Author's Note

Chronologically, this belongs in The Unknown Daughter's Reunion:Part 3, but due to it's themes and it's human-centric narrative, I placed it here. This entry takes place on Earth, at the empresses castle in The First City, before the return to Equus.

I thought Celestia and Moon deserved a bit of connecting and bonding. The first step of that being; getting on the same page by catching up on missed time, a couple of long-lived mares having a mature conversation.

The first question anypony would ask in catching-up is; 'what happened?'
The answer being sad at first, as the early part of her banishment; tainted with dark subtexts before it was the time of ponies.

I often wonder, that if I found myself abducted by aliens, or be lucky enough to find myself in an HiE situation;
How could I possibly describe human kind when asked?
Be it Twilight, or any of the other princesses, whether out of simple curiosity or to check if the stranger is possibly dangerous; surely they would ask?
Answering would take weeks of context explained to them, to frame a single issue that we've been working on. Each seems to be getting more circuitous and conflicting with each passing generation. How can one explain a web of concepts, most alien, to ponykind?
Usually, I'd just shrug and say 'I have no idea' and leave it at that, hoping the princesses couldn't read memories. Knowing I'd be engaging in some deception of omission.

However I thought I'd try and push my ability to tell a tale a bit harder than usual. To distill the human experience down to a simple form of what we do and are; Leaving the interpretation to the benevolence of the beholder. Hopefully they'd have pity on us of our stumblings, which I portray Moon largely does. Though she does remember the games we played, and the results; large and small.

It's frank, direct, as I'd expect her to feel free speaking openly to her family.
Personally, I'd rather an alicorn princess not see unpleasant things any more than we, yet if she's undercover and has similar/better resources as us at the time leading up to the great event...well then;

Her silence to her ponies is our windfall.
Yet her family, is an exception to that rule.

Appendix: Abridge (Moon & Celestia)

Walking into the empress's office unannounced, Princess Celestia found her highness laying upon her sofa, head down on a pillow, her ears focused on strange words wafting through the air in a language she couldn't recognize. Though she couldn't recognize the words, they sounded sharp and heated to her ears.

Clearing her throat, Celestia drew the dark alicorns attention.

"Welcome, princess" Moon greeted while alighting her horn, bringing the words to a halt mid-syllable.

"I...hope I'm not disturbing you?" Celestia asked her.

"Not at all, this is one I have heard many a time" the empress replied.

"Is it a dissertation?" the white alicorn asked.

"Nay, tis a book read aloud. One of unfinished tales, a companion to another."
"Everypony enjoys having a tale read to them from time to time, even myself" she replied with a chuckle.

"Oh. Does nopony read to you?" Celestia asked, a hint of concern in her voice.

"I never ask" Moon replied serenely.
"Please, have a seat, and tell me of what is on your mind" she offered.

Laying down on the opposite sofa, Celestia looked down towards the floor, unsure how to begin.

Finally finding the nerve, she met the empresses gaze;

"This is awkward, to say the least... Being your guest and such... But, but I have to ask?" She led.

Moon having nod to urge her on, Celestia continued;

"What, happened after you left... left Equestria?" She pushed the words out.

Her eyes widening a bit in surprise, the empress then closed them and nodded in understanding.

"Ah." Moon answered as she collected her thoughts.

"As I recall, I first found myself barely aware of the voyage, or of the time passing. Then, I was here"

Opening her eyes again, she stared off into space as she remembered the far-off years.

"Without form, I spent my early years drifting across the lands and seas as I wished. Finding that none could see me, I watched the ponies of this world with longing, and the native lost ones with curiosity"

Smiling to herself, Moon laughed;

"I was left confused for a great long while at what I saw. Slowly however, I learned some their speech, though there were many." She paused.

"Is that what you were listening to, just now?" Celestia inquired.

"Indeed, it was. It was a tale quite old, even by the time I arrived. Nearly a century by their reckoning" Moon answered.

"Old?" Celestia quirked an eyebrow.

"Hmm yes. Their civilizations moved quickly, and they were not as long-lived as ponies. To them, a century was quite old" Moon answered jovially.

"I see, please go on" Celestia prompted.

"One fateful day, as I wandered, I came across an artist sketching away their days in their home. It was not the first I had seen doing so, and I paid little heed to their works. Passing through, one caught my eye, as it were."

Brandishing a wide smile, Moon looked to Celestia saying;

"Drawn and shaded in simple pencil, was a unicorn with slitted eyes and a pair of fangs adorning its muzzle. Stopping to inspect it, I looked back to the artist scribbling away at their desk. After thinking for a couple moments, I remarked aloud; That it needed wings"

Turning her gaze back again to the distance, she smiled to herself at the memory;

"Most surprised that a disembodied voice came to their ears, the artist injured himself in the clamor, yet not seriously"

Celestia thought over it for a moment, then giggled at the picture in her mind.

"Once convinced that the age-ed artist had not fallen into senility, and was indeed in contact with phantom not of his own mind, we conversed. Telling some of myself, I asked if he would make some alterations to the drawing so that my true form would be known in some way. Agreeing to my request, I vowed to return at a later time to see what he made"

Her expression turning somber for a moment, she continued on;

"I all but had forgotten the event, and the location, yet fortunately found myself in a familiar locale once more. Four years had passed in that time, and his health had diminished slowly yet steadily. To my surprise however, many sketches had been done, and three paintings had been completed. One... was nearly identical to how you see me now"

"Do you still have it?" Celestia asked her.

Nodding, Moon looked down;

"I do. It is sealed in my vault, shielded against the ravages of time. Yet I... It is too soon for me to look upon it once more" Her ears turned to the side, subconsciously indicating the vault's direction.

Taking a deep breath, the dark alicorn pressed on.

"We caught up on the time that had passed, and became more acquainted. In the process, I gleamed understanding of many things about the lost ones that I had only observed without context. The short years passed so very quickly as I questioned him endlessly, much to his frustration" She smiled.

"I was worse than a foal asking their parent about the entire world, as indeed I was!" She laughed openly.

"Sounds like you made a friend?" Celestia laughed with her.

Calming down, Moon continued;

"Indeed, I had. Without even trying, I stumbled backwards into making my very first. Ever, let alone here"

"But alas, he was always guarded of some things. And had passed on without telling me what I wanted to know most" Moon finished.

"Which was?" Celestia asked, curious.

A despondent look crossing her muzzle, her breath caught for a moment

"What became of his true heir? For, he made me his heir upon his passing"

Swallowing a lump in her throat, she added thickly;

"Saying that everypony... should be awarded a second chance no matter..."

Taking a deep breath and steadying herself, she turned her gaze to Celestia and added;

"He knew some of what I had done, as much as he could believe true. Yet, I expected the sentiment more aimed at himself, had he only the power to grant such a chance.... To gain his true heir back again"

"That is always so sad. Rarely had a pony outlived their foal..." Celestia trailed off. Both remained silent for a few moments, words not able to express what they were feeling.

Eventually, the dark alicorn broke the silence;

"He told me that if I could make use of anything he left behind; To do so. Do so, and live, love, as well as I possibly could" Moon spoke with conviction.

"So I did. Upon his last breath and had become still... I assumed all of what he left behind him."

Shuddering she embellished;

"I gained a physical form once more, though I would have rather stayed ethereal for the rest of my days. The pain was intense, so much that the pain of time translocation is foalsplay by comparison. Additionally, I will spare you heartbreak of... destroying my only friends remains by the process of recovery. Suffice to say I still feel that I somehow betrayed him through granting his final wish..."

Heaving a sigh and wiping a tear that came despite her best efforts to hold it back, she pushed through it;

"From that day, I lived among them. At first my magic could barely cast an illusion spell to appear to be their form... his form. Yet over the weeks and months, my magic was fully restored. Yet my adventure on this world was just beginning. Even with the meager resources that my friend had left me, I had no idea what I was about to see, come to know, and have need to do"

"Hold for a second... Time Translocation? You performed the dark magic of Sombra's time translocation?" Celestia asked, looking abashed.

Sighing, the empress admitted without hesitation;

"Indeed I did. Twice in fact. Both; around a single event. One casting to propel myself backward, and another; forward, once that time came again"

Meeting Celestia's eyes directly, moon admitted;

"You surmised that I played a dangerous game of mere hope, princess. However a much greater gamble of hope and survival eclipsed it"

"How so?" Celestia asked skeptically.

"Ah. I presume a little context is required beforehoof? Sufficed to say, I spent a few decades with them, a hoof-full of years overlapping the tail end period."

"My first time; my wanderings, befriending, and life-again beginning, was near the event of the great sadness. In that time, I began to learn to navigate around their civilizations. Some in that time, had attracted my attention. One kinds resilience, reminded me of ponies; Often they labored with love, and befriend others strongly. Another, was similar, and without an understanding of why, they felt kindred yet in another way. For them I altered my guise and I became closer to them as well, to know more... However, after I knew them; I... never used that particular guise again"

"So there were two kinds of the old ones?" Celestia asked the empress.

"Oh stars no. There were... Countless kinds, and more every year it seemed" Moon answered.

"How can that be?" The alabaster alicorn became confused.

"Ah? Hmm, they were essentially all the same as far as I could discern. The same abilities, potential, and appearance. Yet, they found more and more ways to tell each other apart, and then split apart, such was their nature."

"So why split apart?" Celestia asked, trying to follow along.

"From what I could comprehend, their nature required a challenge to give their lives meaning. Since they did not fully embody harmony, nor have special talents, a substitute was needed to motivate them in purpose I gathered?"

At Celestia's dubious expression, Moon pleaded;

"They were not ponies, your highness. However they were close in many ways, just not this one?"

"I'll take your word for it then, do go on" Celestia ushered the empress.

"Very well. When they overcame most challenges for a mostly safe and secure civilization, the challenges being met and conquered, thus sought to conquer lesser challenges. However the lesser challenges, they could not always agree on a method. As time went on, they agreed less, and split apart more. Finally the fabric of their civilization itself, disintegrating as if eaten by moths..."

"I'm, almost afraid to ask, but how did they overcome that?" Celestia interrupted again.

Looking her in the eyes, the empress said;

"With great struggle and loss. First, they sought to compensate for it through coercion. In my time, it was accomplished more subtly through deception, however it was a form of coercion nonetheless. With appealing words, they were outmatched in guile and were stripped of nearly all that they cherished. Made to think things would be better without"

"Through subtlety they drifted apart? How would they do it?" Celestia asked in curiosity.

Thinking back to what felt like another lifetime, she replied;

"It is not easy to translate to ponykind, yet I would describe it as whispers spoken into ears of the disillusioned and easily impressed. Slowly they would turn others heads toward their own ends. So convinced would they become, that it felt familiar and as if the ideas came freely as their own." the empress finished.

"And this was done without magic?" She asked.

Nodding to the princess of the sun, Moon replied;

"Indeed. No magic was needed; only time and regularity. Their wills then became an extension of anothers, and so they became their instrument."

Shaking her head slowly, the empress said to the alabaster alicorn;

"From then on, they were tasked with sewing discord upon their civilization to reform it in anothers image. Rarely, if any were aware of whom was seeding the descent and to what end."

With a disturbingly mirthful chuckle, the empress admitted;

"A tactic they pioneered an untold millennia previous, and had long-recorded warnings of its use. Alas, forgotten as generations waxed, fell prey to it My old self would have found it ravishing, all their work in consolidating control; and I simply would have seized it with ease!"

Looking deep into Celestia's eyes, she told her;

"Long ago, I would have overthrown you without raising a hoof, the elements of harmony been made useless with this"

Casting her eyes down to the floor, Moon let a heavy silence fill the room.

After a few moments, she broke the silence;

"As would have been in the beginning of my rein at that time, so befell many here. Tell me princess, what makes a pony smile?"

At Celestia's reply of roaming, merrymaking, and a lack of fear; the empress nodded slowly.

"I agree, they are the most precious of things. A treasure beyond any that power can bring..."

Meeting her aunts eyes again Moon told her;

"All of those things were curtailed, greatly. Color seemed to drain from the world, no matter how much dye was used to replace it. Many lost so very much, and albeit, fewer foals born never knowing of it"

"A grey world..." Celestia muttered aloud.

Nodding, the empress embellished;

"Piece by piece, each was put out of reach through various machinations. By the time of the great sadness, I already had an immense pity for a great many who fell under the new rulings"

"I don't understand how anything that draconian could be implemented... Surely there would have been dissent, before going that far? As you speak of them, they sound like they're bound to do so?" Celestia asked in exasperation.

Nodding in a nonchalant manner, the dark alicorn acquiesced;

"Less than one would think, such was the success of their subtly. However the push was regular, and any method that could be used, had been. Many a time, they were used against each other, against their own ends. And through the mere attrition of unified voices, no matter how few, finally was won the hearts of the unwisened. The very seeders of the problems, promised the solution, yet delivered none"

"That's..." Celestia trailed off, looking toward the floor, a loss for words.

"Not the first time such had occurred" The empress finished for her.

"What?" Celestia looked back up to the empress.

Nodding in affirmation, the empress continued;

"I found records of a number of times such had happened. However I had to put the pieces together from remaining few fragments"

Looking more hopeful, Moon added;

"Often, a civilization would crumble, its ponies would wander off, then they would make lives elsewhere. While their lives would indeed be harder than they had known, they would shrug off the machinations of their ruin... and start anew"

Looking away from the alabaster princess toward the ceiling, she mused;

"For myself, it was merely a matter of how long such would take for the cycle to repeat... I looked forward to seeing the better days, and wished to know how long it would take to occur..."

Lowering her head a little, she looked over at the antiquities on the far wall;

"Alas, as they denied one another, they denied me my answer as well" She finished with a rueful chuckle.

"...fools, they made of us"

"Us?" Celestia tilted her head.

The empress, lost in memories of the passed, reliving them, nodded to herself saying;

"All duped by a precious insular few. Our hopes, our better nature...abused. I would curse their names, were they of any remembrance..."

For a moment there was thick silence, then the empress swung her head back to the princess in a jolt. In her eyes, was a fire that sent a chill down Celestia's back.

"I lived among creatures, some whom loved another more than themselves, and ones that detested love; for it returned only pain. Ones whom would take an arrow for a stranger, and ones whom in malice; celebrated the passing of a stranger. Ones whom would have made wonderful princesses... and ones that, in their blind conceit; were led to doom their progeny to emptiness. Where and when the malicious were rarely confronted with the gravity of their ills, remorse for themselves was all that came"

Her gaze burrowing into Celestia's own, she spoke heatedly;

"To that, I was banished"

The fire in her eyes dwindling, her voice then fell to barely more than a whisper;

"and then...then I watched them all perish. All the smiles, the lighthearted laughter that still was, silenced...forevermore. The malice and fear ended, however it took all with it. Too costly it was..."

Swallowing a lump in her throat, the dark alicorn choked out;

"What I nearly brought upon Equestria, I was made to experience here, princess"

Taking a deep breath after a moment, she adopted a stoic expression.

"Then, is when what would become the Empire, rose from the fall of the old world. I would not let all vanish, nor consign myself to isolation atop of banishment. There was valiance here, and it still remained despite it being trodden upon. This city stands today as an evergreen monument to the last of the valiant, all whom came to build it. For in my very garden, is a monolith where their names are venerated"

"This world then saw the first alicorn princess rise to rule, a villain-reformed at that. My banishment broadened my purview in ways I could not have imagined, even in my darkest of hour. The Elements of Harmony calmed my heart, and the ancient ones broadened my mind"

Getting up off of the couch, the empress approached the seated princess. Stopping before her and sitting at floor level, she looked up and addressed her;

"Celestia, princess... Should you still doubt my sincerity, I bid you look into my eyes, and know what you see within. Far am I from the entity which came between you and your sister" Moon asked of the alabaster alicorn.

Celestia looked deeply for a long while, reading the dark mare through her slit pupils. Seeing things in her eyes that a normal pony would exude; Warmth, fear, longing, hope, regret, love...which was a surprise. But there was also something else? When she came to realize what it was, she tore her eyes away from the empress's.

"I don't want to know what this mare has seen." Celestia thought to herself.

What she saw in Moon's eyes, though merely a faint lingering, was... That somewhere along her travels, she had seen things that were presumably far beyond a ponies nightmares. Moon's earlier words, simply couldn't betray how much it had shaken her.

Meanwhile, Moon's expression was one of hurt, from Celestia's braking her gaze away suddenly.

"Princess? I apologize. Please forgive me for being so bold..." Moon asked sheepishly.

Shaking her head, Celestia then turned her head back to the empress, but wouldn't meet her gaze.

"No, it's not that. Don't apologize, it's just a lot to take in" Celestia said somberly.

"I see. Then, shall we adjourn for some refreshment?" Moon asked.

Nodding in agreement, princess Celestia stepped down from the sofa and followed the empress out of her office and towards the dining room. Both of them leaving behind the room filled with antiquities. Upon one of the shelves, one of them flashed 0:42, patiently awaiting the empress to return and continue on, or press '■Stop'.

The track title she paused was; Aldarion and Erendis: The Mariner's Wife; Part 32