The Rise and Fall of the Holy Romane Empire

by Ponycletian

6: Truth and Reconciliation

The only light in the solar was the faint, ever present glow from the horn of the spirit of order. He had extinguished the fire that normally illuminated the chamber, and had smiled bitterly to himself as he had watched the embers die out. If they wish to keep me in the dark, then in the dark I shall remain. He knew that this was a very petty thought, but at the moment, that didn’t bother him.

His frustration stemmed from two main sources. The first was Celestia, who seemed to hold him personally responsible for their parents’ deaths. He found the idea laughable, yet he couldn’t bring himself to dismiss her concerns completely because it was unlike her to jump to such obviously false conclusions. And, if she did have some reason to believe that he actually was responsible, then she had thus far kept it to herself, preferring to declare him untrustworthy without allowing him an opportunity to address the causes of her anger. While this option was certainly possible, he also couldn’t rule out other possible explanations for her inconsistent behavior. Such alternatives as stress, emotional trauma, and exhaustion could be contributing to her paranoia, but since he had two conversations with her in the past three days, the first of which consisted almost entirely of her yelling at him, he didn’t have enough information to arrive at a definite conclusion.

The second thing causing him distress was, at once, both more worrying, yet less tangible. Since Discord had murdered their parents, Luna’s behavior had changed in a way that he found both unpleasant and inexplicable. His problem was that he was unable to determine just how much of the change was a result of the emotional strain that she was under, and how much of it was deliberate. The morning they died, she had stressed just how much she trusted him, that she hadn’t thought him responsible, and that she didn’t feel the need to monitor or restrain him. She then proceeded to keep him within a meter of her until earlier that evening when he had finished describing his idea for combating Discord. He knew that nothing she had done was particularly suspicious. Her not wanting to be left alone after both her parents had been murdered in the heart of their castle while surrounded by guards was understandable. That she wanted him to be nearby to help with spells or important decisions when suddenly forced headlong into a position of authority was also understandable. But given the hostility with which he had been received by Celestia, he couldn’t be sure that Luna wasn’t simply being more discreet than their sister.

He laughed wryly at himself when he realized the irony of his thoughts. I accuse Celestia of acting paranoid, even as I scrutinize Luna’s actions for ulterior motives. He forced himself to relax slightly, but the break was short lived. Less than a minute later, he started to pace in a tight circle around the spot where Luna had slept three mornings ago. No matter how often he reminded himself that there was absolutely no reason for her to mistrust him. No matter how many times he looked for anything he had done that might cause suspicion. No matter how thoroughly he scrutinized his memory for anything he might have done better. The thing that frightened him was that he might lose his friendship with Luna without there, literally, being anything he could do about it. How do you counter suspicion that is based upon nothing, he wondered sadly.

He wasn’t certain just how much time passed before he finally heard the muffled sound of hoof steps on the stairs. With a brief surge of magic, the fire roared to sudden life, dispersing the darkness, and basking the room in a bright, warm light. The sudden burst of heat accompanying the fire’s rebirth caused Concord to shiver, and made him realize that he was nearly standing in the fireplace. Normally this wouldn’t have concerned him, since fire was incapable of causing him serious harm, but with Luna approaching, he decided that she may not appreciate the sight of him setting himself on fire. He took several steps back and turned to face the stairs.

As she neared the bottom of the spiral staircase, he swept into a deep bow. He knew that it was perhaps excessively formal, but he didn’t want to risk doing something that may give her reason to doubt his loyalty, either to her or Equestria.

“Thank you for waiting, Concord.” She sounded tired, yet friendly, and this reassured him slightly. “I’m sorry that I took so long, especially since I sent that guard to get you.” She giggled, saying, “I hope he didn’t startle you, but judging from his expression, he was at least as surprised by the whole sun thing as I was.”

Still being sure to remain politely formal, Concord responded. “It was my pleasure, your Highness, and I thank you for your concern, but I can happily report that the guard you dispatched performed his job admirably, and I was not unduly disturbed.”

To his dismay, this response elicited an unhappy frown. “Fine,” she said snappishly, “if you insist on acting that way... fine.” As she walked to stand before the fire, she asked, “can you do something about the sun, Concord?”

Still bowing, since she had not given him permission to rise, he addressed the ground, saying, “I can move the sun and moon back into their proper positions, but that is merely a temporary fix, your Highness.”

She sighed gratefully, saying, “please do it. A temporary fix is better than nothing, and I don’t want to make any permanent changes until Celestia wakes up.”

It required significantly more magic than he was used to channeling to undo the alterations that Discord had made, and the light from his horn dimmed visibly for several seconds as he worked. When he was finished, he said calmly, “it is done, your Highness.”

“Thank you,” she said thoughtfully. “Before we discuss a more permanent solution... there is a more permanent solution to the sun and moon problem, right?” She paused long enough for him to respond.

He did, with a formal, “yes, your Highness.”

This elicited another sigh of relief from beside him. “Excellent, we must discuss that before Celestia awakes, but first, we need to address a more personal matter.”

When she said, ‘more personal’, Concord could have sworn he actually heard her smiling, which unsettled him. He knew that Luna wasn’t so irresponsible as to neglect the needs of their subjects, so he couldn’t help but wonder just what personal matters were so pressing. Protocol required him to remain bowing until he was given permission to rise, and that meant that he couldn’t turn his head to get so much as a hint of what she was doing.

Ouch! He had to make a conscious effort not to either flinch or flare his wings as he was suddenly jabbed in the flank by what he suspected was Luna’s horn. “Sorry about that,” came a playful voice. “I wasn’t sure just how thick your coat was, but I don’t think I broke the skin.”

“No, your Highness. You merely startled me, nothing more,” he said in a controlled voice.

Without moving removing her horn, she sighed in what he thought was exasperation. “Aren’t you going to ask me what I am doing?”

He was curious, of course, since this was by no means a normal situation. Her horn was sharp enough to easily penetrate the skin and could cause significant internal damage, even without magic. She had him in a position where, had he been a normal pony, she could kill him almost instantly, but they both knew that he was no normal pony, so he was more confused than concerned. “May I inquire as to the purpose of this, your Highness?”

She giggled lightly and said, “Well, since you asked... no you may not. Now hold still.” Suddenly, he felt a small surge of magic from her horn, and was both astounded and mortified when he identified the spell being used. She’s making my hair fall out?! He couldn’t have spoken, even if he had something to say, or permission to say it. The magic was finely concentrated at the tip of her horn which meant that only the places it touched would be affected, so he wasn’t entirely surprised when she started to move her horn along his flank, leaving a line of exposed skin in its wake.

As she proceeded to trace some indistinguishable figure along his side, she spoke in an absent voice. “Concord, the first thing is that, as your Princess, I am ordering you not to magically undo the effects of this spell.” Of course not, that would be too easy, he thought with irritation. “It wouldn’t be right if you were to magically escape your punishment, after all.” He wasn’t sure whether or not that statement provided him justification to speak, so he decided to remain silent. She had made a long line that meandered all across his side, forming a jumbled mess that resembled nothing he had ever seen. In the same distracted tone, she said, “please lift your wing.” He did so, being careful not to hit her as he did so.

She finally removed her horn from his side, giving him a moments respite. “Hmmmmm... .” She walked in front of him and lowered her head until it was even with his. He was careful to keep his features fixed as she scrutinized his visage. “Aha,” she said excitedly, and walked back out of sight. He suddenly felt a sharp jab in the sensitive skin beneath his wing, followed shortly by another, and ending with a short line being drawn below them. She giggled again, saying more to herself than him, “perfect.” With dawning horror, he realized that she had etched a frowny face beneath his wing. “You can lower your wing now, Concord. I just have to do the other side.” He was feeling extremely embarrassed, but he was willing to put up with almost anything to avoid offending her. Almost anything, he thought grimly to himself.

She walked behind him to his left flank, and soon he found himself being subjected to the same treatment as before. Apparently more confident in her ability to both talk and not skewer him, her voice grew less distracted. “You may be wondering what exactly you are being punished for, but don’t bother asking, because I’ll tell you.” The amusement in her voice calmed him, even if he didn’t like the cause. “For the past few days, you have done wonderfully. You were kind, courteous, and understanding, in your own way. I meant to thank you for handling that first conversation with Celestia the way you did. Thank you for understanding that she was upset, and not arguing or pointing out just how unlikely it was that you would do it. Before I came down here, she even apologized for being so unjustly angry with you, and said that she knows that this wasn’t your fault.”

His heart and mind both did somersaults at this. If Celestia is finally calming down, then perhaps things aren’t as bad as I feared. None of what was said explained this current ‘punishment’, but he already felt better despite his situation.

“As I was saying, you were there for me when I needed you, you agreed to help with the funeral, and you never hesitated to help while Celestia was gone. For all this, I am very thankful.” She suddenly withdrew her horn, saying, “this wing now, Concord.” He spread it gently, again being careful to avoid hitting her. “Thank you. The problems began last night, during our conversation about order and chaos and your plan.” She started to trace something under his other wind, but it was clear from the start that it wouldn’t be a frowny face like the first. “For some reason, which I suspect had something to do with Celestia, you started to act rather different, and not in a good way.” She withdrew her horn, leaving Concord with a carrot traced under his left wing. Why a carrot, he couldn’t help but wonder.

“Now for your mane,” she said cheerfully. Using her magic, she started to slice random chunks from his grey mane. “Anyway, you started to address us formally, you decided to make that final joke about killing everypony, which was not funny, and you decided to go straight to sleep rather than wait like you did three mornings ago. You are, of course, allowed to sleep in your free time, but I know that you weren’t sleeping because you were tired.” She stepped back to admire her work. “Would you kindly summon the box of ribbons from my bedroom? I don’t want to risk waking ‘Tia.” Head still bowed, and with a pronounced sense of dread, he summoned the box, teleporting it to the ground before Luna.

“Thank you, Concord.’ Then, in a voice, the solemnity of which surprised him, she said, “I don’t know what we would do without you.” He wasn’t certain what she meant by that, since the answer of, ‘you would walk upstairs yourself’, didn’t seem to warrant such seriousness. But when she continued speaking, that solemnity was gone from her voice. “All that’s missing now are some ribbons.” She began tying ribbons in his mane and tail, further humiliating him. “Then, when you showed up on the balcony, you didn’t react when I said you were interrupting, and even now, you are acting exactly as a good subject should.” She closed the box of ribbons and started to walk appraisingly around him, still speaking cheerfully. “And that is why you must be punished, Concord. Do you understand?” She came to a halt in front of him and looked at him with clearly feigned sternness.

I must be punished for behaving as I should? He found himself at a complete loss. So it was with complete honesty that he responded, “I am afraid not, your Highness.”

She stamped her hoof and ruffled her wings in irritation, saying in an exasperated voice, “We don’t need you to act like our subject, Concord. We have thousands of those, and while they are all precious, we need our brother right now.”

“I am at your service, Princess. All you need do is ask,” he said evenly, despite his confusion.

She rolled her eyes saying, “you must be joking.”

“No, your Highness. I await your pleasure.”

She sighed once more, saying, “sometimes I forget just how socially inept you can be. Fine! Let me be clear... if you want to continue to act like a servant, like our subject, then you are free to go, but must not in any way alter your present appearance, for that is your punishment, as I said. Alternatively, you may choose to act like our brother, a Prince of Equestria, and my friend. I’ll leave it up to you to decide how that pony should behave.”

He was momentarily confused by the choice that she was offering. He was her brother, he thought he was her friend, and he was officially a Prince of Equestria, but he didn’t think that pointing this out was what she was hoping for. Since it was clear that she was looking for some behavioral distinction between friend and subject, he decided to analyze the choice from that perspective. So far, she seems to have been upset by my formal behavior, and that seems to be what she is trying to punish. But on the other hoof, it was Discord’s disobedience and violation of the rules and traditions that have caused the divide between us. He could see her growing impatient, tapping a hoof with increasing rapidity, so he felt he needed to make up his mind quickly. Here goes nothing, he thought nervously. He took a deep breath and slowly raised himself from his bow.

He could see a hint of a smile forming on her face, but clearly this wasn’t enough to indicate either a correct or incorrect choice. He was suddenly struck with an idea for how he could signal his choice, while perhaps getting a little vengeance in the process. He focused on the ribbons that were hanging in his hair. He untied them delicately, levitating them into the air beside him where they dangled limply. The wide, happy smile that had appeared on her face quickly faded when she saw the sly, menacing smile he himself was wearing. She took an uneasy step back, but it wasn’t enough to avoid the maelstrom of ribbons that formed around her. Within moments, she found herself wearing more than a dozen different ribbons of multiple colors.

His smile turned to one of pleasure as he watched her inspecting the distribution of the ribbons. He had tied one of each color in the rainbow in order in her tail, wrapped one random ribbon above each stifle, and her mane now held a yellow, a green, an orange, and a white ribbon. The final ribbon was one that he himself had summoned, and it was a grey ribbon which he had tied in a little bow atop her horn.

In a voice that could, without hesitation, be identified as happy, he said, “you look terrible.”

She smiled and replied playfully, “I don’t know, I’ve seen worse.”

“You mean, you’ve done worse,” he replied with feigned annoyance.

She walked over to him and put a forehoof around him in a hug. He returned the gesture, and felt the last of his worries about their friendship fading away. “I’m sorry about that. But I don’t want to be giving you orders that you only obey because of some oath. We’re a family, a strange one I grant you, but a family nonetheless, so you don’t have to act like we’re strangers all the time. I just thought that you needed a reminder... and you look ridiculous.” She laughed, and it was the happiest sound he had heard since the murders.

“Yes, thank you for reminding me,” he said dryly. “I will deal with that in a moment, but first, I must ask you something.”

“Anything,” she said, breaking the hug to look him in the eye.

“Why a carrot?”

Author's Note:

To be perfectly honest, this chapter kind of ran away with me. I hadn't intended for this to turn into the kind of, I think fluff is appropriate, that it did. It was supposed to be Luna explaining in a calm, reasonable, concise way that Concord was acting paranoid and should knock it off, but even I am getting slightly bored of lengthy debates and reasonable discussions, so this seemed more fun. This story is supposed to contain elements that are both romantic, and dark, so to anyone wondering, this is supposed to be somewhat romantic, and I hope funny. To those more interested in the dark tag, just hold on until his actual reign begins. I've been rereading both A Song of Ice and Fire, and 1984 for inspirational ways to crush a pony's spirit. To anyone who's interested, here is some delightful music to listen to as you praise Big Brother. Winter is Coming.