“I always am in a role, lovely – for you, for them – even for myself. Even when I’m alone, I am still in a role – and I myself am the most exacting audience I have ever had.”

The people of Neighpon have a saying. That there are three faces - the face you show to the world, the face you show to your close friends, and the face you show to yourself. The truest reflection of who you are. Celestia, usually, found herself inclined to agree.

Today, as she gazed upon Twilight Sparkle's dead, empty eyes, she did not.

Over six thousand long years ago - far after the fall of the Once Great Deer, not quite so long after the Shattering of Asgard - a handful of years after the creature known as Discord stepped claw on this world for the second time...there was a stallion.

His name was Starswirl the Bearded. To say he was merely magnificent would be a disservice. To say he was intelligent would be an insult. To say he was powerful - would be an insult to his name. These things were an understatement to the glory of her mentor, Celestia, often thought to herself.

He was cold. He could be cruel - he was not perfect, he was not infallible. But - he had the power to grind mountains into dust, boil oceans, but he chose instead to bandage wounds and boil soup for the needy. He was the first librarian - before and after Discord's grand betrayal.

He had a thousand titles, and he had earned all of them. It was he who had refined the vilest and darkest of magics - the magic of blood into the amniomorphic spell, the basis of all modern healing magic. It was he and he alone who mastered the most dangerous magic of all, the magic of Time itself. It was he who, with the aid of the Regal Sisters and the Shepherd of Magic that had locked away Grogar's nothingness away in Tambelon. He was great - the greatest, strongest mortal mage alive. Or dead.

Many claimed to be the greatest mage since Starswirl the Bearded. There was a reason that none claimed to be greater than him - for it would be a lie. There had been none greater, and Celestia had doubted that she would ever meet someone who surpassed him in raw potential.

She was being proven wrong a lot recently, it seemed.

"Ma'am." One of the ponies in Equestria with a list of titles that could rival Celestia's, Master Commander of the Standing Army of Equestria, Commander Shysteel, had entered the room stealthily. It was one of the many reasons that she had chosen Shysteel for the role of Master-Commander, even when there were many more - politically appealing candidates.

Oftentimes, though, games of realpolitik had to be pushed for the safety of Equestria and her people.

Celestia glanced up at the Master-Commander. "I thought you would be on maternity leave, Commander." She arched an eyebrow.
"Maternity leave." She scoffed. "Forgive me if I find the concept to be novel."
"Mm." Celestia remarked dryly. "Ivory Chaser?"
"Sir Ivory Chaser is currently informing the Head Judicator of the situation, ma'am."
"Ah." Celestia glanced down at her papers.
"...Is it true, ma'am?"
"It's true, Steelshy, that if you call me ma'am again - I will drop you off the side of the Canterhorn." Her voice was almost bored, but it contained a hint of playfulness. Master-Commander Steelshy was one of the few ponies Celestia considered a friend despite her sometimes abrasive personality.

"Is that a permission to speak freely, ma'am?"
Celestia's horn lit with a dangerous glow. Steelshy was a pegasus - and a rather quick one at that. But she wouldn't actually do it. Probably.
"I'll take that as a yes. Ivory Chaser said- that she's as strong as you. Is - is it true?" Steelshy stepped forward, an almost panicked glint in her eyes. "A unicorn? A foal?"

Celestia thought for a few moments. Then, finally, she stood up, setting the papers that Ivory Chaser had brought her down on her desk. "Walk with me," she ordered as she began walking off towards the single most secure room in Canterlot Castle.

Five ponies and six non-ponies knew about the Black Vault. At the very centre of the Canterhorn, shaped out of haphazardly chained together nullstones gifted by Lord Zarrat, enchanted by Lady Thaola, shaped and moulded by Lady Beollyssurth, and completely airtight thanks to Lord Hermes - it wasn't just the safest room in the Canterlot Castle. In all likelihood, it was the safest vault in all of Aezilan.

The Black Vault was large enough to contain Beollyssurth's titanic mass - the dragon had made sure of it. It was in equal parts a jail cell for the Aspects as it was a container for the most dangerous magical artefacts that any of the Aspects had the misfortune of coming into contact with. There were weapons of true ingenuity in there - things that could, if misused, result in the death of millions - or worse, the seals that locked away the two Children on Aezilan being broken.

All five aspects knew about the vault. Discord, in Celestia's monthly conversations with her - had mentioned it in passing. Celestia indeed did have her moments of foolish naivety - but she was not nearly so foolish as to speak to the Eldest Daughter, who Discord claimed could talk the sanest of creatures into killing themselves for her own amusement - but if Discord knew, it was safe to assume that she knew, as well.

The other four ponies who knew about the vault - were the heads of the Equestrian state.
Master-Commander of the Standing Army of Equestria, Commander Steelshy Blade.
Master-Judicator of the Royal Guard of Equestria, Head Judicator Goldspur.
Master-Researcher of the Intelligence Operations of Equestria, Sir Ivory Chaser.
And, of course, her darling niece - Master-Speaker of the Nobility of Equestria, Princess Mi Amore Cadenza.

Once, they had asked her why Discord - or the Elements of Harmony weren't locked away in the Black Vault. It seemed logical, surely: but the Children, and by extension - the Elements, were not things of logic. It was far safer for Discord, a creature of change and disharmony - to be in the most static, harmonious place possible. A garden, at the centre of Equestria, tended to exclusively by Celestia - and Celestia alone.

Compared to the Black Vault - where there was metal, magic, wards - things that could erode, fade, change- her garden was a far more effective cage for Discord than the Vault could ever hope to be. As for the Elements of Harmony - the Everfree was a cesspool of raging, dark magic that only the Terrors could unleash - and only the Elements or Discord himself had managed to combat that magic before. Their presence kept the world docile - the land more bountiful, the weather tameable...and more importantly, it kept the magic of the Terrors at bay.

Celestia stood at a specific spot, at a specific moment - before her horn lit. The world blurred, and Commander Steelshy found herself stumbling as she stood five thousand feet underground in an instant. Long-range teleportation was never pleasant - especially into the Black Vault, with all its oppressive warding. Steelshy suppressed the urge to share her lunch with the floor.

"Warning, would be nice." She hissed through gritted teeth.
"I thought you were supposed to be prepared for anything." Celestia teased. Regardless, she quickly lit her horn - and threw a brute force wave of magic at Steelshy. Celestia had shifted the magic to be a little less - hostile, so it quickly absorbed Steelshy. The glow of her coat faded, her cutie mark glittering lightly as she straightened up - her momentary discomfort quickly passed.

"If I'm ever against anything that could teleport me like that, I don't think there was anything I could do to be prepare."
"Have you considered prayer?" Celestia tilted her head to the side. "Goldspur claims that it helps him."
"Prayer to you?" Steelshy arched an eyebrow. "It might be a little hard to pray to the mare who I saw step on a ladybug and cry for an hour."
Celestia turned her head up. "It was not an hour." There was a slight tint to her cheeks.
"Mhm. I guess it wasn't an hour, considering you control the clocks." The pegasus rolled her teal eyes. Her expression shifted suddenly, and the grey mare stepped forward - placing a hoof on Celestia's side. Celestia turned to look at her.

"...Is - she really this dangerous?" The Commander spoke softly.
"What do you know of Fate, Commander?" Celestia spoke as she promptly brushed away from her touch. She walked down the halls of the Black Vault, colossal doors with a runic shielding opening up in her mere presence. The walls were lined with bubbles that contained hundreds of weapons, rings, books - all of them pulsing with power.

"The concept?" Steelshy arched an eyebrow.
"The doe." Celestia thought for a moment. "The mare," she incorrectly corrected.
Steelshy thought for a moment. "About as much as the Head Judicator knows. He mentioned you met with her, once."
"I did," Celestia spoke softly. "I was arrogant once, Steelshy. A conqueror, almost - much like the Lady Thaola. Equestria was not always as big as it once was. Before my sister and I wrested much of our land from the Dread-Emperor Berzerkiel, there was a time where the entirety of Equestria was a single mountain, and nothing more."

"It was not time that changed me. It was not Discord, or Starswirl - or any other foe you have heard of. No. It was - a meeting. Five minutes with the Lady Fate - the Youngest Daughter. She told me things, that day. She has the gift of prophecy - you know. True, genuine, prophecy. The words she speaks is fact."

"I cannot say what she told me that day. I do not remember much of it, myself - through compulsion. My memories blur and fog as I think about it. But, an inkling of herself has been - grafted, to me, I say. You've heard of my prophetic dreams."
Steelshy nodded, a slight expression of awe on her face.

They came to a halt at the very end of the vault. There was a set of double doors - heavier and larger than anything Steelshy had seen before, covered in ornate gold writing - and filled with two vials. Of course, these vials would have to be filled with liquid vis to open the door.

It was here where the girl had been quarantined. Steelshy quickly glanced at the objects that had been relocated so that she would be alone - the Hammer of the Moon, the Glaive of the Sun - and the single most dangerous artefact in the world, The Conqueror's Penance.

It was unassuming. Compared to the gigantic silver hammer, the ornate gold weapon that radiated with the heat of the sun - you wouldn't expect it to be the most dangerous thing in the vault. Until the bed of scales, it was bound in shifted - until the flesh it was written on pulsed, until the eye on its cover blinked.

Celestia had never had the misfortune to read its pages. However, Luna did - and to this day, she believed that it was one of the contributing factors in her mind opening up to the horror of the Terrors. It was unfathomably old - Discord himself seemed to be uncomfortable when she broached the subject of the book, and no magic that Celestia or the other Aspects had utilized had so much as chipped it. Worse, still - this was one of seven volumes.

Yet, Celestia deemed this filly - this foal, so dangerous - that she left it out in the "open" of the Black Vault instead of where it had remained comfortably locked.

Steelshy gulped.

"I had a dream. A week, after the True Moon fell. I dreamt of a corpse - whispering such horrible things. It whispered of iron, of the end of life itself - and it whispered of a Lady in Lavender. I woke that night, screaming."

Steelshy opened her mouth. Celestia interrupted her, seemingly reading her mind. "I could not kill her. Not for lack of ability - she is still young. It might be the only time I could kill her. But I merely could not bring myself to, Commander. When I look at her - I..." She trailed off. She turned her head to the side and ran her hoof over her stomach.

"I understand." Steelshy whispered.
Celestia's horn lit with a glimmering, golden glow. The doors slowly filled with her magic - and after what felt like an æternity, the doors began to shake - tremble, and slowly - painfully slowly open.

The most dangerous mare in the world was unassuming. She was a tiny thing - just the size of Steelshy's own daughter, born on the same day. She was immobile as she lay against the side of the wall - her horn slightly curved, pointed like a spear...her coat, the most brilliant shade of lavender. Her hooves were as black as the nullstone floor; the Black Vault was carved into, and her eyes were tightly shut - as she twitched in her sleep, her lip curling slightly and moving ever so slightly.

But without the heavy doors of warded nullstone between them - Steelshy could feel her aura in full. She was brought down to her knees in an instant - the weight of a thousand stars pressing down on her. A small trail of blood oozed from her nose, her eyes widening as she let out a choked gasp - a magical pressure, unlike anything she had ever felt before crushing her, killing her-

Celestia cleared her throat. "Enough, Twilight." And immediately, the pressure lifted. The unicorn - was she a unicorn?- didn't think so much as twitch. Steelshy wiped the blood from her nose. She didn't say a word - as she observed the Alicorn of the Sun walk over and kneel beside Twilight.

Celestia reached down and gently stroked her wing over Twilight's back. The tips of her primaries brushed over her fur, her hoof reaching down and tussling her mane - dark blue, with a streak of brilliant Fuschia curling throughout it. She shut her eyes as she sat there, content at the moment - stroking the unicorn back and forth, back and forth...

Master-Commander of the Standing Equestrian Army, Master-Commander Steelshy Blade - looked at this filly. She looked at this filly, and she saw the world - burning underneath her hooves. Grass turning into glass, dirt splashing like waves as death and fire rained from her horn. She looked at this filly, and she saw the skies - the hands and hooves of a thousand creatures reaching towards the Outer Beyond - for, with her guidance, anything was in reach. She saw a thousand things, a thousand possibilities -

"Master-Commander Steelshy," Celestia whispered. "Do you still find the concept of maternity leave novel?"

"I knew House Twilight, Auntie."
"I would expect you to, Master-Speaker." Celestia tilted her head to the side.
"They were good. Good people. The Matron - Velvet. She was a lovely mare. She asked one of my Facades to babysit the girl. I accepted, you know."

Facades. It was a term that the Aspects used for their characters. With quick shapeshifting spells, they assumed the shape of mortals - there were a hundred of Luna's paintings that she had published under one of her Facades, while Cadence kept a dozen or so. The name was amusing to Celestia. Her Facades were more of a reflection of her true self - of the mortal daughter of King Odin - than Celestia ever was, or could hope to be.

"Hm. I wonder, how differently things would've turned out, had she not..." She trailed off.
"...Do you know what happened?" Cadence whispered. The alicorn shifted her position as her hoof met Celestia's, her teacup raising to her lips.

"Ivory Chaser has been able to gleam some information from the-" Celestia grimaced, "autopsy. Matron Velvet died before the child was birthed. Her horn carved bloody scratches into her inside. I am pleased, that she did not have to experience the girl eating her way out of her stomach." Cadence paled slightly. "Her soul instinctively cried out for sustenance. It drained the life dry out of every creature around - out of the very building itself. I am fairly certain, my dear niece - that if I am truly not ageless, then my lifespan has been halved."

"I - how could - she...a unicorn-"
"She is not a unicorn." Celestia shook her head. "She is more reminiscent of the Children. She takes the form of a unicorn - but she is more than one. The details of her conception, of her birth, her - creation, I hope, will be revealed in time."
"You plan to raise her."
"I do." Celestia nodded. "I could not bring myself to harm her, directly or indirectly. And there is no other that could possibly take up such a task."
"Celestia. Be careful."
"She will not harm me, Cadence. I'm certain of that."
"No," Cadence shook her head. "She wouldn't. You said - she hasn't said a word. Hasn't waken up?"
"She has not." Celestia confirmed.
"She loves you, Celestia. There is so much love in her - that I think that if I were to have that much love, even Discord would take pause." Celestia's expression hardened slightly. "That much love - it can be dangerous. Obsessive."
"Thank you, Cadence. I will take your consideration to heart." She nodded and smiled warmly.

It wasn't until years later that Cadence would recall that it was not Celestia who had bore the Element of Honesty.

"Kill her."
The words were abrupt. Straightforward and to the point - something which Discord never was. Celestia took pause. It did not take long to figure out who Discord was referring to - while blind and deaf, he was far from unaware of the world's happenings.
"Hello, Discord."
"I mean it, Celestia. Kill her."
"You're rather forward today, aren't you?"
"I sensed her. If you had come a few days earlier, I would've warned you. She came into this world - screaming and kicking as she dragged bits of my mother's corpse in with her. She's familiar, Celestia - and that should scare you."
"It does," Celestia said truthfully. "She terrifies me. I look at her - and I see such potential."
"Then you're a fool, if you see anything less than a threat. She would make my sister's work look paltry in comparison as she grinds this world down to dust. She's a rolling sea of disharmony - a daughter of rape, a creature of hatred. You met her father once, you know."
"Did I?" Celestia whispered.
"You did." Discord whispered, almost sadly. Celestia's eyes shut.
"Will he come for her?"
"I doubt it. I'd be surprised if the old bastard - and I do mean old had enough sense to realize that she survived. Or, what he's done."
"What he's done?" Celestia tilted her head to the side. "I don't follow.
"She was brought into this world by a force beyond my knowledge, Celestia. There is very little beyond my knowledge. He's always been a fool, but I never expected him to be - so stupid."
"Could she..." She trailed off. "Kill him?"
"She reminds me of my sister, Celestia. That is as good an answer as you will get. So - kill her."
"I could not," Celestia whispered - so softly.
"Oh, you could. It would be easy. Punt her into the sun. Vaporize her with sunfire. Pop my cage open - let me wring her neck, then put me back in the slammer."
"You've never killed before. You're lying," Celestia spoke - but she knew her words were hollow.
"I've killed plenty before, Celestia. I've killed more than your feeble mind could possibly comprehend. Never on Aezilan, though - never intentionally. I would make an exception."
"I can't kill her, Discord. I- she-"
"Then I have nothing more to say to you, Celestia."

"Hello, Twilight."
There was no response. Merely a prickling on her back - as Celestia felt something watching her. She suppressed a shudder.
"I brought you some food." Celestia set down the plate. Lord Hermes had given it to her himself before he zipped off as per usual - a plate of steak. There was no unicorn or pegasus in the world that was quite as vegetarian as they claimed - but something so macabre as a steak in lieu of fish...it was unheard of, in Equestria. She slid the plate down over by the unicorn's mouth.

"I talked to an old friend today." Celestia shut her eyes. "I'm not sure if we're still friends. Maybe we were, once. Certainly not anymore. We - hurt each other."

Twilight, obviously, was silent.

"I saw some of the other foals today, as well. They were born the same time as you, my little star." Celestia slowly stroked Twilight's barrel, her hoof trailing up to her withers. "There was Steelshy's daughter - the smallest pegasus I've ever seen. Goldspur's was a hardy one. It's no surprise, considering how large the stallion is." Celestia remarked dryly.

Twilight's ear twitched - more movement than she had shown in the weeks she'd been here. Celestia didn't notice.

The two sat there for a long while. Celestia, stroking the filly's mane back and forth - as Celestia rattled on about her day. About the foals she had met, the mundanity of day court - as well as her rather stressful meeting with Discord and Cadance in a bit more detail. The foal wasn't truly all there - but some part of her was conscious. She could feel the presence land on her every time she entered the room.

Eventually - it came time to set the sun. Celestia stood up. "Sleep well, my little star." As Celestia's horn lit to open the doors - there was a noise.

It was ravenous. The sound of soft grunting, hissing, snarling - as the child used her hooves to tear the steak into bloody chunks. She ate like a gluttonous pig, spraying bits of haemoglobin all over the floor and walls, shreds of meat staining the plate that she spent her time licking clean. She shifted forward before the foal lay there panting - covered in haemoglobin, her chest heaving and her midnight hooves trembling.

The Unconquered Sun - the Bane of Berzerkiel, Daughter of Odin, Breaker of Chains, Mare of Conquest - suddenly found herself at a loss for words. After what felt like minutes - but must have been seconds at least, Celestia whispered-

"Good morning, Twilight."
Her voice hurt to listen to. It was an ugly rasp, purple mist leaking from her bottom jaw - mixed with her eyes, the sclera tinted black and the iris a blazing lavender -
"morn...ingg..." Twilight wheezed out.
The Unconquered Sun - the Bane of Berzerkiel, Daughter of Odin, Breaker of Chains, Mare of Conquest - suddenly found that her heart had skipped a beat.

The people of Neighpon have a saying. That there are three faces - the face you show to the world, the face you show to your close friends, and the face you show to yourself. The truest reflection of who you are. Celestia, usually, found herself inclined to agree.

Today, as she gazed upon Twilight Sparkle's dead, empty eyes, she did not.

Celestia had hoped that she would never meet a god. She had hoped that she would never meet another immortal, either.

Celestia hoped for a lot of things. And as she gazed deeper into the filly's eyes - and saw nothing but pure, unadulterated - magic, she noted that they often did not come true.

Across the world, a giant stood in a library.

Not the species. No, a title - for the wolf was gigantic. Truly, the tallest bipedal or quadrupedal creature that wasn't a dragon that nearly anyone would see in their life. An equally immense broadsword, the size of him was on his back - and he was surrounded by corpses.

One corpse had been split right down the middle. Another had its blood frozen - its hair long and white, skin a pale blue and lips an even deeper shade. There was only one pony still alive - mutilated, crippled, but alive - and it sat there, trembling, whimpering at him.

"Shut up." He hissed. "Shut the FUCK up." He slammed his fist into the table - but his rage wasn't directed at the pony. His gaze was far off. Slowly, he turned his gaze back to the bat pony.

"Heh. Sorry about that. Voices in the head." He rolled his eyes. "Yknow how it is." He leaned in. "Anyways, what was I saying? Oh, right." He nodded.

"That hurt, didn't it? Of course it did." He scoffed. "Christ. You - ugh. Fucking Aezilans." He shut his eyes. "Right. Right. Gotta stay on track. One mind. One goal. Fuck." His claws dug into the wood.

"Tell me everything you know about it." He whispered. "Now."
"I - can't. I would - never betray my people-"
"No, you don't understand." The wolf stepped forward. "If you don't tell me everything you know - and I do mean everything, I will tear it out of your screaming, moaning body - and then I will kill you. I will kill you, I will kill everyone that you have ever known, everyone that you have ever crossed by in the street - and they will know exactly why."

"So let me repeat again, batpony." The wolf scoffed as he stepped forward, gripping tightly onto the other wing of the thestral - his brilliant blue eyes shifting and glowing a sickly green.

"Tell me everything you know about the Mare in the Moon."

-

Author's Note

Most updates won't come as fast as this. Once every third day, ideally: but I wanted to give a bit more meat to the story to chew on.

I do have a fairly concrete idea of what I want to see in this story, one that I doubt will change.
I'm curious though: what do you want to see?

Behold! A discord server!