“SOLA!”
“COMING!” Solar Flare fluffed her fiery mane one more time before barreling downstairs.
“NIGHTY! WHAT’S FOR BREAKFAST?”
“YOU DON’T HAVE TO YELL!” Nightmare Moon yelled back.
“Okay.” Solar sat down at the round wooden table. “So what’s for breakfast?”
“First, you asked that. Second, Mommy wrote a note saying to have cereal.” She levitated two each of bowls, spoons, and glasses, and a jug of milk and of orange juice. Solar chose the cereal because it was her turn that week.
“Lucky Charms again?” Nightmare complained.
“What? They’re magically delicious!” The white alicorn stuck her tongue out at her sister.
“Well,” Nightmare said as she sat down, “if they were so ‘magically delicious,’ then why don’t they do something actually magical? Like make a pattern by themselves or feed you or make it taste like the moon?!”
“You went to the moon without me?” Solar Flare released her telekinetic grip on the cereal box, letting fall onto the table. It landed with a weak thump. “No fair!”
“If you knew the air spell I would’ve taken you. Also if you weren’t such a heavy sleeper and if you didn’t need so much sleep…”
Solar pouted as she poured both her and her sister’s cereal. Nightmare, in turn, poured the milk and the orange juice at the same time.
The kitchen was silent as the two ate breakfast. Sunlight percolated through the window to the right of the table and fell to rest on the floor.
Solar broke the quiet, asking, “So what does the moon taste like?”
“Like cheese,” the black alicorn responded nonchalantly.
“I knew it!” Solar jumped up and did her victory dance, which consisted of pumping her hooves in the air and wiggling her rump. Nightmare Moon tried not to laugh.
“Sit down,” she said, her laughter barely contained.
Solar Flare obeyed. “Can you bring me a piece of the moon next time?” she asked, using her (unnecessary for that moment) puppy dog eyes.
“Of course.”
◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊
After brushing their teeth and Nightmare Moon brushed her mane (arranging stars in one’s mane is time-consuming, and Solar didn’t need to brush hers), they went downstairs and outside.
The house sat on acres and acres of land, so many that all you could see was grass for miles and miles. Here and there were clumps of wild flowers, and in many places the grass was higher than the fillies.
The sun was high in the sky, and Nightmare Moon felt like she was going to pass out soon.
“Sola,” she said weakly, “can you lower the sun a bit?”
“I don’t know. Daddy always helps me with it.”
“I’ll help you.”
Together the two sisters’ horns lit up — the former’s blue, the latter’s a fiery orange — and they made the sun go back until it looked like it was seven o’clock.
“Much better,” Nightmare said, already feeling less sick.
“So what are we gonna play today?” Solar asked.
“Cat ‘n’ Mouse. I’m the cat” — Nightmare Moon pointed to herself — “and you’re the mouse!”
“Why am I always the mouse?”
“Because you’re smaller than me, that’s why. Now go hide, Sunny Butt!”
“Hey, don’t call me that!”
“Go!”
Solar Flare went to go find a hiding spot while Nightmare covered her eyes. “Oonnne, twoooo, threeee, fouuurrr, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, one hundred!”
The ebony alicorn crouched low to the ground, her mane flowing through the grass. She kept her mouth tightly shut as she crawled around slowly. Her ears were alert, listening for the slightest disturbance. She saw Solar and slowed down even more. When she got close enough, she stopped.
Wiggling her rump like a cat does, Nightmare Moon prepared, coiling like a spring…
“ROAR!” she yelled as she leaped. Solar squeaked and tried to get away. Nightmare latched onto her hind leg, and Solar fell. Her sister started pretending to gnaw on her leg, and then started tickling her.
“S-stop!” the fiery-maned alicorn cried between laughs.
Nightmare continued for a few more seconds before stopping. “I found you, Sunny Butt!”
“Can’t I be the cat? Please?”
Nightmare thought for a moment. “Maybe tomorrow.”
“Yay!”
◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊
Lunchtime rolled around and found the two still outside, rolling in the grass; Nightmare’s mane releasing stars onto the grass, Solar’s releasing smoke. They rolled and rolled, and ended up at the top of a hill.
“Ready?” called Nightmare Moon.
“Ready!”
The two rolled down the hill at the same time, going “WHEEEEE!”
They made it to the bottom, and they just laid there, staring at the sky. A sound like rolling thunder was heard.
“I don’t see any clouds,” said Nightmare.
“That was me,” Solar said, slightly sheepish.
“That means…”
“Lunchtime!” Solar yelled.
“Race ya there!” The black alicorn flew off.
“No fair! You’re older than me!” Solar called out as she too flew to the house.
Nightmare, of course, made it first, but was still panting when Solar arrived, also panting.
“I think today,” Nightmare Moon said after catching her breath, “is a pizza day.”
“Yay! Pizza, pizza!” Solar bounced around her sister as they went into the house. They took a right after the dark red entrance hall into the kitchen. Nightmare opened the refrigerator and lifted out a container of pizza with her starry mane. The container wobbled, but she balanced it.
“One or two slices?” she asked.
“Two!” Solar Flare said happily.
Nightmare levitated four slices out — two for Solar, two for herself — and put them on a plate. “Would you like to warm them up?”
“Yep!” Solar closed her eyes as her horn started to glow. The cheese on the pizza began to change until it looked squishier. Nightmare poked it.
“It’s done!” she said.
Solar’s horn stopped glowing and she opened her eyes. Her stomach rumbled. “Time to eat!”
The two sisters finished their pizza quickly; Solar practically inhaled hers.
“All done!” she said.
Nightmare Moon looked up and raised an eyebrow.
Solar had dirt and grass stains all over her coat and sauce around her muzzle. Her mane was still smoking, grass and flowers stuck in it. She smiled a toothy grin.
“Looks like somepony needs a bath,” Nightmare remarked.
“No, not a bath!”
“Yes, a bath. The bath monster is gonna get you!” Nightmare stood on her hind legs and pretended to bare some fangs.
Solar squealed and ran upstairs, Nightmare Moon chasing her, roaring, and both giggling at the same time. They ran into Solar’s red room, past their parents’ room, into Nightmare’s dark blue room, and finally into the bathroom. When Solar set one hoof near the bathroom, Nightmare used her magic to turn on the faucet in the tub.
Solar, having nowhere to run after being cornered in the bathroom, tried to levitate her sister. When that failed, she resignedly got in the tub.
“Thank you,” her sister said as she used her mane to lift a washrag off the counter. “Now, you need to—”
Nightmare was cut off as she got pulled into the tub with a SPLASH.
“Hey!” she said in surprise and irritation.
Solar Flare blew a raspberry.
Nightmare Moon splashed her sister. Her sister splashed back. Nightmare splashed harder. Solar returned in kind.
They kept splashing each other, giggling, getting water everywhere. They stopped when Nightmare noticed that the water was almost to the top of the porcelain tub and stopped splashing her sister. She shut off the water and watched as Solar’s mane warmed and evaporated the liquid. She turned to her right and looked at the rest of the bathroom.
She stifled a giggle as water dripped down the part of the mirror closest to the tub. A puddle had grown outside the tub, completely soaking a towel that was on the tile floor.
“Well, I know what we’ll be doing after you’re done,” Nightmare said wryly.
Solar smiled innocently back.
◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊
After an hour of trying to get the stains out of Solar’s coat (some were very stubborn) and drying up the water, Nightmare sat back on her haunches.
“Sola,” she asked, “where did you get the paper?”
Solar looked up. Her mane had smoke coming off from it, evidence of the burning. “I teleported it,” she said.
“You can teleport paper, but you can’t do a simple air spell?” said Nightmare, incredulous.
“Yep!”
Nightmare facehoofed.
The doorbell rang rather loud, considering they were on the second floor. The music was slightly creepy.
“Coming!” yelled Nightmare and Solar at the same time. They both ran downstairs, and opened the door together with their magic.
“Hi!”
“Hi girls!” Standing in front of them was the Ethereal Queen, known to the sisters as Nightfall. The fading light reflected off of her steel mane-covering and crown, which had a dark purple jewel that seemed to glow of its own accord.
Nightmare looked at the sky. “It’s getting dark already?”
“I just had a bath!” Solar Flare said.
“Can’t twilight come early?” Nightfall said with a smirk, her draconic purple eyes filled with mirth.
“Yay! Stargazing, stargazing!” Solar bounced up and down.
The three went outside, and Nightmare closed the door behind them. They went to their usual spot and flopped down, Nightfall’s leathery wings folding and releasing a puff of purple smoke.
“Try and find Sirius,” she said.
Nightmare glanced over at the dragicorn. She could barely see her adult friend, her dark purple coat fading to black at the hooves; the only things she could really see were Nightfall’s ever-glowing horn, her purple eyes, and purple smoke flowing off of her. Nightmare turned her attention back to the sky. She knew she would find the star and decided to have a little fun. Her horn started to glow blue, and she stuck out her tongue in concentration.
Solar watched as a star seemed to move on its own. She sat up. “Hey! No changing the stars!” she said angrily to Nightfall.
“Not me,” Nightfall said, barely containing her smile.
Solar’s scarlet eyes slid over to Nightmare’s horn, which was still glowing even though the star had stopped moving. “Nightmare!” she whined.
“Whaaat?” You found it, didn’t you Sunny Butt?”
“Yeah. And don’t call me that!”
The black alicorn snickered, but stopped when she saw a shape in the distance. She narrowed her eyes, trying to see who or what it was. The figure was odd, as if it had holes in it. As the figure came closer, it became obvious that there were holes.
Solar Flare leapt up. “Mommy!” She ran, using her wings for bursts of speed.
“Wait up!” Nightmare Moon called, also getting to her hooves and running. She sometimes flew, sometimes ran.
“Hello!” Chrysalis said, gathering the two in her hole-filled hooves, stumbling backwards from the force of them barreling over to her. “How are you guys?”
“Good! Nightfall’s here!” Solar pointed to where she assumed Nightfall was.
“That’s good. Daddy won’t be home tonight; he’s still at the hospital for the amount of crystals that he ate. And a rather large one that he somehow ate after we got to the hospital.”
“Awww,” they said.
“Now, now. You had plenty of fun today, right? Nobody got hurt, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Well don’t let Daddy being in the hospital ruin it.” Chrysalis resumed walking. “Have I ever told you,” she started, “that one day you will take over the world?”
“No WAY! We’ll get to be queens!” Solar cried happily.
“Cool!” Nightmare Moon chimed in. “But me before you, future co-ruler Sunny Butt.” She stuck her tongue out. Solar stuck her tongue out back.
“Hello Nightfall,” said Chrysalis, hoping that she was facing the dragicorn.
“Hello.” Nightfall opened her eyes so she could be seen in the dark. She got up off the ground. “How’s the other brood?”
“Good, good,” the queen said quickly. She gave her a look that said “not now.” Chrysalis turned to the alicorn fillies. “Who wants waffles for dinner?”
“Me, me!” they cried at the same time, and ran for the door. They yelled one last thing before going inside:
“Best day ever!”
Author's Note
Just to clarify, a dragicorn is like an alicorn, but with dragon wings.
