Smart Cookie leaned against her wooden chair and sighed. The fire illuminated her cottage in a soft glow. Cookie’s eyes shifted to a painting just above the stone fireplace. It was of her and the chancellor.
Those were the days. Cookie thought to herself with a small smile. She could still hear those Windigos even though it’s been several months since they attacked.
Cookie wrapped a hoof around a mug of warm cider and took a sip. The spices danced on her taste buds as the steaming liquid filled her stomach.
She frowned when a knock on her door interrupted her downtime. Now what kind of pony in their right mind would come here at this hour?
Cookie put her mug back on a worn out wooden table and made her way to the door. The frigid draft sent shivers down her spine. When Cookie opened the door, she gasped.
“Hi,” an alicorn filly whispered before collapsing. Behind her, there was a midnight blue filly asleep.
Cookie blinked several times. There were alicorns at her front door. Cookie didn't know weather or not it was a good sign or bad, but one thing she did know was that they needed help and fast. Quickly, Cookie hauled the alabaster filly and her companion inside before laying them on her tan sofa. Then, Cookie went to her closet and dug around. She soon returned with stacks of blankets and heaved them onto the fillies.
Happy that they wouldn’t freeze to death, Cookie trotted into her kitchen. Baking always helped her think, and she knew just the thing to make.
Meanwhile, Celestia slowly opened her eyes and looked around. At first, she became panicked at the pressure on her body. However, Celestia let out a sigh of relief once she noticed that she was surrounded by blankets.
Celestia turned to see Luna snoring softly next to her. Celestia smiled before wiggling out of the blanket mountain, careful as to not wake her sister. After all, Celestia was a princess, so she must find her rescuer and thank them.
Her ears perked up at the sound of metallic objects clashing together. Gingerly, Celestia made her way into the kitchen. She gasped however, once she saw a cream colored earth pony mixing eggs and butter into a gigantic metal bowl.
“What are you doing?” Celestia asked.
The pony shifted her gaze to Celestia and smiled, “It’s good ta see that at least one of ya is awake,” she wiped her butter cloaked hoof on a towel before holding it out to Celestia, “I’m Smart Cookie by the way.” Cookie's heart hammered in her chest. This was how you greet alicorns, right?
“Celestia,” Celestia replied while shaking Cookie’s hoof, “but that doesn’t answer my question. What are you doing?”
Smart Cookie grinned, “Why I’m making cookies. I thought you and that other filly with you might be hungry, and nothing says stopping hunger like my great grandma’s chocolate chip cookies.” Alicorns eat pony food, right? She thought to herself.
Celestia bit her lip, “She’s my sister. Do you think she’ll be okay?”
Cookie began to scoop the dough into golf balls and place them on a circular tray, “Your sister should be fine,” Cookie frowned, “but just what in the world were you two doing out there?”
Celestia’s ears flattened against her skull, “Mother and Father had us leave the palace.”
Cookie perked up at the mention of a palace, "How come they made you leave?" She then mentally screamed at herself for not bowing. Though Celestia hasn't blown her to smithereens, so Cookie took that as a good sign.
“I’m not allowed to say.” Celestia replied with a shaky voice.
Cookie placed the tray in a brick oven before trotting over to Celestia. The two then made it back to the living room where a slumbering Luna still resided. Cookie didn’t press Celestia for anymore answers. The filly’s tone was enough for Cookie to know that she brushed up against a line that should never be crossed.
Celestia clambered onto the sofa and, Cookie sat back into her chair. The mare frowned, however, when she felt her mug. The cider was cold.
“Um, Ms. Cookie?”
“Yes, Celestia?”
Celestia bit her bottom lip and shifted her gaze to the front door, “How long are we allowed to stay?”
Cookie placed a hoof on her muzzle, “Hm that depends. Do you have anywhere you’re supposed to be?”
Celestia bit her bottom lip, “Not exactly. Mother just told me to take Luna and go someplace where no pony would find us.”
Cookie’s turquoise eyes scanned her surroundings. Her house was fairly secluded, saved for the few traveling merchants. Cookie glanced at Celestia who was wrapping herself in a blanket. She couldn’t just kick two fillies out of her home. Yet, what if the thing that attacked their parents were secretly tracking them?
Celestia noticed Cookie’s discomfort, “It’s okay, if you can just let us sleep here for tonight, I promise we’ll leave first thing in the morning.”
Cookie was taken aback, “What? No, no Celestia don’t do that. It’s okay, I was just thinking.”
Celestia tilted her head to the side, “You were?”
“Yes, yes of course!” Cookie replied with flailing hooves, “Taking care of two fillies can be very tedious. Especially since you two are alicorns and I’m just an earth pony.”
Luna let out a yawn and rubbed the sleep from her eyes, “Tia, where are we?”
Celestia patted Luna’s head, “We’re at Smart Cookie’s house. She’s a very nice mare.”
Luna’s head perked up. She looked at Cookie and beamed, “Hiya, I’m Luna!”
“Inside voices, Lulu,” Celestia warned.
“It’s fine; there isn’t a house for miles.” Cookie said.
Luna gave a smug smile to Celestia before returning her attention to the mare, “So, what were you two talking about?”
“We are discussing whether or not Smart Cookie will allow us to stay at her house,” Celestia said.
Luna clasped her forehooves together, “Will you really let Tia and I stay here?”
“Well, I don’t know. You see, I’ve never taken care of fillies before,” Cookie explained.
Luna struggled out from under the blankets and puffed out of her chest, “I am a very mature filly. I’m not even afraid of the dark, unlike Tia.”
“HEY!”
Luna stuck out her tongue, “Inside voices, Tia.”
Cookie jumped into action and quickly separated the two sisters before they could cause more of a scene. Once she was sure that Celestia and Luna weren’t going to kill each other, she let out a sigh.
“Listen, I just don’t know if I’m the best pony to raise you two. Wouldn’t you want a unicorn to teach you magic, or a pegasus to teach you how to fly? As an earth pony, what could I offer you?”
Luna gently patted Cookie’s dull orange mane, “Don’t be sad, Daddy really liked earth ponies. In fact, a bunch of our guards and servants were earth ponies and they were really nice.”
“Besides, we already know how to fly and cast spells,” Celestia piped up, “but we don’t know how to bake or grow trees. You could always help us with that.”
Cookie smiled at the two fillies before enveloping them into a hug. However, the sweet aroma of cookies forced her to break their hug.
“What’s that smell?” Luna questioned.
“Looks like the cookies are done,” Cookie said before making her way to the kitchen, “come on you two, don’t you want to see them?”
“Yeah!” Celestia and Luna cheered simultaneously before taking off to the kitchen.
Cookie grinned at the two fillies. She was really going to do this. Cookie was actually going to take these alicorns in and raise them. A part of her was excited, yet another part of her sent goose bumps throughout her body. There was no doubt about it, whatever it was that caused them to run would surely find them again.
Cookie took a deep breath. I’ll just have to think about that later. She chuckled when Luna put a chocolate chip cookie in her mouth and ate it in one bite, much to Celestia’s protests.
Cookie puffed out her chest. Whatever happens now, I swear to the ponies above that I will do my best.
She was Smart Cookie after all, destroyer of Windigos and Chancellor Puddinghead’s right hoof mare. How difficult could it be to raise two alicorn fillies?