They say that history repeats itself…
“The night will last forever !”
Celestia watched silently the black alicorn above her, cackling like a madmare in front of the Moon.
Silence was her last resort. Pleading, bargaining and begging had done nothing… Her tears had only flowed to dry later... Her sister was still refusing to listen to reason and the Moon was still high in the sky.
The Moon that she would not set, blocking the path for the Sun and the following day…
“Pardon me, sister...”
Steeling herself, the princess of the day unleashed the power of the elements of Harmony.
The old capital of Canterlot was lying in ruins after the fight between Nightmare Moon’s forces and Princess Celestia’s army, including most of the castle of the royal pony sisters…But the government of Equestria was still intact, save for one princess. Celestia was sitting at the end of the table, in the room that had been picked as the royal council’s temporary chamber, only half-listening to their debates...
“You saw what one alicorn did ! With all due respect to princess Celestia, it was irresponsible of us… No, of all of Equestria, to put that much power in the hooves of only two ponies. Now, you are proposing to put everything in the hooves of a single one ? Am I the only one to see the problem ?”
Celestia simply sat in silence as Fair Scale exposed his arguments vehemently, stomping his hoof on the table. A red stallion with a pitch black mane, he was a model for every fiery pegasus politician : old enough to have the experience necessary to navigate inside the Equestrian government, but young enough that his ideals hadn’t been dulled by disillusions yet. He still dreamed of changing society for the better, like so many young ponies did, and had managed to gather some power that he could possibly use towards that goal.
All in all, Celestia respected him for having the courage of never betraying his ideals, but he was also very predictable... Permanently unsatisfied, he excelled at pointing out what was wrong, even if he didn't have anything better to offer at the time. He tended to be a rabble-rouser, always asking for something else, and always doing it loudly.
“Fair Scale, you are addressing the royal council. Have some composure, I beg of you.”
The pegasus glared at the mare who had just reprimanded him. Confidence, marquise of Hayton and Saddlebrook, countess of Hocksby and duchess of Pasternbury, was his polar opposite : the archetype of the old-blood unicorn noble, content in the ways of the past and tailored from birth to fit into them. Even her fur seemed to be made for nobility, the most royal of all purples, emphasised by a blond mane, carefully maintained to look as much like gold as possible.
Celestia knew better than to stop at her appearance, though : she was not a simple, vain pony taking advantage of her lineage, but embraced the responsibility of the leadership she was born with. Still as predictable as her fellows, though... It was only natural : she had been brought up with tradition in mind and could always be expected to respect it.
“I don’t even see why we need to discuss this,” Confidence said, eyeing Fair Scale with disdain. “Equestria’s highest authority has always been and shall always be divided between the royal pony sisters. I’m sure a pony as brilliant as you can eventually figure out the result of a division by one.”
“Ha ! Nice one, Confy !” The half-sincere cheer came from a rotund, middle-aged stallion going by the name of Scroll Call. “I was wondering why you were sparing us your usual quips. I was getting kinda worried here, thought you’d lost your touch.”
The brown earth pony, with his pale orange mane and his toothy grin, was pretty far away from the image of the standard politician, especially with his paunch jiggling every time he laughed, which ended up being half the duration of every council. Still, he had earned his place, thanks to a combination of qualities much too rare in politics : efficiency and sincerity.
Nonetheless, he was probably the most predictable of the whole council. Scroll Call was the mediator par excellence. He only wanted things to move, whatever direction seemed the most reasonable and practical. It was like he had no real opinion of his own, always choosing a middle ground between the others.
“In all seriousness,” he started, only to be interrupted by Confidence.
“Don’t make me laugh. You are incapable of being serious, as much as you are incapable of addressing me the proper way.”
“I”m sorry, duchess Confy,” Scroll Call replied with a smirk. He promptly ignored the unicorn’s glare and continued before she could open her mouth. “But Fair Scale raises a fair question. The whole government has been organized around the two princesses, splitting power between them so that none could take over Equestria on her own. The fact that princess Luna failed her coup proves that this was the right decision.”
“Exactly !” Fair Scale said, flaring his wings. “Giving princess Celestia the two thrones is a huge risk. No offence, princess.”
“None taken,” Celestia answered with her usual, imperturbable voice.
“We should consider rearranging the government completely," the pegasus continued. "Spread the power between several different entities, balancing each other.”
Confidence groaned, imitated by many of the other councillors. “Your enthusiasm is admirable, Fair Scale, but now is not the time to throw everything down. Equestria needs stability, not a revolution.”
“I say this is the best opportunity we’ll ever have to make some meaningful changes.”
“I’m not so sure,” Scroll Call said, tapping a hoof on his chin. “After all the damage princess Luna-”
“Nightmare Moon,” Celestia said, calmly but clearly.
“Pardon me, princess ?”
“Luna and Nightmare Moon are not the same pony. Please do not mix them up.”
“My apologies, your highness… As I was saying, after all the damage that... Nightmare Moon has inflicted, Equestria finds itself weakened and our priority should be reconstruction.”
“Do not underestimate our nation’s strength,” Fair Scale hastily countered.
Confidence spoke up before he could continue. “Do not underestimate the scope of the disaster. Canterlot is in ruins. No… It’s not even in ruins, there’s barely any ruins left ! The only thing still standing is one half of the castle of the royal pony sisters... It will take months to clear the area and years to rebuild.”
“I was not speaking about bricks and mortar. I was speaking about our nation ! What lies in the heart of every pony.”
“Patriotic sentiments are always nice,” Scroll Call said, “but they don’t house ponies or grow food. We have thousands of refugees that need something to eat and a place to stay. Now, not in a century.”
“The sooner things go back to normal, the better,” Confidence added with a nod. “Equestria is counting on us to deal with the worst crisis it has ever faced.” Most of the councillors murmured their approvement.
“Back to normal ?” Fair Scale sounded ready to burst. “Back to how things were before. Back, back, back, always back ! Don’t you ever think about the future ?”
“Calm down,” Scroll Call said. “Changes will be unavoidable, of course. There is no way Equestria can sweep prin- Nightmare Moon’s… episode under the rug like nothing happened. Even the most traditionalist nobles have to realize this.”
“I suppose that is correct,” Confidence said, not committing herself anymore than this.
“Bah !” Fair Scale made a sweeping motion with a hoof. “You only tolerate change, and only when it is inevitable... Why are you so afraid of progress ?”
“We need to prioritize-”
“Rebuilding, yes. But the question is : what will we rebuild ? An exact copy of the Equestria that has failed under our very eyes ? Do we start over and pray to the heavens that this time, things will work out ? Or do we try to build something better ?”
Scroll Call groaned. “Do you even know what you want to build ? Now is not the time for experimentation…”
The council started arguing, quickly falling into a shouting match. They were at an impasse, as Celestia had expected. Now was the time to consult the ultimate arbiter...
“Enough !” Confidence’s solid voice quieted the room. “The decision will not be determined by who is the loudest. Let us hear what princess Celestia has to say.”
There it was, predictable as always… Even if in theory, the princesses were not the absolute authority in Equestria, in practice, the council never dared to oppose them and followed their command in all but the rarest of occasions. That really meant letting Celestia and Luna make the call every time the council couldn’t reach a consensus on its own... which, sadly, was most of the time. The only difference was that from now on, and for at least a thousand years, Celestia would have to do it alone.
What was the best course of action ? Ensure the stability and future of Equestria, as always... Each of the councillors had sound arguments : things needed to change, but a complete overhaul of the government was only asking for trouble. Celestia needed to remain a princess, the figurehead of Equestria and someone the ponies could believe in, someone they could look up to and count on in these difficult times. It wouldn’t be wise to take over Luna’s political powers, though… Celestia could propose to give those to somepony else, at least temporarily. Maybe a committee… She should also make it look like it was their idea, especially to placate Fair Scale’s need for independence.
Yes, that would be the best decision, she decided. The most reasonable one. But was she qualified to make that kind of decision ?
Why would somepony not even able to reason with her own sister, the one pony she knew and trusted the most in the world, make decisions for a whole nation ?
Why ?
Because she was able to predict ponies so well ? It wasn’t even some extraordinary talent : after so many centuries of reign and socializing with ponies, it became second-nature... Once you identified a few key traits in somepony, anticipating their behaviour was quite simple. That skill was as convenient as it was boring.
Princess Luna was about the only one that could still surprise her sister sometimes. And only sometimes… Now that she was gone, there was very little left in Equestria that Celestia was enthusiastic about. She still cared for the ponies, of course, but she was tired of directing them. Being the puppeteer, the chess master, moving her pieces subtly and keeping everypony safe, without any of them even realizing that they were being played…
A pointless, stale game, always repeating itself… She had borne playing it because she thought that she was actually doing it right. The result was Nightmare Moon.
They say that history repeats itself… Why keep playing the game, then ?
Mentally, princess Celestia picked up the king from the chessboard and laid it on its side.
Physically, she summoned a scroll from the archives, an ancient piece of parchment that was older than even she was. Celestia levitated it gently to the middle of the council’s table.
And without a word, she teleported away.
The councillors remained silent for several minutes before it occurred to them that princess Celestia was not going to come back to this reunion.
“Wha- What just happened ?” Fair Scale asked, his tone uncharacteristically calm.
Confidence, using her magic, unrolled the scroll and started reading it. She gasped after only a few lines.
“What is it ?”
“Instructions…” the unicorn whispered.
“Instructions ?” Scroll Call asked, raising an eyebrow. “What do they say ?”
“How to perform the spell for… For raising the Sun and the Moon. The spell that the unicorns used before the princesses took over that duty.”
“What ?” Fair Scale’s outburst was not the only one in the room, but still the loudest. “What does that mean ?”
“I think it means,” Scroll Call said, leaning back with an inscrutable expression, “that princess Celestia just quit.”
Celestia wondered how the little ponies were dealing with her sudden departure. They had figured out how to take care of day and night, thankfully. She had almost caved in on the evening of the first day, when the Sun had remained immobile on the horizon for several hours.
She knew why : they were hoping that she would come back to take care of it. As expected, they eventually accepted the obvious and took care of it themselves. She could already hear the discussions between the council members… Fair Scale would be pushing for a new government, for the ponies, by the ponies. Change everything, for the sake of change… Confidence would promote the aristocracy, claiming that only the nobles and their sense of loyalty would ensure the stability of Equestria. She would no doubt propose to reinstate the position of king, fashioned after the ancient unicorn traditions. Scroll Call would do his best to mediate, trying to reach a consensus, if only for the sake of getting things moving…
And he would fail, of course. The council had always been unable to settle their bickering without a princess… So they would come to find her and she would have to refuse. That was the hardest part of the plan : resisting her little ponies’ pleas. They would tell her how she was necessary to the country... How they needed a leader.
Celestia didn’t feel like a leader. A tyrant, yes, although a subtle and (she hoped) benevolent one... A commander, a manipulator... A foalsitter, maybe. She had been doing her best to keep everypony safe, not to lead them towards anything in particular. And in her foolish attempt at controlling the entire nation for the better, she had neglected her own sister. She moulded an Equestria that ended up adoring her and ignoring Luna...
The best thing to do now, was to let the ponies take care of themselves. The alicorns had tried and failed, it was the little ponies’ turn now.
They would insist, for days, months, maybe years, but eventually they would move on. All Celestia could hope for was that they would not split back into the three tribes of old. If she did at least something right, they would resist that urge.
And then, in a few centuries, the seal would break and Nightmare Moon would be free again. Maybe the Equestria of the future would actually be able to appreciate Luna, this time. Provided she could be brought back…Otherwise, Celestia would have to seal her again, then wait for her next liberation… But there would always be a next time.
“I won’t give up on you, sister,” Celestia whispered, her head turned to the brilliant Moon over her head. “I'll try as many times as I have to. Even if I keep failing, I won't give up on you.”
Only the gentle wind answered her, rustling the leaves of the few trees stubborn enough to grow on the summit she had picked for her exile. The plateau just below had a lush carpet of grass and a small river running along its side, that was all she really needed. It was also the place the two alicorn sisters liked visiting when they wanted to spend some time away from the palace, only the two of them. Nopony else knew of it, so it would take a while for the council to find her here.
Celestia was still not surprised when her ears picked up the sound of hooves in the distance. Eight days… She had expected them to take longer, but maybe they were really desperate. It didn’t matter, in the end. Celestia had to let them find her, so that she could refuse coming back.
She could have made herself impossible to find. The world was big enough that, if she wanted to, the princess could never meet another pony again. But if the ponies did not find her, they would only take temporary measures, waiting for her return… No, she had to make herself clear and the sooner, the better. Hopefully, she wouldn’t need to repeat herself too many times.
The hoofsteps became louder, but slowly. Their owner was apparently in no rush. It wasn’t like Celestia intended to fly off anyways... As the pony got closer, she heard something over the steps, a light metallic tinkling… Bells ?
A few minutes passed and a stallion’s head appeared from under a ridge, not far from Celestia’s position. A dark blue horn was the first thing she saw, followed by a mane made of many long and thick locks, each one a different color. Bells and chimes, of all sizes and shapes, were weaved inside those, tinkling every time the stallion’s head bobbed or turned.
He turned his eyes to Celestia, a pair of deep purple irises scanning over Celestia’s form with a surprising intensity. The princess observed him too, wondering just what sort of pony the council had found to act as their messenger. She expected a member of the royal guard or some ambassador. He was obviously neither...
The stallion kept walking slowly until he reached the relatively flat top of the summit, giving Celestia all the time she needed to examine him. Aside from his colorful mane, he was quite ordinary, physically speaking : neither young nor old, a little bigger than the average, but nothing exceptional. On the stallion’s back, some sort of big package was bundled in cloth and loosely strapped by a string. What was more intriguing about him was the cutie mark adorning his flank.
Even before the migration that led to the birth of Equestria, a lot of knowledge about ancient cultures had been forgotten. The terrible blizzard that forced all ponies to abandon their homes had caused them to forget even more, only a few rare and persistent scholars being able to identify the ancient symbols anymore. Despite having lived longer than anypony in the land, it was still the first time that Celestia saw a pony with an ankh as his cutie mark. The symbol of life... it was a good omen, at least.
But now was the time to play her part of this act. She spoke in a natural, but still regal voice. “I came here to be alone."
“That shouldn’t be a problem,” the stallion answered. “I’m not here to keep you company.” His voice was soft and quiet, with some traces of an accent evoking the old, rural regions of Equestria.
“Of course,” she thought… “Were you sent to find me ?” Celestia asked, keeping her usual mask of serenity.
The stallion paused and watched Celestia curiously for a few seconds. “Were you hiding ?”
A surprising question, yet it made some sort of sense in this case… “Not really.”
“Then I guess I didn’t really find you,” he said with a playful smile.
Celestia almost smiled back. It was always a nice to meet a pony with a sense of humor, but the princess wasn’t in the mood to play games. “Who sent you ?”
She wondered if it was the nobles, desperate to drag her back on the throne, or the military ponies looking for their commander-in-chief… Or maybe-
“Cosmic forces.”
“Bwuh ?” She had almost said that out loud… Celestia waited a second to make sure that her composure was still intact. “Pardon ?”
“Forces of the cosmos. Unknown forces, from outer space…”
“… Very well...” Celestia managed to keep her face straight, but a few extra blinks were inevitable. “Just what is that pony trying to say ?”
“So, the forces sent you to the top of this mountain ?” she asked.
“Yes,” he answered plainly, levitating the bundle off his back and sitting down on the grass. “I always follow my intuition… And my intuition told me that I should come to this mountain to be… away from ponies a little while.” He turned his head upwards to gaze at the starry sky, making the bells in his mane chime and jingle. “This place resonates with the universe. I wish I didn’t have to go back down… Here, I can reach up to space… And space can reach to me.”
Celestia admired the sky above a few moments. “Reach space” was maybe exaggerated, but it was an ideal place for stargazing… She turned her eyes back on the stallion, who had his sights still stuck upwards and slowly tilting his head left and right, enjoying the sounds his bells made.
“You’re an… unusual pony,” Celestia said.
“I’m not a pony.”
Her brow furrowed. Why didn’t she even consider this ? There were so many creatures able to disguise as a pony... A changeling ? A doppelganger ? An incubus ? A-
“I‘m an angel.”
“What...”
What...
“What ?”
“I’m an angel. The Creator sent me here to help ponies… to teach ponies… To make them ready for the future.”
“Well, he’s insane…” At least the strange stallion looked peaceful… Not that Celestia could really be threatened by a single unicorn anyway, but still… “And... how is that working out ?”
“Not that good,” he admitted, taking his eyes off the sky and turning them on the package he had brought. His horn glowed a bright fuschia while he unwrapped it.
Out of the cloth came an... instrument. The bastard offspring of a lyre and a harp, it had a large metallic frame and at least ten times more strings than it should, of every size and width, criss-crossing the whole thing and occupying every available spot.
“A musician ? An artist ?” Celestia wondered. Maybe he wasn’t insane, then. This could be an act to make him stand out, a façade born from a need to be noticed combined with a creative mind. “Did you come here looking for inspiration ?”
With his magic, the stallion lifted his lyre and plucked a few strings with his magic. “Yes... I have many things to tell with my songs… Important things… But most ponies don’t want to listen to me. They don’t like what they hear, so they don’t listen. They say that what I play isn’t music. Sometimes… I get tired of hearing them, so I come here to play. Here… I can forget the vibrations of other ponies. There’s only the vibrations of the universe… And I can get my own vibrations in tune.”
Facing the edge of the summit, he started shouting in the distance, as if calling someone...
"You ponies of planet Earth ! Ponies on the spaceship Earth ! Destination : Unknown."
His magic glowed brighter around his instrument and it started producing sounds, discordant and loud noises that should never come out of a lyre under any circumstances.
“I can understand those ponies…” Celestia thought, making her best not to wince at the sonic chaos her ears were now subjected to.
The stallion only played more and more notes, without regard to harmony or rhythm and shaking his head spastically to add his bells to the mix.
The princess endured about a minute of the cacophony before she interrupted him by loudly clearing her throat. “Why do you do that… noise ?”
He stopped playing, letting the sound die off with only his bells still jingling a little as a sonic background. “Noise… Noise is part of the song of the cosmos.”
“Is that what you’ve been playing to other ponies ?”
“It is a part of it.”
“I can see why they would criticize you,” Celestia said, trying to keep her voice neutral. “Maybe you should play something that ponies would actually want to hear.”
He plucked a few strings, producing a strange, otherworldly sound that hung in the air for a while, being modulated somehow by his magic. He kept his eyes stuck on the starry sky while he spoke. “There already are a lot of musicians playing what ponies want to hear… A lot of audiences, hearing what they want to hear. Audiences stomping their hooves for those musicians, letting them hear what they want to hear in return… Everypony hears what they want to hear… But nopony hears what they need to hear.”
Celestia chuckled. “And I suppose you know what they need to hear…”
“Ponies listen to hear. Because they don’t want to hear about what’s not here, they only listen to here. H-E-R-E. But there’s a lot more to hear than here... a lot more to be heard than the herd. The herd needs to open its ears... hear the unheard, to become the un-herd. Listen to unhear the here... to listen to the un-here and begin to hear.
“The ear... E-A-R… is not a part of here H-E-R-E, but it is a part of hear H-E-A-R. The ear is a part of ‘hear’ and ‘hear’ is a part of ‘heart’. Here H-E-R-E is not in ‘heart’. Ponies need to stop listening to the herd that is here and listen to the heart that must be heard.”
The princess frowned, trying to follow his train of thought. “What’s wrong with... here ?” she asked. “And herds ? What did you mean by un-herd anyway ?”
“Wait,” her eyebrows shot up as she questioned herself. “Why am I even discussing with this pony ? He’s clearly got his horn squishing his brains...”
“A herd is a group of ponies. Only some ponies, not all ponies. Some ponies are in, others are out… The un-herd is the one-herd, the herd that comprises all ponies, because it comprises none. All beings should be a part of the same group and they should be part of no group. Apart and a part are the same thing : when you’re a part of something, you’re apart of the other things. Only when you are a part of nothing can you be apart from everything… When you are apart from nothing, you are a part of everything.”
“Is this incredibly deep or just gibberish ?” It was getting harder and harder for Celestia to follow that pony. Was he… actually insane ? pretending to be ? A philosopher ? Each time she thought she had somehow figured him out, he said or did something that threw every assumption over the Moon...
“Equestria,” the princess said, “was created to unite the three pony tribes. You could say that it is one herd for all ponies, like that un-herd you spoke of.”
The stallion hummed and plucked a few strings, playing a gentle and whimsical melody. It seemed that he was making it on the spot… “Equestria… is a land for the three kinds of ponies. The earth ponies. The pegasus ponies. The unicorn ponies. It is a land for the three possible types of ponies.
“But it is not a land for all ponies, because it is not made for the impossible types of ponies. It is not a land for me, because I am not an earth pony or a pegasus pony or a unicorn pony. I'm an angel and Equestria is not made for angels. They got all these laws and rules about the three types of ponies. They give rights to the three tribes, but as an angel, I don’t have any rights… It’s the same for you, too. You’re not an earth pony or a pegasus pony or a unicorn pony. You don’t have any rights according to these laws.”
Celestia’s eyes widened.
It was true. It was so simple and so true that it seemed stupid… But it was the truth nonetheless : the laws of Equestria had not even been adapted for alicorns. It was always about the three tribes…
There was nothing about angels, obviously, but others had been ignored until then : donkeys, mules, cows, sheep, goats… Thousands of individuals living in Equestria, without any actual mention to them in any law text. They had been treated more or less as ponies for now, but why were they ignored in the first place ? Just because nopony had even thought of it ? That told a lot about their way of thinking...
The stallion finished his quirky song, shaking his head for a tinkling finale. He looked in the distance for a minute or two, not saying anything... The princess was at least a little grateful for the silence.
A soft, but otherworldly sound came out of his instrument and evolved into a slow harmony, ebbing and flowing. The stallion started singing in a weird, moaning voice over the music that reminded Celestia of ancient ritual chants while the strings added a chaotic melody to the mix. He stood up and started pacing, swinging left and right along the rhythm until he ended up behind Celestia. Staring straight ahead, she tried to get into the music, finding it much more pleasant than the previous "song", if still quite unusual.
Celestia suddenly felt a pair of hooves on her shoulders. Before she had time to react, the stallion's muzzle moved next to her left ear and he murmurred slowly into it :
Look on the other side of time
He immediately leaned to her right ear.
Look on the other side of time
You will see eternity
His creepy whispers became faster, alternating from one side of Celestia's head to the other.
Look on the other side of time
Listen to the greater universe
The future is on the other side of time
The eternal future is the alter-destiny
Faster and faster...
Look on the other side of time
Look at the alter-destiny...
Time and destiny
Future eternity
He finally moved away from the very confused princess, dropping his whisperings for a more normal singing voice and still playing his erratic melody.
Look on the other side of time !
After life's life
After death's death
Look on the other side of time.
The other side
The other side...
It went on for a few more minutes until the music slowed down more and more, eventually fading gently into the night... before another chord came by surprise, loud and discordant. A few more notes resonated quietly to mark the definitive end of the piece, with a very... celestial sound...
For once, princess Celestia remained speechless, not even sure what she could say or if there even was anything to tell the disturbing musician...
When he started playing again, his magic let the strings sound perfectly normal rather than produce some strange noises. The music started, with harmonious chords and a soft, sophisticated melody. It only lasted a short time, leaving the place for a simple rhythm, punctuated by his chords and his bells. The slow pulse of the song created a melancholic mood... Celestia found herself intrigued, listening peacefully to the soothing music.
The stallion started to sing.
The sky is a sea of darkness
When there is no Sun...
The music was not sad, but strangely melancholic and… beautiful. For a second, Celestia wondered if the stallion was really the same one who was assaulting her ears a few minutes ago... When the music ended, she watched him intently.
“Who exactly are you ?”
“Who am I, exactly ? I don't know, I think of me as a mystery... to myself.”
Celestia interrupted him before he had time to launch himself into another crazy rant. “Just… Tell me your name. You have a name, don’t you ?”
“I have many names...”
She groaned. “What about the name your parents gave you ? Let’s start with that one.”
He stayed quiet a moment, his eyes set on the horizon and watching nothing. “That one is not my name… I was not born on this planet, you see. I was sent here, from outer space. I was sent here by the Creator... And I was sent as a foal, so the ponies who raised me needed a name to call me, but they didn’t know my name. They picked a name that wasn’t mine and for a while, I thought it was my name. I thought I was that pony.
“But then, I was taken into space. I was taken away from Earth by beings from another plane of existence. They took me to Saturn and spoke to me. They taught me things. Sounds. Songs. Myths and truths. They told me of the future. My future and the future of planet Earth... After that, they sent me back, to complete my mission. You see, I am here on this planet to show ponies a different way. To show them the future.
“I come from beyond the sky, from space, to bring light on this planet. This is why I call myself Sun Ray.”
“Bringing light…” Celestia looked up at the shining moon. The only source of light in the night, and a prison for the source of darkness…
“Light... Harmony.” Sun Ray still spoke softly, next to Celestia. “Everything in space is in harmony... The stars are in place. The suns are in place. The moons are in place. The planets are in place. Only the people living on this planet are not. They don’t listen to the cosmos. They listen only to themselves. They bicker, they argue, they fight, because they are not in harmony. I was sent here to teach them how to be in harmony.”
“Harmony...” The princess hummed thoughtfully. “I know how difficult a job that is...”
“It is. It is… I think I’m going to fail.”
She watched him, raising an eyebrow. “You do ?”
“Yes. It's difficult to get the ponies to listen. I can’t use words, because ponies take words and turn their meaning to fit them. Everypony takes the words they need and make them mean what they want. Or sometimes, they think that it means one thing, because some force on another planet is controlling them to think so.
"I've seen that happen many many times... but it made me understand : I shouldn’t try to reach ponies with words. Because that language is incomplete. I don’t even know the languages spoken outside of Equestria... I've even heard that there are words in one language that can't be translated in another. There isn't any word to say the same thing... But music is the universal language. Everybody can feel what the music has to tell. That's why musicians need to be very strict and disciplined when they play. Music goes directly to the Creator, you understand... Music can change the universe, so you need to be very careful of what you play. My music... is a lesson... A lesson for those who wish to learn of the greater universe.”
"Naturally..." Celestia said flatly.
"The people of planet Earth have been the prisoners of a bad reality. They are stuck with life and death. Some ponies speak of eternal life. Some speak of eternal death... My music speaks of something else, of things beyond life and death, of immortality... I am speaking of that equation : life and death are the reality while immortality is the myth. It is the impossibility waiting to happen and I am here... to act as the bridge between reality and myth. I am trying to get ponies ready for that myth, because it will happen soon and ponies need to be ready.
"Something impossible is going to happen very soon. The signs are all here and you only need to know how to read the equations to make sense of them. I have seen the signs and I know that something impossible will happen soon. Beings will come from outer space, down here on Earth."
"Uh-huh..."
"It's all in order, you see. There are several equations, making a system here. The forces of the cosmos are reaching into our solar system. They've been telling us how it will happen. Now, the first planet is Mercury. It was named after the god of trickery, that's why ponies born under the sign of Mercury have unpredictable personalities. And the first planet is the first that will be reached, of course."
"Of course," Celestia said, barely listening at this point.
"Now here on Earth, the most unpredictable being was Discord. He was the representative of Mercury, you see ? And now he's gone. Then comes the second planet. That's Venus. Venus represents love and the representation of love on Earth is the Crystal Empire. They used to have their Crystal Heart, that's the symbol of love, of Venus, so the equation balances out. The Crystal Heart was powered by love... And the Crystal Empire is gone, too. So that's Mercury and Venus. Now the third planet is Earth... but before that you've got the Moon."
"Nightmare Moon," Celestia said bitterly. "I can see where you're going."
"Yes. Discord, the Crystal Empire, Nightmare Moon... they're not dead though. But they're not alive either. They've been taken away, out of this reality. Now you've got all the signs here, in that equation. Mercury, Venus, the Moon, the Earth. It's a test, you see ? The cosmic forces are testing us, to see if we can get ready and accept their myth of immortality. They're sending us a message, telling us that they will come and which way they will follow. From the Sun to the Earth, through every planet and moon."
"I'd hate to shatter such a... solid theory, but... You know that I am princess Celestia, right ? I know the Sun better than anypony else and I think I would know if something was coming out of it. I can control the Sun..."
"Of course, I know who you are. But I don't deal with theories. I don't have time to waste with conjecture... I deal with equations. Myth-science equations... But now... here you say that you control the Sun... but who controls you when you're controlling it ?"
Princess Celestia opened her mouth to answer, raising a hoof in the air. She let it hang in there, considering how much she wanted to have a philosophical debate about free will with that pony... In the end, she only sighed and put it back on the ground without saying anything.
Sun Ray did not start another speech, instead playing a few notes as if to test their sounds. These progressively built into a simple melody. Then came unexpected improvisation for a little while, before going back to the initial theme... then dissonant chords, unpredictable musings… they stopped abruptly when he switched back to the original melody, only to stray from it even more afterwards. It went on like that for several minutes, the song eventually coming to a stop as its theme was repeated for the last time, fading into silence.
Celestia seized the pause as an opportunity to say a few words of her own. “You know... For somepony who claims to be all about harmony, your music sounds really... chaotic.”
“Well of course,” Sun Ray said completely naturally. “Chaos is part of harmony.”
The princess scoffed. “Chaos is the opposite of harmony. I have actually faced Discord, the spirit of chaos and disharmony... My sister and I have defeated him with the help of the elements of harmony. I can tell you that chaos and harmony are complete opposite.”
“Now you say that because you only look at that equation from one side. You need to turn it upside down... You see harmony on one side of the equation and chaos on the other, so you think that they are opposite, but the real opposite of chaos is order, not harmony. Harmony is balance. Balance between chaos and order.
“When everything is in order, everything in a set place… Nothing can move anymore. Everything is complete and perfect... and finished. Order is in the past. It has no tomorrow. Order deals with the possible... But when the impossible happens, order needs to change, to go back into being orderly with these new impossible things… To turn them into the possible… That’s in its nature, just like it is in chaos’s nature to disturb the order.
“Chaos is the impossible. The impossible and the possible define each other. You can’t have only chaos, because if everything is impossible, there is no other impossible thing to do, which means that everything is possible. Everything becomes the possible and there is no more chaos.
“That is the true harmony of the universe. The planets and the stars understand harmony... Sometimes, a star appears in the sky. The nothing becomes something, which is impossible, and a star appears in the sky. Some stars disappear too. The order always changes in the universe, because it is in harmony. And harmony is the future.
“Here on this planet, ponies only think of order. They don’t try to do the impossible, so they do not change. They are in the past. I am here to tell them of tomorrow…”
Celestia tuned Sun Ray out while he went on another long-winded explanation about his music, his mission and his equations… He had given her something to think about already : order, chaos and harmony… She had thought that she understood these things, as the leader of Equestria and the champion of harmony. And yet…Was too much order really harmful to harmony ?
“Is he right ? If ponies follow what they consider as order absolutely, then they have to do the same thing, over and over again… They say that history repeats itself… Is that why ?”
The princess mulled these thoughts, wondering what they would mean to Equestria. It wasn’t like she could release Discord and put him in charge... He would just lead the nation in any random direction that he pleased, then go back for no reason. The ponies were miserable when he roamed free. Unlike others, Celestia still had the actual memories of the time when upside-down didn’t even mean anything anymore, because Discord had made the concepts of up and down obsolete. As long as she’d live, she would make sure that such a time would never come back.
She payed a little attention to the stallion, still talking next to her... "... and I know when I do good, because I do evil sometimes. You've got lots of ponies who say how good they are, but you don't have many ponies saying how bad they are. In outer space, being bad or good is..." Celestia went back to her previous thoughts, down on good old planet Earth...
Unfortunately for the future of Equestria, Sun Ray was more or less right about one thing : Discord would come back one day or another. Celestia knew it : he was only contained, not destroyed. Whether one decided to see it as the balance of the cosmos, or simply as the limitations of the magical seal that trapped him in stone, he was going to get free at one point. Celestia could probably seal him again then, with or without her sister’s help… And he would get free again later. And again. And again…
Celestia frowned and twitched her ears ; something seemed out of place… It took her a moment to realize that Sun Ray was no longer speaking. She watched the stallion, who was sitting on the ground, his head hanging down, almost touching the ground and not moving. She was about to prod him when she heard a snore.
She stared at the strange stallion, only able to blink for a while. Finally, a small smile appeared on her lips.
“I thought I knew everything about ponies… Why do you keep surprising me like that ?”
Only a snore answered her.
Celestia chuckled quietly. “I guess… Maybe you really aren’t a pony after all.”
The quiet gave her some time to make up her own new, crazy ideas. With a smile on her lips and her eyes stuck on the Moon that was starting its descent in the sky, Celestia pondered the future of Equestria. Could it be a future that would not look like its past ?
Maybe half an hour later, she was taken out of her reverie by Sun Ray waking up... and picking back up exactly where he had stopped.
"... I always heard ponies saying 'Don't look a gift horse in the mouth' and I always wondered what they meant by that... So I tried to balance that equation and you see, what they call a gift horse is a foal, really. Every mare who has a foal, that's a gift from the Creator. And they also say the truth comes 'Out of the mouths of foals.' So I put that into the equation and I see why they say that you shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth : that's because it's where you'll find the truth and ponies are scared of the truth..."
Celestia stared with wide eyes at the stallion, still going on about ponies, space, ancient history, future histoy and a dozen other things… She grinned, then snickered and eventually cracked, bursting out in full-on laughter.
Sun Ray gazed at her curiously and the princess did her best to calm herself down.
“I’m… sorry,” she said, trying to catch her breath. “I’m not laughing at you... I’m laughing at me, really.”
“That’s great,” he said with a small grin. “Being able to laugh at oneself. Whatever happens, you can always get a good laugh that way... Would you care to share the joke ?”
Celestia's laughter subsided, but she still kept a mirthful smile on her muzzle. “I’ve lived for longer than you can imagine… Well, maybe not you, because it seems you can imagine a lot.” She chuckled a little. “But I’ve lived longer than most ponies can imagine and I thought that I had seen everything the pony race had to offer... Every kind of pony that could be. I thought that no one could surprise me anymore… I was wrong. Very, very wrong. And I’ve never been so happy to be wrong.”
Sun Ray hummed in approval. “You gotta be wrong sometimes. If you’re never wrong, then you’re always right. And if you always go right, then you go in circles.” He moved a hoof in a circular motion in front of him. “It’s better to turn left, then right, like that.” His hoof moved up in the air, making left and right turns, like a snake. “When you do that, you’re going somewhere. You look like you’re drunk, though...”
He gave Celestia a playful smirk and they shared a laugh.
When they calmed down, the princess saw his instrument float in front of her, wrapped in his magic. She gave him a curious glance.
"Take it," Sun Ray said. "Play."
She raised an eyebrow. "I don't know how to play that."
"Exactly. It's an exercise in ignorance. You're going to play from what you don't know, because what you don't know is much greater than what you do know."
Celestia stared at him curiously, but he simply waited, holding the too-many-stringed instrument in front of her. She eventually took it in her magic and plucked a few strings at random to test it.
Sun Ray nodded. "Now... Play the Moon."
"The Moon ? Is that a song ?"
"Play the music that the Moon tells you to play."
"The..." Celestia watched the white disc in the sky, then brought her gaze back to Sun Ray. "I'm not sure what you mean."
"The Moon has its own vibration. Play that ! Play what you think of when you see the Moon."
The princess hesitated for a moment, but under Sun Ray's intense gaze, she eventually tried plucking a few strings, thinking of something vaguely Moon-related.
"No ! That doesn't sound like the Moon... That doesn't sound like the Moon at all ! Try again."
"But I can't play... How do you expect me to do something that I don't know how to do ? Give me a hint, at least..."
Sun Ray took a few step to stand right in front of her, staring into her eyes. Even if he was shorter than to her, he still had something that made Celestia feel small right then. "This is why you need me to lead you. To make you do something you wouldn't do on your own. I'm a leader, all you have to do is follow my instructions. Discipline... Discipline is the key.
"Now, play me the Moon. Don't play with your hooves or with your mind. Play with your spirit and emotions."
Celestia turned her head up, gazing at the Moon. It made her think of her sister. All the happy memories they shared. All the terrible ones. She remembered how beautiful it was. How beautiful Luna used to be. Thousands of memories and emotions flooded her heart.
Still keeping her eyes locked on the Moon, Celestia let her magic act on instinct. Strings were plucked, sounds resonated in the night air. They were ridiculous and dissonant, as expected.
"That's it !" Sun Ray said from beside the princess. "Keep that up."
Her playing was ugly, but Celestia didn't mind. She knew that she had an ugly part in herself... There was one thing that still rang true in her music, though : it was sincere. Celestia played from her heart, no matter what had to come out of it. She played sadness. She played nostalgia. She played anger... Anger at her sister for forcing her hoof. Anger at herself for failing to save her. She played jealousy. She played hope. She played regret.
Celestia played the Moon.
Over the music, Sun Ray started to chant.
Space
Spaaaaace !
Space is the place...
Celestia almost stopped playing, barely keeping her magic focused. She still giggled at his silly lyrics, though, while Sun Ray kept going on about outer space being a really great place. He eventually slowed down and sung more quietly...
I am the mysteries
I am the myth there is
I will take you through space
Where every pony has a place
A new world for a new tomorrow
Beyond everything you know
Another planet in outer space
Of unknown beauty and grace
Foals, mares and stallions
Amongst the constellations
We will travel through space
Where every pony has its place
As the music faded out, princess Celestia delicately set the instrument on the ground, her eyes still stuck on the Moon. "Every pony..."
They spent the rest of the night on that mountain. Sun Ray talked for hours with Celestia, asking her dozens of questions about the Sun, explaining some of his “equations” and playing music that was alternatively the most horrible and the most beautiful that the princess had ever heard… Some of his ramblings made sense. Some didn’t. Celestia had to agree, at least partially, when he explained that ponykind had unlimited potential and needed to be inspired to fulfill it. His explanations of the symbolism he had followed to construct his instrument, the so-called “trans-cosmo-vibrational harp”, were fascinating, if completely nonsensical..
But even when he was using etymology, astrology, mythology and numerology at the same time in the most far-fetched ways possible, all in the purpose of demonstrating that king Sombra placing a curse over the Crystal Empire was the act of the goddess Epona (who came from Jupiter)… Even then, Celestia was gladly listening and asking him questions, hoping that the next answer would be as unexpected as the previous one.
The Sun was high in the sky, warming princess Celestia with its familiar and comforting light. For once, she did not need to set a fake mask of serenity on her face as she landed near the council’s temporary chambers. The princess walked in, determined and tranquil.
The door shone a bright yellow as it was wrapped in her magic, and opened. First, there was silence as Celestia walked in, heading for her place at the head of the table. Everypony remained quiet until she sat down.
The instant her rump had touched down on the cushion, a councillor opened his mouth, giving the all clear signal for a verbal cacophony, everypony trying to speak at the same time. There were exclamations of joy, confused conversations, angry shouts, relieved thanks and scathing remarks, all at the same time. The chamber was filled with sound, making Celestia smirk.
She had a different view of raw noise now...
The princess raised a hoof, making everypony silent once more.
“I am sure that you all have many questions to ask me and I will answer them in due time, but first I have a few words to tell you.”
Celestia scanned the room. The councillors exchanged glances with each other, some of them spoke a few words in hushed voices, but they quickly focused all of their attention on the princess.
“First, I would like to congratulate and thank you for taking care of raising the Sun and the Moon while I was gone. Now, I have used these few days to reflect upon ponies, Equestria and myself. I have come to this conclusion : Equestria needs to change.”
A few councillors started arguing, but Celestia stomped a hoof on the table, imposing the silence again.
“Equestria needs to change, because ponies need to change. A nation is as great as its people and us ponies need to better ourselves. In the past, Equestria has known several wars and rebellions, including the latest one, which has cost you a princess… and cost me my sister.”
Celestia paused for a few seconds. No one interrupted the silence, some even holding their breath.
“If we simply rebuild our nation as a copy of its former self, nothing will change. The same actions always end up with the same results. There will be other wars, other rebellions... and I refuse to let this happen. I believe it is high time that Equestria actually worked towards the goal it gave itself so long ago : harmony.”
It took a moment before anyone dared to say a word, every councillor waiting for another one to be the first. Eventually, Scroll Call cleared his throat and straightened himself on his seat before speaking.
“This is a… noble and ambitious goal, princess. How exactly do you plan on doing that ?”
“We need a new capital city,” Celestia answered. “We will not rebuild the ancient one. Instead, we will let those cursed ruins be obliterated by nature. We need a new Canterlot.”
“A new capital ?” Fair Scale tapped his chin with a hoof. “I think this is a good idea. There are still a lot of refugees that need new homes. We should think of an appropriate site to begin-”
“I already know where to build it,” Celestia said, cutting him off. “All of you must know the Diamond Peak ?”
“Of course,” Confidence said, absent-mindedly arranging her mane with a hoof. “The tallest mountain in Equestria. Unicorns have spent centuries trying to mine it for gems.”
“Not to mention it can be seen from anywhere in Equestria,” Scroll Call added.
“Precisely,” Celestia said. “Which is why we will build the new Canterlot on that mountain. We will create a city so grand and magnificent that it will inspire anypony looking at it. And as you said, it will be visible from anywhere in Equestria.”
“You- You want to build a city… on that mountain ?” Confidence watched the princess as if she had sprouted a new horn in the middle of her face.
“On the tallest, steepest mountain of the whole country ?” Fair Scale exchanged some disturbed looks with the rest of the council. “I’m sorry to be negative, princess… But that’s just impossible !”
“Yes, it’s impossible… and that’s exactly why we need to do it.”
Celestia scanned the council, seeing incredulous faces on almost everypony.
“You do not need me to live your lives,” she said. “You do not need me to run the country. You do not even need me to raise the Sun.” The princess waited a few moments to let her words sink in. “What I am offering to do, is to lead you. Equestria needs a leader, to do what it has never done before. To guide the nation into the future... If you want to live in the past, then you don’t need me.”
It took several minutes before somepony broke the silence. And contrary to the princess’s expectations, it was not the forward-thinking Fair Scale who approved of her proposition...
“I agree,” Scroll Call said, his tone more serious than she could ever remember hearing it. “Princess Celestia is right. A leader is supposed to inspire its people. We are supposed to inspire the people. If we can do this, if we can do something impossible... If we can build an incredible city and have it there for everypony to see… They will understand that we can do anything, that nothing is truly impossible.”
Celestia smiled at him. She had managed to move at least one of them. The others seemed still unsure, but there was hope.
“I will not impose that decision,” she said. “If you truly think that this project is undoable, then I will let you conduct Equestria in the way that you see fit. I simply hope that you will dare to imagine a better tomorrow, no matter how crazy it looks.”
“Come on, ponies !” Scroll Call exclaimed. “Fair Scale ! You’re always going on about how everything needs to be changed. This is our chance to make actual changes, for once. Are you going to pass it up ?”
“I- Uh…” The pegasus suddenly found himself under the stares of everypony in the room, making him shrink in his place. Celestia kept her gaze neutral, but Scroll Call openly frowned at him.
Now was the time for Fair Scale to decide if he was only a strong speaker, or if he could back his words… The pegasus watched every councillor in turn, then took a deep breath and locked his eyes on Celestia’s. “Very well, your highness. This might just be crazy enough to work.”
A few other councillors joined the ranks after him, until only the most conservative ones remained. Scroll Call turned to their tacit representative.
“Confidence ? What do you say ? Do we try the princess’s plan or not ?”
The unicorn took her time observing everypony around the table, keeping her expression neutral. The last one she made eye contact with was the princess herself. Celestia and her held each other’s gaze for a minute.
“As always,” Confidence said, her voice high and clear, “I trust the princess.”
The last few members of the council nodded and approved, giving princess Celestia their full support and confidence.
“It’s settled, then,” she said. “It will take a lot of effort from all of us, so let’s not waste any time getting to work. I will take back the task of raising the Moon and the Sun from now on.”
The councillors stood up and started leaving, discussing amongst themselves. Only Scroll Call stayed behind, waiting to be alone with Celestia.
“Did you want to ask me something ?” she said softly.
“I do. When you left… you didn’t plan on coming back, did you ?”
Celestia stared at him a few moments. He remained impassible. “No. I did not,” she finally answered.
“What made you change your mind then ?”
She chuckled. “Would you believe me if I told you I met an angel ?”
He simply raised an eyebrow, maybe waiting for her “real” answer.
“Who knows what’s possible or not ? Maybe one day I will have a nice conversation with Discord...” She chuckled at the idea of the spirit of chaos and her having a nice tea-party.
Scroll Call stared at her, blinking dumbly and making Celestia chuckle even more. She stood up and walked out, humming quietly to herself.
A few hours earlier…
Celestia was still sitting in the same place on her mountain, with Sun Ray playing next to her while the Moon was about to disappear under the horizon. She stretched herself and sighed.
“I suppose I should go back... Be the princess of Equestria... again...”
"It sounds like you don't want to," the strange stallion said.
The princess hummed. “I care about everypony and I want to do my best for them... But I've been doing that for so long... I know ponies, I know how they work. They always do the same things… and I think it's impossible to change that.” Celestia shook her head and sighed again.
Sun Ray didn’t answer, but kept the silence at bay by shaking the bells in his mane constantly. After about a minute, he spoke up.
“They say that history repeats itself...”
Celestia smiled bitterly. They did say that... And they were right…
“They say that history repeats itself...” He glanced at her with a small, subtle smile, before setting his eyes on the distance again. “They say that history repeats itself...”
Celestia’s smile turned into one of amusement.
“They say that history repeats itself… repeats itself…
"But history is his story... It’s not my story.”
He watched Celestia straight in the eyes.
“What’s your story ?”
Author's Note
Space is the place !
Sun Ray's last lines are taken directly from Sun Ra: A Joyful Noise, a 1980 film by Robert Mugge.
Wall-o-text time !
About the story : one day I was listening to some Sun Ra and his Arkestra on youtube and "When there is no Sun" came up. I thought "Hey, I wonder what Celestia would have thought of that one"... I didn't know a whole lot about Ra at that point, just that he made some wild music and that he was obsessed with outer space and other worlds, so I thought it could be amusing to have him, or a ponyfied version of him in Equestria. I also knew that he claimed that he was an angel and coming from Saturn... At that point my opinion was simply that he was a funny guy, but a complete nutcase. So, I did some research, to try and write something decently close to his actual character and boy, was that a ride...
I ended up discovering that no, he wasn't insane. At least not in the usual sense. Sun Ra had a very unique worldview and strange ideas, but it wasn't just the random ramblings of a sick mind. He had a clear and consistent purpose : the elevation/illumination of the human race. Eeyup. His way to reach that goal was through his music (the "universal language"). He actually dedicated his entire life to it and even managed to inspire several other musicians to do the same. He was also completely aware of how ridiculous he looked and sounded, but chose to follow his intuition, not only because he believed himself to be controlled by greater forces, but also to acquaint humanity with new things, different and impossible things. He was also aware that he would never reach his goal, but kept trying anyway, because it was his mission. He believed in so much mystical stuff that's it's hard to make any sense out of it, but it wasn't just new-age mumbo-jumbo, he read about ancient cultures, Egypt in particular, mythology, the bible, anything he could get his hands on really...
Sun Ra was also a real genius when it came to music, though it is hard to tell from most of his records, since he wrote many songs that are nothing but long minutes of noise. (Want an example ? Listen to The Rose Hue Mansions of the Sun) Yes, he wrote those, he didn't just decide to do it in the middle of a concert for the heck of it. But he also wrote some incredibly advanced and beautiful pieces of jazz. (Try Enlightenment for example)
Where do ponies come into this ? Well, the idea of a nation built upon harmony in a world of magic and myth... I think he would have loved that. Also, so many of his song titles sound like they were made for the princesses that it's almost ridiculous : Moon people, Sun song, Moon dance, solar drums, medicine for a nightmare, solar differentials, the night of the purple Moon... Oh and let's not forget Friend and Friendship !
All in all, he was a man full of so many paradoxes that writing this story has ended up as a huge challenge for me. I'm always insecure about having proper characterization and I gave myself the goal of writing the most insanely complex person I could find... But setting an impossible task for myself would have amused him, I'm sure. "The possible has been tried and failed; now I want to try the impossible"
Crazy ? Not crazy ? I think Sun Ra was so strangely unique that he was absolutely impossible to define, even with notions like sane or insane. He was both and neither... But whatever you think of him, when a man spends fifty years working for the betterment of humanity, I think it's worth sparing a few minutes and listening to what he has to say.
