//------------------------------// // When the Moon Begins to Rise // Story: The Stolen Child // by Thistle Charm //------------------------------// The Stolen Child A My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction Chapter One: When the Moon Begins to Rise Disclaimer: I do not own My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic -- the characters and creations are the property rights of Hasbro, Inc. and the MLP: FiM writers, producers, etc. The texture of clouds was difficult to describe in full -- words such as fluffy, soft, or plush did not begin to give justice to the sensation of the gentle embrace the arching white plumes gave against pelt or hoof. Celestia curled against the talcum curve of the little cumulus she sat upon. Stretched beneath her was the great city of Canterlot, the pinnacle of Equestrian civilization. In the light of the drowsy stooping sun, the great golds and coppers of the buildings glistened with progress and promise. Even from her perch in the Canterlot skies, Celestia could hear the mumblings and commands of the labor ponies building the Canterlot Castle. Gazing into the horizon, just above where the sun sat, Celestia wondered just how far Equestria sprawled out across the land. If she squinted, she could make out the harsh greens of the Everfree Forest, a territory that fascinated and terrified her. “Lady Celestia?” A voice called from above. Celestia scrambled up to her feet, hooves sinking into the cumulus slowly. “Yes, Lieutenant Cyclone?” She replied, unable to keep the apprehension from her voice. “I thought I instructed you to drill aerial routine nine, not sunbathe on a cloud,” Lieutenant Cyclone said. The pegasus pony looked down upon his charge, great feathered wings beating effortlessly in the air. His eyes narrowed sternly (or maybe, Celestia thought, that’s just how he always looked) from beneath his helmet, front legs crossed over his chest in displeasure. Celestia immediately lifted from the cloud, her white wings flapping briskly to keep her young body upright against the wind. “I’m sorry, Lieutenant! I was just...all those loops and...well, as you can imagine, I was getting quite dizzy and--” “Your Young Flyers’ exam is in a few day’s time, m’lady. You cannot afford to be daydreaming,” the Lieutenant said. Even so, the stress line in his jaw smoothed. “Yes, Lieutenant,” Celestia replied. She flew back up to the pegasus course and hovered at the beginning. Her lavender eyes glanced quickly at the sun; it was beginning its official descent now. Soon, the Diurnal Unicorn Mages would set the sun to make way for the Nocturnal Unicorn Mages to raise the bright silver moon. “Nevermind the sunset, m’lady! The course, please!” Lieutenant Cyclone whistled. Celestia pulled herself from her reverie and looked ahead. She could do better. Be faster. The wind was getting colder and toyed with her rippling tulip-pink hair. Her pelt bristled in the chill, and her shoulders ached as her wings beat quickly, quickly. C’mon, fly. Really fly, Celestia thought. She launched herself through the first cloud ring, and thus her drill began. Cloud pillars ahead -- dash left, dash right, dash left, dash right. Her breathing deepened, each exhale from her nostril drifting into cold crystallized breaths. “Don’t beat your wings so quickly, Lady Celestia. Full strokes; feel the air fill and swell under your wings. Let the air do the work for you!” Lieutenant bellowed. The cloud pillars gave way to several hoops, some white, others black. Loop forwards in white, backwards in black, Celestia reminded herself. Her shoulders were burning now; the sun’s rays were just bleeding past the horizon. The stars were sparking themselves into life, one by one. She met the first loop gracefully, going through the white cloud and flying down its side before coming back up to the course. Another white, another -- then the black. The quick change threw her, and she felt the familiar dizziness rise into her head. She flew through the black loop, then caught the wind and looped up before returning once more to the course. “That’s it, that’s it; your speed isn’t just a number, but a tool! Use it to your advantage!” Now for the finish, Celestia thought. Sweat beaded on her forehead and drizzled down her muzzle before flying off behind her. Winds raged against her, wanted to push her down. The faster she became, the greater the sky shoved back at her. The last piece of the course was a cloud spiral, requiring a precise corkscrew, dive, and tight loop to finish the drill without disturbing the molded cloud shapes. Her wings beat faster and faster. She clenched her teeth, forelegs stretching forward and haunches tight. Every muscle was beating and swelling to the flaps of her wings. She entered the spiral. The sun dripped down passed the horizon and a waxing moon rose. Silver light filtered down, twirling as Celestia corkscrewed and rolled through the clouds. There, the dive! She turned sharply and dove, pulling her wings to her side. Her eyes watered, tears gripping onto her eyelashes before being wrenched off into the wake of Celestia’s flight. “That’s it, m’lady, that’s it! Stay in control; your wings aren’t a part of you -- they are you! You have command over them!” Lieutenant cried. Even through the harsh rasp of his trained voice, Celestia thought she detected pride in him. Or maybe he just had to cough. Your wings are yours, your wings are yours, Celestia repeated. Somehow, she always lost control when she pulled up from the dive. Sometimes her wings didn’t feel like her; just some gangly, disjointed part of her that could not be controlled. “Not this time!” Celestia cried. The alicorn unfurled her wings and nearly gasped when the air thrust her up. She quickly regained herself and tightened her body, zooming through the thin loop to the finish line. She crossed through the cloud spiral and gasped, heaving. She ached all over and quickly collapsed on a cumulus cloud, but with a smile. “Lady Celestia,” Lieutenant Cyclone began. He flew down with a cumulus of his own and stood beside the noble filly. He took off his helmet, revealing a ragged brown mane contrasting his pale blue body. Celestia stood on her hooves, wings folded and shaking at her side. The lieutenant bowed his head to Celestia before looking up to his charge. “It has been an honor serving as your tutor, but I believe there is no more that I can teach you. If you maintain this focus, this passion, you will undoubtedly pass your Young Flyers’ exam with flying colors.” For a moment, Celestia’s surprise froze her manners. She shook her head and quickly returned the bow, gentle pink blush rising to her smiling cheeks. “It’s been an honor having such a skilled tutor, Lieutenant Cyclone. When I do take the Young Flyers’ Exam, it will be because of you that I pass,” Celestia said. They smiled for a moment in the quiet of the night, a teacher and his student. The lieutenant coughed, placed the helmet on his head once again, and saluted the noble filly. “You are dismissed, Lady Celestia.” Celestia returned the salute, “Thank you, lieutenant.” She could not help but let a small giggle trickle out as she relaxed and leapt off the cloud, gliding back down to the Canterlot streets. Her wings trembled, begging for rest, but held on long enough for her to reach the ground. She flexed her wings once, cracking the stiff bones with a satisfied sigh. “‘Ey! Watch it!” A red earth pony cried. Celestia quickly folded her wings and grinned sheepishly, bowing and apologizing. “Sorry, kind sir; I wasn’t aware anypony was behind me,” she said. “Fillies gotta learn there ain’t jus’ them in tha city,” the pony said. A yoke was secured around the earth pony’s thick neck, wooden cart secured behind him. He grumbled and continued walking south to the Earth Pony Borough in the lower tier of Canterlot. As he walked, the smell of the fresh bales of hay wafted to Celestia’s nose. Her stomach grumbled. “Oh, haha, I must have forgotten to eat once again...” She sighed. The hunger helped push her to walk a home quickly. Her hooves clicked as the path changed from compact dirt and pebbles to the polished cobblestone. The path wound up into the second tier of the city, where many of the nobles made their homes. Celestia’s home was one of the closest to the third tier, where much of the construction of the city continued to expand. The elegant manor rose up into the city’s skyline, joining the spires and towers of other wealthy homes and public edifices. Celestia trotted up the street, but paused when she noticed somepony leave the house. She cantered into the alley between her home and the neighbor’s manor. The doors shut behind the unknown pony, but just as this pony -- a mare, Celestia realized -- reached the bottom of the entry stairs, the doors opened once again. “Just a moment, Miss Stodmiere!” Celestia’s father, Nubilus, called. He glided over the stairs and landed on the last step, leaning forward eagerly. Celestia scrunched up her muzzle in confusion: what was the Canterlot residential nurse doing at her house? Celestia leaned forward, but now her father was almost whispering with the mint green unicorn nurse. They were hushed, words caught in their perked ears and not a sound escaping past them. Oh no...Mother...are her headaches getting worse? Celestia’s heart sank. For weeks now, migraines were overcoming her mother each night. While headaches had been commonplace due to her mother’s job with the Diurnal Unicorn Mages, lately they had severely affected her. She would snap, grumble, or merely fall asleep right after dinner. As Nurse Stodmiere began to walk away, Celestia came out from the alley between manors. Her father, a dark violet pegasus, paused as he noticed his daughter. “Celestia, what were you doing, hiding like that?” “I’m sorry, father, I just...well, some strange pony had left the house and I wanted to see who it was, and...” “Skulking like that is not becoming of an honest filly,” he said sternly. Upon seeing Celestia’s frown, he upturned a gentle grin. “Come now, Celest. It’s quite cold out here, and the cook prepared a spiced carrot soup for your mother,” he said. Celestia’s brief scolding had melted, revealing the father she loved so dear: a tender, sturdy pegasus. She trotted up to the stairs and walked beside him. He playfully nudged her flank, which she reciprocated with a giggle. He flicked his head, pushing his long white mane out of his eyes. Nubilus shut the doors behind them with a graceful push of his hind leg. Celestia smiled, bones melting under the warmth of the manor. She could smell the thyme and peppercorn emanating from the spiced carrot soup that sat waiting for her in the dining room. Her hoof-steps echoed familiarly in the manor against the immaculate flagstone floor. The large fireplace in the foyer crackled joyously, swirling with red-orange comfort. “Has Celestia returned yet? If I wait any longer, this soup may well have just been wasted,” Celestia’s mother said, sharp voice calling from the dining room. “She has, my dear,” Nubilus replied. “Mother, are you feeling well? Have your migraines worsened?” Celestia asked. Celestia’s mother, the noble mare Solaria Spark, was seated at the dining table, embroidered shawl draped elegantly over her shoulders. Her mane, the colors of a pink rose, seafoam, and amethyst, was drawn into a braid that fell down the length of her slender back, adorned with gold pendants. For somepony who was supposed to be ill, she looked like the picture of graceful beauty. “Why, good evening to you, too, Celestia. Honestly, I had thought my own filly would have a decent grasp on manners,” Solaria chided. Celestia bowed her head apologetically. “I apologize, mother; I’m just worried about your health,” she said. Solaria looked down to her filly, and sighed. “I am fine, darling. However, I do have some new developments to address.” “Developments?” Celestia asked. “Good developments,” Nubilus smiled reassuringly. He motioned for Celestia to take a seat by her mother’s side. She did as she was instructed. The soup had cooled considerably, hanging onto the last streams of steam for heat. “So, are you going to tell me mother, or will I need to pry this news from you?” Celestia smiled. She was pleased to see a genuine grin grace her mother’s cream-gold face. Solaria placed a hoof on her own stomach fondly. She glanced passingly at her husband before turning to her daughter. “I am in the midst of carrying.” “Carrying what?” Celestia asked. Solaria sighed and shook her head, but Nubilus gave a tiny laugh. “Celest, she is with foal -- you shall be a sister soon.”