An excerpt from the Black Journal of Star Swirl the Bearded, from the forbidden tower of the Canterlot Archive. Entry Number 379
“The Equestrian Royal Guard is the pride of our nation. We entrust the guard with our daughters and sons, we entrust the Guard with everything that is ours. We place our lives in their hooves and the Guard has never let us down. The Guard is the greatest host of mortal strength in our age and the threat of the Guards’ power has kept Equestria at peace with the volatile remnants of the Griffin Empire and safe from feral Dragons for hundreds of years. But I have met two ponies who each make the entire force of the Guard look like a foal playing at war. I have met ponies before whom the very earth trembles. I have met ponies to whom ancient dragons would dip their heads. I have met ponies who would see the united strength of all mortals as a mere inconvenience. I have met the royal Alicorn Sisters.
“Aside from the strength and endurance of earth ponies, the speed and magical resistance of pegasi, and the spellcasting abilities of unicorns, the royal Alicorn sisters—and all those like them—have a fourth ability. They can merge their life force with that of the world around them. When one of the Princesses takes possession of a river, it becomes as much a part of them as their legs or wings, it becomes theirs.
“This allows the Princesses not only to control the world around them with more force and precision than a unicorn could dream of but also to draw strength from what has become theirs. By drawing power from earth and sky, they are inseparably connected to the lifeforce of the cosmos. It is this connection to nature that grants them immunity from age and illness. By drawing from what is theirs, an Alicorn becomes as immovable as a mountain and as unbreakable as the ocean.
“Through this ability—whether a gift, or taken through conquest—the power of the universe has been monopolized by Alicorns and those like them, for better or for worse. Though this is the greatest kept secret in all of Equestria, it is far from the only secret I have uncovered.”
One thousand years ago, the world looked very much as it does now. The veneer of life and equinity has always stood in stalwart defiance of the eternal march of time. On the surface of things, ponies worked, lived and laughed now much as they always had. A face plucked from ages past and stripped of period stylings would be indistinguishable from any seen around Ponyville today. Ponies change over time, not through it. Time leaves no mark on what it means to be a pony, but it ravages the individual. With wrinkles comes perspective, and thereby the idealistic youth becomes the cynical elder. However, there is one exception. One pony who has survived all the ages and changed very little for it. In fact, one could say that only one thing about our Princess has changed at all. In an age long past—lost to the pages of history—Celestia’s proud mane reflected but one of the brilliant colors of the dawn.
Celestia’s pink, ethereal mane swayed in a non-existent breeze as she walked the halls of the castle she shared with her nocturnal cohort Luna. It was dark outside, darker than it should have been. Luna’s moon hung much higher in the sky than it ought to according to Celestia’s internal clock. The first day she had taken control of it, she had discovered that the sun seemed to have a will of its own about when and how much light should grace the land, and for the past few hours it had been telling Celestia the moon’s allotted time to rule the sky was up.
As much as the abnormal darkness bothered her, Celestia would never raise her sun while Luna’s moon ruled the sky. To do so would be to disrespect Luna’s authority, and the animosity of immortals seldom tempered at a rate that can be measured in decades.
The castle was still and quiet; its mortal inhabitants did not share Celestia’s sense of what should be. As she walked the corridors and hallways, the monarch noticed that even her guards were asleep. Some of them leaned against columns, and some merely hung their heads, but they all stood as they slumbered. Celestia paused in front of one. Though the guard stood with legs locked at rigid attention, his head was slumped, and saliva was conspicuously dampening his muzzle. He whinnied softly with every exhale as he dreamed.
The realm of dreams was Luna’s territory, so as Celestia peered gently into the guard’s mind she could only make out hints of emotion, and wisps of images; the rest was obscured by the swirls and eddies of Luna’s magic.
Celestia smiled warmly at her guard. His stoic mask had slipped from his features entirely as he rested, and to her, he looked much like a foal. This was nothing new to her; through her immortal eyes most of her subjects looked like children. Though he was her guard, she did not fault him for this. In reality, she didn't need his protection at all.
Celestia continued towards Luna’s chambers with that warm smile still playing on her lips. Seeing one of her guards, who had dedicated his life to bearing the burdens of the kingdom with such an innocent and vulnerable expression had left warm feelings stirring in her chest. She finished her walk in silence, dwelling on her little ponies and the role she played in all of their lives.
The guards who flanked the doors to Luna’s private chambers were also asleep. Celestia let herself in quietly.
The door opened noiselessly into Luna's private chambers. Shortly after the construction, Luna had demanded that all the dividing walls be torn down, yielding a single, large and spacious room. The floor was of black marble polished to a high shine. Instead of the usual milky streaks of white, the constellations of the night sky were painted in brilliant pinpricks that seemed to glow with their own light against the contrast surrounding them. Luna had spent weeks inventing and perfecting the geomancy spells that allowed this. It was a shame the intricate work was hidden, it could hardly be seen from underneath a blanket of clutter. Every inch of wall was covered with paintings, murals, and framed poems. Many were Luna's own works, but even more were those of her students. The curator of the Canterlot Museum of Fine Art would have torn off a limb for a glimpse of what Luna woke up to every evening.
As Celestia walked through Luna’s room her eyes glanced over the elegant grandeur. She had come for Luna, not her work. She made her way past the many pieces or fine art and headed towards the balcony where she knew Luna would be.
The only real pieces furniture in Luna's room aside from her bed were an easel and a writing desk. Both were made of engraved ebony that had been imported from Griffionstan. The few Griffons who did practice the arts achieved an even higher level of dexterity with their talons than unicorns’ with their telekinesis. Around both pieces of furniture lay a sea of cast-aside manuscripts and crumpled tatters of used canvas, Luna's "rejects." Her obsidian fireplace was stuffed with more "rejects." Only the summer’s heat kept her from burning them all. The smoke that rose from Luna's chimney had sparked many tear stained letters of protest from art critics across the nation. Any of them would have made one of Luna's “rejects” the prize piece in their collection, but Luna demanded nothing less than perfection. Celestia had seen her burn a canvas she had slaved over for weeks because one of the guards outside her door had coughed and broken her concentration.
Not even Celestia knew what Luna had done to her ceiling. It shimmered and glowed to perfectly match the ambient light that flowed in from the permanently open balcony. Luna had cast a seven level barrier around her room for the three months she had worked on it. Celestia shook her head at the memory; everything about the artistic process escaped her. Luna was as much an artist as Celestia wasn't one. All artistic ability had been measured out to her long ago.
She turned to the balcony to see Luna staring off into the dark “morning” sky. Luna’s star-studded, light-blue mane flowed indifferently to the gentle breeze coming in from the window, and her blue coat shimmered in the dim candlelight that illuminated the room.
Celestia cleared her throat before speaking. “Luna, you know I do not begrudge you your time in the sky, but the hour grows late, and the dawn must come.” Luna slowly turned to face Celestia, her horn and eyes glowing in the dim light of the room, revealing the deep Alicorn magic she weaved.
Celestia spoke once more, “Is the prolonged slumber of our little ponies your doing as well? You know you need not resort to such tactics to gain my ear.”
Luna wore silence like a mask, doing nothing to betray her feelings or her thoughts. Instead of speaking, she lifted one hoof, and Celestia respected her request for silence. Stillness took the room as Celestia waited and Luna worked, the latter’s eyes pulsing in time with an unknown beat.
After a time, Luna’s horn dimmed, and she shook her self. “My apologies sister, I do not share your ability to split my mind between two different tasks.”
“Never mind that, Luna,” Celestia said, waving her hoof. “You seem distracted this morning. Are you feeling well? Was the night court particularly trying?”
Luna turned back towards the balcony and her night. “No, the night court was as it always is: uneventful. No, the problem lies not with me.”
“Then what troubles you, and what spurs your odd behavior this dark morning?”
“My behavior?” Luna said, rustling her wings. “A preparation for an oncoming storm.”
Celestia frowned. “Speak plainly. I have not—in all these eons—gained an ear for your riddles.”
Luna sighed deeply and turned back from the muted morning sky. “Do you remember fireworks, Tia? Can you still see their lights and shapes? So much beauty, and they were invented by mortals, no interference from our kind.”
“...Yes, I remember fireworks. I remember the gunpowder that came with them as well. For every scene painted with beauty and wonder, another was painted with blood and carnage.” Celestia’s eyes hardened as memories flooded over her. “In all the wars of all the years, never has such mindless destruction and death colored the land.”
“I will not deny the horrors of the Great War, but I do not agree with your policy of burning the seeds with the chaff, your policy of pruning from our civilization anything you deem harmful. The Equestria that has passed under your knife is not the same as it once was. Gone are the theaters and the orchestras. Gone are the writers and painters. Gone are all the great artists and musicians. The well is so dry that I would even be thankful for another the likes of Bitny Steers.”
Celestia paused for a moment to compose herself before speaking. “Luna, do not blame me for the devastation of conflict and the consequences of rebuilding a civilization. Yes, a great many things were lost to war’s ravenous appetite. Libraries went up in flames, and too many songs now only exist in our minds. But culture and art have always ebbed and flowed with time. Be patient Luna, Equestria will shine once more.”
“This is no ebb, Tia. This is something more, something deeper. The cities have been rebuilt, the population has long recovered, but Tia, when was the last time you heard music, real music?”
Celestia shifted her gaze to avoid Luna’s piercing eyes. “The last I recall... Ah, Neighthoven’s latest composition is like honey to the ears.”
Luna laughed, a cold, hollow thing. “You should get out more Sister. Scholars mark his passing as the end of the Pre-classical era, nearly three hundred years ago.”
“I...I had no idea. Has it truly been so long?”
“Perhaps you should take on another Student; that always helps to slow the passing of the years for me.”
“I may do that, but if I recall correctly, you were the one to introduce me to Neighthoven, and my stewards have long had instructions to refer all artists to your court. Are you saying that....”
“Yes, Sister, all these years my court has been empty. I have had much time to consider what must be done.”
“I am sorry, Luna. You should have come to me sooner. I could have–I know! We will go out into the city. There are always young talents that need only–”
Luna smote the ground, crushing the marble floor and sending out cracks to meet the walls. “Did you not think I would have already tried!?”
Chips of marble danced on the floor and the marble dust was pushed away as if it were running from the force of Luna’s words. Silence once more took the room, and it was Celestia’s turn to mask her feelings. Luna sighed and calmed her breathing. She merged her life force with the sundered floor. The marble came to life with her energy and slowly started melding back together until it was once again pristine. “My apologies, that outburst was... premature.”
Celestia raised an eyebrow but remained silent. She had long ago learned the value of silence. When it was apparent that her companion would not speak, Luna continued.
“For generations I have searched and found no such pony. I have personally tutored any foal who showed the slightest hint of artistic talent, but nothing could come of it. They all lacked the ambition and drive to rise above the herd. And it isn’t just artists.There are no more inventors, no great businessponies, no charismatic leaders. Even the noble houses have all but disappeared.”
“Wait! You mean to tell me that you mourn the loss of the nobles?!”
Luna smiled playfully. “No, I most certainly do not, but they represent the upper class in the way that only they can. My point, sister, is that status, individual achievement, every quality or feature that sets somepony above the herd is disappearing, if it isn’t already gone. Equestria is stagnant, and it is our doing.”
Celestia watched as Luna continued, gaining force with every word. Her voice held an energy and passion that had not echoed through the palace halls for centuries.
“Have you even once considered that despite all our experience and wisdom, we may be wrong? We sit on the thrones, and we keep order, but we withhold much that would help them. We could guide them; we could show them the way to greatness! But no, we sit, and we watch as they struggle. We could do so much more than inspire them! We shaped the bones of this land, and we are responsible for what Equestria has become. Just as Sphinx made the Griffin empire into what it was, and is responsible for what it has become. I refuse to make his mistakes. I refuse to drift into myth and legend when Equestria needs us most!”
“And we won’t, Luna. We have chosen a much more visible role than the Sphinx did. We are in no danger of disappearing from our subjects’ hearts and minds as he did. But it is unfair to lay all the blame for the Great War on the Sphinx. None of us could have predicted how the invention of gunpowder would change the face of violence.”
“Not all of it, but most of the blame for the Great War must be laid on his shoulders, and it is no wonder that he forsook his position once all was said and done. It may have started with the fall of the Sphinx, but the others have all fallen as well. Ages ago, Cerberus could beat the both of us in chess. Need I even mention what Discord once was? Time has taken its toll, and all the others have fallen, either into madness or exile. We are all that remain of the old guardians. Why is that, Celestia? What makes us infallible when so many have lost their ways? Nothing! We are no better than they were; so, the question must be asked: have we already failed?”
“Of course not, Luna. We are still here, and our little ponies are happy. They live in the greatest length of peace Equestria has ever known. How can you suggest that we have failed?”
“Happy? Maybe, but they are stagnant. There is nothing fresh or new under your sun or my moon. We are to guide them, not only towards peace, but towards achievement, invention, and fulfilling their greatest potential. In that, we have failed. Equestria has become a land that oppresses the aspirations of its inhabitants. What greater failing could we achieve?”
Celestia spoke with an edge in her voice. “So, where have we misstepped? Everything I have ever done was for the benefit of our subjects, and now you say we have failed them?”
“Not intentionally—never intentionally—but we have failed them. It started with the end of the Great War, when we weaponized the magic of Harmony.”
“Creating the Elements was the only way to end the war without further bloodshed. How could we have failed them by putting an end to tragedy?”
“Yes, ending the war was the best thing we could have done, but binding such an ancient and powerful magic to mortal souls was a travesty.”
Celestia’s stoic mask cracked. “What other choice did we have? On their own, the Elements were too powerful, too raw to be safely used. Binding the Elements to bearers was the only way to temper and control their power. Besides, the influence of the Elements has led Equestria into the longest peace we have ever known.”
“Only because the power of the Elements is smothering our little ponies! Celestia, haven’t you been listening to me? Equestria is a shade of what it once was! Ponies are so concerned with being kind to others that they forget their own needs. They are so loyal to their ideals and their friends that they give up their dreams. They find such joy and laughter in their meager existences that they care nothing for status and success. They may be happy, but our duty to them is more than that. We are to guide them into their potential, and in that we have failed. Harmony is the problem.”
“No.” Celestia shook her head violently.
“Yes! What will it take to make you see it?! Tia, I wish not to pay this card, but don’t you see it!? Every day they are regressing further. Before long, I fear they will be as they once were. The automatons of flesh and bone you created at the dawn of time were little more than talking plants. They had no fire burning within. No passion! No urge to create! No aptitude for growth and development. You may have formed their bodies and minds, but the spark of life was my contribution, and creativity has always beenmy realm. They do not call me the Mistress of Dreams for my ability to mold and pluck shapes from that realm. They call me that because even they—with their lives so short—recognize thatI am the one of us who truly looks to the future. I will not call the magic of Harmony evil, but it has long outlived its usefulness. Your Harmony is strangling my”—Luna caught herself—“our little ponies.”
Luna took a step towards Celestia and placed a hoof on her withers. “Tia, we must turn from this path before it is too late!”
Celestia dropped her mask completely, allowing the pain she felt to be shown. The binding of the Elements had been her idea, and she had considered it one of her greatest successes, but now... Now she wasn’t so sure. “There is... truth in what you say, Luna. What path do you suggest we take?”
Seizing the moment and building momentum with every word, Luna continued. “We must teach them to value status once more, to feel pride for who they are, and for their achievements, to ruthlessly pursue their own goals. Honesty is all well and good when taken in moderation, but without a douse of suspicion our little ponies will be taken for fools, and apathy is the only way to combat the self-sacrifice of kindness. Magic has its place, but so does power!”
The blood drained from Celestia’s face and she knocked aside her fellow princess' hoof. “Luna! We agreed long ago that the magic you speak of is too dangerous! I will not have you exposing our subjects to such a thing!”
Luna sighed deeply and turned away. “I was afraid you would react this way, sister. But I will stand firm on this point. For hundreds of years I have held my peace and watched as you led our citizens down this path. I have watched and said nothing as the arts failed. I have watched and said nothing as culture decayed. I have watched and said nothing as your Harmony has oppressed my little ponies!” She paused momentarily before bellowing, “I shall watch no longer!”
“Luna, listen to yourself! Your words remind me of the fall of Discord and the deep madness that took him before our costly intervention.”
“No, Celestia, you listen. If you will not join me, I will do this on my own. I will teach my little ponies to take what they want once more. No more being repressed by Harmony. No more groveling[ at the feet of the other species. Ponies will take their rightful place in this world. The other immortals have fallen, and their wards have lost their nobility. Their right to dominate has been revoked!”
“Luna! You can’t mean this! This is not how we were intended to use our power!”
“Sister, I am done listening. This is the only path left to me, and it is in part my own fault for not speaking earlier, when the damage could have been reversed by less drastic measures.”
Celestia’s eyes widened. “What do you mean? Of what drastic actions do you speak?”
“War, Celestia. A war to end all wars. I will shock life back into my little ponies. We will dissolve the chains of Harmony with blood. I will wield Dominance, and I will lead my little ponies in a scourge across the land, and through Dominance they will discover themselves!”
Celestia gasped. Alicorns were not to meddle, this was Celestia’s cardinal rule, and now Luna was breaking that rule in the worst possible way. Not only inciting war, but leading it. Though Equestria had weathered many conflicts, neither Alicorn had ever taken to the battlefield. To use their power to subjugate mortals would be a crime worse than any even Discord had stooped to.
Luna continued. “With iron shod hooves we will march across the land. Dragons, Griffins, Diamond Dogs, even Zebras will make way before our triumph. How glorious it will be to have every species united under one flag. Under my flag! The deaths of the weak among us will stoke the grim fires of determination, and through the trials of war, Equestria will be reforged! Then ponies will shine. We will shine with passion and ambition forged in the heat to conquest. Innovation, culture, and the arts will be as they never were before. All because I taught my little ponies to fight for what they want.”
“Luna...” The name fell from Celestia’s lips like the last snow of winter falls from a tree’s branches. Perhaps it was the pleading sincerity that broke through her tirade, perhaps it was because she heard the same pain in Celestia’s voice that she had felt for so many years as she sat through the night court alone. Whatever the reasoning, Celestia’s soft and trembling words reached her where a raised voice had failed. Luna froze.
“In... in many ways I think you are right. Something is wrong with Equestria, and... and the Elements of Harmony may very well be the heart of the matter. I am glad we have had this talk. But you are not well. Let me help you. Let me help you before the same fate befalls you that befell Discord, and the Sphinx, and the others. Please, Luna,” she pled, tears wetting the floor as she gazed into Luna’s eyes, searching for the pony she once knew so well. “Please turn from this path, for it is too dark for me to tread.”
Luna was quiet for a long while before she spoke. When she did, it lacked her prior energy. “For tens of thousands of years I have written into existence the dreams of my citizens. I have listened to pleadings and secret desires that they would share only with me, and only under the veil of sleep. To the extent of my power, I have given them what they desire, or at the very least, sweet dreams of their goals to inspire them to action upon awaking. I have been the method and means of their aspirations for as long as ponies have dreamed... Why can my own dreams not also see fruition? I just want to see my little ponies achieve what I know them to be capable of. Is that so much to ask?... I think not. No Sister, I will see Equestria flourish, I will see ponies rise to their rightful place, and I will not be stopped, not by you, nor by anyone. If you will not stand with me, I shall sweep you out of the way like dust from the halls.”
Luna’s eyes burned as she stared down her sister, not from any kind of magic, but with pure determination. Celestia dried her tears and met Luna’s gaze unwavering.
“So be it. But know that you are doomed to fail, because I will not allow you to drag Equestria and our little ponies down this path.”
Tension grew and the room seemed to shrink around them as the Sun and the Moon stared each other down. Finally, Luna broke the silence.
“Celestia, at the start of this conversation you asked me what magic I wove. I will now show you.”
Luna’s eyes pulsed once with devastating finality. Moments later, a scream tore through the air.
Author's Note
Welcome to my undertaking. This is the first part of the prologue to an even longer story. I decided to split them up for tagging reasons. If you like what you see here I suggest following me to see the rest of the story, because just faving this won't keep you up to date on everything for this world.
A huge thanks to Tprinces for the cover-art. This is a variant of the same piece I will use for the longer story, so expect some deja vu when the other story gets published.
And a huge thanks to my prereaders. Who are the unsung heroes of all writing.
q97(The Science)randomguy
askireet The Bane of bad ideas.
Infinion He who misses little.
Sai Kimura The reluctant pure-ist.
Khakispony A.K.A. Dr. Cat.
And last but not least Not Worthy Who's honest opinions are greatly appreciated.
If any of you dislike your title, or would prefer a different one (providing it falls within the bounds of good taste), you know how to reach me.
