Students of Heaven
21-30
 
 
Post 21
 
>You know of Princess Luna's rebellion, but
>will you let me tell you a bit more?
>When I took up the Elements of Harmony against her, it was not out of necessity;
>but hope.
>I'd hoped to intimidate her in to giving up.
>She knew how powerful they were, and I thought seeing me wielding them would bring her to her senses.
>As you know they did not.
>So when I knew I could not delay any longer, I banished her,
>instead of purifying her.
>Do you know why?
>For centuries after, I told myself it was an accident;
>that in the heat of the moment, my control over the elements slipped!
>In period illustrations, I am shown pink-haired.
>I ordered it so, to further convince myself that I was flustered, not malicious.
>So flustered, in fact, that even my hair-magic faltered!
>But it was a lie.
>I did it in anger.
>Pain at my sister's betrayal, and fear for my ponies,
>wove seamlessly into a spike of rage which bore an action that haunted me for a thousand years.
>Why am I telling you this?
>Not as an excuse, but as a warning.
>You will find yourself in desperate situations.
>It is inevitable as a princess.
>I hope you will learn from my moment of weakness,
>and temper your wrath.
>I know you will not see this letter for some time.
>Since giving Twilight our book, I've begun writing, and saving them,
>because I still hope you'll return to me.
>Princess Luna has, and resumed her rightful place.
>I hope one day, you will read them, and know that even now, far across the multiverse,
>my thoughts are of you.
>There is so much hope in this one little letter.
>Long experience has taught me such hopes often go unfulfilled.
>Were you anyone else, I would not dare hold so much of it.
>But you are you. Indomitable, unstoppable you.
>I have faith in you.
>C
 
 
Post 22
 
>Canterlot Meadow
>c1000 years ago
 
>I lay in our spot and cry.
>Our spot
>Where we passed so many dawns, dusks, and gorgeous days and nights.
>This is where Luna invented the aurora;
>happily coloring her nights with the energy of my sun.
>This is where she painted my mane.
>This is where she played and explored.
>This is where she loved; her favorite place in all Equestria.
>Where our laughter echoed together time after time;
>now silent, but for the wind, and my pitiful cries.
>My sister!
>Oh, my beloved sister!
>If only you had listened!
>If only you had stopped!
>If only I'd had better control...
>My thin veneer of equanimity collapses.
>I am alone, and have no need for it.
>I scream my pain to the mountain, and let my sobs blot out my grief.
>On and on, I don't know for how long.
>Eventually, my thoughts turn to my ponies.
>All my little ponies.
>So terrified, and so desperately in need of me.
>I'd freed them from her spell, but great damage had already been done.
>They need my magic to lull them to sleep now, so traumatized are they by her nightmares.
>Nightmare Moon
>That's what they're calling her now.
>All her beautiful works, and heartfelt love forgotten.
>Hers will be a legacy of terror.
>She deserved so much better.
>Again misery overtakes me, and I cry awful, wracking cries.
>My heart tears from me and spills over the meadow.
>Our meadow
>The workers are already repairing my castle, but it's filled with bad memories.
>My heart weeps every time I look on it.
>But our meadow is filled with happy ones.
>I lower Luna's now-marred moon knowing what to do:
>abandon the Castle of the Two Sisters, and raise one here.
>Canterlot Castle!
>The dawn breaks, and washes me in its brilliant radiance.
>A new beginning for my ponies, and also for me.
>No more the distant monarch
>No more the goddess
>From now, until the end of Equestria I will be the kind and warm leader they deserve.
>I love them all so much, and now they will know it!
 
 
Post 23
 
>Canterlot
>Present day
 
>It's a lovely day.
>There isn't a cloud to be seen,
>my sun is warm,
>and my garden is filled with the perfume of flowers.
>Best of all, I have a new tea to try!
>For hundreds of years I've cultivated tea plants as a hobby.
>Some of my blends, and strains are enjoyed well beyond the borders of Equestria proper.
>Now, after nearly 4 decades of selective breeding, and magical tweaking,
>I think I've made yet another delight!
>Of course, there's only one way to be sure!
>I smile in anticipation as I bring the cup to my lips, it's delicate bouquet filling my nostrils.
>I pause a moment and marvel at the sight of my kingdom;
>Cloudsdale shines distantly in the bright sunlight,
>its alabaster spires contrasting beautifully with the blue sky.
>Ponyville nestled idyllically in the rolling hills to the southwest,
>their slopes dark with fecund apple trees.
>I close my eyes and sigh, savoring the moment.
>At last I drink,
>savoring also, the feeling of its warm astringence meeting my tongue.
>This is delicious!
>Even when measured against the absurdly high standards of my gardens.
>I think I'll give it a name to honor Luna.
>She was the one who introduced me to tea, after all,
>back when she was still an earth-pony.
>The sound of a door being hurriedly opened intrudes on my reverie.
>A guard pony canters down my arcade, looking rather worried.
>I nonchalantly take another sip.
>He leaps from the top of the stairs with his wings spread and glides to the grass.
>Such urgency; it was only a few little steps.
>He stops a few meters away, and bows deeply.
>I regard him with a smile, and take another sip.
>"Princess! You ordered to be notified at once, if your alarms on the mirror were tripped!"
>My heart skips a beat.
>I hold the liquid on my tongue.
>Could it be?
>After all this time, has she at last come back?
>"Yes, has somepony come through?"
>"Not exactly, Your Highness..."
 
 
Post 24
 
>I'm on my balcony
>It's nearing sunset, and the air is cool.
>A speck appears on the horizon, toward Ponyville.
>It's so distant, it seems to hang motionless in the sky,
>but I know it's moving with considerable speed.
>Gradually, it draws closer, and my eyes resolve it:
>Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, glowing in my sun's red light.
>My eyes track her progress as my mind puzzles over the days events.
>Some pegasus guards intercept her, then quickly let her pass.
>She comes straight to me, landing quickly, her face filled with concern.
>"Is it true?"
>I quietly nod.
>Her ears and tail droop
>"Oh, Twilight...I came as soon as I heard. I teleported right to Ponyville to check for myself."
>Her frown deepens
>"Even when I couldn't find her, I still hoped she might have come here."
>"Not yet, Cadance, but if she does, we'll know; Equestria is on high alert."
>She licks her lips and begins to pace
>"Yes, so is the Crystal Empire. This would be a clumsy prelude to attack, but I agree it's prudent."
>Suddenly, she stops, and looks at me, shifting her weight from left to right uncertainly.
>"What can I do?"
>"Luna is patrolling the Everfree Forest, you may help her, if you wish."
>"What's she looking for?"
>"Portals"
>Her brow furrows
>"But I saw the mirror, still in Twilight's castle."
>"Cadance, as you know, when she found a way to keep it open, I swathed it in alarm-spells..."
>"Also prudent" she says, too quickly.
>"Thank you. Right now, those are the only enchantments it still carries."
>"Was the portal dispelled?"
>I shake my head
>"Torn free, I think. Without the mirror to anchor it, the mouth will leap about unpredictably."
>"...and the forest's magical nature makes it the most likely place for it to appear!" She finishes.
>I nod
>"The portal is gone, Princess Twilight is g...gone; do you think she went through it?
>I am about to answer, when Cadance shivers visibly and a familiar chill shoots up my spine.
>"Sister! Princess Cadance! We have found a portal!"
 
 
Post 25
 
>High over Equestria
>A few years ago
 
>Even as old as I am, I can still be surprised.
>And that knowledge pleases me greatly.
>Moments ago, an incredible burst of magic swept across my world.
>I felt it, and so did my ponies.
>All at once, everywhere on my planet, their moods and dreams sweetened, though they didn't know why.
>I do:
>love.
>Pure, unconditional love powerful enough to bend reality itself.
>But what could have caused it?
>Instantly, I'd cast my sight across Equestria to it's source, not knowing what to expect.
>Certainly not expecting what I found!
>A little pink pegasus filly,
>standing in the snow, with a grown unicorn weeping at her hooves.
>I watch as the unicorn embraces her, and gives her a necklace:
>a crystaline heart bound in twine, blazing with invisible magic.
>Literally a heart,
>cut from the chest of a siren, meant to enslave it's victims, and deaden their souls.
>It's raw magical power dwarfs that of either the filly, or the unicorn, but it's different now:
>shining and pure.
>It's selfish malice somehow transformed by love.
>Her love.
>That's incredible!
>That's potential!
>The kind I've found only once before in my poor, lost sister.
>Unbidden, memories of her leap to the forefront of my mind. Still painful,
>but after all these years, a deep, dull ache, instead of raw, overwhelming anguish.
>I must sieze this chance!
>The unicorn steps into her cave, and I act,
>teleporting the filly, and myself to this special place.
>She blinks, looking thoroughly confused.
>"Where am...Princess!"
>Her eyes widen the moment she sees me
>"It's ok, my little pony, there's no need to be afraid."
>She regards me uncertainly for a moment, then relaxes.
>"Not as long as you're here...Your Highness."
>I smile at that
>"What's your name, little one?"
>"Cadance, Your Highness."
>"What a beautiful name."
>She breaks in to a smile.
>"Thank you, Your Highness."
>I beam back at her
>"You may call me Celestia, Cadance."
 
 
Post 26
 
>"Oh, no" she shakes her head "I could never do that, Your Highness!"
>"Well..." I say with an exaggerated frown
>"you don't have to, but I'd very much like it if we could be friends."
>She tilts her head to one side, and her candy-striped mane falls over her shoulders.
>She seems utterly entranced by the possibility.
>"You want to be my friend?"
>"Mm-hmm," I nod "and maybe talk a little bit. Would you like that?"
>"A lot!"
>"Good!" I say with my warmest smile. "Cadance, do you know why I've brought you here?"
>"No, Pri...C...Celestia." Her voice shrinks to a whisper at my name. "I don't even know where we are."
>She finally pulls her eyes from me and looks around
>For what seems like the first time, she notices she is standing on "nothing":
>a floor of pure magical force, and far, far below it, my world spread out like a shining gem.
>A satisfying gasp as her little jaw drops.
>"We're high above Equestria. Right over Canterlot, in fact."
>She peers through the floor
>"Wow, Canterlot?"
>"Mm-hmm, and you're here, because I want to give you a present."
>"A present, for me?"
>"It's not a present you can hold, Cadance, but it's very, very special. One day, it will change you."
>Her brows furrow "Change me?"
>"Yes, child. One day, when you're ready, it will give you a new strength, and a very special job to do."
>I can see her mind is working furiously;
>she's young, but maybe she can understand even if I don't simplify it so much?
>"You'll become like me, Cadance. And if you do your job right, if you love your ponies, and take care of them,"
>"They will all love you in turn."
>"Like the way we love you?"
>What can I say to that? What words can adequately express the way they make my heart leap?
>Fortunately, she speaks up almost immediately:
>"If it means I can help more ponies, then I want it!"
>"Are you sure? Once I give it to you, it becomes part of you. You won't be able to change your mind."
 
 
Post 27
 
>She nods with surprising solemnity.
>"I'm sure."
>"Then close your eyes, Cadance, and open your heart."
>For show, I gently tap her head with my horn, and silently will the spark to pass to her.
>Instantly, a burst of light shoots from her chest.
>I laugh in delighted surprise! So soon?
>It swirls and jumps around her, and carries her tiny frame into the air.
>Now she's smiling too, her face shining with sheer bliss.
>"It's so warm!"
>She floats, engulfed in a brilliant light, growing, and feeding upon itself.
>It surges back through her body, and up her neck, pouring from her eyes.
>She lets loose an exhilarated yell as it bursts from her forehead in a searing flash of pure magic,
>leaving a radiant spire in it's wake.
>She floats, laughing and languidly spinning about her axes.
>Gradually sinking lower and lower as the light fades away.
>At last, her hooves touch the ground.
>Her eyes are crossed, focused on her new horn.
>She grins soundlessly, twisting her head from side to side, and turns in a complete circle.
>"What happens now, Celestia?"
>I'm not sure how to answer.
>Nightmare Moon announced her arrival with a spasm of hate and fear so keen
>that even a thousand years later its wound still has not healed.
>Cadance announced hers with a wave of calming love,
>pure enough to wash the taint from a siren's dead heart.
>I don't know what happens now, but for the first time in far, far too long,
>I know genuine hope.
 
 
Post 28
 
>The Everfree Forest
>Present Day
 
>The stench of the forest's air washes over me as my teleport spell completes.
>A fraction of a second later, Cadance pops in to being beside me.
>"Where is it?" she hurriedly asks.
>Luna indicates a direction with her nose
>"It was there, for a moment."
>Cadance follows Luna's gesture, then stares at the ground, tears welling in her eyes.
>"Did you see Twilight?"
>"No, Princess Cadance, we are sorry."
>A single sharp sob escapes Cadance's lips
>Luna gently nuzzles her, and softly:
>"But as we said, there was not much time."
>I look around at our surroundings.
>This part of the Everfree is notorious.
>More swamp, than woods, and filled with ghost-lights and strange, dangerous things.
>Even the few ponies who regularly brave the forest itself, avoid it at all costs.
>But here my fearless sister had come alone, at night, without a moments hesitation.
>For Twilight.
>My heart would swell with pride, if I weren't so worried.
>I trot over and stand with them, wrapping my wings around their shoulders.
>We hold each other tightly until at last, Cadance is calm.
>"Please, Sister, tell us everything you can."
>Luna closes her eyes and concentrates for a moment.
>"First we felt great mirth overtake us, as if laughter, humor itself were a presence."
>I recall Twilight's mention of the Elements of Harmony in the human-world.
>"Then a purple glow appeared, and opened into a rift."
>"We rushed closer, and heard music, of a kind we've never heard before."
>Her snout scrunches in consternation
>"We didn't even recognize the instruments."
>"Also, there were voices, but we could not hear what they were saying."
>Cadance speaks up
>"Could you see anything through it?"
>"Yes. There was a wall, of sorts: horizontal wooden boards, secured to an iron frame."
>"with gaps between them, and a strange creature was peeking through."
 
 
Post 29
 
>"Did it see you?" I asked.
>She shook her head
>"We don't believe so; the portal closed before we could approach it."
>"Well," began Cadance "at least you found something."
>She smiles, and gives a strained laugh.
>"Really, it's lucky it opened close enough for you to find it."
>"Oh, it was not mere chance, Princess Cadance; we used a beacon spell to draw it to us."
>Again, I am impressed by my sister's selfless bravery.
>"That's very dangerous, especially here."
>Says Cadance, echoing my thoughts.
>"There's no telling what else might have come instead."
>"No, but we are as desperate to find Princess Twilight as you or Sister;"
>"we would be remiss if we did not use all the tools at our disposal."
>I set my wing on her back.
>"Sister, please," I whisper "don't do that again. Not alone."
>She looks at me, with a small frown, then nods.
>"Not alone." She agrees, pressing her neck to mine.
>We stand in silence a few moments, then quietly, Luna continues.
>"There is more."
>The magic was a tangled mess, but we could recognize a few signatures: one was the portal itself;
>others were Elements of Harmony: Generosity and Laughter.
>Cadance's gasp tells me she is as surprised as I am
>"But how is that possible?"
>"We suspect, it's because the largest portion..." she pauses,
>"was siren magic."
>That would explain it. Sirens absorb life and emotion, why not magic too?
>But I'd never imagined a siren could become powerful enough to destroy the gate.
>"Twilight said the trio on that side were defeated, their gems broken."
>"You're sure it was siren magic?"
>"We are. It was unmistakable, mangled, though it was."
>"Mangled?"
>"Yes..." Luna frowns
>"We don't know a better word to describe it."
>"Prismia used the heart of a siren as jewelry, and a weapon."
>Says Cadance.
>"Could somepony there have made something from the fragments?"
>A look of comprehension sweeps across Luna's face.
>"That's it!"
 
 
Post 30
 
>"The wall partially blocked our view, but the creature was wearing a locket."
>Cadance looks at me worriedly.
>"It glowed with the same violet light that preceded the rift,"
>"and when the creature closed it, the portal disappeared."
>"A locket?"
>"Yes, that's the source of the magic, I'm sure!"
>"Then we've learned something" I say.
>"Is there anything else, sister?"
>She shakes her head.
>I stand silently, turning ideas over in my mind.
>As Cadance said, this would be a clumsy attack on Equestria,
>but it would be a good first move if the sirens wanted revenge.
>Kidnapping Twilight, and closing the portal would isolate Sunset and the humans from our help.
>However, Sunset's new letters to Twilight don't mention them,
>and my alarms would have tripped if anypony had crossed through.
>Also, without their gems, they are powerless, certainly incapable of this,
>or defeating an Alicorn, and extremely gifted unicorn working together.
>It's probably not them.
>In fact, it's unlikely that Twilight is on their side of the portal;
>my alarms again, and the fact Sunset wouldn't be asking for her help via the book if she were.
>If Twilight isn't there, that makes siren involvement even less likely.
>But where could she be?
>If I knew where the portal led I could open one, and find out immediately.
>But I don't, and it will do no good to open them randomly in an infinite multiverse.
>"There's nothing for us to do now, but wait for it to open."
>"Cadance," I turn to her.
>"it seems less likely than ever that this is an attack,"
>"but I would like you to return to Canterlot, both to alert us if Twilight returns,
>and to coordinate a defense if it becomes necessary."
>She nods.
>"We'll contact you at midnight, dawn, noon, and dusk. If you don't hear from us,"
>"you may use farsight, but don't come looking for us. A royal must remain in Equestria."
>"Sister, I will remain here with you, and continue the beacon."
>She nods too.
>"Are there any questions?"