A Long Tale Of Sacrifice

In Canterlot, there is a great, large tower on the north-east side, connected to the palace. Now, that may not seem abnormal, or special, but in this tower is a very special pony. An Alicorn, to be precise. And this Alicorn is mostly called Luna. Luna is an Alicorn that had been forced to leave her beloved subjects more than a thousand years ago, to reflect on things on the moon. After a very long (and well deserved) vacation, she had come back, and found things very different. The ponies, they no longer had a stable structure, the walls and rooms, they held beauty rather than practicality. And Princess Celestia, her sister and ruler of all the land, no longer controlled all of the power. Not to mention that Canterlot had become bigger, and now housed multiple colleges and universities to help push along magically adept Unicorns. It has taken Luna seventeen years to adapt comfortably to this new world, but she has finally done it. The ponies now look at her as they once did. Majestic, regal, and ultimately awesome. But a gleaming coat and charming personality can only go so far. And for Luna, she still doesn't much have the charisma that her sister seems to. Still, Luna is very intelligent, and won't let a few nuisances stop her from enjoying her evening. Of course she wouldn't.

Luna sat on a posh, and extremely comfortable cushion. She was meditating. To what end, you may ask. Well, she was composing herself, and everything she has ever learned, to form something new. In short, she was attempting to figure out why she wasn't very good at socialization, and neutralize the problem. As she sat here, performing rigorous mental and magical exercises in order to better herself, a commotion could be heard floating through the open window to her left. Luna broke concentration, and her magical parameters wavered ever so slightly, causing a scenic painting on the wall to have a sudden urge to greet the floor raucously.

"Gah!!" Luna cried impatiently. She fixed the painting back onto the wall and refocused her mind to her task. Luna sat motionless for several moments, completely drawn into her own mind, until another irritating crash outside ripped through her concentration. Luna huffed angrily as one of the her telescope's three legs became bent from the pressure of intense magic. She bent it back, but had had enough. Luna stood up rather stiffly, and marched to the window, to see what had been causing her grief.

The magnificent dark blue Alicorn cast her eyes downwards, down to the courtyard of Castle Canterlot. A young pony seemed to be arguing with Royal Guards. Luna rolled her eyes. Can't these guards do their job right? By guarding? I suppose I must go down personally and see what the problem is. Luna looked longingly at the soft cushion in the middle of her room. She sighed, and exited the room, walked down some steps, through some corridors, and soon appeared in the courtyard. The guards caught sight of her and instantly snapped into the rigid stance all guards and lower-ranked officials do when in the presence of Luna or Celestia.

Luna scoffed. "Didn't they teach you not to lock your knees in Physical Training?" The two guards looked at her surprised, but still held their posture. "Oh alright, I understand. It's about respect." Luna saw something in their eyes. She hilariously realized it was fear and alarm. She looked in-between them and saw the young pony. "Right, this had better be important. I was roused from my tests you know." Luna watched one of the guards' throat bob as he swallowed nervously.

The left guard bowed, and began an stammering explanation. "M-my lady, th-this ruffian here," he jerked his head towards the young pony behind him. "He stole into our c-courtyard, and m-made an attempt at r-reaching Princess C-celestia!" Luna gave him a confused look.

"So?" She asked, making it clear that she didn't understand the problem here. The throat-bobbing guard on the right piped in.

"It's against Royal Law, milady!" He cried. The realization dawned on Luna's face.

"Oh... Well, there has to be a reason for it. Has this pony given you a reason?" Luna inquired. The guards both exchanged looks. "So he hasn't?" Luna prodded further. All she managed to gain from them was a stuttered "n-no". She pushed past both guards and fixed this pony in an analyzing gaze.

The pony standing in front of her wore a hurried face upon a sharply edged head. The head and body were a silvery color. Upon the cranium ran a long mane, dark blue including an odd lighter blue streak. The streak started out thin at the bangs and progressively grew wider and less intense. The young pony's tail was longer than what was the normal style for colts. What represented the pony's specialty was an extremely dark blue comet, with a gradually lightening tail. Luna was taken aback by the strong emerald eyes that payed her a studying assault.

"What is it that has brought you here?" Luna asked in the most regal of tones.

The young pony bowed respectively, and then spoke in the most sarcastic of tones.

"Danger. You know, the usual."

Luna stood watching her sister, Celestia, talk with Fellstar, in the far corner of the Throne Room. Apparently his message and reason for trespassing was viable, as Celestia and he were in a deep conversation. Luna's eyes drifted away from the two and wandered to the massive stained glass next to her. It was of her inner darkness being conquered by six ponies, each a representation of the magical and ancient Elements of Harmony. She shuddered thinking back to then, to when all she felt and knew was rage, anger, and an overpowering sense of betrayal. Luna sat down and slowly fell into a bored sleep. She dreamed of flying in the vast expansive black of night. Luna had really caught a good air current, for she was zipping through the sky, a mere blur upon the moon before clouds obscured the light. She had just taken a daring dive downwards when she heard something terrible. A monstrous voice, one devoid of any happiness, one without any warmth, one icy cold, called her name. Luna. It called. Luna... Luna! Luna felt her wings collapse uselessly against her sides, and her stomach plummeted with her as she fell, the voice still calling. Luna!! LUNA!!! She was powerless as the ground rushed up at her, until--

Luna jerked wildly and smacked her head against something stone behind her. She tentatively held a hoof to her head as she realized where she was. Celestia stood over her, concerned. "Luna, are you okay?" Celestia bent down and helped Luna up.

"Y-yes, sister, I'm fine." Luna reassured Celestia, though she was not so sure. "Just had a bad dream; must've been something I ate."

"Are you sure?" Celestia asked.

"Yes yes, I'm quite all right." Luna changed the subject. "Now what did Fellstar have to say?"

"Well, he told me that a someone found him in his dreams. He told me that he had a conversation with a dark figure that claimed to know of a power that could cause quite a bit of complications for us."

Luna hardly believed in this. "The more vague this is, the less I wish to place belief on it. I see no reason to trust that any of this is true. Likely a child's way of creating fun for himself." She then added. "Rather devilish, come to think of it."

Celestia wasn't finished though. "I would agree with you but for one point that has yet to be brought up. Fellstar came with a map, and personally pointed out a location that he said was vital in the acquiring of this power. He also brought this." Celestia brought forth a roughly sewn quilt. It had sixteen patches on it, and was fairly small.

Luna was lost. "What is this? Some sort of intricate way of mapping the land? I don't understand."

"Watch." Celestia laid it out on the floor. She then closed her eyes, and a sudden brightness resonated from the quilt, momentarily blinding Luna. After regaining the ability to see, Luna looked down in shock at where the ugly brown quilt lay. Sitting upon the quilt, in all it's grandeur, was Luna's lovely maroon cushion.

"I-it's a-a--" Luna stuttered.

Celestia stated what Luna currently wanted to. "Yes, it is a manuport."

"But these no longer exist!!" Luna retorted. Celestia and Luna had gone to their Map Room, to convene more appropriately. "They're extinct, gone, dust! It's impossible!! The Manis Order was stricken from this world, removed from power! But there it is, right before the two of us! Either we're both insane or this is really here, and that means..." Luna's sentence fell apart. "Our duty to keep safe these lands from the dreaded, vile creatures of our home is a fallacy." Luna looked at Celestia exasperatedly. "That we've failed..."

"How can we have failed if there is no proof of them here? How can something be failure if present I find no results? We've not failed, Luna. It's a mistake, and mistakes can be fixed, fractures can be mended." Celestia paced back and forth in front of Luna. "Dear sister, we have been through so much together, seen so many horrors, can you please give me some confidence?" Celestia stopped, and Luna reluctantly nodded. Celestia started once more. "Listen. I need you to stay with me on this. I can't do this without you. Luna, I need you." Celestia stopped pacing again, but this time she started pouring over the large map table. "Fellstar showed me this place, here." She pointed to a small mountain next to a large lake, both of which were surrounded by a large forest. "He said that this is the area, and that here should lay ruins. I suppose we venture into them, and see if there's anything in there. If not, we come back here and stay on the alert. If we do, then... we'll just have to find out I expect."

"Should we gather the girls?" Luna asked.

Celestia thought for a moment. "I think it's best if we just keep this to ourselves. Besides, if there is anything there, I don't want to throw them into unnecessary danger. We should get moving soon. Let's ride a train to Alphemi, get off and fly the rest of the way."

"Sounds like a plan." Luna said affirmatively. She walked forward to the exit, ventured out into a grand hall, and purposefully cantered up to her room, going over everything that has come up, and hoping that there isn't anything in the ruins. For all of Equestria, not just herself and Celestia.

Fellstar trotted down a cobblestone street. The moon had already risen a few hours ago, shining down it's light blue benevolence. Fellstar was heading home, after letting Celestia know about his experience in his dream. He took a right down a narrow way between two buildings, crossing between two main streets. The little crevice wasn't lit very well, and so he didn't see the little pony that he suddenly tripped over in the dark.

"Woah!" Fellstar tumbled forward and smacked his chin on the hard ground. Fellstar's head spun, and his eyes watered. He got into a sitting position and rubbed his chin. Fellstar cried out in pain, as blood began dripping down his neck. A voice came out from the darkness.

"You know, you could apologize for kicking me so hard in the side. It's quite rude." The voice was feminine. Fellstar saw two legs in front of him planted firmly on the ground. He followed them up and realized they belonged to a mare. He got up.

"Sorry." Said Fellstar. Or would have said if his chin didn't feel like it had exploded. All he managed was a garbled "shurr-e".

"Pardon me, what was that?" The mare responded. Fellstar only sat back down. "Is there something wrong?" She asked. "Hello?" He made an attempt at telling her his chin was busted, but couldn't move his jaw without searing pain shooting through his face. A disgruntled sigh came out as a bright, orange-red light filled the alley. It's source was a horn, standing tall upon a slim head.