//------------------------------//
// 05 
// Story: Luna's little Rose 
// by Silent Wing 
//------------------------------//

I am frightened, hoping that mom knows what she and Auntie Celestia are doing.
 
I understand that they need to do something, once mom confirmed what her sister told us, but I certainly don't like it. Their description of what they plan to do didn't help to calm my nerves either. In fact, it had the entirely opposite effect.  
 
There is just no thing that makes, "and then we shoot a rainbow colored laser beam at you," sound good. To be honest, it scared me far more than when they explained to me, why this is necessary in the first place.
 
According to them, I have a parasite living in the scar on my head, who is slowly feeding on my magic. Auntie Celestia says that its presence won't influence me for at least twenty years. That it could take on a spiritual form in maybe fifty years, and another fifty years before the parasite in it would be strong enough to create its own body.
 
At least, that's the case without any outside interference. Should someone, or somepony, decide to help this parasite, it could get its own body any moment.
 
Since neither of them nor Canterlot’s top mages, have any idea how it would affect me should this parasite forcefully be freed by an outside force, they want to play it safe and remove it.
 
That is exactly why I am currently spending time with my new, and favorite, cousin, waiting for mom and Auntie Celestia to return from wherever these "Elements of Harmony" are hidden.
 
With all these things going through my head, it is surprisingly hard to focus on my current task at hoof, making it even harder for me to find her. Now, where did Cadence hide? I mean such a big pink pony can't be that hard to find.
 
Or at least she shouldn't. Especially after we agreed that she isn't allowed to use magic to alter her appearance, or to turn invisible. Again.
 
Having searched most of the castle, and the entire gardens, I realized my mistake. Just like me, Cadence has wings! And since we never limited the hiding area to something ground bound, she could be hiding in even more places. Including the castle's roof, and the countless clouds.
 
It takes me only a few moments and I am up in the sky, rapidly gaining altitude. At least what counts as rapidly for an inexperienced flier like me.
 
After a thorough search of the castle's roof, which turns up empty of course, I turn my attention towards the clouds, methodically checking them. Only leaving those out that are brought in by the weather team.
 
When I finally spot her, I decide that she needs to be punished, for expanding the search area like this without even telling me. I land behind her, careful not to make any sound while sneaking up on the unsuspecting alicorn.
 
This may not be an easy feat, but I still manage to get into position unnoticed. And after a final moment of calm, I blow a raspberry in her wing-joint.
 
Or at least that was the plan. Instead she turns around, grabs hold of me and presses me into the cloud, a devilish smirk on her face. "Did you really believe you could sneak up on me like this?"
 
"Cady, this isn't what it looks like," I plead futility, as I realize all too soon when she blows a raspberry on my tummy before assaulting me with her wings. Her feathers make quick work and it doesn't take long for her to turn me into a giggling mess.




 




Two alicorns watch in amusement at what is playing out in front of them, certainly not having expected this from when they returned from their old home.
 
"Shall we let them have their moment," the white one asks, slightly tired from the longer than expected journey.
 
"No Tia, I have a better idea," the second alicorn replies with a devious smirk on her face. While skeptical at first, Princess Celestia's face lights up, certainly liking the plan her sister came up with.
 




 
I don't know how long Cadence kept her attack up, but it was certainly long enough to exhaust me.
 
"How dare thou to attack our daughter in such a manner," I hear mom shouting, causing the two of us to turn around. Coming face to face with mom, Cadence quickly shuffles back a few paces before her hooves get locked in position when they are engulfed in mom's magical aura.
 
While she tries to find a way out of the trouble she is in, trying to break mom's magical hold, she fails to notice the third alicorn Princess landing behind her.
 
Auntie Tia looks briefly to me, a devious smirk on her face before focusing her attention on the distracted alicorn of love.
 
Unlike me, she manages to sneak upon Cadence, succeeding where I failed earlier, making the youngest of the three alicorns squeak in discomfort as she blows a raspberry into Cadence's wing-joint.
 
After they allowed her a short moment to recover from the unexpected attack, Mom once more addresses Cadence, while Auntie Celestia flies up to a different cloud, only a few meters above our position.
 
"Cadence, I don't want to see you doing something like that to my daughter again," before, with a bright grin on her face she turns towards me. "This is my job after all."
 
Realizing far too late what she is up to, mom easily pins me to the cloud with her magic, robbing me of any chance to escape her. Approaching me with her wings raised threateningly, I am able to get a short glance at Cadence, ending up in a similar position, courtesy to an impressive dive bomb tackle Aunty Celestia pulls of before mom goes to work on me.






"Boss shouldn't we go back to work," one of the weather ponies, relaxing on a cloud asks, concerned about getting the rainstorm set up in time, and not ending up late for his date. Again.
 
"Thunder, if you want, you can go and tell them to get moving," the mare in charge of the weather team replies. "I certainly wouldn’t."
 
While she normally would never consider slacking off, or extending her lunch break like that, these are special circumstances.
 
No, she certainly won't interfere, not when seeing Princes Celestia clearly enjoying herself for the first time. Considering the fact that she worked right under Princess Celestia's muzzle for over thirty years now, this isn't without merit.
 
Her mind made up, she turns her focus back to her team, crushing everypony's will to disturb the royals with her next argument. "Come on guys, Donuts Joe is calling. My treat."
 
She waits for the cheers to ebb down and the first ponies to take off before approaching Thunder." You can leave early today. Just make that filly happy."
 



 
""I haven't had so much fun in ages," Auntie Tia announces happily as we walk into one of the more private parts of Canterlot Castle. Well Mom, Cadence, and Auntie Celestia do so, while mom carries me on her back. After all the fun we had, I struggle to stay awake.
 
"That's great Auntie," my cousin replies, not sounding particularly happy. "But did you really have to team up on me like that?"
 
"Yes," mom and Celestia reply in perfect sync before bursting out in wild laughter, making Cadence groan in annoyance. Clearly, there is more like this in store for her in the not so far off future.
 
"Didn't we come here for a reason," she asks in an attempt to turn the attention away from her.
 
"You mean besides tea and cake," the solar alicorn asks, unstrapping her saddle bags and setting them on the ground before unloading them.
 
"Are those the things you have been talking about," I ask at the sight of the six different crystals that are carefully placed on the coffee table. "They don't look like much."
 
"You shouldn't let their appearance fool you, Rose. They may look harmless, but they are quite the powerful artifacts."
 
"Let me guess, you want to use them on me immediately," I ask worried, suddenly being far more awake than just a second ago. Quickly I jump down from mom's back, trying to make my escape.
 
"Please don't make this harder than it has to be," Mom says when I am already halfway to the door, using her magic to seal every possible exit from the room at the same time.
 
"But I don't want to be turned to stone," I blurt out my biggest fear of what might happen, should something go wrong with these elements.
 
Before I even realize what's going on, the crystals begin to glow, and a spiritual pony materializes, approaching me slowly. "Don't worry little one," it whispers, "no harm will come to you."
 
"However, that thing in your scar has to go," the spirit declares harshly, in an entirely different voice before switching to its calm and soothing tone again."
 
"I know you are scared of this, and this is okay. Everypony is afraid of something, but I know that you can be very brave as well. Please be brave for us," the spirit finishes before disappearing into thin air again.
 
I look over to these six crystals before turning my attention back to my family, and while I am still scared, I can't forget the words the spirit said. "Do it," I say to them, my fear momentarily forgotten.
 
If what mom told me is true, the spiritual pony that said all of this, was one of those that gave mom the power to help me. Without their help, I would still be living with my so-called relatives.
 
So with them having helped me already so much, it isn't hard for me to put my trust into them. After all, they promised that no harm would come to me.
 
Not wasting any time, Mom and Celestia raise the crystals and they begin to circle around them, getting faster and faster with every turn around them.
 
At some point I can't make out the crystals themselves anymore, only a rainbow colored ring surrounding them.
 
When the crystals, or elements achieve, what I assume to be their top speed, a strand of light separates itself before hitting me.
 
However, unlike what I have been told, it isn't done after ten seconds, and something completely unexpected happens.
 
Much to all our surprise, Cadence's horn suddenly begins to glow in her blue aura and a beam is fired into my direction.
 
However, halfway to me the magical beam from Cadence's horn, and the rainbow powered laser beam met. Unlike what Auntie Celestia told me about magic, these two beams don't neutralize themselves, but instead intermix with each other, creating an entirely new form of magic in the process.
 
But as interesting as this may be, it still leaves me at the receiving end of a spell. An entirely different spell, that for some reason is now wrapping me in some kind of cocon.
 
At first, I don't feel anything, just floating there in the middle of my new, "hopefully temporary," home, but at some point, something is pulling on my forehead. Right where my scar is.
 
Unlike expected, it doesn't hurt. It just feels strange.
 
How much time passes until everything has been pulled out is something I can't tell, only that when it's done the cocoon around me breaks apart immediately.
 
I need a few moments to get my bearings back, only realizing where I am, when I spot the others. While Mom and Princess Celestia are fine, except for the shocked expression on their faces, Cadence is shaking, gasping for air.
 
I am so lost in thought, wondering what has happened while I was trapped in that magical cocoon, that only when I feel somepony tapping at my leg, I realize that there are now five ponies in the room.
 
Looking down, I spot a unicorn, seemingly being one head smaller than me, looking up at me. "Are you my mommy," the most adorable colt I have ever seen asks me, his eyes full of wonder.
 
Of course I deny this, but when I see him deflate, all the previous joy leaving his eyes, I point towards where Mom, and Auntie Celestia help a completely exhausted Cadence up, saying "she is."
 
Instantly his formerly deflated ears perk up again, and his eyes are filled with joy before he turns around and races towards those three.