The Moon Won't Set
Several hours after Discord and Celestia fell asleep in her room, he stirred awake and started to stretch himself. "Rgh… It… better not be too early… I'd hate to wake up before the early-rising Princess of the Sun…" He rubbed his eyes and look out the window to see that it was still dark outside.
However, it wasn't the normal darkness of the approaching dawn, when nighttime prepared to wrap up and let daytime begin to rise. It looked as though it was the middle of the night out there, when his body clearly stated otherwise, for he didn't typically get up late. Celestia had not even stirred, and he'd always known her to wake up before him, before anypony else, unless she was too exhausted to do so.
"That's weird…" He scratched his head and looked down, but did not think about the subject for long. He yawned and nestled back in a comfortable position. "Well, more time to sleep, anyway…"
Celestia began to wake up just as he started to drift off. She raised an eyebrow after she stifled a yawn and spoke to him sleepily. "You really are… *yawn* an early riser…"
Discord frowned a bit and sat up on the bed to look at the clock. "Not as early as Luna should be. I know their mission is difficult and thought-consuming and all… But this is too late, and you know how punctual Luna is about her duties, as many as they may be. She'd never forget about raising the moon. Not that… ever, even with a thousand rescue missions on her shoulders."
Celestia tried to rub the sleepiness from her face. "Mmm… Don't start worrying me, Discord… Aren't you the one that always says we worry too much?" She yawned again and looked up from her over her hoof, with half-closed eyes. "Great, now I can't sleep… Discord, how about a little help?"
Discord looked down at her when she snuggled closer to him. "Oh, I know you'd love that…" He chuckled and patted her back, glancing out the window quietly. He then kissed her cheek and nudged her.
Celestia smiled and chuckled as well, now more awake. "Discord, that's not helping…" She kissed him, then suddenly pinned him on the bed when he let his guard down. "Don't you think we're fooling around too much? I know we're spending a nice night together, but…"
Discord's smirk made her trail off, and he took that opportunity to kiss her back. "Getting a little dominant, aren't we?" He grinned and embraced her while she giggled. "We ought to have some more of this."
She nuzzled his neck before she kissed it, then his lips. "I happen to be a princess, so it's a habit to take the lead for some things." She blushed a bit and played with his beard. "But I think we really should be—"
"Right, of course… I wouldn't expect anything else…" He muttered while he turned on her side, still holding her close while they lay quietly on the bed.
Celestia giggled and watched him as he pulled her closer. She sighed and nuzzled her face on his chest after he held her face for a few seconds. "It all feels so… right, doesn't it? Despite everything… I think that we… Well, we owe this to one another, to say the least…"
He yawned and smiled drowsily while he caressed her soft, exquisite mane, and more or less heard her talk, though her soft voice was getting harder and harder to follow as it faded out. Worrying as always… Aren't you? You just never stop… It's… realize how cute that...
Celestia blinked when she felt Discord's head drop back on the pillow. She gently put a hoof on his chest, then on his face. "Um, Discord? Did you hear what I—"
He moved a bit in his sleep, nuzzling her hoof, but otherwise remained asleep. He turned around, his tail dropped from the edge of the bed, hanging limply while he snored again.
She shook her head and smiled a bit. He can be such a heavy sleeper… She laid on top of him and put her head on his chest after she let out a breath. "That was silly. I think the night's getting to me…" She thought about how strange it was that the clock marked one hour, but the sky outside presumed another. However, she soon found herself putting those thoughts aside, instead eased to sleep by Discord's deep breathing and the steady heartbeat that sounded next to her head.
The alarm clock in Twilight's bedside table rang noisily to signal her it was time to wake up. She sat up on the bed and yawned, then turned off the clock with her magic and stretched. "Ngh… Why does it feel like I hardly slept at all…? Boy, I'm so tired…"
She walked to the window and opened the curtains, blinking in puzzlement when she looked outside. "What the… It's still… night…" She looked at her clock again and listened to its ticking to see if it wasn't broken, then raised an eyebrow. "Um, it's working well… This is so weird…" She looked out the window again, then walked out of the room with a flashlight, for it was still dark down the hallways. What's this about…?
Luna and the small group of soldiers that had been left alive and injured for the most part from her army pushed on, greatly relieved once they reached the Equestrian borders. However, they knew this was no victory, for there could still be dragon mercenaries in the area searching for them.
She looked at the exhausted soldiers and nearly measured her next instructions to them, for she knew that they were tired beyond what they would even show to her. "I… I know we've been traveling for hours, but… We must keep going. Staying in the borderlands puts our kingdom further at risk, because they'll just find it even easier to invade to get to their target. I know you're tired—"
"Please, Princess Luna, say no more."
"We understood the risks when we decided to serve our kingdom and all your allies, princess."
Luna gave the soldiers a grateful look and continued to lead them, even when they asked her to rest. If she was asking them to push on, then she had to lead by example, even if they were giving her all of their considerations. That had always been her reasoning.
While they were on their way, the princess tried to use several simple spells; she even tried to cast the most basic and simplest of all, but found that could produce nothing—not even her magic aura. The collar continued to steal her energy the more she tried, so she soon had to desist.
"Ngh, this isn't… good at all… I don't think we'll have progress with this any time soon. It's as strong as it was hours ago. I'm almost out of energy, but it just… keeps taking more…" She sighed and looked up at the dark sky, which had not changed during the time that had passed, seemingly so slowly and painfully.
"Some of us can fly, Princess Luna. You may follow us while we escort you. We'll be in Canterlot sooner that way. We know there is much that you must report to the others."
She shook her head. "No way. We're returning together. We're not that far now. We can't separate, understand? We're already very low in numbers as it is… I can't use my magic, and we all can barely stay up on our hooves. We need to watch each other's backs. I'll save my strength to get to Canterlot with you, and you'll do the same. C'mon! We still have plenty of land to cover. If we're all strong enough to be stubborn, then we can keep moving at a faster pace. Our fate depends on this, gentlecolts!"
After Modest was further tortured by the group of dragons that had captured him, he was roughly led through the dungeons, and tossed inside the cell that also held Princess Talia.
The guards mocked them and taunted Modest by throwing insults at both him and the princess. "Enjoy yourselves, you filthy, dumb ponies. Reckon they'll be some entertainment soon?"
The other guard turned around and followed his partner out. "I don't understand why we can't just eat them all and get it over with. Why does it always have to be so damn complicated?"
"Beats me. Ponies are like that, and you know what it's about with… that guy. Thinks he can fool us… It's not like we can do anything about it, though. It's his plot… It's his rules." The dragon beat the bars of the cells with his tail, making the ponies inside cringe and flinch from the noise.
"Ahh, so long as we're allowed to eat some of 'em every so often…"
Modest winced and could barely move as he came to again. He was bruised and scratched, and suffered from a terrible headache that even interfered with his senses and made everything pound and throb in pain. His legs were not responding to his commands, and neither was the rest of his body. He groaned and coughed, gasping for breath while he tried to move on the stone floor.
"Oh, dear…" Talia quickly knelt beside Modest and tried her best to treat his injuries—at least those that seemed the most serious. "D-don't move too much. No—stay still. Still. Yes, that's right." She pressed his hooves on the ground gently and restrained him while he continued to breathe agitatedly. "Quedate quieto, asi te va a doler menos. Shh. It's okay, prince. Take it easy. That's right…" She patted his shoulder with his hoof while she remained close to him, trying to calm him down bit by bit.
It didn't work for long. He was soon writhing in pain again, muttering and wincing, then crying out when his injuries began to throb and protest from even the slightest of movement.
"Prince, be quiet…! You won't help yourself like this, stop…" She whispered to him, but it was useless, he was still in a lot of pain that she could not avoid. She used the best methods that she had available, but he was still crying out. Finally, she opted for the most merciful option; a hoof to a certain spot on his side.
He grunted and tried to move when the sharp blow knocked the wind out of him, but soon he was relaxed again, the awareness of the pain slipping from him after she knocked him unconscious.
It seemed hours when he became aware of his surroundings again, and it was slow once more, because the unbearable headache was ever present, even when he felt slightly better from the rest of his body.
The same princess alicorn stared down at him while she tried to relieve some more of his pain, with her bare hooves. "You'll have to forgive me for being so rough. I'm afraid I have no anesthetics available at this moment, and you had plenty of broken or dislocated bones that needed some rough nudging. Don't worry—at least you slept right through the process. It should only be sore right now."
"Water," he gasped in a hoarse voice, his throat too dry to even whisper that.
"Of course. I'm so sorry. This is all I have with me right now." She tipped a small metal bowl to his lips, and let him drink slowly. "It's not much, so you have to measure your drink. Plus, you haven't had anything to eat or drink in a while, I'd assume. You have to be careful. Espérate, con cuidado. Careful."
After he drank, Modest groaned and tried to get his bearings again. He looked around, then at the princess once he could raise his head, but soon had to lie back down.
"Hey, take it easy. I only managed to take some of the pain away—don't make it come back."
Modest cleared his throat to be able to speak, at least. "P-par… Pardon my… my lack of formal… introduction, Your Grace…" He winced and moved slightly, with her assistance.
Talia shook her head and made him quiet while she brushed his mane out of his face with her other hoof. "Oh, please, prince…" She gently put him over what was left of the old straw in the prison cell, so that he could lay down and rest at least a bit more comfortably. "Thats even silly. Manners don't matter right now—it's your health I'm worried about right now. Your polite greetings and introductions can wait."
He winced again and held his head, then let out a shaky sigh while she tried to soothe him again. "I am… Prince… Prince Modest… of the Western Kingdom…" He closed his eyes again while he tried to catch his breath, which was a bit labored again.
She blinked and looked down at him. "Modest?" Her smile warmed up even more and became knowing while he gently patted his back. "I see… Of course. Well, you may already know, but I am Princess Talia María Cobalto de Acero, ruler of Reino Sur, the Southern Kingdom. "Or rather… I am its former ruler, it seems…"
Modest stayed quiet while she let out a sigh and remained thoughtful for a second. So far, we've failed…
"I am so sorry to have gotten you involved in this. It was so… Pyromedes took full advantage of our situation. He knew that I would try anything to save my kingdom—that I would first think of calling upon anyone for help." She looked down at her hooves with a regretful stare. "I did intend to send a letter, because we were all so desperate. However… I didn't go through with it. I couldn't—not after I realized the danger that I would put anyone else through just to save ourselves. I want to save us, yes, but not at the expense of other kingdoms. That is not right. I did not send the letter, and acted as though I had never thought of it."
"But I'm afraid I was found out… My discarded plan was discovered, and it gave that despicable creature the idea to lure forces from the strongest kingdom that he seems to detest the most… He figured strong individuals to the kingdom would come, intent on saving the needy. He even expected a princess, or both of them, to come here… as it happened. I'm sorry, Prince Modest. Princess Luna was saved, but you were captured, tortured, and… Oh, all because he impersonated me in that letter..."
He let out a calm sigh after he opened his eyes again. "It's alright, Your Grace. Anyone would understand you. We would try to do anything to save our kingdom as well. Don't worry… And don't blame yourself." He tried to levitate the metal bowl with water with his magic, but found that no amount of concentration could cast any spell. He gasped and was alarmed again. "I-I remember now. He… No way, he actually…"
"Shh, shh, it's okay, Prince Modest. Easy, get a hold of yourself. Calm down. Tranquilo, ya sé, ya sé… I know what happened, I'm sorry. I… Easy, Prince Modest." She leaned closer when he groaned and started to tremble, then patted his back soothingly. "Don't worry, prince… The unicorns from this kingdom know a special kind of magic that is basically the subject of all our magic power. We pride ourselves in wielding unique, healing magic that uses our energy specifically to heal… to reverse and regenerate damage."
She rolled her eyes and chuckled a bit. "I would elaborate on the Southern magic that you've read about, but I don't believe you're in the mood for a lesson. As soon as the opportunity arises… Prince, when magic is available to me once more; I will certainly restore your horn and your power. I'll gladly do it."
Once again, she glared down at the black collar around her neck. "Esta maldita baratija que solo sirve para ayudarle a arruinar las vidas de los demás… ¡Ay, como lo odio…!" She stopped herself when she saw that Modest was staring at her worriedly, unable to understand much of what she said in a very quick whisper. "Um… Anyway… You see this, Prince? I'm not sure if he explained to you… But, this is actually a copy that he made… of a very special, powerful object, very ancient and lost to anypony else… I only learned of this copy recently; it's the only thing that the original artifact can go by now."
Talia touched the gem in the center of the collar with her hoof, letting out an exasperated sigh when she gleamed. She continued to speak, though Modest's head now swayed as he struggled to keep his eyes open—the headache was becoming too much for him to bear, but she didn't mind his drowsy, weary silence. "It's not the original, of course... So it must have a flaw. All copies do, don't they? They can't be perfect. Despite what Pyromedes says… I know it will eventually be removed… somehow. I trust that it will. And you will be the first to be healed with my magic, prince, and then… I will save those subjects of mine he injured. Esto no se va a quedar así… Nos las va a pagar, tenlo muy en cuenta."
Modest looked down, trying to make himself believe in Talia's words. He sighed and held his head to try to clear it and subdue the beating in it that did not even let him think clearly.
She gave him a sympathetic look, then wrapped one of her wings around him. "Go to sleep, Prince Modest. You need your rest. You'll feel much better later, okay?"
He put his head in his hooves, his eyes shut in a frown while the aching pulsing in his head continued. "I… I hope the… she, the princess… made it out… here safely… Do you know if… I could…"
"Oh, I'm sure she did, don't worry. It was very noble, what you did for her. Muy valiente de tu parte, príncipe. She will be just fine. She's strong, like you. Like this kingdom. We won't fall easily."
He groaned and shivered again. "Ngh, I… I-I had to. I couldn't… She had to be… s-safe, I…"
"Shh, shh. Enough. Ya duermete, te vas a poner peor." She shook her head and smiled at him gently while his scowl softened as he let out a sigh. His body also relaxed, and only then did she let go of his hoof.
She waited until he was fast asleep, not in pain anymore, to glare through the bars of the cell, at the dragon guards that approached their cell to mock them further. She remained kneeling on the ground, though she held the sleeping Modest in her forelegs, narrowing her eyes while he groaned and stirred in his sleep. "You better get out of here, cowards. He needs his rest, not to mention peace and quiet. If you wake him up…"
She quickly looked down when Modest groaned again and shushed him, calming down by whispering gently to him in her language. However, even as she whispered, her glare raised and pierced the dragons, with none of the kindness and gentleness that her voice held.
"Hmph. Relax, princess. We brought you two wastes some late-night dinner. How considerate are we…? We thought you might be hungry!"
Talia growled a bit while the dragons tossed a bunch of burnt left-overs inside the cell and laughed at them. She knocked some food away from her and Modest, then cursed them in their language as they left. ...Everything will be alright. I'll keep everypony safe from them—I'm the Southern Princess, after all, and this is still my kingdom! I just have to save it. I won't let them hurt any of us more… Don't worry, everypony… We will find a way out, and fight them back.
She closed her eyes and let out a breath while she meditated, ignoring the hostile sounds of the dragons outside. We will fight and win… We are warriors. Our spirit and courage will beat those lizards to the ground, send them back where they belong and deserve. I know we will, my warriors… Just be patient for the war.
Pyro stood in a wrecked, large room which had once been one of the vast libraries in the castle. He knocked some burnt objects out of his way and continued to pace as he waited for further reports. He had issued orders to his army to be ready, and had put the spell in his amulet to work, but still wanted to be sure…
He glared at Sheva once she quietly made her way in. "Took you long enough! Are the flying squadrons ready? I want every member of the force to be prepared—every single one. This will be easy enough with proper preparation… Everything must be ready for us to take Cloudsdale by this time tomorrow." He turned around to look at the burnt map of Equestria. "Our first Equestrian siege…"
Sheva glared aside while she answered him quietly. "Everything is ready."
"It's all going according to plan… They wouldn't expect an attack that would initiate war to be anywhere apart from the capital city, like we did with these fools… After hearing of the siege of the Southern Kingdom, they'll stock up in Canterlot… But… Heh, heh, what about everywhere else? It's ours for the taking!"
Sheva grimaced as Pyro crept closer to a group of pony slaves that had served their purpose. They had been injured by his army, and had awaited their sentence for days, without food or water, only torture. She refused to see what Pyro did of them, or even hear him anymore.
While he snarled at them, she simply turned his back on him and curled down on the ground.
Screams of the young ponies filled the library once Pyro roared and pounced on the defenseless prey.
Somepony tapped the window of Celestia's room—quite insistently. Their voice was also heard, muffled by the colored glass, and the curtains that were closed and covered the window.
"Big brother! Heey! Big brother!" Miseria constantly whispered loudly, while flying outside of the tower. She perched herself on the balcony rail, and knocked on the glass a bit harder. "Psst! Big brother! Wake up already! I know you're there! Get up, lazyhead! There's something you gotta see! It's important!"
Discord stirred and groaned once his ear twitched and rose. He glanced aside sleepily and muttered, "What in the…" He vaguely recognized the voice that called out from the balcony. For goodness' sake...
Celestia looked at Discord through half-closed eyes. "Is something wrong…?"
Discord yawned and pushed himself up to a sitting position. "Oh, nothing, no. I'm just stretching a bit, is all, darling." He snapped his fingers and covered her with the levitating blanket while she fell asleep again quite quickly. "There, why don't you go back to sleep, hm? I'll be back pretty soon. You won't even notice."
"Discord!" Miseria's calling got louder while she got more impatient. She crouched on the rail of the balcony, ready to pounce through the window while she heard Discord getting up. "Ready or not…"
"Shh! Alright, Miseria, I'm coming, I'm coming…" He stretched again, cracked his back, and drowsily floated to the window, which he fumbled to open. He gave Miseria a sleepy, deadpan look. "What on earth Miseria? I…" He was interrupted by a yawn. "I told you to stay in the forest. We'll meet tomorrow afternoon."
The enchanted, glimmering flower that Miseria wore also jingled while she leaped off the rail and walked over to him. "C'mon, you gotta come with me, Discord. You've got to see this!" She tugged on his paw eagerly and urged him to follow her off the balcony.
He rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Oh, Miseria… *Yawn* I am not in the mood for games… Go back to the forest. It's… *Yawn* Ngh, it's bedtime right now…"
"No, it isn't, you dope! C'mon, big brother! Don't be a slowpoke!" She started to fly quickly, though she waited for him to catch up, sitting in the air impatiently. "Brother!"
She's not letting me get back to bed, is she…? Discord reluctantly floated off the balcony and followed her. "Alright, fine. What is it now? It had better not be a silly trick…" He rubbed his eyes and looked around for her when she disappeared from his sight.
She popped out right beside him, pointing forward. "I found somepony outside the Everfree Forest, not by Canterlot. It's Luna, brother! I think she was on her way here, but she collapsed. There were royal guards with her, too. I teleported those big guys to the infirmary, 'cause it didn't look like they were gonna make it."
She found Luna?! Discord was now wide awake, after thinking of Luna collapsed from exhaustion somewhere. "Why didn't you take her to the infirmary as well?! Where is she, exactly? Miseria, take me there, now!"He looked straight ahead, unable to detect Luna's aura. That's odd… Her magic...
Miseria nodded and smirked. "Don't be so pushy!" She led Discord to the distant, side road where she found Luna and the soldiers. "See? Right there. I think they were here out here for a while."
Luna was still on the ground, unconscious, completely worn out. She had not moved at all since Miseria found her, even when the soldiers disappeared from around her.
Discord lowered down to her and gently shook her, then listened for her heartbeat. "I knew this long night was strange… Of course, it's not night, it can't be. I thought something was up…"
Miseria rolled her eyes while she watched. Yeah, right. You were down, sleeping like a log, all comfy cozy with Sunny Princess. I'm the one who woke up at the right time...
He picked Luna up and teleported right to the infirmary, where he awoke the doctors and nurses so that they would quickly take care of the princess. He watched through the whole ordeal, and even helped however he could, replenishing medical supplies with his magic.
Miseria decided to wait outside, curled up on the roof of the medical wing. Her ears twitched while she heard everything that happened in the room. Boy, talk about some drama… I wonder what happened back there.
After a while, when she was treated and stable, Luna groaned and slowly opened her eyes to find herself in a very spacious room in the hospital wing of the Canterlot palace, her home at last.
She wasted no time, though. After she let the doctor examine her briefly, she tried to stand up from the bed when he left. "Ngh... C'mon, I can do this... There's still so much to... do..."
She stopped when a few doctors entered her room again. "O-oh. Um... What is it? I'm fine now. Just... How are the soldiers that came with me? Are they better?" She looked at them anxiously.
"Of course, princess. They are recovering well. But... We need to discuss something else. It's rather serious, Your Highness. It's very concerning..."
"I understand. Do go ahead; there is much to be done."
One of the doctors cleared his throat nervously. "I'm... I'm afraid we have bad news, Princess Luna."
Luna got serious and listened to them intently while they began to discuss the collar around her neck, which still sealed away her magic power.
"That dark artifact is unbreakable and immune to all our attempts to get it off you, Your Highness. Some of our staff even got hurt when they tried to remove it. We didn't want to hurt you as well, so..."
Luna sighed and nodded. "I figured as much..." I won't be able to raise the moon until this thing is removed... There will be so much chaos if we can't solve this soon... She blinked, thinking of something. Chaos...
"Well... If that's the case, maybe Discord can take it off. We all know that his magic is much stronger than ours. We need to try everything, especially with the moon and night at risk. I'm sure the council will understand this decision of mine to have his direct assistance."
One of the doctors nodded while the others left to call Discord. "Whatever you see fit, princess. He was here earlier, but left to inform Princess Celestia of this situation, Your Highness. They should both arrive here soon. Until then, I think it's best that you rest, for you will need to recover all of the energy you lost." With that said, he walked out of the room quietly, to talk to Doctor Stable Rounds, who was already looking over Luna's files.
Luna sighed, looking out the window. Modest, I hope you're alright... Don't worry. I'll get as much help as the kingdom can give... And by my moon, we will save you. If nothing else works... I'll go help you myself. I'll go back to the Southern Kingdom and challenge that monster... As soon as I'm strong enough, and have my powers again... She closed her eyes and sighed, lost in her concerned, burdensome thoughts.
Miseria pursed her lips while she watched the Sun Princess sleep from her room's window. Discord had left to check up on Luna, so Miseria had to watch over Celestia now.
She looked up at the sky. "Ohh, boy... These time changes sure mess her up big time, don't they...?"
For a few minutes, she entertained herself by imitating and mocking Celestia's manners, personality, and voice, using the window glass as a mirror. However, she stopped when she saw that Discord had entered the room, and approached Celestia's bed.
"Celestia? Are you awake, dear?" Discord looked the princess over, watching her only stir at his voice. He sighed and shook his head. "No, you're not."
He watched her for a few more seconds while she slept peacefully, before he appeared a pair of cymbals and clashed them together to wake her up. Quite sorry about that... You looked like you were enjoying your nice, cozy rest time...
Celestia screamed and jolted awake, as Discord had expected. She gave him a startled and angry look after she composed herself somewhat. "Discord! What are you...? What would possess you to do something awful like that?! You're more demented than I thought!"
Miseria pressed a hoof to her mouth, trying hard to hold her laughter back. It got the better of her, and she guffawed and leaned back on the air outside to laugh.
Celestia got up from her bed and scowled at Discord while he gave her a small smile. "What was that about?! I really hope it wasn't a joke of yours!" She glanced at Miseria and raised an eyebrow once she recognized her. She's here already... My, how daring of the young one, isn't it?
Discord sighed and vanished the loud instruments with a snap of his fingers. "I'm sorry to have woken you up, dear, but Luna is back, and you should know that she came alone, unsuccessful from her mission. With... a souvenir, too." He tapped his neck and shrugged. "You may want to see it."
Celestia rubbed her eyes and looked out the window. Finding it odd, she double-checked the time with the clock. She couldn't believe what the handles showed... Maybe Time Turner had made some mistakes... But that was much less likely.
"What...?!" She quickly jumped out of her bed and out of the room, followed closely by the Chaos siblings. "Something must have gone horribly wrong. I can't believe I didn't notice earlier... Poor Luna, she must be devastated! She would have put the moon in order by now if she could have... Discord, this... 'souvenir' that you mentioned... What is it? It must have something to do with the night set being so delayed... Luna would never be late with this. She never fails."
"Um... I'm not sure how to describe and explain that object... I even let the doctors be while they tried to take it off; I never interfered. So... I can't give you much of a description. It's best that you see for yourself, Tia. You'll understand." He floated over to the infirmary and had her follow him to Luna's room.
Celestia quickly walked through the door, hardly acknowledging the doctors and nurses as she rushed over to her little sister. "Luna!"
Luna smiled with relief when she saw her visitors. "Sister...!" She hugged her sister as soon as Celestia held her. "I'm so sorry. I really tried..."
"Never mind that, Luna. No one is judging you. Accidents happen." She patted Luna's head and while she stared at her with concern. "What happened? Where's Modest? Tell me what happened to you in the Southern Kingdom, please. I promise we'll help you."
Luna shook her head and cleared her throat to fix her broken voice. "It was awful... The prince was captured by the dragons. Their army was so strong... They were so... organized! You wouldn't have believed it... They were a lot more than we imagined. And their leader... Oh, the way that he commanded all... He formed separate squadrons to ambush us all. He was expecting us, in a way. Once they got Modest, they injured him, and... Their leader sealed my magic with this..."
Celestia looked at the collar that Luna pointed her to, and gasped. "It can't be..."
"Modest sacrificed himself... It was all he could do to send me away, and make sure that the surviving soldiers lived and got away with me... Sister, it's all my fault... He's injured and in more danger because of me... I shouldn't have gotten him involved."
Celestia was thinking hard while Luna spoke, trying to explain how anyone would have in their possession any artifact that would resemble The Grace of the Empire as much as Luna's collar did.
Even when Luna explained what Pyromedes had said to her about the amulet duplicate, the Sun Princess could not fathom it. "It's not possible. No one could have found it, not even a copy of it! I didn't know there was anything like a copy of The Grace. If that's true, and he's managed to duplicate that..."
Luna confirmed her concerns as she explained herself further. "He did call it 'The Grace of the Empire'. I thought it sounded familiar... It's the object that we viewed in our lessons long ago, isn't it, Celestia? I remember it; when we were young, our masters taught us about a mysterious, powerful object created in the Crystal Empire... I had no idea it would be this strong. And... Well, it's not even the real thing! I—"
Celestia shook her head and looked at the black necklace from up close. "Of course it's not. This can't be it, there's no way. It doesn't look anything like the recorded information of the genuine artifact, and it doesn't fit the descriptions at all... I understand the books might not always be completely accurate, but the information that we have gathered can't be this mistaken. There's no way about it, we have to be sure. I'll have Red Feather and Cadance confirm its status."
"Either way, it still negated my magic completely, sister. I can't even raise the moon—it's taken away even the abilities and magical connections that we were born with... We've tried everything, it just won't come off. For a copy of the original thing... It sure is quite strong..." Luna shook her head and let out a weary sigh before she brightened up a bit. "I was thinking that perhaps Discord and his power could make a difference. Maybe he can overpower this and get rid of it..."
Discord chuckled and floated closer to Luna. "Heh, heh. Oh, don't worry, my dear. It shouldn't be any problem." He then closed his eyes, smirked, and took a proud stance as he snapped his fingers. His magic surrounded the glimmering black stone necklace and created a bit of a bright flash. However, after it faded, the collar was revealed to be firmly in place, unaffected by his vanishing spell.
"Huh? Ehm, what's this?" He snapped his fingers over and over, but the collar didn't so much as flicker. "This is... most intriguing..." He held his claws over the object and surrounded them both in his yellow magic aura, to focus a strong combination of spells on the collar. "This thing... Darn it, it's all I can do to approach it without altering Luna's body in any way..."
Luna grunted a bit as the chaotic magic vanished, unsuccessful once again. No way...
Discord growled a bit while he glared at the stubborn sealing object around Luna's neck. "How annoying..."
Celestia held Discord's shoulder and spoke gently to try to calm him down. "Maybe Miseria could give it a try. Her powers are very strong as well, after all..."
"Well, her magic... I won't deny it's strong. It would be powerful, I agree, but I'm afraid that perhaps it would be too powerful. I intend to keep Luna in one piece, and alive. No offense, Miseria dear."
"None taken!"
"It's a risk I wouldn't want to take. After all, we all know too well that currently, Miseria's level of magic would probably completely obliterate Luna, and maybe the city, who knows."
Miseria frowned and gave him a look once her ears twitched when she heard him. "Hey! I heard that, you know!" She folded her front legs and remained sitting in the air.
"Heh, heh… Without meaning to, of course, dear. You'd never do that on purpose, I know."
Luna lowered her head, bracing herself a bit, then leaning against Celestia when she held her closer. "Why is this happening, especially now? How is it possible that… a creature that we never heard of could have so many things organized and prepared… with dragons, no less? I don't understand…"
"It's all through the help of this." Celestia frowned at the necklace-shaped collar. "It still holds a great amount of power from the original piece that will render his magical opponents defenseless. It's all much easier for him afterwards… He will be able to take what he wants with hardly any resistance. As for how he manipulated the dragons into this… You and I will have to figure that out later. We must focus on not letting him get what he wants from Equestria right now. It's our only chance to help everyone."
Luna blinked after Celestia finished speaking. "I'm still… so confused… How is it…?"
"A copy? I can't explain it myself. All I know is that this is not the real Grace of the Empire. I don't know how or when it was created… But it must have cost a great deal of power and energy to give it a portion of the real thing's strength. I only know that Queen Dream Song, assisted by the magic of her royal council, created the original Grace after years of secret and hard work… I have no idea how anyone else could have made this. I'm actually surprised that this creature has been able to duplicate the copy in the first place."
Luna stayed quiet while she thought, trying to remember what Pyro had said to her before he locked her powers away. "...Sister… I remember now. It was created by Sombra himself." She nodded when they gave her a surprised look. "It's what that hybrid told me. Sombra discovered The Grace of the Empire after he defeated Queen Dream Song and gave her no chance to use it. He couldn't destroy it… Even when he tried, he wasn't given the chance, because it was hidden by the loyal soldiers of the Queen's army that remained alive. But, we all know how greedy he was… He didn't want to pass up on power, even power that could threaten him. According to what… Pyromedes, said… Sombra stole just a fraction of the Grace's power and corrupted it, before it vanished from his possession. He held on to that until he turned it into a copy of the artifact… A copy that was passed down along the centuries and generations, almost perfected by Pyromedes' ancestors, until it got to him."
Celestia shuddered as she tried to imagine the history of that dark fraction of the Grace's power. "It must have been horrible… I have never heard of any Pyromedes… It's frightening how quickly he came to be known… And how…" She looked at Discord, who shrugged back at her.
He tapped the black collar and sighed. "Copy or not, it can wear down magic power to practically nothing, like the original. It's also not affected by magic or any other force to take it off… I can see where that guy's interference is involved to take care of that. But, you know… All copies are weaker than the original piece. Remember? Perhaps this one won't be as resistant, despite its power and all… The original, as I have read and heard, is unbreakable, completely immune to damage."
Celestia sighed and started to pace around. "Well, in that case, there's no other choice, Discord. We have to rely on Miseria's abilities. Even if she takes it slow… Maybe she'll be able to wear this thing down with time. I don't think that she would hurt Luna, if she took those precautions."
"But we don't have time for that!" Luna stood up from her bed, surprising them. "Modest is still with those dragons as their prisoner! He was injured when I had to leave… They must be torturing him as we speak! They were completely merciless and ruthless, they won't spare him any moment of peace… I'm sure they won't sit still while we try to figure out how to get rid of this, either. Think about it… They must be planning an invasion for now! Their plan to disable at least one Equestrian princess worked, now they're going to test how strong their forces are… and how weak our restricted defenses have become."
"Not another attack… With that strength of theirs… Oh, I don't think Equestria could take it… But we're already setting up all the force that we can muster, to protect the capital and surrounding cities… Their army would surely try to take Equestria by force, directly through the city in command. If they destroy us, all other resistance from the rest of Equestria will be meaningless. We're doing all we can to protect ourselves and be ready for their attack. With you like this, we will be crippled, but Luna… We can't grow restless. It's now that we must be cautious, more than ever."
Discord stared at Celestia with concern, and held her hoof while she watched Luna walk to the window. "Everypony here is pushing themselves to their limit, now that there's a threat of an invasion. We warned everyone of a possible attack a while ago, and I'm pretty glad we did…"
Luna shook her head, staring at the dark, empty sky. The moon had been covered by the utter darkness, and the clouds. It's not enough, though… I can feel it won't be enough. Why the moon, of all things… If I can't get back my powers, I can't help them… Not as much as they need…
Celestia sighed and looked at Discord determinedly, nodding at him while he stood up in the air. "We have to go take charge again. It's time to round everypony up again and set out some motions."
A/C: I am so glad to have finished at least one chapter before break… T_T And before the start of my oncoming ruthless, atrocious semester in school. I just wish I had the liberty and availability to do more! Things are getting so good, after all… But I'm grateful to have finished at least one. And I will continue to work on the story whenever I can.
So exciting and suspenseful! Luna finally arrived at Canterlot… with no good news at all to cheer her spirits… Even Discord's magic proved to be useless against that dark duplicate. Things are already not looking good for Equestria… as per usual.
On a less important note… I think I need to come up with better, more clever titles. I feel like they were better before, and have been deteriorating with each chapter.