> Nova > by Noir de Plume > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Prologue > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Sisters' Equestria had never known war. The fires of battle had never raked her lands, nor had the rains of loss ever fallen upon her people. Their leader had seen to that. Celestia, Princess of Equestria, Royal Celestial Sister and Goddess of the Sun, elder of Luna, the Moon Goddess. Ethereal beings placed upon the land to watch over ponykind. That was the myth she had allowed Starswirl to perpetuate eons ago. Before the young alicorn had stepped into her regal shoes and assumed the throne in the Everfree Forest so many years ago, before she had been forced to banish her only remaining family member to a cold, dead orb hovering the void, Celestia had been a filly. And she had been afraid. "My Queen..." Her father stepped back from the window of the throne room, his expression one of finality. "It is time." "I know," her mother said softly. Celestia clung fiercely to her leg, burying her muzzle in the constantly shifting colors of her coat. "This realm will not survive another night of Chaos," her father continued, the strong sound of his hooves on the stone of the floor signaling his approach. "We must-" "I know," her mother snapped harshly. Her voice caught in her throat. She lowered her head to embrace Celestia with her neck, the ethereal flow of her mane mingling with the soft cottony pink of her daughter's. "Child," her father said, kneeling to look her in the eye. His dark complexion had always captivated her. When she stared into his eyes, she could see forever. The promise of eternity glimmered in the void of his mane. "We love you..." "Father," she replied. He rose before his eldest could see the tears in his eyes. Her mother nuzzled Celestia again, urgently. " 'Tia," she whispered lovingly. Celestia looked up at her mother. "Remember... how we raised you." "Mother?" Celestia asked, her heart suddenly nervous. "Take care of your sister, my Eldest. You are my light," her father said, his voice thick. Her mother stepped away from her daughter and went to join her husband. Celestia started to run after her mother, but a strong force stopped her. Her mother's horn was illuminated, the soft glow catching the tears trailing down her cheeks. "Look after the kingdom, Celestia." Her father's voice was stern. "Until Luna is ready, you must perform both your tasks." Her mother's magic kept a gentle but firm grip on Celestia. She squirmed in protest. This was not right. The flashing lights and loud noises had been going on outside for weeks, and now Mother and Father were leaving her. The celestial pair took wing, a gloriously frightening sight. Light and void spiraled upward toward the opening in the throne room's ceiling until they vanished from view. Celestia watched with a growing sense of panic. "Why...?" she asked the emptiness, staring up at the opening where her parents had disappeared. The horrible sounds outside continued. Celestia dashed to the window, clambering up the stone ledge to place her hooves on the sill. Her face fell. A sheet of magic sheared an earth pony from neck to tail of its skin, leaving a steaming mannequin of musculature twitching in a morbid dance. The unicorn who had cast the spell threw her head back and laughed, her eyes blazing with madness. A griffin took a spear to the chest, blood gushing like a fountain from the arterial wound. A dragon writhed upon the ground, consumed from within by its own fire. Above it all, in the empty twilight sky, hovered her parents. Celestia watched with wide eyes as they whirled about each other, the very air seeming to melt between them. The explosion of light was silent and painful. Celestia fell from the window, screaming at the burning sensation that consumed her flanks. From the nursery, she could hear her sister foal shrieking in a similar vein. It was as if hot metal was being held to her skin. Swallowing her discomfort, Celestia hauled herself to her hooves and peered out. Hovering low in the sky, the dark orb was rimming by a halo of light. Celestia watched as the darkness slowly separated from the brightness, and the two circles arced across the heavens to sink below opposite ends of the horizon. Her flanks throbbed. The horrors outside had ceased. There was no evidence of destruction, or of death. Only the forest and castle grounds lay peacefully beneath the now dark sky, in which twinkled thousands of tiny white lights. Stars? Luna's wails grew louder and more urgent. The sound of her hooves on the stone of the throne room echoed louder than any sound she'd heard before. And she knew. Her mother and father were gone. *** Equestria: Present Day "Good moonset, my sister." "Blessed sunrise." The two alicorns stood facing each other on the rocky outcrop the overlooked the field. In the distance, Canterlot's spires rose in the sky. Below, the camp was beginning to stir, cooking fires sparking to life, soldiers rising and armor clinking as Luna's army prepared for the day. Celestia watched her sister descend the incline. "Why have you come here?" Luna demanded, her expression impassive. "Do you surrender to my demands?" "Luna..." Celestia's tone was pleading. "Can we discuss this?" "You can raise the sun from Canterlot Castle," Luna said sharply, narrowing her eyes. "To broach my perimeter only invites an attack upon your person." "Equestria belongs to us both," Celestia reminded her. "I am done with your 'negotiating'," Luna snapped, stomping a forehoof. "And you made who rules Equestria clear the day you banished me!" Her words were like crystal shards, and Celestia felt her heart ache with each syllable. Such poison from her sister's lips. Such venom in her tone. Could she not see reason? So young, so little, she could not remember their mother and father... "You have until moonrise," Luna continued, taking care not to brush Celestia with any part of her being as she passed her sister. "If you do not concede... I press forward." "Luna!" Celestia called. Her plea fell upon deaf ears as the Moon Goddess walked away. Celestia let her head hang. Battle or no, she was already defeated. With tears in her eyes, the Royal Sister raised the sun. It rained in Equestria that morning. > Chapter One > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Celestia flinched as the doors to Luna's chambers slammed shut behind her. She cast a glance over her shoulder, eyebrow arched, a look of concern on her elegant face. Her sister was prone to bouts of emotion - like the moon, her moods waxed and waned. Certainly this was no different than any other royal hissy-fit she had thrown in the past... Right? Something in her tone... Celestia chewed her lower lip. The variables in this equation were not adding up to a comforting result. The late moonset, the missing crown, the smell of sex on her coat... Luna had a stallion. It was no business of Celestia's, and she would not be the one to begrudge her sister of happiness. The stars only knew how life had tried to deprive the Sisters of any chance of it. Still, Celestia worried about Luna's ability to handle the volatile emotions that accompanied romance. Headstrong and passionate, swept up in the tides of euphoria, was she prepared for the inevitable realization? Time was Celestia's true lover. His breath was cold, his embrace was harsh, and his affection was undying. When he came in the dark of her sister's night to claim her, to caress the folds of her mind with chilling memories and hot tears, she would curl tightly into herself and shield the palace from her sobs with her mighty wings. Time was the one constant in the alicorn's long life, the only thing she could depend upon to never change. She would continue to satiate Time's urges. She would spare Luna that pain. I am overtired, Celestia told herself with a shake of her head. She would leave her sister to slumber. The delay in sunrise had set Equestria back by many candle marks. Fortunately, it was a day most ponies spent at home with their families, and only the farmers would be cross with her for the loss of light. She had given up long ago trying to please everypony. Starswirl had broken her of that desire before it had broken her. How she missed her mentor... As she made her way to the throne room, Celestia nodded to each guard and serving filly she passed. Appearance, always appearance. Beauty and elegance strode through the halls, flowing mane and snowy white coat a symbol of Equestria's brilliance and purity. She was their Light and Life. She knew everypony's name that worked in the palace, and graced each with a smile. Asked after their families. Received blushes and bows and curtsies. She was their beloved leader. Celestia settled on her throne, basking for a moment in the rays of the sunlight that streamed through the grand windows. In this moment, this brief, silent moment, she simply was. Bathed in the element and essence of her power, she could exist as an entity, singular and whole, fulfilled and complete and - "Princess, the dignitary from Saddle Arabia are here to discuss the trade agreements for next season," the advisor at her side announced loudly. Celestia took a deep breath, detaching herself from the solar embrace. Thus was the royal life. The dignitary approached, dressed in the traditional bridle and blankets of his culture. Celestia nodded in greeting, and the pleasantries began. The diplomatic back and forth was a reflex to her now; her conscious mind did not need to be present for the formalities. It allowed her to daydream. How awful would it be, for this important pony to know the most powerful being in Equestria is thinking of everything but his concern? Celestia thought to herself. "Your Grace...?" the advisor began with concern. "Hmmm?" Celestia replied, turning her head to face him. The elderly pegasus furrowed his brow. "Ah, Dignitary D'uune was expressing his displeasure at the griffin raids that were occurring along the trade routes at our borders and you... ah... you..." He motioned to his muzzle. "You were smiling." "Oh my," Celestia blinked, turning back to face the dignitary. A scowling dappled pony - D'uune, she assumed - scowled further. Celestia bowed her head in apology. "If the Princess finds the raiders so amusing, perhaps our cloth is not as essential to the markets here as we were led to believe," he snapped. His voice was high, and sharp. Celestia disliked it. There was so little worth being upset by in this world... Couldn't he see that? He had warmth and light and love of a world around him that would keep going after he was gone, and not the opposite. "Sire D'uune." Celestia descended from her throne fluidly, her mane and tail a glimmering waterfall of pastels. She offered him the warmest of smiles, her khol rimmed eyes open and genuine. "I am but a mare. I know you can forgive my mind for wandering. Equestria is progressive and allows one such as I upon the throne, a practice I know your people find uncouth." "Hmmph," he replied, his thin legs pawing at the palace floor. "I suppose you are right. But the griffin menace must be dealt with. Our government cannot spare the protection each season along the route for the traders to ensure safe delivery of your goods." "Correct me if I'm wrong," Celestia continued, making her way slowly to one of the large windows that looked out over Canterlot. "Your borders are nearer to the Crystal Empire than Equestria, are they not?" D'uune made a noise in the back of his throat. "We do not have a trade agreement with Princess Cadance." Celestia titled her head slightly as she gazed out over her city. The bustle and hustle of Canterlot was prosperous. The slight delay in sunrise had not affected them in the slightest. "You do not," she agreed, continuing to study the city below. "My Czar demands you handle this, or begin to compensate our weavers for lost merchandise!" D'uune huffed, stomping a hoof. Celestia looked back over her shoulder at the sound. "The Crystal Empire lies far north of Equestria." D'uune stared. "I know this." "Saddle Arabia is a vast desert kingdom bordering the snowy lands of the Empire and the verdant plains of Equestria," she continued, beginning a slow saunter toward the dignitary. He lifted an eyebrow and took a step back. "I do not need a lesson in geography from a mare," he said haughtily. Celestia came to a stop before him, nose to nose. She towered over the stallion, and offered him a smile that was kindly on the surface, but dangerous beneath. "Then tell me, my good Sire, why your merchants would travel four hundred miles out of their way into mountainous griffin territory to deliver fabric to my capital city." D'uune's eyes widened and his nostrils flared. He opened his mouth to speak. Celestia cut him off, her voice soft. "Not a single shipment has arrived late. Or damaged. And my lovely niece's husband has seen neither claw nor feather of a griffin 'raider' near her border in months." The atmosphere in the throne room darkened. It could have been a cloud passing overhead outside. D'uune was not so sure. The alicorn princes narrowed her eyes. "The next time you march into my kingdom and make demands without your Czar's knowledge in an attempt to extort the Royal coffers of Equestria, I will allow my sister to be the one who conducts your audience," she whispered. D'uune whimpered. "We are done," Celestia called. She turned her back to the dignitary. "Escort him to Canterlot's gates." "Yes, Princess," the guard assured. Celestia pressed a hoof between her eyes. It was not yet noon.