Merlina's Curse

by Quae_116

Rating: everyone
Tags: Adventure, Tragedy, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Dark, Sad, Romance, Original Character
Length: 6494

A short story about finding the true meaning of harmony.

Sunshine and Moondust are two orphans trying to find out who they are. What they don't realize is that they are connected and that their connection goes much deeper than sisterhood. They are bound to Eclipse, the alicorn, by an ancient and dark spell. Now they must first find each other and then find a way to break the spell and release themselves. The only problem is that the 3 mares are the same pony. On their adventure they'll find out much more about Harmony than ever before. And to add to their adventure I've thrown in a love interest with Blaze, the "hot" fire dancing stallion. Along the way they also meet Charisma, a cat trying to find a place to call home. Not to mention Rumble and Bumble, the twin Changelings who haven't quite figured out how to use their powers. Along with their new band of friends, Moondust, Sunshine, and Eclipse begin their journey. The three ponies don't know what they'll find a long the way, but they are determined to free themselves.

Special thanks to idahoninja for editing XD
Criticism and comments welcome, but please keep it pg people. XD

Published 2012-07-09 09:54:04 UTC
Last updated 2012-07-19 23:11:33 UTC

Prologue

Prologue

On a dark night in the eerily dreary country of Trottsylvania, a kingdom a few weeks travel from Equestria, evil forces were at work. Merlina, one of the most powerful sorceresses in Trottsylvania was up to no good, again. In her lair she was experimenting with a dark spell that had recently come into her possession.

Merlina’s lair was a place you didn’t want to stumble into. It was very dark inside because there were no windows. Still a faint glow gave enough light to see the many objects with in. It was full of stuffed birds and jars filled with weird creatures. There were books shoved in every spare corner and weird art pieces were hung on the wall. Various insects were hung in frames almost as strange as the ones containing the artwork. In one of the corners sat a grand pipe organ collecting dust from its lack of use. Still, the enchanted keys moved and played an eery selection. Dust floated through the air and hanging from the ceiling was a dragons skeleton. A crystal ball sat on one shelf and what appeared to be black stars in a blue sky swirled inside it. A cabinet on one side was ajar and labeled jars filled with strangely colored powders sat within.

A cauldron sat in the middle of the room. It sat next to a small table. On the table were an assortment of jars, scrolls, and as many potion ingredients as one would imagine. Merlina stood in front of it and was rummaging through the mess looking for something. With a triumphant whinny she pulled out a dusty scroll.

The scroll may have been dusty and worn and one might believe it was not loved. But looks can be deceiving. The scroll was one of Merlina’s most prized possessions. The spell written on the ancient parchment was no ordinary spell. This was a shape changing spell that had been created by the changeling queen herself. It allowed any magically gifted pony to combine the spirits of 2 ponies into one. She had traded something very important for it: Her youth. The changelings were happy to take it from her. It was now in a bottle somewhere deep within the changeling’s home.

Merlina had stumbled across it by accident, but once she saw what kind of spell it was, she wanted it. She snatched it and made her way to the throne room of Chrysallis, the changeling queen. She and the queen had bartered over the price of the scroll. The queen wanted Merlina’s soul and her first born foal’s soul too. But Merlina knew that was a bad idea. Instead they had decided on Merlina’s youth.

Being old wasn’t all that bad. True Merlina’s back hurt all the time and she couldn’t see as well. Her ebony black hair was now streaked with gray and her bones were becoming brittle. But it had all been worth it.

Merlina had wanted to use this scroll for a long time and now she finally had her chance. She had found the perfect pair of unicorn twins. They were polar opposites . For the spell to work right, that was necessary. Merlina was not without reason for wanting to use the spell. Her mother, may she rest in peace, died giving birth to Merlina’s twin brother. From then on she believed all twins were bad and wanted to rid the world of them. Now she wasn’t totally evil and still had a little compassion in her. Instead of totally destroying just one twin she would combine them both. The spell she now had in her possession was meant to fix things not destroy things, so it could only combine the souls of two opposite twin ponies. That was fine with Merlina though. She would somehow rid the world of all twins. Merlina had had her chance once before.

Her eldest sons were twins. She tried to combine the souls of her sons, and she lost them both. Now instead of one perfect colt, she had no colts. Merlina vowed that she would find another set of twins and that when she performed the spell this time, she would not fail.

Merlina snapped out of her sad daydream and began chanting,” Ah mi ah come sa ah Forces from above, Forces of Dark, Forces of Light, Forces of Magic, Forces of Flight, ah mi ah come sa ah, Two ponies become one, The stronger overcomes the weaker, the weaker no longer the speaker, Combining their lives, combining their hearts, COMBINING THEIR SOULS, ah mi ah come sa ah, This curse has been chanted, I have joined the forces of the moon and the sun, This curse shalt not be undone, ah mi ah come sa ah!”

The chanting became faster as Merlina spoke the ancient words. Her purple horn began to glow.

“Ah mi ah come sa ah! Ah mi ah come sa ah! AH MI AH COME SA AH!”

Merlina became louder as she chanted over and over. Her horn glowed brighter and brighter. In a cage in front of her a filly let out a whimper. Her sister clung to her trying to calm her down. Never had two twin fillies been so opposite, yet so alike.

Both were black and white with nothing on their flanks. One was black with a curly white mane, she was the comforter. The other more timid pony was white with a black mane. Her features were sleek and graceful and her long bangs covered one eye. Both had horns but had not discovered any controlled magic for they couldn’t be more than 6 or 7 years old. There was nothing the pair could do but sit and await their fate.

The white pony whispered in her sister’s ear,” Don’t forget me.”

“What do you mean?” The black filly was confused

“Weren’t you listening? “The stronger overcomes the weaker...” You’re stronger than me!” The smaller filly began to cry.

“No, no Cherie, You are stronger. I am just as scared as you right now if not more.”

“I can’t be. I can’t!”

“Yes you can! You have to survive!”

“Maybe the spell won’t work”

“It already has. Look.” Emerging from the white pony was the soul of a much older, much wiser looking pony. The light colored filly fell to the floor. The ebony filly was the stronger of the two after all. Her soul wafted into the dark filly. She too fell to the floor.

Merlina’s chanting ended abruptly with a last, “SA AH!” The spell was almost over.

“Yes, Yes! It’s working! All my hard work has finally paid off!” Merlina’s voice was full of power and greed. Her eyes sparkled and she grinned. All that faded, however, when the door to her lair opened. In stepped another filly. She was gray with a black mane. Her hair had purple highlights throughout it. She was gifted in a way only seen in Royalty. She was a unicorn and a pegasus. An alicorn. She had small gray wings and her horn was purple like her mother’s.

“Daughter?” Merlina was stunned for she had locked the door to her cavern to avoid this very occurrence. “ Leave! Now! Get out Eclipse! You can’t --” She was cut off as a bright purple explosion of magic filled the room and engulfed the ponies in the lair. When Merlina opened her eyes the fillies were gone. Merlina realized that their lives would be intermingled. She knew that this wasn’t the end. It was only the beginning.

Meet Sunshine

Meet Sunshine

Chapter 1- Sunshine

8 years later.....

It was a lovely day in Canterlot. The sun was shining, the birds were singing, and all the summer flowers were in bloom. Sunshine loved days like these. Sometimes on these days she would go to the library and find a book she particularly enjoyed. Then she would find a peaceful place to read. In fact, that's what she was doing that afternoon.

She now sat on a bench near a small fountain. The bench was located in the palace gardens, which she had access to as an outstanding student at Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns. Her tummy grumbled and it startled a few birds. They had been sleeping after Sunshine had sung one of her lullabies to them.

Sunshine’s magic came from music. When she sang it created a mood in ponies. Depending on her mood and the song she could create some very powerful emotions. At one point when she was very young it got out of control. She sang a very upbeat and hyper tune. This combination woke up several foals in her dorm at the orphanage to bounce off the walls. One of the adults working there went insane and developed a fear of foals. He was released from his work that night. It got so bad that Inferno, the King of of Trottsylvania was called to come deal with the matter. Sunshine was going to be sent to a camp for troubled foals when she was saved by a gift from above.

Princess Celestia had heard about the great distress an out of control unicorns magic had caused. She knew that Sunshine had talent. She invited Sunshine to come study at her school for unicorns. She took the white filly under her wing and gave her a home inside the palace. Sunshine was forever thankful to the princess.

Now that she had comforted the birds with another melody, she tucked the book she was reading into her saddlebag. It was right beside her cutie mark: A black tear drop shape with a white dot inside. She didn’t know where it came from but she knew what it was now. When Celestia saved her from the orphanage she recognized it as a part of a Yin and Yang symbol. She said that it was very special, because Yin and Yang stands for harmony.

Everypony in Equestria knew the importance of harmony. It was said that when the evil draconequus, Discord took over that harmony was unbalanced. Then 6 brave ponies from Ponyville wielded the elements of harmony and saved Equestria.

Sunshine and the princess hadn’t discovered the secret behind her cutie mark yet. Sunshine was always positive though, and she knew that someday she would find out who she was and where she came from.

Focusing back on her stomache, Sunshine headed towards the nearest door into the castle. She slipped inside and headed down towards the kitchen. When she entered the room all sorts of loud sounds filled her ears and an array of delightful aromas filled her nostrils. She began to hum and the atmosphere of the kitchen became even more pleasant. It was just an old folk song and a few of the ponies cooking began to sing the words to the tune:

Down by the shore of the river

A pony sat with a bow and a quiver

And he saw a ? fly on by

And he shot the ? with a sigh

When he came back home with ? three

His mother’s eyes did fill with glee

She said to him “Now find a wife

And we’ll all be set for life”

Oh ho, how its nice to be

A pony that is living free

No wife, no job to tie me down

Nothin there to make me frown

Oh ho, how it's nice to be

A freed pony just like me

When the song ended everypony began to clap. Sunshine hadn’t realized it but she had just been dancing with a handsome stallion. She recognized him as Blaze. He was a fire dancer. When he danced it was like he, too was casting a spell. Sunshine almost never missed a show. Watching him perform all those daring tricks was amazing. He would jump through fiery hoops, eat blazing torches, and create fireworks. He was so great at what he did that he had even performed for Princess Celestia. He had been fire dancing forever. It was incredible how he managed his tricks without a horn.

Blaze wasn’t a unicorn. He had no magic. He wasn’t a pegasus either. He couldn’t fly. He did come from a long line of unicorns. His grandma, His uncle, Larry, and him were the only earth ponies in the family for 8 generations. His background with magic had brought him to Canterlot where his sister was currently studying at Celestia’s school, too. His background didn’t matter to Sunshine, though, because he was still pretty hot. Sunshine blushed as she realized she was staring.

“Oh! Hi!” She quickly said as the ponies returned to their cooking.

“Hey. I heard music coming from here as I was passing by. I was pretty sure you were stirring something up.” Blaze’s eyes sparkled almost as though flames danced inside.

“I wasn’t stirring up trouble. I was having fun,” she protested.

“Sure. Hey I’m going to go to the library. Want to join me?” Sunshine couldn’t say no to Blaze. He was the hottest stallion in all of Canterlot, if not all of Equestria. But, still, she was really hungry.

“Yeah, of course. Do you mind if I catch up to you? All this singing is making me hungry.” She gave him a quick smile and he returned the gesture. His eyes were full of understanding.

“How bout we go eat somewhere else? My treat. Not that the cooking here is bad. I just thought it might be nice for you to get out of here for a little while.” He shot and apologetic glance at the head chef and the chef nodded in understanding.

“Sure, if you don’t mind. What about the library?” She didn’t want him to go out of his way to take her to lunch.

“The library can wait. Besides, I’d rather be with you.”

Meet Moondust

Chapter 2- Meet Moondust

In the town of Manesk, a town in the dark kingdom of Trottsylvania, Moondust was sitting in on a poem reading. She would often spend her days in the small dark inn. Ponies gifted with words would come and recite their recent works. She enjoyed smirking at the amateurs that had not yet learned to perfect their talents. The older and more frequent visitors provided her with little amusement. They were more experienced and their words flowed more easily, but they had found their niches and changed little over time. Yes, she silently agreed with herself, the amateurs were far more entertaining.

A young stallion who was too brightly colored to belong in Manesk, took the stage. Moondust immediately knew that he was going to provide her with some entertainment. He gulped and a bead of sweat dripped down his bright blue face. He tossed his electric blue mane and began:

“I feel really silly I must admit. My friends at the back table dared me to come up here and who can resist a dare? My name is Trident for those of you who don’t know me. Well here goes, hope I don’t embarrass myself.”

Violets are red

I mean Roses

Roses are red

Violets are blue

I feel really stupid right now

Time to take my bow

Trident’s blue face was green when he came up from his bow. He quickly galloped off the stage and to the little stallions room. Moondust chuckled at the poor stallions misfortune.

The black and white mare had decided to put everypony out of their misery and show them what a real writer could do. She had realized her talent a few years ago. She was a writer. That was the correct term she had decided to call herself. It was much better than being called “a worthless bard.” She could create emotions in ponies with her words. She could cause them to become happy or sad. Mostly she focused on darker feelings, because she herself had little reason to be happy.

She had been living underground for quite some time. Ever since she was little she had lived in alleys and behind dumpsters. She had even had the luxury of sleeping on a few benches. Luckily, she found a place to stay. This was in her favorite place, Deluxe’s Inn. The earth pony who owned the joint was a kind pony. He was in his mid 30’s and was very kind to the homeless pony. He had loaned her some bits once, on top of the free lodging Moondust was receiving. When the prideful mare refused he told her that he owed her for bringing in business.

She was very thankful that she was given a place to stay. It was down the hall from the main dining room and then you had to go down a few flights of stairs. But it was cozy and handy. It was where Moondust would practice her poems that she performed every once and awhile.

Moondust accepted her talents and they did come in handy. They helped her pay for lunch. In fact the meager income she received from her poems gave her most of her meals.

The young mare realized that she had been daydreaming, and climbed up the steps and onto the stage. She began to recite:

“Summer becomes Spring

Winter becomes Fall

We try to survive

Make it through it all

We go through pleasant times

Rough ones too

I never imagined losing you

I see you in my dreams

A cloudy vision

I don’t know where it came from

But I know that you’re real

Who are you kind stranger

Coat of milky white

With a mane of darkness

But eyes so bright

I will find you what ever it takes

I want to find you

I just can’t wait

The sound of ponies tapping their hooves filled the room. Somepony whistled and Moondust saw that it was Trident. She rolled her eyes, tossed her mane, and walked off the stage with her head held high. She nodded to Deluxe and promptly exited the room.

The poem she had recited was on a topic that frequently was the subject of her works. There was a mare in her dreams that she never could find. Her coat was pristinely white and her mane was just the opposite, as black as coal. Her green eyes gave off a friendly air. She looked so familiar.

The mare would smile and laugh and then she would run. Moondust would run and run until she woke up. But she never caught the strange pony. And the strangest thing of all was that she had a cutie mark very similar to Moondusts. The mare had a black cutie mark in the shape of a tear and it had a white dot. Moondust’s was white with a black dot. She knew that she and this strange pony were somehow connected.

Her thoughts were interrupted just as she was about to make her descent down the stairs to her new home. Someone had cleared their throat and began to speak. It was the blue pony. This stallion was beginning to annoy her.

“Not interested.” She said coldly.

“Oh you will be.” The voice that replied was not Trident’s. This new pony was a dark brown color and had a large head. He was also pretty buff. Moondust wasn’t intimidated though. She had dealt with his type before.

“Well excuse me then.” It had been a long and boring day. Moondust decided to allow these two strangers to humor her.

“We know where you can find her.”

“Who?” Now Moondust was curious. She didn’t think she was looking for anyone. Unless they knew where to find the white mare. That wasn’t possible though. She only existed in her dreams.

“As you can see Trident and I are unicorns,” the new pony showed her his horn. It was sharp.

“No!” Moondust said in her most sarcastic tone. The bigger pony ignored her but Trident shot her a mean look.

“You’ll shut up or Tank won’t tell you where to find your precious white mare!” Trident snapped at her. They did know where to find the dream pony. Moondust tried to hide her excitement. She shifted her weight onto a different hoof and nodded her consent. She let Tank, who she assumed was the large brown pony, continue.

“Now anyways, we’re unicorns from Canterlot.” Moondust just had to interrupt.

“In Equestria?” Trident shot her a warning glance and she looked at the ground.

“Yes in Equestria. That’s where you’ll find the mare you’ve been looking for. Her name is Sunshine and you can find her around the castle. Now you know where to find her. But it’ll cost you.”

“Great. I knew there was a catch. What is it?”

“10 bits.” That was nothing. She had just earned 25 for a poem yesterday. She reached into her saddle bag and tossed them their pay. The stallions counted the bits and Triton bit one to make sure it was real. Tank nodded to the small dark mare and the pair left.

Moondust sat there stunned for a few minutes. She couldn’t believe her luck. Sunshine. That was her name. It seemed very familiar, she just couldn’t remember where from. Moondust was now in her room. She packed all her belongs into her saddlebags but she didn’t use magic. It scared Moondust and she only used it when she was reciting a poem. Her horn would glow a dark blue when she was performing. The ebony mare laid on her cot as she thought about why she was so afraid of magic. Nothing came to mind.The only thing Moondust was sure about was that she needed to find that pony. She would not give up until she found her. Moondust’s journey was about to begin.

Sunshine's New Project

Chapter 3- Sunshine’s New Project

Sunshine woke up with a start. She had had that dream again. The black mare with the white curly mane and the dark, sad, blue eyes, had gotten away again. A tear trickled down Sunshine’s face. When the pony left her, Sunshine always felt like a part of her was gone.

It was raining today and like all other sunless days, Sunshine was feeling down. It was too dark in Canterlot. Too rainy and miserable for her liking. Sunshine decided to try to make the best of it. She climbed off the window seat where she had been watching the constant downpour and went to see if the princess was around.

She found her in her private office. The princess was reading some a letter, probably a weekly update from Celestia’s favorite student Twilight Sparkle. Sunshine couldn’t help but feel a wave of jealousy ripple through her. She worked twice as hard as any student at the academy but alas,Twilight received all the attention. I suppose being an element of harmony did key into that. Oh how Sunshine wished she was one of them. You see, Sunshine didn’t hate Twilight. She merely considered their relationship a friendly rivalry. Sunshine didn’t hate anypony. She made it her goal to be nice to everypony. She had wished she and Twilight had had the chance to become friends, but Twilight was always too busy.

The next few minutes’ occurrences were as though Princess Celestia had read Sunshine’s mind.

“Ah, Sunshine. How timely of you to stop by. Did you need something?” The Princess waited politely for an answer.

“Oh, no I suppose not. I just wanted to see you.” Sunshine smiled at her role model.

“Well, that is very kind of you Sunshine. Lucky for me, I did need to speak to you. I have a very important assignment for you and I think you can learn a lot from it. I need you to help Twilight Sparkle,” at the sound of her rival’s name, Sunshine’s interest was peaked. “ You see, she needs some help. Unfortunately she is under the weather and she is in dire need of assistance. Would you do me the favor of going to Ponyville for a few days while the poor filly recovers? I know that you like to take your leaves of absences every other week for health reasons, but this should only be a few days.”

Sunshine could not believe what she was hearing. She stumbled with her words and her etiquette slipped.

“Oh my yes! Are you kidding me?!?! This is so freaking awesome!” One look from the princess and Sunshine quickly rethought her choice of words.

“What I mean to say is, I would be honored to assist Twilight Sparkle,” The princess gave an approving nod and continued her instructions.

“ I will send word at once and will have somepony pack your things. You will be staying at a friend of Twilights, being that there is not enough room at the library. Her friend Applejack has offered you her guest room. The estate is known as Sweet Apple Acres. Enjoy your trip, Sunshine. I think you can learn quite a bit about magic from Twilight and quite a bit about friendship from her and her new group of friends.” Princess Celestia gave a nod of dismissal and returned to her work. Sunshine bowed and quickly left the office. When she was out of earshot, she started jumping up and down and whinnying with excitement.

“I’m gonna meet Twilight! I’m gonna meet Twilight!” Sunshine then cantered to her room to help the maid pack. She wanted to leave as soon as she possibly could. It wasn’t that the palace wasn’t exciting, it was that the trip she was about to embark on was even more so.

A yellow glow engulfed the few possessions Sunshine owned and her meager assortment of books, clothes, and knick knacks neatly folded themselves into Sunshine’s worn out saddlebags. The white mare gave a satisfied nod and the latches on the bags closed with a click of finality. Sunshine trotted over to her canopy bed and plopped down on top of it. She neatly tucked her legs under her and sighed. The week had been long and the studying had been harsh. Sleep soon overtook the tired young mare and for the first time in months, her dreams were not about the black mare with the curly white mane.

Instead her dreams were those about Ponyville. In her mind Sunshine though of Twilight Sparkle, one of the most amazing students in Canterlot. She dreamed that she and the lavender mare became best friends and shared lots of secrets about magic and even more about friendship. But her soul had other plans. As her midday nap turned into a goodnight’s sleep, her subconsciousness took a trip.

The outline of a full grown white mare with a straightened flowing mane slowly rose out of a younger mare resembling the spirit. She was engulfed in a bright yellow aura. She recognized it as somepony’s soul. The apparition used her magic and with a puff of yellow smoke she was transported to a dark cave. She didn’t know it at the time but the cave was somewhere in the countryside of Trottsylvania. There she was greeted solemnly by another pony’s soul. This one was black with a curly white mane and a frown was etched on her face.

Another mare entered. This one wasn’t just a soul, but an actual live and breathing pony. She wasn’t just anypony, though, she was an alicorn. Her features were so rare. A horn and wings on a pony were only qualities seen in the royal family of Equestria. The mare obviously had royal blood in her. She had the same slender figure as Celestia and the same piercing eyes as Luna. This alicorn was ash gray and her eyes were a deep purple. She had a white stripe on her face and her legs were white around the hooves. Her black mane had purple highlights in it. Her cutie mark was another matter entirely. It was so unusual yet familiar. A black pony with a white eye and a white pony with a black eye created a circle. It was a form of the yin yang symbol. It was majestic and beautiful.

The gray mare’s horn began to glow with a bright purple light. The smoky mare frowned.

“Oh, how I enjoy this. Every week is the same. The two of you join me in your sleep and I am forced to recite the ancient curse we are bound to,” The mare did not act like she enjoyed it. She sighed and continued.

“ Let’s see so this was Sunny’s week so now its Moondust’s turn okay here we go,” The mare stopped talking as white engulfed her eyes and her voice was replaced with a booming feminine growl.

“The light has had her fun. The time has come to end the sun. Darkness will now overtake. Until next week the curse I restate. You know the rules. You know the rhyme. I can’t wait until next time. Eclipse will have her monthly moon. That night, for me, can’t come too soon. Sun to Moon. Moon to Sun. This ritual is over! This ritual is DONE!” The bright light engulfed the ponies as they were all sucked into the body of Moondust. Even though she was unconscious, her horn glowed with the dark blue light of her magic and with a flash and a puff of smoke the mare disappeared.

Moondust's Dead End

Chapter 4- Moondust’s Dead End

Moondust trotted into Canterlot around noon. It was a glorious day with not a cloud in the sky. Moondust hated it. The sun warmed the entire city and the flowers were showing off their brilliant colors. The mare preferred the dark shadow of the moon and she was allergic to flowers. The one thing she did enjoy about Canterlot were the ponies. They were stuck up, wealthy ponies and you could tell their disdain for her. These kinds of mares and stallions were very entertaining. They made a fuss out of everything and hated to be embarrassed. Moondust walked right up to a pink unicorn mare with a yellow mane.

“Can you direct me to Celestia’s school for gifted unicorns?” The dark colored mare added a sweet grin and the mare wrinkled her nose in disgust. She quickly pointed out the direction, gave a goodbye harumph and went on her way. She held her head even higher. Moondust smiled, pleased with her little disruption of the rose mare’s precious time and walked towards the direction the stranger had pointed her in.

The palace was a grand place and Moondust had been a little intimidated. That was something the prideful mare would never admit, though. The ebony mare trotted through the main hall with as much prestige as the other noble ponies. The only differences were Moondust’s dirty coat and her even dirtier and tattered saddle bags. Moondust made a note of that and decided she would need to go somewhere to clean up. A hotel might work.

She had seen several inns throughout the city. She would have to find one cheap, but adequate to her needs. She had a little over 100 bits for her journey, so she would need to be frugal with her money. She had been saving these bits her whole life. She had taken everything with her from Trottsylvania because she didn’t know when or if she would be returning to her dark, beloved country.To save her some money, she had found a traveling spell and it was surprisingly easy. Almost familiar. This was impossible, though, because Moondust never used magic unless she absolutely had to.

Back to the task at hand. Moondust started wandering around aimlessly looking for the main offices. She thought if she could maybe sneak in an audience with the Princess she could find Sunshine. She bumped into her by accident and the black mare immediately bowed before the regal alicorn. Moondust caught a glimpse of what she was reading. Some sort of note from a Twilight Sparkle. The Princess looked like she was bored with it though. The princess eyed her curiously and her eyes widened when they set on her rump. Moondust turned to see what she was looking at. It was her cutie mark.

“I’ve seen that mark before! Well not that exact one but one almost just like it. Please, come with me.” The princess sounded very interested in Moondust’s unusual mark. The two mares made their way to Celestia’s office.

“Please sit,” The gesture was more of a command and the commoner pony obeyed.

“Now you must be Sunshine’s sister. She hasn’t told me about you, but if your cutie marks are that similar then you must be related. I know you are probably here looking for your sister but she’s not here. I will --” Moondust made a grave mistake and rudely interrupted the monarch.

“What do you mean she’s not here? Do you know how long and how hard I’ve been looking for her!” This last question was more like a statement. Moondust quickly realized that she had interrupted the most powerful pony in Equestria and bit her tongue before continuing.

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have interrupted you, but you don’t understand what I’ve gone through looking for … for my sister,” The smaller mare decided to play along with the princess’s assumption. Celestia gave the stranger an apologetic smile and continued, forgiving her for her interruption.

“That’s quite alright...” the alicorn stopped realizing that she didn’t know the other ponies name.

“Moondust,” The black mare answered.

“Right, well Moondust, Sunshine has been sent on a little trip. She has gone to assist one of her fellow students in a nearby town,” Celestia saw the disappointed scowl on Moondust’s face grow bigger and bigger. She stopped talking because it appeared that she was making things worse. She changed her tone to a more positive one and continued.

“Tell you what. I will send her a letter and let her know you stop--”

“No!... I mean I wanted to surprise her. It wouldn’t be a surprise if you told her now would it?” The black pony quickly made up an excuse and silently sighed her relief. The princess seemed to believe her and thought nothing of it.

“Alright. What a nice sister Sunshine has. My sister’s surprises were always pranks. Hmph. Well anyways, she should be back in a few days. Check back then.” The ponies exchanged farewells and Moondust left the office. As she was leaving Princess Celestia called out something she had thought of.

“Do you have a place to stay? Any sister of Sunshine’s is welcome here,” Moondust could not believe her luck! Now she wouldn’t have to earn enough bits for a hotel. The ebony mare graciously accepted. Celestia had a servant take Moondust’s things to one of the guest suites. Then the two went to the dining hall. Moondust had to admit it was strange eating with the most powerful alicorn in Equestria. She also really hoped that her cover wasn’t blown.

The food they ate that night was the best Moondust had eaten in a long time. Gourmet tomato soup was the appetizer. It was so creamy and delicious that the peasant mare couldn’t believe it when the next course arrived. If she had trouble believing in the first course then the second was even more heavenly. It was some sort of steamed hay with sauteed mushrooms and eggplant on top. The third course was her favorite of all. It was the dessert course; an apple cobbler with a crisp crust. The apples were so sweet and juicy. Moondust had a difficult time not drooling.

While she was eating Moondust was thinking. She was wondering what she would do next. She supposed that she would stay in the palace until Sunshine returned. That was probably the best move and if it backfired then she would have gotten a few free meals.

When the courses were cleared away and the two mares had finished their small talk, the two went their separate ways. Moondust headed towards the residential wing and Celestia went to her office to reply to Twilight Sparkle’s most recent letter. When the ebony mare reached her new quarters she didn't even bother to look at the beautiful decorations and ornate furniture. The tired mare plopped down onto the bedspread and fell asleep almost instantly, exhausted from her trip.

8 days after Moondust’s arrival, Sunshine returned to the palace. Celestia warmly welcomed her second favorite student.

“I’m glad to have you back. How was your stay in Ponyville?”

“It was amazing! Meeting Twilight Sparkle was wonderful and all her friends are so nice! Pinkie Pie has to have been my favorite though. We’re so much alike! And Fluttershy was really kind, too. I just wish she wasn’t so quiet.” The white mare was very excited to tell Celestia all about her adventure, but, Celestia had more important matters to discuss with her student.

“I am so glad you enjoyed yourself. Twilight said next time she’s under the weather she definately wants you to help her. But I have some more pressing matters to discuss. Your sister was here, but she has disappeared unexpectedly.” Sunshine waited for the alicorn to finish before speaking.

“Um, Your Highness, I’m sure this might seem strange, but I don’t have a sister,” Celestia looked shocked and horrified. She had been hosting that dark spirited pony in her home all week. The nerve of some ponies amazed her.

“Then who was that mare that was here?”

“What did she look like?”

“She was black with a fluffy white mane. She also had a cutie mark quite similar to yours. That is why I thought you might be related.”

Sunshine’s thoughts immediately went to the mare she had seen in her dreams. Was it possible that mare existed and was she looking for answers too? Sunshine turned to her teacher.

“Where did she go?”

“We don’t know. No one even saw her leave. She just, vanished.” Sunshine decided then and there that she had to find this pony. She expressed her plan to the princess and the wise monarch reluctantly consented after Sunshine promised to study magic on her journey. Sunshine went to her room and packed her things again with a sigh. Turns out she wouldn’t be coming home after all. Surprisingly her thoughts shifted from the mysterious mare, who Celestia told her was named Moondust, to Blaze. She hadn’t seen him in weeks.

At that very moment Blaze was thinking about Sunshine. He loved how she was so full of life and most of all he loved her singing. He hadn’t seen her in so long, he had started to worry. What if the beautiful white mare was avoiding him? He decided to find out for himself. He left his home in downtown Canterlot and trotted towards the palace.