Autonomous Reflection

by Crystalline HP

Chapter 3 – Converse With Caution

During her almost innumerable years guiding Equestria towards a future of permanent peace and mutual acceptance, Celestia’s grand chambers had rarely been host to an air of tension. Hostile emotions were usually experienced in the dreaded Conference Room, where her octet of advisors bickered to no end by firing their selfish arguments at any angle around the circular discussion table. Once a week she and her sister had to endure this eight-sided war in which compromise was a destitute notion, and Celestia would have happily fired every one of them a long time ago if it meant that their replacements would be more willing to think about Equestria’s issues logically. Unfortunately, nopony who officially qualified for such esteemed promotion behaved any differently; they all seemed to lose any sense of altruism somewhere along the hierarchy.

Her private space, however, was a haven from the stress these meetings so regularly induced. The sun never failed to gently bathe the upper floors of the castle in a beautiful light, complimenting her large but relatively functional room perfectly. Celestia refused to sour this atmosphere with her own anxiety, and keeping a positive mindset made for excellent self-discipline. If she did not show weakness even when alone, she could not possibly crack under the so often demanding glowers of her citizens and consultants.

But that evening, waiting for the arrival of a princess whom she had personally crowned, Celestia could not sit still.

It was by no random impulse that she had chosen Luna to greet Twilight Sparkle and company at the station. Her sulking sister had only relented to unlock her door half an hour ago, shortly after Celestia had requested that she accompany important visitors to the castle. The sun goddess had known that these arguably underhand tactics would work, but she was nonetheless heartened by Luna’s renewed efforts. With her sibling on the recovery from Discord’s verbal manipulation and Twilight now guaranteed an escort, Celestia had killed two Parasprites with one spell; exactly how she liked it.

From her balcony, watching Luna slowly blend into Canterlot’s evening glow as she departed had at least given Celestia something to do. She was pleased that observing the dwindling number of ponies in the streets bow to her sister had provided the usual gush of pride, love and slight amusement. But now that she could distinguish Luna’s form no more than she could a house in Ponyville from her position, an uncharacteristic apprehension was creeping over her.

This meeting is everything. If I slip up, the entire nation may well begin to question my rule, and I have little doubt that Discord would gladly rip apart any shred of shaky alliance we have recently developed to throw chaotic fuel for the fire. Yet I must remain calm; a state of panic is a state wherein one speaks without thinking.

Try as she might to remind herself that her intentions were ultimately good, Celestia’s hooves denied being at rest, pacing back and forth with relentless rhythm. Lying by omission was not a decision to be made lightly by a leader, especially when the majority of auditors were both respected figures and close friends, to her as well as each other.

At last Celestia managed to dig her lustrous hooves into the carpet, stopping their motion. Her wise eyes searched for anything that offered a suitable distraction, eventually falling upon the very new painting of Twilight Sparkle’s coronation. The mare shone radiantly in the depiction, her wings particularly prominent, but it was to no avail; even then Celestia was plagued with a deep unsettling.

There’s something wrong with that painting…

A dignified shake of the head vanquished her doubt as she attributed her paranoia to nerves. Celestia gazed for several seconds at the conjoined bathroom, wondering if indulging in a hot bath until Luna’s return would sedate the persistent churning in her stomach.

“I have to admit, I don’t know whether you’re just ignoring me or if you’ve actually achieved the stupidity necessary to not notice me at all.”

Startled as she was, Celestia displayed no outward show of surprise. Even without his unmistakable drawl, the words alone betrayed the identity of her uninvited guest because only one living organism in the whole of Equestria would dare address her with such brashness. She turned back to the oddly sinister painting and this time could not mistake the peculiar thing previously vexing her. “Hiding in Twilight Sparkle’s eyes, Discord? And here I thought you had better affairs to pursue than shrouding yourself in artificial varnish.”

A cackle vibrated through the room before Discord evacuated the painting and materialised in unpleasantly close proximity to Celestia. He continued to laugh helplessly, the only difference now being the absence of the echoing quality he had employed inside the artwork. “Oh, I’ve been annihilated in a battle of insults!” he choked. “Score one to you, Princess! Score one to you.”

“How long have you been there?” Celestia demanded.

Discord busied himself with picking his nose and flicking the results towards her dresser, probably aiming for the glass of water that stood upon it. “Well, this is just me, but I think a better question is: what has your poor carpet ever done to you?” Celestia’s fearsome scowl temporarily dropped to ponder his cryptic speech. “You’re pacing, Celestia,” Discord clarified. “You never pace.”

His infuriatingly knowing grin positioned right next to her face was unbearable. Celestia broke eye contact to walk to her balcony as calmly as her distaste towards him would allow. “I have nothing to say to you, Discord.”

“Really? Because unless my imagination decided to go that extra mile and played a trick on itself, I could have sworn you invited me to a certain meeting tonight.” A deck chair accommodated Discord’s lounging body as he reappeared next to her on the balcony.

“Almost sunset, Celestia,” he remarked through a mouthful of purple cocktail he had taken to sipping. Adjusting the completely unnecessary sunglasses sat upside down on his face, Discord continued, “I do hope that Nightmare Moon returns in time to start my favourite half of the day.”

Any remaining fragment of wonder as to how Discord could have viably enraged Luna to the point of insanity melted. The anger in Celestia’s core blazed, but none manifested onto her outer being. “Our meeting is strictly business-orientated. Your presence is required to give some confidential information to the others in attendance. Nothing more.” Her line of sight locked onto the horizon, helping her to ignore Discord’s attempts to provoke her with personal needling.

But strangely, her unwelcome visitor adopted a cold silence. Neither of them conceded a word for what was surely a record peacetime between the pair, the orange glow of sunset making for an unlikely backdrop. It was only when Discord finished the last dregs of his beverage that he stored the glass which had contained it inside his mouth, disposed of his get-up and spoke. “Funnily enough, Celestia, the only reason I’m here is to talk business, too.”

A spark of concern flavoured with a hint of intrigue came over her. A God of Chaos who came to chat without the ulterior motive of satisfying his own twisted amusement was one to be wary of. “Forgive me if I’m a little dubious to that; I could count the number of matters you consider serious on a toy abacus.”

A chuckle escaped Discord as he folded up the deck chair and dumped it over the edge. “Absolutely, Celestia. This just happens to be one of them.”

His voice… It’s changed. Where’s the playful tone? Where are his jokes? I need to tread carefully here…

With hesitant interest usurping her hatred of his guts, Celestia trusted herself to meet his eyes again. “I’ll give you one chance to hold a mature conversation, Discord. What do you want?”

“Well, firstly I should say that I wasn’t really worried at all when I made myself comfortable in that painting. I didn’t believe you would ever put yourself at risk.” Discord’s face suddenly darkened. “But something you just said troubles me, Celestia. And I think it’s troubling you even more.”

The once light foreboding gnawing at Celestia’s psyche rapidly established a firmer place inside her mind. Although she now harboured an educated guess as to the direction of the conversation, playing dumb was far safer at the moment. “Explain yourself, Discord.”

The draconequus stood completely straight, forcing her to look skyward to continue reading his body language. Discord’s red pupils flashed with superiority; Celestia was sure that he was still dropping mind games among their rocky truce. “You told me my only role in our cosy gathering tonight is to unveil some secret information…all for gratis, I might add. But we’re going to have a bit of a problem if the information in question regards our little deal.”

“Our little deal?” Celestia repeated, still feigning ignorance.

“Acting dumb to the obvious doesn’t suit you, princess.” Discord’s body curled into a C shape, his voice dropping to barely a whisper as their eyes drew level. “You know full well what I’m talking about: the object I found in this very castle the first time I broke free from that stone prison. It incriminates you, Celestia.”

With the dangerous topic she had feared Discord would breach now torn wide open, Celestia could only push on to ensure she had knowledge of his dark aims. “Your point being?”

“Do I really have to spell it out?” Discord laughed triumphantly. “I hope you can keep your end of the bargain, Celestia. Because if you can’t maintain your poker face about what I’m doing, you might soon find that somebody rigged the deck, and the cards dealt in the next hand will tell the whole world what you have concealed for so long.”

Determined not to let Discord’s threats faze her, Celestia retorted, “I may have faked confusion, but it seems that you are truly stupid, Discord.” Pleased to see him blink in surprise, she went on, “Don’t you realise? I cannot reveal your crimes without shooting myself in the hoof; no matter to whom I might tell your secrets, doubt would immediately be cast over my own honesty and integrity.”

Discord paused for a few moments, as though weighing up the accuracy of her claim. Then a small smile wormed its way onto his face. “Touché, princess.”

Sick of the sight of him, Celestia made to end the conversation. “So, Discord, you don’t have to give yourself a headache over this. Our agreement will remain between the two of us,” she finished truthfully. Without waiting for a response, Celestia retreated from the balcony and approached the huge mirror on her wall, wanting to neutralise any visible signs of stress before the meeting.

She did indeed look tired. But then, though Celestia’s lips did not move, her reflection suddenly spoke. “Just remember…” Her mirror image disintegrated and quickly reformed to display an illusion of Discord, who stared back at her to issue a final warning before vanishing from the room altogether. “…I’m watching you, Celestia.”

---

One princess returning to Canterlot Castle would always be met with a horde of butlers bombarding her with offers of homely comforts and refreshments, complemented by a string of fanfares resounding from the castle’s musicians. Two princesses returning at once, however, seemed to deserve nothing of the sort.

“Excuse the lack of ceremonials,” apologised Luna, pausing in the centre of the enormous entrance hall. “My sister wished to curb any knowledge of our gathering from the public.”

A general nod of understanding flowed through the six ponies and lone dragon accompanying her. “I actually prefer it this way,” Twilight Sparkle assured her. “Getting crowded by ponies who deafen me and shove things in front of my face?” She shuddered.

“It’s fine and everything,” spoke up the impatient Rainbow Dash, “but why all the secrecy? I thought Twilight was here to learn about politics and all that boring stuff.”

The scowl Luna wanted to wear only got as far as a small frown as she hid her pain of being in the dark. Pleading Celestia for an explanation beforehand had yielded nothing, and the resulting sense of betrayal was horribly confusing.

Contain yourself, Luna! If Celestia sees reason enough to withhold her knowledge until tonight, I must throw my doubts aside and protect her ideals to the end. I love you, sister… and I shall defend you because my heart of hearts promises that the reverse is also true.

Composure regained, she resumed a steady pace through the castle, the others following so that they could speak without a booming echo telling everypony within one hundred yards their thoughts of the delicate topic. Although visibly deserted, the wide corridors were flooded with enough air to let them act as an ominous presence by themselves, never mind how a spying pony could dart around corners unnoticed with childish ease.

Finally arriving in a small waiting room, Luna shut the door after Spike and was unsurprised to see Rainbow Dash looking more than a little miffed about being ignored.

The Princess of the Night smiled softly. “My apologies, young Rainbow Dash, and to you also, Twilight; I am unable to give the comprehensive answer you seek, if only thanks to my dangerously rich curiosity forcing my sister to deny me information before even Discord.”

The mention of his name injected a rapid wave of shock into the group. “Hold on jus’ one darn minute!” Applejack spluttered, having found her voice first. “Y’all tellin’ us that that long-bodied, manipulatin’, ugly son of a gun is gonna be showin’ his face?”

Suppressing the urge to correct Applejack’s trainwreck of mannerisms, Luna nodded stiffly, an ancient concoction of bitterness brewing inside. “Indeed. I share your concerns and despise him with an unfailing passion, yet I choose to trust Celestia’s judgement. His role will become clear during the meeting, I assure you.”

“B-But…he isn’t bad anymore, Princess…” When Luna’s eyes met the quiet speaker’s, Fluttershy squealed and hid behind her front hooves. “S-Sorry! It’s just… Discord is my friend…”

Luna slowly offered a royal hoof to the trembling mare and helped her up. “Although he appears reformed to you and has promised to somewhat improve his ways, I would not be so sure, little one. He is a slippery cad, and we shall soon discover where his true loyalties lie.”

Suddenly sensing the mood needlessly deteriorating, Luna addressed the group in an energised voice. “Do not fall into the trap of becoming demotivated only because a few lesser problems are mounting. Discord would be a fool to try anything remotely duplicitous tonight; we have the capacity to control him, especially since Shining Armour and Cadence will also be in attendance.”

Twilight’s tired eyes instantly flared. “My brother will be there? And Cadence?” Her recently plonked rear end shot up from the floor and she started wandering about aimlessly. “Oh, seeing them more often will do me wonders!”

In spite of Twilight’s rejuvenation, it was her behaviour before that had caught Luna’s astute attention. Entrusting her instincts with the simple task of being correct, Luna decided to act on her hunch. “I grow weary of chatter. The meeting begins in thirty minutes, and I would ask my subjects to settle into the Conference Room.” The group replied in the affirmative and left, Twilight almost joining them until Luna reminded her that she was her equal, not her subject. Spike shut the door behind himself, Twilight now her single companion.

“What is it, Luna?” she asked. “Shouldn’t I be getting my bearings too?”

With clocks ticking against her, Luna abandoned her usual expressiveness and charged headlong into her point. “Twilight, during the journey from the station to the castle, you were quiet, sulky, and had all the royal presence of a bedridden pensioner. Something troubles you, does it not?”

A prolonged grimace crossed Twilight’s face, as though her current natural expression was finally peeking out from behind a mask of smiles. “Is it that obvious?” When Luna deemed her question rhetorical by remaining silent, Twilight hung her head and sniffed sadly. “I’ve been having problems with Fluttershy.”

“Fluttershy? Discord’s self-proclaimed friend, and the mare who taught me how my language might be tempered and modernised?”

Twilight’s downcast neck bobbed up and down. “She speaks to me like I would destroy this dimension in a fit of rage if I’m not treated with an absurd amount of respect. My new status is paralysing her; she can’t be around me without acting like my slave and I…I just…” She trailed off, her voice breaking badly.

Alarmed at the severity of Twilight’s predicament, Luna quickly rallied, “But thou art an expert negotiator! And she a kind soul! Surely an intelligent and heartfelt speech can mend the rift of social distance blighting your friendship.”

“She’s too kind, Luna,” Twilight replied dolefully. “I just wish I’d have been upfront in her cottage earlier today…”

“You found time to visit all of your friends’ residences and talk to them after receiving my sister’s letter?”

“It wasn’t like that.” A sad chuckle echoed from Twilight’s throat. “We ended up having some notice.”

Luna listened with curious ears as Twilight told her how Pinkie Pie, a pony whom Luna had promptly concluded to be insane upon meeting her at the station, had foreseen a situation that would require the wielders of the Elements of Harmony. Although having made several attempts to pry open Fluttershy’s stoppered emotions while gathering the others, Twilight remained standing on a terrible pedestal in the pegasus’s eyes.

“I wanted to get it off my chest in the library, but with the last train departing so soon I was just lucky that Rarity didn’t demand a makeover before we left,” Twilight finished with a sigh.

“And, of course, a bustling train in no way befits a setting intended to ameliorate a relationship,” Luna confirmed to herself.

Despite not being fully aware of Celestia’s reasoning behind organising such a hushed occasion, she did know that a mental struggle between two of the participants was not an acceptable state of affairs. “Make no mistake: our calling here tonight is of the utmost importance. I would strongly advise that you terminate this disorder immediately, before we convene; neither Celestia nor myself will tolerate any perturbation, and one guest already carries too much chaotic potential for my liking.”

“N-Now? But there’s so little time, and I don’t think I can—”

“There is time enough,” Luna said firmly. “Call her back to this room. Call her back and do not be afraid to show her your heart, Twilight Sparkle. Do whatever it takes to weave your friendship back into the fertile tapestry it once was, arrive punctually at the meeting and relieve your mind of a worry that need not exist. Do you understand?”

Twilight bowed, and Luna smiled in the knowledge that it was out of personal gratitude rather than obligatory respect. “Of course I will, Luna. Thank you.”

Vacating the room together, the pair of rulers went their separate ways as Twilight ran in the direction her friends had headed, calling Fluttershy’s name. By now the sun was no more than a crest of light straining to keep its head above the horizon, and Luna’s very essence could feel the moon eagerly awaiting its place in the sky.

So many times I have performed this ritual, yet so few have adhered to this feeling of momentous significance. A secret consortium, the members of which have all changed the fate of the world for better or – in one case – for worse, called together by the highest power under the cover of darkness... May the moon be our shining beacon in the blackened mess of matters into which I fear we are about to plunge.

Arriving at the foot of the grand staircase, Luna began the long climb to the peak of the castle.

Comments

[Raistlin]

Let me guess: Celestia has been manipulating both sides of the hero-villain equation, and the mere possibility Luna, Twilight and the Elements discover her little dirty bussines by pulling an Inception on Discord may be enough to make her panic.

[DonutBeagle]

Who is the boss? Lord Discord is Boss!

[Crystalline HP]

2363428

You're off the mark, I'm afraid. Much will be revealed during the next few chapters, but not nearly enough to sate an appetite wanting to discover the thoughts and motives swimming inside every character.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy what I release in future!