//------------------------------// // Stranger from Home // Story: No Elements, No Harmony // by Fret //------------------------------// Twilight's eyes shot open at the sudden jump scare. She pulled her head up and glanced around so she could spot what had woken her up. Next to her was her answer. Celestia held a hoof on her chest, as it rose and fell rapidly. "Celestia! What's wrong?" Twilight asked, not even bothering to keep her voice down. She knew there was no point - her mentor's scream was loud enough for Discord and Fluttershy to be awoken. "I... I..." she stuttered, still trying to calm herself, "we need to find Luna. Now." The smaller alicorn blinked. "But we don't know if she's still in the castle or not." "I pray to myself that she isn't," Celestia stated, getting onto her hooves, "you can stay here if you want. But I need to go," with that, the princess turned towards the door. "Wait! I don't get why you're leaving," Twilight stood up and galloped after her. Before the white alicorn took a step outside, she paused briefly. "I can interpret dreams, Twilight. And the dream I just had wasn't pretty," once that was said, Celestia carried on, preparing to make a break for her alternate home. Despite her having longer legs than Twilight, she could keep up with her from a short amount of time at least. Long enough to ask her a question. "Should I come with you?" "...Personally I think you should focus on finding Rarity and Rainbow Dash. But whatever you think is best, you do." Twilight nodded. "Okay, I'll keep looking for Rainbow and Rarity." She may be going crazy, but did she just hear Celestia groan at that? Either way, she turned around back towards Fluttershy's cottage. At the doorway, a tired looking Fluttershy and a confused Discord awaited, though standing far apart from each other as possible. Though, the most effort in doing that was Discord. "Wh... Where did your friend go? Why did she leave?" the pegasus rasped, her throat still dry from sleep. She rubbed her eyes to get a better view at Twilight. "Did I do something wrong? I know my house isn't all that great and all..." Twilight shook her head. "No, everything's fine. Err - at least in our case," she looked back to where Celestia had disappeared to "I don't know about her." "Oh dear, did something happen?" Fluttershy leaned her head forward in concern. "Perhaps. She's went to... 'check', you could say," Twilight shrugged. "Check on what, exactly?" Discord raised a brow. "Er... Luna." "Oh." "...Who?" Discord slapped his lion paw over his face. Twilight cringed at his reaction. "Celestia's sister, moron," the draconequus muttered. "Oh, right," Fluttershy murmured, flattening her ears. "Well, since we're awake, perhaps we should start looking for Rainbow Dash or Rarity?" Twilight suggested, getting off of the subject. Fluttershy tapped her chin with her hoof. "I'm afraid I don't know too much about Rarity, but I know Rainbow Dash from when I was a filly," she said. This sparked some hope for the princess. "You do?" Twilight grinned, moving closer, "I know she lives in Cloudsdale, but things may be easier with your help." Fluttershy gave an uncertain look, then glanced around the land surrounding her cottage. "All the way to Cloudsdale? Are you sure?" she gasped, "what if the queens realize I'm gone? What if they throw me in a dungeon? What if they do something horrible to me?!?!" She started biting her hooves in fear. "You agreed to help. Go with her, for Discord's sake! ...Oh wait, that's me," Discord said in a rather snark way, leaning against the wall with his arms folded as much as his arms could reach. "...I suppose. But really, what if something bad will happen while I'm gone?" The draconequus rolled his eyes. "Look, if it makes you happy, I'll stay here while you go to Cloudsdale and cover for you if they, for whatever unknown reason, come along!" "He's got a point. Also, Celestia will be coming back here anyway," Twilight agreed, I'm agreeing with Discord... I need therapy. "So, you'll be okay staying here?" "Yep, you two just do your whole... friendship stuff," he shrugged. "Let's go, Fluttershy!" Twilight announced as she took off to the skies. Fluttershy weakly followed. --- Celestia's hooves thudded on the dry earth as she galloped. No breaks were allowed - not if her worries were true. She ignored the sweat dripping into her eyes, whether the liquid was created from exhaustion or panic, she couldn't tell. Probably both. When she finally came to the gorge, she took some time to hesitate. Should she just barge in? Should she be subtle? Well, if she barged in, she would most likely get caught. Being subtle may take too much time. She sat down and thought. Where was she in her dream, anyway? She didn't recognize that part of the castle. Well, it was in ruins, she began, what would it look like if it was still standing? She was lost in her mind, trying to set back her memory to a thousand years ago. I know where it is! She leaped off the ground, floating in the air with her wings. Why did me and Luna make a dungeon anyway? We never used it. She let her horn spark, picturing where she wanted to appear. It crossed her mind for a split second that it was possible she would teleport right in front of one of the queen's faces, but she put it aside. That was the least of her worries right now. With a final effort put into the spell, she felt the breeze brushing past her disappear. Her eyes opened - relief flooding her when she realized she was alone in the area that had visited her dreams. However, she was uncertain in which direction she had to go. Both ways of the hall looked exactly the same; each end swallowed by darkness. I think I was going this way... she thought, taking each of her steps gently to prevent any noticeable echoing. The lack of light eventually forced her to spark a bright glow from her horn. With the provided light, the door in her dream eventually came into sight. Celestia raised a hoof in front of the rather battered wood, then hovered it there and took a deep breath. Then she swung it open. "Luna!" she gasped, skidding across the floor as she barged in. But what was in front of her made her jaw drop. "...Next time you come to save me, knock first," Luna rasped. She was grappling a chain around her neck with her two front hooves. while her two hind legs were splayed out behind her. However, Celestia wasn't fully focused on that. It was who was on the other end of the chain - who was also looking at her with wide eyes. The chain dropped out of her mouth, and she started to stalk towards her steadily. The pony leaned her head forward, leading to Celestia moving hers back. The other mare lifted one of her hooves off the ground, then the other. Once she had a good look at them, she put them down, and made eye contact with her once again. "For both of your's sake, yes, that is your counterpart from another dimension!" Luna choked, still trying to pull the metal necklace off her throat. "Who are you talking to?" The fiery alicorn turned back to her. "Both of you!" the night princess huffed. The two alicorns looked back at each other. "She's not me." They both said, raising a brow at how in sync they were. "Yeah... you're right. Only one of you would take off these chains." Celestia blinked, then let out a quiet 'oh'. Solar Flare's white pupils moved across her... 'whites'... towards Celestia, and raised a brow as she watched her horn spark. The silence in the room only lasted half a second afterwards, before a shot of light struck from Celestia's horn onto Luna's chain. The blue alicorn let out a gasp, before another beam collided with the cuff locked on her horn. With that done, Luna took over, her blue aurora shattering the last of the metal connected to her. The two sisters broke for the exit, but the door slammed shut, inches away from their noses. They tried to use their magic to yank it back open, yet it was no use. The handle was controlled by somepony else. Celestia and Luna turned to the keeper, who was snarling at them both. "You're not leaving. Try and teleport and I'll chain you back down. Try and break down the door and I'll shoot you back down." "Well... buck you!" Celestia grunted, spinning around so she could kick Solar Flare in the head. The fiery alicorn's pupils rolled around her sockets as she stumbled, following her falling to the ground. "Ignoring the fact I just bucked myself, let's go," Celestia turned back to her sister, whose horn was already glowing. Then, they disappeared in a flash. --- Twilight and Fluttershy both flew through the air without a word. The alicorn couldn't help but give the other mare a concerned look, since she was looking downwards uncertainly. If she knew how to start a conversation, she would. Instead, Twilight just looked forward again, scanning the sky for any evidence of a floating city. "...Uhh... Where exactly is Cloudsdale?" she finally asked. "Don't worry... I know where I'm going. I think," Fluttershy rasped. "Fluttershy? Are you okay? You seem kind of... distant." The pegasus glanced at her, then back ahead. "You can tell me, I won't laugh or anything." The mare finally held a gaze with her. "You promise?" Twilight nodded her head. "Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye," she said, as she used the hoof motions. Fluttershy blinked as she witnessed her knowledge to something like the Pinkie Promise, then began. "I don't know about this whole 'saving the world' thing, Twilight. I mean, I believe you and all... but that's not why I joined you. Discord's words just... got to me." Her ears drooped. "I've always seen my life as a book. I have a prologue, I have a beginning, a problem, and a solution. I just don't know when my beginning will end." Twilight stared at her. "What do you mean?" "I mean... well... my prologue was my childhood - before my cutie mark appeared. I was teased, I was bullied, I was frightened. Then I got out of it by falling from the sky. My beginning started when I found my special talent, for I found a new life on the ground. Yet that life never seems to end! Every day, ever since then, I have been controlling all the animals in that forest. I didn't want to, but my two queens told me to. If that's my beginning, what's my problem? How can anything get any worse?" The princess hesitated, unsure how to respond. Oh come on... you know all about books! "...I think most of your life has been your problem already. Solar Flare and Nightmare Moon didn't just find you straight after you finished singing-" "How did you know I sang a song?" she raised a brow. "...You'll find out. Anyway, you had a small beginning. When exactly did they tell you to do what you did?" "Err... just after this party Pinkamena thre-" she covered her mouth before she could finish. "I know about the party, don't worry." "...Oh. Well, yes, after they invaded the party, they found me. The admired my ability to speak to creatures on a different level, and they ordered me to control them the way they wanted me to." "That's when you're problem started then," Twilight said, "And, not to be vain or anything, but I think I'm your solution." Fluttershy had an unreadable expression. She just stared into oblivion. Then her mouth moved again, "We're here," she murmured. Twilight looked ahead, seeing they had reached their destination. The two landed on the cloud below them, and started their search for the blue pegasus. Yet half of Twilight's mind was drawn away from Rainbow Dash, turning to the yellow pegasus by her side. It was hard to remind herself that she shared the same personality as the Element of Kindness in her world. What if she's more complicated than I thought?