Prince of the Earth

by Lightning Flicker

Rating: everyone
Tags: Princess Celestia, Slice of Life, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Alternate Universe, Princess Luna, Original Character, Princess Cadance, Shining Armor
Length: 6916

Everyone knows about Celestia and Luna, but what if there was one more?

Everyone knows about Celestia and Luna, the raisers of the sun and moon respectively. But, what if there was a third, nearly forgotten Alicorn that was the older brother of them both?

A "what if" scenario that played through my head.

Also...first story I'm starting here. Would love to have constructive criticism.

(Cover art is...well, filler until I get something better, but totally not my art)

Published 2012-08-16 12:34:01 UTC
Last updated 2015-11-19 07:00:08 UTC

In the Beginning

Equestria...

Everypony knows the origins of Equestria, the three tribes, the two royal sisters coming together to unite the tribes. Even the fact that it was the tribes themselves whom praised the two sisters as Princesses. But, nopony can go further back, nopony remembers the beginning of Equestria, the land that lay beneath the hooves of earth pony and unicorn, diamond dog or dragon. Today, today we shall go to the far beginning, and find out that there is more to this tale.

In the beginning, there was Faust. This deity was born upon the winds of time, from the beginning, She saw to the initial creation of the land. Vast, plentiful fields of grass, the clear sky, and, of course, the trees that provided the shade for her. But, lo, all was still not well with Faust. Her loneliness, born from a desire to have others, lead her to the creation of her first foal. The young colt whimpered after his 'birth', coddled to his mother as quickly as he had been formed. She gently stroked the child's fiery red mane, his steel grey coat, and she smiled softly. "Terran." She whispered softly, the colts whimpering having toned down after he had been soothed by Faust, "Your name shall be Terran, my child. The first of my children...but not the last." She commented quietly, though the young colt could not have understood the words that were spoken to him.

In time, the colt grew, and as the years passed, he was blessed by first one sibling, Celestia, and then the other, Luna. Faust raised the sun, and she lowered it for her small foals. She ushered the new days in, allowing them to play, explore, and have fun as long as they did not venture from her sight. She ushered the nights in to call her children back to her, nestling the three bodies of her children to herself, warding their dreams from nightmares and caring for the young foals that were her own. The children never wondered why they had no father, they simply knew of their mother, whom loved them as much as she loved her darling sky or the solid earth below.

Terran himself, being the oldest of the siblings, had at first worried Faust, she worried that he would play too roughly with his sisters when they were old enough. Day by day, she watched them, and him, grow, unable to help but smile quietly as the siblings, for the most part, appeared to simply enjoy one another's company. She knew that the colt grew restless however, with no other ponies to play with, it was easy to succumb to boredom, and so, on a particular day where she allowed the moon to stay in the sky for longer than usual, she created the three tribes of Ponies.

The earth ponies, modest and hard working workers of the fields and naturally attuned to the subtle magics of the earth itself. The Pegasi, strong, swift, but prideful ponies who tended to the skies and kept the weather temperate. And finally, the magical, knowledgeable Unicorns whom could entertain and amaze the other two tribes with their own forms of magic. What she had not foreseen, however, was the way that the three tribes grew to resent one another, but that is a tale for a different tale.

Faust watched young Terran as he played in the fields, smiling quietly as the young alicorn rolled upon the grass, frowned at the earth before finally moving on to the next spot, repeating the actions over and over. "Terran," Faust called to her young colt, "What are you doing over there?"

"Trying to find a place for a nap mama, the ground isn't very comfy here..." The sheepish alicorn called back to his mom, trotting over to her before settling in quietly against his mother, his two smaller, sleeping sisters stirring only slightly as the colt flopped down beside his mother, earning him a small frown with which he could only return a soft, sheepish grin.

"I am sorry that the earth around here is not up to your standards." Faust commented softly, giggling quietly once more as her child turned slightly away, moving to cover his slightly reddened cheeks froom his mother.

"It's not so much that." Terran tried to explain away, earning only a cocked brow from the amused alicorn that was his mother. "It's just that...well, I've also got an itch on my back and I didn't wanna bother you." He blushed quietly, the honest answer earning yet another soft chuckle from Faust.

"Is that all that the rolling was for?" She commented softly, still fighting off soft giggles at her highly unamused young colt. "All you would have had to do was ask, and I would have gotten it for you."

"But I'm a big colt!" Terran complained, his wings flaring out to try and make him appear bigger than he really was. He saw his mother look to consider what he had said before grinning, reaching out with her forehooves before dragging him over to herself. He dared not whine or try and get away from her, his sisters rested nearby and he had no wish to harm them. In fact, he was still surprised that his young sisters could have slept through all of that noise...then again, they were little more than foals, hardly big enough to trot about on their own.

"You may be a big colt, but you'll always be my little foal Terran." Faust commented quietly, a small smile coming to her as she moved one wing up to scratch at Terran's back, at first a quiet squeak escaping the colt before he settled into it, if slowly. He would have much preferred being able to take care of the silly little itch himself, but it appeared that the older alicorn had different plans...at least for now. After all, the trees, what ones there were, were fairly sparse.

"I could have gotten it myself..." Grumbled the colt as he sighed contentedly once she had stopped, settling himself against her chest carefully as he rested his fore hooves in front of himself.

"Yes, you could have, but it's far easier to ask for help when you need it than to try and do everything yourself...after all, I will not be able to do this for you forever, my young one." She giggled softly once more.

"What do you mean by that momma?" The young colt asked, yawning quietly as he rested more firmly against his mother.

"It's nothing to worry about, young Terran." She commented softly, a quiet smile gracing her features, "Now, go to sleep. I am sure that you are very tired since your nap took so long to get around to."

The young colt gave a response, mumbled though it was against his hooves before the sound of deeper breathing came from the small colt. Slowly, quietly drifting away into his own little dreamland.

Prince of Naps

Faust smiled quietly as she looked down at her foals, Terran, laid out on his side just a few hoof lengths away from herself. He was asleep for now, though as Faust took a moment to look slightly away from Terran, she noticed her two little girls whispering to one another. She giggled softly, the two little filly's were rather mischievous, from what she could tell. And that certain mischievousness was about to come into play, she could tell.

"Tewwan..." Pouted a small Celestia, moving towards the napping, small colt. Her ears flicked slowly as she crept closer, Luna just behind her as she did so. The colt didn't respond right off, merely shifting in his spot and giving a quiet snore. "Tewwan..." Celestia prodded again, reaching one hoof up and giving her brother a nudge. At last, with this prodding, Terran's steely grey eye opened and he gave a quiet yawn, mere moments after spotting his sister he waved a hoof towards her.

At this, however, Celestia's frown deepened before she leaned her head back, then abruptly headbutted her brother, which caused the colt to yelp and sit up while clutching his forehead just under his horn. Of course, both Celestia and Terran were clutching their foreheads while Luna herself giggled at the sight, though Faust was quick to raise from where she was laying to go to her foals, nuzzling each before giving them both kisses upon their foreheads.

"Momma..." Terran griped, opening his eyes, which in turn caused Faust to smile quietly. Terran, the one of her three foals that had been created with the hematite like coloring of his eyes. It was clear that he was just being fussy, but she still could see his appreciation for the gesture.

"What is it, little Terran?" She asked softly, once both foals had been tended to and smiling again quietly. She waited, patiently, for the complaint that usually came from little Terran, but surprisingly it didn't come. Terran was a mature little foal, at least as far as his age went. He was six now, Faust realised, while Celestia was four and Luna was two...and they got along just like foals of the same age.

"Can we go 'splorin?" Terran asked softly, blushing as Celestia couldn't help but give a happy giggle. He'd promised his little sisters earlier that morning that they would be able to play and, in essence, explore the area around them. Not that they would go out of sight of their mother, she'd always warned them that going too far out of sight while they were small was a bad idea. They still didn't have the magical prowess to defend themselves, if it ever came down to that.

"I don't know, Terran..." Faust began, smiling quietly down at her foals who were all looking at her expectantly. Those eyes, oh how those little eyes could turn her world. "Well, alright, but under one condition." The large alicorn commented, giving a soft giggle as she looked down at the short celebration, "You have to promise that you'll take care of your sisters, alright?"

"Yes momma!" The enthusiastic, grey coated foal commented with a grin, nuzzling his mothers leg as his sisters both cheered happily. Both of the smaller fillies moving to join as they could, nuzzling against Faust's leg before Terran giggled, breaking off before moving further out. His sisters quickly following suit and just about stumbled over each other before Terran slowed, grinning as he moved and scooped up Luna to his back, seeing as his sister was so much smaller than himself.

This action wasn't lost on Luna, giving a happy squeal before giggling and nuzzling against the slightly larger alicorn's body. Nuzzling her head against his neck in appreciation before she then turned towards Celestia, blowing a raspberry towards the white filly which was soon after reciprocated in kind. Though all three siblings soon gave to a fit of, as their mother had called it, the 'giggles'.

And soon, their giggles gave to a fit of laughter that eventually had the three laying by one another, Luna having vacated her spot on Terran's back to curl up between both her larger brother and sister. She felt safe there, her bigger brother that had promised their own mother to protect them with his own hooves, and her bigger sister, whom looked out for her as well. Even taking action in things that Luna couldn't quite do herself...like getting an apple from a tree that she'd spotted a ways from their mother.

The initial tries at getting said fruit turned out to be in vain. The three foals even going so far as to try and get it by climbing on one anothers back. Terran steadily holding the bottom, Celestia holding up Luna, and Luna reaching up to try and shake one of the branches, being sadly too short before they gave up, tumbling to the earth in a disappointed little pile. Once they had gathered themselves, they started off once again in the little circle of 'safety' that was just within sight of their mother.

At Luna's sudden giggles, Terran stopped in his tracks, his ears twitching before he turned to look towards his sister whom was falling behind. He was only just able to make out her light blue hair, trotting carefully towards her as Celestia fell in behind him. At Luna's sudden squeak of disapproval, looking up towards Terran she suddenly smiled, pointing her hoof at...something, and cooing the word, "Cute!". Terran's eyes slowly followed where she had pointed...straight to a rather large, fuzzy, eight legged, many eyed spider. Luna smiled expectantly at them, hoping that they would share her entrancement with the 'cute' little bug.

She was sadly disappointed.

"EEEEEEK!" Came the shrill cry of Celestia, wings spreading behind her before she leapt, ever so ungracefully, onto her brother's back and lay in a shivering mess. Her face buried into his fiery red mane, as if the action itself would make the spider disappear, leaving her with just her brother, sister, and mother once again.

Terran's reaction was much more sedate, offering Luna a small, nervous smile as he waved a hoof to try and shoo the little creature away. After a few moments of doing so, the creature did skitter away, which caused the little alicorn filly to pout up at him. Once sure that the spider was gone, he moved towards his littlest sister, giving her a gentle nuzzle to cheer her up before heavier hoof falls were heard behind him. Apparently at Celestia's terrified scream, Faust had made her way towards her foals, but smiled quietly down at them.

"Whatever is the matter, my little ponies?" She crooned out softly, Celestia bringing her face away from Terran's mane before she hopped down and scrabbled quickly to her mother, hugging against her quickly.

"W-why did you make somefing so scaaary!" Wailed the little Celestia, Luna frowning towards her, in her mind, overreacting sister.

"It wasn't scawy, it was cute!" She said proudly, though Terran's roll of his eyes hardly told which way the colt leaned on that situation.

At Faust's confused look, Terran went into brief detail about the spider, including how he had shoo'd it away. Faust herself smiled quietly before she looked towards Celestia. "Not everything that I create can be pretty, Celestia. And the spider plays a very important roll in making sure that other, more dangerous bugs don't nibble on you. A balance to everything, if you will." She commented softly, leaning down to nuzzle and calm her little white and pink filly.

"I...I still don't wike it." Celestia murmured, a soft yawn escaping her before she found herself lifted to her mother's back with the help of Faust's magic.

"That's alright, little one...for now, let us find a nice spot to lay down and have a little nap, you've had quite an exciting day."

And so, they did.

Earthly Talents

Terran awoke to the sound of a tree creaking rather loudly, the sound was nothing unusual to the alicorn foal. He and his sisters had often gone to bed listening to the subtle rustling of the trees during the night. This time, however, seemed different. A low grunting was also sounding from...somewhere, he couldn't place it exactly, but upon raising his head a little, the sound of a loud snap followed by the groan of falling wood and the harsh thud of the tree hitting and compacting the ground snapped whatever sleepiness Terran had still been feeling clean from his mind.

Looking around, he quickly spotted what had been the source of the noise. A large tree had been split about two feet up from the ground. Faust herself seemed to be resting a short ways from it, a few beads of sweat moving over her forehead before she looked up and spotted the awoken Terran. She offered him a quiet smile as she moved over to him, his two sisters were awake as well now, Terran had been lucky to be waking up at the sound of the groaning wood. His sisters, on the other hoof, had simply been awaken by the loud crash, and the two were currently whimpering and clinging to the closest pony to them...which meant that both were clinging to their brother.

"I'm very sorry about waking you up so suddenly, my little ponies." She commented quietly, leaning her head down and nuzzling each of the foals in turn, a quiet smile coming to her features as the two filly's and colt slowly relaxed against their mothers gentle embrace. "I had thought I would be able to slow the fall of the tree...unfortunately, I was not quite fast enough." She gave a soft, embarrassed chuckle though her foals remained quiet.

Eventually, it was Celestia that spoke up, "Why's the twee on the ground?" She asked softly, looking towards the fallen tree. "Did it do somefing wrong?"

Faust's eyes alighted with silent laughter, it was cute, some of Celestia's troubles with speech, though she was slowly becoming as adept at it as Terran, and quickly. "No, no, it did nothing wrong. I was just looking in on some other ponies, they're creating villages with planks made from wood, as you've no doubt noticed, the winters are becoming more chilly, even for us." At this, Terran nodded his head slowly. He remembered their winters together, waking up covered in the powdered water and shaking off. Food had not been too hard to find, as it was still beneath, but it was far less satisfying...and now, with his sisters, it was a little harder to find food for them all. He also recalled that they had all been sticking very close to one another, curling up to their mother as much as she curled up around them, keeping one another warm.

"I'm going to be turning this, and perhaps a few other trees into something just for the four of us." Faust added on quietly, smiling at her ponies once more, kissing each of their foreheads before turning towards the surrounding area. "In the mean time, while I'm working on this, why don't you all go and play? Just remember to stay nearby, alright?" She asked them, Terran nodding as his sisters giggled, likely planning some kind of mischief while their mother would be busy with their...home? For some reason, that bit of information stuck out at him like a sore hoof.

Homes, those were what the earth ponies in the village had been building the last time the leaves had been falling and their mother had decided that they should take a look at the surroundings...and socialize. The one thing Terran hadn't liked was the fact that he, his sisters and Faust herself had all been disguised as earth ponies at the time, he didn't understand why they needed to hide their horns or wings, but elected to pout while his sisters had decided to gawk at the way they looked with neither their horn or wings.

Of course, the mention of 'going out to play' had also caught Terran's attention, he grinning lightly as he nudged his sisters, "C'mon, let's go." He insisted, after another nudge they ran off, towards the nearby lake that had been home to more than a few jumps in during the hotter summer months.

The lake itself was large, too large for Terran to see from one side of it to the other, not that he or his sisters had ever tried to circle around the lake before. After all, the sprawling meadow that they had always lived on seemed to provide enough for all of them, grass and flowers to eat, water to drink, shade to rest in. Everything that anypony could really want, so he thought. As he and his sisters came closer to the edge of the lake, Terran smiled. Even if it was the only body of water that they'd ever been by, he knew that this would always be his favorite...of course, a slight chill wind whisked over his back, causing him to shiver. Maybe now isn't the best time for a swim, he thought.

This, however, brought a slight frown to his form...if they weren't going to swim, they'd already done quite a lot of exploring around the meadow, so what was there to do? A look towards his sisters looking expectantly at him suddenly caused him to feel more self conscious. "What?" He asked, quietly as he looked from Celestia, then to Luna.

"Do you think that we can do magic?" Celestia asked, looking from him then back in the direction that they'd come from, a loud snap and the sound of another falling tree seeming to accentuate the little filly's words.

"I dunno sis...I don't think I could do anything like mama does." Terran commented, uncomfortable at the thought. Their mother did a lot of things, raised the moon and sun, and now she was straining her actual magic muscle...she was tearing down trees! He was sure there was even more she could do, but really...what need would there be for them to ever have to see her do more than what she already had.

Celestia, for her part, seemed undeterred, "Well, I don't think we need to do stuff like mama...maybe we're good at other things?" She suggested.

Now that Terran actually thought on it, it made sense...they were Faust's children, it was unlikely that, even though they had very special parentage, they would all be good at the exact same things. "Well, I guess I can give it a try..." He murmured, shifting on his hooves before closing his eyes. He tried focusing on his magic, from the little bit of exercises that Faust had been springing on him, and his sisters of late, it had surprised him that, despite the nature of magic as he thought of it, his magic had leaned itself towards a feeling like sitting in the middle of their meadow, a warm breeze on his face and warmed dirt under hoof.

The warm, earthly glow of his horn drew the attention of Celestia and Luna, Celestia herself nudging Terran, which knocked his concentration off. "Hey..." he grumped, but Celestia just giggled.

"Well, I wanna know what you're gonna try and do before you do it." Celestia stated with her trademark smile, which seemed to infect nearby ponies and cause whatever mood they were in to shift to a far more happy tunes.

"Well..." Terran blinked, furrowing his brow in thought before smiling at his sister and pointing to the middle of the lake, "I'm gonna make something just out there, an island, I think." He tilted his head in thought, he was fairly certain that that was what it was called. Upon hearing Celestia give a snort of amusement, he shot her a slight glare, "I'm sure I can do it." He commented, though his stomach currently had butterflies in it from his boast. He wasn't sure he could actually do it, but he would certainly do his best on it.

Focusing once more internally, he groped about for the familiar sensation of his magic. It came much easier this time, taking a breath, he tried to shape something in his head...something that would be as much fun for himself as his sisters. Blinking internally, however, he was greeted by something like a nudge from some other entity in his magic. It had come from nowhere, really, and as he searched for what had given it, the presence was patient when he finally found it, and when he did, he was quite surprised.

Whatever it was was large, far larger than the colt had ever imagined himself to be, but it also seemed familiar. He could feel something like amusement as he prodded it carefully with his magic, like an explorer to a foreign country, it was then that he realized what it was as a second presence seemed to come to greet him, pulling him back and into himself seemingly as he gave a gasp. No more than a few hooves behind himself was Faust, smiling quietly down at Terran.

"I see you're doing a little extra magical exercise." She stated with a soft grin, which Terran returned sheepishly before she waved a hoof, "Go on, just don't strain yourself."

At his mothers blessing, Terran smiled a little more genuinely as he closed his eyes, pressing out to the other presence. It was around then that he was suddenly focused on one spot of the presence, and could almost make it out...the large lake, the meadow, he could see most of it just from his minds eye.

Smiling to himself, he focused a little ways into the lake, something that would be new and exciting for himself and his sisters...an island, how large? He certainly didn't want to make the lake smaller...and then he felt it, pockets of warmth just beneath the surface of the terrain. Directing the flow of one, his ears perked to the sound of a low grumble that seemed to be nearby...and then, as soon as he'd heard it, it happened.

The red magma from the 'vein' he'd been exploring started bubbling to the surface, like a wound. He apologised profusely to the large presence, but for now it almost seemed amused at his panic. This went on for a few minutes before he slowly opened his eyes and blanched at what he saw. A blackened, slightly smoking island had crawled its way up out of the water, it was mostly flat, though one end of it seemed to have created a lip of sorts, not that it mattered to him.

Smirking in satisfaction, he turned towards his sisters, but they seemed to have been brought speechless by something else entirely...and they seemed to be staring at his flank.

Turning his head in that direction, his own eyes widened as he spotted the new marking upon his flank, a decorative looking volcano with a bit of lava coming down from it's lip. He smiled towards his smiling mother, and in turn, his smiling sisters. "I have a marking on my flank!" He yelped after a moment.

Faust giggled at his exclamation, "It's called your mark, Terran, it shows what you're good at to other ponies...I'm very proud of you." She commented softly, "Your sisters will get their eventually, maybe even when they get to be the same age as you."

"That'll be really neat momma!" Terran practically cheered, the fact that he had found his special talent was exciting for him...he didn't think he'd be doing much with it, he and that other...presence weren't that familiar with each other. But maybe, just maybe, later on they'd become something like friends?

Before he could get too lost in his thoughts, he felt a light nudge from their mother. Blushing modestly as he looked up at her, he gave her a small smile as she spoke up, "That's very impressive Terran, but a new island...seeing as you made it for yourself and your sisters, I think that we should put plants on it that you'll all enjoy after it cools." Faust commented softly, happily. He was surprised in itself as his mother channeled some magic to her horn, some of the water from the lake raising and pouring over the small island, steam raising form it, though most of the water ran back to the water, the steam forming into a cloud which drifted up into the sky.

Terran watched the display with a look of foalish awe, and it wouldn't be far from the truth...he was still a small colt. He smiled as he looked towards his mother, then towards the island, now cooled by the water "Now then..." She smiled quietly, looking to the three again, "Since it's your island Terran, what's your wish for a plant to place upon it?"

"Um...I want something that tastes nice, but also makes for something that can be really comfortable with laying on." He commented with a light giggle. Faust's own giggle mirrored his as she smiled, closing her eyes before nodding, her horn glowing once more before a patch of green appeared on the island...and then some right near him of the same plant. "How does clover sound?" She asked him softly.

Terran had been distracted, however, the appearance of the plant had confused him, but now he moved to the plants, leaning in and taking a mouthful of the raw plant into his mouth. After chewing for a bit, he gave a light 'Mmm' before he nodded towards his mother, very pleased with the name and taste. Laying down on it proved to be just as comfortable as it had been edible, a contented sigh leaving the foals muzzle.

Faust smiled, satisfied with her work before turning to Celestia, "And for you, what would you like for your own flower?" She asked. She had assumed it would be a flower, as Celestia had been found more often looking at the flowers.

Celestia blushed, shuffling her hooves awkwardly, "W-well, I want something as big and bright as your sun momma." She commented softly, giving a soft giggle afterwords and smiling at her mother.

Faust smiled softly, nodding her head as she did so. Closing her eyes and focusing magic into her horn, a flash of finished magic brought several tall flowers to life upon the island, and a few next to the young Celestia, whom stared up at them in wonder. "Big and beautiful, I think we can call these sunflowers, because of what you wanted them designed after." She commented contently.

Celestia giggled, but nodded happily as she stood up on her hind legs to try and sniff at the new, wondrous flower before falling back to her hooves and giggling as she looked over at Luna, who shuffled quietly as Faust turned to gaze upon her youngest daughter.

"And what for you, little Luna?" She asked the filly softly, kneeling down to be eye level with her youngest daughter.

"I...I want something that looks nice, and can be like a dessert all on its own..." She commented softly, "M-maybe that blooms at night?" She asked softly.

Faust seemed thoughtful at this, then smiled before she nodded. Something sweet, perhaps? She nodded to her daughter before her horn glowed once more, water once more moving and then settling into a few pockets, after that there were a few flashes, floating plants appearing upon the small pools and then a few appearing on their side of the lake.

Luna blinked, trotting slowly towards it and sniffing at the flower, watching as Faust just gave her a gentle nod before she leaned in and plucked the blossom from the top of the lily. After chewing on it, her eyes went wide before smiling at her mom as she chewed.

"Do you like it?" Faust asked, giggling in amusement at Luna's mumbled squeal of joy, though Luna's quick hug of Faust's leg was a clear indication of how much she enjoyed her present. Faust then smiled, nodding quietly to her foals, "Now then, I should get back to our house, will you be alright?"

"Of course momma, " Terran replied, a smile coming to his features after he got off of his clover bed, "We'll be careful and everything."

Faust smiled softly, turning and then moving towards her work once more, she had a lot of work to do...even if they didn't need their home for a while yet, it was never too early to try and get it to get them used to having a home with a roof. They would need it, her little ponies, the Earth, Pegasi, and Unicorn ponies were not getting along as well as she hoped they would. She'd made them to cooperate with each other, but instead, they seemed merely to resent each other.

She knew that they would get over it, if not in this generation, then the next, and if not then, then the one after...things had not gotten far enough that the Windigo's were taking immediate notice of her ponies, but it still worried her. Perhaps she was just worrying too much, the cultures were still little older than Terran. She'd made sure they knew how to cultivate, in fact, those adults that she'd created had been made with childhood memories, there was more to it, though, but she didn't rightly wish to think on it now. She simply hoped things got better between them.

Then again...she also knew that things usually got worse before they got better. For now, though, she simply turned to watch Terran fly little Celestia and Luna to their play island and smile.

Snow Falls

Terran remembered vaguely his first snow fall, it had been a time of not only wonder, but joy as he and his younger siblings romped about in the white landscape. This, however, had quickly started to lose its charm when the melted snow had soaked him through his fur, chilling him to the bone. Much like the current winters had. Of course, this had also come with being warmed up by his mother and sisters, as well as a gently burning fire within their home's fireplace.

This night, he sat facing his mother as an unnaturally strong blizzard blew outside of their home. Faust herself had looked...sad, though Terran felt he knew why. The three tribes had stopped truly communicating, the pegasi making claims on the earth ponies food stocks while the unicorns demanded much the same tribute. Both of the tribes threatened to take away what they provided to the other ponies: stable weather to grow crops and the sunlight respectfully.

Terran had been taken aback by the second the most. The sun had been under his mother's care for as long as he had known, with his sister being trained in by their mother, yet she had taught the unicorns first?

He felt unease cross his being as he thought on what it had meant. He'd seen his mother growing tired, taking naps nearly as often as he himself. For now, however, the young colt simply shrugged it off. If his mother had done this, she had done it for a good reason.

Faust turned away from the window to take in the sight of her oldest son. He was growing, likely he was already at the size of one of the average height ponies, and he still had time to grow. Much like his sisters, Faust knew, they would grow until they were at the pique of their health. Then, they would age no more. The jobs she had known they were destined for were too important to risk a pony being born whom could do their jobs in the span of any natural life.

Even she, with her long life and seemingly unlimited power, was beginning to tire. Having the three immediate celestial bodies had taken far more out of her than she would first have suspected it would. Her fears had grown as, one day, she had risen the sun and went to take a nap, only to wake hours later to worried, hungry daughters and son, having to reassure them that she was fine had hurt.

It had also left her with a daunting question, how long could she live with things as they had been. She knew the answer would have been far from long enough to truly make sure her family was ready for their work. Thus, her hoof had been forced in teaching the mortal unicorns on the magic of the sun and moon. It took dozens of unicorns to raise and lower either, but Faust felt that the sacrifice was worth it.

At least, until the 'negotiations' had happened. The negotiations had been little more than the unicorns declaring themselves to be the superior species, demanding tributes of food from the earth ponies whom grew the crops. The pegasi, not to be outdone by the unicorns, declared themselves superior in turn, demanding part of the crops to ensure the weather remained productive for all.

And in the middle of it all, the earth ponies were unable to talk them down, to show that threats were not needed. It had, instead, made the taxes forced upon them to become unbearable. The amount of food sure to leave little for them to survive upon.

Since then, there had been two winters where things had nearly not worked out for the starving earth ponies. Yet, the toll never slacked. Hard feelings had begun to form in the earth ponies hearts, and that had been when Faust had first felt the presence of the Windigo's. It had begun her near frantic project of clearing land, making a home, and being sure that they were educated well.

She blinked as Terran rose from his spot, crossing over to her nigh silently as his sisters, in a growing rare occurrence, slept beside one another in front of the fire.

"Terran, what is wrong?" The concerned mother asked.

"You seem...restless, mother." Terran replied, a frown upon his features, "What is it that troubles you?"

Faust frowned at this, unwilling to meet Terran's gaze. How long he had known, she knew not, but that she could not hide it from him bothered her. "'Tis nothing you should worry about, please, put yourself at ease my child."

"How can I do so when you are obviously disturbed, mother? You do not sleep well, and when you have, we've worried for you." Terran replied, his ears folding slightly back.

"I...I am simply tired," Faust sighed, shaking her head morosely, "nothing more."

Terran's gaze hardened, though he did not argue. Instead, he looked towards his two sleeping sisters and nodded, moving to join them and even curling up partially at their side, "Perhaps we should simply rest." He suggested, to which his mother gave a hesitant nod.

She knew, one day, she would have to tell them, but she still felt them to be too immature to handle the truth. Yet, here she was, moving to her son and daughters and feeling them shift tiredly to make room before she settled in, spreading her wings to embrace them. She could practically feel their love as they nestled closer to her. It made it hurt all the more to be hiding something from them.

She found herself nearing unconsciousness within moments of the embrace, a calm washing over her within the bundle of warmth. Perhaps, just maybe, she had been hasty in teaching the unicorns. That, however, did not, no, she would not be able to change it now. Nor did she see it being easy to get the unicorns to relent their newfound power.

It wasn't something she was looking forward to, and wasn't sure she could, really, wrestle it free if she tried. Which left her with the only option being to train Celestia and Luna so that they, in turn, could take back the sun and moon. As well as keep the two balanced together.

=================================================================================

The blizzard wouldn't stop. For three long days the formless crystals of ice slammed against the windows and doors of the cabin that Faust had built for herself, her son, and her daughters. She could hear the Winidigo's brae in the skies above, and though the effect was lessened by the love of their home, the fact that not even this warded away the Windigo's completely served only to reinforce that things were growing worse.

She hadn't thought they would make up, but to know, even now, that the ponies were suffering both angered and saddened Faust. It was, she supposed, how she would have felt had any of her children fought. With the three tribes having come to be by her own hoof, it was understandable. The anger, however, stemmed from them refusing still to work out a way for them to live in relative comfort.

But still, the bickering went on! Fausts hopes dwindled with the weather, and then the earth ponies began to move, away from the tyranny and fighting. The journey away was followed by the pegasi and unicorns. Inadvertently following behind the tracks of the fleeing earth ponies. The solitude, as well, for her son and daughters had her worried as well.

Though her offspring were perfect, physically and genetically, they were not immune to loneliness. After all, even though they had one another, she knew that they wanted and needed friendship with those outside. Faust could only hope that the windigo's would be driven off somehow.

The question she found herself asking was, how long would it take?

Author's Note

Put down the pitchforks and the tar, I've finally returned after...however long it's been since my last update! I really am sorry for how long it took for me to finally publish this, but writer's block, work, and my own personal health conspired against me getting alot of the work done that I wanted to. That and doing a play through of Undertale. Anyway, hoping to become more active from now on! Enjoy this update. I'll do my best to not have my work slow me down quite so much.

Edit: 1/3/22 I should get back to this, I feel unquestionably bitter at myself that I haven't continued this since it had a small following at one point and even made the front page.