Innocence and Instinct

~Celestia~

“Do you hear that?”

Luna’s gently inquiry, brimming with curiosity, startled me from my reverie. Flying was always a great time to just let my mind wander wherever I wanted and explore life’s great mysteries, a world of fantasy, whatever I wished. There was a certain serenity about being able to escape to my own thoughts so easily, but it wasn’t something I’d wish for regularly. There was too much to reality for me to send it all away on a whim.

However, the sound Luna reminded me of was something I actually had been trying to run from. I sighed and shook strands of my mane from my eyes. “Yes, sister, I hear it. He’s at it again, isn’t he?”

She gave me an uncharacteristically solemn nod as she spoke. “I’m afraid so.” She seemed more bothered by this than she usually did. The shrieks of the citizens of Equestria weren’t an uncommon sound when flying near the border--apparently their king had a fondness for the most startling, horrific, and sometimes harmful of pranks--and my heart was pained for them as well. I usually tried to block them from my mind, and it was rare when I could actually do it, so I was understandably frustrated when Luna broke my solitude and wound up worrying me over something I could do nothing about.

She didn’t share my feelings about this, apparently. Determination blazed in her eyes, eyes that seemed to bore into me and search my soul for the part of myself that wanted to fight by her side for the rights of the ponies of Equestria. “We have to save them,” she said, as more of an order than a statement.

“Luna,” I began, “it’s not that I don’t want to save them. I want to help them as much as you do, but we’re ponies just like them. If a whole nation can’t rise against one cruel ruler, what makes you think two ponies can? We’ll be killed or imprisoned for sure!”

“Don’t worry,” she tried to reassure me. “I have a plan. Or, at least the beginnings of one.”

Something in her voice gave me the feeling I wasn’t going to agree with her plan, whatever that may be, and I had an idea of what was on her mind. I opened my mouth to ask about it, but she gave me a mischievous grin that confirmed my worst suspicions. “No,” I told her firmly. “We can’t use those.”

The seriousness she’d held was dropped, replaced by her usual, more childish self. “Oh, come on, Celly!” she implored. “We’ve done it before and it never hurt anything!”

“Yes,” I replied, fixing her with a stern glare. “We have done it before--for dragons and droughts and manticores. We’ve never staged a national revolution for a country we don’t even live in, and we’ve never tried to take down what I’m pretty sure is the physical form of the spirit of chaos itself.”

“First time for everything,” Luna reasoned. When I didn’t waver, her gaze turned grim once more. “They’re ponies, just like us, and unlike them, we might actually have a solution to their problem. We’ve used the Elements of Harmony to help in other places we’ve never called our home, so why not here? We’ve helped with big problems before, and sure, they’re not as big as this one, but we’re saving the lives of this generation and generations to come. We’re not just removing a beast that would die on its own someday or ending a drought in a place where rain will eventually come. We’re stopping what could become eternal suffering.” Her eyes narrowed as she continued. “Unless, of course, you’re fine with seeing other creatures--ponies just like us, no less--suffer for the rest of their mortal lives just to entertain their leader?”

She looked so defiant, her bright blue eyes filled with a fire I’d never seen in her before and every stiff muscle of her body posing as a physical indicator that she was standing firm on her decision, no matter what. I hung my head, knowing I’d been defeated by both her determination and logic. This didn’t escape her notice, as I could practically feel the joy of her victory radiating from her as we flew, but she said nothing as we redirected our course back to Haven.

Haven was the home of the alicorns of old, though we were never many. For the longest time, it was just Luna, myself, and our parents, but after their passing, we gained a trio of new neighbors. We weren’t close, but as the only known members of our kind, we had a sort of bond that’s hard to explain. We protected each other, but being so different, we stayed reclusive from the rest of pony civilization until they needed us. It was better that we live our lives as normal creatures rather than be worshipped for the gods that we were not.

I followed Luna through the dense cloud forest, heart pounding with worry all the while. What if we couldn’t do this? We were such simple creatures compared to the complex monstrosity we were going to face. A physical entity of a natural force! Surely we were going to die.

Luna, seeming to sense my worry, looked over her shoulder and gave me a small smile that seemed to radiate both reassurance and defiance. That was all it took to remind me that, while we were surely going to perish, we were losing our lives for a worthy cause. If anything on this planet needed a savior, it was Equestria. Perhaps my sister and I could suffice if we tried hard enough.

She placed onto her neck the elements of Laughter, Kindness, and Loyalty. I quickly slipped into my own Magic, Honesty, and Generosity and looked to my sister to make sure she really was ready and wasn’t going to be backing out.

The sheer confidence radiating from her was the only answer I needed.