The Rise and Fall of the Holy Romane Empire

by Ponycletian

7: Magic Makes the Sun Go Round

Princess Celestia awoke with a start to find herself in complete darkness. Her first thought was, where am I, followed closely by, how did I get here. She raised her head from the pillow and used her magic to cast a dim light around the room. Slowly, her heart resumed its normal rhythm as she realized that she was in Luna’s room, and the events of the night before started to return to her. Discord was moving the sun, and I came to talk about letting Concord... . The things Luna had said came rushing back to her and made her feel like burying her face back in the pillow.

She couldn’t say that she trusted him, exactly, but she had to admit that she had not been treating him as he deserved. He wasn’t responsible for their deaths, Discord even admitted that he did it. Not only that, but he may be the only pony standing between Equestria and eternal chaos, so I shouldn’t have been so rude. She realized that she needed to apologize, and that maybe he would forgive her for acting so foalishly. What Luna had said about the only things keeping him loyal being his sense of duty and friendship frightened her. Neither friendship nor duty had been enough to keep Discord in check, and she could see now just how unfriendly she had been to Concord. Even if she didn’t trust him, she both acknowledged that they needed him, and feared what he could do if angered, and those reasons alone were cause enough for her to apologize. That, and I was wrong, she added, almost as an afterthought.

The first thing she needed to do, now that she was alert, was find a window or some other lightsource. She thought that she could see an uneven patch of wall, and was gratified to find that it responded to her magic. The curtains, as they turned out to be, were thick, heavy fabric that completely blocked out the sun, and were colored the same, deep purple color as the walls. They parted to reveal a brilliant sunny day outside, and from the shadows, she judged that it was at least noon. That meant that she had been asleep for at least nine hours, which partially explained why she felt as refreshed as she did. Her joy was tempered, however, by the knowledge that, during those much needed hours of rest, she had been unable to contribute to the decision about what to do with Concord. She could only hope that Luna had refrained from allowing her close friendship with him to overshadow the needs of Equestria.

She rose from the bed and looked around for a brush. She saw one lying haphazardly on a dresser, which also held a jumbled assortment of papers, books, quills, and a candle. As she levitated the brush and began to undo the tangles in her mane, she reflected on the state of her sister’s room. The room wasn’t very large, and it was rather spartanly furnished. There was the dresser, a nightstand, the bed, a fireplace, and the four doors, leading to the balcony, the solar, the lavatory, and a closet. Scattered around the floor were small piles of books, which while stacked neatly, showed no indication of having been sorted in any way. She also noted the various scrolls and parchments which were strewn carelessly across every raised surface. She smiled as she considered that the current state of her sister’s room must drive Concord crazy. I wonder if that is why she keeps it like this, she thought wryly.

At the same time, her smile held a hint of melancholy because she found the room itself to be slightly disturbing. Luna had always been a very bright, outgoing, and energetic pony, but this room didn’t seem to reflect any of those traits. The walls, ceiling, and carpet were all colored very darkly. Sombre shades of blue and purple, usually closer to black than anything else. The fireplace was set in black marble, and the veins of white that streaked through it were the only relief from the otherwise monotone surroundings. The contrast between the pony that she knew and loved, and her apparent living space, was somewhat chilling. Celestia liked to keep her room neat and orderly, but she also kept vases of fresh flowers from the gardens, and had furnishings of various colors. This room just felt cold and lifeless, and she wondered how Luna could stay there.

Taking a look in the mirror atop the dresser, she decided that her flowing pink mane was presentable enough, so she replaced the brush exactly where she had found it, and left the room. As she descended the stairway, she tried to plan what she was going to say by way of apology. She was faintly surprised, therefore, to find the solar empty except for a lone unicorn guard standing rigidly at attention. He was standing in the space between the stairways that led to each of her siblings’ bedrooms, but there was something different about this guard’s appearance. Instead being colored the traditional white as their parents had decreed, he was the same shade of grey as Concord was, and he, unlike most guards, was fully barded in gleaming, grey armor.

“Your Highness,” he said clearly as he gave a crisp salute. She was faintly startled by his voice, which was not half so intimidating as his appearance.

“At ease,” she said, allowing the stallion to relax slightly. “Would you happen to know where I might find Princess Luna?”

“She is presently resting in Prince Concord’s chambers,” he said evenly.

WHAT!? She had to struggle to remain calm. “And where, then, is Prince Concord,” she demanded forcefully.

“Prince Concord was, as of 20 minutes ago, in the courtyard, and he left orders that, once you were ready, I notify him so that he may speak with you.” His tone gave no indication that he was even aware of the consternation his previous statement had caused.

Calmed slightly, Celestia nodded. “You may tell him that I am ready to speak with him as soon as possible.” She expected him to leave the room, or to teleport, or to summon another guard, so she was surprised when he levitated a quill and parchment from a pouch he was carrying. She wasn’t able to make out what he wrote, but it did not appear to be long, and she was further surprised by what he did next. She saw a small translucent crystal, a decagonal trapezohedron if she remembered correctly, suspended from a necklace, which he levitated to touch the parchment, which promptly disappeared in a flash of familiar grey magic. Before she had time to wonder just what Concord was up to, he appeared beside her with a larger flash.

“Thank you, Praetorius. Please wait outside until sent for.” Concord’s voice was calm, but Celestia could see a glint of happiness in his eyes that was utterly unlike him. The grey clad stallion saluted and moved at a brisk trot into the hall, closing the door behind him. She was amazed at the way he managed to move almost silently despite the weight of metal he was carrying. “I am happy to see you awake, ‘Tia, and I hope that you are well.” She was surprised to hear what sounded like genuine concern. Overnight, he seemed to have abandoned years of carefully cultivated indifference, and almost sounded like a normal pony.

Naturally, she leapt to the worst possible conclusion, and she barely managed to keep the dread from her voice. “Concord, what did you and Luna do this morning?”

To her horror, he smiled before responding, “not too much. She started off by informing me, in a rather unexpected way, of her displeasure with my behavior since last night. Once she was satisfied that I had learned my lesson, and that I was neither angry nor unhappy with either of you, we moved on to discussing possible arrangements for sharing power that you might find agreeable. That took several hours, but you were still asleep, and since she had been awoken at a rather unusual hour, I offered her the use of my bed.”

Celestia could feel a vein pulsing in her forehead, and she ground her teeth in frustration. He must be joking, she thought ruefully. There is no way that he managed to fit so much innuendo into such a short explanation on accident. Apparently, she would need to be more explicit. “Concord, did you sleep with Luna?”

His smile faded slightly, and in a faintly uncertain voice, he said, “no.” She started to give a relieved sigh, but then he continued. “I haven’t gone to sleep since I was sent for this morning.”

He is doing this on purpose,she thought with certainty. Even he couldn’t be so oblivious to what I am asking. “Concord,” she said in a loud, clear voice. He started to protest that she should be quiet because Luna was just upstairs, but she continued, voice unabated. “Did you engage in inappropriate behavior with Luna?”

“Shhhh, she might still be sleeping, and it would be impolite to wake her,” he said, ignoring her question at first.

“Concord,” she snarled angrily.

“No. Aside from tying ribbons in some unorthodox arrangements and locations, but since she started it, I hardly think it could be considered anything more than unusual.” His completely impersonal delivery was one of the things, aside from the words themselves, that caused Celestia to finally lose her temper.

“Concord, you will tell me if you had sex with our sister!” She knew she was shouting, but she wanted to make sure that there was no possible way he could misunderstand, or fail to hear, the question.

“I did not, ‘Tia, and I would appreciate it if you would, for Luna’s sake if not my own, refrain from shouting such accusations in the future.” He turned his head suddenly and said, “good afternoon, Luna. I hope our conversation didn’t wake you.”

Celestia also turned her head to see a furiously blushing Luna standing on the stairs leading to Concord’s room. “No, not really,” she said in a strained voice. “I was getting up, but when I heard Celestia shouting, I hurried down. And,” she said indignantly, “what makes you think that I would just randomly sleep with Concord?”

“I- I’m sorry, Luna, it’s just that... ,” she stammered. “He seemed happier than I think I’ve ever seen him, and because of how you spoke this morning, I thought that maybe-.” She cut herself off to take a breath, “and the way he described what happened this morning... . I’m sorry,” she finished lamely, lowering her head shamefully.

She was relieved when she heard a quiet chuckle from Luna, and felt her sister nuzzling her gently. “Alright ‘Tia, I suppose I can understand your confusion. You’re right that something did happen this morning, but not in the way you were thinking.”

She looked up hopefully. She had never seen Concord actually acting this happy before, and while this might have caused her to worry earlier, Luna’s behavior made her feel optimistic rather than fearful.

There was a small flash, and a scroll appeared before Concord which he rapidly unfurled and read. “If you don’t mind, I’ll just answer this while Luna explains,” he said with a slight grin. A fresh parchment appeared before him alongside a quill with which he started to write.

“So this morning, after I had finished explaining that I didn’t want him to act like some servant, but rather to actually help us as an equal, we started to discuss the problem of combating Discord.” Luna sounded excited, and Celestia was amazed at her sudden enthusiasm. “Given what we had just been talking about, I what it was that he needed to be able to do, specifically, that he couldn’t do right now. His response was basically that the most important thing was that he be able to act rapidly, as situations developed, without lengthy discussions, debates, and other impediments.”

He needs to be king, in other words. Celestia didn’t see how this was any different from what they already knew, but she decided to wait and listen.

“You may be thinking that this is just another way of describing the powers of a King.” Celestia nodded. “But the only thing that really mattered was the ability to react rapidly. That even makes sense, given that Discord is able to do things on a scale greater than anything most ponies could imagine, much less plan for. What he needs is the ability to make decisions and implement them immediately to respond in a crisis. So I asked whether or not he would object to an arrangement where we all acted as equals. Any of us could act to immediately handle a problem, but for anything not related to crisis management, we could decide it by voting. This way, Concord still has the powers of a King, but we have a way of ensuring that he doesn’t go too far.” Luna was practically bouncing, she was so pleased with the idea.

Celestia herself found it to be an intriguing idea. I suppose it isn’t that much different than what our parents had planned for Luna and I, but... , she still felt that there was a problem. “I don’t know, Luna,” she said uncertainly. When she saw the effect her words had on Luna, she hurriedly added, “it isn’t that I don’t agree, its just... .” What, she wondered. “This sounds like what our parents had intended for us, that you and I rule together, each able to ensure that the other didn’t make careless mistakes. I guess my concern is that, for that to work, we have to be equals, not just in name, but in fact. Why would anypony believe that we actually held any power when Concord is clearly the one in charge?”

“Because he wouldn’t clearly be the pony in charge,” Luna said happily. “I see what you mean, but that was the second thing that we discussed because Concord pointed out the same thing.”

“Really,” she said, surprised. “Concord pointed that out?”

“Sure. I told him that I trusted him not to do something that you and I both said not to, but he pointed out that, just because I trusted him, or even if you trusted him as well, nopony else necessarily would. He said that we needed to at least appear to be equals for this to have any credibility. So, I bet you’ll never guess what the solution is!” Luna actually jumped in the air and hovered there expectantly.

Celestia couldn’t even imagine a way that they could even approach the levels of power that he and Discord had displayed. There was no magic on Equestria short of their own that could move the... sun and moon. “The Sun and Moon,” she muttered under her breath.

Celestia found herself reeling backwards as Luna grappled her in a bone crushing embrace. “YES! ‘Tia, Concord says that he can bind the Sun and the Moon to us, ‘Tia. He said it was rather complicated, but that the simple version is that the Sun and Moon aren’t just physical objects in the sky, but they are also massive bodies of magic. Right now, they are undirected, simply moving in the way that they have always moved, but if he were to form a connection between us and them, then we could use their innate magic to not only resist Discord, but to do other things as well.”

Celestia was stunned. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Concord was offering to grant them control over the Sun and the Moon. She didn’t even know exactly what that would mean, to be the Princess of the Sun. For a moment, she was deaf to the world as she tried to wrap her head around just what Concord was offering them. It was both humbling, and terrifying at the same time, for while he was trusting them with powers greater than anypony other than himself, yet what had once been given could again be taken away. If they accepted, they would be his as surely as if they refused, but at least this way, they could maintain a useful fiction for everypony else. And there are probably some benefits that come with control of the sun, she thought absently.

“Luna, LUNA,” she said forcefully in an effort to stop her sister’s rapid explanations. “Luna, I’m sorry, but I wasn’t really listening,” she said calmly. “Could you please loosen your grip a little and explain what exactly accepting would mean?”

Luna spoke apologetically, asking, “oops, are you alright?” When Celestia nodded, she took a deep breath a began her explanation again. “Concord will establish a connection between ourselves and the Sun and the Moon. Each of us will control one, which will grant us access to all the magic that each contains. This would mean that we could use the their natural power to prevent Discord from manipulating them, since if he spent too much power trying to move them, then Concord might be able to imprison him. Another side effect would be that we will become almost immortal.” Celestia’s mind hiccuped again at the mention of immortality.

“Luna,” she said, interrupting her sister’s monologue, “what do you mean by almost immortal?”

“With the magic we will be able to draw on, almost no illness or normal injury will cause lasting harm. We could still be hurt or killed,” she said in a quieter voice, “but it would be much harder to do... .”

This is simply too good to be true, Celestia thought incredulously. She couldn’t believe that Concord would simply do this out of the goodness of his heart. He’s doing it so that our little ponies will feel like they have guardians actually capable of protecting them. He’s doing this so ponies will believe that whatever we agree to is actually in their best interest, rather than merely being his desire. The realization that no matter her decision, she was still a pawn in Concord’s game upset her, but at least this way she could have an active voice in ruling the Kingdom. And maybe, she thought skeptically, Concord will actually keep his word.

She had her doubts, but she was certain that this proposal was better than anything she had imagined before. Concord was willing to accept limits on his power, the Sun and Moon would be removed, hopefully, from the list of things that Discord could manipulate arbitrarily, and Luna and herself would become immortal co-rulers capable of actually defending their subjects from danger, both foreign and domestic. She had her doubts, but when she saw Luna’s watching her hopefully, and Concord, who was now in the middle of writing six letters simultaneously, taking clear pleasure in his work, she decided that the idea was worth trying. “Alright Luna, but I call the Sun.”

Author's Note:

Alrighty everyone, here we go. First off, I hope you can forgive me for that entire section with Celestia asking Concord about whether he and Luna slept together or not. I started writing Concord's response to the question of what happened that morning, and all of them sounded incredibly misleading, so finally I just ran with it, and I hope I didn't botch it too badly. Another point I want to explain to those of you who have read this far is why I think Luna treated this power sharing arrangement as such a huge idea. The premise that I started with is that Equestria is essentially a feudal society that is undergoing a transition from smaller noble estates to a centralized monarchy. I also assumed that, like many monarchies, the power of the monarch is absolute, which is why the idea of Concord voluntarily allowing them to veto his proposals is so novel. Even the second Triumvirate (Augustus, Antony, and Lepidus) had each of them being the sovereign ruler of separate parts of the empire rather than each decision being a collaborative one, so this is something of a leap for their society. Also, I introduced my first non-royal character with a suitably (I hope) Romanesque name. Adieu.