Celestial Origins

Chapters

Chapter 1: A City in Need
Chapter 2: The Solution
Chapter 3: Changes
Chapter 4: Home
Chapter 5: Holding the Fort
Chapter 6: Recovery
Chapter 7: Salvation

Chapter 1: A City in Need

A young alicorn filly with a pink mane and white fur smiled, looking down at a tablet displaying her history report as she listened to the laughter of her sisters in the background, muttering "...I think... This is a good start", quickly beginning to read through it one final time.

Our nation - the Alicorn nation - stands between the primitive nations of the unicorns, pegasi and earth ponies. Though they are often called savages, many forget that we are descended from them. The first city of the alicorn nation, declared independent in the year 0 AS, was originally an earth pony settlement. The ponies there gained an obsession with science and runecraft, combining the two to create technology which the other tribes could not dream of.

Genetic modification made us ageless, strong and intelligent, with fast mental development. Mechanical implants gave further boosts to some. It is popular opinion - both in government and in the general population - that the savages do not deserve the fruits of our research, that no savage should be allowed close to our city unless they prove themselves loyal, strong and capable as any alicorn. But this is a tall order - true, even us children understand some basic robotics - but we have advantages beyond what we can produce ourselves. Because of this, only a handful of non-alicorns have even been added to our DNA-scanning databases so our most basic of machines respond to their commands.

With our knowledge approaching new heights, a new crisis has come. Our thaumo-nuclear generators cannot keep up with the ever greater demand for power. Now, two options remain in our future - either we find a new source of power on Equus - a method to break into the dimension of a spirit and share its power being the most viable option - or we leave the planet to feed on a black hole before our many systems collapse. The deadline draws near, one of these options will have to be followed by the end of the week.

Celestia, Age 7

Celestia smiled and nodded, turning off the tablet as she heard Luna giggling in the background, exclaiming "Nice hit, Faust!", Celestia turning with an amused look as she got up and approached her two little sisters with a grin, raising her own pillow to join the pillow-fight, the red-maned and white-furred Faust blinking and grinning to her, stating "Wanna join in~?"

Celestia grinned, stating "Do you even need to ask~?", laughing as she moved to swing her own pillow at her - before her ear twitched at the sound of the door creaking open, blinking and looking over before giving a smile as she saw her mother at the door. "Hello?" the elder mare stated cheerfully with a smile "You look like you're having fun~ But can you come to the door quickly? We have some magic-researchers here hoping to fix the energy crisis..." - Celestia blinking and nodding even as her sisters did the same, following her mother as the elder mare turned.

"...Why do they want to see us?" Luna questioned, her ear tilting as she raised an eyebrow, Faust smiling and stating "I think I know. Teacher went on a bit of a tangent in our last basic robotics class" she chuckled "Best way to break through to a spirit's dimension is magic, but everypony's is a little different. Apparently there's a group going around scanning everypony to see if they can find the right one to open a rift" - Luna blinked and gave a nod in understanding at that as she stated "Right..."

Soon enough, they arrived at their living room - their father standing next to three cloaked figures, their clothes covered in active runes, each one holding a small set of different magical scanners - Celestia blinked and looked over the equipment curiously, as Faust grinned and stated "Hello! here to scan our magic to make the rift?", the adults blinking before smiling, one giving Faust an impressed look and stating "Indeed. This will only take a second. Your parents were actually quite close to what we need, so we were hoping your magic will align with that of at least one spirit!"

Celestia smiled and nodded, holding still as they quickly surrounded her, moving glowing gems close in an attempt to determine her precise magical signature - one researcher gasping and stating "We have a match! The spirit of light!" - the others grinning and cheering, as Celestia blinked in shock, gasping 'Really? Me? Stars, if I am the one who is needed for this.... Maybe i'll get my cutie mark!' - a grin quickly developing on her face, as they moved to Luna next

"...And another match! The spirit of darkness!" one researcher exclaimed, Luna gasping and giving a similar grin as Celestia watched with a fond smile, the researchers moving to Faust next and scanning her - one stating "And three for three! Matched to the spirit of time's magic!" - Faust reacting in much the same way, as the researchers exchanged disbelieving glances, one stating "I never would have imagined we would have three... The energy that we could get from this... It's limitless!", the fillies' father smiling and stating "So long as it's safe. What will we do next?"

One researcher smiled, stating "We'll teleport to the lab. Once they're plugged into the machine, we'll take care of everything, should only take a few seconds to prime the machine to their magic. We can take you along to observe if you want?" - at the nods of both elder ponies, one researcher smiled and stated "Great! Gather together, now", lifting a small device with one hoof - all alicorns assembled blinking and nodding as they approached quickly, as moments later the researcher pressed the button, the group disappearing with a flash.

Author's Note

Some unassuming fillies, destined for greatness because of a similarity between their magic and that of spirits. But what comes next?

Chapter 2: The Solution

With a flash, the group appeared in a large chamber - a machine on one end, containing many seats and straps to hold a subject in place, equipment spread around each chair for the necessary scans and magical interactions - one researcher smiling and stating "Just sit in the chairs you three, and we'll deal with the rest" - Celestia smiled and nodded to him happily as she took a seat, her sisters doing the same as they were quickly strapped in, a glass shield lowering to separate them from any external magical interference.

Celestia smiled and glanced to her sisters, thinking 'This is it... Any second now. A cutie mark! I'll be the youngest in my class to get it!', as one alicorn researcher stated "...Chamber is free from thaumic interference. Beginning scanning sequence..." - the machine roaring to life, as the many scanners around them lit up, Celestia smiling and looking to them - before blinking as she felt a growing pressure in her horn, as she could sense runes forming on the inside as they would during a spell '...Odd, never had this happen before during a scan. This is... Meant to happen, right?' she thought, as moments later her and her sisters gasped out at the same time - her vision turning to a bright white as she felt a spell of some kind fire from her horn, the power much more than she thought she was capable of - alarms blaring moments later, as she could barely hear one researcher exclaim over the alarms "...What's going on!? Power levels exceeding maximum, what are they casting!?" - another researcher swearing as with a flash, Celestia screamed out as she was teleported to a destination unknown, closing her eyes tightly

Immediately, she felt a heat over her fur, as she floated in a void, her eyelids lighting up as she cried out and covered them with her hooves This light is more intense than anything I have ever seen! If my eyes were open, that would have blinded me for sure! she thought with a gasp, trembling before tensing as she felt magical energy - so powerful she could barely comprehend it - start to flow around her, push into her body, fill her internal reserves and, likely, change her somehow. In a few moments, the light no longer hurt her eyes, as she blinked and opened them slowly, cautiously.

She found herself in a white void, a vaguely equinoid creature standing nearby and looking to her in confusion as it tilted its head, stating "...An Alicorn? Or... No, that's wrong." in a feminine voice. The being took a step forwards - the filly yelping out and flapping her wings to move away from her, as the being blinked and paused, stating "...If you were an alicorn, you aren't anymore..." - Celestia paused and clenched her teeth, her heart threatening to beat out of her chest as she exclaimed "What do you mean!?" - the figure paused, before it stated "...I sense... A different kind of magic within you. Spirit magic mixed with that of an alicorn..."

Celestia froze, stating "B-But, i'm not a spirit!" - the figure paused, before stating "...No... You are inbetween. Eternal and powerful, almost like a spirit, but solid like any other being... I've never seen anything like you...", again walking towards her curiously, as she took a step back before crying as she fell through another rift.

As soon as she was on the other end, she heard a deafening boom, as she felt a painful heat on her front and she was blasted into the air at an extraordinary rate - the screams of her sisters surrounded her, as within a few moments she saw that herself, Luna and Faust were hurtling away from the Alicorn's mountaintop city, toward a forested area below, in the general direction of the unicorn kingdom, though not quite fast enough to cross any border given the angle they were hurtling through the air at.

As she tried to extend her wings, the wind was far too strong - she would never be able to even glide at this speed. As they descended to the ground at a doubtlessly lethal pace, her instinctual fear got the better of her, the alicorn filly sobbing and closing her eyes tightly as she clutched her sisters tightly - the two of them tensing and returning the hug with shivers, as it wasn't long before they hit the ground and she knew no more.

In the distance, a small crowd of unicorns were staring with wide eyes at the mushroom-cloud over the alicorn capital - one smith blinking and pausing as he squinted, casting a quick spell to magnify his vision as he saw three objects soar through the heavens toward dry ground a few hours into alicorn territory. He raised an eyebrow, looking up in thought '...Debris of alicorn technology? Now that's something I need to get my hooves on! If only I was a fighter... I'll have to hire a freelance adventurer for it when the opportunity presents itself. I'll have to be careful, robbing alicorn technology isn't exactly legal... But the possibilities! If it's damaged, the self-destruct mechanisms may be gone! It's worth a try...'

Chapter 3: Changes

Celestia soon awoke with a groan, her eyes slowly parting before she froze in place and widened her eyes - she found herself laying on the ground, in a huge crater. 'How... How am I alive? How is nothing broken!?' she thought in disbelief, slowly standing up and feeling no pain from it, as she muttered "I guess the spirit was right about being eternal... This crash would have killed anypony else" before gasping as she heard two familiar groans, turning her attention to her sisters with worry as she cursed herself for forgetting about them - turning to face them before blinking in shock.

Faust looked much the same, but Luna's mane swayed in an ethereal breeze, stars glinting in it - Luna looking over herself in just as much shock as Celestia, before she gasped and focused in on Celestia, stating "Y-Your mane..." - the eldest sister blinked, moving a hoof to bring some of her own mane into view, before yelping with a gasp as it moved under her grasp - her eyes widening as she saw its now multi-hued, sparkling coloration before she looked to Luna, stating "And yours...", Luna going through a similar motion.

Celestia looked over to Faust, who was, worryingly, not reacting at all - simply staring off into the middle-distance with a look of disbelief. The instant she thought to ask her if she was ok, Faust blinked before stating "O-Oh! Yes, i'm ok... Just... Wow... And, yes to what you're about to ask, Luna, but it wasn't a void. It was solid..", her voice wavering lightly as Luna blinked in confusion, before she stated "...What?", to which Faust gave a 'go on' motion and Luna blinked, before stating slowly "I... Can't believe we aren't hurt...", pausing before stating "Did you go into a void as well? Get told you were eternal or something?", looking at Celestia before her gaze slowly shifted to Faust in understanding.

Celestia paused before stating "Yes... There was light everywhere...", as Luna frowned in response and replied "Mine... Was pitch-black..", as Faust immediately blinked and stated "...Oh! Just saw ahead. You... Wow..." shaking her head "It... Looks like we each received powers from wherever we went.", pausing as she looked around for a few moments before stating breathlessly "...The world changes with every move I make..."

Celestia and Luna exchanged confused glances, before looking to Faust as the red-maned filly stated "I... Can see the future. And the past. And every single possible outcome depending on whatever actions I take..." she shook her head "It's... Incredible... Sometimes scary, but... Incredible..." - the two sisters glanced between each other in worry, as Faust sighed "Yes, you don't fully believe me... Look, think of any number, i'll guess it before you say it every time..."

Celestia and Luna frowned, but nodded, as Faust quickly began 'guessing' - within 4 correct guesses, they were in disbelief, within 10 they were somewhat believing it. After 20, Faust grinned just as Celestia was about to admit defeat, the red-maned filly exclaiming "I know! It's incredible! And so cool!", blinking before she grimaced and muttered "...Going to need to make some changes there... You're right, this is confusing, i'll try to only talk after you've... Already... Heh~" she brought a hoof to the back of her head, as Celestia and Luna grinned in amusement.

"So, you can tell the future..." Luna muttered, before grinning and taking a few steps forwards "What's my cutie mark going to be?" - Faust smiled and inhaled before she tensed and paled "...Oh... Oh no..." she squeaked, her ears dropping as Luna froze in worry, the red-maned Alicorn sighing "It's... Not about the cutie mark. We... Exploded the lab. Our parents made it out, but nopony knows where we are..." - Celestia and Luna froze, as Faust tensed before sobbing "...They're going to evacuate without us! O-Our parents will try, but the portal is so energy-intensive and the government aren't going to change the date for only three fillies..."

Celestia and Luna both paled, Celestia exclaiming "NO! Surely we can head back to the city and arrive in time?", moving up to Faust quickly, as Faust grimaced and somehow paled more, shaking her head "The wild is dangerous, more than you know... If we go too far alone we'll be snacks for wild beasts for a few months, years in some timelines!"

Both sisters gave her confused looks, Luna raising an eyebrow as Faust sighed "Right. You can't see...", before giving a grin "We are immortal! No, seriously immortal. Our bones cannot break, and our minds are tied to them somehow. At worst we can end up walking skeletons, but..." she grimaced and whined, her ears dropping as she hugged Celestia tightly suddenly "...It would be agony to be like that..."

Luna blinked, before frowning. Whatever her sister saw, she wouldn't let it happen, as she narrowed her eyes and stated "So you can see the future, and we're all immortal. Any special powers for us? And..." She sighed, looking down sadly "W-We'll never see mummy and daddy again? We'll be left behind?"

Faust frowned, stating "We will see them again. But it will be centuries, and we'll have... Something wonderful here that we won't want to leave..." - at the quizzical looks of her sisters, she smiled sadly "...It may be for the best, actually. As for special powers for you... While I see the future, I gained no physical strength. You two, though... Without giving away too much and seriously messing up time? You're like superheroes! Shattering stone with kicks, insane magic..." she grinned "As the spirit told you, Celestia. We are now part spirit. We have... Ascended into something beyond normal beings. And over time... We will do a lot of good for the world"

"...So, what now?" Luna asked with a raised eyebrow "You said travel is too dangerous, so..." - Faust smiled in response, stating "It is. but there's a cave just up there that we can hide in with... A little difficulty and injury...", grimacing and glancing to Celestia nervously, before stating "And help is on the way! I quickly used my wing when I arrived to slightly manipulate the shape of the explosion that sent us here, and--... Long story short, a group of unicorn adventurers will arrive to save us in about 5 days.. Well, more like 5 days, 4 hours and 32 minutes... It's changing a bit with every breath, but only by a few seconds, more movements would do minutes probably..."

Celestia blinked and frowned, nodding "Then you two will camp in the cave. I'll forage for food and protect you if needed..." she stated, as Luna frowned and stated "Oh no, you aren't the only 'superhero' here, Celestia!", gaining a grin "Maybe by the end of this i'll be protecting you!" she exclaimed, glancing to Faust who blinked and tensed, stating "In... Some of the timelines... I'm pretty bad at controlling which one comes true right now...", Luna gave an appreciative smirk and nod as Celestia sighed and said "If you have to...", obviously unhappy with the thought of her sister putting herself in harms way as she stated "let's go to this cave and get some shelter..."

As they began to walk, Faust smiled and looked between them, thinking 'A shame I can't see what happens to me in the future... They really do have adventures in front of them, though...', before she sighed and frowned 'And also dangers... Here and in millenia's time... I need to work on this early. Manipulate time, and make the future a better place for all... Yes. With what I can see... It is my duty'

She blinked and grinned at a number of events she spied in future timelines tens of thousands of years into the future, looking down to her flank to see an ink-pot and quill cutie mark, thinking 'It fits... Alright cutie mark, let's do this! I will write the future!'

Author's Note

And so, the sisters realize their powers! What will happen next? Find out later!

Chapter 4: Home

Celestia gave a smile, as they soon enough reached the cave which would serve as their home for the next 5 days, according to Faust. It was spacious and dry, though she did feel an odd distaste for the darkest areas within. Quickly, Luna grimaced and walked into one of the darkest corners within, before placing a hoof to the wall with a sigh "...This will be a long week..." the darker filly muttered, as Celestia glanced over to Faust, before she blinked and gasped with a grin "F-Faust! You got your cutie mark!" she exclaimed, as the red-maned filly smiled and nodded happily, stating "Noticed it on the way back! I think my talent is manipulating the future. Listen, I really want to try something, you two should test out your powers while I work on this!" before lifting a small rock with her magic, starting to scratch something into the wall.

Celestia blinked and nodded happily, stating "Great idea! I wonder how much I can levitate now...", as Luna grinned and stated "Levitate? What's a superhero without super strength! I'm so testing that out!", the darker filly moving to leave the cave as Celestia followed.

Celestia sighed, quickly moving to sit as she began to scoop dirt up from the ground in increasingly large chunks - her eyes widened in shock at the sheer volume, as she stated "So, Luna... Noticed some kind of... New influence on your mind? I really disliked the dark areas in there...", glancing over to the darker filly as Luna blinked and picked up a stone, stating "I did notice that they felt... Comforting in a way. Guess that explains a bit more of what my spirit said. We're halfway between spirit and alicorn... We like our element, but not to the insane extreme that a spirit would... Being desperate to blanket the world in eternal darkness or something...", before she tossed the stone at a tree firmly - the stone moving at a high speed, before effectively shattering against the surface of the wood, huge cracks spreading along the tree's surface as both sisters cried out in shock and jumped at that, a lapse in concentration causing the dirt-pile Celestia was lifting to fall to the ground as Luna stared at her hoof for a second in awe.

"...Wow..." Celestia stated in disbelief, pausing before gaining a grin and stating "Alright, let's see what we can really do!", walking over to the tree as Luna blinked in confusion, the smaller filly's eyes widening as Celestia bucked it hard - the base immediately splintering as it fell to the ground, the elder sister staring at it for a moment before stating "...Alright. Super-strength. Something like this could probably put a dent in stone, even...", before she walked over to a thick branch and tapped it a few times with her hoof, even squeezing it, before she nodded with a relieved sigh "But if we don't try to go overboard, we're like regular ponies. The best of both worlds."

Just then, Faust's voice called from the cave "Ok, you two! I have something to show you, and something to tell you! Come inside, please!" - Celestia responded with a nod, giving Luna a smile as the duo walked back into the cave, soon arriving in front of Faust as the filly smiled, stating "So! I want to tell you a few things, but while I do, stare at this, please.", her wing pointing to the wall she had been scratching at a small while ago.

Celestia raised an eyebrow as she stared at it '...What is this even meant to be?' she thought, gazing over the many lines as her mind drew a blank. It seemed to just be a senseless collection of squiggles and made-up symbols. Luna looked similarly confused, as Faust inhaled before stating "It turns out that I can shape the future by influencing your minds with my words, but the slightest change in pitch is important, and while I may know a lot, it's really hard to make what I want to happen, happen... With images like this, I can subliminally influence you, to fine-tune the effect I want. The time you've stared at it already has reduced the frequency with which i've seen us get dragged around as food by animals!" - Faust gave a light shiver as her ears dropped, the elder sister frowning and wrapping a wing around her sympathetically as Celestia sighed "...I can't imagine what it's like to see what you do... So much you want to see, but so much you don't, and no way to look away... You're definitely learning from it too, some of the words you used there were big..."

Faust wilted, giving a sigh before she stated "While there are... Some things I would rather not see... There are other wondrous things. Don't worry about me, sister..." She smiled, inhaling "I'm happy like this. Still, there is more I have to tell you... The time now is 5PM. At about 9, we're going to have a visit. From a hostile bear-scorpion hybrid..." - as her sisters tensed nervously, Faust continued "The area is going to become increasingly hostile over time. That explosion has riled up beasts of Grogar's creation, and... We weren't the only ones empowered by the spirits. That explosion... It has sent a wave of magic across the land. Everything from beasts to ponies will be affected. Some sapients will gain a boost, the bodies of some pegasi will adjust to fit Luna's magic in particular, and wild beasts... It will make them stronger. More dangerous..."

Celestia frowned, as she noticed Luna tense up in fear - quickly, the elder sister stepped forwards, exclaiming "We won't let them get the better of us! You saw how strong we are now, we can do this!" - Luna blinked, as Celestia smiled and concluded "It will only be five days, and Faust gives us perfect warning."

The younger sister paused, before she gave a smile and nodded "Very true! Alright. If we need to fight, then I will do everything I can to keep you two safe!" she exclaimed, to which Celestia sighed and smiled, giving a nod "Then I guess, we should start preparing for the fight..." she glanced to Faust with a smile, before stating "Do you have any suggestions?" - the red-maned Alicorn grinned, before she stated with barely-suppressed excitement "I was waiting for you to say that!"

Chapter 5: Holding the Fort

Luna sighed and grinned, moving the last of the felled logs into position in a funnel-shape at the mouth of the cave; while this wasn't exactly her idea of a good time, she enjoyed the satisfaction of a job well done. While they couldn't keep the creature out, Faust had stated that clever placement of the logs and some effort on their part would lure it into a central area they could fill with traps. Even now, the red-maned filly was laying runes which she said she had spied unicorns using in the future, while Celestia charged them with her own formidable magic reserves.

'Maybe this won't be so bad!' Luna thought happily as she approached, stating "How are the traps coming along?" - the red-maned filly glanced up from the latest rune, smiling "We're pretty much done!" she stated, just as a panting Celestia gave a nod in agreement, lighting up her horn as she stated "This should be the last rune."

Luna nodded happily, as Faust frowned "We still have about two hours..." the red-maned filly sighed "I'll see if I can't get the adventurers here a little sooner. Push around a few clouds, disrupt the formation of some migrating birds, and move on from there..." she stated, walking to the cave entrance before flying into the air and out of sight, Luna staring at her in shock for a moment, as Celestia smiled softly "Since getting those powers, she's almost like a grown-up... All of these new words, runes which even she doesn't understand, but she knows them... I'm starting to feel like the little sister"

Luna nodded and smiled, before stating "Still, she doesn't have our strength... We will need to remember that... So, how are we gonna lure in the bear-monster?" with a serious look, before frowning as Celestia sighed and glanced down "We let it follow us. Hit it a bit, get its attention and then just fly back into the rune-area. It'll be captured and knocked out immediately..."

Luna nodded and stated "Right..", staring at the cave entrance for a second before stating "Well, i'm going to get a drink, and.. Maybe some food. Have to be berries around here somewhere..." - Celestia nodded with a frown, as she replied "I'll go with you. But we'll show the berries to Faust before eating any, just in case" - the darker Alicorn nodded, as the two headed out and foraged.

Almost 2 hours later, as the time approached 7PM, the group returned to the cave, Faust uttering a seemingly random string of sounds before she smiled to them and wished them luck, moving to the back of the cave as Celestia and Luna stood at the cave-mouth - ready to spring their trap.

As the sun hung low in the sky behind them, shadows draped across the land. While Celestia grew increasingly unnerved by the shadows around them, Luna smiled as her eyes darted around - the younger filly soon enough tensing and whispering "Movement. Right there" as she pointed a hoof at the tree-line - Celestia frowned and nodded, as she glared at that spot cautiously - a few moments passing before a large monster with the upper-body of a bear and the lower-body of a scorpion slowly prowled into view with a growl, glaring at the pair with bloodlust.

Celestia inhaled, tensing as she paled slightly under her coat. Meanwhile, Luna frowned and glared at it, moving in front of her elder sister protectively, earning a shocked and protective look from Celestia, who quickly moved to her side as the beast snarled and slowly approached.

Both fillies stood their ground as it approached, closing in on their makeshift funnel as the beast soon snarled - its stinger quickly launched toward Luna, causing Celestia to flinch as the younger mare dodged to the side with a gasp before glaring and moving to buck the tail as it pulled back. Unfortunately, the filly was uncoordinated and inexperienced at her young age, striking only a glancing blow - though that was enough to crack the carapace of the stinger, as the beast snarled in pain before it moved to bite into her with powerful jaws.

Luna gasped and tensed, leaping back just in time as Celestia paled, and exclaimed in a booming voice "Stay away from her, you monster!", as she leapt to punch it right in the chest. The beast tried to dodge, though she got a glancing hit on it's ribs. Immediately, the beast gave a pained roar as she felt and heard something she punched crack and crunch, the creature still fighting through the pain however as it moved to bite her hard in the throat, aiming for a kill.

Celestia gasped as the previous strike had left her vulnerable on her landing, immediately trying to dodge - yet barely too slow, as its teeth met her shoulder and bit in with tremendous force, drawing a scream from her throat - tears came to her eyes as its teeth met bone and were blocked completely, as the beast snarled and pulled back hard in an attempt to dislocate her leg - but while it hurt, it could make no progress in that effort, as Luna shrieked out "SISTER!", before she moved to punch it hard in the cheek.

The creature, now wise to the immense strength of these fillies, immediately released Celestia to dodge the punch as the white filly dropped to the ground with a sob, moving a hoof over her wounded shoulder as Luna exclaimed "Back into the cave!" with a hateful glare at the creature. Celestia nodded, quickly backing away with a limp as she whimpered and sobbed with each step, Luna meanwhile slowly moving back into the cave as the beast growled, following them with confidence into what was sure to be a dead-end.

Luna smirked as it soon enough fell into their trap, her horn lighting up as she fired a beam into one of the runes scattered around the area - beams of light quickly firing from it into different runes as the beast snarled, before it blinked and looked up at a larger rune on the ceiling as all of the others fired a beam into it - the creature not having time to react, as soon a bubble of magical energy pulled the beast into the air, before it was struck repeatedly by yellow-colored magical bolts. The creature snarled and struggled, though quickly grew more drowsy, as after a few repeated blasts it fell limp.

Luna glared at its unconscious frame, hissing "That's what you get for hurting my sister!", before she tensed and her eyes widened, the younger filly turning to face her sister as she exclaimed "Celestia! How bad is it?", the elder filly already laying on the cave floor, hissing in pain as she sobbed "H-Hurts..." with flattened ears. Faust gave a sigh, stating "Better than some timelines... I messed it up at the last second" with a look of sympathy and guilt, glancing down to Celestia as the filly inhaled to console her with tear-filled eyes - but Faust beating her to the speech, stating "No need to worry about infection as we are now. And if we're lucky with what we do with this creature, we can avoid most future fights" - pointing to the bear-scorpion before she frowned and glanced to Luna "For now, let's get Celestia something for the pain. The cave is safe, and i'll keep us out of trouble.."

Luna tensed, before she frowned and gave a nod with a serious look, stating "Right! Don't worry Celestia, we'll be back soon!" - Celestia winced hard, but nodded to Luna with a relieved look as Faust stated "Let's get moving..." with a frown, quickly moving for the cave-entrance as Luna followed close behind.

Author's Note

Death is not a possibility, but that doesn't mean there aren't bad fates they could fall under. Poor Celestia just got a taste - but maybe Luna and Faust will be able to help her? Find out next time!

Chapter 6: Recovery

Luna sighed as she left her injured sister in the cave, walking out with Faust while carrying the unconscious creature in her magic - the darker filly questioning "So... What exactly are we looking for out here?", causing Faust to blink and smile, the red-maned filly replying "A certain kind of leaf. If ground up in just the right way and rubbed onto the bite as a paste, it'll leave her feeling very little pain..."

Luna nodded happily, as Faust soon told her to put down the beast a decent distance away from the cave, the pair soon walking along the river, collecting leaves along the way. After 40 minutes, Luna sighed softly, finally asking "So... Did you make any progress in trying to call our saviors a little faster?" - the red maned filly gave a smile and nod at that, as she stated "We're down to 3 days, almost exactly, until they arrive to take us away from here..."

Luna frowned and nodded with a sigh, ripping some more leaves from their branches as she stated "3 days is a big improvement... Let's get back to Celestia, soothe her wounds and then get some rest..." - those words earning an approving nod from Faust, as the two walked back while Faust had Luna grind the leaves into a paste between two rocks. Soon enough, the two arrived back at the cave, as Celestia was still curled and wincing with gentle whimpers as she looked up hopefully upon the arrival of her sisters.

Faust smiled, stating "Don't worry, sister. This will ease the pain, at least for a few hours, then you'll need another dose..." - at Celestia's nodded agreement, Luna smeared the paste over the bite-wound, Celestia blinking before giving a relieved sigh as she visibly relaxed before stating "Thank you... I feel much better after that..."

Faust nodded and smiled, stating "I'm glad. For now, let's all get some sleep..." she paused, before she gained a smirk and glanced over to Luna, adding "...And, Luna... As for your dreams today... They are trustworthy. Say yes." - the darker mare blinked in confusion, but nodded and stated "If... You say so?", quickly moving to a darker area of the cave as Faust nodded, before each of the three soon found sleep.

Within moments, Luna began to dream of walking through the streets of a unicorn town - only going a short distance before her magic reacted to something, and she blinked - glancing around as she immediately became lucid, feeling her sleeping body on the cave floor below as the dream proceeded normally. Within moments, she saw a group of three unicorn stallions approach with angry glares as at the same time she sensed some kind of magical effect working in her mind. One unicorn growled "Brave for an Alicorn filly to show her face among savages. Maybe we'll make you fit in some more, hmm? Cut off those wings" threateningly, before laughing cruelly.

Luna tensed as she glared at them, taking a step back as she knew there was magic at work, specifically in this trio - something dark, created with the emotions of fear, horror and pain. Quickly, she extended her wings, lighting up her horn before she growled "I don't know what you are, but none of this is real. Show yourself! What are you, foul creature!?"

The trio blinked and paused as they stared at her, before they began to laugh maniacally in unison - the dark filly tensed up as she quickly willed a sword into existence by her side, stepping back as the group quickly melted into a shadowy form, which quickly rose into the shape of a shadowy alicorn-silhouette, a strange and echoing voice coming from it as it stated "A being who can fight my control in their own dreams? Unique... You will make a fine vessel of Shade!", as within moments stones rose from the ground to capture her hooves.

Luna gasped as she was captured, but quickly willed the stone turn to turn to sand, leaping up and slashing at the creature as she grazed its shoulder, before she tried firing a beam into its side - causing it to cry out as she felt the magical presence in her mind weaken, the creature glaring as it caused the buildings on either side of her to explode, shrapnel launching towards her, as the filly tensed.

Just before the shrapnel would hit, Luna felt 5 other magical signatures enter her brain, black-cloaked unicorns suddenly teleporting around her protectively as they raised a shield. Pitifully weak, it still served its purpose, blocking the shrapnel as Luna gasped in shock and stared at the group - noticing how their bodies repeatedly glitched in and out of existence, their magic similarly weakening and returning to its old strength repeatedly in her brain. 'Whatever they're casting to do this, it's too much for them. They're struggling, but their numbers give them a chance against the creature' she quickly realized, as one glared at the creature, exclaiming "You will not claim this mind today, nightmare! Give up!"

The creature growled "Your arrival is just an annoyance. Leave!", firing a beam at the shield as it cracked heavily, but barely held, the cloaked unicorns gasping at the strain. Luna gasped as well, before she glared at it, teleporting out of the shield. Immediately, the cloaked ponies looked to her in shock, as one exclaimed "How--!?", before Luna glared at the creature and exclaimed "This ends NOW!", firing a final, well-placed beam at its chest - the shadowy figure almost immediately evaporating into thin air with an unnatural screech on contact, as Luna felt the presence leave her mind.

She sighed in relief, before she smiled and looked to the small group of unicorns, stating "Thank you for your... Help...?", pausing as they stared at her with dropped jaws - one looking over the group before stating with a serious tone "Did any of you give her a boost with your magic?" - as they each shook their heads, they again looked to her with wonder.

The pony who spoke paused, before he slowly approached her and stated "Able to fight your own nightmare-infection, and with strength unlike any I have seen before... I have never seen that, even among our own ranks, or the odd travelling alicorn, until today... Shouldn't you be protected from magical attacks like this even starting in your city? Or did that explosion mess up your magical defenses?"

Luna tensed and paused, before she remembered Faust's words and sighed '...They can be trusted'. The dark filly inhaled before stating "I would be... If I were still in the city. My sisters and I... Were changed by the blast. We have been thrown far away, and while help from the unicorn kingdom is coming, we won't be able to return. The other Alicorns should disappear within a week..."

One cloaked figure gasped, stating "That's awful! Where are you? Perhaps one of us could help?" - to which Luna frowned and shook her head with a sigh "I'm not sure where we are, and I don't think you could help us even if you knew, it would take a powerful warrior or cunning mage to last long out here..." - the stallion frowned and gave a defeated nod, as another looked to the first one who spoke, questioning "...If she's going to stay... Should we try to recruit her? I've never seen anypony like her before, she made it look so easy..."

The first who spoke, now clearly their leader, sighed and stated after a long pause "...That would be best...", focusing on Luna before he questioned "What do you know of what you just did? What that... Creature was?" - the dark filly gave a frown, pausing before she stated "It was.. A monster of magic. Dark magic. Made of fear, pain, horror... And it said something about me being a good vessel of Shade?", tilting her head lightly.

The leader frowned, stating "What you fought... Is what we call a nightmare. A being of dark magic, created by a greater sapient mass of dark magic coating the world, fed by all of us at any negative emotion. The ancients called it the Darkness. It seeks to torment us through our dreams, and gradually work its corruption into our minds, until it can seize direct control. Luckily, that has never happened - partly because of our influence - and if it had, we would know..."

One mare in the group frowned and nodded, stating "All the books on the topic are clear. If the darkness ever took over a being... An immense power, sometimes called Shade, would fill them, while their conscious mind would be restrained. A bit of their personality may bleed through, more if the pony had great magical power, but... The one walking and talking would be the darkness. And it would seek nothing more than the eternal torment of all..."

Luna tensed nervously, stating "T-That sounds... Bad...", as their leader frowned and nodded "I don't know how, but from what we saw of you fighting that nightmare? You're better than us at fighting them. We have a spell which should allow you to travel to other ponies' dreams, but it's hard to grasp, hard to use, and even then our magic resists it... Our organisation must be kept secret, believed to only be fiction, to avoid the anger of the pegasi and earth ponies - but if you can keep a secret, I think you will be the best of all of us in fighting this threat."

Luna tensed and paused, inhaling before she stated "I..." - a smile slowly crept onto her face, as she stated "I can do it! Just tell me how I can help, and teach me the spell. Hopefully it will be a little easier for me than it is for you..." - the leader nodded, smiling and glancing to one other cloaked figure, pointing at him before stating "Can you teach her the spell? The rest of us will go after the remaining nightmares tonight" - the figure smiled and nodded, stating "Of course. Good luck in your efforts!"

With that, she felt all but one magical signature leave her mind, the one stallion remaining as he sat down, stating "Now.. This may take a few nights. Let's get started..." as Luna gave a nod, moving to sit down in front of him.

Author's Note

My reign was a glorious, fear soaked epoch of darkness in Equestria

Grogar
Stygian turned to darkness, in the well of shade

It fits. And it's a good explanation of a lot of things in the show!

Chapter 7: Salvation

The next morning, Luna woke to a strange squelching sound - groaning and opening her eyes as she looked over towards it, before blinking in confusion. Faust had gathered a number of berries together within natural grooves in the cave floor, and was grinding them up with a rock.

The lunar alicorn yawned, standing before walking over to her with a curious look "What... Are you doing?" she questioned in confusion, the red-maned Alicorn quickly gaining a smile as she glanced up to her "I... Really don't want to have to go through that again." she sighed, taking a glance at Celestia's sleeping form - which, perhaps surprisingly, appeared to already be healed - before she looked to the berries "So... I've decided to experiment. I can see the future, and I can change it... But what if I set up things to change the future without me even being there~?"

Faust gained a grin "These berries can all be used to create stains of different colours! I tested it out a while ago, and the stains actually make creatures slightly change their behaviour! Enough stains in the right pattern, and I can make them steer clear of the cave!"

Luna blinked in shock, replying "That's amazing! Do you need any help...?"

Faust blinked and frowned, pausing before she stated "I... Don't think you can help with laying down the stain, but you can help make it. Just mash up these berries with a rock" - pointing with a hoof to another set of berries she had prepared, as Luna smiled and nodded, quickly moving to help make more of the stain...

The next few days passed peacefully. Celestia was sore for the first day, but quickly recovered by the next morning - surprising both herself and Luna - as Faust frequently changed the stains and patterns she used, carefully coloring different parts of the nearby forest with a mixture of multi-colored polka-dots and lines.

True to her word, the next few days were peaceful for the fillies, the trio resting and hiding when Faust commanded, otherwise trying to enjoy themselves in the area until help would arrive just a few days later, as Faust had predicted.

By night, Luna trained in the arts of dreamwalking, and was progressing faster than her newfound friends could have ever expected. Her magic seemed to 'take' to the spells more readily, needing much less complicated spell work for a much stronger effect.

At about 4PM on the third day, the sisters were each resting within the cave - each feeling somewhat excited, as Faust grinned and soon exclaimed "They're here~!", quickly standing as her wings flapped excitedly - Celestia and Luna blinking and grinning as they quickly stood, before the trio walked to the entrance of the cave.

Quickly, they saw two unicorn mares approaching the cavern, dressed in thick armor and carrying swords in their magic - both of them tensing and raising their weapons as the fillies moved out of the cave, before one blinked in shock and stated "Wait... Alicorn fillies!?", the other's eyes widening as she rushed over, stating "What are you three doing out here!? It isn't safe!"

"We... Fell." Celestia stated with a grimace, as both mares looked to her with shock and horror, one exclaiming "You poor things! How long have you been out here?", Luna giving a grimace as she stated "About four days? Ever since the explosion in the alicorn city..."

Both mares looked at her in shock, one stating "How did you survive!?" in disbelief, as the other blinked and stated "Some alicorn technology fell with you, maybe?", Luna sighing and shaking her head as Faust stated "It is... A long story. No technology fell here, despite what your employer thinks... We survived because we have a lot of magic. I can explain as we walk... Can you help us...? And before you ask... N-No." - the red maned filly suppressed a sob, before stating "The other alicorns... They will have left through a portal by now. We are the last alicorns on the planet..."

Both mares blinked, looking to Faust once again in horror, as one stated "Stars... You're sure?", as Faust grimaced and nodded, struggling to control her breathing as one mare paused before stating "...We'll bring you back to the nearby unicorn town. You'll be safe, warm and fed... And i'm sure many ponies will want to see you."

The fillies nodded, as one of the mares smiled sadly and slowly turned, stating "Just follow us. And stay close..."

Author's Note

And so Celestia, Luna and Faust are found! Back from the hiatus, unsure how much i'll be able to maintain this activity though ;)