“You know, when you said ‘next week’ this isn’t what I had in mind.” Eye twitching, Twilight could barely contain her disbelief as a myriad of Celestias began to speak over the top of each other. Most of the conversation seemed to stem from the smallest pony, a filly who was demanding their attention with a puffed out chest, and a booming voice.
“I. DEMAAAAND. COOKIEEEES!” The older Celestias were sitting back, watching with a quiet chuckle. With no discernible way to tell them apart, Twilight wondered which one was from her Era. It was definitely not the one with a billowing black mane that was speaking about ‘doom’ and ‘death’.
“You heard the lady! More cookies!” Starswirl slammed the door open with a hoof, and the ceiling began to rain with cookies. The vast majority of the Celestias chuckled, taking a bite out of the cookies, the black maned one said something about cholesterol death. Squeeing, the filly flitted about the room, trying to eat as many as she could before it ended. Feeling slightly ignored, Twilight waited there, tail swishing.
“Right, so anyone from further than the Modern Equestria era?” Quite a few Celestias raise their hoof. Starswirl motions to Twilight.
“Right then, how’d this Twilight here solve that whole ‘Wendigo that’s apparently my great something or other granddaughter’ bissiness.” Waving a hoof dismissively, he begins to hand out drinks. Numbly, Twilight takes it. They all begin to laugh, and a younger looking one speaks up.
“You’re going to love this. Get THIS, she just hugs her.” Throwing her arms up, the Celestia begins to giggle, and the older looking ones roll their eyes.
“I never should have used that youth serum,” groans one, rubbing her temple.
“Preaching to the choir,” soothes one, patting her back. Which back? Twilight had lost count of who was patting whose back by this point.
“Well there you go, hug the Wendigo, don’t be slow, get on my flow.” Having realised halfway through he was rhyming, Starswirl decided to follow it to the end. Twilight rises, and shakes her head. “Uh, right, I should get out of your hair.”
Starswirl chuckles, “Nonsense, I just ordered pizza!” There’s a knock at the door, and a Celestia walks in, levitating in over 30 pizzas. Bewildered, Twilight looks down to her slice, and shakes her head, smiling despite her complete lack of understanding.
“Got any extra cloves?”
Returning to the present with a large food bulge, Twilight groaned, holding her stomach.
“Ugh... I should have never challenged her to that food competition.” She looks around, not seeing Luna, and heads outside. The world was dressed in snow and a large sphere of ice stood in the centre of Ponyville.
“Ooops, I overshot.” Charging the spell, Twilight tries again.
“Ah, thou return.” Luna bows her head in greeting, and they head outside into the snowstorm.
“Yep, I’m booked for a day too, apparently I’m a regular visitor.” Blinking, she shook her head in dismay. Luna nodded.
“Ah yes, I too know that feeling. It is quite...bewildering hearing current problems being talked about with such...nonchalance. I remember when my transformation into Nightmare Moon became a topic. When I asked if it was avoidable, they merely laughed and replied ‘you can try, but you will ultimately fail’.” She smiles sadly, “They were right.”
“Honestly, this entire thing is hurting my head slightly, but I got to meet Staaaaarswirlll~” Dancing briefly in the snow as they walk, Twilight almost forgets the fact there was a Wendigo howling in front of them. Luna looks up, and clears her throat.
“Mmmn yes, but we should probably focus on the problem at hand, I take it you found a solution?” Luna waits expectantly.
“I did! But I need to get close to her to pull it off.” Twilight jumps into the air, taking off. Following Luna nods.
“I will guard you then.” The winds that were battering them to and fro faded into a slight breeze as Luna worked her magic, and then began to inch closer.
The ghostly form of a Wendigo danced around the eye of the storm, howling as it circled, keeping the storm spreading further and further. It battered against the barrier, howling in anger that any would dare try to keep it out.
“Sunset Swirl!” Twilight watches as Luna’s magic began to fail, and struggled to remain aloft, fighting for every inch as she tries to get closer to the Wendigo. The Wendigo focused on her, and the winds grew stronger, beginning to push her away. The howling cries from it were deafening, but Twilight continued on.
“You have every right to be angry! But you need to let go!” Twilight flipped over, slipping further away from her target. The Wendigo’s shrill cries were all Twilight could hear.
“Yes, she used you, but have you really forgotten what it means to be a pony? Have you forgotten the friendship she shared?” Her wings began to freeze over, and she saw movement behind her as Luna fell, unable to keep herself aloft. Twilight could feel herself loosing height, and she tried one final time to reach Nopony.
“Don’t become just a nopony! Don’t become just a Wendigo! You are more than that! And you will be remembered as more! Not her, YOU!” Legs flailing, her wings locked up, and she began to plummet. Gritting her teeth, she tried to use a heating spell to unfreeze them. Wings unfurling once more, she bulleted upwards.
“DON’T BE A NOPONY! BE A SOMEPONY!” Rocketing forward as fast as she could, Twilight closed her eyes as the snow blinded her, opening her hooves wide as she desperately tried to reach Sunset Swirl.
Something ice cold slides into her grip, unmoving. Opening her eyes, Twilight looks down as her entire body begins to turn the same ghostly blue-white as the Wendigo she was holding. She ignored that, and looked into the Wendigo’s eyes, giving a smile, and hugging her tighter.
“You aren’t a Nopony. Noponies don’t cry.” It'd been barely noticeable, but there were the unmistakable marks of tears rolling down the Wendigo’s face, seeming to be the very source of the icy blizzard that was currently freezing her very soul. Twilight shivered as her body began to not respond, but held on.
“I am...somepony...” The howling winds began to slow, and then cease, and the two began to plummet down. Wings unfurling with intense pain, Twilight winced, but managed to slow their fall. Rolling onto her back, she protected Sunset from the fall, and then opened one eye, blinking away her blindness to see a pale, golden silhouette of a statue she had seen in the Canterlot Gardens.
“I am....somepony.” The form shimmers, and then floats upward, fading into twinkling lights.