One year later...
The break of the waves echoed up the walls of Mount Aris, their steady rhythm never failing to put Novo at ease. It had been a long journey to the south, but they had made it in one piece. The cold had reached far, even into the deserts of the Badlands, but the further they went, it slowly relented. Work had begun immediately turning Mount Aris from the seasonal migration home it was built for into the new bastion of Hippogriff culture. It would take a while before it was a permanent home, but her people were warm, fed, and safe, and that was all that mattered.
A low trill broke the otherwise silent meditation.
"Mmm—what is it, Goldie?" Novo asked without opening her eyes, content to lie under the sheets with Goldenquill for as long as time allowed.
"Selena is home," he answered, softly stroking Novo's midsection. Novo heard it then as well, the flutter of pegasus wings.
Novo lifted her head from their intertwinement, yawning and stretching.
"I suppose it was time we got up anyway," she joked, giving Goldenquill a peck on the cheek before they affectionately clicked each others beaks.
Goldenquill rose and donned his armor, giving his glaive a twirl before turning and bowing to Novo. "Your Majesty."
No sooner than he had left the room an indigo blur zipped in from the balcony, nearly crashing into Novo.
"Mommy, we learned about ponies today in school!" Selena gleefully exclaimed, fluttering just inches from Novo's face.
"That's wonderful, dear!" Novo gently grasped the fluttering filly, setting her beside her in the bed as she craned her head low. She spoke gently as she began to preen the foal’s feathers. Selena was always so excited to rush home and tell her what she'd learned that her feathers were a mess by the time she arrived. "Tell me all about what you learned, I'd love to hear it."
The little filly puffed her chest out, no doubt mimicking her tutor’s posture. "The three tribes are unicorns, pegasi, and earth ponies. Earth ponies are really good at agri...argic..."
"
"Agriculture, dear," Novo chuckled.
"Yeah! Anyway, unicorns move the sun and moon, and pegasi control the weather!" Selena bounced in place, Novo narrowly avoiding plucking a feather.
"Did your tutor ask you to show everyone what pegasi can do?" Novo began to work on the other wing.
"Y-yeah," Selena's voice faltered a bit. "She said if I wanted I could bring a cloud down and show everyone."
"Did you?" Novo paused for a moment, noticing her daughter's change in tone.
"Well… no. I wanted to… but I got worried I might not be able to do it. Everyone was looking and..." Selena's shoulders sagged.
"Aww – Selena, you'll never know unless you try. I'm sure everyone would have loved it. Why don't you ask to try tomorrow?" Novo gently nuzzled Selena's cheek assuredly.
"I will," Selena answered, though it did not sound like she was convinced. There was a brief silence before the filly spoke up. "Mommy, if pegasi control the weather, why do they make it snow all the time?"
"What do you mean, dear?" Novo was caught a bit off guard.
"Well, Whirlwind told me that the pegasi made it snow so much that we had to leave home. Why would they do that?"
"I… Whirlwind isn't old enough to remember why the snows came, Selena. He's probably just repeating what he heard someone else say. No one knows what happened; maybe the pegasi lost control of it."
Again there was silence, and Novo didn't wish to have Selena dwelling on such adult matters. "What about your sister? I'm sure she was jumping up and down to show off for the class. Must have been quite a scene, Sunny trying to move the Sun," Novo chuckled, trying to raise her daughter's spirits.
"Um..." Selena shied away from Novo's question, turning her head to hide behind her sky blue mane.
"Oh come now, you were so excited to tell me everything, don't let what Whirlwind said ruin the whole day for you dear."
"Well… Sunny wasn't in class," Selena mumbled, just above a whisper.
"What?" Novo deadpanned.
"Don't tell her I told you!" Selena exclaimed, her wings fluttering. "She just said it was boring and… and..."
Novo sighed, "Where is she now?"
"She said she was gonna go exploring and that I couldn't come." Selena admitted, hiding her shame for her betrayal. "Please don't be mad, Mommy."
"I'm not mad, Selena." Novo finished her preening, standing up and walking to the balcony edge. "I'm going to go find your sister, and we'll discuss this over dinner. Goldenquill!" Novo called just loud enough to be heard through the door, her dutiful guard stepping inside. "Take Selena to meditate with you, I will be back shortly."
Goldenquill nodded wordlessly. Selena still looked worried that she was in trouble, but her time with Goldenquill always made her feel better. She hopped off the bed and waved goodbye to Novo. Goldenquill followed Selena out, shutting the door behind them. When they were gone, Novo turned to look out over the bustling settlement, and took to the air.
~~~
"See that, Sunny? Much brighter than all the others? The Midnight Sapphire. Follow that star, and you'll always find your way home," her Mother's words echoed in her mind.
Sunny's hooves scraped against the clay, a gap through the wooden palisade slowly growing. She'd discovered it a few days before, but hadn't had the nerve to go through with her plan until now. A large section between the structure of the settlement walls filled with clay to quickly plug the gap with little effort.
"Half measures make for short success," Sunny quipped to no one in particular. She'd heard her father say the same thing when inspecting a cart some of the bigger colts had built back home. She wasn't quite sure exactly what it meant. She had an idea, but when she'd asked he'd simply grinned, ruffled her mane and said, "Don't be lazy."
"Just..." she huffed, "a bit more..." 'Pomf!' Her hoof pushed through to the other side. She excitedly dug faster, pulling more clay from the growing breach. Soon two hooves could fit through, then her whole head, then her shoulders, then–!
'Selena...' Sunny thought suddenly. She pulled herself from the breach, turning and looking back. The peak of Mount Aris reached into the sky, no doubt her sister was atop it already, gushing to Queen Novo about all that boring stuff they taught in 'school'.
I can't leave Selena. Daddy would want me to keep her safe...
She took a few steps away from the wall, before her ears drooped, and she looked back towards her escape.
What if someone finds it and tells on me while I'm gone? Then I'd have to start all over again. Novo hadn't said we couldn't leave, just that we shouldn't...
She turned back to the breach, then again towards the castle. Back and forth, her young mind racing.
Queen Novo hasn't hurt us or anything. It's almost been like a visit to a new village! Besides, when I find Mommy and Daddy, I'll bring them back and Queen Novo will have to let Selena come with us. That was what she had said, wasn't it?
Finally, the young filly scrunched her nose and headed for the breach. It was a tight fit, but she wriggled through, plopping out and rolling flank over front down the short embankment.
Righting herself and standing, she shook off the slurry of snow and mud, thinking to look back one last time. She shook her head. It would be a while longer before darkness fell, but she needed to get as far as she could while her absence was still unnoticed.
~~~
'She's just gotten off somewhere hard to spot, that's all,' Novo thought. Her graceful glide betrayed her inner thoughts, growing more erratic as she double and triple checked everywhere she'd found Sunny before. She landed atop a watch tower, scanning the streets below her.
It was not unlike her to be found galloping through the settlement playing with the other fledglings, but this did not feel like her usual excursion. A feeling of dread began to overtake Novo. Sunset was less than an hour away.
"Goldenquill!" she called out, only a moment's pause separating her call and the onyx flourish of her bodyguard landing at her side.
"Nothing, Majesty," he responded, his face grim. "Should I call a search party?"
"It is not like her to hide like this," Novo thought aloud, her wings twitching anxiously. Her eyes darted around for any sign of her missing charge.
Then she saw it. Tiny hoofprints. She launched off the guard tower, sailing down to the palisade and landing with a slide at the outer wall. Goldenquill followed closely, landing as Novo turned to face the horizon, following the hoofprints.
"Goldenquill, see that Selena does not worry for her sister and my absence." Novo spread her wings.
"Majesty, I—" was all Goldenquill could utter before the cold wake of Novo's takeoff swept over him. He thought for a moment to follow, but he knew her tone. She would need no protection, and she had given him an order.
~~~
Sunny's brisk trot had slowed to a trudge, the slurry of snow and mud having tired her out faster than she expected. At first she'd taken the opportunity to run through every puddle she'd found. She'd delighted in the splashes left in her wake, but now she was soaked, and it was growing colder.
The sun was beginning to dip below the horizon, and the star her mother had told her about was growing brighter. A shiver shook her body, and her teeth chattered. She focused, pushing magic through her horn. It glowed softly, occasionally sparking like flint against steel. The warmth was not much, but it did dry her mane at least.
She heard a swoop, looking over her shoulder. Her eyes widened as she saw Novo descending on her. She pushed off from where she stood, trying to run, but it was no use. Novo landed in front of her, a cool breeze washing over the already shivering filly.
"Sunny, what are you doing out here? Goddess, child, are you trying to freeze to death?" She approached, but Sunny backed away.
"Leave me alone!" Sunny shouted, catching Novo off guard. The hippogriff took a few steps back, a look of shock in her eyes. "I'm not going back!" She shook as she spoke, a mixture of fear and anger welling up inside her.
Novo's face fell as she looked at her. Sunny made to walk around her, keeping her eyes locked on the Queen.
"Sunny, you're freezing, dear. Please, come here before you catch a cold. You remember how miserable you were when you got sick last time, don't you?" Novo turned with her as she circled, but did not approach. "Come, let's go home and talk about this."
"That isn't my home!" Sunny exclaimed fiercely. "My home is with my parents—my real parents—and I'm going back there even if you don't want me to!"
"I..." Novo seemed to be caught off guard, but quickly composed herself with a strange sort of smile. It was the smile she used whenever she thought Sunny was too young to understand something. "I'll watch over you for your parents. Remember, I told you that?"
Novo had told her that, back when she first took Sunny and Selena in from the cold. At the time, it had felt like they were saved. But as time went by... Sunny ignored the whimper that escaped her throat, choosing to narrow her eyes and dig in for all she had. "You aren't my mom!"
"What?" Novo shook her head and her smile fell away. "Sunny, dear, I didn't mean I—"
"A-and you're not Selena's either!" The muddy foal stamped angrily and tears filled her eyes. Yet she stood unwavering.
Novo took a step back, looking genuinely hurt.
"Selena keeps calling you Mommy! She's gonna forget our real mom! Why don't you tell her to stop?" Sunny stamped her hooves, her horn sparking.
"Sunny, please—" Novo knelt lower "—your sister is younger than you. Her memory of your parents isn't going to be as good as your—"
"When is Daddy coming?!" Sunny cut Novo off. This time, the tears that streamed down her face did make her look away.
"Sunny, I… the snow..." Novo stammered.
"You keep saying that!" Sunny gritted her teeth and looked back up at Novo. Another spark arced from her horn, but for all the fire inside of her, all it did was crackle and fade. "The snow has started melting, Daddy should be here by now! I want to go home!" She finally broke, collapsing onto the ground and covering her face with her hooves as she wailed. "I just... just want to go..."
She heard Novo approach, but still she did not touch her. "Sunny please, let's go back and we can talk about your parents. It's too cold out here."
Sunny barely spoke, could barely stand to think the words on her tongue. And yet, she had thought of little else for the past months... Her voice came out as a whimper, barely audible over her sobs. "They're not coming...are they?"
There was a long silence between them.
~~~
Novo agonized. The debt of her lies had come due, and no matter her intent they demanded all the same.
"No, child." She knelt beside the filly, draping her wing over her. The cold bit at her feathers, but she did not care. She had to get Sunny home, and this seemed the only way. "But your parents did not abandon you, Sunny. They hid you and your sister so that you might be spared. They wanted you to live. To grow and see the wonders of this world. The day I found you and your sister, I promised I would protect you. The day I found you, all they wanted for you and Selena became possible."
Sunny continued to weep, and Novo simply held her close, cooing softly to soothe the broken filly. After a while, Sunny's cries had slowly been reduced to whimpers as Novo's wing gently brushed her mane.
"W-why did you lie?" Sunny muttered through sniffles. "Mommy said never to lie!"
"I didn't want to, child… but, you and your sister are so young. This is something no one should ever have to face. I did it because I thought I could protect you with it. Protect you from what you're feeling now; lost, scared, unsure of yourself. I see now that all I did was prolong your suffering, and I can only beg your forgiveness." Novo felt the tears running down her own cheeks as she spoke. Had she already failed her vow?
There was a long silence between them, Sunny still whimpering softly into Novo's chest.
"Sunny, I could never replace your parents. I do not wish to. I only want to keep you and your sister safe. I won't ask you to think of me as your mother, but I will ask that you do not resent your sister if she does. She is younger than you, more vulnerable, easily led astray. She needs you. If you won't stay because I ask you to, will you stay for your sister's sake?"
The question hung heavy in the chilling air. It seemed like an eternity before she felt the filly stir.
"Okay." Sunny said softly, barely above a whisper. It was the best Novo could hope for, for now.
Novo gingerly stood, bringing Sunny close to her chest. With one last gaze toward the north, she spread her wings and made for home.