It was absolutely freezing outside.
There was nothing anyone could do to stop the cold. As far as Celestia was aware, the Pegasi were not doing anything to lessen the rabid snowstorm. They did little else than sit up in their clouds and demand a longer duration of the sun from the elite unicorns. The white-coated unicorn quickly trotted across the courtyard as her little sister trailed behind. It should have been lush and blooming, but was icy and frozen over instead. Luna seemed tired and irritated, more so than usual. She’d been bullied just earlier today and was still upset over it. It was not unusual; they often received odd looks from those they passed by.
It was not often two young unicorns bearing no cutie marks were allowed to step foot in Starswirl’s Academy for Gifted Unicorns.
Starswirl knew that they were not exactly welcomed, so he allowed them to come in-between the hours of his regular classes for personal lessons. For reasons unbeknownst to Celestia, he seemed incredibly interested in their natural abilities of levitation and quick understanding of magical concepts.
Why they still had not received their cutie marks already was beyond Celestia. Levitation or perhaps telekinesis was obviously their special talent – why hadn't their cutie marks appeared?
At long last they reached the back entrance to Starswirl’s secluded study. The snow had now climbed up to their ankles and Celestia shivered. Without thinking or even knocking, Luna barged into Starswirl’s study - Celestia resisted the urge to chastise and followed her.
“You have arrived,” Starswirl addressed them blankly without moving his eyes from his scroll. It had always unnerved Celestia for his gift of being completely in-tune with the environment.
Celestia’s eyes shifted to see what he was so preoccupied on. He was ferociously scribbling down words with a quill, and seemed terribly busy. This obviously was not a good time for her and her sister to come pestering, so she quickly tried to stumble out of the door.
“Where are you going, my dear?” His eyes were still fixed on the scroll, “Have a seat, for I have an assignment for both of you.”
Luna, still quite little for a filly her age, shifted her face up to her sister’s and scowled. In response, Celestia sat down and patted her leg for Luna to join her. She refused with a huff and stood defiantly to Starswirl’s face. He did not seem to notice. This was definitely going to be a difficult session.
“Starswirl, we’ve been bullied again!” Luna began to whine.
“We still don’t have a cutie mark and yet you try to teach us teleka… telekan,” She began to hopelessly stumble over her words and looked to Celestia for help.
“Telekinesis,” She said an eye-roll.
“I’m well aware of your peers’ adversity to your education,” Starswirl said, “But their resistance should not tear your efforts down. You will still continue your studies, yes?”
Luna seemed to go silent after that. Celestia wondered if Starswirl had more than just plain unicorn magic – anyone that could defuse an oncoming temper-tantrum from her sister was far beyond the white unicorn’s expectations.
“You mentioned an assignment, sir?” Celestia asked Starswirl, who was now back to scribbling on his scroll again.
“Oh, yes, yes of course!” Starswirl said with surprise.
He turned around from his desk to address the sisters directly. His coat was grey and coarse, with a long beard that seemed to trail to the ground. His robe was a deep blue with stars dotting it – elegant, majestic, and wise. The bells that jangled with every unsteady step were to symbolize his prowess in magic. Celestia dreamed of a day when she might be able to wear a cloak of such respect. No one would think her or her sister as useless ever again.
Only ponies with cutie marks would even be considered for such an honor, though. The idea of someone respecting her seemed quite obsolete.
“Oh, give me a moment Celestia, my poor old self can’t keep anything in order,” He mumbled as he levitated pile after pile of paper before tossing them to the side.
His personal study, unlike his actual academy, was small, unclean, and disorderly. The deep brown bookshelves were stuffed with books, ink pots, scrolls, and detailed letters for Princess Platinum. Starswirl’s brightest student, Clover the Clever, was often keeping her Highness informed on any new breakthroughs to stop the atrocious snowstorm from starving the unicorns.
Nothing had seemed to work yet.
“Aha! I have found you at last,” Starswirl said to a small scroll before tossing it towards Celestia’s face.
She took it and kept it directly in front of her before attempting to read. It seemed smudged, as if it was unorganized and hastily written. Her eyes screwed together to try and decipher it.
“What does it say sis, what does it say?” Luna demanded, attempting to stretch her neck to get a better view of the scroll. In response, Celestia moved it further away with a smirk. Luna grumbled back at her.
Celestia cleared her throat and began to read.
You, STARSWIRL THE BEARDED, are cordially invited to witness Her Royal Highness Princess Platinum, His Lordship Commander Hurricane, and His Bountiful Chancellor Puddinghead to discuss peaceful negotiations involving the snowstorm that recently has been endangering all of ponykind. If you are not able to attend, please return this letter to your nearest Ambassador so another may be selected in advance. Thank you for your courteous and swift response.
“Uh, sir?” Celestia said warily as she glanced up to Starswirl, who again was busying himself with writing on a scroll.
“Yes, my student?” He asked in response.
“What does this have to do with me or my sister?” Celestia asked, still confused at her teacher’s current intentions. She shared a glance to Luna, who had returned to her pouting.
“Hmm? Oh yes, my mistake!” Starswirl chuckled at himself before he began to look for something else on his desk. After locating it, he coughed quite a bit - Celestia winced.
“Oh uh, It seems you must be there by, well, tomorrow.” The unicorn said with a nod before returning to his work.
“Excuse me, sir?” Celestia’s eyes widened before turning down to see her sister’s reaction. She seemed just as confused.
“Me and Clover are busy with other affairs, you see,” Starswirl began to ramble, “She believes this will be successful, I think it will be a total flop. Anyway, we need someone to be there for us.”
“Excuse me sir, but why would you send a reject student to a super-important meeting!?” Celestia exclaimed with exasperation.
“Nonsense,” Starswirl chided before gaining a cheeky grin, “I’m sending two.”
“What do you mean you won’t let us in?” Luna said with wide eyes, feebly shivering beside Celestia. The blizzard was raging now and biting at their hooves. Starswirl had sent them off without any prior preparation, and they had barely arrived on time.
“I don’t give a whiff about you little blank flanks,” the pegasus guard snorted at the sisters, “If you ain’t Starswirl the Bearded, you ain’t gonna be let in.”
“But Starswirl sent us!” Celestia shouted in response, glaring to meet the guard’s eyes. He only glared back, and the winds howled in the distance.
“You mean to tell me,” He said with a smirk, “That the greatest magical unicorn is sending two unimportant girls on a diplomatic meeting of the century?”
Celestia and Luna both turned to face each other in desperation. Their manes blew fiercely in the wind; pink and blue hairs whipped across their faces. In some ways they barely looked related at all. Celestia was light and Luna was dark. They were not particularly well-groomed either, and seemed quite out of place among all the others present. The guard would not be buying their story no matter how many times they showed him their worn invitation.
“Please sir,” Celestia said with a sob, “Can you find it in your heart to – to trust us?”
He eyed them with suspicion, steel grey eyes taking in their appearance. Commander Hurricane had strict orders not to let any unicorns slip in without an explicit invitation. They were bound to cause trouble or were planning something sinister. Orders were orders, and that was that. Yet he wondered.
“Listen, I’ll let you in,” Celestia and Luna perked up immediately, “But you gotta go hide on the sidelines. This never happened, you hear?”
Celestia thanked him profusely as Luna dove in for a hug. For just a second, it seemed the storm slowed in its brutal winds. It was probably just their imagination, though.
Upon entering the building they both stared in awe. Dozens of pegasi, unicorns, and earth ponies sat high above the discussion table. The flags of each nation distinctly divided the races, yet they all seemed incredibly restless. Celestia realized that they had to move quickly to avoid being caught. Luna, already thinking ahead, motioned for her sister to join her in the shadows of a wooden structure. Celestia sneaked towards the frame and sat beside it. Hopefully everyone would be far too preoccupied with the negotiations to notice their trespassing.
The building creaked and rattled as the winds roared again and again. No wonder this negotiation was taking place – the storm was only getting worse. It had always been cold and unyielding in their lands, as they bordered the mysterious Crystal Mountains, but it seemed this storm had no end in sight.
Horns began to sound as the doors swung open. Celestia and Luna quickly glanced to one another before looking up to see their leader. Neither of the unicorns had ever seen royalty before, and yet there she stood – Princess Platinum. Her coat was a brilliant silver that glimmered in the dim candlelight. Her hair was a luscious mix of blues and light violets, with deep blue eyes that seemed to gleam like stars. Her build was light and lithe as she nobly stepped to the table and sat patiently. Celestia desperately wondered what it was like to be a Princess, to have so many look up to you and respect your every step. No one would doubt her or Luna ever again.
She ignored the Commander and the Chancellor. They seemed far too gaudy and bold, a stark contrast from the regal Princess that sat before them. Celestia had never felt more proud to be a unicorn at that moment, to belong to a tribe with such a respectful Princess leading them.
Her thoughts were shattered when the Princess opened her mouth.
The ruthless shouting match began. The three leaders’ voices were loud, unbearable and began to rattle the negotiations table. All those seated above began to stomp their hooves angrily. They growled in frustration as the winds roared in the distance. It seemed to rattle the hearts of all that were present. No one had actually heard a single word of the other, and there were certainly no negotiations on the problems at hand.
Commander Hurricane was the first to strike. He aimed to smack Princess Platinum, but missed. The unicorn guards descended to protect Her Majesty, but Celestia could not take it anymore. No longer caring if anyone saw her, she ran out of the building. Collapsing into the piling snow, she violently began to sob.
Luna swiftly followed her, confused and shaking. It was not long until others began to storm out as well. Not a single pony paid any mind to the grieving sisters. They were all far too focused on themselves to care.
“It’s alright sis,” Luna said teary-eyed, “We’ve got each other, right?”
Celestia lifted her head and looked to her sister. Her eyes were sullen and puffy, holding back the disappointment they both shared. They were both crying now. The tears were hot and stung their faces, a sharp contrast to the freezing air around them.
“Why do we have to fight, Luna?” Celestia asked in sorrow.
“Why do we have to hate each other? Everyone knows that if we don’t work together, this storm will never end,” She said dishearteningly.
“I don’t know Celestia, but I don’t like the Princess,” Luna said with a snort.
“Luna, don’t say that!” Celestia chided in response, although it was half-hearted at best. She could not say she appreciated the Princess, either.
“She’s a bully,” Luna said in response, “I don’t like bullies.”
Celestia finally had stopped crying. With a small smile, she dragged Luna in for a warm hug. Luna started to visibly cry in earnest, her face hidden from those that passed by. Luna always was more sensitive to how those saw her.
“We’ll get out of this mess,” Celestia said.
Celestia turned to stare up at the sky. She noticed that the sun just began to rise. No doubt the most talented unicorns were moving it across the sky. She did not know how it worked – only the brightest were allowed to be rigorously trained in the art of raising the sun. The moon was even more mysterious, although fewer ponies seemed to appreciate its cold exterior. Celestia appreciated both of them, though – she always had.
“Hey sis,” Luna said with a sniffle, “Do you think Starswirl will be mad that we didn’t stay the whole time?”
Celestia turned to look down at her sister.
“I’m sure he’ll understand,” she said. “He always does.”
