-*-Princess Luna-*-
“Good night, princess.”
“Please, Diamond Tiara, ‘Luna’ is fine,” the princess replied as her magic pulled the covers up of the young pink filly. She smiled down at Diamond Tiara as she snuggled into the exquisitely soft sheets. Soon, the only thing showing there was a pony sleeping within this bed was a slight lump lying by the pillows.
Smiling, she blew out the single remaining lantern in the room and made her out of the guest quarters, nodding politely to Filthy Rich and Silver Tongue as she passed. They inclined their heads and murmured “Pleasant evenings Your Highness,” before they returned to their own quiet conversation.
She let them be. After all, she hadn’t come to visit with them, but the young ones. And with that done, she had other matters to attend to.
The halls of the Royal Palace were quiet this evening, which was a normal thing most nights even when she was holding her Night Court. Nights like these were ones she usually spent taking walks through the silent corridors, occasionally messing with some of the staff who were awake at this hour before moving on to work on her plans for the next evening's dazzling sky.
Not tonight, however. Her thoughts were elsewhere this evening, specifically on the guests who were currently residing within the palace, and would be returning to Ponyville within a day or two.
Diamond Tiara and her family were heading home tomorrow afternoon. The ones known as Cain and Strife would remain another day under the observation of both her and Celestia, an arrangement that Strife was already chafing at. And if she was anything like her erstwhile father, it could result in a fair amount of trouble …
Luna had argued that with Cain’s presence, Strife wasn’t likely to cause too much trouble, but Celestia didn’t share her own feelings on this matter. While Strife had improved, Celestia seemed to believe that she needed to be monitored.
In fact, that was part of the reason why Luna was walking these very halls in search of her sister. She was determined to find out why Celestia’s stance towards Strife had shifted so suddenly. It had only been three days since Strife and Cain had woken up, but Celestia had grown distant from everyone shortly after.
She had said she needed to look into something, and required peace and quiet to do so. It was at Celestia’s insistence that Strife remain in the guest quarters assigned to her, and under heavy guard at that, a decision Luna thought was rather excessive given Strife’s recent growth as an individual.
Assuming she could find her, of course. She’d spent the last two hours wandering the halls of both wings with no success, and was beginning to suspect her older sister was toying with her …
“Are you looking for me Luna?” came a flat voice.
Her eyes widened as she twirled around, finding the cool gaze of her sister looking down at her as she sat behind her. It was well that Luna’s reflexes overcame instinct, as she was able to discharge her gathering power harmlessly into the aether before it could manifest as a spell.
"That was not funny, dear sister!" Luna fumed. She took a breath, and tried to force herself to relax. "You disappear without a trace for hours and then you surprise me like that?” she asked through her teeth, “what's going on?"
For a moment, Celestia said nothing, staring at her. No, not quite … almost through her. Luna had seen that distant look before. Celestia’s thoughts were elsewhere.
Something was visibly troubling her, enough that she stood and moved past Luna without a reply, heading for a nearby balcony. Tentatively, Luna followed, electing to remain silent as she watched her sister.
Celestia seated herself near the edge, gazing down onto the towering roofs below of Canterlot. Lights twinkled all over the city as ponies remained up and about well after sundown..
Luna was torn from the brink of reverie, caught off guard once more as Celestia finally spoke up, “Lulu, you know how much the safety and security of our subjects matters to me, do you not?” she began, employing Luna’s pet name.
“Of course I do Celly, the safety of Equestria and all the Ponies living in it is something you make your top priority. I know you would do anything to protect them,” she replied, pulling her eyes away from the town to gaze at her sister. “Why on Gaia would you feel a need to ask?”
Celestia’s abruptly summoned a book with a dark blue, thick cover. On one side was the cutie mark of the great Starswirl the Bearded embossed in a bright, shimmering silver. On the other …
“I recognize this mark, it’s Twilight’s starburst,” Luna said as she took the book from her sister’s magical grasp and turned it over, gingerly noting the strong, enchanted aura boiling from its bindings.
Celestia nodded. “It is a book of prophecies, one of Starswirl’s last achievements before he vanished from our lands.” She didn’t even look at it as she closed her eyes, head tilting back.
“And a day will come to pass when a unicorn who beareth a mark of great importance shall be born, who shall surpass the accomplishments of others named and unnamed. This savant, this foal, shall usher in an age of renewed Harmony, and in the same gesture draw forth creatures of gloom and horrors unknown that shall strike at the foundations of Equestria and test all bonds of unity for the tribes and the world beyond.”
“One of his prophecies,” Luna stated, earning a confirming nod from her sister as she opened the book up, finding to her surprise that the first page was blank. As was the second, the third, the tenth. “Sister, I see no prophecies, nor do I sense any magic keeping me from reading this tome.”
“The other day, or even a week ago, you would have been able to,” Celestia said, her tone solemn as she opened her eyes and looked out towards the statue garden. “Before Discord revealed his plan and the Bearers bested him a second time, the book was full of prophecies that had come to pass, and ones that could bear fruit, for good or ill. Now … ” she trailed off.
Luna was no fool, and she quickly caught on to what her sister was implying. “Cain and Strife, their arrival has rendered the book blank?” she asked. “Surely they cannot be that important.”
Celestia chuckled at this. “Cain would probably agree with you, but Strife? Not so much. And she could be right.” A sigh followed this, and she glanced back at the book. “Flip to the center of the book,” she added. “It is not entirely blank.”
Luna did as her sister had instructed and found two pages that were in fact not blank. The words started on the left page, continued onto the right, and then began a new row on the left. Luna read the words aloud, a chill quickly running down her spine.
“Great promise and great danger shall come of the Scion of Disharmony, and shall affect all those within reach. But allow not prejudgment to taint thy estimation, but also not friendship to cloud thy caution. The Scion’s nature shall surely in the fullness of time be manifest in entirety. Harmony may guide the Scion down the path of light to the boon of all the world. Left naught but its own devices, the Scion will render Chaos to its worst, destructive will neither twisted patron nor Harmony could alone hope to stop.”
“It makes mention of only one child…” Luna said after a moment, her eyes roving over the ancient Equestrian letters just to make sure she wasn’t missing something.
“Indeed, and from a certain perspective, Strife is the only child of Discord. Cain after all was not born of him, merely copied. While Strife may have been a part of Cain, Discord gave it true life and freedom,” Celestia murmured softly, eyes closing once again as she continued, “If you look further ahead, there are no longer any predictions of events to come.”
And there weren’t. A quick scan through the remainder of the book showed nothing else. All the book’s magic was concentrated solely on those two pages. “This is what has been bothering you then,” Luna ventured, looking up and locking her eyes with her sister’s.
Celestia nodded once, sighing. “Yes dear Lulu, the implications of this development have indeed been on my mind of late. It is also why my demeanor toward the young Strife has changed.”
"’Starswirl the Bearded, thief, glutton, and quite possibly the most irresponsible mage I have had the pleasure to meet. And to top it off, despite dashing good looks, he’s a complete recluse!' Queen Majesty’s memoir, volume two, page fifty-seven."
Luna and Celestia glanced towards the source of the voice, spotting the serpentine form of Strife, who was giving both of them a cool gaze as she leaned against the doorframe.
"Strife?" Celestia asked, transparent worry and uncharacteristic surprise in her voice. No doubt she was wondering how long the Draconequus had been listening in on their discussion.
"Why so surprised, Celestia? I am no longer a prisoner, so I do believe I have the right to wander freely about the palace as I wish,” she said as she summoned up a nail file and started brushing it along her talons. “Amazing, some of the things you can find in the Royal Library.”
"Wait, were you following one of us?" Luna asked, wondering at, if it were the case, the lengths Strife went to not have been spotted by either of them.
“Oh, I was following you, though not to spy on you, per se,” she answered. Examining nail file for a moment, she bit down on it. Munching thoughtfully, she continued, “I had planned on tailing after you till you returned to your quarters. Figured something in there would give me inspiration for a good gift for you.” She sent a frown in Celestia’s direction, before finishing, “Given the way Celestia’s been acting, especially over something so silly, I’m not sure if I should give her the one I’ve already gotten.”
Celestia sighed, putting a hoof to her head. “You do know that breaking into the Royal Bedchambers is even on the best of days considered rather rude?” she began, then raised a preemptive hoof and continued, “Wait, don’t answer that … ”
“What is this gift you speak of?” Luna quickly interjected, earning a stern look from Celestia, shaving off a degree of enthusiasm. Pawing at the ground , she added “what? I do not get gifts often. Can I be blamed for being curious?”
“I haven’t gotten one for you yet,” Strife replied as she stepped closer, casually draping her arms around both sisters’ necks. Strife leaned over and eyeballed the book of prophecies. “So, what is this about me being in a magical book written by Equestria’s most impressive and somewhat infamous wizard?”
"Please Strife, take this seriously!” Celestia implored with a note of irritation, “There are significant predictions in here that have been largely accurate thus far. It would be unwise to disregard what’s left.”
“Please, just because I am an entity of Chaos doesn’t mean I have to be a being of Disharmony, if THAT is what you’re taking from that silly prophecy,” Strife replied, chuckling as she prodded a talon at the book itself. “Besides, that bit about ‘friendship’ clouding your mind is just foalish. For one, we already know that you’re going to be keeping a close eye on me
“For another, perhaps more importantly, Starswirl didn’t understand Friendship. He was like Twilight before she met the other element bearers, only taken to eleven. Minus the whole OCD thing. Probably.” She swiped the book from Celestia’s grasp and then stuffed it in her mouth. “Besides, unlike Discord, I’ll soon have things that will tie me down to Equestria. Things that will make me, gag, care about others more than myself. Discord could do nothing but gain from being the Spirit of Disharmony, but I don’t see me benefitting from that role.”
Strife turned and started walking back inside, her tail flicking Celestia smartly on the muzzle as she passed. “Relax, Celly, you have nothing to fear from little ol’ me.”
Celestia glowered at her as she left the scene, spitting the book out and grumbling “You can say that all you wish, but that doesn’t mean it’s true.”
Luna shook her head, glancing from her sister to where Strife had been standing before finally venturing, “She does speak the truth though sister. Strife is not Discord, and the experience she has gone through already shows that the magic of friendship is affecting her, even if she’d rather not admit it in such a way that implies she is at all happy about it.”
“I am aware of this sister, and do hope that she will grow into a wonderful, kind individual,” she said, giving Luna a loving smile and a brief nuzzle before her expression returned to its solemn state.
“But Strife can only chose to pursue such a path on her own. I do not believe she will pursue it forever, and that in time she will be faced with a choice. And I am not certain she will make the choice we would all hope for.”
“Celestia,” Luna began, placing a hoof on her sister’s shoulder as she looked towards her, a glimmer of resolve in her eyes as she declared, “if that happens, then I know you—we—all of Equestria will be prepared.
“But please, do not give up hope. Remember that prophecies, like dreams and nightmares, can be self-fulfilling.” Luna turned her gaze to the castle wing where Strife was staying. “Do not be the one who pushes her in that direction.”
Celestia hummed at that, her tone becoming somewhat playful as she asked, “are we talking about the future now, or the past?”
Luna harrumphed, sticking her tongue out as she said, “Perhaps it is both, dear sister, that I speak of. It need not be either one or the other.”
“Hmm … ” The soft hum echoed softly in her sister’s throat as she began to make her way back inside. She glimpsed back at Luna, her eyes sad as she said, “I have no intention of making that same mistake, Luna, Not with you, Strife, nor anyone else. but as much as I may wish to fan the flames of hope in my heart, I must be prepare myself for any possibilities.”
She turned and strode on out, a soft whisper floating back to Luna as she heard Celestia add “But I will no longer let what could be affect how I treat her in the present.”
At this, a smile spread across Luna’s face. She turned her attention back to the book of prophecy. A blue aura hummed into being around it as she plucked it up with her magic, paging through it for awhile but finding nothing more than its single, ominous prophecy.
She was again left with an odd feeling regarding it, understanding where her sister’s feelings were coming from, and wondering why only Strife was included. After all, given the right, or rather, wrong circumstances, Cain could possibly become just as much of a problem as she could be. So why only Strife?
Perhaps the book would reveal more in time. After all, Celestia had said that some of the predictions appeared and then disappeared...
Bringing the book with her, Luna followed on after her sister, deciding to go make sure that Strife wasn’t trying to do some more late night pranks on the guards and staff, but hoping that such antics would be all that she, her sister, or all of Equestria would have to worry about when it came to the new Spirit of Chaos…
-*-Cain/Strife-*-
I had been napping within the confines of my ‘room’ in our mindscape, the key phrase here being ‘had been.’ I awoke the moment I sensed Strife laying down for bed, her chaotic presence joining me here in the mindscape. The two of us were as of late spending time remodeling and changing some things around when we weren’t out and about with everyone else. It was a fair bit more chaotic and stormy then it normally was, and I found myself wondering what had happened while I wasn’t paying attention.
I decided to speak up, "Hey, are you okay?"
Strife didn’t respond immediately. With an annoyed sigh, I headed over to her room, pulling the covers off her as I asked again, “Yo, mopey pants, ya’ll right?”
"No,” She finally said after a moment, keeping her back to me. “Stupid prophecies."
"Huh?" I asked, honestly confused, “What’s this about prophecies?”
Strife squirmed about for a few seconds, before sighing as she said "Look, if I ever become as evil and deranged as Discord is, please promise me you and DT will stop me, no matter what."
I blinked at this, especially with how serious she sounded. This was, well, still Strife, and comprised in large parts by my darker side. Or at least she used to be.
"Why are you asking me do that? Just what happen—" I began before Strife turned toward to reveal that she was crying—something that, to be honest, scared me more than Discord.
"Because I CARE,” She hissed with a touch of venom. “I don’t give two horse apples about Celestia, but Luna, you, Twilight Sparkle, Diamond Tiara and the other fillies … you are all my friends,” she admitted, seeming resentful of the very words pouring from her lips.
A scowl spread across her face as she rolled out of her blue cotton candy bed, growling as continued, “Chaos cannot be predicted, chaos wants to be free, chaos makes its own rules.” The scowl thinned a bit as her gaze bore into my eyes. “I can be more focused that Discord. He just did things on a whim. He played jokes on ponies. Sure, some of them were cruel, but they were just jokes.
“Me? I have entire universes to draw from. Heck, Earth itself offers plenty of ideas on ways to bring Equestria, or even this whole world, to it’s knees.” Her voice dropped then, becoming a whisper, forcing me to step closer as she said, “It scares me brother…, what if one of you gets hurt? What if one of you dies? What will I do when full of anger and grief? Heck, what if I just get tired of playing this Friendship game and give in to who I am deep down?"
None of this really answered, not directly anyways, what I was wanting to know. But I’m not stupid. I could be dumb sometimes, thick headed even, but with everything she was saying, and the mention of prophecies …
“Listen, Strife,” I said, biting my lower lip as I thought about how best to go about saying what needed to be said. “Who you are, deep down, is what you want you to be deep down. No matter what some prophecy, which I still don’t know about I might add, says about you, your path is your own.
“I know it sounds cheesy and cliché, but we all make our own destinies.” I said, my voice becoming firmer as I pulled her into a hug and gave her shoulders a reassuring squeeze before continuing, “I’m sure that if you really do care, if you don’t want to become like Discord, or worse than him, then you won’t.”
I let out a chuckle added, “Heck, in your case, I am certain of it. You’re worse than I am. If you don’t want to do something, you will go out of your way notto do it.” I raised a paw up, wiping one of her tears away as I said “You might have the capacity to be a monster, Strife, but you’ll only become one if you choose to be.”
Strife let out a small sniffle, before pushing me off and saying, “You’re right, that was cheesy and cliché. Blech! Now I feel all gooey and gushy.” She dried up the rest of her tears, harrumphing as she gave me an annoyed look. “Couldn’t you have found some other way to say all that mushy stuff?”
I snickered. “A, because it bothers you, and B, because it’s still true.” I didn’t bother hiding the grin on my face, even as I gave her head a poke. “So, feeling any better?”
Strife grunted before muttering “still feel icky and gooey.” She moved back to her bed, the anger and sadness coming off her seeming to have lessened considerably.
“I’ll take that as a yes,” I replied, throwing the covers at her as I moved towards the door leading back to my room. I paused at the threshold, gazing back at what I had, for so long, considered my darker half as she cuddled up underneath her bed. “Good night, Strife. Pleasant dreams.”
Another grunt, followed by “go drown in a vat of chocolate pudding” was all that I was likely to receive. With a shake of my head, I left her to her rest, a yawn escaping my lips as I decided to settle in for the the night as well. With me out of the room, Strife simply snuggled into her comfortable cotton candy bed, a small smile on her face as her red eyes flashed brightly for but a second. She chuckled softly, shaking her head in bemusement before closing her eyes and drifting off to snoozeland, clutching a familiar, yet different doll in her talons.
Author's Note
Hey folks, this took longer then I thought it would, but I want to thank the pre-readers, I also want to thank Pinklestia, and finally, to all the good folks who kept on reading and commenting in A Jewel of a Problem, I thank you too.
