Tides of Change

Chapters

1 Tides of Change
2 Arrival in Equestria
3 The truth hurts
4 Arrival in Canterlot
5 A royal pain
6 First night in Equestria
7 The Alicorn ritual
8 Combat training
9 Project Radiance

1 Tides of Change

To the west of Equestria is a small nation named Concordia. It had been established not long after Equestria and after a grueling war and a forced peace treaty is currently one of Equestria's greatest allies. The alicorn rulers of this small peaceful country are Princess Rosetta and her daughter Princess Stella. Queen Rosetta is a yellow alicorn with a dark red (rose colored) mane and tail. Princess Stella is a much smaller pink alicorn with a small horn and blue mane. Concordia is still recovering from the assassination of their king. The nation was looking to pull through when an unknown group with a powerful militia starts a take over on the kingdom...

[Queen Rosetta's POV]

I was going over old records when it hit me. My vision went white for a few seconds and then I was in some factory I didn't recognize at first. I was having a premonition. They were a somewhat common occurrence, but I usually brought them on myself. This was different... It came to me. I now recognized the place as Concordia's weapons and defense facility. Ponies were hard at work on machines and everything seemed normal. BOOM! An explosion on one of the machines. All the guards immediately rushed to the machine to check if everyone was OK. One of the guards drew his sword and stabbed another guard in his throat. Then 5 more ponies around the factory pulled out swords and begun to murder the workers. Guards burst in and were slaughtered within seconds by the highly trained killer ponies. One of the ponies stepped forward and spoke to the others.

"This is the beginning of the end for Concordia. With no weapons they are defenseless against us and our allies. Concordia shall fall and..."

The vision ended as suddenly as it had began and I was back in my castle. I decided there was no time to waste. I went to my daughters room and packed some essential stuff for a long journey. I needed her to get in contact with Luna and Celestia. I wrote a letter addressed to Celestia and put it on the desk. With impeccable timing my faithful student Lightning Haze walked in.

"Lightning Haze, please get a status report on the weapons facility ASAP and return to me. No time to explain but this needs to be done as fast as possible." I said and she obeyed with out question, quickly turning around and galloping down the hall way.

I walked back over to my desk and began to write a second letter. This time addressed to Lightning. I knew very well these might be my last days of life and there was something I needed to tell her, but I don't have the bravery to tell her in person.

Just as I finished writing the letter my daughter Stella walked in. I handed her saddlebag to her and hugged her.

"Mother whats going on?" Princess Stella asked. Stella sounded panicky and scared.

"You and Lightning Haze are going to Equestria to seek the help of the Princesses there." I said trying to hurry her along.

"But... why?" Stella asked looking scared and confused.

"No time to explain Stella I need you to hurry. Give either of the Regal Sisters this letter." I said handing the letter to my daughter.

"Mom I don't want to leave." Stella whined.

"I don't have time for this go NOW!" I said giving a hard smack to Stella's rear end.

"Ow mother that hurt" Stella whined. The door burst open suddenly and in came my favorite student. Lightning Haze.

"Princess! The weapons facility has been taken over. How did you know this was coming?" Lightning Haze said looking frantic.

"My premonition powers... take Stella and lead her to Equestria. I shall stay back and try to neutralize the situation... Stella I always loved you so much. I hope one day you rule this country better than I have. Goodbye darling." Lightning Haze wasted no time and took Stella by the hoof and led her out the door before I could say anything else.

[Princess Stella's POV]

Once we reached the main entrance to the castle a group of royal guards led us to a carriage.

"Wait I forgot something... I'll be right back." I said. I turned and dashed into the castle as fast as possible to the family room. I grabbed a picture of my mom and I and sprinted back out.

"Okay guards I am ready to leave now." I said getting in to the carriage and seeing a highly frantic Lightning twitching around not sure what to do.

"Okay, but your highness you will be leaving the country by sea now, the original plan by train is now out of the question. Armed ponies have secured all roads and train exits from the country. It's the safest way we can think of." said one of the guards. I absolutely detested sea travel, it always made me moody and sick.

[Lightning Haze's POV]

On the way to the docks Princess Stella begun crying. She puled out a picture of her mom and only started to wail louder. At this point in the journey I was fed up with all the tears, but I let Stella cry it out anyway. I just aimlessly looked out the window and prayed for our queens safety. About an hour into our journey we heard one of the guards pulling the carriage yell out in anguish and the carriage flip forward and shatter. I crawl out of the wreckage and survey the damage. I was a little scratched up and luckily Stella seemed unharmed. The same could not be said for the stallions. They were a crippled bloody mess and soon died due to injuries from being impaled by parts of the wheels and carriage. I noticed an arrow in the foreleg of one of the guards and quickly looked around for anyone that might shoot another arrow, at them this time. A couple of ponies that must have been nearby heard the crash and came to investigate. Stella was still dazed when the two pony's approached her.

"Scarlet do ya know who that is? That's princess Stella." The small filly said happily. Stella slowly got up and looked around she saw the two more clearly now. One was a small dark blue almost black earth pony with no cutiemark, the other was a older but still young purple Pegasus with a weirdly colored cloud for a cutiemark. I gathered that by the travel packs they had with them, they were fleeing as well which meant they were of no danger to her.

"Nice to meet you my little pony, and nice to meet you... Scarlet I think she said your name was?" Stella asked curiously.

"The name is Scarlet Cloud, little one here is Lunar Lilly, but everyone just calls her Lilly. Is everypony here OK?" Scarlet looked around and saw the bodies of the stallions and shielded Lilly's eyes from the sight. I started to get up off the ground and brush myself off.

"Lightning are you OK?" Stella asked with concern on her face. This was the first time I had ever considered Stella a friendly pony. Usually I hated the way the Princess treated me, but this was different. The Princess was showing genuine concern for me.

"Yeah i'm okay" I muttered half-heartedly.

"Well we're headed for the docks what about you two?" Scarlet asked.

"The same... Scarlet have we met before?" Stella asked. I had just now noticed that Scarlet looked very familiar. I just couldn't place where I had seen her before.

"I don't think so Princess and we should probably get going before any unfriendly ponies find us." Scarlet had a sense of urgency about her as if we were pressed for time. The four of them made it to the docks just before nightfall.

2 Arrival in Equestria

[Lightning Haze's POV]

The walk to the dock was long and grueling. My front left hoof was in pain, making me walk with a noticeable limp. It was almost midnight and the boat had still not come yet. Which in retrospect should have been expected due to the state of the country. Sirens continued to wail as the distant sounds of war could be heard if one were to listen carefully. Unfortunately for us Princess Stella was not used to having to wait at all for things. She is testing my patience and I've just about had it with her whining.

"Oh my gosh, how much longer is it gonna take?" Stella whined.

"I will give you the same answer I gave you 5 minutes ago... I. DON'T. KNOW." I was extremely mad and was about ready to use my magic to sew the Princesses mouth shut, but decided against it because prison just didn't sound that appealing. Lilly and Scarlet were huddled in a corner of the dock trying to sleep.

"Umm Lightning... Stella... Could you girls please take this fight away from us? Lilly just fell asleep and if she gets woken up I might just have to kill both of you." Scarlet said.

Princess Stella got up close to Scarlet. They were face to face now. "Was that a threat?" Stella said with an unsettling amount of bloodlust in her voice.

"It's a promise." Scarlet Cloud said without looking up from the sleeping filly. Stella went to say something else, but I used my magic to push her back from Scarlet and moved in between them.

"That's enough Princess. Now is not the time to fight with the only ally's we have." I motioned for her to go and look out for the boat and she did. I walked back over to Scarlet.

"Sorry about her, she is a little grumpy about everything... not to mention the lack of her normal royal sleep." She looked up at me and then back down to the filly that was now rubbing her eyes awake.

The filly looked around and then up at Scarlet with a concerned look on her face. "S-Scarlet? I had a bad dream" Lilly yawned and then snuggled in close to the Pegasus. Scarlet hugged her close with her wings.

"Finally, the boat is here. I was just about to start complaining." Stella said. Lightning just sighed and walked ahead to meet the boat driver. The boat driver was one of the royal guards. He hustled everyone and their stuff onto the boat and they set sail for the south-western boarder of Equestria. However about an hour into the journey Stella once again grew impatient.

"How long till we reach Equestria?" Stella whined. Stella was really not good with waiting and I was about to start pulling my mane out if she didn't stop complaining.

"Luckily for you and for all our ears we will be landing within 5 minutes in Las Pegasus. Hopefully from there we can arrange passage to Canterlot." Lightning Haze said wearily. When we arrived in Las Pegasus we were greeted by Equestrian Military Personal. Their horns were glowing a yellow color and were looking quite intimidating.

"State your business, entering Equestria." One of the guards asked in an unnaturally deep voice. Lilly coward behind Scarlet, and Stella stepped forward.

"I am Princess Stella from Concordia, I need to see Princesses Celestia and Luna at once its a matter of utmost urgency." The guards looked at each other and whispered for a bit, then one spoke up.

"Do you have any proof you are and who you say you are?" The other stallion said. Stella pulled out her passport and showed them that it had the royal mark on it.

"We will escort you to Canterlot Princess, please forgive our rudeness... after the whole changeling attack we are required to check credentials... and who are your friends?"

"The small one is Lilly, the grumpy one is Lightning Haze, and the one next to Lilly is Scarlet Cloud." She pointed to each of us as she introduced us. The guards muttered their hello's and escorted us to the cities train station.

Las Pegasus was quite the city. The architecture was amazing and it always looked so alive no matter what time it was. The city was of course well known for it's late night activity, but I always wanted to come here for the discord museum. The train station was toward the northeastern city borders so it took us a while to get there. Luckily for everypony's ears Stella was too distracted by the city to complain. The guards talked to the manager of the station and we learned that the next train leaving for Canterlot was pulling in right now. Departure would be in 15 minutes. Hearing this Stella mumbled under her breath and walked up and down the platform until the train arrived.

The train ride was rather comfy compared to the boat and everypony had their own rooms. Queen Rosetta had given both Lightning haze and Princess Stella a note to read when they had arrived in Equestria. Lightning grabbed hers and opened it. As she read it, her mind started to jump through hoops, she couldn't believe what she was reading. Could it be true?

3 The truth hurts

Dear Lightning Haze,

By the time you have read this I will probably be dead or captured, and the kingdom of Concordia demolished to rubble. Hopefully you have gotten yourself and Stella to safety. She is one of the last chances Concordia has. The other chance my faithful student, is you. Something that very few ponies know is that I had another daughter before Stella. That daughter was you... I'm so sorry I never told you, but you must understand it was for your own safety.

When you were born there were many threats against the Concordian royal family, so I gave you to a nice Unicorn family that I had known for years and told the world you were a miscarriage. I told the world this for many different reasons. First and foremost, I didn't want you in danger. There were threats specifically on my life and yours. Secondly, you were from an affair with a Unicorn that was not my husband. At that time I just couldn't have the kingdom knowing this. It would of meant distrust in the royal family and that would of caused an uprising. I know you might think less of me now, but it was in fact for your own safety. Please don't think I abandoned you. I gave you to a close family friend of mine and watched over you ever so closely. They vowed to keep my secret and I in return gave them a wealthy life.

Now that you are reading this, I'm sure your in shock. If you haven't put it together yet, Stella is your little sister. I need you to take care of her and help her become a great ruler. Celestia and Luna are old friends of mine so I have sent you there. In the letter I gave Stella for Celestia it tells about how you need to become an alicorn as well as how you both need to be trained in combat, as a just in case measure, and the current conflicts of our home country. The entire fate of Concordia rests in your, and your sister's hooves. I know you and Stella have shown resentment towards each other for a long time. Ironically enough you argued just like sisters. All I'm asking of you is to be nice to and love your sister. Should I die, you will be the only family she has left.

There is so much I have always wanted to tell you, and I hope you think no less of me for what I have done. Just know I did it all in your best interest. In this letter I have enclosed an account number, as soon as you are an alicorn go to any bank and withdraw all the money from the account. It should get you and your sister settled for awhile. I really do love you and I really hope I live through this so that I can talk to you some more.

~Princess Rosetta

After reading the letter I didn't quite know what to do. I just sat there for a couple hours contemplating everything I thought I knew and the new revelations that the letter held. I was truly in shock. I was a princess? Stella my sister? Still the biggest shock of all was having to become an alicorn. I wasn't looking forward to wings. They always looked uncomfortable when trying to sleep. Suddenly hate and compassion for my new found mother boiled within me. How could she abandon me... I still loved her though, after all she was my mother. Questions swam through my mind and a few stuck out."was I not worthy of her love? Was I not good enough? How different would things of been for me growing up if I had been a princess to start?" So many questions were going through my mind, all I could do was scream. Not even two minutes later Stella of all ponies was at my door asking if I was okay.

"Lightning Haze are you OK?" My sister said with a voice so sincere that I started to think she cared for me. Had she known all along?

"Yeah could you come in for a sec? I got something I need to ask you." If she had known all this time I'm not sure whether to be mad at her or not. Stella walked in and closed the door behind her. I decided not to hesitate and just outright ask it.

"Did you know I was your sister?" She had no change in facial expression at first and then she had a slightly puzzled look on her face.

"Your my sister?" She said with the slightest amount of madness in her voice. I handed her the letter and she read it. Her mouth clenched and then she looked extremely pissed off. Her horn started glowing and the paper lifted into the air. All of a sudden the paper caught fire and my mom's note was reduced to ash's. My mind went blank. I just lost all that connected me to being a princess and my real family.

"Mom gave you up for a reason! She didn't want you then and she doesn't want you now. She probably only wrote this because she didn't want to die knowing that she never told you. I'm sorry but I will NOT share my crown with someone who fell ass-backwards into a life she knows nothing about." Stella said coldly. At this point I was done with her. How could she say something like that. Anger and confusion boiled in my blood. Before I knew what I was doing I started charging up my horn. I threw her against the wall to my left.

"Stella... I've been waiting to kick your ass for a long time." I picked her up and slammed her onto the floor with my magic. Of course my luck was cut short, one of the guards came in after hearing her hit the wall the first time. The guard charged at me and with quick maneuvering I evaded. I went to attack Stella again but she had taken the distraction of the guard to capitalize. I turned just in time to have a chair collide with my face. I blacked out at this point and woke up what must of been hours later. The conductor announced we were approaching canterlot. I woke up in a small room with two guards at the ready to attack should I resist. I was tied up pretty good though and a throbbing headache made resistance futile. All that was racing through my mind at this moment was "yup well worth it."

4 Arrival in Canterlot

[Stella's POV]

As we approached Canterlot I took some time to relax in my room. I laid back in the bed and looked up at the ceiling. I started to think about everything that has happened in just thirty-six hours. My homeland lost, my mother possibly dead, my sister finding out about her real family. My sister...

What had I done. With my mother most likely gone I just doomed my only biological relative. I started to get a weird churning inside my stomach. What I did felt justified at that moment in time but I knew now that what I did was terribly wrong. I also knew that I needed to be the sole ruler of Concordia if I were to ever get revenge for the death of my father. I got up and headed for the room my sister was being held in. I was almost to the room when the door opened and I saw Lightning Haze walk out followed by two guards.

[Lightning's POV]

I had to find some way... anyway that I could prove I was the eldest daughter of Princess Rosetta.

"Guards could I use the restroom?" they looked back and forth to each other and then nodded. The guards untied me and escorted me out the door and just outside the door was Stella. The guards took a defensive stance ready to attack me if needed. This made my plan a lot easier.

"Can I talk with my Si...sinister friend alone please" Stella said... It sounded like she was about to say something else. It's like Stella wanted me to attack her. The guards looking puzzled nodded and left the area. I was just about to attack her again when she looked at me with tears in her eyes.

"What's wrong Stella?" I sat there and watched as the princess broke down in front of me. I don't know what came over me, but I pulled her into a hug and silently stroked her mane a bit. It felt kind of awkward to me at first. I had no idea how to be a good older sister, but this just felt right. She pulled away from the hug.

"Look lightning what I did earlier was wrong of me, but you have to understand why I did it. My father was assassinated by someone we never found. All they did was leave a note on his body that said we will be back for the kingdom. I believe the same assassins are finally making their move on Concordia. If you were discovered to be of the royal bloodline the people would surely outcast us both thinking that we would lie to the people just as mother did. I need to win back Concordia, to take my revenge. I plan on killing them personally. So now do you understand? I can't have you come to the surface as a long lost heir to the throne. I just couldn't bare the thought of you being so mad at me as to try and kill me as you did earlier." Stella's words hung in the air around me almost as if they were tangible. I pulled her into another hug. This one seemingly less awkward.

"You didn't have to torch the letter though. You could of just explained it to me. Sure I probably would of still wanted to tell people, but we could of talked about it Stella. I'm not mad just... disappointed in you and I'm sorry I attacked you earlier, it was wrong of me." At these words of mine Stella burst into tears. The guards poked their heads in the hallway to tell us we had arrived and then seeing us hugging they were utterly confused and decided to give us some privacy.

"Well do you think we could at least tell Celestia and Luna? They need to know about it... for Concordia." I said. Stella looked not exactly at me but behind me as if deep in thought.

"Ughhh... Aunt Celestia is gonna kill me for destroying the letter..." Stella said with the slightest hint of fear in her voice. We gathered our personal belongings and got off the train. We were greeted by Lilly and Scarlet as we stepped onto the platform. It was night time now, which if the books are true meant Luna is awake and Celestia is asleep.

"Uhmm Stella?... Are Celestia and Luna actually our aunts?" The weird thought occurred to me that it was never mentioned that the regal sisters had another sister or that Princess Rosetta had one at all.

"Hehe no silly that's just what we call them, kinda like how I refer to Cadence and Twilight as our cousins." She laughed as if this were SO obvious. Our conversation was abruptly interrupted by the landing of a blackish blue mare with a flowing blue mane. This must be the "Princess of the night" Luna. She looked at the guards and without even talking they took our stuff into the castle.

"You must be Princess Luna. Nice to meet you I am Lightning Haze. Princess Stella and I have come from Concordia seeking you and your sisters help." I said. Luna just looked back and forth between me and Stella and then she looked up at the moon.

"We have been expecting you, we received news that Concordia had fallen under anarchy and that you and your mother have been dethroned. The guards have already gone to awaken my dear sister. She shall be here shortly. Thou was told of yours and Stella's arrivals but who are your companions?" Luna looked nervously at Lunar Lilly and kept eye lock with her. Lilly looked in awe at the magnicant alicorn before her. Luna knelt down to Lilly's level.

"My little pony what is thy name?" Before the quivering form could answer they were cut short by Celestia galloping out of the castle toward us.

"Oh thank goodness Stella your okay and... oh who are your friends." Stella seemed frozen in time. She stood there in silence not making a single sound for a minute or so. I decided to say it for her.

"I'm Lightning Haze, the other mare is Scarlet Cloud, and the fillys name is Lunar Lilly but everypony calls her Lilly." I said noting Luna's shocked look at the mention of Scarlet's and Lilly's names.

"We'll it's a pleasure to meet you all. Let's continue this conversation in the morning shall we? I'm sure everypony here is tired. Although I need to talk with Stella and Lightning first the rest of you may go on." Celestia motioned for Stella and I to follow her.

5 A royal pain

Author's Note

Warning this chaper involves NON-SEXUAL disciplinary spanking. If you disagree with this kind of punishment thats your opinion do not comment or message me about how its wrong because i will block you.

5 A royal pain

[Stella's POV]

Lightning Haze and I bid Adieu to our friends and followed Aunt Celestia into the castle. She led us up several flights of stairs to her bed chambers and with a nod of her head dismissed the guards.

"We can talk freely in here nopony will hear anything from this room. Now Stella tell me what happened. What is happening in Concordia and why did your mother send you here?" Celestia said getting straight to the point. I looked at my sister and then back at my aunt.

"My mother gave each myself and Lightning a letter to give to you explaining the situation." I said handing her the letter from my saddlebag. She quickly read it and her eyes opened wide for a second then went back to normal.She rolled it back up and then looked to Lightning Haze expecting to see her letter. My sister turned to me and gave me a nervous look.

"Lightning may I see the letter Queen Rosetta gave you?" Aunt Celestia asked her.

"Well that would be my fault... I kind of..." I was cut off abruptly by Lightning.

"Look Stella you don't have to cover for me. Princess I lost the letter and the responsibility is all mine." Lightning interrupted bowing her head in mock shame. I looked up at Celestia and nodded that this was indeed true. Celestia had a stern expression across her face.

"I dont like being lied to... you will both be punished " Aunt Celestia said sternly. I froze. How did she know?

"Uhmmm Princess what do you mean by punished?" Lightning asked, starting to look nervously at me. Celestia looked back at the letter then back up to Lightning.

"Well as Stella's older sister you can expect to be punished the same way she is at home" My jaw dropped. Literally I had to force my mouth closed.

"You see the letter Queen Rosetta wrote me described that you were indeed her oldest daughter. It also mentioned her plan of action for taking back Concordia and that she leaves you in my charge. So you will both be getting a spanking for your actions as well as for you both lying to me. In case you have forgotten Stella I can read minds." Once again my jaw hit the floor. She knew the entire timed that I had burned the page and what happened on the train.

[Lighting Haze POV]

A spanking? I hadn't had so much as a hoof swat since I was a little filly. I felt like my heart was going to explode. I looked to Stella and saw a tinge of fear in her eyes. Seeing her fear my heart sunk. I felt for her. I decided to buy her a little more time if I could.

"Princess if it's alright with you, could I go first? I have only ever been spanked once and I am quite nervous, not to mention I am older and should of known better so I should go first." Celestia just nodded and levitated a hairbrush over to her. She walked over to her bed and nodded to it. Confused I just stared at her. She led me to the bed and bent me over the side of it. My rear hooves were on the ground and the rest of me outstretched on the bed.

"Lightning you are going to be spanked for attacking your sister with harsh force and lying to me." She said in a strict tone. With the end of her sentence came the first AWFUL smack of the hairbrush. For a bit the pace and strength would differ, eventually she found what I assume was a comfortable pace for her.

Less than a minute in, the pace steadied and I was starting to squirm and tears were forming in my eyes. The pain in my bottom was intense and I could tell she was just getting started. I tried counting the smacks to see if I could take my mind off the pain. I couldn't keep focus. I started to kick my hooves a bit as the pain intensified.

"PLEASE Celestia I'm OW! sorry, I won't lie to you again. AHH! I won't hurt Stella again either... I promise just p-please s-stop." My cries were to no avail. My new found aunt continued landing smack after smack of the brush to my bottom. I swished my tail into the way hoping to shield my poor bottom, but she just moved my tail with her magic and continued. The sting and burn of the brush were unbearable, but i had to keep my composure in front of Stella. I didnt want her to see me break down. I could feel tears stinging my eyes and cries in the back of my throat. When Aunt Celestia started working on my upper thighs and sit spots I let everything go. I started bawling and screaming begging for it to end. After what seemed like forever the spanking stopped. Aunt Celestia just sat there and stroked my mane until I had my breathing under control.

"I'm s-so s-sorry... To the b-both of you" I said, still not breathing completely normally. I got up and embraced Celestia and then I turned to Stella who had a steady stream of tears flowing from her face. I hugged her and held her close to me. "What's wrong Stella, that was my punishment not yours... Shhh kiddo it's ok."

"It's n-not that, I h-hated seeing you in so much p-pain. I love you Lightning your such a good sister and I should of never burned the letter" Stella was now in full crying outburst. She buried her head in my chest and I just let her cry, stroking her mane just as Celestia had done to me mere moments before. I looked up to Celestia. Her serious expression was gone and one of love had replaced it.

"Stella, dear it's ok I'm sure she not mad at you or harvesting regrets toward you in anyway." Celestia took the weeping Princess off of me and pulled her into her own embrace. "Let's get your spanking over with so we can all get to bed, Lightning you have to stay and watch as well." Celestia guided Stella over the bed and positioned herself a bit closer to Stella then she had been to me.

Celestia started without the brush. I guess because she felt sorry for Stella after the little breakdown she just had. After a minute or so Celestia picked up the hairbrush and continued with the spanking. Stella held her composure better than me. Besides a few minor yelps and whimpers, Stella kept herself together for awhile. Just like with me, when Celestia moved the hairbrush to Stella's sit spots and upper thighs she broke. Stella started kicking and begging for it to stop like a little foal. I couldn't be judge mental though. I was sure I had recently looked the same way. Watching Stella cry obviously in so much pain gave me a weird feeling. I now understood why Stella was crying watching mine.

Stella's rump was a bright red when Celestia was done, weirdly contrasting he pink fur. Just as Celestia had done for me she was now stroking her mane to calm her down. She just layed there crying for awhile. Celestia did not rush her to get up. She just sat there stroking Stella's mane till her breathing was under control. Stella eventually got up and walked over to me.

"I'm sooooo s-sorry sis. I wouldn't be surprised if your pretty mad at me for w-what I did." She once again buried her head in my chest and started to weep. I looked to my aunt and then to her bed. I began to open my mouth to ask if we could sleep in here tonight. Celestia was already nodding. I picked my sister up with my magic and laid her down on the bed. Celesta laid down next to her and I laid down on the other side of Stella. Celestia wrapped her wing around us. For the first time in a long time I had a family that loved me and my heart was at peace.

6 First night in Equestria

[Scarlet Cloud's POV]

Lilly and I followed Luna into the castle and were led to our bed chambers, which might I add were on the other side of the castle... Anyway the entire time we were walking I noticed that for some reason Luna would keep glancing at Lilly, smile, and then act as if she hadn't even noticed there was a filly next to her. We finally arrived at the housing wing of the castle. Luna pointed to the two doors at the end of the hallway.

"Scarlet the one on the left is yours and Lilly the one on the right is yours. There is a bathroom in each room and a mini-fridge. Feel free to eat and drink anything in there. Now if you will excuse me I have duties to attend to. Goodnight to the both of you." Luna said

"P-Princess do you think I could share a room with Scarlet? I don't quite feel comfortable sleeping in a room by myself." Lilly looked somewhat frightened to ask the Princess this question. Luna just looked at her and smiled.

"Sure, as long as Scarlet is ok with it." Luna looked to me. I could swear I saw some kind of question in her eyes.

"That's fine with me Lilly. Go ahead and brush your teeth Lilly I want to talk to the Princess for a second." Obediently Lilly went inside the room.

"Princess, I noticed that when you met Lilly you gathered tears in your eyes and I just wanted to know why?" My question seem to startle her. A look of sadness swept across her face and then just as quickly as the expression came it vanished from her face.

"Some dust got into my eye, that is all" Luna said. She looked not exactly at me but past me as if she were talking to someone completely different. Then her gaze focused back on me. "How did you come to care for the filly? You look far too young to have a filly of your own"

"I guess you could say I'm Like a mother to her. Both her parents were in the royal guard of Concordia. One fateful night they were both called to the castle and they called me over to foalsit. I wasn't happy at the late call, but the money was good. Anyway that was also the night that the king was assassinated. They were both in charge of the keys for the outer doors. When they arrived they had been ambushed and killed... Brutally might I add. Ever since that day I have taken care of Lilly as if she were my own daughter. So yeah I guess you could say I'm her mother even though I never legally adopted her due to me not being old enough." Tears came to my eyes just thinking about that day. I looked up and tears were in Luna's eyes as well.

"I'm so sorry to have asked... I'm sorry for all that the poor filly has had to go through. You are both welcome here in Equestria for as long as you want and if you ever need anything please don't hesitate to ask. Now If you will excuse me, I have my royal duties to attend to." Luna turned and with a running start spread her wings and flew down the hallway.

Something seemed off by the way Luna was acting. There was something she wasn't telling me about why she was so interested in Lilly and I was going to find out. First, I needed to go back into the room and check on Lilly. I opened the door and walked in to see Lilly bouncing up and down on the bed.

"Scarlet you gotta come try this it's a lot of fun hehe" Lilly looked so happy I couldn't resist joining in. I jumped up onto the bed and started bouncing with her.

"Your right kiddo this is a lot of fun, but we gotta get some sleep it's waaayyyyy past your bedtime. Did you brush your teeth?" I stopped jumping and sat down, so did Lilly. She smiled at me to show her teeth were clean.

"Okay kiddo let's get some shut eye." We both laid down and got comfy. I sat there and stroked her mane lost deep in thought about all that had transpired today.

*flashback*

I was sitting peacefully at home playing with my favorite filly in the world Lilly. She loved watching me fly through the air and when I had her hop on my back for joy rides. We were pretending that it was a aerial skills show. She was the judge and I was a contestant. I was in the middle of a back-flip when the warning sirens sounded. The sound made me lose concentration and crash to the ground. Lilly thought it was part of the show and just laughed. I slowly got up and scanned the sky.

The Concordian military were rushing toward what seemed to be the direction of the weapons facility. I was sure that with the military on it, we had nothing to worry about. I was very wrong. We had just gotten back to the pretend show when I saw a cloud of fire and smoke rise from where the military had just gone. I kept my eyes peeled on that direction. I couldn't shake a feeling that something wasn't right. Soon the speakers for the sirens started playing an emergency broadcast.

"Attention all residents of Concordia we are under attack. Please stay in doors and do not panic. The military will soon deal with the threat. That is all." The speaker cut off and then went back to the loud wailing siren. I dashed to the storage room where Lilly and I had stored our to-go saddlebags. They were survival kits designed just for situations like these. I went to Lilly's room grabbed her favorite stuffed animal and put it in her bag. I ran back outside and saw Lilly had gone back to writing numbers on her whiteboard.

"Lilly we need to leave, come on." I helped her put her saddlebag on and then we left. I decided it was best to head to the docks and follow the river to the border. Lilly just trotted along beside me, oblivious to everything that was going on. What I wouldn't give to be a foal again.

"So Scarlet where we goin?" Lilly asked. I could tell by the tone in her voice she was starting to figure out this was no normal hike. Just as I was about to answer her we heard a crash from the road up ahead. I broke into full gallop toward the noise. When I arrived there were two stallions dressed up in royal armor with parts of the carriage sticking out of them and two mares laying in the wreckage. When I recognized the Princess and saw she was unhurt I was scared. If the Princess is abandoning the country... Who or what was it that was attacking us?

*End of flashback*

I just sat there stroking Lilly's mane. I really did love the filly as if she was my own and as her "mother" I was bound and determined to find out why the Princess of the night had such a fascination with Lilly. That was going to have to wait till morning though, because I was extremely tired.

Author's Note

Big thanks to Crimson Brush to inspiring me to continue this story

7 The Alicorn ritual

[Lightning's POV]

Even though I went to bed feeling great, I didn't have a single dream. When I woke up the sun was blindingly shining through an open window. I turned my head away and blinked a few times.

"Ughh why is it so bright" I mumbled while throwing a nearby blanket over my head.

"Because it's almost noon sleepy head" Stella laughed and took the blanket off me. "Time to wake up"

I groaned and reluctantly got up. I walked over to my saddlebag and grabbed my mane-brush. I groggily stretched out my limbs while using magic to brush the knots out of my bed head mane. I turned to look at Stella rummaging threw her saddlebag for something.

"Watcha looking for Stella?" I asked. She lifted her bag and shook it upside down, dropping all of its contents onto the floor. She picked up her tiara and set it on the dresser. With a quick glow of her horn, a spell put everything back inside of her bag.

"This... " she said levitating the tiara onto her head. She adjusted it so it was perfectly centered on her head. The tiara was nothing spectacular. It is a simple silver tiara with a gem that matched her cutie mark.

"So where did Aunt Celestia go? I thought we were going to talk to her about plans of action as soon as we woke up?" I was eagerly looking forward to the Alicorn part of the ordeal. The doors to the room opened and in came a sleepy and slightly agitated looking Luna.

"Tis a good question indeed. Tia sent a wake up call to my room and hasn't even the courtesy to show up on time?" Luna said sounding increasingly agitated. A gray mail Pegasus with a blond mane and a cutie mark of bubbles flew in through the open window and kind of crash landed.

"Lightning Haze I have a letter for you from Princess Celestia." She handed the letter to me. Then turned toward the table and lunged forward at a muffin. She grabbed the muffin and hugged it. "MUFFIN!" She screamed. Luna and Stella seemed unphased by this. I however was staring in utter shock as the Pegasus ate the muffin.

Stella seeing the look on my face just laughed and said "That's just Derpy. She is a long time friend of Luna's." The Pegasus finished the muffin and then flew back outside.

The letter was short and very blunt. All it said was meet me in the Secret Royal Library ASAP. Make sure to bring Luna. Stella needs to report to the armory for ground and air combat training with Wonderbolt First officer Arctic Radiance. I read the letter out loud so Luna and Stella could read it. At the mention of Arctic's name Stella blushed deeply.

"I saw that blush Stella. Somepony has a crush on a wonderbolt? Well we can talk about it when you get back" I said in a teasing tone causing my sister to blush even more. Stella took a running start and flew out the window.

"Follow me I'll show you where the royal library is" Luna grumbled and started walking out of the room and down the hallway. We walked for what seemed to be an hour before we came to a hallway with a dead end. On the wall at the end of the hallway there was the classic Royal Crest of the Sisters. Luna's horn lit up and and struck the wall in the center of the crest. The entire wall slid down to reveal a long and very dark hall way.

"And here I was thinking that castles having secret passages was an old foals tale." I laughed and then lit up my horn to make some light. The hallway wasn't very wide so I went in first and Luna sealed the door behind us. After a few minutes of walking we came to a dead end. I looked back at Luna with a questioning look.

"It's to discourage pony's that somehow get into here. Just walk through it." Luna said. Cautiously I walked toward the wall and put my hoof up to inspect it. Just as Aunt Luna had said my hoof passed through it. I walked through to reveal a large circular library. Sitting in the middle cautiously looking over a book was Aunt Celestia. She noticed us walk in and motioned for us to come to her.

"Ever since I lifted the sun into place today I have been down here planning..." She rolled out a large map in front of us. "This is a magically enchanted map of Concordia. It updates every five minutes with everypony's exact location and any new buildings or large weapons." She said pausing when she realized I was raising my hoof. She nodded to me to talk.

"I've read about these before... I thought Equestria was to burn all of them after the last great pony war?" I looked at the map and then back to my aunt.

"Your correct we were supposed to, however Luna and I thought it was wiser to keep an eye on all nations regardless of them being ally or foe..." Aunt Celestia looked from the map back to me.

"So I take it you want me down here because you know i'm better with strategy then you?" Luna said

"Luna i'm not having this argument with you again" Aunt Celestia said in a warning tone. Luna visibly cringed at the sharp tone used by her older sister. Luna stepped toward the map and looked at it closely.

"Whoever has taken over the kingdom has secured it very well... however I see a weak point right here" She pointed to a spot on the western border and zoomed in on it using her magic. "There are only 7 guards stationed along this stretch of beach. I guess they never expected someone to come by sea.To avoid detection I suggest we use this small island a few miles off the coast as a base and send in a small squad of five to secure a position for our main troops to land." Luna zoomed in on the island to confirm that it wasn't already taken.

"Wow Princess Luna I didn't know you were so good with these kind of things." I said looking intently at the map. I looked up to see a very surprised look on Luna's face. Celestia pulled out the letter from Princess Rosetta and levitated it to Luna. Luna skimmed it over and nodded.

"So you need me for the Alicorn ritual then..." She said more to herself then to either of us. "I won't do it. Its too dangerous and that spell is supposed to be banned after Project Radiance was cancelled. Dear sister you know as well as I do that if we mess up any part of the spell that Lightning will either die or become like Him." Luna said in a matter of fact tone.

"Wait what?!? Who? Will someone please explain to me whats so wrong with the spell and who 'he' is?" I looked nervously back and forth between my two aunts.

"Both of you need to relax. Twilight has made modifications to the spell so that if it fails the worst that will happen is a mild stomach ache. As for 'him'... It's something you need not worry about Lightning... So Luna will you help me with the spell now that you know its fixed?" Celestia pleaded.

"If Twilight fixed it then she can help you... I will have no part in the ritual and if you no longer require my assistance I need sleep." Luna turned and left the room.

[Luna's POV]

I turned and walked out of the room and into the corridor. How could Tia even THINK of using that spell after what happened last time. I was about half way down the hallway when I heard hoof steps behind me.

"Luna wait... Please I need you in there... Look I know you don't want to try it again after what happened to your daughter, but that was more than one thousand years ago. Twilight has fixed the spell and Lightning needs to be an alicorn for any attempt at taking back Concordia to be successful." Tia said. The mention of my daughter made me lose it.

"You have no idea whats it was like... My daughter died that day because of that spell. Then the next time you convinced me to help you with it we created two demons... I don't want either of those things to happen again. Tia she has no idea what could happen to her... not only could she die, but she could lose her soul or her mind. Could you live with yourself if either of those things happened?" I looked into my sisters eyes hoping she would see reason and abandon this spell.

"How about if we tell Lightning whats possible and then ask her if she still wants to go through with it? If she consents will you help me with the spell?" Tia looked determined to get me to help her.

"Fine... however, she needs to know everything... even about Project Radiance... even about Starlight." I started to tear up a bit... It had been one thousand and seventeen years and I can still barely say her name...

[Lightning's POV]

"I will be right back, I need to talk to Luna. Just stay here I wont be long" My aunt galloped out of the room after Luna.

I decided to take a look at the books Celestia was looking at when one of them caught my eye. A book of very advanced and powerful spells. There were all sorts of cool spells in there. Invisibility, powerful attack spells, blindness, poison, one to make cake... why is there a spell about cake in here? Just as I was reading the cake spell Celestia and Luna walked back in.

"Luna will help with the spell on one condition. You have to know about what it can do to you and then if you consent she will help." Luna nodded clearly holding back tears.

"The first time we ever tried this spell... was on my daughter, Starlight... She was no more than a few months old at the time. She was born an earth pony for reasons that none of us are sure about. Tia wanted her to grow up an alicorn, so she and I devised a spell to make Starlight an Alicorn... Unfortunately the spell did not work and killed her. She disappeared entirely." Luna burst into tears and fell to the ground. I felt so sorry for her. Celestia put a comforting wing around her and then looked up to me.

"Project Radiance was a project of mine to try and perfect the alicorn spell before Luna returned. After the death of Starlight I became obsessed with trying to perfect the spell. Two young colts by the names of Astral and Arctic Radiance had lost their homes and families to a fire and were wondering the everfree forest. I took them in and helped them. I eventually thought I had the spell perfected and needed test subjects. I used it on the older one Astral and it had seemed to work. Before I took it to Luna I needed to make sure Astral was't just luck, so i tried it on Arctic as well. It seemed to work on both of them, however the spell had an unforeseen consequence... Astral lost his mind and Arctic lost his soul. Astral went so crazy that he killed five ponies. After the murder he was so over-stricken with guilt that he left Equestria, never to be heard of again. Arctic's only side effect is that he has no emotions and is pure evil." Celestia turned to Luna and whispered something I couldn't hear into her ear.

"You said Princess Twilight Sparkle fixed the spell correct? The same Twilight that fixed Starswirl's spell?"

"Yes, the same Twilight" She said.

"I'll do it... however promise me that if I lose my mind that you will kill me before I bring harm to anypony." I said in the most serious tone i could muster.

"Okay... Luna I'll set up for it. Take some time and clean yourself up." Luna nodded and walked back into the hallway.

Celestia went to a desk and pulled out three different candles each with different markings on them. One was green, one was blue. and the other one was purple. She also pulled out a piece of chalk and set it on the desk. She drew a triangle around me instructing me to stand in the middle. A candle was placed on each vertex. She was finishing placing the last candle when my curiosity got the better of me.

"Do the candles represent something?" I asked.

"Yes they do. Each represents a race of ponies. The green is for Earth ponies, The yellow one is for Pegasi, and the purple one is for Unicorns." Just as she finished explaining Luna came back in.

"I'm ready to start when you are Tia." Luna nodded to her sister.

Celestia's horn lit up and burst a stream of magic counter-clockwise forming a circle with the three candles. Luna did the same except her stream was going clockwise. The room around me seemed to start spinning. There were flashes of light so bright that it blinded me at times and then out of nowhere blackness. The blackness did not go away like the light did. It stayed with me, making me feel alone and isolated. I tried to speak, but my voice was gone. I was surrounded by never ending blackness. My heart started beating faster and faster. I felt like my heart was going to explode. Then I saw a small trickle of light. It began to expand and it kept expanding. The light once again was blinding, but it started to fade. I could start to see two very worried looking alicorns above me.

"Lightning are you okay?" Both of them said in unison making me giggle a bit.

"Well I'm not crazy and I still feel emotions... did it work? Am I an alicorn now?" I said. The looks of relief that past on their faces made me smile.

"Take a look for yourself" Luna said helping me to my hooves. I looked into the mirror and on my back were wings. The spell had worked and we were one step closer to taking back my homeland. I felt tears of joy escape my eyes as my two aunts hugged me.

Author's Note

Sorry this is a day late, but its much longer then usual

8 Combat training

[Stella's POV]

"Somepony has a crush on a wonderbolt? Well we can talk about it when you get back" Lightning said in a slightly teasing way, causing me to blush. I turned from them and dashed out the window.

The air beneath my wings felt great. I circled around the castle for a bit, caught up in its elegance and beauty. The royal guard could be seen training in the court yard and castle staff running around trying to complete their tasks. It kind of reminded me of home. After a few laps around I descended into the court yard and headed toward the armory. When I got to the door I hesitated. I had to get my emotions in check before I stepped in. I took a deep breath and opened the doors. Standing in the middle of the room was a pure white alicorn with a bow and arrow for a cutie mark.

"Stella! Good to see you. Haven't seen you since you were a little filly and now look at you." Arctic walked up to me and hugged me. I grinned and hugged him back.

"Yeah, its been a long time... Its amazing how even as Alicorns we age so fast." I said looking at the colt i once knew now a full grown stallion.

Alicorns have a weird aging process. As foals they age just as fast as a normal pony. However once they reach adulthood time seems to come to a stop. Look at aunt Celestia and Luna for a second. They are over 3000 years old yet they look like any other full grown mares. It was weird to see Arctic full grown.

"So your first officer now? What happened to Soarin?"

"Yeah I ranked up pretty fast. As for Soarin he was promoted to Captain and Spitfire is now a Commander." He said with the same cocky swagger he had as a colt.

"So you ready to start?" I walked over to the weapons rack and slipped my hoof through the holding strap on one of the practice swords. He picked up one as well and then hoofed me a real sword.

"Use this... Just don't go for kill shots." He said. I looked at him nervously and then took the sword. He just chuckled and took a few steps back. He nodded at me to attack.

I took no hesitation and lunged forward with the sword. I swung the sword at his neck and he easily blocked it and parried with a strike of his own. His speed was unbelievable. I barely managed to dodge as the sword barely missed my foreleg. I staggered back and prepared myself. I had to anticipate his movements. He swung low this time and I quickly jumped and used my wings to power to the opposite side of his swing and placed the sword against his neck.

"Game over Arctic, I win." I said rather proud I was able to counter like I did.

"Well done Stella... Lets go again and I will actually try. Just tell me when your ready." Arctic said unfurling his wings and getting ready.

"Ready" I said unfurling my wings and mimicking his stance.

He charged forward with the sword at great speed. As he got within sword range of me he dipped a wing and barrel rolled to my left. I moved my sword into a blocking position on my left side just barely in time to block the incoming strike. He lunged back out in front of me with a wry smile on his face. This time I took the initiative and lunged in with a furry of attacks. He was only able to block a few before one connected with his left foreleg. He grimaced and flew back a bit.

"Not bad... Lets see if you can block this." He said as he lowered the front part of his body into a position that resembled a Puma about to pounce.

I stood ready waiting for the strike. All of a sudden he disappeared and I heard him behind me. I tried to move but couldn't. Then it all hit me at once. Pain seared on the right side of my ribcage. Blood was now starting to trickle from the slash. It was just a small cut but if that had been a real sword I would of been dead.

"Shit" He said putting the practice sword down. He walked over to a supply cabinet and grabbed a med-kit and brought it back to me. He cleaned out the wound and bandaged it.

"Stella I'm sorry I got a bit carried away" He said looking me in the eyes. He put a comforting wing around me and helped me over to a bench to sit down at. I was utterly shocked, Not just because he actually hurt me, but because of his unbelievable speed.

"How did you do that?... It was so unbelievably fast." I said to him.

"It's a wonderbolt trade secret. I can't tell you." He said, avoiding making direct eye contact. I could tell he was lying to me, but for reasons I couldn't comprehend.

"Nothings changed I see. Even as a colt you couldn't lose with grace."I said mocking him.

"Once your healed enough for flying combat we can continue or we can call it a day."

"So... is practice over? Because I believe after this somepony owes me lunch" I said with a smile. He returned the smile with his own signature cockiness.

"Haha, Okay Stella, lunch is on me." He said putting his wing around me.

Lightning burst into the room and flew directly into Arctic shoving him off of me... She flew? As Lightning took a defensive stance in between me and Arctic I realized her wings. They looked so natural on her and yet so abstract at the same time.

"Lightning what in the hay are you doing!?!" I yelled with such force that the windows in the room seem to shake from the sound.

"Arctic, I know all about Project Radiance and I want you away from my sister." Lightning said with a very stern demeanor. At this Arctic just chuckled.

"I'm guessing Mom and Aunt Luna told you their version of the story. The real story, I assure you is different." He said.

"What the hay are you two talking about? What is Project Radiance and did you say mom?" I looked back and forth between the two looking for answers.

"Follow me, we need some place quiet and discreet to talk." Arctic led both me and my sister to a surprisingly spacious supply cabinet.

"It's time I told someone the real story behind Project Radiance."

9 Project Radiance

[Arctic Radiance's POV]

"Follow me, we need a place that is quiet and discreet enough to talk." I led Stella and her sister to a spacious supply cabinet. I enchanted the room with a sound proof spell for a little extra security.

"It's time I told someone the real story behind Project Radiance." I said. I took a deep breath and decided it was time to tell someone the secret that could get me and anyone who knows it killed.

"Project Radiance was an attempt to perfect Celestia's Alicorn ritual. After almost one thousand years Celestia managed to think she had fixed it. Naturally she needed somepony to test it on. Me and my brother were just young colts when our lives changed forever..."

*FLASHBACK*

"Astral! Arctic! You two get your bottoms in here right now before I give ya a good tanning!" My mother's tone was serious. I looked to my older brother Astral to see if he knew what we did. He just looked back and shrugged. With a running start we jumped into the air and spread our wings. We raced to the front door and like always Astral won. We started laughing and shoving each other until we walked in and saw our mother sitting there with her hairbrush in hoof.

"Which one of you left the stove on? You could of started a fire and killed us all." Astral looked at me and I'm sure my expression was giving me away.

"I'm sorry mother I forgot to turn it off." I looked down at the ground trying not to meet her expression. While looking down I saw someone move outside the window through the corner of my eye.

"Well I'm about to make your bottom as hot as that stove. Get over here... wait do you guys smell that?" My mom started sniffing the air and so did I. It smelt weird, almost like there was some kind of foul scent. I ran to the window and looked outside to see if it had something to do with the figure I saw outside. As I got to the window a fireball flew through the window. I barely made it out of the way scorching half of my face.

The fireball once inside seemed to ignite the air. The whole house was engulfed in flames and smoke. I rushed toward the door but the way collapsed. I was trapped. It was the only way in and out of this room. I just laid down and started to cry. I was going to die here.

I felt my way around to see if my mom or brother were alright. Both were laying on the floor, however Astral was still barely moving. A bright light exploded above us and the roof seem to dissipate. A strange white alicorn was hovering above us. She levitated all three of us out and took us away from the house. I was in shock and couldn't do anything but sit there and watch as she blasted a green spell onto Astral and then onto me. As the spell hit me I began to feel better.

"Is th-that a healing spell?" I asked as the large white alicorn came into focus.

"Yes, my little pony it is. I was able to heal you and your brother, but... I couldn't save your mother." She looked to my mother and closed her eyes.

As I looked at the alicorn, I realized just who she was.

"Your P-Princess Celestia... aren't you?" The alicorn nodded and blasted me with another spell. This time I became unconscious.

I woke up in a large room. Instantly, I knew it was a bedroom, I just didn't know whose it was. I scanned the room and saw the normal stuff. It had two doors, two beds, and two chests. I looked to the other bed and noticed a familiar grey Pegasus laying down, sound asleep. I was glad he was OK. I got up to wake him when the larger of the two doors opened.

"Oh, you're awake. You sure recovered fast." Princess Celestia said.

"Where am I?" I looked cautiously at the White alicorn as she approached me.

"You're at Canterlot Castle. I brought you and your bother here since you two had no family members to contact." She said. My jaw had to have opened wide at this because she giggled a bit as I started to react. Then my jaw shut and I grew concerned.

"Why bring us here? You could have just as easily left us to an orphanage." Something didn't seem right about this. I knew that after the third great pony war Concordia and Equestria were allies and everything, but the Celestial army had still torched half my home land.

"You could stand to be a bit more grateful. None the less, I believe it shows a true peace between our nations with such an act of kindness. Just ring the bell by the door should you need anything." Celestia said as she left.

Astral moaned and turned on his side. That was when I saw the true extent of his injuries. He was pretty badly hurt. His right wing was wrapped in bandages and I could see scorch marks down his back. I went back to my bed and laid down, watching my older brother as I fell asleep.

Years passed and we stayed as guests in Canterlot Castle. Celestia adopted us since we spent so much time together. Astral entered the royal guard at the early age of 12. His higher-ups became intrigued with his ever evolving skills at battle analysis that he quickly became captain of the Wonderbolts. I however was more intrigued by peace than war. I would often hide away in the royal court to spy on the peace talks where Celestia would settle small country disputes.

One night Astral was summoned to Celestia's chambers. I thought nothing of it and went to sleep. However, when I awoke, I decided to ask Astral why Celestia wanted to see him so late. When I saw him at breakfast, I nearly overlooked his new horn. He looked like an Alicorn. I asked him how it happened and he told me that it was a secret.

A few nights later, I was called to Celestia's chambers. I will never forget the feeling I had walking up the flight of stairs to her chambers. We had never been allowed in that part of the castle. When I arrived the door opened as if she knew I was there. Inside I saw a circle with six candles around its circumference.

"Hello Arctic. I assume by now you have seen your brother's new features." Celestia said with a smile that seemed out of place.

"I have... and I'm guessing you have brought me here to do the same? Well, no thanks. I decline. Astral seems different ever since you did this." I pointed a hoof at her accusingly. With my words, her cheerful demeanor broke and she began to cry.

Celestia proceeded to tell me the story of Starlight. However, it wasn't the real story. I was never told that Starlight died from the spell. I was told that Starlight was taken by a disease. Celestia played on my sensitivity enough to make me feel sorry for her and help her test the spell.
She said it was to be a gift when Luna returned.

When Luna returned, things went well. Once Luna was restored to her former self, she was happy that the spell had been fixed and that the elements of harmony had new owners. A month or so after Luna's return things began to get bad. Astral had been talking to walls and attacking things that weren't there. A charge of his had tried to help him and was murdered viciously. Astral at that point had snapped. He began killing anypony he saw. After seven or eight ponies had been murdered, it caught up with him. I found him laying on top of a corpse and crying into it. I tried to talk to him, but the second I spoke, he stuck a saber through my ribs and flew away.

Once again Celestia saved my life. A few healing spells later and I was stable enough to heal on my own.A few days later I had gone to one of my hideaway spots in the royal court when I heard the royal sisters enter. Luna was enraged that her sister had not told her about possible side effects to the alicorn ritual. Luna stormed out but Celestia stayed put. When she thought she was all alone she started mumbling to herself about how the whole project was a failure and that she had killed my mother for nothing.

"You killed her... You killed her!" I spoke softly at first but then rage struck me. Celestia quickly raced over to me and hit me with a spell. The spell knocked me out cold. When I awoke I couldn't remember anything that I had heard in that room.

*End of Flashback*

"So, why did they say you have no soul?" Lightning asked.

"I still have a soul. After I was able to recover my memory, I realized that the only person I could trust was myself. I stopped caring about everything because nopony cared for me. At least, until the day I met a curious pink alicorn filly" I looked at Stella and saw her blush.

"And you never told anyone because who would believe you over a Princess." Lightning looked shocked beyond belief.

"Precisely." We all stood in awkward silence trapped in our own thoughts. We were all snapped out of our thoughts by Lightning's stomach growling.

"Mind if we bring Lightning on our lunch date?" Stella said in a mocking tone as she led her sister back out of the room.

"It's not a date so sure" I joked back. Although I was hoping for some alone time with Stella. I pushed that thought aside and ran to catch up with them.

Author's Note

Sorry for only like the longest wait between chapters ever. I really do hope you all love it though.