The Crystal Mountains were a cold and lonely place. On the slopes overlooking the great white expanse of the frozen north, the wind blew and snow fell, too hard and too thick for anything other than ice and stone to survive. But one mountain stood out, breaking the ranks. Where it should have stood in the range, there was a valley, empty and gaping like a missing tooth.
Near the top of that self-same mountain, on the Equestria-facing slope, a group of ponies climbed. There were five of them, attached to one another by lengths of rope, and they were silent. Their destination was a small blotch, a break in the solid ice above. They reached it without incident, collapsing one by one into the opening, exhausted.
The last pony to make it inside, an elderly unicorn with a snow-riddled beard, was the first to speak.
“Good... good work, sirs. We’re finally here. Barnes!”
“Yes, Mr. Humbolt?” replied a younger earthpony, the first one into the cavern who was already tossing aside some of his heavier clothing.
“What can you tell me? This looks like a regular old cave to me.”
“Oh no, sir. This isn’t no regular old mountain cave; no sir. Like, lookey here, this fog...”
He motioned toward the depths of the cave; a thick pool of mist hung ten yards away.
A different pony, this one barely older than a colt, and mustard yellow, said “plus, it’s pretty hot in here, ain’t it?”
“That it is, kid. And not just because the wind’s gone... something’s keeping this place warm. Be on your guard, boys. This mountain is old,” Mr. Humbolt said. He shared a look with the armor-clad pegasus guard accompanying them, while everypony else began piling up their snow coats and sweaters.
They began descending, clad lightly, with the colt and Barnes carrying torches. The air got warmer. After a while, it was downright clammy, drenching everypony’s clothes and making it hard to breathe. Eventually though, the rough cave walls gave way to smooth stonework. Everypony, excepting perhaps the pegasus guard, seemed excited to discover this remnant of civilization. When they came across carvings resembling text--a plaque at the base of a decadent statue--the colorful pegasus mare of the group squee’d in excitement. She flew over to examine the writing.
“Wow! I-I think I can translate this! It looks like a variation of one of the pre-Equestrian unicorn dialects; could you bring one of those torches over here please?” she said. The yellow colt rushed over, watching the pegasus work. She took out a notebook, scribbling a few things.
“What are y’ writing, Snow Blossom? Can I help?” he said.
“I’m just jotting down what I think it means... and no thanks, just keep that torch up.” She addressed the others without turning. “You can keep going, guys. I’ll need a few minutes.”
“Ok, but we won’t be goin' too far. Holler if anythin' happens,” Barnes said.
The party split up; Barnes, Mr. Humbolt, and the guard continued on. They emerged into a high chamber with a massive stone dome overhead. The dome was covered in a single well-preserved mural, depicting a catastrophic meteor-shower. Rocks rained from the sky, striking a huge white city, while opposite this, unicorns suffered, weeping in a dark cavern. Looking down, the ponies noticed that the chamber was carpeted by still mist, and at its center lay some sort of cylindrical altar.
They approached the altar with care. A wavy symbol was etched across its surface, black on one side and white on the other. The three ponies just gazed at it until the guard broke the silence, speaking for the first time since they’d entered the cave.
“Ah know this symbol, sah. It’s a... a Ying-a-yang. Ying's uh night 'n yang's uh day, plus uh whole bunch uh other opp'site-like stuff. Means harmony,” he said.
Mr. Humbolt was surprised more by the mute guard talking than the curious tidbit, but he nodded to his employee appreciatively all the same. A walk around the altar, and a glance around the dim cavern revealed no more writing, and no other entrances. The unicorn hoped the translation Snow Blossom was working on was significant, or else this trip was a waste of his ever-shortening time.
Barnes, starting to bore of standing about and noticing that his employer was deep in thought, crouched down to get a closer look at the stone altar. He reached out, intending to brush aside a thick layer of dust--but the moment his hoof touched the stone he recoiled in surprise, waving about his bare hoof.
“Flippin' frogs! Ehh, Mr. Humbolt sir, this stone’s scaldin' hot! Real scaldin',” he said. Mr. Humbolt approached, and confirmed the observation. Perhaps this trip was going to be worth it after all. This cavern must have been build before civilization died out in the north, which would make it at least a few centuries old... and to keep something warm for so long would require a remarkable enchantment... assuming the heat wasn’t coming from some natural source. But why enchant it?
Regardless of the motivations of ponies hundreds of years ago, though, Mr. Humbolt presumed he could learn something from the ancient magic itself, so long as he was careful not to dispel it. The elderly unicorn reached into the altar with his magic, searching for the enchantment... but what he found was something far more exciting.
“Woah boys, it looks like something’s alive in there!” he said. The guard tensed, getting ready to draw his sword, but Mr. Humbolt put up a hoof. “Oh, don't bother with that. Whatever it is, it's very much not a dragon. And it’s sleeping. Heavily too--maybe even in a coma. Now, you two, help me. We need to get this cover off...”
A few moments of sustained telekinesis produced a widening crack around the edges of the cover-stone. The other two ponies slid their hooves in and lifted the cover up and away, laying it down nearby. All three gazed into the container awestruck.
“By Equestria!” Barnes said. “What are those, sir?”
The container was filled with a bubbling, slimey green fluid. Submerged in that liquid, curled in a circle around one another--embodying physically the yin and yang--were two sleeping forms, one light, the other dark. Each had four hooves, a pair of wings, and a horn, but the explorers had no name for them.
“Look like ponies t' me,” said the guard, relieved that a dragon hadn’t been inside, ready to pounce.
“Well boys, looks like we’ve got ourselves a real find here. Lets get them out,” said Mr. Humbolt, but no pony wanted to touch the green solution.
He ended up pulling the ‘ponies’ out one at a time using his telekinesis. Just as he finished laying them on the stone floor, Snow Blossom came flying into the cavern, the yellow colt following some ways behind.
“I got it! I think it’s a eulogy for two princesses, fillies who--woah, what happened here?” She approached and Mr. Humbolt moved aside, revealing the unconscious forms lying in the mist. Everypony was silent for a moment.
“Could these be those princesses, miss Blossom?” he asked.
Snow Blossom, ecstatic, came closer to examine the fillies. With a glance at the horn, wings, and cutie-marks of both, she nodded, then cradled the smaller, dark-blue one in her hooves. She smiled, rocking the cute slime-covered form back and forth while keeping herself upright with her wings.
“This one’s called Luna, and the other’s her sister Celestia.” After a thought, she continued. “They’re ahl-e-corns!”
Celestia lay very still. She was on a spacious, rectangular bed, the head squarely propped against one wall of a rectangular room with rectangular windows welcoming in the crisp morning air. All that covered her was a thin white blanket, easily penetrated by the gentle breeze.
At the foot of the bed, dressed in a bathrobe, stood an elderly pony. Water dripped from his mane and tail, trickling through his well-groomed beard and steadily leaking onto the wood floor below. He watched the filly intently for a minute before sighing and walking out.
The moment the door closed, the young filly threw off her sheets and leapt to the floor. That pony was bound to come back, and Celestia--that was her name, right?--might not get another chance to escape. She couldn’t go out the door. More creepy ponies could be out there. So instead she walked to a window, brushed aside the curtains and stuck her head out.
Outside. A sprawling, verdant forest stretched out to the extent of her vision, except where it met the ocean. The trees looked like they'd offer decent cover, and only a grassy field separated her from the foliage. Her window was on the second floor of a stone-and-brick building; from this vantage point, the structure looked like a castle without defensive walls, towers, or moats. Her best chance at a safe fall was a cart right below, filled with watermelons.
Celestia looked back at the room with its obscure paintings and intricate carpeting. Creepy. She then leaped through the window. She hurtled toward the watermelons, but before striking a fruity grave, she suddenly stopped falling. Entirely outside her control, she glided to the ground, hooves waving about wildly as she let out frightened squeaks. She flushed when she discovered the unnatural force keeping her aloft. How could she forget her wings? Her unfamiliar feathery appendages retracted upon touching down.
She made a beeline for the trees. At least she remembered how to walk! On second thought, perhaps there was something else she was forgetting--Oh Hayseed! Where’s Luna? She scanned her memory, but her efforts were futile. All she remembered was waking up, the creepy visitor, and jumping out the window.
Celestia felt lost. Somepony had probably noticed her absence by now, and she couldn’t help her sister if she was caught. But she couldn’t escape into the forest alone, either. The sun was rising, the day getting brighter, and she had to be decisive.
Celestia turned back to the fancy prison. Her sister could be anywhere in there--she would have to be quick. She galloped (using her wings would only draw attention, and she didn't quite trust them yet), reaching the watermelon cart.
She followed the wall with long, light steps, keeping low the whole way. She peeped through each window she passed, finding plenty of stuff but no ponies. After a few minutes, she reached a corner and peeked around. There was nopony in sight, and she continued.
On this side, half of a big glass dome jutted out of the building. Outside, stretching radially from the glass epicenter, were lush, colorful gardens. The wind carried the subtle aroma of flowers to the filly, and she thought she could hear the soft melody of a harp playing somewhere. The building overshadowed half the garden. It was three stories tall, and the glass half-dome reached the top, contrasting with the stonework. Celestia stopped for a moment, enjoying the scenery.
For what she’d assumed was a prison, this looked kinda... nice. The treeline was far away on this side, beyond a small, silent stream at the bottom of a gradual slope. Canals sprouted from the stream like leaves from a branch, watering half a dozen small herb gardens. Symmetrical limestone walkways branched through the garden. At its center was a stone fountain, water trickling from the horn of a pretty unicorn mare made of marble into a wide basin. The peaceful surroundings drained her of urgency, and she spent a bit more time surveying the land than she had intended.
The hunt for Luna continued with the dome. Three glass doors offered entry. Inside, a few iron-wrought tables and benches loitered on a white-marble patio. Celestia snuck along the dome’s circumference, scanning the interior one bit at a time.
Her efforts revealed a luxurious setting. Stained-wood furnishings stood around the room, lit by two massive candle chandeliers. Full bookshelves filled the entire far end, the higher reaches accessible via two rolling ladders. Above the bookshelves, covered in plants, lay a small balcony. Celestia looked around the room, then stopped abruptly. Sitting on a pillow-covered sofa, cradling a glass of orange juice and flipping through a book, was her sister.
Seeing nopony else, Celestia threw wide the nearest glass door and rushed inside. A few surprised birds in a big cage hanging from the roof squawked at her in annoyance. She galloped toward Luna, her tail dragging along, trailing dirt. The dark-blue filly looked up from her book.
“Luna! Are you safe?” asked Celestia.
The blue alicorn laid her orange juice on a nearby end table.
“Uhh, yeah sis. You...” she let out a giggle before continuing. “You don’t look so good.” She nodded to Celestia’s muddy hooves, dirty tail, and disheveled mane.
Celestia was relieved; her sister was safe and smiling. Her heart slowed down a notch. Then she looked herself over and realized, embarrassed, that Luna was right.
“Well, I was just trying to escape...” Celestia said.
“Escape? Why in Equestria would you want to escape?”
Celestia thought it over and, looking around her (this was definitely not a prison), she couldn't settle on an answer. She decided to deflect.
“What’s Equestria?”
“It’s what Mr. Humbolt calls this place. Well, not this place. This is Mr. Humbolt’s house... or 'manor' or something,” Luna said.
A door between two bookshelves opened. Celestia jumped for cover, hiding behind the sofa. Luna simply rolled her eyes, taking a sip of orange juice.
An ancient pegasus stallion stepped through, supporting a small tray on one wing. He approached, testing each step he took. He moved a table in front of the couch and put down the tray, redolent of savory greens and fruit, then bowed and began walking away.
“Wait, mister! Could you bring another plate of food, please? My sister might show up any moment now... Thanks!” Luna said, tossing her book onto the table. The pony bowed again, then left. Celestia came out and sat next to her sister.
“Who was that?”
“Don’t know! But he brought food.” Luna shrugged her wings, then lowered her muzzle and chomped in. Bits of fruit and salad flew in all directions.
“There has got to be a better way to eat that,” Celestia said. She looked away, thinking. This place didn’t seem so sinister anymore, and her sister trusted these ponies; so what was Celestia so afraid of? A piece of salad splattered onto her hoof and brought her back from her thoughts. She shook her hoof until the slimy leaf came off and fell to the ground, then she scooted away from Luna.
A few minutes later, the pegasus returned, and she got a better look at him. He wore a suit, and she guessed he was a servant of some kind. Then she noticed his eyes, staring into space, empty. A sudden terror gripped her. Was this a zombie?! Zombies walked with an ambling gait, right? She did not pause to wonder how she knew anything about zombies, as she was too fixated on the approaching pony. He ambled forward, and set down another tray... and stopped to sniff the air! A single whiff and he whipped his nose toward Celestia. She expected him to lunge, hungry for her brains, at any moment... but instead he ended up simply huffing, turning around, and ambling away.
Zombie-pony or not, the food looked, smelled, and--if her wanton sister was any indication--tasted delicious. He’d even brought a tall glass of fresh orange juice. Her adrenaline died down, and she had no trouble digging in.
The room brightened considerably while the sisters finished eating. Satisfied and with an empty plate before her, Celestia stretched out on the sofa, studying the room. The three birds in the cage hanging on the glass side of the dome, flustered by her grand entrance, had settled down on their perches and now talked amongst themselves. Celestia then turned to the darker half of the dome, feeling a fleeting nostalgia at the sight of so many books. Her eyes finally fell upon the book Luna tossed on the table. It was thin and plain, the grey cover displaying a single gold-etched word. Starswirl.
“Hey sis, what’s that book?” Celestia asked. Luna returned from a pensive silence.
“Mr. Humbolt said it was about a pony that went on all sorts of adventures or something. Said it was good when he gave it to me, before he left to go check on you, sis. It starts out kinda boring though, and I didn’t recognize any of the places or anything,” the younger sister said, then she frowned, changing her tone. “What are we doing here?”
“I don’t know. The first thing I can remember...” Celestia said.
“Was waking up. Yeah. Me too.” They looked away from each-other. Each had hoped that the other had a compass to guide them out of this confusing forest, but it turned out they were equally lost. At least they weren’t alone... or hungry.
“I think Mr. Humbolt might know. He wanted to wait until you were up to talk though.”
“Can we trust him?”
“I think so...”
They looked at each other, and a thought crossed both their minds. The younger sister’s countenance bore a mischievous smile, one which Celestia nearly matched.
“But it couldn’t hurt to find out!” Luna said.
With those words, they climbed down from the couch and ran for a door leading to the rest of the mansion. If Mr. Humbolt was the sort of pony that employed zombies or imprisoned fillies, a quick search should turn up something. Plus, they were curious, eager to explore, like foals who’d just learned to walk. The empty trays and Starswirl lay forgotten.
They pranced on through a foreboding, torch-lit passage. At its end was a spiral staircase. The stone steps went down to their left and up to their right. They went right. On the second floor, they continued through another passage and emerged into a carpeted hallway with doors on either side. It looked like a hotel, but there weren’t numbers on the doors. Luna opened the nearest door and walked in, followed by her sister.
A single bed lay lengthwise under a single wide window on the far wall. To the left of the bed stood an endtable, and next to the door, keeping it from opening all the way, was a wardrobe. Two paintings filled empty wall-space, one a watercolor of the florid gardens outside, and the other a portrait of some young earthpony mare. Overall, it was very similar to the room Celestia woke up in.
They finished exploring the room and were about to leave when a sound arrested them. Somepony was in the hallway! There was no time to close the door. Both fillies squished into the wardrobe, closing it with only a second or two to spare. A homely, elderly earthpony mare walked in. The fillies watched through the crack of the wardrobe door as the pony looked sharply around before muttering.
“Ghosts, always a-openin' and a-closin' doors and sum' such vah'l acts. Slipp'ry agents a' Tart'rus. Ah been a tellin’ em and tellin’ em! While, they go on a thinkin’ ah’m nuts, ghosts ‘r gonna be runnin’ us outta house ‘n home!”
She returned to the hallway, closing the door behind her. The two tumbled out and shared a look. Ghosts? They giggled uneasily.
“Hey Celly... what if there are, y’know, ghosts?” Luna said, suddenly unsure.
“Don’t worry sis, you heard the mare. No sane pony believes in ghosts.”
They hurried along, forsaking the hallway with its identical doors and returning to the stairwell. They continued up to the third floor, and emerged at a three-way junction. Picking a random passage, they came upon the balcony of the library-dome room. A skylight fell directly on a single, ornate chess set. Luna took a closer look at the pieces--onyx pegasi with cloud-fortresses fighting marble unicorns with their tall castles and regal rulers. A few pieces were missing from both sides. Meaningless. Celestia leaned on the iron-wrought balcony railing, gazing through the glass dome at the gardens. The sun now shone across all the flowers, reflecting their full beauty. They soon moved on.
The next room they found was small, and beyond full. A huge window across from the door let in light, which fell on a messy desk that took up half the room, piled high with books and papers. The wall opposite the desk was solely devoted to a tilted display case, with a gold-plated lock built into its cedar frame. Inside this were a few ancient books, a diamond-studded tiara, and a pendant with a silver chain and brilliant, multi-colored gem. For a full minute, the alicorns stood over the case, silent, staring at that gemstone.
“What is it?” Celestia asked.
“Celly... it’s a gem.” Luna smiled, pretending ignorance as her sister face-hoofed.
“Yeah. I knew that. But it’s... just so... huh. I get this feeling, like I’ve seen it before. You know what I mean?”
“Nope!” Luna merrily hopped away, nearly knocking over a delicate-looking globe while heading for the desk. Once there, she took a look at the papers, and frowned.
“Huh. You know this language? Looks kinda familiar.” Celestia came over and looked at the sheet. It was her turn to smile.
“Yeah, and you should too. I mean, we’ve been speaking it this whole time...” Celestia said. Luna took another look, silently enunciating a few words. No comprehension dawned.
“Ok... the language is pretty tough, and you are my little sister after all,” Celestia said. Luna stuck out her tongue.
“So what’s it say?”
“Ah, umm... I think it’s about somepony named Potentate...” Luna raised an eyebrow at Celestia’s uncertain reply.
A stallion spoke from the open doorway.
“Actually, its a letter I was just writing to a friend in Canterlot.”
The two fillies spun around, caught red-hoofed by an elderly, bearded unicorn. Celestia recognized him as the one who had visited her right before she'd made her great escape. He had a slate-grey coat, and a brown mane and tail. White strands crept through his hair. His cutie-mark was a stone tablet with indiscernible etchings. The fillies were frozen in shock. No escape. The stallion seemed at a loss for words, and glanced out the window.
“Pretty view, isn’t it? … I’m glad I found you, and just in time for tea. Miss Celestia, it’s good to see you’ve woken up! I’m Mr. Humbolt, and this,” he gestured about him, “is my home, in which you are most welcome.”
“Oh, uhh, thanks Mr. Humbolt, sir,” Celestia said. She felt embarrassed, realizing once more how ungroomed she currently was.
“No problem at all. None. At. All. I assure you!” he said, smiling. An awkward silence ensued. Luna broke it.
“Tea?”
“Ah yes, if you’ll please follow me...” His nervous demeanor was disarming, almost amusing, and they followed him down the spiral stairs, back through the dome-library, and out into the garden. They walked along the limestone walkways, heading for a round table on the far side of the fountain, in a grassy clearing surrounded by flowers. Two overhanging willow trees offered shade. Once they sat down--they sat directly on the grass--the zombie-pony from before came ambling over with two trays. One held a kettle and three teacups, while the other held scalding scones, cold celery mini-sandwiches, and three steaming washrags. He laid down the trays, served each pony tea, then ambled away.
“Who was that?” Celestia said.
“Virgil. Poor chap’s a blind-mute... I keep trying to get him to retire, but he always says he’s no worse at his job for it, and well, blimey if he isn’t right. He’s been in the family since my father built this manor.”
“Oh...” Celestia watched the poor pegasus amble away, sorry to have misjudged him. The tea was too hot to lift. Luna stuffed down two sandwiches with her hooves before noticing the washrags; apparently her exploration had made her hungry again. Celestia changed the topic, realizing how many questions she had.
“So where are we?” Celestia said.
“Well, we’re about a mile out of Vanhoover... we found you to the north, inside one of the mountains.” He pointed his hoof off in one direction, and sure enough, there were snowy peaks far in the distance. “We brought you here almost two weeks ago.”
A silence descended. The two fillies contemplated this, watched intently by Mr. Humbolt. Birdsong drifted from the trees above, and Celestia grabbed a sandwich before her sister could eat them all. The scones and tea remained untouched.
“Can either of you remember anything?”
“No,” Celestia said. “Nothing before waking up here.”
Another pause, more thoughtful than awkward. Mr. Humbolt lit up his horn and levitated over a scone, taking a bite.
“These scone don’t look like much, but they’re really quite--”
He broke off his sentence when he noticed the gaping stares of the two fillies, each speechless.
“What?” he said.
“Your--your horn just... and the scone...” Celestia and Luna blabbered brokenly for a moment before he caught on.
“Oh, my magic! You don’t know about magic?!” he said. It was his turn to be surprised.
“No, I-I just don’t remember it. I know what it is...” Celestia said. She looked up, trying to see her own horn. “Just not... how it works.”
“Well, if you’re going to drink tea and eat scones like proper fillies of Humbolt Manor, we’ll just have to teach you, won’t we? Hah, I haven’t given magic lessons in decades! It would be my pleasure.” Mr. Humbolt smiled, but then, looking at Luna, cradling the last sandwich between her hooves, he added with a wink, “it’s certainly alright to use your hooves for now though.”
With that promise made, tea under the willow trees passed in a blur. The tea itself, imported, went down swimmingly. Mr. Humbolt gave the two fillies a brief rundown on the history of Equestria, from the unification of the three tribes to the construction of the great capital, Canterlot. The sisters were immediately hooked when he came to the tales of Starswirl the Bearded and Clover the Clever. However, when he got around to thrilling them with stories of his own adventures, expressions of even greater wonder overcame them. By noontime, with the sun glaring down from its perch high above, three happy, tired ponies made their way inside. Mr. Humbolt had to attend to some work, so he left the yawning fillies in the library, suggesting they take a nap.
Inside the dome library, the two ponies lounged on two couches in the shady section, facing each-other. The heat, food, and hearty conversation had thoroughly drained their energy. Celestia yawned audibly, causing her eyes to water as she spoke.
“Looks like I was wrong, sis. About Mr. Humbolt. He’s a pretty nice pony.” When she got no response, she figured her sister was asleep.
However, Luna was still very much awake, deep in thought. She looked up at the ceiling, tracing the steel framework of the glass dome. It was probably beautiful at night, a quiet observatory. She felt a strong attraction to it--all of it. She wondered if it would be night when she woke up.
A warm, swelling sensation filled her. Yes, for one simple reason, she would have all the time in the world to look at the stars and moon through that big glass dome. Or eat celery sandwiches. Or learn magic.
She was home.
