> The Stolen Child
>  by Thistle Charm
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> When the Moon Begins to Rise
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


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.”

	
> When Her Horn Begins to Glow
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


The Stolen Child
A My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction

Chapter Two:
When Her Horn Begins to Glow

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.




...Four Months Later...

It was well into the night, at the time just before the unicorn mages would prepare for the resting of the moon and rising of the sun. Celestia’s horn pulsed achingly against her head. Her body wanted to sleep, but she would not have it. Celestia was arced over her mahogany desk, focusing intently on every page of Clover the Clever’s Compendium on Unicornian Charms. Yet as she read deeper into the text, memorizing each diagram and phrase, turning the page with her magic was still a chore.

As her exhaustion continued, the pages felt more like lifting an Ursa Minor than flipping paper. Celestia groaned and pushed all her focus into her horn. It’s glow was wispy, hardly strong enough to have any color at all. The page before her just rippled, refusing to turn.

“I command you to flip over!” Celestia muttered through gritted teeth. Finally, she gave up and jabbed at the paper with her hoof. Its corner ripped as the page turned. Celestia’s eyes were tired and blurred; the text was beginning to smear into swirls of nonsensical black doodles. The alicorn finally gave up, and turned to her bed. She collapsed onto the mattress of hay. She lazily bit the corner of the quilt and pulled it over her bare flank.

How will I be able to be apprenticed if I can’t turn the page of a book? Celestia thought. She snorted angrily and closed her eyes, nestling against cotton-stuffed pillows. With the general ease flying had come to her, she had never thought performing magic would be as much trouble as it was. True, she had never been able to use telekinesis -- but she had thought that was lack of application, not lack of ability.

In the pre-dawn silence, she could hear the servants downstairs begin preparations for morning. Doubtless they were polishing the floors and tending to a new fire in the hearth. The cook would be heading down to the Earth Pony market for bread and fresh harvestables while the maids began preparing a cup of tea for when her father returned. Celestia wondered how the staff dealt with her family’s contrasting schedules -- Nobulis was a Cloudsdale Captain, leader of the old Pegasopolis Midnight Sentries, while her mother, Solaria, was the lead mare of the Diurnal Unicorn Mages. It was only during midday and twilight did they ever truly see one another.

Celestia’s ears pricked as she heard her mother’s slippered hooves shuffle down the stone staircase. The muffled greetings of the morning staff rumbled in her ears. It was a wonder Solaria was still going to raise the sun; ten months along meant she could go into labor any day now. The thought of a baby sister excited Celestia. She smiled gently. What would having a foal in the house be like? Ever since her mother had told her of the pregnancy four months prior, the hopes and wishes of a little sister occupied a great deal of Celestia’s mind. Well, that, and her future magic apprenticeship. 

“Ugh,” Celestia groaned. She rolled onto her back and hugged a pillow to her chest. She stared up to the canopy draped around her bed, a soft pink mesh, and cursed her ineptitude with magic. 

A noble alicorn, whose magic isn’t strong enough to even lift a book, she thought miserably. The pounding throb of her horn had subsided by now; all that was left in her was sleepiness. She tried not to think of the other unicorns and alicorns that would be vying for apprenticeships soon; she tried not to think of the disappointed looks she would get from her parents. Instead, she thought of the smiles they had when she had aced her Young Flyers’ exam. As she drifted to sleep, Celestia wondered what her sister would look like; what she would be like. 

“A sister...” Celestia whispered. Slumber finally took her.


---


“M’lady, it’s mornin’. Time tah rise ‘n greet the day,” Flora Wheatley, Celestia’s earth pony maid, cooed. She pulled aside the thick velvet curtains, letting in the rays of wintry sunlight into the bedroom. Celestia groaned slightly, sticking her head beneath the pillow.

“Come now, m’lady. Your father instructed me tah rouse you. Ya didn’t forget what today is, did you?” Flora asked. She noticed the cluttered desk with crumpled and shuffled papers. She clicked her tongue disapprovingly and began tidying the papers and books with agile hooves.

“Today is the day I lose my dignity,” Celestia muttered. She yawned and flapped her wings twice, shaking drowsiness from her wings.

“Oh, come now, m’lady. You ain’t going to disappoint nopony, so there ain’t no use in moping around now with worry,” Flora said. She trotted over to Celestia’s bedside and peered down at Celestia, who was sprawled over her bed dramatically.

“Flora, I can barely turn the page of a book. There are unicorns younger than I that can lift small statues! I’ve studied and I’ve practiced, yet it seems my horn just won’t cooperate!”

“Enough of this sad news ‘n blues, m’lady. You can’t lament somethin’ when you haven’t even tried. I’m sure when the time comes, you’ll get a fantastic mentor,” Flora said, grinning. Although her eternal optimism sometimes nauseated Celestia, on this morning, the earth pony’s tender marigold eyes soothed her. Celestia gave out a laugh for her own dramatics. She rose and stood at the foot of her bed. Flora bit the thick silver handle of a brush and began to work through the knots of Celestia’s soft pink mane.

“Ow!” Celestia winced.

“Sowwy, m’wady. Yow haiw is vewy knott’d today,” Flora said, brush still held in her teeth.

“It’s all right, Flora. I can hardly tame it myself.” As Flora continued to brush Celestia’s mane, and eventually unknotted her tail, Celestia began to reminisce about the dream she had. What had been a nice dream degraded into something of a nightmare...at first, she had been romping around with her future sister. In her dream, the young foal was the cutest shade of pink with a smile that could break and mend your heart in one instant. But then, her sister had knocked one of the pony statues in the garden...she was trapped. Celestia had tried lifting the statue, moving it, saving her sister...but each time she tried to lift the statue, it crushed her sister more. Every time she tried to help, the situation got worse until...

“M’lady? I asked you what slippers you would like to wear.”

Celestia snapped out of her reverie. “Oh, I’m sorry, Flora.”

“Would you like tah talk about it?”

“What?”

“Whatever thoughts you were trapped up in just now?”

“I’ll use the gold slippers today.”

Flora sighed, “Yes, m’lady.” She shined the gold slippers and took away the other three pairs. Celestia slipped into each slipper slowly before trotting down the stairs. The staircase emerged onto the foyer, where her father sat sipping his morning cup of tea.

“I was beginning to wonder whether Miss Wheatley would need a small band to wake you,” Nobulis said. He grinned at his daughter and motioned for her to join him by the hearth.

“I’m sorry, father. I had been dreaming,” she said.

“Good ones, I hope,” he said. Celestia didn’t replied. He sipped his herbal tea.

“I’ll be accompanying you to the Presentation today. Considering how much pain your mother has been in lately...well, I cannot have her over-exerting herself,” he said.

“I figured as much, father.”

“You must understand, though, Celestia, that...well, I had my moment with you during the Young Flyers’ exam. She feels that she is missing out on her moment with you,” Nobulis said, “though she would never admit it aloud.”

One of the maids trotted over and lowered a silver tray of fruit and a steaming cup of tea on the pine table beside Celestia. She nodded to the servant before replying to her father, “But this is just the presentation of young unicorns and alicorns to the mentors. It’s not as if I’m graduating my studies in magic today.”

“Yes, but I was the one able to select Lieutenant Cyclone as your flying tutor. Don’t you think your mother is envious that she cannot do the same for you?”

“I guess so...” Celestia said. She nibbled the fruit from the tray, but the sweetness was overpowering. She shuddered; she never liked sugary foods or sweets.  Celestia pushed aside the fruit and just sipped her tea; her stomach was quickly beginning to flutter nauseously. 

“I just tell you this so you act accordingly with your mother. Helping to raise the sun each morning has...not been easy during this pregnancy. It’s surprising, really; she had no trouble performing her duties when she was carrying you,” Nobulis said. He smiled and finished his tea. One of the brown pegasus servants quickly came and noiseless removed the empty cup and saucer.

“Why does she still go every morning if it’s so much trouble? The other mages would understand if she couldn’t perform her duties right now...” Celestia trailed off. 

“She has a sense of duty, Celestia. If nothing else, your mother is a mare of responsibility. Be it with her role as a mage of the day, a wife, or a mother. She may be serious at times, but she does this out of love,” Nobulis said. He smiled reassuringly and stood from his ottoman. 

“I must speak with my valet; just wait here and relax,” Nobulis said. He trotted to the servants’ quarters downstairs. Celestia sighed and stared into the flames licking in the hearth. The roiled and slithered against the timber inside, eating the wood and breathing out warmth. She felt little of it, though, cold from anxiety and worry. 

Celestia glanced to the silver tray beside her. She narrowed her eyes and focused all her will onto the small cup of fruit. Her horn vibrated and began to glow weakly. The magic wrapped itself around the cup, shaking it gently. Tink, tink, tink, it clang against the tray, but never lifting. Sweat beaded on Celestia’s brow as she pushed harder. The glow became stronger, but still too faint to have any color or substance.

Lift! By the Sun and Stars, lift, damn you! In a second, the glow of her horn sparked to life. It roiled, thick as flame, and the fruit cup slammed into the hearth. The fire cracked and spat as it burned the fruit to ash. Celestia gasped. In an instant, she had gone from unable to lift a page to hurling the cup into the hearth.

I...did...it? Celestia thought. The double doors to the foyer opened, though Celestia did not hear; her lavender eyes were fixated on the fireplace.

“Good morning, m’lady,” the maids chimed. 

“And the same to you as well,” Solaria said tiredly. “Celestia, where is your father?”

“Huh?” Celestia turned, surprised by her mother’s appearance. “Oh! I’m sorry; I didn’t hear you come in--”

“Daydreaming will not serve you before the Presentation, Celestia. This is a vital moment in the learning of a magic pony,” Solaria paused as one of the maids took the shawl from her shoulders, “and requires focus and dedication. You may have been able to get away with dilly-dallying during your flight tutorship, but magic is an entirely different entity of learning and study.”

“Yes, mother,” Celestia said dejectedly. 

“Well, wherever your father is, tell him to remain quiet during the Presentation. The ceremony is between student and teacher, not parent and tutor.”

“I will,” Celestia said. She noticed the lines dragging beneath her mother’s blue eyes. How tired was she? Her girth had grown substantially; her stomach protruded in a comically round manner, a swollen cream belly. 

Celestia remembered what her father had said -- her mother was actually sad about not being able to come to the Presentation. What could she say?

“I’m sorry you cannot come to the Presentation, mother, but I will be sure to give you all of the--”

“Violet, would you warm I bowl for my hooves? They are aching terribly today,” Solaria said. Violet acquiesced and trotted to the kitchens. Celestia’s ears folded in embarrassment. Her mother didn’t even hear her at all! Or did she not want to hear?

“Darling, how was the dawn?” Nobulis asked, rising the staircase from the servant’s quarters.

“Bright and exhausting, as usual,” Solaria sighed. Nobulis nuzzled her neck, which she returned with a light nudge.

“We will return straight away after the Presentation is over,” he said.

“I may be sleeping by then. If I am, do not rouse me from my nap,” she said. Celestia joined her father’s side while Solaria sat by the hearth. Violet placed a large bowl of warm water in front of the fire, which Solaria gently dipped her front hooves into.

“Come now, your mother is tired,” Nobulis whispered. Celestia nodded and they left the manor quietly. In silence, they trotted to Starswirl Square, where the many unicorns and alicorns were gathering.

“Are you excited for the beginning of your magic studies?” Nobulis asked.

“Y-yes,” Celestia answered tentatively. She glanced back at her home before they turned the corner and walked further down into the second tier of Canterlot. Her mother...she hadn’t sounded sad at all. In fact, Celestia thought, she sounded rather pleased to not have to attend the Presentation.

“Here we are,” Nobulis smiled. His great plum wings flapped once excitedly. Celestia gulped as she looked upon the large marble square, now teeming with magical fillies and colts.

Say goodbye to your dignity, Celestia thought.

	
	

	
> Where Magic Resides
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


The Stolen Child
A My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction

Chapter Three:
Where Magic Resides

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.




A plume of purple smoke bloomed in the center of the wooden stage built against the southern wall of Starswirl Square. The chatter of the crowd abruptly died as all eyes turned. Two more plumes of smoke, pink and blue, flanked either side of the purple one. Then five more exploded onto the stage. Soon, though, the colored puffs of smoke drifted away on a morning breeze. Unicorn and alicorn mages revealed themselves before the crowd, horns aglow and bodies resonating with powerful magic.

Celestia stood close to her father’s side, watching from the center of the crowd. She could almost smell the potent energy radiating from the masters and educators that stood proudly on the stage. Celestia absentmindedly pawed at the ground with her hoof nervously. The stage was now full with eight mages, and at the center was a grey mare framed by an elegant white cloak. Her hair fell in rich purple-and-blue curls. Her soft grey horn was tall and surrounded by a vibrant violet glow.

This grey unicorn mage sighed, and the glow of her horn dissipated. The other unicorns and alicorns followed suit. Celestia marveled at these masters of magic, each adorned with great cloaks or enchanting amulets.

“My young fillies and colts, welcome to your Presentation!” The grey unicorn boomed, voice deep and blunt like the sound of rocks plummeting into a lake. “For upon this day, beneath the burning sun, you shall present yourselves before us, the Eight Masters. As tradition by the ancient laws of Unicornia, upheld by the magic culture of Equestria, united equine kingdom, each of you shall rise upon this stage and demonstrate your raw potential.” 

The grey unicorn nodded to the plump, bearded alicorn to her right. His horn began to glow a shade of sharp cobalt blue. In a bright flash, several items appeared on the stage: a pile of rocks, a painting canvas, a slotted jug, a pot of dirt, and a bowl of murky water. 

“Before you we have provided props which you may use to demonstrate your abilities; however, you may choose to do some other exercise if you so wish. During the Presentation, Sir Oryon the Wise shall mediate if trouble arises.” In another flash of bright and thick colored smoke, seven of the Eight Masters had vanished. The crowd looked around for them.

“As per tradition,” the grey unicorn boomed incorporeally, “the colts shall perform first.” Celestia looked around, trying to find where the grey unicorn was. Finally, she saw it -- high above Starswirl Square hovered a vibrant pink sphere, where the Masters sat in audience. 

“This should be quite a show, hmm?”  Nobulis whispered into Celestia’s ear. 

“He-he...y-yes, it should be...” Celestia trailed off. Her hoof had scratched the grout between the marble squares. Sir Oryon the Wise conjured a cushion in the corner of the stage. He flapped his great yellow wings once before settling onto the seat. He levitated a small stick and struck an ornate gold bowl. It sang a sweet chime, and as it died away, the Presentation began.

There were five unicorn colts presenting, and they lined themselves excitedly at the edge of the wooden stage. The first rose proudly, a cutie mark of a star-flower on his flank. His horn began to glow, and its magic enveloped the pot of dirt. His face showed little strain as the glow intensified, and from the pot came a bud, which eventually shot up into a stem of leafy greens. Finally, the bud bloomed into a gorgeous magnolia. The crowd cheered and pounded the ground with their hooves. Sir Oryon nodded to the unicorn who left the stage with a smile; the alicorn Master made a few notes on the scroll hovering beside him.

He made a flower? He...he made it bloom! It isn’t even Spring! Celestia thought. Her heart was pounding; soon, she thought, it would crawl up her throat and run from her jaws, terrified. Distracted by her anxiety, she did not see the next two unicorns perform, though mechanically joined the crowd with their hoof beats. It was not until a tender song began to play that Celestia focused to the Starswirl Square Stage once more.

A seafoam-green unicorn stood on the stage, face contorted in severe concentration. Before him, enveloped in a gentle white glow, was a lute. The magic struck each string with precision. Sometimes, the sound would weaken too much for Celestia to hear the tune, but then the volume would rise again and the music would soothe her. Finally, the unicorn sighed. He bowed, sweat slicking his cream-and-teal mane. Hoof beats rose in admiration, and the unicorn exited the stage. Sir Oryon was smiling, and made several notes on his scroll.

The colts finished their presentation. As the final colt left the stage, the grey unicorn boomed from her magic seat above: “And now, may all the fillies line up and prepare for their respective presentations!” 

“Good luck, Celest,” Nobulis whispered. She was nauseous; her stomach was shifting and churning of its own accord. Whether or not she performed well, Celestia was fairly certain she was going to vomit on stage. As she walked up (slowly, hoping to avoid going first), the musical seafoam unicorn gave her smile. She heard him whisper “good luck” to her and each passing filly -- there were nine of them performing, three of them alicorns, including Celestia.

Despite her best efforts to be slow, Celestia was to be the fifth to present. She tried to calm herself down. She closed her eyes and focused on the magic she had felt that morning, when she had thrust the cup of fruit into the hearth. What had triggered that power? Was it her anger? She had cursed rudely at the cup, and then it had thrust into the fire. Yes. Perhaps she needed to channel her anger. Magic was related to emotion, after all. 

Hoof beats came for the first filly. She bowed her head, blushing profusely as she left the stage. The second filly used her telekinesis to paint a quick still life of the flower the colt had bloomed earlier. The third filly lifted the  heavy rocks, but when she lost control of one, Sir Oryon had to take control of the performance. The young filly alicorn smiled awkwardly, embarrassed by her over-ambition to lift such a heavy boulder. The fourth filly then took stage, leaving Celestia waiting, shaken and frozen by her fear.

Breathe, focus, relax, breathe... Celestia thought. Hoof beats came after the fourth filly’s performance. It was time.

Celestia walked slowly up the stairs to the stage. She was met first by Sir Oryon’s old, grey-blue eyes, and then became aware of the dozens of eyes watching her every move, wondering what magical wonder she would perform for the crowd and for the Eight Masters.

Breathe, focus, relax... Celestia reminded herself. She stopped in the center of the stage and glanced at each of the props provided. What could she do? Something light -- try to do something with a light object, she thought. Maybe make a drawing? No...perhaps a puzzle? Celestia noticed the bowl of murky water. Maybe she could try purifying the water? She was fairly certain she had read something about purification spells amongst Clover the Clever’s Compendium the night before.

Celestia ignored the strained, terrified thump-thumps of her heart. She walked over to the bowl of dirtied water and lowered her horn just to its edge. Two ripples circled across the tense surface. Celestia closed her lavender eyes and focused on the words and intent of the spell. She needed to will all her wanting into her horn; she needed to summon the magic that would make her will a reality.

Her horn began to glow dully. The light slithered down and wrapped around the bowl, the water rippling wildly as the magic tried to take hold.

Work, damn you! Celestia thought, gritting her teeth. She tried to recapture the struggle she had won with the fruit cup that morning. Why wasn’t it working? The light was just toying with the water; the magic splashed around, but did nothing more. The nausea in the pit of her stomach was growing. Her cheeks felt hot, and the gaze of the crowd began to singe her skin. Tears tried to form on the edges of her eyes, but she held them back with a gulp and a sharp bite of her tongue.

Why can’t you...do this! Celestia thought defeatedly. She pushed harder. A pulsing ache returned to her forehead, pressing down into her sinuses and stabbing her brain. The light would still not grow into the colored illumination of decent magic.

Sir Oryon coughed. A silence pervaded the crowd, muddled with growing murmurs and gossip. Celestia’s heart strained with the same ache brewing beneath her brow. She pushed harder; her horn dipped further into the bowl until the tips of her pink mane were soaking in the muddy water.

Clean...yourself...up! Purify! Purify! Celestia called. She squinted to see eyes averting from her, embarrassed to watch the struggle before them. Her father, though, stood tall in the center of the crowd. Despite the murmurs spreading and flowing around him, he stood there. Smiling, if a bit weakly. He nodded to Celestia and mouthed some words, though Celestia could not read his lips with her squinting eye.

Her heart stopped thumping so hard. It warmed. Brightened. Could she sense a light there? In her heart? The light traveled up into her horn. She pushed herself harder. Her breathing was shallow.

She sighed deeply, trying to concentrate on the water and nothing more.

“Young filly, I believe we may have to move on to the next presentation...” Sir Oryon said flatly. Celestia’s face was now damp with the splashing brown water. She did not move. Her muscles tensed. Yes, there was a light coming from her heart. Was that light the magic? But it had not come from anger...no...it was there, sparked by love. Her father’s love.

Purify, she thought softly. Return to the untainted state you were in once before.

The light exploded forth. Every muscle in her body shuddered. She was blinded by the surge of power. In a flash of the brightest spring green, her magic lashed forward. The water became clear and froze into ice. The magic was flailing wildly from Celestia’s horn. It was swimming through her, pushing and pulling like a great tide.

The crowd gasped in awe.

“That is enough, young filly!” Sir Oryon said, gravel-voice cracking slightly. A spiral of bright green magic surged forward, evaporating the bowl of water. A cloud formed above Celestia, and then rain fell, filling the bowl with fresh water.

“I said, enough!” Sir Oryon bellowed. Celestia was scared now. How could she stop this light -- this magic? Its lively green was surrounding her, crushing her. It was warm and terrifying, all at once. She whimpered and flapped her wings, trying to stop it. Trying to push it away. And then she felt something crack; she heard it, low and shallow in her ears. 

Sir Oryon stood from his place and immediately a cobalt bolt flew from his horn and embraced the unwieldy green magic that was flailing from within Celestia. She felt Sir Oryon’s powerful magic push away the tendrils of power inside her; it dissipated and recoiled back inside her, down into the depths of her heart before relaxing to slumber once more.

“Celestia!” Nobulis called. Exhausted, Celestia collapsed upon her hind quarters, massaging her temple with her left hoof. Her father’s great wings carried him to the stage. He stood beside Celestia as the final bits of magic flickered out of sight.

“Are you all right, Celestia?” Nobulis asked. 

“What was the meaning of this?” Sir Oryon said. “That filly’s magic was no more trained than that of a foal!” He snorted. “She could have seriously injured somepony.”

“I’m...sorry,” Celestia said, a new embarrassment now burning on her face. 

“She meant no harm, Sir Oryon, I can assure you,” Nobulis said. His wing protectively fell over Celestia as she held back a sob. Once powerless, now a wild menace? 

“Please, leave this stage, and return when she has tamed her magic. We cannot have an apprentice who nearly injures ponies just by purifying water,” Sir Oryon snorted.

“Excuse me, Sir, but I believe that is hardly why you are here! Is an apprentice not to learn from a master? She has potential, but no guide to channel it! I am insulted that you think that--”

“Father,” Celestia whispered, broken, “let’s go.” 

The crowd watched in stunned silence as Celestia stood, staring only at her front hooves. She trotted off the stage, pink mane still wet from the rain she had created. As she left the stage, she flapped her wings and began to fly as quickly away from Starswirl Square as possible. Once above the first layer of clouds, she let herself begin to sob.

“Celestia!” Her father called. Weak and dizzy from the spell gone awry, Celestia collapsed onto a cumulus. She cried into its plump softness; the tears were absorbed into its body, turning the white plushness grey. 

The cloud shuddered as her father landed on it. He folded his legs beneath him as he sat beside his daughter and nuzzled her.

“I...I’m such a f-failure, father...I...I wish I wasn’t an alicorn!”

“Come, Celestia, do not let the words of an old miserly mage harm you. What I saw back there was power! You, Celestia, are destined for great things. You only need guidance.”

“N-not from them. Please, I d-don’t want to go back there.”

“I will not force you,” Nobulis said. 

As they lay on the cloud, the beating of great feathered wings came to their ear. 

“Master Nobulis!” A stallion called -- it was Nobulis’s valet. 

“What? What is it?” 

The pegasus servant hovered before them, short of breath. Celestia wiped her tears onto her foreleg and looked up to the valet.

“Lady Solaria,” he caught his breath, “she has gone into labor.”
> Who Cries in the Night
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


The Stolen Child
A My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction

Chapter Four:
Who Cries in the Night

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.






Nubulis burst through the foyer’s double doors, powerful wings vibrating with anxiety. Celestia’s worries and personal concerns were doused in nervous excitement for the arrival of her sister. Unable to keep up with the tremendous speed of her father, she was accompanied by the stallion valet back to the manor.

“Solaria!” Nubulis called, thunderous voice bellowing in the great vaulted ceiling of the entryway. The clip-clopping of servant maids’ hooves echoed as the mares descended from the master bedroom. Before they could speak, a pained whinny reverberated through the home.

Nubulis took off with one massive beat of his wings; the draft that followed him startled the maids, ruffling their tamed manes. Celestia was breathing heavily as she landed in the foyer alongside the valet.

“M’lady!” Flora Wheatley cried, brightening as she trotted over to her charge. Celestia’s eyes darted around the manor.

“Your father just flew up tah the bedroom chamber quicker than lightnin’! We called Miss Stodmiere tah come soon, too,” Flora reported. Silently, Celestia began to walk up to the master bedroom. Flora cantered to stand in her way.

“Please, m’lady! Ya won’t be wantin’ tah watch. When a mare is in labor,” Flora said, words punctuated by another of Solaria’s cries, “she needs tah relax. Or at least try tah.”

Solaria whinnied again, voice cracking as pain shook her once more. The sound fell into Celestia’s ear like a rush of cold air; she shivered. What was she to do? Was she useless? Celestia took a few steps backward from Flora, glancing from servant to servant, unsure.

One of the maids nodded to Flora. The earth pony chuckled nervously before walking over to Celestia with her gentle smile.

“You must be starvin’ after yer Presentation, m’lady. Let’s get some nice, warm hay-turnip stew from tha kitch’ns.” Flora began to lead Celestia to the kitchens, nestled snug and warm behind the grand dining hall. Just as they turned into the polished mahogany hall, the double-doors opened in the foyer.

“Nurse Stodmiere! We’re very pleased that--”

The servants quieted suddenly. Celestia glanced back. In the doorway was not the nurse, but the grey unicorn mage that had led the Presentation.

What is she doing here? Celestia thought, dumbfounded. Flora tried to hurry Celestia into the kitchen, but she would not move. The cloaked mage glanced around curiously at the manor with an immovable smile upon her soft face. When she finally noticed Celestia in the corner of the main hall, her grin widened.

“Madam, I’m afraid we’re not taking visitors at the moment,” the valet said, “the mistress of the home is due.”
“Due for what?” The mage asked. 

“I’m here, I’m here!” Nurse Stodmiere said. She quickly bustled into the manor, mane frizzled by the chill winter air. “Where is she?”

“Right this way, ma’am,” the head maid, Viola Prim said. As personal attendant to Solaria Spark, Viola grabbed Nurse Stodmiere’s medical bag with a magical telekinetic glow and led the Nurse to the master bedroom hastily.

“Well,” the mage said, “I must extend congratulations to the growing family. Is the mother doing well?”

“So far as we know, m’lady,” one of the young maids squeaked.

“Please, if you could reschedule, that would be most appreciated, miss--?” The valet said, pausing his question to allow the mage to identify herself.

“Ah, yes, how rude of me. I am Master Magie Equuleus,” she said. The valet’s cheeks suddenly burst with an embarrassed pink. He and the maids each bowed their heads respectfully. Celestia tentatively walked towards the mage. What does she want with me, Celestia thought. Had Celestia’s purification spell gone more wrong than she had thought? Well, there was that ‘crack’ she had heard while it was being cast -- what had she broken?

“Master Equuleus, I’m terribly sorry for my rudeness! Please, if you let me know when you are available and for what reason you have graced us, I can relay a message to my master--”

“I do not think that shall be necessary -- I do not wish to speak with your master, though it is by his words I am here. No, I have come to see her, the filly of the house,” Master Equuleus said, pointing gently to Celestia with her hoof. Celestia felt a trail of anxious sparks light and fall down her spine, curling into the pit of her stomach as the shiver that shook her popped into butterflies fluttering in her stomach.

“What do ya wish tah see Lady Celestia for?” Flora asked; the valet frowned severely for the maid’s forwardness. 
Master Equuleus was undisturbed by this, and answered, “Why, I wish to take her on as one of my apprentices.”

Flora and the servants grinned widely, but before any of them could celebrate, Celestia curtly asked, “Why?” After all of that...why would she still want to apprentice me?

Master Equuleus laughed gently before walking closer to Celestia, the silver slippers on her feet barely making any noise on the slate floor.

“Surely you need not ask? That was one of the most spectacular displays of raw power I have seen in many Presentations. While Master Oryon may be right in the potential danger of your inexperience, he is keen on missing the potential greatness within you that I feel need only be guided by a Master, just as your father, Captain Nubulis, said,” Master Equuleus stated. She gave a reassuring grin. Celestia felt quite small before the grey mare, though the unicorn was only a little taller than herself. There was a power brimming, not just in her horn, but her entire body. The white cloak that elegantly folded around her flank and dipped past her haunches seemed to be stitched with energy.

“I...I...” Celestia could not find words. Though she reached for them, they could not come, no matter how much she reminded herself to be polite and not seem a stuttering foal. Luckily, another great whinny came from her mother, followed by loud but indistinct murmurs from Nurse Stodmiere.

“I should intrude no longer,” Master Equuleus said. She bowed her head, and Celestia did the same in stunned silence.

“I shall send for you in a few days’ time to begin your studies. I look forward to your apprenticeship, Celestia,” Master Equuleus said. Her voice was deep and resonating, but with a tender, smooth polish like the gentle taste that settled on the tongue after drinking a well brewed cup of tea. The sound soothed Celestia’s heart, releasing the catch in her throat.

“T-thank you so much, Master Equuleus. I shall not let you down,” Celestia said, bowing deeper so that her horn was angled in great respect. When she straightened, the mage left swiftly and soundlessly. The valet closed the door behind her gently. Just as the maids and servants began to crowd around Celestia and congratulate her, another pained whinny came from above. Nurse Stodmiere’s stark voice rang out. A few punching wing beats echoed as Nubulis flew down, sweat coursing down his muzzle.

“Water! Fetch towels and water!” The servants dispersed instantly, flying off in many directions like flurries flying from the tip of a sparkler. Nubulis shot back up to the master chamber without another word. Celestia’s excitement was quelled by fear. Was her mother all right? The baby? As she began to trot to the chamber, Flora again blocked her path.

“Please, m’lady, let’s go tah the kitch’ns ‘n get ya somethin’ good tah eat, alright?” Flora led Celestia quickly through the spotless dining hall as flustered maids tended to the mare in labor upstairs, and the valet flapped his wings nervously in the entryway.

Celestia sat at the wooden table in the kitchen where many of the servants would eat their lunches. She stared vacantly at the swirls of the wood grain as Flora clipped, clanked, and clopped around the cabinets and pots for food. She lit the double-burners of the auger stove to re-heat the hay-turnip stew. 

I feel so useless...mother is upstairs screaming and I...I don’t know...

“Oh, m’lady, ya can’t worry ‘bout these things none,” Flora said warmly. The coppery-beige earth pony smiled widely as she stirred the pot of stew.

“And why shouldn’t I? You...you heard her. And father, he looked...he never looks scared,” Celestia said. She felt a surge of emotion prick and lump in her throat, and tears tingle at the corners of her lavender eyes.

“Goodness, m’lady. Between this mornin’ and this evenin’, you sure have a case of the blues. What’s eatin’ at ya, dear?” Flora asked. She gripped the soup ladle with her strong jaws and spooned a bowl of stew for her charge. With practiced balance, she brought the bowl to the table with her hoof and gave it to Celestia.

Celestia sighed and kept the tears back. The lump in her throat was stubborn, but she was more stubborn. She sipped the hot stew. The few seconds that it slipped down her throat and nestled warmly in her stomach, she felt better. The chef of the manor, earth pony Mince, was one of the best chefs of Canterlot, and could cook up comfort food better than no other.

“Ya wanna talk about it, m’lady?” Flora asked, for the second time that day. Celestia sipped the stew again and let her eyes follow a dark grain that slid up the table before swirling into a spot of dark brown.

“I don’t know what there is to talk about, Flora. Something just...doesn’t feel right. I don’t feel right. I feel weak, useless...”

“M’lady! Weak! The leader of tha Eight Masters jus’ came tah personally ask ya tah be her apprentice! Aye hardly think that means you’re weak!”

“But that doesn’t matter!” Celestia cried. The stew wasn’t comforting any longer, and the lump in her throat grew stronger. She bit her lip before eating more of the stew. Etiquette was gone as she gobbled the stew quickly and ravenously, the gold, starchy broth staining her lips and nose. Flora rubbed Celestia’s back sympathetically. 

“It’s a stressful time, aye know. Sometimes I think you’re parents are tryin’ tah make ya grow up too fast. You’re still a filly! You shouldn’t be worryin’ about grown-up pony problems. Jus’ think about how much fun you’ll have with yer new sister, ‘n all the new magic spells you can learn from Master Equuleus!” Flora offered. Her marigold eyes shimmered with compassion. Celestia stopped eating the stew and nuzzled into Flora’s braided mane. She gasped a few times as she calmed herself. The tears slowed and she stopped crying.

One of the maids cantered into the kitchen breathlessly.

“Flora! We--need--ah, more--towels,” the maid finished. Flora pulled gently away from Celestia. She galloped to the linen closet. Before she ran up to the master bedroom chamber, she gave Celestia one last smile. 

“You see -- everything’ll be alright, m’lady,” Flora said. The breathless maid followed after the soft yellow earth pony before she had a chance to catch her breath. From the kitchen, Celestia could only hear the murmurs of servants and hushed whinnies of her mother.

Night had fallen, leaving the manor relatively dark, as the servants were too preoccupied to light the lanterns and candles. Celestia slowly made her way back into the dining hall, and from there out into the foyer. The valet was rekindling the fireplace with an anxious twitch on his face.

“Lady Celestia,” he greeted. Celestia nodded to him, allowing him to return to his duties. Seeing him preoccupy himself with his typical jobs, Celestia decided to try and busy her own mind. She trotted to the bathroom to wash herself. Still quite dim, relying solely on the light of the moon and the drizzling light of the streetlamps, the bathroom was difficult to navigate. Celestia tried to cast a simple illumination spell, but her concentration was shattered by all the chaos of the house.

As she looked out the window, snow began to fall. The soft wafting of the flakes, hoof-crafted by the talented pegasi of Cloudsdale, pushed her lips into a tiny smile. In the silver light of the moon, each looked like a crystal slowly waltzing on a breeze. The ethereal of the beauty reminded Celestia that tonight was, in fact, the winter solstice. It had been unseasonably mild so far, but now, in the night, a chill was almost visible amongst the falling flurry.

The valet opened the door to the bathroom.

“Ah!” Celestia squealed in surprise.

“Oh!” The valet cried. His wings sprung in shock, and he smashed his face in the door frame as he backed out.

“Forgive me, m’lady!” He whimpered, eyes rolling from the hit.

“It’s all right!” Celestia laughed in relief. “You can come in; I was not indisposed,” she said. The valet cautiously returned, wings folded and ears bent in embarrassment.

“I’m afraid the excitement of the manor has truly taken a toll on my manners this evening,” he said sheepishly. Celestia giggled. Often a serious stallion, her father’s valet was truly a kind pony. Seeing him fumble in the midst of the family’s chaos  was a change, but somehow, it made him seem more normal.

“Like I said, it’s all right,” Celestia repeated. The valet lit the two sconces and three candles lining the walls of the bathroom. He gave another nod before continuing throughout the rest of the manor to light the other rooms. In the lit bathroom, Celestia could no longer see the flurry as clearly. Catching her reflection in the mirror, she instead decided to wash up.

“What a mess,” she mused aloud. The bits of stew still on her lips had dried into flakes. Drawing water into the sink basin, she washed her face with a cloth. Again looking at her reflection, she smiled as her white coat shone cleanly once again. Her pink mane was ruffled from a day of errands and stress, but still quite far from the knotted mess she woke in the morning with.

Before Celestia retreated from the bathroom, she noticed a blemish on her horn. She tried to wash it with the cloth, but the black smear remained. No,  it wasn’t a blemish. Celestia gasped. The crack she had heard when casting the spell -- it had been her horn! Along the seam of one of the spirals along the breadth of her horn seemed to have split, revealing a deep black beneath the normal pearly white. Celestia touched the split again, heart pounding in fear. Had her magic damaged her horn? When her hoof touched the spot, it didn’t hurt. Yet, it looked like the split was filled with a black scab of dried blood.

Many hooves suddenly shuffled and pounded excitedly upstairs. Celestia jumped as the noise tore her from the dreaded inspection of the wound on her horn. As she heard hooves rushing down the stairs, she quickly grabbed a bandage from beneath the sink basin and hastily wrapped a bandage around the split.

“M’lady! M’lady!” Flora cried. Celestia left the bathroom and wore a smile despite the creeping fear inside her.

“Is everything okay?” She asked.

Flora was beaming, “Better than! Come meet your new sister,” she said. Celestia followed Flora’s quick gait as they cantered through the foyer and up the stairs to the master bedroom. Flora parted the doors and made way for Celestia to enter.

At the center of the room was a large bed. At its side sat her father, Nubulis, slaked with sweat but glowing with a joyous grin on his face. Nurse Stodmiere stood opposite him with a proud gleam in her eyes. Maids tentatively took bloody towels and dirtied bowls away from the bedroom, swiftly moving around obstacles, be they objects or other ponies.
And there, at the center of the bed, lay her mother. Solaria Spark’s coat glistened with sweat, and though her mane was disheveled, a great beauty radiated from her. Curled before her, leaning gently against her quivering flank, was a tiny blue foal.

Celestia’s mind went blank. She approached the bed with unnecessary caution. 

“Celestia,” Nubulis said, “meet your new baby sister.”

Celestia beamed. Her wings flapped excitedly, and her tail swished happily. She leaned forward. The foal was awake, hooves just bigger than cherries. Her head was comically large, with the tiniest bump of a horn protruding from just above her brow. Tiny wings were clamped to her small sides. Her mane and tail, a beautiful periwinkle, was fluffed and messy after Nurse Stodmiere had previously cleaned the foal. Her eyes, though, her eyes were simply stunning.

“Her eyes look like starlight,” Celestia said. The foal hiccupped and yawned, flashing a toothless jaw. Celestia giggled. She reached out a hoof to stroke her plump cheek.

“Don’t touch her,” Solaria snapped. The harshness snuffed the moment out. Celestia’s heart went cold. She had felt such warmth, such power, gazing at her baby sister. Love filled her more strongly than the purification spell she had cast. But now, with a razor tongue, Solaria made Celestia feel frozen and weak.

“Your mother just wants you to be careful,” Nurse Stodmiere explained, “newborn foals are very sensitive.”
“Don’t...touch...her,” Solaria said, slurring her words sleepily. Her eyes were closing in exhaustion. Nubulis walked over to Celestia. His wing fell over his daughter lovingly, and he whispered in her ear, “Don’t be hurt. Your mother lost a lot of blood, and has been in pain for hours. She needs rest.” 

Celestia nodded to her father’s words. She repeated them mentally, over and over, until Solaria fell asleep and Celestia could comfortably stare into her sister’s eyes again. The newborn pawed at the air with her hoof, seeming to bat at an invisible ball. 

“Your mother was brave and very strong,” Nurse Stodmiere said. She spoke in a hushed tone so as not to disturb the sleeping mother. Nurse Stodmiere wiped her face clean before nodding to a maid to pick up the medical bag. “And your baby sister is healthy.”

“I was wrong,” Celestia mused lightly. Nubulis and Nurse Stodmiere looked at each other, confused.

“Wrong about what?” Nubulis asked.

Celestia smiled. “Her eyes don’t look like starlight -- they look like moonlight.”

Nubulis and the Nurse laughed softly. Celestia pulled herself from her reverie and glanced at the two ponies.

“What’s funny?” She asked.

Nubulis hovered silently over the bed. He  nuzzled the blue foal’s stomach before kissing the forehead of his sleeping wife. He lowered himself gently until he was lying next to his wife, gazing lovingly at his new daughter.

“Her name,” he said, “is Luna.”

Celestia laughed, too. She moved to kiss the foal, but the sharp words of her mother echoed in her head. She refrained from it, and instead blew on the foal’s face. Luna’s eyes twitched at the air. A curl of periwinkle hair teased and curled around the bump of a horn. A high-pitched sneeze flew from the baby alicorn’s nose. Nubulis and Celestia laughed.

“I like that name. It suits her,” Celestia said.

Then, again, she whispered, “Luna.”





Author's Note: Please, comments are welcomed! I love hearing what people enjoy about the story, as well as any constructive criticisms they have for my work. I'm hoping to double-update this weekend, so chapter five should be available quite soon!
> What Lies Beneath
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


The Stolen Child
A My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction

Chapter Five:
What Lies Beneath

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.




Celestia was already awake and brushing her own pink mane when Flora walked into the room with clean sheets balanced on her flank. Flora nearly gave a yelp of surprise.

“Ah, m’lady! You gave me a scare,” she said, laughing. Flora pushed the pile of clean sheets onto the edge of the bed. With precise hooves and gentle teeth, she began changing the bed’s linens.

“Sorry, Flora. I could barely sleep; all I could think about is Luna.”

“M’wady, it’s been fowa days now. You need to sweep sometime!” Flora said, a sheet clenched in her teeth as she tucked it beneath the mattress of hay and down. Celestia looked in the mirror and smiled. The excitement was still coursing vibrantly in her veins. Four days was not enough time to really settle into the idea of being an elder sister!

Since the birth of Luna, Celestia’s anxiety had evaporated. A gentle green aura pulsed healthily and cheerily around her horn whenever she used her telekinesis. She was ready to begin studying under Master Equuleus within just a few days’ time. Even her mother’s somewhat cold behavior slid off Celestia’s jubilant grin. Besides, giving birth was a traumatic experience, even for one who had done so once already; her mother was likely stressed from having a newborn foal in the house again.

“How’s yer horn, m’lady?” Flora asked. Celestia lay the silver brush down at her dressing table. She looked at the bandage, still wrapped tight around the fractured spiral.

“Well, it doesn’t hurt nor bleed. And my magic has been quite easier to cast as of late. I think it’s fine, Flora.”

“Ya sure we shouldn’t tell yer mother?”

“She has enough to deal with, Flora. If anything, I can ask Master Equuleus about it in a few days,” Celestia said. Flora grinned and stood beside her charge. She gave a gentle nuzzle against the alabaster-sheen of Celestia’s clean coat. 

Celestia smiled and felt the familiar surge of warmth in her heart. That warmth sparked and tingled until she felt it coiling in her horn. Although a servant, Flora Wheatley was always something a bit more. Before being her personal attendant, Flora was Celestia’s foalsitter and a mare that almost felt like a mother.

“You look fantastic, m’lady,” Flora said, sharing a glance in the mirror with Celestia. The two grinned before they parted. Flora continued tidying Celestia’s room while Celestia trotted across the hall into the nursery. Careful to not wake Luna, she fluttered her wings noiselessly above the crib. There the blue foal slept, curled into a neat ball beneath the woven family quilt -- the blanket had both her mother and father’s cutie marks on it, and had been the same blanket Celestia was wrapped in as a newborn.

“Good morning, Luna,” Celestia whispered. She lowered herself and just kissed the top of the tiny horn on Luna’s head. The foal wriggled and groaned. Celestia watched in amusement before flying off to get some breakfast from the kitchens.

Solaria Spark was nowhere to be found; when Celestia inquired one of the mare maids, they said she had gone off to speak with the Diurnal Unicorn Mages. 

“And my father?”

“Sleeping; he returned not long ago from his post,” the maid replied. Celestia nodded in thanks. No parents? More play! She grinned as she thought about what things she might show Luna today. Maybe she would read her a book? Or maybe play with some of the newborn toys that her neighbors had brought over the day before...or maybe--

“Lady Celestia?” 

Celestia pulled herself from her excited thoughts. She wiped the bits of oatmeal that were on her lips before speaking with the maid that addressed her.

“Yes?”

“There is a young colt at the front door asking for your audience.”

“A colt?” Celestia asked. She only knew a handful of colts from her time studying under Lieutenant Cyclone. Surely none of them were here to see her?

“Shall I tell him you are indisposed at the moment?” The maid offered.

“No, no; I’m finished with my oatmeal, thank you. I will speak with him myself. Did he say his name?”

“I believe he said it was Luke Hearthstings -- but to be honest, the colt spoke so excitedly I could hardly catch anything he said, m’lady,” the maid said. 

Celestia laughed. “That’s quite alright; I’ll just see him myself.” Celestia walked out of the kitchen and through the gleaming dining hall. As she entered the foyer, however, she saw that the colt was already snuggling up to the hearth. An awful twang kept rising from him, like a glass being struck with a sharp branch.

“Excuse me!” Celestia called indignantly. The colt was a vibrant teal, with a mane that was a gentle seafoam-and-cream curl. He looked up from his seat by the fireplace and gave a dazzling, unashamed grin.

“Ah! You must be Celestia!”

“What do you mean by inviting yourself into my home? No one granted you audience,” she said quickly. Another twang struck her ears. She folded them back and winced; her wings flapped once in displeasure.

“Sorry about that, miss. Darn thing gets so out of tune in the winter,” he said. Celestia looked and noticed where the terrible sound was coming from: a lute, encompassed in a pleasant off-white glow that the colt was tuning, tightening and loosening the strings according to the sound. Seeing the instrument jogged Celestia’s memory.

“You-- you’re the colt from the Presentation!”

“Glad you remember me,” the colt winked. Celestia sighed indignantly, but a blush rose to her cheeks anyways. He let the lute float over to the side table. He stood onto his legs and gave an unusually deep bow to Celestia.

“Pardon me. I am Lute Heartstrings, son of Maestro Heartstrings,” he said, relishing in the pronunciation of his own name. Celestia coughed before giving a little bow.

“I’m Lady Celestia, daughter of Sun Mage Solaria Spark,” she said. Lute grinned before looking the alicorn up and down curiously. 

“You’re rather rude,” Celestia stated bluntly.

“And you’re rather interesting,” Lute said, mimicking her regal-toned voice. He sat down in front of the hearth and brought the lute back to his side, proceeding to tune the instrument as though Celestia had never come over in the first place.

“For a unicorn of noble birth, you’re not very, well, very--”

“Polite? Polished? Preened?” Lute offered each word. Before Celestia could continue, he gave a joyful whinny. He clapped his front hooves together and then closed his eyes.

“What are you d--” Celestia was interrupted as he plucked the first string. The sound was heavenly, and echoed in the large stone foyer. It did not die, so much as fade until it was too soft to hear but still strong enough to be felt. Celestia sat beside Lute and watched as he played. His once haughty and confident face was concentrated entirely on the lute now. He played a slow arpeggio, before he played a crescendo into a beautiful melody. It was played on a bright, major key, warming the ear and settling into one’s chest like an embrace.

As the song finished, each note became less distinct, slurring into long, drawn phrases until the majesty of the piece de-crescendoed into a harmonious vibrato chord. Lute sighed deeply, as if he had not breathed throughout the entire song. Celestia’s frustration with the colt was melted away by the beauty of his playing.

“What was that song?”

“Vernal Pastures No. 2 in C,” Lute said.

“That was beautiful,” Celestia said. She looked to his flank and noticed an image of a Lute there. She smiled; it certainly was a talent, and a very accurate cutie mark. Lute began to just play around on the strings, pulling together phrases or notes without particular thought or reason.

“You didn’t come here just to play a sweet song, did you?” Celestia asked.

“No, but I will in the future if you’d like,” he said. Celestia blushed and did not answer. He smiled and looked at the white alicorn playfully.

“I’m actually here to let you know that your first apprenticeship training will begin tomorrow morning.”

“Wait-- that must mean you are--”

“Indeed, I am your fellow apprentice under Master Equuleus,” he said. He flicked a curl of his mane of of his golden eyes before settling his lute back into a saddlebag that he had left on the floor.

“You know, you should have said that in the first place,” Celestia said. Lute put the saddlebag onto his side and began to walk to the main doors. Celestia followed him curiously.

“If I did that, I wouldn’t have been able to play a song for you, now would I?”

“What?”

“If I just finished with my message that quickly, I wouldn’t have been able to play for you,” he explained. He opened the doors with a push of his magic before turning back to Celestia.

“I wanted to spend a little time with my future fellow apprentice,” he said, “and see what kind of filly she was, besides a ludicrously powerful filly.” At this, Celestia blushed, still embarrassed by the entire fiasco of the purification spell at the Presentation (even if it meant she had been taken up by Master Equuleus herself). Lute bowed once more, and Celestia did the same.

“I shall see you tomorrow then, Celestia,” he said. With that, he began to canter down the cobblestoned street. Celestia watched the teal unicorn go. She laughed; he was arrogant, but who was to say that confidence was unwarranted? From how he played, he sounded just as professional as the musicians that performed at the Canterlot Symphony Hall. Celestia shut the door with her own magic. In a now quiet manor, she heard a familiar newborn giggle upstairs.

“Luna!” Celestia beamed. She flew up to the nursery to find one of the maids putting Luna on the ground with several toys.

“Little Luna!” Celestia grinned. Her sister giggled, and Celestia hunkered down on the floor to play with the foal.


------

Later that night...

The pleasant dreams were gone.

The past four nights had been wonderful, filled with galloping in marigold fields with Luna, flying in a starlit sky, or enjoying a picnic of candies and chocolates with her family on a cloud. But now, as Celestia slept in her freshly made bed, a nightmare had hold.

Celestia was walking in the Everfree Forest. Alone. So incredibly alone. The light of the moon was weak, unable to penetrate the thick canopy of the wild and untamed trees. In the distance, timberwolves howled. Her heart skipped several beats as she panicked. Would the pack try to find her again? Again...how long had she been out here in the forest? Months? No...years.

Celestia was alone in the forest for years. Her stomach growled and clawed for nourishment, but only a few berries or clovers found themselves edible here in a forest of anarchy.

A buzzing suddenly filled Celestia’s ears. It was soft, but grew louder and fiercer. There was chittering; the noise was so close, the howls of the timberwolves echoed as though acres away. They were coming again. Not again; had they not done enough? Imprisoned her, chained her to this devilish forest -- and here they came once more to feed.

Celestia was galloping hard, but with little food her legs were weak. She tripped on a thick knotted root. She fell, rocks scratching her face and chest. Her pink mane was disheveled and knotted, hooves cracked and legs caked with dried blood. The buzzing was upon her. It slowed and stopped. She heard the hoof beats of her captors hit the ground. They were chittering excitedly again, their gossamer wings buzzing with hunger.

The timber wolves howled again, and she could hear their vicious gnashing. Their paws snapped and cricked as they ran. Her captors hissed, voices syncing in an unearthly chord. The timber wolf pack reciprocated with burly growls. Celestia cowered on the ground, legs aching. Her wings were at her side, uselessly weak and tattered by twigs, angered parasprite swarms, and wolves. She listened to the sounds of fighting; the gnashing, the claws, the hissing, the growling. She felt the air buzz with the magic of her captors. The ground shook as they shot themselves angrily at the timber wolves. 

The pack, humiliated and injured, fell back into shadow. Celestia weakly got onto her legs and turned to face her captors.

There they stood -- the two fey ponies. Their fangs were chipped from frenzied feeding, and legs hollowed like the driftwood. Their slick, taut bodies were blacker than a new moon night. What unnerved Celestia the most, though, were their eyes. Their eyes were an iridescent blue that unraveled you as you stared at them.

“Please, just let me go,” she asked. Tears streaked her cheeks, once white but now brown with dirt and mud.

“We cannot,” one of her captors said. Their ribs were sharp against their sides, and horns curved to a tapered point. 
Cuts from the claws of the timber wolves ripped their flanks, and one bled from a reopened scar over its eye.

“Please, no more,” she plead. She collapsed onto her hind legs.

“We are hungry,” the two fey ponies said in eerie unison.

“I am, too,” she cried.

“We will feed you, daughter,” one captor said. When she looked up, she saw the beautiful radiance of her mother, Solaria Spark.

“M-mother?” She asked. No; it was a trick, again. But beside her was the strong Nubulis, wings large and protective. They approached their daughter and embraced her. She sobbed into her mother’s tri-colored braid. Her heart filled with warmth.

She opened her eyes. Her parents were gone -- it was the blackness and hunger of the fey ponies. They buzzed and chittered.

Her heart hollowed into ice.

“Ahh!” Celestia flapped her wings in fright and leapt from her bed. She was gasping, eyes wet with tears and body freezing despite having several blankets. She settled back down, catching her breath. Her horn was aching, pulsing. She heard Luna crying in the nursery. 

Celestia opened her door. She caught the sight of her mother’s flank as Solaria went into the nursery. Celestia soundlessly walked into the hall and peered into Luna’s room. There, Solaria curled herself on the floor, nestling the crying Luna against her flank. Solaria smiled and nuzzled her foal. 

“Calm, Luna,” Solaria whispered, “I will protect you. I shall always protect you; I promise never to fail you, never to leave you, never to lose you.” Solaria nuzzled Luna again and began to hum a Canterlot lullaby. The foal yawned and settled against the comfort of her mother’s flank.

Celestia returned to her room and closed the door. Failed? It sounded as though her mother had failed before...she sounded as if she was making a promise to fix a mistake. But what mistake?

Celestia winced as her horn ached once more. Despite the sharp pains, her magic was still working fluidly. She lit a candle on her dressing table. Peering into the mirror, she undid the bandage with her telekinesis.

“Eww!” Celestia whispered. It looked as though a flap of the pearly horn peeled down, hanging like a flake from the wound. Celestia touched it with her hoof, and it fell off gently. She gasped. Looking back up, she saw no blood -- just more black. She touched the wound with her hoof again, and more of the pearly covering of her horn fell to reveal a pitch black horn beneath. 

Celestia’s heart was pounding. The sound filled her ears like the anxious beating of a war drum. She began rubbing the white of her horn away quickly, purposefully. What was this! It wasn’t a cut or a wound!

In place of her spiraled white horn was a gnarled, crooked rising black horn. As she stared at the grotesque angled protrusion, a crack slithered down her face and along the bangs of her pink mane. Celestia was breathing quickly, terrified. A piece of her white coat peeled down on her forehead. Still, no blood. Why no blood?

Celestia used her telekinesis to peel her coat away. In great sheets, her white fur fell to the floor and clung to the edge of her dressing table. Her pink mane fell out in bunches, spiraling down like stray pieces of straw. All along her legs pooled scraps of her white pelt and pink mane, peeling as easily as old bubbled paint. Her green magic ripped strips of her skin off as she hastily tried to end the ever-growing slit that had begun at her horn. She began sobbing as she noticed the piles of hair and skin and fur on the ground, now joined by feathers as she shook her wings.
Looking back up in the mirror was a monster.

When she blinked, even the lavender of her eyes was gone.

Long tendrils of dank blue-moss hair clung around a jagged black horn and sharp green eyes that seemed to glow in the dim bedroom. Thin gossamer wings clung to her side, strong ribs pressing out beneath her chest and holes lining her legs and hooves as though an insect had eaten pieces of her body but left the rest. 

Celestia couldn’t breath. She looked in the mirror, then back to the heap of fur, feathers, and hair on the floor. What was once her was there, in that pile, and now she was...she was...

Celestia collapsed. Was this a nightmare too? It had to be...it had to be...she couldn’t be one of those fey ponies who had captured her in that nightmare...no...it was all just a nightmare...

She sobbed amongst strips of her old white coat and beautiful pink mane. Her wings buzzed in anguish. She felt dizzy as she looked at the scraps of her old body, and passed out.

The ache in her horn was gone.
> Whose Reflection She Hates
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


The Stolen Child
A My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction

Chapter Six:
Whose Reflection She Hates



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.




Eighteen Months Later...

“Celest! Celest!” Luna cried. Before Celestia had a chance to answer her bedroom door, Luna came barreling in with fluttering wings and sparkling eyes. Her hind legs hovered in the hair as her wings held her, but she still had to trot her front hooves.

“Luna, what is it?” Celestia laughed. She closed her grimoire, resting the quill she had been using in the inkpot. Luna zoomed up to Celestia. The blue alicorn was a veritable juggernaut at times, undeterred by anything if she was excited enough about something.

“Father said you can fly me up to a cloud! A cloud! I get to go on a cloud!” Luna cheered, fluttering around the room with her hind legs kicking in the air excitedly. Celestia laughed and pulled herself away from her desk. While it was true she had many notes to take for Master Equuleus, it was also true having a break could do wonders for the mind. At least, this is the logic that Celestia used for herself.

“Are you sure he said yes?”

Nubulis laughed and walked into the bedroom and said, “I am quite sure he said yes.”

“See? See! Celest, you never believe me!”

“It’s not a matter of belief, just that you tend to get hyped up,” Celestia said. She gave a respectful nod to her father. He returned the gesture. His deep violet coat was groomed well, and his dark mane tamed beneath his helmet. The sun was to set soon, and his post as a midnight sentry would begin. It was the summer, when new sentry recruits were trained -- the nights were shorter, giving the new stallions and mares a chance to ease into the position of guarding Canterlot from the many dangers that still thrived in Equestria.

“Cloud! Cloud, cloud, cloud! Does it feel like a pillow? No -- softer, I bet!” Luna cheered, zooming in a circle with her blank flank in the air and front legs trotting on the ground happily. Nubulis smiled sincerely as he gazed at his two daughters. When he looked back to Celestia, he noticed a drape hung over her dressing mirror.

“Again?” He sighed.

Celestia bit her lip, managing a calm expression. “I’m afraid so; I think something must be wrong with the dressing table,” she said.

“Well, perhaps your mother can look into the furniture. Goodness knows I cannot be trusted with the aesthetic of this house,” he joked. Celestia glanced at the embroidered drape she had hung over the mirror. Another one, shattered. Beneath the drape, the once unblemished glass spider-webbed into hundreds of shards. This would be the ninth time the mirror had to be replaced (but only the second time either of her parents knew of).

“Can we go now? Please please please?” Luna beamed. She stopped her circling around the room, planting all of her hooves on the ground. Her soft sky eyes were wide and wings extended in quivering excitement. Nubulis began to walk down to the foyer. Celestia smiled and put her gold slippers onto her hooves as she followed her father. Luna composed herself, swiftly shedding her youthful chatter for a regal posture. Once the three left the manor, however, Luna’s wings were fluttering, with  fluffy down feathers floating off every minute.

“Do not take her very high; just a low, white cumulus. Understood?” Nubulis instructed.

“Understood!” Celestia said, saluting. Luna, vibrating with energy, was lifted onto Celestia’s back with a vibrant green haze of magic. She clung to her sister’s pink mane, letting it curl and tickle her nose. Nubulis was airborne in one flap of his wings, hovering to watch his eldest take off, slowly, with Luna shivering in anticipation on her back.

“Woohoo!” Luna cried. Nubulis watched until Celestia landed on a wide, roiling cumulus. With that, he left for the Midnight Sentries headquarters in Cloudsdale.

“We are so high! So high!” Luna breathed. She jumped up and down, little feathered wings fluttering constantly. She giggled; the sound was silver-sweet in Celestia’s ear. Celestia playfully  levitated a piece of cloud, and clung it to Luna’s face like a moustache.

“Hey!”

“I don’t have any hay, little sister. You should have eaten before you came.”

“Not that again!” Luna stuck her tongue out. Celestia did the same. Luna stroked her cloud-mustache with one hoof and gave a haughty laugh. “Look at me! Who am I?” Luna balanced herself on her hind legs and massaged the cloud-mustache while winking at Celestia repeatedly.

“You’re the baker from the first tier!” Celestia laughed.  The moustache dissipated, and Luna fell onto the cloud laughing. She rolled around in its plush curves.

“I love clouds! They feel like...like...”

“Like clouds. There is really no other way to describe it,” Celestia said. She flapped her wings once and crashed beside Luna. Her little sister sighed, snuggling into the talcum folds of the white fluff. Overhead, in the sun-setting sky, a few stars started to peer out from the blue. Larger clouds floated above them wistfully, scurrying onwards across Equestria and lands beyond. For a time, the two sisters just watched the clouds float and the stars grow stronger.

Celestia rolled over and noticed Luna was flirting with sleep. Grinning mischievously, Celestia jabbed her sister’s side with her horn.

“Ah! Meanie!”

“No falling asleep!”

“I was not falling asleep,” Luna said indignantly, voice matching the general eloquence Solaria usually spoke with.

“Then what were you doing?”

“Meditating,” Luna answered. Celestia laughed. She noticed Luna was staring upwards. Following her gaze, she found a waxing moon, nearly full. Its pale light was still eaten and smothered by the garish golds of the sun. Soon, though, silver would reign and pave the night with light. It was beautiful, watching the sky change from day to night. Celestia felt that of all magic in the world, nothing could compare with the changing of time and the changing of the seasons.

“Sister...” Luna began. Her voice was not the cheerful staccatos from earlier. 
“Yes, Luna?”

“Did you break your mirror, again?”

“...” Celestia didn’t answer. How could she? She...Luna couldn’t know. No one could ever know. She still wished she had not discovered the fey pony hiding beneath her familiar skin. That night...that night changed her reality.

Celestia roused groggily from a nightmare, only to realize the terror of her dream had been a reality. Pooled around her were chunks of her pink mane, white coat, and flakes of her once pearly white horn. She weakly brought herself to her driftwood legs and rushed to the barrel at her bedside, retching violently.

“This...is this...what I really am?” She whispered to herself, shaking, stomach sore from heaving. Her mouth tasted sour. It was the purification spell that started this horrid process. One crack that unraveled to reveal this...this monster.

A knock came to her door. Celestia’s chest spiked with hot fear.

“M’lady? Are you alright?” Flora asked. Celestia’s eyes watered with tears. She was frightened. She was disgusted. She was confused. All Celestia wanted to do was go back to how she was. She pleaded with her magic to let things be as they were...just to return her to her old self. A bright green light engulfed her, and she collapsed, exhausted, just as Flora came in to find her pink-maned alicorn quivering on the ground. The debris was gone, puzzled back over the black body and crooked horn Celestia truly had.

“Why do you break your mirror, Celest? You’re so pretty.”

“How does anypony know that I’m pretty?” Celestia mused darkly. Luna got up on her hooves and frowned at her sister.
“You are! You are, you are!”

“Sure,” Celestia dismissed. The conversation could go nowhere, and she wasn’t about to argue with a little filly. Luna snorted in frustration and trotted around the cloud, angry with Celestia. At the edge, she looked down.

“Hey,” Luna said, “isn’t that you’re coltfriend?”

“He is not my coltfriend!” Celestia said defensively. She flew over to the edge of the cloud. Indeed, just beneath them, was the familiar teal unicorn, Lute. Celestia giggled as a mischevious thought wriggled itself into her mind.

“Luna,” she began, “doesn’t he look like he needs a shower?”

“Huh, but...ooohhhhh,” Luna said. Her smile curled into a devilish smirk. The sisters closed their eyes, and Celestia’s horn glowed bright green. A weak bright white-blue shimmered over Luna’s small horn as well. Together, the two colors seeped into the cloud. The white cumulus churned and darkened until it vibrated with potential thunder. The folds of the cloud squished now beneath their hooves. Once the cloud was saturated with water, Luna and Celestia clung to the fluff. Celestia used her wings to push them down and over Lute, who was walking to Master Equuleus’s study in the Archives Tower at the edge of the third tier.

“Now!” Celestia whispered. The two jumped up-and-down feverishly. The cloud rumbled with thunder and poured below them.

“Ugh! My mane!” Lute cried. Celestia and Luna laughed. Once drained of the summoned rainwater, the cumulus was shriveled and an off-white. 

“Celestia! Luna!” He called angrily. The two alicorns poked their heads through the bottom of the cloud.

“Yes?” Celestia said. Luna burst out into a fit of giggles -- Lute’s mane was soaked and snaked around his neck and face. He looked like an angry wet cat, glaring up between seafoam-green bangs that hung like seaweed over his eyes.
“That was not funny,” he said.

“I beg to differ,” Celestia smirked. Luna was tearing up with laughter. Lute shook himself of the excess rain. Celestia used her wings to push the cloud down to the ground. Luna rolled off the cloud, holding her stomach.

“It hurts!” she laughed, “it hurts!”

“You two are nothing but trouble,” Lute said. Although once angry, a small smile couldn’t help but bloom on his young face.

“You’re one to talk,” Celestia returned. She leapt gracefully from the cloud, letting the cumulus float back up to its place in the sky. The sun was mostly set, leaving the street lamps to be lit by unicorn attendants. The fire of the lanterns glowed brightly, like a false day.

“What were you doing?”

“I took Luna up to her first cloud,” Celestia said. Luna finally composed herself and came to stand beside her sister.
“Well, that’s nice, I guess -- despite my unexpected shower,” Lute said. He laughed lightly, though. He glanced at his saddlebag and unclasped the top to check the contents. He sighed with relief when he found his scrolls and lute unharmed by the downpour.

“Why are you going to Master Equuleus’s study so late?” Celestia asked.

“Oh, I finished some of my scrolls on advanced telekinetic practices late, so I need to get them to her before she leaves for her Unicornia Grimoire Conference tomorrow,” Lute said. He began to walk once more, his mane drying in a fluffed, unkempt manner. Even so, Celestia couldn’t help but find him charming. His coat glistened now in the lamplight, still slick with rain. Celestia realized she was staring when Luna began to giggle under her breath again.

Celestia and Lute began to talk about their studies and shenanigans as they walked. Luna smiled and kept up with the older unicorn and alicorn well. She laughed at the stories they told her -- the time when Lute had an allergic reaction to an invisibility potion and turned a fluorescent shade of pink, or when Celestia and Lute animated the books in Master Equuleus’s study and ended up having to chase them down as they escaped with some Equestrian birds. 

Celestia and Lute’s reminiscing continued until they got to the Archives Tower. 

“Master Equuleus?” Lute called. He knocked on the door to the tower with his hoof. At no answer, he opened the door with his magic. Although the candles and lanterns were still lit, Magie Equuleus was no where to be seen. 

“Strange,” he said, “the master told me she wasn’t leaving until tomorrow.”

“Maybe she left to get dinner? You know how she forgets to eat at times,” Celestia said. Luna gasped as she walked into the study. Walls extended to incredible heights, with book-stocked shelves lining almost every inch. A staircase wound along the edge of the tour to help a pony reach the many books. A dais stood at the edge of the room, where Master Equuleus’s desk sat, littered with quills, books, papers, and potions. An alchemy table was in a nook in the back as well, bubbling a peculiar green liquid on a simmering flame.

Lute trotted to Master Equuleus’s desk and placed his scrolls gently on her desk. As he did so, Celestia let herself browse the titles of the books’ spines.

“Celestia, are you doing anything tonight?” Lute asked suddenly.

“Sister! He’s going to ask you on a date!” Luna whispered happily. Celestia shushed her, blushing. 

“No,” Celestia coughed.

“Maybe we could grab dinner? I know a nice cafe with the best daisy sandwiches down in the second tier,” he grinned. Although always suave and confident, Celestia thought she recognized a blush in his cheeks.

“Alright,” Celestia said. 

“Finally!” Luna exclaimed.

“Luna!” Celestia and Lute said simultaneously, blushing. The three ponies laughed. 

“Did I miss the joke again?” Master Equuleus said. The three ponies turned to find the white-cloaked unicorn enter the tower, smiling. Beside her hovered a large bag of groceries, filled with fruits and stalks of hay.

“Master Equuleus,” Lute and Celestia said. They bowed respectfully to their master. Luna yelped and quickly followed suit.

“It’s quite alright. I left the door open hoping you would hand in those scrolls, Lord Heartstrings. I was also hoping to have a few words with you?”

“Yes, Master,” Lute said. He paused to give a light wink to Celestia before he followed Master Equuleus into the back kitchen. Celestia’s heart pattered pleasantly as she waited. 

“Don’t touch anything, Luna,” Celestia said. The little blue alicorn retracted a hoof from poking a glass bottle on the alchemy table. Celestia trotted over to her master’s desk, scanning the many pages, notes, and references. Although just passing over, an image caught her eye. Celestia’s horn summoned magic with its green aura to gently pull over a book.

Celestia felt a surge of cold overtake her. Nausea bubbled in her stomach.

“What’re you lookin’ at?” Luna asked. She leaned on the master’s desk to look at the book entry Celestia’s attention was fixated on.

“Eww,” Luna said. The book was the one Celestia had never been brave enough to open herself -- Equestria: A Guide of Sentient Creatures. The passage was opened among the entries for the letter “C”. Before her was an illustration of the fey ponies that plagued her dreams, and was her actual self -- her secret and terrifying reality. The passage was compact:

	“C -- Changeling. Sentient equine, fey nature. Typically deemed solitary. Can take on any pony form it has seen. It thrives on positive emotions of others, particularly love, in order to survive. Legends say that changelings swap their offspring with that of mortal ponies so that their child feeds off the love of the unassuming mortal pony parents, and the mortal pony child can provide love to feed the changeling parents. No changeling has been sufficiently observed to confirm or deny these claims.”

“What is that pony, Celestia? It looks like a bug,” Luna said with disgust. Celestia pushed the book back in place. She then began to trot out of the tower.

“Sister!” Luna called. She followed her sibling out of the tower, little legs pushing hard to keep up with Celestia as she began to canter.

“Sister, what about your date!”

“He doesn’t deserve to date a monster,” Celestia muttered to herself. That night, she would reserve herself to her bedroom. Lute would call on her several times, and each time he would be rebuked by the valet. And when everyone slept, Celestia would purify herself and stare in the dressing table mirror, still broken. Though her image spider-webbed and folded, the hideous black of her stretched skin would disgust her. The bright green-spring eyes would unnerve her. She would look at the broken reflection of a filthy truth and sob.

And that night, as she sobbed at her putrid reflection, Luna peered in the bedroom door.