The Sun's Song, Ch. 1

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The sun was setting. Another night was about to begin.

A purple, regal-looking pegacorn gazed up into the darkening sky, checking the feel of the world around her. It would be quiet, by the look of things. Quiet, starry, peaceful. There were but two things missing: the moon, and the right music.

Princess Luna looked back down again, gazing over a small band of assorted ponies that now surrounded her. Some carried a few woodwind instruments; others, strings; still others, percussion. A few performed basic vocal exercises, honing their collective tones. The princess gave a faint smile. Yes, everything was proceeding as planned. Tonight would be a fine performance to honor the rising of the moon.

Everything except...

"Hello, Princess Luna! Sorry I'm late. I was so busy reading I lost track of the time!" a unicorn with a dark purple coat and mane trotted up to her, a glow surrounding both her horn and a wooden pan flute.

"..." Luna frowned. She honestly disliked her elder sister's idea. Bringing in these folk from the countryside, who knew little to nothing of music? She didn't understand it in the slightest. Anypony could play an instrument, sure, but not everypony could do it justice.

"...Is it something I said?" The unicorn again.

Luna shook her head in an effort to disguise her dislike. It seemed to be successful - the unicorn before her remained oblivious. "No, I'm sorry. Pay me no mind," Luna said with a fake smile on her face. "I just hope you really do understand how to at least play the flute."

"I read The Egghead's Guide to Woodwind Instruments," the unicorn replied with a far more genuine smile of her own. "and I practiced before I came, so I think I have the idea down."

"Is that so?" Luna was intrigued. At the least, the unicorn sounded as though she cared. "I hope that is the case, because I'll be raising the moon in a few minutes."

"Oh, of course! I'll be ready and waiting!" The unicorn turned around and walked toward the rest of the motley band, trying to figure out her position in this nocturnal orchestra.

Luna turned now to the east, impatiently pawing the ground, counting down the seconds until it was the time of day she enjoyed the most. For a thousand years, she'd been unable to enjoy this, her beautiful night. To have it back again was... a joy, truly. Never again would she forget how it felt every night. Never again would she take it all for granted.

But why in Equestria did her sister Celestia dump all these bumpkin ponies on her?

She sighed. There was nothing for it now. And besides, the small bit of optimist within her added, This is supposed to be Celestia's star pupil, the one and only Twilight Sparkle! If any random pony could at least carry a tune, it would be her, right?

Luna's horn glowed. Another glow, equal in luster, surrounded a thin conductor's baton. A third glow surrounded a stand; the fourth, a book of music. The stand set itself neatly down on the grass, and the book on the stand shortly after. The book opened, and the pages turned rapidly.

"No... no... not that one... too far... back a little... why is it always the last page that's hardest to turn... ah! Here it is." She looked up, and found herself surprised to find her small orchestra already in order. Never had they gotten themselves together so quickly! Percussionists were arranged back to her left, strings arrayed in their proper places on either side, woodwinds aligned right in front of her, vocalists ahead of the band. In between the vocalists, she could see two large, purple eyes gazing innocently at her. Luna found it all... unsettling.

"Erm..." but the princess wasn't royalty for nothing, and rallied magnificently. "Right! Twilight Sparkle. As tonight's first chair of flutes, you will be first to start . Are you ready?"

"Yes, your Highness!"

"Very good. Aaaaaaand 1, 2, 3, 4..."

Luna had to admit, Twilight wasn't bad at playing an instrument. Here and there, she might miss a note, having to pause for a desperate breath. Here and there, she might mistake one note for another and be just slightly off. Yet more often than not, she was, for lack of a better word, "spot-on". The music was about as pleasing and serene as Luna could have hoped for, and for that, she was thankful.

Percussion and strings joined in, then the vocalists. Luna felt the music flow around her, felt the magic building from within. Yes... just the right music she had been craving tonight. A very pleasant sensation coursed over her body, awash in the joy of her beautiful music--her music of the night. Music gave her that feeling. Feeling became emotion. Emotion became magic. Magic became power.

At last, neighing aloud with joy, Luna leapt high into the air just as the edges of the moon appeared on the eastern horizon.

The music stopped. All faces turned to the east, and all bodies stooped low in honor of the coming moon. Luna, beating her wings, descended slowly to the ground, a joyful look on her face for but a moment. To Luna, the moon was her blessing, her meaning, her life...

The ceremony complete, the band members began to leave. They knew their places; they were musicians, not social butterflies. Twilight, on the other hand...

"So... how have you been, Princess Luna?" Twilight asked.

"I'm... sorry, but can this wait? I rule over the night. You know that."

"Yes, but..." now it was the unicorn's turn to rally. "Don't you remember me? Elements of Harmony? I wanted to see how you were doing since we saved you from..."

"Do not mention THAT to me," Luna hissed, glaring at Twilight. Sensing she spoke further at her peril, the unicorn backed away slowly, cowering in fear. But the pegacorn took a deep breath, and calmed down. "No... I'm--I'm sorry. I shouldn't have reacted the way I did. You were among those who saved me? I never did thank you properly, did I? Forgive me. I was just so happy to see my sister again, and I never thought about the pony who made it all possible... or is it ponies?"

"My five best friends and I did it, yes," Twilight responded, sensing she was back on firmer hoofing. She paused for a moment, as if to decide whether her next question would be a wise decision. Luna, however, was more docile now, as much ashamed for her actions as surprised to meet one of her saviors. It was a question to which Celestia very much needed to know the answer...

"Luna... have you... made any frie--"

And then instruments played once more. But this time, the music was different. Only the singers and a few percussion were playing. The singers stood in place, all singing... or was it chanting? It was hard to tell, but it all sounded... wrong. Sinister. EVIL...

Luna's eyes widened in horror.

"...Luna? Lun--Princess Luna, what is it?" Twilight realized she had forgotten the title, but Luna ignored her, only paying attention to her vocalists. Unicorns one and all, their horns and bodies now glowed with an eerie light, voices forced by magic to sing an unholy song of doom.

"...Princess Luna?"

Just as suddenly as the ominous song had come, it faded away. Vocalists fainted onto the ground. The few percussionists who had also been possessed looked around confusedly, coming to their senses. Luna stared at the scene before her. She had not heard that song for over a thousand years, but she remembered it well.

"It is a warning... a lich is come to Equestria."

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Princess Celestia believed firmly in the principle of One Pony, One Vote.

She was the Pony, so she had the Vote!

Over the years, she'd come across thousands upon thousands of ideas--new ideas, silly ideas, profound ideas, ideas that would take a pony's world, flip it upside down, and light it on fire. Among those ideas had been those of government--specifically, a pony's government. Many believed in her as their ruling monarch, to be sure. But then there were others who thought that while Celestia was all very well, what if instead of one ruler there were, say, three hundred ruling ponies, all handpicked by the ponies of Equestria?

Celestia admired the courage of such authors, and respected their work. After all, it was tolerance and understanding on which Equestria truly thrived, and the Sun Princess understood that all too well.

Besides, she had nothing to fear from their arguments. For one, not many ponies liked the idea of having three hundred ponies ruling over them as opposed to one. One was enough. Second (although few would ever admit this aloud), ponies (on the whole) would not know what was best for them. Plus there was the whole immortality matter which made the whole argument moot in the first place.

But besides all those reasons, there underlay a deeper reason--one that the "God-Princess" kept deeper in her mind...

The sound of galloping hooves roused her attention. The guards had not bothered to stop the runners, so it was most likely somepony of importance. Luna, no doubt.

The tall white pegacorn with a pastel rainbow mane stood up, facing the doorway to her study. Having Luna back had... not gone as smoothly as she'd hoped. In the first few minutes, the sisters had been overjoyed to be reunited. But then came that pesky question of "Now what?" The two sisters, separated for a thousand years, were suddenly supposed to be family again. There was certainly much to discuss--new symphonies and concertos by eager composers, recent goings-on in the surrounding lands--but that still didn't change the fact that the two had been separated by colossal quantities of time and space.

We're supposed to be sisters, Celestia thought. But even I don't know what to do or how to act...

She was snapped out of her reverie; the hoofsteps were getting closer. She could hear voices now, too. Loud ones.

"I don't understand! What are you talking about?" That would be Twilight, Celestia mused.

"There's no time to explain!" Luna sounds panicked.

"Couldn't you just explain at as we're... moving?" A just question.

"No! I said there's no time to explain, and I stick by that!" Celestia had a quick laugh, but not quick enough. She was forced to twitch her face straight as her study door flew open. Luna, who knew she had reached her destination, skidded to a halt. Twilight, who did not know, kept going, smacked into Luna's flank, and sent the two of them tumbling over one another, ending up in a heap on the floor.

Celestia was thankful that both ponies were dizzy from the tumble and unable to look at her at that moment. She was letting not-so-subtle sounds of laughter escape out of her mouth, and needed every second she could get to rein her face in.

"Ooooh..." Luna was the first to recover and scrambled to her feet. "Sister! I bring dire news. Tonight's performance came with an extra piece--a warning. You know what that means, don't you? Only a lich could stir the music to such clamor. We need to act now, before it's too late!"

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Twilight Sparkle came to her senses, and found herself on her back, legs in the air. She rolled over, and stood up in time to hear Celestia's response:

"My dear sister Luna--your skills in the musical arts are still undiminished, even after all these years. You know that I have faith in your talents." She gave Luna a smile. "But, perhaps you have been a bit too... wrapped-up in your melodies."

Twilight didn't need to look at Luna to know her reaction.

"What? But--"

"Why don't you tour the countryside and get some fresh air?" Celestia suggested. "All this writing of yours, cooped up here in Canterlot--it dulls the imagination to have the same old, same old, does it not? Experience the world, Luna. You'll be glad you did."

Twilight had once had a similar sort of discussion with Celestia once, some time ago. At first, she had been disappointed that Celestia had apparently not believed her... but after the danger had been met and defeated by her and her friends, she had learned that this sort of discussion had to be read between the lines.

Luckily, she was quite familiar with those not-lines.

"Princess Luna." The darker pegacorn turned to face her. "I tend to be a night-owl, and I'll be up a while longer. If you like, I can show you around the countryside for a bit." Twilight walked up beside Luna, turned so that Celestia couldn't see her face, and winked at her. "I live in the library. If there's any place that could help you more on the subject, it's there," she added softly in Luna's ear.

For a moment, Luna looked like she wanted to continue this argument. But she had seen the wink and the look in Twilight's eyes, and was intrigued. Perhaps if her sister did not believe her, there were still other routes she could take...

"Perhaps you're right, Sister." Luna gave a faint smile. "Perhaps I've been working too hard. We'll be going now. Thank you."

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They turned about and left. A faint glow from Luna's horn shut the door behind them. Once again, Celestia was alone. The pegacorn paused for a moment, then turned to a large perch in a far corner of the room. On it was seated a beautiful ruby-plumed bird--her phoenix.

"Philomena."

The phoenix turned to face her.

"Do you remember Fluttershy?"

A nod.

"Watch over her and the other ponies for me. There is also something in Fluttershy's possession that should aid them."

Philomena gave a quiet cooing noise.

"I hope Luna is wrong--we have not dealt with such a creature in many years." She glanced around her study, eyes lighting on a lone placard fixed above her door. It was small, but near and dear to her and her sister's hearts:

The rising sun will eventually set,
A newfoal's life will fade.
From sun to moon, moon to sun...
Give peaceful rest to the living dead.


"And if she's right, I hope we can."