The fight for Equestria

Twilight had been helping the mare picking up the food that had spilled out on the ground, when a thought hit her. She paused and looked up at the mare, who was trying to fix her bag that had busted and finding it stubborn. The mare before her was a very light violet color, her mane and tail holding a two-tone pink color, light at the edges, and almost white down the center. Her mane curled some at the edge over her forehead, threatening to cover her eyes, it was the same for the end of her mane, as well as the tip of her tail. Her cutie mark were of three smiling daisies, representing her want to see her students blossoming forth happy and eager to learn. Normally her eyes were a bright green, showing her eagerness for the day, though at times by the end of the week, with all the antics of the foals she dealt with she was usually tired and looking forward to the weekend.

Ms. Cheerilee was the local teacher for the foals of Ponyville. Her recent class, including the younger siblings of a couple of her own friends, the CMC, or Cutie Mark Crusaders, had just graduated and were on their way to doing their own things and living their own lives, as were the rest of the students. Which meant since the passing of summer she had a newer class, of fresh young eager foals.

“So, Ms. Cheerilee, how is your new class doing?” Twilight asked, unable to notice the way she asked the question made it seem like she was trying to uncover some sort of secret.

Cheerilee froze in place, hearing the inflection of Twilight’s voice, but tried to be as friendly as possible in her response. “Oh, it’s fine. The foals are all very eager, and seem like a good lot.”

Twilight smiled widely, unbeknownst to her, it left Ms. Cheerilee feeling a little uncomfortable after the start of the conversation.

“W-why do you ask, Twilight?” She inquired cautiously.

“Well, I have some possible good news. You see, recently I came to care for a little foal, he was lost, alone, and scared, the poor thing. I went to Celestia about it, and offered to help the foal until his parents are found. Which, in case is turning out harder than we first thought.”

“Oh the poor dear,” Cheerilee said, her expression changing to heartfelt concern, while inwardly she breathed a sigh of relief the conversation was not going to get any weirder. Which in turn brought her mind to concentrate fully on the conversation now, and she realized where Twilight was going to go with this.

“Oh, and you want to enroll him in the school until he’s returned to his parents, right?”

Twilight smiled, genuinely now, “Yes. I don’t want him to lose out on an education, and well,” Twilight halted for a moment not sure how to continue. “I think this has already kind of gotten to him, being in a new place, and around strangers.”

Cheerilee’s eyes went wide, “Oh, really?”

Twilight nodded before continuing, “I was thinking, it might be better to go ahead and distract him, as we try and place his mind at ease.”

“Oh, well, Twilight, I'm sure the other foals in class will be more than happy to meet another foal. If he can make some friends, that will no doubt help.”

“So, would you be willing to take on one more foal?” Twilight ventured.

“Oh, I don’t see why not. I will do what I can the first day or two to help him cope in class, and see if I can’t get the other children to help him feel more welcomed.”

Twilight felt like jumping for joy, but restrained herself, and just thanked Ms. Cheerilee.

“By the way, Twilight, where is the little foal?” Cheerilee asked.

“Oh. I sent him out shopping with Spike a little while ago, I had just spotted the two when, well, we bumped into each other.”

Cheerilee blushed lightly at that, and offered another apology, which Twilight shook her head. She explained that one apology was too much, and she herself should offer an apology as well. Since, it seemed, as she pointed out, both of them had been distracted.

Twilight looked and was surprised, though relieved, to see the two still at the book stall. Spike was speaking with the stallion present, most likely either trying to convince him to add Daring Do books, or comics to his collection, while Colt was reading.

“Oh, they're still there. Huh, I wonder what Colt is reading.”

Cheerilee looked over and spotted the white and red foal standing by Spike, his muzzle almost pressed into the book leaning against a stack of others. Cheerilee chuckled as she looked at the scene, and turned to Twilight.

“Are you sure you’re not his real mother? He seems so engrossed in that book, reminds me of seeing you around Ponyville reading a book with the same amount of concentration and focus.”

Twilight blushed furiously, and smiled, wholly embarrassed.

“Can I meet him?”

“Oh, uh, sure. We could probably see about getting you another bag, maybe one that is doubled, as well?” Twilight offered.

Cheerilee looked surprised as she remembered her dropped food, and thanked Twilight for helping her to pick up everything. She agreed that another bag that was not so easily broken would help her quite a bit. The two mares laughed as they went to a nearby stall, got the bags and placed the food into it before making their way over to Spike and Colt.

“Hey, Spike. You remember Ms. Cheerilee? I just, erm, well, ran into her on my way over to see you guys. She wanted to meet Colt. We were just talking about enrolling him at the School.”

“Oh, yeah? That sounds good, he hasn’t moved from this spot since we got here a little bit ago. Oh, hey, before I forget,” He said as he held out a scroll.

Twilight raised an eyebrow, and noticed the seal on the scroll held the imprint of the Princess of the Night.

“Luna already responded? I’m surprised she isn’t asleep, preparing for tonight.” Twilight took the scroll, breaking the seal easily and reading the letter.

Earlier that morning, as Luna returned from her dream walking, she found she was not alone in the throne room. Luna would choose certain times, during her nights, to walk through the realm of dreams, watching over other ponies, and seeing if any were troubled. It varied some nights, some she found were normal ponies worried about normal things. Family, home, jobs, and such; Where these would have troubled dreams from their own anxiety, Luna would use her magic to ease their troubles by bringing in something they found comforting.

It was easier than taking time to personally speak with each and every pony, when there were thousands of them that dreamed each night, it took too much of her time, and she had to carefully split her nights up between tending to things her sister could not get to during the day, watching over the ponies of Equestria, and ensure everything was accounted for, whether it was guards, treasure in the vaults, ponies in a town, the rare criminals in the dungeons, or prisons, and more.

If Luna ever noticed a pony was having a particularly troubling time with easing their minds, or something persisted and showed through their dreams; that was when she took the time to gain permission to enter their dreams and speak with them. Passing on words of wisdom, insights, ideas, and thoughts on how to help ease them.

Tonight it seemed, a very particular pony could not rest. Luna normally watched over her dreams very carefully, even taking time for the two to speak and catch up on things if the night was going slow enough.

As she had come around, she had been fairly surprised to see Celestia, up, long before it was time for her sun to even rise, giving an order of food for one of the night chefs.

“Something troubles your sleep, sister?” Luna offered gently.

Turning, Celestia smiled, it was warm, and radiant, but nothing like her usual one. This one showed a little bit of her age, which she had waited until the chef had already turned away before showing to Luna.

“I am well enough, Luna. My mind is merely filled with concerns. We must take time to prepare for the eventuality of facing this new threat to our home and family. The loss of a little sleep is better than the possible loss of lives.” Luna frowned, but said nothing as she had to agree with her sisters logic of the situation.

A thought did occur to her, and with that in mind, she spoke up, “You said you had thoughts on a plan involving the Wonderbolts, and the Element of Loyalty.”

“Ah, yes. Unfortunately right now, the Wonderbolts are off in Manehatten with their next show. I will be needing to get a letter to them quickly enough for them to make arrangements to cancel their show and return. I think it is time, Luna, to bring the Wonderbolts back to their original namesake duties. We will need them to help us track down, Blackheart. I am fairly certain he used the Everfree to escape, while I was at the hospital with Twilight, and you were scouring the area overhead with guards. I doubt he actually flew right by you, as I also doubt he could just vanish.”

Luna merely nodded to show she was listening and following along so far.

“I have a feeling, the spell he directed at me, was not actually directed at me. I think he may have been trying to cover his escape. He did not want me to fly after him, so he used whatever dark magic he had to keep me from going immediately after him. As well, I think he may have been aware of you and the guards patrolling the skies of the Everfree. Which left only two things he could have done to escape. Either hide in Ponyville, or hide along the ground as he went into the Everfree.”

“Because we have not heard of a Pegasus with his description in town, you believe he escaped right under our muzzles and hid in the Everfree?” Luna offered.

Celestia nodded, glad that Luna was proving more than proficient in thinking ahead.

“Now, the Wonderbolts are a tight knit group of specially trained ponies, but none have the ability that Rainbow Dash does.”

“Which is?” Luna asked, hoping Celestia would continue her thoughts.

“Twilight once sent me a letter explaining Rainbow Dash’s unique ability of learning things. Her eyes and mind are very keen and sharp when she is flying and is able to pick out details, that could only be rivaled by only the fiercest predators of flight, such as Falcons. With her assisting the Wonderbolts, I believe we would stand an even greater chance of finding something of Blackheart, if not finding him directly. However, just flying over the Everfree is not enough. I will be summoning all of our guards to set up special units to comb through the underbrush at the same time. We do not want to risk a chance of him escaping.”

“But, sister, the Everfree is a very large area, with many dangers, it will take a long time to search through all of the forest.”

Celestia had been ready for this argument, “We know this stallion was somehow connected to Nightmare Moon in some way, with what we sensed before. This plan does hold some flaws and many risks. Which is why I am going to set up the guards into specialized groups, so if there are any creatures that would decide to take on the military, they would easily hold their own. Our Unicorn and Earth pony soldiers are very well trained in hoof to hoof combat, alone, in a group, and even with mixed unit tactics. My plan is for the soldiers to work their way through the forest, as far as the castle is located. There may be a chance he went where it all began, if he is connected to Nightmare Moon.”

“Yes, I see the risk, sister.” Luna said. With consistent mentioning of Nightmare Moon, Luna could not help but to lower her head ever so slightly as her thoughts dragged up the memories involving her former self. For so long she had been stuck in that form, so small, cold and frightened. Nightmare Moon had been a storm of emotions and raw power, and without direction, except towards Celestia.

“Neither do I want the soldiers and guards harmed in this endeavor. I will give them explicit instructions not to confront him if he is found. It is too risky. I want them to contact us, then we will head over there, but I want you to remain back. I do not want him aware of your presence in case he tries to do anything to you. Yet, at the same time, I know I will not be able to take him by myself, so I will need your help. I want you to be an element of surprise, to our enemy.”

Luna looked up to her sister, a mix of emotions trying to burst from her chest, but what got to her the most, was the sense of trust Celestia was willing to give to Luna with this.

“Sister, I... Thank you.” Celestia nodded as one of the kitchen staff members entered the throne room with the breakfast Celestia had ordered.

“Oh, thank goodness, I am starving.” Celestia muttered, seeming to almost salivate as the meal came closer. She wasted no time in digging right in, barely giving thanks.

While there, Luna requested a small hot meal to be brought to her since her night was almost over. In fact, turning to the nearby balcony, Luna could see, and feel the Moon in the night sky as it made its slow way to the horizon, following the magic she had set for it. Something her sister had taught her so long ago, leaving it much easier to deal with other things than constantly having to stand there using all the magic they could muster to continually move the celestial bodies through the sky endlessly. With this, all they needed now was to only raise and lower them, otherwise, the orbs would follow the path set for them without need to do anything more.

They would have used a little more power to keep the orbs continually moving through the skies, but the ponies came to enjoy the princesses personally raising and lowering the sun and moon, so much, they even turned them into celebrations. So, they remained as they were, following the path set, but upon crossing the border of the Equator of their world, a little extra was used by them personally to ensure the sun and moon were kept on the path. It was more like they were wheels now, rolling through the skies on their own set roads, with an occasional bump, and the sisters were the drivers, the ones in control, ensuring everything kept running smoothly. All the while, the effect to every other pony was that princesses maintain constant and explicit control making the sun and moon continually revolve around their world.

Then again, thinking of it in that way, were they not still doing exactly that, even if they no longer had to tire and exhaust themselves completely with direct contact and control?

“Luna, is everything okay?” Celestia ventured, bringing Luna back to the present.

Luna merely smiled, the ghost of a tear vanishing, she felt proud with what they did and what they could do. They could not allow this balance to be broken again.

Since Celestia had finished her meal, and Luna was still waiting for her own, Celestia went ahead and began writing out a couple of letters. One for the Wonderbolts, one for Rainbow Dash, and a summons for the captain of the guard, and military leader, Iron Hoof.

As they were sent off, Celestia stood, stretching some before making her way, with Luna to the Balcony where they worked together to lower the moon and raise the sun. Their magic working in tune together left them both feeling more than relieved, and closer. It was rare times they did something like this together, yet it always seemed like a way to find their sisterly bond, and help each other when it was needed. They reveled in the closeness, despite their differences.

Upon entering the throne room, Luna found her food waiting for her. She, too, wasted no time in digging in. The sharing of lowering the moon, and raising the sun always left the sisters with a little extra pep in their step, and a little more energy.

“Luna, would you mind in staying awake a little while longer? At least until we have a chance to speak with Iron Hoof of the plan? I do not want you to try and stay awake while we also wait for the Wonderbolts. If I calculate the time it will take them to get from there to here, even if they all flew the whole way, I would not expect them anytime today. Tomorrow at the earliest if they leave immediately.”

Luna assured Celestia she could stay up a while longer to tend to what was important.

It was sometime in the middle of their talk with Iron Hoof, that a scroll appeared in the Throne room. Celetia had taken it, figuring Twilight was sending it to her. As she read the start of the letter, she blushed and passed the letter to Luna with an apology.

Dear Luna,

I am writing you with some concerns. Colt had a nightmare last night and woke this morning in a terrible state. I fear it is his placement that is causing this, being in a new place, and around strangers. I am already working to alleviate his fears and make him as comfortable and welcome here in Ponyville. I only wish to make a request, if you possibly can. I do not expect an immediate resolution to his night terrors, as something like this, I feel, could take time. I ask your help, Princess Luna, from one friend to another, would you be willing to watch over his dreams and help him if he has any other nightmares?

Your friend,

Twilight Sparkle

“Well, it would seem Twilight, is doing well enough.” Luna said after she read the letter, a smile on her face as she read it a second time, out loud to Celestia.

“Night terrors due to being in a strange place? Yes, I can see how that could cause concern.” Celestia said, as if thinking out loud.

Luna nodded before taking a quill and parchment and sending an immediate response.

“She does seem to hold simple wisdom beyond her years, does she not sister?” Luna said as she sent her response on its way.

Celestia merely nodded, pleased with Twilight’s quick thinking.

The clearing of a throat brought the two Alicorns back to the matter at hand and quickly resumed their plans with Iron Hoof.

Dear Twilight Sparkle,

I thank you for thinking of me to come to for help. It would not be a problem to watch over Colt’s dreams for the next few nights. I am sure you are surprised to find me still awake at this time. My sister and I are merely taking care of a few last things, before I retire. If there is anything else I can do to assist you, please do not hesitate to ask, Day, or Night.

Your friend,

Luna

Twilight was indeed surprised to find Luna was up late. The letter, though, brought some relief to know that Luna would be helping to watch over Colt’s dreams. Twilight turned and ticked the letter away in a bag. She looked up and smiled at Ms. Cheerilee, before moving over to get Colt’s attention.

“Mommy,” He said as she called his name, turning away from the book and quickly hugging Twilight. She could not help but to feel a swell in her chest at his reaction and nuzzled him affectionately.

“Aww, that is simply adorable. It would seem he has already taken to you, Twilight.” Cheerilee said, a smile on her face.

Despite her blush, Twilight introduced Colt to Ms. Cheerilee.

“Colt, this is Ms. Cheerilee, she teaches other foals at the school. We were just talking about having you attend her classes.”

Colt blushed, and tried to hide part of his face beside Twilight, “Hello, it’s a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Cheerilee.”

“Well, aren’t you the little gentlecolt? Its a pleasure to meet you as well colt. So, tell me, what book were you reading?”

At this, Colt’s eyes lit up, “Oh, its an adventure book. Its called, ‘Peaceful Sleep’, its about a group of three friends that travel an older Equestria and work to bring together the nations in peace and harmony for the Princesses. One of the ponies, a pegasus mare named Swift Shadow was just kidnapped by a bad guy, and the other two ponies, a Unicorn, and an Earth pony have to find a special key in the Land of Dragons and seek the help of their leader to find Swift Shadow-” Colt had seemed so eager to share what he had read so far. His eyes were lit up and wide, his voice almost shrill with the description of the story so far.

“Oh, my, that does sound like an adventure.” Ms. Cheerilee said as she laughed.

“Yeah, but I don’t think its the start of the series, and Mr. Uh...” Colt hesitated as he tried to remember the ponies name, “I’m sorry, I forgot what your name was, sir.” The stallion on the other side of the booth chuckled. He was a much older stallion, hair turning gray at the sides of his mane. He was a light brown, with a dark brown mane and tail, his eyes blue, and held a soft and kind quality to them, despite the heavy bags under them, a pair of glasses hung loosely over his chest.

“Oh, it’s quite alright.” The stallion chuckled, “My name is Quick Read.” Quick Read said as he introduced himself to the group.

“Oh, thank you. Mr. Read doesn’t seem to have the others that are the start of the series.”

“Sadly, I do not. A pony came by earlier and spotted them when I was first setting up and bought the other three of the series. She had apparently been collecting the books one by one for a couple of years now and only needed those three to complete the collection.”

“Well would be able to get any other copies?” Twilight asked.

“Oh, Sadly no, they stopped production of the books when the author passed away a few years ago. They only made so many copies of each book in the series. It really is a very good collection, and was considered very valuable.”

Colt lowered his head, looking let down.

“Well, how many of the books do you still have left?” Twilight asked. Colt’s ears perked up as she asked.

“Hmm, well aside from this one, the fourth book, I have the sixth book as well with me. I also have two others of the series stored away. Unfortunately they are stored away in Baltimare. I just moved here.”

“Well, the price seems fair, twelve bits? I will take both of the ones you have now. Would you be willing to have the other books shipped here for us? I can pay you for the books and a little extra for any trouble of getting the books here.”

Quick Read chuckled, “I was already working out what books to have shipped in the next couple of weeks. It would be no trouble for you, Princess Twilight Sparkle. Nor would it be an issue for your son, a fellow avid reader.”

“Just Twilight is fine, thank you Quick Read.” Twilight paid the twenty four bits, as the price was twelve bits for each book. Twilight lifted up the books and gently placed them into her saddlebags.

Colt couldn’t hold in his excitement, he bounced around thanking Twilight exuberantly.

“I can tell he will make a good addition to the class, Twilight. Have him ready first thing Monday morning.” Cheerilee said with a large smile. She excused herself as she needed to get home and get to work on grading some papers.

With an additional goodbye to Quick Read, Twilight, Spike, and Colt made their way through the rest of the market, picking out various ingredients for their own dinner. Once their shopping was done the three made their way back to the castle. There they enjoyed the rest of their day, talking, reading, and more.

Twilight did take time to talk to Colt, letting him know that Monday he would be starting school.

As the day drifted on, the sun began to set, turning the sky to a beautiful gold and red, as the dark blue of the night began to approach, stars slowly seeming to appear in the night. After the sun had set, and the moon began to rise, the two ponies, and dragon shared their dinner.

Afterwards, Twilight walked with Colt to his room, where she set up the two books she had bought for him in the rooms only bookshelf. She could not believe that a small foal who enjoyed reading had found his way into her life. She briefly wondered what other amazing things she would discover and be able to share with him. Parenting, despite its worries and concerns, was proving to be better than she thought.

As she turned, she saw Colt snuggling down into the blanket on the bed, looking up at her and smiling.

“Thank you, again, mom.” Twilight once more felt that swell in her chest, this time leaving a giddy, happy feeling. She walked over and tucked him in, and kissed the top of his head.

She remained there for a time, watching over Colt while he slept. His face serene in sleep, unbothered by anything at this moment. She hoped Luna would be watching over his dreams soon.

Spike entered the room quietly and caught Twilight’s attention, offering her a hot mug of cocoa. The two made their way out of the room, down the hall, and then downstairs, where they made themselves comfortable in the dining room. They spoke at length as they slowly sipped their cocoa, laughing and remembering his excitement when talking about the story he had come across.

“So, how does it feel?” Spike asked.

“How does what feel?”

“Being a mother.”

“Well, I haven’t been a mother for very long, Spike. It is nice though, yet I can’t shake this feeling he may not actually have a family here.” Twilight said after a quick sip.

“Well, that sounds like bad news, but how do you know that?”

Twilight shook her head, “I’m not sure yet, I’ll tell you later, if the time to find his parents run out and I can adopt him.”

The two finished their drinks and headed to bed after Spike washed their cups.