Celestia awoke.
She blinked, her big purple eyes closing and opening once, as if to make sure they could. Lifting her head, she looked around to see where she was.
It was a grassy clearing in a peaceful looking forest, with early sunlight just starting to show through the branches overhead. She heard the songbirds chirping good morning somewhere, and it felt right. This was where she wanted to be.
And, why did she want to be here?
She blinked again, and her mouth curved into a slight frown as she looked down at her little white hooves. Was it the birds? No, they were nice, but that wasn’t it. The sun, then? That felt closer, but still wrong. The trees?
Try as she might, she couldn’t think of the real reason. Maybe that meant she was wrong, and she shouldn’t be here. That idea felt like the worst one she had had so far.
Haunted by the possibility, she tried to forget it by distracting herself. She lifted one front leg and put it hoof down on the ground, then did the same to the other one, so that she could stand up. A whole foot off the ground, she almost expected to wobble and fall back down, but she was stronger than she thought. Her four legs were as steady as the trees all around her.
Now on her hooves, she decided that right here, in this clearing, wasn’t exactly where she wanted to be. She just wanted to be here, in general. She lifted her leg again and took a step forward, and then another. Soon, she was walking out of the grassy clearing and into the deep green forest.
She didn’t know where she was going, but she felt like she would know when she saw it. Along the way, there were plenty of other things to see as well. Over there, an ancient fallen tree trunk was slowly returning to the earth, going fuzzy and soft with moss and lichen. Mushrooms grew in the damp shade by the roots of the tall and proud trees. A shaft of sunlight fell through the leafy canopy, shining a spotlight on a barren rock.
This was a good spot for a rest. She walked over to the sunlit patch of ground by the rock and lay down. No longer moving, she went over everything she had seen so far. What came to the front of her mind was that now that she thought about it, the grass back in that clearing had looked pretty tasty.
That clearing was far away, now. She didn’t want to walk all the way back there. There was perfectly good moss right here. Yes, perfectly good, she told herself, even though it wasn’t grass. It only looked gross because of the color. As she was working up the will to give it a try, a flicker of movement caught her eye.
She turned to look at it. It was a little blue butterfly, its wings fluttering back and forth to fly, even though it looked almost as if it was drifting in the breeze.
“Hello, little butterfly. Where are you going?” she asked. It didn’t answer, not that she expected it to. Neither did she expect it to flutter right up and perch itself on the horn poking out of her pink mane.
“Oh, you came to see me?” She looked upwards with only her eyes, just able to see the white spiral and the butterfly she knew was there. It flapped its wings once, as if stretching them. “That’s very kind of you. I’m going somewhere too, but I don’t know where, yet.”
The butterfly flew off, gently weaving its way through the air. Celestia watched it go, feeling a little sad, even though she had known it would have to leave eventually. “I suppose I better get going too.” She looked at the moss again, and decided she wasn’t hungry. She climbed to her hooves and left the rock behind.
As she walked along, she started hearing a strange sound. It was like a distant roar that never ended or changed, but just kept going and going. Looking around, she figured out it was coming from over there. She turned and started walking towards it.
The trees thinned out, and she found herself standing on a rocky riverbank. Upstream, the water was calm and smooth, but downstream it started speeding up and rushing over the rocks. At a certain distance, both the river and the forest just disappeared, giving way to blue sky. That was where the roar was coming from, and curiosity made Celestia move closer.
As she got closer, the roar grew louder, until she could barely hear her own hooves striking the ground. There seemed to be a distant valley with a lake beyond the edge, for an edge was what it seemed to be. When she reached it, she stopped and just looked.
The view was breathtaking. Everything she had seen up until now had been within her reach, but from here, it felt like she could see forever. There was a valley framed by mountains that rose up majestically in the distance, one in particular reaching high, high up into the sky. At its foot lay a forest just like the one she had walked out of, with little trees so far away they were smaller than her hoof. Bordering the forest was a curved, deep blue lake, which caught the outpour of the waterfall.
The waterfall was powerful and a little frightening. What had been an unthreatening little river became a display of inevitability. All that water flowed over the edge and just fell, spraying out mist as it crashed into the rocks far below. This was the source of the endless roar that had drawn her here, so was this where she was meant to be? Where should she go from here? Her eyes traced the flow of water downwards to its end.
Should she follow the river over the edge?
Her heart pounded at the thought. Her hooves had been firmly on the ground ever since she woke up. Now her path was to leave the earth behind.
But she didn’t have to do it like the waterfall. She remembered the butterfly in the forest, and she spread her wings. She bent her knees –
For a moment, she hung seemingly motionless in the air. She saw every detail of the view laid out before her, the mountains, the valley, the forest and lake.
And then, like the water beside her, she fell.
From the corner of her eye, she could see the water keeping pace with her. Around her, the cliff face raced past. Before her, the rocky ground rushed upwards to meet her.
She grinned widely and tilted her wings, swooping up just as the water hit the bottom. She laughed as she soared over the lake. Everything was so fast!
A cloud floating over the forest caught her eye. She smirked and beat her wings, zooming upwards and forwards. As she was about to pass over it, she closed her wings and tucked her head towards her hooves. She felt herself falling –
-but before she went too far, she felt the soft cloud catch her, just like she knew it would. She rolled forward, and when her hind legs touched the cloud, she kicked out and shot forward even faster than before.
She let out a wordless cheer at her success. Oh, she loved this. What else could she do up here? There were plenty of clouds to work with. She thought for a moment, just gliding, before she took off for the biggest bunch of clouds in sight.
The sun was setting by the time Celestia finally had her fill. Wings a little stiff, she gently drifted down out of the sky.
As she came in for a landing by the lake, she saw a dark splotch on the grass. It wasn’t the right color for a rock, or a bush, or even a cloud shadow. She tilted her wings to land by it.
Now that she was closer, she could see what it was. The orange sky had faded to violet when she touched down, but she could see that it was a sleeping pony, with her eyes closed and her legs folded under her neatly.
Celestia folded her wings and looked at the new filly. She was blue, with a lighter blue mane and tail, but just like Celestia, she had a horn and wings of her own.
Who had left her here? Was she safe all on her own like this? Celestia had been fine all day, but this filly was little, even smaller than Celestia. She might not be able to find her way by herself.
No, she decided. This filly couldn’t be left alone. She needed somepony to protect her and keep her safe, and Celestia would be that pony. It felt right.
… just as soon as she had a nap. She was tired.
She walked up to the filly. Carefully, so she didn’t wake the sleeper up, she lay down beside the little blue pony. Before she closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep, she spread one wing and draped it over her new friend.
The sun was too bright.
Luna made a whining noise and curled away from it without opening her eyes. She didn’t wanna wake up, it was warm and comfy here. She nestled closer to the soft thing beside her, glad for the fluffy blanket she lay under.
Wait.
Luna’s eyes snapped open. The soft thing was the side of a white pony, bigger than she was. Luna’s blanket was the pony’s outstretched wing. When did this happen? Where did this pony come from? Nervously, she looked up …
… to see the pony gently smiling at her.
“Good morning, my little pony. Did you sleep well?”
It was strange, but hearing the kindness in the other pony’s voice calmed her down. She nodded and said, “Yeah, I did.” Not knowing what else to say, she asked, “Did you?”
The white pony grinned. “Yes, I did too.” She straightened up a little and cleared her throat before saying, “My name is Celestia. It’s nice to meet you!”
Luna subconsciously mimicked her, sitting a little taller under Celestia’s wing. “I’m Luna.”
“Luna,” Celestia repeated, as if it was a name she thought she should recognize. Of course, she had never met Luna before, so she said, “I found you here all alone yesterday. Where did you come from?”
Luna opened her mouth – but she found she had nothing to say, so she closed it again. Where had she come from? She looked away, trying to remember.
The sound of Celestia’s voice drew her back. “It’s alright, if you don’t know. I don’t know where I came from, either.”
For some reason, this surprised Luna. She quickly looked back up. “You don’t?”
Celestia shook her head. “No, I woke up in the forest yesterday. I don’t remember anything before that.”
Luna’s mouth formed an O. So, this other pony, bigger than her, who sounded so kind and wise, whose wing was so comfy, wasn’t so different from Luna. It made her feel a little better about herself and a little safer being with Celestia.
On the other hoof, now they didn’t know where either of them came from.
Well, that wasn’t going to stop her. Luna stomped a hoof on the ground and set her mouth into a determined line. “Then let’s find out together!”
Celestia looked a little startled at Luna’s sudden fierceness. “What?”
Pointing a hoof at Celestia, and then at herself, Luna explained, “You don’t know where you come from, and I don’t know where I come from, so why don’t we help each other find out?”
Slowly, a smile spread across Celestia’s face once again. “I’d like that, Luna. Let’s do that.”
At once, Luna scrambled out from under Celestia’s wing and leapt to her hooves. She galloped a bit before turning around to shout from a few steps away, “C’mon, let’s go!”
As soon as Celestia folded her wing and got up, Luna dashed off. Even with her slightly longer legs, Celestia had to break into a gallop herself to catch up to the little blue filly. Luna had been talking about exploring their past, not running away, but her excitement was infectious. “Where are we going?” Celestia asked, realizing she didn’t mind as long as Luna was happy.
“We’re gonna look for clues! This way!”
So they ran together, racing away along the grassy shore under the morning sky.
Time flew by. It felt like they had just started running, but soon enough they reached the end of the lake, where a river from the mountains fed into it. Celestia had seen it coming, but Luna only realized the water was too deep to cross after she was hoof deep in it. Celestia cantered up beside her as she looked around, as if she was searching for the pony who had put a river in their way.
Then Luna spotted something. “Celestia, look! Flowers!” She squealed, splashed out of the river, and ran off again. She was right: the forest had thinned out and given way to an open field by the water. Across it grew wildflowers of every shape and color, their little petals swaying gently in the breeze.
Luna bounded into the veritable treasure trove of flowers, giggling. Celestia’s mouth dropped open in wonder at the sight, before she stepped out of the water herself and followed the little filly.
“Look! Oh my goodness, they’re so pretty!” Luna was staring at a purple flower with petals spiraling upwards, almost like a wheat stalk. Celestia carefully picked her way through the flowers to her.
“Is this real?” Celestia murmured. She gazed at the beautiful colors all around them. From the middle of the field, it looked much larger, expanding away towards the bubbling water and the silent trees.
Luna heard her. “Huh? Of course it’s real, I mean, look,” she said, waving at the purple flower.
Celestia glanced at it. The one flower was nice, but not more than any other flower she had already looked at. “I know that,” she explained. “But why is all this here?”
“Uh,” Luna said, forcing herself to think. “Oh right, we were looking for clues.” She bit her lip. “It’s here because … because it’s pretty?” she finished, unsure about her answer.
Celestia considered this. She looked more closely at the purple flower. She had thought the spiral of petals formed the whole flower, but there were actually smaller flowers in between the petals, which were covered in a delicate fuzz. The smaller details had not caught her attention the first time. “You’re right, it is pretty.” She smiled, a little sad that she had dismissed the flower before she had even really seen it. “Thank you.”
Luna frowned. She knew she should have been happy she’d been right, but now that she was thinking, it didn’t seem like her answer was good enough. “Is that a clue? Pretty flowers won’t tell us where we came from.”
“I think it’s a very good clue. Maybe we’re here for the same reason as these flowers.” Celestia grinned and reached out a hoof to touch Luna on the nose. “I know one little pony who’s as pretty as can be!”
Luna tried to watch the white hoof touch her nose and crossed her eyes. She blinked and snorted, then looked at Celestia. “Me? Really?”
Celestia feigned thoughtfulness, tapping her chin. “Well, maybe not.” Luna’s expression fell slightly, but before she could be too disappointed, Celestia continued. “After all, wouldn’t you be prettier if you had some flowers?”
Luna gasped. “You’re right! We need some flowers!” She spun around, looking in every direction and seeing nothing but cheerfully colored petals. “Let’s find the prettiest flowers in this whole field!”
And with that, she started looking at flowers one at a time, talking about each one and how much she liked it. Celestia smiled and examined some flowers herself, taking her time to enjoy each one.
It was late afternoon by the time they had all the flowers they wanted. They couldn’t carry them all one by one, so Luna came up with the idea to tie them together by their stems. In the end, both of them had several loops of flowers around their necks, and another smaller one each in their manes when they came back to where they started.
“Now, we’re as pretty as can be,” Luna declared factually, plopping herself down on the ground.
“How do you know what you look like?” Celestia asked as she lay down beside her.
Luna paused, afraid that she was wrong, but said, “I have flowers just like you, and you’re pretty, so I must be, too.”
“And you are.” Celestia leaned over and nuzzled her. After a moment, Luna returned it, feeling comforted by the touch.
They sat for a while. Luna fiddled with her necklaces. Eventually, Celestia made a thoughtful sound. “I wonder if flowers are good for something besides looking nice?” As Luna thought about it, an idea crossed Celestia’s mind. She leaned forward and took a daisy in her mouth.
Luna laughed at the sight. “Don’t eat them, silly!” she giggled.
Celestia chewed for a bit before asking, “Why not? They’re delicious.”
Luna’s mirth disappeared immediately, replaced by surprise and curiousity. “They are?”
Celestia nodded. “Mhm.” She took another bite.
“Huh.” Luna found herself a patch of daisies and looked at it suspiciously before giving it a try. She made a happy noise as she munched away.
They grazed for some time, filling up on flowers they hadn’t added to their necklaces. Celestia was just about done when she heard Luna speak up. “Celestia, there’s a pony over there.”
She looked around and she spotted who Luna was talking about. On the edge of the field stood a tall white pony with a red mane. She had been standing in the shade of the trees, but now that she had been seen, she stepped forward.
Celestia got up and walked towards her a little, so that she was nearer to the newcomer than Luna was. She didn’t know how she felt about this strange pony. “Hello?”
The stranger walked more fully into the light. Celestia could see her eyes looked tired, but warm. “Hello, my little ponies. Are you enjoying yourselves?”
“Uh –“ Celestia glanced at Luna, who looked just as confused as she was. That was a strange question. Why wouldn’t they be? “Yes, we are. Who are you?”
“I –“ The stranger hesitated, then held a hoof to her chest. “Am an alicorn, much like you. I’m here to make sure you’ve settled in and are ready for what’s to come.” Seeing the puzzled looks on the two fillies’ faces, she smiled comfortingly. “Don’t worry about that now. Just know that you are meant for something more.” With that, she started walking back into the forest.
Luna jumped up and ran ahead of Celestia. “Um, Miss Alicorn?” she came to a stop and asked, suddenly nervous. “Do you know where we came from?”
The alicorn turned back to look at them. They could see a mark, some kind of feather, on her coat. She asked genuinely, “Is that so important?” She could see on their faces that they couldn’t say why, but they still wanted to know. She relented. “If you take a moment to feel, I think you’ll find what you’re looking for.” That would have to be enough. Before she returned to the forest, she said, “Take care of your sister, now. I will see you again soon.”
They watched her go. They still didn’t know who she was, but instead of having more questions, they felt like they had gained something. Luna turned around to look up at Celestia. “Are you my sister?”
Celestia met her eyes and blinked. Sister? She had only found Luna after sunset on the shore yesterday. The sun was setting again now, on the field of flowers by the river. One day had passed, and now she was being asked if – had been told, in fact, that - Luna was her own sister. How could she answer that?
But the stranger had said, to take a moment to feel. Celestia did have an answer. “Yes. I’d be happy to be your sister.”
Luna ran closer, to hug her new sister. “I’m sorry I couldn’t find out where we came from.”
Celestia pursed her lips. She had thought it might be enough for the young filly, but Luna hadn’t accepted “being pretty” as a good reason for herself. That wasn’t the answer Celestia had found, after all. “That’s alright. Maybe we’ll find out tomorrow.” She gently ran a hoof through Luna’s mane, before pulling back to look at her. “For now, I think it’s time to go to sleep.”
Luna nodded and they arranged themselves in the flowers side by side before Celestia tucked Luna under her wing. “Goodnight, Celie.”
She pricked her ears at this short name, but she didn’t ask about it. She liked it. Closing her eyes, she lay her head down. “Goodnight, Luna.”
So the two sisters slept in the field of flowers, with the sound of the river as their lullaby. Above them, the stars twinkled to life, and the moon rose.
Author's Note
Special thanks to The Slending Angel for inspiring this chapter
