//------------------------------// // XIV - Left Behind // Story: Rise and Shine // by Skijarama //------------------------------// Desperate, cold, and starving, the elder left her sister hidden away in an abandoned house and went in search of food. But the village was not as abandoned as she had first thought. The stallion stared at her in silence, his expression impossible to read. Celestia held her breath, barely daring to move as the seconds ticked by. Somewhere deeper in the structure, a wooden beam creaked and groaned; the sound made Celestia’s spine tingle. Finally, the stallion tilted his head. “…What?” At least he wasn’t attacking her. Emboldened, Celestia lifted her head slightly and spoke. “My name is Celestia. I’m here with my little sister, Luna. We… w-we’re Sprout and Honey’s daughters.” The stallion eyed her skeptically, his tired gaze lingering on her unfurled wings, then on her still softly glowing horn. His eyes narrowed. “Sprout and Honey, eh?” he asked in a slow snarl. “Thought they’d gone and died.” Celestia flinched, her ears folding back. “I… they…” she stammered, her voice cracking. She shook her head a moment later, forcing herself to focus. The stallion eyed her a moment longer. “Hmph. Doesn’t matter. That food doesn’t belong to ya. Put it back and get outta my house.” Celestia’s heart skipped a beat. “B-but, my sister! She’s starving, and she’s hurt! She needs help!” “Do I look like I care?” the stallion growled, taking a step forward. “Give it back and get out!” A thrill of fear ran through Celestia, and she curled up into a ball on the floor. She’d never seen another pony look at her like this before, and it sent her mind and heart racing. She couldn’t stop the tiny whimper that slipped past her lips even if she had been lucid enough to try. A moment passed. Then another. She realized she’d clenched her eyes shut; she cracked one open to see that the stallion had drawn up short, glaring down at her but no longer advancing. Celestia stared back for a moment, before working up what courage she could. She slowly lifted her head, speaking in a whisper. “Please… She won’t make it without this food. I… I c-can’t lose her, too…” The stallion’s eyes widened. “What do you…” Celestia gasped as the stallion suddenly doubled over, letting out a series of ugly, wet coughs that made her cringe back in disgust. The stallion braced one hoof against the wall while the other flew up to his chest. His fit carried on for a moment, and Celestia wondered if he was sick. Just in case, she inched away from him. The stallion wiped a hoof over his face as his fit died down. “Gah. Screw it. Follow me,” he grumbled before turning and walking out of the room. Celestia stared after him, confused.  “…Huh?” “HURRY UP!” the stallion bellowed from the next room, his voice leaving no room for argument. Celestia squeaked and scampered after him, making sure to return those carrots she hadn’t already put in her saddlebags back in the pot. She cantered back out in the large room with all of the tables to find the stallion crouched by a fireplace against the wall to her right. By the time she reached him, he had gotten a small but respectable fire going. Celestia couldn’t help but sigh in relief as the heat washed over her, and she had to resist the urge to throw herself at the fire’s base to bask in its warmth. The stallion gave her a sidelong glance, then gestured to a spot on the other end of the fireplace from him. “Sit,” he commanded gruffly. Celestia did as she was instructed. The stallion sat down himself, keeping his eyes locked on her. She fidgeted anxiously under his piercing gaze, unsure of what to say or do. In the end, she settled for just staring into the flames and letting the heat ease her frigid muscles. Eventually, the stallion cleared his throat. “Right. Start from the top,” he instructed bluntly. “And don’t go wasting my time.” Celestia looked up at him in surprise. “Huh?” “Sprout and Honey,” the stallion stated, gesturing vaguely. “What happened to ’em. How you knew ’em. What in tartarus they’ve been doin’ up in that stupid mountain all this time.” Celestia blinked, confused. Was this pony really asking for her story? After a moment, she took a deep breath and looked down. “W-well… um… Luna and I are adopted,” she eventually stammered out. “Think I put that one together,” the stallion grunted. “’Cause I ain’t never heard of any earth ponies giving birth to a unicorn or a pegasus, never mind whatever the heck you’re supposed to be. Both wings and a horn… Ain’t natural.” Celestia flinched at the tone in his voice but chose to ignore it for now. Mustering her courage, she looked down and started talking. “We… mom and dad lived on that mountain to get away from all of the bickering with the tribes. That’s what dad told me, at least. They grew their own crops up there. It was just them for a long time, so they didn’t need much. I was only three years old when mom and dad found my sister and I.” Her words were slow; the memory of the night she lost everything kept trying to assert itself, but she forced it down. “When the snow started falling, our crops died. So dad figured it would be for the best to come here… there’d be food and ponies to help us, he said. But…” “Let me guess,” the stallion interrupted her, his voice softer than before. “They didn’t make it.” Celestia looked down, unable to keep the trembling out of her voice. “No. They d-didn’t. They froze to death… trying to keep Luna and me warm.” She could still see the blank look on her father’s face, hear the grief in her mother’s voice. Her heart twisted in her chest and she curled in on herself, her eyes screwing shut as tears began to build up. The stallion was quiet for a few moments. When he spoke, his tone was unreadable. “Hmph. A shame.” Celestia blinked, looking up at the stallion with wide eyes. That was it? That was all this pony had to say about it? A spark of indignant rage lit in the pit of her stomach, but she forced it down. She knew she was on thin ice with this pony, and she couldn’t afford to take any chances. Not with Luna’s food on the line. Swallowing the lump in her throat, she met the stallion’s gaze. “How did you know them?” “I didn’t,” the stallion replied with a shrug. “Not personally. Knew of them, though. When they up and left the whole town was up in arms about it.” Celestia was quiet for a moment, looking down at the floorboards in thought. After a moment, the stallion cleared his throat again. “Not like it matters,” he said in a dismissive tone. “If they were looking for help here, they weren’t gonna find any. And neither are you.” Celestia glanced out the window at the empty building across the street. She turned back to the stallion. “What happened to everypony else?” The stallion’s face wrinkled with disdain and long-buried frustration. “Bah. What do ya think?”. He spat a wad into the fire, making Celestia flinch back. “Idiots up and left.” Celestia tilted her head. “Why?” The stallion grumbled, rising to his hooves. He gestured out the nearest window with a scowl. “Dunno if ya noticed, miss, but the whole world’s gone and frozen over in the last few weeks!” Before he could say more, he suddenly doubled over, devolving into another fit of wet, sickly coughs. Celestia stood in shock as he staggered to one side, barely catching himself on the wall. “Are you okay?” she asked, moving to help him. “Don’t touch me!” the stallion barked between hacks, making Celestia back up. He coughed a few more times before taking a shuddering breath and glaring back at her. “I don’t need any help from you.” Celestia withered, feeling a stab of hurt in her chest. He sounded so hateful... The stallion cleared his throat and ambled over to the nearest window. “Guh. When the snow started coming down, most everypony thought it was gonna go away in a few days like the last time. But it didn’t.” Celestia’s eyes widened. “The… the last time?” she echoed quietly, her thoughts drifting back to the day she had been left with Sprout and Honey. They’d said it had been snowing in the summer, hadn’t they? A freak blizzard that had come out of nowhere. That had happened down here too? The stallion nodded. “Mhmm. The Twelve-Hour Winter, ponies started calling it. Most thought this’d be a repeat. Turns out they were wrong. The snow just kept coming down faster and faster. Before we knew it, our crops were dying, and the stupid pegasi weren’t doing a thing to stop this… So eventually some ponies got it in their thick skulls that it wasn’t safe to stay here anymore.” Celestia frowned. That explained the missing crops, then. The ponies must have gathered up what food was left to them and went on their way. At least now she knew they were alive. Probably. “Do you know where they went?” she asked. Maybe if she could track them down and catch up to them, she could still get help for Luna. They’d be stuck on the ground, and Celestia could fly a lot faster than most ponies could walk. If she just had a direction… “Don’t know, don’t care,” the stallion said without missing a beat. Celestia looked up to him with shock. “Huh?” “They were idiots to leave.” The stallion pushed away from the window and sat back down in front of the fireplace, coughing a few times on the way down. “You’d know why. You came down the bloody mountain. Whole world’s turned into a big ice ball. Nowhere is safer than anywhere else.” Celestia winced, trying not to think about just how right he was that she already knew. But she was quick to force those thoughts down. “What about you?” she eventually asked. “Why didn’t you go with them?” “Cause I ain’t a freakin’ idiot?” the stallion grunted. “This town’s my home. I was born here, I was raised here, just like my dad and grandad before me. Like Tartarus am I gonna pack my things and leave. I got a roof over my head, a place that’s mine. If the world’s endin’ I’d rather be where I belong when it does.” Celestia fell silent. She eyed him a moment longer, thinking back on his coughing fits. She shook her head. “So… what happens now?” she said in a quiet voice. The stallion snorted. “Now, you get outta my house and don’t come back.” Celestia blinked. “Huh?” “Look, I listened to what you had to say because you’re a kid,” the stallion said bluntly. “But I ain’t a charity worker, and I sure as hay ain’t gonna bring any more bad luck on myself by shelterin’ somethin’ like you. I dunno what curse gave you both wings and a horn, and I don’t care. It’s a bad omen I tell ya, and I want nothin’ to do with it, or you.” “But… my sister,” Celestia pressed desperately, leaning forward. “Please, can’t you spare anything? Even just a blanket, or a little food?” The stallion waved a hoof dismissively. “Not my problem, kid. You can keep the food ya already took, but if I catch you in my stores again, I won’t be lettin’ you off the hook. Besides, you’re tough if you made it here without adults. I’m sure you can think of something.” Celestia wanted to argue back, but she was just too tired to be bothered. Besides, she didn’t want to risk squandering what goodwill she had with him by pushing her luck now. After a moment, she rose back to her hooves. “Okay… I understand. Thank you anyway.” The stallion let out a few more coughs in response. With a weary sigh, Celestia turned and slowly headed for the exit. She paused briefly in the doorway, looking back one more time. “Um… what’s your name?” After a pause, “Mudflat.” “…It’s nice to meet you, Mudflat.” “Get lost.” Taking the hint, Celestia repressed the urge to sigh and slipped outside. It didn’t take Celestia long to fly back to her and Luna’s shelter. She pushed her way inside with a weary sigh, shivering from the cold but glad to be indoors again. She allowed her eyes to wander across the room, soon settling on her little sister. Luna was asleep in the bed, her eyes closed, her chest rising and falling. Sprout’s figurines were still clutched tightly in her hooves, held close to her heart. Celestia just stared at her for a few moments, not wanting to disturb her. And in that period of silence, her thoughts began to spiral.  What were they going to do now? The only reliable source of food in the entire town had refused to help them anymore, and they were in no condition to travel. And without help, they wouldn’t be able to catch up with the ponies of Flatstone to begin with. Not to mention she had no idea what direction they went. Celestia struggled to keep her breathing under control as despair began clawing at her. “Mom… dad… what do I do?” she thought, her vision starting to mist over with fresh tears. “I don’t know what to do. I don’t know where to go. I don’t know how to help Luna. I’m scared…” She slowly sat on her haunches, screwing her eyes shut and struggling to hold back the tears. “I can’t do this! I can’t do this without you! I can’t lose Luna, too! She’s all I have left! Please… please… come back…” “…Tia?” Celestia blinked. It seemed she hadn’t been as quiet as she had hoped. Luna was staring at her, groggy but no less concerned at the sight of her sister crying in the doorway. “Are you okay?” Celestia sniffled, wiping away her tears and fighting to regain her composure. “I-I’m fine,” she choked out, forcing a smile. “Just… just tired.” “Oh… okay,” Luna said. Celestia somehow doubted her flimsy excuse was believed… but then again, was either of them okay, really? A second passed before she tore her thoughts away from such things. “I, uh… I m-managed to find some food.” She slipped her saddlebags off her back and floated them over to Luna. “It’s not much, but here. I already had my fill, so you get the rest.” Luna’s eyes lit up as the saddlebags landed in front of her. She went to rise, but gave a squeak of pain as the motion agitated her wound. Celestia was at her side in an instant, gently pushing her back down onto the bed. “Hey, now, try not to move,” she said softly. “Here. I’ll help you.” Luna nodded with a quiet whimper. Celestia hesitated for a moment before withdrawing the first carrot from her saddlebags. She eyed it hungrily for a second herself before lowering it down to Luna’s face. “Okay, here you go. It’s hard.” Luna didn’t resist, accepting the bite as it was offered. The sound of the carrot crunching between her teeth echoed loudly in the small hut as she ate, with Celestia delivering each bite at a steady rate. Some light seemed to return to Luna’s eyes, but all too soon the small bounty of food ran out, leaving the saddlebags pitifully empty. Luna sighed, setting her head back down. “I’m still hungry,” she whispered. Celestia sighed, gingerly climbing up onto the bed and lying down beside her. She carefully wrapped her hooves around Luna from behind, pulling the smaller filly against her chest for warmth. “I know, Lu. So am I. I’ll go find more food tomorrow.” “You promise?” Celestia hesitated. She didn’t want to answer that. There wasn’t anywhere else she could go for food in this town. Mudflat had it all, and he had made it clear he wasn’t willing to share. But at the same time, Celestia couldn’t bring herself to disappoint her little sister. And so, in the end, she nodded into the back of Luna’s head. “I promise.”