The Human, The Hybrid, The Raven

          Raven layed her head down on the pillow in on of the quest rooms at the castle.  She excused herself from diner early due to the fact that her head and back felt like they were on fire.

          Despite that, she was able to meet with the other two princesses of Equestria.  Luna was Celestia's sister.  She was just shorter than Celestia herself and had an indigo coat.  Her mane was a darker color and waved on an invisible breeze.  She was kind, but after awhile proved to be very mischievous.  Raven lost count of the number of pranks she pulled off during the dinner.

          Twilight, the young student of Celestia and the bearer of something called the element of magic, was smaller than both sisters and had a coat of lavender.  Her mane and tail made up of three different shades of purple, dark being the majority. She was overly excited to see Raven and was talking a hundred miles per hour, trying to get her to answer questions.  Celestia was able to calm her down enough so Raven could do so.

           Though she was curious, she was still warm hearted and put aside her difference right away.  Raven was pleased with this for she didn't exactly like the idea about being singled out because she was different since it brought out a lot of attention.  She learned this in high school since not many students were gay and she was one of them.

           She also learned of the varying types of ponies.  There were mainly three.  Pegasus, which were known for their wings and superior flying.  They controlled the weather and mostly focused on either weather or sport flying.  The elite fliers out of the entire race being a group of daredevil preformers called the Wonderbolts.

             Earth ponies were just regular ponies.  No special appendages attatched, just legs, a body, and a head.  They were known for their strength and ability to care for other living things, be they plants, animals, or other ponies.

           Then there was the unicorns.  The nobility and higher status ponies seemed to be made up mostly of unicorns.  One of the supposed reasons were their ability to use magic.  Unicorns varied in magic areas, putting them in a large range of abilities an lines of work.

           Magic dated back to the beginning of Equus, the name of the planet, and was a extremely difficult topic in many areas.  Unicorns were also known for their superior intellect since they needed it if they were to be fluent magic users.  Some of the unicorns, however, had a strong sense of racism and put themselves higher than others.

            Lastly was the rare breed of Alicorns.  There were a total of four, not including the changeling queen, Chrysalis.  The fourth was Princess Cadence who ruled the Crystal Empire to the north.  The Empire was a magical kingdom in the northern half of Equus that was ancient beyond belief.  It had magic entwined in it that turned you into living crystal for the entirety of your stay, turning you back once outside of city limits.

            Raven was told she was able to become one of the four but sadly had no say in the matter.  She was also told she should worry more about the main three since her chances for alicorn-hood were almost non-existent.  With her luck, she could very well be an unicorn or one of the other races.

            She sighed amd let sleep take her, exhausted from her very eventful day.  All she wanted was to sleep and hopefully wake up in her own bed.

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            Raven opened her eyes, sighing as she saw the white ceiling of the guest room.  She really did die and end up here.  She put her hands to her temples, only to find she had no hands.  She screamed and rolled off the bed, taking the covers with her.

          The door opened and revealed Celestia. Concern was written on her features as she saw Raven trying to throw off the covers on the otherside of the bed.

           "I guess you turned." she said as she removed the covers with her magic.  Raven's head popped up from over the side of the bed.  Her coat was grey, her mane and tail blood red and her eyes their normal hazel.  On her head was a larger than average unicorn horn.

             "Yeah.  Not something I was expecting when I woke up." she said as she stood.  Celestia gasped as she took in Raven's full body.

              In addition to her horn was a pair of large grey wings.  On her flank was quill over-top a piece of parchment with a few lines scrawled on already.  If it wasn't for her coat, she could have been Celestia and Luna's late mother.

              "Oh sweet mother of Faust, Luna will have a heart attack when she sees this." said Celestia, examining the mare who now stood as tall as herself.

               "Why?" asked Raven, raising an eyebrow.  Celestia levitated a full body mirror in front of her so she could take in her whole self.

               "You may look more or less like our deceased mother." she said, biting her lip.  Raven turned, examining the wings affixed to her back.  She rustled them slightly as she got a feel for them.  She then trotted in a small circle, trying to get the feel for walking on four legs.

               "Well, this is different.  And what do you mean I look like your late mother?" she asked, laying down on the ground.  She shifted a bit before getting comfortable.  She smiled and looked up at her.  Celestia sighed and layed down in front of her.

                "Well, our mother, Faust, was the one who helped us learn the things we needed before we took the crown.  She looked pretty much like you except her coat was white and the cutie mark was a quill and ink pot.

                 "A few hundred years before Luna turned  into Nightmare Moon and forced me to banish her to the moon, she was killed in the Discordian war, leaving me and my sister with the crown."  Celestia sighed and gave a sad smile.

                  "In some ways, you remind me of her."

                 "Well, um, I'm flattered?" said Raven, blushing slightly.  Celestia giggled at her.

                  "Quite.  Now be careful when we head down for breakfast, Luna may tackle you and start calling you mother." said Celestia, standing and heading to the door.

                 "I'm flattered but that usually is saved for the bedroom with me on top." said Raven with a smirk.  Celestia blushed and turned away, causing Raven to break into a fit of giggles.

            "You're so fun to tease some times, Tia.  I should do it more often." said Raven as Celestia got control of her defiant cheeks.  She cleared her throat and led the two to the dining hall.

             "You can be fun to tease as well, Raven.  Your cheeks gain this gorgeous shade of crimson." said Celestia, grinning as said shade adorned Raven's cheeks.

             "I hate you." she said with a pout.  Celestia gasped in mock hurt and placed a hoof over her heart.

             "That hurt, Raven!  I thought we had something special!" she exclaimed.  The two broke out in giggles.

             "Now only if you were gay and I would be a very happy woman, or mare in this case." said Raven, smiling.  Celestia cocked her head.

               "I must have missed something, I don't remember you being lesbian."

               "I found out around my sophomore year.  My first sophomore year, that is.  High School was a pain since I was one of the few lesbians in the school and I was open with it.  As result, I stood out like a beacon and was targeted regularly by bullies.  They didn't care that I was older.

                 "I gave up on finding a girlfriend a few weeks before I killed myself along with a lot of other things.  After Dane passed, my life became a living hell.  In which I only lasted three years." said Raven, sighing.

               "So what does that make Equesteia?  A salvation?  A second chance?  Purgatory?  Heaven?" asked Celestia, keeping her gaze on the mare next to her.

               "All of the above, I guess.  Salvation from the world I left behind.  A second chance from my mistakes.  A purge from my sins.  And a little piece of heaven to top it all off." she chuckled slightly.  "It's just going to take a lot of getting used to."  Celestia nodded.

                  "I am gay, to answer your earlier statement." said Celestia, throwing off Raven's train off thought.  She gaped at the regal princess that dated over thousands of years old and, according to her, a prodigy and legend to her subjects.  Who was apparently a lesbian.

                 "But, I thought you of all people, er ponies, would be against it.  Sticking to the older ways if it were." said Raven, staring at her wide eyed.  Celestia shook her head.

                  "I never really believed there to be only stallions I could love as a mare as many others thought.  Luna was the same.  It may not seem like it but she is actually in a very beautiful relationship with Twilight." said Celestia, rounding the corner.  "I've had a few mares in my time but each was mortal and withered with time.

                  "My niece, Cadence, is currently in one of these situations.  Her husband being a mortal.  It was with all these deaths that I just stopped looking.  I haven't been with another mare, in a relationship or in bed, for over four hundred years."

               "Do you think you could ever love again?" asked Raven.  Celestia stopped and looked out the window.  After a moment she sighed and looked back at her with sad eyes.

                "Honestly?  I don't know.  Maybe one day, but not today." she said.  Raven nodded and followed her into the dining hall, their conversation fresh in her mind.