Repainted Skies

“Cloudy Shimmer, you do not meet the height requirement for the royal Sun Guard, or any of the guards,” The commander said, his grey eyes eyeing the blue pegasus.

“I’m sorry, Cloud, but you don’t have the talents required for such delicate work in our snowflake factory,” The Head Mare said, resolutely looking away from the mare with her odd, pure white mane that was cut into jagged layers.

“Geez, who taught you how to kick storm clouds, Shimmer? You could have killed yourself. We don’t need a weatherpony who can stomp a cloud into a blizzard,” The older head weatherpony turned away from the bed-ridden pegasus, avoiding the angry green eyes that burned into her back.

Cloudy Shimmer sighed as she trotted down the dusty road, thankful she had decided to stop until the caravan she had had lunch with was gone. Her white mane had gone almost tan from the dust on the road. She snorted to get the dirt out of her nose, and ruffled her one uninjured wing, the other put in a heavy cast while the broken bones healed.

The small cart she had strapped to her body was made a light, but sturdy wood. She had managed to rig the straps that held her to it away from her broken wing, but occasionally the leather strap connecting to the right side of her harness would hit the injury.

The mare looked up at the sky, noting the near-sunset appearance. She began to look for a place to rest or the night, and soon found a medium-sized cave that she could fit her cart in. She unhooked her harness from the cart and checked inside for any wild animals. Finding none, she returned to her small wagon and pushed it backwards into the cave until she felt it gently bump the back wall.

She breathed for a few moments before taking off the harness and clearing a spot in front o the cave for a small fire. Within minutes, the sun was set and there was a merry little fire crackling away, and Cloudy was cooking her dinner; an appetizing mix of Brussels sprouts and potatoes slathered with butter, garlic, and onion. Not the healthiest meal, but it was cheap, and filling.

As she chowed down on the meal, she kept an ear open for any wild animals that might be out and about. It was summer, which meant food was plentiful, but she knew better then to let that fact be her only security.

The mare finished, licking the bowl clean and returned to her cart to take out three items: A sleeping bag, an extra pillow, and today’s newspaper.  She had picked it up on her way out of Manehatten, since Sunday papers were free of charge. She also grabbed a hairbrush and a bottle of water. She had three extra, so she used this half-empty one to wash the tan dust from her mane, leaving it white once more.

After that she brushed her mane and tail, preened her uninjured wing (and ignored the itchiness coming from her broken one), then pulled her partially dried mane into a ponytail. Then she settled into her sleeping bag with her newspaper, reading by the dimming light of the fire.

The top story was about some mare being crowned as princess, and how her coronation had gone. The mare was short for an alicorn, and looked small in her large dress. But she looked happy, a lot happier than Cloudy was feeling right about now.

“Some mares have all the luck,” She muttered grumpily, but finished the newspaper before tossing it into the flames. The fire flared back to life, devouring the new fuel.

“Who shall be used to practice this new spell?” One voice whispered in the dark. Golden eyes glowed, with slit pupils like a cat or dragon. The voice was deep, masculine, and had a faint rasp to it.

“I would prefer a foal, Earth pony to be more specific, but I’ve learned that a young adult would be best, since their magic is more mature,” Another voice said. This one was feminine, and very beautiful. There was a faint glow as a horn emitted magic, levitating a scroll tied with a black ribbon to the first speaker. There was a moment of silence as the scroll was taken.

“Dim the lights; I can see in the dark, remember?” The first voice snapped, and the unicorn stopped the illumination spell on her horn.

“I want four, one of each breed. Studies show there has never been a male, so we shall stick with female for now, got it?” The first voice mumbled an affirmative.

“The scroll contains valuable information; don’t let anyone catch you with it. If you are caught with it, then lie about the instructions. If you are about to be caught, eat it.” The mare turned to leave, and the stallion heard her hooves on the cobblestones as she trotted casually away.

“Oh, and one more thing,” The mare called back. “Keep it quiet.” The stallion chuckled as he walked the opposite direction, tucking the scroll into his saddlebags. Nothing else could be seen of him, the moonless night too dark for details.

“Sister, I am sorry to wake you, but there is trouble,” A dark blue alicorn mare with a moon cutie mark and a familiar set of black regalia stood at another mare’s door, waiting for the inevitable chaos such an early awakening would bring.

“Luna…No. It is 3 am, it’s early as Tartarus, let me sleep in…” The sleepy, resentful mumbles came from the oversized canopy bed, concealed by semi-translucent drapes. A few minutes later, there can a raspy snore, and Luna rolled her teal eyes.

“Celestia, it is actually quite late for me, if you have the presence of mind to remember. This cannot wait until the sun rises, though I would not want to disturb your rest any more that you would mine.”

No answer came from the bed, just sleepy, half-conscious mumbles. Luna sighed, then lit her horn and conjured something into being:  a foghorn. She sat back on her heels, covered her ears with her fore-hooves, and blasted up the sound.

The sonic display made the Princess of the Sun jump straight out of bed, her multicolored mane frizzing out in such a way as few would ever see. Luna continued the barrage until Celestia walked up to the noisemaker and grabbed it, then smashed it until all that was let were mangled fragments of steel and rubber.

Luna backed up, then courteously dipped one wing. “Shall I tell you what the problem is?” She asked the frazzled alicorn sweetly.