//------------------------------// // XIX - A Helping Hoof // Story: Rise and Shine // by Skijarama //------------------------------// And whether by fate, luck, or divine intervention, the spark grew into a blaze, drawing to it the first sign of hope the sisters had seen in far, far too long… The first thing Celestia noticed about the mare who had come to their aid was the horn sticking out of their forehead. Aside from Luna, and her hazy recollection of her birth mother, Celestia had never met another pony with a horn before. It was longer than her own, pale and white as the snow itself, and faintly glowing with a pastel pink aura. The second thing she noticed was the smaller form walking at the mare’s side. It only took Celestia a second to realize that it was another foal. Her eyes widened in surprise at the sight, and she realized a moment later that it was a boy. The foal also had a horn coming out of his head, the same shade of white as his parent. She wondered why anypony would dare to bring their foal out into this sort of weather but quickly dismissed the thought. They probably didn’t have a choice. Just like with her parents. …And it had cost them. As the two drew closer, Celestia could make out more details. The mare leading the way was about the same age as Honeydrop had been, perhaps a little older. Her fur was as white as snow, while a long mane of sapphire blue hung over her shoulder in once-elegant curls. Her eyes were bright pink, and dark rings under them betrayed her exhaustion. Her cutie mark was hidden from view under a well-worn dark gray travel cloak, and under that was an old wool coat. Her foal bore a very similar appearance to his mother, save for the fact his mane was short, messy, and dark brown, while his eyes were a faded shade of green. He wore a similar cloak and coat to his mother. Both of them were weighed down by stuffed saddlebags decorated with gems on strings, metal trinkets, and colorful talismans that Celestia had never seen before. The mare’s eyes locked onto Celestia and Luna, widening in shock. “Foals…? Here? Oh, no, no…” she said just loud enough for Celestia to hear. Her pace picked up to an eager canter. “Hello? We saw the smoke. Are you two alright? Do you need help?” Celestia allowed her defensive stance to dissolve at the words, and a tiny spark of hope lit up inside her. The mare’s tone seemed friendly enough. Certainly, a step up when compared to Mudflat’s hostile bitterness. Emboldened, she took a step forward. “Y-yes! Yes, please.” The mare drew closer until she was within the warm glow of the fire. Her eyes locked onto Celestia’s horn, then past her to Luna’s. She blinked in surprise. “Unicorns… in an Earth Pony village?” she questioned, clearly surprised. Celestia winced, her ears folding back. She opened her mouth to say something, but the mare shook her head a moment later. “Ah, nevermind. Questions for later. What are your names?” Celestia breathed a sigh of relief. So far, so good. She turned reluctantly back to look at Luna. The smaller foal was keeping quiet, but gave her a timid smile and encouraging nod. Figuring that was all she needed, Celestia took a deep breath and started speaking. “My name is Celestia. This is Luna. She’s my little sister.” The mare nodded. “Named for the sun and the moon… they are very lovely names,” she said with a soft smile. She placed a hoof on her chest and dipped her head in polite greeting. “My name is Starshine Drift.” She gave the boy beside her a look a moment later. He stared back at her, confused. Then, as if suddenly having a realization, he jumped in place with a squeak. He quickly straightened his posture before replicating his mother’s bow. His posture was stiff and rigid, a sure sign of a lack of practice. “Erm, m-my name’s Starglow,” he said. Before any more words could be exchanged, a chilly breeze whistled through the streets, sending their cloaks billowing, and Celestia’s fire spluttering. The foal, Starglow, quickly huddled close to Shine, his eyes wide and fearful. “May we head inside?” Starshine asked, quickly pulling her son close. “I’d rather not trade words in this unholy weather.” “Uh, yeah, sure. Come on,” Celestia said, turning and guiding Luna back into their little hut. She took a moment to rally her thoughts as their new guests stepped into the single-room abode. Things were going well so far, but Celestia still felt the need to be cautious. She didn’t want to take any unnecessary chances. Starglow looked around curiously as they stepped into the house, the door closing behind him with a shimmer from his mother’s horn. “Woah… it’s all made of rocks,” he said, eyes wide. “Is this an Earth Pony house?” “Yes, it is,” Shine informed him before turning back to the sisters. “Though I rather doubt you two were its original inhabitants.” Luna shook her head. “No. We came from the mountain,” she said softly. Celestia shot her a stern look. “Let me do the talking, Luna. You just rest,” she said, nudging her little sister for the bed again. Luna pursed her lips. She opened her mouth to protest. “But I-” “No buts, Luna. Lay down.” Luna puffed up her cheeks at Celestia for a moment, then dragged her aching body back onto the bed. Satisfied that she would stay there, Celestia returned her attention to their guests. Starshine quirked a brow at the interaction but did not comment on it. She glanced out a nearby window in the direction of the mountain. “You came from the mountains?” she asked. “I had not thought anypony would live up there. It’s so remote.” Celestia nodded. “That was the idea. We lived up there with our parents until… well…” she gestured behind Shine. “Until all this started.” Starshine nodded slowly. She turned back to Celestia. “And… your parents? Where are they…?” Celestia’s ears folded back. She tore her eyes away from the mare, but she did not answer. There was a pause. Shine gave a tired sigh. “I’m so sorry.” Celestia offered a stiff nod, but no more words. She closed her eyes, forcing down the memory. A few seconds later, Starshine sat down beside the firepit in the heart of the room. “Here. Why don’t we sit, and you can tell me your story, whatever you’re comfortable with, and we can decide what to do from there?” Celestia turned back to her, eyes wide in surprise. This mare was remarkably friendly, and for that she was grateful. But after her encounter with Mudflat, she didn’t know how to react to this kind of compassion. She swallowed heavily, a bead of skepticism forming in her breast. “Just like that?” she questioned. Starshine tilted her head. “Whatever do you mean?” “The last pony we met wanted almost nothing to do with us,” Celestia recalled, unable to hide some of the bitterness in her voice. “He practically tried to chase us out of here when we came knocking for help. But not you… I don’t understand.” Starshine’s smile was a patient one. She briefly looked down at Starglow at her side. “You’ll find that I am not the sort to turn my back on foals in need. Especially my fellow unicorns.” Celestia was quiet for a few seconds. Her wings ruffled uneasily under her blanket at the mention of unicorns. Mudflat had called her and Luna bad omens when he saw their wings. If this mare saw what they really were, would she think the same way…? But the smile Starshine wore. It was so warm and so sincere. It reminded Celestia of Honeydrop. Her heart ached with nostalgia and longing, and what little will she had to be distrustful crumbled to dust. She sat down on the far side of the pit from the mare. She drew her blanket tighter around herself, fighting off the cold. “Alright… I’ll tell you,” she finally relented, looking down. “As I said, my sister and I lived with our parents up in the mountains. Our parents were two earth ponies, Honeydrop and Sprout.” Starglow blinked. “Your parents were Earth Ponies?” he asked. Celestia nodded. “Yes, they were. They adopted us when… they found us. And then the snow came. It forced us out of our home. Mom and dad, they were from here, this village. They thought if we could make it here, the ponies of this town would help us. But we never made it…” She heard Luna sniffling behind her, remembering the tragedy of the river. Celestia closed her eyes. “We made it to a river. It was totally frozen over. B-but when we tried to cross, they… th-they fell in…” Starglow shifted uncomfortably on his haunches, cuddling closer to his mother. Starshine gave him a reassuring squeeze but held her piece as Celestia continued with the story. Celestia shook her head to dispel her sorrow. “We lost our supplies—everything except what Luna and I had in our bags. Luna and I kept going… But we had no idea where we were going. We were lost. And one night, these… things came for us.” Starshine frowned. “Things? Like wild animals? Wolves? Bears?” “No,” Celestia shook her head, the pit in her stomach turning to magma at the memory. “Monsters. I don’t know what they are. I call them ghosts. But whatever they are, they attacked us, chased us down the mountain. They almost killed us… they could have killed us… But they didn’t. They just… left.” Celestia’s brow furrowed at the memory. She hadn’t had time to give it thought since then, but thinking back on it, it still didn’t make any sense to her. The ghosts had had them pinned. Why hadn’t they struck when they had the chance? They had only needed another second and they would have found the sisters buried in the snow. They would have been defenseless… “Could you describe them?” Starshine ventured carefully. “I’ve studied magic and magical creatures most of my life. Maybe I’ve heard of them.” Celestia shrugged. “Uh… th-they kind of look like ponies, but… they’re wrong. Like somepony stretched them out into something evil. The air looks like it’s freezing around them. They’re blue, like ice, and they have glowing eyes. They fly around, and they have some sort of magic they can use. Like ours, but cold. And when they howl…” she shuddered, pulling her blanket closer. “It’s horrible.” Starshine furrowed her brow. “Forgive me, but I am afraid I can’t say I have ever heard of such creatures…” Celestia hadn’t been expecting anything, but it was still disappointing. “Well, either way… While we were running from them… Luna got hurt. We hit a tree when we were running away from them, and we think it broke a rib.” Starshine’s eyes flew wide. “A broken rib? Did you treat the injury?” she asked, partially standing up. Celestia raised an eyebrow. “With what? We lost most of our supplies in the river.” Starshine looked to Luna, her expression hardening. “That’s not good. A broken rib can lead to all sorts of complications. Do you mind if I take a look?” Celestia stiffened up, her ears folding back against her head. A thrill of fear ran down her spine at the idea of their true nature being revealed. She opened her mouth to offer a refusal of some sort. But before the words could form, the sound of cloth falling away reached her ears. Turning to look, Celestia almost choked. Unprompted, Luna had shed her blanket, leaving her bare form - and her wings - exposed for all the world to see. “Luna!” Celestia exclaimed, shooting up to her hooves. “What are you doing?!” Luna flinched back. “She needs to see my wound if she’s gonna help, right?” she said. Celestia wanted to press the argument but now was not the time. She spun back to Shine and Glow. Both of them were staring at Luna with wide eyes, astonished. Glow licked his lips, tilting his head. “Mom? Are those wings?” he asked in barely a whisper. Starshine nodded. “I-I think they are…” she breathed. “What in the world?” Celestia was quick to stand between Luna and Shine. Luna had already let the cat out of the bag, so she felt no hesitation in casting off her own blanket. She spread her wings wide in a defensive stance. “We’re not cursed!” she snapped, hoping to cut the coming accusations off before they could form. Starshine recoiled, surprised. “What?” “We’re not cursed!” Celestia continued. “I swear, we’re not! We’re not a bad omen, either! We’re just kids!” Glow frowned and looked at his mother. “Mom? What’s a curse?” he asked innocently. Starshine’s frown mirrored her son’s. “Curses aren’t real, sweetheart. They are just foolish superstitions that uneducated Earth Ponies lean on to try and explain things they don’t understand.” Celestia felt a surge of anger at the insinuation that her parents were foolish, but she bit back her retort. And besides, the mare had said curses weren’t real. And the look on her face was not the look of fear and paranoia Mudflat had looked at her with. Instead, she looked more curious than anything. A few seconds passed before Starshine leaned forward. “What exactly are you? I have never seen a pony with wings and a horn before.” Celestia was quiet for a moment and slowly began to relax. “I… I don’t know. This is just how we were when mom and dad found us. But does it really matter?” she tried, hoping to steer the conversation back on track. “We’re just kids. We need help…” A couple of seconds passed. Starshine slowly nodded. “You’re right. It doesn’t matter. Not right now, at least,” she said before standing up. “I am dreadfully curious, but I am not going to press the subject right this moment. Now, may I examine Luna’s wound?” Celestia was quiet for a second longer. Slowly, she folded her wings and stepped aside. “Okay… Please, help her,” she said, the last dregs of her fear evaporating. In its place was just a tired resignation. “Thank you,” Starshine said softly. She came up to Luna’s bedside. Her eyes lingered on Luna’s wing for several seconds, clearly fascinated by it. She showed remarkable restraint in not asking any questions, however. “Lift your wing, please,” she instructed gently. Luna did as she was told, affording Starshine an unobstructed view of her swollen side. Celestia looked on as Starshine started examining the wound. Nervous energy pooled in her hooves and the tips of her wings. She tried fidgeting to dispel it, but it was of little use. A movement to her left. She turned and saw Starglow sitting down beside her, looking at her wing with wide, fascinated eyes. “So… can you fly?” he asked after a moment. Celestia blinked, taken aback by the question. “Er… y-yeah, I can,” she replied. His eyes flicked to her horn. “And can you do magic?” “Yes.” To Celestia’s surprise, Starglow’s eyes lit up with what could only be described as joyous wonder. He grinned at her. “That is so cool!” he practically squealed. “How high can you fly? What sorts of magic can you do?! I can tie knots and lift stuff!” Celestia leaned back, her mind stalling. Not counting her sister, she had never spoken with another foal before in her life. She wasn’t entirely sure how to react. “Uh… I-I, uh… I dunno? I’ve never really seen how high I can go. Up to the clouds, at least.” “Woooow! Just like a pegasus!” he suddenly gasped. “Wait! WAIT! Can you control the weather? Can you make it rain and snow? Make it windy?!” Celestia flinched, looking away. “...Not this weather.” Starglow deflated on the spot. “Oh…” “Yeah.” The two sat in awkward silence for a moment. Celestia looked down at the floor, trying to ignore him now. He was still staring at her. Without the accompaniment of conversation, it was getting to be just a little creepy. “...Can I touch your wing?” Celestia sat bolt upright. “What? No!” “But it looks fluffy!” “Those are feathers - and I don’t like it when ponies touch my wings! They’re sensitive!” “Awww, come on,” Starglow whined, pawing at the floor. “Just a little touch?” “Glow, leave the poor filly alone. And don’t ask to touch ponies - it’s rude,” Starshine suddenly called over. Starglow immediately clammed up. Celestia breathed a sigh of relief before turning back to Luna’s bed. After a couple more moments of studying the wound, Starshine let Luna’s wing drop back to her side. The blue filly winced and squirmed in discomfort on the bed. “Am I gonna be okay?” she asked quietly. Starshine furrowed her brow uncomfortably. “Well… As far as I can see, your wound isn’t life-threatening,” she began slowly, drawing her hooves away from the bed. “But at the same time, if it doesn’t get treated - and soon - it could wreak all kinds of havoc on your innards. And I don’t know the right spells to heal you.” Luna withered on the bed, her ears folding flat. “So… what do we do, then?” she asked, turning to Celestia. Starshine stood up before Celestia could answer. “Well, there’s only one thing to do. You two will just have to come with us,” she stated simply. Celestia blinked. “Wha- huh?” she asked, surprised. Getting some medical help or directions had been the extent of what she might expect this mare to offer. But here she was offering to just lead them? After Mudflat, this mare was giving Celestia whiplash. “Just like that?” Starshine turned back to her, her face alight with a warm smile. “Of course. Like I said a minute ago: I am not one to sit idly by when foals need help.” Luna sat up a little, her ears perking up with hope. “W-where are we going?” she questioned. Starglow was the one who answered. “Oh, oh! I know this one! We’re heading to the city of the Unicorns, waaay to the, er… weast? W-was it weast?” “West,” Starshine corrected him with a titter. “They’re west. Not east. Or… weast.” “Yeah, that’s what I meant!” Glow nodded eagerly. “I… know a few mages, there,” Starshine went on. It was a strange thing, though. Her expression soured as she spoke, and Celestia could not miss the creeping edge of disdain in her tone at the mention of the other mages. Before she could question it, though, Starshine turned back to her. “One of them can surely heal your sister. And even if they can’t, I’m sure we can find an experienced apothecary to tend to her.” Celestia stared at her for several long seconds, completely stunned. All at once, it felt as if an impossible weight was lifted off her shoulders; one that had been weighing her down for what felt like forever. And looking into those eyes - those eyes that so deeply reminded her of the mother she had lost… The need to appear strong for Luna. The need to take all the responsibility for both of them. At that moment, every soul-crushing obligation she had felt was suddenly washed away. Celestia’s legs gave out from under her. She fell forward, and Starshine was quick to catch her. “Woah! Are you okay?” she asked. Celestia shuddered. Starshine’s concern sounded so genuine. So real. Celestia clung to the adult, letting her pent-up stress and exhaustion out with a long, withering whimper. “Thank you. Thank you. Thank you,” was all she could say, clutching the mare like a lifeline. For indeed, Starshine may have just saved their lives.