My Little Princesses

Chapters

The storm
Home
Waking up
Ice cream
Time
Memory
Authors Note
Banished

The storm

It’s raining. The water droplets splash against the wet ground around your feet. In the distance you can hear thunder rolling through the skies. There is a mild breeze blowing through the thick canopy serving as a shelter from the worst of the weathers wrath.

You don’t mind the cold, wet clothes clinging to you. It’s not the most pleasant sensation, but you relish in the feeling of freedom that your walks through the wild woods give you. The forest is not far from your house, and every day for the last two years you’ve spent hours exploring and trekking through it. By now you know it as well as the back of your hand.

There’s a bright flash, and a thunderclap soon follows. The storm is getting closer, and the rain is only getting heavier. You decide that it might be a good idea to head home before the ground gets too muddy.

The rain wasn’t really a surprise, but you had still neglected to dress in anything but a hooded sweater, jeans and hiking boots. It will probably take you an hour or so to get back to the house, if you are lucky you might not catch a cold.

You walk at a brisk pace on the path you’ve made yourself. It is becoming quite muddy, and you find yourself slipping, barely managing to keep upright as you flail around for balance. The rocks are probably going to be slippery as hell, better keep an eye on the ground.

The path leads you by a small stream. Over the years it has dug itself quite deeply into the soft ground, leaving short, but steep slopes on each side. Another bright flash startles you, and the boom of thunder follows immediately. The ground beneath your foot slips, and you fall over the edge with a yelp.

You slide down the short muddy slope, wincing as the rocks bump your back, arms and legs. That’s going to hurt in the morning. You barely manage to stop yourself before you fall into the stream itself. It’s not very deep, or rapid, but this time of year it’s not going to be very comfortable for bathing, and the rain has already began to settle into your clothes with a chill.

A blink, followed by a loud boom shakes the ground, something cries out in fear. It doesn’t sound like a wolf, even though you know they tend to roam the woods, they’ve kept their distance before, but you still carry a repellent spray just in case. You lower the hood and try to listen for more sounds, but the woods are silent except from the rain and the clucking of the stream.

Something lets out a loud wail. It’s heartbreaking and more than a little eerie as it echoes through the empty woods. It came from close by, and your curiosity pulls you towards the sound that has degraded to loud sobs. There’s another sound, a soft cooing, as if something else is trying to calm down the other.

There’s a large hollow log lying across the streambed, it’s large enough to provide some cover from the rain, but it hides the source of the sounds. A twig breaks under your foot, and the sounds cut out abruptly, followed by complete silence.

A small muffled whine comes from behind the log. “Hello?” You say loud enough to be heard over the wind and rain, but soft enough not to appear threatening. The only sound you get in return is that of something struggling, a louder whine, before silence falls yet again.

You carefully move towards the log, making sure to step softly to not scare whatever lay within. “I’m not here to hurt you.” You promise, putting a hand on the edge of the log to steady yourself as you step around the slightly jagged edge. With a wince you notice that there’s a little blood on the wood, it’s not a lot, but with a slight shock you notice that there’s a thin trail leading into the damp darkness.

Your eyes follow the trail of blood, noticing that it stops against a white surface. There’s feathers lying across the white surface, no, not feathers, wings. The thought of wild chickens cross your mind, but you quickly discard it as the small white bundle shivers. There, below the wing lies another form, a smaller blue form, almost invisible in the low light of dusk.

A small worried frown form on your face as you notice the slowly growing pool of red liquid forming beneath the white bundle of feathers and fur. You lower yourself down on the damp inside of the log, making yourself smaller and less threatening.

The blue bundle sprouts a head, it’s a small foal, it looks at you cautiously, and the low light coming into the log makes them shine. You can see that they are heavy with worry, and the foal lets out a low afraid whine before nudging the larger white form that is now lying unresponsive on the wood in front of her. The foal looks at you again, this time almost begging.

You crawl on all fours towards the two small forms, the blue foal keeping a wary eye on you yet not leaving the other foal. “It’s all right, it’s all going to be fine.” you murmur soothingly as you get closer.

The small blue foals eyes widen as your hand reach out towards them, and she gets to her feet shakingly. You see small wings on her sides, and there’s a nub of a horn on her forehead. She looks at you nervously, her small wings fluffing themselves up on her sides, making her look a bit larger.

You can’t help but smile a little at the adorable little filly standing stalwartly over the slightly larger white filly. Both their coats are matted with dirt, and their manes look disheveled and are full of twigs.

You stretch your hand out further, holding it in the air before the small blue filly. She eyes it suspiciously, but her head moves forward, her small nostrils smelling the air, trying to find any hint of treachery. You bridge the small gap, bringing your hand close to her muzzle. The filly flinch backwards a bit, but quickly gather her courage and press her muzzle into your hand before whinnying and nudging the white filly once more. You remember that she’s bleeding and bend over, gently stroking the sides of the small horse, or whatever they are.

The white filly’s coat is matted with mud and sweat, she feels feverish under your touch, but you can feel the slow rise and fall of her chest. You inspect her body in the low light, but you can’t see much, as your body is blocking most of the light coming into the large log. Outside the thunder booms yet again, and the blue filly cowers into a small ball.

You notice a large gash on the outside of the small filly’s right hind leg. It’s not deep, but it’s bleeding profusely. With a sharp tug, you rip one of the sleeves of your sweater off, you turn it inside out and bind it around the wound before taking your sweater completely off. You wrap the filly in the wet garment and make a makeshift sling to carry her in.

The small blue filly uncurls and looks up at you with fear etched in her features. She looks around frantically for what must be her sister, whinnying in fear before she spots the pink mane hanging out of the sweater.

“I have to get her out of here.” you murmur softly to the worried filly now rubbing herself up against the bundle in our arms. You run a hand down the side of the blue filly, and she presses herself into it, seeking the warmth of your skin.

Painstakingly slow you make your way out of the log, the blue filly warily following behind. Carefully you lower yourself to the ground, the rain hasn’t let up, and the wind is getting stronger. Another flash and boom almost send the blue filly scurrying back into the log, but you manage to grab hold of her and lift her up and hug her shivering form to your body. The young filly is no larger than a house cat, and weights next to nothing. She presses herself into you, shaking and squeezing her eyes shut in fear.

With the two fillies in your arms you make your way home through the thunderstorm.

Home

You live alone in a two story house on the edge of a large expansive forest. The property is large enough that you need a car to get to it from the road. It has been in your family for generations, but an accident has left you as the only living heir.

Your family was wealthy, and owners of a large sports and outdoor living chain of stores. After the plane crash you inherited everything, but the memories weighed too heavily on you to continue working to keep the stores running. So you sold yourself out, gaining enough money to be able to live comfortably for the rest of your life should you wish to do so.

The house is warming up slowly as the fireplace crackles merrily in contrast to the rain beating against the windows. You have placed the small fillies on the couch right by it on a thick woolen blanket. The small blue filly is nervously looking at the unconscious form of her sister.
You gather your supplies, and after quickly drying yourself off and getting into something dry you head downstairs with a bundle of thick bath towels. With care you unfold the white filly from your muddy sweater, wincing at the blood seeping out through the makeshift bandage. The blue filly has collapsed in a heap beside her, her eyes barely staying open.

With care you wrap the small blue filly in the thick towel, gently drying her off and placing her on the rug in front of the fire, you can hear her breath coming in a slow steady rhythm as sleep finally wins over her worry.

You place the muddy white alicorn filly on a towel you’ve spread out over the couch, gently inspecting her body in the light of your reading lamp. You’re no vet, but almost living in the forest for the last few years have taught you much about treating wounds and cuts. Having a family heavily invested in outdoor life also helps.

The small medical box contains everything you’d need for basic first aid, and you gently clean the jagged wound on the leg. Luckily the filly is still out cold, but the pain still makes her leg twitch. The cut is deeper than you first thought, and a small piece of wood is lodged in it. The wood is smooth, but brittle, and you barely manage to pull the sliver out without splintering it more. Once it’s out, the bleeding picks up a bit, which is good. The blood will wash out any remaining dirt inside, and the slow steady stream tells you that no arteries have been nicked.

You rub some mild local anaesthesia over the wound while dabbing up the blood. It’s slowly stopping, but the wound has to be closed. With steady hands you close the wound, noting with satisfaction that the blood has finally stopped running and you tie off the thin surgical string with a neat little knot.

Feeling content with your work you take a deep breath before taking a seat in your favourite chair by the fire. Your breath catch in your throat as things catch up with you.

The fillies have wings, and horns. The thought sends your mind reeling, and you clutch the armrests of your chair as you stare at the two small horses, or rather alicorns, now occupying the living room of your house.

One is midnight blue, with a lighter blue mane. You can’t help but be reminded of a certain night princess. No, nonsense. There is no way these can be.

The other, slightly larger filly is pure white, and her mane is a light pink, similar to the color of the sky during sunset. You’ve only seen these colors in fanart of a younger version of the current ruler in a land of ponies.

Nonsense. You’re absolutely sure that there has to be some coincidence. After all, alicorn fillies lying in the forest in the middle of the night is a perfectly normal occurrence...

No. There is no way that filly Luna and Celestia is currently in your living room. No way that you’ve just sewn shut a wound in the leg of a pony princess from a cartoon your sister had forced you to look at, and secretly enjoyed. You feel a pang of sadness at the thought of your sister, but you shake your head and return to the sight before you.

A low rumble from your belly breaks you out of your train of thought, and you remember that you haven’t eaten since... quite a few hours ago, and night is falling. You make your way into the kitchen and start making yourself some sandwiches, trying to keep as silent as possible to not disturb the two fillies.

The light clip-clop of hooves on the marble tiled floor of the kitchen makes you realise that you’ve been standing over two slices of bread for the last fifteen minutes, just staring emptily at them without actually putting anything together. You look down, only to see the small blue filly nudge against your leg, still wrapped in her towel. She looks up at you pleadingly, and you hear a small growl emanating from the filly’s belly.

You smile softly and grab a still fresh green apple from the bowl on the counter. You remove the core and cut it in two, before placing it on a plate before the small filly. She devours the apple with gusto, and looks up at you with a small smile before nuzzling your leg. After a few more apples, and a banana the filly’s hunger is sated, and she lie down on the floor by your leg.

With the sandwiches finally done and in hand, you reach down and pick up the softly snoring filly, careful not to wake her yet again. She weighs next to nothing, and you can’t help but smile at the adorable sight on your arm. You slowly walk back into the living room and sit back down.

The plate goes on a small table by your side as you lean back in your chair with the adorable filly on your chest. The fire is crackling merrily, and the room is nice and toasty, and the last chill leaves your body as you gently pet the pony's mane, picking out small twigs and trying to make sure she’s properly dry.

Exhaustion sets in and you fall asleep, the sandwich completely forgotten on the plate beside you as your eyes slowly close, your hand on the small filly’s back.

Waking up

The sound of soft coughing wake you up, and you sit up in your chair. You’re careful not to disturb the small bundle sleeping on your chest as you make your way over to the sleeping white form of what can be no pony but Celestia. She’s coughing, her form shudders under your touch, and you place Luna softly on the couch beside her.

With slow movements you unwrap the sleeping alicorn. Her white form is still dirtied with mud except from around the wound you treated. It looks like it is healing well, but her coat is cold to the touch.

As you gently stroke her coat, she stirs. Her head very slowly turns towards you, but stops once a wary eye sees you. The eyes widens, and you feel her tense under your hand.

“Shh. It’s all right. I’m not going to hurt you. You’re safe now.” You murmur gently as you continue to stroke her back with slow tenderness. “No one’s going to hurt you.” Her gaze strayed to the still sleeping form of her sister, who had a small smile on her face, the small part poking out through the towel.

Celestia huffed, and began coughing. Gently I picked her up and cradled her in my arms. “You’re freezing. Let’s get you cleaned up and hopefully get some warmth back in you.” You carry her upstairs to the largest bathroom in the house, the only one with a bathtub. The tub hasn’t been used in years, and there’s a small layer of dust gathered inside.

You place the small filly gently on the bathroom rug. And after using the showerhead to remove the dust, you fill it with just under a foot of hot water. The filly alicorn struggle a bit as you place her into the tub, but she’s too weak to offer much resistance, and you lower her slowly into the warm water.

She immediately melts, and any sign of resistance disappears as the warmth seeps into her bones. A small smile tugs at her mouth and she gives you a grateful look, you can’t help but smile and start picking leaves and small sticks out of her mane. Celestia just sighs and lowers herself far enough into the waters so that only her nose pokes above the surface.

A sudden whine makes her ears perk up and she looks at you with panic written in her features. She tries to scramble out of the tub, but collapses into the water with a whine of her own. You give her a small smile and tell her to stay here before walking downstairs.

On the couch sits a distressed looking blue filly. She looks around fervently until she spots you walking down the stairs. With an adorable flap of her tiny wings she jumps off the couch, lands a bit awkwardly and stumbles a bit before regaining her footing and runs to you. She places her front hooves on your leg and stares pleadingly up at you, wordlessly asking for her sister.

You pick her up and cradle her in your arms before heading back up, into the bathroom.

When you walk into the bathroom it becomes obvious that Celestia has somehow managed to tip the entire jar of bathing soaps, those small round balls, into the bath. Only a slight movement in the bubbles tell you that there’s someone in there.

You set a confused Luna down on the wide edge of the bath and start digging away a bit of the bubbles. After a few seconds you uncover a bit of pink mane, which promptly disappear once again with something that sounds unmistakably like a giggle.

Luna sits on the edge of the bath, switching between batting at the wall of foam and glancing uncertainly at you. Without warning a pair of white hooves shoot up out of the bubbles and with a yelp the blue alicorn filly disappear into the impenetrable wall of lavender-smelling foam.

With a laugh of your own you start digging away the bubbles, but as soon as you catch a glimpse of either blue or pink mane they disappear without a trace. With a mischievous smirk you withdraw from the foamy sea of bubbles. You can hear the sound of muffled hooves against the metal tub accompanied by giggling.

You turn the water back on, but change the flow to go through the showerhead instead. Soon you have two grinning, and a lot cleaner fillies sitting in waist deep water that has been colored slightly brown by their dirt.

“All right you two. Lets get you dried up.” With that said, you pull out the plug on the tub and place a large towel on the floor before fetching the hair dryer.

Ice cream

After convincing the two fillies that the hair dryer wouldn’t eat them they get dried. Finally free from the dirt from god knows how many days alone in the forest they both look content, Luna begins bouncing around you and rubbing herself against you in thanks, while Celestia just smiles at you and sinks tiredly down on the towel. She had perked up in the tub, but it had taken a lot of energy out of the still slightly feverish filly.

You pick her up in your arms and she nuzzles your chest gently. “See, now that wasn’t so bad, was it?” The fluffy filly smiles and shakes her head. “I guess you can’t talk back?” She looks down, her smile turning a bit wistful before she shakes her head once more. “We’ll have to do something about that, but at least you understand me.” With a gentle rub on her head you stand up and head out the door, little Luna bounds after, making happy sounds.

“Now who wants breakfast?” You ask as you make your way down the stairs. Celestia looks up at you with a smile, but you can’t hear any response from Luna and you turn around. At the top of the stairs the little filly has a nervous expression and changes between looking at the stairs and back at you. You realise that she’s probably a bit too small to safely navigate the rather large staircase, and with a smile and roll of your eyes you move Celestia a bit further up your arm before walking back up and picking up the small blue filly as well.

With the two fillies in your arms you make your way to the kitchen. You place the two fillies on the floor, Celestia sits down with a small sigh while Luna starts jumping around your legs while fluttering her wings excitedly. “Now, how about a nice salad? I bet you’re both hungry.” Luna skids to a halt and nods vigorously while Celestia smiles up at you with a small nod. Even as a filly she’s composed and royal as ever.

You whip up a large salad, lettuce, tomato, cucumber and apples, nothing special, but you’ve always got fresh fruit and vegetables handy. It’s not like you’re a vegetarian yourself, but you’ve always liked a good salad, and your sister always insisted that greens were good for you.

Together you eat the healthy breakfast in front of the rekindled fire. Celestia seems to perk up as you eat, and when you put a hand on her back it feels like her temperature is normal. Well, at least you guess it’s normal, it’s the same temperature as Luna’s coat at least.

After cleaning up the dishes you return to the living-room to see the white filly dozing in front of the fire. Luna is nowhere to be seen. You look around the room, and there’s nothing that signals the blue filly’s presence anywhere.

You decide not to disturb Celestia and start looking around the first floor of the house. It’s not the biggest house ever, but it’s still big enough for a small filly to get utterly lost in. The first floor is comprised of kitchen, a small bathroom, a never used dining room and a small private library that doubles as your ‘office’. As mentioned, you are pretty well off, still hell to keep it all clean, but you prefer doing it yourself over hiring someone to do it for you.

As you enter the carpeted library you hear a giggle and see a bit of blue hair poke out from beneath the large mahogany desk. You sneak inside, letting the thick carpet muffle your steps. When you get to the desk, you silently get on your knees and see a small rump facing your way and hooves covering a giggling head.

“Gotcha” you announce softly and grab the small blue form. She struggles playfully as you lift her up into the air with a grin. “Thought you could hide did you.” She sticks her tongue out and blows a raspberry at you. Not dignifying that with a response you put your prize under your arm and stride proudly back into the living room.

You place the small blue filly by her sister and gently shake the white alicorn awake. “Hey sleepyhead. Can’t let you sleep the entire day away.” Crossing your legs you sit down on the fluffy carpet before the fireplace and look intently at the small fillies before you.

“So...” You announce, a bit unsure how to proceed. Celestia looks up at you with a cocked eyebrow and an uncertain smile. “You can’t talk...” The filly nods slowly, unsure where you’re going with this. “But you can apparently understand me quite well.” She nods again, Luna just drapes herself over her sister and huffs. “Well, at least you can...” You run your hand through Celestias mane, and she presses her head up against it as you gently pet her head.

“Do you...” Your smile fades a bit as you look down at the two sisters. “Do you remember who you are?” The white filly stiffens a bit, and she stops nuzzling your hand for a moment before pressing into it harder than before, you can feel moisture forming where her face rests against it, and you see her almost imperceptible shake her head.

Luna seems unaffected by the whole exchange, except that you see her scrunch her eyes shut a bit harder. “Hey.” You say softly and lift them both into a hug. Their hooves clutch around your neck, just a bit too small to reach all the way around. “We’ll take it easy, maybe your memories will return soon. Meanwhile... who wants ice cream?”

Time

Days turn to weeks, weeks turn to months. You can’t help but start thinking of the two adorable fillies as your own little girls, and when Luna surprises you by being the first to talk you can’t help but grin as a tear runs down your cheek. “Daddy!” She exclaims as she comes galloping up to you with a shiny rock clutched in her teeth. It has been long since you let them out of the house, the area around it is enclosed completely by the forest, and you’re able to keep an eye on them from the porch as they play around in the large clearing your house rests in.

“Daddy, daddy!” She yells happily while jumping around you in a circle until you pick her up and clutch her to your chest in a hug. Celestia comes running shortly after her sister, and when she sees Luna getting a hug and you with a grin and tears in your eyes she sits down and looks to the side with a huff. “Daddy!” Luna says once more as she nuzzles into your chest, Celestia humphs again and slump a bit, not noticing that you’ve bent down.

She squeals with surprise as you lift her into the air and include her in the hug.

It doesn’t take many more days before a smug looking Celestia trots into the living room where you’re sitting with your favourite book and a glass of juice. Luna zooms past her sister in a blue blur and disappears into the kitchen, you hear the scrabbling of hooves on the slippery tiles followed by a thump. You’re about to get up before you hear a giggle and Luna runs at full speed out of the kitchen and into the dining hall.

Celestia glares after her sister before she approaches you and jumps up into your lap. Once there she places her front hooves on your chest and you see her face contort in concentration. “D...” you hear the sound escape her muzzle, she starts working her lips in an adorable display of concentration. “Da... Dad... daddy!” She grins in triumph and looks up at you searching for approval.

You’re stunned, and she takes your silence as disapproval. Tears form in her eyes and she slumps down from your chest, but just before she’s about to slip completely from your lap you catch her and bring her up so you’re facing her. Her eyes are scrunched shut and tears are dripping down her muzzle and onto your shirt.

You firmly press her down against your chest and stroke her hair and wings. “I’m so proud of you Celly...” Your voice is thick with emotion, and you feel the small white alicorn nuzzle against your chest before looking up at you with a smile.

A few days after finding them you had started calling them by name, hoping that it might spark some form of memory. It didn’t, but you continued calling them Celly and Luna nonetheless.
“Luna!” You call into the dining hall, and soon a small blue blur zips out of the hallway and barely manages to stop before crashing into your legs. She looks up at you with curious eyes and a “Daddy?” before looking to Celestia lying on your chest. The white filly springs into action and while proudly looking at her sister, she exclaims “Daddy!” In confirmation. Luna’s face breaks into a huge grin before she starts jumping around in excitement.

“You know what this calls for?” You ask as you gently place Celestia on the floor with her sister. They both stop and look up at you with confusion apparent in their small faces. “Cake!” You exclaim before striding into the kitchen.

The next few hours is passed with lots of flour and sugar everywhere, but when the oven dings, you pull out a masterwork of a chocolate cake, just like mom used to make it.

A year passes, and you celebrate the anniversary of the day you found them with another homemade cake.

Time continue to pass, and before you know it it has been five years.

Memory

A/N: There will be a chapter 'before' this one, clearing up a few things and adding a bit of 'flesh' to the story. Watch out for 'Our Years', coming soon.

“Daaad! Luna won’t let me play with her... And she’s acting all strange...” Celestia comes stomping into the room with a sour expression on her face. The girls now reach to your midst with their horns, and their wings have begun growing larger.

“Now now, maybe she wants to be alone for a bit.” you say and pet the pouting filly’s head. “Why don’t you go and play on the porch and I’ll go talk to her?” She nods and goes outside, while you head upstairs. The two fillies share the room once belonging to your sister, and it still contains some of her old toys and some books she’d kept from her childhood.

In the midst of the room sits the no longer quite so small form of Luna. You can hear her mumble something as she pushes a small doll around with her hooves. “Luna?” you say gently as you enter the room.

She turns around and looks up at you, you can see tears in her eyes and the fur beneath is matted. The filly smiles softly as she looks at you, but there’s something in her eyes that you can’t quite place.

You sit down beside her and run a hand through her mane. “What’s wrong?” You murmur as you wipe the tears from her eyes with a small handkerchief. She presses her head against your hand and nuzzle it slowly. You look her over, to see if she’s hurt, and you notice the black and white splotch on her flank. It’s her cutie mark.

“I...” She starts slowly before leaning into your chest without continuing. You wrap your arms around her, and she mumbles something into your chest.
“Why so sad?” You ask softly as you pet her back and wings. “You got your cutie mark! We should celebrate!”

Luna pushes herself a bit away from your chest and looks up at you with a sad smile. “It’s not that...” She looks down at some invisible speck of dust by her side. “I remember...”

You stare at her, eyes wide open in shock. You had hoped that they would regain their memories, but at the same a silent wish in the back of your head prayed for them to be able to stay with you. You reach out a hand and brush away a part of Luna’s mane that has fallen over her eyes. She nuzzles into it and you feel warm tears on your hand.

“That’s good.” You exclaim, trying to sound enthusiastic. “That means you get to go home, right?” Your smile is strained, and you can feel tears pressing against the back of your eyes.

Luna looks up at you with saddened eyes and a small smile. “We have to.” She presses herself to your chest, and you can do nothing but wrap your arms around the filly and hold her. You can feel sobs escaping your throat.

At that moment a wail is heard from the door to the room and Celestia runs in, tears staining her eyes as she storms up to you. “I don’t wanna leave!” She yells through her sobs. “I wanna stay here with daddy!” The small white filly grabs your arm in a vice-like grip, grim determination shining in her puffy eyes.

With the best smile you can muster you pull the no longer quite so little filly into the hug. “It’s going to be all right.” Your voice quavers a bit, but you clench your teeth against the sobs. “It’s going to be fine...”

“...No.” Celestia doesn’t look up, she just buries her head into your chest, painfully poking you in the neck with her horn unconsciously. “I don’t wanna go...”

Luna lets go and pulls away a bit, giving room for her quivering sister. “We have to... Equestria needs us.” The young alicorn shakes her head, trying to shake away a memory. “We can’t stay.” She nuzzles the back of her sister’s head, trying to calm her down, even if her own sobs are not quite subdued.

“B-but... What about daddy?” Celestia looks up from your chest, fixating her tear-stained eyes on her sisters with a ferocity that shocks you both. “We can’t just leave him! It wouldn’t be right!” The last part she shouts.

You try to pull the shaking white alicorn back against your chest, but she refuses to let go of her glare. Instead you settle with stroking her mane gently. “I’ll be fine. I’m sure there are a lot of ponies that miss you, ponies that need you.” Luna nods slowly, but remains quiet, her midnight blue orbs locked to her sister’s. “I’m old enough to take care of myself. And you’re both Princesses. It would be selfish of me to keep you all to myself.”

Celestia finally breaks her glare and looks up at you. Her eyes have softened, but they are still set in a determination you haven’t seen in the filly since she tried wrestling a jar of peanut butter. You can’t help but smile at the memory of the mess she made when she somehow got it open. She remains silent.

“We have to prepare...” Luna murmurs and looks up at you. “We need to make a portal, but I can’t do it alone.”

“What do you need? I have no idea about magic, but I’m sure I could do something to help.” You offer her anything. The money you still have could probably get you whatever materials they can think of.

The dark alicorn just shakes her head. “I’m sorry... But only my sister can help.” Celestia’s eyes narrow and her ears perk up. “And she can only help once she has regained her memory.”

“Does that mean that if I don’t remember, we won’t have to leave?” The white filly’s face lights up a bit. “If I never remember, we don’t ever have to leave, right?”

“Let us hope your memory returns soon, dear sister.” Luna’s voice has changed. It is no longer the sweet innocent voice of the young filly you’ve grown to love as your own daughter. It is the voice of Princess Luna of Equestria.

“For if it doesn’t.... Equestria might be destroyed.”

A/N:Mwuahaha

Authors Note

I'm sorry for the lack of updates to this story. A new chapter is coming soon, and I'm almost half way done with it.

The only problem is that I am currently in the process of moving to another city, and at the same time I'll be taking a vacation and visit my grandparents.

So, while I don't leave before next friday, I still have too much to do to feel at ease with writing. I'm going to try and at least finish the 'Our Years' chapter, which contains short stories from the five year leap, and I pretty much have the last chapter planned out. I can't say for sure how long I'll be gone, but I'll be back, and I'm going to finish this fic if it kills me. Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.

I can't say much about it, but I'm going to try and surprise you. Hopefully...

Again, sorry for the wait, but as they say 'Patience is a virtue'.

Banished

“What?! How? Why?” You exclaim, your eyes are wide and startled. The thought of some kind of political turmoil and worry at the princesses disappearance had kept you awake on more than one occasion, but Equestria’s destruction? That was a bit more than you’d ever imagined.

Luna smirked darkly, a shadow passed over her eyes as she thought back to the day they had been ‘banished’. “You didn’t think we left on purpose, or of our own will, did you?” She glanced at Celestia, who was now pouting adorably and at the same time seemed to be thinking furiously. “We were ‘banished’” The dark alicorn waved her hooves in the air as airquotes while you just stare, “By court order in fact. It was all quite legal actually.”

“What? But how? You’re the princesses, how could anyone legally banish you?”

“We were, quite ingeniously, framed. You must know that Equestria isn’t all just daisies and shenanigans as that show we saw.” Her eyes were dark, and she looked to be on the verge of growling, actual growling. “We were blamed for the near-destruction of Canterlot during Princess Cadance and Shining Armor’s wedding. Some ponies twisted the fact that I didn’t show up when the changelings attacked, and that Celestia so easily ‘fell’ to Chrysalis’ attack, to us being in collusion with them.”

“Seriously? That’s stupid! I mean, I myself wondered where you were during the attack, but... I don’t know... I just assumed you were sleeping or something.” You rub your chin in thought, absentmindedly noticing that you needed a shave. “Or just held up somewhere else.”

Luna blushes and looks away embarrassed. “I was asleep... I had been up all the day and night prior, keeping watch for anything suspicious. I was exhausted, and nothing could wake me up. Apparently there had been a scuffle right outside my door, and I slept right through it...” She locks eyes with you once again, scowling. “But enough of that. A pony named More-than-tardy brought it up to the courts, and managed to find out that we had dealings with them in the past.”

“You had dealt with changelings before?” You ask incredulously.

“Yes. Some five hundred years before... the whole Nightmare Moon incident, we had a working relationship with them.” Her face twisted into a sour expression at the mention of her little... fit. “They were allowed to live in our cities and gather the love they needed to survive. In exchange we used them as spies, and they were marvellous craftsponies. They were able to construct almost anything in under half the time normal ponies would need. Of course, they didn’t look quite as... frightening back then. Being well nourished they looked a lot more like normal ponies, some of them even formed working, fruitful relationships with our subjects.” She looks wistful at the memory. “Then incidents started cropping up like weeds. Ponies being found drained of their emotions, forcefully emptied until nothing but a husk remained. It was a fate worse than death, the ponies were unable to recover, and became more like automatons than anything else, not being able to think for themselves or take in nourishment. Most of them perished within days, while others lived longer under the ministration of their loved ones. Eventually they started openly attacking and pony-napping ponies in the streets, it almost lead to war before we were able to banish them to the deadlands. We never really figured out why it happened, but I still remember Chrysalis herself leading a covert attack on the old castle.” A tear rolls down her face. “I still remember her as the good friend she was, and then the snarling beast that threatened to enslave us right in our own throne-room...”

You reach out and wipe the tear from her chin, and she smiles sadly at you. “I’m sorry...”

She chuckles darkly and smirks at you. “Thank you.”

“Chrysalis sounds like a big meanie pants if you ask me...” Celestia piped in, scowling in a the adorable way she does when she tries to be serious.

“She was not always so, dear sister. She was once one of our most trusted advisors, and friend. What drove her to such... madness still boggles me. Anyway. More-than-tardy found the records, and managed to convince the courts that we had let them in. He managed to make it sound like it was something we did to cull any thought of rebellion or dissonance through a display of our authority. Nothing we said could dispel his accusations, and in the end we almost believed it ourselves.” Luna stomps her hoof hard. “He knew he couldn’t have us executed for treason, and merely dethroning us would be too mild. The show never told this, but a lot of ponies perished in the attack, and Canterlot itself were nearly in ruins after the attack. Many innocents were drained, and more were outright killed.”

“He sounds like even bigger a meanie pants than Chrysalis...” Celly muttered, scowling at the floor.

“But how did he manage to banish you here? And how in the world can that have been a fair punishment?” You sigh deeply and stroke Celestia’s mane.

“The law states that any pony found in collusion with the enemy must be either imprisoned or executed depending on the severity of the treason. We are immortal, and cannot die by any normal means, so it was decided that we were to be banished. Twenty seven unicorns, lead by More-than-tardy built an arcane circle, and through it they opened a portal to another reality. It was unknown where it lead, but it was ensured that we would never be able to return. Our magic were stripped from us, and we were put in a state that would ensure that our memories would be locked away. That’s why we were so young when you found us, and why we didn’t have our cutie-marks...”

“How did you regain it? Your cutie-mark I mean” You briefly glimpse down at the crescent moon on the dark background of Luna’s flanks.

She motions to a book lying open on the ground near her. You pick it up and read the title ‘Jules Verne: Journey to the Moon’. “I found that in the library, and I was so fascinated with the whole idea of travelling to the moon. I was able to imagine the moon so vividly, almost as if I had been there myself. Then, almost like opening a door, memories started surfacing, and well... here we are.” Luna smiles a bit sadly. “I almost wish I hadn’t read it... You’ve been so kind to us, and...” She chokes up, and looks at you with eyes brimming with tears. “I... you remind me so much of father...”

You get up and envelop her in a hug. The sobbing alicorn shakes against your shoulder as you hold her tightly. “He... He died when we were nothing but foals. H-he gave up his life to ensure that we would survive..”

You decide to ask about it later, right now comforting the sobbing mare brought tears to your own eyes and you could do nothing but hold her tight and stroke her mane.

Luna pulls back, her eyes still filled with tears, yet hard. “We need to get back, we need to stop him.”

You wipe your own tears and hers before asking. “But what about the destruction of Equestria? I understand that he’s a horrible pers... pony, but how can your banishment lead to Equestrias destruction?”

“It’s the Sun. Without Celestia’s touch it will fade, and eventually die out. Our duties does not just include moving the celestial objects, that can be done with enough unicorns working together.” She sighs. “But they are bound to us, like a flame to a candle. The moon will eventually darken and even dissolve without me, but it won’t come crashing into Equestria. But without Celestia there to keep the suns flame alight, it will slowly falter and burn out.”

“How much time would that take?” You ask, thoughts of eternal darkness running through your head.

“They must be feeling it already. The days will be dimmer and colder, as winter come early. Within the span of only ten years Equestria will be in a new ice-age, and crops will wilt.”

“Then why didn’t that stop them from banishing you? I mean, they must have known...”

Luna makes a grimace and looks down. “We tried telling them this. But we are only two ponies in the end, and they believed it was just our way of securing our power.”

Your face settles into a determined expression. “Then we need to get you back.” You turn to Celestia, and your expression softens when you see the hurt in her eyes. “I know it’s hard, but they need you more than I do. You know I will always treasure you, even after you leave, I will always remember you.”

Celestia cries and throws her forelegs around you and holds you tight against her. “But... I don’t want to leave. I don’t care! I don’t want to leave you!”

You run a hand through her mane and brings her face around to look you in the eyes. “I will never leave you. And you will never leave me.” You smile, and pokes her in the chest. “I’ll always be in here, and you will always be in my heart.”

“B-but...”

“No buts.” You interject. “This is too important. You’re needed elsewhere, and even if it pains me to say it... You have to go.”

Celestia’s eyes are brimming with tears, and you feel a tight grip on your heart.

“It’s so unfair...” She mumbled and press her head against your chest. Then she suddenly brightens and a grin forms on her face. “Why don’t you just come with us? Yes! That would be perfect! We wouldn’t have to leave then, not really!”

The thought brightens you mood a bit, until you look at Luna, who again is tearing up and refusing to look at you.

“Y-you can’t...” She mutters, her voice trembling.

“Why not?!” Celestia nearly yells, looking at her sister with fury in her eyes. “Why can’t he come with us?”

“He would die.” She answers simply. “The transition would almost certainly rip him apart, and he’d come out the other side as nothing but mist.”

“But why?!” Celestia is now shouting. She has let go of you and is standing in front of her sister, her eyes ablaze.

“Because he doesn’t have any magic. The transition is dependent on the innate magic of alicorns to pull us back together once we’re through. He would simply dissipate into the air.”

“We could hold him together! I know we can!” She states intently, but her voice is tinged with doubt.

You reach out and put a hand on her back. She tenses at the touch, and looks back at you, her eyes red and bloodshot. “No. I don’t want you to risk it. You wouldn’t be able to live with it if you failed.”

“He’s right. We would blame ourselves for his death.” Luna says and looks at you with sad, but determined eyes. “Now I need to talk with my sister. I need to try to awaken her memories.”

With only a nod you rise from the floor and start to leave the room. You pause at the door and look back. “I’ll be in the study if you need anything.”

With that you leave the two distraught alicorns and head downstairs. Within the study you pull open a drawer in the large desk and pull out a small brown book.

You sit down in the leather bound chair and sigh deeply while running a hand over the worn spine of the book. It has no title, but the front has an embossed image of a man with two small ponies at his sides.

The book opens without a sound, and you leaf through the pages until you reach the date you’re looking for. It’s a diary. It holds all your memories the three of you have formed since you found them. Small pictures of the three of you through the years. In it you have documented nearly everything that has happened during the six years you’ve been together.

The page you’re looking at contains an image of Celestia and Luna sitting in front of the television in the study, intently watching the first episode of a certain cartoon.

February 14. Today came the day I’ve dreaded for so long. A day I knew would come, but that I’ve tried to avoid none the less....

A/N: The next chapters will be the Our Years chapter I promised. It will contain short stories from the five year jump. And I’m sorry for the long wait, I’ve been on vacation and moving to a new city for work. From now on I don’t know how often I’ll be able to update, but I’m aiming on finishing the story soon. I hope you enjoyed the longer chapter ;)

Then... who knows. I.. might be thinking of a sequel...

Oh, and the name More-than-tardy is borrowed from Karon's story Machinations of a Trickster. I've asked for permission, but I might change it if he doesn't want me to use it. Or if you guys think it's horribly stupid or something.