//------------------------------//
// Chapter XII: Gods Don't Cry 
// Story: By the Will of the Council 
// by Captain Neckbeard 
//------------------------------//

As Clover, Celestia and Luna progressed a bit deeper inside the cave, it promptly became pitch black. To rectify this, two long horns lit up, with lighting spells at the tip. As they walked on, they could see how the cave walls smoothed out, and eventually they were so plane as if a horn laser worked upon the surfaces.

"We're in the dungeon section now." Clover commented on the obvious.

Neither of the sisters answered. Celestia was eyeing the walls with suspicious curiosity. They had the same quality as the Citadel on Aeternum, whose walls were chiseled to a silky smoothness, purely by magic. So was this place built by alicorns as well, sometime in the past? Celestia surely didn't read anything about that in the tribe's codexes, and she was well versed in them. It wouldn't make sense anyway. If an alicorn-built dungeon existed solely to house the Teardrops of Creation, why would the Council pretend they had no idea of their location? There must be more to this, Celestia thought, but what it was, and how it could be, eluded her.

Moving forward in the dungeon was eventless, although Celestia was kept occupied by her thoughts. Luna also seemed a bit lost, and not in the navigational sense. After all, Clover was leading the way, although it was less leading than just walking in the front, as the place was the antithesis of a labyrinth: there was only one way they could go, wherever that might lead them.

For a while, only the gentle hum of the lighting spells, and the clip-clops of hooves made any sound. After several minutes though, they arrived at an intersection, and Clover spoke again:

"We go right. Although both paths end up in the same place, that way the doors are already opened."

The sisters just nodded, and followed. The path bent to the left, and they indeed walked past two stone doors, which were lifted into recesses in the dungeon ceiling by some unseen mechanism. Celestia walked past, and raised an eyebrow. Clover noticed that, and reacted:

"We couldn't figure out what's up with these stone doors. What's holding them up? An enchantment that strong? I cannot be sure, but still, fascinating!"

"Yes. It's possibly an enchantment." Celestia answered, absentmindedly, not even looking in Clover's direction.

Clover nodded, and although she noticed neither of the sisters were chatty, she continued.

"And anyway, have you ever seen a dungeon this tidy before? I mean, no dust, no cobwebs, as if it was just built yesterday. Strange, isn't it?"

"Hm." came the brief answer, from Luna.

"Heh, maybe this place has its own chamberlain, who cleans up from time to time?"

Clover's attempt to liven up the bit icy atmosphere had fallen on deaf ears, they even drooped a bit. Obviously, the alicorns were already "somewhere else".

"Okay, sorry. I see you're not in the mood. I'll stop."

"It's okay, Clover." answered Celestia, not coldly, just without any emotions.

Eventually they came upon a small drop. The alicorns jumped down, the fall slowed by their wings. But Clover hesitated to follow, as it was obviously too high for her.

"Come on, jump. I'll catch you." Celestia turned back to a squirming Clover.

She didn't want to jump. Celestia waited, sitting on her rump, with her forelegs extended forward.

"Just jump."

Clover didn't get why she couldn't be grabbed like previously, but pulled herself together, and threw herself at Celestia. She ended up right between Celestia's hooves, who effortlessly stopped her fall. She remained there for a second, held up as if some oversized foal, then Celestia put her on the ground. Clover was a bit awed how easily she was caught. The legends were true: among many other things, alicorns ARE very strong!


☼☽


After some more eventless walking, the trio ended up in front of a door adorned by glowing runes in a single line all along its width. It must have been the door from Clover's journal. The eerie, pinkish glow of the runes indicated that they were still intact. And the words, on each side of the door, were present too, written vertically.

Kindness.

Loyalty.

"Well, here we are." Clover said. matter-of-factly.

Celestia and Luna didn't answer, they were still looking at the strange words.

"It eludes me. What could they mean?!" Luna cocked her head.

"There isn't any context to this. But maybe as we move further in, we will discover something. Let me try to open this door."

With that, Celestia began to measure up what she had to deal with. Luna joined her, and they both tried to make sense of what was probably a security spell, permanently bound to the door in the form of these glowing runes.

"They seem difficult." came from Luna.

"Yes. Perhaps I should probe it. Maybe it's a rune-trap, so just in case, stand back, and protect Clover."

Luna did as suggested, and not bothering with a shield, she simply stood in front of the unicorn. She could easily tank any magical outburst, if that would follow Celestia's probings.

But to her biggest surprise, as soon as Celestia's magical energies came into contact with the runes, the door began to rise, and opened fully, into a recess in the ceiling.

"You're good." Luna said, along with an appreciative whistle "It seems being snout-deep into those codexes really paid off!"

"I didn't do anything." Celestia looked back "My magic barely touched the door. It just... opened."

On the other hoof, Clover was absolutely awestruck. She looked back and forth between the entrance and Celestia. When her gasps subsided, and could form coherent words, she spoke.

"I... I can't believe it! For days, we have tried to open this. Tried every unlocking spell in existence. Starswirl even made new ones, just for this door, to no avail. Yet you... opened it instantly. Incredible!"

"Maybe it isn't. If your attempts were as serious as you told, it's possible this door would only open reacting to alicorn magic. Perhaps that was the only trick."

"Could be..." answered Clover, still amazed, and moved towards the entryway, which revealed a short corridor. What it ended in, couldn't be seen, as something was glowing on that side, with such intensity that it obscured the view. But despite the unknown, the scholar and researcher in Clover urged her to move on, until Luna snapped her out of it.

"Wait! This could be dangerous. We go first."

Clover stopped, and the sisters, side by side, walked into the entryway. But when they cleared the short corridor, and emerged on the other side, even their breaths were taken.

What they found themselves in was unlike anything they ever saw. Unlike the strict artificiality of the place so far, the room was full of glowing crystals. They grew from the walls, and the ceiling everywhere, and they seemed razor sharp, so much that they could cut a feather dropped on them. On the other hand, the ground they walked was smooth like a mirror, and being crystalline, it reflected the strange blue light the walls and ceiling emanated.

"Whoa... What IS this place?" Clover muttered, walking a few paces behind them.

"It's..." came from Luna, but she couldn't finish her sentence. She was in proper awe, too.

Celestia didn't say anything, she just slowly made progress alongside Luna, deeper inside the strange chamber. After a few more steps, she noticed an unassuming pedestal, roughly in the middle. It looked like a turned over basin atop a small pillar.

"Luna. Look."

Luna diverted her attention to it, and they both trotted up to the pedestal. They stopped opposite to each other, with the pedestal between them. Clover just watched, from a safe distance.

The sisters both leaned over it, and eyed the stone surface, which strangely enough, was somewhat translucent. Underneath the domed surface, was five stones, or gems, but they couldn't determine just what it was. Only what it should be.

"Did we find it? Are these the Teardrops of Creation?" asked Luna, still in awe.

"I hope so."

Celestia ran her hoof along the stony surface. It was smooth, and there didn't seem to be any way to open it up at first glance. Maybe at the edges? At the edge, where the pillar extended outwards, there seemed to be a "jump" in the smoothness of the material.

"How do we retrieve them? Any ideas?"

Celestia only let out an elongated "hm", and tried to simply lift off the dome from the stones with telekinesis, but it didn't budge. It seemed to be a really stiff construct, however it was put together.

"Okay, no ideas then. Let me try."

"Luna, wait!"

But Luna didn't wait, her horn was already lit, and let loose a bolt of magic. But as it struck the stone, it bounced off, then struck one of the crystals jutting out from the ceiling, and then it started to ricochet all over the place, from crystal to crystal. Clover hit the ground (even though she couldn't be affected by magic), and eventually, only Celestia casting a small shield mid-air stopped the spell gone wild.

"I told you to wait." Celestia said, breathing out a sigh of frustration.

"I'm sorry." came from a bit demure Luna. "But how to open this thing, then?"

"Maybe I should just try harder levitating off the top."

So Celestia tried harder, she wrapped her magic around the rim of the dome, and pulled, but nothing happened. But she didn't give up, and increased the intensity of the spell so much that her horn was throwing sparks, but still, it wasn't enough. Luna just watched on, but seeing her sister wasn't making any progress, decided to help.

And as soon as Luna's magic got mixed with Celestia's, the stone stirred, and they heard and felt a loud click. They stopped casting, and looked at the gems under the opaque surface. The gems were pulsating now, each with a different color.

"Something's happening..." Luna said.

And right after she said that, all the crystals in the cave also began to pulsate, each with the color of one of the small gems. The frequency of the pulses increased, and the pedestal was shaking. The sisters noticed the gems and the large crystals were synchronized, pulsating at the exact same frequency. This continued for a little while until, unprompted, the gems left their prison, simply phasing through the stone, levitating themselves up into the air. Then, they remained there, dormant, although still bright with their own colors.

Celestia regarded the five gems from all sides. Then she reached out to them, but as if her magic was pushed away from them.

"I can't grab them."

Luna raised an eyebrow. She then waved a hoof underneath the gems, then over them. Then, she simply poked at one of them. It wavered a bit, then all five of them stirred, and they dropped to the ground.

Luna took a peek at Clover. The mare just stood near them wide eyed, with pupils dilated, almost in shock. Obviously, she wouldn't be one to help.

"I wonder though... What do they do? How do they give you their power?"

Luna tried to pick them up, but her magic didn't work on them either.

"Maybe we should just scoop them up, and figure it out somewhere else. In all honesty Luna, I don't exactly like this place."

"I support that notion."

Celestia bent down a bit, reached out with her wings, and wrapped the gems around with her primaries like some pegasus would, but they didn't budge. As if they were glued to the ground. Celestia tried harder, to no avail. Then she tried gently kicking them, to see if they could be moved at all. And after failing, she tried not so gently, but the supposed Teardrops of Creation were really adamant about staying on the ground. Soon, both alicorns were kicking wildly at the small gems before them, making Clover raise an eyebrow. They really started to look like some fancy earth pony rock farmers, trying to reduce the day's harvest to pebbles.

After several minutes, the unintentional theatricality stopped. Out of the two, Luna seemed more disappointed. With droopy ears, she plopped to her rump.

"Right. Now what? We tried everything!"

She sighed. She looked away from the useless artifact. Celestia scratched her chin in thought.

"Maybe... We could... I don't know..."

"Yeah, I can agree with that last one. Maybe, these aren't even the real deal, and it's just another trick by Discord, and he's just laughing at us somewhere. Isn't that right, you chaos prick? Huh?!"

Luna yelled to Discord, but no reaction came. She hung her head. She didn't like this. They seemed to be so close, yet they were so far. Celestia bent down, trying to establish some eye contact. If there was one thing she disliked more than the current predicament, it was seeing her sister in her sorry state.

"Come on, Luna. Let's not give up now. This can't be Discord's doing. This whole place is so unlike him anyway."

Luna briefly looked into her eyes. With the last spark of enthusiasm lost from her voice, she said:

"Okay, but what should we do? You don't seem to have any ideas either."

"Well, we could... Oh, hey!"

Celestia suddenly beamed up, and looked sideways.

"Say, Clover, couldn't you try lifting these? Maybe your lack of magic would prove beneficial here."

"M-me?" Clover reacted, and pulled a hoof to her chest, as if she was upset at such an accusation "I don't think it would do any good. I mean, if the alicorns themselves can't do it, then how could I?"

"It's worth a try, no?"

"I don't know, it's just..."

Clover interrupted her own sentence, and walked closer. She stared at the gems for a bit, and put a hoof over her mouth in thought.

"Hmmm. Why don't you try picking it up together? It seemed to work with the pedestal."

Celestia and Luna stared at each other for a moment. That actually made sense. Their horns lit up, and the yellow and blue magic completely wrapped the gemstones. Then, they lifted them off the ground effortlessly.

"Whoa! Nice one, Clover the Clever!" Luna said beaming, unable and unwilling to hide her happiness.

"Yes! You fully deserve your moniker!"

"Oh, well... Yes, I guess I can be helpful. Outsider's perspective, as Starswirl would say." Clover blushed, and fumbled with a hoof on the ground.

"Now let's get out of here, and figure out how we can use these to take out Discord."

But Luna barely finished that, when the ground started shaking, and the crystals once again pulsated, with the gems' colors, but they themselves remained dormant in the sisters' magic. They looked around. The ground started to shake, and cracks were forming, running through more and more of the crystals.

"Maybe this place doesn't want us taking its stuff?" Clover shrunk back.

"Bolt!!!" Celestia shouted, and they galloped for the exit, but a huge crystal dropped down from the ceiling right in front of it. At the same time, they felt magic flickering, right behind them.

Luna turned back, and a portal appeared, glowing and swirling, magical energy surging around it. It grew in size, and began to pull, with the intensity ramping up fast.

"Dang! Celestia, you shut down this thing, I'll deal with that blockade... WHOAH!"

The portal's pull was now extreme, and the sisters slid towards it slowly, but surely, the flawless crystalline floor not helping them one bit. They flapped against the arcane flow, but the portal was adamant about sucking them in regardless.

Meanwhile, Clover was standing near them unaffected, shocked, but seeing what's gonna be the end, she jumped over to help. She grabbed onto a front leg, but Celestia shook off the helping hooves.

"Let it go! You cannot stop this!"

The magical vortex screamed and howled, filtering out the sisters' sounds of effort. Tendrils of arcane energy rippled around the edges, and although they resisted with their everything, it was no use. They stood their ground, but they just slid across the mirror-like surface. They couldn't fly away either, and their attempts at teleportation or phasing were fruitless, they just didn't work. A few moments later, Luna was swept off her hooves, and disappeared into the portal. And right after it, Celestia gave up, and followed her sister.

And as suddenly as it appeared, the portal closed up around its center, and everything became perfectly still. Clover just stood there, mouth hanging open, staring where the would-be saviors of Equestria were just moments ago.


☼☽


When Celestia regained her senses, what she saw was beautiful. A field of stars in the distance, surrounded by colorful nebulae, with stardust all around her. Where was she? It looked like space, but that couldn't be right. Space wouldn't feel like this. All of her senses felt so sharp, especially her magical sixth sense. Now all of those visions she had were clearer. Pain and joy. Loss and friendships. Regrets and righteousness. Darkness and light clashing. But in the end, light always prevailing.

Celestia flapped her wings, and tried to reorient herself parallel to the ground, but she had to realize there was no ground at all whatsoever in this seemingly endless, dimensionless space. It dawned on her this could mean only one thing.

She was in Caelum.

But how that could be? Did she die? No, that couldn't be right. That strange portal brought her here. But why? This didn't seem to make much sense, which immediately made her think of Discord, but she rejected that notion. Discord wouldn't bring her to a place so serene.

Caelum. The realm of magic itself, the dimension existing parallel to the mortal world. This is where all magic comes from, and eventually returns to. That's why her magic felt so vivid. She felt like she could vanquish a thousand dragons with a single spark. And yet...

Luna was nowhere to be seen. She should have ended up here, no? Celestia floated around a bit, with little control of her movements, but it was enough to surmise Luna was nowhere around.

"Luna, where are you?"

No answer.

"Luna, please answer me. LUNA!"

Nothing. Celestia was yelling into the void, literally. And if this place was truly infinite, Luna could be lost forever. But was she? Celestia didn't want to think of that, but wasn't entirely sure how she would search for her sister, either.

"I just wish Luna was here..."

Suddenly, a voice so dear to her called her out.

"Celestia?"

Celestia hastily turned back (although she wasn't entirely sure what "back" constituted anymore), and Luna was right there, floating not so far from her.

"Luna!"

"Hello sister. I'm happy to see you too. I just started to search for you, and here we go! Suddenly, you just pop up."

Celestia kicked with all fours, as if trying to swim, but failed to get any closer to Luna. She wanted to hug, but it wasn't so easy in this place.

"Oh Luna, I'm so glad! I just wished you were here and... you were! It's strange, but welcome nonetheless."

"This whole place is strange." Luna nodded "To me it seems like we're in Caelum, but could that be possible?"

"Possible, or not, that's the most likely case."

"Okay. Then let's agree this is Caelum. Now what?" Luna said, while slowly turning counter-clockwise, against her intention.

"Well..." 

Celestia was thinking, then something important came to her mind.

"Luna, do you still have them?"

"I am not so sure."

But just as she said that, Luna summoned forth three of the five gemstones. She didn't even remember putting them away, yet they were there right in front of herself.

Celestia looked at them curiously. She tried to remember the remaining two, and lo, she could summon them as well.

"One of our codexes claims magic works differently here than in the physical world. There are no rules, no limits to what one can do here, as this place is magic. If that is true... We could somehow use this boon to leave this place."

Luna raised an eyebrow, while still spinning without much control. She lit up her horn, and suddenly, a path of pure stardust appeared beneath them. Then, they gently floated down to it, the forces of gravity again affecting them.

"Somehow like this?" said Luna, while checking out the stardust road with little stomps, that was somehow both soft and hard at the same time.

"Yes, just like this!" Celestia answered with a proud smile.

"So, what's next?"

Celestia eyed curiously her own two gemstones. They floated before her, and she switched them with each other as if it was just some two-piece puzzle. Luna was aware that meant her sister was in "brain overdrive" mode.

"What do they do? According to the legend, the Teardrops are the Creator's aspect, they contain part of her powers. But it doesn't seem possible to draw forth any power from these. They're just... gems."

"I concur." Luna nodded "I didn't feel any magical power within them. Not when we found them, and neither now."

Celestia began walking the stardust road. After a few dozen steps, she reached the end of it, but as she moved forward, it extended further. Luna looked after her, a bit baffled.

"Where are you going?"

"For a walk. I can think better after a walk."

Luna didn't answer, and with no alternatives, she followed her sister.


☼☽


The sensation of time was completely lost to the two alicorns. Were they walking for hours? Or just mere minutes? They couldn’t tell. They just walked on and on, while Celestia was making theories, and Luna was getting increasingly frustrated.

"Could they summon something?" Celestia mused "Would a familiar come forth from them if affected by the correct triggering spell?"

"Argh!!! Let's just stop!" Luna groaned "Nothing works on these gems anymore, we tried activating them together again, we tried switching them up between ourselves, we even tried juggling with them, but they're useless."

"There needs to be something..."

"NO!" Luna yelled, and whacked her own gems to the stardusty ground "I don't care anymore! I don't want to wield these "Teardrops of Creation" or "Elements of Harmony", or whatever they're called! All I want now is getting out of here, and fighting Discord! None of this is important. We were so fixated on these, but maybe they're not even the solution. I don't care if I die fighting him, but I don't want to stay here being idle, pondering what these useless gems could do."

Luna lowered her head. Tears were streaking from her eyes. Celestia walked closer, but saw her sister hadn't finished yet.

"Ponykind, Celestia... They're such kind, innocent creatures. We've never met them before, but the ones unaffected by Discord were so pure and well-meaning. I can see now. And if someone doesn't do something, they will wither away under this mad tyrant's rule. They won't last forever. I'd just want to help them, and destiny won't even allow me to do that."

Luna looked up, and faced Celestia. She was properly crying now. She seemed so broken, so defeated, and yet... There was something about her that told she didn't just give up. Her eyes. As if a spark appeared in her eyes, only for a moment, and suddenly, Celestia understood everything.

She was struck by grief that she couldn't help her little ponies, and wept for them, her tears striking the very ground...

"Luna... you're crying."

Luna lifted a hoof to her eyes, and sniffled.

"I guess I am. I know, it's really unbecoming of an alicorn, but I can't help it. It's just so sad. All I want to do is help, yet we're trapped here."

Celestia looked at her own gemstones, then, she simply dropped them.

"You're right, Luna. I've been distracted, but ponykind is what's truly important. Whether with these gems or not, we WILL help them, or die trying. Because that's what being a true alicorn means. And we ARE true alicorns, no matter what Arcana might say."

"That you are." a gentle and kind voice answered, somewhere from the void.

Celestia and Luna looked around, searching for the origin. A spectral alicorn walked towards them, translucent, her red mane flowing just like theirs. 

Could it be? Could it really be her?

"C-creator?" Luna muttered.

No answer came, but both of them knew the truth, and bowed deeply. Seeing that, she spoke.

"Rise, sisters. There is no need for this display. We are equals here."

They straightened themselves, and looked at their very god. The sheer awe was written on their faces, and Celestia, despite knowing the answer, couldn't stand not to ask.

"Is it really you, o great La'uriel?"

"I prefer that to "Creator", yes. And I think I know why you ended up here."

The sisters didn't answer. They were struck in place, almost in a shock, with their eyes fixated on the ghostly being right in front of them. Therefore, La'uriel continued.

"You seek the aid of the Elements of Harmony. To vanquish Discord, and to protect my children. I see you have the dedication, and the purest of intent. I can grant you access to its powers, but I shall issue you a warning: If you continue on this path, you will only incur pain and suffering upon yourselves. Your lives will become a constant stream of struggles, until you finally return to this place for good. The choice is yours to make."

Celestia and Luna looked at each other. They couldn't say anything, until Celestia didn't break the silence, and stammered out a few words.

"Y-you can see our futures?"

"I can see a future, Celestia. It's never set in stone, always changing. I probably saw what you felt very recently. The darkness is always there. But how much we embrace the light is what defines us. You can run from your destiny, but you might end up with a worse one as a result. But I'm only saying this as a gentle warning. Your destinies should really be your own. I've made the mistake of setting the destinies before my greatest creations. But it was wrong of me. And I don't intend to make the same mistake again."

Celestia listened with intense focus. Luna's mouth was stuck open so far, but finally, she could speak again.

"You're talking about Arcana and the Council, great La'uriel, are you not? So let me ask... Is it true? Did Arcana truly release Discord? Is this crisis of her making?"

La'uriel closed her eyes for a second. Sadness was written on her face as her head dropped for a little while. Then she looked back up at Luna, and answered.

"I can't rightly tell. I felt Discord's presence appearing some time ago. That's why I revealed the Elements, gave them physical forms. I knew only the power of another god could defeat him, but I didn't know who would come and claim it. But I know Arcana seeks this power as well, so I wouldn't put it past her orchestrating these events."

"What shall we do about it, then?" Celestia pleaded "She asked us to deliver these Elements -Your aspect- to her. Shall we? And if we do, what then? What will she do with them?"

"Celestia, Luna." the Creator started, and stepped closer to them. "I cannot tell you what to do. Do what is right, what you must. But I can see your hearts, and I know ultimately you will do what is best. So I only have one question to ask: Are you ready to wield the Elements of Harmony, or you wish to leave this realm without them?"

The sisters turned to one other again. Fear and uncertainty were their expressions. But then, slowly, a little smile formed on Celestia's face, and she gave a slight nod to Luna. And in turn, Luna's mouth also turned upside down, and nodded back. They didn't know what the future would bring, what that vague prophecy of the Creator's might mean, what their dealings with Arcana and the Council would hold for them, but they knew this: It was their chance to save ponykind, and they would take it.

"We're ready." they said in unison, resolute.

La'uriel smiled, and with her magic, lifted the gemstones off the ground. They spun, faster and faster, forming an ethereal circle, until in the middle, a sixth gem appeared, in the form of a six-pointed star. Then the gems rose high, and in a flash of light, they fused together only to separate into two objects right after, a duo of crowns, each majestic in appearance. One was bright and golden, like the midday sun, adorned with Celestia's cutie mark on top. The other was dark and shiny, like midnight with a new moon, and boasted a crescent moon at its tip. 

The sisters just stared on, then the crowns, the one appropriate to them, floated down upon their heads, bestowing them with the Creator's power, which would allow them to vanquish Discord and save Equestria.

When the deed was done, La'uriel looked upon them, and spoke.

"You’ve made your choice. You may go now, and embrace your destiny, and save my children. Walk the path, and always stay true to yourselves. Farewell, sisters."

With that, the Creator bowed her head, and with another flash of light, she disappeared. And the next moment, as if the whole realm started to melt around the sisters. They suddenly felt dizzy, and soon enough, both of them passed out.


☼☽


When the sisters woke up, they found themselves lying on the floor of the strange crystal chamber. They were whisked away from here, when it was crumbling, but now it seemed mostly undamaged.

First, Celestia wanted to check on Luna, if she was okay. And to see if what she just experienced was a dream or not. But apparently, it was all very real.

"Luna, your crown." Celestia started, as she got up "It bears your mark of destiny!"

"And yours have yours!" Luna said, and got up too "So these are the Teardrops of Creation. The Creator's aspect. What we were looking for all this time. But I still wonder, how do we exactly turn these against Discord?"

Celestia pondered for a bit, then glanced up at her own crown, and smiled.

"La'uriel herself trusted these with us. I somehow think we will figure it out, Luna. And even if not, I'm sure when the moment comes, She will help us."

Luna cocked her head, expression unsure, but then cutely smiled.

"I believe you, sister. And besides," she pointed a hoof "It's so pretty!"

"And yours is even prettier! And besides... Where's Clover?"

Of course, Clover. Among the destiny changing events, they almost forgot Clover was left here, and without magic of her own, she didn't really have a way out of the place. They started shouting after her, and soon enough, Clover emerged from behind one of the crystal formations. To say she was shocked would be an understatement.

"Wh-where you two have been??? I almost thought you were gone for good. I thought you were dead, or worse!"

Clover let out a little pant between each of the sentences. And although the sisters understood the prospect of being trapped in such a place must have been panic-inducing, they still felt the unicorn overreacted.

"Calm down. We weren't going to leave you behind."

"As my sister said. And besides, we weren't gone for that long." added Luna.

"You weren't???" Clover gasped "You were gone for three days! I thought I would live out my remaining days in this place."

The sisters looked at each other. Three days? That can't be right. The whole journey in Caelum couldn't take more than a few hours. Or could it?

"Three days?!" Luna asked back.

Clover frantically nodded.

"It seems what we perceived as hours in Caelum actually lasted days in the earthly realm. It was indeed a strange place." Celestia mused.

"You were in Caelum???" asked Clover, falling from one disbelief into the other.

"Yes, but we'll tell you everything outside. You were here for days, without supplies, so you must be dying of thirst and hunger."

"Strange, but..." Clover said, and thought about it for a second "I didn't feel any of that while here."

Celestia and Luna did another double-take. How can that be? Three days, without at least water, should have ill-effects. Or maybe...

"It seems the Creator, our god, helped you Clover, just as She helped us." answered Luna, with a certain grace in her voice.

"And now, we have the means to free your land of its plight, with Her blessing." added Celestia. "Let's go, and let harmony reign once again."

And with that, they promptly left the chamber, with Clover in tow. But of course, the mare still had several questions, that she bombarded the sisters with on their way out.