Beyond Forever and Back Again
Celestia and Luna. Both are regents of the sky, one controlling the sun and the other, the moon. Both work in perfect harmony and hold the balance of the world within their grasp. But, what if that balance were to be lost? Well, one or the other would take the reigns of said lost balance. That is what happened when Luna became Nightmare Moon, and was banished for one thousand years...
"A thousand years... merely a blink in my eyes..." A voice said over the book that Luna was reading. But when she turned, no one was there. She looked around the library, before going back to her book.
...And was banished for one thousand years. It was a heart-breaking for those who worshiped Luna, and the night itself. In fact, a group of ponies, known as The Cult of Eclipse, tried to force Celestia into bringing back Luna. When she refused, the cult almost dethroned her and to this day, she still walks with a barely noticeable limp.
"Ahhh... 'The Eclipse Rebellion', I remember that... I didn't know legs could bend that way..." The same voice said. Luna slammed the book closed, and turned to find the source of this voice. She carefully looked over every inch of her room, looking over every detail. "Show yourself, you malevolent voice!"
A scoff was heard throughout the entire library. "Malevolent? Me? Ha! Laugh at the very thought of it my dear... Although..." a large snarl echoed, "if you want me too... I will..." It was as if an entire dragon was in the library. Luna's horn shimmered with light and she began moving entire bookshelves to find where this mysterious voice was emitting from. A small chuckle was heard above her and when she did look, there stood a unicorn colt with white mane and black coat, and a cutie mark that made Luna's head turn. An infinity symbol.
He chuckled again snapping her out of her daze. "So, you want to hurt little ol' me?" He said while still standing on the ceiling. "Well, blink and we can begin..." He said as the entire room spun so that he was on the ground and she was on the ceiling. Luna stared with wide eyes before blinking, and in that split half a second, the colt was no longer young, or a unicorn, the library was replaced with the throne room, and Celestia stood wide eyed as well at their sudden appearance.
The colt who had once been a unicorn, was now fully grown and a pegasus mare, but yet her features were still the same. "Hello Celestia, Luna, shall we begin?" She said pulling a chair from behind her back and sitting down. She gestured toward them and behind both of them were chairs. They both looked at the strange mare, then to the seats and finally, to each other. With a low nod from Celestia, the sisters both sat down to see what the mare wanted. With a clap of her hooves, she turned out the sun, and left the three of completely alone in the dark.
"You dare to turn off our sister's wonderful sun?! You shall-" And that was all Luna was going to say, up until the mare flew right to her and tour her mouth away. Luna sat there shocked and mouthless, before forming a look of absolute malice on her face. She shook with rage, and had it not been for Celestia sitting a mere five feet away, she would have torn the mare asunder.
"Now, now, no need for that attitude," The mare said still hold her mouth, "I only took away a piece of your face, somewhere else you have no face, will have, could have, should have, and would have a face. And right now, you do! Mostly anyway... Here." She said placing Luna's mouth back in its proper spot. Any anger Luna might've had had disappeared, and she blink-blinked at the mare. Celestia was no better, she stared at the mare as well, and blinked. They both gasped as the mare had now turned into a griffin alpha male.
He grinned at the shocked look on their faces. "What?" He asked playfully, "do I have something in my hair?" Luna and Celestia were in shock. She-he changed in the blink of an eye! Despite him having the same color scheme, he changed completely. "Bu-bu...but how...?" Celestia stammered. Never in her thousands of years of living has she seen magic on this scale!
His smile turned into a frown. "How? Over the eons, that's all they say..." He sighed heavily, "Well! How you ask? I don't exist, but yet I do, as everything and anything." He said, clicking his talons and turning into a Draconequus. He sported a toothy grin as he watched the two princesses squirm. His mouth suddenly spewed flames that engulfed his body and he flew out of the fire, a phoenix. The princesses watched in awe as the magical bird flew in a flurry of feathers and grew into a fully grown dragon. "I can become all, except one thing..." He said, his voice rumbled, and in a gust of wind forcing the mare's eyes shut, he became a royal alicorn, a black and white gold crown upon his head, and black and white cape flowing behind him. His hooves protected by white gold shoes, and each one sporting an onyx stone in the center. While his coat, mane, and cutie mark never changed, his eyes that were once a gentle blue were now a dark forest green.
"My former self has too many painful memories, too many regrets." He said to them, the sun now turned back on and everything back to normal. "I suppose... I never did tell you my name did I? I am Infinitive the Eternal. And I am king of the plain in-between... Of course, that is before Grogar took over and put everyone somewhere else... Still trying to find them all..." He said as his eyes glazed over and hazy. "I suppose... another plunge in Tartarus wouldn't help... What about the Purgatory? No, I'd go mad if I already wasn't..." He mumbled to himself. he heard a two sets of hooves clamber about, before her turned to see Luna and Celestia both bowing to him.
With a sigh and a small flash, he was a large minotaur, the ring in his nose in the shape of and infinity symbol, picked both of them up and threw them both on their respective thrones. "Now listen to me! I don't want you bowing in respect to me, is that clear?" He asked, making a fist towards them. Despite the fact it was law to threaten the princesses, the both nodded and let him continue. "Okay, now, I came here for a reason. More or less a warning, but still a reason." He said, changing back into his Alicorn self. "There is a being, known as Tirek, coming back from the realm of spirits. What was once long dead is now coming back to reek devastation on your land." He said his cheerful tone gone in a blinks notice. "Do not, I repeat, do NOT use the elements. He will twist and corrupt them, turning them into something terrible."
Celestia and Luna sat in their thrones, drinking the information. Tirek... the name sounded familiar, like in an old book, or a story mothers told to foals when they were misbehaving. Infinitive must be a messenger, either from the future or the past. "Neither, I'm afraid." Oh, well that's-
....Wait...
"Did... you just read our minds?" Celestia asked.
"No, I knew what you were thinking yes, but did I read your minds? Heavens no. I told you already: I don't exist, but yet I do, and I am everything and anything. Do you get it? Eternity is my playground! I wander through it like you would a bed of flowers!"
"....But that's not to say I haven't seen my fair share of atrocities..." He said quietly. "While I've seen everything from the tiniest speck of dirt, to the tallest mountain ever to scrape the sky, I have also seen the speck turn into a burial ground for tens of thousands, and that mountain crumble to its own inner conflict..."
Luna look curious and walked up to him. "Why are you telling us this?"
Because someone has to...
