“Tia, are you sure leaving this to Twilight Sparkle is a good idea?” I ask my sister, with the aforementioned pony being due to arrive any moment now.
She looks down, contemplating before looking past the empty throne room at the door with a resolute nod. “Even if I were to second guess myself now, the letter has already been sent, and she is already on her way.”
I stare at the door for a moment before turning back to her. “Why her, if you don’t mind me asking? You currently have her studying friendship, do you not? Would this not impede that?”
She remains silent before speaking. “Simply put, nobody else is available. You are still readjusting to society and your duties to the kingdom, the dream realm, and your Crescents; plus, you’d be hard pressed to keep as close an eye on him as you’d like if you were occupied with such a task on top of your already existing obligations. Our other mages typically study in one school of magic, and I doubt they’d be particularly willing to assist in this endeavor; not that I blame them, nor would I force them to do so. I cannot do it because I have my own duties, and I doubt Null would want me to be the one doing it; He trusts me about as far as he can throw me.”
She takes a long breath before continuing. “Twilight studies all schools of magic, and has a good handle on the fundamentals of magic as a whole; not to mention is versed in the art of spellcraft. Simply put, she’s a prodigy, much like Starswirl was.” she titters to herself. “Had I not known any better, I’d say she was a descendant of his. Alas, Starswirl never made mention of having any children, nor has any made themselves known.”
I smile a bit at the reminder of Starswirl; a very dear friend to us both.
"If I recall, you two were pretty close, you sure you never had a child with him behind my back?" She giggles.
"Tia!" I exclaim, my wings flaring out in embarrassment and blood rushing to my face. "I did no such thing!" I huff. "We were close but not that close." She opens her mouth with a smirk, but I cut her off. "That's all there is to say about the topic." I say, readjusting my wings to rest against my back again.
She, for her part, breaks out into quiet laughter, to which I roll my eyes at.
Not long after, the throne room doors open, and the unicorn we've been expecting enters.
"Ah, Twilight Sparkle. I trust you are well?" I greet. She nods, watching my still laughing sister with curiosity. I follow her eyes and roll my own again, smacking my sister upside the head lightly with a wing. She recoils, having been in her own little world, and fixes me with a confused look. I simply point to her student with the wing I smacked her with, returning my sight back to said pony.
Twilight for her part seems to be mortified yet amused by the whole situation, but is keeping her composure fairly well.
"Ah, hello Twilight. I hope the trip over wasn't too much of an inconvenience?" Celestia asks, having regained control of her faculties.
She nods. "The train ride was fine, if a bit short notice. You mentioned it wasn't an emergency, but didn't give any details either; saying it was better to explain in person. What did you need me for, princess?" She asks with a tilt of her head.
"I need you to create a spell. This does not require your full attention, so don't let this task dictate your life; it's a bit of a project that will take time, and may or may not even be possible. Feel up to it?" She asks.
"Anything for you princess. What kind of spell? And what's it for?" Twilight smiles widely.
"I trust you remember Null." Her smile falters at the mention of him, but Celestia waves a hoof. "This is nothing bad, I assure you. A series of events has taken place, and as it turns out he has a sister. Said sister is here in Equestria with him."
One of her ears folds back in confusion along with a raised eyebrow. "She wasn't… Was she?"
I decide to join the conversation at this point. "Nothing of the sort, thankfully. No, she arrived not long ago due to similar circumstances as Null. She possesses the Right Eye, an apparent duality to Null's Left; which is how she came to be here."
"So… What kind of spell are you asking me to make? You're not asking me to find a way to restrain them, are you?" She asks worriedly.
"No. If it comes to that, I'll handle it myself; though a similar topic might come up. Null's sister, Kaia, has expressed a desire to go home. She came here through no means of her own much like her brother. We were hoping you could create a spell that could do just that." I explain.
She raises an eyebrow. "I… Suppose I could. You're right though, that would take a long time to do… if it's even possible…though, if their eyes brought them here, isn't it possible it would prevent them from leaving?"
Celestia answers for me. "That's the other topic; magic and eyes like that are not normal for their world, and would likely cause a commotion. Kaia has also expressed a bit of fear of her eye, and asked if it could be removed and replaced with a normal eye. I'm sure you can already piece together why that would be a touchy subject."
Twilight nods, then rubs her chin with a hoof, thinking and mumbling to herself. After a moment she nods to herself again. "I can work on this, but it will be slow going, not to mention difficult if they're going to be here in Canterlot; there's only so much I can do without them being available for tests and such. Though, why do you want me to work on this? Not that I mind, of course."
"Simply put, you're the only one available and willing. Myself and Luna are too occupied, and his public image isn't exactly the best. Kaia may not be him, but she's related to him, is the same species as him, and has an eye like his; It would not be difficult to imagine them treating her unfairly because of his actions. As ashamed as I am to admit about my citizens, even if some were willing, I can't rule out that they might try something." She takes a long breath, shuffling her wings on her back.
"As for them living here, would it be easier if they were easier to reach? In Ponyville perhaps?" I ask.
“It would be a major convenience, yes; though it probably wouldn’t be necessary right away. Lot’s of preliminary work to be done and all that.” she waves her hoof airily.
“Perhaps… but it would be better to get it out of the way sooner rather than later. Not to mention, Ponyville would probably be a less hostile environment than the castle grounds at the moment. A number of guards still haven’t forgiven Null’s actions; on top of the political nightmare the nobles are causing.” Celestia says.
“What have they had to say about Null?” Twilight asks with a tilt of her head.
“Oh, many things. Demands for him to be imprisoned, turned back to stone, sent to the moon, some even going so far as to suggest execution. Others have asked to duel him in some attempt to ‘restore honor to the crown’.” she explains with a sigh. “And that's only what they’ve said to us. Some of our eyes and ears within the social circles think some plan to eventually make an attempt on him if their complaints continue to fall of deaf ears.”
Twilight gains a look of concern on her face. “With all due respect princess, is it really a good idea to move them then? Wouldn’t the castle be safer?”
“As secure as the castle is, it is still technically a semi public facility. Coupled with the growing animosity among some of the staff, it would not be difficult to imagine some finding a way to slip inside. Moving them in secret would delay that, and actually make it easier for their guards to do their job. Ponyville is a more rural area, making any unsavory characters all the more easier to spot; it’s also easier to maneuver and fight out in the open than in narrow corridors where anyone could be helping.” I explain, then let out a sigh. “As much as I don’t want to distrust our staff, that's just the kind of attention Null has gained. Suffice it to say, he’s not the only ‘monster’ in Canterlot, either.”
“Well, it’s your decision at the end of the day, I guess. Though, somewhat off topic, could I meet this sister of his? I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t the least bit curious about their species.” she admits with a bashful smile.
I let out a breath of tension, and nod with a smile. “I’m sure it wouldn’t be a problem.”
Ah, typical xenophobic nobles of Canterlot. Can't see anything past their muzzles and species even if the very creator of their universe slapped them senseless.
hmmmmm.....
Need more
Ohhhhh Null has a dirt on her
He knows why Starswril was even helping Luna to free him
Just guessing at this point
At the moment that is what is what I'm guessing
Good chapter, I wonder how they will handle Ponyville
Soooo, let me get this strait!
1) you are making a spell that will tear away his only family.
2) you are having your Student (your STUDENT) who has unquestioned loyalty to you to do so.
3) you plan to uproot them and send them likely dozens or more miles to a compels out of the way town.
4) a town that is on the edge of a Forest that is KNOWN for its bullshit.
And likely do all the above without giving either of them ANY choice what so ever? For their own supposed “Safety”?
Yet you wonder why he is unwilling to trust you?
This is gonna go FUBAR the moment they meet Pinkie and are forced to go to her party, I suspect less than a minute and the entire Town will hate them, if they don’t already assuming the news has filtered down.
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1, while it is uprooting his only family, she wants to go home. Would it be fair to keep her there against her will? He never knew he had family, and could probably easily let her go if he knew it was safe (though he'd probably cry and miss her afterwards).
2, twi's undying loyalty to Celestia had been shaken up a little bit after Celestia admitted what she did, not to mention twi is a friend of nulls, though calling them friends is a bit shakey at best I admit. I also admit she still is loyal to Celestia, but not to the thoughtless following it used it be. That aside, he said himself he doesn't hold anything against anyone except Celestia herself. Not extended to those in her employ; he also at least knows twi a bit, and would sooner trust someone he's met and assumes to have good intentions than some random scientist/mage.
3 and 4 I'll cover together; sending them away from an environment where allot of people are hostile towards them is a good thing, is it not? Doing so in secret puts them out of danger, a very real danger as my story (at least I like to think) takes a bit more of a realistic turn in people's attitudes.
A forest that null only knows of as "dangerous", which he spent at least 1k years in. That a town has existed next to for many years and gotten by just fine, a forest that contrary to popular belief, doesn't act up 24/7 and isn't the cause of most of ponyville's problems.
It isn't Celestia's idea alone, and it's for safety, to hopefully settle some political unrest, and to help twi with her work. Work which the humans asked to have done.
Nulls distrust of Celestia stems from hatred, but he still aknowledges her as capable and important.
And lastly, the towns opinion of them. Realistically, some of the town has already seen him running around. Be it being carried screaming about what disgusts him, talking to a random unicorn (starlight), saving (I use that word lightly. They'd have probably been fine... Probably) 3 kids from a cart crash. A few probably saw him console a crying starlight as well.
At best, I think they have a mixed opinion on him, not straight up hate, despite whatever news may have filtered down (both good and bad news).
And LASTLY, please don't take this as a personal attack on you or your thoughts. I view this as friendly discussion. I love seeing people's thoughts on the story, and you'll notice half of my response is my own thoughts, opinions and reasoning, not "you're wrong because I'm the author and I say so."
I've dragged on long enough I think, but if you wanna discuss more I'm happy to oblige, feel free to hit me up in a DM.
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1) I was more concerned about it in a Phycological viewpoint, she has the opposite eye of Null and in Celestias mind (even if she doesn’t openly admit it) that makes her a threat. I wouldn’t put it past Celestia to Kidnap and or brainwash her should she be unable to go home (which I suspect is the case) to get a counter to Null in some way.
2) Twilights loyalty, while shaken, is still a major issue. While she might not be undyingly loyal anymore, the fact she agreed to this whole spell thing with only minimal questions raises a Red Flag as big as Canterlot as to what side she would take. While Null and Twilight might be Simi-Friends and doesn’t blame her for Celestias actions, I also think he doesn’t trust her due to the association.
3-4) oh I know it’s for their safety, but the arms of the Equestrian Boyar are long indeed! It would at best be temporary safety, they will be found eventually and with them so far out, any reaction wouldn’t be fast enough. Celestia would have to give Null Carte Blanc to deal with any threats that the Boyar would send! Which we both know would be as good as an Execution order.
While he may have some acclaim, we are talking about a small town (many of which are known for their insular phobic leanings) where one bad actions/move/word could turn them against him in a heartbeat. The reason I say a certain amount of time is more towards his personality and such.
Celestia still sees him as a threat, which keeps her from really trying to amend her past mistakes.
No worries mate, I love the fact my comment was replied to being with, but you as the Author have the right to say I am wrong as after all it’s your story and your script!
10917954
All good counter points, which I took into consideration minus 3-4, and half of 1.
They have 4 elite guards (collectively) assigned to them for a reason, elites who are much more capable than most, and within their legal and bounds to handle such issues without social backlash.
Half of one because while Celestia could be tempted to try something with his sister, I don't think she'd be brash enough to outright kidnap or brainwash her. Maybe influence with words; But even then, they don't really need a massive trump card to deal with the humans; they're suseptible to even a simple sleep spell. Of course, they are still dangerous, and let to roam free with ill intent, could definitely be dangerous and wreak havoc. It's why they're kept on a leash. Not a super short one, but one where the one holding it can reach out and grab them before they go trying to bite someone.
Glad you enjoy the story, and glad you enjoy the discussion. /)^3^(\
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But those same guards can’t be everywhere at once, they also can’t be trusted to have his best interest at heart should they be forced with killing a fellow Pony. Not to mention what other things the Equestiran Boyar can do that the guards can’t actively or readily counter, such as poison and riots being incited.
They would also suffer backlash for protecting a “Monster” and “Heretic” but also for being “Race Traitors” should they have to go against or worse KILL another pony.
In other words they are a good physical deterrent but that’s about it.
Maybe not outright kidnapping, but I could see her turning the sister into a Sleeper with a command phrase and a counter phrase as a trump card. Let’s be honest, when it comes to magic the pony’s will have an advantage until Null can learn to counter or resist it and because of the scenario I can see Celestia wanting a Trump ready.
And let’s be honest? Eventually Null will get sick of being leashed and when he does I doubt even Luna will be able to do anything when that happens.
I'm not sure what they even CAN do without contradicting themselves. If anyone does end up doing something... then what? From what's happened so far I'd expect Null to be ome best friends with whoever tries to hurt him or his sister. After all it happened before, and they never had to redeem themselves or apologize, just straight to friendship with someone who hurt Null.
Nice chapter.