"We shall leave behind a seed, in hopes it will one day grow into a force to stand against the darkness. We must now face the fiend, with the only plan we have... I only hope it will be enough."
-- Star Swirl the Bearded, final words, ca. 44 A.C.
"Here," said Star Swirl. "This is the place for it, the very place."
The bewhiskered unicorn chalked a circle on the thin layer of dry sediment making up the floor of the cavern. Then he swung to face the others, the bells on his wizard's cloak and hat swaying in silence. "The confluence of ley-lines remains perfect. And here, hidden deep underground, none shall disturb it."
Beside him, a salmon-coated pegasus lifted her lantern, peering up and around at the darkness. "It seems wrong," Somnambula said, "to plant a seed in such a chill, sunless place. Where is the light, mmm? Where are the nourishing breezes and the changing of the seasons, to encourage it to grow and prosper?" But she did not further object as the huge, leather-armored stallion beside her swung his shovel and dug into the mark, swiftly excavating a small, pot-shaped hole.
"Aye, lassie," said Rockhoof. "I'm with ye. It seems a chill hidey-hole this. But for such a treasure, maybe such care is proper, eh?"
"It is crystal, and spellwork," said Mistmane, in her thin, reedy voice. The wrinkled, stooped unicorn came forward, unwrapping the cloth bundle and settling a very small crystalline shard into the hole. "And just a little of each of our essences. It will be enough."
"And I declare, even in the darkest of times," Mage Meadowbrook said as she sprinkled a small infusion of gem dust and firefly-glow over the shard, "when all else seemed lost, we've reached for the light, for what's needful. I'd like to think our example will live on, in the world we leave behind."
"I only wish that we could all have been here," called Flash Magnus. The silver-armored pegasus turned from where he was guarding the entrance to the cavern. "I wish we could have been together to see this. I wish we could have made a grand celebration of it, and not have to skulk about like thieves in the night, burying such a treasure in this rathole."
"If that were the case," Star Swirl rumbled grimly, "there would be no need for such extreme measures." Then he sighed. "Though true, I wish things could have been different. I wish I could have told Celestia and Luna of this, so that they might be its guardians. But then it would never have been a secret, such is their exuberance and pride. And discretion is everything now, are we agreed?"
The others nodded, reluctant but resigned.
Star Swirl swept the dirt back into the hole. Waving a hoof, he cast a swift binding-and-warding charm. "There. The last preparation is complete. We leave for Ponehenge gate within the hour. Say your farewells to this world, for we know not what lies ahead. Perhaps eternity, perhaps nothingness. Who is to say what Limbo holds?"
"At least we shall have each other," said Somnambula confidently. "And, willing or unwilling, we shall once more all be together... all seven of us. What more shall we need?"
Rockhoof nodded. "I can think of worse ways to spend eternity, than in the company of all of ye." He looked mildly regretful. "Though I was kinda hopin' there'd be quaffing at least, in the hereafter. But bein' in such good company... aye. It'll be enough."
"Then let us be off, and quickly too!" said Magnus. "So we may show the enemy we have no fear of him."
The ponies swiftly filed out of the cavern, going their separate ways. Yet Star Swirl paused at the exit, thoughtful even in his grim determination. And Magnus grinned at him.
"What frets thee, old graybeard?"
"I was merely considering," Star Swirl said, "this is the first time we have combined all our magic in this fashion. This is something new, in a world that had long since grown old and unsurprising to me. And for once I shall not be around to see the result. A pity." He sighed, and shook his head. "Pay me no mind, Magnus. I am an old pony, wool-gathering in my dotage. There is grim work ahead this night -- so let's to it!"
They departed at last, leaving the cavern once more to its darkness and stillness.
Yet already there was a tension in the air, a gathering of forces, a promise of things yet to come. Almost by accident, through a simple act of ingenuity, bravery, and sheer desperation...
... the true power of this world had finally awakened.
Out of a cloudless blue sky, seemingly out of the very Sun itself -- for such was how the Sun Princess preferred to make her entrances -- the Golden Chariot descended from on high, toward the entrance of the Royal Palace at Canterlot.
Aboard were the two alicorn Sisters, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, still armored for battle, still bearing the scars, blood, and dirt from their recent conflict. And there was no need for clouds in the sky. There were clouds enough in their respective thoughts.
Celestia sighed. "This should be a return in triumph, a grand celebration, a tremendous victory. Instead... we dine on ashes."
"Sombra," Luna said quietly, "is no more. Imprisoned in the Far North where even the Yaks fear to tread. That should be foremost in our minds now, Sister. We should take comfort that Sombra is banished, and our subjects safe."
"Yet the Empire, the whole Crystal Empire..." Celestia shook her head, unable to rid herself of the memory. "Amore's legacy, her ponies, all of it, just... gone. As if they'd never been. Save for this." Her hoof touched the carefully-wrapped bundle, the tall, dun-colored crystal within. "At such price," she said, "victory hardly seems worth it."
"This gem may yet hold the key," Luna said, "to discovering what happened, and where the Empire has gone. We can see it is kept safe, secured in the Archives, studied carefully. And perhaps, one day..."
"Perhaps..." agreed Celestia.
The Chariot swept down to a landing before the broad staircase leading up to the Palace gates. Around the Princesses, the multitude of waiting ponies, guards, nobles, Palace staff, and commoners alike, swiftly fell to their knees in respect.
All was hushed.
"Do we tell them now?" Luna whispered uneasily.
"Later," Celestia replied. "There will be time for speeches and proclamations later. For the nonce, it is sufficient we are home, and alive, and all is well."
Passing the wrapped gemstone into the care of the Chief Scholar of the Archives, the Princesses strode sternly, authoritatively up the steps to the Palace. And as they went, a bit of Celestia's old pride and confidence returned.
"For once," she said, "we return home facing a future in which there are no more immanent threats to Equestria. A future in which, perhaps, things are finally back to normal."
Out of the very air around them, a voice spoke. It was dryly humorous, darkly sinister.
OH, REALLY, CELESTIA? AND JUST WHAT MAKES YOU THINK THAT?
Before the startled Princesses could react, the doors before them were flung open. The Chief Steward burst through. The elderly, white-maned pony was wide-eyed, terrified for his life.
"Your Highnesses! Thank the heavens you have returned! You must act quickly! He's out of control! We cannot stop him! He --"
Suddenly the Steward froze, a bizarre rictus grin on his face. A clown hat had appeared on his head, and he brought up his forehooves, each of which was suddenly bearing a small cymbal. He banged the cymbals together, his eyes bugging, his grin convulsively widening and narrowing:
Ching... ching... ching...
Astonished, the Princesses rushed past him and inside, up the broad corridors lined with stained-glass windows. And very nearly broke their necks as the carpet beneath their armored hooves suddenly became slick as oil. Slithering and stumbling ungracefully, they finally reached the Grand Audience Hall and the twin thrones within.
Or rather, the single throne, now.
It stood atop the broad, flat dais at the far end of the Hall. Made from ancient carven oak, it had a red silk backing and a silver headboard, set with a pair of eye-like rubies. Atop that, there was a pair of desiccated antlers.
And seated on it, grinning like a jack-o-lantern, was...
"Discord!" Celestia snarled.
"Celestia!" the draconequus crowed. "Home at last from the war-front! And a sight for sore eyes, I must say! Oh, and I see you somehow managed not to lose what's-her-face in battle. Pity. Missed your chance there, you know."
Luna snorted. "And what, pray tell us, is the meaning of this insult?"
"Really, Moony!" Discord sneered. "You're supposed to be the brainy one of the outfit, aren't you? Well, I saw how glum you two were looking as you were coming in to land. So I simply had to do something to cheer you both up."
With a flash of chaos magic, he was suddenly standing right before them, looking them up and down. "My, my, my," he said, "don't you two look a fright! All that gaudy battle-armor and you still look like you've gotten the worst of a cat-fight." He grinned mischievously. "Had another of those little spats about who was sitting on whose side of the Chariot again?"
Before the Princesses could reply, he waved a paw graciously, and they found themselves divested of their battle-armor, their scars healed, coats and manes freshened up, their royal regalia restored.
"There, all better! Now, you want Daddy Discord to tuck you in and tell you a story?"
"Enough, Discord!" Celestia stamped a hoof. "We are in no mood for your pranks just now. Leave us!"
"But first," added Luna, ever practical, "restore our thrones to their rightful place."
"Well, you see, that's just it." Discord shrugged. "They are in their rightful place: the dust-heap. I'm in charge here." He nodded blithely at their looks of outrage. "Believe me, I was just as surprised as you that's how it turned out. Originally, I thought while you were away I'd just keep the home fires burning. Keep your thrones warm, an eye on the kettle, so to speak. While you two were off busily fighting your little skirmishes with Tirek, Sacanas, King Sombra, and the like..."
"Skirmishes!" Celestia was livid. "Do you know how many good ponies' lives were lost in those battles!"
Discord wasn't even paying attention. "But there was a problem, you see. Only one of me, and two thrones. So I had to pick one and get rid of the other. Sorry, Moony, yours didn't make the cut. So severe and practical, much like your gloomy self. Celestia's was far more plush." He grinned sybarytically. "And then, I had a simply brilliant idea -- even for me! What if I just took over, here? Seriously! I can run the country, handle all the boring ruling stuff. Whilst the two of you get on with... oh, I don't know, Princessing or something. Making speeches, opening temples and shopping centers, judging at floral festivals and the like."
"What?" Celestia grated.
"And," Discord went on, "having hit on that brilliant idea, naturally I had to replace Celestia's throne with something a little more suitable for me." He gestured towards the oaken throne, and then beamed in childish delight. "I even made my own crown!" He snapped his claw, and an ill-fitting, high-domed gold and red velvet crown appeared atop his head.
"What do you think? Huh? Huh? Is this look me, or what?"
"This has gone far enough!" Celestia stalked forward to stand snout-to-snout with the grinning draconequus. "I have had my doubts of late about you, Discord. Always conveniently around to apologize for whatever poor choice of companions you've made lately. And then never around when the time comes to clean up the mess and deal with the consequences. But this? This is not in the least amusing! Restore our thrones on the instant! And then begone from our presence..." Her eyes narrowed. "While you are still able."
Discord looked smug. And then gently tapped the Princess's nose with a finger.
"Don't threaten me, Celestia."
His voice was suddenly all around them, a presence of its own, filling the Hall and echoing in coldly sinister ways. His eyes gleamed, their pupils flickering flames. "True, given what you two are, I can't deal with you as I might like. Just wave a claw and be done with it. But equally, you can't stand against me. I'm the Lord of Chaos. I am chaos itself, incarnate!"
"Thou art also annoying, and long-winded," Luna grumbled. "Is there other news?"
"Hmph!" Discord's voice and gaze returned to normal. "Well, let's just agree to disagree, shall we? Your little universe needs a guiding power to rule it. And conveniently enough, I'm in need of a realm myself. I mean, I've got my own little pocket of chaos to live in. But it was all I could do just to scrape it together and keep it from falling to pieces. But your little setup, it's all ready-made, fitments already in, a real fixer-upper! All it needs are a few homey touches..."
He gestured with his claw. The tapestries lining the hall suddenly changed from images of Discord's leering face to childish wax-stick drawings of Celestia and Luna -- with their eyes crossed and their tongues sticking out.
"Oopsie!" Discord covered his grin with his paw. "I was saving those for Casual Tuesdays. Ah, well. Might as well roll with it, I suppose." He snapped his claw and was suddenly dressed in dark sunglasses, baggy shorts, and a vomitously colorful shirt. "Ta da!"
"You leave us no choice, Discord," Celestia warned. Her horn blazed, and so did Luna's. "If we have to banish you from our realm, we will!"
"What, from this little place?" Discord sneered. "A tiny little nation on a miserable little poker-chip, drifting in a barely noticeable pocket universe? Hardly seems worth the effort."
They glared at him, silently.
"Still," he went on, "if you two are determined to try, I'm game. But --" He held up a finger. "You'll have to catch me first..."
He waved his paw. Above the throne appeared a swirling, roaring vortex. At the same time, Celestia and Luna felt everything about them shift unpleasantly. Each of them suddenly had the disturbing sensation of having each of her four hooves standing on a different independent and disconnected stretch of marble tile.
"Sister!" Luna gasped. "Is that what I think it is?"
"You mean," Discord called over the roaring of the vortex, "a divergent dimensional nexus? Right first time, Moony! Who wants a gold star, hmm?"
"And... that is?" Celestia asked, uncomfortably aware of how little she knew of such things.
"He is splitting the time-stream," Luna said. "Creating a divergence of realities. Only he knows which is the true one -- if indeed, there is still a true one!"
Discord laughed uproariously. He sprang into the air, turning loop-the-loops and figure-eights. His voice sang out in the Hall, airy and derisive:
Run, Run!
Don't be a wuss!
Can't catch me,
I'm the draconequus!
He came to a sudden halt, making a face. "Ewww. I can do better than that. I mean, really! Oh well, know for next time."
Putting paw and claw to his ears, he waggled them at the Princesses. "See you never, ladies!" With one last wild swoop, he plunged into the vortex.
"Discord!" Celestia yelled, already far too late.
And that was only the beginning of the descent into madness...
The two Princesses stepped cautiously out of the vortex, onto what looked like the Palisade, the grand avenue of shops and dining halls leading up towards the Palace drawbridge.
Around them, ponies nervously peered from doors and windows, encouraged by the sight of the Princesses, yet still afraid to set hoof on the streets with all the chaos about.
"This must be it," Celestia said. "We have been through all of the divergent universes, all of them. And this is the nearest to our own by far. I am sure of it."
"Sister..." Luna warned.
But Celestia held up a hoof. "Trust me, Luna. We shall soon put paid to Discord and then get things back in order, once and for all. You'll see."
Striding proudly up the avenue, Celestia approached the Palace. The drawbridge was up, but her magic swiftly brought it rattling down. Then she strode forward to the doors and lifted a hoof to push them open.
"Sister," Luna hissed warningly. "Where are the guards?"
Celestia paused, looking about. The gatehouse, the parapets, and the towers overhead, all were strangely quiet. Celestia hesitated, uncertain. Then shrugged, dismissing indecision as the distraction it was.
"Doubtless, Discord has them spirited away somewhere. We shall find them. Come along."
With a golden-shod forehoof, Celestia pushed open the gates.
And a disgustingly flatulent noise sounded all around them. Before their eyes, the entire Royal Palace wilted and collapsed, sinking into an immense rubbery heap. A last raspberry of air died away, leaving the alicorns standing in shocked silence before the deflated ruin.
Then an image of Discord, blue and hazy, flickered into view before them before them, adopting a commiserating expression.
"So sorry, Princesses! But your Discord... is in another castle!"
Grinning, the image gave a cheeky wave and fizzled out.
And Celestia and Luna looked at each other.
"Perhaps," Luna suggested, "we should try the one where the doughnut shop was on the left side of the street?"
Celestia snorted crossly. She didn't like being shown up.
Safely closeted in her bedroom, her sanctum of sanctums, Princess Luna shut her eyes to the waking world...
... and opened them again, to a vista of drifting spheres in an endless light-purple night sky. The Dream Realm spread out before her, vast and comforting, populated by the nighttime diversions and miasmas of an entire slumbering populace.
"Now, Discord," she sneered. "We shall see who is the true power to be reckoned with!"
Drifting quickly through the endless phantasms, down and down through the drifting figments, the Princess of the Night found the particular sphere she sought.
It was rather gaudy, shimmering with brilliant neon hues. Its foreground was drifting islands populated by bizarre plants straight out of a foal's picture book. Plus, for some reason, a very staid little house and garden on its own fragment of ground, smack in the middle of everything.
As for the background... well, at least when one gazed into the Void it merely gazed back. It didn't attempt to drive one mad with wafting, cobweb visions of vaporous, dimly glimpsed horrors...
Steeling herself, Luna gently slipped into the dream world, causing barely a ripple in the interface. She nodded proudly. Then, seeing no one about but herself, swept across to the small red house on its green lawn, and touched down before the door.
"Very well, worm of disaster!" she muttered. "Let us see what thou canst do against the Princess of Dreams..."
She pushed open the door, and stepped inside.
And... swept across to the small red house on its green lawn, and touched down before the door.
"Very well, worm of disaster!" she muttered. "Let us see what thou canst do against the Princess of Dreams..."
She pushed open the door, and stepped inside.
And swept across to the small red house on its green lawn, and touched down before the door.
She pushed open the door, and stepped inside...
And stepped inside...
And inside...
And...
"You know," Discord said with a grin at Celestia, who sat bound and gagged beside him on a row of theater seats, "the real fun is seeing how long it takes a determinedly logical mind like little Lulu's to realize the reason she's feeling such intense deja vu is because it all actually has happened a thousand times before. Care to place a wager? Say, half of Equestria? Double or nothing?"
Celestia merely scowled daggers at him.
"Oh pooh!" Discord sniffed. "You're no fun when you're like this..."
"How long has it been?" Celestia asked wearily.
"Time has lost all meaning," Luna answered. "We have perforce raised and lowered the Sun and Moon, in each of the worlds we have visited, countless times out of a sense of duty. Yet it is completely arbitrary. There is no sense of progression, no sense of time advancing. It seems pointless, an exercise in futility. Yet if we were to stop..."
"To stop," agreed Celestia, "would be to admit defeat. And this we cannot do. Even if it takes an eternity, Discord's reign of terror must end."
"And yet," Luna's head drooped. "I fear I am out of ideas."
The two of them were silent for a period of time. It might have been a thousand years, it might have been a nanosecond -- there was simply no way of knowing, in Discord's timeless multitude of potential realities. Whenever things stopped happening, there simply was no background flow of time to measure anything by.
"I am, at least," Luna said, "glad we face this together."
"As am I," Celestia acknowledged. "You know, no matter what Discord throws at us, no matter what twisted delusion he puts before us, that one fact remains: the connection between us. We have always had that, always will have that. Discord is alone, and we are not."
"I sense it too," Luna said. "I felt it during the battle against Sombra: the assurance we were fighting side-by-side. When one of us fell, even for a moment, the other was there to turn the tide."
"Like the Sun and the Moon," Celestia said.
"The Night and the Day," Luna agreed. "Two opposites in harmonious balance. We may contend with each other, pull in different directions. But in the end, we return to that balance, that mutual understanding. And when we do, it is always familiar and a great comfort."
"I feel the same way." Celestia tilted her head ruefully. "I know we do not always see eye-to-eye, Sister. Yet what matters is we have each other. It is a bond, a strength, and an advantage Discord does not have."
"All well and good," Luna said. "If there was only a way for us to make use of that strength," Luna said, "to turn it against him, and put a stop to his insane meddlings."
"Hmmm..." Celestia considered it. "You know, I seem to recall something on the subject in one of Star Swirl's journals..."
"Really?" Luna raised an eyebrow. "I thought, Sister, you ordered his workroom at our old Castle sealed after he vanished? Out of respect, you said, for the secrets of his profession?"
Celestia winced. "I have... snuck back in now and again. To browse some of his writings. I miss the words of guidance and wisdom he had to offer."
"Then we have another thing in common," Luna admitted. "I, too, have visited secretly from time to time. To take comfort from the memory of his lessons. But go on," she said, seeing Celestia's stern look. "You found something in his journals?"
"Yes. A mention of his conviction that balance, or harmony, as he put it, is essential. And his search for a way of achieving it. His final, unfinished spell was an attempt to achieve it through spellcraft. Unhappily, he remained unsuccessful in that, to the end."
"Even our teachers have limits," Luna sadly agreed. "But do you think he might have guidance to offer us in this extremity?"
"We can but look, and see for ourselves," Celestia said. "And this time, Luna, perhaps we ought to do so openly -- together."
"That is agreeable to me as well." Luna nodded.
"Excellent," Celestia said. "It is encouraging at least to have some plan of action." Then she glanced around ruefully. "Now all we have to do is figure a way out of Discord's latest ridiculous prank."
Luna peered over the edge of the tiny pinnacle on which they sat, manacled and chained, down and down to the pool of bubbling lava below. Its shimmering heat threatened to burn their wing-feathers off if they attempted flight. And, lacking any other visible safe landing place, teleportation was useless.
"As I said," Luna sighed. "I am out of ideas."
"But perhaps we will yet think of something," Celestia offered. "Together."
"Together," Luna agreed, leaning against her.
Over the years that they had ruled together, Luna had noticed this about her sister: Celestia could be endlessly kind and patient. Until, of course, she reached the limits of that patience -- then she became bitterly tense and snappish.
"No, Luna!" Celestia sighed crossly. "I still have not found anything yet."
"I did not ask this time," Luna replied gently.
"Oh." Celestia stared at the journal opened on the oaken table before her, and at the dozens of volumes stacked all round her. "Sorry. I am simply at my wits' end. From my prior brief consultations of his journals, I had thought our mentor to be a font of wisdom, his writings inspired and mysterious. Yet now from more careful study I find them to be a jumble of random observations, done up in truly atrocious hornwriting."
"He wrote in old Ponish and mirror writing," Luna observed dryly. "For 'secrecy', I believe."
"I think he did that only to distract from how atrocious his hornwriting was." Celestia set her chin upon her hooves miserably. "One should never look too closely at one's heroes, I suppose..."
"Whilst you were reading, Sister," Luna offered, "I have organized the shelves as best I could. Put the various journals and scrolls into some kind of chronological order."
"Thank you, Luna. Perhaps we shall add them to the Archives one day. Assuming we can even find it again..."
"Don't you think that --"
"Luna, please! I am trying to come up with a plan here. Do not pester me!"
Luna paused. She did not like seeing Celestia like this. Yet the direct approach so rarely seemed to work these days. Nodding, she tried a different tactic.
"Tia," she said quietly. "Will you tell me a story, please?"
Celestia looked up at her, surprised. "Aren't you a little old for stories, Lulu?"
"If we can accomplish nothing else for now," Luna replied, "I should like to hear a story to pass the time." Turning, she used her magic to bring down a scroll from a shelf -- a particular scroll she had come across while skimming the texts in order to organize them. "I should like to hear a story from this." She unrolled it with her magic, and pointed a hoof at a passage near the middle of it. "In particular, this part here, it seems like a good bit."
Giving her an amused look, Celestia read over the indicated passage. "I don't understand," she finally said. "It is merely a discussion of using spells to encourage crystal growth."
"And this bit." Luna brought over a journal, flipped it open.
"A discussion of infusing crystals with the essence of a pony's self, their defining characteristic -- their cutie-mark, so to speak."
"And this bit," Luna said, yanking a journal from the pile to Celestia's right, and flipping it open to a page near to the end.
"I read that already. Star Swirl talks about using crystalline growth to recreate plant life, in order to construct a living thing that might last for a millennium or more." She looked up at Luna. "But what do all these have in common?"
"Not much," Luna said, "except that in all my memories of the lessons Star Swirl taught us, the things he said to us, these topics are singular by their absence. And these journals and scrolls were written while he was tutoring us. Yet he spoke not of these things to us. An unusual omission, for one so dedicated to our upbringing and education."
"As if he were keeping these things private from us," Celestia mused. "But why? Why would he do that?"
Luna ignored the question. "Now, if you can, Tia," she said, innocently, "please tell me a story. A story that weaves together all these various bits, and makes sense out of them. For thus, as we are taught, is history made."
Celestia smirked. "Isn't that what our legal tutors would call a leading question, Lulu?"
"Perhaps."
"And it's certainly not a traditional sort of story."
"It is the kind of story I wish," Luna replied curtly. "And maybe, just maybe, it will help us discover a way out of this mess."
Not surprisingly, having a particular goal in mind made the research much easier. After all, when you knew what you wanted it was easier to recognize it. Yet Celestia was forced to admit it was mainly thanks to Luna, and her stubborn and relentless attention to detail, her refusal to give up, that the picture came together so quickly.
"So," Celestia summed up, "we believe Star Swirl and the other Pillars of Equestria, as one of their final acts, may have created or grown some kind of tree out of crystal, as a repository for some part of their essence, in a final attempt to create a lasting source of harmony and balance in Equestria."
"And perhaps," Luna offered, "this 'tree of harmony', if such a thing exists, would possess the power to restore the balance in our world. To bring Discord to hoof, and undo the fracturing of reality he has wreaked on the land."
"It would be just like him, that dear old wizard," Celestia smiled fondly, "to think ahead on our behalf like this."
"Which leaves just one small problem," Luna said. "Nowhere in his writings has he told us where he and the others might have planted this tree, where we should begin to look."
Celestia laughed. "Has he not, Sister? Think now, whenever Discord has defeated us, and driven us away in shame --"
"I prefer not to dwell on such things, Sister."
"Do so, for it is important. What is the one place we have always been able to retreat to, and be relatively undisturbed? And, moreover, the one place Star Swirl left his workshop and his writings. So that if we did reach this extremity, and came here and worked all this out, we would already be in the right place to go looking for this tree?"
"Here?" Luna asked, shocked. "In our old Castle?"
"Or somewhere near here. In the Everfree Forest, the one place of greatest balance and harmony left in the realm. And I think," she mused quietly, "I may know just where to look first."
"Tia?" Luna stared at her in surprise.
"Honestly, Luna, do you think you're the only one who ever slipped away from our minders, and went wandering about to explore the grounds?"
They climbed the stairs from the dungeon-like workroom, up to the main hall of the Castle of the Two Sisters. Then out through the main doors and across the rolling private grounds, to the ravine originally cut by the River Aurum on its winding path through the Everfree, before the river's course had abruptly shifted further north.
There, they crossed the bridge and then went down a long flight of stone steps along the wall of the ravine to its floor. And then across the dry riverbed, to a small cave opening hidden amidst the underbrush.
"In there?" Luna asked suspiciously.
"Surely the Princess of the Night is not afraid of the dark," Celestia said, smiling.
"I fear not the dark," Luna retorted. "What I fear is having to take a long bath and have my coat brushed endlessly to get the burrs out. But, given our present disheveled state," she murmured stoicly, "that is inevitable, I assume."
"We need only take a short look," Celestia said, and led the way in, with Luna following close behind. The cave twisted and turned, then abruptly opened outward, into a broad underground cavern.
And the Two Sisters came to a halt as one pony, utterly transfixed by the sight before them.
"The Tree of Harmony," Luna whispered, in a cowed voice.
Somehow there was no other way to speak of it. It was no mere construct, or piece of art, but an entity, a living thing of great beauty and power, hence deserving of the title.
It towered over their heads at the rear of the cavern. In form it was a tree, but grown entirely from crystal. Its crystalline roots dug deep into the thin layer of sediment serving as floor for the cave. Its main branches, five in number, spread out into a tall canopy, draped with willow-like fronds glittering with lights. And near the tips of its branches, like colorful fruit, there were five large hexagonal gemstones. At the heart of the tree, its very center, there was a large mark, a six-pointed star. And below that, on the trunk of the tree...
Even Celestia was taken aback. On the Tree's trunk were blazoned two symbols, as if chiseled into its crystalline bark: a flaming Sun, plus a crescent Moon with its attendant Star.
The cutie-marks of the Two Sisters of Equestria.
"It would seem," Celestia said, "this tree is meant for us. And based on what we have read, the gemstones it has produced should provide just the source of balance and harmony we need." Spreading her wings, Celestia flew upwards, to hover near the Tree's canopy. Lighting her horn, she gently cast her magic at the tree. And it responded, glowing brighter, filling the air of the cavern with a sense of welcome, of peace and hope.
But it was not yet entirely complete, Celestia sensed. Something was still missing.
She looked down at Luna. "We must do it together. We must demonstrate the bond of unity, of balance and harmony, which keeps us together. We must show the Tree that we are worthy of its help."
"Are you sure?" Luna asked, reluctantly, as she flew up to join Celestia.
"Luna, we have managed to discover the only means by which we can defeat Discord and free the citizens of Equestria."
"But, if we take the Tree's source of power, what will become of it? Will not the Tree be harmed? What if it should... die?"
Celestia shook her head. She gestured around them, at the visible glow and tangible sense of calm radiating from the Tree itself. "Even without these elements, the Tree of Harmony will possess a powerful magic. As long as that magic remains, it will continue to control and contain all that grows here. And, Sister, we will not need the gems for long." She momentarily scowled angrily. "Merely long enough to stop Discord, and bring him to hoof."
Luna reluctantly agreed. She cast her magic at the Tree as well.
The sense of welcome, of well-being, in the cavern increased dramatically. It was as if the Tree had been awaiting their arrival. Waiting for them to activate it -- both of them, together.
A brilliant glow suffused its branches. There was a loud rumbling, wrenching sound. The star in the tree's center opened like the beak of a starfish, revealing a sixth, hidden element: a magenta star gem.
With her magic, Celestia reached out, gently picking and collecting the six gemstones. Fascinated, she swung them into a broad circle, so that they drifted in the air around herself and Luna. And somehow, just holding them like that, she sensed exactly how they were to be used.
She found herself naming them, naming the Elements, one by one:
"Kindness... Generosity..."
Luna nodded, feeling the same way. "Loyalty," she said. "Honesty, Laughter..."
"And... Magic," Celestia finished.
And both of them felt it, the Elements coming to life. The power of the Tree, of the very realm, of Harmony itself, somehow channeled through them -- through the Princesses of Equestria.
Being as they were in a cavern, the sky could not exactly open up and heavenly choirs sing loud and uplifting arias, as a blaze of power and assurance radiated all round them, obliterating all sense of fear and doubt.
But it certainly felt like that...
After that, it was all by the numbers... with a little trial-and-error, of course.
Celestia, wielding the Element of Magic, constructed a stable portal that they could use to freely access all of the divergent timelines, rather than having to traverse them laboriously one by one, as they had been doing.
That is, once Luna had explained to her how to do it. "It is a relatively simple problem in geometry, Sister," the blue alicorn said tartly. "No more challenging than expressing the structure of a quintic stellar configuration in an eleven-dimensional manifold."
"If you say so, Sister," Celestia replied evenly. Still, she had to admit it worked. Luna's facility with math was right on the money. A quick flare of Celestia's horn, and before them stood a swirling vortex, much like the one Discord had generated.
Then Luna, using the Element of Honesty, sought and found the one true timeline they wanted, amidst the illusory alternatives accessible via the portal... after a few false attempts, with Celestia pointing out certain "features" of the reality they'd accessed which she was quite certain were not native to any Equestria she knew.
"Now I understand," said Luna dryly, after one particular failed attempt, "what they mean by the elephant in the middle of the room..."
In the end, they finally stood in the one reality that could rightly be called the "real" one. And to Celestia's horror, it had been utterly transformed -- it looked nothing like the Canterlot she knew.
The sky was mauve, for a start. The "ground" was a light-and-dark checkerboard. The trees were like something out of a filly's wax-stick drawing, in shades of red and brown. The buildings were primitive thatched-roof stone huts, reminiscent of the early days of the Three Kingdoms. Many of these structures floated in the sky, on chunks of soil and rock that had been apparently ripped straight out of the ground.
There were occasional rains of baked pies from either above or below, seemingly at random. Fish swam by in midair, completely at ease.
Yet there was one thing that the Princesses recognized, one thing that told them they were in the right place. On a rise of ground nearby, there was a familiar oaken throne, surmounted by a pair of horns. Seated on it was Discord, tall and lordly, observing with delight the chaos all around him.
Sensing their presence, he swung the throne round to face them, chortling with glee.
"Oh, this is so much fun! How nice of you two to finally show up at last! Shall we play another game, then? How about Pin the Tail on the Pony?"
He mischievously held up a long, shimmering pony tail. With a gasp, Celestia recognized it as her own. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw hers was indeed missing.
Steeling herself against yet another indignity, she faced their tormentor, determined not to be distracted this time. "Playtime is over for you, Discord!"
"Oh, I doubt that."
Discord snapped his claw, and a sack of what looked like seeds appeared in his lion paw. Grabbing a clawful, he slapped them into his mouth, munching with apparent delight, spilling dozens of the things in every direction.
"Mmmph! I see now why Sacanas was such a fan of these things. They're delightful!" He offered the bag. "Hungry?"
Falling seeds bounced from Celestia's head and Luna's. Neither pony responded. Their darkly threatening scowls were answer enough.
Discord shrugged. "Suit yourselves, then." And went on munching sloppily, managing to spill as many of the seeds on the ground as he got into his mouth.
Celestia's horn came alight. Her elegant carryall swung open. From it, she levitated the Elements of Magic, Generosity, and Kindness. Luna did the same with her own carryall, bringing forth the Elements of Laughter, Honesty, and Loyalty.
These caught Discord's eye immediately. Dropping the sack, he peered at the gemstones with interest. "Oooh! What have you got there?"
"The Elements of Harmony," Celestia replied.
"With them, we shall defeat you!" Luna added.
"Elements... of Harmony?" Discord echoed. And then hooted with delight. "So, let me get this straight, ladies. You're going to wave a bunch of pretty gems at me, and I'm going to be all oh-my-I-can't-take-it-stop-you-win?" He mimed desperate, agonized poses for a few moments. Then he bellowed with laughter. "Harmony?" he finally gasped. "What sort of power is that? You know, for a moment there I thought you actually had something, had found something that would be interesting -- a challenge even. But if this is the best you've got, I suppose we'll all be sitting round a campfire, singing cheerful songs or something." He laughed uproariously.
Glancing at each other, the Princesses applied their magic to the Elements. The gemstones began swirling about them, faster and faster, becoming a blurred ring of spectral light. Then the ring swirled about, enclosing them both in a sphere of glimmering power.
Discord finally managed to find breath for words. "Oh my! You should just see yourselves right now! The expressions on your faces. So intense! So sure of yourselves!"
Celestia and Luna kept their focus on the stream of magic they were sending into the sphere about them -- and its intended target, laughing at them from the throne.
All at once, a spectral arc of magic, in all its colors and forms, leapt from the sphere and launched high into the air... then crashed down upon the draconequus, still laughing in disbelief and unaware of his fate.
"Hilarious!" he shouted.
And then spoke no more.
The blazing stream of magic fell upon him, petrifying him where he sat, with one arm thrown out to the side, his mouth gaping in a silent scream. Frozen in stone, he overbalanced and toppled from his seat, crashing heavily to the ground, motionless and powerless.
The Elements, their work done, powered down and were once more simply gemstones, hovering in the alicorns' magic. And as Discord's own magic fell silent, the chaotic landscape around them faded, and the world as they knew it reinstated itself.
And time returned as well, coherent and reasonably linear: Celestia and Luna could feel the divergent timelines folding back together. Once again, all four hooves stood on the same ground, in the same stream of cause-and-effect.
Things having finally settled down, they found themselves standing in the Marketplace, near the upper end of the Palisade, barely a stone's throw from the Royal Palace. The sky, ground, trees, and buildings all round them were returned to their normal, everyday appearance. Their pony subjects, edging cautiously out from dwellings and shops, looked around themselves in wonder and relief. The nobles and commoners alike gathered about the Princesses, seemingly struggling to decide whether to cheer, stamp their hooves in exhilaration, or simply kneel in quiet supplication to their rescuers.
It was equally a relief to the royal Sisters. Celestia and Luna stared at each other, amazed at their success and grateful there was at least one other pony present who knew exactly what they were both feeling right now...
"But where are our chairs?" Luna asked, as the two Princesses finally stepped back into the repaired and reconsecrated Grand Audience Hall of the Royal Palace.
"This entire incident," Celestia replied, "made me realize the two thrones were merely encouraging us to be at odds with one another." She gestured to the end of the hall, to the single, massive golden platform, with its fountains and wide-mouthed bowls of fresh lavender. "I propose that a single dais shall serve us better. After all," she added, gently hugging Luna with a hoof, "it is clear that we work best as a team."
"Hmm. It is very... sunny," she said cautiously. "And cheerful," she quickly added. "But my old throne, well... it did have that little drawer that I kept licorice in."
"Not to worry, Luna. We can have licorice brought, whenever you wish."
"I liked being able to get at it myself without asking," Luna muttered. But she willingly trotted up the carpeted ramp and settled herself beside Celestia on the comfortable seating cushions, as the staff and guards found places for themselves to either side of the platform's base.
"No time like the present," Celestia said, proudly. And then she wound up and delivered the full-throated Royal Voice:
LET THE AUDIENCE COMMENCE!
The guards willingly swung open the doors at the end of the hall, and the petitioners, guests, and onlookers began to respectfully file in and take up their places along the length of the Hall. Once they were all settled, the Seneschal rapped his staff for quiet, loudly calling to the waiting throng:
"All pay heed to the fair and compassionate judgement of their royal Highnesses, the Two Sisters, Princesses Celestia and Luna, undisputed rulers of our great land of Equestria!"
And the audience let out a rousing, relieved cheer at the familiar and long-awaited words.
"You know, Luna," Celestia said, as the Chief Steward busied himself working out the relative priority of the petitioners, "at long last, after much heartache and struggle, we finally find ourselves sole rulers of an Equestria fully at peace. We have purged the land of all serious threats."
"Do not jinx it," Luna warned. "The century is young, still."
"True," Celestia mused, "though I wonder if this may be the peace that Sacanas spoke of, in that final prophecy. A thousand years of peace and prosperity. That is something devoutly to be wished for."
"I am not sure it is," Luna replied. "For the Pax Millenia also says the one who causes the peace shall know only loneliness and suffering."
"Perhaps the prophecy refers to Discord." Celestia looked briefly downcast. "I have no idea if in his stone prison he is still aware or not. If so, he must be feeling very lonely now." She gently stamped a hoof. "Well, we shall see to it that he does not suffer unduly. We shall put him in the Royal Gardens, where there is always a pleasant view. And we shall give orders that his prison shall be well-tended. He shall not be entirely without comfort and respect, even in such disgrace."
"A fitting judgement," Luna agreed. Then she looked mildly sour. "Tia," she added sarcastically, "you will be allowing me to make a few decisions today, will you not?"
"Of course, Lulu!" Celestia looked surprised. "Why ever should I not? We are equals, and rulers together." She leaned over to gently nudge Luna's shoulder. "As we were meant to be, always"
"Yes," Luna replied, eyeing her. "As we were always meant to be."
"And we have the Elements," Celestia noted. "With those we shall be able to defend Equestria from any who would threaten it. Perhaps that is what the Pax Millenia means: a thousand years of peace, shepherded by ourselves, and by the Elements of Harmony."
"On that point, Sister," Luna said, "should we not return the Elements to the Tree, as we intended? To avoid causing harm to it?"
"Oh." Celestia looked hesitant for a moment. Then sighed and nodded. "You are right, Luna, we should. And we shall."
"Your Royal Highnesses!" the Steward called. "The ambassador from the Royal House of Trottingham!"
Celestia eyed the crowded Hall, which was packed to capacity on this, the first full day of business after Discord's defeat. She could tell from experience, it was going to be a long day...
"This evening," she whispered to Luna, as the ambassador and his party approached and knelt before the Golden Throne. "Once we have things properly back in order."
"Of course," Luna said, And then she sat tall and proud beside her sister, listening as Celestia, out of long habit, spoke for the two of them in official matters.
Yet Luna felt, ever so slightly, as if she were sitting in Celestia's shadow... even in the sun-kissed brilliance of the Grand Audience Hall...
Ideally, such a tale should end on a happy note. But alas, history does not always oblige.
One day, many years later, Celestia awoke from yet another of the disturbing dreams she had been having of late: dreams in which a dark, silver-armored mare was cackling at her, coldly and viciously, and vowing her destruction.
She had thought the dreams merely a side-effect of the rumors and reports she'd been reading, of a dark Sorceror, working in secret and at night, undermining the authority of the Throne and its Princesses.
But Celestia had gradually come to fear what the reports, and her nightly visions, truly suggested.
Celestia went to the balcony of her tower room, to raise the Sun as she was accustomed to doing. And she was able to do so, with no apparent issues. She relaxed a little, thinking it had once again been just a dream.
Then she looked around for Luna, who had not yet lowered the Moon. And discovered her sister was nowhere to be found. She was not in the Royal Suite, nor the Palace. Nor, when Celestia checked, anywhere in the capitol city.
With a chill in her heart, Celestia acted on a suggestion she had read in one of the reports. She flew swiftly down from Canterlot, across the rolling, verdant Everfree, and to their old Castle located at its heart.
And as she strode into the Audience Hall, a voice accosted her. Cold, unfriendly, and devastatingly familiar:
"Not another step!"
From behind her iron-gray throne, Luna trotted, her gaze cold and unforgiving.
Luna, Celestia thought desperately. Let it not be true...
"Did you really expect me to sit idly by," Luna sneered, "while they all bask in your precious light?" She stalked over to the rostrum between their thrones, from which Celestia had often delivered summary judgement in cases of the highest importance. "There can only be one Princess in Equestria!" Luna shouted, raising her armored hooves. "And that Princess... will be ME!"
Bringing her hooves down, Luna smashed the stone rostrum as if it had been an eggshell. The blow fractured the dais, the wall behind it, and shattered the tall stained-glass window at the end of the hall. Through the ruined window, Celestia could see the glowing orb of the Sun, high in the sky.
Luna rose into the air, lofting her hooves, and sent her Moon, not down, but upwards to eclipse the sun.
Darkness fell over the land, palpable and terrible. From the eclipsed sun, chill rays of dark magic fell, projecting through the shattered window. They struck Luna, and she was wreathed in a flowing, inky blackness which swirled and thickened. Finally it became a pitch-black sphere, a hole sliced in the fabric of reality itself, hiding the enraged Princess from view.
Hurriedly, Celestia reached out with her own magic, tried to fight back the darkness. The sphere was enwreathed in glowing, burning flame. For a moment, just a brief moment, Celestia thought she was winning, hoped it might be stopped...
Then the blackness reasserted itself, closed over the flames, and extinguished them. From the triumphant blackness, a mare sprang: a mare of darkest night in silvered armor, with dragon-like eyes, and a glowing red mouth lined with viciously sharp teeth.
She cackled insanely, eyeing Celestia with self-satisfied pride. And then she swung her head, projecting a killing ray from her horn. But not at Celestia, not even close. She was aiming at the ornamentation of the hall, its vaulted ceiling. She brought huge chunks of stone crashing down to the floor between them.
She's provoking me, Celestia thought in shock. Challenging me with a show of power. She wants a reason, an excuse, to set herself against me. To convince herself that I am her enemy...
... and it is the last thing I should give her.
"Luna!" Celestia called. "I will not fight you. You must lower the Moon! It is your duty!"
"Luna?" the mare retorted. "I am Nightmare Moon. And I have but one royal duty now: to destroy you!"
This time the killing beam was directed at Celestia, who dodged it. And the battle was joined, though it was distinctly one-sided, with Celestia fleeing and the dark mare pursuing her. Up through the ruined ceiling, around the spires and buttresses of the Castle, the dark mare chased Celestia. The wild blasts from her horn struck walls, towers, aqueducts, swiftly reducing the once beautiful Castle and its grounds to blackened, shattered ruins.
Celestia felt like crying, seeing their home, their sanctuary reduced to rubble like this. And as she raced, she frantically sought a way to contain, to reason with the fiend closing in behind her.
A burning swipe of pain and agony knocked her from the skies. She plummeted back to the floor of the Audience Hall, landing heavily. For a moment she nearly blacked out from the pain, too stunned even to move.
Then the power that she was, the power she represented, reasserted itself. It would not be defeated, any more than Luna's would. She rose to her hooves, and reluctantly came to a decision. "Oh, dear sister," she gasped. "I am sorry! You have left me no choice, but to use these..."
Her horn sang, opening the secure vault in the floor. From it rose the mechanical orrery that Celestia had ordered constructed, to hold and protect the precious Elements when they were not in use. With her magic, Celestia gathered up her three gemstones, including the star-like element of Magic.
And then, reluctantly, she took up the other three, which had always been Luna's.
She had no idea what would happen if she used all six herself. And no time to wonder about the consequences. She could already hear Luna's cackling drawing nearer. And too, the continuous, roaring, crashing decimation of the Castle. It was as if Luna -- or Nightmare Moon -- was gleefully showing off her boundless capacity for merciless destruction.
Well... that would end now.
Celestia brought the gems into a circle around her, powered them up. And she felt, as much as saw, the brilliant loop of spectral light blaze into being about her. Shielded and supported by its power, she rose into the sky, facing the dark mare defiantly.
Nightmare Moon charged her horn, prepared to fire one last massive blow.
But Celestia was quicker. Rearranging the gemstones, she fed all their power through the Element of Magic. And cast a blazing stream of gleaming light. It struck the beam that Nightmare Moon had just fired, and for a moment it fought with it, pressed against it, pushed it back. And then, given the full power of the Elements behind it, it overpowered the opposing magic, blasting straight through it.
The dark mare, the Nightmare, screamed in defeated agony.
And then something unexpected happened, unexpected even to Celestia. The dark mare was flung away, hurled bodily away by the blast of magic. Away from Celestia, away from Equestria, away from everything that the two of them had ever shared together... and towards the one thing that Luna had always held most precious:
The Moon.
The blazing power struck the Moon. Its surface gleamed. A massive mark appeared across the Moon's entire visible face. The outline of a mare's head, in dark gray upon the lighter gray of the rocky dust.
Luna's essence, her very self, had been imprinted in the Moon, locked away within it.
Celestia gasped in shock. And even as she did so, she felt the power of the Elements falling to nothing around her. Without the sisterly bond between them, the Elements had no power. The gems themselves were petrified into stone spheres.
And like stones, they plummeted lifelessly towards the ground.
Frantically, Celestia reached out with her magic, gathered them all in again. Or almost all. She hurriedly counted them. There were five. The sixth element, Magic, was simply gone, as if it had never existed.
What have I done? Celestia thought. What have we done, both of us?
Crushed, she swept downwards to land in the Audience Hall once more. Carefully, she set the stone spheres back in their chalices. She was about to use her magic to seal the vault -- then realized how pointless it was. The Elements were dead, inactive. There was nothing to guard any longer.
The Princess of the Sun turned then, gazed up at the Moon, at the image scarring it, tears in her eyes.
Luna...
She turned away, unable to bear it. She trudged away, in utter defeat... out of the Audience Hall, out of the Castle, out of the Everfree, and back to Canterlot. On hoof, the entire journey.
And she never to set hoof there again. Not while Luna was still imprisoned. The memory, the loss was beyond pain to her.
At such price, she thought hopelessly, victory hardly seems worth it...
And so it was that the power of the realm was kindled, brought to full light, and then the light was untimely extinguished, for a time at least.
As legend tells, Celestia returned with a heavy heart to her dominion, took up sole responsibility for Day and Night, and ruled with unstinting kindness and fairness over a realm that thereafter knew only peace and prosperity. And she sat uncontested upon the Golden Throne of Equestria for a thousand years, in misery and in solitude. Just as had been foretold.
And waited, seemingly endlessly, for the day that had also been foretold by Sacanas: the day when one would return, whom she was to look after.
But that -- as the saying goes -- is another story...
The End
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, its characters and indicia are the property of Hasbro.
No infringement is intended. This story is a work of fan fiction, written by fans for fans of the series.
