It had been around five years since the unprovoked attack and subsequent destruction of Graycolt and the sisters were one of the only survivors that had been able to flee the destroyed settlement. The sisters were then able to escape Graycolt and eventually reach Klipstone, unfortunately, that’s when the sister’s luck ended. As it only took a few short weeks for them to exhaust their supplies and bits.
Because of this, the sisters were forced to move from one settlement to the next to just scrounge up enough supplies. So now the sisters, like most days, enter another city to try and get more necessary supplies to make ends meet.
-{<()>}-
Celestia wearily looked around at the cramped and dirty city that she and her sisters had just entered. In truth it wasn't the city itself that she was worried about, it was all the ponies that glared and sneered at them that caused her to go on guard, the vast majority of them were earth ponies.
Celestia looked behind her to check on her sisters to make sure they were alright and that no pony tried to do anything to them. As she looked over her younger sister’s she was reminded by how much they had grown in the last couple of years.
Her younger sister Luna, who was now seven, had grown up so much in both her mind and body, almost too much in her opinion. She has had to step up and help take care of Twilight when she’s not around, especially during the early years of their new life. She had also grown a bit more...quiet around crowds or random ponies and only really came out of her shell when it was her or Twilight, this worried Celestia but she didn't know what to do about that.
Also in that time, she had definitely grown, with her coat having darkened a bit, her mane and tail lengthening to her shoulders, and her horn growing a few more centimeters. She would have been beautiful too if it weren’t for all the dirt and grime that covered her. As well as the old ragged cloaks and torn saddlebags that they still had since there...escape from their old home.
Before she could get stuck in the past, Luna noticed that she was staring at her and gave Celestia a small smile. Celestia returned the smile and mentally thanked her sister for distracting her, then she turned her attention to her youngest sister, Twilight.
As she looked over Twilight she was like Luna also covered in far too much dirt and forced to wear makeshift rags and a poorly built saddlebag, but even surrounded by grime she was very...carefree...about how she acts. That was one thing that she thanked, out of the three of them Twilight, by far, was able to retain quite a bit of her foalhood behavior, thanks mainly to Luna who worked so hard for her little sister.
She had also physically changed so much from that little foal from so long ago. She was a little smaller than Luna, her fur also like Luna had darkened quite a bit, and her mane seemed to have stubbornly developed so that the front of her hair hung just above her face, in a straight line so less and no matter what she did it refused to change. But most surprisingly by far was how well her horn had developed, with the shape of the horn being perfectly shaped and developed to cast spells, even possibly some more advanced ones.
If Celestia had to guess that trait came from their...mother, she always did love magic, and it seems that their...late mother had given Twilight one last gift. It was also especially special with Twilight’s love for magic, also something she probably got from their mother.
Celestia smiled as she remembered when Twilight first learned about magic and how to cast it, it took her and Luna several hours to calm her down. As soon as she was able to, Twilight had practically begged her to teach her magic, to which Celestia was ecstatic to do, and she tried to teach her everything she knew. Unfortunately, she was never able to finish her education in magic. So Twilight had at best second hoof knowledge on most subjects in magic and any spellbook or any other books that were related to magic that they were able to find was old and torn up, so in the end, she was only able to teach Twilight so much.
Even with these hooficaps, she worked hard on learning as much as she could about magic and Luna has helped her so much whenever she could, and ever since then the two had been practically inseparable. Celestia was glad that they were at least able to rely on each other if something happened.
As for her...well she knew how much she’d grown during these five years and to be honest sometimes it felt like her old life was from an entirely different lifetime. Mentally she’s far different from the little filly from Graycolt, she’s far more cautious, cynical, and suspicious of really everything now. She’s also far more grown-up from having to take care of Luna and Twilight as well as having to find any kind of work so they can have some bits, it’s been rough, to say the least. But around her younger sisters she continues to try and be the best big sister she could from helping them with their magic to just listening to them, she tries to be there for them.
As for physically. Oh, she’s changed quite a bit as well. She was now roughly the size of an average mare, maybe even a little taller. Her coat, if it was clean, was the same pure white that she had since she was a filly. Her pink mane and tail had definitely grown with it now past her shoulders. Her horn had also grown taller and slimmer, which did help her cast magic. Finally, she, like her sisters, also had rags and saddlebags, she carried a few more than her sisters.
Celestia was knocked out of her thoughts when she felt something hit her chest, as she looked over at her chest she saw a decent-sized rock hit the ground. When she looked around for who threw it at her she noticed an angry earth pony colt glared at them.
“Get out of our city, hornheads!” the malicious colt yelled as he continued to give them a death glare and started to pick up another rock.
Celestia’s mood dropped when she heard the colt, she had vainly hoped that the city would at least be tolerant of other ponies but it seemed like that was wishful thinking. This also caused her momentarily slackened guard to harden as she held back her sisters and proceeded to move them to the edge of the crowd and near the less crowded area.
As she turned around though she noticed that both Twilight and Luna looked concerned for her. It warmed her heart that they were worried for her but she pushed that aside for now and guided them to the side of the road. As Celestia was sure that they were relatively safe she reassured her sisters that she was alright and kissed both of them on the top of their heads.
After that little incident, they continued to make their way through the city as Celestia began to search through many different alleyways in the city to try and find one that they could use for shelter for the day. Many of the backstreets were decrepit, dark, or uninviting to say the least, but after some time she was eventually able to find one that at least looked safe.
The dead-end alleyway was relatively clean, at least compared to most alleys, and near the end of the pathway, there was a plethora of wooden planks, large discarded rocks, and sizable pieces of scrap metal. This helped create the illusion that the end of the backstreet was piled with junk while at the same time creating a small hidden area near the back of the alleyway where she could have her sisters stay while she was gone.
As she finished her inspection of the alleyway she called over her sisters, “Twilight! Luna! This looks like a good place for you to stay today,” Celestia finished as she looked over to check on her sisters.
What she saw caused her to be saddened as both her sisters stood together sad and dejected, Twilight even ran up to her and gave her a heart-wrenching look, “Do you have to go, Tia! Can’t you stay with us?”
Celestia brought Twilight into a hug, “Twilight, you know if I could I would in a heartbeat. I truly wish I could. *sigh* But I need to do some very important things,” Celestia nuzzled the top of Twilight’s head before she noticed Luna standing awkwardly alone, so she smiled at her and signaled for her to join in the hug, to which she gladly did.
Celestia tightened her hug with her little sisters before she eventually had to let go, she then between the both of them, “Now can you two promise me that you'll be quiet and safe while I’m gone?” both of her sisters nodded their heads in agreement, she then looked at Luna. “And Luna, will you look after your little sister and protect her from anything while I’m gone?” Celestia asked Luna to which she gave a determined nod and even saluted.
She laughed and was proud of Luna's dedication to protecting her sister, but she noted that it was starting to get late so with a sad smile she hugged both of them one last time before she let go and said, “Ok, I’ll be back later in the evening. Once I get everything we need, I’ll come back as soon as I can. I love you both and please be safe.”
“We love you too sister!” her sisters said in unison.
As she made her way to the city she stopped and looked back at her sisters and gave them one last smile before she once again began to make her way out of the little sanctuary. As she left the sanctuary she started to pile up some debris with her magic so it would be harder for anypony to find it. After she finished and she made her way to the city proper her mind, like every time she has to leave them, went into overdrive with worry and fear over the thought of leaving her sisters defenseless.
AGH! I wish I didn't have to keep doing this. But we need supplies and bits and were barely surviving as it is. Celestia looked back at the wall of junk that separated her from her sisters. Please, by every god that’s out there. Keep them safe...please you too, be alright when I get back. Celestia stood there for a few more moments before she turned around and began her way into the city ready to find any work.
-{<()>}-
Luna stood there as she watched her big sister leave their temporary home, at least that was until she felt her little sister lean into her.
“I wish she didn't always have to leave,” Twilight glumly muttered, Luna, wrapped one of her forelegs around Twilight.
“I know, I miss her too. But there is a lot of stuff we need to do today like...MAGIC TRAINING!” Luna loudly proclaimed as she almost immediately forgot about Celestia’s warning, but excluding that her announcement seemed to have the intended effect of cheering Twilight up.
“Really!” Twilight excitedly asked.
“Yes, but before we start we should probably set up the area for later tonight,” after Luna finished the two sisters began to make their area at least a little more livable.
They started with the sleeping area for the three of them such as setting up old sleeping rolls, ragged blankets, and even a few dolls that they had collected, such as the one Celestia made for Luna when she was younger. They then moved onto a more...durable area for them to practice magic at, they laid out a few more old blankets for them to sit on, scattered some random junk they found around to practice on, and finally got out the few “spellbooks” they had.
As they finished Luna and her little sister began to prepare for each other's self-taught magic lesson. As Luna got comfortable next to Twilight, also by this time they had taken off their cloaks and saddlebags, she looked at the well...crumbling spellbook that they used for their lessons.
Luna grabbed the spellbook in her telekinesis and opened up to the page they had left off on, “Ok, so if I remember correctly, last time we went over pyro…”, and so Luna and Twilight began their next lesson in magic.
Thankfully, Luna was taught, at least the basics, by her older sister when she was younger, so she was able to help Twilight with her limited magical education. At least that’s what it was like in the beginning, because they soon discovered that Twilight had an affinity with magic as she was able to learn spells and cast them incredibly fast. It even got to a point where Twilight started to help her in specific subjects in magic or certain spells.
To be honest, she was a tad jealous when she first saw how fast her little sister was able to learn spells, but she quickly stomped that feeling to eradication when she noticed it. But what overshadowed that pathetic jealousy was the massive amount of pride she felt for Twilight’s magical talent.
But this time Luna had a secret she’d been practicing, to surprise her little sister with. As Luna and Twilight finished another session, Luna suddenly closed the book which caused Twilight to jump and look up at her curiously.
“Twilight, I have a little surprise for you,” as she finished Twilight happily hopped up onto her hooves with an ecstatic smile.
“Really! Is it a new book! Did you find another spellbook!” Twilight exclaimed as she began to adorably hop in place.
Luna had to suppress her laughter, she always loved it when Twilight did that, but she calmed herself down and replied to her little sister, “Not exactly. I have a new spell that I wanted to show you. I think you’ll like it,” Luna announced as she got up and sat in front of Twilight.
Twilight’s eyes widened in excitement and she began to more intensely jump in place with increased anticipation.
Luna smiled again at Twilight’s excitement before she closed her eyes and began to breathe in and out to focus her mind. After a few moments, Luna began her spell as she pumped magic into her horn and mentally pictured the idea of what she wanted from the spell. Her horn began to glow a bright blue as sweat started to drip down her face before the spell suddenly burst out of her horn.
A blue and purple blob of magic flew above Luna and Twilight before multiple tiny blobs of the spell broke away. Shortly after, all of the blobs exploded almost like fireworks with tiny purple or blue sparkles that gently floated to the ground. The central blob started to vaguely morph into the shape of a tiny unicorn with the “fur”, “eyes”, and “mouth” of the unicorn being in purple while the “mane” and “tail” were mainly in blue with a single solid purple stripe through the both of them, she made it to resembled Twilight. After the little firework pony was complete it began to hop around onto the other “fireworks” with a big smile.
During the light show, Luna was sat down on her haunches as she tried to regain her breath and sweated profusely. Once she was able to cool down she looked over at her sister and the sight caused a smile to spread on her muzzle. Twilight watched the display above her with awestruck eyes and a jaw-dropped muzzle, she didn't even notice when some of the sparkles started to land on her.
Twilight then muttered, “It’s beautiful,” Luna’s smile widened when she heard this as happiness overwhelmed her for being able to make Twilight happy as well as a sense of pride for being able to accomplish her spell.
“I made this spell specifically for you, sister,” Luna said to her, Twilight looked up at her with an astonished expression.
“You...made this spell? For me?” Twilight asked as her eyes began to glisten, Luna nodded.
Luna was surprised when Twilight suddenly got up and ran toward her and into a hug. It took a few seconds for her to realize what Twilight was doing before she gladly returned the hug. As she hugged Twilight she began to feel wet spots on her chest fur and as she looked down she noticed that Twilight had begun to cry. Worried, Luna was about to ask her younger sister if she was alright, but before she could ask her Twilight spoke.
“Thank you, so so much. I love you, Woona. You're the bestest sister ever,” Twilight finished as she looked up at her with tear-stricken eyes.
Now, Luna knew full well that Twilight could say her name correctly but when they were younger she would always call her Woona and after a while, it just kinda stuck between them. It was Twilight’s special little nickname for her.
Luna blushed before she brought Twilight into a deeper hug which allowed her to nuzzle the top of Twilight’s head, “I love you too, Twilly,” Of course in response, Luna had also created a nickname for her adorkable little sister.
At that moment while Luna held her sister she reaffirmed a promise in her head, I promise you, Twilight. That I’ll be the best big sister possible like Celestia and that nothing will happen to you. I promise that I’ll protect you from anything, no matter what. As Luna finished her mental promise she once again tightened her hold on Twilight.
As the two sisters enjoyed each other's embrace, tiny sparkly fragments from Luna’s spell began to fall all onto and around them as Luna’s spell finally ended with one bright star in its place.
-{<()>}-
Meanwhile, Celestia had, for the last few hours, completed a multitude of odd jobs around the city from back-breaking manual laborer, to being a chimney sweeper, and even some more...undesirable tasks. Unfortunately for her, it was hard to find any kind of work that wasn't unsavory, especially a decent-paying one. This was mainly due to the massive amount of racism toward all other races that weren't earth ponies and because of this Celestia had to be...generous with her options.
Luckily, she seemed to have found a break at a famous local tavern called “The Ever Garden Tavern”. It was, at least, more tolerable than most of the city and it paid better than any other job she has had to do so far, so she decided to take up the available position for a waitress.
-{<()>}-
Celestia looked down at herself, specifically the outfit she was forced to wear while she worked at the tavern. The outfit was quite bland as she wore a white undershirt, with a green shirt over it with flowers sewn onto it, she also wore a dark green skirt with more flowers sewn on it, and on her head, she wore a...flower bouquet? She wasn't quite sure if that was right, but it was close enough. The owner also wanted her to clean herself up before she started, that was one demand she happily complied with.
After she was sure that everything fits correctly she turned around and made her way out of the tiny changing room and out to the dining hall. As she walked down the plain hallway she thought, I can’t believe I have to wear this ridiculous outfit. Celestia breathed in a deep breath before she let it out, Keep it together, Celestia. This place pays better than any other place so far. Just go in, do your job, collect your bits, and get back to Twilight and Luna.
As she finished her mental speech she realized that she reached the door that led to the dining hall in the tavern. She stopped momentarily as she tried to get rid of the slowly building exhaustion she started to feel ever since this morning, she barely got much sleep for the past week.
Celestia let out a sigh before she steeled herself and pushed open the door. As she looked around she got another look at the tavern, the central part of the tavern had a big long roaring fireplace, and around that fireplace were tons of tables, chairs, and ragged green carpets. Around that central area as well as near the walls of the tavern were thick sturdy wooden beams that held up the entire tavern. On the walls hung torches, weapons, tattered banners, old paintings, and other miscellaneous things.
But by far the most interesting aspect about the tavern was how many vines were strewn around the building from the walls, ceiling, pillars, and even some of the seats and flooring had them. It sorta made the building feel like it was being in harmony with nature, somehow. The only other thing to note about the tavern was a bar with a myriad of bottles and barrels of more beer, rum, or ale that a pony could drink and the pony that worked at the bar was an old stallion. Specifically, the owner of the tavern and her temporary boss, Mug.
His full name was Mug Stone and he was, unsurprisingly, an earth pony. He wore a green apron that, in her opinion, completely clashed with his ragged gray coat; he also had a white mane and tail. He had dark brown eyes and his cutie mark was a petrified mug with beer head foam overflowing the top.
Celestia wasn't sure how to feel about him so far. From what she could tell he was at least tolerant of other races as she’s never heard him call her a slur...yet. Also considering he allowed her to have this job, so far he was an enigma to her.
Celestia was cut out of her thoughts when she realized that everypony in the tavern was focused on her and they were not...friendly to say the least. Most of the ponies ranged from annoyed to even disgusted and some of them were quite visual about their opinion.
Celestia uncomfortably stood there as the hostile tension lingered in the tavern, she was ready to defend herself if need be; so she took a cautious step forward as she made her way to the bar. Luckily, the violence never came to pass because as soon as she began to make her way to the front of the bar the tension slowly dissipated as the earth ponies began their conversations up again. Although the atmosphere was far more subdued now and some ponies even decided that they didn't want to be there anymore as they got up and left.
Celestia let out a sigh of relief as she was thankful that a fight didn't start, but as she made her way to the bar to ask Mug if there were any orders she suddenly stopped when she heard a pony call her over and quite forcefully.
“Hey, hornhead! Get over here! We want something!” Celestia paused as she looked over at the scornful earth ponies, she then gave them her best fake smile and walked over to them.
“Yes, how may I serve you,” she said in an overly sweet tone.
One of the earth ponies, he had a muddy brown coat, a ragged gray mane and tail, dull gray eyes, and a...single rock cutie mark; she could just tell he was the life of the party, snorted at her as he narrowed his eyes.
“We want some water now. Can you do that, or is it too much for a unicorn,” the earth pony rudely demanded of her.
Celestia forced down her feelings as she walked over to get them some water, but as she began to levitate the tray with their water on it the same earth pony yelled at her.
“And we don’t want any of your horn piss with that,” Celestia clamped down on her desire to smash the tray into the laughing earth ponies’ face.
She then turned around with an even more forced smile as she put the tray on her back and walked back over to the insufferable dimwits. “Here are your drinks. I hope you’ll enjoy the rest of your meal,” she sweetly said before she walked back to the bar and whispered under her breath, “I hope you choke on it.”
Although most of the customers reluctantly accepted her service she mostly had the same experience throughout her time there as she was continually bombarded by hostile ponies and many creative insults. Although there were the rare few ponies who were at least tolerable of her, those few times she cherished. But as this continued she was able to ignore most of the insults, she even got pretty decent at lying. She also started to hate the job all the more and the only thing that kept her from walking out was the thought of her sisters who needed the bits.
Celestia just returned to the front of the bar from another horrible customer, she sighed again in frustration at her situation. Just a little more, Celestia. You're almost done. Then you can leave, never return, and get back to your sisters. Then you can see what wonderful adventures they got into this time while you were gone. Celestia smiled at the thought of what her sisters had gotten into.
But she was knocked out of her thoughts when she heard somepony come into the tavern. Celestia sighed as she mustered up her strength before she turned toward the door and welcomed the new customers.
“Welcome to The Ever Gr-” Celestia immediately stopped as her pupils dilated and she began to sweat profusely as her heart started to beat a mile a minute at WHAT saw came in through those doors.
The two wolves in pony skin that came through those doors were a unicorn and an earth pony, both of which were covered from head to hoof in black metal plated armor, with a slitted visor helmet, and a chest plate with a sun and moon emblem emblazoned onto it; these were the same creatures that burned down her village.
As the two cultists entered, the entire tavern was immediately silenced as a wave of fear engulfed the building, some ponies even trembled and began to sweat. But this was ignored by the two cultists as they made their way to the bar as their target seemed to be the bartender and owner, Mug. By the time the two reached the bar, Mug had also begun to sweat as he seemed to rummage around for something under the bar.
The unicorn cultist then asked, “Hello, Mr. Mug. The order has come to see if you are still faithful in the true belief,” the unicorn cultist coldly demanded to Mug.
Mug meanwhile suddenly brought out a, rather pristine, leather book with a very familiar sun and moon insignia on the cover, “R-Right here. I study it every day and k-keep it in perfect condition,” Mug replied to the cultist with only a slight quiver in his voice.
The unicorn cultist stared at him for a moment before he said, “Then recite the tenets of the Celestial Bodies.”
While Mug was forced to recite those tenets, multiple patrons of the tavern had already made a quick getaway and Celestia had moved behind one of the larger pillars on the other side of the tavern.
Celestia had pushed herself completely against the pillar as she continued to sweat profusely and had a bit of a panic attack. WHAT ARE THOSE THINGS DOING HERE?! Out of anywhere, they had to be here! WHY?! What if they're here for Luna and Twilight! WHAT IF THEY ALREADY FOUND THEM AND THEY ARE TORTURING THEM?! I need to leave n-.
Celestia forced herself to stop and take deep breaths in and out, she also brought up her hoof to her chest, and as she exhaled she would bring out her hoof. After a few moments of doing her breathing exercise, she was able to breathe somewhat normally again and stop her panic attack.
Ok, Celestia. Think. If those things got Luna and Twilight...let’s not think about that, because they didn't. I refuse to believe that. They are safe...This isn't worth it anymore, not that those things are here now. I have to check on Twilight and Luna. *sigh* I’ll just have to hope to find some other job in the city that's willing to take a unicorn.
As she finished she began to make her way to the backroom door, the same one she first arrived in when she started this horrible job. But as she began to stealthily make her way to the door she suddenly heard Mug say something that caused her blood to run cold, “...And I have the perfect pony that could serve you for today. Celestia, would you kindly attend to our special guests.”
Celestia looked towards Mug and saw the two creatures in black make their way to a newly vacated table. She then gave Mug a death glare, to which he at least had the decency to look a little ashamed. She then got up to her full height and with the remains of her willpower forced herself to walk towards her parent’s murders. When she reached the two things she gave them both a hollow smile as she buried her emotion deep in herself.
“How may I help you...gentleponies,” Celestia forced herself to say in a pleasant tone.
The two cultists looked at her for a moment before they took off their helmets and placed them on the table, this allowed her to get a good look at their faces for the first time. The unicorn had a brown mane and tail, light blue fur, amber eyes, and a scar that ran from their horn to his forehead, she would have felt some pity for him if he weren't part of a murder cult. The other cultist, which was an earth pony, had a dirty green mane and tail, light gray fur, and green eyes.
The unicorn cultist then looked over at her, “Me and my comrade would simply like some water,” they commented, as they finished she hastily went to get the water, not out of any want to help them, no; just because she wanted to spend as little time around them as possible.
As she collected their water she looked over and gave Mug another death glare and as she passed him she hissed into his ear, “Next time, don’t make other ponies fix your problems,” as she passed him she barely noticed Mug’s ears pin to the back of his head.
As she returned to the cultist’s table she gave them their drinks, but before she could leave, the unicorn started to talk again, “You know. I’m honestly surprised that you managed to find a job in an earth pony tavern. Especially considering the city’s...segregationist policies,” they finished coolly.
Celestia forced her smile to be even wider, “Yes. I suppose I am quite lucky. But, if you’ll excuse me. I’ll give you some space to think about what you want,” she said as she hastily made her way back to the bar.
Unfortunately, it seemed that the unicorn had other ideas, “That won’t be necessary. We already know what we want,” Celestia held back her frustration before she got out a piece of parchment and a stick of charcoal to write down their order. She started to do this when some of the customers got “smart” with her and ordered ridiculously long orders. “We’ll both have beetroot soup with a side of salted roasted radish and a small waffle cake for dessert. Also, don’t worry about telling Mug our order, he should just about be done by now.”
Celestia’s eyes widened a bit as she stopped writing down their order and looked over at Mug and was surprised when she saw that their orders were already waiting for them on the counter.
She was so shocked by his declaration that she subconsciously began to levitate the food over to her. It was only when the food was halfway to the table that she realized that she had just used her magic, but as she looked over to the cultist she noticed that they looked at her expectantly. So in response, she decided to finish her impromptu spell and placed the food in front of them.
The unicorn looked down at his food before he cast a spell on it and after a few moments he looked back up at her with a...impressed look? She hoped not “So, you know the basics of magic, you were able to subconsciously cast a spell on an object without putting any magic residue on it, you know how to read and write, and you managed to get a job in a completely racist city. You have definitely piqued my interest, Celestia. My name is Cobalt Dawn...You know the order could always use more acolytes...especially talented ones.”
Celestia’s eyes were practically the size of dinner plates and her muzzle was hanging open by the time he finished. That shock quickly turned into anger at the arrogant...creature that would dare recommend she join the same psychotic cult that killed their parents for no reason and ruined their lives!
But, she forced down that righteous anger and gave the thing a strained smile, “While I appreciate the offer. I would have to decline your kind suggestion.”
Celestia noticed that the unicorn frowned a bit, “A shame. You would make a wonderful paladin. *sigh* Very well, that will be all. We don’t require your assistance any longer,” he finished as he began to eat his meal.
Celestia immediately turned around and made her way back to the bar, during her trip back she continuously pushed down that righteous anger that threatened to surface, I would rather die before I join your cult.
The two cultists ate their meal with little more interruption or comment and for Celestia, she continued to work around the tavern to serve any other remaining customers that decided to stay. Eventually, though, the two cultists finished with little fanfare and left without a word. Not long after the tavern closed for the day and Celestia walked over to Mug to get her hard-earned pay.
As Celestia walked over to Mug she noticed that Mug was in the middle of cleaning a well...mug and next to him was a small pile of bits. As she levitated the bits into her saddlebag, Mug suddenly put down his mug and grabbed something else out from under the bar, and placed it in front of her.
She looked down at the package, confused. Before she looked back up at Mug but this time he had a small smile, “It’s a few leftover meals from today. Imagine it as...uh “extra compensation” for going above and beyond today as well as for the extra stress,” Celestia fairly returned the smile before she levitated the meal into her saddlebag.
She then turned around and made her way out of the tavern, but before she could leave she heard Mug say something again, “I’m sorry for making you have to deal with those cultists,” this caused her to pause at the unintentional reminder of that horrific day. So they stood there in silence for what felt like hours before he started again, “They...did something to you, didn't they. The cult, I mean.”
Celestia tilted her head to the side and replied, “Thank you, Mug. Have a nice evening,” when she finished she opened the door to the tavern and made her way to the market to get the necessary supplies for her sisters.
As she left, Mug sighed as he grabbed the discarded mug and prepared the tavern for the next day…
-{<()>}-
After her...experience in the Ever Garden Tavern, she made her way to the market to try and see if there were any stalls still open. Luckily, it seemed that something went right for her today as most of the stalls were still taking customers. So she spent the rest of the day buying essential supplies for her and her sisters such as food, water, new blankets, etc.
By the time she finished, it was around sunset with most shops now closing. Even though she would have preferred to return to her sisters earlier, she was still happy to finally be able to see them again. So it took her little time to get back to the two ponies she loved more than anything.
-{<()>}-
As Celestia walked down the familiar ally, she was relieved that the cover over the sanctuary was still intact. Once she reached their sanctuary she pulled back the barrier just enough to allow herself through, before she quickly put it back.
“Tia!”
She was surprised by the sudden announcement and just as she turned around she was double tackled by two little fillies, as the laws of physics dictate, this caused her to trip over and fall onto the ground. As she looked down at the cause of the accident a smile began to spread on her muzzle when she saw her little sisters hugging her. She gladly returned the gesture.
“Tia! I’m so happy you're back!” Twilight squealed as she began to nuzzle her like she hadn't seen her in over a week, Celestia smiled at Twilight’s enthusiasm before she looked over at Luna who seemed to be more interested in just laying in her fur.
“I’m happy to see you both as well. You have no idea how much I missed you two,” Celestia said as she tightened her hug around her sisters.
“What did you do today?” Twilight curiously asked, Celestia was used to this question Twilight always was curious as to where she went.
“I’ll tell you during dinner. And as much as I love hugging you both, I think it’s time that we prepare for dinner before it gets too late,” both of her sisters reluctantly disconnected themselves from the hug.
So the three sisters began to set up a little area for dinner, which only took a few minutes with her sisters having already prepared a small area for them to eat. Once they were finished Celestia gave each of them a moderate amount of food, with her obviously giving her sisters more food than her.
Eventually, Celestia laid down for dinner but before she could enjoy her hard-earned meal, Twilight immediately asked her the question again, “So. What did you do when you were out?” Twilight asked again with a big anticipated smile.
Celestia returned her smile and rolled her eyes before she finally answered her little sister’s question, “Fine I suppose if you want to know so badly. I went and did a few...tasks around town. Then I went to the market and bought a few supplies for us for tomorrow,” she finished.
Twilight frowned a bit at her answer, “Come on. Isn't there anything else you did?” Twilight pressed.
“Well, I suppose there’s one more thing that’s interesting. I was able to work in a tavern for a little bit,” this seemed to sate Twilight’s curiosity as she looked to be happily lost in thought if she had to guess what it would be like to be in a tavern. But as she looked over at Luna she noticed that she looked worried.
“Were you okay when you were out in the city?” Luna asked, Celestia was always surprised when Luna would ask something like that, given her age, so in response, she gave Luna a reassuring smile.
“Everything went perfectly fine. I was safe,” she always hated when she had to lie to her sisters, but she didn't want them to worry about her whenever she left. Luckily, this seemed to have alleviated her worries, “But enough about me. What did you two do while I was gone? What spells did you two master?” she asked as she levitated a peach up to her muzzle and took a bite out of it.
Twilight gasped as she jumped up onto her hooves with a massive smile, “Oh! Luna showed me the most awesome spell ever!” Twilight announced, seemingly snapped out of her imagination.
“Oh, really, and what’s this “most awesome spell” ever, Luna?” Celestia asked as she looked over to a blushing Luna.
“Oh, um. It was nothing. Just something I cobbled together,” Luna timidly replied, at least that was until Twilight jumped into the conversation again.
“What! What do you mean you cobbled it together she…” and so Twilight gave a very lengthy description of the spell and thorough reasoning for why it was the “best spell ever created in the history of magic”, Celestia absolutely enjoyed it.
Afterward, the sisters moved onto other things about their day, though it was mainly Celestia listening about what Twilight and Luna did together as well as how much they had accomplished in their studies. Not that she minded it at all as she laid there and listened to all the tiny details her little sisters gave, and she cherished every moment of it. But like all things their time had to end when Celestia looked up and saw that it was starting to get late.
“As much as I would love to keep this conversation going. I think it’s time to get some sleep” as she finished both of her sisters groaned before their bodies betrayed them as they yawned. “See. Now come on you two. We have to get up bright and early tomorrow. It's time for bed,” both of her sisters gave up their attempt to prevent the inevitable and simply made their way to the sleeping area they set up earlier.
Celestia watched as Twilight and Luna walked over to their pillows and as they reached them Twilight immediately laid down onto them with Luna quickly moving beside her and snuggled up next to her, she also had the doll that she made for her in her little hooves. Celestia loved it when they would sleep together, but she pushed past the adorable display and walked up behind them before she wrapped herself around both of them to try and keep them warm. Finally, she grabbed the blankets with her magic and wrapped them around the three of them.
Celestia let out a breath when she finished before she nuzzled each of her sisters and gave both of them a kiss on the top of their head, “I love you two. Sweet dreams.”
“We love you too,” both of her sisters sleepy mumbled back.
So the three sisters drifted off to the dream realm, under the gorgeous night sky with its bright full moon and twinkling stars which hung above them, ready to face whatever challenges they would have to confront for the coming days.
And they truly were going to face some challenges...