Pangs of Mortality

The Books and Branches Library was quickly becoming renowned for its ability to snare ponies in the throes of adventure. That it was also one of the better sources of wisdom in the kingdom was rapidly becoming ancillary to that reality. Tyr didn't much like the place. It was small compared to what she was used to, but at least it was bigger than the other buildings in this growing village. The smell of dust and the swarm of ponies attending Twilight's 21st birthday party only helped reinforce her apprehension of the place, and she spent most of the time clinging to the side of an alicorn who looked a little too much like her mother for comfort. The brightness and joviality were alien to her, and served only to reinforce the homesickness that was already starting to clutch at her heart.

Truth be told Tyr’s stay in Ponyville had been mercifully short. She squeezed in close to Cadence’s side and never even looked back when they both boarded the comforting and familiar sky chariot. Ponyville held nothing but disappointment and shame for her; at least such was the case for the time being. In a fit of confusion Tyr had confused those familiar faces for old acquaintances, and greeted them with unfamiliar names. The transparent disapproval of her aunt, and the unyielding strangeness of a land unblemished by conflict really drove home how lost she was. It was getting to be a bit too much to bear, and she was not at all ashamed to deprive the rest of the party her glorious presence from behind her pretender mom’s wings.

Fostered... I’m going to be fostered... she gulped. Something about that word made her blood run cold. She was 135 years old, and though she was deprived of her awakening, she was not a foal. At least that is what she had kept telling herself.

Not long after their departure a city appeared through the clouds, and Tyr wondered how she hadn't seen it from the little village considering how it towered over things. The mountain was familiar, but the city gracing it seemed a pale comparison to the Citadel of Light where she had spent most of her days. Where were the temples? This place was supposed to be sacred. As the chariot pulled closer the smells and sounds overwhelmed her. A needless cacophony like some over-sized merchant square met her ears, not the quiet dignity of temple priestesses chanting. The air was filled with the smell of sweets and food that would ordinarily be fitting tribute, but even this was blemished by the dark smoke billowing from the traffic of trains that ever seemed to dart to and fro. As they approached the bustle of the city, a single infuriating thought wormed its way into her mind: They care more about their money and their games than the two living goddesses speeding toward them.

Tyr had abandoned voicing her concerns to her fake mother. Tyr had an excellent eye for seeing a pony’s true feelings, and the condescending little smile Cadence always flashed her way was more vexing than a thousand of her aunt’s aggravated stares.

“Mom, why are the fillies pulling on aunt Celestia’s wing’s like that?” “... Cadence, why are we sitting at the same table as the mortals?”

Question after question met with that infuriatingly sad smiles. Her real mother would never have made her feel this way. Not for the first time, she cursed whatever it is a living goddess would curse, the fates perhaps. Then again, cursing them may have gotten her stuck here in the first place. Maybe she should keep a tighter rein on the thoughts she allowed herself.

The chariot touched down not too far from the palace itself. At least this deviated little from her memories of the Citadel. There were a few discrepancies of course, like for example the plethora of mortals who were not affiliated with any temple walking about it like it was their own place. The stained glass windows seem to speak of the glory of heroes more often than the gods, and of her numerous relations only the sun and moon were represented. This absence struck a chord in her more than anything else had. Would she ever see her true family again? Her mother and sister felt like distant memories with every waking breath. It was all she could do to prevent herself from reassuring herself that none of this was real, that it was a bad dream she’d awaken from promptly. Her real mother will look at her with warm eyes, absent that cruel pity, and then she could get back to studying traditions that were older even than some members of her family.

She was ushered into a room. It was plain, by her standards at least. It certainly wasn't as bad as that hovel the alleged goddess of stars and wishes had holed herself up in. Then again, Twilight had apparently only just awakened. That would at least account for her size. Tyr had read some accounts of alicorns sequestering themselves in the most unlikely of places in a desperate bid for their awakening. Sometimes this panned out, other times... Well, she would be lying if she said she hadn't considered it after her first century of life. Lying was unforgivable, after all.

“You may rest here for now. It’s the same quarters I use while staying over from the Crystal City.” Cadence’s smile was forced, still unsure of herself around the new filly. Getting to know each other first, that was always the hardest part of foal-sitting, and she felt like she was on thin ice with Tyr.

“Will there be food sent to me?” Tyr spoke simply. She was doing her best to avoid mention of mortals or customs at this point, that her traditions and teachings were utterly alien to this place had not been lost on her. She could not bear another of those looks.

Cadence fidgeted nervously. “I’m... not really sure you want to be eating today. We’re doing the ritual tomorrow after all.” The goddess of love turned her gaze away, and Tyr thought she caught wind of a peculiar smell. Guilt radiated from her foster mother. Such odd phenomena were becoming more frequent lately. She secretly hoped it was evidence that her awakening would come soon, and that once that happened her magic could finally mature. Maybe then she could find a way back home. She could fix everything that had gone so very wrong.

“I understand,” Tyr replied coldly, staring into the mirror and scrutinizing her opalescent fur for blemishes. It was honestly filthy for the first time in what seemed like years, and probably was.

“May I at least have a bath drawn for me?” she stated without even glancing at Cadence.

“Sure, I’ll clean you up after I sort some matters with Celestia and have my dinner.”

Tyr might have been older than most mortals, but the idea of her mother giving her a relaxing bath made her heart melt. Unfortunately this was not  her mom.

“I don’t need you to bathe me! Show me where the tub is and I’ll prepare it myself if I have to,” she turned and glared daggers at Cadence. “I am not a foal!”

Despite herself, Cadence issued a soft giggle like some school filly gazing at something adorable.

“Well you could have fooled me!” she allowed a hint of mirth to creep into her voice. It was an honest effort to break the tension. Tyr would concede that much.

“And you look like my mother, but appearances can be deceiving, can’t they?” When she was this agitated, she did not seem much like a filly at all. She felt older, she felt more like something trapped.

Cadence took a moment to reflect on the true purpose for Tyr’s fostering. She would have to adjust her strategy. This wasn’t some filly that needed a mother to take care of her, not entirely. She couldn’t allow herself to treat Tyr like another Twilight, or any number of foals she practically raised away from the castle.

“The bath is behind that door there. It’s connected to hot springs and the sewer system, so you won’t need any servants to relocate the water for you.” She allowed a bit of steel to enter her voice. Unusual case or not, Cadence was not going to be talked down to by her ward.

“I’ll give you the night to yourself. You’ll need the time to calm down... You’ll want your head clear for tomorrow.” She hesitated at the door. “I feel like we’ve gotten off on the wrong hoof. I’m sorry, Tyr, for everything you’ve gone through, and everything you’re about to go through.”

Tyr silently refocused her attention on the mirror, taking a moment to straighten her mane a bit. Cadence stepped out of the room with a sigh.

Cadence had been raised as a pegasus, or rather fostered as a pegasus, Tyr corrected herself. The word itself was quickly starting to lose meaning for her. Cadence was fostered as a Pegasus, but raised by an alicorn and was being taught the magic of the other races long before her awakening had restored her true form? That didn't seem much like traditional foster care, that sounded like handicapping a student. Her gaze was drawn to her wings, then her horn. Which one were they going to steal from her on the morrow? Many mortals were oblivious to the earth pony’s connection to the land, which they shared. She wasn’t sure she could stand parting with that either. Wings, horn, or vitality and connection. If she had to pick one of these things, how was she supposed to choose? Were they even going to give her the option? Or was she just a filly too immature to make such a decision herself?

The sun had already traveled over the horizon to make room for its sister while Cadence and Tyr had their little chat. The stars were only just now swirling into being, far later than they should have been. Of course, that could just be the natives doing yet another thing... differently. Tyr had to struggle to avoid the word wrong. All things considered, the night did ease the filly’s stress exponentially. The day was for harsh realities. Often it felt like the sun overpowered the world with its own brilliance. The light of the moon was gentle and complimented all it shone down upon. If the day was for the solid and material, the night was for the spirit of things.

A swirl of dark blue mist drifted through the cracks in the door. Tyr was briefly reminded of the entity that had supposedly assaulted Twilight Sparkle before. But there was nothing erratic or repetitive in the movements of the fog. This was soothing and pleasant. This was the night come to greet her.

The fog moved over to the window, obscuring the faint light of the moon before coalescing into the familiar form of her other aunt: the moon goddess. She looked smaller somehow.

“Good evening Tyr, I trust it finds you well?” Luna spoke with her strange not-quite-archaic accent.

“One of the worst, actually...” Tyr turned away from the mirror and didn’t bother hiding her misery. These alicorns might all feel like imposters, but nopony ever fooled the moon. Tyr reflected that of the faces here, Luna seemed to have changed the least, size and grandeur notwithstanding.

“Unfortunate, though honesty from somepony other than my sister is a refreshing change.” She trotted past Tyr and her mirror on the way to the adjoining room. “As a guest in our halls, I invite thee to enjoy the full extent of our hospitality. If you follow me, I will lead thee to thy bath.”

Now somepony was speaking Tyr’s language. Clearly ignorance was no excuse. Or it could just be that the moon was as always more understanding than most. She followed along obediently. Functionally Luna was offering the same thing as Cadence before, but presentation really did go a long way.

The bathroom was immaculate. The walls and fixtures were of marble magically refined to interwoven strands of gold and indigo, and the floor possessed a rough though not unpleasant texture, undoubtedly to prevent hooves from slipping on wet floor. Centered against the far wall was a large tub carved from a kind of black onyx, the white specks amidst the stone created an illusion of the night sky.

It never ceased to amaze Tyr how the light from Luna’s horn seemed to cast shadows more often than dispel them. The dark blue light seized a knob-like protrusion from the tub and gave a sharp twist, and water hot enough to form wisps of steam tumbled into the black cauldron.

“Climb in at your leisure. I am simply going to prepare a few things...” Luna’s magic flared, and cast soft comforting shadows across the room. From elsewhere appeared a small black box covered with runes. The shepherd of the moon cracked it open with care. The hinges sounded like it hadn’t been opened in a very long time.

Tyr graciously complied, and slipped over the side with a soft splash.

“So... what’s in that?”

Luna sighed softly. “Just something we add to baths of importance.”

“My bath is important?” Tyr asked a touch incredulously. The other alicorns had seemed to hold fast to humility.

“I don’t know about where you’re from, but alicorns are a rare thing here. Until very recently there were but three.” Luna poured a few small vials of scented oil into the water with an almost ceremonial air.

Tyr gazed quietly at the bubbles beginning to form on the water’s surface. She couldn’t argue with that.

“Are you prepared for the morning to come?” Luna asked, the usual melody of her voice obfuscated by apprehension.

Tyr could only blink in response. She gave her wings an experimental flap, kicking up some water to shower her slightly, and sending the dirt coating her fur sliding down in small streams. It was still difficult to believe something that had been with her since birth could just disappear tomorrow. It was difficult to fully comprehend this concept, and she answered the only way she knew how.

“I don’t understand.”

“Mmm?” Luna hummed quietly and swished the water back and forth with one hoof dangling over the side of the tub.

“Why do I need to be fostered? Why are you and Celestia doing this to me?” Tyr did her best to maintain her composure, but she was slipping fast.

“This is why we foster our foals among the other races." Tyr’s not-aunt’s voice echoed through her mind with far more bitterness than before.

“If this is about the... other ponies, I’m sorry! It’s just what I was taught! What I read in books! Please don’t punish me... I can learn without you taking me apart, if you and Celestia would just give me a chance!” She cowered at the memory of her aunt's expression upon relating the proper gruesome punishment for ponies impersonating priests.

Luna frowned, gazing right to the source of the problem. “Celestia’s eyes can be a bit scary sometimes, can’t they?”

Tyr sniffled softly, “I think I liked it better when she was blind... And that makes me feel just awful.”

Luna raised a wing that seemed almost too big for her frame and pulled the small alicorn in close, squeezing her against the warm wall of the tub.

“Don’t worry, I understand the spirit in which that comment is meant. I cannot say I disagree with you. I will say that Tia can be a bit less than... trusting at times, but she has her reasons.”

“I overheard the conversation. You still raised Cadence, even if you made her a pegasus before doing so. What is even the point of fostering an alicorn if you’re just going to have another alicorn raise them? It all seems so superfluous!”

Luna held back a laugh, the little filly was certainly well read. Then again, a century without awakening is a lot of time for a filly to hole up and read books.

“I’ll speak to Celestia on your behalf and see what she thinks. But I can make no promises.” She levitated a brush over and began gently scrubbing the water out of Tyr’s fur.

“That said, you must be prepared for...” she bit her tongue at ‘the worst’. “You must be prepared to accept her judgement. This is her kingdom and her herd, and for better or worse it’s her rules now.”

Tyr didn’t like the sound of that, but she nodded quietly in defeat. “Very well, I will try to be brave.”

“Considering what you seem to have been through, you are certainly one of the braver ponies I’ve met, god or no.” Luna rested her horn against the younger alicorn’s in a show of quiet intimacy, and for a moment Tyr could almost believe she was back home with her own mother watching over her again.

The pair took a moment to drain the tub and scrub a good portion of the excess moisture from Tyr’s coat. Then Luna took a towel and gently dried off her mane and wings. Luna hesitated briefly, but opened the box and removed another small bottle covered in runes. She popped the cork out of the top and dabbed a few drops of the foul-smelling substance on each of Tyr’s wings, and again on each of her hooves. She then replaced the stopper with a sigh, placed the bottle back in the box, and banished it elsewhere. Tyr for her part remained silent. She was either too frightened or perhaps too proud to spurn Luna’s hospitality, but that didn’t stop her from wrinkling her nose.

“Now would be a good time to sleep I think. The dreamlands at this hour are unnaturally relaxing,” Luna reassured the now more-or-less dry filly as she ushered her to bed.

“It has been something of a taxing journey...” Tyr failed to hold back a yawn, but at least managed to cover her mouth.

“Of course...” Luna lifted the bed spread, allowing the small alicorn to slip under. “Sleep well, when it takes you.” She smiled softly before banishing the light with a flick of will.

“Thank you again, beloved aunt...” Tyr stammered as her eyes started to roll back, she lost consciousness soon after bracing herself against the soft cushions.

Luna’s expression soured as she left the room. She closed the door gently behind her and turned to face her co-conspirator.

“Did you apply the necessary oils?” Celestia asked with a hushed voice.

Luna glared at her elder sister. “Of course I did...”

“Wonderful! I must admit, I’m surprised you were able to earn her trust. She has become very insular in a remarkably short amount of time, if what Cadence says is anything to go on.”

“Because the two of you keep treating her like a newborn! Tia, she is not another Twilight Sparkle or Cadence. We have never performed this ritual on somepony who is over a century old!”

Celestia scrutinized her sister carefully, as she always did when her sister seemed less than emotionally stable, ever since...

“Sister, you sound as though you are having misgivings.”

Luna sighed. “I am. This isn’t right. This isn’t a newborn who has barely developed a fully functioning identity. This filly is older than most of your court. We are severing her from herself, and it’s not...” Luna’s expression was blatantly distraught, and deeply conflicted. “It’s not fair...”

“And if she had been fostered properly, she would have gotten her cutie mark and come of age decades ago, and none of this would be an issue. Luna, that alicorn is trapped. What we are doing is for her own good. At her age it will only be a few years at worst, she may even awaken in months. Such a small period of time is a moment in the grand scheme, she’ll get over it.”

“She is not from here!” Luna did her very best to avoid shouting, although an echo of magic did enter her voice. “We cannot know what will happen, this has never been done before! You are making assumptions without evidence. Are you truly so careless as to hoof-wave the possibility of complications? Is this just another instance of noble Celestia being too correct to see how other ponies are feeling?”

Celestia flinched away from her younger sister. Her nights had been very troubled lately, old nasty memories were coming out of the wood work to pick at wounds that had never fully healed, but this particular night was quickly becoming the worst.

“How do we know they even develop the same where she is from? We do not. This could ruin her, Sister. Or worse, it could poison her, make her into a...”

“A nightmare?” Celestia spoke the words with a casual disdain that made Luna want to sob. “Now who is making assumptions? Your fears are endearing, but unfounded. She will be fine, she will lose her wings and connection to the earth, but this will help her awaken, not destroy her. Other ponies endure just fine with only one of these traits. We have no reason to believe she is any different from the rest of us.”

“This is your judgement then?” Luna sighed in exasperation.

“It is. You will meet me here at sunrise, and we will escort her to the table together.” Celestia paused and wrapped a wing around her sister. “I’m sorry, but I need you for this.”

Luna spared one last look at Tyr’s door before she and her sister left the relative privacy of the hallway.

* * *

Tyr knew she was dreaming, but somehow that did not detract from the horror of the situation. She was hyperventilating, though she knew breathing was just a force of habit here. She gazed out at the white void that engulfed her. She had been on many dream journeys along with a family member or two. One never knew whether or not a truth encountered in the dream could ring true, and usher in an awakening. This place was different than any other she had experienced. Not necessarily more lucid, it was more... vivid. This place felt solid, absent the usual loosely-followed laws of dream. She was aware she was asleep, but also very much aware that she would be waking up soon, and also aware of what waited for her on the other side of sunrise.

She closed her eyes tightly and curled in on herself. She was terrified, and not afraid to show it here. Her siblings might have laughed at her back home, and her mother might have gazed at her sadly, but here there was nopony to judge her except herself. The little alicorn did her best to remain asleep as long as possible, But nopony can fight the tide of waking, not even a goddess. She was starting to slip, and she knew it.

A terrible sensation started to radiate from her sides. It was accompanied by a smell that took her several minutes to place, and then she realized, it had the same overpowering aroma of the oil aunt Luna had applied to her wings and hooves before sending her to bed. She shook her head and cried out. Her beautiful opalescent feathers were falling to the ground in clumps.

“Oh no... no no, please...” Tyr tried to shield herself with a pair of wings that wouldn’t cooperate, and were frankly starting to look skeletal.

A snickering sound echoed through the white void. “That princess of the moon sure got you... You really ought to know better than to trust aunt Luna...”

“I... What? What are you talking about!?” Tyr cried out, looking desperately for a source to the taunting voice.

“Well jeez Tyr, I would have thought the subject matter was obvious, considering it’s rotting away to nothing as we speak. Luna, Celestia, and Cadence are takin’ away your wiiiings, and next they’re gonna take your horn. Just watch, just watch! Look and see!”

Tyr looked down at the piles of feathers littered around her, and gazed up at the rotting remains of her once proud wingspan. They smelled as rotten as that oil had. She let out a desperate sob and began scooping the feathers into a pile with her hooves as best she could.

That’s when her hooves began to crack and splinter, and her coat lost its luster. Tyr threw herself onto the pile of feathers and shut her eyes. It was a miracle she hadn't lapsed into hysterics as it became more and more obvious that this was not an ordinary dream.

“Mom, help me! Please!” the little filly who was feeling increasingly less like an alicorn cried out to the nothingness.

“Yeah, see, that’s just not gonna work.” The voice was so close now, it could be sitting beside her.

“Luna! Celestia! Somepony... anypony!” Tyr’s wails became louder and less coherent.

The laughter was sickening, and echoed back through the expanse until it became deafening. “Yeah, Luna isn’t coming. Aren't you keeping track? Who do you think is doing this to you in the first place?”

“Who are you and what do you want?!” Tyr rose painfully to the splintered remnants of her once healthy hooves and lashed her head about, scrutinizing her surroundings for an intruder. It wasn’t until she looked down that she found the source. She was staring at her own shadow.

“Yoo hoo! Here I am!” The shadow smiled proudly and flexed a pair of seemingly healthy wings. “Glad to meet you Tyr! I’m Tyr!”

Tyr grimaced and started to trot away. “You are not me. I am me, and there can only be one me.” She let out a sob when she realized there wasn’t even a trace of her now vanished wings.

“Mhm, just like there is only one Celestia, one Luna, and one Mom. That theory panned out well.”

Tyr wheeled around and spat at the shadow. “Be quiet! I am trying to think!” She faced away and continued marching. “Okay, how did I get here? There must be an explanation...”

“Yes, we went through this already. Luna drugged you and put you to bed, because you can’t trust the moon. Or well, anypony really. Everypony is a disgusting liar, with no respect for traditions, rules, or justice.” The shadow crowed proudly, “Everypony but me at least, you may always rely on us to be nothing short of honest in our dealings!”

Tyr just stared blankly ahead. She had read enough stories about what happens to alicorns who start to come into conflict with themselves. Their madness was written in several legends even if the mortals were forbidden from spreading them, and the stories of an alicorn’s aspect being inverted and bent toward baseless cruelty were horrifying. Tyr had never met a nightmare, but she could say with some amount of honesty that she’d rather run into a titan than deal with an insane cousin. Insanity was always... unsettling, in ways that rampant carnage just couldn’t replicate.

“Hey, don’t play the silent game on me now. We have a lot to talk about. Don’t you wanna get home?”

Tyr continued silently with no destination in sight.

“Tch, as you wish. I’ll talk to you when you stop lying to yourself. I abhor a liar.” The shadow vanished, and Tyr was finally alone in that place.

Daybreak was near. She could feel it in her wounded bones, and perhaps that understanding is what allowed her to hope for the best when she saw her true family in the distance.

Her mother and sister were staring at her from afar, concerned expressions visible even from here. Tyr let out a cry and began sprinting for their distant forms. The rules of nightmares took hold, stymieing any progress she could hope to make. She swore that for a moment it looked like her younger sister was about to come running to her, but a hoof from their mother, and a disappointed shake of her head, stopped the filly in her tracks. That fragment of Tyr’s herd turned and vanished with the rest of the void as the first rays of sunlight banished the world around her.

Tyr woke up to find herself in bed. Her wings were still intact, but that rotten smell had permeated the room. She curled up under the covers and let out a soft undignified whimper.

* * *

The three reigning alicorns of the kingdom gathered together in front of Tyr’s room. Celestia was a bit late, but that was to be expected given her early morning responsibilities. They stared at each other and exchanged worried glances.

“So who wants to go get her?” Celestia asked with a hint of annoyance at the other two alicorns. They seemed far less convinced regarding the necessity of the ritual than she was, and frankly it was starting to wear on the sun princess's nerves.

Cadence wrinkled her nose and covered her face with a hoof. “Is it supposed to smell that awful?”

Luna answered with a curt reply. She didn’t even take her eyes off of Celestia. “Yes, it is supposed to smell that bad.” She cleared her throat and stared at Celestia. “You passed the sentence, you can swing the sword, dear Sister.”

Celestia rolled her eyes with an expression of naked aggravation. She composed herself and eased the door open, putting on that practiced gentle demeanor reserved for particularly uncooperative members of court.

“Tyr, are you awake? It is time for the ritual now.” She trotted into the room and looked around. She let out an honest groan of discontent when it became obvious the filly was hiding.

A shape squirmed out from behind several stacked cushions. “No! Luna said she would speak on my behalf! I don’t need the ritual, really! I can learn how to behave around other ponies just fine!”

She struggled with her blankets and slammed into the floor next to her bed. Her mane was a royal mess. Celestia moved to her side and kneeled beside her, checking her for any damage. She wasn’t accustomed to dealing with accident prone alicorns, apparently. There was no sign of harm on the filly.

“She did speak on your behalf, but it is still necessary. Now if you please. Time is very important.”

Tyr rose to her happily healthy hooves and started to backpedal for the wall. “Please... I don’t need it! Just give me a chance! Don’t take my wings away...” The filly may not have been able to cry, but she was certainly sobbing uncontrollably.

Celestia chuckled in a warm inviting tone. “Would you rather I take your horn?”

“I’d rather you not take my anything!” Tyr was now pressed firmly against the wall. Her wings were safely concealed between her body and the cold stone.

Celestia sighed her displeasure, and Tyr flinched once more from her disapproving gaze. “Tyr, how old are you really? We have only a vague idea, so please humor us.”

Tyr gulped and hoped against hope this line of conversation would help her keep her precious divinity. “I-I’m 135 last spring, why?”

“Twilight Sparkle is 21. She obtained her cutie mark when she was barely 10. Cadence obtained her cutie mark just after her 13th year, and recovered her true nature even before reaching full maturity." She scrutinized the filly carefully. “Do you see the point I am trying to make?”

Tyr stammered between sobs. “You can’t just force development like that! It’s forbidden! Mom always said I’d awaken when the time was right! What is wrong with letting things run their natural course?”

Luna stared at her sister with a smirk, and it was all Celestia could do to suppress a growl.

“I am not your mother Tyr, or the Celestia you keep throwing in everypony’s face. We do things differently here. This is necessary in this kingdom. Do you understand?”

Tyr shook her head ruefully from side to side.

Celestia sighed in exasperation. “Tyr, you can come with us like a dignified alicorn, and member of the royal herd. Or I can put you to sleep and take you there like a foal. Which do you prefer?” She was too fixated on the filly’s response to see Luna’s expression darken with a frown.

“I-I’ll go...” She did her best to compose herself and rub at her reddened face. “When do I... When do I get everything back?”

Celestia gave a shrug of her regal frame. “When they return to you upon your awakening, I suppose. Your case is unusual. So I cannot give you a date.”

Tyr’s demeanor went from inconsolable to quietly miserable, and she marched down the castle halls like a prisoner being led to her torture.

Cadence started to feel uncomfortable and leaned in. “Hey! Cheer up... after it’s done we’ll go get ice cream or something, would you like that?”

Tyr flashed Cadence a dirty look that could have melted glaciers. Luna sighed and gave her daughter a disapproving shake of the head. Cadence fell back into step and looked almost as miserable as Tyr.

The four alicorns eventually made their way into the bowels of the palace. Tyr no longer had to worry about gawking servants at every turn, and she was surprised to find that did not offer her comfort. At least around her little ponies Tyr had come to expect a certain level of self-restraint from Celestia. She was far more willing to let her stress show when it was just family.

The group reached a pair of large indigo doors with an indentation in the middle where they met. Celestia stepped forward, and with an expression that betrayed her exhaustion even at this early hour, activated the spell with her horn. The binding undid itself with a flash of solar light. Celestia pressed the doors open with a hoof and ushered the others inside. The doors closed behind her and shut themselves with a loud cracking sound. Tyr jumped several feet in the air with the help of her wings, an action that reminded her of what was to come, and nearly got her sobbing again.

The room was austere, and carved from the base stone of the mountain. In the center there was a stone table, there weren’t any other objects of note. The air was musty and cold, and Tyr made the unsettling connection to old crypts running under various temples, sacred places where old heroes were interred. The ground was laced with occult symbols that she couldn’t begin to understand. Nothing of the like had ever been depicted in any book her mother would allow her. The three elder alicorns lined up on one side of the table, and Celestia hoisted the filly on to the cold stone.

“Things may be a bit touch and go at first. Luna and I have not performed this ritual in a very long time, and this will be your first time, Cadence. But do not stress yourself over much. With three alicorns, particularly in our current roles, this spell will go off without a hitch.” Celestia seemed pleased with herself.

Luna added with some reluctance. “It’s true, the only way this could be more appropriate is if an intangible alicorn were among us.”

“It won’t make much of a difference, really. Cadence, stand over here, next to your mother.” Celestia poked and prodded her family into place like a world-wise crone educating her daughters.

“Cadence, you are to be the Maiden in this ritual. You are the youngest and haven’t birthed any foals of your own. Luna will represent the Mother, for obvious reasons.” Celestia added the last bit with a hint of distaste. “And I will be the crone...”

Luna couldn’t hold in a snicker, and covered her face politely with a hoof.

“Oh be quiet Luna... Did you bring the implements?”

Luna rolled her eyes. “But of course Tia, I am always prepared.” Tyr’s eyed widened as Luna conjured another dark looking box from the shadows.

“Is the grim aesthetic really necessary, Mother?” Cadence sighed. “The elements of harmony may have purified your soul, but that certainly doesn’t seem to have altered your taste any...”

Luna and Celestia both fixed her with an angry glare, and she shied back.

“Getting into character is all well and good, girls, but can we keep the family drama down until after the ritual?” Celestia asked with more than a hint of impatience.

“Yes Celestia...” Cadence quietly mumbled like a chastised filly.

“Very good.” Celestia seized the box from her younger sister and cracked it open. From within the dark confines, Celestia removed a small needle made of bone, and a spool of black thread.

With nary any effort, the crone slipped the black thread through the eye of the needle and offered it to the maiden. “You will run that through Tyr, just enough to get it beneath her skin. Luna, you will hold her down if she makes a fuss. Is that clear?”

Tyr collapsed into a quivering heap and folded her wings around herself. A dark blue aura surrounded her and stretched her out on the table. “You’re aware the child is still present, yes?” the mother hissed softly.

The crone ignored her younger sister and instructed the maiden. “There you go Cadence, just between the wings. There, like that!”

Tyr braced for the feeling of something sharp ripping through her fur and into her skin, but it never came. An icy numbness overwhelmed her senses and nearly forced her limp. She turned her head and chanced a look back. Cadence’s mouth hung slightly ajar, and her eyes were filled with the soft blue glow of her magic.

“Luna... Well, you hardly need any instruction...”

The mother nodded softly, already entering a trance-like state of her own. As the maiden pulled the needle in and out of Tyr, the black thread was replaced with one of brilliant gold, as though she had caught a hair from Tyr’s mane. The needle made many passes, and with each turn, the maiden offered the growing golden thread to the mother. Luna began to chant.

Absent purpose, power betrays

A struggle persists and growth is delayed

Goddess of fate, take care of thy charge

This blessing’s a curse if endured for too long

Humility, focus, determination, respect

These are lessons best learned with patience and age

But age is a memory, and patience is frayed

This accident of birth will one day bare fruit

‘Til that day we ask that you stifle the truth

Goddess of fate, namer of all

We solemnly pray you will answer our call

The chant looped more than once, and coupled with the cold, Tyr began to lose focus and drift up. She could only barely make out what Celestia said, low and quiet under the chanting of the mother.

“Here comes the very tricky part. I will cut the thread into three segments. Cadence, you must be prepared to seize the strand that remains black and sew it back into her body. To fail would be... quite terrible, really,” Cadence’s only reply was a slack-jawed nod. “Very good,” Celestia added with a hint of tired satisfaction.

Tyr gazed up at the thread in a mixture of horror and stark awe. She was certain of it, this was her soul they were toying with. This was the darkest of magic. It had to be forbidden, even here. But a soft voice chided her from the back of her mind, and spoke of the things ponies would do in the name of ancient traditions. After all, didn’t she claim to champion more than a few herself? The crone didn’t spare her time to answer her own question. The alicorn of the sun, who Tyr realized suddenly looked very old, very tired, and very cranky, seized a pair of gnarled and rusted iron scissors from the box. They were etched with runes that to Tyr’s eyes carried an unspeakable cruelty. It just wasn’t fair...

A few resounding snips, and the golden thread lashed into the air like the severed string of an instrument. Twin whirls of gold flicked through the air and faded into the dust and gloom of the room, but a small section of black was seized expertly in an azure aura, and the maiden ran it back through the eye of the needle before stitching it into the filly’s back. This time the touch was not ethereal, Tyr could feel the cold bone piercing her flesh, and the pain was far more overwhelming than it should have been. It seemed to tear its way through her very essence. She screamed long and loud. Her eyes were already rolling back into her head and away from the morbid spectacle, away from the three alicorns who had suddenly become so alien and... not themselves. The last thing that truly registered to her was her scream snapping the maiden from her trance. Cadence’s mouth dropped open in horror, and Tyr lost any semblance of consciousness.