A Cuckoo in the Nest

The two sisters beat their majestic wings and rose into the air together aiming for the same patch of sky where they had seen the orb the day before. Neither spoke, both weighed down by the excess baggage of their own thoughts, as their journey passed wingbeat at a time.

Luna judged the rough position at which she expected the orb to re-appear and as they climbed, she looked around for any clouds that may be suitable to rest on while they waited. There were more than yesterday and so she chose one that could accommodate the both of them together, allowing them to bond briefly and provide an opportunity to share last minute thoughts and observations that may indicate that either one of them had weakened in their resolve.

One of the things they both recalled vividly was that the orb had not yielded even in the face of their combined efforts, albeit for only a short period of exposure to their power, so it was clear that they both needed to be focused and working in unison if they were going to stand any chance of releasing the pony held prisoner within.

They waited, poised, for the orb to appear as it had done with such regularity over the last week. Their anticipation caused time to drag, providing the appearance that they had been waiting far longer than was actually true, but they both felt it just the same and it gnawed at them both.

Then, without any warning there was the green flash they were looking for over to their right, and much further away than before.
“Come, Sister” called Luna “We have much ground to cover if we are to get close enough to be effective!”

With mounting urgency, they dropped off their cloud and headed as fast as they could towards the crackling green orb. The pony within had seen them and appeared to be throwing itself against the walls of its prison, beating its wings and moving its mouth as if shouting.

“Are you sure, Sister?” asked Luna as they drew closer, desperately seeking reassurance for her uncertain rationale.
“It is a joint decision Luna, whether right or wrong” replied Celestia flapping her wings with some urgency and lowering her head.

Her stance was clear.

Luna tilted her head as well and two auras shot out almost simultaneously to drive straight into the surface of the orb. The yellow electrostatic crackling intensified around the points at which the magic impacted it, flaring angrily as if receiving a wound. The yellow crackling grew in intensity as if fighting to resist the magic, until suddenly the surface of the orb puckered and peeled open under the intensity of the onslaught. The pony within pressed itself against the far side of the sphere to avoid accidental injury as the powerful display continued.

“Switch off!” called Celestia who could see that they had made a hole, and Luna immediately complied. In an instant, the pony within made a dive for the hole and threw itself out unfurling its wings and flying unsteadily over towards its rescuers as the punctured remains of its green hued prison spiralled lazily downwards, the yellow crackling dimming to nothing as its power faded.

“Thank you so much for my rescue my friends” it said breathlessly with a feminine lilt “I am Sunchaser and I fear my wings may soon give out. May we please rest somewhere?”

Celestia beheld the yellow alicorn with striking orange and white mane and tail and gestured to some nearby clouds. The party of three alicorns made its way over to them together, the Royal Princesses flanking the new arrival lest she tumble out of the sky before reaching a place to rest.

Sunchaser did not so much alight upon a cloud, rather she impacted it clumsily, her legs collapsing as she landed, and her head swung forward into the soft cushioning of the cloud. She lay panting heavily, barely moving as the Royal Sisters looked both at her and each other, and then back again before landing at a distance which was a compromise between being close enough to offer solidarity yet far enough away to provide a degree of personal space.

“Do you need help?” advanced Luna once their visitor appeared to have her breathing more under control, receiving a slight shake of the head in response.
“Just want to catch my breath please” Sunchaser answered between gasps.

“It’s so sweet to be out of that hellish confinement” she said, stumbling unsteadily to her hooves “I really am most grateful. By the way, where am I and who are you?”
“I am Princess Celestia and my Sister is Princess Luna. Together, we are responsible for looking after the ponies and the land of Equestria, which is where you are now.”
“In that case, I am doubly in your debt. Thank you, Princesses.”

“You are quite welcome” said Luna “But tell us, what were you doing inside that bubble at all?”
“I confess I have never heard of Equestria. I used to reign over the land of Bridleberg, but we were attacked by a shapeshifter who infiltrated the highest echelons of our society and turned everypony against me. Next thing, I was sentenced to banishment within the magical prison globe you saw. It’s a particularly horrible punishment; its surface is held in place by high magic that cannot be broken by one alicorn alone, and provides just enough life support to sustain the prisoner in a living death.”

“That sounds truly awful” said Luna “But how did this globe of yours appear and disappear?”
“I don’t know; that was something that only recently started to happen. Sorry – I didn’t know every aspect of the spell that was cast, nor do I know how long I have been held captive, but I am truly grateful it has been broken. While I recognise that I am in your debt, I should like to be able to return to my own land and release my ponies from the thrall of the shapeshifter as soon as you will allow.”

“You will need to recover your strength before you can consider such a bold move” said Celestia “We will help you whichever way we can, but our first responsibility is to assist you in your recuperation. If you have been captive for such a long time, a few more weeks won’t make a great deal of difference; please would you accept our hospitality?”

“You are most gracious, Princesses; thank you. Is your castle close by?”
“Not too far away” replied Celestia “We can summon a chariot if you feel you need?”
“Thank you, I feel faint; most probably some after effects of the imprisonment” said Sunchaser “Perhaps that would be a good idea, if it wouldn’t be too much trouble?”

Luna took her cue and rose gently into the air sharing a nod with her sister before turning towards Canterlot to make the appropriate arrangements.

Celestia turned back to the frail Sunchaser and was startled to see a sturdy looking white alicorn with flowing pink, blue and green mane staring straight back into her eyes, a flash of green emanating from her horn.
“Farewell gullible Celestia” cackled the other white alicorn “I’m sending you to the sun!”

Too late Celestia recalled Sunchaser’s mention of the shapeshifter backstory that the imposter had told.
“It’s you …!” she gasped, wide-eyed with the realisation that she had been deceived and disappearing in a flash of green magic as the shapeshifter laughed insanely.

“The Princess is dead” affirmed the new Celestia “Long live the Queen!”