Deviation Actions
Literature Text
The morning sun poured in through each of the many castle windows, basking the throne room in its warmth. Adorning each window was a series of stained glass figures, each one depicting a part of Equestria's history. The gleam from the light reflected off of the white marble floor, threatening to blind any who dared look at it for too long. A long red carpet trailed its way along the hallway, leading to a glorious throne of gold. On said throne sat a large alicorn of the purest white. She sat diligently on her perch, taking in every word of the finely dressed unicorn stallion that was speaking to her. A warm smile and an occasional nod was all she offered as the noblepony rattled off his complaint for the day. None of the complaints she got were ever new in the slightest.
"-and tho, your Highneth, I would thormally requesth that you decree a chanthe in the temperathure that Donut Joe ith allowed to thserve hith coffee ath," stated the unicorn, sporting a burned tongue and a mean lisp. The Princess blinked for a moment. Okay, never mind. This complaint was a first. For some odd reason, the noble chose to stick his tongue out at her, perhaps to oversell the amount of 'thuffering'he had been put through. The white alicorn wished to giggle at this, but she knew it would have been incredibly rude to the poor pony. Not any more rude than he was being for sticking his tongue out at her, but she highly doubted he realized what he was inadvertently doing.
The day so far had been quite similar, with ponies coming to complain to her about problems that they could have easily solved themselves without any assistance, much less that of the Princess. One pegasus came to complain that it was too hot outside, even though she happened to be the one who set the temperature at the local weather factory. Another pony, a unicorn mare, had wanted Celestia to change the meeting time for the weekly Canterlot Book Club so that she could go. An earth pony colt in an adorable little suit had somehow managed to get past her guards and came to ask her to turn the sun down. His reason? His ice-cream had melted too fast for him to eat. While cute, he still ate up time that could have been better spent waiting for an actual problem to arise. The Princess had one of her guards escort him out to go find his parents. Truly, this day was shaping up to be another monotonous one. What could possibly go wrong?
"Sister, we need to speak."
Princess Celestia turned her head slowly, her mane flowing in a similar manner to that of her younger sister, who was standing directly next to her throne. The Princess of the Sun hadn't even noticed her approach, or even enter the room at all. Despite her slight surprise, Celestia held the same calm expression she wore most of the day. The memory of her order flashed through the older sister's mind, bringing her some anticipated joy.
"Hello, Luna! Did you enjoy my order?" she asked with a warm smile on her face. The dark blue alicorn tilted her head to the side, completely lost. Celestia was too busy reveling in her sister's presence to notice her confusion. She had finally left her room! Her decree must have worked. All it took was to bring a fictional character back to life!
"Your...order? Sister, I am unsure of what order you are speaking of," said Luna. The white alicorn opened her eyes a bit wider to match her sister's confused stare.
"The order? To bring your favorite character back to life?" This caught Princess Luna's attention and provoked an immediate outburst.
"You ordered Twilight Sparkle to bring him here?!" she demanded, not noticing how loud she had become. The pony that had been previously complaining about coffee had gotten frightened and launched himself out of a nearby window, into the pond below. Celestia blinked at the scene for a moment before turning her attention back to her younger sibling.
"Twilight did...what?" asked Celestia, her confusion only growing. What was Lulu so upset about? What did Twilight have to do with any of this? Wait...she said Twilight had done something! The Solar Princess's pupils shrank at the implications of what her sister was saying. With the amount of disasters that had occurred in the years prior, nearly anything could have happened. "What happened, sister?!" Luna realized that she must have been mistaken about what Celestia had been talking about. And she had just spilled the beans...all of the beans. Like, every single bean that had ever existed had just been spilled. Even the ones that had been used as food.
"Oh, buck. Uhm, sister, something has indeed happened...but before you make any rash decisions to correct the problem, I must tell you what I need to tell you," Luna said. It was better to introduce the problem as something she had already been working on. Her sister's large violet eyes were starting to twitch. That was not a good sign...
"Please...inform us of what has happened, dear sister," said Celestia. Her voice was a bit darker and less warm than it usually was. It was almost...panicked. Luna couldn't blame her sister. Twilight Sparkle had some very...interesting blunders to her name.
"I am about to, Tia. But first, please promise that you will listen to all that I have to say." Luna gave her a stern gaze, letting her older sister know that this condition was non-negotiable. The Princess of the Sun looked at Luna for a few moments before sighing and nodding her head. Princess Luna took a deep breath before beginning her recounting of the events that had taken place in the last couple of days.
~~~~
Miles from Canterlot, a unicorn mare had been busy working her magic with a paintbrush. She gracefully moved the tip of the brush in gentle strokes, being extra careful not to hit the green grass next to the blue lake of the canvas she was using. The picture she was painting depicted the shot of nature that she sat in front of.
It was the most amazing piece of landscape she had ever seen! Not painting it would have pretty much been a crime against Equestria. The view was just so gorgeous...she could see a beautiful lake, sprawling hills of the greenest grass she had ever seen, and to top it all off, Canterlot in the background. The city sat proudly on the side of its mountain, daring any enemies to try to scale it.
She had been there since sunrise, trying to capture the scene in its earliest vision. Hour after hour, she sat there before her canvas. It had to be perfect. Not a single color could be out of place. She just had to add the finishing strokes on the lake and-
"TWILIGHT DID WHAT?!"
The sudden intrustion in her eardrums made the poor mare yelp and twitch. Her brush flew off to the side, out of her vision. She fell back and tried to hide from the sound for a few seconds before she noticed that nothing was trying to eat her innards. With a sigh, she sat up to regain her posture and continue her work-
-just to lay eyes on the thick blue paint trail, starting from the bottom right of the painting and reaching up to the far left. The painting was ruined. There was no covering up a line like that. For minutes, she said nothing. Her eyes just twitched on their own, her mouth open in silent shock. Then she lost it.
"BUCK. MY. LIFE!"
~~~~Back in Canterlot, Princess Luna was struggling to regain her sense of hearing. She had forgotten the last time her sister had used the Royal Canterlot voice on her, but she was immensely humbled by it. By the Moon, she thought her voice was loud.
Princess Celestia was among those surprised by the sudden shout. She covered her muzzle with her hoof, thoroughly embarrassed with herself. Sure, Luna just told her something she was not ever expecting to hear, but that shout...everypony within a few dozen miles was probably startled by it! The Solar Princess's face bore a very dark blush to go along with the shame she was feeling at that moment.
At the far corner of the room sat a pile of fancily dressed ponies, all groaning and holding their ringing ears. They had been in line, waiting to see the princess when the vocal explosion had occurred. Princess Luna's shout had scared them, but only one pony had actually been sent flying. The window-diving stallion had also done so under his own power. He hadn't been flung from the force, but had merely been scared off. Princess Celestia's voice, however, actually sent the crowd flying through the air, to the wall farthest from the throne. Many ponies that had been buried were now trying to free themselves from the unwilling cuddle pile. Even the Royal Guards, who had been stationed at multiple points around the room, had been given an air ride. Oddly enough, their postures didn't change; they were still completely motionless, almost as if they were standing. The closest representation of their appearance would be if somepony took a statue of a guard and simply tipped it onto its side. The Royal Guards were truly disciplined.
"It has been many moons since I last heard you use the royal Canterlot voice, dear sister. It still holds the same intensity as it did over one thousand years ago. Have you been practicing?" inquired Princess Luna once she could hear herself once more. She had spent the last few minutes going 'mawp' to herself, trying to get the sweet sensation of sound to reach her once more. Celestia shook her head slowly, her still blushing face stuck with a shocked expression.
"N-no...that was...I apologize for that," she stated, once more regaining herself. The princess cleared her throat once before taking a look around at the damage. The nobleponies were mostly all upright, as were the guards. The guards, however, hadn't moved from where they had landed. So, there ended up being just a bunch of stoic ponies littered about the room, facing whatever direction they ended up looking in.
It was a scene of disheveled madness, one of which a certain chaotic entity would have loved to see. Fortunately enough, he was nowhere to be found. Must have been busy doing something. Princess Celestia winced at the sight of her shaking ponies. After a few moments, she remember just why she had risen her voice in the first place and turned to her younger sister.
"Just once more, sister...what did Twilight do?" she asked, not quite sure she wanted to hear the answer a second time. Princess Luna sighed and took another deep breath. Hopefully, this second telling of recent events would not provoke Celestia into trying to murder the eardrums of every being in Equestria...again.
"Like I said the first time, Twilight Sparkle somehow managed to create a living, breathing representation of Ryan Burbank, the character you were probably speaking of before," she said. Her voice was calm, but inside, the blue alicorn was nervous. She desperately hoped that her older sister would keep her promise to not do anything until she learned all of the details. Celestia's face managed to turn evenwhiter at her younger sister's words.
"But...he's fictional, is he not? How would she be able to do something so...impossible?" Princess Celestia was very close to shaking, the implications of this new problem running through her mind. To be able to create a character out of nothing but magic...what would happen if the enemies of Equestria were to hear of this? All they would need to create the most terrifying and dangerous creature they could imagine would be thoughts and magic! Luna broke her from her pondering.
"From what I could understand from when I spoke to her, she is a very avid fan of OtherWorld as well. When she witnessed the death of Ryan Burbank...she unleashed an Emotional Magic Pulse, sister. Twilight Sparkle was already vastly powerful, but for an alicorn to have an EMP...she somehow ripped the memories from the storyteller and stuffed them into a magical construct," explained Luna. Princess Celestia's face had been lowering the entire time her younger sister had been speaking.
"So...it's a magical construct? But...that episode was days ago! How is it still in existence? It should have faded by now!" Celestia tried to assure herself of this more than her sister. Luna just shook her head, her mane billowing around in the same sparkling glory it always had.
"That's why I mentioned the memories being pulled from the storyteller...sister, this magical construct is sentient. It has a self-preserving instinct that is keeping the spell together. And with the kind of magical power that comes from an EMP, from Twilight no less..." she halted, waiting to see if her older sister would figure out the point on her own. Princess Celestia's eyes grew even wider.
"It's...volatile..." she whispered. Luna sighed again and nodded slowly. In a flurry of motion, Princess Celestia's large white wings spread and she made to take off. The younger sister had been expecting a similar reaction and formed a blue barrier around her sister's midsection, holding her back. Celestia squirmed, trying to break free from the magical grip.
"Luna, let go! I need to protect my little ponies!" she shouted. Princess Luna held strong, pulling Celestia back towards her. After a few more feet of tugging, Celestia whipped her head around and their gazes met. The blue alicorn had a very stern expression of an emotion very close to disappointment.
"Tia, you promised you would listen. The situation is being worked on by both Twilight and myself. The construct is sentient, but the mind inside the body is very docile, I assure you," she tried to reason to her older sister. Celestia just shook her head and tried to take off once more. Luna's grip was starting to falter.
"How can you be sure? It's-"
"He. Ryan is a male," Luna said softly, interrupting the rant that Celestia had almost began. The Solar Princess looked into Luna's eyes once more, but this time with a hint of understanding.
"Luna, I know you like this character, but he is just that: a character. You don't know him personally," she said gently. She really wasn't looking forward to having to dispose of a being that her younger sister felt so strongly for. Luna's nervous shuffling caught her attention. Her large teal eyes were now darting to the sides of the room, refusing to meet Celestia's stare. What was up with her? "Luna, what's wrong?"
"Well...I actually do...know him...personally..." she chuckled shyly. Having him as a romantic partner for two years was personal enough, was it not? Celestia was reduced to a head-tilt once more. The nobleponies were standing around in a large mass, watching the two sisters as they conversed. It wasn't any of their business, but being shouted into a wall was also not their business. None of them really considered this situation very formal anymore.
"Sister, what do you mean? How could you know him personally?" she asked. Luna didn't answer right away. Instead, she used her magic to poof a large blue gem into existence. This gem was much smaller than any GemShow projection gem, but it still held the same trademarks that those possessed. On its side read 'OtherWorld: Seasons 4-6'. The nobleponies at the door all gasped and took off running. Both sisters blinked and turned their attention to where the crowd of ponies once stood. The room was now vacant except for the sisters and their misplaced guards. The regal siblings slowly turned back to each other and shrugged. Ponies were just sometimes like that.
"Aaanyway, I need to show you exactly who is inside this new construct that young Twilight has created. I want you to see that he deserves the time it will take to help him find a more permanent solution for his continued existence," Luna told her sister. Celestia shook her head, not wanting to upset her little sister. Celestia knew how devoted Luna could get to a cause once she found it worth fighting for.
"Lulu, please...watching him all the time on your gem projector does not mean you know him as a friend," she said, trying to keep any kind of condescending tone out of her voice. Luna shuffled once again, trying not to look directly into her sister's eyes. Celestia now knew she was hiding something.
"Please, sister, just watch this with me. It will answer your questions, I promise," Luna pleaded. Celestia sighed and looked out of the castle window, towards Ponyville. She didn't want to doubt both her sister and her student...she just hoped that nothing went wrong while they were discussing this new issue. A brief image of a smoldering crater replacing the rural town in the distance flashed before her eyes, forcing her to look away. She would trust her sister...but she was going to be very cautious with the impending problem.
"Okay, Luna, I-"
Celestia was once again cut off, this time by a storm of hooves moving back into the room. Both sisters turned around and blinked in surprise at the crowd of returning nobleponies. Now, however, their fancy suits and dresses had been replaced with what looked to be lounge clothes. One younger stallion even wore a night cap. A few ponies in the crowd wore saddlebags filled to the brim with popcorn and snacks. They began handing out the snacks to the rest of the ponies in a surprisingly calm and organized fashion. The sisters gaped at the scene, but for more than one reason. They were just unsure about why they had left, changed clothes and returned. But they were truly amazed by how civil these ponies had become. Normally, they just tolerated each other's existence while waiting in line. None of them truly wanted to be around strange ponies; they just wanted to have their time with royalty and leave. But now...they were all acting as old friends. It was almost...heartwarming to witness. Why had they started acting like that so suddenly? It was then that both Luna and Celestia noticed the ponies all staring expectantly at the OtherWorld gem. No...it couldn't be.
"You...want to watch, too?" Luna asked hesitantly. The ponies all smiled wide and nodded their heads, the snack wrappers crinkling noisily with their movement. This was a weird development, even to the ancient sisters. Celestia was especially confused. What was this show? It had quickly spread throughout her nation, bringing ponies together. Over the years, she noticed more and more of her friends and advisers getting sucked into it. She originally thought that its true power of unity had just been hyperbole, but now...she had witnessed a crowd of irate nobles change into a group of old buddies right before her eyes. They had only been gone for a few moments! How did they get dressed so quickly? Where had they been hiding the snacks? All of these questions were beginning to give the Princess of the Sun a headache. She turned to her sister and gave an exasperated shrug.
"I see no fault with it. Guards, would you kindly set this gem up for us to watch?" Celestia asked. The guards, who were all now wearing soda-drink hats instead of helmets, followed her request without any hesitation. The sisters blinked once more, this time at the guards. Where had they gotten those? Had the nobles somehow given them the hats? They hadn't even moved...too many questions. And Luna was the one who was supposed to have the secrets!
The ponies in the doorway all cheered and rushed forward, creating a large semi-circle around the spot where the guards had connected the recording gem to Luna's 'SuperShow' gem. The Princess of the Moon had done the honor of pasting little crescent moon stickers all over the poor projector. Everypony in the room noticed this and gave her an amused giggle. Luna blushed and pouted, stomping her hoof once to dispell the looks she had been given. The nobles caught on immediately and turned their attention back to the gem. With a crackle and a flash, the projection hummed to life.
"Welcome to OtherWorld. Which episode would you like to view?"
