Cult of Luna

In the chilly recesses of the Hoofalayas, there lay the small town of Ilswich. In case you're wondering why the town name isn't some kind of play on what a horse or pony might do, that's because the name comes from old Horsewegian. It means "place of ice," and if ever there was a befitting moniker for a town, then this one held it. It was at the base of a tall mountain, and the winds constantly blew there. In fact, it was often rumored among the northernmost citizens of Equestria that the wind blew so hard there that the ponies had to wear weights to keep themselves from lifting off the ground. While this was nothing more than a rumor, it was true that the citizens of Ilswich had to take extra precautions against the wind.

So it was that they hardly ever saw the sun. Their weather consisted of snow and blizzards almost all year round, and it was only at night that they were able to see by the light of the moon. They came to adore that round, white orb. It guided their paths and led them in their nightly searches for different plants to make medicine and poultices out of. It shone through their homes and touched their children. It was said among them that, whenever a filly or colt's mane was bathed in the moonlight, their dreams would become sweeter than honey.

It was into this environment that the three princesses, exhausted from their journey, now entered. They had no idea what to expect. Ilswich was one of the most remote towns in Equestria. Nopony ever visited there, not even Celestia. No extensive research had ever been done on the town or its inhabitants, because nopony had ever cared about it. It just sat there among the snowdrifts and its citizens went about their daily lives. Truth be told, they were just fine with that. They kept to themselves and didn't like to be bothered much. They never caused trouble and never hurt anypony. They never threw any parties or had any festivals. So nopony had ever really traveled there.

Twilight shivered as she stood amidst the frozen wasteland. The snow whipped around them, pushed and pulled by the commands of the howling wind. She was wearing her warmest clothing, but even that did no good against the penetrating chill. I should've bought some clothing that was rated for colder weather, she thought regretfully. But she doubted that even clothes that had been dipped in flaming hot liquid could repel the cold here.

She looked up and saw that Celestia and Luna were also shivering. "Celestia, you need to talk with Cloudsdale about the weather up here! It's horrid!" Luna said through chattering teeth. Celestia turned and gave her sister an odd look. "You know darn well Cloudsdale doesn't control the weather this far north! The magic barrier prevents them from doing so!"

"I thought the magic barrier protected Equestria," Twilight said, "…are we still in Equestria?"

"Technically, yes," Celestia said, "Ilswich is part of Equestrian territory. But when they built it, they wanted to be as far away from everypony as possible."

"How do you know that?"

"Because I issued them a permit!"

"Oh…" Twilight said, nodding. That would make sense. Ilswich was one of the oldest towns in Equestria, so it fell to reason that Celestia would have issued them a permit thousands of years before that. "So…how old is Ilswich?" She asked.

"2,597 this year," Celestia responded, "it's almost as old as I am!" She added with a small chuckle. But nopony could hear her laugh. The wind was howling too much and they were having to shout to be heard.

"We need to find somewhere and make camp until Cadance gets here!" Twilight said. The royal sisters nodded and all three began looking for a cave of some sort where they could stay warm and dry. But it wasn't an easy search. Snow blinded them and they stumbled around a bit, trying to stay upright. Twilight walked over to one of the small notches in the mountain and tried her luck. Thankfully, she was able to find a small cave and they settled in. After Twilight used her magic to build a fire, they all lay on their stomachs around it and talked about what their friendship problem could be.

Suddenly, a flash illuminated the room. The three princesses shut their eyes tightly until the light faded and then snapped them open. They all smiled as they recognized Cadence, who had teleported herself there from halfway around the world. "WOW!" Twilight said in shock, "I had no idea teleportation worked from so great a distance!"

Cadence nodded. "It took me a few tries. First I teleported to Saddle Arabia, then Yak-Yak-Istan, then Mareitonia, but I finally got the right spell put in place and made it here. I'm so happy to see all of you!" She stepped forward and embraced her aunts Celestia and Luna and followed that up with her ritualistic "sunshine, sunshine" chant with Twilight before hugging her.

"How's the trip around the world going?" Luna asked. "It's definitely going," Cadence said. The other three princesses couldn't help but detect a note of depression in her voice. "Cadence," Twilight said, "I'm so sorry we had to pull you away from that." Cadence put her hoof up. "No, Twilight. Don't be sorry. Please, don't. I'm actually glad to get away from it. I mean, Flurry's having the time of her life and it fills my heart with joy to see that, but Shining and I…well…we're going through a rough patch."

"Cadence," Celestia said in shock, "I didn't know you were having marital problems."

"I still love Shining Armor very much," she said, "and I don't want our family to be torn apart. But…for some reason here lately, we just can't seem to stop fighting."

Twilight stepped forward and put a comforting hoof around her sister-in-law. "It's OK, Cadence," she said, "couples fight, but I know that you and Shining Armor have a true love and that's what will win in the end." She smiled at Cadence, who reflected the gesture. "Thanks, Twilight. I needed to hear that. Maybe we just need to sit down and talk about our problems in a respectful and mature manner."

The other princesses nodded and Celestia yawned. "I am absolutely exhausted. From the looks of things, I think you all are as well. I think we should sleep here tonight and then head into town in the morning." This idea was easily agreed upon by the others, so after Luna caused the moon to rise, they all went to sleep. However, Luna stayed awake to perform her nightly duties.

The next morning, they arose to a pleasant surprise. When Celestia caused the sun to appear, it shone down on a crystalline wonderland. The fresh snow glistened in its light, and different flakes became crystals of brilliance. The four princesses all gazed in wonder, mouths agape. "Whoa," Cadence breathed, "it's absolutely beautiful!" The other three nodded, the sheer magnitude shocking them to complete silence. "As much as I hate to disturb such a wondrous scene," Celestia said, "we must make haste for Ilswich." The others nodded and packed up their saddlebags.

It wasn't a long walk to the remote village and they made good time. It helped that the wind had died down a bit and, in a rare occurrence, it wasn't snowing. When they arrived in the town, they found a long, sprawling set of cottages spread out over four or five streets. The town also had a small bank, a general store, and a town hall. But there was also a mysterious building sitting at the very edge of the village.

The place appeared to be deserted. Twilight stepped over to the General Store and found the door shut tight with a sign that said "gone to meeting. Back in two hours." The other three princesses walked up and stood beside her. They examined the sign and tried to figure out what kind of a meeting the storekeeper could be attending.

"Aside from the appalling grammar," Twilight said, "what do you think it means?"

"I couldn't tell you," Celestia said, "I didn't know they held any type of meeting this far north."

"Do you think they have ambassadors from Yak-Yak-Istan?" Cadence asked, "I mean, it's only a few trots away from here."

"Maybe…" Celestia said, "but if there are ambassadors, then why didn't they come and see us?"

"Maybe this climate is more to their liking," Luna remarked. The other three nodded and agreed with this sentiment. They walked down the steps and back onto the main thoroughfare. "Well," Twilight said, "I guess we'll just have to wait for whoever this is to get back from their meeting. In the meantime, we can explore and try and figure out what our friendship problem is."

They all agreed with this suggestion, and proceeded to spread out around the village. Luna began her search at the bank, where she found another note about a "meeting." Celestia looked at the town hall, and another note was found. Cadance and Twilight went cottage by cottage, looking for ponies, but finding none. They did, however, find note after note about this "meeting."

The four princesses all regrouped in the center of town. "Just how big is this meeting anyway?" Twilight asked, "I mean, everypony and their brother seems to be at it!" Just as the other three were nodding their heads at this, a small filly ran by them. "I'm late! I'm late!" She called out as she flew by.

"Excuse me, young one?!" Twilight asked in a hurry. The filly turned and faced them. Her eyes scanned them over until she got to Luna. Then her mouth fell open. Her shocked look quickly turned into one of egregious ecstasy. "You…you're…YOU'RE PRINCESS LUNA!" She shouted. She ran forward and threw herself at Luna's hooves. She began kissing them. "Oh, most royal and gracious Princess Luna! The sustainer of our world! Thy coming hath been foretold for generations, and now you're here! You're here! Finally! You really have heard my prayers! I worship thee and only thee, Princess Luna!"

Twilight tapped Cadence on the shoulder. Cadence turned and gave her a shocked look, which Twilight returned. They didn't have to say anything. Everything was falling into place. It was as obvious as if they were hit on the head with a stone. They had found their friendship problem.