Star-crossed

"That's it. That's Windcroft Castle."

The Castle was quite large, though not as big perhaps as Canterlot castle, it was somewhere between a castle and a mansion in terms of size. The walls were made of brilliant white stones that looked golden in the sunrise. Flags that were fastened to the tops of the towers fluttered merrily in the light morning breeze and they matched the banners strung from the walls. It was anchored to the ground by a bridge built to look like a rainbow, or perhaps it actually was a rainbow. In front of the twin wooden doors was an extravagant sculpture garden, some were made of the conventional stone and marble but quite a few were made of expertly shaped cloud.

The chariot landed softly in the garden to let them off. Katie was thankful that she was still a pegasus or else she would fall right through. Discord thanked them and they flew off.

"It's beautiful." Katie said.

"It is. but now that i'm looking at it, the thing it needs most right away is a special signature touch of mine."

"What would that be?"

"I'll show you." Discord bent down and placed his lion paw onto the fluffy cloud holding them up. The cloud around his paw began to change color taking on a pinkish hue. The color spiraled and spread quickly. It reminded Katie of when she poured pink Kool-aid mix into a container of water and just watched the color spread instead of stirring it. In no time at all the cloud had turned entirely pink. Discord gripped a small bit of the pink cloud and popped it into his mouth.

"Discord's special recipe cotton candy. The best kind in all of Equestria if I do say so myself." He said

Katie reached down and grabbed a pinch herself and put it into her mouth. The sugary confection melted over her tongue. The sweet flavor made her hum in pleasure. It was perhaps the best she had ever tasted, the traditional cotton candy flavor, but somehow better and with just the lightest hint of chocolate aftertaste.

"I can agree to that!" she said. "You're right, that's exactly what it needed. Nopony in all of Equestria would doubt that this was Discord's castle now!"

"You want to check out the inside?" He asked.

"Of course!"

The inside was just as beautiful as the outside. By the looks of it, even though Luna fully expected Discord to redecorate it however he pleased, she was not afraid to go all out with the original design. Brightly colored tapestries and paintings adorned the walls. It was truly a sight to behold. Sunlight streamed through the stained glass windows, projecting multi-colored light onto the floors and walls. Twin spiral staircases off the the side of the main foyer led up to the higher floors.

Discord studied the interior carefully."I like it," He said, "but..."

"What's wrong?"

"It needs a couple more Discord touches."

"Well, part of the reason she gave us the place is so that you can cause as much chaos as you please. So I don't mind you making whatever changes you feel necessary. Just try not to tear the place down, it's so nice and we only just got it." She joked.

"Do you really believe I would do that?"

"Yes." she said flatly.

"I'm more predictable than I thought, you know me so well! Don't worry, the place is staying in one piece, I'm just redecorating, just a little here and there. Keep in mind, that including when I was human, It's been at least a week since I caused any sizeable chaos at all. There is only so much I can do to hold back."

"By all means, have your fun. I'm going to go and explore a bit, ok?"

Discord smiled and his lion paw and eagle claw both lit with magic as he started to add his 'personal touches'. She honestly hadn't expected him to start changing things quite so soon, but she couldn't blame him. If she had the spirit of chaos constantly nagging in her head, she would probably be anxious to blow off some steam too. She climbed one of the spiral staircases and in time she found herself atop one of the towers. She didn't know how she knew it, but this one must have been meant to be her room. The room was beautiful, it had a moon and stars theme, of course. A doorway off to the side led onto a stunning balcony. Obviously, Luna wanted her to stay in touch. Could she use the Equestria moon the same as she could use the Earth one?

One wall was lined entirely with fully stocked bookshelves, and another had a doorway that led to a walk-in closet.
against the back wall was a large round bed covered in fluffy pillows and quilts. Katie spun around and flopped onto it. It was low to the ground, so it was clearly built for pony use, but she didn't mind in the slightest. It was extremely comfortable, it felt almost as if she were lying on a cloud. The fatigue and excitement from the night before finally caught up with her and, despite her best attempts to stay awake, she quickly fell asleep cuddled up in her warm blankets.

She dreamed about the moon.

A blue pegasus filly bounded around the barren landscape. She giggled and smiled. Every once in a while, she would find a rock or something that interested her and she would play with it or use it to draw pictures in the gray sand. She was so busy having fun, she didn't notice the shadow looming over her. It had been following her for a long while now, just barely staying in the shadows far enough for the filly to not notice her presence. She ruffled her wings anxiously, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. Her blue mane billowed around her in a nonexistent wind, and her hooves pawed impatiently at the ground. Her turquoise eyes were focussed intently on the child her, gaze did not waver for an instant. She had been stalking her prey too long to risk letter it escape her sight again.The little filly paused in her romping to examine an interesting rock she found. The dark blue alicorn stepped out of the shadows.

"I have you now!" She cheered, "There's no escaping me this time young filly!"

The filly turned and galloped away, hoping to outrun the much larger pony. Her heart beat fast and she could feel it thumping in her chest. Her smooth even breaths became short and huffy. She chanced a look behind her, she was making no headway; the alicorn was catching up, and fast. The filly squeaked with fear as she realized that escape was hopeless on the featureless surface of the moon. There were no bushes to dive into and no trees to climb, she was trapped. She attempted to dive for cover into a crater but to no avail. The alicorn caught her in a magical grip. Her horn glowed as she set the filly down on the surface of the moon.

Oh, you're in for it now!" She said. The filly squeaked again and shut her eyes, dreading what she knew was coming next.

"You've evaded me long enough, it's time for you to get what's coming to you! TICKLE FIGHT!" She laughed gleefully. She began tickling the young pegasus all over making her scream with laughter.

"Cut it out!" The filly squealed. But the alicorn was relentless, turning a deaf ear to her desperate cries.

"I'm serious! Mom, cut it out!"

The alicorn laughed and stopped her barrage of tickling. The filly got herself up and tackled the alicorn. They wrestled until they both collapsed in a fit of giggles. The little filly looked up into the pitch black night sky, of course it was always nighttime on the moon, but she didn't mind; she was used to it by now. She was born on the moon, mommy told her so. Mommy wasn't born here but she got in a fight with her sister and now she was stuck here in time out. The filly had been in time out before, but she only had to wait ten minutes, not a thousand years.

She had mapped every single one of the stars, and she could name them, too. She could see the beautiful planet of Equestria from here. She had memorized the beautiful country, she knew roughly where canterlot was and where the borders of Equestria met that of the Gryphon Kingdom and the dragon country. She also knew a lot about Equestrian history. Her mother often told her stories about Equestria's past. She wished she could visit, but her mom had explained several times that they would be stuck on the moon for at least another half-thousand years. That couldn't stop her from hoping though. Her mom promised her that someday they would go back, and she would be able to actually see the dragons, and they could go and live in Canterlot. Mommy said that when they did go back, they would teach all the ponies about how beautiful the night was, and everypony would cheer for her and her mother. Mommy said that everypony would look at the stars and be happy. Mommy promised that they would never be apart.

"Hey momma?" She said

The alicorn rolled over to look at her filly, "What is it dear?"

"Tell me another story about Equestria."

"I'm tired, dear. I've been chasing you around for hours."

"Please? You're so good at telling them, and I love hearing about Equestria."

"Fine, one story. Then it's time for us to rest. Which do you want to hear?"

"Tell me about.....umm...", the filly thought a moment, "I know! Tell me the one about the Windigoes!"

"About Hearth's Warming Eve? I've told you that one a hundred times already! You must have memorized it by now!"

"I know, but it's one of my favorites. Please?"

The alicorn smiled, "Oh, alright. Let's see, how did that one start again?"

"Once upon a time, long before the peaceful rule of Celestia...." She filly supplied.

"Of course, I remember now. Once upon a time, long before the peaceful rule of Celestia, and before ponies discovered our beautiful land of Equestria, ponies did not know harmony. It was a strange and dark time. A time when ponies were torn apart, by hatred."

The filly gasped. She knew the story by heart but she reacted the same every time. The alicorn told her filly the story from start to finish.

" The three leaders agreed to share the beautiful land, and live in harmony ever afterwards. And together, they named their new land..."

"Equestria!" The filly cheered happily. After all that playing and the alicorns exciting story, the filly was tired and yawned sleepily. She curled up in a tight ball against her mother's warm coat.

"I love you momma." She said.

The alicorn smiled as she nuzzled the filly fondly. "I love you too, Katrina. So, so much. You'll always be my little filly."

High up in one of the towers in Canterlot castle Luna woke slightly from her slumber, and mumbled a single word in her sleep.

"Always."

Sorry for the shorter chapter. I'm having a bit of a feels overload. T~T

Awww, don't feel sad Whovian. They get back together eventually.

I know, Pinks. I know.

You still look like you're going to cry...

Sorry, It's just a sad chapter is all, but it's happy at the same time, I think. Sort of bitter-sweet.

You need a hug?

A hug would be nice. I could definitely use a hug...

<3<3<3 WhovianPony