Never Were There Such Devoted Sisters

Chapters

Chapter 1: In the Beginning
Chapter 2: The Caves
Chapter 3: Sweet Temptation
Chapter 4: Collective Amnesia
Chapter 5: A Friend in the Clouds
Chapter 6: What Is That Smell?

Chapter 1: In the Beginning

The world was a young and fertile work of art, kept under the watchful eye of King Genesis and Queen Theia. They had spent ages creating the earth and each creature upon it, experimenting with their magnum opuses modeled after their own alicorn image. They created ponies with wings, ponies with horns, and ponies with nothing at all to see which creature best suited the Paradise they created. It was hard for them to decide which creature would rein supreme, for they loved each kind of pony experiment equally. In the end they allowed for each breed of pony creature to live in their newly forged Paradise.

The king and queen enjoyed watching how capable the earth ponies were at using the world they created, and how the earth ponies appreciated the ground that they tilled. They loved watching how the pegasus ponies were able to manipulate the weather, and how the pegasi appreciated the sky they created. They were happy to watch the unicorns create a magical balance to their fellow ponies, and the unicorns appreciated their ability to bring a sense of wonder to the world with their abundantly unique abilities. If only chaos hadn’t ruined the harmony the king and queen had created.

Genesis and Theia remembered the day Paradise was lost to chaos, recalling the battle they waged with the mischievous spirit of disharmony known as Discord. While the defeat and imprisonment of Discord was a triumph to the world, the seeds of confusion and distrust had been planted in the minds of the ponies they watched over. Ever since that day, the king and queen watched from their heavenly home as these ponies grew and changed from the time they created them. The three tribes had become segregated, and the distrust between them festered into hatred. That hatred lead to civil wars, and the king and queen watched their harmony swaying and their Paradise fall under blankets of snow and ice.

In a feeble last attempt to restore harmony between the three tribes, Genesis and Theia created artifacts that they called the Elements of Harmony. These elements were designed to be shared equally between the three tribes, demonstrating how the tribes could work together to achieve peace. While two members of each tribe were able to successfully wield them, the wielders were soon brought to trial and banished for their radical ways. The elements were soon buried deep within a cave to be forgotten about by all of pony kind. It was in that moment that King Genesis and Queen Theia vowed to no longer interfere with the lives of their creations.

In a final attempt to aid the ever more hectic world, the king and queen bore two alicorn daughters out of their shared love and their desire for harmony. The eldest, Celestia, was to help the earth with the sun while the youngest, Luna, was to help usher in the night, giving the earth a sense of balance that it had lost due to arguments. As mere children, the sisters had to learn the functions of both sun and moon. This started out as a difficult task for them, but as they grew into teenagers their skills improved to near perfection. Their parents could not have been prouder, grateful for the pride their daughters took in their independent duties.

The decades of not interfering with the world took their heaviest toll on King Genesis. He spent his days listening to desperate prayers from unhappy ponies as their pleas wafted through the cold air on their way up to him. His heart ached as he realized how grievous the prayers had become over the years as the earth continued to cover over in a thick blanket of snow and hard feelings. He could hear his little ponies losing faith as their hearts grew as cold as the world they lived in. Having one day come to a breaking point, he lifted his horn in the air to summon his family to him so that they could discuss what to do.

Queen Theia flew quickly to her husband’s summoning, leaving a trail of sunset behind her as she streaked across the astral plane they called home. Her two daughters flew behind their mother, having a hard time keeping up due to their smaller sizes. As soon as all of them stood before the starry glow of the king, he lovingly nuzzled each of them in turn. “My loving family,” he said as he opened an astral window, showing his family the suffering ponies of the world. “You have my thanks for coming before us on such short notice. It would appear that our little ponies are no longer able to restore harmony as we had hoped for so long. I fear this may be the end of them if something is not done.”

Queen Theia had watched as generations of the ponies relentless bickering eroded the world she and her husband had so lovingly created. With each flight of her sunset, the world looked colder and more unhappy than the days before. “It is no longer our place to directly effect their world,” she admitted, her eyes dropped in dismay. “Ever since we interfered with Discord, our pony’s lives have made a turn for the worst. We should have allowed them the free will to defeat him themselves, but instead we interfered, leaving them with a culture of distrust and disharmony. You saw what they did with our Elements of Harmony last time we tried to interfere.”

King Genesis bowed his head to his wife, remembering how their well laid plans had turned against them. “I remember the day that we vowed to never again interfere with their lives,” he said stoically, doing his best to keep his emotions in check. “My greatest fear is what would happen by breaking that vow, but I feel it is of the utmost benefit to the world for us to try something. The ponies are growing close to starvation because of their disagreements, and I fear for their extinction.”

The two young princesses looked up at their distressed mother, who wrapped a protective arm around each of them. The graceful queen allowed a tear to escape her delicate eyelids, the tear streaking along her milky cheek before disappearing into her coat. “We are nearly powerless to the anger that lives in their hearts,” she said, holding protectively to her children. “If we were to fail, what would become of their existence? Would our own existence come into question? Even our children are helpless to the cold ways of the ponies.”

Celestia laid her head against her mother’s shoulder, breathing in the queen’s scent. “Will they die without us?” she asked, watching her father nod with closed eyes.

In spite of his best efforts, a tear fell from the king’s eyelids. It sparkled faintly against his starry coat before he wiped it away. “We are left with little choice,” he said with a deep sigh. “If the ponies are to survive, they must band together. In order for them to do that, we must confront the creator of this chaos so that they may see the error of their ways.”

Queen Theia’s eyes widened in fear as she looked at the astral screen. “Oh no!” she exclaimed as the image on the screen changed to the Draconequus they had trapped in a cave over a century ago. “He will be the ruin of them! Why could you think Discord will aid us?”

King Genesis changed the image on the screen to an image of swirling windigos. “These creatures are a byproduct of his wicked presence,” he explained, watching the windigos howl through the air. “While we have not been able to control them, we have been able to take control of Discord in the past. I believe we can force him to put an end to this.”

Celestia watched her parents fret over the image of Discord they brought back on the screen. “This curious abomination is a threat?” she asked, witnessing Discord turn a row of rocks into cakes. “If one were to ask, this appears to be merely a distraction. How can cake be anything more than a treat?” Celestia got an idea of his abilities when she watched Discord levitate the cakes and toss them one by one at a cave drawing he had made of her parents, noticing the childlike look of vengeful delight on his face.

Celestia couldn’t help rolling her eyes and laughing at Discord’s immature antics, which bothered her mother. Queen Theia scolded her daughter as she giggled at the cake splattering. “My child,” Theia reprimanded. “This is but one small example of the chaotic powers Discord is capable of. His magic is contained by the enchantments your father and I have placed upon his prison cave, but if left to his own demise his mischief would grow worse and more sporadic as his control takes root. Do you understand?”

Celestia watched Discord laugh at his own childish behavior, having a hard time keeping a smile off of her face. “I do not,” she admitted. “Please, tell us. What is it that makes this creature such a hazard?”

King Genesis took a deep breath as he increased the size of the astral screen. “My daughters, there was a time before you were born when ponies lived in a Paradise we created for them,” he explained, showing the world’s past to his children. “This Paradise was invaded by Discord, whose only goal was to bring about havoc. He wished for chaos to rein supreme, and the only way to do this was to tempt the ponies curiosities about it. He presented them with the opportunity for something new and exciting, something that was just the opposite of what we had intended for them. While we were able to imprison him in the caves, he did irreparable damage upon the hearts and minds of the ponies in Paradise. Their desire for change lead Paradise into decay, bringing about years of arguing and disdain. Paradise was lost in a permanent blanket of snow and ice brought on by windigos, a byproduct of Discord’s chaotic magic. The ponies have relocated several times since then, but each time their arguments have ushered the coldness back into their lives.”

Luna watched the conjured images of Paradise gradually disappearing under the heavy snow and thick ice, the three tribes suffering from the plight caused by their own inability to compromise. She sneered when her father changed the screen back to the image of Discord floating aimlessly about in the cave. “I do not trust this creature,” she said, watching him pace the ceiling of the cave and chatter madly to himself. “Why can the ponies not see that they need each other? Surely if they saw the error of their ways they could survive this storm. Why must we interfere, especially knowing what that has done in the past?”

King Genesis shook his head at his daughter’s questions. “We can not risk standing idly by any longer my daughter,” he replied. “While we have made it a custom to let the ponies discover their destinies for themselves, we simply must act now or risk losing them forever. While the ponies are perfectly capable of their own harmony, they have proven that they are also susceptible to their own greed. Forcing Discord into cooperation is our last hope.”

Queen Theia minimized the astral window her husband had brought about. “I fear we must go to earth at once if we are to succeed in your father’s plans, however doubtful they may appear,” she explained, giving her children one last nuzzle. “Girls, we must ask that you stay behind for your own safety.” Celestia pouted at her mother’s request. “Why can we not go along?” she wined. “We have never been to earth before! When will it be our turn?” King Genesis stood seriously before his daughter, his hard stare quieting her arguments. “It may not be safe for you my child,” he said in a steady tone, ignoring Celestia’s pouty facial expression. “We will leave open an astral screen for you and your sister. We encourage you to keep watch over us as we work. I wish for you to learn from our actions in case one day it is you who must encounter Discord.”

While she was not pleased with the outcome, Celestia and her sister each nodded in agreement to their father’s request to stay behind. At the very least she was looking forward to seeing what the outcome could be, even if it meant there was nothing she could do about it. “Good luck father,” she said half heartedly, accepting a hug from the starry-coated stallion.

Genesis teasingly tapped his moody teenaged daughter on the head with his wing, smiling at her over reaction at having her mane messed up. “Celestia, my dear princess,” he cooed in spite of her whining. “If it makes you feel any better, I am putting you in charge while we are away. You will take care of your younger sister, won’t you?”

Celestia had heard this ploy before from her father, but that commanding look on his face quit her desire to fight him. “Sure, okay,” she replied, rolling her eyes as he planted one of his fatherly kisses on her cheek. “Just stop embarrassing me! I’m not a baby you can kiss all the time.”

Theia had just finished giving Luna a kiss of her own. “Make sure your sister doesn’t over-do it this time,” she whispered with a teasing wink. “You remember last time she took things too far. We still can’t find all those stars!”

Luna couldn’t help chuckling at Celestia’s annoyed smirk, especially as it screwed up under her mothers kiss on the cheek. “I promise to behave,” she said, allowing her father to take a turn to kiss her cheek.

Chapter 2: The Caves

The king and queen began to glow as they departed, fading into translucence before disappearing all together. Celestia and Luna watched their parents reappear in the astral window they had left open for them, watching them fly through space on their way toward the world. While the sight of the two alicorns in flight was a spectacular one to behold, the princesses had beheld it so many times that it had become routine.

The two princesses waited impatiently for something exciting to happen, bored by how long it was taking their parents to reach their destination. To relieve their boredom, the sisters summoned a glowing ball of light to roll back and forth between the two of them. Luna bounced the ball around in her hooves before tossing it toward her sister. “Tia, this wait is so dull!” she exclaimed as she watched the ball fly through the air beyond her control and hit Celestia in the head.

Celestia shot her sister a dirty look for the impact messing up her perfect pink mane. “Watch it Lulu,” she replied as patiently as she could as she fixed her hair with her magic. “If it makes you feel any better, I at least know how you feel. I do not wish to wait anymore than you do, but I am sure something exciting will happen soon enough.”

Luna sighed as she watched her parents land majestically in the snow in front of the cave that held Discord. “I do hope so,” she said, brushing her hooves along the ground in boredom. “I can’t imagine it would be all that exciting since they left you in charge. You know how they don’t like being gone long with us by ourselves.”

While Celestia was annoyed by her sister’s comments, she couldn’t help chuckling at Luna’s failed attempt to spin the glowing on the tip of her horn. “Do not be surprised if this ends quickly,” she said, picking the ball up with her magic to make it spin in mid air. “I do not understand why mother and father stress so much over this Discord creature. He seems more of a nuisance than anything. Surely a lapdog could create just as much havoc as this Discord, and the world would not crumble to pieces.” Luna grabbed the ball from her sister’s levitation. “I must disagree,” she said sternly. “You saw for yourself the effects his presence made upon the ponies of Paradise. It is possible he could be the culprit of further corruption.”

There was a long silence between the sisters, broken as Celestia watched her sister toss the ball in the air and catch it while laying on her back. She could not help questioning her sister’s black and white opinions of right and wrong, especially when so many shades of gray existed. She chalked it up to Luna’s youthful optimism as she watched the younger alicorn toss the ball higher and higher above her head. “Perhaps you may have a point, Lulu,” she admitted with a teasing sisterly smile, eager to see what kind of debate she could spark up. “Yet one must wonder if it is the malleable will of the ponies that is more of a threat than Discord.”

Luna accidentally dropped the ball on her face as she listened to her sister’s words. “How can you say this, Tia?” she gasped as she rubbed where the ball had hit her. “One can not suggest that the ponies are wicked! Have you gone completely mental?”

Celestia firmly shook her head at her sister’s accusations. “Quite the contrary,” she replied as she once again lifted the ball with her magic. “They were but innocent creatures who are far too easily lead to do wicked things. I feel mother and father are right in going to Discord, for it may be possible to use him to lead the ponies to good things instead. We have just watched his leadership skills brought to life on screen, so it may be possible to use him for good.”

Luna laughed off Celestia’s ideas as she watched her sister roll the ball along her shoulders. “Such an idealist you are my sister,” she smiled teasingly. “Perhaps you should think about the imminent well being of our subjects instead of one’s own ambitious ideals.”

Celestia rolled her eyes in defeat as she bounced the ball against her forehead. “Your point is taken my sister,” she admitted, smiling mischievously at Luna. “But perhaps it is you who should think fast!” Celestia head butted the ball back to Luna, who squealed with fits of laughter as their ball game intensified.

The game was cut short as soon as they noticed their parents unsealing the cave, readying themselves to confront Discord. The princesses abandoned their glowing toy as they sat so close to the astral screen that their noses almost touched it. Luna rested her hooves against the astral screen while watching her parents gazing at their impending threat. “Finally, the action has begun!” she exclaimed, clapping her hooves enthusiastically against the screen and hearing a dull glassy echo coming from each of her impacts.

Celestia rested her hoof on her sister’s shoulder to keep her calm. “Lulu, stay still!” she exclaimed. “Mother and father want that we pay attention. I can not concentrate with your excessive movement!”

Luna stuck her tongue out at Celestia. “I am paying attention!” she replied. “I am merely eager to see. One does not have to be so mean!” The two sisters bickered between the two of them while their parents began their battle of wits with Discord in front of the cave.

Celestia ended the argument when she noticed that her parent’s fight with Discord had taken to the caves. “Why are they going in there?” she asked, still trying to hush Luna. The two sisters gasped when they saw the screen split in two, one half showing Discord standing by the sealed up entrance and the other half showing their parents running headlong into the caves.

Luna panicked as she put her hooves back on the floating screen. “What has happened?” she asked, not taking her eyes off the images presented on screen. “Why are they in the caves? Could they have been tricked?”

Celestia shoved her sister away from the screen with enough force that Luna lost her balance. “Do shut up!” she hollered at her fallen sister. “I do not know! If somepony had calmed down like I asked, than perhaps we would know what is going on!”

Luna cowered at her sister’s harsh accusing tone. “It is not my fault my sister!” she cried out. “Even if I did calm down, would that have changed what happened to our parents?”

Celestia took a deep breath to help even her tone. She felt terrible for letting something enrage her so quickly. “Lulu, please forgive me for my harsh actions,” she admitted as she gently approached her sister. “You make a valid point, one I should have listened to. We must not dwell on our disagreement, and instead find out for ourselves what has happened to our parents.”

Luna was grateful for her sister’s forgiveness, and was eager to accept an affectionate nuzzle. “I forgive you Tia,” Luna said as she dried her eyes. “But how will we get down to earth? We have never been there before.”

Discord’s laughter echoed out of the floating astral screen as the two girls looked around for ideas. Luna sneered at the cackling menace on screen. “Oh, if I could reach through the screen and throttle him I would!” she exclaimed, tapping furiously on the astral screen in aggravation.

The very suggestion gave Celestia an idea. “Lulu, you’re a genius!” she declared, hugging her sister. “We can jump through the screen! I must come up with a spell. Give me a moment to think.”

Luna stood back as Celestia lit up her horn, watching the astral screen’s surface ripple like the surface of a lake under her sister’s magic. “Are you sure this is safe?” she said as she touched the screen’s surface, its texture feeling like cold jelly.

Celestia shrugged her shoulders as she stood at her sister’s side. “I am not sure at all,” she said as she wrapped her arm around Luna. “No matter what happens, hold onto me. I do not want to lose you too.”

Together the princesses stepped into the astral screen, the sensation reminding them of swimming around in a cold pond filled with jam. Everything looked blurry and distorted as they floated around between their world and the world they had seen. They could see the astral window beginning to fade from view when they looked behind them, giving them a sense of sinking further and further into the unknown like a rock on its journey to the bottom of the sea. Within a matter of moments, they could feel themselves slipping out of the glimmering gelatinous bond and being pulled down by earth’s gravity. They both let out a girlish scream of terror as they felt gravity pulling them toward earth, doing the best they could to glide on the unfamiliar winds of this new place.

Discord witnessed the two princesses’ glide awkwardly toward him, eventually making a rough landing in front of the sealed cave entrance. “Well, what do we have here?” he said as he turned curiously to the disheveled girls. “Such pretty little things you are. What could possibly make young mares fall from the sky? I certainly didn’t cause this, but I do like the idea!”

Luna gritted her teeth at the inquisitive teasing. “Where are our parents Discord?” she demanded, standing at her full height in front of her sister to show that she meant business. She didn’t care if Celestia was the older one. She was not going to be intimidated because of her age!

A wide smile crossed Discord’s face as he watched the pony squaring up against him. “Parents you say?” he inquired with delight, affectionately stroking Luna’s chin and barely avoiding being bitten. “Well, nopony told me the illustrious king and queen of outer space had children. Sneaking out for a shopping trip while mommy and daddy are out of the house?”

Celestia stamped her hooves impatiently at Discord’s wasteful small talk. “Enough!” she hollered, hoping to intimidate the spirit of chaos with her tone. “Tell us where we can find our parents! What have you done with them?”

Discord leaned comfortably against the sealed off cave. “Such force!” he said sarcastically as he picked at his fingernails. “Well, it doesn’t surprise me. You are a product of your environment after all, and your parents are a force to be reckoned with. Maybe their little spelunking trip will help calm their nerves.”

Celestia beamed her magic on the cave’s entrance to try to open it, only to have it dispelled by Discord’s enchantment. “How do we release them?” she asked, trying out another fruitless spell on the cave entrance.

Discord knocked on the rocks, listening to a deep echo the knocking caused. “Rock solid I’m afraid,” he teased. “But don’t worry your pretty little head about it. It’s not permanent. They’re free to come out of there anytime they want.”

Celestia stopped blasting the rocks with magic as she listened to Discord. “What do you mean?” she panted, her face covered in sweat from the effort her magic took.

Discord gave the princess a sarcastic smirk, raising an eyebrow at her serious demeanor. “They chose to go in and take a look around,” he said, his tone becoming bitter. “I don’t trap ponies in caves in case you’re wondering. I wouldn’t take a page out of their book of bad decisions.”

Luna shot Discord dirty look, noticing the Draconequus sticking his tongue out at her in a childish fashion. “If you insist that they are free to choose, than why is the entrance sealed?” she asked, tapping on the heavy rock blocking the entryway.

Discord smirked as he cupped Luna’s face. “Free will is such a fickle thing, isn’t it,” he smiled, expecting the sour look on Luna’s face not to change. “Ironically, free will was a gift your parents gave to the world. It’s their own free will that gave their little ponies the chance to see what ambition could grant them, and it is their free will seals them in this cave, not my magic. Ironic, isn’t it?”

Luna angrily lifted her head from Discord’s mismatched hands, bearing her teeth at his remarks. “You know nothing of our parents, nor do you know of the ponies of this world!” she hollered, stamping her hooves out of frustration.

Discord began to laugh at Luna’s theatrics. “I know nothing?” he giggled. “How often do the two of you interact with the ponies of this planet? I assume mommy and daddy don’t let their precious princesses out to play very often.”

Luna began to blush at the correct assumptions, still bearing her teeth to hide her embarrassment. “That is not important!” she yelled, hoping to sound more serious than stumped. “What is important is that we are here now, here to battle with you!”

Luna’s tough girl attitude had given Discord an idea. “You would think that,” he smirked. “Perhaps it would be best if the two of you saw things from a pony’s perspective, instead of an alicorn’s.”

With a snap of his fingers, Discord took away Celestia’s wings and Luna’s horn. “Much better, don’t you agree?” he asked, watching to the two girls frantically running around screaming over the loss of their parts. “Oh calm down, drama queens. You can have them back in due time.”

Celestia beamed a magic spell at Discord, who easily deflected it back at her. She landed hard on her rump, eyes wide scared that her spell did not work. “Give me my wings back!” she demanded, charging headlong at her opponent to impale him with her horn.

Discord quickly sidestepped the attack, causing Celestia to run into the rocks. “Dawww, just like your parents,” he provoked as he quickly healed Celestia’s cuts and scrapes with a snap of his fingers. “You just have to find your parents and everything will turn out alright. Doesn’t it always work out when you run to mommy and daddy?”

Luna ran to her sister, seeing that Celestia was just as frustrated as she was. “I knew we could not trust him,” she scowled as she watched Discord doing a handstand on top of the sealed entrance to the cave. “We must find a way to defeat him at his own game, or things may never go back to normal!”

Discord dipped his head in on the sister’s conversation to eavesdrop. “Would you like a little hit my dears?” he asked, watching the girls act surprised by his sudden presence in their conversation. “Very well then. Listen closely, because I'm only going to say this once.”

Discord lifted himself into the air and began to fly in fast circles around the princesses, kicking up a strong wind around them. “Now we begin,” he said, his voice dripping with wickedness as it echoed around the wind wall he had created around the sisters. “Things are not the same as when they begin, but where there’s a will there is a way in. Twists and turns play their own part, as elements to the task at heart.”

The sisters could feel themselves being lifted by Discord’s gusts, holding hooves and screaming as they were lifted into the air beyond their control. Even Luna’s wings were powerless to the tempestuous winds that lifted them higher and higher. “Hold on to me sister!” she hollered, doing the best she could to hold on to Celestia. “I will not lose you on top of everything I have lost today!”

The winds died off as quickly as they had started, depositing Celestia and Luna in the branches of a dead tree. Discord laughed at how disheveled the princesses mane’s looked as they took in their surroundings. “I think this is a good place to start, don’t you agree?” he said, watching Celestia fall from a tree branch and land on a pile of pillows he had conjured up. “Your parents are nice and close now, and if you two are as clever as you appear than I might end up intimidated after all.”

Luna flew down from the tree and landed right in front of Discord, bearing her teeth as she scowled at him. “You will learn to fear us!” she hollered, making Discord laugh all the harder.

The cocky Draconequus leaned down to Luna’s level, pressing his nose against hers. “Is that so?” he heckled. “Than good luck to you my little pony.”

Chapter 3: Sweet Temptation

The two princesses searched the forest for hours, keeping close to the area where they knew the cave was since that was were their parents were being kept. Celestia blasted at the ground over and over again with her unicorn horn, trying in vain to find any sign of an entrance. Luna flew overhead looking for any sign of an entrance to the cave, but had no luck what so ever. She landed next to her sister after several hours of flight, watching Celestia wince at the pains caused by her overheated horn. “I can not find an entrance from the air,” she said, stretching her sore wings after so many hours of exhausting flight. “Have you had any luck on the ground? I saw your efforts from the air.”

Celestia sighed as she rubbed her pained temples. “No luck yet my sister,” she groaned, squinting in pain at how much of a headache her efforts had caused her. The pain was so great that a tear leaked out, a tear that just annoyed Celestia all the more.

Luna stopped fidgeting her wings when noticed her sister’s pain. “Are you alright Tia?” she asked, allowing Celestia to lean heavily against her.

Celestia let out a frustrated sigh as she collapsed upon her sister’s back. “Oh Lulu! I am exhausted!” she sobbed. “I am so sore that I can not think strait! I am so worried about mother and father, and I want to go home! I want my wings back! What shall we do?”

Luna could feel her sister’s frustrated tears leaking onto her coat. “Rest a while Tia,” she said as she lead Celestia to a comfortable spot under a leafless tree. “It is going to be night soon, and I will need to figure out how I am going to raise the moon from this strange new place. After that I will look for something we can eat, and then we shall talk about what to do next.”

Celestia was grateful for her sister’s desire to be helpful after such a stressful day. Together they quickly found a soft spot for Celestia to lay in the snow. Luna had even brought Celestia a bundle of sticks so that she could build a fire. It took some effort on Celestia’s part, but she was able to get a few sparks out of her horn that ignited the wood scraps.

With the fire now blazing, Celestia laid back and watched as Luna’s eyes begin to glow. Luna flew up in the air to perform the evening ritual that she had been trained to do since childhood. She could tell that Luna was having some problems with her task since her horn was missing, watching as her sister’s body quivered with exertion as she tried to figure out what to do. She could tell that Luna was doing her best to move the heavenly orb without her horn from the unfamiliar earth, having spent years perfecting the art from the astral plane.

At first, the moon wobbled on the horizon during the start of its trajectory path, but it soon straitened out as Luna figured out what to do. The tips of Luna’s wings began to glow like a unicorn’s horn, allowing the moon to steadily rise. Just watching Luna work exhausted Celestia, making her wonder if she would be able to perform her own duties in the morning. She had never had a headache this bad in all her life, and wondered if a good night’s sleep would be the cure for it.

Celestia’s mind began to wander as Luna left to find some food. She closed her eyes to help relieve some of the pressure that pulsed against her horn and forehead. With her eyes closed, her other senses began to take over for her. She could hear the hooting of distant owls, the gentle crispness of snow falling, the wind whistling through the naked branches, the clicks and pops of the burning firewood, and the gentle clacking of nocturnal rodents. She could feel snowflakes landing on her pristine white coat, surprised by the sensation each one left as it melted against her skin. She rolled on to her back to try to warm the sensations they left on her. She took a deep breath as she scrunched up her back, breathing in the crispness of winter, the warm smells of the fire, and the sweet smells of cake. Wait... cake?

Celestia’s eyes flew open at the out of place smell. “Lulu?” she asked as she looked around, trying to see either her sister or this cake she was smelling. The only thing she could see beyond the fire was darkness, the dim light of the fire casting shifting shadows as the flame danced around on the scraps of wood. Still, the smell of cake was wafting strongly through the air, making her stomach rumble loudly. The day’s effort had left her hungrier than she had realized.

Getting up from under the safety of the tree, Celestia began to investigate by following her nose. She began to salivate at the smells of vanilla, almond, and apple mixed with the sugary sweetness of frosting. What a cake could possibly be doing out in the middle of the woods at night was a mystery to her, but she was eager to find out the delicious answers to her questions.

She came upon a wide grove where she saw the cake sitting on a large stump, the grove itself untouched by snow or cold. Her eyes widened as she licked her lips, taking in the sight of the sweet prey she had sniffed out. She’d never seen a prettier cake in all her life, noticing how perfectly cylindrical it was, and all the fresh apple slices used to garnish the most perfect sparkling white icing she had ever seen. It looked better than it smelled, and that was saying something because it smelled heavenly! Celestia was about to take a bite when she heard her sister’s voice from further away. “Over here Lulu!” she shouted blithely in the direction she heard her sister’s voice. “You must come at once! You will not believe what I have found!”

Luna flew in the direction she heard her sister’s cheery voice, happy to see her sister up and well. “I have found you some food,” she said, setting a small pile of acorns at her sister’s feet before looking at what her sister had found. “Where is this place, Tia? Why is it not effected by the cold, and where did this cake come from?”

Celestia giggled at her sister’s serious apprehension, a gesture which Luna did not appreciate. “What does it matter my sister?” she smiled, turning her attention once again to the treat that lay before her. “The important thing is that it is here, and that we are here together. Let us enjoy this treat before it freezes.”

Luna glanced untrustingly at the beautiful cake, feeling more apprehensive about where it came from than why it was there. “I honestly think we should leave it alone,” she suggested, much to Celestia’s annoyance. “We do not know from where it came, nor whose it is. It would be very unkind for us to invade on something that is not ours. Besides, I have brought us some food, so we will not starve if we do not eat it.”

Celestia looked distastefully down at the acorns Luna had wrapped in dead leaves. “Do not think me ungrateful for your generous offering fair sister,” she said, careful not to hurt her sister’s feelings as her gaze fell back on the cake. “You must understand, when your meal is set beside such a sight, one can not help but be tempted by it. It is almost too much to refuse.”

Luna was hurt to see her efforts cast aside for something more appealing, but she knew how much of a sweet tooth her sister had. “I must ask you to question this set up,” she said, standing calmly before Celestia so that she could make a space between her sister and the cake. “I fear that this treat is little more than a trap, perhaps brought about by Discord to put us in a state of disagreement. I do not want my sister’s loyalty tested by a sugary confection, and nor should you. We have seen him use this kind of confectioner’s magic before.”

Celestia looked down at the ground in guilt as her sister spoke, her stomach voicing her disappointment. “Forgive me my haste, dear Lulu,” she grumbled. “If it is Discord’s magic, then surely I have been a fool. But could this not be his magic? What if it truly is a blessing bestowed upon our hunger? Maybe if I perform a spell on it myself we can see if this is indeed a trick or a treat.”

Luna took a deep breath to try to calm her doubts, breathing in the inciting scent of the cake in question. “I want to trust in your judgment my sister,” she said, a trusting smile coming to her lips as she stepped away from the cake to let her sister work. “You have always been far more gifted in magic than I ever have. Perhaps that is an advantage we have over Discord since you still have your horn.”

Celestia laughed as she thought about the advantage she had over her skills with magic. “I had not thought about that,” she said as her horn lit in a dim glow that made her head hurt again. “Perhaps Discord is not as clever as we give him credit for.”

Even after some rest, it was still difficult for Celestia to perform magic with her horn being so overused. Still, she did not want to let her sister down, nor did she want to give up on the tempting cake. She performed a half hearted protection spell on the cake, thinking more about her hunger than about the task at hand. “It is good,” she said impatiently as she rushed up to the cake. “Come, let us dine.”

Luna swallowed an apprehensive lump in her throat as she went to stand beside her sister. She watched Celestia smile broadly as she took an enormous bite out of the cake. “Oh Lulu!” Celestia exclaimed, her eyes beaming with joy as she talked with her mouth full. “It is amazing! You simply must have some!”

Luna bent down to take a small, ladylike bite, not taking her eyes off of Celestia. She could feel a smile spreading across her own face as she sampled the questionable cake. “You are correct,” she said in surprise. “This treat is fit for a king, or a queen, or a princess! It is wonderful!”

As the sisters eagerly took their second bites, they heard a darkly familiar laugh behind them. Both of their heads shot up at the sound, their mouths both full of cake. Discord appeared before the two sisters, pointing and laughing at the two of them. “You should see your faces!” he giggled. “And here I thought princesses were supposed to be dainty and well mannered, but you two! Faces covered in cake, and cheeks stuffed like a pair of squirrels!”

Luna spat out her mouthful of cake before confronting her sister. “You said it was safe to eat!” she blamed, scolding Celestia for her poor judgment. “The cake is a lie, and so are you!”

Celestia swallowed her mouthful before defending herself. “You are to blame as well,” she retorted haughtily. “For as much as you fretted, did you even think to look for Discord? You were just as hungry as I was!”

Discord stood back and watched the princesses fighting with one another. “How entertaining, just like the pegasi and unicorns of earth,” he smiled as he snapped his fingers, causing the colors of the two ponies coats to fade into shades of gray. “Perhaps we should take this little tete-a-tete elsewhere? Someplace more appropriate?”

With another snap of his fingers, Discord summoned a pack of windigos to form a second whirlwind around the sisters similar to the one that brought them there in the first place. The princesses bickered and screamed as they were once again lifted into the air, this time not bothering to hold each other for protection. Discord sat back and watched the princesses disappear in the blizzardy haze that the windigos brought on. “Take them to the tribes,” he commanded the windigos. “I want to watch them in their new roles. That should be fun.”

Chapter 4: Collective Amnesia

Neither princess knew how long they had been unconscious since their landing, but apparently it was long enough to be covered in a layer of snow. Celestia hadn’t realized they were asleep under the snow until she felt herself being stirred from her slumber. She looked up blinking to see the friendly face of an unfamiliar white unicorn. The unicorn gently wiped the snow from Celestia’s face with a curious smile, glad to see that she was awake. “You poor dear!” the unicorn said with an alleviated sigh as she began to dig Celestia out of the snow. “What a relief that you are alive! I was so afraid for the worst. What are you doing all the way out here in the cold?”

Celestia began to look around her and take in her surroundings. She looked with adjusting eyes at the friendly unicorn smiling down at her, watching the pony fuss with some loose two tone green hairs and wondering where it was that she had come from. “Where are we, and who are you?” she asked, wincing at her still prevalent headache.

The friendly unicorn rushed to Celestia’s side as she watched her grab her pained head in her hooves. “Take it easy dear!” she said in a soothing tone. “My name is Clover, or Clover the Clever by those who I work with. You are in the woods at the base of Foal Mountain. I found you on my way back from the earth ponies marketplace. It seems food is getting rather scarce the more I go if you ask me. Better question is, who are you and what are you doing here?”

Celestia held her sore horn in her hooves as she thought over the question. “I... do not know,” she admitted, watching another pony stir beneath the snow. “I remember an argument with another pony, but I don’t remember what I was arguing about or who it was that I was arguing with. I can’t remember anything else if I must be honest.”

Clover gasped as soon as she noticed Luna, rushing to her side to help her out of her cold slumber beneath the snow. “No wonder you were arguing!” Clover exclaimed, lifting one of Luna’s wings. “This one is a pegasus! What is a pegasus doing on unicorn land?”

Luna crankily pushed Clover away from her wings. “My sister, what is going on? Where are you?” she wined, falling on her side and shivering as she looked around .

Clover gasped at Luna’s words. “Sisters?” she exclaimed in a tone so breathy that it looked smoky in the cold air.

The sisters watched in confusion as Clover pace around them in circles, chattering to herself about what an abomination they were to have been conceived in the same blood line. “What will the king say, or that brute commander?” she blurted out, her breath fogging up the air around her head as she spoke a mile a minute. “You’ll be thrown in the dungeon, that’s what! Or banished! Or worse! And I don’t know what’s worse, but mark my words they will find a way to make it worse! Oh, what if they throw me in the dungeon, or banish me, or worse! But what’s worse?!? Oh… no…”

Luna held out her hooves to stop Clover’s rapid chattering. “Be still, please,” she complained, watching as Clover stopped in mid sentence. “Who are these ponies you speak of, and why would they wish to harm us?”

Clover lifted an eyebrow at Luna’s questioning. “You don’t know Commander Hurricane?” she asked, watching Luna shake her head. “But you’re a pegasus dear. How can you not know your own commander?”

Luna looked even more confused than ever. “I am afraid we are not familiar with your commander,” she replied. “All that I know is that my sister and I are lost. Is there anything you can do to help us?”

Clover looked at both girls with a sense of wonder. “Goodness me girls,” she smiled. “You must not be from around here. No wonder you’re unfamiliar with the segregation that goes on around here. If I must be honest, I find that rather refreshing. Where are you two from?”

Celestia looked to her sister, who looked just as confused as she was. “We’re not sure, kind Clover,” she said, wincing as a strong gust of wind kicked up. “The wind so cold here! It’s like a sheet of agony!”

Clover unbuttoned her cloak to cover both girls. “I should take you back to my mentor, Starswirl the Bearded. He should know what to do. We just need to make sure to keep the both of you hidden from King Hullabaloo and his daughter, Princess Platinum. Heaven only knows what they would do if they found out the two of you are sisters!”

Since the two sisters were weakened by their stay in the snow, Clover helped them onto her market cart. It was a tight squeeze, but at least the two sisters didn’t have to walk to the castle. Celestia breathed a sigh of relief as she lay on her back, looking up into the afternoon sky. Something about the sun seemed familiar, almost like she had forgotten something. But what was it?

It took several hours for Clover to haul the cart back to the castle, and in that time the sky had gone from dark to light twice. Clover described the phenomenon as ‘most unusual,’ mentioning that the unicorns must be experimenting with their magical abilities. “They must be trying to convince the pegasus ponies to clear the clouds away again, or using this as a strategy to get the earth ponies to grow food faster,” she guessed as she hauled the wagon over a hill, revealing the sight of the unicorn castle known as Castle Horn.

The sisters were stunned by the sight of the magnificent castle, its intricate stained glass windows showing the triumphs of the unicorns over the years. Clover stopped at a door hidden under one of the castle’s many buttresses. “Here we are!” she said in an enthusiastic tone that seemed to annoy the exhausted girls. “Welcome to my home, or Starswirl’s home I should say. I live with him while under his apprenticeship. Don’t be surprised by the smells.”

Clover quickly knocked on Starswirl’s door, smiling eagerly as she waited for somepony to open it. She could hear Starswirl’s voice on the other side of the door, along with a small series of explosions. “I’m coming!” Starswirl’s annoyed voice bellowed from within.

Clover blushed as she backed away from the door. “Girls, I think we interrupted something,” she whispered, not taking her eyes off the door. She winced at the sound of glass breaking, and at the barrage of curse words that followed.

The door opened abruptly, allowing a plume of pink smoke to escape the chamber. The sisters could see a tall blue unicorn immerge from the smoke, coughing heavily as he tried to magically adjust his singed brown beard and mane. “Clover the Clever!” he shouted as he put his glasses back on his nose. “Where have you been my faithful student! I have been waiting ages for you to return with my tea. Have those stingy earth ponies been miserly with it again?”

Clover was most apologetic about the wait as she ran to the cart. “It’s right here, oh great and noble sir, but it cost more than usual,” she said, lifting Celestia up rudely to grab the box of tea out from under her.

Starswirl quickly grabbed the squashed box of tea from his apprentice, opening it up to take a whiff of it. “Just like an earth pony,” he scowled as he closed the box. “Charge more to get less. Just take a whiff. Not a speck of cinnamon what so ever! It’s highway robbery if you ask me. If we didn’t have to depend on them for food I’d say let them rot where they root.”

Clover blushed at her mentor’s harsh criticisms. “Well, they did say supplies are running low,” she admitted. “If it wasn’t snowing so much, than maybe they would have better luck growing food.”

Starswirl snorted his disapproval as he tossed the box of tea back at his assistant. “Excuses, excuses,” he said, walking up to the cart. “Now what other garbage did you pick up?”

Clover gently removed her cloak from the girls resting in her market cart. “Forgive my tardiness, but I was delayed by finding these two girls in the snow,” she explained, watching the girls shiver in the high winds.

Starswirl rubbed his chin in thought when he noticed Celestia’s blackened horn. “Hmmm,” he said as he grabbed Celestia’s horn to better examine it, ignoring her pained yelp. “Burnt out your horn, did you my dear? Must have been some battle!”

Celestia tried to back away as best she could in the tiny cart, uncomfortable by how hard Starswirl had grabbed her horn. “I… well… yes?” she stuttered as he let her go.

Starswirl began to laugh as he spontaneously backed away. “Well, nothing a good brew can’t fix!” he exclaimed before trotting over to the other pony in the cart. “We need to get you back to a full bill of health. We don’t need a unicorn down, what with the pegaus ponies wanting to wage war on anything that moves. Now, for your friend. Is her horn just as bad as yours?”

Luna began to fuss as Starswirl grabbed her head. “Unhoof me!” she shouted, standing up and hissing as she extended her wings. She would have been more successful at intimidating the unicorns if a strong gust of wind hadn’t made her lose her balance and land humiliatingly back into the cart.

Starswirl gasped fearfully as he cowered behind Clover. “What is a pegasus doing here!?!” he shouted, making Luna recoil her wings. “Is this an attack? You will never get away with this you overgrown vulture! Where are your allies?”

Clover tried her best to quiet Starswirl, but with little luck. “They’re sisters, sir!” she exclaimed as she stood between her mentor and the pegasus. “I found them buried under the snow on my way back from market. I don’t think they’re from around here. They don’t know anything about our rulers.”

Starswirl used his magic to levitate his apprentice out of his way so that he could approach the girls. “You! Whitey!” he hollered at Celestia. “Are you in on this ambush? It’s treason you know!”

Celestia began to panic at the accusation, backing down at Starswirl’s threats and glowing horn. “No!” she shouted, cowering in the corner of the narrow cart. “I mean, I don’t know, but no! I don’t even know what’s going on! I can’t remember! Please don’t hurt me!”

Luna held her sobbing sister at the fearful advance that Starswirl was making on them. She gave Starswirl a dirty look as she wrapped her wings around Celestia for protection. “Fear not my sister,” she said, keeping her eyes glued on the threatening magician. “I am here to protect you, and will not see him hurt us.”

Starswirl stood down at the tender affection that the pegasus showed the unicorn. “You really don’t know, do you girls?” he asked, sighing as he watched the girls shake their heads. “This is not good. If King Hullabaloo sees the two of you together we’ll all lose our heads. I’m afraid I have to ask you to leave.”

Celestia rose from the cart, her face a picture of worry. “Where will we go?” she fretted, wrapping her forelegs around Starswirl’s hoof to beg him for sympathy. “We don’t even know where we are, or where we came from! You can’t just abandon us!”

Starswirl began to pat Celestia’s back, a gesture he looked unfamiliar with doing. “Oh, there there Whitey,” he started, looking to Clover for guidance. “You are a unicorn, so you are more than welcome here in the kingdom. We can find you a job or something. It’s the pegasus that can’t stay, unless she wants to stay in the dungeon. If she’s in the dungeon than she is more than welcome to stay at Castle Horn.”

Luna gulped as she listened to the magician ramble on. “Dungeon?” she shivered, surprised to see an amused smile on Starswirl’s face.

Clover rushed to Luna’s side, watching her shiver in fear as she cowered down in the cart. “Master Starswirl,” she said, her voice teeming with sympathy. “Surely there is something we can do for this poor girl. How can you suggest separating sisters?”

Starswirl dismissively stuck his nose in the air at his apprentice’s concerns. “Let the pegasus ponies take care of this giant vulture,” he said, pointing at the distant cloud war structure known as the Fortress in the Sky. “It’s their fault we have all this snow anyway. Maybe if she can convince Commander Hurricane to stop this ridiculous weather, then we can strike a bargain.”

Luna stood hesitantly on her shaky legs, hoping to look more strong than frightened of the unknown. “Fine! I will!” she declared, getting nothing but a raised eyebrow from Starswirl as a response. “I will talk sense into this Commander Hurricane who has put so much plight upon your kingdom, and I will put an end to this commotion!”

Starswirl stroked his long brown beard as he listened to Luna speak. “Is that so, Miss Vulture?” he questioned amusingly. “Well, his domain is hanging right there in the sky. Hop to it! Chop chop!”

Luna flared her nostrils at Starswirl’s rude behavior. “I am going!” she hollered impatiently, beginning to flap her sore wings to try to intimidate him.

Starswirl only smiled at her pathetic teenaged display. “So what’s stopping you!” he heckled, clearly enjoying getting a rise out of Luna.

She gritted her teeth as she hopped up on the edges of the cart like an angry cat. “Nothing is stopping me!” Luna hollered down at the smug smiling Starswirl. “I will go now! Goodbye!”

Starswirl began to laugh at Luna as she jumped up to fly, only to fall flat on her face. “Well color me impressed, Vulture!” he chuckled as Luna pulled her face out of the snow.

Luna spat at Starswirl’s hooves, which she was disappointed to see hadn’t phased him. “That was just a warm up,” she lied unconvincingly. “This time I’m sure to soar!”

Starswirl rolled his eyes as he extended a sarcastic hoof toward the sky. “We’re all eager to see you go,” he said, laughing at Luna’s aggravated grunts. “Don’t forget to send us a postcard from that floating hell hole once you get there!”

Celestia watched her sister take a running launch into the air, this time successfully taking flight. She reached out for her sister as she watched her wobble through the air before making a proper assent. “Come back my sister!” she cried out desperately, watching Luna clip a tree branch on her way up into the sky.

Luna flew higher above the trees to avoid any further collisions, making a gliding turn toward where the unicorns were standing. “Stay here, my sister,” she commanded, having a hard time hovering above Celestia. “I’ll come back for you in due time, of that you have my promise! Just stay safe!”

The three unicorns watched Luna struggle through the air on her way to the Fortress in the Sky, Starswirl particularly enjoying the show. “Looks like Vulture isn’t much of a flier, is she Whitey?” he said, poking Celestia in the side as they watched Luna recover from an unplanned nosedive.

Celestia dipped her head as she watched her sister disappear into the clouds. “I guess not,” she said sadly.

Unlike her heckling mentor, Clover noticed Celestia begin crying again. “Are you alright dear?” she asked, handing Celestia a handkerchief.

Celestia blew her nose noisily into the handkerchief before trying to pass it back. “I don’t know,” she said, noticing that Clover didn’t want to take the dripping handkerchief back. “I feel so lost and alone now that my sister is gone. She was the only pony I felt like I knew when I woke up, and even then I didn’t feel like I knew much.”

Starswirl’s expression softened at the sight of the crying teenager. “Chin up now Whitey,” he said, smiling for Celestia’s sake. “Why don’t we go inside, drink some overpriced tea, and complain about the bad quality of it. You look like you could use a hot meal and a good laugh.”

Celestia raised her head at the friendly prospect. “Thank you,” she sniffled. “Only my name isn’t Whitey.”

Starswirl tilted his head curiously at the teenager next to him. “Oh?” he asked. “Well, what is it then?”

Celestia rested her hoof on her chin, thinking about it for a moment. “It’s…” she thought, her new friends looking expectantly at her. “I… can’t remember.”

Starswirl put his hoof to his forehead, rolling his eyes at the build up Celestia had put on. “I guess Whitey will have to do for now,” he replied, not even caring about the disappointed look on the young one’s face. “Now follow me inside before we freeze to death.”

Chapter 5: A Friend in the Clouds

Luna collapsed on a cloud, breathing heavily at the unfamiliar exertion she had taken on. She began to cry from the painful cramping in her wings, not knowing what to do to ease them. From her spot on the cloud she could see her sister walk into the rude magician’s workshop, glad to know that at least one of them had found a warm spot. ‘How I envy you,’ she thought to herself when she saw the door shut. ‘It is colder up here than it was on the ground.’

Luna tried to bury herself in the clouds for warmth, only to find that they were just as cold and wet as the snow. She shivered beneath the blowing surface of the clouds, her constricted, quaking muscles making the cramping in her wings hurt worse. She couldn’t help feeling more alone than she’d ever felt in all her life as she wept for her discomforts, or at least what she could remember of her life. ‘How I wish we knew where we were,’ she cried to herself, her thoughts a disoriented jumble of loneliness and grief. ‘This all feels so confusing, like we are missing something.’

Her cries did not go unnoticed, for soon she felt the gentle tapping of a hoof on her shoulder. She turned moist eyed to see a blue pegasus with curly white hair hovering just above her. The pegasus put on a kind smile when she saw Luna look up at her. “Are you alright?” she asked in the most gentle voice Luna had ever heard.

Luna sighed as she lay her head back down, paying more attention to the ground than to the new pony. “That is a difficult question to answer,” she admitted. “I am lost and hurt. I am trying to find somepony named Commander Hurricane in a cloud fortress, but I can not find my way.”

Luna watched the pegasus hover into her line of sight, her big yellow eyes teeming with concern. “Oh you poor dear,” the pegasus said. “You must be a new recruit, seeing as how young you are. I can help you get to the Fortress in the Sky if you want me to help you.”

Luna could not help perking up at the friendly pegasus’s kind offer. “The help would be greatly appreciated,” she accepted, much to the delight of her new friend.

She watched the pegasus begin picking at the clouds around her, making for a much smaller cloud that could be easily pushed. “Almost done,” the pegasus said as she put the picked clouds in a basket she was carrying. “By the way, my name is Pansy. I’m a Private in the Pegasus Military Defense Squadron. What’s your name?”

Luna’s smile disappeared as she thought back to her name. “It’s… um…” she thought as Private Pansy began pushing the cloud toward their destination. “Forgive me Pansy, for I’ve forgotten my own name. I’ve had a rough day, and my memory continues to fail me the more I try to think about it.”

Pansy’s eyes flew open in shock as she listened to Luna’s problem. “Oh my!” she exclaimed, flying up to Luna to sit next to her. “How terrible! To not be able to remember your own name? I can’t imagine how awful that must feel!”

Luna put a smile on for Pansy’s sake. “Don’t worry,” she said, watching the tension in Pansy’s shoulders loosen. “I am making some progress now that you are here, but if I could speak with your commander when we get to the fortress I may get the answers I am looking for.”

Private Pansy saluted happily as she leapt off the cloud. “I can do that Private… um…” she asked nervously. She watched Luna shrug and look down at the earth again. Pansy touched her chin in thought as she watched Luna’s behavior, chuckling slightly at the thought that just popped into her head. “You know,” Pansy said, “if you don’t mind me saying, you sort of look like a vulture staring down at the earth like that.”

Luna tried to settle her laughter at Pansy’s suggestion, doing her best to make sure she didn’t roll off the cloud. “Vulture?” she chuckled. “Somehow that sounds familiar.”

Pansy shared the chuckle as she went back to pushing Luna’s cloud to the fortress. “Vulture it is than, if that’s okay with you,” she said. “At least until you get your memory back, okay?”

Luna smiled broadly as Pansy pushed her toward the fortress. “Your concern is so kind,” she said as they sailed through the skies. “I’m grateful for such a warm welcome to such an unfamiliar place. I wish the unicorns were as friendly. I’m worried about my sister since she’s down there with them.”

Once again, Private Pansy gasped as she stopped pushing the cloud. She flew in front of Luna so that she could make eye contact, all the while breathing heavily due to the onset of a panic attack. “They’ve captured your sister?!?” she exclaimed as she began to nervously chew on her hooves. “We’ve got to get to the commander right away! We’ve got no time to loose! I’ve got to hurry or else!”

Luna grabbed Pansy out of the sky before she hurt herself. “Be still before you hurt yourself!” she explained. “My sister is a unicorn, so she is safe. We are lost in this strange place. We have no recollection of how we got here or why we are here, but somehow we’re here. She is safe with the unicorns, and I am to find your commander to talk to him about ending the snowy weather so that a tribe called the earth ponies can go back to growing food.”

With a small sigh of relief, Pansy settled down on the cloud. “We can’t control the snow silly!” she giggled as her breathing returned to normal. “If we could it would stop snowing by now. Commander Hurricane thinks the unicorns are doing something with their magic to make the weather behave so sporadically. They’ve done the same thing with the sun and moon. Why, just look how quickly the sun is going down. Much too soon if you ask me.”

Luna watched the moon shoot up into the sky far quicker than she’d ever seen it do before, giving the sun little time to retreat. Something about the moon felt familiar, but what it was she couldn’t recall. “I had not heard of this development,” she said, watching the moon spin around like a top in the sky. “My hope is that Commander Hurricane can explain this to me. I bet we can learn a lot from each other.”

Pansy sighed heavily as she went back to pushing Luna’s cloud. “Good luck with that one Vulture,” she admitted. “Commander Hurricane is pretty opinionated. It’s not always easy to get your point across when dealing with him. But you should discover that soon enough. We’re almost there!”

Chapter 6: What Is That Smell?

Clover had warned Celestia that there would be odd smells in Starswirl’s chamber, but nothing could prepare her for the putrid aromas that awaited her. Starswirl giggled as he lifted a bowl of muck up to his new houseguest. “Fragrant, isn’t it Whitey!” he chuckled, watching her put her hoof over her offended nose and make a few unladylike gagging sounds.

Celestia had to suppress her gag reflex as she followed Clover around the cluttered room. “What died in here?!” she exclaimed, squealing in disgust at whatever mushy thing she just stepped in.

Clover crinkled up her nose as she examined what got walked on. “Um, Starswirl?” she said, looking just as grossed out as her young accomplice. “I think we found Princess Platinum’s missing hamster. Poor thing never had a chance down here.”

Starswirl ignored the girl’s complaints as he levitated a broom and dustpan. “You win some, you lose some,” he said as he swept the dead pet up and dumped it out the window. “Now, we need to get a cure going for Whitey’s hot horn so she’ll stop making such a fuss. Clover the Clever, get me a sprig of jewelweed out of the herb cabinet.”

Doing as she was instructed, Clover opened up the cabinet with her magic. She stood back as she saw a giant wolf spider the size of a plate scatter out of the way. “It looks like we’re out of jewelweed,” she said, watching the spider slink onto a thick cobweb. “On a more positive note, I found Webster. Silly spider got into the herb cabinet again!”

Starswirl smiled genuinely as he rushed up to the cabinet. “There you are you sneaky little sucker face!” he said affectionately, allowing the spider to crawl onto his head. “Off hunting crickets again big boy? I really should feed you better, shouldn’t I? Yes I should! Yes indeedy I should my big boy!”

Celestia stood back uncomfortably as she watched Starswirl dote over the huge fuzzy arachnid like an old mare would a pet cat. Starswirl turned to her with the spider still standing on his head. “You wanna meet Whitey boy?” he asked the spider in a mushy gushy voice, sounding more like a crazy cat lady than a professional spell caster.

Celestia winced as the spider was brought up to her, letting out squeaks of disgust as she attempted to pet the spider. “Nice boy?” she said in a shaking voice, shrieking when she heard it hiss.

Starswirl laughed heartily at her reaction, giving the spider a tender pat on the abdomen. “I think Webster likes you Whitey!” he said, letting the spider down from his head to wander around freely.

Clover was used to Webster’s antics, and did not even flinch when she saw him crawl into the dying herb garden she kept near the window to dig for worms. She pet him on the abdomen as she watched him chew on a live worm like it was a dog toy. “He’s not so bad Whitey, really!” she said, watching Webster begin to dig around in the dirt for more worms. “He’s actually quite useful with the insect problems we tend to get down here.”

Celestia didn’t think she could get more grossed out, but the mention of an insect problem made her face screw up to new levels of disgust. “Insect problem?” she replied in a terrified chirp, her eyes darting around the room looking for the offending little pests.

She screamed the moment her eyes landed on a cockroach. Starswirl was quick to act on it, bringing out a jar to catch it. “Thanks!” he said, watching the cockroach amble about in the jar. “Webster loves these things! I owe you one!”

By now Celestia was terrified beyond all comprehension. “Just cure my horn and get me out of here!” she screamed, bouncing up and down for fear of any bugs getting on her.

Clover began to root through the crackling plants. “I think we killed it,” she said, holding up the browned remains of a dead herb.

Starswirl peered down his nose at the plant’s remains, adjusting his glasses to get a better look at it. “Confounded all!” he said, sneering at his dying efforts. “I should have known those seeds the earth ponies sold were nothing but garbage! ‘Tender loving care’ they said! ‘Sun and water’ they said! Bah!”

Clover dusted it off with her hoof, trying to stay optimistic about the whole thing. “It’s pre-dried at least,” she said, holding it up to the less than impressed Celestia. “We can still make a tea out of it, don’t you think?”

Starswirl stuck his tongue out at the dead sprig of jewelweed. “Best we got until we can get to market again,” he explained, levitating the herb to his mortar and pestle. “I can make a compress with it, but it might take longer to get that horn healed because of how dry this thing is. We just need something to make a bandage out of. Clover the Clever, where are those material scraps?”

Doing as she was told, Clover opened up a drawer where she kept various lengths of scrap material. She jumped back the moment she noticed something looking back at her. “We have a problem,” she said, her wide eyes not leaving the drawer.

Starswirl rolled his eyes as she went up to the storage drawers. Using his own magic, he opened up the drawer to see what was the matter. “Well, this is something,” he uttered as he used his magic to lift a snake out of the drawer. “Cute little guy. What do you think, new pet for the princess? Not sure if she’s into snake skin, but what do I know from women’s fashion.”

Celestia let out a blood-curdling scream as the snake stuck its tongue out at her. “I’ll take the cold over this!” she yelled as she ran for the exit. She tried using her magic to open door, only to have the pain in her horn overwhelm her and her spell fail. Without her magic to aid her, Celestia desperately kicked the door off its hinges to escape the mess.

Clover and Starswirl stuck their heads out the broken door to watch their guest run through the snow. Starswirl was glad to watch her trip over something hidden under the snow and fall flat on her face just before the sun disappeared again. “Hey!” he shouted as Celestia lifted her head out of the snow to spit out what ended up in her mouth. “Get back here and fix this door! I’m not trying to heat up the whole town!”