Chapter V: Set in Stone

[Unknown, Error, Unavailable; --:--]

“Sister...”

“Sister?”

“Celestia!”

A muffled voice again and again called out to me. It seemed familiar, as far as I could tell it was a she. The voice was pleading with me, wake up, it said, wake up! But that was quite a silly notion, after all I’m already up. I look over my kingdom with a gentle smile, the ponies going about their day, my sister was there beside me. We watched day after day.

“Luna do you hear what I hear?” I asked with little to no fear. “Tis quite an odd thing to occur. Hearing voices is quite absurd.”

She said no words, she said nothing. And so I stood there simply waiting. “Dost thou have any words to say? Any words at all to my dismay?”

I feared losing my sanity. Ideas and thoughts moving frantically. I sought her counsel, I sought her wisdom. I plead and I begged, but she gave me none. Again and again in the back in my mind, it said-it said, wake up. Oh sister of mind please wake up for the world has turned a muck.

What an odd little voice, it gave one choice. Wake up it says, wake up. But I’ve told thee already that I’m already awake and that I’m already up. And I have a sister, and she’s right here. Expressionless as can be. Now off with you little voice, and begone with thee.

“Sweet Luna, this voice shan't leave me alone. It toys, it taunts, it tortures me, please help me O’ please help me! Tell me how, oh tell me how, how do I escape this horrid tone?!”

I look to her and plead and plead, her face expressionless as can be…

[Everfree, 5 March 5 AD; 3:23 PM]

Celestia awoke to the pleas of her sister and the cackling madness that was Veigar. Looking over to the villain, all she saw was the black silhouette of him on a bright white canvas. She then looked to her sister who was sobbing, “Sister… please… please wake up. He’s destroying everything. I’m sorry… I’m sorry… I’m sorry. I couldn’t stop him. I wasn’t strong enough. If only I was stronger… If only I-”

“Luna…” Celestia interrupted her sister’s sorrows. “Tis alright sister of mine… Tis fine.”

“Sister!” Luna exclaimed in surprise, immediately embracing her sister. Reality struck her once more, “B-but the kingdom is in tatters. We can not win against him. You’re incapable of fighting, and... I… I am too weak. I tried again and again, but I couldn’t. I just couldn’t. And he continues to mock us unscathed,” tears once again fell upon the princess’s cheeks.

“Hush Lulu,” Celestia said to comfort her dear sister. “Go to the elements, and return with them. I shall distract him should he notice thy disappearance. When thou returns, we shall act feeble -meek even. And while his guard is down, we shall strike.

The plan is simple, straightforward, and effective. Veigar is easily irritable, so distracting should be easy. He is arrogant and that shall be his hubris. He belittles us and raises himself upon a pedestal. A pedestal far too tall and easy to tip.”

Celestia watched Luna sneak away in the corner of her eye. She gave her final prayers, and would let the plan fall in place. Veigar was far too distracted by the mayhem he was causing, and it would be a waste to bring him out of his stupor. The longer he did not know of Luna’s disappearance, the better it was for Luna to return unnoticed.

Now fully aware, Celestia devoted more of her energy on studying the creature. More specifically, its magical energy. The moment she delve into it, it felt wrong. This magic! It- it’s unnatural! No other creature has this form of magic, tis more chaotic and destructive than Discord… Wait… wait...T-that bright light… It can’t be. It can’t be!

“No! The kingdom!” Celestia clamped down her jaw the moment she uttered her last word. A bead of cold sweat ran down her brow to below her chin, ready to fall. Her eyes in shock to both what she had done, and the calamity before her.

Veigar’s head quickly snapped back to Celestia, his eyes were turned white like the carnage behind him. A glowing white smile, accessorized with black jagged teeth was plastered across the silhouette’s face, “So glad for you to join… us… What happened to little Luna? Did she run off and abandon you? I wouldn’t be surprised.”

“Luna would never do such a thing! A creature such as thyself could never bring down the might of Equestria!” Celestia defiantly brought her forelegs up to lift herself. Her gaze stern and unyielding.

“Have you not seen what your kingdom is becoming?” Veigar said, mocking her incapability to defend her kingdom. “Slowly, and painfully every creature and every plant will be decimated. Your magic shall be obliterated. This land will become desolate. And the two of you and this wretched castle will be the grand finale!” Veigar was once again cackling at the beaten down princess.

“Thou shan’t get away with this!”

“Such a cliché,” he chuckled. “I shall and I will. You can’t stop me, your sister can’t stop me, and both of you combined won’t stop me. It’ll take a magic macguffin to do so. And as wonderful and as nice as that would be, this is reality! Miracles do not happen.”

Veigar approached the grounded princess, who did not move a muscle. “Oh, and look at you. Look at you!,” with his gloved hand he grabbed the lower jaw of Celestia. “Such a divine specimen. A one in a lifetime opportunity!,” He forcefully turned her head side to side, examining her.

Celestia said nothing, accepting the minute abuse. “Not going to say a word? No worries, it’s exactly what I want. I’ve never been into the biological sciences, but these wonderful creatures are worth investigating. Perhaps I shall learn how to harness your so called magic,” He gave a smirk.

“And as for you... and little Miss Shadows over there!” With his magic he pulled Luna out from dark hall the led into the castle. And grounding her alongside her sister.

“Luna!” Celestia yelled as she heard her sister scream in surprise.

“I have plans. Such grand plans! You see, before all of this I had a very decent life. I woke up, worked, ate food, did miscellaneous activities, draw blueprints, attempt to prove my hypotheses. I was content. But now?” Veigar turned around and admired the view.

Entropy, the spell he had created, had ceased. In its wake was a deserted wasteland. The old buildings were torn asunder. The ravine had stretched further than ever. All living things were burnt to ash and faded into the wind. The scant few remnants conglomerated around the castle that was untouched.

“I’m ecstatic! A new world! New things! New laws! New everything! Such a joy for me to study such things. Granted, tearing this place down was not the greatest idea, but nevertheless there is more out there.” Veigar simply did not want to rule the world, he wanted to study it. He wanted to know everything he could possibly acquire from it. He wanted to use it for his own goals.

Celestia continued to listen to Veigar’s rant, the more she listened the more she was troubled. This is not the most conventional reason of conquering us. What gain would he have of studying and conquering us. What is he not explaining to us? Why must he study us?

“Why?” interrupted Veigar’s rant. “Why must thou do this to us, our kingdom?!” Celestia turned her head to Luna who was shaking in anger. “We have done nothing wrong! It twas thou who provoked us!”

“I need no reason.”

“What?”

“I said I need no reason you idiot. You are speaking with a creature from another world, who has lost all comfort, and who is completely insane! Or has that not crossed your mind!”

All went silent after that. Veigar continued to bask in his destruction, while the two princesses could only stare at him after what he had just said. Could they have been in the wrong since the beginning? Of course not, he was out right evil, and after what he did. The thought is inexcusable.

Luna turned over to Celestia, giving her a nod. The time was ripe and this was likely their only chance to stop him. He knew not of the Elements of Harmony. And from what they understood of him, Veigar knew nothing of this world. Looking back over to him, they saw that he held out some sort of metal tablet, distracted from them. It was now or never for the two princesses. It was then that the Elements of Magic, Loyalty, and Kindness encircled Celestia. The Elements of Honesty, Generosity, and Laughter surrounded Luna. Soon the Elements of Harmony would be ready to strike at the monster.

Unaware of the events transpiring behind him, Veigar continued to scroll through the pages of his tablets. Passing blueprint after blueprint with the occasional research paper in between, “Thank goodness this still works, I would have to start from scratch if it didn’t.”

“Now as for you two,” Veigar declared as he turned around only to drop his tablet as a pastel rainbow shot from two floating princesses, engulfing his entire persona. Unlike Celestia’s Celestial Ray of Death, as he called it, this stung him, burned him, as well as send shivers up his spine. The few moments he was caught in that rainbow felt like several excruciating hours of torture. Only to leave him the feeling of nothing.

The two princesses collapsed onto the dirt below. Their limbs tired and weak, their magic reserves nearly depleted, their mental fortitude was dwindling. But it was finally over. Judging by the Entropy, Tirek was destroyed. And looking at Veigar, he was cast in stone save for his odd metallic device and his scepter. The ground below his statue self gave out causing him to fall to fall to the ground below.

The sisters’ victory against Veigar was no victory at all. He had succeeded in destroying their kingdom. The haven they sought to create for ponykind after the Dark Winter, was gone. Turned to dust in a matter of minutes.

How shall we fix this mess? Celestia thought. We’ve been through so much already, I- I can just barely take this… I said that we would protect them, give them a home, care for them. Tis not fair, we have been good to this world yet it throws one thing after another at us. Again and again. Just why?

Tears began to form as she questioned all the things that caused them and their subjects such pain. But before she could let them fall, sobs cried out as Luna furiously yelled out to the sky.

“Why?! Why?! He have done nothing to incur thy wrath fate! Nothing! So why?! Why dost thou continue you to toy with us?! One after another! These are not trials! These are thy instruments of torture! We desire what’s best for the world of Equus! We seek not to destroy it! So why?! Why?! Why? Why…” Luna’s yelling fell to a whisper as she cried. Tears furiously falling across her cheeks. Her sniffling was quick paced as she continued to mouth the question, “Why?”

“Luna…” Celestia wanted to comfort her sister, but couldn’t find the words to say. No words of triumph, condolence, or empathy would stir her sister from her state. Staring at her sister, her own tears began to stream out. This was worse than Discord, Sombra, and the Windigos combined. This one creature had destroyed their kingdom in mere minutes, and they could do nothing to stop him before he used his spell.

“If only I was stronger,” this brought Celestia out of her thought. Instead of muttering why, she was now mutter this. “If only I was stronger I could have killed him sooner, I could have prevented this all from happening. If I was less arrogant and foolish, this would have never of happened,” Luna continued to mutter this as she cried.

“Luna, please do not say that… Thou had given all your effort to stopping him and we did do it. Thou art strong, we’re strong. We defeated him Luna, we defeated him.”

“Then what is this? A victory! Our city, our capital is in ruins! The ponies are gone, killed, fled! They shan’t ever want to see us again! We failed them! We could not protect them! We could not do it because we were not strong enough! You were not strong enough! I… was not strong enough…” With bloodshot eyes, and tears running down her cheeks, Luna flew off from the castle.

“Luna! Luna!” Celestia tried to go after her sister, but her wings were unable get her off the ground. Leaving her tumbling to the ground. “Luna… please… don’t…” The last she saw of her sister was her flying away as her vision turned black.

[Everfree, 6 March 5 AD; 12:04 PM]

Luna flew and flew, each push with her wings brought her further and further away from the catastrophe that was Everfree. It was when she had finally reached just past the decimated grounds that her wings gave out, leaving her to fall into the forest below.

She opened her tear encrusted eyes, to the sight of foliage surrounding her. “Where are we? I was flying an then…”

“Poor, poor, poor silly Luna. Art thou alright? Thy plummet from the night sky was quite something to behold. Twas like watching a falling star.”

“Where art thou! Show thyself!” Luna demanded as she painfully brought herself up.

“We’ve been over this before Luna. I am something thou can not see, until thou accepts the truth that is.”

“And what truth is that.”

“The fact that thou art weak. Thou claims to be strong and continues to do so. Thou wishes to be stronger. But in order for that to happen, thou must already be strong,” the voice giggled at Luna.

“Thou speak'st false words! Thy tongue is twisted with lies!”

“No, I speak the cold, hard truth. The truth that thou wishes to deny, and shrouds with lies. But I can show you the truth, and guide thee to thy true wish: power.”

Sweat was beginning to form as Luna continued to listen to the voice. Tis she right? Am I lying to mineself?

“Very well. What is thy proposition?” Luna said as she stood firm.

“Tis quite simple instructions. Just relax and listen to mine voice guide you. Keep your mind and heart open. Tear down those walls, and I can help thee. And thy destiny will be changed and set in stone.”

Author's Note

Here's another chapter! I really have nothing much to say but the usual, so I hope you enjoyed!

See any errors, plot holes, and or the like, just tell me and I'll fix it. Thanks!