Echoes of Harmony

by BronaFides

Roots

“Every queen was once a princess,” Celestia said gently, disturbing the shocked silence, “though not every princess becomes a queen.”

“So, she was once a normal alicorn Princess?” Rarity was the first to manage a response.

“Indeed, every changeling was once a normal pony, living a peaceful life in a distant kingdom, far to the south.” Luna traced one hoof down the map on the table, south past the badlands. A green-flagged pin glowed black and affixed itself in the margin of the map. “There, was it not, sister?”

Celestia nodded before continuing the tale. “The story speaks of the desperate prince that used the love poison, and the kingdom that fell in neglect, but sadly it wasn't as direct as that. You see, the two were so madly in love that the kingdom wasn't all they neglected. They lost all regard for personal safety and care, sacrificing so much of themselves. Eventually the prince fell ill and never recovered.”

“But the spell, once they didn't see each other for an hour, it wears off, right?” Pinkie Pie asked.

“Yeah, that's how it worked when my big brother and Miss Cherilee got all googly eyed for one another,” Applejack recalled.

“For the spell to truly be broken, one must look into the eyes of the other after the hour, and see the love gone. Otherwise, the enchantment never loses its hold.”

“Wait, you mean, because the prince died, she was never able to see the love gone from his eyes?” Twilight said, shaking her head as she spoke, hoping very much to be wrong, but Celestia only nodded once. “That's... horrible.”

“Alas, the horror ended not there,” Luna picked up the tale after a brief awkward pause. Celestia seemed lost in thought, Twilight noted, or perhaps overwhelmed by the sadness herself. Luna's horn glowed and she shifted the shadows in the room into the shapes of various ponies. Little shadows unicorns, pegasi, and earth ponies walked down imaginary streets. One stood larger in the middle, an alicorn.

“So great was her need, that she sought the love of her subjects. They adored their princess well,” the shadows all bowed graciously, “but it was not the same. In her desperation, she found a spell that would allow her to take the shape of another. She studied well from her lofty tower until she found a target,” a pair of earth pony shadows near the middle embraced, then parted, “and then she would strike.”

The form of the alicorn glowed a sickly green hue and then became an earth pony, running out to take the place of one of the shadows, running to the other. “In this form, she would be loved by them as they would love their closest.” A small green tendril moved from the pony to the disguised alicorn, and the pony staggered. The disguised alicorn glowed again, changing to match the pony she had just left, and then ran to the other. “Slowly, the magical process would drain her citizens. They became less and less of themselves.

“And finally her constant efforts meant that she slowly forgot herself as well.” The alicorn form reemerged, slightly different than before. She would shift again, then back, each time looking less like the original shadow form, and more like the queen they knew. “And all they could remember was the love she gave them, no longer even recalling their love for each other, and losing their forms to become what she needed.” Soon the shadows looked eerily like a changeling horde, which turned to strike out at the watching ponies before Luna dispersed the show again, causing Fluttershy to dive behind Iris Dash, shaking.

“I... I don't remember that, that's for sure,” Iris Dash admitted.

“I would doubt any changeling does,” Celestia finally spoke again. “Least of all their queen.”

“Princess,” Twlight Sparkle began, looking first to Celestia, but then to Luna, unsure of which one she was really addressing, “You summoned me here, so I assume you thought we could help with the situation. You want us to find a way to get rid of the changelings, or turn them back somehow?”

“If anypony can find the way, Twilight Sparkle, surely it is thee,” Luna said. “And I believe my sister may have something to aid you.”

“I was waiting for you to be ready,” Celestia answered Twilight's gaze as it shifted to her. “And I know you are now.” She gestured to the bookshelves, and Luna stepped aside. “These books are excluded from the library because they are Starswirl the Bearded's most personal study diaries. Every spell, every experimentation that he did was in here.”

“I thought those were in the Starswirl the Bearded Wing of the archives,”Spike recalled.

“Those are the public documents for the spells and studies he approved for teaching at the Magic Academy,” Celestia explained. “These are less well known for... several reasons. But I knew him well, and I know he would have wanted you to have them.”

“You knew him?” Twilight Sparkle furrowed her brow adding, “But I thought he was Clover the Clever's mentor, and predated Equestria.”

“I might have used a little... creative license with history in the Hearth's Warming pageant,” Celestia admitted, blushing slightly. “Aside from magic users with an avid interest in the history of magic, few would know his name otherwise, and I felt he deserved more fame than he had.”

“That explains why Princess Luna spoke of him as if she knew him,” Twilight mused. Luna winced slightly. “Why would he want me to have them?” Twilight asked.

Celestia turned meaningfully towards Twilight Sparkle as she said, “because of all of his line, nopony has surpassed the magical ability of his great-great-great-great-great-great- granddaughter.”

Twilight Sparkle was leaning in, waiting for Celestia to finish. “Wait, me?” she finally realized. She looked over at her friends, and Rainbow and Iris were barely suppressing a laugh at her expression, and the others were smiling broadly. “That's... great!” Twilight blurted, causing Rainbow and Iris to not be able to keep from laughing any longer, and the rest smiled, even Luna briefly. After a moment of sheepishly ducking her head, Twilight stood straight and continued. “I won't let you down, Princess. I'll find a way to help the changelings become ponies again!”

“I have no doubt you will,” Celestia said, “but you've used a lot of energy getting here this morning. Would you all care to join me for breakfast before you begin?”

Author's Note:

Luna's reference to Starswirl really did stick out in my head as the greater reference. Her "thou even got the bells right" felt more like she knew him personally, and connected with me so much that I completely forgot Clover the Clever's off-handed reference until a recent rewatch. I also think from the Hearth's Warming references, it clearly happened before the current Princesses were around, so both can't be true.

Comments

[Soft Shell]

Short and simple, just how I like my backstories.

[Razzy]

Now that's a take on changelings I haven't seen before, kudos to you. Carries a note of great tragedy.

Cya
Raziel-chan