Chosen of the Storm
Prologue
Luna has a secret, a terrible secret; one that would upset the time of peace in Equestria. She knows that one day, she will have to reveal this secret, or it would reveal itself. . . She is also aware that she will have to face judgement for the results brought on by this... secret. She was about to speak up and explain everything, but after the swift reign of discord, she had thought it better to let the time of peace last. But as for her hidden words, let’s just say, turning the world of Equestria into a land of eternal darkness was not her only goal when she was the sinister Nightmare Moon. The hate and envy that had tainted her caused her to curse Equestria with a future of destruction and death. This curse is set to unfold its horrible reality within a few moons. Luna has a secret . . . and it’s time to expose the truth.
Chapter 1
It’s dark, but the ominous shadows brought on by the torch light did not sway her. Luna, who had just started to understand and memorize the castle’s layout, slowly made her way to her sister’s room. She had a look of concentration upon her face as she came to a fork, but quickly remembered which way to go via the pictures on the wall. Luna’s coat, mane and tail glimmer in the darkness, just as other things only shine in the light. Her beauty is absolute and known throughout the land of Equestria, and she is all the more glorious with the darkness surrounding her. It is in-between guard shifts now, so the only sound that can be heard is the sound of her hoofsteps echoing silently down each corridor.
Luna has surely adapted to some parts of her new life more than others, after being imprisoned for one thousand years. After having been shown the mercy and kindness of her sister, she often wishes that she would have never become overcome with the terrible feelings and thoughts that had first transformed her into Nightmare Moon. Although she took to the royal life quite well, she had had some trouble recognizing her place and role in relation to the subjects of Equestria. If it not had been for the persistent Twilight Sparkle, Luna may of never of found her place. Luna is now aware of the “fun” that comes from Nightmare Night, and how getting scared can be fun once and a while. Luna has since then realized why Celestia took Twilight as her own personal pupil. But other than the misunderstanding during Nightmare Night, Luna has fared quite well in fitting in.
Suddenly, Luna walkedpassed a window and caught a glimpse of something wonderful. So she halts to revel in the magnificence that is her moon. The window is old, older than she. The inheritance of Canterlot castle dates back to before Celestia and Luna’s time, its value is undeniable. While viewing its glory, Luna realizes that the moon is at its half life, which means the full moon is mere nights away. Remembering the urgent cause of visiting her sister, Luna backs away from the window and continues on her way to her sister’s room.
She barely took three steps before something forcefully knocked her in the flank. This collision caused her to lose her balance. She takes a few steps sideways, aiming for the wall to help keep her standing. With the help of her magic she quickly prevents anything valuable that was hanging from the walls from becoming damaged, afterward she turns around to confront whoever bumped into her, accidentally or otherwise.
“Please excuse me I . . . Oh, Princess?!” the figure exclaimed. “Please forgive me, I’m late to getting to my shift and wasn’t paying full attention to where I was going.”
Luna made the figure out to be one of Celestia’s night guards, his golden armor signified such. She felt pity, for Celestia and her guards aren’t blessed with the ability to see clearly in the darkness alike to her guards, as well as herself. She swishes her tail and replies. “Fear not, thy apology has been accepted.”
The guard straightens up at the sound of her reassuring words. “Oh, thank you Princess, I should be on my way now.”
“Not so fast, do not think thou can just collide with me and walk off, I think a proper introduction is in order. What is thine name?”
The guard pauses a moment as if he had forgotten his own name. When really he was uncertain to reveal his real name in the fear that Luna would tell Celestia, which in turn would leave him some punishment, he decided that lying to his Princess would bring upon deeper consequences. “My name is Frederick, m’lady, Guard Frederick.”
“Well, Frederick, I think a just punishment for your mistake would be for you to accompany me to my sister’s room, dost thou think?” she grins slightly. The smile heightens her complexion and makes her beauty even more irresistible.
The guard, realizing how reasonable Luna can be, lets out a sigh or relief and agrees. “Yes Princess, that sounds reasonable.”
“Call me Luna,” Luna states as she turns towards her destination and motions him to follow by her side. Frederick hastily moves into place and walks by her side, although it is difficult for him to keep up with her immortal strides. The body of an immortal pony is much larger than that of any average stallion; therefore Luna legs exceed those of Frederick’s in length, making it so Frederick must take three steps to keep up with every two of Luna’s.
They walk in silence until Luna decides to break it. “So, Frederick, are you aware of my history?” Luna was referring to the story of how she was imprisoned in the moon for one thousand years, and then defeated by the Elements of Harmony.
“Oh, yes Princess . . . err, Luna. I am quite familiar with the tale, as I am sure everypony is," he replies.
“Well mighty Frederick of the Guard, a day may come soon when you will take part in that history.”
“What do you mean Prin-, Luna?” Frederick slightly blushes in the shadows from his inability to remember to call her by her name. Luna doesn’t notice. Instead she is thinking carefully of how she should phrase her words.
“Nothing for you to worry about . . . yet, dear Frederick. But," she giggles to herself, “I advise you visit the training grounds soon.” The comment is clearly mocking Frederick’s skimpiness. Luna has assumed to herself, that the not so built form of Frederick, as well as his slightly misguided sense of direction of the castle, that he is a rookie.
Frederick’s cheeks get redder as he agrees, “Of course, Luna.”
They finally reach their destination, and Luna commences the good-byes. “Alright Frederick, I must speakest with my sister alone, and I am sure you must be getting to your post.”
“Yes, indeed Luna, thank you, have a good night," his tail flails as he turns. His quick hoofsteps fade into the night as Luna is left alone.
Luna chuckles, “I always do," she confirms to herself. After taking a moment to think about which words to use while confronting Celestia, she uses her magic to fix any ailments about her that may have been caused from the crash earlier. She ruffles her wings and finally turns to the door. The door, surely replaced time and time again over the years, clearly signifies the importance of this room, verifying that Luna is at the right place. She slowly raises her hoof as if to give her time to rethink if she should actually talk to Celestia about this. But, her mind was made up quite a while ago, this must be done. She swiftly knocks on her sister’s door and waits for a response.
Celestia’s infamous voice is heard from behind the door. “Come in.”
Luna slowly, magically opens the door and enters. As she enters, the door makes no sound. Light meets Luna’s eyes as she quickly investigates what her sister is up to. It seems Celestia has just received word from her subjects from Ponyville and is deep in concentration reading it. “Celestia?” began Luna, the expression on her face quickly changing from cheerful to serious.
Celestia looked up from the scroll she was reading. Her room, being well lit, exceptionally displayed the beautiful luminosity of the Sun Princess. Her mane and tail lay comfortably as the assortments of colors which make them up glow. There is no doubt the news she had just received was good. It’s unfortunate that Luna doesn’t have good news to share.
It is obvious that Celestia is happy to see her sister; she gets up, strides over and affectionately nuzzles her sister. “Ahh, Luna, my beloved sister. How can I help you this fine evening?”
The look of seriousness on Luna’s face then turned grim. “I have . . . something to tell you, sister.”
___________________
“Twilight, c’mon, we’re going to be late . . . again.” urged the purple and green dragon Spike. He and Twilight Sparkle, an intelligent witty unicorn, were supposed to have left for Sugarcube Corner a half an hour ago to help Pinkie Pie with some big orders.
“Don’t worry Spike,” Twilight reassured him, “there’s plenty of daylight left and I’ve almost perfected this spell.” Just as she spoke these words she successfully used her magic to transform an ordinary cupcake into an apple.
Spike sighed, “Great, I can’t wait to tell Pinkie Pie the reason we were late to help her make cupcakes is because we were busy turning cupcakes into other foods!”
“There no reason she needs to know why we’re a bit tardy, and in fact, of all people, I’m sure Pinkie Pie would be more than happy to know that I am able to conjure a new spell, no matter what it does.” Says Twilight as she shelves the book she was using.
“Perhaps, she is quite the optimistic pony.” Agreed Spike, “But still we said we would be there. . . Now! Can we please get a move on?
“Yes, yes alright, let me just tidy myself up a bit," says Twilight as she heads to her room. The dragon, having being ready an hour before hand waited ever so patiently for Twilight to finally join him.
As a gesture to show how impatient he is, he leans to his right and uses a root of the library to hold himself up. Just then, to Spike’s surprise, the root collapses underneath his weight. A secret compartment becomes ajar above him and a book falls out on top of him.
“Ouch!” Spike exclaims as he gets up and looks around for what hit him. He spots the book and picks it up. Its light, about a centimeter think, and it looks to be hundreds of years old. He rotates his find, looking for a name, title, symbol, anything that could verify the meaning of this book. He finds none so he opens it, quickly turning his head as he sneezes from the large amount of dust that intrudes upon his nose. He’s made sure never to accidentally reduce a book to ashes again. Inside he finds the first page with a faded image of a lightning bolt and the word he assumes is the title ‘Curse’.
“Hmm”, Spike marvels to himself as he quickly flips through the book’s pages. It is indeed a quick read. Most of the pages look like steps to a sequence or diary entries, with many elaborate pictures of odd shapes. He looks, but finds no author. His curiosity just starts to take hold of him when Twilight appears behind him.
“Well well, now look who’s in the middle of something and not ready to go.”
Spike glares at the comment and then attempts to redeem himself. “No, you see Twilight, I was leaning on this root," Spike points to the root that collapsed under him. “And it just gave out on me, and then out of the blue, this book knocks me in the head.”
“Hmm, ‘Curse’,” Twilight reads, “sounds interesting, but as you said we’re late enough as it is, you can read your new book when we get back."
“Aww, you know I’m not into books as much as you are Twilight, I’ll just set it aside for you to read later on, I’m sure you’ll find something that would interest you a lot more than I.”
Twilight smiles, “Good idea Spike. Alright, let’s get going.”
Spike shuffles over to the nearest table and places the ancient book upon it. Then he runs back, jumps on Twilight’s back and they set off for Sugarcube corner.
____________________________
Twilight arrives at Sugarcube Corner without any interruptions along the way; this was good because they were late enough as it is. As they approached the door Spike jumped off Twilight’s back. They look at each other, and sigh together as Twilight raises her hoof to knock on the door. Before Twilight even comes into contact what the door it springs open. Both Twilight and Spike jump back from the utter surprise.
“Hi!” greeted Pinkie Pie with the most cheerful of smiles. “I knew you guys would show up, come on in; there’s someone I want you to meet.”
Pinkie nudged the door open as Twilight and Spike tentatively walked inside as to be prepared for anymore “Pinkie” outbursts.
“Umm, hi Pinkie, sorry we’re late, I got caught up with another spell and I...” Twilight’s words trailed off as she looked over to see one of the most fine-looking mares she’s ever seen. Spike’s mouth was also agape.
“Twilight, Spike, I want you to meet Electra, she’s new to Ponyville and I just had to invite her over so she could meet you, everypony deserves the chance to make new friends!”
The new pony looked up from staring at the floor. She was quite a sight; her mane looked well groomed, so much so, you wouldn’t believe it was natural. Her tail’s colors of black and yellow were mystically illuminated. Her mane, the same colors as her tail, covered one of her majestic golden eyes, as if she had something to hide. Her shiny dark azure coat looked astounding. “Hi,” she said simply.
Twilight, recomposing herself replied with the most friendly of grins, “Hi there Electra, welcome to Ponyville. I’m Twilight Sparkle, and this is my good friend Spike.” Twilight looked down to see Spike still mesmerized. Twilight quickly nudged him; he quickly realized what he was doing and put his head down apologetically. “We run the library here in town. If you ever need help finding a book, come see us!”
“Thanks, I’ll remember that.” Electra replied. She takes a quick look at Spike, and then returns her gaze to Twilight.
“Quite the short spoken pony, don’t you think Twi?” Spike whispered in Twilight’s ear.
Twilight suddenly frowned and replied, “Spike, what a rude thing to say! Everyone can be shy to meet new people, it’s completely normal.” Twilight then returns to Electra, “So, where are you from?”
Before she could say anything, Pinkie Pie jumps in and answers the question for her. “She’s from Cloudsdale, mhmm, just like Rainbow Dash. I’m sure you and her will have lots of fun things to talk about!”
Electra smiled slightly at the comment. She’s never been used to receiving so much attention. She returned her gaze to the floor as if looking for something. She then turns to her side and Twilight gasps.
“OH, Ele, you’re a Pegasus, how wonderful. Your wings are very beautiful.” At that comment the blue mare slightly blushes, and shows them off by giving them a quick flap. As she does this some sparks fly out of her wings. Realizing this, she immediately closes her wings and proceeds to blush while looking at the floor.
“Umm, why thank you Twilight. No pony has every given me such a complement before.” Electra Storm's cutie mark is also clearly visible. It can be made out to be a trio of three lightning bolts, all golden in color. Spike sees this and thinks that there is a slight resemblance between her cutie mark and the image he saw in the book he found, or rather the book that found him. But he quickly dismissed the idea due to the fact that the book was over hundreds of years old.
Pinkie Pie starts jumping around in circles. “Ok silly heads, before we all start hugging each other how about we bake some cupcakes? That’s what we’re all here for after all!” After walking half way to the kitchen Pinkie Pie perks up and turns around. “Oh, Twilight, Electra here has offered to help us today, so we’ll be able to finish sooner than ever, isn’t that great?!”
“It sure is Pinkie," she agrees as she follows her into the kitchen. “We appreciate your help Ele.”
“Anytime, I have nothing better to do anyway. Just have to make sure I find somewhere to stay by the end of the day.”
“I know!” Spike blurted out suddenly, “Why don’t you stay at the library with me and Twilight? I’m sure we both would enjoy your company.”
Twilight smile turns into a scowl. “Well Spike, thanks for talking it over with me first before you offered.” She then turns to Electra and smiles kindly. “But yes, you are more than welcome to stay with us at the library; it’s been a while since we’ve had any sort of company.” Twilight then turns and disappears into the kitchen.
Spike reassures Electra, “Aww, don’t mind her, she’s just a bit cranky today. I’m sure you’ll get to know and love Twilight as much as I do.”
She looks up at the dragon, “Thank you umm, Spike is it?” Spike nods. She giggles, “I look forward to receiving a tour of this library of yours.”
“Not to worry, I’ll be sure to give you one right after today’s job.”
“Spike," Twilight’s voice is heard from the kitchen, “Stop lollygagging and come help us!”
“Okay, okay, we’re on our way.” The dragon called back. “C’mon Electra," he then smirks to himself as he starts towards the kitchen door. “I hope you don’t mind getting messy, Pinkie is infamous for creating all sorts of messy situations.”
Electra Storm slowly follows him. “I don’t think it’ll be a problem," she reassured him. Her tail faintly wags back and forth as they both disappear into the kitchen. Just as they enter, a crash is heard.
“Oppsies!” says Pinkie Pie as she giggles. “Sorry!”
Spike’s low grunt like voice is heard. “Told you…”
Chapter 2
“Bye, thanks again for your help! They all look so delicious; I’m going to have a hard time preventing myself from eating them!” Pinkie Pie shouted as she waved from the doorway of Sugarcube Corner. After a long day of baking cupcakes and other pastry treats Twilight, Spike, and their new companion Electra, made their way home as the sun began to set behind the hills. The atmospheric lighting brought on by the sun formed long shadows of everything hit by its rays. It had been a beautiful autumn day, not a cloud in sight, Twilight had somewhat regretted not spending her day outside. With winter on the way there isn’t going to be many more days like today where the temperature was chilly, bringing the skin of everypony to the brink of shivering, but the comfortable warm breeze that came from the east negated the chills.
During their time at Sugarcube corner, Twilight noticed that Electra never really opens her wings. After she had shown them off a bit and the visible, static like display that came forth, she hadn’t seen her open them. She wondered why. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy have never gone twenty minuets without flexing their wings. Twilight figured she’d ask Electra about it later. The matter seemed unimportant while baking cupcakes. She also didn’t want to pass a line of privacy with her new found friend; that would, as a matter of fact, be staying with her and Spike for…
“Soo, Electra, how long do you play on staying in Ponyville?” Twilight inquired.
The Pegasus took a moment to think. “As long as I can Twilight, as long as things go well.”
Twilight didn’t know what she meant by that, but she thought that also was a matter to bring up at a later date.
Spike, who had been sneaking peeks at Electra all day, was riding on Twilight’s back, quickly blinking and looking around innocently if she ever caught him staring at her. There was just something about her that seemed so brilliantly amazing and Spike just couldn’t put his claws on it.
“Soo you’re from Cloudsdalehuh?” As mostly every Pegasus is, she realized. “Um, so why did you leave and decide to come to Ponyville?” Twilight hoped this question was appropriate.
“Well,” Electra began, “let’s just say there was an incident that led to me having to leave.”
‘Hmm, she doesn’t want to talk about it,’ Twilight thought to herself. “Oh, I see.”
“Yeah… but I suppose the change of scenery will be good for me, as well as being away from all the clouds…”
‘…being away from all the clouds’? What did she mean by that? Twilight wondered what kind of story was behind this Pegasus, but she concluded that she would strive to find out without being too obvious about her dedication. She decided treating her to a nice dinner would be a good start. She thought this as the three of them walked up to the library.
“Here we are, home sweet home,” said Twilight. She opened and entered the door, closing it magically after both Spike and Electra had entered.
“C’mon Electra, I’ll show you around.” Spike exclaimed as he pulled on one of her legs.
She smiled, “Alright, alright, I’m coming, lead the way Spike. We’ll catch up later at dinner Twilight.”
“Sounds good,” Twilight replied as she smiled back. Once Spike and Electra had begun their tour, Twilight hurried over to her beginners cooking station to begin dinner. Cooking with her magic had been another new talent of hers. Out of a wooden compartment she had crafted herself she pulled out some grass blades as well as some lettuce and started preparing a salad as best she could. All the while, she had the azure Pegasus on her mind. She is quite the mysterious pony. She looks over to see Spike leading Electra into another room, and as before her wings are stationed directly at her side. Twilight's curiosity was starting to get the best of her. She could barely make out Spike’s words, but from what she could gather she could tell he was describing each of his pony friends as accurately as he could. Twilight rolled her eyes when she heard Spike bring up Rarity, he still had quite the crush on her, and it didn’t show any signs of fading.
About half an hour later, Twilight had finished preparing dinner. She quickly flung a cloth over one of her desks, turning into a temporary dinning area. She tried hopefully to make it look homey by placing a potted flower in the middle of the desk as to imitate a centerpiece. She fiddled with it, seeking satisfaction, and then smiled to herself once she found it to be perfect. “Spike, Electra!” called Twilight, “come and eat!”
A few moments later, the two of them appeared in the entrance to the basement. Spike must have been showing her the science equipment that Twilight had used to try and decipher Pinkie Pie’s “Pinkie senses.”
“Ahh. Finally, dinner; good timing too. I just finished showing Electra the whole place.” Spike said as he walked over to the desk and claimed one of the chairs for himself. Electra followed and sat down next him, looking over to Twilight as she brought the food over.
As they began dinner Electra started up a conversation, “You have got quite a nice place here Twilight, it was very nice of the Princess to let you use it while you stay here in Ponyville. It’s apparent you have done a good job keeping it tidy and neat, maybe even more so than the library in Canterlot.” It seemed Spike told Electra quite a bit about the unicorn as well.
Twilight beamed at the compliment, “why thank you Electra, I try to keep it in tip top shape, you never know who will come to pay a visit.” She winks at Electra as she says this.
Spike seemed a bit tired, probably all worn out from the non-stop blabbering during his tour with Electra; no doubt that Rarity is on his mind.
After a while of conversing and laughing, Twilight finally gathers up enough courage to ask Electra about her wings. She figured that the night had been going so well; there wouldn't be a better time to bring it up. But first…
“Hey Spike, don’t you think it’s for bed? You seem a bit exhausted, why don’t you go on ahead, I’ll clean up tonight.” As she said this, Twilight gave Spike a facial expression as if to hint to him to accept the proposal.
Catching her expression, Spike reluctantly agrees. “I suppose you’re right Twilight, I’ll see you in the morning. You too Electra, have a good night.”
“Night Spike, thanks again for the lovely tour.” Electra replies in a soft voice.
At that, the dragon hobbled up to where he and Twilight slept, yawning and stretching his arms along the way.
Twilight waited until Spike was out of view until she started to clear their dining materials. As she did this she brought up what she had been wondering about all night. She began slowly. “Hey Ele, I was just wondering, is there something wrong with your wings? I mean, I saw you open them back at Sugarcube corner earlier today, but since then they’ve been plastered to your side. So I was just wondering if everything is alright.”
Electra looked down at her blue wings and realized she had been keeping them withdrawn all day. After the incident that occurred in front of everyone at Sugarcube Corner, she had thought it better to just keep them controlled. A minute passes and Twilight continued, “It’s alright if you’d rather not talk about it, I just wanted to make sure everything was OK.”
“No no, it’s alright. I think it would be better for me to bring this up now instead of later. It might be better for everyone. I’m not your … average Pegasus, Twilight.”
“What do you mean by ‘average’?” asked Twilight.
“Well I don’t really know how to explain it but, here, let me just show you.” At that instant Electra fully flexes her wings. Immediately, sparks appear from her wings and spread throughout the air. A sound like raw energy fills the room as she flaps her wings twice, with each flap more sparks fly out of her wings.
She quickly closes her wings and the display dies down. Twilight Sparkle stares in awe at what she had just witnessed. She tried to whip up an explanation in her head to resolve this phenomenon but nothing came to mind. She continues to search her mind for a reason while Electra begins to stare at the floor again.
“What…was… that? How did?” Twilight was able to put these words together, her eyes staring at the Pegasus. “How did you do that?”
“I don’t know why I’m like this,” Electra tries to explain; “I’ve been like this ever since I was a filly. I can’t flap my wings or fly anywhere without an array of sparks flying out of my wings. No pony has ever been able to explain it to me. No pony has ever found a reason to why this happens to me.” One of Electra's auburn eyes looks up at Twilight, the other was significantly covered by her hair, the sparkle forming at the base of it shows that she’s at the brink of crying. “Back in Cloudsdale, it was difficult for me to carry out an average day without having to use my wings. As a filly, I would have to go out at night alone to practice flying, it was always to dangerous for me to practice with the other fillies around because of the risk of harming one of them with the sparks that flew out of my wings. I felt alone. But then, one day I met someone, a friend. She was a Pegasus with wings too small for her to fly, we talked and right away we established a bond. We both had something that separated us from all the other pegasi, but that entity is what brought us together and made us such good friends”
Electra is crying now, she tries to hide it from Twilight, who is listening with more than just her ears, but with an open heart as well. She wipes her eyes at the memories she is recreating in her mind. The memories she sought to one day forget completely.
After a pause she continues her story. “Unfortunately, nothing lasts forever. One day, about a month ago, I was out with my friend. We were confronted by a rude bunch of stallion ponies, and they started to harass us about our differences. No pony was really that sure why I would hang out with the Pegasus with wings that were too small. Until recently, not many ponies truly knew what I was, and still am, capable of. But to be honest, I didn’t know either… After a few minuets of them following us around, pelting us with petty insults, I turned around to confront them. It turns out that this was a bad decision, because of all a sudden, all of the rage from enduring the bullying my friend and I had put up with every since we were young fillies came to the surface as I jumped in front of the stallions, threatening them to leave us alone. While this was happening, I lost control of my wings and they spread open to match my fury, at that moment not just sparks, but bolts of lightning flew everywhere.”
Electra pauses again, trying her best to hold back the tears.
Twilight, completely bewildered by this story, could do nothing but wait to see if she will finish.
“After I had calmed down and regained my senses, I looked around. Everything around me had been charred, including the Pegasi. Each one of the stallions and even my friend had blackened tips on their coats and manes. Many of them were in shock. Realizing what I had done, I started crying and ran off to hide, looking for comfort in my home as well as from my parents. But it didn’t matter; I would have to face the consequences for my actions.” Electra takes a deep breath. “Because of my actions, as well as my condition, everypony thought it best if I were to leave Cloudsdale and move somewhere else. So, I ended up here, in Ponyville. Right when I got here I met Pinkie Pie and she invited me to her place, and now luckily for me, you were kind enough to offer me a place to stay.”
Twilight magically brought a tissue over for the Pegasus, which she gratefully accepted. She’d of never though Electra would have had such a hard life up until now. “I… I just don’t know what to say Electra. I…”
“You don’t have to say anything,” Electra interrupted. “I was born this way, and for the most part I’ve been able to cope with this… curse.”
At the word curse Twilight remembers the book that Spike had found, she had forgotten all about it. She quickly set that aside though, this Pegasus needed comforting, there was no time to think about reading a new book.
Just then an idea ignited in Twilight Sparkle’s head. “Well Electra, I may have some good news. This is a library, and I’ve been labeled rather frequently as the most resourceful pony in Ponyville when it comes to magic. Perhaps there’s something about your… ‘condition’ as you call it in one of the many books here.”
“Oh, Twilight, as much as I would appreciate the gesture, you don’t need to…”
“Don’t worry Ele, it won’t be any trouble at all, I just finished mastering another spell as it is, it will be nice to have something else to do besides studying. Plus, I could really learn something amazing from all this. Why don’t we start right now?” As she said this, Twilight placed the last of the table setting back in its original place, restoring the desk to an average place for studying.
“Now? Umm, I wouldn’t want to keep you from your sleep Twilight, It’s not that important, really,” insisted Electra.
“Nonsense! Exclaimed Twilight, “I’ve pulled many all-nighters studying and practicing spells that just couldn’t wait ‘till the next day, and really, you’ve been stuck with this your whole life, why keep it going for another day, or night for that matter?” Twilight smiled at the Pegasus while she magically brought a book down from a nearby shelf. “I’ll start over here; you start over there in the ‘Magical Beings’ section.”
Electra’s hopes began to rise. Could Twilight really find a cure for her problem? Her head filled with more questions and possibilities as she hurried over to the bookshelf Twilight had pointed out, and pulled out a book. With new hope gleaming in her eyes she looks over at the unicorn, “Thank you Twilight,” she says as she returns her gaze to the book and opens the cover.
______________________________
Celestia, catching on to the worry in her sister’s eyes, takes a step back giving Luna some space. “Why Luna, is everything alright?”
“I’m afraid not sister. I wish I had brighter news but… I can’t hold this off any longer.”
Celestia nodded her head with understanding, “How about we sit down?” She turns to face the fireplace as she says this. The area around her fire place was always kept tidy; the rest of her room was always covered with scrolls and other documents needed by the ruler of the kingdom of Equestria.
Luna, who could do nothing but accept the offer, moved in front of her sister and led the way. Instead of taking a chair, she laid herself down on a rather large cushion. Celestia, who had followed her sister closely behind, took the cushion next to her, as to make her sister feel as comfortable as possible for what she was about to say.
After situating herself, Celestia swiftly uses her magic to close the door to her room, in order to provide the two of them privacy. “Alright Luna, what is it you need to talk with me about?”
Luna, who had begun to stroke her mane waited, as if to give herself one last chance to change her mind about this. But she finally spoke, “Well, allow me start from the beginning. About three years back, when we, err… I had just been released from the moon; my plan was to submerge the world into eternal darkness. Luckily, thanks to thee along with the Elements of Harmony, I was defeated and shone the errors of my ways.” She pauses and takes a deep breath, while Celestia listened intently. “But, while I was Nightmare, I was not ill-advised. I knew thee would find a way to stop me. So I thought of a umm… back-up plan, as you would call it.”
Celestia smiles and nods her head to show that she understands.
“Yes, well, this plan was suppose to carry out my deeds of darkness if I had failed to do so myself, which I did. Little did I know at the time that I would return to my original self.”
Celestial leans close to her sister and whispers, “I'm sorry Luna, but I fail to see what the problem is here. You cast out your evil ways and returned to my side to rule the Moon as I do the Sun. Everything has turned out just fine.”
“Yes, everything may seem fine, now. But... soon, a storm will come, a monstrous storm. Its clouds will form a blanket of evil over Equestria and its winds will bring chills of fear. It will bring about Nightmare Moon's dream... eternal darkness.”
Celestia moved even closer to her sister, “What?” She asked sternly. “A storm, how do you know this?”
“Because I created it, sister. While I was Nightmare, I foretold of an evil incarnation of weather that only I would be able to control, to condemn Equestria into darkness, should my first attempt fail. This won't be your average storm Celestia, it will have a mind and soul essence of its very own, and nothing will be able to stop it.”
“What ever do you mean? You just said yourself you would be able to control it. Just command it to recede and abandon its purpose once it arrives, whenever that may be.”
“Nay, sister. I cannot control him, only Nightmare can. In the state I am in now… Pure … I do not possess the magic in order to control such evil.”
Celestia raises one of her royal eyebrows, “Him?”
Luna looks up at her sister, the expression on her face seemed like she was crying out for help. Their eyes met and Celestia finally began to understand the intensity of everything Luna was telling her. “Maelstrom”
Luna then lowered her head and began crying softly. Celestial got up from where she was sitting and moved over to be close to her sister.
At this very moment, they had each other, and that's all that mattered.
“Luna,” and after a pause, “no matter what happens, always remember that I love you. We'll make it through, no matter what comes our way.”
Luna looked up at her sister and managed a smile. “Thank you -Tia... I love you too.”
The two of them sat together in the firelight. All that could be heard was the crackling of the fire, and Luna's gentle sobs. The warmth of her sister helped calm her, for in her heart she knew her sister would be by her side no matter what.
They both eventually dozed off, the fire soon died. Eventually, all that could be seen was what ever was within the beam of moonlight that pierced through the window. A few corridors down from where the sisters were sleeping, Frederick stood and marveled at the same moon wondering what Luna had meant.
"...A day may come soon when you will take part in that history.”
