Equestria from Dust

Chapters

Part 1: Celestia
Part 2: Luna
Part 4: Life
Part 5: Civilization
Part 6: Ruling
Part 7: Royalty
Part 8: Faithful Student
Part 9: Disturbance
Part 10: Departure
Part 11: Flight
Part 12: Discord
Part 13: Dreamwalker
Part 14: Spirit
Part 15: Fragment
Part 3: Forests
Part 16: Guardian

Part 1: Celestia

Celestia

Equestria from Dustby soundslikeponies

On a desolate plane on a barren world, Celestia awakes for the first time.

Her eyes open to a white sea of cracked sandstone that spans the horizon—a murky gray sky blanketing it. The world falls under dim light that seems to come from everywhere at once. There is nothing around for miles. No life. No movement. Not even a breeze. There is only her, and every last bit of her is as white as the sandstone around her.

Celestia shakily stands on four legs, and looks around with curiosity.

There is so much room, and all of it empty. She takes a step. And her hoof makes a sound.

Ears flinching at the sharp noise, she presses them flat against her skull and looks down at her hooves, white hooves, eyes wide with astonishment.

She takes another anxious step. The noise comes as expected, but it’s no longer startling.

She walks.

Her hoofsteps make rhythmic sound on the white sandstone, a steady clip-clop that breathes life into her actions. She begins to notice the quieter sounds, like the sound of her legs rubbing against her sides, which are as white as her hooves and as white as the sandstone beneath them.

Once in a while, she stops to look over her shoulder at where she came from, but when she stops to look back, it’s impossible to tell she has moved at all. The plane is flat and featureless, the stone hard and trackless.

Nothing happens in the world unless she causes it.

As she walks, her steps become graceful and confident. She has no reason to walk, but she has no reason not to either. Time stretches ceaselessly as she travels, and soon she begins to forget how long she has been walking.

In the middle of a step, a white-hot spark shoots from the tip of her horn.

She stops for the first time in millions of hoofsteps.

The white spark is the most beautiful thing she has ever seen, but it’s only there for a second before it disappears, the plane becoming still and quiet once more in its absence.

She lays down on the sandstone. The sand chafes her coat, and warm stone scratches her underbelly. It is a new sensation, but one not as important as the spark. She puts the feel of the sandstone in the back of her mind and crosses her eyes, attempting to look up at her horn.

How did it happen? The spark was stunning. She wants to see it again, and she regrets not paying closer attention when it happened, the details already becoming a clouded memory.

She needs to make it happen again.

A second white-hot spark shoots from the tip of her horn. She has a startling conclusion: When she wills it, it comes to her.

Celestia closes her eyes and focuses—she focuses on the feeling she had when her horn shot the white spark, and wills it to happen.

She does not open her eyes for some time.

Like the landscape, she remains perfectly tranquil and still. She focuses on the spark until she stops thinking about the horizon, until all other thoughts are gone, and until the very feel of the ground beneath her disappears.

There is yet another new sensation in her eyes. The blackness of her closed eyelids bleeds dark red. The color is everywhere, and it stings her closed eyes.

She opens them and gasps. Her horn is glowing—light, she decides to call it. The pain from looking at it is overwhelming, and it causes her to quickly close her eyes again.

Squinting this time, she opens her eyes and peers at the light from behind the thin veil of her eyelashes. The light changes what things around it are, making colors brighter and sharper—and the light commands attention, its brilliance drawing her focus to it.

She wills it to die down. The light fades from her horn, and Celestia remembers the horizon and the warm sand beneath her belly. She takes a deep breath, and then lets it out; the act is relaxing.

Standing once more on four shaky legs, she spins and looks at the world around her.

It lacks.

Nothing ever moves and nothing ever changes. The faceless world is dark and dead. She glances up at her horn, and she wants to breathe light into it.

Laying down on her belly once more, she closes her eyes.

It will be a very long time until she opens them.

The world, her body, and her thoughts all disappear. Her eyes bleed red from the brightness, though she does not open them. There is only the light. She is in her own world crafting her creation, her love, and it grows under her care.

The light increases and makes her eyelids bleed again, this time from red to white. The color is blinding, and it is everywhere.

She lies under the light for a million hoofsteps.

She can feel the sphere of light, and it is under her will. The light warms her with its soft, intimate glow, her loving child. Her lips spread into a motherly smile.

It is her son. The sun.

It’s alive, and yet it’s not.

She opens her eyes and all she sees is white. The sun paints everything around it so brightly, that the ground beneath it disappears. It looks as though she is standing on the sky.

Her sun is too bright.

She looks at the ground beneath her that she can’t see, then glances back up at the sun, and knows what she must do.

She banishes the sun to the sky—and the sky changes.

It becomes rich, something between the gray it was before, and the white of the sandstone, yet completely different and new. It becomes sky-blue.

For some time she simply looks up at the sky with her mouth hanging slightly open. The color is majestic and all-encompassing. It’s calming and serene. It’s beauty and modesty.

So she adds a bit of it to her mane.

Closing her eyes and knitting her brow in concentration, a soft light emits from her horn. It’s quieter than when she made the sun, its task far simpler. A streak of her hair blushes from pale white to sky-blue, and when the glow from her horn fades, it remains that way.

Celestia allows herself a smile as she looks at the added color in her mane and tail.

Then she notices what has happened to the ground while she has been looking up.

The desolate plane that spans the horizon in every direction were being brought to life by the sun. The sandstone has changed. It has details she has never seen, and something new fills the cracks in the sandstone. It’s dark.

She decides to call it shadows.

She takes a step, but movement out of the corner of her eye makes her stop. Her breath hitches in her throat. She spins wildly around, and sees the same thing that fills the cracks in the sandstone.

She stares at her shadow, and her shadow stares back.

She tilts her head and the shadow tilts its own. Her mouth opens and breaks into a smile full of wonder. Jumping and running, Celestia watches her shadow chase her like an old friend.

She comes to a halt and stares down at it, a huge smile splitting her face. Her mouth settles into a small, comfortable smile, and she looks up at the horizon.

Her and her shadow walk for a long time.

And after a while, things stop moving again.

The sun hangs overhead, always in the same spot. It creates shadows, always in the same spot.

Her mouth hangs open as she realizes that nothing has changed.

The flat sandstone still spreads in every direction, and although its every intricate detail is lit, it still never changes.

There is so much room, and all of it empty. That hasn’t changed.

She looks at the sandstone and looks at the cracks where shadows are cast. She closes her eyes, her horn glows with the light of the sun, and a sound louder than she has ever heard cracks and resonates beneath her.

The sandstone she stands upon rises above the rest. It lifts her towards the blue expanse above. At the sides of where she stands, the sandstone falls off abruptly and jagged cliffs form on the sides of the elevated rock.

She decides to call it a mountain.

She looks out at the horizon. It feels like she can see further than she ever has before. She rushes to the edge of the mountain and looks down. The ground is so far below. She wonders what happens if she fell. She takes a step back from the edge.

And then she leaps.

She experiences a new sensation: the air rushing past her as she falls. It feels cool, like the opposite of the sandstone, but just as comforting in its own way. Her white hair whips in the air rushing by, and she looks back at the cliff face rushing past with frightening speed.

The ground is still far and she still has time to fall. She watches the cliff race by with an infectious and excited smile. She does something that comes naturally to her, that she can’t explain.

She laughs with joy.

She is falling so fast, moving so fast, that she can’t help but love it.

Closing her eyes, her horn glows the same white as the sandstone, her coat, and the sun.

And now her sides glow the same color.

The glow at her sides grows and takes the form of two clean, white wings filled with hundreds of feathers.

Instinct takes over.

She tilts them and pulls up from her free fall. Her wings are magnificent and wide, each twice as long as her body, and she is no longer falling. The air rushes past her in a different direction as she soars away from the cliff face. Her mane trails behind her and the wind tickles her ears.

She is flying.

She decides she likes it very much.

Letting out a joyous holler that brakes the eerie silence of the desolate plane, she plays with her new-found wings by tumbling, dipping, and swirling through the air.

She flies for a long time.

As she flies, she stops to create more mountains. She enjoys stopping atop them, and fairly soon the desolate plane isn’t as much of a plane anymore. Flat areas are broken up by mountain ranges, hills, and cliffs. She still keeps areas flat, as a reminder of how things have been for so long. She experiments by making pillars, valleys, canyons, and by creating trenches that dig deep into the ground, their bottoms hidden by shadow and their walls steep.

The horizon is broken. Razor sharp mountains give detail and feature to the distance, and one direction is no longer indistinguishable from another.

She looks out from the peak of her highest mountain, and knows that all that there is on the planet is because she willed it.

She allows herself a satisfied smile at a job well done.

The world is filled with places now. If she tires of mountains, she can head to the deserts, and if she tires of those, she can head to the valleys.

The world becomes a little less empty.

Only a little less.

Her eyes widen as she realizes she does not know what to do next. She has spent millions of hoofsteps creating the sun, and then millions of wingbeats creating the land. Both have left her spent, and she no longer knows which direction to fly, or even if she should fly at all.

Something falls from her cheek.

Celestia looks down at the stone. A small spot on the stone is off-white, something that she has never seen before. She reaches a hoof up to her cheek, and she feels something new. It feels damp, moist, and cool, like the wind. It clings to her hairs just as it clings to itself.

She decides to call it tears.

Tears come from sadness, she realizes. But the tears themselves make her happy. They are cool, like the wind, but she does not have to fly to feel it.

From the tears, she gets an idea for something new.

Her horn glows intensely with the color of the sun. A noise like wind, only deeper, rises from the ground at the base of the mountain, and the earth rumbles. Everywhere Celestia can see, geysers erupt, fountaining thousands of teardrops high into the air. The drops fall to the ground and make pools that fill the cracks and trenches in the white sandstone. The tears come together to form water, and the water collects in vast quantities to create seas. The sound of rushing water fills the world.

And then Celestia stops.

She stops when she realizes there is more water than there is land, and the geysers trickle to a halt.

The sea stretches past the horizon on one side of her mountain. The broken horizon was flat again, but it was no longer white.

It was sea-green.

Celestia looks at the color with pride. It is the second color she has created.

Her horn glows gently, and a streak of sea-green joins the sky-blue in her mane and tail. Now, half her mane is white, while the other half is colored.

The surface of the sea shakes from its creation, waves bouncing and coalescing with one another. Celestia watches entranced, the sound of waves pushing up the shore, only to retreat, repeat, once more.

The sea slowly calms as the waves lose their vigour. It takes great time, time enough for the water to gouge the sandstone.

Celestia flies to the water’s surface. It’s perfectly still. She peers down into it and there is someone looking at her from beneath the water. She gasps, and plunges a hoof into the water, trying to reach them, but the second her hoof touches the surface, the pony staring at her vanishes in ripples.

Celestia withdraws her hoof, and the pony in the water reforms, holding her hoof in the same position as she does.

Understanding dawns on her. The pony in the water is her shadow, yet unlike her shadow it has color, the streak of sky-blue and sea-green is present in the other pony’s mane. It’s her reflection, she decides. She smiles at it, and it smiles back.

The smile fades from her reflection’s face, and she realizes it has faded from hers too.

Things have become too quiet.

Looking at the sun directly overhead, she misses the dark. She can barely remember the time when it was dark anymore.

She wills the sun to leave. Just for a little while.

Darkness falls across the land, and the colors she created become dim and blurred, but the dark feels relaxing on her eyes. Looking around at the pitch-black landscape, Celestia walks to the water’s edge, its green color has changed to a deep, dark blue that she feels will swallow her if she stares into it too long.

She glances down at her side. Her shadow is gone from the sandstone, and so too is her reflection from the water’s surface. Looking up at the expansive sky, her eyes glisten with sadness.

She is alone.

She cries for the first time since she made the oceans, falling down and burying her muzzle in her hooves. The sandstone chills as she lays there, the sun no longer shining upon it. Her reflections are fake. They don’t move freely, breathe freely, and think freely like her.

Her head snaps up and her tears dry. She remembers the one and only rule of the desolate plane on the barren world.

Nothing happens unless she wills it.

Eyes still brimming with freshly shed tears, she takes a stand and walks away from the shore. She turns her walk into a trot, her trot into a gallop. Spreading her wings, she takes off, flying back to that one mountain, the first one she created.

She flies with urgency in her wings. The ground below passes by in a blur, and later, the ocean does too. She knows the world like the top of her own muzzle. Every crevice, cliff, and plateau is her creation, and she traces them all back to where she made them.

She flies to the top of the mountain to the perfectly flat and round stage at its peak. Landing at its center, she closes her eyes and takes a deep breath to steel herself. A bright ethereal light surrounds her, the power coursing through her filling her with energy and focus.

She snaps her eyes open. They glow like beacons with white, electrified magic. The aura surrounding her crackles with energy, the magic emitting a steadily growing hum as it increases in power. Ground buckles under her forming a crater, which fills with water that rises up from the cracks in the sandstone.

The water rises up to her knees, before cascading down one side of the mountain in a waterfall. The surface of the mountain top spring ripples with magic.

Not once during this does her concentration slip.

White sand floats up from beneath the water, and begins forming four pillars that float on the surface. Growing, the pillars of sand form a set of legs identical to hers. She directs the sand, making it from her memory of her shadow and her reflection. The body is lithe and supple, the tail long and flowing. A pair of wings stretch out far on either side of the body, the detail of each quill crafted with detail befitting a masterpiece.

She makes the face regal, and makes it hold potential for both unabashed enthusiasm, and calm reserve. The reflection of sand’s eyes stay closed as she wills it to be. Its mane flows down the sides of its neck, and a horn pokes out the top of it.

Her reflection is as white as her, and every last bit as white as the sandstone surrounding her.

She decides to color the reflection the shade of darkened ocean. The deep color crawls up the legs, hiding the sand, and turns it into a coat like hers. The mane and tail she decides to make sky-blue, so if the sky ever leaves she’ll have something to remember it by.

Stepping back, she looks at this other pony she has made, with wings and a horn as big as hers, and remains silent. As her magic fades, the other pony floats down into the water, no longer held up by her.

Celestia takes hesitant steps toward her, eyes searching. The other pony is the most strange thing she’s created since she first woke. Its coat glistens, even in the dark. Celestia lifts a hoof and reaches out hesitantly to touch it.

The darker pony’s eyes snap open, and her head jerks to look at Celestia. Jumping back, the dark pony looks around wildly. Celestia sees confusion in her eyes, but she also sees something she recognizes.

Fear.

Celestia walks very slowly towards her. The darker pony tenses and goes rigid, but does not run.

Celestia continues to walk slowly.

As she nears, she can see the other pony trembling. Celestia stops just in front of her and looks at her with empathy. The darker pony stops trembling and looks at her, wide-eyed and confused. Carefully, Celestia walks up to her and rests her muzzle atop the darker pony’s head beside her horn. The darker pony’s mane is as soft as she imagined. She feels the darker pony tense up again from her touch. Instinctively, Celestia says her first word.

“Luna.”

The darker pony moves beneath her muzzle, and then relaxes. A smile spreads across her face, and she repeats the word, “Luna.”

Part 2: Luna

Luna

Equestria from Dust, by soundslikeponies

Celestia walks a narrow road, broken by steps nearly as tall as she, and leads Luna up.

Luna looks out from the cliff at the landscape, her eyes wide with amazement. “Does it stretch past the horizon?” she asks.

Celestia smiles and jumps up a ledge in the path. “Yes. Much further past it.”

“Will I see it?”

Celestia stops in her path and looks back at her. “You will see everything, and more.” Celestia’s mouth slips into a mentoring smile.

“Why are we walking?”

Celestia doesn’t answer right away, continuing on the path. “Because if we flew up this high, you would have wandered off to chase the horizon, and I would have had to chase after.”

Luna pouts, trotting up closer to Celestia, her hooffalls uneven and hesitant on the narrow cliff. They walk up the narrow, winding path to the mountain’s peak, Luna’s wings itching to take flight the whole way. The path ends abruptly just short of the peak, and they stand on it, looking out at the horizon over the ocean.

Celestia glances at Luna. Rather than the darker pony looking out with excitement, she looks out with a hint of disappointment.

“Does the view not please you?” Celestia asks with concern.

“It is... less than I thought it would be.”

Celestia turns from her and looks out over the landscape, the sight fills her with pride, and she fails to see Luna’s grievance with it. “And how is it less?”

“It is sprawling and expansive, but it is also so empty,” Luna says. “The land changes and shifts, and the ocean runs through streams and rivers, its currents creating waves that break upon the shore, but they are both empty.” Luna looks at Celestia, her eyes despairing as she asks her next question. “Is it really only us?”

Celestia’s mouth hangs and she looks back at the land and realizes Luna’s words hold truth. The world is empty still.

“I am sorry. I spoke with haste. It is—”

“No,” Celestia says, her voice quiet, but the tone carries enough weight to halt Luna. “It is empty.”

“Celestia?” Luna’s voice is hesitant, unsure, and she peers carefully at Celestia.

Celestia turns to face Luna, her face an unreadable mask. “Will you help me make the world something else?”

Luna, taken back by the seriousness of her question, swallows before carefully asking, “What would you have me do?”

Celestia’s features soften, and she leans her forehead against Luna’s. “That is something we can both decide.”

Luna thinks for a moment. “When I first woke,” she says slowly, testing the waters. “It was night, and you told me I was created by the night.” Her eyes crossed to look at Celestia, whose muzzle rests against hers. “Can we give the night a sun?”

Celestia wordlessly pulls away from Luna and steps out to the path’s edge, her wings spread and her horn glowing.

The shadows on the ground move, and Luna watches in silent awe as the sun lowers over the horizon, light and color playing across the land as it descends.

Celestia opens her eyes and turns back to Luna. “You wish for a sun in this sky?” she asks, looking up.

“It is empty,” Luna says. “The sun fills the day, but nothing fills the night.”

“But the sun is what makes the day not night.” Celestia takes a few steps back towards Luna to see her better in the dim light. “I can not give the night a sun and have it remain the way it is.”

Luna looks up at the empty night sky. She lies down on the path, crossing her hooves over one another as she thinks.

Celestia patiently waits.

Nothing moves, nothing stirs, as the two lay opposite each other, Luna staring at the ground, and Celestia staring at her.

Then, Luna looks up.

“What if there were a landscape sitting in the night sky?” she asks, looking at her sister.

“A landscape in the sky?” Celestia asks with a small smile. “What do you mean by that?”

Luna cranes her neck back to look up at the night. “A place just like where we are now, only up in the sky.”

“And that is what you wish?”

Luna hesitantly nods. Celestia simply stands and looks up, her gaze focusing on one part of the sky, as her horn begins to glow.

It starts off as a speck, looking like a piece of dust in the night sky, but it begins to grow and take shape. Celestia hears Luna gasp and stand to her hooves. Out of the corner of her eye, Celestia sees Luna’s mouth hang open as she watches the speck in the sky grow.

The speck grows to an orb of pale light, perfectly spherical, and the same size as the sun, but dimmer, glowing a pale yellow where the sun shines on it from the other side of the world’s sky.

Beside Celestia, Luna whispers, “The moon.”

Celestia glances beside her. “Is that what you wish to call it?”

Luna nods.

Celestia smiles, staring warmly at Luna. “Then it is yours.”

Luna whips around to look at her. “Mine?”

Celestia nods and reaches forward, touching Luna’s horn with her own. Celestia’s horn hums with a white glow, and makes Luna’s glow with her own midnight magic. A speckled pattern of dark blue appears on Luna’s flank, holding a white emblem in its center in the shape of the moon, and one emblazoned with the sun appears on Celestia.

“Consider it a... gift,” Celestia says, smiling at the way Luna’s eyes seemed to light up. “The night is yours.”

Luna looks up at the sky, a crescent moon hanging in it, and the light from it sparkles in her eyes. “I...” Luna closes her eyes and smiles. “Thank you.”

Celestia turns back to look at the night sky, gazing at the moon along with her. The light from it casts a very faint glow on the rock that appears almost magical. Celestia turns to leave, walking back down the path.

“Wait!” Luna says, staring at her. “Where are you going?”

“I thought I’d lie by the ocean and rest.” Celestia feels her legs growing weaker, a backlash of her abundant use of magic.

“May we stay here just a while longer?” Luna asks, her eyes pleading.

Celestia smiles and sighs, walking back to her side. “You are quite taken with your newfound moon.”

“I simply like being up here,” Luna says, blushing. “The view is beautiful from up here. I am sorry I called it empty.”

Celestia chuckles warmly and lies down beside her. “I asked you to speak your mind, and I appreciate the honest answer you gave.”

Celestia feels a weight against her side and looks down to see Luna resting her head against her shoulder and looking out at the distance.

“What is it you see?” Celestia asks with a slightly curious tone.

Luna is silent. Her tail flicks behind her, and Celestia can feel it brush against her side.

“Potential.” Luna lifts her head to look up at Celestia. “I see a place where we can make anything that we dream come true.”

“Anything we can dream...” Celestia says, growing silent.

“I see all sorts of lands different from this sandstone. Lands of soft soil and dense rock, and vast plains of water so cold it can be treaded upon.”

Celestia’s eyes widen and she looks down at Luna. She laughs and reaches down to nip Luna’s ear playfully. “Where do you get such ideas?”

Luna flicks her ear in irritation and pouts. “How would I know?” she says, looking away.

“I am greatly envious of it,” Celestia says, wrapping her wing around Luna. “And I do enjoy basking in the light of your moon.”

Luna’s pout breaks into a smile. “Really?”

“Yes,” Celestia simply answers, feeling Luna rest her head against her once more.

“Thank you.”

The moon hangs still in the night sky and faintly lights the mountains in the distance, creating a jagged black line across the distance. The ground beneath them lies sheathed in black, and it seems like all the world is the small cliff path at the peak of the mountain they lie on.

Celestia listens, but there is no sound aside from Luna’s gentle snores under her wing. Even the ocean is quiet.

It even sounds empty, Celestia realizes, a frown tugging at her lips.

She stays up despite needing rest, her thoughts plaguing her. Every so often she looks down at Luna, thinking that maybe she will see what gives her her creativity, but the sleeping pony holds no answers.

Celestia waits for Luna to wake as she stares at the crescent of light hanging in the sky, rarely blinking and never tearing her eyes from it. The moon just sits there with her, lighting the night sky and staring back at her.

An idea grows in Celestia as she stares at the moon. Carefully retracting her wing around Luna and setting down the darker pony’s head to rest on the Sandstone, Celestia stands with confidence and purpose.

She walks to the cliff edge and falls. She spreads her wings and silently skims down the mountainside, landing on a cliff lower down.

It is far away enough that she will not wake Luna.

Celestia’s horn begins to glow, lighting the platform around her. The strain on her magic, worn from creating the moon, is immediate.

Still, the moon begins to move.

Celestia looks up to see it working, and feels her confidence swell as she pushes more power into the spell. The moon moves slowly though, and sweat trickles down the sides of her muzzle as time wears on. As the moon begins to dip below the horizon, Celestia cuts the spell.

But the moon still moves.

Celestia’s mouth slips into a triumphant smile, and she looks to the opposite horizon to see the sun about to rise.

The sky over the horizon becomes beautiful and pink. It becomes soothing and tender, and it causes Celestia to feel a wave of warmth wash over her. It is the feeling of being held under Luna’s wing, and falling asleep next to her.

Despite the strain on her magic, Celestia makes her horn light up again, and she adds the color in the missing spot in her mane, next to the stroke of midnight blue.

Sitting on her haunches, she holds her mane in her hooves, and doesn’t spot a single strand of white in it anymore. It feels complete.

Luna flies down and lands next to her, looking in both directions at the horizon. “Celestia?” she asks, seeing Celestia looking off into the sunrise.

“I had an idea, Luna.”

Luna closes her wings and walks to Celestia’s side, sitting beside her. “It’s wonderful,” she says breathlessly.

“Thank you,” Celestia says, only to feel a splitting pain in her head. She grits her teeth in pain as Luna looks worriedly at her.

“Celestia!”

Celestia forces a smile, looking back at Luna out of the corner of her eye, before suddenly clenching her eyes shut in pain and collapsing.

“Celestia, are you alright?” Luna’s frantic shout drifts through her dizzy conscience.

Celestia cracks open an eye and looks up at her, giving her a reassuring smile. “I am fine. I simply need rest.”

Luna nods, a disheartened look upon her face as she lies down next to Celestia and lays her head in her hooves.

Celestia gives a relaxed sigh. Every muscle in her body is exhausted, but still, she feels a surge of happiness flow through her at finally being able to create again. The ocean is still far below, and she can clearly hear Luna’s breathing as she faithfully watches over her, and knowing she does brings a smile to Celestia’s lips.

“You should have rested first,” Luna says, breaking the silence.

“I wished for it to be a surprise.”

Luna snorts and shuffles her hooves. “It certainly was.”

“Sorry,” Celestia says sincerely, but without regret.

“Rest,” Luna commands.

Celestia lays her head against the sandstone and looks out off the cliff, watching the sun come up. The pink gives way to red, gives way to orange, gives way to yellow, as the sun peeks over the edge of the world. The two sit in silence and watch the sky change, long shadows trailing on the path behind them.

The sun continues to rise, and the colors disappear and return to blue. Celestia stands, and Luna rises quickly after her.

“Would you like to create, Luna?” Celestia asks.

Luna stiffens, but quickly replies, “More than anything!”

Celestia looks up at the sky and closes her eyes, her horn beginning to glow.

A curtain of cloud creeps from the horizon and makes its way across the sky, concealing the sun and eventually blotting out every trace of blue. The air begins to pick up around them, blowing in a harsh wind that howls in their ears.

“You picture what you desire,” Celestia shouts over the wind, which steadily grows louder and faster. “And it will happen.”

Up above, the veil of white darkens, and Luna looks up with awe as jagged bolts of light dance through the clouds, creating echoing bangs as they arc through the sky.

Something small falls and hits Luna on the nose. She flinches, crossing her eyes and looking at the tip of her nose to see a drop of water. Another falls next to her hoof, and she jumps back, looking at the tiny dark spot on the sandstone where it landed.

Then an ocean of drops falls from the sky.

A million quiet noises come from everywhere at once, their source having no direction. The drops soak their coats and manes as though they had went swimming, cooling their bodies, and turning the mountain rock gray.

Luna lifts a hoof, watching the drops splash against it. “This is...” She’s at a loss of words, watching it fall.

“This is Rain,” Celestia says, deciding then and there to call it that.

Luna’s mouth eases into a calm smile. “It is soothing.”

Celestia turns and walks over to her, tearing her gaze from the rain. “Magic breathes life into desire,” Celestia says, turning to look around them. “And anything you will, it makes happen.” Celestia turns back to Luna and sees her eyes light up, the familiar look of her forming an idea.

“We need to fly down,” Luna says, an almost excited gleam in her eye. She snaps her wings open and dives off the cliff.

Celestia simply chuckles, shaking her head before following her down the cliffside through the rain, drops of water pelting her coat as she speeds after Luna. As she races past, she notices the water trickling through the cracks in the sandstone, like hundreds of rivers, back to the ocean, and they are following them there.

They reach the ground and Luna lands a short distance away from the shore, the waters tossing and turning with the winds from the storm. Luna looks over her shoulder at Celestia, her horn glowing blue and her mane whipping in her face.

“May I begin?” she asks hesitantly.

Celestia swallows and nods, but she can’t help but feel a gnawing sensation in her stomach; that with the nod she is forfeiting something that was hers.

Luna lies on the ground in the shallow waves, her horn glowing brighter as she closes her eyes and concentrates. Celestia patiently waits, looking out at the stormy ocean and sitting down on the wet ground.

Luna lowers her head to the ground and the blue light from her horn spreads into the sandstone. It spreads along the shore, and the ground glows with it. Looking closely, Celestia realizes it has spread to the sandstone under the waves as well.

Luna’s eyes become clenched and her whole body tenses. Celestia looks to her, wanting to speak out against whatever it is she is trying to do, but then she hears a noise.

The ground begins shifting and cracking.

The noise comes from the far ends of the shore, and a quieter rippling sound accompanies it. The sound grows louder as it spreads towards where they are, and Celestia begins to see the cause. The ground is breaking up into millions of tiny white fragments, and the effect continues to spread until it finishes, reaching the spot under Luna’s horn.

Luna gasps and cuts off the flow of her magic, opening her eyes to look at what she has made. Though tired, she beams, whipping around to her sister with an overwhelming look of pride.

“I made... sand...” she manages, right before collapsing onto her creation.

Celestia stands and walks to the shore, stepping on the newly altered ground. It’s soft, and it shifts out of the way of her hoofsteps, unlike the sandstone. “It is very different.”

Luna opens a pained eye, her breath coming in short pants. “I call it sand.” She struggles to sit, and Celestia rushes over to help her. She looks around, a frown slipping onto her lips. “How are we to change all this?” She sighs, her ears drooping. “This is such a small part of the land I changed, and I feel exhausted.”

Celestia looks around, before turning to Luna and smiling. “We travel,” she says simply. “And we craft it piece by piece, just as I did with the mountains and gorges.”

Luna looks up with a pained smile. “You’ve been here much longer than I have, haven’t you?”

Celestia nods and grows quiet, a distant look in her eyes. “Much longer...” The rain pelts them as they gaze at the stormy ocean. “The world is empty, Luna. Let us fill it.”

Luna manages to stand, her legs shaking, and looks at Celestia with a smile, her mane matted and wet. She spreads her wings and lifts into the sky and out over the ocean.

A smile creeps up on Celestia’s lips, and she shakes her head, sighing, knowing she will have to chase to keep up with the other mare. Her wings snap open, rocketing into the sky after her and leaving a small crater in the sand. She gains on Luna quickly, being the faster flier of the two, and glides alongside her. The rain is uncomfortable to fly in, and it makes their bodies heavy with water clinging to their feathers. Celestia’s horn glows and the cloud cover disperses, breaking up and leaving only a few small white wisps in the sky.

Luna looks around wildly, and turns to Celestia. “Where do we go?”

“It is your turn to wander. I will simply follow.”

Luna goes back to looking around, biting her lip. She picks a direction and flies toward it, and Celestia angles her wings to follow.

They fly through the sky, their wings, coats, and manes drying in the wind and sun. They fly for days on end, towards sunrises and sunsets, seeing the world. Celestia finds herself smiling with nostalgia as they cross familiar places she wandered to long ago. And when Luna gasps at the deep chasms and peaks so high that they pierce clouds, it makes Celestia swell with pride. Luna spends half their time flying over the largest mountain range Celestia ever created, but eventually, after several days above the mountains, Luna flies down to the cliffs overlooking the ocean, and Celestia follows.

Luna lands on the cliff’s edge, and Celestia lands at a trot behind her, walking up and stopping a short ways behind her.

“Do you mind if I change the mountains?” Luna asks, looking back at her.

Celestia tenses, but replies, “No, not at all.”

Luna gives her a grateful nod and closes her eyes, a midnight aura of magic enveloping her body.

Shadows sweep over where they stand, and Celestia looks up to see gray clouds gathering overhead, though they are calmer than during the storm. For a while, the clouds just sit there, nothing seemingly happen, but then a single speck of white floats down from the sky, and lands on Celestia’s nose.

It is cold.

The white speck melts to water, just as dozens more come to join it. Then thousands. The magic surrounding Luna fades, and she opens her eyes, smiling broadly at her success.

“It’s snow,” she states.

Celestia looks at the ground, where the snow is beginning to stick and not melt. Soon, a thin sheet of white covers the ground where they are, and Celestia looks up to the mountains to see their peaks had turned white.

She turns back to Luna. “You learned quickly,” she says, unable to keep the smirk off her face.

“I practiced manipulating the winds as we flew,” Luna replies, turning away from the cliff.

Celestia shivers, tucking her legs closer together as she becomes aware of how the snow makes the air turn cold. The snow steadily comes down harder. The winds pick up and make the snowflakes dance in the air in a flurry of motion.

“Watch the ocean, Celestia!” Luna shouts over the wind, a huge smile across her face as she glows with magic again, turning back to the ocean.

“Wait,” Celestia says, walking over to her side

Luna stops sideways to the ocean and kills her magic, looking back at Celestia. She sees the look in Celestia’s eyes and her eyes become downcast. “I-I’m sorry. I did not yet ask if I—”

Celestia steps towards the ocean, standing at the cliff edge overlooking it. “I would like to change it together.”

Slowly, Luna’s smile returns, and she turns to the ocean alongside Celestia with her magic glowing once more, and beside her, Celestia’s pure white magic joins it.

The water grows misty and rises up the side of the cliff. Its flow slows down and then stops, the water becoming solid. The color of the still water spreads into the distance past the horizon and the snow sticks to it, covering it in the same blanket of white that it covers the land with.

Luna and Celestia both cut their magic at the same time, panting, with beads of sweat rolling down the sides of their muzzle, freezing in their coats.

Celestia raises her head to look out at the ocean first, and she notices any feeling of apprehension she had is gone. She feels control again.

“Celestia?”

Celestia turns to Luna and sees the other mare gesture towards the frozen expanse, asking an opinion.

Celestia turns back to the frozen ocean. “It is cold.”

Luna lifts a hoof to stifle a giggle. Celestia looks at her, a smile finding its way to her own face as she lifts a hoof to stifle her own laughter.

“Shall we make somewhere warm, then?” Luna asks, a scheming light in her eyes. “Because I had an idea for something called a desert.”

We. The use of the word is not lost on Celestia, and she nods in reply. “Yes, I think I’d like that.”

The two of them snap open their wings, and fly through the snow, filling the world with whatever they imagined.

Part 4: Life

Life

Equestria from Dust, by soundslikeponies

The dense jungle canopy makes the soil cool and dark. The trees tower a hundred times Celestia’s height, and no grass or brush manages to grow on the forest floor. Trunks shoot up from the ground and disappear into the sky—pillars to hold up the roof of leaves shading the jungle.

Below it all, Celestia walks along the ground, touching her hooves to the trees she passes, and checking on their health. The air feels hot and humid, and the air holds a slight haze. The forest is only a day’s flight from the sea, and it is watered by monsoons which give it its glory.

It is one of many forests created by Celestia and Luna, but it by far has the largest trees.

Luna flies up and lands beside Celestia, tucking her wings into her sides. “Have you flown high up?” she asks, staring at the forest ceiling. “We’ve made this land green as far as the eye can see. It’s so different from the arctics or the desert.”

“Good,” Celestia says. “That is the idea, is it not?”

“I’m just making idle comment.” Luna huffs and looks away. “You are harder and harder to talk to these days.”

“Sorry.”

Luna rolls her eyes. “You need not apologize for it.”

Celestia gives her a playful smirk. “Sorry.”

Luna lets out a low groan and shoots a half-hearted glare at her, but mirrors her smirk nonetheless. “We have been traveling far recently,” Luna says, glancing up at the treetops. “And this place is hot and muggy.”

“You do have trouble bearing heat,” Celestia comments, having no problem with the air herself.

Luna snorts and swishes her tail, walking to the base of a tree and leaning her side against it. “I blame it on this coat. Its dark color makes it hungry to trap the sun’s heat.”

“We’ll be someplace we can rest soon,” Celestia says, looking at the nearby trees and checking her bearings. “There is a cave nearby a waterfall just south of here.”

The sound of rushing water reaches Celestia’s ears, and a small river—almost a stream—lie up ahead. A cliff marked with moss and jagged edges cuts the stream in half, and water crashes and foams, pouring from the cliff into the waiting pool below. On the opposite side of the river, not far from the waterfall, the dark entrance to a cave lie with its bank covered with moss.

Celestia walks to the waters edge and leaps with a few accompanying wingbeats to see her over the river. She lands on the rock on the opposite side, and turns to look back at Luna on the opposite bank.

The darker mare mimics her actions over the river, and lands next to her.

“I must say, I was looking forward to sleeping on something more comfortable than rock,” Luna says, testing the ground beneath her hooves.

Celestia smiles and starts towards the cave. “You won’t have to worry about that.”

Luna follows her, curiously, and stares at the cave mouth. They step inside it, and for a while, it is pitch black, and they can’t see their own muzzles in front of their faces. The only way Celestia even knows that Luna is still with her, is the soft, almost inaudible sound of her hooves on the moss.

The darkness is cool, and the cave stone is chilled by the river that runs near it. Celestia strains her eyes to make out any light in the darkness.

“Any reason you have not cast a light spell?” Luna asks behind her.

“We won’t need one in a moment,” Celestia says, still peering into the dark.

She spots it, a faint blue glow coming from around a corner up ahead. The walls and moss floor of the cave become visible again, and Celestia and Luna round the corner to see a myriad of color.

The turn opens up to a great cavern, high enough that one could fly around in it. Crystals line the roof and emit a luminescent blue light, shining down on the moss below and turning it into a sea of turquoise. A pool of water, clear as air, lies in the center of the chamber, and the blue light dances off its surface.

“When did you make this?” Luna asks, looking around at the crystals on the walls.

“I didn’t make it, you did,” Celestia says as she walks towards the water. “You made this cave centuries ago, when you made all the other crystals and gemstones. The moss spread from the forest to the cave, and I only found it like this the other night.”

“It is like another plane hidden away from the rest of the world!” Luna exclaims, rushing up to Celestia’s side, and spinning around to look at all sides of the cavern. “I’d forgotten about the caves.”

“I always thought they were your most beautiful creation,” Celestia says, giggling at the way Luna’s eyes were lighting up with glee from looking at the cavern. “You have a way with color.”

“Maybe it is your mane which inspires me so,” Luna teases. She wades into the pool of water, and walks to its center. The blues dance off her coat, and the waves she creates in the water send ripples of light down her body.

Celestia lies down on the moss bed by the shore and lays her head down upon her hooves, watching Luna wade through the pool.

“Celestia!”

Celestia snaps her eyes open at hearing Luna’s voice cry out. Standing and looking out at the pool, she sees Luna struggling and sinking into the bed of moss beneath the water.

“Luna!” Celestia screams, charging into the water. She makes it only halfway, when Luna’s head is dragged underwater. “Luna!” she screams again, trudging through the water to see Luna’s wide and frightened eyes, only her head and hooves still sticking out of the moss. “Luna, hold on!” Celestia shouts, closing her eyes and focusing, calling upon her magic to pull Luna out.

But her magic is gone.

Celestia gasps, and panic courses through her veins. She reaches her hooves down to grab Luna’s. Kicking and flapping her wings, she feels her limbs scream in protest as she pulls as hard as she can to free Luna out.

Luna looks up at Celestia from underwater and smiles, making Celestia’s blood run cold.

“Don’t give up!” she shouts, but Luna simply smiles, even as the moss swallows her. Celestia grips onto her hooves still sticking out, but eventually, even they disappear into the ground.

Celestia sits, broken, in the water. She combs through the moss with her hooves, but all there is below the moss is stone.

A tear falls and splashes the water. And then another. Celestia shudders, and her vision waters as she holds her ears pressed against her head. She does not know how long she sits there, staring at the spot that swallowed Luna whole.

And then somepony wading through the water sounds from behind her.

Celestia freezes, her hairs stand on end, and a shiver travels along her spine. She stands and turns to face them, and what she sees causes her to falter.

Luna faces her, but her eyes are blank and her coat and mane are dull, ashen colors. She says nothing. Her face is a stoic mask that doesn’t even register Celestia’s presence. The water does not ripple from where she stands; her body is perfectly still.

“Luna?” Celestia asks, but she knows it is not her, only a ghost resembling her. “What happened, you were—” Celestia reaches a hoof out to touch Luna, but the hoof passes right through her as though she were air. She looks down at her hoof, then back up at the ash colored Luna. The apparition remains unmoving, uncaring of her presence.

Celestia looks down at the water. “I... I don’t understand.”

The ashen Luna tilts her head, in a curious manner that reminds Celestia of the real Luna. Then, she begins to step forward.

Celestia’s gut reaction is to step back, but the ghost keeps walking towards her, a haunting smile on its visage. Luna’s body begins to crumble into black sand that floats as though caught in a dust devil, but there is no wind.

The black sand sweeps around behind Celestia, and surrounds her, forming a bubble around her. It hisses with the sound of the sand rubbing against itself, grains grinding against one another, and the sound grows louder as the sand spins around her faster and faster. Celestia sits in the water and holds her hooves to her ears, trying to block out the sound.

The bubble bursts, and the sand dissipates. Celestia looks around to find herself staring at a flat, gray horizon. She slowly, almost fearfully, looks down at the ground.

White sandstone.

She pushes against it with her hooves, not believing it to be real, but it feels as solid as it did back then. The sandstone spans the horizon. There is only her, and every last bit of her is as white as the sandstone around her, and she has no wings.

“How...” Celestia sits and looks around for any sign of anything. “How am I back here?” Her voice breaks the absolute silence. Not even wind exists in this barren.

Celestia stands, and she begins to wander for a very long time.

She looks up at the sky, half expecting the moon or sun to show their faces at any time. But time does not exist here. Nothing moves, nothing changes, and nothing casts a shadow. The ground is hard, and leaves no hoofprints. The air is dry and has no taste.

After what feels like months of wandering, Celestia sees a dark figure in the distance. She pauses, and realizes that they are slowly walking toward her. A ray of hope shines through as the silhouette draws closer. It has the same figure and poise, and even the same walk as Luna.

Celestia breaks into a gallop towards her, wishing she could just fly up to her and hug her with all her strength, but as she draws closer, something seems wrong. Luna is not calling out to her, or rushing out to greet her. She simply walks towards her, at a subdued pace.

Celestia draws closer, and recognizes the figure not to be Luna, but the ghost that sent her back. She stops, but the apparition draws closer.

Celestia steels herself, and levels a glare at the approaching thing that wears Luna’s guise. “Where’s Luna?” she shouts across the wasteland at it. “Why did you bring me back here?”

The ghost makes no move to stop, and continues to walk towards her.

Celestia snorts, and kicks at the ground, lowering her horn to bare, but the ghost is unfazed by her show of aggression, and she wonders if it even knows she’s there. Breaking into a gallop, she charges the apparition with her horn lowered to its chest. She breathes deep, panting breaths, and her eyes focus on the ash colored Luna.

The copy of Luna continues walking forward at a slow pace, uncaring of her charge.

Celestia draws close, and she looks at the blank, dead eyes of the copy, and it gives her pause in her charge. The eyes seem to stare into her very being, and it sends a jolt of panic through her that makes her halt her charge.

The copy continues walking calmly towards her, uncaring of her halting.

Celestia can only stand there, petrified with fear as the ghost approaches her. It walks up to her, and presses its lips to hers.

Celestia’s blood runs cold, and the kiss feels like death. There is no love in it, no joy, no passion, just an emptiness that threatens to swallow her whole. She wants to desperately pull away, but she is rooted to the spot with terror.

Its lips still locked to hers, the apparition begins to dissolve into black sand. The sand travels into Celestia’s body, and she feels it spreading through her like a poison. She shudders, her lips still pressed against the apparition’s. They remain in a kiss of death until all of the sand is absorbed into her body. The ghost’s head disperses to sand last and goes inside her. And then, all is quiet.

She is alone in the sea of sandstone once more, and nothing moves, nothing stirs, aside from her.

Celestia lets out a gasp, finally able to breathe. She sits down and raises a hoof to her chest, trying to slow her racing heart. The sound of her heartbeat fills her ears, and she swallows, her tongue feeling dry and uncomfortable where it sits in her mouth.

Pain strikes her. It is sharp like a thousand crystals in her bloodstream, and it feels like she is being drowned in arctic water. She falls to the ground, her breath coming in short, raspy gasps, and the world begins to collapse around her.

Like shattered pieces of glass, the world crumbles around her, falling down and disappearing in a dark abyss below. The murky, gray sky leaves, and all that’s left is a black void and Celestia, lying on a floating isle.

The pain fades, and Celestia stands up. She looks around, searching for any sign of the world that once was, but all around her is an endless black that seems to stretch for an eternity in every direction.

Hesitantly, she steps towards the edge of the isle she’s stranded on and looks down, but the void seems to fall for an eternity, and the pieces of the land that fell have already disappeared.

Fear and desperation grip Celestia, and she looks up at the endless void. “Please, let me go back!” she shouts. She shudders as her eyes begin to water, and she looks down at the ground, her tears dripping onto it. “Please...”

An orb of light falls down from the void, and Celestia’s head snaps up to look at it. It floats gently down and stops just in front of her. The orb’s light grows brighter, and its intensity forces Celestia to clench her eyes shut.

“Celestia!”

Celestia’s eyes shoot open, and she finds herself back at the moss and crystal cavern, Luna standing over her and giving her a worried look.

Luna smiles and giggles at her. “You drifted off! I still wanted to ask you how you made the crystals glow like this!”

Celestia rubs her eyes, to make sure what she’s seeing is real, and looks up at Luna. “How long was I asleep?”

“Only for a moment. You fell asleep when I was about to ask you a question.”

“Only for a moment?”

Luna looks at her, her brow furrowing in concern. “Is everything alright?”

Celestia shakes her head. “Yes, I’m fine,” she says, letting out a sigh and standing.

Luna’s looks unconvinced and her eyes soften as she lies beside Celestia. “If you are tired, you should rest. It is, after all, what we came here for.”

“I am tired, but I don’t believe rest is what I need,” Celestia answers. She avoids looking at Luna. The sight of her brings back haunting shadows from the dream. She looks at Luna and she can’t help but see her ashen counterpart, whose kiss sucked all the warmth out of the world.

Luna turns away, looking around at the cavern, her eyes searching. “So what is it we do now?” she asks, walking to the edge of the pool, her expression uncertain. “The world seems full of forest, so what now do we make?”

Celestia lets out a sigh and rests her muzzle on the moss bed, its tendrils tickling her nose. “Why do you always hunger for more? When will it be enough?”

“It’s not that I am unhappy, it’s just...” Luna trails off, opening and closing her mouth a few times as she fails to find the right words. She suddenly stops and turns to look at the, her eyes taking a more somber tone. “It doesn’t feel complete,” she murmurs, looking at her reflection on the water’s surface.

Celestia furrows her brow in thought, looking up at the crystalline ceiling. “I don’t know what to make of this world. What are we to work towards?”

Luna turns towards her and looks at the ground in thought. “I-I’ve never really thought much about what we work towards.”

“I haven’t either,” Celestia mumbles, causing Luna to raise her head and look at her with surprise.

“Does it matter though?” Luna asks, tilting her head at Celestia. “The things we create, can’t we just create them because we want to?” She pauses, looking at the pool, and then gesturing to the ceiling. “I like that you created this because the moss is soft, I like that you created this because the glow from the cavern ceiling sparkles and looks beautiful, and I like that you created water because it is cool and refreshing.” Luna turns back to Celestia and raises an eyebrow, giving her a small smile. “Do I need more reason than that?”

“No,” Celestia says, a small smile making its way to her lips. “I suppose not.” Celestia sighs, shaking her head with a small chuckle. “We don’t have to keep going at the rate we have been. We could take a century or two long reprieve from this.”

Luna smiles, but shakes her head. “No. Maybe later I will take you up on that idea, but at this time I still wish to keep going.”

“Very well.” Celestia stands and closes her eyes, taking a deep breath of the cave air in through her nostrils. She walks forward, eyes closed, to the waters edge next to Luna.

Luna fixes her with a confused look, cocking her head to the side and raising an eyebrow at her, but Celestia ignores it. She dips her head down to the water, her horn floating just off its surface and beginning to glow. The light coming from her horn hums with energy, and despite not touching the water, it begins to send small ripples along the surface.

Celestia focuses on the power in her horn, and shapes it into heat and light and raw energy that makes the air feel alive with magic. It glows, not unlike the sun, but in a softer, more intimate manner.

Beside her, Luna takes a step back, both to give her room, and to create some small distance between her and the power Celestia is emitting. The entire cave is illuminated by the light, and the fainter light of the crystals is overwhelmed and smothered by the radiant light coming from Celestia’s horn, and it paints the water into a white sheet as the surface continues to ripple.

Something in the way the magic is moving changes. The heavy, oppressive feel of it saturating the air retracts back into Celestia, and the magic moves from the tip of her horn and spreads back to her, giving her entire body an aura of white magic, but it is thin, and controlled.

Celestia’s eyes snap open, and they are pupilless and glow with her magic. Luna takes a step back before she can stop herself, watching Celestia’s mastery over magic with a bit of awe. In a trance-like state, Celestia walks out into the center of the pool in calm, confident strides. Water parts away from her like it is afraid, and the hum of her magic bounces around the cave, coming from every direction.

A small orb of solid light the size of a pea appears floating over the water. Celestia wraps her magic around it, adding layers to the orb and slowly making it grow, until it’s the size of her head.

The magic dies down, and the solid white orb—the egg—floats down to the surface of the water, and lies there.

Luna is the first to take any sort of action. She walks out into the water to stand next to Celestia, and stares at the egg intently. They stand there for a while, but nothing happens. Giving a sigh of defeat, Luna turns to Celestia.

“What exactly is it?” she asks, gesturing to the egg.

Celestia opens her mouth to speak, but a loud crack coming from the egg interrupts her. As the egg wiggles back and forth, a crack spreads around the top of the egg to form an imperfect ring. Luna leans in close to it, poking her muzzle just before it.

The top of the egg splits open, and Luna pulls back, blinking at the thing whose head is poking out of the top of the egg. Its skin looks hard, like it’s made of thin, flat pieces of stone to protect the creature. Flaring its nostrils, the creature opens a pair of yellow-green eyes with slit pupils.

“It’s a dragon,” Celestia says, walking up to the egg and leaning down to look at her creation. The dragon pokes its head out of the shell a little further, revealing a pair of featherless wings just below its shoulders that already look grown enough for flight.

Scampering to get out of its shell, the dragon tips it over, and scurries out the hole in the top of it. As the egg shell begins to take on water, the dragons wings snap open and it takes to the air, its wings barely able to keep it flying over the water.

It flies up to the ceiling of the cave, clings to a crystal there, and begins gnawing on the tip of it with barely formed teeth.

“It eats crystals?” Luna asks, giving Celestia an incredulous look.

Celestia nods, looking up at the dragon and smiling. “And gems as well.”

“So...” Luna trails off, looking at Celestia with uncertainty. “You wish to fill the world with these... dragons?”

Celestia shakes her head, and turns to look at Luna. “I wish to fill the world with life.”

Part 5: Civilization

Civilization

Equestria from Dust, by soundslikeponies

The tundra is hard under Celestia and Luna’s hooves as they run at the front of a stampede of caribou. Their nostrils pump out frosty breaths and their hooves pounding the dirt in a dull rumble.

A sharp yap draws Celestia to look over her shoulder, over the heads of the caribou. A pack of wolves fall in line, hot on the caribous’ trail. The distance between them begins to close, the wolves natural sprinters to chase down prey, but lacking the stamina that the much larger caribou have.

Celestia turns to look back ahead, increasing her pace and hoping the caribou will do the same. The rumbling of their hooves grows louder with the increase in speed, and the arctic air whipping through Celestia’s mane urges her onward.

A howl sounds behind them, and Celestia peeks over her shoulder to see the wolves turn off. A little ways behind the stampede, the wolves gather around a kill—an old caribou that couldn’t keep up with the rest of the herd—and begin to feast.

Celestia peels off from the herd of caribou, who continue ahead at a subdued pace, still afraid of the wolves. Luna stops and slows to a trot beside her, following her eyes to the grim sight.

“Your idea for these predators never sat well with me,” Celestia says, drawing her lips to a thin line as the sound of the wolves eating reaches her ears.

“You know it’s necessary,” Luna says, watching the scene with much more indifference than Celestia. “Remember what happened with the rabbits?”

“Yes, I remember,” Celestia says, sighing.

“And if we were to create some other way to limit the populations, one that didn’t involve so much death, than we would have to take away the gift of new life.” Luna looks back at the carcass. “Look,” she says, and Celestia does so.

A pair of wolf pups wrestle beside the kill, their soft muzzles coated in red as they tumble on the wispy tundra grass. Despite the dead caribou next to them, Celestia finds a warm smile spreading across her lips.

Luna sees it and smirks. “See? That caribou will keep those pups—and the rest of the pack—from going hungry for a month or more.” Taking a deep breath, Luna looks at the scene with something akin to pride. “Where there is death—”

“—there is also life,” Celestia finishes. She closes her eyes and shakes her head, a faint smile on her lips. “I know. You have told me repeatedly these past few centuries.” The longer she looks at the pups, and their red-tinted muzzles, the more her smile slips away. “But something about this feels incomplete. It needs something more.”

Besider her, Luna snorts. “Weren’t you the one who wished to take a few centuries leave from all this?” she says, gesturing to everything around her. “How is it you’ve come to change your mind?”

“I don’t know,” Celestia says, her eyes narrowing to look over the plains. “But it feels like something is missing—something important.”

“What do you wish to do?” Luna asks.

Celestia turns and glances the other way, looking to the sun setting over the horizon. Dark clouds move in overhead, and with them the wind picks up across the tundra plains and penetrates Celestia’s coat easily. She shivers.

In the distance, the caribou they had been roaming with huddle together for warmth. Celestia feels something on her side, and looks to see Luna wrapping a wing around her.

“Maybe it would be best if we flew somewhere warmer before you decide,” Luna says, glancing up at the clouds. “I may enjoy the cold, but even I do not want to get caught in a blizzard.”

The wind begins to pick up a little more, and Celestia turns to her and nods, spreading her wings as Luna does the same beside her. Together, the two of them fly away, leaving the tundra behind. The sun sets as they fly across the tundra, and the stars begin to appear, shining in the cold night air. An aurora stretches across the sky—one of Luna’s ideas—and covers up the moon, bathing it in green light.

It isn’t until the next night that they arrive at a widespread meadow. Thick fields of hay roll across hills into the distance, and apple trees sparsely dot the landscape, their branches the only form of shelter in the entire area. Beneath one such tree, a family of deer—three adults, a young adult, and three fawns—lie at rest.

Celestia lands in the plains first, and Luna quickly follows. The earth beneath Celestia hooves is softer than in the tundra, and the grass stretches all the way up to her knees. Spotting a cliff where the grass is shorter, Celestia begins to walk to it, heading to an apple tree just a short distance back from the cliff and lying down beneath its branches.

Luna sees her do this and follows, lying closer to the edge of the cliff, away from the the tree. She crosses her front hooves and lies her head on them, looking at the deer family with longing. “Those foals have such a simple world,” she says, staring at them. “They were born, and their mothers guided them as they learned how to walk, and how to run.”

Celestia doesn’t say anything, but watches her watch the family of deer, and wonders what it is she’s thinking with the faraway look of longing she has in her eyes.

“We have no mother, no father. When I first woke up in this world, I was exactly as I am now, grown. I’ve wondered a couple times before what happened that night before I woke up, but I’ve always been afraid to ask. I do not know if I simply lost my memories of before that time, or if that was when I came to be. What I wonder most of all is why you were there when I first woke, and what that means.” Luna looks over her shoulder at Celestia, but she does not look upset or angry, she is only searching.

Celestia stares at her and says nothing, but that in and of itself speaks volumes. Luna’s mouth slips into a small frown, and her eyes change and begin to look lost.

“What are we? To each other?” she asks, barely above a whisper.

Celestia gets up and walks over to lie beside her, spreading her wing around Luna and hugging her with it. She nods in the direction of the family of deer. “Do you see those two fawns lying next to each other?”

“Yes...” Luna says slowly, looking at Celestia out of the corner of her eye.

“They are sisters, each born from the same mother, and they grew up together,” Celestia says, rubbing Luna’s back with her wing and looking her in the eye. “We are sisters,” she states firmly. “Maybe not linked by a common parent, but that is what we are to each other. We care for one another and we’ve grown together.”

Luna shifts slightly beneath Celestia’s wing and stares at the family of deer, looking at the two fawns sleeping peacefully with each other, their heads tucked into each others' sides. Hesitantly, she shuffles closer to Celestia and leans against her.

Celestia kisses her temple and gives Luna a slight squeeze with her wing as a warm smile finds its way to her lips. “I have always considered us family.”

Finally, a smile graces Luna’s lips, and she closes her eyes and shakes her head. “I care for you as well,” she says, nuzzling Celestia’s cheek. She stops and looks up at her, hesitating slightly. “May I call you sister?”

A warm feeling permeates through Celestia’s chest, and her smile grows as she rests her chin atop Luna’s head. “Of course.”

Luna rests her head against Celestia’s side and lets out a sigh, relaxing her muscles. “Thank you,” she murmurs, closing her eyes. “For putting my mind at ease.”

Celestia gives her a reassuring squeeze once more, and looks down beneath her chin at the mare resting against her side. Luna is warm and the plains feel safe.

Looking at the fawns under the apple tree, Luna’s eyes light up and she glances up at Celestia. “Can we sleep like the two of them tonight?”

“I don’t see why not,” Celestia replies, and removes her chin from atop Luna’s head, laying it against Luna’s shoulder.

The darker mare rests her head against Celestia’s chest with her horn laying across Celestia’s side, as she snuggles into her soft, white coat.

“Goodnight, Luna,” Celestia says, closing her eyes.

“Goodnight, sister,” Luna replies.

Celestia nuzzles her cheek against Luna’s coat. The hairs on it are sharp and prickly from the snow and tundra, and try as she may, Celestia finds herself unable to fall asleep. She shifts to get comfortable, but the soil feels like gravel, and the gentle breeze feels like howling in her ears amidst the quiet plane.

Letting out a sigh, Celestia continues to lie there with her eyes closed, trying to get some rest. She feels the steady rise and fall of Luna’s chest leaning against her side, and she peeks one eye open to look at the sleeping mare.

Her coat is ashen.

Scrambling to her hooves, Celestia takes several quick steps back from the pony, and looks to see its head raised, looking at her with its dead, white eyes. Her heart is pumping in her chest as she stares at it. Her tongue goes dry and she wants to look away, but she can’t.

A wind blows across the plain, and the two of them stare at one another for a while, neither moving. The ashen Luna does not blink.

Celestia swallows and tries to speak up. “W-who are you?”

The ashen Luna just gives her an unresponsive look.

“What are you?” Celestia asks, her voice growing weaker.

Again, the apparition does not move or respond. Celestia stares at it, her frustration growing, until suddenly stands up. The apparition stands across for a moment, looking at her, before it turns and begins to walk away. And then, after a few paces, it stops and looks back at her.

“Y-you want me to follow?” Celestia asks, staring dumbly at the apparition, and pointing to herself.

The ashen copy of Luna stares at her for a moment, and then continues to walk away from her.

Celestia glances around, hesitating, before swallowing the lump in her throat and trotting to catch up to the colorless copy of Luna. She matches pace alongside it, and tries not to stare, but she can’t help but sneak a glance at its face once in a while, looking in its white eyes for any kind of emotion, or sign of thought.

The apparition leads her down the side of the cliff. Celestia glances at the apple tree where the family of deer had been, only to see that they are gone. Wind bends the grass, and the plains look darker than she remembers. She looks up to see that there is no moon in the sky, only stars, and their light seems weaker than normal.

The apparition leads her down a steep path, until they come to a cave that travels inside the cliff. Celestia stops in front of the cave mouth, and glances at the apparition. It’s looking back at her, as if it is waiting.

“You want me to go inside?” she asks, pointing to the cliff.

As always, the apparition does not respond.

Celestia turns back to the cave. Light seems to stop at its entrance, afraid to go in. Closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, Celestia steels herself for what the apparition may be leading her to. Images of Luna drowning and sinking beneath the moss bed come to mind—something she has not thought about for centuries.

Still, Celestia shakes the thoughts from her head and walks into the cave. The darkness swallows her whole as she walks slowly forward, cautious of walking head first into a wall or off a ledge. She glances over her shoulder at the outside. Luna’s apparition is standing in the middle of the entrance, staring right at her.

Celestia shakes off the cold feeling she gets from having it look at her, and turns, eyes forward, to keep walking deeper into the cave.

Gradually, her steps become more sure, and her pace more normal, as she becomes more sure of the ground beneath her hooves, and she begins to question if the cave even has any walls. She glances over her shoulder at the direction from where she came, but she can’t find the cave entrance any longer.

Celestia stops, about to turn back, when a shimmering white-blue light appears beside her. She shields her eyes in a moment of temporary blindness before lowering her hoof to see the apparition in front of her, its horn glowing.

“Where are you leading me?” Celestia asks, glaring at the colorless copy of Luna. She notices its pupil-less eyes are staring past her, and she stops glaring and turns around slowly to see what it’s looking at.

The light coming from the apparition’s horn lights up a wall directly behind Celestia. She stumbles back and cranes her neck to look up at it. Strange, ornate pictures decorate the wall all the way past the highest point the light reaches.

Celestia glances over her shoulder at the apparition and then walks up to the wall and places a hoof on it, examining the mural.

The sun and the moon lie in the center on opposite sides of the earth as two alicorns fly around the world on a starry backdrop. One white alicorn, one black—her and Luna. Paintings of all types of animals border the image in a collage of forests, deserts, mountains, plains, and oceans.

Celestia peers at the paintings to try making sense of it all, but finds herself at a loss. “What are you trying to show me?” she asks, looking back at the ashen Luna.

For once, the apparition reacts. Its horn glows brighter and brighter to reveal that the mural stretches farther than Celestia could have imagined. Looking up, a bit of fear grips her, seeing that the mural stretches upward an impossible distance—an impossible distance for the cave she has entered.

She turns her head slightly to glance back at the copy of Luna, feeling her mouth go dry as she meets its dead eyes. “We’re not in a cave anymore, are we?” Celestia asks, already knowing the answer.

It looks at her, unblinking, and its stare unnerves her into turning back to the mural.

Stepping forward, Celestia tilts her head and looks at the center painting of her and Luna flying around the world. Luna flies around it directly beneath the moon while the painting of herself flies around it underneath the sun.

Celestia tentatively reaches out to touch the mural. A shock travels through her the second her hoof makes contact with the wall and the painting comes to life. Spreading like a wave through water from her hoof, the green and blue coloring the world turns white, and then Luna, the sun, and the moon all disappear. The ripple spreads through the impossibly complex mural, and all the animals, all the forests, and all the mountains vanish from it, leaving the wall a boring brown.

Celestia lowers her hoof and takes a step back, looking at what’s left.

There is a unicorn flying over a barren waste made of white sandstone, and every last bit of her is as white as the sandstone beneath her.

Celestia rounds on the copy of Luna, her eyes narrowing with fury. “Why do you keep showing me what the world was like when I first woke?” she asks, clenching her teeth. “I don’t want to see it anymore. It was empty and lonely and I hated it!”

The apparition’s horn dims and the mural fades away into darkness.

Celestia glares at the copy of Luna, her nostrils flared. “Stop with this nonsense and show me what you mean to show me!”

Almost the second she finishes shouting, the world around her disappears in a flicker, replaced by an expanse of white sandstone.

Celestia startles and looks around wildly, seeing that she still has her wings, mane colors, and the sun is still emblazoned on her flank. “You did not take them away this time,” Celestia says, scrutinizing the copy of Luna standing across from her.

It gives her one single slow nod.

“Why?”

The apparition does not answer, but instead turns to walk away.

Not seeing a better alternative, Celestia follows it, staying a few paces back and keeping her eyes on the apparition. She follows it for what feels like days, but she can’t tell if it is with no sun or moon in the sky and time seems to stretch infinitely without any relativity.

So when the apparition finally stops, Celestia’s head snaps up and she looks to see it facing off to the side at something white on the ground. She looks back to the apparition and raises an eyebrow. “This is what you have been leading me to?”

The apparition slowly turns to look at her and stares at her for a moment before turning back the way it was facing.

Celestia’s mouth curves into a frown. She looks at the direction it’s facing and begins to walk over to see what it’s staring at and as she draws closer she begins to realize that the white thing on the ground is a pony, its coat and hair a perfect white and its back facing Celestia.

“It’s...” Celestia trails off, looking back at the apparition. “It’s me.”

The white unicorn on the ground’s eyes are closed and she’s seemingly sleeping in the middle of the barrens. Her chest falls and rises with even breaths, and something in Celestia clicks.

She turns to face the copy of Luna. “This is before I first woke,” she says evenly, glancing at her own sleeping form lying near her. She swallows and asks a question gnawing at the back of her mind. “What was before this?”

For a moment, Celestia almost thinks she sees the apparition smile.

The sky begins to dim. Celestia turns her head to look at the grey murk that’s steadily growing blacker by the second, and right before the light goes out completely, she glances to her sleeping form and watches it disappear in the dark.

The apparition’s horn glows with light and Celestia finds herself once more staring at the brown wall with the painting of her and the world on it. Compelled by some inner instinct, she reaches out a hoof and touches the wall, and like the last time, it springs to life.

The sun reappears and blue paint covers the world in oceans. Luna’s image fades onto the wall on the opposite side of the world along with the moon. Green paint spreads and covers most of the world, save the deserts and the arctics, and animals begin to appear surrounding the central mural and fill the wall as far as the eye can see.

Celestia stares up at it, her mouth hanging slightly agape as she tries to take in every detail. But something she does not recognize lies close to the center of the mura, a group of small ponies all separated into three groups.

The first group have horns, the second have wings, and the last have neither, and below each race lies an inscription.

“Pegasi, Unicorns, and Earth Ponies,” Celestia reads aloud, looking up again at the groups. The paintings of the pegasi stand and lie on clouds up in the sky, and beneath them the Unicorns and Earth Ponies graze on the ground, the Unicorns living in the mountains and desert while the Earth Ponies live in the forests and fields.

Celestia turns and faces the apparition, giving it a confused look. “I don’t understand...”

The apparition walks up to Celestia, tilting its head in a curious manner and staring at her with its white, dead eyes.

Celestia’s muscles tense and she takes a step back, a familiar feeling of fear making it difficult to move her body. She backs up as the apparition draws closer, until she backs into the mural and has nowhere else to go.

Stopping in front of Celestia, the apparition lifts its hoof and touches her cheek. Celestia flinches at the contact, but remains frozen to the spot as black sand travels from the apparition’s hoof into her, spreading through her body like poison.

Celestia lets out a gasp and falls to the ground, panting and sweating and struggling to breathe. She looks up at the apparition fearfully as it leans down slowly, stopping just above her ear, and whispers in Luna’s voice, “Wake up.”

Celestia opens her eyes and jolts upright, gasping for air. She looks down at herself and feels a wave of relief, seeing the plains and the cliff under her hooves once more.

“You were resting for almost a week.”

Celestia turns to the voice to see Luna looking at her with her brow furrowed in concern and her eyes cast toward the ground.

“I must have been more tired than I realized,” Celestia says, lying back down on the grass.

“It seemed like you were dreaming,” Luna says, looking up at Celestia, her mouth forming a thin line. “It did not seem like a good dream. You seemed to be struggling and afraid.”

“It... it was a bit frightening, I suppose,” Celestia says, trying to maintain her composure.

“I call dreams like that nightmares.” Luna walks over and lies down by Celestia’s side. “I told you about them, remember? The one where I was falling with no wings, and the one where I was trapped in a forest full of fire.”

“I remember those nights,” Celestia says, nodding.

“It helps to talk about them,” Luna says, wrapping a wing around Celestia’s side and gazing out across the plains. The family of deer are gone—Celestia idly notes.

“Thank you,” Celestia says, images of the paintings from the mural vanishing and the ashen Luna’s haunting guise. “But I’d rather put it in the back of my mind until it is forgotten.”

Luna removes her wing from around Celestia and bites her lip. “As you wish.”

Celestia closes her eyes and sighs, glancing at Luna out of the corner of her eye. “Have you ever wondered where the world came from?” she asks, shifting against the grass. “It must have been here before us, but how did it come to be?”

Luna looks at her. “I’m not sure I understand,” she says evenly.

“Nevermind,” Celestia says, shaking her head and smiling. “It’s a strange question—forget I asked it.” Feeling a nudge at her side, Celestia turns to see Luna rest against her and stare out over the fields.

They lie like that for some time and watch the sun rise over the fields and paint the grass a faded gold. Birds busy themselves as the sun comes up, collecting bugs and eating the apples growing on the trees.

A bunny hops along the cliffside near them and Luna giggles as she watches it. “Sometimes I wonder what they would say if they could speak.”

Celestia stares at the bunny and Luna’s words echo in her head. “I think I know what is missing.”

Luna lifts her head from Celestia’s side and turns to her with a raised eyebrow. “What is missing?” she asks, furrowing her brow. “You still believe something is?”

Celestia nods before standing, looking down at Luna, and speaking in a clear, calm voice. “I’m certain I know what it is now.”

“Well, what is it then?” Luna asks, turning her ears forward to listen.

“It’s missing other beings like us. Beings who talk and think like we do, who can create like we do. I want to see what someone else can create if given the tools.” Celestia sees Luna give her an uncertain glance, and she turns and rests her forehead against Luna’s. “We can take a break from creating, leave it to the young ones to shape the world while we watch.”

“Sister, I do not like this idea. Everything we’ve made... I don’t want to see it changed,” Luna says, pulling back and stamping the ground with her hoof.

“I felt very much the same way about you a long time ago.”

Luna snaps her head up and her eyes widen, her mouth slightly agape. “In what way?”

“When you made the shores, the soil, the arctic ice, it felt as though you were changing what I had built over so long. But after all the time that has passed, my greatest joy has been seeing you grow and watching how you change the world,” Celestia says, her voice resolute as she reaches out and rests a hoof on Luna’s shoulder.

“Truly?” Luna asks, biting her lip. She sighs deeply and faces away, looking out over the plains before glancing over her shoulder back at Celestia. “I take it you have something in mind for this.” Celestia nods and Luna sighs, hanging her head in defeat. “Then I shall condone it.”

“Thank you,” Celestia says, and turns to face the apple tree.

White wisps of magic flow up from her hooves as she steps forwards, her eyes closed and her head held high. Gradually, a white aura surrounds her, emitting a steady hum, and the grass beneath her hooves glows with life from merely being near her.

Breaking the soil down to sand, she raises it up from the ground, forming three statues of ponies under the shade of the apple tree, one with a horn, one with wings, and one with neither. Celestia’s horn glows and gradually color begins to fill in the sand statues, making them more lifelike.

Celestia’s magic fades and she draws it back to herself. The three ponies under the apple tree open their eyes and begin to take in the new world they’ve been brought into, and Celestia glances over her shoulder to see Luna looking at her with a raised eyebrow.

“Only three?”

“There will be more,” Celestia quickly says, looking at the ponies. “I thought you would help me to give them life.”

A small smile tugs at Luna’s lips, and she examines the three ponies. “What are they each called?"

“Unicorn, Pegasus, and an Earth Pony,” Celestia answers, pointing to each one. They looked dumbly back at her, already adults despite being less than an hour old.

“They’re so little,” Luna says, looking down at the pegasus. “And the unicorns, is their magic as strong as ours? Will that not cause problems?”

“Their magic is incomparable to our own,” Celestia says, walking to stand beside her.

Luna’s mouth slips into a bleak frown as her eyes dart between the three ponies, who are all looking at her and Celestia with curiosity. “I am still unsure of this.”

“Have faith, dear sister,” Celestia says, wrapping her wing around Luna. “And let us leave the world in their hooves for a while to see what they make of it.”

Part 6: Ruling

Ruling

Equestria from Dust, by soundslikeponies

“Did you ever think they would act in such a way?” Luna asks.

Celestia looks down from atop their mountain at the scene before her. Two armies clad in armor stand facing off with one another over a great distance. The soldiers on either side stand alert; this is what they train for—and they are professionals at what they do.

Luna paces back and forth restlessly along the cliff. “They tear each other apart like wolves. They act no different than the animals, but you saw fit to give them far greater power—power of thought—than any animal.”

Celestia turns to her. “I never intended them to turn out like this,” she hisses.

“I have grown sick,” Luna says, glaring at her. “—Sick from watching these ponies war, and destroy, and kill, and ruin what we worked so hard to build!”

“What would you have me do?” Celestia barks. “Would you have me destroy them? I can not find it in my heart to be so cruel.”

“I would have you stop them.”

“Revealing us?” Celestia asks, raising an eyebrow.

Luna’s nostrils flare and she raises her chin. “If that is what it takes.”

A low rumble draws their attention to the field below. The two armies stomp their hooves into the dirt, creating a thunderous echo that fills the valley.

“We can not govern them,” Celestia states firmly. “They will never grow on their own if we do.”

Luna nods her head towards the battlefield. “Look at them,” she says, scowling. “They are infants. They are temperamental and they need guidance.” Furrowing her eyebrows, she gives Celestia a stubborn glare. “You are allowing them to suffer at their own hooves needlessly.”

“And how would you make them listen? Through force—through intimidation?”

“Yes.”

Ruffling her wings and turning back to the battlefield, Celestia snorts. “That kind of rule wouldn’t change any of this. You haven’t thought this through.”

Luna’s eyes narrow. “And you have?”

Celestia glances down at the ground and her shoulders slump. “Yes,” she says quietly.

Luna steps back from her tone. She looks down at the two armies about to clash. “I can not stay here and watch this,” she says, taking off into the sky.

Celestia watches her go before turning back to the battle, watching the armies clash. She feels an invisible weight on her shoulders watching them, and the cries and yells coming up from the field form a knot in her stomach.

With great difficulty, she turns her back on the scene and flies to catch up with Luna. The darker alicorn flies ahead, increasing her speed whenever Celestia increases hers and keepings a distance between them. Celestia sighs, knowing that the tension that had been steadily growing between them will only worsen now.

She follows Luna north as the landscape changes to white beneath them. Snowfall blankets the hills and trees, and Celestia against the falling snow and cold winds, spotting a town of only a dozen houses down below.

Luna angles towards a nearby mountain. They always stay in mountains. Earth and unicorn ponies rarely climb them, and pegasus ponies don’t frequent the world beneath the clouds.

Landing on a plateau near the top of the mountain, Luna folds her wings away and walks towards a rock overhang sheltering a part of the cliff from the snow.

Celestia lands behind her, the snow crunching under her hooves, and shakes her wings before tucking them to her sides.

Luna doesn’t even glance at her, her eyebrows still furrowed together in an ill mood. Silently, she walks to the dry ground, lies down, and shuts her eyes.

Celestia hesitates back by the cliffside. The buildings in the town down below glow orange through the white snow fog, candle light coming from their windows and lantern light from wooden posts outside their doors. Only a pair of ponies persist to work outside in the snow: a unicorn and his son, the father holding an axe with his magic and the son placing blocks of wood for him to split on a stump. Both are shivering.

Turning away from it, Celestia goes to rest with Luna, who shuffles away once she gets close. Celestia lies down with a frown, closes her eyes, and tries to fall asleep.

But she can’t.

She lingers on the border, slipping in and out of consciousness, and she does not know whether it is because of the biting cold or the shouts of the battlefield still echoing in her ear. Shivering, she glances over at Luna to see her sleeping calmly, her features relaxed and the scowl gone from them.

Something restless inside Celestia stirs. She gets up and steps out from under the overhang. The sky, darkened with the absence of the moon and stars, lets out a low wailing sound as its winds carry a blizzard. Celestia checks her magic; the sun hasn’t even fully set.

Celestia looks down to see most of the lights in the village have gone out. Only a scarce number of lanterns remain lit—the windows of the homes they sit in front of dark.

Opening her wings, Celestia flies down to the village, landing in the soft snow of the fields around it. She looks at it for a while, making sure nopony is up, before walking towards its houses. The roofs are white—covered in snow—and held up by stone brick walls.

Celestia wanders to the center of the village and stops to look around. It feels strange standing in a town, even if nopony is around. A whistling breeze rolls by, whipping her mane in her face. She walks over to one of the homes with a lantern out front, peering inside a window. Two ponies lie wrapped in each others hooves under a large wool blanket.

There’s a crunch of snow—hoofsteps that aren’t hers behind her—and she turns around to see the unicorn’s son from earlier, staring at her and levitating a lantern.

“Hello?” he asks hesitantly, looking at Celestia’s wings and horn.

Celestia freezes, averting her eyes from his.

“Do you have wings and a horn?” he persists, stepping closer to her.

“Yes.”

The unicorn blinks, a grin spreading across his lips. “Oh, I’ve never seen anyone with both before!” he says, smiling at her. His smile fades, replaced by a curious look. “Do you have a name?”

“Celestia,” Celestia answers.

The wind picks up. Celestia looks up at the sky, before noticing the unicorn is shivering. “Why are you outside?” she asks, curious.

“Need more firewood from the crib,” the unicorn says, his teeth chattering as he points to a small shed just behind Celestia. “Blankets aren’t thick enough, and my dad hasn’t been well as of late.”

“Is he sick?”

The unicorn shakes his head. “Just old.” He walks past Celestia to the crib, opening it up and grabbing a cloth sling from inside to carry the logs.

Celestia looks around at the homes. “How many ponies live here?”

He worked as he talked, levitating logs onto the sling. “There’s the Stones and the Pears, the Waxs and the Smiths—they’re the large family, they own three houses—and the roofer, who never tells anypony where he came from. Some of the kids make up stories, about how he—” The unicorn cuts off. “Sorry, I’m rambling. I need to get back before the fire dies.”

He bites the sling by its handles, carrying half a dozen logs in it as he walks back past Celestia.

“Wait,” Celestia calls.

He stops and turns to look at her.

Celestia’s horn glows and the dim flame in the lantern the unicorn is holding brightens, becoming twice as big and bright yellow. “Use this to light the fire, it will keep you and your father warm.”

The unicorn looks at the lantern in surprise before turning and nodding gratefully to her. He turns and runs back home, almost as if he’s afraid the enchanted flame Celestia gave him will disappear if he doesn’t use it quick.

Celestia flies away from the village before the unicorn tries to come back. A warmth fills up her chest and a smile tugs at her lips—the first genuine one she’s had in years. Spreading her wings, she turns to fly back to the mountain, the freezing gales pecking at her feathers as she skims the mountain slope, climbing up to the overhang where Luna still lies. Snow obscures her vision, but she still knows the landscape intimately from creating it long ago.

Rising up over the cliff she had left, she stops and hovers, seeing Luna standing, her coat stark amidst the white snow.

“Welcome back, sister,” she says, a smirk plastered on her face. “Have a pleasant night time stroll?”

Gliding down, Celestia sees the look in Luna’s eye and knows she saw everything. “I met a pony,” she says evenly. “I have never really met one before.”

“Well of course not, we aren’t supposed to,” Luna says. “That was your rule, remember?”

“It was, but I grew curious.” Celestia bows her head. “I am sorry. It was rude of me to make a rule for both of us and then break it.”

“The unicorn, did you see his expression when you gave him that flame?”

Celestia smiles, the warmth returning. “Yes.”

“Don’t you see how we could help them? Our magic is a thousand times theirs, and we can help them with spells they could not ever dream of casting. We already keep the moon and sun in cycle, enabling life itself. Imagine what we could do to make their lives better—”

“—And you must have seen how they hate their rulers, their tyrants, their kings!” Celestia yells. Her voice echoes across the hills. Luna stands across from her quietly, unfazed by her outburst. Celestia’s shoulders slump. “They do not want to be ruled.”

“No, no they don’t. But they do want to be guided.” Luna gives her a stern look, like she’s being childish. Celestia feels childish. “If we go about this right, we could be like parents to them. Raising them and teaching them.”

“I’m sorry, but the answer is still no.”

Luna grinds her teeth, turning and walking back to the overhang. “I’m finding it hard to trust your judgement in this, but I will.”

As Luna goes back to rest, Celestia breathes a sigh of relief, turning to look down the mountain side. The blizzard is picking up, and for a brief moment she wonders whether the unicorn she met is warm enough in this weather. The fire she gave him will dwindle by morning and despite the harsh cold, it is still early winter.

“Have you frozen stiff, Celestia?” Luna asks from under the overhang.

Luna only uses her name when she’s mad at her. “I will think of something to put your mind at ease,” Celestia says in an attempt to soothe her.

Luna nods as Celestia trots over to the overhang, but her eyes say she does not believe her. Celestia lies down beside her. A midnight wing extends to wrap around her, and she turns to see Luna looking defiantly away from her.

“You look cold,” Luna says, staring at the rock wall of the overhang.

“Thank you,” Celestia mutters. She shifts her haunches and rests her head on her forehooves.

“I wonder if that boy will tell anypony else what he saw,” Luna says, glancing at Celestia out of the corner of her eye.

Celestia shifts her head and her eyebrows furrow together. “I am in doubt that anyone would believe him.”

“Ponies have greatly exaggerated their myths about the windigoes, the dragons, and the ursas. I wonder if we’ll show up in a pony folk tale a few years from now.” Luna stifles a giggle, nudging Celestia in the shoulder. “You may have exposed our existence.”

“No harm will come of tales told around a table full of cider jugs,” Celestia says, shaking her head at Luna’s imagination.

“No, I suppose not,” Luna says, a hint of disappointment in her voice.

The two of them huddle together in the cold, listening to the howling winds toss the snow about with fury. The night seems to last forever, and Celestia stays up long after Luna falls asleep, wondering how the ponies in the village survive in such a harsh environment.

She considers for a moment, using the same fire spell that she gave to the colt down in the village, but she dashes the idea; the cold can’t kill her, and the light may wake up Luna. Yet, it serves as an unwanted reminder of her time spent alone, before the sun, when the world was so very dark and cold.

She thinks about shutting her eyes, but then remembers she can’t sleep. And so she lies there for hours at Luna’s side with Luna’s wing wrapped around her, thinking, because it’s all she can do.

She suddenly notices something. Her hooves are black. She glances at Luna, making sure she’s still asleep, and examines her hooves, wondering if they are frostbitten and if so, how it had happened.

And then a startled cry catches in her throat as the blackness spreads slowly up her limbs. She can feel it crawling beneath her skin. It moves like like a pair of snakes travelling along her forehooves up to her chest, and her stomach drops as she realizes it’s headed for her heart.

It digs into her chest and Celestia feels it touch her heart. Clenching her eyes shut and taking a deep breath, she braces herself for pain.

But after what feels like an eternity of holding her eyes shut, nothing happens. Celestia lets out the breath she’s holding and gasps for air, staring at her hooves and her chest for any sign of black spots, but finds none.

She looks around the rock walls of the overhang, and outside at the snow, wondering if she’s dreaming. Luna’s snores came in a steady rhythm, and the cold nipped her, as real and pervasive as ever.

Celestia gives one last look at her hooves, half expecting the black poison to suddenly come back, but it doesn’t.

She stays wide awake for the rest of the night, right up until the morning sun.

Luna stirs beside her, letting out a yawn and stretching her wings, removing the one she had wrapped around Celestia. She glances at Celestia, giving her a look. “Sister? Are you alright?”

“Yes,” Celestia lies. She takes a deep breath to steady herself. “I’ve been thinking about what you said.”

Luna raises a singular eyebrow, her ears swiveling to face Celestia. “And?”

“I still don’t know,” Celestia admitted. “I want to visit the village down the mountain again, and meet talk with the colt who I met last night. I have a few questions I wish to ask him.”

Luna wrinkles her nose, giving Celestia a puzzled look. “What would you hope to gain from that.”

Celestia gazes out from the overhang, off the mountain and into the endless blizzard. “I’m not sure.”

“I’ll be going with you,” Luna says, folding her wings at her sides. “Discreetly, of course.”

Celestia shifts, uncomfortable with the idea, but nods her consent. “Very well.”

Celestia walks to the edge of the mountain, peering down the side of it towards the village, though it’s whited out with snow. A moment of silence passes between them. Luna walks up beside her, giving her a sidelong glance.

“When do you plan to travel down?” she asks.

“At dark.”

“So only a few hours, then,” Luna replies, laughing slightly at her own joke. She stops when she realizes Celestia isn’t laughing with her. She gives her sister a glare. “I’m trying my best to relieve the tension that’s built between us. The least you could do is help.”

Celestia isn’t listening. She’s staring at the sky with a frown on her lips. “How long do you think this blizzard will last?”

Luna looks up, then shrugs. “I do not know. I have seen blizzards last a fortnight this far north. Why? What makes you ask?”

“I’m not sure,” Celestia answers truthfully.

Luna chews her lip, looking up at the clouds and stretching her wings and neck. “Will you come flying with me to pass the time? My limbs feel stiff.”

“I think I’d like to walk, actually,” Celestia says, glancing back at the mountain trail leading past the overhang they slept under, and down the mountain. “Just down the mountain and in the forest below.”

“I have no qualms with walking instead,” Luna says as she folds her wings away.

Celestia turns and begins walking down the mountain trail with Luna following close behind. The path narrows as they go down and the winds pick up. Soon they’re forced to travel single file along the cliff.

It’s a long and winding path down the peak, and the wind and ice try to push them off at every turn. It isn’t until they near the base of the mountain that the path is wide enough for both of them and that the wind is tame enough to speak over.

Luna stops and looks back at the mountain, before turning back to Celestia and the forest. “Flying from mountain to mountain... I almost forgot what it was like to stand on the ground.”

“It does give things a slightly more humble perspective,” Celestia says, glancing around the trees as they walk. “I’d missed the forests. Seeing them from overhead is not the same. It makes me want to visit the jungle canopy once more.”

“We could visit that cave you took me to so long ago, where you hatched the first dragon.”

“Yes...” Celestia says none too enthusiastically. The place doesn’t hold fond memories for her.

“What inspired you to create that dragon egg so long ago?” Luna asks, stealing a glance at her.

Celestia opens her mouth to speaks, but then closes it again. What did give me the idea to create it? Was it that dream? “I... I can’t remember.” Why can’t I remember?

Luna snorts and sends her a flat look. “I find that really hard to believe.”

“It’s the truth,” Celestia says, staring at the snow as she walks. “I don’t know why I thought of it.”

“You... really don’t know?” Luna laughs bitterly. “I was always extremely jealous of that creation above your others. Life. It was amazing to me at the time, and you don’t even remember how you thought of it. It felt like everything we had made so far was a lead up to it.”

“Sorry.”

Sighing, Luna shakes her head. “I’ve known you for so long, it feels like I’ll never understand the way your mind works.”

“Wouldn’t it be boring if you did?” Celestia asks genuinely, only to receive a cutting laugh from Luna.

“You are right, sister, it would. But I would like to see eye to eye with you on this matter of exposing ourselves, because I still simply can’t. The reasons you gave me... they don’t sound like good reasons at all. It doesn’t seem like you to be so illogical and adamant.”

Celestia walks over to a tree sticking up out of the snow and rests a hoof on it, staring up at its sagging, winter-covered branches. “Do you consider yourself perfect, Luna?”

Luna blinks, caught off guard by the question. “Certainly not. Why?”

Celestia stops and turns to look her in the eye. “I’m afraid of how much influence and how much power we hold. Are you really not?”

“It’s never really been a thought,” Luna admits as she shakes her head.

“I wanted us to take a break and I wanted us not to interfere with ponykind because I’m afraid of the potential we have to ruin everything.” Celestia takes a step towards Luna, and Luna takes a step back. “We can easily destroy all life on earth. Doesn’t that frighten you in the slightest?”

“W-well I’ve never really thought of it. But why would we ever do that in the first place? I know you’d never do that, and I wouldn’t either. Both of us are in complete control of our powers.”

Celestia froze, touching the spot over her heart where the blackness had seeped into her skin. “I... I don’t think I’m in complete control of my powers.” She looks up at Luna, seeing a small amount of fear in her sister’s eyes at hearing those words. “I don’t think I ever will be.”

Luna lets out a shaky laugh. “But how? Even now you’re capable of far more than me with your magic. I’ve always been trying to catch up to you.” She gives Celestia an apprehensive glance. “Should I be... worried?”

Celestia stiffens and stares down at the snow. “I don’t know.” She feels a hoof on her shoulder and looks up to see Luna staring at her.

“If you are ever in danger please—” She bit her lip, swallowing a lump caught in her throat. “Please ask for my help. I can help.”

Celestia leans her forehead against Luna’s, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, releasing it as a shudder. “I will,” she promises.

The two of them stand with their foreheads rested against each other in the blizzard winds, their coats becoming dusted with snow. Tears trickle down her cheeks, freezing against her coat before they fall. Luna raises a hoof and rests it on her shoulder, looking Celestia in the eyes.

Swallowing, Celestia sniffles and raises her head, looking at Luna and giving her a nod. “Thank you.”

Luna rubs her shoulder. “Don’t be afraid of being afraid, Sister.”

Celestia closes her eyes for a moment. She looks up at the tree tops, watching snowflakes fall all around her. Silently she and Luna begin to walk through the forest again, leaving tracks that blemish the otherwise untouched carpet of snow.

They walk for the whole day, speaking little more to each other, neither of them wanting to break the peace settled over the forest. Even the winds die down to let the forest fall silent, snow dancing down from the clouds and whiting the ground.

Celestia glances up at the sky to see the sky turning a darker grey, the sun no longer behind it, lighting it. They arrive at the pony village after nightfall. Everything is settled and quiet and only a few lanterns remain lit outside their homes, the rest snuffed out by the cold and wind.

She turns to Luna. “Please wait here.”

Luna nods, her eyes shifting between Celestia and the village. “Take care.” She turns and gives Celestia one last glance before her dark coat disappeared into the night.

Celestia walks forward, slowing down as she nears the houses and the dim glow coming from the village. She glances back at the forest, wondering if she’ll catch some sign of Luna watching her, but the dark and snow make it impossible to see that far.

The sound of a wooden door shutting against stone reaches her. Her head and ears swivel to the direction of the sound, spotting the unicorn colt from the night before, standing outside his home and shivering. Celestia creeps up to the shadow of a house and peeks around its corner at him.

The colt trudges in a familiar direction, towards the wood crib, carrying a sling between his teeth. His steps are slow and tired and his body is shaking like a leaf.

Carefully, Celestia follows him, matching her hoofsteps to his and masking the crunch of the snow under her hooves. She follows him around to the back of his house, leaning out around the corner to see him put the sling down in the snow.

He clenches his eyes shut and a dim pulsing light comes from his horn as he undoes the latch. He shuts his eyes again, surrounding a log from the wood shed in a faint light, slowly moving it from the crib and dropping it onto the sling. He cuts his magic, panting from the effort it took just to move a log.

Celestia frowns at seeing him struggle. Looking closely, she notices some of his bones are showing through his coat.

The unicorn turns looks at the wood pile, shutting his eyes and trying to move another log. It shifts, but doesn’t move far. Scowling, he opens his mouth wide and awkwardly tries to bite the log to move it from the pile that way. He succeeds, partially, spitting the log out onto the snow before moving it onto the sling with his hooves.

It’s painful to watch.

He picks up another log, struggling with its weight slightly as he moves it out of the crib. Once the tip of it’s free, it swings down, its weight pulling him down with it. He drops it with a loud grunt, reaching a hoof up to his mouth and pulling it away to find blood on his fetlocks. He spits out a splinter and some blood into the snow, looking at the spot where it lands and shaking his head.

Celestia surrounds three of the logs from the crib with her magic. The unicorn’s head snaps around to stare at them as she moves them out of the wood shelter and lowers them onto the sling.

The colt looks behind him, spotting where Celestia is watching at him from. He spits blood onto the snow once more and lowers his hoof from his mouth. “You visited again,” he says, smiling despite the obvious pain.

Celestia stays silent.

The colt glances at the sling. “Well, uh, thank you for helping me again.”

“Why don’t you use your hooves to retrieve the logs?”

The colt blinks at the suddenness of her question. “Um, I would, but I don’t think I’m strong enough to stand on two hooves right now.” He lets out a nervous chuckle. “We have to try to make the food last as long as we can—what little there is of it. We had a few bad crops this fall, and my father was—”

“The blizzard is going to worsen.” Celestia interrupts. “Your village will most likely die in the cold.”

The colt’s face falls, the words he wants to say dying in his throat. He looks down at the snow, swallowing. “I know...” he says, his voice barely above a whisper. “But what can any of us do?”

Celestia says nothing for a while, averting her eyes from the colt’s. “...Nothing.”

The colt paws at the ground with his front hooves, smearing the blood he spat on the snow into a light pink streak. “We’ve all known we’re going to die ever since the harvest,” he says quietly. “We’re doing what we can with our time left and spending it with our families.”

A quiet passes between them, and the wind picks up slightly.

“Can I ask you a question?” the colt asks, staring up at Celestia.

“Yes.”

“Are you a princess?”

Celestia chuckles, looking down at the colt with a benevolent smile. “No.”

“Oh.” He looks down at the ground, flattening his ears against his head bashfully. “You looked like you might be, but then again I’ve never seen a princess.”

“I’ve distanced myself from most other ponies.”

The colt peers up at Celestia. “But you’re not like most other ponies, are you?”

“No,” Celestia said, shaking her head. “I am not.”

Celestia notices the colt’s lips are turning blue. Her horn lights up, radiating heat in the area around them.

The colt’s shivering stops and he stares up at her horn with a wide-eyed look.

She smiles at him. “Better?”

“Oh, yes! Very much so!” He laughs and looks down at the snow around his legs, watching the surface of it turn to water. He looks back up at her with a grateful smile. “Thank you.”

Celestia nods to him.

Suddenly his smile fades and he looks back down. “Being warm won’t change the fact that all our food’s running out.”

“No,” Celestia says, “I guess it won’t.”

The colt gives her a sidelong glance, his eyes flickering between her horn and her wings. “What exactly are you?” he asks. A blush springs up to his face as he realizes what he just asked. “I-I mean, you’ve been out in this cold, which would have killed any normal pony. You’re tall, and your magic isn’t like any unicorn’s that I’ve ever seen... What are you?”

Celestia hesitates for a moment before answering, her gaze drifting back towards the forest. “I’m an alicorn. I raise and lower the sun.”

The little colt stares at her, his mouth agape, pointing a hoof at her. “R-really?!” He nearly stumbles trying to bow, his head dipping down until his muzzle is nearly kissing the snow.

Celestia shifts slightly, reaching down down and touching the colts head. “Please rise. I feel uncomfortable being bowed to.”

He nods and scampers to his hooves. “That explains the warmth and the fire magic you gave me!”

“I can do more than just that.”

The colt looks up at her with wide eyes that hold something she hasn’t seen on him before: hope. “Can you save my village?”

Celestia opens and closes her mouth. “I... I don’t know.” The words don’t feel like her own, and it doesn’t feel like she’s the one saying them.

“Oh...” A small trail of blood and drizzle trails down his chin, and Celestia realizes he doesn’t want to spit in front of her.

“Does it hurt?” she asks.

He glances up at her and then at the blood trailing down his chin. He nods wordlessly.

Closing her eyes, Celestia concentrates on the feeling of her magic. The white light emitted from her horn turns to a mint green, and a glow of the same colour surrounds the colt’s mouth.

The colt gasps and takes a step back in alarm, staring at the green glow around his muzzle. Celestia opens her eyes and gazes at him softly with a warm, caring smile. Meeting her stare, the colt calms down, his eyes darting between her and the luminescent glow around his muzzle.

The glow from Celestia’s horn fades back to white, leaving the unicorn colt reaching up and touching his muzzle.

He licks the roof of his mouth. “It’s gone!” he exclaims, staring up at her with the same awed look as when she gifted him the fire.

“Please try to be more careful in the future,” Celestia tsks.

“Y-yes Princess!”

“I am not a princess,” Celestia says, letting out a huff at having to remind him.

The young unicorn shuffles his hooves, casting his eyes downward. “Oh, right. S-sorry.”

Celestia tips his chin up, planting a chaste kiss on his forehead. “I need to go now.”

She turns and begins walking away, the colt staring after her with his mouth hanging open. He gallops after her rather weakly, his hooves trudging through the high snow and his steps fumbling with urgency. “Wait!”

Celestia pauses and looks back at him.

He throws himself at her hooves. “Please, please save my village.”

Celestia looks down at him, his hooves wrapped around one of hers desperately. She hears the crunch of snow behind her and turns to see Luna walk up beside her, appearing out of the night like a shadow. Luna merely gives her a nod and looks at the colt.

Celestia glances between the colt and Luna, her ears point straight up and her coat hair bristles. The colt’s grip around her leg loosens slightly as he spots Luna, and he looks at her curiously.

“What do you choose to do, Celestia?” Luna asks, staring expectantly at her. “Will you stand by and watch this town die as you have for so many before it?”

“I...” Celestia stares at the colt wrapped around her legs, letting out a sigh. “No, I can not.”

The colt’s eyes light up, looking up at her. His eyes sparkle with pure joy and he hugs her leg tightly, sniffling with tears in the corner of his eyes. “Thank you, miss, from the bottom of my heart.”

Celestia looks over her shoulder at Luna and sees her sister walking up to her side.

“I am here to help,” Luna says, standing at Celestia’s side.

Giving Luna a grateful nod, Celestia turns to the frozen village. Icicles the size of a pony hang from shingles and entire walls are encased in ice. Magic springs to life like a beacon atop Celestia’s horn, the flare from it covering the entire village in light. In the sky, the clouds looming overhead part, opening the village to the night sky and the moonlight. The colt at Celestia’s hooves stares up at the moon in awe.

Luna steps up beside Celestia, her horn glowing with forest green magic.

Celestia’s magic turns the bright yellow of the sun, expanding in a dome shape to cover the entire village and the fields surrounding it. Snow withers and melts under her magic, and ponies in their homes begin to wake and take notice of what’s going on around them, peering out the windows at the two sources of the bright, glowing lights.

With the snow clear, Luna begins to seep her magic into the frozen earth the village sits on, causing sprouts and grass to grow out of it. The carpet of green quickly spreads across the town and its outlying fields, where apple trees begin to rapidly grow up out of the earth, ripe fruit springing up on their branches, along with bushels full of berries, carrots, and healthy leaf plants.

Celestia and Luna cut their magic, and for a while after doing so the entire village stays silent. Ponies stare out of their windows, looking at the grass and crops that sprung out of the ground with disbelief.

Slowly, they begin filtering out of their homes, inspecting the grass beneath their hooves and testing that it is real.

The unicorn colt finally lets go of Celestia’s leg, running up to the rest of the villagers. “The alicorns! The alicorns saved the town!” he shouted, pointing back at Celestia and Luna.

The boy’s father limps out of his home to his son’s side, wrapping his hoof around him and looking at the sisters. “How can we ever repay you?”

“We don’t seek recompense,” Celestia says assuredly, glancing at Luna. “We are just trying to help.”

The father’s legs shake, tears coming to his eyes, and he kneels down before the two of them. “Thank you.”

The rest of the townsfolk follow in his example, kneeling before Celestia and Luna.

“Please,” Celestia says, motioning for them to rise. “Just eat.”

Part 7: Royalty

Royalty

Equestria from Dust, by soundslikeponies

“This is unheard of! You would have me surrender my lands, become a lesser noble, and live in your city? When I agreed to a meeting, it was to discuss terms and borders, not assimilation!”

Celestia listens patiently to the red-faced noble spit and shout and slam his hooves down upon the table.

“You would still be a representative of the people from this area from within Everfree Castle.” Celestia repeats for the dozenth time.

“Strip me of my title! Strip me of my lands! Strip me of my dignity!” the unicorn noble continues, ranting in his own little world. He turns and gives Celestia a glare. “I ought to go to war with you westerners!”

Celestia raises one faintly amused eyebrow, and regards the King of the East as one would a foal. “Let us temporarily forget my armies out number yours ten to one,” she says, seeing him gulp. “And let us forget that all the pegasi have already sided with me, meaning you have no forces in the air. We can forget these things because no matter the size or strength of my army, your forces won’t raise a spear nor sword to me.”

“Th-th-they will raise a sword at what I tell them to! They will fight off any conqueror from another land!” the noble shouts, banging his hoof on the table and spilling his goblet of wine.

“They won’t raise swords because you tell them to. They will lay down their swords and come to me, because I am a ruler who has never once told a pony to raise their sword.” Celestia suddenly stands and spreads her wings, causing the guards by the king’s side to shakily draw their swords. The gold plate around her neck, embedded with a diamond shaped amethyst, gleams by the torches light in the hall.

“And allow me to clarify one thing to you,” Celestia says, her full height imposing to those sitting at the opposite end of the negotiations. “I did not conquer Equestria, I united it.”

The statement hangs in the air. The King looks at Celestia’s royal guards standing behind and to either side of her, their faces stoney and unflinching.

“If you have any love for your subjects,” Celestia says, turning to walk out. “You will make this as easy on them as you can.”

“Wait!” the king shouts, holding out his hoof after her. Celestia stops, looking slowly over her shoulder at him. The king lets out a sigh, his shoulders sagging. “Tell me... Tell me more about the location you’d have me and my family stay in.”

Celestia sighs, kicking her gold hoofwear off and walking over to her bed. Finally back in Everfree, she looks forward to a good night’s sleep in a familiar bed when her bedroom door opens.

“Sister!” Luna says, stepping into her bedroom with a wide smirk. “I heard that you convinced the king to hand over his lands!”

“I don’t wish to talk about it, Luna,” Celestia says, staring at her bedsheets longingly and letting out a sigh. “I don’t like the idea of taking these ponies’ lands, I never have.”

Luna rolls her eyes at Celestia. “Yes, whatever will the nobles do, living in a castle in a large city, with few responsibilities and copious amounts of wealth?” she asks, sarcasm scathing. “I think they will manage, Celestia.”

“It still makes me an intimidator and a thief,” Celestia grumbles, letting out a sigh and walking over to Luna. She can’t rest quite yet. “How have things been at home?”

Luna sighs and turns away from the window. “The same as usual. You know I’ve never been fond of court and you know I hate it when you leave and I have to manage it by myself.”

“Nothing... drastic this time, though?” Celestia asks carefully.

Luna flushes red with embarrassment. “That was only one time.”

Celestia smiles kindly and nods. “Good.”

Luna walks over to Celestia’s four post bed, tracing the solar shaped etchings down one of the posts with her hoof. “We did it, didn’t we? No one thought we’d be able to unite Equestria without a single war, but we managed to in only a few centuries.” Luna stops tracing the wooden etchings and settles for simply staring at them. “We finished it. What is it that we do now?”

“I have been concentrated on uniting Equestria for the past two hundred years, I have not given it much thought.” Celestia rests her chin on the windowsill and looks out. “I suppose we give guidance to anypony who needs it. That is what we set out for all along, is it not?”

“If that means spending each day sifting through fencing placement disputes in court, I refuse to take part in it. It’s petty and beneath us.”

“The court serves to spread harmony by settling disputes. I do not think that is petty nor beneath us.”

Luna groans. “But it does not serve to teach them.”

“Would you have us educate foals in a classroom?”

Luna pauses and looks over to where Celestia sits by the window. She walks over to her. “No, not a classroom.”

Celestia twists her neck away from the window to look at Luna, raising an eyebrow at her.

“But one foal. An apprentice whom you teach about the world, about magic, about history, and about themselves.”

Celestia raises her hoof to her chin and looks down at the carpet, contemplating. “We would each take on a foal as an apprentice and raise them?”

“They could move into the castle. We would be their warden, their mother, their guardian, their mentor,” Luna says, listing ideas off the top of her head. “We would each teach a student, in addition to overseeing the kingdom and court.”

“We would have to delegate some of our duties and appoint new positions for them...” Celestia muses.

“We could limit the hours that we hold court to reduce the number of meaningless squabbles we get.”

Celestia stands and turns to face Luna, a smile forming on her lips. “I am very fond of this idea of yours.”

Luna nods with a smirk playing on her lips. “I am very fond of spending less hours holding court.”

Celestia stifles a laugh, unable to not agree with Luna’s sentiments slightly. Suddenly, a wave of dizziness strikes her in her stomach and she has to brace herself against the wall to keep from falling over.

Luna eyes her with concern. “Are you alright, Sister?”

Celetia waves her off. “Yes, yes, I’m fine.” She stands and begins to shakily make her way over to her bed. “I’m just tired from my journey. Could we talk about this tomorrow?”

Luna looks down at Celestia’s hooves, realizing her golden shoes were off them. “Oh, I’m sorry. I barged in here and didn’t realize you were going to—” Luna breaks off, backing towards the door. “I will just leave. We’ll speak at length about this tomorrow.”

Celestia collapses onto her bed, its soft mattress is worth as much as a peasant's house and it eases the stress out of her muscles almost instantly.

Luna opens the door to the bedroom to leave, but stops in its doorway. “Goodnight, Sister.”

“Goodnight, Luna,” Celestia replies, hearing the door gently click shut as she closes her eyes.

The softness of the bed disappears and something hard, something scratchy replaces it.

Screams reach her ears.

Her eyes snap open. She lies on a brick road—one from Everfree City—and all around her buildings burn in towering infernos and ponies run past in panic.

A mare covered in burns walks up to Celestia. And in her eyes is a look Celestia almost does not recognize, for she is so rarely given it. Betrayal. “Princess... why did you do it?” she asks in a raspy voice.

“Do what?” Celestia shouts, a prickle of fear at the back of her neck. “Why did I do what?”

The pony looks up at the sky. “The sun...”

Celestia stands up and cranes her neck back to look. The smoke rising from the city obscures the sky, but Celestia can faintly make out the sun, hanging in the center of an orange sky, and looking far larger than usual. Her eyes widen.

“I didn’t do this! I didn’t move the—”

The mare who walked up to her collapses and her body disintegrates into a pile of ashen dust as it hits the ground. Celestia takes a step back, staring at the dust pooled around her hooves. Snow begins to fall, but then Celestia realizes it’s not snow, but ash from the fires. She backpedals even more, shaking her head and clenching her eyes shut.

“This isn’t real, this isn’t happening,” she says aloud, trying to convince herself.

As if giving hesitance at her words, time freezes.

Celestia peeks open her eyes. Ash falling from the fire hangs still in the air, as does the smoke and the fires. Then, everything begins to collapse. The flames, the houses, the ponies that are frozen mid-run, all of them begin to slowly dissolve into black dust that pools onto the road.

Then the dust picks itself up off the ground. It forms a swirling black sphere that’s the size of a castle, the black dust in it churning in a vortex.

It explodes outwards at Celestia, forcing her eyes shut and forcing her to put a wing up to shield her face.

When it fades, Celestia slowly opens her eyes. A flat bed of white sandstone as far as she can see and a sky the color of dull steel greet her eyes. Her mind works slowly to make sense of where she is as she looks at the sandstone beneath her hooves.

A part of her mane falls in front of her face and it is as white as the day she first woke. She glances back at her flank to see no cutie mark, and a tail as white as the sandstone beneath her hooves.

She realizes she’s back.

She sits down and for a while she does not move. The only sound in the desolate plain is her own breathing, because nothing ever moves and nothing ever changes in this place, because it is faceless, dark, and dead. She sits, tense and alone, waiting for the apparition that has haunted her dreams of past to appear before her.

But it does not.

With little else to do, she begins walking across the barren, but just as she starts, she pauses.

“Come out!” she shouts, spinning around in a circle. “I know you are here in this dream!”

To her great surprise, black dust gathers from out of the cracks in the sandstone and the apparition appears before her. She blinks, not entirely believing it worked.

“What are you?” she asks, eyeing the spirit with an untrusting sidelong glance. It doesn’t reply. “Why are you doing this?”

The black apparition tilts its head as though it’s not sure what she means.

“You are the only thing I know of that existed before the rest of life. I didn’t create you, so where did you come from?”

The apparition looks down for a moment as if thinking. Then it looks up at Celestia, still as a statue.

“What are you?” Celestia tries asking again.

The apparition turns and begins walking away, its hoofsteps making a monotonous sound against the hard sandstone.

“Wait! Don’t go!” Celestia shouts, beginning to follow it, but she falters as the apparition begins slowly dissolving into black dust as though there is a breeze in the motionless plane. As it disintegrates in the wind, it gives one last look at Celestia over its shoulder before being carried away.

Celestia raises her hoof after where the ghost disappeared the looks down and lets out a shudder once she realizes she’s been left alone again. “Please don’t go,” she whispers. Tears pool at the edge of her eyes as she squeezes her eyelids shut. A tear trickles down the side of her face, falling and hitting water with a splash.

The sound of her tear hitting water makes Celestia suddenly aware of the wet feeling around her hooves, and she opens her eyes to see stars, millions of them, and the moon. Their image reflects off of the inch high water covering the ground.

Celestia steps forward slowly. The sky is indistinguishable from the horizon, and the sky and ground blur together, the world disappearing in the process.

Celestia leans back and looks up at the stars. “Oh, Luna...”

As though hearing the name of who it was impersonating summons it, the apparition materializes behind her.

Celestia glances back at the black copy of Luna. “It’s beautiful,” she says before returning to look at the stars. The apparition tilts its head back and looks up with her. “I often forget how beautiful many of Luna’s creations are. She has such an eye for it.”

A while passes where neither of them do anything, both simply looking up at the tapestry of stars. Different patches of different shades of midnight blue stretch across the sky behind clusters of stars, creating a rainbow across the sky of just one dark color.

The two of them stand in mutual silence right until Celestia wakes up, standing side by side and looking up at the night.

Celestia opens her eyes to a rapping on her bedroom door. She tosses in bed, stretching her hooves as a smile spreads across her face.

“Come in,” she calls.

The door opens and Luna hesitantly pokes her head in. “Did I wake you?”

“Yes, but it’s alright,” Celestia replies, sitting up in bed. “Come on in.”

Her bedroom door swings open and Luna walks in, her silver shoes clacking against the stone floor outside Celestia’s room, but falling silent once they reach the bedroom carpet.

As Luna nears, she tilts her head and smiles at Celestia. “You look well rested.”

“I had a nice dream,” Celestia says, her smile widening slightly. “Come, sit on the bed. I’m not quite willing to leave its warm embrace.”

Luna walks over to the side of the bed as Celestia makes room for her, and lies down beside her sister. “I wished to continue our discussion from last night as early as possible so that I may start looking for an apprentice.”

A small frown finds its way to Celestia’s lips. “Do not rush your choice, Sister. You’re going to be teaching whomever you take under your wing for years. It’s not a decision to make hastily.”

“I know, but I wanted to confirm with you before telling the nobles of our plans to take on apprentices. I was actually hoping one of them would have a son—or a daughter—whom I may take on.”

Celestia sighs, glancing over her shoulder to look out the window. “I think it would be a bad idea to inform them this early, or to take one of their sons.”

“I don’t think any of them would be opposed if we offered to teach their son.”

“No, they wouldn’t,” Celestia agrees. “They would be thrilled, but I do not want who we choose to be influenced by politics, and I do not wish to create contest between the nobles over whose heirs are chosen to become out apprentices. And besides, think of the parents of the foal we apprentice once they’ve grown up. Their parents would seek to use their child’s connection to us as leverage and I don’t like the idea of what that would do to the child.”

Luna lets out a heavy sigh, but nods in agreement. “You are right. But you know they will be upset when we don’t consider one of their heirs for the position, right?”

“It’s not their decision who we decide to personally teach.”

Luna chuckles, a smirk tugging at the corners of her mouth. “That won’t stop them from protesting rather loudly about it.”

Celestia snorts. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you’re entertained by all this.”

Luna shrugs, her grin only broadening. “So if not in the camp of the nobles, where do you propose we find our new apprentices?” she asks, a hint of humor lacing through her voice.

“Schools of magic, smaller houses of nobility, reported cases of individuals with copious amounts of raw magical talent. We keep our ears peeled and to the streets, and wait for promising candidates to show up. And when we hear of somepony promising, we visit them in person to see if we wish to take them on as an apprentice.”

“That sounds agreeable,” Luna says. She glances towards the door and flicks her ears.

Celestia releases a weary sigh and rests her head upon her pillow. “We’ll inform the nobles of our plans tomorrow. I woke up this morning in a good mood and I’d rather not ruin it.”

“Again.”

Luna watches her apprentice, Rose Flame, shut her eyes in concentration, an unlit candle on the floor in front of her. Rose Flame grit her teeth, struggling to call upon her magic to light the candle.

She opens her eyes with a gasp, panting and staring at her failure to light the candle wick. “I-I’m sorry, Princess Luna. I don’t think I can light it again.”

“That is precisely why I am having you try. Now try again,” Luna says staring down at Rose Flame with an imposing aura about her.

“Surely she’s done enough for today, Luna,” Celestia says from the side of the room, where she is watching from a leisure couch. “She’s still a filly and she’s only been using magic for two years. You work her too hard.”

Luna turns and shoots Celestia a glare, but glances back at Rose Flame, who is still lying on the floor and panting. Her gaze softens and she sighs. “Rose Flame? Would you like to join me in my study for a bit of reading?”

Rose Flame looks up at Luna, her face instantly brightening. “Yes! Of course, Princess!”

Luna turns to leave, looking back at Rose Flame and motioning for her to follow. “Come along.”

Rose Flame rushes to Luna’s side as the Princess walks towards the door, falling in step beside her as Luna opens the door.

Celestia watches the door swing shut with a pang of sadness, listening to their hoofsteps disappear down the hall.

Standing, Celestia makes her way out of the room and down the hallway, her gold shoes clacking loudly against the stone floors. She gazes out the windows to her right, their stained glass patterns casting a myriad of colors on her coat.

She turns left and opens the door to the Captain of the Guard’s office.

The Captain snaps to attention at her entrance, standing and raising a hoof to his forehead in salute. “Princess.”

“At ease, Grimward.”

The Captain lowers his hoof, retaking his seat and glancing between paperwork scattered messily across his desk and the Princess. “I didn’t expect you’d be visiting,” he says, a hint of embarrassment leaking into his voice as he looks around his office.

“I’m sure it’s all very organized.” Celestia chuckles, looking around the room. “I was wondering if you’ve had any interesting incidents concerning young unicorns lately.”

“Uh, nothing this week, no,” the Captain replies, searching through the papers on his desk. A frown tugs at Celestia’s lips. The Captain looks up at her, spotting it. “But, well...”

Celestia raises an eyebrow, her curiosity piqued.

“It’s not really what you’re looking for. It’s just that a filly destroyed her classroom with a giant gust of wind.”

“I don’t understand,” Celestia says, her voice even. “That sounds like exactly what I’m looking for.”

The Captain slid a few of the papers on his desk around before pulling out one in particular and looking at it. “Ah, but it was allegedly a pegasus who did it, not a unicorn.”

Celestia raises two eyebrows, her curiosity more piqued than ever. “A pegasus?”

“There was some speculation about it actually being caused by a unicorn in her class, but none of them showed any signs of having used magic that powerful in the past day or more.”

Celestia brings a hoof to her chin thoughtfully and stares at the floor. “Where does this pegasus live?”

“She’s the daughter of the weather captain. He lives alone with her in the eastern district of the city.”

“No mother?”

The captain shakes his head. “Dead.”

Celestia glances out a window, looking at the sun. “She’s in school today, correct?”

The Captain of the Guard looks outside. “Uh, yes, she should be—illness withstanding.”

Celestia smiles at the captain. “I think I’ll drop by her school for a surprise visit.”

The Captain of the Guard’s eyes widened in surprise and he stands. “Shall I arrange a detail?”

“No, it’s quite alright,” Celestia says, motioning for him to sit back down. “I’ll most likely miss the first hour of court. Please apologize profusely to my sister for me.”

“Heh, you always give me the hardest jobs,” the Captain says, grinning up at her. “I’ll let her know.”

“Thank you,” Celestia says. She turns and leaves his office, smiling and walking down the hall at a much less subdued pace than she usually did. She smiles, both looking forward to getting out of court and meeting this filly whose wings produced a gale force wind.

Celestia takes a left turn, walking down the hall and out onto a balcony overlooking Everfree City. Stone houses clustered around a wide brick road that runs a circular path through the city, with a straight road stretching from the city’s main gate to the castle cutting through it. The buildings are almost all whitewashed and give the city a regal, spotless appearance.

Barely a brick of the roads could be seen, the streets packed with the commotion that comes with being a capital city.

Celestia unfurls her wings and takes off from the balcony, gliding over the city. Her massive wings keep her afloat with powerful strokes, and Celestia tries to recall when the last time she’d had a more than brief flight.

Tipping her wings, she turns left towards the eastern district. The high imposing structure of the city’s school sits nestled within the district’s heart among some of the other more wealthy buildings in the city, though that’s not to say it’s for the wealthy. But Celestia has since opened its doors to ponies of any income.

Celestia steps inside the building and looks around. Its hallways are empty, classes most likely in session. She notices a plaque that reads HEADMASTER’S OFFICE above a door down the hall from where she is. Straightening her gold and amethyst necklace, she walks inside the office.

She opens the door and steps inside, spotting an older mare wearing glasses sitting behind the desk. The mare pays little attention to Celestia and continues to sort through the paperwork on her desk.

Celestia gently clears her throat.

The Headmaster looks up, her eyes widening as she spots the Princess. “P-Princess Celestia! I-I-I didn’t realize we were expecting you!” the Headmaster says, leaving her work and walking around the desk to formally bow to the Princess.

Celestia laughs and offers the Headmaster a gentle smile. “It’s quite alright. You weren’t expecting me, to be completely fair.”

She looks around her office in a panic, spotting a slightly crooked row of books over on her bookshelf and walking over to straighten it. “I am so sorry about not noticing you come in. I-I sometimes get a bit absorbed in my work.”

“I can tell you’re quite good at your job.”

The Headmaster blushes gracefully. “Oh! Why, thank you. I try to do the best that I can around here. It isn’t always easy, though.”

“So I understand,” Celestia says with a smile. “You recently had one incident in particular with a bit of windy weather scattering a classroom, did you not?”

The Headmaster’s eyes dawn in recognition. She clears her throat, quickly averting her eyes to her desk and walking over to it to sort papers. “We’re still trying to piece together what happened. Our current thoughts are that it was one of the unicorns in the class playing a prank on poor Storm Gale, overloading a spell that was meant to shoot a small gust of wind out from where she was sitting. We asked each of the students in that class if they saw somepony casting a spell before it happened.”

“And?”

“None of the ponies in the class felt, heard, or saw anyone casting any magic. And Storm Gale keeps insisting that no one cast a spell on her, and that the damage to the classroom was her fault.”

Celestia muses over the information, glancing out the office door’s window at the empty hall. “You don’t believe her?”

“She has a history of getting into trouble during class and causing mischief. Her word isn’t very tangible.”

“Do you know what class she’s in now?” Celestia asks.

“I believe she’s in Ms. Daffodil’s English class. It’s in the west wing, up on the third floor.”

Celestia nods, looking at a drawn map of the school by the office’s door, the three different floors of it mapped out separately from one another. “I will be pulling her out of class to speak with her. Please make sure you excuse her absence.”

The Headmaster nods and clasps her hooves together on her desk. “Please, if there’s anything else you need, Princess, don’t hesitate to ask.”

Celestia heads to leave, pausing in the doorway and looking back at her. “Thank you,” she says, stepping out of the office and letting the door fall shut.

She walks left down the hall, spotting a set of stairs near a secondary door to the school and begins to climb them. She offers a pair of colts walking down the stairs a smile as she passes them, causing them to freeze while she walks past them, their mouths hanging open.

The third floor is less empty than the first, and a trio of fillies stop and stare at her, whispering to one another as she walks past. Celestia stops at a door on her right, its sign read MS. DAFFODIL.

She pushes open the door and steps inside. All the students sitting in their seats look at her.

The teacher finishes writing something on the blackboard. “Now, class, can anyone tell me what—” She cuts off, seeing all her students looking off to her side, and looks to see what they are staring at. She blinks, not entirely believing what she’s seeing. “Princess Celestia?” She hastily bows, her magic losing hold on the piece of chalk she’d been using. “Is there something you need?”

Celestia smiles at the teacher, trying to put on the air of the benevolent ruler she is. “Yes, I was hoping I could speak with Storm Gale for a moment.”

The children in the class look at each other and begin speaking in hushed voices. Sitting in the middle of the class, a light purple pegasus’ eyes grow wide and her ears shoot up, and the rest of the students are all watching her.

“Uh... me?” Storm Gale asks, her voice cracking. She lets out a nervous laugh.

“It will just be for a moment,” Celestia says, nodding.

Storm Gale stands from her chair, glancing around at her classmates as she slowly walks towards Celestia. Celestia opens the door to the classroom, and the two of them walk out into the hall.

Celestia smiled down at the blue-maned filly. “Let’s find someplace quiet to talk.”

Storm Gale gulps, but follows Celestia down the hall, stopping when Celestia stops at an empty classroom to their left. The Princess’ magic flares, a small click coming from the door, and she pushes it open.

Storm Gale walks inside and glances around. The room is dark from the blinds being pulled over the windows.

Celestia walks over to the far side of the classroom and takes a seat with a clear invitation for Storm Gale to join her.

The filly nervously walks over and sits on the floor opposite the Princess. “Is this about what happened in the classroom a few days ago? Because I swear, I didn’t mean to.”

“Relax,” Celestia says warmly, shuffling her wings. “You aren’t in trouble.”

Storm Gale sighs in relief. She looks up at the Princess. “If I’m not in trouble, what did you come by to talk to me for?”

“I wanted to hear your version of what happened.” Celestia glances at the windows running along the hallway, seeing a pair of filly laughing with each other as they walk down the hall. She turns back to Storm Gale. “The Headmaster told me they think a unicorn did it.”

Storm Gale frowns. “That’s not true. None of the unicorns in our class are even good at magic.”

“You don’t think one of them did it?” Celestia asks, an amused smile playing on her lips.

“Nuh-uh,” Storm Gale says firmly.

“Did you do it?” Celestia asks.

Storm flattens her ears to her head, looking down at the ground. “Will you be mad if I did?”

Celestia shakes her head. “I promise I won’t be mad.”

Storm Gale stares up at her, measuring the truth in her words. Shuffling her hooves, she gives a relentful sigh. “I caused the gust of wind that knocked the books off their shelves and blew away the other students’ homework out the window,” Storm confesses, looking up at Celestia with guilty eyes.

As promised, Celestia doesn’t get angry. Instead, she just asks Storm Gale a question. “How?”

Storm looks away and begins rubbing her leg. “I don’t really know. I forgot to do my homework that was due that day—but I totally had a good reason!”

Celestia’s smile grows in realization and she lifts a hoof to stifle a laugh. “You were trying to blow the homework handed in out the window so the teacher would exempt your class from having to do it?”

Storm Gale looks away and blushes. “Uh, basically.” She looks up at Celestia, clasping her hooves together. “Please-please-please don’t tell Ms. Daffodil?”

Celestia winks. “It’ll be our little secret.”

Storm Gale giggles, giving her wings a flap before folding them back at her sides.

“What happened when you created the gust of wind?” Celestia asks.

“Huh? Oh.” Storm Gale’s face scrunches up as she thinks. “I just remember concentrating really hard on the stack of papers on Ms. Daffodil’s desk.”

“Did you see anything strange?”

“Well...” Storm taps her chin in thought. “I saw this sort of light blue line in front of me. I tried cutting through it with my wing, and—” Storm cuts herself off, her eyes widening. “Is that why it happened?”

Celestia nods. “I think it most likely is.”

“I’ve never heard of anything like this from the other pegasi or my dad.” Storm Gale frowns and her tail swishes behind her.

“That’s because most ponies don’t know that pegasi and earth ponies have magic too.”

Storm gawks up at her. “They do?!”

“That’s right,” Celestia says with a nod. “Their magic is a lot weaker and a lot more limited than unicorn’s magic, but that’s not to say they don’t have magic.”

“What does pegasus magic do?” Storm asks excitedly.

“It does more or less what you saw it do,” Celestia explains. “It lets pegasi walk on clouds and manipulate storms. And if they get good enough at it, they can manipulate lightning and create twisters with a single flap of their wings.”

“Wow...” Storm looks up at Celestia with a look of awe in her eyes. “That sounds so cool!”

“It is,” Celestia agrees. She glances out the window. From the third floor, she can see most of Everfree, and the busy marketplace is only growing busier as it nears midday. “Tell me, how’s your father?”

Storm Gale immediately grows tense and defensive. “Why?”

Celestia sees Storm Gale’s sudden weariness and offers her a placating smile. “I was wondering how things have been for you at home, having only your father to look after you. His job must call him away from home often.”

Storm Gale looks down at the ground, her eyes saddening. “Yeah... it does...” She looks up at Celestia and her expression becomes firm. “But he takes really good care of me when he’s there—and I take good care of myself, too!”

Celestia stands, walking over to Storm Gale’s side and sitting beside her. Storm looks up at Celestia, shifting away with how close the Princess is. Seeing this, Celestia wraps her wing around Storm, its broad feathers easily encompassing the filly.

Storm freezes as the wing falls around her, but slowly relaxes as the warmth from Celestia’s wing makes her at ease.

“Have you ever dreamt of living in a castle?” Celestia asks, looking down at her.

“Uh, sometimes. I’ve never really been inside a castle. My dad has, though. He goes inside the castle all the time for his job and sometimes he tells me stories about what it’s like before I go to bed.”

“You know, you haven’t bowed to me once during this whole time,” Celestia says, a small smile forming on her lips.

“Oh.” Storm Gale blushes and hangs her head. “S-sorry.”

“Don’t apologize,” Celestia quickly says. “It’s refreshing.”

An easy silence passes between them. The halls outside the classroom are vacant, and there’s barely a sound to be heard.

“Would you like to live in the castle and be my apprentice?” Celestia asks suddenly.

Storm Gale blinks. “Huh?!” Leaning forward in her seat, her eyes widen. “You mean like Rose Flame?”

“Like my sister’s apprentice, yes,” Celestia says, nodding.

“B-but I’m a pegasus!” Storm Gale stammers, spreading her wings out to show Celestia.

Celestia smirks and draws her free wing over in front of Storm to show her it. “Well I’m a bit of a pegasus myself,” Celestia says humorously.

Storm Gale giggles and pushes Celestia’s wing away. Her smile abruptly fades. “What about my father?”

Celestia sighs, tightening her wing around Storm. “You will still see him at the castle, and visit home every once in a while, but you will probably see even less of him than you do right now.”

Storm Gale’s ears droop, and Celestia gives her a moment to think. Unfurling her wing from around Storm, Celestia stands and walks to the door, stopping in front of it and looking back at her. “Go home and spend tonight with your father. I’ll see to it that he gets the rest of the day off.” Celestia turns to leave.

“Wait!” Storm shouts, holding her hoof out towards Celestia. She runs up to Celestia, looking up at her mouth set in a thin line. “I do want to be your apprentice. I think.”

Celestia smiles and reaches up to rustle Storm Gale’s mane. “Go home.” She lowers her hoof and opens the classroom door. “And if you still wish to be my apprentice, have your father bring you to the castle tomorrow. I’ll let the guards know you’re coming, and ask any one of them to take you to my chambers.”

Storm stares down at the ground and nods, following Celestia out of the empty classroom.

Celestia motions for Storm Gale to walk with her. “Come, I’ll take you back to your class.”

Nodding, Storm Gale follows Celestia down the hall back to Ms. Daffodil’s room. Celestia remains quiet as she can tell by the way Storm is watching the walls that she has a lot on her mind right now.

They reach the classroom door and Storm Gale steps up to it. She stops before opening it, looking back at Celestia. “My father...” she says, looking down at the floor. “He’s been really lonely since mom passed away.”

Celestia nods, casting her eyes downward. “I’m sure he’ll appreciate getting a chance to spend time with his daughter.”

Opening the door, Storm Gale smiles and nods. “Thank you, Princess,” she says, then steps inside the classroom, closing the door behind her.

It’s the next day and the sun is setting.

Celestia walks down the hall to her room. Court has finished for the day and her mind desperately seeks to wind down and have some rest. She stops though, spotting the door to the Captain of the Guard’s office, and walks inside.

The Captain snaps to attention at her entrance.

“Has the pegasus filly I told you about come by?” Celestia asks, walking over to a window and gazing out at the city.

“Not that I know of, Princess,” the Captain of the Guard replies, his hoof still stiffly held up in salute. Her looks over at Celestia standing by the window. “Would you like me to have her escorted to the palace?”

Celestia’s mouth settles into a frown and she shakes her head. “No. Thank you. That is all,” she says, and turns to leave. The Captain gives her a slightly confused look, shaking his head as she walks back out into the hall and closes his door.

Letting out a sigh, she resumes cantering down the hallways to her room, the stained glass windows casting colorful paintings on the floor with the dying light of the sun. The distinct sound of her sister’s metal shoes come from around the corner ahead, and Celestia raises her head to see Luna come around the corner.

Luna walks up to Celestia and stops. “You look rather weary today, Sister.”

“I feel rather weary,” Celestia replies, giving Luna a weak smile. “How is Rose Flame?”

“She’s in my study, practicing levitation.” Luna’s eyes soften looking at her sister. “The pegasus you had an interest in... she hasn’t come by, has she?”

Celestia shakes her head sadly, her shoulders slumping and her waning smile disappearing completely. “I think I will retire for now. Good night, Sister.”

Luna nods, her mouth curving into a thin, grim line. “Take care,” she says, before continuing past her sister.

Celestia rounds the corner and walks to her room at the end of the hall. Stepping inside, she kicks off her gold shoes with a bit of help from her magic and walks over to her bed to lie down.

A knock rudely interrupts her resting before it has a chance to begin. She sighs.

“Come in.”

The door to Celestia’s room opens slowly. Celestia raises her head to see Storm Gale step inside the room, glancing around nervously.

“Um... hi again,” Storm says with a small wave. “Sorry I wasn’t here earlier. My dad managed to get the day off, and I wanted to spend one last day with him before...” She closes her eyes and shakes her head.

A glowing smile spreads across Celestia’s face. “I understand.”

Storm Gale lets out a sigh of relief, returning the Princess’ smile.

Celestia stands, walking around her bed and over to the little pegasus filly standing by her door. “Come, I’ll show you around.”

Part 8: Faithful Student

Faithful Student

Equestria from Dust, by soundslikeponies

“Focus on the lightning in your wings. If your concentration slips, it will burn you.”

Electricity crackles at the tips of Storm Gale’s wings. A bead of sweat rolls down her forehead, before evaporating in a small spark. Her armor grows increasingly hot from the electricity in her wings, and slipping up for a moment means the lightning would no longer be isolated in her wings and it will instead run its normal course, frying her in the process. She looks over her shoulder at Celestia, a pleading look in her eyes.

“Release,” Celestia says with a nod.

Storm Gale turns back to face her front, crouching down and shooting a white bolt of lightning at the armored straw dummy in front of her. The electricity meets it with a bang and sends the dummy’s helmet flying, while the rest of the dummy is turned black. Storm cracks a grin, turning back to her mentor.

“I did it!” she exclaims, letting out a whopping laugh and performing a small backflip. “Woohoo!”

“A most wonderful job, Storm Gale,” Celestia acknowledges, smiling at her.

Storm Gale comes out of her backflip and puffs her chest up, putting on a stern frown and walking towards Celestia. “Fear me!” she says in a more baritone voice. “For I am Storm Gale! Commander of the wind and lightning! Haha!”

Celestia just sighs and shakes her head with a smile. “Sometimes I think you are my sister’s student more than mine.”

“Oh, come on, Princess. I’m only messing about.” Storm Gale grins, looking back at the obliterated training dummy.

“Yes, but remember that such power places a burden on you to use it correctly,” Celestia says with a stern stare down at her student.

“Yeah, I know,” Storm Gale says, grinning sheepishly. “Still! I can’t wait to show Rose Flame!”

Celestia frowns and gives her a flat look. “Using it for boasting is not using it correctly.”

“B-b-but she always shows up and does all these cool fire spells that Luna taught her!” Storm whines, giving the Princess pleading eyes.

“Well, then,” Celestia says, ruffling her wings. “I’ll be sure to talk to my sister about her student’s boastful behaviour.”

Storm Gale’s eyes widen. “Aw, no way! Then she’ll totally know I ratted her out!”

Celestia arches an eyebrow and looks at her student, measuring her. Storm Gale bites her lip, looking up at Celestia and clasping her hooves together in a pleading gesture. Celestia sighs.

“Fine. I won’t say anything.” Celestia leans down to her student’s level. “But only so long as your rivalry with Rose Flame stays healthy, and doesn’t become too competitive. You’re not a filly anymore, eventually you two will wind up working together just as me and my sister do.”

Storm Gale nods so fast Celestia’s worried her head may detach. “Yup, uh-huh, will do, Princess!” She flashes Celestia an ear-to-ear smile.

Celestia puts her hoof to her face and shakes her head. She glances across Everfree castle’s training grounds towards the sun. Its glow is fading to a dull orange as it sits half below the horizon. She turns back to Storm Gale. “Practice is done for the day. Run along now.”

Storm Gale nods and gives the princess a wave before turning and flying off over the castle towards her room’s balcony.

“It always surprises me how well you took to teaching her.”

Celestia turns around to the sound of Luna’s voice, seeing her walking back towards the castle with her own student in tow.

“Sister, I thought two were studying in the castle today,” Celestia says.

“It was a good day for practicing out in the field, so that is what we did. I would say we made great progress today,” Luna replies, Rose Flame nodding along with her. Luna catches Celestia’s eye and nudges Rose Flame forward. “Go clean up and meet me in the library. We’ll do some brief studying before you go to bed.”

Rose Flame quietly nods and sets off at a trot towards the castle.

Luna turns back to Celestia, her smile widening. “Now then, I take it by that foreboding look you wish to talk to me about something?”

“Foreboding? I—” Celestia shakes her head, glancing at the horizon. “No, sorry. There wasn’t anything, I was thinking about the past few years.”

“Oh?” Luna asks, raising an eyebrow.

Celestia turns to her, giving her a smile. “Things have been really peaceful. I’ve been thinking we could travel Equestria with our apprentices for a little while, leaving the castle to the steward.”

Luna returns her smile and turns to watch Flame Rose walk inside the castle, the large wooden doors closing behind her. “I hate politics,” she says, ruffling her wings. “A journey away from all this would probably do us as much good as it would do our students. We used to see the world. It has been centuries since the two of us have flown together.”

“I miss those days,” Celestia says in agreement. From nowhere, a wave of dizziness washes over her. The ground begins spinning beneath her and her head dips with a sudden weight.

Luna spots the way her hooves move to steady herself. “Are you alright?”

“Yes, I’m fine,” Celestia says, reaching up a hoof to her head and clenching her teeth. “I think I just need to go lie down for a while. If you’ll excuse me.” She brushes past Luna, rushing towards the castle. Her head stings as she uses her magic to open the doors, and she begins sprinting down the hallways, not caring if anyone sees her.

The headache grows to a head-splitting migraine, the sensation like having a wedge driven through the top of her skull with a hammer. Reaching her room, she forgoes the use of magic in opening her doors, turning and bucking them wide open. The doors swing open and bang against the wall, with the room falling eerily silent afterwards.

Celestia stumbles across the room to her bed. Unable to balance herself any longer, she falls ungracefully onto the bed. The air fills her lungs with ash, making it hard to breathe, and her body burns with fever.

As Celestia closes her eyes, she hears the doors to her room slowly creak shut, their knock of fully closing the last sound she hears before she falls asleep.

Celestia opens her eyes to a wide plane of darkness. Black stretches further than she can see. The only thing she can see in the space is herself, and her hooves stand on a nothing that stretches towards nowhere in no direction.

But then, slowly, as if peeking into the plane, colors begin to appear in the darkness. Patterns of red, orange, and yellow appear at first, swirling and exploding like fireworks all around her. Once those colors are in full bloom, greens, blues, and purples begin to show up, appearing in streaks behind the more aggressive reds and yellows, which are still busy exploding and swirling.

Celestia watches the colors around her with amazement. The green slips down and covers the ground, rushing up beneath her hooves. Blues and purples fill the space above, painting a night sky that seems alive with its vibrant hues.

The yellows all gather into one bright orb, shining down on the green, which begins to take the form of grass. Celestia experimentally takes a step, feeling the still growing grass bend beneath her hoof, indistinguishable from the real thing.

Suddenly, the reds and oranges in the sky race down to the field, winding their way through the grass like snakes. They slither past Celestia’s hooves, and she turns around to follow them as they make a wide arc around her. Then, the red and orange streaks start to form beautiful flowers—tulips, poppies, and daisies—atop the longer stalks of grass.

A soft breeze blows through the newly formed field, and Celestia stands in the center of it, staring. Everything, right down to the wind blowing through her mane, feels real, despite the way the world looks like an oil painting.

“It’s... it’s beautiful,” Celestia can’t help but whisper, leaning down and smelling a tulip. It smells just like the ones in her garden, pungent and sweet.

The sound of hoofsteps come from behind her. Celestia turns around to see the apparition standing before her. There’s something off-setting about it, though. The area around the ashen copy of Luna is black, the colors seemingly shying away from its presence.

Celestia smiles upon seeing her, but then her expression hardens as a realization makes its way to the forefront of her mind. “Did you make me suddenly feel ill?”

The apparition turns its head, refusing to meet Celestia’s gaze.

Celestia stares at it, hoping her anger at it will make it face her. Eventually, she gives up. “What did you bring me here for?”

The ghost starts to walk away, its steps leaving a black void in the painted world. The ashen Luna pauses and looks over its shoulder at Celestia, motioning for her to follow.

Beating her wings, Celestia flies over to the Spirit’s side. She stares at the ground beneath her hooves, the black area left in the apparition’s wake looks as though it’s an endless hole for one to fall down. Walking on it sends a chill down Celestia’s spine and all the joy and beauty of the painted world is sucked into its abyss.

Gradually, as they walk, the area of emptiness left around the apparition grows. The painted world begins to bleed, as though without Celestia, it can no longer maintain itself. The green recedes, the blue and purple streaks across the sky fade, and the yellows and reds pop out of existence, leaving a depressing nothingness once more.

Celestia stops in her tracks, the apparition continuing ahead of her, and looks back, her eyes lingering in the direction where the last traces of the painted world faded. Shaking her head, she increases her pace to catch up to the apparition.

Just as Celestia reaches the copy of Luna, it stops, and a foreboding silence fills the area. The ashen copy of Luna turns to Celestia, its eyes glowing.

Celestia stares at it, feeling a tingle at the back of her own eyes. She sits down and tries to blink the feeling away, rubbing her eyes with her hooves.

When she opens her eyes, a massive sand-colored wall stretching to either end of the plane they’re in stands behind Luna’s phantom. She remembers it from her dreams, the mural of the world. All across it are paintings that hold every aspect of the world, all of them pointing inwards to a single image of Luna and her, flying around the earth along with the sun and the moon.

Something... something isn’t right about her. In the painting, there’s a black eight pointed star above her and Luna, and when she peers closely at it, she can see thorns and tendrils that stick off of its sides in incredible detail.

“That wasn’t there before...” she says faintly, lifting up a hoof and touching the black star.

The black star comes to life at her touch. Lines of shadow slither out from beneath her hoof, infecting it with a black poison that begins traveling up her leg. Celestia stares at her hoof, her eyes widening with panic before she notices movement out of the corner of her eye. On the mural, the shadows form a third alicorn that takes form above her and Luna, one whose coat is a dark and dusty grey and its eyes are absent of pupils and white.

Celestia cries out as she feels a sharp prick of pain in her infected hoof. She collapses to the ground, panting and watching the black substance travel up her leg. She looks up at the apparition, her eyes squinting in pain.

The slightly dusty copy of Luna looks down at her, then turns, and walks away.

“Wait!” Celestia shouts clutching her shoulder as the black poison reached past it. “You can’t leave me here!”

But the apparition continues to walk away, slowly dissolving into dust. Right before it fades away though, it looks back over its shoulder at Celestia, and Celestia sees the first emotion she has ever seen on its haunting visage.

A twisted grin.

Celestia sits up and gasps, panting and sweating as she sits up in bed. All around her, her room is still and quiet, the early morning sun filtering in through the open window, and the breeze blowing at the curtains.

She shuts her eyes. Her breath comes in short gasps. Focusing on that first, she takes a deep breath, then she works on trying to calm her rapidly beating heart and her nervous shaking.

Once she is calm, she lies back in her bed, staring up at the curtain canopy. Slowly, Celestia gets out of bed. The smell of fear and panic still clings to her, and she lets out a sigh as she walks towards the bath chamber adjoining her room to wash the sweat off.

Closing the bathroom door, she takes a seat on the marble floor next to a drain and levitates a bucket of cold, soapy water above her head, tipping it over so it splashes down onto her. The chill of the water helps snap her back to reality slightly, and her mind drifts to more stable things: her apprentice, Luna, affairs of the court.

Tipping a rinse bucket of water over her head, Celestia glances out the window of the bathroom, east of the city walls, where golden fields of hay blow in the wind. The slight breeze gives her an idea. Celestia stretches her wings, folding them at her sides and placing her hooves upon the window ledge and looking down at the long drop to the ground.

In one swift motion she leaps from the tower, stretching her wings and catching the wind in a glide. Water drips off her coat and mane as she tilts her wings, flying down into the courtyard of the castle.

She lands at a canter, tucking her wings away and walking back into the castle with her coat now dry.

“Celestia.”

Celestia turns at the sound of Luna’s voice, spotting her sister walking down the hall towards her.

“How have you been? I did not see you last night after you ran off to your room,” Luna says, approaching Celestia and staring deeply into her eyes. She lifts a hoof to Celestia’s forehead to feel her temperature.

“I am fine,” Celestia says, taking Luna’s hoof and putting it back down. “It was just the result of some magic experimentation not quite working the way I had planned.”

Luna stares intently at her. “Is it alright now?”

Celestia takes a moment before answering, taking a breath. “Yes.”

From the slight way Luna’s frowns as she says that, Celestia doesn’t think Luna believes her.

“Well,” Luna says, her voice taking on a far different tone. “Would you like to join us for breakfast in the dining hall? Your student managed to pull herself out of bed on time for once. We wouldn’t want to miss the opportunity.”

Celestia stifles a laugh, and follows as Luna turns and begins to walk to the dining hall. “That sounds wonderful.”

Storm Gale stands in Celestia’s personal study with her eyes closed and her wings outstretched, remaining perfectly still.

“Feel for the slight way the air flows, and search for the places where those flows meet,” Celestia says, sitting in front of her student and observing her practice.

“Mhmm,” Storm Gale says, her wings perking up slightly.

“Even the strongest winds start as a breeze. Look to make the wind push itself forward, rather than forcing it.” Celestia sees Storm’s wings pull back. “—Not in here!” she quickly adds, glancing back at the rows of first edition books in her library. “Just... visualize.”

Storm Gale rolls her eyes under her eyelids, going back to holding her wings stiffly pointed out from her sides.

Celestia waits a moment longer, watching the look of concentration on her student. “Now open your eyes.”

Storm opens them, quickly blinking and bringing up her hooves to rub at her eyes. “Ugh, what’s with all the meditation lessons lately? It’s so much better to practice the real thing!”

“The purpose of these lessons are to teach you discipline, perception, and—”

“Patience. Yeah, yeah, I know,” Storm Gale says, crossing her hooves in front of her chest.

Celestia gives Storm Gale a glare, shaking her head at her student. “I’m giving you these exercises to prepare you.”

“Prepare me for what?” Storm Gale asks. “Equestria’s united, and the kingdom has been at peace for almost three decades now. And honestly? It doesn’t look like it’s going to end any time soon with you around.”

Celestia’s lips tighten into a thin line.

Storm Gale steps back hesitantly. “I mean, I trust your judgement and all, Princess, but what makes you think something bad’s gonna happen?”

Celestia pauses, her prior annoyance with her student forgotten as she looks out the windows on the opposite side of the room. “I don’t know... just a feeling, I suppose.”

Storm’s lip curls up. “And this feeling... is it like a hunch? or a gut feeling? or one of those hairs standing on end kind of feeling?”

“Call it a ‘magic intuition feeling,’” Celestia says, turning back to her.

Storm Gale’s eyes travel up to Celestia’s horn for a moment, before descending back down to the Princess herself. “Okay... but do you know why you’re having this feeling?”

You don’t want to know. “I’m glad to see you still hold such a curious nature after all these years spent studying. But perhaps it’d be best suited towards your reading studies. I believe you were on the Claimant of Flight?”

Storm Gale gets Celestia’s message loud and clear and groans, turning to search the shelves.

“These books have a lot of effort put into them so that they may teach you what others have spent their whole lives learning.”

“I know. Doesn’t mean it’s not boring,” Storm mumbles. “I respect your wishes and all, Princess, but I mean, isn’t it bad to just act on an unexplained feeling?”

“Remember this lesson, Storm Gale. It’s better to be prepared needlessly than be needlessly unprepared. A bit of caution can save you a lot of trouble in the long run.”

Storm Gale stands at attention with a smile and gives her a salute. “Got it!”

Celestia glances up at one of the topmost shelves where Storm is searching, surrounding a book in her magic glow and bringing it down. “Claimant of Flight,” she says, handing it to Storm Gale.

“Hehe, right,” Storm says, taking it from her. She gestures to the bookshelf. “I knew it was somewhere on this shelf.”

Celestia smiles down at Storm Gale. “Next week is the week that you visit your father, correct?”

Setting the book down on the floor, Storm looks up at Celestia. “Uh, yeah...”

“Well, that’s wonderful. It’s been some time since you last saw each other.” Celestia walks over to her student. “That book is important to the next lesson I wish to teach you. I’d like you to finish reading it by then,” Celestia says, tapping the book she set down.

Storm Gale nods and looks down at the book beneath her hooves. “Um, Princess...”

“Yes?”

“You and Luna are sisters, right?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Did either of you know your father?”

Celestia stiffens ever so slightly before answering. “No, neither of us met him. I raised Luna myself.”

“Oh...” Storm Gale looks down at the ground, scratching the back of her head. “It must’ve been pretty lonely growing up with no parents.”

Sitting down next to Storm Gale, Celestia wraps a wing around Storm’s shoulder. “It was. But I had Luna and we had each other, and that was all we really needed.”

Storm Gale nods. She tilts her head back, yawning and slowly blinking. “I think I’m gonna go and read this as I go to bed.”

“Would you like me to read it to you? It’s been so long since I’ve told you a bedtime story,” Celestia teases.

A pink hue spreads across Storm Gale’s cheeks and she lets out another yawn. “Can I go now?”

Celestia retracts her wing from around her pupil, making a shooing motion. “Yes, yes, go on. We’ll start again tomorrow after breakfast.”

Storm Gale sleepily nods and picks up her book, tucking her assigned reading under her wing. “Good night, Princess,” she says, before trotting out of the study, leaving Celestia alone.

Celestia smiles, thinking of her student and knowing that she’ll have to bug her to actually have her to finish the book before visiting her father.

The smell of musty books fills the study, old tomes and coffee stained pages lining the shelves. Celestia starts to walk down an aisle, but stops as a blue and gold laced spine catches her eye. She pulls the book out. Sitting on the cover is a circle around which Luna chases the moon while Celestia chases the sun.

Celestia’s brow furrows. The illustration on the book looks almost like the mural that was on the wall in her dream, only the art is off and there is neither an eight pointed star nor a black alicorn.

An image flashes in her mind of the apparition, its lips curled back in a lifeless smile. Celestia drops the book and a sharp jolt of pain flickers through her head, causing her to stumble into one of the book shelves and send books and scrolls clattering to the ground on the other side of it.

On the floor, the book lies shut, cover facing up. Celestia’s eyes narrow at it. “Hmm...” She shakes her head and places the book back in its place upon the shelf.

The pain returns the second she tries to use her magic to lift the book. The white glow from her horn pulses with the pain, and Celestia realizes her horn isn’t pulsing on and off, but that her magic is shifting back and forth from white to black.

Celestia falls to her knees. Her throat runs dry and her pupils dilate into small dots, short, panicked breaths overtaking her. The world spins as she falls sideways, her body slamming against the marble floor and her eyes rolling up into the back of her head.

Mayhem.

Celestia starts to feel her body return to normal. She doesn’t feel like she’s going to throw up anymore, the world has stopped spinning, and her mind feels clearer than it has been in years.

The world is pitch black. Celestia waves a hoof in front of her face, but even then she can’t see it. Standing, she looks around for any hint of light, but finds none. Her last memories are of the Castle, and her Study. Her eyes widen in realization.

She glances around one last time. “I want to talk to you!” she shouts into the dark, trying to peer through it to spot the phantom she knows is lurking in it.

A sob answers her. Celestia’s ears twist to the direction of the sound, their lobes widening slightly. A second quiet sob lets her pinpoint the sound’s location.

She walks towards the location cautiously, the sound of crying growing louder as her steps echo through the dark. And when the crying grows close, she brings magic to her horn, lighting the area around her.

A young white unicorn with a pale mane lies at Celestia’s hooves, crying. Its form is long and slender, and Celestia tries to place where she has seen the unicorn before.

It opens its eyes and looks up at Celestia, its eyes a light shade of magenta, the same as Celestia’s own. It’s like looking in a mirror.

“You’re...” Celestia glances at the unicorn’s flank, checking to see if it had a cutie mark. It doesn’t. “You’re me,” Celestia says.

A light appears in the room, and Celestia turns to it, seeing a portal to a white and grey world, white sandstone stretching the horizon with a murky grey sky blanketing it.

The white unicorn at Celestia’s hooves rises, and begins slowly walking towards the portal.

Just when it’s about to walk through, Celestia spreads her wings and throws a hoof out. “Wait!”

The younger copy of her stops and looks back at her, its eyes still damp.

“You will be alone for a very long time,” Celestia says, staring down at her hooves. “But not forever.”

The white unicorn stares blankly at Celestia for a moment, but then slowly nods. Turning back to the portal, she steps through it, and it closes behind her.

A second light shines in the corner of Celestia’s eye. A darker one, one so black it barely creates light at all.

Celestia turns to it, seeing the apparition walking towards her. “Was that me?” Celestia asks, pointing at where the portal has sealed shut. “Was that a different me?”

The apparition stares blankly at her. Its dead eyes hold no answers.

Celestia begins pacing, her ears twitching in an irate tick. “You draw me here and show me things, while all the same you tell me nothing and only leave me with more questions. And I can’t tell if you seek to aid me or harm me.”

The apparition bows its head slightly, the only time it’s acted apologetic for anything.

Celestia looks away, drawing her lips into a tight line. “I don’t like these dreams. I don’t want to be brought here anymore.”

The apparition’s head snaps up, its eyes wide and startled, and it stares at Celestia with them. Shifting nervously, Celestia tilts her chin up and stares down her muzzle defiantly at it, unwilling to take back what she has said.

A low rumbling begins to echo through the dark room. It starts stealthily, growing steadily louder in volume as the Apparition glares at her with its ghostly white orbs and its ears pointed back. Its glare immediately makes Celestia think of death, and with its black coat and long, narrow face, its visage is almost that of a jackal’s.

The rumbling grows louder still, the room growing hot, and soon the ground begins to shake. Celestia brightens the magic at the tip of her horn, all the while looking about frantically. Widening her stance, she turns to the apparition, returning it’s death glare with a glare of her own.

“Leave!” she shouts, blowing hot air out her snout and stomping the ground. Black dust rises off the apparition, giving the appearance of billowing smoke, and a low growl begins to come from it.

Then, the dark room is engulfed in an inferno.

Celestia’s eyes snap awake. Pain and fever covers every inch of her body, sweat slickens her coat, and unable to contain it any longer, she lets out a bone-chilling scream.

Seconds or minutes pass before the door to her study flies open, Luna barging in with two guards at her side. All this only faintly registers in the back of Celestia’s mind. Her ear drums are filled with her own heartbeat, which feels like it’s beating a thousand times a minute, and all the blood rushes to her head, causing her thoughts to swim aimlessly. Luna is standing over her, shaking her and shouting something to the guards, but Celestia’s ears have gone deaf with a high pitch ringing noise and it feels so very hard to recognize any of the things happening around her.

What a part of her does recognize, though, is that a black pattern spread all over her body, swimming and shifting across her skin like a chameleon’s coat. The pattern travels up Celestia’s body, and her eyes track it up to her horn, where she only now notices an orb of black magic fixed at the tip of her horn and growing unstably.

Celestia tries to fight fatigue, staring up at her sister’s worried and panicked face, but in the end she succumbs to the pain and tire, and begins to drift off, faintly hearing Luna shouting her name as she closes her eyes.

Part 9: Disturbance

Disturbance

Equestria from Dust, by soundslikeponies

Celestia’s eyes open to a blinding ray of light shining in from the window. A fragrant and sweet smell hangs in the air, and she shifts beneath the warm blanket wrapped over her side, blinking to clear her sight.

Celestia sits up, a hint of lavender and blue catching her eye, and she looks to the side of the bed to see Storm Gale fast asleep at her bedside with her front hooves resting on the mattress. Her face is set in a peaceful expression, her mouth parted slightly and her eyelids gently shut.

“She wouldn’t leave your side.”

Celestia turns, hearing Luna’s voice. She spots her sister on the opposite side of the room. “How long have I slept?” she asks, wearily.

“Three days,” Luna answers, standing and walking over. She glances at Storm Gale. “I tried to convince her to go to her own room and rest. But she persisted that she wanted to be there when you awoke.”

Celestia looks at the filly at the side of her bed and smiles. “She’s very protective of those she holds dear. It’s my favorite trait of hers.”

Luna sits at the side of the bed, a frown tugging at the corners of her mouth. “The flare of power that came from you before you fell unconscious woke and alerted every unicorn in the castle, and even some of the pegasi and earth ponies.” Luna looks away, uncertainly. “Was that... magic?”

Celestia’s smile disappears. She looks down at the bedsheets between her hooves. “Yes,” she says, barely above a whisper.

Luna’s eyes fall to the edge of the bed, her brow furrowing. “This was what you were afraid would happen, that you’d lose control over that energy.”

“Yes,” Celestia says, solemnly.

Luna sighs and sees Storm Gale’s sleeping form shift out of the corner of her eye, reminding her to keep her voice quiet. “You knew and you didn’t tell me.”

“I didn’t want you to worry.”

“But I am worried, Sister.” Luna’s eyes narrow, her nostrils flaring. “I am worried about the way you try to take everyone else’s burden upon yourself. I am worried that you might fall unconscious again. I did not know when—or even if—you’d wake from that!”

“Luna...” Celestia says, a twinge of guilt passing across her face. “I’m sorry.”

A sigh escapes Luna and her lips tighten into a thin line, her eyes wandering to the window. At the side of Celestia’s bed, Storm Gale stirs and rubs her eyes, no doubt awoken by Luna’s raised voice.

Luna fixes her sister with a measured stare. “I will leave you and your student to talk and tell the others you are awake. Breakfast will be sent shortly.” After saying that she turns, briskly walking towards the door. Celestia just watches Luna go, only turning to her waking student once the doors swing shut behind her sister.

Storm Gale sits up, her eyes half-lidded and her mind still sleep addled as she looks at Celestia with a bit of drool on her lip. Suddenly her eyes widen, recognizing Celestia to be awake and staring back at her. “P-P-Princess Celestia!” she shouts, leaping at the Princess and throwing her hooves around her.

Celestia lets out a small oof as her student tackles her, chuckling fondly and rubbing Storm’s mane. “It’s alright, I’m fine,” she says, reassuringly.

Storm Gale ends the hug, sitting back and looking Celestia up and down. “Luna wouldn’t tell me what happened.”

Celestia deliberates for a moment, but only a small moment. “A spell I cast didn’t turn out right.”

“Huh? But you know almost everything there is to know about magic!” Storm Gale says in disbelief.

Celestia smiles a mentorly smile and shakes her head. “Not even I know everything there is to know about magic.”

Looking up at Celestia with bright eyes, Storm Gale says, “Well, you will eventually, right?”

“I don’t think so,” Celestia says with a laugh, stroking her pupil’s cheek. “I’ve spent a long time around magic and I don’t think it’s something one can learn entirely, no matter how much time one has on their hooves.”

Storm Gale glances out the room’s eastern window at the sun slowly peeking over the horizon. Her ears droop. “I told myself I’d make sure I stayed awake until you woke.”

Celestia touches Storm’s shoulder. “You know I would have wanted you to listen to Luna and get some rest.”

“I know,” Storm Gale says, pawing at the bed. “It’s just that after mom died, I didn’t want you to—” Storm’s voice cracks and she bites her bottom lip.

Celestia’s eyes soften looking at the young mare. Wrapping a wing around Storm Gale, Celestia draws her close and lies down on the bed with her, her feathers brushing against Storm’s. Storm tenses and looks up at Celestia, her body stiffening at the unfamiliarity of being so close to someone.

She looks up at Celestia with wide eyes, remaining silent.

“I promise I won’t go anywhere,” Celestia whispers in her ear, feeling the young mare relax against her embrace.

Hesitantly, Storm wraps her hooves around Celestia’s middle, squeezing her. “Okay.”

Celestia lets out a deep breath, resting her chin in her student's mane and staring out the window. Breakfast is never delivered to their room, and they waste the early hours lying in bed, eventually falling back asleep with Storm still attached to Celestia. Their breaths fall into pattern with one another while they sleep. It isn’t until early afternoon that Luna comes back, having left the two of them alone for what she deems a long enough time, and stirs them awake.

Storm Gale sits up first, rubbing her eyes and yawning. She gives Celestia a sleepy smile before hopping off the bed and walking out of the room to leave Celestia and Luna alone, the door quietly clicking shut behind her.

Luna smirks at Celestia and turns towards the door Storm Gale just left through. “You two really are close.”

“I didn’t accept your idea because I wanted to teach a prodigal unicorn magic,” Celestia says, crawling her way out from under the covers and standing by the bed opposite Luna.

Luna snorts, turning her head and giving Celestia a sidelong glance. “Then why was it you did?”

Celestia walks to the stand by her bed, spotting her golden regalia resting on it. “I wanted to teach somepony compassion, and what they could be to others. And I wanted to in turn be there for them.” She steps into her golden shoes, the metal clacking against the floor of her room.

“Are you suggesting something about my student?” Luna asks, narrowing her eyes.

“No,” Celestia replies, meeting Luna’s gaze and sighing. “But she has been very lonely since she’s come to the castle. I think what she would appreciate more than anything from you right now is a little compassion.”

Luna stands quietly as her eyes fall to the floor.

“I’ve given it to her, it’s why she is fond of me,” Celestia says, putting on her crown and her necklace with the diamond centerpiece. “But I am not the one she needs it from.”

She leaves Luna staring at the ground and walks out of the room to give her sister time alone to think. A short walk and a turn leads to a balcony, where Celestia stretches her wings and stares out over Everfree city: the bastion of her pride and of peace.

The city has no walls, only a gigantic open plateau that stretches to the mountains in the distance. Farms scatter outside the city limits, forming a progression from the rural to the lower districts to the upper districts, a gradual transition that holds Everfree Castle at its heart.

Having fainted for three days, Celestia decides to go for a walk on the castle grounds instead of flying, not wanting to cause her sister any more undue worry.

Servants and nobles she passes by pause to congratulate her on her recovery and wish her well, to which Celestia politely nods and smiles, showing that all is well and that she is healthy.

But something from the incident still disturbs her. The dark magic—the dust—feels nearly absent from her body. Its presence a slowly building pressure these past centuries, suddenly weak and distant. Although it’s still there, the tingle of the dust is almost invisible, and only reveals to still be there when she closes her eyes and concentrates on it.

Celestia heads to the courtyards, hoping a walk through the garden will clear her head and thoughts. It is gone for now, and for Celestia that is enough at the time.

Stepping into the courtyard though, she sees Luna and Rose Flame lying under a withered cherry tree, Rose Flame with eyes shut and a contented smile upon her lips.

Luna catches Celestia eye, giving her a grateful nod as she unveils her wing and wraps it around Rose Flame. Celestia smiles and returns the nod, walking in a direction across the courtyard that is away from them so that she may leave them undisturbed.

The Captain of the Guard races over to Celestia from the direction she came, catching up to her and walking beside her. “Princess,” he says, nodding his head in a rushed bow, “the nobles have been anxiously awaiting your recovery.”

Celestia smiles. “I wouldn’t necessarily say that about all of them.”

The Captain laughs uneasily. “Yes, well, there’s the matter of making some kind of statement about what happened.” The Captain looks up at Celestia out of the corner of his eye. “What... did happen, if you mind me asking myself, your highness?”

Celestia stops and brings a hoof to her chin, her mouth set in a narrow line. “I was practicing magic and I practiced a spell whose effects I did not fully read. There was a backlash of negative energy involved which rendered me unconscious because I was not prepared to handle it.”

The corners of the captain’s mouth shift to a frown, though he knows not to overstep his bounds in pressing Celestia for an answer. “Princess,” he says with a quick salute, “I am wondering if you could meet me in my office shortly, there’s some matters I wish to discuss that have built up over the past few days.”

“Did my sister not keep things running while I was unconscious?”

“She was very concerned with your well being, and stayed by your bedside most of the time you were unconscious. We’ve been handling things internally.”

Celestia glances at her sister across the way. She sighs in dismay of having her walk cut short. “Very well. I will meet you in your office shortly.”

The Captain of the Guard nods and raises his hoof in salute. “Princess,” he says, turning and briskly walking back the way he came, his golden armor dancing in the sunlight.

Celestia shakes her head and walks across the courtyard, exiting through a pair of large, oak double doors. Her hooves clack with a swift pace down the hallways as she takes a turn, landing in front of her student’s quarters, where she opens the door and steps inside.

Storm Gale lies on a carpet, Claimant of Flight open in front of her, though she seems to be distractedly twirling her mane rather than reading it. She looks up and sees Celestia, instantly straightening and getting to her hooves. “Uh, hey, Princess.”

“Studying hard I see?” Celestia says, a wry smile tugging at the edges of her mouth.

“Uh, yeah...” Storm Gale says, glancing back at the open book sitting on the floor. “Well, sorta.” She looks up at Celestia and tilts her head to the side curiously. “So what did you come to see me for?”

“I was wondering if you’d like us to join Luna and Rose Flame for magic practice today.”

“Haha, sweet!” Storm gains a smirk, rising to her rear legs and punching the air. “I’ll definitely show up Rose Flame this time!”

Celestia sighs and shakes her head. “I’ll take it you’re interested.”

Storm turns from shadow boxing her imaginary opponent and nods emphatically. “Definitely!”

“In the meantime, do try to finish your studies. I do still expect you to finish reading that book before your visit with your father.”

Storm sheepishly laughs and rubs the back of her head. “Right...”

Celestia leaves, glancing over her shoulder as she does so to see Storm returning to her book, a hoof propping her cheek up as she resumes reading keenly, although Celestia knows the keenness will quickly fade and disappear as it always does when she leaves her student to study.

Celestia goes to the Captain of the Guard’s office, stepping inside and shutting the door behind her with a gentle nudge of her magic. The Captain sits behind his desk, a pair of reading glasses atop his muzzle despite his youth.

“Princess,” he greets her formally, giving her a slight nod. He picks up the documents sitting in front of them, tilting them for easier reading. “Now there isn’t too much to attend to. Sir Barnsmill requested permission to adopt from the orphanage, since it appears his wife and him have been unable to bear a foal. I allowed it on a few terms to ensure the adoptee has a good home with them.”

“The Barnsmills are caring. I don’t doubt for a second that anypony adopted into their family will want for anything.”

“Yes, I know you think highly of them, but I thought it best to establish grounds in case any other noble family decides to adopt, to prevent outcries of favoritism.”

Celestia smiles, glancing out the window. “I see.”

The Captain scrolled down his documents, shuffling to the next page and pursing his lips. “Everything else is relatively minor...”

Celestia arches an eyebrow, before lowering it, the corners of her mouth pulling her lips back into a fine line. “There’s something troubling you that you wish to speak to me about.”

He turns a paper around and places it on Celestia’s side of his desk. “We’ve been getting strange reports from Hay Burrow.”

Celestia walks up to his desk, picking up the document and reading it. “Define strange.”

“There isn’t really a way to define it,” the Captain says, leaning forward and resting his hooves on the desk. “Ponies have been turning into sheep or going mad. It’s difficult to tell the false reports from the real, or if there even are any real reports. At this point, with some of the things I’ve read, I’m doubtful any of them are real.”

Celestia’s eyes move down the document, passing over the section about the farmer who was turned into a sheep. “This just looks like there’s a talented unicorn with a penchant for foolery.”

The Captain places another report in front of Celestia. “Similar reports. From Gallopelago.”

Celestia looks between the paper and the Captain of the Guard, before slowly bringing the document up to read. “That’s on the opposite end of the continent.”

“Several acres of corn fields were changed into pumpkins. Carved pumpkins, actually. Jack-o-lanterns.” The Captain’s voice holds no humor. “Several of the ponies there have been driven mad, too.”

“You think it to be the same unicorn?” Celestia sets down the documents, shaking her head. “No unicorn has enough magical power to teleport that far. Whoever did it must have some kind of magical artifact.”

“Do you know of any that would allow someone to teleport such a distance?”

Celestia continues reading and comparing the two documents lying on the Captain’s desk. Her mouth slips into an uncertain frown. “No...”

“I sent three pegasus guards to each location with rules to report back to me with their findings.” The Captain brings his hooves up to his mouth, his elbows resting on the desk. “It’s possibly nothing, maybe even a guard or courier with a sense of humor. It may even be a complete waste of time wanting to bring this to your attention. But something about this has me perturbed. I just thought it best if I shared it with you.”

Celestia nods, peeling her eyes away from the documents. “Is that all?”

The Captain of the Guard blinks slowly and nods. “Yes.”

Celestia turns to leave, stepping out of his office to an empty hall. Empty, aside from Luna standing at the far end of the hall. Celestia walks up to her.

“Hello, Sister. Is there something you need of me?” Celestia asks.

“I just wanted to thank you,” Luna says. “I opened up to Rose Flame, and you were right, she has been lonely living here at the castle.” Luna’s eyes shy away, a frown appearing on her lips. “I had figured she had the maids and Storm Gale to confide in.”

“Out of everypony here though, she looks up to you. Being given a cold shoulder must feel like she isn’t performing well enough. That’s why she throws herself into the studies you give her.”

“I just... I thought that would be a good thing.” A sigh escapes Luna. She stares down at her hooves as they walk, a guilty and pained look upon her face.

“Not for her,” Celestia says, staring ahead. A moment of silence passes between them, Luna staring glumly down at the stone floor tiles. Celestia clears her throat in an indiscreet manner, bringing her sister’s attention to her. “I asked my student if she would be interested in joining you and your student in training today.”

Luna glances at her with an uncertain frown.

“It will be a good chance for her and Rose Flame to learn to work together,” Celestia says, a smile worming its way to her lips.

Celestia’s smile is contagious, and Luna finds her lips turning up despite herself. “I think getting those two to work together will take more than a single practice.”

“We’ll do two, then,” Celestia says, grinning.

Luna covers her mouth as a small giggle escapes it and looks at Celestia, shaking her head with a smile. “It’s actually past when we were supposed to start practicing. I told her to have the day off and rest, but I could ask if she is interested.”

“I’ll get my student while you get yours,” Celestia says with a nod. “Meet us in the courtyard?”

Luna shakes her head. “The training grounds. With those two around each other I don’t trust things to not get... destructive.”

They split up and go to their students’ rooms. Celestia enters Storm Gale’s room to find her half asleep with her chin resting on the still open Claimant of Flight. Looking up and seeing Celestia, she snorts and straightens herself, rubbing the back of her head and blushing.

“Practice,” Celestia says, turning and walking out of the room. Getting the message, Storm scrambles to her hooves after Celestia, falling into a brisk trot to keep up with Celestia’s longer legs.

“Is Rose Flame coming?” Storm asks, nearly tripping over her hooves as she looks up at Celestia for an answer.

“Yes.”

“Is Luna coming?”

“Yes.”

Storm Gale grins, turning to stare ahead as they walk. “Ooh, ooh, can we practice the lightning wings again?”

“No,” Celestia says curtly, seeing her student’s face fall. “You two are going to be learning to work together.”

“What?” Storm makes a noise of distaste in the back of her throat. “But she’s all prissy and stuck up—and she keeps making fun of the fact that I’m a pegasus!”

“I also recall you making fun of her mane and her necklace,” Celestia points out in a lightly admonishing tone.

“Well, yeah,” Storm Gale says, looking at the floor and kicking her hooves as they walk. “But they’re weird.”

Celestia sighs as they arrive at the training grounds. Luna and Rose Flame stand across the field, Rose Flame sitting with a thin lipped frown speaking of how she doesn’t want to be there. The guards have all finished using the ground for the day, leaving the four of them alone in the field with the straw dummies.

Celestia looks down at her student, locked in a glaring contest with Rose Flame. She gives Storm’s rear a slight nudge with her hoof. “Go on,” she says, motioning towards Luna and her student, “go talk to her.”

Rose Flame’s frown deepens. Taking a deep breath and puffing up her chest, Storm Gale forces herself to march across the field, stopping in front of Rose Flame, who looks at her with a raised eyebrow.

Storm sticks her hoof out to Rose as Celestia walks up beside her.

Rose Flame looks down at the hoof being offered to her for a moment, until a smirk slowly spreads across her face. “Oh, look,” she says, “it knows how to shake.”

“Oh, look,” Storm Gale says, glaring at her. “It knows how to be a snob.”

Behind each of them, Celestia and Luna share a look, before deftly cuffing both of their students.

“Ow!”

“Ack! Hey! She started it!”

Her magic coming to life, Celestia weaves a dark blue piece of cloth out of nothing in front of her. “Now,” Celestia says, handing the cloth to Storm Gale. “Teamwork exercises.”

“Right! No that’s left! Quick! Hard right!” Rose Flame screams, gripping onto Storm Gale for dear life as they fly around the Castle grounds, a blindfold over Storm’s eyes.

“I can’t understand what you’re saying if you’re screaming in my ear!” Storm Gale shouts.

“Maybe if you were a better flier I wouldn’t have to shout so much!"

“What?!” Storm asks angrily, twisting her head back to look at Rose Flame.

Rose Flame gasps. “Quick! Left!”

Celestia and Luna watch from the ground below, smiling at each other in amusement of their students’ antics.

“I’m starting to think this was not a very safe idea,” Celestia says, following the jagged, haphazard aerial movements of the two.

“Shall I whistle for them to finish before one or both of them gets injured?” Seeing Celestia nod her consent, Luna purses her lips and lets out a sharp whistle. “Storm Gale! Rose Flame!” she shouts, waving at the two. Rose Flame’s head swivels around to look at her. She bends down and directs Storm to fly them over to the Princesses, leading the pegasus by instruction into landing on the field.

As Rose climbs off her back, Storm takes off the blindfold and shakes her head, blinking at the sunlight. She turns to Rose Flame, seeing the other mare’s mane completely frazzled and wind whipped. She stifles a chuckle, pointing at it.

Rose Flame’s eyes cross, looking up at her mane, a small chuckle escaping her.

A frown replaces Storm Gale’s smile. She looks down at the ground nervously, kicking the dirt. “Listen, I’m sorry about what I said about your mane and your necklace.”

Rose Flame reaches up and touches the hydra tooth hanging from her necklace. “You know, pegasi aren’t so bad. Flying was actually kind of fun, when I wasn’t fearing for my life.”

“Yeah, well,” Storm puffs out her chest. “It takes a pretty strong stomach to do some of the maneuvers I do.”

Rose Flame giggles. Letting go of her necklace, she sticks her hoof out in front of Storm Gale and offers her a smile. “Friends?”

Storm rubs the back of her head, staring at the hoof hesitantly. After a moment’s pause, she shakes Rose’s hoof, smiling somewhat awkwardly at her. “Yeah, I guess.”

The two of them sit there for a moment, looking each other in the eye, the sun setting in the distance and casting long shadows across the field. Rose Flame’s smile widens to a smirk.

“Don’t think this makes us equals or anything.”

“No way! I’m totally better than you!” Storm Gale says, a grin spreading across her face.

“Sure,” Rose says, rolling her eyes and turning to walk away. “Whatever.” While walking away she raises a hoof, waving to Storm Gale as she heads back to the castle.

Storm Gale shakes her head, turning to Celestia. “Can I go now, too?”

“Remember to get some reading in before you go to sleep,” Celestia says, giving her a nod.

Storm Gale turns, taking off and gliding the short distance to the castle doors.

“Maybe it won’t take two after all,” Luna says, smiling with a shrug.

Celestia snorts, but allows an amused smile to spread across her lips. “We’ll see how long it lasts.”

Suddenly, Celestia notices a shift in atmosphere. Luna’s silent, her eyes cast down at the grass, and her mouth curves downward into a worried frown. She glances at Celestia then sighs. “It just occurred to me that—” She cuts herself off and stares down at her hooves. “That I don’t know how long it’ll be—or even if you’ll have another attack like the last one.”

“I’ve been feeling much better.”

Luna takes a deep breath, but releases it shakily. She stares at Celestia for a moment, verifying Celestia’s words with her eyes. “We’ll talk tomorrow, then. It has been a long day, and I’m sure you could still use more rest,” she says, suddenly starting towards the castle. But she stops a couple steps forward and looks back. “Do get some rest, Sister,” she says. And with that, she departs.

Celestia watches her leave the training grounds and enter back into the castle with a sigh, knowing her sister will be worrying intensely over her in the days to come. Celestia glances up at the sky, the sun about to set, and heads back inside herself. Though upon entering through the doors, she is instantly bombarded with brisk hoofsteps, echoing down the halls, marching towards her.

The Captain of the Guard stops in front of her, his face grim and his helmet on. He takes his helmet off and holds it in one hoof, dipping his head in a bow rather hasty and uncharacteristic of him.

“The guards I sent to Hay Burrow,” he says, panting lightly. “One of them returned.”

Part 10: Departure

Departure

Equestria from Dust, by soundslikeponies

The Captain of the Guard and Celestia march back to his office at a rushed canter, neither of them paying the ponies they pass mind nor heed, both looking ahead toward their destination.

Arriving at his office, the Captain opens the door for Celestia, allowing her in before following inside and shutting the door behind them. “What did you mean, ‘one of them returned’?” Celestia asks, fearing she knows exactly what he means.

“I mean exactly that: one of them has returned early. They were supposed to spend a minimum of two days investigating the disturbance. I haven’t managed to get a single word out of the guard who came back in regards to where the other two members of her squad are.”

The Captain leans against his desk and studies the wood grain. “Her state of mind is disturbed. She goes on about the strangest things, and she keeps saying that the sky falling and other nonsensical babble. She’s refused food and water since she got back, keeps saying she doesn’t want to eat anybody.”

Celestia freezes. “You said in your reports there were ponies who were turned into sheep, and corn turned into pumpkins. Do you think...”

The Captain’s eyes widen. He puts a hoof to his muzzle as his brow furrows in thought. “If ponies had been turned into bread, fruit, or something else, it could be possible that... that someone could eat them, not knowing that they’re—”

“Let us hope that this is not the case,” Celestia says, cutting him off with a queasy look upon her face. The Captain gives her a nod. “There were reports from Hay Burrow and Gallopelago, where else?”

“Only those two so far, but if the person responsible for all this is able to travel such a distance in so short a time, they could be anywhere. Finding and arresting them would prove to be nearly impossible if they are as capable as these reports suggest. If we sent more guards, it would be far too easy for him to catch wind that a garrison of troops were headed his way, but at the same time, I’m don’t like the thought of putting my soldiers at risk by sending them out in smaller groups like the ones that I sent out to investigate.”

“I agree, that would accomplish nothing.”

“So what do we do then? We’ve had cases of small villages being destroyed by a disturbed dragon or ursa major before, but those could be written off as natural disasters, while it looks very likely that whoever did this will attack again.”

Celestia straightens, an idea coming to her. “Luna and I would be able to deal with this ourselves. We have wings to travel great distance and magic powerful enough to subdue whoever this may be.”

The Captain’s eyes widen, and Celestia knows him to stand and protest before he even does. “Th-that really shouldn’t be necessary, Your Highness. Me and my troops can handle any threat that might—”

“It would put more ponies, both civilians and guards, in danger to not involve myself in this matter personally,” Celestia says, quelling his outcry and making him retake his seat. He stares at his desk with a frown, Celestia’s wish to involve herself a wound to his pride. “This is not final, but it is a thought. One I would ask for your input on.”

The Captain stares at his desk for a while longer, then he uncrosses his hooves and looks up at Celestia with a sigh. “Hay Burrow is both the closest and is the most recently reported of the two towns. There may be some chance that he is still there.”

Celestia nods and reaches up to adjust her gold necklace, admiring the amethyst embedded in it. “Captain,” she says, watching the way the light bounced off the jewel.

“Yes?”

“Were there any reports of what color magic is effecting these towns?”

Biting his lower lip, the Captain flips through a stack of papers on his desk, bringing up one of the reports. “No, nothing. The color of the magic wasn’t mentioned. I’m not sure if anyone still sane has even seen the magic that cast these spells.”

“Then maybe someone who isn’t sane has,” Celestia says, her lips forming a thin, thoughtful line.

The Captain of the Guard gives Celestia an uneasy sidelong glance. “You want to speak to the guard that came back?”

Celestia gives an affirmative nod. “It is our best way to find out more about what happened at Hay Burrow. I also may be able to cure whatever spell or dementia it is that ails her.”

“She’s been...” the Captain quickly replies, his eyes shifting nervously. “She was the youngest of the squad sent out. We’ve been keeping her in a cell for her own protection.”

“Take me to her.”

The Captain nods, standing up from his desk and walking briskly around it to the door. Before opening it, he gives a quick look at Celestia over his shoulder. She’s standing there, waiting on him. His lips tighten as he opens the dungeon. “I think it’s only fair to warn you she’s not in the right sorts. I also think that at best, talking to her will yield nothing. At worst it could be dangerous.”

Celestia follows him around a corner down spiraling stairs leading underground. She gives him a curious glance. “In what way do you think it could be dangerous?”

“We don’t know how the magic works or how dangerous ponies infected by it are.” The Captain looks at her out of the corner of his eye. “They say madness spreads to those who are too close to it.”

Celestia comes to a stop as they arrive at a closed cell door, a faint shuddery weeping coming from inside. “I didn’t figure you to be one for superstition, Captain.”

The Captain of the Guard levitates a key off the belt around his waist, placing it in the door and unlocking it with a soft click.

“I’m not.”

The cell door groans open, revealing a figure, the source of the weeping, curled in a ball in the corner, crying to herself. Black chains trail from a metal bar embedded in the far wall to her hooves, clasped in thick metal cuffs.

For a moment Celestia simply stands there, looking at the mare. “What’s her name?” she asks quietly.

“Carolhymn,” the Captain replies in a low voice. “Or so she thinks,” he adds with a shrug.

Celestia steps into the cell; a few steps closer to the mare, she can see dried blood around her hooves, dirtying her alabaster coat.

“Carolhymn?” Celestia calls out hesitantly. The mare’s weeping stops, her whole body tensing. Celestia takes another step closer. “I came to ask what happened to you.”

“Me?” a cracked voice replies. A shaky bark of laughter comes from the chained mare. “Me? But I’m so boring and plain. You should try talking to my friend, Cherryjuice. I ever tell you what happened to Cherryjuice?”

“No.” Celestia takes a seat on the cell floor. “Tell me about her.”

“Cherryjuice lived with her boyfriend, Tom Sawer. He was a carpenter. He works with lots of tools—” Carolhymn cuts off, turning away with a sob and biting her lip till a trickle of blood trails from it. “He worked with lots of tools. Worked. Past tense.” She lets out a hysterical and broken laugh, throwing her head back with a wide smile. “Tom was really sweet before everypony went mad. After everypony went mad, well...” Carolhymn suddenly hangs her head, leaving where she trailed off.

Celestia gives an uncertain glance back at the Captain. He looks away down the hall, a clear unease written on his face.

“Tom!” Carolhymn abruptly shouts, bursting into a fit of giggles. “Tom works with tools! He was really sweet before everypony went mad. Then Tom became a very, very angry pony.” A wide, toothed grin spreads across Carolhymn’s face and a few more broken chuckles escape her. “Tom worked with tools after everypony went mad, too. Just not the way he used to.”

Celestia swallows the lump in her throat, looking at the shadow left of a mare before her. She tries to look at Carolhymn’s eyes, but the darkness of the cell makes it difficult to see little more than the wide grin she sports. “How did Tom use the tools?”

“How do you think?” Carolhymn snaps, jolting toward Celestia with a wild grin, coming within an inch of her face before the chains pull at her. Celestia jumps back and tenses. As Carolhymn stands on her rear legs, leaning forward while the chains around her forehooves hold her back, Celestia sees her eyes. And in them she sees definite madness, an unnatural and twisting madness born from something dark and inequine.

Forcing down her slight fear of the mad mare in front of her, Celestia—although already knowing—asks, “What did Tom do?”

Carolhymn pales, looking as though she saw a ghost, and walks back to her corner before curling back up into a ball there. “I don’t talk about Tom. No-no-no, I never talk about Tom. We don’t speak of Tom.”

Celestia stares at her silently for a few minutes, watching her rock back and forth with quiet tears trickling down her face.

Suddenly Carolhymn spots Celestia, as if it is her first time seeing her. Her mouth widens in a smile. “Hello.”

Celestia’s lips turn down in a slight frown. “Hello.”

“Did I ever tell you what happened to Cherryjuice?”

The Captain of the Guard sighs and hoofs the bridge of his nose. “Princess, I don’t believe this is going anywhere.”

“No, I don’t believe it is.” Celestia stands, Carolhymn looking up at her with curious, almost child-like eyes. “I’m going to look inside her mind for the magic corrupting her... It may take some time.”

“I will stand guard,” the Captain says. Celestia expects no less from him.

She turns to Carolhymn and kneels to get a better look at her. The earth pony stares back at Celestia fearfully, her eyes bloodshot and tired. Gradually, a soft glow illuminates Celestia’s horn.

“Rest,” Celestia commands.

Carolhymn’s eyes slide shut, the force keeping them open gone, leaving a wave of drowsiness and missed sleep to overtake her.

Celestia leans forward with a soothing glow of magic emanating from her horn and touches it to Carolhymn’s forehead, closing her eyes.

Floating. That’s the word that best describes what Celestia feels at the moment. The world is black with an enigmatic green tint, and she is stuck somewhere in it, in the middle of a grand castle hall, floating.

Her mane falls in front of her face, floating in the same weightless manner she is and waving as though she’s underwater. In front of her, faint blips of color occasionally dance in the dark. Blues, reds, yellows, and brighter greens try to poke through the hall, only to be muted by the bleakness of the world. At the center of it all sits an alabaster pony with her head hung low and her ears drooped.

Celestia swims towards her with sluggish movements, the mind of the guardsmare resisting her every stroke. Eventually she crosses the hall to where Carolhymn sits and touches the ground, feeling the resistance lessen slightly.

“Carolhymn?”

The pony raises her head slightly, staring at Celestia in a daze.

A luminescent glow surrounds Celestia’s horn as she lowers it to touch Carolhymn’s forehead. “It’s time to go home now.”

As Celestia finishes uttering those words, the muted colors spring to life around them, dancing around vibrantly as the dark gives way to light.

The darkness doesn’t disappear though. It changes into a cloud of black dust beyond Carolhymn. And the dust changes into a familiar—and dreadful—haunting visage. Across from her the apparition of her dreams stands cooly, its head held high and the same expressionless mask as always on its face.

“You.” Celestia’s breath hitches in her throat. “What are you doing here?”

The apparition tilts its head, staring at Celestia with what she imagines to be the closest it will ever show to puzzlement. Starting from the hooves and traveling up, it dissipates back into a swirling cloud of ash, before the ash suddenly rockets towards Celestia and engulfs her.

Celestia is brought back to the castle dungeon, her eyes snapping open with a gasp. A trail of black magic streams from Carolhymn to her horn, before sealing itself in Celestia with the same cold, poisonous feeling as the other times she’d touched it.

Carolhymn lies unconscious, still bound in chains, a bit of luster having returned to her coat with the dark magic gone.

Celestia turns to the Captain of the Guard, who stands by the cell door, watching Celestia with apprehension. “Princess?” he asks uncertainly, stepping towards her. “Are you alright? That black magic...”

Celestia shakes her head, holding out a hoof to halt him from coming any closer to her. “I will be fine.” She looks to the unconscious mare being held prisoner by her own kingdom. “Unbind Carolhymn and give her a clean bed to rest on. She should no longer be a threat to herself or anyone else.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“Things are far more dire than I thought.” Celestia turns, lingering in the cell for a moment before marching out of it. “I need to contact my sister at once. We’ll be leaving the castle as soon as possible.”

“Tomorrow at first light?”

Celestia shakes her head, walking back up the winding staircase leading out of the dungeon. “Tonight.”

With that, Celestia leaves the Captain to tend to his fallen guard, knowing she’ll be in good hooves. Her thoughts race to more pressing concerns: the dark magic, and the fact that someone out there also has it and is using it to cause chaos.

On the way to Luna’s room, Celestia runs into none other than the mare herself. Celestia crosses the hall at a trot towards her sister.

“Sister,” Luna says, eying her with concern. “You should be getting to rest early. You have only been up for a day and—”

“We need to leave,” Celestia says, cutting Luna off. “Something’s out there has the same dark magic in it as I do, and it may hold some answers to what this is and why it’s inside of me.”

Luna shakes her head and gives Celestia a perplexed look. “Slow down, Sister. What’s happening?”

Celestia took a breath and started again. “A few outer villages were attacked. Hay Burrow and Gallopelago. There was a guard who returned from a scouting party sent out to one of them, who had a spell cast on her mind. I broke the spell, but the magic that cast it was the same kind that overwhelmed me before I fainted.”

“And the magic did not come from you?” Luna asks

“No,” Celestia answers, shaking her head. “Something out there is using it to destroy villages and drive ponies mad.”

“You wish to pursue them?” Luna asks. Celestia gives her a quick nod. “I do not think that is wise in your current state. You only just woke up after having been unconscious for days!”

Celestia gives Luna a resolute stare, ignoring her advice. “This is important.”

Luna glances around the hallway, seeing if anyone may be overhearing their conversation before letting out a defeated sigh. “I can tell when I’ll be unable of talking you out of something.”

“I want you to come along,” Celestia says, causing Luna’s eyebrows raise in surprise. “You wished to help me with this burden. I understand if you do not want to come along, I am only trying to respect that wish.”

Luna tsks Celestia and holds her snout high. “You won’t forget me that easily. I’ll come.” She pauses and arches an eyebrow, a smile slowly spreading across her face. “We could bring Rose Flame and Storm Gale. You spoke before of traveling with our apprentices.”

Celestia blanks for a moment, before putting on an incredulous glare. “No! Absolutely not! They would be in far too much danger!”

“With us there to protect them? What would they possibly have to fear?”

Celestia’s mouth opens and closes a few times trying to form an argument, but eventually she just bites her tongue and shoots Luna an annoyed look. “I do not like the idea of this, but I do suppose they would be safe with us. Storm Gale was to spend the coming week with her father.”

“She will still have a week when she returns, safe and sound,” Luna says in a soothing tone.

“Yes. That she will,” Celestia says, defeated.

Luna straightens and clears her throat. “Now, when had you planned on leaving?”

“Tonight.”

Luna’s face fell. “Oh dear, I suppose one of us needs to go wake Rose Flame and Storm Gale then?”

Celestia nods in the affirmative. “I will. I’ll need you to go and prepare a few basic supplies for the journey.” She starts past Luna, only to pause and glance back to her. “Meet me at the front gate in half an hour’s time.”

Luna nods, turning and walking off towards the kitchens and servants’ quarters, while Celestia heads back towards their students’ private rooms. They are spread somewhat far apart, each at a different corner on the south wall of the castle. Celestia hastens her steps.

She goes to Storm Gale’s room first, barging in through the door with the hopes that it might wake the pegasus. An obnoxious snoring greets her, and on the bed Storm Gale lies on her back with her hooves sticking up in the air, her sheets a mess.

Celestia looks at the display and sighs, wondering how her student failed to pick up any of her habits.

Imbuing her voice with magic, Celestia takes a deep breath. “Storm Gale!”

Storm’s snoring abruptly stops and she rolls over to her chest, opening her eyes and blinking at Celestia. “Huh? What’s going on?” she mumbles sleepily.

“Pack a few small, basic things. We’re going on a trip away from the castle.”

“Away?” Storm asks, sitting up and rubbing her eyes. “To where?”

“There’s an urgent matter Luna and I must attend to. It was her idea to bring you and Rose along.” Celestia’s nose wrinkles in distaste of the idea, still.

“Oh, okay.” Storm hops out of bed, glancing at her bathroom. “I guess I’d just bring basic stuff? Like a hair brush and whatever?”

Celestia nods, sending Storm Gale to go inside her bathroom and look for what things she needs to bring.

As Storm Gale drops a saddlebag open on the floor and begins to put things in it, she glances back over her shoulder at Celestia. “So... uh... how long are we going to be gone for?”

“The flight there may take about two days.” Celestia lowers her head slightly. “And I’m not sure how many days it will take to resolve this issue once we’re there.”

Storm slows putting things in her pack, coming to a dead halt by the time Celestia finishes. Her face falls and her ears droop. “Oh.”

Celestia walks over to Storm and rests a wing gently touching her shoulder. “It should not be long. You’ll get to visit your father when we get back same as before, just at a different date.”

“Well, yeah, but I told him in my letters myself that I’d be visiting him next week.” Storm rubs her foreleg. “And he said he was really looking forward to it.” She bites her lip, pushing a few soap bars off the counter and into her bag with a wing. “He was lonely before without mom around, but with me living in the castle, too, it seems like it’s really been getting to him from the letters he sends.” Storm pokes the floor with an uneasy frown. “And I’ve missed him, too.”

Celestia lowers herself to Storm Gale’s eye level. “I won’t force you to come. Family is important, and I know I would feel the exact same way you do if it were me and Luna in your position.”

Jumping up and down on her hooves, Storm Gale lets out a long moan. “B-but Rose Flame is going and I’ve always wanted to go on a trip away from the castle. And besides, what if something totally awesome happened and I wasn’t there?” She bites her lip. “Five or Six days?”

“It may be longer,” Celestia reminds gently.

The frown on Storm Gale’s lips stretches. Walking over to a window at a far end of the bathroom, she rests her hooves upon it and looks out at the city, even as the encroaching dark begins to obscure it. After a moment of staring out, she climbs down and looks back at Celestia. “Can I write him a letter before we go?”

For a moment, Celestia second guesses her decision to rush their departure. But then she remembers the guardspony in the dungeon, Carolhymn, her hooves blooded around her shackles, and just how very tired she looked. “No,” Celestia says. “I’m afraid we don’t have that much time. I’ll leave instruction with one of my advisors to send a letter explaining the delay to your father.”

Hearing this, Storm takes a deep breath, puffing up her cheeks and letting it out slowly. Her gaze, however, remains determined still. “Okay. I’ll go.” She turns back to the bathroom counter, reaching in a drawer and tossing a towel in her saddlebag before closing it. “Should I bring blankets? Or...?”

“We will be fine without. Luna or I can keep a campsite warm with magic if need be.”

Celestia walks out of the bathroom to her student’s desk, picking up a quill and parchment and writing a brief note to the Captain concerning Storm’s father. Setting the quill down, she rolls up the parchment and makes it disappear in a puff of smoke, teleporting it to the Captain’s desk.

Storm walks out of the bathroom, tightening her saddlebag’s straps with her teeth. She spots the faint dust of magic from Celestia’s spell. “Was that for my father?”

Celestia nods, turning towards the door and beckoning Storm. “Come, let us wake Rose Flame.”

They step outside, Storm’s door swinging shut echoing loudly throughout the castle. Seeing the halls dark and without lamplight, Celestia summons magic to her horn, creating a glow for them to walk by. The sun sets late over Everfree. And when it does, the night grows dark quickly.

Celestia and Storm Gale arrive at Rose Flame’s room, Celestia taking more care with the door this time, and walks quietly as she can over to Rose Flame’s bed.

“Rose Flame!” she hisses, causing the pony to stir and blink up at her listlessly.

“Princess Celestia?” she mumbles. She raises her head slightly, spotting Storm Gale standing back by the door. “Did something happen?”

“We’re leaving on a trip west to take care of some urgent matters. Luna suggested we bring you and Storm along,” Celestia answers. “We plan to leave tonight and fly. It will be a bit less than a week’s journey.”

“Oh, okay.” Rose gets out of bed, standing before Celestia and rubbing her eyes.

“Take anything you may need from here, but do try to pack light. We hope to make good time.”

Rose Flame gives her a stiff nod and walks off to a dresser on the opposite side of the room, opening it and taking out a nearly-empty, warn saddlebag and tightening it on with her magic.

“Ready,” she says, standing at attention.

Celestia gives the skinny saddlebag a doubtful look. “Are you sure that’s enough?”

Behind Celestia, Storm Gale chuckles. “Yeah, ‘cause if you start to stink, you’re sleeping on the opposite side of camp from me.”

“I don’t need much, Princess. My brains and my magic serve me well,” Rose Flame answers the Princess, formally. She then gives a cool, sidelong glance at Storm Gale. “But I suppose those of us who have neither may not be able to pack so light.”

A growl starts deep in Storm Gale’s throat, but Celestia cuts her off before she manages to start. “Good,” she says. “Then we may head down to the front gate. Luna should be already be waiting for us there with some basic supplies for our trip.”

Rose Flame and Celestia join Storm Gale by the door. Storm can’t help but snicker and point a hoof at Rose’s bed-razzled mane that one can liken to a hedgehog that had one half run over by a cart. Rose blushes and puts a hoof over her head to flatten it. “Oh, shush.”

The three of them begin to head down to the courtyard, Celestia walking at a brisk pace while the other two stumble sleepily on either side of her, staying close to the light she emits. It isn’t long before they step out into the cool night air. Crickets buzz, and off in one of the trees an owl hoots as the castle doors close behind them.

“So, uh... hey, Princess?” Storm asks, looking up at Celestia out of the corner of her eye. “Think you could tell us a bit more about why we’re going on this trip?”

Celestia stays quiet for a moment before answering, thinking her answer through. “A few of the outlying towns have been attacked recently. We believe it to be the work of a powerful magic user, capable of teleporting great distances.” She hesitates for a moment, glancing at Rose Flame and Storm Gale in turn. “Also, the color of the magic they use was black.”

“Black?” Rose Flame asks in surprise. “But how can someone’s magic be black?”

“I don’t know,” Celestia answers, her brow knotting in worry.

Beside her, Storm Gale looks between the two at a loss. “Huh? I don’t get it. Why does the color of the magic matter?”

“You really don’t study much, do you?” Rose Flame says, arching an eyebrow at her. Storm’s face reddens and she looks at the dirt. “The color of a unicorn’s magic is said to be a reflection of their soul. Mine is yellow, Celestia’s is white, while Luna’s is deep blue.” Rose Flame looks straight ahead, her ears twitching. “For somepony to have black magic, it says something about them.”

“Yes,” Celestia says, averting her eyes to the ground as the front gate, and Luna with a half-dozen saddlebags, comes into view. “It does.”

The three of them stop, standing apart from from Luna in an uneasy silence.

“Huh.” Storm Gale looks back at the castle, smiling. “I’ve never actually left Everfree.”

“It’s not that glamorous out there, believe me,” Rose Flame says, blowing a stray piece of her mane out of her face.

Storm doesn’t let Rose’s sourness affect her mood. “Still! Ha! We’re going on an adventure! Isn’t it exciting?!”

A smirk finds its way to Rose Flame’s lips, even as she shakes her head at Storm’s excitement.

Luna levitates the saddle bags, two each onto her and Celestia’s back, and one each for Storm and Rose, fastening them tightly around each pony’s saddle. “It is best if we are off while the wind is still,” Luna says, glancing up at the sky.

Celestia and Storm stand by as Luna lowers herself to allow Rose Flame to climb onto her back. Seeing them, Celestia turns to Storm. “Would you like to ride on my back so that you may get some rest?”

Storm Gale looks up at Celestia with a smirk. “No way, I totally got this.”

“Very well,” Celestia says with a knowing smile.

Luna and Rose take off, with Celestia and Storm quick to follow. They start by ascending high into the night, before leveling off and gliding on the higher currents. The entire city lies below them, shrouded in dark aside from a few dozen lamplights, candled windows, and torchlit city walls. The last of which, they are flying over now as they leave the city behind.

Part 11: Flight

Flight

Equestria from Dust, by soundslikeponies

Celestia steadies her wings against a gust of wind, keeping the sleeping Storm Gale expertly balanced between her wings. The still-young mare hadn’t known her bounds, and Celestia had to catch her before she dropped right out of the sky.

To her side, Rose Flame is still awake, though barely. Her hooves grip Luna’s neck tightly, and her eyes seem to roam anywhere but down.

She catches Celestia’s eye on her. Her eyes are barely staying open. “Is it much further?”

“Yes,” Celestia answers, frowning and looking down at the road they are following. “Are you unable to sleep on Luna’s back? She’s a bit boney and uncomfortable, but she won’t let you fall.”

Luna gives her a flat look and snorts.

“I know,” Rose answers, yawning and shifting her vice grip around Luna’s neck. “I’ll be fine, just—” Another yawn interrupts her. “Just a bit of sleepiness.”

The corners of Luna’s mouth tug back. She shoots Celestia a worried look. “There should be an inn someplace ahead on this road. The last one we passed is nearly a days walk behind us now.”

Celestia nods to her sister. “We’ll stop and rest there. We won’t lose much time in doing so.”

“Dear, Sister,” Luna says, steering closer to Celestia. Her voice drops to a hiss that her apprentice’s ears can’t pick up over the wind, but Celestia’s can. “I understand that you want to find the one causing all this quickly, but you should not hasten it so. This is something we want to go at with our eyes and ears open, and you have to consider how this makes us look to our apprentices.”

Celestia glances up Luna’s back at Rose Flame. The young mare is glancing between the two of them and trying to make out what they’re saying. Celestia slows down to move at a more relaxed pace. “We will find someplace to rest soon. Will you be alright a while longer?”

Rose’s eyes snap back open at being asked a question. “Yes, Princess.”

A two story building with a shingled roof appears in the distance, though odd for an inn, its lights are all off. Celestia and Luna straighten their wings to slowly descend below cloud level, a cool mist splashing their faces as they pass through a cloud.

They land by a sign that reads “Favor’s Inn”, and Celestia and Luna glance at one another uncertainly. The front door’s shut, along with all the windows.

“Hello!” Celestia calls, “is anypony in there?”

Silence answers.

Celestia walks up to the door, knocking her hoof on it and then pressing her ear against it. Something shuffles on the other side. “I can hear you in there! We’re just looking for a place to stay until morning!”

“Who’s there?!” a scared, male voice snaps back from behind the door. “Did you come from Hay Burrow?”

“No, we’re heading there from Everfree, and we need a place to rest.” Celestia walks around to one of the windows, trying to peek through the blinds. “Can you offer us that?”

“Heh, you don’t want to go to Hay Burrow, lady. That place’s become lawless. Had a few folk stumble out of there and come to this here inn. Tried to help them. Won’t make that mistake again.” There’s a short pause. “You never said who you are!”

“I’m Princess Celestia, and I’m here with my Sister Luna and our two students.”

“You said you wasn’t from Hay Burrow!” the voice shrieks, back on full alarm.

“We’re not! We’re heading there from Everfree!”

“Only some kinda madpony would think that they’re the Princess, and right now all the madponies in the world are comin' outta Hay Burrow!”

Celestia takes a step back from the door. A harsh midnight breeze blows past them, causing the inn’s sign to creak and sway. Sitting on her haunches, Rose Flame hugs her forehooves around herself and shivers.

“He really doesn’t have any reason to believe it is us,” Luna says, stepping up to Celestia’s side. “It would be simple to blast this door open.”

“I would find us a cave or large oak tree to sleep under before that happens,” Celestia says, quickly halting any notion of them breaking and entering. “Though I would much sooner convince him to let us in than that, either.”

“Let me try,” Luna says. She steps up to the door and briefly presses her ear to it, before taking it away and speaking. “This is Princess Luna.”

“Oh great! There’s two of you!” the nasally voice shoots back. Luna ignores it and continues.

“Last night you dreamt about your father. He raised you in Hay Burrow, didn’t he? You used to always look forward to the pumpkin harvest, even when you were much too young to work on the farm. You’d try to help out, and your father would always make a pumpkin pie that night to reward you.”

Luna pauses for a moment, silence coming from the other side of the door. “You also dreamt of your mother. You only have a few memories of her from when you were very young.”

Not a sound comes from behind the door. Taking a deep breath, Luna begins to sing:

Hiding amidst the pumpkin patch

Sits the Raven, the Ram, and Scratch

The Raven hides under his wing

The Ram hides for its spring

And little Scratch hides till I sing

Hiding amidst the pumpkin patch

The sound of a metal bolt and chain sliding out of place comes from behind the door. Two more separate locks click, and the door hesitantly opens. An old, tired face belonging to a stallion peeks out from behind it.

He takes his straw hat off and places it over his chest, his eyes falling to the ground. “I haven’t heard anypony sing that song for thirty years...” He looks up at Luna, his wrinkled lips cracking as he smiles at her. “Thank you.”

Luna nods and smiles, before looking past him at the inside of the deserted inn. “Could we stay the night? We have two very tired children.”

The stallion clears his throat and puts his hat back on his head. “Oh, absolutely, absolutely,” he said, walking back inside and leaving an open invitation for the four of them to follow him. “Sorry your highnesses. I don’t know where my manners have run off to.”

Once they are all inside, the stallion quickly doubles back behind them, hastily doing up the two locks and bolt on the door.

“Scratch’s just what my ma and pa called me when I was a little tucker. My name’s Favor, as you well mighta seen on the sign out there,” Favor says, pointing at the door.

“Well, thank you, Favor,” Celestia says, taking a step forward. “We don’t have any bits with us, but I can see to it that you are paid for our visit once we get back to the Castle.”

“Ah, hay, don’t even bother. I figure having the Princesses visit is enough of a story to be worth the coin of havin’ ya... Assuming you really is Princesses.”

“I can assure you, my sister and I are very much who we say we are,” Celestia says.

“No, no, I believe you two are at the very least some kinda royalty or noblety.” Favor walks around the inn’s counter and scans the back of it. “Drink? I have a few fine bottles of mead or cider, whichever strikes yer fancy.”

“No, thank you. My sister and I don’t drink.”

Favor takes a dark scotch bottle with a fine layer of dust on it, brushing it off and placing it on the counter. “Eh, suit yourself,” he says, opening the scotch. An aroma pervades the air from it almost instantly, and it’s the kind that makes the eyes water.

Coughing at the floor once, Favor tips the glass to his lips and downs the shot with a self-satisfied sigh. “You don’t carry yourselves like no merchant or farmer, and while you certainly look like what I’ve heard the Princesses look like, I’ve also heard that they haven’t left Everfree Castle for ‘round about decade.”

Celestia straightens, standing opposite him on the other side of the counter. “There are a myriad of things that need attending to back at the Castle. My sister and I have been much more involved with our land’s affairs than the kings and queens that came before us.”

Favor gives Celestia a waned smile. “Well I guess that is true, not that us country folk are privy to the goings on at the Castle.” Screwing the lid back on the scotch, he tucks it back under the counter. As he looks back up at Celestia, his eyes suddenly widen. “Well! You must be starved! Will you be having some supper? I can prepare some warm bread and a stew. Wouldn’t take long.”

A small frown comes to Celestia’s lips, and she shoots a look back at her sleeping pupil slung over her back. “It’s been a long flight, and our students really are quite tired—”

“Ah, say no more,” Favor interrupts, lifting his lantern from the counter. “I’ll just show you the rooms then.”

Celestia nods, relieved. “Thank you.”

Favor leads her and Luna up a set of creaky steps to the second floor. She holds Storm Gale with her wings, making sure she doesn’t slip. At the top of the stairs, Favor leads them down a hallway and points to four different doors at the end of it.

“Not any other guests, so feel free to take a room each to yourselves. Just let me know if you switch rooms so I know which rooms’ sheets I’ll have to change after.” Favor opens the latch on the door of his lantern. Sticking his muzzling in the cage, he puts the light out with his tongue. “And no candlelight, alright? Things have quieted down, but there’s still a few lunatics wandering around out there.”

“We’ll be discreet,” Celestia promises. She takes Storm inside one of the rooms and lays her on the bed.

Favor walks to the window at the end of the hall, peeking between the blinds as he hangs his blown-out lantern on a hook nearby. “Well, then,” he says, walking back to the doorways of the rooms Celestia and Luna are in. “Sleep tight!”

The floorboards creak under-hoof as he walks away, leaving Celestia and Luna in the darkened corner of the inn with their two passed-out students.

Luna yawns loud and long. “We are being given an opportunity to rest, so rest I shall,” she says, closing her door but leaving it open by just a hair for a moment longer. “Goodnight, dear Sister.”

Celestia opens her eyes to find herself lying in a lush spring forest on the grass. It’s softer than any bed she’s ever slept in. A part of her wants to simply shut her eyes and fall back asleep, but the awake part of her keeps them open and looks around. The sky the bright blue of a sunny day, yet try as she may to look for it, the sun doesn’t appear to be anywhere in sight, despite how glowing and warm the forest is. And it’s then that her mind wakes up and she realizes she’s in another dream.

Celestia makes to stand, but freezes as she hears the sound of padded hoofsteps against the grass. They stop directly behind her. Celestia hesitantly turns around, expecting, and knowing, that the ashen copy of Luna stands behind her.

But it doesn’t. Instead, a different, much less malefic, copy of Luna stands before her. Its mane and coat are white as sunlight and its presence holds a strong warmth and comfort.

Celestia stares at the spirit for a while, not sure what to make of it. “Who are you? Is this a trick?” She walks around the spirit, peering at it for a far more familiar black in its coat. She finds none. Its coat is as pure and white as a first snowfall. But still, she keeps circling it, examining it.

The spirit follows Celestia with its eyes as she walks circles around it. Celestia meets its eyes and notices something that greatly differentiates it from the ashen apparition she was expecting. It almost seems as if it has a slight smile, a sincere one, unlike the apparition.

She stops examining the spirit, satisfied for the time being. “What are you?”

Like its opposite, the apparition, the spirit remains mute. Instead, it turns around to walk away, looking over its shoulder at Celestia and motioning for her to follow. Celestia obeys. It leads her all the way to the edge of the forest, where the ground suddenly gives way to the edge of this world, an endless bright blue down below. Looking down at it feels the same as looking up at the sky.

The spirit spreads its wings and flies off the edge of the world, turning back and facing Celestia, waiting for her to do the same.

Celestia spreads her wings and goes to the spirit, glancing back at the forest behind her and seeing that it’s floating in the air. But now the sky is all around her, and the spirit begins to fly away, leaving Celestia to follow it again.

They fly endlessly. The forest island has long since disappeared into the distance behind them, and though they have been flying for what must have been days, Celestia doesn’t feel the slightest bit sore nor tired. As they fly the sky changes to night, stars dotting the sky--but no moon, and then even that eventually fades to a starless black.

Celestia speeds up and pulls alongside the spirit. “We’ve been flying for a while now, and I’m bound to wake up soon. Where are you taking me?”

The spirit glances at her and motions up ahead of them, and Celestia looks back ahead to see a large, stone arch floating in the dark, a pair of magic floating crystals lighting its archway. The two of them land on the stone platform in front of it and Celestia looks up at the arch, marveling at its height which seems to stretch as high as the Everfree Palace. The spirit, however, wastes no time and walks inside. Celestia notices and snaps out of her gazing, quickly following it.

They walk through the dark for a while, the spirit’s body glowing with white light like a beacon for Celestia to follow. Eventually, a wall comes into sight, the mural from her other dreams, and it’s changed yet again. The mural still shows the world, and Luna and her flying around it, but now it shows another, much larger painting of silver flames rising up from the floor. The colors of the flame are alive, streaks of black and white mixing and twining around one another. And in it, two alicorns stand tall over the world, facing each other over top of it. One is black, and the other white; the one from her dreams past, and the one standing beside her right now.

Celestia turns to the spirit. It simultaneously turns to look at her. Suddenly, Celestia feels a wave of drowsiness pass over her, her eyes struggling to keep open. She looks up at the spirit, whom she believes to be the cause, as it leans forward and plants a gentle kiss on her forehead. Unable to keep her eyes open a moment longer, Celestia closes them as a feeling of warmth floods her chest.

Celestia opens her eyes and finds herself lying back on the bed at the inn. It’s still night, despite how much time passed in the dream, though her room’s illuminated with light, and she quickly sees why.

Standing at the foot of her bed, in the real world, is the white spirit.

Celestia holds up her hooves and eyes them with discern. “Am I still dreaming?” The spirit shakes its head. “How are you outside of my dreams?”

Suddenly the spirit turns and gallops away, running straight through the bedroom’s door and leaving behind a stupefied Celestia.

Regaining her wits, Celestia jumps to her hooves and busts open her room’s door. She catches the end of the spirits tail as it disappears down the stairs, and chases after it. Her hooves thunder down the hall, while the spirit’s steps are voiceless. Darting down the twisting stairs, she catches a the tail end of the spirit again.

The spirit runs out through a wall. Its body fades through the thick wood like glass, leaving a white glow where it passes through. The glow lasts barely a second before it fades.

Celestia whips around to the door at the opposite end of the tavern, and she rushes towards it. A white glow surrounds her horn and deftly unbolts the door, just in time for her to barge through it out into the night.

She pauses for a moment, taking a split second to reconsider chasing after the spirit. A full moon hangs overhead, lighting up the night forest around the tavern. It glows in the same way the spirit does.

She makes up her mind. Galloping back around the side of the inn to where the spirit fled, she spots a glowing trail coming from inn and leading off into the forest. It clings to the moss like paint, but also hangs low to the ground like a mist, and it passes through several trees along its path.

Sprinting, she weaves around the trees the spirit passed through and chases the path deep into the forest. Not even once does she look back. Not even once does she think about how far she has gone. Not even once does she think about how she’ll find her way back.

Chasing through the forest for hours, Celestia finally stumbles upon where the glowing trail leads: a pool in the middle of the forest. Standing atop its surface, is the spirit, staring at her like it’s been waiting the whole time.

Celestia glances around, wondering if there’s something she’s missing. There appears to be nothing but the two of them and a pool of water. “I don’t understand,” she says. “What did you take me here for?”

The spirit walks towards Celestia, across the water’s surface. The pool ripples beneath its hooves and the magic saturating the air around it is nearly palpable, and Celestia takes a step back from it.

Then, a pulse of magic from the spirit washes over her. The tension in her muscles disappears and her stance becomes unguarded. An innermost instinct tells her to trust the spirit, and with great hesitation, she decides to obey it.

“Lead me.”

The spirit nods. It slips beneath the water, diving down into the deceptively chasmic pool’s depths.

Celestia puts her hoof in the water while staring down at the spirit, its glow lighting the walls of an underwater tunnel leading down. The spirit’s looking up at her. A calling from within Celestia pulls her forward. Joining the spirit feels like something she is meant to do, feels like her destiny. She strides into the shallows, closes her eyes, and takes a deep breath.

“Celestia!”

Luna gallops to her, the slight pant in her breath turning to fog in the morning cold. She stops at the water’s edge and approaches Celestia with her brow knit. “What are you doing running off in the middle of the night? And this close to Hay Burrow? We still don’t know what the cause of this dark magic is. What were you thinking?”

“I was following—” Celestia turns to pool of water only to find the spirit gone, the bottomless tunnel leading deep underwater gone with it. “I was following...”

“Following what?” Luna asks. She looks at Celestia, waiting for an answer.

“It was...” Celestia sees the look on Luna’s face. She knows that nothing she can say will be taken credibly. Reaching up, she places a hoof on her forehead as though in pain. “I was seeing lights. I must have followed them all the way out here into the forest.” Luna still glares at her, unsatisfied. “I followed them much farther than I realized. Sorry.”

Luna’s lips form a tight line as she weighs Celestia’s explanation in her head. Eventually her stern expression softens. “You should not have come out here so soon after your recovery. I wonder if you should even be flying at all.”

“I can fly,” Celestia says, a bit too quickly, she realizes.

“I’m not going to stop you if you are so determined to make this trip, Celestia, but please realize that your actions are causing me concern. And that I do worry about you—almost all the time.”

“We’ve been together for millenia. You will have known by now that I’m not somepony whom you should worry over.”

Luna shakes her head, a dark chuckle coming from between her lips. “I have known you for millenia. That is why I worry. Even after all this time there are moments when you feel like a complete stranger to me. Never once have I managed to truly know what you are thinking. And that makes me worry about the uncertainty, the uncertainty of what you’ll do.”

Celestia falls quiet as Luna speaks, casting her eyes to the water. A ball of guilt, from making Luna worry, settles in the pit of her stomach. “Sorry, Sister.”

Luna reaches out and tips Celestia’s chin up to look at her. “You are what you are. You are my sister, and I’ll love you no matter what.”

Celestia feels herself return the smile—somewhat, though it is slightly painful to do.

Luna turns back towards the inn. “Come, we may still rest an hour before we leave.”

Celestia nods, and begins to follow Luna back to the inn. All the while her gaze wanders back over her shoulder, back to where the spirit had been.

Her eyes catch a white glow and she stops in her tracks. Luna clears her throat, bringing Celestia’s attention back to her.

“Quickly now, Sister. We don’t want to leave Storm and Rose by themselves for long.”

Hearing their students’ names, Celestia straightens and firmly forces herself to look away from the pool of water. “You’re right. It’s not safe here,” she says. Striding past Luna, she sets a fast gait back towards the inn. It’s soon matched by Luna, after her initial surprise at Celestia’s sudden reversal of behavior.

They arrive at the inn to find Rose Flame and Storm Gale still fast asleep, the two of them having slept through Celestia storming down the halls. The innkeeper, on the other hoof, doesn’t really have an excuse for having slept through it, other than maybe being a bit hard of hearing.

They walk up to their rooms, where Luna bids Celestia goodnight for the second time that night, before retiring to her bed and falling asleep.

Celestia lies down on her bed. Images of the white spirit and fear of another dream keep her from sleeping, and she begins to wonder just what would have happened had Luna not been there to interrupt her.

It’s a restless hour before they leave the inn.

Celestia and Luna descend to a high hill overlooking Hay Burrow. Storm hops off Celestia’s back, gliding the rest of the way down to the ground ahead of them. A smile of adventure spreads across her face.

The ground is frozen solid, and blades of ice grass crack and break beneath Storm’s hooves as she lands upon the hill.

“There’s smoke!” she shouts, grinning.

And there is. Celestia and Luna land behind her and step forward to get a good look at the village down below. Great white plumes rise from several of the houses, marring what may otherwise look like a peaceful morning.

Part 12: Discord

Discord

Equestria from Dust, by soundslikeponies

“I just wanted to come out and play.”

Celestia and Luna walk through the town, their students sticking close by their sides. It’s eerily quiet. No sounds of birds, squirrels—or of any of the other westwood creatures. Just a shallow breeze, fanning the outlying fields, and the sharp crackle of burning wood.

Luna surveys the abandoned town around them. “Where are all the villagers?” she asks.

“I don’t know,” Celestia replies, gaining a frown that mirrors her sister’s. “I only spotted four ponies on the ground while we flew over. With a farming town this size, there should have been at least fifty or more.”

“I spotted five,” Luna says, “but yes, you’re right. We first started getting reports about it too recently for everypony to have already left.”

“You think most of the town disappeared?”

“Maybe. If the one behind this is behind Gallepelago as well, wouldn’t it make sense that they could teleport? Maybe teleporting a whole town full of ponies was within their power.”

As Celestia and Luna talk, Storm Gale spaces out, staring at in a window of one of the houses. Childrens’ figurines rest in its windowsill, now abandoned by their owners.

“Scared?” Rose Flame asks.

Storm breaks her gaze away from the window, turning to her. “What? No!” she says, puffing out her chest and trying to regain her posture. “I’m not scared of no empty houses.”

“Well, I’m scared.”

Storm blinks, not entirely sure she heard Rose correctly. “You are?”

“I don’t know if you’ve been paying attention, but from the way the Princesses are acting, and the fact that an entire town went mad—most of them vanishing into thin air—you’d have to be stupid to not be scared.”

Storm opens her mouth to retort, almost by instinct, but whatever she was going to say dies in her mouth, seeing the weight and seriousness Rose’s expression has. She rubs her hoof into the soil, her confident posture deflating slightly. She glances at rose. “D’you think the Princesses are scared of him?”

“No,” Rose says, shaking her head.

Her words return some of Storm’s confidence, but it’s short lived as a blur of movement passes by the sides of Storm Gale’s vision. “Hey!” she shouts, grabbing Rose’s attention, as well as Celestia and Luna’s. “I saw something move!”

The four of them all follow Storm Gale’s gaze to the house that she was looking into earlier; it’s disturbingly still.

Then, a long, brown-furred head pops up into the window, looking out at them. At seeing the four of them there, its eyes widen: two red pupils that stare out from the bright yellow irises of an owl—or a wolf. Possibly even some mix of the two. In a similar fashion, the horns sitting above its head are a mismatch of an antler and something not belonging to any animal that has ever lived in Equestria.

The person to whom the head belonged to left the window and stepped outside, their long lithe body having to thread itself through the doorway.

“Ah! Hello, my little ponies!” he—judging by its voice—greeted.

Celestia and Luna stepped out in front of Storm and Rose respectively, pushing their students safely behind them.

Celestia steps forward, her lips forming a thin line of hostility. “Who are you? What are you doing here?” she asks.

“Who am I...” the creature replies, tapping its chin in thought. “You know, I haven’t given it much thought. I suppose I just pushed it to the back of my mind, as so many others do, hoping that someday I’ll have an enlightening self-realization about myself.” The creature grinned at Celestia mockingly. “As for what I am doing here, I’m really just having a bit of fun.”

“Fun?” Luna says, stepping up beside her sister. “Are you the one who caused all this?”

The creature takes a long, sweeping bow with a wide grin. “Guilty as charged,” he answers, crossing his arms and looking around at the burning, and abandoned, town. “You should have seen it before I was here: so dreadfully dull and boring. It’s definitely much better now. Look.” He walks over to where several of the houses were on fire and throws his arms up towards the sky. Taking a deep breath, he lets out a satisfied sigh. “Doesn’t the smoke just bring the scene together?”

Celestia and Luna lower their heads and bare their horns at him, ready to attack him at a moment’s notice.

“Why?” Storm asks, poking her head out from behind Celestia. She glares at him. “Why’d you do it?”

The creature disappears in a puff of smoke and reappears beside Storm Gale “It’s quite simple my dear,” he says, scratching her chin amusedly with one of his talons.

The four of them jump at suddenly seeing him in the middle of them. Celestia and Luna whirl around, and seeing him so close to Storm, charge at him.

For his part, he simply floated away from them, chuckling. “The reason why is because and the because is the reason why.”

Storm Gale’s nose scrunches up in confusion. “Huh?”

The creature rolls its eyes. “Oh, nevermind. I was just trying to skip to the point of not making one.”

“Are you saying you attacked this village just because you could?” Celestia asks, her eyes narrowing.

The creature claps its hands together, smiling broadly. “Precisely! Now, see, that’s why you’re the teacher, and she’s the student,” he says, gesturing to them in turn.

Celestia’s eyes widen. “Do we know each other?”

“No,” he replies. “... Well, yes. Yes and no. See, I know you, but as you’re probably very well aware, you don’t know me.” He pauses, biting his nails and wagging a finger at her. “It would help if I had a name, wouldn’t it?”

Celestia ignores his last comment. “How do you know me?”

The creature, likewise, chooses to ignore her. “Draconequus?”

“What?”

“I’m trying to think of a name,” he says, stroking his white bushy goatee. “No, no, no, draconequus won’t do. You ponies name yourselves based off what your special talent is, correct?” Suddenly his eyebrows shoot up, and he snaps his fingers. “Discord! Ah, yes, that’s the perfect name! I would consider chaos to be my special talent, after all.”

Celestia’s patience wanes with his ongoing antics. Her horn glows, and white magic ropes materialize around the newly named Discord. The ropes coil around him and throw him to the ground, pinning him, an extra binding materializing around his mouth to tie it shut.

He struggles against his magic bonds fruitlessly, barely making them budge at all, as Celestia walks up to him and stares down at him.

“I will not have you bringing any harm to those within my kingdom—”

“Oh, you think that you can stop me?”

The voice comes from behind Celestia. A copy of Discord struts towards her as the copy she had bound disappears in a puff of smoke. Celestia glares at him, but makes no further move against him.

A wide, toothed smile stretches across Discord’s face. “It’s so fun seeing you frustrated, Princess. You hardly ever let your anger show, do you? All those loyal subjects looking up to you, it must be awfully hard to maintain your composure, especially since it was only you and Luna for so many thousands of years.”

Celestia’s eyes widen, her mind racing to think of how he could know that. She glances back at Storm and Rose. The two of them are staring at her with a curious and confused awe. They look at her as though she is a stranger, and not the mentor who had taken them in as children. Truth be told, the first is as true as the second.

She turns back to discord, hate broiling in her gut—something she rarely felt for anyone. “How do you know me?” she asks between clenched teeth.

“Everyone knows who you are, Princess,” Discord says, mockingly. “It comes with the title.”

Celestia takes a deep breath to calm herself, not wanting to give him the satisfaction of seeing her rattled. “How do you know of the time that predates ponykind?” she asks again.

“Well, I was there in a sense. You didn’t really think you were alone back then, did you? That you—” He cuts himself off and looks at Luna, a sly grin spreading across his lips. “That you two were the origin of everything?”

Celestia feels the coat hairs on the back of her neck stiffen, the implication of his cut off not lost on her. “We traveled around the earth many times. We never saw anyone else.”

“But don’t you wonder where the earth came from? Where magic came from? Magic isn’t just an ability that unicorns have, it saturates everything, right down to the air itself. I dare say: for being so intimate with magic, you know very little about it.”

“Do you know?” Celestia counters.

“Goodness gracious, no. But doesn’t it just make you curious?” Discord asks, grinning at her.

“I’ve long since given up on asking questions without answers.”

Discord laughs, a small chuckle that slips out. “That’s quite funny, because I know you, Celestia, and I know that you haven’t.”

“Tell me, Celestia, what do you call real?”

Celestia raises an eyebrow. “Pardon?”

Discord tries again, more slowly, with patience. “What do you call reality, and what do you call a dream?”

“Dreams are figments of our imagination that happen while we sleep.”

“Oh? So you’ve never had a dream where you questioned whether or not it was real? And you’ve never seen something while awake and questioned whether or not you were dreaming?”

Celestia opens her mouth to answer, but falters. The image of the two spirits pop into her head, and she closes her mouth, falling silent.

“I think you have,” Discord says smugly.

She bites her tongue, resisting the urge to argue.

“So magic...” Discord paces deliberately, tapping his claws against his talons. “It allows you to create anything you can think of—anything you can dream of. This whole world—” Discord gestures to the town area around them. “—is really nothing more than a product of your imagination. You dreamt of the sun, the oceans, the sands, and the trees. By what definition do you not call this a dream?”

“What are you playing at?”

Discord puts a claw on his chest and straightens his back. “Why, nothing—for a change,” he says quite innocently. He takes a look at Celestia, then shakes his head sadly. “You don’t have an answer for anything, do you?”

Luna steps up and nudges Celestia’s shoulder, whispering in her ear, “Sister, he is talking in circles to distract you. Remember, we came here to stop him.”

“We don’t know how his magic works. What would you suggest?” Celestia whispers back.

Discord coughs into his fist. “Oh, don’t mind me,” he says, throwing the two of them an annoyed glare. “I’ll just go back to having fun if you think we’re done here.”

Luna steps forward, before Celestia can raise a hoof to stop her, and her horn surrounds with a blue glow. The same glow surrounds Discord, though he merely rolls his eyes and chuckles. “A paralysis spell. How cute.” With a snap of his clawed fingers, the blue glow around him pops, disappearing. “You really should pay attention to your sister. She is the smart one, after all.”

Luna bares her teeth, her horn glowing as she readies another spell.

Pointing at her, Discord bursts into laughter anew, wiping mirthful tears from the corners of his eyes. “What are you going to do next? Tickle torture me until I stopped—oh, actually I may quite like that—ahaha!”

The glow surrounding Luna’s horn steadily grows, her blue magic pulsing with power and flickering like fire. Luna points her horn at Discord and releases her magic. A fireball the size of a large pony shoots from the tip of her horn at Discord, who halts his hysterics once he sees the giant fireball heading his way.

The fireball strikes him. Flames splash on hitting their target much like a ball of water would. The ground, too, becomes engulfed in flames around where he was struck, turning into a roaring funeral pyre for him.

But then Discord jumps out of the bonfire, dancing around with bits of him aflame. He huffs and puffs on them, trying to pat the flames down with his paw, until eventually he manages to get them all put out. When he finishes, he turns to Luna, a very indignant expression upon his muzzle.

Luna’s mouth drops open, the surprise at seeing him walk out of her spell relatively unscathed leaving her speechless.

“You want to be hostile?” Discord asks. “Then fine, we’ll be hostile. I didn’t do anything to you or your sister when you entered my territory out of respect for the mutual bond we share, but clearly that respect is not mutual.”

Luna glares at him and readies another spell on the tip of her horn.

Celestia spins in front of her, placing herself between the path of the readied spell and Discord. “Luna, stop!”

Luna’s eyes widen. She rears back and hastily kills the glow of her horn. “Celestia, what are you doing? We came here to stop him!”

“We came here to save the villagers,” Celestia replies evenly. “The only one here who knows where they are is...” Celestia glances over her shoulder at Discord, her eyes narrowing. “Him.”

Discord watched the two of them with a wide grin, tapping his fingers together. His air is like that of a trouble-making child, and his grin constantly threatens to split his face. Celestia’s eyebrows raise in realization.

“You’re keeping the villagers somewhere,” she states.

“That is correct,” Discord answers with a sly smile.

Celestia looks at the ground, her eyes searching it as she ponders. “You know me...” She mumbles, meeting Discord’s eyes. “You don’t care about the villagers at all.”

“Note entirely true,” Discord says. “They manage to provide some entertainment.”

“You clearly want me, so why not let them go?”

Discord slithers up to Celestia. Beside them, Luna tenses, her horn faintly glowing and at the ready. Celestia, however, doesn’t even flinch. Even as Discord reaches down and tilts her chin up with one of his razor-sharp talons.

“Then,” Discord says, his hot breath blowing on her face. “Whatever would I motivate you with?”

As Discord finishes this sentence, his eyebrows raise, a creeping smile accompanying a realization. The next look he gives Celestia makes her anxious; he wiggles his eyebrows, a knowing smile upon his smug visage—knowing of what, Celestia has no idea.

The look barely even lasts a second. Discord gives a heavy-hearted sigh. “Oh, all right.” He raises a claw and snaps his fingers, over sixty dazed and hypnotized villagers teleporting a short distance away from them in a blast of purple magic.

Celestia’s mouth hangs open slightly, having never expected him to actually do as she requested.

“You know, Celestia, I really am disappointed in you,” Discord says, folding his arms and clucking his tongue. “I never thought you’d be so selfish.”

Celestia turns from the newly returned villagers. “Selfish?”

“Some part of you still sees these ponies as creations you made from the earth. You have trouble wanting to save them because you simply can’t sympathize with them.”

Celestia blows hot air through her nose. “You don’t know me as well as you wish to believe. I came here, did I not?”

“You’re confusing your sense of duty with your sense of passion,” Discord says. “No, I don’t believe you don’t care about any of your subjects.” Discord’s mouth snakes its way to a grin. His eyes look past Celestia. “Except...”

Celestia follows his gaze behind her. Her blood runs cold when she stops on Rose Flame and Storm Gale. When she’d stopped Luna’s attack, she’d left their side. Luna notices as well and reacts.

“Rose! Storm! Run to me!” Luna screams urgently.

Before either of the students can take a single step, Discord snaps his fingers, in the same manner that he did before, and the two of them vanish in a blast of purple magic.

Celestia’s mind goes blank as she stares at where Rose and Storm had been. Her sides clench, a knot forming in the pit of her stomach. And then, she begins to shake.

“Oh, so you do care for those two. And here I was starting to think I’d never be able to get your complete and undivided attention.”

Celestia slowly raises her head and meets Discord’s gaze. Her restraint is gone. Her glare holds unbridled fury that can retreat armies and crumble mountains. As she speaks, her voice is even, but holds an edge sharper than any steel. “You have my attention,” she says. “But know that if any harm befalls our students, I will smite you.”

Luna steps up beside Celestia and levels a white-hot, piercing stare at Discord, silently offering her own threat.

Discord steps back away from Luna and Celestia, blinking. Then, the grin returns to his face. “I agree to the conditions,” he says with a mock bow.

The three of them stand rigid in the town square, even as villagers slowly begin to wake up, and watch their encounter.

Discord clears his throat. “Where Discord reigns for kingdom none, those learned find themselves undone. Two foals shiver scared, far from home.”

“What is this, a riddle?” Luna asks.

“No. Call it a... welcoming,” Discord replies to Luna. “I hope you are still a dreamwalker, Luna, for my dreams are far more dangerous than most... if you can even find them.”

Celestia’s ears perk up. “Is that where Rose and Storm are?”

Discord’s eyes curl up into a smile at her question. A top hat appears on his head in a puff of magic, and he nods while tipping it to them. “Ta-ta!” he says, and snaps his fingers, vanishing in a puff of smoke.

Celestia and Luna’s head swivel around, scanning the town for him, but it appears as though he’s gone. The two of them glance at each other before turning to the crowd of now awake and gathered ponies.

“We need to go after Storm and Rose,” Celestia says.

Luna lets out a sigh and begins to walk towards the villagers.

Celestia follows after her. “Luna, wait! What about Storm and Rose?”

Luna turns and whispers harshly to her, “There is a village full of confused and frightened ponies that were under Discord’s spell, and you would leave them to chase our students?”

Celestia freezes, having not heard her sister speak to her in such a tone for centuries.

Luna’s eyes soften and avert themselves from Celestia’s. “I apologize, that was unnecessary.” She reaches out and touches Celestia’s shoulder with her wing. “Please do not jump in front of me so recklessly again, Sister. It pains me to think of myself bringing harm to you.”

“It was the only way I could think of halting you so quickly.”

Luna motions her head towards the gathered villagers. “Come, let us make sure everypony is alright, and then head back to Canterlot. We won’t be able to search for Discord’s dream until nightfall.”

Celestia reluctantly nods. She glances over her shoulder. The spot where discord vanished still sizzles with magic, a rapidly fading aura invisible to the naked eye surrounding the spot and the two spots where Rose and Storm had been. Celestia prays for their safety, before joining Luna over with the villagers to check for any injured.

Part 13: Dreamwalker

Dreamwalker

Equestria from Dust, by soundslikeponies

Celestia and Luna land on a balcony outside the Everfree Castle, right outside Luna’s bedroom. The citizens of Hay Burrow are safe, and now Celestia and Luna’s concerns turn back to the welfare of their students.

Celestia paces, feathers ruffled. “Why is he inviting us into his dreams? What does he hope to gain by it?”

“You were right when you said he’s more interested in you than anything else,” Luna says as she folds her wings at her side. A question nags the tip of her tongue as her sister paces. “Do you know that creature from before we first met?”

Celestia halts. Her wings tense. “No. I never met him before now.”

“But he spoke as though he’d known you for some time.”

“How he knows me, I do not know, but I do not know him.” Luna falls silent with her last answer, but Celestia can taste her dissatisfaction with it. “I’m at as much of a loss for answers as you, sister.”

Luna sighs and puts a hoof over her muzzle. “Maybe it’s a question we ask when we meet him again. Mountains above know, he does love the sound of his own voice.”

“It’s a fault we can make use of,” Celestia says, allowing herself a small smirk. “If we do not instead shoot balls of flame at him.”

Shaking her head and rolling her eyes, Luna scoffs and turns to go inside. “With a snake like that, words that you can count to be true are few and far between.”

“Be that as it may, the next time we come across him we put getting our students back above starting a petty squabble.”

Luna’s nostrils flare with a snort as she opens the balcony door and steps inside the castle. Celestia plans to follow her, but first walks to the balcony railing.

In the dead of night the city below rests. Its streets are empty, save for a few late night wanderers, and the windows in homes glow with hearths. She remembers when she watched such a thing from afar, and wonders how she ever didn’t want to be a part of these ponies’ lives.

In a way, the ponies down below are better than she’ll ever be, haunted by only a single lifetime of mistakes. The burden of choices she’s made over the centuries weigh on her shoulders, and the weight only ever seems to grow.

Celestia sits by the rail and rests her hooves upon it. Glancing down at the city, she thinks back to what Discord said. “Is this a dream?” she mumbles. The stars twinkle with mischief.

For a moment, she closes her eyes and listens. The houses below quietly hum like the plucking of a cello as the wind flutes melodically. She can hear her own heartbeat, thumping in her chest with all the thundering of a great drum—and with her eyes closed, she feels as though she can see.

Then suddenly, in her mind’s eye, the white and black spirits appear, standing side by side, and her concentration breaks.

“What in Equestria are you still doing out here?” Luna asks, standing half inside.

Celestia turns, jumping slightly, having not heard her sister open the door. “Just thinking.”

“Moonlight’s fading,” Luna replies tersely. “If I am to teach you what I know of dreamwalking, it would be best if we start early.”

Celestia shakes her head and follows Luna’s beckon inside, where Luna has already lain out a pair of lush deep blue pillows on the carpet. She lies on one now, patting the other.

“Come, it’ll be easier to guide your magic this way.”

Celestia sits across from her, and waits.

“You want to lie all the way down,” Luna tells her. “Your body will be asleep while you dreamwalk.”

Celestia creeps her front legs forward and lies down, resting her chin on her crossed forehooves.

Luna clears her throat and begins to lecture. “To dreamwalk you must use your magic to extend your soul to the astral plane.”

“My soul?”

“Here,” Luna says, closing her eyes and drawing forth her magic. It hums, surrounding her with a faint glow. “Your soul is the heart of your magical energies. You call on it every time you cast a spell. Surely you’ve felt it before?”

“I don’t think I’ve ever felt anything like you describe.”

Luna looks at her, one eyebrow furrowed, the other raised. “Strange...” She touches a hoof to her chin in thought, but quickly removes it with a shake of her head. “Nevermind. You can always find it now. Simply do as I do.”

Celestia straightens in her seat, ready to follow along.

“Close your eyes,” Luna says, closing hers and taking a deep breath. “Focus on your breathing until all outside discomforts and noises are gone—except my voice. Listen to my voice.”

Celestia does as instructed and squeezes her eyelids shut, listening closely to her breathing coming from her nose. Her breath slows and calms to a steady pace similar to one that somepony might have while sleeping. Complete with the first step, she awaits further instruction.

“Slowly, begin to summon forth your magic from inside you.”

Celestia’s eyes snap open and she gives her sister an incredulous look. “I’ve never—”

“Just close your eyes and try,” Luna interrupts. Her expression’s stern and growing impatient.

Reluctantly closing her eyes again, Celestia meditates, trying to draw on power from deep within herself. But after a few moments, nothing happens. She lets go of the breath she’s holding in defeat.

“Now’s not the time for foolishness, sister. Our students are still being kept away from home.”

“I am trying,” Celestia answers, attempting not to show her frustration. “I have never called upon magic in such a way.”

“What?” Luna’s irritation gives way to curiosity. “How do you call on your magic then?”

A moment of silence passes between them. Then, Celestia closes her eyes to do the exercise again. Her slow, focused breathing is the only sound in the entire room. Gradually, she begins to summon forth her magic in the way she learned so very long ago.

At first a white glow surrounds her body, its light vibrating with energy. The near-silent hum of that energy begins to accompany her breathing, but not feeling it’s enough, Celestia reaches for more. Her reach spreads outwards, drawing on magic from the air. Like dust, a glowing white haze spreads from her and begins to fill the room. The magic, visible in the air, swirls with patterns as it flows much in the way water does.

Luna stands and takes a step back from it all, her eyes and mouth wide open. “Celestia?” she asks, afraid.

But Celestia can’t hear her.

“Celestia!”

For she is asleep.

Warmth. As though a blanket is draped over her shoulders. That is the first thing Celestia feels as she opens her eyes.

The second, is her heart missing a beat as her eyes open to meet the white spirit’s own.

It stands above her, head bowed, looking down at her.

Celestia tries to stand, dizzy and stumbling. Her wings stretch out for balance and she begins to look around.

All around her a glowing white dust hangs in the air, moving, swirling, alive. But breathing it in feels as natural as breathing air. Only cleaner. Purer. She glances down at her hooves and sees a bed of cracked, white sandstone, and though she can’t see it, she has no doubt it stretches to infinity in every direction.

The white spirit steps back and gives her room. Silently observing her. Its eyes are calm and loving, though the rest of its expression lies emotionless.

Celestia turns away from the spirit, looking up into the sky full of swirling dust. It’s sand, and snow, but neither. It moves with all the fluidity of water, sparkles with all the splendor of sand under a hot sun, and dances like snow. For some time she simply stares, entranced by it.

She feels... at one with it.

Tentatively, as though afraid to scare it away, she reaches out to it. The dust is drawn to her. It clings to her and creates a white halo around her body, and Celestia can’t help but feel that it’s natural.

She lifts a hoof and stares at the white glow surrounding it. “What does this mean?” she asks.

The white spirit walks over to her and nods its head.

After a moment, Celestia realizes it’s gesturing behind her, and she turns around.

In the distance in the haze, the dust grows dark. It’s a wonder she didn’t notice it earlier: a thick, black pocket of shining ebony dust. But despite its darkness, it, too, glows.

Celestia feels herself drawn towards it. The black miasma shudders and skitters as she approaches it, inching away from her.

A part of her wants to reach out. To touch it like she did the white dust.

She closes her eyes and begins to extend her reach.

“Celestia!”

Celestia’s eyes snap open. A blinding light shines from her body, and the whole room with it. Her body is floating, lifted up by the sheer magic energy around her. She looks down at her hooves, marvelling at how they’re off the ground.

“Sister!”

Luna’s voice draws her from her temporary fascination, and to the source of the cry.

Luna stands with her back against the wall, looking up at her. And in her eyes is something Celestia never thought she’d see Luna look upon her with.

Fear.

Celestia immediately retracts her reach, as if scalded. The glowing dust filling the room fades and becomes invisible once more as the halo surrounding her dims and then disappears.

She drops to the ground, heavy, barely managing to land on all fours. Her breath escapes in quick, excited breaths. She raises her head, her mane half covering her face, her expression lost.

Luna gives her a sidelong stare, still cautiously keeping her distance. “That is not how you have summoned magic in the past, Sister.”

“It—” Celestia falters. “It was your exercise.”

Luna and Celestia stare at one another, blankly.

Then, as though sharing the same thought, both burst into laughter. Luna holds her stomach and wipes a tear from the corner of her eye, shaking her head. “An exercise for school children.”

Celestia clears her throat and regains her composure. “Well then we best have them stop teaching it immediately,” she said, another small giggle escaping afterwards.

Luna takes a deep breath, smiling. “So what was that just now? The air itself lit up like I’ve never seen.”

Celestia’s smile vanishes. “My magic has always been different from other beings’ magic. I had thought you were the same up until today, too.”

“Thousands of years and I’d never known...” Luna trails off, her eyebrows furrowing as her eyes lower to the carpet and flick back and forth. The atmosphere in the room shifts, and Luna raises her head, her gaze unfriendly and angry. “Why didn’t I know?”

“Sorry,” Celestia says, wincing. She remembers how much Luna hates her weak apologies, but she doesn’t know what else to say.

Luna simply stares at the carpet. “I have something that’s been on my mind for a while now—thousands of years, even. I could never bring myself to ask, for whenever I strayed close to t he subject, your eyes gained a distant look and you fell silent. It made me afraid of what answer you may have.” Luna’s eyes glisten in the moonlight cast through the windows.

“Luna... maybe it’d be best if we—”

“I’ve grown tired of not knowing, Celestia,” Luna says, staring her down. “I’m not even sure if I can call you sister any more.”

Celestia recoils as if struck. “You don’t mean that!”

Luna bites her lip, still cross, but looks away, unable to meet Celestia’s eyes.

Celestia thinks back to the time when she was alone. Before Luna was there to keep her company. She knows Luna better than she knows herself, and she knows if she tells her, things will never be the same. “I’m sorry, Luna...” she says with an utterly hopeless look. “I won’t.”

Luna shakes her head, her disappointment in Celestia clear. “I didn’t expect you would,” she says, the anger gone from her voice. “But I’d hoped.”

Celestia lowers her head, quiet. Luna walks out of the room, and all Celestia can do is watch her go, not knowing what to say, not knowing what to do, not knowing.

The tall metal doors bang shut under their great weight. Celestia left alone.

For a while, she stands there in the dark, reflecting on her choice as midnight winds howl outside. All she can wonder is this one thing, this one thing she’s been wondering a lot lately:

What is this game she’s playing?

For not the first time since their encounter, Discord’s voice wanders in her ear, whispering questions she thought she had long since buried. Their answers tantalize her, floating just out of reach. Held there by even more questions she does not know the answer to. Was it her curse to wonder these things forever? Never knowing the answers? She has wandered this plane she awoke upon longer than any mind can remember, yet so many things remain mystery, and she can’t help but wonder if she has made any progress at all since she first woke amidst that dark sea of white.

Celestia trots over to a pillow left out on the floor and lies down upon it.

Storm Gale and Rose Flame are still out there, but with her sister’s grievances, she was without a guide to go find them. All she can do is sit, think, and rest.

Wind. Roaring, biting, screaming. Celestia’s eyes open, only for her to squeeze them shut from the stinging wind. She realizes after a moment that her wings are gone, though a phantom image of them extend from her shoulders. Skeletal. Made from dust.

She tries to open her eyes again, and is greeted by the same stinging sensation as before, as well as a starry night sky and the ground rapidly drawing closer.

She has no magic to slow her fall. The dust-made wings she woke with mirror her own original ones. They constantly try to reform, the dust trying to stretch and create feathers, but the air rushing past keeps shattering them.

The ground draws closer now. Homes become visible, their details more clear by the second.

Celestia wants to shut her eyes and look away, but she can’t. A shingled roof lies directly below her, and she realizes with some dread it’s where she will crash.

She flaps her ethereal wings, desperately, the dust from them trailing behind as she falls. The city below turns black, every candle and every lantern snuffed out all at once.

From the blackness, a pair of white, glowing eyes open and a figure rises from the roof Celestia’s hurtling towards. The apparition.

It looks up at her and time freezes. Celestia can hear a voice, but it’s no voice at all, rather an allure, calling her, calling her home. Its slender hooves embrace her with love. So afraid, so alone, celestia leans into the embrace, and closes her eyes as time resumes.

Then hooves reach down from the darkness behind her. Their stiff, jerking embrace pulls her from the tender one, and her eyes open to see her fall stop.

A pair of night blue hooves lie around her chest.

She turns to see Luna—the real Luna, her wings flapping furiously to keep them aloft with the moon shining down in a halo around her.

Celestia lets out a breath she was holding, relieved. “Thank you.”

Luna’s lips form a thin line, still mad at her from before. She lands them down on the moonlit streets below, far from the miasma of black dust surrounding the apparition.

Free of falling, Celestia’s wings begin properly forming feathers, finishing into a pair of magnificent golden wings taller than hers ever were. She looks at them with curiosity for a moment, before folding them at her sides. “How did you find this place?”

“I was looking for a dream of a large magic soul, looking for Discord.” She shakes her head. “I actually thought I’d found it until I saw you. It’s strange, usually I can see a dream’s soul and tell whom it belongs to, but I could see neither for yours.”

Luna pauses, staring hard at the apparition. “Is that me?”

“Yes, they take on your form—the black spirit and the white one.”

Dark dust swirls around the apparition, darting agitated as its master watches them.

“I’m unable to do anything about that,” Luna says. “Normally I have some influence over dreams I’m in, but yours...”

Celestia grimaces. “I thought as much.” She meets the apparition’s stare, unflinching. It’s only after a moment that she realizes it isn’t looking at her at all. She follows its gaze to the rooftops behind them. The other spirit, pristine and white, stands on a roof in the distance.

Luna looks back and forth between them, the concern on her face growing. “What is this dream?”

“I don’t know,” Celestia answers, watching the two spirits face one another down. “I’m no longer sure if it is one, at all.”

A sandstorm of white gold rises up around the spirit, flowing around it and matching the miasma surrounding the apparition. The clouds of magic spread, growing to cover the dark, empty city. The two dust clouds rise high up into the sky, forming gigantic pillars.

Then, they crash down upon them.

Celestia and Luna both clench their eyes shut as the pillars of dust crash into them, bracing for the impact to follow. But surprisingly, there is none. They carefully open their eyes, blinking as they’re greeted by the sight of a great, grey abyss.

Luna stares at her hooves, seemingly standing on nothing, and experimentally takes a few small steps on the new unfamiliar ground.

The moment doesn’t last long. The dust begins to lift, rising away to reveal a bed of flat, white sandstone. The sky remains the same sea of grey, though now the white sandstone can be seen, stretching the horizon.

Celestia immediately recognizes where they are.

Luna, however, spins around, searching for anything in the flat and dry barren land. Eventually, she stops, turning to Celestia. “Where are we? It feels... familiar.”

Celestia takes a deep breath, making a decision then and there. “This is the world when it was new. This was what I first woke to.”

Luna’s eyes widen, and she looks back at the plateau of sandstone with awe. She looks up. “There is no sun.”

“No, there isn’t,” Celestia agrees.

“No oceans, no mountains...” She pauses, pointing back. Her voice drops to a whisper, though it rings clear across the silent plane. “Just how long were you here before me?”

Celestia approached her side, cautiously, and wrapped a wing around her. The action makes her jump, but she soon relaxed, looking up into the caring eyes of her sister.

“I walked across these sands for longer than my memory can recall. Days did not yet exist. I hadn’t yet thought of time, and had no means to keep track of it. I walked for what could have been hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands of years—I do not know.”

Celestia stepped away from Luna, standing out in the sea of sandstone. She let out a sigh, staring at it all. “It was so dark and lonely.” She threw a sidelong glance back at Luna. “I can’t tell you everything that happened. The sun, the mountains, the oceans, all came from my loneliness. I spent a great deal of time wandering aimlessly, not knowing what to do.”

Celestia hangs her head and looks at the colors in her mane. “Though I never forget.”

Luna takes a measured step forward, clearing her throat. “And me?”

Celestia takes a deep breath and says nothing. Luna walks to her side. Celestia can’t do anything to stop the tears flowing freely down her face. A wing wraps around her shoulders and she looks to see Luna, smiling at her.

“It’s okay, sister,” Luna says, gently.

Celestia turns and rests her head against Luna’s shoulder. She hugs her, clinging on as tears drip down her chin. “I don’t want to keep secrets from you, but I can’t... I can’t...” Her voice breaks, and all the dams and barriers she once constructed to keep herself, and others, safe collapse as she weeps openly. “Oh, Luna, there’s so much weight upon these shoulders.”

Luna strokes her back in calming circles. “Then let me help you carry some.”

“I’m sorry,” Celestia blurts out. “I’m sorry for so many things, I’m sorry.”

For a while, Celestia just stays there, holding on to Luna. Luna was the one who first banished her loneliness. Though as time has gone on, others found their way in without her even realizing it. A starving village boy. A kind lord. A gentle maid.

A student.

She wipes away her tears and lets go of Luna, determination and will returning to her eyes. “Rose Flame and Storm Gale are still out there.”

Luna nods, understanding completely. “I can try taking us to someplace else in the dream. It’ll be better than waiting around here.”

“Let’s leave then,” Celestia says.

Luna closes her eyes, letting out her breath. A deep, blue glow emanates from her chest, the soul of her magic. After a brief moment of concentration, a loud bang deafens their ears, a dark blue portal tearing itself into existence beside them. Inside it appears to be a whole nother world: expansive fields and cliffs, flanked on one side by ocean and forest on the other.

Celestia approaches it, a stiff, cool breeze blowing from inside.

“Celestia, wait.”

Celestia turns back to Luna in question, to which Luna points off in the opposite direction of the portal.

The black and white spirits stand there, side by side, watching her.

Celestia shakes her head, but turns to face them. “We’re leaving now,” she announces to them. “My student’s in danger—Luna’s as well.” She pauses, almost expecting some reaction from them, but of course receiving none. “You won’t keep me from this, will you?” she asks them.

Their stares bore into her. Then, after a few moments, the two of them turn and walk away, off into the empty distance of the sandstone plane.

Celestia lets out a sigh of relief and turns to Luna. “Let’s go.”

Luna nods dumbly and follows Celestia, still glancing over her shoulder at the two spirits walking side by side, off into the distance.

Celestia stops immediately in front of the portal. Tundra winds blast her muzzle.

Taking a deep breath, she steps forward.

Part 14: Spirit

Spirit

Equestria from Dust, by soundslikeponies

Harsh winds blow, carrying along frost lifted from the grass. Celestia shields her eyes from them, as Luna steps out of the portal beside her. Ice clings to the faded plains, the ground more rock than soil and made black by the frigid air. The sound of waves crashing against ocean cliffs fill the air, though they seem oddly quiet without the sound of gulls accompanying them.

Behind them the portal folds unto itself, disappearing without a trace, and like that, the last bit of warmth at their backs is gone, leaving them stranded. The cliffs and plains sprawl into the distance, no shelter in sight for miles and miles. A lone apple tree stands on a hill down the cliff nearest them, the only sign that life may have once existed in this plane, though its branches are white and dead now.

Celestia stares at the tree, her eyebrows furrowing. “I feel as though I’ve been here...”

“Your wings,” Luna says abruptly, staring at the gold dust-made appendages. “What happened to them?”

Looking at her back, Celestia unfolds one, holding it out to examine. “It seems as though they’re made from my magic. I would guess it has something to do with the fact that I originally created them.”

Luna’s eyebrows raise. “You used to not have wings?”

“A long time ago,” Celestia says with a nod, folding her wing away. “Although I can’t remember when.”

“Do they work?”

Celestia glances back at her wings. Spreading them, she gives a few experimental flaps, raising a short distance off the ground. The action sends particles of gold dust scattering into the air, though the wing reforms faster than it fragments. “They’re fragile,” she says. “I don’t think I’ll be able to fly very fast nor far with them.”

Luna shrugs. “I don’t imagine you’ll need them much. We’re still in your dream, after all.” She pauses for a moment, smiling. “They do look awfully pretty, though.”

Celestia huffs. “Oh, shush.”

“The cold seems so real,” Luna says, shivering. “I’ve never felt such an undiluted sensation in a dream. Normally they aren’t able to come through so clearly.” She looks down at her hooves, testing the ground. “Come to think of it, nearly everything so far has been realistically vivid. It’s hard to tell we’re in a dream at all.”

Celestia grows quiet at that. Luna notices and upon realizing what she said, grows quiet as well, both of them thinking back to Discord’s words.

A few seconds pass before Luna shakes her head, snapping herself out of it. “Come. Ignore what Discord said. Our duty here is to find our students, not ponder over his foolishness.”

Her words fail to have the same effect on Celestia. “You know, when he asked us what is real, I didn’t know how to answer him,” Celestia says. “In the heat of the moment I came up with something, but now I find myself struggling to even remember what it was.”

“Sister...”

“I’ve been alive so long, Luna. Some of it’s so distant now, it almost feels like a dream. I find myself wondering if any of it actually happened. I find myself wondering if... if there was a time before I can remember. That I’ve only forgotten it, and that the questions I’ve spent millennia asking myself have been with me all along. Did I create the mountains, or the oceans first? Some centuries I barely have memories of, and others it feels like so much happened that I was frozen as time sped around me. If I created the world with my imagination, is it even real?”

“What’s real is only what you perceive to be real, so I cannot answer that, but I know from my time spent dreamwalking that an imagined world can have meaning.”

Celestia snorts. “I suppose it can,” she says, smiling. “But what meaning is that?”

Luna’s snout wrinkles as she gives Celestia a perplexed look. “It’s whatever you deem it to be. Life has different meanings for all of us.”

“Life...” Celestia says, seeing how the word weighs on her tongue. She turns to Luna, smiling. “I suppose I’ll find my own meaning eventually.” She beckons Luna with a nod of her head. “Come, let us look for shelter until these winds die down. I don’t trust these wings to hold up against such weather.”

Luna trudges over to Celestia’s side and begins looking around the landscape. She walks over to a nearby cliff, peering over its edge. “I can see a cave entrance,” she announces.

Celestia peers over to see that there is indeed a cave entrance below them. The entrance runs tall and narrow: the point where two rocks lean against one another forming an arch. She glances to their side where a winding trail leads down the cliff. Turning towards it, she nods to Luna. “This way.”

The trail’s almost entirely solid rock, the jagged points of which form stairs more often than not. After a few steps they’re low enough that the cliff side of the path begins to hurl most of the winds over them. It comes just in time, too, as the winds begin to grow into a fierce gale, howling in agony.

Celestia looks up at the sky, only for a cloud of frost swept up from the grass to fall on them, forcing her eyes shut. Shaking her head, she wipes the offending frost from her muzzle and continues trudging forward. The wind grows deafening, to the point that if Luna tries to call out to her, she probably won’t even be able to hear it. She begins glancing back every few steps, to make sure her sister is still with her and not blown off the cliff. Luna seems to only be faring slightly better than her.

As Celestia lifts her hoof to take a step, a large gust of wind plows into her side, stumbling her. She begins to tip, and throws a wing out to her side for balance, but it does little, being almost completely weightless. As she begins to fall, she glances behind her to see her sister’s horrified look.

As she begins to fall, she spreads her wings. They nearly disintegrate as a second, harsher blow of wind knocks her farther from the cliff. Her wings now holed and fragmented, she manages to right herself into a controlled fall, steering back to a lower part of the path winding down the cliff. That’s when the third—the most unforgiving—gust of wind barrels into her as she comes in to land. It hurls her hard into the side of the cliff. Her eyes go wide with pain, several bones cracking against the stone. Limp, she falls down and lands on the path, lying unmoving on its steps.

Luna rushes down to her, nearly stumbling down the steps several times in her haste. “Celestia!” she shouts, kneeling at her sister’s side.

Celestia’s breath rasps as she tries to draw air. Every movement hurts. It’s so tiring to keep her eyes open.

Luna panics over Celestia, checking her wounds as gently as she can. “How on earth have you not woken up? These bruises—Celestia, listen to me. Stay awake. I’ll move you to that cave and then we can find you something soft to rest on, but for now I need you to stay awake.”

A wave of drowsiness passes over Celestia. It’s so warm. So comfortable. It urges her to sleep and let it take her away. She hears Luna’s voice, off somewhere in the distance.

“Celestia, stay with me!”

She closes her eyes, the pain subsiding.

Drip... Drip... Drip...

Celestia stirs, her ears twitching with the metronome of dripping water.

Drip... Drip...

A thin layer of cool water soaks her chest, hooves, and muzzle, and there’s the almost unnoticeable feeling of ripples bouncing off her snout. All the pain from the fall is gone.

Drip.

Her eyes open and are greeted by four white hooves standing in a shallow pool of water nested in a cloud in the sky. Craning her neck up, she sees the white spirit of her dreams, and what looks like a tear fall from the spirit’s face.

Drip.

“You...” Celestia tilts her head at the spirit. “What is your part in all this?”

It does not give her an answer, but it does lean down to her, resting its forehead against hers. Celestia stares into its eyes, only inches away from her own. From up close, they aren’t blank like she once thought. White pupils with white irises stare back at her, their outlines so faint that they wouldn’t be visible at a distance.

A single word rings out in Celestia’s mind, more an idea than a word, but she can’t tell whether it’s her own or the spirit’s.

Protect.

Celestia opens her eyes and sits up, wide awake and in the dark. She whips around wildly, looking for any sign of the spirit but sees none, only the mouth of a cave and a blizzard outside.

Suddenly remembering her fall, she examines herself, expecting the pain to come rushing back at once. What she instead sees is nothing more than her own coat. No bruises. No broken bones. Only scuffs from sleeping on the cold shale floor.

“Oh, thank goodness you’re awake!” Celestia turns around, spotting Luna stepping out of the darkness. “I fretted over your injuries late into the night, only to find you mysteriously healed the next morning.”

Celestia looks outside, watching the snow fall. “I was... asleep? In a dream?”

Luna shakes her head. “I have no more answers than you do,” she says, stepping up to Celestia’s side and staring outside with her. Her eyes narrow as she stares long and hard at the snow. “Magic does not work here. I couldn’t summon so much as a light when I was observing your injuries. Falling asleep and waking up within a dream... Just where are we?”

Celestia stares thoughtfully at her golden wings. “If dreams are a projection of a pony’s soul, and my magic doesn’t have one, then...” She looks to the ground, her train of thought lost. “I don’t know.”

“After doing what I could for your injuries last night, I stayed up for several hours trying to find a portal back,” Luna says. Her ears droop. “Wherever it is we are now... we can’t go back.”

Celestia nods sullenly, turning back to the winds outside. They show no sign of dying down anytime soon, as snow fills the entrance of the cave. Hours pass. The two of them sit patiently and wait, each silent and absorbed in their own thoughts. As the sun sets, their small window to the outside grows darker. The snow on the ground changes to a grey-blue to reflect the darkening sky, the snowflakes looking more and more like falling ash in the setting light.

It isn’t until the deepest of night that the cave comes alive, and when it does, it comes to life in a matter of minutes. The cold, hard rock walls of the cave begin to glow a pallette of colors, lighting the cave. Luna stands and takes a few experimental steps on the lit ground, the pressure of her hooves temporarily leaving the rock glowing brighter, creating bright hoofprints which fade over the following seconds.

The growing light peels both Celestia’s and Luna’s eyes from the entrance, back into the depths of the cave. With the depths of the cave now illuminated, a path traveling deep under the cliff emerges. Celestia and Luna glance at one another, before staring at the newly lit path before them.

“How far into this cave did you explore after bringing me here?” Celestia asks.

“Not very far. The light faded to nothing just a little beyond what we can see now. Without magic I couldn’t risk going any further,” Luna answers. She turns to Celestia and asks, “Do you think it’s a coincidence? Or is the dream trying to make us move forward?”

“I don’t believe this world holds any coincidences,” Celestia says, her voice holding a slightly bitter edge. After a moment of reluctance, she sighs and turns to Luna. “The weather shows no signs of changing; we may as well see where this path leads.”

Luna nods in agreement and glances back at the cave exit. “In this unnatural world, I wouldn’t be surprised if we waited a thousand years and the blizzard never died down.”

Celestia nods as well. “We turn back if we encounter a fork in the path. If the glow from these rocks dies, we don’t want to be stranded without a way back.”

With that last note of caution, the two of them begin to trek deeper into the cave’s heart, the natural light of the cave’s entrance soon fading. The tunnel is wide enough to allow them to walk abreast. A silence falls over them. A silence of anticipation and careful observation, of not knowing what lies ahead. The kind that fills one’s heart with dread. The kind that makes the air run cold.

As they continue traveling deeper under the side of the cliff, Celestia pauses, staring at the walls surrounding them. Luna pauses as well, seeing her sister stop. “I think I’ve dreamt of this place before...” Celestia says, eyebrows knit in thought.

“Of this cave?”

“Yes,” Celestia replies. “Only, it was dark. The walls were not glowing.”

Luna looks down the passage on either side of them, looking half lost. “We’ve been following this cave deeper under the cliff for a while now. I don’t think it’s going anywhere. Maybe it’d be best if we turn back now. There’s still some chance we might see the weather clear up enough to travel.”

As Luna talks, Celestia stares down the cave tunnel ahead, squinting. Though the cave winds slightly, it’s still possible to see a great distance in either direction. Almost too far to see, though Celestia spots it, the cave widens into a room. “Come. Just a little further,” she says to Luna, continuing down the cave.

“What do you see?”

As Celestia starts back down the tunnel, the opening becomes clear. “A chamber, just a short ways ahead.”

After briefly glancing back the way they came, and letting out a huff, Luna follows Celestia, winding deeper into the cave.

“It was cold but more temperate then. There were fields of wheat,” Celestia says, thinking back and recounting the dream where she saw this place. “We fell asleep under an apple tree up upon the cliff. There were deer—a small family of them. They were resting under that dead tree we saw outside.” They grow closer to the chamber, and now the cave widening to a mouth is visible, plain as day.

“We fell asleep. Only, I was woken by that black version of you from my dreams. It led me down the cliffside path we took, the one where I fell. It took me to this cave, this cave that hadn’t been there when I fell asleep. It left me to stumble blindly through the dark, down this passage, until I finally reached an open chamber.”

As the words leave Celestia’s mouth, they come to the end of the tunnel. It widens to black, the stone no longer glowing past that point.

Celestia begins to step forward, only to be interrupted by Luna. “What if the glow fades? We could be stranded.”

Celestia pauses, considering her sister’s words. She takes a glance at where they came from, the long, lit tunnel staring back at her. “We’ve already crossed one threshold,” she says, turning to her sister. “Whether or not we move forward, there is no going back.”

“We could be meant to fly somewhere after the storm dies down,” Luna suggests.

“If we were, would winds have forced us to seek shelter in this cave, would the stones have lit our path?” Celestia says. Luna lacks a rebuttal. “We’re being led somewhere.”

“But is it safe to follow?” Luna asks, looking at Celestia for an answer.

Staring into the darkness, Celestia takes some time before answering. “I don’t know, but there are things I want to find out.”

Luna purses her lips, the idea of following some unknown guiding hand not settling well with her. “I will trust your judgement,” she says, reluctantly. “As I always have.” Celestia nods to her gratefully.

They walk into the darkness together, staying close. As the last of the light from the tunnel disappears behind them, they begin to walk slowly, guided by one another’s footsteps across the seemingly endless, flat bedrock beneath them.

Then, a low copper light begins to creep across a wall ahead of them. The glow rises like the sun, spreading higher and higher up the wall, stretching as tall as any castle or tower, and taller still. It stretches an impossible distance up into the air and to the sides.

The two of them take several steps back, craning their necks to look up at how far the wall goes. They never see it reach a ceiling.

Colors, from the brushes of thousands of invisible artists, begin painting on the wall. Great murals, depicting dragons and griffons and elementals, become fulfilled in cascading patterns of color pouring in. The entire wall, impossibly large as it is, becomes covered with paintings of everything: a mural of the world.

“It’s amazing,” Luna says breathlessly.

Celestia steps up to the wall, her hoofsteps echoing through the massive chamber. Stopping in front of it, she stares up at the center of it. Two alicorns, her and Luna, fly around the earth, day and night dragging behind them in a never ending cycle. Above them, an alicorn lighter than Celestia and one darker than Luna sit, watching over the world.

Celestia gingerly touches the wall and runs her hoof down its surface. “This was the mural I dreamed of the night before we created the three pony races.” She glances up, spotting the place where the mural shows a pegasus, an earth pony, and a unicorn. “I saw them up there on this mural.”

Luna’s eyes widen slightly. “The idea was not your own?”

Celestia shakes her head. “There’s so much on here... So much I don’t recognize.” She stares at a long, clawed crustacean the size of a wagon. “Are these all destined to walk the earth at some point in time?”

“You told me you don’t believe in destiny,” Luna says.

“That’s right...” She trails off, stepping back from the wall. “I don’t.” Sighing, she shakes her head and rubs her eyes before looking back up at the two guardians. “I wonder what their role is in all this. Whether they—”

A slow, sarcastic clap cuts her off. Celestia and Luna turn, seeing Discord step out into the orange light.

“Hello, Celestia.”

Part 15: Fragment

Fragment

Equestria from Dust, by soundslikeponies

Discord’s condescending applause echoes throughout the wide, empty chamber. Celestia and Luna tense as he approaches, the copper glow of the mural at their backs.

Discord laughs at their expressions. “I say, you were awfully fast at finding me.”

Luna stares carefully at him, her wings flared as she sets herself in an aggressive posture, the kind with which you’d greet a highway bandit. “Are you really here?”

Discord suddenly freezes. With his paw and talon, he loudly pats himself down, staring at his own limbs in mock surprise. “Why, yes, yes I think I am,” he says, shortly before breaking into a grin and shrugging. “Honestly, I don’t know what I did to warrant such defensiveness at the mere sight of me.”

“You attacked our kingdom and abducted our students,” Luna reminds him, unable to keep the bitterness from her tone.

Meanwhile Celestia’s stare bores into Discord. Her steady expression doesn’t waver as he turns to her. “And what of you, other Princess?” Discord asks. “No royal greeting?”

Celestia’s eyes narrow, trying to discern what his game is. It suddenly occurs to her that Discord isn’t where he’s meant to be. “You said you’d be in your dream realm,” Celestia says. “You lied.”

“Not a lie,” Discord says, wounded. “More of a... bending of definitions. See, this is my dream realm.”

Luna glares at him. “We can’t be in your dream realm, we’re in Celestia’s—as you’re probably well aware of.”

A smile snakes its way up Discord’s lips. “Well...” He brings a paw to his chin, stroking his beard. “Hmm... how do I put this?” He glances up, his toothed smile lit with an idea. “You could say magic reacts strongly to strong emotions, right? When you’re angry, it’s a storm; when you’re calm it flows like water; and when you’re focused it’s sharp like a knife, right?”

“Yes, that is true,” Celestia says, hearing Luna groan at her humoring of him.

“Then what does that say about magic? Well, if you’re a short-sighted fool who takes things as they’re presented to them, you might say that magic is a whimsy mistress. But, the thing is, that wouldn’t be far off.” Discord slithers his way over to her, rising up then bending down over her, his stare boring into her. “Where does magic come from?”

Celestia remains unflinching even as he bears down on her. With the distance between them so short, she sees something in his eyes she didn’t before: an intelligent, calculating mind buried somewhere beneath the insanity.

Luna’s sharp voice snaps his gaze away from her. “You clearly think you know, so get on with it!” Her hairs bristle from seeing Discord so dangerously close to Celestia.

Discord looks at her and smirks. His relaxed smile only serves to harden Luna’s glare. “Some ponies seem to think magic stems from emotion.” He shakes his head and chuckles. “But oh no, that’s not right at all. After all, if it did, every hot headed unicorn would be the next master of the arcane. Not to mention Celestia here, unbending and made of stone, wouldn’t be able to light her own horn.

“No, see, I’m afraid that magic responds to will. Strong emotions can drive passion, which can drive will, but a calm, collected individual,” he says, pointing to Celestia, “such as yourself, can just as easily control magic through force of will. And it’s your will which is the most powerful in Equestria. It’s your will that created the sun, the mountains, and the oceans. And it’s your will that ultimately created me. That’s why I’m here. It’s where I was born.”

Celestia feels a lump form in her throat. “I had no part in creating you.”

“But you had every part!” Discord says with a boisterous laugh. “Of course it wasn’t intentional, but ultimately I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for how strong your will is.”

Celestia forces down the rising sickness in her stomach, the rising feeling that he is telling the truth. “How?” Celestia demands.

“I was once a part of your mind. Essentially, all things are, are they not? If you were the one who thought of them. Only, they were born new. Born clean. Born pure.” Discord’s eyes narrow. His facade drops to show a bitter anger. He holds his mismatched lion paw and eagle claw out, their palms facing upward. “I was not.”

Celestia grows uncomfortable under his accusatory glare, feeling vilified by his gaze. “What do you mean?”

“I remember when you wandered an empty plain for ages. I remember when you created the mountains and oceans. And I remember how you carried yourself throughout everything, up until recently. You became very good at crushing your emotions.” Discord’s tone is measured and weighed, like a finely sharpened point, meant to pierce her. “But you didn’t crush them. You didn’t crush me. And as time wore on you suppressed more and more of your feelings until I began to take shape in your mind.”

Celestia stares at the ground, deep in thought, her eyes flicking back and forth. “So then... that dark cloud that left me when I collapsed in my study was you.”

Discord’s lips curl up into a wolfish grin. “Correct. At that time I was but a part of that, and I had not yet taken a form.”

Celestia shifts, her mind racing as she tries putting more pieces together. “You’re the one who has been driving the dark spirit from my dreams mad.”

Discord clutches his stomach and lets out a loud, barking laugh. “I’m afraid I’m merely a result of that, not a cause.”

“Why then?” Celestia asks. She glances back at the mural, at the dark and light guardians who stand watch over the world. Despite the plainness of their black and white coats, they stand out to her more than anything. “What are they?”

Discord glances over her shoulder at the mural. “How many times have you seen that painting?”

Celestia’s eyebrows furrow. “This is the third time. Why?”

Discord chuckles. “Oh, no reason.”

“I know that not to be the case,” Celestia replies, glaring. “What are they? Why has the darker spirit been trying to hurt me?”

Discord laughs as if she told a joke. “You repel yourself! You don’t even know who you are, what you are, or why you are.”

Celestia ignores him and presses on. “Why are you in my dreams?”

“Because I don’t have dreams of my own.” Discord gestures to the cavern around them. “This is my dream world. I’m still tied to it.” His smile fades and turns to a scowl. “Still tied to you, unfortunately. As are the rest, probably.”

“The rest?” Luna says, cutting in.

“I only took form as a part of that darkness. The rest is scattered all over Equestria, but most of it is still in Celestia. Oh lonesome and dark, Celestia,” Discord says, grinding out each word of the last sentence with glee.

“Why are you telling us all of this?” Luna asks.

Discord crosses the floor in an instant, darting through the air like a needle, but stopping in front of Luna. He cups her face in his talon, squeezing her cheeks, and she’s powerless to stop him. “Entertainment, dear,” he says, voice thick with sarcasm. “I like seeing the looks of confusion on your pretty little faces.”

Luna struggles out of his grasp and glares at him, flaring her nostrils. Celestia steps forward, ready to intervene. Folding her wings at her side, Luna forces herself to appear calm. She gives Celestia a pointed look, telling her not to interfere.

Celestia hesitates, but eventually steps back.

Turning back to Discord, Luna clears her throat. “Our students.”

Discord arches an eyebrow, an amused smile still on his face from watching their little interaction. “Yes?” he says. “What about them?”

Luna’s lips form a tight line. “What will it take to get them back?”

Discords eyebrows rise, and he seems genuinely baffled by her question. “I don’t know, really. Haven’t given it much thought.”

“Show me them,” Luna says. She bites her lip, knowing she’s in no position to make demands.

Discord gives her an amused look, before releasing a chuckle and shaking his head. “Very well.”

He holds out his paw. A purple glow surrounds it, giving rise to an shining orb. An image flickers to life on it, showing a pair of fillies trapped in a small, dark room.

Luna’s breath hitches in her throat. “Rose Flame?”

One of the fillies in the purple orb blinks, before turning to face Luna.

“Luna?” Rose asks, her voice coming from the orb. “Princess! Is that really you?”

The other filly in the orb turns to give Rose a strange look, only to follow her eyes to see Princess Luna.

“Luna!” Storm Gale shouts, grinning ear to ear at seeing her.

Celestia’s ears perk up at the sound of Storm’s voice. “Storm Gale?” Celestia calls, rushing over to the orb. She sees them through the orb, sitting there in the empty room. “Are you two all right?”

“Uh, yeah,” Storm answers. “At least, I think so. We haven’t eaten for what feels like days, but we don’t really feel hungry for some reason, either.”

Celestia lets out a breath of relief, some of her fears from when they disappeared lying down to rest. “That’s because you’re in a dream realm. But we’re going to get you out.”

Storm’s face scrunches up and she gives Celestia an odd look from the other side of where the orb leads, wherever that is. “A dream? But then how—”

The magic scrying orb in Discord’s palm pops while Storm’s still speaking, cutting her off. The glow around his paw fades as he retracts it and makes a clucking noise against his teeth, shaking his head. “Time’s up. You now know beyond a shadow of a doubt that they’re safe. At least, for the time being.”

Celestia stares at his paw, hoping a lost hope that she’ll hear a few more words from their lost students. When it finally settles in that she won’t, she meets Discord’s eyes from under the roof of her brow, sending him a fiery glare. “What do you want?” she spits, sick of trying to play his games.

“You two have asked a dozen or more questions since you saw me,” Discord says, not reacting well to Celestia’s anger as he stares at her down his snout. “It only serves right that I get to ask you some of my own.”

“You’re leveraging us for asking them, now?” Luna asks, her lips stretched thin. “What about us being ‘entertaining’ to you?”

Discord chuckles heartily at her. “There’s no such thing as a free question. They all must be paid, either with answers, silver, or pain.”

“I do this and you’ll free them?” Celestia asks. Discord nods. She takes a deep breath, calming her features and puffing up her chest. She eyes him for a moment, wondering not for the first time why he’s doing all this. “Ask,” she says, finally, and with great reluctance.

Discord takes a breath and opens his mouth, a talon pointed towards the ceiling as if he’s about to ask something. But he pauses as if he forgot the question. His brow knotting with a troubled look, he begins pacing. He mutters to himself, too quietly and incoherently for Celestia or Luna to hear.

He stops. He turns to Celestia, his lips pursed as he stares at her. “Since you created me...”

Celestia watches him trail off, the silence growing too long for her liking. “Yes...?”

“Should I technically call you mum?” Discord asks.

Celestia blinks, then blinks again, not sure whether or not he’s being serious. “You were an accident.”

Discord throws a paw over his heart and cries, “Oh, mum, it pains me to hear you say that!”

“Do you have another question?” Celestia asks, huffing.

“Oh, come now, I was only trying to lighten the mood.” He pauses, seeing both of them scowling. “Very well then, I do have another question,” he says, clearing his throat and moving on. He turns to Celestia, with another question for her. “I have been wondering why you decided to help them.”

“Them?” Celestia asks, raising an eyebrow.

“Your subjects, of course,” Discord says, shrugging. “You made it a point to remain hidden from them, knowing that once you revealed yourselves things would only change for the worse for you. So why?”

“The truth is I don’t know why I did what I did back then.”

“Well of course not. I have most of your memories. What would be the point of asking you a question you know the answer to?” A frown slips across his face. “Now, you’ll have to actually answer the question if you want me to uphold my end of the deal.”

Celestia bites the inside of her mouth, trying to quickly think of a better answer. “I did it because I felt responsible.”

“That’s better,” Discord says, “but I’m looking for a bit more detail.”

“I did it because I saw that young colt shivering and starving,” Celestia answers, without thinking. “The ponies in his village were driven north by the battles in the south. If I hadn’t ever created the three pony races, he wouldn’t have been born just to lead such a short, painful life. I felt responsible for his pain.”

“And the boy and his village lived thanks to your intervention,” Discord says, smiling. “Doesn’t that give you pride, or something like that?”

Celestia shakes her head.

Discord stares at her and taps his chin thoughtfully for a moment. “Very well, let’s move on to a related question. Why do you continue to give up your personal freedom for their sake?”

Celestia shifts. “I...” She tries grasping for a reason. It’s as futile as trying to grasp air. “I don’t know.”

“Then think,” Discord hisses.

Celestia stares at the ground and bites her tongue. Somewhere in her there’s a deep, almost instinctual urge to protect the pony races. She can feel it, but it’s impossible to put into words. “I can’t,” she answers, finally. “I feel bound to help them. Like it’s the right thing to do. I don’t know why.”

“Right thing to do?” Discord says, incredulously. “Who could possibly judge you? There is no right or wrong for you, only what you decide. If you decide to wipe everything clean and start again, who’s to say different? Who would know?”

Celestia glares at him, the sides of her mouth tugging downward into a distasteful frown. “I would know. And I am the one who decides what I consider right or wrong.” Her eyes narrow. “Your line of questions is running thin.”

An ugly grimace forms on Discord’s face. He combs the white hairs of his goatee with his claws, giving her a thoughtful stare. After some time, he stops. “Three,” he says, holding up as many fingers. “I get three more questions, then your little friends go free.”

“Deal,” Celestia says, before he might try to rescind it.

Discord grumbles slightly. “Very well,” he says, his eyes shifting to Luna. He turns to her, smirking. “How does it feel living in your sister’s shadow?”

Luna gives him a glare that would melt stone. “I live in no one’s shadow.”

“No? You think ponies are grateful when day ends and night comes? Do you think they are grateful when the cold seeps in, the world goes dark, and predators come out to prowl?” Discord asks, wearing a taunting smile. “I’d imagine after several centuries that the attention and praise she receives must dig at you. You, who were her equal for so many centuries prior, now a step down. A mere reflection of her.”

“I am no reflection,” Luna says, the hairs of her coat bristling. “I don’t need acknowledgement to reaffirm the ways in which I’ve helped our kingdom.”

“Well, if that’s what you tell yourself,” Discord says, slowly. “Maybe you’ve even told yourself that so many times you’ve started to believe it. The noble, humble protector: who requires no reward but knowledge of a deed well done.”

He walks up to Luna, throwing an arm around her. She stiffens at his contact. He ignores it, continuing, “But I know, believe me. When there’s a celebration in the princesses’ honor, it must sting seeing so many pairs of eyes watching her, and almost none of them watching you. So, I ask my question again, reminding you that if you don’t answer honestly, I won’t keep up my end of the bargain.”

Luna stares at him, seemingly caught in an internal struggle. She sighs, letting go of her anger. “Sometimes, I resent them,” Luna says, reluctantly. “Other times, I feel jealous of my sister. But I’ve never blamed her for it.”

Celestia steps toward Luna.

“Please, don’t speak, Celestia,” Luna says, before she can say a word. “I’m fine.” Her tone holds a sense of finality to it, silencing Celestia. She turns back to Discord. “You have two more questions, serpent.”

“I’m only about an eighth serpent, actually,” he replies.

“Not to me, you aren’t,” Luna says, coldly.

Discord wrinkles his nose at her with a small amount of disdain. “In that case, I think I’ll ask Celestia my second question, instead of you.” He stares at Celestia, considering. After a moment, he asks, “Do you believe in destiny?”

Celestia immediately shakes her head. “No, of course not.” She pauses, her lips pressed thin. “But you already knew I’d answer that, so why ask?”

“Do you make your own decisions? Or are others making them for you? If so, who?” Discord stares past her at the mural, his face brightly lit under the golden glow of its luminescent paint. His eyes focus on the spirits. “Is it those two?”

Celestia steals a glance over her shoulder. All the beasts and ponies and other paintings seem to face inward, pointing at the two spirits.

“How long do you think they’ve guided your hoof?” Discord asks, his gaze still locked on the painting.

Celestia breaks away from it, casting her sight off into the dark distance. “They were not always there.”

Discord arches an eyebrow. The way he looks at her makes Celestia feel foolish. “Do you know that?” he asks.

“No,” Celestia admits, begrudgingly. “Are they what you would call fate, then?”

“Fate?” Discord asks, placing his paw over his chest and raising both his eyebrows at her. He lets out a chuckle. “You think I, of all creatures, would believe in fate? Fate is a set of rules. I abhor rules. They’re the death of fun and all interesting things. I like to think that destiny can be shaped and changed through our actions—even if that’s not strictly what it means.”

“Why believe in destiny, then?” Celestia asks.

“I think we’re all destined to have to eventually make certain choices in our life, don’t you?” Discord circles around her, his tone taunting. “At some point or another you were destined to create other intelligent life. And after that, I think you were destined to make a choice whether or not you would stand with them. Now, you’re here. And you’re at another choice in your very long, winding road of life, and my last question.”

Discord’s smirk widens, his jagged fangs poking out from behind his lips. “What would you do if I killed your precious brats?”

Luna stomps the ground. Her legs spread, ready to charge Discord, as she bares her teeth. “If you harm a single hair on them, I’ll singe a thousand of yours, you vile mongrel.”

“We had a deal,” Celestia says, narrowing her eyes at him.

“Oh, well then I guess that makes me a liar. Who would’ve thought?” Discord chuckles and shakes his head at Celestia. “Honestly, so naive, Celestia.”

Celestia’s eyes narrow further as she adopts a stance similar to her sister’s.

“So then,” Discord says, smiling down at her. “How do you answer?”

Part 3: Forests

Forests

Equestria from Dust, by soundslikeponies

Celestia touches down behind Luna. They stand on a ledge high up the side of the snow-capped peak, but still below the clouds. Arctic winds howl in their ears, and their breaths are visible in the night air.

“Everything has changed...” Luna says, looking out at the sprawling tundra, a large flat plain of frozen earth. “Except the barrens.”

“We agreed to keep that as a reminder of what was,” Celestia says.

“It seems like it has been so long since we started.” Luna’s shoulders droop, and though the motion is subtle, Celestia catches it.

Celestia walks to Luna’s side and spreads a wing over her back. “There was a time before this. We can still go back.”

Luna shakes her head, and gives Celestia a weak smile. “Creating has ruined me. I can’t imagine sitting around doing nothing anymore.” Luna chuckles. “I would go insane, and probably drive you insane along with me.”

“You already do such on a regular basis,” Celestia teases, earning a small nudge and pout from Luna.

Luna looks up at the sky, contemplating. “Do you feel like the night sky is missing something?”

Celestia glances up and then shakes her head. “No.”

“It is too dark and cold,” Luna continues, hardly missing a beat and walking out from under Celestia’s wing. “The moon is not bright enough.”

“You are thinking of making it brighter?” Celestia asks.

“Most definitely not,” Luna says, staring up at the sky, her eyes searching. “I like gazing at the moon. If I made it brighter, I would fear it becoming too bright to look at.” Her eyes widen and she turns to Celestia. “How did you create the sun?”

Celestia blinks. “I created a light, and simply nurtured it with magic until it grew bigger and bigger.”

Luna’s horn lights up. “One like this?”

“Yes...” Celestia looks at her oddly, wondering what she could be up to.

Luna turns back around, kneels, and her horn begins to glow brighter. The wind picks up around them, carried by the current of Luna’s magic. Light at the tip of Luna’s horn separates and becomes an orb, floating to rest in the air in front of her. Midnight magic streams from Luna’s horn into it, transforming into white light along the way and increasing the orb’s brightness. Luna cuts her magic, panting, and stares at the small orb of light she has created. It hums with magical energy.

“And after that?” Luna asks, glancing over her shoulder at Celestia.

“I put it in the sky,” Celestia answers.

Luna closes her eyes and concentrates once more. The orb floats up above their heads briefly, before shooting off into the sky, towards the arctic, and appearing as a sparkling dot of light on the night sky.

Luna frowns, staring at it. “Is there a way to simply make them up there like you did with the moon?”

Celestia chuckles, smiling and stepping forward. “I will show you.”

Celestia’s horn glows, and Luna glances between it and the sky, paying attention to the way Celestia manipulates her magic. The magic emanating from Celestia’s horn seemingly travels nowhere, but still, a second light blinks into existence in the sky, though it is dimmer than the one Luna made.

As Celestia’s magic dies down, she turns to Luna. “You have to forget about the distance and imagine you are there.”

Luna nods, biting her lip and looking up to the sky, her horn beginning to glow. Magic pools around the tip of her horn, far more than Celestia used, and the strain from doing so quickly become apparent. Luna’s breath begins to come in short bursts, her teeth clench, and sweat rolls down the side of her face.

Letting out a gasp, Luna cuts her magic. She stares at the ground, panting and shaking.

Celestia walks up to her, wrapping a wing around her and pulling her close. “You will learn how to manipulate magic like that someday.”

Luna raises her head, looking up at the sky with longing. “But I want to create more...”

“Then create something else for now.”

“I have no more ideas,” Luna says, casting her eyes back toward the ground.

Celestia rubs Luna’s side with her wing and stifles a laugh. “Now that, I simply do not believe.”

“It’s true!” Luna insists, backing out from under Celestia’s wing and facing her. “I created the shalestone, iron, and diamond, but they are all just different names for different rocks!” Luna shouts. She looks at the ground after her outburst, sighing.

Celestia’s smile fades. She walks up to Luna and nuzzles her. “More ideas will come with time,” she says, reassuringly. “They always do.”

Luna gives her a strained smile. “I hope you are right.”

“Come,” Celestia says, placing her wing back around Luna’s shoulders. “Let us find someplace warmer to rest.”

Luna chuckles, a small teasing smile forming on her lips. “You never liked the cold.”

“My coat is not as thick as yours,” Celestia replies.

Luna looks over the ledge and down the mountain, her smile becoming subdued. “I’m not tired.”

Celestia sighs, but does not prod Luna any longer, standing in silence with her near the top of the mountain, ignoring the cold. It begins to snow, small flakes fluttering down from clouds so close one could easily fly up and touch them. Luna lifts her hoof out to catch a falling flake.

“When this all began,” Luna says, staring at the snowflake. “You created the rain and the clouds. It was something new, something different. It was nothing like what you had made before.” The snow continues to trickle down slowly, clinging to their coats in the high altitude air. “You taught me how to create, but the soil, the gems, the sand, even snow, all I’ve ever done is change.” Luna lets her hoof down with a sigh.

“You created more variety from those things than I could have ever imagined,” Celestia says.

“But I have not yet created anything!” Looking at the snow falling around them, Luna’s lip curls up in distaste. “Even the snow is just another form of rain.”

“Do not be so quick to belittle what you have changed,” Celestia says, a bit of anger leaking into her voice at Luna’s tantrum. “You have a gift for detail, one I have always been envious of.”

“I don’t want it!” Luna cries, stamping the ground. “I want what you have!”

Celestia snaps. “Don’t act so petulant!”

Luna flinches, staring at Celestia. Celestia feels a pang of regret as tears begin to form in Luna’s eyes.

“Luna...” Celestia sighs, looking at her. “I am sorry—”

Luna’s wings snap open and she dives off the cliff.

Celestia stares at where Luna was for a moment. She walks to the cliff edge and looks down, seeing a black dot flying towards the barren coasts.

She does not give chase.

Slumping down on the cold rock, Celestia shivers and sets her head down on the stone to close her eyes, but the howling wind and a disturbed thought keep her up. She does not know whether Luna will come back.

The sun disappears, and the clouds clear to reveal a gibbous moon, stark and bright in the sky, and it makes her think of Luna. The night seems much longer than most, but eventually the sun peeks its way over the horizon, and the snow-capped mountains glow bright pink with its light.

Celestia wearily raises her head. Her body feels weak from the cold and lack of rest, and her legs feel like stone. She spreads her wings, but stands there for a moment, as though hoping Luna will show up if she waits.

But she does not.

Celestia takes to the air and flies down from the mountain, the snow disappearing behind her.
The air and ground whip past as she flies in the direction Luna disappeared, but she knows her chance of finding the other mare is slim.

Flying over the barrens, she keeps her eyes peeled for a dark blot on the ground or in the sky, but after circling the expansive wasteland twice, she gives up and heads beyond the barrens. The white sandstone flatland gives way to sun scorched earth, and she follows a river through it. The river merges into another, and then another. It becomes as wide as a lake, and then pours out into a lagoon which in turn pours out into the sea.

Celestia lands and comes to a halt at the shore of the lagoon, her eyes wide as she looks out into the water.

The water is deep green, almost no trace of blue is left in its color, and it is murky enough that she can’t even see the bottom of the shallows. She looked back up the river; it must have carried particles from the soil out to the ocean, creating the color of the lagoon before her.

“Luna! Look at what has—” Celestia begins, but the words die in her mouth as she turns around to see nopony there. Her shoulders slump and she lets out a small sigh, looking back at the lagoon.

With nothing else to do, she spreads her wings and takes off again to search.

She flies along the shore, the earth steadily growing darker beneath her. She flies for days, the lack of rest and constant flight making her weary and tired, but she can’t sleep, not under the moon.

The shore becomes steep cliff with jagged rocks at its bottom, which the waves crash ceaselessly against. Stopping on the soil a short ways inland from the shore, Celestia lies down.

The moon rises and sets hundreds of times. It rains. It hails. It snows. Mud taints Celestia’s coat, and it becomes a dull shade of white. The entire time she lies on the hill near the ocean, watching the sky and wondering what Luna is doing.

As the winter leaves and the weather becomes warm, Celestia finally stands back up. Searching on hoof or wing for Luna will take forever, so she decides instead to create a message. One that will draw her back.

Celestia closes her eyes and her horn begins to glow. The magic seems to breathe life back into her, and her coat becomes pure and untarnished again.

She imagines a single strand, and extends it into a blade. She thinks of the lagoon that she wished Luna could have seen, and colors the blade a rich green. She gives it roots to drink the rainwater and to hold it upright in the wind. Her magic emits a low hum as she pictures all of these things, and gives life to them.

Her eyes open, and she is standing in a field of what she decides to call grass.

As though afraid to crush it, she carefully takes a step on the newly created field. The grass bends under her hoof, and the ground feels soft, much softer than the soil had felt. An ocean breeze wanders past, and it makes the grass bend and wave in the wind. For the first time in months, Celestia feels a smile tug at her lips.

Her walk around the field picks up to a trot, and then throwing her inhibitions aside, her trot hastens to a gallop, running across the field with a carefree laugh.

She doesn’t run for long, and the feeling of tiredness comes back all at once. Folding her hooves under her and laying down, Celestia rests her head on the grass, smiling at the feel of it against her cheek.

It has to bring Luna back. She needs her to make it complete.

Celestia closes her eyes, feeling for the first time in a while that things would be alright. And the thought allows her to fall asleep.

Her eyes snap open.

Celestia rushes to her hooves, looking around wildly. A heavy mist the color of ash surrounds her, leaving only a small circle around her where it will not go. The ground beneath her hooves looks like the sandstone that once made up the world, but it is dark grey, same as the ash.

“Luna?” Celestia calls out. She has never heard her own voice sound so frightened.

She steps forward. The cloud of ash parts in front of her hooves, but rushes in to fill the gap behind her just as quick. She begins to walk forward, veritably blind amidst the miasma of ash.

“Luna!” She tries again.

“Celestia.”

Celestia’s head whips around at the sound of Luna’s voice. “Luna? Where are we?” she asks, walking to where she heard the voice come from. Luna’s face pokes out of the ash cloud in front of her, and the miasma of ash vanishes into thin air.

“Luna, what is this?” Celestia asks, giving the other pony a scrutinizing stare. “Why did you change the seaside cliffs back to barrens?”

Luna stands still as a statue.

“Luna?” Celestia asks, lifting a hoof to touch the other mare. “Are you al—”

The second her hoof touches Luna’s cheek, the Luna in front of her crumbles to ash. Celestia flinches and retracts her hoof, watching as the ash picks itself up off the ground and floats on an unnatural wind up into the sky.

“Luna!” Celestia shouts after it, as it disappears into the sunless murk that was once the sky so long ago. She feels her heart pound in her chest as she stares up at where the ash had vanished. “Where am I?!”

Celestia wakes with a gasp.

She looks around to see herself in the field of grass once more, the moon in the sky, and rain pouring down from clouds overhead. Her mane is damp and clings to her, and she is certain there is some of her own sweat mixed in with the rain.

“You finally woke.”

Celestia spun around at the voice, staring at Luna with wide, frightened eyes. “Luna, you’re here, and the ocean is here, and there is no dust.” Celestia stops herself, seeing the look Luna is giving her. She swallows the lump in her throat, and lets out a sigh, relaxing her shoulders. “You came back.”

Luna walks up to her, and reaches up a hoof to touch her cheek. Celestia flinches, almost expecting Luna’s hoof to turn to dust the second it touched her.

“You must have had a nightmare,” Luna says, walking closer to Celestia and embracing her.

Celestia shudders into her embrace, closing her eyes and resting her chin on Luna’s shoulder. “I must have,” she agrees. She still shakes from the memory of it. She pulls back out of the hug, facing Luna. “How long was I asleep?”

“Fifty nights,” Luna answers.

“Truly? That long?” Celestia asks, placing a hoof on Luna’s shoulder and staring into her eyes. “You are not trying to have fun at me, are you?”

“No, not at all!” Luna brushes Celestia’s hoof off her shoulder, and looks sternly at her. “I tried to wake you. You slept through rain, snow, and hail. Nothing could wake you.” Luna eyes her suspiciously. “Did you sleep at all since I left?”

Celestia avoids her gaze. “No.”

“I thought you would be waiting back atop the mountain. I tried to go back and look for you there, but you were gone.”

“I had gone looking for you over the barrens.”

Luna slaps a hoof over her forehead. “It was stupid of me to...” she trails off, searching for the right words. She hangs her head and sighs. “It was stupid of me. I just wanted some time alone.”

“All you need do is ask for it.”

“I know.”

They stand there in the field of grass for a moment, an easy silence passing between them.

Celestia looks at Luna with a warm smile. “I call it grass,” she says, gesturing the the green carpet beneath them.

“Oh... I see.”

Celestia sees a pang of jealousy in Luna’s eyes, and steps closer to her. “I can not think of what to do with it though,” she says, smiling gently at Luna. “Will you help me make it something more?”

Luna looks down at the ground, hesitant. She pushes at the grass with her hooves, staring at it thoughtfully. Stopping and looking down at it intently, a smile slowly spreads to her lips. “I may have had a few ideas while you slept.”

“Show me.”

Luna’s horn begins to glow, and her magic channels to a single point in the air in front of her, turning green in the process. Something solid, a seed, forms from her magic. She lowers it into the ground, burying it deep beneath the earth. The ground glows with dark green magic, and then a small winding stalk pokes out of the soil. Its growth enhanced by Luna’s magic, the stalk continues to grow its light green skin darkens and turns to a light shade of brown as it grows past their shoulder height, the stalk continuing to grow thicker and darker.

The stalk splits and branches into all different directions, and those splits split again, and again, and they grow wide and flat pieces of grass that hang from the branches on short stems.

The tree grows to three times their height by the time Luna cuts off her magic. Celestia approaches it slowly and lifts a hoof to touch its skin.

“It is rough.”

“It is a tree,” Luna replies, walking to stand next to Celestia under it.

Celestia stands there for a moment. Her eyes trace the leaves and branches, and the grain of the wood down to the base of the tree. The leaves rustle in the wind from the sea, but hold fast to their branches.

Closing her eyes and lowering her head, Celestia’s horn begins to bloom bright green. All around the field of grass, stalks begin to grow out of the ground, winding their way up out of the earth, and stretching high into the sky. The ground glows pale green with Celestia’s magic, and the clearing becomes surrounded by trees. Beside Celestia, Luna takes a step back and looks around.

The trees’ trunks grow thick, and their skin dark. Leaves sprout along their branches, and soon the two ponies can no longer see past the trees to the land surrounding.

Once the trees stand as tall as the one in the middle of the clearing, Celestia halts the flow of her magic and opens her eyes.

Luna walks out into the middle of the clearing in a trance, the light from the moon making her coat shimmer like polished ebony. She stops a dozen paces from the tree Celestia stands under and looks back at her. “I can see a world covered in forests,” she says, slipping into a grin.

“You have that look again,” Celestia says, a grin forming on her own lips as she joins Luna in the moonlit clearing. “What do you plan now?”

“Grass and trees, covering every inch of soil.”

“I like the thought.” Celestia lets out a laugh, and touches her forehead to Luna’s, her smile fading as she looks the other mare in the eye. “I missed you.”

“I am sorry,” Luna says, closing her eyes and letting out a long, drawn out sigh. “We are each talented in our own ways. I was immature.”

“I would give you the world if I could,” Celestia says, backing up slightly and looking at her. “You know that, right?”

“I feel it may have been that exact thing which spoiled me so.” Luna cocks her head to the side and smiles. “You do too much.”

Celestia walks forward and hugs her, resting her head on Luna’s shoulders, as Luna does the same. And while Luna is not looking, she allows a single tear to trickle down her face and bury itself in Luna’s coat. Wiping her eye and stepping back out of the hug, Celestia sends Luna a smile. “Let us go create the world’s forests.”

Part 16: Guardian

Guardian

Equestria from Dust, by soundslikeponies

The copper-lit chamber grows deafeningly quiet. Celestia’s heart pounds in her ears so thunderously that it crowds out any thought. Her throat runs dry. Her knees feel weak. She shuts her eyes and wishes it would all just go away.

Discord lifts his claw, inspecting the sharpness of its talons. “Hmm, nothing to say?” he asks, arching an eyebrow at her.

“What would you have me do?” Celestia snaps, gritting her teeth and bearing them at him. “You want me to bow? I’ll bow. You want me to tap dance for you? I’ll do that too.” She stops herself and takes a deep breath, allowing her to get some of her anger back under control. She starts again, “What do you want from me? What will it take for me to get those foals back unharmed?”

Slapping a paw over his mouth, Discord chortles quietly to himself, his grin peeking out from either side of his hand. “Sorry.” He doesn’t mean it. “It’s just so ridiculously amusing to watch you struggle with yourself. You’re hilarious, you know that?”

Celestia slowly breathes hot air out her nostrils, keeping a level-headed stare.

Discord lets out a sigh, smiling. “You know I don’t think I’ll ever let those two students go. This is just too much fun.”

Luna stomps the ground, her lips pulled back in a snarl. “Then we’ll have to force it out of you.”

Discord gives her a casual glance. “Yes, yes I suppose you would,” he says. “Only—” he snaps his fingers, an apple popping into existence above one claw “—I have magic here, and you don’t.”

Discord stretches his clawed hand wide open, setting the apple ablaze with a dark purple flame. As the air shimmers around it, the apple turns into a black and hard obsidian orb.

Luna shifts her stance, watching the flame warily. Celestia tenses as well as she glances between Discord and the spell in his hand, looking for a sign—a flinch, a twitch of the eye, a sharp flicker of flame—for when he might launch it.

“You can’t so much as light your own horn here, can you?” Discord says, summoning eight more fireballs into the air around him. “What does it feel like to be powerless? I’d imagine that’s a new one for you.”

“I fear no spell of yours,” Celestia says, her eyes narrowing. “For I know they come from the magic of a coward.”

Discord glares, briefly, before an unpleasant smile slips across his lips once more. Simultaneously, the nine balls of purple flame fizzle to nothing. “Fine,” Discord says, crossing his arms. “Let it be known that if nothing else, I hate to make things dull.”

“What is this?” Celestia asks, still tensing.

“I’ll use no magic here: a restriction to make things more interesting.” Discord glances at each of them. “No objections I trust?”

“How do we know you won’t just resort to magic if you start losing?” Luna asks.

“You don’t, but what does that matter?”

It doesn’t, Celestia supposes. All they can do is be on guard and take whatever advantage Discord is willing to give them. In the end it’s all a game to him.

Celestia glances at Luna, who nods at her. They both lower into a combative stance, legs slightly spread and knees bent. Celestia tries calling on her magic one more time, hoping to feel anything, but all she receives in response is a blank pulse and a pain in her horn.

Discord chuckles to himself. “A battle between gods, then,” he says, his fangs gleaming in the amber light. “Who would believe someone if they said it was fought tooth and nail?”

“I think someone would,” Celestia says, eyes narrowing. “If one of said gods were a madman with some kind of leverage over his opponents’ heads, it would seem quite fitting.”

“I suppose it would. Pity no one will hear of it.”

“That yet remains to be seen,” Celestia says. “Do you plan to make this a fair fight, or do you not?”

“I don’t know. That’s really all up to the two of you. How capable are you without your powers? How well do you cope with nothing but the strength of your four legs?”

“Better than you would think,” Celestia replied.

With that, their conversation falls silent. Discord, chatty as he is, has nothing more to say.

Luna charges at Discord, her head lowered and her horn poised to gore him. As she falls within reach he swipes at her with his lion paw. His limb moves with the strength of a bear, iron muscles lying beneath its grey coat.

Luna ducks beneath it, its claws grazing her mane, as she continues to run at him and aims for his wide open side.

Discord’s tail whips around from the follow through of his swing. She isn’t prepared. It’s moving too fast.

His tail crashes into her harder than she could have braced herself for, knocking the wind from her and sending her barreling across the floor of the chamber. She lies there on the stone, gasping.

Celestia bites her tongue, studying Discord’s movements. Her sister is strong enough and stubborn enough not to be enfeebled by such a blow, but she can tell that there is no hope of either of them beating him. Especially if he decides to use his magic. Her mind races to find a plan.

Discord turns away from Luna to face Celestia. “Are you really going to just stand there as your sister fights me?” he asks her. “You’re going to watch her struggle all on her own? Where’s your sibling compassion?”

Luna manages to climb to her hooves, wincing. “Ignore him,” she says. She looks at Celestia. “Are you ready?”

Celestia nods, lowering her stance. They both sprint towards Discord, horns lowered. Celestia runs straight at him as Luna comes from his side.

Discord glances between the two of them, his lip pulled up in a snarl. Not waiting for them both to meet him, he faces Celestia and lowers onto his front claws, dashing up to her with two gaping steps. His avian arm lunges for her throat with talons sharper than spears.

Celestia rears back in surprise, but not quick enough as his talons wrap around her throat, lifting her off the ground as he stands upright.

Luna freezes in her tracks, staring in horror.

Turning to face her, Discord lightly drags a claw across Celestia’s throat. “Schlick!” he says, smiling sinisterly. “Match point. I win.” But then he frowns and lets out a heavy sigh. “Over barely after it began, now where’s the fun in that?”

He tosses Celestia over to Luna, his talons drawing deep gashes on her neck as he throws her.

Luna steps in the way of Celestia’s fall, spreading her wings. She catches her, but Celestia’s weight throws them both to the ground, separating them, and they grind to a painful halt a short distance apart.

Numb, biting pain races up and down Celestia’s side, her dust-made wings shattered. The hair around her neck is matted with blood running from the three gashes on either side of her neck.

Still, she tries to stand. It’s the most pain she’s ever been in, but as she bears it she supposes Discord was right about one thing at the very least: her will.

Drips trail down and fall from her chest. She raises her head, her neck stinging from the action, and looks Discord in the eye with her lips sealed in a narrow line.

Discord smirks, not the least bit affected by her glare. “I would have been disappointed if that was all it took. Good to see you living up to your title.”

“Go burn in Tartarus,” Celestia bites back, her teeth bared in a snarl.

“It was on my list of places to visit, but maybe later.”

Off to the side, Luna stands with a great deal of effort. She pants, the fresh bruises from Discord’s first attack showing her no kindness for catching Celestia. “This isn’t working.”

Celestia glances at her back. The dust made wings begin to regenerate. “Are you able to fly?”

“My wings seem to have avoided the worst of it, yes,” Luna says, spreading them.

“If we take to the air we at least have an advantage in speed.”

“Oh I’m sorry,” Discord says, chuckling. “Would you two prefer if I turn around while you strategize?”

Luna glares at him. For a moment, her eyes flicker with black dust. “Does it matter?” she snaps.

The smile on Discord’s face turns sour. “No, I suppose it really doesn’t.”

Neither of them say anything more to him. Once Celestia’s wings finish reforming, the two of them take flight. Celestia wavers, adjusting to the dust-made wings. They feel surprisingly agile, strong. A wingstroke takes practically no effort at all, and the feeling of power in her wings gives her a renewed confidence.

She and Luna hover just off the ground, taking a moment to evaluate Discord. In the air they are harder targets, but if they are hit, the resulting fall will be that much harder. They have to be fast, but careful. There is no telling if either of them could take another blow like the ones from before.

Several tense seconds pass. Then, Celestia and Luna begin circling Discord, gaining more and more speed.

Discord’s gaze shifts back and forth between them as he crouches, flexing his talons and claws. The way he’s coiled reminds Celestia of a snake being circled by an eagle high above, and she decides to strike, turning inwards, straight for Discord. Opposite of her, Luna does the same.

Discord spins around, trying to face both ways, but only succeeding in facing neither.

As Celestia swoops down towards his face, she slows herself and climbs over an errant swipe, before launching a kick to the side of his head. It misses. But as it does, Luna bucks and lands a kick squarely to his back.

Discord staggers from the blow. He swings his claws furiously, but both of them have already backed away, and begun circling him again. “Clever,” he spits.

Giving him no reprieve, they dive in once more, Luna leading first this time.

Discord turns to her, his claws outstretched. He raises both his arms, protecting his face, and swipes at her with his lion’s paw.

Luna flaps her wings forward, backpedaling away from his attacks and dancing around just out of his reach. But from behind, Celestia weaves under a swipe from his tail. Two bone shattering kicks land on Discord’s back with a satisfying crunch.

Letting out a shrill roar, he falls to the floor, writhing and twitching. He slithers away, into the darkness away from the mural, beyond where it’s safe for them to follow. A loud snap of bone popping back into place comes from the dark, followed by a cry of pain.

Celestia watches the border where the light reaches, panting. A few tense moments pass with nothing but silence coming from the dark. Celestia folds her wings, glancing at Luna. Luna does little more than shrug.

Silent, with no warning, a purple glow surrounds Luna and lifts her off the ground. In the next instant, it throws her faster than anything is meant to fly, flinging her at the mural. Her body crumples against the painted wall, cracks snaking outward from her impact. There’s no scream. No reaction. Her eyes close.

Celestia’s breath leaves her. Her bottom lip quivers, and she begins to feel the familiar sting of tears in her eyes. “Luna!” she cries, the words coming ripped out of her throat. Her tears trail down her cheeks, mingling with the blood on her coat around her neck. The salt in them stings, but it’s nothing like the pain of seeing her sister’s limp form.

Discord steps out into the light. She turns to him, shaking with fury. “Why her?!” she yells, choking on her tears. “It should have been me!”

Discord merely smiles in the face of her rage and pain.“You’re the one I want to play with.”

Celestia rushes over to Luna’s side and leans down. Her body is badly crushed, her legs bent in ways they were never designed to bend. She leans down and places a hoof beside Luna’s neck. There’s no pulse. Not a weak one, clinging to life. None.

Celestia tilts Luna’s head, staring at her closed eyes. “Luna...” She cradles Luna’s limp form, burying her muzzle against her neck. “I couldn’t give you the world...”

Discord watches, unsympathetically, from the side. But to Celestia, there is no Discord. There is neither mural nor chamber. There is only her: Luna. The one for which she did everything.

Slowly, she lets out a deep breath. The shaking stops. A gentle beckoning calls to her. She closes her eyes, a wave of calm washing over her. With her calm, the beckoning lifts her spirit away from her.

Drip... Drip... Drip...

Warmth surrounds Celestia. It comforts her with an invisible blanket, numbing the pain in her body and mind.

Protect.

Celestia slowly opens her eyes, feeling as though she’s coming back after a very long sleep. The ground is soft. Four black hooves stand in a pool of shallow water nested in a cloud in the sky. Craning her neck up, she sees the dark apparition of her dreams, and what appear to be tears falling from the apparition’s muzzle.

Drip.

Celestia’s vision grows blurry. She reaches up and touches the apparition’s cheek. “You... you look so much like her.”

Gone is the anger, the fear, the sorrow that for so long has marred the apparition’s face. It has returned to the gentle look, the one she saw centuries ago. It cranes its neck down and rests its muzzle against Celestia’s neck. Tears continue to stream silently down its face. It’s crying for her.

A shadow casts itself over Celestia, blocking the sun at her back. She turns to face it. A wing, white as snow and whiter than her own, rests the tips of its feathers across her shoulders, the white spirit standing solemnly at its end.

Celestia casts her eyes downward, a sickness rising in her throat. “I couldn’t protect any of them,” she says, quietly. The spirit gently retracts its wing. “Luna, Storm Gale, Rose Flame. There wasn’t a single one of them I could keep safe.”

The spirit stares at her. Celestia averts her gaze, the shame of her. The spirit’s eyes soften. Then, folding its wing back to its side, it steps past her and begins walking along the pool’s surface. Not a single ripple echoes out along the surface, the air still as death. Pausing out in the center of the pool, the spirit stops and glances back at her.

The next breath freezes in Celestia’s throat. A whispering voice in the back of her head urges her forward, urges her to join the spirit. So she stands, taking a few tentative steps forward. She walks across the pool, the surface like glass beneath her hooves. She joins the white spirit in the center.

Drip... Drip...

The apparition, too, walks across the surface, stopping behind Celestia. Waves ripple outwards from its tears.

Celestia stares down at her reflection, the waves making it shiver and shake. In the eyes of her reflection there’s a pony she barely recognizes. Its eyes seem so alone, so sad. She closes her eyes, unable to look at it any longer.

Remember.

The surface gives out, plunging her into the water. And rather than floating, she plummets, deeper and deeper until the water is black. She continues to sink, stuck in limbo as pressure builds around her. Memories cloud her mind in a haze of disjointed sounds and sights. A single thought breaks through and silences the chatter.

Why am I here?

She floats, weightlessly, tumbling ever downward in the bottomless pool.

Protect.

She shakes her head. No, there’s more to it than that.

Her mane drifts in front of her eyes, a reef of blue, green, and pink. She can feel the words on the tip of her tongue, slipping ever further out of her grasp. The deeper she falls, the more her past slips away, memories drifting out into the dark void surrounding her.

After everything I’ve been through, is it coming to an end?

Celestia smiles and closes her eyes, letting her out her breath. She watches the bubbles float up towards the surface and a serene feeling of peace washes over her.

I’ll see you soon, Luna.

As her life slips away, she recalls the first time she laid eyes on her, atop that mountain so long ago. Her sister. Her child. Her equal. Her better. She can still recall perfectly the way Luna’s eyes lit up with wonder at the world surrounding her and the immense gratification Celestia felt upon seeing her open her eyes.

Wait!

Celestia’s eyes snap open. Hundreds of memories, spread over thousands of years, flash before her. As she scans them, she feels the answer back on the tip of her tongue, just one link from everything being tied together. Her heart pounds in her chest. There isn’t much time. Then, a small word, representing a much bigger idea, pops into her head.

Love.

With it, her memories clear, her thoughts clarify. She looks back on her memories, realizing how much she cared for each and every single one of them, and how little she showed it.

I’ve never shared my love. Not with anyone but her.

A picture of Luna’s broken form presses to the forefront of her mind. Her jaw tightens. Were it not for the water, tears would be falling from her eyes.

Even then, I never shared my love with her as much as I should have.

A warmth begins to build in her chest, casting a faint glow in the water. The golden magic in her wings spreads to the rest of her body and covers it in a veil of light. With it, her wings grow. With it, she feels as though she can fly.

Soaring out of the depths, she rushes toward the surface. The water begins to take on color, light filtering down from above, and soon the bright blue sheen of the surface appears in the distance. She glides toward it with her wings spread wide, flying through the water as if it were air.

She bursts through the surface, standing atop it once more. She heaves, her mane and coat dripping wet and sending ripples along the pool of water.

Across from her, the apparition and spirit stand. Clouds of dust, much like Celestia’s own, surround them. Where they meet and cross, a golden dust forms.

Celestia stares at them, her eyes widening. Their magic is the same as hers. It has the same presence, the same touch. “You’re me,” she says, in disbelief. She shakes her head. “You’ve been in my dreams this whole time because you are me.”

They glance at each other, then turn back to her and nod slowly.

As Celestia’s coat stops dripping, she sees her reflection, but instead of it being her, it’s the apparition and spirit staring back at her. Their hooves are attached to where hers are on the water’s surface. The way their stance shifts mimics hers.

“I... I don’t understand.” Celestia grits her teeth, her shoulders shaking. “Why? Why attack me in the mountains? Why poison me in my dreams? Does this mean I did those things to myself?” The spirits both nod. Celestia stares down at her own hooves and the golden magic flowing around them.

“Then he was right. I am ultimately the one who created him, and because of that...” Celestia’s words die off. What she has to do becomes clear, and she raises her head.

Meeting the spirit’s gazes, she says, “If you two are me, then lend me your magic. Lend me the will that once shaped the world, lend me the heart that created life, and let me protect that which I created, but is not mine.” A drive—a conviction builds in Celestia as she speaks. “Allow me to protect them.”

A moment passes in silence, the spirits merely meeting her gaze. Then, they both begin to smile, genuinely. A look of what Celestia can only describe as peace washes over them as they close their eyes. Their bodies glow and then begin to dissolve to clouds of dust, mixing to form a golden cloud that shines under the sun of the dream world.

As the cloud expands to a great sandstorm around her, Celestia bows her head and closes her eyes. “Thank you.”

But before she leaves, she hears six words.

Laughter.

Generosity.

Kindness.

Loyalty.

Honesty.

Love.

Celestia returns to the scene exactly where she left it, with Luna’s crumpled form in her arms and with Discord sneering down at her. She lets go of Luna. As she stands, her wings, and the golden dust that makes them, grow and spread, her wingspan becoming many times her own body length.

From each wing’s span form three golden orbs, translucent like gems and more pure than any amber. They drip from the growing body of dust like teardrops. Circling her, they glow with energy.

Discord steps back, his eyes narrowing. “Oh? Now where’s this coming from? And here I thought your claws were clipped.” He summons six dark purple fireballs, each the size of his fist, to his side. “I guess we’ll be having a real fight after all. Come. Kill me, Celestia.”

“No,” Celestia replies. Her voice carries no anger, no loathing. She speaks calm and gentle, “As much as I loathe you for all that you’ve done, you were born of me, and are still a part of me.”

“What a useless sentiment. Naive to the bitter end, I suppose.”

No. Celestia takes a stance. Not any longer. The orbs circling her begin to glow brighter, the magic in them causing the air itself to vibrate.

Faster than Discord can flee, a golden beam, thick as a road and bright as sunlight, strikes him. His eyes widen as he stands there, paralyzed, while his feet begin to turn to stone.

“What?” His mouth drops open, aghast, once he realizes what’s happening. “No, no, no! What are you doing?! Kill me!” he shrieks. The stone is up to his knees now. “Kill me! Kill me! Kill me! Strike through my heart! I don’t want to be caged again!”

Celestia has to pity the beast. How can she not when he knows so little? How can she not when he is so lost, so alone in the world, as she once was? “There will come a time when you are free again. Not for a thousand years, but there will come a time. And when that time comes, I hope to make you understand exactly what you sought to destroy.” The stone is up to his chest now. “Sleep, Discord. Let your tantrum settle and awake calm to the morning sun.”

Discord growls, even as his arms and shoulders turn to stone. “When that time comes, I will wreak havoc on everything you worked so hard to create.”

“Then you shall return to stone, ad infinitum, until you right your way.”

“Why do this?” His voice strains as stone crawls up his neck. “Why not kill me?”

“Consider it a mother’s love,” Celestia answers.

Discord’s eyes widen. He makes a croaking noise as the stone travels his jaw, but manages no more as the rest of his face petrifies in a last look of shock.

Celestia stares at the newly formed statue, making sure her magic holds. She waits. She waits. And then, she releases the breath she’s holding. It’s over. The weight of reality takes hold of her once more and she glances over her shoulder. It almost looks as though Luna’s sleeping. At least, that is how Celestia prefers to see it.

Eventually she peels her eyes away, looking instead to the mural. From further away, she can see that it does indeed have borders, unlike what she first thought. It’s difficult to make out the smaller animals at this distance, though it gives her a greater appreciation for the sheer scale of the wall. There are two thick lines that meet the near the mural’s edge, ones she never noticed before, and so her eyes trace them upwards. They aren’t lines, but part of an image, she realizes, one that encapsulates the entire mural. The image is a pony, its outline the color of white sandstone; her.

If only I’d stepped back, I would have noticed. In the image her eyes are closed, all the world wrapped in her embrace. It’s a tapestry of her life, of everything she’s ever done. And at the heart of it, she and Luna dance around the earth.

Something faint lingers in the chamber, something magic. Celestia glances back at Discord, but no, his magic is there and different and all contained in stone. This lingering magic is familiar, but too small a size to say why. Then she realizes. Her breath turns to clay in her throat and she looks past her shoulder at Luna’s resting form, her legs beginning to tremble.

“Luna!” she shouts, using her magic to turn to dust and reappear at her sister’s side. She reaches down and feels for a pulse. There’s none. Yet, there’s still a magical presence in her body; life has not yet left it.

A bit of hope returns, but Celestia dares not waste a moment. At any moment the fading light may go out. She touches the tip of her horn to Luna’s chest, over her heart, and calls upon her magic to heal her, the gold dust obeying. Magic surges into Luna—as much as Celestia can summon. The six golden orbs aid her, focusing, refining, and powering her spell. In almost no time at all, Luna’s body is healed, but that’s not the real concern. The real concern is in bringing her back. Celestia sends her magic to kindle Luna’s dying light. The longer Luna’s heart doesn’t beat, the harder it becomes, like a winter’s night growing ever colder around a small flame.

“Come back, please, come back,” Celestia pleads, growing desperate. The orbs grow exhausted and begin to lose their glow, turning to stone. They drop to the ground, dead, and shortly after the rest of Celestia’s magic disappears as well, leaving her with nothing more than a weak, broken pair of golden wings.

Celestia’s shoulders shake. She continues to point her horn at Luna’s heart, desperately trying to pull something forth once more, but after some time where nothing comes, she gives up and collapses on top of Luna’s still body, burying her tears in Luna’s chest and cursing herself for regaining hope. Though by this time she believes her tears are all but gone, some still manage to drip onto Luna’s coat.

Then, a raspy, dried-throat voice calls to her. “Tia?” it says, sounding weak and like death.

Celestia’s ears twitch then freeze. She stays perfectly still, wondering whether she is being wishful in hearing her voice. But when Luna’s chest shifts beneath her, she raises her head and looks, meeting Luna’s eyes. Celestia can’t help the laugh of relief and following smile that escape her, as she sniffles and wipes her muzzle against her shoulder.

Luna smiles back at her, but confusion replaces it once she looks around. “Where are we?” she asks, her voice sounding in desperate need of water. Her eyes widen and she sits upright. “Where’s Discord? Did we—Oh.” She cuts off, spotting the statue. “I must’ve not been much help.”

Celestia laughs and smiles at that, no part of her joy in seeing her sister well withheld. “You were more crucial than you’d ever let yourself believe,” she says. She then glances back at Discord’s statue. “Are you hurting anywhere?”

“My throat feels coarse as sand,” Luna answers, stretching her limbs. “But otherwise, no.”

A sound like dozens of small chimes dancing on strings fills the chamber, coming from above. At the utmost top of the mural, higher even than clouds would be, the walls of the chamber are turning to dust. The effect begins to spread, racing down the wall.

Celestia stands. “What’s happening?”

“The dream’s resolving,” Luna says, managing to climb to her hooves. “Every dream has a beginning, when the dream is formed. From there it resides within us, day and night. Most dreams are never realized, but when they are, the dream resolves and comes to a close.”

Celestia gazes with amazement as the world dissolves around them. It quickly grows close. “What shall happen to us?”

“We will awaken.”

The world breaks down ever more, the chamber they stand in now a storm of swirling dust with them in the eye of it. It overtakes them, the world turning black.

Celestia awakes someplace warm, lying beneath a thin silken sheet. She takes a deep breath and is greeted by the familiar scent of linens and lilies, of her own bed. As the fog of sleep lifts, she begins to remember where she is and the dream she just came from.

There’s a patter of hooves in the hall. Shortly after, the door opens and a gasp comes from beneath its arch.

Celestia sits up, opening her eyes. It’s Storm Gale by the door, her smile bubbling over with excitement.

“Princess!” Storm shouts, galloping across the room and leaping onto her bed. She hugs Celestia’s midsection, squeezing it tightly.

Celestia returns the hug, stroking her student’s mane. “Storm, thank goodness you’re safe.” She holds the embrace a while longer, but then sets Storm at a leg’s length away, looking her over. “Are you hurt anywhere?”

Storm chuckles at seeing the Princess fret over her. “I’m fine, Princess. I keep telling you I’m tougher than you think.”

Celestia sighs with relief. “How did you get out?”

“When the dream resolved, every living thing in it was sent back to the real world,” Luna answers, from the doorway. Rose Flame stands by her side. “It would seem that includes Storm and Rose, since he was keeping them there. You first began to stir last night, but I let you sleep until morning, figuring you to still be tired from that ordeal.”

“I suppose I was, thank you,” Celestia says. “What of Discord? Was he sent back as well?”

“He’s in the garden, blending in with the other statues there.” At this, Luna smirks. “I’d imagine pigeons will soon be decorating him.”

Celestia climbs out of bed, shaking her head and trying not to smile. “You’re awful.”

Moving on, Luna’s smile fades. “There was one other thing. There were also six stones that came back with us. When I awoke I found them lying in a circle around you. They were heavily saturated with magic.”

The words from the dream echo in her head. Laughter, generosity, kindness, loyalty, honesty, love. “Are they someplace safe?” she asks.

Luna nods. “I placed them in a chest in the treasury. We may go see them if you wish.”

Celestia sits still for a moment, looking from Luna to Rose and from Rose to Storm. She walks over to her bedroom’s balcony, stepping outside and breathing the fresh air. Everfree lies below, carriages and ponies in its streets, the weekend market bustling in the town square. The houses and walls stand, and the farms beyond them. Everyone’s safe, Celestia realizes. She takes another breath of the fresh air and smiles.

“Er... Are you feeling well, sister?” Luna asks.

“Quite so, Luna,” Celestia answers. The sun is unseasonably warm for so early in spring, though its heat is cooled by a soft breeze, carrying the scent of flowers beginning to bloom. “It’s a beautiful day out, wouldn’t you agree?”

“It is,” Luna agrees.

“Then perhaps let’s hold off on the meetings and lessons for one more day and spend today in the courtyard.” Luna joins her as she walks past them. She pauses and nods at the two young mares by Luna’s side. “Rose, Storm, you’re more than welcome to join us if you so wish.”

Storm and Rose glance at each other, both easily making up their minds and following the two of them. Guards and servants both seem surprised to see Celestia out of bed, and many of them walk up to them to congratulate her on her recovery. Celestia stops Luna to ask just how long she was out. “A little over a fortnight,” Luna answers, causing Celestia to second guess her decision to take the day off.

Eventually, however, she convinces herself that the captain will be fine, and that today she owes her attention to those closest to her. Today she lives for them, tomorrow she lives for the kingdom.

As she sees the smiling faces of the ponies surrounding her, she is sure then and there that she will protect this world she no longer owns, so long as she lives.