Prism Star and the Nightmare Winter

by CherryRush

Chapter VI: A Storm of Generosity

When the airship finally docked at Las Pegasus, and the announcement to disembark came, it was late at night, and Shimmer had to gently shake Midnight and Prism awake off of the cabin's couch. Midnight, Sour, and Talon had all accepted an offer from Prism to crash in their cabin, small as it was, and the two youngest among them had spent the last few hours sleeping on the couch as Shimmer, Sour Apple, and Talon played cards at the table and compared stories.

Despite the two groggy foals, disembarkment went smoothly, and the five new friends stayed together as a unit as they passed through the station. However, this presented a new problem in the form of unexpectedly increased security, and the utter lack of any official paperwork for Midnight, Sour, or Talon. Shimmer had a little bit of an idea, but it was going to require some good lying and probably a lot of help from Prism. To that end, she pulled her aside under the guise of visiting the station's bathrooms. "Alright... I have an idea to get the others around the security but I'm going to have to use my abilities. I need you to keep them distracted and come up with some lie for where I am while I impersonate one of the workers and get into security."

"Are you sure this is a good idea? I'm... I'm not a good liar." Prism blinked in confusion and made a nervous face at Shimmer.

"It will be fine. That's why ponies trust you. Listen, all I'm asking is that you cover for me and don't tell them what my plan is." Shimmer looked at herself in the bathroom mirror. "Now lock the door."

Prism trotted over and locked the door - they were in the small individual bathroom next to the main ones, and this wasn't an issue. As she turned the latch, Shimmer closed her eyes tightly and quickly shifted back into her natural form.

"Alright, here goes," she said. "I think... umm, I think maybe an older mare... earth pony, definitely... let's go with brown coat, yellow hair... I think a baton cutie mark..." Shimmerwing was muttering to herself, to try and focus, and she closed her eyes to get the mental image of the pony she wanted to turn into before quickly doing the spell just as she'd done hundreds of time to turn into a unicorn.

"Um... Shimmy? Weren't you supposed to turn into a different pony?"

Shimmer opened her eyes and groaned. She had somehow just turned into her normal unicorn form again. She quickly turned changeling again and tried the spell again, only to huff in frustration as she got the same result.

"Shimmer, is something wrong?" She could see Prism's worried face in the mirror behind her and sighed.

"It's... it's just a little issue. I can fix it..." Shimmer kept trying until she was panting with exertion and half collapsed onto the sink, and finally just shouted in frustration, breaking the mirror with her chitinous hoof and sinking to the floor in tears. "I can't do it... I can't shapeshift. I'm a changeling who can only turn into one pony." She felt Prism patting her on the shoulder and then hugging her. "No, leave- leave me alone. Prism, I can't do the one thing I'm supposed to do." Shimmer sucked in her breath and then slowly breathed out. "Just... I'll be okay. I need to be alone right now."

"Well, too bad." Prism came around so that Shimmer could see her better and smiled. "You want to be alone, but what you need is your Best Sister Friend Forever to be here for you." She snuggled into the changeling, fur coat against hard exoskeleton, and just sat there in silence as Shimmer cried.

They stayed there for what felt like an eternity, until Shimmer finally worked up the strength to turn back into a unicorn, and the will to sniffle up the last of her tears and get back up on her hooves. "Thank you, Prism. I'm sure we'll figure something else out."

Prism patted her side. "Don't worry. You'll get around whatever's wrong with you." She chuckled and smiled up at Shimmer. "I guess it's my turn to have faith in you like you always have for me."

"Well... I didn't always have faith in you. There was a time I thought you might be mentally challenged," Shimmer joked with a wink as they exited the bathroom. This got her a playful shove and a giggle from Prism, who opened her mouth to reply, but whatever she was about to say stopped dead as a pegasus mare approached Shimmer, and Prism reflexively slid into a half-hiding position behind her big sister and Protector.

"Excuse me," the mare said. "Are you... Shimmerwing? You match the description." Shimmer assumed a guarded stance and looked over the pegasus, who was currently glancing at Shimmer's shoulders in poorly-concealed confusion. The silver pony was wearing business-pony attire and had a gold bangle on one fetlock, and her mane and tail were both bobbed short in a no-nonsense way despite their brightly clashing highlights of green and purple. "I'm... I'm sorry to stare, it just seems like an odd name."

"For a unicorn, you mean. My father really wanted a pegasus," Shimmer lied casually with a smile, "and he didn't really budge on the name after I was born. I usually go by Shimmer. But who are you?" She lowered her head in what was ostensibly a humble gesture, but was really intended to get her horn into position for a quick stab if necessary. Unicorns didn't normally like to get messy in a fight, but Thunderbolt had taught her to be prepared for anything when up close.

"Um... please don't point your horn at me, dear." The pegasus fluffed her wings a little bit. "I've got some training of my own, and I recognize a fighting stance. I'm White Wind, and I represent..." She hesitated. "Well, I was asked to give you this letter to prove my good intent." She lifted a wing and reached into the pocket of her blue jacket with her mouth, pulling out an envelope; there was no name or address on it, but Shimmer could see the star of the Order scrawled on the face of the envelope in purple ink, and so she took it with her magic and started reading the letter inside.

To Shimmerwing, bearer of Laughter,

My name is Southern Storm. I'm certain that you have heard of me before, but for now I'd like you to shelve whatever notions you might have about me. I have in my possession an old family heirloom that I have come to believe is the Element of Generosity, and its light has shown me images of you, your sister, and your friends arriving on the airship from Ponyville. I'm certain that Generosity wants me to aid you, though to what end I don't know, and so I'm inviting you to stay at my home for as long as you need to complete your task here in Las Pegasus.

I don't expect you to trust me right away, and I apologize for whatever deception I may have done in putting the purple sparkle on the outside of the envelope - I am not personally affiliated with the Order, but its sigil has appeared many times in connection with you and your sister. For now, though, you can trust White Wind. She's helped take care of me from a very young age, and is very capable. Please feel free to ask her for her help in anything you require.

Sincerely,
Southern Storm

This sent a lot of thoughts through Shimmer's head as she considered the letter, turning it over a few times as she thought. She wasn't inclined to trust strangers, especially cagey strangers who could recognize her readiness to fight. On the other hand, there were a lot of details that didn't add up to her. For a start, how did this White Wind know to find them here? They hadn't exactly advertised that they were leaving Ponyville, and the fact that whoever wrote the letter was even aware of Midnight and his brother, let alone Talon, certainly spoke to the letter's veracity. And then there was the mention of the Elements of Harmony... There was every chance this was a trap of some form, but the Element of Generosity had been thought lost, looted by grave robbers ages ago. She couldn't give up the chance to recover it out of paranoia. What if finding Generosity or its bearer was their friendship quest? And then there was the question of the sixth cutie mark over the map, that had started here instead of in Ponyville or Manehattan. Everything considered, it was probably worth the gamble, even if her instincts were telling her not to trust.

"Umm... hmm..." She said as she hedged for time to think. "Could you, possibly... get our friends past the security? They don't have any documents."

"Already done." White Wind smiled disarmingly, pulling a sheaf of papers from another pocket and giving them to Shimmer. "These will smooth over any issues you have entering Las Pegasus. If you'd like, I can have a cloud skiff waiting outside the terminal."

"That would be wonderful," Shimmer said. "Also, um... I'm sorry for threatening to gore you. I've been a little on edge," she admitted grudgingly.

"Of course." The pegasus pony looked at Prism. "I'm sure you'd do anything to protect the ponies you love, after all." She smiled once more at Shimmer and flew off with a surprising burst of speed, leaving the changeling with a stack of falsified documents and a very confused expression.

If nothing else, White Wind was true to her word about one thing: the documents did get them through security quite easily. In fact, the hardest part was convincing Sour Apple and Talon that it was all on the level. They didn't quite buy the explanation Shimmer provided, and while Sour's brother kept his thoughts to himself, Shimmer could feel his own skeptical stare. But eventually, Shimmer and Prism managed to win the three of them over after much debate, simply by Prism pointing out that they didn't really have any other options unless they wanted to live in the air station now.

The view exiting the station was, for all of them, nothing short of spectacular. They were looking at the last great cloud city, sprawled out in front of them in a sea of lights, sounds, and ponies. Earth ponies and unicorns shared paved streets with more automobiles than Shimmer had ever seen (which was saying something, as she had spent much of her childhood traveling from city to city after her exile from the changeling kingdom), and there were pegasi everywhere, sharing the sky with an armada of flying barges in every size, equipped with rotors on their masts instead of sails. In the distance, a huge plaza could be seen, with a tall statue made of woven steel and trapped gray clouds that depicted a stout-looking pegasus mare with stunted wings and an archaic-looking ship captain's hat with a feather in it, standing bravely with one hoof on a cannon.

"Over here, please!" Shimmer heard White Wind call out, and turned her head to see her standing at the wheel of a barge about ten meters long, with two masts and a diesel engine that spurted dark gray smoke behind the skiff. "Everybody aboard, and please stick to the gangplank! Remember, only pegasi can walk on the clouds." Shimmer turned to the others and smiled a little to reassure them before leading the way. She ended up sitting by one of the masts with Sour Apple and Talon, while Prism and Midnight trotted up to the bow and propped themselves up on the railing with looks of excitement, eager to see everything.

"We'll be making a short trip outside the shield," White Wind advised, half-shouting over the rotors that were throttling up, "so please stay bundled up and don't think angry thoughts."

"Isn't that dangerous?" replied Sour Apple with a look of concern towards Midnight.

"It's a short trip! Don't worry, the Storm Manor has very well-maintained wards."

"The Storm Manor? As in Southern Storm?!" Prism Star squeed loudly and began to babble something incoherent that might have been 'ohmygosh', leading Midnight to roll his eyes in annoyance and trot over to the aft side of the skiff - seeming to prefer the loud chug of the engine to Prism's fangirling. Shimmer erected Twilight's Sphere of Silence around Prism with an affectionate chuckle to preserve everypony else's mood. She was used to Prism's near-obsession, but worried that the others might resent the exuberance.

"Who's the statue of?" Midnight finally asked after a couple minutes of the group watching Prism freak out silently- with the filly ensconced in the bubble of green magic, it was rather like an amusing mime show, at least to Shimmer. "The one in that big plaza, with the cannon and the bad wings."

"Commander Scootaloo, from the War of the Princesses. She sailed the airship Firefly for Princess Celestia," White Wind explained as she started guiding the skiff towards the shield. "Shimmerwing, would you mind popping your little bubble? The little one will want a warning about the shield."

Shimmer nodded, quickly canceling the spell. "Prism. Prism! You need to hear this!" Prism Star quieted down after a minute and stepped over to join Shimmer. "By the way," Shimmer said as a quiet aside to White Wind (at least as quiet as one could get trying to speak over the noise of a diesel-powered cloud skiff), "I typically go by just 'Shimmer' in public."

"Of course, I'll remember that. I just wanted to say to everyone here that we're about to pass through the shield. You may want to brace yourselves for some discomfort."

The first sensation Shimmer felt passing through the energy field was searing heat from the barrier, followed by freezing cold on the outside. It left an unpleasant tingling sensation from her horn all the way down to her tail, and she could tell that the others felt the same way. "Scootaloo is something of a folk hero around here," White Wind continued nonchalantly, as though nothing had happened. "A lot of the pegasi who live here now are descended from survivors of the Battle of Cloudsdale, back in the day. Commander Scootaloo is remembered for sacrificing her ship, and her own life, to bring down the Crystal Empire's flagship, Vindicator."

"The loyalists lost that battle, though... didn't they?" Prism looked uncertain. Most of Shimmer and Prism's history education at the Academy had centered around unicorns and wizardry, and neither had more than the vaguest knowledge of the events of the War of the Princesses.

"We did," White Wind said. Shimmer filed away her use of 'we' for the time being as she listened. "We were going to lose Cloudsdale no matter what happened. With the Wonderbolts stationed there, Flurry Heart dedicated a massive fleet to its destruction. The battle was fought to relocate as many citizens as possible to the safety of other towns." She shook her head sadly. "When I was a filly, there was a Cloudsdale Festival every year in that square, that lasted a whole week. A week of celebrating our heritage, spectacular air shows, old-time music... cotton candy and fair food." Her face had taken on a wistful cast as she steered the skiff towards a sprawling structure of stone and compressed cloud, sitting atop a thick white cumulus. "On the last day, theater ponies would always do The Breaking of the Three, a play about the Cutie Mark Crusaders - Commander Scootaloo and her two childhood friends, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle."

Prism started in surprised recognition at this last bit, and she shared a look of concern with Shimmer, who vaguely remembered hearing the name of Sweetie Belle at some point. "Sweetie Belle," Prism said slowly and cautiously. "Isn't that... Shimmer, isn't that what Sweet Siren was called as a filly?"

"I think so... maybe..." Shimmer considered it, racking her brain for her memory of post-Classical wizards. "Um... Sweet Siren... Let me think about it." If she remembered correctly, Sweetie Belle had come to Starlight Glimmer shortly after the war, demanding the secret to Starlight's rumored mastery of time travel. Starlight Glimmer refused to teach her, but she eventually stole into the Royal Canterlot Library and found the spells for herself... only to find that she was too weak a magician to use them. Sweetie Belle disappeared shortly after in search of magical power, and when she returned three years later it was as Sweet Siren, a master of the dark arts who could enthrall and drain ponies with her voice just like the monstrous sirens of old.

"Yes, she was born as Sweetie Belle... the story of Sweet Siren is possibly the most tragic of the three of them." White Wind sighed, momentarily seeming lost in an old memory. "I always cried at the scene in the play where Apple Bloom realizes what her friend had done..." The pegasus shook her head. "The festival and The Breaking of the Three were both banned years ago, but Sosi and I have always had our own little celebration at home. And he always sponsors a private showing of the play- Sosi loves musicals. If you stick around you might get a chance to see it. I'm sure he'd love to have you all here."

"Sosi?" Midnight scoffed and broke down laughing, rolling on the deck until he was kicked rudely by an indignant Prism.

For her part, Shimmer ignored the pet name and the scuffling foals. "What are you to him, anyway? Are you related?"

White Wind shrugged her wings. "Second cousin. Most of us Cloudsdale ponies are related in some way or another, even if Sosi lives in a cloud mansion and not Little Cloudsdale. But... I was his nanny when he was a little foal, and I've been taking care of him as best as I can since his parents were taken." She chuckled and shook her head as they began to pull into a small dock. "These days, that usually takes the form of being the bad guy in contract negotiations. I love Sosi, but he has no business sense. He would give away his own clothes if he thought it would make somepony happy," she said with a small laugh as she shut down the engine.

"Well, it's not like ponies normally wear clothes. It wouldn't be much of a loss." A colt of about 12 or 13 stood at the top of the stairs leading from the dock in a thick down coat with a turned-up collar and aviator sunglasses over his eyes; his fur was a pale orange and his slicked mane jet black, his cutie mark appeared to be a tornado carrying musical notes, and he spoke with a smooth, high voice accented faintly in the tones of Trottingham. Prism Star let her jaw drop before starting to gush even more than before, carrying on excitedly and loudly for a good minute until she fainted, leaving Talon to pick her up off of the tiled dock with a dry laugh.

"You're wearing clothes right now," Sour noted with a smirk.

"Well, yes, but it's cold outside, isn't it? Let's all get inside before we freeze. It's good to see you guys in person, by the way." The colt stepped up to a pair of tall wooden doors. "Let me welcome you formally. My name is Southern Storm, and welcome to my home."

The inside of his home was nothing short of breathtaking. The floor of the massive entry hall was covered in a mosaic of tiles in every color under a protective layer of glass, enchanted to stay put on the clouds and provide a stable footing, and the gray cloud-compress walls were adorned with silk tapestries depicting heroic pegasi of old. A woven silver chandelier hung with brilliant sun crystals imported from the Crystal Empire hung over a wide flight of steps, throwing dazzling light over everything.

"Hey, Sour..." Midnight nudged his older brother. "Look at the pattern on the floor. Really look at it."

Shimmer craned her neck around to see what it was as Sour cantered in a circle to try and get the whole picture. Just this once she wished that she could revert to her natural form in public, to fly up and see the massive mosaic as it was meant to be viewed. It looked like a blue pegasus pony in dull grey padded armor, the emblem on her shoulder that of the Wonderbolts. Her mane and tail sparkled in every color of the rainbow, and she had a fierce look of determination.

"It's... It's Rainbow Dash," Sour Apple finally declared, looking to Southern Storm for confirmation. "Isn't it?"

Storm nodded. "My great-grandmother had it installed. My family... they've always been very proud of Captain Dash." He poked at the glass with his hoof, wearing an expression of resentment on his face.

"This has to be priceless, though!" Talon explained, crouching down to better examine it. "The mane and coat aren't tile, these are gem chips!"

"Feel free to eat them," Storm muttered before seeming to instantly regret it. "I- no, I'm sorry." He shook his head. "That was kind of rude for me to say, wasn't it?" White Wind put a wing on his back and he sighed. "It's not her fault, I guess," Shimmer could barely hear him say to White Wind. "Would you mind showing them to their bedrooms for me? The whole thing has put me in a bit of a bad mood."

The older mare nodded. "Alright," she said somewhat more loudly to the group, "I imagine you're all still quite tired from your trip. I'll go ahead and show you to your rooms." She motioned for them to follow and led them up the tiled stairs. "From here, the bedrooms and guest bathrooms are down this curved hallway her on the second floor," she explained as she led. "If you go down it far enough, it'll go in a circle back here, so don't worry about getting lost. Don't take the doors on the inside of the circle- they lead to the start of a flight course that's quite dangerous for non-flying creatures. There's a lot of unfloored cloud and no safety railings." She stopped about a quarter of the way through the circle. "We've set aside these next few bedrooms for you. Midnight Shine, you'll be sharing this first room with Prism Star." Talon took the still-unconscious filly into the room to lay her on the bed. "Sour Apple and Talon will take the next room. Shimmer, you'll have the third room to yourself."

The rest of them thanked her in their own ways and went gratefully into the bedrooms. Shimmer's room had white walls detailed with delicate gold leaf, a small writing desk, a dresser with a tall mirror, and a huge four-poster bed in the center of it all. She sighed and put her saddlebags down on the dresser before climbing up onto the bed. This was certainly going better than she expected, but... there was a nagging feeling in the back of her mind. Somehow this didn't feel right, and she couldn't help but think that they hadn't gotten any real answers, about their friendship quest or anything else. Most of all, she wanted to know what this kid knew about the Order of Harmony, and how he'd gotten the Element of Generosity - if he actually had it at all. But then... those answers could wait for the morning. For now, she had been awake for nearly 17 hours and this was the softest bed she'd ever been in. Shimmerwing closed her eyes and slept better than she had in forever.

Prism Star sighed softly as she fluffed her wings out for the gownmaker. The nervous little unicorn filly had grown into a beautiful teenage alicorn, and as she looked at herself in the tall mirror, she could see that the hairdresser was dyeing highlights into her blue mane in strips; the finished left side looked almost exactly like Celestia looked in the old pictures.

"Is this really necessary?" She asked. "Surely I don't need a fancy silk gown, or elaborate highlights... do I?" She twitched her huge wings in a gesture of annoyance. "I mean, I only saved Equestria. You know, at the cost of all my friends." Prism glared at the two helper ponies and just sighed angrily. "I can't... I can't do this right now. Cloth-of-Gold, Silver Scissors... please leave me. We'll finish later."

The two of them stepped back and bowed deeply. "Of course, Princess." They quickly packed away their kit and left her bedroom with another bow, leaving the half-readied Prism Star to wiggle out of her purple gown and look at herself in the mirror. Somehow it didn't feel right, being called 'Princess' and seeing every pony bow to her. 'It's because you're not a princess. Not yet at least.' She heard a young colt's voice in the back of her head, so familiar yet distant, and she whirled around to see Midnight Shine sitting on the huge bed of pink silks and pegasus down cushions. His normally dark coat seemed lighter, yet deeper, like the blue of the dusk sky, and the wide silver rings of his eyes almost seemed to glow, gleaming like actual metal reflecting a light source nopony could see.

"Prism, you heard that?" He shook his head. 'Wow, that's freaky,' she heard him saying in her head. "I think you can actually hear my thoughts if I'm not careful. I've entered dreams before but I've never actually shared a dream like this." A flying pig wandered in from the open window and Midnight quickly popped it out of existence with his magic.

"But... but you shouldn't be here." Prism shook her head in confusion, unconsciously fluffling her folded wings. "You... you died. Nightmare Winter-"

Midnight interrupted her sharply. "No. Prism, look into my eyes. Think carefully about what happened."

She did her best to calm her shaky breathing. "You... Nightmare Winter, she..." A flash of silver light seemed to pass across Midnight's eyes as she looked into them, causing a feeling of calm to come over her. "I... I'm dreaming. She didn't do anything to you because this is a dream. Or... maybe a nightmare."

"Wow, you're way quicker on the uptake than my brother. Prettier too, you make a fantastic princess." Midnight laughed, and Prism blushed self-consciously at the compliment.

"I, um... thanks," she managed with a nervous chuckle, climbing up to sit on the bed with him. "What are you doing here?"

"It's my special talent," Midnight explained. "I can enter ponies' dreams, usually by touching them while they sleep. But this time I wanted to try something different, and link our dreams together before I went to sleep." He looked around. "Looks like your dream was pretty dominant, though. I guess I need a lot of practice shaping dreams still."

"I think it's amazing. And you did a fantastic job getting rid of that pig." Prism giggled and then took on a thoughtful look. "I can do anything in a dream, right?"

"Yeah, in theory. Why?"

She closed her eyes and focused, and when she opened them she was her normal self again, sitting at eye-level with Midnight. "It's really weird being so tall once I realized it wasn't real. And I'm not sure I could ever get used to having wings." The unicorn shook her head. "I like being me. I don't want to be some princess."

"Everypony already acts like you are, though, don't they? Shimmer, at least. I..." Midnight trailed off into a sigh. "My brother can't go a day without telling me how special he thinks I am. I don't want to be some prince or something either, but-"

"-everyone's looking to us," Prism finished for him. "They think we're going to come up with some amazing solution because we're Celestia and Luna come again or something stupid like that. Shimmer and I came to Las Pegasus on some kind of 'friendship quest'-" She punctuated this last phrase with air quotes from her hoof. "-but I have no idea what the quest is or what I'm supposed to be doing, and I don't think she does either. She even-" Prism stopped herself short of telling him about Shimmer's other problem, but his eyes suddenly went gigantically wide anyway.

"Shimmer's a changeling?!"

Prism shook her head rapidly. "What? No, I- ugh!" She flopped down angrily, realizing that he could hear her thoughts too. "I hate trying to talk in dreams!"

"Aren't you scared, though? She's-"

Prism interrupted him with an angry growl. "She's my big sister, or might as well be, so you don't say anything bad about her. And you keep her secret. Got it? I just met you! At this point I trust Shimmerwing more, at least she doesn't invade my dream privacy! Or give me weird visions saying I'm going to turn into some kind of monster!"

"Prism, I..."

"Just cut the connection or whatever weird thing it is you do. I don't want to talk to you." Prism rolled off of the bed and disappeared into the room's closet, slamming the door behind her.

She sat in that closet for a while and stewed, finding a doll of Midnight lying around and starting to rip the stuffing out of it angrily. She couldn't believe he had the nerve to say anything bad about a pony who had always been there for her, who was practically family. So what if Shimmer was a changeling? It's not like it mattered! More than anything, Prism hated that Midnight had the nerve to act concerned about her when they had just met, when she was the one who saved him from whatever stupid thing he had done to overload his horn. Caught up as she was in her anger, and the violence she was inflicting on the life-size plush doll to vent her feelings, Prism didn't notice the closet full of adult-sized gowns and horseshoes dissolving away to be replaced by a castle of grey stone, a great hall with broken windows of stained glass, ruined tapestries depicting Celestia and Luna in a stylized pre-Classical manner, and a plush red carpet that she was currently littering with bits of Plush Midnight.

Prism heard his hooves on the stone before he had the chance to say anything, and looked up quickly to glare at him. "What are you doing here? I told you to go away."

"I know." Midnight raised a hoof in a defensive gesture. "Wow, you... you really destroyed that thing." He blinked nervously at the tattered doll.

"What do you want, Midnight? You better not be about to talk bad about my sister again."

Midnight sighed and sat down, keeping his distance. "I wanted to apologize to you. And make sure you didn't spend the rest of the night hiding in a closet. I can't... I can't unlink our dreams until we wake up, and I guess it might be better for me to say I'm sorry for what I said or thought instead of spending the night being miserable while you kill my twin there."

Prism Star just glared. "This had better be good."

"Alright, I... I'm sorry for judging Shimmer like I did. I've only ever heard about changelings from scary stories Sour told me, but I shouldn't have acted like I did. You trust her, and if you're my friend that should be good enough for me. End of story."

"I..." Prism groaned with frustration, wanting to stay mad at him, before finally abandoning the doll and stepping over to sit next to Midnight. "That was... a pretty good apology," she admitted. "I don't think I could do something like that."

Midnight smiled nervously. "Does that mean we're friends, Prism?"

She chuckled in response and nudged his shoulder with hers. "I guess so. I mean, we kind of have to be, don't we? You're supposed to be my Luna, which I guess makes you my little brother."

"I don't think that's how it works," Midnight said with a laugh. "Let's just be friends so you putting your mouth on mine isn't as awkward as it could be."

Prism blushed furiously and looked away, but she felt the impression from his mind that he didn't feel as awkward about it as she did. In fact, it was possible that he... liked it? Of course, this just made her turn even redder under her brilliant white coat. "Um... so where are we, anyway?" she asked, quickly trying to change the subject. "Is this supposed to be the Castle of the Two Sisters?"

"Um... yeah?" Midnight seemed uncertain. "Why, is something wrong with it? I just remember it from a movie I saw once with Sour."

"Well, it's not ruined anymore, it got restored and now it's a big tourist- wait, you go to movies?" Prism looked at him in confusion. "I thought Sour said you guys were dirt poor. Um, no offense."

"Well, we are but there's a theater in the bad part of Manehattan where fillies and colts can get in for just a halfbit. It's not exactly a great place, and we usually can't afford popcorn, but it's not like we're rock farmers."

"How do you farm rocks, anyway?" Prism shook her head. "I never got that."

"I don't know, earth pony magic?" Midnight shrugged. "I'm a city colt, how would I know? We mine all of our rocks from the ruined quarters of the city."

"Ugh, you're so useless." She punched him on the shoulder with a little laugh. "So why the Castle of the Two Sisters?"

"I guess it just seemed fitting for me apologizing to you," he admitted. "The whole Celestia and Luna thing. But I've always liked old castles and ruins and stuff, too. Sour almost never tells me scary stories, because he says we have enough fear in our lives, but I love stories about dark and mysterious places like this, that might have ghosts or monsters or treasure."

"Aw, now I wish I packed more stuff on this trip. For last Hearthswarming, my dad got me tapes of all of these old Celestial-Era movies about an explorer pony called 'Daring Do', you would have really liked them." Prism shook her head.

For his part, Midnight just laughed at this. "Oh come on, we don't even have anything to play them on. You're just being silly."

Prism huffed. "Oh come on, it's not like Southern Storm doesn't have a video projector."

"I don't know how you would know," Midnight said with a mocking grin. "You passed out the moment you saw him." Prism shoved him to the ground, drawing more laughs from Midnight. "He seems like a decent enough guy, but it's not like he's some god. Weird chip on his shoulder that I can't place, though."

"Well, I mean, he's rich and famous, why shouldn't he be a little standoffish?"

"That's not what I mean, though. He's got... I don't know what it is. But I guess I've just gotten an instinct for when something's wrong with a pony or bothering them. I'd thought it was just Sour, and because he was my brother, but now I'm starting to wonder if it has to do with my special talent. The stories always said that Luna would spend her time going from dream to dream, always knowing just who needed her wisdom most."

"So what is your 'wisdom' telling you?" Prism asked with a bit of a smirk.

"Ugh, it's not like that!" He pushed her off of him with a growl of frustration. "I just... I just get the feeling he's got some kind of baggage. Like... I think that he resents his family in some way? Or resents himself for resenting them? Or..." He groaned loudly and put his hooves over his face. "It's all so confusing! Unless I can actually go into his dream all I have to go off of is vague feelings!"

"Or, you know, you could actually talk to him like a normal pony instead of jumping straight into his privacy?"

Midnight scoffed. "Oh, please, like he would just talk to us about his feelings. He's probably sitting up late with a bottle of cider and laughing abut what low-class rubes we all are."

Southern Storm sat up on the roof with a guitar in his lap, bundled up in a thick coat and looking out over the main districts of Las Pegasus in their multicolored shield bubbles like rainbow candies floating in the sky. A half-empty cup of heated cider sat next to him, half sunken into the fluffy clouds that roofed his family mansion. This was actually a good thing, as it kept the cup somewhat warm while he picked idly at the strings with a sigh.

"Hey... funny seeing you up here," he heard a female voice behind him. "I guess I'm not the only one who likes to find a high place and be alone sometimes." Storm craned his neck around to see the gangly red dragon who had been traveling with the element bearers... her name was Talon, if he remembered right.

"Yeah... even as cold as it is, I like to sit up here for hours sometimes working on my songs. What about you? I thought you'd be asleep."

"I could say the same to you," the dragon said as she sat down on the edge of the roof next to Southern Storm, her legs hanging off of the edge. "And not only are you staying up late, you're drinking. A little young, aren't we?"

Storm huffed defensively at this and nudged at his cup with a hoof, making it sink a little further. "It's really weak cider. Barely any alcohol, it's like 2%."

"Yes, well, you're barely any pony. You're what, twelve? Skinny as a stick?" Talon took the cup and quickly drank the remaining cider. "Hey, I'm not one to go for authorities, but what would White Wind think about you sneaking up here to drink?"

"That's not what it is!" Storm glared at her for a moment with defiance before looking away. "Please don't tell Windy. She'd freak out so hard her wings would fall off if she found out."

"Relax, I'm not going to tell her. Just maybe think that if you have to lie and sneak around the pony who loves you most, it might be a bad thing to do." She ruffled Storm's mane with her hand, turning his exquisitely coiffed pompadour into a scruffy mess. "So what are you really doing up here this late if you're not trying to get drunk?"

Storm sighed. "I'll tell you if you tell me."

"Fine." Talon laid back on the cloud, stretching out her arms over her head. "I had a fight with Sour Apple. It was over... um, well, we had some unresolved issues from our last job and he's hoarding the biggest part of the treasure."

Storm laid back too, looking at her. "He found something special, didn't he? A... a big gold choker with a huge gem." From the first time he'd seen them, Southern Storm had felt a connection with the tall unicorn and the shifty earth pony. Even though they'd just met, he felt like the two of them were already his most trusted friends. "An Element of Harmony." Storm didn't know how he knew that, but it felt right as he said it, like the thread holding the three of them together felt more real all of a sudden.

"A what?" Talon looked confused. "How did you know what he had?"

As Southern Storm did his best to explain what he knew about the Elements of Harmony, a sense of unease came over him. His mother and father were always certain that the Elements would find each other again. And now it was happening... but there were two more left to go. It was all coming together like the parts in a song, so clear all of a sudden with all the instruments starting to come in, but how could he explain it? His hoof went to his guitar unconsciously, strumming out notes from an old bit of doggerel his father had taught him as a foal.

"They're... they're a set, Talon. And he can't sell it or give it to you because..." Storm struggled to put it into words. How could he, to someone who hadn't experienced it? How could he describe the unearthly light that only he could see, the images it showed him of ponies who needed his help and his charity? Or the need to love and to give, to make other ponies happy? How could he tell her what it had done for his music, how a lump of sapphire had taught him the meaning of beauty? That he had looked into it for the first time as a foal and gotten his cutie mark with the knowledge that he was meant to share his gift with the world? He didn't think he could possibly make her understand any of it until she saw it for herself- if she ever did. After all, there were five known elements, and six possible bearers in their group. "...it chose him. At least that's how it felt for him. He looked into it and he saw-"

"-stuff about olden ponies and that Rainbow Dash and monsters. He tried to tell me that, too, but it seems so silly. He could have just remembered that from old movies." Talon scoffed.

Storm shook his head at her. "No, he... that was part of it, I'm sure, but more than that he saw his potential. He stares at it, doesn't he? When he doesn't think you're looking." Storm knew this for certain, with the nights that he had spent looking into that sapphire from behind a glass case. When he got a hesitant nod from the dragon, he continued, "It really does show him things... things that it would never show anypony else. It makes him stronger, makes him believe in himself in a way no pony ever did for him."

"Like... like believing he could fight a giant golem for me. And winning." She looked over at Storm hesitantly.

At least he could be confident now which Element it was now, at least from what he'd studied of his father's notes. "The Element of Loyalty. It gave him the courage to do anything for the ones he cares about. Just like the Element of Generosity helped me to believe I could spread happiness and beauty everywhere I went with my music."

"Where did you learn all of this anyway? It's all so... crazy. I've never heard about any of this."

"My..." Southern Storm hesitated, not sure if he wanted to go into the painful family history. "My father was a history professor, who was always looking to find the real story under what we've been taught. He practically worships Princess Twilight Sparkle - she was one of Celestia's students, but you never hear about her anymore because she's been written out of the official history. He and my mom do worship Celestia and Luna, I'm pretty sure." Storm shook his head. "That's not the point though. My dad was always telling me stories about Twilight Sparkle and the other bearers of the Elements of Harmony. It's... it's a little embarrassing now, but when I was a little foal, he taught me a song to remember them."

"That doesn't sound embarrassing." Talon wrapped an arm around him, pulling him in close. "It sounds like your parents loved you a lot. What happened to them?"

Storm looked off into the distance with a sigh. "They were arrested and thrown in prison. My mom had a little temple going to Celestia, and my dad just couldn't keep his mouth shut. All he had to do was give the official story in his class and call it a day, but he..." Storm's voice broke as he started to cry quietly. "He just had to tell the truth. He had to pick his real history over his son."

Talon held him tightly. "My... they took my parents, too. The Dragon-Lands are still officially at war with Equestria and the Crystal Empire. It's... it's illegal to aid the enemy." She closed her eyes and breathed in tightly, trying to avoid breaking down crying as well. "My parents were charged with treason for taking me in and raising me. They knew that any day the Finders could come for them, but they did it anyway because it was the right thing to do." She wiped away his tears with a scaled finger. "Can I hear the song? If you're up to it. I think it might make you feel better."

Storm nodded at this and began strumming the guitar gently. He started picking out a slow, simple tune that was almost night and day from his normal style of energetic rock music, while falling into the familiar pattern of controlled breathing he always used to squelch his nerves before a show. It was almost like a meditation: close the eyes, focus on the breathing, and let the hooves act on memory, until fear or anger or resentment bled away into the music. When he finally started singing, the shakiness and small sobs were gone and replaced with the smooth voice that he'd become famous for - even if he was essentially just singing a nursery rhyme.

"Twilight Sparkle studied patiently, until the day she got her wings;
We had safety and friendship in her day,
And her friends were there for everything.

He continued through the main verses, singing the virtues of Fluttershy (who 'loved creatures of the wood and sky'), Rarity (who could 'make beauty out of everything'), Rainbow Dash ('the fastest pony in the sky'), Pinkie Pie ('ready to party through the night'), and Applejack ('steadfast and strong; she could buck apples all day long').

"And... that's it." He sighed. "You're right, though. Silly as it is, singing it did make me feel closer to them." Storm snuggled in close, feeling the warmth of Talon's inner fire through her scales. "I just wish they were here. As much as I'm sure they'd disapprove of me, I'd give anything to hear my mom complain that I'm not an athlete, or to hear my dad lecture me on my artistic choices or the ponies I hang out with."

"You bear an Element of Harmony, though. It chose you, you said. They've got to be proud of that," Talon pointed out.

"I... maybe. Even then I can probably picture my mom saying how Generosity is totally the least useful one." Storm laughed grimly. "She was never pleased, with anything. All she ever wanted was another Rainbow Dash. She wanted brave, and athletic- somepony who could go to the Equestria Games like she did. She got a scrawny little colt who holes up all day indoors with a guitar, and had to get surgery just to see right."

"What about your dad?"

"My dad always supported me," Storm admitted. "At least when it came to music. My dad would always have parties, almost every day, even if it was just a few friends having dinner together. It's how we charge the wards around the house... something about love energy that I don't really get. And he'd always get me to get up and sing, or play my guitar. He was always so proud, at least until I started getting older."

Talon looked at him curiously. "What happened then?"

"I got into rock. I traded my acoustic guitar in for an electric and started painting my face." He laughed. "I found out I like colts and not fillies. There's... there's a lot we don't agree on. But I still miss him quite a bit." He went silent for a few moments. "Thank you, Talon. You know, you're awfully good at getting the truth out of a pony."

"Come on," she replied with a small laugh. "Let's get to bed, right? You don't want White Wind catching you up this late."

"Yeah, you're right." He punched her lightly on the arm. "Goodnight."