//------------------------------// // Manifesto // Story: The Story Of Celestia and Luna(TSOCAL) // by TehUltimmareFreakRobot //------------------------------// 2,500 years ago, the sun and moon were moved by Equestria’s beloved rulers, King Tempest and his wife, Queen Faust. But, they knew that they wouldn’t always be around to continue the cycle. To maintain order, they decided to continue their bloodline. Soon, a new life was growing in the queen’s body, and everypony eagerly awaited the day the foal was born. One day, Faust suddenly collapsed, her eyes wide. “T-tempest….” She gasped, sweat pouring down her face. Tempest hurried towards his wife, gently nuzzling her. “Faust! My darling! Are you…? Is it…?” the king asked. Though she hid none of her pain and discomfort, the queen’s smile shone upon her husband’s face like a beam of light. The time to welcome the royal heir had come. The king called the nearest servants to aid the queen to her bedchamber while he rushed to fetch the royal doctor. In the hours that followed, filled with anxiety, pain and unknowing, a pony had been born. “What is it? Let me see!” King Tempest said. “In due time, Your Highness. We need to clean off this filly first,” the doctor said, taking the newborn to be sanitized for her first moments of life. “A filly…?” the king gasped, his knees giving out. “I’m a father now…And she’s my filly…” “Please, may I hold her?” Queen Faust weakly asked. “In just a moment,” the doctor said as the nurses did their work. In seconds, the newborn filly was swaddled up and cradled in her mother’s hooves. She yelped only once before her eyes cracked open and she gazed upon the smiling faces of her parents. “Darling, look! She sees us! Our daughter sees us!” King Tempest said, barely able to contain his laughter. “Don’t you see yourself in her face?” Queen Faust asked. “Now, don’t be so cruel to her when she’s so new to life. She may want to go back,” the king joked. “Oh, no! It was difficult enough making her leave. She’s staying right here,” Queen Faust said, holding her daughter tighter to her chest. The filly held just as tightly to her mother, as though she never meant to let go. It was then that the royal parents knew that their daughter would grow to be strong. And that she would use that strength to protect the land that she would one day inherit from them. But, who would that filly be? In the week that passed, the king and queen argued constantly over a name to pick. Harvest Star sounded like she lived in a mud hut and wore a gown made of hemp. Scarlet Rose made her sound like she tramped around street corners at night looking for cheap tricks to turn. But, they would have to pick a name quickly. In only minutes, they would be introducing her to their subjects. It seemed like a frightening prospect to the filly, who cried and fussed loudly as her mother tried to make her look presentable for the kingdom. “Please, please! Calm down, my little pony,” Queen Faust desperately muttered. “How is she coming?” King Tempest asked. One look from his wife, and he knew it was a stupid question. “Of all the days! Our daughter won’t calm herself. Her nanny is on vacation. And she still doesn’t have a name to share with the kingdom!” Queen Faust said, as she tried in vain to console her filly. King Tempest shook his head at the sight and did the one thing that seemed to placate their screaming daughter. He magically took the mobile that hung over her crib and hovered it over her head. The second she saw the spinning sun, stars, moons and planets, the filly slowly stopped crying and reached for the sun. When she saw that, the queen’s face lit up. “Husband! Perhaps if we named her–” she looked around, wary of any nearby listeners and whispered the name in her husband’s ear. “That’s brilliant!!” King Tempest declared, dropping the mobile to the floor as he did. Their daughter began fussing once more, and he hastily hovered the mobile for her again. “Your highnesses,” one of the servants called. “It’s time.” The servant looked doubtful, but the king and queen felt more ready to face the masses than they had all week. And with the poise and stature expected of royalty, they walked onto the balcony and announced the arrival of the heir to their kingdom, Princess Celestia. In the time that passed, Celestia grew to be adored by the staff of the castle. Except for whenever she was bored. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- “Get back here!!” one of the castle cook’s screamed. Young Celestia rushed out of the kitchen with a plateful of pastries on her back. She turned just in time to avoid having a large colander slammed over her. “I’ll make you pay for this, you little gutter rat!!” the cook yelled as he charged after her. Celestia giggled as she ran from the angry cook, her prize balanced perfectly upon her back. She ran up a flight of stairs and was nearly at her bedroom, before she suddenly felt the plate snatched from her back. “And what is the meaning of this?” King Tempest sternly asked. Celestia’s ears drooped as she looked at her father’s scowling face. Behind her, she heard the steps of the cook rushing toward her and hid behind her father. “You rancid little tripe! I’ll tell your mother and father about–” the cook stopped himself as he screeched to a halt before the king. “Tart Framboise? What’s going on?” the king asked. “Ahem– Your daughter has been helping herself to the pastries again,” the cook growled through his teeth. “I supposed as much,” the king said, glancing at his daughter, who hid from his gaze. “I know that it’s not my place, Your Highness, but perhaps the princess needs to occupy herself with something else during the day,” the cook said, glaring at the princess. Celestia stuck her tongue out at him in response. “Yes. As it so happens, I was going to discuss such a thing with my queen just now. So, Celestia, if you’ll confine yourself to your room,” King Tempest said. Celestia knew that tone. Without question, she went to her room and shut herself inside. Directly after, the king went to his own bedroom, where he locked the door. The cook was thrilled that the princess was finally going to get some real discipline introduced to her, and pressed his ear to the king’s door. He listened eagerly, waiting to hear what punishment would befall the princess. The voices muttered inside, too low for the cook to hear. He cleaned out his ear with a hoof, promising to wash it before he resumed work and put his ear back on the door. “YOU WANT TO HAVE ANOTHER FOAL!!??” The queen’s voice shrieked so loudly that the cook’s whole body rattled. He shook the ringing out of his ears and listened to the rest of the conversation. All he heard was the queen’s joyous laughter and the sounds of her lavishing her love onto the king. This had been the king’s plan. To give to Celestia a sibling. Somepony who she could teach all of her tricks of the trade to and call for backup in her mischief. Feeling more defeated than ever, the cook slumped his way back to the kitchen. Celestia was told the news that she may have a sibling soon. That she would have a new responsibility to undertake in her new role as a big sister. Even though Celestia hardly understood what such a thing entailed, she accepted the gravity of her parents’ words as proof that things were going to change for her very soon. In time, it came to pass that the queen was pregnant once more, and that same feeling of jubilant elation spread through the palace. With another foal, things were going to change for everypony. A new spot would have to be set at the table. A new desk would have to be made for the royal classroom. And Celestia was made to promise to stop stealing from the kitchen, to stop tromping through the gardens, to not treat the fountains as her own personal waterpark, to not use the book trolleys in the library as bumper cars, and to try and be the best possible example she could be for her new sibling. But, just in case, the kitchen staff set up a few extra security measures. In the months that passed Celestia watched as her new sibling grew inside of her mother. Day after day, she waited and hoped for the baby to come, and was repeatedly met with a disappointing answer. But, she was always assured that the baby would come when it was ready. One day, only days after Celestia had stopped asking, she and her mother were walking in the gardens, when Queen Faust’s breaths became labored and she sat down on the nearest planter. “Celestia…” she said, tears in her eyes, “Fetch the doctor. The baby’s come early…” Celestia watched as her mother’s face twisted in pain. Why was the baby hurting her so much? Did she already hate her family? “Go!” the queen said. Celestia did as she was told and ran to fetch the doctor. In less than an hour, the queen was taken to her chambers by a group of guards, the doctor, the nurse and the midwife were waiting for her, and the king arrived just in time for the birth of his second foal. The process seemed easier the second time. The queen struggled much less, though her pain was just as great. The seconds passed, and Celestia held onto her father, wondering why her mother was in such pain. Soon the sounds of pain passed, and Celestia heard the sounds of a baby crying. All she had time to see was something very small being passed to the doctors and nurses. “She’s here…” King Tempest said, his knees giving out again. Celestia had to move to avoid being squashed by her falling father. She looked at her father, wondering why he was smiling when he had just fallen over. When she turned to the sounds of the crying baby, she could see nothing past the adults that surrounded it. All she could do was watch and wonder what was going on. But, it was only seconds before she saw a swaddled bundle passed to her mother. “This is her. Our second daughter!” Queen Faust laughed as she held the tiny bundle. Celestia wandered around to the other side of the bed, trying to get a better look at what her mother was holding. “Celestia. Come up and greet your new sister,” Queen Faust said, magically pulling over a chair for her daughter to climb upon. With a little help from her father, Celestia was able to climb to the seat of the chair. She leaned over to see what her mother held, but saw only the bottom of the white bundle. But, the little princess wouldn’t be stopped. “Celestia! Wait a moment!” King Tempest said as his eldest daughter climbed up to the back of the chair. He was unable to stop her from climbing from there to the backboard of the queen’s bed. From there, Celestia was finally able to see what her mother held. It was a very small, very feeble filly. One who had a deep blue coat and a lighter blue mane that peeked out from beneath her wrappings. It was her. Her own little sister. The baby looked at Celestia and reached a tiny hoof for her. “It seems that she already wants to get to know you? Do you want to come down and say hello?” Queen Faust asked. Celestia didn’t know what the baby could have wanted to know. They had only just met. Without understanding much, Celestia carefully climbed down from the headboard and allowed her sister to touch the tip of her snout. Her nose twitched and Celestia sniffed harshly. “She’s saying ‘hello,’” the queen giggled as she cradled her filly. It was certainly the strangest ‘hello’ that Celestia had ever received. Whatever it was, she wasn’t inclined to hear it again. “Celestia? Do you know how you were named?” King Tempest asked. Celestia shook her head. “You were named for the sun. And because your sister is to complement you, she will be named for the moon. Princess Luna.” And just as it was with Celestia, her sister was introduced to the ponies of the kingdom one week after her birth. However, there were some setbacks. Unlike her sister, Luna was completely inconsolable. She screamed and fussed all through the ceremony. By the time her name was announced to the kingdom, her voice had become loud and cacophonic, sending chills through the bodies of the onlookers. And it all came to a head when a thick, blue fog descended onto the balcony, cutting the ceremony short. Celestia had watched the whole thing from a distance, and hid when her parents rushed back in with her sister. She listened as Luna cried incessantly, never once stopping until she wore herself out and cried herself to sleep. Queen Faust laid her youngest in her crib and sighed. Such a thing was never supposed to happen. Not since the gods had stopped talking to them. She left her filly to sleep, and left to the hallway beyond. There, she saw Celestia watching her with a puzzled look on her face. “Celestia. Dearest. You must have some questions about what had just happened,” Queen Faust said. Celestia said nothing, staring silently at her mother. “Now, listen to me. I promise that in good time, everything will make sense to you. For now, why don’t you go play in your nursery while your father and I take care of some things.” That night, when the moon had been risen well into the sky and the majority of the castle staff had gone to sleep, the king and queen secreted themselves away to a hidden chamber within the castle. They descended deeper into the castle depths to a vaulted room. Beneath where the vaults met, an altar stood. Around it, the effigies of the deities forgotten by the citizens of the kingdom. The king and queen looked at one another, knowing that if they backed out that things would only be worse for them. They placed their hooves on the altar, and a dim light glowed from within it. “O gods of Earth and Life. Why have you called upon us?” King Tempest asked. Two of the statues that surrounded the altar illuminated with the same glow. “You must show the two their destinies…” the god of life’s voice lowly rumbled. “Their…” Queen Faust stammered, before her voice choked. “No! There must be another way!” King Tempest said. “There is no other way…” the god of earth said next. “You know what must be done…” Tears streamed down the face of the queen as she begged in vain for her foals to be spared such a thing. To wait until they were older and more prepared to face their demons. But, it was not the will of the gods. There was a sudden flash, and Celestia found herself somewhere deep in some terrible forest. Her room at the palace had gone. Her parents had gone. The entire world that she knew had gone. The only shred of familiarity left was the nearby cries of her younger sister. Celestia rushed to her sister’s side, trying to console her. She had seen the ways that her parents stopped her from crying. But there was no bed to put her in, and no bottle to feed her. The more she looked around, the more Celestia began to notice the unfamiliar sounds from beyond the darkness. Among them, the sounds of approaching hooves. Hoping it was one of their parents, Celestia turned to see a large figure walking toward her. One that was much too large to be either of her parents. She held her sister close, ready to run away with her. The figure drew closer, and Celstia found herself faced with the strangest creature she had ever seen. It looked almost like an elk, but it was all wrong. Its muzzle looked like granite. Its fur looked green and mossy, with many leaves clinging to it. Its hooves were split too many times. Strangest of all, its antlers spread out in a way that Celestia couldn’t decide looked like a tree’s branches or its roots. Luna stopped crying in the presence of the thing, which stared at the two fillies. It lowered its head in a way that Celestia had seen other ponies doing to her parents when they wanted to show that they were friends. When she saw it, she loosened her grip on her sister. “You need not be afraid, little ones. But if you wish to return home, you must find your destiny,” the creature said. Celestia looked at the thing, wondering what it could have meant. “I understand that you must have many questions. But, all I can say is that your destiny is something that you must find on your own,” it said, before turning around. “Come. There is a place that you may stay this way. Take your sister and follow me.” Celestia watched the thing go further down the path, showing no signs of stopping to wait for her. Quickly, she wrapped one part of her sister’s swaddle over her neck and trotted after the thing. In a short time, she lost sight of her monstrous guide and a chill wind blew. Only a parade of fallen leaves blew past her. But, she could see something ahead. A light. And the closer she got, she could see more lights. Soon, she found herself in a tiny town just at the edge of the forest. Hope filled the little filly, who quickly ran to the nearest adult she could find. However, anypony she approached acted like they hadn’t seen or heard her. Not one seemed to care for the lost foal and her infant sister. In time, Celestia had given up trying to get anypony to notice her and found an abandoned mattress somewhere in the back alleys to lay down for the night. The time passed. Celestia relied on her experiences in pilfering the royal kitchen to provide food and water for herself and her sister. Their tiny mattress was built upon with a lean-to and a curtain to shelter them. The two of them listened by the windows of a tiny classroom to educate themselves after they were thrown out for disrupting so many lessons. Through it all, Celestia tried to make sense of what the creature in the woods had told her. What was their destiny? And how were they supposed to find it?