//------------------------------//
// Deliverance in Moonlight 
// Story: My Dearest Princesses 
// by Chickenscratch 
//------------------------------//

Celestia had been following the guard for a little while before the pony in front of her began to slow, looking back to check that her escorts were still there. 

“Stormwatch is in the weather factory,” the pegasus said, hovering in midair while the alicorn caught up to her. “I need to get back to my post, but you can see the factory from here.” Celestia gave a nod of understanding. 

“Thank you for your help,” she said with a smile. 

“Yeah! Thanks!” Luna added, giving another enthusiastic wave. The guard returned an awkward wave of her hoof and a slight grin before turning around and soaring back towards the streets. Celestia returned her attention to the sky ahead of her. There, in the distance was a huge structure made of clouds, intricate pillars supporting lofty domed ceilings and platforms. Off to one side was a sculpted funnel, which was steadily pumping out thick, gray clouds. Liquid rainbows could be seen pouring from various outlets both inside the factory and off the sides into the open air, where they seemed to be quickly evaporating. There were quite a few pegasi flying about, going in and out of doorways and hovering about the clouds. “Wow,” Luna said, leaning over her sister’s shoulder to get a better look. “That place is huge!” 

“It sure is,” her sister replied, beginning to fly forward once again. “Let’s get a closer look.” Upon approaching, the factory was quite a bit larger than it appeared to be. Celestia was completely in awe of the sprawling architecture, and came in for a landing on the first open patch of clouds she could find. Luna hopped off eagerly, her earlier fears of falling through the clouds completely gone. The alicorn spotted a very large building ahead with a sign above the entrance reading ‘PEGASOPOLIS WEATHER FACTORY’ in bold lettering. 

“That must be the main building,” she said to herself. “Come on, Lulu, let’s get going!” The sisters approached the building, climbing a very lofty flight of stairs to reach the plateau upon which the entrance was stationed. 

“Why do they have stairs if they just fly everywhere in the first place?” Luna complained, collapsing at the top. 

“Well sometimes they walk, I guess. The guard that showed us here was standing on the clouds.”

“Yeah well she wasn’t walking, was she?”

“No, but-”

“Standing is not the same as walking, Tia. You know it.” 

Celestia rolled her eyes, using her magic to pull her sister up to her side as she walked into what appeared to be a lobby. The ceiling was domed and had intricate carvings put into the clouds, even with some sort of dye used to color the illustrations. More pillars held up the top, and there was a very long counter at the end of the room. Several benches were situated along the walls, and there were hallways on both the left and the right that seemed to lead off to other buildings in the factory. A few pegasi stood idly in the lobby, and a couple sat behind the counter. A large pegasus mare who was standing in front of the counter talking to one of the ponies looked up when the sisters entered. She gave a dismissive wave to the pegasus she had been speaking to before approaching the sisters slowly. 

“Hello there,” she said in a deep voice. “Can I help you two with something?” Celestia looked over the pony who had addressed her. Her coat was a rich gray, and her mane an electric yellow with streaks of white beginning to show. Her cutie mark was a guard’s helmet with a bolt of lightning overlapping it in the right corner. The pegasus’s left wing hung slightly limp, a few nasty scars running across its tattered feathers. Celestia cleared her throat, raising her head a little so that she was at eye level with the mare. 

“I’m here on personal business for Rosewood the Enchanter with my younger sister,” she stated. “I’m looking for a pony named Stormwatch, I was told I could find her here.” The mare snorted, her wings fluttering slightly. 

“You say you’re looking for Stormwatch? She’s a very busy mare, you know. What makes you think you can just come in here and see her however you like?” This time, Luna found it her place to chime in. 

“Well we have something really important for her from Rosewood, so if she doesn’t want it that’s her loss!” 

“Luna!” Celestia cuffed her sister over the ear, prompting an “Ow!” from the unicorn. The pegasus mare chuckled, a slight grin showing on her muzzle. 

“My my, how outspoken you are, child,” she mused, bringing a hoof up to her mouth. “Luckily for you, Stormwatch has no pressing needs to attend to at the moment. I’m sure she could make room for the two of you in her schedule.” Luna appeared to be very pleased with herself, giving Celestia a sly look of confidence. 

“Well come on then, let’s go see her!” the unicorn replied, stamping her hoof into the clouds. “Where is she? Can you show us?” The pegasus turned a little, giving her good wing a flap. 

“You don’t have to go anywhere at all. She’s here.” At this Luna gave a look of surprise. The pegasus mare held her head a little higher, grinning. 

“So she’s behind the counter? The pink one?” Celestia couldn’t help but snort, quickly drawing a hoof over her mouth. The pegasus’s snide expression dropped to one of disappointment. 

“Lulu,” Celestia whispered in her sister’s ear, barely holding back her giggles, “the pony who’s talking to us is Stormwatch.” The unicorn filly gasped, her face flushing. She shoved herself into her sister’s side, causing the alicorn to start laughing aloud. Luna seemed thoroughly embarrassed, turning to face the wall with a huff. Stormwatch didn’t seem amused in the slightest, waiting with the same deadpan expression she had held before. Celestia managed to compose herself, returning to the more important matters at hoof. “I’m sorry,” she said, admittedly a bit shakily. “My sister sometimes isn’t the brightest filly.” Luna’s voice called out from across the room:

“I heard that!” Celestia rolled her eyes. 

“Anyways,” she continued, “Rosewood told us to bring you this.” The alicorn opened her saddle bags with her magic, levitating the book she had been entrusted with into the air, presenting it to the pegasus. The seriousness of Stormwatch’s expression faded slightly. She took the book in her hoof, and Celestia released her spell. 

“I was wondering when he would be getting this to me,” Stormwatch said, pushing the cover open with her muzzle and leafing through a few pages. Celestia glanced at the book’s contents curiously. It seemed to be about the history of cloud manufacturing. She watched for a little while longer until Stormwatch closed the book. At this point Luna had returned to her sister’s side, though she was still shooting her dirty looks when she hoped their eyes would meet. Celestia completely disregarded the unicorn’s behaviors. It was good and well that the two of them could play around like that, but not when they were doing important work. Sometimes she wished her sister could be a little more mature. 

“What do you need that book for, if you don’t mind my asking?” Celestia spoke up. The pegasus remained silent for a moment, tucking the aged tome beneath her good wing, where she held it firmly against her body. 

“There have been some technical difficulties with our cloud machines as of late,” she replied. Before she could say more, Luna interrupted. 

“Cloud machines?!” she gasped. “No way! Could we see them? Please oh please!” She shot a desperate look at her sister, and then at Stormwatch. Before Celestia could scold her, the pegasus answered. 

“I don’t see why not. It would only be fair to repay you for your delivery.” Luna cheered loudly, trotting in place for a second as she processed her excitement. Celestia heaved a noticeable sigh. It was her understanding that they were to just deliver the book and go back home- simple as that. It had never been in her interest to turn this into a sightseeing trip around the weather factory. However, she couldn’t complain as Stormwatch began to walk away down the hall, Luna trotting in tow. It wasn’t that Celestia didn’t want to see the weather factory. She had to admit, the whole establishment was indeed very interesting. There were things that happened within the factory that passed even her understandings. Any other day, she would have loved to take a tour, but not today. It was already getting rather late, and the sun should be going down soon. It would be a hassle for them to find a place to stay overnight; an experience the older filly was not looking forward to. She could only try to push the thought of these unpleasantries out of her mind as she obediently followed their guide.

Stormwatch was fairly silent as she led her visitors through the factory. Luna seemed to be making enough noise for the three of them, asking questions that were hardly ever answered and gawking at the various contraptions they passed. Celestia couldn’t help but smile. Even if her sister did get a bit overwhelming at times, she still loved her. It wasn’t long before the three ponies emerged into a large outdoor courtyard. Off to one side a huge machine was churning out thick, heavy clouds at a slow pace. There were pegasi flying around everywhere, moving the clouds around and grouping similarly shaped ones together. 

At another side of the courtyard a rainbow colored river was flowing, its source seemingly from somewhere else in the factory. The rainbow ended in a large pool, where the colors mixed together to form a thick black. There were pegasi flying overhead with long poles stirring the dark liquid around, making sure all of the colors were mixed together properly. Some of the pegasi took bucketfuls of the black dye, flying it up to the clouds and pouring the color into them, causing the clouds to turn grey in color. A few workers stood on the ground idly chatting, and perked up when they saw Stormwatch enter the yard. They approached her eagerly. 

“Evening, ma’am,” one of the workers spoke up, glancing at Celestia and Luna for a moment. Her expression turned to one of confusion more than anything else, and she turned back to the pegasus, though her eyes still flitted back to the sisters off and on. Luna didn’t seem to notice, her mouth agape as she watched the clouds being trafficked about in the sky. 

“Evening,” Stormwatch replied. “I trust the stormclouds are coming along well?” 

“Just as planned.” The pegasus motioned to a particularly large group of clouds with a wing. The mass was a very deep grey, and the cloud was churning in on itself slightly. “The rainstorm for Earthton is coming along quite nicely. The cloud mass should be formed before the night is through.” 

“Excellent.” The older pegasus looked over her shoulder at Luna. The unicorn had shifted her attention to the darkening clouds. She seemed to be absolutely entranced by everything she laid her eyes on. 

“This…” Luna said quietly, her voice slowly building in volume, “is so COOL!!” She bounced around the courtyard, a twitter of activity. The workers seemed a little distracted by this sudden interruption, but continued on with their tasks. 

“Don’t worry about her,” Stormwatch told the workers, “she won’t cause you any trouble.” She then turned to Celestia. “Thank you for bringing this book to me, young one. It will help greatly in streamlining our cloud production processes.”

“Oh, it’s no trouble!” Celestia laughed a little nervously, brushing her made aside. “I’m glad I could help.” The alicorn turned her eyes to the sun as it began to lower in the sky. The end to another day had come. She felt a deep sense of satisfaction swell up inside of her as she watched it fall lower and lower into the sky, her wing brushing gently against her Talent Brand. She still had no idea as to what her connection was with the sun, or why she felt the way she did when she saw it rise and set each day. There was something about it that always comforted her. It was bright, hot… hot? Celestia was suddenly aware of the increasing temperature and looked to the sky nervously. 

The sun wasn’t setting the way it should have been. The great star wobbled left and right, and it was suddenly very clear to the alicorn what was happening. 

“They’re losing control of the sun,” she murmured, her eyes growing wide. 

“What was that?” Stormwatch perked up her ears, leaning in a little closer to Celestia. When she received no response she followed the filly’s line of sight. The pegasus gasped, and the two of them watched as the sun teetered back and forth in the sky. The workers had begun to catch on that something was awry, and were looking around nervously, a murmur of fear resounding through the courtyard. Luna came trotting back to her sister quickly. 

“Tia, look!” she said urgently. “You see it, don’t you?” 

“I see it alright,” the alicorn replied grimly, her wings opening defensively. The unicorn shook her sister with her forehooves. 

“Right, so why aren’t you helping them?” Celestia looked down at Luna with horror, stepping back. 

“You mean use my magic?!” The eldest sister shook her head. 

“What?! Why not?”

“Don’t you remember what happened last times I used my magic for something like that?” Celestia’s voice had become hushed, her face close to her sister. “I almost got both of us hurt, I sent practically everypony everywhere into a panic!” She looked desperately back to the sky, where the sun was wobbling severely. “My magic isn’t strong enough… if I used it here who knows what sort of bad things might happen?” Luna looked at her sister, eyes wide. 

“Who knows what might happen if you DON’T use it?” she protested. Before the argument could continue, the sun gave a huge jolt, dropping forward in the sky. Celestia gasped, faltering backward as she watched. 

“They dropped it!” She couldn’t tear her eyes away, shaking her head. “It’s too close to the surface, it’s going to heat up the air!” The workers were flying around frantically, hooves grasping at the clouds as they struggled to recover their day’s work. The clouds were slowly beginning to lose their shape, droplets of water beginning to rain down on the courtyard. Stormwatch was barking out orders left and right, her voice ringing louder than the panicked throngs of her workers. She turned to Celestia. 

“You!” she snapped, waving a hoof. “Don’t just stand here, help them! The clouds are losing their shapes, we need to gather them before we lose them!” Celestia managed to look away from the sun, focusing instead on the pegasus before her. Stormwatch looked desperate, frustrated. She had dropped the book to the ground, her wings flared. The damaged wing on her left side was halfway opened, and Celestia could see the scars that ran deep through its entirety. Huge chunks of feather were missing, and it was clear that Stormwatch was no longer capable of flying herself. Determination coursed through the alicorn’s body.

“I won’t let you down, ma’am.” Celestia shed her saddlebags in one quick movement, taking off without a second thought. She veered high into the air, getting an overhead view of the chaos that was unfolding around her. The workers had become like a swarm of bees, swerving back and forth between the clouds. Very few struggled with the smaller ones, which all but melted away in their hooves. Most of the pegasi were clustered around the Earthton rainstorm, which had become violent and wild. Pegasi were being thrown from it left and right, spinning out and crashing into pillars or skidding across the courtyard floor. 

Celestia swooped down into the fray, maneuvering around the workers as they desperately tried to contain the stormclouds. She noticed a pony dropping to the ground and quickly used her magic to stop him mid air. The pegasus flailed his legs about, and Celestia set him on the ground before releasing him. She soon began to take charge, catching ponies as they were tossed about and safely breaking their falls. As soon as the workers were set down they flew back up again, keeping the cycle of mayhem at work. 

Down on the ground Luna watched helplessly, her body tensed up as she watched the battle in the sky between the pegasi and the clouds. Stormwatch stood beside her, teeth clenched tightly. Celestia glanced down at her sister, trying to make sure she was alright. As her head was turned a pegasus smashed into her, and the two of them were sent spiraling to the ground. 

“Tia, no!!” Luna screamed out her sister’s name as she bolted across the courtyard to the side of the rainbow pool where the alicorn had landed. Celestia weakly tried to pull herself from beneath the pegasus atop her, who had blacked out. She eventually collapsed, unable to free herself. Without her catching the ponies that were spinning out, workers began crashing to the ground, crying out in pain from the impact. It had begun to get even warmer still; it was clear that the unicorns in charge of the sun still hadn’t been able to recover their mistake. “Sis, come on, get up get up!” Luna pulled at her sister with her magic, eventually sliding her out from beneath the worker. Celestia didn’t make a move, her body heaving as she struggled for breath. Rainwater was pouring down from the stormclouds, completely drenching the entire courtyard.

“You need to use your magic!” Luna yelled through the downpour, blinking away the raindrops that were rolling into her eyes. “Fix it, please! Please!!” 

“I can’t!” Celestia forced out. “I’m not strong enough!” 

“Yes you are!” Luna stamped her hoof, the distress in her voice rising. Her expression was slowly turning from fear to anger. “Why won’t you just do it?!” A pegasus came hurtling out of the air, crashing to the ground and sliding right into Luna. The unicorn filly shrieked, losing her balance and falling backwards into the pit of black dye. 

“Luna!!!” Celestia reached out with her hoof, grasping her sister rightly. The unicorn’s rump was all that had made it into the vat, and the alicorn heaved her back to safety. Luna collapsed to her knees, her entire flank and tail splattered with inky black dye. She looked up at the sky with an anger that Celestia had never before seen in her life. She felt her wings flare out, her heart catching in her throat. Truthfully, in this very moment, she was absolutely terrified of her sister. Luna stood, sparks of magic flying from the tip of her horn and ricocheting off the ground. Her eyes were locked on the sun, unblinking, even as her soaking hair was plastered against her face. 

“If you won’t do it, I will!!” With a deafening yell, Luna slammed her hooves to the ground, causing it to shake. There was a blinding flash of light, and Celestia coiled up on the ground, her wings snapping over her face. She didn’t dare open her eyes, ears pulled back as she felt the courtyard shake. When the tremors stopped she peered out, and was dumbstruck by what she saw. 

Luna was floating freely in the air, magic coursing from her horn and pulsing through the atmosphere. The filly’s eyes were wide open, but only light shone through them, her pupils obscured in their glow. Tears streamed freely down her cheeks, her jaw tightly clenched. As Celestia stared at her sister, she saw the sky turn dark, the sun completely disappearing from view. Soon all of the ponies in the yard were staring up at the sky, completely silent, not daring to utter a word. In the darkness the crescent moon rose higher and higher, and the stars flickered into view around it. Luna’s body began to relax, and she closed her eyes. There was a huge pulse of energy and light following, knocking every pony backwards. The pillars and walls in the surrounding area were immediately vaporized, not even a tuft of cloud left over. Celestia struggled back up, scrambling to her hooves as she saw her sister lower gently to the ground. The alicorn rushed to her side, her muzzle colliding with her sister’s face as she wrapped her forelegs around her small body. Celestia held her close, her wings wrapping around Luna to shield her from any further harm. She found herself crying, hot tears streaming down her face. 

By the light of the moon, the pegasi slowly circled around the two sisters, watching in silence as the eldest cradled her sibling, rocking gently as she sobbed. There was a slight movement from Luna, and Celestia stopped rocking, pulling her head back as her tears dripped from her chin. Luna’s eyes opened slowly, and she smiled gently when she saw her sister’s face. 

“Tia, look,” she said, raising a hoof to point at the moon. “I did it.” Celestia felt more tears well up in her eyes and she laughed, shaking her head as her heart was poured out for all to see. 

“You did, Lulu,” she managed to say, pressing her face close to her sister’s. “You really, really did.” They sat together like this for a while, neither daring to pull away from the other. None of the workers had the words to tell them otherwise. They were all at a loss for what to say, or even do. They just stood there, watching in silence. Here before them was a power beyond their comprehension. A force, be it magic or nature, that before now had never even been conceived in their wildest dreams. 

Luna was the one to end the embrace. She gently pushed against her sister’s chest, looking to Celestia with tired eyes. The eldest sister complied without a word, pulling her wings back to her side and gingerly removing her forelegs from Luna. The blue filly stepped back and looked up to the sky, a grin spreading across her face. Two feathered wings unfolded at her sides, and Celestia gasped. 

“No way…” she said, jumping to her hooves. “Lulu, look! You- you’ve got wings!” Luna looked over her shoulder, eyes widening. 

“Oh my gosh!” she gasped, beginning to turn in circles as she tried to get a better look. “Oh my gosh oh my gosh oh my gosh!!!” Luna stopped dead for a moment, her eyes somehow growing even wider. “Tia look, look! I have my Brand!” Surely enough, through the pitch black stain on Luna’s flank the image of a pure white crescent moon shone brightly. The filly squealed in delight, immediately tackling her sister in a tight embrace, causing the both of them to fall to the ground. “I have my Talent Brand! Oh Tia, I have my Talent Brand!!!” The sisters could only squeal and giggle as they hugged each other tightly. Through all of the fear and agony, a joy unlike any other had come. They were both alright, and neither filly had ever felt so alive as she did that night, cradling the other tightly as she laughed, tears of relief and joy wetting her cheeks.