In a mirrored world half of Luna's friends are missing. Is half of her mind missing as well or does she have twice as much?
Luna is magically bound to her malicious double in a mirror world. Her evil doppelganger and Celestia the Desolate have all but dominated this other Eqiestria. Although Celestia is defeated, both Luna’s minds are magically broken to pieces. The only hope of getting everyone back to the world they belong is for Twilight, Rainbow, Fluttershy and the now silent Luna to find the princess's other self as she flees through the Chrystal Mountains.
“Last chance Sombra! Care to hand over the keys to the other kingdom and live in this desolate landscape with your lady love?” Celestia the Desolate scowled as she shouted across the courtyard.
Good King Sombra was prepared for this game.
“I don’t believe for one second that you would leave this place so easily. You can’t have both worlds, Celestia! You are to stay in this one and you will no longer harm my ponies!”
Rainbow Dash, inpatient as always was barely held back by Apple Jack.
“This ends right here, right now!” Rainbow shouted.
“It will end today but not without me knowing the magic to get to the other Equestria!”
“And just how do you intend to get that?” Shot back Sombra.
“What if I brought your very special somepony here?” said Celestia.
Something clicked in Luna the Red’s mind. Though the royal sisters were a hundred paces away from their enemies, atop a parapet, the change in Luna’s stance was perceptible even to the ponies bellow.
“You know… you never did tell how you were going to do that.” Luna said in a low voice.
Luna had not expected that she was going to feel hesitation that night. She had been getting ready for a fight. A showdown to end this frustrating stalemate of a war. They would crush the forces of supposed “good” with finality. The two of them had been far too long ravaging what was left of these broken ponies and their broken lives in this broken wasteland.
In her haste she had not thought deeply about what Celestia had planned for the confrontation. Cele was confident that they were going to win and so, then, was Luna.
Luna had always slept well with the knowledge that her sister had things well in hoof. Cele knew what she was doing and had always treated Luna as, if not her equal, at least her partner in the deeds of resting power from the “righteous”. And, it always seemed to turn out well. Since Luna had joined her sister’s cause things went in Celestia’s favor. Despite Cele’s obvious, cynical self interest, Luna trusted her. They were blood after all. But, for the first time since she had again joined her sister’s side she wondered if that had been a mistake.
Luna was brought out of here momentary reverie by Twilight Sparkle’s defiant voice.
“That’s NOT going to happen!”
“Our Celestia will never fall for some cheap trick to lure her here!” Apple Jack chimed in.
“Oh its not a trick.” Celestia the desolate cooed.
“I bet she'll come running if her sister’s life is in danger!”
“What?” Luna said stepping back, closer to the edge of the balcony. She only just had enough time to connect the dots. “No! What are you...” Was all she got out.
Suddenly a torrent of crackling divine fire lit from Celestia’s horn and tore over Luna. She didn’t so much feel pain as she felt the magical force rippling through her body. It felt like it was moving her bones.
Luna had been blown off the castle and across the courtyard. She was dropping, seemingly lifeless, toward the ground. Sombra just barley caught her. It knocked the wind out of him but he was able to protect her from the worst of the fall.
As he was recovering from the catch he suddenly dropped Luna. Her coat was singeing the exposed leather of his armor and he could feel the heat painfully as it conducted through the metal. He then noticed that her shoes, peytral and crown were ash and slag. And she seemed… dimmer. What had Celestia done to her? Sombra probed her mind gently with his magic but all he could find was that she was in a deep unconscious.
He looked up at Celestia’s gloating face and something else startled him. Everywhere that her magic had touched the castle, the stone had not merely shattered – as it normally would given an offensive spell of power – it had vaporized. Veins of molten rock were creeping into the stone of the castle from wherever the spell had grazed it. As it spread like a disease the stone blackened, popped and began to disintegrate. Somehow the magic had the power to keep going; searching for things to destroy. Sombra had never seen Celestia, or anypony for that mater, use magic this powerful.
Realization dawned on him and his heart sank.
“Oh Luna, what have you done.”
Prime world
Celestia the Golden’s brow furrowed as she peered out the Canterlot window. The green that suffused the air and blotted out the sun had thickened with time. It was somehow a symptom of the two worlds getting too close. It held a miasma not like a cloud but like putrid gas that had congealed in her sky.
Her sky.
And Luna’s, now, again. After a thousand years.
She had thought that once Luna’s inevitable return had brought back companionable rule that she would not feel the weight of her kingdom as acutely. But, although delegation of the myriad duties of state was now shared between two sovereigns, the heaviness remained.
Had she felt this before Luna’s fall? She had been so busy then; filled with the new life energy of building a kingdom. Filled with the deep validation – she would have, at that time, called it a mandate – of the love of her many subjects.
Was that love though? If she had been a cruel ruler, a despot and tyrant, would there not have been zealots that would have extolled her virtues as a just and strong matriarch? A ruler who punished those who did not believe in her righteous vision of the betterment of pony kind? Who cleansed seditious elements from pony society?
Some of these followers would, of course, be sycophants motivated by personal gain but, she knew, many would be true believers. Was this not the same “love”?
And she was, to these poor ponies, more than a ruler. She made the very sun itself move across the sky, had magic far beyond any unicorn, had kept her subjects safe for more than a thousand years. They knew nothing else; how could they not love her?
Love her as an entity above and outside there lives. Worship her. That's what it really was. Worship. She had never intended to be a god.
—
Oh, but for her sky.
She loved her little ponies from the depth of her heart. All their accomplishments and all their struggles not overcome. They were precious to her. And her true, first love was the sky. And later, her sister of course. She had loved her sister so much that she had given Luna half of her most prized possession.
Tia had always been a little confused as to what to do with the night. There was the moon, of course, and it was surely beautiful but night was the time of rest, was not darkness enough?
Luna knew what it was for. She had known since before she knew anything and she had done such incredible things in her domain of shadow. Her heavenly creations had made Celestia's heart race, brought tears to her eyes and forced her to silence. Some nights, in the early days, she would stay long after twilight just to watch her sister and her art. They would be cold cloudless nights but the tapestry of stars would radiate Luna’s unknowing, authentic mastery like warmth.
It had not occurred to Celestia that such beauty could be brought to her refuge.
—
The feted miasma above was getting so thick that it looked like it could… crack? A black splintering line spidered across the ceiling of the world like glass under pressure.
Just as Celestia’s eyes began to widen with shock Luna lifted off the ground and flew, back first, into the mirror, into the only passage to the other world. Celestia let out a scream and leaped for her sister, picking her limp body off the floor, covered, as it was, with the pieces of the mirror.
“The mirror! Twilight sparkle and her friends won’t be able to get back! Oh no...”
Luna’s pallored coat was smoking and the worlds began to come apart.
And then they began coming back together as one. The anxiety and shock on Twilight's face was wrinkled deep as cracks formed in space itself between the worlds. A bird flew through a hole in the sky from one world to the other. An entire building appeared into where, before, there was only the dusty plain the Castle of Two Sisters sat on.
“I don’t think I can fix this.” Twilight said as the Main Six began equipping the Elements of Harmony.
Meanwhile a ripple of reality cut through the air and the royal sisters of the green Equestria were pulled through into the other, dying one.
“Celestia!” Sombra cried as he saw his love and her sister appear in the middle of the battlefield.
“HAHAHA! This is even better than I could have hoped for!” Celestia the desolate delighted.
Celestia the golden, holding her dear sister's body, offered it to Sombra.
“I’m Fine. Here, take Luna.” her face had hardened.
“Wait, what are you doing?” said Sombra.
“Ending this.” Celestia replied as she flew into the air.
“Oh, the kitten has claws!” Her malevolent counterpart mocked.
Celestia the golden was a reverse meteor. Her path beginning on Terra, she crackled upwards and blazed with magical fire towards her foe, towards her self.
“GIVE… ME… YOUR… WORLD.” Celestia the Desolate bellowed.
“NEVER!”
The suns collided. The earth and moon shook.
Luna gasped and began to return to consciousness.
It was the elements turn to act. Twilight rallied her team. There were a variety of expressions on their faces from forceful anger on AJ to apprehension on Fluttershy. No matter their demeanor they all were at least somewhat afraid… well except maybe pinkie pie. Was she blowing bubble gum?
Twilight was calm. “Lets get up there and do this.”
And so they left the safety of the ground. Apple Jack and Rarity rode atop Rainbow Dash and Twilight Sparkle respectively. Fluttershy picked pinkie pie up by the tale while Pinkie did her best impression of Super Pony. They Looked like a motley lot once airborne but the Celestia’s had eye’s only for each other.
“We both know this fight has no winner. Just give up.” Celestia the Desolate prodded.
“I don’t think so.” Celestia the Golden was now entirely a being of enchanted flame. Wisps of fire streamed from her eyes and her coat was ablaze with incandescence.
“This is for my sister!” she screamed as she streaked once again across the sky towards her doppelganger.
Just as they were about to collide again, a magical barrier appeared separating and surrounding them. Two spheres held the princesses of day. They were trapped. Sombra’s horn was glowing brightly with magic, his face pulled tight by the strain of his effort.
“Twilight Sparkle! You… your friends! Do what you have to do NOW! I can’t hold this much longer!”
“Right!”
Twilight began floating in the air without the assistance of her wings as did her companions. There eyes and gems of Harmony were glowing. They hovered in a circle around the two Celestias, their attention focused on one of them.
A thin blue crystal sprouted into life on the bottom of the orb holding the pony who had wasted this world. The crystal encasement then began spreading like a moss. Each crystal structure grew outwards on the magical prison's surface, and then sent out seeds to sprout into more shining blue confinement.
“NO!” Celestia burst with desperate rage.
“You’ve got her! Keep it up, everypony!” Someone said.
“Wait! Stop!” Sombra barked.
Everypony had been watching the Celestia bent on trans-dimensional conquest. It was Sombra who first noticed that the crystal had begun to form on both spheres.
“HA! You can’t take me out without taking out her. Decision time Sombra!” Celestia the Desolate’s emotions had flipped to delight at the suffering this crisis would cause her enemies.
“My offer of leaving you two alone while you let me rule the world is still on the table!”
“Celestia!” It was all Sombra’s heart would allow him to say.
Celestia the Golden heard him but she was only able to spare him a moments glance. Her heart ached as well but for another cause. She steeled herself for what she must now do.
“Twilight sparkle! Don’t you six dare stop! You have to imprison us both. It should bring balance back to our worlds. Take Luna back. You and she are in charge of Equestria now. I leave it to you."
Twilight's heart, on the other hoof, was not just hurting it was breaking.
“What? NO! Princess! I can’t do that! I can’t leave you here!”
“You must. A wise pony once told me, making the decisions you don’t want to make is part of what we have to do… I’m making this decision for you. I’m sorry.”
“No! I’m not ready for this. There has to be a way to save you!”
“I’m so proud of you, Twilight. I know that you will be an amazing leader in Equestria. Goodbye.”
Twilight knew deep in her being that this was as it must be. She had spent most of her life under Celestia’s tutelage; she was a second mother to her and to say goodbye now was the hardest thing she had ever done. But, she had not just developed her mind and her attachment to her tutor in those years of contentment and study. She had also touched upon a depth of wisdom not found among everyday ponies. A wisdom deep enough, maybe, for acceptance.
Sombra on the other hoof had been fighting a thousand year war. Surrender would have meant the deaths of countless innocents. Giving up had never been an option.
“NO!” he roared, his face twisted with pain. “There has to be another way!”
Celestia’s voice was calm, resigned, almost at peace.
“We must restore the balance between our worlds. I’m so sorry my love. Please forgive me.”
“NO!” he shouted again. “I won’t let it end for you like this!”
“Goodbye Sombra. Twilight you must tell my sister how much I lu...” Celestia’s words to her student were cut short as the last of the crystal crept into place.
Sombra used his magic to fly to his mate but time had run out. The crystal prison had sealed. He beat his hooves on the floating bubble crying for his lost love. It's surface rang in the sudden, new, silence.
The magic aura around the crystal orbs faded as they began dropping from the sky and, being heavy with magic, embedded themselves in the earth. Sombra tried piercing the crystal with his own magic but it deflected off its perfectly smooth surface like a pebble off a frozen lake.
He howled as his heart split and split again.
He was then tackled by a yellow Pegasus.
“oh the stars…”
Luna was seeing double but that was the least of her problems. Something else was very wrong. She couldn’t get her hooves under her. Her wings felt tangled like she had too many of them. She was also confused in a way she had never been before; it wasn’t just that her mind was foggy or deadened from the attack on her by her trusted sister, her sisters doppelganger, it was that her mind seemed, somehow, like an entirely different place. It was much bigger and yet, much more full then it once had been. And then the strangest words came spilling from her mouths.
“I’m leaving” Luna the blue said, her voice full of remorse. But it was not her wings that unfurled into an angry V. Luna The Red visibly struggled with the first few strokes of her wings. As she desperately clawed her way upwards and towards the Everfree forest she veered to one side. Perhaps it was not her eyes alone she saw with. But it was her determination and furry that pushed through her confusion as she rose and tilted towards the wood again. And it was her exhaustion that overcame even her rage. Both Luna’s fainted.
Strange that Fluttershy, the most sensitive of the elements, was the only pony to still have her head. Maybeit was because she was already familiar with the depths of sadness that the world had to offer or, maybe,it wasbecause she could feel the emotional importance of this crucial moment.
If it had been any other pony pinning Sombra to the ground he would have been indignant maybe even wrathful but, instead, he was just stunned; staring into Fluttershy’s sky blue eyes he saw his sadness reflected but also… a concern that went further.
“Shhhhh” was all that she said, her tone hushed. She then looked up to where Twilight Sparkle lay by one of the crystal patterned spheres, weeping. Anger flared in him again, could she not understand his pain? But faded just as quickly. Of course she understood. She was the element of kindness, of empathy. Her understanding ran deeper than he could ever know.
Realization dawned on him as Fluttershy walked to Twilight. These ponies did not need an angry king loudly cursing the fates; washing them in his bitter tide of rage. They needed to grieve and for that they needed each other.
They needed ponies who they had deep friendships with. Relationships of trust.
“I will go to Luna” he said to no one in particular.
Luna the blue was awake and standing. Her wings drooped to the ground where her empty gaze also fell.
“Luna” Sombra said softly as he slowly approached. Sombra had never met this Luna before though his Love had spoken much about her.
She did not seem to hear him so he repeated her name louder.
“Luna”
She startled slightly.
“Hello, are you alright?”
He had decided not to mention his name; this Luna only knew King Sombra as a cruel monarch much like his worlds Celestia.
Slowly she raised her eyes to Sombra seeming to just barely see him.
“Are you injured?” He said.
She did not respond only stared at him. Her eyes shifted to the side as she looked past him to the castle and the two blue orbs that lay at its feet. Her expression did not change but tears began welling in her eyes.
And so too did they come to Sombra. His sides began to quiver as his legs became week and the force of what had happened struck him again.
He struggled against the surging pangs of his heart, each wave of sadness and loss threatening to push him under; to suck the air from his lungs. He tried to make himself not feel but one cant win against the forces of nature.
Just as he was about to completely loose control he saw, through the distortion of his tears, movement in the distance. Oh heavens, the other Luna he cursed to himself as he bobbed to the surface of his grief. She might try another attack, maybe even attempt to unseal the spheres…
But, instead, she ran. She began zig zagging, awkwardly, towards the forest lurching forward at a gallop than seeming to lose her way and slowing to a trot. She would then sprint forward again making gradual progress towards the wood.
Sombra considered following her but, for one of the few times in his long life, he felt too week of spirit. It was OK anyways, the main threat had been subdued. Luna could probably be found or would turn up eventually.
Sombra looked back at Luna the Blue and his resignation was sidelined by unease. Something strange was happening to her. Every lurch towards the forest that the other Luna made every scrambling heave towards escape seemed to cause this Luna to shudder a little, caused her eyes to squint.
“We must... Go...” She said haltingly.
“Go where? Luna, this, this is all over. We have to...” But he didn't know what they had to do.
He then noticed that there were several other ponies around him.
“We must… get closer…” Luna said she then looked in her counterpart’s direction. As soon as she saw Luna the Red she, herself, began stumbling forward.
“Luna stop! We can find her later!” Insisted Sombra but this only seemed to push her from a clumsy canter to a full, mad, gallop.
Sombra and the others jumped into action following her down the slope. Twilight Sparkle was beside him. Her face was wet from tears but she no longer showed grief, only determination.
“It looks like the worlds have separated again” She said between breaths “Some things, some... Ponies were taken back to the appropriate world… but others weren’t”
Sombra then realized that only Fluttershy, Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash were with him. Apple Jack, Rarity and Pinkie Pie were gone.
“I can fix this. I can free our Celestia and figure out some other way to bring balance and… and put everypony back where they belong!” Sombra didn’t think Twilight sounded very sure of that but he only spared here a worried glance.
“Luna WAIT!” he yelled “She has great power in the Everfree! The trees will eat you alive!”
He turned to his companion “Twilight, I’m week. I don’t think I could hold her.”
“I don’t know if I could either but maybe I don’t have to.” Twilight's horn began to glow and the dead grass around Luna the Blue’s feet turned green then became thick and finally shot upwards with new growth. Luna was oblivious to her changing surroundings but she began to slow; unable to maintain her fast gallop.
“I don’t think they can fly right now” gasped Twilight. As the gap between them began to close the grass started shearing itself into a path to Luna. The fallen stocks created a mat that was kicked into plumes as they passed.
Luna struggled more and more with the grass and then finally looked down. Her horn shone brightly and a dome of blue fire erupted from her body. The power and heat of the fire was immense and it moved quickly, incinerating the magical grass as it passed. Sombra had just enough time to cast a protective sphere around them as the fire washed by but it quickly fizzled and the effort caused him to stumble. Fluttershy and Rainbow reared when faced with the wall of flame.
Twilight on the other hoof hadn’t stopped. She leaped forward, her horn and hooves glowing with magic, and hit Luna with a graceful thunk. Luna went limp in Twilight's forelegs and they rolled a short distance through the burnt grass.
As they tumbled their sweat and tears mixed with the ash of this briefly verdant wasteland, dyeing their coats black.
Rainbow Dash was feeling relieved. That day they had eaten until their bellies were round. Also, this place was nice. Being this far into the sky reminder her of home.
As they travelled further from Canterlot and the Castle of Two Sisters, the flora and fauna had returned to its natural state of life. Trees were covered in leaves, ferns and bushes grew all over the place along the road and, most pleasingly, the sky was back to normal. The Celestia created, brown, unraining clouds that choked the crops of Canterlot were gone as well as that weird, world ending green sky stuff. In its place was beautiful, normal weather. Well, kind of normal. This weather wouldn't do what she wanted it to, unlike what was at home.
Rainbow could still walk on clouds and even push them around and disperse them a bit but, over all, the weather ignored her efforts to change it. When it rained, it just rained and when the clouds cleared at night creating a chill that could go right to your bones there was nothing for it but to huddle closer to your friends.
This lack of pony influence was kind of a relief in it’s own way. Weather not to your liking? Too bad! The clouds just were what they were. Not to be changed one way or another.
“You know, I think Apple Jack would be jealous of these Apples” Rainbow dash said with a bit of cheer in her voice. As they made their way through the northern mountains they had come across an abandoned orchard. They hadn’t found any supplies; all the preserved food had long since gone bad and the blankets had been eaten by mice and moths but it was late summer and the trees were still making delicious apples.
Twilight gave a weak smile “Heh, I bet she would compare them to her best varieties and find them not to her standards. ‘Now ya’ see here, this apple is one of them cheep varieties that appeals to city folk. All sweet without enough tart for balance. Now if this was crossed with a Cox’s Orange Pippin or maybe a Spitsenburge you could have a real fine apple!’”
Rainbow Dash laughed at her friends impersonation “She actually said that didn’t she and you remembered it word for word?”
“Well pomology is a fascinating science. Did you know that it takes sun energy from 50 leaves to create just one apple? Or, even more interesting, apples are part of the rose family. One of Apple Jack's more adventures relatives even grafted a flowering rose onto one of her apple trees. It trellised itself up the branches and bloomed out the crown. Why if Apple Jack were here she...” Twilight trailed off, her ears drooping.
“Yeah, if AJ were here.” said Rainbow Dash a bit morosely.
It had been three weeks since they had seen the other half of their friends. Nopony knew why some things had been taken and some had been left once all the worlds-crashing-into-each-other thing had stopped. Even twilight, with all her egg-headedness couldn’t figure out what was going on. Something about not having Star Swirls notes and Sombra not having good enough “facilities” for “proper research”. It all amounted to being in a tough spot. And missing your friends.
After a time Rainbow perked up again “This air is refreshing though isn’t it? And you can’t beat the scenery! I can’t remember the last time I was in the Crystal Mountains!”
Twilight Sparkle had a harder time than Rainbow shifting to a more chipper mood. Any tiny thing could remind her of the heartbreak they were walking away from. She had put on a brave face and pushed forward. She assured everypony that given enough study and research she could figure out what was going on and make everything right again. Part of her believed it. A deeper part had its doubts. A part that she insisted on ignoring knew that these doubts were printed clearly all over her face.
“It is quite beautiful”
Everypony looked at Luna in surprise. She had barely spoken a word since they had left the Castle Of The Two Sisters. Even more surprising than her speaking was what she had just said. The few words that had escaped her mouth on their long journey had either been expressions of pain, direction or confusion. To hear her speak so casually, so lucidly was cool, fresh water for the heat of the worried heart.
Fluttershy watched Luna closely.
“Yes, it is” she added simply.
It was not yet noon and, this far up in the mountains, the sun was bright. Despite the high elevation, it was pleasantly warm with only a gentle wind. They had just come around a rocky outcrop of the mountain and had entered into an subalpine meadow when Luna had spoken. With the delayed, high altitude seasons it was spring here and the wildflowers were in full bloom; a layer of confetti on every surface, even in the cracks of the lichen encrusted crags. The stunted evergreen trees at the far end framed the grasses that were swept gently and persistently by a meandering breeze. There was a spring that fed the meadow and they stopped to drink at one of its pools.
Fluttershy watched Luna approach the placid water as the alacorn looked across the vibrant and peaceful landscape. She closed her eyes, as she always did before drinking these past few weeks, so as not to see her reflection, and dipped her blue mussel into the refreshing water. She looked more relaxed now than she had since before the rupture of the worlds.
Fluttershy thought she knew a bit of what Luna was feeling. The awe and beauty of pristine nature. It can bring you back, ground you, remind you of your origins in the earth. It soothes the soul of anxiety and fear.
“Haven’t been here” Luna said, then paused “since before.”
It was all she was able to say but it lacked the struggle of her usual efforts of speech. Normally, every word was wrestled into existence almost a syllable at a time; pulled from deep in her mind and spit out like a spider that had dropped into her mouth. Now her voice was dreamy, slow but peaceful. It seemed maybe Luna didn’t mind what she couldn’t say and said what she was able, without grudge.
Since before. Fluttershy thought she couldn’t be talking about since before this most recent cataclysm or course. She must mean since before she was nightmare moon. These past months and years she had probably spent all her time in the palace struggling to familiarize herself with the modern times and integrate herself back into court life. She hadn’t been to a place like this in over a thousand years.
Fluttershy walked to Luna and nuzzled her neck. The larger blue pony sighed and let her cheek rest atop her yellow companion’s head.
Before the party had reached the meadow they had been climbing through the foothills to the breach of the mountain range. Now they were in the Crystal Mountains proper and the terrain was equal parts beautiful and rugged. The going was slow; the trails were a ladder of switch backs traversing valleys and mountains. The terrain wore at their bodies but the beauty, subtle in the slope of the grassland and awesome in the face of the cliff humbled and comforted their hearts.
Funny, thought Twilight, though her chest still ached she didn't cry as much these last few days. Something had shifted in that spring meadow.She could now see these mountains natural beauty and she could sit in the comfort and companionship of her friends. Though she still hurt, she was also at ease. The shift, the calling to peace, had started in Luna but the stillness had flowed out of her like the spring she had drank from. They'd all been effected. Refreshed.
They were making their way along a ridge line when Rainbow Dash looked up. Her ear twitched and her eyes carefully scanned the sky. The rest of the troop noticed and stopped. They also looked to the sky but neither saw nor heard what Rainbow did.
“This seems ominous but I think we’ll be fine” Rainbow Dash said.
Before Twilight could irritatedly ask what the hay Rainbow was talking about her ears perked too and she heard the familiar buzzing of insectile wings. A sound that made her skin crawl. Everypony tensed. Fluttershy whimpered and backed into twilight. It was a sound they had heard only a few times before and under great duress.
Five black dots appeared from behind a cloud. The dots were traveling approximately along the same course they were. Despite not a hair moving on the ponies bodies they were immediately noticed and the air bound creatures changed direction to intercept. Within moments the changelings came into view one being larger than the others.
Twilight and her friends were acutely aware that they were exposed to an extreme. There was nowhere to run or hide and they were outnumbered. As the changelings came within range of magic they slowed, and changed course again, no longer heading directly toward them but to a less threatening location some forty paces away.
As Queen Chrysalis got closer it became apparent how different she looked here. Although she still had fangs and was the same color, her body was not covered in holes and her horn was not a jagged protrusion from her forehead, but a gentle, almost inviting, tapered curve.
After landing at a safe distance chrysalis stepped forward towards the company of ponies. Only then did her most striking feature, the images on her translucent wings, become apparent. They had been emblazoned with vibrant hearts; each wing a stained-glass of loving kindness. And they framed her face which was beaming with a warm smile.
“Greetings to you Princess Twilight Sparkle and to The Elements of Harmony and to you Princess Luna” chrysalis bowed to the group of smaller ponies and then to Luna. Luna inclined her head slowly.
“I am Queen Chrysalis, as you have probably guessed. And I suspect that, like almost everything in this world, I am very different from what you are used to. May we approach?” At the distance she stood from Twilight and her friends she almost had to shout to be heard.
After a tense pause twilight put her hoof forward and bowed.
“Umm, yes, you may.” She waited for them to get closer “What you said is true; in our world we are often… at odds with you and your subjects. Though, we hear that, in this world, you are an ally [delete one of the ally's] of Sombra's which makes you a friend of ours.” At least, I think that's how it works she thought. “Where are you going this far into the Crystal Mountains?”
“A prudent question young princess.” Chrysalis said with a bubbly verve. “I have come to find you and your friends. King Sombra is a close ally and personal friend of mine. Upon returning to his home he had his hooves exceptionally full. His kingdom was on the verge of collapse when you six came and stopped Celestia.”
Chrysalis paused and became serious “You have my deepest gratitude for helping us with our plight my little ponies. You have created the beginning of the end of a great deal of suffering.” Though she had spoken quickly before, these next words were slow. “And my heartfelt condolences for what it may have cost you.”
She gave that last sentence some time but no one quite knew how to respond.
“Th-thank you.” said twilight finally.
Chrysalis bowed her head. As she had explained the situation she had approached to a friendly distance along with her retinue. She was now sitting with the other changelings only a few feet away. As she sat, one of her companions leaned against her side. She had also absentmindedly reached up and began grooming the head of another who leaned in and rested her chin on the Queens haunches. The other two changelings laid down, side pressing against side, with one's neck laying across the other's.
The ponies of Equestria were a pretty touchy-feely people but these overt and public displays of physical affection were making even twilight a little uncomfortable.
“Sombra's citizens are in desperate need of his guidance.” Chrysalis continue. “He is currently coordinating food and supply trains from several of his allies including my own brood. Relocation efforts are underway as refugees return to their homes as well as efforts to treat the illnesses that accompany those who have been displaced. All of this will take a long time. He has much to rebuild and, despite his grief and the importance of your mission, cannot join you in your journey.
“That is most understandable” Twilight said.
“My colony was not nearly as devastated as his nation was. Although we have sometimes fought with Celestia and her forces, we never struggled with widespread famine and none of us had to flee our homeland. Our society did not break down as his did. It is most fortunate that my colony has strength and can help Equestria in this time of need. It can also take care of itself for however long I may be gone on my quest. I have come to offer my aid to you and your companions.”
Twilight let out her breath. Although she was still visibly nervous she was also, just as visibly, relieved. “That is very much appreciated my Queen.” She said.
The changelings were a bit odd. A bit more than a bit. They were not like ponies and not just because they didn't look like them, Rainbow Dash thought. They didn't act like them either.
Rainbow and her friends and now the changelings had begun their steady plod through the mountains again. Given their course it seemed like they were probably going to end up in the Crystal Empire. All they knew for sure though, was that they were trying to find this other Luna, and that their Luna seemed to know the way. Well, she knew when she was heading in the right direction as the crow flies at least. It's too bad that she still seemed unable to use her wings; it would make this slow chase a whole lot faster if they could leave the ground. Though, it looked like Luna's evil twin was earthbound as well.
Early on Rainbow had been eager to take those ponies who could fly, which would be everypony except their Luna, and find the other Luna and confront her. Given Twilight's alacorn powers and their superior numbers they could probably stop her. But their Luna had wrestled out five words from her struggling throat.
“No. She. Is so. Afraid.”
They tried to get more out of her and Rainbow tried to convince her that it was a good plan but she didn't say anything else and it's hard to argue with silence.
So they had been, somewhat blindly, trying to find their way through the Crystal Mountains with nothing more than what amounted to a pony compass. Thank goodness Chrysalis had come along. She knew these mountains well enough that they're troop didn't get lost. She was also very knowledgeable about this new world they had been forced into where everything was so similar and yet so distressingly different.
Dash was following the conversation between twilight sparkle and Chrysalis. She was glad that Twilight had taken on the duties of envoy and was getting as much information out of chrysalis as she could.
“Sombra had mentioned that you and your forces were in the South. How do you know these mountains so well?” Twilight asked.
“Well, much of my role in this ongoing conflict has been that of diplomat. I have been chiefly responsible for negotiations and communication with Cadence and the Crystal Empire. I had to travel to that great city in the heart of these mountains many times, though, this is the first time I have done so by hoof.”
“Negotiations. That must mean that, like so many ponies I would normally call friend, she is our enemy here. She is very dear to me in our world.” Rainbow Dash couldn't see twilight's face but her remorse was clear.
“It's a bit more complicated than that. Before Luna turned against us again and rejoined her sister, Celestia was grooming Cadence as her chief ally in her fight against Sombra. Celestia in our world has always had a great deal of magical power but has been famously terrible at ruling. Whenever she has tried to build a kingdom there has inevitably been widespread dysfunction, backstabbing, sycophancy and, inevitably, treason and revolt. She seems to only be able to use a strategy of coercion through force and lacks any subtlety or statecraft. It took her a thousand years of failure to realize she needed help. Or to swallow her pride enough to ask for it.
“Cadence was her best hope for creating a statespony. Celestia provided her with safety and the power that comes with being transformed into an alacorn but damned if she could be any kind of mother to that poor orphan. Cadence became bitter and petulant like any child not given enough love, guidance or discipline and rebellious like anypony who begins to grow up. But she also became a gifted leader and tactician and a cunning diplomat.
“Despite Cadence's disaffection, Celestia knew that without her support, and that of the Crystal empire, she would have little chance of victory over Sombra, even after Luna's conversion. So Celestia ceded to her absolute dominion of this corner of the world in exchange for an alliance against her enemies.”
Twilight pondered this.
“Given everything I know so far that alliance would have given Celestia a good chance of winning the war.” She said.
“Yes, it probably would have if it hadn’t been for Cadence’ ambivalence towards Celestia and her reluctance to bury her citizens. At first the alliance meant token saber rattling: military exercises, petty skirmishes and raids. Whatever would have appeased Celestia just enough to keep her from turning on the Empire. But, once Luna came around to the other side, Celestia must have gotten bored of bickering over troop movements and the economies of conflict. The Crystal Empire's hostilities ceased almost immediately. Cadence, after all, never had a heart for war. Sadly her alliance with Celestia remained. I suspect she saw Sombra eventually falling under Celestia's hoof, now that she had the power of two alacorns, and chose what she thought would be the winning side. If it wasn’t for you and your friends she most likely would have been right.”
“And, although Cadence would not have helped her to victory,” Twilight jumped in “Celestia would be just as desperate for somepony to help her govern her new subjects after the war.”
“This is what I suspect.” mused Chrysalis
“She sounds rather shrewd.” said twilight.
“Yes, very. You will have to be careful of that.”
Fluttershy was walking closer to Chrysalis and Twilight than Rainbow Dash.
“So, what of Discord?” She said
“Who?”
“Oh, um, Captain Good Guy?”
Chrysalis laughed “Discord, that does seem fitting. He's probably around these parts somewhere, unless he has decided…”
Rainbow's wrapped attention was interrupted by something pushing against her neck just below her left ear. She knew she was walking next to one of the changelings, so she didn't quite jump out of her skin but she was non the less surprised and looked swiftly in the changeling's direction while moving a step away. The changeling had closed the distance between them while Rainbow’s head was turned towards Chrysalis and had nuzzled into rainbows main.
She was apparently just as startled now as Rainbow was.
“Oh sorry, I always forget. Ponies don't touch each other like we do.”
“Yeah, we tend to ask first.”
Rainbow's sarcasm was lost on the changeling.
“Always? Every time? That seems exhausting doesn't it? Though, I suppose your people do it much less often than ours.”
The changeling seemed to be completely unaware of Rainbows sarcasm. She felt bad for antagonizing her.
“Well, not all the time. If we know the pony, or know what they're doing, or trying to do… I mean, it's kind of complicated.”
“So you need to know the intent of the person touching you?”
“Kinda yeah, I guess. A lot of it is about trust, I think? If a pony came at me physically and I didn't know them, or didn't know what they were trying to do, maybe they could hurt me or take advantage of me somehow.”
“I may never understand that truly.” Said the changeling “In my journeys with Chrysalis the idea of trust between individuals has come up many times. The way that you ponies think about it is quite foreign to us. The only context we know of of trust or, I guess more accurately, lack of trust is between the hive as an entity and peoples and nations outside of the hive.”
“What about individuals outside of the hive?”
“Well, I think even that is hard for us. Individuals don't seem much like entities, at worst they are more like noise in our environment and at best they are pieces of larger systems.” There was a pause. “Of course, our inability to see what a threat an individual can be has cost us at times. Our people had lived, more or less, at peace and in equilibrium before Celestia appeared. We were blindsided by her ability to destroy.”
They both fell into a contemplative silence.
“I think us changelings are born trusting.”
Rainbow Dash smiled a bit sadly.
“I suppose, so are we.”
“Tell me, do we know each other in the other world Princess Twilight Sparkle?”
Twilight paused “Yes… we are actually quite good friends. You used to foal sit me.”
This last bit seemed to catch Cadence off guard. She gave a contemptuous snort but Twilight thought she caught a touch of wistfulness in her face.
“You seem convinced that this worlds Luna is here, somewhere in this castle. I have not made any indication that she is. Maybe she avoided my kingdom and continues to wander these hills lost and confused? Or maybe, If she was here, she is adamant about not seeing you. I wouldn't want to make that decision for her; a pony has her autonomy after all. Or maybe I'm holding her prisoner and I have my own devious plans for using her immense powers. Could I succeed where Celestia has so spectacularly failed?”
“I think you have bigger problems on your hooves” Twilight replied.
“Oh? And what do you know of my problems, Princess?”
“The people and things displaced from one world to the other were not limited to me and my friends. What was pulled across in your lands? Soldiers? Clerks? Maybe even ministers of your court?” Cadence seemed to brush this aside with a wave of her hoof but then Chrysalis spoke up.
“The ponies from the Crystal Empire of Twilight's world will have known well the chains of bondage. And they will also know, just as well, what it means to be freed of those chains.”
Twilight was tired and even a bit irritable and so she quipped.
“Tell me, princess, have you heard any rumblings of revolt?”
“Empress, actually. I find princess to be a demeaning title.”
But, being an academic pony, Twilight knew when an argument was won and so she waited.
Twilight and her companions had travelled for several more days through the mountains before they had arrived at the Crystal Empire trail worn and dirty. They had, of course, been escorted swiftly to the castle where Cadence awaited them. After almost no formalities, or chance to rest, they had laid out to the ruler why they had come here. Cadence had listened attentively and said little. Her lack of response had unnerved Twilight but Chrysalis had remained reassuringly calm.
“I do not believe the techniques of control your world's Sombra used against his subjects created an empire worth ruling. Once you crush a pony's heart and soul, what is there left worth having? Hmm? My underclass cannot relate to these newcomers experience's of throwing off the shackles of slavery.”
“Directly, at least.” Twilight interjected.
“Mmm.” Was Cadence's only reply.
Silence filled the room. Twilight suspected that Cadence was waiting for her to make the next move. Maybe she could tell that Twilight was the nervous type and that if she waited long enough she could make her reveal her cards.
“Your Highness, have you been able to capture the power of the crystal heart? Can you direct it as you wish?” Twilight finally said.
“Yes, I have and yes, I can.”
“If it is anything like it's analog in my world its power combined with your alacorn magic would probably be more than a match for me and my companions.”
“Indeed, it would.”
More silence.
Cadence broke it this time with a sigh.
“Yes, your point is clear, despite being in the heart of my kingdom, and at my mortal mercy, you seem to have the upper hoof. Your Celestia's mistakes of love have created a terrible mess. A mess that it appears only you have any chance of cleaning up. It would seem that we need each other. I can't say that I'm entirely disappointed that that is the case.”
Twilight was a bit surprised. These negotiations had been tense and it didn't seem like there was any good feelings between them. Maybe Cadence had seen some of the affection that Twilight had for her doppelgänger.
“You know, I was telling the truth when I said she didn't want to see any of you. She dreads encountering you in particular.” She said as she looked into Luna the Blue's eyes. “I could get barely a few short sentences out of her but she says she'll do anything I want as long as I keep you away.”
“Finding me. Is the only thing. That will help.” Luna said it slowly and softly and without anguish.
“Do you know it doesn't even seem she is able to fly? She walked here. Much like you did, actually, despite the fact that all of you have wings.
“I will do what you ask Princess Twilight Sparkle but not for free. There must be a peace treaty between the Crystal Empire and Equestria and the Changeling Brood. No aggression, no interference, no regime change.”
“It will be done.” Said Chrysalis.
Luna the Red could feel her. She was close. The walls of her own mind had begun to bend and slump like melting glass from the heat of her nearness. Beyond these walls she was beginning to see the lands of the other’s mind. She knew that to cross would be to become not herself anymore and so she named that place terror. It took all of her concentration to remain whole and but one being.
But she was not whole, was she. Since that night on the battlements, the night she was betrayed, parts of her had gone missing. She would be fallowing a train of thought and suddenly she would come across the jagged lip of emptiness. She knew, she knew what was supposed to be there and yet, now, she didn't.
And, she hadn't simply forgotten. Forgetfulness was a steady, downward sloping bank into the dip of foggy, marshy not knowing. The edges of these holes were sharp and they cut. She would fall into them without warning, into oblivion and there would be no thought. She would flounder, trying to reach out in any direction to touch anything, to know anything, to have a self and she would scream soundlessly.
Just as startling would be her reentry. She would appear in the middle of a mind pattern, far from where she had left off, and the gears of thought would jolt back into motion. Each time this happened pieces would break off at the edges and the mind functions around the absences would work a little less well. The next time she came down this path it would be that much easier to fall into the abyss again.
“Luna!” Cadence almost shouted.
She looked up, Cadence had entered the room unnoticed. She had spoken loudly, presumably having already tried a quieter voice. Luna had been staring into space, beads of perspiration forming on her brow. It seemed that this is how she spent most of her time: losing time.
“Will you come?”
She could have easily made her. She could have picked Luna up like a foal with her magic and just carried her to her other self. But, she didn't. Instead she had asked.
Many times on the journey to the chamber of the crystal heart Cadence heard Luna's hoof steps falter. There would be a sudden intake of breath, a sob, a grown of anguish and, sometimes, a sigh of relief? Cadence would slow her pace or stop and wait. After enough time had passed Luna's gate would began again and they would progress a few hundred more steps. It was a slow march.
Cadence could feel the currents in the air as a powerful soul magic coursed from the alacorn of the night. It would seethe out of her as a great crashing wave, flowing through the mystically imbued corridors of the palace as if through canals. But, it would not last. Luna would pull it all back in and the torrent would ebb only escaping through the slowly growing cracks of her mind. This is when she would stumble or stop only to have it come roaring out of her again.
It was not unpleasant to be caught in such magic, at least, not with Cadence’s own spiritual weight. Some of the unicorn guards would cringe, or give yelps of surprise as Luna got close, but, although Cadence felt the great ethereal tumult, she was unmoved. A stone in the river.
—
Cadence's former mentor taught her to take advantage of every situation this world presented to her. She was to cease opportunities and bend them to her purpose. If they would not bend she was to crush them. This was, without doubt, one of those opportunities Celestia had talked about. Luna was so vulnerable. It wouldn't be easy magic to control, powerful and chaotic as it was but, given Luna's seeming complete lack of mental defences, it was within Cadence's abilities.
The situation would lend itself more to the crushing than the bending, she thought. There would be no need to preserve Luna's sanity as the goal was control not a mentally functioning pony. Cadence would hollow her out like a log rotting from the inside and then fill the empty vessel with her own will. Luna’s husk would be a tool. A weapon.
She could feel Luna's dams breaking as the energy increased and became more turbulent. They were only a few steps away now; the Keeper of the Night wouldn't have to wait much longer. If Cadence was to leverage her power over Luna it would have to happen now, before she was united.
Cadence pushed open the wooden door into the Chamber of the Crystal Heart with her hoof. She moved to the side and Luna the Red stepped, shaking and covered in sweat, through the threshold.
The Lunas locked eyes and stood for some time. And then, as one, they crouched and lay with their legs tucked under them. The crystal heart was spinning slowly and emitting a low, almost inaudible thrum like a cat's purr. Time passed slowly for the ponies witnessing this strange almost silence. The sun moved through the sky to approach the horizon and then passed behind it. When the last rays of sunlight died the Lunas let out a relieved sigh. They then got up, never breaking their gaze and moved closer. They paused, and then moved closer still. It was past midnight when their noses finally touched.
