De Umbris et Astris

“Pardon our intrusion, Twilight, but your letter and some recent events warned us that we have no time to waste. “ Celestia said as she and Luna made their path through the library’s chaos. In the meantime Twilight tried to levitate as many books as she could to their appropriate spots, deeply embarrassed by the state her home was in.

“I’m so sorry for the disorder, Princess” Twilight gasped, out of breath from her multitasking, “would you like a more detailed report while I’m cleaning this?”Celestia smirked. Even after all this time she still resembles the little filly I took in as my personal student on that fateful day.“I thought I had told you to drop the formalities, Princess Sparkle” Celestia said mockingly “so please stop exhausting yourself, sit down and tell us everything you know.”Twilight grinned sheepishly and with a nod she let the myriad of books she had been holding float to the ground. With another nod she pushed away a few book-towers to create someplace for the three of them to sit down.“Now let’s see, where should I begin…” Twilight said, lost in thoughts about the latest events.“Start from when you arrived here and make sure not to forget the slightest detail.” Celestia gave her a benevolent smile only a teacher could grant.“Right,” Twilight began, “so when I and my friends arrived here everything was over already. A few buildings were burning; everypony had left the Ponyville and was hiding on the outskirts of the Everfree forest. It was just overall chaotic. When we entered the town we found a badly injured unicorn near a big hole in the ground next to the school. We carried her to the hospital, which had luckily stayed undamaged, and while organizing the chaos I tried my best to treat the unicorn’s injuries which were mostly the effect of extreme magical exhaustion. This pretty much went on until an hour ago, when she finally woke up again. She told me about a monster attacking the village and she mentioned using some binding spell to banish it…”She didn’t get any further since Luna, who had been awfully quiet until now, jumped up, and asked in Royal Canterlot voice.“Describe that unicorn who speaks of such magic.”Twilight had been pushed back by the volume of Luna’s voice. She quickly snapped out of her dazzled state and straightened her mane.“As I said, she’s a unicorn, her coat is some dark shade of azure. Her mane is purple with a lighter highlight and pretty messy. I think her name was Serene Blaze.”Twilight’s voice dropped when the whole room went dark all of a sudden, the only remaining light being Luna, now airborne and with a much calmer voice Luna asked.“Where is she now?”“Ponyville hospital, room twenty,” Twilight quickly answered, taking  cover behind Celestia.With a loud crack the darkness disappeared as quickly as it had come, leaving behind only a black orb floating over the couch.Luna rushed over, pushed away the load of books and in one motion she sat down the orb’s host and pulled it into a big hug.“Mmmpf… Prin… cess… need… air …” Serene Blaze groaned using her last breath.At once Luna let go of her and, noticing the other two princesses’ questioning faces, she stepped back and took a more reserved posture. She wasn’t able to hide astonishingly joyous expression in her eyes, though.Celestia was the first to regain her composure.“Luna, would you care to explain what just happened and who exactly this mare is?”Luna looked over at the cerulean unicorn and took a deep breath, much like a child before making a confession.“Uhm… this is Serene Blaze and errr, you could say that she has been our student for the last two years. We cherish her company and are very glad that she is safe; although she’ll have to take responsibility for her actions. She put herself and everyone around her in great danger by her reckless actions…”Celestia’s mien dropped and she stepped closer to Luna, knocking over a small pile of books.“Luna, Twilight said something about a binding spell and now this… you didn’t do what I fear you did, DID YOU?”The atmosphere around her filled with energy, so heavily that Twilight found it difficult to stand. Luna blushed and dashed away, taking cover behind Twilight.“We… didn’t have a choice, sister. She needed it and we made her promise only to use it as a last resort.” Luna hastily said.Twilight turned around with much effort and noticed both worry and sorrow on Luna’s face, a result of the older alicorn’s frightening display of power.Being pushed into the couch by the same pressure, Blaze winced and was the centre of attention at once. Much to her relieve the library’s door burst open and Twilight’s friends rushed in.In an instant the magical pressure disappeared.“We will discuss this matter later, Princess Luna,” Celestia sighed as she turned to the other mares, giving them a little smile “I see that our nation’s heroes are now all assembled, so allow me to give you a few explanations. We shall then decide on actions to take.”The five ponies noticed the grave tone in Celestia’s voice and, not daring to make a noise, they sat down in front of the princess waiting for whatever was to come. Twilight gulped and quickly joined her friends.Celestia observed their faces for a moment and when she was sure that they were indeed attentive she began.“A few moments ago, Twilight was giving me a short report on the attack of Ponyville— until she was interrupted.”Celestia looked over at Luna who was doing her best not to draw any attention. ”Nevertheless I got enough informations to come to the conclusion that something’s wrong. Four nights ago, the night before the assault, both Luna and I felt a dark presence the like we haven’t encountered yet. We fear that this was the cause of the incident and it may cause more harm until it is stopped. Therefore I ask you to go and confirm a suspicion I have. The only way that a beast like the one who attacked your town could find its way to this world would be through the gates of Tartarus. Twilight should know where they are located; I must ask you to start your preparations as soon as possible to make sure that you’ll be ready for departure by tomorrow. Yes Rainbow Dash?”I thought this would be more of a challenge after all the fuss the Princess made about it… Dash thought. ”So you’re just asking us to go to those gates of whatever, see if everything is alright and then come back?”Celestia noticed Dash’s disappointment, “even though this sounds easy, with whatever evil force is going around out there, things could become tricky very quickly.”While this last remark seemed to please Rainbow Dash greatly, the rest of the group didn’t take it quite so well. Twilight had started scampering around, gathering a bunch of books; Pinkie was trying to reanimate Fluttershy who had straight out fainted and Rarity and Applejack were making mental lists of everything they would need for the expedition.Luna and Blaze sat next to each other observing the scene in disbelief. Celestia on the other hoof couldn’t hold back any longer and burst out laughing. Everypony stopped in their tracks and looked at her quizzically.“It may become difficult, but I wouldn’t ask you if I wasn’t sure that you could do it,” Celestia said as she had recovered from her outbreak,” I also know that you may feel weaker than usual without the Elements of Harmony. That doesn’t mean that you’re helpless though. More than any Element, it was your compassion and your courage that helped you live through all your adventures. I have faith that once again you will be of great service to Equestria.”Blaze’s and Luna’s eyes met and with a short nod Blaze got up from the couch.“With your permission, Princess Celestia, I would like to join this mission.”Celestia sighed. I should have seen that coming.“I will grant you permission. Though ultimately it’s up to Twilight to decide,” Celestia said looking over at Twilight. Let’s see how she handles that responsibility.Twilight studied her friends’ faces to see if they would be with a new member; Rainbow Dash and Applejack seemed indecisive while the other three didn’t really care. She considered Serene Blaze’s condition and noticed the determination in her eyes.“Very well,” Twilight spoke, ”you can come with us. It‘ll take about five days to get to the gates, so you should be fine when things get dangerous. One condition though, when I give an order I want you to obey, understood? I can’t take you on a dangerous mission if I can’t count on you.”Blaze bowed to Twilight.“I will do as you say and I’m sure that you won’t regret your decision.”Celestia felt proud at Twilight’s decisive tone.I taught her well; she makes a great princess.“I’m sure you have preparations to do now.” With those words Celestia dismissed the mares and with a glance at Luna she left the library.“Twilight, is there someplace where We could talk in private to our student?” Luna asked.“You could take her to my bedroom upstairs,” Twilight offered.In a flash the two ponies disappeared and with all her friends suddenly gone, Twilight found that she was alone in the library.

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“Rainbow Dash, did you really have to knock over ALL my mannequins,” Rarity was desperately reorganizing the mess her friend had caused.“I’m sorry, Rarity, but we need to talk about what just happened,” Dash insisted.Rainbow Dash had insistently pushed her friends out of the library. She looked around in fright of someone observing them and quickly motioned her friends to run for Rarity’s boutique. She launched herself into the air and, as usual, ended up in a stack of neatly arranged mannequins.“Ah didn’t think some small adventure would make yah that nervous, Dash,” Applejack teased,  Rarity and Fluttershy nodding in agreement.“It’s not about the adventure; we had plenty of those. It’s about that new pony. I don’t trust her to be a good companion,” Rainbow Dash made sure to voice her opinion as simple as possible.“Uhm,” Fluttershy began, “I think she seems rather nice. She saved the town after all and being Luna’s student… eeeeep.”Rainbow Dash had flown over to glare at Fluttershy.“Drop this behaviour this instant, Rainbow Dash,” Rarity frowned at the ruckus her friend was causing. ”Instead of wasting your time making preposterous accusations you should go and make preparations for tomorrow. Right, Pinkie?”The pink mare simply sat there, unusually calm. One of her ears kept budging and her eyes were moving around, seemingly pondering invisible plans. She jumped up with a loud eureka and dashed out of the room, leaving her dazzled friends.“Huh… that was odd, anyhow Ah think Rares is right. For now we should get things done. Yah know that Ah’m with you on this Dash, but everything at its time. We’ll question that pony’s loyalty later on,” Applejack said, getting up to exit the room as well.“Ugh, alright guys, but this discussion is not off the table yet,” Rainbow Dash pouted, but quickly followed her friends, leaving Rarity bustling around._________________________Celestia flung herself unto her bed, letting go a loud groan. Upon her swift arrival in Canterlot she had cancelled every meeting and instructed her guards to keep the day court closed for now.She had closed the curtains to block the sunlight she usually savoured; the quiet flickering of a solitary candle was more apt to calm her nerves and it helped her focus on the latest events, yet still it couldn’t block old memories from re-emerging from the depths of her mind.“Nooooo…” Discord was fazed by the sudden petrification the rainbow beam had brought upon him.Celestia and Luna stood side by side, three crystals circling around each of them in rapid motion. Panting under the effort the activation of the long forgotten artefacts had taken, they slowly drained the magic current, their mission finally accomplished.Before the crystals could drop to the ground they levitated them into their saddle bags and with Discord’s statue engulfed in a blue-golden aura they took flight to their home near the Everfree forest.With Discord’s capital of chaos not having been all too far away they arrived quickly and on their descent they dropped the statue into their backyard.“It has been a long day, sister and we require some rest,” Luna opened the door letting both of them enter the simplistic hut; Discord’s reign hadn’t allowed for anything pompous to be built.“And well deserved it is, sister,” Celestia spoke, dropping onto her bed of hay.Celestia sighed; reminiscing old times had a quasi-narcotic effect and helped her distance herself from pressing matters.Yet not all memories are good, and unsettled matters don’t bring solace to the restless mind.“We have made surprising progress, sister, it seems as if the elements of harmony serve a much greater purpose than to counter the mischievous plans of chaos’ henchman.” Luna was positively excited at her newest discovery.Two hundred years had passed since the imprisonment of Discord and as an act of gratitude the citizens of the newly-founded Equestria had built a magnificent castle on top of the alicorn sisters’ hut.Celestia was sitting on her throne, slightly annoyed at her sister interrupting an important meeting to debate a trade treaty with the griffon nation.On arrival, Luna had shoved aside the griffon ambassador; the ministers were cowering under the volume of the royal canterlot voice.“Excuse us for a moment. Prime minister, would thou take charge while we’re gone?” Celestia waited for the grey unicorn’s silent nod and enveloping Luna in a golden aura she teleported both of them to their private chambers.“What could be so important that thou dare interrupt our important negotiations?” Celestia barked at Luna.Luna was sitting on the floor, not sure if she should be amused or offended by her sister’s rude behaviour. “Please, sister, we both know that thy presence at these meetings is mere decorum. We’re sure that the Prime minister will be up to the task,” Luna tried to lighten Celestia’s mood. “Besides, We think that thou will find our newest discovery quite interesting.”The two large alicorns moved over to their reading spot by the vivid fireplace. Stacks of books of ominous titles such as ‘Your Crystal and You – A Guide to Telepetry’ and ‘How to analyse a magical object and get away with it’ adorned Luna’s side, while Celestia only had a small stack of political journals on her side.Celestia sighed and looked over into Luna’s eyes which were begging for her undivided attention; with a groan she motioned for her to bring forward her findings. “We’re sure that thou have wondered about the odd effect the elements had on Discord,” Luna began. ”While analysing the crystals I found that they resonate with each other and with their bearer. So they create a field of magic which obeys the holder’s intention, but only to a certain degree. No matter the intentions, the elements will always have a binding effect. Thus, Discord’s very soul was bound to the stone he merged with; though the stone was not part of the element’s work, but our own magic adding to the elements’ force.”Celestia was following the development with interest and these news had so far proven worthy the interruption.“But this is not all,” Luna continued, ”We’re conducting experiments to synthetically create this magical field in case the elements won’t be at our disposal at some point.”“TIA!” Luna’s call interrupted Celestia’s thoughts. “The guards told us that you rushed past them to your chambers. What were you thinking about so intensely?”Celestia felt Luna snuggling up to her, knowing that the older alicorn needed some company.“Just reminiscing old times, Lulu,” Celestia mumbled.“I’m sorry for not telling you about my student, Tia,” Luna felt that the apology was appropriate.“It’s alright Luna, it’s not the first time that you act on your own after all,” Celestia sighed, the comforting warmth of her sister’s body embracing her, helping her mind fall into a deep slumber.

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“Twilight, are you there?” Applejack’s voice echoed through the empty library.The sound of  a head hitting wood came from upstairs.“Ugh…one moment Applejack, I’ll be there in a minute.” Twilight’s voice was accompanied by the rustling of parchment; she had been preparing for their departure.A mare with a messy mane and the notion of fading pain in her eyes trotted downstairs.“Where’re Princess Luna and that new friend of yours?” AppleJack inquired.“Luna went back to Canterlot shortly after you left and Blaze left for Rarity’s, something about getting a new cape.” Twilight wasn’t sure what to think of her friend’s sudden visit.“Alright then,” Applejack took a moment to figure out how she should confront her friend with her doubts. “I came here to talk to yeh about that Blaze pony. Yeh know, Dash and Ah don’t exactly know what to think about her just joining us like that. After all we hardly know anything about her and honestly Ah’d rather know with whom Ah’m going on such an adventure.”Silence.The tension between both ponies became tangible; Applejack was uneasy with confronting her friend in such a way; yet the only other option would have been to let Dash do the talking… and you never leave the talking to Dash.Twilight was reflecting on how to respond to the unexpected complaint to her decision-making. It never would have occurred to me that they wouldn’t trust Celestia’s, Luna’s and my judgment.“I don’t know what to tell you AJ…” Twilight began.” I thought that you of all ponies wouldn’t mind meeting a new friend after the reception you gave me on my first arrival here. I wish I could tell you something about her, but all I know is that she’s Luna’s student and quite good with magic. That’s enough for me for now, but if it calmed your nerves I could keep an eye on her and maybe try to get a few more informations when she gets back later.”Applejack was stunned by Twilight’s slightly reproachful tone. “That’s all Ah’m asking for. Ah’d just rather not have any negative surprises.”The tension Applejack felt earlier had been suspended by her own embarrassment at having involuntarily disappointed her friend’s expectations.Twilight noticed her friend’s uneasiness and closed the gap between them to pull her into a hug. A blushing Applejack struggled free from the embrace and with a quick cya she rushed out of the library.

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“Are you sure you don’t want anything else with that cape? Maybe a hat or some boots matching your eye colour?” From the moment Blaze had entered the shop Rarity had been desperately trying to talk her into getting something more fashionable than just a simple black cape. “Maybe a nice pattern that goes well with your coat? If nothing else, just give me a moment to style your mane, you must have been running around like that for months.”Damn she’s persistent, Blaze thought and rolled her eyes. Rarity’s pleading look and the light pout were breaking her defence. “Fine, you could maybe add a pattern, but nothing too flashy. I hope I’m not interrupting your preparations too much.”Rarity’s mood lightened immediately.“Oh I know just what to do,” Rarity scooped around Blaze taking measures. “Also think nothing of it, you’re a friend of Twilight and Princess Luna’s personal student. I see it as an honour to tailor this for you. It’s a shame though that you don’t want anything else.”Rarity was levitating an unbelievable amount of fabric, scissors and other tailoring utensils, handling each of them with precision.“I’ll bring the cape with me tomorrow, you can leave now,” Rarity said at the vague direction of where Blaze was standing. She opened the door with her magic and with a quick push she moved Serene Blaze outside and slammed shut the door behind her.Hmm, that was odd, Blaze thought and started making her way to the library.Around her the town was bustling. Foals were running around playing games, construction workers were rebuilding the homes that had been destroyed during the attack, tThe market was full of vendors trying to sell their various goods. Blaze took a deep breath, savouring the activity and almost forgetting her current state and the upcoming mission.Faster than she felt necessary she found herself knocking at the library door.The door was pulled open by a purple aura letting Blaze enter the realm of the lavender alicorn.“Hey Blaze, how was your visit at Rarity’s?” Twilight came down the stairs to greet her guest.“It was… interesting, but I got my order placed so it was alright I guess.” Blaze stepped through the library, making her way to the couch.“Yeah, Rarity can be a bit pushy, but she means well,” Twilight took place on the armchair next to the couch.” Now that you’re back and rested I’d like to talk to you about a few things.”Blaze sighed, “It’s about me, isn’t it?”Twilight nodded.“Alright, I’ll tell you a few things, but I’d prefer if that stayed somewhat confidential. Tell your overly suspicious friends if you must,

but don’t make it a big deal.”

Twilight nodded again and as both mares got into a more comfortable position Blaze began telling her story.The world was burning.In the middle of what had once been a village sat a sobbing filly. The ashes of her surroundings coated her with grey dust. Cries came from around her; a mob of angry faceless ponies carrying pitchforks formed a circle around her. The filly looked around, her fearful eyes filled with tears, not understanding how she could be the cause of this chaos. “Please, stop,” her miserable voice barely reached the villagers’ ears, ”I didn’t mean to…”The circle drew closer, trapping her helplessly inside; the small horn was trying to build up an aura.“Don’t fear, child,” a blue silhouette formed from the dissolving mob.” We have notice that you’re having this dream quite often. Are thou that afraid of your own might?”The filly looked up at the alicorn forming into existence in front of her,” Who are you?”“And that’s how I met Princess Luna,” Blaze had closed her eyes towards the end. “She offered me to help with magic training and with how to control my emotions, so that dream would never come true.”Twilight was moved by the short story, knowing how eager Luna always was to help whenever she could. Ever since her return she had been rejected by her subjects; finding someone who accepts her must have been blissful.Twilight looked into Blaze’s eyes and saw that the cerulean mare was lost in memories.“I think we should leave it at that for today,” Twilight said and got up from her chair.” We’ll leave early tomorrow and you need some rest. You can sleep on the couch if you want; I’ll have Spike bring you a blanket.”Twilight made her way to the stairs.“Thank you, Twilight.” Blaze nodded her head graciously.“You’re welcome,” Twilight closed the door to her room, sent Spike down. She lay down on her bed; thinking of the unknown dangers that she would be facing, her head began to whirl and she fell into an uneasy sleep.