//------------------------------// // Chapter 2 // Story: When Harmony Reigns // by Static Shock //------------------------------// Luna and Celestia shared yet another look of concern, both of them cautiously keeping their distance from the now unconscious stranger as they waited for the guards surrounding her to retreat. The guards stepped back, although they stayed close enough to be able to react to any sudden movements. The two princesses approached with caution, stopping some distance away from the seemingly unconscious arrival, but the alicorn made no move. Celestia looked up at one of the guards who had been surrounding the newcomer. “What did she say? Her exact words, please.” “She, uh... she just said your name, Princess. Yours and your sister’s.” “Hmm," Celestia pondered. "Does she seem... familiar, somehow?" Luna asked, interrupting her sister's thoughts. Celestia nodded. "She does, but I can't quite seem to recall where, or even if, I've seen her before." "Neither can I..." "I suppose we ought to leave her to rest, then." "What, right here?" Luna said, raising an eyebrow at her sister. "No, Luna," Celestia smiled, shaking her head. "There's plenty of vacant rooms around the castle. She can occupy one of those, for now. The castle staff can see to her, and nurse her back to full health. She shouldn't take long to recover. She's an alicorn, after all." Knowing that she wasn't the only one who seemed to recognize the alicorn comforted Celestia somewhat, but that strange feeling never left her. The questions the arrival raised didn't, either. Mainly, how the alicorn had managed to sneak by the castle guards, only to end up losing consciousness in the throne room without any warning. The lack of notification was enough for the newcomer to be suspicious, Celestia thought. Furthermore, she was an alicorn, and no other royal families were known to still exist. For years now the world had thought Celestia, Luna and Cadance to be the last alicorns alive. This turn of events, however, proved them wrong. They walked up to the now unconscious alicorn, crossing the last few steps, and paused for a moment to study her. Celestia levitated her into the air, neither she nor her sister speaking as they contemplated the impact this newcomer would have on the kingdom. The alicorn still floating in front of them, Luna and Celestia walked quietly to the nearest guest room. Celestia carefully placed the alicorn on the bed inside. Still silent, both she and her sister left the room. The two sisters shared yet another concerned look. "So, what are going to do about her?" Luna finally asked. "Well, first of all we're going to have to find out where she came from, and who she is. Clearly, neither of us know. Once we find out who she is, we might be able to send her back home," she paused. "Wherever that is." “Who do you think she is?” Luna replied. "And how did she get past the guards?" “I... don't know, Luna. As far as I knew, as we all knew, Cadance is the only other alicorn," Celestia replied. “However, I have every intention of finding out who she is." “And how are we going to do that?" Celestia shook her head. "I don't know. Maybe, just maybe, we can find some record of her in the library, but I doubt that's going to turn up any results." "And if it doesn't?" "Then I suppose we'll just have to wait until she wakes up," Celestia said, turning to walk towards the library as she spoke. They walked quietly towards the library, nothing but the sound of their hooves hitting the floor echoing through the halls of Canterlot. Making their way into the Canterlot library, the sisters headed straight for the family trees of the royal families of Equestria. They had been kept neatly at the back of the library, all families but Luna and Celestia's own being recorded into history. Not long after they entered, however, the head librarian approached. A short, grey pony, with thick tortoise-shell glasses obscuring most of his eyes. He wore a simple brown vest, to indicate his profession, and his faded, white mane was messy, hanging lazily down his neck. “Goodness! Both princesses in the library? Why, to what do I owe the honor?” “To a yet-to-be identified alicorn, I’m afraid,” Celestia replied, Luna standing quietly by her side. “She managed to sneak past the guards completely unnoticed, and collapsed on the floor of the throne room. We’re trying to find out who she is.” “An alicorn, you say?! My, this is extraordinary news! I... always thought that yours was the only remaining royal family. Well, yours and that of Princess Cadance, I suppose." “So did we, I’m afraid. It seems that we were mistaken, however. Neither Luna nor I have an idea of who she is. We... would have asked her, but she collapsed before we had the chance. It doesn't seem like she'll be waking up any time soon.” “I... see,” the librarian said, looking down at the ground, obviously disappointed. “That said, we’d very much like for you to do some research on previous royal families. Perhaps one of them hasn’t yet completely vanished. She had a long, dark red mane, and a white coat, if that helps." “Red and... white? With all due respect, Princess, are you sure? No alicorns are known to have lived with a white coat, except... well, you." Celestia and Luna both nodded. "I'm sure. It's unlikely, but those were her colours." The librarian raised a hoof, scratching behind his ear in thought. "I’m sorry, Princess, but it would appear that your mystery alicorn... is going to remain a mystery, for now.” Celestia frowned. “Do some research, please. I know alicorns tend to be well-known, but you may have missed or even forgotten something. We need to know who this alicorn is, and we’d rather find out sooner than later.” “Of course, Princess. I’ll have the library staff find the family trees of all royal families, and we’ll start looking through them at once.” Celestia nodded, waving a hoof to dismiss the librarian. He turned to start his research, leaving the two sisters alone in the library. "Is there anything else we can do?" Luna asked. Celestia wondered for a moment, then smiled. "No, not quite. There is still one other library we could look through." "Twilight?" "Twilight," Celestia smiled. The alicorn didn’t wake up the following day, so the two sisters decided to take turns watching her, each of them taking a single book from a library to read while they sat by the alicorn’s bed. She must have been through a lot, Celestia reckoned, for she hadn’t talked or moved since she lost consciousness the previous day. Alicorns didn't usually take this long to recover, but perhaps this one was older, somehow? Twilight, having of course spent the night scanning through book after book, had sent a reply that morning. The librarian hadn't found anything new yet, and Celestia found herself hoping dearly that Twilight had had different results. Celestia sat down at a table in the library, once again carefully unrolling her student's letter. Dear Princess Celestia, I’m afraid I’ve had no luck in finding any mention of the alicorn you described in your request. Luckily, I still have a lot of books to look through, and am not going to give up without looking through each and every one of them personally. Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle. Celestia looked up from the letter, frowning. Even Twilight hadn’t found any mention of their mystery alicorn. Perhaps... she was a new alicorn after all? Celestia’s thoughts were cut short by her sister, who came running up to her, yelling as she went. “Celestia, she's waking up! The alicorn, she’s moving!” Celestia immediately dropped the letter and rushed to follow her sister to the room in which the alicorn had been resting. When the two sisters entered, the alicorn had already woken up, and was sitting upright in her bed. Her eyes, now a vivid cyan, locked onto Celestia as soon as she entered the room. “Where are we?” she asked, her tone stern, almost angry. “Calm down,” Celestia said, trying not to let her concern show. “You’ve obviously endured a lot on your way to Canterlot, and you need your rest. That does not, however, mean that you and I can’t talk. We have a lot to discuss, but let’s start with the obvious. What is your name, and who are you?” "Oh, Celestia," the mystery alicorn smiled, her voice now almost soothing. "Our name is Harmony, and we are the queen of Equestria."