Elemental: Power is Magic

The inn was a less than welcoming place, or so it seemed from the outside. The walls were dull and dismal, the windows cracked and dusty. The roof looked like some amateur patchwork job, and the clouds which had gathered overhead—the fact that they were still controlled by the pegasi, at least, was reassuring—appeared less than friendly; dark and convulsing. The sight made Celestia wince and the little Luna-griffon, too, could only whimper. It didn't take much more than the first few raindrops to the encourage them to scarper inside.

And, surprisingly, the unpleasantness was left behind at the front entrance. The bar which met Celestia's wary eyes was brightly lit with candles and glowing gemstones, covered with a warm orange sheet. The decor was cheap, certainly—some things looked as if they had been salvaged from a scrapyard, even—but right now, in a place as strange and unwelcoming as this, anything colourful was nice. Celestia was more than a little weary after her long and, to be frank, confusing day; she wasn't about to be picky, especially not if the bed on offer was affordable.

With the small silver coins in hoof—what had Luna called them, again?—she stepped forwards to the counter slowly. When nopony came to serve her, a most strange phenomenon after centuries of ponies fawning over her with every step that she took, she then lifted a hoof and began to lower it down to the countertop. She did not need to tap, however; the second that she began to try, a quiet and bored voice sounded from the shadows. Out of them, a scruffy griffon slunk out; her pale green feathers were dull and bone dry and her fur, perhaps snow-white once, was dusty and split at the ends. One of her eyes was permanently closed shut, sewn together with stitches. When she stood up at the counter, Celestia then noticed with horror that the middle talon on her right claw was merely a bloody mess.

"Hello," she murmured, her good eye thinned. Her voice was gritty and grating; it was then that a heavy metal collar was revealed to be slightly concealed under her fur when it flashed a bloody shade of red. She yelped and a wave of electricity seemed to pass through her body, making her wispy fur and feeble feathers stand on end and her beak open in pain. Once the red light then faded, she gasped and trembled where she stood before she whispered, her voice unsteady, "Good day!" It was a pathetic attempt at a chirpy voice, as if Celestia had not just watched what happened. "Anything you require, I would be more than willing to help out." The light flashed once, for only the briefest of moments, and the griffon ground her beak together before she added slowly, cautiously, "Ma'am."

Celestia could only gape for a few moments, her jaw opening and closing like a fish's. She raised her hoof a few times and brushed it through the air in complete and utter horror. It was then that the Luna-griffon, watching her in all her perplexed amusement, noticed the two silver coins in the frog of Celestia's hoof. She glowered and zipped down to clasp them in her claw, hissing "My snaffles!" with a pout plastered on her face. She then flew back and her tiny wings flapped frantically before she landed down on the worktop with a thud. She then trotted up to the larger griffon and shoved the first of the coins towards her, though did not let go when the griffon began to nip at the coin with her beak. She then jerked it back and snapped, "That's enough for, y'know, just a little room. Right?"

The griffon was quiet and glanced about quickly. She then stepped back and said slowly, as if unsure of her words, "That would depend on... That would depend on who is asking, Ma'am." She ruffled her feathers and looked Luna over with a frown. She was quiet for a moment before she then opened her mouth—but she promptly took a step back and shook her head, her beak clamped shut as she waited for a reply.

"We're students of Princess Twilight Sparkle," Luna said, chest puffed out in pride—or it was for a minute, at least. "I mean, she's Princess Twilight Sparkle's student. I... I'm just the lowly assistant, but ah well."

The griffon behind the counter frowned, but she reached underneath and pulled forth a small key all the same. She then placed it down on the worktop tenderly, her good eye focused on Celestia inquisitively. When the little Luna-griffon walked forwards to snatch it, however, she turned her head around sharply and ground her teeth together, her claws now positioned protectively over the copper. "If what your assistant says is true," she said, her gaze back to Celestia, "then one snaffle will certainly suffice. However, I... I will need some form of identification. Ma'am."

Celestia looked down at herself, from her less than-impressive pink mane to her no-longer-recognised cutie mark, and bit her bottom lip slightly. Why would Twilight think to move her away without giving her any means of getting shelter, or food? If only she had asked her before, Celestia chided herself; why had she not questioned where she would be staying? Had she gotten so foalish in her old age?

Or, maybe Twilight hadn't left them with nothing. Celestia watched in puzzlement as Luna winked at her quickly before she pounced closer to the larger griffon and extended her little wing; after a few moments, the former gasped and fell to her knees in a bow that was blocked by the counter, and Luna turned away smugly. As she folded her feathers back to her side, however, she felt herself be pulled from her paws by Celestia's magic. She, in turn, pulled it back open quickly and studied her companion for a moment before she gasped at that which she found there; a pale cream mark, not unlike Princess Twilight's cutie mark in design but outlined by the shape of a crown, was hidden at the muscular base of Luna's wing. A means of identification. A brand—a scar.

And it was then, when she brushed her head accidentally against the feathers of Luna's chest, that she realised something else. Though hard to see through the thick plumage—the complete opposite of the griffon who was still on her knees in a bow—a metal collar, painted black, could just about be seen hanging tightly around Luna's neck. She didn't have to think hard to imagine what it could do.

"L-Luna!" she gasped, her hoof resting on the collar. The little griffon merely looked down at it with a puzzled frown. "What is this thing?"

"What, my collar?" Luna asked, her head cocked. "Come on, how much've you forgotten? We're gonna need some more snaffle... We might be here for a while if your magic backfire's that bad!"

"Luna..."

"Okay, okay! Sheesh! It's just my collar; you know how Twilight doesn't trust griffons all that great. Hates that we can smell magic and all." Luna gave a short snort. "But I really don't see what good smelling magic is against an alicorn who could blast you to smithereens with it!"

Celestia was quiet for a moment before she nodded numbly, glancing between the two griffons with a rapidly-thumping heart. What had Twilight done?

"E-Excuse me, Ma'am," the large griffon said, still bent over. "May I stand yet?" When Celestia nodded and uttered a confirmation, the griffon leapt to her claws and stood up at the counter—only to recieve a quick jolt for moving so quickly. She yelped and fell back to the ground, wincing as she then said, "I've met ponies with magic backfire before, and... well, they don't smell pleasant. But you don't smell that way; I don't believe you do have the condition." She finished speaking with a slight smile upon her beak—but promptly lost it and said instead, "Ma'am!" before she pushed the key to the other side of the counter. She then mumbled, "Breakfast and dinner is complementary with all double suites; your orders shall be taken when you are ready, and delivered at eight sharp." She paused momentarily and took a cautious step backwards and finished with, "Room Twelve is free, Ma'am. Up the stairs, to the left." With that, she then bowed her head and scarpered backwards so as to hide in the shadows once again; after an uncertain glance to her companion, Celestia then gestured for her to hop onto her back before she made her way to the stairs.

The corridors were not particularly impressive, but given the state of the rest of the world Celestia had no expected them to be all that grand. The state of the bedroom, as such, was quite the surprise; it appeared to be a luxury suite, fully decorated with reasonably plush furniture and decent looking wallpaper. There was no carpet on the floor, unfortunately, and the wood was quite cold—but the wolf skin rug was more than soft and delightfully warm. Celestia did cringe slightly at the thought of it as she lay down, though—she hadn't decorated anything with such items for centuries, the hall of hooves maybe even being the last time she had done so. Her memory of the earliest few centuries was certainly dwindling by now.

As she lay there, her gaze trailed across to the only-slightly-dusty window. Through it, the farm could be seen quite clearly—and it was little like anything Celestia had ever seen in her life. More mechanical. To the little Luna-griffon, however, it was akin to travelling back in time to stone age Equestria. The way her little tail flicked and her wings buzzed as she stood up at the window certainly confirmed it, but Celestia was skeptical.

"Nice view there, Luna?" she asked, smiling all the same and trying not to appear too much like a fish-out-of-water. The little griffon only nodded eagerly and shot up into the air, zipping about as she seemed to do so often. Funny little thing. Despite her assistant's enthusiasm, though, Celestia couldn't help but yawn and lay her head down, the chaos and confusion of the last fifteen hours suddenly hitting her when she stopped. "We'll go there tomorrow morning," she then said, laughing tiredly at the griffon's squeal. She then grunted when Luna leapt on her, kneading her side until she was thrown off. "But for now, I'm tired, so quit bouncing on me and go lie on that bed. Go to sleep, have a nap."

Luna grumbled a little but stood up and hopped onto the bed all the same. Snuggling under the covers quickly, she purred at the warmth and closed an eye with the other kept focused on Celestia cheekily and her tongue poked out. She then giggled at the rolled eyes which met that and whispered, "You know I'm not gonna sleep, right?"

Celestia laughed as she let her eyes slip shut, using her magic to lock the door behind her—and the window. "Just stay there, Luna," she said after she found a comfortable spot. After so long of sleeping in a bed, being able to go back to basics as she had always wished was lovely. The feel of the fur against hers... It was like being a filly again.

A short moment elapsed, and a quiet shuffling made Celestia's ears flick about instinctively. Before she had time to even open her eyes, however, she felt something small and warm brush against her side; almost immediately after, Luna's legs buckled beneath her and she collapsed, sprawled out across her back. After a brief fidgeting, the little griffon then slumped and began to breathe more slowly, more deeply, and Celestia couldn't contain the sigh that passed her lips. But, nevertheless, a small tear ran down her cheek at the thought of her sister, her true sister, and the cruel fate that she had been dealt; the same mare who had once upon a time cuddled up with a younger her in the exact same way.