Chapter 1: Your Eyes Decieve You...
Celestia lied in bed contemplating getting up and out. The nagging in the back of her head told her to raise the sun. ‘Maybe I can delay today’s morning’, she thought to herself before being reminded that as much would spread mass panic across Equestria. Crawling out of bed, Celestia walked up to the balcony and stopped. Closing her eyes and breathing in, she began raising the sun feeling her sister lower the moon nearby. Opening her groggy eyes, she looked out at Canterlot.
The shining example of the Equestrian nation glittered in the morning light. It was always a point of pride to Celestia. An entire city built into the side of a mountain? Impossible! Yet Celestia accomplished it all the same. She shed a tear on the balcony. She knew not out of pride, but of sorrow. No matter how prosperous the city grew an unbidden thought always came up. Whether it be a doubt or a repressed memory always escaped Celestia.
From behind, she then heard the voice of Luna emanating from the door. “Dear sister, it happens to be your turn in court.” It was rough and tired, but undoubtedly Luna. Celestia turned to address Luna, only for nopony to be standing at the door. Celestia frowned, usually Luna waited for Celestia to respond.
‘Must have been quite the grueling day little sister’ Celestia thought to herself as she put her regalia on. Celestia chuckled to herself for even though Luna had been back for quite a few years it seemed she’d never get used to court again. ‘Honestly sister, what could be so hard about a few ponies’ Celestia thought humorously walking out the door to the day ahead.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Everything about a few ponies can be difficult. Celestia uncaringly threw open the door to her room. Looking across the room only one object caught her attention. The sweet, comfortable release of the cloud bed was all she needed. Trotting forward with a nigh impossible combination between a trudge and a stomp, Celestia made her way over before collapsing on the soft silken sheets adorning her bed.
But, before she could get an iota of rest, the door opened to a small purple equine. Celestia’s head furiously snapped to the intruder before immediately softening at realizing who had come in.
“Hello Celestia!” Twilight’s voice chirped brightly. Celestia quickly noticed the various scrolls hovering in purple magic while a familiar dragon wheeled a chalkboard in.
“Hello Twilight, and what do I owe to the surprise visit?” Celestia calmly said, holding back the exhaustion of the day behind her.
Twilight’s muzzle scrunched in confusion. “Surprise? I thought I sent you a message earlier today.” Celestia did remember receiving a message though she couldn’t remember if it was AFTER the multitude of minotaur meetings or BEFORE the dreadful dragon diplomats.
“Well Twilight, I certainly had a long and busy day, would you like to tell me?” Celestia asked as curtly as she could. Twilight slipped into a sly smile with Celestia raising an eyebrow at the response.
“Would you say it was… stressful?” Twilight asked smile growing until she was beaming. Celestia studied Twilight, trying to discern the point, before folding and answering a simple yes.
Celestia saw it coming but it was always one of her favorite parts about Twilight. Unfailingly before every lecture, Twilight would close her eyes, take a deep breath, and begin to speak. Every time it would appear to Celestia like Twilight would float from her pure enjoyment of the lecture. Celestia swore it would happen but every time the sensation would disappear as fast as it came.
Twilight launched into her preplanned shpiel and never seemed to stop coming forth with more intricate equations and the mashing of spells in new and creative ways. Celestia absorbed this information, processing it bit by bit yet wholly not memorizing every word. It was a refined technique developed over many a long meeting. The minutes flew by until Celestia heard something quite incriminating..
Mind Magic. How had Celestia not caught on earlier? “Twilight,” Celestia interjected, “are you sure this is safe? Mind magic is already heavily frowned up.” Twilight brought a hoof up to scratch her neck, before stopping and putting it back down.
“Well… yes. It is dangerous,” Twilight quickly starting up again, “but that’s why there’s checks! I even encoded the spell matrices to prevent tampering!” Pointing at a section of the board coated in formula. At that, Celestia scratched her chin. After some thought she came the most logical conclusion: review it herself.
“Oh Twilight, as much as I appreciate your concerns and safety nets I must ask to keep it here to, so to speak, double check your work.” Twilight looked dejected, but understanding.
“Alright… I’ll leave it with you then.” Twilight partially muttered searching for an empty space to set the innumerable scrolls down. “Um… how long do you plan to keep it?”
Celestia chuckled, “Say… a week Twilight”. With that, both exited the room and began talking about the mundane things in life. Celestia asked about Twilight’s friends and adventures all the while Twilight inquired about the current political climate. ‘One must keep with the times’ as Twilight put it.
After waving goodbyes at the castle gate, both parted ways. Celestia wandered to her room, taking a few detours along the way back to her room. This was the time of day for workers to be found cleaning the halls many being closed off so Celestia hadn’t too many options.
Eventually making her way back, Celestia opened the room only to eye the scrolls on her table. They sat there grabbing at her attention. Celestia lifted the parchment and felt this odd realism to it. As if everything else besides the scrolls held in her magic glow were fake. Celestia quickly realised how ridiculous these claims were. She reasoned that Twilight must have spent countless a night saturating this scroll in magic giving it’s very off manifestation.
Sitting down in front of the desk, Celestia finally began to feel the itch in her head. Turning towards the sun, it was time to lay the land to rest. She got back up and walked to the balcony. It wasn’t necessary, but the tradition of watching the sun go down always got to Celestia. Once more Celestia felt as the sun went down and the magic of her sister setting the moon high.
Turning back to the desk she considered the spell. Somewhere in the back of her mind it screamed of importance, as if these scrolls were foundation to everything she was. Celestia felt unease about that. Why would an impromptu visit from Twilight leave Celestia so unnerved? Celestia slowly trotted over to the desk, and began to read.
It was… mundane. When Celestia finished she squinted at the offending scrolls tilting it this way and that, even humouring the idea of looking at the bottom of some of the scrolls. There were quite simply the spell. Nothing else betrayed their odd atmosphere they emitted. With some sinking dread, Celestia considered casting the spell.
It was a sound piece of work, and even held a variety of warnings in the margins to ensure proper casting procedures. Everything so interwoven into complex designs but still simple as a whole, and finally all explained by Twilight’s essay of an elaboration. It was no doubt a sound spell.
Celestia looked out at the night sky and thoughtfully reconciled her time. There were numerous safety nets and Celestia had enough time to cast it before going to sleep under Luna’s night. Celestia tapped her chin in thought, ‘Why not cast a spell designed to destress before turning in?’
Putting down her nervous thoughts, she picked up the scroll and began casting. The thrum of magic silently filled the room as Celestia reread all the detailed instructions. Step by step, Celestia slowly felt the power build in the spell. As the spell wound up, Celestia felt a calm wave pass over her, relaxing muscles and clearing her thoughts.
Suddenly, the spell shot up in power. Celestia threw a worried glance up at her horn. Quickly reading the safety nets, Celestia tried to cancel the spell. As if it had a mind of its own, the spell kept winding up. Celestia felt her head explode before being crushed into a single point. With the feeling of being hit by a truck, Celestia lost consciousness and hit the floor.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Everything was dark. While nothing hurt, my head was definitely killing me. After going over damage assessment once more, I decided to open my eyes.
This proved futile, as my entire vision was blurred but I could make out a few objects and note a couple of things. I was on the floor, looking at a some sort of paper. Beyond that, the room was nothing but darkness.
Blinking a few times, I decided to get up and lay on my belly. It was wood underneath, which is strange, as I hadn’t had a wood floor ever since the old castle.
Hovering over the scroll, I read the paper. It wasn’t written on papyrus, a famous choice amongst spell creationists, but a standard blank white sheet having been rolled into a poor facsimile of a scroll.
What made me even more confused was that, while it was Twilight’s spell, it had devolved into a chicken scratch of sorts. How it got to this state, I had no idea.
The room was silent as I re-read this dilapidated version of Twilight’s spell until I heard the shuffling of wood behind me.
Spinning around I peered into the darkness before catching glimpse of something. A… slot of sorts. Squinting hard, I tried to discern what was beyond the slot only too notice two shining orbs. They were eyes… of somepony. Seeing I noticed them, the slot slammed shut.
Silence reigned for but a moment, until a sharp pain bit into the back of my head. Dropping the paper from my grab I watched it fall underneath something before I fell to the ground unconscious.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Celestia jerked from her bed, tumbling with her covers she fell to the floor. Getting up slowly, Celestia looked around the room in confusion. It was still night and the slow buzz of the sun waiting to come up sat in the back of her head.
Not even caring to walk to the balcony, Celestia just raised the sun while staring at the room around her. Studying every detail, Celestia tried desperately to look for some answer.
But none came.
Author's Note
Thanks for reading! If you have any criticism do leave it!
Maybe posting this will get me motivated to get in the habit of doing this as a hobby.
Expect more! Best regards ~ The Cynical One
Chapter 2: Sweet Whispered Lies...
Two words lept to the front of Celestia’s unconscious mind. Damage control. First to check, physical. Horn giving an even thrum, a quick diagnostic spell swept Celestia. No peculiarities, excepting the remnants of Twilight’s spell floating in the mind.
Next, emotional. Celestia felt… unwound. Despite the horrific visions, her mind betrayed the tone. A sloughing dread slowly seeped in, yet, felt paralyzed. As if the emotion itself was sluggish. Celestia only frowned.
Finally, memory. Pulling on the room Celestia found herself in, it only came forward as a disorganized fog. Inquisitive, she found herself performing one more sweep. Twilight’s spell was fading, fast, and as she watched the last linger of magic disappear, the shock came piling forward.
What had she seen? Was it a vision to the old castle? Was it a future threat? Was it a dream?
She’d have to ask Luna.
A light rap came from the door before being slowly opened by a stallion. Celestia turned towards the door before putting on a serene, practiced smile.
“Princess… are you feeling quite alright”
“Whatever do you mean, my little pony,” Celestia said, noting the stallion perk up at the final three words.
“Well it’s just… Nevermind. Luna will be seeing you at breakfast in ten”, the stallion curtly said before shutting the door.
While the encounter had left Celestia with an odd impression she had perked up at hearing Luna will be attending breakfast. Maybe then she can pick Luna’s mind about the situation.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As Celestia continued down the hallway she took a moment to take in her surroundings. It was a small daily ritual but no matter how many times she walked these halls there was always something new. How the sunlight played on the columns. How the intricate patterns engraved in the quartz gave the room both a simple style but a complex structure.
Today, the lavish curtains were closed for the scheduled storm. As of now, it only served to spread muted colors of its vibrant cloth straining to push through with sunlight. Eventually the rain would come in a pleasant drum and bring a stunning calm to the castle.
Arriving at the kitchen a pair of guards opened the door to a banquet already filled with food. While Celestia usually cooked her and Luna’s breakfast today’s morning… events must have let the kitchen staff prepare a meal for her.
Sitting down Celestia only had a moment to spare before noticing Luna enter the room with a single Nightguard before seeing Luna lean in and dismiss the thestral to whatever duties. Luna turned towards Celestia and tapped her chin before continuing.
“Sister… where were you last night?”
The direct confrontation brought relief to Celestia. While it usually irked Celestia, the weight of confusion behind the spell belated any annoyances and brought her the freedom of speech.
“To be honest with you Luna I had cast a spell sent by Twilight to some… unexpected effects. If I may inquire how you came to this question.”
Just then, Celestia felt a strange shift in the light. Looking at the stained glass windows she noticed they had slowly grown considerably dark. ‘The storm is coming sooner than expected’ Celestia mused trying to shake a sense of unease.
Luna trotted the table before moving a seat. While hovering food from the banquet, she turned to Celestia.
“Well dear sister, while patrolling the dreamscape I had noticed you weren’t anywhere in the proverbial sight.” Luna took a moment to hover a knife, slicing into a pancake and taking a slice. “So, as any good sister would, I went to check what had kept you up. Only, I came across the most strange happenstance.” Eating the slice, Luna pointed the fork at Celestia. “The room lacked your presence but… how to put this… the area still felt full of your magic.”
The room seemed to move in, as if intrigued by the conversation.
Luna continued after levitating another slice up. “I’d describe it as… ah! As you are now, sitting in front of me but my mind told me the seat was undeniably empty.”
With that Celestia felt a sudden need to change the subject. It felt instinctual. “Ah well. With all that behind us both may I ask about your court proceeds?”. Luna gave a stern look.
“Celestia, for the sake of us both, we’re going to see that spell. Now.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Celestia’s head hung as she and Luna made their way down the hall. She knew that Luna’s concern was well justified but a twinge of guilt had snuck in. Taking a moment to look, Celestia looked at the vividly red curtains. Once more, the sun pressed through fabric which picked at Celestia. Was it not getting darker with the storm? There wasn’t much time to consider, as they already arrived at her door.
Gently wrapping the door in magic, Luna pushed inside and moved in with Celestia tailing soon behind. The room was noticeably cleaned. Mirrors dusted, loose items arranged, and the occasional plant watered.
As Celestia started searching the room she noticed that whatever cleaning staff came through must’ve done twice the normal organizing. Drawers were sorted and many small nooks had been dusted although some small holes have been marked. Celestia could only guess that she had returned to her room before they could finish. She would have to find and thank them later.
Magically sweeping under the bed Celestia finally felt it. The coveted scroll. Luna noticed the moments hesitation so there was no way to hide the discovery. Pulling it out, Celestia floated it over to Luna who slipped her magic across to pick it up.
Celestia knew she couldn’t stop her sister now, all she could do was patiently wait. The air slowly swirled around the room as both sisters stood as silent considerations of each others endeavors. Luna spent a moment to look at Celestia inquisitively before returning to the scroll. The small glance made Celestia tense much more than she really should.
Setting the scroll down Luna sent one more glance at Celestia before lighting her horn with intent to cast. Celestia could feel the starting thrums of magic fill the air as the spell began to be cast.
There was no stopping Luna now, Celestia could only watch and anticipate. Taking a step back, Celestia saw the spell begin to flare up and hoped the best for her sister. That was until she saw Luna reign it back in and… complete it? It didn’t seem right, but truly Luna had followed through.
Giving a sigh of relaxation Luna turned to Celestia.
“Well dear sister… you must be pulling at my hooves. Although the spell could use more refining it seems to do exactly as it says.” Luna stole a small look at the scroll. “You wouldn’t mind I make a copy? This could be in great use for long nights stuck in court!”
Celestia nodded as little as was necessary watching Luna levitate the scroll out the door before shutting it. She knew day court is cancelled for today.
Author's Note
With a new chapter comes new questions...
