Lightning Bolt (Celestia)
A shadow darted upwards from Canterlot Palace, curving around to rise in an arc. Silhouetted against the violet painted sky, it sped up through the clouds and rested in the middle of the sky. A flare of blue magic flashed through the thick water vapor and slowly the Moon started its rise. The violet gave way to a brilliant silver as it climbed until it was hidden by the clouds. It reached its apex, still covered and invisible to the ponies below. But tonight it would not be denied. Another flare of blue magic filled the sky for a moment and then the Moon’s silver light began to shine through the clouds like a lighthouse through fog.
Rain came down in sheets over Canterlot, pouring from the dark clouds overhead. Every so often, light would cut across the sky and a deep rumble would sound. The silver moon, though hidden behind the thick black clouds, would not be denied its first night reunited with its royal sister. Light danced its way between the thick curls of water vapor and in the air around the rain. Each drop shone as it fell, like a clear crystal with a light inside. Though the light was not enough for a pony to think it was day, it was far from being the rich black and purple of a normal night. The sky hung in limbo, shades of gray and soft purples mixed and swirled around behind the veil of the clouds.
Ponies from all over Equestria were standing and staring through their windows or were looking skyward from covered terraces, their eyes upwards as they basked in the awe of this special night. Even Luna’s sister.
Especially her sister. Celestia rested under a short awning. Her purple eyes watching her sister show off for the first time in such a long time. Gladness filled her heart when she thought about how willing Luna had been to resume her duties. Unlike their normal procedure of raising the Sun or Moon from their respective towers, Luna had opted to fly above the clouds tonight. With a flutter of wings and feathers, the keeper of the night soared into the sky that was still painted with the vestiges of the Sun’s retreat. She had been visible against the orange and red on the horizon for a little while before slipping upwards, into the purple night sky.
The white alicorn smiled softly when she had noticed her younger sibling’s show. While resting on the covered balcony, she let her mind swirl with thoughts. The most pervasive were about her sister. Even so, Celestia let her thoughts drift to her student. She had been spending time with her pupil, Twilight Sparkle, throughout the day. Any time they would have spent talking during the Grand Galloping Gala had been crushed by the formality of the event itself. Celestia was quite disappointed with herself that she had ever thought that such a royal ball style party would be something she would be able to stand. Most of her subjects seemed to enjoy it, however, so it happened once a year. This particular Gala had not been all bad. Twilight and her five friends had given her quite a lovely night, though she did have to oversee the cleanup afterwards. It was worth it to have had a fun Gala at last. So absorbed was the Princess in her thoughts, she missed the sound of her door creaking open and closed.
“Princess, you asked for me?” Twilight asked gently, not wanting to bother her mentor while she was in this state. Celestia gave no response, her mind still fraught and occupied by other things. A stifled cry of pain and the sound of a hoof hitting marble the wrong way made the princess give a start. She glanced over her shoulder to see that Twilight had missed the slightly elevated edge of the balcony. Reassuringly, the purple pony did not appear to be hurt; though Celestia knew that a bruised ankle could linger. She had done the same thing herself countless times.
“Ah, Twilight. Sorry if I woke you up.” Celestia whispered. “I do hope you are alright.” She added, turning back to the night’s sky. The moonlight ran along her multi-colored mane and sparkles danced in the air. Her wings sat proudly against her back, and her white fur seemed to give off its own glow. “I just thought you might want to see this,” The Princess’ voice was soft, but audible over the rain. Her pupil gave a bow, but quickly straightened at the wave of a hoof. “Oh, Twilight ... You don’t need to be so formal when we’re alone.” A frown flashed across Twilight’s face for a brief moment as the unicorn looked behind Celestia. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing, Princess,” A forced smile appeared on the unicorn’s mouth, but her tone was shaky and uncertain. “And, no. You didn’t wake me.” A reassuring smile from Celestia calmed her pupil somewhat. For a moment, Twilight fidgeted at the threshold of the balcony, as if unsure. A flash of light cut gracefully across the sky in the background, cascading through the clouds. Celestia turned her head so she could glance back up for a moment, her mane flowing over her right eye as it had a habit to. A hoof held it back as she shifted her attention back to her student.
“If you are sure,” Celestia moved to stand before her pupil, lowering her head so Twilight would feel less intimidated. “Why don’t you join me?” Her smile widened a slight bit and she closed her eyes, hoping that her pupil would accept. Maybe she would find out what was wrong as well.
As Twilight made her way onto the short balcony, Celestia moved to face the grayish purple sky. Keeping her wings folded, as she did not want to accidentally hit her student, the alicorn tucked her legs underneath her body. The princess did her best to stifle a giggle as her student rushed to the marble railing and leaned in close to the rain.
“What do you think of the show my sister is giving all of us?” Celestia asked, glancing at the younger pony.
“It’s beautiful...” Twilight whispered to herself, forgetting that she was not alone for a moment. She lost all sense of disappointment from missing her chance to stargaze. There would be another night. This was a much more grand sight, and she had even met Princess Luna properly (as she had only been able to share a few words with the Princess of the moon prior) a few hours before. “I hadn’t noticed that the night could be this.” She paused for a moment, bringing a hoof to her chin. “Beautiful. I mean, I know it is wonderful on very clear nights when you can see the stars, but...”
“Twilight,” Celestia giggled, moving to stand next to her and nudge her gently with a her nose. “The night is always beautiful. You might not see it all the way through, but you see it in your dreams; in the stars; and in the moon.” The Princess lifted herself with two hooves on the banister, copying Twilight. “Something like this would be hard to do with the Sun. It’s too bright.” Twilight took her eyes from the sky and looked over at Celestia. “When Luna and I first brought harmony to the world, I was jealous. No one can truly look at the Sun. It hurts a pony’s eyes. But her Moon... the Moon is such a wonderful sight while nestled in between the stars.” She glanced at Twilight and smiled. “But I suppose everypony thinks, at some point, that what they do is not as beautiful as what others do. Despite the fact that everything has its own beauty.” Celestia gave a sigh and stopped for a moment. “How about you, Twilight; any jealousy between your friends?”
“A couple of times, Princess. But it was almost always a misunderstanding.” The unicorn said confidently, after thinking for a moment. “In the end it always seemed so... Petty.” She turned back to the rain. “In the end, true friends can overcome any differences or disagreements between them.”
“Yes, you sent me a letter about that.” Celestia whispered softly, the sound of the driving rain almost overpowering her voice. “But with all of the letters you send me, I feel like I should tell you something about myself ...” She paused for a moment to make sure her pupil was listening. “So, is there anything you would like to know?”
“I read about the Mare in the Moon,” Twilight began before glancing up at the sky once more. “And it talked about you and Luna bringing harmony to the world... But how did you do it, exactly?” The unicorn gave a questioning look at her mentor for a moment. Silence followed before Celestia gave a sigh. “Surely you must have had-”
“It is a long story, Twilight. A very long story.” The Princess responded. “I haven’t told it in a long time. But, if you want to hear it, I will tell you it.” Twilight's eyes lit up and she eagerly stomped her hooves. The sight of someone so eager to hear a story like this made Celestia feel especially happy inside. It was one of her favorite stories to tell, though so few people asked after it. “I was born before Luna, to an alicorn like myself and a female unicorn. Our mother and father.”
***
Neither of us knew them well, though I can remember what they looked like at least. I was only a filly of ten when mother died during Luna’s birth. It was barely a year later when our father passed. During the brief time I had with mother, she tried to teach me about magic.Most of the time I only paid a little attention. I always thought that magic was boring. That it only temporarily fixed problems. If I had known how brief our time together would be, perhaps I would have enjoyed the time more. Once they were gone, I had to care for Luna myself. I didn’t mind it, really. For a while I blamed her for mother’s death. I had to grow up quickly to take care of the two of us though, and I stopped caring if it had been Luna’s fault or not.
After that I just wanted her to be safe. To be happy. She was all I had left. I never had the heart to tell her about mother and father. I still haven’t. Being the daughters of important nobles (we weren’t actually princesses then), we were given what we needed and were allowed to attend the school here in Canterlot. Luna always thought of us as the prized alicorn trophies of the regent back then. That she only kept us around because she wanted to show off the two sisters of a rare type of pony. I never thought about it much. It didn’t seem important.
It was a sunny day. Particularly hot here in Canterlot, though I don’t think I minded. Luna and I were studying magic and learning about flying. It was demanding to learn both at the same time. Luna was far better at magic than I was, but I didn’t mind. I could fly circles around her, and I did so often. She hated that I could fly so well... Her magic was far more practical though. Things were always changing. The weather moved on its own, animals took care of themselves, and strife was far too common to either of our liking. For earth ponies and the pegasi, it was a hard time. Crops didn’t always grow on time. Rains were sporadic and unpredictable.
We didn’t hear much of what went on elsewhere in Equestria. Canterlot was sheltered from most of it, since we had the best unicorns in the whole country. We used magic to grow our food if we could not get enough from elsewhere. The unicorns could create water or rain. Life was hard outside the marble walls. We read about it but never lived it.
Until one day when I challenged Luna to a race around Canterlot. We both knew she would lose, I just wanted an excuse to rub in how much better I was than her. It went as expected; I kept just enough ahead of her so she could see my tail. Then it all changed so fast...
As we raced, clouds rolled in. It wasn’t too much of an issue, as most of the race we would actually be above them. When we started we didn’t know it was going to do anything more than rain. We arced around one of the towers and angled down to go through the gardens. For a moment, both of us were over the edge of Canterlot. Since I was in the lead, I managed to get to the garden first. As I reached the grass, I heard a peal of thunder and Luna scream. At first I thought she was tricking me, but I couldn’t stop myself from looking back. My sister wasn’t there.
Luna and I would prank each other from time to time, but nothing like this. I could feel my heart race in my chest as I flew over the edge and looked down. She was falling towards the jagged edge of the mountain Canterlot sits on. Luna was all I had left. I couldn’t let her die without even trying. I would have rather died myself. I don’t know if she knew that before then; after all of the pranks I pulled on her, she might have thought I didn’t care about her.
Despite the rain, I arced into a dive and folded my wings back. The rocky edge on one side and nothing but a long fall on the other, but I forced myself to lock in on my falling sister. She had to be hurt, otherwise she would have been flying. I picked up speed much faster than she did, blowing past her; as I glanced back, I noticed she wasn’t moving. I dipped around, letting her fall on my back as I hung in the air for a moment. I was silently hoping to hear her breathe.
I did, and relief flowed through me. But the storm wasn’t done with us yet. A great gust caught under my wings and threw me away from the cliff. Even with the added weight of Luna I couldn’t stop myself. I could feel my body slowly turning, Luna slipping on my wet fur. I closed my eyes and focused, trying to at least keep Luna with me. Once I was sure I had a fairly good grip on her, I opened my eyes. The glow from my horn was reflecting off the rain around us as I struggled to fly. It must have been ten or so minutes that I was buffeted by the wind while trying to keep Luna with me, and keep us both aloft. At some point, everything went black. Just before I fell unconscious, I cursed how weak I was. How my pride had caused all this.
We were lucky. I would not be here if we hadn’t been. A group of pegasi caught us as we fell. At least, that’s what I was told. I assume it is true since I, and Luna, were alive. The bed I was in was so very soft. I remember making the distinct comparison as if I was sleeping on a cloud. Well, that ended up being far more true than I intended. The room was so beautiful and the bed so nice and soft that I thought I had died. Nothing could be this wondrous.
Then I saw Luna in the bed over, her wings wrapped in bandages and one hoof pressed against her chest. I stood with a start, only to find myself upon the cloud’s surface as my legs gave way. My body refused to work how I thought it should, and I didn’t know why. I dragged myself to Luna (with my saving grace being that the cloud did not scrape my legs and stomach like ground would have) and slowly lifted my head onto the mattress. Even with her unconscious, I could see she was in great pain. I was weak, but otherwise unharmed. Luna... Luna was in grave shape as far as I could tell. Silent tears ran down my face as I berated myself for letting this happen to her. I was older, I was stronger. I was supposed to look after her, and now she was lying in a bed and almost lost to me like mother and father. Why? Because of my pride. Because of my own arrogance. Because I wanted to feel like I was better than she was at something. In that moment I realized that I really didn’t care.
I just wanted Luna to be alright. I wanted her to be better.
My nose brushed into her sparkling, blue hued mane. I couldn’t be silent anymore, I heard my own muffled cries. They sounded so pathetic and weak, as if they were coming from far away. It felt as if it had been a long time that I laid there, on the ground (or cloud as it were) with my head against my sister’s back. Crying, begging her to even move. I cursed myself. My pride, my weakness, my foalishness. My mind raced with how I had failed. Failed Luna. Failed our father, and the promise I made to him before he died. I had been too weak to protect her. So weak that I had caused this. Maybe, I began to think, I wasn’t worthy of having anyone. Maybe they had all died because of me. I didn’t care how tired I was, or how hard it was to move. That would have all been fine if Luna would just move. If I could just hear her voice, no matter what she said.
***
Celestia looked back at her pupil for a moment. The princess sighed as disappointment flowed through her. Despite being interested in the story, Twilight had fallen asleep listening to her. It was quite early in the morning and the purple unicorn had not been as prepared as the Princess to stay up all night. Celestia smiled weakly to herself and draped a wing over her student, pulling her close. Her rainbow mane swirled lightly in the soft wind and her eyes slid closed. For a moment she contemplated taking a short nap herself. Luna would appreciate the chance to raise the Sun. She so rarely got the chance.
With a flutter, the alicorn's eyes opened as she noticed the rain had stopped. The smell that followed a good rain had started filling the air. With the moon was just teasing the horizon with the last vestiges of its presence in the sky, and soon the princess would raise the Sun this month. She wasn’t sure when Twilight had fallen asleep, but it was alright. There would be another time. Her pupil needed her rest; the unicorn always worked so hard. Celestia lifted Twilight, the alicorn’s horn aglow. Her mane sparkled in the last light of the moon as she took the young filly down the hall to Twilight’s room, and set her in bed and tucked he comfortable sheets around the mare. For a moment, Celestia simply gazed over the calm face of her well loved student.
The white alicorn swallowed back the slight pain and regret that was flowing through her right now. she had cut off her story at a very emotional section to her. Some of it she did not want to linger too long. So she devised a little prank on Twilight.The amusement would hopefully help push the more painful memories from her mind. Fun. Happy thoughts. Luna was alright now; adjusting slowly, but alright. With a shake of her head, she did her best to seal the pain and regret away for right now. She could cry when she got back to her room if she felt she had to.
With a weak smile, the princess of the Sun lifted an inkwell from her pupil’s desk along with a quill. She gently painted a monocle and moustache on the violet pony’s sleeping face. She then silently sealed the ink and set it back down, only to quickly pick it back up again. It would not feel right for her to not leave Twilight a note. She pulled a piece of parchment and set it down on the book stand next to her pupil’s bed and scribbled a quick note, letting the young mare know that she would hear the rest of the story tomorrow, and not to feel bad she had fallen asleep. Now content, she set the ink down one final time and sealed it up so it would not dry out.
As Celestia left Twilight’s room she heard a flutter of wings marking her sister’s return. The younger alicorn flew in through a window that had been opened after the rain had stopped, and landed daintily on the carpet a few feet ahead of her sister. For a moment, the light blue and purple pony did her best to stifle a giggle, but ended up letting out a loud laugh. Celestia gave her sister a questioning look, only to have Luna point a hoof at her mane. The elder of the two sisters glanced back, doing her best to see the pastel colored fur, but could not quite turn her head far enough. With a sigh, she shook her head and turned it around in front of her.
In the glow of her horn and the setting moon, she saw that the normally rainbow colored mane was spotted with black. Her look of confusion was too much for Luna to handle, the younger princess falling on her back and laughing. Somewhat tired, her older sister missed the connection.
“Luna, what is so funny?” Celestia asked, quite sincerely. Her sister could not quite manage a response, and the two pegasi guards were visibly trying not to laugh.
“I cannot believe-” Luna started, only to be cut off by another bout of her own laughter. After a moment she took a deep breath and stood up, still giggling somewhat. “I cannot believe that you would fall for that, sister.” Celestia was still confused. She could not imagine that Luna had pulled a prank on her, as the younger alicorn had been busy all night.
“Luna, dear,” Celestia began again. “What happened to my mane?” Her sister finally seemed to get a hold of herself for long enough to respond.
“I cut a hole on the bottom of the inkwell in your student’s room, sister.” Luna managed to gasp. “I figured you would try to prank her, as you do to me.”
“Well, you both know I-” She stopped and her eyes went wide. “You made me get ink on my mane!? This will take FOREVER to wash out.” Despite it being her own fault, the older alicorn frowned at her sister. It was much easier to get ink out of normal fur than a mane. Her frown was more for show than out of disappointment. It had been such a well thought out prank by her sister, and she was happy to see Luna’s playful side.
“I had NO idea you would hold it over your mane. You love it so.” Luna responded, a bit of sarcastic emphasis on the ‘no’. She gave a squeal as her sister playfully charged at her, and Luna decided to follow along with the game. The light blue maned filly turned and galloped off down the hall, sliding left at the first side corridor. Celestia was quick to follow.
“Should we-” Began one guard, the other cut him off with a shake of his head. The two princess’ were heading deeper into the castle, and knew better than to chase each other around outside. It was probably best to let them have their fun.
So, some stuff happened and this did not get done on time. I apologize for that. But it is done, and has been submitted to the LoE writing auditions. So, here's hoping it is good enough! Also, for those of you who don't know what a nightmare (the mythical creature) is, it is a deamon that is said to be the cause of bad dreams. Which is where we get the term.
Luna slid to the left as she galloped deeper into the marble maze that was Canterlot Palace. A quick glance behind her let her know how much of a lead she had on her older sister. It was not much. Determined to extend this game of chase as long as she could, the lunar princess leapt over an oncoming guard and ducked into the kitchens. Almost immediately she had to start dodging ponies carrying trays of hot food, knives, pots of boiling water, and the occasional dessert platter.
Luckily for her, she was far more nimble than most ponies would give her credit for. Soon she had made it through the side exit of the kitchen and was ascending the servant's staircase that led to her and her sister's suites. The navy blue alicorn missed her own door as she had glanced back to see her sister charging up after her, covered in what looked like the remnants of a lemon meringue pie.
The older and taller of the sisters had probably accidentally bowled over the unicorn waiter with the dessert tray. He had been standing there stunned after Luna galloped by. He would be alright, but would probably be more keen to move out of the way the next time he saw Luna or Celestia running through the kitchen.
With a soft thud, Luna struck her sister's door. The alicorn shook her head softly and attempted to shove the thick oak open. It would not budge. With her sister's hooffalls getting ever closer, the alicorn simply blew the door open with her magic. She was a bit over zealous, perhaps, as the oak door gave a loud groan before falling onto the plush carpet. Its hinges had split from the force.
"LUNA! GET BACK HERE!" Came her sister's aggravated cry. "YOU'RE GOING TO PAY FOR THAT DOOR!" Luna hopped over the fallen door and heard a soft crack. She glanced down and saw a picture of her sister and Twilight Sparkle.
Oh, that can not be good.. Luna thought to herself before starting to gallop again. When she blew open the grandiose double doors that led into the hallway, she made sure to use much less force. The two guards who were standing on either side nearly jumped out of their armor. With a hasty apology, the night princess bolted right down the hall. Her shoes clattered on the polished marble and her wings would occasionally flutter behind her. Luna did her best not to use them however.
This was a game the princesses had created a long time ago. One could call it a type of cat and mouse. Celestia was not always the cat, contrary to what a lot of ponies might believe. Her younger sister enjoyed doing her best to chase the princess of the Sun around as well. While they had never established a real set of rules, there were a few time honored traditions that the sisters did follow. The first of these was that flying was out of the question. One could use their wings to help them jump a larger than normal distance, but not fly.
Of course, this tradition stemmed from the older sister's near mastery of flying. Luna knew that even in her prime she would not be able to escape or catch her sister if the elder was to use her wings. It was a concession of sorts on Celestia's part in exchange for the second rule.
No teleporting. To a non-unicorn, teleporting should be mundane for the alicorn sisters. In truth, it was one of the most difficult spells any creature could attempt. While both Celestia and Luna knew and learned the art a long time ago, only the younger sister had ever mastered it.
After ducking around the corner, Luna took the occasion to look over her shoulder once more. Her sister had not yet crossed her own bedroom. Hoping to lose her sister in the maze of corridors, the navy blue alicorn took the first opening presented to her. An open door to her left. She quickly slammed it shut with her magic and pressed an ear to the wood. Relief spread through her as her sisters hoof falls became quiet and distant. For now she would be safe. It took a moment for her heart to stop racing, though once it had quieted down she looked around the room.
The Sun would have normally been over the horizon partially by now, though the Royal Sisters' game had put it behind schedule. With no light from the room or from outside, Luna channeled a tiny amount of magic to her horn. A light blue glow would pop on, as if she had turned on a headlight attached to her head. Unfortunately the room was not what the Night Princess had hoped it would be, a supply room with an attached servant's passage. It was a bedroom. A rather familiar bedroom. With a rather familiar figure laying on the bed. Despite the blue hue of her magic, Luna could see the top of a purple mane and a lavender horn poking out from under the quilted bed sheets.
Somewhat nervously, Luna turned and reached her magic for the door. As the handle turned, it gave a sharp creak and clicking noise. A jolt of adrenaline shot through the alicorn and she glanced over her shoulder as she had done so many times already. A snore would escape Twilight and she wiggled a bit in her bed. Relief spread through the royal pony and she eased the door open. She almost instantly began to wish she had not.
A bolt of white fur and golden magic struck her head on. The two bodies tumbled and rolled several feet. They came to a stop at the edge of Twilight's bed, the elder sister on top. Luna gave a sheepish smile and wiggled a bit.
"I guess you win, Sister." She forces a giggle. The elder princess merely grins back and starts to tickle her sister's sides. "N-no! Y-you know I- Hahhahaa... H-hate that!" The smaller alicorn would protest, no longer watching her volume. With a satisfied giggle, Celestia would increase the speed of her tickling.
"Princess?" The voice sliced through both of them like a hot knife. Their eyes met and they stopped immediately. Silently, both waited to hear another sound. It came in the form of a soft yawn and a hushed whisper. "O-oh! Princess Celstia! Princess Luna!" Twilight bolted upright, her covers slipping off, and caught on Celestia's horn. The lavender unicorn hopped off of the bed and immediately bowed. Celestia shook the covers from her head and opened her mouth to speak, though she was cut off by her pupil. "Princess I'm sooooo sorry! I didn't mean to fall asleep!"
Luna could not help but chuckle at the apology. Her sister had done a lot in those thousand years. It was probably for the best, really. The old way of ruling had been such a hassle. The frivolities of the court were one thing, the hassle of getting anything done under a bureaucratic system was another altogether. At one point, actual red tape had been used to bind together large documents and forms for new laws. As well as to section off the courthouse, since the lesser nobles could never get along.
"Do not worry about it, Twilight!" Celestia would shift from her position above Luna to sit in front of her student. "And as I said, you do not need to bow when we are alone." She smiled and lifted her pupil's head. Twilight would smile back and sit. Following suit, Luna would do the same. "I cannot expect you to do what is impossible for you. Nor would I want you to hurt yourself for my sake." The white alicorn wrapped a hoof around her sister and pulled her close. "WE should be apologizing to YOU for waking you up."
"Sorry, Miss Sparkle." Luna blushed and whispered. "I hope you sleep well."
":Oh, no sister!" Celestia tapped Luna's choker with a hoof. "Since you caused this, you get to finish telling Twilight the story I started last night!"
"Oh my! That would be absolutely wonderful!" The lavender unicorn happily swayed in place, her tail swishing behind her.
Defeated, Luna took a minute to compose herself before starting. "Very well, where did you leave off?" Her sister turned her head slightly to the side and whispered in the navy pony's ear. "I see. Well, that is perhaps not the best starting point for me. But since my sister insists..."
***
I am not actually sure how I survived the lightning, though by some miracle or grace I did. It was a slow recovery. For weeks I could barely move. The burn from the strike was right above my hips, centered in my back. I am told it was hard to see exactly where because of the shade of my coat. Regardless of how it looked, I know how it felt. Imagine for a moment somepony had poured a bit of cooking oil on your back and then set it ablaze. Then increase the pain by nearly a thousand times.
Every moment I spent on the bed was spent cursing my sister. She had to have been behind it. She had to have wanted me dead. The only reason I was not is that she had a change of heart or was too weak to actually follow through with her deed. Either way, she obviously cared little for me. I was blind to how she would sit and watch me. Ask me questions. Cry as she slept. My anger blinded me to them, and only now do I realize how foolish I was. Foolish to shun somepony who cared. Somepony who had risked their own life to save mine. Foolish to shun my only sister.
As time went on, I did get better. I slowly regained the movement of my limbs, though my wings were slow to recover. The thin muscle and hollow bone had left them particularly vulnerable to the electricity that shot me down. I did not mourn nor care about a further impalement to my ability to fly. It was never something I had wanted to be good at. Never something that had been important to me. Celestia would always be better. Why should I bother?
Then it happened. On a rainy night, much like we just had. Thick storms had gathered around Canterlot mountain since, as you probably know, back then the weather was not something that was actively controlled. Or so we thought. The home of the pegasii that had caught us was below, in a valley. I remember hearing them whisper in worry about if the home would be safe. I also heard my sister vow that she would keep it intact with her magic. More empty promises. I knew, or believed I knew, that she could do no such thing. Nevertheless, the couple agreed.
Their names... I do not quite recall... I believe one was Stormcrasher and the other was Livre? Yes? Alright. So I do remember correctly.
Stormcrasher was a rather young colt. He had just finished building his home when he had met his wife. The two had grown close quite quickly. Livre was a pegasus, though she had grown up in the Griffon Empire. They had met in Cloudsdale during a fair of some kind. Nevertheless, Stormcrasher was important. Is important. I am sure his name has been lost to myth by now, but everything in Equestria, pony or otherwise, owes their freedom from chaos to him. Even myself and my sister.
As lightning flashed across the sky I was afraid. I knew I was inside, though the thought bore not comfort. I huddled upstairs in my bed as Celestia and the couple boarded up the windows and doors. Then they took me to the inner room of the house and we waited. My sister created a force field around the whole mansion at first with her magic, though the storm quickly sapped it from her. It shrank and shrank until it only enveloped our room. Even then, she struggled to keep it up. The whole structure shifted at one point. We all felt it had to have been the observation tower that had been attached by only a thin cloudbridge.
In his despair, Stormcrasher hurried from the room, much to the dismay of his wife who followed soon after. Both myself and my sister waited a moment, hoping they would return. Our hopes were dashed as we heard Livre scream. We both followed after the noise and soon found ourselves at the edge of the slowly dissolving cloudbridge. The couple was slowly retreating from something. We could not see past them to tell what, though. Then, suddenly, Livre bolted back towards us. Perhaps to hide. An unearthly shriek split the storm and a large black and orange creature leapt over Stormcrasher and caught the pegasus mare.
It looked like a pony, except ethereal. Smoky. Black vapors rose from it's body and its eyes were a crimson red. In it's chest one could clearly see a sphere of burning rock, the flames rippling through it's body. It was a creature of Tartarus. It was a Nightmare. Those eyes stared at us. They were emotionless, though I prefer that over seeing the hate they must have held against us for still having our bodies. It's mouth opened, the smoke seeming to form jagged fangs.
Beneath it, Livre screamed and struggled, though she could not seem to harm the nightmare. her blows slid through its body. Somehow, the smoke managed to pin her down, to exert weight. Stormcrasher charged at it from behind, but the creature slid slightly to the side, sending him bowling into me. We rolled a short distance before he jumped back to his hooves. Before he could charge it again, I took hold of his chest and did my best to stop him from moving. I yelled at him over the driving wind and rain that he could not hurt the beast. He never stopped slowly dragging me forwards. Determined to save his wife.
He broke free of my grip and rushed forwards. Celestia missed catching him and nearly fell of the edge of the bridge. He was too late, however. The nightmare lifted Livre off of the bridge and disappeared quickly in the storm. The pegasus tried to follow but was struck by a ball of fire and slammed into the cloudbridge, almost falling through. All three of us watched in horror as nearly fifty nightmares landed around us, blocking our escape anywhere but to dive off of the bridge in winds that were almost blowing sideways.
Without thinking, we both did the same thing. Celestia grabbed Stormcrasher, who had stopped moving and merely begun to cry, and we both dove off the side. I do not know if she could see me in the murky light of the storm. But I could see her. I was scared as we fell. She never opened her wings. I hated myself for the feeling, but I was worried for my sister. The abyss was so deep and dark, we could not tell how far we were from the ground. I silently begged that we would both survive, though my frame shook with fear more than it did from the storm.
Finally Celestia opened her wings and tried to level off. With relief, I followed suit. It was difficult to navigate in the weather, the wind kept blowing us off course and the ground was still out of sight. All we had was our-
***
"Princesses! There you are!" An aide pushed into the room. "We have been looking for you two all over! It is nearly ten in the morning and the sun is not up!" He tapped a hoof on the floor. The two sisters looked at each other and then smiled apologetically.
"We will get right on that, right Luna?" The white alicorn winked at her sister. They both grinned at Twilight who had a puzzled look on her face.
"Yes, we will." The night princess would bow to Twilight and then slip past the aide before he could protest. As he spun on hoof, Celestia would make a break for the other direction. The poor colt spun around again, only to catch sight of the rainbow colored tail disappear around a corner.
"Wait! What about the SUN!?" He cried out and hurried around in a circle before following Celestia.
