In summer, the gardens of Canterlot blossom with sweet flowers and plump fruit, hanging laden from the trees, waiting for the strong Earth ponies to pick them. Meanwhile, the smart Unicorns calculate the harvest and how long it will last when winter sets in.
And it was on the first day of winter that things started going wrong for the kingdom.
Princess Luna got out of bed, (fell out) and trudged wearily through the corridors of the palace just like every other morning. She had made a bet with Cadence that she could raise the sun and the moon in one day. Cadence had been wrong, and subsequently owed her fifty bits. However, Luna hadn't slept a wink that night, as she was not used to going out of her daily cycle.
This meant that she would be able to have breakfast with her sister, which was a rare occurance. For a strange reason, she was almost dreading the exchange of conversation. She had not been in contact with Celestia for a day or two, as they must've missed each other with the exchange of duties over the stellar bodies above the night sky.
Although, Luna had never felt this kind of sinking feeling before. Wait- no. She had. The last time was the day she woke up after a particularly deep sleep. With the bad feeling in the pit of her stomach, she walked through the empty castle to see Princess Cadence lying on the floor, with the changeling queen laughing evilly, standing above the injured Alicorn.
She really hoped that thing didn't invade again. She gave Luna the creeps, especially that one time she had a nightmare that she had marched into the throne room and claimed that she was Luna's and Celestia's long lost sister, and she had right to the throne. Wait, was that a dream? She sure hoped so.
She realised that her deep thoughts had made her sub-consciously stop trotting. Picking the pace back up, she entered the Living Room to find no-one there. Except the guards, of course. but they were always there. At this particular moment, they were sleeping. Luna would have to reprimand them later, but for now she had to figure out where her sister was.
walking round the table, the answer came to her- quite shockingly. There was a small white cat sitting on the chair where her sister usually sat. it had a crown that was too big for it on it's head, as well as some of the other royal jewelley sitting looseley on her. she had Celestia's eyes and Mark, and at the sight of luna, it meowed loudly, and jumped on Luna's face.
Pulling her off with magic, Luna could only guess, with horror, that this was her sister, the victim of some spiteful incantation.
"Mya meon mrow! mraw meow meow meow!"
(Luna! It's Discord! He did this!)
"Trying to say something?" Luna sked, perplexed,
"MEOWMEOWMEOWMEOOOOOOOOW?!"
(DAMMIT LUNA LISTEN TO ME WHY CANT YOU HEAR ME?!)
"No need for yelling. Yeesh, you always were grumpy."
a small smile came to her face. She had always wanted a pet. That was also her sister. Okay, maybe that was a big ask. but it was hers now! She had her own cat to pet in front of the fireplace, and to keep her warm in winter. Luna shook her head. This was her sister, she couldnt keep her as a pet. She would claw her face off after the first hour.
She had to find a solution. Maybe. After a few days.
Carrying the enraged cat away, Luna laughed slightly crazily. This was going to be a fun day.
She put "Catlestia" as she would call her, down on the dresser in her bedroom. all thoughts and feelings of weariness were dragged away as she prepared for a day of annoying her sister. Spiteful? try spending a thousand years on the moon. She got out a brush, a comb, and some elastic bands. The cat was strong-looking, and it had a bit of Celestia's hair, but only a bit.
"Meow meow? MROWMROW!"
(what are you doing? STAY AWAY!)
"Calm down, im going to make you look pretty."
She used one of the elastics to tie her arms to her side, and started brushing her hair, the enraged Princess trying to repel her with small bursts of magic. Luna, as her magical equal, could easily deflect the bolts. using another piece of elastic, she tied the back of her sister's hair into a ponytail, (ironic) and brushed some more knots out of it. Using the comb, she straightend out her fur, and once she was done, tied a golden ribbon on her tail.
taking the elastic off her arms, Luna gave her a mirror, which she clumsily tried to hold. letting out a hiss, she smashed the mirror with magic, and struggled to get the ribbon off her tail. She managed to, eventually, but could not remove the elastic binding her hair.
"Awwww, you look beautiful!"
"MROW MEOW MEOW MROW"
(YOU WILL DIE SLOWLY)
"Come on. We're gonna hit the town.
"MROOOOOOOOOOOW"
(PLEASE HELP ME)
Luna started to walk outside, and her sister had no choice but to follow. In the garden, the feeling came back. It had taken about an hour since she woke up, had some quick breakfast, and did Catlestia's hair. The feeling seemed to be some kind of instinct, because it occured just before bad things happened. She realised in a split second of dread that she was standing beneath the statue of Discord.
The pure apprehension of meeting the Chaos God again petrified her. Luna had never dealt with any supervillais before, and although Chrysalis creeped her out, Discord was downright scary.
"Why, Isn't it Princess Luna. And you brought your sister! how sweet." She whirled around, trying to look brave.
"What do you want, Discord?"
the Drakonequus, his feet still rooted in place, bent down to Luna's level, putting his arm around her shoulders, as if he was an old friend, just about to give some heart-to-heart advice. "It has been so loneley, standing here day after day. I would be very appreciative if you could get me a companion, just an animal. you know, I've always been a cat person."
Luna shook off his arm in disgust, and smashed him with a blast of lightning. picking up Catlestia with magic, she started galloping away, out of the gardens. When she looked over her shoulder, all she saw was the statue of Discord. It winked menacingly at her.
a voice spoke to her in her head. "Lets see if your friends can look after your sister."
And the statue did not move or speak again, and when Luna turned around, Catlestia was gone.
