Manehattan Practicing one's trade. [Rue + Pm to enter]

[Dusky Wing]

It was pretty early in the morning, the usual Manehattanites weren't up and about and for a moment she could pretend that the land was her own. The park she had chosen had no visitors at this early hour and the peaceful scenery was just what she needed. Estrella took a deep calming breath, horn softly glowing with her magic as she sat down by a nearby fountain, her makeshift stage for the morning. Slowly the scenery before her began to change as she told tell her tale.

Long ago, when the land was still young and unexplored by adventure seeking ponies, even before our Princesses Celestia and Luna were born, the land was kept healthy and lush by other powers.

Her horn flared brightly, magic pouring from it and into the surroundings, the city outside of the park disappeared, replaced by a lush sea of green trees and grass. The sun rose up above the tree tops and into the clear blue skies to complete the peaceful picture and the skittering of a few animals could be heard.

One Deity kept the balance of the land in check, the earth goddess Gaia.

Time skipped forward as the sun arced across, below the orb however an earth pony with a mane and tail as green as the trees she stood under galloped across the grass, her body the brown color of the earth.

The embodiment of the earth, charged with protecting the land she stood upon...however...being the only one to bear this task was no easy feat.

The earth pony's head was bowed in unhappy loneliness as she sat underneath the shade of a large tree, the sun disappearing behind behind the mountains to make way for the moon.

One night a plan was made by the mother of the earth, a plan that, if went well, would ease the lonely burden put upon her shoulders.

Estrella's horn flared up once again, the scene before her shifting to the moon, a small piece of the large celestial body falling away and hurtling towards the earth. Before it impacted upon the land the moon rock split down the middle and crumbled away into dust. Another pony was made from the piece of the moon, a dark blue Pegasus landing softly upon the green grass, tossing her white mane and flicking her tail as she gazed about with eyes the color of newly fallen snow. A pair of crystalline wings spread from her back as she launched herself into the sky, snow falling upon the land and covering it in a blanket of white, putting the world to sleep.

The first of her children would put the land to rest. Her name was Mother Winter.

[Dessa]

It was pretty late at night. The usual Manehattanites weren't up and about, and for a moment she could pretend that the land was her own. The park she had chosen had no visitors at this early hour and the peaceful scenery was just what she needed. Unfortunately, the rising sun promised to end this soon. In fact, up ahead there was one pony already out and about, ready to ruin Rue's solitude. Suddenly, the world shifted around Rue -- the city disappeared entirely, to be replaced by vast wilderness!

Rue glanced around, panicked. Moments later, the sun sailed through the sky rapidly. Was this Celestia's doing? One of her infamous jokes, perhaps? Rue wouldn't put it past her -- perhaps that accursed bringer of light had gotten bored with ruining the night, and had decided to target the daytime as well? At a loss for what else to do, Rue ran, hoping to find somepony who knew what was going on.

It wasn't long before her path merged with another and she found herself running alongside an earth pony.

"Hey, do you have any idea what this is abou--" she cut herself short when the scene shifted. The earth pony sat beneath a tree, moping. Rue skidded to a halt, then approached the Pony.

"Hey I was talkin--" Rue found herself on the moon. Did Celestia banish her here for asking too many questions? Distaught and confused, Rue dropped to her knees. The scenery continued to shift around her when she heard a faint voice "The first of her children would put the land to rest. Her name was Mother Winter. "

Encouraged to hear another pony's voice Rue climbed back to her feet and followed the sound to its source: A monochromatic unicorn, horn aglow with sorcery. The same one she spotted a minute earlier. Rue drooped her head. She was being pranked, but it wasn't by Celestia, it was by THAT pony. "Alright, alright, you had me going for a minute there, but the game is up, sister."

[Dusky Wing]

Somepony was trying to unravel her spell. She wove another layer of magic to keep her scenery intact before standing up as the mystery pony came to confront her. She stared at the mare, magic swirling about her horn and flowing into her mane, the line of white spreading out and turning her usual ebony locks of mane white as well.

Ye who tread upon this land, turn back now towards where you began.

She said, eyes glowing as the snow upon the ground swirling up, causing her to disappear amongst the flurry. Ok maybe she could have been less dramatic about it, but one had to improvise in situations like this...and...well...She decided to add the Mare into her story just for a bit. She needed the practice and she told herself that she would explain the situation to the unknown mare soon, yeah, no harm would be done!

[Dessa]

Rue scowled. A stripe of fur down her spine stood up. "Oh, so THAT'S how it's gonna be, huh? I don't know who you are, but you don't know who you're messing with!", growled Rue.

She talked a tough game, but she was in truth more frightened than angry. Rue had once again lost the enchantress, and had no guarantee that she could keep her from escaping if she DID catch up to her again, but she didn't see any other way out of it. Cautiously, the young filly knelt down to examine the hoofprints left by the stranger. They didn't look unusual, but something felt amiss. In fact, something about this entire experience was disorienting: Here it was snowing, but not at all cold. This was illusion magic. Rue relaxed. It didn't guarantee her safety, but it was a relief to at least know what she was up against.

Rue concentrated, and teleported back along the route that she took here, hoping to catch the illusion from beyond its boundaries.