The Tower of Stars.
Jed R.
“Once upon a time, in the magical land of Equestria, there were two regal sisters who ruled together and created harmony for all the land. To do this, the eldest used her unicorn powers to raise the sun at dawn; the younger brought out the moon to begin the night. Thus, the two sisters maintained balance for their kingdom and their subjects, all the different types of ponies.”
The Narrator, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic.
The Tower of Stars, Equestria. 3,482 years before the dawn of the Anno Harmonia.
The Tower of Stars had stood for countless millennia. The two Alicorns approaching it had heard tales about it for the last eighteen years – the great black edifice that stood at the pinnacle of Last Glacier, the first mountain of the Frozen Mountains north of Canterlot and south of Adlaborn. It was easily five hundred feet tall, made of a black, obsidian-like material that glittered in the faint light of the setting sun.
According to legends that the two had read in the great libraries of the Charopolis, the Tower had been built by the Ancients in the time before time, made to control the movement of stars after the First Catastrophe. It had been ancient, their guardian Sint Erklass had told them, when he had been first brought into the world over six millennia earlier.
And yet now, something was wrong.
The wind was howling through the Frozen Mountains as Celestia Faustdóttir looked upon the Tower of Stars. To her younger sister Luna’s eyes, the elder Alicorn looked frightened, her beautiful purple eyes filled with doubt and uncertainty. The wind was whipping at them both, blowing Celestia’s pink mane wildly behind her.
Luna could feel it too – dread. No, worse than dread. The blue-coated Alicorn had a feeling of foreboding, as though the very air around them was wrong. They had climbed the mountains at the urging of Sint Erklass, who had claimed to feel the same way.
“Sister!” Luna called out. Her own pale-blue mane was tied back. “What is it?!”
“Something’s wrong, Luna, something’s changed!” Celestia called back. “Can’t you feel it?!”
“I’ve felt it since we left Südenberg!” Luna said, coming up to her sister. “It’s not changed since -”
“It has!” Celestia insisted. “Can’t you feel that?!”
“What’s wrong up there?!” a strident voice called out from behind them.
Ascending behind them, and apparently having an easier time of it, came Sint Erklass. He was a tall scarlet Reindeer stag, with warm brown eyes and a reddish beard marred by cream strands where time was starting to show on him. He wore a long red cloak with a white fur trim, and bound to his side was an elaborately decorated pickaxe.
“Papa!” Celestia called as he came up to them. “Something’s wrong!”
He reached them a moment later, frowning. “What is it?”
“I… I can’t tell,” Celestia said, looking up at the tower. “It feels like… like…”
Luna felt helpless for a moment – she and her sister had shared everything since they had first awoken eighteen years ago, learning everything about the world and themselves together, but now Celestia was alone in her pain. Luna placed one wing on her sister’s shoulder.
“I am here for thee,” she said, speaking formally. “Thy pain shalt be mine, and thy troubles art mine own.”
Celestia smiled at her, and replied in the same tone. “I know, sister, and thou hast mine thanks for it.”
Luna smiled, before suddenly gasping as a sharp pain struck through her head.
“Sister?!” she heard Celestia’s voice call.
“I – I feel something!” Luna yelled desperately. “Something is wrong, something with -”
She paused, before looking up. The setting sun was still hanging in the sky, visible just through the peaks of the Frozen Mountains, static.
Static.
“The Sun,” Luna whispered. “No… not just the Sun… the Moon as well. Neither of them are moving!”
“Impossible,” Sint Erklass said from next to the Alicorns. “The Tower of Stars is older than anything in this world, it has lasted for millennia. It would not have failed now!”
“It has!” Celestia said, looking back up at the mighty edifice. “I can… I can feel it, Papa!”
“How?” Sint Erklass asked, frowning. He, too, looked up at the tower. “Neither of you has been here before!”
“It’s not the tower,” Luna hissed, still feeling a sharp pain behind her eyes. “It’s the Moon.”
“And the Sun,” Celestia added.
Luna nodded. “I can feel it… it’s still, straining, and it’s hurting the world! All Equus screams!”
Sint Erklass looked conflicted for a long moment, before nodding.
“Come, then,” he said. “We shall see if we three might repair what has gone awry!”
As it turned out, they were not the only ones who had noticed the goings on at the Tower of Stars. At the base of the tower, at the bottom of the stairs that led to its door, a congregation of ponies stood. They were led by a Unicorn in a pointed hat and thick blue cloak. A long grey beard hung from this pony’s chin, as he turned blue eyes upon the two Alicorns and their father.
“I say, there!” this pony called to them as they reached the tower’s base. “Who are you and what are you doing here?”
“I am Sint Erklass,” Sint said to the Unicorn. “And these are my foster-daughters, Celestia and Luna Faustdóttir.”
“Alicorns?!” the pony said, blinking owlishly at the two. “You’re… you’re Alicorns?”
“They are,” Sint said protectively. “And who are you, Unicorn?”
The Unicorn blinked. “Starswirl, known as Starswirl the Bearded. Chief Mage of the land of Equestria, where you now stand.”
“Clover the Clever’s teacher?” Celestia said. “It was she who brought us to Sint -”
“At Adlaborn, yes, I heard!” Starswirl said. “She, Pansy and Smart Cookie altogether!” He looked at Celestia and Luna. “So you are the two miracle foals, found in a cavern with wings and horns both!”
Celestia looked at Luna, who saw her own discomfort reflected in her sister’s face.
“We’re just ponies,” Luna said quietly. “We have no special -”
“Pah!” Starswirl said. “Alicorns are no mere ponies… no.” He smiled. “Perhaps the Tower will open for you!”
“What do you mean?” Celestia said, frowning at him.
Starswirl took a deep breath. “We have been sent to ascertain the meaning behind the Tower’s failure.”
He motioned to the other ponies with him – it was only now that Luna realised that they were almost all Unicorns, shivering in the cold. A few had lit their horns with warming spells, but they all seemed lost and miserable. They were accompanied by a handful of Pegasi and Earth Ponies in padded armour, swords girt at their sides.
Luna could hear murmuring from them as they stood, more than a few eyes fixed on her and Celestia.
“Alicorns?”
“But they were a myth!”
“The Fausticorn was real…”
“Faustdóttir! Faust’s daughters!”
“But that means…”
“All three kindreds mixed in one, the symbol of our unity!”
Luna frowned slightly, not sure how to feel about the whispers. Sint Erklass had only briefly spoken of the myth of Alicorns among the lesser ponies. When asked whether it was true, he had always been rather vague.
“You do not seem to have gotten far,” Celestia commented to Starswirl, echoing Luna’s earlier thoughts.
“The Tower of Stars will not open for a mere Unicorn!” Starswirl said, motioning to himself. “Nay, not even a Unicorn such as I! It is beyond us, made for our ‘betters’ in an age long past! But for you, Alicorns, inheritors of the Alicornium… yes, perhaps the door will admit you, allow you to share the secrets within!”
“Why us?!” Luna asked, looking at the sky. The wind was howling, worse than ever.
“Why, because it was built by your kindred!” Starswirl said, grinning. “Built in the time of the lost Ancients, in mists of time long since forgotten! And in your blood, nay, your very essence, there may yet be the key!” He motioned them forward. “Come, come try!”
Celestia and Luna both looked to Sint Erklass, whose expression was resolute and cold.
“He may be right,” he finally said. “I know not whether it was truly built by the Alicornium, but if it was…” He sighed. “Then thou art the only two on Equus who mayst try this deed.”
Luna swallowed, feeling a sudden spike of nervousness. She looked to a Celestia, and saw in her eyes that same doubt. Yet her face took on a resolution that matched their foster-father’s.
“Very well, Father,” Celestia said, her tone deeper, more authoritative, than Luna had ever heard. “We shall do this.”
“Celestia,” Luna murmured, barely audible over the howl of the wind, “are you sure?”
Celestia met her eyes, and smiled. “Sister, you and I together are unique. Maybe this… maybe this is what we were made for!”
That thought, bringing to mind the long nights of unspoken wonder and dread that the two had shared, burnt any fears Luna had to ash. Suddenly purpose filled her, and she nodded.
“Then I will back thee,” she said. “And whatever secrets lie within the Tower, we shall face them together.”
Celestia nodded, before taking a deep breath. Slowly, she ascended the steps, and Luna followed, feeling the eyes of all the ponies on them as they did so.
When they reached the top, there stood a great black iron door in their path. Celestia exchanged one final glance with Luna.
“Ready?” Luna asked her sister softly.
“Not really,” Celestia replied quietly. “But we’re here now.”
She closed her eyes in concentration, her horn glowing. Luna followed suit, feeling her magic reach out to the door. For a moment, there was nothing, but then she felt a soft warmth seeping from her horn, through her skull and down her spine. Reflexively she spread her wings, flexing the muscles slightly.
Suddenly there was a deep click, and she opened her eyes just as the door swung inwards.
“I knew it!” she heard Starswirl exclaim from behind her. “I knew you would be able to open it!”
Luna turned to see Starswirl and Sint Erklass trotting up the stairs behind the Alicorns. Sint was looking up at the Tower warily.
“I don’t trust it,” he said quietly. “This Tower has not opened in millennia.”
“Then that is a sign that we are on the right track!” Starswirl said, grinning. “Come, noble Sint Erklass – this mystery will not solve itself!”
Without another word, he pushed past the two Alicorns and entered the Tower. Celestia and Luna exchanged another glance, and Luna felt a smirk tugging at the edge of her mouth.
“Come on,” Celestia said, looking less amused. “We’d better go with them, if only to see this through.”
The inside of the Tower of Stars was dark and cavernous, with a single staircase that looked to lead upwards. The lowest level seemed empty of anything interesting, save for bare walls made of the same glittering black stone, yet the Unicorns who had accompanied Starswirl were already moving about, looking at everything with keen eyes and experimental prods of magic.
Others were cataloguing what few relics were there, although one mare – a navy-blue mare with a black and green mane, clad in an odd coat – looked confused. Not that Luna could blame her – nothing about this was normal: the very air itself seemed to be closer in here, as though laden with the weight of years. Luna half-considered going to speak to her, until she realised that the mare was no longer there.
Must have gone off to another part of the Tower, she thought, paying the mare no further thought.
“Excitable, aren’t they?” Celestia commented from next to her. Luna turned to look at her sister, who was watching the other ponies with an expression somewhere between amusement, bemusement, and vague confusion.
“Oh, I don’t know,” Luna replied with a small smile. “It’s sort of charming to see such enthusiasm. Don’t you remember when we first got to read the Charopolis library?”
Celestia chuckled. “I suppose. I can’t blame them for being curious at all – this place… it’s old, can you feel it?”
So it wasn’t just Luna who could sense that. She felt glad about that.
“Yes,” she said, nodding. “It’s all around us. The weight of years.”
“More than that – the weight of memory,” Celestia said quietly. She took a deep breath. “Come, we had best go upward – it would seem Starswirl has already done so.”
“You go,” Sint Erklass said from behind them. “I shall make sure these ponies do not do anything to hurt themselves.”
Celestia nodded, before turning to Luna. Luna could still see traces of… worry? Concern? Whatever it was, her sister’s gaze was full with it.
Foreboding, Luna thought again. Something was going to happen here, something at once terrifying and important.
Still, Luna knew she had to support her sister, so she gave Celestia a reassuring smile. The older mare paused for a moment, before returning it in full, and for a moment, Luna’s heart was gladdened.
Without another word, Celestia headed for the stairs, and Luna followed behind her, sparing only a brief glance at their foster-father as he spoke quietly with a handful of the Unicorns pottering around the Tower’s ground floor.
“… I’m not doubting your insight, Starswirl – why would I, after so many years? I’m just saying, it sounds far fetched!”
A young, strong stallion’s voice was coming down from the highest floor of the Tower. Celestia threw a glance back at Luna, but the younger Alicorn could do nothing but shrug.
“Magnus,” the voice of Starswirl said angrily, “when I look at this and say ‘the Tower is not working’, you should spend less time concerning yourself with how likely it sounds and more with how terrifying the prospect is!”
“The Tower is not working?” Celestia repeated in a murmur.
“We surmised as much,” Luna said, “but surely he’d be able to repair it?”
“Can’t you fix it, old stallion?” the young voice – Magnus – said, echoing Luna’s sentiment.
“Fix it?!” Starswirl repeated. “Fix it?! No, no, I can’t fix this! The only ones who’d have a chance would be -”
It was at that point that Celestia and Luna finally reached the top floor of the Tower, where Starswirl was arguing with one of his Pegasus guardsponies – a young, tan-brown stallion in plate armour and a long cloak. Starswirl was looking right at the two Alicorns, his eyes wide. They were stood in a giant, high-ceilinged room, dominated by a great bronze sphere, around which hung two smaller spheres. A few more Pegasi, as well as some Earth Ponies and Unicorns, were with them, looking about the room as if to find some clue to what was happening with the Tower.
“You!” Starswirl called, pointing at the two Alicorns. “You might be able to get the Tower working again!”
“We might?” Celestia said, raising an eyebrow. Luna shared her sister's scepticism, but said nothing.
“As with the door, you might be able to make the magic of the Tower respond to you!” Starswirl said, motioning to the three spheres. “Normally these representations are connected magically to the Sun,” here he motioned to one of the smaller spheres, “and to the Moon!” He motioned to the second smaller sphere. “But the connection is broken! But from here, perhaps, you will be able to forge a connection and make the Tower function once more!”
Celestia met Luna’s eyes. “Sister?”
Luna nodded. “I am willing to try if you are, Celestia.”
“Uh, Starswirl,” the Pegasus – Magnus – said. “Not to be disrespectful, but how do we know they have the power to do this? Opening a door is one thing, but these kids can’t be more than… sixteen?”
“Seventeen,” Luna said tersely.
“Eighteen,” Celestia added. Then she muttered under her breath. “Presumed.”
“We have no time to debate it, Flash Magnus,” Starswirl said, giving his compatriot a serious glare.
Magnus only rolled his eyes. “If you say so.”
“Come, come!” Starswirl said, turning back to the Alicorns. “We must act quickly, now!”
Celestia took a deep breath and stepped forward, looking at the spheres. She closed her eyes, her horn glowing once more. Luna stepped beside her, her own eyes closing as she reached out with her magic.
For a long moment, she could feel nothing at all. But then, slowly. Surely, she could begin to sense it: the space beyond their world, empty and formless, yet teeming with possibility. It seemed vast to her then, an infinite void reaching out, further than the mind could even begin to understand. And yet, near their Equus, she could feel a point of solidity.
The Moon, she realised. She could feel it there, solid and tangible, responding to the gentle touch of her magic. She could feel the path it was meant to take, the path it almost wanted to take. Slowly, she reached out, tilting her head as she felt it resisting.
Nearby, she could sense another presence, brighter and warmer – the Sun, she realised, already starting its own path.
“Move,” she whispered under her breath to the Moon. “Move!”
And then it gave, the object beginning its own path, following the trajectory it had taken a million, million times before. Luna let out a sigh of relief and opened her eyes, looking to see Celestia doing the same. Her sister had sweat dripping down her face, and looked exhausted.
“Are you alright?” Celestia whispered.
“Yes,” Luna said. “And… are you?”
“Incredible!” Starswirl’s voice called, interrupting them both.
They turned to look at him, but he was not looking at them. He was looking up at the sky, where the setting Sun had now faded from view entirely, and the light of the Moon rose to take its place.
“Have we done it?” Celestia asked. “Is the Tower working?”
“No,” Starswirl said, his tone soft, almost as though he were in awe. “No, it is not.”
Next to him, Flash Magnus had removed his helmet in reverence, looking from the sky to the Alicorns and back again.
“I don’t understand,” Luna said, frowning at him. “If we did not fix the Tower…”
“You bypassed the Tower,” Starswirl told her. “You… you reached out, grabbed the Sun and Moon themselves, and moved them. You have set them on their path…”
Luna and Celestia exchanged a look, and Luna saw her own sudden doubt and fear mirrored in her sister’s wide eyes and gaping mouth.
“But… will they move on their own?” Celestia asked Starswirl. “Now that we have set them in motion?”
“No,” Starswirl said, shaking his head. “No… the momentum you have given them will carry over for a single day, but you must push them again… I fear, indefinitely, until we find some way to repair the Tower.”
“You moved the Sun and Moon,” Flash Magnus added, still looking between the sky and the Alicorns in wonder. “I’ve… never imagined such a thing before. I didn’t know it was… possible.”
“For Alicorns,” Starswirl said softly, “much is possible beyond the ken of mere ponies.”
Magnus looked to be struggling with himself for a long moment. He placed his helmet on the ground, and then to Luna’s shock he drew a long sword from his side. Celestia stepped in front of Luna protectively… only to stop as Magnus laid the sword at his hooves and knelt.
“You have not only saved Equestria,” he said softly, “but all of Equus with your deed. Your power is unrivalled – no others could do as you have done. As in the Old Times, when the strongest and wisest ruled the Pegasi, so now I submit myself to your rule. Command us, my ladies, and we shall obey.”
Slowly, the other Pegasi soldiers moved to stand next to him, drawing their swords and laying them at their hooves in turn.
“You have shown that the magic is strong with you,” Starswirl said in awe. “None but the mightiest of Magi could have done what you have done.” He lowered his head, before kneeling before them. “In you, there is the unity of all three, I see it now. Lead us, Alicorns, and we shall follow.”
All around the room, the other Unicorns knelt in turn, until only the Earth Ponies were left standing. Finally, one of the Earth Ponies stepped forward, coughing into his hoof.
“Uh, ma’am and ma’am,” he said awkwardly, looking from one to another. “Earth Ponies have always ruled themselves. We chose somepony to lead who the majority thought was the best, followin’ the ancient tradition of Demokratia laid down from the Old Ways.” He wet his lips carefully. “And when we joined Equestria, my kith and kin swore we’d still follow whoever had the majority. Well…” He scratched the back of his head. “Seems that’s you. They always said Alicorns were supposed to be the best of us… the ones who embodied the unity Equestria was founded on. An’… an’ you just moved the Sun and the Moon, and darn near saved the world.” He slowly knelt. “If the Pegasi and the Unicorns’ll follow you, we will too. Through our unity, we will be stronger.”
This last was the saying that had founded the first Earth Pony civilisations, and had later brought Equestria into being. All around him, the other Earth Ponies followed suit.
Celestia and Luna looked at one another, unsure how to react.
“What…” Celestia said after a moment, addressing the Earth Pony who had spoken. “What is thine name?”
She spoke in the formal tongue, and Luna straightened.
“Epli, son of Epli, ma’am,” the Earth Pony said. “Soldier of the New Equestrian Pony’s Army.”
“And thou art Flash Magnus?” Celestia asked Magnus.
“Former soldier of the Pegasi Junta, now a commander of the Equestrian army,” Flash Magnus said without raising his head.
“And Starswirl we know,” Luna cut in, looking to the Unicorn.
“It is my honour,” Starswirl said softly.
Celestia looked at Luna, and Luna saw once more the need for reassurance. They were being asked to do something neither of them were ready for.
“Thine leaders would not react well to what thou hast said,” Celestia said after a moment.
“Equestria is young,” Starswirl said, “and there is… dispute. We seek unity but have it not, not fully.”
Luna raised an eyebrow. Their foster-father had spoken only briefly of this ‘dispute’, but for it to have lasted the entire decade that Equestria had stood… well, it was impressive they were still here.
“You’re the symbol of unity,” Magnus added. “And what you’ve just done… there are none who would oppose it.”
Celestia took a deep breath, but before she could speak, Sint Erklass came up the stairs, his eyes widening as he took in the scene. Behind him came a handful of the other ponies, who at the sight of their comrades kneeling stepped inside and joined them.
“What has happened?” Sint Erklass asked.
Celestia didn’t reply. Instead she turned to Luna.
“Am I your sister?” she asked. “Now and always?”
“Now and always,” Luna replied.
“And will thou stay with me?” Celestia asked.
“Always,” Luna replied, “until the ending of the world.”
Celestia nodded, turning back to the kneeling ponies.
“We did not come here seeking Lordship over thee,” she said, “but to answer a question. The world was wronged, and we have set it to rights. But thou now lay before us a greater burden – the unity of our kindred amongst thee.”
She looked to Luna, who stepped forward, taking a deep breath.
“We have been told that Alicorns are a blending of the three kindred,” she said, looking briefly to Sint Erklass, whose expression had frozen into shock. “Though we have lived among the diaspora of Adlaborn, in our hearts, we have always belonged with thee. And… and…”
“And if now thou shalt set before us the burden of rule,” Celestia finished, bringing herself to her full, fairly impressive height, “if this is indeed what thou wisheth of us?”
“It is!” Starswirl called.
“Command us!” Flash Magnus added.
“We’ll follow you!” Epli added.
“Very well,” Celestia said, with one final look to Luna. “Then we shall accept.”
A great cheer went up from the assembled ponies, even as Sint Erklass’ expression became almost stricken.
“We will work as we have here,” Celestia called out, almost shouting over the cheers. “To restore that which is hurt, until the world is made right once more and peace reigns over these lands! This we swear, from this day until our last!”
“From this day,” Luna added, her voice rising in volume until the room shook with its power, “until the end of days!”
“Hail to them!” Starswirl called. “Hail Celestia! Hail Luna! Hail the scions of the Fausticorn! Hail the diarchy of Equestria!”
“Hail the Diarchy!” the cry went up. “Hail the Diarchy!”
“Hail!”
“Hail!”
The cry echoed through the ancient Tower, and from the Tower into the valley below, out into the clear night among the stars.
“It is not as simple as this, thou must know this,” Sint Erklass said to Starswirl later, as the other ponies cheered and broke out what little ration of ale they had amongst themselves.
“Of course,” Starswirl replied, nodding. “But though I am but one pony, I know the legends of the Fausticorn. And you called these her daughters.”
“They are,” Sint said, nodding.
“Then they are made to rule,” Starswirl replied, smiling. “And indeed, for us to choose them instead of them choosing to take that power for themselves… that is a sign of good character.”
“Perhaps,” Sint Erklass said. “But it is also a heavy burden that thou hast asked them to bear for thee.”
“The heaviest,” Starswirl agreed, “but I have faith. For the Tower to fail now, and these two to take the place of their ancestors’ work? That is not merely coincidence, oh Guardian of Joy. That is providence.”
“Providence,” Sint Erklass sighed. “I have known providence, Starswirl the Bearded, and I have known her to be fickle and cruel.”
“Perhaps,” Starswirl said, before turning to look at the two Alicorns, currently surrounded by other ponies and answering a thousand feverish questions. “But not today. Today she is kind, and has saved many great pains and hurts of our world from being brought to fruition.”
“Perhaps,” Sint Erklass echoed. “Perhaps.”
Author's Note
Welcome to Tales of Harmony and War. Less a side story of the Reduxverse, more an anthology of stories surrounding events on Equus, both in ancient history and also post the divergence. Consider this a sister story to The Silent Sentinel.
