The Tale of Two Sisters

by Underwood

Chapter 16: Temple of the Golden Sun

Celestia groaned, her head throbbing as she roused from her stupor.

“Oh thank the Six, you're alright!” Luna rushed to her sister's side to cradle her head, slowed by her shackles. “I was so worried you would never wake up!”

As tears welled in the alicorn's eyes, Celestia strained to sit up, barely able to hear over the rhythmic pounding in her ears. Whoever had gifted her with that merciless kick to the face was probably the same one who had left them here; but where was here, exactly? She swept the room with one eye, seeing nothing but shadow and dark-purple blocks lining the walls, illuminated from a single circular hole high above them. If they had been thrown into this pit, it was a miracle they hadn't broken their necks on impact—not that such a thing was a concern of their captors, she was sure.

“Where are we?” she asked, already knowing the response.

“I have no idea. I awoke just as we were being thrown in here by two ponies. I managed to soften our fall, but when you wouldn't wake up, I was so- so-” She sniffed, trying to hold back the tears as her whole body trembled.

Celestia turned—migraine still in full effect—to embrace her sister tightly. The two had often been at each others' throats while living together, stifled by monotony and confinement, but they were still sisters, and they still loved each other deeply, even if it wasn't said aloud as often as it should.

“It's okay, we'll get out of here,” she cooed over her sister's shoulder.

“I know, I was just so-” she sniffed again “-so scared without you.”

“You'll never be without me, Luna. Even if I leave for a bit, I always return, don't I?”

Able to see behind her younger sister as she nodded, Celestia spotted the heavy ball and chain attached to her rear ankle. “Did they put that on you?”

Releasing the embrace, Luna looked back at the weight, wiping her eyes. “Must have. I guess because of my wings.”

Celestia looked down at her own unburdened hooves, concurring. “Let's get out of here.”

Both sisters stood, followed by a blast of yellow magic that shattered the crude, iron anklet with minimal effort. Clearly whoever these ruffians were had little experience with even basic unicorn magic, let alone that of a princess. Looking around, there seemed to be only one way out of this pit: the singular hole above that they had entered though. Swallowing her pride, Celestia knew what had to be done.

“Could you-” She paused, sighing. “Could you fly us out of here? I don't want to teleport with this headache.”

“Are- Are you sure? I... don't even know if I can. I've never tried before.” She looked back and unfurled her wings, having not yet considered their practicality. Flying in real life would be very different than in her dreams, and she was being expected to carry the weight of another, larger pony on her maiden voyage?

“Well, you've got time to practice.” The pink-maned pony gently slid back to the floor, closing her eyes to ease the pain. “I doubt they'll be checking in on us.”

“W- What if I take too long and they lock us in here?”

“Magic, Luna. We have magic.”

“R-Right.” She swallowed, looking back at her wings once more, giving them a tentative flap. This couldn't be too hard, right? Pegasus foals learn to fly from a very young age, according to that old book Celestia had brought back from one of her expeditions, so she should be able to pick it up quickly. She wasn't a filly anymore; plus she was a Princess, and an alicorn! She could do this!

An hour or so passed as Luna repeatedly attempted to gain some altitude beneath her wings, kicking up plumes of dust and dirt with every beat. As the elder sister's headache gradually subsided, hunger pangs began to replace their concerns, having barely satiated themselves in the jungle before being thrown in here.

“No, you're not flapping both wings in unison,” Celestia scolded, her legs crossed on the cold stone floor. “Your right wing is a few degrees off every time.”

“Just wait until you have to learn to use new limbs, and we'll see how well you do,” Luna growled back, attempting to compensate based on the advice. After a few more beats, she gave up, dropping to her backside as she took her first break since startling. “It's impossible! It's like I'm too heavy. Maybe there's not enough air down here?”

“I'm not sure it works that way—but I've not actually read any books on pegasus aerodynamics, only the core concept, so...” She sighed, stretching out her aching legs as she rose to her hooves. “How about I lift you with my magic, just so we can get an idea of where we are, to begin with.”

Luna snorted, feeling as though her failure was assumed. “I suppose. Can you just... give me a minute?”

“Come on, all you've been doing is waving your feathers about. You won't even be doing most of the work here.”

Luna groaned, rolling her eyes and she forced herself back up. Celestia's golden aura spread across the alicorn's outstretched wings, behaving almost as an updraught. With a few flaps she finally found herself in the air, albeit flailing and spinning uncontrollably, panic-galloping as if to find some traction.

“Luna! Stop moving so much, you're making this harder!”

“S-Sorry. I'm not used to being off the ground, at least not while awake.”

Taking a few deep breaths, the younger sister calmed her appendages and focused on the source of light in the ceiling, beating her wings more like boat paddles than actual flying to reach her goal. With a few broad strokes, her small, horned head popped from the lip of the pit to scout the foreign area above. It was an entirely unadorned room, bar from two primitive wooden sconces on either wall, lighting the surrounding sandstone blocks with a twitching flame. To her right was a trapezoid archway leading to a hallway, while to her left stood three-or-so metal-barred cells laid into the wall. No doubt about it, this was a prison, or worse, a dungeon. Swallowing her fear, though grateful there had been nopony here to greet her, Luna pushed herself back into the pit with her wings, fumbling for a moment before securing all four hooves on the ground.

“So?”

“Well, it's indeed as bad as we thought. I didn't see any guards, though.” She rubbed her foreleg insecurely, almost feeling safer in the unlit pit.

“Do you think you can carry me up now? I'll use my magic again—it's safer than risking a blind teleport.”

“I can try.”

The sisters awkwardly grappled for a moment, trying to find the best position for the manoeuvre. With the sisters' forelegs intertwined and an aura of magic enveloping Luna's wings again, the alicorn pushed off from the hard floor, forced to fight harder against gravity this time. With the mutually strained effort of Celestia's magic and Luna's flailing, the two slowly rose to the ceiling and breached the aperture, shifting over just enough to collapse safely beside the edge.

“That was certainly nothing like my dreams,” the young alicorn panted.

“If I thought something like this could happen, I would have practised levitating myself back at home.” The elder sister stood, brushing the dirt off her legs before looking around at their spartan surroundings. “I suppose it was good timing that you got those things.”

Luna pushed herself up, still exhausted from all the forced flying practice. “You could at least pretend to be happy for me. You know you'll get your own, too.”

The unicorn sneered as both snuck to the sides of the archway, peering around the corners to check for guards.

“Why do you think they foalnapped us?” Luna whispered, wary of being spotted.

“No clue. I doubt they know who we are, so it's unlikely we were targeted—even if they did, it's not like there's nopony left to ransom us to.”

“Ransom?!”

“Well we are princesses, that's just what ponies do,” Celestia stated matter-of-factly, lowering her voice further. “In books, at least.”

The sisters slid back inside the room, confident that they had a few minutes to recoup before continuing on, slumping against the inside walls of the doorway. Finally able to observe Luna in the comparatively well-lit room, Celestia snuck a peek at her sister's new alicorn form, no longer blinded by thirst or jealousy. Her wings were indeed impressive, even if she didn't know how to use them yet, but that cutie mark...

“What even is that?”

“W-What?” Luna turned to find her sister staring at her flank, causing her cheeks to redden.

“Your cutie mark. It's- It's just a splodge.”

Luna twisted to look at her recently marked flank, having been so blinded by the excitement of getting anything that she hadn't really taken in what it was. Despite the nearby torchlight directly illuminating her side, it was still difficult to make out her own mark's shape. Rather than the clean and identifiable images shown in the 'Getting to Know Your Body' book she had once read, her cutie mark looked more like she had sat in a puddle of ink.

“I- I don't know. What is it?”

“Whatever, we'll figure it out later. We should focus on getting out of here first.”

“Right...”

Growing up in a time-bubble with her mentor, Luna had been raised with the singular aim to fulfil her purpose in life: become an alicorn, receive her cutie mark, and save Equestria from Discord's tyranny. Yet here she sat with two-thirds of that journey already complete, feeling less fulfilled than she had before achieving anything. She had wings that didn't work, a cutie mark that didn't mean anything, and had lost the hope that came with an exciting and unknown future. Still, her sister was right; they had to focus on getting out of this situation and saving everypony else before she had time to think about herself.

“Do you know where we are?” she continued after her moment of thought.

“No, but if we were dragged here, we can't be too far from the desert. It's strange, but something about this place seems familiar, like I have an idea of what to expect.”

“Why would this be familiar to you?” Luna asked, before taking a snider tone. “Was it in a Summer Twinkle book?”

Celestia's eyes widened, thinking back to her favourite book of the series, 'The Temple of the Golden Sun'. Without speaking a word, she took to her hooves and breached the archway, leaving Luna to desperately scrabble after her. Barely taking the time to check both directions for guards, the white unicorn had already rounded the right corner and was trotting down the featureless, sandstone hallway with an unnerving confidence.

“Where are you going?!” her sister hissed from behind.

“I've got a hunch.”

After a short period of walking, the passageway hit a left-turn and opened into an open, circular room lined with seven large monoscenic carvings. The panels depicted a variety of feats or legends, some repeated, surrounding a small pool in the centre of the room, within which sat a content baby-crocodile-looking creature. Compared to the prison and its surrounding corridors, this room was lavishly ornate, brimming with colour and gold inlay.

“Incredible...” Celestia whispered.

“Wow. It's beautiful!”

“No, this- this is just like one of the rooms in the story!”

“What?” Luna asked dryly, not believing where this was going.

“In 'Summer Twinkle and The Temple of the Golden Sun'. This is just like the treasure room where the Seven-Sided Chest of Chicomoztoc was supposed to be!”

“I... think you might have hit your head harder than we thought. Summer Twinkle is a fictional character—you sound insane right now.”

“No way. The architecture, the angular designs, the language he spoke...” The elder sister moved further into the room to absorb its ancient art. “It has to be the Azteca tribe, it has to be. Everything is just how I imagined it!”

“No, this is nuts! Are you saying that Summer Twinkle is real? They're just books!”

Seeming to be ignored by her sister, Luna reluctantly ventured further into the glistening room, drawn to one relief in particular. The stone panel towered over her, at least twice her height, featuring a lone mare with wings and a horn rearing up against a backdrop of stars. Something about this image stirred a coldness within her, conjuring unfamiliar and unsettling feelings, like the half-forgotten memory of a dream—which was strange, because she usually remembered her dreams with as much clarity as the waking world. Perhaps she was simply remembering the same book as her sister...

“I have left my mark on you.”

“What?” Luna turned to her sister, a little startled at how close the voice was.

“What?” Celestia looked back, standing almost on the other side of the room.

“I... thought you said something.”

“Nope.” She turned back to the carving of a pegasus and griffon appearing to duel in mid-air. As a novel, it had seemed like an obvious allusion to the Great Griffon War, which had occurred not long before its publication, but as a real-life carving... This temple was way older than the war, maybe even older than Canterlot, so what did this image mean? Was it... prophetic?

“I- I don't like it in here. Let's head back.” Luna had already begun to back out of the room, keeping a wary eye on the engraved alicorn.

“I suppose we shouldn't waste too much time... Shame, I would love to learn more about these ponies—you know, if they weren't trying to kill us or whatever.” The elder unicorn sighed, circling back to the entrance. “Oh hey, this one kinda looks like you.”

“N-No it doesn't.”

Celestia chuckled, passing her jittery sister. Re-entering the corridor and reaching the turn back to the prison, Celestia held out her leg as she heard hooves from the other end, backing up behind the corner. Perhaps guards were coming to check on them after all?

“Ika achihton nacayotia ako, ma iuh kichiua ilhuilti tlamanalistin nik Cihuātlahtoāni,” one voice echoed down the corridor.

“What are they saying?” Luna whispered.

“Why would I know? I don't speak Aztecan,” she hissed back, daring to peek around the edge while silently cursing Starswirl for not having a dictionary on this long-dead language in his collection.

Two tribal-looking terrans casually made their way down the corridor and into the prison room, each carrying a bundle wrapped in leaves under one leg, and a spear in the other. Barely ten seconds later they re-emerged without the parcels, seeming to continue on with their routine and unaware of the escaped prisoners.

“¿Yeika, kampa kateh tiyaotlapia axkan?” the same one asked as they retraced their steps.

“Nomokuepa nik tlatlacualtia in Cipactli. Amo ouel nikimama omeixtin tlapalolli sepa, manel, yeika nicencui kuitlapanpan nik in petlacalco,” the other replied as they rounded the furthest corner.

“Okay, they're gone. I think they might have actually dropped food into the hole for us.”

“Really? Maybe they're not so bad after all,” Luna mused.

Taking a moment to shoot her sister a glare, Celestia led the pair back down the hall and dipped back into the cell room.

“What are we doing back in here?” the younger sister hissed.

“I'm hungry, aren't you? Might as well make use of the meals they provided.”

Walking over to the rim of the pit, the unicorn squinted into the darkness, barely able to make out the two green packages in the cast light. Closing her eyes, she teleported both parcels back up to their level with a flash of magic. Though crude in design, each appeared to be two bent palm leaves held together with thin vines, the corners of which revealed various berries and flora within.

“What if they poisoned it?!”

“They already had us in custody—poisoning wouldn't make sense. If they wanted us dead, they would have left us to starve, or not bring us back at all.”

Luna gulped, somewhat upset by the incredible spike in danger their lives had taken.

“Come on, eat up.” Celestia kicked a parcel over to her sister before sitting down to bite the twine on her own.

Reluctantly, Luna mirrored her sister, though ultimately enjoyed the package of fruits and veggies. Compared to the bland taste of hay, oats, and mushrooms back at their house, this was a relatively exotic platter. Leaving nothing but the tough vines behind, the two shared a brief respite before returning to the archway, checking that the immediate path was clear before continuing on to the left. After a few turns, crossroads, and passing several utilitarian rooms, the pair arrived at yet another identical crossroad within this seemingly endless temple of beige slabs.

“Now where?” Luna moaned, her hooves already aching from walking on the unforgiving stone slabs.

“I don't know,” her sister snapped back in a hushed voice. “It's not like the book had a schematic of the entire temple!”

The hoofsteps of another patrol echoed down the passage to the right, prompting the pair to back up around the corner again.

“¿Ayi tihualneci in patolli tlachtli in yalhua? In iluikako tlatkitl okatkah huelmanca,” a new voice asked, female this time.

“Kem, manel netlatlaniliztli notlaolli tlalpan tlatkitl,” their partner groaned as they passed the turning.

“We've been lucky not to run into any of them so far,” the elder sister whispered, turning back from peering around the corner to see a lone guard staring right at them from the path ahead—his approach seemingly masked by the noise of the others. The two stared at one another in confused silence for a brief moment.

“¡Nahuallachiani!” the bewildered guard screamed, obviously alerting others to their presence as she bore her spear.

“Run!” Celestia yelled, tensing every muscle in her body.

“Where?!”

“I don't know!”

As the olive-hued Azteca galloped towards them, spear aimed forward, Celestia darted down the right passageway, hoping there was an exit in the direction the other guards had come from, quickly followed by Luna and the irate mare behind them. Reaching the T-junction, Celestia turned the corner just as the previous guards returned upon hearing the alert, leaving them startled just long enough for Luna to pass before they also joined the hunt. Galloping as fast as their legs could carry them, the elder sister noticed that the walls around them were no longer as barren as those by the prison, instead now lined with a green, geometric snake-like design—a sure sign that they were heading towards a more important area, and hopefully the exit. The Princesses galloped on, passing multiple turnings and rooms, followed by an increasing retinue of angry Aztecas, yelling and throwing the occasional spear, some of which hit the shield-bubble Luna had cast around herself. With all the kerfuffle they were causing, more tribesponies were appearing ahead of them, readying to intercept the duo, which Celestia had to disable with a swift blast of her horn. Surely this couldn't last much longer, could it? How big was this temple?!

Finally, after minutes of running for their lives and deflecting attacks, the corridor ended at a large archway and led into a huge, ornately decorated hall. Breaching the new area, Celestia was forced to skid to a halt as a semi-circle of armed guards blocked their progress into the corridor ahead, causing Luna to ram into her sister's backside as the two came to a stop. Their exhausted pursuers staggered into the grand hall after them, finishing the circle that now blocked their retreat.

“Now what?!” Luna yelped, surrounded by encroaching assailants.

Celestia looked around the room they now found themselves in, trying to formulate a plan of action. Its ceiling was over four times the height of the hallways they had just come from, and its length was of equal scale, with slanted walls featuring more painted carvings and gold inlay, further accentuating its grand scale. However, unlike the simple and repeated depictions they had just seen in the treasure room, these designs featured grand battles, scenes of worship, and seemed to suggest a narrative along the full length of the vast hall. Though foreign, something about this imagery jogged faint memories of Canterlot Palace from her foalhood; the sense of awe she felt from the staggering height and length of her father's throne room, painted all the colours of the rainbow by the rows of stained glass windows on either side, each depicting moments of their nation's history. That could surely only mean one thing...

Turning to her left, Celestia spotted what she had feared: a grand throne some forty hooves away, positioned high atop its own miniature pyramid—likely matching the facade of this one—and requiring its own set of stairs to reach the solid-stone chair upon which sat an ornately dressed green terran. She looked down upon them with a cold indifference that immediately reminded Celestia of the darker days around her father. Of all the places they could have ended up, of course it would be directly in front of the Azteca leader, the most guarded spot in the temple.

“We need to get out of here, now,” Celestia warned in a hushed voice, her tone deathly serious.

“¿Tleka pia otianilitia inin zanhuitz achto neuatl?” the throned mare asked calmly, her voice as rich as honey and as smooth as butter, amplified from her high position by design.

One of the larger guards with intricate facial designs approached the throne and took a knee. “Tlatlacolquixtia, Cihuātlahtoāni Chicomecōātl. Titlatlacoakeh in huecatlaca nichololistli in tetlallancaltzacualoyan. Cazamo amo panoa oksepa.”

“Look- We don't want any trouble,” Celestia pled to the throned mare, not knowing what else to do. “My sister and I simply sought refuge in your forest from the harshness of the desert. We meant no disrespect-”

“And yet here you are; in my jungle, in my temple,” the Azteca leader replied, to the sisters' shock. She stood from her seat, waiting as two of her followers brought up a large gold plate on their backs, which she mounted and rode down to ground level.

“She speaks Ponish?” Luna hissed, cowering behind her sister's taller form.

“You are not of this place,” the leader continued, still standing upon the backs of her servants as they brought her closer, looming over the circle of her guards that surrounded the sisters. “Tell me: who sent you?”

“'Sent us'? N-Nopony sent us,” the elder Princess begged. “We were teleported into the desert against our will, and only barely made it your realm for the food and water that we desperately needed to live! The next thing we knew, your guards had-”

“A likely story,” she snapped. Despite her silken voice, her slightest breath seemed to command the attention of all around her, even outsiders. As her unusual transport arrived at the circle of ponies, more of her features became visible to the sisters, most noticeably her piercing blue eyes and their serpent-like slits. “Like all outsiders, you seek to steal my bounty.”

“No! We...” Celestia trailed off, not wanting to reveal their true identities as it would surely paint a greater target on their heads, but unsure of how else to convince this powerful matriarch of their honest intentions.

“Your only value was as tribute—given the proper plumping—but now you have forfeited that honour. You shall fall here to my guards' spears and become food for my pets.” Her face remained dispassionate; those bright, blue eyes as cold and uncaring as ice-water. “¡Quitlapialli!”

The guards surrounding the sisters tightened their circle, the tips of their spears drawing dangerously close.

“Not so fast, Chicomecōātl!” a new voice rang out from the opposite end of the hall, its source silhouetted by light from what must be the entrance to the temple.

“That voice-” the Azteca Queen scowled, showing the first hint of emotion since their arrival. “So, you return to defile my sacred grounds once again, ichtequini.”

“The only thing defiling these grounds is your barbaric ways, Serpent Queen.” The unknown addresser approached, drawing the aim of the closer guards. “I think I've got something of yours.”

Now further into the torchlight of the throne room, Celestia's eyes widened as the figure drew closer, revealing her features. She was a middle-aged unicorn with a sandy coat and golden hair, wearing the explorer's uniform and pith helmet that made Summer Twinkle's character instantly recognisable. It- It couldn't be, surely? As the Princesses' jaws dropped, the unlikely arrival turned her head, pulling a small object from her saddlebag with sparkling green magic.

“The Seven-Sided Chest!” the Queen hissed. “You dare return only to flaunt what you have stolen?”

“Stole back, actually.” The unicorn took another step closer, now easily within distance of the closest spears. “I'm here to put it back where it belongs, so let those fillies go.”

“I knew they were your spies. You invade my land and demand my lenience? I shall make an example of both you and your conspirators!”

“We're-”

“I had a feeling you might say that,” the beige unicorn spoke over Celestia, tipping her helmet with a smirk. “Catch!” With a flick of her jade magic, she flung the small box into the air, drawing the horrified attention of all in the room.

“¡In kalotl!” the Aztecan ruler yelped in her native tongue.

With the guards thoroughly distracted, she scooped up nearby flecks of sand with her magic and threw it at the nearest spearponies, blinding them as she re-caught the box and made a dash for the archway the Princesses had emerged from.

“¡Nokpiliua itl!” the Queen screamed as a stampede of guards followed after the fleeing unicorn.

Sensing that this was the best opportunity they would get to escape, Celestia tapped her sister's shoulder and gestured to the illuminated entranceway. With a sudden burst of speed, the two broke through the few remaining guards and galloped for where the mysterious stranger had emerged. It took a few moments for the stunned guards to remember what their job was in all the commotion, but eventually gave chase to the escaping Princesses. Breaching the threshold, the sisters found themselves in yet another hallway like the ones before, though this one was even more lavishly decorated, meaning it had to be important, like a thoroughfare! However, something about this scene triggered a memory in the elder sister, and she brought the pair back to a screeching halt just inside the archway.

“What?” Luna snapped, trotting desperately on the spot as she looked back at the rapidly approaching spearponies.

“This room, it's-” She frowned, thinking for a moment before turning and casting a barrier spell across the entrance.

Seemingly unfamiliar with unicorn magic, the first two guards of the pack galloped directly into the translucent, yet very solid barrier, knocking themselves out as the rest skidded to a halt behind them. Turning back to the ornate hallway, Celestia raised a hoof to her chin.

“I think I remember this passage from the book. We need to be careful not to step on the wrong stones.”

Luna let out a high-pitched, panicked whine. “And- And- What even was that just now? It can't have been-”

“Look, I don't know, okay? Let's just get out of this first and think later.” The white unicorn tapped her head, trying to recall how Summer Twinkle had evaded this trap in the book. They didn't have time to tap for hollow cobbles as the guards were already whittling down her weak barrier with their spears, she just had to remember which stones were bad from the book and reverse it—an impossible task for a lesser pony, but she had grown up on these books, to the point of reciting entire stories from memory.

“Tiaaa!” Luna pleaded, still prancing on the spot.

It had been a long time since she'd heard that nickname. But never mind that; focus. This was her favourite book, she just had to remember. It had something to do with the depictions on the walls, something that the tribesponies would instinctively know. Now how did it go... Left, left... middle, right, middle, right; so, right, middle, right...

Swallowing, Celestia stepped forward with Luna hesitantly in tow, knowing there was little room for error with her barrier so close to breaking. Barely any time passed before they were on the other side of the trap, though each step had felt like a life-or-death gamble. The elder sister wiped her brow, relieved that her foalhood obsession had finally bore fruit. She had no idea what the trap would have triggered, as Summer Twinkle hadn't set it off either, but she knew that she didn't want to find out. Now relatively safe, the two broke back into a gallop and continued forward, up the stone staircase ahead of them and into yet another corridor. Unlike the lie of the previous room, this one did in fact lead to the outside world, as sunlight poured in through the final archway at the far end. The Princesses picked up speed at the promise of freedom, approaching it faster than their eyes could adjust after seeing by torchlight for so long. Slowing as they approached the open doorway, the fillies shielded their eyes as they arrived at the temple's outer staircase, looking down to find the only path leading directly into a large lake with impassable canyon walls on either side.

“Now what?” Luna wailed, her legs trembling.

“I- I don't know. The book didn't describe every little thing; it skipped over how she got from that ridge to here.”

The pair spent a minute desperately looking around for a loose vine or secret exit, unsure of how to proceed, when a sudden grinding of stone-on-stone echoed out from behind them. Spinning around to take defensive postures, to their surprise it was the mysterious pony from before that approached them, having apparently arrived from a hidden passage in the wall.

“You made it out during the hubbub, good!” she smiled, though her expression turned to confusion as the sisters once again began to gawp at her. “Is... something wrong?”

“You... You-” the blue Princess stammered.

“Are you really... Summer Twinkle?” Celestia's voice broke while asking, which hadn't happened in a long while.

“Guilty. Look, this isn't exactly the time or place-”

“But- But she's just a book!” Luna exclaimed, her eyes darting between the two unicorns.

“Well, clearly not. I'm no less real than you-” The explorer stopped, now properly noticing the alicorn's wings and horn for the first time. “You- Y- You're an alicorn?”

“Yeah, but you're Summer Twinkle!” Celestia interrupted. “This is incredible! I thought the stories were fiction! But you- You're real! Are- Are all the books real too?!”

“Yes, more or less. Adventuring doesn't really pay for itself, so I had to make a little on the side to keep going.”

“So you really did adventure to the bottom of the sea like in 'Summer Twinkle and the Temple of the Nautilus'?!”

“Yup, though the underwater terrors were a little exaggerated. Not much more than large salmon down there.”

“And you really did defeat the wood-witch Gloriosa like in 'Summer Twinkle and The Evergrowing Woods'?!”

“Yes, though it was more of a mutual retreat.”

“And you really did escape from the Temple of Chicomoztec in 'Summer Twinkle and the Temple of the Golden Sun'?!”

“I mean...” she gestured around her, steadily losing patience with this line of questioning.

“So is it true that in 'Summer Twinkle and the-'”

“Ok, look, we really don't have time for this-” Summer Twinkle snapped, before herself being interrupted by the sound of hooves behind her. “Great, we're out of time.”

As guards began to appear over the lip of the staircase at the end of the hall, the explorer turned, picking up a small loose stone with her magic. “I would rather not resort to this—I hate to disturb archaeological locations.”

As the spearponies approached, followed closely by a giant, serpent-like creature obscured within the far shadows, Summer Twinkle tossed the rock a few hooves into the hallway, hitting a hollow paving slab that depressed under the light impact. With a guttural grinding and dislodging of dirt, a thick stone slab dropped from the ceiling, blocking off the entire passage and trapping the guards behind it.

Celestia swallowed. “I... didn't know that was there.”

“I wasn't sure either,” the sandy mare stated nonchalantly, facing the duo once more. “Just a hunch. Now, can we please leave? I'd rather not have to deal with Queen Chicomecōātl in this form again.”

“What 'form'?”

“Right, I had to cut it from the book—too scary. Let's just say that you don't want to find out.” She passed between the two sisters, who parted as though she were the royalty, and began to descend the stairs.

“Where are you going?” Luna called down as she watched the mare approach the water.

“It's solid, just below the surface. Come on.”

The Princesses looked at each other before looking back at the stone slab, which was already beginning to rumble from the efforts of those behind it. Preferring a wet coat over a spear, the two followed after the storybook hero, pausing for a second to watch as she stepped out onto the water's surface and continued trotting, then following suit. It wasn't long before the group were back in the lush Aztecan jungle, tucked away from any patrols Sunny had spotted on the way in.

Stopping and turning to the sisters suddenly, she hissed: “What in Equestria were you two doing in there?!”

The pair found themselves speechless, looking at one another as though they were foals being scolded by Starswirl for some minor misdeed.

“It's not like we wanted to be there,” Celestia explained.

“We had to walk through the desert for hours, and after passing out in the forest, we were taken inside,” Luna continued.

“And how—by Elysium's blue hills—did you end up in the middle of the desert?!”

“That's a long story,” the elder sister huffed. “We can thank Discord for that.”

“D- 'Discord'? Are you telling me that you met Discord face-to-face and survived?”

“For all the good it did us, almost getting eaten by these ponies.”

“They were going to eat us?!” Luna screamed in a hushed voice.

“Incredible! In all these years, I've not heard of a single pony to survive an encounter with him, let alone two.” She stroked her chin, looking the alicorn over. “But you're no regular ponies, are you.”

“No, we are Princesses,” Celestia stated forcefully, taking a step closer to her sister and back into Summer's line of sight.

“'Princesses'?” Summer Twinkle's eyes bulged, darting between the two. “Yes, I suppose that does explain the wings and horn. It didn't feel like a simple illusion or one of Discord's tricks-” She cleared her throat before hurriedly taking a knee. “Uh, Your Majesties.”

Looking around in embarrassment, despite there being no one to see, Celestia earnestly ushered the adventurer back to her hooves. “No, no, no, it's nothing like that. I mean, it is, but please don't do that.”

“So, you must be Princess Celestia, then,” she asked in awe, addressing the alicorn, which Luna found incredibly funny.

“No! Me! That's I! I mean- I'm Celestia,” the real one fumbled, flustered by her own jealousy. “I just- I haven't- But I will!” She groaned, hiding her face.

“Then...” Summer looked between the two, confused.

“I am Princess Luna,” she calmly spoke with a small bow. “Younger sister of Celestia.”

“'Younger sister'? So the rumours were true, then. Many feared the worst after the Queen's pregnancy came and went without fanfare, but- but that was decades ago! Neither of you look old enough for that to make sense! Unless-” She lowered her voice, suddenly sounding very serious. “Do all Princesses look this young?”

“D- 'Decades'?” Luna balked, turning to her sister and ignoring the question. “But Starswirl's spell stopped time outside! How has that much time passed?”

“I- I don't know. Are you really telling us that Luna's birth and Discord's arrival happened that many years ago?”

“Yes, I think I should know,” Summer Twinkle grumbled, something clearly on her mind before shaking it off. “It's been an absolute nightmare trying to do my job with him in charge. Thankfully he's been a bit more passive lately, but- Wait, did you say 'stopped time'?”

“I told you it was a long story,” the elder sister sighed. “I guess that explains why you look so much older than in the books.”

The explorer seemed to suddenly choke, turning away to hide her embarrassment. “It is true that I'm not the age I was when I started... I tend to leave that part out now.” She turned back with a sigh. “No one wants to read the adventures of an old mare.”

“I guess on the plus side there are more books for you to read now,” Luna teased her sister. “Celestia is your biggest fan.”

“Shut up!” the elder sister kneed her sibling in the ribs, causing her to wince, then giggle.

“I—uh—did get that impression,” Summer chuckled, awkwardly adjusting her collar. “I'm flattered that royalty would deign to read my silly little adventure stories, I really am. I wish I could say that there were more to read—I've got the manuscripts ready and waiting—but after Discord took over Canterlot, printing books hasn't exactly been high on anypony's priorities.” There was a brief pause in the conversation before she sighed. “I'm not going to pretend that I understand what happened between you and the great wizard Starswirl or where you've been—magic's not my speciality, as I'm sure you know—but for you both to be here now... Does that mean that Discord's madness is finally coming to an end?”

The sisters shot each other a worried glance before Celestia replied, “Well, that's the plan...”

The adventurer's eyes lit up, sparkling for the first time in a long, long while.

“But we're not exactly sure where to start. Please, Ms. Twinkle,” Luna pled, “Will you help us on our quest to save Equestria?”

“M-Me?!” She looked around anxiously, suddenly burdened by a responsibility she was not expecting. “I- uh- I don't know what help I would be. I'm just a simple archaeologist, and you're both Princesses trained by the pre-eminent Starswirl—I wouldn't last a second against the likes of Discord. I don't know if you've noticed, but most of my adventures end with me running away.”

Celestia looked down, her eyes wide and frantic as she recalled her foalhood books, confirming this starting and heartbreaking realisation.

“All we need are directions to somepony who knows what's going on. We appear to be somewhat 'out of the loop',” the younger sister continued. “And perhaps a guide out of this jungle. We don't want to get lost or captured again...”

Summer Twinkle let out a breath of relief, mixed with a chuckle, worried that she had got herself embroiled in some kind of impossible battle between deities. Again. “That- That I can do, Princess.”

Taking a moment to calm herself, Summer gestured to her entourage and restarted their journey through the lush, tropical jungle, once again avoiding patrol routes that she had previously scouted on her way in. With Celestia trailing behind, still caught up in some existential crisis about her hero's heroics, Luna picked up her pace just enough to trot alongside their guide.

“Earlier you said that things have been this way with Discord for decades... Is this really true?”

“Yes, unfortunately. I could give you specific dates from my manuscripts back at camp, but generally speaking it's been quite hard to keep track of time, what with the fixed sky and... well, the end of society as we know it.”

“Has it truly been that bad?”

“Yes. I don't know what it was like for ponies in Central Equestria, but for roamers like me, it was a slow decline. Certain services stopped outright, like mail; fellow travellers would go missing after their expeditions, rather than during; and strange things began to appear the closer I got to the capitol. Not even the Everfree Forest feels safe anymore.” She paused, shaking her head with a sigh. “I've seen things you wouldn't believe... Entire towns floating in the air, vicious battles between creatures I never knew existed, edible clouds and drinkable stone... All a product of Discord's vile magic.” She sighed again, now looking up at the cracks in the canopy, through which small slivers of the twilight sky could be seen as they walked. “He used to flaunt it; make personal appearances, announcements, visit towns just to watch them scream. For those of us without a fixed address, it was all we could do to watch in horror from a distance, in case he came after us too... After a while I guess he got bored, stopped showing up so much, though his chaotic distortion continued to spread. I doubt there's an inch in all of Central Equestria that isn't corrupted now...”

“Then it really is awful—worse than I could have imagined,” Luna lamented, feeling guilt for all the pain that had occurred in their absence.

“There was nothing I could do against something so... so supernatural—and you know the kinds of creatures I've faced before—so I just buried my head in the sand and kept on doing what I've always done... Thought the routine would make everything bad go away, I guess. Of course there's nopony to publish my works now, so money is tight and I have to find my own food, but I've survived. Honestly, adapting to living in the wild has been pretty easy for somepony like me—easier than it has been for anypony still living under Discord's rule. He's taken to calling it 'Discordia' now, changing the signs everywhere, but it will always be Equestria to me, no matter what anypony says.”

“Anypony? Do you mean to say that there are others?”

“Yes, unfortunately. Perhaps the poor fools lost their minds in the chaos, or they were anarchists all along, but there is a small group of ponies who pledged loyalty to that monster... Can you believe it?”

“To think that we allowed so much misery- so much horror to go unpunished...” Silent tears began to roll down the Princess' cheeks, her mind full of imagined moments of suffering at the hands of Discord. “If only we had been less careless, more prepared...”

“I'd lost hope of things ever returning back to normal long ago, you know,” Summer smiled, lowering the brim of her helmet to shade her own moist eyes. “But now you're here! And finally things- There's a glimmer of hope, for the first time.” She sniffed, wiping her foreleg across her face. “I just... Where were you all this time?”

“It is... difficult to explain. Our mentor, Starswirl, sealed us within a time-bubble in a remote town so that we might train to oppose Discord. When we finally left the bubble, many years had passed within it, but mere minutes without. We were taken to the desert to confront him once and for all, after years of preparation, and yet...” She let out a stuttered sigh, wiping fresh tears from her eyes that glistened in the dappled half-light from above. “Something happened, and we were asleep. I do not know for how long we were asleep, but when I finally realised that we were, I woke us up, and then all this happened.”

Summer Twinkle turned to face the filly for the first time this conversation, her eyes wide. “Are you telling me that Discord put you to sleep for years? And you only just woke up?”

“If what you are saying about the events that have transpired is true, then it would seem like that is the case,” she replied, absent-mindedly stepping upon a fallen branch that broke loudly under her hoof, causing the seasoned explorer to flinch and look around cautiously.

“I guess that explains why you don't know what's going on, but spending years asleep in the middle of a desert? Nopony would believe that even as fiction, I should know,” she chuckled, now confident that nothing had heard them. “Not that anything is being printed anyway, but I don't think there's much of a market for adventure books these days. Ponies are having more than enough of their own 'adventures' these days.” She sighed dreamily, thinking back to the books that she herself had read as a filly. “Though it does have a certain... 'fairytale charm', don't you think?”

“I fear that charm is entirely lost when you experience such things yourself.”

“Yes, I suppose it is,” she laughed, keeping her voice down while holding back a gigantic leaf as they passed it. “We should be nearing the edge of Aztecan territory now, though I wouldn't let your guard down until you're back on the main trade-road.”

“I greatly appreciate everything you've done for us, Miss Summer Twinkle. To think that just this morning I had considered you a mere storybook character.”

“And I, you, Princess. Equestria has lacked hope for so many years, and yet now here you stand, right beside me, a real-life alicorn! Nopony would know who I am if it weren't for my own hoofwritten books, but you- you are a true thing of legend.”

The young alicorn blushed, giggling awkwardly as she looked back at her own wings, still scarcely able to believe it herself. “I shall- We shall endeavour to live up to Our titles as Princesses of Equestria.”

The explorer nodded, smiling. After brushing aside some low-hanging vines, Summer Twinkle slowed her pace as the group approached a mossy, mushroom-covered log laying across their path, unlike any of the tall, thin palms they had seen up to this point. As Luna looked around, she noticed that the flora had started to become more familiar, slowly transitioning into the kind of woody trees and leafy bushes she had grown up around.

“Well, this should be far enough,” Summer Twinkle stated, stopping to turn to the sisters. “My camp is just over there. I should make sure that all my things are still safe, but if you continue beyond this log you'll reach the main trade route between Canterlot and Klugetown.”

“'Kluge-town'?” Celestia asked, having only just started listening to the conversation since her stupor.

“Yes. I suppose you wouldn't know about it if you've been out of commission for a while. After Canterlot fell, ponies from smaller communities were forced to find a new source of goods, and the creatures of Kluge have always been avid traders, so they received an influx of new business. After just a couple of years the small trade post had grown into a massive commerce hub, and they remain the only source for goods that can't be locally produced. I'm almost tempted to say that they've profited from this disaster even more than Discord himself. Prices have soared now that everything has to be imported, and that's saying nothing about the sky-pirate boom...” Summer sighed, magically removing her pith helmet and storing it under her foreleg. “But now I'm just complaining,” she chuckled. “Blame it on being an old mare with nopony to talk to.”

“Mark my words, Summer Twinkle,” Celestia announced, taking a step toward the explorer and relishing her opportunity to say something dramatic. “We shall make him pay dearly for everything he has done. As heirs to the royal throne, we shall cleanse this world of his evil and restore order to Equestria!”

Summer and Luna shared a wry glance before she bowed, humouring the Princess' display of storybook valour. “Your subjects have the utmost faith in your quest, My Liege.” Straightening up, she turned to Luna with a smile. “For the first time in I-don't-know-how-long, I shall dare to dream of a better tomorrow... Thank you both, Princesses.”

Luna bowed her head as Summer Twinkle gave her final nods and turned toward her camp, leaving the two sisters alone for the first time since the dungeon.

“I can't believe you made me look like a fool in front of the Summer Twinkle!” Celestia hissed with a glare.

“Me?! You did all of that yourself! You barely even spoke to her, besides all the fanfillying.”

“I was not fanfillying! I- I didn't even know she was real until just now, how was I supposed to react?!”

Luna rolled her eyes, choosing to turn and vault over the rotting log rather than further entertain her sister's nonsense.

“Hey, where are you going?!”

“I'm going to the main road, if you had paid any attention to your supposed hero.”

“What's that supposed to mean?!” she whisper-shouted back, reluctantly following after her little sister.

True to Summer Twinkle's word, a few minutes of walking had led to the treeline and a dirt track between them and a near-vertical cliff-face. Despite its length, the straightness of the road gave a fairly uninterrupted view of where each direction led, assuming a basic knowledge of Equestria's map. Far to the south, one could clearly see the golden sands and heat haze of the Arid Sea, leading to the trading hub of Klugetown, according to Summer Twinkle. To the far north, one could see the Southern Hills, and beyond it, the long road to Equestria, which they had once travelled down as small fillies to get here.

“No!” Luna suddenly wailed, startling her brooding sibling.

“What?!”

“She left before telling us where to go next!”

“Well, we go to Equestria, obviously,” Celestia grunted. “There's nothing for us in that other place.”

“And immediately face Discord again? Like this?” The younger sister dropped to the floor, massaging her temples with her forehooves. “This is why I wanted the name of somepony who might know how to counter his chaos magic. What's to stop him from instantly turning us into statues again?!”

“He turned us into statues?”

“Yes! And without a new plan, he'll just do it again; and I don't know if I'll be able to wake us up a second time!” Luna's head-massaging intensified as she racked her brains for what to do next.

“Huh. I guess that explains those stone bases we woke up next to,” the elder sister pondered, her memories from before the temple still quite hazy. “Besides, if Starswirl didn't know how to counter chaos magic, who would?”

“Well apparently it's been years since he defeated us, so maybe somepony learnt something new. Maybe we could find Starswirl again, or some kind of resistance!” She gasped. “I bet he's the leader of the underground resistance group!”

“I think you're getting ahead of yourself. So if we're not going back to Canterlot, then where?”

“That's what I-!” She released a frustrated growl.

Celestia sighed, shrugging with one hoof. “Like I said, there's nothing for us in the other direction, so let's just head north and we'll figure something out on the way.”

Luna groaned, letting her hooves fall to her side. Her sister was right, as much as she hated to admit it; without any better plan, simply reaching Equestria was their best and only move forward. With a reluctant grunt, she swung herself back onto her hooves and followed after her sister, who was already a few paces up the dry, dirt road. It was going to be a long journey, but surely they would come up with a better plan on the way... surely.

Author's Note:

1st Edition - 23rd January, 2021 - (Released) (8,611 words)

Comments

[Mixmaster226]

Screw canon. Canon of the later seasons has ruined everything, and even then, it can still be interpreted differently. Flurry Heart may be the first alicorn birth Equestria has ever seen, but the royal sisters were born before Equestria was founded, which happened so long ago that it would be reasonable for them to assume another natural alicornhood was impossible at this point.

[Underwood]

10642726
Well, putting together the pieces I'm given is half the fun, and I don't recall the sisters' births being mentioned in the show. Not sure why you're bringing up Flurry Heart on this chapter, though, as the concept of alicorn ascension has been part of this story since the prologue. I don't think anything was ruined, though.

[Prodog24]

How does this only have eighteen likes? This is great.

[Underwood]

10749590
Thank you! I wish it got more reads, but I guess (and hope) it's just lost in the crowd. I'm still passionate about writing it though, regardless of its popularity. I'm about half way through proofing the next chapter--been spreading my attention out between spin-offs and early chapter rewrites, so I've not had much to show for a while, but hopefully that will change soon.