Crossing Over the Arcane Hiatus

Chapter 18: Fits of Lunacy

Ares woke me up in the morning; apparently I passed out again on the way inside the castle and spent the night in a hospital bed. For my own safety, they took Cindersbane away and closed the stone gardens. He said I had slept for a solid thirty-two hours and other than a bloody nose I was physically sound. Mentally on the other hand I was anything but. The events in the statue gardens are just boggling the mind right now, worse than Applejack’s hard cider even. Not too surprising that the Princesses wanted to talk to be about what happened, which so happens to be where he was escorting me.

Part of me wants to tell them everything but something else is holding me back. I can’t deny that Discord believed what he was telling me, it was painfully obvious by how much emotion he put into what he was saying that he honestly felt like he was saying the truth. But Equestria being too peaceful? Celestia being so tyrannical it made her too nice? That this world actually needed chaos to survive, that there are more humans in Equestria, and that the Elements of Harmony are unfinished and I was destined to force the next one into existence? That’s…

Well, now that I remember, Celestia had said when we were in that round stone room that she thought another Element of Harmony was going to be created soon. And what about that damned prophecy; ‘wise’ old Discord didn’t even bother telling me what it meant. Does that mean he wrote it?

Something else that disturbs me is how I came to Equestria. Discord did say it was his doing that brought me here, but I first got here I overheard Twilight saying she was trying a weather spell that got out of control. She said the High Council was trying it out, but if pegasi control the weather why would such a spell be necessary?

And I just thought Twilight knew that I got here because of that odd lightning, but now that I think it about it seems like she was oblivious to it. ‘Oh, a random alien appears in the same neck of the woods that your out-of-control spell struck, scattering his possessions in the exact same spot. No connection at all.’

But the real bothersome part is that after I gave my explanation of where I came from, everyone was so eager to help me get back. Twilight was so enthusiastic about learning of my world and then, it just stopped. We all stopped. Stopped asking questions, stopped being concerned on how to send me back, just as if they were told to accept me. Why didn’t any of them freak out by my simple presence like with Zecora? None of this makes sense!

I’m overthinking again. I really am going insane.

Same metal table, same Princesses sitting before me, same feeling as though this was an unfriendly interrogation. I’m really starting to hate this room. I miss that ivory chest. I want to hide inside it so badly.

“Let us begin,” Celestia’s monotone voice echoed off the walls. Luna sat beside her with enough blank pieces of paper to write a dictionary and enough vials of ink to have killed off an entire family of squid. Both Princesses were as blank and expressionless as the guards that patrolled the castle, save this one room at the moment. Luna’s horn constantly shone a faint aura of blue, creating a magical cocoon of sorts that I was told would soundproof our conversation.

“I know you must be afraid right now,” Celestia cooed. “But you are safe here. We will just be asking you some questions and then I want a full recap of everything that had happened.”

I nodded, although not reassured. I have to admit that I’m a bit uncomfortable right now. There are no guards in this room and there’s a spell going on that won’t let anyone hear us. Celestia smiled and asked the first question, “Did you have any visions of Discord or encounter him in any sort of way?”

“Yes,” I said bluntly. Luna floated a quill with her magic, jotted that down and Celestia started her series of questions.

“Did you talk to him?”

“Yes.”

Celestia’s brow furrowed. “Did he ask anything of you?”

“Yes, he wanted to…” I hesitated. I should probably watch what I say here. “He wanted to apologize for his wrongdoings in the past and for me to ask you to release him.”

While Luna seemed mildly surprised by this Celestia was unmoved. “Did he tell you what his wrongdoings were?” she asked.

Yeah, that you may be an autocrat with good intentions but you’re going to destroy us all. “It’s a bit hazy, but I think it was something about making the world chaotic long ago?”

Both of the alicorns looked at me curiously. As far as vague descriptions go, that was probably one of the most obvious I could deliver. I don’t think either of them bought it however, implied by the stern stares I was getting.

*knock* *knock*

Someone was at the door! Distraction! Yes! Now to decide if I should lie or not…

Celestia sighed. “Excuse me a moment.” She used her magic to open the door slightly and a very nervous unicorn stuck her head in the room.

“Princess Celestia!” She exhaled a breath in relief. “The High Council requires your immediate presence! There are issues concerning the Germaneigh-Equestria border, again.”

Celestia looked annoyed. “Can’t the council deal with it themselves?”

“Forgive me Princess, but no. The Germanes have sent an ambassador and he requests to speak to you directly.”

Princess Celestia looked like she was about to protest but held it back. Luna nudged her. “Go on, ‘Tia. I can handle things from here.”

Her sister didn’t look too reassured. “Are you sure Luna? Will you be alright by yourself?”

‘Alright by herself?’ I guess I am perceived as a threat then. That’s wonderful news.

Luna glanced to me and smiled. “I’ll be fine. Chris shouldn’t be any trouble, now will he?”

I sunk back in my seat. “Nope.”

The unicorn at the entryway was growing impatient. Celestia looked at me one more time, glaring, before she got up and left closing the door softly behind her. Not a second later Luna’s horn flared in amplitude, increasing the dim aura of her sound-cancelling spell that surrounded the room.

“I was beginning to think she would never leave,” Luna sighed. Wait, why would she want her sister gone? She immediately picked up the quill again with her magic and grabbed a piece of paper waiting to write. “Now Chris, when you were talking to Discord, did he reserve any information?”

Odd way to ask a question. “What do you mean?” I asked.

Luna planted her front hooves on the tabletop. “Did Discord, by any chance, tell you the history of his crimes?”

Is… what…

“It must have been some crazy Daydream, am I right? Or would a Nightmare be more accurate?”

Is she really suggesting that… if what I’m gathering is correct… “Ahem. Um, Discord did say that he wished for only harmony…”

The alicorn grinned so wide it probably should have split her face. “Anything about the nature of it all?”

I played along. “He talked about avoiding a Cataclysm…”

Luna smiled with delight. “Okay, we can drop the act now,” Luna told me. “Discord obviously told you about the Old Kingdom, did he not?”

“He told me everything,” I admitted, ready to receive any sort of punishment. “Even what happened before he was turned to stone.”

Luna simply grinned at that tidbit of information. “I assume you know the full story then: about Nightmare Moon, the Cataclysm, and natural harmony?”

I gave a small nod. Luna picked up the quill again with her magic and began writing, burning through a page in less than thirty seconds. “Don’t worry, this is going to be my ‘official’ report of our conversation, do you understand?”

“As in… fake?”

Luna was already on her second page. She continued, “Yup. There really isn’t much for me to say but I do suppose I owe you some answers. So ask away and I’ll do my best, and perhaps afterwards you can answer some of my own.”

So, this is real then? Everything Discord said was the truth and Celestia is some sort of orderly tyrant? And I’m destined to save the universe?

“Do you have any questions?” She asked again.

Hell, where do I start... “A few, actually. Maybe you could tell me why no one is concerned with sending me back home, why no pony freaked out a strange simply being around them, and why you’re writing a fake conversation.”

Luna looked thoughtful. “For your first question, you can thank my sister for that. Order is her specialty; keeping Equestrian lives good and whatnot. Besides, by the stay you’ve had so far it doesn’t appear like you have an interest in leaving? If I were to speak with an open mind, I would suggest that Ponyville has already accepted you as one of their own and they would simply hate for you to leave. For that, you can thank Mrs. Pie’s party.”

Point taken, I suppose. “But it’s like everyone forgot entirely about it.”

She sighed. “Again, you can thank ‘Tia for that. Like I said, keeping things orderly. If you must know, Ponyville and its inhabitants are under a spell with no intention other than keeping the Elements of Harmony safe. However, there are some repercussions. I believe that also answers your second question. Plus, having somepony around with you does tend to comfort the mind.”

“And as for the third, it’s simple really.” She twirled a hoof in the air. “We have to have something to show, don’t we?” Luna said with a sly grin. So she was willing to lie straight to her sister to make sure this conversation was private? Suddenly the atmosphere felt a lot… heavier.

“I got one more question, actually.” Luna cocked her head waiting to hear it. “It’s about Cindersbane. Celestia said before that the sword had a dark past. Do you care to tell me about it?”

Luna stared at the ceiling for a moment. “Not dark per se, rather I just had an unpleasant experience with it,” She corrected me. “However it’s a… delicate topic so forgive me if I stumble over my words.”

I thought for a moment. “If you don’t want to…”

“Nonsense.” She waved a hoof at me. “It’s probably for the best you know as much about that sword as possible, right? I’ll tell you everything I know.”

Two thousand years ago, a young pegasus was assigned to investigate a reported ruins recently discovered by a group of villagers just south of Equestria’s northernmost border. Said group of villagers had uncovered a cart-sized stone covering in the middle of an empty field. After opening it, an enormous sink hole greeted them. Wisely, none of the villagers were adventurous to travel down the crevice themselves so they called in an expert.

This archeologist, who for safety reasons will remain unnamed, arrived on the scene a few days after the find. After a couple hours of meticulously planning, gathering supplies and information, he began his trek into the abyss. Although he carried a torch with him vision was reduced to no more than beyond a few meters. The pegasus slowly descended, recording the distance traveled all the way with a rope knotted every meter. Twice he had to return to the surface to grab another. After a cautious forty minutes, he finally landed his hooves on the surprisingly flat floor of the pit. (The height the hole went down was a staggering 314 meters!)

The chamber that presented itself was to say the very least, dull. The opening in the ceiling he emerged came from opened up to a small, circular stone room, one no bigger than the average bedroom. And it was completely empty; not even a speck of dust could be found on the room’s perfectly solid floor. This tomb or whatever it was downright baffled the researcher as such architectural finesse was beyond anything he could think of. Maybe the closest being the Pyramids of Gizzard in the Gryphon Kingdom, or perhaps the Romane Coliseum, but the skill that went into every detail of the room! The perfectly flat and solid floor, the incomprehensible amount of labor to mine out all the rock, the ability to carve deep into the ground for such a length, not the mention the pristine and smooth walls…

His report on the catacomb was brief, being as there was not much to present, and was stuck deep within the Canterlot Achieves. The entrance was resealed, the report forgotten, and in the end it was as if nothing had happened.

That is, until a month after the archeologist’s find. Nightmare Moon stumbled across the report and became immediately interested in the matter. Daydream Sun gave her sister a week off from raising the moon so she could go make her own investigation. After all, archeology is one of Nightmare Moon’s favorite subjects.

She wasted no time getting to the site and began her own examination of the chamber. Much to her chagrin, there was nothing other than what the earlier explorer had published. That is except for one minor detail. Perhaps it was because he wasn’t a unicorn so he didn’t notice it, but the powerful alicorn was more than capable of detecting the minor magical presence. But something was off about it; something couldn’t quite put a hoof to…

“Hello, Luna. Long time no see.”

Nightmare Moon immediately spun around on the tips of her hooves. Standing before her was a face she’d only seen briefly yet one she hadn’t forgotten.

“Unity…” Nightmare Moon scowled at the draconequus. Her horn splayed a vibrant blue in defense that illuminated the room as she slowly backed away into the far wall. However, the circular room was so small that the maximum difference between the two beings never grew beyond ten feet. That is, if such a distance could be achieved. Unity quickly pushed forward and grabbed Nightmare Moon’s horn with a paw, cancelling out the alicorn’s magic.

“Oh no, no, no… put that toy away,” Unity teased. “There’s no need for magic here. We both know nothing good will come out of it.” Unity released her grasp on Nightmare Moon whose horn once more shinned brightly, this time with no intention other than the see.

“What is it you want?” Nightmare Moon spat.

“An audience,” Unity mused. “To be specific, an audience of one.” The draconequus walked over beside Nightmare Moon and wrapped an arm over her withers. “I want nothing more than for you to see the light, Princess Luna.”

Nightmare Moon pushed off Unity. “I have dropped that title,” she said sternly.

“What title? Your name or your position?” Unity joked. “You might be Nightmare Moon yet you will always be Princess Luna: the co-ruler of Equestria and the Equine deity of chaos. Do not forget that.”

Nightmare Moon stood still. Unity shrugged and walked over to the far side of the room. She set a paw on the smooth surface of the wall. “Do you know I have been waiting for you?” She craned her neck around. “Ever since daddy Discord sent me here I have waiting. Three thousand years has been a long time to wait for someone, don’t you think?”

Nightmare Moon’s horn pulsed slightly. Unity chuckled and turned her attention back to the wall. Her paw twisted in place and then pulled out a long, metallic object out of the stone. Unity took the object she had just materialized and showed it off to her new friend.

“This thing,” Unity said as she grabbed the object by both ends and pulled, revealing that the object was a sword. Nightmare Moon was about to react but waited for Unity to finish. “…This wonderful thing is quite the marvel. When daddy made this he never did tell me what it was for. At least, until I read this.” Unity produced a scroll and tossed it on the ground between the two of them. It promptly vaporized and Nightmare Moon tensed, readying a defensive spell.

Unity turned back around to the wall she pulled the sword from, holding the weapon by the blade like a pencil, and began carving into its surface. “You see Luna, daddy is beyond wise. Wiser than your sister could ever hope to be, but perhaps you are wiser; not so like daddy but more than your sister. I do believe you know about natural harmony, correct?”

Nightmare Moon hesitated before responding. “Natural harmony is achieved through a seamless balance of chaos and order. In a perfect world the two cancel each other out allowing for nature to be nature.”

Unity kept to her carving on the wall. “And is it not a perfect world?”

“Of course! Daydream Sun and I-“

“Luna, don’t lie to me,” Unity momentarily stopped her work interrupt. The room fell quiet for a brief period of time before the steady scraping noise of metal on stone resumed. “When natural harmony is disrupted, what happens?”

Nightmare Moon took a step forward. “As a divine being of order you should know this! What is the reason for your presence here? Why are you-“

“Luna, let’s not get off topic. What happens when natural harmony is disrupted?”

Nightmare Moon took two steps back, bumping into the wall. “When there is a greater concentration of chaos than order, nature very well will tear itself apart. When there is a greater amount of order than chaos however, nature thrives yet is not allowed to develop any further and evolve. Chaos cannot exist without order, so when one is taken out of the equation the other ceases to be.”

“…And as does the former. Nature would cease to exist as would the universe itself,” Unity finished for her, a bit annoyed. Nightmare Moon fidgeted from her spot. The alicorn was strong, fierce, well respected, and to suddenly be thrown into a lecture by a being of equal if not greater status, although infamous, was unsettling.

“Tell me Luna, do you see the light? Or are you shrouded in darkness?”

Nightmare Moon glanced up the light illuminating from her horn then down at her coat and grimaced. “If this is some sort of joke, I assure I am not laughing.”

Unity snickered, continuing the scratch at the wall. “Nothing of the sorts, my dear. Perhaps I should rephrase my question so it’s not so… poetic? Do you or do you not notice the fluctuations in natural harmony? More specifically, the arbitrarily biased amount of order?”

Nightmare Moon sighed. “So this is why you’re here? You waited millennia just to ask me this question and carve whatever it is you’re doing into a wall?”

Unity craned her neck around and blankly stared at the alicorn.

Nightmare Moon groaned. “…If you must know, yes. I am aware of the minor amounts of order that are-“

She was cut off again, but this time it was almost her neck. In a clean, instantaneous motion Unity threw the rapier at the alicorn like a hatchet, passing within a hair’s width of her muzzle. The blade closed the distance faster than it would take the eyes to register the image. The only indication anything happened was the loud ‘thunk’ of the sword embedding itself to the hilt in the stone beside Nightmare Moon.

The deity of chaos’ blood went cold. She was unresponsive as Unity approached the alicorn and jabbed her in the snout with a paw.

”MINOR?!”” Unity bellowed, staring daggers into the sockets of the alicorn. Nightmare Moon had never felt fear like this, fear that touched the deepest pits of her soul. In a blink, the luminescence of her horn died away to fill the chamber with darkness.

“You think these changes in natural harmony are minor? Look around you Luna!” Unity screamed through the shadows. “Well, there isn’t really anything down in this crypt, but you know what I mean! Equestria is flourishing. War is a vague concept only the eldest of equines can grasp. Famine is a thought that goes unregistered. By Tatarus, you control the moon and your sister the sun! There is nothing natural about that!”

Nightmare Moon’s horn raged in light, almost blinding the two deities. She threw her face into Unity’s and yelled right back, “We do this for the safety of our subjects! Daydream Sun and I control the celestial bodies to make sure another Cataclysm never occurs! We created the Elements of Harmony to keep natural harmony balanced!”

“And yet you are blind!” Unity screamed, retaking her spot as chieftain of the shouting match. She flicked Nightmare Moon’s horn and the light faded, once more claiming the room to the shadows. “Equestria is the quintessence of order! Your pegasi control the weather! Your earth ponies landscape the earth! Your unicorns manipulate the world to their whim! Where is all the chaos? It exists here!” Unity grabbed the alicorn by the neck and shoved her up against the wall. Nightmare Moon helplessly struggled in the grasp of the draconequus as her power swiftly drained.

“You! You are chaos! You, Luna, are Nightmare! Because of your mere existence equines are naturally chaotic! Yet your senseless, blinded sister suppresses the natural harmony of the equines so they can live in prosperity and you are too weak to do anything about it! We have never been closer to a Cataclysm than we are now and the two of you, the entrusted keepers of natural harmony, are too blind to see it!”

Unity pivoted on the balls of her feet and threw the alicorn to the other side of the room. Nightmare Moon impacted the wall with a deafening crack against her skull, crumpling the floor in a heap. Struggling to stay conscious, she coughed up saliva and tasted an off-putting flavor of iron. The sound of the sword in the stone being drawn was like nails on a chalkboard.

“You are blind,” Unity hissed. Her footsteps got closer and closer to the alicorn who struggled to get up only to fall back down again. Her horn began to slowly trickle light again. Nightmare Moon looked up, just to see the draconequus towering over her with the sword in her grasp.

“Do you honestly think this is harmonious?” Unity asked only to get an uneasy cough in reply. “The Elements of Harmony are brilliant if you ask me, but they lack chaos. Without chaos this whole system that is the universe will fall apart. You are not powerful enough to produce the next element, and I don’t think daddy is either; combined perhaps, but no guarantee. Daddy already wasted enough of his magic to create this surefire method.”

Unity raised the sword high above her. Nightmare Moon shut her eyes expecting the worse, but only got another loud ‘thunk’ for a reply. Daring to open her eyes, she was met with the glimmer of metal not an inch away from her. Glancing down at the crack the weapon forced into the rock, she saw glints of crimson filling in the gaps.

Unity took notice of the alicorn’s first time bleeding. “You are not immortal, Luna.” She deadpanned, “You might have one of the strongest hides in the known universe yet it can still break. Only the draconequus is undying, and that is why we need a being of natural harmony that will forever withstand the test of time. Does the name ‘Epona’ ring any bells?”

Nightmare Moon gagged on the collection of blood in her throat, swallowing it. “S-She… she split int-to… Nightmare and… and D-Daydream…”

Unity gave the most unnerving of grins. “Yes, Epona. She was a perfect balance of order and chaos. Alone she should have been able to maintain natural harmony over all of the universe, yet the ignorance of the equines wouldn’t let them to be ruled by anything other than an alicorn, not even themselves. So when the daunting task of managing them became overwhelming, she split herself in two, one of chaos and one of order. However they were not immortal. When the remaining four elements of chaos are created, we might be able to bind the essence of Nightmare and Daydream together, once more bringing Epona into existence.”

Unity shifted and leaned against the wall beside the quivering alicorn whose light was slowly fading. She pointed to the sword. “That there has a name, and it is Cindersbane. Originating from Old Draconeq, Ignis Hostis, or the Enemy of Fire. This weapon was the one daddy wielded when he was still at the throne. He used it create the colors of the rainbow, if you can imagine such a thing. But now this everlasting blade serves another purpose. A purpose that admittedly I am unaware of but daddy knows.”

The draconequus extended a claw and drew in the stone floor, mixing with the trickling blood from Nightmare Moon’s mouth that eagerly seeped into the crevices. The design was simple enough and it was something Nightmare Moon had never seen before.

[img] http://fc02.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2012/108/0/9/arcane_hiatus_ch_18_doodle_by_razgrizs57-d4wnwgk.png[/img]

“That symbol means a lot,” Unity explained to her injured companion. “That emblem there symbolizes True Will. True Will does not come from conscious intent but the interplay between oneself and the universe; the mark of nature. Commonly referred to as natural harmony.”

Nightmare Moon wheezed. The bleeding had stopped but the iron taste hung in her mouth. “Why…” She was able to moan.

“Why, as in why am I telling you this?” Unity questioned. “Or why daddy told me to? It’s simple really; this world needs chaos, my friend. You see, daddy may be imprisoned but he can still control chaos. As we speak he is wreaking havoc across the planet to compensate for Equestria’s continuous onslaught of order but it is not enough. Your sister is too blind to see the disaster she is causing, and with you being a deity of chaos perchance I could make you see the light. I hope I accomplished that.”

Unity snapped her fingers and pointed up to the wall she leaned against. Nightmare Moon tilted her head on the stone floor to see what the draconequus had spent her time scratching into the surface.

“That’s the ‘Arcane Prophecy,’ as daddy calls it. It has to do with some plan of his to fix the universe you and your sister is slowly destroying. Don’t bother asking me to answer that riddle because I myself can’t make heads or tails of the thing.” Unity leaned over and plucked Cindersbane out of the floor. The final glow of magic from Nightmare Moon’s horn faded away.

In complete darkness, she heard the sound of bones raddling on the floor, the sound of the sword being sheathed, the clang of metal on stone, and finally a clapping noise. Unity’s disembodied voice rang out from somewhere, “Tell your sister you killed me or something. Don’t worry, you’re not hurt. Just keep this little conversation between us, okay?”

There was another clap and then silence. Nightmare Moon felt a surge of power return to her body and her horn practically exploded with magic, illuminating the room like a summer day. The alicorn immediately jumped to her hooves and swiveled around expecting to find her assailant, but Unity was gone. The only differences in the room were a newly manifested skeleton of which Cindersbane was thrown in, the prophecy etched into the wall, and the symbol of natural harmony craved into the ground.

“Logically, what happened next was the entire chamber was sealed off, its secrets removed and locked away, and all records of its existence destroyed. At least, until recently.” Luna said solemnly. Her eyes slowly began to water and she was constantly wiping her face with a hoof. “I… I didn’t know what to feel after that. I kept telling myself that it was just a ply to try to corrupt me and yet… I wasn’t the one who was corrupted. ‘Tia was, and still is, slowly killing the world.”

Luna hesitated and took a deep breath. Her body visibly shuddered as she exhaled. “Deep down, I knew Unity was right; there was no lying to myself anymore. ‘Tia raised the amounts of order for the good of Equestria and as a result is threatening the universe. And I simply sat back and let it happen! I… I did try to make my dear sister see what she was doing but to no avail. I… I had to take matters into my own hooves.”

The Princess fell silent, save her irregular breathing pattern. The quill that had been writing on its own stopped writing for a second before resuming. I snapped my fingers to get her attention and when I did the alicorn slowly raised her glassy eyes to me. “You refused to lower the moon.” I said awkwardly. That probably could have gone without saying.

Luna gave a little nod. Somehow she forced herself to keep talking, although frowning the whole way through. “When I spent my time on the moon, I wasn’t truly bound there for a thousand years. Honestly, I could have left at any moment. However I endured a millennium of solitude to assist maintaining natural harmony. If I were to leave before my sentence was due ‘Tia and I surely would have fought again, throwing us closer to another Cataclysm.” Luna coughed and sheepishly smiled. “But to make sure she didn’t go too overboard with order, I might have loosened the restraints of Discord; to the point where he could still manage chaos more freely, yet was still entombed.”

She frowned again. “The essence of Nightmare still exists within me, Chris, as does Daydream with ‘Tia. Do not forget that. My sister may have repressed Daydream so it’s nothing more than a distant memory, but Nightmare still burns inside me like another heart.” Luna gulped. “When the Elements of Harmony first ‘defeated’ Nightmare Moon, they simply canceled out chaos with order. Nopony will ever be able to erase Nightmare from my soul. Nightmare is the crux of chaos to ponydom; Discord to the universe. I’ve had little choice but to cause chaos in Equestria whenever I can to keep things marginally harmonious. However I am weak my sister is strong, consequently Equestria still flourishes blasphemously.”

Luna chuckled to herself. “Thank Epona I loosened up Discord before my banishment. My sister has been maintaining unnatural order for so long; if I had never interfered a Cataclysm surely would have struck by now. ‘Tia has been especially concerned with Ponyville and keeping the elements safe. While it is a good idea, it also greatly disrupts natural harmony. As from the ‘show’ you’ve been watching you’ve probably seen some of my work to counteract that.” She winked at me. What little smile she had been able to keep so far swiftly faded. Luna took a deep breath. “It’s odd really. I’m the bringer of chaos to ponydom and if you think about it, I am trying to maintain natural order. My mere existence is what drives ponies to be violent, mischievous, and corrupt. Yet, I don’t like what I do even though it has to be done.”

I let that sink in for a moment. Luna’s gaze gradually returned to a spot on the floor. In all honesty I simply wanted to go up and hug her, but Celestia could return at any moment. That would be one uncomfortable and likely difficult thing to explain. “Discord said Celestia ‘attacked your mind’ several times when you were on the moon…” I pushed forward.

She sighed. “Yes, ‘Tia did try to ‘persuade’ me to see things her way countless times,” Luna said with a scowl. “She loves me, just like she loves everypony and the world… though she failed in her attempts to sway me. I believe she only further convinced herself of those thoughts, locking away her own memories of the truth or forcing it out of her mind entirely. ‘Tia is… hurting.”

Oh god, to see Luna so sad just makes me regret even mentioning that. The alicorn bit her lip. Lost in thought, she tried to bring the right words out of her mouth. “Chris, her heart is in the right place but her mind is not. She’s hurting not just herself but our universe. If Discord sent you hear with a purpose, one that can save ‘Tia from herself and return natural harmony, then there’s no reason I should doubt him. Please, if there is anything I can do to help, tell me,” Luna practically begged. The Princess took in a deep breath of air to try and calm down.

I just stared at her. So this was all true then, wasn’t it? Celestia was simply trying to change Equestria into some pristine utopia and in doing so threatened the universe. Equestria needed a severe dose of chaos and Luna knew all along. She’d been secretly causing terrible amounts of it personally to keep things moderately in control and now there’s the possibility to end this. Somehow I found myself in that wonderful position of power. Fantastic.

“Time…” I muttered. “Discord said that more than anything I need time. He wants me to meet him in the castle ruins off in the Everfree Forest. He’s going to send me back in time a couple years to make sure I have enough.”

Luna wiped at her eyes and gave me the most sincere of smiles. “I have Cindersbane locked away for now, but I can gather it and the rest of your belongings and secure them for you; along with some other things I believe you might find beneficial. When did he want you to meet him?”

“In a day or two,” I answered frailer than intended.

She tilted her head slightly to the left. “Is something wrong?”

I threw my head into my lap. “Actually… yes there is. This… I’m just… this is a lot to take in and I’ve only been here for two or so weeks. I mean, I’ve been thrown into a world that supposedly I’m destined to save. Discord’s expecting me to take lives on this little adventure he’s setting up, and I…”

“I’m sorry,” Luna said out of the blue. Odd, if there’s anything for her to say it shouldn’t be that. She’s been doing right for the past few thousand years.

I dragged my head up to see her uncomfortably fidgeting across the table. Her eyes registered nothing but sorrow. I forgot; at least remotely she can probably somehow relate to how I feel. For an instant she looked like she was about to say something else but withheld it. Luna brought a hoof up and clutched the crescent moon on her necklace, mouthing something almost like a prayer. The faint aura that had been enveloping her horn for the past twenty minutes darkened ever so slightly. The nearby floating quill suddenly stopped its printer-like speed. She brought up the final paper up to her eyes and squinted at it. Nodding her head slightly in self-satisfaction, she neatly stacked the sixty or so sheets together of our ‘conversation’.

Luna picked up the previous discussion like nothing had happened. “As far as getting to the ruins, I cannot take you there myself without causing suspicion; moreover I don’t think you’ll be able to leave the castle grounds regardless for the time being. Essentially, ‘Tia plans to place you under house arrest until she deemed you as no longer being a threat.”

I shook off our little moment of empathy. She looked to me apologetically as I pieced her words together. “…I imagine it’s thanks to that little incident. And if I’m a threat to her that probably makes me a threat to everyone. That means I won’t be able to get to the ruins.”

Luna nodded. “There lies the problem.” She stared down at the fake conversation she’d been writing this entire time. By what I could see, she had documented how benign and clueless I have been, reporting me with a mild case of PTSD. As both our eyes scanned the last page, hers suddenly widened at the latest words she wrote, with her face slowly breaking into a mischievous grin. Using her magic she picked up the quill for a final time and went to write something. However she only wrote one word before the quill haphazardly scratched the tip along the surface of the paper, snapping in two and making a jagged gash in the parchment.

“I have a plan,” she gleefully mused.