Pandemic: Starting Over

by Halira

Chapter 81: Luna Cometh

"That pony talks funny," Sinker giggled. Several of the other foals and the Young children joined him in giggling.

My parents looked horrified at Sinker's comment, and my mom grabbed him into a tight hug. "Sinker! Don't be rude to Princess Luna!"

"She has the prettiest mane ever!" Tabby complimented as she sat and admired Luna.

Trixie made a show of being unimpressed, which may or may not have been genuine. It wasn't like she had never met Luna before. Starlight gave Luna a happy wave in familiar greeting. Jess generally looked unimpressed and continued eating her eggs. The Youngs seemed somewhat confused about what the commotion was about. Lántiān scowled—probably because another Equestrian arrived, but her brothers were part of the group admiring Luna. Rosetta seemed annoyed for some reason. Tempest looked like she was trying to sink into her seat and not be noticed, and Devon and Paul were trying to appear perfectly alright with another godlike pony casually letting herself in.

I saw no sign of Josie. Crap! She was a high-powered pony I completely forgot about. Did someone nab her without us even noticing?!

"Where's Josie?" I asked as I looked frantically around. "She was just here, and I know she didn't go out the door."

"I'm here, don't worry about me!" I heard Josie answer. I looked around, even checking behind the furniture, but couldn't see her anywhere.

Luna looked at a dark corner of the ceiling and lit her horn. Josie instantly appeared, huddled in the corner upside down with her wings wrapped tightly around herself. She peeked out of her wings and immediately snapped them shut, perhaps unaware that her cover had already been blown.

"I had no idea a night pony could hang on a smooth ceiling like that; she doesn't even look like she is gripping it," Robby said in amazement. "How's she doing that? She's like the best climber ever!"

"I wanna learn how to do that!" Charlotte exclaimed.

"An excellent display of your prowess at climbing and shadow melding, Josie Woods!" Luna said joyfully. "Your show of skill reminds me of the great night pony bandit of old, Shadow Dawn. I am greatly impressed."

Josie peeked out from her wings and looked around, only now starting to realize whatever method she had used to hide was no longer in effect. She unfurled her wings in full and stood up, still on the ceiling upside down.

"Heh heh," she laughed weakly. "Showing off, yep, that's what I was doing, nothing else."

Josie walked a short distance across the ceiling, as easily as I walked across the floor, then flipped off gracefully and planted her hooves on the floor. Earning cheers from all the foals and more dumbfounded looks from the adults—save Luna, who clopped her hooves together in appreciation.

Alfie took this time to walk over to Luna and stared up at her with a very serious expression on his face.

Luna took notice of him. "And how can I help you, young one?"

Alfie turned his head slightly as he examined the alicorn. "You're Princess Luna?"

Luna nodded. "That would be me, dear one. Do you have a question?"

"You were called Nightmare Moon before?" Alfie asked, unabashed.

Luna blushed, and Rosetta developed an evil-looking grin. Luna gave a small flap of her wings before answering. "Not what I prefer to be remembered for, but yes."

"I'm going to be Nightmare Moon," Alfie announced with a straight face. "I'll be the best Nightmare Moon ever!"

He then casually walked away as Luna gaped at him. Rosetta burst out laughing.

Luna laid her ears back and looked at the laughing night pony mare. "Your foal possesses a strange sense of humor."

Rosetta wiped tears from her eyes. "He's not joking. He has been insistent about that for the last year-and-a-half. He found out Phobia had been considering the name for herself early on, and he got deeply offended when Rarity was upset by this. If his mom was considering the name, then it is a perfectly good name in his opinion, and he intends to bring honor to it. We told him no until he gets his cutie mark, but I think he is dead set on it, no matter what he ends up with for a mark."

Luna gave Alfie a considering look and flicked an ear. "Well then… I hope he becomes famous and well known for something good, so he is the first pony others think of when they say Nightmare Moon. Has he displayed any talents?"

Alfie turned and faced her. "I can do this!" He sat and put his forehooves on either side of his face and pushed his lips together from the sides. He then began to make babbling noises.

Luna stared for a few seconds with a flat expression. "You are... very good at that… well… I hope you learn how to do… more things."

The other foals joined Alfie in displaying their various talents, which essentially amounted to making funny faces and making disgusting sounds. This continued until Tabby and Charlotte went over to a wall and became determined to figure out how Josie had scaled it and walked on the ceiling. Their progress did not go well, but their failures attracted the other foals to watch.

At this point, the foals had largely lost interest in Luna. They'd seen Twilight Sparkle, so alicorns weren't that exciting to them, and there was now alternative entertainment to be had as they all tried and failed to climb the nearest wall. Luna wasn't too put out that her audience had gone, but I could see a tinge of disappointment in her bearing. She brightened up as she turned her attention to Jess.

"Jessica Middleton!" Luna said with a smile. "Twilight has spoken fondly of you. She has spoken highly of your intelligence and heroics. She mentioned in passing that her rehumanization spell had the unintended side effect of aging you. She had not mentioned you were aged to this degree. With your height, I would assume you the most elderly human in the house."

Now it was Robby's turn to break out in laughter as he laughed at his little sister. Jess went wide-eyed and was dumbstruck as she visibly tried to process the fact that Luna equated her height to looking old. She was the tallest, so in Luna's eyes, Jess must look older than her parents or the elder Youngs. There was saying someone looked adult and mature, and then there was saying they looked elderly, and Jess was not prepared for the latter option.

"You know, while Twilight never fully mastered them, I do have some experience with age spells," Luna continued. "I might be able to resolve this age problem and revert you to what your proper developmental growth should be."

Devon and Paul blinked and looked at each other as if seriously considering this offer. That consideration was brought to an abrupt end by their not-teenaged daughter.

"NO!" Jess shouted in horror.

Devon laid a hand on one of Jess's. "But, sweetie, wouldn't you be happier looking like kids your own age?"

Jess shook her head rapidly. "No, no, no! Puberty, Mom! I've already started it, and I intend to get through it. It's the most miserable thing ever, and I do not want to do it twice. If she de-aged me, that would mean I would have to start from scratch again in a few years. Once is enough, Mom! Once is enough!"

Luna smiled. "Fear not, my own puberty may have been long ago, but I recall it not being the most pleasant of times. I remember my wings felt too big for my body, and I was dealing with a new appendage which rarely did what I wanted it to do. It seemed that my only sources of joy and cheer in those years were raising the moon and watching Tia plant her face into every tree in the region as she tried to master her new wings. I shall not force you to undergo the ordeal twice."

"Thank you," Jess said with relief.

"There goes that chance," Paul said mournfully.

Luna's attention shifted to Tempest, who looked like she was ready to bolt at any moment. "Fizzlepop Berrytwist?"

Tempest sat to attention. "My name has been officially changed to Tempest Shadow Smith, highness!"

"Smith?" I asked in confusion.

"Fizzlepop Berrytwist?!" Rosetta asked, roaring with laughter. "You never told us… oh man, that's great!"

"They asked for a first name, a second name, and a third name when I entered my application for citizenship," Tempest explained in consternation. "I gave them Tempest and Shadow, and they just shrugged and wrote Smith in for the third."

I found the Smith name amusing, but I also found it interesting that the citizenship application requested names in that manner. It was probably some relic from before ETS that had never been updated since name change applications within the US didn't require a first, middle, and last name. It could also be that Tempest didn't fully understand the application, filled in the first and middle name sections instead of first and last, and inadvertently left them to fill in the last. It was mainly of concern to me because it might, at some point in the future, be something that would impact the foals. I would have thought that immigration policy would have been updated regularly since both Canada and Mexico were facing political turmoil and secession crisis problems that the US had just avoided dealing with in the West. So many humans and ponies alike were trying to cross the borders on both ends as uncertainty mounted about the continued existence of their respective countries. I didn't think what was happening in Canada would devolve into armed conflict, but what was happening in Mexico already had escalated to violence. Pony separatist movements in Mexico, unhappy with the government's inability to deal with the cartels, were taking matters more and more into their own hooves, and seeking independence from what they viewed as an inept government as a result. Regardless of the level of violence, both nations were hot messes at the moment.

“I see,” Luna didn't look amused. "I am somewhat hurt that during your final visit to Equestria, you did not take the time to seek me out and left before I even rose from bed. I had accepted your resignation that you sent and wished you well. I even pleaded your case to my sister before you ever saw her. You could have remained long enough to speak with me. Had I done something to offend you?"

Tempest sat up and looked at Luna in shock. "No, your highness, I-"

Luna held up a hoof. "You are not my subject or even a subject of Equestria, so there. There is no need to address me that way. You may address me simply as Luna."

Tempest took a deep breath. "Alright, Luna, I wasn't sure if you were just polite with me in your letters or if you were disappointed in my decision. I didn't feel comfortable facing you… I worried you might feel I was turning my back on you and everything you had done for me."

Luna shook her head and advanced towards Tempest. "Had you known me so little before you went to Earth? My primary goal when taking you in was to see you reach a happy and fulfilling life. I understood what it is like to feel like an outcast, and I did not want you to feel that way. Yes, you were a very effective member of my guard, but that was always secondary to trying to build you up and feel pride in yourself."

Tempest looked down. "And I feared you might see me changing species as me giving up on the work you put in."

"No," Luna said firmly. "I sent you to Earth to explore new opportunities and have new experiences. You have since taken control of your destiny, and I could not be more pleased—provided it has made you happy. Are you not happy, Tempest Shadow Smith?"

The former pony looked at my grandfoals first before answering, and she burst into tears. "I am very happy, Luna. I am exactly where I want to be. Thank you… for understanding."

Heller cleared his throat. "Excuse me. I hate to break this up, but we are in the middle of a very serious investigation."

I stepped forward in front of Luna. "Which is why I asked you to come to see me. There's something I need you to look at and explain to these agents and me. My family and friends, even people who just think highly of me, are all under threat, and we need help figuring this out. You know things that even Starlight and Twilight don't, and I hope you know about the phenomenon we are finding."

Luna frowned and glanced at Starlight. "I may know things that they do not, but they do have a more expansive magical education than I. Are you sure they wouldn't be better suited for this?"

Starlight shook her head. "Twilight and I are stumped, but Sunset got a lead that this is something only you or Celestia could be familiar with."

Luna smirked. "I understand the situation is most grave, but I can't help feeling a certain satisfaction in the fact my magical knowledge may be more useful than Twilight's. It does not happen often. Let us see what you are concerned about."

I had several options on where to show her. The area upstairs was so saturated it was hard to make out what you were looking at, so I decided to bypass it as the first stop. That left the ruined chapel and Malcomb's house. Malcomb's house was still an active crime scene, and I didn't want to disturb anything until Heller and his agents said it was okay, so that made the choice of where to start easy.

I led Luna, Heller, and the two FBI unicorns out of the main house towards the chapel. Wild's repair crews were all getting checked in by security, who were being careful to make sure each worker was someone who was supposed to be here. With all the workers coming in, it wouldn't be hard for someone or multiple someones who didn't belong to slip in by impersonating parts of the crew. Having so many people here made me slightly nervous for precisely that reason. It was hard to know who to trust.

We stepped into the chapel and lit my horn, using the spell that let me see the thaumic energy. It was right where it had been before, a little less intense of a red, perhaps because it was slowly fading.

Luna took one look at what I was doing then cast a spell of her own, which made the thaumic energy visible to all of us. She then walked around the giant red blotch, examining it.

"That's something you don't see every day," Heller observed and pulled out his tablet to take a picture, followed by him making notes.

"The tower room on the third floor is just completely red like this, and it extends out along the floor of the hallway there," I explained. "I would guess there is a blot like this one in Malcomb's house, but I haven't checked yet. As near as I can tell, the barking sounds are coming from these."

Luna circled it a few times more before replying. "That would make sense if there were dogs on the other side. This Is an antiquated form of teleportation that forms a link between two places. It is a very taxing spell that needs to be cast by an individual and is also very hard to hold open for long periods of time, even for a stronger unicorn."

"Can you figure out where the other end is located?" I asked as she continued to circle it.

She shook her head. "Only a general direction. Do you see how the edge flows?" She pointed to a small section of the blotch. "They indicate the direction to the location it is linked." She pointed away from it, towards the west. "But I have no way of knowing the distance based on that alone. If there are more of these spread out across a wider area, that may help guide you to the source, but that is if the source is consistently in the same place. We have no way of knowing that it is always the same source location, and if the source is moving, that won't help at all."

"We have reason to believe it might be one location," Heller said as he walked up to the area of the blotch that Luna had indicated which showed the direction, and took a few different pictures from different angles.

"Why is this spell not used anymore?" I asked Luna as the agents examined the blotch.

"Technically, it is still used, but it is not a spell cast by unicorns anymore," Luna replied. "It is a very draining spell to cast and was replaced by the teleport spell we are more familiar with soon after Clover the Clever developed the more modern teleportation spell. This version still had its values over the more modern spell, and powerful mages preserved it in several talismans. These talismans were difficult to make, but allow the use of the spell without requiring the wearer to cast it, and work off their own internal magic supply, which replenishes on its own. These talismans are currently in possession of my sister's chancellors, who use them to travel across Equestria quickly and efficiently."

"Do all these chancellors still have possession of them or are any of them unaccounted for?" Heller asked.

"I would presume so since the loss of them would hamper their ability to do their jobs," Luna answered. "I’ll have my sister look into it, but I doubt any are missing. I would not be shocked if a pony on Earth discovered this technique on their own. It is a more antiquated technique and the one that comes more naturally when trying to figure it out from scratch. They may have figured it out on their own in the early days after ETS before the modern teleportation spell was widely disseminated on this planet. With the strain it puts on the caster, it is unlikely that it could have been taught to many and would never have gained widespread use as a result."

"Can the portal be forced open so we can go to the other side?" I asked, hoping we could just barge in and rescue everyone.

Luna shook her head. "No, my student, that is not how these links work. They exist only as long as the spell is in operation. What we are observing is the impression of the link that was here, not the actual link. This will fade over the course of the next week or two, and there shall be no trace of anything ever happening here."

That was disappointing. "You said that it still has some advantages over a regular teleportation spell. What are those?"

"These require less knowledge about where the caster is trying to get to. They have a far greater range and can bypass many magical defenses," Luna explained, making vague gestures in the air. "They also can be held open for a period of time and allow travel to and fro from either side of the link, although that amount of time is limited before the strain on the caster will eventually force them to drop the spell. Unfortunately, the strain of holding one of these open for a few minutes may cause the caster to need hours to recover if they are strongly gifted. If they are not strongly gifted, it can be days of recovery time."

"How strong on a PREQUES scale are we talking for needing hours of recovery time instead of days, or to cast this at all?" Heller inquired.

Luna shook her head. "That is not something I can give an answer to at this time. This spell hasn't been commonly used in over a thousand years. It predates any such measurement scale. In those days, we had no method of measuring a pony's magical power; we only had the general knowledge that one is more powerful than another." She looked at me. "Meaning no insult to my student, but I assume casting such a spell at all would be well beyond her strength. A pony such as Starlight Glimmer could probably hold one open for a great deal of time, perhaps as long as half an hour or more, and only need hours to recover, but there is a massive difference in power between those two examples. I couldn't say for certain where any unicorn from back then fell on your rating system."

"I'm going to guess we are dealing with someone in the five range," Heller said with a grunt. "I would appreciate it if you can teach my colleagues here how to pull this trick of making these impressions visible. We have a lot of houses to check, including other areas of this property, and we need to check them all quickly before these things all fade away. I hope we can use what you showed us to triangulate the source or at least narrow down the area we need to be searching. This should be a great help. Thank you for your assistance with this, Princess Luna."

"I am pleased I was able to help," Luna said with a slight bow of her head. She then directed her attention back to me. "Now, have you sent me my first letter?"

"It is in the mail as of yesterday," I confirmed. I watched her actually prance in place. "I have no idea how long it will take to get to you." That took a little of her frolick out of her.

"Perhaps you could tell me…" Luna began, then shook her head. "No, I shall be patient. It shall ruin the experience if I ask you to spoil it."

I blinked. "It isn't that big a deal. I don't mind."

"Excellent! We shall sit and discuss your first letter and laugh together about your misadventures!" I was instantly wrapped up in her magic and carried along as she happily trotted back towards the house.

God help me.

Comments

[RMWarPony]

"Jessica Middleton!" Luna said with a smile. "Twilight has spoken fondly of you. She has spoken highly of your intelligence and heroics. She mentioned in passing that her rehumanization spell had the unintended side effect of aging you. She had not mentioned you were aged to this degree. With your height, I would assume you the most elderly human in the house."

The Tallest shall lead

[keroko]

It occurs to me that for all that Sunset has targeted Equestria during her campaign, she has little to no actual experience with Equestrian culture.

Time for a crash course, and a royal one at that.

[theoldenbrony]

God help me.

I laughed out loud at this line!
(Luna is best pony, why is there no Luna emoji?)