Discord's Game

Chapters

Book 1: Everfree
Book 2: Las Pegasus
Book 3: Canterlot - Part 1
Book 3: Canterlot - Part 2
Book 4: Manehattan
Book 5: Trottingham
Book 6: Cloudsdale
Book 7: Harmony

Book 1: Everfree

Book 1: Everfree

The two alicorns landed in a lonely cave just before nightfall. The older lit a fire to stave off the chill of night, while the younger focused her energy on casting a spell. As a blue aura engulfed her horn, the moon began to rise slowly into the sky, lighting the night with its glow. Little points of light flared to life in the blackness above. In moments, the day was gone, and night had taken its place.

“Are you feeling all right, Luna?” the white-coated sister asked as the other tripped over her hooves.

“I’m fine, Celestia,” the blue-coated alicorn replied. “Just tired.”

“We’ve had a long day, little sister,” Celestia said, helping Luna to the fire. “Lie down and rest. I will take the first watch tonight.”

Luna lay down carefully and closed her eyes, her dark, starry mane and tail billowing around her. Celestia returned to the cave mouth and looked outside. The dark land seemed devoid of life, and they had seen nothing during their descent. Still, one could never be too careful. They were in a strange land, and Celestia would rather sacrifice a little sleep than wake up to an unpleasant surprise.

“Tia?” Celestia turned to see Luna’s tired face peeking up at her. “Where are we going?”

“I don’t know,” Celestia said. “We just have to keep going until we discover our true selves.”

“But why did we have to leave home?” Luna asked. “I miss it.”

“That’s just the way it is,” Celestia said with a sigh. “An alicorn must always go on a long journey before she can discover who she is.”

“But why?”

“We’ve been over this, Luna,” Celestia said, focusing her attention on the dark world outside. “Now get some rest. You’ll need your strength for tomorrow.”

Celestia heard sniffling behind her. She turned and saw tears falling from Luna’s eyes and splashing noiselessly on the cold stone floor. “I’m sorry,” she said as she walked towards her sister. “I shouldn’t have raised my voice.”

“It’s okay,” Luna said, her voice quavering. Celestia lay down beside her, her pastel-colored mane partially covering her sister’s body. “It’s just, sometimes I think they were right. Maybe I should have waited until I was older.”

“Why didn’t you?” Celestia asked. “Everypony said you should.”

“Because you were going,” Luna said as she snuggled her head against Celestia’s shoulder. “I didn’t want to have to say goodbye.”

Celestia’s chest filled with warmth, and she returned Luna’s affectionate gesture. “Well, I’m very glad you came with me.”

“Why?” Luna asked. “You’re always telling me to fly faster.”

“At least I have somepony to talk to,” Celestia said. “Can you imagine doing this all on your own?”

“I guess not,” Luna said, closing her eyes and resting her head on her forelegs. “Are you sure I’m not a bother?”

“You wouldn’t be very much of a little sister if you weren’t,” Celestia teased, nudging Luna with her snout. Luna smiled and managed a short laugh. “But you are my sister, and if I had to have somepony with me, I would want it to be you.”

“Thanks,” Luna mumbled as her breathing slowed. Celestia stood up and walked back to the cave entrance. “Tia?” Luna’s voice called again. “Do you think you could sleep with me tonight?”

Celestia looked from Luna’s imploring face to the dark, cold night and sighed. “Very well,” she said, lying down once more beside Luna, “but only for tonight.”

“Okay.” Luna was silent for a moment. “Tia?”

“Yes, Luna.”

“I love you.”

Celestia smiled as she nuzzled her sister’s mane. “I love you too, little sister,” she said. “Now, go to sleep. I’ll be right here.”

Celestia had already raised the sun when Luna came to the next morning. The two put out the remaining coals from their fire and took off. Their food supplies were running low, so they stayed below the clouds so they could search for a valley they had seen the day before. “We should have seen it by now,” Celestia said. “Are you sure it was this way?”

“I’m pretty sure,” Luna said. “There’s been a strong headwind all morning. Maybe that’s why we haven’t reached it.”

Celestia continued to scan the horizon when she noticed how low the sun was in the sky. It can’t be that late, she thought. She glanced at Luna, wondering if she was pulling one of her pranks, but her sister’s horn lacked the aura it always had when she used magic. “Luna, how long have we been flying?”

“A few hours. Why?” Luna asked.

“Look,” Celestia said, gesturing towards the sun. Luna followed her gaze and frowned.

“Are you doing that?” Luna asked.

“Why would I–” Celestia stopped mid-sentence as the sun dropped off the horizon and the moon shot into the sky. Celestia flared her wings and came to a stop while her eyes adjusted to the sudden change. “Luna? Are you okay?”

“Tia, what’s going on?” Luna asked. Celestia could barely see her against the dark sky.

“I don’t know,” Celestia said. “We should land, quickly.” The two began flying in wide circles, looking for a good place to descend. “Do you see anything?”

“Just forest,” Luna said. “Maybe if we – ahh!”

Luna’s suggestion was cut short as a cloud flew past, enveloping her briefly. When it passed, Luna was falling out of control. “Tia! Help!”

“Luna!” Celestia folded back her wings and fell into a dive as a yellow aura burst to life around her horn. Luna’s body began to glow as Celestia wrapped her in a levitation spell to slow her descent. A second cloud flew around Celestia’s body, and when it passed, Celestia found herself struggling to stay airborne, her feathers coated in a strange, sticky substance.

She was only distracted for a moment, but it was long enough. Her spell failed, and Luna disappeared with a scream into a small clearing below. “Luna! Hold on!” she yelled, swooping down and landing gracelessly beside her sister. “Luna, are you all right?”

“My wing,” Luna moaned. “I think it’s broken.”

“Don’t move,” Celestia said. She tore some branches off a nearby tree and ignited them with her magic. In the firelight, she could see Luna’s wing crumpled awkwardly under her body. Celestia carefully helped Luna roll off her injured wing so she could get a better look at it. “It doesn’t look broken,” she said.

A deep laugh echoed through the forest, and a sudden gust of wind blew out Celestia’s fire. The two alicorns looked around with wide eyes. “Who’s there?” Celestia yelled.

“My, my, what have we here?” the voice said from all directions at once. Celestia could see a dark shape moving amidst the trees. “A couple of intruders? Oh, this won’t do at all.”

“We are the princesses Celestia and Luna,” Celestia said. “We were merely passing through when my sister crashed.”

“Oho, I’ve poached a pair of princesses,” the voice said. “Well, I wasn’t expecting that!”

“You did this? You could have killed us!” Celestia shouted.

“Oh, relax,” the voice said. “It’s just a bit of honey. It’ll wash off.”

“Tia, what is that?” Luna asked in a soft, trembling voice. “What’s going on?”

“Fear not, my dear Luna,” the voice said before Celestia could answer. “I’m merely doing my job. After all, a ruler has to protect his lands from invaders.”

“You didn’t have to knock us out of the sky,” Celestia said. “You could have just asked us what we wanted, and none of this would have happened.”

“Oh, where’s the fun in that?” the voice said. “I find a little chaos is good for a pony. Keeps her on the tips of her hooves, as it were.”

“You think injuring my sister is fun?” Celestia shouted.

“Oh, Celestia, you really should lighten up,” the voice said with a groan. “It’s not good for a pony to be so serious.”

“It’s not good for a pony to find herself coating in honey mid-air, either.”

The voice let out a long chuckle. “Still hung up on that, are we? Fine, we’ll do it your way. Why are you here?”

“As I said, we are merely passing through,” Celestia said. “My sister and I are on a journey to discover our true selves.”

“Your true selves?” the voice repeated. The dark shape came to a halt, and a pair of yellow eyes looked at them from the trees. “Say, that wouldn’t happen to involve a certain image appearing on one’s flank, would it?”

Celestia frowned. “Yes, as a matter of fact, it does. Why do you ask?”

“Well, it just so happens that I’m a master of helping ponies figure out what they’re good at,” the voice said. “In fact, I’d be willing to help you do the same – granted you do me a little favor first.”

“You knock us out of the sky and still expect favors?”

“That was for trespassing and was entirely within my right,” the voice said. “However, if you do this for me, I’ll overlook your little intrusion and throw in some self-discovery as a token of goodwill. What do you say?”

“What if we refuse?”

Deep laughter surrounded them once again. “I wouldn’t recommend that, Celestia,” the voice said as the wind began to blow harder. “I think you’ll find I can be very persuasive.”

Celestia looked down at Luna. Her sister’s body was trembling, and Celestia wasn’t sure if it was from pain, fear, or both. “First, help my sister.”

“Oh, she’ll be fine,” the voice said. “Make up your mind; I have other things to do.”

“Very well,” Celestia said. “What is this favor?”

The voice’s cackling echoed through the trees. “You will travel East to Everfree, where ponies have taken to disliking me. Convince them to stand down immediately, and destinies twain I shall help you to see.”

Celestia had to think for a moment. “You want us to go to Everfree and convince the ponies there to like you?”

“More or less,” the voice said. “I will find you when your mission is complete.”

“Wait,” Celestia said. “Who should we tell them sent us?”

“Tell them Discord sent you, if you must,” the voice said. “Whether you do or not is up to you.” Celestia saw the dark shape move away, and her fire burst back to life. Moments later, the sun returned to the sky.

“Tia?” Luna’s tiny voice sounded hollow compared to Discord’s. “What are we going to do?”

Celestia helped her sister to her hooves. “First, we’re going to take care of your wing,” she said. “Come on. He said the village is to the East. Maybe somepony there can help us.”

The sun and moon traded places several times over the next few hours as Celestia and Luna made their way towards what they hoped was the village. Many of the trees were twisted into absurd shapes, and several had bright pink leaves. At one point, a lone cloud followed them for several minutes, drenching them both in cold water.

Luna’s whimpering kept Celestia from doing any real contemplation. The young alicorn could barely move without tweaking her wing the wrong way. “Just hold on,” Celestia said. “We’ll find help eventually.”

“Will I be able to fly again?” Luna asked. “I don’t want to spend the rest of my life on the ground.”

“Everything will be fine,” Celestia said, though she was beginning to lose hope in this endless forest. “It looks like there’s a clearing up ahead. Maybe we’ll find somepony there.”

They reached the tree line and found themselves looking at a farm. At least, Celestia thought it was a farm. Half the field seemed to be sprouting candy, and corn grew haphazardly in the other. Celestia saw a red stallion with a black mane making his way through the corn stalks, and a purple mare with a short blue and white mane was sweeping dust off the front porch of the small farmhouse. As Celestia drew closer, she saw the mare carried the image of a paintbrush on her flank. The mare dropped her broom in surprise when she spotted them and ran to meet them.

“What’s wrong? Is she hurt?” the mare asked.

“She injured her wing,” Celestia said.

“It hurts!” Luna moaned, as if to emphasize Celestia’s words.

“Come inside, quickly,” the mare said, ushering the two alicorns toward her house. “Don’t worry. I have just the thing.”

There were only two rooms in the house, one for storage and one for sleeping. The mare took Luna to the second and had her lie on the bed while she examined her wing. “It looks sprained to me,” she said as she fetched a bandage from a chest behind a couple paintings in the corner. “Stay off it for a few days, and it will be as good as new. I’ll wrap it up and get you two something to eat.”

“Thank you,” Celestia said as the mare carefully wrapped Luna’s injured wing against her body. “Might I ask who our kind hostess is?”

“Oh, my name’s Color Wheel,” the mare said as she tied off the end of the bandage. Luna gave a small squeak in protest. “Anything in particular you’d like? I’m afraid we don’t have much, but you two look like you’ve been through a lot.”

“Anything will do,” Celestia said. Color Wheel left the room for a few minutes and returned with several carrots and two piles of hay. She set one on the bed where Luna could reach and the other in front of Celestia. “Did you make those?” Celestia asked, gesturing towards the paintings in the corner.

“Yes,” Color Wheel said as the alicorns ate. “I don’t get much time to paint right now with the harvest coming up, but I try to do a little when I get a moment.”

“They’re very nice,” Celestia said.

“Thank you. I have to admit, I’ve never seen ponies like you,” Color Wheel said. “Pegasi and unicorns, yes, but never ponies that could fly and use magic.”

“My name is Celestia, and this is my sister, Luna,” Celestia said. “We’ve journeyed from a far-away land to discover our true selves. We were passing through when a strange being attacked us and injured my sister’s wing. He said he was the ruler of this land. Do you know anything about him?”

“It must have been Discord,” Color Wheel said with a hint of disdain. “I’m sorry you had to meet him. He’s always causing trouble for somepony.”

“Color Wheel? Who are you talking to?” a voice asked from the other room. A moment later, the red stallion poked his head inside. “Who are you?”

“Celestia and Luna,” Color Wheel said. “Discord attacked them and injured Luna’s wing. This is my husband, Grainthresh,” she added.

“I’m very pleased to meet you,” Celestia said. “Your wife has been most kind to us.”

“She’s nice to just about everypony,” Grainthresh said as he entered the room. Celestia noticed he had the image of stalks of grain on his flank. “Well, what brings you to Everfree? We don’t get a lot of visitors out here.”

“This is Everfree?” Luna asked.

“The outskirts, anyway,” Color Wheel said. “The main village lies just over the hills.”

“You’ve heard of our village?” Grainthresh asked.

“Yes,” Celestia said. “After Discord waylaid us, he told us to go to Everfree. Apparently, he’s not very popular around here.”

Grainthresh and Color Wheel exchanged surprised glances. “What else did he say?” Grainthresh asked.

“Not much,” Celestia said. “I think I’ll understand what he wants us to do once I see more of the village.”

Grainthresh’s expression turned hard. “So you’re working for him?”

“I suppose that’s one way to look at it,” Celestia said.

“I see.” Grainthresh pawed at the floor with one hoof, gouging a small groove.

“I’m sure it’s all right,” Color Wheel said. “They don’t seem –”

“They never do,” Grainthresh said. “You can never be sure with Discord.”

“Is something wrong?” Luna asked.

Color Wheel started to answer, but Grainthresh cut her off. “Discord’s servants are not welcome in Everfree,” he said. “I want you out of my house and off my land, and if you know what’s good for you, you’ll go back to where you came from.”

“Grainthresh, please!” Color Wheel said. “Luna is injured. You can’t possibly –”

“They are not welcome here, Color Wheel,” Grainthresh said. “They should consider themselves lucky they found us first. The others would not be so kind.”

“Is this what passes for kindness these days?” Color Wheel said. “Be reasonable. You can’t –”

“Reasonable?” Grainthresh repeated, his voice rising. “Look at the field. Look at the forest. When was the last time anything around here was reasonable?”

“That doesn’t mean we can’t be,” Color Wheel said, keeping her voice even. “They need our help.”

“I want them gone,” Grainthresh repeated slowly. “Where they go is of no importance to me.” He turned and left the room without another word.

“I apologize for my husband’s behavior,” Color Wheel said with a sigh. “I’m afraid Discord has made our lives unusually difficult over the past few months.”

“I’m sorry,” Celestia said. “I didn’t realize feelings were so hard between you and Discord.”

“It’s not your fault, dear,” Color Wheel said. “I’ll take you to Everfree. I have a friend there who might let you stay.”

“Are you sure?” Celestia asked as Color Wheel helped Luna up. “Maybe it would be better if we went someplace else.”

“I doubt it,” Color Wheel said. “Grainthresh wasn’t lying when he said he was being nicer than most. Just don’t mention your meeting with Discord, and things should be all right.”

“Why is that such a big deal?” Luna asked. “He’s your ruler, isn’t he? Why does everypony hate him so much?”

Color Wheel let out a long sigh. “Get your things, dear. I’ll tell you on the way.”

“I was but a young filly when Discord came to Equestria,” Color Wheel said as the three walked down a well-worn path through the forest. “Before he came, the unicorns governed us from Canterlot. It was a hard life, but unicorns, pegasi, and earth ponies worked together to get by, and things were pleasant. Then Discord arrived and turned everything upside-down.”

“Is that why the clouds are made of honey?” Luna asked.

“And why the sun and moon rise and fall whenever they please?” Celestia added.

Color Wheel nodded. “It started small enough – a prank here and there, nothing more. Then our crops started changing and growing unpredictably, and the pegasi lost control of the weather. Soon our land was engulfed in chaos, and there was nothing we could do about it. Nopony knew how to stand up to Discord. He overthrew the government and set himself up as our ruler, and we have been miserable ever since.”

Celestia looked at the strange trees around them, which appeared to be made of glass. “I don’t understand,” she said. “Why would any ruler treat his subjects like this?”

“Nothing he does makes sense,” Color Wheel said as they started climbing a hill. “All we know is he enjoys watching us suffer.”

“There must be some reason,” Luna said. “How are we supposed to convince the Everfree ponies to like Discord if we don’t know what the problem is?”

“Is that what he sent you to do?” Color Wheel laughed. “That seems like the kind of game he would play. Send two total strangers to make peace with ponies that can’t be pacified. You’d be hard-pressed to convince even me to like that serpent.”

“There’s always a way,” Luna said. “Tia, there must be something we can do.”

“We’ll see,” Celestia said. “It appears this situation is more complicated than Discord made it out to be.”

“But Tia, he said he’d help us find our true selves,” Luna said.

“True selves? You mean your cutie marks?” Color Wheel asked, coming to a stop at the hill’s crest. “Is that what all this is about?”

“Luna and I left home in search of our true selves,” Celestia said. “Discord said he would help us if we pacified the Everfree ponies.”

Color Wheel studied the two sisters for a moment, a frown on her face. “Celestia, would you mind flying above the trees and looking at the mountains to the North? I want to show you something.”

After a moment’s hesitation, Celestia opened her wings and leaped into the air. She flapped hard until she rose above the trees and turned towards the mountains. She saw what looked like a city on the side of one of the cliffs. As she looked closer, she saw that most of the buildings had been reduced to rubble, and it looked like it had been abandoned for quite some time.

“That used to be Canterlot,” Color Wheel said once Celestia descended and told her what she’d seen. “Discord destroyed it when the unicorns tried to restore order to Equestria. A few survivors made it to Everfree. Nopony knows what happened to the rest.”

Color Wheel looked both of them in the eye as she spoke. “Self-discovery is important. Everypony understands that. But is your quest worth the misery of a nation?”

Celestia didn’t know what to think. If only we’d known all this when Discord first appeared, she thought. Her quest was important, but Color Wheel was right. Nothing was worth letting these ponies continue to suffer.

“Tia?” Luna’s voice brought Celestia out of her thoughts. “Did it really look that bad?”

“Yes, Luna,” Celestia said. “I can’t imagine what it must be like up close.”

“We should keep moving,” Color Wheel said. “Everfree is just over the next hill. Be careful what you say. The ponies here don’t take very kindly to outsiders.”

Everfree was dark when they arrived. Thatch-roofed huts of wood and stone lined the streets, many serving as both shops and houses. Every face they saw was lined with worry and fatigue, and every head hung low. At first only a few even noticed them, but as they drew near the village square, more ponies began to look at them with curiosity and mistrust. Some of them seemed outright hostile, and Celestia reminded herself once again not to mention the deal she’d made with Discord.

Their progress finally stopped when a black pegasus landed on the street in front of them. “Who are you?” he demanded.

“They’re travelers,” Color Wheel said.

“I didn’t ask you,” the pegasus said, brushing her aside. His blue mane was cut short except for one lock that hung over his face, and his flank bore the image of a tornado. “I am Galeforce, head of the Everfree Security Council,” he said with a scowl. “Who are you, and what do you want?”

“As she said, we are travelers,” Celestia said. “My name is Celestia, and this is my sister, Luna.”

“I don’t care what you call yourselves,” Galeforce said. “What business do you have in Everfree?”

“My sister was injured during our flight,” Celestia said carefully. “She needs time to recover before we can continue.”

“A likely story,” Galeforce said with a snort.

“It’s true,” Color Wheel spoke up. “I bandaged her wing myself.”

“Did you not notice their horns also?” Galeforce asked. “No pony in the history of Equestria has been endowed with both flight and magic.”

“We come from a land far away,” Celestia said. “Please, I only ask that my sister be allowed to rest.”

“Do you take me for a fool?” Galeforce demanded. “Do you think I am unaware of what your master is capable of?”

“O-our master?”

“You may have fooled this mare, but you won’t fool me,” Galeforce said. “You’ve clearly been sent by Discord to spy on our activities.”

“Discord ambushed us!” Luna said. “He’s the reason my wing is –”

“Your wings and horns say otherwise,” Galeforce said. “Clearly, you are creatures of chaos, servants of the draconequus. You will remain in the castle prison until you can prove otherwise.”

“Galeforce!” The crowd parted as a dark orange pegasus with a long silver mane and the image of a scroll on his flank made his way to the front. “They are not spies, nor are they servants of Discord.”

“What is your proof, Scrollkeeper?” Galeforce asked.

“My proof is that you have none,” the pegasus called Scrollkeeper said. “These two are alicorns.”

“Alicorns?” Galeforce repeated. “You speak of pony tales, old one.”

“I speak of the archives,” Scrollkeeper said. “There are records of ponies with both wings and horns that acted benevolently towards our kind in the distant past. These alicorns are no enemies of ours.”

“You speak nonsense,” Galeforce said. “Alicorns only exist in legends.”

“As did the draconequus,” the old pegasus replied. “Yet we have been at the mercy of one for many years. If those legends are true, why not these?”

Galeforce hesitated while the surrounding ponies began to mutter amongst themselves. Celestia could see some that wanted her arrest, but the majority seemed unsure. “Very well,” Galeforce said at last. “I will let you go this time. But I will be watching you,” he added with a glare before returning to the skies.

The crowd slowly dispersed, and soon Celestia and Luna were left alone with Color Wheel and Scrollkeeper. “Thank you,” Celestia said.

“You’re lucky my nephew told me about the commotion,” Scrollkeeper said. “You were unwise to bring them here, Color Wheel.”

“Well, Grainthresh wouldn’t let them stay, and I was about to let them wander around with an injury,” Color Wheel said.

“You know how Galeforce feels about strangers,” Scrollkeeper said. “If Cleansweep hadn’t come to me, these two would have been locked in the prison indefinitely.”

“And you think leaving them on their own in the forest is a better idea?” Color Wheel asked.

“I think you should have thought things through before parading them through the center of town,” Scrollkeeper said. “Where are you going, anyway?”

“To see Shuttleweave,” Color Wheel said. “I’m hoping she’ll give them a place to stay.”

Scrollkeeper sighed. “I don’t think I’ll ever understand you, Color Wheel.”

“Some of us choose to be optimistic,” Color Wheel said.

“And some of us choose to base our decisions more on fact and less on chance,” Scrollkeeper said. “Still, I suppose something good did come of this.” He turned to face Celestia and Luna. “Perhaps these two alicorns can help us.”

Celestia shifted her weight uncomfortably. “I’ll need to learn more about Discord and the draconequus before I can say for sure,” she said.

Scrollkeeper nodded. “I believe I may be able to help you,” he said. “Come to the library after you’ve rested. I’ll be waiting.” With that, Scrollkeeper turned and walked away.

“I’m sorry about what happened back there,” Color Wheel said as the three made their way through Everfree’s streets. Celestia caught several ponies watching them discreetly, but none approached. “I’d forgotten how quick to judge Galeforce can be sometimes. Here we are.” Color Wheel came to a stop in front of a small shop. The shutters were closed, but yellow candlelight glowed within. Color Wheel tapped a hoof on the door. “Shuttleweave? Are you there?”

Soft hoof beats crossed the shop’s interior, and a teal unicorn with a brown mane opened the door. “Oh, hello, Color Wheel,” she said softly. “What brings you here?”

“I have a favor to ask,” Color Wheel said. “These two – alicorns, was it?”

“My sister’s wing is injured,” Celestia said, getting to the point for Luna’s sake. Her younger sister looked about ready to faint. “We need a place to stay.”

Shuttleweave looked them over. “Everypony’s been talking about you,” she said. “They say Discord sent you to spy on us.”

“We’re travelers, nothing more,” Celestia said.

“He attacked us and almost broke my wing,” Luna chimed in.

“I see. Well, come in.” Shuttleweave moved aside so they could enter, but Celestia had a feeling she wasn’t convinced. “If you don’t mind me asking, where have your travels taken you?”

“Mostly across mountains,” Luna said, crossing the room to examine a wooden contraption with strings strung across it. “What’s this?”

“It’s a loom,” Shuttleweave said. Celestia noticed the mark on her flank looked just like it. “I use it to weave fabric for blankets. It gets very cold here in the winter, and it usually takes me all year to make enough blankets for everypony.”

“That sounds like an important job,” Celestia said.

“I’m lucky in that respect,” Shuttleweave said. “Discord hasn’t figured out how to have fun with it, so he’s left it alone so far.”

“I still don’t understand,” Luna said. “Why would Discord cause all these problems? It doesn’t make any sense.”

“Does anything these days?” Shuttleweave asked.

“There must be some reason,” Luna insisted. “Did somepony do something to make him mad? Apologizing might do everypony good.”

“Tell that to my brother, Woodwright,” Shuttleweave said. A pale blue aura burst to life around Shuttleweave’s horn, and a woven green scarf rose from a bench and floated across the room. “This scarf used to belong to him. I made it for him several years ago when we were both young. When I saw how much he liked it, I realized that weaving was my special talent. That day, my cutie mark appeared.”

“What happened to him?” Celestia asked.

“Discord,” Shuttleweave said bitterly. “He came here and started destroying all our crops. Woodwright stood up to him, so Discord cast a spell on him that drove him mad. He lived in the forest for a while, but nopony has seen him in years. I can only hope wherever he is, somepony is taking care of him.”

She’s going to turn us out, Celestia thought. As unfair as it was, she couldn’t blame the unicorn. Would I help somepony I thought was helping the being who drove my sibling mad?

Shuttleweave returned the scarf to the table and faced Luna and Celestia. “I don’t know why you’re here, but I never turn away a pony in need, for Woodwright’s sake. You may stay here until you are well.”

Celestia could hardly believe her ears. “Thank you,” she said. The words were inadequate to express the gratitude she felt.

“I’ll prepare a room for you,” Shuttleweave said as she used her magic to levitate a stack of blankets. “What about you, Color Wheel? I still have your painting if you want to finish it.”

“Thank you, but I should be getting home,” Color Wheel said. “I might stop by tomorrow, though. It was nice meeting you two,” she added with a nod towards the alicorns. “I wish you the best of luck in your quest.”

“This way,” said Shuttleweave. The alicorns followed her to a small room in the back, where she laid out several blankets on the floor. “It’s not much, but it’ll protect you from the elements. We never know when Discord will send a storm.”

Celestia looked out the window. The sun dropped behind the horizon, and the moon shot up to take its place. “Is it always like this?” she asked.

“If it’s not the sun and the moon, it’s something else,” Shuttleweave said, hanging a blanket over the window. “This should help you get some rest. If you need anything, just ask.”

Celestia and Luna lay down on the blankets, but Celestia found it impossible to sleep. She looked over at Luna, who was staring at the floor. “How does your wing feel?”

“Better,” Luna said. “Tia, what should we do?”

Celestia sighed. “I don’t know,” she said. “Discord wants us to restore the peace, but I’m not sure that’s even possible.”

“I’m not sure I want to,” Luna said. “Not after what he did to Shuttleweave’s brother.”

“I agree,” Celestia said. “We should go see Scrollkeeper at the library. We need to find out more about what’s really going on.”

“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” Luna said. “The ponies here haven’t been very friendly.”

“Shuttleweave and Scrollkeeper have decided to help us,” Celestia said. “I don’t think anypony will harm us if we don’t give them a reason to.”

“But what if they do?” Luna asked. “We could just leave and look for our true selves somewhere else, somewhere that isn’t so dangerous.”

“Nopony ever found her true self by running away, little sister,” Celestia said, nuzzling Luna’s neck affectionately. “I know you’re scared, and I don’t blame you, but we have to be brave. As long as we’re together, I won’t let anything bad happen to you.”

“Promise?”

“I promise,” Celestia said. “I would never leave you alone.”

Luna smiled and closed her eyes. “Okay. I’ll see you in the morning.”

Whatever that means in this land, Celestia thought as the sun shot into the sky once again. It’s a wonder anypony gets any sleep around here. She closed her eyes and made herself comfortable, hoping tomorrow would bring more answers than questions.

The ponies were still watching them when they walked up to the library. “Do you really think he’ll be able to help us?” Luna asked as Celestia tapped her hoof against the door.

“Come on in!” a young voice called from inside. A gold-coated colt with a messy red mane and a broom-shaped mark on his flank greeted them as they walked inside. “I’m Cleansweep. My uncle said he’ll be here in a minute.”

“So you’re the one who told Scrollkeeper about us yesterday,” Celestia said, looking around the library. The shelves were mostly organized, but the tables were covered with half-opened scrolls and notes.

“Yep!” Cleansweep said with an enthusiastic flap of his wings. “I saw everypony following you and I knew my uncle would want to know about it, so I flew straight here and told him!”

“That was a good choice,” Luna said, examining some of the books. “It looks like you have quite the collection here.”

“My uncle’s been collecting them for years,” Cleansweep said. “He goes back to Canterlot once in a while to get more. I would go with him, but he says I’m still too little.”

“Canterlot?” Luna repeated. “The city in the mountains?”

“Yeah,” Cleansweep said. “We used to live there, but we had to come here because something bad happened. I want to go back when I’m bigger, though. I might even find my parents!”

“You don’t know where your parents are?” Celestia asked.

“No, we got separated when we left,” Cleansweep said. “Uncle Scrollkeeper says they’re probably looking for me. One day, I’m going to look for them, too.”

“Cleansweep!” Scrollkeeper said as he emerged from a small side room. “Don’t pester our guests.”

“I’m not bothering them!” Cleansweep said.

“Oh, it’s all right,” Celestia said. “He was just keeping us company while we waited.”

“Yeah! See?” Cleansweep said.

“Go play with your friends,” Scrollkeeper said. “We have important things to discuss.” Cleansweep left the library with a heavy sigh. “I hope you were able to rest,” Scrollkeeper said to the alicorns. “You looked exhausted when I saw you last.”

“Is your nephew always that happy?” Luna asked.

Scrollkeeper nodded. “It’s just his nature, I suppose. Most of the time I can’t keep up with him, but I try to teach him manners when I can.”

“Does he know what happened to his home?” Celestia asked.

“I’ve tried to explain it to him, but he’s too young to understand everything,” Scrollkeeper said. “He’s been through more than most.”

“It’s a wonder he’s not bitter like everypony else,” Celestia said.

“He chooses to see the good things in life,” Scrollkeeper said with a smile. “Most ponies get caught up on the bad, but not him. He has his faults, but everypony would do well to follow that example. Now, what can I do for you?”

“We need to know more about Discord and what he’s done,” Luna said.

“We would also like to know more about the draconequus in general,” Celestia added.

Scrollkeeper rose into the air and retrieved several scrolls from a shelf. “These are the records of Discord’s dealings in Everfree,” he said. “If you like –”

“Ahem.” The three turned to see Galeforce standing in the doorway. “The alicorns are not to read those records. You may summarize them if you like, but do not give them any names.”

“Under what authority?” Scrollkeeper asked. “I am the keeper of this library, and I will decide what to do with the records.”

“The Security Council has decided to put a strict limit on what information the alicorns may access,” Galeforce said. “Those records contain information that may jeopardize several members of the community. As such, the alicorns are not to have direct access to them. A security squad will be posted around the library at all times during their stay.”

“That’s not fair!” Luna said. “How are we supposed to find out what’s going on around here if we can’t see the records?”

“You are strangers,” Galeforce said. “Your motives are unknown. We must make the necessary precautions to protect everypony in this community from danger.”

“What?” Luna said with a confused shake of her head. “What does that even mean?”

“It means they don’t trust us,” Celestia said. “You still think we’re working for Discord, don’t you?”

“We can’t afford to take chances,” Galeforce said. “Until we know you mean us no harm, we cannot allow you full access to our records.”

“This is absurd,” Scrollkeeper said. “An injured pony comes to our village, and you assume she’s an agent of Discord? Even when she claims Discord himself is responsible for her injuries?”

“Where is the proof?” Galeforce said. “How do we know she isn’t lying?”

“We’re not working for Discord!” Luna shouted. “We’re trying to help you!”

“Then prove it!” Galeforce yelled.

“Very well,” said Celestia. “What do you propose?”

Galeforce blinked a couple times before answering. “What do you mean?”

“How do you propose we prove we are not working for Discord?” Celestia said. “You name your terms, and my sister and I will comply if we can.”

Galeforce was silent for a moment. Finally, he said, “Undo the damage he’s done.”

“Impossible,” Scrollkeeper said. “Even our best unicorns have been unable to reverse any of Discord’s mischief.”

“If they want to help us, that’s precisely what they’ll need to do,” Galeforce said. “Prove you are able and willing to help us. Fix the farms, the weather, anything, and I will consider trusting you.”

Celestia glanced at Luna, and silently they agreed. “We will accept your challenge,” Celestia said. “Gather everypony to the square, and we will prove where our loyalties lie.”

“When I said everypony, I didn’t think he’d actually do it,” Celestia muttered as she looked out at the huge crowd gathered in the square. “Are you ready, Luna?”

“Are you sure about this?” Luna asked. “I’ve never tried to keep the moon down before.”

“We have to try,” Celestia said, watching the sky with apprehension. “The next time Discord makes the night come, we’ll bring back the day.”

“But that’s your talent,” Luna said.

“Yes, but I don’t know if I can overpower Discord alone,” Celestia said. “I need your help.”

“Everypony has been gathered,” Galeforce said as he landed beside them. “You may proceed when ready.”

Celestia looked at Luna, who nodded and closed her eyes in concentration. Celestia’s horn began to glow as she focused her power on the sun. “Wait for Discord to act,” she muttered. “Once he tries to end the day, we make our move.”

They stood there for a while, waiting, while the ponies looked on expectantly. Maybe he won’t do it, Celestia thought. Perhaps this is part of his game. If we prove nothing, there’s no telling what Galeforce might do.

Then it happened. Celestia felt the sun begin to move. “Now, Luna!” she said, casting a spell to counteract Discord’s. The sun came to a sudden stop on the horizon as her magic took hold, and a gasp arose from the crowd. Celestia glanced at Luna and saw her straining to keep the night at bay. She focused all her energy into her spell. She could feel Discord trying to push the sun down, but she refused to relent. After what felt like an hour, Discord’s spell broke, and the sun returned to its place in the sky.

“We did it,” Celestia said as the crowd began to cheer. She glanced at Luna, who was panting from the effort of holding back the night. “Well done, little sister.”

“You too,” Luna said with a weak smile.

“That was awesome!” Cleansweep shouted from the crowd. Several ponies nodded in agreement, and for the first time, Celestia saw them smiling and holding their heads high.

A sudden breeze brought an echo of deep laughter. “Well, well,” Discord’s voice said from all around. “It seems somepony doesn’t like how I manage the sun and the moon. What’s wrong, Celestia? I thought we had an agreement.”

Discord appeared in the square with a flash of light. Celestia had to blink a few times to make sure she wasn’t hallucinating. He vaguely resembled a serpent, but his body was a horrible mismatch of parts taken from every animal imaginable. Every pony in the square backed away except Galeforce, who took to the air and dove straight for him.

“Ah, Galeforce,” Discord said with a wave of his paw. Galeforce stopped as though he’d flown straight into a wall and fell to the ground, stunned. “Impulsive as always, I see. You need to cool off a little.” Ice crept up Galeforce’s legs, pinning him to the ground.

“Hey! Let him go!” Cleansweep shouted, throwing an apple at Discord. Discord turned the apple into dozens and sent them all hurtling back at Cleansweep, burying the young pegasus from sight.

“Is this all the great rebellion of Everfree has to offer?” Discord asked. “Pity, I thought I’d get to have some real fun for once.”

“That’s enough,” Celestia said. “Discord, restore order to this land and leave these ponies in peace.”

“Excuse me?” Discord chuckled as he cleared an ear with a talon. “I think somepony’s getting a little confused. It was your job to restore the peace, was it not?”

“We don’t take orders from you,” Luna said. “You’re a heartless tyrant who makes everypony miserable.”

“I prefer to think I make life a little more interesting,” Discord said.

“What you prefer to think does not change the facts,” Celestia said. “These ponies need order and justice, not chaos and oppression.”

“Celestia, why must you be so boring?” Discord said with a groan. “It really is quite tiresome.”

“Is that all you care about? Having fun?” Luna shouted. “Look around! Do these ponies look happy to you?”

“Oh, Luna, Luna, Luna,” Discord said as he floated around her. “It is unwise to speak that way to an all-powerful ruler, especially when you are trespassing in his territory.”

“This is not your territory, and you are no ruler,” Celestia said. “If you refuse to leave in peace, I will make you leave by force.”

“Make me?” Discord repeated, bursting into laughter. “You think you can overthrow me because I let you keep the sun in the sky? And here I thought you had no sense of humor.”

“This is no joke,” Celestia said, a yellow aura bursting around her horn. “I cannot stand by and let you treat these ponies as toys.”

A blast of yellow energy shot from Celestia’s horn right at Discord’s chest. Discord waved his paw, and a shield appeared and deflected the attack. “My, that was disappointing,” Discord said. “You’ll have to do a lot better than that.”

“We’ll find a way to beat you,” Luna said. “If you don’t leave, we’ll make you leave!”

“You’re serious?” Discord said with a laugh. “Oh, this is just too good! I thought sending you here was a good joke, but this! This may be the most fun I’ve had in years!” Discord drifted to the ground to float in front of Celestia. “I’ll give you one month. If you can best me, I promise to undo everything I’ve done and leave this land forever. If you can’t, you and your sister will become my personal slaves. If you try to run away, I win. Do you accept?”

“Do we have a choice?” Celestia asked.

“Well, I could make you my slaves right now and stir up some real chaos for good measure,” Discord said. “The choice is yours.”

Celestia looked from the cowering villagers to Galeforce, who was struggling to free himself from the ice, and Scrollkeeper, who was busy digging Cleansweep out from under the pile of apples. “You must promise not to manipulate the sun and the moon as you have in the past,” Celestia said. “They must only rise and fall at their appointed times until our month is over so that we know how much time has passed. You must also promise not to cause any problems or mischief for anypony in Everfree.”

“Fine,” Discord said with a scowl. “I’ll leave the day, night, and Everfree alone. Do we have a deal?”

Celestia looked at Luna, who gave her a short nod. “Very well,” Celestia said. “We accept your challenge.”

“Excellent,” Discord said. With a snap of his fingers, the ice imprisoning Galeforce disappeared. “I’ll see you in one month. May the best one win!” With another snap and a flash of light, Discord vanished, his laughter echoing in the wind.

Book 2: Las Pegasus

Book 2: Las Pegasus

“The draconequus are beings of chaos,” Scrollkeeper said as he opened one of his books for Celestia and Luna to see. “The limits and strength of their powers are unknown. Even our most skilled unicorns have been unable to overpower him.”

“Do the archives mention somepony overcoming a draconequus?” Celestia asked as she flipped through the pages of the book. “There has to be something that will help us find a weakness.”

“There may have been a few, but the archives are silent as to how this was achieved,” Scrollkeeper said. “I’ve been looking for more detailed accounts since Discord first arrived in Equestria, but so far, I have found nothing.”

“Is there somepony else who might know more?” Luna asked.

“Perhaps,” Scrollkeeper said. “I have a friend, Bookworm, who studied the draconequus in Canterlot for a few months, but he lives in Las Pegasus, and it’s gotten too dangerous for me to go there alone.”

“It’s better than nothing,” Celestia said. “How long would it take us to reach him?”

“At my flying pace, it would take about a day,” Scrollkeeper said. “However, with your sister in her condition, we would have to walk, which would take us almost a week.”

“A week?” Luna repeated. “But we only have a month!”

“Precisely,” Scrollkeeper said. “The only viable option would be for Luna to stay in Everfree while Celestia and I travel to Las Pegasus.”

“No!” Luna said. “I’m not staying here alone!”

“Calm yourself, little sister,” Celestia said. “There must be another option. Galeforce, perhaps?”

“He refuses to leave the village,” Scrollkeeper said. “Besides, if I know Bookworm, he won’t talk to just anypony.”

“Not that Galeforce would help us anyway,” Luna added.

“Ahem.” The three turned to find Galeforce standing in the doorway once again. “I’m here to inform you that the Everfree Security Council has decided to lift the restrictions placed on the alicorns. They are to have free access to any and all records that might help them rid us of Discord and his mischief. Also, the alicorns have the full support of the Council in furthering this goal and will be allowed access to its resources.”

“What?” Luna said.

“He said he’s going to help us now,” Celestia said. “Why this sudden change of heart?”

“You passed the test,” Galeforce said. “You have proven yourselves both willing and able to stand up to Discord – far more drastically than any of us ever expected, I might add. You have taken a great risk in accepting Discord’s challenge, and we will do everything in our power to help you. Together, we will rid Equestria of the draconequus and restore order and harmony.”

“Thank you,” Celestia said. “We will keep that in mind.”

“Also,” Galeforce continued, tapping a hoof uncomfortably on the floor. “I wanted to apologize for my personal behavior towards both of you. In my eagerness to protect this village, I may have acted rashly and unfairly. So, um, sorry.”

“Galeforce apologizing?” Scrollkeeper said with a wry smile. “This is a rare event indeed.”

“Yes, well, don’t get used to it,” Galeforce said gruffly.

“Thank you,” Celestia said, trying not to laugh at Galeforce’s discomfort. “We will all put the past behind us and work together to achieve our common goal.”

“Speaking of which,” Scrollkeeper said, “I was just talking about visiting a friend in Las Pegasus who may have more information about how to defeat Discord.”

“We hoped you might be willing to accompany him,” Celestia said.

“I can’t leave Everfree at the moment,” Galeforce said. “Council business and so forth. Perhaps you could go with him. Your magic would come in handy if things get rough.”

“I’m afraid Luna is unable to fly,” Celestia said.

“She can stay here,” Galeforce said. “I’ll make sure she’s safe until you return.”

“You?” Luna said. “You wanted to throw us in prison!”

“Luna, please,” Celestia said, though she shared Luna’s concerns. “Is there anypony else that could help?”

“There are only a handful of pegasi in Everfree, and all of us are kept busy with our responsibilities here,” Galeforce said. “Perhaps we could recruit some from nearby towns, but that would take time.”

“Time we do not have,” Scrollkeeper said. “As I said before, if you wish to visit Las Pegasus, you will have to leave your sister behind. You can trust the Council to keep her safe now that it is on your side.”

“What if it’s a trick?” Luna asked, glaring at Galeforce. “What if you’re lying to us?”

“Enough,” Celestia said. “Bickering will get us nowhere. My sister and I need some time alone. We will inform you when we reach our decision.”

Celestia and Luna spoke little as they walked back to Shuttleweave’s shop. The ponies were still watching them, though now their faces shone with admiration rather than suspicion. “Everypony seems happier,” Celestia said with a glance at her sister. Luna did not reply as they entered the shop. “What do you think, Luna?”

“About what?” Luna asked.

“About going to Las Pegasus,” Celestia said. “If Scrollkeeper’s friend knows as much about the draconequus as he says, his knowledge will be invaluable.”

“But a week?” Luna said. “Do we really have that much time?”

“No,” Celestia said. “Scrollkeeper is right. We would have to split up.”

“Well, we’re not going to do that,” Luna said. It was only when Celestia was silent that she added, “Are we?”

Celestia sighed. “I don’t want to leave you here while you’re injured, but we don’t have much of a choice,” she said. “You won’t be ready to fly again for a few days, and I think Scrollkeeper’s friend can help us.”

“But what about Galeforce? What about the Security Council?” Luna asked. “What if they try to do something while you’re gone and I’m not strong enough to get away?”

“The Council is on our side now,” Celestia said. “Galeforce may be rash, but I don’t take him for a liar.”

“But what if he is?”

“Luna,” Celestia said, “I won’t leave you if you don’t want me to. But I truly believe going to Las Pegasus is the right thing for me to do. Can you be brave for me?”

“I can’t,” Luna said with a shake of her head. “I’m not brave. Not like you.”

“Not brave?” Celestia said. “You stood up to Discord while other ponies were too frightened to move. You have been very brave.”

“Only because you were there, too,” Luna said.

“Courage is something that comes from within, little sister,” Celestia said. “Do you believe in what we’re doing now?”

Luna nodded. “Yes.”

“Then I know you can find your courage,” Celestia said. “If anypony tries to say you’re on Discord’s side, you just remind them who it was that stood up to him in the square.”

“Do you think that will really work?” Luna asked.

“I know it will,” Celestia said with a smile.

Luna took a deep breath. “All right. I’ll do it. But you better not take too long,” she added.

“I wouldn’t dream of it,” Celestia said with a laugh. “Come on. Let’s tell Scrollkeeper to get ready.”

Scrollkeeper and Celestia set out just after dawn. Celestia felt uneasy about leaving Luna behind despite what she’d said, but she told herself to be strong as she soared above the trees. If Luna can do it, so can you.

“Keep a sharp eye out once we reach the mountains,” Scrollkeeper said. “Griffons like to nest there, and they’ve been more aggressive than usual of late.”

“Of course,” Celestia said.

“We should land by that lake,” Scrollkeeper continued, gesturing towards the ground. “We won’t find a lot of water once we cross the mountains.” The two circled down and drank their fill. “You seem distracted,” Scrollkeeper observed.

“Do I?”

Scrollkeeper looked at her for a moment. “You’re worried about your sister, aren’t you?” he asked.

“A little,” Celestia said.

“I understand your concern, but believe me when I say you have nothing to fear,” Scrollkeeper said. “I know Galeforce to be a pony of his word. If he says he’ll protect her, she will be safe.”

The two crossed the mountains without incident and found themselves flying over a desert. “Is this Discord’s doing?” Celestia asked.

“No, this has always been a desert,” Scrollkeeper said. “If Discord wanted to cause some real chaos around here, he’d make it rain.”

“Wouldn’t that be a good thing?” Celestia asked.

“The ponies have adapted to the dry conditions,” Scrollkeeper said. “Too much water would cause as much havoc here as no water in Everfree.”

After several more hours of flying, Celestia spotted a town on the horizon. “That’s Las Pegasus,” Scrollkeeper said when she asked. “It’s a good thing we’re almost there. My wings are aching.”

A small crowd had gathered when Celestia and Scrollkeeper landed just outside the town at sunset. “Hello there!” said a green unicorn with a gray mane and a gavel-shaped mark on his flank. “I am Gavel Law, mayor of Las Pegasus. Who might you be?”

“I am Scrollkeeper, an old friend of Bookworm’s,” Scrollkeeper said. “This is Celestia, who has decided to help us drive Discord out of Equestria.”

“You don’t say?” Gavel Law said as he looked Celestia over. “You’re an alicorn, aren’t you?”

“Yes,” Celestia said. “You know about us?”

“Only what the legends say,” Gavel Law said. “Bookworm’s been researching them for me for quite some time.”

“I would like to speak with Bookworm,” Scrollkeeper said. “I have urgent business to discuss with him.”

“I’m afraid he’s busy,” Gavel Law said. “As I said, he’s doing research for me, and it’s very important. I would be happy to show you the town in the meantime. It would be better to discuss your business after you have rested, would it not?”

“I suppose,” Scrollkeeper said with a frown. “I am rather tired from our journey.”

“Excellent!” Gavel Law said. Celestia and Scrollkeeper followed him as he walked through Las Pegasus’ dusty streets. “As you can see, we’re still repairing some of the damages Discord caused last week,” he said as they passed a crew of construction ponies hammering nails into a roof. “It was quite a storm, but nothing we couldn’t handle.”

“What else has Discord done here?” Celestia asked, noting several other buildings in need of repairs.

“Surprisingly little, compared to what he’s done elsewhere,” Gavel Law said. “Well, what news can you bring from across the mountains? Hardly anypony makes that journey now, so we don’t hear much.”

Celestia looked around while Scrollkeeper answered Gavel Law’s questions. The buildings here were made mostly of wood, and many bore the marks of recent repairs. Patches of fresh boards covered holes in walls and roofs, and most of the ponies she saw were hauling materials or moving their things back into their houses. Curiously, almost every pony that saw her paused for a moment with wide eyes before hurriedly returning to their work, and she wasn’t sure what to make of it.

“Is that so?” Gavel Law said, distracting Celestia from her thoughts. She turned and saw the stallion looking at her. “You actually fought Discord and lived to tell the tale?”

“I wouldn’t call it a fight, exactly,” Celestia said, trying not to remember how easily Discord had stopped her attack.

“Not a fight? Goodness, you keep him from setting the sun and you don’t call it a fight?” Gavel Law said with a chuckle. “My, you do have spirit.”

“Oh, that,” Celestia said. “Yes, my sister and I managed to keep him from changing the day and night at will, but it won’t last forever.”

“That’s the most extraordinary thing I’ve heard in a long time,” Gavel Law said. “You and your sister must be powerful indeed.”

“Is that why everypony is looking at me?” Celestia asked.

“Oh, don’t mind them,” Gavel Law said. “If you’ll follow me, I’ll show you to our hotel. It’s not much, what with travel being what it is, but it’ll give you a roof over your heads.”

The hotel turned out to be little more than an open enclosure with some hay and a water trough. The manager seemed surprised and a little jumpy when they walked in. “H-how can I help you?” she asked.

“We’re looking for a place to stay for a couple nights,” Scrollkeeper said.

“Oh! O-okay!” the manager said, pulling a sheet of paper from a stack on her desk. “That’ll be, um, eight bits per night. Here’s your lodging agreement.”

“I will be covering their lodging expenses,” Gavel Law said. His horn lit up with a green aura, and a blue seal appeared on the paper. “Just send me the bill when they leave.”

“Oh! Okay!” the manager said. “Um, well, pick wherever you want, I guess. I’ll fill the trough and make sure the hay is still good.” The mare bolted away before Celestia could thank her.

“She’s been nervous since the storm,” Gavel Law explained. “Well, I should probably get back to the town hall. Is there anything I can do for you before I go?”

“You’ve done plenty,” Scrollkeeper said. “Are you sure you want to cover our expenses here? I’ve brought enough money.”

“Oh, it’s nothing,” Gavel Law said. “We’ve been more fortunate than most in these troubling times, and it’s only right that we help those who are struggling. Rest well. I hope to see you tomorrow.”

The nervous manager brought them a couple threadbare blankets and wished them a good stay before excusing herself for the night. “Eight bits,” Scrollkeeper muttered as he drank heavily from the trough. “Times sure have changed.”

“Did the manager seem odd to you?” Celestia asked between mouthfuls of hay.

“Did it seem odd to you the way everypony looked at you?” Scrollkeeper said. “I noticed it, too. I’m not one to pry into other ponies’ business, but there’s more going on here than Gavel Law’s telling us.”

“Perhaps they think I’m working for – you know,” Celestia said, lowering her voice in case somepony was listening.

“If that were the case, they would have driven us out,” Scrollkeeper said. “It’s strange that Gavel Law would have Bookworm study the old alicorn legends, though. The draconequus are his specialty, and one would think that would be more useful.”

“So what should we do?” Celestia asked.

“For now, I think we should rest,” Scrollkeeper said. “Tomorrow, we’ll go see Bookworm. Hopefully, we’ll be back in Everfree with some answers in a few days.”

Celestia nodded and closed her eyes as her thoughts turned to her sister. I hope she’s okay. She would never forgive herself if something terrible happened to Luna while she was away.

After getting the manager to stand still long enough to give them directions, the two set out for the library, doing their best to ignore the stares Celestia drew from the Las Pegasus ponies. “Is it going to be like this everywhere I go?” Celestia asked, trying not to sound as annoyed as she felt.

“I would expect so,” Scrollkeeper said as they arrived at the library. “Alicorns are a thing of legend as far as Equestria is concerned.”

The two walked into the library, which looked about the same as Everfree’s, only a little less organized. A dark blue unicorn with a spikey yellow and gray mane was busily reading two different scrolls and taking notes while muttering to himself. He looked younger than Scrollkeeper, and his flank bore the image of a thick book.

“Bookworm, there you are,” said Scrollkeeper. “I was beginning to wonder if you’d gotten lost in here.”

“Scrollkeeper!” the unicorn said with a smile as he set his work carefully on a table. “I see you finally have your hooves on the ground instead of hovering around some dusty bookshelf.”

“At least I remember to put things back when I’m done with them,” Scrollkeeper said. “How have you been?”

“Oh, as well as one could expect,” Bookworm said. “I hear things are rougher on the other side of the mountains.”

“We manage,” Scrollkeeper said, taking a glance at Bookworm’s work. “Alicorns, I see. Seems like an odd choice.”

“The mayor asked me to look through some records we received from Canterlot a few days ago,” Bookworm said, rolling up his scrolls with a spell. “Ancient pony legends and whatnot. Fascinating stuff. I think you’d like them.”

“Canterlot?” Scrollkeeper repeated. “Gavel Law didn’t mention somepony had been there recently.”

“He didn’t stay long,” Bookworm said. “Gavel Law said he just dropped off these scrolls and flew away. Not sure where he came from or where he went.” Bookworm seemed to notice Celestia for the first time and frowned. “And who are you?”

“My name is Celestia,” the alicorn said. “Scrollkeeper and I have come to ask you about the draconequus, if you’re not too busy.”

“She came with you?” Bookworm looked at Scrollkeeper, who gave a short nod. “I see. Why did you come all the way here? The Canterlot archives should have plenty of information.”

“I’ve searched the archives many times, but I haven’t found anything,” Scrollkeeper said. “Since you’ve studied them extensively, I thought you might be able to help.”

“Me?” Bookworm said. “I know no more about the draconequus than you, Scrollkeeper.”

“You spent weeks studying them in Canterlot,” Scrollkeeper said.

“That was many years ago.”

“Surely you still have your notes?”

“Perhaps,” Bookworm said, “but I haven’t any idea where they are.”

Celestia tried to read Scrollkeeper’s expression, but the old pegasus’ face gave her no clues as to what he was thinking. Did we come all this way for nothing? she wondered.

“Do you mind if we look around?” Scrollkeeper asked. “Perhaps the records here will help us.”

“I suppose,” Bookworm said. “If you’ll excuse me, I must deliver this report.” Bookworm walked out of the library with a scroll floating just behind him.

“What do we do now?” Celestia asked.

“Start searching, I suppose,” Scrollkeeper said. Though his expression was even, Celestia thought she heard a hint of disappointment in his tone. “Look through those scrolls over there. If you find anything, let me know.”

They stopped for lunch a few hours later without any more information about the draconequus than they’d had when they started. “This is absurd,” Celestia said between bites of her daffodil sandwich. “We need answers, not dusty old archives.”

“The archives are where the answers will be found,” Scrollkeeper said. “Research requires patience.”

“But we don’t have time!” Celestia said. “I thought your friend would be able to tell us everything we need to know. I didn’t expect to have to go searching for answers.”

“You thought overthrowing Discord would be easy?” Scrollkeeper asked.

“I didn’t think the hard part would be figuring out how,” Celestia muttered.

“Celestia, we have been looking for these answers for decades,” Scrollkeeper said. “The unicorns in Canterlot thought they’d found a solution, and the city was destroyed as a result. We are treading deep into unknown territory, and it will not be easy.”

“Well, maybe it wouldn’t be so hard if your friend would help,” Celestia said.

She’d meant it as an insult, but Scrollkeeper nodded in agreement. “Bookworm’s behavior is rather odd,” he said. “As is everypony’s behavior here.”

“What do you mean?” Celestia asked.

“M-more water?” a waitress asked, shifting her weight nervously as she approached their table. Celestia nodded. The waitress spilled half the pitcher trying to fill her cup. “Oh, I’m so sorry,” the waitress said before bolting to get a towel.

“That’s what I mean,” Scrollkeeper said. “They seem frightened of you.”

“You said alicorns were just a legend to them,” Celestia said.

“Yes, but that doesn’t explain their fear,” Scrollkeeper said.

“Well, well, how are you this fine afternoon?” Scrollkeeper and Celestia turned to see Gavel Law approaching their table. “Enjoying your stay, I hope?”

“It has been most interesting,” Scrollkeeper said. “Is there something we can do for you?”

“Why, yes, as a matter of fact,” Gavel Law said, turning to Celestia. “I was wondering if I might have a moment of your time.”

“Oh? Why might that be?” Celestia asked.

“Well, since you’re standing up to Discord and all, I thought we could discuss what you plan to do,” Gavel Law said. “I’d like to help in any way possible. Getting rid of Discord should be everypony’s number one priority, after all.”

“Thank you,” Celestia said. “What we really need is information about the draconequus before we can settle on a plan to get rid of him.”

“You don’t say?” Gavel Law said. “Well, as it happens, a pony arrived from Canterlot today with some archive scrolls. They’re in my office at city hall if you’d like to take a peek. I haven’t read them thoroughly, but they look like they contain a lot of information about Discord.”

“How often do ponies arrive with archive scrolls?” Scrollkeeper asked.

“Oh, not often,” Gavel Law said. “Maybe once or twice a year at best.”

“That’s strange, Bookworm said somepony delivered some archive scrolls just a few days ago,” Scrollkeeper said.

“He did?” Gavel Law said with a frown.

“The ones he’s been studying for you.”

“Oh, yes!” Gavel Law said with a laugh. “I’m sorry, my memory must have slipped. It’s not every day an alicorn comes by to free your country, after all!”

“Of course,” Scrollkeeper said.

“Anyways, what do you say, Celestia?” Gavel Law said. “It’ll only take a moment, and I think you’ll find a lot of good information. It’s better than searching through a dusty old library, at least.”

“It sounds like a good idea to me,” Celestia said. “Scrollkeeper, what do you think?”

“Hmm?” Scrollkeeper blinked a couple times and shook his head. “I’m sorry, I was thinking about something. I think I’ll head back to the library and keep searching.”

“Very well,” Gavel Law said. “Come with me, Celestia.” The alicorn followed Gavel Law down the street, leaving Scrollkeeper to his thoughts.

“Bookworm? Are you in here?” Scrollkeeper looked around the library but saw no sign of his friend. He walked over to the table and looked at the scrolls Bookworm had been studying that morning. “I wonder what these could be,” he muttered.

“Back away from those.” Scrollkeeper turned to see Bookworm walking towards him, his horn aglow with a red aura. “I want to know why you’re really here.”

“I came to ask you about the draconequus,” Scrollkeeper said, backing slowly away from the table.

“With an alicorn?” Bookworm said with a snort. “Please. You think I’d believe an alicorn would come asking me for help?”

“Why wouldn’t she?”

“You forget I’ve been studying them, Scrollkeeper,” Bookworm said. “I know what she is and what she intends to do to me if she finds out what I know. The question is, do you?”

“What are you talking about?” Scrollkeeper asked.

“I know you know about them,” Bookworm said. “But why would you lie to me? Has Discord cast a spell on you? Or was it his alicorn servant?”

“She is not working for Discord,” Scrollkeeper said. “I saw her stand up to him with my own eyes.”

“It was a trick. These scrolls make it clear that the alicorns serve the draconequus,” Bookworm said, jerking his head towards the scrolls on the table. “They are sent to trick ponies into trusting them. They fill us with false hope to keep us from finding the true answer.”

“True answer?”

Bookworm smiled. “I’d love to tell you more, old friend, but I can’t take that risk,” he said. “If the alicorn finds out what I know, she’ll come for me.”

Scrollkeeper took a deep breath and chose his words carefully. “I don’t know what you’ve read, but I do know what I’ve seen with my eyes. Celestia and her sister resisted Discord’s power with their own and won. Though they are not strong enough to drive him from Equestria, I believe they can help us, but we need your help as well.”

Bookworm’s eyes narrowed as he studied Scrollkeeper’s face. “You’re not lying, are you?” he said.

“As you said, why would I?”

The red aura around Bookworm’s horn vanished, much to Scrollkeeper’s relief. “Then you must read these records,” Bookworm said. “Despite what you’ve seen, you must take them into account.”

Scrollkeeper walked over to the table and unfurled one of the scrolls. “Where did these come from?” he asked.

“The Canterlot archives,” Bookworm said.

“Who told you that?”

“Gavel Law,” Bookworm said. “As I said this morning, a pony arrived with –”

“This is a fake.”

Bookworm blinked in surprise. “Excuse me?”

“I have seen thousands of archive scrolls, and this is clearly a forgery,” Scrollkeeper said. “The date is on the wrong side, and the writing style is inconsistent with others of this era. This parchment isn’t nearly old enough, and scrolls were sealed with string at the time this was supposedly written, not ribbon. In fact,” Scrollkeeper said as he opened the others, “the only one that isn’t a forgery is this one.”

“That one is from my own records,” Bookworm said, looking at the scrolls with disbelief. “Are you sure they’re fakes?”

“If you need further evidence, look at the archive seal,” Scrollkeeper said, pointing to a blue stamp in the top right corner. “See the serpent around the edge? This is the Canterlot serpent seal, and it indicates that the record is untrue. The unicorns used it to try and give Discord false information while they searched for a way to defeat him.”

“So this is one of their false records?” Bookworm asked.

“No,” Scrollkeeper said. “The unicorns were very careful to make sure everything else was identical to a real archive record, and this one has many discrepancies, as I’ve already mentioned.”

“But – then where did they come from?” Bookworm asked.

“I have no idea,” Scrollkeeper said. “You said one was from your own records. What is it?”

“Instructions for an imprisonment spell,” Bookworm said. “Gavel Law said he wanted to be prepared if…” Bookworm’s eyes widened. “Celestia!”

“I’m a fool,” Bookworm said as he and Scrollkeeper raced through the streets. “The first thing I should have done was check their authenticity.”

“You can worry about that later,” Scrollkeeper said. “We have to find Celestia before –”

“Bookworm!” The two librarians slid to a halt as the hotel manager and the waitress from the restaurant approached them. “Oh, thank goodness you did your research!”

“What do you mean?” Bookworm asked.

“That alicorn,” the waitress said. “I thought we were done for when she showed up, but thanks to you, Gavel Law knew what to do.”

“What did he do?” Scrollkeeper asked.

“Trapped her,” the manager said. “And you’re lucky he did, or you would have been in big trouble for bringing her here. To think he even paid your lodging.”

“Where is he?” Bookworm asked.

“In front of city hall,” the manager said. “Why, is something wrong?”

“Yes,” Bookworm said, breaking into a gallop. “If you want to hear about it, follow me.”

The ponies ran through the streets until they reached city hall. A large crowd had gathered outside, and Gavel Law was giving a speech from a raised platform just outside. A green orb hung in the air beside him, and Scrollkeeper could see Celestia floating inside, unconscious.

“And so, Discord’s plot has been foiled!” Gavel Law was shouting amidst the cheers of the crowd. “Las Pegasus is once again safe from his lies and schemes! I will not rest while Las Pegasus is in danger, and Discord will know he cannot break our spirit!”

Bookworm pushed his way through the crowd while the mayor spoke and reached the platform just as Gavel Law reached the height of his speech. “Gavel Law! Wait!”

“Bookworm?” Gavel Law said. “What’s the matter? Oh, do you want your moment in the spotlight? You’ve certainly earned it! After all, it was you who alerted us to the danger the alicorn posed, and it was you who discovered the solution!”

“No! It’s not what you think!” Bookworm shouted over the cheers of the crowd. “Celestia is not our enemy!”

“Not our enemy?” Gavel Law repeated with a laugh. “Whatever do you mean? The archives made it very clear –”

“The archives were fakes,” Bookworm said. “Their words are meaningless. Please, you must let her go. She’s here to help us.”

“You mean you lied to me?” Gavel Law asked. “Bookworm, how could you?”

“No!” Bookworm said. “I – I just made a mistake.”

“Could you not be making one now?” Gavel Law asked. “How can I trust your word at all?”

“Bookworm is not at fault,” Scrollkeeper shouted, flying above the crowd until he reached the stage. “Only a pony who knows the archives extensively would have detected the discrepancies.”

“I would never have known if Scrollkeeper hadn’t told me,” Bookworm said.

“Him?” Gavel Law said. “Bookworm, this pegasus is the pony who brought the alicorn to our town. I think it is unwise to trust his word.”

“I knew Scrollkeeper when I lived in Canterlot,” Bookworm said. “I would trust him over anypony else to know the difference between a real archive scroll and a fake.”

“The real question is where the forged archived came from,” Scrollkeeper said. “You said they were brought to you from Canterlot. Who brought them?”

“Oh, I didn’t catch his name,” Gavel Law said. “Just a unicorn passing through.”

“Unicorn?” Bookworm said. “You told me he was a pegasus.”

“I did?” Gavel Law said with a frown. “Oh, it must have been the unicorn that stopped by today with the scrolls about the draconequus. I’m sorry, I’m getting a little confused in all this excitement.”

“Would you mind if I took a look at those scrolls?” Scrollkeeper asked. “After all, they may be forgeries, too.”

“I, uh, I’m afraid I’ve misplaced them,” Gavel Law said.

“Misplaced something as valuable as that?” Scrollkeeper said. “That’s quite careless of you, isn’t it?”

“Well, when one has an alicorn to deal with, one tends to forget about things like that,” Gavel Law said.

“Tell me, Gavel Law,” Scrollkeeper said, “are you familiar with the Canterlot serpent seal?”

“N-no,” the mayor said.

“Really?” Scrollkeeper said. “Then would you mind explaining why you placed it on our lodging agreement when you agreed to pay our hotel bill?”

The crowd of ponies began to murmur as Gavel Law took a couple steps back. “Now, look here,” he said. “What gives you the right to come up here and interrogate me? Who do you think you are?”

“I’m just a librarian fighting to free my country,” Scrollkeeper said, “and you’re getting in the way. Now I’ll ask you one more time. Where did you get those scrolls?”

Gavel Law spluttered and took several more steps back. “I – I don’t answer to you!”

“Then answer to us,” Bookworm said. The crowd nodded in agreement. “Where did you get those scrolls?”

“I am the mayor of this town!” Gavel Law shouted as the crowd began to glare at him. “My only interest is the wellbeing of Las Pegasus and the ponies that live here!”

“Was it you?” Bookworm asked. “Did you make them?”

“I am protecting this town!” Gavel Law said. “Discord has sworn to leave us in peace if we turn the alicorn over to him!”

Bookworm’s mouth fell open as gasps arose from the crowd. “You made a deal with him?”

“What else was I supposed to do?” Gavel Law said. “You saw the storm. Las Pegasus will be obliterated if he strikes again!”

“You lied to us!” Bookworm shouted. “You forged archives to make us think she was our enemy!”

“And you think she can help you?” Gavel Law demanded. “Even she admits that her paltry victory is temporary!”

“Her paltry victory is the biggest anypony has ever had against Discord,” Scrollkeeper said. “If the safety of Las Pegasus is truly your concern, let her go.”

“If that alicorn leaves this town, Las Pegasus will be wiped off the map for good,” Gavel Law said.

“Let her go, Gavel Law,” Bookworm said. The crowd murmured in agreement.

“I will not!” Gavel Law shouted. “Listen to me!”

“You lied to us!”

“You’re working for Discord!”

“Enough!” Gavel Law roared. “I may have lied, but it was for your own good!”

“You should have known better than to deceive your fellow ponies,” Scrollkeeper said. “In the end, the truth will always catch up to you.”

A sudden flash of light burst over Scrollkeeper’s head. Everypony looked up and saw a large stone sphere hanging in the air above him. Scrollkeeper stepped aside as the sphere descended to rest on the stage, still surrounded by a glowing white aura. “What is this?” he asked, looking to Bookworm for help, but the blue unicorn looked just as surprised as he was.

Gavel Law took advantage of the distraction and leapt from the stage, hitting the ground at a hard gallop. “Get him!” several ponies yelled as they took off in pursuit.

“We have to get her out of there,” Scrollkeeper said as he walked towards the green orb that held Celestia captive.

“Allow me,” said Bookworm, a red aura bursting around his horn. After a moment, the orb vanished, and Celestia fell to the ground.

“Uhn. Wha…” Celestia shook her head. “Where am I? Where’s Gavel Law?”

“He ran away,” Scrollkeeper said.

“We have to stop him!” Celestia said, leaping to her hooves. “He was going to turn me over to Discord!”

“We know,” Scrollkeeper said. “The Las Pegasus ponies are chasing him as we speak. I’m confident he will face the consequences of his actions.”

“I’m sorry. This was all my fault,” Bookworm said. “Is there anything I can do to make it up to you?”

“As a matter of fact, there is,” Scrollkeeper said with a smile. “What can you tell us about the draconequus?”

Bookworm smiled as well. “Plenty. Come with me.”

Book 3: Canterlot - Part 1

Book 3: Canterlot

Part 1

“Oh, where could she be?” Luna muttered to herself for the hundredth time as she paced from one end of Shuttleweave’s shop to the other. “It’s been a week since they left. Why aren’t they back yet?”

“Try to be patient,” Shuttleweave said from her loom. “I’m sure there’s a good reason for the delay.”

“That’s what I’m afraid of!” Luna said. “What if they got lost or attacked?”

“Scrollkeeper knows Equestria like the back of his hoof,” Color Wheel said, setting her paintbrush carefully on a table. “Even Discord would be hard-pressed to make him lose his way.”

“And your sister seems more than capable of handling herself in a fight,” Shuttleweave added.

“But this is Discord we’re talking about,” Luna said. “What if he knocked them out of the sky over a griffon’s nest and they crash-landed and broke their wings and –”

“Relax,” said Color Wheel, putting her hoof over Luna’s mouth to keep her from talking. “You can worry about the what-ifs until the paint dries, and it’ll bring you no closer to a solution then when you began.”

“I know,” Luna said with a sigh. “I just can’t help but wonder if something’s happened to them.”

“Maybe you should go outside for a while,” Shuttleweave suggested. “Get some fresh air, stretch your wings a little.”

“I suppose,” Luna said. The idea did appeal to her. “Do you really think it’ll help?”

“Of course, dear,” Color Wheel said. “There’s nothing like exercise to get rid of your stress.”

“All right,” Luna said as she walked outside. “If Celestia gets back while I’m gone, will you tell her to come find me?”

“I think you’ll see her before we do,” Color Wheel said, “but we’ll tell her.”

“Thank you.” Luna stepped outside and stretched her wings. Her left wing was a little stiff, but it loosened up once she launched herself into the air. It feels good to get off the ground, she thought as she glided above the village. If she squinted, she could just make out Color Wheel’s farm in the distance. It sure is a long way to walk.

She flapped a couple times to regain her altitude and made a hard turn to the right. For the first time, she noticed a castle hidden behind some trees lying across a wide gorge than ran along one edge of the square. I wonder what that could be?

“Luna!” The alicorn turned to see Galeforce gliding beside her. “You should not be up here alone.”

“I’m just flying over the village,” Luna said. The dark-coated pegasus had taken his promise to Celestia seriously and made sure somepony under his command was with her whenever she left the shop. “I wasn’t going to wander off.”

“You can’t be too careful,” Galeforce said.

Luna found his cautiousness irritating, but she let it go for the time being. “What’s that castle?” she asked.

“It’s the old royal palace,” Galeforce said. “Our rulers lived there before Discord arrived. Nopony goes inside now, though.”

“Whys’ that?” Luna asked.

“Discord did something to it,” Galeforce said. “Nopony knows what, exactly, but anypony who gets too close starts to go crazy. Some say of all the chaos Discord has caused, whatever he did to that palace is the worst.”

Luna made a mental note to avoid the palace as she turned to glide over the village once again. As she looked towards the mountains, she saw two shapes coming towards Everfree. Her heart raced faster as they drew nearer, and by the time Celestia and Scrollkeeper reached the village, Luna could barely keep herself from tackling her sister. “Tia! You’re okay!”

“Of course,” Celestia said with a laugh. “I’m glad to see you back on your wings.”

“I take it your journey was a success,” Galeforce said as he landed beside Luna.

“Eventually,” Scrollkeeper said as the four walked towards the library. “Discord caused some problems for us, but everything turned out well in the end.”

“Discord was there?” Galeforce said.

“He tried to turn the ponies against us,” Celestia said. “If not for Scrollkeeper’s knowledge, we may not have made it back to Everfree.”

“What?” Luna said. “Tia, what happened? Are you okay?”

“I’m fine, Luna,” Celestia said. “Don’t worry. As Scrollkeeper said, everything turned out well in the end.”

Luna could tell she was hiding something, but she knew asking about it now would be pointless. “Are all these scrolls about Discord?” she asked, looking at Celestia’s stuffed saddle bags.

“Some of them,” Scrollkeeper said as he pushed the library door open. “Celestia, would you put the scrolls on the table?”

“Of course,” Celestia said as her horn began to glow. Several scrolls floated out of her saddle bags and stacked themselves neatly. “And what about the…”

“Over there,” Scrollkeeper said, nodding towards another table. “Gently, please.”

“What’s that?” Luna asked as Celestia placed a bulging bag on the table.

“We’ll talk later,” Celestia said. “For now, Scrollkeeper and I need to rest.”

“But Tia, what about stopping Discord?” Luna asked. “We only have three weeks ‘till the end of the month, and –”

“I said later, Luna,” Celestia said, her voice stern. “Shall I see you tomorrow, Scrollkeeper?”

“Yes,” Scrollkeeper said. “I’ll see if I can get a head start on these scrolls. If you see Cleansweep, will you tell him to come home? It’s getting late.”

“Of course,” Celestia said. “Good night.”

“Tia, wait up!” Luna said as she followed her sister out the door. The sun was setting, and the huts cast long shadows into the street. “Is something wrong?”

“I’m just tired, Luna,” Celestia said.

“You’re limping!” Luna said. It was very slight, but it was there. When she looked closer, she noticed a bruise on Celestia’s side. “Did something attack you?”

“We saw some griffons on the way back, but they kept their distance,” Celestia said.

“You didn’t answer the question.”

“Everything’s fine, Luna.”

“Why won’t you answer me?”

“Because I’m tired!” Celestia shouted, rounding on her sister. Luna recoiled in shock. “I’ve had a long journey, and I would appreciate some peace and quiet.”

“Okay,” Luna said softly. Celestia turned and kept walking without waiting for Luna to follow. Tia, she thought. What happened to you?

Celestia let out a frustrated sigh and glared at the back of her eyelids. Why can’t I stop thinking about him? Gavel Law is long gone. He can’t hurt you anymore. Yet the second she started drifting off, there he was again, smirking at her from the other side of the imprisonment spell. Get out of my head!

She heard the door creak and opened her eyes, squinting in the candlelight. “Sorry,” Luna said as she quickly entered and shut the door behind her. “I was trying not to wake you up.”

Celestia said nothing as Luna lay down on a blanket and pulled another over her. In her heart, she knew that was why Gavel Law kept appearing in her dreams. “When Discord told me about you, I didn’t realize you had a sister,” he’d told her as she hung helpless in that cursed green orb. “I can only imagine what the reward will be for turning you both over to him.”

The mere memory sent shivers down Celestia’s spine. She glanced over at Luna, who was resting peacefully with her eyes closed. All my promises, she thought. All those times I said I’d protect you, and all for what? She closed her eyes tightly, trying to keep herself from crying. She could see the green unicorn’s expression clearly in her mind, the expression that told her he would come for Luna, and once again she felt the panic and despair that came from knowing there was nothing she could do to stop him.

Worst of all, she knew Gavel Law was nothing compared to Discord. In a fair fight, she was confident the unicorn would have posed little challenge, but Discord had deflected one of her strongest spells as though it was nothing. What have we gotten ourselves into? she wondered. How could we have been so foolish?

“Tia?” Celestia turned her head and saw Luna looking at her, her eyes filled with worry. “What’s wrong?”

Celestia noticed the tears trickling down her face. She wiped them away with a foreleg and took a deep breath before answering. “When we were in Las Pegasus, a unicorn tried to capture me and turn me over to Discord,” she said. “If it wasn’t for Scrollkeeper and his friend, he would have succeeded. He said…” Celestia had to take a few breaths before the words would come out. “He said he would come after you next.”

“Me?” Luna said. Celestia nodded. “What happened to him? Is he coming here?”

“The Las Pegasus ponies caught him,” Celestia said. Although she had seen him put behind bars herself, a part of her expected to see him barge through the door at any time. “There’s nothing to worry about now.”

“Then why were you crying?” Luna asked.

“He was just a normal unicorn,” Celestia said, her voice cracking as her tears broke free. “How can I possibly stop Discord if I couldn’t even stop him? How can I protect you when I can’t even protect myself?”

“Tia, you did beat him,” Luna said. “You made it back here, didn’t you?”

“Scrollkeeper beat him,” Celestia said. “Not me.”

“But you made it,” Luna said. “Isn’t that what matters?”

“You don’t understand!” Celestia said. “Discord stopped my magic like it was nothing. How can I compete with that?”

“Isn’t that why you went to Las Pegasus? To figure out how?” Luna asked. Celestia didn’t answer. Luna stood up and moved closer to her. “What’s really bothering you, big sister?”

“I’m scared,” Celestia said, her voice barely a whisper. “When he trapped me, I was completely powerless to help you or anypony else. I’ve never felt so helpless before.”

Luna was silent for a moment. “Do you believe in what we’re doing now?” she asked.

Do I? I felt so much surer a week ago. She thought of Grainthresh’s field and the damaged buildings in Las Pegasus. Discord is tearing this land apart, she thought, but can I really do anything to stop him?

“Courage is something that comes from within, right?” Luna asked. “When you left for Las Pegasus, I didn’t want you to go, but I knew that the reason you were leaving was more important than my fear. When I realized I truly believed in what we were doing, it was easier to be brave, just like you said.”

Celestia wiped the tears from her face once again as Luna nuzzled her mane. “Don’t worry, big sister,” Luna said. “I’ll be here for you too, no matter what.”

Celestia let out a weak chuckle. “Promise?”

“Promise,” Luna said with a smile.

“Thank you,” Celestia said. “I’m sorry I yelled at you earlier.”

“It’s okay,” Luna said. “I still want to know how you got that bruise, though.”

Celestia smiled. “That was from carrying luggage,” she said. “Ask me about it again tomorrow, and I’ll tell you everything I know.”

“It’s a rock?” Luna didn’t mean to sound so disappointed, but after letting her imagination run wild about what Celestia had kept hidden in her bag, a rock was somewhat of a letdown.

“This is no ordinary rock,” Scrollkeeper said. “It appeared when Bookworm and I exposed Gavel Law’s lies.”

“So it’s a truth rock?” Luna asked.

“We’re not really sure,” Celestia said, “but Scrollkeeper thinks we should find out more.”

“What does this have to do with defeating Discord?” Galeforce asked. The security pony had taken it upon himself to stay up-to-date on their progress and report to the Security Council.

“Bookworm’s records were as incomplete as mine, but they did hold some clues,” Scrollkeeper said, crossing the room to where Celestia had stacked the scrolls the previous day. “His archives confirm that draconequus have been overcome in the past, but they are unfortunately unclear as to the means.”

“What do they say?” Galeforce asked.

“Most often, that the draconequus is overcome by the power of friendship,” Scrollkeeper said. “Obviously, this doesn’t have any practical applications, as far as I know.”

“Maybe it means we need to make friends with him,” a young voice suggested. Cleansweep peeked out from behind a bookshelf, his face covered in dust. “Then he’d decide to leave us alone!”

“What are you doing here?” Galeforce demanded, his mane bristling.

“Cleansweep, it is impolite to eavesdrop,” Scrollkeeper said.

“What? I’m just dusting,” Cleansweep said.

“I appreciate your enthusiasm, but I must ask you to refrain from interrupting our discussion,” Scrollkeeper said. Cleansweep scowled and returned to his work. “As I was saying, the records indicate teamwork is a key element of defeating Discord.”

“I could have told you that,” Galeforce muttered.

“What does that have to do with the rock?” Luna said.

“One of the records caught my interest in that respect,” Scrollkeeper said, unfurling one of the scrolls. “It speaks of a draconequus who was defeated many centuries ago, before Equestria was founded. According to the record, six magics bested him using, and I quote, ‘the powers of truth and happiness’.”

“Magics?” Luna asked.

“We think it’s an older name for unicorns,” Celestia explained.

“This is just sentimental nonsense,” Galeforce said.

“That’s what I thought, too, until I remembered the stone,” Scrollkeeper said. “As I said before, it appeared when Bookworm and I exposed the truth. It is possible that this stone is related to the powers of truth mentioned in the record.”

“We need to find out more before we can know for sure,” Celestia said. “Bookworm suggested we go to Canterlot and look for more archives in the library.”

“Canterlot?” Luna repeated. “I thought that was just a ruin.”

“It is now, but it was once the center of learning in Equestria,” Scrollkeeper said. “When Discord destroyed it, the unicorns put almost all of their magic into protecting the library. Many of the archives survived, and Discord has shown little interest in them. A small group could go to the library without drawing his attention and bring back the records we need.”

“I have already volunteered to go,” Celestia said. “We hoped some of the pegasi here would be able to make the journey as well.”

“Are you sure?” Luna said. “After what happened in Las Pegasus?”

“Canterlot is all but deserted,” Scrollkeeper said. “The few ponies that remain are too busy trying to survive to cause problems, and since Discord destroyed their home, they’re not likely to side with him.”

“Then I’m going with you,” Luna said.

“Me too,” Galeforce said, much to everypony’s surprise. “The Council has wanted to see what remains of Canterlot for quite some time. I’m not much for studying, but I can help you bring the records here.”

“I would go as well, but these wings aren’t what they used to be,” Scrollkeeper said. “The library can be a confusing place for ponies who have never been there. We need to find somepony familiar with its layout.”

“Ooh! I can do that!” Cleansweep shouted, this time bounding over several bookshelves to join the group. “Uncle Scrollkeeper used to take me there all the time. I’d help him find scrolls and everything!”

“Cleansweep, please!” Scrollkeeper said. “How many times have I told you not to interrupt?”

“I can go with you!” Cleansweep said, ignoring his uncle’s reprimand. “I’ll help you find everything you need!”

“No,” Scrollkeeper said. “You’re too young. Canterlot is no place for children these days.”

“Aw, come on!” Cleansweep said. “I’m not that little! Mezzo Tint even asked me to help deliver the newspaper ‘cause he thinks I’m so strong!”

“You’re not ready, Cleansweep,” Scrollkeeper said firmly. “Canterlot is a harsh place.”

“The world is a harsh place,” Galeforce said. “None of my pegasi have even been to the Canterlot library. It’s either you or Cleansweep, and you can’t protect him forever.”

“Don’t tell me how to raise my nephew,” Scrollkeeper said with narrowed eyes.

“Uncle, please,” Cleansweep said. “You said I was the best assistant you ever had. If anypony can help them, it’s me. I promise I’ll be good!”

Scrollkeeper sighed. “Very well,” he said. “If there is no other option, you can go.”

“Yes!” Cleansweep bounded off the floor and flew around the library, somehow without hitting anything. “Thank you, thank you, thank you!”

“I’m trusting the rest of you to keep an eye on him,” Scrollkeeper said to the other three. “Don’t let him get into any trouble.”

“Of course,” Celestia said. “We’ll make sure he gets home safely.”

“Good.” Scrollkeeper rolled up his scroll and put it back on the table. “The flight to Canterlot will not be long. I suggest packing supplies for a few days. Cleansweep,” he said to the young pegasus, who was still doing circles near the ceiling. “Come with me. I'll help you pack your things.” The old librarian disappeared into his room. His nephew was not far behind.

The ruins weren’t as bad up close as Celestia had imagined, but she was still speechless as she landed softly on the cobbled street. She could tell most of the buildings around her had been homes once, but all that remained were piles of broken stone. A few walls still stood here or there, but for the most part, everything that could have been destroyed was.

“So that must be the library,” Luna finally said, pointing towards the only building that hadn’t been demolished. Its windows were gone, but it looked sturdy enough.

“Yep,” Cleansweep said. “I, uh, guess we should start walking.”

“I will remain in the skies,” Galeforce said with a hint of unease in his voice. “If there is any trouble, I’ll let you know.”

Even Galeforce is nervous, Celestia thought as she and Luna followed Cleansweep towards the library. She couldn’t help but wonder what the boy was thinking. Perhaps Scrollkeeper was right. Maybe he is too young.

“Hang on,” Cleansweep said, running over to a large sign with an ice cream cone painted on it. “I recognize this. Uncle Scrollkeeper used to bring me here all the time to get ice cream.” He turned and pointed to another pile of rubble down the street. “That’s where Fireflash and Crystal Cut had their glass store,” he said. “They would always ask my uncle about history and stuff. They made a lot of the stained glass windows in the library.”

“I’m sure they were beautiful,” Celestia said.

“They were amazing!” Cleansweep said. “There was this one with a bunch of pegasi fighting an evil centaur, and there was this other one –”

A loud battle cry interrupted the colt’s explanation. The three turned to see Galeforce diving towards one of the ruined buildings. A dark red unicorn with a flowing orange mane stumbled into the street and galloped away from the screaming pegasus, but she didn’t get far before Galeforce caught up and pinned her against a wall.

“Why are you spying on us?” he shouted.

“I wasn’t spying!” the trembling mare said.

“Galeforce, what’s going on?” Celestia asked as she, Luna, and Cleansweep approached him.

“She’s been following you for the last two minutes,” Galeforce said, “and I want to know why!”

“Maybe she just wants to know who we are,” Celestia suggested. “We are strangers, after all.” She turned to the frightened mare and said, “I’m sorry we startled you. My name is Celestia. What’s yours?”

“It’s Fireflash!” Cleansweep shouted, bounding to the front.

“Cleansweep?” The mare’s fear turned to surprise when she saw the gold-coated colt beaming up at her. “What are you doing here?”

“I’m helping them do research,” Cleansweep said with a nod towards Celestia and Luna. “I was just talking about the windows you made for the library!”

“I heard,” Fireflash said. Now that she wasn’t backed against the wall, Celestia could see the image of a stained-glass window on her flank. “Looks like you finally got your cutie mark.”

“Yep!” Cleansweep said, proudly showing her the broom on his flank. “I got it when I cleaned the whole library by myself while Uncle Scrollkeeper was away.”

“That must have made him very happy,” Fireflash said. “He always tells us you’re the best assistant he’s ever had.”

“Us?” Cleansweep said.

“Crystal Cut and I,” Fireflash explained. “Your uncle stays with us when he’s not in the library.”

“I’m sorry, but could somepony explain what’s going on?” Galeforce said.

“Obviously, they’re old friends,” Celestia said, wondering why the pegasus hadn’t pieced it together on his own.

“Yeah, they used to visit me and Uncle Scrollkeeper all the time,” Cleansweep added.

“I see. So you’re not spying on us, then?” Galeforce said.

“Why do you think everypony’s a spy?” Luna asked.

“Better to be cautious than stabbed in the back,” Galeforce said with a scowl.

The memory of Gavel Law resurfaced in Celestia’s mind, but she pushed it aside. “Thank you, Galeforce, for your vigilance,” she said. “I think we’ll take it from here.”

Galeforce still wore a scowl on his face, but he nodded and took to the skies once again. “So where’s Crystal Cut?” Cleansweep asked.

“Away,” Fireflash said. “He left with a scavenging party to find food in the valley. As you can imagine, we don’t grow much here.”

“How many ponies still live here?” Celestia asked.

“Thirty-four,” Fireflash said. “There used to be about a hundred, but most of them have moved on.”

“Why haven’t you?” Luna asked.

“Where would we go?” Fireflash said. “This was the center of learning and magic of all Equestria. If we couldn’t stop Discord, who can?”

“They can,” Cleansweep said, gesturing towards the alicorns. “Celestia and Luna are gonna stop him once and for all!”

Fireflash looked them over. “You’re alicorns, aren’t you?” she said. “Scrollkeeper was fascinated with your kind when he lived here. He even asked me to make a window for one of his favorite alicorn legends.”

“It was one of the best windows she ever made,” Cleansweep said.

“I wish you the best of luck, but forgive me if I don’t get my hopes up,” Fireflash said. “My brother and I were among the lucky few that decided to hide instead of run away. Almost nopony escaped.”

“We beat him once,” Luna said. “We stopped him from changing the day and night every five minutes.”

“You did?” For a moment, Fireflash looked almost hopeful, but the moment soon passed. “Well, there’s a big difference between that and stopping him for good. For all you know, he let you win just so he could make you more miserable later.”

“Why would he do that?” Celestia asked.

“Why not? He does it to us all the time,” Fireflash said. “Even after destroying our city, he still comes here now and then to turn our food to sand or make it rain mothballs.” She looked towards the ruins and gave a nod. Celestia followed her gaze and saw a blue unicorn waving at Fireflash. “I have to go,” the red mare said. “If you need a place to stay, our shelter is just over there.” She motioned toward the ruined building Cleansweep had identified as her old home. “It was nice seeing you, Cleansweep.”

“You too,” Cleansweep said. Fireflash gave him a short nod before turning and walking away.

Celestia caught glimpses of several other ponies as they walked towards the library, but none of them seemed interested in making contact, and Galeforce didn’t compel them. I thought the Everfree ponies looked discouraged, but this…

“Here we are,” Cleansweep said as they reached the top of the staircase leading to the library’s entrance. The doors were missing along with chunks of the doorway itself, so Celestia had no trouble seeing the rows of semi-demolished bookshelves inside.

The two alicorns followed Cleansweep inside. “Is this really safe?” Luna asked, looking from a large chunk of broken stone lying across a bookshelf to a hole it had left in the ceiling when it fell.

“My uncle comes here all the time,” Cleansweep said. “It can’t be too dangerous.”

They eventually arrived at the north wing. It looked just as damaged as the rest of the library, but it was clear somepony had taken the time to clean some of the mess. The rubble had been piled in a corner, and the scrolls were all stacked neatly on the shelves. “Scrollkeeper said to start with ancient pony history with a focus on magical lore,” Celestia said.

Cleansweep immediately took off, searching the shelves until he found what he was looking for. “These ones look like a good place to start,” he said, retrieving a stack scrolls from a shelf.

While Celestia started reading, Galeforce swooped through one of the shattered windows and landed beside her. “It’s quite the mess in here,” he said as he looked around. “Just like everything else. Nothing but dirty ponies dragging their hooves and makeshift shelters amidst the rubble.”

“Well, what else to they have?” Luna said.

“A whole country,” Galeforce said. “Everfree, Trottingham, and Manehattan are all within a day’s journey. Why haven’t they left this ruin behind?”

“Despair,” a voice said behind them. They turned and saw a pale blue unicorn with a red mane approaching them. His flank bore the image of a glassblowing pipe. “Name’s Crystal Cut,” he said. “My sister said I’d find you here.”

“Crystal Cut!” Cleansweep shouted, bouncing around once again. “It’s me, Cleansweep!”

“Hey, kid! Fireflash told me you were here,” Crystal Cut said with a laugh. “She also said you got yourself a cutie mark while you were away.”

“Uh-huh!” Cleansweep said.

“It’s good to see you , kid,” Crystal Cut said. “I hope you’re taking good care of your uncle. Speaking of which, where is he?”

“In Everfree,” Celestia said. “Cleansweep told us his uncle helped you and your sister make the windows for the library.”

“Mostly my sister,” Crystal Cut said. “I just made the glass for her. It’s a pity they were all shattered. Fireflash was so proud of them. You could see all the greatest events and ponies of Equestria’s history just by looking at the windows. Her favorite used to be right there,” he added with a gesture towards the hole Galeforce had flown through. “It was a depiction of the day the three tribes of Equestria set aside their differences to work together as one.”

“Sounds like a wonderful tale,” Celestia said.

“Indeed,” Crystal Cut said with a smile. “She was heartbroken when Discord destroyed them. She’d done stained glass before, of course, but never like this. She made sure every detail was absolutely perfect, working deep into the night for months until everything was just right, and then in one day, it was all gone.”

Crystal Cut spent a moment staring up at the hole in the wall before he spoke. “Everypony that’s stayed in Canterlot has a similar story,” he said. “Discord robbed us all of something that meant the world to us. For some, it was family. For others, the only home they ever knew.”

“And for you?” Celestia asked.

Crystal Cut turned and looked her in the eye. “Fireflash’s smile,” he said. “She acts tough for the others, but I can still see the sadness in her eyes. Discord broke her heart that day, and she’s never fully recovered.” Crystal Cut turned to Galeforce and said, “This is why we stay. We could go to Everfree or Trottingham, but why should we? It won’t help us find the things Discord stole from us, and at least here, he can’t take much more.”

For a moment, everypony was silent as Crystal Cut’s gaze turned to the shattered window one again. Finally, he shook his head and said, “I’m sorry to keep taking your time. As Fireflash said, you’re welcome to stay with us if you like. We may have nothing, but it’s a little easier sharing it with somepony else than keeping it all to yourself.”

“Wait,” Celestia said as the blue pony turned to leave. “Please, take some of these.” She cast a levitation spell on several of the apples in her bag and gave them to Crystal Cut.

“That’s all right,” Crystal Cut said. “We found enough in the valley.”

“I insist,” Celestia said. “We have more than enough.”

Crystal Cut smiled and wrapped the apples in his own magic. “Thank you,” he said. “I’ll leave you to your studies.” With a short nod, he turned and walked away.

“I, uh, have some surveillance to do,” Galeforce said, spreading his wings and leaving the way he’d come.

Cleansweep quietly rose into the air and drifted to a distant shelf. Celestia glanced at Luna, who looked almost as depressed as she felt. “Come on,” Celestia said, turning her attention to the scrolls Cleansweep had retrieved. “We have a lot of work to do.”

“We should rebuild it.”

“Pardon?”

“We should rebuild it, big sister,” Luna said, an imploring look in her eyes. “It would mean everything to the ponies here.”

“You’re right,” Celestia said. “One day, we will. After we get rid of Discord.”

Luna nodded and unfurled a scroll. “The sooner, the better,” she said.

Book 3: Canterlot - Part 2

Book 3: Canterlot
Part 2

The two spent the next three days searching the records for anything that might help them understand the draconequus and the orb they had found. At first, it was difficult to find any information, but Luna eventually stumbled on a more detailed account of the six magics or unicorns Scrollkeeper had read about. Once they had a solid time period to look at, Cleansweep located more records than they knew what to do with. “Slow down,” Celestia told him at one point. “You’re flying faster than we can read.”

“How are we going to get all of these back to Everfree?” Luna asked, looking at the mountain of scrolls Cleansweep had stacked across three tables.

“We’ll just have to find the best records,” Celestia said as she unfurled two scrolls at once. “Cleansweep, can you try to be a little more selective?”

Cleansweep did make an effort to only bring the most relevant scrolls, but Luna and Celestia still found themselves swamped. “Maybe we should give him a break,” Luna suggested.

“To do what?” Celestia asked.

“Visit his friends, perhaps?” Luna said.

“I don’t think he should leave the library without us,” Celestia said. “We promised Scrollkeeper we’d watch him.”

“I don’t think he’d mind,” Luna said. “He’d be among friends, after all.”

“They have enough to worry about without having to keep an eye on Cleansweep, too,” Celestia said.

“And we don’t?” Luna said, gesturing towards the tables.

Celestia sighed and put down the scroll she was reading. “I just don’t want something bad to happen to him,” she said.

“He knows these ponies,” Luna said. “He trusts them, and so does Scrollkeeper.”

“That’s what I thought when I went to Las Pegasus.”

“You’re still thinking about that?” Luna said. “Tia, just because you got tricked by a pony you didn’t know doesn’t mean everypony’s out to get us. Cleansweep knows them. They even brought us some fresh hay yesterday.”

“It never hurts to be careful,” Celestia said.

“You’re starting to sound like Galeforce,” Luna said.

“Excuse me.” The two turned to see Crystal Cut walking towards them. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt.”

“It’s fine,” Celestia said, glad for the distraction. “What can we do for you?”

“I just came to see how you were doing,” Crystal Cut said. “Did you like the hay I brought? Everypony agreed you should have some.”

“It was delicious,” Celestia said.

“Where would you like these?” Cleansweep asked as he brought another stack of scrolls from somewhere in the archives.

“Over here,” Luna said, pointing towards a table that was a little less cluttered than the rest.

“Looks like you’ve been working hard,” Crystal Cut said. “Find what you’re looking for?”

“Yes,” Celestia said. “Cleansweep here has been very helpful.”

“Glad to see you putting all that energy to good use,” Crystal Cut said with a laugh as Cleansweep landed on the floor. “Do you ever get tired?”

“My wings do,” Cleansweep said with a groan.

“It looks like you could use a break,” Luna said. “Why don’t you spend some time with Crystal Cut and Fireflash? You’ve brought us more than enough scrolls for now.”

“If it’s all right with you, Crystal Cut,” Celestia added quickly. “We don’t want to overburden you.”

“It’s fine with me,” Crystal Cut said. “Fireflash was wondering why you hadn’t stopped by.”

“We’ve been busy,” Celestia said. “It’s just easier to stay here.” And safer, she added silently. The library walls weren’t much, but they at least offered her a little peace of mind while she slept.

“Well, if you ever take a break, you know where to find us,” Crystal Cut said. “What about it, kid? Want to come visit us for a while?”

“Sure!” Cleansweep said, leaping to his hooves.

“Be careful,” Celestia told him as he ran past her. “Stay out of trouble!”

“I will!” Cleansweep said as he followed Crystal Cut away. “See you later!”

Celestia looked after him for a moment before returning to her scroll. “See?” Luna said. “Was it really that hard?”

Celestia didn’t answer, but inside she was fuming. How dare she bring that up with him when I just told her it wasn’t a good idea? She tried to focus on the scroll, but her mind wouldn’t let her. “I’m going to stretch my wings,” she announced. “Don’t wander off.”

Luna watched her sister fly out the broken window and rolled her eyes. “And you’re always telling me to relax,” she muttered.

Cleansweep was disappointed to find that he didn’t recognize many of the Canterlot ponies, and he only knew one or two apart from Crystal Cut and Fireflash. “Everypony, this is Cleansweep,” Crystal Cut said when they reached the camp. “He’s Scrollkeeper’s nephew.”

Several ponies welcomed him halfheartedly to the camp, but he was soon forgotten as they returned to their duties with bowed heads. Most of them were organizing the food a scavenging party had brought back earlier that day, exchanging barely a word. “Why’s everypony so quiet?” Cleansweep asked.

“They’re just tired,” Crystal Cut said.

“Do they ever stop being tired?” Cleansweep asked, remembering the few ponies he’d seen when he arrived.

“We lead a hard life here,” Crystal Cut said, leading Cleansweep away from the sorters. They passed one makeshift shelter after another, and Cleansweep wondered how they hadn’t noticed the camp before. “We take good care to keep it hidden,” Crystal Cut explained when he asked. “Griffons have moved back into the mountains, and they like to raid us sometimes.”

“Have you ever fought a griffon?” Cleansweep asked.

Crystal Cut shook his head. “A few ponies tried once. They barely survived. We leave them enough food to satisfy them and keep the rest and ourselves hidden.”

The two reached the remains of Crystal Cut’s old home, where he and Fireflash had set up a shelter. Somehow, their furnace had survived the destruction, and Fireflash was using it to boil water. “Hey!” Cleansweep said. “What’re you doing?”

“Oh, hello,” Fireflash said. “I’m purifying this water. It’s not safe to drink straight from the river anymore. What are you doing here?”

“I came to see you and Crystal Cut,” Cleansweep said. “Celestia and Luna gave me some time off ‘cause I’ve been doing a really good job finding scrolls for them.”

“Well, I appreciate the thought, but I’m a little busy at the moment,” Fireflash said, using her magic to replace the kettle on the furnace with another. “Look out,” she said as she placed the hot kettle next to two others and covered it with a piece of cloth. “Crystal, would you tell Dream Catcher his water is cooling?”

Crystal Cut nodded and walked away. “Anything I can do to help?” Cleansweep asked.

“Not unless you can carry one of these to the river and bring it back full,” Fireflash said as she lifted an empty kettle with her magic. “You’ve grown, but I don’t think you’ve grown that much. I’ll be back in a few minutes. Wait here. If a yellow colt comes by, tell him those three kettles are for him.”

Cleansweep sighed and kicked a pebble with his hoof. She used to be a lot more fun, he thought with a sigh. She’d always be talking about history with Uncle Scrollkeeper. He knew most colts his age thought history was boring, but Fireflash and his uncle always found a way to make it exciting. Smiling as he remembered one of his uncle’s favorite stories, he grabbed a stick and held it aloft, shouting, “I am the great Commander Hurricane! You will not defeat us, foul centaur!”

“What are you doing?” Cleansweep turned and saw a yellow colt with a spikey black mane standing just inside the shelter.

“Oh, um, nothing,” Cleansweep said, tossing the stick aside. “Who’re you?”

“Lemon Swirl,” the colt said. “My father sent me to get some water.”

“Oh! It’s right over there,” Cleansweep said, pointing at the three kettles in the corner. The colt’s horn glowed white, and one of the kettles rose into the air. “Are you sure you can carry that?”

“I’ve been doing it since I was old enough to use magic,” Lemon Swirl replied as he walked away.

“Hey, wait!” Cleansweep ran after the colt, forgetting Fireflash’s instruction that he stay in the shelter. “My name’s Cleansweep. I’m visiting from Everfree.”

“I heard,” Lemon Swirl said. “Thanks for the apples. I haven’t had any of those in a long time.”

“No problem! We have lots,” Cleansweep said. “So, what do you do for fun around here?”

“Fun?”

“Yeah! You know, when you’re hanging out with your friends.”

“I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I’m the only colt here,” Lemon Swirl said.

“Oh. Well, I’m here!” Cleansweep said. “What do you like to do?”

“Look, maybe you have time for games in Everfree, but around here, we work,” Lemon Swirl said.

“There has to be something you do for fun,” Cleansweep said. “Tag? Exploring?”

“Carrying kettles full of water,” Lemon Swirl said. “Which, by the way, isn’t as easy as it looks.”

“Here, let me help,” Cleansweep said. Despite Lemon Swirl’s protests, Cleansweep grabbed the kettle’s handles with his hooves and strained his wings against the kettle’s weight. “Is that better?” he asked.

“You look silly,” Lemon Swirl said.

“Yeah, but does it help?”

Lemon Swirl tilted his head to the side and stared at him. “You’re a little weird.”

“Just answer the question!”

Lemon Swirl looked at Cleansweep’s strained expression and couldn’t help but laugh. “Stop doing that before you hurt yourself!”

Cleansweep let go of the kettle, panting heavily. “You’re right,” he said. “That is harder than it looks.”

The two reached Lemon Swirl’s house and deposited the kettle inside. “What now?” Cleansweep asked.

“Go back for the next one,” Lemon Swirl said. “Are you coming?”

“Of course!” Cleansweep followed the unicorn back to Fireflash’s shelter. “So you really don’t do anything for fun?”

“Not really,” Lemon Swirl said. “What about you? Do you play with sticks a lot?”

“Huh? Oh, that,” Cleansweep said. “I was pretending to be Commander Hurricane.”

“Who?”

“You don’t know who Commander Hurricane is?” Cleansweep said.

Lemon Swirl frowned. “Should I?”

“He’s just the most awesome pegasus ever!” Cleansweep said. “He led Equestria against the evil centaur and saved everypony from eternal night!”

Cleansweep spent the next several minutes recounting the story with animated gestures and dives. Lemon Swirl seemed only mildly interested at first, but by the time they’d retrieved the third kettle, he was paying more attention to Cleansweep’s theatrics than where he was going.

“Whoa! Careful!” Cleansweep said when the kettle bumped into a pony walking the other direction.

“Whoops! Sorry,” Lemon Swirl said, steadying the kettle with his magic. The pony barely acknowledged him and continued on her way. “You’re a really good storyteller,” the yellow colt said.

“Thanks! I get it from my uncle,” Cleansweep said.

“Cleansweep!” The two turned to see Fireflash running towards them. “There you are! I thought I told you to stay in the shelter.”

“I was just helping Lemon Swirl move the kettles,” Cleansweep said.

“Yeah! He was telling me all about Commander Hurricane and how he fought against the centaurs and how the unicorns used their magic –”

“Yes, I know the story,” Fireflash said. “Next time, tell somepony when you wander off. I thought I’d have to go looking for you.”

“Sorry,” Cleansweep said, slowly drifting to the ground.

“Do you know any other stories?” Lemon Swirl asked.

“Yeah, but that one’s my favorite,” Cleansweep said. “Hey, Fireflash, why don’t you tell us a story?”

“Me? Oh, I don’t think so,” Fireflash said. “You’re a much better storyteller than I am, Cleansweep.”

“Aw, come on,” Cleansweep said. “You’re a great storyteller! You could tell one of the stories from your windows!”

Fireflash’s jaw stiffened. “I haven’t thought about those in years,” she said. “I hardly remember them anymore.”

“There has to be one,” Cleansweep said. “What about the story of how Equestria was founded? Crystal Cut said you love that story.”

“I’m too busy,” Fireflash said. “I have a lot of water to boil.”

“What about tonight?” Lemon Swirl said. “I’m sure everypony would love to hear a good story after a hard day’s work.”

“That sounds like a great idea,” said a dark blue pony with a wild green mane. “My son here hasn’t been this excited in months. A good story would help everypony feel better.”

“I…” Fireflash’s eyes darted from pony to pony to the ground. “I don’t know.”

“Please?” Cleansweep said. “I miss hearing your stories.”

Fireflash sighed. “I’ll make you a deal,” she said. “You tell the story you told Lemon Swirl, and I’ll tell the story of how Equestria was founded. Deal?”

“Deal!” Cleansweep said. “Come on, Lemon Swirl. I want to make some props!”

“With this many scrolls, one would think we’d have found something by now,” Celestia muttered as she set aside yet another unhelpful record. “Why do they need so many archives that say the same thing?”

“I think it’s fascinating,” Luna said. Celestia was surprised at how quickly her younger sister had taken to reading old archives. “Every pony has a different perspective on the same events.”

“But none of them are any help,” Celestia said. “I’m tired of reading journal entries about how this draconequus ruined every farm in Equestria. We need historical facts.”

“Isn’t that what journals are?” Luna asked, but Celestia ignored her. “Tia, I think we should take a break.”

“We don’t have time for breaks,” Celestia said, opening another scroll.

“We’ve been at this for three days now,” Luna said. “We could both use some fresh air.”

“Fine,” Celestia said, setting the scroll aside. She followed Luna out the window and into the cool night sky. “Where do you want to go?”

“We could go visit the survivors,” Luna suggested. “I’d like to get to know them better.”

“Good idea,” Celestia said. “We can make sure Cleansweep’s all right while we’re there.” She still couldn’t believe Luna had brought that up with Crystal Cut. The logical part of her mind knew she was being overprotective, but for some reason she couldn’t quite let it go.

The two soared across the city until they found the survivor’s camp. If not for the fire they had built, they never would have seen it in all the rubble. “Looks like they’re having a gathering,” Luna said.

Celestia looked around and was surprised to see Galeforce resting on a patch of cloud. “Good evening,” she said as she landed beside him.

“Well, look who’s left the library,” Galeforce said, moving to the side to make room for the alicorns. “I trust your studies are going well?”

“They were until this afternoon,” Celestia said. “We’ve found a lot of records, but none of them tell us anything new.”

“We have learned a lot, though,” Luna said. “It seems the number six was important to whatever magic the unicorns used to defeat the draconequus.”

“Curious,” Galeforce said. “I don’t know much about magic, but aren’t most spells cast alone?”

“They probably used a combination of spells,” Celestia said. “We don’t think they were very difficult. Not all of the unicorns involved were very proficient in magic.”

“We’ve been trying to figure out which spells they used, but so far, we’ve found nothing,” Luna said.

“I see. And what of this orb you found in Las Pegasus?”

“We’re not really sure,” Celestia said. “The records haven’t mentioned them either, aside from the occasional ‘powers of truth and happiness’.”

“More sentimental nonsense,” Galeforce said. “Scrollkeeper’s a good pony, but his theories are a little crazy sometimes.”

Celestia looked down at the camp and gasped. “Is that Cleansweep?” she asked.

“You just noticed?” Galeforce said with a chuckle. “He’s been entertaining them for almost a half hour.”

“Doing what?” Luna asked.

“Telling them a story,” Galeforce said. “He’s bound to know a lot of them. Scrollkeeper is his uncle, after all.”

Celestia watched as the energetic gold colt leaped and pranced around the fire, waving a stick around like it was a sword. The ponies gasped, cheered, and laughed along with him. “What story is he telling them?” Celestia asked.

“It’s a famous legend from the dawn of Equestria,” Galeforce said. “A centaur from the East tried to enslave all ponykind using his powerful magic. The pegasi were the first to notice and fought valiantly against him, but they were no match for him alone. They called on the unicorns and earth ponies for help, and together they defeated the centaur and sealed his powers in a powerful artifact known as the Scroll of Eternal Night.”

“Sounds like a good story,” Celestia said. “Cleansweep certainly enjoys it.”

“What happened to the Scroll?” Luna asked.

“I can’t say,” Galeforce said. “It’s hard to tell which parts of the legend are history and which were added later.”

The energetic colt below finished his story and took a bow while the other ponies stomped their hooves. “Thank you, Cleansweep,” said Crystal Cut. “We will now hear from my sister, Fireflash, who will tell us the story of the founding of Equestria.”

The ponies stomped their hooves again as Fireflash took Cleansweep’s place. “Thank you,” she said. “My story begins in a distant land, before unicorns, pegasi, and earth ponies had learned to get along. It was a dark time for our kind. Food was scarce, and the three tribes fought over who would get the little they were able to grow. Just when they thought things couldn’t get any worse, a terrible storm arose. The pegasi were unable to contain it, and the unicorn’s magic was powerless to stop it. The storm raged for weeks, those weeks turned into months, and it seemed ponykind was doomed to obliteration.”

Celestia watched as the ponies below crept closer to the fire, their wide eyes locked on Fireflash. Cleansweep’s story had been entertaining and adventurous, but Fireflash’s struck a deeper chord. A mysterious, unstoppable, destructive force, Celestia thought. If I didn’t know better, I’d think Discord was behind it.

“Rather than work together, the desperate tribes abandoned their home and went in search of another,” Fireflash said. “They traveled for many days, each tribe thinking they had left the other two behind. They each found a beautiful land full of rich farmland and jewels, and each claimed it as their own. What they did not realize was that somehow, they had all come to the same land.

“It was only a matter of time before the quarreling began once again, and soon the mysterious storm reappeared, driving the few survivors into a cave. The storm intensified with their hatred, and soon it seemed their new home would be destroyed as well. One by one, the survivors succumbed to the freezing cold until only one unicorn, pegasus, and earth pony remained.

“The three huddled together in the cave as the storm raged on, each believing that it was only a matter of time until they, too, were frozen. With nothing left to lose, the three began to talk, and to their surprise, they found they weren’t as different as they thought. Each expressed her regret that mistrust had kept their tribes apart for so long, and as the cold began to envelope their bodies, they realized that they could, in fact, be friends.”

Fireflash paused and looked at her audience. Celestia realized she was leaning forward a little too far and moved back to avoid losing her balance. “In that moment, something miraculous happened,” Fireflash said. “The ponies’ budding friendship sparked a magic no pony had ever known before. This magic held back the storm and kept the three ponies warm through the night. They spent their time sharing stories and singing songs, and as their friendship grew, so did the power of the spell. In time, more ponies began to join them. The spell grew stronger and the storm grew weaker until, at last, it blew out altogether.

“The three tribes vowed that day to stand by one another and work together. To commemorate their new alliance, they planted a new flag by the Cave of the Three Ponies and named this land Equestria. They held a fest every year to remember how the power of friendship had saved them from the storm. We celebrate this feast as well to remind us that mistrust and disharmony will never prevail, and that unity will always see us through.”

The ponies sat in silence, even after Fireflash had finished her story. As Celestia looked at them, she noticed a gleam in their eyes that she hadn’t seen before. “Fireflash?” a yellow colt asked, drawing the crowd’s attention. “How did the three ponies keep going, even though everypony else was gone?”

Nopony else spoke, but Celestia could tell they wanted more than anything to hear the answer. “That’s a good question, Lemon Swirl,” Fireflash said. “The unicorn, Clover, kept a record of the experience. She wrote that no matter how desperate the situation became, she never gave up hope. She said she refused to dwell on what she had lost and instead focused on the things she still had, even if it was just a pegasus and an earth pony to keep her company.”

The ponies pondered this for several minutes while Celestia, Luna, and Galeforce watched. “I don’t know about the rest of you,” a blue stallion said at last, “but when I saw Cleansweep and Lemon Swirl playing, it reminded me of the way things used to be. It almost made me believe they could be that way again.”

“Maybe they can,” Crystal Cut said. “The alicorns believe they can help us.”

“Getting rid of Discord won’t bring back my wife,” the blue stallion said. “Nor will it rebuild this city.”

“Maybe that’s our part,” Cleansweep said. “It’s like the story said. Ordinary magic can only get you so far. Maybe sometimes it just comes down to ponies doing what they have to do, even when it’s hard.”

“Ponies working together and relying on each other, no matter how desperate the situation,” Crystal Cut said. “There are some things we can’t change, but perhaps the best thing to do is move forward with what we still have and hope for the best.”

Most of the ponies nodded in agreement, even Celestia. I have been too worried about what happened in Las Pegasus, she realized. She glanced at Luna, who appeared to be deep in thought. “I’m sorry about earlier,” she said.

“Huh?” Luna blinked and looked questioningly at her sister.

“You were right,” Celestia said. “I shouldn’t have worried so much.”

“Oh, it’s all right,” Luna said. “You were just stressed, that’s all.”

“Thank you all for listening,” Fireflash said, drawing the alicorns’ attention to the camp once again. “To be honest, I wasn’t looking forward to sharing this story with you, but after seeing how excited the colts were, I couldn’t refuse.” The ponies stomped their hooves again for Cleansweep, who rose into the air and took another bow. “Thank you, Cleansweep," Fireflash said with a smile on her face. "Thank you for bringing laughter back to our city.”

A flash of light over Cleansweep’s head made everypony jump and sent Galeforce leaping into the air in case there was trouble. Celestia was on her hooves in an instant, ready to dive to Cleansweep’s rescue. “Tia, what was that?” Luna asked as she spread her wings.

It took Celestia’s eyes a moment to recover from the sudden burst of light, but what she saw surprised her more than the flash. “It’s a stone orb,” she said. “Just like the one we found in Las Pegasus.” Cleansweep stumbled back several steps and stared at the stone with his mouth open as it slowly descended to rest on the ground. Some of the ponies crept towards it, curious but afraid at the same time.

“Tia, what happened when the first one appeared?” Luna asked.

“Scrollkeeper told me he’d just exposed the mayor as a liar,” Celestia said. “Why?”

“Truth,” Luna said. “And now, happiness.”

“‘Powers of truth and happiness,’” Celestia repeated. “Could it really be?”

“I’m not sure,” Luna said, “but I have an idea.” She pushed off the cloud and began flapping her way towards the library. Celestia was right behind her.

Book 4: Manehattan

Book 4: Manehattan

“It all makes sense,” Luna said, distracting Scrollkeeper once again. “These orbs represent truth and happiness. They’re powerful magic artifacts that have been used in the past to defeat draconequus.”

“May have been used,” Scrollkeeper said. “Your research is a good start, but not conclusive.”

“Not conclusive?” Luna said. “What more do you need?”

“Considering the gravity of the situation, it would be wise to gather more than a few clues connected by guesswork,” Scrollkeeper said. “Your theory holds promise, but we need to examine it more closely before putting it to the test.”

“I’m telling you, these two stones are the answer!” Luna said. “Celestia and I can use them and defeat Discord right now!”

“There are too many discrepancies for me to be sure,” Scrollkeeper said. “I’ve read through the records you brought from Canterlot, and they don’t all agree.”

“What do you mean?” Luna asked.

“Well, what the orbs represent, for example,” Scrollkeeper said. “Many of the scrolls refer to powers of truth and happiness, but others speak of faithfulness, compassion, and generosity, to name a few. Then there are the six magics, which are almost certainly connected to these orbs as well.”

“But –”

“I’m sorry, but there are simply too many unknowns and too much at stake,” Scrollkeeper said. “I must advise that you wait until we are able to answer more of these questions.”

Luna turned away from the librarian with an exasperated groan. She had been trying to convince Scrollkeeper that her theory was correct for the last week, and it always ended the same way. “We don’t have time for this!”

“What we don’t have time for are mistakes,” Scrollkeeper said. “If you wish to help us find a solution, I suggest you help us find answers.”

Luna grabbed a few scrolls with her magic, muttering under her breath. Celestia made a mental note to speak with her later. Impatience and frustration will get us nowhere, little sister, she pictured herself saying.

A knock at the door interrupted her silent conversation. “Excuse me,” said Galeforce as he entered the library. “I’m sorry to interrupt, but the Security Council would like to ask a favor of the alicorns.”

“Oh?” Celestia set her scroll aside and gave the security pony her full attention. “What might that be?”

“It appears that Discord has been wreaking havoc in Trottingham,” Galeforce said. “He’s all but destroyed their crops, and it’s too late in the season to replant. Unless they get more supplies, they won’t last the winter.”

“I don’t see what this has to do with the alicorns,” Scrollkeeper said. “Why not ask Manehattan to send them food? I heard they’ve had a good harvest this year.”

“That’s precisely what we did,” Galeforce said. “Manehattan refuses to help. Grainthresh and Color Wheel have agreed to take some supplies to Trottingham, but we can’t spare much. Unless Manehattan agrees to send aid, Trottingham will face a very difficult winter.”

“I’m still not sure how my sister and I can help,” Celestia said. “We may be able to control the sun and the moon, but we can’t make crops grow faster.”

“Our request is twofold,” Galeforce said. “We would like one of you to travel to Trottingham with Grainthresh and Color Wheel to help them distribute supplies. We would like the other to travel to Manehattan with Shuttleweave and convince the ponies there to send supplies.”

“That’s a job for a politician or a spokespony,” Scrollkeeper said. “We are very busy trying to find a way to defeat Discord. Why do you need an alicorn to do somepony else’s job?”

“Because they’re alicorns,” Galeforce said. “Every village this side of the mountains now knows who they are and what they intend to do. If Discord means to discourage our fellow ponies in Trottingham, seeing a pony who can defeat him will do them immeasurable good. As for the Manehattan ponies, we believe they will respond most positively to an alicorn.”

“So you want to use us as cheerponies and political leverage,” Celestia said.

“We want to maintain unity,” Galeforce said. “We believe this is the best way to achieve that goal.”

“And what of our studies?” Scrollkeeper asked. “Has the Council forgotten its pledge to help them defeat Discord? Do you know what will happen if they should fail?”

“Of course I know!” Galeforce shouted. “I watched Canterlot fall from Cloudsdale! I just spent five days in its ruin!” Galeforce stopped himself and took several breaths while the others watched in silence. “Discord is trying to turn us against each other,” he said. “You saw it yourselves in Las Pegasus. We can’t afford to have our allies betray us. Our best chance is to show them that we can fight back against Discord. If we restore their hope, we won’t have to restore the peace later.”

Celestia pondered the pegasus’ words. Despite what had happened with Gavel Law, she hadn’t considered the possibility that other ponies might try to stop them. “He may just be trying to distract us,” she said. “If we don’t study, we won’t figure out how to beat him.”

“I know,” Galeforce said, “but the consequences will be far worse if we don’t do something. The Council would not take you from your studies without good reason. All I ask is that you consider our request.”

Celestia glanced at her sister, who was watching her from across the room. “What do you think, Luna?” she asked.

“I think Discord is going to have an advantage either way,” Luna said.

Celestia nodded. Then it’s a question of which option will do the least amount of harm, she decided. “If we choose to go, is there somepony who can help Scrollkeeper while we’re away?”

Galeforce thought for a moment. “That depends,” he said. “Scrollkeeper can be picky when it comes to assistants.”

“I want Mezzo Tint,” Scrollkeeper said. “If you must take Celestia and Luna, I need a pony who can read quickly and accurately.”

Galeforce scowled. “Fine,” he said. “If the alicorns accept our request, I’ll send Mezzo Tint to help you until they return.”

“Will that be enough, Scrollkeeper?” Celestia asked.

“I’d rather have you two, but the Council’s request is important,” Scrollkeeper said. “Mezzo Tint is an excellent researcher. If you choose to leave, I will make do.”

“Very well,” Celestia said. “When do we leave?”

“Grainthresh and Color Wheel will leave tomorrow morning,” Galeforce said. “I believe Shuttleweave is preparing to leave for Manehattan as we speak.”

“I will accompany Shuttleweave,” Celestia said.

“What? Why you?” Luna asked.

“Politics is not your strong suit, little sister,” Celestia said. “The situation in Manehattan could be very complicated, and I don’t think you’re up to the task.”

“Oh, thanks,” Luna said with a scowl.

Another knock at the door kept Celestia from answering. “Galeforce? Are you in here?” Shuttleweave opened the door with her magic and stepped inside, her saddle bags already strapped to her sides. “Oh, hello,” she said to the alicorns. “Are you still talking with Galeforce?”

“We were just wrapping up,” Galeforce said. To the alicorns, he added, “Thank you for your help. I’ll see you when you return.”

“So, why did Galeforce ask you to come with me?” Celestia asked as she and Shuttleweave walked down a quiet dirt road. They had left the Everfree Forest behind several hours ago, and Celestia wasn’t sure whether she preferred the trees or the open plain. Anypony can see us for miles out here. Then again, we can see them coming, too.

“He didn’t,” Shuttleweave said. “I volunteered. My brother and I used to visit Manehattan every summer. Before Discord came, they held a festival every year to celebrate the first harvest. Our parents grew up there, so the festival became a part of our lives as well.”

“You do know this isn’t a vacation,” Celestia said. “We’re trying to settle a conflict, not reminisce.” It would have made more sense to give me a pegasus guide, she silently added. Then we could have flown to Manehattan instead of having to walk.

“Oh, I know,” Shuttleweave said. “I volunteered because I have a few friends in town who might be able to help us.”

“I see.”

The two walked on for a few hours before they stopped to make camp for the night. Celestia used her magic to light a fire while Shuttleweave prepared a simple dinner. “Do you have any idea why Manehattan refuses to send help to Trottingham?” Celestia asked.

“I’m not sure,” Shuttleweave said. “Manehattan has always been a wealthier city, and the ponies there can be snobby sometimes, but this is going a little too far, even for them.”

“Perhaps Discord is behind it,” Celestia suggested as Shuttleweave placed a pile of hay and a couple carrots in front of her.

“I think we can count on that.”

The two ate in silence for a few minutes. “These are good carrots,” Celestia said.

“They came from Grainthresh’s farm,” Shuttleweave said. “If you don’t mind me asking, how is your research going?”

“Fairly well,” Celestia answered.

“Did Luna manage to persuade Scrollkeeper yet?”

Celestia chuckled. “Not yet,” she said, “but I’m sure she’ll keep trying.”

“She can be a bit stubborn sometimes,” Shuttleweave said with a smile.

“Too stubborn, if you ask me,” Celestia said. “She means well, but she needs to stop talking about her theory and keep researching.”

“Don’t worry,” Shuttleweave said. “I’m sure she’ll come through. You just need a little patience.”

Celestia pondered her words for a moment. Am I being impatient? she wondered. She’d focused so much on her sister’s frustrations that perhaps she’d overlooked her own. A chilly breeze snapped her out of her thoughts, and she used her magic to retrieve a blanket from her saddle bags. She noticed Shuttleweave had done the same and was just tying a woven green scarf around her neck. “Is that your brother’s scarf?” she asked.

Shuttleweave smiled and nodded. “I know it’s a little silly, but I feel closer to him when I wear it.”

“That’s not silly,” Celestia said. “My mother made those saddle bags for me before Luna and I left home.”

“Do you miss them?” Shuttleweave asked. “Your parents, I mean.”

“I suppose,” Celestia said. It wasn’t something she’d thought about in a while. “It’s harder for Luna. She’s younger than most are when they leave home.”

“She missed you terribly when you went to Las Pegasus,” Shuttleweave said. “She’s a brave little filly, though.”

“She is,” Celestia agreed with a smile. “She’s grown up a lot since we left home.”

“You both have,” Shuttleweave said. “You’re both stronger now than you were when you first came to my shop.”

“Do you think so?” Celestia asked. Shuttleweave nodded. “Or does it only seem that way because Discord hasn’t attacked us in a while?”

Shuttleweave chuckled. “You looked about ready to faint when Color Wheel brought you to my door,” she said.

Celestia turned her gaze to the fire and watched the flames dance for a moment. “A lot has certainly changed since then,” she said. “I can only hope they keep changing for the better.”

“They will,” Shuttleweave said. “If anypony has a chance of making the future brighter, it’s you and Luna.”

“Thank you,” Celestia said.

“You’re welcome.” Shuttleweave yawned and rested her head on her forelegs. “I think I’m going to get some sleep,” she said.

“All right,” Celestia said. Shuttleweave closed her eyes, and a few minutes later, she was lost in her dreams.

If she had seen Canterlot in its glory days, Celestia imagined it would have looked a lot nicer than Manehattan. The buildings were made of soot-stained brick and wood and were packed as tightly as possible along the city’s wide streets. “Why do they do this to themselves?” Celestia asked. “This is much too claustrophobic.”

“I have no idea,” Shuttleweave said, looking around with wide eyes. “It’s no wonder my parents left.”

“You two,” a gruff voice said. The two turned to see a pair of uniformed ponies coming their way. “What are you doing standing around?”

“Um…” Shuttleweave backed up a couple steps. “We’re here to see the mayor.”

“The mayor is busy enough as it is,” the first officer said. “Return to your homes or your work.”

“Hold on,” the second officer said. “This one looks like that alicorn the messenger talked about. Where are you from?”

“Everfree,” Celestia said. “We would like to speak with the mayor, please.”

“Unless you’ve come to take the Mad Mustang away, the mayor does not wish to see anypony from Everfree,” the first officer said.

“The what?” Shuttleweave said.

“The Mad Mustang,” the second officer repeated. “He’s a crazy brown unicorn who’s been breaking into our storehouses. The messenger said he sounded like a pony who disappeared from Everfree several years ago. Apparently he has a sister who lives there.”

Shuttleweave’s eyes had widened even further. “What does he look like?” she asked.

“Well, he’s brown, like I said,” the officer said. “I hear he has a blue mane, but I’ve never seen him.”

“I saw him once,” the first officer said. “Nearly trampled me when I tried to stop him. His cutie mark is a woodworking plane. Do you know him?”

“That’s my brother!” Shuttleweave cried. “Where is he?”

“If we knew that, we’d have caught him by now,” the second officer said. “We think he’s in the forest somewhere, but you’ll have to ask the mayor if you – hey, wait!”

Shuttleweave was already galloping down the street towards city hall. “Shuttleweave, wait for me!” Celestia called as she took off in hot pursuit. She finally caught up with the teal mare inside city hall, which was made of the same dirty brick as the rest of the city.

“You don’t understand!” Shuttleweave was saying to a secretary. “That’s my brother, Woodwright! I need to find him!”

“I’m sorry, but the mayor is very busy,” the secretary said. “If you’d like to make an appointment –”

“I don’t want an appointment!” Shuttleweave cried. “I want to know where my brother is!”

“What is going on out here?” The door behind the secretary flew open, and gray pony with a cyan mane stormed out. “Quicknote, what is the meaning of all this shouting?”

“I apologize, Mayor Silver Ring,” the secretary said quickly. “This mare claims she’s the Mad Mustang’s sister and insisted she be allowed to see you immediately.”

“Please, I must know where he is,” Shuttleweave said.

Silver Ring glared at Shuttleweave. “I’m a very busy mare, young lady, and I do not appreciate shouting right outside my door.”

“I-I’m sorry,” Shuttleweave said. “It’s just, I haven’t seen him in years, and –”

“I’m very sorry to hear that,” Silver Ring said. “Unfortunately, you’ve arrived too late. I already have officers searching the woods. It won’t be long until he is caught and brought to justice.”

“What?” Shuttleweave gasped. “How can you do such a thing?”

“He is a public menace, and we must do something about him,” Silver Ring said. “He’s broken into our storehouses four times in the last week alone.”

“Is that why you couldn’t send food to Trottingham?” Celestia asked.

Silver Ring seemed to notice her for the first time and scowled. “And who are you?”

“My name is Celestia,” the alicorn said. “The Everfree ponies asked me to find out –”

“Why we won’t send food?” Silver Ring finished. “As I told the previous messenger, what happens in Trottingham is none of our concern. I have my own ponies to look out for. You can go tell whoever sent you to mind his own business.”

“Please,” Shuttleweave said, her voice half-strangled by tears. “Tell me where he is, and I’ll take him back to Everfree. Just don’t hurt him!”

Silver Ring stared at the weeping mare for a moment. “My officers are searching the North woods as we speak,” she said. “We believe that is where your brother is hiding. If you can find him before my officers, you may take him with you. But if he ever returns, or if my officers find him first, he will have to face the consequences of his crimes.”

“But, Mayor!”

“Enough!” Silver Ring said. “I have made my offer. Take it or leave it. In the meantime, I want both of you out of here now. Don’t make me tell you again.” Before Shuttleweave or Celestia could speak another word, the mayor disappeared into her office, slamming the doors shut behind her.

“I-It’s not fair!” Shuttleweave said between sobs. “Discord cursed him with madness! It’s not his fault!”

“Shh,” Celestia said, letting the teal mare lean her head into her chest as she wrapped a foreleg around her shaking shoulders. “Don’t worry. We’ll think of something.”

“But what can we do?” Shuttleweave asked. “Silver Ring’s officers have been searching for who knows how long.”

Celestia looked around, wracking her brain for a solution. The two had found a secluded place in a park once where Shuttleweave could cry without having to face the stares of other ponies. Shuttleweave’s sobs eventually calmed, and she backed away from Celestia, wiping the tears from her face. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I’m afraid I ruined everything for you.”

“Silver Ring’s decision was made long before we came here,” Celestia said. “If she won’t help us, we’ll have to find another way. You said you have friends here. Who are they?”

“Farmers, mostly,” Shuttleweave said, her voice still trembling a little. “I went to school with Quicknote, but I don’t think she remembers me.”

“We can start with that,” Celestia said. “Maybe you can persuade your friends to send aid on their own.”

“And my brother?” Shuttleweave asked.

“Leave that to me,” Celestia said. “I can’t do much good here, but if I can find your brother, Silver Ring might be more willing to listen.”

Shuttleweave nodded. “All right. I’ll go see my friends. Are you sure you’ll be okay? Woodwright can be a handful.”

“I’ll be fine,” Celestia said as she spread her wings. “Take care. We’ll meet back here when we’re done. If I’m not back by nightfall, find a hotel, and I’ll look for you.”

“Okay,” Shuttleweave said. Celestia launched herself into the air and sped North. Please, find him, Shuttleweave prayed as she made her way through the streets. If Silver Ring finds him first, there’s no telling what she might do.

It didn’t take long for Celestia to reach the North woods or catch up to the line of Manehattan officers making their way through the trees. If I were Woodwright, where would I be hiding? she asked herself as she scanned the forest below. She didn’t see any caves or other obvious hiding places, and she couldn’t come up with any spells to help find him, so she resorted to landing and calling his name.

“Woodwright!” she shouted as she looked at the trees around her. Does he even know his name? she wondered. “Woodwright!” She trotted through the wood, listening for anything that might be a lost unicorn, but all she heard was her own ragged breath and heavy hoof beats.

“You again?” Celestia turned and saw one of the officers she’d seen in the city. “What are you doing out here?”

“The same thing you are,” she answered.

“Why do you keep shouting Woodwright?” the officer asked. “You’ll scare him off.”

“That’s his name,” Celestia said.

“How do you know?”

“Because unlike you and your mayor, I have a heart!” Celestia snapped. “Woodwright!”

The officer started to say something, but Celestia was already running in the opposite direction. Where could he be? She stopped and listed carefully over the sound of her own panting. There has to be some clue, she thought. Something that will give him away.

“There he is! Get him!”

Celestia’s heart rate skyrocketed as her head whipped around. She caught sight of several uniformed guards running through the trees and immediately took off after them. It soon became clear that the earth pony officers would outrun her on foot, so she took to the skies and followed them from above. From her vantage point, she could see the wall of officers closing in around a brown and blue shape running erratically through the woods. That must be Woodwright. She angled herself towards where she guessed he’d be in a few seconds and dove, preparing to cast a levitation spell as she did. She hit the ground just feet in front of him, and before he recovered from his shock, her spell was cast.

“Halt!” The wall of officers came to a stop around her, almost closing her in. They looked at one another for several seconds, as if unsure as to what to do with her, while Woodwright struggled to break free of Celestia’s magic. “Give us the stallion,” the chief officer said at last.

“He’s coming with me,” Celestia said. “I’m taking him to Everfree. He won’t trouble you anymore.”

“That stallion has committed numerous crimes against the city of Manehattan,” the chief officer said. “I demand that you surrender him to us at once so that he can face the consequences of his actions.”

“He’s not himself,” Celestia said, taking a couple steps backwards. “Discord placed a curse of madness on him. He cannot be held responsible for what he has done.”

“That’s not for you to decide,” the chief officer said, taking several steps forward. “That decision must be made by the mayor and judges.”

“The mayor has already decided,” Celestia said. “She said if I found him before you did, I would be allowed to take him back to Everfree, where he belongs.”

“But you didn’t find him,” said the officer she’d met in the city. “We did.”

“I’m the one who caught him!”

“And we thank you for your help,” the chief officer said. “Now, I’ll ask one more time. Give up the stallion, or you too will be put on trial for obstructing the law.”

Celestia began to panic as the officers closed in around her. She was fairly certain she could escape the officers, but then what? She’d be a fugitive, and the relationship between Manehattan and Everfree would only become worse. Besides, Shuttleweave was still somewhere in the city, and the officers would no doubt track her down as well. I’m sorry, Shuttleweave, she thought as she released Woodwright from her spell. The officers wasted no time in throwing several lassos over the unicorn’s head and dragging him away. I tried.

“Thank you for your cooperation,” the chief officer said, a hint of relief in his voice. “I’ll make sure the mayor knows you assisted in his capture.” He turned and followed his fellow officers, leaving Celestia alone with her guilty conscience.

Shuttleweave took a deep breath as she approached the tavern. I hope they still meet here, she thought as she carefully pushed open the doors and stepped inside. To her relief, she saw a familiar brown coat, wild yellow mane, and oat stalk cutie mark at the bar. “Hello, Oatbuck,” she said.

“Hmm?” The stallion turned around and smiled. “Well, if it isn’t Shuttleweave! Haven’t seen you in a while!”

“I haven’t been here in a while,” Shuttleweave said. “How’s the farm?”

“Doin’ well,” Oatbuck said. “We’re in the middle of the harvest, of course, so things are pretty busy. Hence I’m drinking alone today,” he added with a sweeping gesture at the near emptiness around him. “What about you?”

“I’m well enough,” Shuttleweave said. “Listen, I don’t suppose you’ve heard anything about Trottingham?”

“Trottingham?” Oatbuck scratched his chin for a moment. “Nothing in particular. Why?”

“Discord’s been wreaking havoc on their crops,” Shuttleweave said. “Unless they get some help, they may not survive the winter.”

“No kidding?” Oatbuck said with a frown. “Have you told the mayor about this?”

“A messenger came recently asking for help, but the mayor turned him down,” Shuttleweave said. “I was hoping you and a few other farmers could help out.”

“Well, you know I’m not one to turn out a pony in need, but we have ourselves to look out for first,” Oatbuck said. “I don’t know how much the other farmers are bringing in, and with that Mad Mustang loose, who knows how much food we’ll have?”

“Don’t call him that.”

“Pardon?”

“I said, don’t call him that!” Shuttleweave repeated. “That’s Woodwright!”

“Woodwright? Your brother?” Oatbuck said with another scratch of his chin. “Can’t be. His coloring’s too dark.”

“Discord put a curse on him,” Shuttleweave said. “He doesn’t know what he’s doing.”

“Look, I sympathize with you, kid, but he’s been causing us a lot of problems,” Oatbuck said. “I suggest you go see the mayor about all this. She’s the one in charge, and I’m afraid I can’t do a lot to help you.”

Before Shuttleweave could speak another word, an out-of-breath officer barged into the tavern. “The Mad Mustang’s been caught!” he said. “The trial will begin shortly in the square!” The few ponies in the tavern immediately dropped what they were doing and rushed outside.

Shuttleweave had to fight to keep from hyperventilating. It can’t be! Not Woodwright!

“You okay, kid?” Oatbuck asked. “You look about ready to faint.”

“I… I need to sit down,” Shuttleweave said, trying not to fall over.

“Hey, relax,” Oatbuck said has he helped her take a seat. “It’s not the end of the world. I’m sure they won’t be too hard on him.”

You didn’t see the way Silver Ring talked about him, Shuttleweave thought. You didn’t see the look in her eye. She won’t take mercy on him, no matter how cursed he is.

“Feeling better?”

Shuttleweave carefully opened her eyes and was glad to see the world had stopped spinning quite as quickly. “I… I need to go to the trial,” she said, getting shakily to her hooves. “I have to help Woodwright.”

“Here, let me help you,” Oatbuck said, letting her lean against him as they walked out of the tavern. “Don’t worry. I’ll make sure you get there in time.”

Celestia spotted Shuttleweave in the crowd, but she stayed on the rooftop overlooking the square, unable to face the teal mare. This is my fault. I shouldn’t have let him go. Now all she could do was watch helplessly from the sidelines while the officers dragged the still-struggling Woodwright into the square. Four ponies in black robes were seated along one edge of the square, and Silver Ring herself sat in the middle of them while more and more ponies crowded in to see the trial.

“Order!” Silver Ring shouted, silencing the dull roar of speculation that came from the crowd. “We are here today to decide what to do with this stallion, commonly known as the Mad Mustang, who has been brought here today on multiple counts of theft, unlawful entry, assaulting an officer, and disturbing the peace. As the evidence against him is well-known and well-documented, the judges and I have decided to forego the public hearing of testimony against the accused.” This statement drew a few complaints from the audience, but they were quickly silenced. “Is there anypony who wishes to speak in defense of the accused?”

“I will!” Shuttleweave shouted, pushing her way to the front of the crowd. “I will speak in his favor!”

Silver Ring frowned at her while the crowd muttered disapprovingly. “What is your name?” she asked.

“Shuttleweave,” the teal unicorn replied. “I’m from –”

“Everfree, yes,” Silver Ring said. “You’re that mare who was making a scene outside my office this morning.”

Shuttleweave bowed her head a little at the accusation, but she held her ground. “This unicorn is my brother, Woodwright,” she said. “Several years ago, Discord placed a curse on him that drove him to madness. I know that he has caused many problems here, but I must ask you to let him return home with me.”

“I’m afraid that’s not an option,” Silver Ring said. “This stallion has caused far too much damage.”

“It’s not his fault!” Shuttleweave said. “If it wasn’t for the curse, he wouldn’t have done any of the things you say he did!”

“Is there anypony who can confirm this mare’s words?” Silver Ring asked, looking around at the crowd. “Anypony at all?”

“I can, ma’am,” said a brown-coated, yellow-maned pony as he stepped forward.

“State your name, for the record,” said the mayor’s secretary, who was taking notes at a desk to the side of the judges.

“Oatbuck, ma’am,” the stallion said. “I’ve known Shuttleweave and Woodwright since they were little, and now that I’ve gotten a good look at him, this does look like Woodwright.”

“And the curse?” Silver Ring asked.

“That I can’t say,” Oatbuck said. “However, I do know that Woodwright was a good colt. Always helping out on my farm. He was a little mischievous, I guess, but what colt isn’t?”

Celestia saw a few other ponies nodding in agreement, and even Silver Ring seemed to soften a little. “Very well,” she said. “We will take your words into consideration. Is there anypony else who would like to speak for the accused?” There were no volunteers. “Very well. Judges, what do you think?”

“Based on the evidence before us, I move that we imprison the stallion until this curse can be lifted,” said one of the black-robed ponies.

“I agree,” said another.

“As do I,” said the third.

“What?” Shuttleweave cried. “How can you do such a thing?”

“While I sympathize with your case, I cannot ignore the danger your brother presents to both himself and the ponies around him,” the first judge said. “As long as he remains under this supposed curse, he cannot be allowed to wander free.”

“The curse is real!” Shuttleweave shouted. “I saw it happen with my own eyes!”

“Miss, we understand your distress,” said the second judge, “but my colleague is correct. To allow him to remain free would only invite more problems in the future. For his own safety and the safety of this city, we must restrain him.”

“But that’s not fair!” Shuttleweave ran towards her brother, but a pair of officers stopped her. “Woodwright!”

“Fair or not, it is what must be done,” said the third judge. “Even allowing you to take him to Everfree would only move the problem somewhere else. For the good of Equestria, we must lock him up.”

“Since when do you care about the good of Equestria?” Shuttleweave yelled. “All you ponies care about is looking out for yourselves! There are ponies starving in Trottingham. What have you done to help them?”

The crowd began to murmur again, but this time, it didn’t seem to be about Woodwright. Even Silver Ring was taken by surprise. “Order! Order!” she shouted to quiet the crowd. “We have heard from three of our judges. What does the fourth have to say?”

The fourth judge had remained silent throughout the trial and appeared to be deep in thought. “My decision is as follows,” he said at last. “It is clear that this stallion cannot be allowed to roam free in his current state. If he were somehow restored to his right mind, I would consider pardoning him for his crimes. If not, I must concur with my colleagues.”

The crowd nodded in agreement. “Very well,” Silver Ring said. “It seems the judges are agreed. I hereby sentence –”

“Wait!”

Silver Ring let out a heavy sigh as she turned to Shuttleweave once again. “What is it now?” she asked.

“I can cure him!”

Shuttleweave’s words sent the crowd into yet another bout of murmuring. Even Celestia was taken aback by her boldness. What are you doing? she thought. I don’t think even I could overcome Discord’s curse. What makes you think you can?

Silver Ring was obviously thinking the same thing. “And how, might I ask, will you do this?”

Shuttleweave’s horn glowed a pale blue as she retrieved a green, hoof-woven scarf from her saddle bag. “With this,” she said. “I made this scarf for him many years ago. If he wears it, it might help him come to his senses.”

Silver Ring sighed again. “I admire your persistence, but my patience is wearing thin,” she said.

“Just trust me!” Shuttleweave started to say.

“You are wasting my time!” Silver Ring shouted, cowing the teal mare into silence. “My best magicians could not overcome Discord’s magic. It certainly won’t be overcome by an old scarf. Stop this foolishness and accept your brother’s fate!”

Shuttleweave stood there for a moment without uttering a word. Celestia thought she was going to run away, and when she spoke at last, her voice was so soft Celestia almost didn’t catch her words. “The only fool is the pony who won’t try,” she said. “You may have magicians, but he is my brother. If anypony can get to him, it’s me.”

Without waiting to hear what Silver Ring had to say, Shuttleweave pushed past the officers and approached her brother. The brown stallion was still trying to break free of the ropes that held him down, and his blue mane and tail were covered in mud and twigs. “Shh,” Shuttleweave said softly as she wrapped the scarf around his neck with her magic. “It’s all right, Woodwright. I’m here.”

The stallion stopped struggling and stared at Shuttleweave with wide eyes. “Do you remember me?” Shuttleweave asked, stepping cautiously forward. “I’m your sister. Shuttleweave.”

The stallion’s gaze was fixed on the teal mare as she brushed a few leaves out of his mane. For a while, the two just stood there, looking at each other. “Come back to me, Woodwright,” Shuttleweave whispered, her eyes beginning to fill with tears. “Please.”

A blue spark shot from Shuttleweave’s horn and collided with Woodwright’s face. Both ponies cried out and stumbled away from each other, their faces frozen in expressions of utter shock. “I’m so sorry!” Shuttleweave cried as Woodwright shook his head. “I don’t know what happened!”

Woodwright rubbed his head and looked at Shuttleweave. The crowd gasped as his mane and coat seemed to grow brighter. “Wha… where am I?” he said. “And why am I tied down?”

“Woodwright!” Shuttleweave’s face broke into a smile as she leaped forward and embraced her brother. “You’re all right!”

“Of course I’m all right,” he said, returning her hug. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

“It’s a long story, son,” said Oatbuck. “Glad to see you’ve come back to your senses.”

“Senses?” Woodwright looked around with a frown. “Are we in Manehattan?”

“I’ll explain everything later,” Shuttleweave said. She turned her attention to Silver Ring and the judges, who were all watching her with open mouths. “The curse has been broken,” she said. “Will you reconsider your verdict?”

It took Silver Ring several moments to find her voice. “H-How?” she asked.

“Um, I don’t really know,” Shuttleweave said. “But I do know that generosity will always bring good things. I’ve helped many stray ponies in the hopes that somepony would be able to help my brother as well. I guess in the end, it paid off.”

A bright light flashed over Shuttleweave’s head, and Celestia watched as yet another stone orb floated to the ground. How many of these things are there? she wondered while Shuttleweave and Oatbuck cautiously examined the orb. Certainly more than Luna thought.

“A-All right, that’s enough,” Silver Ring shouted, trying in vain to maintain order. “In light of recent events, would any of the judges like to alter their decisions?”

“As I said, I would consider pardoning the stallion if the curse was lifted,” the fourth judge said. “It appears that the curse has, indeed, been lifted. Based on the testimony of Shuttleweave and Oatbuck, I move that we grant Woodwright a full pardon an allow him to return to Everfree with his sister.”

The other three judges could only nod in agreement. “Very well,” Silver Ring said. “If the judges are agreed, I hereby grant Woodwright full pardon. You may return home whenever you please.”

“Oh, thank you!” Shuttleweave cried. The crowd began to disperse through the streets. Celestia saw some who seemed displeased, but for the most part they were smiling, glad that the Mad Mustang would no longer trouble them. Celestia spread her wings and glided down to the square, where Shuttleweave and Oatbuck were helping the officers release Woodwright from his restraints.

“That took guts,” Oatbuck was saying. “I thought you’d gone crazy, but I guess your magic came through after all.”

“Thanks,” Shuttleweave said as the last rope fell away. “Come on, Woodwright. Let’s get you cleaned up.”

“And rested,” Oatbuck said.

“And caught up on what’s happening,” Woodwright added.

“Excuse me.” The four turned to see Silver Ring approaching them, a sheepish look on her face. “I wanted to apologize for my earlier behavior. The Mad – your brother had me at wit’s end, and my temper was far too short.”

“Don’t worry,” Shuttleweave said. “Woodwright won’t bother you anymore.”

Silver Ring nodded as Oatbuck and Shuttleweave led Woodwright away. “I suppose I owe you an apology, too,” she said to Celestia.

“Perhaps,” Celestia agreed, “but there are more important things to worry about right now.”

“Yes, of course,” Silver Ring said. “Now that the M – Woodwright is taken care of, I will prepare a convoy to deliver supplies to Trottingham. Tell your leaders in Everfree that we will do what we can to help the Trottingham ponies in their time of need.”

“I will,” Celestia said. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to get a better look at this stone.”

“You recognize it?” Silver Ring asked as the two approached the orb. Several officers were standing nearby, unsure what to do with it.

“Indeed,” Celestia said. “This is the third one I’ve seen since I arrived in this land. I believe they may help us get rid of Discord for good.”

“Really?” Silver Ring looked at the stone, her eyes shining with curiosity. “I don’t suppose you have time to tell me more?”

“Of course,” Celestia said. “What would you like to know?”

Book 5: Trottingham

Book 5: Trottingham

“Grainthresh, dear, would you mind saving some of those carrots for the trip?” Color Wheel asked. The purple mare was trying to finish packing for the next day’s journey to Trottingham, but her husband seemed intent on eating as much food as possible. She didn’t blame him, of course. He and the other farm ponies had worked hard to organize supplies, and she knew how hungry he got after a long day in the fields, but if he kept going at this rate, there’d be no food left for them.

“Sorry,” Grainthresh said. “I’m just a little nervous about that alicorn.”

“Are you still going on about that?” Color Wheel said. Grainthresh kept his gaze fixed on the table. “For the hundredth time, they’re here to help us.”

“Doesn’t change the fact that they were working for Discord when they first came here,” Grainthresh said.

“Oh, stop it,” Color Wheel said. “If it weren’t for them, he’d still be changing the sun and moon around every five minutes. Even Galeforce trusts them now.”

“That’s his decision,” Grainthresh said. “Not mine.”

Color Wheel knew arguing about it would get her nowhere, just as it had the last dozen times they’d gone through this discussion. “You can believe your conspiracies all you want,” she said. “That’s your decision.”

“You never know with Discord,” Grainthresh said.

Color Wheel’s retort was cut off by a knock at the door. “That must be her,” Color Wheel said. “I don’t want to hear any of your conspiracies while she’s here, understand?”

Grainthresh grunted as his eyes returned to his food. Color Wheel took this as a sign of grudging acceptance and opened the door. “Good evening!” she said to the blue alicorn standing outside.

“Good evening,” Luna said as she stepped inside. “How are you?”

“Oh, well enough,” Color Wheel said. “Are you hungry? Grainthresh and I were just about to eat.”

“I’m fine, thanks,” Luna said. “Scrollkeeper made me a salad before I left the library.”

“That old pegasus can’t tell a full meal from a snack,” Grainthresh said as he put a small pile of hay in front of Luna. “Eat this. You’ll need your energy for tomorrow.”

“Thank you,” Luna said as she took a bite. “The salad was a little small.”

“It’s not a problem, dear,” Color Wheel said. “Thank you for coming over. Grainthresh wanted to get an early start tomorrow, and we thought it would be best if you spent the night here.”

“It’s no trouble,” Luna said. “It was either this or spend the night alone in Shuttleweave’s shop.”

“Well, we wouldn’t want that, would we?” Grainthresh said. Color Wheel picked up a hint of sarcasm in his tone and sent him a warning glare in case he was thinking of saying something foolish.

“What do you know about Trottingham?” Luna asked as she finished her meal. “All Scrollkeeper knew is that it’s mostly a farming community.”

“One of the biggest,” Color Wheel said. “When I lived there, it practically fed all of Equestria this side of the mountains.”

“You used to live there?” Luna said.

“That’s where Grainthresh and I met,” Color Wheel said with a smile. “In the wheat fields, if I’m not mistaken. Father had hired him to help with the harvest. I was taking water to the workers, and there he was, showing off to his friends. When he saw me, he struck a pose and said–”

“I don’t think that’s what she wants to hear,” Grainthresh said, color rising to his face.

Color Wheel giggled. “All right. I’ll save that story for later. We left a few years ago when my parents passed away. Discord wasn’t kind to their farm, and we decided we’d be better off trying someplace else. I’ve always wanted to go back, though. Everypony’s very friendly.”

“I wouldn’t count on that now, though,” Grainthresh said. “Hunger can change even the best of ponies.”

“Oh, don’t be such a pessimist,” Color Wheel said with a sigh. Grainthresh replied with a grunt and went to the bedroom. “Come on, dear. Let’s get you some blankets. I think it’s time we all turned in for the night.”

“Actually, I think I’ll stay up for a while,” Luna said. “I have a lot on my mind right now.”

“Oh? Well, I suppose studying all day can do that to a pony,” Color Wheel said. “I’ll leave some blankets out for you, but don’t stay up too late.”

“I won’t,” Luna said.

The wind blew softly through the corn stalks, filling the night with the quiet rustling of dry leaves. Luna lay on the soft dirt and looked up at the stars. How long has it been since I first raised the moon? she wondered as she tried to find all the constellations she knew. It was no small feat, considering she’d invented a few herself. I was just a foal at the time, I think.

“My, isn’t this delightfully dull,” a deep voice said. Luna leaped to her hooves and looked around. “A little chaos would make this so much more entertaining, don’t you agree?”

“Discord!” Luna growled. Though she couldn’t see the draconequus, she knew it had to be him. “What are you doing here?”

“Just checking up on my competition,” Discord’s disembodied voice said. “Our game ends in ten days, you know. I can’t let you catch me by surprise.”

“Show yourself!” Luna said. The draconequus appeared with a flash of light, floating on a cloud and sipping juice through a straw. “What do you want?”

“I believe I just told you,” Discord said, propping his head up with a talon. “So, how’s the search going? I hear you’ve been spending a lot of time in libraries.”

“I’m not telling you anything,” Luna said.

“Oh, my dear princess!” Discord chuckled as his serpentine body floated around her. “You’ve been spending too much time with your sister. Her dreary attitude is beginning to wear off.”

“My sister is ten times the pony you’ll ever be,” Luna snapped, realizing a moment later that Discord wasn’t technically a pony in the first place. “I mean – you know what I mean!”

“Really,” Discord said, a bemused smile on his face. “I wonder, does dear Celestia think so highly of you as well?”

“O-Of course she does,” Luna said. “Why wouldn’t she?”

“Oh, I don’t know,” the draconequus said. “Why did she go on the dangerous political mission and leave you to distribute food?”

“Because – that’s not the point!” Luna shouted.

“Shh, keep your voice down,” Discord said, putting a claw over his mouth. “You’ll wake your friends inside.”

Suddenly, the pieces in Luna’s head began to click. “You’re here for the food, aren’t you?” she said, a blue aura bursting around her horn. “You want to stop us from helping the Trottingham ponies!”

Discord’s laughter echoed across the field. “I like the way you think!” he said. “Yes, I’d love to stir up a bit of mischief here, but unfortunately, I promised your sister I’d leave the Everfree ponies alone, and if I broke that promise, she’d never let me hear the end of it. I can’t have my future slave complaining all the time that I cheated, after all. Can you imagine how dreadfully irritating that would be?”

“We’re not going to be your slaves,” Luna said. “We’re going to defeat you and let these ponies live in peace!”

“We’ll see about that, little Luna,” Discord said with a chuckle. “As fun as turning your supplies to sandpaper would be, it will be far more amusing to see how your friend reacts when she sees what’s become of her beloved hometown.”

“It can’t be any worse that what you’ve done here,” Luna said.

“Ah, my dear little princess,” Discord said. “A change in the weather is easy to face. A change in the heart, that’s another case.”

“What do you mean?” Luna said. “What did you do to them?”

“I’ve done nothing there that I haven’t done here,” Discord said. “What the ponies have done is what you must fear.”

“Stop it!” Luna said, shaking her head to clear away his rhymes and riddles. “Go away! You’re a selfish monster who only uses his powers to help himself!”

“Hmm, perhaps,” Discord said, stroking his chin thoughtfully. “But tell me this, dear Luna. What would you do with unlimited power?”

“I wouldn’t use it like you,” Luna said.

Discord chuckled. “You say that now,” he said, “but would you say it then? I suppose we’ll only find out when that moment comes.”

“It doesn’t matter,” Luna said. “No power is unlimited, not even yours.”

Discord’s laughter echoed around her once again as he floated away. “It was nice talking with you,” he said. “Take care. I’d hate for my new slave to get hurt.”

“I won’t be your slave,” Luna muttered. “You can count on that.”

“I thought the candy field was bad,” Grainthresh muttered as the three walked through the outskirts of Trottingham. Every field they passed was filled with either rubber replicas of crops or long-legged rabbits intent on eating everything in sight. Ponies ran every which way, chasing the unnatural creatures in vain, while others pulled up the useless props that took up valuable land. “At least you can still eat what Discord put in our farm.”

“Hey! What are you doing?” The three turned and saw an angry young stallion yelling at another. “How many times do I have to tell you? Quit chasing the monsters onto my field!”

“Where else am I going to chase them, huh?” the other stallion yelled back. “It’s not like you have anything useful in your field!”

“Unlike you, I have some replanting to do!” the first said. “Keep those mutant rabbits off my land!”

“Hey, calm down, you two,” Color Wheel said. “Shouting won’t get you anywhere.”

“Well, look who it is,” the first stallion sneered. “Good ol’ Deserter Wheel.”

“Huh?” Color Wheel said.

“Didn’t take you long to high-tail it out of here,” the second stallion said. “Ever think we could use your help taking care of your farm?”

“There’s no need to be rude,” Grainthresh said.

“Shut it, Ditchthresh,” the first stallion said. “I’m surprised you bothered to come back at all.”

“Hey, we came here with food!” Luna said. “Show a little gratitude!”

“Stay out of this,” the second stallion said. “This is earth pony business.”

“Look, can you just tell us where the mayor is?” Grainthresh said.

“Keep moving,” the first stallion said, jerking his head down the road.

“Thank you,” Grainthresh said as he began pulling his heavy cart down the road once again. “Luna, Color, let’s go.”

Color Wheel’s eyes were wide as they drew closer to the town. “I don’t understand,” she said. “I knew those two when they were colts, and they were never that rude.”

“That was several years ago,” Grainthresh said. “I seem to recall their parents were pretty upset when we left. Seemed to think we were abandoning the town.”

“Didn’t they see the farm?” Color Wheel said. “It was completely unsalvageable!”

“Let’s just find the mayor and deliver the supplies,” Grainthresh said. “Then we can worry about everypony else.”

The three drew several sour looks as they passed farm after farm, but the ponies were too busy salvaging their crops to talk to them. They eventually made it to the town hall, where they found a large, unhappy crowd of ponies standing outside. A white mare with a black and purple mane and what looked like the image of a stone block on her flank was trying to calm the crowd, with little success.

“Ponies! Please!” the mare shouted. “As much as I admire our way of life, this crisis is simply too big for us to overcome alone.”

“We’ve never needed help from nopony before, and we don’t need it now!” shouted a dark red stallion with a brown mane. Most of the others yelled in agreement. “I already have my fields cleared, and my workers are getting ready to replant as we speak. We don’t need somepony marching into town to feed us like we were colts!”

“You know as well as I that it’s too late in the season to replant, Cropharvest,” the white mare said. “The harvest is late as it is, and we can’t afford to–”

The rest of her words were drowned out by the townsponies’ loud complaints. “We don’t want help from nopony! We can handle this ourselves! Trottingham can take care of itself!”

“Ponies! Ponies!” A female voice rose above the shouting and quieted the crowd. “Come on, there’s no need to yell,” said a pink pony with a yellow and white mane and the image of a notepad on her flank.

“Well, what do you expect when our own mayor turns against everything we stand for?” the stallion called Cropharvest said.

“Mayor Cornerstone only wants what’s best for everypony,” the pink mare said. “Now, I know none of us want to ask for help, but we have to look at the facts. Almost seventy percent of our crops are gone, and until we can get rid of the rabbits, that number will continue to increase. In the meantime, we’re dreadfully behind on the harvest, and we’re very close to losing what little food we have left.”

“We know the facts, Field Reap,” said Cropharvest. “You’ve told us a hundred times.”

“Then you know that even if we manage to harvest everything we have left, our chances of getting through the winter are slim,” Field Reap replied.

“We don’t need help,” Cropharvest said slowly, glaring at the pink mare.

“I have already asked for help, whether you think we need it or not,” the white mare, Cornerstone, said. “Everfree will be sending supplies.”

“Then tell them to stop!” Cropharvest said, his voice rising. “Send them a messenger and tell them not to waste their time!”

“Um, excuse me,” Color Wheel said. Every eye immediately turned to her. “We’re here with supplies from Everfree.”

The crowd stared at her for a moment in silence. Finally, Cropharvest stepped forward and fixed Color Wheel with a cold glare. “As if asking for help wasn’t bad enough,” he said, “they had to send you of all ponies to deliver it.”

“We’re just here to help,” Grainthresh said, stepping between the angry stallion and his wife. “We don’t want any trouble.”

“Should’ve thought of that before you left,” Cropharvest said. “You know, if you’d been here to do your part, we wouldn’t have had to ration our food that winter.”

“The times have been hard on all of us, Cropharvest,” Grainthresh said.

“Well, maybe they wouldn’t be if somepony didn’t run away when things got tough.”

“We didn’t have a choice,” Color Wheel said. “We would have starved if we stayed.”

“We are Trottingham ponies,” Cropharvest said. “We don’t back down, we don’t give up, and we don’t ask for help.” Cropharvest turned around and addressed the crowd. “Well, it seems our protests have fallen on deaf ears. If you’ll excuse me, I have work to do.” Cropharvest trotted away without a backwards glance, and most of the other ponies followed suit.

“I’m so sorry you had to see that,” Cornerstone said. “As you can see, the ponies here are being stubborn.”

“Stubborn? That was downright insulting!” Luna said. “What kind of pony rejects help?”

“We do, I’m afraid,” said Field Reap with a sigh. “Most of the farmers won’t even help each other. It’s good to see you two again,” she added with a nod towards Color Wheel and Grainthresh.

“Likewise,” Grainthresh said. “I just wish we could have seen Trottingham in better circumstances.”

“Well, until Discord is defeated, there’s no way of telling when those might come,” Cornerstone said. “Speaking of which, you must be one of those alicorns I’ve heard about.” Luna responded with a nod. “Well, welcome to Trottingham, even if our first impression was less than exemplary.”

“What would you like us to do with the supplies?” Grainthresh asked.

“Take them over there,” Cropharvest said, pointing a hoof at a building across the street. “I’ll have some of the workers unload your cart. In the meantime, I’ve arranged for you to stay with my assistant here,” she said with a nod towards Field Reap.

“I’ll be happy to show you to my home whenever you’re ready,” Field Reap said.

“Thank you,” Grainthresh said. “Let me get unhitched from this cart, and we’ll be on our way.”

“Where do you live?” Luna asked while Grainthresh walked over to the building Cornerstone had indicated.

“On my family’s farm just outside of town,” Field Reap said. “So, what have you been up to, Color Wheel?”

“What?” Color Wheel said with a shake of her head.

“Are you all right?” Field Reap asked.

“Yeah. I’m just…” Color Wheel’s voice trailed off as she looked at the ponies who were unloading the cart with scowls on their faces. “I’m fine.”

“Well, here it is,” Field Reap said. The farmhouse looked about as nice as Color Wheel and Grainthresh’s, and Luna saw the tops of carrots sticking out of the fields. “Looks like they’re done for the day,” Field reap said.

“Who?” Luna asked.

“My father and sister,” Field Reap answered as she pushed open the door. “Pa? Corncob? Are you in here?”

“Back here,” a stern voice called. “Where’ve you been? We’ve been harvesting for three days, and you haven’t checked in once.”

“I’m sorry, Pa,” Field Reap said. “We’ve been very busy at town hall trying to keep everypony calm.”

“You wouldn’t have to if–” A yellow-coated, blue-maned stallion with a sickle-shaped image on his flank entered from the back room and stopped when he saw Grainthresh and Color Wheel. “What are they doing here?”

“We brought supplies from Everfree,” Grainthresh said.

“You’re not mad at us, are you?” Color Wheel asked.

The stallion let out a long sigh. “I’m too tired to be mad anymore,” he said. “I didn’t like asking for help, either, but after what we’ve been through…”

“Is there anything we can do to help?” Luna asked.

The stallion looked at her with a frown. “I don’t believe we’ve met. Name’s Brightsickle.”

“I’m Luna,” the blue alicorn said.

“Well, it’s good to meet you,” Brightsickle said. “Heard you’re challenging Discord. Not the smartest move, but anypony who can do that is all right in my book.”

“Thank you,” Luna said. “I saw your carrots outside. Do you grown anything else?”

“Well, hay, of course,” Brightsickle said. “We tried celery one year, but it didn’t turn out, so we’re back to carrots.”

“Will you be able to harvest them all before the seasons change?” Grainthresh asked.

“Well, you never know with Discord,” Brightsickle said. “Assuming the seasons change when they should, and if we work nonstop day and night, we might be able to get most of it.”

“You can’t do that,” Field Reap said. “Not with your back.”

“Well, we don’t have much choice,” Brightsickle said. “Besides, I’d be more worried about Corncob. She’s not used to working in the fields all day.”

“Maybe we could help,” Grainthresh said. “I already have my workers wrapping up our harvest.”

“Oh, I couldn’t,” Brightsickle said.

“Come on,” Field Reap said. “You can’t do this alone. We need the food.”

“You know the others won’t let me live it down,” Brightsickle said.

“So?” Field Reap said. “If we don’t get somepony to help us, we might not live through the winter at all.”

“Reap?” a sleepy voice asked. “Is that you?” A young filly with a yellow coat and green mane walked out of the back room with half-open eyes.

“Hey, Corny,” Field Reap said. “Looks like you’ve had a long day.”

“Mmhmm,” the filly said with a tired nod. “Why do we have so many carrots?”

“Well, we need to save them for winter,” Field Reap said as she hugged her younger sister. “Otherwise we won’t have anything to eat.”

“I don’t want to see another carrot ever,” Corncob muttered.

“Come on,” Field Reap said. “Let’s get you to bed.” As she led the filly back to her room, she glanced over her shoulder and shot her father a look that said, Please.

Brightsickle sighed and closed his eyes. “All right,” he said. “I want you all up by sunrise. If you’re going to help me with the harvest, you’re going to do it my way.”

“I just don’t understand it,” Color Wheel said as she, Corncob, and Brightsickle walked across a hay field the stallion had cut a few days before. “Why is everypony being so rude?”

“They don’t like being helped,” Brightsickle said, feeling the cut hay with his hooves. “Corncob, dear, will you please tell Grainthresh this field is ready to be baled?”

“Okay!” The filly ran towards the carrots, where Grainthresh, Field Reap, and Luna were working.

“But it still doesn’t make sense,” Color Wheel said. “Before Grainthresh and I left, they were at least respectful.”

“A lot has happened since then,” Brightsickle said. “You know as well as I what Discord has done.”

“Why should that matter?” Color Wheel asked. “Nopony’s to blame but him.”

Brightsickle let out a heavy sigh and looked out across his field. “The truth is, I think they’re scared,” he said. “I know I am. Deep down, we all know we can’t make it through this winter on our own, but we can’t bring ourselves to admit it. We’ve always been able to handle things on our own, and we don’t know what to do now that we can’t.”

Color Wheel pondered his words as the stallion began baling the hay. “Maybe they just need somepony to offer,” she suggested.

Brightsickle laughed. “The way I heard it, that didn’t go over too well in town.”

“But that was different,” Color Wheel said. “Cornerstone asked us to come. Maybe if we offer it without anypony asking, it’ll be different.”

“Brightsickle!” Grainthresh called as he trotted across the field. “Corncob said you needed me.”

“Yes,” Brightsickle said. “This field is ready for baling. Color Wheel, would you help the others with the carrots?”

“Of course,” Color Wheel said as the trotted away. She soon found Corncob pulling carrots out of the ground. She spotted Luna a little ways away doing the same with her magic. “Where’s Field Reap?”

“Down there,” Corncob said, pointing towards the house. “Cropharvest wanted to talk to her.”

That can’t be good, Color Wheel thought. “Thank you,” she said as she trotted towards the farmhouse. Maybe this is my chance, she thought. If I can get him to accept help, the others might do the same.

She knew from the shouting that whatever discussion the two ponies were having, it wasn’t going well. “First the supplies, and now this?” Cropharvest was saying.

“We need to finish the harvest one way or another,” Field Reap said.

“You’re destroying our way of life!” Cropharvest shouted as Color Wheel pushed open the door. “Trottingham ponies don’t ask for help!”

“Oh, hello,” Color Wheel said. Cropharvest turned his head and glared at her. “What brings you here this morning?”

“I’m having a private discussion with the mayor’s assistant,” Cropharvest said curtly.

“I see,” Color Wheel said. “Might I suggest you refrain from shouting? It’s just that everypony can hear you from clear across the field.”

Cropharvest blushed, apparently unaware that he’d been using so much volume. “What do you care?” he asked. “You left us, remember?”

“That doesn’t mean I don’t care what happens to you,” Color Wheel said. “You look a little hungry. Care for a carrot?”

“No,” Cropharvest said. “I want everypony to stop acting like they need to take care of us.”

“Take care of you?” Color Wheel repeated. “Oh, it’s not like that at all! After all, Trottingham farms have provided everypony with so much food in the past.”

“Exactly!” Cropharvest said, though he seemed confused that she was agreeing with him.

“And you’ve always been so kind,” Color Wheel continued. “Why, I remember the year Fillydelphia had that terrible drought. You gave them lots of food for almost nothing.”

“That’s right,” Cropharvest said, now definitely confused. “We’re the ones who help others, not the other way around.”

“So why, then, do you reject the kindness of others?” Color Wheel asked. “I mean, the Everfree ponies don’t have a lot, but we managed to bring you a little food to help you out.”

“I – that – it’s not the same!” Cropharvest said.

“Isn’t it?” Color Wheel asked.

“N-no, it isn’t,” Cropharvest said. “We don’t need help!”

“Tell me this, Cropharvest,” Color Wheel said. “What are you willing to sacrifice for your pride?”

“I – what are you talking about?”

“You know it’s too late to replant,” Color Wheel said. Cropharvest started to protest, but the purple mare raised her hoof to silence him. “Be honest, Cropharvest.”

Cropharvest’s mouth moved silently for a moment before he answered. “Yes.”

“Then why do it?” Color Wheel asked. “Wouldn’t it be better to just help somepony else harvest their crops? At least then you would stand a chance of getting through the winter.”

“I…” Cropharvest again found himself at a loss for words.

“I haven’t been here very long, but I can tell you this,” Color Wheel said. “If you don’t help each other, this winter may be your last. Are you willing to take that risk just to satisfy your pride?”

Cropharvest considered her words for a minute. “You know,” he said, “I think you’re right.”

Color Wheel smiled. “Well, then,” she said. “Would you like a carrot?”

Before Cropharvest could answer, a flash of light filled the farmhouse, making all three ponies jump. When the spots cleared from her eyes, Color Wheel saw a large stone orb floating to the floor. “What in the hay is that?” Field Reap asked.

“Excuse me,” Luna said as he pushed open the door. “We’ve finished the–” She stopped when she saw the orb and gasped. “When did that get here?”

“Just a moment ago,” Color Wheel said. “Do you know what it is?”

“I think so,” Luna said as she examined the stone more closely. “I don’t believe it. Do you know what this means?”

“What?”

“It means my theory was wrong!”

Cropharvest and Field Reap looked at Color Wheel for an explanation, but the purple earth pony could only shrug. “You were going to tell us something?” Field Reap asked.

“Huh? Oh, yes,” Luna said, bringing her attention back to the present. “We’ve finished harvesting the carrots.”

“Good,” Field Reap said. “You and Color Wheel can go with Cropharvest, then. Is that all right with you?”

Cropharvest sighed. “Well, if I’m going to get help, I might as well get somepony that can use magic. Come with me. I know just the place to start.”

It turned out Cropharvest’s starting point was to visit all the ponies who’s crops had been completely destroyed and stop them from replanting. It wasn’t an easy task, but in the end, they convinced the ponies with no harvest of their own to help those who still had food to pick. The next step was getting the ponies with crops to accept their aid, which turned out to be the more difficult task. However, as more ponies accepted their help, the others began to soften as well. Even the mayor got involved, and by the end of the day, Cornerstone and Field Reap had organized almost all of Trottingham in order to gather all the food they could before the seasons changed.

The next week was the busiest Trottingham had seen in years. Though the majority of their crops had been lost to Discord’s mischief, there was still plenty to harvest. After five days of nonstop picking, everypony was exhausted, but they had achieved the unthinkable.

“Fillies and gentlecolts,” Cornerstone said as she stood before her tired citizens. “I am pleased to announce that this year’s harvest is officially over!” Everypony cheered and stomped their hooves. “We have gathered everything we can, and after careful examination, it appears that we have just enough to make it through the winter.”

The ponies cheered even louder, and Cornerstone had to raise her hoof to get them to settle down. “Yes, well done, everypony,” she said. “However, I think special thanks are owed to one pony in particular, whose persistence led us to set aside our own interests for the sake of the greater good. Everypony, please give special thanks to Color Wheel!”

The ponies cheered louder still as Color Wheel took to the stage. “Thank you,” she said. “I know some of you have hard feelings towards me and my husband, but I assure you we have only the best feelings and interests for you. I hope that you can forgive us for any misunderstandings we’ve had.” The ponies’ renewed cheering was all the answer she needed.

They spent that night with Brightsickle and his daughters, and the next day, they packed the stone orb and enough food to last them the journey home into the cart. “Thank you again,” Brightsickle said.

“It was a pleasure,” Grainthresh said. “We’ll visit again as soon as we can.”

“You’ll always have a place to stay with us,” Brightsickle said.

The three ponies bade Trottingham farewell and began the long journey home. “You all right, Luna?” Color Wheel asked.

“I guess,” Luna said. “I just feel like I didn’t do very much.”

“Nonsense,” Grainthresh said. “You’re the reason we were able to finish the harvest so quickly. Without your magic, it would have taken us twice as long.”

“You think so?” Luna asked.

“I’m positive,” Grainthresh said. “Color Wheel may have gotten things rolling, but you deserve just as much thanks as anypony else.”

Luna smiled, and so did Color Wheel. “Glad to see somepony’s given up on his conspiracies,” she whispered to her husband. Grainthresh just smiled and shook his head.

“Hey, what’s that?” Luna asked. Color Wheel looked and saw several carts coming towards them. When they drew nearer, the saw that it was a supply caravan led by a brown stallion with a yellow mane.

“Excuse me,” the stallion said. “How much further is it to Trottingham?”

“Maybe an hour,” Grainthresh answered. “Where are you from?”

“Manehattan,” the stallion said. “Name’s Oatbuck.”

“Manehattan?” Luna repeated. “So you saw my sister?”

Oatbuck looked her over and smiled. “If you mean the white alicorn, then yes,” he said. “It’s thanks to her and her friend that we came here. Listen, do you think the Trottingham ponies will accept all this? They can be pretty stubborn sometimes.”

Color Wheel smiled. “They will,” she said. “You don’t have anything to worry about.”

Book 6: Cloudsdale

Book 6: Cloudsdale

“So you’re saying I wasn’t wrong?” Luna asked the stallion called Mezzo Tint. The gray earth pony had his blue mane styled into what had to be the worst mane cut ever, but it seemed he certainly knew how to do research.

“You were on the right track,” Mezzo Tint said as he showed Luna his notes. “It’s obvious there are more than two of these orbs, but they are powerful magical artifacts, as you said, and we believe they can be used to defeat Discord.”

“How?” Celestia asked.

“Of that, we are not yet sure,” Scrollkeeper said. “However, we have found clues. Several records speak of a spark of magic that can unlock the power of the orbs.”

“What kind of magic?” Luna asked.

“As far as we know, any kind,” Mezzo Tint said. “From what we can tell, these orbs will vastly increase the strength of any spell cast through them.”

“So, now we can use them?” Luna asked.

“Patience,” Scrollkeeper said. “We still don’t know what the six magics are. I do have a theory, but I need some time to confirm it.”

“What is this theory?” Celestia asked.

“Well,” Scrollkeeper said, “based on these two orbs you brought back, I believe–”

Scrollkeeper was interrupted by the loud slam of the door as Galeforce barged in, slightly out of breath. “You,” he said, nodding towards the alicorns. “I need your help.”

“What’s wrong?” Celestia asked.

“No time,” Galeforce said. “Village… under attack.”

“Attack?” Scrollkeeper said. “How? We still have two days before our month is up.”

Galeforce shook his head. “Not Discord.”

“Then who?”

Galeforce sucked in a couple breaths before answering. “Cloudsdale.”

“My pegasi are holding them off, but they won’t last long,” Galeforce said as the two alicorns followed him towards the distant battle. “Cloudsdale was the center of Equestria’s army, and these attackers have obviously been trained well.”

“How many?” Celestia asked.

“A dozen,” Galeforce said. “I recognize some of them, but most are new recruits.”

“Do you know what they want?”

“No idea,” Galeforce said with a shake of his head. “They were saying something about a red mare, but I have no idea what that means.”

As they drew closer, they saw that the Everfree pegasi were losing severely. Only three remained in the sky, and the Cloudsdale pegasi were making short work of them. One took a brutal kick to the head and went down like a rock. Two of the Cloudsdale pegasi grabbed a second by his front legs and forced him into a deep dive, slamming into the ground before making a sharp turn and soaring back to their companions. The last pegasus tried to lose his pursuers in the clouds, but one of the Cloudsdale pegasi began kicking them with his back legs, causing lighting to shoot out in random directions. There was a scream, and the last Everfree pegasus started to fall, his mane and tail trailing smoke.

Galeforce put on a burst of speed and caught his falling soldier in midair. “Hold them back!” he yelled to the alicorns as he descended.

The Cloudsdale pegasi started to pursue, but Luna cut them off with a dark blue bolt of energy. “Stop right there!” she shouted.

The pegasi scowled and made a hard turn, angling themselves to strike the alicorns at full speed. “Hold on, Luna,” Celestia said as her sister prepared to attack again. “I’ll take care of this.” The yellow aura burst around her horn as she tried to remember the little combat training she had. When the pegasi were almost on top of them, she cast a powerful barrier spell around herself and Luna. Half the pegasi were able to turn in time to avoid the magical wall, but the other half slammed into the spell head-on and fell to the ground, stunned.

“Six down, six to go,” Celestia said. Luna shot several blue energy bolts at their assailants and managed to hit two. Celestia took down another with her own energy blast, but the other three were just too agile. “We’ll have to get closer,” Celestia said. “You take that one. I’ll take the other two.”

Luna nodded and flew after her target while Celestia made a sharp turn and dove after the other two. They were flying just above the trees, and Celestia knew one wrong move could send her crashing into the forest. She quickly closed the distance between herself and the Cloudsdale ponies and shot several more energy bolts at them. One of them made a hard turn to the right, but Celestia ignored him for the moment. Let’s take care of this one first, she thought as she lined up her next spell. Then I can – “Ahh!”

Just as she cast her spell, the second pegasus hit her hard from the side, throwing her sideways into the woods. She felt the bones in her right wing snap as she slammed into a tree and hit the ground in a heap. She quickly got to her hooves, ignoring the searing pain in her wing, and scanned the sky for her assailants. The two were turning around and coming towards her. She braced herself and tried to think of a spell that would stop them. They won’t fall for the barrier again, she thought, but the pain made it difficult to come up with another plan.

Suddenly, a black blur shot across the sky and collided with one of the pegasi, sending him spiraling into the trees. “That’s for my soldiers!” Galeforce shouted as he banked hard to follow the second. The other pegasus looked behind him for a split second, and Celestia cast her spell. The energy blast hit him before he knew what was happening, and he crashed into the ground just feet from Celestia’s hooves.

“Tia!” Luna cried as she landed nearby. “Tia, are you all right?”

“I’m fine,” Celestia said, gritting her teeth. “Just a broken wing is all.”

“That’s all?” Luna said, her eyes widening when she saw her sister’s crumpled wing. “How can you say that’s all?”

“It’ll heal,” Celestia said, wincing as she tried to walk. She suddenly found herself feeling a lot more sympathy for her sister and her sprained wing.

They heard Galeforce’s battle cry somewhere in the forest, followed by loud crashing. “Get back here!” Galeforce yelled. “I’ll make you pay for what you did to my soldiers!” The crashing grew louder until a familiar, red-coated mare with a stained-glass window on her flank stumbled out of the trees with an angry black pegasus hot on her tail.

“No! Stop!” the mare shouted. “It’s me, Fireflash!”

Galeforce flared his wings and hovered in the air above her, a look of confusion on his face. “Fireflash?” he repeated. “The mare from Canterlot?”

“Yes,” Fireflash said, gasping for air. Celestia noticed the mare moved with a heavy limp and caught a glimpse of blood on her left front leg. “Please, I need your help.”

Galeforce took several deep breaths as he descended to the ground. “I see,” he said. “Let’s, um, find some shelter then.”

After some quick reconnaissance, Galeforce determined that the best destination was Grainthresh’s farm. After a long and painful walk, they arrived at the farm house to find Grainthresh and Color Wheel watching the skies nervously. The two immediately helped the injured ponies into their house while Galeforce explained what had happened. After some discussion, Grainthresh went to Everfree to inform the Security Council while Galeforce patrolled the skies in case more pegasi arrived. Meanwhile, Color Wheel set herself to bandaging their injuries as best she could.

“Hold still,” Color Wheel said as she placed a hoof gingerly on Celestia’s broken wing. “I need to set the bone. This is probably going to hurt.”

“This is all my fault,” Fireflash said, staring miserably at her bandaged leg. “They followed me here.”

“Why were they following you?” Luna asked.

“To keep me from getting here,” Fireflash said. “A whole bunch of pegasi attacked us during the night. I managed to escape, but they found me before I could get to the forest. One of them cut my leg, and if you ponies hadn’t show up…”

“Shh,” Color Wheel said as tears began to fall from Fireflash’s eyes. “None of this is your fault, dear.”

“Why did they attack you?” Celestia asked before stifling a scream as Color Wheel did something painful to her wing.

“I don’t know!” Fireflash said. “I don’t know what’s going on!”

“It’s going to be all right,” Color Wheel said softly as she wrapped Celestia’s wing with a white bandage.

“No, it isn’t!” Fireflash said. “They destroyed our shelters and took our food. Who knows how many ponies got hurt? Who knows what happened to Crystal or Dream Catcher or – or –” Fireflash’s voice gave out, and she broke into uncontrolled sobs.

“There, there,” Color Wheel said, placing a comforting hoof on her shoulder. “Don’t worry. I’m sure we’ll figure something out.”

Right on cue, Galeforce pushed open the door and walked inside. “Luna, come with me,” he said.

“Why? What’s happening?” Luna asked.

“We’re going to Cloudsdale,” Galeforce said. “I don’t know why they’ve turned against us, but we’re going to find out.”

“Are you crazy?” Color Wheel asked. “You can’t go there, not after this!”

“We don’t have a choice,” Galeforce said. “If we don’t do something about this now, it will only get worse.”

“But what about Luna?” Celestia asked. “You can’t possibly–”

“I need her to accompany me,” Galeforce said. “All my pegasi are injured, and the Council won’t let me go alone.”

“It’s too dangerous,” Celestia said. “I won’t allow it!”

“When do we leave?” Luna asked.

“What?” Celestia stared at her sister with wide eyes. “No! Luna, this is far too dangerous!”

“If we don’t stop them, they’ll keep hurting innocent ponies like Fireflash,” Luna said.

“But–”

“I was brave when you left me,” Luna said. “I’ll see you when I get back.”

“Luna, wait!” Celestia’s plea fell on deaf ears. Luna and Galeforce had already walked outside and taken to the skies. Celestia tried to follow, but a stab of pain from her wing stopped her before she even left the bed. “Please,” Celestia whispered. “Be careful.”

Luna and Galeforce flew for a few hours in silence. At first, Luna tried to make small talk, but it soon became clear that Galeforce was too upset to speak. I can’t imagine what he must be feeling, she thought. Cloudsdale is his home, and now it’s turned against him.

“We’re almost there,” Galeforce said. Luna was glad to see his voice had lost some of its angry tone. “Pegasi are proud warriors, so be on your guard. Follow my lead, and everything should be fine.”

“Where is it?” Luna asked, scanning the ground for signs of a village. “I don’t see anything.”

“That’s because you’re looking the wrong way,” Galeforce said. “It’s right in front of us.”

At first, all Luna could see was clouds. Then she spotted a massive puffy white building and gasped. “You mean it’s actually made of clouds?”

“Sure is,” Galeforce said, smiling despite his anger.

“But – how?”

“Before Discord came, we pegasi were masters of the weather,” Galeforce said. “We built this city during the early days of Equestria, before we fully accepted the other tribes as our allies. Now we use it to make everything we need to manage the weather all over Equestria – at least, we did until Discord shut us down.”

Luna wanted to admire the cloud columns and walkways, but she knew there wasn’t time. The two flew through the city until they were stopped by a pair of armored pegasi. “Who are you, and what do you want?” one of them asked.

“My name is Galeforce,” the black pegasi said. “This is my companion, Luna. I’m here to see Commander Goldfeather.”

“And what makes you think you can just fly up here and see the commander?” the second soldier asked.

“Well, a dozen of your soldiers were seen harassing several ponies near Everfree this morning,” Galeforce said. “Seeing as they have been imprisoned there indefinitely, I thought Commander Goldfeather would like to know why his soldiers are missing and, more importantly, what they were up to.”

“We’ll be sure to tell him,” the first soldier said.

“I don’t think you quite understand,” Galeforce said. “These ponies’ actions constitute an act of hostility against Everfree, an act we cannot ignore. The Everfree Security Council has sent me to investigate under whose orders these actions took place so that we may take appropriate action.”

“What are you saying?” the first soldier asked, his eyes narrow.

“I’m saying you’d better have a good explanation as to why twelve of your soldiers attacked my village.” Galeforce’s voice was soft, but his tone was filled with pent-up rage. The soldiers backed up a few feet and exchanged nervous glances. “Now, will you take me to Goldfeather or not?”

After a brief, hushed conversation with his partner, the second soldier said, “Very well. Come with us.” Galeforce and Luna followed the two through the city. This is incredible, Luna thought. Despite the situation, she couldn’t help but admire the city’s architecture. How do they keep all these clouds together?

“Pay attention,” Galeforce muttered, interrupting Luna’s sightseeing. The two soldiers had led them to a large dome at the center of the city. Luna saw at least fifty armored pegasi flying into, out of, and around it. “That’s the Commander’s Hall,” Galeforce explained. “All of Cloudsdale’s leaders will probably be there.”

“What should I do?” Luna asked.

“Let me do the talking,” Galeforce said. “Goldfeather used to be my captain. Let’s hope he remembers me.”

Luna didn’t find his words very reassuring, but she kept her mouth shut as they flew through the dome’s arched doorway. A second door was set into a wall just inside, and two guards stood waiting. “These two have come from Everfree to see the commander,” one of their escorts said.

“What is your business?” one of the guards asked.

“I have come to determine the cause of hostilities perpetrated by Cloudsdale soldiers in Everfree’s skies this morning,” Galeforce said.

The two guards glanced at each other and then at the escorts before pushing the doors open. Galeforce and Luna walked inside. Six pegasi sat at a long table, arguing with each other. Rows of cloud benches ran along the perimeter, where dozens of pegasi had taken their seats and were watching the conflict below. The opening doors had drawn everypony’s gaze, so the two ponies from Everfree suddenly found themselves at the center of attention.

“What is this?” asked a bright yellow pegasi with a neatly-cut black and gray mane standing at the head of the table. His colleagues dropped their conversations and turned to look at the newcomers. “I specifically told you not to interrupt us.”

“Galeforce and Luna of Everfree, Commander Goldfeather,” one of the soldiers said. “They say our soldiers attacked their village this morning and have come to find out why.”

The commander stared at Galeforce with a frown. “Galeforce, you say?”

“Hello, commander,” Galeforce said. “It’s been a while.”

“Soldiers, you’re dismissed,” Goldfeather said. The two soldiers nodded and left, closing the doors behind them. “It has been a while, hasn’t it,” the commander said. “How long have you been living in Everfree?”

“Since I left Cloudsdale,” Galeforce said.

“I see.” Goldfeather rearranged some papers on the table in front of him as he sat back down, hiding the comet-shaped mark on his flank. “Very well. I suppose we should hear what you have to say.”

“Thank you,” Galeforce said, clearing his throat as he stepped forward. “As my pegasi were doing their usual sweep of the forest this morning, they came across twelve Cloudsdale soldiers harassing a farmer about the location of a red mare. When my ponies tried to intervene, these soldiers became aggressive and attacked them. By the time I arrived on the scene, the soldiers had severely wounded all of my pegasi. With the help of Luna and her sister, we subdued the soldiers and are now holding them in our custody.”

“I know nothing of this,” Goldfeather said.

“There’s more,” Galeforce said. “After the battle, we located the red mare the soldiers were seeking. She is a resident of Canterlot and a good friend of some of our citizens. She told us your soldiers attacked them last night, destroying their shelters and supplies and possibly wounding several ponies.”

The ponies began to murmur at his words, and Luna wasn’t sure whether they were more shocked, outraged, or curious. The ponies at the table began talking as well, though their voices were lost to Luna’s ears. “I see,” Goldfeather said as raised a hoof to quiet the crowd. “Is there anything else?”

“No, sir,” Galeforce said. “The Everfree Security Council asked me to investigate the matter, as your soldiers’ actions constitute an act of hostility against–”

“Yes, yes, I understand,” Goldfeather said.

Galeforce and Luna waited to see if he would say more, but the commander remained silent while everypony else continued to talk in hushed whispers. “Is it true that your soldiers attacked the Canterlot ponies?” Galeforce finally asked.

“Yes,” the commander said. The other ponies at the table glared at him, but he ignored them. “Four dozen of my soldiers raided their camp last night. There were a few injuries, but no casualties.”

Galeforce’s jaw stiffened, and his eyes narrowed. “Why?”

“That is none of your business,” said the pegasus sitting to Goldfeather’s right.

“Your soldiers made it my business when they chased a wounded mare into my forest and assaulted my citizens,” Galeforce replied.

“I regret that my soldier’s actions caused your citizens harm, but they were instructed to prevent any ponies from leaving the city, no matter what the cost,” Goldfeather said. “Now, I must ask you to leave. We have important business to discuss.”

“This is an outrage!” Galeforce shouted. “I demand to know why you have turned your soldiers against your fellow ponies!”

“You are in no position to make demands of me, Galeforce,” the commander said. “I am the leader of Equestria’s armies, not you.”

“Don’t you dare pull rank on me!” Galeforce yelled. Several soldiers drifted closer in case things got out of control. “You have betrayed your own kind, and I demand an explanation!”

“I do what must be done to protect this city and this country,” Goldfeather said, his calmness standing in stark contrast to Galeforce’s anger. “That is the only explanation I will give you. Now, I’ll ask you one more time to leave. Don’t make me ask again.”

Galeforce glared at the commander for several seconds while the soldiers inched closer. “I will have an answer, Goldfeather,” he said. “That’s a promise.” Galeforce turned and stormed out of the hall with Luna close behind. Before she could speak to him, he opened his wings and launched himself into the sky.

“Halt! What business do you have here?”

Luna had grown very tired of that question, but she did her best to hide her frustration. She’d lost sight of Galeforce shortly after leaving the dome and had been looking for him all day. “I’m looking for a pegasus named Galeforce,” she said. “He has a black coat and a blue mane, and his cutie mark is a tornado.” The term ‘cutie mark’ was unheard of among alicorns, but the ponies here tended to ignore her if she tried to explain it any other way.

“Haven’t seen him,” said the soldier in question. “What business do you have with him?”

“Why does every soldier in this city have to ask me what I’m doing?” Luna demanded, releasing a bit of her pent-up anger. “Can’t a pony fly in peace?”

The soldier scowled at her, but he went on his way. It’s like they think I’m a criminal, Luna thought as she looked around for any sign of her companion. Everything about this city is strange. A part of her wondered if this was what Celestia had felt in Las Pegasus, and she hoped this adventure wouldn’t end the same way.

She caught a flash of black out of the corner of her eye and turned to see Galeforce gliding past behind some pillars. She followed him to a small, well-guarded building, where he began to argue with the soldiers standing outside. After a few moments, the two guards stepped aside and let him in. Luna swooped in behind him before these guards could begin questioning her, too. “Galeforce,” she said. “Where have you been?”

“Blowing off steam,” Galeforce replied as they entered a small chamber. “You?”

“Looking for you.” Luna looked around the chamber, wondering what could be so important that it required constant guarding. The only thing in the room was a small black box sitting on a pedestal of cloud. “What is that?” Galeforce didn’t answer her immediately. He walked up to the pedestal and stared at the box for several minutes, lost in thought. “Galeforce?”

“A long time ago, a centaur tried to cover Equestria with an eternal night,” Galeforce said. “We pegasi fought him valiantly, but we were no match for his power. In desperation, we begged the unicorns and earth ponies for help, and they willingly came to our aid.”

Cleansweep told this story in Canterlot, Luna realized. What does it have to do with this box?

“The unicorns used their magic to seal the centaur’s powers in an enchanted scroll,” Galeforce said, as if sensing her unspoken question. “This scroll was in turn sealed inside this box with some of the most powerful magic known to ponykind. It has been kept here ever since under constant guard to ensure that nopony opens it unleashes its power again.”

“I thought you said you didn’t know where it was,” Luna said.

“I said I couldn’t say,” Galeforce replied. “We keep its existence a secret so that nopony tries to steal it. It is a reminder of the greatness we ponies can achieve, but only if we work together.” Galeforce bowed his head and let out a sigh. “Unfortunately, it is also a reminder of what will happen should our alliances fall apart. I do not know why Goldfeather attacked Canterlot, but it is clear that this city has abandoned all its allegiances to the good of Equestria.”

“There’s still time,” Luna said. “Perhaps we can convince him to join us.”

Galeforce’s gaze returned to the black box. “We of all ponies should know better than to betray our allies,” he said.

Luna returned her attention to the box as well. It doesn’t look very dangerous, she thought. Then again, neither do those orbs.

Orbs, you say? Oh, do go on.

Luna let out a small scream as Discord’s voice echoed through her head. “What is it?” Galeforce asked.

“N-Nothing,” Luna answered, shaking her head. “It’s nothing.” I must be hearing things…

Hearing things indeed, my dear.

Luna managed not to scream again, but she couldn’t help but scan the chamber for any sign of the draconequus. Where are you? What do you want?

Oh, just checking up on this artifact. Discord’s voice spoke directly to her mind, making her wonder which thoughts were hers and which were his. I can’t let something that powerful fall into the wrong hooves. The results might be hazardous for my health.

Luna had to fight hard to make sense of his words. You mean this scroll is more powerful than you?

Well, you didn’t think I’d just leave it sitting there if I could do something about it, did you? Discord’s laughter filled her head, making her wince in pain. I really hoped you wouldn’t find out about it, but I guess that can’t be helped now. Alas, my carelessness may have led me to my downfall.

Luna had to shake her head vigorously before she could form a coherent thought. What do you mean?

Think about it for a minute, my dear. You’re a smart pony.

I would if you’d leave me alone for two seconds. Despite her newfound headache, Luna tried to put the pieces together. This scroll is more powerful than Discord. Its power can be unlocked by opening it. Suddenly, all the pieces fell together. We can use this to beat him.

Oh, drat, you’ve figured it out! Discord’s loud sigh sent a new wave of pain shooting through Luna’s brain. I knew I’d been too careless. Ah, well. I suppose all that’s left is for you to open that scroll and become the most powerful –

Shut up! Luna covered her head with her hooves, though she knew it wouldn’t help. That scroll is too dangerous. Galeforce kept it a secret for a reason. I don’t know what it can do.

Oh, come now. You’re not going to let one pegasus’ opinion get in the way, are you?

If that scroll could stop you, he would have used it a long time ago.

Ah, I’m afraid only the strongest of ponies can unlock its power.

Liar! Luna gritted her teeth and tried to mentally push Discord out of her mind, though she had no idea if that was even possible. I don’t need that scroll. Tia and I will beat you on our own!

Celestia? Please. She couldn’t even beat a politician and a common soldier without somepony coming to her rescue. She doesn’t even trust you to do more than deliver food to starving ponies.

You’re wrong!

Am I? Think, Luna. With this scroll, you will become more powerful than even me. Think of all the good you could do with it.

I’m not listening to you!

Discord let out a grumpy sigh. Very well. It’s your eternal enslavement, I suppose.

Go away! Leave me alone!

Discord’s laughter left her skull rattling, but the draconequus finally fell silent. Luna cracked open her eyes to see Galeforce and a couple soldiers standing over her. Galeforce leaned over and looked her in the eye. “Luna, what’s wrong?”

“Huh?” Luna realized she had collapsed and shakily got to her hooves. “Oh, um, nothing. Just feeling a little woozy, that’s all.”

Before Galeforce could ask another question, they heard somepony shouting their names. The two turned to see several soldiers coming towards them. “Your presence is required in the Commander’s Hall immediately.”

“Why?” Galeforce asked. “What is this about?”

“You will come with us,” the soldier in charge said as the others surrounded the pegasus and the alicorn.

“Are we under arrest?” Galeforce asked. “If so, Cloudsdale law requires–”

“Commander Goldfeather orders you to come to the Hall,” the soldier said.

“I am no longer his soldier,” Galeforce said. “Unless you can provide a reason for this arrest, you are in violation of your own laws, and I am under no obligation to–”

“Galeforce, stop,” Luna said. “This isn’t helping.”

Galeforce glanced at the soldiers around them, who looked ready to drag him to the Hall if needed, and then back to Luna, who was still shaken from her conversation with Discord. “Very well,” he said. “I will come of my own accord, but I will expect an explanation.”

The soldiers said nothing as they led them out of the chamber and through the darkening sky. Luna’s heart began to race as they approached the cloud dome. What if this is a trap? she wondered. Can Galeforce and I escape with so many soldiers around?

There was no time to ponder these questions. The soldiers escorted them through the doors and into the dome, which was now packed with pegasi. The same six ponies were seated around the table, and there seemed to be a lot more soldiers hovering near the ceiling.

“Commander Goldfeather,” said the soldier in charge of the escort. Goldfeather looked in their direction and nodded. The pegasi backed away from the two strangers, though not very far.

“Galeforce, Luna, please come forward,” Goldfeather said. The security pony and the alicorn did as they were told. “As you both know, unrest has been stirring in Equestria,” the commander said. “It began in Everfree and has since spread to other villages, threatening the stability of our nation. If the rumors are to be believed, the cause of this disturbance is the news of two alicorns capable of overthrowing Discord and restoring order.”

Luna and Galeforce remained silent as the ponies began to mutter amongst themselves. “In order to maintain the safety and welfare of this nation, this council has reached two conclusions,” Goldfeather said. “Firstly, you two are to be taken into our custody until the peace has been restored, effective immediately. You will not be permitted to leave this city until this council decides otherwise.”

“What?” Luna cried. “You can’t do that!” She looked to Galeforce for help, but the black pegasus just stood there, waiting.

“Secondly,” Goldfeather said, raising his voice and hoof to quiet the crowd, “the village of Everfree must be put in its place. As commander of Equestria’s armies, I am ordering a full strike be made against Everfree to ensure the ponies there do not disturb the peace.”

“No!” Galeforce took off and flew towards the commander, but five soldiers were waiting to pin him down. “How could you?” the enraged pegasus screamed. “How could you turn against your own kind?”

“You are the traitor, not me,” Goldfeather said. “Your actions brought Discord’s wrath on Trottingham, and he will destroy everything we love if we allow you to go free.”

“You think he’ll leave us alone?” Galeforce asked. “You think he’ll leave any of us alone if we don’t stop him?”

“If we don’t put an end to this rebellion, our destruction is assured!” Goldfeather yelled, slamming his hoof against the table.

“This isn’t fair!” Luna shouted, but it was no use. She felt a hoof on her shoulder and jerked away, kicking the soldier with her hind legs. “No! Get off!” she screamed as several more grabbed her legs and wings. In desperation, she yelled the only thing she could think of. “What would your ancestors say?”

The soldiers paused at her outburst, giving her the chance she needed to slip out of their grasp. “What do you mean?” Goldfeather asked.

“Your ancestors,” Luna said. “Long ago, this land was threatened by a centaur even the pegasi could not overcome. Your ancestors called on the unicorns and earth ponies for help, and they came to your aid.”

“We all know the story,” Goldfeather said. “What is your point?”

Luna’s mind raced, trying to come up with an answer. “Your brothers in Everfree are asking for your help now,” she said at last. “And not just Everfree, but Canterlot and Manehattan and Trottingham as well. They answered your ancestor’s call in the past. Is this how you honor their legacy?”

The dome fell eerily silent as every eye turned to Luna. Even Galeforce stopped struggling to stare at her. She knew she’d struck a deep chord with the pegasi, and she could only hope it would be enough. “My sister and I can defeat Discord,” she said. “We can free you from his reign of chaos, but we can’t do it without your help.”

“And how, exactly, do you plan on doing that?” asked one of the pegasi at the table. “The unicorn’s magic pales in comparison to Discord’s power. Even the centaur wasn’t that strong.”

“Every obstacle is unique,” Luna answered, “but unity is the only way to succeed. If you are loyal to each other, we will drive Discord from Equestria. I promise!”

“How?”

A flash of light filled the room, and every eye turned from Luna to the air above her. A stone orb slowly descended until it rested on the cloudy floor in front of her. Luna stared at it for a moment until the muttering began anew. “This orb is the answer!” she shouted. “My sister and I have gathered four others from all over Equestria. Together, they hold a power far greater than Discord’s. With these orbs, we can set you free.”

“So, that is your plan?” Discord’s unmistakable voice filled the chamber and silenced the crowd once again. “My dear Luna, I’m so disappointed.” The draconequus appeared above the table, reclining on a puff of cloud. “You should have taken my advice.”

“Discord,” Goldfeather said. “This is a private meeting. I must ask you to leave at once.”

“Private? Half of Cloudsdale is here!” Discord said, gesturing towards the ponies crowded along the perimeter. “Besides, I want to see what you do with these little upstarts.”

Goldfeather looked from Galeforce, who was still pinned to the floor, to the ponies watching above, before his gaze finally rested on Luna. “I will do nothing with them,” he said at last.

“I’m sorry,” Discord said as he cleared an ear with a talon. “Are you saying you’ve decided to reject my offer?”

“The alicorn is correct,” Goldfeather said. “The ponies of Equestria have achieved the impossible in the past. Though I may not understand her plan, it would not be right for us to turn against our fellow ponies now that their hope has been rekindled.”

“So you’d rather see your precious Cloudsdale destroyed?” Discord asked. “Oh, I don’t know if that’s a good idea. I hear that scroll you’ve been guarding can be quite… delicate. I’d hate for anything bad to happen to it.”

Goldfeather shot a glance at Galeforce, who simply nodded. “I am the commander of Equestria’s armies,” Goldfeather said. “As such, it is my responsibility to act in the best interest of my country, and if that means sacrificing my home, it’s a sacrifice I’ll have to make.”

To Luna’s surprise, Goldfeather’s words were greeted with loud cheers from the crowd. My speech must have been better than I thought, she thought, and despite the situation, she couldn’t help but smile.

“Well, it seems everypony agrees,” Discord said, a wicked grin spreading across his face. “I was looking forward to picking up some new slaves tomorrow, but I suppose it can wait until I wipe this city off the face of the sky.”

Tomorrow? Already? It can’t be! Luna tried to count the days in her head, but after everything that had happened, she couldn’t focus long enough to be sure.

“Then you’ll have to go through me,” Goldfeather said, crouching low to the ground. “Soldiers! Attack!”

Everything was a flurry of feathers and screams as every pegasus in the dome converged on Discord. The draconequus dodged and wove his way through the mob, cackling as he went. Luna wrapped the stone orb in a levitation spell and bolted for the door. I have to get this back to Everfree, she thought. We have to be ready when Discord comes!

Luna skidded to a halt as the doorway collapsed in front of her. “This is almost as good as Canterlot!” Discord yelled with glee as the dome began to collapse. Chunks of cloud rained down on the pegasi, knocking them around and injuring some. Luna could only watch in horror as she pressed herself against the wall.

“Luna!” The alicorn felt a hoof on her shoulder and turned to see Galeforce standing beside her. “Come on, we have to get out of here.” Galeforce kicked the wall with his back legs, creating a hole just big enough for a pony to crawl through. Luna followed the security pony outside and saw that Cloudsdale was already falling apart. Cloud pillars toppled into buildings while innocent pegasi took to the sky. “Fly that way until you’re clear of the city,” Galeforce said, pointing with his hoof. “Whatever you do, don’t wait, and don’t look back.”

“What about you?”

“I have something I need to take care of,” Galeforce said. “Land in the mountains and start a fire. I’ll find you.”

Before Luna could speak, the black pony shot into the air and disappeared against the dark sky. Luna made sure her magic had a secure hold on the orb and took off. She’d never tried to fly and use magic at the same time, and she didn’t think this was the ideal situation to learn how. Just fly above the city, she thought as she beat her wings against the cold night air. Once you’re clear of the clouds, you’ll have a straight shot to the mountains.

I’ll see you soon, Luna. The alicorn shook her head, trying to clear Discord’s voice from her mind. The pegasi may have bought you some time, but it will not save you or your sister. Soon, the both of you will be mine.

Book 7: Harmony

Book 7: Harmony

“Scrollkeeper,” Mezzo Tint said to the pegasus across the library. “What if the six magics are just six orbs?”

“Orbs?” Scrollkeeper looked up from his work and frowned. “What do you mean?”

“Well, I’ve been looking at all these attributes,” Mezzo Tint said. “Faithfulness, happiness, and such. They all seem to fall into six different categories.”

“Let me see,” Scrollkeeper said as he walked over to Mezzo Tint’s table.

“It all matches up,” Mezzo Tint explained while the older stallion read over his notes. “When you get down to it, they’re all synonyms for loyalty, laughter, kindness, generosity, and honesty.”

“And the sixth?”

“It’s a little tricky,” Mezzo Tint said, pointing to the bottom of his notes. “I’ve only found a few references, but it seems to be either magic or power.”

“Magic.” Scrollkeeper’s eyes narrowed as he scratched his head. “I’ve read something about these attributes before. What was it?”

“Luna.”

Luna’s head jerked around in search of the speaker. The mountains had been quiet since she’d landed, and the sudden noise sent her heart rate skyrocketing. She saw Galeforce standing just inside the flickering light of her fire and relaxed a little. “Oh. It’s you.”

“Did you have any problems?” Galeforce asked.

Luna shook her head. She noticed a small black box sitting on the ground by his hooves. “Is that the scroll?” she asked.

Galeforce nodded. “Goldfeather wanted me to get it out of Cloudsdale. We’ll have to keep it safe now.”

Luna’s gaze turned to the stone orb that sat on the ground beside her. “It’s all down to us, isn’t it?” she said. “If we don’t figure these out by tomorrow, everything will be lost. Goldfeather’s sacrifice will have been for nothing.”

“You’ll figure it out,” Galeforce said. “In anypony can do this, it’s you and your sister.”

“Or we’ll just end up like the Canterlot unicorns.”

“Nonsense. I don’t throw my support behind just anypony.”

His words did little to calm Luna’s heart. “All of Equestria has put its trust in us. All the pegasi in Cloudsdale were willing to give their lives for us.”

“And so would I,” said Galeforce. “Luna, you and your sister would not have this much support if we didn’t believe you could do it. Before you came, Everfree stood alone. You have inspired every pony in Equestria to rise up against Discord and fight for our freedom. That should tell you how much we trust you to win.”

“But what if we don’t?”

“You will,” Galeforce said. “Listen, we need to get back to Everfree as soon as possible. Goldfeather may have bought us some time, but it won’t last.”

Luna stood and cast a levitation spell on the orb. “Fly slowly. I’m not used to using magic and flying at the same time.”

The two extinguished the fire and set off at a moderate pace. Their dark coloring made it difficult to keep track of each other, but somehow they stayed together through the night. “We’re almost there,” Galeforce said as the sun began to peek over the horizon. “Can you make it?”

Luna’s vision was beginning to blur, but the nodded and gritted her teeth. The two landed just inside Everfree, where several ponies were waiting to greet them.

“Luna!” Celestia ran forward and hugged her sister, struggling in vain to hold back her tears. “You’re safe!”

“I’m fine,” Luna answered, returning the embrace. “Just tired.”

“Tired?” Celestia backed up and looked at Luna’s face. “You’re exhausted! What have you been doing?”

“Carrying this,” Luna answered, showing her the stone orb. “It appeared just before Discord destroyed Cloudsdale.”

Her last statement drew gasps from the gathered ponies, but Celestia just hugged her sister tighter. “I’m so glad you’re okay.”

“Me too,” Luna said. “Could you stop squeezing me so hard? It hurts.”

“Oh! Of course.” Celestia backed away with an embarrassed smile. “What about you, Galeforce?”

“Fine,” the security pony replied. “Your sister was magnificent, by the way. Without her, the trip would have been a monumental failure.”

“What’s that?” Scrollkeeper asked, pointing to the black box at Galeforce’s hooves.

“An artifact,” Galeforce answered. “Commander Goldfeather asked me to bring it here for safekeeping.”

“Have you figured out anything else about the orbs?” Luna asked.

“Some,” Scrollkeeper replied. “Mezzo came up with an interesting theory last night, and I’ve been searching my records ever since. Soon, we’ll know everything we need to defeat Discord once and for all.”

“How soon?” Galeforce asked. “Discord could be here at any moment.”

“Let’s go to the library,” Celestia suggested. “If we all work together, we’ll find the solution in no time.”

“I’m afraid I have to disagree,” Scrollkeeper said, much to Celestia’s surprise. “I think you and your sister should rest while Mezzo and I keep researching.”

“What? Why?”

“The goal is to defeat Discord, is it not?” Scrollkeeper said. “Your sister has had a difficult night and needs to sleep, and your injury has taken more out of you than you think.”

“I’ll be fine,” Celestia tried and failed to say without wincing.

“Scrollkeeper’s right,” Galeforce said. “Leave the final preparations to us. You two will need your strength for the battle.”

“But what if you’re not ready in time?”

“Leave that to me,” Galeforce answered. “If Cloudsdale could buy you time, then so can we.”

Everfree had changed a lot when Mezzo Tint asked Celestia and Luna to come to the library. Most of the windows had been boarded up, and the shops were closed. Celestia caught a glimpse of Woodwright building something with three other ponies, but she couldn’t tell what it was.

“They’re getting ready,” Mezzo Tint told them. “The Security Council has been working all day to make sure everypony’s prepared.”

“For what?”

“For battle.”

A couple pegasi flew overhead as they reached the library. “Are those the Cloudsdale soldiers?” Luna asked.

“Galeforce convinced them to join us,” Mezzo Tint said. “Don’t ask me how. I’ve been in here all day.”

The library was a complete mess. Scrolls and books lay scattered across tables, shelves, and even the floor. “Hi there!” Cleansweep said as he flew past. “I’ll go tell my uncle you’re here.”

“How can you find anything in all this?” Celestia asked as the three stepped carefully through the library.

“You’d have to ask Cleansweep,” Mezzo Tint answered. “Scrollkeeper and I haven’t been out here much.”

They found Scrollkeeper huddled over several scrolls, muttering to himself as he took notes. His table was the only place in the library with any sense of organization. The five stone orbs sat in a small circle at one end, and he had several scrolls and books laid out on the other. “There you are,” he said once he noticed them. “I’m sorry to disturb you, but Mezzo and I have made a major breakthrough.”

“It’s all right,” Celestia said as Scrollkeeper looked through the stack of documents. “Have you found out what these orbs are?”

“Yes,” Scrollkeeper said, pulling a slightly damaged scroll from the stack so Celestia and Luna could see. “The Elements of Harmony. It’s an ancient pony legend. Most scholars don’t believe the Elements actually exist, which is why I didn’t think of it sooner.”

“‘These six Elements are the oldest and most powerful magic known to ponykind and represent the foundation of our society,’” Celestia read. “What else does it say?”

“The Elements represent honestly, laughter, generosity, kindness, loyalty, and magic,” Scrollkeeper answered. “Unless I’m mistaken, these five orbs appeared when somepony demonstrated one of these attributes.”

“What about magic?” Luna asked.

“That’s what we’ve been trying to figure out,” Scrollkeeper said. “The others clearly represent character traits, but magic is an innate ability, not an attribute.”

“Perhaps we need somepony to demonstrate magic,” Celestia suggested.

“It isn’t that simple,” Scrollkeeper said. “It says here that these Elements can only be revealed by one who exemplifies the specified quality.”

“So we need to find somepony who’s really good at magic?” Luna asked. Scrollkeeper nodded. “What about you, Tia?”

Celestia shook her head. “I think we’ve both demonstrated our abilities extensively,” she said. “Surely the orb would have appeared by now.”

“We have to try,” Luna said. “We don’t have time to find another plan.”

“That depends,” Mezzo Tint said. “What do you know about this?”

The two alicorns turned and saw him pointing at the small box Galeforce had brought from Cloudsdale. “It’s a scroll,” Luna said. “Galeforce said it contains the power of an evil centaur from long ago.”

“The Scroll of Eternal Night,” Scrollkeeper muttered as his eyes widened. “So it does exist.”

“You know about this?” Mezzo Tint asked.

“It’s a powerful and dangerous artifact,” Scrollkeeper said. “It took some of the best magicians Equestria has ever known to seal those powers away.”

“Do you think it could beat Discord?” Celestia asked.

“Whether it can or not is irrelevant,” Scrollkeeper said. “That scroll’s history is almost as dark as Discord’s. Without proper research and preparation, I fear unleashing its power will only make matters worse.”

Celestia sighed, her gaze drifting between the box and the orbs. Is this all we’ve accomplished in one month? she wondered. An incomplete set of orbs and a scroll we know nothing about?

“Are there any other options?” Luna asked.

Scrollkeeper shook his head. “The Council’s preparations can only buy us time,” he said. “Right now, these are the only chances we have.”

“Very well,” Celestia said. “Looks like we have work to do.”

Galeforce felt both proud and troubled as he looked out at his defenders. On the one hoof, almost every pony in Everfree had joined the fight in some way, even if it was only to move things from one place to another. On the other, these were villagers, not soldiers. Upon hearing of the destruction of their home and the final acts of their leader, the Cloudsdale ponies had temporarily pledged themselves to his service, but fewer than half of them were in a condition to fight. Still, this was where the rebellion had been born, and one way or another, this was where it was going to end.

“Ponies of Everfree!” Galeforce shouted at the ponies gathered in the square. The sun was drawing close to the horizon, and he knew he probably wouldn’t have much time for a speech. “Today is a day that will go down in history. Today is the day we rose up against the draconequus and reclaimed Equestria!” The ponies were tired, but they cheered loudly nonetheless. “We may not know how the battle will go, but we do know this: at the end of this day, Equestria will be free again.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t count on that.” Discord’s voice preceded his appearance by several seconds, but appear he did. “Hello, Galeforce. Glad to see you made it home.”

“Discord,” Galeforce said, taking an offensive stance. “Your reign ends now!”

It wasn’t much of a signal, but the ponies immediately took action. Several unicorns, including Shuttleweave and Woodwright, cast spells to hold Discord in place while the pegasi took to the skies. “Oh, is this your game?” Discord said with a chuckle as his body was wrapped in multiple colors of magic. “Well, well. You do have some fight in you after all!”

As the pegasi turned and began their descent, Discord waved his paw with a wicked grin. Large balls of chocolate burst from the ground, throwing several unicorns off-balance and ending their spells. The pegasi closed in quickly, but with a wave of his talon, Discord encased them in blocks of ice that shattered when they hit the ground, leaving the pegasi stunned. “Some fight, but not enough,” Discord said with a sigh.

“Clear the square!” Galeforce shouted as he shot into the air. The remaining ponies ran for the nearest street, pausing only to help the wounded squeeze between carts.

“Is that it?” Discord looked around with a frown. “Oh, come on. You’ve had all day to work on this.”

Galeforce scanned the square to make sure all his ponies were clear. “Now!” he shouted. Several earth ponies leapt from the roofs of surrounding buildings and landed on the ends of carts they had hastily converted to catapults. A barrage of small objects, from rocks to vegetables, flew from all directions and converged on the square. Discord grinned as he avoided them with ease. What he didn’t expect was an angry black pegasus to hit him from behind.

“Looks like your game’s over!” Galeforce yelled as he prepared to smash his hoof into Discord’s face. The draconequus hit him with a jet of fire from his mouth and threw him across the square. Galeforce coughed as he got to his hooves, trying to regain his bearings, but Discord grabbed him by the neck and pinned him against a wall.

“It’s been fun,” Discord said, “but this is one game you were destined to lose.”

“I haven’t lost,” Galeforce croaked. “Every second I buy Celestia is another chance we have to win.”

Before Discord could answer, two earth ponies charged out of an alleyway and hit him sideways. Galeforce fell to the ground, his vision swimming. “Are you all right?” Shuttleweave asked as she helped him get up.

“I’m fine,” Galeforce said as he looked for his adversary. The draconequus was locked in combat with Color Wheel and Grainthresh, who were trying to hold him down at all costs. Discord struck Color Wheel with a flick of his tail, knocking her out of the fray. Grainthresh’s fury visibly doubled, and he pounded one of Discord’s legs with his hoof.

With an angry roar, Discord sent the dark red earth pony flying into a house. Grainthresh collapsed instantly and lay still. “Looks like you had more fight in you than I thought,” Discord said with a low growl. “That will just make your suffering all the worse once I’ve dealt with your precious Celestia!”

“Enough of this!” Celestia’s voice rang loud and clear across the square. “Discord, it’s time to end this game!” The white alicorn stood across the square from him. Luna and Scrollkeeper stood beside her. Five stone orbs sat at her hooves, looking unremarkable to all who were unfamiliar with their origins and power.

“Well, well,” Discord said. “Look who finally showed up. I heard you ran into some trouble in Las Pegasus, but I’m sure you were able to handle it on your own.”

Celestia’s old fear resurfaced in her mind, but she shoved it away almost as quickly as it came. “You underestimated the ponies you have tortured for so long,” she said. “Did you think your schemes would stop them from fighting you forever?”

“Hmm, perhaps not,” Discord said, “but I know of one thing that will. How many would dare ruin my fun when I have two alicorns to do my bidding?”

“We’ll never know,” Celestia answered, “because that’s not how this game will end.”

“Really. Well, you have had a whole month to plan,” Discord said. “I should have known you’d come up with something brilliant.”

I hope so, Celestia thought as she began to cast her spell. The orbs in front of her began to glow as she channeled her energy through them. Discord stood with his arms crossed, a bemused expression on his face, as Celestia tried desperately to make the Elements work. Come on! If anything should make the Element of Magic appear, it’s this!

In an instant, Celestia felt the spell collapse. The pent-up energy backfired and sent her flying. By sheer luck, she managed to avoid landing on her broken wing, but the shock still sent fresh stabs of pain shooting through her body.

“Tia!” Luna was at Celestia’s side before the latter could stand. “Are you all right?”

“I’m–” Celestia could only grit her teeth against the pain as she clambered to her hooves. “I’m fine,” she said.

“Is that it?” Discord asked. “I gave you one month, and that’s the best you could do?”

“This isn’t over!” Luna shouted.

“Oh, have you decided to take my advice?” Discord asked. “Otherwise, I’m afraid this battle is about to end just like our last. Only this time, I won’t be giving you a chance to fight back.”

“Advice?” Celestia asked. “What is he talking about?”

“I – I’ll explain later,” Luna said.

“Keeping secrets, are we?” Discord said. “And here I thought you two were best friends.”

“I – I’m not keeping secrets!” Luna shouted. “I told them all about the scroll, and we don’t need it to beat you!”

“Oh, I see,” Discord said. “Backfiring rocks are good enough for you, then? Or do you plan on throwing more vegetables at me?”

“Tia will show you! Won’t you, big sister?” Luna looked at Celestia and frowned. “Tia?”

Celestia’s gaze was fixed on the ground. After everything we’ve been through, everything we’ve done, she thought. All the sacrifices and heartaches, and we’ve nothing to show for it.

“Your sister doesn’t look so sure, little Luna,” Discord said. “Come now, Celestia. Where’s that resolve you had a month ago?”

There’s nothing I can do. No spell, no negotiation, nothing. This town, this nation, all lost because I wasn’t strong enough.

“Tia, come on! You have to try again!”

I’ve lost.

Celestia’s heart seemed to shrink as those words sank in. She felt somepony pushing against her shoulder and turned her head to see who it was. “Please, Tia!” Luna was saying, her wide eyes locked on Celestia’s. “We can’t give up! Not now!”

Celestia bowed her head and closed her eyes. “It’s over, Luna. The Elements didn’t work. We failed.”

For a split second, the square was silent. Then, Discord’s laughter filled it with his glee. “Hear that, ponies?” he shouted. “Your great hero has failed!” The draconequus floated across the square until he was just feet from the alicorns. “Well, Celestia, this was certainly entertaining, but I’m afraid our game is at an end. And since I won, you and your sister will have the pleasure of serving me forever!”

“Get back!” Luna yelled, putting herself between the draconequus and her sister. “It’s not over yet! You still have to go through me!”

“Ah, I’m afraid the conditions I set at the beginning of our game were quite clear,” Discord said. “Unless Celestia could best me, both of you would become my slaves.”

“I don’t care what your rules are!” Luna said. “You’ve been cheating this whole time!”

Discord recoiled at her remark. “Me? Cheating?”

“She’s right,” Scrollkeeper said. “You agreed not to cause any trouble for anypony in Everfree, yet you have caused nothing but trouble for us since this game began.”

“How dare you!” Discord said. “I agreed not to make trouble in Everfree. I never said anything about anypony who decided to leave.”

“Oh, yeah? Then what do you call all this?” A gold-coated pegasus darted from a nearby rooftop and hovered a couple inches from Discord’s face. “You just froze a bunch of ponies and made a bunch of giant chocolate balls come out of the ground!”

“Cleansweep!” Scrollkeeper said. “I told you to stay in the library!”

“Oh, stop boring me with details,” Discord said with a sigh, driving Cleansweep back with a sudden torrent of mothballs. “Celestia has surrendered. Anything you say or do now can’t save her.”

“Not if I have anything to say about it,” Shuttleweave said as she, too, put herself between Celestia and the draconequus. “If it wasn’t for her, I may never have found my brother. I’m not the strongest unicorn, but I owe her this much.”

“You’ll have to go through me, too,” Color Wheel said as she skidded to a halt beside Shuttleweave. “I won’t let you get away with what you did to my home and my husband!”

“Oh, please,” Discord said with a groan. “It was amusing when Celestia did it, but now it’s just annoying.”

“You might not care about friendship, but we do!” Color Wheel said. “And we don’t let our friends stand alone!”

Friends. The word seemed to echo through Celestia’s body, and though she knew they could not defeat Discord, the sight of these five ponies standing beside her gave her hope. “Thank you,” she whispered. She didn’t know if they heard, but in a way, it didn’t matter. “Thank you… my friends.”

There was a flash of light much brighter than any she’d seen before. She looked up to see the final orb floating in the air above her. The other five began to glow as they rose off the ground and drifted towards the ponies grouped in front of Discord. As they watched with open mouths and wide eyes, the five orbs transformed into jeweled necklaces that fastened themselves around the necks of Celestia’s five companions – no, friends. The sixth turned into a crown and slowly descended until it rested on Celestia’s head. The white alicorn felt a sudden surge of power rush through her body, and suddenly, she knew what to do.

“What is this?” Discord shouted as he covered his eyes. “You lost! You said so yourself!”

“I may not be able to defeat you on my own,” Celestia answered, “but together, we’re more than strong enough!” She closed her eyes and focused all her newfound power into the spell she needed to cast. Discord could only watch in awe as the ponies in front of him slowly rose into the air. A whirling tornado of color and power enveloped the draconequus, blocking him from the view of all who saw. When the spell was ready, Celestia opened eyes. They were filled with light.

Ugh… where am I?

A part of Celestia knew it was an odd thought to have at a time like this, but she was unable to explain quite why. She felt completely drained, yet somehow full at the same time. She started to get up, but a gentle hoof held her down. “Not yet,” Scrollkeeper’s voice said. “Take a moment to recover your strength.”

Celestia cracked her eyes open, not sure what to expect. She found herself in a room made of gray stone that looked like it had only recently been cleaned. “Where am I?” she asked, her voice soft and weak.

“You’re in Everfree Castle,” Scrollkeeper replied. “You’ve been asleep for almost an hour.”

An hour? Celestia shook her head, trying to piece together what had happened. I remember fighting Discord in the square. Then the Elements started glowing, and I cast a spell. Though she racked her brain, she could not remember anything that had happened after that. “What happened to Discord?”

“Gone,” Scrollkeeper replied. “Well, technically, you turned him to stone, but I doubt he’ll be breaking out of that any time soon.”

“And the Elements?”

“Safe enough, for now,” Scrollkeeper said. “Galeforce thinks we should build a vault to keep them in, along with the Scroll of Eternal Night.”

“And what do you think?”

“For once, I actually agree with him.”

Celestia smiled. Seems friendship can help even those two find common ground, she thought. Friendship… the others!

“Everypony’s fine,” Scrollkeeper said when he saw her eyes widen. “Most of us were a little woozy after what happened, but we’re all back to normal now. Your sister even managed to bring in the night all on her own. Now that Discord’s gone, we need somepony who can take over the day and night.”

Celestia didn’t even want to think about casting so difficult a spell at the moment. She was just standing up when Galeforce and Luna flew through an open window. “Tia!” Luna cried as she ran to embrace her sister. “You’re okay!”

“I guess,” Celestia replied with a weak laugh. “Careful with my wing.”

“Why?” Luna asked. “Your wing is fine.”

Celestia looked at her wing with a frown and saw that the bandages had been removed. In fact, it looked as though nothing had ever been wrong with it. That’s odd, she thought as she gave it a couple experimental flaps. No wonder it doesn’t hurt any more.

“How are you feeling, your highness?” Galeforce asked.

“Fine,” Celestia said before she realized what Galeforce had called her. “Wait, did you say ‘your highness’?”

“You’re a princess, aren’t you?” Galeforce said. “Your sister said you were.”

“Well, yes,” Celestia said, “but it’s not something we just–” She suddenly stopped as she noticed a crescent moon on Luna’s flank. “Luna! Your mark!”

“What?” Luna turned and looked at her flank. “Oh, yeah! I got my mark! Do you like it?”

“It’s beautiful,” Celestia replied, stealing a glance at her own flank, which was still as blank as ever. “When did you get it?”

Luna gave her a mischievous grin. “I can’t tell you yet.”

Celestia frowned. “Why not?”

“I need to ask you a very important question first,” Galeforce said. “Before Discord came, Equestria was ruled by the unicorns. However, most of the previous rulers have long since passed on, and as far as we know, there is nopony to take their place.”

“Would you like me to search for them?” Celestia asked.

“We would like you to rule in their stead,” Galeforce answered.

“What?” Though she had been raised in a royal family, Celestia had never expected to have such an honor offered to her. “I – I can’t. This is your land. One of you should rule it.”

“Who?” Scrollkeeper asked. “Any choice we make will be subject to political debate. Every city and village will want a say in the matter, and none will be satisfied unless their demands are met. The process will take more time and effort than we can spare. We need a leader now, somepony who can unite Equestria and give us hope as we rebuild our land.”

“But surely there must be somepony,” Celestia said. “What about the Security Council?”

“The Council has already spoken about this issue, and we all agree,” Galeforce said. “Every pony in Equestria knows you as the ones who freed us from Discord. You’ve already succeeded in uniting many parts of our land, even those parts most hostile towards our cause.”

Though she knew his words were true, Celestia couldn’t bring herself to say yes. “I – I need some time to think,” she said at last. “Please, excuse me.”

Celestia flew out through the window without waiting for a response. As the cool night air ruffled her feathers, she tried to make sense of what was happening. They want me to be their ruler, she thought. How can I accept such a responsibility? I know almost nothing about this land or its traditions. And yet, she couldn’t ignore Scrollkeeper and Galeforce’s words. Who else can rule? Would they trust anypony else? For hours, she debated the question in her mind as she flew high above the village. As the hour of sunrise drew near, she finally came to a decision.

As she descended, she saw everypony in Everfree gathered in the square. She saw Color Wheel adjusting a bandage on Grainthresh’s head while Woodwright and Shuttleweave cleared away the last of the debris from the battle. She spied Cleansweep darting here and there, recounting something with all his enthusiasm. Finally, she saw Galeforce, Scrollkeeper, and Luna standing in front of the castle and landed beside them. “Well?” Galeforce asked.

Celestia didn’t answer him directly. Instead, she turned to the now-silent crowd and began to speak. “Citizens of Everfree,” she said. “I don’t know why you’ve gathered here, but I’m glad I can speak to you all at once. Your leaders have informed me that the previous rulers of Equestria are unable to resume their duties and have asked me to rule in their place.”

She could tell from their expressions that this wasn’t news to them, so she continued. “When I first came here, I had no idea I would end up leading a rebellion, much less against a being as powerful as Discord. I only wanted to find out who I was deep down, whoever that might be. I’ve spent the last hours pondering this offer and what it would mean for Equestria. I’ve only lived here for a month, and I know very little of your traditions and culture. For those reasons, I believe one of your own should lead, not me.”

The crowd began to mutter, and Celestia saw Galeforce’s head drop out of the corner of her eye, but she wasn’t done speaking. “However,” she shouted to silence the crowd, “I also realize that this nation needs a strong leader, one who can unite every city and village to a common cause. As has been pointed out to me, my sister and I have succeeded in turning even some enemies into allies. And in that respect, I believe I am just the kind of leader Equestria needs. Therefore,” she said as her horn began to glow, “I have decided, for the good of Equestria, to accept this responsibility and lead Equestria into a bright new day.”

The sun rose over the horizon as she spoke her final words, much to the crowd’s delight. It was difficult to hear anything over the cheering, but she heard Luna’s voice well enough as she spoke into her ear. “Nice timing with the sun, big sister.”

“Thanks,” Celestia replied with a sheepish grin. She knew the effect was cheesy, but she just couldn’t resist. “Well, what now?”

“We rule together, of course,” Luna answered. “Galeforce asked me the same question while you were asleep.”

Celestia laughed as she looked at her sister’s face. Though she appeared as youthful as the day they’d arrived, Celestia saw a kind of wisdom in her eyes. “You’ve grown a lot, little sister.”

“Thanks,” Luna replied. “Oh, by the way, my mark appeared when I said yes.”

It took Celestia a moment to figure out why she was telling her now, but once the pieces clicked, her gaze shot immediately to her flank. There, against the white fur, was an image of the sun, yellow in the middle and deep orange at the edge. “My mark…”

“We did it,” Luna said, unable to suppress her grin. “We found out who we are.”

Celestia couldn’t help but return her beaming smile. “We did,” Celestia agreed. “I guess our quest is at an end.”

“So, what now?” Luna asked.

Celestia looked out across the crowd of cheering ponies. Defeating Discord was just the beginning, she thought. They – no, we have so much more to do.

“Tia?”

“We find another,” Celestia said. “We keep going. After all, a ruler’s work is never done.”

Luna nodded. “All right. Where should we start?”