By the Will of the Council

by Captain Neckbeard

Chapter III: Broken Paradise

The Sun's first rays woke Celestia up. Although always an early riser, she had to stretch a bit to let go of the drowsiness. She also desired to wash her face, and maybe even have a quick bath, but the landscape lacked any flowing water in the vicinity.

Celestia was thinking for a few moments, then looked up at the sky. Well, if there wasn't a river nearby, then some rainfall would do it too. The alicorn flew up into the air, and grabbed a tiny cumulus cloud, and brought it near the surface. Although at that point she could have just used some weather magic to make it rain, she wanted to try out the manual, pegasus method of controlling the weather.

So she flew fast circles around the cloud, then kneaded it with her hooves standing on top, like some cat would do with a pillow. Contracting a cloud this way was definitely more work, but Celestia enjoyed the effort she had to put into it, giving her some perspective on how the pegasus ponies live their lives. Plus, she thought it quite fun, too.

When the cloud was sufficiently dense, and turned a very dark grey, the alicorn jumped on it a few times to make it rain. Then she quickly lowered to the ground, and let the fat droplets of water wash away the dust and grime from yesterday's travels.

"Brrr... Oh... Ah! A bit cold, perhaps!"

Celestia sputtered and shook a bit as the less-then-warm rainwater started to soak her coat. Although she appreciated it regardless, and was preferable over the dirt she accumulated over the last day.

"But, I'm sure this temperature will be just fine for Luna." Celestia said, thinking out loud again.

She looked at Luna, who was still sleeping, curled up like some kitty cat. Celestia decided that the bath she had was just enough, and she'd spare some water for Luna. So she cast a spell on the cloud, so it wouldn't expend itself.

She let out an apologetic smile at that. Yes, she cheated a bit, she didn't know the pegasus method for stopping a raincloud from raining. But also, she wasn't even sure if pegasi had to do that, ever.

Celestia shook off the excess water from her body, then fluttered her wings too. Satisfied with her own cleanliness, she decided she would offer Luna the same when she woke up.

While she was waiting to completely dry off, and for Luna to wake up, she admired the dawn's somewhat less powerful, but all the more ravishing rays of light. But was it on time, she thought then? Perhaps. She didn't feel the night lasted more time than it should have at this time of year, but then again, Luna could have told that better. If only she could've been convinced to use some of her obscure, instinctual powers more often...

Celestia didn't have to wait very long for her sister to rise. Luna got up, yawned, then rubbed an eye with a hoof. She lazily walked a few steps before she noticed Celestia.

"Good morning, sister of mine! Slept well?"

Luna stopped another yawn happening, and answered:

"Yes, I did. And seeing you're already up and giddy, I think we could get moving."

"Not so fast!" Celestia countered her attitude "How about a bath first?"

Luna raised an eyebrow, although she didn't object. Celestia pointed out the raincloud with her horn, just above ground level.

"Oh." Luna said, her voice indicating some surprise, with the slightest hint of approval mixed in.

"Please, indulge!"

Then Celestia did a presenting motion with a foreleg, as if she was offering the finest aqueducts of Aeternum Island to her sister.

Luna didn't react further, just walked under the cloud, but before she could do anything, Celestia's voice could be heard again.

"Shall I start to make it rain for you?"

"I'll manage, thank you." Luna answered, her voice still sounding tired. Then, she cast a simple spell, and the cloud began spewing the refreshing water, that Luna needed more than she realized.

And Luna definitely enjoyed the cool water, just like Celestia predicted it. She let her mane get soaked multiple times, she spread her wings, and each of her legs too, so the rainwater would do its job everywhere. She opened her mouth, and swallowed some droplets of the cool water. And despite her previous intention of moving out quickly, Luna remained under the natural shower until the raincloud didn't expend completely.

When it did, Luna remained motionless for a few seconds, then said:

"Ah, that was refreshing!"

"Thought you would enjoy it!" Celestia snickered "And I guessed right the temperature would be just fine as well. Although perhaps, maybe I should mix in some ice next time?"

But Luna didn't appreciate her sister's humor, or at least didn't show it.

"It was most practical that you thought of a bath for us, but let us not stall with idle chit-chat. The Sun is up, visibility is adequate, so we should continue our search for the Teardrops of Creation. This is our most important, and in fact, only priority."

Celestia acknowledged with a frown her sister couldn't break character. At least not for long. The "Magikhan's strict executioner" kind. Now that they were alone, far from the tribe's supervision, it was all the more clear to her that there was a different Luna under the single-minded and duty-bound surface. One that could act like an individual. Like a sister. Like a pony.

So Luna began to walk, and Celestia followed. And as she went after her sister, she saw water still trickling from her mane and wings. The silly alicorn didn't even take the time to dry herself off.

☼✶☽

The sisters reached the base of the mountains they saw upon their landing. As their wing cramps were all but gone, they flew up the mountainside instead of taking the steep and perilous-looking serpentines. From the air, they saw some goats curiously looking at them, probably taking a guess who the strange visitors might be. But the alicorns paid them no particular attention in return.

Eventually, they reached the peak of one of the lower-rising mountains. Both sisters touched down, and took a look at the breathtaking scenery. Luna seemed rather reserved, although she was still smiling a bit. Celestia, on the other hand, was wonderstruck.

"Look at this scenery, Luna! Isn't it breathtaking? Equestria! Finally, after years of just reading about it, we're finally here."

Luna scanned the landscape for a bit, and turned her head sideways. Then she answered:

"Yes, this landscape is indeed rather pretty. Our latest codex didn't lie about its natural qualities."

Celestia took a deep breath, and let it out audibly. She was beaming with a smile, as she eyed the land of the ponies basking in the morning sunlight.

"Don't you feel somewhat... fulfilled that you made it here?" Celestia asked after some pause "Like, as if you need to be right here, right now?"

"I'll only feel that after we found the artifact." Luna answered, with her smile dissipating.

Celestia turned to her sister:

"I thought so that would be your take. But I meant something different. Something much more personal."

Luna raised an eyebrow, and her gaze met her sister's.

"Like what?"

"I'm not sure. A few weeks ago, I had a dream. Maybe more like a vision? It involved this land. And us. And... Well, that's all I can tell. It was pretty vague, to be honest."

Luna let out an exasperated sigh, then answered.

"Ah, there you go with your vague implications again! Couldn't you solely focus on the task at hoof, just once?"

Celestia didn't want to press the issue any further right there and then, so she just turned back to the great view the mountaintop provided her. She only hoped Luna would see one day, that she is more than the sum of her parts.

The older sister breathed in deeply again, and let it out. But then, she smelled something. A rather out of place odor. Something sweet? She could swear it was something sugary.

Celestia eventually asked:

"Luna. You smell that?"

Luna sniffed into the air. At first she didn't react, but after taking a whiff a few more times, she furrowed her brows.

"Yes? I think this is the smell of sugar? Mortals use it to sweeten their food. But just what could have this smell out here? Strange."

Celestia looked around herself, but saw nothing resembling food. The mountaintop they rested on was pretty barren anyway. So she took flight, to have a bird's eye view. Still nothing. She circled around, and as she momentarily got closer to the neighbouring mountain, the odor became more prominent. She stopped in the air, and looked at the mountain, at its peak, to be exact. As if the smell came from there. And actually, that snowy cap didn't look quite right to the alicorn.

So Celestia flew up there, and looked at what should have been snow. But upon landing, Celestia's hooves sunk into...

"Frosting?"

Her eyes grew wide. He lifted a front leg, and looked at the substance that was covering her hoof. There was no doubt about it, it was cake frosting. It covered the entire mountaintop!

"This doesn't make any sense!"

Celestia took a few steps atop the strange, rocky "cake", and called out to Luna, in her own amplified voice:

"LUNA!!!"

The younger sister popped up next to her about half a minute later, and looked at Celestia with some scorn. But a moment later, her expression turned into the same wide-eyed surprise Celestia had, and muttered:

"What in the name of the Creator...?"

"I'm confused too. Look at this! Frosting! Cake frosting, all over the place! What could have caused this?"

Luna floated closer to the surface, and took another gander at the most peculiar snow substitute. Then she furrowed her brows, and said:

"We're dealing with a very serious magical anomaly here. And I think we both know what's causing it."

Celestia almost put a hoof to her face in frustration, but quickly remembered that might have had messy results right then. So instead, she just said:

"Oh, I know what you want to say! It would be the "The ponies are misusing the Teardrops of Creation!" narrative again! Luna, even if the ponies are somehow possessing the artifact, I'm still not sure they could use it to cause something so... random. The artifact is the aspect of the Creator herself, correct? Then its magic should reflect that. Ergo, they couldn't use it to summon frosting upon the top of a far-and-away mountain. Does this sound convincing?"

Luna raised her nose higher while still floating in the air, and scoffed:

"Magic can have MANY uses. As a cleric, you should know that. So what would stop ponies from experimenting, and unleashing chaos by accident? It's an old lesson from ancient times that you should never entrust a mortal with something too powerful. As they will surely misuse it. Either out of malice or ignorance."

"Luna, ponies aren't causing this!" said Celestia, and stomped a hoof in the ankle-high spread of frosting. "Something sinister has either captured the artifact for itself, or even worse, causing all of this on its own."

"Like what?" Luna shot back a sarcastic smile "The Cosmic Council has given up on this world, and sealed themselves away in Caelum. Our tribe has been the most powerful entity on the planet for millennia now. But even if something bad is at large, we'll kill it, and capture the Teardrops. So let's stop with this senseless arguing, and let's do what we came here for."

Celestia let out a little sigh, and blearily blinked.

"I'm glad there is something we can agree upon. Let's go indeed. Maybe if you see what will come of this, you will believe me."

Luna didn't answer, just began flapping, and turned to the east. Celestia spread her wings, and although the sticky substance underneath wanted her to stay badly, she was stronger, and took off with only slight difficulty.

☼✶☽

Underneath the primeval forest, in the caves formed by the roots of the oldest trees, about fifty ponies huddled together around a small campfire. The village elder, from the times when they still considered the village their home, glanced over each and every one of them.

"Hold hooves." he said in a somber voice.

The mares, stallions and foals did as they were told, and formed a proper circle around the fire, beginning and ending at the elder.

"And now let's pray, brothers and sisters. Pray for salvation. Pray that they might hear us. Pray that they will come to our aid, just like the legends tell about it."

The elder lowered his head, with his eyes closed. He began, and the ponies recited line by line:

"O, mighty Angels, who reside in the heavens..."

"Please hear our humble prayer..."

"Come among us, and spread your mighty will..."

"Do away with our foes, and bring your justice upon them..."

"Where there was once suffering and corruption..."

"There shall be happiness and harmony again..."

"This was our humble prayer, please listen to us, please listen to us!"

The elder finished, and raised his head. The ponies let go of each other, and looked together in sadness. For the last six months, every single evening of theirs went down the same way: praying for help, while hoping the corruption wouldn't reach them as well. But no help came, not from Canterlot, not from the Angels, not from anywhere.

The mare, who was sitting on the elder's right, let out a sigh, and said:

"I don't think any aid will come, Father. Especially not from someponies who are just old mare's tales!"

The elder looked at her daughter angrily, and scorned her:

"They surely won't come if you don't believe in them! Elusive creatures they are, and work in most mysterious ways. No wonder even the most learned unicorn scholars barely know anything about them. But they DID visit ponykind before, and when they did, they always helped."

"They did?!" the young mare snapped "Then where were they when the windigos were rampaging?"

"As I said: when they visited." the old stallion answered, forcing some calm upon himself. "They only come when their help is indispensable. The windigos were ponykind's trial, and we passed. But that doesn't mean we can give up our humility. We need to plead and pray, so they can see we are still worthy of their aid."

The young earth pony mare groaned.

"Honestly? I think we should just..."

Then, she cut off her own sentence. She looked around, seeing fear and uncertainty on all the faces. The foals sought their mother's embrace. Some ponies just hung their head, their eyes not having a spark of hope in them.

"...I think we should just continue praying." she finished, and looked back at his father "You are right, we should stay humble, and not give up hope."

The elder just nodded at his daughter, not giving away any particular emotion. The ponies in the cave calmed down a bit, but their expressions were still far from happiness.

"And now I'll go, and collect some herbs." the mare continued "After all, I still need to make that cream against fungus, as I promised."

The mare headed out, not wanting to cause anymore controversy. And in fact, the damp place they were calling their home indeed made pony coats a breeding ground for fungi. So getting ingredients for a fungus-killing cream was due.

"And who knows?" she amused herself "Maybe I will bump into some MAJESTIC angels on my way."

☼✶☽

"Could you fly a bit further away from me?" Luna complained while shooting a nasty look at her sister "You still reek of cake frosting."

Celestia raised an eyebrow, but nevertheless, she did as her sister requested.

"I do not "reek". That cleaning spell got rid of it."

Luna only rolled her eyes. Celestia continued:

"Actually, I aim to try out some pony cuisine if and when we get the chance. And a cake with frosting sounds delightful."

"Mortals oversweeten and overspice everything they make." Luna answered in a deadpan "So I don't have the intention of partaking in any of that. We eat to live, not the other way around, Celestia."

Of course, Celestia knew that would be Luna's take, because traditionally, alicorns' food was grown magically, and none of them needed any preparation to be edible. But it also lacked taste, and therefore, any enjoyment factor.

"I think it's commendable that ponies try to make the most of their short lives. Bringing some form of enjoyment even into the most mundane things, like eating. In that way, they are much more creative than us."

"I expected you to be in awe of ponykind's frivolities, no surprise in that. But if they were so creative" Luna said, gesturing with a hoof "they wouldn't bring trouble upon themselves. Like they did now."

Celestia sighed. She felt no matter the topic, they always came back to the same issue, and they were arguing in circles. She only said:

"Yes, yes, of course you're right. Let's just fly along."

☼✶☽

During their journey towards the heart of Equestria, both alicorns noted the lack of settlements, or at least the odd pony wanderer. They didn't even meet any pegasi, who were described as the most adventurous of the three pony tribes. So they just flew on, without talking much to each other.

On the way, Celestia spotted a small pond, so she flew down, and took a dip. She only let her hooves slide into the water, so even the remains of the wretched smell, as described by Luna, were gone.

Of course, the eventless journey frustrated both alicorns. Celestia initiated small talk, which was stopped by Luna each time. And the younger sister herself often took dives towards the ground, thinking she just saw something, an important clue, or a hidden entrance to some ancient dungeon, but the gnarling and twisting trees of a thick forest simply played tricks on her.

They flew for some more hours until the forest cleared up, and plains started to take its place. Soon after that, they saw some houses in the distance. It seemed they started to reach the outskirts of the actually settled parts of Equestria.

☼✶☽

The sisters reached a small village. But the settlement seemed abandoned. Not a single soul was in sight.

Strangely enough though, the houses weren't too dilapidated. As if someone or something tended to them from time to time. But Celestia doubted it was ponies. She could have felt their ambient magic in the ground. And according to that, no earth ponies walked that area in months. Instead she felt something else. Something... jumbled.

"Luna, you feel that?" she finally asked.

Luna closed her eyes, and concentrated for a few moments. Then she answered:

"Yes. This doesn't feel like pony magic. It's completely unfamiliar, actually."

Celestia gave the village a good look. There was something odd about the houses. She approached one of them, and noticed its walls.

They were made of gingerbread.

She recoiled. Surely, this was the making of the same powerful force that was responsible for the mountaintop frosting. She called out to Luna.

"I'm here." Luna answered from just behind her. "And yes, I see it. These ponies, or whoever is really obsessed with turning things into... food."

"But why? Why would someone do something so random?"

"I believe that question is rhetorical. But let's try one of these houses instead. Creator knows, maybe somepony IS at home."

Celestia followed her sister, and Luna knocked on the door of the house they were checking out. The door was ajar though, so she pushed it open after waiting a few seconds without a response. They entered, and Celestia had to bend her neck a bit to fit through the doorway. It obviously wasn't sized for alicorns...

Judging from all the furnishings still in place, the house was abandoned suddenly and with posthaste. But the really strange sight was the set dining table in the middle of the house. It was full of cakes, and all sorts of sugary treats.

Both sisters looked upon in silence for a bit, then Luna spoke:

"As I said: obsessed."

"At least the theme of these strange happenings are consistent." Celestia reacted "But I have to admit: those cakes look delicious."

"Don't even think about it!" Luna raised her voice.

"I have to wonder though" Celestia continued her train of thought as she walked inside the house proper "How they didn't spoil?"

"Why care? Magic. Dark magic. Whatever. But there's no ponies here, so let's go."

Celestia stopped in front of the table. Her mouth was watering. So this was what mortals consumed? It seemed quite delectable to her. She lifted something resembling a dumpling to her mouth.

"Actually, why not? Just one bite!"

"Why would you stuff yourself with this trash?" Luna objected to her sister's intentions "We have food! Let's go already."

Celestia sniffed the food item grabbed in her telekinesis. It didn't just look good, it also smelled delicious! She opened her mouth...

Then she closed it. Then dropped the dumpling on the table.

"You're right. Who knows what made these treats? It could be a trap. It could even trigger some foul magic."

"Finally!" Luna said. "Although it's not like we couldn't resist a little dark magic. But you better not indulge in mortal frivolities, as I said earlier. It's really unbecoming of an alicorn."

"Don't you worry Luna, I WILL indulge when I get the chance to taste some pony food, made by pony hooves."

Luna only sputtered, then left the house, then Celestia followed suit, smiling.

☼✶☽

The sisters stood in the middle of the village. Just a few minutes earlier, Luna noticed a well, and brought up a bucket of... honey. At that point, this only merited a raised eyebrow from both alicorns.

"So, what's the plan?" Celestia asked.

"Just what it was: we travel until we find somepony we can talk to. With the added little detail of potentially eliminating the originator of these chaotic shenanigans. Then we pick up the Teardrops, and return to Aeternum. Simple."

"No Luna." Celestia shook her head "It's not so simple. It was never simple. I know you'd want to impress Arcana, but admit: something grander than us is at work here. And we were thrust into the middle of it."

For once, Luna didn't answer. She was wondering herself if Arcana knew more about what is going on in Equestria than she let on. But then she forced her usual discipline upon herself, and dissipated these thoughts. She only gestured to her sister that they should go.

☼✶☽

The next settlement wasn't far away. It was visible from the air on the outskirts of the gingerbread-house village. It also seemed larger, not just two rows of houses along a main road.

Then Celestia landed. Luna looked at her a bit flummoxed.

"It's not that far away." came the answer "And it's all farmland between us and that village. I'd rather walk, and feel a bit like how an earth pony feels."

"Fine." Luna shrugged "See you there."

The blue alicorn flew ahead, while Celestia indeed continued on hooves. Not much later, she was walking a ploughfield, and it was pretty muddy from all the recent precipitation. Trudging through ankle-height mud wouldn't have bothered her though. What bothered her was the occasional pools of... cocoa milk, if Celestia judged the liquid correctly.

She wanted to call out to Luna to announce her latest discovery, but then decided against it. After all, at that point all the silliness was expected by both of them. So Celestia didn't waste any words on this, and bother her easy-to-anger sister.

But regardless, Luna showed up anyway. She stopped above Celestia, and pointed a hoof towards the east.

"Pick up your pace. The next village IS occupied. The inhabitants act strange though. You should definitely see this."

"Right." the older sister only said, and with some cocoa milk dripping from her hooves, she took flight.

Comments

[Majestic_Donut]

Discooooord I'm howling at the moon!!!

Now we wait for next chapter...