Chalk, Candle, Fire and an Accident.
It had been a few weeks since Twilight’s princess coronation and up until now all Celestia, Luna and Twilight have been doing was meet nobility and officials from all over Equestria. On the rare occasion they weren’t meeting with the stuck-up elite of Canterlot, Celestia and Luna had been busy teaching Twilight the ropes of princess hood, meaning how to raise and lower the sun and the moon, dealing with petitions by the nobles for petty things, deciding the budgets for the various institutions and, most important, proper etiquette.
Luna, however, felt left outside, having to relearn running a country herself after her 1000-year vacation, meaning all she could really teach the newest princess was how to raise and lower the destination of that particular forced vacation.
While Celestia got to teach Twilight the finer -- more fun -- things of being a princess, Luna was more or less left to her own devices. She was bored beyond measure, having nothing to do aside from her sister-enforced studying, which also happened to be very boring. So instead of doing what she was told, she had been to the Starswirl-the-Bearded wing of the royal library the other day. With no particular destination in mind, she had ended up in the section about divination and astrology. More precisely, the subsection on scrying was where she had noticed the book she was now reading in her room.
The subject of the book was, unsurprisingly, scrying. While Luna of course could enter ponies' dreams at night, that was usually to encourage them to face their fears. This time, she had something else in mind, something she couldn't use her power to enter dreams for, namely finding out how other ponies thought about her.
The first few pages were unable to pique her interest a lot, as it wasn't what she was looking for. Deciding that this was still a better pastime than reading what Celestia wanted her to read however, she pressed on. And soon found what she was looking for.
<Soul Sight>
“Originally developed during The Great Equestrian War to spy on enemies, this spell enables the caster to separate his/her body from the soul.
The soul is able to walk or fly around freely as it pleases, and visual and auditory senses still work. The soul, however, is undetectable to other ponies, enabling the caster to watch and listen in on enemy conversations without risk of being physically hurt or killed.
“The spell is not without its risks, and it is not difficult for something to go wrong. It should only be used by those highly trained and knowledgeable in scrying magic, and even then precautions should be taken. These include, but are not limited to:
* Be with another pony you trust at all times, to prevent being disturbed.
* A rune circle is required, to prevent the temporary soulless body from dying.
Failure to comply to these precautions might lead to permanent separation of body and soul, malfunctions or complete loss of hearing and/or sight. Memory loss, to the extent where the caster acts like a newborn foal, is also possible.
Use this spell as a last resort only.”
Any sensible pony would have been disturbed by the power of the spell, the ethical questions around it, and the list of things that could go wrong. But Luna and being sensible doesn't make sense, instead the night princess was beaming with joy and had a grin as large as a cheshire cat.
She now found a solution to secure information from ponies instead of asking directly, which could - given she was one of the princesses - intimidate ponies. She also knew how protective Celestia became since her return two years ago, considering her past sin as Nightmare Moon, and knowing Celestia she would never allow her to perform such a dangerous spell even if she used all precautions advised by the book.
Well, Tia must not know everything I do. She is my sister, not my mother, Luna thought while reading and writing the list what ingredients she would need for the spell.
I’m not a filly anymore, I don’t need to be treated like I need guidance. I know what dangers I can risk and what not. I will show her I’m just as capable as she is.
That last thought had something soothing but Luna couldn’t think of why.
The chalk for the rune circle was easy to get as Celestia’s unicorn professors over at her school needed it sometimes,so taking some wouldn’t strike anypony as strange for a while. While Celestia was busy, Luna went to the university and met some of the teaching staff. She asked where the storage room for the magic chalk was and they gladly told her. She knew they would talk to Celestia, and asked them to not mention her getting the chalk. She reached her destination and went inside to gather a few pieces of chalk. Being done collecting what she came for, Luna trotted back outside without being stopped by the teaching staff.
Getting black candles however proved to be a bit more challenging, as they were hard to create. Luna knew only one store in Canterlot that sold them, and unfortunately, Celestia knew it too. Giving a bit more “persuasion” to the shopkeeper should keep her sister out of the picture for now. The shop was located in a back alley of Canterlot, with good reason, as it sells things others would deem suspicious. Going there in her normal appearance would also cause talk as to why the princess is going into such a shady establishment. Luna used one of her prized illusion spells and turned into a pegasus mare to avoid talk and rumors. She went her way to the shop and entered it. After a bit of talking and negotiations about the prize, Luna was able to buy ten black candles.
Last item on the list was the hardest item to get: a dragon’s fire. The dragons she knew in Canterlot Castle were here to congratulate Twilight to her ascension, so asking them was out of line. And the only other dragon she could ask was Spike. He, take a guess, was with Twilight at the moment. Luna decided she would go and ask him later to burn a torch she prepared in advance. She went back to the castle and into her room,where she stored the chalk and candles in a secret case and hid the box with an illusion spell under her bed. It would be safe there for at least one or two days.
Luna went out of her room and towards the throne room. She figured that it would be less suspective to be around her sister than being all alone most of the time to prepare something. Luna entered the throne room just when the dragon ambassadors were leaving. She smiled to Twilight and Celestia and sat next to them on her throne.
Luna turned her head to Twilight and asked the newest princess of Equestria: "So, how was the meeting with the dragon ambassadors? I hope they didn't do anything to offend you?" Twilight shook her head, indicating everything went fine.
"One of them sure has a way for sweet talk. He even tried to persuade me to move to Dragonia as the Equestrian Ambassador. He thought having an Alicorn in his kingdom pushes their chances of not being persecuted by other dragon tribes. Sadly I had to decline, as I still have a long way to go, with all the stuff Celestia and you still have to teach me," Twilight answered with a small smile. She then gave a heavy sigh, thinking about how she was way behind schedule in her studies. "I just hope I'll be able to govern Equestria like you two do. This is all so new for me, I don't know what to do. If I had some books maybe..."
This was where Celestia interrupted her former student. "Twilight, ruling a nation isn't something you can learn from books. It's something that must be taught to you by others, who have the wisdom and knowledge of what is good for the land and what not. Until we deem you ready to stand by your decisions, the good ones as well as the bad ones, you will sit by us and watch how we deal with everything. Of course, in some matters we will ask you for your opinion, but it’ll be our decision in the end that matters. Worry not, one day you, like us, will be able to guide this nation you and your friends love so much.”
Twilight closed her eyes and let out a sigh as she heard that explanation again. Luna, on the other hoof, was a bit wary about asking if she could borrow Spike for a bit within Celestia’s ear range. To her luck the dragon asked her to go with him outside for a bit and she agreed, the two of them walking out of the throne room through a side door. After Spike closed the door, he cleared his throat and asked:
"Princess, I know that Twilight is a princess now, but I miss being in Ponyville. All my friends are there, like Sweetie Belle and the Crusaders, Applejack, Pinkie Pie and my dear Rarity. I don’t know what to do. I want to be with Twilight, she is the closest to my mother I have, but I don’t want to abandon my friends by staying with her. Can you give me an advice on how I should approach Twilight with this?”
“Hmm. That is a serious issue I see,” Luna answered after she pondered about it for a few moments. The dragon was looking at his feet, clearly shaken by his thoughts about choosing between his surrogate mother and his friends. “But don’t fear, I think Twilight will understand your feelings if you go and explain your worries to her. You are still her assistant and her loved little dragon. I’m sure she will understand you and be able to guide you to a satisfying solution. Don’t lie or make excuses, tell her how you feel.
“And I have a small favor to ask you, and I ask you as a friend that you don’t tell anypony of it,” Luna added, a small smile creeping up her lips as she summoned her prepared torch to her.
Spike tilted his head to the side, wondering why Luna asked him to keep this favor a secret and what it had to do with the torch. But in the end he simply shrugged.
“Sure,” he answered, “What is this favor you want? Does it have something to do with that torch you conjured? Don’t tell me you want me to breathe fire on it.” Spike raised an eyebrow as Luna was taken aback by his guess.
‘I have no other option if I want to use that spell, so here goes nothing’ was running through her head.
“Yes, it is something I need for a spell, and I couldn’t risk asking the dragon ambassadors that were here earlier. I shall see that get you some tasty gems as a reward for keeping quiet about this,” Luna stated her favor.
Spike’s eyes shot open when he heard the proposal. He wouldn’t think about the consequences giving her dragon fire, only after what happened later. For now, all he had in mind were delicious gems coming to him. Readying himself in front of the torch, he took a long deep breath and exhaled a mighty green flame that instantly lit up the torch with green fire.
Luna squealed in delight at the beautiful green fire that engulfed her torch. She gave the small dragon a quick kiss on the cheek and promised to send him the gems in the evening into Twilight’s room. She asked Spike to excuse her absence in the throne room. The reason should be she couldn’t stand being bothered with royal affairs today and went to sleep in her room, as it was still daytime. Spike went in and Luna began trotting back to her room giggling like a school filly.
She reached her destination without problems or encounters with guards. After trotting into her room she locked the door carefully and began her preparations for the spell. But first she needed a place to hid the torch from Celestia, which proved to be more difficult than she had imagined.
‘How should I hide the torch? Tia’s going to find it as soon as she enters my room’ Luna thought and desperately tried to find a suitable case she could enchant. ‘The magical energy of a dragon’s flame can be sensed miles away. I need a magical container to place the torch into it and also reduce the risk of burning down my room.’
Luna stopped in her tracks as soon as she laid her eyes on a small, decorative chest standing besides her bed. She strode over and began to examine it, to see if she could utilize it. After a quick scan she began her work and inscribed the runes needed for enchantment with invisible ink carefully, as one wrong stroke would render the chest useless. Luna finished her work and placed the torch inside, closed the lid and hid the chest in the same place as the other chest was.
Satisfied with her work, Luna went into the bathroom and prepared for sleep. Afterwards she threw herself onto her bed, pulled the blanket up to her chin and was fast asleep in minutes.
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Luna was woken a couple of hours later by a servant, telling her it was time to raise the moon. She grumbled a bit, as she was not a pleasant wake up pony, and stood up. Yawning, she made her way to her balcony and began to recite the verse to raise the moon. After she had done her first task of the night, she donned her regalia, left her room and headed towards the kitchen to join her sisters - Twilight being a princess now made her kind of a sister to Luna - in what would be their dinner and for her, her breakfast.
Luckily, she had her night court adjourned tonight in advance. Luna knew, it was tonight or never, as the torch wouldn’t burn forever and she didn’t want to risk Spike setting another torch on fire. She entered the dining hall and encountered her siblings in idle conversation regarding topics that happened that day. Sitting down next to Celestia, she gave her a smile and a maid brought her the dinner, which - Luna could swear it was Celestia’s doing - contained alfalfa, salad and orange juice. The memory of Celestia pretending to be the ‘alfalfa monster’ resurfaced shortly, but Luna simply shook her head, a motion her sister noticed and chuckled on.
“What happened while I was sleeping, dear sisters?” Luna asked between bites. “I hope not more meetings with nobles that want funding.”
Twilight heaved a sigh before she replied. “Sadly, yes. I knew most canterlot nobles were pretty stuck up with themselves, with some exceptions. But I never expected it to be such a large scale. To be honest, I admire how you both are able to cope with their silly requests.”
Celestia smiled at her wonderful student. “In due time, you will learn that patience is a great virtue in our line of work, Twilight. Some days will be testing it, and some days nothing can faze you. I assure you, in time even the most petty of petitions won’t get to you.” After her last sentence, she and Twilight finished their dinner and the maids took the empty dinner plates off the table. “But I think it’s time for us to go to bed, my faithful student. We have a lot of work to do tomorrow.” With this, both Celestia and Twilight stood up and left the table. Just before they left the hall, they turned around and wished Luna a good night.
Luna soon finished her own meal and with a nod towards the maid, she left the dining hall as well. The direction she went, however, was not the courtroom but her own room. She encountered some of the Lunar Guards, but besides salutes nothing hindered her the rest of the way. Soon, she entered her room and made sure to lock the door.
Luna grabbed the book and the case with the chalk and candles from underneath her bed and began to read the book again. Studying the picture of how the circle had to be drawn, she set out to work. First she pulled the carpet away from the middle of the room, to make room for the painting. She then started with the innermost part of the circle, finished it with a circle around it, left some space and drew another circle, and on the outside placed the runes needed to keep the spell in check. Afterwards, she drew the last circle and examined her work.
‘This is truly a masterpiece of spellwork, and I must say, even Twilight couldn’t draw this runic circle any better’. Luna thought as she took the book and began reading again. Now, where do I have to place the candles... Ah, there, ok. Time for the next step.
Using her magic, she took out the black candles and placed them in a pentagram-like order around the runic circle. Done with her work, she read over the spell several times to memorize it. After Luna was sure she remembered it correctly, she walked over the the chest containing the last piece she needed: the torch with Spike’s dragon fire. Grabbing it with her magic, she lit up all 10 candles and placed the torch back in its hold.
Satisfied with her work, she walked into the center, not noticing she walked over a rune and slightly disrupted it.
Thinking everything was in order, Luna fired up her horn and poured her magic into the circle, which promptly sprung to life, glowing a midnight shade of blue, like the color of her coat. Closing her eyes, she began to recite the words from the spell. (The actual words will be filled in as soon as I can come up with something - Sage)
She could feel the magic of the spell starting to work, but something was off, though she couldn’t put a hoof on what exactly caused her to sense it. Luna opened her eyes and took a look at the circle, and that was when she saw the wiped rune. Panic began to crawl into the princess’ mind, and in her fear she tried to shut down the circle, but to no avail. Instead, the circle began to work even faster, and changed its color between different shades of blue. The color change began to increase in speed, and soon enough the whole circle beamed with a blinding white light. All Luna could do now was scream, a scream that woke up not only Celestia, but Twilight as well. It alarmed the guards, too, which sped as fast as they could towards the princess’ room.
Soon after the scream, a small explosion was heard, it sounded like a firework was started. Now Celestia and Twilight, as well as some guards, stood in front of Luna’s room. Celestia could tell her younger sister locked the door, and unlocked it with her magic. She opened the door and, together with Twilight, entered the chamber. The inside of the room was filled with smoke, and they couldn’t see Luna because of it.
“Luna? Are you in here? Please speak to me, little sister...” Celestia’s voice was loud, but filled with fear.
The smoke began to clear, and what they saw shocked them to no end. There, inside a chalk drawn circle, with black candles that were lit with green fire, were three mares standing, one for each tribe, with Luna’s cutie mark and her colors.
Instead of allowing her to see how Equestrians think about them, the spell managed to split Luna into three ponies.