//------------------------------// // I am Legend // Story: Rifty Shifty // by Mythee //------------------------------// Her mane shone in the sun, flowing brilliance across a soft spectrum of light. Her tall white body was like a masterpiece in itself, and statues in her image had been erected all across Equestria for millenia. She was worshipped as a goddess and treated as a ruler. She was loafing around on a hammock two hundred and thirty miles from Equestria and reading a book. She was Princess Celestia. "Celestia, weren't we supposed to be on a mission?" Asked Twilight, her most faithful student, on an adjacent hammock, studying a spread of maps and travel logs. If one would peer over to her other side, one would find a third and smaller hammock in which was cradled a tiny dragon in the midst of a nap. Twilight had insisted not to leave him behind. A few days ago when the Rift occurred, Twilight had left to investigate the cause. She could not hide her shock when she had discovered Celestia herself, helping beings from another dimension through a portal. Since Celestia could not afford to be found out, she asked that Twilight not return to the other ponies for now, and took her on a journey to find a land into which the humans could migrate and safely inhabit. There were some holes in the logic that Twilight had yet to figure out; something seemed to be... missing from the picture. Celestia had remained enigmatic, dodging her questions in that characteristic, goddess-like manner. It was far too easy to just nod and accept whatever the heavenly smiling Alicorn provided as an answer, even if in hindsight it sounded like utter nonsense. -"Ah, yes, Twilight... it's about that time of day, isn't it? I believe we are done here. Where do you feel like going?" She asked, closing the book. The campsight packed itself up magically, and Spike fell to the forest floor, surprised. "Hey!" He complained, having been woken up in an unpleasant manner. Twilight arched a brow, thinking. Why would Celestia leave such an important decision to her? Something about her wording bothered her. -"Well, I heard that the Valley of Ni, which lies near Mount Shrubbery is inhabitable... with the drawback of dragon migrations passing through there every few years, which could pollute the water for entire seasons at a time. Not to mention if one of them fell aslee-" before Twilight could finish her sentence, the little crew of three had been teleported to the tip of Mount Shrubbery. -"Hmm, yes, scenic." Celestia stated, breathing in the pristine air and taking in the scenery. "Thank you ever so much, Twilight Sparkle, for your excellent suggestions. They are all just as lovely as the last." The purple unicorn was flattered. "You're welcome as always, your Highness!" She said in a slightly flustered manner. "So have you decided yet? I'm concerned about my friends back home... we still don't know what these humans could do." -"Do not worry yourself, Twilight Sparkle. They are no simple humans; I selected all of them carefully. They would not harm anypony." The unicorn was taken by surprise. Hadn't she said they were humans, before? "But then, what are they?" -"They are Bronies, Twilight. They care for Equestria's well-being just as much as you and I, and respect our ways." -"Pardon my forwardness, but then why do we need to find another land for them? We could just let them live with us, even though it would take some getting used to, I mean..." The princess remained quiet, giving Twilight cause for worry. Had she been too insisting? Celestia smiled peacefully. She inhaled and exhaled slowly, then grinned, lifting her hooves to either side of her muzzle and to her travel companion's shock and surprise, the alicorn yodeled to her heart's content. After she was done she was feeling quite refreshed, and came to a decision. It was time. -"I truly enjoyed the past few days in your company, so I shall let you in on a secret. It was all just a ruse." -"A... ruse?" The unicorn asked, as Spike came to a realization and began to puff with laughter, much to Twilight's confusion. -"A distraction, an excuse for my absence. Luna will have learned much and regained confidence by the time I return, and the Bronies will all have left Equestria. Everything will go back to normal." The reality of what the princess meant was sinking in ever so slowly, and Twilight Sparkle felt heat rising to her cheeks. "-But..." Lifting a hoof to her chin, Celestia chuckled at her student's cute speechlessness. -"The week is soon coming to an end. Before then, shall we head to the beach?" A few feet away, Spike took notice of an interesting rock, a shiny amber stone with a tiny creature trapped inside. It was perfect for the task at hand. With a sympathetic thought to Luna and a puff of green fire, it was gone as surely as Spring Break. After all, if there's a vacation, there ought to be souvenirs, and he knew of somepony who could really use the consolation. Epilogue_________________________ "Hmm..." A quill danced briefly on a piece of paper, enveloped by a soft lavender glow. As the morning was getting late, the princess of the night, Luna, grew increasingly sleepy. No wonder that she would be even more tired than usual, seeing as raising both the moon and sun was hard work. It was not as bad as it could have been. With Rarity's help in convincing others of her innocence, she had found assistance from the unicorns of Canterlot and perhaps even made a few more friends. The thought of her dear sister having performed the great magic all on her own for a thousand years, by her own fault, made her sigh. Maybe it was a good thing that albeit accidentally, Celestia's burden had been temporarily lifted. A sudden flash of heat above her head and getting hit by a falling rock interrupted the mare of the moon mid guilt-trip. Bonk. "-Ow!" She rubbed her hoof on her offended cranium, looking for the fallen object in the hopes that her subconscious was not stoning her for her crimes. Luna shone light from her horn, causing a glint to reveal its location. She levitated it toward her face and realized what it was, though how it had arrived was still a mystery. "Amber..." The hardened resin sparkled prettily in her magical aura. Within the honey-golden fossil was a pupal insect she doubted even Celestia would recognize. How many years does it take for these to form? Tens of thousands? Hundreds of thousands, even? She closed her eyes gently as the glow around both the amber and her horn increased. Opening her eyes suddenly made the entire room flash white for a moment; the pupa rose out of the amber, air sparkling as it hovered and the reanimation spell began to take effect, much like that which Luna had used on Nightmare Night to bring life to toy spiders. Unexpectedly, however, something seemed to be changing within the insect; slowly but surely, it crawled out of its own skin, pulling itself out one leg at a time... she could see now that it resembled some form of ancestral dragonfly, unfolding many pairs of wings like the leaves of a willow tree. Luna couldn't help but smile in fascination as it stretched them out to dry and take an iridescent sheen. Carefully, the night princess let it down on the tip of her quill. The moment she released her levitation, the 'willow dragon' as she had dubbed it took off in surprise. It faltered, however, its wingbeat uncertain. Luna's face twisted in worry. Could it be that her spell had not worked? Was she after all unable to give it a chance to experience life? "No! You've got to fly!" She whispered under her breath, impulsively creating a magical breeze that lifted it far from the floor. It spun and twirled up in the current, suddenly regaining vigor. Its wings beat in sync with each other and it began to fly circles around the room on its own, gaining speed. Was it looking for an exit? Quickly, Luna rushed to the window and slammed it open, letting the sun into the room. However, the willow dragon came to rest a few seconds on the tip of the alicorn's snout. She could have sworn it looked at her before it took flight into the fresh new day, long tail whipping behind. Luna watched it as it disappeared in the direction of Everfree forest, leaning against the windowsill in contentment. Even a relic could live and learn to fly in the present world. Perhaps there was more hope for her than she'd thought.