The Sisters From Scotland

[Twilight Moonmist]

Chapter One

It was a crisp, spring evening in the Highlands of Scotland. The smell of rain lingered in the air. A breeze disrupted the stillness of the evening, ruffling the thin, gauzy curtains of a small home, secluded in the forest.

A baby with brown hair and blue eyes giggled, as the small gust of wind reached her ear, tickling her. The laugh was the first she'd uttered since her birth, and a baby's first laugh is rather important.

Carried by the wind, the laugh drifted out of the house, swirling around the tall, lush trees. The laugh blew through the branches of a tall red oak, picking up a freshly-fallen raindrop from a nearby leaf, and a red feather from a small nest.

The laugh split, taking the form of both the raindrop and feather. The two items drifted through the wind, falling and rising with the drafts. They drifted out across a sparkling ocean, until they reached an oddly-shaped land. The feather and raindrop floated to the heart of this land, lowering into a haven filled with brightly-colored flowers and shimmering waterfalls.

The laughs dropped onto a lily pad in the middle of a small pond. A golden glow emanated from both seemingly unimportant objects--but the light signified the laugh inside. A small fairy poked her head out from around the corner of a pink waterlily floating nearby. She motioned to a nearby fairy with short silver hair, streaked with blue highlights.

The two fairies nodded and carefully picked up the raindrop and feather, carrying them to the Pixie Dust Tree, a towering tree with sparkling purple leaves and an infinite well of Pixie Dust flowing from the middle. By the time they reached the tree, a small crowd had gathered, watching in anticipation. The two fairies placed the laughs beside the pond of Pixie Dust.

A small, golden star flew through the air, a thin stream of Pixie Dust trailing behind it. The star stopped, hovering over the raindrop and feather. Slowly, a figure grew from the star, with large golden wings of a butterfly.

A few gasps rose from the crowd.

"Is that Queen Clarion?"

"I knew they were fairies!"

"I wonder what talents they'll have."

Queen Clarion--commonly called Queen Ree or, simply, Ree--was the queen of the fairies. She had fair skin and honey-colored hair, atop which sat a sparkling, golden crown. She wore a golden dress, with a skirt made of flowing Pixie Dust.

The queen nodded in the direction of a few nearby dustkeeper fairies, who were anxiously waiting to dust the laughs. Queen Clarion moved the feather and dewdrop father apart, as the dustkeepers dipped their pewter cups into the Pixie Dust. Each fairy flew to one of the items, pouring the dust onto the raindrop and feather.

Slowly, they began to take forms. From the raindrop rose a pale-skinned fairy with long brown hair and aqua colored eyes. She wore a dress of blue and silver waterlily petals.

A fairy with tan skin and caramel-colored hair rose from the feather. She wore a red top made of oak leaves and orange capris. A single red feather decorated her long braid.

The brunette fairy looked around, taking in all she saw. Queen Clarion placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Go on, announce yourself," she said, giving the fairy a warm smile.

The fairy turned to face the other fairies watching. "My name is Twilight, and I'm a water fairy!"

Applause sounded from the crowd. Immediately, the fairy who had carried the raindrop to the Tree fluttered over to her. "I'm Silvermist, and I'm a water fairy like you! See all those other fairies over there?" she asked, motioning to a group of fairies wearing cool-colored clothing sitting on a lilypad nestled in the branches. Twilight nodded. "They're all water fairies, too. Come on, I'll introduce you!"

Slowly, and nearly falling--as she hadn't gotten used to her wings, yet--on the way, Twilight flew after Silvermist.

Queen Clarion turned to the blonde fairy. "What about you?" she asked with a smile.

The blonde fairy turned to the crowd, smiling shyly. "I'm Strawberry. I'm an animal talent," she said quietly.

"I knew it!" someone yelled from the crowd. A fairy with two red pigtails zipped out of a group of fairies and landed in front of Strawberry. "Hi there, chickadee! I'm Beck, and I'm an animal-talent fairy like you! Do you want to meet the others?"

Strawberry nodded, smiling.

"They're right over here; come with me!" Beck helped Strawberry fly over to a nest tucked in the branches of the tree. Several other animal-talent fairies sat in the nest, eager to welcome the new Arrival.

"Born of laughter, clothed in cheer, happiness has brought both of you here!" Queen Clarion announced in a silky, clear voice. "Welcome to Pixie Hollow!"

All of the fairies applauded and cheered. Queen Clarion nodded before turning back into a shimmering star and vanishing.

Okay, so that ends Chapter One! Should I continue? Yay or nay?

[Julie Sunripple]

Yay! I love your descriptions of each fairy, and their arrivals. I can't wait to read more.

[Alyce Natalie]

Yes, you should continue the story. It's so beautiful.

Thanks,
~Alyce Natalie~

[Twilight Moonmist]

Aw, thank you! c: I'll never forget what my fourth grade teacher told me. "It's better to have too much description than not enough!"

[Twilight Moonmist]

Chapter Two

"Twilight, would you hand me that basket?" Rani, a water-talent fairy, asked. She was making a water curtain and Twilight was helping--mostly watching.

Twilight nodded and bent down to get the basket. It was filled with sparkling dewdrops in every shade of the rainbow. "What do you use these for?" she asked, handing the basket to Rani.

Rani took a yellow dewdrop from the basket. "See how the curtain is clear, right now?" She held up the aquatic curtain, which was fastened to a thick twig--thanks to a sprinkle of Pixie Dust and some water fairy magic. "I take these droplets and..." As soon as the dewdrop touched the curtain, the color sank into the water, dying it. It ran down the curtain in a solid strip of color, but it didn't color the rest of the clear water.

"Wow," Twilight said in amazement, her eyes locked on the colored piece of curtain.

"You try!" Rani chirped, holding out a purple dewdrop.

Twilight cautiously took the drop and held it out to the curtain. She pushed the drop into the surface, and it melted into the water, leaving a purple stripe.

"Perfect!" Rani sang.

Twilight grinned. It was the first thing she had actually done with her talent since her arrival yesterday. She'd spent most of the day meeting other fairies and learning how to fly.

"Good afternoon, Rani, Twilight," a messenger fairy, Bliss, said, descending into the pond where they were working. She landed on the lilypad where they were sitting. "Twilight, Queen Clarion would like to have a word with you."

Twilight cast an anxious glance in Rani's direction. "Did I do something wrong already?" she whispered.

Rani laughed. "No, Ree just likes to get to know all of the new Arrivals."

"Oh," Twilight said, looking relieved. She fluttered after Bliss, who had already started to leave.

They flew out of the watery area of the Hollow, where most water-talents spend their time. They passed fields of vibrant green clover, meadows decorated with bright yellow sunflowers and delicate pink tulips. By the time they reached the Pixie Dust Tree--Queen Clarion's residence--Twilight was amazed at just how big the Hollow was. It was going to take her years to explore everything!

"Oh, it appears she's with another fairy," Bliss said, upon finding the Queen's door closed. She turned to Twilight. "She'll be with you momentarily," she said, before flying off.

"So, should I just...?" Twilight started to ask, before she turned to see Bliss had already left. "I guess I'll just wait here." She sat down on a pine needle bench beside the walnut-shell door. She could hear voices on the other side. And what was being said. Clearly.

Not that she was trying to eavesdrop, but it was hard not to listen.

"Queen Clarion, don't you think it's a little strange?" one voice asked.

Twilight recognized the voice as Tinkerbell's, one of the Hollow's most talented pots-and-pans talent fairies.

"Well, it's happened before," was the Queen's response.

"But how frequently? It's very unlikely that two laughs arrive at the same time. Most of the time, the two fairies are sisters!"

Twilight's head snapped in the direction of the door. Did she just say sisters? She stood up and walked closer to the door, curious as to what the Queen's reply would be.

"Yes, most of the time, but not in all instances. Remember Violet and Whisper?"

Tinkerbell sighed. "I guess."

"In addition to that, sisters are usually of the same talent."

"Not all the time," Tinkerbell protested. "Peri and I are different talents."

"Peri is also a winter fairy--there are different talents in the Winter Woods," Queen Clarion said. "Tinkerbell, I really appreciate your concern, but I don't think it's anything to worry about.

"Okay," Tinkerbell replied, but she didn't sound convinced. "Well, I have a teapot calling my name, so I'll be on my way."

Twilight quickly jumped away from the door. She returned to her seat on the bench just as Tinkerbell opened the door. "Oh, Twilight!" she said. "I was just on my way out; sorry for keeping you."

"Not a problem," Twilight replied, smiling at her.

"Fly with you later," Tinkerbell said, flapping her wings and flying away.

Queen Clarion stepped out of her home. "Ah, Twilight. Please come in," she offered, opening the door further.

"Thank you," Twilight said, entering Ree's home.

"So, Twilight, how are you liking Pixie Hollow?"

"Oh, it's splashtastic!" Twilight said. "I really love being a water-talent; I actually got to color a little bit of Rani's water curtain earlier today!"

Queen Clarion smiled. "Wonderful! How was it?"

"Well, for lack of a better word, magical, really!"

"I'm so glad you had fun. Have you been able to find everything alright?"

Twilight nodded. "It took me a while to get to the Tearoom for dinner, last night, but Fira helped me get there."

"Good," Queen Ree said with a laugh. "Well, I won't keep you from helping Rani with that curtain. And remember, you can always come to me if you have any questions."

Twilight grinned. "Thank you!" she said. "Fly with you later!"