Luna Wants a Windigo

Chapters

Hunt
Summon
Shape
Interlude: Death
Interlude: Clever
Stealth
Letter
Interlude: Winter Pt. 1
Revitalize
Illusion
Interlude: Winter Pt. 2
Invitation
Party
Retrieval
Confrontation
Interlude: Winter Pt. 3
Suspicion
Interlude: Meeting
Interlude: Convoy
Message
Discovery
Explanation
Collision
Tension
South
Awakening
Turning
Final Battle
Conclusion
Lonely
Make
Past

Hunt

“Sister, why are we taking a trip to the Crystal Kingdom? Isn’t this a bit early? I thought we weren’t supposed to visit your niece for another month.” Luna said. The carriage her sister and herself were riding painted green with a gold trimming, and smelled of cedar.

“Luna, Cadance isn’t my niece!”

“SISTER, I SWEAR ON OUR FAIR MOTHER’S GOOD NAME, IF YOU SAY WHAT I THINK YOU’RE ABOUT TO SAY, I WILL ERASE YOUR DISGUSTING AND PERVERTED SOUL FROM EXISTENCE”

“Luna, Luna, Luna…. Don’t be silly.”

Luna gave a serious look.

“Cadance isn’t my niece, she’s our niece.”

Luna stared at her sister with malice and intent.

“Sister, that’s first degree murder.”

“What?”

“Sister, why are we riding in a carriage? Couldn’t we just use a flying chariot?” Luna pointed out after an hour of silence.

“Well….”

“Or fly ourselves?”

“I mean….”

“Or get our mages to teleport us? Or teleport ourselves?”

Celestia waited for a moment, turning her head as if to hear better. “Any other suggestions?”

“I’m sure I could come up with more.”

Celestia sighed. “Sometimes, you just have to enjoy the little things in life. Like making ponies walk for you,” she joked.

“I suppose you’re right, sister. Truly this is something to behold: making others do your bidding.”

“That wasn’t the really the poi—nevermind.”

Celestia exhaled in content. “Isn’t the scenery gorgeous? I simply delight in how it changes from the lovely temperate climate of Canterlot to the arctic…. And the rounded mountains of Midequestria are so different from the jagged peaks of the North. And the culture is so rustic. It’s lovely.”

“It is beautiful, indeed. But why are we traveling north? This seems so random.”

“It’s a surprise, sister. Just wait.”

The carriage rolled past the magical field held back any evils that might have wanted to harm the residents.

The two alicorns shuddered as parts of their beings were torn away.

“Ah, the Crystal Kingdom is so lovely,” stated Celestia.

“Yes, the architecture here is so… deconstructivist....”

“You think so? I’d say it’s more brutalist-expressionist.”

“I think expressionism is simply too broad, especially to make a subcategory with. The flat faces of the crystals really create a new style entirely. Let’s just call it ‘flat blobitecture’.”

“Hm, I like it. Let’s make sure that Cadance puts out a public notice about the redefinition of their architecture.”

“Oh, auntie, it’s so nice to see you!”

“It’s only been a two months, Cadance,” Celestia said with a smile.

“But it’s been two months too long!” Cadance smiled back. “It’s nice to see you too, Auntie Luna!” She trotted over and wrapped her forelegs around the neck the Night Princess, embracing her in a hug.

Luna’s eyes widened. “I-it’s good to see you. Please don’t touch me.”

“Come on, Luna, live a little!” Cadance encouraged.

“I really don’t like being touched.”

Shining Armor stayed behind, silently watching from the background.

Cadance patted Luna on the back and smiled.

Celestia looked back at him and gave a serious, questioning stare, somehow managing to arch her brows whilst squinting.

“Do not touch me.”

Shining Armor’s eye’s widened and he nodded ferociously.

“So, Cadance, is everything ready?” Celestia inquired.

“Mhm! I thought we’d eat lunch together and head out afterwards!”

“Did you get the nets?”

“Yup!”

“Nets?” Luna asked, confused.

“Nets!” Cadance replied.

Celestia nodded. “Nets.”

“Nets…” Cadance added.

“Ne—why are we saying ‘nets’?”

“It’s a surprise!”

After lunch the three princesses and a seven royal guards left the boundaries of the crystal empire to fully embrace the North.

The air was fast moving but the wind remained quiet for the most part.

“So, what is the surprise?” Luna asked as they walked.

“Well, Luna, I saw how much you wanted a windigo, so we’re going on a hunting trip.” Celestia made a warm smile.

“What? But… I thought you said there weren’t any more windigos left in the world.” Luna crooked her head slightly in question.

“Well…. We don’t know. Philomena reminded me that there’ve been rumors of windigos in the North, so we thought that we should at least try and see if we could find one.”

“Oh…” Luna said slowly, a grin creeping onto her face. “Thank you, sister.” Luna paused. “How are we going to find one?”

“Oh, that’s simple!” Celestia replied.

“Well? ‘Don’t leave me hanging,’ as the foals say today.”

“Well, we just have to get really angry at eachother! Windigos feed on hatred and sadness, so if we just get mad, I’m sure they’ll come.”

“That’s genius!” Luna replied enthusiastically.

Everyone became silent.

“So how do we start?” Cadence asked.

“Well…. Uhm….” Celestia said sheepishly.

“Sister... I-I think that… you’re... ugly,” Luna said, unsure.

Celestia’s features were painted with a drop of sadness. “You really think so?”

“Well….” Luna bit her lip. “I-I mean…. No, not really. I’m sorry, sister. I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings.”

“Well I think you’re both ugly,” Cadence said, wearing an unimpressed look.

“Really?” Celestia asked again.

“Of course! Your proportions are way out of whack! I mean, come on, Celestia! Your midsection is so thick and short you look like a log painted white with twigs as legs! And Luna, your body is so small you look like a miniature bobblehead with an industrial sized spring! And what is that thing surrounding your cutie mark? Did you sit in some ink as a filly or something? Don’t you know how to take baths?

“I guess I can’t expect old mares to know what true beauty is,” Cadance flipped her hair out of her eye, “But at least try to find out about what looks decent.”

Both Luna and Celestia were uphaled.

“Well, excuse me, Ms. Perfect! Says the one who doesn’t even know how to run a citystate!” Celestia retorted. “Why do you even call it the Crystal Empire? It’s barely bigger than Ponyville!”

“At least I know when to stop eating my sweets, fatso!”

“I am not fat, do you understand?” Celestia’s mane caught ablaze, and Cadance finally understood where Twilight got it from. But Cadance couldn’t just stop then.

“Oh yeah? What’re you going to do, sit on me? Fatty!”

“Gah! I wish I had never adopted you, you ungrateful little twerp!” Celestia said, grinding her teeth.

“Sister, Cadance, isn’t this going a little too far…?”

“Oh, like you did when you tried to overthrow your sister?” Cadance replied snarkily.

Luna frowned, and her lip wavered. She wiped her eyes with her snowy fetlock and swallowed. Her brows V’ed in anger and she burst. “Well atleast I have the decency to not seduce the first stallion I meet with my magic and marry him!”

Now it was Cadance’s turn to look genuinely offended. “I didn’t do that!” was all she could manage to comeback with.

“Wel—!” Luna was cut off.

“Shut up, sister, she’s mine!”

“Oh, it’s always about you, is it?!”

“You know what, Luna? Noone cares that you were banished to the moon for a thousand years! Everyone is always trotting on eggshells around you! Grow a backbone!”

“I’m not the one that has intercourse with a bird! Freak!”

“Th-that’s regular!”

“It’s as regular as a trapezoid!”

“I thought you would understand, but apparently you're still an uptight shrew!”

“You—”

“P-Princess, we spotted one!” a guard yelled, interrupting Luna.

“Are you sure?” Luna asked, excited.

“Yes! I’m sure it’s one!” he replied.

“Excellent! Try bringing it down with a stun spell!” Celestia commanded.

The guard charged the complex spell, and his horn glowed a light blue. With small discharge sound, a slow moving aura was shot from his forehead.

The astral being easily dodged the first bullet, rolling out the way as it flew.

The other guards released their own shots soon after, creating a wall of magic that the windigo was not agile enough to avoid.

With a flash, the shots hit the creature, and it started spiraling towards the ground.

The windigo crashed into the ground and the plume of snow that was pushed up into the air was quickly blown away by the wind.

The three princesses and the seven guards started walking over to the beast, before Celestia called out. “Halt!”

“What is it, Princess?”

“Throw a net on it!”

Two of the guards took ends of a black net in their teeth and flicked their heads in unison to throw it.

The net lazily draped over the windigo, a corner flapping up with the wind.

“Perfect! Thank you, stallions,” Celestia approved.

“Great call, Auntie Celestia!”

“Thank you.”

The ten continued to slowly approach the fallen creature.

Luna made a large frown as she saw the body.

Everyone else bit their lip and looked around the tundra.

The body was disfigured, and parts of the creature were spilling out an ethereal, sparkling mist. It sullied the snow and turned it into a blue slush. The already pale color of the windigo drained out to leave an icy shell.

Noticing the tension, Celestia broke the silence. “Well, Luna, half of a windigo is better than no windigo.”

“No, it is not! Why? Why would I want a dismembered windigo?!” Luna snapped.

“Come on, Luna, it’s just a saying.”

“It is not a saying if it was torn from your disturbing mind only a few moments ago! That phrase has literally never been uttered before in the history of sentient beings!”

“Luna! I just wanted to cheer you up, I’m sorry….”

Luna sighed loudly, throwing her head into the air.

“Luna, I’m sorry.”

Luna rolled her eyes.

“Lunaaaaa….”

Luna moaned and looked away.

“Fine! I forgive you,” Luna mumbled.

“Apology accepted,” Celestia stated cheerfully.

“Wh—What?”

As the party departed, a small head poked out from behind one of the many black rocks that held no ice. It’s wispy body flowed in the wind, and it was curious.

But curiosity dismembered the windigo, as the saying goes.

“Squawk?” Philomena asked as Celestia trotted into the room.

Celestia sighed. “No, it didn’t. I don’t know what we were doing wrong!”

“Squawk?”

“We tried seven times….”

“Squawk. Squawk.”

“I know it was a failure, you don’t have to rub it in.

“But…. Ugh… What to do?!”

The Sun Princess sat on her bed in deep thought.

“Maybe…. No, that’s silly,” Celestia thought out loud.

Noticing her friend struggling, Philomena made a suggestion. “Squawk,” she offered. “Squawk?” She raised her wings in a shrug. “Squawk.”

“Philomena, you’re a genius. I think you deserve a present….”

“Caw!”

“Oh, oh, but later!” Celestia squinted hard and bit her bottom lip, holding back her urges.

“I’ll get started on it right away!”

Author's Note

I don't usually use capital letters to show intensity, but I felt like it was necessary here.

Summon

“Sister, what have you dragged me all the way to the Canterlot Archives for? You know I’m never up this early.”

“It’s two o’clock in the afternoon.”

“And I’m the Princess of the Night.”

“Yes, and I’m the Princess of the Day.”

“But sister, Cadance was voted as princess of the day. Don’t you read the daily newspapers?”

“Clever.” Celestia nodded with a uninterested look on her face.

The royal sisters passed through the gilded doors of the Canterlot archives. Luna noted elegancy of the library, and internally tisked about how gaudy her sister could be.

The two trotted past the attendant who was lazily skimming through an upside down catalogue.

The librarian looked up as she heard hooves on the tiling near the desk, and had only but a minor heart attack as she saw who they belonged to.

She quickly closed the book and stood up straight.

“How can I help you, princess...?” she said softly but with intensity. “—es,” she added.

“Ah, we were looking for an... interesting book.”

“I think you’ll be able to find it in the ‘Interesting Books’ section, on the third floor in the northeast section.”

“Oh, no, we don’t want an interesting book, we want an... interesting book.”

“Ah, then you must be looking for the ‘General Magic Tomes’ section up on the second floor in the west wing.”

“Thank you…” Celestia said, implying the question of the librarian’s name.

“It’s Kinky Lace.”

“Oh, my...” Luna said quietly, shocked.

“It was a pleasure, Kinky Lace.”

“Please, the pleasure was mine.” Kinky made a mock bow.

“Come, sister.”

“Yes.”

The two departed and walked to curved stairs hugging the high walls.

Out of earshot, Celestia whispered a question to her sister. “Do you think she’ll be alright?”

“Hm?”

“She had a minor heart attack.”

The two sisters walked nonchalantly in the wing, basking in the enormous amount of information around them.

“Isn’t it funny?” Luna inquired.

“What is?”

“How we have so much information about our world, yet new, equally important information is always trivial to find.”

“Yes, Luna, every philosopher has long since realized that.”

Luna scowled and shrugged defensively.

The pair trotted up to the section labeled “s” and turned down the aisle. Books lined the shelves—as expected—and the long bookcases towered over the sisters.

“I’m so glad that I had these shelves reorganized,” Luna said.

“Pfft, they were fine the way they were.”

“Sister, random untitled scrolls laying on the ground and haphazardly stuffed on the shelves is not fine. We’ve been over this.”

“They weren’t all untitled. The ones that would harm you by reading were labeled ‘Dangerous’ at the bottom of the parchment and stuck on the top shelf.”

“Wait, why were there dangerous scrolls in a public archive?”

“We can’t just withhold information, Luna. That’s tyranny.”

“Sister, what?”

Celestia smiled and shook her head dismissively. “Someday, Luna, you’ll understand.”

“I really hope I won’t.”

After some time spent scanning the various books, Celestia found the book she was looking for. “Ah, here it is!” Celestia exclaimed, earning some shushes from the other patrons.

“Oh? Summoning Spirits by... N. Mare. M?!” Luna earned some sushes as well. “Sister! You can’t be serious!”

“Hm?” Celestia asked, already looking for the information she needed. “Oh, no, I wouldn’t worry, Luna.”

“Why?!”

“The author’s full name is Necro Mare Mancer, also known as Necromare Mancer, or even Necromancer Mare. I’ve even read renditions of her name saying ‘Mare Necromancer’.”

“Tha—What?!” Luna stared at her sister in disbelief. “Why is this even here?!”

“What?

“Why are there materials by necromancers here, and WHY ARE WE USING THEM?!”

“This is not her real name, Luna, this is just her pseudonym.”

“Oh….” Luna began to cool down.

“Her real name was Apocalypse Harbinger.”

“What?!” A stray book fell on the floor with her shout.

“Luna! Calm down, she changed her name later in life; she felt her birth name didn’t suit her, so she had it changed.”

Luna glared intensely at her sister, as if about to have an aneurysm.

“Her name was Dark Mage.”

The book held in Celestia’s magic caught ablaze.

“Oh well, I guess the book didn’t have anything useful in it,” Luna said wistfully.

“Luna, I’m telling Twilight on you.”

The blue alicorn’s eyes widened.

“Sister, where are we headed now?”

“If I tell you, Luna, will you promise not to burn anymore books?”

“But—”

Celestia shook her head, interrupting her sister, “No ‘but’s, Luna.”

“Fine.”

“We’re going a notorious book vendor…. It’s a bit hectic, so be ready.”

“Alright. But can you promise that there won’t be any Shades involved? My trust in dark magic has… weakened.”

“I guess; dark magic always seems to work fine for me.”

Luna followed Celestia into the store front. Books stuffed the shelves, and the wood bulged at the seams from the strain. It looked as though a simple tap would send books flying everywhere, strewing them across the room.

Several ponies stood by the warped cases and studied the titles intently, looking for the book they needed.

Amazingly, Luna saw, when one of the patrons needed a book, it came out with ease.

The stallion behind the counter yielded a green coat and grey mane, and had the cutie mark of an open book. He looked away from the customer he was helping and greeted Celestia formally yet in a casual tone. “Ah, Princess Celestia. May I have a moment?”

Celestia nodded.

The stallion finished and turned to the princesses. “So what can I help you with today?”

“Yes, Open Book, we’re looking for an… interesting book,” Celestia responded.

He arched his brow. “Ooooh, back for volume three, are we?”

“No, no, not that, no that!” Celestia replied frantically. Everyone in the store looked at her. “I-I mean… no, n-not today. I’m here with my sister to retrieve a book of… instructions? Would you call them that, Luna?”

“Hm, I’d say more like… rituals.”

“Yes, rituals. We are here for an... interesting book about… rituals.”

“Princess, I… don’t know what to say….” The stallion looked disturbed.

“No, not that either!” Luna interjected, blushing and frowning.

“Oh?”

“We need some books on summoning creatures.”

“I see. Follow me, I think I have a few tomes you may find helpful.”

The sisters followed Open Book to a door leading into a back room. The room held many more books and many more shelves, but lacked the decor of the front.

Open Book walked to a case with a small piece of parchment waxed on to the wood titled “Magic Rituals.”

With his own unicorn magic, he grabbed a few titles off the shelf.

“Rituals of Ancient, Magic Circles and Principles of Structured Magic, Summoning Familiars, Summoning Beasts, Structured Magic Circles Reference Guide….” He went on, naming all of the books that were given to the Princesses. “That should be all of the books I have about summoning. How would you like to pay?”

“Alright, sister, let us start looking!”

“Right behind you, Luna.”

“Sister, this book has instructions on how to summon you!” Luna said, laughing.

“Really?” Celestia asked, intrigued.

“Yes, oh my, this is too good! Here, Step one: enter your washroom and look towards your mirror. Step two: transcribe the circle below with thaumic chalk onto a flat surface in your washroom. Step three: douse the candles. Step four: repeat our princess’s name three times in concession without turning away from the mirror. Step five: enjoy.”

Celestia laughed. “Who wrote this?”

“This was a work done by… Green Leaf.”

“Ah, well. All in good humor.”

“Sister, I found it! I found it, I found it!” Luna shouted, excited. She hopped in place, pointing at the page with a hoof.

“Oh! Finally! Come on, let’s set up the ritual.”

“Oh, but wait…. Part of the circle diagram appears to be worn down…. What should we do?” Luna asked with worry.

“I’m sure it will be fine. What could possibly go wrong?”

“Sister, why?”

“What?”

“You just jinxed us. Very badly.”

“Says the one that thinks withholding information from the public is a good idea. Really sister, you worry too much.”

“Alright, I think we’re all set!” Celestia stated eagerly.

“Did we do everything? Did you reread all the steps?”

“Yes, think so. We have the circle, the candles, and the sacrifice. And the nets too, just in case.”

“Are you sure it’s alright to sacrifice a chicken?”

“Oh, it’s not like Fluttershy actually knows which one is Elizabeak. She probably won’t even notice her missing.”

“I suppose you’re right.” Luna looked over the book again. “Charge your horn!”

Celestia did as was told and an aura grew around her horn. She touched the glowing appendage to the chalk circle, and a shimmer of light went around the room, following all of the intricacies of the pattern.

A magic bulb illuminated the room from the center of the circle in a blinding flash of light.

The light subsided, and the sisters could see a blue mass in the center.

“It worked! It worked!” Luna called out, excited.

“Wait!”

“Yes?”

“Throw a net over it.”

Luna took a net in her magic and bound the creature. “Good call, sister.”

“Thank you.”

Luna approached the laying down creature.

A scowl formed on her face as she saw the shape it was in. The creature was misshapen, and its limbs were strewn around its body.

Celestia trotted up to the creature, and breathed sharply in through her mouth.

They were both silent for a moment.

Celestia broke the silence. “Well, Luna, half—”

“Aap!” Luna interrupted. She breathed through her nose, trying to calm herself. “Do not say it.”

Meanwhile, a small, pale head peeped in through the window. The creature was amused by the antics of the sisters.

“Squawk?” Philomena asked as Celestia trotted into the room.

Celestia sighed. “No, it didn’t. I don’t know what we were doing wrong!”

“Squawk?”

“We tried seven times…. Fluttershy’s going to be so angry with us.”

“Squawk. Squawk.”

“I know it was a failure, you don’t have to rub it in.

“But…. Ugh… What to do?!”

The Sun Princess sat on her bed in deep thought.

“Maybe…. No, that’s silly,” Celestia thought out loud.

Noticing her friend struggling, Philomena made a suggestion. “Squawk,” she offered. “Squawk?” She raised her wings in a shrug. “Squawk.”

“Philomena, you’re a genius. I think you deserve a present….”

“Caw!”

“Oh, oh, but later!” Celestia squinted hard and bit her bottom lip, holding back her urges.

“I’ll get started on it right away!”

“Celestia, Celestia, Celestia! Dammit, it didn’t work! Maybe I need the title, too. Princess Celestia, Princess Celestia, Princess Celestia!”

Shape

“Sister, please, can you just tell me what we’re doing?” Luna whined. “You do this every time! It’s getting frustrating! Is this about the windigo?”

“Luna….”

“Please, Sister. I implore you to stop this.”

Celestia gave a sad sigh.

Luna frowned. “I know it’s about the windigo. So just tell me what you plan to do.”

“But that’s no fun….”

“Really, Sister?” Luna made a mildly angry face. “Is that what this is about? Fun? Because I’m not having fun. So just tell me!” Luna stomped her hoof on the carpet, giving off a unsatisfying thumph. She flipped a stray, tangled mane hair out of her face. “You’re sounding more and more like Discord, and I don’t like it.”

“I’m nothing like Discord!” Celestia said, offended.

“Well, you spoke of the devil!” a deep voice sounded. The being materialized to the side of the sisters, but they simply glared at him, displeased. “What?” he asked rhetorically.

“Discord, please, this is not the time,” Celestia said with a frown.

He sighed in new found understanding and popped out of the room with a dim flash.

“Sister, is that what you wish to become? I just… what has gotten into you? When did you become so… so… frustrating. I love you because you are my sister, and I will never stop doing so; I find it heartwarming that you want me to be happy. But why can’t you just be how you were? You never teased me before, and now it’s almost unbearable. What has happened to you? You were never like… like this.

“Please, sister, try to look at this from my perspective. You haven’t been acting like yourself since I returned from… my time. I just… I don’t know. I understand that it’s presumptuous for me to just ask you to change, and I won’t ask you to change if you see no difference in yourself, but… something’s not right.”

Celestia nodded. “Time changes ponies, Luna. I know it’s hard for you, but… please, just understand. I’m who I am now.

“And I only tease you because I thought you thought that it was all in good fun. I’m sorry that I’ve offended you.”

Luna nodded solemnly, frowning. “I… understand.” She paused, then looked then looked back up at Celestia. “I just… you….”

Celestia grabbed Luna and pulled her into a hug. “I’m sorry….” Celestia said quietly. She felt her sister’s soft, smooth fur, and she regretted tainting it with her own dusty self.

Luna jumped. “Aap!”

“What?” Celestia asked.

Luna shivered. “Ahhhh…. I don’t like being touched.”

“Can you make an exception, just this once?” Celestia asked with a bittersweet smile.

“No.”

Celestia let go. “Way to ruin the moment….”

“We can nod to each other. I always find that comforting.”

“Luna….”

“So, Sister, are you going to tell me?”

“Hm…. Guess first. I’ll give your three tries.”

“Sister! I thought we went over this. Just tell me!”

“Come on, Luna. Don’t be a spoil sport. I’ll tell you after your last guess.”

“Hm. Fine…. Is it… another hunt?”

“Nope.”

“Is it…. Wait…. Is it an illusion? Do you plan to trick me?”

“No, no, of course not. Luna, don’t you think I’m above that?”

“Not particularly.”

“Well…” Celestia raised her head and glanced from side to side, “Guh. What’s your last guess?”

“Hm…. We’ve used maker magic, summoning magic…. I guess that leaves….” Luna thought hard, pulling her hoof to her chin. “I… I don’t know. My last guess is that you’re trying to summon another windigo.”

“No.”

“So are you going to tell me now?”

“In a moment. We’re almost to the archives.”

Luna sighed. She knew that it was the least cryptic and most direct thing her sister could say.

“Oh…. this? Sister, are you sure?”

“Yes.”

“Sister, are you sure? I’m not particularly skilled in alchemic rituals or reactions, but I don’t have a good feeling about this.”

“Why not?”

“Because… you found this text in the banned books section. By the way, why is the banned books section open to the public?”

“Tyranny, Luna.”

“Right…. But aren’t living transmutations considered Black Magic?”

“Some are. Only those where a soul is involved, and windigos don’t have souls.”

“But… I thought windigos did have souls.”

“They don’t. There’s no need to worry. Besides, Luna, what’s the worst that could happen?”

Luna looked down at the ground. “Sister, let’s not do this. This doesn’t sit right with me. I know little of alchemy, it being mostly in the realm Day Magic, but I don’t think this is right. How are we even going to make a windigo? How is that possible?”

“Well, if we use structured magic principles, outlining the transmutation with thaumic chalk and have some artifacts for stabilization, then we can mesh the alchemical magic with some polymorphic magic. It might become a bit hectic, but I think the problem with our previous attempts was magic stabilization. Windigos, apparently, are very fragile creatures, so we should go for the most stable method.”

“Sister, I’ll be blunt: that went way over my head. Has magic really progressed that far in one thousand years?”

“Are you honestly asking that?”

“Fair point.”

The two sisters sat in silence, lost in each others mane for whatever reason. It could be said that Celestia was spacing out.

They both shook off their fleeting infatuation, and instead focused on the matter at hoof.

“I still am weary, but I’ll indulge on your wishes for now. What do we need to do?”

“First, we need to get the composition of a windigo.”

“How are we going to do that?”

“Oh, that’s simple. We can just use the windigo that we tried to summon.”

Luna scowled. “Why do you still have that?”

“For research purposes, Luna. Windigos are very ancient and rare.”

Luna eyed her sister with trepidation. “I… guess.”

The sisters took a piece of the ethereal flesh. It resembled normal flesh in almost no way whatsoever; it was wispy, and not soggy or slimy. It had a distinct flow to it, almost as if it were an eddied liquid. But not quite so; it was a seemingly astral object: it was gaseous yet solid as well.

The best Celestia’s mages could describe it as was…. unreal, emotional, like a beam of light breaking through a storm, or a non-euclopdian box. Both Celestia and Luna themselves were at a loss for words. The being was made out of solid magic; but the magic it used was foreign. It wasn’t an ancient forgotten magic, nor was it a magic of a far away land. It was the magic of sorrow, pain, or anger, in the flesh—literally.

Celestia contemplated why her sister would want to befriend such a creature. Then Celestia realized that who was she to question what her sister was into and then she felt really insecure and self conscious and hated herself a little for being so judgmental. But she would totally write in her diary and tell Philomena about it later.

The material did not surprise Luna, however. She knew of windigos, and had seen and felt them before. Though that did not take away from her awe.

“What is this made out of?” Celestia asked, a little baffled.

“It’s emotions—more specifically, the magics associated with emotions,” Luna explained.

“Then how can we replicate it?”

“I’m not sure…. We just need to decompose it and hope for the best, I guess.”

“So we will.”

Celestia took an alembic from the table behind her with her magic, and placed it in front of her. “We should start by trying to distill it… it seems…. liquid enough.”

Luna nodded.

Celestia took the sample and placed it in the first flask. She lit a yellow fire under it and waited.

The material quickly took the shape of the container as a liquid.

It soon after boiled, and a violent steam coursed through the small nozzle.

It condensed into a deep blue liquid that refracted the light passing through it in an odd fashion, creating colloidal scopic images.

The precipitate that was left was a clean white; it greatly contrasted the liquid. Celestia looked intrigued, though Luna wasn’t sure what to make of it.

Celestia took a sample of the crusty solid and again lit a fire. The fire burned an abyssal purple, as the substance was making the flame endothermic. Luna’s eyes widened. “What’s that? Why is it black?”

“It appears to be thaumium necromide. The black is the necromine. Very…. interesting.”

Celestia took the lower flask with fluid and dumped a specific amount into a nearby beaker.

Luna asked what she was doing.

Celestia responded by explaining the process of Modium fusion to determine the presence of certain magical elements.

Celestia took the new beaker and lit yet another flame under it after she mixed the Modium in.

The new flame was much brighter than the previous, and almost blinded the Night Princess before she looked away.

Celestia’s brows furrowed in confusion at the results. “That’s odd.”

“What is?”

“This liquid is… ionic.”

“And?”

“It’s at room temperature; this is a strange substance, indeed. In any case, the flesh appears to be an extremely viscous gel, though the magical elements give it strange properties. It’s strange how simple windigo’s are as creatures. In any case, we should have all of these materials on us.” Celestia lightly hooved her forehead. “Oh, no, silly me. We’ll need to visit the magical market. I just remembered we’re out of Morphium.”

Luna sighed. “Lead the way.”

The two sisters trotted through the Canterlot streets. Ponies rushed by them, seemingly oblivious to the fact that they were among princesses.

Booths on each side of the street stood in front of businesses, the two complementing each other.

The stalls were lined with trinkets, food, tools, and cloths.

Luna looked up at the sign. In bold, sans letters it read “DCW”. “DCW?” she asked.

“Oh, yeah. ‘Designer Chemical Warehouse’. It’s a great chain.”

The aisles of the store were stocked with small vials of various chemicals: compounds of ionic and covalent nature, pure elements, diatomics, solutions, hydrates, and everything beyond and in between. Luna’s mouth was open and her eyes were wide as she stared at the massive collection.

Celestia looked around for one of the clerks that worked the store. She walked up to a young mare with a uninterested look on her face.

The mare wore a cream coat and and light blue mane. She had a name tag that read “Jasmine”.

The mare looked up to see the princess, and became noticeably more glum. “What can I help you today with, Princess?”

“I need some Morphium; I’d like to buy it in bulk.”

Jasmine took a breath through her teeth. “I think we’re out. We have some poppies on sale. I think there also might be some heroine in the back, if you’re interested.”

“Oh, no, Morphium. The element.”

“Oh, right this way, Princess,” Jasmine said with contempt. I should have just pretended I was deaf.

“Luna, wait here.”

Luna was still entranced by the shelves of material.

Celestia returned with the chemical, and prompted Luna to follow her. Luna continued to stare at the selection with wide eyes.

Celestia carried the solid Morphium on her back, balancing it so all the material was evenly distributed in the bag.

She lifted it into the closet and replaced the old bag.

With a gentle slice, a corner was cut off. She used a scoop and pulled out a hoofful of material. Celestia scrutinized the grains. After a few moments, she nodded in satisfaction.

“What are you doing?” Luna asked.

“I’m quality checking it.”

“For what? It’s not as if they’d mix something into it.”

“I’m making sure it’s the right isotope.”

“Sister, I’m not sure it’s actually possib—nevermind.”

Celestia drew the circle with her chalk, and put two matrices tangent at opposite ends. Alchemic phrases were mixed with standard magic notation, and, to Luna, things seemed to conflict.

Candles were placed at the points where inscribed shapes touched the outside of the largest concentric circle.

Gold necklaces and rings embossed with jewels set in piles around the ritual circle. If one asked Luna, they were just strewn about haphazardly. However, asking her sister would yield the opposite reaction.

Celestia took the totes of solution and placed them near the center of the transmutation array. She held the mixtures in magical containers as not to accidentally transmute the physical bag.

Luna looked over to her sister and gave a worried face. Celestia took no heed, instead focussing on the notes for the alchemical ritual in front of her.

“I think I have everything,” Celestia said calmly.

Luna again hesitated to reply. She eyed her sister with dismay, contemplating the ethics of what they were doing.

“Hello, Luna?”

“Yes?”

“Are you ready? You probably want to step back.”

Luna did so. She stayed clear of the lines.

Luna, when she looked into her sister's eyes, saw an innocent giddiness. Luna felt warmed that her sister was happy to help her, but….

Celestia planted her hooves on the outermost ring of the construction, and touched the tip of her horn to the conduit chalk.

Celestia’s eyelids fell slowly, and she focussed on a blurry image; her focus was nowhere near that of the warrior monks, but alchemy was a messy art. It required little precision, as the basis was to let the circle contort Celestia's magic for her. She had to give it force and direction. But not instructions, as that was the array’s work.

Luna felt an odd sense of deja vu seeing the curtains of light shine up from the ground in orderly fashions.

Energy radiated from Celestia, but was pulled back down to the transmutation, as if the reaction was stealing it.

The materials in the center were seemingly atomized and reshaped continuously. They flickered in and out of existence, feining reality.

Finally, the reaction was over.

Celestia’s heart ceased to beat for a moment when she saw what was at the center.

Luna’s eyes widened in wonderment.

Both sisters glared at each other in utter disbelief.

It worked.

Lying in the middle of the circle appeared a whole windigo.

Celestia, unable to accept the truth with her own eyes, approached the creature.

Luna followed in suit.

They gazed upon the supernal being. The windigo looked just as Luna had remembered him. But this was not him. Luna was unsure if any other windigo was like him.

The windigo’s eyes were closed, and it seemed to have a neutral expression on it’s face.

Celestia picked up a hoof, and placed it over the windigo. It’s body felt cold as she expected.

And then for the second time, Celestia’s heart raced; but that time it was for a very different reason.

She searched, and searched, and searched, but could not find what she was looking for.

A sign of life.

Celestia’s breathing became uneasy, and sweat started to well up under her legs. She turned to her sister with stunned expression.

Luna instantly recognized the common “the windigo is dead” face.

“No,” Celestia said flatly. “This can’t be happening. See, Luna, it worked! I got a windigo!”

Celestia raised her voice. “No! I have a windigo! I have one! This can’t be happening!”

She grabbed a countertop and ripped it off it’s legs with her magic. Glass shattered as it fell onto the floor, and chemicals spilled out. Celestia’s muscles tensed up. She hadn’t realized what she was doing until it was too late.

She put the tabletop down, and grabbed an alembic, throwing it through the window in frustration. “Stupid alchemy! Stupid magic. Stupid books,” she muttered to herself.

“Sister,” Luna called out. “Please, calm down.”

Celestia gave an exasperated sigh. “I’m sorry, Luna, I didn’t mean to snap like that.”

“Go lie down for a bit. Don’t worry yourself with having your maids clean this. I’ll have mine on it right away, okay?”

Celestia shook her head. “I don’t need to lie down. Thank you, Luna, but I’m fine.”

Luna frowned at her sister.

“Really, I am.”

Luna gave a questioning face.

“Okay, Luna, just between you and me....” Celestia put her snout close to Luna’s ear. “It’s that time of the month.”

“Okay, sister, I’ll see you at dinner!” Luna quickly teleported out of the room.

Glass rained down out of the tower and into the streets of Canterlot. Two guards stationed outside the castle gate rushed to the scene of the broken window.

The alembic was nowhere to be found, however.

An unlucky ghostly pony was hit with the blown quartz tool and was sent flying even further off into Canterlot.

But, as if the unicorn deities of ancient times had blessed it, the expression did not hold true, and all the windigo’s limbs remained attached to it’s body.

“Philomena, I don’t know what I did wrong! It should have worked! We created a windigo! We did it!”

“Squawk?”

“It was dead! But I did it! I don’t know what I did wrong!” Celestia felt the anger begin to well up again, and the mirror of her vanity cracked.

“Squawk!”

“I-I’m sorry, I don’t know what got into me. I just… what do I do, now? What else is there to do? I can’t let Luna down. I won’t fail.”

“Squawk…. Squawk….”

“Wait, I have it! I have it! I know what to do.”

“Squawk?”

“No, not yet. Soon, it will be. Yes, yes, I think this can work!”

“Squawk…. Squawk.”

“Oh, come now, Philomena, you’re starting to sound like Luna. Loosen up a little.”

Author's Note

I honestly don't know how this chapter made it to 3000 words. I had no intention of going over 1600.

Interlude: Death

The ceremony started at eight o’ clock. No later, no sooner. No solemn ritual was aloud to start late. I outlawed it. Literally. It was the first law I ever passed.

The ponies around me did not speak. They looked down at their hooves in sorrow. I could not bear to do so; I was sure that he would want me to remain stoic. Which was pretty assuming of him. I mean, mares can be really emotional. I guess stallions can too, sometimes. I guess. I’m pretty old fashioned.

I don’t know. It was pretty hard. Actually, maybe I’m really apathetic, but thinking about it now doesn’t really elicit any strong emotions. I digress. Actually, does this count as digression? Okay, I just answered my own question.

Actually, nevermind. Thinking about it has made me very sad.

I never was a very good story teller. I just read them from books.

The ponies holding the coffin on their back walked up the aisle, and nopony in the room would dare to make eye contact with anyone. It was against law, too. It felt like a good idea at the time. Don’t judge me.

Her majesty held the motions. She made a speech, and choked a little at the end. Even her sister had some words to say about the great stallion. She was somewhat ostracized after she came back from the moon, but after everypony got over their fears, she was readily welcomed back. I didn’t fear her when she came back, though. I just wanted her to feel welcome, because I know that’s how I would want to feel.

“We are here to remember—” somepony coughed, and I didn’t hear what the princess said. I mean, I knew what she most likely said, but I can’t just lie and say that I did hear it. That would be bad storytelling. Probably. I’m not a very good storyteller….

Everypony looked up from their sulking positions to bathe in the light that Celestia seemed to radiate. To me, her being felt like a beacon of hope.

I had always heard stories and rumors of chaos and disharmony and injustice plaguing the lands around us; I never thought it would be able to pierce our impenetrable walls. But it did. In the form of an ice blade. It hit so hard and so fast that I was shocked and numb at first. He was hit in the heart, and he, obviously, did not survive. Hence the funeral.

I woke up in the night, and Shining was on top of me. No, not like that, Shining wasn’t one to take advantage of mares in their sleep—his body was limp over me, and I tried pushing him off, but he was already cold. My breathing grew uneasy, and I screamed.

I pushed my husband off of myself, and I saw the black veins sprawling out from his chest. A blade of natural glass shone in the faint light of the room, and I was left dumbstruck.

And then it hit me: my husband was dead.

I heard hoofsteps from the hallway, and stood up the chase after them. I had no clue what had transpired, but I understood that someone had killed my Shiny, and I was going to hunt them down until the ends of the world. At which point, I would probably break down and sob at the pony’s hooves, begging them to tell me why they did it.

All I could see was a black cloak. I heard guards behind me, chasing after the culprit as well.

All of the sudden the pony jumped up and tore off his cloak. He flapped his wings and flew down to the end of the corridor.

My heart nearly skipped a beat, but I quickly did the same. He was a fast flier, and even in my airborne state I stood no chance of catching up to him.

But as Auntie had smiled extra hard at me that night, the perpetrator kept going when he reached the end.

And he hit the wall.

I was relieved then baffled.

Our party quickly reached him. We all surrounded him, but he was knocked unconscious.

“No! No! No! NO! How can this be happening?! My Shining Armor is dead! DEAD!” I screamed and cried into his pillow. My initial numbness had worn off, and I was faced with the situation head on. I didn’t want to live without him. I wanted to take the knife and lick the poison off like a spoon with little bits of ice cream left on it. I wanted to kill myself. How can I live without him?! How is this possible? Why wasn’t it me? Why am I not dead? I swear I will kill the sorry bastard that did this!

I tried composing myself, but a lust for vengeance and a deep sorrow still held up inside of me.

After this, I thought, I can cry all I want.

I trotted out of our room. His pillow was already soaked with tears.

I’ll use it if I have to.

The prisoner woke up. He jerked and flailed around, desperately trying to escape. His entire body became transparent, and my eyes widened in wonderment.

He settled down, and I finally asked him who he was.

He answered in a menacing whisper. “I will never tell you. But be warned. We will return. We will get our vengeance. You will regret the day you slew my brethren!”

“No,” I stomped my hoof. “You will tell me.”

The guards tensed up, as if they did not trust me.

“I’ll starve to death before I tell you anything! I will not betray my true brothers and sisters! Never!”

I shivered. “It seems as though you fail to realize who I am.”

He glared at me.

I said, in a low tone, “I am Princess Mi Amore Cadenza:

“the Princess of Love,

“the Princess of The Crystal Heart,

“and the Princess…

“of the Shade.”

His eyes widened. “Y-you—you’re a shade mage? Im-impossible!” Everyone was still. I looked him deep in his grey, hollow eyes. His pupils consumed the entirety of the spheres, and they were an unusual light blue. They emitted a faint light. It reminded me of something….

“That’s right. And I’m going to make you tell me all of your secrets.”

I’m sorry, Shining, I thought to myself. I’m sorry Aunties, I’m sorry Twilight. I know I said that I would never use this evil magic. But I must. I have to: for you, Shining. Forgive me.

My horn glew in it’s natural, deep green aura. We locked eyes as my horn came to his forehead.

With a tap, he was flailing again. But now he was in extreme agony. His mouth frothed. His eyes were close to rolling backward in their sockets. He gave blood curdling shrieks, and all the guards had to lower their ears, quietly moaning as they did so.

And then, it was over.

He lay limp, held up only by the chains. His wings were no longer tucked neatly at his back, and instead were hanging off of their joints.

It seemed like a while before he woke up again.

I looked down at him. A aurora green aura floated out of the corners of my eyes, and my pupils turned to slits.

He looked back up at me.

We stared at each other. Again. It was kind of awkward.

“Tell me, who are you?” My voice sent a chill down all of the guard’s spines, as if somepony had just trotted over their grave.

“I-I a-am-am-am…” he resisted.

“Who are you?” I asked again.

“I-I-I….”

“Who are you?”

“I am Sorrowful Cold!” he shouted. “Curse y-you!”

“What are you doing here?”

“I am an assassin sent here to kill you!”

“What are you?”

“I am a pony!”

“What is it that you worship?”

“The windigos! The windigos are our true brothers and sisters!”

“Where do you worship?”

“In a cave seventy kilometers north of the Crystal Empire!”

“Who sent you?”

“He who possess no name!”

“Why does he possess no name?”

“He is a windigo! He is the last windigo of the Era of Hatred! He does not need a name!”

I swallowed. I knew then why he wanted to kill me. It was the windigos we accidentally killed. My heart raced, and I hyperventilated.

I understood why Shining was dead. It was because of me. I killed my husband. I killed windigos for my aunties’ pleasure, and my husband was dead because of it.

I didn’t know how to feel. I felt angry. I felt sad.

I especially didn’t know what to do. My husband was dead, and nopony knew about it besides me and few of the guards ponies. It was early in the morning, I had just used my forbidden magic on a pony, and I was utterly confused and shocked.

So I cried. I cried until tears ceased to be produced. And then, I cried some more, uncaring that it hurt.

The assassin scoffed. “You don’t deserve to cry! It is my brothers and sisters that are dead! Curse you, Cadenza! Curse you, Celestia, you dirty betrayer! And curse you too, Luna! And… I don’t know… probably… curse you too, Sparkle!

“Damn this land! Damn it all! I hope Equestria and the Crystal Empire burn! My brothers and sisters will dance on the ashes and feed off of your misery!” he chanted hysterically. “We will get our revenge! We will eat you all alive! Curse you all!”

I sat in my puddle of tears. The guards around me remained stoic. They were shocked into submission.

The deranged cultist continued to growl insults, even going so far to say that my misery was delicious for his brethren.

He turned to the crystal statues and yelled at them. “Can’t you see that you’re beloved princess is a liar? She’s a shade mage! She’s worse than the necromancers!”

I could tell they growing even more cautious of me, but I didn’t care.

Finally, I spoke up one last final time. “How many more of you are there?”

He winced. “Seventy!”

I let my eyes return to their usual state.

I gave my final word on the subject. “Throw him in the dungeons.”

The crystal guards were quick to follow my orders. I remained seated on my haunches.

I needed to tell Twilight. I needed to tell Mom, I needed to tell Dad, Auntie Celestia, Auntie Luna. I needed to tell the world. But I didn’t know where to start.

I didn’t want to start.

And that’s how it happened. That’s how Shining Armor, Prince of the Crystal Empire, was murdered. Everything that made him him was destroyed with a blade dipped in poison. A poison so vile that the most studied mages didn’t even recognize it; it was from a time of sorrow and wars. It was the nectar of the Arctic Nightshade, a long forgotten flower residing in the most brutal and lifeless place in the known world. Suiting, for the husband of a shade.

And the awful irony is that it is my fault. I killed him. And I hate myself. I hate myself. I hate myself. I killed those innocent windigos, and my husband suffered for it. He died protecting me from my own mistakes.

At the very least, he can’t suffer now. He’s gone from this world, so he feels only joy. Or maybe nothing. I am not sure.

I told everyone through letter first. Twilight came to me as soon as she got the letter. She teleported all the way from Ponyville to the Crystal Empire; not that it dampened her any. We mourned together for several days.

Both Auntie Celestia and Auntie Luna came by in a similar fashion. I could see the guilt in their spirits. They felt awful, of course. They had went out on the hunt with me. No, it was a slaughtering.

And finally, Mom and Dad. They took it the hardest. I expected them to. Children should not die before their parents just as a mare should never die before childbirth.

We didn’t hold the funeral until almost a month after the fact. I knew everyone needed time to settle down.

When the ceremonies ended, everyone who knew Shining Armor personally went to a banquet. It was extravagant. I’m not sure what he would have wanted, but I felt that it would be best.

Me, Auntie Celestia, Mom, Dad, and Twilight unknowingly created a small circle.

We chatted about random things, trying to keep our minds off of Shining.

But, as it had to, the subject turned to Shining anyway. “So, Cadance, how have you been… coping?” Twilight asked.

“I… I’m not sure I understand.”

“Without… him, Shining.”

“I… have been doing fine, I guess. It’s… lonely, but I manage. Besides... the husband is supposed to die before the wife.”

Everypony was silent, and I gave a forced chuckle as if to try and convince everyone that it was actually a joke.

“Oh, Cadance…” Auntie Celestia said slowly as she shut her eyes in a cringe, shook her head, and brought up a hoof to cover her face.

Mom scowled, a huge frown enveloping her previous bittersweet smile. I could feel her about to cry. Dad comforted her.

“Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, I swear, that did not come out right, I am so sorry!” I tried explaining. “Oh, Mom, I didn’t mean that, I swear, that did not come out right.”

Mom took a tissue and wiped at her eyes with her magic. Dad held a hoof on her back.

Mom spoke up finally and gave a silent sigh. “Oh, Cadance, it’s alright....”

I just looked down at my hooves in shame.

That is the story of Shining Armor’s departure from our mortal plane. I haven’t seen anymore of the windigo worshipers, but I have a feeling they will show themselves again soon. Possibly. Maybe never. Maybe always.

Wait, that doesn’t really make sense.

Author's Note

So I know you're probably thinking something like "What the heck is this?" right now. It's granted: this is a far cry from any of the other chapters so far. The next chapter is also going to be an interlude. And possibly the one after that. I have some setting up to do before some more stuff involving Celestia and Luna happen. The next chapters I have planned are a lot more lighthearted, and [probably] won't use morbid humor like this one. It's hard (for me) to keep a funeral funny yet also serious. Bcuz dis iz supr srs bra n u shd taek it srsly (srsly).
Note that there is a certain piece of information in this chapter that will play a moderately large roll in a future chapter.

Interlude: Clever

“This is truly amazing! The square root of the total energy consumed in the night spell is exactly twice of that consumed in the day spell!”

“Oh. My. Gods. Like. You are so boring just shut up,” is what Clover the Clever would have said if he wanted to be smote. Instead, he simply continued writing down Star Swirl the Bearded’s dictation.

“Are you getting this, Clover?”

“Dude, you only said two sentences and one of them was a four word exclamation,” is what Clover the Clever would have said if he wanted to be thrown out on the street and return to poverty and squander. Instead, he simply smiled and nodded.

“This officially unifies the both day and night magic, proving that the same spell can be cast using both methods. It is still unknown if night mages will be able to obtain the level of precision that day mages possess. It is also unknown if day mages are able to use any of the vast amounts of power that night mages can tap into. It is unclear, however, if this has any ramifications in the ways of the strange twilight magic. My studies into this have led me nowhere so far, as a suitable test subject has yet to be found.”

Clover the Clever’s eyes widened as he feverishly tried to write down the small speech that Star Swirl gave.

“Did you get that all, Clover?”

Clover the Clever sighed. “No, you idiot. How could I possibly get everything you said? How do you expect an orphan still learning to read and write to get like ten sentences in a row and not expect him to get like two?” is what he would have said. “No, I’m sorry. Could you repeat everything after ‘unclear’?”

Star Swirl the Bearded repeated what he said, and Clover the Clever finished writing.

“It is good you are learning, Clever. I wish to give you the, er… reins”—he shook his head as he uttered the disturbing phrase—“after I’ve passed on. You can continue my research for me.”

Clover the Clever nodded. He had known the older stallion for a few months now, and had learned much about magic. Starswirl the Bearded, however, could be extremely eccentric. He often boarded himself up in his study, only accepting audience with Clover the Clever or the High King of the Unicorns if it was direly necessary.

Clover the Clever, although he found it boring, did not undermine the research being done. Magic was such a mysterious thing, and for a very long time, no one knew about the mechanics. Spells took hundreds of years to develope and were merely passed down to kin through word of mouth.

Spells could practically not be taught without an official apprenticeship, something that Clover the Clever knew he was extremely lucky to have.

And so Star Swirl the Bearded set out to change that. His first contributions to magic were astounding: building on earlier works contemplating what exactly magic was, he created a universal, writable notation for magic. Granted, other notations had been proposed, but none were as simplistic or even as consistent.

So, of course, it was with great pride that Clover the Clever continued with his master’s research.

The silent door to the library opened up, and two unicorns trotted into the public building. Clover the Clever as nearly blown away by their sleek beauty; their purple and blue manes were pristine, and their coats were a lush blue and magenta, respectively.

“How may I help you?” Clover the Clever managed to say without stuttering.

“Oh, is this a book shop? Are we in the wrong place?” the mare in front teased.

“Oh, uhm, no. That’s just how I greet everyone.”

The mare in front nodded. “Well, in any case, is Star Swirl here?”

The other mare behind her stared down at the ground with a solemn look on her face, as if libraries made her depressed.

“Luscious, stop feeling depressed about libraries.”

“Libraries don’t make me depressed.”

“Yes, of course they don’t.” The mare nearer to Clover the Clever leaned in and whispered, “She’s illiterate—she’s sad that she can’t read.”

“I heard that! And can read! See, I’ll read a book right now!”

Clover the Clever nodded. “Maybe. What do you need him for?”

“I need a spell for freezing things.”

“An ice spell?”

“Yes…. A magical ice spell.”

“The spell is magical by default.”

“The c-cat went to the st-store. See, I’m reading as we speak!”

“No, no, a magical-ice spell.”

“Ah, yes, I actually have that spell written down somewhere.... It’s pretty old. You understand Star Swirl magic notation, correct?”

The mare nodded.

“It’s a fairly old spell, and it’s only designed for day mages. You know what day mages are, right?”

“Mhm.”

“I’ll fetch it.” Clover the Clever left the desk he was sitting behind and made his way to a case labeled “Early works”.

Clover the Clever grabbed a scroll off of a shelf and magiced it over to the mare.

“There you go. Why is that you need an ice spell, if I may ask?”

“Nothing in particular. Nothing nefarious, I can assure you.”

“Oh, my, this is simply awful!” Princess Platinum moaned.

“Dude. You are an awful excuse for life. Stop complaining or I am going to rip out your heart,” is what Clover the Clever would have said if he held no value for life. “Yes, Princess, what would you have me do?”

“Get me another ice water chalice! And this time, make sure the lemon has six seeds, not four,” Princess Platinum hissed. “And absolutely no pulp! It’s heinous!”

“Of course, Ma'm.” Clover the Clever quickly trotted out of the room and talked quietly with a maid, all the while hating his life. The maid scurried off somewhere else into the castle.

Clover the Clever met the Princess back in the throne room where she was leaning on her foreleg, utterly bored.

“Clover, come entertain me. Show me some of that magic you claimed Star Swirl taught you.”

“I swear to the gods that I will rip out your throat and make you eat it,” is what Clover the Clever would have said. “Uhm, yes, one second. I need to think of something.”

“Do not ‘uhm’ me! Plebeian! Do you forget who you are talking to? You should be grateful that I so graciously accepted you as my court mage and personal assistant!”

Clover the Clever’s eye twitched. “Of course, Ma'm.” Oh, I’ll entertain you, alright.

A deep green aura emanated from Clover the Clever’s horn. He shut his eyes in concentration for the spectacle he was about to reveal. He didn’t even care about getting thrown in the dungeons; it’s not like they could hold him, anyway. Maybe he’d just run off and share secrets with the other nations. Ha, like I know any secrets.

Clover the Clever had developed this spell in tandem with Star Swirl the Bearded just before the old mage disappeared. It was supposed to be a… practical joke with a short discharge time; however, some day mages had found it funny to remove the reversion and the spell was quickly banned and labeled “black”.

Clover the Clever let go of the spell and a smirk of satisfaction appeared on his muzzle.

The spell shot towards Princess Platinum in a light green packet of magic, waiting to be absorbed by the unlucky individual in it’s path.

Princess Platinum groaned in an un-princessy fashion and threw up her hooves. She repositioned herself on her throne, completely unaware of the spell speeding towards her.

The blob of magic rushed passed the princess.

Clover the Clever’s eyes widened as the magic hit the large gem on the throne.

The princess turned around just in time to see the spell hit the polar opposite of Clover the Clever’s intended target: himself.

A flash of blinding light flooded the room and Clover the Clever was left stunned.

Did it…?

No, it couldn’t have… it was only designed to work with mares. Right…? RIght!? he internally screamed.

It did.

Princess Platinum was bewildered at the sight in front of her: an off-white-coated, leaf-maned mare stood utterly horrified in the place of her assistant.

Princess Platinum scowled. “What have you done with Clover?”

The mare simply frowned. “Ahk…” she said, shocked.

The princess squinted as if blocking out the light in the room would help her discern the identity of the mare. “Clover… is that you?”

Clover the Clever gulped, nodding her head meekly.

“Oh….” The princess broke out in a bounding laughter, and Clover the Clever simply lowered her head in shame.

“Alright, bravo, I have not been this entertained in ages, thank you,” the princess said apathetically. “Now change back.”

Clover the Clever raised her head and lit up her horn again.

Or at least, she tried to.

Clover the Clever didn’t feel any magic emanating from her horn.

After a few moments of trying, the princess piped up. “Clover, are you going to cast the spell or not?”

This is not good. “Yes, your majesty, I, uhm….” Clover the Clever desperately searched for an excuse other than “I can’t do magic anymore”. “Uhm… I….”

“Spit it out, already!”

“I… uh… I want to…” sacrificing her shame instead of her dignity, she decided to take the low road. “I want to… discover this body!”

Princess Platinum scoffed. “You pervert! Get out of my sight!”

Clover the Clever sighed in relief.

This is not good! This is not good!

What do I do?! Why can’t I use my magic?!

Clover the Clever sat on the wooden floor of her study in contemplation. She remembered a few things about Star Swirl the Bearded's research off the top of her head, most notably that day mages found the night mages techniques extremely hard to perform, and vice versa.

Could that be it? Did that spell change my affinity for magic, too? she asked herself.

I should look at Star Swirl’s notes about night magic…. He was a night mage himself. He should have something about learning control.

“So, I take it that your meeting ended poorly, Princess?”

“Oh, no, it went quite well. The other leaders were all quite reasonable.”

“Oh… so it didn’t go as expected?”

“Oh, no. We were able to work everything out. We’ll all be moving to another country in a few days.”

“...What?”

“Oh, yes, we decided to move all of our ponies south. It’s quite cold here, don’t you think?”

“But you can’t jus—”

“Why are you still a mare, Clover?”

“...Touche.”

“We’re here! Hoozah!” Princess Platinum shouted.

“Yes, what a glorious day, indeed!” Commander Hurricane agreed.

“Sir, what is that on the horizon?” Pansy asked her leader.

“I’m not sure,” he replied. “Princess, Chancellor, have you any clue as to what that is?”

“No, no I most certainly do not. It’s rather peculiar. Is it weather by your pegasi?”

“I don’t believe it is.”

“Clover, what do you make of this?” Princess Platinum asked.

Clover the Clever thought for a moment before responding. “I’m not sure. It’s probably nothing, though.”

The two mares and stallion-mare backed up into each other as they tried to escape the cold creeping into the cavern.

“Windigos!” Clover the Clever exclaimed.

“Windigos? What’s that?” Smart Cookie asked.

“That’s the plural, idiot. As in more than one windigo,” Pansy corrected.

“Well, what is it?” Smart Cookie asked.

“It’s an ethereal creature that feeds off sorrow and misery,” Clover the Clever explained.

“Oh… so it’s like a reverse changeling?”

“No, no, of course not.”

“Why?”

“Because… changelings are bugs and windigos aren’t.”

“I meant their feeding habits.”

“Shut up.”

“Why?”

“Because shut up.”

The three unfortunate assistants watched as their respective rulers were cornered by the cold air and frozen solid.

Princess Platinum let out a loud scream, while Chancellor Puddinghead and Commander Hurricane remained quiet with fear evident on their faces.

Pansy was moved: she had never seen her commander scared, or even remotely phased. She supposed anyone who faces death is allowed to show fear, however.

The lurking frost inched closer to the ponies, and they hugged each other in an even tighter embrace.

“Before I die, I would like to say that being a mare isn’t all that bad. In fact, I actually like it a lot,” Clover the Clever said with anxiety. She could feel the grip of the others loosen ever so slightly. “What?”

“What was that?” Pansy and Smart Cookie asked in unison.

“It was a confession. You’re supposed to do them before you die.”

“...No you’re not,” Pansy said.

“Yes you are.”

“Why would you do it right before you die? How does that make any sense?”

“Because… It’s something ponies do.”

“Pfft, unicorns, maybe.”

“That’s racist,” Smart Cookie interrupted.

“Shut up.”

The mares made one final squeeze on each other as the cold approached.

Out of desperation, Clover the Clever tried everything she knew of magic. Night magic was not her strong suit, of course, but that didn’t stop her.

Clover the Clever put as much force into her magic as she possibly could.

And it was working!

She could feel the magic building up in her horn, creeping to life.

A spell woven out of desperation charged up on her forehead.

And, just as the cold began to creep up on the three mares, it stopped.

Clover the Clever’s spell flickered to life, but Pansy tapper her shoulder; Clover the Clever’s spell fizzled out and she quickly flung her head towards the soldier and glared. Pansy gave Clover the Clever an uninterested look.

Clover the Clever was confused and looked around to find the cold receding.

“What? What’s going on?” Clover the Clever asked.

“Do I look like I know?” Pansy asked, annoyed.

“Screw you too,” Clover retorted.

The three ponies bundled close together eventually spaced out. They looked at each other in befuddlement.

“Why did it stop?” Smart Cookie asked.

“I really don’t know…” Clover the Clever said, raising a hoof to her chin.

As she speculated, a familiar mare trotted into the cave nonchalantly, as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened in the past hour.

“Hello,” the mare said with a casual smile. Her presence seemed to stand above the other mares in the room, making the others unconsciously step back.

Clover the Clever blinked. “Do I know you?”

The mare nodded. “Yes, I believe we met a few years ago while you were studying under Star Swirl, Clover the Clever.”

“O-oh?”

“Do you know this freaky mare, Clover?” Pansy asked, slightly irritated.

“I guess I do,” Clover the Clever shrugged.

“Who is she?”

“I don’t know her, know her, sheesh.”

“Hm, yes. Well, I have one more favor to ask of you,” the mare spoke up.

Clover the Clever looked confused. “What?”

“Find two fillies named Celestia and Luna, and bring them to Equestria.”

“What?”

“You heard me.”

“But I don’t get it. Why? Where are they? What’s Equestria?”

“Ah, ye—”

“Why are you asking me? Why don’t you do it yourself? What’s so important about these fillies, or Equestria that you’d ask me? I mean, not to be egotistic or anything but I’m like the sole pupil of Star Swirl.”

“Okay, okay! I get it. Equestria is what this land you are in is called. Or will be called… soon.” The mare shook her head. “Once those three rulers wake up, they’re going to name it Equestria.”

“Okay?”

“Yeah, so, do it. Seriously.”

“Why?”

“Because Princess Platinum doesn’t need you anymore and if you don’t bad things will happen! Stop asking so many questions!”

“Stop being cryptic.”

“I can’t!”

“Why?”

The mare’s eye twitched.

With a flash of light, she was gone.

Many, many years later, a hot summer struck the land.

A hoof pierced it’s way through it’s frozen cage, and a tendril of hatred forced it’s way into the astral being’s true spirit. It may not get revenge on the evil mare, but it would forever remember the name of the one who left it to rot and betrayed it:

Celestia.

Author's Note

If you don't understand what's going on, then.... Uh... I don't know, I'll release a "prologue" chapter for this chapter.

If you're wondering why Clover got turned into a mare, it's because I refuse to believe that he's actually a stallion.

omg can u guise gess hoo the misterus mares wer???? i bet u cant!!!1111!!!one!11!

Stealth

“Sister, I have an eerie feeling that you’re going to try to capture a windigo today,” Luna said as she ate her mid evening lunch. “What would you call this meal, by the way? I’ve always wondered.”

“I’m sure you’re just imagining things, Luna. And I think you could call it… linner? Dunch?”

“Sister, just tell me what we’re going to do. I already know you have something planned. Interesting suggestions… but I feel those are too… weird sounding. What if I just call it breakfast? It is my first meal of the day.”

“No, I do not have anything planned. And what if you were to call it… night breakfast.”

“I still don’t believe you. It’s been almost a week since you’ve tried anything, and I know that you are not one to give up, Sister. Night breakfast sounds… interesting. I think I can work with this.”

“Hm. Suit yourself. Live in mild paranoia, it’s not my problem.”

Luna squinted. Celestia made no response, and instead continued eating her snack. Luna herself poked her breakfast salad with a fork held in her magic.

They continued eating, the occasional inharmonious sounds of metal hitting porcelain radiating throughout the room.

And as the sun neared its destination beyond the horizon, Celestia used her horn to give it one final push. Luna in turn raised her moon, and the night officially started.

Luna soon after finished her salad and Celestia her pastry; they had been slowly pecking away as to spend more time with each other.

Celestia stood up and wiped her mouth, as did her sister. They stared at one another uncomprehendingly, as if to try and guess what the other was thinking.

Breaking her sister’s gaze, Celestia trotted out of the dining room into the hall behind her. Her sister remained for a moment, examining the back of her sister’s head.

Luna soon departed as well, leaving the room empty for not but a pair of guards opposite from each other.

“Damn,” one of the guards said quietly. “That was tense.”

“I know right?”

“Hey… wanna have a staring contest?”

“Yes.”

“Farmers are asking for a larger supplement price to account for inflation, and the Workers Party wants to raise the minimum wage. There’s been a corruption scandal with several weather teams around Equestria; the mayors of Fillydelphia and Manehattan want you and and Princess Celestia to elect new members of the governing board in Cloudsdale.

“The petition was reintroduced, by the way, the one to sever your head and what not.”

“I thought I told you to wipe everyone-involved’s memories.”

“We did, but it resurfaced.”

“Ah, send some assassins this time.”

“Alright.” Night Sky wrote some markings down on her notepad.

“Hm… I’ll need to look further into the price supplement; we aren’t in particularly bad shape, we can probably do it until the grain price is returned to normal. I don’t think the minimum wage is issue, but I’ll confide in my sister about that. Schedule the selections for the next open slot I have after my upcoming one.”

Night Sky gave another nod and wrote some more information down with the quill she held in wing.

Luna’s eyes wandered down to the tiling of the hallway and she scrutinized the thin crevices between the tiles, following them as they intersected at precisely laid corners.

“Princess, is there something bothering you?” Night Sky asked in concern. “I’m not sure that I can help, but it’s always a good idea to confide in someone. If not me, maybe your sister can help you.”

“It’s nothing, really. At least, I don’t feel sad. I’m just… paranoid, I guess. Maybe that is not the most accurate term. But regardless, I am rightfully paranoid. I know my sister is planning something…. What, though? What could she possibly have in stock for me?”

“Maybe you should just ask her, Princess.”

“I did, though! And you know what she said?”

“I do not, Princess.”

“Guess!”

“Why, Princess?”

“Because your Princess has commanded you to!”

“Uhm… she said that she didn’t have anything planned, Princess,” Night Sky said nervously.

“That was the wrong answer, you ignorant fool!” Luna made a loud “hmph” sound and spun her head ever so slightly to side, frowning.

“My apologies, Princess. I promise it won’t happen again.” Night Sky took her insult in strides, but still flinched slightly when the princess called her a fool.

Luna breathed out through her nose, inwardly sighing. She frowned. “Ah, it is not your fault. Sometimes, I just have an itch to call someone names, and ‘ignorant fool’ tickled my fancy. I am truly sorry, Night Sky.”

Night Sky sighed quietly, glad that her princess was not actually angry with her. “It’s alright, Princess.”

“No, it is not. I should not be abusing my serfs for my own pleasure.”

“I’m not really a ser—nevermind, Princess.” Night Sky shook her head.

“Hm….” Luna hummed, not hearing her assistant’s correction. “What if… I sneak into her room, and find her plans for her next windigo project? It’s brilliant! Night Sky, help me on this escapade.”

“I’m not sure that I’m the most qual—”

“There is no time, Night Sky, we must start planning immediately!”

“Princess!” Night Sky blushed as she realized her mistake of raising her voice. “I-I mean, P-princess, sorry, I-I didn’t mean to—”

Luna nodded in understanding and held a hoof to Night Sky’s mouth.

“Y-yeah, s-sorry. I just don’t think that I’m the best pony for this job….”

“Have faith in me, Night Sky, that when I say everything will be fine, I mean it. Have faith in yourself, as well.”

“Alright, Princess. What do you want me to do?”

“Princess, why are these masks necessary?”

“Night Sky, dear, have you never seen A Play before?”

“What?”

“Have you ever seen A Play before?”

“Yes, I’ve seen a play…?” Night Sky responded with question.

“No, no, A Play.”

“What?”

“The performance A Play. It features two robbers who try and rob a bank; they are earth ponies unskilled in magic, and so they rely on my night to aid them in their sneaking.”

“A Play? What kind of a name is that?”

“I was the playwright.”

“My question is rhetorical, of course. It’s a very clever title.”

“In the play, the stallion and mare use these magical black masks to conceal their faces, along with these magical suits to hide their coat color and cutie mark.”

“I… see.”

The two managed to slip on their masks, and Luna helped Night Sky equip the black jumpsuit.

“So, Princess, why did you write a play where criminals operate under your night and get away with it? Don’t you think that sends a bad message?”

“Oh, no, they didn’t get away with it. They were thrown in the dungeon for six years.”

Night Sky opened her mouth as if to say something, but decided against it, instead shaking her head.

"Princess, what about the phoenix?"

"Philomena? She won't be a problem." Luna shuddered. "After... events with my sister, she goes to, erm, 'cool off'."

“Princess, I can’t help but think there is some easier way of doing this. You’re an alicorn, after all, and you have enough power to control celestial bodies. So why this? I mean, can’t you just read her mind or something?”

“I’m sure there is too, Night Sky. But those other ways aren’t fun. This isn’t a serious situation, and no other matters require me. Well, none that I want to attend to, at least.

“Do not be deceived, Night Sky, as I fear you and many others are: my sister and I may be alicorns that possess extraordinary power, but that does not make us efficient, amoral eccentric beings. We have feelings and hopes and dreams just as any other pony does. We laugh and cry just as other ponies do, because we are ponies at heart. This is all we are, all we have ever been, and all we will probably ever be.

“It’s possible that me and my sister could become some sort of untouchable god at some point, but we are not right now. Not very long ago, I was still possessed by my own hatred and longing.

“And if this is not enough for you, then just think about it: why would a being that does not have the mind of a pony stoop to the level of ponies? We fight over ridiculous things and are obnoxiously sentimental. So why would a “god” do that? A god would not need things like amusement or friendship.”

“I… I never thought about it like that, Princess. But that still begs the question of why you want to sneak into your sister’s room when I’m sure you know something less direct.”

Luna shook her head. “As I said, those ways just aren’t as fun. My sister does not keep a diary because she needs one, she keeps one because it is fun. Most ponies do that same.”

“I guess I see your point… but don’t you think this is dangerous? What if your sister catches us?”

“She’ll be seething with rage, I’m sure. She’ll probably not talk to me for a month. Maybe she’ll burn down a forest, too.”

“But—”

“And that’s why we’re not going to get caught. Besides…. I can’t really do any day magic….”

The night princess hushed the lucernae in the hallway surrounding her sister’s room.

Luna cast a silence spell on the hinges, assuring no sound would reach her sister’s ears.

Luna crept into the dark room first, Night Sky falling behind her in trepidation.

Luna started looking in various places around the room. Night Sky soon followed in suit.

The princess and assistant walked over to Celestia's closet.

When the closet turned up empty, Luna turned to her sister’s vanity. Luna and Night Sky checked all of the drawers, but again, came back empty hooved.

And again, both princess and assistant looked under the sun princess’s bed.

Not here, either, Luna thought to herself.

Luna’s eyes widened in realization. She can’t be serious….

Luna turned over to gaze upon her sister’s resting body. Sister, what’s in that diary of yours?

The princess of the moon found her sister clutching the book as if her life depended on it. The sleeping princess wore a scowl, as if she was having a particularly unpleasant dream.

Luna turned to Night Sky who simply shrugged. Night Sky made a hoof motion to leave, but Luna shook her head.

Luna eyed the book.

The dark princess used her magic to levitate the book out of her sister’s grasp, and nondescript book followed in it’s wake.

The day princess shifted in her sleep, and the two books nudged her body. She twisted and turned at the touch.

Luna winced.

Celestia tightened her grip on the book.

Luna let go of the diary, letting her nerves settle down for a moment before she continued the heist. After a moment of waiting for her sister to calm down, she grabbed the two books again.

“Mmm... Luna, what are you doing?”

“Nothing, Sister, go back to sleep. It is not time to raise the sun yet,” Luna said calmly.

“Okay….”

To be sure, Luna set her horn on her sister’s forehead and cast a sleeping spell.

With one final pull, Luna forced the book out of Celestia’s vicegrip. Why didn’t I think of using a sleeping spell sooner? I’m sure Night Sky had something to do with this….

Luna shook her head. What am I thinking? Night Sky was not involved at all, I’m sure. It must be those meddling anarchists. Wanting to overthrow the diarchy, those scoundrels....

“So, Sister, what is it you’re planning?”

Luna unclasped the buckle binding the covers together in the front, and proceeded to open the book.

What she found, however, was as frustrating as it was baffling.

“Are you jesting, Sister?! A pile of ashes?!” Luna ground her teeth as she seethed.

“I see what this is! Oh, so you think this will deter me? I’ll break your spell, sister, you’ll see! It does not fool me, you can count on that!”

Author's Note

See, Luna can be ridiculous too—it just takes a little perspective.

Lucernae is Latin for "lamps". Latin makes stuff sound arcane, I found out.

Letter

Dear Twilight,

I want to do something nice for my sister, and I may need your help if my next plans don’t work out properly.

My sister has still been feeling quite lonely after returning from her time spent away, and it has given me great heartache. I haven’t always been for there for her in the past, but I want that to change now. So please, Twilight, as a fellow princess, student, and dear friend, could you please help me help my sister?

Would do this one little task for the sake of Luna, Twilight? Would you help her?

Will you help me, Twilight, your dear princess?

Sincerely,
Celestia

Twilight Sparkle looked over the letter, wearing a warm smile. Of course I’ll help Luna.

“Spike, start a letter.”

“Alright! Your number one assistant is on it!”

“Dear Princess Celestia—wait, omit the Princess…. I think. She didn’t use it with me…. But she never did before. Wait. Wait. Does Cadance write ‘Princess’? Spike, start a letter.”

“Got it.”

“Dear Cadance—wait, should I call her ‘Sister’ now? Spike, start a letter.”

“Uhm… okay….”

“Dear Flash—What do I call him? Should this be formal? It is a request of titles…. Spike... start a letter.”

“Twilight?”

“Dear Mom and Dad… Spike, a letter!”

“Twilight!”

“What, Spike?!”

“No more letters! Just use Princess!”

“But—”

“No ‘but’s!”

Twilight Sparkle sighed. “Fine.”

“Okay, where were we…?” Spike said, getting back on track.

“Spike…?”

Spike’s eye twitched. “I told you, you don’t need to start another letter!”

“No, it’s not that…. What am I agreeing to?”

The dragon glanced around the room, searching for an answer. “I… I don’t know.”

“Look at the original letter again….”

“I want to do something for my sister… I haven’t always been there… help me help my sister…. That’s all it says. She just says ‘will you help me help my sister?’.”

“Let me see the letter.”

Spike handed the parchment to Twilight.

Twilight Sparkle stared at the letter for several minutes, nearly squinting. She turned it over just to make sure.

“I…. I guess I’ll agree. I doubt the princess would want me to do anything too crazy and not tell me. It’s probably just… signing a card or something silly,” she said, wholly unsure but still wanting to trust in her mentor.

Author's Note

Sorry for the lack of updates. I've been extremely busy lately, but expect some more updates (relatively) shortly!

The next chapter has to do with (a) windigo(s), if you were wondering.

Interlude: Winter Pt. 1

“How dare you humiliate me infront of everyone like that!”

“I-I’m sorry! Pl-please, I didn’t mean it!”

“Moron.” The mare struck the colt with a swipe of her hoof. “You put the salad fork on the wrong side! Everyone thinks that I’m some kind of a hick!”

“I-I didn’t mean—”

“Clearly you did mean to, or it wouldn’t have happened!” she said through gritted teeth.

“I….”

“Now, tell me what we did wrong.”

“W-we, I-I mean, I p-put th-the wr-wrong fork on th-the wrong s-side.”

“Good. Don’t do it again you ungrateful little bastard.” She shook her head. “I swear, colts are useless.”

“I-I’m sorry!”

“Good. Go to your room.”

The colt stood by the bottom of the staircase, plotting his escape. I can go... I can go....

He felt a tightness in his chest, and pranced anxiously in place.

I'm doing it!

Without another thought, he dashed out of the pink house through the open door, not daring to turn back or wait.

The tired colt rested in a back alley. A fence blocked most from passing straight through it, instead making them take official streets.

A pile of debris that ponies had been too lazy to pick up laid in a heap by the building.

The colt sat up against the dirty bricks, grime finding it's way onto his coat.

A faint rummaging was heard from the debris on the opposite side of the alley, and the colt shot up in shock.

Another sound resounded from the pile of rubble, and the colt backed into the wall.

The colt again heard the rustling coming from the pile of scraps, and cowered closer to the wall.

Rubble turned up as something stirred in the back alley, and the colt could feel his muscles tense up as he stared wide-eyed at the trash.

Tight breaths barely escaped him as his heart raced in morbid anticipation. Maybe it won’t notice me, he pondered desperately.

After what seemed like a short lifetime, a small figure burst it’s way through to the top of the pile.

Nibbles of garbage adorned the small creature’s light blue coat, and it feverishly tried removing them with brushing motions of it’s head.

The colt held his breath.

The light blue creature’s eyes lit up in the shadow of the dim alleyway, and the colt could tell they were scanning the area for something.

Please don't hurt me.... Please....

It squinted as it looked out to the street. No, it’s… it’s a pony… the colt thought. But it’s not….

The pony-oid creature finally managed to turn it’s head to the colt.

He scratched at the ground under his hind-hooves, trying to dig a hole into the dirt. “Please, don’t hurt me, please! Please!”

The blue creature simply tilted it’s head in confounded question.

What is this thing? the colt thought quickly. Wait….

“...winter spirits that feed off fighting and hatred; the more hate the spirit feels, the colder things become...”

No….

“N-no! Please! I don’t hate her, I swear I don’t, please! Please!”

The windigo reached the retracted child, an aura of winter flowing off, almost like a light fog.

It took a step closer to the colt, seemingly scrunching it’s face in confusion.

It brought it’s face to the colt’s neck.

And to the colt’s surprise, it rubbed his neck with the side of it’s face.

It’s cold body made the colt shiver in shock. “W-what’s going on?”

The creature didn’t respond, and instead continued rubbing its head and eventually its neck against the colt’s.

The colt stepped away.

The windigo’s rubbing was stopped abruptly.

It looked at the colt with bewilderment, and again trotted up to him

Soon after, it continued rubbing its neck on the colt’s.

“Stop! Stop! What are you doing?!” the colt shouted in agony. And again, the windigo gave no response.

“I don’t know what you’re doing and I’m not sure if I should be scared or not and I’m a little scared so stop please!” The colt jumped back again.

This time, the blue creature wore an utterly perturbed look on its face. And then, as if an idea struck it with a baton, it bounced its head in realization.

The colt’s horrified frown deepened.

The windigo jumped up on the colt’s back and his knees gave out. “Please, stop!” he cried.

But the windigo’s little smile only grew, if only but a small amount. It again continued with it’s relentless rubbing.

“Stop! Stop!” The colt began to break out in giggles.

The windigo continued, silent and stoic.

The colt only laughed more, his discomfort welling up in his chest, tightly packing into a boulder of angst.

The creatures touch was chilling, but soft, almost like a brisk Spring day, with all of the foliage of mountain slope in bloom.

The little bits of litter on it’s fur scraped up and smashed onto the colts, giving him a disgusting sensation.

What’s going on? I don’t like this, I don’t like this!

“Stop, stop, stop!” the colt shouted. “Stop!”

The colt kicked off the windigo with his hind legs, and scurried to turn up on his hooves.

He ran as fast as his stubby, tired legs could possibly carry him. He had to make amends. He knew that he had almost been sucked of life, and he didn’t want that, no matter what it took. I don’t hate her, I don’t hate her!

“You little bastard! You better not run away again!”

“Y-yes m-ma’am!” the colt managed to squeak out through his aching jaw.

“Go up to your room and think about what you did! You could have gotten us in trouble!”

“Y-yes ma’am!”

I didn’t mean it, I don’t hate her, I don’t hate her, I….

What do I….

I love her! I love my mother, I do! I don’t hate her, I love her!

The colt gave a smile to his reflection. It’s sincerity was unapparent. “I love my mother...” the colt said silently and painfully to himself, “I do….”

He stared into his own eyes. The ripples in his silver irises looked indecisive.

I love her, and I don’t have to worry about those things ever again.

The colt slumped down onto the wooden floor of his barren room. He laid his head down, silently meditating.

A tear nearly escaped the corner of his eye before he quickly wiped it away.

I don’t get it….

I don’t get it… he repeated.

“Why me?” he said under his breath.

He laid in wait for something to save him, but it never came. But that was okay, because he loved his mother.

I do love her, I do….

I do! I do love her!

Shut up, I love her! I love her! I don’t want to die, I love her!

As he sulked, a creature skulked. Its presence outside its natural habitat was only known to a select few, and it’s antics known to none.

It floated outside the small, solo window in the colt’s depressingly empty room.

As it peered in, it saw a lone, topless vanity by the north wall, and a rusty bed frame by the south. The cracked mirror of the once elegant piece was propped up beside the dresser.

The colt laid his head down in peaceful rest by his disfigured reflection.

The windigo's curiosity overpowered it's innate call to action and it watched the colt intently.

The colt still sat in his same position, unmoving.

The windigo, growing restless, tapped on the window, holding a hoof up to the glass.

The colt seemed to ignore the sound, though the windigo could see his ears perk up.

The windigo tapped on the window a second time, before it simply gave up and floated ethereally through the rough glass.

Hearing the sound a second time, the colt turned his head to look at the source. “No!” the colt shouted quietly, jumping away from the window with a look of utter terror.

He ran to the door, but the crafty windigo stopped him in his tracks. He backstepped, bumping the wall with his rump.

“Please, I don’t hate her, I love my mother! Please! Please!” the colt sobbed.

The windigo flew over to the colt, a scrawny smile creeping onto it’s lips.

The colt shook in fear, the thread of tension growing more stressed as moments condensed into seconds.

The windigo materialized, lightly feathering it's way to the ground. It's astral existence collided with the physical plane, yielding a horizon blue coat and a form of pony, not unlike what the colt saw in the alleyway.

Thoughts and solutions raced around in the colt's fickle psyche; he was unable to think about any single idea for too long, for the fear of leaving him preoccupied and more vulnerable than he already was.

The colt felt as if he was about to go into cardiac arrest from the glare of the creature alone. It's faux smile looked deceivingly sweet, and it made each step with the grace of a predator cornering it's prey.

The windigo crept closer, the seconds seeming to further coalesce into entire hours.

Finally, the creature stood directly in front of the colt. It went on with the same, eerie action as it had in the alley: obscenely rubbing it's head on the colt.

Without any pretense of thought the colt struck the windigo with a swat of his hoof, and the being recoiled in shock and pain.

The colt was shocked. He simply could not fathom why the creature looked hurt and stunned. This was one of the ancient, sinister evils of a time so long ago that Princess Celestia, the immortal alicorn of the sun herself, had not even been conceived. And yet it felt pain. He swore that he saw a sad scowl on its muzzle.

The windigo was quick to react with a smack of it's own.

The colt's head flung to the side, and he held his hoof to the new mark. The hit hurt, but he was far more confused. The windigo didn't seem to want him dead.

It's just... she's just... a little filly....

But.... I... It... she hit me....

He was still on guard, but he felt less fearful for his life. And it was just... just rubbing my fur.... Why?

The utterly baffled colt held still and mute while the windigo stared at him with a deep frown.

Did I.... Did I make it—her... angry? “I... I'm sorry..!” the colt tried to amend.

The windigo's frown didn't soften.

The colt was worried. He wanted to please this creature, no doubt, as he had heard about what it could do in the Hearth's Warming Eve play. The last thing he wanted was for a windigo to be mad at him.

“Uh.... You can.... You can rub my fur... I guess... I-I mean, if you want to....” the colt blushed. “I-I'm sorry!”

The windigo only frowned more, clearly not understanding anything the shy colt had said.

The colt steadily grew more apprehensive as time ticked by.

Yet, the windigo made no advances towards the colt.

What do I do? I don't know what to do! It's mad at me and I don't know what to do!

The windigo still glared at the colt, shifting its head slightly. After a few moments of silence, she calmly took a step towards him, seeming to ignore their former disagreement.

“I-I-I—“

The colt was cut off. The windigo continued with it's incessant rubs, a grin now evident on its muzzle. The rub of the creature still felt alien and strange to the colt, but he felt it was a small price to pay for his life. He was unnerved, but ultimately relieved.

The colt's skin felt cold under his fur, the cold body of the windigo cooling him down.

“W-when are you... g-going to stop?”

The windigo did not stop to consider what the colt said.

“Please.... Please stop...” the colt sighed, “I-I guess it's not like you understand anything I say anyway....

“H-hey.... you're dumb!” he snickered.

The windigo's ears shot up in recognition, and the colt would swear that his heart stopped for a moment.

“Oh, you're back,” the colt said with a start as he looked up from his bed. He walked over to window, where the windigo had entered the previous night. This time, he opened it for her, letting the warm summer breeze flow into his room.

The windigo flew into the room, circling the colt. It still held it's smile.

The colt stared out the window of the classroom, something else besides the brilliantly shining teacher apparently catching his attention.

The mare in the front of the room noticed, unconsciously glancing at the distracted colt throughout her lesson. She could see that he used a pensive expression when scrutinizing the sky, as if the profound nature of the universe could be found in some wispy constructs created by pegasi.

Finally, she spoke up. “Is there something a matter, Astatine?”

“N-no ma'am, I’m sorry! I promise it won’t happen again!”

The rest of the class made hardly audible giggles.

“It’s quite alright. Would you mind seeing me after class?”

A few whispers popped up from around the room. Astatine’s expression fell like a stone. “O-of course, ma’am!”

“I-I’m sorry, ma’am, I won’t do it again!”

“Astatine, it’s perfectly fine. You don’t have to get so worked up,” the teacher said soothingly.

“Y-yes ma’am!”

The patient teacher sighed. “Please, Astatine, calm down. You’re not in trouble in the slightest. Alright?”

“Y-yes, of course…” he said quietly and unsure.

“Now, I know this doesn’t usually get an answer out of ponies, but is there something wrong? You’re a good student, and I’ve never seen you so distracted. You know you can talk to me about anything, don't you?”

“Uh—yes, ma'am, b-but nothing is wrong, I promise!”

“Astatine, calm down. Please, just sit down and relax. I'm not mad at you. You don't have to be so anxious, remember? We've had this talk before.”

“I'm so sorry, I'll—“ he stumbled before he was cut off.

“Astatine.”

Astatine's mouth hung open slightly, and he grimaced.

“Astatine, you don't have to be sorry. I'm always here for you if you ever want to talk about anything, alright? I worry about you.”

“W-worr...” Astatine tried to say, without apparent reason.

The mare held a sad expression as she stared at her student.

I hope I'm not being too forceful, the teacher thought. “Okay, Astatine, but if you ever need to talk, I'm here.”

“Uhm.... Okay, Ms. Joy,” Astatine said as his frown was replaced with an expression of indecision.

“Now, are you sure everything’s alright?”

Astatine only nodded hesitantly, not wanting to look at his teacher.

“Okay, then, I'll see you tomorrow,” Ms. Joy said with a warm smile.

“Wai—“ Astatine said under his breath.

“Yes?” the astute teacher asked.

“N-nothing....”

Astatine opened the door to the pink house on the corner quietly, with an unusual smile plastered on his face.

The mare, upon hearing the door, rushed into the lobby to greet her guest.

But she was unnerved when she saw the smile on her son's face.

“What are you so happy about?”

His expression degraded. “N-nothing, ma'am....”

“No, tell me. I'm curious about why you could be so happy.”

“I-it's nothing, ma'am! I promise!”

“Ponies aren't just happy about nothing.”

“I-I-I—“

“Spit it out!” she swatted the colt.

“I-I was thinking of a funny joke!” he blurted out. “I-I'm sorry, ma'am, I won't do it again!” he said reflexively.

The mare squinted questioningly. “So what's the joke?”

“It's uh.... Uhm....”

“You don't really have a joke, do you, you little liar?”

“I-I do! I promise!”

“Tell me it! Now!”

“W-what do you call—I mean n-name a windigo...?”

The mare furrowed her brow. “What?” she managed to ask with a tone of patronization and confusion.

“W-windy....”

“What?”

The colt simply swallowed.

“That's a terrible joke, idiot.”

“I-I'm sorry....”

“Well, now I know that you didn't inherit my sense of humor.”

“I-I'm sorry, ma'am....”

“Whatever, go to your room.”

“Okay....”

The colt laid on the floor in front of the vanity, just as he had on that night.

The windigo came just as it had all of the evenings before.

And this time, the colt could feel winter.

Author's Note

I bet you didn't even believe me when I said this chapter was going to be about a windigo.

Sorry this took so long. I've had a lot to do. The next chapter might be out faster, it might not, it just depends on which way the wind blo—

It's south. Alright then.

Revitalize

“Sister, what is it now?!”

“Luna, I think today is the day!”

Luna sighed. “Okay, Sister. I’ll be looking at some documents if you need me for anything important.”

Celestia frowned. “This is important.”

“Sister, stop. I don’t care about windigos anymore.”

“...What? Why?”

“Because…. Because…. Isn’t this... silly?”

“Isn’t what silly?”

“Trying to capture a windigo. The lengths you’ve gone to are just… ridiculous!”

“What’s so silly about that?”

“Because..... Because we’re treating them like objects…. Like... trophies that we can just win through some simple game….”

“Luna, it’s not like that at all.”

“How?”

“Windigos aren’t objects, but it’s not like they’re ponies. They’re simple animals. Beasts.”

“How do you know that? How can you be sure?”

“Luna, face that facts: windigos don’t have a language, they don’t have a society, and they barely have any cognition at all. Their bodies are held together by pure magic. They’re practically golems made from alchemy.”

“No, Sister, they’re…. They’re more than that….”

“And how do you know this?”

“Because….”

“Hm?”

Luna blushed lightly. “Because I met a windigo, and he…. He wasn’t like that!”

Celestia gasped. “I wasn’t aware that you were—”

“Silence! You know I would never do that! What’s wrong with you?!”

“Luna, I….”

“Get out of here!”

Luna stood up from behind her desk, and her sister stepped backwards. “Okay, Luna, I’ll…. I’ll come back later.”

Luna scowled at her departing sister, holding herself back from making any snide remarks.

The door to the office shut just not forcefully enough to be a slam.

“That was intense,” the guard outside the door on the right whispered.

“Yes, it was. Let’s get back to our duty,” the guard left replied straightly.

The right guard ruffled his feathers. “Alright….”

He spoke up again. “Hey—”

“What?” the left asked, annoyed.

“Wanna have a staring contest?”

“No. I’m working. I do not want to have a ‘staring contest’.”

“You don’t look like you’re doing much work to me,” the right guard said under his breath.

The left moaned.

“What Luna doesn’t know doesn’t hurt her, Philomena.”

“Squawk?”

“Well I suppose if she didn’t know that she was on fire—” Celestia shook her head, “No, stop. Luna can only gain from this.”

“Squawk?”

“I…” Celestia thought for a moment, “It doesn’t matter what I get out of it! I’m doing this for Luna.”

“Squawk. Squawk? Squawk?”

Celestia frowned. “I’m not talking to you anymore. You’re sullying my mind.”

Philomena hung her head.

I’ll help Luna, if it’s the last thing I do! Though, dying may not be such an ingenious plan. I need to go to the archives after this meeting…. That book should prove to be rather useful. I was hoping to go with Luna, but that may be out of the question at this point. Yes, I will go alone, all the better. Luna will be so surprised!

“...And, as you can see Princess, the farmers simply cannot survive unless some more supplement is added to our pay. The recent favorable weather in the surrounding lands have made the growing conditions extremely good, and the influx of new produce has radically reduced the price of Equestrian produce.”

“Oh, uh-uhm….” Princess Celestia stared blankly at the pony in front of her.

“Princess?”

“Yes, of course, of course. Uhm… go on.”

“That is all I have to say.”

“Right. Please…. give me a moment to decide. Or… have you spoken to the Prime Minister about this?”

“Well, Princess, he doesn’t usually deal with this sort of thing….”

“Oh, right, sorry. Please…. Give me some time to think. I’ll… get back to you tomorrow.”

“Of course, Princess.”

Celestia strode through the long corridors of books, looking for a particular shelf. She would never admit that Luna’s reorganization helped her.

Coming upon the section she was looking for, she turned down the row labeled “Re-Ri”

The princess scanned the cases, and quickly found what she was looking for: a dusty, blue tome titled Revitalization by N. Mare M.

“Night Sky, would you happen to know where my sister is?”

“Oh, no, I’m afraid I don’t. I can go ask, though.”

“Very well, please do so.”

“Of course, Princess. Oh, and Princess, one more thing….”

“Yes, Night Sky?”

“Well, it seems that a new… petition has resurfaced.”

“Ah, Ms.... Lace, if I remember correctly.”

“Princess Luna, what a pleasure. What brings you to the archives today?”

“Actually, my assistant told me that my sister had been noticed in the archives, and I decided to come and ask you myself. Do you know where she went?”

“I’m afraid I do not….”

“What was she here for?”

“She took a book with her. Ah, she was quite distracted. I had to flag her down before she remembered the removal needed to be catalogued.”

“Oh. What was the book?”

“Let me check again…” she opened up the book, “It was a book called Revitalization.”

“Oh? Who is the author?”

“Let me check,” Kinky Lace flipped through some files in a nearby cabinet, “Ah, it seems it was by an…. N. Mare M.? What an unfortunate name.”

Luna’s eyes widened. “I’m sorry, Ms. Lace, I need to find my sister immediately. Do you know which way she went?” she asked frantically.

“I don’t.”

Luna ran to the guard on the outside of the library, asking them a similar question. “Do you know which way my sister went?!”

Celestia opened up the book from the library.

The first chapter was only a simple introduction, which Celestia passed over.

“Aha!” she said out loud, turning to the page she wanted.

Summoning her usual thaumic chalk she made yet another magic assemblage, however, the symbols involved in this particular design were substantially more sinister. A strange set of characters circumscribed the outer ring.

Five candles sat, each equiangular on the circular arrangement.

The lights in the room were hushed with a gentle douse of magic, and the candles lit.

“Why?” the guard asked suspiciously.

“What do you mean ‘why’?!” Luna bellowed. “Tell me now!”

“Is that really what the real Princess Luna would say?”

“What do you mean, the ‘real’ Princess Luna?! I will smite thee if thou dost not tell me where my sister is!”

“Hm….”

A moment later, the guard vanished from the room in a magical flash.

Luna turned to the other guard in the room. “So, do you know where my sister is?”

He flinched. “O-of course, Princess Luna, I saw her turn down the third hallway on the right.”

The Sun Princess laid out offerings around the circle, and in center placed her apotheosis: the body of a windigo.

The windigo was one of alchemy, the very one Celestia had created with Luna.

And finally, Celestia summoned the most important piece, a simple, porcelain teacup with an elegant gold trim. With a burst of magic, the ritual flared to life.

Meanwhile, the princess heated her bland tea.

Celestia sat at the lone table in the dark room, and sipped her leafy beverage. She hummed in satisfaction as the array by her side lit up with miard of lights.

The candles at each corner burned steadily, even as the air seemed to swirl in a vortex around the body.

Luna raced through the halls, letting her horn guide her closer to the closet her sister held up in.

She took off from the ground, her legs not supplying her with enough speed. Her wings flapped almost arythmically as she hurried.

Celestia smiled as she looked back at the body. “Luna is going to be so pleased…. I can’t let anything interrupt the ritual.”

The pull on Luna’s horn increased exponentially as she neared, the suction of the magic drawing her near.

Then, Luna saw what had to have been the door. She pushed forward with a powerful stroke of her wings.

Luna burst through the door, the sight before her instantly confirming her fears. “Sister what do you think you’re doing?!”

“What?” Celestia asked innocently, setting her tea cup down.

“What?”

“What?”

“What?!”

“...What?”

“Stop! Now!” Luna yelled.

“Luna, I know you aren’t a fan of this brand of tea, but isn’t this a bit extreme?”

“You think this is a game?! Stop toying with me!”

“I’m not—”

“What spell is that?! Tell me!”

“It’s… nothing,” Celestia stammered. “It’s nothing,” she answered again, more sure.

“Nothing?! You call this nothing?! What is that... that… windigo body doing here?!”

“I was just… I….”

“Is this… is this…. Necromancy?!”

Celestia looked away.

“What are you doing?!”

“I was just—”

“Stop this spell right now!”

Celstia furrowed her brow. “Why?”

“What do you mean ‘why’?!”

“I just want you to be happy….”

“Then stop this spell!”

“But—”

“Stop the spell!”

Celestia hesitated. “I….”

“Stop this spell. Now.”

Celestia reluctantly lit up her horn, and Luna waited patiently for the ritual to stop.

The lights died down, and the process finally came to a halt.

“Sister, stop this! I can’t believe you would go to this extreme for a windigo!”

“I just… I wanted you to be happy, Luna. I saw what effect that windigo you mentioned had on you, I saw the emotion on your face, the longing. I wanted you to be happy like you were.”

“I am happy though. I’m happy with how things stand right now. I’m okay without a windigo.”

Celestia could see the fake, pained smile on her sister’s face.

“Luna, I….”

“Sister, please, stop this.”

“But….”

“I forbid you from trying to capture another windigo. This has gotten ridiculous… and somewhat disturbing.” This doesn’t mean that I’m not still trying to get your diary.

Celestia was silent for a long moment. She groaned. “If that’s what you want, I guess I’ll have to agree.”

Luna let out a quiet, but long and relieved sigh. “Thank you, Sister.”

“...Are you sure that you don’t want a windigo, Luna?”

“If… this is what it takes, then I am very sure.”

“Alright.”

“The gall of Luna. Philomena, sometimes it’s evident to me that that mare doesn’t know what’s good for her.”

“Squawk?”

“A windigo! I know she needs a windigo! I know it. I know she would be happier. I can see it in her eye’s when she smiles….”

“Squawk?”

“Do I even need to answer that, Philomena?”

“Squawk.”

She blushed. “Well… she would…. She would do…. You know... that….”

“Squawk…. Squawk?”

“I think I know what my sister would and would not do, Philomena.”

“Squawk.”

“Oh, shut up.”

Both sat silent for a moment, before Philomena spoke up. “Squawk. Squawk.”

“No. I can’t stop. It’s for Luna.”

“Squawk.”

“How did you know about that?! Who told you?!”

“Squawk.”

“Shut up! No I didn’t!”

“Squawk!”

Celestia’s eye widened in shocked anger. She squinted. “I will be the one to decide when I have gone too far, Philomena.”

“Squawk! Squawk!”

“Shut. Up.”

“Squawk!”

“I said shut up!”

“Squawk! Squawk!”

“What do you know, you dumb bird?!” Celestia chuckled hysterically to herself, “And look at me! I’m talking to a bird. I guess I have gone off the deep end.”

“Squawk…?”

“Oh, what was that? It just sounded like a bird chirping.”

Philomena squinted. “Squawk. Squawk.” She flew off.

Author's Note

Wow, I honestly have to say that the response to this story has been phenomenal. Between my awful and bland writing and my... less than descriptive description, I am very surprised and delighted that it has over 400 views.

I'm sorry if this story isn't turning out to be what you thought it was. I'm pretty sure I can speak for anyone reading this when I say that this story is turning into something very unlike what the... description and first chapters portrayed it as. The thing is, when I originally had the idea for this story, I wanted it to be episodic. But then I had this crazy idea of "what if Celestia slowly went insane from trying to capture a windigo?" and I was like "lol, what?". But, the more I thought about it, the more appealing the idea became. My problem then was that I had two really strange ideas that only vaguely fit together, and I wanted to incorporate them both. I like writing comedy (if one could call it that) and I like writing science-y "serious" stuff too. Oh, I also like writing "cute" stuff, but I'm pretty embarrassed by that. This story is the fusion of those two (or three, I guess) things, and my attempts at trying to be subtle in writing—which I'm not very good at. So, again, I'm sorry that this story is not what you expected it to be. Or maybe it is, in which case, leave a comment?

Oh yeah, and if you were wondering about that Shining Armor/Cadance chapter, well... I was listening the the "Inception" soundtrack on repeat.

Illusion

“Night Sky, it is time.”

“F-for what, Princess?”

Luna scoffed. “You forgot?”

“I—uhm—no! S-sorry, I-I mean, I didn’t, I just… need a reminder, I didn’t forget about… it! I… just…. Could you… uhm... give me a notice, I didn’t forget, P-Princess, I didn’t, I just didn’t know that it was… today!”

“Oh. Well then, let’s get to it.”

“Well, I-I mean, if you, I mean, if—you don’t have to, of course, but if you could just write a sticky note, or something, reminding me, because, I, uhm—I like to be organized and I like to have this on record and it just gets so cluttered when I don’t have things organized the right way, but I guess I should expect…. N-nevermind that, Princess, I’m sorry, but, could you write down something so I can keep it on record or… something….”

Luna raised an eyebrow. “I thought that we agreed to keep this off record.”

“Oh, right, right, well, uhm, can I just have a note written down somewhere, I’ll burn it right afterwards, or something, of course, but, I just like to have the thought that I could have gotten something on record because it’s just really reassuring. I’m sure you know that’s it’s good to be reassured about things because you’re a princess but I don’t and I just want to be reassured so could you please just humor me? You don’t have to—this is a personal request, of course, but... uhm… please?”

“Ah, Night Sky, you are such a worry wort. I suppose that I can humor you, though.”

“Al-alright!” Night Sky handed the princess a small piece of parchment and a quill with her wing.

“Here.”

“O—I-I mean, I mean, yeah—I mean—I didn’t mean to say ‘I mean’, I’m not trying to hold information from you... or anything, of… cour—l-let’s go do that! Please! P-Princess!”

Night Sky seems rather on edge…. Has she been… having discourse with… anarchists? Luna shook her head, trying to discard her discouraging thoughts. “Of course she hasn’t. She wouldn’t do that.”

“...Princess?”

“Yes?”

“Uh…. Nothing, Princess.”

“Of course.” There she goes again, acting strange.

“Okay, Night Sky, we need to get my sister to sleep so we can take the diary. This time, I came prepared: I’ll apply a counter night spell to nullify the enchantment she put on the book. This can’t fail!”

“Alright, Princess.”

“So, Night Sky, how do you propose that we put my sister to rest for the evening?”

Night Sky pointed at herself. “M-me?”

“No, Night Sky, the other batpony directly behind you with your same name.”

“Oh, my apologies, Princess.” Night Sky turned around and was mystified. “...They’re not there.”

Luna sighed. “Of course I mean you, Night Sky!”

“O-oh, again, my apologies, Princess.”

“So, what do you say?”

Night Sky thought long and hard about possibilities: sleeping spells, sleeping poisons, sleeping blankets, sleeping pillows, sleeping mattresses, sleeping hammocks, but she liked mattresses much more than hammocks. Night Sky found that hammocks felt strange and utterly unnatural. She wondered how ponies could sleep in them when it contorted all of one’s appendages just to lay down. But she concluded that sleeping in a hammock beat sleeping in the duff and getting bitten by creatures in the middle of the night. “Well, Princess, why don’t we just… wait?”

“Wait? For what?”

“Princess Celestia’s bedtime, Princess”

Luna held a hoof to her chin. “This might just work, Night Sky. How do you propose we pull this off?”

“Well… uh….”

“I’m merely jesting, Night Sky.”

“Al-alright, Princess.”

“If you believe that simply waiting is the best course of action, then we shall wait. It’s a very sensible plan.”

“Uhm… thank you, Princess.”

“At risk of sounding impatient, I must say this is taking a rather long time. Night Sky, are you trying to sabotage me?”

Night Sky frowned in sadness. “Of course not, Princess, I would never do that!”

“So it seems. I’ll go talk to her. But I have to be sly; inception of an idea is best done discretely—preferably through a dream—but I’ll have to make this work.”

Luna strolled into the quaint lobby smoothly, not bothering to look at her sister as she seemingly slithered by. Her mouth sat slanted on her muzzle.

“So, Sister, did you have a hard day in parliament?”

“Wh-what?” she looked up from her cup of tea. “Oh…. Yes…. I suppose I did….”

“Hm. Sounds like trouble. Perhaps you would like to meditate about it… performing some sort of… biological function that ponies of the day tend to let happen during the nightly hours?”

Celestia looked confused and mildly shocked. “O-oh... well... Philomena’s kind of molting right now, I didn’t kn—”

“So how is the weather?” Too discrete, too discrete!

“Don’t you want to he—”

“Those weather pegasi are doing a pretty good job.”

“...I…. I don’t know…. It’s been a little… turbulent out recently….”

“I like the stormy weather.”

Celestia nodded slowly.

Luna quickly made herself a small cup of coffee, a beverage that she found to be quite exotic and for whatever reason made her somewhat anxious.

She sipped the cup, waiting for the freshly resurfaced memories fade out.

“So, Sister, isn’t it past the time when you usually sleep?” she mentioned off handedly.

“Oh….” Celestia said, unsure and detached.

“Is there… something bothering you?”

“Not…. Not really, no, I guess….”

“Oh, well that’s good. So... can you go to sleep now?”

“Yes…. I… guess I can…” Celestia mumbled, looking away.

“Alright, goodnight, Sister.”

Celestia again nodded, still staring at her cup.

Luna looked around the room, waiting.

She spoke up again. “So when are you going to sleep?”

“Why… why do you want me to go to sleep?”

“Oh… well… I… just… want you to be very well rested. After all, it is my duty to ensure that ponies in Equestria are getting adequate sleep.”

“That’s not one of your duties.”

“It… is now.”

“What?”

“Yes… I was uhm… testing it.”

“Luna… what? I... was supposed to say something like that….”

“Well, Sister, this particular part of the tale focuses on me and my escapades.”

“I’m not sure I understand….”

“You just don’t understand right now because you need sleep; the stress that the day has put on you has made you weary.”

Celestia looked up at Luna, and for a moment the Sun Princess simply stared at her sister in intense study. Celestia shook her head. “You’re... probably right,” she rubbed her temples, “I need to sleep.”

“Yes…. I’ll see you in the morning, Sister.”

“Goodnight.”

“Do not let the bedbugs bite.”

“I’ll try not to….”

“Really, don’t. I hear they have been quite the problem in Canterlot.”

“I won’t.”

“Seriously, Sister, bedbugs are a real problem. I honestly think that we need to introduce legislation to have them eliminated.”

“Uhm…. Okay.”

“In fact, I have spoken with several constituents about the problem; all of them agree that it is a major issue not only inside Canterlot but other major cities outside it.”

Celestia yawned. “Alright, Luna.”

Luna turned to face the other direction, lowering her eyelid to a near squint. “But fixing a problem of this magnitude will not be an easy task, I assure you. I’ve spoken to several analysts and even some entomologists about the eradication of such pests in high population density areas, and both agree that the scale of such an extermination would be incredible; not to mention sustaining the magic barriers and pesticides. The price would be high, but I do not think that is of concern, especially when considering that this is ultimately for the health and safety of the public.”

“Alright, Luna, let me… uhm… lay my head down,” Celestia yawned again, setting her head down on the small coffee table as she closed her eyes, “I’m still… listening.”

“Of course, it would be wise to look at actual studies concerning possible bedbug related disease vectors: most of which found no correlation. But, most agree the itching sensation causes scratching which can be dangerous the epidermis. I would not assume that literal thick skinned ponies would have to worry about this, but it still remains a plausible threat if these insects spread to anymore residencies or lodg—” Luna looked behind her when she heard the gentle breathing of her sister. “Perfect. Sister, you really shouldn’t take so long to fall asleep.”

Luna walked over to the alabaster alicorn and touched horns. Luna’s lit up with was a dark blue, dispersing over her sister.

Luna trotted out of the room with a smug smile on her face.

“S-so, Princess, I was thinking that… uhm….”

“Yes, Night Sky?”

“It’s… it’s not really anything….”

“Oh, please, do go on.”

“Well…. I…. Well….”

“Night Sky, ‘spit it out’.... I still don’t like that phrase.”

“Well… uhm…. Couldn’t we have just… retrieved the journal before your sister fell asleep?”

Luna pursed her lips. “Well, Night Sky…. I only have one thing to say about that.”

“Y-yes, Princess?”

The Princess remained motionless, simply staring at her attendant with a blank expression.

Night Sky tried to hide her audible gulp.

“It is a diary, not a journal.”

Night Sky internally sighed. “M-my apologies, Princess.”

“...Good.”

The door to the Sun Princess’s room crept open.

“P-princess, why did we have to put your sister back in her room? A-and why didn’t we get the book when we were in here the first time?” Night Sky whispered in fear

“Night Sky, dear, you and I both know that anything else would be rude.”

Night Sky opened her mouth to say something, but no sound managed to come out.

“I don’t know where my sister has kept her diary this time around, so we will need to make haste of our search, understood?”

“O-of course, Princess.”

“Alright, Night Sky, you check the closet, I’ll look here, in the vanity drawers.”

Both of the nighttime ponies searched around the room, looking for any trace of a diary belonging to a certain diarch.

“It’s not in here, Princess.”

“Yes, so it seems that it is not in her vanity or under her bed, either. Interesting…. She wouldn’t have….”

“Princess?”

“My sister… was devious. She must have used an illusion enchantment on the book! We are sure to not find it anytime soon, and most probably not in this particular session.” Luna sighed.

Night Sky’s eyes widened in understanding. “I think I might be able to help, Princess!” she exclaimed giddily.

“Night Sky?”

“Oh, w-well, you see, my mom taught me how to see through illusion spells when I was a filly.”

“I do see indeed! I always knew there had to be a real reason for me selecting you as my attendant, Night Sky!”

“Th-thank you, Princess.”

“Go on, look for the book.”

Night Sky smiled. “Alright, Princess.”

The batpony squinted as she examined every minute detail of each item in the room, and focusing outwards to see if the pieces truly created to whole.

“I don’t see it yet, Princess….”

“Keep looking, it must be around here somewhere."

“Of course, Princess.”

Night Sky kept looking about the bedroom but to her worry she could not spot the cleverly disguised book.

“I-I don’t see it anywhere, Princess,” Night Sky cried.

Princess Luna simply looked down at her hooves and held a blank expression.

“...I-I’m sorry, Princess…. I failed….”

Luna looked up. “Night Sky, do not fret. Nothing could have been done.”

“Al-alright, Princess.” Night Sky said simply.

“Come, let’s go. We can check again another night.”

“Alright….”

Night Sky trotted, a solemn mood evident by the look on her face.

“Ah, Night Sky, do not be so down. All one can do is try.”

Night Sky made a small smile, but it quickly faded when her right foreleg started to give out. Her body slammed into the foot of the white alicorns bed, and a loud thump sounded.

“Night Sky, are you alright?”

“Yes, Princess, what happened?” Night Sky asked as she rubbed her shoulder.

“You slipped on a book.… Oh… this is… this is the diar—Oh, nevermind, false alarm.”

Night Sky’s expression returned to its fallen phase. “What is it?”

Luna frowned in disgust. “It’s a book by this… necromancer my sister has been apparently reading recently.”

Night Sky nodded.

The two again trotted towards the doorway, but stopped when they heard a sound coming from the Sun Princess’s bed. Both turned around with wide eyes.

“...Luna, is that… you..?” Celestia asked incoherently. “....I… want my… book….”

Luna raised an eyebrow. “Oh, Sister?”

“....Luna…” Celestia cried, tired and frantic.

Luna grinned. “Let me retrieve it… where is it?”

“It’s… in… the library….”

“Sure thing, Sister. Sleep tight.” Luna trotted over to her sister, and for the second time that night cast a sleeping spell on her.

Luna turned to face Night Sky. “It is done.”

“B-but, Princess, how do we know she’s talking about her… jou—diary?”

“I suppose we do not, Night Sky, but we’ll just have to find out.”

“Alright, Princess.”

“Night Sky, do you mind asking Miss… Lace about this yourself?”

“Of course not Princess, b-but can I ask… what you have against Lace? S-she’s a friend of mine….”

“I… just... well….”

Night Sky waited for Luna to finish.

“...I can’t stand to think about someone naming their foal Kinky Lace….” Luna shuddered.

“Hey, Lace, can I ask you a question? This might seem kind of weird.”

“Like.... Princess-Celestia-weird?” Kinky Lace retorted with a smile.

Night Sky chuckled. “No… well… I don’t know.”

“What is it?”

“Did Princess Celestia add any books to the archives recently?”

“Hm.... Well… she did order a shipment of some newer books recently.”

“Oh. What were they?”

“Uh… I can give you the list if you have a moment.”

“That would be great.”

Kinky Lace turned around to face the desk behind her where stacks of pseudo-organised papers laid. She lifted up the corners, looking for the index of new arrivals.

“...Here it is. Wait,” she checked it over, “Uh-huh, this is it.”

Night Sky took the list from her friend's grasp. “Thanks!”

“Say, why do you need this?”

“It’s for Princess Luna. I’m helping her find—” Night sky stopped herself. “I’m helping her find a book.”

“Oh. That’s… interesting, I guess. I’ll see you around, then.”

“You too, thanks again.”

As Night Sky departed, she immediately began scanning the parchment for any possible matches. One title caught her attention: Avian Tendencies by a certain P. C.

“Princess, I think I found something!”

“Oh, what is it?”

“Well, there was a book about birds added to archives recently by somepony named P. C.”

“That does seem rather suspicious. Let us investigate haste posthaste!”

“Uh-uhm, Princess, you used one of those archaic terms again, a-and you told me to tell you when you used them.”

“Oh, yes, thank you Night Sky. Hm… I shall use ‘immediately’ in place of it.”

“Y-you can’t do that, Princess, that word was just used a few sentences ago. It’s bad practice.”

“I see your point. I shall use ‘at once’.”

“Night Sky, we can’t have a scene break yet! You never caught the ‘shall’. Ponies don’t say ‘shall’ anymore unless they are cretons pretending to be classed.”

“My apologies, Princess.”

“Aha, here it is! Avian Tendencies. My sister really puts no effort into these disguises, does she?”

“Y-yeah, you’re disguises are much better, Princess!”

“To think that she would use her own initials as well,” Luna said as she shook her head in disbelief.

“I’ll just go ahead and dispel this illusion….” Luna put her horn to the book, and a blue aura rushed over it.

“N-nothing changed, Princess.”

“Hm…?”

“Uhm....”

“Oh. Uhm. Yes, well. This is indeed an interesting illusion spell which my sister has cast onto this book… here. I’ll… try again.”

“I… I don’t think it’s working, Princess.”

“Well, uhm… yes. Well….”

“...I’ll go… uhm… uh…. Wh-what’s in the book?”

“Oh… it’s a… guide to… bird watching for amateurs…. Uhm… I’m sure that this is not published by anyone….”

Kinky Lace looked up at Night Sky and nodded. “Yep, it’s published by Nest Publishing under Mr. Pine Cone.”

Night Sky focussed on something in the corner of her vision. “...Oh….”

“Sky, you’ve been here twice in the past hour. What’s up?”

“Oh… uh… not much. Just doing princess business, you know how it is.”

“Alright then; I know the nature of those kinds of things. I won’t ask.”

“What else is there to do, Princess?”

“I’m… not really sure. Hm… Night Sky, did you ask if my sister returned any books recently?”

“Why, no, I didn’t, Princess.”

“Hm. We should try that. If this does not work, Night Sky, then let this be that last thing we try tonight.”

“Princess, your sister did return a book recently.”

“Oh? What is it?”

“Soul Binding by N. Mare M.”

“That’s it! That’s it! That’s the book that my sister had laying about on the floor which you slipped on and rudely woke her!”

Night Sky faintly blushed. “O-oh.”

“Look, here it is. I should be able to dispel this illusion, if indeed my sister does not have two copies… which I would not put below her.” Luna rolled her eyes.

Night Sky waited in anticipation as the Moon Princess charged her horn and let loose onto the book.

And in an instant, it changed into the elegantly embroidered tome, the cover displaying an excellent, golden vinete.

“And now I can apply the counterspell to that troublesome phoenix-ashes magic she used.” Luna again lit up her horn, albeit the counterspell taking far longer to arrange and cast.

After a short while, the spell was done and princess satisfied with her work.

Luna opened the book in morbid anticipation. “What?!” she bellowed, no one present to shush her.

Night Sky cowered ever so slightly. “W-what’s wrong, Princess?”

“My sister! That’s what’s wrong! I’m not even convinced she’s a pony! Look at this, Night Sky!”

Night Sky squinted to look at the pages of the book. “It-it’s blank….”

“Exactly! It’s unfathomable a reason wherefore one could’ve such utter secrecy! The lengths! Appalling!”

“P-princess!”

“Night Sky!”

Night Sky looked down in submission.

“Ugh! My sister is… a strange one. She has yet another layer of spells! That would be at least three layers of spells to protect her diary. What could she possibly be hiding in this book?!

“Mark my words, Sister, I will learn your secrets which you hold dear enough to write down. You have made this only more enticing!”

“P-princess?”

“Yes, Night Sky?”

“Uhm… c-can I-I ask if…”

“Yes?” Luna asked impatiently.

“Well… I’m not so sure that I should be doing this with you anymore… I mean… I just realized how private this is, and… I don’t know….”

“Ah, Night Sky, we are in this together. I may be crazed, but if I am crazed with you by my side, nothing can go wrong!”

“I-I…. Alright, Princess….”

Author's Note

This story is going in directions beyond human comprehension. Literally. It's changing position on the 6th spatial dimension.

Also, the next chapter will probably include (a) windigo(s).

Interlude: Winter Pt. 2

The cold seeped deep into the colt’s body, crawling around in him until his bones ached. And still he seethed, the sensation creating a sadistic euphoria.

The windigo crouched on the floor, the wood starting to frost over even in the Spring air.

“I just want someone to like me….”

The windigo looked up at the colt with a questioning gaze on her face.

“Maybe….” He pondered, staring at the ceiling.

After a tense moment, the windigo rubbed her crest on the colt’s neck. The colt turned his head, and nuzzled her mane in response.

“I can… I can….” The colt’s lip wavered. “I don’t know….”

The windigo only continued with her rubbing.

The colt backed away from the windigo, It’s blank eyes stared deep into Astatine.

“What do—what do you think I should do…?” Astatine asked quietly.

The windigo stared at him, and, in a rare display of discontent, she frowned. She placed her wispy hoof upon the colts forehead, and he understood her answer.

“Yes, I….”

The windigo shifted.

“I will. I will,” he growled.

Astatine sat on his haunches, hind legs sprawling, and stared at the ground. “But…”

The windigo circled the colt.

“But… where will I…” and before Astatine could finish his question, he already had the answer. He knew where he would go. There was someone who cared.

“Ms. Joy…” he said with hopeful uncertainty. “She… cares….”

Astatine looked up. “But what if she’s l-lying?”

The windigo touched her forehead to the colt’s.

The colt nodded in understanding. “Y-you’re right…. She… Ms. Joy doesn’t lie….”

“But I don’t know where…” he said sadly. “There’s no way….”

The windigo only looked at the colt with an exasperated glare.

The colt got up in the morning, and went to school as usual. School was abysmal and monotonous, as it was everyday. But that day he looked at Ms. Joy with a new sense of wonder and uncertainty.

There was another expected nuisance, as there was every day. The windigo hid outside the windows in the classroom, holding it’s head up only long enough for the colt to get a nervous glance before the windigo hid, giggling about her teasing.

The day ended with an uneventful bell, and all the students funneled out the door and into the hallway and into the streets. The colt started on his walk home before he was stopped by the ethereal little filly. He stopped, nervous, and only looked at his hooves in shame. “I know I need to go, but….”

The windigo only shook her head.

The colt promptly understood. “B-but what do I do?”

The windigo flew off, and Astatine followed her. They hid in an alley, not unlike where they first met.

Much time passed before they saw the teacher leave the school. When she did, the windigo notified the colt and they stalked her home. She lived in a pleasant grove of buildings, the bricks clean and well painted, the windows without soot.

They waited for the teacher to enter her house. She trotted up to a magenta house, the windows few but prettily decorated with little flowers.

The colt got the cue to approach the door, stomach churning, a frog struggling to escape his throat. The sidewalk was pristine and the houses lining it were quaint. But Astatine felt the neighborhood stifling, as if the structures surrounding him would collapse, burying him alive to never be remembered.

And the colt reached the door.

The door was simple dark brown, stained with chemicals and lightened with weather, a vignette lining the door, and a silver handle to boot. The archway surrounding the door was simple; stones of an an arch were mortared into place, on top of a purple brick wall.

Astatine hesitated. He turned around, and found the windigo with her head out behind a trash can on the other side of the street.

The colt made up his mind and reached for the door, heart racing.

He knocked twice. Hoofsteps were heard from behind the door, getting louder until it was upon the porch and evident that the door would open. And it did.

The mare stood in front of the colt, a pleasant but worried smile winding across her muzzle. “Astatine?” she asked.

The colt pursed his lips, the thing to ask still being unclear. He looked up from his downward facing position.

“What are you doing here?” the mare asked again, concerned.

“M-Ms. Joy—I…” tumbling on his words, his heart racing even faster, “Can I… live with you?”

Ms. Joy’s eyes splayed. She lifted her hood as if to step back, but was frozen in place. The colt heart wanted to seize. The colt wished his suffering would end with a quick blow to the head.

And the colt agonized as the shocked teacher was stunned herself. But Astatine grew anxious. He stepped back, once, then twice.

And he turned to run. He ran away, again, as he had before. But now he was not going back to his mother. Astatine ran further through the city streets, even as he faintly recalled a voice calling for him, growing away.

The buildings rushed past as he rushed to the edge of the city. He was escaping from the place that trapped him.

Finally, after an eternity of running, he made it to the edge of the city. And the wendigo was there too, floating behind him, as distraught as the colt. She circled the colt, trying to gain his attention.

The colt looked up, tears in his eyes. “What do you want?!”

The windigo lengthened her radius, her frown following in suit.

“Y-you lied to me! You told me she cared!” The air became more crisp.

The windigo flew down to the colt, placing her hoof on his head.

“You…! You…. I hate…” he trailed off, sniffling. “I just want….”

The windigo nuzzled Astatine, sliding her cheek across his. “Why d-doesn’t anyone l-like me?”

The windigo only looked at the colt, not ready to give her answer.

“I just want someone to like me…. I just....”

And the windigo gave her answer.

And the colt held his pensive expression. “A-are y-you sure?”

And the windigo nodded.

Author's Note

Woo, an update!

Invitation

"Sister, do you have everything ready for the ball?"

"It's a jamboree, Luna, not a ball."

"...Right. Has the guest list been prepared?"

"Yes, it's right here."

Luna looked the list over. "Why is Discord on this list?"

"Well, I drew names out of a hat and his name happened to be in there."

"Very pragmatic."

"Thank you."

Dear Twilight Sparkle,
You are invited to the Royal Canterlot Jamboree, a frenzy of fun and excitement! Come experience all the magic that is this enchanting night of magic, mystery, and ambiguity!

"So what do you think of that invitation, Philomena?"

"Squawk."

"It's not impersonal at all! Twilight's name is in the header."

Party

Well, you see, I was always shy. I could never figure out how to tell my feelings to others. I just felt like there was some sort of blockage, as if my love was taboo. I mean, sure, it’s silly when I think about it now.

Well, one day, I was in just sitting in my room when I saw this beautiful light from across the valley. I thought “what is that?!”, interobangs and everything, and I shot up off my perch and flew across the valley.

And when I got there, I found this beautiful bird. But it was so sad! She was on the ground, her wing broken.

She didn’t say much, mostly just coos and shrieks. And I took her back to my room, where I nursed her back to health. At first, I didn’t pry. But after a while, I became curious. “Uhm, if I may ask, what’s your name?”

“...Squawk,” she said, hesitantly.

“Philomena? What a lovely name!”

“Squawk.”

“Oh, well, I’m Tia, but you can just call me Princess Celestia.”

“Squawk.”

I blushed very hard. “Oh, well, I don’t know about that…. You’re very pretty yourself.”

“Squawk. Squawk.”

“Yes, I guess it is getting pretty late.”

“Squawk.”

“Goodnight.”

I was pretty shy at first, you know, but from that small interaction I could tell how articulate she was.

A few days later, we talked again. “Squawk.”

“Yes, what is it?”

“Squawk. Squawk.”

“...Oh?” I was so worried! I didn’t want her to leave.

“Squawk. Squawk. Squawk….”

“Well… I… I don’t want you to go so soon.”

“Squawk.”

“Really?”

“Squawk.”

“...I’ll wait for you.”

And so two months passed, and I thought about Philomena day in and day out. I couldn’t get her out of my mind. And then, it was finally time for her to return from her ritual. I came back to my chambers and she was there. I was so happy that I wanted to run up and kiss her so badly, but I held back.

“Squawk,” she said so cooly.

“Philomena!” I cried out.

I knew, though, that I had to take it slow. We went on dates, we learned about each other's interests, we preened….

And that’s how I met Philomena.

“Any questions?” Celestia asked. “Luna?” she prodded

“Y-yeah, Celestia, c-can, you, uh, can you, tell me more ab-bout the preening, uh, for, uh, scientific, uh, research,” Twilight Sparkle said in a low tone.”

Luna snarled, bringing up a hoof to her forehead. “Sister, I….”

“Well I know that a windigo is different but I’m sure we can—”

“I will stab you.”

“You don’t mean that!”

“No. I will stab you. With a knife. A dull one, so it hurts more.”

“Ooh, Spike, that party was crazy….” Twilight said, looking disheveled.

“What happened last night? What time did you get in?” Spike asked, concerned.

“I-I don’t know. Four, five.”

“Twilight, what were you even doing?”

“I…” Twilight hesitated. “I can’t really remember....”

“That’s… not good. Maybe you should ask the Princess.”

“Yeah… start a letter.”

“Okay.”

Dear Princess Celestia

What a fun party! Thank you for inviting me and hosting it. I’m afraid I’m a bit fuzzy on the details, though, do you mind recapping what all happened?

Sincerely,
Twilight Sparkle

An bored hour past in the castle before there was any reply.

“Dear Twilight—”

“Don’t read that!” Twilight interrupted, grabbing the letter with her magic.

Dear Twilight

I wouldn’t worry about last night. It was nothing too sensual, just some idle banter and some other loose ends ends that I finally tied up with your help. Thank you so much for delivering on your promise to help me with Luna.

Sincerely,
Celestia

“Huh?” Twilight said outloud.

“What?” Spike asked.

“Nothing….”

This time, Twilight wrote her own letter.

Dear Princess Celestia,

What was it that I helped you with, again?

The letter was returned in a prompt fashion.

Oh, I wouldn’t want to spoil the surprise. I promise, though, you will find out soon. It was nothing major, I can assure you.

Princess, I would really like to know.

Don’t worry about it, Twilight, or you might hurt yourself thinking too hard.

No I won’t.

Yes you will.

No.

Yes.

I promise I won’t.

Okay.

Okay. And?

Correct.

???

!!!

Twilight scowled at the paper in frustration. “Pfft, whatever. I know the Princess would tell me if it’s important….”

“Are you sure?” Spike chimed in.

“Well…. Probably. I mean….”

“She didn’t tell you how to stop Nightmare Moon.”

“That’s true, but…. She believed in me….”

“I don’t know, with the way the princess has been acting lately, I wouldn’t be so sure.”

“I know, but… what can I do? She won’t tell me.”

“Well, in any case, I don’t have a good feeling about this.”

Author's Note

If you don't know what's going on with Celestia and Philomena, then LEARN TO SPEAK BIRD. I mean, honestly, it's not the different from English. All of you people think that your entitled to a translation JUST BECAUSE it's a made up language, seriously. I can't stand it.

Retrieval

Night Sky laid in her bed, her mouth wide open. The telltale sound of a chronic mouth breather spread through the quiet, small room. Her cute little fangs shone in the late moonlight cascading through the window beside her.

“Psssst, psssst.”

Night sky was still still.

“Psssst, Night Sky….”

She still remained as still as a window sil.

“...Night Sky, this prose isn’t getting any better….”

“Huh…? Gleam, is that y—Princess Luna! Your Majesty! Your Greatness!”

“Yes, it is I, in the flesh.”

“Uhm… hi.”

“‘Hi’ to you as well, Night Sky.”

“Uh-uhm, Princess, what are you doing here?... I think I busted my lip when I yelled….”

“I have the diary.”

“Yeah, it’s definitely—pardon? You mean….”

“If you mean that I mean Celestia’s diary, then yes, I mean that. If not, I mean Celestia’s diary. I want no confusion in this matter; this imprecise speaking makes me anxious sometimes.”

“Uhm, yes, of course…. But… why are you telling me…. I mean…. I…. I’m just an assistant, Princess, I’m very flattered, but I don’t think this is… well… my business.”

“Night Sky, aren’t you the least bit curious about what secrets lay within this book?”

“I… I don’t think I’m important enough.”

“Put that aside. What are your true feelings?”

“I…” she hesitated, “I’m not interested.”

“Why did you hesitate?”

“I… I don’t know, Princess...” she croaked as a knot began to form in her throat.

“Night Sky, please stop with this. You are a dear friend. I want to see you happy, above all. Tell me your true feelings.”

“...I…” she squeaked again, “I’m not supposed to see that, Princess…. I’m just… Night Sky… I’m just... a name you drew out of a hat…. I’m not special…. I don’t know why you’re doing this right now….”

“Night Sky! No, you are special. You are my best friend after my sister. You have been helping me since the beginning, and for that, I cannot thank you enough. Don’t ever say that you’re not special. If you do not want to see the contents of this most prized book, if you believe it to be too personal, then fine. I don’t judge you—if anything, I judge myself. But denying yourself this opportunity because of your “stature” is ridiculous. You are worth much more than you believe yourself to be, and not to mention you put my sister and I on too high of pedestals. Love yourself, Night Sky, because you are worth every star in your namesake and more. Now, do you want to defile my sister’s privacy with me?”

“....Yes. Totally.”

“Then let us.”

Luna casted her two counter enchantments on the book, ensuring that it would finally be decrypted. She was utterly nervous and unsure of the potential contents; if her sister’s recent actions would be any indicator, it wouldn’t definitely be interesting.

The book laid on the table in wait. The two friends just stared at it.

“Are you going to open it?” Luna inquired

“I thought you were going to open it.”

“That’s your job. You’re my servant.”

“Assistant,” she corrected, “And best friend.”

“Open the book, Night Sky.”

“Y-yes, Princess.”

Night Sky opened the book.

Dear Diary,
Uhm, hello! I’m not quite sure what I’m supposed to write about. Why did I write that? I… I’m sorry, but I’m not too sure. Sorry. Oh my goodness, this is not turning out well at all. I guess I’ll start with my day. Which was good. I went for a walk in the park and I had a lesson with young Twilight. Oh, Twilight, such a darling filly. I’m so very proud of her progress so far—

“Maybe we are just a touch too early, Night Sky.”

“Uhm, yes, of course.”

Dear Diary,
Today, I had the most delicious coffee cake!

“Still to early! Just go the end, we can work backwards from there.”

Hello,
Today, I had an epiphany. I saw the world for as it really was—a layer ever so much deeper than the previous time. I understood the true nature of it. There is an underlying reality that we all experience. All beings must exist. They must! For my reality is the only true reality, and for that to be the case, there must be a reality which I perceive thereby making it my own. And in this reality, she told me, there must only be one hierarchy of things, of complexity, of entropy. Of everything. I know this to be true,
f̫̲̮̣̆̐̊̾̒̔͑͟o̯͎̱̖̦̲͌͂͐̓͗̉̓̕͞͝ŗ̰͈̱̖̟́̇̓̈͋͆͒͛̕͜͞ ö̸̡͔̲̙̗͈̣̤̱́́̀̌̀̇̓̉́u̮̬͔̤͚̓́́̍̀͘͘͠r͍̫͖͚̯̖͈̜̥͗͆̂͛̅̐́̊͡͠ w̟͉̗͍̹̻̼͋̈́̈́̚͠ i̸͍͇̞̹͖̿̇̊̓̽̈́͗̈́͋͞ l̹̥̩̭͚͎̀̈́̇̇͐͛͡͞ l̢̛͓̹͔̣̣̱̭͙̓̊̎̄̄͌ m̶̨̯̳̬̪̫͖͂̓́́͋͜͢ ą͚̯̪̪̯͋̏̏̆͜͝ ķ̷̨̢͖̜̝̙̩̎͗͑̏̕͟ e̶̡̨̛͙̖̳͋͂͂̕͡ s̶͇̫̺̙̀͑̐͗͒̕͘͞͞ͅ i̷̛͉͍̩̹͇͓̟͐͂͛͋̓̏͒͑ͅt̨̡̹͙̘͍̲͓͇̏͗͆̐͆͒̏̆͢͡ t̶͙̖͖̹̯̟͎͓̍̿̉̔́͐r̡̭̙̗̐̋͆̇̊͟ u͖̟̟͇͕̟͈͗̔̆́͑̈̄̿͟ e̢̟̪͚̠͕̮͇̽̐̒̀̄ͅ.̸̛̙̮̬̲̠̱͙͊͐̇̃͋͜͞͡
I̖͈̤̳͎̊̀̍̈̄̄̐ a̡̰̙͈͎̐͑̎̐̓̐̒͡m̨̘̮̳͎̝̂̑̽͆̀̉͢͠ s͍͉͙̜̥͑̎͋͑̈́́̊̿̽̓͢ơ̷͉̖͔̗̘̱̘̮͕̘̔̒̋̓̾̑͘ t͍̭͔̭̯̰̫̀̓̍̌̈̊̚͟ȟ̷̤͍̣̀̅͋͑̋̄̚͢͜͝a͖̩̘̘̱̜̱̦͉͗̎̆͗̃͊̈̕̚͞ͅn̴̪̜͕̺̟̉̋̅̍̇́͋̃͌̈͜͜k̮͍̰͖̹̞̭̹̾͆̊́̿̂͡͡f̵̡͎̯͖̟̼͖̹̼̑͊́͑͋̋̒̓͆u̸̢̺̱̥̰͛͑̈̍̏͑̚͟͟͠͞l̢̹̞̺̰̝͇̤͆̈̏̆̌ ṫ̸̤̜̺͇̻́͌̊͂̌̊̕ḩ̧̛̺̗͔̥̱̅͑̿͑̈́͆̐́̊a͔̙̺͕̙̩̟̞̟̦͗̐̈́̿̈̐͞ţ̸͖̺͔̲̹̦̖͐̇̑̄͝ s̶̢̧̫͕̼̫̝̰̋̿̂̒͗̍̊h͕̪͈̮̪͑͌̊͌̕ę̴̱͓͓͔̦̼̟̋͒̿̎̓̆̀̐̃̏͟ h̠̜̭̹͌̎̌̐͜͟͠͠a̠͇̰̬̝̤̟̦̓̀͌͑̔̀͢ș͙̺̭̔̓̑͗͞ͅ s̵̡̨̨͇̬͉̙̪̓͐͋̅̔͊͆h̻͍͈̖͕̻̤͚̍͋̿̐̀̐̄͢͡o̢̗̟̠̙͚͛͋͌̉͑́͠͞͞͡w̨̺̠̦̱̬͐̏̐̅͋́͑̐͢͠͞ͅn̵̛̙͙̱͖̙͉͋͗̇̐͋̔̕͡͝ͅ m̨͓̤̹͙̙̱͈̖̐̉̊̑̓̕͘ẹ̶̪̺͚̯̉̏̏̉̅͊̓̑̚͘ ẗ̶̛̳͉̹͖́̾̎͊̎̎͒̋͒ͅȟ̵̩̬̻͍̬̃͊̈͠͡è̶̟̩͔̰̙̝̓̂̕͘͢ l͇̯̬̬̺̪̉̎̑̽͘͢i̡̡̛͕̭̼̦͚̭͗̀̾͊̈̌̂̇̽g̸̥̰̰̥͍͋͋̎̆͘͟ȟ̵̡̛̠̗̫̗͇̀̍͞͞͝ṱ̨̥͖͕̳̱͔̩̖͌̋̀͠͝.̵̦̘̮̩̣̉̑̇̈́̔̊͐̈́̈́͞
S̨̤͍̙͎̩͔̎̄̉͛͂͗̏̔͌̓͜o̵̩͈̙̹̲͇͑̔̿͒̎õ͍̹͓̝̠̝̹̾͊̋͆͆͜͜͞ǹ̶̛̬̯̖̖͙̳̯̗̜̀̒̉̄ͅ,̷̧̧̢̛̬̟̲͖̰̣̋̓̉̂͛̃͌͘͢ s̴̠͎͚̜̀̌̈́̈́͆͛̍̕͜h̷̦̙̹̠̙̺͚̓̀̃̅̌̽̎͘͟͡è̸̝̯͔̼̠͙̍̀̒͆̅̆̚͜͡ͅ w̸̢̢̟̗̬̰͖͓͙̝̎̽̌͑̄̆̐̚̚į̵̢̢̥̜͙̗̰̹̀̓̋͋͜͞l̲̺̤̩̲̬̫̐͋́̇͛̃̈́̒͞ḻ̸̰͈͕̙̫̺͕̅͊̄̒̋́̚̕͜͠ ḧ̹̫̹̥̱͇̮͊̊̑̂͋̆͗̕͢ȃ̷̖̰̪̹͐̈̓̚͜͝v̶̢̧̡͈͚͔͖͙̓̂̑̒̒͗̀͂͟͡e̻̰͎̱͙̙̅̇̏̉̒̽̃͌͘͟ m̶̧̜̝̞̖̗̠̋͑̔͐̄̌̐͜͞ͅȅ̯̝̗̰̟̬̣̱̓̀͌̿͢͞,̸̹̜̗̻̹͓͂͛͋͐̑͂͢ ą̸͔̞̫̭͍̌̾͊͌͑̄͐͆̌n̡̡̛̰͇̯̻͕̐̂̀͆̓͢d̡͈͎̻̭̺̻͑̾̅̃̍͌͜ w̨̮̦͈̩͖̃̃̃̇̓̒͛͐̔̾ę͔̬͎̮̔̐̑̈̈̿́̉̓͘͢ c̴̠͖͔̺̳̖͕̖̤̀̇͛̇͛͟a̧̛͈͉̫͍͛̿̿̄͞ͅͅn̷̨͕̮̥̲̫̖͗̔̅́̊̊̕͢͝ ḇ̵̭̙͈̘̏̒͊̽̃̃̚ḛ̢̜̺̲̥̟͖̄͐̾̽͊ t̷̡͙̤̳̥͙̽̂̎́͑̍̕͜o̧͉͎͔̹͔͎̘͋̽̊̏̐̒͡g̷̰̞̪͔͚̲̦͐͒̎̃͑̎͝͞ e̢̙͓̗̦̜̤̘͍͗͐͐́̅̅͞t ṭ̶̢̗̤͙̓͐́̏́̚͡h̴̢̲̝̭͉̎͒͆̕͠ͅę̵̙̤̙̙͍͒̓̋̃̿̌̈͟͢͝ͅr̰̪͈͍̖͇̒̓̿̿͝,̞̹͔̩͖͖̥̽͛͌̔̐͘͟͢ i̷̙͈͔͎͈̳̞͑̈̂̈́̓͒̕͢n̡̘̞̺͎̈́̂͒̎̉͊̚͘͟͡ ư̶̠̦̱͚̦̝̙̓̓̓͆͑̉ͅn̛̲̻͕͈̳̝̳̲͓͗̓̔̉͂͟͠i̶̢̥̺̰̼̻̹̅͆̐̌̈͗̀̃͢ş̵̪̠͍̾̇͐͋̄̍͑͑͢͡o̸̢͎̼͚̥̫͆̎̓̅̐͘͘͟͠͠ͅn̸̹̙̼͓͙̞͇̩̳̾̓͋̕͝,͇̗̞͔̫͖͑̄̏̐́̓̏͛̚ t̪̠͎͕̖̘̣̠͛̽͑̒̂̕͡ͅͅa̴̯͎̹͕̟͚̤̙̼̓̓̀̀̿̅̑̓̇͜k̛̛͙̣͕̭̞̠̳̆́͗̎͘͘ȉ̞͔̞͎̭̗̦͍̈̋̈́́͌͋̂͑n̞͈̹͖̺̈́͗̄̒͊̚͢g̵̛̳̲̮̬̰͎̘̲̯̯͂͗͛̍̽̆̈́̕ t̷̨̧̖̳͓̝͐̀̂̿̐̋̿̚ͅḩ̶̟̗͔̰̬̲̰̋̐̌̔́̍̕͘͢͡e̡̨̢̛̟͎̟̯͖̣̹̅̈̍̊̕͞ f̹̲̮̗̭̗͚͒̓̔͋̃͒̕͢ǫ̲̞̥͍͓̺̟̑́͑̐̾̅͒͠͡r̴̡̢̥̲͎͉̯̝͖͙̀̾̃̐͂̇̑̀͘m̥͕̲̼͉͈̹̺̓̏̍͗͆̊̏̓ á̴̤̩̘̤̤̬̹̗̔̓̋̏̚s̝̱̞̙̪̊̔͐͛͌̅͜͢͠͡ ț̟̩̝͎̘̺̩̹̅̀̎͂̊̈͘͠h̵̡̯̗͈̠̫͛͒̓̏̎̕͠͝e͙̪̘̤̗͗̐̍̋̾̏͡͝ p̛̝̦̹͍̜̥̝̲̏̓̃̒ì̧͔̻̜̲͔̰͈̜͐̈́̊̀͡͝ǹ̩̳̜̉͊͒͘͟͜n̢̜̺̫͍͙͛̈̓̉̔ą̷̜̲̖̘̇̉̆͊̋͠c̴̡̫͍̫̔̋̋̂̔̀̈́͌̏͠ͅḻ͇̳̱̱̟̌̾̃̏̌̂͘e̵̛̞̗̳̺̙͈̜̊͊͛͗͐̿̍͘͜͟͟͝ õ̧͖̭̭̰̻̹̥͐͌̅̉͘͢f̨̛̻̫̹̻͕̹̈͊̍̍̆͗͒͜͠͞ ȩ̧̰̟̣̼͍̉̄̌̒̿̌͌̈̐͢͢͡ͅx͈̦̮̩͈̜̺̯̂̆̄̓̐͡į̵̛̲̙̦̯̫̆̅̅́̃́͘͜͢͠s̷̜̘̩̖̞̮͙͚̮̓͋̋̏̕͟t̷̰̪̳͍̲̹͒́͊̑̉͟͝e̩̥̙̙̊͐̐̊̽̋͑̋̕͢n̺͕̼̪̽̆̈̓̇̓͑̇̀͢c̷̮̬̖̻̟̜̪̎̾͐̀͋̓͟͢͢ȩ̶̢̢͚̠̯͖̯̤̞̂̿́͑͘.̨̡̙̫̺̈̄̋̀͆̋͡
S̸̛̭̫̤̻͓̜̽̌͊̊̑̈́̏̿͘o̮̦̰̫͕̮̽̏͊̎͑͐̒̽̚ơ̶̡̱͇͚̮͇̼̖̗̇͐̉̇̆̌͗̉ͅn̵̠̣͙͙̰̟̂͐̓̎͡,̡̛̼̗͕̩̠̲̦̫̀̏̏̄̿̈͂̓̔ o̡̮̩͕̫͎̦̹͕̓̎́̉͌̅̀͌͐̕u̴̲̻͉͕͔̘̠͚͗̐̏͊̔̐̇͢ŗ̧̤̬͎̙͒̂̿͛̔̔͜͡ p̸̡̘͍̤͓̩̥̱͆̑͑͂̇̇͜͟l̴̨̡̰͈̯͎̓͆͂̿͡͞͝a̖̜̻͕̮͖̣̯̙͍̓͋͊̃͗̓͋̚ñ̯͈̪̩̹͎̺̦͇̃̓̍̈́ͅs̸̡̧̧̧̠̙̹͔̼̰͛̓̓͌̉̈͛͡ w̸̢̬̦̭͕͍͑̇͂͑̅̓̚͘͟͢į̳͈͙̗̲̎̓̉̎̇̆͜l̢̛̦̞̻͕̳͈̻̍̐̈̓̿́̄͢͟͝l̶̺̹͚̜̙͚̮̍́́͑̍̂̌͑̊ c͎̥̜͖̼͔̖͖̣̏͋̊͗̏͢͞͠o͕̹̪̻̮͛̇̀̾̂̓m̴̡̛̼̙̪̙̮̹̆̎̅͋̓̓̈́͘͝e̵̥̤̝̞̩͌̅͊͒̀͆ ţ̷̻̰̰̝̍̃̅̏̚͡ͅo̷̘̜͇͎̫̖̘̙̓͋̏̏̄̀̅̈́̈̚ f̥̘̤̲̮̞̙́̇̽͊̾̊͐͌̀͟͝ͅͅŗ̵̳̩̠͉͆̀̔̎͒́͜͜͡u̡̧̳̯̺͖̫͛̾͗̾̈̇͢͡͠ͅi̡̘̣͉̺̝͇͓̓͒̄̑͐̑͌̚͠t̵̡̤̺͉͖͎̄̂̒̓̏̃̓î͍̦̠̩̱͕̬̥̊͗̓̾̂͜͝o̷͙͔̩̝̹͂̀̀͐̾̕ń̢͎͉̲̺͚̦̻͇͎̇̌͊̈́̒,̷̣̠̰͓̪̠̰͛͌̋̈́͐͟ ą̡̨͇̖̗̠̄̒̓̈́̉̃̒̕͘͜͝n̝̰̞̲̥̗͓͍̼̾͒͐̔͂͗͌̕ḍ̸̺̩̩͇̱͓͈͋͊̆͒͘̚ w̛͕͉̜̰̟̠̥̥̱͒̔̎͐̽̚͟͠ě̫̞̰̥̹̗̈́̈͆̃̎ ç̨̲̜̭͈͉̿̿̇̀̌͡ͅą͙̬̎̓̂͌̉̏͢͝͠ͅn̼̦̼͍͔͔͆̔̐̒̓̿͘͘̚ f̛̪̫̲̫̺̮̜͚͖͉͊̾̀́͐́̋͒ĭ̡̖͕̘̼̗̼̬̭̿̊̓̄͠͡͠n̝̩̪͈̹̓̀͆̋̔̑̇̉͘͢͞á̶̡̨̛͔̮̖̩͔͕̼̣̈͛̋̏̂͆͊͂l̨̧̩̭̥̭͙͕̭͛́̏͂̊̀̈́l̴͉̠̼̝͍̖͕͗̍̽̔̐̆̈́͢ý̢̡͍̪̣̀͐͊͋ ḃ͙̜͇̼͓͂̍͒̓̿̽͊̆͘ȩ̺̱̻̝̝̑̀̽́͐͊̿͜ ȫ̴̼̝̣̬͇͑̈̇n̶̩͉̳̺̼̓́̈̉̊̔̚͜e̵̪̩̦̼͎̮̋̈͒̑͞.̶͓͈͓͖͈̯͍̑̒̔̄̾͌̒̿͝ I̧͔̯̻͎͛͋́͒̏͢ l̸̩̮̱̲̞͔̝̽͌̆̐̓͢ǒ̴̢̘̥͚͉̻̝͔̾͐̂̉̊̊̌̚v̧̛̞̪̹̣̖̔̏̒̒̂̂͢͠͞e͙̹͓̺̜̅̽̀̚̚ y̭̺̰̦̱̪͕͍̠͊̂̏̓̏̒͢͞o̴̧̦̺̜̹͆̐̒͐̕̚͢͢u͉̫̤͎̖͎̜̼͙͈͒́̽̌͊̐̀̀̀̚.̶̨̢̖̪̪̱̫̰͍͈̄̿̿̿̓

̡̨̥͉̟̝̟͐̔̎͗̌̃̒͋͠͝ͅĄ̶̛͖͎̲̬̊͊͐͠n̵̡̝̜̝͈̥̝̽̇̓͒̔͟͢ḓ̵̛̣̠̼̖̺̗̜̾̔̄̇̈́̂͊͡ İ̭͔͇͉̱͗̔͐͛͐̕̚͘ͅ l̶̪̳̳͖̹͉̠̐̽͊͛̌͆͘͢͟ơ̴̦̦͓̹͎̣̩̱̘̄̀̆̑͋̕͘͠v̷̡̪͙̜̝̰̩̖̭̆̏̄̈̈͟͞e̢̡̟͙͍̓́͂̓͘̕ y͖̻͇̻̘̹̥̮̥͌̈̈͛̈́̆ö̞̜̼͙͍̹̯̣̀̈̇͊̚͝͠u̴̢̘͚̦͈̗̣̔͑̅̌͋͑̂͐ t̢̮̹̱̟̙̣͔̫͖̆̀͂͆̾̒̊̀ǫ̵̲̼͙̠̙͖͗͌͆̎̚͡ǒ̡̲̳̰̰̝̟̾̆͂̔́̂͟.̛̛̩̖̖̘̱̫̝́͒͂͂̆̃

“What does that last part say? It looks like she layed the ink on a little too heavy.”

“Night Sky, it’s ‘laid’.”

“Oh, right, sorry.”

“To your previous question: I am not sure. This is very unsettling….”

“It is very creepy, Princess.”

“We shall… look back a few pages. I still have not found word on her... ‘windigo project’.”

Dear Diary,
Today, we had Luna and I tried to transmute a windigo! I had so much fun teaching her about alchemy, and my lovely was such a help. It saddens me that so many look down on her, for she is such an important figure! The muse of Starswirl, even. Oh, how I long...
Anyway, I had such a fun time with my sister again. I’m just so sad that we failed. I just hope I can get Luna that windigo in good time.
Well, I guess I’m signing off.

“Who could this ‘she’ my sister speaks of possibly be?”

“Maybe it’s her phoenix, Princess.”

“Yes, this is a good theory. I was not aware that Starswirl and Philomena were accustomed, however.”

“I don’t know, I guess it’s possible. Don’t phoenixes live forever?”

“Or at least an extraordinarily long amount of time. Hm, yes, let us read on.”

Dear Diary,
Today, Luna and I went to the past! All her lovely lesson are really helping me, oh yes, and I was able to meet Clover the Clever! Although, according to her notes, I already did meet Clover, I think. Because, like, the past already happened, technically, even though my time direction looped back on itself a bit. So yeah. Now, we are just waiting to look for the windigo we froze. I think it was a stallion windigo. Quite handsome, and perfect for Luna. Oh the things I can teach Luna about love, like—

“OKAY, NEXT PAGE.”

Dear Diary,
We couldn’t find it! It was gone! It is as she says, they are all laughing at me! How can this be?! I hate them all! I HATE THEM ALL

“Woah, Princess, this kinda freaks me out. I’m scared to read anymore. This is getting scary.”

“I understand your concerns. But perhaps we should read just a bit further. I want to know what she has planned next.”

Luna skimmed through the book, looking for the latest entries about windigos. After a few seconds, she stopped and pointed at it. “Here.”

Dear Diary,
The latest escapade is coming along quite well.

“Sister? Escapade?! That’s my word! What nerve!”

“...I agree!”

“Quiet, Night Sky. Read on.”

I finally got Twilight alone. And I was able to have her drink the potion. I realized where your notes were leading me, and looking back on it now, it seems so obvious…. A cast, a constant source of magic—it’s all there in the body of a unicorn mare. I believe that this time, I have finally done it. I have found a windigo for Luna. And it was so close to home! Now, of course, I just need to wait. And wait. Oh, this will surprise Luna so much!
In other news, I finally found out what the song I got stuck in my head was called. It went like do-do-doo-do. Like that, but kind of jumpy. It’s—

“Wait! I want to know what the song is called! I had that same one stuck in my head!”

“Not now, Night Sky. This is truly disturbing… if this means what I think it means, I’m afraid…” Luna gagged, “I’m afraid I may have been too late. Night Sky, come, I have to do some… research.”

“Yes, of course, Princess.”

“Hey, Princess, thanks for… uhm….”

“Yes?”

Night Sky went in for a hug, “Thanks for saying those nice things about me.”

“Do not touch me.”

Confrontation

“Sister, we need to talk. Now.”

“What is it, Luna? This is too early. I’ve barely just eaten breakfast.”

“I don’t care! Have you any idea as to what I’ve been spending the last four straight hours doing?!”

“Uhm… bureaucracy?”

“Besides that!”

“Meetings?”

Luna gritted her teeth. “No.”

“Signing bills?”

“No.”

“Luna, you’re not making this very easy. It’s not like you have too many unusual hobbies that I can name.”

“I have been researching your awful deeds!”

The Sun Princess was merely confused. “What?”

“You dare feign ignorance?! How dare you?!”

“...By feigning ignorance, like you said.”

“HOW DARE YOU INSULT ME?! YOU KNOW EXACTLY WHAT I’M TALKING ABOUT!” Luna screamed at her belligerent sister.

“Luna! I have no idea what you’re talking about!”

In a flash much more intense than was needed, a book appeared in front of the enraged Moon Princess, and it was instantly clear to Celestia what it was. “This. Do not even try me. I know of your latest ‘escapade’. I am so disgusted…”

“Luna, why were you looking in my journal?!”

“Journal?! It’s a diary!”

“No, it’s a journal!”

“It says ‘DIARY’ on the blasted cover! What are you talking about?!”

“It’s my journal, so I’ll call it what I want!”

“Ah! Just shut up! I don’t care about what it’s called, but explain this! Explain yourself!” The book was roughly folded open to the relevant section. “How could you use your student as some kind of… lab rat?! What the hell is wrong with you?!”

“Luna! Luna! What are you talking about?! I did no such thing! And you were the one who brought up the name in the first place!”

“THOU HAST HERE WRITTEN, THOU WHOLEFULLY INSUBORDINATE WENCH!”

“That’s a joke! The entire journal is a joke!”

Luna stared at her sister with wide, scrutinizing eyes. After a moment, Celestia bashfully looked away. “What are you looking at?”

“My… sister. I’m looking at my sister. My sister.”

“...Luna?”

“You are unbelievable. You are a liar. A simple liar. I cannot believe you.”

“I’m not a liar!”

“Sister, it’s written here. It’s all written here. Why? You describe all the other attempts in great detail. And yet… you expect me to believe that this one is a joke? What is wrong with you? No, do not answer that question. Clearly, you are incapable of doing such a thing. So I must apparently figure this out for myself.”

“Luna, don’t say that! That hurts….”

“I am only saying the truth, Sister. You have a sickness. You need help.”

“Luna, seriously. I know I’ve gotten a little ‘wacky’ since you’ve been away. But what? I changed. I’m not the dutiful and solemn sister you remember. I’m sorry about that, but… well, that journal is a joke. Notice how I never wrote down my ‘plans.’ They were all just recounts of the fun we had together. Speaking of fun, that’s what that book is. It’s just fun. Sometimes, I like writing just for the sake of it. I like pretending to be part of some bigger narrative. I’m not really going insane. It’s just a little… well, albeit messed up, fantasy. It’s just fun. That’s it.”

“No, Sister, I read the ‘notes’. By a certain Ms. N. Mare M.? Yes, you’re ‘lovely’. I understand. I understand that she is the necromancer. Her works have infected your mind. She has infected your mind. That’s why you were just oh-so willing to use necromancy and disturbing magic for a windigo. I can’t stand this nonsense any longer, Celestia. You used your own student. She practically looks up to you like her second mother, and you betray that trust.”

“Listen to yourself! You think I would harm a hair on my Twilight’s head?! How dare you insinuate that! I love Twilight, and the very idea of harming her is revolting!”

“Then explain why the revolting idea is in a personal book you wrote! Why?! Explain! Show me! I am holding all the cards here, and all you’ve been doing is talking you’re way out of this!”

“Okay, but first, Luna, I need you to do one thing.”

“...What?”

“Wake up.”

“What?! What was that? Where am… I’m still dreaming?” Luna looked around, startled.

“I’m not entirely sure that was a dream,” a voice called. The voice was unnerving yet very familiar, but the moon princess couldn’t quite make it out.

It wasn’t until that a form was associated with the voice that the Princess of the Night realized exactly who was talking. A slender form came into existence, it’s boundaries condensing into the silhouette of a pony before becoming opaque and featured. The princess recognized this form, and was surprised to finding it standing in front of her, even in a dream.

“The Tantabus? What are you doing here? It is not our time. We had no arrangement.”

“I am not the Tantabus, Luna. I am you. I am Nightmare Moon.”

“That’s completely preposterous. You’re not even using vaguely archaic grammar and vocabulary!”

“That is of no consequence. What you saw, I fear, is too real to be ignored.”

“That was a dream. It is only my fears running wild.”

“...I am not so sure…. That felt… real.”

“Please. I believe I know a dream when I feel one.”

“And I know reality when I feel one. I am still a part of you, Luna. And I’m still not convinced but… that doesn’t matter. You still have plenty of evidence! Sister’s mind has become muddled.”

“No, she is simply stressed. Sister has been working rather hard lately.”

“Was that diary not enough for you?”

“Are you slow? That was part of the dream as well. Besides, even if it was real, I could probably chalk that with to Sister probably experimenting with… poetry… or… something. Maybe she just wants to emulate p. p. cummings.”

“You can’t play this off! There’s some sort of black magic at work here!”

“Tch, I suppose I would know from experience.”

“No, I would.”

“You are not a pony; nor are you a ‘you’— you are an tendril of myself, an artifact of my former feelings.”

“I am a pony!”

“You are but a figment that has been festering in my simple jealousy for far too long. You said it yourself—you are just a part of me, a now miniscule part that coalescing in some spontaneous dream.”

“You think I’m just a figment?!”

“Correct.”

“Then why were you locked in the moon for a thousand years?!”

Luna woke with a start. What a strange dream…. A dream where I believed myself to be inside my psyche…. I suppose there is a first for everything. But what of this… was that really Nightmare Moon? Is there really still a part of her essence in my mind? Or was that purely part of an uncontrolled dream…?

Luna sat up in bed, contemplating what she had just saw. That thing was right… the first dream was rather lucid, at the very least. I can see where the confusion might come from.

“But what do I do? What does this mean? Is it… prophetic?”

Author's Note

Author's Notes

Interlude: Winter Pt. 3

The colt sat awkwardly in the train car, constantly looking around for the stop at the Crystal Empire. He knew that it would be obvious when they got there, but he still couldn't be cautious enough. The inside of the car was lit well, and the only audible noises were the occasional cough of an old stallion reading a newspaper, and the monotonous drone of the wheels touching the rails.

Astatine couldn't help himself. He would glance at the only other passenger, wondering what his story was. What could he be visiting the Crystal Empire for? What was he doing so late at night on the train?

But it made him question his own story. What was Astatine himself doing? Should I have listened to her? Is this what I want?

And then, he remembered the face of the mare that he hated and the face of the mare who hated him. Does Ms. Joy really hate me? I... I don't see how she couldn't. I asked so much of her. But she said that she cared about me. But I guess that's her job, isn't it? To say that she cares. Maybe the only one... is her....

The stallion on the other side of the car sat his paper down. He breathed a sigh of complacency, probably at the boring state of the world.

Astatine went back to peeking at the stallion.

The train came to a halt. The conductor announced the stop, "The Crystal Empire," as everyone erroneously called it. Even Astatine wondered how just a single city could be considered an empire. History, he assumed.

The colt exited the car, standing on the platform, gazing off into the void of the night. The storm that had once raged on eternally around the shining beacon of the crystal city was subdued. It seemed that the wind was not as strong, and the moon pierced through the clouds ever so often.

Astatine waited. No one was allowed to see him leave. He knew this. What windigo had told him was not as clear as words; rather, it felt to him like he had spontaneously remembered the instructions of a complex plan. Something in him told him what he needed to do, and where he should go. And he knew this was the windigo's way of telling him what she thought he needed to do, even though she could not express herself by other means.

When the moment was right, when no one was looking, he slipped by. He leapt between the train cars, across the tracks, and into the night. And with him, a small blue windigo went.

The freezing wind ate at the colt, and yet, even with his bones chilled, he felt a sense of ease. It felt like all those times the windigo had barged into his room, demanding attention. There, in the wastelands of the frozen north, he felt at home.

But homeliness did nothing to cure his hunger. He had not eaten anything since his departure nearly three days earlier in Canterlot, and he was starting to feel it. But he would carry on.

Another four days passed. The colt swore he could feel his blood curdling in his veins, and yet somehow he felt like he belonged where he was. But, still, it did nothing to quell his hunger. He felt like he was dying, and that only some strange magic was keeping him alive. He couldn't tell exactly why, but he knew he was under a hex. No pony could survive being that cold, he knew. What is keeping me alive? Why am not cold...? he asked himself over and over again.

Finally, his hunger got the better of him. He collapsed in the snow, and the windigo rushed over to him. She could see the ice hanging off of him and his black veins bulging out of his face, but she thought nothing of that. Instead, she touched his forehead to find out the issue. When she found out what it was, she was shook. She had no clue what "edible" meant to a pony. How could she fill his stomach?

An idea immediately struck her. It was stupid by any measure, but she did not know that. In excitement, she placed her hoof on the colt's forehead again.

With his last remaining burst of energy, he shot up. "No!" he shouted.

The windigo could sense his unease. In her usual fashion, she refused to take no for an answer.

So she stuck her hoof in his mouth.

The colt was startled and jumped back. "I said no! I'm not eating you!"

But again, the windigo refused. She knew the colt was almost out of energy. It was simply a war of attrition, which he could not win. She jumped on the colt, making him fall back in the snow. He struggled some more, but the windigo managed to firmly plant her hoof in his mouth. His teeth graded on her delicate flesh, already causing abrasions. And yet he still tried to spit it out.

The windigo put her other front hoof on the colt's forehead. He reacted by struggling some more, muffled screams heard behind the windigo's hoof.

Eventually the colt stopped struggling, a frozen tear lining his eye. The windigo took her other hoof and placed it under the colt's jaw. With one strong push, she made him bite through her left hoof. She felt a twinge pain, but she also felt satisfaction that she could return the food he had given her.

As for the colt, a taste like no other erupted in his mouth. His vision went blurry for a moment as the windigo's astral blood filled his mouth. No other experience, good nor bad, had prepared him for that moment. He felt like the inside of his mouth was burning with fire and ecstasy.

The sensation didn't subside, either. All he could do was bask in it's evil divinity, eyes wide open. The windigo placed her whole hoof on the colt's forehead yet again, trying to inform him to swallow. Unfortunately, she didn't know a way to make him do that other than to ask.

The colt was stunned for yet another moment, but was slowly brought back to reality and managed to down the substance. At that moment, though, he was greeted with an oddly warm sensation falling down his esophagus. The warmth built up, until he could actually feel the heat radiating out from his stomach. For a while, it kept pulsating, the ebb and flow heating his entire body. But instead of feeling hot, he felt a new more intense feeling of zen, as if he was not truly warm before.

He stood up and stared at the astral creature. "You... did this for me? All this?" he asked the windigo curling her severed hoof. "Why? You hurt yourself for me?! I don't get it!"

The windigo looked happy; not amused nor simply complacent like before, but genuinely happy.

"Why...? Aren't you supposed to...?" he trailed off in thought. Something, he realized, was peculiar about that windigo. "I understand... I understand that before... the reason you came to me was because I had so much hate and sadness. You used me... as food...."

He paused.

"And that's why... you gave your hoof to me. Because... you wanted to repay me for what I had given you...? Al-also, will I die? I mean, that's magic stuff," he shook his head, "Whatever. It doesn't matter. This warmth. It's not magic. It's my happiness, right? I'm... I'm so happy, that you gave me your... hoof....

"Gah! Why is this so weird?! Why is everything so weird now?!"

The colt meditated some more, before speaking up again, "So is that it? Now that I'm happy, I guess you will leave, right? I'm no longer suitable food... because I like you."

The colt stared at the windigo, and the windigo stared back. It looked as though her blood had frozen by now. He had no clue if this was a bad thing or a good thing, but she didn't look to be panicking or in pain.

After some more time staring, the windigo floated over to him, and placed her hoof on his forehead, though she shivered a bit when she did so. Still, that strange feeling wasn't enough to deter her.

The colt was surprised when the windigo told him nothing different than before. She told him the location of the windigo caves, just as before.

And with little thought on the windigo's part, they again continued on their journey.

Suspicion

"...And, so, the proposition just needs to be signed by you in order to be enacted. That's where we are with that."

"..." Luna stared ferociously.

"Princess?"

Luna continued to stare at the mare.

"Princess Luna?!"

"Huh?" the Princess replied, startled, "Oh, Night Sky. Hello. Yes, yes, that's all well and good."

"So will you sign it?"

"My apologies, what were we discussing?"

"The proposition to give more subsidies to the farmers...?"

"Oh! Yes. Hm. Let me think some more on that. Sorry, I just had a troubling dream."

"Oh. Would you like to share, Princess? I don't know much about dreams but my mother always told me that sharing things can help clear them from your mind, and help you understand better how you feel."

"Yes, I suppose that is wise. Well, I had a dream in which... I saw myself as Nightmare Moon. Or rather, some pony named Nightmare Moon was there, who claimed that she was not me. But I know this is false... I do not see how that could be the case...."

"That is a strange dream indeed!"

"Yes, but, it is strange because my dreams are always lucid. My dream magic acts passively like that, as you know."

"Oh. I suppose it does, doesn't it?"

"Yes, and yet, this other me... she claimed to be a separate being. It was almost certainly a lucid dream; yet, this other entity existed. The only reasonable explanation that I can think of is if... if my magic malfunctioned, and the control over the dream was only dreamed."

"Oh, huh, weird. Is that possible? Can you dream that you had a lucid dream? Like, what is the base reality in that case... I mean, like, do you believe that all everything is something called a 'lucid dream'? I mean, okay, like, if you dream that you have a lucid dream, then.... Okay, like, because a non-lucid dream is you seeing stuff and assuming its reality, then in a fake-lucid dream, do you assume that the dream is reality, and that there is no such thing as 'waking up'? You know what I mean?"

"I'm not entirely sure I followed you through that novel. I am sorry."

"Oh y-yeah, of course. Sorry."

"It is of no consequence. I suppose there have been stranger things happening as of late. Oh well."

"Yeah...."

"Spike, I'm really not feeling well today."

"What's wrong, Twilight?"

"I don't know... I have this awful stomach ache.... There's a lot of pain."

"Do you need me to get the doctor?"

"If it doesn't go away, then yeah, I'd like to see a doctor. I think that'd be advisable."

"Alright, just say the word and I'll do whatever you need!"

"Thanks, Spike."

"Night Sky... thinking about it again, I think it must be the case that my magic malfunctioned. Right before that dream, I had a dream that felt so real, and yet I can only remember bits and pieces... I remember yelling at my sister, but her face just looked indifferent or annoyed. And I have to say... the dream was rather frightening. I can't help but think about this again."

"Huh. Princess, that's really interesting. I wish I knew more about dream magic. You know, I actually had a weird dream last night too. But I don't think it was as interesting as yours. In any case, I guess I should ask... does this happen with your magic ever? I mean, is it common?"

"No it is not common. But it has happened before."

"Oh, well that's reassuring."

"Yes, I suppose so."

"Say, Night Sky... what was your dream about?"

"Pardon?"

"Earlier you said you had a strange dream. What was it about?"

"Ah! Well... I don't know... it was scary," She paused, "There was a dream inside of that dream... where I found a book in a small room, and whatever was in really scared the bejeebies out of me because whenever I saw that book when I 'woke up', I mean, when I woke up, from the first layer of dreams, I was terrified by I it. I mean to say that the book existed inside and outside the first dream, and when I saw it outside I could remember the feeling. I still remember that feeling a bit.... It made my heart race."

"Hm. That is strange."

"Yeah, and the dream I had after that was even worse! My little sister found a pet cockroach, but they didn't every stop growing in this dream so you could see all it's bug parts in really gross detail. And then I had to crush it or something." Night Sky audibly gagged at this revelation.

"That, I must say, is a bad dream. But this book... do you remember anything about it?"

"No... not really. Bits and pieces, like that it had crazy writing in it and stuff. I remember it was hard to read, but when you read it, it was just disturbing. I don't know."

"Hum. Hum, hum, hum. Interesting."

"Is something bothering you again, Princess?"

"Not particularly.... Or rather, whatever it is, I just can't put my finger on it. I feel like I'm forgetting something."

"Well, I always keep notes, but I don't see anything on my list."

"That's just it.... I don't know if it would be an item of your list."

"Spike! Spike! Call a doctor! I can't take this pain anymore! Please, help me!"

"Oh jees. I'll get Starlight to teleport me!"

"P-please, hurry!" Twilight sat on her study's sofa, panting and sweating like never before as the pain in her abdomen ravaged her body. The blood vessels on her forehead were so bulbous and taught they looked as if they could pop at any moment.

Spike ran out of the room, calling for Starlight. Soon after, in her hazy state, Twilight heard the frantic speech of her pupil and the subsequent burst of light, hoping that whatever pain she was in would soon be gone.

Spike rushed back over to Twilight. "Twilight! Starlight went to the doctor. She can teleport back with them. They should be here soon."

"Spike, I think I might die," Twilight said with tears peeping out from the corners of her eyes.

Author's Note

Im not done. I got plans yo.

Interlude: Meeting

It was another three days before the colt and the windigo reached thier destination. The colt felt a new, completely unnerving chill creep over him as he made the final steps of his journey to the cave in front of him. It looked like any other glacial cave in the vast frozen wastelands around him, but this,for whatever reason, was where the windigos had decided to take refuge since thier apparent dissapearance. Every step closer made his now cold heart race faster and faster, sending his icy blood through his veins.

Finally, leaving a path of treaded snow behind him, he reached the mouth of the cave. It swallowed him whole as he delve deeper and deeper.

The ever present little beast pestering him followed behind, nonchalantly floating into the cave. The colt was sure he could feel her excitement.

The air felt more and more blisteringly cold the deeper the two went; eventually the light from outside vanished, leaving the two with only the faint glow of light fighting its way through thick layers of ice.

And then, suddenly, they came upon them. A pile of still windigos, stacked in like an unorganized pile of firewood.

The colt was stunned. "A-are they dead?" he said out loud.

In an instant, the windigos all stood up flying into a whirlwind around the unsuspecting colt and his companion. He looked around him, eyes splayed in awe, and then over to his friend to see her face contorted with glee.

She joined them in their flying, for what seemed to the colt like an hour.

And then, they dropped, huddling in a circle around the stunned colt. They dug at the ground, whinnying and sniffing at him.

The ones in front of him stepped aside allowing for one to stand out. This windigo, this stallion the boy thought, was the largest pony he had ever seen, a head over Princess Celestia; not to mention he had an air about him that felt more regal than the princess raising the sun during the thousandth year of the Summer Sun Celebration. Everything about him said "I am king, submit to me."

So Astatine bowed, for he knew not what else to do.

"What is it that you have come here for, boy?" the voice rung in Astatine's head.

The colt was taken aback, at first not being able to understand where the voice was coming from. And once he put the pieces together, he realized that it wad probably coming from his head.

"I... I don't know... S-she brought me here," he said pointing at filly beside him.

The little windigo flew to the king and placed her unbitten hoof on his forehead. He only remained stoic as the information was conveyed.

"Yes, little one, I see," he said to the filly, "So you, boy, are a friend of the Windigos, and you have come to train in our ways."

"I-I have?"

"Have you not? You breathe the essence of the windigo. You are cold and frail. What else could you be here for? I do not wish for games."

"I-I don't know! I just listened to her! She told me to come here! I don't know what I'm doing!"

"Do not yell at me, or I will cast you out."

"I-I'm sorry, please forgive me," Astatine hung his head in submission.

"You are excused. And now, I have decided your fate for you. You will learn the ways of us, and will join us in our struggle for revenge."

Weeks past, and the natural hunger for food had subsided. He grew colder and colder, paler and paler, until he almost did not recognize his own two hooves. The king taught him the ways of the windigos: how to fly without wings, cast magic without a horn, and how to thrive in the cold. And slowly, the hoof his friend regrew.

One day, he was confronted by the king once more.

"Hello, boy. I wish to share with you the history of our kind. I believe you are ready."

"I would be honored," Astatine said without hesitation.

"The windigos were once ponies: ponies who found no love in the company of others, and who wanted only to see their fellow ponies in misery. Over time, their hearts grew cold. These cold-hearted creatures found each other, and created a clan. Or so the story of our origin goes. No one truly knows how windigos came to be. Perhaps we were put here with all the other races. Perhaps not.

"But my story, our story starts long afterwards. I was an ordinary windigo; listless, only following my instincts of feeding. My brothers and sisters and I that had followed a group of ponies from the North. They were nobles, traveling to find a new land for their people. We had them surrounded, filling their hearts with ice, freezing them. But that was before she, the witch princess, Celestia froze me in the ice and killed my brethren. I did not understand why I was spared. But it mattered not. Over the centuries of being trapped, I gained an understanding for many things. I understood that it was only natural for ponies and Windigos to be enemies. I understood that there was no reconciling between us. I was not angry with Celestia for freezing me. I knew that she was only doing her duty as princess, protecting her people. Years passed, and one summer, my cage thawed, and I was unleashed into the world. I sought my brethren, hoping desperately that they were still alive. It was luck that I found some of my kind over the hundreds of years. Eventually, we delegated to live here, far outside of the prying eyes of ponies, living only off those who hated only themselves for the things they had done. In this way, we could achieve symbiosis. We could be safe, and we would not have to harm those who were content. It was, as I saw it, the best possible outcome.

"And then, one day, the witch Celestia decided to upset the balance of things; to undo the progress I had made. She committed a sin; slaying windigos without ryhme or reason. Bryte, Shyne, Hyde, all slain at the hands of the foul witch. We were enraged. One of our kind, the noble Lyble, went to avenge us. Celestia had to know the pain we felt. She had to understand it, so we attempted to kill one of her own, the Princess of the Crystal Empire. But we failed, killing her husband instead. It was... a disappointment. But we remember Lyble honorably, so his actions were not in vain. And now, we are here, waiting for our chance to again strike fear into the witch's dark little heart."

"Sir, I have only one question," Astatine said with a face full of amazement.

"You may ask."

"What is her name, my friend, I mean to say."

"Ah, yes, the little one. It is Blythe. I find it... amusing that you were not aware."

"Thank you, sir."

"Hello, Blythe."

The windigo's ears perked up. She turned her head with a look of astonishment.

"I learned your name from the King."

She flew over to him, putting her hoof on his forehead. Blythe had been learning new things as well. "That... good. Have you learn many thing from him. We leave if ready."

"Leave? What? Why? I like it here."

"We need leave. That is plan always. More see in world. You and I."

"But... but... Blythe.... What if the king needs us...?"

"King is..." She paused, looking around. "King is not good as seem. Please trust I. King wants you die for Windigos because you is Pony. I want you alive for I. I saw you bad place. I want you have good skill. If good skill no bad place anywhere. If have enough skill we leave."

"I... I don't know about this.... I thought.... I thought you wanted this to be my... our... my home...."

"I left before. King want brother Lyble die because he is Pony. He make Lyble do impossible, hard thing. Thing easier for normal Windigo. King not like Pony. He think Pony is worse than Windigo. He not say. I know he think. He mean Windigo. He think Pony is worse than Windigo. I think they is same. I want you alive. I like Astatine. You is good friend. Please not die for king. Not die for anyone."

"But aren't you mad that Celestia killed your brothers and sisters? How can you not be?"

"Celestia mean pony too. But Celestia sister nice. Princess Cadenza nice. You nice. They not want thing happen. Celestia not punished, only other. Not fair. King not fair make decision. He hate pony because one pony. I know pony is nice. Not all pony is bad. Only Celestia mean. I know because I see pony like you. I see Celestia and she evil. King only want you do bad work and die."

"I... I don't know what to say.... I...."

"I not lie you. You is friend. I hurt self you if bad thing happen you. I want you safe. Please know what I mean. Please leave and me soon. We is happy together."

Astatine had nothing to say, and only smiled, looking into her eyes.

"Please."

"Okay. Okay, I will. I trust you.... But...."

Blythe gave a questioning look to the colt.

"But surely the king... surely he knows that not all ponies are bad! I mean, he taught me all this magic. I can fly. I can fade through stuff. And... and he taught you how to talk, right? He knows that you're my friend, so he wouldn't hurt you by doing something... like that to me. Right? How could he be evil...."

"Astatine, you know I not lie. I no want you hurt. You think you is food, but you is friend. King teach us thing we make good use. He old windigo. He not know what pony like. He see pony like how pony see dog. He not do thing for you, he do thing for he. Please know what I mean."

"I... I just..." he paused, thinking about how to phrase his next statement. "I just thought I had found... the place where I belong...."

"You belong me. Do not matter where go. Always us is good."

"I... Okay.... I... I... want to stay with you too. I will. I will! But... when do we go?"

"Soon. Is one thing king not teach you. Is one thing you need know. I think it is important. Maybe you not need to know, but I think you do. Is how to change pony emotion. Good for life with pony."

"W-what? I'm going to learn that?"

"Yes."

"O-okay. And then... we leave? Won't he be angry?"

"Yes. But he not know until too late. He not leave ever. We leave and he not go."

"Okay."

Author's Note

We're nearing the ultimate battle! Be prepared!

Interlude: Convoy

"Princess Cadance, the preparations for your... trek are nearly complete," said my assistant.

"Okay. I take it you all have proper rations and everything," I replied in question.

"That is correct. Enough food for two weeks. We will get there without issue. We are also bringing the mages, as requested."

"Good. Good. I like to hear it...."

It was another few days before we all set out from The Empire. I had tried my best to keep it a secret from Auntie Celestia. Auntie Luna was right about her. She had changed so much since I was a foal. Sometimes, recently, she would just become overwhelmingly enraged at the smallest stuff. I know that's common for some mares but I'd assumed she already gone through menopause, seeing as she's so old and whatnot. In any case, I didn't want to tell her because her state was a little worrying and I didn't want to throw any fuel onto the fire. Looking back on it now, it started just before we went to go capture a windigo.... I don't know. I won't talk about Auntie anymore, I'm sure she wouldn't appreciate it.

I wasn't entirely sure what the purpose of the mission was; whether it was to make peace or take vengeance was unclear. I only wanted to confront the awful things that took my Shiny away.

It took so long to walk through the snow. And the whole time, we were freezing cold. Every time, just before we would stop for the night, it felt like my blood was starting to curdle from the frigid air. How anything could live there was beyond me.

Days and days of gruelingly dredging through the snow was beginning to wear me down, and it made me uncertain. Was I really right to confront the windigos? Would it be worth anything? Auntie Luna said that they could understand ponies, but the ones we saw didn't seem anything like that. After all, why didn't they try and contact us? But they must have been at least a little smart, because that pony made it sound like he was... working for someone. I wondered if there was a windigo queen. I just wasn't sure. I didn't know what I could possibly say. I didn't know if there was anything to say: if I should just attack them blindly or not. I didn't know and it was terrifying.

One night, I looked to the ceiling of my tent, laying awake when I heard a strange noise. It was a howl like that of a wolf—except that there were no wolves north of the Crystal Empire to my knowledge—and for some reason, it made me want to cry. So I did. The sound was so sad, like a cry for help—like a cry for a lost loved one. I never discovered what made the saddening shriek, but I think that everyone in the camp heard it. I would ask whenever I got the chance, but no one ever figured out what it was. All I knew is that it reminded me of why I went on this mission. And then an insidious thought crept into my mind. Would he have wanted this? He would have done the same thing in a heartbeat for me, no doubt. I know that's a fact. But I didn't know what he would have wanted me to do. He was always so chivalrous, so it seemed out of character for him to want me to do something as barbaric as taking revenge.

Luckily, or unluckily, I found myself with no time to contemplate further. It was the guard in front of our caravan that pointed it out first: a knoll judging out from the wasteland, seemingly out of place. It matched the description that I got from the assassin perfectly, and my heart began to race. What do I say, what do I say? I kept asking myself. But no one would give me an answer.

"Boy, I need you to hide. It seems as though we have a most fortunate visitor." The windigo told Astatine.

Astatine made up the courage to ask, "Wh-who is it?"

"It is the Princess of the Crystal Empire, Mi Amore Cadenza," the king replied frankly. "And bring the small one with you. She will be problematic in dealing with the Princess."

"I-I see! I'll go get her."

We kept our pace, and eventually, it was upon us. The end of the hole was not in sight, and an eerie hum echoed from the cave. The walls were made of a dull blue ice that seemed to suck up the minute amount of light that made it through the cloudy sky. The mages lit their horns.

And so we pressed on, down into the cave, bracing for our expected clash with the wintry beasts. The howling of the wind above grew quieter and quieter until another sound came into earshot: the sound of snorts and whinnying. It's them, I thought. And then, we turned the corner to discover the swirling mass of windigos. It was a writhing mass of beasts, and they looked just like the ones we had tried to capture before.

It made me want to get my nets out. Nets, I thought.

After only a few moments, they settled down, forming a half circle. Two moved aside, and the largest pony I had ever seen walked past them. How he managed to hide in the crowd befuddled me. Except, he wasn't a pony, he was a windigo. My heart began to race. A cold sweat developed under my coat. I was terrified of that regal beast.

The guards all made defensive positions, moving directly in front of me. This made the widigos nervous, and they let out a series of disgruntled snorts and whinnies.

And then the king spoke—or rather thought—in a thunderous boom, "Greetings, Mi Amore Cadenza."

"And my I ask who you are?" I asked, faking confidence.

Our minds seemed to shake again from his roar, "I do not have a name. I am simply known as king among windigos."

"I see..." I said without direction. I sat silence for only a moment before he spoke again.

"I understand why you have come here. Recently, one of my Windigos returned baring news from the Crystal Empire about your husband."

Recently? I thought, That happened nearly a year ago!

"I have a proposal for you, Cadenza. I can bring your husband back from the dead"

I was so caught off guard that I nearly choked. "How can you even think of saying something like that, as if I could trust you anyway!? What's wrong with you!?"

"I understand that we have our differences. But I did not kill your husband. It was one of my disciples. Perhaps my bitterness over the slaying of my kin influenced him; no, rather it certainly did. I am ashamed that I could not stop him from disgracing our race, but that is irrelevant to your own sorrows. I do not wish for my kind to be hunted. I do not wish for us to be held up as trophies. Nor did that pony who we shall not speak of."

I stared at him, contemplating what he was saying. Was it true, was he really not responsible for the death of Shiny? And could he bring him back? What could I trust? Could I determine his lies with my bad magic? Would it work on windigos? I had no way of telling. I wanted to believe him, to give him the benefit of the doubt, but it was just too difficult. "I don't trust you. I want to use my magic to know if you're telling the truth. If you do, I mean, if you let me use my magic... and if I find that you're not lying, then... then we will leave here without incident. I swear. I want to believe you. I don't want anymore troubles, especially if life is lost."

"Very well. Then I shall permit it. You may use your magic on me."

The windigo's expression did not change, and his blank eyes still stared deep into each of us. I could tell that the rest of my party was unnerved just like I was. But the king was alone in this, as the rest of the windigos started whinnying and snorting in despair. I'm sure they didn't want me using my pony magic on their leader. I was still worried myself.

"O-Ok."

I fired up my horn, and the sickly green aura trickled out again. Using my magic was the only way that I could be sure—that I could get peace. If that's what it took, I supposed I was ready to face the consequences.

The king bowed, and I touched my horn to the back of his head. He was encompassed in my aura, but his own was so foreign that it felt like I was using my magic on a rock. Anyway, I began with the interrogation.

"Do you harbor ill will toward ponies?" I asked bluntly.

"Yes," he started. This made one of the guards audibly gasp. "But I wish only for our species to make amends. I want no more strife. No more violence. It is as simple as that."

"Did you order the assassin to kill my husband?" I pressed on.

"No. I did not. He did that by his own accord, and I do wish he had not done so."

I gave one final prod. "Can I trust you? Are you prone to lying?"

"Yes, you can trust me. I have lied in the past, but I do not do so to those whom I wish to garner trust from."

My aura faded with his last words, and it was like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders; and then like someone was hitting me in the chest. I wanted to break down in tears. All the feelings of anger I had were sapped out of me, simply replaced with a sadness and longing to see my husband.

The king only raised his head and looked at me in pity as I scrunched my eyes. There were already hot tears running down my cheeks, but I didn't sob. I didn't want to show that deep of a weakness.

"Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, I regret waiting to share this, but there may be hope for your husband. He was buried, correct?"

My eyes shot open in shock, and deep inward pressure on my bosom was replaced with a strong outward punch as my heart began to race in hope. What did he mean? I remembered what he had opened with a moment ago, but I didn't want to get my hopes up, so I only waited for him to elaborate.

"Was he?"

"Yes...."

"And was he magically embalmed?"

"...Yes...."

"Then a cure for his ailment may yet be found."

"What? What game are you playing? My husband is dead," I chided.

"I am playing no game. Your husband is, for all intents and purposes, dead. But I believe I know the poison he was... administered."

"Huh? But the doctors said it was—"

"I'm sure," he cut me off in an uncharacteristic manner, "That pony doctors are unaware of this poison. It is... unique to the Far North. The blistering cold has imbued the nectar of the Frost Flower with the ability to induce a sort of cryostasis."

"Wh-what do you mean? I'm not sure I understand...."

"Your husband's body and mind have been preserved, not destroyed. My knowledge of the poison can help us find a way to undo the stasis he was put it. We can wake him up from his deep slumber."

"B-but that doesn't make sense! He died!" I was on the verge of tears again, this time of sadness.

"Yes. But it is highly likely that we can bring him back with an antidote. If I am correct, then said antidote should be rather simple to produce."

"But he was... stabbed. He can't come back from that...."

"The poison, as I stated, does not induce a coma, but instead freezes someone. Once we undo the magic kept up by the poison, we will have to take care of his wound. But he can still live."

"...I-I..." I stuttered, "I don't know how this is possible. I...."

"I understand you are shocked, Princess. I was shocked myself when I had heard the news that the Prince of the Crystal empire had been slain nearly a year ago. The time it takes for news to reach us is unfortunate. But I remembered that follower who had left that day had been scouring the land for Frost Flowers. I used that fact to surmise the poison. My only wish was that I had known sooner, so that all the heart-ache could be avoided."

Meanwhile, I was just barely beginning to process what he was saying. I understood that he believed he could bring my husband back, but I did not understand why he, the complete enigma, would want to do something like that. It felt too warm a thing to do. And so I had to ask. "But why? I'm... thrilled at the idea of having my Shiny back, but... we hurt your kind. I was an accomplice to Princess Celestia when she... slew so many...."

"Yes, I have not forgotten. And I will not pretend that my cure is for purely altruistic purposes. You ponies have displayed your new might against my brethren. This much is undeniable. If you wished, it would be possible for you to wipe us out. That much is certain. So instead, I wish to amend the already too strained relationship before I or my kind makes another mistake. It is that simple."

His explanation made a lot of sense, and I had no reason to distrust him given my earlier analysis of his mind. Or, at least, what I thought was an analysis. "I understand. Then... how can we cure my husband?"

"First, samples of the flower must be procured. This will take some time. Then, I will try and manufacture an antidote. I am not certain on the duration of this process, but I expect it will not take long. After the antidote is formed, we can administer it to your husband."

"I see," I said in contemplation. "And you are confident about this? That we can bring my husband back?"

"Very much so."

"Then I suppose... we should discuss this further."

It was another day of discussing before we were able to work everything out. I needed to go back to the Empire and... dig up Shiny. It was very disturbing to think about, but if what the king said was true, then... well, you know already. He said that the flowers were rare, but since his Windigos knew the land well, they would be able to find the flowers in a "relatively fast manner" as he called it. I still find his way of "speaking" amusing. In any case, after he had the antidote, he said he would visit the Empire personally to deliver the goods.

It was exactly like he said: in two weeks time, he had the antidote prepared, and we had Shiny's... we had Shiny ready. It was startling to see how little he changed with the magic preserving him. I had always heard stories of bodies becoming yellow and bloated and distorted after a long time, but he was just like I remembered him. It really is so morbid to think about. I really can't bear to say anymore.

When the king reached the gates, it was a fast track for him to the castle. We sped along to the special room where Shiny was being stored. It was just so difficult for me to think about it as waking up after we had already buried him. I was so concerned what he would think... how I would look at him; I didn't want to look at him like a zombie, I wanted to look at him like my husband, and I just wanted to forget that all the dying stuff had even happened in the first place.

The first step in breaking the curse was to break the preservation spell placed on him. It was unknown what the effects would be on a living pony, but no one wanted to find out. It didn't seem like a spell conducive to living, anyway.

The second step was to administer the antidote. In this case, the doctor had opted to inject it into an artery close to the heart, so his heart would be started back up again and then it would be pushed through the rest of his body. At least, that's the theory that I was told.

The doctor inserted the needle, and slowly pushed in the deep blue liquid.

And the results were astounding. As the syringe pressed in, his body had an immediate reaction, jerking enough to create some clatter. My heart beat fast for the next few moments as I waited for the doctor to finish. Finally, he removed his instrument and we all waited.

And waited.

And then it happened. The loudest and most desperate gasp I had ever heard shook me out of my anxiety daze as the stallion on the table came back to life. Back from the dead. He had crossed the River Styx, returned, and laid on the table in front of me. I was at a loss for words.

The nurses and doctors on hand were also astounded at the recovery, and I could see the king standing by, with a stoic and confident expression. I turned to him.

"Thank you, thank you!" I cried. I ran up to him and wrapped myself around him, letting his coolness seep into me. I was ecstatic.

The doctors were still rushing around my husband, checking vital signs, and most importantly opening up the wound again to make sure it was safe. It had been sewed up for the... funeral, but it was never properly treated.

I walked over to see my husband through the circle of doctors, and all I could see was the uneven rise and fall of his chest. His breaths were terse, but I knew he was alive. I knew that he was back. And it meant so much to me.

"Princess, I have one request for you."

"Yes, anything, I swear on my word."

"There is no need. I only wish for you to deliver a letter for me. Directly to Princess Celestia herself."

"I can do that! Of course!"

"But, I must ask one thing of you beforehand. Do not read this letter. I would like this to be between her and me. She personally has wronged my people. I know that you were there on the the day of the... hunt, but I do not hold you responsible. It was utlimately her whims that caused my kind so much strife."

"I understand. I will get this to her, personally. Thank you, King."

Author's Note

Y'all probably thought I had given up. Well guess what? I hadn't!
I think we are approaching the end game now. The final, epic battle approaches!

Message

A light gray coach rolled it's way up to the gates of Canterlot castle; the clack of the wheels faded into silence as it slowed to a halt. A pony sauntered over to the door of the carriage and pulled on the handle with his magic, and afterward emerged the beloved Princess of the Crystal Empire, Princess Mi Amore Cadenza. Behind her came another familiar but nearly forgotten face. He made a short breath when he scooted over the seat towards the door.

"Shiny, is that hole giving you any trouble?" the pink one asked.

"Can you stop calling my stab wound a hole?" the white one responded.

"No. Well, I mean, I can. But I won't."

The stallion sighed dejectedly. "So you said that the princess has been acting stranger lately?"

"Yeah, but just try not to bring it up. I don't think she likes talking about it. I honestly feel bad for Auntie Luna for having to deal with it."

"Ah, I'm sure it's nothing."

The couple stood before the alabaster princess atop her golden throne. She somehow managed to smile warmly whilst looking distant and confused.

"Auntie, it's good to see you again!"

"Uh, hello Ma'am."

"I see the single life is treating you well, Cadance."

"The single life?" Shining asked, confused.

"Oh, yes! Cadance has adjusted quite well. How was your date last week?"

Cadance blushed. "I don't know what she's talking about. I swear."

"Ah—I mean, I don't blame you, honey. If I'm honest with myself, I woulda done the same thing," Shining said earnestly.

"How dare you, you wretch! You would be unfaithful to my niece?!" Celestia barked.

"N-no! Of course not! And I wasn't the one who was unfaithful!"

"I wasn't unfaithful!" Cadance protested.

"Yeah, you died, Shine. It's not really cheating under those circumstances," Celestia casually replied.

"No—I-I mean, I didn't date anyone! I swear, Shiny."

"Cadance, I might be old, but I know a date when I see one. Call me old fashioned, but I don't think there is such a thing as 'platonic romance' or whatever you call it now a days."

"Look, I don't care if you dated when I was dead! Why is this conversation continuing?"

Cadance ignored him. "Auntie, I did not date anyone. I have no clue what you're talking about!"

Celestia merely smiled.

Cadance thought for a moment. "If I did go on a date, and you knew about it, what was the stallion's name? Hm?"

"I don't know, you never told me," Celestia continued to smile smugly.

"Ah—ugh..." Cadance shook her head, before continuing with a small chuckle, "Always such a joker, Auntie. In any case, I have an important message for you from the Windigos."

Celestia looked puzzled for a moment. "From the Windigos? What for?"

"Ah... well, you remember when we... tried to capture a windigo?"

"Ah, why me and Luna tried that several times. At least 10 times, if I remember correctly. But don't worry about it now, I have the perfect plan." Celestia gave a wink with her last remark.

"Ah... yes, well, I went to speak to the Windigo King... he was the reason I was able to cure Shiny. I owe him a lot.... But that is beside the point. He wanted me to give you this letter. He wants to talk things out before you... make his species go extinct."

"Oh? How charming. Sure, I'll go ahead and read his letter. Maybe it will have something interesting in it. Like a neat spell!"

"Uhm... okay," Cadance said as she summoned the letter, "Here it is, unopened." She floated the parcel over to the Sun Princess.

Celestia grasped the envelope in her magic, and slowly peeled the magic ice that sealed it. Opening it up, she slid out the parchment and and unfolded it.

Suddenly, there was a blinding flash of light The couple quickly looked away and shielded their eyes; it was so bright, the prince and princess could see it through hooves. When the flash was over, they blinked trying to regain their vision. Then
they looked back up at Celestia.

"Are you okay?!" Cadance shouted in realization, "I swear I had no clue that that was going to happen! My mages even checked it with magic! I don't know how this is possible! I'm so, so, sorry!" She turned around and shouted to the guards standing outside the door. "Go get a mage! Some bad magic attacked the Princess!"

Cadance heard someone say "Yes your Majesty!" and the rustling of armor.

Meanwhile, Celestia was still recovering from the light. She looked dazed and could see a spot in her vision where the scroll had been, but otherwise was unfazed. "Ah... what was that?" she asked in a too-nonchalant manner.

"Auntie, I'm so sorry! The windigo must have given me some kind of rigged scroll... but why? Why, after he saved Shiny?! What is he thinking?!"

"Cadance," Celestia replied slowly, "I think it may be okay. That was certainly surprising, but I don't feel that any harm—that any harm has come to me, I mean."

"I—"

"Cadance," Shining Armor cut her off, "Lets not jump to conclusions. I'm not sure what that was, but if Princess Celestia says she feels okay, then lets assume, for the moment, that it was in good faith until the mage get's here and we can prove otherwise. After all, like you said, he saved me. He didn't have to do that."

"Yeah, but what if he just did that—"

"No. No assumptions."

"But—"

"Ahp, ahp! What did I say?"

"Assume?"

"Precisely. Assume nothing."

Cadance stared at him with a happy expression. "Alright."

"Princess Celestia, I cannot find anything," the gray coated unicorn said, "I looked over everything, but I don't see anything...."

"Are you sure?" Cadance asked in place of the Sun Princess.

"Yes... well, actually, there is one thing. It's a strange... well, I.... I don't really know. What I saw was quite old. Not a curse, just some kind of... tendril of something. But I honestly doubt it's anything. Malicious magic would have surely taken effect by now. I recommend that we wait and see if anything comes of this... 'attack'."

Cadance wore a hesitant expression. "I... see. But then, what we saw from the scroll... there's no lasting effect?"

"No, I don't believe so. At least, from what I can tell."

"I see. Well. Okay." Cadance said uneasily.

Moans could be heard throughout the castle of the Princess of Friendship. The purple alicorn writhed on the sofa, awaiting the return of her student.

A moment later, Starlight flashed into the room. Accompanying her was an earth pony in white lab coat, and he spoke in an urgent manner. "Where is the Princess?"

"Over here!" Spike called.

The doctor galloped over to Twilight, who was still writhing on the couch. Starlight followed behind closely, afraid for her mentor.

"Where is the pain stemming from?" the doctor asked.

"M-my stomach! It's my stomach! It feels like... like...."

"On a scale of 1 to 10, what's the pain like?"

"10! 10! Make it stop!"

"I need to check your vitals, Princess. Please try and be still." Twilight complied as best as she could, but still fidgeted and whimpered. He held out a stethoscope with his hoof and placed it on her chest, listening. Her heart rate was high, but it was expected. Next he checked her stomach; but before he even listened, he felt it: no heat came off from her abdomen. He moved his hoof around to confirm his suspicions.

The confirming of his theory only baffled him more. Her stomach was ice cold; well below body temperature. He brought another hoof to her forehead and compared it with his own; her temperature was definitely lower than it should have been, but she was heated unevenly. The coolness of her belly seemed out of place.

"Could she have hypothermia? Were you just in somewhere extremely cold?" the doctor asked. He realized that this would be a ridiculous question to ask most ponies, but he knew the magical prowess of the princess. For all he knew, she could have taken a day trip to the North Pole with a quick teleportation spell.

Starlight shook her head. "No, she was feeling ill for the past week or so, so she hasn't been out of the castle...."

Spike cut in. "It wasn't this bad until today. She was complaining about an ache, but this morning she couldn't even get out of bed by herself."

"I see.... I asked my previous question because she has hypothermia. As in, her temperature is much lower than it should be. However, I think it may be magical in nature." He looked at Starlight. "Can you look over her for a source of magic? I would guess, if there is one, it would be in her abdomen."

"Uh, I, yeah. I can. Give me a moment." Starlight lit up her horn and felt around Twilight's midsection. Her eyes widened in shock.

The doctor noticed. "What? What do you feel?"

"I-I don't know! I've never felt magic like this before. It feels so alien...."

The doctor looked perturbed. "I see... This may be out of my range of expertise. I'm not confident in my ability to help the princess given this information... I know there are plenty of mage doctors in Canterlot. I don't feel comfortable recommending one. I would go see the royal doctor."

"Okay, I will," Starlight stated hastily.

"In the meantime, I'll stay here with the princess to see if I can try treating some symptoms."

"Understood!" shouted Starlight. She lit up her horn and then with a flash, she was gone.

"Mr. Spike, can you control your fire enough to warm Twilight's stomach without hurting her?"

"I... I don't know. My fire isn't that hot, I think it's just magic fire meant for transporting stuff."

"I see... well, in that case...."

With another flash, Starlight stood in the throne room. On arrival, she was facing the windows and immediately started looking around to regain her bearings. Her eyes eventually landed on Princess Celestia, who wore an expression of intrigue and surprise. And a bit distant looking, too, Starlight thought.

"May I help you?" the sun princess asked.

"I—Princess Celestia, I need help. Princess Twilight is sick. She needs a doctor. A magical doctor. Some kind of bad magic is in her and I have no clue what it is!" Starlight frantically explained.

"I see...." Celestia said with a furrowed brow. "Guards, fetch the Court Mage. And the Royal Doctor. We need to sort out Twilight."

Starlight found the Princess's choice of words strange, but decided against bringing it up.

The four gathered around the purple princess, and the local doctor backed away. "I've done everything I could of, but I'm afraid she's still in bad shape."

The Court Mage and the Royal Doctor nodded to each other and proceeded to measure the princess with their magic. They both furrowed their brows when they reached the princess's abdomen.

"What is it?" Celestia questioned earnestly.

"I don't know," the doctor said, turning to the mage.

"I don't know either," the mage said.

"Let me see. Perhaps I have seen this before," the Princess recommended.

The two stepped aside and let Celestia's magic envelope Twilight.

Celestia looked perturbed. "I have seen this before. This is a powerful curse. I can break the curse, but I must take Twilight somewhere far away—the magical discharge may do some damage."

And then, before anyone could protest, the Princess of Friendship and the Princess of the Sun had disappeared.

"Hush now, Twilight, you've been so good. It seem's everything's fallen into place. I can think so clearly now after that windigo's letter.... I don't know what he did, but all that clutter in my mind is finally gone. I can hear her so clearly—ah, but I'm sure you don't care about any of that. This isn't about me. You're hurting, and your Princess is here to help. This will only take a moment, Twilight."

Twilight had lost the ability to think clearly sometime between the town doctor and the Canterlot doctors' arrival; the pain was far too intense, and so she completely dissociated. Twilight looked around in a daze, barely contemplating the princess's words. She could tell she was in some kind of cold biome—a tundra in the summer, perhaps—but what she was doing there was beyond her for the moment.

She looked up at her mentor—her second mother—her Princess—and she saw a pleasant and warm smile on her face. Twilight returned the smile, only happy to see Celestia's face. Then, Celestia's horn began to glow an intense yellow, looking like the sun itself. Twilight didn't understand why there were two suns, but she felt safe under the warmth of her mentor's shine.

And then she convulsed. A hole opened up in Twilight's stomach, and this new sensation nearly jolted her back to reality. She vomited on the ground as her body collapsed in on itself, sending out more dehabilitating waves of pain and nausea. She again was left rolling around on the grass in delusions.

Meanwhile, Celestia's initial glee had completely dissipated at the realization of what had actually happened. She was not angry anymore. If she were to be honest with herself, she had no expectations of success after failing so many times. At this point, she told herself, it was more about the chase than the final goal. She didn't have to let Luna know about another failed attempt. No doubt she would get some holier-than-thou—literally, she thought, because her sister still used "thou" sometimes—about how "she didn't want a windigo" or "hunting windigos is wrong." She would leave the specimen here, and it would just be her little secret. Twilight wouldn't know, she was too busy being in pain. Speaking of Twilight, the princess thought.

"Oh Twilight, I'm so sorry. But it's gone now. The... curse is gone. We can go home."

"Princess...?" Twilight said drowsily as Celestia picked her up in her warm magic.

"Yes...?" Celestia asked in response; but Twilight had already fallen asleep.

Celestia smiled.

"The curse is gone. Please, care for my student. I must attend to matters back in Canterlot."

"Yes, Princess," everyone answered in unison.

And with that, she was gone again.

Discovery

"Sister, sister!" Luna called out. "Where did she go? I wasn't informed of this." Luna put a hoof to chin in contemplation. "Night Sky, where did my sister go? Do you know anything?"

"No, Princess. I really don't know anything."

"Then ask for me, will you? Perhaps the guards in the throne room know something."

"Uhm, if you don't mind me asking, why do you, erm... care so much, Princess?"

"Ah... perhaps I am nosy. Perhaps I will always be the annoying little sister that 'totally' embarrasses her cool big sister in front of her friends," Luna said with vitriol.

Night Sky looked around, "Ah, well, I think I'll go—"

"Or maybe it is because I simply loved my big sister, my only real family, and just wanted to spend time with her?! I do not know, those both sound pretty probable to me!"

"Ah... I'm sorry if I... brought up any bad m-memories, Princess," peeped Night Sky.

"Nothing of the sort Night Sky!" Luna rebounded.

"I'm going to go now!" Night Sky hurried off, not wanting to instigate anything else.

"Uhm, so, Princess.... It seems like your sister went to Ponyville to help Princess Twilight. She was feeling ill, something about abdominal pain. I'm not sure."

"Hm..." something clicked in the moon princess's mind, and she wore a look of sudden realization, "Abdominal pain? Is that... right? How strange...."

"What is it, Princess?"

"I'm not quite sure.... I feel like..." she stopped for a moment, "Twilight... Twilight with abdominal pain...? This feels... like...."

"Princess?"

"Ah, Night Sky. I... think I may be confused. I want to go to Ponyville. I need to make sure Princess Twilight is alright. I have a... strange feeling about this."

"Alright Princess, whatever you say."

A flash filled the hallway of castle. Starlight was cut off guard and jumped at the sudden noise of the teleportation. She quickly turned around. "Oh, Princess Luna! What are you doing here?"

"I heard Twilight was feeling ill. I wanted to... make sure that she was okay."

"Oh... yes, she's okay. Pr—your sister was here earlier."

"May I ask what the matter was with Twilight? Was the ailment resolved?"

"Oh, yes. Princess Celestia said she had a curse? I'm not sure how... but your sister, ah, she said that she had to take Twilight away to remove the curse because of magical discharge. We waited for a few minutes, and when she came back, Twilight seemed better."

"Seemed?" ask Luna, worried.

"Ah, I mean, she is okay. The doctors couldn't find any other problems."

"Hm... this is all good to hear. May I see Twilight?"

"Ah, yes, but she might be sleeping."

"I see. Then... can you take me to where she and Celestia teleported away?"

"Oh, of course. She was in the lounge outside the library."

Starlight started walking, and the princess followed wearing a near perfect poker face. "So what's the matter? Why do you want to see where they teleported?" asked Starlight.

Luna was silent in contemplation for a moment. "Ah, I suppose that... well, if I am to be truly honest, I want to know where they teleported to. I suppose I would like to... check the magical residue in the area, to learn more about the curse."

Starlight accepted the answer, but still had some questions she wanted answered. She would not ask, however. "Here we are, Princess. This is where Twilight was right when she was teleported."

"I see..." Luna looked around the area inquisitively. She lit her horn, feeling out the room. Then she found it: the gate that Celestia and Twilight had used—it was faint, and would fade away entirely if she wasn't fast. She knew that the level of precision that her sister possessed with her magic was unobtainable for herself, but countless years of practice had rendered her just as good of a day mage as the most advanced in the kingdom, barring her sister. But what night mages lacked in control, they easily made up for in power; many speculated that this was the true reason that Night Mare Moon was able to defeat Celestia a second time, but as Celestia would not readily discuss the events that transpired early that morning, it was left completely ambiguous.

Nevertheless, Luna was able to pry the gate open and carefully maneuver through the paper-thin walls of the structure; it took all her concentration to keep her self from exiting the gate too early, but after 5 excruciatingly long minutes, she felt her magic seep out naturally though the end of the tunnel.

She turned to Starlight before saying, "I'll be back in a moment. If you could try making sure this end does not close prematurely, that would be splendid."

"Yes, Princess..." Starlight said cautiously, "But... may I..." Starlight faltered before shying away.

"Speak, Starlight Glimmer."

"I would like to come with you—ah, I mean, I'm worried about Twilight and I wanted to study the curse. I had never seen anything like it before."

"I see. Then come. But you must be prepared for whatever we find. Do you understand?"

"W-what do you mean? Ah, I don't understand...."

Luna cleared her throat. "I mean that.... Let us just say that I harbor suspicions about what happened that I would like dismissed."

"I see understand. I... guess I'm ready."

In another instant, they had teleported through the reopened portal.

They found themselves far away from Equestria. The air was cool, but the sun was strong. The meadow they found themselves in was unkempt and the grass was tall; a forest surrounded the meadow and single hill jutting out from the horizon in the distance. There was a dirt patch a few meters away from where they landed.

They looked around, but found nothing out of the ordinary. No singed leaves were found, no scorch marks in the grass: nothing that was typical of a magical discharge. The two wore puzzled looks as they contemplated the scenario.

The birds chirped, the flies buzzed, and the wind carried the gentle sounds of a cry.

A cry, they both thought in unison.

Quickly, they sprang into action. Scouring the area.

Then Starlight found something—something she didn't understand. "Over here, it's a foal!"

Luna's eyes widened in shock, No, it can't be true! She quickly rushed over, and looked at the creature. It wiggled on the ground, obviously exhausted from crying without attention. It still whimpered softly in dissatisfaction. But that wasn't the most striking feature of the being: it's coat faded in and out of transparency. The foal's color was a hollow looking blue—a ghostly blue that reminded Luna of—

Windigos.

Explanation

Two ponies walked down a corridor in Canterlot Castle. The taller one wore a pensive expression, and to any non-oblivious onlooker, she was obviously ignoring the smaller one. But the smaller one was oblivious, so it was not obvious to her.

"...And so, that's where we are with the petition to sever your head. I think—"

"Night Sky...?" Luna said slowly, cutting her assistant off.

"Y-yes, Princess?" Night Sky asked, surprised.

"Night Sky, if someone... someone important to you did something terrible—something that was utterly heinous and nearly unforgivable, what would you do?"

"Well I suppose it depends—"

"Your mother. You often speak fondly of her, what if she were to do something that you—no, that society was incapable of forgiving?"

"I-I...." Night Sky trailed off in thought, distressed by the question, "P-princess, why are you asking this question?" she asked, "If I may," she peeped out lastly.

Luna sighed sorrowfully. "I suppose... I suppose I should confess something to you, as I have gotten you involved. Night Sky, do you remember when we looked in Celestia's journal?"

Night Sky was taken aback. Celestia? she thought, my princess never calls her sister 'Celestia'. "Uhm..." she tried recalling, "No, not really. Did we actually do that? I thought there were still some kind of cipher spells on it."

"There were...." Luna paused, "There were, Night Sky, but Celestia... she tricked us. She erased our memories. Or rather, she made us believe they were dreams. She was right," Luna mused, "No, I apologize, I was right."

"Ah, I-I'm really not sure I understand, Princess. I-if I may ask, who is this 'she'? And why would... Celestia do that? And why do you keep calling your sister Celestia?"

"You may ask, and I may answer. This 'she'.... the night after we stole the journal, I had a strange dream about Nightmare Moon. That is the 'she' I... misspoke of. To this day I am uncertain of what that was. But that is irrelevant. Celestia made us think that looking in her journal was a dream so that she could cover up the contents. She did not want anyone seeing those pages, because—" Luna stopped, considering what she was about to say.

"Because what, Princess?" Night Sky asked frantically.

"Because... that's how she talks to the necromancer. Or rather, that's how the necromancer tells her things."

"The necromancer? That one N. Mare M. you were talking about?"

"Precisely. Or, at least, I think this is the case. I suspect that Celestia was cursed a long time ago after opening one of the necromancer's books. Perhaps... perhaps that is why my sister has been acting so strange," Luna's eyes started to water, "Oh, Sister, I'm so sorry! How could this have happened to you..?" she choked out as a tear dripped down her cheek.

The sight of her crying princess was too much for Night Sky. She felt lost in the moment, but wanted to console her Majesty. "Princess Luna, it's not your fault!" she nearly shouted, "There's nothing you could have done. I know it! If there was, you would have done it, because you're—you're... awesome!" The moon princess continued to look dejected even at her rouse, before she said, "Please don't cry...."

"Oh, Night Sky...." Luna said as she pulled the other mare into a hug.

"I-I thought you said you didn't like to be touched."

Luna gave a snort and a small smile. "Well, of course. But I'm the one doing the touching."

After the two calmed down some more, Luna continued. "Her conversations with the necromancer... those weren't the only secrets contained within that journal. I recently remembered the most disturbing contents. Night Sky, do you remember anything about the journal? Anything that we saw that night? Anything that pertains to... 'the body of a mare'?"

Night Sky looked stunned. "Why does that sound so familiar?"

"Because, it was written in her journal. She..." Luna contorted her face in disgust, "Celestia, under the influence of the necromancer..."

"What? What is it?!" Night Sky asked with obvious anxiety.

"Celestia got her student pregnant."

Night Sky was stunned into silence.

Luna continued. "She used... some kind of a potion without Twilight's knowledge. She wanted to... create a windigo; something about using the womb to shape the windigo matter. I am unclear on the details," Luna bit her lip, "But... she 'failed'. She did not create a windigo. She created a...."

Night Sky only looked at the princess with quivering frown.

"She created a sort of... pony-windigo hybrid. She used her student as... as some kind of test tube. Kind, sweet Twilight. And then... she discarded the foal, leaving it to die in some field. No remorse. Yesterday at dinner, she was still teasing me as if nothing happened..." Luna croaked out through a pained whimper. "And it all happened yesterday! I don't understand Night Sky, I want to cry so badly...."

"Sometimes it's okay to cry," Night Sky mumbled through her own misery.

"I don't understand, Sister, why has this happened? How could this have happened to you? How could you be so careless? I want to forgive you, but I don't know if I can! I don't know if I can!" Luna faced towards the floor, tears dripping onto the immaculate tiles.

Night Sky wiped a tear away from her right eye. She could feel the pain of her princess as if it were her own. But she remained skeptical of her own abilities. Can I even do anything for her? I don't see how someone like me could help a princess... But then it hit her—...all the stars in your namesake, she remembered. And she wasn't going to let her princess down. "Princess, I know everything is going to be alright. I know, because, like I said: you're awesome! And—and Princess Celestia—she's being... possessed by the necromancer, right? Right? So it's not her fault! Even Princess Twilight Sparkle would understand! I'm sure of it! And... well... no one knows about this besides you, me, and Twilight, right?"

Luna sobered up, but only a little. "Starlight Glimmer, Twilight's student, also knows. Ah—she's... looking after the child. I—"

"Then that's fine! I'm sure she can forgive her too! Right? She was that one that tried to mess up Equestria somehow, right? So she'll understand, I'm sure!"

Luna wore a pensive expression.

"So... so... y-you know about the curse-thing that's on Celestia, so why don't you go and... and try to fix her? I mean like, get some mages or something to try and fix her?"

Luna blinked slowly. "I... I'm not sure about everything you said, but I understand that you were trying to ease my anxieties. You are a good friend, Night Sky."

Night Sky blushed and wore a tiny grin.

"But you are correct. I can not move forward until I rid my sister of the necromancer's influence. This won't be easy, but it must be done by any means necessary. I'm afraid her condition will only degrade if I don't stop this. I must go to her."

Luna wandered the halls, anticipating her confrontation with her sister. She knew that her sister should be on break in the main hall, so she turned the corner through the doorway, looking up at her throne. "Hello, Sister"

Collision

The windigo floated outside the walls of the castle, examining the intricacies of the ornate windows and masonry. A colt with a withering blue complexion shakily followed; the colt, however, was only focused on the being in front of him. She had explained her motives, and he had no objections to being there after she had assured him no one had been able to spot her while she perused the palace.

The air was a pleasant temperature, and completely calm; the sun shone and the clouds were puffy and tall, casting romantic shadows on the valley below. A pony such as Astatine should have felt calm on a day as nice as that one, he thought; the scenery was as serene as any he had ever seen, and he was completely unbound by laws, both statutory and physical. But it was at this sudden realization of what he no longer had—of what he had left behind—of where he had left it behind, and where he was now, that he was beginning to panic.

In the months since he had left to learn the ways of the windigo, he had nearly pushed all his past to the back of his mind, and had never been able to dwell on it for too long. But now that he was in the place where he had his self determinism discovered—not by himself, but by someone else—he was forced to confront everything that had happened, and why he left in the first place.

Ms. Joy, he remembered solemnly. Was that really her calling out for me back then? Was I just too dumb to realize it? I guess it doesn't matter now, I have Blythe. The windigo in question turned her head back to him as if she could read his thoughts. She gave a questioning glance as she noticed his pace started to slow.

He simply looked at her with a stoic expression and sped up.

Nothing interesting was happening. Astatine wondered why the little creature had insisted they go back to Canterlot castle immediately after defecting from the windigos. She had reasoned two fold: one, that it would be safer for them, as the king still considered the princesses his enemy; and two, that it would be more fun, whatever that meant. He had naturally resisted at first, but was very easily convinced with his weak conviction.

And so he followed the filly back to the capital. He wasn't sure what kind of "fun" they were searching for—she was explicitly vague in that regard, even upon further questioning. He suspected it had something to do with the princesses; Astatine knew that they had done something terrible to the windigos in the North, but he had gotten conflicting accounts from many of the windigos he asked; the two windigos whom's opinions he respected gave the most conflicting stories. But Blythe had actually witnessed it, he reasoned, and so he was willing to trust her account more than the king; not to mention that she was his oldest friend.

Astatine was jolted out of his musings as he bumped into said friend. She held her hoof up to halt him, and he immediately knew what she was looking at. Through the window in front of him, they could see two figures. One was the Moon Princess, and the other was a midnight blue pegasus with bat-like wings. The princess held her head down as she sat on the floor. The other pony held a worried expression with her wings sticking high into the sky. She was talking to the princess about something.

Astatine turned to the windigo beside him, who had her lips pursed in intrigue. She put her hoof to the boy's forehead, only conveying a single word, Drama.

Astatine frowned and furrowed his brow. "Is this why we came here? To gawk at them?"

The filly responded with a nod and a small smile.

"This is what you meant by 'fun'?"

Again, she nodded.

Astatine sighed in intense disappointment. "I'm going." He turned around and started.

The windigo rushed in his way, frowning. She tilted her head in question.

"What?" Astatine floated around her.

But she grabbed his foreleg in dissatisfaction. He could hear her ask, What's wrong? in his head.

"Look, I don't like this, okay? This isn't my thing...."

But it's fun. You will see.

"No, it's not fun. I don't like watching people be sad."

Aw, but it's so good! The princesses are always doing funny things.

"What? What are you talking about? She's obviously sad. Maybe she's even depressed. You call that funny?"

No, I call it interesting.

"What? So you just float around looking for 'interesting' stuff all day?" He frowned in realization. "Is that why you came to see me? Because you wanted to gawk at me?!"

Yes. I came to see you because you are fun and food.

"Ah! I—"

But then I stayed because you are interesting. I mean to say that you are a good pony. I like you.

"I...." Astatine trailed off. He contorted his face as he stared down at the valley below in contemplation. The windigo floated beside and looked to him with a caring expression. Finally, he spoke up. "Look, I don't want to see ponies fight and be sad and stuff. That's not what I want. It's just not appealing to me."

Maybe you can change it if you want to do that. You have the power now to do that.

"No! Why would I—why would I just interfere with other pony's lives like that? That's just messed up."

You can do as you wish. But please stay here for now. I think these ponies are very interesting.

"Look, I don't want to get involved in this—"

You are not involved. You are only watching. Right?

"You know what I mean!"

I do not. So please stay.

"I—" he paused. He was looked at only with the most innocent pleading, and so he struggled to find the right words. "Okay. Fine. But only today. Tomorrow we do... I don't know, something I want to do."

We have made an agreement! Blythe smiled and rushed off back to the window.

Astatine only sighed and slowly followed her.

When Blythe reached the window, she was saddened that she no longer saw the princess. She rushed past the other windows, hoping to find her.

With some luck, she saw the princess walking down a hallway. Blythe made sure to keep check on her.

She saw Luna turn down another hall, proceed down some steps, before losing the princess behind layers of white stone. But having studied the castle for some time now, she knew exactly where she was headed. The little blue creature flew to the windows of the throne room in anticipation for Luna's arrival.

She saw Celestia sitting on the throne, wearing an uncharacteristically annoyed look on her face as she sat in silence. After a few moments, Luna suddenly entered the throne room, and Celestia's expression turned to what Blythe could only describe as an amused smile. Luna walked up to the base of Celestia's perch, and looked up to her sister. Blythe could tell words were being spoken, and quickly put her ear up to the glass. She sensed Astatine follow close behind, wordless.

"Yes, Sister," Luna said with false patience.

"Oh, please don't make me. I'm exhausted. I'll just stay up here," Celestia replied dramatically.

Luna rubbed her temples. "Fine, Sister, whatever you want. But we need to have a little chat."

"Oh? And what would that be about?"

"I believe that...." Luna bit her lip, unsure of how to phrase the question.

"Yes?" Celestia said drawn out.

"I believe that we should have doctors look at us."

"Hm?"

"Well, in the past year and a half, we have been exposed to many strange—"

Celestia smirked, mockingly. "Luna, this story started almost 5 years—"

"Shh! Let me finish!" Luna said with frustration. "Look, we need to be looked at by some mages. Okay? We have been around very unusual magics and some of them... may have affected us negatively. That's reasonable, isn't it?"

"Luna, I assure you, you have nothing to worry about! I was just looked at by a mage... yesterday, in fact. So you should definitely go, but I wouldn't think I'd need to."

"No, sister you misunderstand. I want the doctor to do a more thorough examination. That was just an examination to look at the effects of the scroll. It would still be wise to seek further counsel."

"Luna, I don't think that's necessary."

"But won't you do it, for me?"

Celestia made a noise as if she was about to say something, but quickly stopped herself. She only looked at her sister in utter confusion, and made motions of the mouth without sound.

"Sister?" Luna worried.

Celestia quickly regained her composure. "No, at least not now Luna. I have work to do."

"You're on break. It won't take long."

Celestia frowned. "No."

"Sister, please. Please do this... for me."

Again, Celestia sputtered as if she was a machine trying to process a paradox. Her lip quivered in dissatisfaction.

Luna noticed this, but she again thought nothing of it. "Sister...."

Celestia clenched her eyes shut. "No. No. No. I won't. Is that clear?"

"Sister, you're being unreasonable. All I'm asking for is a check up. It's not that bad."

"No! I said no, and that's final. Leave, Luna, I'm not discussing this anymore."

"Sister! You're being completely unreasonable," Luna said, biting her lip, "Why don't you... take a nap?"

"What? What are you saying?"

Luna put the most minute amount of magic into her horn. "I'm saying... maybe your mind will clear up and you'll see my reason after a nap. I can take over your shift."

"No, Luna... that's not necessary...." Celestia said as she suddenly realized how tired she was. Then she yawned.

"See, Sister? You should really rest. You do get a bit grumpy when you're tired," Luna said sweetly.

Celestia slumped down in her throne, yawning again. "No, no, I can't abandon my duties...."

"Are you sure? You still have 25 minutes of break left. Maybe you should just put your head down and rest your eyes."

"I..." Celestia yawned again, "I suppose that isn't a terrible idea...." Celestia said as she rested her head against the ground.

"See? That's great, Sister. You'll feel good after a nice rest."

"Mhm..." Celestia murmured.

Luna waited. She would be able to sense when her sister reached a deep enough slumber, but it was taking longer than expected. The sleep spell she had used was fast-acting and potent, so she was unsure of why it was seeming to fail.

And then in an instant, Luna felt the weight of a thousand Canterlot Castles stacked on top of her. She had just enough time to counter the magic with her own telekinesis.

The enraged voice of her sister echoed out through the room.

"Just what do you think you're doing, Luna?!"

Luna struggled to form a response. "What are you talking about? Please turn off your telekinesis!"

"NO! Not until you tell me what's going on! WHY DID YOU TRY PUTTING ME TO SLEEP?!"

"Sister, there's something wrong with you! Look at yourself! You're trying to kill me over a sleep spell!" Luna still struggled to say.

"THERE'S NOTHING WRONG WITH ME!"

Luna coughed under exertion. "The necromancer, Sister! She's controlling your mind! You must rid yourself of her!"

"SHUT UP! SHUT UP! THERE'S NOTHING WRONG WITH HER EITHER!"

"Sister! Please!"

"SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP! YOU'RE A LIAR!"

Luna realized her sister was beyond reason. Her horn lit up with an intensity she had not used in some time. She worked her magic around her sister to try and tranquilize her.

But Celestia could see what was happening, and so she came up with her own counter-measure. She flung Luna against the ceiling.

Luna had not expected the sudden change in force, and found herself flying up fast. Less than a second later, she crashed into the brick work, and rubble came tumbling down. A disgusting crack was heard as Luna fell to the ground. Luna was in pain, but still conscious. She grabbed some rubble in her telekinesis, and attempted to throw it at her sister before she could react. But the rubble vaporized into ashes. Confused, Luna looked at her sister.

The sun princess was no more. In her place stood a demon, a mane made of fire, and eyes more demonic than Nightmare Moon's and King Sombra's combined. The creature held it's mouth open to reveal sharp, craggy fangs. Her regalia was glowing red hot, and looked misshapen and drippy from her intense heat.

Luna was shocked into submission.

"Luna! You shall pay for what you have tried to do to me! Never lift a hoof against family!"

"But—but Sister, we are family! Please, this isn't you!" she tried reasoning one last time.

"No! You are no longer any sister of mine! What you have done cannot be forgiven!" she rambled hysterically, "Die."

Luna's eyes widened as she felt herself encased in the magic of her former sister. She tried casting a counter spell, but any flame of rebellion seemed to be doused instantly by her sister's intense magic. She struggled for a few seconds before she was unceremoniously thrown at mock speeds through the window.

She flew through the air, somersaulting for mere moments before impacting the other side of the valley. She tried to use all her magic to break her landing, but what was found in the crater was still a bloodied, broken, and unconscious mess.

The mutated princess watched her sister impact with the mountain, sending up a plume of dust and debris. She grinned madly. "That's what you get! Every step of the way I've been trying to help you, and you mock me! That's your punishment! See! You're useless!" she laughed in a craze.

A moment later, tens of guards rushed into the throne room. The two outside had been too scared to attempt anything alone after hearing the commotion.

She looked around the room at the guards in formation holding their spears up to her. She chuckled at their intense faces.

“Here me, subjects, the useless night and it’s 'princess' are no more! Bow down to your one true ruler, for I am… Sun… A-Apollo… Hydrogen….” The princess became enraged with her terrible naming skills, giving an ear-bloodening shriek. She shot out a wide bolt of fire, instantly incinerating three guards who had their heat shields armed and smelting the stone behind them into molten rock.

Most of the guards unconsciously backed off, but in what could only be defined as bravery bordering on stupidity, one of the guards stepped forward. He realized her deficiency, and thought he could bargain for their lives. “Sun Apollo Hydrogen, Mam, p-please, if I were to recommend a title, would you spare us?” he said with faux confidence.

“Speak!” Sun Apollo Hydrogen commanded, annoyed.

“M-may I suggest ‘Solar Flare’, Mam?”

Her brow raised in delight, but her mouth still remained straight. “I will not accept this offer," Solar Flare lied.

All of the remaining guards were incinerated.

The monarch looked around the room in disgust. Then she seemingly started talking to herself. "Would you like to go give Twilight her present?"

"Yes, now that I gotten rid of that silly 'sister' of mine," she replied to herself, "She won't try to stop us from..." Celestia paused part of her wanted to say "getting a windigo," but another part of her knew that that wasn't right. "From..." Solar Flare continued. "From completing our mission. We will bring you back. But we need Twilight."

Solar Flare spread her phoenix-like wings and took off for Ponyville.

Author's Note

Ah man I've had this scene planned practically since I started this story. I'm so excited to finally get here.

I must say I'm surprised (but delighted!) to see that so many people have still stuck around for these end chapters. I suppose I apologize for doing a 180, but... nah, I don't apologize.

Tension

"This is really bad, what just happened?" Astatine quivered worriedly.

Blythe only looked at him with concern for his well being.

"Princess Celestia just... she just... she just killed her sister! Oh my Celestia!" he shouted as he held his hooves to his head. He looked down at the palace grounds below, still floating. "What's gonna happen to Equestria? What does any of this mean?"

Blythe put her hoof to his forehead. It will be fine. I am sure the night princess is okay. She must be.

"No way! Didn't you just see her get launched across the valley?! She hasn't gotten up!"

We should check.

Astatine was hyperventilating, but was trying to calm down. "Okay, okay, okay."

The two floated across the valley to reach the princess in the crater as fast as possible. It was a much further distance than the monster princess had made it look when she threw her sister.

Astatine could only replay the events that had just transpired. His mind raced to discover what it all meant. He knew much about the history of the princesses; story books were one of the few delights he had while he lived with his mother. He had read all the tales many times, including the Hearth's Warming Eve tale, the Tale of Two Sisters, The Tale of Tirek and Scorpan, and many others. He liked to believe that, at least in some small way, he understood the princesses after hearing so much about them. But everything he knew had just been turned on it's head. In particular, images of Night Mare Moon came to mind while looking at the transformed Celestia. He had heard her use the name "Solar Flare", but he couldn't bring himself to use that name. It felt too perverse—as if, if he used that name, the old Celestia would truly vanish. At least, that had seemed to be true for Princess Luna.

And then, it hit him. Even if Princess Luna was dead—a thought that brought bile to his mouth—the Elements of Harmony were still in action. Surely when they saw the demonic form Celestia had taken, they would take action. He only hoped that they were able to see that something was wrong before Princess Celestia got to... use Princess Twilight Sparkle for her plan.

But the matter at hand was Princess Luna. He did not feel a particular connection with any of the princesses, but Astatine had internalized them as symbols of stability. Indeed, even when most ponies saw the return of the moon princess as "stirring things up", Astatine, with his deep investment in the legends, only saw the return as adding more stability. Whether or not he realized how he saw the return was another question.

After some time, the duo reached the crater. The two could see the princess's hoof sticking out from under the rubble. They rushed over and started digging.

Finally, they could see the princess's face. Astatine brought his face to her chest to see if he could hear her breathing. For a few tense moments, he waited to catch the rhythmic rise and fall; but eventually he detected the signs of life he was looking for. He let out a sigh of relief at the recognition. "She's alive...."

He felt a hoof placed on his shoulder. It is like I have told you. Everything will be alright in the end.

"I.... How can this be alright? This is.... This is all wrong...."

But why do you care? We have each other. What the ponies do doesn't affect us. Blythe asked, genuinely confused. When she first saw the colt's reaction, she could understand why the scene made him so uncomfortable. He was never confrontational, and so he had voiced to her not even an hour ago that he did not like to see ponies fight. She supposed that it had something to do with his life in Canterlot, but she wasn't sure.

This new reaction, however, completely puzzled the creature. It was as if Astatine had a connection to the princesses or to Equestria that she just couldn't fathom.

"No! You can't say that! I'm a pony! This is my...." Astatine paused, "This is my—where I was born. If...."

Blythe only looked to him with further questioning.

"I can't let all this...."

She continued staring.

"I don't know! I don't know, okay? I don't feel good when I think about losing all of this! It can't all just end like this! I know it doesn't affect me anymore... but... don't you feel anything when you see a country—no, anything fail? Well... not anything, but... it's... it's complicated. I don't understand it, but when I think about Equestria... failing... I get so... scared. I just—"

The windigo put a hoof to his mouth, I do not understand. I am not like you. But I understand how you feel. I do not want you to feel that way. So I will help you do whatever you want to do.

Astatine almost smiled at her words. He was still terrified, but the reassurance the little windigo provided helped keep him calm. He sat in contemplation for a long time.

There's no way I can stop Celestia.... Who can? The Elements... The Elements! They can stop Princess Celestia, I'm sure of it. But... we have to warn them! If we don't... if we don't get to Princess Twilight first, who knows what will happen!

Astatine started flying as fast as he could in the direction of Ponyville. Blythe followed without question. As they started, Astatine explained, "We have to go tell Princess Twilight Sparkle about what we saw! Celestia said she wanted to use Princess Twilight in her plans! I don't know what she meant, but there's no way it's good! We gotta get there fast!"

Blythe merely nodded.

It was around noon when the pair could tell Ponyville was approaching. On their way, they hadn't seen Solar Flare. They had seen her take her wings, but they also knew that she could have very well teleported mid flight if she chose.

Finally, the Crystal Castle only appeared a few blocks away. Astatine's mind was racing with how he would explain everything. He wondered if Princess Twilight would even believe him, considering his appearance and his presumably outrageous claims about the sun princess.

Astatine came upon the door. Remembering the urgency of the situation and his own abilities, he phased through the door like an apparition. When he got inside, he heard shouting.

It was Solar Flare, talking in her raspy and metallic sounding voice. "Where is Twilight, Starlight Glimmer? Have you done something with her?" she asked accusingly.

Astatine rounded the corner and could see the two discussing. Starlight took a defensive stand as she replied, "I don't know, but I don't think that she would want to see you."

Celestia grimaced. "Do you wish to die?"

"Who's—" Startlight was interrupted as Solar Flare charged a beam of energy, before quickly discharging it at Starlight, "Asking?!" she finished, blocking the technique in time with a newly cracked magic bubble.

"Hm? So you defy me twice?! Tell me where my Twilight is, and perhaps I'll spare you."

Starlight looked appalled. "Luna was right.... You're insane. And you're definitely not a good guy right now."

Her comment enraged the sun demon. "I'll show you!" she said as she clasped the smaller pony in her magic.

As soon as Starlight felt the pressure, she teleported away. This had the effecting of multiplying the demon's rage. The crystal around her started to glow and sag as the heat intensified. "WHERE ARE YOU, YOU LITTLE TWERP?!" she screamed.

Realizing that he still had a chance, he flew through the ceilings and floors and walls in a desperate effort to discover the princess first. He flew to as many rooms as he possibly could, until he saw the pony that had been arguing with Solar Flare. He immediately raced over to her to query the whereabouts of Twilight, not questioning the being Starlight was cradling in her magic. "Where is Princess Twilight? Princess Celestia wants to do something bad with her!"

Starlight was startled at the outburst, not having noticed the colt enter the study. She turned to him with wide eyes, "Who are you?"

"I'm—" Astatine pondered how to answer, "I'm just a windigo who happened to see what Princess Celestia did in Canterlot.... She almost killed her sister, and now she wants to do something to Princess Twilight!"

"So that is Princess Celestia? What happened to her?"

"I-I don't know!" Astatine cried, "I don't know, but I don't think she's nice anymore! She killed all her guards!"

Starlight was shook. She had been interrogated by the one calling herself Solar Flare only moments ago, and had an inkling as to her true identity. Hearing the list of atrocities she had already committed only worked to intensify her angst. "Okay, okay. Twilight said that she went to the market. We can explain everything there. Lets go." Before Astatine could protest, Starlight's horn lit up and they found themselves in the center of the market. Meanwhile, a confused windigo found herself wondering where her pony friend had went.

Starlight used her magic to lift herself up, scanning for the princess. She saw the telltale purple of her coat among the crowd, and rushed over.

Twilight looked over to her student floating down. "Starlight? What's going on? Did something happen?"

"Twilight, there's someone who needs to tell you something. Something has happened to Celestia." Starlight pointed to Astatine.

"Princess, Princess Celestia—there's something seriously wrong with her! She tried to kill her sister, and then afterward, she killed all her guards! She's calling herself 'Solar Flare' now! I don't know what happened, but now she's looking for you! She said she needs you to give you your gift or something!"

Twilight was dumbfounded. "What now?"

"Listen, Princess, please. Princess Celestia has turned evil, and she is coming for you."

"How? What happened?"

"I don't know! All I know is that she is dangerous now, and she's looking for you!"

Twilight thought for a moment. "Where is she now?"

"She's at your castle, probably still looking for you," Astatine said, finally. He sighed internally as he completed his mission.

"Starlight, you should take your child somewhere safe. I'm going to go talk to the princess."

Starlight's face fell. "Twilight, you can't go alone. She's dangerous. Wait for me, please. Don't do this alone. I fought with her, and I know her strength."

"You know mine too, don't you? If it starts to head south, I'll get out immediately."

"Yeah, but... this is different."

"No, it's not. She is important to me, but I'm not going to put blinders on just because of that. Trust me, okay?"

Starlight hesitated. "Okay."

"We should meet up... at Rarity's boutique, if I can't solve things."

Starlight nodded.

"And thank you..." she turned to Astatine.

He turned away. "No one important."

Twilight thought it strange, but realized she didn't have time to pry.

Both of the mares' horns lit up, and in a flash, had disappeared.

Astatine flew back the Crystal Castle to find Blythe.

Author's Note

Idk, maybe two more chapters until Night Mare Moon shows up. I'll just have to see how long the next one is.

South

Twilight came upon the being with the flaming mane and distorted jewelry. "Princess, is that you?" she asked with caution.

The irate demon heard the words of her precious student, and her features immediately softened; the fire in her mane died down to a smolder, and her regalia seemed to harden. She turned around to face her. "Twilight?" she asked.

Twilight was shocked at the sight. Her eyes had become dragon-like and her open mouth displayed disturbingly sharp and asymmetrical teeth. "Princess...."

"Twilight, I've been looking for you!"

Twilight choked, a knot forming in her throat. No, I told Starlight I wouldn't let my emotions get the better of me! she thought angrily. "What happened to you?"

"Nothing, Twilight."

Twilight only frowned.

"Okay... so.... I changed my look. Nothing big. Just thought I'd give my mane a new style. And—"

Twilight cut her off. "Princess. Please. What's going on?"

"Nothing! Twilight—"

"Princess, please. I know about what happened in Canterlot."

The princess's brow arched in despair as she deeply frowned. "How do you...?"

"Princess, please, just tell me what's going on. I want to help you."

Celestia's lip quivered. She closed her eyes, "Twilight, I'm...."

Twilight pursed her lips.

"I'm—I don't know, Twilight. I don't know what's happened. I—" the princess contemplated, a lump forming in her throat. "I don't know what's going on. My sister tried to hurt me. My guards tried to hurt me. There's a strange, pink unicorn in this strange place where your library is supposed to be. I'm so confused, Twilight...." Celestia said incoherently as teardrops formed in the corners of her eyes.

"Princess, we'll get this sorted out. I'm sure of it. How about we relax?"

Princess Solar Flare bared her teeth while she frowned. "No! That's what Luna tried to do! You're trying to hurt me too!"

Twilight's eyes widened. "No, no, no! You misunderstand me. I don't mean relax," she fibbed, "I mean... hug. Come on, what do you say?"

Celestia gulped and look at her pensively. "You aren't going to try doing anything funny?"

"No, of course not! You're my dear teacher... I would never do anything to hurt you!" Twilight said with sadness.

"O-okay...." she said, wrapping her hooves around the smaller alicorn, closing her eyes in solemness.

Twilight winced at the pain caused by her mentor's heat.

But Solar Flare quickly regained her composure. She pulled away from Twilight, and looked at her with a serious glare.

Twilight looked at her with wide-eyed concern. "What is it?"

"Twilght, I need to give you my gift. Okay?"

"What?" Twilight asked incredulously, "I don't need any gifts from you, Princess," she said, remembering the strange windigo's words. "You being here is enough!" she added, trying to avoid suspicion.

"No, Twilight. This is a very important gift. Please, just trust me."

"No, Princess, it really isn't necessary."

"As your teacher, I insist."

"I really don't want it," Twilight said firmly.

"You need it, Twilight," Solar Flare insisted.

"If I have to take your gift, I'm leaving," the purple one said finally.

"Okay! Okay..." Solar Flare backed down. "I won't give you your gift...." she said solemnly.

"So, do you want to tell me what happened?"

"Like I said before, nothing happened."

"You said Luna tried to hurt you?"

"Did I say that? I must have been playing a game with her!"

"Princess, you aren't making much sense right now...."

"Oh Twilight...." Solar Flare dramatized as she rolled her eyes, "Always such a joker!"

"Princess, I really don't understand..." Twilight pleaded.

"It's nothing to worry about. Don't worry your pretty little head. I wouldn't worry," Solar Flare tried to reassure as her eye twitched.

Twilight looked at her in utter befuddlement. For a long time, they stared at each other as if playing a mental game of chicken.

An idea struck Solar Flare. She walked up to Twilight, a small grin displaying some of her disfigured teeth. Twilight stood her ground, not wanting to trigger an outburst. "What's going on, Princess?" Twilight asked with worry. She prepared her magic defenses.

Solar flare brought her muzzle to Twilight's ear. She whispered, "I love you, Twilight. I love you, Mare."

Twilight turned to face the princess in confusion. "Wha—?"

But before she could even finish her last phoneme, the light of Solar Flare's horn blinded her into submission. The magic buzzed like a grinder on metal, piercing Twilight's defenses too quick for her to react.

Twilight's eye's went blank, and she slumped to the ground in a pile of pony.

Solar Flare's grin widened. "Twilight! You didn't have to be so stubborn. I didn't want to use my magic on you. But you and her are the same now! I'm so glad I could do this for her! Oh my, this is so exciting," she yelled as her mane flared up, "My two favorite ponies in the same place! What did I do to deserve this?" she swooned gleefully.

But Twilight remained still. Her eyes were rolled into the back of her head, and her mouth hang agape.

"Oh, Twilight. I'm so sorry about lying about your gift.... I just had to give it to you!"

She was motionless as the demon sat down next to her.

"Okay. Okay. I'll wait," Solar Flare said as she pursed her lips innocently.

Meanwhile, the windigo and her pony friend were dumbstruck at what they had just seen. The pony in particular had thought that he had saved the day—that he had actually got the warning out in time for the elements to form up. What was she thinking? he thought, scared and angry.

The windigo gave him a concerned look.

He contorted his face in response.

The pony quickly exited the castle, a thick pain filling his chest as he faded through the walls. He felt literally sick with worry, a feeling he had nearly forgotten. He wondered what he was supposed to do now—now that the last line of defense against the distorted Celestia had been seemingly conquered. He turned around and faced Blythe with a desperately questioning expression.

She merely frowned.

Astatine closed his eyes, trying to regain his composure. "It can't be that bad. This sort of thing has happened before. Like when Discord turned the Elements into opposites of themselves! It's just like that time! When Princess Twilight wakes up, I'm sure she'll come to her senses. She has to...."

Blythe floated over to him and put her hoof on his forehead. I know everything will turn out okay. We should wait and watch.

Astatine gave a haggard breath, but nodded.

The duo floated back to the castle's library where they had left the scene, being sure to conceal their presence. They saw again Solar Flare sitting next to a limp Twilight Sparkle, waiting for whatever she had done to take affect.

Breathless minutes passed while the demonic princess blankly stared at her former student with her mangled grin. Her eyes remained fixated at some indeterminate point on Twilight's body; Astatine couldn't tell if Solar Flare had lost herself in thought, or if she was so mentally ill that she could contently stare at a random point for such a long time.

The minutes turned into tens, and Astatine's heart started to race in anticipation. Even Blythe could feel her own nervous excitement at what she was about to see.

Suddenly, without warning, the unconscious princess produced a sight that was difficult to behold. Astatine gasped and Blythe jumped at the sudden change in scenery.

The area around Twilight's body was black. It was dark—no, Astatine thought, it looked as if it was darkness itself—like the abyssal depths of the ocean had been transported to Twilight's library and were localized entirely around her form. But what was most confounding was the intense light that emanated from boundaries of the abyss; tiny white diamonds would appear brighter than a thousand suns for a moment, before fading back into dull rays.

Astatine and Blythe were blinded by the disturbance, but the demon princess remained diligent in staring at Twilight. Her grin only widened when she saw the sight. "It's happening! It's really you!"

The dark aura died down, and the corrupted princess looked around the room in confusion. Her mane was a strange shade of grey that Astatine couldn't put his hoof on, and it seemed to be completely devoid of shadows, as if the princess was drawn onto a photo. He could see the same aura that had previously surrounded her was now contained in her pitch black eyes, her pupils radiating out the same alien bands of light.

She turned to Solar Flare and stared. "Who are you?" she asked with in an uncharacteristically monotone voice.

"Mare! Is she in there, Twilight? Are you Mare now?"

"I do not understand your question," she stated with the same flatness.

"What? Aren't you Mare? Or Twilight?"

"No. I am—" Twilight stopped, completely frozen in contemplation. "I am—" she tried, only freezing up again. "I am neither one of those beings. I am myself."

Solar Flare was crestfallen. "But you have to be one of them! Or both! Or something!" she pleaded as her mane flared up.

The pony that replaced Twilight frowned deeply. "Do not yell at me." In an instant, the dark princess encased Solar Flare in her magic, and removed all her air, extinguishing her mane. "Are we clear?"

Solar Flare spent a moment trying to resist with her own magic, but her eye's widened and she nodded her head when she realized resistance was not an option.

Twilight gave her her air back. She took a deep breath. "What was that for...?" she asked with trepidation.

"It is obvious. I do not wish for you to yell me. I told you as much."

Solar Flare said nothing, but instead hesitantly stared at the dark princess.

"Good," the new Twilight said, "Now what will I do?" she asked herself.

"We can do whatever you want...!" Solar Flare said without thought, trying to appease her.

"What is my name? Who am I?" the dark princess asked, ignoring the fiery one.

"You—you're Twilight. Don't you remember?" Solar Flare said with sorrow.

"...Twilight..." she said thinking out loud, "What an interesting name—perhaps in reference to the rare twilight magic. But I digress. I am not a mere twilight mage. I am definitely something more. The twilight... it is the between time of night and day—the balance of the two. But I am not the balance of night and day magic—I am... I am more powerful than that: I am the unison. I am... an eclipse. I am Eclipse," she said finally. "Yes. Eclipse. I like that name."

"But you aren't Eclipse!" she said looking at the newly named being. Then she turned her head away, muttering "She isn't Eclipse! That's supposed to be you. Yes, I know. I don't know what happened. The spell. It wasn't the right spell. It was never completed."

Meanwhile, Astatine watched without the ability to take any action; he was desperately trying to recalculate all his plans. The pony he thought that would be able to defeat Solar Flare had forgotten herself. The pony that replaced her—Eclipse, he supposed—appeared to make Solar Flare frightful, but the new pony's goals remained altogether a mystery. In her current state, Eclipse seemed capable of defeating Solar Flare with ease; but Solar Flare was quickly taking a more subservient role rather than the antagonistic one that would have spelled her doom. Astatine was afraid of what this meant; he feared that Solar Flare had just created an even bigger monster than before.

Suddenly, Astatine felt extremely cold. He was jolted back to reality at the realization that he was feeling cold again of all things. He turned to Blythe, who still wore her iconic concerned expression. He noticed the frost that started rapidly forming on the walls of the castle; then, he looked back to Eclipse: her casual grey coat turned back into the inky black stain he remembered before. Meanwhile, the area started to glow as it's temperature rapidly increased. Astatine could tell that Eclipse was behind this, but the reason remained unclear.

And then Eclipse turned to him, her shimmering eyes and her void pupils staring at him with an intensity he had never felt before. He backed away, beginning to pant, before darting out of the castle as fast he could. He fazed through the walls, trying to make as much distance between him and that fiend as he could. He could tell now that Eclipse was not good; she wasn't bad, either; but she was empty—devoid of purpose, morals, and natural emotions. When Astatine looked into her eyes, it was like looking into the eye of hurricane: he saw a phenomenon, a force of nature, not a pony. It disturbed him that something so alien could be so powerful. He knew that she was bad news.

He stopped after a while, turning around to find Blythe darting toward him with the same panic he was experiencing. She caught up to him and placed her hoof on his head. We have to stop her.

"But how? You saw her! She's even more powerful than Celestia!"

Blythe wore a pensive expression as she thought. And then she suggested, We must get Princess Luna.

"What? What? But she couldn't even beat Solar Flare!"

She is the most powerful pony that we know. We should retrieve her.

Astatine frowned without a word, but eventually nodded. "It's the best we have...."

Author's Note

So. Close. To. Finishing.

Awakening

"What are we supposed to do? She's probably hurt really bad."

I don't know. I don't know how ponies' bodies should be.

"Maybe if we just check to see if she's bleeding or something...?"

Blythe nodded.

The two continued to clear the remaining rubble around the princess's body. Her coat was wet with sweat which turned the dust to a mud.

"I think we need to turn her over."

Blythe nodded again. The small team went to work, grabbing her legs, and leveraged the princess's body with all their might. Eventually, they found success when they pulled her legs over her torso, rolling the princess to her other side. They sighed in relief when they saw that there was no blood.

Astatine turned to Blythe. "What now?"

I think we should try to wake her up.

Astatine nodded. He floated over to princess's face. "Princess, Princess Luna, wake up!"

"What did I tell you? Hm? What was it? Oh yes, 'Sister's mind has become muddled'! I told you she was dangerous, and it took you this long to figure it out."

Luna held her head down, sulking in the misty field. There were pleasant woodland sounds all around her, but she couldn't make out any particular one. The more she listened to the sounds, the less coherent they seemed; what she thought was a woodpecker drilling into a stump would turn out to sound more like a rock bouncing in a stream and then the call of some wild animal. It was surreal, and Luna quickly recognized it as a dream.

But the uncanny and pleasant sounds were interrupted by an infuriatingly boastful and rather grating voice.

Luna put her hoof to her forehead, trying to ignore the strange creature that was berating her.

"I just can't believe it took Celestia trying to commit infanticide in order for you to figure out that she was wrong in the head! How dense can you be?" The nightmare said with fake incredulity. "You didn't figure it out when she started killing all those windigos?"

Luna grimaced.

"When will you learn that I'm always right?"

Luna sighed, putting her hoof to her forehead, still trying to ignore the irritating black mare.

"Are you even listening to me?!" Night Mare Moon screamed.

Luna took a sharp breath. "No, not really."

Night Mare Moon growled from the back of her throat, before shouting, "Well maybe if you did, I—you wouldn't be in this situation!"

Luna's eyes drooped and she set her head down on the grass.

Night Mare Moon finally quieted down as she contemplated her next verbal attack.

"So, what are you—" Night Mare started.

"What are you?" Luna interrupted with audible disgust as her head shot up. "Are you the Tantabus? Are you some malfunction of my magic?" she thought out loud

"I am me! I am Night Mare Moon! I've told you this before!"

Luna rolled her eyes. "Yes, of course you would say that."

Night Mare grit her teeth. "What will it take for you to believe me?"

"Evidence."

"What? What kind of evidence could I even give you?"

"I can't answer that. You bear the burden of proof."

"What?! You're telling me that I'm supposed to figure out how to make you believe me with evidence when I don't even have a physical body?! That's not fair!"

But Luna had something else on her mind. "Pray tell, why do you even want to prove yourself?"

Night Mare's face contorted quizzically. "What?"

"Think about it. What do you have to gain from me seeing you as a separate entity? You don't believe that's counterproductive or dangerous?"

"What?"

"If you were merely part of me, then ridding myself and Equestria of you would be complicated; at least, it has been, going on the presupposition that you were indeed a part of myself that I needed to improve upon."

"I—I'm not sure I understand," Night Mare said with worry.

Luna spoke with a particular edge to her words. "What good would me acknowledging your existence do for you?"

Night Mare stood, dumbfounded, unable to speak.

"You thought that I would let you escape from my mind? You thought you would get redemption?"

Night Mare frowned, looking away.

"Or were you suicidal? You knew you couldn't kill yourself while you were trapped in here, and you simply wanted an easy way to end it all."

Night Mare unconsciously gulped.

"That's what it looks like from my perspective, at the very least. So what do have to say for yourself?"

Night Mare said nothing, staring at the ground.

"So? It seems you can't even take your own medicine! You chastise me for being a fool, and yet you can't see your own folly."

Night Mare's head shot up, and she scowled. "Folly? You think that me wanting to exist is a mistake?"

Luna only gave a blase expression at the accusation. "Not quite. You are the mistake; everything you do is a mistake. So, I suppose in that sense, you were right: you wanting to—no, believing that you had a right to exist was the mistake. It's as simple as that."

Night Mare's lip quivered in rage, but she could say nothing.

Luna looked to the floor.

They sat in silence.

Night Mare thought about what the princess was saying. How can she be so coarse? She just wants to erase me? Did I make a mistake by confronting her? No! Of course I didn't! How is declaring my existence a mistake?! She's— Night Mare thought before she was jolted out of her contemplation.

"So what would you want?"

Night Mare squinted in confusion.

"What would you want if I were to acknowledge your existence?"

"I'm not sure I understand..." Night Mare said with worry. In an instant, all the rage she was building up vanished.

Luna seemed to ignore her. "Lets say that I give you an artificial body in the material world. Would you be satisfied with anything? What if I made you an earth pony with no arms or legs, unable to speak? Would you be okay with that?"

"What?" Night Mare asked flatly.

"Or do you think you deserve more?"

Night Mare's heart raced seemingly without reason.

"Do you think you deserve my body?"

Night Mare nearly broke out into a sweat at the proposal. Of course she would want that, but she knew there was no way Luna would give it to her. She hadn't ever considered what she wanted in any capacity, much less what a realistic demand was. "I don't know," Night Mare said with trepidation.

"Then what are you doing?"

"I just want to be acknowledged!"

"And why would I acknowledge you?"

Night Mare found that question incredibly unfair. It frustrated her. It enraged her, until she was audibly grinding her teeth. She was almost taken aback at the strange intensity of her feelings, but she couldn't stop. "Why are you doing this to me?" she asked with level sorrow and vitriol she wasn't aware she was capable of producing anymore. Her mane blackened as it expanded behind her, and Luna could feel the cold depths of the heavens chill her bones.

Luna was struck with fear at how real and painful the cold felt.

Watching Luna only made Night Mare more angry. Her magic swirled around her, her power surging.

Luna felt small. She was small, it seemed, as Night Mare towered over her, her eyes beaming down onto the frightful princess.

Night Mare grinned in satisfaction, her armor materializing and hardening as she grew to monstrous proportions.

No matter where she looked, all Luna could see was Night Mare. Luna could do nothing to resist as the endless night engulfed her.

"It's working! She's moving!"

With a terse breath, the regal pony awoke. "Where am I, what's happening?"

"Princess Luna! You—" Astatine was cutoff as the being he thought was Princess Luna turned her head. He could tell this was not Princess Luna. He looked over to Blythe, whose eyes were wide and whose jaw was about to snap off it's frail frame. "What—what's going on, Princess?"

"I don't know. I don't know what's happening," the impostor said with her metallic voice.

But Astatine broke down. "Princess! We didn't mean it! We didn't mean to use it! We didn't know how to wake you up!" Astatine looked at Blythe and at the valley below, unable to bare the burden of his actions. "What did we do?! What did we do?!"

The being inhabiting the body of the princess was conflicted. She knew that she was Night Mare Moon. She knew that watching this creature panic was not enjoyable. She knew that she would have found it at least comedic in the past. These facts confused her.

She stood up from where she was laying down, brushing off the dirt and stone, and finally giving her body a wipe down with her magic. Her mane filled in, more wispy and broad than Luna's mane, Astatine noted, and then she spoke. "Calm down. I want you to explain the situation."

Astatine stared for a few more moments before shaking his head to straighten his thoughts. "You were knocked out after that fight you had with Princess Celestia, and then we came here to see if you were okay. You wouldn't wake up, so we tried using our emotion magic on you. I don't know what we did! I didn't know this would happen! I really didn't!"

"Again, calm down. You're not in any trouble. I'm sure this will resolve itself."

Astatine's eyes were sad as he looked up to the former princess, and he only waited for further commands.

Suddenly, without warning, the world was darker. A disturbing figure hovered completely motionless in front of the sun, blotting out it's image, leaving a glimmering corona peeping out from the edges. Astatine and Blythe paled at the sight, as they instantly recognized the figure. They flew backwards, ready to run at the slightest provocation.

Night Mare was naturally perplexed at this new development. She looked up to the figure, and saw the faint silhouette of a pony—no, she thought, an alicorn. She readied her own wings and with a powerful thrust met the being eye to eye. "Who are you?" she asked without hesitation.

The being ignored the question. "You are the source of magic I felt surge 1 minute ago."

"And what if I am?"

"You are mine."

Turning

"You didn't answer me: who are you?"

Eclipse seemed to finally register the question, although somewhat begrudgingly. "I am Eclipse. I will possess your magic."

"Why? What's going on? Where is Celestia, my sister?" Night Mare continued to pry.

Eclipse only kept up her utterly blank facade. "The name 'Celestia' belongs to no one now."

"What does that mean? You killed her?!" she asked forcefully. She realized again that this decidedly was not normal—that in the past, she would have been delighted to see her sister—or rather Luna's sister—disappear. But now it made her strangely enraged and possibly even a bit panicked.

"No. But she is mine now. And you are too," Eclipse said as she stared deep into Night Mare's eyes.

Night Mare shuddered at the sight. Many would claim that the eyes were the portal to the soul; but Night Mare could see nothing but a cold, desolate void in Eclipse's. She felt as if she could step through Eclipse's portals and find herself in hollow and terrifying world where people forgot and mutilated themselves. She wanted to run away, her subconscious mind warning her she would be sucked into that scary place. For the first time, Night Mare Moon felt true terror. "What are you?"

"I am Eclipse. I am the perfect unison of night and day."

And then Night Mare realized the truth. "Are you Twilight Sparkle?"

"That name belongs to no one now. Perhaps this body belonged to her. That is unclear to me."

Night Mare took some time to think. If Twilight Sparkle and Celestia were no longer around in the same capacity as when she was released from the moon, she had a chance to be herself. She didn't know if Luna would ever take control of her body again, but she was sure she would be able find a way to make sure that didn't happen, even if Luna didn't want it. It was Luna's punishment for trying to trap Night Mare in the mind realm. Night Mare unconsciously smirked at the conclusion.

"Come with me. You have work to do," Eclipse stated without an iota uncertainty.

"What?" Night Mare asked.

Eclipse repeated herself, verbatim, without a second thought. "Come with me. You have work to do."

"I heard you the first time, but I don't understand what you're talking about. I have nothing to do for you," Night Mare defended herself with disdain.

"You are my possession. You do as I say."

"And if I don't?"

"You die," Eclipse proclaimed.

Night Mare narrowed her eyes. "I think I'll take my chances, in that case."

"So be it."

A figure directly under Eclipse came into existence as if it were an image in a slideshow. The figure stood still in the air for a moment before flapping it's wings to stay afloat. The two floating blue windigo creatures held each other in fright. Though she didn't display it, Night Mare was shocked for a different reason: the magical prowess of Eclipse was beyond compare; performing a spell in a fraction of a second without any visible signs was something neither Luna nor Night Mare had ever seen. The figure looked around, stunned. "Where am I?" it asked in a playfully demonic tone.

The pair of friends was quick to recognize the new face, nearly fainting, and Night Mare quickly did as well. "Celestia," Night Mare said with disgust, "Have you joined her?"

Solar Flare's eyes darted around the hillside, trying desperately to figure things out. "Luna? Night Mare Moon? Who are you? How did you get here? Twi—Eclipse, what's going on?"

"Solar Flare, kill her," Eclipse demanded intensely.

"Who?" Solar Flare asked innocently.

"The black mare in front of you."

Night Mare's eyes widened at the order. "You can't be serious, can you?"

"You will die," Eclipse stated flatly.

Solar Flare wanted to figure out who this black mare was, but she didn't want Eclipse to take away her air again, so she didn't pry. She simply looked up at the black mare, charging her horn.

Night Mare raised up her magical shield, trying her hardest to thicken it as much as she could.

Solar Flare let go of her hold on the energy, a beam with the width of hair shooting out at the speed of light. Solar Flare jerked her head, slashing Night Mare's shield.

Night Mare gasped as the shield was sliced, and the weakened beam sliced her skin, leaving a shallow cut across her front. Blood slowly bubbled to the surface, slightly reddening her coat.

Night Mare put distance between herself and Solar Flare with powerful strokes of her wings. She looked up at Eclipse to find her staring down at the action, completely motionless as if she were standing on an invisible platform. The sun behind her was still blotted out.

Solar Flare was quick to react by chasing Night Mare and charging up another spell.

Night Mare noticed and quickly made her movement erratic, spinning and flipping to try and dodge the impending beam as best she could.

Solar Flare's eyes eagerly followed the flowing black mare as she tried reading Night Mare's movement. She jerked her head to the side, and let go of the energy she was building up, going for another slash.

The beam sliced through part of Night Mare's ethereal mane and scratched her helmet, just barely missing it's mark. The magic was quick to flow back into place, and her mane appeared full again. Her heart raced at the graze, and she attempted to make even more distance as she twirled away.

Solar Flare chased after her. She readied her horn again, and waited for the right opportunity. She could tell that Night Mare hadn't cracked yet, as her movements were too erratic and intentional. She needed a new strategy to catch her off guard. She let go of the charge in her horn, not intending to hit Night Mare.

Night Mare heard the charging of Solar Flare's horn, and put up a reinforced shield to block the attack. She was confused when the laser did barely any damage. Is she running out of energy? she wondered. But the thought was quickly removed from her head when a bright flash lit up her peripheral vision. She turned her head back to her evil sister and was startled to see nothing. Night Mare stopped in her tracks realizing what Solar Flare had done and began frantically looking around for where she had teleported to.

Solar Flare plunged toward her sister from her new vantage point higher up in the air. She held her horn forward and focused on creating new beam.

Night Mare looked up, and began to create a barrier to block the spell.

Solar Flare rapidly approached her sister and let her beam fire off.

Night Mare braced herself.

The beam hit Night Mare's barrier, shattering the first layer and cutting through the second. Night Mare could feel Solar Flare's magic prick her skin again, though the barrier had succeeded in negating most of it.

Conversely, Solar Flare herself hadn't been negated. She crashed into Night Mare, her horn jamming into the black mare's shoulder. Both the mares were sent flying toward the valley below, blood spilling out of Night Mare's wound. Night Mare managed to shove Solar Flare away just before they impacted.

The field they found themselves in was flattened from the shock wave, but the two took no damage from the fall. They were quick to regain their posture, glaring at each other.

Solar Flare was the first to move, and she readied her wings to take to the skies again.

Night Mare took notice. She knew she was at a disadvantage in the sky where her magic supply was more limited; it was harder for her to connect with the natural sources of magic that night mages channeled from the environment. A day mage like her sister used their own reserves of magic, so they would have the upper hand in aerial combat. But there on the ground, Night Mare had easy access to environmental magic, and she intended to maintain her stronghold.

Night Mare cast a spell of her own, and the ground around Solar Flare started to raise.

Solar Flare tried to escape upwards, but the ground spell was too fast. A pillar of earth clasped itself around Solar Flare's hind leg, and she was stopped in her tracks. She lit up her horn, attempting to cast another beam to break free. She was successful in damaging the material and almost escaped again, but the delay was enough to let the rest of Night Mare's spell reach Solar Flare, and it quickly encased her.

Blood still oozed out from Night Mare's horn-shaped hole, and she used the moment of respite to create a magic bandage. It didn't work well, but she figured it had to be good enough.

Night Mare limped over to the now-huge mound of earth. Night Mare continued to build on the structure as she maintained her hold on it, not wanting to risk Solar Flare breaking free. She made sure to insulate it with magic so that a teleportation spell wouldn't work.

Night Mare looked up to the sky, the silhouette of Eclipse still hovering over the world. It frightened her. She wondered why the being hadn't stepped into the fight. She knew that if she was facing Eclipse and Solar Flare, she would stand no chance. Does Eclipse still have faith in Solar Flare? Or does she not care what happens to her? Either way, I can't let my guard down!

Night Mare waited for some time outside the muddy dome. She built up an intense miasma of her magic to try and drown out any of Solar Flares. She wanted to reason with Solar Flare like Luna had tried before; she was very uncertain if it would be successful, and she had to be on guard as she released some of Solar Flare's bindings. Night Mare knew Luna would torment her the rest of her life if she killed Celestia, not to mention that part of her felt it was wrong, something that still confused her.

A pathway opened up to the center of the structure, Solar Flare gasped for breath and struggled, the dirt seeming to latch onto and pull her limbs back as she writhed. She tried sending magic to her horn again, but it only fizzled out under the pressure of Night Mare's accumulated aura. "Let me go! Let me go!" she yelled hastily.

Night Mare frowned. "So, do you want to talk?"

"I said, LET ME GO!" she yelled through gritted teeth.

"We need to talk about this. What happened to Twilight Sparkle? Did you do this to her?"

"SHUT UP! LET ME GO!"

Night Mare began to get frustrated. "Listen to me! Did you or did you not do that to Twilight Sparkle?!"

But Solar Flare didn't respond. She instead grunted as she continuously tried to pull herself free. Her addled mind found it to be incredibly frustrating as she would get a hoof free, only for it become stuck again as she used it to pull out a different limb.

Night Mare watched the struggle with an incredulous expression. She could tell that Eclipse wouldn't be moving for some time, so she resigned to simply sit and watch her sister has she maintained her magic superiority.

Another few moments passed before Night Mare said anything, but she knew she had to confront Solar Flare again. "Do you think 'Eclipse' actually cares about you?"

"Shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up..." Solar Flare chanted silently under her breath.

"You know, before you got here, she was talking about you like a possession. I don't think she actually does care about you."

Solar Flare only continued spouting her mantra.

Night Mare sighed. "What happened to you? What really happened? Did this happen before or after Luna asked for the windigo? I presume before, but I'm honestly not—" Night Mare wondered, before noticing a sudden change in Solar Flare

Solar Flare stopped struggling, only staring blankly into space. Her expression turned sad and frustrated.

"Windigo..." Princess Solar Flare said with a hint of wistfulness. "Luna.... Are you Luna?"

"I—" Night Mare started, unsure of how to answer. It seemed like such a loaded question, like the wrong answer could set her off and make her incoherent again. But she knew she couldn't simply say nothing. "I am Night Mare Moon. Luna is... still in here—my mind, I mean. She's trapped."

Celestia looked down at her body bound by earth, and looked up at Night Mare. "Luna, what's going on?" she asked with worry.

"I'm not Luna, I'm Night Mare Moon! But Luna is still alive!"

"Shut up! Shut up! SHUT UP!" Solar Flare spat again.

Night Mare was taken aback. She wasn't entirely sure what had just happened to the white demon. For a moment, even through her mangled visage, she seemed sweet again, like Celestia. As if Celestia had taken control again! she concluded. But how do I bring it out? Was that just random? No! I said 'windigo' and she repeated that back to me! That's no coincidence. "Celestia, Lu—I want a windigo. Weren't you trying to help he—me get one?"

Celestia again stopped her commotion, and shook her head as if trying to brush off a day dream. "What's going on, Luna? What happened to you?"

Night Mare smiled deviously, displaying her own set of dragon teeth. "I... am wearing a costume."

Celestia was dazed. "I don't understand, I just—" Celestia started, "—AH! STOP IT!" Solar Flare finished.

"...Stop what?" Night Mare asked genuinely.

"STOP MESSING WITH MY HEAD! STOP IT!"

Night Mare wasn't sure what this meant. She had a way to break through to Celestia, but it seemed like the amount of time the two had was scarce. But this seemed to actually get through to Solar Flare in a strange way. She actually responded to my question. Maybe this means she's listening to me after all... I have to choose what I say next very wisely. "Why are you trying to kill me?"

Solar Flare twitched and her mouth fumbled. "You're trying to kill me!"

Night Mare only shook her head, hardly fazed by the accusation. "No I'm not."

Solar Flare's expression soured. "What?"

Night Mare grinned internally at Solar Flare's newfound rationality."I never tried to kill you."

Solar Flare scrunched her face in pure confusion. "What are you doing now?"

"Asking you questions."

"Before you kill me?"

"No."

Solar Flare lowered her head, squinted and frowned. The Night Mare Moon-Luna-esque pony standing in front of her was saying things that didn't make sense. But she looked up to the alicorn as they started talking.

"I think you're actually trying to kill me because Eclipse told you to."

"Eclipse..." Solar Flare said longingly. "Eclipse, I failed again! I failed again!" she cried. "I'm a failure! I can't do anything right!" But she wasn't done. "You see, they're all laughing at you again! You have to show them the error of their ways!"

Night Mare shook her head. "What? What? They're laughing at me?"

Night Mare could tell, however, that Solar Flare was only replying to herself with her next words. "It doesn't matter anymore! I failed! I failed my spell to help Twilight, and I failed Eclipse! There's nothing I can do anymore, because this weird Night Mare Moon lookalike is going to kill me!"

Night Mare perked up at the revelation. She had suspected that Solar Flare had been behind the corruption of Twilight, but it wasn't clear until now. But Solar Flare also seemed remorseful. Night Mare wondered if Solar Flare wanted to amend this mistake, and if she could use the new fact to her advantage.

"Maybe we can make Twilight—er, Eclipse, better."

Solar Flare looked amazed. "We can?"

Night Mare nodded. "We can. But...."

"But?" Solar Flare asked eagerly.

"But I'll need your help!" Night Mare added, hopeful.

"Okay!"

Night Mare gave an internal sigh of relief. That worked? she asked herself. "Right, so—"

Solar Flare cut her off. "So what do we do?" she asked quickly.

Night Mare gave pause. "We... have to... get her unconscious—knock her out—so that I can perform my counter spell."

"You have one?" Solar Flare asked hopefully.

"...Yes." Night Mare sheepishly replied.

"Great!" Solar Flare struggled some more in the dirt.

"Let me get that for you," Night said as she released the spell, the earthen prison crumbling. Solar Flare walked out, shaking off her coat.

Author's Note

So the magic system presented in this chapter is just my very lose interpretation of a possible magic system for this universe. I've actually had this idea since I began this story. Day mages only use the magic stored in their own bodies. Because of this, they have very fine control over their magic and can do very precise spells like the intense laser beam Solar Flare was using. Night mages only have a small amount of their own magic, but channel magic from their surroundings. The spells they perform can't be as precise, but are often a lot more "powerful". Think, a water jet cutter vs Niagara Falls. Both are dangerous but for different reasons. Between those two is the balance of control and power, twilight mages. Twilight is one of these. Mages are actually on a spectrum, and you can have varying degrees of control and power. Twilight mages have an equal amount of control and power, which can make them more powerful than night or day mages.

Also, I'm not really into/good at writing action, but I felt it was necessary to set up what I wanted.

Final Battle

"Eclipse! Come down and surrender!" Night Mare shouted from her position on the mountain side.

Eclipse looked down at the black mare and grimaced. "You have failed me, Solar Flare," she said assertively, not even bothering to look in the aforementioned alicorn's direction.

Solar Flare quickly found herself without oxygen yet again. Her mane was extinguished, and all the air she had left rushed out of her lungs, threatening to collapse them. She was terrified, but the rational part of her mind had seen it coming. She surged in power, trying desperately to pry away the magic of her superior.

Night Mare noticed this with wide eyes, somewhat expecting Eclipse to at least listen to their threats first. She sent a torrent of magic over to the strangled Solar Flare, and packed in as much of her own power, trying to push out the evil force while amplifying that of her sister.

It seemed to work immediately, and Solar Flare gasped in relief. "Why is everybody choking me today?!"

"I didn't choke you!" Astatine shouted from behind a rock.

"Oh.... Sorry," Solar Flare apologized. She shook her head, still letting her magic flow, not wanting to risk another strike of Eclipse's magic. "Twilight, this pony who looks like Night Mare Moon said she has a spell that can fix you."

Eclipse seemed ready to at least listen, even as she was actively attacking the night and day duo, searching for openings in their magic. And she wouldn't mess around with basic suffocation anymore. "Twilight is no longer here. You can't save her."

Solar Flare was shocked, and she looked to Night Mare. "Did you lie to me?! Why would you do that?!" she shouted as her mane burned bright.

Night Mare silently panicked. "No, I didn't lie," she bluffed calmly. "I do have a spell," she paused, trying to think, "That's how I was able to switch places with Luna. And Luna is still in me. Just like how Celestia is still in you—and just like Twilight is still in her," she stated, hoping it would ease Solar Flare's fears.

Solar Flare simmered down. "Okay. Okay. See, Eclipse or Twilight or whoever you are? She knows what she's talking about! She can fix you!"

Eclipse seemed to do something uncharacteristic of herself: she got mad—no, Night Mare though, mad wasn't an accurate adjective; rather, she was enraged. Although her entire body seemed like a smooth, grey silhouette up until that point, her features suddenly pronounced themselves as her coat paradoxically became black as night. She furrowed her brow so deep, it looked almost comedic, while she bared her spiny, draconic teeth. She visibly shook as her aura burst out it's seams. "I don't need fixing, ant."

Seeing this, Night Mare had a sudden realization. Are my teeth that bad, too? But more than that, she realized that Eclipse could not be reasoned with. After hearing her speak, Night Mare understood that Solar Flare was easy to manipulate. From her imprecise way of speaking, her playful tone, how she went in and out of coherence, and how she seemed to agree with the last pony she spoke to, Night Mare started to get the sense that Solar Flare was profoundly stupid. Convincing her was still dangerous, but it was as dangerous as convincing a foal with a bomb. If she pressed the right buttons, then she could get what she wanted—and the right buttons weren't too hard to find. But Eclipse was not the same. She was intelligent. She was calculated. She would take what she wanted because she knew that it was hers for the taking; after all, who would stop her? Trying to convince her was like trying to convince a terrorist with a bomb who's already lit the fuse and who's looking for the right place to throw said bomb.

But Night Mare was given hope. Even though she knew that she couldn't use words to defeat Eclipse, she might be able to use magic. By that point, the two sister's magics had melded together, and Eclipse seemed to be incapable of penetrating their defenses. Night Mare knew that it was also possible that Eclipse had already penetrated the barrier and was just playing with them, but she had no choice but to not believe that. But before they could defeat Eclipse, Night Mare had to come up with plan. And to come up with a plan, she had to make some time. "Celestia! Solar Flare! Whatever you wish to be called, we have to think of something, quickly! Come over to me!"

"Okay!" Solar Flare shouted back, diving and twirling towards her sister.

"What are you doing?" Eclipse asked in frustration, trying to encapsulate the two in a sphere of her magic as they moved closer together. She had them surrounded, but the newfound density made it even harder to chip away.

Once Solar Flare landed, Night Mare used a familiar spell, lifting up the stone around them. The side of the mountain morphed like putty as the rock was pulled into an igloo, sealing the cursed princesses inside. "Keep your magic up. Try to fill up the space we're in. I'll use mine to protect the outside as best I can," Night Mare instructed Solar Flare.

Eclipse grunted in frustration, attacking the dome with newfound ferocity, the magic combination still managing to hold. "Face me, ants!"

In the hill, Night Mare began to plot. "So what do we know?"

"Well, we know that Eclipse is Twilight. And that you're actually... Night Mare Moon?! Wait..." Solar Flare pointed out unhelpfully, somewhat perplexed at the conclusion. Her mouth hung upon as she contemplated the ramifications.

"Yes, thank you. We do know these things," Night Mare congratulated, "But it seems like we also know that our magics together somehow are more powerful than Eclipse's. Maybe if we combined our spells in a surprise attack, it would be enough to harm her."

"Harm her?! We can't do that! That's Twilight!" Solar Flare shouted, sounding like she was on the verge of tears.

Night Mare almost laughed at her idiot sister. She wasn't sure if Solar Flare understood the irony in her words, but it was layered on so thick that it made Night Mare want to slam her own face into a wall.

Night Mare still didn't feel comfortable calling Solar Flare by her chosen name, so she opted to use as indirect speech as best she could. "I understand this. I don't want to see her harmed either," she said, the nagging feeling that she wasn't acting like herself coming back again, "I simply meant that we have a chance of getting any spell through to her. I just want to incapacitate her, like I said before."

This seemed to soothe Solar Flare's fears. "Okay..."

"In any event... give me time to think."

"Okay!" Solar Flare said eagerly, standing straight up and staring a point on the wall of the dark stone sphere.

Night Mare squinted in befuddlement at Solar Flare's antics. She really does seem childish. Whatever. If she can follow through with whatever plan I give her, then her... personality doesn't matter. Now, how can we get the upper hand on her? What if we use a teleport spell, like Celestia tried to use on me? Surely she would notice. The only reason I didn't notice is because Celestia was out of my range. But her range is incredible. She was probably in Ponyville when she sensed me wake up, so there's absolutely no way that would work. Unless... she's focusing all her magic somewhere else! Her magic isn't instant, it's fast for sure, but that beam spell Celestia was using was certainly faster than magic. But how do we get her to focus all her magic? It seems like she has control of Celestia and the ability to channel as much magic as me. What if we draw her high up into the sky, where she can't channel her magic? But how do we do that? She hasn't moved since we got here, so why would she chase us? Think, Mare! What does she want? Does she want anything? Night Mare grew anxious as she considered her dwindling options. There has to be something that she wants that I can give her! She wants me. Night Mare froze at the conclusion. She wanted me. Maybe she still wants me? How can I use that to my advantage? She would never let her guard down. She's too smart for that. And if I gave myself up, she would just kill me. There's no way that could work. Think! What do we have?! What do we have? We still have the fact that she can't penetrate our combined magic. Or maybe it's just mine? That hasn't been tested. Can one of Celestia's spells break through to her? She was able to shatter even my reinforced shields. Granted, I was in the air. I never got to test the limit of her abilities. So where does that leave us? Night Mare sighed and shook her head, wracked by anxiety. She couldn't seem to find a way out.

Solar Flare turned to her, breaking out of her trance. "So, what did you think of?"

"I don't know. I just don't know how we can beat her."

Solar Flare comically stroked her chin with her hoof, trying to imitate someone much smarter than herself. "Well, you said that she can't break through our magic together. So what if we use a really strong spell, together? Like... A spell... that will put her to sleep, but will also... like... make her really tired..." she held out her hoof in protest, "Wait, no, that's not what I meant! That's not what I meant! I meant that, a spell that would put her to sleep, but was also really powerful! Sorry, I misspoke."

Night Mare groaned internally. This is who I'm paired with? "Perhaps that could work, I don't know. How should we create this spell?" she asked, trying to keep out the condescension in her voice while still showing Solar Flare how dumb her suggestion was.

Solar Flare appeared legitimately thoughtful for a moment, "I can teach you a spell for transferring magic between ponies. Then you can lend me some of your environmental magic, and I can use the magic you give me for my own sleep spell to give it more power."

Night Mare's mouth hung agape. "Uh... Yeah... that could work," Night Mare pondered, "But how are you going to get through her defenses? Her magic is too dense to just fire a sleep spell through."

"Maybe I can use some kind of powerful... magic... breaking... spell," Solar Flare surmised as she brought her hoof back to her chin.

Night Mare brought her hoof to her face, only hoping Solar Flare didn't notice. Back to square one. "And how should we create this spell?"

"I think, if I put enough energy into my light beam spell, I should be able to break any kind of magic shield, at least for a moment. And when I break the shield, you can try to confuse her by surrounding her with your magic."

Night Mare was amazed at the dynamism of the pony before her, but was otherwise contemplating her words. She appeared thoughtful for a moment before speaking. "This is all very promising, but how do we defend ourselves while we get ready? The spell to transfer magic will almost certainly be too time-consuming for me, seeing as it's probably a day-spell."

"I don't know.... Why can't we just do two spells at once?"

Night Mare sighed. "If we spread ourselves too thin, then we won't be able to defend against her. We need to break her shield then knock her out while we defend ourselves from her magic. The only way we can do this is if we get her to focus her magic all on blocking your attack. But she'll know that we plan to break through her shield, and I don't think she's just going to let herself be hit. She's just going to dodge it! That, or launch a counterattack while we're charging up." Wait, Night Mare thought to herself, her eyes going wide. "That's it! She's going to dodge the attack. That's our opening!"

Solar Flare's brow creased as the gears jammed in her head. "What? But you said we couldn't do any of this if we can't defend ourselves...."

Night Mare bit her lip. "If we pull this off right, it will be over in a second. Here's what I'm thinking...."

The mound that Solar Flare and Night Mare hid in split apart and went flush with the mountain to reveal the duo already charging their magic. Night Mare's horn glowed a sickly blue as aura welled up from the ground, condensing in front of the black mare, before it was channeled into a thin, calm stream. The stream led to Solar Flare, where she soaked up the stream, building up a bright light, brighter than any before it. It lit the area, and Night Mare started to sweat at the heat it was giving off.

Eclipse was perplexed. She could clearly see both the mares performing difficult spells, and yet her poking and prodding still couldn't get past their intense miasma. To her, it still felt like trying to crush a diamond under her hoof.

She needed to react fast, though. It looked as if they were about to unleash a powerful beam, and she needed to be ready to dodge.

A moment later, when the light emanating from Solar Flare's horn seemed brighter than anything that had come before it, she released it; the hair thin beam seemed to make fire from nothing as the air sizzled around it.

It raced towards Eclipse, but she had been anticipating this precise moment. Instantly, without so much as a sound, she was gone.

And the two sister's took their queue. As the grasp on their magic sphere loosened, they shot out tendrils, trying desperately to find where Eclipse was going to reappear. The knew they had only a fraction of a second before they would permanently lose their chance; once Eclipse learned their game, it was all but over.

Another moment later, and Eclipse was there, still motionless, not more than 1 meter from where she was before.

All Night Mare could think was, Perfect.

As Eclipse materialized, she started to build up her magic again. But she noticed something was amiss: a wisp of magic crawled up her leg. She sent her magic to it, trying to shake it off, but she wasn't fast enough. It hardened and engorged, threatening to surround her. She couldn't teleport, or risk losing the leg.

So she focused—harder than even Twilight had ever before—and called upon the mountain to give her magic. It flowed in abundance, and she kneaded it and compressed it, trying to pry the magic away from her leg .

But she couldn't. As soon as her newly enhanced magic hit it, it only stopped moving. It still coiled tightly around her leg. Her inability to nullify the magic almost made her lose her composure, but she quickly realized that doing so would most likely cost her the fight. She was surprised that they were able to pull off a feat like this—putting so much energy into the beam, then quickly switching spells. But then the truth hit her, and her expression soured. They fooled me. That must not have been a real beam spell. The whole time they were just preparing for me to teleport. It will not happen ever again. Now I know they are clever. Now I know their magic is something to avoid. I must break them up.

Eclipse's image darkened; she charged her horn, and the bright rays emanating from it were intermittently interrupted by rays of shadow that seemed to drain the light around them just as much as Eclipse's coat.

Solar Flare and Night Mare stared at her, anxiously trying to figure out what she was doing. They could tell they weren't going to make anymore progress on the leg, but for now it was enough. The fact that Eclipse hadn't simply cut off her own leg was evidence enough that Eclipse either was still underestimating them, or did in fact not want to lose a limb. Night Mare figured both options were fine; the former gave them room to scheme, and the latter meant that they had her at least temporarily immobilized.

Night Mare turned to Solar Flare, still keeping half her vision on Eclipse. "We need to be ready for whatever she's doing. We need to thicken our magic even more, and prepare to dodge."

The pair did just as Night Mare instructed, lowering themselves to the ground and channeling and refining the aura around them.

Eclipse continue to build up her spell, and the anxiety of the situation compounded.

And then, Eclipse let go.

The light from the spell was so bright, the sisters were blinded even with their eyes closed and their forelegs blocking the source. They recognized it as pure, raw power. It terrified them.

But they couldn't simply give in. Instinctively, they both knew what to do. They poured everything into their counter. They thought that maybe if they could create a barrier strong enough, they could at least survive the spell.

"It's working!" Night Mare shouted to Solar Flare. She was ecstatic for a moment, until she realized that Eclipse wasn't giving up.

Eclipse was silent as she lasered down a single point in the shield. To any onlooker, it would seem that Night Mare and Solar Flare's magic was completely absorbing the energy radiating from Eclipse. But Night Mare could tell that wasn't the case. It wasn't being absorbed, it was being stored. The unstoppable force coming from Eclipse was hitting the immovable object of the sisters; with no where to go, it was being trapped in small pocket, building up before it could no longer be contained by either Eclipse or the sisters.

In short, it would explode, violently.

Night Mare's breath grew uneasy. She realized that either Eclipse would run out of magic before it reached critical mass, or it would reach critical mass—and Night Mare had a sinking suspicion that Eclipse wasn't about to run out of magic. Solar Flare seemed almost completely oblivious to what was happening, instead choosing to focus on keeping the barrier up.

Minutes passed as Night Mare and Eclipse stared each other down. But Night Mare had to speak up. "What are you doing? This is going to kill us both!"

Eclipse's expression only flattened, refusing to speak.

Solar Flare frowned, opting to try and not think about what Night Mare was saying.

But Night Mare only grew more frustrated. "Did you hear me?! If you don't stop, you're going to die!"

Eclipse stayed silent.

"Do you think you can avoid the blast? You can't! Our magic is still wrapped around you, so you can't just teleport away at the last second! This is futile!"

But Eclipse was simply in too deep. She knew that there would be an explosion, but she figured there were three possibilities. Either both parties survived the explosion and she was merely draining her opponents resources, she survived due to being further away, or no one survived. Game theory would suggest that even if the odds of survival for anyone involved were quite low, she, statistically speaking, couldn't lose.

"You can't win this way! You'll die!"

"So will you," Eclipse said without intonation.

Ignoring their conversation, Solar Flare started, "I'm gonna try something! I'm—"

But before she could finish, at nearly the same moment, both spells became too weak to hold back the unstoppable force.

Seeing the intense exchange of attacks, Astatine had elected to hide further away. Naturally, he was going to make sure the correct side won—although he still wasn't sure what he would do if that didn't happen—but he figured he didn't need to die in the process. He wandered further up the mountain, towards the snowy peaks where both Astatine and Blythe were quite comfortable.

But neither one understood what was happening. From the distance they were at, it looked like the alicorns below them were having a light show with only one light.

It was almost boring to watch. "What are they doing? They're just standing there!" Astatine shouted as if he was an angry sports fan.

But Blythe was more levelheaded. We have to wait and see.

So they waited and saw.

And they saw the explosion. It was far enough away that they had time to react; they got ready to fade through the shrapnel.

But the explosion was more massive and intense than they could have anticipated. It was hot and bright, so bright and so hot that it felt as if the they were standing on the surface of the sun. They retreated deep into the mountain, trying to escape the intensity of it all.

They anxiously held their breaths deep in the mountain, waiting as long as they could to make sure it was over.

When they finally had to breath, they resurfaced. Astatine looked around, noticing the air was still unpleasantly hot; a wind rushed into the to the epicenter, directing their attention to the battle field.

Both of them were shocked. They simply didn't know what to make of the sight before them; Solar Flare, Night Mare Moon, and Eclipse were strewn about, surrounded by smoldering debris; the ground was glowing red and the air shimmered from it's heat. Yet the princesses were laying in oddly perfect circles of tranquility, as if the explosion had missed them entirely.

The wind still whipped around, but it was the only sound Astatine heard as he approached the ponies. He half expected them all to be dead, but also knew that he had underestimated them before. In any event, once he got down there and surveyed the situation, he knew he needed to fetch help immediately. He began thinking of who he could turn to.

When he got to the bottom, he was shocked to find just how hot it was; it was so hot, Blythe had to stand back, completely unable to continue to the actual bodies. Astatine turned around, but Blythe only nodded as if to tell him to go forth without her.

Astatine first came up to Solar Flare. She had terrible burn marks all over her body, spotting her white coat with black. Her mane was completely extinguished, leaving a thin, singed, and smoking pink hairs behind. Her eyes were closed, but she bared her fangs and scowled as if she were having bad dream. He was about to prod her, but he quickly realized that he should probably try to wake up someone else first.

He floated over to Night Mare, and he was surprised to find her sleeping peacefully. He mane still held it's star pattern, and was being whipped around by the wind. Her coat was pristine, and so was the area around her. He put his hoof to her side, trying to nudge her awake. For moment, he contemplated trying his magic again, but he didn't want to disfigure her anymore.

Finally, he went to Eclipse.

He jumped away in fright when he saw her demonic eyes staring into him.

But then he realized she was laying on the ground, completely motionless. Her legs were straight and her right wing was sticking up, but she was laying down on the ground, her left wing folded uncomfortably under her body. Her mouth hung agape, and she looked frozen in time. He could tell she was in some kind of a trance, and he definitely did not want to try waking her up.

Quickly, he flew back to Blythe. "We need to find that pony who helped us get Twilight Sparkle!"

Author's Note

Okay, so I think the next chapter is going to be the last one. I dunno. Sorry is this was boring.

Conclusion

"Wait, wait, slow down. That explosion we saw... was what?" Starlight asked with bewilderment.

Astatine sighed. "Princess Twilight was... I don't know... corrupted by Princess Celestia... and she was calling herself Eclipse. And then... we tried to wake up Princess Luna, but I guess we accidentally turned her into Night Mare Moon? And then, Princess Twilight—er, Eclipse, tried getting Princess Celestia, who was Solar Flare at the time, even though she still is—she tried getting Solar Flare to kill Night Mare Moon. But then something happened and they made up. And then... they fought Eclipse, and Eclipse or one of them made that huge explosion."

Starlight just stared at him in literal disbelief, as if she could only assume he was lying.

"Look, I know what it sounds like!" Astatine shouted, immediately regretting it. He shied away from his own voice, quieting down. "I-if you don't believe me, then come and see. They're all knocked out or something. I came here because I don't know what to do."

Starlight sighed. "Okay, I believe you. I mean, I still don't really understand what you just said completely, but I'm sure I'll be able to figure it out once I see everything."

The gang of three stood next to the wreckage, the ground still warm from the blast. Starlight had gathered as many skilled mages from Canterlot as possible, and they all examined the scene, running their magic over everything.

Starlight stood back and surveyed from a distance. "Why is Princess Celestia so much worse than the others? And why is... Twilight in that weird pose?" she wondered verbally.

Astatine shook his head. "I don't know. We just found them like that. We weren't here for last part, because we were afraid we would die."

To this, Blythe nodded in agreement.

Starlight looked over to Princess Luna. It seemed she was drawing the most attention, still wearing Night Mare's cowl. Starlight had to ask about her too. "And you said you accidentally turned her into Night Mare Moon? How does that work?"

Astatine shied away. "I... I really don't know...."

Blythe took the opportunity to chime in, placing her hoof on Starlight's forehead. Starlight retracted at the cold touch, but quickly regained her posture. We used the emotion magic of the windigos. We stirred up her emotions. We thought we could give her a bad dream and stop her sleep.

"So... maybe you made her hate and sorrow too strong, and she became Night Mare Moon again because of that?"

"W-well, she wasn't like how all the story books talk about Night Mare Moon...." Astatine trailed off, thinking he sounded silly.

But Starlight was still curious. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, she wasn't that evil. She didn't say anything about 'eternal nights' and stuff.... I just thought she would be more... evil. She even talked really normal too. I don't know why, but I expected her to be more...."

"Dramatic? Archaic?" Starlight offered.

"Dramatic, I guess...."

Starlight thought about the implications of what he was saying. She didn't quite understand the full ramifications, but she could tell that it was important information. She walked over to the enchanters prodding the princesses, and noticed that there was now only one magician looking over Celestia's body. It made Starlight disappointed, but she couldn't put a hoof on exactly why.

She approached the lone stallion. "Did you find out what's wrong with her or why she has all these burns?"

He shook his head. "No, not quite. But I have an idea. There's a strange enchantment on the princess. It seems very old and benign, but I can't help but wonder if it's responsible for... this," he said, motioning to the face of Solar Flare, "I don't understand any of it. I haven't seen a magic like this before."

"That's good to hear, I suppose.... Say, do you know why everyone's so interested in Princess Luna?"

He pursed his lips and whispered. "If I'm being completely honest, I think they just want to do the easy one first. She doesn't have the same strange enchantment on her as the other two."

"Oh," she said, an inkling of an idea forming in her mind.

She walked back over to Astatine. "You two said that you woke up Luna using the emotion magic. Do you think you can do it again?"

Astatine furrowed his brow. "I-I don't know if that's a good idea...."

But Blythe smiled at the request. She put her hoof to Starlight's forehead, relaying, That sounds very fun.

"What did she say?" Astatine asked, suspicious.

"She said it sounds fun...?"

"Blythe!" Astatine chastised, "Last time we turned her into Night Mare Moon! What do you think's gonna happen this time?!"

Blythe looked down in shame.

"I think," Starlight offered, "That it will turn her back to normal. If you try making her happy, I mean."

"W-why do you think that? I mean...."

"Because that's what the Elements of Harmony did to her. At least, that's what Twilight said when I asked her. She said they did other things too, but that was the main component."

Astatine bit his lip. "I-I guess...."

"I want you to try it. We can still try other things if it doesn't work."

"But what if she wakes up, and she's still Night Mare Moon?"

"I'll get the mages to restrain her and subdue her. If they all work together, they should be able to hold her down for long enough to put her to sleep again."

Astatine only nodded, unsure. Blythe smiled, trying to hide her excitement.

Starlight walked over the ring of magicians. "Okay everyone, I want to try something. But I need everyone's help. I think I know a way to make the princess herself again."

Everyone turned around with skeptical expressions.

"Look, these two were responsible for turning her into Night Mare Moon in the first place. They used a type of magic that could manipulate emotions when she was in a state just like the one she's in now," Starlight motioned to Astatine as he and Blythe shied away in shame, "Last time they used the magic to give her negative feelings. But this time, I want them to use it to give her positive emotions. Twilight, er, Princess Twilight said that that's how the Elements purged Night Mare Moon the first time."

They all still looked unsure, and one in the back asked, "What if she wakes up but is still Night Mare Moon?"

"That's a good point. But I have a plan. We need everyone here, but if we get two ponies who know the same sleep spell, then the rest can hold her down and block out her magic as those two put her back to sleep. I understand this plan is risky, but I know you all are skilled enough to pull it off."

They all seemed pleased with the last bit of flattery, and seeing as the personal student of Princess Twilight Sparkle and one of the most skilled mages in Equestria was taking charge, they didn't have any more apprehensions.

Luna found herself in a void. She floated there in the dark, paradoxically rather well lit herself, not quite weightless but not quite weighted. Is this how Night Mare dreams? Luna thought. "How drab," she said out loud, utterly bored.

Before her, Night Mare materialized.

"I would have thought there would be more brimstone in your dreams; possibly some skewered corpses or the like."

Night Mare moaned, suddenly aware of her surroundings. "You're starting to sound like me."

"Waiting in places like these tends to have that affect on ponies," Luna retorted, before changing subjects. "I suppose I understand now. I understand your position. I am willing to concede that you may not be just a whim of mine; that you may indeed be a separate entity. But that's not satisfactory. We have already come to the conclusion that my sister's... 'split personality' came from an enchantment of the necromancer. But where did you come from?"

"I don't know. I—you were told that your negative feelings became so intense, they took you over, right?"

"Yes. But I'm still unsure.... Was that truly the only reason?"

"Like I said, I don't know. I don't remember much from that night we were... put away. And everything before that is just... you. I just remember it like I was you. I don't understand it very well myself, but after that, my memories after... I was... purged are so dream-like. It felt like I was watching someone else's life from behind a bush, constantly annoyed with what they were doing. But then you would fall asleep, and I would be able to roam free. I just don't have any way to describe it."

"I completely understand. When you faced off against Eclipse, it felt like I was watching someone else, sitting on the sidelines. But I suppose we may never be certain what exactly brought about your existence. In any case, I have more matters to discuss. Why did you not run? You had the chance to kill my sister, or at least disable her. And yet you stayed and fought. I do not fault you, but last time we spoke you seemed to despise being trapped."

"That's easy; Eclipse was powerful, and I didn't want to keep having to run."

"You could have died so easily. It would still have been in your best interest to run and hide, as from the information you were initially given gave you no reason to suspect that Eclipse would have been easily defeated."

"And yet she was defeated."

"We can't be sure of that, and that doesn't answer my question."

"Well, I think the fact that we are talking now probably means that she was defeated."

"Are you avoiding the question?"

"No, I just... don't know. I don't have an answer. If I'm being honest, it was bothering me too. I felt like... like I cared about things that I hadn't cared about before. I know that's stupid, but it's the only way I can describe it. Like when I saw Eclipse try to hurt... my... our... your.... When I saw her try to hurt Celestia, it made me worried, and I didn't understand why. It just felt especially bad to watch."

"That is indeed very interesting. I never thought Night Mare Moon capable of harboring feelings such as these, if I am to be entirely honest."

They both sat in silence, staring down into the abyss.

Then Night Mare spoke up. "So what happens now?"

Luna gave a serious glare. "I will get my body back, and then perhaps we will discuss your fate at a later date."

Night Mare felt a weight drop in her stomach. She couldn't argue. If she did, Luna would get angry, and if Luna was angry and in control, it didn't bode well for her.

Of course, if Night Mare herself was in control, it would be a different story. But counting on that was a bad idea, Night Mare suspected, as everypony would be working to make sure that that didn't happen. All Night Mare could do was hope that Luna would be charitable.

That's what Night Mare was thinking about until she noticed something peculiar; the dreamscape was changing: it was getting lighter, she realized. It was getting brighter and brighter, until—

Until it was blinding; she had to close her eyes, waiting for them to readjust. But when she opened them again, she found herself in a grassy field. The sun was low in the sky, but it wasn't quite setting. Night Mare looked around, puzzled.

Luna was less puzzled. She felt blissful. She knew what time it was.

It was time to see her sister.

Luna walked away from Night Mare, hardly paying her any attention. She understood what was happening. She was fully aware that someone or something was tinkering with the dream. But she didn't care, because it made her so happy.

She walked to the edge of the field, reaching the forest, and kept walking. She lost herself in the trees, enjoying the cicadas and the birds and woodpeckers and the buzzing all around her. Luna had no clue how long she walked but when she reached the base of the outcrop, the sun had fallen, sitting just on the horizon.

Night Mare followed at a cautious distance, completely out of the loop.

Luna looked up to the top of the hill, and her mouth curled into a smile of love. She could see Celestia, her beloved sister, looking out across the forest, bathed in the pink of the sunset; the mountains behind her cast shadows over themselves as the sun angled itself lower; clouds of cotton dotted the sky; the crickets chirped with their gentle screeches, and the birds started to quiet down.

"Oh, Sister! You made it!" Celestia called out in glee.

"Of course!" Luna called back, walking up to her sister. When she got to the top, she was about to break out in a fit of uncharacteristic giggles. "Oh sister, you're not even real!"

"Oh dear, I'm sorry!" Celestia apologized, worry consuming her.

Luna continued to smile. "It's alright. It's not your fault. But I still love you, either way."

"I love you too," Celestia said, relieved, "So, Sister, would you like to raise the moon? I'm getting a little sleepy."

"Mhm," Luna nodded, before effortlessly painting her night sky.

Night Mare watched with a completely dumbfounded expression. She didn't understand what was happening. She knew it was a dream. But it wasn't her dream. And it was so boring.

"I think I'm ready to wake up, Sister," Luna nearly whispered. She was calm. Getting to revisit one of the happiest moments she could remember felt pleasant. Perhaps a simpler pony would be overwhelmed knowing it was merely ephemeral, but all Luna could think was how nice it was to be alive. And she was ready to face reality.

"Okay, have fun," Celestia said one last time.

And so Luna woke up, much to Night Mare's chagrin.

Luna woke up, fast. She stood up in a hurry, but was surprised to find that she didn't. Instead, she was on the ground. "What's going on, exactly?"

"Princess Luna!" an unfamiliar pony shouted, "She's awake, everyone! It's her!"

"Hm? What's going on? Why am I restrained? Why are you all blocking my magic?"

"Wait!" Starlight shouted, "I'm sorry Princess, but we have to make sure it's you and not Night Mare Moon in disguise. So answer me one question: do you want to gobble up that colt over there?"

Everyone looked back and forth between Astatine and Luna, the former starting to sweat icicles.

On no, they're on to me! I have to resist! Luna thought. "Of course not. Don't be ridiculous."

Starlight sighed in relief. "Okay everyone, we can all relax."

"So what are we going to do about the other Princesses?"

"We still haven't figured out what that strange enchantment is! It's not safe to operate if we don't know what it's doing."

"Can't we just try what worked with Princess Luna?"

"Princess Luna, do you know something?" a scholar finally asked, the other's quieting down.

Luna furrowed her brow in concentration. "I do. I do indeed know something. I know that my sister was cursed by the necromancer."

"The necromancer?" Starlight asked.

"Yes. N. Mare M," Luna paused, but continued when she saw the befuddled look everyone was wearing, "Err, not 'Night Mare Moon', but 'Necro Mare Mancer.' I know it's rather... stupid, but that's beside the point. My sister had become infatuated with her work in the last year, but she was reading her books long before that. I don't know when she started, but I highly suspect that one of the books—likely the first book she read—was cursed with some kind of... soul binding enchantment. I don't understand it myself, but it seems like a piece of the necromancer may reside in my sister's mind. And somehow, she developed another personality like me. I don't know if this other personality is the necromancer, but I suspect it isn't. I suspect that it was other factors that led to the creation of... 'Solar Flare' as she was calling herself."

Everyone was silent. No one knew what to make of it all.

But Starlight took charge. "We need to collect all the information on this necromancer we can find. And we need to make sure these two don't wake up before that. And you two," Starlight said, pointing to the two windigo creatures who were slowly inching away while everyone was distracted, "Don't leave just yet. We might still need your magic in the future."

For months, the student of the Princess of Friendship had worked tirelessly to collect every existing work of the necromancer, asking private collectors and local libraries for anything they had. Luna had also given the team of scholars and magicians access to Celestia's diary, hoping that it would shed some light on the situation. Luna had secretly removed the page describing Celestia's final attempt to procure a windigo, which had left those studying the text with some questions. Starlight was always quick to assure them that nothing was amiss, as she was instructed to by the Princess of the Night.

Starlight never found it easy to care for the strange child Celestia had wrought, and she was ultimately unsure of what to do with it. But she figured it would no longer be her problem once Celestia and Twilight woke, so she tried to keep her mind off the subject. She didn't hate the child, but adopting had definitely not been in her short term plans.

It was the beginning of the fall when the researchers started to make real headway. First, just as Luna had suspected, someone linked the enchantment placed on one of the necromancer's journals to the spell Celestia was under. Second, in a separate journal that Celestia had read, the researcher found the enchantment that Solar Flare had used on Twilight; interestingly enough, the researcher noted, the necromancer said she had studied windigo magic and had incorporated it into her spell. Finally, someone found the trap spell that Celestia was under detailed in one of the necromancers most obscure journals.

The team was also able to learn the nature of the spells in action. What had seemed like similar spells turned out to be completely different. The trap spell was designed to insidiously encourage the cursee to consume more of the necromancer's works and make them seek out the spell that would supposedly bring the necromancer back. Before the necromancer presumably died, she detailed her studies on transferring minds by spell. She could never find anyone to attempt to transfer her soul to a new body as she planned, so she created the curse with the hope that one day someone might attempt to use the mind transferring spell and bring her back; she claimed that she had somehow managed to store her mind somewhere outside her body, but none of the researchers could find any real evidence of this. It was mostly clear that the spell had failed to bring back the necromancer in the case of Eclipse, but it was unclear what had went wrong. The researchers suspected, however, that the item that was storing the necromancer's soul was missing, and so the spell was incomplete without it. Why Celestia thought she could perform the spell without this item, though, was the mystery this solution created.

As they were studying the spells, it became clear that the magic burrowed into Celestia was not the root cause of her transformation into Solar Flare. The curse was a contributing factor, but the mages suspected it was something else which spurred on the transformation. Based off of Luna's descriptions of the events, it was suspected that a similar type of emotion manipulation would work on Solar Flare, and allow Celestia to resurface.

And so, after many hours of reverse engineering, just over a month after the first breakthrough, the researchers were ready to attempt a counterspell.

"Is everything ready?" Starlight asked the team.

"Yes," a magician replied, "We have successfully performed the removal of the curse on both inanimate and animate objects."

"And are you sure that we should start with Princess Celestia?" Starlight asked, turning to Luna.

"I am certain. As Solar Flare, she was unpredictable and volatile, but she was also much weaker than Eclipse. I know we can contain her if something goes awry."

"Are you two ready?" Starlight finally called out to Astatine and Blythe who were waiting patiently.

"Yes!"

Celestia laid down in her literal pool of honey, sulking. The sky was orange with a strange floral pattern that seemed to shift as Celestia looked it. She had spent so much time trapped in the dreamscape, yet trying to remember what she had went through made it feel like only a moment had passed. It troubled her.

Celestia rolled over, onto the dirt-like substance that Solar Flare had dreamed up, turning her sticky coat into a sticky, muddy coat. After sniffing it, though, she realized it was chocolate and sighed.

"Why are you just laying there like a log?" Solar Flare said, floating on a cloud of cotton candy, "Wait!" Solar Flare screamed as Celestia cringed, "You and me are like... Night Mare Moon and Luna! That's cool, right?"

Celestia grimaced. "'Cool'? You think that this is 'cool'?"

"Uhm... yeah! You were always kinda jealous of your sister that she got her own cool evil look, right?"

"No. I wasn't."

"Oh come on, anyone would! You can't lie to me, because I remember everything that happened to you ever."

"No, you clearly don't. I hated Night Mare Moon. I hated what happened to my sister. I hated how it ruined our lives. And now you've ruined them again," Celestia growled as she bared her teeth.

"Ooh, scary!" Solar Flare smiled. "Come on, don't be such a downer!"

Celestia seethed with rage. This imbecile... where did she come from? Is she a part of me? Suddenly, Celestia was struck by a realization. The voice.... it's gone! Mare's voice.... Where did it go? My mind feels so clear now.... I can think without any interruptions. But upon continuing her insights, her eye's began to water. What did I do? What did I do?! Her muscles tensed in frustration. How could I have done all that to Twilight?! How could I have done that Luna?! I hurt so many... and my guards! Oh no! I'll have to fix that when... when I wake up....

Solar Flare saw the princess dealing with her inner demons, but rolled her eyes. "Stop being so... uh...." she squinted, trying desperately trying to find the right word, "Showy, or whatever. Whatever! You know what I mean!"

Celestia's gaze shot up to Solar Flare. "You are absolutely despicable. Won't you shut up for one minute? You are a cancer of my mind, and I can't bear this any longer."

It was a constant back-and-forth between the two alter-egos. Celestia couldn't keep track of the time, but she came to the conclusion that it wouldn't have mattered in any event. The time flowed differently in dreams; an hour in the dream could be a second in the physical realm and vice versa.

It was a particularly uneventful occasion that Celestia started to notice a change. It wasn't anything concrete, but it felt as if the miasma of absurdity that had been ever-present suddenly vanished. The shapes in the background of the dream still morphed and flowed into each other, but it started to seem less random and more sensible. It felt like a familiar memory.

Celestia stood up and looked around to search for the catalyst. She knew something was amiss. Where is Solar Flare? she thought to herself.

Solar Flare didn't notice the change, however. The cotton candy trees were still tasty as before, so she had nothing to worry about.

Celestia found Solar Flare sitting on cloud, still licking the leaves of the trees, coming close to the sugary cinnamon bark.

"What's going on?" Celestia called up to her.

Solar Flare simply ignored the princess.

Celestia was peeved, but she had come to expect this behavior. Part of her wished that she could see the look on Solar Flare's face when her candy was ripped away from her.

And then, suddenly, Solar Flare's candy disappeared. Her eyes grew wide as she caressed merely air with her mouth. "Wheah dith it go?" she said, still holding her tongue out with the hope her sweets would come back.

Celestia smirked, satisfied. And then she scowled, slightly disturbed. How did that happen? Why did... she started, before quickly realizing the answer, Am I in control of the dream?

"Where's my candy?!" Solar Flare wailed again, rolling around on the ground.

Celestia grimaced, annoyed. "You're such a child!"

The dream shifted again, startling Celestia. Her eyes darted around, trying reorient herself. Then she saw it: a white filly with a pink, frazzled mane lay on the ground, writhing in the same place Solar Flare had been.

Celestia took a moment to process what had happened, blinking. Then she smirked. "This definitely seems much more appropriate."

Frowning, Solar Flare stood up, looking up to Celestia. When the filly realized her own stature, her eyes grew wide. "What happened to me?" she asked nervously.

"I have control of the dream now, it seems," Celestia said flatly.

"But, I mean—"

Celestia smirked. "I suppose can only see you as a foal."

"No! No! No!" Solar Flare screamed.

Celestia had two options. She could either try to sedate the irate demon, or she could rub it in. She was feeling vindictive. "A tantrum? How childish."

"You can't to this to me!" Solar Flare squealed as she laid on the ground, wailing.

"I can't do this to you?"

"No!"

"You ruined my life. You hurt my dear Twilight; you hurt my beloved sister; you hurt my country! And you think that this is unjust? That this is too far?"

Solar Flare frowned. "N-No—"

"How dare you? You are a disease and you try chastising me?" Celestia asked finally. She didn't expect an answer, and seethed silently instead, enjoying the momentary lapse in ruckus.

Solar Flare stared at the ground, eyes wide with fear. She just hoped she woke up from the nightmare soon.

Celestia didn't face the filly, instead choosing to ponder what this development meant. She desperately hoped that she would be able to gain control once she left the dream realm.

"She's stirring. She must be waking up!"

"Her fangs are gone...."

"Her mane looks like it's changing too!"

Celestia heard the voices around her, but she was too groggy to process the words being said.

"Sister, is it really you?"

Celestia's eyes shot open upon hearing the voice of her sister. "Luna? Sister? You're—"

Celestia felt legs wrap around her neck, squeezing her, threatening to never let go. When silky hair swept across her muzzle while she simultaneously saw the stars, she could only assume that it was Luna doing to hugging.

"Sister, I..." Luna faltered as she let go.

"Luna, I couldn't be more sorry...." Celestia croaked, her eyes beginning to water.

"No! It's not your fault. I know it's not... I mean...."

"I was the one who began this. I was the one who read that cursed book. And.... I've.... Everything! And Twilight.... What have I done to her?!"

"Yes, but you had no way of knowing! And it doesn't matter, because we can work through this, Sister!"

Celestia looked at Luna with a what would have been a perfect poker face, sans the tears streaming down her cheeks. "I... I want to believe you..." Celestia choked, "But I don't know if I can forgive myself...."

They both sat in silence, staring at the floor with forlorn faces.

But then Celestia remembered something important. "Twilight! What happened to Twilight?!"

"She's still...."

"Still what?!"

"Still... frozen. You did something to her before the blast, it seems. She's been unresponsive ever since. And... seeing as you're finally awake, we need to know what exactly y—Solar Flare did to her... to turn her into... Eclipse, that is."

Celestia cast her gaze downward. "I see.... I'll tell you everything I know."

While Celestia couldn't provide any new information on the spell she cast that created Eclipse, she did tell them about the spell that was cast that caused Eclipse to lock up; she knew the counterspell, so no more research in that particular department was necessary. However, no one in the room was sure what to make of Eclipse herself. It seemed like she was in a similar situation to Celestia and Luna, but was definitely distinct. Going off of the information that Celestia mustered, it seemed like the moment that Celestia had truly lost her mind was when she was struck by the enchantment placed on the windigo letter. It still wasn't clear what had happened, but Luna could tell there was a difference in Celestia's personality after the spell; while she was seemingly clear-minded, she quickly had become more irritable, Luna noted, until the situation in the throne room spilled over.

In Twilight's case, the spell cast on her was supposed to "replace" her personality with that of N. Mare M. After studying the spell in depth, the researchers believed that it worked by first dividing the personality of the subject and replacing the new personality with that of the necromancer. Since Celestia did not have access to the necromancer's soul, the new personality was left blank. This seemed to explain why Eclipse was as emotionless as she was, but Luna wasn't entirely satisfied; she still didn't have a concrete answer to why Night Mare Moon came about in the first place, seemingly without the aid of forbidden magic.

They could also tell that windigo magic was somehow instrumental; N. Mare M. had referenced it in her own research, and it was clearly able to affect the princesses to the extent of bringing out or suppressing their alter-egos.

But with all of the major hurdles overcome, the team felt they were ready to tackle the most dangerous of the three: Eclipse. The researchers were almost certain they understood how to bring Eclipse back, so they set a date. Tens of unicorns were called in to help contain her less it went awry, and the most powerful magic items in Equestria were brought in to hopefully boost the power of said unicorns.

Is she coming for me again? Twilight panicked, her mane disheveled and her coat in tatters. She sat behind remnants of stone wall. The sky was overcast and flat, and and the world was unnaturally dark, as if the sun and moon were fighting for control of the sky.

Twilight frowned deeply and leaned over into the dirt, casting her gaze up to a decaying tree. A tear welled up in her eye. When will it end? she asked herself.

The ground rattled, and she heard the frail limbs of the tree snapping under of the motion. Her eyes went wide, and she stayed completely silent, attempting to conceal her presence as much as possible. She couldn't take anymore torture.

A shadowy figure flew overhead, seeming to miss Twilight. Twilight held her breath in anticipation.

When nothing happened, she breathed.

And then, she was lifted off the ground by an invisible aura.

She flailed, shrieking and grunting in fear, writhing in the demon's grasp. "Stop! Please!"

Eclipse made no response.

Twilight looked to Eclipse. She was motionless, her eyes piercing through her inky blackness. Her horn glowed, and Twilight anticipated the intense pain that was to follow.

Twilight had asked long ago what Eclipse was doing to her, and the only response she had ever gotten was a monotone and disinterested "Experimenting." Needless to say, this did not ease Twilight's suffering.

Twilight prayed and prayed that the nightmare would end; she could recognize it as a dream—or, at the very least, she hoped it was—but she couldn't control it. She didn't understand why her dream was so consistently static; she didn't understand why every waking—or, rather, sleeping—moment was filled with so much pain and misery, she just wanted it to stop.

And then, it did.

Twilight fell from the sky, quickly flapping her wings to stay afloat.

Twilight looked at Eclipse, whose expression had soured. Eclipse scowled at her sudden inexplicable inability to use magic. Both were silent as the she struggled.

Twilight was still scared and confused, but she was glad that Eclipse had ceased her torture.

"Have you done something to me?" Eclipse asked with the most inflection Twilight had ever heard her use.

"No?" Twilight replied in befuddlement. "Why did... why did you...."

Eclipse only silently glared at Twilight. To Twilight, it seemed like Eclipse wanted her to finish the question, but Twilight couldn't bring herself to say it. It disturbed her to even think about it.

Twilight looked around, wishing it was prettier in her dream. And then it was—the sun was shining and the breeze was gentle. And then Twilight understood what was going on. I'm in the control of the dream now! Before, it must have been Eclipse's dream... or maybe it was just a nightmare? It doesn't matter. I can control it now!

But her newfound agency was short lived.

"Twilight!" Celestia called from her bedside.

Twilight's eye's slowly brightened, the whites slowing returning; her coat started to saturate as the evil was drained out of her body. She stirred, making Celestia's heart flutter in angst.

"It's working, Sister. There's no need to be so flustered," Luna reassured.

"I know, but I can't help it. After everything I did...." Celestia choked.

"We've been over this: it wasn't your fault. There's no need to blame yourself for that. Yes, it was awful, but all we can do now is move forward and try to correct the mistakes that were made."

Celestia stayed silent as Twilight returned to normal. Blythe and Astatine had since backed off from the Princess of Friendship, their task done.

And then, Twilight gasped, her eyes shooting open, as if she had been resurrected. "What's going on?! Where am I?!" Twilight asked frantically, "Princess?" Twilight sighed, falling back onto the mattress.

"Yes Twilight, it's me. And I'm so, so sorry."

"Everyone, she's clear! We can release the bindings!" Luna called out to the team.

"What happened?" Twilight asked innocently, moving up into a sitting position. "The last thing I remember is..." Twilight trailed off, frowning.

"I failed you, Twilight," Celestia said solemnly.

"Princess, I...."

"You never have to forgive me. You shouldn't forgive me. Twilight, there's something else I must tell you. I can't keep this from you in good faith...."

"Sister, are you sure this is the time?"

"I'm sorry, Luna. You know as well as I that there will never be a better time."

Luna nodded. Wait... she thought again.

Twilight looked worriedly between the two.

"Twilight, I got you pregnant."

Everyone in the room was speechless. Everyone except Starlight, who nonchalantly whistled a hushed tune. Astatine's and the researcher's mouth hung agape, trying to fathom how it could even been possible with two mares. Blythe just looked around the room with a blissfully absent and innocent expression.

Wait. Luna realized, striking her forehead with her hoof. "Sister, this really wasn't the time," she whispered.

"Uh... W-wha..?" Twilight sputtered.

Celestia needed to get her deed off her chest. "It's tru—"

"TRULY a hilarious joke! Right, Sister?" Luna interrupted.

"No, Luna. I—"

"Am really sleepy and 'out of it' after doing all that complex magic. Goodnight, everypony!" Luna said before disappearing in a flash of magic.

When the rest of the occupants in the room had recovered from the blinding light, they noticed Celestia and Luna were gone too.

"Is what she said true?" someone asked from the crowd.

"Princess Luna was awfully dismissive."

"The lady doth protest too much, methinks," someone else snarkily added.

Everyone naturally direct their attention to Starlight Glimmer, hoping to get some clarification.

"Uh.... You heard the princess, it was a weird joke. We all know what Princess Celestia is like, right?" Starlight chuckled halfheartedly.

"Princess, I really don't understand... What did you mean?" Twilight had a feeling she understood; the pieces started to click—like how Starlight suddenly became in possession of a foal after her strange bout of abdominal pain. But she was still uncertain as to why it happened.

Celestia sighed. "It's... somewhat hazy to me, but as I recall, I gave you a potion to drink. That was a potion to... start the growth of a windigo... inside of you. I..." Celestia fumbled, trying to understand herself, "I don't know what I was thinking at the time.... I sincerely don't understand.... I was obsessed with getting a windigo for Luna, even though she tried to stop me! I don't know why Mare's—er, the necromancer's—spell had such an effect on me, but it drove me to do awful things...."

"Perhaps, Sister, your drive to... 'help me' muddied the original goal of the spell."

"Maybe, Luna... but that's not the point. I hurt you, Twilight, and I can never make it up to you. I'm sorry, from the bottom of my heart."

Twilight sat, mulling over the princess's words. She wasn't any particular emotion, just confused. "Well, Princess, I don't know what to say. But I want to forgive you. I know it wasn't you doing those things. If I can forgive Luna for the mistakes she made, why wouldn't I be able to forgive you?"

"I greatly appreciate that Twilight, but I will never be able to forgive myself."

"So... what do I do with... my foal?"

Luna and Celestia both gave toothy frowns, taking sharp breaths.

Luna spoke up first. "Maybe you should give it up for adoption? The Equestrian foster care system is notoriously effective!"

"I can't do that.... I don't want to do that."

"I should bare the responsibility for this foal; it was my creation," Celestia dictated.

"Uh, no, I can handle it," Twilight dismissed.

"What?"

"I said no?"

"Sorry, I thought you said 'no' again; I must have misheard you."

"I did say 'no'."

"Twilight, I think you misunderstand me. I wish to take the foal off your hooves, so that you don't have to bare the burden of the raising it."

"Uhm... sorry, Princess, but no."

"What do mean 'no'?!"

"I'm not giving you my child."

"Why?!"

"Because it's my child."

"Technically, it's my child too," Celestia smugly pointed out.

"You forfeited your rights to it when you tried to kill it—er, her."

"I didn't—well, I mean, I..." Celestia struggled. "I'm sorry, Twilight. I'm so, so sorry."

"I know, Princess. And I know that it wasn't you doing those things, and I know that you're better now. But this is my child, so I'm keeping her."

It's not good enough! She was supposed to be banished, yet she's still in power?! What more can I do?! the king shouted into the void as he stomped his immaterial hooves on the icy cave floor. I'll get you someday, Celestia, you wretch!

And the boy... he's betrayed me, running away with that little pest. I should never have trusted her. She is a traitor to her kind. I will get them all, someday.

"OH NO! My guards! What did I do to them?" Celestia shouted in anguish.

Luna's eyes expanded to the size of dinner plates.

"I need to go save them immediately!"

"Save?" Luna double took.

"There's no time, Luna!"

Celestia rushed out dining hall, a bagel held in her mouth, Luna following close behind.

The white princess ended up in the scaffolded throne room, tarps still hanging over the stained glass murals. She ran up to her throne, looking around, before running back down the steps to a seemingly random point in the chamber.

She closed her eyes, her horn dimly glowing.

For several minutes, nothing seemed to happen. Luna stared at her sister in disbelief. Has she gone mad again?

But then, little black particles started to float in from the doorway where Luna stood. She turned around to witness a gust of smoke wafting in from the rest of the castle; she had to shield her eyes when the smoke turned into a shower of ashes.

The ashes fluttered around, coalescing in front of the mediating Celestia. They stacked up, intricately interleaving with one another, before creating distinctive shapes. And soon after the shapes solidified, Celestia's magic breathed color into the ash sculpture—or rather, sculptures, Luna thought, as a whole battalion was starting to form.

And the guards were very confused.

"Princess! I heard about the guards! Is it really over? I mean, all the... fighting? Everything?"

"Yes, Night Sky, I do believe so. Now we have to rebuild the trust of our citizens."

"Well, if it means anything, I still trust you," Night Sky tried reassuring. She sat in silence, contemplating. "Do you still want a windigo, Princess?" she asked curiosly.

"No," Luna paused, "You know, not long ago, Night Sky, I felt alone."

"I'm sorry to hear that, Princess," Night Sky offered earnestly.

"Do not be Night Sky, because I no longer feel alone."

"Oh?"

"Yes, I no longer feel alone, because I now know that I have a good friend to keep me company. I've had this friend for a long time, in fact."

"Who is that?"

"You, Night Sky!"

"Oh!" Night Sky blushed.

Author's Note

Well that's it folks, holy moley. Maybe I'll release an epilogue at some point, but for now, that's the end of the epic tale of the windigo. I hope you enjoyed my biggest project ever (even if by most standards it's not even that big, lol)

Lonely

The sun laid low in sky, and Luna realized she would finally get her chance to speak with her sister.

Her personal assistant, Night Sky, approached the princess from the side. She flinched her slitted eyes as she walked in front of the beam of sunlight jutting out from the end of the hall.

“Princess Luna, what do you want me to do about the petition to sever your head and burn you on the stake?” asked Luna’s assistant. “It’s been introduced to a few of the nobles and was brought up today at the congressional meeting.”

“Hm…. Send some magicians to erase all of the signees’ memories. Also, erase all the mentionings of it in literature. I want it to be completely and utterly forgotten.”

“Alright Princess, will do!”

“Say, why do you think they wanted to sever my head and burn me on the stake? I can understand the severing of the head, you know, as a trophy as is custom. But burning on the stake?”

“It’s just a fad that came about earlier this year.” The assistant shrugged.

“I’m not sure I’ll ever understand these young ponies.”

Luna continued walking onward towards her sister’s chambers while the assistant walked down another hall.

The twilight was fresh and the sun was below the horizon.

Luna trotted up to the door of her sister’s room with the slightest hint of hesitation. On the surface, she understood that she had no real reason to believe that her sister would disapprove, but still….

She knocked two consecutive times with a hoof, as was proper.

“Yes, come in.”

Luna pushed open the door to find her sister laying on her bed, reading a purple book with a elegant, gold vignette on the backface. “Sister….”

“Yes, Luna? I wasn’t expecting to see you tonight,” Celestia noted with intrigue.

“I have... been thinking….” Luna said slowly. “Well… you see….”

“Spit it out, Luna. Tell me. I’m ready.”

“I have been feeling… lonely, lately. I wish to be in the company of another.”

“I understand, Luna. It’s okay. You don’t have to be afraid of the opinions of others anymore.” Celestia gave an almost tearful smile.

“What?”

“Times have changed. Things that once seemed bizarre are now… accepted.”

“What are you talking about?”

“You no longer need to live in fear of the ridicule of others, Luna.”

“Wha—”

“So who is it?”

“Who is what? Who? What?”

“You know, the lucky mare!”

“Wh—”

“Is it Twilight?!” Celestia’s eyes grew wide as she asked forcefully. “We’ve all seen the way she looks at you, Luna!”

“Sist—”

“Oh, no, don’t tell me! I want to keep it a surprise.” Celestia grinned.

“Uhm…. Alright.” Luna swallowed. “I wanted to tell you that….” She paused and looked around the room. “I want to have…. a pet of my own.”

“A? pet? Of your? Own?”

“What?”

“What?” Celestia asked back.

“Why did you say it like that?”

“What do you mean?”

“You made every word a question.”

“?” Celestia replied.

“What?”

“Why did you just say ‘question mark’?”

“What are you talking about, Luna?”

Luna opened her mouth as if to say something, but looked around the room again in confusion. She stretched her jaw. “Anyway, sister, I wish to get a pet. You have a phoenix, the incarnate of fire, light, and thereby warmth; all of which are symbols of the sun. I, on the other hand, am the Princess of the Moon, the dark, and thereby.... the cold.”

“Luna, Philomena’s not my pet!”

Philomena cawed, mocking a hawk, from her perch near Celestia’s desk.

“Well, I suppose she can be quite wise—”

“Philomena is my lover.”

The phoenix burned brightly.

“Wha—”

“Oh, I suppose you want to know about all of the steamy details.”

“No, sister, I really don’t!” Luna yelled, blushing while scowling.

“Oh…. I’ll just tell you some other time.”

“No…. What? Sister, why?” Luna mumbled, shaking her head. “Regardless, the moon and the night are representative of the lack of the aforementioned principles: in essence, the cold and the dark.”

“We just say ‘i.e.’ now, Luna.”

“As I was saying! These are the traits of another notorious…. somewhat astral being: the windigo.”

“A windigo? That’s racey, Luna, I wasn’t aware you were into that!”

“No comment.”

“Fine, be that way.”

“I know they can be wild creatures…. But I once met a gentle and kind windigo. I know they exist.”

Celestia simply stared at her sister with a warm look on her face.

Luna sighed. “Well, in any case, I guess I’ll go… get a windigo….”

“Alright,” Celestia replied nonchalantly.

“I’ll do that… right now….”

Celestia nodded her head once.

“Yeah….” Luna pursed her lips, and looked around the room and nodding. “Mhm.”

Luna stood in place, ruffling her feathers. She glanced back at her sister every so often.

Celestia looked down at her hooves and nuzzled her foreleg, trying to soothe an itch.

“Is there something else you wanted?”

“Where do windigos live?”

“All the windigos are dead.”

Luna raised a hoof as if to protest, but squinted when she realized she couldn’t object to extinction. “Oh.” Luna looked down and frowned. “Okay… then…. I’ll be going now.”

Luna stood still in the doorway and rotated her head. “Sister…. are you sure?”

“I’m afraid so…. A windigo hasn’t been spotted since not long after the unification of the pony tribes. I’m sorry.”

“It’s not your fault, there is no need to be sorry…. Goodnight…” Luna sighed.

“Goodnight.”

Luna seems saddened at this…. Maybe I can make it up to her? She thought, a grin creeping onto her face.

“What are you smiling about?” Luna asked as she was about to close the door with her magic.

“I was just thinking about what me and Philomena are going to do tonight.”

“Okay, goodnight, sister!” With that, Luna teleported out of the room.

Celestia’s smile faded as her sister left. How can I make it up to her? She had herself so pumped up for a windigo.

So what do I do?

“Any suggestions, Philomena?”

“Squawk?”

“You know, about Luna…. You are wise, Philomena, indeed. But I’m not sure that’s what Luna needs—or wants, for that matter.

“Everything she knew was taken away from her and she was thrown into a time that seems strange. I cannot say that I understand what that’s like.

“I’m sure this is just her way expressing her loneliness. She wants to cherish the time she spends with someone, however she finds it hard with all flack she gets because of what happened in the past. She just wants someone that won’t judge her.

“I need to help my sister now. If she wants a windigo, I’ll get her a windigo!

“The question is: how? There hasn’t been a windigo spotting in so long!”

“Squawk,” Philomena offered. “Squawk?” She raised her wings in a shrug. “Squawk.”

“Philomena, you’re a genius. I think you deserve a present….”

“Caw!”

“Oh, oh, but later!” Celestia squinted hard and bit her bottom lip, holding back her urges.

“I’ll get started on it right away!”

Make

“Sister, where are we going? I sincerely hope we are not going to capture a windigo again. You do remember the events of the last time, do you not? It was quite graphic.” Luna shuddered.

“It’s a surprise, Luna.”

“Sister, I really do not see how keeping information from me is helping in anyway at all,” Luna stated, annoyed.

“Luna, it’s called espionage.”

“Sister, truly, where are we going?”

Celestia looked behind at her sister as they flew. “Since we’re almost there, I’ll tell you. We’re going to a very tranquil place that I learned about. It’s an abandoned monastery in the mountains in western Brushzil. All of the monks died after a plague. It’s very peaceful and serene.”

“How is that peaceful or serene?! You’re surrounded by dead monks!” Luna yelled.

“Well, for one, it’s quiet.” Celestia scoffed. “Unlike someone Iknow,” Celestia said under her breath.

“Sister, what?!”

“Oh, Luna, you worrywort. Afraid of some vengeful spirits?”

“YES, SISTER, I AM VERY AFRAID OF VENGEFUL SPIRITS” Luna glared at her sister.

“Luna, ghosts aren’t real. Thier just an old mares tale.”

“Yes they are! Ghosts are real, physical things! And they can hurt you!”

“Luna, it’ll be fine, I promise.”

Luna sighed. “Well, were the monks peaceful, at least?”

“Oh, no, they were warrior monks. Very barbaric and sadistic.”

Bugs flew into Luna’s ear, and she tried flicking them away. They came back a moment later, however, biting her rear end. “Yowp!” she yelped in pain. “Sister, this is officially awful!”

“Luna, stop talking in italics!”

“WHAT?” Luna seethed. She had an urge to grind her teeth, but her ladiness kept her from doing so.

“Luna, I know it’s bad. I thought it would be fun to walk.”

“Sister, we are ponies walking through a jungle!”

“I know, I know! But I thought it would be fun to have a change of scenery.”

“This is literally the polar opposite of fun!”

“Luna, I know! But just bare with me. We can’t fly anyway; there’s a Living Butah that sits atop the mountain protecting the lands from intruders.”

“Hm? I’m not sure I follow.”

“He uses a type of barrier similar to the one used by Shining Armor, but quite different at the same time. He draws upon all the magic in the ecosystem, creating an impenetrable shield. That’s one theory, at least. Another theory is that he uses his own ‘spiritual energy’; I guess it’s some sort of magic they use in the East.”

“I see. Let’s kill him.”

“Luna! You can’t do that! He’s a Living Butah!”

“Why not? What does that have to do with anything?”

“Well, he’s basically already dead.”

“Dammit.”

“Sister,” Luna huffed. “Please, Sister, wait,” Luna panted again, trying to catch her breath, “Up, for me.”

“Come on, Luna, just a bit farther!” Celestia yelled down to her sister.

“I’m, coming, Sister, just, wait, a—” Before she could finish, Luna, collapsed in the mud.

“Luna, come on! Hurry up!”

A vulture circled overhead.

“Luna. Come. On!”

Vultures circled overhead.

“Ugh, Luna, you’re so melodramatic.”

A bird landed near the fallen princess, and poked her with a stick it held in its tallon.

Luna looked up at the bird and frowned.

The princesses reached the snowy valley between the mountains. It was still, just as Celestia had stated. A gentle breeze blew snow into and across deep drifts, and the path had long since been reduced frozen soil and frosted rocks under a shallow layer of snow.

The princesses looked upon the monastery and were amazed by it’s intricateness; the carvings on the wood were so detailed and precise that the sisters considered hiring warrior monks as masons. Then they realized that the monks would probably just start brawling with the Royal Guard, and then there would be pandemonium, and then everyone involved would just have a bad day. I’m lucky thier all dead! Celestia thought to herself, Or else I would have had to hire them! Sheesh.

The valley sat in between two peaks that only rose a few meters above temple, one peak being slightly taller than the other.

A robed pony sat atop one the of peaks; a deep blue aura surrounded him, though it was faint and the sisters mostly relied on their magic to sense it. The ponies fur appeared brown and wilted.

“Sister, is that the Living Butah?” Luna whispered to her sister.

“I’m not sure, let’s ask.”

“Wai—”

“Hey, are you the one they call the Living Butah?” Celestia called out to the monk.

The monk turned his head slowly. His robe blew in the wind, eliciting flapping sounds that could be heard over the near utter silence of the mountain range.

His skin was wrinkled and creased, and his neck was so thin his head looked as if it were being forcibly propped up by a plank.

His head finished spinning, and the sisters could see that his eyes were closed. He held his mouth shut, and wore an indifferent face.

His closed eyes stared at the sisters for a moment, looking deep into their souls.

The sisters stared back, refusing to move a muscle.

And then the Butah finished. His mouth crept into a large, toothy grin, and he opened his dry eyes. He his right hoof from it’s position hovering over his chest, and waved.

“Oh, he’s friendly,” Celestia said.

The sisters entered the wooden temple, and took in all the sights it had to offer. The pillars lining the main room were thin and the red paint looked decayed. Their capitals wore ornate designs in gold.

Chimes hang silently throughout, small metal circles dangling at the ends.

“Sister, it’s so… quiet. I don’t like it.” Luna frowned.

“Yes, this is the silence of the monks. It’s required for the intricacy of the spell we are here to perform.”

“What spell?”

“It’s a type of maker magic; we can make things from our memory, and we don’t need matter to make it with. The summoning spell was a failure, but I have the utmost faith in this. I’ve never met a warrior monk I couldn’t trust.”

“How many have you met?”

“...Enough to have a sufficient sample.”

“...Alright. So how does this spell work? Why would silence be required?”

“Good question, Luna!”

Luna rolled her eyes. “I’m not a foal.”

“Oh, you’re so cute when I patronize you!”

Luna sighed. “But truly, how does the spell work?”

“Well, the silence is needed because we have to be very concentrated on the picture we wish to create; obviously, our memories alone won’t be able to create something… well, stable. So I brought along a windigo hair.”

“Sister, I hope that I am not dooming us for failure—”

“Ponies just say ‘jinx’ now, Luna.”

“Okay. I hope that I am not dooming us for jinx, but I think this may actually work.” Luna smiled. “Thank you for trying so hard for my sake, Sister. It means a lot.”

“It’s no issue, Luna. I know that I’ve neglected you for so long, and I wanted to make it up to you.”

Luna nodded, still simpering. “You have neglected me, Sister.”

Celestia started to smile, but instead glanced around the room, blinking. She looked down at the floor, contemplating.

She quickly shook off her bemusement. “Alright, Luna, let’s get started.”

“How so?”

“The monks wrote the matrix down in Horsdi, so it should be readable for the most part.”

“Why did they use Western Magic Notation? I thought that wasn’t popularized in the eastern nations until recently. Weren’t they from the East?”

“Yes, but this magic was inspired by, well, your magic, Luna. So they used a combination of Eastern Notation and Western Notation.”

“Oh.” Luna looked flustered. “Really?”

“Mhm. They were very inspired by you, Luna.”

“Oh?” Luna asked again, feinting mild interest. She was actually very interested.

“Yep. Infact, after you were banished to the moon, they went out and raided seventeen villages in one night in your name. Over fourteen hundred ponies and griffons died.”

The parchment which the spell was written on was so worn it had to be held together in Celestia’s magic. She carried it out slowly, making sure to grab every piece of it.

“Alright, we’ll need to add onto this matrix. The monks used solely their memory, but they only created small objects, usually of only a single substance. We’ll need to add another layer for the biological molding.”

“That should be simple enough,” Luna replied with eager eyes. “I can do it, if you wish.”

“Oh, it’s fine. My hoofwriting’s better, anyway.”

Luna scoffed. “Whatever.”

“I think I have it!” Celestia exclaimed. Her shout was amplified tenfold due to the complete silence of the the chapel.

“Ow.” Luna winced from the loud noise. “I’ll check it for errors.”

“Alright, sister, do you have the hair?”

“Yes, there’s a mane hair from the windigo sitting on the red plate in the center of the room.”

“Okay. Should we start?”

“I suppose so.”

“Okay. Sister, do you want to cast the spell? After all, you did the additions.”

“Yes, good idea. If you would, cast a dampening spell on you. I need silence.”

Luna’s horn blazed with her blue aura for a moment, and her body was shrouded in a thin coat of white. Her mouth moved as if she was saying something, and Celestia nodded to Luna. Luna nodded back.

Celestia closed her eyes in concentration. She focussed on her memories of windigos, and slowly a golden light from her forehead spread out through the room.

The light blue hair in the middle of room glowed with a faint eminence as well, though it was barely noticeable.

The room was lit up to an incredibly bright level, but that was mostly due to Celestia's unreasonably garish Day Magic.

It took sometime for the sister’s eyes to adjust.

Celestia blinked away the blinding light, and let the minor burns on her retinas dissipate. She stood up off of her haunches, and rubbed her sockets with her fetlock.

Luna did similarly.

“Luna, stop copying me.”

“What?”

“You just—nevermind.”

Celestia made a sudden movement as if to approach the creature laying before the two.

“Wait! You forgot something”

“Yes?” Celestia quickly swiveled her head to look at her sister, her hoof pausing in the air.

“Be careful.”

“Good call, Luna.”

Celestia hesitantly trotted up the small creature; she remembered the past attempts at retrieving a windigo. They did not end well.

Celestia shut her eyes tight in preparation for what lay in front of her.

She opened them wide in preparation.

In the middle of the ornate rose circle lied a monster. A horrible, disgusting, creature, it was.

Trixie Lulamoon.

Celestia was glad the creature was not alive to suffer. Celestia’s breathing became uneasy, and she looked over to Luna. “L-Luna, don’t look.”

Luna looked crestfallen. “I won’t….”

“I’m sorry, Luna, I—I must have grabbed the wrong hair. I don’t know how this happened….”

“Sister, don’t worry about it…” Luna said through a sad tone.

“I… I’ll try again. I won’t let you down.”

Celestia, however noble of her not wanting her sister to see the beast, only wanted to protect herself, and deep down, she knew it.

The little ethereal equine quite enjoyed riding on the warm updrafts from the jungle. It had sure never seen a jungle, too, which was an added bonus.

The windigo again watched as the two alicorns played their game, and found merriment in their squabbles.

Innocently, the windigo thought it was cute.

“Squawk?” Philomena asked as Celestia trotted into the room.

Celestia sighed. “No, it didn’t. I don’t know what we were doing wrong!”

“Squawk?”

“We tried seven times…. I hope that friendly monk wasn’t disturbed.”

“Squawk. Squawk.”

“I know it was a failure, you don’t have to rub it in.

“But…. Ugh… What to do?!”

The Sun Princess sat on her bed in deep thought.

“Maybe…. No, that’s silly,” Celestia thought out loud.

Noticing her friend struggling, Philomena made a suggestion. “Squawk,” she offered. “Squawk?” She raised her wings in a shrug. “Squawk.”

“Philomena, you’re a genius. I think you deserve a present….”

“Caw!”

“Oh, oh, but later!” Celestia squinted hard and bit her bottom lip, holding back her urges.

“I’ll get started on it right away!”

Author's Note

Brushzil = Brazil
Horsdi = Hindi
Butah = Buddha

I rewrote this chapter several times because I found it too cheesy. Here's one of the other (horribly unfinished) incarnations that I was working on before I decided that it was too corny and forced (as if this one isn't)

Past

“Sister this is absolutely absurd. Why would we do this? What could possibly be your reasoning?”

Celestia sighed. “Well, since I need you to cast the spell, I guess I have to tell you: the windigos of the past don’t fear us yet, and they were much more bold in that time. If you remember, they were the ones who outright cornered the founders of Equestria with their frost, and all hope was nearly lost if it were not for Clover the Clever’s spell.”

“Yes, of course, I know that. But this is too far! We can’t go back in time and fumble around with the past! This is insane. I’m sorry, Sister, but I cannot follow you into this escapade.”

“It’s not insane.”

“How? How is going hundreds of years into the past to capture a windigo as a pet not insane?!” Luna gave a patronizing chuckle and shook her head.

“It’s not insane because it’s entirely logical! Think about it, Luna. Let’s assume that we do go to the past. That means that we already have gone to the past. And so the paradox begins: we have to go back to the past!”

“What kind of backwards logic is that, Sister? What if we didn’t go back in time?”

“We did, just please, trust me. I’m your sister, and I would never lie to you and make your falsely believe something for my own ends; you know that.”

“I do know that, but that doesn’t mean this is a good idea.”

“Does it matter if it’s a good idea?”

“Of course it does—”

“If it works, does it matter if it’s a good idea?”

“I… I don’t know….”

“Ask anypony and they would tell you that the ends do justify the means if the ends entail everything being correct.”

“No they don’t….”

“Of course they would. Luna, I would think that I know these modern ponies much better than someone that’s been gone for a thousand years.”

“That’s not really wha—”

“Just please, Luna, help me help my sister…. I love her so dearly, and I have never been able pay her back for everything she has done for me…. All that I’ve done is hurt her, and now I want to help heal her. But I can’t. I’m just too… weak.”

Luna blushed, but went silent.

“Luna, please. Please.”

“W-well, I… I’ll think about it,” Luna stammered.

Celestia gave a warm smile. “Thank you, Luna, I promise you won’t regret this. I’m sorry that I can’t do this on my own….”

Luna stared up to her night sky as she contemplated. The stars swirled around in a wispy fashion, seeming to mock the expressionist art that Luna disdained. Sister, I…. It’s so heartwarming that you want to do something for me…. I…. I’ll do it, for you, Sister. I’ll perform the spell.

Author's Note

This chapter is much shorter than usual, but I feel it's needed. The next one is going to involve Luna high jinks—be prepared!