Chapters Author's Note
hi! my names fable, and this is my first story of this size. i do hope to make a sequel to this. theres gonna be alot of art made for this project by me, so if you want you can go to my instagram @fablebitme
please enjoy, and if you have any ideas/criticism feel free to lmk in the comments :D
this is an aged up version of celly. i cant draw fillies yet bc i havent figured out their proportions, so this is good enough methinks. i posted it on ig so if u cant see it js go there
1 - Tragedy And Hope
It was all gone.
Celestia wondered what she did to deserve such an ugly fate. Blood not her own coated the ground around her, the black. Charred corpse of her lay in front of her. Celestia's baby pink mane obscured her face, but the sound of sobbing that came from her was undeniable.
Entropy, the killer of immortals. This force, brought into being by her own mother, was something she didn’t understand. It afflicted her dying parent for years, slowly eating at her. Her mother created their world, so why, HOW was she dead? there was debris of her ruined castle all around her, all sorts of strange red flames licked at the remains of her home in the crater its foundation used to be. She, along with her father and..
a low, sad crying shook Celestia out of her memories. She coughed and wiped her tears, slowly rising to her hooves. She looked back at the carriage which carried the supplies her father had left them before he’d gone ahead. He was in the castle during the blast, telling celestia to stay put and away from it. The young white filly had huffed and puffed, pulling the ‘i’m old enough’ card. Still, her father had spread his majestic wings and… the filly shook her head and looked down at the now orphaned cornflower blue foal. A small nub for a horn, and 2 tiny wings on its currently covered back. She was so young, wrapped in a fine purple silk. She cooed and shushed the foal shakily, putting her back to bed.
Celestia and her father had questioned the sickly mother when shed given them their mission off to the nearby country of minos, asking why shed asked them to take a foal so young. Her mother, mad and faded with age, had screamed at them to not question her and to just “do as asked”, and then “my moonlight will guide your path, follow it until you reach the twilight”. Celestia had been confused and scared of her mother in her final days, her coat had turned from a beautiful lilac purple to black so deep it made the shadows look pale in comparison. She was the perfect picture of a mare on her death-bed.
Still, she was still She Who Created All, so everything she did must've had a purpose. There had to be a reason, she wouldn’t die for no reason by a force SHE created, right?
A chill ran down celestia's spine from the cold wind blowing through the open crater. She looked up at the stars and stationary moon, realizing what it meant now that her mother was gone. With a resigned sigh, she put her sleeping baby sister back into the carriage and tightened the wooden harness around her barrel, making sure to avoid damaging her feathery wings. She began walking away from the crater. Celestia was strong for a filly her age, having gained her mark by raising the sun with the help of her mother a few winters ago. She had taken the young foal up above the clouds, and had shown her how to control the celestial spheres.
There was a celestial mechanism set in place, to make sure the sun and moon were never tampered with. All celestia had to do was guide her magic up to the sky, find the sun, and coax it above the horizon, and the rest was simply done automatically until it was time to lower it below the horizon once more. Of course, it was extremely simplified for her young foal mind as the mechanism was extremely intricate and complex, invisible runes and wheels ran through the sky connecting everything together seamlessly. Even the stars had a place in the mechanism. Her mother had been sickly, even then. But she was still coherent and.. Sane. It was the last time shed seen her parent leave the castle, ever since then she was practically bed-ridden.
Celestia realized with dawning horror that the mechanism was probably broken now. Her mothers corrupted magic had been using it to raise and lower the sun and moon for nearly a decade now, so celestia herself wouldn’t be able to use it anymore. The filly stopped breathing and looked up, using her magical sight to make certain- and sure enough, the celestial mechanism was nearly destroyed. Runes and intricate details had been shattered, with only the outline husk still barely holding together. She almost screamed in sadness and frustration. She stomped her tiny hooves on the stony ground and silently cursed everything, making sure not to wake her sister. She shut her eyes and took a deep breath, deciding it was a problem for later. Right now, she had bigger problems to deal with- like where she was supposed to go.
She focused, trying to discern anything her cryptic mother had left for her. She always was one to leave mysteries for the filly, testing her time and time. And yet, celestia was so upset at the moment she didn’t even want to think. She looked back up at the stars, and then her eyes settled on the moon. Wait, that’s right! something her mother said about following the moon until she reached the twilight. At the time, shed assumed it was some sort of strange blessing shed never heard of, or some secret code for her diplomatic mission to minos- but both proved to be incorrect. She gave a sigh of relief and changed paths to the direction of the moon. It’d be a while before anything bad happened because of the extended stationary moon. The earth would keep itself alive with its innate reserves of magic, so it could last for several weeks before.. No, celestia decided to shut down that line of thinking. She grunted and hoisted herself upright.
With a flick of her magic, she did an inventory count while walking, checking to see how much food and water was left. She sighed, it definitely wasn’t good. While she wouldn’t need to eat for several more hours and could potentially ration, her baby sister wasn’t so resilient. The filly would cry and whine endlessly, and in this new dangerous world such a luxury couldn’t be afforded. Celestia managed her way out of the crater, finally making it out into the outskirts of the ruined city and castle, before having to stop for a second. A rumble shook the ground below her, low tremors escalated to quakes that shook the earth below her. A great ivory crystal tree emerged from the direction of her mothers body.
Celestia didn’t have the time or strength to give her mother a proper burial, opting to decide to do it later when she secured the safety of herself and her sister. Miniature trees of many colors, shapes, and sizes sprouted around the large crystal tree, obscuring its grandiose form and, as celestia realizes, was expanding in all directions. Rapidly. The young filly spread her wings and began to run. Shed tried to take off into the air, but the carriage was too heavy to be carried, even by her strong yet small alicorn body. She was never a good flier, and had never been able to manage more than a glide due to her fear of heights. She used bursts of golden magic to lift herself up into the night sky to no avail. She heaved from the effort and frustration, deciding that a run-glide would have to do.
With bursts of magic, she ran from the encroaching forest, trying her best to follow the moons guiding light into the safety of the air above the trees. Her wings straight, magic buckled, and body ached but she was just nearly there. With a final thrust, she used all her strength to give herself the final boost necessary to reach above the treeline, sighing in relief and elation from being saved from the large randomized flora that sprang below her within seconds. As soon as it was safe, celestia's wings gave out and roughly landed in a small clearing. She hadn't realized it, but shed run so far she made it the bottom of canterhorn mountain. She was near an empty cave, and so decided it’d be good enough. The filly readjusted the too-tight harness around her barrel and made sure luna was still asleep. How she hadn't awoken from the ruckus was beyond celestia, but she wouldn’t look a gift horse in the mouth. The soft thumping of her hooves against the gravel and grass laden earth resounded across the miniature clearing and she entered the cave. Seeing as it was only a tiny area with no deeper entrances, she made sure to park her carriage in the far end of the cave.
Celestia peered over the top of the carriage, looking down at her sister sleeping form. She levitated the sleeping form over her back slowly, and cleared the carriage of its luggage. Thankfully, celestia's father had brought with them an old magic book for camping. How to set up protection wards, make a cot, purify water, everything necessary and then some. Using the sleeping bags and blankets shed packed for the long trip to minos, she made a tiny cot that was just barely big enough for her and her sister. Before shed allow sleep and exhaustion to claim her, however, she deposited her sister in the carriage and went back outside the cave. She took a moment to observe the new forest that suddenly sprung up, questions ringing through the white alicorns mind. She cleared her head and took a deep, shuddering breath. None of that mattered right now. She needed to set up wards to keep any nasty beings away from the cave. Sure the forest was brand new, but animals and other creatures would surely move in soon enough. She needed to protect her sister, and reach this ‘twilight’ her mother spoke of.
With renewed vigor, the filly lit her- A shock of pain arced down her horn, and a migraine threatened to form. She rubbed her temples and soldiered through the pain, going through all the motions necessary to place the magical defenses. As soon as she was done, she nearly collapsed from the pain, scrunching her eyes tightly and groaning in agony. The ground below her didn’t make for a particularly soft landing, but at least she was safe for now. She idly wondered what happened to thee villagers around her old castle. When shed gone to the castle after the explosion, the entire place was a ghost town. Could the blast have incinerated them all so thoroughly not even ashes remained? more and more questions, and no way to answer any of them. The young filly got up to her full height. She wasn’t particularly impressive, still being a mere fledgling alicorn. Her coat was a pristine alabaster with a yellow-tinged tint like the morning light, a light red mane that faded to a very pale, almost invisible yellow at the tips. And a majestic, powerful horn. Even for her age, her horn was quite big. Once, when shed been kidnapped and rescued almost immediately, a pillager had spoken of how much value her horn would have if sold on the market. Suffice to say, he didn’t live to follow through with the sale. It was the first time shed seen her mother furious. Her mother..
Celestia had just suffered an unspeakable loss, having her parents, kingdom, palace, and even her title taken from her. But she still had a purpose, to protect her sister and find out what happened. Maybe even rebuild her kingdom. She was too young to be formally coronated as a princess, so she no royal title yet to speak of. She had a heartache with no time to mourn, and a baby to keep safe.
The young filly, filled with a special hope and unspoken despair, tucked her wings and turned around, walking back into the cave.
Celestia's tiny white hooves hit the snow-laden ground with all the might of a filly far too young to have the burden on her shoulders, the carriage she pulled along her barrel creaking and shaking from the uneven rocky ground. She carried her little sister, still just a newborn, and used all her magic just to keep the both of them warm and safe. Shed been running for so long now she couldn't even keep track, her pure alicorn physiology allowing her to maintain the kind of strength impossible even for others in her race. Her inventory was a mere 2 blankets and a single serving of dried fruits shed been saving for her sister.
The stars had vanished from the night sky at some point during celestias journey, along with the warmth the sun had provided. She hated the nights cold death grip on the world, and she became sick of the moon she used to admire. For whatever reason, its multi-hued pale celestial body had went bleach white, with non-descript craters forming along its circular surface. Ever since her mothers death, the world had been in a perpetual twilight. The sun was just below the horizon, while the moon remained stagnant in its position in the north.
While caught up in her own thoughts, Celestia tripped but caught herself, silently praying she hadn't woken the sleeping foal on her back. Surely enough, the tiny cornflower blue goddess was still resting peacefully on her back. She had rationed whatever food shed had, hoping against hope that it'd be enough to get her through this hell.
It was so cold. Her magic was running out, and even the magical heating gem her father had brought with them during the trip to Minos was running out of fuel. The white alicorn almost gave up hope before she saw a too-massive oak tree. It reminded her too much of the forest that sprang up around her mother, like a protective tomb of vines and trees. There had been guards with them on the trip, but for some reason her father had told them to return to the homeland halfway through the trip back from the minotaur kingdom. They wanted to put up a resistance, but her father had been quite adamant, even giving the poor guards a direct order. Their father was kind and never gave orders, so it was a shock even to Celestia.
The former princess squinted and saw the faint shape of a tall, lanky mare with a graying purple coat and a mane that was mostly white, save for three remaining streaks of gold, purple, and pink. She wore a dark blue cloak that obscured her thin, elderly body. She had saddlebags with a six pointed star on the clasp on one side and some sort of strange familiar symbol the filly couldn't recognize right away. Celestia could almost cry from exhaustion, yet she did not dare to stop running until shed reached the elderly mare. She hadn't seen the sun in days, the moon remaining stagnant after her mother.. No, she wouldn’t think of such things when she was so close to safety.
With that final thought, she used the last bit of her golden magic to reach the mare, collapsing in a heap in front of her but making sure not to disturb the cornflower blue foal in the carriage strapped to her back.
With victory finally secured, the alicorn closed her eyes. Before she felt herself fully depart from the world, she felt the warm touch of the mares light pink magic, like a comforting blanket. It lifted her, and carried her inside. She awoke with a start and sat upright, accidentally bumping her head on the too-low bed ceiling above her. She groaned in pain. Her whole body felt so sore.. Wait. Celestia's eyes shot open and she looked around, looking for the mystery mare or her baby sister. She got up from the hole in oddly comfortable wooden alcove-bed and looked around, searching for a door or an exit. When she finally found one she tried to levitate the handle open, but a spike of pain shot up her over-taxed horn and she gingerly dabbed it with a hoof to ease the pain. She shook her head and opened the door, stepping through to the other side.
The room beyond her could only be described with 2 words. Cozy, and overwhelming. It was a circular room with several windows and alcoves, with stacks of books so ancient some of them looked older than their owner, and gadgets, weapons, and all sorts of trinkets lining every inch of the place. The ceiling was a wooden tapestry lined with enchanted gems and carved wood. There were the star beasts her mother had created before her birth, several strange alicorns she couldn't identify, and many ponies and scenes she wasn't familiar with. In the middle of this tapestry was 2 revolving stylized sun and moon symbols in a yin-n-yang symbol. It was all quite intricate, made with an artistry shed only seen from the professionals back in her homeland that graced their palace with tapestries of the royal family and all their achievements.
It looks like the elderly greyed lavender mare cleaned up a bit for her guests however, as the floor was still walk-able. Speaking of, Her eyes immediately locked onto the cloaked aged mare cradling her sister, sitting on a window seat in an alcove. Now that she could get a better look, celestia realized the mare was far older than she first realized. She looked older than even the withered tree she lived in. Her mane was completely greyed out except for 3 dull streaks of faded orchid, pastel gold, and a lavender that was a shade darker than her coat, all wrapped up in a high bun and bangs that went just above her faded purple eyes that still glinted with youth and curiosity. Her coat was the exact same shade as her mother before it was corrupted before she passed, surprisingly. Aside from the obvious difference in saturation. The mare had abandoned her saddle bags, Opting to only keep her coat on. She had long fetlocks and had ancient unicorn hooves that ended in a layer of dark covering. She didn't have the ancient unicorn tail nor the unique crescent-moon shaped horn that they were known for, however. A hybrid of sorts?
From what celestia could tell when she looked out the window, they were far above the ground, which was strange as what she assumed was the tree house they were in wasn't all that big. The mare herself was strange. She was old and looked almost ready to keel over and pass from the mortal realm at any moment, yet radiated a strong sense of power shed never felt before. It was like the body was a mortal, but her soul was not. If she had the tools to dig deeper, she'd be able to tell that this mares very essence was linked to something far greater than even herself.
The filly edged closer to the mare, speaking in a low tone. “H-hello?” she spoke in a voice far too hoarse to be her own. She hadn't spoken a word in who knows how long unless it was to shush her crying sister, or to cry herself at the resurfaced heartache. The mare looked over and smiled. A kindly smile, one that has seen through a lifetime of pain.
“Oh, dear. Did I wake you, my little pony?” she spoke in a gentle, raspy voice. Yet it was filled with so much power the filly almost buckled, if it wasnt filled with so much kindness and compassion the filly definitely would have.
“N.. No. I was just wondering who you are, and why you're holding my sister?” celestia took a step forward. She didn’t trust this stranger yet, but she was tired and needed to rest her sore hooves.
“I am twilight starswirl. It is nice to meet you, filly.” the mare shot the filly a sympathetic look, but a frown crossing her aged features. “Do you mind explaining what's happening? The Goddess appeared in my dreams and spoke to me of an urgent manner.” the mare pursed her lips. She obviously wanted to say more, but she wanted to give the white filly a chance to explain things.
The filly sat down next to the mare and told her story. How shed come back from a diplomatic mission from Minos, the ruins of her life, and how shed managed to avoid any pony settlements to avoid complications. Shed spoken of her mothers instructions to find her. Twilight starswirl, for her part, merely nodded along and made several mental notes. She did frown sadly at the news of the goddesses demise, lowering her head in mourning then lifting it back up to face the present. "So you travelled from mount canterhorn all the way in the heart of equestria to the middle of the frozen north in.." twilight looked at a nearby calendar and the clock then back at the filly "3 proverbial days, 2 nights, with a full size heavy carriage, almost no food, and a baby to boot?" at the shocked reaction of the fillys face, twilight assumed she hadnt been keeping track of time. She cringed inwardly at her lack of hospitality and suddenly set the alicorn baby in her hooves down to get up.
"You poor dear, no wonder you look starved. Come with me," she exclaimed softly, worried eyes scanning the semi-malnourished and exhausted white alicorns body. It looked like her young goddess physiology allowed her a feat no mortal could do, especially with how she traversed half the frozen north just to get to the mare.
The mare draped a comforting hoof over the young filly, holding her tight to her chest and pushing her into a hug. Her body was definitely cold, but it still held a sense of strange warmth.
Celestia began to tear up a little, quickly trying to collect herself. She spoke again quietly, Softly. “Thank you for saving us, miss twilight. Ill repay this debt as soon as I can.” she softly claimed through the soft crying and hiccuping.
“My dear sweet child, there is no debt to kindness and generosity. My goddess came to me in my dreams before she.. Left this world. She asked me to take care of you and your sister. Its not a favor, nor is it a debt. Don’t you worry about any of that.” the mare comforted, putting a grayed lavender hoof on the filly's withers.
“Thank you, miss.” she said sincerely, smiling and nodding slowly. The mare nodded back, then gingerly got up.
“Do you have your mantle yet?” she asked, patiently waiting for an answer. One that the filly couldn’t provide. She scratched her head and looked back at twilight sheepishly, grinning awkwardly. “Erm.. No.. I doubt i even can now.” the unicorns eyes widened as she gazed upon the filly. There were alot of questions on the aged unicorns mind, and many of them were thankfully solvable.
“Looks like I have a lot to teach you, young one.” smiled the elderly mare, the filly flanking her as they descended the stairs down to the kitchen.
Author's Note
this is what twilight looks like. if you cant see the image, go to my IG on @fablebitme
The gentle stirring of life outside Celestias wooden cubby bed woke the sleeping alicorn, smells of freshly made breakfast circled around her, putting a pleasant smile upon her face. She gently opened her eyes, then checked under her wing for the other smaller sleeping form. Thankfully, luna was fed yesterday, so celestia didn’t worry about her sister starving any time soon.
Due to the darkness and her own panicked impatience, celestia hadn’t noticed the intricate details of the room she was in. The cubbies ceiling, that shed incidentally dented a little with her horn, was not some masterpiece of art. It had black paint that shifted in hue to resemble a faint nebula of sorts, with tiny magical crystals that gave off a soft white glow- the whole thing resembled deep space, rather than night or day.
It was small but not cramped, and the far end of the cubby had a window shed missed before due to the lack of illumination. That would’ve normally been a safety hazard, but the young princess could sense the magical defenses set in place to prevent any tragic mornings. There was a storm outside, with the distant sounds of thunder reverberated across the barren ice wasteland. Celestia would’ve normally worried that they were living in a tree of all things during a storm, but twilight had assured her yesterday that there were plenty of safety wards. She also chuckled and said something about magical crystals and their hazards in flammable structures.
The actual room itself was quite large. It looked to be a semi-master bedroom, painted with neutral brown colors with accents of gold and the occasional blue and starry night sky painting. How twilight managed to fit several floors, rooms, an entire wing for a library within a tree was beyond her. Sure the tree was big, but there was no way it could fit even the room she was in right now. It also looked like it lacked any leaves, the dead branches outside being ample proof of that, and yet even celestias young inexperienced magical senses could tell the tree was alive. It was less like a tangible force and more like something you could just feel, like when somebody is always watching you. It was a little creepy, but celestia wouldn’t dare complain about such trivial things.
The fledgling alicorn quietly stepped off the bed, and slipped out of the room, making sure to leave the door slightly ajar in case luna woke up. As soon as she was out, the smell of dates and freshly cooked dough wafted up to her nose. Quickly deciding to head to the kitchen, the filly click-clacked her way from the small personal library which still had odd trinkets and items lining the floor, walls, and shelves despite the cleanup from twilight. Finally reaching the door to the stairs leading to the kitchen, the alabaster filly opened her wings and glided down the stairwell into the middle of the kitchen. It would’ve been a perfectly landing, had she not crashed face-first into the old mares rump. Reminder to not fly down any stairwells for the foreseeable future, noted the filly.
The mare, for her part, was pushed forward but only squeed in surprise and quickly looked back to see the little pony regain her composure. Deciding to ignore the little incident all-together, twilight smiled down at the filly. “good, you’re here. Help me set the table.” and so she did, helping the elderly mare set up the assortment of items made for their breakfast enjoyment.
Celestia fumbled a little over her own hooves before she finally got to sit on a chair in the dinner table, which was far too tall for her tastes. She wasn’t as tall as twilight, it didn’t seem very fair.
Regardless of Celestias shortness, Twilight already had everything prepared.
Grilled breadfruit, a small salad with chamoy-covered fruits, a large daisy sandwich for the main course, and finally almond stuffed dates for dessert, along with a large cup of purified ice water. Celestia licked her lips and began to dig in. She knew ponies usually ate meat with their food, but shed always preferred to be a vegetarian. She tried to ignore the mare sitting across from her biting into her own daisy sandwich with grilled beetles and dates. She had a lesser selection of food, but she was an old mare and didn’t need to eat as much. She knew some powerful unicorns were omnivores, but the reason why eluded her.
As the mares sat across from each other, they both admired the soft storm-light flooding in through the nearby window above the sink.
“so how come you’re eating beetles?”
twilight looked up and raised her eyebrow
“if that was meant to be an ice breaker, t’was a poor one.” she claimed. Celestia wasn’t all that curious to be fair, but shed rather not just sit in silence. The old mare always answered her questions cryptically or directly, this deflection was a first. Celestia cleared her throat and shifted her wings uncomfortably, setting down her food to look at the elderly mage.
“sorry for the sudden question, but id still like to know” she said sincerely. Twilights eyes scanned over the smaller pony, and after a moment it looks like she finally found what she was looking for. The mare nodded and straightened her back, looking like shes about to give the filly a lesson.
“normally, id build off what you already knew about the subject, but since i’m not sure how educated you are, ill start from scratch.” twilight picked up a butter knife and bent it, twisting this way and that before restoring it to its proper form.
“what I did just now. Do you know what it was?” celestia was at a loss for words. It felt like a trick question, so she just shook her head no.
Twilight took the answer in stride and continued. “I used levitation and increased then decreased its strength and the direction the magic was going. Most untrained unicorns know only how to pick some things up, but only the most refined mages have the dexterity needed for this level of control. If some random pony had tried this, they would’ve burned off all their magic to brute force the spoon to bend. Of course, It would’ve simply either bent irreparably or exploded or even melted from the amount of magic being forced into it.”
celestia nodded along, then spoke up. “but what does this have to do with eating beetles?”
twilight smiled and replied, “nothing. They taste good and are healthy for a mare my age.”
the filly slumped in her chair and let out a long-suffering sigh, shooting a glare at the chuckling older mare. With the lull in conversation, they dug back into their meals. Celestia knew that twilight didnt just give her a lecture about magic for no reason, there had to be some hidden meaning. She did seem like the type to be cryptic and indirect, giving her just enough puzzle pieces to piece something together- overall going for a more “figure it out yourself” approach
celestia bit into the soft, buttery flower sandwich. She swallowed then spoke, looking at the other mare that had already finished her much smaller meal.
“twilight, I need you to teach me how to raise the sun on my own,” she claimed, looking into the mages eyes. “I cant do it on my own. My mother or father had helped me every time using a celestial machine, but none of those things are available. The machine is broken, and my parents..” her voice cracked, and she struggled against the tears that the conversation brought up.
Twilight frowned, she wanted to comfort the filly but knew better than to step into a parental figure in her life. She needed a teacher, not a replacement mother. But despite what her head told her, the heart won out and she got up and hugged the filly comfortingly.
“ill try my best, sweetie. But I cant promise anything, you’ll largely have to do this on your own.” she answered and pulled away, getting back into her seat after the little girl stopped crying and hiccuping.
and at that, celestias puffy eyes drifted down to her plate, and soon the thoughts came rushing. itd probably take a while to repair the celestial mechanism back to even half of its strength if she did it purely based off memory. while it was possible to simply brute force the sun to rise with enough magic, she was afraid of screwing up by bringing it too close to the earth. many things could go wrong, so extreme care was warranted. she had to get research material on the subject. books, scrolls, parchment, and quill sprung up in her mind, but something else took precedence- she remembered something her mother had told her. something about a library in the frozen north, where all the worlds forbidden knowledge was stored and kept safe by the Librarian. shed already tread halfway across equestria, and the task of returning so soon through the wasteland which was already growing colder was an impossible task. she excused herself from the table after a moment, and picked up her trey to bring to the sink. she almost planted face first into said trey on accident, her hoof hitting a stack of books that were inexplicably laying there. she shot a confused look to the mare who was trying not to laugh at the slip up, then scowled and moved over the books. her eyes shot wide open as she glanced back at the books. library, in the frozen north? protected by a librarian? she shot another look at the mare who was moving next to her with her own trey of empty plates. "twilight, can i ask you a question?" she started
"id say you already did but that joke is played out like tartarus." came the swift response.
celestia ignored her mentors strange antics and followed up, "do you know of the frozen north library? the one with all the world knowledge?"
at that, twilight raised an eyebrow. "i mean, unless there is another library i didn’t know about, then you’re standing in it right now."
she said airily while washing the dishes. celestia left her own and brought the other mare eye to eye to her, or as close as she possibly could considering the height difference.
“why didn’t you tell me!?” accused the filly
“well, I thought you already knew. You know I allowed you to find me on behalf of your mother, the knowledge contained in my library could destroy the world- many have sought it out over the years, your mother personally entrusted this task to me.” replied the mare, gently nudging the filly away from her.
Celestia circled around herself, huffing in anxiety. She stopped then looked at twilight.
“Put those puppies away, Celestia. I was already planning on showing it to you today. But now is a good a time as ever, I suppose. Follow me.” stated the mare confidently, leading the filly away from the kitchen and down another stairwell that ended in a strange.. Room?
The area was yet another enigma, A rotunda with intricately carved runes etched into every single surface, Hidden pentagrams of magic celestias inexperienced magical senses couldn’t pick out. Crystals lined the floor, walls, and even ceiling that had the now-familiar scene of the void in space, with tiny crystal dots connecting in constellations.
The entire place hummed with magic so powerful the filly could feel it in her bones.
in the middle of the rotunda, floating atop a strange 6-pointed pentagram, was some sort of mirror. the surface swirled around in a light pink haze, and it was framed around the edges by some sort of strange material she couldn’t see in the dim light. by all means, it was a magical mirror in a circular room, nothing to see here folks!
careful not to step out of line in such a magically charged place, she followed closely behind twilight. "what is this place?" she asked her mentor, searching her eyes for any answers- not that eyes could answer anything mind you.
"this is the portal to the true library. the tree were in is merely its tether, like a-" twilight was cut off suddenly when the pink haze intensified, and ethereal strands of power grabbed the screaming filly and tossed her inside, cutting off any other noises.
twilight scowled at the magic, throwing a hard glare at it. "not funny." she said. Thinking quickly, she teleported lunas sleeping body to her and summoning a baby carrier and wrapping it around her barrel before jumping through the portal, unmolested by the strange magical tendrils that dissipated behind her.
twilight reached the other side only, landing gracefully only to find celestia planted face first into the ground, groaning in agony. twilight cringed in sympathy, using a quick healing spell on the filly lest she start complaining. With that done, twilight looked around the familiar landscape. Shelves lined with every kind of book imaginable lined massive columns, stretching beyond what even she could see. Several layers, structures, and many other such things were scattered across the landscape, ranging from simple comfortable reading alcoves to entire sections dedicated to the research and studying of a certain craft.
She always felt at home here. In this place, time went by far differently. Centuries could pass here but it’d be less than a milisecond in the physical world. You didn’t need to eat or sleep, just study forever and get lost in the books. Its where twilight had spent most of her time after her friends had passed, only coming back to the physical realm to maintain the library and keep the wards around it fresh. She looked down at the pained filly, struggling not to grin.
Celestia grunted and hefted herself up, and glanced back at twilight. “oh.” she said, “you look-” suddenly doing a double take, her eyes bulged and her mouth gaped.
Twilight was young again, her body barely above the age of 20. Her sagging face-skin and wrinkles faded entirely, returning back to a youthful splendor. Her coat glimmered slightly, the sparkle of the divine gracing her form. Even her cloak had changed, the dull blue turning vibrant and 6 pointed stars dotted its pristine surface.
Her mane went from an aged, frazzled grey to a deep blue that faded to a pale lavender at the ends, and even the streaks of color that lined her mane and tail regained their original saturated luminosity, faintly glowing in an ethereal light inside the mane without leaving it somehow.
Even twilights eyes changed, the normal black pupils had changed to twin pools of pink with white 6 pointed stars replacing the pupil entirely. She almost didn’t look equine, her beauty far too graceful to be natural.
“you-” started
“I know!” quipped twilight, her voice gaining a strange mystical quality to it, like listening to a voice within a dream that wasn’t your own.
“but how?” she asked incredulously, eyes the size of dinner plates, unbelieving of what was in front of her.
“being the librarian comes with many perks, one of them being the fact I take the form of what my SOUL looks like, rather than my real body. Ill return back to the aged mare you know and love.” she said in her strange new magical voice.
The “ground”, or what could pass for one considering they were standing on solid air, rumbled as a great beast landed behind twilight. The mare looked hardly surprised, she turned around to look at the dragon and a certain golden coated mare with locks of red and gold, smiling serenely.
“Hello, sunset. spike.”
Author's Note
really happy with how this one turned out. the last 2 chapters were kinda really sad and its just too tragic so i added some comedy to lighten this up a little bit- i hope yall enjoy :D
Celestias tiny heart thumped in her chest. A strange mare riding a LITERAL DRAGON just appeared and her mentor was as nonchalant as ever, what was she insane!?
Sunset looked down at the group with distrust, only addressing twilight herself. She had an air of.. Fire around her. The direct area surrounding the mare bent like she was emitting heat
“Why have you brought these beings here, Twilight?” boomed a deep, feminine voice from atop the dragons back. It had an echoing effect to it, and carried on far too heavily to not be magically enchanted in some way.
Twilight rolled her star filled eyes and turned around to look at the dragon. “Seriously, sunset. Are the theatrics necessary?” she motioned for them to cease the show of force. The golden mare hesitated for a moment, before her horn flashed with magic and both she and her dragon were whisked in an orange smoke.
As the cloud dissipated, celestia spotted a chubby little baby dragon waddling up to twilight alongside his companion and pointing an accusatory finger.
“You should know better than to allow anyone entry, what if they’re not who they say they are?” he proclaimed, his sounding like that of a squeaky colt. He was a full head shorter than twilight, so basically he was the same height as celestia. The filly in question peeked her head from behind twilight, the hiding spot no longer necessary. She finally got a good look at the mare, and was taken aback by the sheer power in her strange eyes, ones that reminded her far too much of the purple mare next to her. The base was a bright cerulean like the morning sky, but the iris had expanded to match her waving sun cutie mark, with a cerulean dot in the middle to represent either the core of the star or the pupil. Her mane were wavy layers of red and gold locks, done up in a unique style shed never seen before. It reminded her of the sunset, as it matched with her light amber coat. Her cutiemark was a 2-tone sun with 2 middle layers of light yellow and the center was cerulean, matching her eyes perfectly.
Twilight eyebrow attempted to say ‘hi’ to her horn at spikes accusation, and she leveled a glare at him. “Are you saying I have poor judgment, mister? Ill have you know i’m a great read of character thank you very much.” she said, huffing indignantly. “Besides, I doubt a baby is gonna do much harm,” she said and pointed to the baby who somehow hadn’t started crying at the loud noises. The foal in question was looking around her with curious teal eyes, smiling and babbling innocently. Sunset smiled and dimmed her strange heat-aura then walked up to luna, stroking her soft cornflower blue mane gently. “Well, it is a very cute babe twi.” Twilight grinned approvingly in response.
The baby dragon wilted at that. “Okay, okay! I’m sorry I guess.” he huffed then looked away, finally noticing the filly behind twilight. “Hi, i’m celestia” she said to the dragon.
“Sorry about the shoddy introduction, by the way.” he responded, “I’m spike, but my friends call me spikey-wikey!” he said proudly, but stopped when he realized the filly, twilight, and even sunset were giggling at the nickname. “Hey!” exclaimed the pudgy purple dragon, and so the bickering ensued.
Twilight smiled lightly and paid them no mind, instead opting to walk to one of the nearest bookshelves and observe its contents, taking little luna with her. She tsked disapprovingly when she saw what category the portal teleported them to, and called out to the others, guiding them to a better area.
—-—--—--—--—-—--—--—--—--—--—---—-—--—-—--—-—--—---—--—-—---—
Twilight awoke with a start, the dream shed just had obviously having been an unpleasant one. She was in the library in the physical realm, having come back the day before to maintain it.
The goddess had came to her, begging her to care for her soon to be displaced children. In the dream, shed handed twilight a purple hexagonal gem that radiated power so strong it made even her dream self buckle and strain against its power. The magic within was so potent that there was a pink halo around it, shining brilliantly against the dreamscape. Her goddess had told her to take care of it, and to make sure none could get their hooves on it.
She looked around herself, in the alcove cubby bed she prefers to sleep in. Spike had told her not to stay away from the library realm too long, as her old frail body couldn’t handle its own age. Sure she was 104 years old, but she still had a few more left in her! Besides, who else would take care of her library?
Regardless, Twilight wasn’t sure whether or not this was a nightmare, so she checked around herself. Sure enough, the frog of her hoof touched against an enchanted black box that was not there yesterday. She scanned it and knew immediately it contained the object shed been entrusted with, just from the sheer amount of magic contained within it, and the accompanying layers upon layers of meticulously crafted wards and protection runes. How exactly it teleported to her in her dreams was beyond her, dream magic had never been her forte.
She didn’t risk levitating the box, if her magic made contact with it in the wrong way the results would be catastrophic, not that she doubted her magical skills but better safe than sorry. So, she picked it up with her hoof and got up, walking the center of the room. Her horn flashed a lime green and a pentagram with a 6 pointed star of the same color shimmered to life below her. She made sure all the safety precautions were taken, then she put the box- which was basically just a black square, into the middle of the pentagram. Green flames engulfed the inside of the circle, and a field of what appeared to be solid magic appeared. It looked like solid magic, but it was actually layering upon layering of wards so thick and powerful they obscured vision. Slowly, the circle sank down into the ground and the box disappeared, sent away to a locked mini-dimension which was the magical equivalent of a safe.
Twilight made sure everything was secure then turned away, picking up objects around in her magic and organizing the area for her future guests. Usually she was quite organized, but she got caught up in some research from some subject or another.
There was a lot to prepare for.
——--—--—--—-—--—--——--——--—--—--—--—---—-——--—--—-——--—--—
Twilight was snapped out of her memories when the sound of someone screaming caught her ear. She looked behind her in alarm, magic ready to quickly conjure any spell. It fizzled instantly at the sight of a bouncing blur of white and yellow-tinted pink and a cringing sunset shimmer holding her head in agony.
Spike, seeing her obviously confused face, began explaining. “Sunset promised celestia to teach her magic,” he said helpfully.
Twilight could hear the smack as she face-hoofed. Well, that was just great. She calmed celestia and said to her “Sunset, while a spectacular student and sister, was no teacher. I had brought the filly here as soon as she turned 16 to save her from aging, as my sister had a horrible physical condition. It was the same I had when she leaves this realm- erosion. Sunset and I were both from house starswirl, one of the most magically gifted houses due to blood relating directly to the goddess.”
The goddess was afflicted with an illness of mind that affected the body, and then everything around her if it got out of control. Twilight hadnt told celestia this, but her mother had killed herself in her final days. If her eroded magic had been allowed to spread and contaminate the planet, then it wouldve ended the world.
Twilight shook her head and continued walking, expecting everyone to follow her.
She continued, “The house of starswirl all had the potential to unlock the gift of creation, although none of them ever did except for the eldest daughter, mi amore cadenza. She was born a mere earthpony and was rejected by her father, thrown away while her mother was too sick to do anything.
”Abandoned and exiled from her nation, the pony had walked to the frozen north, until she reached the frozen mountains and encountered…something. Legends didnt say what, but after that she came out with wings and a horn made from pure crystal magic, and beamed with the power of creation. With this newfound power, she collected all the settlements in the frozen wasteland and started a new empire, the crystal empire.“ she finished somberly.
Celestias eyes widened at this. She didnt know she had an older sister, let alone that her father had thrown her out. ”NO!“ she yelled suddenly, gaining the attention of everyone. ”thats a lie! I dont have an older sister, especially not someone with some strange foreign name!“ she spat angrily. Twilights eyes furrowed at the response, but she didnt say anything, opting to look back around and continue walking. Spike whispered something in twilights ear then turned the corner and disappeared.
Celestia paid them no mind. Her eyes were downcast as walked too, but she saw her hooves were getting blurry as she stepped on the not-floor. She was crying. Why was she crying? It felt like the back of her mind was cloudy, like she couldn’t access her deeper memories.
Sunset walked next to her comfortingly, allowing the filly the comfort of her presence.
——--—--—---—--
They finally reached the area they were looking for. It was a circular clearing with tables and sofa seats in the middle, random floating bookshelves floating around between the furniture. There were several maps on some of the bookshelves and tables, and there was a large blue hologram of the earth, sun, and moon floating in the middle of the clearing. This area actually had a ”floor“, which was just to say it was carpeted with a large rug overlayed with other rugs and accessories for comfort.
Twilight beamed and alerted her company of their arrival, her eye catching spike as he ran up to them with a few books levitating behind him.
Usually, the librarian and her assistants were able to just teleport around automatically as the realm took them to where they needed to go, but they decided to take the long way to familiarize celestia with the area.
Sunset teleported the group in a golden-blue flash and reappeared a few columns away, shocking twilight and celestia and making luna throw up and start crying on a scowling purple pony. Regardless of the sounds behind her, sunset started browsing through a strangely specific row before a look of triumph graced her features. With a mighty heave, the mare grabbed a massive book that was way too big to have fit in the shelf, and got knocked into tomorrow as it hit her in the chin. She groggily got back up and groaned in pain, then recollected herself and lifted the book properly this time.
The book in question, a large dark brown leather tome encrusted with several gems and vines, was floating infront of her. Celestia, along with Twilight who was calming luna and cleaning herself up, Finally looked at the book. Twilight went pale and she glared at a proudly grinning unrepentant sunset.
Celestia stepped up to the book and touched it. Faintly aware of twilight calling out to her, celestia glanced back, completely missing the bright light that shined from the book as she touched it. She looked back when the light got so intense it was blinding, gasping in fear. The alicorns eyes glowed white and she was mentally transported through time.
Rain.
Celestia hadn't felt or seen rain in what felt like decades. and still, here it was, pitter-pattering on her back. The young alicorn looked around, trying to understand where she was.
She was in what looked to be a clearing of sorts, surrounded by foliage and trees of all shapes, colors, seasons, and species. Random animals scurried back and forth in a blur, predator and prey living in peace and hiding in the trees and caves to stay away from the downpour. Yet what truly caught celestias eye was the massive structure infront of her. It was a massive tree, absolutely gigantic. Its trunk and bark were made from pure blue-ish purple crystal and extended up into the heavens like a beacon in the night, its crystallized pink leaves blowing in the wind like windchimes.
The alicorn finally noticed the small detail of someone standing before the tree. It was a large centaur, yet it was dwarfed by the sheer vastness of the forest and large crystal tree. He looked to be picking away at the trees trunk, trying to dig out what looked like a corpse. The corpse of her mother.
Celestia screamed out in rage and grief, yet she made no sound. She struggled, trying to beckon forth her magic, but it didnt respond. She looked down upon her body and realized she was only semi-corporeal, a tiny opaque golden outline. She turned her ‘head’ back up and saw the centaur sink his filthy claws into her mother, dragging out her corpse and splaying her on the ground. The tree above them dimmed, as if wounded. A terrible shriek emanated from the forest around them, the predatory animals surrounding the male who was only grinning ear to ear. His double horns glowed a horrible, unholy blood orange color and every ‘threat’ lurched forward, their mouths opening.
Celestia watched in horror as the vitality and magic was sapped from every single being, turning them all into husks before even that melted to ash. The centaur himself cackled, growing a few inches taller. He said something, but she couldnt hear over the sound of the rain.
He leaned down and grabbed the charred, hairless corpse. It lacked eyes, but had stumps where her horn and wings used to be. He picked her up, and slung her over his shoulder like a mere rag. “Remember my name, foal.” the filly suddenly heard in a deep, gravelly voice that spoke of the doom and destruction of her world. He turned around and looked at her in the eye, his single eye glowing orange while the other lacked an eye at all, half of his face missing entirely, only the skull showing. “For I am tirek.”
Celestia screamed in terror. She could distantly feel her real body kicking and crying, but in this world all she could do was scream.
And then, the scenery faded. Celestias screams dulled then cut out, replaced by sobbing and shaking. She opened her eyes again, and this time she was inside a lab. She could tell this still wasnt the real world, as the filly couldnt feel her limbs or magic. Still, she observed.
The area was well-lit by cool electrical lights attached to the ceiling, the entire place being a stark and sterile white. Infront of the incorporeal alicorn was a massive metal tube with a glass casing, the entire thing filled with some strange green liquid. The filly had to suppress another scream as she gazed upon her mothers remains. The skin hung limply, flesh and organs floating around it in a heap. It looked like the bones were removed. She could feel her real body hurling and throwing up in disgust, but still she persevered. The centaur came from somewhere behind her, and circled the ghost filly.
“Ah, I see youre here again, spectator.” he spoke in that horrible, rancid voice of his. “ ‘the goddess’ doesnt seem so high and mighty when shes nothing but a pile of organs and flesh, does she?” he cackled at his own joke, a wheezing gasping sound.
Celestia finally got a good look at her tormentor. Before, she couldnt see due to the darkness of the forest coupled with the rain, but now she could see every detail.
He had twin twisted black horns covered in gold, with black hair and fur with a chestplate to match. His upper half was a deadly blood-red, but the bottom horse half was pure darkness. He had a tail like one of those cartoon villains from the stories shed read. He looked like the literal incarnation of a devil, hades himself.
This wasnt just a regular centaur. No, this was far worse. Shed heard of him during her trip to the country of minos. This was exiled former lord tirek. Hes single handedly the reason his country went to ruin. The scar on his face was imparted upon him by his father before his exile, as punishment for his dark deeds. The male had used cursed knowledge, dark magic. Necromancy. Hed summoned legions to conquer entire continents, but was eventually bested by a mysterious pink alicorn with wings and a horn of crystal. Celestias eyes widened at the correlation between him and her long forgotten sister. Still, this was irrelevant. She brushed it off and looked back at the dark necromancer as he circled around the contained gore.
“Your mothers corpse will birth me a fine soldier, someone to fulfill the dreams I cannot. Her bones are worthless, so I sold them to a certain draconequus.” as if sensing her confusion, he smiled a yellow-toothed smile at her incorporeal form. “I doubt he could make much use off of mere bones, but what some insane god of chaos does is none of my business. Regardless, your mothers corpse wielded far more potent fruit than I couldve imagined.” he explained, finishing his circle around the tube and finally standing before the alicorn.
“You see, her magic didnt die with her. No, she left these behind.”
A rune glowed infront of the necromancer, and five multi-colored gems appeared.
“I like to call them the crystals of creation, or the god keys. But my dear draconequus client decided to throw a little piece of information my way,” he grunted and mumbled some obscenities behind his claw. He looked back and regained his toothy grin.
“These five gems contain power so great, they could rewrite the universe. IF they were complete.” he grunted, this time in barely contained anger. “There's two missing, the most important of all, inherited by the crystal alicorn. The other, i'm not so sure. So, I'm going to create a child from the rotting cadaver of your mother, then ill force it to fight its own kin, earning me both the gem AND the head of that wretched ‘goddess’. Wont that be fun?” he said, getting far too close to her ‘face’ for comfort. He extended his tongue and licked entire side of his skeleton half, disgust roiling down celestias back at the display.
“Ill become the god of this world, and everything I've ever wanted will be mine. And you, my little spectator, will get to watch my rise to glory.” he cackled madly, the sound of his howling laughter echoing across the barren sterile room. There were very few things in this world that were BORN evil, and tirek was first among them all.
Celestia could feel herself crying again as she was dragged away and out of the scene, her spirit settling back into her body at the library.
The alicorn looked around to the concerned faces of her friends and family, and yet their voices were so distant. All she could hear were her own shallow breaths and a heartache she could not comprehend. Infront of the filly lay the now dormant ashes of the book shed touched. There was gonna be alot of work ahead.
Months passed like minutes, and minutes melted into months. And still, the white alicorn filly strived to achieve her goal.
She wasnt concerned with only raising the sun, Now she wanted revenge on the one that had desecrated her mothers tomb and defiled her body, selling her bones like cheap scrap. No, celestia wanted justice. And above all, she wanted to know why her mother died, and to save her long lost sister. There was also the matter of what happened to the good creatures that inhabited her old empire, but she left that in the backburner.
Instead, she was still working out a few kinks, like the matter of raising the sun. And then there was the issue of her sister. Initially, celestia wanted to just leave luna here. Shed remain safe forever in the care of twilight and her assistants, but that plan went out of the window when they realized celestia and luna were still growing.
Due to her alicorn physiology, the space-time time-space mumbo jumbo of alternate dimensions didnt affect her. And evidently, it didnt affect the now significantly grown luna.
Alicorns mature far earlier than normal ponies, growing to scale with their magic rather than any physical attribute. Luna, having been one of the first born alicorns in the world, was far greater than other lesser alicorns that roamed the world, and so she grew to be almost the same age as celestia over the course of the time they spent here.
This is where the issue arises.
Due to how alicorns work, if they didnt connect to an aspect of the world, theyd stop growing. Theyd be trapped as an ageless but vulnerable foal within the world. Celestia couldnt leave her sister here, to stagnate and never grow beyond what she is right now.
A loud crash alerted celestia, making the now grown mare cringe. Goddesses above, if luna burned another wing of the library she was gonna have a conniption.
“LUNA!” celestia called out, looking up from the book she was reading, “unicornias generational spark” by oracle finale. She bookmarked the page she was reading and tossed the book into her ‘reading’ pile. She got up and spread her large swan-like wings, her wingspan had grown dramatically over time. With a flap and a burst of air, she was off- away from her favorite alcove and into whatever counted as air here.
The alicorn skillfully flew through the columns of bookshelves and winding staircases, finally reaching the source of the sound.
There, in a heap, was luna. The filly was now the same size celestia was when shed arrived her, but in celestias opinion, luna was far cuter. She had big sparkling teal eyes that went from slits to the most convincing twin pool puppydog eyes, fluffy little bat wings, and all the mannerisms youd expect from a cat. Or in her case, a bat. Still, as adorable as her little sister, she also had more than her fair share of trouble. Over time, luna had grown to be a capable and intelligent young filly, able to hold entire complex conversations by the time she was half celestias ‘age’. Still, the white mares heart ached when she saw the young filly. She looked so much like her mother it stung any time she looked at her. Regardless, as capable and smart as her sister was, she was also causing alot of ruckus and mischief.
Another explosion sounded out behind the pile of books, the blue foal sticking her head in like an ostrich. Celestia jumped from the explosion, but steadied herself and shook her head.
“Luna, dear. Come out of your book fort and tell me what you did this time.” celestia cooed, trying her hardest to seem not as angry as she really was. Which was a little difficult, as the golden parts of her mane were flickering with sunfire
Luna peeked out of her little fort and smiled sheepishly at her older sister, trying her best to not seem guilty and failing miserably.
“H..hi celestia” she said, looking everywhere but into her sisters eyes.
“Luna.”
“Yes?”
“What did you do.”
“I may have mixed chemistry and magi-”
Another explosion resounded behind the wide-eyed filly, and Celestia sighed in exasperation.
6 - Preparations and Suppressions
Twilight was currently seated on an opening between shelves that acted to a corridor to a different section of the library, sitting on a cushion from high up as she watched celestia and spike spar. Celestia had grown significantly, with her hair, horn, and legs gaining length. She even had a more prominent jawline and a lithe, defined figure. She was quite slender, but had a strength comparable to 3 grown earth pony stallions and double the vitality. She was almost the same height as twilight herself, the mare realized.
The sounds of calculated magical spells, fire, and steel rung out across the library. Celestia and Spike weren’t worried about the books, any damage they gained was instantly repaired by the realm. The entire place was basically indestructible, which served their purposes quite well. Spike had taken the form of a teenage version of himself.
A beam of pure golden flames shot in spikes direction, So he closed his wings and dropped like a stone, the beam following him all the while. Right before he hit the ground, the drake spread his leathery wings and ducked to the side, making use of the acrobatic skills he’d learned over the years. He had a weapon on him, 2 chained mini-scythes named the ‘claws of hades’ that glowed with innate magic.
He threw one of the scythes behind the alicorn who was charging up another sun-fire spell, taught to her by sunset, which fizzled out as she dodged the weapon, looking back at the dragon and grinning.
“Nice miss, lizard boy. You should be a professional with THOSE skills,” she spat out the sniding remark. Her cocky grin melted when she realized spike was still smiling smugly. With a flourish of his weapon, the chain attached to the hilt of his scythe boomeranged back into his claws and wrapped celestia in their enchanted binding.
“You really shouldn’t get cocky in the middle of a fight, celly. Glad to see you’re putting those taunting lessons I gave you to good use,” he finished before yanking and pulling the airborne alicorn down, slamming her into the ground. She groaned in pain and looked up in defeat. The chains flashed then disappeared, leaving behind a disgruntled looking white mare.
“Very nice effort today, celestia.” said spike sincerely, extending a claw to help celestia up. She looked at the drake and smiled, nodding in acknowledgment.
A blue blur dashed between the 2 of them and smiled eagerly.“didst thou find the weapons I made you acceptable, sir spike?” said luna excitedly.
The drake smiled down upon the foal, before handing her the new weapons. “Yes, this might be your finest work yet. I know i’ve said it before, but i’ve never seen a filly your age be this talented at enchanting weapons before, lulu. You’re quite the exceptional young lady.” complimented spike. Luna positively beamed at the praise, her ego inflating rapidly. “Yeah, I guess I am pretty awesome.” she said confidently, striking a pose. Her ego was swiftly deflated once more as her sister laughed at her antics, making luna blush. The filly harrumphed and teleported away with the weapons, probably off to work on a project again or to read more books. Spike nodded towards celestia and flew away, off to do his tasks.
Celestia turned away from the scene and spread her sore wings, half flying half teleporting to twilight. She gracefully landed next to the mare and smiled. “So, twilight..” she said carefully, smacking her lips at the lavender mare. Twilight blinked back, uncomprehending, until she realized what the solar mare was asking. “Oh! Yes, the time is coming soon isn’t it?” she muttered, rising to her hooves. The 2 mares walked together to the middle of the large corridor, where equipment, books, and other miscellaneous items littered the area. Graphs, boards, and all sorts of things lined the walls and floor and even low ceiling with information and magical matrices, with the more extreme experiments being a bit further down the corridor. In the middle of their organized chaos sat a circular golden metal object made of thin rings and arcs of metal with a hologram of the earth above it, showcasing a rough picture of the final product. It was the same area celestia had walked to when she first arrived here, except somehow it was in a different place. Celestia never questioned the mechanics of this dimension, it always gave her a massive migraine.
Twilight spoke, going over what they already knew.
“As you already know, the old mechanism will need to be completely scrapped when we return to the physical realm. Well need to install this new mechanism quickly and efficiently, and return to any semblance of normalcy all within the same 24 hours. The earth had to survive for far too long without the sun, and I doubt it’ll last much longer, so we need to act quickly.” she summarized. “The only hiccup is the fact I have no idea how to raise the moon. I mean, the sun is easy enough as it is my special talent, but even when my mother tried to teach me how to raise the moon I could never do it.” she finished, looking to her mentor for answers.
“Celestia,” began twilight, carefully broaching the subject, “you know you need to bring your sister with you. You need her to raise the moon, its her destiny to be alongside yo-” she was interrupted by the death glare celestia gave her.
“I know.” she spoke with a finality that broached no further conversation. Twilight, for her part, said nothing. She gave celestia a meaningful look, then spoke. “Well be leaving in a few hours after we finish the final checkups and details. You can go ahead and relax until then, I can finish up here on my own.” and with that, the mare turned away and went to one of the books on the tables, skimming off its pages rapidly.
Celestia ignored her mentor and trotted to the other direction, missing the tiny blue pony that was eavesdropping on the conversation.
Luna wasnt very happy at the moment. Her sister always acted weird when the topic of leaving the Library came up, Especially when Luna was the focus of conversation. It always made the blue filly resent her sister a little, As shamed as she was to admit it. Did celestia think luna wasnt ready? WAS she ready? She liked to think so, But only time would tell.
The filly walked one of the long corridors, until she got an idea. Using her pale blue magic, the alicorn closed her eyes in concentration and a faint popping sound is all the warning she got before she opened her eyes and the scene around her had changed.
No longer was she surrounded by endless columns of non-descript books with no end to the floor and ceiling. Instead, she was in a far cozier place. This was sunsets section of the realm, an entire district made just for her. It had carpeted floors, wooden archways, and a columned glass ceiling that glowed a deep orange- the color of sunset. The entire place reminded luna of a castle rather than a library. Unlike the main section, this area had no books lining the walls. Rather, they were simple stone lined with paintings, dressers, vases, and banners, and many other decorations. The walls themselved were saturated with paintings of the sun all in the same color that seemed to go on forever.
Luna tore her eyes away from the familiar sight and fixed her senses to locate where sunset was. She was always better at navigating the library than her sister, as the latter frequently got lost. Regardless, luna followed the ‘gut’ feeling she had and wandered into a dimly lit room filled with comfortable couches, rug, several paintings of the sky, and sunset herself sitting behind a large mahogany desk.
The mare herself looked up from the work she was doing and smiled at the filly, staring at her with those strange teal eyes.
Luna suppressed the urge to shiver and walked into the room, closing the door behind her.
“Aunty sunset.. I have questions” spoke luna, settling into one of the couches. Sunset nodded and replied, “sure. Ask away, lulu.”
Luna grumbled at the nickname then began to air out her grievances, sunsets patient eyes never leaving her. The golden mare nodded in understanding, then closed her eyes and leaned back into her swivel-chair. She sighed and straightened herself out.
“Luna, you need to talk with your sister.” she said, making sure to look luna in the eye while doing so.
Lunas brow furrowed and she adjusted her position.
Sunset sighed again and clapped her hooves together “then im afraid youre out of options. Either you talk to her, or you keep your silence and suffer forever. Your choice.” and with that, lunas patience ended. She got up and stomped out of the office angrily, slamming the large dark oak door behind her.
This sucks.
It was never fun to be the younger one. Luna was always the one to be taken care of and fretted over, the less capable, the unimportant. Celestia always got to play hero, she was the one who brought her into the library after trudging through an icy wasteland for who knows how long.
Luna never wanted attention, she was an introverted bat at heart. She kept to dark corners, sulking and working on whatever craft or project had caught her attention. But it was one thing to not receive attention, and another entirely to feel like a burden.
The young bat-like alicorn ruffled her wings in irritation and discomfort as she walked out of the secluded, decorated section behind her, abandoning any hope of advice from the strange golden mare she called her aunt. Sunset was many things, but emotionally available was definitely not one of them. Luna lit her horn and a few books floated behind the tiny demure mare, stacking up in her magical aura.
Fantasies flashed before her mind, thoughts of conquest and sabotage rising then dying as morality clashed with desire. An idea reared its head and the books behind the pony collapsed in a heap and she ran to the destination she had in mind.
Points of light danced in twilights vision as the magic surrounding her horn faded. Finally, its over. The diagram theyd made for the sun, moon, earth, and even the stars was finalized and quadruple checked. Itd taken them several months of constant work and fine-tuning even with the help of the entire library at their disposal, but the complicated matrix and spellwork was finally perfected to maximum efficiency.
The unicorn lifted her head up from the pile of books she buried herself under, and she yawned, stretching all the while. With that done, she plopped herself back down, satisfied with a job well done. Her horn flashed again as she magically called out to celestia, and she turned to see the white mare flash into existence with a pop of magic.
“Its finished. Well be heading out in moments, are you ready?” asked twilight excitedly. Celestia nodded with a smile, and turned away to check the diagram one final time.
Luna peaked her head from the corner of the room and used a stealth spell on herself quietly, standing just behind celestia and twilight. In their excitement, they didnt notice the invisible blue blur awaiting her chance. Luna had packed all the necessities, Her blue teddy bear being the first thing she brought.
Twilight charged her horn and a hole in space-time opened, revealing a large swirling white portal that popped into existence. Celestia walked in first, followed quickly and quietly by luna. The filly could almost swear she saw twilights surprised glance directly into her eyes, but she brushed it off and went through to the other side with twilight.
Luna stepped through to the other side, making sure not to disturb anything. She, unlike her sister, had never been outside the library. Her sister and twilight had left occasionally to study the star-system and other details that highly piqued lunas interest, but she was never allowed to come with them.
She had to suppress a gasp as her eyes found a window leading to the outside. Despite the encroaching massive storm, she could still see very clearly. The night was dead. It was black, the moon sterile and barren, and the sky behind it a pitch black befitting the void. But to luna, it looked like an empty canvas, ready to be filled and painted with every color the young filly could think to bring.
Author's Note
sorry i havent updated in so long. ive been sick and depressed, and quite frankly couldnt really bring myself to care about this anymore. im trying to write again, but i doubt ill make this story a long term thing- i think i might have like 3 and the final left in me but then im kinda done lol
A giggle behind luna made her whip back around and she came face to face with twilight.
“L-Luna?” the shocked look on her sisters face made the alicorn cringe inward and fold her ears back.
“H-hey.. I know what you’re gonna say but-” luna didnt get to finish as she was immediately pounced on by her elder sibling
“WHAT are you doing here!?” she yelled at the filly. Luna steeled her resolve and stood firm, glaring at celestia.
“I am here to claim my domain. You have no right to keep me locked within a dusty old library!” she exclaimed. Twilight winced as if struck but opted to not say anything yet, which made the little mare feel a heavy flash of guilt. “What I mean is, I need to be out here making a change. You arent the main character in a novel, celestia.”
Celestia fumed in place, stomping her hooves into the ground. Flames licked the tips of her mane and tail, and luna could almost see her irises turning a pale gold before returning to their regular soft magenta.
Unleashing a deep sigh, celestia turned back around and addressed her sister, but her tone was still strict and tense. “Well, we cant take you back now without wasting time. Stick close to me and try not to screw anything up.” with that, she walked out of the room.
Lunas curved horn sparked with angry magic for a moment before she curbed her rage and decided to be the bigger mare. She walked out behind her sister and mentor, silently seething. Deep breaths, in and out. Luna closed her eyes then released her emotions.
She flapped her bat-like wings and took to the air, landing near her sister and mentor. They were both standing still infront of the door, fear having gripped their hearts. She leaned out of the window and a horrible sight greeted her. There, outside, was the image of a large centaur. 1 horned alicorn and earth pony skulls adorned his shoulder-blades. They were too big to be mortal ponies.. Far too big to be anything but her fabled sister and deceased mother.
The centaur had several gems strapped to the gilded, golden barding adorning his body- hugging his every curve and muscle in the perfect image of doom.
The centaur charged his horns and built up a blast. Celestia, thinking quickly, used a teleportation spell and took her sister and teacher away from the now decimated tree. Not even the trunk remained, it was like the tree was never even there. Twilight leapt forward and screamed like someone tore out her heart, pain and sorrow wracking her mortal body.
Lunas heart went out for the poor mare. She stood next to her sister and spoke softly, making sure not to disturbing the sobbing purple mare. “You cant destroy him alone, tia. Let me help you.” she rubbed her head under her sisters chin.
Celestia considered for a moment then nodded silently. “Make sure not to get hurt, lulu.”
Burning flames surrounded celestia. The scent of burnt flesh and bone filled the air, sending whatever hope she had into oblivion. This was it, then? Her sisters body lay broken and scarred a hoofs length away from her. The centaur was far too powerful, even for all 3 of them. Her mentor, twilight, had used some spell and used the gems powering the centaur against him, killing both of them in the process and destroying miles upon miles of frozen wasteland, turning it into a hellscape of fire. Celestia breathed deeply and tried to get on her good hoof. The battle had waged for days with no end in sight, and there was nothing left for her to do.
She screamed in agony as her fractured hoof hit the ground in the wrong way. Her alicorn regeneration would’ve normally fixed her injuries, but she was so drained of magic.. And her wounds were numerous.
The white alicorn forced whatever magic she had left to heal her body, then got up. Just barely.
She trudged over to her sisters corpse. Tears fell freely from the elders eyes. Her only remaining family, and she was gone. Hardly even a filly, and taken from her before her time. Luna was ageless, she could’ve been immortal if shed just been able to claim her mantle.
Celestia planted a kiss on her body and watched as it faded from existence, going to elysium.
The elder sister, sobbing with a heartache she could never heal, put hoof after the other, trying her best to navigate the land through her bleary, blurred eyes. She finally settled up on a hill and pulled out a magical prismatic gem, laid within it the spell of all spells. It could finally fix what that centaur destroyed. Thats how he killed her people, he absorbed their magic. How else could they have simply disappeared?
No. Celestia shook her head and focused, she needed to focus. She had to focus.
Her horn lit in a blaze of golden energy, bathing the entire wasteland around her in brilliant sunlight. The sun itself came to life in that moment, and the dawn finally rose above the horizon.
Author's Note
finally finished this story. honestly, i kinda got disinterested halfway through but i didnt wanna just leave it unfinished. unhappy with how it turned out, and ngl the ending was kinda trash, but hey. at least it actually has an ending lmao
