The prince of a thousand faces
"And what is that you offer me in exchange for our protection? I doubt your little hive has many workers or even decent spies," Metamorpha said in a confident tone, the drone below her throne was kneeling down. A sign of respect to the hive that had opened its doors to an emissary.
"Our queen has just laid her last eggs. Among them, we have identified the egg of a king changeling. That, that egg is our bargaining chip," Metamorpha bit her lip as soon as she heard that.
'The news of my husband's death has already reached other hives. Not a bad move, I can see where he is going with this. If they caught wind of that information, they ought to know about the egg we currently have. Now, I have to both make sure to make them keep their end of the bargain, and find the snitch that is spreading news of our affairs to the other hives.'
"Therefore, you want to offer a changeling king to continue my lineage alongside my daughter, am I correct? To make it stronger," Metamorpha concluded crossing her legs and resting her head on her hand. Her green mane fell over partially covering her right eye.
"That is correct queen Metamorpha. I humbly apologize for such an underhanded use of your grieving. But our hive is in serious danger due to another nearby hive trying to destroy us," The drone apologized as it kept his gaze locked on the ground.
"Very daring, I'll give you and your brothers that. However, who is to say you're telling the truth? I require proof. Or..." Metamorpha saw the changeling's ear twitch as it heard those words, he was paying attention. And if he was as smart as their little plan was, he would understand what she was going for.
"Some sort of compromise, correct?"
"Yes, young one. If I were to accept your offer and my daughter ended up with your next king, our hives would be considered one. That means your hive would have access to our army, while our hive would get a hold of a territory within the borders of those damned sisters, with the added bonus of an extra territory once the opposing hive that is threatening your hive is dealt with."
"It is a win-win situation," The drone commented with a low tone.
"Unless you were lying and just ended up spreading our forces thin allowing an attack from nearby hives," Metamorpha said getting off her throne and flying over to the drone, once she was in front of him she kneeled down and held his head making him face her. The drone seemed to be flustered with the proximity. "However, rejoice child, for I am willing to accept your deal. Under one condition, I am giving your hive a week's time to get the egg here. Thanks to our channellers we can send you back to your hive without any trouble."
"And the catch being?"
"If you fail to deliver the egg or happens to send a fake one, our troops shall subjugate your hive and the one giving you trouble. You shall be nothing but mindless servants to us, working on an underground network to connect the hives."
The drone's ears perked up and he backed away from Metamorpha, she understood his fear. The subjugation was a ritual performed by a changeling queen after a war between hives was settled. The victims of that ritual were forced to do the bidding of the victorious hive.
Thoughts, memories, the sense of self. All of that would be locked away after performing the ritual. A simpler, weaker, and more limited version of this ritual was the subjugation spell. But given their situation, it would be useless to even consider that.
"I am aware of the fear you're feeling, child. How about a different perspective? If you succeed, your home will be safe and part of a bigger kingdom. If you fail, you'll still end up with your home safe and will still be part of a bigger hive," Metamorpha explained with a dark grin on her muzzle. She watched the drone shake his head to the sides before gulping.
"V-very well, we shall send a convoy to escort the egg here as soon as possible. Thank you, for your 'kindness'," Metamorpha giggled at the glare the drone was giving her.
'Accepting a contract like that without batting an eye? They must be so desperate.'
"You will learn to appreciate this kindness, little one. Guards! Escort this drone to the channellers' room."
As soon as the foreign drone left the room, Metamorpha flew up to the highest point in the throne room. Simply touching the wall made it morph into a hole, the path led to a small room decorated with children's toys and things she had her soldier extract from other kingdoms.
The room was illuminated by a single enchanted window that allowed the light from the moon and sun enter. At the end of the room, there was a single rock formation that Metamorpha had carved herself. On top of that formation, there was an emerald green egg resting within the moon's light.
Metamorpha walked up to the egg and caressed it. "I'll secure your future, my dear little Chrysalis. You will rule the largest hive that has ever existed in our history," Using her eyes she saw the interior of the egg, the silhouette of her daughter appeared before her eyes. Only the changeling kings and queens had the eyes that allowed to see the interior of the eggs, amongst other things.
A smile formed on her muzzle, a warm feeling filled her chest as she watched her child move within the egg. The pride of her creation, the need she felt of securing that small creature. It all amounted to that little egg. 'How I longed for your arrival. My daughter, you will be the greatest leader our kind has ever had.'
Metamorpha then looked out the window, the moon was up and the sun was starting to rise, however, the moon didn't move. A recurring event in the past few days, almost as if the moon refused to set.
'Are we having trouble in paradise?'
(Two days before the end of the deadline)
"How are we looking over there, brother?"
"There doesn't seem to be any signs of the enemy."
The channeler chosen by the queen watched as her brothers kept leading her and received reports from their lonely scout. In her arms the means of saving her home, tightening her grip the further away they went from the hive, she would follow all of her brothers orders.
Their route to the badlands passed by the Everfree forest, if they were to fly from that point on, they could arrive in their destination with one day to spare. However, sightings of the enemy hive soldiers combined with the Eclipse that had just happened the previous night, which was accompanied by a colorful light show.
All that led to them to take the ground route, which would let them get to Metamorpha almost at the limit of their time. The path so far had been safe, only a few sightings of ponies carrying furniture and clothes in some sort of convoy guarded by guards that would only appear after the guards had returned. They seemed unusually fast on their hooves.
As they walked, the channeler felt a stinging pain hitting her shoulder. Instinct kicked in, she bolted away as fast as she could. Her brothers reacted as soon as she passed by them.
"Take the egg! Don't stop no matter what!"
Without batting an eye, the channeler did as instructed and ran as fast as her legs could carry her. The sounds of the magic and fighting slowly fading as she kept running, once the sound was far enough, she opened her wings and took flight. However, in a matter of seconds after getting over the trees, a stronger pain hit her on her back paralyzing her wings and making her crash land.
The channeler managed to protect the egg during the crash, at the cost of her own body. Her landing made her hit what looked like a wall from a ruin, which crumbled over her legs crushing them. The channeler placed the egg on her side before lighting up her horn and lifting the rock, then she rolled to the side, grabbed the egg, and started to crawl away.
'Can't stop here. I need to get this to Metamorpha's hive!'
Another blast hit her back, making her drop the egg. The channeler's vision started to darken, she set her sights on the egg and dragged herself toward the blurry image. Upon reaching it, the channeler hugged the egg using her body as a shield. The world felt cold, the lights got brighter, before her eyes, the channeler saw the image of her home. Her brothers, sisters, her queen and mother, all the newborns. All of them greeting her and welcoming her back, as her breathing slowly stopped alongside her heart.
(Earlier that day ruins of the castle of the two sisters)
'There, now the Timberwolves should stay away from my subjects now. I wonder how the evacuation is doing. I and Luna ended up destroying a huge part of the city...Luna...how could I let you get that desperate? Celestia, focus! Your citizens need you!'
Celestia went back to the damaged streets, all of her subjects bowing and praying to her as she passed like some sort of deity. They all saw her as a hero, their hero. To them, the incident that took place in the previous night was the machinations of a terrible creature, Nightmare Moon.
The only ones that knew what had truly transpired were Celestia, Luna, and Starswirl the Bearded. Celestia kept doing her rounds and helping the citizens that seemed to be having trouble with the evacuation. Seeing her own sister turn into that creature filled her with grief and fear. If her sister could be corrupted by the fear of not being loved and the feeling of being tossed aside...could her subjects suffer the same fate?
She wouldn't dare entertain the thought of letting it happen again. Celestia decided under the black image she created on the moon after banishing Luna, that she would do everything she could so that never again let any of her subjects be a victim of such a fate.
"There, is this the last of your luggage?" Celestia asked with a soft tone as she paced the last briefcase on the wagon that would escort a small family with a newborn.
"Yes, your Highness. Thank you so much. May your golden sun never again be faced with such darkness," The father said bowing before her.
"PRINCESS! PRINCESS!" The shouts of the guard made Celestia turn around in the blink of an eye.
"What's the problem?!"
"Some strange creatures are fighting amongst themselves near one of our convoys! They're using magic and we are short on forces!"
Celestia didn't even answer, her wings shot open and she took to the skies. Flying with all the speed her wings allowed, Celestia headed towards the lights that shone through the treetops. As she did, a creature she didn't recognize flew above the trees.
The creature was heading straight towards the castle. 'The scavenging team is still there looking for documents worth saving! I can't let it reach the castle!'
Charging up her horn, Celestia fired up a beam from the pal of her hand. Her target was struck and crash-landed in the old garden her mother, Queen Faust, had constructed for both Celestia and Luna. Celestia saw the creature use magic to lift a rock an start to crawl away while holding some sort of bluish rock for dear life.
'Is it a weapon? I need to finish her off before she has a chance to use it!'
Celestia used her magic again, another golden beam shot straight at the creature. The damage made it let go of the stone, Celestia watched in awe the creature use the last of its life to reach the stone. Celestia landed by it.
'A female? Why is she smiling? She...looks at peace. All while looking at that stone. What is it?'
Celestia walked up to the stone, a plain bluish stone laid on the floor. It didn't look like anything special, nor did it look like a gem or anything of value. Why would that creature be so attached to it? Celestia reached for the stone, as soon as she touched it memories of Luna and their time together flooded Celestia's mind.
Celestia lifted her hand from the stone and making her memories fade. The stone remained with its bluish color, and nothing more appeared to have happened. Touching the surface again, the same effect, it didn't matter how many times she touched it, the happy and loving memories of Luna would come back.
'Is it a relic? Maybe...I can keep it. Maybe...it can help...'
Picking up the stone, Celestia used a magic spell to change the stone's size. Allowing her to carry it on a locket placed on her necklace. Looking around, Celestia felt her heart being squeezed. She didn't want to be near that castle anymore. With the stone secure, Celestia went to check back on the convoy. The sounds of a magic fight had faded, all her soldier had to report was that once three creatures were defeated the remaining ones ran away. They also reported that none of the ponies were harmed during the incident.
"Very well, please return to the city. I'll finish escorting this convoy to the campsite. Please help the remaining citizens and send the remaining troops to protect the scavenging team while they search for other documents. "
"Yes, your Highness!!" The guards saluted before heading back to the city.
Celestia sighed, then she walked alongside the wagon until they reached the camp. As soon as Celestia set hooves on the area, the citizens flocked to her and started to bow and pray to her. Her heart started to ache, she was being praised for a mistake she made. Just being around the immediate area of the castle made Celestia feel uneasy.
She needed a place far enough for her to feel a bit more at ease, a place where her subjects could also start anew. It didn't matter how much her subjects smiled as she passed by them, she knew they were afraid. Afraid of what had happened during the previous night, others were still grieving over the loss of their family due to casualties that resulted from the fight.
Being there hurt both Celestia and her subjects. Therefore the answer she had come to was to find a new place to build a castle, a secure location. The best possibility would be a place where there would be only one way to access by ground, maybe with high enough elevation to allow sighting of enemy troops from far away.
As she thought about it, Celestia saw a shadow looming over the village. Looking up she saw the mountain that would always cover the sun and her sister's moon during the end of each period of the day. As far as Celestia remembered, that mountain was an old crystal mining area.
'The mining has long been closed off due to a cave in that completely sealed the entrance at the mountain's base, meaning the only opening left was the one at the plateau. And that area was only accessible through an old road or by flying, but the second route could be protected with simple spells. Maybe some wards? I think we might be able to work with some runes and make some sort of seal to allow entry through the wards. Starswirl should have some ideas for that.'
With those ideas in mind, Celestia proceeded to see how the camp was faring. Tents were being raised everywhere, taking up to the skies she started to survey the place. She could see her tent in the distance, at the very center of the camp, the remaining camps were all organized like a circle.
The castle was about one mile and a half from a huge clearing, That area was being saved for some sort of produce, but for now, that was the best place they had to keep the camp. The hills were clear and there were no areas of tall grass, meaning that wild creatures would need to get through a wide area completely exposed.
Celestia flew down to her tent, during her descent, she could see the citizens start to pray as she approached. The deity treatment had just started, and Celestia was already fed up with it. The guards made way for her to enter, once inside, Celestia could see the silhouettes of the guards surrounding her tent.
Celestia sat down on her bed and opened up the pendant, using her magic once more, the stone was restored to its usual size. Grabbing hold of it, Celestia simply laid on her bed and stared into space. The warm feeling of those memories comforting her, making her feel more at ease and sad at the same time.
Without even realizing, Celestia had fallen asleep. Using up her spells, the fight in the previous night, using the elements of harmony, securing a route for the convoys, the chase with the creature. All of those events had taken their toll on her mind and her body.
When she finally woke up, Celestia realized that she had been hugging the stone during the entire time. Her body felt lighter, and her mind was more at ease. Whatever that stone was, it had allowed to rest up nicely. Celestia stretched a bit before making the stone return to her locket. Stepping outside, a guard walked up to her.
"Your Highness! The scavenging teams have returned. They claim that the important documents regarding history, spells, and other things have been secured."
"Very well. Has anypony seen Starswirl? I need to speak to him."
"He is aiding the wizards with setting an alarm around the perimeter. He should be by the southeast edge of the camp by now."
"Thank you for your service," The guard saluted her before leaving.
Flying up, Celestia headed to the southeast edge of the camp. Starswirl was accompanied by a group of wizards conjuring up some sort of wall that disappeared after a few seconds. They must have heard Celestia's approach because they were on their knees by the tie she landed.
"Teacher, I require your help."
"Well, it has been a while since the princess has asked for my advice. All of you, please continue your work," The other wizards got up and continued on her way. "Now, what is that you require of me?"
"I believe that we need a new capital. And I also believe to have found just the place."
"And where might that be, your Highness?" Celestia pointed at the plateau. "That seems to have a pretty high vantage point. The old mine entrance at the base is collapsed and completely sealed off, meaning the road up there is the only path to it. It is a very secure place, the only problem being the risk of aerial assaults."
"And that is exactly why I require your help. Do you believe that some wards blocking off all flying routes to the city can be worked around with a rune that allows passage through?"
The stallion scratched his beard, for a few moments. After some thought, he snapped his fingers and looked back to Celestia.
"I think I might be able to pull it off. All I require is time. Give me that and you will have your runes."
"Thank you for your help, teacher."
"You are welcome, my student."
With that they parted ways, Celestia raised up the moon after setting her sun and went back to her tent. That had been a very eventful day, but at the very least she had managed to make many plans and keep her subjects safe. Picking up the stone again, Celestia laid on her bed and allowed herself to sleep again.
'That ought to do the trick. All that is left is checking the area for the castle and seeing if the plateau can handle it. Once that is done, another city and a castle is the next step,' She thought as she slowly drifted into the loving memories of her sister.
Author's Note
Alright, let's see how this goes!
Thank you for reading, please let me know what you think!
The prince of a thousand faces
(Months later)
Celestia was overseeing the building of the newest capital, the new capital would be called Canterlot, the place for it, the mountainside overseeing most of Equestria's territory. After a few tests, her engineers determined that the plateau was safe enough for construction.
Celestia also made sure that some of her soldiers checked the old entrance by the base of the mountain, a safety check wouldn't hurt. According to their report, the base of the mountain had other landslides that completely covered the entrance. Meaning that entering that place was nigh impossible.
Everything seemed to be going according to plan, except for one small detail. A detail that got on Celestia's nerves, after the fight with her sister, the ponies wouldn't stop worshiping her and praying every time she passed by them. Those gestures only brought her pain, however, she couldn't do anything about it.
Celestia had lost her sister, a companion that had helped her protect her subjects again and again. And now her subjects thought that Nightmare killed Luna and Celestia was the only one protecting their lives. If she was to be swayed or show weakness to them, they could get scared. They could become desperate, and that was something Celestia didn't want.
However, there was one thing that she could always do when the pain became unbearable. The small stone she had acquired from those strange creatures in the forest, that stone would always soothe her mind and made her days more go by more smoothly.
"Princess," One of the engineers working on the city saluted her as he approached with a scroll in his hands. "We are happy to inform that the construction is going ahead of schedule. We should have the city district ready by the beginning of the next year!"
"That is good to hear," Celestia commented as she looked at the report. "Have some of the guards that aren't working on protecting the perimeter or securing our stocks to help out as well. I'll join the construction as soon as I can."
"Your Highness! There is no need for you to bother with such a trivial task!" The engineer spoke positioning himself in front of her. "A Goddess such as yourself-"
"Has a duty to her subjects. And I shall see it through. With my aid, the construction would go much faster," Celestia said turning away from the engineer. "And do not try to talk me out again. I want a copy of the schematics so that I can help."
The engineer bowed down and walked away. 'As if the worshipping wasn't enough...I can help. I want to help. I can't have another pony going through the same thing that Luna went through. If I can help, I'll do it. It doesn't matter who they are!'
With that in mind, Celestia took off and flew to the area where her tent had been set. Once there, Celestia sat comfortably on her bed and pulled out the stone.
'I do not know what you are, but whatever you are, thank you. The weight you lift from my heart is so big. I sat by the moon every night and watched that reminder of my failure as a sister. I should have been there for Luna, I took away the most powerful relics that ever protected our kind and turned them to stone. The only right things I ever did were when I had Luna by my side. I need to be better! I WILL be better!'
(12 Years later, Metamorpha's hive)
"I have to say, finding you was one of the greatest challenges I ever had," Metamorpha said pulling the chain attached to the drone's neck, forcing him to face her. "I hope you are also aware of what your ratting out did to us," She pulled him closer her teeth glistening as she hissed at the drone. "My daughter had her future stolen. With that egg, we could have avoided the other two major hives. And who knows? Maybe might have bee able to even take them."
"I know."
"And yet you told to somepony our affairs. Why?" The drone tried to look away, Metamorpha pulled the chain again forcing him to face her. "WHY?!"
"Because our hive should not have to strike a deal with a weaker and smaller hive! You may have lost your husband, but you should have contacted the other hives! They could bring a better offspring to cross with your daughter! That could have made us stronger!"
The other drones that were watching the entire scene started to whisper amongst themselves, Metamorpha's ears twitched. Her expression grew neutral as she slowly backed away from him. Her heart rate increased as she continued to see the drone rant and rant about the deal.
"You may be our queen. But you are nothing but a failure! A real queen wouldn't have lost her husband the way you did! A real queen wouldn't have to resort to those weaklings hiding under the Equestrian banner! A re-?!"
The drone was stopped midsentence by Metamorpha, she hit him straight in the muzzle. The drone fell on his back and she got on top of him, her eyes locked to his face as her hands breaking through the chitin around his neck. Suddenly, the chitin cracked and her fingers and nails ripped through his flesh.
Metamorpha pulled out the broken chitin and gnawed at his throat and then backed away. The drone was left on the floor gurgling as she walked away, her posture came back. Metamorpha elegantly cleaned her muzzle, calmly rearranged her mane, and then sat back on her throne. A soft and kind smile forme on her muzzle as she sat back down.
"Any of you have anything else you wish to say?" She asked in a calm and loving voice. All of her subjects fell to their knees and then left.
'How dare he...All I did I did to ensure the future of my daughter, and of our hive.'
After a few minutes of sitting in silence, Metamorpha's wings shot open and she took off to her daughter's room. The room had remained unchanged during the years, except for a few new toys and gizmos that she had smuggled into her hive. The egg containing her child was resting on the bed she had made for it, however, now the egg was a mix of black, dark green, and emerald green.
"Don't you worry. I will make sure you'll have the best future possible. I'll make you able to stand against all of the other hives."
(35 Years came to pass)
"You certainly have caught yourself a real unique stone, my Princess," Celestia heard as Starswirl analyzed the stone. "I have seen many artifacts and strange phenomenon. But a stone that invokes happy memories is something entirely new to me!"
"I was afraid you were gonna say that," Celestia said biting her lip as she paced back and forward in her room from where she could watch over the entire city.
The city had its construction finished ten years before, Canterlot, the new capital of Equestria. It also was the safest place known to date, the city had prospered thanks to the protection created by Starswirl. A barrier that recognized the Cutie Marks that were linked to a small rune that was received at the time of birth.
The rune was not visible unless a specific spell was cast. Fillies, colts, and foals that had yet to receive their cutie marks were also marked by a spell matrix he had crafted for registering the current citizens of the town. But instead of their runes being linked to their talent, they were linked to their parent's talent. The rune worked as a sort of identification that allowed to check if the pony in question was a citizen of Equestria.
In the case of other beings, they also received a temporary mark that would disappear if they committed any crime. And that created a homing beacon of sorts that pointed to their location, meaning that it was just a matter of time before the criminal was caught. The same thing happened to bearers of the permanent mark.
The complexity of the rune made it nigh impossible to bypass by any means that were known up to that point. Add that to Celestia's decree ordering that every citizen to undergo the registration, and the crime rate was reduced to practically zero. Up to that point, everything seemed to be in place and Celestia had gained even greater praises from her subjects.
And that resulted in a few things, one of them being the demonization of Nightmare Moon accompanied by Celestia's transformation into a symbol of hope and peace. Hostility towards Nightmare Moon was so severe that entire holidays were created to scare children and make them love Celestia. There were even some rumors of a church being formed to worship Celestia, however, there was no evidence to prove it to be true.
Another thing that happened, was the increased amount time Celestia spent with the stone. The praise and fame she continued to gain due to the mistakes that ended up sealing her sister away and made her lose the elements of harmony only made her suffer and try even harder. There would be days when she would lock herself up in her room for hours and hours to cling to the stone.
After some time, Celestia realized that the stone had to have some other purpose. Strange occurrences started to happen and made her start to worry, which resulted in her asking for Starswirl to come to analyze it. But not before she spent at least seven months weighing the possibilities.
"What is it that worries you? This seems like a regular stone, aside from the memories gimmick," Tha mage said turning to her.
"Hold the stone near your ears," Celestia said with a serious tone, she watched the mage do as she instructed.
His eyes went wide as he held the stone in place. Then Celestia watched him pull the stone away and look at it before holding it to his ears again, the process repeated several times.
"There is a rhythmic sound coming from it!" Celestia looked away from the mage as he continued to hold the stone, she had turned her attention to a clock she had hanging in her wall.
"It's about time, Starswirl. Place it on the floor, please," Celestia asked earning a frown from the wizard, however, he did as she asked. The clock moved again and the stone started to roll towards Celestia, it only stopped once it had hit her leg. "A few months ago, I was sleeping on the bed. There was nothing different or out of place, however, I woke up with something hitting my bed. I woke up and saw the stone hitting my bed's legs."
"That is certainly unique! I've never seen a stone with that sort of behavior. Maybe it isn't a stone, maybe it's a relic!"
"But if it is a relic. What's its purpose? There is no point in a relic that summons good memories. Or that makes a rhythmic sound. Not to mention that the stone itself has changed color! It didn't use to be white, pink, green, and blue!"
"Well, maybe...maybe the memories it is summoning is awakening its purpose? And once it awakens, perhaps its purpose will become clear."
"Then what do you suggest?"
"Keep doing what you are doing. I think we may end up discovering what we are dealing with once it awakens."
(41 Years flew by)
"Your Highness! More messengers from the neighboring hives have appeared and disposed of as you instructed."
"Excellent. Any news on the network we were establishing between here and our little bases within equestrian borders?"
"It appears that work is proceeding as expected. They did stumble into a diamond dog's mining system. However, the witnesses were dealt with swiftly."
"That is perfect, make sure that all of our changelings are aware of that location. We can use them as livestock. Anything else to report?"
"It seems that there have been some sightings of the creature that killed our king. Nothing has been confirmed though," Metamorpha's ears perked up and she stared into space for a moment while biting her lip.
"Do not bring this subject to light unless you have solid confirmation of its sightings. Am I clear?"
"Yes, Your Highness," The drone replied before flying off.
'After all this time...that dirt eater comes out to cause trouble? It wasn't satisfied with my husband's death? Is it coming for me? Or is this something that they did to get me desperate? That blasted snitch is still causing trouble even in death! I wish I could simply hit him again and again until I had my fill. That idiot created more troubles than he was worth.'
Metamorpha then got on her hooves and walked to the edge of her room where a hole opened up and she could see the outside of her hive. On the horizon, only barren lands as long as the eyes could see, except for two lonely peaks that had dark clouds moving around them.
"War again, eh? If I only had acquired that egg from the weaker hive, maybe they would have let us be. A weaker hive is more easily assimilated, the big ones I need to deal with a stronger opposition," She muttered to herself.
Changelings had been at each other's throats since the three major hives had been established. All in an attempt to create a grand empire and guarantee their survival. The issue was that the fight to decide the strongest lineage, and the fact some believed that the supposed superior lineage should have complete control over all the hives.
Metamorpha's hive was the one closest to equestrian borders, separating it from the others and making it harder to attack. Meaning that out of the three, the one in the best condition was her's. However, that also meant that if she were to attack, her troops would have to expend a great amount f energy to cross the land. Not to mention that without cover, they would be sitting ducks for enemy fire.
The queen backed away from the hole and flew back up to her daughter's room. Entering the place, she saw the crystallized substance that was used to produce the cocoons where their children grew up during the larvae phase completely covering the bed she had made for her child. At the center, a dark silhouette twitched and moved within a said perimeter.
'My beautiful daughter, the very thought of having you becoming strong and leading our kingdom fills me with courage. I'll move heaven and earth to ensure that you get your happy ending.'
(Ever as before, 12 years flew by)
As time moved forward, Celestia came to realize that her efforts to fix Equestrian problems resulted in even greater problems for her. The Church of the Eternal Sun was one of them, many ponies donning an accessory with a sun emblazoned on it started to cause problems all over the country. And as an answer to that was the foundation of another religion, the Children of Silver Light.
After about twenty years since the runes started to be effectively used in the country, some ponies managed to figure out a way to bypass the crime detection. And that's when the Church of the Eternal Sun came forth, claiming to be heroes that carried the divine light that Celestia bestowed upon all living beings. And therefore, were blessed with the duty of enforcing her words to all species.
Since they had managed to bypass the crime detection, arrest the ones that took violent actions became harder. And some ponies started to question Celestia's rule, and that's when the rumors about the Children of the Silver Light came forth. They believed that the Mare in the Moon would return and save them from the tyrant that would not punish the wicked ponies that carried her golden sun.
Being forced to act, Celestia began to travel and ask for the citizens to steer clear of both cults for they had only caused suffering and pain to others due to their constant conflicts. Soon these groups seemed to disappear, turning into a subject that was only whispered on the streets. Which meant more physical and mental exhaustion due to the stress and thought every situation started to require from her.
'Why is everything that I've done so far only made things worse? It doesn't matter how much effort I put on my acts...they always backfire,' Celestia thought as she slowly raised the moon while walking through the lonely corridors the cold stone walls echoing the should of her golden horseshoes hit the white stones.
Looking with the corner of her eye, Celestia saw the damned reminder of her mistake. The silhouette of a black mare engraved into the moon, Celestia looked away and crossed her arms almost as if the moon had been looking straight at her and judging her actions so far. Celestia started to run she had to get away from the moon, she had to escape from its gaze.
'Luna...I miss you so much. Our kingdom was flourishing, our foes were defeated one by one, and our ponies were happy. After I lost you...I lost myself as well. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry my sister! I wish I could at the very least do one thing right. Just one small thing would be enough. Luna...if you can somehow hear my thoughts...please forgive me. And please, I beg of you...help me if you can.'
Celestia locked herself in her room and closed all of the curtains, she was now alone. Celestia curled herself into a corner and cried, all the tears she had to keep hidden from her subjects came forth now that she had no one to see her. After several minutes of crying, the tears finally stopped, however, the exhaustion was taking over her.
'If I go to sleep like this...all I'll experience are more nightmares. I don't want to hear HER voice again,' Celestia thought as she remembered the voice that kept calling her in her nightmares. Celestia would always wake up as daybreak came forth on the horizon, something she was grateful for.
'I guess that I better pay it a visit. all these troubles have been taxing and...I just need some good memories right now,' Celestia thought as she pulled out a specific book from her shelf, revealing the room she added to the castle by herself.
A long time had passed between the last visit Celestia had made a visit to the stone. After a few years, the habit of rolling towards her stopped and the stone had attached itself to the pedestal where Celestia hid it. The stone oozed a colorful liquid that solidified itself a few seconds after touching a surface that wasn't part of the stone. In a particularly dark day, Celestia felt the need to once again come to the stone.
The thick colorful substance now covered the secret room Celestia had prepared for the stone, the stone used to be at the center of it. However, now there was only a cracked area on the center. No signs of forced entry, or that anypony but Celestia had entered the room.
'What happened here?' Celestia thought as she carefully walked towards the center. Celestia poked her head over the crack and saw a creature climb out of the cracks interior. Some sort of white larva, it didn't seem to have eyes or a mouth.
'What is this...wait...' Celestia looked into the hole and saw the colorful stone that she had placed there. 'It wasn't a stone...an egg...I took it from a female looking...Oh, no...did I kill a mother?'
Celestia looked at the fragile looking creature that tried to climb down the solid looking stones, she had once again made a mistake. She had once more hurt somepony and caused others to suffer because of it, she made that small creature an orphan. Celestia's heart started to race, her mind was taken over by the memories of the female creature trying to save the egg.
'I killed its mother! I killed its mother! Oh, no! What am I supposed to do now?! I don't know what it is! I don't know what it does!' Celestia panicked as he backed away from the egg and the creature. A squishy sound echoed as the creature tumbled out of the egg and fell to the ground.
Then Celestia watched the small creature crawl up to her, she slowly backed away. Suddenly a strong wind burst the window open causing a very loud noise, the small white creature stopped in its tracks and curled up into a ball. Celestia looked behind her and saw the full moon once again gazing at her.
The black figure on the moon had its sight set on the place, the silver light that came from the astral body was the only thing illuminating the room. Celestia looked back to the creature, it was completely curled up behind her shadow, completely still.
It looked so fragile, so defenseless, so...alone. Celestia tried to walk up to it, but her legs wouldn't move. Something was holding her back, Celestia turned back to the window and looked back at the moon.
'What's going on? Why can't I move? Luna...' Celestia thought before she realized something. The loud wind had stopped, the silence made Celestia feel uncomfortable. Then a single small sound made her look back on the creature, it sounded like a whimpering of sorts.
'Is it...crying?' Celestia thought as she moved towards it without realizing. That was the moment when she remembered the behavior the egg had during the century she had it under her protection. 'It rolled to me every night, almost as if it was scared of the darkness. After it hatched it came for me, like I was...its mother. WAIT! If Starswirl was right about the memories being used to awaken its true disposition...and it was a baby...I nurtured it every time I touched it!'
Celestia's mind was in a complete blur, the thoughts of what she had done, of what it meant to that little creature made her go back into her panic state. She was so lost in her panic that she didn't even realize that she had reached out for the creature. It responded to her approach by raising its body so that it could touch Celestia's hand.
The panicked feeling started to be replaced by the memories of how peaceful she would feel every time she came in contact with the egg, with the memories of Luna, with the conversations with Starswirl. The sensation of something cold and soft moving through her arm was completely ignored as Celestia allowed the memories to take over. Eventually, she felt the back of her neck be enveloped by that soft and cold touch.
That was when Celestia stood up and looked at the mirror in her room. Then her eyes saw the small critter quietly resting on her shoulders. However, all her mind managed to process was the following thought:
'I brought this child into the world,' Celestia kept her gaze locked at the small creature that accommodated itself on her shoulders. 'I BROUGHT THIS CHILD INTO THE WORLD!'
Celestia's eyes widened, her mouth was held wide open. Her brain finally making the connection as her mouth tried to verbalize her realization.
"I-I brought this child into the world," Celestia finally managed to mumble to herself as to confirm she was still in control, that was when she finally managed to connect the dots so that she could say out loud the phrase that showed how much responsibility she would have to shoulder now more than ever.
"I-I..." The words were stuck to her throat, the creature on her shoulders was light, but now was starting to become heavier with every passing second. "I-I am a mother," She finally spoke as her vision blurred and she blacked out.
Author's Note
I guess that this is the next one, please let me know your thoughts on this! Your feedback is greatly appreciated. Also, feel free to try to guess the story's progression.
Thank you for reading! See ya soon!