The Moon and the Harvest Spirit

by Nharctic

Rating: everyone
Tags: Adventure, Princess Luna, Original Character
Length: 3525

The Princess of the Night, still weak from her time as Nightmare Moon, seeks the advice and assistance of an ancient Spirit from long before her time.

The Princess of the Night, still weak from her time as Nightmare Moon, seeks the advice and assistance of an ancient Spirit from long before her time- this is the story of that moment and those that follow.
A series of shorts involving the 'Harvest Spirit' and/or Luna as a way for me to practice, and thus improve, my writing skills.

Published 2014-03-15 22:00:10 UTC
Last updated 2014-03-31 15:36:40 UTC

Chapter 1: The Harvest Moon

The sun rose and fell, and it asked for no guidance. The moon was the herald of night, and it needed no herding. I know not what happened to change that, but perhaps the Children will need our guidance soon enough.

Tick.

Tock.

Time flows fluidly like a river; escaping your grasp as a fish will slip from even the strongest net. Even as the stream trickles by me now, I can see time moving on, eroding the foundations of the tallest mountains. Gods have risen in the wake of Our fall, but they always crumble away; the bits of foundation often used for another’s tower.

But there are always those who try to move against it; these are the ones who bring about ruin-- and also the fading of those who came before that time. The Children remember the greatest of mortals, but they do not remember the Spirits they prayed to. Spirits, Spirits of Earth, Fire, and Wind; of the fair harvest and of the lessened storm.

Now though, there are those who the Children name as gods-- of the Sun, the Moon... of Magic, and of Love...

They are not gods.

Alicorns, they call themselves. A fitting name, more so than ‘gods’...

The tome of many secrets lay open, its pages bearing spells of waking and binding. One such spell was being cast now, by the aura of moonlight and blue from which the tome hung.

“Wake, Spirit of the Second Age! Rise, and lend us thine wisdom!” Uttered the ‘Goddess’ of the Moon. She, personally, preferred the term ‘alicorn’.

Armor of strange make lay in front of her, armor made for a dragon. Silvery, intricate, and traced with white, the armor seemed to almost stir from the dust at her words. From all around her, a whisper sounded, “You... have awakened me, O alicorn of the Moon. What do you require of me?” The words were laden with a patient tiredness.

“I...” the alicorn paused, carefully considering her words. “I would ask that you could lend a fragment of your power to me, for I fear that I lack the ability to fend off opponents...”

“Discord, perhaps?” suggested the voice.

“Indeed,” agreed the alicorn.

The armor shook, glowing, burning orbs of blue appearing in the two eye slits of the armor. Like a dragon, the armor lifted its head. No longer a whisper, the voice echoed of wind, of air after the storm... of earth, fresh and tilled. “Perhaps... perhaps I will help you.”

In those times long gone, the Children called my kind ‘Dragons’. With our fall, shards of our essence must have been found by some of the Children, infusing them with our likeness- but cursing them with Greed.

The Dragons of old, as the few fragments of knowledge may recall, were offered gifts of wheat, of treasure, and of art in exchange for their assistance. I, at least, as a spirit of the Harvest and Storm, made the soil fertile for growth and brought rain to feed the crops.

But now, they have gone past the point where we are needed. Yet, I still live on. Perhaps... perhaps the Children still need me.

“Tell me, alicorn, what has happened since I last stirred? I know, of course, of greater threats... they trouble the land, and the land speaks to me.” the voice rumbled like thunder, echoing from the armor.

“The Elements have returned to the Tree,” started the alicorn, thinking.

“Ah, Luna. I had a feeling I recognised you,” interjected the Spirit. “And without the protection of the Elements...”

“I fear for Equestria’s safety. The Elements kept the land stable in the absence of Spirits such as you, and it seems we have many enemies. Without the Elements, the land may fall to ruin.”

The Spirit lay its head on armored forelegs, just like the dragons it resembled. “Children farm the land without my help, and alicorns are quite powerful. Your power should be more than enough to defend Equestria.”

Luna opened and closed her mouth a few times, struggling against herself. “I am barely stronger than the average Unicorn right now, and power is not returning, Spirit.”

Spirits, if they are not tied to the land around them or a suitable artifact, are very frail. I chose to bind myself to armor in case I lost my tie to the land, but it seems my fear was unfounded; Children plow the land and seed it, growing crops- apples, even. The Harvest continues, and thus power flows into me.

Immortals such as Luna are... different. Alicorns are mortals, yes, but they have a shard of primal energy in them, a shard that sometimes is bound to the world like a bandage, fixing a wound. They become immortal, standing in for a natural process they would normally only augment in their lifetimes.

This, as you would expect, gives them access to quite a bit of power.

“I see...” murmured the Spirit, like the soft rains pattering on a summer day.

“Can you help me, Spirit?”

The cave brightened slightly. “I am only a Spirit of the Harvest and Storm, Luna. I may not be very strong, but... I can lend you a bit of my power.”

Luna bowed her head, grateful. “I am in your debt, Spirit.”

The Spirit raised its snout, and the cave went pitch black. Gradually, a green glow illuminated the cavern, its source a small, green crystal in front of Luna. “Take it. All I ask is that you come here again next harvest, maybe with a bale of wheat...” the Spirit trailed off. “It has been a long time since I was needed.”

If I think back far enough, as far back as the beginning of the Second Age, I can remember when I moved from a small mountain to a town that another Spirit- a Spirit of the Winter and Ice, had recently vacated. I believe that Spirit is now known as the first Windigo...

Author's Note

Hey there!
It's been a while, but if you've read my other story, Darkness to Dust, you may remember I said I'd do a story about Luna at some point. This is that story.
Please, let me know what you think- and tell me if you see any grammar or spelling mistakes. I wrote this over the course of the seven hours, so... yeah.

Chapter 2: The Past

In that age of the world, I had a name. I was Messis and I was Sucellus, but to the Children I guarded, I was Harvest Storm. Not a clever name by any means, but an accurate one nonetheless.

Names, though, only matter when two are left to remember them.

The cavern’s spears of ice and winter melted at my presence, the earth below me turning from frosted dirt to fertile soil. Frozen Wind, the previous Spirit of this land, had fled at my arrival; she was no match for a Harvest Spirit, let alone one bound to armor.

I settled in, tired after my travels from the Old Lands. It would be a good while before the Harvest was to begin, so I had time to recuperate.

But wait... I sensed the approach of multiple Children, and none of them were bearing Wheat, Grain, or even a trinket. Odd, because Children are often bearing those things as bartering items.

They entered the cave, and I was feigning sleep. From my experience, ‘waking up’ as they approached made them feel better than me ‘staring’ at them the entire time.

I appeared to stir, lifting my armored head to look at them, and I was surprised at what I saw. Between two Children, both adult Earthen Ponies, was a young Unicorn- bound in rope of hemp.

Though I did not quite comprehend the why of this situation, I certainly understood what they were doing. “And why,” I asked, “Do you bring me a sacrifice?”

One spoke up, eyes downward. “B-because, Spirit, you demand them of us.”

I know that my transparent Essence became reddish in hue. Frozen Wind... She did not deserve the very Spirit Essence that Mother had made her of. “I am not the Frozen Wind. I do not demand sacrifices, and I never intend to. All I ask for is some of your last harvest- only a little- and with it I shall bless the next. This young one...” I trailed off. I summoned a light wind to put the poor thing into a light slumber. “Take her back to her parents.”

The two adults bowed, slightly terrified. “Y-yes, Spirit. W-wh-who are you?”

“I have been called Harvest Storm. Now, please, leave me to my slumber.”

Frozen Wind’s nature, having been revealed to me, gave me much to contemplate. Did we have the right to act as Gods? Mother was gone, and her Children were all that was left of Her.

We were the highest power, save for the few remaining Aspects- Death, Wisdom, and Arcane. Truth faded with Mother, I think. Death had his job, Wisdom is bound to the world, and Arcane was no longer a conscious being.

With no higher power, then were we not those who ruled the world? I did not think so. Perhaps others did, and though they had the right to use their powers, I refused to accept that they would demand sacrifices of the Children.

I blessed the young Unicorn with a glimpse of knowledge, that of the Stars. His name? Star Swirl, I think...

I was ripped back to the present by a shift in the world. The Moon was on Luna’s shoulders now, being raised into the sky- yet it was a mixture of my power and her magic that did it.

The Sun and Moon were equal again, and perhaps I was not just a remnant.

Author's Note

Sorry for the short chapter, but here you go! Another chapter or two should be out in the next week.

Chapter 3: Rainfall

“Luna... if you were that worried, you could have asked me. Dealing with Spirits is a hazardous prospect at best.”

Luna looked at her hooves, feeling more like a foal than an ancient alicorn. She had known the risks, but her pride had driven her to do it anyways. “Celly... I know that it was dangerous. I know what the Spirit could have done to me, but all it asked was for me to bring it some wheat next harvest.”

Celestia sighed, nuzzling her younger sister. “Ah, what does it matter? You’re here now, and we’re together.”

The fire was warm and merry in the study, the Moon was hers again. The tension that she hadn’t known existed melted away, and she let sleep envelop her.

It seems that the shard of power I lent you has opened a way into the Dreamscape of the land. How interesting. The voice echoed across the landscape of cloudy images, seeming more like thoughts than spoken words.

Luna reeled in shock. Dream floated about, but the voice came from none of them. The Spirit’s presence was everywhere, yet nowhere. “Reveal yourself, Spirit!”

Very well.

A swirl of astral wind turned green, crackling with lightning. From it, an orb of leafy green formed, a corona of white surrounding it.

Sounding bemused, the Spirit said, Is that better?

“Sort of.”

A long silence ensued. The Spirit drifted off, exploring the Dreamscape. What a curious place. Long have I sensed it, but never had I seen it before this night. What is it that you do here?

Luna looked across the Dreamscape; across the many clouds of images that represented dreams. “I guarded it from magical intrusion and soothed nightmares before... before I became the Nightmare.”

I see. Who would have the power to meddle with the Dreamscape, though? As the Spirit spoke, a tendril of light extended to touch a cloud swirling with purple. This one seems to be eavesdropping. The Alicorn of Magic, I presume?

The cloud shrank, vanishing in an instant. Oh. I think I woke her up.

Luna sighed. “I should go talk to her, I think. Twilight is most likely confused right now.” Her dream form faded, leaving the Spirit to its thoughts.

A lavender alicorn shot up, breathing heavily. What... what was that? Luna... and a Spirit?

The Spirit had noticed her ‘eavesdropping’. She hadn’t meant to listen in, but ever since she’d become an alicorn, she’d been able to see the ocean of images that was the Dreamscape. Twilight wasn’t able to enter another dream, but she could apparently see what went on in the Dreamscape itself.

A hesitant knock came at her porch door. “Twilight? I know you’re awake. May I come in?” asked Luna’s voice through the door.

“C-come in, Prin- ehm, Luna.”

Luna pushed the door open hesitantly, the faint glow of her horn illuminating the room. “Twilight, I’d hazard to guess you’re wondering what you just saw on the Dreamscape,” Luna stated.

“Y-yes, I am...” replied Twilight.

Luna took a deep breath. “Well...”

The Dreamscape is a beautiful place, shimmering with light and swirling with thoughts. I must admit that I took peeks at some of the dreams Children were having, but only a few interested me.

One of them was about the harvest, which of course became the center of my focus as soon as I found it. In fact, it was about the harvesting of apples. Sadly, it was a troubled dream...

Upon further inspection, the trees in the orchard seemed to be yielding few apples, and in the dream, the trees were bare of fruit altogether. Being a Harvest god, I could do something about it...

Applejack woke up to a roar of thunder and the rumble of rain. Hastily getting out of bed to look out the window, she was amazed to see the orchard visibly becoming greener.

In the back of her head, the wanted to see Twilight try and explain this. For one, the weather schedule said clear skies for the next few days, and secondly, trees never did anything quickly.

Luna sat down, done with her story.

Twilight thought on it, curiosity growing. “Would this Spirit know anything about magic or history?”

“Yes, it would know quite a lot about both. This Spirit in particular is ancient, though I cannot be sure of its true age,” replied Luna. Seeing what Twilight wanted to say next, she added, “Spirits are strange beings, Twilight. I’d leave this one be for a while yet before you even try contacting it.”

The gleam in Twilight’s eyes faded. “Oh... What if I brought it an offering?”

“Just... please don’t try and contact the Spirit just yet. I feel it is still processing how the world has changed.”

Twilight opened her mouth to reply, but a crack of thunder and a flash of lightning interrupted. A breeze that smelled of ozone and felt full of life began, bringing with it a light rain.

After a moment, Luna asked, “Was it scheduled for it to rain tonight?”

“No. It’s supposed to be clear skies,” answered Twilight. “Did you say that the Spirit had power over storms?”

“Yes, and I think it is the Spirit. I’m not sure why though...” Luna trailed off, lost in thought momentarily. Abruptly, she said, “I need to go ask the Spirit. Ponies aren’t fond of surprise weather, and Cloudsdale will probably have a minor planning panic if this storm sticks around.”

Author's Note

Hi there!
Please let me know if you see any errors with spelling or grammar, this chapter just... happened unexpectedly.

Chapter 4: Power

I let go of the Dreamscape, allowing my mind to return to my essence. I knew quite precisely that meddling with the weather would draw the attention of Luna, and quite possibly Celestia. It mattered not, though.

This was an excellent chance to show Luna exactly what Power meant to the Spirits.

“Spirit, you know that meddling with the wea-” began Luna, flaring her wings to land.

“I know that my interference was not advisable. You are right to tell me that, and I do not doubt that Celestia will arrive soon enough. Quite honestly, I do not care,” the Spirit interrupted, drawing itself up to its full height.

This is what Celestia had been worried about, and Luna had a sinking feeling that the Spirit was not quite as kind as she thought. “Then why did you summon the storm?”

The Spirit chuckled, a rich sound echoing of thunder. “I am Harvest Storm, Luna. I feel it is my duty to care for the Children as best I can, and one close by was in need,” Harvest proclaimed, “The Apple Farmers were going to have a failed harvest. The trees were beginning to die, though all they knew was that they were not doing well. I cured their disease.”

Luna opened her mouth to speak, only to close it as she processed what the Spirit- Harvest Storm- had said. Pausing for a moment, she composed her thoughts. “The Apple Family? Then you have my thanks, for I owe the Apple family much.”

“Well, excellent. I suppose you are still annoyed that I interefered, though. I care not what you think on that matter, but I do have something to show you.”

Luna sighed. Harvest Storm was one of the Spirits, and the Spirits were the greatest powers in the world- some acted like it, and some did not. So few remained, but Harvest Storm could shake off the combined powers of Twilight, Celestia, and Discord- but only within the land Harvest Storm was bound to. Outside of that, Harvest would no longer be practically indestructible- it would be quite fragile, actually.

“What is it?”

“Look inside yourself. I gave you Power, but you have not yet seen what it can do. You have drawn magic from it, yes, but that is simple,” commanded Harvest, “Grasp the Shard in your mind, and let it show you the way.” The eye slots in Harvest Storm’s armor glowed green, and she swore that a green dragon was wearing the armor.

Luna closed her eyes, reaching for the Shard with her thoughts hesitantly. She expected it to resist, but the Shard clung to her tendril of thought as if it were coated in sap. A blink of an eye, and a floodgate was opened, a rush of energy flowing through her. Luna had been able to tap into the Shard’s reservoir of energy to lift the Moon, but now... it was simply there. It was not isolated, nor was it part of her, but her spells would draw upon it without conscious effort to do so.

“Spirits are bound to the world because we are the world, Luna. Though some of us chose to use our Power to act as gods, others have seen that the Mother wished for us to care for the Children. I am the Harvest and the Storm, and though it is weakened me I must fulfill my duties- I have not for over a thousand years,” explained Harvest, lightly amused for some strange reason.

If she had not already been overwhelmed by the Shard’s release of Power, Luna would have noted Harvest Storm’s amusement was yet another example of the alien nature of the Spirits, and exactly how ironic it was.

“Hmm. Celestia arrives,” observed Harvest, snapping Luna back to the world at large.

“Luna, thank goodness. Have you gained any ground with the Spirit?” asked Celestia, gliding in elegantly. In any normal situation, her presumption would have been correct.

“Celestia. It has been... oh, over a thousand years, and you look exactly the same. How strange. The rulers represent the nation, I suppose,” remarked Harvest Storm dryly, before adding, “And yes, I shall let the storm abate. But if someone brings me an offering, I will quite happily use its energy to do what I wish with the harvest.”

The rain cleared instantly, wicking away as if sucked in by a great breath. The air was left fresh and smelling of a spring thunderstorm.

Celestia let out a pent up breath. “That was easier than I expected.”

Luna finally became articulate. “Why’d... where did the storm go?”

“I released my hold on the weather. I have always liked you two, so I suppose I... hrm. I owed it to you? No. Moreso, I value your presence,” it murmured, contemplating, “Though I do not regret calling the storm.”

“Why did you call the storm?” asked Celestia.

“Luna knows,” replied Harvest.

“I... see.”

Harvest Storm sighed. “Let us save pleasantries for another day. I am tired, and Luna has much to contemplate.” With a stir of ancient thoughts, Harvest Storm traced their paths in the sky, and pushed them back through the paths to Canterlot.

I do not know why I dismissed them. I was not tired, nor was I bored. It was not fear... was it?

I cannot see what I would fear from them.