And the Veil Was Torn
Mass Effect: Unforeseen Variables
Chapter 1: And the Veil Was Torn
Princess Luna's brow knitted in concentration as her consciousness flowed across her canvas that made up the sky above Equestria just before sundown, a slight smile gracing her countenance as she hammered out the last of the fine details that would make tonight's view of the heavens above nothing short of a masterpiece. She was actually using a pattern that she was particularly proud of back before her tenure on the moon, but with some slight and, in her opinion, much-needed variations; the original was just so gaudy, with star clusters that shone far too brightly and nebulae where a few scattered stars or a simple blank piece of canvas would have been far more appropriate, though part of that could have been that she thought up this particular design back when she was becoming increasingly desperate for ponies to notice and appreciate her night.
You seem pleased, Luna, Celestia's voice sounded in her head. Luna nodded slightly, opening her eyes and turning her head towards the tower nearby to see her sister smiling warmly back at her from the balcony to her bedchambers. I take it tonight's going to be quite a show.
Oh, it will be, Tia, Luna responded excitedly. After centuries of neglect and a thousand years of banishment, it thrilled her to see their subjects taking the time to appreciate her beautiful night. If she was especially lucky, somepony might even voice their appreciation for her art during Night Court! I was just finishing a few minor details. Our subjects are going to love it!
I don't doubt it, Lulu, Celestia answered back. You always had a way with the night sky that I could never duplicate, even if I had ten thousand years to try and get it right.
You don't give yourself enough credit, dear sister. I'm sure you would have gotten it... Luna trailed off for a second, lifting a silver-shod hoof to her chin as if in deep thought before shaking her head. No, you're right, I am the best there is at this, she replied half-jokingly.
And such a modest pony too, Celestia jabbed right back.
Just one of the many things you love about me. Isn't that right, Tia?
That and many, many more, Luna, Celestia replied. Luna couldn't help but blush. Even though it had been a few years since she returned from the moon, it still meant a great deal to her to hear her sister say that. Anyway, it's about time for us to get started, isn't it?
Luna said nothing more, simply nodding and closing her eyes as her horn lit up. Off in the distance, the sun made the last leg of its journey, guided gently down over the horizon by Celestia.
"To all my subjects, I present this gift," Luna intoned. Slowly, steadily, she raised the moon from the east, her horn glowing softly with the familiar feeling of alicorn magic. "I give you the moon, that it may light your path." The glow slowly faded as the moon rose over the horizon, set on its track towards the west. Luna's horn lit up again, much brighter than before. "I give you these stars, that they may guide you on your way." With a final surge of power, an imperceptible wave of magic burst forth from her horn and pulled away the veil that obscured her masterpiece as it flowed outward, the stars revealing themselves as it went. "I give you my night," Luna said silently, "that you may know that you are loved, one and all."
Sighing contentedly, Luna opened her eyes and looked up into the sky to see the fruits of her labors. She couldn't help but smile; it was everything this particular pattern should have been over a thousand years ago.
Oh my. There was no mistaking the awe in Celestia's voice as she transmitted her thoughts to Luna. "Stunning" doesn't even begin to describe what you've created tonight, Luna. It's... magnificent.
Thank you, Tia. That means a lot coming from you.
I'm sure at least a few of the ponies who seek an audience with you tonight will mention it. Out of the corner of her eye, Luna noticed her sister's wings flaring as her fellow diarch let out a yawn. At any rate, Lulu, it's about time for me to retire to bed. The nobles were out in force today during Day Court and I am about to collapse where I'm standing.
Luna could relate to that. The nobles who came to her Night Court were few and far between, but the number of honest, hard-working and humble nobles she granted an audience to never reached past the low single digits in any given week. Their less-than-savory kin, on the other hand, seemed to swarm like gnats and drained one's royal patience like leeches.
Aww, cheer up, Tia, Luna said, hoping to lift her sister's spirits some. Perhaps it'll balance out tomorrow and it will simply be the "common" ponies. Maybe you'll get to bless a marriage or name a foal, or some other equally enjoyable request.
One can certainly hope. It wasn't much, but Luna could sense the slight lift in Celestia's spirits in her mental message. It was the simple things that made their little ponies the happiest, and it warmed both their hearts to bring such joy to their subjects' lives. Anyway, I will leave you to your duties, sister. Goodnight.
Goodnight, Tia.
Saying nothing more, Celestia turned around and cantered into her bedchambers, the thick red curtains closing behind her. And with that, Luna was finally alone with her night sky. However, she had more important matters to attend to than admire her handiwork, and said matters were milling about in the city down below. Even at this distance, from the highest tower in the palace, she could make out every detail. Ponies walked down the lamp-lit streets, nightclubs played the latest music, audible even from Luna's own bedchambers if she listened, and she could make out several ponies on the outskirts of the city just laying around, looking up at the sky and admiring the night.
Her night.
A thousand years ago, I wouldn't have even thought this possible...
Her musings were cut short, however, as her ear twitched in response to a familiar and entirely unwelcome sound. Compared to the deep bass beats coming from the nightclubs, it seemed almost insignificant and would have passed unnoticed by almost any other pony. But then again, almost no other pony was an alicorn, and the sounds of a restless sleep brought about by fevered dreams was a sound that Luna could hear even in the middle of a hurricane. A cold, focused anger made its home in Luna's heart as she closed her eyes and her horn began to glow.
"Pinion. Night Flight. Attend."
As if born from the darkness itself, a pair of silhouettes with glowing yellow, slit-pupil eyes materialized within the gloom of Luna's bedchambers, stepping out into the light and revealing themselves as two of Luna's bat-winged pegasus Lunar Guardsponies. Without a word they moved silently over to their Princess, flanking her on either side and standing at attention, eyes scanning for any threats and ears twitching as they took in every sound they could pick up. Over the next few hours, their Princess would be completely unable to defend her physical body from attack as her consciousness sought out and dispelled her subjects' nightmares, and so it would fall to Pinion and Night Flight to protect her physical form.
Now certain that she would be safe, Luna finally began what was, to her, her most important duty after raising the moon as Princess of the Night. As her magic flowed outward, she could see them even though her eyes were closed: the pulsing lights of sleeping ponies plagued by nightmares stood out like beacons against the darkness. She could hear them all as they cried out in their dreams, be it from fear, sorrow or pain, and the anger within Luna that was once cold as iron began to burn against that which would dare plague her subjects in what should have been a sanctuary from the troubles and trials of the waking world. This anger fueled Luna's resolve as her consciousness left her, using the spell her body was casting to guide her to those in need of their Princess.
For she was Princess Luna of Equestria, Regent of the Moon and Guardian of Dreams, and she would protect her little ponies.
Luna always found foals to be the worst when it came to nightmares, both in frequency and severity. Be it because of their capacity to imagine fanciful things that adult ponies couldn't dream up in a thousand years, or simply their passion for almost anything that they set their minds to, it was always the youngest of her subjects who needed their Princess of the Night more than anypony else during their sleeping hours. That alone would have been enough to explain Luna's protectiveness of Equestria's foals; they were the ones she found herself comforting and offering counsel to the most after banishing their nightmares. But that wasn't the only reason.
There were plenty worse things that roamed during the night.
There were always the night terrors.
What most ponies knew as a medical condition was actually a living entity all its own. Formless, enigmatic beings that resided on the ethereal plane, only a few ponies that Luna had ever met even knew that night terrors as she knew them existed at all. At their most fundamental levels, they were fear made manifest and given some base intelligence. They would afflict sleeping ponies, giving them nightmares the likes of which no mortal mind could possibly imagine and then feed on their fear to grow stronger, all the while refusing to allow their victim to awaken until Celestia raised the sun. It was for this reason, that they would torment her subjects for nourishment, that Luna utterly despised night terrors. That they often chose foals as their hosts only served to further stoke the fires of her anger.
It was a scene Luna had seen hundreds of times before as she phased through the ceiling of her subject's bedroom. A foal, this one a pegasus colt by the name of Rumble, was screaming in his sleep and wailing in terror while his older brother, Thunderlane, held him close with his forelegs, tears flowing from his eyes. Luna knew the older pegasus had likely tried everything in his power to wake his little brother, and had met with failure at every turn. Meanwhile, hovering silently above them and invisible to the naked eye, a shapeless mass of pure shadow gripped the colt with its tendrils, pulsing contentedly in sync with its host's heartbeat as it fed on the foal's fear.
It was also a scene that never failed to make her blood boil.
Without declaration or preamble, Luna lashed out with her magic, a beam of pure arcane energy lancing out from her horn and sweeping across the room, shearing clean through the night terror's tentacles; the creature could not have a hold on Rumble for what she was planning on doing to it. The night terror recoiled and shrieked in pain, its voice the sound of hundreds of beings all crying out. Though it had no eyes, Luna could tell she now had its full attention, and it lashed out with a myriad of claws and fanged maws that seemed to rise up out of its mass as it lunged at her. Luna sneered with contempt at the night terror and effortlessly teleported out of the way at the last second, appearing behind it and conjuring lightning into her horn.
"Wretched abomination," Luna hissed as electricity arced across her horn. "Thou hast plagued this world for far too long! Thy fate was sealed the moment thou decided to trouble my subjects, and in doing so, draw my gaze upon thee!"
That was all the warning the night terror got before Luna unleashed her spell and let loose a bolt of lightning with a thunderclap that would have deafened everypony in Ponyville had the spell not been cast in the ethereal plane. While her subjects would be safe from the effects of her magic, the same couldn't be said for the night terror. Faster than all but Luna's eyes could follow, her spell hit its mark and the night terror began writhing in agony as its essence began to literally burn away. Luna, though, wasn't content to just leave it at that.
"Begone, monster! To the pits of Tartarus with thee!"
For anything residing within the ethereal plane, the next several seconds would often be described thereafter as "night into day" as the secondary effect of Luna's spell kicked in, and all the energy and electricity that was now coursing through the night terror's form burst outward in an explosion of light and thunder. By the time the light finally faded, nothing remained of the night terror save for Luna's scorn for it. The effect the creature's destruction had on Rumble was plain as day; without the night terror to sustain them, the nightmares it was inflicting on him would fade away in a matter of minutes. Even now, Rumble was simply sobbing quietly and whimpering in lieu of screaming. The sight of the young colt still so distraught tore at Luna's heart nevertheless, and if she was in her physical form her first instinct would have been to go and comfort the little one.
Now now, Luna thought to herself as she smiled warmly down at the pair. There's no need to be redundant.
While she couldn't be there for her young subject, his older brother most certainly could, and he didn't disappoint Luna in the slightest. Realizing that his little brother was calming down but was still in need of comfort, Thunderlane began gently rocking back and forth in the chair he was sitting on, whispering words of reassurance to Rumble and covering him with his broad slate-gray wings. While it wasn't alicorn magic, Luna would never deny that the love of somepony's family could be just as effective in driving away the darkness left behind by a night terror, and it wasn't long before Rumble had quieted completely, unconsciously leaning further into his brother's embrace. Thunderlane, for his part, wisely elected to just stay put; there was no sense in risking waking his little brother up after what he had just gone through, and it wasn't long before both of them were sound asleep.
Much like the night terror, it was a scene that she had seen hundreds of times before.
It was also just as beautiful each and every time.
"Sleep well, my little ponies," Luna whispered before phasing up through the roof of the house, looking over the little town of Ponyville below her. "Pleasant dreams to you a-"
The rest of her sentence died on her lips as she felt a slight pressure within her physical body's horn. At once her demeanor changed from one of warmth and compassion to one of alertness and cold precision. A sensation like what she just felt in her horn could only mean one thing: a spell, a very old and powerful one at that, had just been broken. While that was a cause for concern, it was likely something that she and Celestia could recast come the morn; the spell in question didn't set off any of the magical alarms that would have been activated if a truly vital spell had been broken, so it likely wasn't anything that would require immediate attention. If the Griffon Nation's Kaiser and his Council of Archmagi or the Great Wyrm and her Circle of Ancients of the Dragon Territories didn't deal with it before Celestia woke up when it was time to raise the sun, then the two of them could certainly handle it.
"Still," Luna said to herself as her horn lit up with a detection spell, "it would be prudent to discern which spell is missing, at least." Luna sighed in annoyance; all the potential spells that could have been undone were sealed away in a wing of the Royal Archives that only the Royal Sisters and those with special permission(see also: no one ever in the history of Equis) could access, laden with so many magical and mundane alarms that not even a fly could set foot in it without Celestia, Luna and their elite personal guard knowing about it. Said wing took up nearly a fifth of the Archive's floor space. Suffice to say, it would be a long night for Luna. "At the very least we'll know which dusty old tome among thousands of titles we'll need... to..."
The rest of Luna's sarcasm-laden sentence died in her mouth as her spell found its mark. Her pupils shrank to the size of pinpricks in her now widened eyes as the realization of just which spell was missing hit her.
No.
NO!!!
To be a member of the Royal Guard was a great honor in Equestria. After all, the Guard only took the best, and those who were selected wore the regal golden armor of the Day Guard or the imposing gray armor of the Night Guard. These were the ponies who kept Equestria safe from harm, and patrols outside of Canterlot would often receive the best treatment their posts could offer. Higher still, though, were the Princess' contingents of personal guards. Drawn from the finest mares and stallions in the Guard, these guardsponies were a step above the rest. Not only was their training more intense, but their armor was hoof-crafted by the finest smiths in Equestria. As if that wasn't good enough, each suit of armor was personally imbued with powerful magics by the Princesses Themselves, granting their intended wearers incredible powers such as the Lunar Guards' ability to effortlessly teleport between shadows and the Solar Guards' penchant for shrugging off all but the mightiest of blows without even a scuff on their armor. Even more than the Royal Guard, Princess Celestia's Solar Guard and Princess Luna's Lunar Guard were almost mythical in their reputation. After all, how many ponies could say they were responsible for protecting their nation's beloved Princesses?
Captain Pinion was of a different mindset, however. If anything, he envied the Royal Guard. They were protecting ponies who were, with some exceptions, generally unable to adequately defend themselves against danger. The Solar Guard and the Lunar Guard, though? Both groups were responsible for thwarting any number of assassination attempts against the Royal Sisters, both from within Equestria and without, but Pinion could never quite shake the feeling that even their mere presence was unneeded. They were "protecting" gods, after all, beings who could wipe Pinion from existence just by thinking about it. Mind you, Pinion certainly wouldn't complain about his station in life. Being a member of the Lunar Guard, and one of its captains besides, meant he had the great privilege of being in the presence of Princess Luna more often than most ponies. That didn't stop him from feeling redundant, though. Even though the Princesses would often state that they appreciated the diligence and dedication of both the Solar and Lunar Guard, Pinion couldn't help but feel like they were just trying to make their guards feel better.
It was because of this, their charge's seeming invincibility, that Pinion and Night Flight were caught completely by surprise by what happened next. Their Princess, who was standing tall and proud while Her mind was out protecting Her sleeping subjects, suddenly let out a panicked cry as She was thrown backwards and to the ground by an unseen force. She seemed to be unconscious.
Suddenly, Pinion felt a lot less redundant.
"Lunar Guard," he called out to seemingly nopony in particular, "to the Princess!" The effect was instantaneous. From out of the darkness in the Princess' bedchambers emerged the full active contingent of forty Lunar Guardsponies, all armed with spears, swords and both light and heavy crossbows. "Pegasi, defensive formation!" he barked out to the approaching guardsponies. "If it's got wings and gets within a hundred feet, knock it out of the sky!" As he looked back down at his still-unconscious sovereign, he heard the other captains, Earth Churner of the earth ponies and Dark Matter of the unicorns, issuing similar defensive orders to their own divisions. Had he bothered to look up(unless Earth Churner or Dark Matter were unable to perform their duties, his concern was with what his pegasi were doing, and he made it a point to drill them relentlessly), the balcony would have seemed to be an impromptu fortress. Up above, Night Flight and the other pegasi were circling with spears and their light crossbows, ready to intercept any attackers from above. Around the Princess herself, along with Pinion, the earth ponies and unicorns with swords and spears would have formed a tight cordon with a combined shield from the unicorns enveloping both Princess Luna and himself. Meanwhile, every single earth pony with a heavy crossbow would be spread out along the balcony, ready to turn anything that approached from any angle into a makeshift pincushion. His fellow captains were on either side of Princess Luna to complete the formation, swords drawn and the promise of a swift death in their eyes. "Swift Star," he called up to one of the crossbow-wielding pegasi while he checked on the state of his Princess, "go wake Princess Celestia and inform her that-" The rest of his order was cut off as he felt Princess Luna stir and Her eyes fluttered open. "Belay that order, Swift Star! Princess Luna, what happened? Are you injured? What attacked you?" The only response he got was his Princess' horn lighting up for a fraction of a second, followed by a burst of light as She teleported away. "Princess? Princess Luna, where are-"
"TIA!!!"
"Come on, everypony! Move your lazy flanks!"
It was unnecessary on Nightstar's part to rally her troops; the enchantments in their armor alerted them to the possible crisis just as her own armor did for her, but ten years in the Royal Guard and twelve years in the Solar Guard had bred habits that took more than a few years to break. Ever since Princess Luna had returned, the Royal Sisters saw fit to further enchant the armor of their personal guards. To be specific, it was an empathic spell that linked both the Solar and Lunar Guard; if one went on high alert, the other would be notified by their armor so that they could guard their own charge in case both Princesses were being threatened. It was because of those spells that she heard the rest of her nighttime contingent of Solar Guardsponies close on her heels as she opened the door to Princess Celestia's bedchambers.
Nightstar was expecting any number of things as she crossed the threshold. It could have been anything, from a griffon assassin sent by some extremist group wanting to start a war between Equestria and the Griffon Nation in an attempt to "regain the glory of old" as they were so fond of putting it, to a changeling spy trying to poison Princess Celestia, weakening her for a second changeling invasion. Sometimes it was some pony radical trying to make a statement, throw the kingdom into anarchy, guarantee free pie for everypony on Tuesday(that was a weird day, even by the Solar Guard's standards, though the Princess seemed intrigued by the idea. Had the activists wanted to ensure their success, they would have demanded cake instead) or whatever insane goal they had in mind. Or maybe nothing would happen at all, and She would be completely safe. Whatever it turned out to be, Nightstar had a plan. Changeling magic could be countered by one of her unicorns, griffons would quickly learn that wings afforded you very little by way of advantages when there were four or five well-armored, well-trained pegasi closing in on you from all directions with the with the sole intention of inflicting grievous bodily harm upon you, and Nightstar had yet to find an assassin of any species capable of remaining conscious after a solid buck to the jaw from her or one of the other earth ponies. The rare pony assassin? There were only a handful of ponies in all of Equestria who could outdo the Solar Guard in any one aspect, and they were thankfully loyal to the Royal Sisters.
Whatever was waiting for them in Princess Celestia's bedchambers, Nightstar was sure the Solar Guard was ready to face it.
"TIA!!!"
What she was not expecting was for her and the rest of her troops to be blasted back out of the room and twenty feet down the hall by a wave of pure sonic force, but not before she caught a glimpse of something midnight blue surrounded by a faint magical glow, likely from a teleportation spell. Even flying through the air, her brain was quick to connect the dots. The alert enchantment going off? A midnight blue mass in Princess Celestia's room, surrounded by residual magic from a teleportation spell? A voice that had the enchantments in her helmet literally thrumming working to keep her from being deafened? Evidently a lot of her fellow guardsponies reached the same conclusion that she did; while some yelped in surprise by the admittedly unexpected trip back down the hall, most of them simply let out a groan that Nightstar felt inclined to add her own to before the breath was knocked out of her by the column she knew she would collide with shortly. A series of resounding *cracks* echoed through the hall as Nightstar and several of the other Solar Guardsponies slammed full force into columns lining the corridor while the others hit the ground and began skidding. If it weren't for the protective enchantments in her armor, the impact would have likely broken her spine in several places. As it was, the only thing that was really damaged was the column itself which now sported a rather impressive crack that almost bisected the whole thing. Guard training kicked in as she fell and she righted herself before she hit the floor. She found herself letting out a weary sigh before taking off at full gallop.
And She was...
... doing so well, too.
That was the second major thought going through Celestia's mind after she woke up with a surprised yelp to the sensation of being blasted off of her bed, sheets and all, by the sheer volume of Luna's Royal Canterlot Voice, the first thought basically boiling down to a selection of choice expletives that would likely make a noblepony keel over and start twitching uncontrollably if they heard such language from their diarch. Considering that this first thought came to her following the revelation that her current trajectory would end with her flying into a wall, she would have insisted, gently and good-naturedly of course, that she was quite justified in her choice of words and would have then expressed doubt that anypony else would have been able to do better.
The rumble of hooves coming from outside of her bedchambers indicated that her Solar Guardsponies had quickly recovered from being thrown back the hall by Luna's outburst, and so she began working to disentangle herself from her bedsheets and managed to poke her head out from under them just in time to see her guards entering the room and taking up defensive positions. At around the same time, the shadows in Celestia's chambers began to visibly ripple as Luna's guard captains materialized out of them and moved to their charge's side while Nightstar took up a position next to Celestia.
"Princess Celestia, are you alright?" asked Nightstar, her eyes wide with concern as she looked over her sovereign. "Are you injured in any way?"
"No need to worry, Captain," she assured with a gentle smile, "I assure you, I am quite alright." Celestia's look became one of annoyance as she shifted her gaze over to Luna. "Though I am very interested to find out why my little sister decided to launch me into a wall with her voice at three in the-"
"It's gone, Tia," Luna interrupted loudly, though thankfully she wasn't using the Royal Canterlot Voice anymore. "I was performing my nightly duties when I sensed a spell being broken. I checked which one it was, and it's not there anymore, sister! The Veil is gone!"
Celestia's head snapped up, suddenly completely awake, to look at her sister when she finished processing what she had just said. Now free of the mental fog that came with just being woken up, Celestia finally saw the state that Luna was in. While Luna was quite excitable, a fact that had been made abundantly clear after several incidents with a multitude of modern appliances, she did not scare easily. Yet here she was, every muscle in her body visibly tense, her wings twitching violently against her sides, a layer of sweat beginning to dampen her fur, and gut-wrenching terror etched on every square inch of her face. And if what Luna had just said was true, then Celestia doubted she would be in any better condition than her sister.
Celestia's eyes closed and her horn began to glow with a spell of her own. When she opened them, a familiar sight greeted her now ethereal form. The chamber she now stood in was a far cry from her chambers. It most certainly wasn't ornate, especially considering the palace, but the chamber seemed to exude an aura of gravity that demanded respect and the utmost attention, even from an alicorn: a single room, perfectly carved out of a single huge piece of marble, thirty hooves wide and nearly a hundred hooves in length, the only source of light being the enchanted candles and torches that had been burning since time immemorial. On the walls to Celestia's left and right hung several bold red tapestries, some blank, some displaying key events in Equestria's history, with the most recent being the defeat of Queen Chrysalis at the hooves of now-Prince Shining Armor and his wife, Princess Cadance. If one were to have an eye for detail, they would see the same scenes rendered in stained glass in the Royal Palace itself, with just a few more threads needing to weave themselves into the tapestry.
At the far end of the room, brightly lit by a multitude of braziers, was a mosaic of colored glass depicting a quartet of alicorns, with two fillies standing in front of a mare and stallion. Despite how serious the situation was, a nostalgic smile found its way onto Celestia's face as she looked upon herself and Luna, barely even old enough to be considered fillies by alicorn standards at the time. The other two alicorns were ponies Celestia hadn't seen in a long time. They had tried so hard to capture their parents' manes when she and Luna made this mosaic, but they simply couldn't imitate the flames of father's mane, always dancing and shifting between red, orange, yellow and blue, nor could they do the same with the galaxies in their mother's.
Why we didn't just enchant a few mane-shaped panes of glass to simulate the effects, I'll never...
Celestia shook her head, clearing her thoughts and putting herself back on track. While the mosaic held a great deal of nostalgic value to her and Luna, and unprecedented historical value to the rest of Equis, her goal was directly in front of and below it. There, side by side, rested a pair of ornate sarcophagi, one made of ivory, the other out of obsidian. Both were adorned with multiple priceless gemstones, completely without blemish, and arcane sigils were visible on every surface. Atop them, presented in sharp and detailed relief, were the visages of a pair of alicorns. These sarcophagi were the final resting places of Celestia and Luna's parents.
This was the tomb of King Radiant Dawn and Queen Silent Nocturne.
This was the source of the Veil.
Contrary to its name, the Veil did not obscure Equis from sight, nor did it serve as a physical barrier. Instead, it distorted and warped the space around it, not directly affecting Equis but instead erasing all physical evidence of its existence from the rest of the universe. Magic like this was incredibly complex, even for Celestia and Luna, and the sheer amount of power needed was beyond even the combined capabilities of the Sisters, the Archmagi and the Great Wyrm to reach. Mother and father were the only beings Celestia knew of who were able to cast the spell, and it ultimately cost them their lives in the process.
The Veil couldn't last forever on its own, maybe a few millennia or so, and so their parents had left them with detailed plans to maintain the spell for as long as possible. The sarcophagi were the final result of those plans, doubling as foci for the spell and using the souls of the alicorns contained therein, offered up freely, to power the spell until they were completely drained. Looking upon them now, the fear that found a home in Luna's heart began making its way into Celestia's as well. Whenever she came down here before, the gems and symbols etched into the sarcophagi glowed brightly with the power they were channeling, serving as a reminder that even though their parents were gone, they were still there, watching over their daughters and subjects in some way. Such thoughts were always able to provide Celestia and Luna with a degree of solace throughout the millennia. Those same gems and sigils were now completely dark, without an ounce of power coursing through them. It wasn't hard to come to the only logical conclusion, though Celestia tried her hardest not to.
The Veil was gone.
After holding out for so long, mother and father were truly dead.
In spite of her best attempts to keep her composure, Celestia sank to her knees as the entirety of her being was weighed down by a heavy sorrow. Out of a sense of morbid curiosity, she reached out along the connection she had with her body, and sure enough, she could feel tears beginning to well up in its eyes. It was just a small vestige of what she was truly feeling, though; if she was actually in her body, she wasn't sure if she'd be able to keep her regal composure from breaking in front of her guards and being reduced to a bawling wreck on the floor of her chambers. She silently prayed to whatever gods may have been listening for nopony to notice. It seemed, however, that her pleas fell upon deaf ears as a truly heart-wrenching sound carried across Celestia's connection with her body.
Just as Luna couldn't rest when she heard somepony screaming out in terror, nothing moved Celestia to action like the sound of somepony crying.
Oh, Luna...
Especially if that somepony was her little sister.
Whatever concerns and fears Celestia may have had were put on hold as she closed her eyes and ended her spell. The first thing Celestia noticed as she returned to her body wasn't the wetness under her eyes, but the atmosphere in her chambers. Where before the tension was so thick a pony could cut it with a knife, the entire room just seemed bleaker for some reason. The colors were even more subdued than they usually were at night, and the general disposition of everypony present was a combination of sadness, concern and helplessness. And at the center of it all was Luna. The sight of her down on her haunches and quietly sobbing tore at Celestia's heart. Her three captains, normally so quiet and imposing for other ponies, were gathered around her, hoping that they could at least offer some comfort to their Princess with their mere presence, their eyes wide with concern for their charge. The pegasus of the group, Pinion, even had one of his bat-like wings draped over Luna's withers while the other two pressed close to her. Another thing Celestia noticed was that it had gotten a lot more crowded. Of Luna's Lunar Guard, only her captains had been present before Celestia cast her spell. Now she could see their dark blue armor wherever she looked, and their slit-pupil eyes stood out like swarms of fireflies. Every single one of them was looking at their Princess with the same concern as their captains. Compared to the Lunar Guardsponies, Celestia's Solar Guard stood out in stark contrast. Much like their darker counterparts did for Luna, the golden-armored ponies surrounded Celestia, looking up at her with wide, worried eyes.
"Captain." Celestia's voice was far shakier than she would have liked, but Nightstar nonetheless snapped to attention. "You and your fellow guardsponies are dismissed until your next assigned shift or until you are summoned by either Luna or myself." A small smile crossed her face as she took in the sight of her guards. "And thank you all for your concern, my little ponies."
"As you wish, Your Highness," was Nightstar's hushed reply, accompanied by a slow bow. She was the last of the Solar Guard to leave after quietly ordering her subordinates out, but not before turning back to Celestia and looking her square in the eye. "And it's always our pleasure, Princess. If you want..."
"I most likely will, Nightstar," Celestia replied, the smile on her face widening a little more at her captain's gesture. "I will make sure to tell you later, all of you. You all deserve at least that much for the trust you've placed in me. For now, however, this is between me and my little sister."
Nightstar said nothing else, simply nodding and turning to walk out of Celestia's chambers and closing the door behind her. All around Luna, the Lunar Guardsponies were looking at their charge with questioning eyes. At Luna's almost imperceptible nod, they vanished into the shadows, leaving just the two sisters in the room together. Both Celestia and Luna knew their guards wouldn't go far. Even when dismissed, they would likely stay nearby, just close enough to ensure they weren't disturbed, but far enough away to give the two of them some privacy.
Now satisfied that they were alone, Celestia finally allowed what remained of her serene mask to fall. Tears that were barely being held back began to flow freely, and suppressed sobs came out in shuddering breaths as she walked with unsteady steps over to Luna, sitting down on her haunches in front of her sister. Nothing was said between the two, and nothing needed to be said as Celestia pulled her sister into an embrace with her forelegs and wings, and the only sounds that could be heard in Celestia's chambers was the two alicorns weeping. They cried for their parents. They cried for the pain that the other was feeling. For Celestia, though, she also cried for Equestria.
Mother and father had explained to Celestia and Luna how dangerous the rest of the galaxy could be. There would always be those who envied Equis for its resources and everything that made its inhabitants special. The Veil was cast for the express purpose of keeping others out. With the Veil gone, it would only be a matter of time before the nations of Equis would need to be ready to defend themselves against those who looked on the world with evil intentions. Equestria would need to be ready to fight as well. Celestia knew the following months wouldn't be easy, and that much would need to be done to prepare Equestria for whatever might come. Soldiers would need to be trained, patrols would need to be increased, civilians would need to be made aware of possible intruders...
But for now, that could wait. She could handle all these things in the morning. For now, the only thing that deserved her undivided attention was the midnight blue alicorn in her embrace that Celestia called her sister. For tonight, they could afford to not be Equestria's unshakeable rulers. Until dawn, they could simply be two daughters who finally had to face the fact that even in death, they would never see their parents again.
For tomorrow, they both knew, everything would change.