isn't as bad as you think. The afflicted shall retain fond memories of a vague sort, and the magic of Friendship shall never leave them," she said. "Additionally, after each Saddeth comes renewal and return, so it isn't like Quifons is gone from their experience forever. But yes, once a pony has been changed, that pony must relinquish their past. It's the only way to protect Quifons, and you know my words are true." She paused for a moment, then spoke in a soft whisper. "I also hate the necessity of this, Lulu."

Queen Luna gritted her teeth. She stood and walked to the only exit, then tapped several runes on the doorway in sequence with her horn. The door opened and she exited without another word.

The moment the door slammed shut, a suddenly exhausted-looking Queen Celestia collapsed onto the hologram of the barren mountains of Griffonstone and began to sob softly into her legs.

---

Zecora stared into Twilight Sparkle's face with a look of concern. Twilight slowly realized the look on her muzzle was not a pleasant one. She covered her face with a hoof for a moment in order to compose herself.

"On what you've seen, I won't intrude, but hopefully it won't be rude if I may offer up a task: go to Celestia and ask." Zecora's words were uncharacteristically forceful.

"I... I can't do that. Not yet, at least. I'm pretty sure she doesn't want me to know any of this," said Twilight. Zecora closed her eyes and sighed, shaking her head.

"I need to take the rest of the potion with me," added Twilight, lifting the potion with her magic. "I might need it again later."

Zecora lifted the shot glass. "Then please take this to safely measure, and drink for wisdom, not for pleasure," she said, glaring sternly at her friend.

"No problem there," said Twilight Sparkle. "I'm still having difficulty processing what I've seen. I don't want to use this stuff unless I have no other choice. I don't know if you've tried this, but it gets more disturbing with every sip."

Zecora nodded solemnly, and a sad-looking smile crossed her muzzle. "I tried once, from the erstwhile batch. I shan't again say 'down the hatch'."

Twilight thanked her friend, then quickly left the hut with potion and glass in tow.

Comments

[Light Striker]

Approval.

[Misty Spell]

 The War Room couldn't have been damaged by magic, because that was an impossibility.

So, it was damaged by magic by law of 'now that you've said it's impossible, now it's not'

However, Twilight quickly remembered the restriction on Zecora's potion: it required the magic of friendship to function. That made all the difference.

Dark Alicorn Magic is the magic of friendship now? kay.

 the Saddeth

Okay, this just sounds silly. Like combining 'Sad' with 'Sabbath'

[Matthewl419]

8276595
I thought of it as alicorn magic activated it, and you can only see the past of those close to you.

[Misty Spell]

8276783
When was the latter ever specified or even indicated in the series?

[Matthewl419]

8277062
To my knowledge, never. I was saying what I think Trick Question meant. I could be very wrong, though.

[terrycloth]

8276595
Conlangs are always silly. 'Saddeth' apparently means 'death'? Sad Death?