Chapter 1: Flight of Feathers and cents
In a middle class village in the world of Equestria, there lived a happy couple. One earth pony - red, nimble and quick as he managed and counted the village's wealthy families money. The other, a pegasus- green, quiet and unnoticed as she moved mail through the town. When the day came to an end, both would meet together and make their way back to their modest cottage in the middle of town.
Both loved each other's company, so much that they wanted to add a third addition to their lives. The green pegasus was preganted near the end of the summer of last year, and expecting in mid-spring which our prelude will show in a moment. But before we get to that, let me tell you about two separate wishes each of our two expecting ponies.
The red one, Red Cent, who was employed to manage the money of the town's wealthy, saw the snooty wealthy for what the really were. Greedy, self absorbed, and unwilling to put funds towards charities that would decrease their tax bills. Red Cent wished silently that his child would never be greedy and only be generous.
The green one, Breezy Feather, who delivered the mail, cowered whenever a pony did notice her when their packages were late. It was particularly stressful when she was with child and she wished that her child would never be mean.
One night around 3 in the morning, Breezy Feather yelped and sat up in her bed. Red Cent, who was sleeping next to her awoke and turned on the light.
“What is it honey? What's wrong?”
“The baby is coming!”
Red Cent put on his glasses in a hurry and galloped at full speed towards the doctor's house and brought him to his bedroom. Breezy Feather gasped and cried as the doctor and her husband helped naturally deliver the baby while she stood and pushed.
Then finally, the family number grow to from 2 to 3.
“You did good Breezy.” The doctor praised. He then stood still and looked the foal who looked up at him from the floor curiously while Breezy began to lick her foal clean and invited him for early breakfast from her teats. Breezy was happy, but was then confused from the expressions of Red Cent and the doctor.
“Doctor,” Red Cent began, “Is my son a pegasus... or a unicorn?”
Breezy was extremely tired, but giggled, “Red, our son is a Pegasus silly.” She then gently broke her feeding contact with her new born so that she could introduce him to her goofy husband more clearly. She gazed down upon her son, and did a double take.
The little foal whinnied at his source of warmth and food, being taken away. He looked up at Breezy Feather with his big golden eyes, his tan coat and pure white mane still damp from his mother's tongue, his wings flip-flopped in an effort to keep himself steady on his little hooves. He was a pegasus alright, but his head had a horn.
The foal bleated again at his mother and walked carefully back under her to resume feeding. Red Cent and Breezy Feather traded glances and then looked at the doctor who was busy filling out a birth certificate, noting the day and time and then he look up and said, “Congratulations... its a Boy Alicorn. It is a very special day for you both and all of Equestria indeed. At this time, we will need to depart for the hospital right away!”
“Why?” asked Red Cent.
“There has not been a male Alicorn for centuries. Your son is key to the continuance of Alicorn kind and of her Highnesses princess Celestia and Luna reign. Your son will be taken to the hospital to be inspected thoroughly and isolated while we contact the ministry of health, then your son should be placed under protection of the royal guard and transported to Canterlot.
Breezy shifted a bit, her Alicorn baby was tugging a bit too roughly at her teats. “Will we able to go to with him?”
“I am not sure.”
Red Cent shook his head. Canterlot was not his favorite place, the city was full of rude and rich unicorns, and they were all very rude when it came to debating tax loopholes that they simply will not get away with, they yell at him for no reason at him. He had a terrible thought that his son may become one of them. “Look, this is all very sudden. We haven’t even named him yet. Doctor, we just want to live our lives normally and our son to have a normal childhood here in Farwoods.”
The Doctor shook his head. “I am sorry, but this has to be done. This order to my understanding was given by Princess Celestia many, many centuries ago. It is the law. I hope you understand.”
There was then an awkward silence. Red Cent sighed in frustration, and then he trotted to his wife and son. He nuzzled his wife and whispered in her ear. Her eyes grew wide and she looked at the doctor with a pain look. She then nodded. Red Cent then bowed below his wife to nuzzle his son, who briefly vocalized his hello before returning to his welcoming breakfast.
The doctor was putting away his stethoscope in his bag when Red Cent offered, “Before we go any where doctor, would you be interested in an early breakfast before we go? Perhaps some fried potatoes and veggies with lemon pepper?”
“That would be nice, we could eat and discuss your child name to place on the certificate, I have it all signed and ready for you.”
“That is grand, we also have tea and sugar if you'd like, or perhaps coffee?”
“Tea is fine”
“How may lumps would you like?”
“One please and thank you.”
Wham!
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“...and then the last thing you saw was a frying pan?” Asked the royal guard hours later, taking notes at the town hall.
“Yes...” said the doctor weakly while rubbing a spot on his head that was partially covered with a large ice block.
“One last question,” the guard put down his quill with his magic and looked directly at the doctor. You've mentioned that you have been neighbors and have tended to Red Cent and Breezy Feather for years. So you would know them best. Why do you think that they would knock you out and flee town to with their newborn, the un-named Alicorn foal?”
The doctor sighed, “I really cannot discuss what we talk about when providing the two care. However, Mr. Cent is a reliable strategist when it comes to money, and he has helped our clinic's bottom line in the past. He does tend to get irritated when his clients – particularly when they ask him to manipulate their weath in a certain way that is legally questionable..”
“Mrs. Feather is prone to be publicly anxious, and I am partially responsible as well for that when I grow impatient waiting for important documents. But being that she comes from a line of pegasus ponies who actually do better on the ground then the air, combined with the stresses of the Royal Mail service, this is to be expected.”
“To sum up, the both of them share a normal life... as I said before they did not want to have their son isolated then sent to Canterlot. Both have worked a very long time to have children... And I have said too much, and must now make my report of the alicorn to the ministry of health.”
The Royal Guard nodded his head and took up his quill. “Thank you for your time, doctor. You'll find that a representative from the ministry of health down the hall in the room to your right.”
After the doctor left the room, the guard finished his report and placed it into his saddlebag. He then motioned to his subordinates in the room to prepare for flight. There was a Alicorn out there that needed their protection. One way or another, the young prince would be found, and brought to where he belongs.
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Eight days later, in a wooded place away from society, father and mother was playing keep away with their son. Giggling and laughing as their son frolicked and jumped trying to get a single flower. Sometimes the parents would let him win and his reward would be to suckle on the flower (he was still to young to eat flowers, but the suckling the flower and its tasty juices was rewarding nevertheless). To the parents delight, the young Alicorn was able to say “Mommy” and “Daddy” so shortly after his birth.
Both shuttered when they thought if their son was never able to say those words as his first words.
Later that evening, Breezy Feather had finished feeding her son and was snuggling by the camp fire with him when Red Cent came back with dinner... and a lumpy carpet bag.
“Hello honey! I'm home!” he said muffled, then he threw the bag down, the objects inside clinking as it settled. Then unpacking the wild wheat and apples he plucked on his way home from his saddle bag and laid them on the picnic blanket for his wife.
“What is in the bag?” Breezy Feather asked.
Red Cent smiled, “Remember the savings account we have with Farwoods capital bank that Filthy Rich offered a high interest rate I redid the bank's taxes?”
“Faintly, but wouldn't the Royal Guard freeze the account?”
“Well, when Mr Rich asked me to skirt around the law, I became very distrustful of his bank. Then I closed the account and buried the money!”
“Red Cent! You didn't!”
“But I did! And considering the circumstances, what a good investment I made!”
Red Cent then tapped the bag, which opened and spilt hundreds of gold bits on the ground. Breezy Feather smiled, but then frowned. “But We won't be able to hide in any town in equestria! They will look for us, and take away our love.”
She looked at her son, who was now wide awake and staring at the pretty glittering coins in the bag, cooing and attempting to escape the hooves of his mother, who wouldn't let go, and hugged him tighter. “How are we to live? We want to live a normal life, we can't live in the Forest forever. And this money can't last us two years.”
Red Cent sighed, “There is a town development project that I was offered a stake in... but this isn't enough to cover it” If only I did, two years from now we could have been living in a new home in a new town. We could change our names, and provide home schooling to... we haven’t even named our son! What kind of parents are we? Oh Breezy, I am so sorry. I wish we had more money!”
Then the remarkable happened. The little Alicorn foal whinnied and fought to escape his mother's grasp. He then broke free and jumped into the pile of bits, playing and giggling, then his horn began glow a bright light, over taking the light of the evening fire and blinding his parents. Then as quickly as the flash came, it was gone. When both Red Cent and Breezy Feather regained their sight, the modest pile of money that was in the bag was twice as high as they were put together. With their son on top, flapping his wings and cooing at the sudden, rapid ascension he just took.
“Oh my...” Breezy said.
“Impossible...” said Red, “Bits cannot be replicated! The treasury puts secret magical charms on the bits so they cannot be counterfeited! He then ruffled through his bag for his special magnifying glass he used when working for the wealthy and examined a few of the coins.
They were all real.
The little Alicorn on top of the pile suddenly lost his balance and fell down the small mountain of bits into his mother and fathers hooves and the hugged him while crying tears of Joy. And on that day, his parents named the first male alicorn in centuries, Generosity.
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“Oh my...” Said Princess Celestia.
“Impossible!” shouted Princess Luna. “Are you sure that the Doctor who delivered this “Brown Male Alicorn with white mane” is telling the truth?! We think that the frying pan made him deluded, and thou foolishly believed this bull of story?!”
The public servant, (who in fact was well-to-do bull from the ministry of health), let his jaw drop at her majesty's comment.
Princess Celestia quickly went into damage control mode. “Forgive my sister, I speak for myself and I do not judge until I have all the facts, but are you quite certain that the doctor from Farwood is telling the truth?”
The Bull picked his jaw off the ground and recomposed himself. “Uh-hum, yes.” He said in a gruff voice. “Doctor Wind Whistle graduated at the top of his class in Canterlot University and has no complaints on file with the ministry. We have no reason not to believe him.”
“Very well, thank you for bringing this to our attention. You are excused.”
After the public servant left, the princesses left the private meeting room, and retired to the residence wing of the castle. While walking towards their rooms, Princess Celestia hummed a melody.
“I recognize that song...” piped Princess Luna. “It was the song that Silver Prism used to sing to when he was trying to court you.”
Celestia laughed. “Yes! Oh Silver Prism... I miss him very much. He was very much loved at court and acted as a jester whenever an ambassador or another pony made such ridiculous requests!” Then her smile faded “I wish that he wouldn't have disappeared after I rejected his offer to marry him.”
Luna stopped. “I actually never asked... why did you reject him?”
“He wasn't mature. At least, not at that time. I loved him, but if I married him then and there, Equestria would have a fool for a king. I tried to gently set him down, but when I finished and left him in the rose garden. He became so depressed, that he suffered Cutie Fracture.”
Cutie Fracture is when a pony's Cutie Mark became “broken” in a sense. The medical diagnosis for this condition is a distorted cutie mark, a change of color from original to gray and an unwillingness to participate in world maintenance (change seasons or repair), or perform their special talent. Most ponies, unless given proper help, die of starvation. There is no known cure, but attention and praise given to the afflicted may help this debilitating disease.
“So sad,” commented Luna. “I guess he truly was not a good fit for you. What ever happened after that?”
“I told him before I left,” Celestia quivered her lips a bit “That if he became more mature, I'd consider his offer in the future. After I was told of his affliction, he disappeared. Fearing that he may have died or might kill himself, I sent the wonderbolts far and wide to find him. He is still missing, but as far as the official records, he simply wanted to explore space and left Equestria. It is assumed he is dead. But every now and again, I do ask for a recon mission whenever I hear one of his songs sung by a pony in my travels in the kingdom.”
Both princesses resumed walking, and Celestia continued on a more pleasant note, “If the report is true, then it looks like we may have a suitor in a few decades.”
“Or trouble if we do not secure the foal.” said Luna. “We barely can contain ourselves when we are entrusted the day, night and security of all of our little ponies.” Certainly like Prism we have a joke here and there to keep us sane, but what if he becomes evil?”
“Well, only one way to find out. When he surfaces again, our guards will politely secure him.”
Chapter 2: The nightmares of Whisper Woods
For many years after the flight of Red Cent and Breezy Feathers, Luna searched Equestria high and low at night. In addition to helping ponies in their dreams with chronic nightmares, she searched everypony she came into contact with in their dreams to see if they were the lost prince.
Fillydelphia? Nope.
New Yoke? Nope.
Trottingham? Of course not, neither parents spoke the dialectic and would stick out.
Ponyville? Unlikely. Checked anyway. Nope.
Other countries? Nope nope nope nope nope nope nope. Bah!
She opened her eyes and slammed a hoof against the castle balcony tile, which cracked further from repeated angry stampings. She sighed as she grew weary. The dawn grew close – she only had an hour before Celestia woke to raise the sun. As she did before, she then closed her eyes again and searched. This time, instead of known towns and cities, she searched in parts unknown. In hopes of finding anything, which often and always proved fruitless as well.
Until tonight, as her magic wandered far west of Canterlot, she heard a scream of terror.
Luna stopped, and her magic scryed upon a mountain in the middle of a Redwood Forest. She then heard more murmurs of terror. All from sleeping ponies. She descended upon the place, and stepped into a dream.
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She then found herself in a kitchen, there was a grown unicorn mare, with an orange coat and a pencil for a cutie mark. She was backed into a corner by a nightmare monster, a blob crawling with bugs. It cackled with a deep throaty laugh as it sent more small bugs that squeaked menacingly at the mare as they crawled towards her.
The mare screamed again in terror as she magically used a frying pan to squish oncoming bugs. But more and more kept coming.
Luna saw enough. This dream - if chronic - would have disastrous effects on this mare's ability to function in the real world.
Luna then barked, “HALT THY REVILED CREATURE! WE SHALT STOP YOUR REIGN OF TERROR!”.
She then blasted the bug monster with dark magic from her horn. The bug monster screamed as it sank into the floor, and then disappeared.
The mare rolled her eyes up into her head as she collapsed on the floor, the frying fell to the floor with a clang.
Luna slowly trotted over to the mare, she dropped her Royal Canterlot voice and softly said “You are safe now my little pony. Open your eyes.”
The mare slowly opened an eye. Left... right.... No monster! She then opened both eyes. She looked up at Luna.
And then shrieked again, “Nightmare Moon! No no no no no nooo!”
Luna winced at the scream, then the dream collapsed. The mare had woken up.
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Luna opened her eyes again to Nighttime Canterlot and shook her head. She then snorted angrily, “What was that all about?!”
Luna returned from the balcony to her room and entered her bathroom. She looked upon the mirror above the sink. She gazed upon her face and otherworldly mane as it flowed and waved from her head without help from the wind. “I am NOT Nightmare Moon!” she said to her reflection before turning on the faucets and splashing her face with water.
It had been years since anypony directly called her that without it being the holiday known as Nightmare Night. Everyone in Equestria knew better, and most ponies were happy to see Luna in their dreams... did this mare not care that she was there to protect them?!
Furthermore... what was that place on the mountain in the redwood forests? She exited the bathroom and back into her room. She approached her desk and opened one of the drawers and brought out a scroll. With her magic she unfurled it, and gazed upon the map of Equestria.
Finding Canterlot as a reference point, she used her hoof to trace a line from there to the west, as she did she made note of the smaller towns, but none of then were in a wooded area. Her hoof finally came to the point of were woods were marked on the map. But found no towns there.
The woods drawn on the map were distinctly red. The south of it the woods were distinctly dark, and labeled 'Everfree Forest'. There was also a town here northwest in those woods called 'Sunny Town', but below the name was (Condemned).
Luna thought back for a moment, she remembered the story about Sunny Town and what happened there… no it couldn't possibly be. The woods she scryed were redwoods, not the dark woods of EverFree. The map surely must be outdated...
She glanced at the grandfather clock in the room. 30 minutes to sunrise.
She rolled the map back up with her magic and placed it back into her desk. She decided that she would skip breakfest and scry this town a little longer. Luna returned to the balcony and gazed beyond it to the west once more, and closed her eyes.
She found the mountain in the redwoods once again... and heard the screams of those having nightmares once again. She could not see the homes of these ponies anywhere. But she felt the fringes of the edge of their dreams. Taking a big breath, she entered a dream once more.
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Luna gasped at what she saw. She was outside in the woods. There was a blue colt with no cutie mark, cowering before a much bigger and ANGRY looking Red Stallion with a cutie of mark of a lit match.
“No! Please Mr. Light!” Cried the colt. “I'm sorry! I didn't mean to-”
“LIAR!” screamed the father. “You little brat! I'm going to do to you what I should have done AGES ago!”
A flame suddenly erupted from the tip of the stallion's horn.
“NO! PLEASE! Don't set me on fire!”
'Mr. Light' just smirked at him and said, “You should have thought of that before you angered me!”
Luna then intervened. “YOU SHALT NOT HARM THAT COLT YOU PILE OF VOMIT!”
Then the angry stallion who was about to set his son ablaze suddenly froze. His entire body was encased in ice, and his flame on his horn had gone out. Luna then stood on both her hind legs and brought her forehooves down upon the ice with a almighty crash. The frozen stallion was broken into a million pieces.
The colt just watched in awe as the pieces of ice melted into the ground and disappeared. He then looked at Luna with a big smile on his face and started to jump for joy! “Woo hoo!” He cried, bouncing on all four of his little hooves.
"Thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou!” chanted the little colt as he stopped bouncing and ran up to his savior. “THANK YOU SO MUCH Miss.... ummm...” he stopped and frown as he looked at Luna... “Big... unicorn... pegasus... lady.” he finished.
Luna looked at the Colt incredulously. “You do not know who I am?” she asked.
The colt then looked dismayed, and slowly backed up, “...No.” he said in a subdued voice. “Please don't hurt me...”
Something was off... Luna then put on her best smile and replied softly, “I would never hurt you little one. Please don't be afraid, my name is Princess Luna. What is your name?” She then looked around at the buildings that suddenly faded into existence. “And what is this place?” she added.
The colt, no longer afraid and eager to please this friendly stranger piped, “My name is Rainy Day, and this is Whisper Woods!” The colt's smiling face suddenly became twisted in agony, his eyes suddenly bugged out of his head, and he screamed. Luna suddenly found the buildings around her set ablaze.
And the dream collapsed. The colt had woken up, violently.
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Luna opened her eyes and stumbled back. “What?!” she said as she fell on her rump. She shook her head and angrily got back up, pointed herself affirmatively to the west to scry again. The lowering of the moon could wait, this was important.
She chanced upon the mountain again with her magic, she no longer heard the screams. Was the Whisper Woods ponies now awake? No! There has to be some pony that was a late riser... but where!?
Luna searched for a minute, then something pulsed white against her magic, something... so familiar...
She entered a dream.
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Luna found herself standing on the deck of a wooden boat in the middle of the ocean. Ponies about her were dressed like a crew would of a pirate ship. They were milling about, ignoring her as the cleaned the deck of the ship. Moving every which way, and most annoyingly saying “Ya'rr” every few seconds.
Then a ship whistle sounded. The pirates suddenly stopped what they were doing and moved towards the back of the ship. Curious, Luna began to follow them. The gathered on the end of a staircase that look as if it led to the ship's wheel and balcony. Suddenly, a pirate pony with gold teeth and a black captain's hat appeared and let loose a mighty “Yarr!”
“Yarr!” Replied the crew. Then all of them looked towards Luna and stared at her.
“Umm... yaar?” she squeaked.
“Listen here ye bilgerats” said the pirate pony with the gold teeth on the balcony. “Thar be a ship with lot's o treasure from the mighty nation of Prance, and you know what we're gonna do?!”
“Raid it!” said one pony.
“Plunder it!”said another.
The pirate ponies stared at Luna again, “Umm... take what is rightfully Ours?...Yar!”
“Yarr!” Replied the Pirate ponies, satisfied with her answer.
“Ye!” Said the pirate Captain. “So long as that meddling Admiral Generosity doesn't get in our way! Yarr!”
“Yarr! Replied the crew. The all turned to stare at Luna again.
Luna snorted, this was getting annoying. Who's dream was this anyway? “Pardon me, Captain.” Luna said. “May I inquire who this Admiral is?”
“Yarr!” Replied the Captain.
“Yarr!” Repeated the Crew.
Luna had enough, she used her magic to yank the captain down from the ship's balcony and shook him. several times. Then she stopped and let him recover. She then glared at the rest of the crew as if daring to say “Yarr” again.
All of them backed away and formed a circle around their captain and his captor. None said a word.
Luna turned back towards the captain again, and asked in the most polite voice she could muster, “Whom Dear captain, is this Admiral you speak of?”
Surprisingly, the captain answered in a well mannered Trottingham accent “Good ma'am, he is the most horrendous Admiral to ever arrest all pirates, everywhere across the seven seas. He has stopped us from raiding any ship, any where. We are just hungry pirates who want to buy food... and that the muddy truth, wot wot?”
At that moment there was a loud boom.
Aye captain Black Hoof! Its Admiral's Generosity's ship!
Luna released the captain from her magic. The pony pirate then picked up his hat, dusted it, composed himself. Aye! It be the Admiral! All hands on deck! Prepare to repel boarders! Ya... umm... he looked at Luna.
Luna rolled her eyes. “Yaaaaarr!” she shouted.
“Yarr! Replied the crew as they pulled out wooden swords.
Suddenly Pegasus ponies dressed in old age red coat uniforms and hats flew in from above and landed on the ship deck, wielding wooden swords in their mouths. Then the fighting started.
Luna shook her head and took flight to circle the deck, maybe she could find this Generosity so that she could learn more about the town of Whisper Woods. She flew to the top of the mast into the crows nest, and booted out the pirate occupying it, who shouted as he fell to the deck below “I regret nothing!”. She took the spyglass left behind and looked all around the for the Admiral's ship, which was nowhere... Maybe he was fighting below and she missed him?
Suddenly, the entire world went dark through the spyglass. And went bright again. Luna looked up, then heard a tearing noise below her. Some pony was tearing a hole in the sail. Classic hero stunt.
She quickly teleported from the Crow's Nest to the ship's steering wheel and balcony so that she could see the owner of the dream land in time.
What Luna saw made her jaw drop.
A big, slender, and in Luna's opinion, rather handsome brown and white maned Alicorn, dressed in a Blue Old age captain's uniform and black hat to match landed on the deck. His mane was not flowing like hers, but was thin and was reflective of the dream sun and naturally flowed across the back of his neck, the tips almost flashing gold.
“HOLD THERE, VILLAINS!” He shouted confidently through the hilt he had in his mouth in a perfect Royal Canterlot shout that made Luna's heart skip a beat. “GIVE THYSELVES UP AND GIVETH BACK THY STOLEN BAUBLES!”
“Yar!” shouted the pirate captain as he threw one of Generosity's sailors off of himself, “Nevar! Yarrrr!”
Generosity then smirked and lowered his head, “Then prepare to fight!”
All the sailors and pirates stopped fighting and formed a circle around the Admiral and the Captain. Some began to cheer, jeer, yarr and huzzah their respective combatants. Some even started their own betting pools.
Both than crossed swords and began their not-quite-deadly duel.
Generosity took a high blow to the captain who smartly blocked it. Generosity then struck left and was parried, then he struck right and was parried again. The Pirate captain then advanced with a series of blows that the admiral began to block. In all the while he was being forced backwards to the side of the ship, and on to the plank.
With a final wack of the evil pirate's sword, Generosity's own wooden sword flew from his moth and into the sea.
Uh-oh.
“Yarr! Me thinks that this is the end for you Admiral!” the pirate captain chuckled.
Luna...
“Now... walk the plank! Yarr...” shouted the captain as he laid his sword against the much bigger Alicorn's neck.
“No!” shouted Luna from where she was watching from the balcony,
Luna?
Luna teleported from the balcony of the ship to behind the pirate captain. She then poked him hard with her horn.
“Yeeeeow!” screamed the pirate captain as he jumped off the plank. “My bum!”
There was a big splash. And then a cheer from all the sailors on board as they won their betting pools while the pirate crew grumbled.
Generosity looked from where he saw the pirate captain fall and looked at his savior. His jaw dropped... It was a female version of himself. Dark coat, blue mane... flowing? With stars?
No way. He was probably dreaming. Time to wake up.
Luna!
And the dream collapsed.
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Luna opened her eyes with a start. It was now daylight. She looked around and met her sister's gaze. “Celestia!”
“What is it?” asked Celestia with concern in her voice, “You were so concentrated that I had to lower the moon myself. Is everything alright?
“I found the Alicorn born in Farwoods!” she exclaimed. “He is in a place called Whisper Woods. Also, the ponies around him seemed tortured and afraid.”
Celestia raised an eybrow, “Of him?” she asked.
Luna shook her head, “I don't think so, the ponies of Whisper Woods never dreamed of him at all, they were afraid of other things... and they seem not to know who I was!”
“Hmm...” murmured Celestia. “This is all too familiar... I think that we should withhold our judgment before we act. Come sister.” Celestia began to walk back into the tower, “Let us make our way to breakfast while you tell me the details.”
