After decades of silent suffering, an unexpected event causes Luna to reach her breaking point much sooner. Instead of embracing her inner darkness, she makes a very different decision that will change her life in unimaginable ways.
A thousand years ago in Equestria, Luna's frustration and desperation has been building for years and years as her social and political isolation grows, but just before Luna's jealousy and resentment can turn into murderous hatred against her sister, a new event triggars Luna's mental collapse and pushes her over the edge. When Luna by circumstance finds herself alone in Celestia's room she reads her sister's diary out of curiosity and discovers all of the disparaging criticism that Celestia has leveled at her over the years about how much of a nuisance Luna has been to her, but has been too polite to say directly to Luna's face.
Luna and Celestia had always supported and stuck with each other all their lives. Even when the common-ponies critisism and shunning of her was at its worst, the knowledge that her sister loved her kept Luna going. The realization that nopony, not even her own sister valued her or thought she was fit for the throne completely shattered whatever remained of her fragile psyche.
It was a cool evening in the Everfree castle with the near total silence being broken only by the sound of a single pony’s hoof steps, the metallic sound being produced by metal shoes at the cadence of a slow walk.
This section of castle was near empty, as was much of the rest of the castle at this hour, as most ponies belonging to her sister’s much larger ‘Day Staff’ had already turned in for the night. The majority of the castle was now only occupied by the near skeleton staff of the Night Princess, since most ponies were unable or completely unwilling to work the night shift.
That single set of hoof steps belonged to the Lunar Princess as she made her way across the interior of the castle. Luna had always been calmed by the quiet of the night, the peaceful tranquility and stillness allowed for her to sink into quiet contemplation and thought.
Before her life had become consumed by her royal responsibilities and her time monopolized by her near endless duties, Luna had once been a poet and a writer, with some of her best works being written by soft candlelight beneath her most beloved stars that would dot and illuminate her infinite velveteen sky.
Those days were long behind her however and now the silence of the castle has become almost oppressive. Where once she actively enjoyed taking in the quiet of a still autumn night, now it only served as an ever present reminder of her isolation.
She stopped her slow march at a nearby window and took a moment to glance outside. The large and growing settlement that had formed around their castle stood still and lifeless with not a single pony within eyesight. The population having returned home from a long day’s work and now fast asleep. Luna had hoped that at least some ponies would have stayed up to gaze at her night, but as usual scarcely a single soul outside of herself bore witness to the stars tonight.
It was especially a pity tonight, because as to celebrate the changing of the seasons, she had expended the extra effort to create an Aurora. Luna watched as the beautiful waves of color and light rolled across the sky as she struggled to quell a welling of bitterness and disappointment inside of her as she watched hours of careful celestial craftsmanship pass by completely unnoticed.
The small city was illuminated only by newly erected street-lanterns that softly flickered with burning oil. The lanterns were Luna’s own invention, designed and crafted in her private workshop/laboratory. It was personally one of her proudest recent accomplishments and excited her to no end with the possibility that her darkness fearing ponies would be enticed outside to enjoy her night underneath the protective illumination of her lanterns.
In the end it had been an entirely pointless endeavor that once again dashed her hopes against the rocks, as her deeds went ignored and unappreciated as her ponies stayed home at night.
The only ponies that did take note of her project were the ruling council of nobles who criticized her reckless use of taxpayer money for a pointless and frivolous personal project, and her sister who and lectured her on fiscal responsibility.
As if that unmitigated failure wasn’t enough, Luna soon received even worse news. As her mentor Starswirl once said ‘when it rains, it pours’, because as it happened, her failed lantern project and unnoticed aurora were not the only recent disappointments that raged and simmered in her mind.
The cancellation of her Winter Moon celebrations was a wound still fresh in her mind as she fought not to grind her teeth in frustration and anger when she recalled the meeting she had with her sister and the council.
As Celestia presided over the Summer Sun Festival on the summer solstice, so too did Luna preside over the Winter Moon festive on the winter solstice. Her festival’s popularity had been in an ever steady decline over the years as the popularity of the Summer Sun had only increased.
Luna had planned to change that this year, she was determined to show her ponies the beauty and splendor of the night and this year’s festival seemed like an excellent opportunity to finally turn things around.
She had planned for months in preparation, she had worked closely with the newly opened weather factory in Cloudsdale to form a weather schedule that would allow a for a few days of mild temperatures during the festival, so as not to deter her ponies with very cold weather. She had planned to expand and improve her yearly meteor shower on the solstice to truly spectacular levels, she had even begun to divert a nearby comet to pass over Equestria during the festival.
Less than two months from the festival not only had Celestia severely gutted the budget for the Winter Moon festival to compensate for Luna’s failed lantern project, but she had told Luna about the meeting that she had had with a delegation from Saddle Arabia that had come to Equestria to discuss potentially opening valuable trade routes. She informed Luna that the Arabians had negotiated several concessions from her, one of which had been that Luna would not interfere with the night’s stars at all during the solstice.
Apparently the highly religious and superstitious Saddle Arabians worshiped a religious holiday on the solstice and viewed such things as meteor showers and comets, not as beautiful and wondrous, but rather as bad omens, and as such despised Luna’s manipulation of the astral bodies on their most holy of days.
It nearly made Luna’s blood boil in rage as thought about how these foreign ponies would dictate to her how she should manage her dominion over the stars. It enraged her even further that Celestia had immediately agreed to their demands WITHOUT EVEN CONSULTING HER! It went against one of the oldest agreements that the sisters had ever made with each other, that they would never interfere with the celestial domain of the other.
When Luna had heatedly confronted her sister over the issue. Celestia, as dismissive and aloof as ever, had simply and calmly told Luna that those trade routes as well as maintaining good relations with Saddle Arabia were simply too valuable to the future prosperity of Equestria to forsake over a single holiday. Celestia went further and told Luna that her lack of tact, diplomatic grace and her likely opposition to the deal, would have sabotaged the whole arrangement. Which was why she had not been told of the meetings.
It took nearly all of Luna’s self control not to explode with rage at that point. The worst part of it was that Celestia probably wasn’t even aware of how callous and condescending she was in that moment.
All of her slights against Luna probably made some sort sense according to her own twisted logic and perhaps it did make a sort of sense according to a purely utilitarian perspective, but Celestia knew how important this festival was to Luna. And chose to not only cancel it without consolidating with her, but also override her sister’s authority as diarch by completely excluding her from important diplomatic talks that she wasn’t even informed were taking place! It was simply a step too far!
The stone windowsill started to crack from the shear force that Luna was gripping it with her hoof as she worked herself up into an even more agitated and enraged mood, while she gazed outwards at the quiet city. Luna forced herself to take deep, shuddering breaths in an attempt to calm herself.
It’s not the first time Celestia has undercut Luna’s authority, but it was the latest and most blatant in a long trend, becoming more and more common as her fame and popularity grew.
It disheartened and enraged Luna to see her sister become self deluded with her own supposed infinite wisdom, so wrapped up and consumed with the praise of her subjects that she had come to believe the myths that her ponies told about her infallibility and greatness.
She simply did not consider the thoughts and feelings of those around her as she single-mindedly pursued what ever goals and objectives she deemed worthy.
That attitude didn’t much bother her subjects as they were happy to kiss the ground she walked on and did as she commanded without complaint, but to her own sister, her supposed ‘equal’. To disregard Luna’s opinions, feelings and personal projects as “necessary sacrifices” to Celestia’s ‘greater good’.
It only served to highlight her staggering arrogance.
Luna was supposed to be her equal, her counterbalance and most importantly, her sister. Yet with each day that passes she treated Luna more like a servant that was simply supposed to smile, nod and do as she was commanded.
It seemed like so long ago that they were once loving sisters that loved and supported each other no matter what, but those days were gone.
Now Luna found herself completely alone in an empty corridor as her ponies, country and sister seemed to turn against her as all of her dreams seemed to be crumbling down around her.
With her internal contemplations growing too painful, Luna forced her attention away from the window and continued her journey through the sprawling castle.
As she walked, she would occasionally stumble across the odd cleaner or guard that diligently carried out their duties even in this late hour. They would bow respectfully as she passed and she in turn would give a kind smile and acknowledging nod of gratitude, occasionally stopping for a brief chat.
It wasn’t much, but these short interactions with her staff was the majority of the social interaction she received nowadays.
Luna eventually came to stop in front of she sister’s bedroom door. The door was thick and a rich shade of mahogany. It had a stylized symbol of her sister’s talent mark on the door.
Luna did not want to see her sister at the moment, not at all, but the processes of government did not cease simply because Luna was not pleased with her sister at the moment. She needed to discuss a new tax reform law that she had been reviewing recently.
The fact that Luna had to discuss and get approval from her sister for any law that she wanted to enact, while Celestia could do as she wished without input from Luna, still immensely irritated the younger princess, but there could be nothing done about that at the moment.
The council of nobles simply would not enforce any law or royal decree that had not been signed off by the older princess.
Hoping that this would be a short meeting, Luna raised her hoof and knocked three times on the large door. Luna winced internally as the knocks came out much louder and harsher than she intended. She patiently waited for a response from her sister.
While waiting for an answer, which usually took a second or two to come, Luna used that time to mentally compose herself as much as she could. Her mind was a swirling vortex of emotion. Her anger, while mostly calm now, still simmering underneath the surface, with a dangerous heat.
She felt a degree of anticipation, trepidation and dread as well. All these emotions had become quite familiar in recent times as her sister had become increasingly overbearing, clamping down on Luna’s behaviors and mannerisms that Celestia deemed ‘not befitting of royalty’.
However one emotion stood out from the rest, sorrow. Sorrow that the simple act of going to talk to her own sister, once something that she looked forward to, now filled her with such negative emotions.
Luna had felt the gap between them widen for years, until now it resembles a chasm, as Celesia tried to force her into the mold of royalty that she herself seemed to fit so well and Luna resenting her for it.
As Luna was organizing her emotions, she noticed that the answer from her sister never came. Celestia was usually very alert and perceptive of her surroundings. A skill that the two of them had to learn from very young age to survive, so it couldn’t be that she didn’t hear the knock.
Now confused, the Lunar Princess knocked again. Only to be greeted with silence.
Celestia must not be inside, the realization dawned on her. This was unusual of her sister, normally the Sun Princess was near religious in the following of her schedule. She would not have asked Luna to meet her at a certain time if she wasn’t available to take a meeting at that time.
Still, no matter the reason, Luna felt a not insignificant amount of relief that she was not going to be confronting her sister and could just leave the documents on Celestia’s desk and be done with it.
Though that relief was darkened by a brief flare-up of anger and annoyance that her sister had made Luna come all the way to see her and had not even bothered to be there at the specified time.
Not wanting to question her good fortune however, of delaying her inevitable argument with her sister until at least tomorrow. When she was hopefully more emotionally prepared for it. Luna turned the door handle with her magic and opened it.
Scanning the room as she entered it, Luna saw that her assumption was correct. The Solar Princess was indeed not inside. With a cautious step, Luna stepped inside and closed the door behind her.
The room was large and ostentatious as befitting of royalty. The layout wasn’t too dissimilar to Luna’s own room, but with more white and gold accents and coloring, as opposed to her own room’s blue and silver.
It was rare that Luna entered her sister’s room, rarer still that her sister was not present as well.
One of the objects that caught her attention as she observed the bedroom was a harp that sat in the corner. The rage Luna felt boiling inside her seemed to falter for a moment as her memory brought her back to the day that Celestia received the instrument.
They were fillies when Starswirl gave the harp to her sister as a gift and to help her train her magic.
Telekinesis is undoubtedly one of the most important skills that a unicorn can learn and makes up the vast majority of all the spells that they will ever use. Thus training in dexterity and precision with telekinesis is something that foals are taught at an early age, usually by means of a hobby that would require fine magic motor skills.
Celestia had been given a harp to fill the world with beautiful music, while Luna had been given a paintbrush and canvas to capture the beauty of the world around them.
A small smile threatened to make its way onto her face as Luna remembered those nights in Starswirl’s tower when Celestia would play her harp and Luna would sing along with accompanying lyrics that she had written just that morning.
She absentmindedly began to hum softly one of her favorite songs that her sister had made, as her mind was brought back to simpler times when the fate of an entire nation wasn’t resting, with a seemingly infinite burden, on their shoulders and when they were both happy.
Her welling of warm nostalgia disappeared just as quickly as it had come and her soft hum faded as she noticed the layers of dust that covered the instrument and other signs of prolonged disuse.
It looked like it had been a very long time since Celestia had practiced on the harp. It was disappointing, but not surprising as their royal duty prevented them from enjoying much time to explore and practice hobbies.
‘It’s a pity,’ Luna thought to herself.
‘Celestia’s music always sounded so beautiful.’
It was times like these that made Luna resent and sometimes even hate their royal positions. Their titles and duties drove a wedge between the sisters, to the point that she couldn’t even visit her sister’s room without feeling anxiety, dread and rage.
Things didn’t always used to be like this between the two sisters though.
Once long ago, she found comfort and protection in visiting her sister. One of Luna’s oldest memories was of when she was a young filly, barely older than a foal, before the Bad Times and the two sisters still lived with their parents.
It was during a vicious and brutal thunderstorm, with lightning that would lighten the whole sky, like a second sun, for a split-second and thunder that would shake the walls of her family’s small wooden cabin.
The few Pegasi that lived in the small village protected it from most violent storms by redirecting them away from the village. The only storms that ever actually struck the settlement were truly monstrous monsoons that were too large for the few pegasi to handle.
To a very young filly, who had never experienced such a storm before, it had seemed like the world was ending. Like the vengeful gods of the ancient Pegasus pantheon had unleashed their wrath on the world.
The two sisters had shared a room back then and when the storm grew too frightful for the young filly, she would wake her sister by climbing into her bed with her. Celestia wouldn’t say anything, she would just hold Luna tightly in her hooves and wrap both her wings around her small body.
The little filly would sleep soundly then, content in the knowledge that within the safety of her sister’s hooves, nothing could ever harm her.
She only ever grew more reliant on the protection of her sister in the coming years, during the Bad Times. When they had to flee their home in the night and face the whole by themselves, with nothing, but each other.
'That was then and this is now,' Luna reminded herself. The days when she could rely on Celestia were long gone.
Not wanting to get sidetracked for too long and risk her sister catching her snooping through her room. Luna made her way to Celestia’s desk, which sat against the far wall directly under a large window.
Although the candles on the desk weren't lit, the mesmerizing kaleidoscope of ever-shifting colour and light that filtered through the window from her aurora, illuminated the area without issue.
As Luna put the documents on the desk, she noticed that one of the desk draws was open. A large, thick and ornate book sat in it.
The Night Princess was immediately curious. It wasn't a book from the library. After helping to build and organize the castle library, as well as spending a significant amount of her time reading there, Luna was very familiar with the types of covers and bindings used and she had never seen such a book before.
It wasn't a general ledger or any other type of government affairs book either, as they wouldn't use such an expensive, ornate binding for official record keeping.
Perhaps it was a gift of some sort from a foreign dignitary or a noble? That might have been a plausible explanation, until Luna noticed the single most important detail of all. The book was locked.
Not just with an ordinary lock, but a magical seal and a powerful one at that. She instantly recognized the magic as her sister’s. The seal was radiating a distinct aura of warmth and sunlight that was entirely unique to Celestia.
The seal was also recognizable as an invention of Starswirl. The same one that had been taught to both of them under his tutelage.
Such a powerful enchantment would prevent anyone, but the caster of the seal from opening the book. The seal was also designed to last. Starswirl had calculated that the enchantment would only need to be recast after a thousand years.
Celestia would not have used such powerful and advanced magic on just any random book. Whatever was contained within the book must have been of incredible importance or danger. The only other time that the sisters had used such a difficult enchantment, was on the Inspiration Manifestation, before it had been sealed behind the walls of the castle.
'Of course Celestia would keep such a thing from my knowledge.' Luna thought to herself bitterly as another wave of dark emotions surged through her veins and her anger reached a near crescendo.
Determined not to be kept in the dark, Luna set to work undoing the seal. She was sick of Celestia keeping things from her. The incident with the Saddle Arabians still brought bile up to the back of her throat whenever she thought about it.
She knew that she wouldn't be able to conceal the broken enchantment should Celestia ever check on the book and would probably get in trouble for it, but Luna was so far beyond caring about the consequences at the moment.
It didn't even matter to her that her sister could walk through the door at any moment and catch her in the act. Luna was determined to never again be blindsided by her sister’s deception and focused on carefully undoing the enchantment with near single-mindedness.
As the more magically studious of the two sisters, as well as being very familiar with the spell, it didn't take long for Luna to undo her sister’s magic. The seal shattered violently with an audible sound, like glass shattering.
With much anger and slight trepidation, Luna opened the book to the first page and read the first line.
The line froze Luna in her tracks. The shock of having her expectations subverted utterly was like a bucket of ice water on her emotions. It was difficult to maintain the heat of her fury in the face of the growing feeling that she had just committed a very severe error in judgement. Her anger and rage sputtered out, replaced with a burning feeling of embarrassment.
While Luna was busy undoing the seal, her mind had been churning with dark and sinister conspiracies over what her sister wanted to hide from her. The fact that she had gotten herself worked up into such a senseless state, that she had lost any semblance of composure and dignity over her a simple diary deeply embarrassed the Princess.
A cold, creeping sensation of dread settled in her veins as her mind unfroze and started to think over the implications of what she had just done. She would not be able to conceal the broken enchantment. Even if she recast the spell exactly right and attuned it to unlock upon contact with her sister’s magic, she couldn’t mimic her sister’s magical signature, nor could she hide her own. Celestia would instantly know what had happened and who was responsible.
At that moment Luna wished that she had taken a more active interest in Starswirl’s lessons on temporal magic, as she realized that she had potentially made a big mistake. She had violated her sister’s privacy and brute-forced open what was surely one of her sister’s most private possessions, over nothing but her own out of control paranoia. The dread amplified as she realized how much trouble she could potentially be in.
The Lunar Princess recognized the dark emotional spiral that she was descending into and, with gritted teeth, brutally suppressed her growing fearfulness. The bitter frustration and slowly simmering anger that had served as her ever faithful companion in recent times returned to melt the icy dread that had settled in her veins from the previous shock. She also felt shame that her emotional state had been reduced to that of a filly with her hoof caught in the cookie jar.
Luna hated this. She hated that she felt like this. She hated the shadow that her sister had cast upon nearly every aspect of her life and her mind. She hated that even something as tangentially related to Celestia as her property made her feel these dark emotions.
As Luna internally organized her emotions, she turned her focus more fully to the object of her recent internal strife. Her curiosity bloomed once again.
Luna didn’t know why her sister had chosen such extreme security measures to lock her diary. Normally only the most important and dangerous artifacts that the kingdom possessed would justify such extraordinary protection. The thought over what Celestia could have possibly thought was so sensitive that needed Starswirl’s seal only reinforced that curiosity and forged a hardened resolve over her course of action.
She realized that it was too late to undo what she had just done and that she was likely to get trouble even if she stopped reading the diary right now. With nothing more to risk and nothing further to lose than what had already been risked and lost, the Princess decided to sate her curiosity and find out what her sister really thought about things and what lay in the darkest recesses of her mind.
So with a deep breath and steely determination, so began to read the diary in earnest.
Dear Diary
It’s been years now since Luna and I took power and tried to rebuild a shattered nation. It hasn’t been easy, but the safety and prosperity of our ponies has been worth every effort.
The two of us realized a long time ago that we didn’t age like other ponies. We were never certain if that was due to our nature as Alicorns or our exposure to the tree or our status as Element bearers, but regardless of the reasons, it’s something that we need to come to terms. If my sister and I were mortal ponies, we would have perished already.
I’m writing this diary because I don’t want to forget. It’s been so long that already old friends and old faces from my childhood, have slipped from my mind. If I write it down here and in subsequent diaries when this one is full, I can always come back and remind myself. Even if we live for a thousand years, I will remember.
Sincerely Celestia
Luna understood was her sister was trying to accomplish by writing this diary. She herself had being doing much the same with her art, poetry and writing. Trying to capture a moment in eternity so that you will never lose it. A soft note of melancholy joined the chorus of anger, frustration, curiosity, determination and something darker that sang in her mind.
She didn’t like to think often of her state of perpetual existence. That she was forever destined to watch any friends that she ever made wither against the slow, unending march of time. Her sister was her only true reliable constant in her life, the only one that was guaranteed to be there for her. It’s why the coldness, distance and animosity that had come between them cut so deep and hurt so much.
Luna cherished their relationship more than she had ever cherished anything else in her life. To see Celestia become addicted to the praise and love of her ponies, to see her favor arrogant and self-serving nobles over her own sister and to see her treat the one pony that loved Celestia more than any other with aloof dismissiveness. It hurt Luna more than she thought possible. Her sister served as her bedrock in this world, STILL served as her bedrock in this world.
The diary went on.
Dear Diary
I had a meeting with the Counsel of Nobles today. The topic of discussion was the implementation of a new double-entry bookkeeping system into the royal record keeping books. Lord White Castle was concerned about the cost of implementation, while Lady Ruby Diadem was more concerned about the possible major disruptions to...
The diary went on like this for a great many of the initial pages, acting more like a factual account of Celestia’s daily activities than a look into her sister’s thoughts and feelings.
Luna began to read faster, skimming the more generic entries and noticed a disturbing trend begin to form as more of her sister’s thoughts started to become more transparent.
Dear Diary
It’s the Summer Sun Celebration today. The turnout for the event has been astonishing, I’ve never seen so many ponies in one place since before the Collapse of Old Equestria.
Even though things have now mostly stabilized in the decades since those dark days, much has not yet and perhaps never will recover. So much of our history and traditions were lost, even most holidays were forgotten.
At first this holiday and Luna’s Winter Moon Festival were only supposed to be placeholder holidays. Generic twice a year celebrations during the two solstices meant to give the ponies of this New Equestria something to look forward to, a chance to be merry, to help promote unity and provide a sense of community. I never could have imagined what it would morph into when I started the tradition all those years ago.
Now it’s become more like a celebration of us Princesses and a chance for ponies to show gratitude and praise for all that we have done for our kingdom. It was awkward at first to be the centre of adoration, but now it’s more flattering than anything else. To know that I have made a positive change in the lives of so many ponies that they would travel from all over Equestria to give me thanks and praise. It’s an incredible feeling.
Not everypony was so celebratory though. Luna has gotten upset over the Festival again. I keep telling her that she shouldn’t compare our two Festivals and that she couldn’t expect our ponies to travel from far and wide during harsh winter, like they can in summer. I’m certain that ponies love her just as much as they love me, but by the pure, harsh reality of logistics and practicality, ponies just can’t celebrate in winter the same way that they do in summer.
She shouldn’t use the popularity of our respective festivals a litmus test on the common ponies’ opinion of her. Personally I think that she is just being dramatic...
Luna exhaled violently and gritted her teeth hard enough that they would have surely shattered if is was a normal pony, as she read that last line. It would be exactly in line with Celestia’s character to sit high up on her pedestal and dismiss her sister’s pain as needless dramatics. Even though her anger only grew stronger the more she read, another emotion also bloomed alongside her rage, sorrow.
...Luna approached me again today with a proposal to incorporate and give representatives from the New Towns greater political power. I keep trying to tell Luna that the Nobles will never accept having their power diluted in such a way. We need to solidify their support, unify all of the Old Towns and centralize as much power as we can under the New Equestrian banner.
New Towns are barely self sufficient and can’t protect themselves, they rely on us far too much to break away. It’s not their support and goodwill that we need to garner and cultivate. I want greater representation for all cities and towns across Equestria more than any pony, but if the Old Towns and their nobles grow too alienated and break off into city-states again, all of our hard work to unite Equestria will be undone.
I swear, she is such an ignorant foal sometimes! Does she not realize how fragile the peace is. She needs to understand that there is a process to doings things. It’s like she doesn’t even understand the most basic of politics. I have to spend half of my time managing the country and the other half managing Luna. She says that I control too much of her life, but she doesn’t realize all that I’m doing to protect her. The sheer insolent ingratitude...
With every biting insult that she read, she mourned the loss of the relationship that she held so dear to her heart.
Slowly, entry by entry, the diary become increasingly scornful.
...it’s as though Luna is actively looking for reasons to be miserable. Nothing ever seems to satisfy her. She just sulks in her wing of the castle and is hostile to everyone around her. The amount of nobility that I’ve had to sooth over, because of her tantrums...
Ever since Luna was old enough to remember, she looked up to Celestia as an idol, as a hero. Celestia kept her safe from the all the terrors of the world. No matter how dark things were, her sister would keep her safe. Even if the whole world turned against Luna, she could count on her big sister to be there for her. To protect her, to comfort her and to lift her up when she was at her lowest.
...does Luna not even realize how hard she makes things for both of us. While Luna is off on her own mission doing some sort of personal project or just busy feeling sorry for herself, I’m the only one running the kingdom.
She even has the audacity to accuse ME of being in the wrong and not making enough time for her. Does she not see how much I’m busy with. I don’t have time to coddle her feelings. She is so selfish, I can’t believe that she...
The diary went on and on and on. Everything that Celestia was too polite to say to her face.
...absolutely insufferable. And she wonders why I don’t spend time with her. Who would want to spend any time around a pony that is always so bitter and spiteful...
No matter how much animosity existed between them Luna always loved her sister and believed that deep down, no matter their disagreements, that Celestia loved her just as deeply.
...an utter embarrassment to the crown that she wears...
It was what kept Luna going even when she was at her darkest points. She could disbelieve what was staring her in the face and, even if only for a moment, pretend that things were like they were before. Before these thrones and nobles and responsibilities ruined everything. When it was just two sisters standing together against the whole world.
...I should have known it was a mistake to make Equestria into a diarchy...
Tears ran down Luna’s face as the illusion was shattered.
...making a mockery of her royal position...
Rage, sorrow, anguish and utter heartbreak churned in Luna’s mind as she felt the foundation of her world collapse in on it’s self.
...useless...
She felt like she was drowning.
...ungrateful...
Like an abyssal darkness was consuming her bit by bit.
...whiny...
She felt numb.
...worthless...
She couldn’t stop shaking.
...unwanted...
She couldn’t breathe.
...everything would be so much easier if I could just rule alone...
And then something broke inside of Luna.
Like a puppet with its strings suddenly cut, she felt her legs give out from under her and fell onto the floor. The book fell from her grasp, but she could hardly care at that point. Luna curled into the fetal position. She shook violently as her unrestrained sobs raked her whole body.
For the first time in her life Luna felt completely and utterly alone.
She didn’t know how long she had been laying on her bed, nor did she remember casting a teleportation spell. She supposed that she shouldn’t be too surprised though, it wouldn’t be the first time that a unicorn or alicorn had cast magic instinctually during instances of extraordinary emotional stress.
Her hysterics and tears had long since run dry, leaving her feeling empty. She had bottled up her emotions for so long that she didn’t know how to deal with anything beyond bitterness, frustration and vague melancholy. She had sacrificed everything of who she once was to fulfill her royal duties, to put aside every other facet of herself in dedication to serving her ponies and what had she gained from it? Anger, emptiness and a deep sense of longing for what once was.
Luna didn’t know why her sister’s words had cut so deeply. She had known for a long time how little Celestia had thought of her abilities as a ruler. It shouldn’t have brought her so low. Perhaps she had always subconsciously held the belief that her sister really did love her, like when they were young and that she was just putting on an aloof, austere facade for the benefit of presenting the illusion of a perfect, infallible ruler.
Seeing all of it laid out before her made that hope seem so distant now. It had destroyed the final tether that Luna had been anchoring herself with all these years.
She should have been stronger than this, but she wasn’t. Luna was an all powerful alicorn, defender of Equestria, guardian of the night and stars, a near goddess in the eyes of normal ponies. Yet all that it had taken to reduce her to a wreck of misery, self-pity and despair, was a few cruel words from her sister. She felt like a foal, a little filly who was crying, because her big sister called her names.
It was pathetic. If she could feel anything besides numbness and exhaustion at the moment, it would be futility and self loathing. The words from the diary kept bouncing endlessly through her head and for once she didn’t know what to do. There didn’t seem to be way forward. There was no light at the end of the tunnel.
Usually criticism, while feeding her anger and bitterness, would light a fire under her. Driving her to improve, to make her night more spectacular, to try new and creative methods of public relations and to prove her sister wrong. Out of spite for her detractors if nothing else.
This time was different however. She didn’t feel that faint sense of hope that things would improve. There didn’t seem to be a point to it all anymore. Her night that she spent countless hours crafting with an artist's touch, grew evermore forsaken. Her ponies that she had given years of her life for, felt more distant and dismissive than ever. Her sister, who was once her closest friend, confidant and protector, seemingly couldn’t wait to be rid of her.
Even her prestigious title of Commander of Equestria’s Armies was hollow. Equestria’s pseudo-feudalism meant that soldiers were not directly under her control and would not follow her orders if their Lord or Lady told them otherwise.
It all seemed so futile.
...everything would be so much easier if I could just rule alone...
The words rang through her head again, but this time she stopped to really consider them.
‘What if Celestia was right?’
'What if she got her wish?'
It was a line of thinking that she had never considered before. She had been a Princess for so long that she had never stopped to consider if there was another path.
A small amount of fatigue evaporated from her body as her thoughts began to assemble an idea in her mind that made her feel something akin to a cautious, daring hope. As well as curiosity as to where this line of mental inquisition would take her.
Luna had never felt comfortable on the throne. The endless shackles of duty and responsibility. The rotten undergrowth of deceit, manipulation and corruption of politics that lurked eternally in her peripheral vision. Always there, but just out of sight enough to avoid being scrutinised too closely. The ingratitude of ponies that discarded all that she did for them and treated her as though she was some sort of liability to the kingdom.
Her sister that had once promised to love and protect her forever, yet with every passing day she recognized less and less of the sister that she had once known, as Celestia grew more and more into the mould of an emotionless, aloof, perfect princess. A mould that she herself could never fit, despite the best efforts of her elder sister.
What future was there left for her on the throne? The more she thought about it the more she realised how miserable her life as a ruler had been.
It wasn’t who she wanted to be anymore.
With her decision made and a course of action firmly set, the last of her numbness and fatigue was replaced by a renewed sense of determination. She sat up in her bed and used her magic to light up her horn, no longer wishing to sulk in the dark.
With the soft illumination of her cyan aura, the details of her room came into focus. The wall opposite her bed was dominated by massive floor to ceiling windows that allowed her to gaze out at the majesty of her night. Thick curtains, decorated with her iconic dark blue with silver trim colour scheme, were drawn closed to block sunlight from disturbing her rest during the day. In her panicked hysteria she had forgotten to open them tonight and let herself emotionally breakdown in complete darkness.
Luna's bare hooves touched down on the carpet beside her bed as she struggled to support herself on unsteady legs. Her downward emotional cascade had left her feeling physically exhausted as well, but with every uncertain step her confidence and drive grew.
When Luna finally reached the curtains, she stood tall as she pulled them back and bathed the room in her starlight, her moonlight and her aurora. A churning sea of colour and light danced across the sky as if directed by an unseen, silent orchestra. Behind the colours were the stars. An endless expanse that stretched across the infinite heavens.
Among the billions of pinpricks of light, a single star stood out from the others. A star that shone brighter than all the rest. A beacon that guided all who travelled or were lost home.
The North Star.
Among all of the stars in the night sky, this is the one that she had the greatest connection to. The same very star that had led Luna to realise her destiny and earn her the Talent Mark that she still bears to this day. Much of her early memory had faded over the years,but the memory of that night is still fresh in her mind no matter how many years have passed.
Luna was lost and the only way to truly find herself again was to remember her destiny. She tried to feel now what she felt then.
Luna was still a filly when one night, her mother took her stargazing on the hill outside of their small village. The pair had laid down on a blanket that they had brought with them. It was something that they did often. Luna's mother's Talent Mark depicted the night sky and she was so eager to share in her passion for the stars with her daughter.
Luna loved those nights that she spent with her mother, she learned so many incredible things about the night and absorbed all that her mother had to teach her. She heard about all of the incredible things that ponies had learned from studying the night. From the basis of their calendars to their navigation techniques.
She learned about the constellations and their mythology. It amazed the young filly to no end that ancient ponies had seen a random assortment of disconnected lights and had crafted stories and legends about heroes, gods and odysseys.
Every pony, every civilization, all saw something different when they looked at the stars. All born from the vivid imagination of those who dared to dream bigger than themselves.
It ignited a fascination within Luna. She couldn’t explain it, but she saw so much more than pretty lights when she gazed at the sky. The stars called out to her and she yearned for nothing more than to answer them, but she didn't know how. It was as if she saw her own soul reflected back at her in the stars. Luna saw everything she was and everything she wanted to be in them. They were curiosity, discovery and adventure unbounded. More than anything else, they represented freedom.
Her village and her home seemed so small in comparison to the endless reach of the starry night.
She desperately wished that she was old enough to fly at that moment. Able to spread her wings shore through the night. To fly higher than anypony had ever flown before. She wanted to be able to reach out and touch the stars themselves, to swim among them as though she was submerged in an ocean made of light. She wanted to explore everywhere and everything that the light shone on, to travel to destinations unknown.
She couldn’t explain the feeling in words or why she felt that way, but right then she wanted to become a star. To live so far removed from the world and see everything that Equus had to offer. She wanted to be the beacon of hope that would guide those wayward and far from home to safe shores. To be a teller of stories that awed and inspired. A dreamer of worlds beyond her own.
It was as though she had an epiphany. A moment of perfect clarity, where in a single instance she could see everything of her past, present and future. Where she understood exactly where her place in the universe was. She could see unknowable truths of creation and existence. Her flanks felt tingly and she instinctively knew what had just happened.
All this only lasted for a fraction of a second however, as a moment later all that she had learned slipped from her mind as though she was forgetting a dream. The one that remained was a sense of certainty. A clarity of destiny that she heard other ponies describe when talking about receiving their talent marks, but had never experienced herself until that moment. She didn't didn't know how she knew what her destiny was. She just knew.
It was a calling.
She felt that calling now, just as she felt it back then.
Luna had once thought that the crown had been her destiny. She was utterly convinced of it. She was powerful, immortal and raised the enormity of the sky every day. How could her destiny be anything less than to become akin to a star. To reign above all, to guide ponies and inspire them.
It had taken a torture of a thousand small cuts to her psyche over years to shatter that illusion, but what she read in that diary had been her final breaking point.
This wasn't where she belonged anymore. Luna saw that now. Celestia had come to a similar conclusion, but where her sister only saw Luna's ineptitude, the Night's Princess saw an opportunity for a second chance.
Celestia might have found her place in the sun on the Equestrian throne, but Luna would find her place elsewhere.
Luna thought that she had discovered her destiny when she was a filly and that she would have been able to sail blindly towards it, as though she had a compass that led her to her calling. She was wrong. It wasn't as simple as that.
She didn't know where she would find her destiny, but she did know what the first step was on her journey.
Leaving would be hard, but she couldn’t stay. She deserved better. She deserved to be happy. There was nothing left for her here.
It would be so easy to be angry. To rage and hate. The emotions came to her like second nature these days. It would be so easy to leave, just to spite Celestia. Luna wondered out of morbid curiosity how long it would take her sister to notice that she had left if the Lunar Princess continued to raise and lower the moon. A day? A week? A month?
Luna didn't want this decision to be made out of spite though. She didn't want her potential last memory of this place to be one of rage and grief. She didn't want her final message to her sister to one of hate and resentment.
Celestia was everything to her once. She was the best big sister that Luna could have ever asked for. No matter how angry Luna was, no matter how grave the slight, she didn't stop loving her sister. She still loved Celestia deep down and perhaps that was why her written words had hurt so badly.
She had always followed in her sister’s shadow, but for better or for worse, it was time to step out into the light. Their destinies might diverge from here, but memories will remain. Both good and ill. Celestia might not be a hero in Luna’s eyes, that illusion had long since been shattered, but Luna couldn't find it in her heart to see her as a villain. Even now, after everything.
She was just a mare, same as Luna.
Tears streaked down the Princess's cheeks as the enormity of her decision began to rest on her shoulders. Not since the final her confrontation with Discord, had she been so completely and utterly scared. Every challenge that she had faced in her life, she had not faced alone. Her parents or Starswirl or Celestia had always been right behind her. Ready to catch her if she fell.
Nopony would be there to catch her now. For the first time in her life she would be absolutely, completely alone. And that scared her more than she thought possible.
The idea of leaving frightened her and saddened her, but it wouldn't stop her.
With a deep breath to calm herself, Luna took one last gaze at her night. As if hoping to draw to somehow draw courage from the moon and stars themselves.
With her decision solidified in her mind. There was only one thing that was left for her to do.
She needed to prepare.
Luna stood at the edge of her balcony. She had draped herself in a large, black travelling cloak that would hopefully disguise herself or at least allow her to remain inconspicuous enough until a more permanent solution could be found.
The saddlebags secured at her sides contained little, but money, food, a map and a few small personal trinkets that Luna could not find it in herself to part with.
This was it.
No turning back.
The town of Everfree sprawled out before her, lit by the gentle glow of her lanterns.
Luna wondered how long her sister would keep them up after her departure, perhaps she wouldn't take them down at all. Even if they failed in their intended purpose. The idea that some part of her legacy would endure, was strangely comforting to her.
Beyond the town stretched the Everfree forest. Even with her enhanced Alicorn eyesight, she could not see an end to the sea of trees. Had she not known exactly how far the boundaries of the forest extended, she could have easily believed that they had no end at all.
Luna turned her head to look at Celestia’s tower on the opposite side of their castle.
'It wasn't too late to stop, to turn around and walk away,' a treacherous part of her mind whispered to her.
No line had been crossed yet that couldn't be uncrossed. She could burn the letters that she had left for her sister and the Captain of her Night Guard. She could withstand the lecture she would get from Celestia over her invasion of privacy. Perhaps the sisters could someday reconcile and it would be like the old days when they both loved each other unconditionally.
The thought was a tempting seductress, but Luna knew that it was too late to fix things. The bonds that had been broken between them could not be unbroken.
All that she could do now was to try to live her life and try to find happiness.
She wondered what Celestia would say to her if she was here right now. Would she beg Luna stay? Would she renounce the words in her diary and vow to do better by her younger sister in future?
Or would she encourage Luna to go, glad to be rid of a nuisance?
The Lunar Alicorn wasn't sure her heart could take the latter.
She closed her eyes and summoned every scrap of courage that she could muster.
One final step.
The former Princess launched herself into the air, over the balcony railings. Luna’s spread wings stabilized her flight as her cloak bellowed out behind her.
On steady wings she flew in search of the one thing that she couldn’t find in the castle, even with all the power in the world.
Dawnbreak was imminent as Luna flew over the Everfree forest. While the sun couldn't pierce the horizon just yet, the midnight blue sky of the east was brightened by sunlight emanating from the hidden celestial body. It was almost time for Luna and her sister to perform their daily duties.
The former Princess still remembered a time long ago when the sun and moon would raise and lower themselves without interference. The heavens used to move according to a cyclical cosmic clockwork that had been set into motion long before the birth of the two sisters.
The damage done during Discord's reign, even more than a century after it ended, still left immense scars on the world. The day-night cycle had been one of the chaos spirit's first targets in his attempts to rend Equestria’s society and culture to pieces.
The battle of wills and magics that had taken place between Discord and the unicorns of Old Equestria over control of the sun and moon had been fierce.
The unicorns had invented spells of ever increasing power and risk to seize control of the celestial bodies, while Discord had only further tightened his disruptive magic over the sky.
By the time of his final defeat, the damage had already been done. The chaos spirit's reckless and malicious mischief, along with the botched attempts of the Old Equestrian unicorns to reassert control of the sun and moon had permanently crippled both satellites.
While they could move somewhat on their own, as demonstrated by the sun having moved to a position just below the horizon, likely without Celestia’s guidance. They weren't reliable, not anymore.
Whatever natural or magical mechanism that had once directed the heavenly bodies had long since been mangled and deformed beyond use.
Luna and her sister had spent decades trying to fix what had been broken, but despite their innate talent at manipulating the celestial bodies, the task was beyond them.
The best that they could do was to try to direct their movement as well as they could. As close to what it had once been before the Collapse.
The sun and moon were not the only things that had been rendered asunder by Discord's reign. While all of the nations of the whole world had suffered to some extent, most had been able to recover with their society and culture relatively intact. The same could not be said of Equestria.
Luna never knew why Discord had focused so much of his malice on Old Equestria in particular. Perhaps the defiance of the unicorns trying to seize back the heavens drew his ire, or maybe he intended to enact such destruction on every nation and Old Equestria was simply first in line.
As much as many ponies might believe that his actions were erratic and random, nothing could have been further from the truth. Discord was terrifyingly methodical in his utter annihilation of Old Equestrian society. There was an undeniable method in his madness. A hidden agenda that was only realised by ponies once it was too late to stop.
What drove Discord in his pursuit of reshaping the world to his desires, was never understood by the Lunar Alicorn. Whether twisted ideology, naturally borne instinct or perhaps a simple desire to see the world burn.
Ultimately it didn't matter what his intent had been, the result was the same and Luna still had to carry the memories of those dark days.
As the former Princess flew over the Everfree, she could still vividly remember in her mind's eye what this land had looked like at the height of Discord's reign.
The landscape was warped into a distorted mockery of nature and order. Parcels of land floated and shifted around without rhyme or reason. Animals mutated into monstrous abominations. With each passing day Equestria grew more and more twisted into a chaotic nightmare.
Ponies flocked into the cities which seemed to some of the only same spaces left. Not completely safe, but better than the wilds. Ponies caught out alone in rural areas suffered some of the worst of Discord's cruelties.
Many who stumbled back to safety were often driven mad by his depraved mind games. Even those that remained sane would be diminished into hollow shells of themselves. The truly unfortunate were those that Discord forcibly turned into his agents of chaos. Ponies that submitted completely to the monster's indoctrination, if only to make their torment stop.
Some had their bodies twisted into horrifying perversions of their former selves, solely to demoralise other ponies. While others looked normal at a glance, but had their minds and memories warped beyond recognition until they effectively became enslaved puppets to Discord's will. He would have them working to deceive and sow chaos into communities. To betray their own friends and family at the behest of their new master.
Once welcoming and harmonious settlements became isolationist, xenophobic and hostile. Ponies' trust in each other broke down. Each city either collapsed into anarchy or became oppressively authoritarian in an attempt to enforce order at all costs and root out dissidents, Discord's agents or otherwise.
However, no matter the outcome, Discord always emerged victorious. Every value or social bond that Old Equestria had once held dear was systematically corrupted or destroyed until the nation became a broken shadow of itself.
His goal was never the physical destruction of the kingdom. Rather the spiritual, cultural, social and communal corruption of every law, tradition, taboo, social norm and national identity once held by the ponies of Old Equestria.
By the time that Luna and her sister had defeated him it had been far too late to salvage the former kingdom. What had once been a single unified nation had been fractured into dozens of isolated city-states. The landscape could be purged of Discord's damage, but the hearts and minds of ponies could not be.
The history, culture, religion and traditions of Old Equestria were targeted ruthlessly by Discord until they were reduced to nothing, but memories. Individual cities forged their own national identities as any common ground between them had completely eroded over years of isolation and as a direct result of the chaos spirit's influence.
It had taken decades for the two sisters to reunite the shattered carcass of Old Equestria. Most cities had only agreed to join the New Equestria because of either the massive amount of respect and gratitude that the two Alicorns had gained by defeating Discord. Or, because they feared that stronger neighbouring kingdoms that had survived Discord's reign relatively intact, would pick off and annex the weakened pony city-states.
It was an uneasy cooperation and many nobles had not been content to give up power to the perceived outsiders, even if they were heroines. A compromise had been made and a Council of Nobles had been formed. The Council was both a success and a failure in many ways. It unified the kingdom, but it made comprehensive reform to the nation unbearably difficult. Everything from tax policies to the codification of laws had to have the input of every single member of the Council or risk them feeling snubbed.
Celestia was always the popular peacemaker. The Princess that would politely listen to the concerns of each noble and try to find a compromise. Luna was the reformer, the mare to get things done.
It was a tactic that the two sisters would use against the Nobles early in their reign. Luna would advocate for and threaten to enact radical laws and edicts. Nobles would then go to Celestia to petition against the Night Princess's policies, to which Celestia would negotiate a watered down compromise and some aspects of Luna’s reforms would get implemented.
It was a difficult and exhausting endeavor trying to work around the self-interested Nobles while not displeasing them enough that they would breakaway from the Kingdom.
At first Luna’s unpopularity at court was deliberately engineered to get constructive ruling done. An unspoken pact between the two sisters. That would fall apart though, as the formation of the New Towns and the Council's uncompromising stance against them, forced Celestia to take a political position on the matter. To choose between the Council of Nobles or her sister.
Luna used a hoof to wipe at the tears that formed in her eyes as her mind brought her back to the memory of that day. It was the first time that she had felt betrayed by her sister. The first step in the utter deterioration of their relationship.
It hurts to reminisce too long on the collapse of the sisterly bond that they had once shared, but after everything that has happened recently, it is hard not to.
Luna preferred to think back to when times were better. When things were less complicated. The adventures that the sisters had long ago, the times that they loved and laughed.
She didn't know when or if she would see her sister again and for better or worse, memories were all she had now. Luna just wished they weren't so incredibly painful.
As Luna turned her focus to what lay ahead of her in an attempt to distract herself from her inner turmoil. The end of the Everfree forest became visible to the former Princess after a short while. The endless expanse of trees gave way to lush plains with steep mountains looming far in the distance.
Luna stopped and hovered in place for a moment. Using telekinesis she withdrew a compass and map from her saddlebags. She checked her position on the map relative to the compass and several mountains near her.
The stars were already fading in the twilight of the impending daybreak, the mountainous horizon only now becoming visible. Even as skilled as Luna was in navigating by starlight, it was still easy to lose track of direction above the forest.
As she put away her navigational instruments and prepared to resume her flight. Luna felt a harsh tug on her magic from the moon above her. It was trying to move, to descend and make way for the sun.
Even though they couldn't really move on their own anymore, the celestial bodies still kept time flawlessly. It was one of their few functions that had survived the Collapse. They knew when it was time to rise and Luna could feel it too. An advantage of her Talent Mark linking her to the moon she supposed. Celestia would also feel the same pull on her magic from the sun.
As Luna finished the thought, she felt the sun strain to rise against the horizon. Celestia was trying to raise it. She could only do so however, if Luna's moon yielded first. Celestia would be expecting her sister to do her part in changing night to day. It was a ritual that the two sisters carried out without fail, twice a day, every day, for years.
Even faded, the stars still shone gloriously above her. While Luna understood the balance of the day-night cycle well, she couldn't help wishing that the stars would shine just a bit longer. It was selfish she knew, but every time that the night's splendour was supplanted by the harsh glare of the day, a part of her felt disquieted.
It didn't feel fair.
Everypony would wake soon, but by then the stars would have completely subsided. Her aurora, her stars and her moon would be noticed by none. Simply vanished beyond the horizon as if they had never existed at all. Ponies fell asleep before the night truly began and woke only after it ended. If only they could see the night sky as she did. If only she could show them the beauty of the stars as her mother once showed her. If they could only give it a single chance, they would see the literal decades of work and craftsmanship that she had put into it.
A spiteful, yet desperate part of her didn't want to lower her moon. With her lamps, ponies could work in the dark. Magic could warm and sustain plant life. She would protect them from all of the dangers that lurked in the shadows. Ponies could live their lives just as happily and fulfilling as under the sun.
Maybe if she could give them no choice, but to see. Make them truly stop and look at what she had created for them. See everything that she had sacrificed so that they could have their radiant stars. It only needed to be for a day or two, but maybe then her ponies would understand all that she had for them and how much she loved them. Perhaps then they might love her back just as much.
It was a terribly selfish thought, but it sounded so appealing to Luna at the moment, especially with everything that has happened tonight. It pained her to have to surrender her night after she had already given up everything else. Her crown, her throne, her castle, her duties, her wealth, her pride and the only family she had left. Would it be so bad to act selfish for just this one thing, for her ponies on just this one day to wake up with gentle moonlight shining down on their faces.
They wouldn't be happy though.
Not really.
She couldn’t force enjoyment, gratitude or love from anypony.
They would resent her for it.
With bitter acceptance Luna lit her horn and allowed her magic to flow into the moon. She seized control of the crippled satellite and guided it across the sky toward the western horizon.
As her moon quietly slipped behind the horizon, the sun rose into the sky with all of its bombastic, brazen and blinding glory. Golden rays shone down on and illuminated all that they could touch.
One day her ponies would frolic and be happy under her starlight, but before she made them happy. She needed to find that happiness for herself first.
With the sun at her back, Luna flew to the last place where she was truly happy.
After hours of flight, Luna was rapidly approaching her destination. It had been a very long time since she had flown this far, and this fast. Usually if she needed to travel, it would be by a sky chariot pulled by her Night Guards. Even during the few times that she had flown under her own power, it was always with a task force of guards surrounding her. Nothing less than the utmost security and comfort would do for a Princess.
Luna knew perfectly well why such measures were necessary, but a part of her always yearned for that spontaneous, carefree adventure that she had enjoyed in her youth. A part of her had never grown up from that young mare. She had suppressed it during her reign out of necessity, but that restlessness to go out and take action had not truly died. It was one of the reasons why court politics frustrated her so much.
She had that freedom back now and as exhilarating as it was to fly without limits, it also felt hollow in a way.
She had liberated herself, but now what? What did that freedom mean? Without her crown, throne or night what was her purpose?
Her mind felt like it was in turmoil. Everything she thought that she knew was upended in the span of a single night. For so long the dedication to her night and her ponies had consumed her every waking moment. Dedication, responsibility and duty was her life for decades. It was how she defined her very identity. Without it, who was she?
Luna didn't know, but perhaps her past held the answers to her future.
An immense stone tower became visible in the distance, overlooking the hillside. It was a place that Luna never thought she would see again. Not since Starswirl’s death.
The ancient spire and it's surrounding complex, which was first built by the College of Sorcery of Old Equestria, was likely one of the oldest surviving structures left in the country.
Only a Grand Master of the College had been allowed to occupy it, to carry out their studies and train their protégés. That honour had once fallen to Starswirl, and after he had taken Luna and Celestia as his students, it had become their home too.
As she flew closer, more details of her former home became discernible through the light morning mist that blanketed the valley. The tower that pierced the mist did not stand freely, but instead stood at the centre of a fortified citadel.
Formidable flanking towers and connecting curtain walls ringed the central tower and inner bailey, creating a castle-like fortress. Each flanking tower was tall in their own right, but nothing challenged the great spire that loomed over the valley.
Slick black rock, which had been worn smooth over millennia, made up the structure and gave it a slightly intimidating appearance. The sheer size of the tower and its citadel only added to its menace. While not as massive in volume as the Everfree castle, the unassailable height of the structure meant that it had a tendency to loom over everything around it. A tendency that traditionally proportioned castles lacked.
Had Luna not been intimately familiar with the tower after having spent many years within its walls, she might have felt apprehensive as she descended toward the spire.
Not improving the tower's gloomy aesthetic, was its general state of decay. The tower had been abandoned for nearly a century and it certainly looked like it. That it was still standing at all given it's ancient age was a miracle in of itself.
By all logic the structure should have collapsed long ago without any occupants or maintenance. All that kept it standing was the powerful protective magics that completely saturated the structure. Spells that had been layered over millennia of extremely powerful unicorns etching adding their own unique spells and wards. They had seeped into the very foundations of the building.
As Luna approached close to the tower, she could feel the sheer density of the magics of the tower even as far away as she still was. Hundreds of spell matrices from hundreds of casters layered upon each other over thousands of years. They formed the foundation of a protective ward system the likes of which the world had never seen before or since.
As the Lunar Alicorn crossed the boundary of the tower's wards; she suddenly felt the density of the ancient ward system descend upon her with the weight of an avalanche. Its magnitude nearly knocked her out of the sky. She had to stop her flight and maintain a hover in order to regain her balance and bearing. The defences of the tower coiled and tensed like a snake ready to strike.
Luna was not prepared for the level of utter hostility that the wards greeted her with. They had never reacted so forcefully to her before. She continued hovered in place for a few moments, dumbfounded as to how to proceed.
'Did the magics not recognize her?'
Starswirl had keyed both Luna and Celestia’s magical auras into the ward system years ago. She had never before had a problem with the tower not recognizing her as authorised for entry.
'Has somepony reconfigured the wards since she left?'
It seemed impossible, but it had been many, many years since she last visited. Perhaps somepony has removed her status as an authorised individual. It seemed mystifying how that could be possible, as Celestia and herself had been the last ponies alive with access to the tower after it had been abandoned.
The wards coiled tighter and Luna realised with horror that they were preparing to strike her. She had seen the tower's defences in action before against Discord's forces, and she most definitely did not want to be on the receiving end of them. As powerful as Luna was as an alicorn, these wards were designed to defend against entire invading armies.
It was a battle that the former Princess wasn't completely sure she could win. Nor was she entirely confident that she could flee before they struck.
With time short, escape or victory uncertain and the source of the tower's hostility not known. Luna took a massive risk that may very well cost her life.
Luna dropped her defences and lit her horn. Before the tower had a chance to react, she flared her aura. Massively expanding its power, brightness and visibility.
The magics of the tower faultered slightly, as if in unexpected confusion. Its inaction only lasted for a fraction of a second however as it suddenly surged forward, all at once at her.
The ancient magic grabbed and wrapped her in a telekinetic near death-grip. It felt like a python had coiled itself around her. She could barely breathe with the amount of force that pressed against her from every direction. She had stopped flapping her wings as the physical force of the magic gripping Luna in place was enough to keep her airborne.
She felt the wards probe her and her aura. She could feel them dissect, analyse and scrutinise every aspect of her being. It was searching for something, but she didn't know what.
From her body, to her magic, to her mind. No part of her was left unexamined. Even her life-force was intensely analysed. She did her best to hold still under the near crushing grip of the ancient magics.
Since the wards had not yet truly harmed her, she could only hope that her gamble in submissive compliance would pay off.
Just as quickly as the search had begun, it suddenly ceased. The wards, seemingly satisfied with whatever it had found in her, withdrew and released her from its ironclad grip.
Not prepared for the sudden fall, Luna scrambled to reorient herself midair, unfurl her wings and stabilise her descent as she hurtled to the ground.
She had only barely managed to regain some control over her flight when she reached the ground and impacted it at high speed.
It wasn't close to the hardest crash landing she had ever endured, but even though her Alicorn physiology allowed her to absorb most of the impact. The force of her landing still unbalanced her enough that she stumbled and collapsed on the uneven ground of the tower courtyard.
As Luna laid on her side, thankfully very much alive and mostly uninjured, she tried to calm her erratic breathing.
Her exhaustingly long flight, combined with the suffocating grip of the wards, her frantic attempts to control her flight and an extreme adrenaline rush from the unexpected life-or-death scenario had Luna approaching hyperventilation.
This was the closest that she had been to death in a very long time. Even though the wards had returned to their dormant state, it did little to calm her.
Recognising the onset of a panic attack, Luna forced herself to take slow, steady, deep breaths to try to control her breathing and calm herself.
Once she felt in control of herself once more, Luna tried to process all that had happened in the last few minutes.
Her journey of self-discovery had barely started and it had almost reached its conclusion in less than a day. She was so focused on reaching an emotional safeplace that she had never even occurred to the former Princess that she might unwittingly place her life in danger.
Had she become too complacent with her near invincible status as an Alicorn?
If she was to brave the dangers of the world once again, then she can never allow herself to be taken so badly off-guard again.
As she rose shakily to her hooves, Luna tried to rationalise and understand in her mind why the wards had reacted so violently to her.
She was obviously still keyed into the wards or they wouldn't have allowed her into the courtyard of the tower if she wasn’t authorised.
Luna had gambled that the wards had simply not recognized her at first. That was why she had flared the visibility and intensity of her aura, so that the ancient magics could better tell that it was her and that she was to be allowed entry.
The gamble appeared to pay off as it had eventually released her, but that still didn't explain why it had scrutinised her so intensely. It should have recognised her aura at a glance, especially as she had flared it to be more visible to the wards.
The nature of its examination made no sense either. If it wanted to determine if Luna was keyed into it, it only needed to examine her magical aura and compare it to its list of approved individuals. It didn't need to analyse her body or mind or life-force.
The examination of her life-force was particularly bizarre. Even with her vast knowledge of magic, Luna couldn't think of a single possible reason why the status of her life-force was important to the wards. Very, very few types of magic or spells affected or manipulated life-force in any capacity.
In fact, the only type of magic that Luna knew of that involved life-force was necroman-
…
…
…oh…
Luna’s mind froze on that last word. Understanding slowly dawned on her as she began to put the pieces together in her head as to what had happened.
Even though wards can vary greatly in complexity, they all functioned in mostly the same way. They were a lock that needed a key. So long as you had that key, you could unlock the ward, no matter what.
The wards on the tower, however, were more complicated than that. The layers, upon layers, upon layers of complexity that had been added over millennia had evolved into something very different than any other ward system that existed. Not quite sentient, but close. Something that could analyse, learn and employ deductive reasoning.
It was very easy to underestimate just how complex and intelligent the tower's magic could be at times.
Knowing all of that, it was not difficult for Luna to paint a picture in her mind of exactly what had happened.
The tower didn't recognise Luna’s status as an immortal. The alicorn sisters had only discovered their own ageless nature years after they had left the tower. According to its own logic, Luna should be dead. It had been almost a century since she had last visited the tower and its wards had probably thought her as long deceased by now.
The hostility and examination of her life-force were, in all likelihood, a defensive measure against enemies of the College simply reanimating and enthralling the corpse of a former authorised resident of the tower and using it as a means of bypassing its magical protections.
Relieved at knowing exactly what had happened, yet annoyed beyond measure that she had almost lost her life, because of a technicality in the programming of the wards. Luna resolved to recalibrate the wards to recognise her and her sister’s immortality.
As Luna looked to the partially collapsed entrance to the great spire, she felt her apprehensiveness return.
She had latched on to the idea her old home as a source of stability and direction.
What was she expecting to find here?
Would she find anything at all?
And if she didn't, what would she do then?
Where would she go if both her new home and her old home held nothing for her?
As Luna stood before the large ruined doorway, she tried to push out the doubts that had wormed their way into her mind. Whereas before she was certain that she would find her answers in the wreckage of her old home, the former Princess wasn't so confident now.
Had she expected to be struck by some sort of epiphany?
What insight did she hope to divine from exploring these old stones?
Rather than things becoming clearer, she felt more confused and lost now than ever before. She almost wanted to start crying again at how hopeless the situation felt.
It took Luna more than a few minutes of staring at the entrance to the great spire before she worked up the courage to enter. Her mind would drive itself insane though, if all she did was wallow in her fears and insecurities.
Not allowing herself to dwell on her doubts, Luna stepped through the doorway into the tower.
It was dark inside the great spire. Although it had always been dark, even before it had been abandoned. The blackened stones that made up the walls, floors and ceiling seemed to absorb ambient light and heat. Leaving the structure feeling perpetually dark and cold.
She almost couldn't see the high arched ceiling in the near oppressive gloom, but the dark didn't faze her. She had walked through the Great Entry Hall hundreds of times. She knew this room well enough that she could have probably painted it from memory.
It was, because of that familiarity however, that the changes that had befallen her old home became all the more stark to her.
The Hall, and presumably the rest of the tower, had fallen into disrepair and desolation. Collapsed arches, broken pillars and cracked walls were ubiquitous as far as the former Princess could see. The wards might have held together the spire's structural integrity and slowed its inevitable decay, but it could do little in terms of actual repair or maintenance.
She had known that the interior of the tower would not have likely stood up well against its century-long abandonment, but to actually see her once beloved home as a decrepit shell of its former self was still a painful and disheartening sight.
The massive Hall had once thrummed with life and magic. It was a place of warmth and comfort, where its occupants would often socialise. Students would fuss over their studies and the Masters of the College would obsess over their latest research projects.
The magnificent and ancient walls were once illuminated by dozens of fireplaces whose flames used to easily offset the light and heat that the black stones smothered.
When the two sisters had been mere humble students under Starswirl's tutelage, one of their daily duties was to tend to some of the many fireplaces that were located all throughout the tower's interior.
Luna and her sister absolutely hated that chore. It was laborious and the soot got everywhere. The Grand Master's of the tower said that the task was to teach them the value of discipline, dedication and hard work, as well as strengthening their pyromancy skills. Luna thought that they were just lazily hoofing off grunt work to lowly students so that they didn't have to spend as much money on a large cleaning staff.
Celestia had especially despised the task as the ash and smoke seemed to cling to her pristine white coat and would refuse to be removed by everything, but the most vicious of scrubbing and bathing. Luna used to tease her sister by telling her that they could be mistaken for twins, because of how darkly Celestia’s coat would be stained.
The memory threatened to evoke a smile from the alicorn.
It was nice to reminisce on good times, but whatever Luna was looking for, she was certain that she wouldn't find it in this Hall. The former Princess lit her horn to illuminate her surroundings as she walked across the room and over debris. Statues, art and masonry created by legendary mages and heroes from ages past, littered the floor. It felt almost vaguely sacrilegious to step over such important relics from the past, but the feeling was drowned and buried beneath an avalanche of feuding thoughts and emotions that started to bubble within her.
It was an indescribable emotion that Luna felt as she slowly picked her way through the debris. It was like nostalgia that had been tainted with sorrow. To so badly miss home, only to find said home in ruins.
The former Princess lost track of time as she wandered aimlessly through the tower. Half stuck in a numbed, dazed stupor of old memories and of better times. The reminders of what her life had once been, before she had gotten caught in the whirlwind of rulership and the throne, were like an assault on her mind.
Each new room or hallway stirred half-forgotten memories and emotions from decades past that she never thought she would see or feel again. It was near euphoric, yet indescribably painful at the same time. The shadows of love, friendship, family and happiness saturated the halls of the spire, but that was all that they were, shadows. Illusive mirages of happier times that she so desperately wished to return to, but poisoned with the crushing realisation that those times were long gone and never likely to return.
It was only when she arrived at a very specific doorway, that she was shaken from her trance. The wooden door was nearly indistinguishable from any other doorway in the tower, except for one specific detail. Carved into the wood were two Talent Marks that were very familiar to her.
A sun and a moon.
It was her old room.
It was a place that she had spent years living in with her sister. Sometimes it was even a refuge from the darkness of the world. During the worst days of Discord's reign, she would often find herself in her sister’s bed where Celestia would wrap her wings tightly around Luna and whisper her favourite stories and poems to her.
It was embarrassing to need to be comforted when she was a teenager, but some nights the nightmares were incessant. Visions from both the Bad Days from her foalhood and the horrors that Discord unleashed upon Old Equestria.
Even though they were in arguably the safest place in the world, that knowledge seldom brought her peace.
Luna didn't know how long she spent looking at that door. She tried to organise her emotions and ground herself back down to this reality, but the violent maelstrom of emotion would not let her. Staying paralyzed with her hoof hovering above the rusted door handle was the most that she could do to keep her from losing control.
'Was this where she found her answers?'
'Behind this wooden door?'
It seemed like madness. Like utter delusion that she would spontaneously have the answers to her every question and insecurity by simply opening the door. As if a divine epiphany from the gods would show her the way to her destiny. She was scared of what she would find, but she was even more scared that she would find nothing at all. That she would be right back where she started. Alone and adrift in a cold, uncaring world that she had abandoned and that had abandoned her.
'What choice did she have?'
Luna opened the door.
It was cold.
That was the first thought that had entered the alicorn's mind as she stepped through the doorway.
The glass of the windows had long since been broken and the biting wind blew inside without restriction. The blackened stones had already absorbed most of the ambient heat of the tower, but the windchill made the room near freezing.
Another consequence of the open windows was that her room had been exposed to a century of weather and outside elements.
It was barely recognisable. Her bed, her desk, her cabinet, her belongings. Everything that she had not taken with her when she left. It all lay in ruin. Wood and fabric lay in nondescript piles of rot. Metal had rusted into dust. Paint and colour had long since been bleached bare by the sun and weather. The air was musty and smelled of rot and animal excrement.
'There is nothing here.'
Luna closed her eyes and gritted her teeth. Cracks appeared in her self control as the boiling sea of volatile emotions inside her yearned for release.
'There is nothing here.'
What a fool she had been to place her hopes, so naively, into a fanciful delusion of some sort of destiny. There is a reason that she never came back to this place. There was never anything here of her, other than rot and ruin.
'There is nothing here.'
The boiling sea of conflicting feelings gave way to one emotion that ran hot through her veins.
Rage.
'There is nothing here!'
Luna was so sick of feeling powerless. She was so sick of crushed dreams. She was so sick of feeling like every single decision that she made in life only led her to greater suffering.
'There is nothing here!'
She wanted to take back control. She wanted to feel like her destiny was in her own hooves. She wanted to let out the dark storm of rage that churned and frothed within her. She wanted to break something! She wanted to destroy something!
'THERE IS NOTHING HERE!'
Light erupted from her horn as she teleported from her old bedroom. The wide, open room that she had emerged in was one that she would have recognised as the tower's magical training room, had she not been barely cognizant with anger.
With her violent and raw emotions powering her magic, Luna lowered her horn to take aim at whatever was in front of her. She didn't know what was ahead of her, as her eyes were still closed, but she didn't care. For once in the past century, she wanted to take power back into her own hooves and make a meaningful impact on the world around her. Even if that impact was only an enormous hole in the back wall of the training room.
Forcing all of her hatred, anger and frustration to be made manifest at the tip of her horn, a ball of pure magical destruction grew at the end of the bony protrusion. Luna didn't bother forming the magic into any particular spell. Simple, cathartic destruction would serve her just fine.
When she reached the point where she couldn’t hold on any longer to the magic, the former Princess unleashed it.
The ball of destructive magic burst into a high intensity beam of pure magic at least twice as wide as herself. The shock wave of the erupting magic was enough to kick up dust from the floor of the training room and saturate the air with particulates, making it difficult to breathe. The recoil of the magic was enough to actually force Luna backwards, her hooves scraping against the cobbled floor as she pushed nearly an entire body length backwards.
As the beam made contact with the wall opposite to her, the hardened black stone simply melted under the heat. With a flick of her head, Luna cast a wake of destruction as her magic tore through the walls, floors and ceiling all around her.
When she was finally forced to stop, as the heat in her horn grew too intense to bear, she panted with ragged breaths. Her horn still steamed and glowed incandescently from the residual heat of her magical death beam.
The walls still glowed too, along the edges of the trench that she had carved into the black stones of the tower. Drops of red molten rock still dripped down from certain places on the ceiling where her magic had impacted.
A section of wall had toppled and the entire ceiling structure had only not collapsed, due to the sheer will and exertion of the tower's wards.
The alicorn's hind legs gave out from under her and she fell onto her haunches. Her horn no longer glowed, but still felt uncomfortably hot.
With her rage now spent, Luna’s emotions gave way to exhaustion. More than just magical or physical exhaustion, but complete and total mental fatigue.
Seeing the utter desolation of her once beloved old home, combined with all of the emotional turmoil of the past day, had just been too much. She thought that she had let out all of her pent up emotions when she had cried herself to sleep last night. Obviously she had a lot more to deal with emotionally than she had thought.
Despite her exhaustion, she didn't allow herself to sink back down to those depths again now. Her expenditure of her volatile emotions, had included her near paralysing sense of hopelessness. It had left her with a sort of post-catharsis clarity. A focus that she didn’t have before that moment.
'Luna would not be defeated by this.'
She would survive. She didn't know what she would do or where she would go, but she couldn’t allow herself to crumble into despair now. She would find her destiny somewhere, even if it's not here.
Exhaustion nearly consumed her, but Luna couldn’t allow herself to shut down now. She needed to keep moving. Towards what however, she didn't know.
With shaky hooves, she managed to stand up on her hooves again.
She winced as she surveyed the trenches of still cooling molten rock that she carved around her. Not since her battle with Discord had she unleashed such destruction upon the world around her. It was a frightening reminder of her power as an Alicorn and why she had needed to exert so much self-control in the past.
It was lucky that she had stopped when she had. It didn't look like the tower could have supported much more with so much of its load bearing architecture damaged or destroyed.
With nothing better to do to keep herself distracted, Luna decided to inspect the wall that had collapsed.
Her walk started off slow, but her hoofsteps gradually increased in speed and certainly. Her alicorn regeneration had already started to lessen some of her fatigue.
As she approached the rubble, her wince deepened with the realisation of just how far her magic had penetrated into the tower's structure.
It was then that she noticed the room that lay beyond in the collapsed wall. It was an old storage room. Most of its contents had been destroyed by her magical beam or the collapse of the wall. Yet, what caught her eye lay at the very back of the storage room and had somehow remained unharmed.
She almost thought that it was a deception of the mind. A mirage brought on by her exhaustion and recent emotional anguish. She needed to get closer. Stepping over the rubble and cooling slag, the alicorn ventured into the smouldering wreckage of the room beyond.
Luna didn't know why this issue suddenly became so important to her. The need to get closer to this ancient relic of her past. Despite her fatigue, that spark of curiosity burned brightly and demanded her attention.
Yet as she came to stand before it, the object of her fixation never de-manifested. It stayed firmly anchored in reality.
The focus of her fixation was a trailer, a travelling caravan. Its wooden structure was remarkably well preserved, but she supposed that she could credit Starswirl's protective spells for that. This trailer used to belong to him after all.
It was during his travels so many years ago in this trailer that he happened upon two sisters lost, alone and starving in the wilderness. It was in this trailer that he fed, sheltered and eventually adopted them as his protégés.
It looked much the same now as it did then. Its dark blue with silver trim had inspired her own preference for colours. She could feel his familiar magic permeate the vehicle. The echo of his power still lingering strongly, even after so long.
It was years before Starswirl had taken the mantle of Grand Master of the College and accepted stewardship of the tower. He was a travelling Master mage. Roaming wherever he was needed. Using his plethora of skills and vast power to help those that couldn't help themselves.
Travelling with him in those days had probably been the highlight of Luna’s life. She was awed by his feats and his magic. That fueled her determination to become like him one day.
To make a tangible difference in the lives of those around her. Not to just sit in endless meetings debating politics or coming up with legislation that the Council of Nobles would just shoot down.
Starswirl had once promised to Celestia and Luna that a day would come when they would be called to take this trailer and use it to venture to the furthest corners of Old Equestria. To help those in need and fight evil wherever they may find it.
He promised them that once they completed their journeyman adventures, they would be invited back as full-fledged Master Mages of the College.
It was something that Luna had dreamed of all throughout her time training in the tower.
Those dreams would be shattered however, as Discord's arrival had thrown the world into chaos and the two sisters were left trying to repair a fractured nation teetering on the brink of oblivion.
Luna couldn't change the past, but perhaps her oldest ambition was not as out of reach as she had once thought.
Through her exhaustion shone one emotion that filled her with a warmth that she had not felt in a very long time.
Hope.
It was now midday. The sun shone brightly upon Luna’s back as she secured the caravan's harness to her back and around her torso. She had never worn a harness before, so it had taken some time to figure everything out.
It was a bit humorous in hindsight. She had made a grand declaration of seeking her destiny and helping those in need. Ready to embark on her own personal odyssey, only to spend the next two hours trying to fit the damnable harness onto her.
The thought actually managed to get a small laugh out of her.
It felt so good to laugh and smile again, even if it was at her own expense. How long had it been since she had actually laughed? Not the polite, on-cue, faux chuckle that she had to give in response to a noble's incredibly poor joke, so as not to offend them, but an actual laugh, simply for the reason that she was happy.
Her mood was a bright one, but that didn't mean that all of her wounds were healed. The callousness of her sister’s words still cut deep, but she had something now that she didn’t have when she first found that diary.
Hope for the future.
Luna looked at the road in front of her that stretched off into the horizon. She didn't feel scared anymore.
There was a full moon tonight . The forest surrounding the town of Everfree was gently illuminated by its pale silvery glow. The wind had a slight chill, but was otherwise calm and quiet. It made it easy for the pegasus mare to navigate through the air currents, requiring only the occasional flap to maintain altitude.
Storm Singer appreciated bright nights like these, it made her job as a Royal Guard much easier. While Princess Luna’s lanterns made patrol around the town's interior substantially simpler, perimeter patrol of the town in the dead of night was always a difficult task. The full moonlight aided her duties tonight though, she could see much further and clearer than she could on most nights.
As one of the youngest and most promising recruits of the Solar Guard, Storm Singer had initially been furious at her reassignment to the Night Guard. She had enrolled in the Royal Guard academy, because she wanted to fight Equestria’s enemies and rise through the ranks, earning glory for both herself and her family, not waste her time with inglorious and pointless night patrols.
For weeks Singer had been convinced that her superiors were out to sabotage her career. She had seethed at the perceived injustice, but her time in the Night Guard had since softened her opinions somewhat.
It was nice to have time for her thoughts. She hadn't realised how overworked and stressed she had been with the frantic workload and intense competitiveness in the Solar Guard.
Midnight patrols were slow and sometimes a bit boring, but it was rewarding work. At least she was doing something worthwhile. So much of her time in the Solar Guard had been dedicated to pomp, ceremony and pointless levels of discipline. Everything in Celestia’s Guard had to be done to exact specifications. From the level of polish on their armour, to their body posture when standing guard.
Commanders expected perfect, mirror-like, unblemished condition of Guardponies's armour. They had day-long drills on how to maintain a neutral, stern, professional expression on their face, while standing beside palace doorways. She had even seen a cadet punished for not marching with their hoofsteps in synchronicity with their partner's as they conducted their patrol.
It was only after experiencing the practical, utilitarianism of the Night Guard that she realised how utterly pointless most of what she did in the Solar Guard was.
The Night Captain didn't care about how your armour looked, so long as it was clean and professional looking. They didn't care for the exact manner in which you did your job, so you did it well. As Luna’s protector, she was judged according to how effectively she did her job and not by arbitrary, bullshit standards chosen at the whims of her commanders.
The more that she thought back to her time in the Solar Guard, the more grateful she was for the transfer.
Although there was little in the way of action beyond the odd wild animal that needed to be warded off or highway-ponies that would rob travellers along the road into Everfree. It meant that she had a lot more free time to think about things.
She had even contemplated writing a novel in her off-hours. Perhaps she could become a warrior-poet, like Luna supposedly was in her early reign or the samurai ponies from the distant lands of Nipony.
As Singer vigilantly scanned the forest, contemplating the potential plot outline of her novel, her focus was shattered by a blood curdling scream that came from the direction of the town.
The Night Guard's training kicked in and she instantly shifted direction mid-flight. Hysterical cries for help accompanied the continuing screams, which helped Singer pinpoint their location. They came from within the residential district of the town.
Her years of ceaselessly training her flight abilities, meant that her powerful wings allowed her to close the distance in mere seconds.
As Singer approached what she estimated was the source of the screams, she rapidly glanced over every street, house and alleyway, hoping to quickly discover the potential danger.
She was already preparing to conduct a Falcon Strike manoeuvre, when she spotted what she had been looking for. In an alleyway between two large buildings, a mare was on the ground, desperately flailing her limbs in an effort to ward off what looked like a large, quadrupedal predator that was biting down and mauling one of her hindlegs.
Without a moment wasted, the pegasus tucked in her wings and angled her body directly down towards the predator. Wind rushed around her ears as she rapidly gained velocity in her sharp downward dive.
At the last possible moment before impact, Singer flared one of her wings and used the asymmetrical air resistance to rotate and pivot her body mid-air. So that when she struck the predator, she would do so with her steel-clad hindlegs.
The Night Guard stuck her target true as her high-speed, midair buck connected with the sternum of the predator.
Singer felt her hooves sink slightly into its side, in what was likely a lethal, rib shattering impact. The force of collision was enough to throw the large animal into a wall on the opposite end of the small alley.
The pegasus was surprised at the toughness and density of her target. The impact with the predator rocked her nearly as hard as she rocked it. Had her reinforced, steel boots not been enchanted with inertia-dampening protective spells, she was sure that her legs would have been broken in that attack.
Still reeling from the collision, Singer couldn’t reorient herself in time and landed harshly on her side as she skidded to halt on the rough cobblestone floor. Her hind legs felt numb and pain flared in her left wing from where she had landed on it. Pushing through her discomfort, the Night Guard scrambled to her hooves to assess the situation.
The predator laid completely still in a crumpled heap on the far side of the small alley. It was large, perhaps twice the size and three times the weight of a pony, but she couldn’t make out exactly what it was in the shadows of the dark alley. It didn't move though and she couldn’t imagine that it would have survived the devastating aerial strike.
Convinced that the mysterious predator was no longer an immediate threat, the pegasus turned her attention to the pained whimpering behind her.
The victim of the attack turned out to be a young, earthpony mare with a steel-grey coat and emerald green mane. The most striking detail about her however, were her wounds. The mare was covered in scratches and bruises synonymous with rabid animal attacks, but the worst of it was located on her right hindleg. The entire limb had been viciously mauled. Flesh torn off in chunks, her skin shredded ,similar to tattered fabric. Blood continued to pour out of her wounds, with no sign of stopping.
Her coat was drenched in the fluid and her attempt to use her forelimbs to crawl away from the scene had left a bloodied trail behind her. It was a sickening scene that churned Storm Singer's stomach, however her training and strong sense of duty kept her focused. She needed to act fast to stem the bleeding and deliver the young mare to the nearest healer.
As she took a step and prepared to stabilise the mare to be moved, a low growl that emanated from behind her made her freeze in place.
As Singer turned around, she saw the previously still predator begin to rise from its slumped heap and started to slowly stalk toward her without so much as a limp. The Night Guard was speechless. No animal, short of a fully grown manticore, should have been able to survive a direct impact from her Falcon Strike manoeuvre.
Her speechlessness transformed into outright horror, as the predator stepped out into the light cast by a nearby Luna’s Lantern.
The creature before her was unlike anything that she had ever seen before. It held the rough shape of an enormous wolf, but appeared to be constructed entirely out of wood, vines and moss. It had sharp, bone-like thorns that lined its powerful, branch-like jaw.
The most disturbing part of the beast however, was the bright, acid green glow that shone from its eye sockets. The beast wasn't natural, it couldn’t be. No natural creature's eyes could possibly shine with such a sickening magical glow.
The Night Guard heard loud snapping and cracks originating from the creature's right side. The large indent, caused by her attack that caved in the side of its torso, started to heal. Broken and collapsed branches began to snap back into place, as though they had never been broken in the first place. Vines that had been torn apart by the impact knitted themselves back together, forming some sort of floral muscle tissue.
Singer had landed her hardest possible hit and this thing just walked it off, like it was nothing.
The pegasus took a step back in fear at what she was facing. She quickly risked a glance behind her as she tried to take stock of what was a rapidly deteriorating situation.
The injured mare behind her had stopped moving, likely passing out from shock and blood loss now that her adrenaline had worn off.
Squaring back up to the creature and adopting a low-ready defensive posture, the Night Guard quickly weighed her available options. All of them looked grim.
She couldn’t flee, not with an innocent civilian still in harm's way, but she wouldn't have time to evacuate or treat her either. The second she turned her back to the monster, both of them would likely die.
She couldn’t kill it. It had simply shrugged off her hardest hit and she didn't have the time or space to execute another Falcon Strike without leaving the unconscious mare vulnerable.
The creature was likely a magical construct or conjuration. Perhaps created by a dark magic user. She possessed no weapon that could harm it.
She only had a set wing-blades that attached to the armour that ran along the top of her wings, but that was only hardened steel. It would be useless against a self-regenerating, dark magical construct. Anti-magical weapons were scarce and almost never assigned to guards on patrol.
Her only option was to stall. To keep the creature away from the injured civilian for as long as possible. Hopefully her fellow guards had also heard the screams and were on the way. Perhaps if she was fortunate, one of them would be a powerful unicorn that could use magic to slay the beast or a Commander who was carrying an enchanted weapon.
Singer needed to keep herself between the beast and the earthpony until help could arrive. It was her duty as a Royal Guard to protect the innocent, but her options to survive until said help could arrive were limited.
She wasn't a heavily armoured earthpony that could engage in a hoof-to-hoof slugging match against such an opponent. She wasn’t a unicorn that could erect a magical shield or fight using projectile attacks. The usual pegasus combat doctrine of flight, evasion and harassment was impossible without leaving the injured mare vulnerable.
Her only option was to not take flight, but to engage in close quarters melee combat with an enormous, incredibly powerful and seemingly invincible monster with no effective weapons, very light armour and absolutely no support.
Storm Singer began to wonder if she would die in this alley. The task seemed suicidal, but her honour wouldn't let her flee.
The Night Guard flexed her wings and prepared for the most desperate fight of her life. She couldn’t allow the creature to make the first move. She needed to keep it off balance and try to dictate the tempo of the fight. Without any effective defensive or offensive options, she would need to rely on speed, control and aggression to have any chance of survival.
Not allowing the creature to launch the opening attack, Storm Singer gave a single flap of her powerful wings to propel herself directly towards the face of the beast. Seemingly unfazed by the sudden movement, the creature opened its mouth and prepared to bite down on the pegasus when she entered its striking range.
Before it could do so however, Storm Singer flapped her wings a second time to change her aerial trajectory from flying directly into the creature's face to flying just over its head. It couldn’t respond to her manoeuvre in time and Singer delivered the hardest downward buck that she could manage, directly into the back of its head. The force was enough to cause the creature to stumble forward and slam its head into the cobblestone floor.
Singer flared one wing and used the asymmetrical air resistance to pivot her body 180°, so that she would land facing the creature. Even as she landed on her hooves, her momentum was still enough to drive her at least one body length backwards. The friction of her armoured hooves caused sparks as it skidded along the rough cobblestone stone.
Once the pegasus had stopped moving and her hooves were stable enough, she immediately used her wings to launch herself into another attack on the monster. She was now behind the creature and had thus left the injured mare unprotected, but she had gambled on her ability to deliver a disorienting blow to the beast and immediately launch a followup attack, before it could exploit the opening she had left to attack the earthpony.
Unfortunately the creature wasn't as dazed as she had hoped. It had since fully turned around to face her and lunged to attack at the same time that she had. Realising that she couldn't effectively target its head again with the lunging paw swipe that was targeted at her, Singer used a second flap to abort her attack and fly above its reach. She did however, use the opportunity to slash at its outstretched paw with her wing-blade as she passed overhead.
As she landed and turned again around to face the creature, she saw that her attack had been more effective than she first thought. The vines that she had cut through appeared to function as muscle fibre or tendons, as the creature's limb immediately buckled under its weight as it touched back down the floor. The result of which sent the creature tumbling further back into the alley.
Singer needed to exploit this opportunity and keep the beast pinned in the back of the alleyway for as long as possible, away from the injured mare. Without giving the already healing creature a chance to recover, Singer had closed the distance between them with 3 powerful flaps. She delivered another buck directly into the side of its head, cracking it against the side of the wall, before retreating again.
She prepared to launch another attack, but the creature reacted first. It swiftly stood up on its newly healed paws and started to charge towards her. Singer couldn’t risk another failed aerial headshot, not with the injured mare right behind her.
Not using her wings, the Night Guard galloped the short distance to meet the charging beast. As soon as the pegasus entered striking range, the creature lunged at her with a powerful paw strike. Singer dashed down under its descending claws. She unfurled her wings, crossed them above her back and then allowed the striking paw to come down on her wing-armour, before using her wings to redirect its momentum away from her. The unexpected redirection of its paw caused the creature to stumble.
It was an advanced technique that she had learned in the Royal Guard that allowed a pegasus to use wing-armour to block and parry a strike from a great sword or pole-axe coming down on top of them.
Now at the unsteady beast's side, Singer pivoted her body to face away from the beast, planted her front hooves and bucked as hard as she could into the side of its chest. The creature stumbled to the side with its shoulder slamming into the nearby alley wall.
However, it was at this moment that Storm Singer made a critical mistake and severely underestimated the creature's speed.
Instead of using the opportunity to retreat, she gambled on the chance to further capitalise on the success of her first strike by attempting a second. As she prepared to deliver a follow-up buck to the side of its head, the beast recovered faster than she predicted it would.
The predator contorted its body in a way she didn't think would be possible for an ordinary wolf to achieve and swung its paw into her side, delivering a heavy blow. The creature's strike connected before her buck could and she was sent reeling. The beast's viciously sharp claws tore into the side of her armour and left deep gashes in her flesh. The pain was excruciating, but she knew that if she couldn’t get up in time, she would die.
Struggling to return to her hooves, the Night Guard tried to push through the intense pain to recover from the blow, but the monster was already lunging at her. She desperately tried to use her wings to launch herself to the side and out of the path of its jaws. While her flap was enough to only barely escape the beast's descending jaws, it wasn't enough to clear out of its path entirely as she slammed into the shoulder of the charging abomination.
The speed and weight of the beast meant that its shoulder-check was enough to knock the wind out of her, as well as throw her into a nearby wall. Singer saw stars as the back of her head collided harshly with the brick wall.
As the Night Guard lay gasping in a crumpled heap next to the wall, she tried to get up, but her body barely responded to her. She was injured, winded, concussed, exhausted and in pain.
The beast was on top of her before she could recover. Singer tried to fend it off with a sluggish buck to the face, but the creature just used her weak attack as an opportunity to clamp its jaws around her armoured hind leg.
She desperately struggled to escape its grasp, but the beast was so much stronger and more massive than her. With her wings and wing-blades pinned under her, her only course of action was to try and lash out at the beast with her other hindleg. She futilely struck its face over and over with her steel-clad hoof, but the creature barely flinched. She was too weak and exhausted for her blows to do anything more than irritate it.
The protective enchantments in her hind leg armour began to fail as the monster continued to crush her armour in its jaws. Any moment now, the armour around her leg would collapse and the limb would be completely crushed. Once she was incapacitated, the beast would probably begin to eat her alive.
As her exhaustion and feeling of hopelessness grew, Singer's bucks slowed and tears started to form in her eyes. This would likely be her end.
Just as her imminent demise seemed all, but guaranteed, a bright blue light streaked across the alley and impacted the side of the beast.
The creature was forced to release her leg as it was sent reeling. The whole left side of its torso was charred and it seemed to have trouble moving. Before its healing could make any substantial progress, a second light streaked across the alley and this time, penetrated deep into the shoulder of the creature before detonating. The attack was devastatingly effective and blew off the beast's entire left foreleg. The creature staggered and collapsed on its stomach, but it had already healed most of the damage from the first strike and a new limb was starting to grow before her eyes.
With difficulty, she turned her gaze to the entrance of the alley, to see who had come to save her. Illuminated by the nearby lanterns were two unicorn stallions dressed in the Night Guard armour. She recognized them both. Commander Azure Flame and Private Star Flash.
The Private leaned over the injured earthpony and was in the process of applying what healing magic he could to her wounds. It relieved Singer immensely to know that her efforts to protect the mare were not in vain and she would live.
The Private and the mare only occupied a small portion of her attention however, as her true focus lay on the Commander. The unicorn stallion was widely regarded as one of the most powerful magic users in the entire Royal Guard and this encounter proved to Singer exactly why he had earned such a vaunted reputation.
The veteran soldier marched in a steady, controlled pace toward her and the beast. His horn smouldered and steamed as the unicorn unleashed volley after volley of devastating spells at the creature. The Commander's combat experience showed as he surgically picked the beast to pieces with well placed shots.
'She had survived.'
It was the singular thought that resonated in her mind. The relief was indescribable, but as the adrenaline of her life or death encounter started to wane, utter exhaustion overcame her. She tried to will herself to focus on the battle, but darkness continually creeped into her peripheral vision until she could make out nothing, except for the occasional blurred flash of blue light.
The blissful oblivion of unconsciousness embraced her and she soon thought no more.
The room was in silence as the High Mage, Evening Sparkle, performed a battery of magical scans on the strange animal carcass that one of the Night Guard Commanders had brought in.
He had asked for absolute silence from those in the room as he went about his examinations. As the highest ranking Court Mage, his order was not one that was easily ignored. The room watched on with trepidation, awaiting the results. Each pony, already envisioning their next set plans or contingencies based on their own conclusions and what information they think the High Mage will deliver to them soon. Tensions ran high as each party grappled with the enormity of the unknowns that this situation had presented them with.
It was only due to years of practice in professionalism that allowed Silver Scroll to keep still and wear a calm face. It had been a demanding night from her as she tried to handle the fallout from the single worst animal attack that had occurred in years.
She had only heard snippets of what had transpired barely three hours earlier, but it had painted a grim picture in her mind. Some sort of creature had snuck into the town and had managed to ambush and kill at least 4 ponies before it had been interrupted and stopped by a patrolling Night Guard, during its fifth attack.
The abomination was like nothing Silver had ever seen before and she immediately ordered the High Mage to study the creature, as well as asking the Solar Captain to mobilise the Solar Guard and secure the town.
As the only senior aide to Celestia available at this hour, it had fallen to her to instil some semblance of order to the chaotic situation, at least until the Princess arrived. She wasn't trained for this, but spending 16 years as a Royal Secretary had at least given her enough experience to keep calm and do what she could to keep the crisis under control.
Silver Scroll lamented the awful timing of the incident. A flaring up of civil tensions in Cloudsdale had urgently required the Princess's attention and she had quickly departed the previous day. This had left only her and Princess Luna to manage affairs at the castle and with the younger Alicorn nowhere to be found at this hour, only she had the authority to organise any sort of response to the crisis.
'Although some had not wasted the opportunity to try to exert their own power.' Silver thought distastefully as she stared with disdain at one of the more lavishly dressed ponies currently occupying the room.
If she could say anything positive about Council Lord Gold Standard, it would be that he had an excellent nose for opportunity. He had been at the doorstep of the castle less than half an hour after the attack and had promptly inserted himself into the situation by any means that he could manage.
Even though, by all rights, she should have been in charge of the crisis response, Gold Standard had insisted that all information and decision making should be funnelled through him and obfuscated the integrity of her leadership whenever possible. He made full use of Princess Celestia’s absence to seize control of the situation, presumably to take credit for any positive outcome.
As one of the most influential Lords on the Council as well as having many allies within the Equestrian bureaucracy, it was not difficult for him to challenge her authority in the absence of the Solar Princess.
The worst part was that he had likely already concocted whatever scheme he was currently trying to execute, before Princess Luna was even known to be absent. It wouldn’t be the first time that the Council Lord had tried to undercut the younger Princess and position himself as the perceived second most powerful pony in the kingdom.
Silver Scroll seethed at the audacity. As a consummate administrator, Silver did not think very highly of Princess Luna's emotional and sometimes erratic behaviour. Especially her tendency to antagonise foreign representatives and Equestrian nobles, but despite her faults, she was undeniably royalty. Her authority was unimpeachable and the fact that a mere Lord would position himself as an equal or even a superior to one of their rulers was an absolute outrage.
Though as loathsome as he might be and as much as she might want him to get his comeuppance, Silver could do very little about him with her focus consumed by her task to manage the castle. His position as a court power-broker, as well as having a large support base, usually kept him from facing any severe consequences. The mare had half a mind to simply let him try to organise the crisis response by himself and suffer the humiliation of spectacularly failing at a task that he was utterly unqualified to perform. It was only a fleeting temptation however, she would never so blatantly derelict the duties that Princess Celestia had entrusted her with.
Hopefully either Princess would return soon. A dispatch flyer had been sent to Cloudsdale almost as soon as the attack had been brought to her attention. They should have reached the city by now and with good fortune, the Princess is already on route back. She didn't know how much more she could tolerate of Gold Standard.
Silver was roused from her musings by the magical aura fading from the horn of Evening Sparkle.
"And?" Gold Standard interjected, before Silver or anypony else could speak. "What have you discovered, Mage?"
Evening gave a slight irritated frown at the Lord before answering. The Court Mage was canny enough of a political player to realise exactly what Gold Standard was attempting to do by inserting himself into the centre of the proceedings. Though ultimately, he didn't care enough to do anything other than proceed with his report, but with a slight sharpness to his tone.
"The creature is not a manufactured construct. It was not artificially made or created in any way, by anyone. Of that, I can be certain." The High Mage began to explain concisely.
"You cannot mean to tell me that this beast is natural!" Gold Standard scoffed in incredulity at the Mage's assessment. "Normal animals are not made from wood!"
"You doubt my abilities?" The Mage questioned with a deepened frown.
"A fool can see that the creature is not natural." Said the Lord, oblivious to the extraordinarily powerful unicorn's darkening mood.
"I did not say that the creature was natural, merely that it was not purposely created." Evening clarified curtly, not rising to Gold Standard's antagonism.
"You speak in paradoxes, Mage." Interjected the Council Lord. "A creature is either natural or constructed. If you cannot properly analyse the beast, then say so and I will call for a more qualified wizard to do it instead."
The insult to the abilities of arguably the most powerful unicorn alive, went over about as well as expected. Even though ponies were in no way a predatory species, the low growl that emanated from the back of the unicorn's throat would not be out of place coming from a griffon or diamond dog.
Though Evening held occupational professionalism in high regard and usually had the patience of a Kirin Monk, it was obvious to the Secretary that Gold Standard was wearing his tolerance extremely thin.
"Are you implying that the creature has unnatural origins, yet was created by accident or chance?" Commented Silver on the subtext in the Mage's words, before the lord could further antagonise Evening.
As much as the mare would like to see Gold continue to make an enemy of the High Mage, the reason for their meeting was too important to be derailed by warring egos.
The Mage looked relieved that his explanation was not lost on at least some ponies in the room. The change of topic also looked to take the edge of his temper.
"That is correct. Generally, artificially created magical constructs have very structured and rigid magical cores as a byproduct of their creation." He turned to address Silver directly and with a much softer tone. "The creature before me has a very organic and chaotic structure to their magical core. Much closer in nature to highly magical species such as Breezies."
"Could the creature have migrated from an otherworldly realm, like the Breezies or perhaps be a mutated member of an existing species." Commented Silver, trying to apply what little she could remember from her studies in magical theory.
Evening Sparkle simply shook his head. "Realm travel and biomancy leave very distinct magical auras. Both of which are absent in this case."
Silver frowned in confusion at what the wizard was telling her. Though before she could ask for clarification, Lord Gold Standard interjected.
"So it's not natural, nor created, nor summoned, nor foreign, nor mutated? So either you are wrong or this thing violates the very laws of magic." Said the noble with incredulity. "Unless you mean to tell us that a collection of magical energy spontaneously coalesced, for absolutely no discernable reason, into a giant wooden wolf?"
"That is precisely what I mean to tell you." Said Evening with a grim expression.
Gold Standard opened his mouth as if to retort, but no words came out. He opened and closed his mouth several more times wanting to reply, yet still struggling to digest what the Mage had told him.
"And what sort of magic has the ability to create such a phenomenon?" Silver asked with a rising sensation of dread.
The words felt like a deluge of ice water had been poured over Silver. It was the last thing she wanted to hear. Almost every pony in the room had an involuntary shudder slither down their spines at the mere utterance of it.
Every pony knew at least some of the horrors of Discord's tyranny, even if most of them had not been alive to witness his madness first hand. Fear of Chaos Magic was something that had passed into the collective pony subconscious almost ubiquitously. Even Lord Gold Standard had gone pale.
"The Hot Spots?" The question came from the Night Guard Commander Azure Flame, who had been silent up to this point.
Evening Sparkle gave a grim nod towards the Guardpony and Silver felt her own expression darken at the words. Most of the other ponies in the room, though still slightly shaken from the grave revelation, wore an expression of confusion over the context of the exchange between the two mages.
Silver Scroll unfortunately knew exactly what they were referencing. As the most senior Royal Secretary she had always been privy to even the most sensitive intelligence briefings and threat assessments.
Chaotic Hot Spots had long since been a feature of the interior of the Everfree forest. Leftover remnants from the final battle between Discord and the Princesses. Strong pockets of raw, unrefined chaotic magic that often behaved unpredictably and destructively. An entire division of the Royal Guard had been created solely to scout, cordon off and study any Chaotic Hot Spots that existed.
"I thought that they were mostly stable?" Silver queried, trying to gain more information about the disturbing news that had been presented to her.
"The ones that we have found are mostly stable, but we have barely located a fraction of them. We also know so little about the nature of Chaos Magic that we cannot even be sure what 'stable' is in relation to such an esoteric branch of Sorcery." Evening said in a professional tone, though with a slight undertone of irritation. Silver felt that she could quite accurately guess as to the source of his irritation. Admitting to being absolutely clueless in the subject of magical theory was evidently a novel experience for the High Mage and a deeply uncomfortable one at that.
"We do not know what constitutes 'normal' for Chaos Magic, whether this is a natural progression in the existence of these Hot Spots or anomalies of a limited example, like other phenomena we have observed." The Mage concluded.
"The blue flowers. Are they connected to the creature?" Silver remarked on Evening's last line, realising what phenomenon he was alluding to.
"Discord's Blossom, is what I believe that they have recently been officially named." Sparkle corrected, before addressing the question. "It's impossible to know how closely related or causational the relationship between the two chaotic events are with how little we understand about either."
The explanation made sense to Silver, but also frustrated her with how little clarity could be gleaned from the situation.
"Could the Discordian Cults have played a part in this incident?" Lord Gold Standard asked, in what was likely the most intelligent question he had asked all night. The noble had been unusually subdued for the past few minutes, though that was likely because he didn't have the same security clearance that Evening, Azure and herself did, therefore most of the discussion had gone over his head. Surprisingly he was sufficiently intelligent to pick up on enough of the contextual clues in the conversation to regain his bearings enough to reinsert himself into the conversation, even if he lacked a great amount of knowledge about the Chaotic Hot Spots.
Silver suspected her office would very soon get a 'Request for Information Motion' filing on the chaotic phenomenon from one of Gold Standard's cronies within the Equestrian bureaucracy.
It was Commander Azure Flame that responded to the noble's question. "The last of the Cults were permanently dismantled seventy-six years ago. None of Discord's followers could successfully wield true chaos magic regardless." The High Mage merely nodded in agreement.
The Discordian Cults were a dark chapter in the history of New Equestria. Much of the early reign of the Princesses were frustrated by their activities, however Silver couldn't help but feel sorry for many of its former members. Certainly a few of its numbers were genuine psychopaths and criminals, who wished to see the world burn. However, most of its members were either victims of Discord who had been brainwashed into worshipping him or ponies so fearful of the tyrant and so convinced of his invincibility that they would seek to gain mercy from his wrath by carrying out his perceived will.
The discussion was interrupted when the door to the meeting room opened. Silver was about to order whomever disturbed them to leave, as this meeting's subject matter was quite security sensitive, but caught herself when she saw who it was that had intruded. The red coated, purple maned earthpony clad in golden armour was instantly recognisable as Commander Sunset Striker from the Solar Guard.
The significance of his presence was not lost on Silver. Commander Striker was the head of Princess Celestia’s personal security detail and his entrance could only herald the imminent arrival of said princess. Silver was thankful that the princess had returned with all due expediency. However, the mare was not the only pony for whom the realisation had dawned on at what was occurring and many of the room’s occupants, along with Silver Scroll herself, stood at attention, awaiting the entrance of the Solar Diarch.
Normally, procedure demanded that the Commander would announce the arrival of the princess by her full title and that any ponies in the room should bow until addressed by the Diarch. However, due to her rushed travel, the seriousness of the situation and the informal nature of this early morning meeting, Silver understood why such ceremony was forgone. It also appeared as though the other ponies in the room were quick enough to catch onto the fact that the lack of announcement by the Commander meant that a full formal bow was not expected.
It was not long before the princess emerged from the doorway in all her usual glory, but while it might have been an awe inspiring sight for most ponies, Silver could see that she was far from her usual immaculate appearance. Her coat and mane were slightly frazzled, as though they had not been groomed recently. Her regalia was marginally ill-fitting, as if she had dressed in a rush. Her light makeup only partially covered the small bags beneath her eyes, indicating that she had not slept in some time. Celestia’s breathing was also slightly quickened, like she had walked at a rapid pace to reach the meeting room.
They were very, very subtle things that almost no other pony would have picked up on, but after serving the princess for more than a decade and a half, she had learned to spot even the faintest of tells in Celestia’s appearance and mannerisms. It was obvious that the rushed diplomatic journey to Cloudsdale and the emergency journey back was quite the frantic ordeal for the Alicorn. All of that was likely on top of whatever restless and drawn-out negotiations she had been a part of within the cloud-city.
"Good morning my little ponies," Celestia greeted in her usual warm and motherly tone. She wore a calm and friendly smile that often set ponies at ease. All of the gathered attendees in the room gave a quick greeting in return.
"I understand that there was a terrible attack on the city. I came as soon as I heard." Her warm and relaxed demeanour was marred by an expression of concern as she spoke. "Fortunately the negotiations in Cloudsdale were beginning to wrap up and I could depart immediately."
Before Silver or anyone else could bring the princess up to speed on the revelations of their investigation. Lord Gold Standard used the lull in conversation to speak up.
"It was a dreadfully terrible event, your Majesty! There was bedlam within the castle in the wake of the incident. Luckily, I and others were quickly able to re-establish order and lead an inquest into the matter." The noble explained in an overly dramatic manner.
Celestia nodded in acknowledgement with carefully neutral ambivalence to the noble's version of events. Neither congratulatory, nor condemning. A frown crossed her face as she looked over the dozen or so ponies that occupied the room.
"Where is my sister? Should she not have taken control of the situation and led the investigation?" The Solar Princess asked the assembled ponies in the room.
While Lord Gold Standard looked as though he was about to speak again, it was Commander Azure Flame that responded first. "Princess Luna’s whereabouts are not known at this time. None of the castle's staff have reported seeing her since the evening of the day before yesterday."
Celestia’s frown deepened at the answer. Silver found herself frowning at the reply as well. She had known that the younger princess could not be located in the aftermath of the crisis, but the fact that she had been missing for an entire day before hoof was information that she had not known.
The mare made a mental note to have a very stern conversation with her personal team of staff and her informant network. As the most senior Royal Secretary, it was her job to be aware of all the major happenings within the castle walls. The disappearance of one of Equestria’s Diarchs for an entire day, with no pony knowing of their whereabouts, certainly qualified as information that she should have been made aware of.
While it made sense that, as a Commander of the Night Guard, Azure would have been aware of such information before her, it still irritated Silver that she had seemingly been left out of the loop.
"Have you searched the castle grounds for her?" Celestia asked with slightly less than usual warmth in her tone.
"Yes," Azure replied simply.
The princess let out a small sigh of what seemed to be exasperation. "Would you kindly conduct a search of my sister's room Commander? Normally when Luna conducts an unplanned excursion, she would leave a note as to her whereabouts." Celestia asked the Commander in a tone that implied that this was not the first occasion that Luna had unexpectedly disappeared from the castle without a trace.
The Commander nodded and silently signalled for his two subordinates to follow him as the three Night Guards quickly left the room.
"While we wait for the Commander to return, would you mind informing me of the situation?" Celestia asked the High Mage. Silver Scroll noticed that Lord Gold Standard looked as though he wanted to protest the princess's choice over which pony should be the one to inform her, but was self-conscious enough to keep his mouth shut in a situation that obviously didn't favour him. With the eldest alicorn now present, the noble didn't have the same advantages that his high station had previously afforded him, such as being able to interject his opinions into the conversation whenever he pleased.
"Gladly, your Majesty," Evening Sparkle responded, looking relieved that the preamble was finally out of the way and he could dive straight into the heart of the matter at hoof.
Celestia listened patiently as Evening reiterated that the main points of the discussion that had taken place up until her entry, as well the varies hypotheses and theories that had been debated by members of the meeting.
A particularly bitter and uncharacteristic scowl crossed the princess's face at the mention of Chaos Magic. Many in the audience would not have known why the Solar Diarch had such a strong reaction to the mention of that particular branch of Sorcery, but as one of the longest serving and most senior members of Celestia’s personal staff, Silver was perfectly well aware of the reason.
It was not a widely known piece of information, but Celestia and Luna’s parents had been among Discord's very first victims, many years before his tyranny had reached its zenith. Indeed, the devastation of the alpine village, High Hoof, was one of Discord's earliest atrocities. In hindsight, it was obvious that the event served as a declaration of intent for what would later befall all of Old Equestria at his talons. Silver could easily understand the venom of Celestia’s disdain toward Chaos Magic.
At the conclusion of Evening's explanation, the princess quickly marshalled her expression back to that of her usual warm neutrality, but with an edge of seriousness that the situation demanded. It was evident to the Royal Secretary however, that the information greatly disturbed the alicorn. Though, whether that was due to lingering trauma from her own battles against Chaos or concern for the wider implications which this information heralded, Silver wasn't sure.
"How many of these creatures are there?" Celestia asked in a calm and collected tone.
"It's impossible to know." Evening answered in a grim tone. "The fact that multiple meadows of Discord's Blossom sprouted nearly simultaneously across multiple Hot Spots, shows that it's possible for a sympathetic phenomenon to occur across many far-flung Hot Spots all at once."
While no pony had previously been in doubt as to the seriousness of the situation, the fact that potentially hundreds or thousands of these creatures could exist, sent a chill through the room.
"Will they all be as powerful as this one? I heard that it was nearly impossible to kill, because of how rapidly it could regenerate." Silver asked, gesturing to the abomination that lay on the examination table. The Royal Secretary had only heard snippets of detail about the battle that had ensued between the creature and members of the Night Guard, but it was enough to impress upon her the power and resilience of the beast. The possibility of an entire horde of these creatures attacking the town of Everfree was horrifying to her.
"Thankfully, those are questions that I can answer with some level of clarity." Evening replied in a much lighter tone. "From what I have discovered in examining the creature and from what Commander Azure has told me, I can conclude that the creature had an extraordinarily large volume of Chaos Magic contained within it. Much more than what we estimate most Hot Spots can produce. If multiple of these abominations have indeed spawned, then the vast majority of them will probably be a fair amount weaker than this one. To address your second point, the creature's regenerative abilities seem to be directly tied to the level of Chaos Magic contained within them. They appear to expend chaotic magic every time they heal. As the chaotic magic in their magical cores cannot replenish themselves, they can only regenerate a finite number of times."
While she was relieved that this creature was likely one of the strongest of its brethren and that there were likely limits to their invincibility, Silver noticed the unsaid implication in the first half of the Mage's explanation that resulted in a disturbing possibility taking root in her mind. However, it was Celestia that asked the question before her secretary could, also reading between the lines in Evening's words and coming to the same conclusion. "The vast majority, but not all?"
Evening signed, a grim expression took hold of his features once more. "While most of the Hot Spots are much smaller than what would be required to produce a monster of a similar calibre to this one. A very select few of them are absolutely oceanic in comparison to the shallow puddles of their brethren. Orders of magnitude more vast in their accumulation of Chaos Magic. If a creature, one of these Wolven Wood, were to spawn from such Super Spot, if they inherited even a mere fraction of its power…" Evening Sparkle trailed off in his explanation, as though it was too dire of a possibility to even put into words, but the weight of what was left unsaid hung over the heads of every pony in the room like a guillotine.
"Are the larger Hot Spots not mostly dormant, at least compared to the smaller ones?" Silver asked Evening in an attempt to both gain more information and cut through the oppressive silence that settled over the room.
However, it was not the High Mage that spoke in reply. "Dormant. Like a volcano is dormant? Until it suddenly isn't." Lord Gold Standard whispered, seemingly more to himself than to anypony else. The noble had lost his confident and proud demeanour. He was pale and body shook.
It did not help the mood of the room when Evening Sparkle said nothing to refute the Lord's murmurings.
However, it was in this darkest moment that Princess Celestia stepped forward and spoke with a steely determination that grabbed the attention of the room. "My little ponies. I know that the situation seems dire, but we must not lose ourselves in despair. This challenge is not insurmountable." The princess announced with a sincere and charismatic fervour that Silver couldn't help, but be enthralled by. "We faced down the wrath of the Spirit of Chaos himself and won. These creatures are naught, but pale imitations of a foe that we have already beaten. With boundless courage, wit and strength, we have all the tools that we need to triumph with resounding victory. So let us not spiral into panic and misery over circumstances that we cannot change. Rather, let us focus on the preparations that we can make here and now, so that we may stand undaunted in the face of even the darkest of the upcoming storms."
Silver Scroll had forgotten how magnetising Princess Celestia could be when the situation called for it. It suddenly reminded her exactly why this mare, along with sister, had managed to reunite the shattered carcass of a dying nation and drag it out of the ashes of chaos.
The alicorn's words seemed to have a similar invigorating effect in the rest of the ponies in the room. With the gloom of hopelessness now lifted, each pony eagerly put their minds to work as they tried to find solutions to the current situation. From dramatically expanding Guard patrols over the forest, to introducing a curfew, to pulling most Court Mages away from their current projects to solely focus on the study of Chaotic Hot Spots, to creating mass evacuation plans for the city, should they be needed.
Even Lord Gold Standard contributed a few useful ideas. Though, he mostly commented only on matters that he had a degree of expertise in, such as using his business connections within the Mason's Guild to help finance the construction of a wall around the city. Silver suspected that he was still recovering from being caught so badly off-balance by the proceeding revelations that he mostly stuck close to topics that he was comfortable with.
Their planning was interrupted when the meeting room’s door opened to reveal Commander Azure Flame. Curiously his subordinates were nowhere to be seen, though Silver guessed that they had simply been sent off to fulfill other duties by the Commander. With tripled patrols over the city having been ordered by the Night Guard Captain, there was likely a lot work that needed to done.
The sealed scroll in his telekinetic grasp informed Silver that Azure's search of Princess Luna's room had been fruitful. Though the Royal Secretary was very curious as to its message, she knew that Celestia would obviously have first rights to read whatever her sister had written.
Said princess had also noticed the Commander's entrance and had ceased her conversation with Evening Sparkle to accept the scroll in her own telekinetic grasp, when the Night Guard drew close enough to offer it to her.
"This was found on her writing desk, your Majesty." Azure offered as a way of explanation. Celestia thanked him as she broke the wax seal on the scroll and began to unfurl the parchment paper.
One thing that Silver Scroll had learned from her time as a Royal Secretary was that, as a one hundred year veteran of Court politics, the Solar Princess had become very good at hiding her emotions from ponies around her. To any pony that was not intimately familiar with Celestia’s behaviour and mannerisms, the changes that befell the alicorn's expression as she read through the scroll might have seemed almost imperceptible, especially since most of the occupants of the room were still engrossed in conversation with one another.
However, Silver Scroll was intimately familiar enough with Celestia that the changes did not escape her notice. The princess's eyes grew slightly wider and her jaw clenched in stress as she began to read through the scroll at a visibly more frantic pace. Her expression became disbelieving as finished reading and her telekinetic grasp on the scroll faultered, as though she might accidentally drop the piece of parchment in shock.
From the perspective of almost any other pony in the room, Celestia’s expression would barely have shifted in any meaningful way. However, Silver knew that whatever the princess had read within that letter, it had deeply shaken her.
If the Royal Secretary wasn't already concerned for Celestia, the alicorn's next action would have had a chorus of alarm bells erupt in her mind.
Just as the princess's carefully schooled facade seemed to come undone at torrent of volatile emotions that she seemed to be experiencing, Celestia’s expression hardened itself into unyielding steel. Her demeanour resettled itself into a warm and relaxed one, but Silver knew that there was absolutely nothing about Celestia that was warm or relaxed at the moment.
Like a sculptor that had tried to create a facsimile of a real pony out of clay, there was something lifeless and inauthentic about the smile that the princess wore that chilled Silver to her very bones.
It was a perfectly neutral expression. A forcibly neutral expression. An aggressively neutral expression.
Silver had only ever seen Celestia behave like this once before. It was nine years ago, during a peace summit, between two warring griffon tribes that the princess had been invited to as an impartial third-party witness. One of the griffon chiefs had tried to get under Celestia’s skin by describing to her, in excruciating detail, the taste of char-grilled pony flesh. The alicorn had sat through the entire summit with that same unnatural, impossible neutral expression.
"Was this the only letter that you found in Luna’s room?" Celestia asked the Night Guard Commander. Her voice still had the same tone, inflections and cadence that her usual warm, motherly voice did, but there was an emotionless, lifeless quality to it that sent a violent shiver down Silver's spine.
"Yes, your Majesty." Azure responded simply.
The scroll vanished in a flash of Celestia’s magic. Though, whether it had been destroyed or simply teleported away, Silver wasn't sure.
Celestia turned to face the rest of the ponies in the room, raising her voice to be heard across the room. "My little ponies, please forgive me, but I must now excuse myself from this meeting. The journey from Cloudsdale was quite exhausting and I fear that I may need all of the rest that I can get to handle the stress that this tragic incident will undoubtedly bring in the morning. In the meantime, Night Guard Captain, Gleaming Sapphire will temporarily take over Princess Luna’s administrative duties. My sister has departed for a very important diplomatic mission, the details of which are sensitive and I unfortunately cannot release them at this time." Celestia announced with that same warm tone that rung hollow to Silver's ears.
"Would you please inform the Captain of her new duties?" The princess asked Azure, though she did not wait for a reply before quickly turning to leave the room.
Most of the other ponies seemed to take Celestia’s departure in stride as they continued to argue amongst themselves over the finer details of a workable action plan that was beginning to take shape. However, Silver Scroll stood in stunned silence at the changes that had overcome Celestia in less than a minute.
She wondered what sort of dire news could have been contained within that scroll that would prompt such a visceral reaction in the Solar Diarch, that she would feel the need to adopt an impenetrable stone mask, just to hide her emotions.
Silver couldn't tell if Celestia was shocked, saddened or enraged by what she had read, but she knew that something was very, very wrong.
The alicorn felt the afternoon sun shine warmly upon her back. The wind blew through the valley with a cool, but not chilling breeze. The lush blanket of green grass underneath the midnight blue mare felt soft and velvety, as though she could fall asleep upon it.
That wouldn't be such a bad idea, Luna thought. She could certainly think of worse ways to spend her newly found liberty, than by taking an afternoon nap. Yet, she wasn't quite ready to fall asleep yet. She was still too busy basking in the sights, sounds and ambience of the peaceful meadow that she found near a small creek.
It was beautiful and reminded her greatly of the places that Starswirl used to bring her and Celestia to when they were still fillies. The colours of the valley were so much more vibrant than the sea of dark green trees that was the Everfree forest. The sight of the foreboding and impenetrable canopy had become such a common and enduring aspect of her life for so long that she had almost forgotten that such beauty could exist in nature.
It all sounded so very poetic in Luna’s mind, to the point where it almost seemed cliche. Yet, she couldn't escape the urge to pull out a notebook and write about all that she saw and felt in that moment. An old habit from her youth. It was therefore an indescribable pity to her that, while Starswirl’s caravan had been enchanted to withstand the elements, the literature and writing material inside had not been.
The former Princess made a mental note to purchase a blank book, quills and ink in the next town that she came across. With the gold and jewellery that she had taken from her personal vault, along with a few valuable trinkets that she had removed from the ruins of her old home, it would be quite some time before Luna would have any trouble with her finances.
She had even gone through the trouble of selecting only nondescript and plain jewellery to bring with her. Nothing that could be traced back to Princess Luna or would be overly suspicious for a travelling Mage to be carrying. A few simple visual illusions should be enough to keep her from being recognised. At some point she would have to enchant her cloak with permanent, illusionary enchantments, but that would be incredibly time-consuming and she had faith in her ability to maintain a simple disguise spell until then.
Luna sighed as rolled to lay on her side. The soft grass feeling cool against her coat.
She had been doing a lot of thinking since she had started her journey. Mostly about what she would make of her new life. On the surface it seemed like everything she wanted, everything that she yearned for, but a cold spike of guilt stabbed at her every time she stopped to consider her choices for too long.
The former Princess knew perfectly well her reasons for why she had left. She knew rationally that many of them were justified, but at the same time it felt like a violation of the principles and personal philosophy that she upheld for so long.
It was selfish. Luna wouldn't delude herself into thinking it was anything else. She had abandoned her duties and responsibilities, because she felt that she could find greater happiness and personal gratification elsewhere.
Yet, after spending countless decades in thankless service to ponies that held nothing, but disdain for her and sacrificing almost everything of who she once was on the altar of the royal throne. Was she not entitled to be selfish, at least this once?
It felt wrong, but Luna couldn’t see any other choice that she could have made. She had been spiralling down an abyss that would have inevitably ended in tragedy. If she had stayed, she probably would have eventually ended up killing Celestia or herself. Only the belief that her sister truly and dearly loved her had kept Luna able to endure for so long.
She thought that her sister and her kingdom needed her and that, while they might not outwardly display their gratitude, she would always occupy a place close to their hearts.
It was a naive hope in retrospect, but in the absence of purpose or validation, even the most elusive desert mirage of hope was worth the pursuit.
The diary had been her final breaking point. The moment she had finally woken up from her dream-walking slumber and saw her reality and her life for what it was.
Not whatever fanciful delusion she had created in the naive hope that her suffering and sacrifice would have meaning and would actively better the lives of the ponies around her. Borne out of whatever sick, twisted, self-imposed sense of martyrdom that served as her coping mechanism for so long.
Luna couldn't stay. She was certain of that now. She wanted to help ponies. That's all she had ever wanted. Ever since the alicorn was a filly, she wanted to spare the world from the destruction and evil that she had witnessed at High Hoof. She thought that by wielding the power of the crown, she could make Equestria a better place. Instead she had gotten bogged down in a quagmire of bureaucracy and corruption thick and deep enough to drown in, while her life slowly crumbled around her hooves.
As a Princess her passion, empathy and honesty were considered liabilities in the great game of ever-shifting politics and court intrigue.
Now there was nothing in her way. Luna wouldn't wait for permission to help others. Not now. Not anymore.
She would be her own hero and forge her own destiny.
Luna was done apologising for who she was.
Perhaps what was written in her sister’s diary was hyperbole or not sincere to how she actually felt, but Luna was no longer going to give Celestia’s love for her the benefit of the doubt. This breaking point had been a long time coming and was the culmination of events far beyond the hurtful words written in one book.
Her sister could manage the kingdom well enough on her own. For so long their destinies had been intertwined into a single unified purpose for common good of all of ponykind, but perhaps for the first time in almost hundred and thirty years they were better off going their separate ways. For better or for worse, the legend of the Two Sisters would end and Luna would build her own legacy alone.
As a travelling Mage, she could do just that. Years ago during the days of the College of Sorcery, young aspiring unicorns would embark on their Journeyman travels to help ponies in need, build their legacy and renown and eventually earn entry into the ranks of the Masters of the College. The College might be dead now and her journey promised no rewards of glory or prestige, but that didn't concern Luna. She would be able to help those that needed it the most and fight evil wherever she may find it. That was enough for her.
With her internal turmoil once again settled, Luna stood up from where she lay and prepared to leave. She was eager to reach her first town on her journey.
She didn't fool herself into thinking that the first settlement she came across would be besieged by bandits or haunted by an evil curse and she could immediately indulge in heroics. When she had travelled with Starswirl and her sister so long ago, the vast majority of their visits to towns and villages were quite uneventful. Most likely she would, at most, drive off a few local predators or heal a sick villager. Perhaps she would just entertain the local foals with a few magic tricks.
That would probably be for the best. She was very, very, very out of practice and would likely need a bit of time to regain her stride. Better to build momentum slowly. All heroes need to start somewhere after all.
As Luna strapped the harness to herself and prepared to leave the small meadow, she saw faint wafts of chimney smoke just beyond the hills on the far side of the valley.
Luna’s heart beated nearly uncontrollably in her chest as she approached the outskirts of the village. She had made extra certain that her disguise spell was utterly impeccable. A small mirror in the corner of her caravan had helped with the crafting of the finer details. It took a lot of time to carefully shape the illusion, but once she had finished crafting the spell matrix, the magic would, when activated, always output the exact same visual illusion that she had decided upon.
It was far more time-consuming to set up then the dynamic and fluid illusions used in battle or during magic shows, but it was more consistent and easier to maintain.
As she approached the gate that bisected the wooden palisade wall of the small town, a pair of guards stood vigilantly and awaited her approach. When they looked upon Luna, they would only see an azure-coated, platinum-maned unicorn, wrapped in a starry purple cloak.
"Please state your name and business." Ordered one of the guards when Luna had approached close enough to speak to, in a professional, but not necessarily unkind tone.
The disguised alicorn took a deep breath to steady her nerves before putting on an easy smile, answering in a cheery voice. "Hello, my name is Starry Night, and I'm just here to visit the market. Perhaps purchase a few things before I continue my journey."
Travelling Mages were a rare, but not necessarily a universally loved profession, despite the good that they did. In some select towns, a strong anti-outsider sentiment still lingered, as well as a general aversion to letting others solve their problems for them. Luna didn't know the exact attitude and disposition of this town, but thought that she would probably have an easier time entering the town if she initially presented herself as an ordinary traveller that was just stopping by to do some trading, before leaving soon after.
After all, she could reveal that she was an experienced Mage at any point once she was inside. It would probably leave a better impression than cantering in, like some white knight.
She was probably being overly cautious, but since this is the first town that planned to visit on her journey, she wanted to make a good first impression.
"Are you with the Mistvale Trading Company then?" The guard inquired, looking curiously at Luna's trailer.
"I'm sorry, I'm not…" Luna stammered, her head tilting in confusion, "I don't think…." The carefully rehearsed script that the former Princess had been crafting in her mind over the past hour, fell to pieces. Not expecting the sudden pivot in questioning, the disguised alicorn stumbled in her reply.
"Evidently not then?" The guard remarked at Luna’s genuinely caught-off-guard expression. "Sorry for jumping to conclusions like that, but that is a very nice caravan. Looks heavily enchanted too. I thought that you had to be from one of them bigger trading companies to be pulling such a thing."
Luna turned her head to look at the trailer behind her, following the direction of the guard's gaze and cringed. He was right. The trailer was very nice. Much nicer than a no-name travelling Mage should ever be able to feasibly afford.
'Fuck,' Luna silently cursed to herself. Spending a hundred years constantly surrounded by the boundless opulence of royalty and nobility had evidently skewed her perception about what sort of transportation methods common ponies used in their everyday life.
While Starswirl’s trailer wasn't quite as gaudy and ostentatious as the Royal Carriage that she had used in her duties as Princess or some of the vehicles used by the upper nobility, the masterful level of craftsmanship and sheer financial expenditure that had to have gone into the construction of the trailer was immediately evident.
As one of the Grand Masters of the College, Starswirl had been provided with one of the best travelling caravans that money could afford. The former Princess would have a hard time trying to explain how she had come into ownership of such a vehicle.
Luna’s entire plan of action had just been immediately thrown out of the window. She scrambled to think of an explanation for how she could justify owning a one-of-a-kind caravan, like Starswirl’s.
The alicorn internally seethed at her stupidity. After all of the careful steps that she had taken to reach this point, her entire facade had just potentially become undone over something that should have been blindingly obvious to her from the very start.
Luckily, she had given very few details about herself, beyond her name and the fact that she wished to visit the market. No logical or factual inconsistencies that she had to walk back to explain how she came to own the trailer behind her.
A new narrative and backstory took shape in Luna’s mind. With a quiet, shaky breath, Luna turned back to face the guard, before speaking once again.
"I inherited this trailer from my grandfather, Spectral Moonlight. He used to be a Grand Master at the old College of Sorcery, before the Collapse. He taught my father, who in turn taught me everything I know about being a Mage. In fact, I'm currently using it to complete my Journeypony Mage trials." Luna announced in a proud voice.
It was a big, bold claim. However, with the priceless caravan shattering any hope of acting humble or inconspicuous, she did not have many available options. It was also a lie that was more likely to be believed at face value than any other claim she could make. The unique trailer, combined with the fact that she would be easily able to perform a variety of high-level spells on demand, lent credence to the false background being truthful and thus, being accepted as truth.
And she did need it to be accepted. Her strategy to initially present herself as a humble merchant/traveller had been rendered obsolete in the face of her potentially being accused of having stolen her caravan. Or worse, there was a non-zero possibility of her true identity being uncovered if any local or regional authorities didn't believe her story and sought to investigate her more closely.
Staying as close to the truth as possible would be her ally. These two low-paid militia ponies, from a backwater town, might not have the resources to dig deeper into her faux identity, beyond what could be gleaned from casual questioning, but that might not necessarily be true for other curious parties.
Travelling Mages were not a very common sight in New Equestria after the demise of the College. It's a claim that would certainly make at least a few higher powers sit up and take notice of her. This is why Luna needed to make certain that her new persona could stand up to a much greater degree of scrutiny.
The name, Spectral Moonlight, was not accidental either. He really was a Grand Master, a colleague of Starswirl and had even directly taught Luna several times, during her time at the tower. He was also deeply introverted and died ninety years ago without any known close family. Meaning that Luna probably knew more about him than any other pony alive and could easily feign any knowledge or details that only a family member would know. The lack of familial records that were recorded or kept during Discord's tyranny certainly didn't hurt her case.
Any pony that looked deeply into her claims shouldn’t be able to spot any inconsistencies. She was probably being overly cautious, but a lack of attention to detail had almost derailed her entire journey, not thirty seconds prior. She was not taking chances a second time with a half-baked backstory.
"So, not only are you a Mage, but a Legacy Mage as well?" The guard asked with an expression of awe and slight reverence.
It was a common misconception that the descendants of powerful and accomplished Mages were destined to become powerful and accomplished Mages themselves. While it's true that there were dynasties of powerful Mage families within the College, that was more due to genetics and superior education.
Common ponies placed entirely too much prestige onto the perceived pedigree of a Mage's family. Luna would likely regret claiming to be the descendant of a Grand Master of the College, because of how much attention it would draw to her, but there was no other way to justify being in possession of such a finely crafted and heavily enchanted caravan.
"How is it that we have never heard of you?" The second guard asked in a curious, but not necessarily interrogating tone. He looked just as awed as his partner.
Luna gave a disarming smile in response to the guard's question. She had also thought up a valid excuse for that potential line of enquiry. "During the Collapse, when my parents were young, my grandfather had them flee from Equestria with several members of his extended family using his caravan. They eventually settled in the Borderlands, in the Eastern Wastes, just west of the Great Divide."
"My parents founded a small homestead in the area and I later worked there as a freelance Mage for a few years, before recently deciding to travel back to my homeland of Equestria," Luna concluded in the most sincere tone that she could manage. It was probably not the most watertight backstory that she could have possibly used, but considering that she had come up with it in less than a minute, it seemed satisfactory enough.
The guards nodded in understanding at the explanation. Evidently, having bought into the utter manure that Luna was feeding them.
"I see… that makes sense." The first guard mumbled. Seemingly more to himself than anypony else.
"Valley Dale is a pretty quiet town. I doubt that a Mage of your talent will find much in the way of crises that require your specialist services, but you are more than welcome to enter." The second guard explained in a friendly tone.
Luna simply nodded in thanks and waited for them to open the wooden gate. She did not want to volunteer any more information about herself unprompted. She would have to really sit down later and have a serious brainstorming session about fleshing out the details and backstory of her fictional persona, as well as mentally reviewing the conversation that she had with the two guards to check for any inconsistencies in her story that might give her problems later.
"The mayor will probably want to see you. I'll escort you to her now." The first guard commented as he opened the gate. Luna nodded reluctantly. She had made her bed by presenting herself as a minor celebrity and now it was time to lay in it.
The guard and the disguised alicorn walked through the gate together as his partner closed it behind him.
As they walked, Luna took notice of the town around her. It was quite a bit larger than she had initially assumed. She estimated that probably between three and five thousand ponies called this town home. Though, without knowing the population density of each building or how many satellite villages and farms surrounded the town, it was impossible to know for sure.
Speaking of the buildings, Luna could infer quite a bit of information about the town from taking note of their details.
Judging by the fact that buildings in the town had been organised into a semi-organised grid and the streets had been built with somewhat decent drainage channels. It was clear that at least some foresight had gone into urban planning and organisation. Hinting toward a strong centralised authority.
The town wasn't particularly old either. The lack of any major decay on any of the stonework or woodwork meant that the town had probably been built after the collapse. Within the last hundred years, but more likely within the last fifty years.
Most of the roads weren't paved, but she could see several two or three-story buildings. So the overall level of infrastructure in the town appeared to be mixed, with at least some architects and engineers likely calling this town home and plying their trade. Even though the town was expanding, as demonstrated by some construction projects at the fringes of the town, a lack of finance or resources probably hindered any major infrastructure projects.
While most of the houses seemed to be constructed with practicality and cost as the foremost concern, there was an undeniable rustic charm to the town. Almost every house with few exceptions had been altered or customised aesthetically by its owner. Banners, streamers, flags, gazebos and other pieces of colourful fabric seemed to decorate the streets, the houses and the spaces between, almost ubiquitously.
Windchimes, dreamcatchers, bird feeders and other miscellaneous baubles of decoration hung from window sills, door frames and porches. Much of the woodwork of the houses and businesses seemed to be carved into patterns in places with varying levels of fine craftsmanship.
There was a strong individualistic flare to almost every aspect of the town. It could almost be seen as a chaotic mess and bizarre mismatch of colour, style and aesthetic, but there was such a personable charm and authentic sincerity to it that Luna couldn't help but be endeared by. As though every pony in the town had given an honest attempt to add their own individualistic flare to their little corner of their town, with mixed levels of craftsmanship.
"Well, it's certainly colourful." The alicorn remarked as they journeyed through the main street of the town.
The guard smiled at that. "Valley Dale was founded on its textile and dye works industries. Fabric and dye are our biggest exports, so it's very cheap for our citizens to buy or make. There is also a tradition among the ponies of the town, for new home and business owners to decorate their property however they wish, however they are able to." He explained with a practised tone that implied this was far from the first time that he has had to explain the peculiar idiosyncrasies of Valley Dale to a bewildered tourist.
Luna took notice of the vibrant atmosphere of the town as ponies milled around the various businesses and market stalls along the main street as they went about their daily life. The low buzz of conversation and general noise of activity around the town, combined with the gentle harmony of the many windchimes tingling in the breeze. Created a lively atmosphere that Luna absolutely adored.
After spending countless years trudging silently through a deathly quiet castle in the dead of night. Seeing a place so full of life and energy was like a balm to her soul. She couldn’t help but bask in the vibrance of the street. She even played a small game with herself, where she would try to pick out and identify individual sounds in the general din of meaningless noise. The rhythmic hammering of a local blacksmith, the grating wood saw of a carpenter or the low rumbling of a large stone mill that was busy grinding flour and grain.
She hardly noticed as they approached their destination. Only drawing her attention away from the town when the guard escorting her began to slow down his walk as he approached a group of ponies that engaged in conversation, in front of a large building that looked to function as the town hall.
Most of the ponies looked like general labourers or artisans, like carpenters or masons, but one appeared very different from the rest. A middle-aged, pegasus mare with a lime green coat and dark pink mane, appeared to do most of the talking. Her fancy dark grey waistcoat and jewellery looked to denote her position of relative authority and wealth. That and the fact that she was quite literally issuing orders to the assembled workers, meant that this mare was probably the major.
"Would you kindly wait here for a moment?" Her escort asked before walking over to talk to the mayor. Likely to inform her of the situation and Luna’s presence.
As the former princess patiently waited for the guard to conclude his conversation with the mayor, she felt a gentle tug on her cloak coming from her side. As Luna turned to look to her side, she saw that it was a small filly that was pulling on the hem of her cloak, while looking up at her with wide awe-filled eyes.
"Excuse me miss, but are you a wizard?" The little filly asked in a high-pitched voice that conveyed so much excitement and youthful innocence, that Luna felt her heart melt. "I mean, you have a wizard's hat, so you must be a wizard!" The filly exclaimed, remarking on the purple, pointy, star-patterned hat that Luna wore in tribute to her former mentor. It was a trope in folklore that Mage wore such attire, but it had actually been Starswirl himself that had been the unintentional inspiration for the trope.
"I suppose that I am," Luna replied, choosing to indulge the fantasies of the young filly.
"You are!" The filly exclaimed with an audible gasp. "Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh!" The filly breathlessly cheered, as she stamped her tiny hooves in excitement.
"Did you guys hear that? She says that she is a wizard!" The white coated, bright blue-maned filly announced as she turned to face the small congregation of about a dozen, similarly aged fillies and colts that had assembled behind her. The group exploded with gasps and excitement as they shouted over each other to ask Luna questions or chatted loudly amongst themselves, stamping their hooves with breathless energy. The two or three pegasi among the foals excitedly flapped their tiny wings with enough intensity to make a hummingbird jealous. Luna thought that they might achieve takeoff, in defiance of the laws of physics, even though they were far too young to be capable of flight.
The entire scene was so adorable that Luna nearly cried.
"Would all of you like to see a magic trick?" The disguised alicorn asked the group, deciding to further indulge them.
Gasps and cheers greeted her question, as the foals universally expressed their approval of the idea.
Luna smiled at the enthusiasm of the young ponies as their excitement melted her heart. She pondered for a moment what sort of magic trick she would show them. After giving it some thought and gazing around the town centre for some inspiration, she eventually decided on what she would show them.
The former Princess signalled with her hoof for the foals to calm down. They did so after a few seconds, but their excitement was still palpable. Seeing a magic trick performed by a supposed wizard was probably the most exciting thing that they had ever seen.
Luna detached herself from the caravan, before standing up and balancing on her hind legs so that both of her forelegs would be free to perform the parlour trick that she had decided on. She then used one hoof to lift the large hat off her head and showed her audience the inside to prove that it was empty.
"Do you see that my hat is empty?" Luna asked in a dramatic tone. The foals nodded in the affirmative. "Do you see that my hoof is also empty?" Luna asked again, displaying the hoof that was not currently holding the hat. They nodded once again.
The alicorn lowered her hat over her empty hoof so that the tip of the limb would be completely obscured. Then, with great care to not emit a visible magical aura around her horn, Luna teleported an apple from a nearby market stall directly into her hoof. A miscellaneous array of other hidden spells cast near simultaneously prevented the bright flash and loud bang, that were characteristic of teleportation, from manifesting. So that when she lifted the hat it would appear as though the apple had materialised out of thin air.
It would have been very difficult for even an experienced unicorn to manage so many simultaneous, silent and auraless spells, but Luna wasn't an experienced unicorn. She was an alicorn and a master in the fine manipulation of magic.
The reaction that she garnered from the foals, when she did lift the hat, did not disappoint either.
If their expressions were awed before, then they looked almost worshipful now. Luna didn't stop there though. She lowered and raised and lowered the hat several more times. Each time a new item, temporarily relocated from somewhere in the market, appeared in her hoof.
After repeating the trick a dozen times, Luna eventually capped off the performance by teleporting a nearby black dove into her hat. The poor, disoriented bird flew out the second she lifted the hat, giving a small fright to some of the foals that were standing very close to her.
The grandiose and dramatics of Luna’s performance had escalated throughout the trick and by the end, she had even added a few special effects. Such as ominous green smoke emanating from the hat as before the reveal and sparkler effects as she lifted the hat. It was wholly unnecessary, but as Luna drank in the unfiltered adoration of the foals, she was having the time of her life.
More foals, yearlings and even some adults had gathered around by the time she finished. Her audience of about thirty ponies gave resounding cheers and stomps of approval. The foals most of all.
It was a relatively simple trick in theory. Teleportation was an uncommon, but not exceptionally rare skill possessed by many unicorns. Yet, for most of them teleporting themselves or an object, was a feat that required their complete focus and was not very subtle. Luna's ability to layer her spellwork in such a way, as to make her teleportation completely unnoticeable, while keeping the appearance of her horn being completely dormant, was a feat outside of the abilities of the vast majority of unicorns. Making her trick appear to be impossible according to the known laws of physics and magic.
The first filly approached her once again, almost bouncing with excitement. "That was sooooo cool!" The filly squealed with unbounded enthusiasm. "Can you do more? Please do more!"
Luna was about to gently turn down the filly, but a new voice interrupted her from behind.
"I'm sure that the ponies of Valley Dale would love to see more of your magic. Perhaps you could be convinced to put on a show?" The matronly voice inquired.
Luna turned to see the pony that had addressed her was the pegasus that she had earlier hypothesised to be the mayor of the town. The mare held out a hoof in greeting.
While the alicorn was vastly more experienced with ponies bowing to her in greeting, she wasted no time in shaking the outstretched hoof in greeting. The mayor spoke again before she could respond.
"I have to say, that was very impressive," the mare congratulated. "Sergeant Iron Guard told me that you were a Legacy Mage, trained in the old ways of the College, but until I saw your magic, I wasn't sure I believed it," the pegasus shook her head and waved away her previous comment. "Where are my manners though, I'm getting ahead of myself. My name is Wind Chill. I'm the mayor of Valley Dale and it's very nice to meet you."
Even though it was based on a falsehood, Luna struggled to suppress a grin at the genuine praise of her abilities. "My name is Starry Night and it's a pleasure to meet you as well." Luna returned the greeting. Yet, she was more interested in the first comment that the mayor had said.
"You said something about a show earlier?" The alicorn inquired. Curious as to what she meant.
"Would you be interested in putting on a full performance? An entire show demonstrating your abilities. It would be in the central plaza. We'll even have some carpenters erect a small stage." The pegasus did her best to convince Luna.
The offer made Luna very apprehensive. Her anonymity had already been fractured by her improvised backstory and luxurious caravan, but it would be absolutely obliterated if she went on stage in front of potentially hundreds of ponies and drew as much attention to herself as possible. "I'm not sure. It's not the sort of thing that I normally do."
The mayor seemed undeterred and continued to plead her case. "I know that an accomplished, powerful Mage, like yourself, would probably find it beneath you to perform parlour tricks for foals, but I ask you to please consider it. Those foals. This is the happiest that I've seen them in months and considering the several tragedies that have befallen this town recently, the whole town could use a morale boost. You'll be compensated generously, of course."
Luna still had a few reservations, but was spreading joy and receiving recognition for her actions, not the very reason that she had set out on her journey in the first place? Besides, if worse came to worst and she had to leave, then it would be very simple for her to flee. Starswirl’s trailer was enchanted with the same enchantments as a Sky Carriage. If this town didn't work out, then she could just fly away with her caravan, change her disguise and start again in a different corner of Equestria.
"I would love to put on a show," Luna answered with a delighted smile.
Luna stood in the central plaza of Valley Dale and watched with an expression of disbelief as carpenters and construction workers went about their work, erecting a large wooden stage at the far end of the open area.
The alicorn had assumed that the show would be a low-key affair with the entirety of the preparations consisting of a small team of workers would spend less than an hour nailing together a few wooden crates in a corner of the plaza. Not the spectacle that was unfolding in front of her.
She didn't know many carpenters and construction workers who occupied the town, but a non-insignificant percentage of them had to be working on the goliath of a performance stage that slowly came into being in front of her eyes.
It was enormous. Similar in scale to the sort of structure that might be found in a theatre house in one of Equestria’s major cities, but obviously lacking in the same sort of refinement and durability due to its temporary nature. Numerous market stalls in the plaza also appeared to be temporarily disassembled or moved away.
Between the evident enthusiasm of the workers for the project, the general buzz of excitement around the event and the sheer scale of preparation, it was apparent to Luna that she had severely underestimated how much of an event this magic show was turning into.
"If I had known how much of a fuss this would be, I would not have agreed to it," Luna muttered quietly to herself.
"Is something the matter?" The mayor asked, standing next to her. An expression of concern crossed her face at the possibility of something potentially not to Luna’s liking.
For the past two hours, the mayor of Valley Dale had personally given Luna a tour of the town. The former Princess had attempted to dissuade the politician, not comfortable with the special treatment and calling even more attention to herself, but the mare had been insistent. Taking her to all of the town's locales, detailing the rich history of Valley Dale and extolling the settlement's virtues.
Luna had been confused at first as to why the mayor spoke so unreasonably passionately about her town. Initially assuming her to be weirdly patriotic about Valley Dale and keen for outsiders to share in her love for her home. However, it was only after the pegasus started talking about the low housing market prices and various incentive programmes the town ran,in which highly skilled ponies could easily settle into the town through low-interest start-up loans, that Luna caught on to her game.
The mayor seemed to be doing her absolute best to entice the alicorn into staying permanently in Valley Dale. It was only a hunch, but it would make a lot of the other pieces of the puzzle fall into place nicely. Such as the special treatment and the overblown scale of the magic show.
This irritated Luna slightly, but not too much, because although it attracted far more attention than she was comfortable with, she did have a ready-and-waiting exit strategy if things went awry. It was also somewhat amusing to watch the relatively harmless conspiracy unfold, after spending a century combating the ruthless, cutthroat politics of the Royal Court, the bumbling and transparent attempt to execute what the mayor probably thought was a super sneaky political manoeuvre, was almost cute in a way.
Luna didn't begrudge the pegasus too much for the attempt. Having a powerful Legacy Mage living within its walls would be an incredible boon for Valley Dale or any town like it. Both in terms of pure practicality and prestige.
"Not at all. Everything is fine," Luna replied, not wanting to break her facade of a confident Mage with nothing to hide.
"There is something I wanted to ask you about," she continued, pivoting away from the topic before any further inquiries could be made. "What did you mean earlier when you mentioned that recent tragedies had befallen this town?"
The mayor looked pained at the question and didn't immediately reply to Luna. After a few seconds of silence passed, the alicorn was about to retract her question before Wind Chill suddenly took a deep breath and finally answered her.
"It happened just over three weeks ago," the mare began. "A roving pegasus raiding colony came for us in the dead of night. The rolling fog bank that they created disguised the approach of their cloud fortress. By the time the town's sentries saw them, it was too late," The mayor spoke in a sombre tone. The memory obviously causing painful emotions to resurface.
Luna nodded in understanding. Pegasus Reavers were an incredibly unpleasant phenomenon that seemed to manifest during times of instability. Since it was impossible for pegasus cloud cities to produce enough agricultural output to sustain their population, they often turned to raiding to survive without regular imports. Many of Old Equestria’s pegasus cities originated as raiding colonies before the Wendigo threat and the Second Unification of the Three Tribes forced their integration into the Kingdom of Old Equestria. The nation's dissolution at the claws of Discord was enough for many of them to re-embrace their cultural heritage of raiding and pillaging.
Getting a handle containing the threat of the Pegasus Reavers had been one of the Princesses' biggest challenges of their reign and one that was still ongoing. Some cloud cities, like Cloudsdale chose to peacefully integrate, while others, like Rainshire, needed to be forcefully subjugated. A few still roamed free to this day.
"The looting lasted a full day with Valley Dale's militia guard being unable to stop them at that point. We rebuilt most of what was destroyed, but many ponies lost their lives during the raid," the mayor continued after taking a few moments to collect herself, her tone implying feelings of self-responsibility and guilt over the incident.
Luna empathised greatly with the mare's pain and self-loathing. The power that came with being the ruler over a large group of ponies had just as many burdens as benefits, perhaps even more so. The feeling of utter inadequacy for not being smart enough, strong enough or wise enough to defend those that entrusted her with their lives, was not something she would wish anypony.
"I'm so sorry that happened. Is there anything at all that I can do to help?" Luna said in a soft tone. She wished that she could offer words of wisdom or advice to her as somepony that knew what it was like to be in her position, but she could not without massively breaking character. What would a travelling Mage know about the burdens of leadership after all?
The mayor smiled at the offer but shook her head. "Helping to lift the spirits of my little ponies with your show is more than enough," she said with a lighter tone. The change of topic removing some of the grimness of the conversation. "Unless of course, you could magic into existence a town charter for Valley Dale," Wind said in a joking manner, but with a subtle undercurrent of bitterness in her tone.
Luna wasn't surprised that Valley Dale didn't have a town charter. The Noble houses that governed each of Equestria’s provinces were notoriously reluctant to issue charters to New Towns like Valley Dale. Not wishing to allow the settlements under their control any more autonomy and self-governance than what was absolutely legally required.
The alicorn could well understand why the mayor would covet the powers and privileges that came with such a piece of legislation but didn't comprehend why she had brought it up concerning the Pegasus Reaver raid. As if the document could have somehow prevented the attack from occurring.
"Would a charter have made a difference in the outcome of the attack?" Asked Luna, knowing that it was probably best to move on from the topic, but she could not help but felt as though there was more to this story than she had been told thus far.
The mare looked surprised for a second that the alicorn had inquired further about her off-the-cusp remark, but ultimately decided to indulge her with an explanation. "Without a town charter, there are incredibly severe restrictions on our ability to raise a militia or organise a Town Guard. We barely have enough guardponies to police the town on the best of days. A battle-hardened colony of raider pegasi is so far beyond our ability to defend with what we have."
Wind Chill had turned to look across the town plaza as she spoke, which prevented her from seeing the pained wince that marred the alicorn's face upon hearing her explanation.
Luna took a moment to settle her expression and calm herself. As a ruler, she had always known that her actions would have unintentional consequences on her subjects. However, hearing first-hoof about the suffering that the Militia Disarmament Treaty, which she had personally written, had caused was painful.
It had been one of the few major reforms to the governance of New Equestria that she had been able to implement with relatively little opposition. Though that was mostly to do with the fact the Council of Nobles were all too happy to rubber-stamp a law that would severely restrict the rights of New Towns to arm themselves.
It had made sense eighty years ago when she signed it into law. In the first few decades after Discord's reign, the interior of Equestria was a mess of Old Towns trying to rapidly expand their power over a depopulation countryside before official provincial borders could be drawn, newly established New Towns trying to lay competing claims to the most strategic and resource-rich parcels of land and noble houses using barely, plausibly deniable mercenary bands to undermine each other's interests. The entire country was a single flashpoint away from civil war.
It had seemed like such an elegant solution at the time. To fold all of the various militias into a single Grand Army that could then be used to suppress rebel elements and bring stability to the nascent kingdom, while the massive population centres and seats of powerful noble houses, the Old Towns, would be tasked with the protection and administration of the newly established towns and villages in their provinces. The New Towns as they would become known. Further flare-ups of violence between feuding New Towns caused further restrictions on their autonomy and militias, like the disarmament treaty that Luna personally created.
These were only ever supposed to be temporary measures until internal stability could be achieved in Equestria, but once the treaties were signed into law it became almost impossible to repeal them, with the Council Nobles closing ranks and vehemently opposing any attempt to dilute their power by granting self-governing autonomy to New Towns.
Normally Luna and her sister were able to achieve their legislative aims by deceiving, dividing and pitting the nobles against one another. Anything to keep a critical mass of them from uniting against the Princesses and their small loyalist faction. However, the existential threat of losing control of their vassals caused a seldom-seen unity among the nobles that rendered any attempt by the Royal Sisters to introduce comprehensive reform to the New Town / Old Town political dynamic utterly impotent. Setting a dangerous precedent in Luna’s mind.
For decades this wasn't too much of a problem, since none of the New Towns were large enough, powerful enough or influential enough to provide any meaningful challenge to the authority of Old Towns. However, this has been changing in recent years with some New Towns, like Manehattan and Baltimare growing so large and powerful that they rivalled or perhaps even surpassed the population and economic output of their provinces' Old Towns, Haven Hope and Starfall respectively. For every day that passed, the reasons for their continued, complete subservience to their Old Towns grew less and less plausible.
The noble families of the Old Towns were not ignorant of the narrowing power disparity between them and their vassals, causing them to only further close ranks to strike down any of the Royal Sisters' reforms. Some noble families even actively tried to sabotage and stifle the growth of the New Towns. This all boiled over four years ago, when Manehattan imported a massive quantity of weapons from Griffinstone and started to illegally train a large militia. They threatened to revolt, unless granted their own town charter.
Haven Hope eventually relented and granted their request, but actually gave Manehattan even more than was initially asked for. Carving out a small province for them, granting them control over the other, smaller New Towns in their immediate vicinity and petitioning for them to gain a representative seat at the Everfree Court. Effectively making Manehattan a honorary Old Town. It was a move that baffled many, Luna included, until the nobles' propaganda machine whirled into action. Recontextualising the Manehattan Mutiny, not as a defiant act of revolution against oppression, but rather as a cynical attempt at a power grab, by leveraging the threat of violence against civilians and civil war as a means to getting a seat at the table, taking over the role of the oppressor to the nearby New Towns and becoming the very thing that they swore to fight against. They were effective at poisoning the legacy of the Manehattan Mutiny and prevented others from following their example.
The peace continued to hold for now, however, Luna couldn’t help but wonder how long that would last. Especially if the results of the difference in power dynamic between New Towns and Old Towns, left settlements unable to protect themselves from attack, like Valley Dale. Luna worried that in attempting to prevent one civil war, she had unknowingly laid the catalyst for another.
"I don't think that I can help you with a charter, but hopefully I can put on a performance that will make up for it," the alicorn declared with the mask of a large smile on her face, trying not to let a hint of her internal turmoil bleed through to her external expression.
The mayor accepted the statement in good faith and the two continued on their guided tour around the town, making light conversation about unimportant topics. Allowing a much lighter mood to descend upon them.
Eventually, as they made their way back to her trailer, Luna realised that their tour was coming to an end and that this would be her last opportunity to ask the mayor a question that had been bubbling in her mind for some time. She didn't know why it felt important to ask this particular question, but it did. "Do you know the name of the cloud city that attacked Valley Dale?" Luna asked in a tone that she hoped did not sound disrespectful or intended to resurface painful memories.
Mayor Wind Chill looked a bit surprised by the sudden pivot in conversation but didn't appear to be too put upon by the question and decided to answer.
It was late afternoon when Luna found herself pacing up and down the narrow length of the interior of her trailer. She ran through the plans for her upcoming performance in her mind. She would have preferred to not do the show at all, but with how many of the town's residents seem to be almost bubbling with excitement, she did not want to disappoint with a poor showing.
Starswirl had always detested magic shows, seeing the pretty lights and showy tricks as insultingly shallow imitations of the true majesty of the sacred magical arts and viewed performance magicians as washed-out failures of Mages. Charlatans and amateurs that could not achieve fame and prestige the "proper" way, resorted to deceiving the uneducated masses into believing that they are great and powerful practitioners of magic through cheap parlour tricks.
Had Starswirl been in Luna’s position today, he would have flat-out rejected the mayor's request and asked if there were any real problems that he could solve. Perhaps he would have even been insulted by the request. At his heart, he was a stallion of pure practicality and utilitarianism. Caring very little for the emotions and opinions of others. The most famous example of this being the infamous bells that he attached to his cloak and his hat. Every pony that he ever met had told him how incredibly stupid they looked, but because the bells' Arcane-Grade metal could hold enchantments far better than ordinary cloth, he never cared about what they had to say.
Her old mentor would most definitely scold her if he was here now, but Luna didn't care. She always had a soft spot for magic shows. Their ability to inspire wonder, awe and whimsy in their audience was a magic unto itself. It was something that Starswirl would not have understood. As a stallion that had been born and raised in the College and had taken its views and ideology to heart.
The belief that the highest echelons of magic were something that should only be wielded by those deemed worthy enough. There were tiers to the value of the lives of unicorns, measured by how powerful they were and how deep they plunged into the depths of secrets of the mystical arts. With the unicorns of the College being at the top, of course, and peasants who could barely use their horns beyond telekinesis and illumination spells, being at the bottom.
That's not to say that Starswirl was completely apathetic to the citizens of Equestria. He took his duties to protect the ponies of the kingdom and to fight evil wherever he may find it very seriously, but there was a detached superiority to his interactions with the towns and villages that he helped. Like a kennel master that had to make sure that the hounds in his care were well looked after and healthy.
Luna was self-aware enough to recognise that despite the love and gratitude she held toward Starswirl, who had sheltered her and saved her life, he was a cold and rigid stallion. Had she and her sister not possessed a peerless magical potential, he likely would have dropped them off at the nearest orphanage without a second thought, if he had chosen to help them in the first place. Though, she assigned greater blame for that mentality on the College as an institution as opposed to the stallion himself.
For a very long time, the organisation buckled and strained against the oppressive weight of three thousand years of legacy, expectations and traditions. It became a vast, unrelenting machine that hollowed out and broke the spirits of everypony in its care into being as compassionless, unyielding and intolerant as it. There was a very good reason why Luna and her sister had chosen not to revive the College of Sorcery when they had ascended to power and instead stood by, doing nothing as it suffered its final death throes in the wake of Discord's defeat.
Now all that remained of the once mighty College were the memories contained within the minds of the alicorn sisters and a single dark spire that stood as its silent, eternal tombstone.
Luna thought that perhaps this was for the best.
A knock on the trailer door stirred the former Princess from her thoughts. It was not the first time this afternoon that somepony had been at her door. Mostly foals and yearlings that wanted to meet this supposedly great and powerful wizard.
The disguised alicorn took a quick moment to moment to check her disguise in a small mirror on the side of the trailer. Her azure blue coat was still the correct shade and texture that she had initially set it. Her platinum blonde, almost silver hair was unchanged in its length and style and her purple/pink eyes had not deviated from when she had first crafted her illusion.
Once certain that her disguise was flawless, Luna took a further brief second to glance around the trailer, making sure that nothing on display in the room would hint at her deception.
She then walked the brief distance to the door, opened it and stepped out to see a young pegasus mare that stood outside. At least Luna assumed that the pony was an adult, she looked young enough to potentially be a teen on the cusp of marehood. Her coat was a dark green and her mane was a bright, electric blue.
However, the most interesting detail about the mare is her Talent Mark. The pattern looked like stylized vortexes of wind that twisted and entwined with each other to form the image of a set of balanced scales. Most ponies had Talent Marks whose meaning was readily apparent at a glance. Such as a farmer having the image of a piece of fruit, a weather-pony having the image of a cloud or a noble having the image of jewellery. Her's was vague and open to interpretation, though held a slight aura of mystery to it that intrigued Luna.
Throughout her long life, she had often found that the most interesting ponies she had ever met also had the most mysterious Talent Marks. Now thoroughly curious, Luna decided to engage the pegasus in conversation, as opposed to rebuffing her as she had done with the other visitors that she had received this afternoon.
"Is there something I can help you with?" Luna asked the young mare in a kind tone.
The pegasus, who suddenly stood eye-level with the alicorn's chest, took a step back in surprise. Arching her head up and up and up before finally making eye contact with Luna.
"Oh wow, you're really tall!" The mare exclaimed in astonishment.
The former Princess gave an embarrassed chuckle in response. While it was easy enough to change the colour of her coat, mane and eyes or disguise her wings. Creating an illusion to alter the height or shape of her body was a far harder task. Not only would it require her to make her head invisible, but she would also need to create an illusionary false head in the middle of her neck that perfectly mirrored her real one, while actively compensating for variables like the origin of her voice being higher than it should be or direction that her eyes pointed being inconsistent.
Even that would not be enough though, since her entire build was lanky, Luna would have to cast illusions to alter the proportions of her entire body. The top of her back would have to be made invisible, her legs would need to be visually shortened and a fake torso would need to be projected under her real one. Beyond that the illusion of everything from her walking gait, to the shape of her shadow, to how she moved her limbs would be so catastrophically out of sync with her actual body and require such an unfathomable level of focus to mentally account for and actively change the illusion to reflect every single variable in real-time, guaranteed that any such attempt would be doomed to failure.
The simple alternative that Luna had chosen was a rudimentary mental compulsion spell that would cause any pony that looked at her to not find her height especially remarkable. Perhaps a bit taller than most ponies, but nothing abnormal. The spell wasn't remotely infallible though, as this pegasus had just proven. However, it was a lot easier to explain away being deceptively tall, rather than somepony trying to touch a certain part of her body and having the illusion crumble away before their hoof.
The mare's surprise wore off as she finally processed the question that Luna had asked her and eventually replied in a friendly tone.
Wind Scale felt incredibly nervous as she approached the large, ornately decorated trailer.
Her mother had instructed her to assist the newly arrived Mage in preparing for tonight's show in any way that she could. It seemed like a daunting task in her mind. Growing up, she had read stories about legendary unicorns that performed feats of unimaginable power. She had no idea what she could even do to assist the Mage. What possible task could be within her power to achieve, but not within the Mage's? She would only get in the way, but she had to attempt regardless, even if there was little that she could offer.
It's not even as though she would be able to offer to show the unicorn around Valley Dale. Her mother had already spent the entire afternoon doing exactly that and tried to build good relations with the magician. Starry Night had seemed like a nice mare from what she had seen, but Wind Scale just hoped that she didn't strain the Mage's patience with her presence.
As Wind Scale approached the door to the trailer, she took a deep breath to steady her nerves before finally mustering the courage to knock softly on the door.
'Knock' 'Knock' 'Knock'
A second passed, then two, then five, then ten. All the while, the filly grew more and more anxious. She wanted to meet the wizard and befriend her for reasons beyond the orders of her mother, the mayor, but Starry Night was potentially so different from any pony that she had previously met with that she wasn't sure how to interact with her. Perhaps the Mage would enjoy Wind Scale's company after traveling for so long alone and the two would become fast friends, or perhaps there was a reason that Starry had chosen to travel alone and her presence would only be a nuisance.
It was more the fear of uncertainty than the actual fear of the Mage herself that planted a poisoned seed of doubt in her confidence, and the longer that the door remained unanswered the more that the creeping shadow of doubt grew.
Perhaps Starry simply had not heard the knock. Her first attempt had been fairly soft, and there was always the chance that the Mage had simply not heard her.
'Knock' 'Knock' 'Knock'
Wind Scale quickly knocked a second time, not allowing her courage to deteriorate any further. She cringed slightly at how loud she had knocked, hoping that her hoof had not scuffed or chipped the delicate paintwork on the door.
However, it was not even a second later that the door suddenly opened, and she was greeted by a solid wall of light blue fur that now completely occupied the doorway. At first, her mind did not recognize what she was looking at, as though there was something that kept her from focusing on the object in front of her. Her attention was continually being drawn away to something else. The sensation actually felt like it was starting to give her a headache.
"Is there something I can help you with?" A female voice asked from what seemed like directly above her.
The external audible stimulation snapped Wind Scale's focus back sharply and as she craned her head, she realised with a creeping sensation of dread and awe that the wall of blue fur was in fact the chest of the most enormous mare that she had ever seen in her life.
Starry was almost double her height. She could have stood on the back of another pony, and that still might not have been enough to reach eye level with her. Wind Scale took a step back out of shock and Starry used the opportunity to descend the single step from the entryway of her trailer to the ground. Though this did almost nothing to reduce the order of magnitude by which she towered over Wind Scale.
"Oh wow, you're really tall!" The pegasus said without thought. It only took her a second to realise the words that came out of her mouth and she cringed. Her mission to make a good first impression with the mare was not off to a fantastic start. Starry Night gave an awkward chuckle upon seeing her reaction, out of what must have been second-hoof embarrassment at how badly Wind Scale was fumbling this introduction.
After taking a moment to compose herself, the young pegasus refocused her attention on the question that she had been asked and had so rudely not answered so far.
"Hi, my name is Wind Scale," she replied in what she hoped sounded like a more relaxed and friendly tone. "But my friends call me Windy."
Before the magician had a chance to respond, the pegasus continued in her introduction.
"My mother, the mayor, asked to help you get ready for the show in a few hours."
Charging ahead unto a new conventional topic to cover up for a misstep in speaking to somepony was a basic tactic that her mother had taught her, in grooming her to become mayor one day. She despised those lessons in politics but was glad that some of what she learned had been worthwhile.
"I see," the mare said in a kind tone. "Well thank you for taking the time to assist me. Your family and the Valley Dale as a whole have been very accommodating to me." She continued to compliment.
"However, to answer your previous comment. My mother was from Saddle Arabia and it is from her side of the family that I get my height." The unicorn explained while gesturing to herself with one foreleg.
The explanation made sense in Windy's mind. Though she had never personally met a Saddle Arabian, she had heard that they were taller and more lithe than normal ponies. It would certainly explain why she was so tall. In fact the longer that the pegasus looked at Starry, the less remarkable that her height became.
Sure, she was still very tall. Probably the tallest pony in Valley Dale, but the unicorn didn't give off the same feeling of unnatural enormity to her stature. The mild headache that she had felt earlier began to return as she saw Starry's height as more and more within the scope of normality.
Windy felt silly that she had made such a fuss of it earlier. Obviously, the stress and anxiety in the lead-up to their meeting, combined with the fact that the magician had stood a step above her in the entryway to the trailer, had startled the pegasus badly enough that she overreacted.
"Sorry about my reaction earlier," Windy apologised to the unicorn. "It was very rude of me."
"It's no problem at all," The mare nodded in acceptance of the apology. "As for you assisting me, I would be glad to share your company as I prepare for the show tonight."
Starry lifted her head briefly to gauge the position of the sun in the sky. "There are still a few hours before the sun sets and the show begins. Perhaps you would care to show me to a nearby tavern or Inn where I could purchase a meal. I realise now that I haven't eaten since this morning and it would take too long to build a fire and prepare a meal myself."
Windy was delighted. This was a perfect opportunity to make herself useful and potentially befriend the powerful Mage. She still had a number of gold Bits saved from her allowance. She would insist on paying for both of them and then perhaps she could have the conversation with the mare that she truly wanted to have.
"I know the perfect place," Wind Scale said with a grin. With her thoughts now fully focused on her destination, her headache disappeared and she struggled to remember the cause of her headache in the first place.
The Prancing Unicorn was one of the more high-end taverns within Valley Dale. Very much the sort of place where her mother and other important socialites would congregate on the weekends. Windy seldom ever ate here, precisely because it was one of her mother's regular haunts, but since it served some of the best food in the town, it was the obvious first choice to take Starry.
Luckily, since most of the town's ponies were still preparing for the imminent show, the two of them were able to choose among the best seats in the nearly empty tavern.
It had been a mostly quiet meal with Windy only asking occasional questions to Starry and vice versa. While the unicorn seemed to legitimately enjoy the meal and quiet, low-key atmosphere of the sparsely populated tavern. The young pegasus found the experience to be simultaneously awkward and frustrating. She had tried to get to know Starry better, but whenever she tried to ask about anything regarding her family, her home or her previous travels, she would be met with short, blunt or roundabout answers that yielded little actual information.
At no point was Starry rude, closed-off or standoffish. In fact, she had kept her friendly tone and relaxed demeanour throughout their conversation, but her mother had given Windy enough political and social etiquette lessons to recognise when somepony does not want to talk about a particular subject but is too polite to tell you to shut up and stop asking questions.
Starry was so different from how she ever imagined a great and powerful Mage to be. Had she not already seen the unicorn's magical prowess in the market earlier today, she might have questioned her credentials as a Legacy Mage. Rather than acting like the pinnacle of unicorn superiority with an ego that she has probably rightfully earned, she seemed to go out of her way to not call attention to herself or boast about her achievements. Starry had initially baulked at the prospect of going to the fanciest tavern in the town and had only been placated at the realisation that the Prancing Unicorn was incredibly modest compared to the fine dining establishments that could be found in the Old Towns. She also had to be strong-hoofed by her mother into even agreeing to do the show.
Windy had seen many of Valley Dale's upper crust feign humbleness and humility, but their thinly veiled arrogance was obvious to any pony that knew what to look for. Yet, there was a sincerity to Starry that the young pegasus found bizarre.
'Was the purpose of a Mage's Journeypony Trials not to obtain enough glory and prestige to enter the highest echelons of the College of Sorcery's ranks?'
Sure, the College is now defunct as an institution, but if she was claiming to want to fulfil the objectives of one of its trails, surely trying to travel mostly incognito was contrary to her goals. At least that was what she had read about the College. Perhaps she was mistaken in her research, but that didn't seem right.
Apparently from what the gate guards had learned, Starry's family had a homestead in the Eastern Wastes and she used to do freelance work in the area. If she wanted to lead a humble, inconspicuous life, would she not have stayed home?
Perhaps she was fleeing from something or somepony, but that didn't seem right either. Why would she then announce herself as a Legacy Mage at the gate and agree to show off her power with a magic show?
Stranger still was that her accent sounded much more alike those that she heard from the bigger cities, than those from the backwater Eastern Wastes. Perhaps she had picked it up from her family that had apparently descended from the College, but her familiarity with Old Town fine dining lent credence to the theory that Starry was more familiar with the Old Towns than she would admit.
Windy didn't at all think that Starry Night was a liar or a fraud, but there was something more to her motivations than Windy was aware of. Some piece that did not fit into place.
Though she hated her mother's world of politics and social manoeuvring, Windy prided herself in being able to understand ponies and figure out what went on in their minds. While she probably had a better read on Starry than anypony else in the town, the fact that she was still largely an enigma, frustrated Windy more than she cared to admit.
The young pegasus was glad that Starry was much less aloof or intimidating than she had initially feared and that gave rise to potential opportunities that she was all too happy to soon explore, but she still didn't understand the mare in front of her and that was problematic.
She had her own agenda independent of her mother's attempts to butter up Starry. A proposal that she wanted to present to the unicorn, the reason why she was trying to befriend her in the first place. For that to work, she needed to understand the magician sitting across from her. Understand her motivations and why she began her Journeypony Trail to begin with.
Perhaps a change of strategy then? If she wouldn't talk about her past, maybe she would be more receptive to questions about her present and future plans.
"If I may ask, why did you decide to do your Mage trails?" The young filly enquired with the same expression of mild interest that the previous questions had been asked with. "I thought that the College of Sorcery's traditions would have died out by now?"
Yet, the thinly veiled eagerness in the tone of her latest question indicated that she was trying to overtly push the conversation where she wanted it to go. The filly was finally losing patience with Luna’s deflection.
'Oh, how very direct of her. No more subtlety then?' Luna thought in her mind.
The meal that she was sharing with Windy had been a lot more interesting than Luna thought it would have been. The filly clearly wanted to ask her something but was trying to get more of a feel for the alicorn before hoof.
It was a more cautious variation of the same brand politicking that her mother had tried and returned a similar level of success. She just wasn't skilled enough of a politician to pull one over on the seasoned ruler. Though her possible motive still eluded Luna. It probably wasn't anything malicious, but it intrigued the alicorn nonetheless as she tried to puzzle out the mind of the young pegasus, similar to what Windy herself was currently trying to do to her.
The filly reminded Luna of her sister in a way. Trying to play her cards close to her chest and never saying what was truly on her mind. It was very reminiscent of how Celestia used to behave when they were younger. Always trying to understand the mind of who she was talking to, figuring out the exact right thing to say and the exact right question to ask to get what she wanted.
Luna looked down at the fork that she held in her hoof. Turning it over in her grasp as she pondered on how to answer Windy's question. She could just distract and deflect as she had done up until now, but she felt sad at seeing this filly try to build walls around herself. She regretted not trying to form a closer emotional relationship with her sister and instead allowed her to regress into her own mental fortress surrounded by impenetrable walls of masks and manipulation.
She didn't delude herself into thinking that she could radically alter the trajectory of Windy's life with only the day or two that she would spend in Valley Dale, but would it kill her to engage with the filly on a closer emotional level?
Luna wouldn't tell the Windy the whole truth of course, but perhaps she could offer something more substantial about herself and in turn, get the filly to open up more and figure out why she was so guarded about her motivations.
With her decision made, the disguised alicorn adopted a more serious expression, placed her knife and fork down neatly in the centre of the plate of her mostly finished vegetable pie, and then used her magic to move the plate to the edge of the table on her right. The invisible flash of her horn marked the creation of a sound-dampening spell that manifested around their table.
The filly, who had been carefully watching Luna, interpreted this as a sign that the small talk and roundaboutisms were over and a more earnest conversation was about to take place. Windy's expression grew equally serious but tinged with a nervousness and trepidation that she wasn't able to completely hide.
"I was miserable with my life at home, feeling like nothing that I did mattered anymore. I wanted a change, a chance to go out and do tangible good in the Equestria. Doing everything I can to make the world a better place."
It felt a bit wrong to have such a mature and personal discussion with such a young pony, who was probably still a teenager, but if Windy wanted a more mature discussion, then Luna would give her one. Let's see her digest that.
The filly leaned forward in her chair, eager at the sudden inroads that Luna had just offered, but there was an undercurrent in her expression for internal conflict and deeper contemplation at the alicorn's words. Something about what Luna just said seemed to strike a deeper chord within the pegasus.
'How interesting.'
She was searching for something in this conversation and some part of Luna’s answer took her a step closer to finding it.
"You left your family behind?" Windy asked in a tone that approached breathlessness. She didn't bother disguising her interest in the conversation with a facade anymore. She was too invested.
"My sister and I had grown apart for many years. Until one day, I woke up and realised that each of us would be happier if we lived our lives separately." Luna replied candidly. Her decision sounded so much more noble after being twisted into a technical half-truth.
She obviously couldn't tell Windy that she was a failed ruler who grew to be so despised by the citizens, nobility and even her own family that it became impossible for her to effectively govern. Eventually deciding to cut her losses and run in the middle of the night.
It was probably the correct decision in hindsight, but it didn't sound very heroic when laid out so bluntly.
"Was it worth it to leave your family behind?" Windy asked with unmasked intrigue. Luna's face fell at the question. She should have expected it. It was a logical follow-up question, but the cracks in her own mask formed as the question that had so heavily weighed on her mind was spoken out loud and she wasn't prepared to hear it.
'That was the question, wasn't it?'
'Was it worth it?'
It was something that she had asked herself nearly every waking hour for the past three days. Her logic and reason lead her to the same conclusion every time. That there was no other option. However, that didn't stop a suffocating blanket of regret from descending on her. Whether that was regret at her choice or regret that she had allowed her relationship with Celestia to deteriorate so badly, she wasn't sure.
"I don't know," Luna gave the only honest answer she could give. "I think so, but I don't know."
If Windy's expression looked like she was experiencing inner turmoil before, now it looked more like an open civil war waged in her mind. Her ears pressed against her skull, her eyes shut and her teeth clenched.
'Is that what she was looking for?'
Is that what she wanted from this conversation? The answers to her own burning questions. Heard from the mouth of somepony who had already done what she wanted to do.
Luna hoped that she was wrong about Windy's motivations. She hoped that she misinterpreted every single clue and that her read on the filly was completely off because she did not know if she was emotionally prepared to handle the next words that were likely to come from the mouth of the young pegasus.
As Windy looked to form a resolution in her mind, she opened her eyes, which now only held determination and looked intently at Luna.
"Will you take me as your apprentice?"
The former princess did not know whether to laugh or cry at the situation. The cruel poetry of it all. Her mind was inadvertently drawn back to a memory that she lived through so long ago.
The small, dark blue filly looked up at the strange, grey-coated stallion that stood before her. His blue, star-embroidered cloak fluttered in the wind.
She stood weakly on her hooves, barely able to carry herself any further after weeks of starvation spent in the wilderness. Her similarly emaciated older sister stood next to her and beheld the stallion with eyes full of caution and calculation. Yet the eyes of the small, blue filly held nothing but boldness and steely determination as she spoke to the unicorn in a firm voice that belied her thin, trembling frame.
"Will you take us as your apprentices?"
It was almost too poetic to be possible that she would find herself on the opposite end of the exact same conversation that she had so very long ago. With a filly that seemed to embody both the best and worst aspects of Luna and her sister.
'Was it Fate or Destiny?'
That her life would come full circle in such a way. Did that mean that she should accept? Carry on the unbroken cycle of mentor and apprentice?
'Was that enough justification though?'
To tear a young filly away from her home and expose her to the worst that the world had to offer for no better reason than because Windy wanted adventure or was spiteful to her family.
Yet, would Luna’s discouragement be enough to keep her shackled to this town if she was determined to leave? Windy held potential, Luna could feel that, but she wasn't yet strong enough to face the world by herself, not nearly. Perhaps the safest place for her to be would be by Luna’s side.
She could teach Windy. Use her vast experience to help the filly avoid the same mistakes that had ruined Luna’s family. But, what right did the former ruler have to try to live vicariously through this filly and shape her into some sort of alternative version of her own younger self that had made better decisions?
Countless arguments and counter-arguments churned in her mind, like a violent maelstrom. She held a flat and unfazed exterior expression, but her thoughts threatened to consume her.
Yet, as each argument was whittled down to nothing in her mind. She arrived at the only logical conclusion. The only response that she could possibly give to the young pegasus.
As Luna’s eyes met with those of Windy's, she could see that a mixture of excitement and dread had bled into her expression of resolve and determination. The longer that Luna silently contemplated her answer, the greater the filly's anxiety grew until she was openly shifting from side to side in her chair and fidgeted with her wings.
Luna opened her mouth and prepared to give an answer that would forever shape the life of the young pegasus.
"No,"
The simple answer rocked the filly, who leaned back as if she had been struck.
"What! Why not?" Windy demanded loudly, as she stood up from her seat, her hooves tightly clasped on the edge of the table. Her wings flared. The filly's facade now completely forgotten.
It was obvious how much this potential opportunity meant to the pegasus. Luna hated to shoot her down, but there was no other option. She had embarked on this journey to charge headlong straight into the teeth of the most terrible dangers of this world. She would not endanger the filly's life in such a way.
"How old are you, Windy?" Luna asked in a soft voice. A genuinely remorseful expression on her face.
The pegasus looked taken back at the question but soon responded.
"I'm sixteen years old," she answered heatedly. "But, that doesn't matter! I've been training all my life for this. I'm more than ready." Windy declared with a fiery look of determination.
'She really is both the best and the worst aspects of my sister and I.' Luna mused. Remembering the incendiary arguments that she used to have with Starswirl.
Sixteen was far older than the age that Luna had begun her apprenticeship, but the circumstances were not the same. Windy was not a starving orphan that she had found in the forest. She had a home. A family. Wind Chill might not have been the most attentive mother, but from what little she had spoken of her daughter to Luna on their tour. It was easy to see that she cared about Wind Scale.
Perhaps it was hypocritical of Luna to espouse the virtues of staying connected with family, but she refused to believe that Windy and her mother had burned the bridges between them so thoroughly that fleeing was the only option left available.
"You have family here Wind Scale," Luna tried to reason in a calm tone.
"And? So what?" The filly shot back. "You left your own family behind. And besides, I wouldn't be alone. I'll be travelling with you."
The alicorn grits her teeth at that. Why could this filly not understand how fortunate she was? The mayor might not be a perfect mother, but she was far better than no family or family that did not give a shit about you.
"I would be a poor substitute for a guardian, Windy. A mentor is not the same as a mother." Affirmed Luna in what she hoped was a de-escalatory tone.
"I was cared for by a team of nannies, so I wouldn't know what it's like to be raised by a mother." Windy seethed.
"You were still raised by ponies that cared for you. You don't know what it's like to be alone," Luna said, losing patience. Her own voice began to rise in volume. "To live your life without love or affection. Without family that cares and supports you. That isolation and detachment has broken ponies stronger than you. You have no idea what you're asking for!"
That appeared to be the exact wrong thing to say though as Windy sneered at the words.
"I am alone!" Windy seethed with a long-built that never had a chance to boil over until now. "My mother would rather spend her every waking moment mingling with her snooty, rich friends and figuring out new and innovative ways to grovel before nobles that don't give a damn about her than spend time with me!"
Luna recognised pent-up anger when she saw it. How long had this been bubbling up inside of her? The alicorn chose to let go of her own charged emotions, remain silent and let the filly continue to rage. She couldn’t take her away from this town, but at the very least she could lend an ear for Windy to vent her frustrations against. Hoping that it would grant her some level of catharsis and perhaps then she could be reasoned with.
"Everypony in this town would rather beg for scraps at the noble's table than try to do something about it. No pony sees it except for me. They are so content in their own little world that they don't see how far under the hoof of the Old Towns they are!" Windy carried on her rant gathering momentum as it drifted further and further away from the conversation topic as she aired out her grievances.
'Had she ever told anypony how she truly felt before?'
If her mentality was anything like Celestia’s, then probably not. Luna looked sadly at the filly in front of her that was still continuing to rant. This was probably the most honest conversation that she has had with anypony since she was a foal. The dams that held back her emotions and desires had been broken down in trying to convince Luna to take her as an apprentice and now it all spewed forth.
"And the worst part is that I can't do anything about it! Even if I became mayor, there is nothing that I could change. There is no justice. It's NOT FAIR!" Windy's voice cracked as she shouted the last line. Tears of frustration welled in her eyes as she lost control of her emotions.
'Fairness and justice. Is that what this was about?'
Is that what her Talent Mark represented? A set of balanced scales wrapped in a whirlwind. The pursuit of justice in an inherently unjust world.
'What a truly unfortunate Talent Mark to be burdened with if that is indeed the case.'
The need to make fair a society that can not be made fair. That not even an alicorn could make fair. It would explain her anger and frustration, as well as why she would wish to join Luna on her Trials.
Did that make Luna a hypocrite? To think of Windy's supposed destiny as impossibly doomed, when she herself was currently embarking on a quest to wage a one-mare war on all evil in this world.
The pegasus in question was currently slumped over with her head resting on the table atop her folded forelegs, crying. Her anger had burnt out leaving her with nothing, but miserable exhaustion. Not being able to express herself for so long had evidently resulted in emotional volatility.
Luna had underestimated how much this opportunity to travel with her had meant to Windy. This wasn't just a naive young mare trying to live out a fairy tale fantasy. She had pinned her hopes and dreams of fulfilling her destiny on Luna and the alicorn had so ruthlessly crushed those aspirations under her hoof without even realising how important this was to the filly.
The former princess gazed mournfully at the young pegasus as she tried to figure out a way to resolve the current predicament. She remained firm in her resolve to not endanger the filly's life by bringing Windy with her on her travels, but surely there had to be something that she could offer the filly.
She racked her brain to come up with an answer. Until suddenly a rather elegant solution began to form in her mind.
Luna leaned over and laid a comforting hoof on Windy's shoulder. An easy feat with her enormous height.
"What if I told you that there was a way for you to one day become my apprentice?" Luna said in a quiet, soothing voice.
Windy's head snapped up at the offer. A spark of anger briefly warred in her eyes, as if she wanted to renew their argument, but her hope and curiosity quickly smothered that spark as she awaited for Luna to continue with undisguised interest.
"Tomorrow I will teach you the fundamental techniques of advanced pegasus magic. If you can master them by the time I return to Valley Dale in two years, when you are an adult, and you still wish to travel with me, then I will accept you as my apprentice." Luna pitched the offer that she had crafted.
It wasn't perfect, but it solved multiple problems. It would give Windy time to repair relations with her mother, as well as time to truly weigh her options and consider if an apprenticeship under her was really what she wanted. It would test her commitment to practice every day and learn by trial and error to master what Luna taught her.
The alicorn would also be far more comfortable in taking on an adult as her student, who had spent multiple years contemplating Luna’s offer.
The filly desperately searched the former princess's face for any signs of deception. Almost unwilling to believe the offer laid before her.
"Do you promise to come back?" Windy asked in an almost pleading tone.
"I promise."
Codex Entry 1: A Historical Timeline of Equestria (part 1)
Before the many species of this world came to dominate its continents and civilization flourished, there was an age where gods and monsters reigned supreme.
Almost nothing about this time is known and it is widely regarded as purely theoretical, remaining a source of contention and debate within the academic community. Though, the tremendous age and overwhelming power of entities like Discord and the Tree of Harmony strongly lead credence to the idea that there was once an era when this planet's magic was far more potent and its inhabitants were orders of magnitude more powerful than any creature today.
It's unknown when this age ended or why it ended, but eventually, all of the primordial beings either died, left this world by unknown means, or became dormant.
The mechanisms that controlled the sun and the moon (and potentially the physical celestial bodies themselves) are also believed to have been created at some point during this time. Though, by who, for what reason and via what means remain a mystery.
The Prehistoric Age:
Before the emergence of civilization in Equestria, prehistoric ponies roamed the grassy plains of the Equus continent in migrating, nomadic herds. The three pony subspecies likely began to deviate in evolutionary paths from a common pony ancestor somewhere during this time.
Not much is known about the lifestyles of these early ponies apart from theories proposed by Hippologists.
Due to the unreliability of fossil dating and the absence of much other archaeological evidence, it's impossible to know the time scale at which the Pony Prehistoric Age occurred or how old the Pony species is. It's completely possible that an entire age existed between the Primordial and Prehistoric ages, wherein the Primordial Age ended, but ponies did not yet exist as a species. It's also possible that the tail-end of the Primordial Age overlapped with the beginning of the Prehistoric Age.
Ancient Equestria: (From ≈30 000BU to ≈5000BU)
During the age of Ancient Equestria, ponies began to develop the first civilizations and created relatively advanced societies along the fertile banks of the White-Whinny River, before expanding to occupy an area of land roughly in line with the modern Equestrian borders.
Ancient, weathered ruins of these civilizations can still be found. However, due to the First Equestrian Kingdom's unfortunate tendency to destroy Pre-Kingdom literature and artifacts, not much is known about this time outside of what can be deciphered from surviving archaeological evidence.
The First Equestrian Kingdom: (From ≈5000BU to ≈2200BU)
The First Unification of the pony species occurred sometime around 5000BU, when a particularly powerful unicorn kingdom engaged in a campaign of expansion. After a long series of wars and invasions with neighbouring pony nations, they united the pony species under a single banner.
The First Equestrian Kingdom is believed to have been a theocratic empire with a rigid hierarchy and caste system. Their policies of expansionism, imperialism and xenophobia caused numerous brutal border wars with other species in neighbouring countries. The atrocities committed during those wars still linger in the memories of those nations, with many referring to the First Equestrian Kingdom disdainfully as the Pony Imperium and Equestria earned a pariah status that would follow the nation for millennia. Many ponies within Equestria also do not look back at the Kingdom with fondness. Strict adherence to imperial dogma, slave trading and the subjugation of other species made the First Pony Kingdom a barbaric nation by modern sensibilities with unconscionable practices.
The Kingdom eventually collapsed into civil war after an unknown calamity destabilised the nation. Various power brokers, local leaders and warlords carved out their own personal fiefdoms as the Kingdom fractured and splintered.
Although much more is known about the First Equestrian Kingdom than the previous ages, most of the historical records dating back to this time have been lost. The fires that destroyed the capital city of King's Rest and its many libraries in the civil war were an especially devastating loss for the collection of knowledge and history of Equestria.
Much of the advanced magical knowledge pioneered by the Kingdom's Mages has never been recovered. Most notably, the processes for the creation of Arco Steel and Trillium Crystals. Though some believe this is for the best, as the empire's Mages also innovated and practised many horrifying varieties of Dark Magics that greatly aided them in their conquests.
The Age of the Three Tribes: (From ≈2200BU to 11BU)
After the collapse of the First Equestrian Kingdom, the once united nation fractured and then fractured further. With dozens of War Lords, Noble Houses and roving war bands jostling for power. For about three hundred years, the borders between the pony splinter kingdoms were in a constant state of flux. Territorial conquests, civil war, political marriages, kingdom mergers, coalitions and disputed land claims meant that the region was kept in a state of near-constant instability.
Many of the former Kingdom's foreign conquests and colonies were seized back by their original claimants. However, the heartland of Equestria itself would seldom be put under threat of invasion out of the fear that an external threat would reunite the mighty fallen empire against a common foe.
A vast variety of governments, ideologies and political theories would rise and fall in these tumultuous years. From theocracies and absolute monarchies to Oligarchies and Dutchies, to more experimental ideologies like anarchy and representative democracy.
Eventually, the region began to stabilise. The various nations consolidated their territories and a complex web of alliances and treaties was created to guard against future aggression.
Three main alliances came to dominate the region, dividing the nations up roughly along species lines. These colloquially became known as the Three Tribes.
Though periods of conflict and natural disaster would severely strain tensions between the Tribes, the status quo held firm for more than two thousand years. During this time each alliance strengthened their bonds with each other until each Tribe could almost be considered a confederation.
However, the Three Tribes would experience an even more rapid and calamitous downfall than the First Equestrian Kingdom.
The Windigo Cataclysm: (From 11BU to 0AU)
No pony knows what the Windigos are, where they came from or why they descended upon Equestria in the way that they did.
Some theorists put forward the idea that the recent defeat of Grogar the Terrible was the likely catalyst for the attack and that the Windigos were merely a contingency that the Dark Warlock put into place to punish those that would seek to topple him.
Some also think that the Windigos could have perhaps originated from the Primordial Age, but without conclusive evidence, their nature and origin can only be speculated on.
However they came into being, their effect upon the Equestrian region was unambiguously devastating. The assault started slow, almost unnoticeable at first. With the only indication of their presence being somewhat longer and more harsh winters. This was initially blamed on shifting climates and Weather Pegasi incompetence.
In the coming years, crop failures triggered by the increasingly frigid weather and the threat of impending famine incited tensions and fostered deep mistrust between the Tribes. A total war over dwindling resources and allegations over each Tribe's perceived culpability for the disaster loomed over the region.
Border skirmishes, political instability and infighting among the Tribes distracted the ponies of Equestria from the greater impending threat until it was almost too late to mount any sort of credible defence against the Windigos.
As conditions in Equestria rapidly deteriorated to calamitous levels, famine and unending blizzards swept across the region, resulting in widespread death. Eventually, a desperate peace summit was called and after each faction leader was convinced of the Windigos' responsibility for the ongoing crisis, they vowed to work together to defeat their shared adversary.
There is a lack of clarity in surviving historical records over the means in which this new grand coalition defeated the Windigo threat. Official sources from the time state that the power of friendship and that the harmony created by the Tribes cooperating with was supposedly responsible for the expulsion of the Windigos. Though, many magical scholars dispute the plausibility of this version of events. They instead propose that a powerful magical artefact, such as Grogar's Bell or the Elements of Harmony, is much more likely to have caused the defeat of the Windigos.
In the aftermath of the Windigos expulsion, the leaders of the Three Tribes recognised how their divisions had almost resulted in the extinction of the pony species and decided to reorganise their various tribal alliances into a single united government. The event became known as the Second Unification of the pony species.
Many changes had occurred in the aftermath of the Windigo Cataclysm and the newly created Kingdom of Equestria struggled to adapt to this new world.
The receding ice sheets unearthed a number of mysterious geological changes whose origins elude scholars even to this day. Including the Grand Division in the Eastern Wastes, the Flamecano off the coast of the Rocky Peninsula, the Crystal Caverns beneath Canterhorn Mountain and Great Malevolence in the Churning Sea.
Some regions opted not to join the Equestrian Kingdom, such as the Duchy of Gallopburg and the entire border province of Grey Hill.
A flash of Luna’s horn signalled the moon's ascension from beyond the edge of the horizon. The stars slowly started to fade into existence as the blinding rays of the sun retreated behind the peaks of the distant mountain ranges. Yet, its influence had not yet completely abated as the sky was still awash in a hue of deep indigo, though that too would fade in the coming hours giving way to true night as the sun drifted to the opposite end of the planet.
Midnight would always be Luna’s favourite time of day, but beautiful twilight came as a close second. Though this night, the changing of the celestial bodies had a more special significance than most other nights. It marked the near beginning of her grand performance in front of the town of Valley Dale.
Luna noticed how empty the town had looked as Windy escorted her through the desolate streets. The contrast to the bustling traffic that she had observed hours earlier was stark. Yet, she soon found out exactly where the hordes of ponies had gone.
The market centre was crowded beyond what the alicorn would have thought possible. Had they not arrived via a side street that took them directly to the rear of the stage, Luna wasn't sure if they could have waded through the crowd. Even having seen the extensive preparations, she was still taken back at the size of the crowd.
Having attended many, many royal processions and celebrations, the former princess was not a stranger to large gatherings, but the level of fanfare baffled her. Having a supposed powerful Mage demonstrate their abilities was always a sight to behold, so it was no surprise that it would attract at least a little bit of attention, but she severely underestimated how much of a spectacle her performance was hyped up to be.
It was not often that Luna was nervous or doubtful about the skill of her magic, but she now wondered if she had truly done enough preparation in the hours before. Perhaps she should have…
"I'm sorry."
Luna was so deep in her thoughts that it took her a moment to realise that Windy had spoken to her. She looked down to her side and saw that the filly remorsefully stared down at the floor with her head lowered.
"What are you sorry for?" Luna asked in confusion, not sure what the young pegasus was referring to.
"For my attitude earlier. I acted entitled and demanding." She clarified in a self-admonishing tone. Still not making eye contact. "I didn't even make any good arguments as to why a great wizard like yourself should take on a filly that you had only just met as your apprentice."
"And yet, you gave me a chance anyway." She finally gathered the courage to look up at Luna, her eyes full of gratitude. "I promise that I won't disappoint you."
Luna had the strong urge to wrap a comforting wing around the filly, but caught herself at the last moment, remembering her disguise. She settled for placing a hoof on Windy's shoulder.
It was evident to see that the young pegasus was passionate and enthusiastic. Combined with the boldness of youth, it made for a decisively uncharismatic blend of traits. At least in the moment.
Luna, too, had once been a passionate youth who had trouble articulating her desires to others, despite her skill as a writer and poet. She would not judge Windy too harshly for presenting her apprenticeship pitch in a less than convincing manner.
"I won't hold your enthusiasm against you," Luna reassured in what she hoped was a comforting voice. "I was also once rather impulsive as a filly. Though, I am glad that you are passionate about this. It's a good quality to have as an apprentice."
Windy's morose expression became slightly more relieved at the reassurance. She even smiled a little at the mention of her promised apprenticeship.
"However, here is one thing that I want you to do for me before I can take you as my protégé." Luna continued.
An expression of concern marred Windy's face at the possibility of even more obstacles being placed between her and her potential apprenticeship.
"I want you to try to repair your relationship with your mother."
Windy's face soured at the request, but Luna continued before she could voice her protest.
"I know that's probably not what you want to hear, and I won't make your apprenticeship conditional on the re-establishment of your and your mother's relationship. Yet, I know better than anypony else what it's like to be estranged from the only family that you have left. It's a loneliness that I would not wish on anypony. I only ask that you try." Luna explained in a melancholy tone.
Windy's indignation turned into a thoughtful, contemplative expression as she heard the sincerity and underlying grief in Luna’s voice.
Eventually, the filly shook her head. "My mother hasn't given a damn about me in years. I won't grovel for her affection. Even if it means that I have to work harder to prove myself to you for my apprenticeship. I won't beg for something that she has no interest in giving." She stated resolutely.
So stubborn. So prideful. Yet, if their situations were reversed and somepony tried to force Luna to repair her relationship with Celestia, would she concede? Especially if she believed herself to be the slighted party? Probably not.
Perhaps she could approach this from another angle.
"I won't make you beg. However, if your mother were to approach you to try to make amends, would you at least consider it?" Luna said, trying to bargain with the filly.
"She won't, though. She's always too busy schmoozing with her fancy friends." Scoffed the young pegasus.
"But if she does, will you consider it?" The former princess pressed onwards.
At seeing how completely serious Luna was being, Windy looked conflicted at the offer. Before raising her head and braving eye contact with the disguised alicorn. "I will, but I want you to answer a question of mine first."
Luna felt slightly apprehensive about what the filly planned to ask her, hoping that she would be able to provide a satisfactory answer without revealing too much. Yet, she was also pleased that she managed to find a compromise with the stubborn youth.
"What will you ask of me?" Luna gave as her form of an answer.
"Why do you care so much?" Windy asked in a voice that seemed to crack with emotion. "Why do you care about my relationship with my mother or whether I'll become lonely in the future? It doesn't affect you, so why do you care?"
It was a good question. From Windy's perspective, this random unicorn that she barely knew had thrust herself into her life and interfered with things that she had no right to interfere with.
Luna gave the most honest answer that she could. "You remind me of myself when I was much younger. I don't want you to make the same mistakes that I did. The shattering of the relationship I had with my sister was the most heartbreaking moment of my life," the alicorn shared in a sombre tone. "It might seem preferable to cut out the family that you would rather have nothing to do with, but that loneliness is a terrible burden."
Windy had no immediate response to that and took a moment to digest Luna’s words. Eventually, she responded in a quiet voice.
"You keep saying that. How terrible it is to be alone. Is it really such a dire fate to take control of your life and seize your own destiny?"
It felt hypocritical to espouse the merits of keeping close relations with your family while warning against the dangers of isolation, but the rift between Windy and her mother was surely not yet beyond salvation. Luna had to try.
"Being alone in this world means far more than just having freedom. It means that when you suffer, you will suffer alone."
Luna could have expounded further on that point. Explained in detail the feeling of utter hopelessness that came with the knowledge that there was no pony in this world that you could rely on. However, it looked like Windy had treated Luna's reply with the amount of gravity that it deserved.
Though, now she seemed miserable. Her head was cast down and her ears folded back in anxiety. Stuck between the two distressing choices of a neglectful family or crushing isolation. It was not Luna’s intention to inflict such a sorrowful mood on the filly and she began to feel a rising sensation of guilt.
The former princess contemplated her next actions for a moment before turning fully to face the young pegasus and sitting down on her haunches in front of her. She slowly leaned forward before using one hoof to draw Windy into an awkward hug. It had been so many years since Luna had shown or had been shown such an overt display of affection that it was almost uncomfortable in how foreign and unnatural it felt.
Luna also wasn't sure if she had overstepped her boundaries. She was still virtually a complete stranger to the filly. Was it really appropriate to envelop her with a hug without warning or permission?
The disguised alicorn began to move back, preparing to disengage from the hug. She was already beginning to think of the exact wording that she would use to apologise for initiating the unwanted contact. However, as she slowly leaned back, Windy leaned with her, keeping her face buried in Luna’s chest. The alicorn stopped moving and began to reevaluate the situation, but Windy only used this as an opportunity to raise her forelegs and grip onto Luna and hold her tightly.
The former princess wasn't sure how to react. She hadn't been in the embrace of any other pony besides her sister since she was a foal, and even then, it had been decades since she and Celestia had engaged in a display of physical affection.
When Luna began to feel the heaves of Windy's silent sobbing against her chest, she held her tighter. The instinct to wrap the young filly in her wings and nuzzle her was nearly overwhelming, but Luna restrained herself. Not only would that have shattered her facade, but those are actions that would have been traditional for a pegasus mother to comfort her foal.
Luna wasn't Windy's mother, nor yet her mentor and she barely qualified as an acquaintance. She hadn't earned the right to insert herself into the filly's life as some sort of surrogate mother. The alicorn settled for running her hoof up and down the young pegasus's back in what she hoped was a comforting gesture. How long had it been since the filly was shown such affection, that she would latch herself onto the first pony that had shown her understanding and empathy?
The tactic seemed to be effective and soon Windy's breathing stilled. They spent a minute together in silence, just embracing each other. However, the growing chatter of the increasingly impatient crowd on the other side of the stage made both of them aware that their moment of shared physical affection needed to come to an end. They were expected elsewhere.
As they broke from their embrace, Luna saw Windy try to discretely use her wing to wipe the dampness from her eyes. "Come, you are expected on stage soon. I can't wait to see your show," the filly exclaimed with a faux cheerful voice.
It was clear to see that she did not wish to immediately address the emotional exchange that had just occurred between the two of them, and Luna would respect that boundary. Windy probably wanted time to properly digest and think over everything that had been said over the past five minutes.
She would talk to the young pegasus again tomorrow, but for now, the show had to go on. Luna ascended the wooden steps up to the rear of the stage. She found the mayor waiting for her in the backstage area with a large curtain separating them from the main performance stage and the crowd beyond.
A magical timepiece on the far wall of the backstage showed that she had four minutes until she would walk through the curtains and give a performance for the ages.
"So give it up for THE GREAT AND POWERFUL STARRY NIGHT!"
The declaration was met with thunderous applause as the crowd stomped their hooves in approval. Luna thought that she had become accustomed to the idea of how much of a town spectacle her performance was hyped up to be, but it appeared that she had still grossly underestimated how excited the ponies of Valley Dale were for her show.
She should have probably asked Windy earlier why that was. The performance of a College Mage was something to behold, sure, but did her presence really justify such fanfare?
Maybe, though, it was her perspective that was skewed. Perhaps this was the way that common ponies had always reacted to exciting events. With cheers and jubilation. Had she become so acclimated to the polite, civil orderliness of Royal and Noble celebrations that she had become completely out of touch with the lives of her subjects?
'Former subjects,' Luna mentally corrected.
The alicorn didn't arrive at a conclusion to internal pondering before she noticed that Wind Chill and her daughter had vacated the performance stage, so as to give her enough space to conduct her grand entrance. Through a small gap in the heavy curtains that separated her from the performance stage in front of her and crowds beyond, Luna saw that the assembled ponies fidgeted in anticipation and murmured to each other in nervous excitement.
Opportunistic vendors sold food and drinks at the sides of the market square, the town's local unicorn artificers peddled their various enchanted trinkets and a group of pegasus colts played aerial tag with one another. The whole square had a festive atmosphere about it.
Not allowing herself to procrastinate any further, Luna lit her horn and started to craft the first salvo of spells that would mark the beginning of her performance. Her peerless multitasking skills in spellcraft, which she had honed over a century, showed their proficiency as she began to power multiple, parallel spell matrices simultaneously.
She had spent most of this afternoon planning her performance and debated with herself for hours over the exact spells she would use. It was a difficult balance to strike. She wanted to put on an excellent enough performance to entertain the crowd and also cement the legitimacy of her backstory, which she had now committed to, as a gifted Mage worthy of her Journeypony status. Yet, not to make such a grand display that only an alicorn would be capable of it.
To that end, she settled for a performance that would consist almost entirely of dynamic illusions. Unlike the hours of preparation that were needed to create the static illusion that hid her identity, dynamic illusions were far easier to craft, but temporary and far less convincing to a trained unicorn. However, she did not need to fool a Court Mage tonight, so her dynamic illusions should be more than enough to suffice in entertaining her audience. And as a bonus, should an experienced and trained unicorn happen to be in attendance or should her performance be scrutinised in any way, all that they would see would be an ordinary unicorn with merely a savant-like gift for illusions.
She broke from her musings when her spells were ready and her grand performance could finally commence.
The first spell that she released served to set the tone for her display of skill and power. The crimson sky, still illuminated by the recently set sun, suddenly shifted in colour. Gasps rang out from the assembled audience as they were suddenly cast under a pale purple sky. Not the deep indigo that arrived with the late-twilight evening, but an unnaturally bright lilac that left the crowd in awe. Never before having seen such a thing.
Luna grinned at seeing the spell come to fruition. With dynamic illusions being her chosen field of study back in her College of Sorcery days, she had learned everything there was to know about light and its interaction with particles, including light scattering. It took a lot of trial and error over the years to perfect such a spell and acquire the desired wavelengths, but the effects were magnificent, even if the phenomenon was localised only to the town.
A second flash of the alicorn's horn released the follow-up spell. It took a moment before its effect became apparent. Gasps rang out as thick smoke began to bellow out in immense volume from every crevice and gap in the wooden boards of the temporary stage.
The magical nature of the illusionary smoke was obvious by its bright pink colour and the fact that it did not rise as normal smoke would. Instead, it rolled across the floor like flowing water. The lip of the stage became a smokey waterfall as the magenta smog clung unnaturally tight to every surface as it spilt down into the crowd below.
Luna had feared that the crowd would have reacted with fear at the ominous fumes, but it relieved her to see that they were instead revelling in the spectacle. A particularly adorable sight was a few foals in the front rows playing a game that was some sort of mishmash variant of peekaboo, hide-and-seek and tag within the confines of the foggy blanket. Yet, the alicorn didn't want to overly prolong the pre-show spectacle, as it was nearly time to make her entrance.
Her next manipulation of the illusion caused the smoke to suddenly withdraw without warning. It began to coalesce within a whirlwind that manifested in the centre of the performance stage. The vortex grew in size and density as more and more illusionary mass was consumed by it.
Once almost all of the smoke had retreated into the whirlwind's confines and the miniature tornado looked as though it possessed the density of heavy cloudcrete, the top of the vortex started to collapse in on itself, while its centre bulged outwards. The swirling mass soon stabilised in form, until it took the shape of a cloudy pink marble. A swirling maelstrom of smoke and mist contained within a perfect sphere that hovered gently over the stage. The crowd looked on in awe.
Some pegasi had Talent Marks that made them extremely adept at cloud sculpting, to the point where they put on shows, similar to travelling magicians. Yet, the spectacle of Luna’s magic outstripped even the most accomplished of cloud sculptors for the simple reason that her illusions were not bound by reality or physics. They could create impossible marvels.
And with Luna mastering the highest echelons of illusionary magic, she would show the audience how far she could distort the boundary between reality and illusion. She made her penultimate alteration to the illusion before immediately crafting the spell-matrix for a silent teleport. It would be difficult, even for her, to maintain control over the next two illusions. So she needed her teleportation spell ready for immediate use when it was finally time.
A spark suddenly flashed within the smoke before the entire orb erupted into a fiery inferno. Still trapped within the confines of the sphere, the firestorm simmered with an assumedly deadly heat. The market square and all the ponies within it were suddenly awash in bright pink illumination emanating from the amaranth flames.
It spun in place like a slowly smouldering star. The crowd didn't cheer at the display. Instead, they looked too enraptured by the illusion to do more than look on in awe. Luna was pleased that they appreciated the display. Despite her talent for illusions and her famed abilities as an author and poet, she wasn't particularly gifted as a show pony or entertainer. Perhaps that was a contributing factor to her unpopularity as a ruler. She just didn't have the same charisma as her sister in creating compelling public spectacles. Even with a few hours of preparation, she struggled to think of a coherent theme for her introduction. Instead, she resorted to crafting some of the most technically difficult illusions that she could manage. Due to how dynamically they moved, smoke and fire were infamous within magical academic circles for their difficulty to convincingly replicate with illusions.
However, the talent to perform intricate and complex spells under the experienced gazes of College Masters was a far cry from the skills needed to entertain the masses and she was concerned that her spells would seem underwhelming to the laypony. Thankfully, they seemed to be amused enough and her next illusion would be sure to stun them. It was an illusion that she had thought up years ago as a way to test the absolute limits of her ability to control parallel illusions and she felt giddy at finally having an excuse to use it in front of an audience.
At the alicorn’s direction, the orb of magenta fire erupted towards the crowds. However, instead of blasting violently outwards like an explosion, the manner in which the spherical inferno came apart looked more akin to the graceful disintegration of a dandelion whose seeds were carried off in strong winds. Tongues of illusionary flame were stripped from the orb and carried towards the audience. The crowd briefly panicked in uncertainty at the oncoming rush of fire, when the shape of the embers started to shift before their eyes. The flames contorted into insectoid forms with a thin body and large, glamorous wings. Suddenly the firestorm of blazing embers, which had seemingly been about to descend upon the defenceless crowd, had completely transformed into a swarm of incandescent butterflies that fluttered above the crowd, trailing faint wisps of ash in their wake. Now, with their own means of propulsion, no longer solely carried by non-existent wind, the illusionary butterflies fluttered above the crowd in seemingly random patterns.
She directed them to hover just above the reach of the crowd and do their best to dodge any pegasi who tried to touch them. However, those incredibly simple commands were just about all that Luna could impose upon her creations. For as much as she would delight in being able to command them to conduct a synchronised flying ballet, her focus was already being stretched to its limit by trying to monitor and keep corporeal hundreds of illusionary entities. Despite her waning focus, she could tell that her efforts were not in vain.
The crowd seemed amazed and jubilant, shouting with exclamations of awe. The magenta insects wreathed in fire were a stunning spectacle and the ponies seemed overjoyed to bear witness to her magic. Luna felt her heart lighten at their expressions of wonder and appreciation. For years, she had yearned for them to revere the fruits of her labour. For them to see how much her great works could enrich their lives. Perhaps they cared little for her night, but it gladdened her to know that there were other ways for her to earn their awe.
Several dozen of her creations faded from existence as her control over the spell began to slip. There was only so long that she could maintain cohesion over so many individual illusions. She needed to finish this now before the spell unravelled entirely. The sky reverted back to its original shade of deep crimson as the alicorn sacrificed her light-scattering spell in order to divert more of her focus to the main illusion. The shimmering swarm altered their course midflight and immediately rushed back to the stage at great speeds. Some of the ponies in the audience were slightly startled at the sudden change in behaviour from the fiery insects, especially the airborne pegasi that scrambled to gain altitude in an attempt to avoid the oncoming swarm. She wished that she could have orchestrated a more graceful transition to her entrance, but she only had a few more seconds of control. Luckily, Luna had already powered up her teleportation spell and now only had to choose her moment.
Like a cascade of fire, her illusions flew just above the performance stage before disintegrating upon impacting with the heavy curtains. Right when the densest cluster of butterflies passed over the centre of the stage, Luna released her silent teleportation and suddenly re-emerged in the heart of the swarm. Her control over her creations was almost nonexistent at this point as they carried out her last order to hurl themselves against the curtains. However, the anti-pony collision-avoidance parameter that she had given them, functioned just well enough to avoid her.
That they still mostly obeying their parameters was an unexpected boon as her grasp over the illusion frayed into nothing. As the last of the creatures flew past her and the crowd finally realised Luna’s presence, she imagined that it probably looked massively impressive from their perspective as she stood tall, unmolested and undaunted by the living firestorm that rushed past her.
Their looks of admiration as Luna emerged centre of the swarm did not disappoint. The alicorn preened in self-pride as the crowd looked at her in silent awe. How long had it been since ponies had looked at her with anything other than disdain or indifference? Perhaps it was slightly pathetic how much Luna needed love and appreciation from others. Yet, this kind of attention was what she had yearned for over decades. Her problems and doubts seemed to fade into the back of her mind as she basked in the admiration of her onlookers and for this brief moment, she could shine as brightly as one of her stars.
However, unlike her stars, everypony was watching her now.
Basking in the adulation from the crowd before her, Luna felt numbing adrenaline pump through her veins as a strange sense of euphoria washed over her.
She had been afraid that she would stumble and falter as she put herself on display before the assembled mass of ponies that had come to witness her. She had always been incredibly uncomfortable whenever she had been at the forefront of attention at royal events. She had felt fraudulent, like an imposter with no business to be there. A scared, lonely filly that was poorly masquerading as an infallible ruler with a mask of confidence and wisdom.
Now that she wore an actual mask and was currently more fraudulent than at any previous point in her life, she had secretly expected her performance to fail. For her to wither in the face of her charade coming under the scrutiny of hundreds while simultaneously trying to conjure enough of her previously non-existent charisma to deliver upon the once-in-a-lifetime performance expected of her.
Yet, now that she stood upon this stage and embraced the cheers emanating from the audience, she felt like she was born to be there. Free from the weight that had been burdened upon her from the very moment that she had a crown placed on her head. Like it was the most natural thing in the world. Her mask didn't suffocate her now. Here, there was no judgmental older sister to look over her shoulder, no parasitic nobles waiting to pounce on any perceived weakness, and no crowd of her dwindling supporters that she was desperate not to give another reason for them to abandon her.
The citizens of Valley Dale were here to see her and her alone. To be entertained. No ulterior motives, no using her as a stepping stone to reach her sister, no attempts to manipulate her. They didn't know who she was, and with only the promise of a good show, Luna had drawn the masses in their droves. Her slate was wiped clean, and she could be anypony that she wished to be. The opportunity to shed her moniker of Princess and all the expectations that came with it almost made her delirious with excitement.
What would she choose?
She could be anypony right now. Reshape herself into any identity that she fancied.
Perhaps a stern academic that would enthral her listeners with the hidden secrets of magic? Or a wise and mature sage who would share the bountiful wisdom she had collected over her life? Maybe even a mysterious and seductive enchantress leaving her audience yearning to learn more about her?
Then she remembered the grandiosity with which the mayor had introduced her and wondered whether it would be fun to play into that.
"Come one, come all, come and witness the amazing magic of THE GREAT AND POWERFUL STARRY NIGHT!" Luna exclaimed in the most overly dramatic voice that she could muster. The words had been made up on the spot, but they seemed like something a bombastic showmare would say. She strode with what hopefully looked like a confident swagger to the edge of the stage as she continued.
"Watch in awe as I perform the most spectacular feats of magic ever witnessed by pony eyes!" The disguised alicorn finished with aplomb. Allowing her horn to flash, she caused illusionary fireworks to rocket into the sky from behind the stage.
They erupted into a kaleidoscope of colour and sparks that filled the sky above the audience with waves of iridescent luminosity. Coloured sparks danced across the fading twilight sky as their glowing contrails traced patterns and shapes that themselves seemed to come alive and join in the grand ballet that suddenly unfolded across the heavens.
As the pulsating, incandescent afterglow of the fireworks faded and the iridescent constructs of the sparks dimmed into nothing, the crowd erupted into applause. Luna grinned as she took a moment to indulge in their renewed adulation. However, a small part of her was slightly taken aback that this relatively rudimentary illusion garnered substantially more praise than either her smoke or fire illusions, which were objectively the more difficult and impressive spells. Perhaps the added showponyship of her entrance and announcement had been more effective in exciting the crowd.
Luna held out her hoof in a placating gesture for the crowd to calm down as she contemplated her next move. However, the more she slowed down, allowing her thoughts to catch up to the energetic start to her show, the more her bravado faded and her anxiety grew.
She was a bit lost on how to proceed from here. In her initial planning, she had scheduled this next section of her performance to be the part where she would engage with her audience, trying to excite them and charm them. Except now that the prowess of her magic was no longer on display and it would fall solely to her personality and charisma to win over the massive crowd, the task suddenly felt daunting. Words turned to ash in her mouth as she struggled to find her voice. The jokes that she prepared suddenly didn't seem worth the paper they were written on and her previous ideas for how to engage the crowd now felt utterly cringeworthy in how out of touch they would demonstrate her to be.
Perhaps she was a fool to fashion herself as a great entertainer. She didn't know the first thing about how to entertain a crowd, how to speak to them, or how to read their moods. Her victorious smile started to dim as her act lost momentum, and the adrenaline-fueled confidence that had followed her grand entrance began to give way to the crippling self-doubt that she was all too familiar with. The weight returned to her shoulders, her mask was suffocating her, and self-loathing burned within her as she stood temporarily frozen on the stage.
This was a mistake. Why did she think that she could do this? It always ended in the exact same way. Her apprenticeship under Starswirl, her relationship with her sister, and her reign as a princess. All ending in catastrophe. Was there any other pony in this world so prone to utter self-destruction as her? Why could she not just…
…' No!'
Luna grit her teeth as she tried to banish the dark thoughts.
She could not allow herself to implode.
Not here…
Not now…
She was stronger than that…
She had learned from her mistakes…
No longer would she get bogged down in the lament of her shortcomings or lose herself to despair…
Things were different now. She had a clean slate.
She needed to believe that. She needed to believe that she could choose to be better. Choose not to be a victim of her own self-destruction. She just needed to press forward.
So what if the audience interaction section was a bit of a bust because she wasn't an especially efficient entertainer?
That was fine. She had other stuff prepared. It wasn't the end of the world, and this could still be her moment of triumph. She just needed to play to her strengths.
Stories.
Luna was a storyteller, not a performer. Her nerves calmed slightly as she realised exactly what she had to do next. Readying her next illusion, she scraped the banter and cantrips that she had pre-planned. If she wanted to make this a show to be remembered, then she needed to make it her own, not blindly basing it off some half-remembered information about how show ponies performed their craft.
Forgoing the concealment spell that disguised her aura, her horn glowed ominously with barely restrained power.
"P…Perhaps some of you still doubt the p…power of the GREAT AND POWERFUL STARRY NIGHT!" Luna’s pronouncement started somewhat uncertain before she managed to get back into her groove towards the end.
"So let me tell you about how I performed one of the GREATEST feats of magic and heroism that New Equestria has ever seen!" The lines came easier now that she had a functional plan of action that didn't involve directly interacting with the audience.
It reminded her somewhat of the dozens of oral theses and dissertations that she would have to present before the Masters of the College in her trials. Speaking as though she had absolute confidence in her knowledge of the subject matter at hoof was a vital skill that she had learned well, and with that sort of mentality, her bravado grew progressively less manufactured.
"Years ago, when I was a mere adventurer in the Eastern Wastes, I encountered and slew one of the most dreaded beasts to ever walk this world!" The alicorn allowed the atmosphere of suspense to hang in the air for a moment before continuing, revelling in looks of interest and eager anticipation from the crowd.
"A GREATER SAND WYVERN!"
The crowd gasped in unison with fright and astonishment at the reveal. Many ponies had grown up hearing stories about the fates that had befallen those who had the supreme misfortune of chancing upon such a menacing creature. The desert-dwelling, bestial cousins of the dragons had gained a well-earned reputation for their savagery and hyper-aggression.
"As a young Journey-Mage, I would roam the inhospitable far reaches of the known world, fighting evil and searching for enough prestige to earn my title of Master."
Luna released her prepared spell, and the night sky shimmered for a moment as an illusionary dome encased the market square, displaying a perfect recreation of the sky that replaced the real one.
A few ponies had been observant enough to notice that something had changed, and as they had their heads tilted up to gaze upon her construct, pale lines began to trace themselves between some of the faux stars.
Utterances of surprise drew even more attention to happenings above, and soon, nearly all focus was directed at the small cluster of scattered stars that were increasingly connected to one another by mysterious lines of ghost light.
Eventually, the newly formed constellation coalesced into a recognisable shape. A tall unicorn mare wrapped in a thick travelling cloak and wearing a large pointed hat.
Suddenly, the mare in the night sky took a step forward and then another, striding across the sea of stars as though the heavens were merely a stage for her to grace with her feats. Her cloak of starlight flapped in the nonexistent wind as her head swivelled in all directions, searching for something.
"From the unending jungle of the far south to the Badlands of the Western Expanse! From the Grand Division in the east to the Glacial Mountains in the North! I've seen it all!" More constellations formed and dissipated as she spoke. The illusionary starfield connected itself into a visage of dense foliage before reforming to a landscape of dunes, then a frigid tundra cast in the shadows of impossibly tall mountains. Yet, the mare strode defiantly through it all with steps of unwavering determination.
"I've walked the glamorous streets of the Crystal Empire!" The mountaintops sharpened into crystal spires as the deep snow hardened into the sidewalk of the legendary, near-mythical city.
"I've stood upon the shores of the Churning Sea!" The cityscape washed away as the lines of pale ghost light between the stars broke apart and reforged themselves erratically until they solidified into the writhing and broiling currents of a stormy sea. The thin strip of coast on which the unicorn stood served as the only bastion of stability among the churning rapids. The source of the deadly tides was also depicted in her illusion as the Great Malevolence loomed with foreboding menace in the far background.
"Yet, to a skilled Mage, harsh environments and long travel can be rendered trivial by the application of advanced spells." Luna continued in a quieter voice. Every other constellation washed away, leaving the unicorn alone once more.
"The true peril for Mages lies not in their journey, but rather, in the evils they seek to slay. Monsters that dwell in desolate corners of this world." A subtle use of her Royal Everfree Voice meant that, even though she spoke in a near whisper, her words still carried across the whole square.
The illusion that served as Luna’s canvas shifted once more as a new series of shapes emerged. Beasts and horrors that she had seen haunt the dreams of foals since they were told as bedtime stories. Ursa Majors, Hydras, Windigos, and more.
"I encountered such a creature once within the scorching deserts of the east!" The cadence of her storytelling accelerated as she approached the section of her tale wherein she would describe her epic battle.
Unlike most magicians who would fabricate or exaggerate their deeds, almost everything that Luna said had been mostly true. Throughout her time as a diarch, she had conducted many diplomatic excursions into distant corners of her fragmented kingdom. She had also slain a Greater Sand Wyvern, though not many ponies knew that she had accomplished such a feat. This is precisely the reason why she had chosen this tale to tell, as opposed to one of her more recognisable heroics that would immediately compromise her persona, such as her battle against Lord Tirek. Also, Greater Sand Wyverns were common enough and the Eastern Wastes isolated enough that it was perfectly plausible that a Mage could have accomplished such an escapade without the tale being widely shared in the Equestrian heartland.
Her military campaign into the Eastern Wastes might have ended in catastrophe and served as one of her first major humiliations in the eyes of the Everfree Court, but at least she got a great story out of it.
The crowd looked enraptured at the display, which gave Luna the confidence to press onward.
"The wyvern, forced from its mountainous lair by a migrating dragon, preyed upon any travellers and merchants that crossed its path."
The constellations that made up the cadre of displayed beasts broke apart and reformed into a single entity. The newly created creature bore little resemblance to the stocky and hulking physique common amongst their dragon brethren. The lithe, serpentine torso of the Sand Wyvern coiled like a ready-to-strike cobra, while its long, spindly limbs belied the vicious speed and strength that it was capable of. It had large folded wings tipped on the elbows with dexterous clawed digits that allowed its wings to serve a dual purpose as arms. A sleek profile that aided it in burying itself below the sand in preparation for ambush. As well as an almost supernatural contortionist ability that made it accustomed to hiding amongst the canyons and crevices of the Bone Mountains.
The conjured reptile paced across the sky in a stalking manner. Pony prey instinct, though it had dulled over centuries of disuse, caused deep discomfort among the gathered crowd at the obviously predatory gait of the creature.
"When I heard about the plight of the villages who were ravaged by the monster, I saw no choice but to save them by hunting down the foul beast myself!" She announced in a magnanimous tone.
Broken away from their focus on the menacing teeth and claws of the wyvern, the crowd cheered at the pronouncement. They were now fully invested in the story and Luna felt vindicated by her decision to dive straight into her main performance as opposed to fumbling around with crowd interaction beforehoof.
"I wandered the scorching deserts for ten days and nights in search of the creature, visiting every location where an attack had been reported!" Luna continued.
The visage of the wyvern faded into the starfield. Not disintegrating like the other constellations, but camouflaged. Ripples could occasionally be seen in the space between stars as the beast stalked the lone mare amongst the stars.
The dune and desert constellations from earlier reformed as the unicorn began to trek through the barren wilds in pursuit of her quest.
"And just when I was prepared to abandon my hunt, I discovered, to my horror, that it was I who was the hunted!" The alicorn exclaimed loudly with feigned distress.
The wyvern emerged suddenly from behind a dense star cluster with alarming speed. The unicorn whipped around to face the danger but was barely able to muster a magical shield before the creature's jaws struck the conjured barrier with calamitous force. The stars themselves shook at the impact and a growing spider web of cracks in her magical shield, emanating from the point of impact, evidenced its dismal structural integrity following the strike.
The crowd gasped in terror and fright at the ambush, but the mare wreathed in a cloak of starlight was given no time to recover as a series of follow-up strikes landed in the blink of an eye. Still reeling from the first strike, the unicorn could do little but feebly try to reinforce her shield. However, her efforts were hindered by rapid, viper-like strikes from the wyvern.
By virtue of being thrice the mare's height and ten times her length, the mass behind each attack was tremendous and the Mage quickly withered under the utterly oppressive barrage of impacts.
"A lesser sorcerer would have fallen to the onslaught, but I was no novice and my years of study and training allowed me to escape certain death!"
The mare vanished from behind her shield in a flash and then reappeared a short distance away from the wyvern. After taking a moment to recover from her shell shock at the ambush, the unicorn constellation adopted a battle-ready stance and prepared to engage in combat with the beast.
Luna wasn't sure whether she would have died or not in her actual real-life battle, had she reacted slower to the assault. Her alicorn fortitude and the armour that she had been wearing at the time afforded her a fair degree of protection, but she was glad that it wasn't something that needed to be tested. Her heightened sensitivity to vibrations in the ground due to her Earth Pony attributes had likely saved her life.
"Its speed and power, combined with the magical resistance of such a creature's hide would be an insurmountable task for most other Mages, but my mastery of the Arcane was too much for the wyvern to endure!" Luna exclaimed with triumph as the audience continued to fixate their focus on the battle that was unfurling above them.
The beast lunged at the mare, but this time she was not caught unprepared. The star that formed the tip of her horn collapsed into a black hole before erupting into a mono-directional quasar whose energy beam struck the wyvern constellation head-on with devastating power. The resilient scales of the Greater Sand Wyvern prevented the strike from becoming lethal, but it temporarily blinded the creature enough that its lunge missed by a wide margin.
Now lost in an animalistic frenzy of pain and rage, the drake rounded on the Mage and renewed its attack. The unicorn was only able to occasionally pepper the creature with sporadic spells as she was forced on the defensive and had to continually teleport out of the way of the rampaging wyvern.
With powerful coiled limbs and large wings to propel its sprint, the beast rapidly closed the distance between it and the mare each and every time she teleported away. Giving no time for a counterattack.
The unicorn's defeat seemed almost inevitable, but as she teleported away to evade the latest strike, she re-emerged, not in one location, but in three.
The wyvern paused in its unrelenting assault as its bestial mind tried to sluggishly process the fact that its prey had split into 3 identical clones. That split second of indecision was all that the real unicorn needed to finish her spell. The two other illusions of the unicorn constellation faded as the Mage conjured a spear of hardened magic that flew towards the creature with terrifying speed.
The spear pierced the wyvern's hide and impaled its heart with deadly accuracy. A final, silent roar of agony and futile defiance was all that the drake could muster in its last moments before collapsing dead in a heap.
The crowd cheered with jubilation at the mare's victory.
Luna grinned at the exuberance of the crowd. The story was a real event that she had experienced, though heavily modified to cover up the use of her wings in the battle and the fact that a spear of Arco steel had been the true killing weapon. Both of which would have been hard to explain away.
"And from that moment on, no monster has dared to prey upon the fair ponies of those villages for fear that they would meet their end at the hoof of THE GREAT AND POWERFUL STARRY NIGHT!" Luna exclaimed in the third person with utter bombast as the cheers grew even louder.
It was a claim that was a blatant lie as the area was still rife with animal and monster attacks by the time Luna and her army had left the area, but it seemed like a good way to end the story.
Her performance continued long into the night as she grew more and more confident and as she cast ever more outrageous displays of her illusionary prowess. Her near falter at the beginning proved to be little more than a brief stumbling block as she finished flawlessly.
A whirlwind of emotions churned inside Wind Chill as she anxiously paced back and forth across the makeshift backstage. She made a mental note to reward the Carpentry Guild for their speedy work, somehow.
Planning helped Wind Chill keep calm. It made her feel productive and proactive, like she was in control. However, the higher-thought processes of her mind were very quick to remind her how little she actually controlled about this situation.
A soft chime came from the wall behind her, signalling that the moon had just risen over the horizon. The magical timepiece on the wall told her that about five minutes remained before the show was due to start. Time was running short. In many more ways than one.
She was not actually worried about the outcome of the show. Considering the dearth of talented unicorns within Valley Dale, the awaited crowd would be impressed by simple fireworks and flashing lights.
Speaking of talented unicorns. Wind Chill remarked at the coincidence of such a gifted Mage appearing just as things were beginning to unravel for her. It's almost too coincidental to be by happenstance. If she was a superstitious mare, she might have thought it to be divine providence.
She didn't know what to do with Starry Night, though. The mare was powerful, this she could tell. Pegasi were not very sensitive to magic in the same way that unicorns were, but even Wind Chill could feel a strange sense of gravity around the mare. A power that lurked beneath the surface. There were also the mild headaches that she would get when trying to focus on some aspects of the Mage's appearance. They were subtle signs to those who were not looking for them, but Wind Chill was a very observant mare and once she suspected that there was more to Starry than met the eye, they were an obvious clue that a disguise spell was being used.
She had read enough of the magical lore tomes in her family library to appreciate what a feat such a spell was to cast. It more than proved her credentials as a competent sorceress even before her little impromptu magic show before the foals.
However, as much as she could glean more insight into the mare than the average pony, Starry was a brick wall emotionally. She had tried all afternoon to get her to open up, but all of her attempts had been rebuffed with ease, even her more subtle tactics. It made her more curious than ever about the unicorn's background.
One doesn't just attain that level of political awareness by spending all of their time killing monsters or repelling bandit attacks. There was more to Starry's background than she was letting on. Perhaps she was a rogue Court Mage or wayward Noble daughter. Wind Chill wasn't sure how she would discern the truth if it was even possible for her to do so at all. There simply wasn't enough time to pick apart the mystery that was Starry Night and she had far more pressing concerns on her plate regardless.
If she was sincere in her explanation that she was only in Valley Dale to purchase food and supplies, then even Wind Chill's time-delaying tactic of pressuring the mare into this magic show would only postpone her departure by a day or two.
Ironically enough, it had been Starry's impromptu magic show for Valley Dale's foals that the pegasus mayor had observed the first authentic emotions that had beached the unicorn's stoic mask. The genuine joy that the Mage had taken in entertaining the foals was enough proof for the mayor of her apparent lack of malevolence to allow her daughter to spend time with her.
Windy had inherited Wind Chill's gift of being able to read ponies like an open book, but instead of winning friends and influencing important ponies around her, she had become a loner and a firestarter. Identifying weaknesses in the upper crust ponies of Valley Dale and stirring conflict. Seldom endearing herself to those who would one day be vital in her future reign as mayor of this town.
Perhaps a repeated bashing of her head against the proverbial brick wall that was the strange unicorn's near-impenetrable emotional barrier would be the exact sort of humbling that Windy needed to be convinced to take her mother's lessons in politics more seriously. Even if it was impossible for Wind Chill to make use of Starry in any meaningful way, perhaps at least something of value could be achieved from the endeavour if her daughter could gain some worldly experience and grow her character.
Ponies of Starry's mettle were few and far between. It will be a positive experience for Windy to be exposed to a more formidable type of pony than the barely competent sycophants and self-obsessed morons that Wind Chill chose to surround herself with.
The pegasus gazed impatiently at the timepiece once more. Windy was about to be late. The ponies in the audience wouldn't mind of course, with no magical timepieces among them to keep track exactly of the time, they knew nothing more than that the show would start 'soon after sunset'. Whether that be five minutes from now or twenty, they wouldn't know any better.
It was the principle of the matter though. If, as mayor, Windy ever has the misfortune of dealing with the region's Nobility, they will not be the sort to tolerate tardiness easily.
As Wind Chill finished the thought, the rear backstage door opened to reveal the very ponies she was just thinking about. The tall unicorn looked as stoic and graceful as ever, while her daughter looked crestfallen and somewhat miserable.
'Hopefully, she learned something from the experience.' The mayor thought to herself. It wasn't often that her daughter didn't get her way, but it was an important life lesson to learn that sometimes failure and disappointment are to be expected. Not everypony can be manipulated, and if she is to become a great leader, she needs to understand how to work around that rather than just sulk when things don't go exactly according to plan.
The faint dampness in Windy's eyes did give the mayor pause though. She hoped that Starry wasn't too harsh on the filly. She knew that her daughter had a talent for getting under the skin of ponies sometimes, but if she discovered that the Mage had been overly cruel in her rebuke of Windy's manipulations, then she would be having stern words with the unicorn.
She was also somewhat proud of her daughter for being able to put on a tough face and carry out her given task, even after being greatly upset. The ability to soldier on through difficult circumstances is one that will serve her well in the future.
Perhaps she should reward her daughter somehow?
Maybe she will buy her another one of those adventure books that she seemed to enjoy.
Wind Chill shook the thought out of her mind. The show was about to begin and she had to prioritise that first. However, she would be speaking to Windy later about what exactly had happened between her and Starry.
"You are both here, that's wonderful," the mayor greeted in a cheerful tone. "And just in time too, the show is about to begin!"
"Thank you for arranging this event Mrs Wind Chill," replied the unicorn in a measured cadence.
As she was speaking to Starry, her daughter wandered off to a gap in the curtains to look over the gathered crowd.
"There is something else I wish to speak to you about," the Mage stated in a slightly more serious tone.
Out of the corner of her eye, the mayor saw the air in the space between them and Windy shimmer. The low din of the softly murmuring crowd vanished in an instant.
'Some sort of soundproofing spell, perhaps?'
The mayor cringed internally. Her daughter must have upset Starry to an incredible degree if the unicorn immediately pulled Wind Chill aside and wished to have a conversation out of earshot of Windy.
'Oh my daughter, what have you done now?' She sighed to herself.
It wouldn't be the first time that the mayor would have to excuse her daughter's behaviour, nor the first time that she had to placate a pony more powerful than herself. Perhaps it was a mistake sending her daughter to deal with the magician.
"I had a conversation with Windy this afternoon and she has said a few things that I have grown concerned about," the unicorn continued.
The pegasus braced herself and began to think of ways to make excuses for her daughter. She just hoped that Starry would not abandon the show. It would be difficult to walk back that embarrassment among the citizens of Valley Dale.
"I don't normally enjoy inserting myself into the personal businesses of others, but I feel that I must say my piece regarding this matter. I believe that you have been an emotionally neglectful mother to Wind Scale." The Mage finished.
The mayor was so caught off-guard by that last sentence that she physically recoiled and took a step back.
"What?! I am no such thing!" She exclaimed with great offence. Her diplomatic and appeasing demeanour was replaced in an instant with defensive hostility at the incendiary accusation.
Her mind quickly caught up with her emotions though and she chilled her anger as best she could.
'What sort of game was this unicorn playing?'
What was her angle? Why attack her through her daughter?
It had been a very effective tactic in knocking the pegasus off balance, but what did she stand to gain from such manipulation? Perhaps she had misjudged Starry's supposed benevolence, because as soon as she showed her a weakness in the form of a troubled daughter whom she loved dearly, the Mage had weaponised that against her.
'To what end, though?'
To blackmail or to draw concessions, maybe?
It didn't make sense. There was something that she was missing and she struggled to think with logical clarity through her tumultuous thoughts. However, her pride won out in the end and she couldn’t let such an accusation remain unanswered.
"My daughter has never gone wanting. I have given her everything she could ever need. I vehemently dispute your claims of negligence" Wind Chill forced out in a calm but curt tone.
The unicorn appeared unfazed by her defence and continued to stare impassively at the politician. If anything, appearing slightly disappointed at the rebuttal.
"Physically perhaps, but not emotionally. You were absent from her life and hired others to raise her on your behalf." Starry replied in a flat tone.
"No, I gave her the greatest upbringing and education that money can buy. Those tutors and nurse-maids are among the finest in the world and are the jealousy of even nobles!" Wind Chill insisted defiantly. Not allowing her past actions to be misconstrued in such a manner.
"You're right, she had everything she could possibly want… except for a mother. You can't raise a foal on money alone, Wind." The Mage responded in a melancholic voice.
"How I raise my daughter is none of your business Mage. Everything I do is for her betterment. She is destined to one day inherit this town and everything in it." The pegasus argued fiercely.
The unicorn didn't back down, however. "Is that the destiny she chose for herself or the one that you forced on her?"
"It is the destiny of our entire family! Of myself and every Wind before us for more than a century!"
Wind Chill knew intellectually that she should de-escalate, but Starry's line of accusation hit so close to home that she couldn't help but be drawn further into the argument. To the point where she was almost yelling.
"Is that the destiny that you chose for yourself?" The unicorn asked pointedly as she leaned slightly to the side to gaze at the mayor's flanks. "A pair of icy wings wrapped around a sword? Not a Talent Mark typical of career bureaucrats and politicians. You would ask her too to abandon her dreams for the sake of your family's dynasty?"
The barb cut deeper into Wind Chill than the unicorn would ever know, but she didn't allow Starry the satisfaction of seeing her flinch at the accusation.
"The things that I have sacrificed…" The mayor's voice cracked with emotion as she spoke before she inhaled a steadying breath and began to enunciate more forcefully. "Dreams are for foals, Night. I grew up and accepted my duties and responsibilities in this world. One day, Windy will too."
"If you force her down this path. She will hate you for it."
The words chilled the mayor down to her bones as against her will her mind replayed a memory that she fought so hard to keep buried.
The young filly lay curled in a fetal position within a corner of the bedroom. Her small body heaved with barely restrained sobs as rivulets of blood trickled down her coat.
She raised her head to glare balefully at the pegasus mare that stood above her.
"I hate you!" The filly seethed with as much venom laced in her high-pitched voice as she could manage.
The mare, Gale Wind, stood imperiously above her daughter, leather strap still clutched in her hoof.
"Perhaps, but one day you will thank me, for you will be strong enough to confront this world alone and survive all of the evils within it," She spoke with a pitying voice, but with an undertone of uncompromising steel. "Now, hold still my dear, it'll be over soon."
She raised the leather strap once again.
The long-since faded scars hidden beneath Wind Chill's coat started to burn as though they had been freshly inflicted.
"No! No, no, no, no…" The mayor began to shake her head violently in denial. "I am not her! I will NEVER be her! I swore that I would never become that!"
She retreated backwards a few steps, almost tripping over her own hooves as she reeled from the emotional whiplash.
Starry's stoic mask yielded as she stared at the quivering mare with eyes full of sorrow and sympathy.
"I won't pretend to know all that has gone on in your life Wind or understand what you are so afraid of, but your daughter needs you to be there for her. She needs it more desperately than either of you realise." The unicorn consoled in an empathic tone.
"She is better off in the care of her nannies and tutors…" Wind Chill weakly retorted. Her head still fogged with warring emotions.
"If you try to keep her at a foreleg's length, then you will lose her forever." The Mage sighed, before taking a moment to weigh her next words. "Windy has asked me to take her away. She wanted to come with me on my journey as an apprentice and leave Valley Dale forever."
Wind Chill's head shot up in disbelief as tried to search Starry's face for any hint of deception. Her shaky limbs froze stiff as though frigid ice had been injected into her veins.
"No!" The pegasus exclaimed in refusal. "She wouldn't! I mean…"
A glance to her side revealed differently, however. The morose and defeated expression with which Windy gazed out into the crowd, provided more than enough of a snapshot of her daughter's physique that it began to dawn on Wind Chill how badly she had misjudged the foundation of their relationship.
"I knew that she was upset, but I didn't think that… I didn't know…"
As the mayor trailed off quietly, a comforting hoof rested on her shoulder.
"I know very well what it is like to watch your family fall apart before your eyes. It might be too late for me, but it's not too late for you. You still have time." She assured the pegasus.
"Is there time though?" Wind Chill questioned defeatedly.
She had never considered the possibility of Windy just leaving and abandoning her destiny, though the more she ruminated over it, the more disturbingly credible the idea became.
For years, the mayor had sought to build a fiefdom that her daughter would one day rule over. Perhaps they would even force their way into the hallowed ranks of nobility. After generations of hardship and toil, her family would finally be justly rewarded.
And yet, it was Wind Chill herself that had destroyed it all. Through her callousness and ignorance, she had alienated her own daughter and forced her out. All of her plans and schemes suddenly weren't worth the paper they were written on if it came at the cost of her daughter.
She thought that she was protecting Windy, and yet she had harmed her in ways that her own mother could never manage. How could she have been so blind?
Starry's grip on her shoulder tightened, drawing the mayor's focus back from her self-deprecating thoughts.
"There is still time. Two years to be precise." The Mage told her seriously.
"What? How?" Wind Chill questioned in reply. Her logical mind struggled to deduce the unicorn's reasoning as she still grappled internally with all that she had just been told.
"I told her that she could only come with me once she has become an adult and until then, if you ever tried to make amends, she would give you a chance."
The mayor wasn't sure what to believe. Dismay, fear and hope clouded her mind, like a suffocating miasma. She searched the Mage's eyes once more. Vainly attempting to find an indication of deception, proof that all of this was some sort of psychological tactic that was wielded against her and not the truth of her reality. However, she found irises not full of malice and fraudulence, but rather of compassion and sincere sympathy. Of a dark past and a desire to help.
The mayor sniffed back tears as she tried to collect herself. Now resolute in her desire to mend a relationship that she didn't know until now was even broken.
"I wouldn't even know where to start." Wind Chill said quietly, but less defeatist than before.
Starry looked distinctly uncomfortable and uncertain at the question but did her best to answer as confidently and sage-like as she could. "I can't answer the question of what you can do to win back her trust. However, knowing what I know about Windy, she will appreciate the effort of it, no matter what you do."
The pegasus nodded at that.
"I… thank you, Starry." Wind Chill expressed gratefully. "I don't know why you chose to help us, but thank you."
"I did it for myself as well." The unicorn replied in a forlorn voice with a faraway look in her eyes. "It gladdens me to know that there is hope for others, that they can succeed where I have failed…"
There was obviously a lot of history behind that loaded comment, but Wind Chill chose not to pry.
"Starry Night… Starry Night… Starry Night…"
A low chant from the outside crowd greeted the mayor's ears. The Mage had evidently dropped the sound-dampening spell and the murmuring of a growingly impatient crowd became apparent. The chant was good-natured and originated from a place of excitement, rather than anger or frustration, but the two mares shouldn't delay any longer.
"Perhaps it's time to make your entrance?" Wind Chill broached to the azure unicorn.
"Indeed. Would you care to announce me?"
"I'd be delighted." The mayor accepted with a grateful smile.
However, as she approached the heavy curtains that her daughter was currently staring out of, a loud, deliberate cough by the Mage behind her caught the mare's attention. As she turned her head around, she saw Starry gaze very pointedly at Windy before directing her head to point at the stage beyond them.
It took a moment for Wind Chill to decipher Starry's message, but she soon realised exactly what was needed of her. Her throat dried up and her legs turned lead as she tried to figure out how to approach her daughter.
As the mayor walked up alongside Windy, she hesitantly placed one of her wings over the younger pegasus' back. However, her daughter's uncomfortable stiffening at the contact made her withdraw the wing quickly.
"Windy, my dear…" The mayor broached in an uncertain voice as she outstretched her hoof. "Would you like to perform the announcement with me?"
The surprise and mistrust etched onto her daughter's face at the request was like a dagger of ice to the mayor's heart.
She cringed further as the filly looked towards Starry as if searching for confirmation or advice. An encouraging, almost pleading expression from the unicorn seemed to help Windy decide on the matter.
It hurt to realise that her daughter trusted a near complete stranger over her own mother.
"I would." The filly answered in a small voice, taking her mother's outstretched hoof in her own. A cautious but hopeful expression filled her face.
As the two walked out together to announce Starry, Wind Chill couldn’t help but grin at the fresh chance that she had been given. She would do right by her daughter this time.
However, the sobering reality of her situation refused to grant her mind any peace. Despite Starry's promise to Windy, the mayor knew that she did not have two years to redeem herself. No, her day of judgment was arriving far more rapidly.
Very soon, she will need to commit the greatest act of deception and fraudulence that has ever manged in her life.
If she fails…
… then she will lose everything, possibly even her daughter. Though now she was even more determined to fight for what she had.
Luna’s cloak fluttered behind her as she waited patiently upon a hilltop that overlooked Valley Dale. Strong winds, forced down into the valley by the nearby mountain range to the north, swept across the landscape. They added a chilly bite to the midmorning air, but as it was nestled behind the windbreaking ridgeline of the hill, the colourful town stood untouched.
Having spent the vast majority of her reign inside the impenetrable canopy of the Everfree Forest, the biting gales almost felt novel. However, in truth, it was weather that she was very familiar with and often reminisced on when she thought back to a time in her life long ago.
The former princess closed her eyes and lost herself in the brief moment of nostalgia. Her old home of High Hoof had a similar climate. However, as she grew older by the decades, it grew harder and harder to remember her time there as a filly. Not that she didn't frequently try to remember it as much as she could. Luna had made it a routine to every so often recall all that she could remember about those early days of her life. To keep those memories crisp in her mind and stave off the ever-encroaching forgetful haze of time.
Memory spells existed of course, and she often used them to perfectly recall things such as relevant information from old Council meetings that she had once attended or pieces of esoteric magical lore from her time at the College. However, such spells had the severe side-effect of tending to divorce emotion and feelings from the memories. Like reading a biography about your own life written by another pony. All of the factual information is there but not the feeling, not the sound, not the smell and not the touch. The memory will be permanently transcribed into her mind as a lifeless, artificial facsimile of her real experience.
She could never do that to those sparse yet cherished memories of her early youth. Even if it would allow her to remember the face of her mother, which she had forgotten so long ago.
Yet, in this moment, she was transported back to those bygone days. Back to the windswept cliffs near the edge of her former alpine village. Her mother had taken her to the ledge that day, telling her to close her eyes and spread her wings. To feel the wind and air currents as they flowed smoothly over her feathers. To reach out with her dormant pegasus magic and touch those currents that she will one day manipulate to soar through the sky.
She could almost hear her mother's voice whisper encouragement in her ear. The exact words long forgotten but not the feeling of hope and joy that swelled in her chest. The alicorn tried her hardest to recall the soft touch of her mother's wing as she ran it soothingly through the mane of her acrophobic daughter.
However, the more she tried to cling to the memory, the more it slipped from her grasp. Soon, the moment was gone and Luna stood alone once more upon the solitary hill. The presence of her mother faded with it.
Luna simply stood there for a moment. Clenching her jaw and trying to stem the flow of tears that rolled down her cheeks. It hurt so badly to remember all that she had lost and all that she had been denied in life.
What she would give to feel the embrace of her mother once again, the warmth of her wings as they wrapped around Luna, shielding her from the world as she basked in the feeling of love and protection that they offered.
To her credit, Celestia had tried to step in as the maternal figure in Luna’s life after they were orphaned in the Annihilation of High Hoof, but she was just a filly herself and ill-suited to the task. Thereafter, she had found scarce comfort and warmth within the frigid halls of the College and later, the Everfree Castle.
Perhaps it was foalish for an immortal being older than most ponies would ever live to so dearly miss the touch of her mother. However, on days such as these when she felt utterly alone in the world, she yearned for it so desperately that it hurt.
All that she had ever known of love lay only within her distant, fleeting memories and even those she may not have for long. Luna could feel the haze encroaching, though. Each day that passed, another tiny piece eroded from the century-old memory. Each day, less of it remained than the day before.
One day, she will forget entirely, and the only love she shall remember will be the poisoned one between herself and her sister. That, or she would become desperate enough to defile the memory as though it were some taxidermied carcass to be strung up for display in her mind. She wasn't sure which was worse.
Shaking her head in an attempt to dispel the dire line of thought, Luna tried to reorient her focus to the present and the future. Such dark introspection would destroy her if she allowed it. She had abandoned her previous life specifically to search for the things that she had scantly ever known. Love, destiny, worthiness.
There were still things in this world worth fighting, even if she wasn't entirely sure what they were yet. Until the day that she found that destiny, she would spend every moment trying to make the world a better place. Piece by piece.
Luna’s ears perked up at the approaching sound of flapping wings.
‘It looks like Windy decided to arrive early’
Before turning around to meet her new pupil, she took a deep breath to steady herself and used magic to clear the tears from her eyes.
As the pegasus touched down next to her, Luna greeted her with a mostly genuine smile. It was nice to have a bit of a distraction from her dark musings and she had grown to care for the filly in the short time that she had known her, though she wasn't quite sure why.
Did she see a chance within Windy to retroactively atone for all of the mistakes she had made in her life? Perhaps it was a deeply buried maternal instinct that had never had the opportunity to express itself before. Or, maybe the more selfish answer was that she sought to vicariously live the happy foalhood she had been denied as a filly.
“Are you ready to learn advanced pegasus magic?” Luna asked as a way to begin their training session.
The filly, bouncing with enthusiasm, grinned in confirmation. “I am sooooo ready!”
Her smile dipped for a second. “How exactly can pegasi do advanced magic?” She asked inquisitively. “We can't cast spells like unicorns.”
“That's a good question,” Luna acknowledged before proceeding with an explanation. “Pegasi are able to manipulate the natural magical energies of the world far more instinctively than unicorns. Most can figure out how to fly, cloud sculpt and manifest weather with very little instruction or training. However, as a result, the vast majority of pegasi never study the fundamentals of magic the way unicorns do, thus never unlocking their full potential.
That is what I will teach you today,” the former princess continued. “How to harness your pegasus magics a step beyond what most pegasi will ever achieve in their lifetimes.”
Windy looked thoughtful at the explanation before turning her head to look at her side. “When I got my Talent Mark, my mom said something about there being more to learn about being a pegasus and that she would teach me when I'm older. Is this what she meant?” During their argument, Wind Chill mentioned how much effort she had put into Windy's education. Perhaps she intended to get her daughter a tutor who specialised in more advanced pegasus magic?
“Possibly. If that's true, then it should be easier for you to gain competence in the discipline by the time that I return. For now, let's focus on the basics.” Luna replied.
Luna bit her lip as she mulled over her next course of action. It would certainly be a risk, but she thought that she would be able to lie her way through a satisfying explanation. She could always disappear and change her appearance again if her little experiment went awry.
Now committed, the faux unicorn unlatched the clasp of her cloak and began to remove it. “This type of magic is difficult to teach by instruction alone, but luckily, I know of a spell that can help.”
Unburdened by the thick cloth, Luna relished the sensation of the wind blowing against her hidden wings.
“I learned a spell from my old mentor that will temporarily give a unicorn wings.”
Windy's eyes went wide at the proclamation. “Surely such a spell can't exist?”
Luna smiled slyly. “Watch.”
Lighting her horn, her illusion distorted and a pair of large azure wings manifested into existence at her sides.
The small gasp of amazement from Windy was more satisfying than it probably should have been.
‘Maybe I really did miss my calling in becoming a magician.’ Luna joked to herself. She was beginning to enjoy these smoke-and-mirror tricks.
Her explanation wasn't a complete lie, even so. Starswirl did create a spell to allow unicorns to fly, though it was immensely difficult to cast and those crystalline wings were far too fragile to attempt any sort of advanced magic with.
“You look like one of the princesses!” Windy remarked with astonishment.
Luna chuckled uncomfortably as the comment hit a bit closer to the truth than she would have liked. If she was to truly take Windy as her apprentice one day, then she needed to know that she could trust the filly with her secrets. No illusion was invincible and better to plant the idea in her mind now, so as to perhaps dampen the shock of her identity later.
She had also been fairly shortsighted in her offer to Windy. How could a pony instruct advanced pegasus magic without their own wings to demonstrate? It is very much an ad hoc solution, but if she played her cards right, some future benefits may yet be gained.
“I suppose so. Regardless, these constructs will only last for a short time, so we must move on with the lesson quickly.” Luna explained as a way to deflect further questions regarding her potential status as an alicorn.
At the mention of a potential time restraint, the previously eager look on Windy's face tempered somewhat into a more serious expression.
“Where do we begin?” replied the filly in a determined voice.
“Firstly, you need to understand what I mean when I talk about moving beyond what normal instinctual pegasus magic is capable of,” Luna explained as she flared out her wings in a demonstration.
The alicorn felt the magical energy in the wind as it rushed through her feathers. She reached out with her pegasus magic and bent that energy to her will. The temperature surrounding her wings quickly plummeted as she simultaneously drew in moisture from the surrounding air. Her feathers whitened with frost as thick snow rapidly accumulated across her wings.
A firm flap of the frozen appendages created a miniature blizzard as the compacted snowflakes were ejected in a flurry that covered the area.
Windy looked on in shock at the display. Her eyes wide and jaw slackened in disbelief. She held out a hoof to catch an errant falling snowflake in her grasp, as if unwilling to believe that this wasn't one of Luna’s illusions and she needed to touch it herself to confirm that her eyes did not deceive her.
“But, a pegasus can't create snow without a cloud… everypony knows that… how did you… it can't be… I've never seen such a thing…” Windy trailed off as she struggled to put her thoughts in order.
“How did you do that? Why have I never heard of such magic? Why doesn't every pegasus learn this if you say that we all can?” The filly began to rapid-fire questions towards the mare as soon as she had collected herself.
Taking a moment to weigh her response, the former princess eventually formulated her reply.
“Like a unicorn's horn, the wings of a pegasus are a catalyst that can be used to convert latent magical energy into physical spells. All pegasi abilities come from those spells, even if they are cast instinctually. This is why pegasi who have suffered a double amputation to their wings lose the ability to walk on clouds.” Luna began.
“However, unlike unicorns, who draw environmental magical energy into their horns and then construct a spell internally within the horn's structure, pegasi can't store pools of magical energy within themselves and must thus construct spell matrices externally.”
The former princess resisted the urge to conjure a blackboard to help with instruction. It was something that Starswirl often did when he gave lessons to her and her sister outside of the College when they were travelling. However, Windy seemed like a very smart filly and Luna trusted her to pay attention.
“There is a reason why unicorns evolved their horns to optimise their spell-casting. To try to structure a spell matrix in the open environment, especially with such volatile magical energies as those found in winds, rains and lightning, is an incredibly difficult feat. Pegasi evolved the natural spell-casting pathways that give them their instinctual abilities, precisely to circumvent the immense challenge that comes with trying to manually use wings to cast a spell.” The alicorn continued with her lesson as the filly hung on every word.
“This is what I mean when I speak of moving beyond your instincts. You must break the shackles of the pegasus magic that comes naturally and learn to bend the world around you to your will as a unicorn can. However, even then there are limits to the magic that you can accomplish. Your wings will never be precise or versatile enough of catalysts to teleport or levitate, but you will be able to fly faster than sound can travel, exhale small blizzards as you breathe, or create lightning between your wingtips.
"As for why the vast majority of pegasi never learn this type of magic, it is for the same reason why the vast majority of unicorns aren't mages of the same calibre as Court Mages and why they seldom ever use advanced magic outside of their special talent.
"Some are too weak or too stupid to properly utilise their potential, but for most ponies, it's because they will never have the opportunity to learn.” Luna finished in a regretful tone.
“Is that because they don't know about advanced pegasus? I've certainly never heard about it until today.” Windy inquired with curiosity.
“Partly, yes. The organisations that know the most about this particular branch of magic, such as the High Families of Cloudsdale or the Warlords of Las Pegasus are very exclusionary. There isn't an abundance of pegasi teachers willing to take on students outside of their insulated communities.”
The former princess wondered how long it would have taken to learn advanced pegasus magic, had it not been for her mother and sister introducing it to her at an early age.
“However, even if the knowledge was widely known, it would not change much. Very few ponies have the privilege of becoming academics who can spend years upon years refining their magical talents. Most pegasi need to support themselves and their families, often becoming carpenters, mailmares, weather-ponies or soldiers from a relatively young age. Never reaching beyond their narrow lot in life, because they can't afford to.” Luna explained.
Windy looked slightly disheartened at the explanation, though her lips soon pulled into a tight line and her eyes lit up with a fire that approached wrathfulness. “That isn't fair.” She said in a quiet voice.
The alicorn stared at the filly with a sympathetic expression, very familiar with the feeling of being an impassioned youth, disgusted with the injustices of the world. “It is unfair, but unfairness is a part of life and there is nothing that you can do to change that.”
The filly looked like she wanted to argue Luna on that point, but the former princess spoke again before her student could get a word out. “No pony can change the world alone, Windy. Trust me when I tell you that, I've tried. You will achieve nothing and only destroy yourself in the process. You can only try to pick your battles and help the few that you can.” She stated in a sombre tone.
Windy did not look as though she agreed with Luna’s logic, but the sadness and genuineness with which Luna spoke gave her enough pause for her passions to fade.
“What of Earth Ponies? Do they have their own advanced magic, like unicorns or pegasi?” She eventually asked as a way to pivot the conversation.
Luna answered gladly, also content to return to their lesson. This was probably not the right time or place for a philosophical debate on the fundamental injustices of the world. “Technically, they do, yes. However, hooves make for substantially worse magical catalysts than either horns or wings, so it's very difficult for Earth Ponies to cast even the weakest of spells. That's not to say that they can't be uniquely powerful in their own right. Earth Ponies can use magical energy to improve their strength, endurance and senses, but that's all done internally. Perhaps some select Earth Ponies who have Talent Marks relating to hyper-specialised careers, such as botany, rock farming or masonry, can utilise some spells within those fields, but it's rare.”
“I think that this is enough theory for now. It's time for you to learn how to manually manipulate magical energy.” The former princess concluded with a brighter tone, trying to insert some enthusiasm and energy into the lesson.
Windy smiled at that. She looked ready for the challenge.
The sun hung low in the late afternoon sky and Luna worried that their training session might not end before it lowered. If there was one trait that she couldn't fault Windy on, it would be her determination. After multiple gruelling hours of frustrating failure, the filly was still committed to trying to use advanced magic over and over again. Even with the alicorn’s reassurance that it would likely take months before she could be expected to gain any sort of proficiency in the discipline, (there was a reason why she had given Windy two years to practise on her own), the young pegasus seemed to take each failure as some sort of sign of deficiency in her skill and committed herself even harder to mastering what she had been taught.
Whether this was because she had a naturally stubborn personality or she was desperate to impress her mentor, Luna wasn't sure.
“It will come easier if you calm your mind. Trying to force the magic will only make it harder to control,” the former princess instructed helpfully as the filly let out a frustrated sigh before using the calming breathing techniques Luna had taught her and trying again.
Windy still had her wings outstretched as she faced towards the breeze. Their entire training session had been focused on the young pegasus completing the deceptively simple task of trying to change the direction of the wind that blew past her, without flapping her wings. However, the magical energy that flows within the wind was naturally illusive and fleeting by nature and there was a very good reason why the phrase ‘trying to catch the wind’ was a common pony idiom for attempting to accomplish a very difficult task.
The finesse that was required to deftly wield the relatively blunt instruments that were the magical catalysts within a pegasi’s wings, only came through experience and practise. The alicorn was about to suggest that they call it a day and resume tomorrow morning, when she suddenly noticed something interesting.
Through the combination of the ‘magical sight’ that her unicorn magic granted her and the ‘weather awareness’ that her pegasus magic granted her, Luna finally sensed a disturbance in the airflow around Windy’s wings. It faltered and rippled as though it had been snagged on an obstacle. The alicorn held her breath, not wanting to distract the filly out of her intense focus. It would be interesting to see how long Windy could maintain her grasp on the wind. Most pegasi who first learn how to manually interact with magical energies can only do so for a few seconds and only after days or weeks of training. For Windy to hold the connection for longer than ten seconds on her first day was a deeply impressive feat.
Yet, not only did the filly's grip on the wind not dissipate, it grew firmer. The air flowing across both of her wings was forced to curl in on itself, forming fast-flowing vortexes at each wingtip.
Luna’s jaw dropped in amazement and incredulity as two miniature dust devils touched down behind the filly. The young pegasus's legs started to shake from the unfamiliar and sustained strain on her body and magic. Eventually, she could no longer hold on and her wings collapsed to a resting position at her sides as the dust devils dissipated away in the gale.
Windy looked up at her instructor with a tired, yet triumphant expression. “I did it! I did it! I did it!” She cheered in excitement.
Luna couldn't quite find the words to respond. Never before in her life had she seen a pony manage to perform advanced pegasus magic so quickly.
‘What a fascinating young filly that has fallen into my lap,' Luna mused. ‘What feats will she be capable of in two years?’
There was somewhat of a fanfare as Luna made her way through the winding streets of Valley Dale, towards the entrance gate. Mostly younger fillies and colts that seemed to have developed a severe case of hero-worship towards the faux-unicorn. Some cheered encouragement at the valiant ‘adventurer’ on her way to slay more evil monsters. Some seemed sad at her departure and tried to convince her to stay. However, most were accepting of her need to leave, if a bit disappointed that she could not stay longer.
As she passed, many tried to give her coloured ribbons. Luna suspected that the foals themselves had made the ribbons given the somewhat haphazard patterns that were woven into them and the arguments that broke out between them over who made the prettiest ribbon and whose Luna would like best.
It was probably a cultural thing for the inhabitants of Valley Dale, given the amount of ribbons that they themselves had braided into their manes and tails, which made sense given how textiles and dye-works dominated the town's economy. Though it was an interesting and endearing idiosyncrasy of Valley Dale that Luna couldn't help but adore.
It did start to get out of hoof at one point though, as the foals tried to tie their ribbons to the spokes of her wagon wheels when she stopped.
The former princess suppressed a giggle at that, although took care to telekinetically move any foals that got too close to being in the way of her wagon wheels.
With much fuss later, she found herself at the east-side entrance gate. Waiting there to see her off was Windy and her mother. The two pegasi looked more comfortable at each other's side, which pleased Luna.
After her training session with Windy yesterday, she had gone to the mayor to discuss her daughter's future apprenticeship. The mare was surprisingly agreeable to the plan, if slightly crestfallen at Windy's eagerness to leave Valley Dale. Regardless, it was encouraging to see Wind Chill respect her daughter's wishes. That was the first step on her road to reconciliation with Windy.
However, a moment in the conversation that caught Luna’s attention was the mayor's complete lack of reaction to being informed about Windy's prodigious potential in pegasus magic. Wind Chill had simply replied that she would see to it that her daughter was properly educated in the magical discipline by the time Luna returned in two years.
The complete blasé with which the mayor treated the situation had left Luna slightly speechless. It was not an attitude borne from indifference or apathy, but rather, a lack of surprise. As if she had been told a piece of information that she was already well aware of.
Luna’s mind burned with curiosity. She wanted to dive deeper and interrogate Wind Chill over the issue, but she had already probed deeper into the lives of the Wind family than a practical stranger had any right to. As curious as she was, this was none of her business.
However, seeing the mayor before her now, Luna wondered how much she truly knew about the mare. She thought that she had Wind Chill's character figured out as nothing but a boring, self-interested bureaucrat with a dysfunctional family. Yet, there was evidently something more to her beneath the surface. Something that she couldn't figure out, and with this potentially being the last time that she shall see the pegasus for many months, perhaps she will never learn the full truth.
And maybe that was for the best. Not every mystery was meant to be solved. She had done what she could. It was now up to the Wind family to sort out their own affairs.
“I see that you have been adequately treated to the hospitality of Valley Dale.” Wind Chill said with slight mirth as Luna approached the two.
Looking behind her at the parade float that her trailer had become, the former princess couldn't help but let out a chuckle. “They were certainly enthusiastic.” She said euphemistically.
“Foals can be eager like that. Those ribbons are supposed to be blessings of good luck. Normally you are only supposed to give away one or two, but it looks like you made quite an impression on them. I suspect that you have created no small number of aspiring magicians among the young unicorns in attendance that night.” The mayor remarked with amusement.
“Are you sure that you want to leave so soon? Valley Dale will be happy to host you for a while longer.” Windy interjected in a tone that was only slightly more dignified than outright pleading.
Luna sighed at that. She had thought about potentially staying longer but eventually decided against it. She still had no idea how her sister was handling her disappearance. Valley Dale was not very far away at all from the Everfree and if Celestia had taken a drastic response, such as sending out search parties in pursuit, then it would not take them long to find her here.
The former princess didn't think that her sister’s first response would be as severe as a full-scale ponyhunt, but putting distance between herself and the capital, at least until things have died down, was probably good wisdom regardless. She had already stayed in Valley Dale for multiple days longer than she had intended.
“I'm afraid not, though I have thoroughly enjoyed my time here and I will return one day,” Luna assured the young pegasus. Windy didn't look enthused but did not further protest the alicorn's decision.
The filly took a step forward to stand before the alicorn. Then, without warning, she wrapped her forelegs and wings around Luna in a hug. The alicorn crouched slightly, so as to not make the height disparity between them as obvious but otherwise found herself not quite sure how to respond to the awkward hug. Especially with Windy's mother right beside them.
The mayor's ears folded back as she wore an expression of melancholy at the display of affection that her daughter displayed for a practical stranger.
“I'll give you two room to say your goodbyes.” the mayor said as she began to walk past them back through the gate. However, she stopped for a moment as reached the alicorn's side and met Luna’s eyes with a meaningful look. “Thank you, Starry. For giving me the second chance that I didn't know that I needed.”
She shifted her gaze towards her estranged daughter, whose face was still buried in the chest of the faux unicorn. “I'll try my best not to squander it again.”
Whether that last line was directed towards her or Windy, Luna wasn't sure. As the mayor retreated beyond the threshold of the entrance gate, Windy finally spoke.
“You're the first, you know.” She whispered.
“The first?” Luna asked in confusion.
“The first pony to understand me. For my whole life, ponies have seen me as nothing except The Mayor's Daughter or The Troublemaker or a piece of clay to be moulded into The Perfect Little politician. I had no value beyond what others decided for me.” Windy quietly clarified as she broke the hug between them.
“You showed me a new path though. A way to become far more than I am now. A future to look forward to.” The filly said, her voice cracking her emotion and her head cast down.
“I don't think you realise what you have done for me,” Windy confessed as tears streamed down her face.
This time it was Luna who took the initiative by gently draping a foreleg over the filly's shoulder and drew her in for what she hoped was an adequate imitation of a hug. However, she still resisted enveloping the young filly with her wings as a mother would. The two held each other for a moment.
“You have a great destiny ahead of you, Windy. I'm sure of it.” The alicorn told her apprentice-to-be assuredly as she broke away from their embrace.
“I won't let down. I'll be ready by the time that you return.” The filly promised with as much conviction as she could muster in her current emotional state.
Luna nodded at that. She didn't doubt that the young pegasus would be capable of astonishing things in the future and the alicorn couldn’t wait to see how much her student would achieve by the time of their next meeting.
The former princess struggled to think of a satisfactory conclusion to their farewell. However, a reverberating rumble of thunder in the far distance caught her attention and seemed as good a sign as any that it was time to leave.
Windy seemed to very quickly pick up on the older mare's shift in demeanour and her renewed focus on the horizon. She let out a sigh, recognising that their farewell had just about reached its inevitable conclusion.
“It's time,” Luna said simply.
“I know,” Windy replied, also turning to face the horizon as she stood at the alicorn's side.
The valley, from which the town derived its name, stretched out before them. The land was a green oasis bisected by innumerable rivers and streams that were fed by the ice-capped peaks of the twin mountain ranges that flanked the valley on either side.
A distant storm brewed on the far side of one of the mountains and threatened to spill over into the valley below.
It looked as though a portion of Luna’s trek through the valley would be done during a miserable downpour.
‘What fun,’ Luna remarked sarcastically to herself.
“Where will you go next?” A quiet voice asked at her side, drawing her attention away from her internal musings.
“I will likely spend some time foraging in the valley over the next few days for potion ingredients. Your town lacked an apothecary.” Luna gave as an explanation.
Windy nodded in understanding but didn't speak further.
It was a half-truth on Luna’s part. Although she did mean to use some of her newfound freedom to rediscover her long-neglected potioneering skills, even more of her time was needed to prepare before her next foray into a new town.
Her disguise spell needed to be optimised, her false backstory needed to be further scripted out and her future plans needed to be refined. Luna was going to be prepared to hit the ground running when she reached the next town and some time alone in the wilderness would afford her the space necessary to make those preparations.
“Farewell, Windy,” Luna said to the filly beside her with wistful sincerity.
The young pegasus didn't answer immediately, instead, she reached towards her mane and undid the braid that held most of her hair back. Her mane soon unfurled freely down her shoulders as she withdrew a coloured ribbon from the previously plaited strands.
Wordlessly, she reached up and began to weave the ribbon into the loose locks of Luna’s silky mane. She broke away a second later and turned back towards the town's gate.
“Goodbye, Starry,” Windy said simply, her voice heavy with emotion. “And good luck.”
Out of the periphery of her vision, the former princess watched the filly retreat beyond the walls of the town that had welcomed her so warmly.
Her gaze soon fell upon the ribbon that had been braided into her mane. She reached out with her hoof and stroked it gently.
Luna had received many gifts during her tenure as ruler. From priceless jewellery, to ancient tomes, to exotic spices and many nore. Most of which were forgotten about the next year. Yet, she had a feeling that she would remember this ribbon for a very long time.
Setting her hoof back down to the ground, she took a step forward and began to walk towards the distant horizon of the valley's end.
She would fondly remember Valley Dale for many years to come, but her destiny was not contained within its walls.
It was out there, somewhere. She didn't know where but that wouldn't stop her from seeking it out.
Luna delicately lifted a cup of tea to her lips with her hoof. The action felt novel. She couldn’t remember the last time that she hadn't used her magic for such a trivial task, but with her horn completely focused on the creation of the enchantment before her, she had very quickly relearned how to multitask using her other appendages.
Her enchanted cloak was so near completion that she refused to allow anything to distract her from her goal. This was easier said than done though, as the storm raged violently outside her trailer.
A bright flash of nearby lightning flooded through her windows, followed by the rolling roar of its thunder, threatening to break her concentration. Her focus held firm though. If she released her magical grasp from the enchantment before it was structurally sound, then it would collapse and hours of work would be lost.
However, despite the high-stakes nature of the task, it was a mind-numbingly boring ordeal. It strongly reminded her about why she had chosen to specialise in dynamic magics, like illusions and battle spells. The matrices of bespoke enchantments like these had thousands of nexus points that needed to be structured and connected before they could even function. That's not even including the thousands more that needed to be added on top of that to achieve any sort of redundancy or durability.
As she began to connect one of the last sequences of the enchantment structure, she allowed her mind to drift off into thought and she considered her time over the last few days.
She hadn't travelled very far from Valley Dale in the three days since her departure. With no clear objective or destination in mind, a bunch of preparations to make and an abundance of newly found free time. Luna had been content to travel at a leisurely pace. Making her way slowly through the vibrant meadows and ravines of the gorgeous valley, simply drinking in the sights and sounds of nature. Her fully resupplied trailer had all of the amenities she could want. It was a wonderful time, something like a holiday for the former ruler.
Once the storm that had loomed menacingly over the valley finally struck in full force and conditions became too muddy and wet to continue travelling, Luna decided to finally set aside the time needed to properly enchant her cloak.
Her Starry Night disguise spell had always been a temporary solution. There were so many things that could have gone wrong and broken her manually cast spell, thus compromising her identity. With this permanent enchantment, hopefully her false identity would become far more robust.
As the last pieces of the enchantment matrix fell into place, Luna's heart raced as she became laser-focused on her project. A bead of sweat rolled down her forehead as she connected the very last nexus point. Once it was done, she gave the entire matrix an intense examination, looking for any mistakes or points of weakness.
Taking a deep breath and hoping for the best, Luna extinguished her horn and gently relinquished her magical hold on the enchantment matrix, letting its structure handle all the strain of the magical energy pumping through it.
To her delight, it held firm with no leakage or warping. However, there was still one more test to conduct before she could celebrate.
Swiping the cloak off of her workbench, Luna approached a full-length mirror that was tucked into a corner of the trailer. In it, she observed herself: a tall, slender alicorn with midnight blue fur and a starry mane.
Using her telekinesis, she draped the cloak over her body and clasped the metallic buckle around her neck. As it clicked into place, her reflection started to shimmer and before her eyes, her entire image transformed. Her fur grew lighter in colour until it resembled a light azure, her mane ceased its movement and was dyed a blueish-platinum blonde.
In the span of less than a second the visage of an entirely different mare appeared in the mirror and she didn't have to maintain a single spell to achieve it.
A massive grin broke out on the alicorn's face as she saw the experiment come to fruition.
“Huzzah!” Luna cheered loudly as she reared up on her hind legs in triumph.
However, her celebration was soon cut short when her head exploded in pain as the tip of her horn harshly struck the roof of her trailer. The dense and sensitive nerve endings of the bony appendage punished her for her lack of spatial awareness as she collapsed onto her belly.
“Ow, ow, ow, ow…” Luna whined as she massaged the base of her horn with her hoof, trying to ease the pain. She did not have to suffer for long though as her superior alicorn biology soon kicked into action and her throbbing migraine swiftly faded as any damage was quickly repaired.
She had forgotten how tall she had grown since she last lived in Starswirl's caravan.
Using her forelegs to push herself into a sitting position, Luna took a moment to reflect on her surroundings. Her new/old home was exactly as she remembered it. From the warm fireplace in the corner, to the miniature library on the opposite wall, to the two small cots by the door.
To live inside these walls once more after so many years have passed, after so much has changed, after she had changed. It was strange and slightly disquieting.
Familiar, yet so alien.
She cast her mind back to the days of her youth. So long had passed since she…
BANG
BANG
BANG
Luna almost leapt out of her skin at the sudden and urgent banging of somepony outside her door.
BANG
BANG
BANG
She swivelled her head around and was about to call out to whoever was outside, however they spoke first.
“Starry are you in there?! Please, I saw your lights as I flew and I didn't know what else to do! They came, Starry and I couldn't fight. I had to run and I… please Starry open up!” The desperate and hysterical pleading of a familiar voice called out.
“Windy?!” Luna gasped. The alicorn quickly leapt to her hooves and rushed towards the door. In a flash, her horn unlatched its deadbolt and threw it open.
The filly, who had been pressed up against the door, stumbled inside. However, she quickly regained her balance and lunged at Luna, wrapping herself around the chest of the larger pony in a death-grip of a hug while sobbing profusely.
The former princess stared down with immense concern at the distraught pegasus. Her first instinct was to comfort the filly, but if Windy had sought her out in such a desperate state, then the situation must be dire.
Luna needed answers now.
Using her magic to gently separate the two of them, she gripped Windy's shoulder with one of her hooves and bent down to become closer to eye-level with the filly.
“Windy, what has happened?” Luna asked softly but with an edge of urgency to her tone.
The young pegasus tried to collect herself but did not succeed. She stuttered her reply through sobs. “They came back, Starry… it's so much worse this time… I couldn't find my mom and I couldn't hide in time…”
“Who came back, Windy?” Luna almost demanded, her own anxiety growing by the second.
The young filly could barely manage to reply through her tears. “Las Pegasus… they're burning everything…”
Colour drained from Luna’s face as she let go of Windy and rushed through the open door of her trailer. A proverbial wall of frigid rain and howling wind impacted her as she took a step outside of her magically insulated home. She gazed intently in the direction that she knew Valley Dale to be in, though the tall canopy of the forest obstructed a direct view of the town, Luna's heart sank when she saw an ominous, orange glow on the horizon. It reminded her greatly of the distant forest fires that she would observe from her tower in the Everfree Castle.
The shock and horror soon wore off after a moment and rage filled her mind. The ponies of Valley Dale had treated her with a tender kindness that she hadn't experienced in literal decades.
They didn't deserve this.
She would not allow such an atrocity to go unanswered.
“I'm going back with you.” Luna heard Windy declare resolutely.
Turning back to face the filly, she saw that the young pegasus had managed to compose herself somewhat. Windy's image of steadfast determination was somewhat undermined by her puffy eyes, red from crying, and in her trembling limbs. However, the stubbornness and tenacity that the alicorn had come to admire in the filly was still there for all to see.
That didn't change the fact that a battlefield was no place for a filly, no matter how brave.
“Absolutely not,” Luna stated firmly.
“It's my home,” Windy stressed. “I-I can't just abandon it.” She implored emotionally as tears threatened to return to her eyes.
“You are a filly, Windy. Perhaps the bravest filly I've ever met, yet a filly nonetheless. I will not lead you to your death. I will not lead you into a warzone. I refuse.” Luna reiterated with impatience.
She could appreciate Windy's desire to help. She herself had many embittered arguments with Starswirl over his insistence to shelter the young alicorn at the College's tower, rather than let her help her mentor combat Discord. However, time was of the essence and ponies were dying while she was standing here arguing.
“I can help!” The filly pleaded in desperation. “I know the layout of the town, I saw how many raiders there were…”
“...Windy…”
“...I've been practising my magic every single day and I've gotten really good at it…”
“...Windy…”
“...my mother is still there, I can't just do nothing and…”
“WINDY!” Luna eventually shouted using her Royal Everfree voice. The filly flinched and then cowered at the wall of near-deafening noise that impacted her.
The look of fear in the young pegasus's eyes was like a dagger to Luna's heart.
Looking at her now, the alicorn couldn’t help but notice how small the filly was. In the short time that the former princess had known her, Windy had always walked with her head held high and possessed a maturity and outsized personality that made it easy to forget just how young she truly was.
However, with her now curled up cowering on the ground, on the verge of tears. Luna recognised Windy for what she was, a scared and traumatised child who had just witnessed her home destroyed in front of her and only wanted to help.
She didn't deserve Luna’s wrath.
‘Well done Luna!’ The former princess thought to herself with self-loathing.
‘You found a traumatised filly on your doorstep and managed to somehow traumatise her even further. Truly, no pony could ever accuse you of having charisma or high emotional intelligence.’
Luna wanted to reach out and comfort the pegasus, but she had no idea what to say. She was certain that any sort of clumsy attempt at reconciliation that she did try to make would only make the situation worse.
There is a reason that Luna spent so much of her time as a princess leading the Equestrian army. For a self-styled poet and painter, she had an unfortunate habit of destroying everything she touched.
Turning around, Luna faced towards the direction that she knew Valley Dale to be in.
“Stay inside, Windy. I will go and confront the raiders. I will bring your mother back to you.” The alicorn promised in a quiet voice, still not facing the filly.
Powering up a powerful teleportation spell, Luna disappeared in a flash and crackle.
Re-emerging outside of Valley Dale's entrance gate, Luna took a moment to observe her surroundings and regain her bearings.
The thick wooden gates, as well as some of the town that lay beyond, lay in ruin. The central market district and upper-class residential area bore the worst of the assault and thick plumes of smoke bellowed into the sky as several buildings burned.
The rain was considerably lighter over the town than it was in the surrounding countryside. A hard drizzle compared to the monsoon in the rest of the valley. Likely the work of the raider pegasi to prevent their arson from being extinguished.
Gazing upwards, she narrowed her eyes at the source of the folding misery. It was difficult to make out through the storm clouds and rain but Luna could clearly see the foreboding silhouette of the massive raider fortress that hung low over the smouldering town, like a carrion feeder circling a corpse.
Intermittent flashes of lightning briefly illuminated dozens of armoured pegasi that buzzed over Valley Dale like a swarm of flies… like pests.
Luna sneered at the sight of the bandits. As princess, she had spent years cleaning up the aftermath of the butchery of these elusive raiders. However, now it went beyond that, now it was personal. The ponies of this town had welcomed her with open hooves and for the first time in a century, she felt like she had value as a pony for more than just the crown that she wore.
They didn't deserve this and the longer she watched the town laid to waste before her eyes, the more that her heart filled with rage.
Between her long-held malice towards the raiders of Las Pegasus, her revulsion at the horror of the attack that they were currently perpetrating and her self-loathing over her conversation with Windy, Luna was currently in a murderous mood.
Striding with purpose through the ruins of the entrance gate, the former princess’s horn ignited with an ominous glow and the vast reserves of her magic almost seemed to hum within her veins, eager to be unleashed.
The residents of Valley Dale scurried to and fro between the burning ruins, all desperately trying to either find shelter, extinguish the flames engulfing their homes, or rescue those still trapped inside the infernos.
She dearly wanted to stop and assist them, but any aid that she offered would only be temporary and superficial. She needed to eliminate the source of the problem…
“No! Please, stop!”
Crash
‘Speaking of the source of the problem…’
Just ahead of Luna, a badly beaten earth pony was thrown through the storefront window of a relatively unburnt goldsmith shop. He landed roughly and then tumbled across the street. The earth pony did not move, beyond letting out a quiet whine of agony.
Five armoured pegasi strolled out through the wrecked building's wooden door. Clad with hardened leather armour and armed with wingblades, short swords and crossbows. They moved with military discipline but their step held a swagger that belied their confidence, almost arrogance in their control over the unfolding raid. A frazzled, small mare scrambled out after the group of bandits, pleading with them to stop.
The largest and most well-armoured of the raiders with plated steel armour and sporting a red-plumed helmet, presumably the lieutenant of the small assault unit, grabbed the barely cognizant goldsmith by the mane and drew him up to his eye level.
“What is the code to your safe?!” The large stallion demanded from his victim.
‘Looters and thieves? The lowest form of banditry.’ Luna snarled as she approached the group of pegasi unseen.
“Leave him alone!” The earth pony mare yelled, trying to pull one of the raiders away from her husband.
The pegasus snapped their wing outwards and viciously struck the mare with the armoured top edge of the limb. The earth pony collapsed to the ground, nursing a bloody head injury. However, the bandit would not get the opportunity to land any follow-up strikes as their head was suddenly vaporised in a death-beam of pure magical energy.
The other pegasi recoiled in surprise at the abrupt demise of their comrade. Spinning around to face in the direction of the assailant, they spotted a unicorn that had previously gone unnoticed in the general chaos of the attack. A towering pony clad in a billowing cloak, whose horn glowed menacingly. Her face was a visage of malice and rage made manifest.
Luna, despite her anger, couldn't help but feel a certain level of glee at how quickly their swagger and arrogance vanished into fear and uncertainty. Not giving them a chance to react to her presence, the disguised alicorn dispatched another raider with a blast from her horn
The last three pegasi, finally snapping out of their shock and surprise, scrambled to take to the air, narrowly avoiding a third death-beam that was directed their way.
“Evasive manoeuvres! Mage Protocol!” The apparent leader of the small unit began to bark orders for his remaining two subordinates.
However, one of the younger bandits, likely a new recruit, lost her nerve and fled from the battle. Flying as fast as she could directly towards the floating fortress.
“NO! DON'T TURN YOUR BACK!” The lieutenant tried to warn the mare. It was no use though, as Luna was quick to punish the recruit's lack of discipline.
Flying in a straight line, without making any attempt to evade, made it almost trivial for the former princess to line up a shot on the fleeing raider and let loose a fourth beam of supercharged magical energy.
Her aim was slightly off, however as the beam merely severed one of her wings without killing her outright.
“Aaaahhh!” The pegasus screamed as she plummeted to her doom. Frantically flapping her one remaining wing as though hoping that she would be able to gain lift from the solitary limb. It did nothing and her cries were soon silenced a few seconds later as she impacted a cobblestone alleyway.
Luna had no sympathy.
The bandit’s screams of fear and pain were only one among a chorus of suffering and despair as her compatriots terrorised the town.
The two remaining raiders, evidently more experienced veterans, were noticeably rattled by the sudden extermination of more than half their number in less than ten seconds. Nevertheless, their discipline and training overrode their stunned shock and they quickly reorganised themselves.
Luna attempted to fire half a dozen more beams of magic in quick succession, however the pegasi were now well-prepared for her attacks and dodged with ease.
She tried to vary her attacks, alternating between death beams, arcane lightning, pillars of conjured fire and telekinetically thrown objects. None landed.
The two pegasi flew in almost perfect synchronicity. Circling her on opposite sides, ensuring that at least one of them would always be out of her line of sight. Whenever she focused on one pegasus in particular, the other would line up a shot with their crossbow and force Luna to shield herself rather than press her attack.
The same strategy prevented her from using her more advanced and powerful spells. Anytime that she would try to form a bigger spell that would surely kill the two pegasi, they would force her to defend herself, disrupting her focus and stopping her from effectively employing more advanced combat spells.
It was an excellent strategy. One perfectly designed to counter a powerful unicorn.
Had Luna not possessed prodigious alicorn magical senses, thus being able to monitor the pegasi at all times, even when they were behind her, she might have been in a lot of trouble.
Evasion, Distraction and Harassment.
It was the exact same strategy that she had taught her own Night Guard and as loathed as she was to admit it, these two raiders might be as well-trained, if not more so than most of her own soldiers.
Luna lamented her decision to not take her armour with her she fled the castle. Its built-in, enchanted forcefield would be of tremendous aid at the moment. Giving her enough time to launch much more devastating spells.
Pressing forward nevertheless, the alicorn sent an enormous pillar of flame towards the leather-clad pegasus, forcing them to take cover behind the roof of a nearby building and keeping them out of the fight for a few seconds.
Quickly wheeling around to face the lieutenant, Luna unleashed a rapid flurry of spells at the pegasus. Each one closer to hitting him than the last, pushing the raider to the very limit of his agility.
“Gaah!” The steel-clad pegasus yelped as one of her magical beams glanced off his shoulder pauldron, seeming to throw him off balance for a moment. He would not be able to dodge the next one in time and Luna smiled as she released the lieutenant's final death blow.
She had him dead to rights now.
However, as the beam closed the distance towards the pegasus, the raider leader flourished his wings and zipped to the side at a physically impossible speed.
‘Advanced pegasus magic…’ Luna grimaced. ‘As if there weren't enough complications in this fight already…’
She tried to redouble her efforts to strike the lieutenant, but the moment of opportunity had passed and she could sense that the other pegasus was diving towards her on a likely strafing run.
Luna erected a shield just as a glass bottle, with a lit fuse coming out of the neck, impacted. The flammable liquid inside splashed over the translucent dome before igniting into an inferno. The former princess expelled the barrier outwards, so as not to have the burning fluid fall on her as she dismissed it. However she was careful to avoid the liquid touching the earth pony couple as the mare desperately tried to drag her unconscious husband to safety.
The alicorn attempted to grab the pegasus within her magical grasp but they had already fled out of her effective telekinesis range before she had the chance.
Luna stamped her hoof in frustration. Her standard array of battle spells was not working against an enemy that was clearly so well-trained to counter them. They were too quick, too elusive and too well-prepared.
If she had her weapons and armour, then she could take the fight to pegasi and render the battle trivial. However, limited only to long-range spells and with no way to effectively close the distance between them, her current strategy wasn't working.
She was used to being a 'shock and awe' battering ram that would break enemy formations with powerful spells and allow her Night Guard to encircle and flank them. She didn't have a platoon of her soldiers waiting in the wings this time. She needed to find a way to close the distance herself.
Luna mulled the idea of teleporting closer to the raiders but with the level of speed and reflexes that the pegasi have shown, she would likely not be able to regain her bearings and prepare a spell before they had a chance to react.
She needed to change her approach. She needed something different.
A flash of inspiration struck her at that moment. The former princess didn't normally include illusion magic in her combat repertoire, but an idea was beginning to take root in her mind.
Looking around the ground for the perfect piece of debris to implement her plan, the former princess eventually spotted a large, rusted sawmill blade sticking out of an overturned and abandoned refuse cart.
‘Perfect’ Luna grinned.
Shielding herself against an oncoming crossbow bolt from the lieutenant, the alicorn feigned undivided focus on him while she waited for his subordinate to launch another strafing run.
Once they were committed to their attack, Luna cloaked the sawmill blade in an invisibility spell and threw it into the oncoming pegasus's path with her considerable telekinetic might.
Had the blade been visible, the raider might have had the opportunity to dodge, but it wasn't, so they didn't.
The bandit likely never knew what had struck them as they were suddenly bisected in midair.
The remaining raider appeared stunned, however his expression soon turned wrathful.
“YOU WILL PAY FOR THAT, BITCH!” The lieutenant shouted in rage at seeing the last of his subordinates slain by the mysterious unicorn.
He hovered in midair for a moment before lightning began to arc between his wings.
Luna only smiled.
She was very familiar with this pegasus spell and knew that it required the caster to remain in place for several seconds while they cast.
The lieutenant had survived the fight so far by relying on his superior speed and agility. By choosing to forsake his advantages in a moment of fury, he had inadvertently sealed his own fate.
“DIE!” The raider yelled as he unleashed a powerful bolt of lightning towards her.
However, by the time the bolt reached her position, Luna had already disappeared in a flash of teleportation.
Reappearing on a roof directly under the lieutenant, he was still hovering in place as he recovered from the exertion of the spell.
At such a close distance, he was well within her telekinetic range.
Luna flared her horn and grasped the pegasus tightly in her magical aura. The raider's eyes widened in panic as he realised the precariousness of his situation. He struggled for a brief moment but the alicorn's grip was firm.
“WAIT, NO!” The lieutenant shouted, almost pleading.
Luna would hear none of it though. Her grip tightened and the pegasus was crushed within his armour.
After dropping a spherical ball of metal and meat, roughly half the size of the original pony, Luna let out a weary sigh.
It had been a very long time since she had gone into battle alone. She normally had a squadron of her Night Guards to ambush and clean up any remaining opponents after she broke their formations with her spells. No such luxury existed now.
She wasn't close to dying at any point in this battle but she needed to play things smarter from now on. She is facing down an entire army and doesn't have her guards to back her up. She would take to heart the lessons learned in this brief battle and not make the same mistakes.
Teleporting back down to the main street, Luna resumed her search for more raiders. She fully intended to keep her promise to Windy but without knowing where the mayor was and without enough time to effectively search for Wind Chill, her only option to save the mare was to force the raiders into an early retreat and hope that the pegasus had survived the carnage thus far.
With her excellent alicorn senses, she heard the sounds of commotion and violence down the street, though with the rain and smoke it was difficult to make much out at a distance. Picking up the discarded sawmill blade as she walked, the former princess set out towards her next battle.
Despite her proficiency in the discipline, Luna normally spurned the use of illusion magic in battle. The greatest advantage that her Night Guard possessed in battle was their superior coordination and tactical cohesion compared to the raiders and bandits that they often battled. Introducing chaos onto the battlefield only served to nullify their advantages.
For example, having invisible, flying sawblades zipping around in combat, sounded like a fantastic way to kill your own soldiers.
However, now that Luna was alone and didn't have to worry about leading her Guards or fuss about getting in their way, a lot more options just opened up to the disguised alicorn.
Another group of five raiders soon revealed themselves as Luna wade through the smoke. Using the lit bottles of flammable liquid that the alicorn had spotted earlier, they torched the surrounding buildings. The thatch and wooden structures caught fire easily. The numerous banners, tarps and flags that had been such a delightfully iconic feature of Valley Dale, now served as a liability as the street was slowly engulfed in flames.
Cloaking herself in invisibility, Luna silently teleported close to the group before launching her attack.
The steel-clad lieutenant was beheaded with a powerful beam of magical energy. His surrounding subordinates froze with predictable shock at the unexpected death of their leader. This gave Luna the perfect opportunity to launch her saw at such a vector, to kill another two pegasi.
The remaining pair of survivors realised the immense peril of their situation, even if they didn't know exactly where they were being attacked from or by whom, and promptly fled.
They did not get very far at all though, as a bolt of arcane lightning dispatched one and a telekinetic crush took care of the other.
‘Much better.’ Luna thought to herself with delight.
Her job was far from done though, and after taking a quick moment to douse the flames of the raider's arson, she resumed the hunt.
After silently wiping out another two teams, Luna noticed a problem with her strategy. She had killed at least twenty pegasi but there had been no identifiable change in the behaviour of the rest of the attackers. Her stealth was backfiring on her. The raider commanders likely would not notice the deaths of several teams until they did a headcount at the end of the raid. However, with many dozens or perhaps even hundreds of raiders left, she would never be able to slay all of them before they had completed their mission of razing the entire town.
It was risky but she needed to be bolder, more brazen and more open with her killing. She needed to make it known to the bandits that a powerful opponent was fighting against them. Convince them of the untenability of their raid. Even if she couldn’t force them to retreat, she hoped that she could at least alleviate the suffering of the town somewhat by having the pegasi focus on her.
Exercising her new strategy on the next squadron that she came across, the invisible alicorn took a few moments to charge up a powerful blast spell before unleashing it upon the group. The spell impacted the ground near the centre of the pegasi formation and exploded into a concussive blast that sent the raiders flying. A few died instantly from the cobblestone shrapnel, but most survived with injuries ranging in severity from minor to utterly grievous.
The sound of the blast also rang out across the town, cutting through the thunder and chaos. It looked like it caught the attention of several squadrons of flying raiders that began to veer towards her direction.
Luna had avoided using such ‘area of effect’ spells so far because of their complexity to cast, low accuracy and relatively low guarantee of lethality. However, if she wanted to use a more brute-force method, then few other spells would serve her better.
Using a quick death-beam to slay one of the oncoming pegasi, Luna swiftly teleported to a different street, halfway across the town. She would have loved to stand her ground against the large group of bandits. However, as her first battle of the night had proven, without her armour or weapons, she was far too vulnerable to being swarmed by the raiders.
She needed to keep mobile and only engage in targets of opportunity. Force them to actively search for her, hunt her.
With her adjusted course of action now set, Luna began to wage her shadow war in earnest. Ambushing, killing and injuring raiders as she went. Teleporting somewhere else the moment that the tide of a battle began to turn against her.
With less of a concern about not leaving survivors, the former princess could engage and harass much larger formations of bandits from greater distances and not have to worry about getting pinned down while trying to mop up the remnants, as she did in her during her first fight.
It began to look like her tactics were paying off. More and more pegasi took to the skies to fly search patterns in the hunt for her. Luna would occasionally unleash a volley of magical beams towards those lurking raiders. Although, this had mixed results.
Even in the best of times, it's difficult for a unicorn or alicorn to accurately aim their horn, especially at long distances against fast-moving targets. As such, the former princess missed more often than she hit. However, it was mostly effective in keeping them off balance, disrupting their coordination and slowly thinning their numbers.
After teleporting away from her most recent ambush, Luna's chosen point of destination was the main street near the market square where she had given her performance a few days ago.
Closing her eyes, the alicorn magically expanded her hearing. Hopefully, the sounds of combat and commotion would lead her to more raider units. Without any way to properly reconnaissance the town, it was the most that she could do without aimlessly wandering the town and hoping to run across more Las Pegasus raiders.
“You bastards!”
Luna froze at the sound of the distant shout coming from the direction of the market square.
Wind Chill?
The distinctive voice of the mayor was unmistakable and with haste, the former princess set off in a sprint towards the square, cloaking herself in invisibility as she went.
A General Store, that flanked the entryway to the market, was engulfed in flames with the fire rapidly spreading. Smoke bellowed out and engulfed the street, obscuring her visibility, so it was only once she breached the curtain of smoke that she could behold the scene before her.
The large market square was flanked on its perimeter by rows of permanent buildings that housed businesses of all sorts, from stores like the scorched one behind her to trades-pony establishments like masons and blacksmiths.
The stage on which she had performed, had long since been dismantled and in its place now stood dozens of wooden stands, merchant carts and tents ringed the centre of the square, forming a transient marketplace for travelling merchants and small local businesses.
Some sort of battle had taken place, judging by the numerous bodies littering the square. Both raiders and Valley Dale guards lay strewn. Looting and combat had wrecked much of the market. Stands were destroyed, produce carts were overturned, rolls of fabric lay smouldering and clay pots of wine were pilfered or broken.
Luna didn't have to put much effort into speculation of the outcome of the battle however, as a dozen or so armoured pegasi stood unchallenged in the open clearing in the centre of the square.
Most of them appeared to be ordinary rank-and-file soldiers, similar to the ones that she had spent the past hour dispatching.
However, the four pegasi that stood in the centre of the cadre immediately stood out to the alicorn. Each for their own unique reason.
The pony who stood behind the others was simply enormous. Surely one of the largest stallions that Luna had seen in her long life. A titan of muscle and steel that stood only slightly shorter than herself. He wore heavy, thick, plated armour that almost entirely covered him. Carrying not only a massive, spike-tipped warhammer but also folded wingblades the size of broadswords.
In front of him was a pair of more reasonably sized ponies, a mare and a stallion. Their identical grey coats, magenta eyes and dark blue manes marked them out as probable twins. Although their light, mobile, sparse armour wasn't nearly as robust as their looming companion, even at a cursory glance Luna could tell that it was of far higher quality than the lieutenants that she had fought earlier.
All three of them were clearly enforcers or bodyguards to the final member of the group, who was easily the most eye-catching of them all. The black-furred, silver-maned, crimson-eyed stallion that stood in front of them donned an extravagant set of gleaming, golden armour. Reflections of the fires from the surrounding buildings danced in the polished plates of precious metals. It looked like the sort of battle attire worn by pony emperors of old.
Her magical senses informed her that while all of their armours were heavily enchanted to a certain extent, the plate and mail belonging to their apparent leader bore such an obscenely high level of enchantment that Luna’s jaw almost dropped in astonishment.
Yet, with all of this considered, somehow the pony apparelled in armour very much equivalent to her own or those once worn by the Masters of the College was not Luna’s greatest source of concern in the scene before her.
Mayor Wind Chill kneeled before the leader of Las Pegasus. She was badly beaten and her posture was limp, yet she was prevented from collapsing by two of the regular soldiers, who strung her out between them by her forelegs, presenting her to their superior.
“You went back on our deal.” The black-furred raider said to Wind Chill. His accent was typical of that of High-Born Cumulus Pegasi.
“The last attack was merely a warning. Yet, you still dared to peddle us a counterfeit. Did you really think that we wouldn't notice your duplicity?” The leader berated as he threw a small object to the ground and smashed it beneath his armoured hoof. Luna was too far away to see the object as she tread carefully across the debris-strewn market, trying to creep as close as possible.
Wind Chill lifted her head and scowled at the pegasus in defiance. “A deal made at sword point is no deal at all. It will never be yours. You have no right!” She spat with venom.
The raider struck out and hit the mayor across the face with his armoured wing. The mare's head lashed backwards and blood spurted from her broken muzzle and split eyebrow.
“It is you that has no right! You're a disgrace to your ancestry! To think that the once vaunted Wind Family has fallen so far.” The raider seethed.
He stepped forward and grabbed Wind Chill roughly by the mane, lifting her head and forcing her to meet his eyes.
“By the Divine Authority vested to me by the Mantle of Debellator, I, Overlord Reverberating Infamy, Supreme Ruler of all pegasi, demand that you give me what is RIGHTFULLY MINE!” The warlord shouted into the mayor's face. “Do it or I will burn this pathetic town to ashes!”
“Reverberating Infamy? Did you give yourself that name?” Wind Chill mocked. Her words half slurred by her broken, swollen muzzle.
“Where is it? Tell me now.” The raider, apparently named Reverberating Infamy, whispered in a dangerous voice, not impressed in the slightest with her quip.
The mayor's simple response was to spit a mouthful of blood directly into the Warlord's face, who was still holding her at eye level.
Dropping her head before trying to wipe the bloody spit from his eyes, the pegasus's body started to shake in indignant fury as he raged.
Turning to one of his underlings, who stood off to the side of the confrontation, he spoke in a snarl. “Where is the bitch's runt? We'll make her talk one way or another!”
That comment was the last straw for Luna. She had bided her time to get closer to the group unnoticed, staying hidden beneath her invisibility, even as Wind Chill was assaulted. However, the overt threat of physical harm against the filly that she had grown so fond of, was beyond the limit of what she was willing to tolerate.
Diverting a massive amount of magical power into her horn, Luna unleashed a devastating blast of magic, an order of magnitude more powerful than the ones that she had thus far used.
The beam of pure destruction impacted the side of Reverberating Infamy and launched him over a dozen metres across the market square, smashing through wooden produce stands. The alicorn's invisibility evaporated from the sheer magical discharge of her spell.
The rest of the pegasi in the square froze with shock at the assassination of their leader, some even dropping their weapons in astonishment at the Mage that had suddenly manifested into existence amongst them. Luna was about to begin her assault on the two raiders who still restrained Wind Chill.
However, instead of being annihilated as she had hoped, the Warlord of Las Pegasus stood shakily back onto his hooves. His enchanted armour steamed as it tried to dispel the accumulated heat that had been conducted by her spell. The network of enchantment matrices that laced its steel glowed incandescently in exertion as its defensive measures were strained to near-breaking. A faint shimmer in the air immediately surrounding the pegasus indicated the presence of a powerful shield deployed by his armour.
‘Fuck!’ Luna cursed to herself. ‘So close.’
Reverberating Infamy began to walk forward, though carrying a heavy limp. Panting deeply, he strode forward with as much dignity as he could muster. The other pegasi in the market regarded Luna warily. However, they seemed to await further instruction from their leader before taking any action against her.
“So, you are the Mage that has been running amok? Well, at least now I don't have to expend the effort to go look for you.” He snarled through gritted teeth.
Turning to the twins in his employ. “Rain Shadow, Storm Shadow. Show this Mage the supremacy of pegasi magic. Destroy her!” He barked.
The two ponies wordlessly nodded, before using gusts of pegasi magic to zip straight up into the air. Luna barely managed to erect any sort of shield in defence of the powerful bolt of lightning that surged towards her in an instant. The weak, rushed shield collapsed under the attack and the kinetic impact sent Luna sprawling to the ground.
The alicorn didn't even get an opportunity to stand up as her magical senses alerted her to another incoming bolt. Using the considerable strength of her earth pony muscles, Luna quickly rolled out of the way of the impact, stumbling back onto her hooves as she did so.
She was more prepared for the next lightning strike and her newly cast shield held firm.
Then another bolt impacted a second later…
Then another…
And another…
And another…
And another…
Luna could barely think. Each strike was not only deafening on its own but also rang her shield like a bell.
Realising that she would never gain the upper hoof by allowing herself to get pinned down, the former princess vanished in a flash of teleportation and reappeared on the far end of the market.
She immediately flashed her horn and cast a powerful spell using a mixture of her unicorn and pegasi magic. The effect of which was similar to a smoke bomb going off. Clouds of bellowing fog erupted from her horn and soon engulfed the entire courtyard.
Taking a moment to catch her breath, Luna tried to come up with a strategy to overcome her current circumstances.
The two pegasi were quick. Quicker than the former princess could have fathomed. Both in terms of physical speed and magic. The rate at which the two could fire off lightning spells had taken her by surprise.
While Luna was certain that she and her sister were marginally quicker and more skilled at pegasi magic than either of these twins. The raiders’ combination and collaboration of attack, made for a particularly withering barrage of spells. The likes of which Luna has never before experienced, not alone at least.
Sensing a flare-up of pegasi magic from above the market, the alicorn noticed the wind picking up drastically as her fog was slowly being blown away by the two pegasi.
Not long now until Luna would be forced to resume the battle. She might have bought herself some time and space to plan, but time was not on her side.
The Overlord was likely expecting his two elite bodyguards to make short work of Luna and the longer that she survived, the more likely he was to order more of his soldiers to join the fray.
Right now the former princess only had to deal with the twins and she was confident that she could beat them… maybe. However, if the half-dozen other soldiers swarmed her, then she would be forced to flee or die.
Leaving Wind Chill to suffer the abuses of her captors was not an option. Leaving Luna’s only choice to be offensive. She needed to end the battle and move on to the other pegasi as soon as possible.
She could retry her ‘invisible blade’ strategy, which had been an effective tactic so far. However, she doubted that she could bait either pegasi into a foolish strafing run and her chances of accurately striking such speedy and nimble targets, from far away, with a telekinetically thrown object were doubtful at best. Not to mention that their enchanted armour would deflect anything that was not perfectly aimed at an opening in their steel plates and mail.
Luna needed an infallible plan, something surefire. This might be the only respite that she would get in the battle from the oppressive speed of the twins’ spell-casting. Her attack needed to be a guaranteed victory. She could not rely on chance.
As the smoke began to clear and the former princess became more aware of the buildings around her, a plan began to form in her mind.
Luna lit her horn and cast a specialised mining spell over the blacksmithing workshop next to her, sensing the locations of every scrap of metal inside.
“There she is!”
One of the twins called out above her.
‘Now or never!’
Using the information provided to her by the Metallurgic Location Spell, the disguised alicorn telekinetically grabbed everything that she could.
She sensed an incoming lightning attack. However, instead of disrupting her spell-casting to shield herself, Luna did nothing and the bolt struck her in the back with the force of a warhammer. She almost collapsed to the ground as her electrocuted nerve endings lit up with horrendous pain. Somehow, she kept her focus on her spell. Relying on her earth pony constitution and alicorn fortitude to save her from a lethal blow.
The second of stunned disbelief from the male twin was the perfect opening that she needed. With all of her might, Luna launched a swarm of metal debris at the baffled pegasi. A dark swarm of swords, sickles, hammers, knives, nails and axe heads.
The raider quickly realised the grave danger that he was in and used his pegasus magic to dart to the side. However, the cloud of sharpened steel was too broad to avoid and he was soon cut to pieces. His armour blocked most of the incoming projectiles but enough found openings in the plate that it hardly mattered.
“NO! BROTHER!” The pegasus's twin screamed as she rushed to catch her sibling's falling body.
With the raider's back turned and no opportunity to dodge, Luna used her telekinesis to pick up a hammer that she held back in reserve from her attack and threw it with incredible speed at the mare.
Her aim was true and the impact shattered the shoulder blade of the pegasus's wing. Sending her crashing to her doom as well.
Luna felt a twinge of guilt at seeing the overwhelming amount of concern that the raider had for her sibling and exploiting that to slay her.
‘Would Celestia have ever risked her own life to save me?’
Shaking the thought from her mind, the former princess tried to refocus on the battle.
Doing a very hasty, mental calculation of the parabolic, ballistic trajectory of the falling metal debris. She teleported across the market square to put herself back into telekinetic range.
Grabbing all of them within her magic once more, Luna funnelled the cloud of metal into a narrower column before hurtling it towards Reverberating Infamy, who had been watching the whole battle with wide eyes.
Seeing the storm of steel that was rapidly descending upon him, the Overlord of Las Pegasus extended a wing over his head to shield himself. Unlike most wing armour that only covered the top edge of the wing, his armour covered the entirety of his wing, feathers included. Allowing it to effectively act as a shield.
However, the efficacy of the Kinetic Absorption enchantments of his armour was soon put to the test as a shower of metal rained down upon him. Hundreds of projectiles bounced off his translucent magical shield as he strained beneath the force of the impacts.
Just as it looked like the raider leader would survive unharmed, the very last object finally stuck. A massive steel anvil, approximately the mass of an adult pony.
“Gah!” The pegasus yelped as a sickening crack echoed and his broken wing fell limply at his side.
“Thunder Hoof, Destroy her!” The raider ordered through gritted teeth.
The enormous, heavily clad pony simply nodded before summoning a powerful gust of wind with his pegasus magic to propel him towards Luna.
Not expecting him to charge directly at her, the former princess could only manage to raise a hasty, weak shield in her defence that promptly shattered under the heavy blow from Thunder Hoof's warhammer and sent Luna reeling.
Micro-teleporting a few metres away saved the disguised alicorn from a follow-up slash by the raider's wingblade.
Undeterred, the heavily armoured raider surged towards Luna’s new position. However, the former princess was more prepared this time and an intense flash of white light detonated from the tip of her horn, blinding Thunder Hoof and causing his hammer strike to miss widely.
Luna tried to grip him in her telekinesis but her magic failed to find purchase on his enchanted armour and simply slipped off, as though he was covered in grease.
Snorting in irritation, the disguised alicorn resorted to a more physical approach as wound back her hoof before using her earth pony strength to deliver a devastating blow to the side of the disorientated raider's head.
CLANG
The impact rang out as her metal shoe dented the pegasus's helmet. That strike would have killed a lesser pony. However, Thunder Hoof's immense fortitude and enchantment meant that the punch merely staggered and concussed him.
Not allowing a golden opening to go to waste, Luna unleashed a point-blank magical blast at the raider's torso and sent him sprawling a dozen metres away.
“ANSWER ME! WHERE IS IT?”
SLAP
The former princess heard the Overlord yell from across the market as he continued his interrogation and struck the mayor across the face once more.
Luna couldn't help her though. She had more immediate issues. Such as three of the pegasi soldiers who broke rank upon seeing one of their superiors laid low and were now rushing to join the fight.
The alicorn aimed her horn and sent a lethal bolt of arcane lightning towards the first raider killing him. The other two hesitated, giving Luna all the opportunity she needed to unleash a death-beam and a telekinetic crush.
Turning around to finish off the final member of the Overlord's elite guard, Luna froze upon hearing a voice that she instantly recognised.
“LEAVE HER ALONE!” Screamed Windy as she falcon dived from on high and tried to tackle Reverberating Infamy away from her mother. However, the air around the Overlord shimmered and most of the force behind the filly's attack was dissipated by his magical shield. The golden-armoured stallion staggered to the side but suffered no real injury from her attack.
Windy saw the condition that Wind Chill was in and gasped.
“Mother?”
Enraged, she launched herself at one of the pegasi restraining her mother. However, with a twirl of his functional wing, Reverberating Infamy caught Windy in midair inside of a magical vortex and slammed her into the ground.
The filly tried to stand back up but the stallion placed his hoof on her withers and forced her back down to the ground, pinning her in place.
“You will not lay a hoof on her, or else!” Wind Chill threatened as she fought against the grip of the soldiers holding her.
Reverberating Infamy grinned smugly as he unfurled a windblade from his uninjured wind and placed its tip to the back of Windy's head.
“Or what? I've already won.” He challenged mockingly.
The adrenaline-fueled rage that overtook Wind Chill at that moment was a sight to behold as, with physical strength that belied her battered body, she tore her wing free from the restraint of the soldier on her right. With masterful control over her pegasus magic, she froze the tips of her primary feathers in hardened, sharpened ice and slashed the raider's throat.
The pegasus released Wind Chill, grasping at his bleeding neck. She instantly whirled around to slash at the face of the soldier holding her on her left, causing him to howl in pain and release her as well.
With not a second to lose, she flicked her wing at Reverberating Infamy, launching the sharpened icicles at the blade held to her daughter's neck, knocking it aside.
The Overlord looked surprised and angry at the unfolding events but not particularly scared as he simply reached into the folds of his armour and retrieved what looked like a metal baton with a pointed tip.
“WIND CHILL, DON'T” Luna shouted at the mayor in warning.
The former princess had been beset by the remnants of the soldiers guarding the market square and unable to help the mother and daughter. However, now that she pushed them and turned her full attention to the battle between Wind Chill and Reverberating Infamy, her blood turned to ice at the information that her magical senses related to her.
The enchanted weapon held by the Overlord was not as it appeared.
The mayor either didn't hear her warning or was too furious to care and launched herself at the stallion with a ferocity only achievable by an enraged mother trying to protect her child.
Reverberating Infamy merely smiled as he triggered the extension mechanism on the retractable spear, causing the weapon to extend to tenfold its length in an instant, impaling the charging mare.
“NOOOOOOO!” Windy screamed in anguish as the spear retracted and her mother fell to the floor, nursing grievous injuries.
Luna saw red as she lowered her horn and prepared to unleash a devastating blast of concentrated magic onto the Overlord.
However, the moment before she fired, a bone-shattering impact from a warhammer sent her reeling. Her spell went wide and obliterated the second floor of a building on the far side of the market.
“Forget about little old me?” Thunder Hoof inquired in a sickly-sweet, mocking tone.
Standing up despite the pain of several cracked ribs, Luna lit her horn menacingly. She didn't want this battle to continue for a second longer than absolutely necessary, so she decided to employ a slightly riskier strategy involving illusions.
With a flash of her horn, Luna engulfed the market in a bright flash of light. When Thunder Hoof's vision returned to him, twenty clones of the irritatingly powerful Mage surrounded him on all sides.
Knowing that he couldn't allow the unicorn time to cook up a more potent spell, he surged forward like a tornado of steel and cut down illusion after illusion that vanished upon impact with his hammer or wingblades.
Slashing through the final clone, he didn't see the invisible alicorn as she stabbed her horn into a gap in the stallion’s neck armour and fired a magical beam that decapitated him instantly.
Dismissing her invisibility, Luna rounded upon the Overlord.
The golden-armoured stallion stood ready to face her, a small crossbow in his hoof. Further away, Windy was restrained to the floor by two raiders as she sobbed and angrily shouted obscenities at them.
Luna started to walk towards him, her horn igniting with immense power. The lowly soldiers looked afraid and ready to flee but Reverberating Infamy bore an insufferably smug grin that boiled her blood.
“Nowhere to run now,” Luna stated with malice.
“Why would I flee from my impending victory?” The Overlord asked in a gloating tone.
The alicorn's horn flared as pooled at least twice the magic that she had used in her first attack against him.
The pegasus made a mistake when he allowed his guards to drag Windy away from his proximity. There was no reason to hold back now. It wouldn't matter what sort of armour he wore or what enchantments he had.
Luna would obliterate him.
Chuckling, Reverberating Infamy simply raised his crossbow and aimed. Loaded was a bolt of blackened steel, whose slick reflection almost seemed to shine with iridescence.
Alarm bells erupted at the back of Luna’s mind at the sight of the arrow. However, her memory failed her as to why.
Trusting her cautious instincts, the alicorn diverted magic away from her ‘Obliteration’ Spell and created a powerful shield in front of her. The strongest that she had erected that night.
The bolt knocked loose and flew towards the former princess, impacting her shield. However, instead of being stopped, the black bolt punched through her shield as though it didn't exist and embedded itself in Luna’s chest, piercing multiple vital organs.
The alicorn gasped in shock as she collapsed onto her haunches. Staring down in disbelief at the half of the bolt protruding out of her chest.
“I was saving that Quellium Steel bolt for a rainy day. It was my only one, you know. You should feel honoured that I deemed it necessary to use it on you, they are very rare and I would have much preferred it if…” Reverberating Infamy started to gloat but Luna stopped listening after a few sentences.
Quellium Steel…
The famed magic killer from the days of the Pony Imperium. Its alchemical recipe, lost to time. She should have recognised it sooner.
Fear started to set in as her shock wore off and she could feel the blood soak into her fur as it poured from her wound. She tried to telekinetically pull the arrow out but her magic couldn't grip the Quellium Steel and more concerning was the pain that flared in her horn when she tried to cast magic.
Flakes of Quellium were already leaching into her blood, polluting the biological pathways that transferred magical energy within her body and inhibiting her magic. Her cracked ribs erupted in agony as her magical, earth pony fortitude began to wane.
The bolt was poisoning her. Poisoning her body. Poisoning her magic. Soon it would kill her.
She needed to get it out…
She needed to get it out!
Get it out!
Get it out!
GET IT OUT!
GET IT OUT!
Fear turned into panic as the gravity of the situation started to dawn on Luna. Forgoing any magic at all, the former princess grasped the bolt with both of her hooves and physically tore the accursed thing out.
Luckily, the unbarbed tip came out easily. However, a deluge of arterial spray flooded from the open wound as soon as she did so. She desperately tried to cast a healing spell on the wound but the Quellium Poisoning already saturated into the surrounding flesh prevented any magical healing. She resorted to quickly pressing one of her hooves against her chest to stem the bleeding, but that accomplished little except drenching her hoof in blood.
‘It must have struck an artery!’ Luna thought with no small amount of fear.
A mere unicorn would have been killed by the strike. However, even diminished by poisoning, the regeneration capabilities of alicorns were immense. So long as she didn't bleed out, she would be able to heal… eventually. Her body could filter out the toxins and repair internal bleeding, but unless she stopped rapidly haemorrhaging, she would die.
“You're looking a bit pale there, little unicorn. You probably don't have much time now.” The Overlord laughed in mockery. Windy looked on with abject horror.
Luna’s resolve hardened at the taunts. She would not give him the satisfaction of watching her bleed out in the street like a lame dog being put down.
Fueled by rage and defiance, she moved her hoof away from the wound and focused her attention on the metal horseshoe at its underside. The former princess ignited her horn to create a spell matrix. However, the act of funnelling magic to her horn felt like she was trying to push molten lead through her veins. It was agonising.
Nevertheless, she managed to cast her spell and soon her horseshoe began to glow an incandescent red as it heated up to immense temperatures. Specially enchanted for extreme durability, the steel shoe held its shape, even as it started to sear the unfeeling keratin of her hoof.
Steeling her nerves, she stamped her hoof against her chest to cauterise her wound.
“Nnnnhhhhhggggg!” Luna whined pitifully as the metal scorched her chest.
Peeling her hoof off of the blackened, U-shaped scar that had been branded into her skin, Luna set it to the ground, almost igniting a broken plank of wood under her in the process.
Panting in pain and exertion, the alicorn stood up onto trembling hooves. Her fractured ribs made the action almost unbearable but she endured regardless.
Luna took a shaky step forward and lit her horn with a menacing glow, trying her best to ignore the feeling of hot knives being driven into her skull as she did so. She didn't bother with any sort of structure or matrix, she was too angry and in too much pain to care.
As an alicorn, she had an immense amount of magic at her disposal at all times. Far beyond the pale of regular ponies, even if she didn't always have the time or space to properly form a spell to harness it. However, magic didn't always need a spell structure to be utilised. Sometimes uncontrolled brute force was a valid strategy.
As the swirling maelstrom of magical energy pooled around her horn, Reverberating Infamy took a step backwards in retreat. He had been frozen, watching with dread and befuddlement as the supposedly doomed unicorn rose and marched towards him with murder in her eyes. Pegasi had drastically less developed magical senses compared to unicorns but even he could feel the power that was rapidly accumulating around the horn of the unicorn.
For the first time in a great many years…
…the Overlord of Las Pegasus felt afraid.
Standing a dozen paces before him, the impossibly tall mare seemed to loom over him like a dark goddess of destruction and ruin.
“You should have aimed for the head.”
And with that, Luna unleashed her magic upon the raider. The formless, directionless mass of magical energy bent to the imperious will of its wielder, directing it towards a singular goal:
The complete and utter annihilation of the being that lay before it.
Every pony in the market was blinded by the glaring flash that erupted from Luna’s horn as a bolt of lightning larger, hotter and more potent than any before witnessed in the history of pegasi kind, crossed the distance between the two rulers in a blind of an eye and impacted the Overlord with the force of an erupting volcano.
His armour’s enchantments lit up in a vain attempt to shield him before they crumpled beneath an unrelenting avalanche of energy. There was no possible defence as the pegasus was consumed by the magic.
As the blinding light cleared, the only thing that remained of the raider leader was a twitching, wheezing pile of flesh and melted gold that only superficially resembled a pony.
The resolve of the remaining soldiers finally broke as they abandoned their positions, retrieved their fallen leader, as well as any wounded comrades they could and fled to the safety of their cloud city.
With no pony restraining her, Windy rushed over to her mother's body, cradling it in her grasp as she sobbed.
Utterly physically, mentally and magically exhausted, Luna's legs gave way and she collapsed to the ground.
Drifting in and out of consciousness as she struggled to catch her breath with blood filling her slowly healing lungs, the disguised alicorn faintly noticed as the intensity of the rain increased tenfold. With the fleeing pegasi no longer maintaining control of the weather over the town, the storm bore down upon Valley Dale in full. Fires were drowned beneath the deluge and the blood staining the streets was washed away.
The unicorn mare lit her horn and slowly peeled off the bandages from her patient's chest. She winced at the ugly burn scar seared into the skin of the unconscious pony. The blackened flesh marring her otherwise gorgeous azure fur.
As the most experienced healer in Valley Dale, it had fallen to Loving to see to the healing of their town's unexpected saviour.
When Starry had first arrived, Loving had initially been highly sceptical of the mare. Valley Dale had experienced its fair share of travelling charlatans and the traveller's claims to immense power and grand lineage had bordered on the unbelievable. However, after the battle, she felt like a fool for ever having doubted the Mage. Her efforts to turn the tides of a hopeless battle had likely saved Loving's life, as well as the lives of her family.
It made the unicorn healer feel all the more useless that she couldn't do much to assist in the recovery of the mare. She had diagnosed the Mage's injuries quickly enough: five cracked ribs, minor electrical burns across her back, major internal bleeding, a collapsed lung, a U-shaped third-degree burn on her chest, some sort of heavy metal poisoning in her blood, as well as extreme physical and magical exhaustion.
However, stunningly enough, not only was Starry in a relatively stable condition but she was actively healing at a far greater rate than any of her treatments could have offered. One of her more scholarly and learned colleagues suggested that perhaps her highly enchanted cloak was responsible for the unicorn's unprecedented regeneration. Some sort of healing enchantment.
Unfortunately, there wasn't any unicorn in Valley Dale educated enough in the magical study of enchantment to confirm his hypothesis, so Loving decided not to take any chances and forbid her staff from removing Starry's cloak.
All that was left for the healer to do for the Mage was to make her comfortable, change her bandages regularly and apply burn salves to the worst of her scars.
After applying the salve and fresh bandages, Loving was startled by a knock at the bedroom door. The door crept open to reveal her husband. The tall, white-furred, red-maned earthpony bore a concerned expression.
“How is she, dear?” Red Cross asked.
Loving Care gave a brief look over the bandages, making sure that they couldn't come loose before sighing.
“She is recovering quickly, even if I'm still not entirely certain why. There is little to do but let her rest.” The unicorn replied.
“You have been in here with her for hours. The clinic is overcrowded and many others need our attention.” Her husband gently admonished.
“I know. It's just that… She has done so much for us, for everypony. Doesn't she deserve our undivided attention and care?” Loving replied.
Red gave a sympathetic smile. “You said it yourself, there isn't much we can do to help her. Let us focus on those that we can help. Our clinic staff could use some assistance.”
The healer sighed in resignation at her husband's logic. “You're right, you're right. Let's help the others so long. Hopefully Starry will wake soon.”
She took one last look at the mysterious unicorn before leaving the room with her husband.
They walked in silence through the hall of their home. Since their house connected to the back of their family-owned clinic, Loving decided to make her home available to treat the heroic mare, rather than trying to fit her in the overburdened clinic.
After a few moments, Red spoke up.
“The town council just announced that they are planning to hold the mayoral election next week.” He stated.
Loving's eyes widened in surprise. “It's only been two days since the attack. We haven't even had a funeral for Wind Chill yet. Why are they rushing this?”
The stallion just shrugged. “Maybe they think that an election would improve unity and boost morale in the town. Maybe they want ponies to be reassured by the stability of having a definite leader rather than an interim council. Or maybe one of the councillors is angling for the job themselves and this is part of some backroom scheme.”
Choosing to ignore her husband's cynicism on that last point, Loving shook her head at the answer. She never understood the nature and machinations of politics, nor did she wish to. She was always content enough in her clinic, tending to those who needed her help the most.
“Speaking of Wind's funeral, have they set a date yet?” The mare inquired.
“Not yet, but likely before the election. The council is planning a mass funeral for everypony that died. It takes a while to arrange that sort of thing, especially with so much chaos and destruction that still needs to be sorted out.” Her husband replied.
As the director of their clinic, he had always been more in the know about the various politics and ongoings in Valley Dale.
Loving sighed mournfully. “Sixty-five dead and two hundred injured. There hasn't been a loss of life like this in thirty years, not since the floods.”
“It could have been worse, a lot worse,” Red remarked. “The raiders were more focused on ransacking and looting than mass killing. Starry also drove them off before they could do worse. Smoke inhalation killed more than blades did.”
Loving felt a shiver creep up her spine at the assertion. She tried not to think too hard about what the likely outcome of the attack would have been if Starry had not saved them when she had.
“Although, the harm done to our little ponies doesn't end with those that lost their lives.” Her husband continued, coming to a stop outside the door to the couple's guestroom. The door was closed but Loving was almost certain that she could hear quiet sobbing coming from within.
After her mother's death, Wind Scale was inconsolable. She had refused to leave the mayor's side until they needed to move her to move her body to the mortuary. After that, she had spent hours sitting by Starry's bedside. Eventually, after the filly had fallen asleep from sheer exhaustion, Loving moved her into one of her spare guestrooms, where she had remained ever since.
“Poor dear…” The unicorn lamented sadly.
“This town wouldn't be what it is today without the Wind family. It's a damn tragedy.” Her husband agreed.
“What will happen to her now?” Loving asked.
“One of Wind Chill's assistants apparently heard her mention something about Wind Scale getting an apprenticeship with Starry. Although, we'll probably have to wait for the Mage to wake up to get more details. Failing that, Cloud Chaser said that his family would be willing to take her in.” Red Cross answered.
Loving surprised at the answer. Starry always struck her as a lone wolf-type pony, not the sort to take an apprentice. Though, if any pony had the political wiles to get her to agree to it, it would be the mayor. The unicorn preferred not to think about what sort of strings Wind Chill had to pull or deals she had to make to get the Mage to accept her pegasus daughter as an apprentice.
“Even if they did agree to such a deal and Starry is still willing to honour it. Do you think that this would be what's best for Wind Scale? To pack up, leave her home and venture into the unknown with a practical stranger, especially so soon after she lost her only family.” Loving challenged, though with no real heat in her voice.
“Wind Scale has always been unhappy here in Valley Dale and I have no doubt that her mother's death will only compound her misery. Letting her venture out into the world to explore new places and meet new ponies… away from painful memories. It might not be the worst thing for her mental health. Most teenagers begin their apprenticeships around her age anyway.” Her husband offered in reasonable tones.
Loving wasn't entirely convinced by the argument but the filly's future was not hers to decide. If Wind Scale planned to leave Valley Dale, the healer wasn't sure anypony could stop her.
“Let's tend to our patients.” The mare declared. Content to leave the conversation where it was. Endless speculation over hypotheticals wouldn't help them.
Her husband gave an understanding smile, before stepping over to her side and lovingly nuzzling her neck.
The Lord-Duke of Fillydelphia knocked back his glass of whisky in a single gulp before slamming the tumbler down on his mahogany desk with a scowl on his face.
The noble was not having a very good day. Not a good day at all.
To be fair, he rarely ever had any good days. Between disobedient New Towns undermining his authority at every turn, disgruntled peasants refusing to pay taxes, and opportunistic minor nobles nipping at his heels, he found no end to his daily frustrations.
However, today was a special kind of awful that went far beyond his usual minor irritations.
The project that he had spent months planning was falling apart around him. He had invested so much into this venture, called in so many favours and made so many promises that if lost this gamble, he would lose everything.
However, the rewards promised to him for success were so great that it was worth the risk…
…or at least he thought that it was worth the risk. Now that he was staring down the barrel of complete an abject failure before the preparation phase of his plan had even concluded, he was starting to reconsider some of his recent life decisions.
He was in too deep now though. He has promised too much to too many powerful parties.
He should have been smarter, more diligent, planned more redundancies and had more viable candidates waiting in the wings for a situation like this but he never imagined that he would be so badly undone by such an unlikely run of foul luck.
That storm.
That fucking storm.
A ‘once in a decade tropical cyclone’, the Harbour Master had told him.
A ‘freak event’, had been assured by the Head Weather Director.
Apparently, the ESS Sunrise had been one of six vessels that had been lost at sea that day off the coast of Trottingham. Sunk along with its entire crew, including his assembled crack team of leading experts, veterans and specialists that he had hoof-chosen and vetted over the course of months for his mission.
Now the window of opportunity was rapidly closing and he had nothing to show for his efforts.
It was as though the universe itself was plotting against him.
With a snarl, he picked up the glass in his telekinesis and hurled it against the far wall of his large office. The shattered shards fell to the floor.
He held his head in his hooves for a moment, resting his elbows on the desktop and let out an explosive sigh in an attempt to relieve some of his built-up stress. He tried to think logically about his situation.
His plan could still work. He just needed the right team to get it done. He could try to recruit ponies locally, in hopes of salvaging the expedition but he was unlikely to acquire the expertise he needed to succeed in such a short timeframe.
The door to his office crept open slowly. “Are you alright, sir?” A nervous voice asked with trepidation.
“I'm fine, Vermilion.” The Lord-Duke replied in a terse tone, not lifting his head from his hooves and hoping that his young assistant would get the hint that he would like to be left alone to his brooding.
However, instead of leaving him in peace, Vermilion opened the door fully and trotted inside. The noble was about to snap at the young stallion but his assistant spoke first.
“I have the report that you requested, sir.” Vermilion spoke in a nervous, soft-spoken voice. “The one from Valley Dale.”
Pale Scepter's attention peaked at that. He lifted his head and gave a small, wry chuckle. The Lord-Duke had laughed himself hysterical when he had heard the news about how the mighty Las Pegasus pegasi had gotten their muzzles bloodied by a plucky New Town in the backwaters of his province.
Details about the failed raid were incredibly sparse, even for a pony such as himself, and he had been eagerly awaiting the full report to make its way to him. Ever since Las Pegasus had so ruthlessly plundered his family's summer manse in Silver Shoals a decade ago, he had despised the pegasi raiders with a burning hatred. He couldn't wait to indulge himself in all the finer details of their deserved humiliation.
“Give it here, please.” The noble requested in a much more pleasant tone. This was exactly the balm to his bitter mood that he needed at the moment.
Somewhat caught off-guard by the sudden whiplash of his employer's mood, Vermilion nonetheless complied and gave over the bound stack of parchment papers.
Pale Scepter began to read through the papers. However, his catharsis soon gave way to deep fascination the more he read. His small, lighthearted smile turned into a contemplative neutrality as he sat straighter in his chair.
Vermilion still stood across from his boss's desk. He quietly scuffed his hoof on the carpet in an involuntary, habitual tick as a result of his nervousness and discomfort. He hadn't been dismissed as usual and still needed the report back so that a copy could be made and sent to the Everfree Castle. So with no choice, he awkwardly stood and watched his employer wordlessly read through the lengthy report as the minutes ticked by.
Sometime later, as Pale Scepter finished the last page of the report, he slowly set the stack of pages down on his desk and leaned back in his chair, staring up at the ceiling with a pensive look, as though pondering a momentous choice.
Eventually after looking to come to a decision, Pale Scepter met Vermilion's gaze with a serious expression. “Who else has read this report?” The noble asked, his voice deliberate and business-like.
Vermilion, still somewhat perturbed at his Lord's complete change of tact, answered promptly regardless. “Commander Tungsten brought the report directly to me and I brought it directly to you. So the three of us, plus presumably some of the ponies under Tungsten's command who collected the information.”
Pale Scepter merely nodded in understanding, taking a further moment to digest the words. He then picked up the report with his telekinesis and tossed it to the edge of his desk, directly in front of Vermilion. “Rewrite this report and burn the original.” The Lord-Duke of Fillydelphia ordered. “Remove any and all mention of Starry Night. Downplay the significance of the battle. Say that it was a small, splinter raiding party from Las Pegasus that got defeated by a particularly heroic defensive effort by the town's guards, not the actual cloud city itself and not by a single Mage. Tell the Commander to make similar edits to his reports and to swear his soldiers to silence.”
Vermilion stood stunned at the barrage of commands that was directed at him, incredulous at the blatant fraudulence that he was being ordered to commit.
However, the noble was not finished with his instructions. “Have all of the criers and newsreaders under our employ relay this new version of events to the populace. After that, pass the revised report on to Everfree.”
“Sir!” Vermilion exclaimed, scandalised at the prospect of willfully lying to their Princesses.
Pale Scepter didn't acknowledge his objection though and charged right ahead with the planning of his scheme. “This Mage is still at Valley Dale, correct?” The unicorn inquired seriously.
Still not entirely certain how to react to the highly illegal plot proposed by his employer, Vermilion resorted to the mask of obedient professionalism that he had trained to wear when dealing with nobles. “Yes, she is still unconscious from her injuries and recovering at a local clinic.”
The noble grinned at that. “Good. Dispatch a squadron of guards to Valley Dale. I want Starry Night brought to me as soon as she wakes, forcefully if necessary.”
Vermilion's eyes widened at that. “Ummm, you want her… arrested, sir?” He asked in confusion, glancing down at the report that detailed the selfless heroics that the Mage had performed.
“No, no. Certainly not!” Pale Scepter chuckled slyly. “I simply have a job opportunity for her.”
Not knowing what to do with that piece of information, Vermilion simply walked slowly out of the room without another word to carry out his orders.
As the door closed behind his assistant, the Lord-Duke leaned back into his chair and magically poured himself another glass of whisky. A toast of celebration this time, rather than an attempt to numb his misery.
His plan might not be dead in the water after all. It was still a tremendous risk but he was feeling confident. The emergence of this Mage was exactly the windfall of good fortune that he badly needed.
She was perfect in every way for his plan. From her power to her background. The written testimonial from one of Valley Dale's surviving gate guards was of particular interest to him.
One way or another, he would have her on his leash. The stakes were too high for him to accept her refusal.
Unlocking a hidden compartment in his desk, he retrieved a Trillium Crystal and set it delicately on the desk in front of him. He had to inform other interested parties that his part of the venture was proceeding as scheduled.
His Benefactor had promised him a seat on the Council of Nobles upon completion of his given mission.
Even though it had been hours since she had awoken, the pegasus mare felt as though she was still suffering a nightmare, borne from the darkest recesses of her mind.
It had taken hours for her to digest what she had been told and even longer to begin to process her grief and misery.
Not everything was known about what exactly had transpired last night, but the information that had been drip-fed down to her was enough to shake her world.
Their raiding party had been mauled. Dozens of venerable warriors were dead. Her brother was dead. Her Lord was a heartbeat away from death. Her wing was crippled, possibly permanently. And they had left almost empty-hooved, with nothing to show for their losses.
The raid had gone worse than any previous raid in the history of Las Pegasus.
Now, standing in the royal wing of the Las Pegasus Infirmary and staring at the mangled body of Reverberating Infamy, it truly hit home how catastrophically wrong everything had gone.
The Overlord was barely kept alive. His vaunted, golden armour had partially melted and grafted itself onto his flesh. Encasing him in a golden tomb that reminded Rain Shadow of the sarcophaguses that they had looted from Maregypt years ago. Lines and lattices of glowing, magical enchantments hummed as they crisscrossed the warped and malformed plates of armour. The healing and life support enchantments were almost certainly the only things that were keeping him alive, or so one of their enslaved unicorns had theorised.
A rubber tube had been shoved down her Lord's throat and connected to a device in the corner of the room that the mare could only describe as looking similar to a set of blacksmith bellows. A nurse stood next to the machine twirled her wings in a steady rhythm and cast spells with her pegasus magic. Causing the flexible leather bag of the ‘bellows’ to inflate and deflate. Feeding pure oxygen into the lungs of Reverberating Infamy and hopefully alleviating some of the strain on the overburdened enchantments.
At least they had managed to swiftly retrieve their sovereign from the battlefield. Others, like Thunder Hoof and her brother, were not so lucky. Rain’s body almost physically shook with rage and as her imagination ran amok with visions of the filthy mud ponies of Valley Dale tossing her brother's body in a mass grave or on a pyre. No ceremony, no prayers to the Sky Goddess, no dignity.
So consumed was Rain by her internal strife, that she didn't even notice the stallion that had just entered the room and walked up alongside her. He laid a comforting wing across her back, careful to avoid touching the shattered shoulder joint of her wing and the cotton sling that held the limp appendage.
After snapping back to reality, she took notice of the familiar newcomer and addressed the stallion by way of a question.
“What did they say?” Rain asked Swift Cyclone, the elderly warrior who had once occupied her position in the Overlord's cadre and had thereafter been her unofficial mentor since his retirement.
“The Interim Leadership Council has elected Crimson Feather as Regent Overlord until either Infamy recovers, or the young princess reaches her majority.” Swift replied in a tired voice.
Rain shook her head in disbelief at that, almost snarling. “Our moment of greatest weakness and they choose the fucking quartermaster to lead us? He has never lifted a blade in his life.” She barked incredulously.
Swift sighed at her remark. “So much was lost in the raid last night that it will take us months, if not years to recover. The council has decided that we need somepony who is competent at counting costs and coins to guide us through a needed period of financial austerity and recovery. You should know enough about politics to understand that this is the way of things.”
Rain, not appreciating being lectured about politics and economics as though she were a foal, stepped forward and out of Swift's embrace. She was in no mood to suffer being talked down to.
The elder stallion recognised the mare's grief-fueled temper and opted to drop to the topic. He stepped forward as well to stand alongside her but refrained from wing-hugging her again.
Knowing that she would be unappreciative of consoling words or small talk and would prefer to focus on the task ahead of her, Swift remarked at the situation at hoof. “It's almost impossible to believe that one mare could have inflicted such damage. That armour once belonged to Commander Hurricane. It was supposed to be invincible.”
Rain didn't have an immediate reply to that. Simply staring at her fallen leader, as if lost in thought. “Do we know who she was?” She eventually asked in a quiet, dangerous voice.
Swift Cyclone mulled the question over in his mind for a moment, debating how likely the answer was to further sour his apprentice's mood. Eventually, he decided to tread the path of honesty and merely nodded. “We interrogated one of the very few slaves that we managed to collect from Valley Dale before retreating. Apparently, the unicorn was a powerful Legacy Mage known as Starry Night. She had briefly stopped by the town and was likely still in the area when we struck.” Her mentor explained. “Bad luck, it seems…” he trailed off with a sigh.
“Or the Wind bitch lured the Mage there to fight her battles.” Rain sneered.
“Perhaps,” Swift conceded but with a tone that indicated that he wasn't completely convinced by the conspiracy. “However, the unicorn reportedly started her rampage on the outskirts of the town, and only an hour after we arrived. It's more likely that she was in the nearby countryside and noticed the commotion.”
“Did she suffer as she died?” Rain quietly seethed. Although, she was on the edge of tears. Her mind continually replayed the scene of her brother being cut to pieces by the psychotic unicorn in a swarm of blades and steel. She tried so desperately to reach him, to take him away and save him. Yet, her back suddenly exploded with pain and she knew nothing more.
“She was shot point-blank in the chest with a Quellium Arrow. I don't know how she managed to scrape together enough magic for a final blow against our Lord, but her death would have been an agonising one regardless.” Swift consoled but he wasn't sure how much comfort his protégé would take from his words.
Rain closed her eyes and shook her head. “We should go back and burn that pathetic shit-hole of a town to the ground!” Her tone was wrathful but Swift was familiar enough with loss and grief that he recognised the hurt and sorrow.
“We've already hit Valley Dale twice. Fillydelphia and Everfree cannot ignore this. Even with the Mage dead, the town is probably swarming with guards. The incident might have even caught the eye of the Princesses themselves. We can not go back. Do not allow your grief to cloud your better judgement.” Swift gently chided. He knew better than anypony how sorrow could make one irrational.
“Our mission isn't complete, we still need to retrieve the artefact for our client.” Rain retorted but it was a weak argument and she knew it.
“Fuck the client.” Swift snapped. It was the first time that he had raised his voice throughout the conversation. “I don't care what promises he made. It was a bad deal and we are cutting our losses.” He said with a tone of finality.
Instead of replying with a fiery retort as she normally would, Rain seemed to deflate. With Starry Night dead and no obvious remaining focus for her wrath, the anger and indignation which had propelled her the last few hours, seemingly burnt out.
Bowing her head in defeat, she didn't react as Swift nuzzled the side of her neck in comfort.
“What do we do now?” Rain asked in a quiet, almost lost voice.
“We go south.” The elderly warrior answered simply.
The mare was confused by the answer. “We are already above the Southern Plains. There is nothing to the south except for the vast jungles.”
“Further south. Beyond the jungles.”
“Zebrica?” Rain asked incredulously.
Swift gestured with a wing towards the comatose Overlord. “We've tried to get some of our unicorn slaves to cast healing spells but the enchantments on the armour appear to repel all magic. The only thing that seems to work is healing potions. Perhaps that's an oversight by the armour's creators or perhaps it's intentional but it seems to be the only way to effect any sort of healing on him.”
“If we have already figured out the solution, then why are we going south?” Rain asked, not comprehending the explanation.
“We have a very small supply of healing potions and they aren't particularly strong. If our Lord is to have any chance at survival, then we need access to far more potent elixirs.” Her mentor explained. “And what type of magic are the Zebra Tribes best known for?” He asked leadingly.
“...their alchemy.” Rain finished as realisation dawned on her.
The mission was a failure. We are pulling out of the deal.
-Regent Overlord Crimson Feather
The message's recipient stared down in disbelief at one of his Trillium Crystals.
‘That's it? That's all that those pathetic wretches give me as an explanation.’
He tried to send a message to demand more information but the connection had been severed from the other end.
He almost crushed the crystal in his telekinetic grasp but managed to reign in his temper.
He should have known better than to trust an egotistical, moronic glory-hound like Reverberating Infamy with even the simplest of tasks.
‘Go to the town of Valley Dale and rip the desired artefact from the cold, dead hooves of its mayor. Simple, no?’
‘HOW COULD THAT IDIOT HAVE FUCKED IT UP SO BADLY?!’
Gripping the ledge of his desk, he took a breath to calm himself and tried to think rationally. Getting needlessly upset wouldn't help him get any closer to his goals.
Without any further information from Las Pegasus about their mission, he had no choice but to write off the whole endeavour as a lost cause. Something had clearly gone wrong and judging by the fact that the Regent Overlord had communicated with him, it's evident that something had gone catastrophically wrong.
He would have to have to send somepony under his employ to follow up on the incident.
Such a setback wasn't the end of the world but it would complicate his plans. The Lessor Syphon that had been in the possession of the Wind family was both the easiest to find and most vulnerable. He was aware of a few others but they all involved at least some level of risk in obtaining and he would have to retrieve it himself. His plan was too close to realisation to afford any more fuck ups by incompetent subordinates.
As he fished the thought, one of his other Trillium Crystals suddenly lit up with a bright flash. Reaching down and activating the Crystal's display, he read the message that had just been sent to him.
I've found somepony capable of carrying out the mission. I'm having her brought to me as we speak and I'm confident that I can get her to do our bidding.
We can still make the deadline.
-Duke Pale Scepter
The Crystal's owner grinned wickedly at that.
‘Where one subordinate fails, another succeeds.’
He typed out a reply.
Make whatever promises you need to but get the mission done. Our window of opportunity is closing.
Do not fail me.
-The Benefactor
The second phase of his plan was easily the most important and time-sensitive. The Wind's Lessor Syphon might be lost to him but he could always find another one at any time. The task that he had assigned to Pale Scepter was far more critical and it was pleasing that the Duke had risen to the occasion.
Equestrian nobility were notoriously fickle and difficult to work with. Even with promises of unfathomable wealth and power, it was a challenge to get them to take orders from an unknown foreigner like him. So he was glad that some of them, like Pale Scepter, had proven themselves so useful. It made the energy and effort that he had expended to sway them worth it.
Even though he still held some anxiety about the risks associated with the second phase of his plan and the potential reliability (or lack thereof) of the Duke's newfound pawn, the foundations of his plan were set and things were starting to fall into place.
Rereading a report from one of his agents in Everfree, it looked like the situation there was beginning to boil over nicely. After he had made contact with the shattered remnants of the once mighty Chaos Cults and pried their secrets out of them, he hadn't been completely sure how agitating the Everfree's chaos pockets would play out. However, he had been pleasantly surprised with the mayhem of the fallout. The forest's Chaos Magic was also delightfully self-perpetuating and soon Equestria would have their hooves too full to pay him any mind.
Luck also appeared to be on his side as factors outside of his control were going his way. Princess Luna was sent away on some long-term diplomatic errand and Princess Celestia had become bent out of sorts and reclusive for some reason.
‘A potential schism between the sisters?’
He had toyed with the idea in the past, of trying to turn the Princesses against one another. However, with one of them now out of the picture for the foreseeable future, the result was effectively identical and required no undue risk on his part. Fortune was beginning to favour him indeed.
The winds were at his back and little could stop him now. He was a few rolls of dice away from absolute victory and even then he had multiple contingencies to fall back on.
He took out several more Trillium Crystals and began firing off messages to their twin Crystals, it was time to set the wheels of his plan into motion.
He would deal with the insubordination of Las Pegasus later but right now he had eyes on a far grander prize.
