//------------------------------// // And It Flu Away // Story: Sneezing Luna Doting Tia // by Wasabi-beans //------------------------------// "BABOONS! CRETINS! HARPIES! NE-ER DO WELLS!" Luna verbally assaulted the swirling, freezing herd of Windigos as she magically and physically assaulted them, "ANIMALS! JELLYFISHES! POCKMARKS! BLIGHTS! SNOWFLAKES!!" Spoken Softly watched in horrified amazement at Luna's unbridled powers. He had seen her do incredible feats before; but these Windigos kept multiplying, swarming, blowing icy cold breaths at Luna, tried to knock her out of the air, all those attempts to directly fight her, as opposed to relying on a more off-hooved approach according to legend, were relentless. And singular, red-nosed Luna could keep up with them all. She whacked them into a snowy pulp when they got too close, zapped bolts and bolts of lightning at its masses and deftly maneuvered to achieve a better position. She even manipulated her own blizzard to hold them back. "HUSSIES! MORONS! VILLAINS! PORCUPINES! NOISY, THIEVING SEAGULLS!!" continued Luna's verbal barrage. It was a ferocious stalemate that Celestia could bear no longer. "We need to get her out of there, now!" yelled Celestia in desperation over the thunder, and they flew closer to the battle. "Luna! LUNA!" Celestia desperately called out through the roaring thunder, snow and Royal Canterlot Insults, "You need to get out of here! LUNA!" Luna's ears pricked in horror, and briefly turned to find that that horrible Celestia and that traitorous Spoken Softly closing in on her, and growled, "By the stars, those two can't leave me in peace...!" She directed her miniature blizzard at them that whilst continuing on her duties as a Princess. She socked a hard one on a Windigo that got too close. "Aargh!!" screamed Spoken deeply, as Celestia braced herself from the winds and stayed her position. "LUNA!! STOP THAT!!" yelled Celestia desperately, "Please! I beg of you! You are in no condition to fight! Spoken, please reason with her!" "Princess Celestia is correct, Princess Luna!! Think of your cold!" replied Spoken, finally daring to take flight and inched himself closer to Luna, "You have to fall back! I'm sure Princess Celestia can-" She repeated each word with a strike upon her foes, "ONCE! I! VANQUISH! THESE! CRETINS! SHRIMPS! SEWAGE! HALITOSIS! HACKS! HAS- HA...! HA...!" And her sneeze blasted a huge number of them back as they whinnied in horror, "-CHOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! Blerghhh..." And she took a hankie from Spoken to wipe her nose, "Thank you Spoken Soft- Spoken Softly! How are you beside me!?" Celestia looked to her side and realized that his inching must've been accelerated due to his instincts to serve his Princess. His forehoof was still outstretched, awaiting her hankie to be handed back to her, when his eyes went wide, "I... I don't know, Princess! But-but-but that's not important right now! You need to-" A Windigo took this chance to flank Luna and blast a gust of cold air right at another target: Spoken. Luna saw the gust in the knick of time. She pushed him away and raised a magical barrier that the gust froze into an icy surface. She then grabbed him and forcefully flung him right at Celestia, who caught him as he screamed, "TAKE MY ASSISTANT TO SAFETY AND LEAVE!! DO NOT ENDANGER HIM ANY-" And in another distracted lapse, the Windigos took advantage of this and they all blasted another round of icy winds at the powerful Night Princess. And this time, they hit their mark. "AAARGHH...!!" screamed Luna in agony. "LUNA!! NO!!" exclaimed Celestia in horror. The winds stopped gusting, and a frost covered Luna stayed in flight, though shivering very badly. She slowly turned to the elemental creatures. Even though she was breathing heavily, she had on a determined and frowning grimace, with bloodshot eyes and gritted teeth that did not sway the emotionless Windigos. "You think that did anything to me!!??" roared Luna, sounding as primal as the blizzard, "I am the Princess of the Night, foul creatures!! HAVE AT THEE!!!!!" And she jumped straight into the cloud. And battled once more. The cloud of Windigos began to grow in size, Celestia noticed. Luna continued the Royal Canterlot Insults, along with something that worried Celestia even more. "SHELLFISH! ACHOO! FRUITCAKES! ACHOO!" Luna's bellows were peppered with sneezes that were certainly not the Royal Canterlot variety, "Hedge fund mana- achoo! Counterfeiters! Achoo! Cake eat- achoo! Achoo! Achoo!" Luna kept going in spite of her weakening sneezes and weakening attacks. Spoken was in hysterics. "Sh-sh-she's gone mad!!" cried Spoken in hot tears, "She's gone mad! What-are-gonna'-do-what-are-we-gonna-do-what-" "Head to the Crystal Empire. I will retrieve our precious Luna," and Celestia flew to the battle zone. And the closer she got, the weaker Luna became, and the amount of Windigos increased as well. Luna began to be struck more and was clearly in agony. Celestia was now a few yards away. Luna was fading. The Windigos now ballooned as large as the mountains. One yard away. Luna, now covered in frost, swung weakly at a passing Windigo, but another rammed her right at the back, and she screamed. A few feet away. Celestia was being rammed by a few Windigos but she remained on course. Her horn glowed. Luna's eyes began to roll back. She wasn't sneezing anymore; she began to lose consciousness. One feet away. Celestia ignited her horn and its tip was aflame. Luna began to fall and her body limp. The Windigos swarmed in for the- Celestia caught her and the Windigos pounced and the two alicorns were covered in a golden aura and Celestia's flame ignited. A giant fireball exploded right out of her horn that engulfed the mountain-sized Blizzard. The Windigos whinnied in pain as the flames enveloped them. And out of the fireball, with smoke and soot, was Celestia cradling her precious and unconscious sister, covered in a protective aura. Luna was barely breathing and Celestia flew as quick as she could along the mountain peaks. The Crystal Empire is closer to these parts, Sister will get treatment there- but her train of thought was interrupted by a massive howl of snow and cold. Celestia took a quick look back and saw in horror, that out of the giant cloud of smoke, flew the Windigos once again. They galloped relentlessly to her, covering everything in snow. It seemed their number have increased even further, the Frozen Herd were now the size of an entire mountain, and were gaining on them. A colossal blizzard roared forth. Celestia tried to fly as fast as she could by the mountain ranges' side, desperately to reach the Crystal Empire, but the Windigos' acceleration was unstoppable. The blizzard now caught up to them and completely engulfed the entire area ahead of Celestia and Luna. She was snowblind, and she could feel the merciless breaths of the Windigos on her neck now. She now had no choice but to battle them with Luna in her hooves. Suddenly, she heard the deepest and most reverberating shout she had ever heard, coming from near a mountain up ahead. "PRIIIINCEEESS! OVER HEEREEE!!!" His voice created a newfound determination in her. Celestia turned into a flaming comet once again, deliberately frying right through some overzealous Windigos. Spoken was at the entrance of a small cave, who was jumping in panic. "Hurry Princess! The Windigos! They're coming right behind you!" he bellowed. She rocketed right into the cave, along with some icy winds that pursued. But before the Frozen Herd could swarm in, Celestia conjured a golden shield that covered the entrance. Quite a lot of Windigos splatted onto the shield in surprise. They began to beat and beat on the shield. Spoken stared in quiet horror at the muffled whinnies and hoof stomps, but it was clear that Celestia's shield will hold. The snowstorm outside raged on. "Princess...?" began Spoken, and he saw that Celestia was now tending to her still unconscious sister, her horn glowed brightly that kept the shield up and alighted the cave. She blew a warm, soothing breath that slowly defrosted Luna, and warmed the cold cave right up. Spoken could see that Celestia was sobbing quietly, but she quickly wiped away her tears. "Spoken, please embrace my sister," she asked. 'Huh!?" exclaimed Spoken with a blush. "She is cold, and she needs warmth desperately," "Oh, umm... yes, of course," he said wobbly, but approached Luna, nervously lied down and slowly spooned her into his warm embrace. He shivered and was shocked at how chilly her body still remained. And to his surprise, and further blushing, Celestia wrapped her huge body over theirs as well. "Princess? W-w-why are there suddenly so many more Windigos?" asked Spoken quietly, "Legend tells that there were only three present at that time," Celestia looked at her grievously injured sister with great sadness, "Luna. Luna must've confronted them head-on. Windigos thrive on fighting and hatred... Luna was filled with both, so much of both..." "Oh dear... so, w-w-what do we do now?" Celestia looked out at the shield. The Windigos were now circling the mountain, their lifeless eyes occasionally glared within the cave. They weren't going anywhere, not when Equestria's prize Alicorns lay within their hooves. "Our options are not many," Celestia said gravely, "My mentors, Captain Pansy, Clover the Clever and Chancellor Smart Cookie once ignited the Fire of Friendship, and vanquished the Windigos," "That's great!" exclaimed Spoken with hope, "I think of you as my friend, Princess!" "That is very sweet of you, Spoken, but there is one problem," and she looked at her still unconscious sister, "Our friendship alone is not enough to vanquish a now strengthened Frozen Herd. I can feel it. And what's more, my sister's own negative feelings for me upsets that fire," "Oh... so, is there another way?" "Yes..." And Celestia glared intensely at the shield. The Windigos raced around the mountain even more, "My turn,"