Celestial Origins
Celestial Origins
The world around them seemed like it had been created out of a child’s dream. Megan could swear that she identified elements of Chutes and Ladders, Candyland, and checkers for that matter. She thought back to when the prankster first showed up calling himself “Discord”, he was nice, a little obnoxious at times, but nice, she remembered thinking that he wouldn’t hurt anyone or anything. He was causing mischief and seeking attention much like a child she had known and was far from innocent. The reality warping pranks took nothing into account except for his on amusement and ponies were getting hurt. “He’s just acting so juvenile!” she shouted into the air.
“I know, we’ll stop him, he thought he could, keep us from using the rainbow of light by breaking it into pieces, but we found them,” Molly her younger sister said.
“Yeah and how long did that take us,” she said sarcastically.
“I don’t know, 2-3 weeks?” Molly guessed.
“Earth time or Equis Time?” Megan asked, knowing time on Equis traveled faster than time on Earth.
“I’m really not sure,” Molly admitted, “You know me I suck at algebra.”
“All, this is my fault,” Megan said as she pulled her foot out of a puddle of taffy. “I should have seen the signs something was happening to him. He stopped coming home. He was moody and spending all that time by himself.”
“He’s a teenage boy, I don’t think we are allowed to understand him,” Molly said pushing back her long black bangs out of her face. “You left for college. We had to grow up eventually.”
“Yes, but look at you,” Megan said turning to her little sister, “I mean it, look at you, you used to wear pigtails, and osh-kosh overalls. Now, black jacket, black skirt, black shirt, and your hair is even black. You used to have the most beautiful blonde hair.”
“It’s called Goth and when me and my band are opening for Marylyn Manson you’ll see,” she said.
“I didn’t know you were in a band?” Megan said surprised at her little sister.
“Yeah, I am we’re called ‘Prisoners of the Night’ and I’m the lead singer. We’ve even played two gigs. We didn’t get paid for either one, but there was an audience,” Molly said. “You’d know if you’d come home more often.”
“I’m sorry. The bus trip home is 3 hours from school,” Megan said a tinge of guilt in her voice, “I’m proud of you though. I don’t know if I’d have the confidence to lead a band or sing in public.”
“We all can’t be academics trying to save the world,” Molly said.
“You’d think after saving Dream Valley a dozen times saving our own environment would be easy,” she said pulling the ends of the ribbon holding her blond hair back tight. “Maybe, if I had been home more…”
“No, you being away at school had nothing to do with this,” Molly said throwing her arms around her sister. “But, your back, we’re here on Equis and we’re going to stop him, just like always.”
“Really? Now just how do you plan to do that? Sister,” a playful voice with a hint of madness filled the air as the ground began to rumble and brake. A gilded thrown began to spring up like a flower from the earth. A long lanky creature, with a Hodge poge of parts sat lounging back eating a biscuit and tea service, literally eating a biscuit and a tea service, cups, kettle, tray and all.
“You, need to stop this Danny!” Megan said in the same tone she used when he was a misbehaving child.
“Danny, doesn’t live here anymore,” he said in a cruel tone, the fluffy clouds of cotton candy becoming darker and filling in behind him blocking out the sun.
“What happened? What did you do to yourself?” she asked.
“I made myself better,” he said snapping his fingers and showing a training montage of himself on a TV. “We can rebuild him, make him better, faster, stronger.” He ran in front of his thrown in slow motion.
“But, the magic, where did you get it?” Molly asked.
“Where, little sister, I got it from everywhere,” he said as several versions of himself appeared looking under rocks, his thrown, under Megan’s ponytail. “Equis is magical, if you look in the right places you can find it anywhere.”
“You’ve hurt a lot of ponies and other creatures,” Megan said. “You’ve got to stop.”
“Oh, yes, your little ponies,” he spat. “You always were ready to save your precious ponies, from Terik, Catrina, the Smooze and whatever weekly danger tried to kill them. Did you ever think for one second what danger you were putting us in? Who in their right mind, after their first encounter with the dangers of this world exposed two children to it? Do you even realize what all that did to me. I started to see Bushwoolies on the farm. I would wake up at night in terror thinking Hydia was trying to drown me in the Smooze. Mom and Dad sent me to a shrink, but do you think that helped, no they wanted to Lock. Me. Up.” He said as he conjured an image of his dragonesque self in a straight jacket and padded room. “But, you had to save your ponies.”
“They needed my help, they needed our help. They were your friends,” Megan justified. “They would of listened to you if you were having problems, they were there too.”
“Oh, I did,” he smiled a toothy smile that sent chills through the sisters. “I came back to Dream Valley desperate to ride myself of the night mares that were ruining my life. I went all the way to the heart of Equestria, to ask the Princess Ponies for help.”
“And were they able to help you?” Molly asked hopefully.
“Yes, they did,” he chuckled. “remember that part about how I just found the magic, well I lied.”
Megan swallowed hard not liking where this was going.
“I took it. I stole their wands and cast a spell on myself. But, I must have gotten something wrong. I didn’t free myself from the nightmares, I slowly became the jumbled up images that haunt my nightmares, and then I went about gorging myself on the remaing power,” he showed a picture of himself eating the wands.
“But, what about the Princesses? You didn’t?” Molly asked.
“No, I’m not that cruel. They’re just mundane unicorns now,” he said sounding bored. “I have all the real power now. I can rule Equis as my own kingdom.”
“NO!” Megan said grabbing Molly’s hand and focusing the force of her will on her what was her brother. The bag she carried began to glow and six glowing stones began to circle the sisters.
“You, would use the rainbow of harmony on your own brother,” he said in disbelief.
“We warned you. We gave you a chance to fix this. You have to be stopped,” Molly said the various elements of the rainbow orbiting them at ever increasing speed.
“Well, go ahead try, I doubt it will work,” he said, “I have far more power now than Moonchick ever did.”
“You are never going to hurt any pony ever again,” Megan said as the spectrum of light burst forth from the sisters and began to climb up into the sky.
“PONIES! PONIES! PONIES! If that’s all you ever think about well how about you become one,” he said snapping his fingers, as the rainbow cascaded over him sending a surge of magic and light at his sisters.
The blinding light gradually subsided and before their eye the brother they had loved was gone. A towering serpentine creature made of stone stood in a green pasture under a blue sky and two sisters in shock.
“Why didn’t it turn him back?” Molly asked turning to look at her sister. “Megan? Where are you?”
“Molly, what happened? And why am I craving cake?” Megan answered turning her eyes from the statue to her sister.
“Holy shi-“ Molly began before being interrupted by Megan.
“Ponies, he turned us into ponies,” Megan said staring at her sister, examining her long pointed horn and her large black wings .
“But, what kind? And how do we change back?” Molly said examining her sisters white coat horn, and wings.
“I don’t know? You look like you’re a unicorn and a pegasus,” Megan said confused.
“You too,” Molly said.
“I think we need to get back to Dream Valley. Twilight or one of the other unicorns might know somethiaaaaargh…,” Megan said began before a twisting sensation at her core brought her to all four of her knees. Her long spire of a horn began to glow.
“Megan what wrong?” Molly said moving to her side the sound of panic building in her voice.
“I don’t know, its like something is pulling at me,” she said in anguish.
“You stay here I’llaaaaaaaagh,” Molly began before collapsing to her own knees.
“The sun, the sun, the sun, the warmth of the sun, the light, its calling to me, its pulling on me,” Megan said as her mind reached out unable to focus on anything else. The sun it needed her. She felt like she was trying to fit a plug in a socket she couldn’t see moving here mind side to side until, it slid in to place and the world began to get dark.
The silvery glow began to blanket the land the light of the moon.
“What was that?” Molly asked taking a deep breath.
“I think our magic may be tied to the sun and the moon,” Megan said. “I think, I just help the sun set.”
“That’s just crazy, I may not be in college but the sun doesn’t move, we move,” Molly said.
“Maybe not on Equis or at least not anymore,” Megan responded, “Besides, you should see your cutie mark.”
Molly turned her neck to look at her flank and smiled at the crescent moon mark on her flank and then the corresponding sun on her sisters.
“So, what do we do now?” Molly asked moving her head side to side and flicking her tail trying to get used to her new body. “What do we do about Danny?”
“I’m not sure. The rainbow has never done anything like this before,” Megan said her wings moving in agitation. “I just don’t know. The princesses might have an idea.”
“But, Danny stole their power,” Molly said.
“Well, they may not have their power, but they might be able to figure out how to turn us back,” Megan said, her mind still coming to terms with what her body was telling her.
“And Danny?” Molly asked.
“I don’t care what he’s done. He’s still our brother and he deserves to be turned back too,” Megan said kicking the ground with her hooves. “Though I do think he did deserve this time out.”
“Well we have to figure out something. We can’t show up on the farm like this,” Molly said exasperated as she consciously tried to keep her tail from swishing on its own accord. “We could track down Moonchick. He was the keeper of the Rainbow of Light for years.”
“We’ll find somepony to help figure this out it just, something tells me, we’re not going home for a while,” Megan said sounding defeated as she took look back at the statue that was their brother and with a heavy heart she trotted away back toward the mountains that made up the boundaries of Dream Valley.