Hey everyone! Sorry for the wait on this update! I kinda stopped writing while I was waiting for season 3 to finish and then rise of harmony got sidelined by another project (that's also on the back burner now... :P ) But I'm going to get this story done before season 4 premieres. This...and it's sequel.
And season 3 gave me so much to work with...
Sorry for the delay! It won't happen again. Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.
"So, what's the fastest you've ever flown?" the pegasus asked, flying upside down in front of Aurora.
Startled, Aurora raised her eyebrow.
"Oh, come on! You have to have at least one time you flew super fast."
She glanced over to Luna, who was wearing a similarly bemused expression.
"Okay, you see that cloud up there?" He pointed to a large puffy cloud, lazily drifting through the sky. "First pony who gets there wins. READYSETGO!"
He was off, his mane slightly streaking the sky with colors. Aurora began pumping her wings frantically. She was able to glide just fine, but Spectrum had a gift for speed. He began looping around the sisters, occasionally passing between them in a spectacular dive. During one of his passes, Luna breathlessly asked, "How do you fly so fast?"
"Practice," Spectrum replied casually, twisting around while flying backwards. "Wow, I didn't realize you two were so bad at flying."
"We're not that bad."
"You can't keep up with me." An arrogant smile crossed his face and he zipped to the cloud, prancing pridefully.
As Aurora landed, inside something felt wrong. She couldn't figure out what exactly was wrong, but something was off. A strange tugging from inside was occurring. Almost like-
The sun suddenly vanished behind the horizon and a second later, the moon popped into the sky. The sudden change from light to dark left her somewhat blind. The stars winked in the distance.
Luna curled up into a ball on the cloud, shuddering slightly. "He's moving the moon. Make it stop, sister."
Aurora understood instantly what her sister was feeling. She too, felt sick as she watched the sun suddenly pop back up into the sky, causing her to cringe from the bright light. It felt the like sun was being moved against its own desires. She could do nothing for her sister except give her a hug that felt hollow.
Spectrum's face went into a fierce scowl. "This Discord fellow is gonna have a piece of my mind. If I get my hooves on him…" He turned to Cloudsdale, which had now gone three shades of pink and the rain was a dark purple. "Follow me."
Everything was beginning to blur together as a sharp wave of pain shot through Aurora's skull. Her wings involuntarily closed up and she almost plummeted back to the earth. She managed to get her wings open enough that she was able to glide onto a soft, gentle cloud. The moon popped up again, only to be replaced a moment later by the sun. Inside, she knew everything was wrong. It felt as though the sun was crying out in pain at being summoned and released so quickly. She wasn't sure which was worse: the feeling that she knew something was wrong, or that the sun and moon were moving on their own now. The thought of them moving, unbidden, filled her with dread. What other sorts of things could Discord unleash if he could manipulate the very heavens themselves? She watched as a rainbow rose out of the cloud she was resting on, followed behind by a soft purple and periwinkle cloud.
"Sister?" she heard Luna's voice call to her, but it sounded as though she was far away, and speaking through pillow.
The cloud with the rainbow nudged her, feeling less like a soft cloud and more like hoof touching her. "Your Highness?" It was a rough, familiar voice, but her mind couldn't place it.
Aurora didn't know what was wrong with her. All her senses were seeming to go places they didn't belong. She thought she could taste the cloud she was on, reminding her of snow.
"What's wrong with her?!" she heard Luna shriek to the rainbow cloud. Had the cloud sprouted wings? And what was that odd crimson stain on it?
A jolt of electricity passed through her, restoring her vision and other senses. Aurora shook her head, now feeling much clearer, though the knot that had formed in her stomach had not gone away. Luna hugged her tightly, a few tears leaking out.
"Sorry about that," Spectrum said, moving a dark raincloud out of the way. "You were acting kind of strange back there."
Aurora smiled at the pegasus, feeling foolish for thinking that he had been a cloud. "No problem at all."
"What happened?" Luna looked at her sister, then at her own hooves. "Is that going to happen to me?"
"I don't know." She hated the words the second they had left her mouth. She was supposed to be comforting her sister, but she had no clue what had just happened. "Starswirl would have known…"
"Starswirl?" Spectrum repeated, brightening. "I know that pony!"
"It's like everypony knows Starswirl," Luna said with a slight pout.
"Starswirl can have friends outside of his work, right?"
"I guess so…but he's our friend…mine and my sister's."
"That just means we have a friend in common, there's nothing wrong with that."
Just as Aurora was about to correct her sister's grammar, she felt the sun plunge beyond the horizon as the moon whipped into its former position. Luna gave a whimper. "It feeling like I'm being pinched…only on the inside and it doesn't go away."
Spectrum's face hardened. "You two need to hide somewhere."
"What?" Aurora had a suspicion, but she hoped, desperately, that she was wrong.
"Why?" Luna asked, genuine concern in her eyes.
"I'm gonna get this Discord here and tell him to leave you two alone!" The pegasus stomped his hoof in anger.
"You can't!" the sisters cried in unison.
"He'll hurt you!" Luna added.
"That doesn't matter," Spectrum said, wings flaring outwards. "You two are in pain, and I can help fix it."
"But-"
"Go! I'll be fine. I can take this dopey Discord easy." He flashed a reassuring smile at the sisters, though neither felt comforted.
They flew into a nearby grove of trees, though Aurora guided Luna deep into the recesses of the branches. She went down further, since she knew her white coat would glow in the moonlight like a beacon. Aurora couldn't bear leaving Spectrum to face Discord on his own. She regretted leaving Starswirl behind, but she hated the fact that she could do nothing to stop Discord, unless she found the "Elements." What were so important about these anyways? Couldn't magic alone stop him?
Spectrum stood on the cloud, head hung low in concentration. There was a quiet moment before his voice shattered the calm. "Discord!"
Aurora had to stifle her gasp. He was challenging Discord directly? He was either insane, or ridiculously brave. She waited, knowing Discord wasn't one to refuse a challenge. The clouds began swirling above Spectrum, and lightning shot downwards at the pegasus of its own accord. He dodged nimbly, though the clouds' movement clearly unnerved him as he tripped over his own hooves. A second later, Discord flashed into view, looking horribly bored.
"Another little pony who wants to talk to me," the Draconequus scoffed. "Typical. Alright, what do you want?"
"Listen up, Discord!" Spectrum flew straight at the monster's face. "You're gonna stop messing with the sun and the moon. That's the job of Aurora and Luna!"
An odd ripple sparked through the air. Discord looked around wildly, a grin on his face. "So you've seen the Pony Sisters then?"
"What if I have? What's it to you?"
"I have personal business with them. If you wouldn't mind telling me where you last saw them, I'd appreciate that."
"What makes you think I'm just gonna tell you where they are?"
Aurora quickly covered Luna's eyes, biting her lip in effort to keep from screaming in horror. She didn't want her sister seeing what she was seeing. Spectrum was now dangling in the air, his hooves flailing as his wings were now separated from his body. They flapped furiously, as though they were still connected to the pegasus.
Discord grinned darkly. "This. Now, you can either do this the hard way or the easy way."
"Give me back my wings!" Spectrum cried.
"Oh, I'll give you back your wings when you tell me where dear Luna and Aurora are."
"Forget it! I'm not to tell some monster like you where they are. Long live the Royal Pony Sisters!"
Giving an exasperated sigh, Discord took hold of one of Spectrum's wings. "Oh, dear. Guess we'll be doing this the hard way, then."
Spectrum gave a yelp of pain as Discord began to pluck out his feathers in thick clumps. Luna shifted under Aurora's hooves until her eyes met her sister's. Her blue eyes were filled with tears. She buried herself in Aurora's shoulder, only capable of letting her tears run freely down her face. Placing a consoling hoof on her sister's back, Aurora felt her own tears sliding into the forest below. But inside, she felt a burning rage, and she hated feeling so helpless as one of her subjects willingly submitted himself to so much pain just to protect her and her sister.
Spectrum quivered in mid-air. Discord let a few more white feathers fall to the earth before gripping the pegasus firmly between his eagle claw and lion paw. "Now, tell me: where are they?"
The pegasus gave a swift kick as a response, yet the Draconequus did not relinquish his hold. Instead, he yanked a claw-ful of Spectrum's feathers. "If you won't tell me where they are, then perhaps something else will." The feathers took on a dark aura, and then they fluttered gently down to the earth. They suddenly went up in flames, briefly illuminating the woods and clouds in a warm, orange light.
Discord raised an amused eyebrow. "Well, aren't you a loyal one? And loyalty is always rewarded…"
In quick succession, Spectrum's wings snapped back onto his body, he gave a sharp cry of pain, and Discord dropped him into the forest below.
Help him! her brain ordered, but Aurora sat, holding Luna tightly to her. She felt her sister stir, wanting to move as well. Luna's eyes met Aurora's, and she had to slowly shake her head. Spectrum had told them to stay hidden. But he needed them now…What was she supposed to do?!
She heard Spectrum hit the forest floor with a horrible crunching noise. She felt her heart sink into her hooves. Discord howled in laughter. In a flash of light, the Draconequus disappeared. Aurora waited five seconds before she dove out of the trees, Luna trailing behind her cautiously, and hurried to Spectrum's still form. Please don't be dead…
The pegasus stirred slightly. The sisters sighed in relief.
"He's got an attitude problem," Spectrum coughed, shuddering in pain.
"Why did you do that?" Luna asked the pegasus, kneeling down on the ground next to him.
"Hey, he doesn't have the right to boss you around. You two are royalty. He's just some freak of nature who doesn't even deserve to be in Equestria."
Aurora knelt next to her sister, wondering if any healing spells she knew would help Spectrum. "This is all our fault. We should have come out to help you. We should have-"
Spectrum forced himself into an upright position, grimacing. "No. He wants you. He can't have you; you're the last hope we have for Equestria. You two have to be defended at all costs. Nothing is ever going to change that."
"What do you mean, we're the last hope for Equestria?"
"Since the Kings and Queens are gone-"
"They're not gone!" Luna cried out, wings fanning outwards. "They're defending Friendship's Fire! Can you imagine the trouble Discord could cause if he got a hold of that?"
"If that's the case, then why is Discord after you two?"
Aurora looked bitterly at the ground. "He wants our grandparents to suffer. He already killed our parents-"Spectrum gasped at the news "-and he wants to finish the job. He's out for revenge, nothing more."
Spectrum was oddly quiet, his blue eyes seeming more so than before. "Atlas and Alcyone are gone?"
Luna nodded. "He turned them to ice and then shattered them. I don't think anything could bring them back after that…"
"No…Alcyone…"
"Did you ever meet our mother?"
"Of course I did! All the pegasi knew her! She was smart, witty, kind, and very beautiful. She always knew exactly what to do whenever a crisis arose. Now she's…" Illuminated by the moonlight, a silvery tear leaked out of Spectrum's eyes. A few more followed, splattering the ground.
Luna hugged the pegasus, which caused him to grunt as the princess crushed his battered wings. "Don't cry, Spectrum! If you start crying, I'll cry too, and I don't want to cry anymore today!"
Spectrum gently shrugged off the younger alicorn, forcing himself to his feet. "If Discord killed your parents, then you two need to be protected. Nothing is going to come anywhere near you two, I promise. I will defend you in your parents' stead." His wings were spreading as he spoke, causing him to look more and more heroic, despite his wings being ragged. But he flinched, and sank back to the ground as the pain came back to him.
"We need to get you help," Aurora said, coming close with a simple healing spell. It would do nothing to fix the broken bones, but she knew it would at least help with the pain.
"Where are we gonna find help out here?" Spectrum said with a hollow laugh. "We're in the middle of the forest. There's nopony out here!"
A bush behind the three of them rustled, a few twigs breaking. Spectrum wheeled around, groaning in protest. He glared at the bush, his blue eyes glowing with determination. Aurora walked behind him, though she was much bigger than the pegasus, and could easily be seen. Luna poked her head around Spectrum, looking at the bush with rapt interest.
A soft red pegasus popped out of the bush, rearing back in fright as she spotted the trio of ponies staring at her. Her golden eyes suddenly recognized the princesses at once, and she promptly dropped into a bow. "Your Highnesses!" Her voice was soft, but there was a slight edge to it.
Spectrum relaxed. "Ladybird, it's good to see you."
"Spectrum? Spectrum! What happened to you?!" she rushed over to the pegasus, glancing at his wings with worry.
"I got in a little fight with this Discord fellow…"
"Who's Discord?"
"A creature of great power," Aurora replied. "Ladybird, Spectrum's been injured, and we need to get him somewhere safe and where he can get medical attention. Do you know anywhere we can go?"
The red pegasus eyed her warily. "Maybe. If you can answer me a question: why isn't it the middle of the day still? Why is becoming light and dark without reason? You and your sister having a little fun?"
"Ladybird…" Spectrum warned with a weary tone.
"The sun and moon have gone beyond our control. They are now within Discord's power." Aurora said shortly, giving Ladybird just as much of a glare. "My sister and I are trying to find the Elements to stop him. I'm sorry if the day and night cycles are a bit…chaotic, but Luna and I have nothing to do with it."
Ladybird blinked several times. "Alright then. Spectrum, can you walk?"
"It's not too far, is it?" Spectrum asked, wincing.
"No."
"If Spectrum can't walk, I will carry him," Aurora offered.
"I'll help too!" Luna chimed in.
Ladybird gave the sisters a strange look, as though she was trying read them. Then, a smile appeared on her face. "Very well, then. If you all will follow me, I'll lead us to Sunvale."
Aurora had never heard of this settlement, and she figured it must be one of the new ones that kept cropping up all over Equestria. Spectrum shuffled off behind Ladybird, who offered herself as a crutch, though he refused.
The sun popped back into the sky, blinding them after so much darkness. A few second later, the moon reappeared in its place. Their night vision ruined, they were left to stumble through the woods.