My Little Pony: Friendship is magic: Origins: Celestia & Luna

Prologue

Screams echoed down the otherwise quiet halls of the ancient hospital. Private Pansy paced in front of the rustic doors wherein ponies rushed in and out.

"Is she in there?!" Pansy's eared perked up at the voice of Clover the Clever, who was rushing up to meet her. Pansy simply nodded.

"It's been hours, and I simply couldn't stand to watch anymore," She explained, "I didn't think I was gonna make it, Hurricane must be in such pain." Clover cracked open the door, seeing the aforementioned laboring pegasus on a hay bed, her hind legs in the air, and her forehoof firmly wrapped around her mate's. Another scream caused Clover to jump. Undeterred, she pushed through the door, leaving Private Pansy to herself in the hall to wait for the others.

The halls of the hospital were finally quiet. Understandably so, as Canterlot had hardly been formed only a year ago when the three pony tribe reconciled their differences, The hospital was largely empty except for workers who had been hurt excavating the amazing city in a mountain.

In the maternity ward, five ponies surrounded the new mother, as she waited for her foals to be washed and given to her. A nurse pony lightly placed one of the twins on her lap. The foal was a dark blue color. It stretch and yawned in its mother's lap, unintentionally showing off its wings to everypony in the room.

"She's so precious..." whispered Private Pansy. The nurse pony very slowly turned and put the other foal in her mother's lap.

The red pegasus, Hurricane's mate, looked at the foal's back, seeking something.

"Where are her wings?" he asked the nurse. Looking back at the foal, he saw it. On top of the light gray filly's head was a horn.

His jaw dropped as he realized what he saw. The ultimate shame of his race, giving birth to a groundling. Having to spend the rest of your life on the ground to raise it.

"Red Dawn, did you...?" began Commander Hurricane. Red Dawn looked away from his mate for a moment, then looked back.

"My grandfather..." He said simply, "On my mother's side... He was a..." Red Dawn couldn't finish his sentence. Hurricane looked at the unicorn foal in her lap.

"This is GREAT!" Clover exclaimed, "What better way to unify the tribes than-"

"SHUT UP!" Red Dawn yelled at her, causing her to freeze in shock, "You have no idea the shame that my grandfather has brought. We pegasi pride ourselves on wings and flight! It's a disgrace!"

"What's wrong with a unicorn foal?!" Princess Platinum demanded, filling in for the shocked Clover.

"It cannot fly!" He roared.

"It's a she!" yelled Chancellor Puddinghead.

"What's wrong with not being able to fly?!" Smart cookie demanded.

"How would you like to birth a earth foal?" Red Dawn directed his question at Princess Platinum.

"Well, I-" She began.

"What's that supposed to mean?" interjected Smart Cookie.

"Everypony BE QUIET!" screamed Private Pansy. All the others looked at her in shock.

"My commander has something to say" she whispered over all the shushed ponies.

"Princess Platinum," began Commander Hurricane, "how do you name a unicorn?"

Clover, recovering from shock and seeing a chance to explain something, jumped at the opportunity.

"Naming conventions for unicorns generally fall into two fields; Adjectives as nouns, such as rare becoming Rarity, or beautiful becoming Beauty, or cute becoming Cutie. The other field is celestial. Constellations, Planets, among others"

"Celestial, eh?" asked Commander Hurricane, holding the unicorn foal in her forehooves,"Well I think we can combine the two and call you... Celestia"

She put down Celestia and picked up the other foal.

"And you," she said, nuzzling the dark blue pegasi, "You're going to fly higher than all of us, aren't you? Higher than the moon! I think Luna is the perfect name for you"

"Celestia and Luna, huh?" said Red Dawn, sighing, "We're going to need a house in this mountain, aren't we?"

"Yes," Commander Hurricane said gently.

"We have to give up our cloud fortress... don't we?" He asked, already knowing the answer.

"Yes," Hurricane repeated.

Red Dawn slowly walked out of the room, his head lowered. Each of the other ponies glowered at him as he left. Hurricane picked up Celestia again, cooing to her.

"You're going to flip our world upside-down, aren't you" She said.

Celestia smiled.

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic: Origins: Celestia & Luna

Chapter 1: Butterfly Wings

Celestia lightly closed her book with her magic and looked out the window. The afternoon sun shone brightly into her room. She slowly walked to the window and pushed it open. The view to the bottom of the mountain was breathtaking, and a pony could see for miles without even trying. Celestia rested her head on the windowsill and stared out into the uncharted territory.

"Hey sis! Dinner's ready!" Luna's voice snapped Celestia out of her trance. Luna lightly floated up to eye level with Celestia.

"Why do you look so bummed?" Luna asked, seeing Celestia's head resting on the windowsill.

"I'm not bummed!" Celestia opposed, "Just... Just look out at that view"

"I see it, sis. I see it everyday," Luna replied.

"I know," Celestia stated sadly, "I don't though, I almost never get to leave Canterlot"

"Who knows? Maybe you'll find that spell you're looking for soon"

"Professor Starswirl down at the college might know something, but Dad would have my cutie mark if he knew I was practicing magic behind his back... even if it is to join you guys in the sky"

She looked down at the floor.

"I just don't understand why I had to be born a unicorn, it's so unfair!"

Luna flew into the room and landed gently on the floor, placing a hoof on her sister's back.

"Who knows? Maybe it was for the best!" She tried. Celestia scoffed.

"Yeah, maybe it was good that I forced mom and dad out of their cloud mansion to live in a rock! Maybe it was good that they constantly have to walk everywhere even though they like flying better," she ranted sarcastically. Luna moved her hoof back and forth along her sister's back, providing what comfort she could.

"It's okay, Celestia, we'll go down to the library after dinner. We'll get your wings somehow," Luna explained, hopping into the air and flying through the window.

"I'll be down soon," Celestia said as she closed her window. Luna nodded and flew downward.

Celestia trotted lightly down the steps into the dining room. Red Dawn, his short orange mane ruffled from recent flying, was already seated at the table, enjoying a rather large helping of hay with daisies for a side. Celestia walked past him.

"Good evening, Father," she said, lightly kissing him on the cheek.

"Watch the horn," Red Dawn warned, "Almost got my eye there"

"Sorry, Father," Celestia took her seat, "How was work?"

"These damn groundlings expect me to manage the weather almost constantly to make their plants grow," He said, failing to hide his contempt for non-pegasi.

"That's... a shame, I suppose," Celestia said, "But it leads to pretty good food, right?"

Red Dawn slowed his chewing, and swallowed, staring at Celestia.

"No, I shouldn't have to constantly manage the weather just so the plants can grow correctly. A little bit of management, sure, but they want a pegasus in the air for all hours of the day. If the plants really need such intensive treatment, they should just tell the damn unicorns to give them a spell to make them more manageable." Celestia winced at the mention of her species.

"I guess that just means we're the most important species!" Luna stated, attempting to pull Red Dawn's attention away from Celestia. It worked. Red Dawn turned toward Luna and smiled.

"I suppose you're right," He chuckled. Celestia quietly dug into her plate, feeling sorry that her species could cause her father so much trouble. She eyed the daisies on the plate in the middle of the table. Setting her horn alight, she began to lift a small portion onto her plate.

"Hey!" Red Dawn yelled, smacking Celestia's horn, and causing the levitating daisies to fall into the bowlful of hay in the center of the table, "What are you doing?!"

"I wanted some daisies," Celestia whimpered.

"No," Red Dawn said, "No magic. Not in my house"

"I'm sorry," Celestia apologized, using her hooves to scrape the daisies onto her plate.

"No magic," Red Dawn repeated slowly, pointing his hoof at Celestia. Celestia began to nibble at one of the daisies.

"So how were the clouds today?" Luna offered a distraction, "I heard that they get thicker during the summer, and they're harder to push, you know"

"You're right, Luna," Red Dawn turned to face her, "You'll make an excellent weather controller one day, maybe even weathermaster, like me!"

"I can only hope," Luna said.

Luna and Celestia walked down the stone Canterlot walkway. Luna would occasionally fly up at drafts and land again gracefully next to Celestia.

"That went well," Celestia said sarcastically.

"You should know by now that Dad will never accept your magic," Luna said, "You should just stick with doing it behind his back"

"I know if I just keep doing it in front of him, he'll get used to the idea," Celestia hoped. Luna jumped at a draft and landed in front of Celestia.

"No, Celestia, he won't," Luna warned, "He's always hated non-pegasi and he always will"

Celestia pushed past her.

"Well, then I guess I'll just be living a lie until I can get married and leave," Celestia said, remembering her cutie mark, the sun. "The sun is the most magical thing in the world, but I have to say that my cutie mark means that I want to touch the sky, just to please Dad. What kind of pony would be dumb enough to fly close to the sun?!"

Luna pushed open the door to the library and allowed Celestia in before letting it close. A librarian pony waved at them and whispered a quiet hello. They both walked over.

"Good Evening, Miss Clover, anything new?" Celestia asked. Clover nodded.

"We just got a bunch of books from all over, including one or two you might be interested in," Clover said, nodding, "'Magical Anatomy; A reference Guide', by Meteor Shower, and 'A Guide to Magical Body Alteration' by Flaming Comet"

"Wow, that's just what I've been needing!" Celestia said. Clover levitated the books to her, placing them on the counter in front of her.

"Remember, Celestia, if it sound too good to be true, it probably is," Clover warned, "I don't want you trying any spells on yourself without telling me first. I can tell you what is actually possible"

Celestia nodded, "I know, I wouldn't try it!"

Clover nodded, "Good girl"

Celestia took the books to a nearby table and magically flipped one of them to the first page. Luna wandered around other sections of the library, looking around and hoping something would pique her interest. The books seemed to be in no particular order, so the best she could do was read the titles. One book suddenly caught her attention; "Simplification of Complex Magical Spells."

Luna looked at it, pondering whether she should take it or not. Suddenly, a pale green glow formed over the book. Luna's eyes widened as she realized a unicorn was grabbing it. As it slid slowly from its shelf, Luna jumped at and grabbed it.

"Oh dear, I'm terribly sorry, I didn't know that was the book you wanted!" A voice said as the magic around the book disappeared and Luna fell to the floor.

Luna stood up and shook her light blue mane, "I'm sorry, I should have grabbed it sooner," Luna looked up at the brown unicorn's orange eyes.

"Say, what's a pegasus doing with a book on magic anyway?" The colt asked, "I've heard of non-magical ponies studying magic, though I'm not sure why... Do you study magic?"

"No," Luna declined, "My sister is trying to learn it"

"Your sister is... a pegasus?"

"No, no, she's a unicorn"

"A pegasus and unicorn are... sisters?"

"Yes!" Luna said brightly, "I know it's a little weird, but it's true"

"No! No, it's not weird, I just- I- You know, it's... not weird, just kinda, er, rare," The colt stumbled over his words.

"I'm Luna," Luna introduced herself, offering a hoof in friendship.

"My name's Chocolate Nights, but Night is generally what I go by," Night took Luna's hoof and lifted it to his lips, planting a light kiss on it. Luna blushed.

"A pleasure to meet you, Luna," He said.

"You must be from uptown," She commented. He nodded.

"I'm the son of Princess Platinum!" He said, rather cocky.

"I'm Commander Hurricane's daughter," Luna said, rather shyly. Night's eyes grew wide.

"I heard- From my mother- You two- So you're..." Night said, speaking too quickly for his mind to process what needed to be said.

"Yes, that's us," Luna said, saving Night the trouble of thinking clearly.

"Why does your sister need this book?" He asked, levitating the grounded book to eye level.

"Well, the spells she wants to perform are... very hard, to say the least," Luna explained, "Simplifying them will help her to cast them, although, I honestly have no idea what it's like to cast a spell, I just look around for books that look helpful."

"What kind of spells is she looking to cast?" inquired Night.

"Well..." Luna danced around the subject, avoiding eye contact with Night, "It's kinda-"

"Luna!" Celestia rounded the corner to the aisle, walking toward the two, "Did you find anything?"

"This!" Night piped up, levitating the book toward Celestia. Celestia cocked an eyebrow.

"Who are you?" Celestia asked dryly, taking the book with her own magic, "How did you know I needed this?"

"Well, I- You see, I was-"

"I was going to get it, but then he took it, and I jumped for it, and, well... Celestia, meet Chocolate Nights," Luna introduced him.

"A pleasure," Night said, bowing.

"Right, well, thank you," Celestia said, backing up.

"I'm sorry, my sister is-" Luna began to explain.

"Luna!" Celestia interrupted.

"Well-" Luna began again.

"Luna, no!" Celestia demanded.

"I apologize for my sister's bad manners!" Luna said quickly.

Celestia harrumphed and turned around, going back the way she came.

"She doesn't like new ponies much," Luna whispered after Celestia was out of earshot. She began scanning the bookshelves again, moving past Night.

"What are we looking for?" he inquired, hastily putting together what clues he could to figure out what Celestia needed.

"I don't know if I should tell you," said Luna, sighing, "She wants, well-"

"What?" asked Night, "It can't possibly be that bad!"

"She wants wings," Luna finished.

"Is that all?" Night asked, not sure why it was so embarrassing. Everypony wanted to try life as another species at least once. He began heading the way he saw Celestia come. Luna quickly flew up and landed in front of him.

"NO!" she quietly scolded, "you can't let her know I told you!" She put her hoof on Night's chest threateningly.

"She won't know," Night said, brushing her hoof off as he attempted to move around her. Luna flapped open her wings to block him. He looked her in the eyes.

"I can do it," said Night, "Trust me, I know we just met, but if she wants wings, I can do it!"

"If you can," Luna began, lowering her wings, "But don't let her know I told you"

"I won't," He promised, moving around Luna. He moved into the large reading area and looked around for Celestia. Seeing her, he moved over to her table.

"Please don't just go and talk to her," Luna pleaded silently to her self.

Night stood silently behind Celestia, thinking quickly what he should say. He glanced over the three books she had laid out on the table, each open to a certain page. Rehearsing to himself, he slowly put his head above Celestia's shoulder.

"Looks like you're into some pretty intense spells there," He said confidently. Celestia, surprised at the sudden voice, scrambled and quickly stood up and turned around to face him.

"Do you usually read over other ponies' shoulders?!" She demanded.

"I was just passing by and saw what you were reading. Looks like you wanted to give yourself wings," He tried.

"I- Wha-" Celestia stuttered.

"Your magical body alteration book is opened to a section about extra appendages, your anatomy book is opened to the details of a pegasus wing, and clearly you were looking for some way to make the spell easier to cast. Anypony who saw could tell," He fibbed.

"You just- You-" Celestia began, incensed.

"I can do it," Night said simply. Celestia, taken aback, leaned away from him.

"No thanks!" Celestia rejected, "I want to do it on my own!" Night trotted around the table and sat on the opposite side.

"Trust me, you could never simplify a spell enough to cast it on yourself without losing all your energy. You need that energy to use the wings it gives you!" he explained, "I can give you the wings, maybe not permanently, but at least for a little while"

Celestia looked away. Maybe... Maybe this was her chance.

"Okay... But first we have to check with miss Clover," Celestia said.

"Fine by me," Night said coolly, waving Luna over. The trio walked to the front desk, where Clover the Clever was organizing returned books. Celestia cleared her throat, catching Clover's attention.

"One moment, Celestia," She said, swapping a few more books, "There! One of these days I'll get an assistant who can do that for me"

"Madame Clover," began Night, "I think I know how to give Celestia wings!"

"Really?" Clover the Clever answered skeptically, "And how's that?"

"Well, it's a rather long winded explanation," answered Night, "Could we go into the spell room and show you there?"

The spell room was rather dark, lit only by a few candles in certain corners of the room. Since there were only three ponies in the room, though, the few lit candles were all they needed.

"Now, explain your theory, Coco," Clover demanded. Luna giggled. Night blushed at the use of his old nickname.

"Yeah, go ahead, Coco!" Luna teased.

"Well, appendage adding spells tend to get more complicated and last for shorter time if the appendage being added is complicated, right?" Night explained, "Pegasus wings are pretty complex, right, bones, ligaments, nerves, and the works. Not to mention the fact that it's quite painful to attach real nerves to magical ones. You know what isn't complicated? Butterfly wings! They're simple, easy to cast, and the pain after the spell wears off is minimal."

"I don't think that's quite what Celestia was aiming for, Coco," Clover sighed.

"Hear me out, now," pleaded Night, "Celestia will require a little practice flying before she can get full use of pegasus wings. If we gave her pegasus wings right now, the pain of them wearing off and the effort of the caster wouldn't be worth the time she got with them. Plus, the time she's using them will give us time to find a magical energy source capable of giving her pegasus wings for an extended time."

"Such wings would be extremely fragile, and flammable," Clover said, "She couldn't fly too close to the sun"

"Celestia, you cannot fly too high with these wings," Night said, "You understand that, right?" Celestia looked down and pondered what opportunity she was being given.

"Can I still visit my mother and father's city? The cloud city?" she asked. Night thought about it.

"Well, I wouldn't risk going much higher, but more than likely, you will be able to visit," he offered. Tears formed in Celestia's eyes.

"THANK YOU!" she yelled, hugging Night. Night returned the hug.

"If I expended all my magical energy, you should be able to keep the wings for about a week," He offered his final remark before setting his horn alight.

"Be careful now," Clover quietly cautioned.

A small sliver of blue excreted from the tip of his horn, moving toward Celestia. Celestia embraced the odd feeling as the blue ribbon wrapped around her, spinning faster and faster until she couldn't see anything anymore. Just a big blue blur, everywhere she looked. Magical isolation, she thought to herself, to prevent accidental interference from other magical sources. She quickly cleared her mind and thought only of what she was feeling at the time. Her back felt icy cold and fiery hot at the same time. Her skin felt stretched. The blue ribbon spun faster and faster around her as she felt the magical energy poking and prodding her from every angle. For a moment, she fell between consciousness and unconsciousness.

Night felt the last of his energy go into the vortex. In weakness, he stumbled a bit before losing his balance. Luna quickly supported him and let him slowly slump to the floor, drifting asleep. The blue ribbon vortex unraveled itself from around Celestia, and as the last of it disappeared, Celestia, wings flapping, floated in the middle of the room.

"Wow," Celestia muttered in awe as she realized her hooves weren't on the ground. Night cracked open one eye and, upon seeing Celestia, managed to raise his head.

"Did it work?" He asked, before letting his head hit the floor again.

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic: Origins: Celestia & Luna

Chapter 2: To The Sky

Celestia twisted her neck to see her new wings. Even in the dim candlelight, they glimmered and sparkled.

"Oh my gosh..." She whispered to herself, "Ohmigosh ohmigosh ohmigosh!" Each time she said it, she got louder. Flapping the wings faster in joy, she began to push herself higher and higher, until she slowed and gracefully landed on the floor. She walked over to the unconscious Night.

"He'll be alright, right?" She asked Clover. Clover simply nodded.

"Coco has always been rather reckless when it comes to casting spells," She explained. Luna snickered at the name once again.

"We can't just leave him here..." Clover pondered, "I'll go get his father, you two stay here with him." Luna nodded, watching Clover leave, then looking down at the unconscious pony on the ground in front of her.

Celestia floated around the large room with her new found wings, rather clumsily at first, but that was to be expected. The room was a large dome, with supports circling the top forming pseudo-shelves. Celestia ran her fore-hooves along a section of the shelves. When she viewed it, it was gray with dust.

They need to get a few pegasi in here to clean these, she thought to herself as she continued to scan. A large lump caught her eye on another side of the shelf. She flew over to it and blew the dust off. The dust hit the wall and bounced back at her, causing her to sneeze and flip in the air.

"Are you okay, sis?" Luna was right behind her, setting her right in the air. Celestia simply looked past her.

"Look," Celestia said simply. Where she pointed, the former lump of dust, was a book.

"It's a book, sis," Luna replied lamely, "we're in a library, there's lots of them!" Luna descended to the floor.

"Why is it up here?" Celestia whispered to herself, "Why was it covered in dust?" She carefully lifted the book with her magic and looked at the cover. Elements.

"Elements? That's it? Not even a title? Not even an author?" Celestia wondered aloud. She flipped it open. Each page was covered in marks of straight lines in odd orders and combinations.

"Is this... Could it be?" Celestia said, "Runes?" Her eyes widened as the marks began to glow. The book began shaking in her hands. Surprised, Celestia let the book drop to the floor.

"Clumsy! At least give a warning!" Luna yelled, still tending to Night. Celestia descended to the floor, standing next to the book. Why would the cover be in English if everything inside is Runic? She pondered.

The doors to the room burst open, interrupting Celestia's train of thought. Into the room strolled Clover and an unnamed unicorn, whom Celestia correctly assumed was the father of Chocolate Nights.

"Ah, there he is," The unnamed unicorn muttered, "He always had trouble controlling his magic" The yellow unicorn looked up at Celestia, his mouth agape.

"Is this his doing?" He asked.

Celestia lowered her head, nodding. The yellow unicorn wandered over to her, looking her up and down.

"That's amazing!" He grinned. "I'm Comet Dust, you must be Celestia, which makes her Luna" He said, gesturing toward each pony. Celestia gave him a confused look.

"My wife was present at your birth," explained Comet, "We leaders of the pony tribes have to know almost everypony in Canterlot, it helps negotiations. Anyways, it looks like my son outdid himself this time. Granted, he knocked himself out doing it, but it's still a pretty complex spell! May I?"

Celestia turned her side to him. He reached up and felt the wing with his fore-hoof.

"They certainly are thin, though I suppose that's to be expected," He commented, "Don't try to fly too fast with them." Celestia nodded. Slight pangs of jealousy stung her as Comet turned to his son and began to walk. If my dad was proud of my magic... Celestia thought as she looked down. The book was gone. Startled, she twisted and turned, trying to think of where it could have gone.

"These are his saddlebags, no doubt," Comet said as he lifted some saddlebags onto his back. Celestia quickly turned to look. There weren't any saddlebags there! She thought with alarm. As Comet turned to pick up his son, Celestia saw the book within the folds of the saddlebags. Comet lifted his son onto his back.

"Thank you, Madame Clover," he said before he left.

Clover turned to the sisters, saying, "You two better walk, er, fly home now, Celestia, you know a light spell, right?"

Celestia nodded. The two sisters walked toward the door. Clover closed the door behind them, reminding them to stay safe.

As soon as they heard the door close, both sisters began talking. After a few interruptions from each other, Luna got the chance to speak first.

"That was so nice of him," she said, taking off into the air. "Celestia, you have wings!"

"The book," Celestia said, shakily flying up next to Luna. "How did it get into his bag!?"

"What," replied Luna. "The one you dropped?"

"Yes!" cried Celestia. "It somehow ended up in his saddlebags! He didn't even have saddlebags when we went in there!"

"I think those wings are doing something to you," said Luna. "To your head."

Celestia gave her sister a blank look, then chuckled. "Maybe..."

"C'mon, I want to show you something, y'know, now that you have wings!" Luna flapped harder and harder, driving herself into the atmosphere.

"Well," Celestia began. "If that isn't a little unoriginal! When you get a horn, I'll show you someplace too." Celestia didn't have to push herself to fly upwards, which put her at ease. Her delicate wings were the first things on her mind, and nothing could convince her to even think of doing something dangerous with them.

"Here," Luna announced, holding her position in the air.

Celestia looked around. "Where are we?" She said, floating next to Luna.

"You don't have to be anywhere to be somewhere in the air!" Luna exclaimed, doing a small flip. She landed on a cloud and sat on her haunches.

"C'mon, sit down," she implored. Celestia lightly flew over and attempted to sit down, falling right through the cloud.

"Oops," Luna giggled. "Here, I'll just-" She began to fly around, collecting little bits of cloud from where she could. After her hooves were full, she pushed them all together and put them in a seat for Celestia.

"The cloud cities are made of thicker cloud," explained Luna. "To stop them from leaking, and keep them as permanent as possible." Celestia landed, feeling the cloud sink a little, and sat down.

"I think part of the spell made me lighter, like a pegasus..." She said.

Luna looked down unto where they just came from.

"...This is my spot, sis," said Luna. "This is where I can just sit and think. Just look at the city, see the ponies walking around in the day, see the lights turn on and off in the night." She took a deep breath and sighed, looking out onto the city.

"This is amazing, Luna," admired Celestia. "The best I have is, well, my room"

"Is that why-"

"Yes," Celestia answered, already knowing the question. "That's why I hate ponies in my room... It's supposed to be my spot."

"Oh." Luna nodded sympathetically. "I see..." She looked over at Celestia. "This is how you feel when you look out your window, isn't it?"

Celestia nodded.

"I just want you to know... If you ever wanna come to my spot... y'know, whenever you have wings... You're welcome here," said Luna.

"...Thank you," responded Celestia, "and... If my room is open... You can hang out... Too."

"Thanks, sis," Luna thanked her. She took another look towards the city. The library lights went out, and Luna assumed that Clover was probably on her way out, going home for the night.

"Dad's probably worried about us," noted Luna.

"About you, maybe..." Celestia said bitterly. Luna turned and looked sternly at her sister.

"Don't say that! Dad loves the both of us. He just- He doesn't know how unicorns are supposed to be... like," Luna stumbled through her explanation. "He's been a pegasus among pegasus his whole life. He doesn't know how to act with you. He loves you, Celestia."

Celestia nodded understandingly. She stood up on the cloud and walked off, letting her wings take her into the air.

"Let's go home," she asked. Luna hopped off the cloud.

"C'mon, then!"

"...Wow..."

Red Dawn stood in his living room, looking at his daughter. His jaw hung slack as his eyes passed over her wings.

"So?" asked Celestia. "What do you think?"

"This is amazing!" exclaimed Red Dawn. Celestia melted with delight.

"Really?" Celestia was practically bouncing, a wide smile plastered across her face. "Can we go visit Mom?" Red Dawn's eyes grew, surprised by the question.

"Mom..." Red Dawn muttered to himself. "If I had known... I suppose I could..."

"Please?!" begged Celestia, as she put on her saddest face. "I only have them for seven days!"

"If I had some more time to get a pegasus to fill in for me..." Red Dawn explained.

"I'll do it!" Luna offered, strolling into the living room. "It'll be good practice!"

"I can't just leave you here," said Red Dawn. Luna walked in front of him.

"This is about Celestia!" She informed him, putting on her sternest face. "She's never seen our home city! She finally has the chance to! Let me cover for you!"

Red Dawn stumbled backwards at his daughter's sudden assertiveness, sitting on his haunches.

"Okay then," Red Dawn submitted. "Okay! Go pack, Celestia!" Celestia's eyes lit up as she hugged her father, then dashed up to her room. Red Dawn slowly walked to his room, leaving Luna in the living room. Luna's eyes lit up as soon as her father was out of sight. Maybe, she thought to herself. Maybe.

As fast as she could without hurting herself or her wings, Celestia swung through her room, throwing everything she thought she needed into a box in the center of the room. A few of her favorite books, a dress, a blanket. She picked up the box by its handle and brought it into the living room, eagerly waiting for her father, lost in her own thoughts. Luna sat on the couch next to her.

"I wish you could come, sister," Celestia lamented. "But thank you for doing this for me."

"Sis," Luna said, lowering her voice. "Don't worry, I want to stay here. I'm doing it for me."

"Well," Red Dawn said as he entered the room, a cart hitched up behind him. "Celestia, put your things in here. Luna, be safe, lock the door each night, close the windows, I know you know how to do my job, but if you need help, talk to Earlie Birdie, he will help you."

"Right," confirmed Luna. "I got it."

"Oh, and, if you do see Earlie Birdie, call him Earl, It'll be funny," chuckled Red Dawn. Celestia was already at the door, waiting. "Alright! I'm coming!"

Celestia waited until Red Dawn's tail had left the doorway. She leaned in, looking at Luna.

"Bye, sis!" She said, ecstatically. "Good luck!"

"See ya, sis!" Luna said back.

Celestia clumsily climbed into the cool overcast sky, Red Dawn following not far behind, the cart hitched up and some sort of magic prevented it from falling.

"Where's the pegasus city, anyway?" Celestia asked, curious.

"It's north," answered Red Dawn, his large body smoothly sailing through the sky. "You'll see it, trust me. It's hard not to see." Celestia twisted around in the air, flying backwards.

"What's it like?! Y'know, sleeping on clouds?" Celestia was full of questions, and she wasn't going to let her father's good mood get away from her.

"Well, your mother prefers it, and the first time we did it on a-"

"DAD!" Celestia interrupted. "Not like that kind of sleeping!"

Red Dawn chuckled as he flew higher. Soon, he and Celestia approached the top of the sky, the cloud barrier above them.

"I don't think they'll mind if we just punch a little hole here," Red Dawn commented as he created a hole in the clouds, opening them for Celestia to pass through.

"Thanks," she said, lightly placing her hooves on the top of the cloud layer after she passed. Red Dawn slid his hoof over the hole in the cloud, somehow zipping it up. He turned around, walking up to Celestia. Celestia simply stood, rooted to her spot, staring at the expanse of clouds before her.

"They're... They're like mountains!" she exclaimed, looking up at the white fluffy shapes.

"They're larger than any mountain you've ever seen, been on, or heard of," Red Dawn boasted. He lifted off, flying straight up. "We'll have lunch on top of that one!" He declared, pointing to the tip of a mountain off in the distance.

"Are you sure that's not too high?" Celestia asked. "These wings are fragile."

"Would I put my little girl's wings in danger?" Red Dawn asked rhetorically. Celestia scoffed.

"But you don't know anything about my wings, they're magic," Celestia cautioned. At the mention of the word, Red Dawn visibly recoiled.

"I know the limits of the sky, and I know that that cloud is not high enough for any kind of temperature extreme enough to set anything on fire!" he barked, making Celestia wince. He flew forward, upset by the turn of the conversation.

Dammit, Celestia. Celestia cursed herself mentally. Dad knows what he's doing. She fluttered upward, eventually keeping pace with Red Dawn.

"So..." She began, determined to set up a better mood. "When do you think we'll reach that cloud?"

"'Bout an hour," Red Dawn said gruffly. Celestia stalled in the air, her face disbelieving.

"An hour?" she asked.

"An hour," Red Dawn Clarified. "Maybe two, considering how fast you're flying."

Celestia pushed herself forward. Even pushing the magical wings to their limits, she had trouble keeping up with her father.

"Oh yeah, how fast could you get there?" Celestia asked, frustrated at her lack of speed.

Red Dawn cocked an eyebrow. "Thirty minutes. Fifteen if I push myself." He turned and looked at Celestia as he flew. "Don't worry about it, Celestia, we'll be almost there once we reach the top."

Celestia's eyes grew wider as Red Dawn turned and flew forward again.

Did he just... comfort me? She pondered, her insides feeling warm.

Celestia clawed her way to the tip of the cloud mountain. Red Dawn pushed her the final few feet and she slowly crawled away from the edge.

"That," she began, breathing heavily, "was the hardest thing I've ever done." Red Dawn walked past her to a flat area and unhitched the cart from his back.

"Most pegasi don't attempt to fly ten miles the day after they get their wings." Red Dawn commented. "But I'll be damned if you didn't push yourself to the top of this mountain yourself." Pride filled his voice. Celestia found the strength to trot over to the picnic site. Red Dawn had already set out a few choice foods. Celestia absentmindedly found herself casting a spell, but instantly stopped herself. Nothing was going to ruin this moment. Red Dawn sat down and tore into his sandwich. Celestia nibbled at hers, before quickly switching over to a drink.

It's the perfect time. She thought to herself.

"Dad," Celestia began, her heart beating faster in her chest. Red Dawn looked up. "Why... Why do you love Luna more than me?" Red Dawn stopped chewing and swallowed, pondering the question, painfully aware of the possible consequences of his answer.

"Celestia..." Red Dawn began, attempting to translate his emotions and thoughts into words. "I... I love the both of you to death. It's just that I grew up in a different time. What you consider normal was a complete faux pas when I was little. I saw non-pegasi, like my father, as annoying ponies, perhaps even lesser ponies. The Pegasi, in the clouds, were the top of the heap, the cream of the crop. I... I once asked my dad why we were better. He muttered some nonsense I didn't understand until later. It was pride. I suppose it was undeserved pride. And that's just how I was raised. Each race kept to themselves. Nobody had friends with the other races. Now... Now It's just so different. I was raised a pegasus, I know how to raise pegasi, I know how to raise Luna. But you, Celestia, your mother didn't even know how to name you. I never knew how to raise you. I love you so much, Celestia. We're just... just too different." Red Dawn was trying his best to hold back his tears. "And now I've failed as a father." Celestia walked over to him and threw her hooves around him.

"I don't think we're that different, dad," she said calmly.

Red Dawn smiled. "You're smarter than I am," he choked.