Gilzia/ Celestia
Pyre/ Luna
Xamspona Tevopi/ Twilight Sparkle

The walk through the castle was a quiet one as the royal sisters led me down a series of random halls, each one looking just like the one prior. As we passed through one of the castle's many courtyards I was amazed by the warm orange colors of the castle walls as the calcite crystals in the marble walls sparkled in the waning light of the afternoon sun. All the while the castle's tall towers cast their assuasive shadows across the surrounding city below like a constant reminder to the inhabitants that they were safe under the rule of their two benevolent rulers.

The servants and guards who we passed along the way stopped in their errands only long enough to bow low to their monarchs before continuing on with their duties. Yet as they passed I caught more than a few of them casting a sideways glance my way. I quickly came to the conclusion that word of my confrontation with the snotty Prince had spread through the castle's grapevine, and it seemed that with each subtle wink given to me by a guard or giggle from a passing group of maids that they didn't entirely disapprove of my course of action.

'It seems as though you have caused quite the stir amongst the servants, Eric,' I heard Luna's voice ring out in my mind. It still unnerved me a little to have another voice besides my own invading my mind, but I tried to not let it show on my features so as not to alert to anyone passing that something was amiss.

'I do apologize for that,' I replied back to her as I followed with my eyes a maid who passed by carrying a vase of flowers in front of her. 'It was not my original intention to disturb the workings of your home.'

'It is quite alright,' Celestia said as her gentle voice replaced Luna's in my mind. 'A little bit of variation is good every once in a while to break up the monotony of their daily lives.'

Even though she told me this I still felt like some sort of apology needed to be said. For it seemed that even though I had originally wished to remain largely anonymous in the castle, in the end, my little brawl in the hall had caused quite the ruckus. As much as the past few days had been more stressful then dealing with a group of 3-levels straight out of Technical School trying to spout out information to me like they knew what they were doing, these people shouldn't be blamed for the fate that had befallen me in fact most had done their best to help me in whatever way they could. Especially these two princesses who had possibly risked their very lives just to be able to give me the ability to communicate with them. All of these women had done so much just to help me and I couldn't even begin to express my gratitude to them...wait a minute.

“Uh excuse me...,” I spoke aloud so as to catch the two princess's attention, who both stopped and turned back to face me.

“Yes?” Celestia asked.

“You both said that you were forced to form this mind link with me because I'm not connected to this Magic of Harmony that everyone else is, right?”

“That is correct,” Luna answered with a nod of her head before I continued.

“Then does that mean that I can now talk with the others?” I asked trepidatiously, refering to the six women who had accompanied me.

“Unfortunately no,” Celestia answered as she turned fully towards me, “while most of the parameters of the bond we share with you is still unknown. We can tell for certain that you are still not connected to the Magic of Harmony so you are still not privy to its benefits.”

Well that really wasn't the answer I was looking to hear, “Oh... I see.”

Celestia must have noticed the downtrodden tone to my voice as she put forth an alternative, “But luckily there are options available to us now because of the bond.”

That raised my hopes a little, “Such as?”

“The first option would be to reconnect the bond so we can transfer the knowledge of our language to you, but this option carries the most risk associated with it because we do not know what could happen if it is reconnected. It could just make the bond permanent, if it is not already, or it could very possibly merge the three of our conscious into one unified personality comprising of all of our memories.”

“Yeah, let's stay away from that one for now. It didn't feel too good for me the first time,” I told her as I inwardly cringed at the memory of the pain, “What else?”

“Our next option is that being as Luna and myself now have the knowledge of your language we can cast a translation spell that works similar to the Magic of Harmony, giving whomever the recipient would be the same knowledge of your language as us, and would allow them to understand it without the risk associated with a mental connection.”

“That one sounds like it's a pretty good choice, but what's the downside?” I asked as Celestia took a breath before continuing.

“The downsides are that the pony must be willing to accept having the spell cast on them and it only works on an individual basis. Which brings us to option three.

“Being as my sister and I have the Magic of Harmony flowing through us the knowledge of your language is already weaving itself into the essence of the world, and in a few months every species in the world should be able to understand you. The problem comes because of the fact that you are disconnected from the Harmony of the world you will only still be able to hear the languages as they are spoken to you. So you would still have to learn our languages and our writing to understand everyone.”

I mulled over the options for a moment before I gave my reply, “Well it seems like there is really only one choice to make so I shall have to go with the third option, but if you two do not mind I would still like to personally express my gratitude to the others for their aid. That is if they would let me.”

“Of course.” Celestia replied with a curt not of her head before the two turned back around and we continued walking.

We continued on for a while in the same fashion as before as we passed through the maze of hallways, and I continued to look at my surroundings all the while taking note of the many tributes to the two celestial sisters. From tapestries that hung from the ceilings to the masterfully crafted stained glass windows that depicted the many feats of the sisters. From one that looked like they were defeating some 'thing' that I could only best describe as someone threw a bunch of animals in a blender and hit puree and that was what came out when it was finished. To one that showed them being given the crowns by a group of each of the different type of people I had seen so far and many others; a couple even included another alicorn like Luna and Celestia except she was black furred with blue starry hair and tail.

'It seems like your subjects truly do love the two of you.' I thought absentmindedly as we passed a window showing Xam and the others and the black colored alicorn from before, although Xam was missing her wings.

'Yes they do, and we care very deeply for each of our little ponies,' Celestia replied.

'Ponies?' I asked confused that maybe it was a word that had a different meaning to the one I was familiar with.

'Yes that is what our species are called,' Luna was the one to reply this time, 'Our subject are broken into one of three tribes: the unicorns which are the most directly connected with magic, the pegasus who's innate magical abilities allows them to fly and affect the weather, and the earth bound ponies who's connection with magic is more subtle allowing them to feel the flow of magic in the planet itself and grants them great physical strength.'

'Huh. Interesting,' I said as I took in the information as we passed another window., 'It's nice to see that there is a place where such a large portion of the populace seems to approve of their leaders.'

Luna glanced ever so slightly back in my direction, 'Oh, and this is odd to you? Do you not do the same for your rulers?'

I had to chuckle a little at the question which caused a guard to raise and eyebrow in my direction as I passed, 'Well where I come from we don't have a ruler, kind of got rid of him a couple hundred years ago. Instead we have elected bodies of government chosen from among the people by the people to decide the course of action for the country. As far as how good of a job they do let's just say that a lot of people do not think that they have been doing the greatest job as of late.'

'Then why not simply have them removed?' she asked, obviously confused at why the American people hadn't done something which seemed so simple to her.

'I don't claim to be an expert on the whole political process but I can say that … it's complicated,' I thought to the night princess as I scratched my stubbly cheek with a finger, stopping as another question came to mind, 'I do have a question though but I do not wish for it to sound rude.'

'Nonsense Eric, what is your question?' Celestia's voice rang softly through my head as the two sister's stopped again to turn and face me.

'Are either of you married?'

'No we are not,' Luna replied with a warm smile that turned as mischievously as her sister's. 'Are you trying to propose?'

'What! No,no,no' I panicked quickly as I waved my hands in front of me as the sister's smiles grew. 'Don't get me wrong I think both of you are great marrying material, I just meant that both of you are rulers of this nation, what was it called... Equestria?' they both nodded, 'But both of you are princesses? Is there no king or queen?'

'There has never been a King of Equestria but our mother, Queen Harmonia, was the creator of this world and passed the right to rule onto Luna and myself.' Celestia explained.

'I'm sorry for your loss,' I told them expressing my condolences to the two but even though Luna looked a little saddened, Celestia raised a hand to ease my concerns.

'Oh you misunderstand Eric, she is not dead. As a goddess she is incapable of dying, at least in the literal sense of the word. Before my sister and I came to rule she sealed herself away to help defeat a threat that was plaguing the land at the time.'

'Sealed herself away?' I thought to myself as I tried to grasp the concept, 'And how long ago was this, if you don't mind me asking?'

'Approximately three thousand six hundred and twelve years ago.' Celestia replied simply.

'Three thousand six hundred and twelve years?' I replied in disbelief, 'And how long have you two been on the throne?'

'For the better part of three thousand five hundred years.' Luna answered.

I stood there in shock as I still tried to wrap my mind around that big of a number. In human terms they had come into power at the end of the Bronze Age and had ruled alone absolutely for that entire time. I couldn't possibly imagine myself as a pharaoh from antiquity leading my kingdom through the millenniums up to the modern age. The idea of all those countless citizens who would have been counting on my judgment to lead them to prosperity was overwhelming to think about. A feat that in itself was surely impossible for any earthly ruler to do for any amount of time without ending up on the pointy end of a spear outside the city gates, and the fact that these two had done so and still seemed to garner the love and respect of their subjects was a tribute to their sucess.

Yet at the same time having to be those unshakeable towers of perfection that the country has looked to for longer than anyone could remember. Always being the same while the country continued to change never ending with each passing generation. To only have each other to rely upon throughout eternity watching all who are close to you pass in the blink of an eye. Never being able to truly be close with anyone unless the facade be broken, or heaven forbid the thought of them loosing each other to have to face those challenges alone. It honestly made it all seem...so...lonely.

“It was.” I heard Celestia say aloud softly in a distant voice.

Even though it was spoken at just above a whisper in volume, in the quiet hallway it carried a heavy weight with it as it echoed off the walls. Looking up at the two sisters I immediately admonished my wayward thoughts and at forgetting about the parameters of the bond we now shared however temporary it may be. Their regal bearing held fast but in the almost melancholy look their eyes held I could see a deep sadness brewing. Knowing that I had been the cause of these two women's downtrodden mood, however unintentional it was, knotted my stomach tighter than a ball of snakes,

Not wanting to see the women upset and wanting to apologize for my stupidity I gently wrapped them in my arms as I heard them let out a small gasp at my actions. Immediately I thought I had gone too far yet again in my assumptions, here I was holding the two most powerful beings in the land right in the middle of their castle where anybody could pass and see us. The thought of letting go crossed my mind before I felt an arm from each of the princesses wrap around my chest.

'I'm sorry Celestia and Luna, I truly am. I did not mean for my foolish internal ramblings to upset you. I'm not used to having my thoughts being brodcasted further than the depths of my own subconscious.' I released the two as I looked them in the eye. 'So please accept my deepest apologies.'

The two stood there in silence meeting my gaze before I saw Luna look down momentarily before looking back at me and gave me a sad smile.

'It is alright Eric, you did not know. Besides it happened a long time ago so do not fret,' and with that both of their royal masks were back on as Luna stepped away from me. 'Come, the others are waiting.'

With that she swiftly turned away and began walking down the hallway again. As I watched her walk away I still felt a little upset at myself, even though she may have said that it was okay I couldn't shake the feeling she was still hurting over whatever it was that had upset them. Yet it was not my place to delve into other people's past uninvited, much less the lives of deities.

It was then that I felt a pressure on one of my hands and I realized that it was Celestia giving it a reassuring squeeze. As I went to release my grip she tightened hers as she placed her other hand on top of mine and gave me a warm smile.

'Do not worry about it Eric,' I heard her voice ring out in my head. 'She will be fine in time, fortunately that is one thing us alicorn's have plenty of.'

I gave her a smile in return as I gave her hand a reassuring squeeze in return before I heard the sound of someone clearing their throat ring out in my head. Turning towards the only likely culprit I saw the night princess standing there with her hands down by her sides clenched into fist and a frown on her face.

'You know sister that I can hear you even if you are only talking to Eric?'

'Really?' Celestia replied as she looked back over her shoulder to her sister before releasing my hand from hers and shooting me a coy smile, 'It appears that we all still have things to learn about this bond.'

With that she released her grip on my hand and walked over to her sister leaving me momentarily perplexed at the meaning behind her words.

Deeper into the castle they led me through the halls and up spiraling staircases till we came to a towering set of wooden doors. The guards posted outside the door struck me as a little odd because they almost seemed to be the exact opposite of the other guards that I had seen so far.

The two were a pair of gray males which in itself wasn't too big of a thing because since my arrival to this city I had seen a decent amount of male guards in both white and gray coats and all the different races that the sisters had told me of. But while the other guards looked like some golden Roman legion, these two seemed more like a pair of Greek hoplites from the very pits of Tartarus itself. From their glowing yellow cat-like eyes to their black leathery bat-like wings and their shiny iron armor. All in all they were a very imposing sight.

'They are a rare breed of Vamponies,' I heard Luna announce in my mind proudly, 'I came upon them during an early quest deep in the western mountains before my sister and I came to rule Equestria. They are a nocturnal breed and once they found out that I raised the moon they devoted themselves to my protection. Since that time they have served as my Lunar Guard to help augment the Royal Guard in protecting the castle during the night.'

'Interesting,' I replied as one of the guards opened the doors for us to pass.

Through the doorway was a small dining hall that was, well, smaller than I was expecting considering the size of all the other rooms I had passed through so far in the castle. I guess even the term dining “hall” would have been a stretch considering that the room was probably no more than thirty feet by sixty feet with what looked like a twelve foot ceiling and was in the shape of a semicircle, but even it's smaller size didn't take away from it's grandeur and class. The centerpiece of the room was a ornately carved rectangular dining table that looked to be about twelve feet in length and appeared to be made from some kind of mahogany judging by the reddish hue in the wood. Nestled around the table were fourteen chairs of equal craftsmanship as the table and on the left side of the table sat the women who had been my saving graces during my time here.

Nestled above the table was a glowing crystal chandelier of such high quality that I could not make out what held up the gems nor what made them glow as they seemed to float in formation in mid-air. To our left running parallel to the table was the flat wall which held a roaring fireplace with a granite hearth and mantle that was held up by twin legs carved into the shape of what appeared to be a minotaur. On the same wall at the far side of the room was a single white door that looked to be made for the wait staff to the princesses and any guest they may have been entertaining. The curved wall to the right was made up of a series of french doors with sheer white curtains which lightly billowed in the breeze from the center set of doors that was set open to the afternoon air. Past the glass doors was a balcony that extended out from the room around fifteen feet and held a small silver patio table with two chairs for more intimate meals.

As the others saw us enter they stood up from the table and all but Xam gave a small bow to the royal sisters, although I could see that Xam seemed to want to as well. The sisters returned the greeting and began to welcome them in their native tongue, occasionally the others would ask something back and the pink one, who was named Tupomi T'mi, seemed exceptionally eager as her constant smile grew larger and she began to bounce excitedly in her seat the more the conversation went along. Back and forward the conversation went until I saw a gentle nod in approval by all the members of the group, even shy Paxxila nodded in agreement with a small smile on her gentle face. Xam seemed particularly eager as she began to ramble on about something before she was calmed down by a word from Etpinego.

At that point Celestia and Luna turned to me as Celestia spoke up, “They have all agreed to partake in the translation spell that we talked about earlier, but first we must attend to our duties.”

“Of course,” I told them as I gave a curt bow of my head, “and thank you for the opportunity.”

They returned the bow before they turned and headed out onto the balcony, leaving me in the room with the other six women. As I felt their eyes on me now that the princesses were no longer in the room I became a little nervous for some reason, and as I turned to look at them I was nearly given a heart attack as Tupomi suddenly appeared next to me giggling like a school girl as she wrapped her arms around one of mine, squeezing it tight against her. The others seemed to protest at this as they all seemed to say something to her, to which Tupomi replied in an almost whining tone as she pouted and bounced on the balls of her feet yet she eventually let go of my arm but not backing away from me.

Luckily the change in the lighting drew all of our attentions out towards the balcony as I watched Celestia and Luna perform a ritual of some sort. Celestia was facing towards the setting sun while Luna faced the opposite horizon, both of them mirroring each others movements as they stood with eyes closed and wings and arms outstretched wide. I watched the horns on their heads begin to glow, Celestia's a golden yellow, Luna's a deep navy, softly at first but gradually they grew in intensity till the light would rival the brightest LED flashlight and I had to look away from them. At that time my gaze was drawn to the setting sun as it's light brightened ever so little in the waning twilight before finally setting below the
mountain skyline in the distance.

For the briefest of moments the world was plunged into utter darkness as a stray wind blew across the balcony at the loss of the sun's heat. Yet as soon as it was there it was gone as a soft blue light appeared from Luna's side of the balcony as the moon rose above the sea that made up the visible horizon beyond the distant shores of this land. The glowing orb slowly rose into the sky until it came to a stop a quarter along it's journey in the inky black darkness. By this time Celestia had lowered her arms and wings down to rest by her side and the light from her horn had diminished, but Luna was not done yet as she began to sway like a conductor leading a orchestra. With each sweep of her hands and nod of her head stars would begin to appear in the sky. Sometimes one at a time sometimes whole constellations, each one of varying intensity depending on how much effort was put into the movement. After a few moments the sky was literally littered in celestial bodies and with one final sweep of her arms in front of her the cobalt blue ribbon of a galaxy flowed across the sky. The sisters ended the ritual facing each other as the tips of their horns touched each others and the glow disappeared into nothingness and their gaze met each others as they opened their eyes again and Celestia bowed her head to Luna who kept her head held high.

As Celestia finished her bow their eyes met again and they walked back inside to the rest of us.

“That was amazing,” I said still more than a little dumbstruck at the display I had seen, “What was that?”

The sister's smiled at me as Luna answered me, “That is how my sister and I exchange our roles of leadership, by the rise and fall of our sun and moon. As the sun rises Celestia is the absolute voice of power in the land, but as the moon takes control of the sky so also do I take control of the throne.”

“So you really do control the sun and moon?” I asked as I held new found respect for the women before me.

“We are the sun and moon,” Celestia corrected me before gesturing to herself and Luna, “these are merely physical vessels we have constructed to hold a portion of our true selves.”

“Amazing.”

Luna giggled slightly, “Indeed, but enough about us I believe there are some mares who are eager to finally be able to talk with you, and we are all wanting to find out more about you and where you come from.”

“Of course.” I said as I stepped aside to let them pass as they approached the other girls who now stood in a line.

Luna and Celestia stood on either side of the line facing each other as they said something to the girls, to which they replied one by one, probably confirming their choice I assumed. Then I saw the sister's horns light up again but this time at a softer intensity than before as a similar light surrounded the girls equally. The process seemed absolutely painless as the girls showed no signs of discomfort. After a few moments the light began to diminish and I heard Xam begin to speak as the last of the golden light surrounding her disappeared.

“Lipos Eric, que reqi mo Wypujil Xamlight Sparkle and it is nice to finally be able to talk to you.”

Author's Notes:

Finally after a long awaited hiatus here it is. Would loved to have gotten this up much sooner but life and holidays has kept me from working on this story as much as I would like. Plus I believe I re-wrote this chapter like three times. Anyways, I hope once things get settled down into a routine here in the next week, updates will be more regularly.

Once again sorry for the delay.