Celestia stared out into the night sky, partially obscured by the canopy of the crystalline tree as she lay in the nook of the window. She could faintly hear Silver below, her voice exaggerated and shifting in tone rapidly as Luna giggled in the background. The fireflies beyond the glass were settling upon the branches, their lights beginning to dim as they, too, turned in for the evening.
The wood creaked from behind Celestia, prompting her to look to the steps that lead to the loft. Luna’s pale-blue mane became visible over the lip of the flight, a few crumbs still on her face as she trotted up to Celestia. “Tia, Silver made biscuits! Do you want some?”
Celestia shook her head softly. “No thank you… I’m not hungry.”
“Well… neither am I. But they’re reeeaaally good,” Luna reasoned.
Celestia said nothing as she looked out the window again.
There was a pause, the loft filled with silence as Luna held her ground. “Silver is coming up with a new story with Calliope downstairs,” she muttered.
Celestia held back a sigh as Luna attempted to make conversation. “Neat.”
Suddenly Luna landed beside Celestia in the makeshift bed, causing the elder princess to squeak. Her heartbeat quickened as she felt a biting complaint rise in her throat, but as she faced her sister, Luna’s stern gaze burned into her.
Celestia’s anger immediately subsided, her little sister shifting a bit and getting comfy. “W-what are you doing?”
“I’m joining you. What does it look like?”
Celestia’s mouth hung open in a mixture of frustration and confusion. “I don’t really want to talk right now, Luna,” Celestia said.
“Then we won’t talk,” Luna replied.
Celestia finally let her sigh escape. “What do you want, Luna?”
“To be with my sister.”
Celestia blinked as Luna spoke plainly, those shining blue eyes revealing a much more reserved and controlled filly than what had tackled Celestia into the creek earlier that day.
Luna held her gaze for a moment, before looking out the window. Celestia’s eyes followed as the two sisters looked past the gently swaying vines dangling from the tree. She took a deep breath, tension in her body she hadn’t previously been aware of beginning to melt away as she slowed her breathing.
The covers shifted beside her as Luna got comfortable, scooching in closer until her body pressed up against her big sister’s. Her head leaned into Celestia, resting against hers right beneath her neck. Almost out of instinct, Celestia leaned back into her, the two leaning on each other.
“I’m… sorry I yelled at you earlier… at the creek,” Celestia said.
Luna said nothing, nuzzling in a bit as her magic ensnared a portion of the blanket and pulled it over the pair.
“I… know you were just trying to lighten the mood,” Celestia continued. “But all I can think about right now is our mother, and getting back home to help her.”
A couple fireflies beyond the window danced around each other, darting around the leaves as their lights flickered and refracted against the crystals.
Celestia shook her head softly. “This morning we were just playing, and trying to get mother’s attention. Now I feel like… I feel like she’s counting on us. Counting on us to do something crazy!” Celestia said. “And I’m… I’m scared of screwing up.”
A set of much heavier hooves clip-clopped along the floor below. Celestia turned her head to look and find Silver stepping out onto the balcony, Calliope following shortly behind.
Luna shifted, tilting her head up to look towards her older sister. “I thought you didn’t wanna talk?”
Celestia froze, before relaxing again as she lowered her head. “S-sorry… I’m just not handling this well… not like you.”
“I’m scared too,” Luna whispered.
A silence fell upon the sisters again as Celestia processed those words. “What…?”
Luna nodded steadily. “This place is so cool, but so weird. Being so far from home… It's scary. What if we can’t make it back?”
“I… I don’t know, Luna…” Celestia said. “Mother wouldn’t have sent us here if she didn’t expect us to return… right?”
Luna lowered her head again, her eyes glazing over a bit as she looked out the window. “No… she wouldn’t. She really believes we can do this, doesn’t she?”
Celestia nodded. “She must… I just don’t understand one thing…”
“What’s that?”
“If this was so important, and if she knew for weeks about the inkblight… why didn’t she go get the the artifacts herself right away?”
Luna narrowed her eyes. “Y-yeah… that’s right. Especially if time uh… stops when you go through the book.”
“It doesn’t make sense,” Celestia said. “This is the kinda journey adults go on, not foals!”
Luna still appeared to be in deep thought, not taking her eyes off the fireflies beyond the window. “But where did the inkblight come from? And that unicorn, uh… Twilight Sparkle!”
Celestia winced as her head throbbed, an ache in the back of her mind as the violet unicorn was named again. “Ah…! Ouch…”
Luna looked concerned. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah it’s just… something about her was so familiar. I don’t even know how I knew her name, it just… came to me,” Celestia said, shaking her head.
“Do you know anything else about her?”
Celestia grimaced as she continued to dwell on the strange mare. The world around her seemed to spin, her vision blurring and the sounds of the peaceful night growing muffled. She closed her eyes in concentration, combing through her mind for answers.
“Tia…?” Luna’s voice was hollow and drowned out, as if it was coming from underwater.
Twilight Sparkle… she had friends… Celestia began to breathe heavily as she kept exploring her thoughts. I know her… is she… MY friend…? Why can’t I remember her?
“Tia!” Luna nudged the elder princess and Celestia let out a gasp, the pain quickly fading as everything became clear again.
“H-huh?”
Luna gulped. “You were mumbling to yourself… and your mane…”
“My mane…?”
“It was changing colour,” Luna said.
Celestia stared at her sister in confusion, before reaching up with a hoof and pulling some of her mane in front of her. Her eyes widened as she watched a few strands of pale blue and green slowly fading back into pink. “W-... what?”
“Did you remember anything else?” Luna asked.
A set of heavy hooves upon the wooden floor interrupted Celestia before she could think up a response. Silver approached softly, her head tilted in curiosity. “Getting comfortable?”
The two princesses looked to the alicorn mare in surprise, so lost in their thoughts they hadn’t noticed her coming up the stairs.
Silver cleared her throat awkwardly. “Ah, sorry… am I interrupting some character development?”
Luna made a face. “Some what…?”
Celestia shook her head. “I uh… Luna and I were just trying to make some sense of what happened in Equestria before we came here.”
“I see, I see… I just wanted to make sure you two were doing okay. I spoke with Calliope and… I’m sorry for overwhelming you,” Silver said, a painful smile on her face.
Celestia said nothing, struggling between being honest or stowing her fears. Indeed, the day had been beyond overwhelming, and yet deep within the little filly was a flicker of excitement.
“It’s okay, Silver!” Luna chimed, her attitude shifting on a dime before the ancient storyteller. “You haven’t been on any adventures in a long time, have you?”
Silver nodded somberly. “Indeed. I have written many stories, but it has been centuries since I wrote one from experience… and I fear my eagerness is getting the best of me. You two are new to this, after all.”
Celestia felt her heart soften. “Why haven’t you gone on any adventures in all this time?”
Silver paused for a moment, her mouth hanging open in hesitation. Celestia could practically hear the gears turning in Silver’s head as she squinted, before letting out a rather frustrated sigh. “There just haven’t been any adventures to go on. Clydestale is a very… special place, you see.”
“Special? What do you mean by that?” Luna asked.
Silver lowered her gaze, concern written across her once-glowing expression. “I… will do my best to explain.”
Celestia felt a story coming, adjusting herself in the makeshift bed to face Silver more directly. Luna followed suit, her eyes already alight with interest once more.
Silver knelt down before the fillies, shifting uncomfortably on the wooden floor, letting out a sigh. “You see, a long, long time ago, Clydestale was… much smaller than it is now.”
“Smaller…?” Celestia muttered.
“Yes, once upon a time, the northern region of Cobnshire and the Sea of Stars was the extent of Clydestale’s reach. The rest of this world sat inert, like a blank, empty canvas, waiting for somepony to pen their next opus. A world full of potential waiting to be realized.”
Celestia narrowed her eyes, and Silver took a breath before continuing. “Much of this information is what your mother told me, but... long ago, in your world of Equestria, stories set in Clydestale were woven by eager authors, and in so doing, life was breathed into this realm. With each chapter… with each book and novella, the land I now call home expanded.”
“Wait… so, you mean this world was created by Equestrians?” Luna exclaimed.
“In a sense, yes! Even I don’t fully know how they did it, but with every story they penned, Clydestale grew more and more rich with life, wonder and culture… and so... did my adventures begin.”
There was a light twinge of pain in the back of Celestia’s head, her gaze transfixed on Silver as she explained the nature of her home. “I’m sorry… so what you’re saying is…?”
“This world, my little ponies… everything that happens in it, all comes from stories; stories that were written by somepony in Equestria. But one day… they stopped writing, and Clydestale was stricken with silence…” Silver looked straight into Celestia’s eyes as she finished. “No new adventures have been written in centuries… that is, until you two arrived.”
Luna shook her head, her mane whipping as she snapped out of her stupor. “H-huh? Why us?”
“I only have my best guess… which is that, as Equestrians yourselves, your arrival has begun a new story in Clydestale; a story in which you two are the heroes.”
Celestia and Luna stared, a warmth rising within the elder princess as she sat up, raising her head to look around. “Then… are you saying none of this is real?”
Silver’s eyes widened, her mouth hanging open, before she took a breath and narrowed her eyes. “To me and everyone else in this beautiful world, it’s real… just as much as Equestria is real to you,” Silver said softly. “If Equestria was created the same way as Clydestale… would you still consider it real?”
Celestia’s heart skipped a beat, being the next to lose her words as Luna turned her gaze out the window and skyward. “So that’s why this place feels like a dream…”
Silver blinked. “Pardon me?”
Luna flinched as all eyes fell on her. “Uh… as soon as we got here, I realized something felt… strange about this place. I’ve done some dreamwalking stuff before. This feels a lot like it.”
Silver’s confusion was quickly replaced by fascination. “I see… now why would that be?” the older alicorn muttered, before a spark seemed to ignite within her eyes. “Unless… imagination. Dreams are products of the imagination… much like the stories of Clydestale were to the Equestrian who penned them! To your world, Clydestale is a work of fiction... the stuff of dreams!”
Celestia smiled awkwardly. “I-I’m still not sure I fully understand…”
Silver raised a hoof and waved it dismissively. “Don’t worry, I’m sure you don’t need to. But it certainly explains the nature of Clydestale. It is a world within a world… wholly a product of the imagination. But to me and all who live here, it is very much real. Ha! If that isn’t a philosophical can of worms, I don’t know what is!”
Luna’s eyes glazed over. “Philuh… philen…-”
“A-anyways!” Celestia interrupted her little sister. “What does this mean for our journey…?”
Silver Tongue grinned. “Ohh, maybe some themes of escapism… or perhaps embracing childlike wonder…”
Celestia sighed. “I mean the journey itself… not the ‘story’!”
Silver caught herself as she cleared her throat. “A-ah, right! Uh…”
There was a violent fluttering as Calliope swooped in. “It means, as Equestrians, the princesses must use the artifacts if Equestria is to be saved.”
All three of the alicorns turned their heads to the parrot. Silver was the first to speak. “I beg your pardon?”
“Forgive me for interrupting, but I couldn’t help but overhear. Think about it, Silver. The artifacts allowed you - a native of Clydestale - to change the world with mere quill, ink and paper. The artifacts made you the author of Clydestale, much like the Equestrians once were!”
“I hadn’t thought about it like that…” Silver muttered.
“By extension,” Calliope continued. “As natives of Equestria, they may be the only ones able to write their own world's reality - much like you did to Clydestale - and in so doing, banish the inkblight once and for all!”
Silver frowned as she lifted her head. “But- no… no no no, we can’t do that!”
“Why not?” Celestia asked.
Silver leaned back, looking around as if for backup. “I… well, it’s just… you two are still children! That’s a lot of power for a couple fillies!”
“Silver Tongue,” Calliope grumbled. “Contrary to your name, you are a terrible liar.”
“Yes, the irony is not lost on me…” Silver sighed. “Listen, the artifacts are as dangerous as they are wonderful. Used incorrectly, they could make things worse! And never mind the moral dilemma of being able to change reality on a whim! Besides, we don't know for certain if the artifacts need to be used by an Equestrian. Who’s to say I can’t banish the inkblight? Or better yet, their mother! She'd fit the criteria, and it sounds like she knows what she’s doing!”
Luna lowered her head, looking disappointed. “I mean… I guess…”
Celestia saw the defeat in her sister’s eyes. Silver appeared rather flustered as she exhaled sharply. “Look, I’m sorry, you two are very sweet and very smart for your age… but you’re still only fillies. You're not experienced writers and storytellers like I am… the artifacts must be used by a practiced storyteller, or it could spell disaster.”
Celestia locked eyes with the anxious writer, and without even thinking, she spoke. “Then why don’t you teach us how to be good storytellers?”
A silence fell upon the room, Silver and Calliope exchanging a glance. Calliope snorted as she ruffled her feathers. “Well, miss ‘mentor’? Are you going to answer your call to action?”
Silver’s eyes widened, a look of shock mixed with excitement falling across her face, along with a hint of nervousness. “I-I-... well, uh…” She looked to the two fillies, who were now both sitting up straight, eyes alight with wonder. Celestia could see it in Silver’s expression; her waning resistance when faced with the two eager princesses.
At last, Silver let out a sigh, smiling weakly. “How can I say no to those faces?”