Apotheosis

by Daetrin

Centuries of Stony Sleep

Author's Note:

Audio Version

The unicorn drowsed beside her as Luna watched the first silver arc edge over the horizon. She had almost gotten used to sleeping by night rather than by day, if nothing else than to avoid being confronted with a legacy she could no longer touch. The starless sky and the distant orb of the moon still hurt, but it was a more remote pain.

It was a strange day for her. She had failed to properly carry out her duties, the responsibility trusted to her as a goddess, or else the hungry wind would not have remained even in the secret soul of the world. And yet, it had been taken care of anyway. It was the first time in a very long, long time that anyone had helped her with her burden. It was the first time that it had occurred to her that she didn't have to do things alone.

Celestia was always so poised, so confident, and Luna had never managed to quite reach that same point. But perhaps she didn't need to. It was an oddly freeing thought, that she didn't have to try and do everything herself. Of course, prior to Twilight she had never encountered anypony who could begin to appreciate what a goddess could do, and what they had to do. But she had never looked, either.

It was on this meditation that she watched the moon rise, watched it bathe the landscape in soft silver light. But slowly, inevitably, the doubts crept in again. If Twilight, as a unicorn, no matter how special, could do what she could not, what role was left for her? She stared upward and had to wonder why the moon needed a goddess.

Luna woke to the sound of bells. They rang out, slow and sweet, tolling the morning hour. She lifted her head and looked around, confused and wondering. The oasis that they'd chosen was the same yet not the same; the grass was greener, the water was clearer, the trees were slightly different. But the trees were in the same places, the subtle rolls of the ground hadn't altered. It was if a new place had been sculpted atop the old.

She met Twilight's eye as the unicorn blinked sleepily. "I heard it too," she said in reply to the unasked question. "What's going on?" She looked around, taking in the same changes Luna had. "Oh, wow. I guess that answers that. Things are being shaped around us. Well, you."

"It... seems so." Luna was far from happy about that. She knew better than anyone what a snarl of emotions her divinity was tangled in, and if it was affecting the fabric of this reality unchecked, it bade ill for the safety of their journey. The last tones of the bells lingered and faded in the air, and she got to her feet.

"So let's go see what that is!" Twilight was her usual cheerful self. The unicorn began packing their campsite again, and Luna helped with only half her attention. There was again the sense of odd familiarity, something she couldn't quite place about that sound. She could only hope it wasn't another terror from a past she couldn't remember.

"Let's just be careful," the alicorn said. "There's no telling what it could be."

"Careful. Check." Twilight grinned briefly and looked around. "I think it was coming from this direction."

The two ponies moved forward carefully, past a screen of low trees and tangled underbrush. The trees became thicker, forming a wall on either side, and the underbrush cleared. Ahead, the trees formed an arch, framing the green passageway, and Luna shared a glance with Twilight before they stepped through.

It was a palace, all white stone and gold spires, gleaming in the sun. It was the palace, surrounded by brilliant green and gleaming against the blue vault of the sky. Luna stared, open-mouthed and unblinking, at a place that hadn't existed for a thousand years.

"What is this place?" Twilight asked, her voice hushed in deference to Luna's awe.

"You've seen it before," Luna replied without looking away from the enormous complex. "But not like this. The palace of the pony sisters. My home."

"But... you live in Canterlot."

"I live there now. But I grew up here." Luna started forward, and Twilight tagged along behind. A broad stairway beckoned, pristine alabaster and gold rail leading to an exquisitely carved door. The wood shimmered with an amaranthine glow in the sunshine, untouched by time.

"So this is a... memory of the one in Equestria?" Twilight's hooves sounded on the stone behind her, and Luna ran a hoof over the deep engravings in the door.

"Or the original," Luna mused. "The first bastion of order, built so deeply that its foundation rested in something more fundamental than bedrock."

"So who built it?" The unicorn stepped up next to her, surveying the architecture with an appreciative eye. "It's beautiful."

"Why, thank you." The larger pony smiled, a faint hint of her sister's impishness dancing in her eyes. "'Tia and I made it, at the very beginning. When we were but foals."

"What?" Twilight blinked at her, looking back and forth between her and the door.

"I'm sure that you built a fort for yourself when you were small." Luna cocked her head at the unicorn.

Twilight flushed. "Well, yes," she muttered. "But it was made out of books."

"When a pair of goddesses makes a fortress to be safe in, it is rather more substantial." Luna chuckled softly and pushed the door open. "Welcome to my home."

Bright light streamed in through crystalline windows, the rich scent of wood and silk welcoming them into an enormous, well-furnished hall. Chairs and divans were scattered along the walls, with tapestries hanging above them. Columned arches supported supported gaily colored pendants, and at the very far end was a dais containing the largest orrery Twilight had ever seen.

Luna walked inside, hoofsteps deadened by a strip of carpet stretching the length of the hall, and inhaled deeply, breathing the heady perfume of memory. There were things she had forgotten, in the mess and muddle of life, pieces of an earlier age that were just now coming back to her. "'Tia and I used to play here," she told Twilight softly, making her way down the long hall toward the orrery. "We would pretend at moving the sun and the moon."

Her horn flickered, and the sphere of the moon moved along its track, rotating silently, the cratered surface reproduced perfectly on the model. Twilight joined her, looking at the enormous device. "It's hard for me to imagine either of you being that small," she confessed. "You both seem, well, eternal."

Luna opened her mouth to reply, but stopped as distant laughter sounded. Intermittent hoofsteps sounded from a nearby hall, and echoing voices. A side door slammed, and the two ponies watched, speechless, as a pair of alicorn foals dashed across the floor. The goddess of the moon stared as a younger version of herself gamboled across the carpet, followed by a similarly aged Celestia.

"I'm going to get you!" the Celestia foal called, and the matching Luna squealed, wriggling underneath the orrery. Celestia followed, voice echoing tinnily as she stuck her head under the metal base. "Mwahaha!"

"Eeeee, no!" The alicorn foal leapt up onto the polished brass mechanism, tiny wings working to make the jump, hooves scrabbling as she went from one orb to another.

"Aha, you're on my sun!" Young Celestia frowned in concentration, her horn gleaming, and the orb of the sun swung through on its track. The young Luna squeaked and lost her balance, hooves flailing as she plummeted down to land on top of her sister, the two of them sprawling in a giggling heap.

"Is that - are you - ?" Twilight sounded as surprised as Luna felt.

"These are just memories. I think." The alicorn watched her childhood self scamper off again, smiling softly.

"Well, you two were adorable." Twilight grinned, and it was Luna's turn to blush.

"Be that as it may," the alicorn coughed. "I wonder why we're seeing them."

"Well, there doesn't seem to be any magic around here..." Twilight turned in a slow circle, horn rippling with faint power. "But it doesn't seem like things are magic here, anyway. They just are."

"Well, at least only my dignity is in danger," Luna muttered, shaking her head. "Still, I'd like to follow them. I... don't really recall much from this early on." In fact she didn't recall much at all, relative to the endless centuries she had experienced, but more and more had been leaking through over their journey. These were the first memories she truly welcomed, holding a simple joy that she'd nearly forgotten.

"And you can give me the tour while we're here," Twilight agreed. "Celestia never talked much about the past, let alone something like this." She waved a hoof at the finery. "And I don't recall many books about it either."

"We'll see what I can recall." Luna led the way through the side door, the carpeted stone winding upward along the perimeter of a tower. Through the windows could be seen the gold and green of the grounds, along with flashes of blue from cheerfully babbling fountains.

"There's a terrace up there," she told Twilight, "where we could watch the sky." She glanced over at the unicorn. "You can imagine how important that was. At Canterlot we have a balcony." Luna looked upward, along the winding ramp. "It's nice, but I think I preferred the terrace."

"Well, where you grew up is always a little bit special," Twilight said softly. "I mostly grew up in the palace, and now I live in a library tree, but I feel nostalgic whenever I think of my parents' home."

Luna nodded, voices echoing from above as they climbed toward the roof. Another door stood at the top of the spiral, inlaid with a sun and a moon, and it unlocked with an audible click as the goddess of the moon touched her own symbol. She pushed the door open, spilling illumination into a starry night.

Luna stared, glancing between the bright sunlight spilling into the tower ramp and the moonlight cast across the terrace floor.

"I guess it's more than just people that are memories," Twilight said, sticking her head out past the threshold and looking around. "It's cold out here," she said, surprised, her breath steaming.

"It's winter," Luna said slowly, as recognition dawned. "Look." She pointed a hoof at two ponies standing on the terrace. It was herself again, next to her sister as always, but here Celestia was eclipsed by the splendor of Luna's aspect.

Her mane fell in a waterfall of stars, the moon on her flank glowed with an inner light, and her coat seemed to hold the very depth of night itself. Luna had decidedly mixed feelings about seeing herself that way, painted with a glory she could no longer conjure, but she stepped forward anyway.

"The Winter Moon Festival," she commented to Twilight in an undertone, making her way to the rail next to the younger version of herself. The grounds around the palace were sprinkled with lights, like a mirror of the sky above, hundreds of small bonfires to warm the ponies gathered for the celebration. The fires threw faint illumination over tables and awnings, chairs and divans scattered over the field. "This used to be my time."

"What happened?" the unicorn asked, looking over at the past alicorns, who in turn watched their subjects.

"I - " Luna began, and was interrupted by her younger self.

"Our Loyal Subjects!" The voice from the past boomed, and Luna winced slightly at her own memories from using that particular effect. "We Hope You Have Been Enjoying The Festivities!" Cheering and hoof-stomps came from the assembled crowd. "Good! Look To The Skies, Our Subjects! The Main Event Is About To Begin!"

"It was a meteor shower last year," Celestia murmured to the young Luna. "What did you have in mind for this time?"

"See those comets?" She waved a hoof upward, where a pair of wispy-tailed streaks rode in the sky.

"You wouldn't." Celestia sounded gravely amused, and Luna grinned in synchronization with her memory-self.

"I would. But first..." The young Luna's horn glowed softly, and from the horizon came the shifting, hued curtains of an aurora. They rippled across the sky, painting the black between the stars with a palette of colors.

"I didn't know you could do that," Twilight said softly, and Luna tore her gaze away from the heavens.

"I'd nearly forgotten myself." Luna shook her head, wondering how she could have let something like this slip away. The show wasn't over, either. Above them, the twin comets began to spiral around each other, drawing closer. They danced down, down, until they suddenly hit the atmosphere and ignited. The fiery bolides met the aurora and exploded with a tremendous roar, providing a kind of natural firework display.

The clouds of debris grew and fuzzed into haze, reflecting the light of the aurora, muting it into shifting pastels. The haze transmuted to snow, falling from a nearly clear sky as the water from the comets froze again in the chill upper atmosphere, shining and reflecting both the moonlight and the auroral glow.

"That's amazing," Twilight Sparkle said, and Luna felt a warm glow of pride.

"One of my best years," she admitted. "I had to start those comets going two decades earlier. The pegasi spent three days cleaning up all the clouds I ended up making, but it was worth it I think."

"Definitely," Twilight agreed emphatically, and Luna lifted her head to the sky. It was hard to believe that she'd forgotten what she loved to do, over the years. She knew it had been a long, slow decline, more her fault than anypony's, but this reminded her what heights she could aspire to.

"Celestia didn't revive the moon festival because she didn't want to usurp my place in it," she told the unicorn. "She wanted me to hold the first new celebration for it, when I got back. She always had faith, even that long ago." She turned to Twilight. "And so do you. I -" Luna faltered for a moment, her mind unsure as to what her mouth was about to say. "...thank you."

"Of course, Luna!" Twilight gave the alicorn a smile. "I may not be the most perfect judge of character but it's obvious to me you aren't evil or anything." She laid a reassuring hoof on Luna's shoulder. "Just a little hurt."

"Less than I was, I think." Luna smiled at the snow. "I wonder what else... or when else... is here." With one last look she started to cross the terrace, headed toward the spires and windowed halls beyond.

After a moment Twilight's hoofsteps sounded as she hurried after the princess. "I wish we could stay here and watch this, even if it is cold." Luna glanced back thoughtfully at Twilight's wheedling tone.

"Well, I wouldn't want to get separated. I suppose there isn't any real hurry."

"Yay!" Twilight grinned gleefully, and pulled the thermal blankets from her saddlebags. "I'm getting a lot more use from these than I thought. Good thing I'm so organized."

"It really is." Luna chuckled softly, settling in next to the unicorn to watch the echoes of herself from millennia past.

•••

Twilight had seen glimpses of the whole and healthy Luna before, but this was the first time she'd had an unobstructed view. And it wasn't just the memory, either. Her Luna was more relaxed and confident, more centered than before. She had to wonder if the alicorn even realized it.

She glanced sideways at the Luna she knew, then at the memory who stood by the rail. They were strange mirrors. They both had pride in common, but it seemed there was little else. The real alicorn seemed darker but humbler, smaller but more solid. She was, perhaps selfishly, glad that she had the older Luna. It would have been difficult to call the goddess in the memory anything but 'Princess.'

Once the snow stopped falling, the aurora rolled away, moonlight and starlight playing over the pristine white coat of snow surrounding the revelers. The bells tolled midnight in long, slow rolls of sound, and the night - and winter - faded. The night sky turned back to day, a late afternoon, long shadows stretching across the terrace.

"Aww." Twilight was a little disappointed, even if the main show had been over. "Well, I suppose we should go see what else is around here."

"Next time I'm sure you'll have the whole night," Luna offered, an odd expression crossing her face as she realized exactly what she had said. But the alicorn didn't correct herself.

"I'd like that." If Luna was determined there would be a next time, despite the impossibility, Twilight wasn't going to gainsay her. She took a moment to pack the blankets back in her now well-used saddlebags, and the two ponies resumed their interrupted journey across the terrace.

"There's a banquet hall through here," Luna told her, heading for another detailed door. "I think some days we didn't even get off the top floor."

"There are some days I don't leave my balcony," Twilight observed. "I can more than believe that."

Luna giggled. "I probably should tell you to get out more, but I'm one to talk." There was another soft click as Luna touched the door, and it swung open to reveal a long table and more enormous windows. Even though there was no food set out, the smell of fresh-baked bread seemed to linger in the air.

"This is a very odd place," the unicorn couldn't help stating the obvious. The patchwork of memories made for a disjointed experience, and she had to wonder if they'd be able to tell if something - or somepony - were real, rather than simply a shadow of the past.

"I must confess it never did all this when I lived here." Luna waved a hoof around. "Though maybe I should be surprised it didn't. It was fairly saturated with magic for a very long time."

"But magic is a very specific process," Twilight protested. "It doesn't just produce random results, especially not this targeted, all by itself."

"Well, not normally, no," Luna agreed. "But the slightest thought of a goddess might well be made manifest somewhere that is saturated with power, just waiting for somepony to shape it. It would not be unlike a unicorn's own inner power."

"Wow, a unicorn palace." The unicorn grinned. "Almost as good as a book fort."

Luna laughed softly, reaching for the far door of the banquet hall, but the door opened before she could touch it. Twilight blinked as another memory-Luna came into the dining room, this one looking much younger, barely past the filly stage. The appropriate Celestia followed her.

"I'm not sure... oh." Luna said, and Twilight looked inquiringly at the alicorn. "This must have been just before we went off to... deal with Discord. See the necklaces?"

Indeed, each of the two were wearing a necklace with three gems strung on it; three moons for Luna and three suns for Celestia. They looked nothing like the Elements of Harmony in Twilight's time, but that was hardly surprising. The unicorn couldn't help but feel a slight chill, thinking of her own confrontation with the chaos god.

"I'm... I'm a little scared, 'Tia." The filly Luna looked up at the sun goddess, touching a nervous hoof to her necklace.

"Me too, sis." The small Celestia lowered her head to give her Luna an affectionate nuzzle. "But we'll be all right. He can't do anything to us if we don't let him."

"Right." The small Luna lifted her head, looking determined. "And we have the Elements of Harmony, too."

"Indeed." Celesta smiled down at her sister. "As long as we're friends, we'll be able to face anything."

"We'll always be friends, 'Tia!" The filly Luna beamed. "We won't have to worry about that."

Twilight heard a soft intake of breath from the older Luna, but instead of looking pained, the alicorn merely appeared wistful. "Luna?" she asked softly.

"It's amazing what you forget, and what you remember," Luna replied. "It's been a long time since I had any sort of... perspective."

"Are we ready?" The memory of Celestia gave the younger Luna a hug, and the filly nodded.

"Ready, 'Tia."

"I wish I could tell them that everything works out." Twilight watched the two young goddesses walk the length of the banquet hall.

"We can never know that at the time, though," Luna said softly. "We can only hope it is so."

"I suppose." Twilight watched the pair walk out the far door. "It's easy to forget how long ago this was," she added after a moment. "It seems so real." She turned to the larger pony. "Where did the Elements of Harmony come from, Luna?"

The alicorn shook her head. "You'd have to ask 'Tia about that. What we're seeing is coming back to me, along with a few other fragments, but most of my past is still a bit hazy."

Twilight nodded. She had a strange, tangled feeling of guilt and responsibility for that, even if it was not strictly her fault. But perhaps it was for the best, given how many years of bad memories the goddess would have.

The bells began to toll again, and Twilight waited, counting. The hours it kept seemed to be those of the memory, not of the outside world, so there was no sense paying too much attention. But each roll of sound was commanding, sending faint vibrations through the floor under her hooves.

The tenth toll hung in the air, and light faded from the dining hall. The setting sun cast ruddy outlines of the windows on the far wall, picking out motes of dust floating in the air. Twilight lifted a hoof as the sun suddenly shone in her eyes. "So... what time is it actually?"

"Hmm. I'm going to assume late; we did spend some time watching the Moon Festival." Luna stepped up to the window. "But it seems we'll have actual lodgings for the night, for once."

"True!" Twilight was looking forward to that. An actual bed and bath would be so very welcome, even if the surroundings were a little strange. But Luna didn't seem worried by anything the palace might hold, and she was willing to trust the alicorn's instincts. Everything Luna had been reluctant about so far had held some danger.

"Well, then, this way." Luna resumed her interrupted tour. Twilight marvelled at the size and richness of the halls and rooms they passed, easily rivaling Canterlot in terms of grandeur. But then, Canterlot hadn't been built from nothing but divine will and imagination.

At the end of a broad hall were two doors across from each other, one emblazoned with the symbol of the sun, and one with the symbol of the moon. Between the two was a small balcony, facing south to judge by the sun, and a faint breeze ruffled the hanging curtains. A voice floated to them from the balcony, a young voice. "You can do it, Luna!"

The two ponies exchanged glances and walked forward toward the balcony. They peered through the curtains at yet another alicorn pair, this one very young, barely older than the foals who had played on the orrery. The small Luna flapped her tiny wings vigorously, hovering over the balcony as her horn glowed, while Celestia stood below, her neck arched and tense.

A silver sliver appeared on the horizon, and then slowly, surely, the moon rose. The Luna foal faltered and fluttered back down to the balcony, where Celestia steadied her. "I did it, 'Tia! I did it! It's my moon!"

"I told you that you could do it." The alicorn put a wing over her sister, and Luna craned her neck upward.

"It's not as bright as your sun," the night goddess said, sounding disappointed.

"I suppose not... but it doesn't have to be the only thing in the night sky."

"Oooh!" The young Luna jumped up again, looking excited. Her horn glowed and spat sparks that circled upward, framing the moon with four stars. The small goddess looked at them with the critical eye only the young could muster. "Maybe I'll do more later."

"Is that...?" Twilight barely dared to ask the question.

"The first time I raised the moon," the older Luna confirmed. "Oh, I was so excited. I probably should have been more excited, but even then I thought I'd burst." She smiled at her younger self, who had her forehooves propped on the balcony rail. "I think I kept it night for almost a week."

Twilight giggled. "I can see myself doing that too. I remember the first time I used my magic. It was just for books, but I read until I was stiff."

"Well, this wasn't the first time I used magic..." Luna looked out at the cool silver orb hanging in the sky. "But it was certainly something special."

"I'll say," Twilight agreed. "I'd love to see you put up the rest of the stars."

"Ah, but I don't think we would have time for that." The moon goddess chuckled. "It was certainly not all done in one night."

"Not even a week-long night?" Twilight teased her, and Luna laughed.

"No, not even then." The goddess waved her hoof at the two small alicorns on the balcony. "Celestia wouldn't help me with it, but eventually I realized it was because it was my night, and she didn't want to encroach on my prerogatives."

"And a gorgeous night it is, too," Twilight told Luna, and was rewarded with a shy smile from the alicorn. She dared to continue, if hesitantly. "I have a telescope, you know. I've spent so many nights up watching the sky, and it really is beyond words. It's... awe-inspiring, even frightening, to think that you did all that."

"Thank you," Luna said, and there was more warmth in her voice than Twilight would have expected. "And not just for the compliment. You've gifted me not just a second or third or fourth choice, but the ability to appreciate and take advantage of it."

Twilight blinked at this unexpected confession. "I, um, you're welcome!" She smiled hesitantly. "But really, I haven't done anything special."

Luna chuckled and shook her head. "It may seem that way to you, but you're special to me."

The unicorn wasn't sure how to respond to that, kicking awkwardly at the floor with a forehoof. Silence hung between them for a time, broken only by small, subtle noises from the memory lingering on the balcony. Somewhere the bells began to toll, and the four stars outside faded away, leaving only the moon and an empty palace.

"Well, I suppose we should find our beds, and hope there's nobody in them." Luna looked away from her contemplation of her celestial charge and nodded agreement.

"Well, you can use Celestia's rooms." The alicorn chuckled softly. "I don't think she'd object."

"I suppose not." Twilight tentatively pushed at the sun-sigiled door that was next to the balcony, and it swung under her hoof. Moonlight dappled a scattering of blankets and furniture, cast in monochrome by the night. She glanced back at Luna, who was entering her own room. "Good night, Luna."

"Good night, Twilight." Luna smiled, and the door closed.

What woke the unicorn was the tolling of the palace bells in the distance. She blinked at the bright light reflecting from a soft palette of color, a bright spread that reminded her of nothing so much as Celestia's mane. There were tapestries on the walls, soft carpets underhoof, a closet and of course the bed, but it was rather spartan otherwise for a royal bedroom.

It might have been simply a consequence of the palace's pristine status, memories aside, but the Celestia Twilight knew lacked the abundance of keepsakes an immortal might be expected to have. Twilight could nearly believe that a younger sun princess would have foregone decoration entirely. It was strange to not even see books, though, and she shook her head at an odd sense of disorientation before she made her way to the door.

"Luna?" Twilight poked her head into the hallway, an ear cocked to hear any further memories that might be occurring. When no such event presented itself, she crossed over to knock on the moon-engraved door. It swung open under her hoof, showing her an empty room.

It was a far different room than the one in which she'd spent the night. It wasn't just the color scheme; paintings hung on the walls, oils and watercolors of a dozen different scenes and as many ponies. A faded portrait of the royal sisters, looking young and cheerful, stood on a small table, an 'L' scribbled in the corner as the artist's signature.

Twilight couldn't help but to step inside. She walked slowly along the row of hanging pictures, where she could see the individual brushstrokes and the same initial on each one. These could be, she realized, the first paintings to ever exist. Even if they weren't, the artwork represented the mortal strivings of the goddess in a way that any number of words could not.

She abruptly felt that she had intruded too far into something very private. She gave the room one last glanced and backed out, closing the door behind her. Luna had to be somewhere nearby. The empty halls seemed larger and colder without somepony to guide her, the carpets and tapestries absorbing all noise and turning it into a noiseless crypt.

The unicorn found herself moving faster, cantering through the broad, sun-soaked silence as she hunted for any sign of Luna. She found no sign of Luna or of memories until she stumbled across the ancient audience hall. Voices leaked through a delicate stone filigree, a blurred slice of a pair of thrones visible through the decorative screening.

Twilight followed that wall until she found a door, pushing her way into what seemed to be a private audience. Or rather, the end of one. Two pairs of guards escorted two groups of ponies away from the dual throne, revealing her Luna on the far side of the room.

Luna gave her a small wave, and Twilight trotted across to her. "I'm sorry I didn't wait for you," the alicorn said, "but I was following a memory."

"Oh, that's quite all right!" The smaller pony was relieved to see Luna; she'd been half-panicked from the idea of getting lost in different pasts. "What's going on?"

"There was a time - a long time - when Celestia and I ruled together. Actually together; it wasn't a division of duties, it was cooperation."

"You are so much better at empathic solutions." Twilight jumped at Celestia's voice, but it was only the memory of the alicorn sitting on the throne. "I suppose," the sun goddess continued dryly, "I shouldn't expect everypony would see things my way."

"Oh, 'Tia," said the matching Princess Luna fondly. "If everypony saw things your way, they wouldn't need to come to us to resolve their problems."

Celestia laughed, soft and musical. "And how boring a kingdom we would have then. I shan't complain so long as it's both of us. I don't think I could do it by myself."

The petitioners and the guards disappeared out the far door, and the palace bells tolled as the memory faded, leaving the ponies a large, empty hall. Twilight looked over at Luna, who was staring thoughtfully at the vacant thrones. "Should we look for more memories?"

"No..." Luna said slowly, then repeated it. "No. I think I've seen all I need to.This was my past, but you can't stay in the past forever. It's time to move on." The alicorn turned to face Twilight. "My past has been coming back, in bits and pieces, and there are other powers in this place that could help us. There is one in particular that we have had a key to all this time."

"What?" Twilight stared at Luna. "You're joking."

"Alas, no." Luna shook her head. "Those dragon medallions, you still have them in the saddlebags?"

"Of course." Twilight opened the flap of one of the bags, various scavenged vegetables and a folded blanket floating out as she rummaged for them, finally levitating them into the air. "Here."

The larger pony placed one around her neck, and Twilight followed suit. Luna's horn glowed, and thin threads of magic wrapped themselves around the discs. It was a spell that didn't hold much power, but it was extraordinarily complex, reminding Twilight that Luna had been casting spells for longer than unicorns had existed.

"So what does that do?" Twilight studied the spell as best she could. She didn't dare try to tease any of it apart for fear that it would do some damage to the metal it was enmeshed in.

"It should lead us to it. And it to us." The alicorn turned and began walking toward the exit of the audience hall.

"Lead us to what?" Twilight trotted after her, frowning down at the pendant hanging around her neck.

"Do you remember Scar's seal of office? That was not merely a symbol. Celestia is the sun, I am the moon. The dragon lords are the ouroborus. And we're going to find it."

Comments

[nemryn]

Those are the four stars that freed Nightmare Moon, aren't they.

[writer]

Ouroboros will be released into the atmosphere, ensuring complete
global
saturation

[Maguroni]

The amount of symbolism in this story is simply astounding. Even the smallest details are more than what meets the eye.

[JustAnotherTimeLord]

Well, you have done it again. Just finished the chapter and I am thoroughly astounded once again. You have done a great job with character development once again also. I can see and hear the difference in emotion while reading. There is a definite difference from the old luna to the new luna. Not to mention such a great choice of some literature from the "Human" world. Take the quotations as emphasis marks. Laziness is a bad thing. anyways, I would like to ask if you were trying to depict a picture of some sort when you mentioned ourobouros and the sun and moon. I kind of visualized the dragon eating it's tale while Luna and Celestia imitate the Ying-Yang from the show in the middle. If not, then I kind of lucked out with a great image.

[AppleTank]

So the dragons know the art of sentient-being transmutation? Oh wait, wrong series.

[bigmacattack82]

Sigh your stories make me so tense for some reason. I just start to relax and bam....wind with shadows slice twilight and she goes all super nova awesome sauce. I guess epic is a good word.

YOU PAID FOR THE WHOLE SEAT BUT YOU'LL ONLY NEED THE EDGE. TWILIGHT SPARKLE AND PRINCESS LUNA METHANE MAYHEM MAYHEM MAYHEM!

Brought to you by Sweet apple acres hard cider. Remember to drink responsibly and never drink and uh...gallop?

[DragonMaus]

Reading this chapter whilst listening to this song:
fc00.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2013/141/f/6/feels_colored_by_matiasandstuff-d664l3w.gif

[Cerulean Voice]

The shipping is real.
And the character development is far superior to what we got in Off the Edge, without sacrificing any of the beautiful world-building or pacing. I'm greatly enjoying this.

[Razzy]

Finally, another good than ponies.

Now let's just hope they don't stumble upon Wesker.

[Seraphimus]

I appreciate how luna and twilight keep subtly flirting with each other and certain that they both have no idea that they're doing it.

[RoyalBardofCanterlot]

Sweet chapter, some poignant moments with those flashbacks. Nice TwiLuna bonding.

[BirdsBooksBrownies]

I'd have to say that this was my favorite chapter in this story so far.