Chapter Sixteen
Twilight slipped under the water with a happy sigh. Luna’s bathing room was much larger than the one she had shared with Cadance. The tub in the center of the room was more than large enough for several ponies to sit comfortably, and the dark tiling of the room was shot through with delicate patterns and whorls. Cracking an eye open, she considered the dark, sloping floor. They were some kind of flower, slim and delicate. They were painted in a deep violet, so dark that it almost blended into the shiny black of the tiles themselves.
She couldn’t tell what kind of flower it was, but the thought didn’t bother her. Maybe it was a flower from Selene, a reminder to Luna of the home she was away from. A smile touched her lips as she thought of just what kind of bathing chamber Celestia would have in Selene. Would it be something like this, a sanctuary, a little slice of her home? Maybe with a marble floor, with the lightest brushstrokes painting white-gold lilies on the floor? The tub would look almost identical to the one she was currently relaxing in, though a little deeper throughout. The Princess loved to sink herself to the neck, and feel her worries float away just like her long mane in the water about her.
“Celestia?” A startled voice asked, jerking Twilight out of her trance. Her head lifted out of the water with a start, and she turned to see who was speaking.
Luna stood in the doorway. Her cerulean eyes were wide as she looked at the room, and the tall, white mare reclining in her bathing chambers. Then she took a closer look at the confusion present on Celestia’s white face, and the much darker purple of her eyes.
The amethyst gaze was all it took for Luna to realize what had happened, and smile. The Night Mare closed her eyes for a moment, and felt her magic coil about her. It wreathed her body in black light, swirling in thin, lazy wisps. Then, with a small grunt, the magic sank back into the floor, and the Princess smiled.
“L'etoile, I must say I’m impressed.” Luna said. Her smile widened as she focused on her wife. “Normally I am the one who casts such illusions.”
“Illusion?” Twilight asked, before looking around. The floor, which had been so dark only moments ago, when she entered the bath, was now almost startlingly bright. The same white marble covered the floor, emblazoned with golden lilies so delicate that they almost faded into the stone. “Did I do that?”
Luna chuckled at her wife’s confusion, and walked over to the tub. “It would appear that you have. And as I said, I am quite impressed. It is not often that anypony can fool me with an illusion.”
Twilight felt her cheeks warming at the compliment. “Why not?”
“What do you think that dreams are?” Luna asked with a merry laugh. “They always have been little more than an illusion that you yourself are trapped within. And I am their Mistress, after all. For you to have fooled me so completely is impressive. I can think of only a few others who have accomplished that much, even for a few moments.”
As she spoke, Luna’s eyes narrowed into an expression that on a pony less regal, Twilight would have termed a leer. When she spoke, her words sounded almost like a purr. “You must have a most excellent imagination.”
“What did that word mean?” Twilight asked, voice shaking. Luna’s leer softened with a fluidity that took the unicorn aback. The gentle smile gracing her dark features was even more startling than the sudden shift. The expression* was one Twilight had never seen, one of mixed love, joy, and a deep, aching sadness. Immediately, Twilight rose from her bath. As she lifted a hoof to step out of the tub though, Luna shook her head, hoof upraised, and took a breath.
“It is… a word from my youth.” Luna said, letting her legs fold beneath her. The silver scraped against the dark tiles with a jarring sound, but Luna seemed not to notice as she considered her words. “It means ‘the star’, or more often, ‘my star’. A… a very special pony in my life called me that. It was one of the only ways that she could show her affection.”
“Why?” Twilight asked, leaning out over the edge of the tub. Luna had lain only a short ways from the hot bath, more than close enough for Twilight to nuzzle into her wife’s neck. The soft pressure seemed to calm the Princess, and she returned the gentle touch.
“You have to understand Twilight, that I come from a very different world than the one you know. Some things are the same, the threat of the dragons, the relative peace along our borders. But many, many more are different. I was born only a few years after the death of-“ She stopped abruptly, wincing. “After Queen Terra died. Helios had been a nation for almost half a century, but they were still very heavily influenced by the old ways.”
Luna shifted, rising to her hooves. She didn’t rush, slowly divesting herself of the silvery regalia that seemed ever present. The silver floated away from her body in a cloak of black magic, coming to rest ever so delicately on the floor. “Only Celestia truly understands how utterly different the world was. Spike, well, Spike is Spike. She is far more ancient than anything, save maybe the bones of the mountains themselves. She has seen more than any of us can imagine. But she didn’t grow in the culture of Equestria. She never really understood how much our way of life has changed since then. To her, they are still just silly, meaningless customs that make little sense, and that are all, ultimately, futile. Many of things you would take for granted though, were never present.”
Luna slipped into the hot water, spreading out both her wings. The wide appendages reached across the entire length of the pool, resting gently on the surface. The heat, both from the water itself, and from the lazy curls of steam rising up from it, jarred Luna’s thoughts for a moment, making the Princess purr. Her deep blue eyes closed with contentment, and it lifted Twilight’s spirits to see her expression smooth into one of contentment. When she did eventually open her eyes, the sense of melancholy had lifted, and her smile returned, bright and as warm as the water around them. One wing lifted in invitation, and Twilight slipped onto the bench beside the Princess, lying down as a strong, black wing curled around her like a blanket.
“You said that things were different,” Twilight began, hesitant. “Could you… explain what you mean?”
In a flash, the sadness was back, and Twilight felt a pang of guilt at the sight. However, the expression softened once more as Luna cuddled closer to her wife, inhaling deeply for a few long moments. “I’m not sure where to start. There was quite a lot that had changed between now and my own youth. Though,” she said with a faintly wry laugh. “I suppose that you would like to know what, specifically was meant by the beginning of this conversation?”
Cuddled into Luna’s side, Twilight nodded her head, and felt an amused tendril of thought brush her mind for a moment. “I would, yes.”
Luna took a deep breath, shuddering ever so slightly as she did. “As I said, it was only a short time after Helios had formed, split off from the Equestria that Queen Terra had carved out for herself, and all of ponykind. The Queen was… almost terrifyingly powerful, Twilight. She was intelligent, strong, and the most powerful mage I have ever seen. She wielded more magical strength that Celestia, myself, and you together could muster. In the time she ruled, Equestria didn’t merely become safe, it became something of an empire. Many of the small, hostile clans that once bordered the lands of our neighbors were simply consumed by the ponies of our past.
“While she was devastatingly powerful though, and the dragons feared her more than anypony in history, she wasn’t precisely open minded. She was the product of her own times, long before mine even. And as such she had… certain views and values she clung to. Her devotion to the gods of her ancestors was almost fanatical, and many of the tenants of that ancient cult were written into law. Most of those same laws remain, as they were ultimately, good laws. But some were simply… wrong. One, the one that is important to us right now, was one regarding family. It said that every stallion should have at least two wives, and that those mare’s had a duty to bear as many foals as they could.
“It was…”
“Barbaric,” Twilight said, disgust dripping from the word. Luna turned her head to look into her small wife’s eyes, and found a brooding dragon staring back at her. The ferocity and hot blooded rage in those amethyst eyes nearly made the centuries old mare jump in surprise.
“Are you saying that it was a law that turned every mare into… into bloodstock?” She spat. In her anger, Twilight didn’t notice the slight purple glow her lit horn shed on the surroundings. “And that every stallion was basically ordered to have his own harem?”
Luna’s only response was a shrug. She turned away from Twilight then, looking at the stone wall of the room with an expression as rigid and unyielding as the marble she gazed at. “Essentially, yes. Further, any other relationship, intimate either sexually or romantically, was deemed heretical, and was punished. Anypony who sought monogamy was condemned. Stallions who were unable to sire foals on his wives constantly were mocked, and cast out of society. Mares who wanted nothing to do with a stallion were beaten, and if they weren’t married, were considered open to whichever stallion could ‘plunder’ her first. And any interest in sex with another mare was seen almost as treason. Any stallions who had the same feelings, they were called coltcuddlers, were treated the worst. Their actions were, by law, unholy, improper, and villainous. Any time they were caught, they would be dragged out of town, and stoned to death.”
Twilight looked up at Luna, aghast. Her ears were flat against her head, and her wide eyes had lost their sense of righteous anger. Now, they shone with mingled fear, and horror, at the world Luna had been born into. “But that’s…” she began, trying to think of any words strong enough to convey how she felt. Alas, even her extensive vocabulary failed her, and Twilight shook her head. “Its…”
“Wrong?” Luna asked, voice like a whipcrack. “It was the law.
“That doesn’t make it right!” Twilight snapped, eyes narrowing. “Just because it’s the law, that doesn’t make it right.”
“I know,” Luna said, the steel in her words melting. “And I never agreed with those laws. Nor did the mare whom I loved.”
Twilight felt the fight drain out of her, once again. That same sad, loving look was once more twisting the lips of her wife, and to her shock, and horror, she could see that her cerulean eyes were watering. “Her name was… was Petra. I always used to joke about her name, saying that she really was my rock. The place I could always cling to, get back on my hooves. And I was her L’etoile, her little star. The one bright spot in her life.” Twilight heard the soft plish as Luna’s tears fell into the bath. She pressed herself into the older mare’s side, and felt the strong wing hug her. As she spoke though, Luna’s voice became steadier, the words beginning to pour out.
“She was almost a decade older than me, the second wife of my father. She never tried to hide how much she loathed him, and once I grew up, I understood why. He was a vain, brutish coward. He loved to throw his weight around, but whenever a stallion would stand up to him, he would run away. Right back home, where he’d take his frustrations out on my mother's and myself. It started with beatings, but over time it… changed.
“Petra saw the way he had begun to look at me. She had always loved me, more than the mare who birthed me. She was never distracted by Father’s wealth, or by the meaningless trinkets he would buy to placate her. She cared for me though, and helped me as I grew older. Our… relationship began one day after father left, after he…. Forced himself on her. She told me about how she hated him, and why. When she saw my face, when she talked about loving mare’s she…” Luna broke off, and took a breath. “It wasn’t long after that, when Father caught us. He was furious. He.. he beat me. And he, Petra was, she.”
“She was killed?” Twilight whispered. Luna couldn’t speak, but the mare nodded her head, eyes closed as her sides shook with silent sobs.
“He said it was an accident, but… I couldn’t stay there anymore. I ran away, to Helios. But I never… I don’t think anypony can ever really forget where they come from. Or the ponies they love.”
The room fell silent. It took several long moments for Luna to calm herself. Every time she began to regain control, some new memory would be thrust into the fore of her mind, and she would shudder, gripping Twilight tighter, and continue to cry. To say that her behavior was disturbing would be an understatement, but Twilight kept herself silent. She cuddled into her wife’s side, and waited.
Eventually, the older mare’s sobs died away. She sniffled, and took several deep breaths before turning to look at Twilight. Her eyes still shone wetly in the muted light that filled the room. “I,” Luna began, her voice somewhat rough. Her jaw snapped closed as her words caught in her throat though, and the ancient mare tried to swallow to knot in her neck.
“Thank you,” she whispered, leaning down to nuzzle gently at Twilight’s mane. The little mare was still cuddled into her side, but she could feel her smile. “For listening.”
Twilight smiled up at her wife, a tinge of humor shining in her own teary eyes. “I thought we were supposed to support each other? Or did you only marry me for my body?”
Luna let out a surprised bark of laughter, giving Twilight a gentle squeeze with a wing. “I do love you, Twilight. I’m not sure anypony wouldn’t.”
Her wife’s words had warmed the cockles of her heart. She didn’t want to let Luna fall back into sad memories though, so she kept her tone dry. “Oh, I can think of a few.”
“Really?” Luna replied, amused. The wing that had been draped across Twilight’s back lifted, tucking neatly back against Luna’s side. “Name two.”
“Well,” Twilight mused, ears flicking back in thought. A smile stretched her lips, one she tried to twist into the facsimile of contemplation. “There are so few who don’t adore me, it’s true. Hm. Blueblood?”
“He doesn’t count!” Luna objected, instantly. “That pompous ass couldn’t possibly care for anything that didn’t involve his ‘excellent breeding, obscene wealth, and perfectly maintained appearance’.”
Twilight laughed. “That does sound like him. When did he say that?”
“I’m surprised you forgot, L'etoile.” Luna teased, nudging Twilight with a shoulder. “He was one of my suitors.”
Twilight fell against Luna’s side like a falling tree. The impact actually rocked the much larger princess, and she hummed with amusement. From her side, she could vaguely hear muffled words.
“He created so much paperwork.” She whined into her wife’s shoulder. She lifted herself away from Luna’s flank, and glared at the older mare. “Do you have any idea the amount of trouble your immediate rejection of that ass was? If you had just pretended he was a candidate…”
“He was a vain, greedy, small minded colt, too fussed with his mane to understand how to run a nation. And besides, he thought he could impress me by ‘displaying his wares’. Personally, I found them somewhat lacking.”
“So you told him no.” Twilight said, and Luna nobly agreed, nodding her head. “So he went around and started organizing meeting after meeting with the Princess, trying to discredit, remove, invalidate, or otherwise sabotage every other stallion who sought your hoof. Have you any idea how much paperwork that is? validating the complaint, validating the request for an audience, filing, adding the meeting to the daily roster, doing background research on all parties involved, in triplicate, and then taking the minutes of the meeting itself, also in triplicate.”
“It was a labour of love?” Luna teased, voice almost dripping sugar, it was so sweet. Twilight just glowered. “Oh all right, I’m sorry.”
Twilight rolled her eyes, and rose to her hooves. She cast a cool glance at her wife, holding the older mare’s gaze for a long moment. Then she leapt over Luna’s back, and dove into the large bath with a splash.
“What are these?” Luna asked some time later, gently nuzzling Twilight’s mane. After her dunking, Twilight had used her magic to curl her slick mane up into a tight bun. A few errant strands had escaped, curling against her neck, but the majority of her mane had been pinned in place by the pair sticks Cadance had given her. The wooden lengths were a glossy black, just like her mane, and covered with designs in deep emerald and sapphires so dark they seemed to appear suddenly against the black once noticed.
“Hm?” Twilight hummed, then felt her wife’s nose brush her mane. “Oh. To be perfectly honest, I’m not really sure. Cadance gave them to me. She has a pair just like them, but she never did tell me where she got them. She only puts her mane up when she is reading, and well, neither of us like to read in front of anypony. We both get… animated.” She finished, blushing.
Luna chuckled. “I can imagine. Well, if I’m not mistaken,” she hesitated, peering closer at the sticks. “Actually, I’m almost certain that these are divining rods.”
“What?” Twilight asked, curiosity piqued. “I’ve never heard of them.”
“Divining rods are tools used by the zebra tribes. They use them to aid in scrying spells. They can’t cast spells like we can, but they have the same ability as earth ponies, to push their magical energy into objects. They charge these little rods, and then attach small stones carved with runes to the base. The runes focus the magical energy of the rod, and the rods will point towards whatever they are attuned to. The zebra use them to find water, but in theory, with the right runic matrix, you could find anything you wanted. But I’m not a spellcrafter, much less and artificer.” Luna finished, mildly self deprecating. She leaned in to sniff the wooden rods, yelping as a bolt of energy snapped to her nose. She lifted a leg, rubbing her nose. “Light, that stung. I’m not sure what they are attuned to, or if they really are divining rods, but whatever they are, they are full of magical energy.”
“Really?” Twilight asked, gingerly lifting her hooves to draw the sticks from her mane. She gave them a gentle toss to the side, before letting her magic catch the sticks, several feet away. “How full?”
Luna shared her wife’s caution. “Extremely. If I were to guess…” she paused, and Twilight felt Luna’s magic flow over her own, covering the sticks in darkness while the Night Mare closed her eyes. After a moment, a moment that left Twilight’s body tingling from the magical contact, Luna laughed. “Clever.”
“What is?” Twilight asked, somewhat flushed from the contact.
Luna pulled her magic away, chuckling. “I do believe Cadance gave you a very useful tool.”
Twilight turned a deadpan face to her wife, making Luna chuckle again. “They aren’t really divining rods. As full of magic as they are, they must be charging themselves from your aura. It can happen with very powerful unicorns, as long as the magical drain is relatively small, most don’t even notice. So anypony with their own divining rod wouldn’t need to craft a rune stone to find you. They can simply find these rods. And, unless I’m very much mistaken, if you were to give them rods a forceful blast of your magic, then they would explode. Violently.”
“Really?” Twilight mused, hovering the sticks a little further from herself. She had expected the possibility of the sticks exploding from magical overload, a common problem with some types of magical artifacts. That they could be used to find her was a surprise though. “Cadance is overprotective?” She offered.
Luna snorted. “I’m sure.” she muttered, voice full of dark amusement. Then a shark’s grin sprang to life. “Though, now that I know what they are, I think I can…” she trailed off, and her horn flared once more into dark light. After a moment, she cut the magic, and blinked. “Well then. I never knew she was that paranoid.”
“Do I want to know?” Twilight asked, voice as dry as the desert sand.
“Probably not.” Luna said with another dark laugh. “But I think I can safely say that you will never be hard to find.”
Twilight groaned, and stepped out of the tub. She began to focus her mind, letting her eyes fall shut. She dug down, and took ahold of her magic once more, more firmly than usual, and began to draw it out. She could feel it begin to well up from within her, flooding her body with energy. A mental nudge shifted her magic slightly, and the energy rippling through her suddenly became a slowly increasing heat, radiating out of her.
“There,” she said. Her muscles twitched in a pleasant shiver as she slowly pulled the magic away from her skin, and she smiled. “All dry.”
Luna chuckled, and stood as well. “For shame. I wanted to rub you down with a towel.” she pouted.
Twilight rolled her eyes at the mare, and smiled. “I guess I’ll have to remember that for next time, won’t I, milady.”
Luna snorted at her exaggerated bow, but straightened, and sneered at the peasant. “Yes, see that you do. Oh, Twilight?”
Her words cut through Twilight’s chuckle, and something in Luna’s tone made the unicorn turn to look back at her. “Hm?”
“The reason I joined you, originally,” she said with a small smirk, obviously remembering the scene she had walked in on. “was to inform you that Celestia would like a word with you, at your earliest convenience.”
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Hmm, someone has some knowledge onto ancient languages or the Bible.
Sayang, a lovely word. I'll remember that one.
I thought this fic was dead?
6154188 How are you, Corvo? Have you had fun toppling regents?(And, yes, I could not resist.)
This was beautiful. Seeing more of Luna's past is wonderful, and Twilight's casual, accidental use of such advanced magic was a joy to read, even if it was something so minor (although I do wonder how close her imagined room is to that in Selene).
Nice to know that somepony has a way to find Twilight should she ever disappear (as I am now certain she will).
If you're trying to say 'my star' that's what it should look like. L'étoile isn't meant to target anything (i.e Twilight here, or Luna's star) and doesn't make sense in this case.
If you're trying to say 'her star' then that's what it should look like. L' in front isn't required, it's as if you'd had written 'her the star', where 'the' is L'.
Or something like 'her petite étoile if you aim for 'little star' and an accurate translation.
French is hard yes, but I can't help but notice that I've never once read a story on here containing French that didn't have glaring syntax mistakes in it. Don't take it too negatively but you only wrote 2 words, yet managed to make two mistakes.
In chapters since this story's return, it's been getting much shippier. Twilight's starting to embrace her role as Luna's consort. Pun intended.
Beautiful stuff, N!
Also - if I'd tried to write French, I'd have made far worse errors, probably the linguistic equivalent of managing to burn cereal. I have to resort straight to Google Translate for anything I don't already speak.
With my current theory that Celestia is Twi's mother, and have been switching places with Cadence from time to time to interact with Twi in a motherly/caring fashion: I can imagine Twi using the locating enchantment, on those rods, in reverse, and finding herself to Celestia - which would be fun, and awkward for Celestia, although very easily explained.
Also, those rods, the kinds of defensive magic in them must be pretty frightening. Imagine if someone came at Twi with killing intent - instant vaporization.
6220340
It was, emphasis on past tense.
6220661
I'd worry more about them exploding if someone else zaps them while Twilight's wearing them (or even carrying them with her).
There were at least two or three jokes in Schlock Mercenary to the effect of it being unwise to wear explosives next to your head.
At least one of the punchlines involved antimatter.
6159600
For most ponyfics, it's usually safer to assume that their sun works somewhat differently than ours (a small ball of elemental fire in low-ish orbit, for example). Otherwise you end up with awkward questions about how the princesses raise it (or rotate the planet or what-have-you).
If they can affect large celestial objects at astronomical distances, though, there's always the "drop an asteroid" option.
Both the asteroid option and something resembling the option you proposed here have shown up in iisaw's stories. Much math ensued
. Doing the math for your sugar-cube-sized option, I get a fairly low yield (6.5 tonnes, give or take), but the principle is sound.
MustacheMerlin's rock-chucking approach might also work, but I suspect that in order for it to be practical you'd need a way to store energy over time, so as to get a hundred unicorn-days worth of effort into the projectile instead of a hundred unicorn-seconds worth. A few thousand tonnes of rock on a cross-country ballistic trajectory will ruin anyone's day (as long as it hits in the right place; terminal guidance gets tricky).
(Cue ponyfics about a unicorn-powered Lofstrom loop.)
6220764 6220661
Pish tosh, you both seem to think that Cadance wouldn't put safeguards on the magical bombs.
6220340
Ain't no more.
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Thanks. I really didn't intend this to be very shippy, but I love the way their relationship is developing, whether they want it to or not. I'm glad you like it anyway though.
It is interesting to see the nuance both have here. They find the little common ground to keep building on. Small steps, forward and back. And it works, rocky, treacherous, but it works. That is how it is and should be, so bravo!
6159600
Whoops; it seems I'd misread. A yield of 6.5 tonnes is what you'd get from literally transporting a sugar cube sized chunk of our Sun's core to the surface of Equestria. For creating a volume that size that emits heat as if it were as hot (and dense) as the sun's core, you'd in practice hit the limits of the magical energy being dumped into the spell before you hit the limit imposed by heat flux through its surface.
I get something like 3e+21 W/m2 out, based on the Eddington model. That gives 9e+17 W absolute for a sphere 1cm in diameter, or about 200 MT/s TNT equivalent.
Where the casting unicorns would get that energy from, if not the sun, is a mystery.
6221098
...unless she intends for Twi to throw them at the opposition, in which case it's a good idea to tell Twi what they do
...or not?...
Hehe, i did mean instant vaporization for the one trying to kill her though, not Twi, i don't think Cadence/Celestia is that stupid
I enjoy moments in stories like these; the small slice of life chapters. Like the one a couple of chapters back with Luna going into the library to find Twilight. They just make me smile.
It's been a while since I was able to get back to my favorite stories, let alone continue my own (thanks a lot, work), but it was great to be reminded why I put this on in that bookshelf.
How could Luna see Terra if
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Beeeeeeeeeeeecause I can't remember my own timeline XD
6272742 Related:
It seems you may have retconned Luna's backstory, too.