Umbra Saga: Out of Time

Something could be heard skittering around the royal bedchamber. Princess Celestia stirred and sat up in her bed to survey the room. Through the darkness she could see nothing out of place as the noise ceased. The paintings and tapestries adorning the stone walls were untouched, a few last embers glowed in the hearth, and the room remained empty save for her.

With a weary sigh, she laid down and shut her eyes again. As she did so the sound returned, now closer and louder. Again she sat up and glanced about. Nothing was there. Laying down hesitantly, she once more tried to get back to sleep.

Just as she was getting comfortable, something warm dripped onto her cheek. Wiping it off with a hoof, she opened her eyes to find a dark figure standing over her. The familiar face formed a twisted grin, strands of saliva hanging between many long, needle-like teeth. A pair of massive, round eyes glowing with green light glared at her, sending a chill down Celestia’s spine.

The princess let out a terrified scream and found herself sitting up alone in her bed, beads of cold sweat covering her face. The chamber door burst open as two armed guards rushed in, spears at the ready.

“Your Highness! What happened?” one stallion asked in a gravelly voice.

“I-it was n—” Celestia panted, struggling to calm her breathing. “It was nothing. Just a bad dream.”

The guards looked at each other in confusion before the first one spoke again: “Shall I notify Princess Luna?”

“No, thank you,” she replied. “I’ll be fine.”

“We’ll be right outside if you need us.” The guards each gave a salute and exited the room, shutting the door behind them.

Celestia laid back down, pulling a soft blanket over herself. Her heartbeat slowed to its normal rate as she stared up at the stars painted on the ceiling. She let out a sigh and lay there, wide awake, for the rest of the night.

* * *

Rays of sunlight filtered down through what remained of the derelict castle’s ceiling, bathing the great library in a warm, golden glow. Shelves filled with ancient books and volumes lined the walls as they stretched the length of the hall. The stone floor was littered with debris from that of the second storey—which had long since collapsed—revealing another row of bookshelves atop the first. Several thick vines snaked their way through cracks in the far wall, from beyond which echoed the incessant chatter of forest insects.

Seated at a long and battered wooden table, Twilight Sparkle skimmed through the contents of a worn tome while her faithful assistant, Spike, busied himself reshelving a growing pile of discarded books. With an exasperated sigh, Twilight closed the one she was reading and put it aside.

“Ugh!” Twilight threw her hooves into the air. “This is ridiculous! There has to be something here about the changelings. Surely somepony in ancient times must have known about them.”

“Why the sudden interest in changelings?” asked Spike as he took a large book under arm and began climbing a creaky ladder behind her.

“Since I haven't found anything about that strange box that sprouted from the Tree of Harmony, Princess Celestia asked me to keep an eye out for anything I can find about the changelings that attacked Canterlot.”

“But Princess Cadance and your brother defeated them, remember? Surely the changelings won’t try that again.”

“The spell they cast at the wedding to repel the changelings was a stroke of luck, Spike. There’s no guarantee they can do it again if needed.” Twilight took a deep breath. “And even if they could, what if the changelings attacked two places at the same time? Cadance and Shining Armor can’t be everywhere at once, and with the Elements recently returned to the Tree of Harmony, Equestria is vulnerable to attack. The changelings could return at any time and we might not be able to stop—”

Twilight paused and noticed her wings were keeping her airborne; she had developed a bizarre nervous habit of subconscious vertical flight after she became an alicorn. Landing in her seat again with an embarrassed blush, she grabbed a fresh book and cleared her throat.

“Well when you put it that way…” Spike’s arm was outstretched as he clung precariously to the ladder, attempting to place a heavy book back on the top shelf.

“My point is, we need to be prepared, just in case,” Twilight stated matter-of-factly.

A sudden cry made her jump and spin around just in time to catch a falling Spike with her magic. Half a dozen books were scattered all around him.

“Careful, Spike. These books are very old and fragile.”

“Sorry, Twilight,” sighed Spike. Brushing himself off, he picked up a book from the ground and briefly glanced at the cover. “Riddles of the Fae,” he read aloud. The book’s title was embossed in elegant gold lettering on a forest-green background. “Huh, what’s ‘the fae’?”

“Fae are mythical creatures from olden times, Spike. I saw that one earlier but left it on the shelf. I’m not sure why it’s in the nonfiction area.”

Twilight levitated the book and baby dragon onto the table in front of her. Checking the book’s table of contents, she turned to ‘An Introduction to Fae’ and began reading aloud: “In the early days of Equestria, tales abound of mysterious creatures called fae, who lived in the forests and other wild places. ‘Tis said that when a pony got lost in the woods, a fae would sometimes appear and help them find their way home. But other times, the fae could be wicked and mischievous, leading the pony deeper into the forest so they’re never seen again.”

“That’s not very nice,” commented Spike.

“Descriptions of fae appearances are varied, coming in all shapes and sizes. Some are bright and colourful, while others are dark and twisted. Most are said to be eerily beautiful, but some are horribly grotesque. They generally share one common theme, however: they typically resemble ponies with insect-like wings.”

“Dark and twisted? Like ponies with insect wings? That sure sounds familiar,” Spike remarked, placing a claw to his chin.

“You’re right! That does sound a lot like changelings. Maybe somepony saw them long ago and thought they were fae? Great find, Spike.”

“Eh, it was nothin’,” claimed Spike, looking quite pleased with himself.

Turning the page, Twilight found something she was not expecting to see: a detailed spell formula so big it took up two whole pages. “Wow,” she muttered. “This is the longest and most difficult spell formula I’ve ever seen. It looks impossible to cast.”

“Psh, no way.” Spike stood up and crossed his tiny arms with pride. “You’re the most talented magic user in Equestria! There’s no spell you couldn’t handle.”

“I don’t know about that, Spike,” Twilight mumbled. “I appreciate the vote of confidence, but this is some highly theoretical stuff. It looks like creation magic.”

“Huh? What’s that?”

“Well, conjuration magic is only temporary; it takes existing magical energy and converts it into matter. A conjured item lasts a certain amount of time based on the caster’s skill and power, then reverts back into energy,” Twilight explained. “Creation magic actually brings new matter into existence. It’s believed to be how Equestria as we know it was formed.”

“Magic that can create worlds? Woah,” Spike remarked in awe.

Twilight ignored him, turning the page to read on. “The author notes that they were never able to cast the spell—creation magic is simply too much for pony minds to handle. Hmm.” Twilight placed a hoof to her chin. “Now I know why this book was in the nonfiction section. What I don’t get is what this has to do with old ponytales.”

Twilight began to skim through the book in search of anything about changelings. It soon became apparent that this was actually an essay on something the author called ‘fae magic,’ which they proposed was the same as creation magic. The author insisted that fae were real, and had included several witness accounts of fae encounters along with hoof-drawn illustrations.

One such illustration made Twilight gasp and sent a shiver down her spine: a long, curved horn with several large holes seemingly carved out of it. Fresh memories resurfaced of that same gnarly, black horn gleaming with dark magic as it struck down Princess Celestia at the royal wedding in Canterlot. The horn of the changeling queen.

“This isn’t good,” said Twilight. She turned her head toward Spike, who was now frozen in place, staring at the image on the page. “I don’t know about fae. But this book suggests changelings may be capable of using creation magic. If that’s true, we’ve greatly underestimated them.

“Spike, take a letter. Princess Celestia needs to hear about this.”

* * *

Celestia sat tiredly on her golden throne, staring at the letter floating before her. “Fae using creation magic? I’m sure I’ve heard this theory before,” she wondered aloud, yawning drowsily.

“Of course, sister.” Princess Luna nodded beside her. “‘Twas the final work of Jinxie Umbra. As I recall, she was ridiculed for it by even Star Swirl.”

“Ah yes, I remember now. The old stallion made some unusually harsh comments about Dr. Umbra’s theory.” Celestia winced at the memory. “He quickly changed his attitude after the... incident, however.”

Luna shifted uncomfortably, lowering her head in sorrow. Celestia saw this and offered a hoof, which her sister gladly took hold of. Luna looked up and met her gaze, and the pair exchanged small smiles.

“Jinxie—Dr. Umbra, that is—” Celestia corrected herself. “She was onto something. Her spell worked, as Star Swirl attested. Though it took a devastating toll on her.”

“And now it becomes apparent that the changelings may wield that very same power.”

Celestia shuddered at the thought. Releasing Luna’s hoof, she rose and slowly descended from the dias, stretching her limbs as she followed the strip of fuchsia carpet down the hall. After passing several ornate columns, she halted in the magenta light of one of many stained-glass windows.

With a single flap of her wings, Luna gracefully glided over to her sister’s side. Inspecting the window for herself, she recognised it as the one commemorating the royal wedding of Princess Cadance and Shining Armor, and their victory over the changelings. The couple’s figures were posed so as to form a heart over the city of Canterlot.

“We came so close to losing everything that day,” Celestia murmured.

“I should have been there. I should have been at your side,” Luna growled. “I’m such a fool.”

“Don’t be so hard on yourself. You would’ve been exhausted after your night-long watch. And there were just too many of them.”

Luna grunted at what she perceived to be an insult to her strength, but said nothing. A moment of silence passed as she played out detailed combat scenarios in her mind. A thousand years sealed away in the moon had not diminished her warrior spirit.

“If they truly can use creation magic, they must have held back during the invasion,” pondered Celestia. “Perhaps they figured they wouldn’t need it?”

“Or perhaps they did use it, before our very eyes?” Luna turned to look her sister in the eye. “The entire city’s garrison captured within minutes, despite being on high alert? All bound with a strange, green slime which the enemy conjured, yes? Perhaps it was not conjured at all.”

“You may be right, though it would be difficult to tell for sure since it was all destroyed by the magical blast.” Celestia glanced up at the window. “If it was creation magic, they are no doubt capable of far worse. Either way, our chances of defeating them a second time—without the Elements of Harmony—are slim.”

“Then we need help,” Luna stated. “Somepony who understands their magic. Somepony who can find ways to defend against it.”

Celestia sighed deeply. “What you suggest is risky at best.”

“It has been a thousand and one years.” Luna gingerly wrapped a wing over Celestia’s back. “Surely ‘tis time to release her?”

“It was never about punishment.” Celestia looked to Luna with sadness in her eyes. “She was at risk of suffering the same fate as her sister. The spell she used against Star Swirl left her highly saturated with dark magic.”

“Then we must support her recovery. We owe her that much.”

“That we do. But I fear it will not be enough.”

“If the void sickness cannot be treated, then I will save her the only way I can. ‘Tis what she would want.”

Celestia looked into Luna’s eyes with concern. “Are you sure you can do it, if it comes to that?”

“Too many have suffered on my account. I will not let her fall to madness.”

“Very well.” Celestia sighed again. “We will need to make some arrangements, but time is of the essence. We’ll release her tonight once you’ve risen the moon.”

“You fear the changelings will return soon?”

“The nightmares are getting worse.” Celestia shuddered and turned to face her sister. “Every night when I close my eyes, I hear them skittering in the darkness. I’ve seen the looks the guards give each other—they think I’m losing my mind. Perhaps they are right…”

Luna stepped forward and embraced her sister. “Do not say such things, Celie. Everypony here respects and looks up to you. And if the queen dares show her blighted hide again, she shall choke on my spear. I will not allow her to harm you again.”

“Do not underestimate her as I did. Not only is she powerful, but cunning also. If anything were to happen to me—”

“—Nothing will happen to you on my watch,” Luna insisted.

“Equestria will need you, Luna.”

“Just as it needs you, sister. Fear not—Jinxie Umbra will find a weakness and we shall drive these monsters from Equestria.” Releasing Celestia from her embrace, Luna began to make her way to the pair of large wooden doors that served as the royal court’s entrance and opened them with her magic. Stopping in the doorway, she looked back over her shoulder. “I will see to it that all the necessary arrangements are made. Shall I have some tea sent for you?”

“Thank you, Luna. Have it sent to my quarters, please.”

As the sound of Luna’s hoofsteps faded, Celestia peered up at the window once more. Her eyes widened in horror as she noticed the image of Canterlot covered in green slime. A familiar, cruel laugh echoed in her mind. She shut her eyes tight and shook her head before opening them again. The picture had returned to normal. Sighing wearily, the princess turned and headed quietly out the door.