An Unexpected Turn of Events
Chapter 1
A collaboration with Filly Rainbow, who is one of my best friends.
It was a bright and sunny day in Equestria, thanks to the Weather Patrol; but not Princess Celestia, for today it was Princess Luna who had rose the sun. In the castle, everything was a wreck.
The attendants all gathered around Celestia's bed while she cried out - "I'm fine, I'm fine! I shall, like any other day, try my best to raise the sun. It is not like I am on my death bed, I just have a particularly bad case of the Pony Flu, which makes sense because alicorns have different immune systems than other types of ponies."
"Are you sure, Your Majesty?" Candlelight, the leader of the Council of Unicorns asked doubtfully. "It would not be wise to try and raise the sun with your illness."
"I must," Celestia said sadly. "Luna has raised the sun this morning, and she is too tired to do it again tomorrow, as she already must raise the moon. I do not want to put too much pressure on my dear sister; I must continue my duties, after all, no matter how bad my physical state is. After all, how would Equestria cope with darkness for the whole day?"
"No, sister!" Luna said among the other ponies surrounding Celestia's bed. "You have already raised the sun and the moon for 1,000 years in my absence. I am sure that I may handle a mere few days! Besides, you need a break, dear sister!"
"But I am much older than you, Luna, and you have only returned from your absence recently. Therefore, I will not allow you to raise the sun," Celestia insisted.
"It's no use," Luna muttered. "When she sets her mind to something, she will not let it go. I am her sister, I should know. Just last week she ate a donut and decided that they were so good that everypony in Equestria should be given one! And, it happened!"
"I remember that," Candlelight mused.
"Nevermind that incident, I do remember that I was not myself that day. But I must do my duties, no matter what my beloved subjects may request." Celestia growled feircly at the small circle of ponies surrounding her and constantly asking questions.
"But maybe the Council of Unicorns could help you...?"
"No. Raising the sun is way out of your league, and you need to be experienced, as it takes immense power to perform the feat."
"But sister!" Luna whimpered. "What if something goes wrong? Don't you remember last time?"
"Last time...?" Numerous ponies asked.
Luna paled. "Nevermind...it was nothing major, really."
The circle of ponies either galloped, teleported, or flew away as Luna waved them away, "Celestia isn't feeling well enough to negotiate, please leave."
"Luna, please, it's just a fever." Celestia said. "I feel a little lightheaded, though... I'll rest and see what kind of state I'm in next morning."
"Okay," Luna said doubtfully, but as she left the room she said quietly to herself, "I've never seen anypony feel better that quickly... so unless she breaks records, Equestria is going to be in trouble next morning..."
* * *
Catherine and Ellie woke up from a long, fun sleepover. Well, if you can call it a sleepover, as they were roomates anyways.
Cat yawned. "Hey, Ellie, get up. It's the day I've been dreading."
Ellie wrestled out from under the extremely plush blanket. "Then why are you waking me up to arise to the 'dreaded' day? Besides, cootie catcher fortunes aren't true, you poor, hopelessly gullible person. They're just games."
Cat whispered, "but... I have a feeling something horrifyingly shocking will happen!"
Ellie rolled her eyes. "Cat, get real. Oooh, some ponies from a mystical land of Equestria are going to kiiiidnap you!"
"Ooh, that's a good one. Did you make that up? But.." Cat became strangely pale. "Did you hear that? Maybe we ARE going to get kidnapped, but not by ponies! By scary men in black ninja costumes and ski masks!"
"First of all, I didn't hear anything. Second of all," Ellie took a pillow and threw it at Cat. "You're acting totally stupid right now! I mean, like, more than before! Which is pretty hard!"
"Shut up," grumbled Cat. "At least I'm not a stick-in-the mud like you! At least I can try to have fun with these so-called 'games,' which I am certain are not just schoolgirl hobbies!"
"Oh, really?" Ellie asked. "I could be certain that you were a schoolgirl, I mean, your IQ matches that of one."
But Ellie had no idea that Cat may have been telling the truth, because meanwhile, in Equestria, Celestia was attempting, as promised, to raise the sun. She didn't tell anybody, but she felt her fever getting worse...
* * *
"Here goes," Celestia said weakly. Her head was hurting madly and her vision was blurry as she attempted to cast the extremely complicated spell only her and Luna could conjure. She knew it was for the best. Where would Equestria be if she couldn't even raise the sun? She would let everypony down, and as the trusted leader of the fine country for as long as she could remember - which, as being immortal, was an immense amount of time - and she wouldn't stop now. So, for her pride's sake, she would go on.
Her out of focus eyes started glowing and so did her horn as she fired a silvery blue bolt into the sky.
"Oops," she muttered as she felt the spell reach out of bounds. She started shooting up like a bullet into the sky to start the spell, and felt the power bounce off the atmosphere and land directly in none other than Ponyville's direction.
"No no no no no!" She yelled in frustration, a headache growing. "Not like last time... this is exactly what happened last time! How could I let this happen? Whoever who gets hit with that laser beam is going to be cast into the direction of an alternate universe!"
* * *
Meanwhile, Twilight Sparkle and her friends were gathered in the library to witness a new spell she learned, a very complicated one at that.
"Go, Twilight!" Rarity yelled.
"Yay," Fluttershy cheered softly.
"You can do it, egghead!" Rainbow Dash said.
"C'mon, sugarcube!" Applejack whooped.
"Oh my gosh! My tail's a twitchin'..!" Pinkie Pie shrieked.
Everypony stopped what they were doing and turned to face Pinkie to witness it - excluding Twilight, as it had taken a long time to build up the concentration to perform the spell and she couldn't stop now - and widened their eyes in fear.
"No!" Pinkie Pie shrieked yet again. "It's not just a-twitchin,' it's a combo! It's... my lucky day? No, it's not my lucky day, it's... a doozy?!"
Suddenly, something crashed into the library as Twilight's eyes began to glow white as if she was casting a complicated spell - but she wasn't, her horn wasn't even glowing! Soon, everyone else's eyes began to glow, also, and they began to fade in a shower of sparks and mist...
The eggs sizzled and hissed as Elle cracked and dropped them on the steaming frying pan. Since Catherine couldn't cook for her life, it was up to Elle to perform the not-so-heavy burden of cooking something at least decent.
Elle was almost - almost! - peaceful, until she heard a voice that wasn't very pleasant. Oh, no, she thought, the idiot is approaching. Stand still, avoid eye contact, and don't move. "Elle! The fortress is almost complete! Now flee with me, until tomorrow, when the evil ninja ponies will disappear! Oh, and yeah - get some food, will you? Seriously, I'm starving!"
The situation is worse than I thought. The Idiot is building a fortress! Ellie smacked her forehead, splattering egg yolk across her nose. She groaned and said, "Cat! Look what you've made me do now!"
"What? You mean saving you from the ninja ponies? Oh, don't thank me. I'm just naturally legendary." Cat stated proudly, as if she was something amazing, brand-new, and simply mind-blowing, all rolled up in one.
"Wow, you're right!" Elle said in mock-amazement. "You definitely are legendary. A legendary idiot, at that!"
"I know, I know - hey, wait!" Elle heard a door open and then there was Cat, her wild blue hair all over her face. It almost covered her whole face - almost being because Cat seemed to have enough sense to at least sweep her messy hair away from her eyes. Otherwise, she looked like a big, hairy... something.
"I am legendary! Have you got that? Not a legendary idiot! Legendary! Oh so very legendary! Are we clear?"
Her eyes, which were previously soft and understanding, became even more sharp and angry with each jab of her finger. This worried Elle a bit, because honestly, Cat was never serious. I mean, there were her moments, like when her goldfish Bob had died, and when she... actually, that was about it. But what if Catherine, who normally was fun and silly, friendly and outgoing - not to mention a bit crazy - was actually serious about this? Oh, gosh, was the universe going to implode?
"You're really serious?" Elle said at last, wiping the egg off her nose with a towel. Cat crossed her arms, leaned forward, stuck her chin up, and then replied like she was the boss of everything.
"Yes. Yes, I am serious, and it seems that you are not. And considering that the ninja ponies can come anytime... well, I'd hardly say that I'm unprotected. But you are not. You are a mere civilian and it is my duty to protect you. Therefore, you are coming with me."
Before Elle could say anything, Cat grabbed her arm and practically dragged her to their bedroom, where all the pillows from both of their beds had magically disappeared and were coating the walls as if they were in a war.
"Oh, gosh." That was all Elle could think of. "You're crazy, Cat! I mean, you've always been crazy, in a good way. Heck, we're all crazy! I'm crazy, you're crazy, we're two weird, insane roommates! But, Cat, right now you are starting to seriously worry me. So, this is what you do. You forget about this whole thing, you completely ignore it, and when nothing happens, you look at me and I say, 'I told you so.'"
Cat glared at Elle angrily and started jabbing her with her finger. "Elle, please. I understand you don't want to listen, because you're too foolish, or whatever. But whatever it is that's making you not believe me, totally forget about that! I'm telling the truth. Cootie catchers are real. They are completely, totally, one-hundred-and-two perfect real."
Elle did nothing but roll her eyes. "Cat, I'm going to say this one more time. Cootie catchers aren't real. They're a game that second graders play. So, please, excuse me, while I scream into my pillow."
* * *
Her Majesty, the great, powerful, and wonderful Celestia was, in fact, also screaming into her pillow angrily.
She was a princess. The wisest of Equestria; the shining light that guided everypony and took care of them. But to tell the truth, she didn't feel that way.
"I was so stupid!" She yelled. "Luna, I've just doomed some ponies!"
Luna, who was standing beside her, told her calmly, "yes. Yes, you did. You should never have done that, sister! It was a silly idea that seemed like a good one at the time. But, look. There's nothing we can do, is there?"
Celestia looked up at Luna, wiping tears from her eyes using her hooves. "No, but Luna! Luna, what are we going to do? I've done it, again. Is that something to be proud of? I should have listened to you, just like last time."
"It's alright. It's not your fault. And besides," Luna said, "you can't keep on thinking that I can't handle things on my own. I've been here a year already, and I could have easily raised the sun. You should have let me."
"You're right," Celestia said. "But first, before you say, 'I told you so,' let's at least try to find out who we just doomed."
* * *
There was a knock on the door. Cat shrieked and hid into her bedroom, locking the door behind her quickly. Elle just rolled her eyes and asked, "who are you?"
Before whoever was behind the door could answer Cat whispered in a barely audible tone, "it's the ninja pony! Run for your life!"
There was a long pause, and then finally whoever was behind the door responded. "I-I'm Twilight. Somehow, I got lost... A-and I don't know where I am or anything, really. I can't remember anything. Please, can you help me?"
Elle considered it for a moment and then decided that she should help this Twilight girl. She seemed distressed. Besides, Elle had nothing else to do (since Cat was dominating the bedrooms). "Okay," she said suspiciously and slowly unlocked the door, opening it...
To reveal a purple pony.
