Passing of the Stars

Chapters

Prologue
Act 1 Chapter 1 - Memory Sparks
Act 1 Chapter 2 - Helping Hand
Act 1 Chapter 3 - Lesson
Act 1 Intermission 1
Act 1 Chapter 4 - Crystal

Prologue

Light shined through the windows of the castle, spreading a multitude of colors against the marble floors. The sound of trotting echoed along the halls as guards patrolled the halls or toward their destinations. Their golden armor against their alabaster coat accrued to the amount of luminosity within those specific halls, making them appear to be balls of light from a distance. The red carpet wouldn't add any shimmer. Though the guards or any guests walking through the castle would appreciate their existence when they followed them from either the throne room or to the courtyard.

The purple alicorn opened the doors and cantered through the halls in scholastic abandon. She tried to keep a regal look as possible as she did so, but couldn't ignore the fact that she was personally invited to see Princess Celestia. A few days ago, she received a letter that informed her of a secret that she wanted to share with her and her only. Not even her number one assistant was allowed to come. Not even her six friends. Just her.

But that didn't stop the Princess of Friendship. The last of the aristocracy and politicians left the solar court as she passed them by. The door to the throne room, wide open, let her in. Princess Celestia smiled as her former student walked through those doors.

"Princess Twilight Sparkle!" Celestia bowed, giggling as she saw the way Twilight Sparkle reacted when being called that title. She looked up and cantered down her throne, closing the door and ordering the guards to leave. The drapes on the windows fell, making the white walls turn azure. Princess Luna walked in, her dark mane sparkling from nothingness, and bowed to Celestia's protege.

"I take it thou art-"

"Lulu, remember our talk yesterday." Celestia gazed upon her sister's eyes. Luna blushed and stuttered a little bit.

"I take it...uhh...you're taking Twilight Sparkle to-"

"Ah, ah, ah!" Celestia giggled as she interrupted Luna again. "Don't say anything and let me take care of it." Luna snorted and cantered onto the throne room.

"Very well, then. I'll occupy the court in the meantime." The lunar princess voiced. Celestia and Twilight Sparkle trotted out of the court room. The solar princess hummed happily as she lead her protege to the Royal Archives. She stopped suddenly and looked up, as if trying to remember something.

"Hmm, where is it, where is it?" She repeated these words aloud. This increased the suspense that Twilight had. Where was she leading her? It doesn't seem really important since she's acting so informal. The humming, talking to herself, it seemed so out of place to see her mentor act this way. With a gasp, Princess Celestia walked towards one of the locked parts of the library. Her Royal guards that were socializing a bit too loudly stood at attention as the two alicorns walked toward them. Her continued humming garnered raised eyebrows from the two guards, but they kept their stature as she unlocked it and walked in the Star Swirl the Bearded wing.

Her horn continued to glow, examining the hourglass that was in the middle of the sectioned library. With her magic, she lifted the hourglass, revealing a little compartment within the pedestal that held the artifact. She lifted a book out of the little space and placed the time keeper back in its place. The book was dirty and time worn, but it held strong. The pages looked ancient and there were some ink spots along the edges of the page. Her magic expanded around her, looking for another book. She smiled as she took the book out of its home shelf.

"Take this, Twilight Sparkle." She said, giving her the dirty book. Twilight inspected the book and cocked her head. It was...just a plain old book. There had to be some importance to this.

"Princess, why did-"

"That's all for today. I'll teleport you back home. I have to send this to Princess Cadence. For her to learn more about her new kingdom. Goodbye, Twilight!" Celestia interrupted quickly.

The purple alicorn's vision turned black as she felt vertigo. Her head ached a bit as her vision suddenly gave way to the Golden Oaks Library, startling her young dragon assistant, Spike. Twilight felt dizzy for a second, but the dizziness subsided. Her common usage of teleportation magic made her used to the side effects.

She was confused about the whole situation. Princess Celestia requested her presence, only for her to leave just as she came. And what was that book that she said that she'll send to Cadence? Twilight sighed and sat down for a second, giving her academic mind a rest. She was thinking too much. After sending Spike out to go to Rarity's, she placed herself on her bed and sighed as she inspected the book a bit more. She couldn't decipher why her mentor gave her this book. Shrugging, she opened the first page carefully.

"Within the pages of this weary book, you'll know a memory that is forsook. Huh, iambic pentameter. That's interesting." She noted. She continued to read, "The name of Radiance is what you'll learn. The name of my identity forgot, until you came upon this diary. Star Swirl the Bearded.". She stopped. It was on a lone line by itself, with the name being written in the style of his books. It broke the rhythm of it, but with great purpose, she suspected. "You may have heard of this sweet name before. I am, authentically, the pony named. With great and utmost care, I write to you. The future gone but always in my heart; you, Twilight Sparkle, are the last I see."

Her heart thumped with jubilation. Star Swirl the Bearded was writing to her! In iambic pentameter, no less. She grinned and started jumping around, cheering excitedly. If Pinkie Pie were to see her now, she would be proud to see Twilight Sparkle acting the way she is. Calming down, she sat back on her bed and continued.

"I have an inkling that you're overjoyed. But nonetheless, this page is getting bland. I'll start with my encounter in the north..."

Twilight Sparkle flipped the page.

Author's Note

Whew. My first fanfic in a long time. It's been a while since I've written anything. I've been doing more reading and all these ideas come in my head, only for some of them to be either not well written and scrapped, not accepted, or forgotten. But, alas, I hope you have enjoyed this chapter. There will be many more to come! Constructive criticism would be helpful so I could improve my writings in later works!

Act 1 Chapter 1 - Memory Sparks

The Season of Snow

Day 57

Year 5 B.E.

Before having the light grey color of my fur, the sharp horn, the white short mane covered by my hat and the long beard that I sport, my fur was the brightest seafoam color of the deep ocean. My mane flowed down considerably to my back and it parted, as if my blunt horn was the one responsible. I was one of the members of a group of scientists and teachers that lived up in the north. And in the north lies the Crystal Kingdom. This kingdom was civilized, unlike the barbarism that the other three divided kingdoms displayed. We had what the others lacked: wealth, civility, and, partially, unity. Despite the city we lived in and its location, our racism was still apparent.

We had a council devised of nine ponies. Three Unicorns, three Earth Ponies, and three Pegasi. They would meet together to coordinate events in hopes of driving out the animosity we had towards each other. They established groups and schools that abolished the hypocritical 'separate, but equal' law that the civilians desperately tried so hard to keep. The C.P.S., or Crystal Pony Security, constantly had to look for volunteers to keep the peace. My group, C.P.E.S.A., or Crystal Pony Education and Scientific Association, dealt with educating these civilians and ourselves about the world around us, the ideas of mathematics and literacy, and among other things. Too many to name, since we are the education system.

Many of these groups had different color capes to differentiate us from the other groups. The Council wore purple capes, the C.P.S. had blue capes, the C.P.E.S.A. had red capes, and this religious group, whom I won't name for their belief is severely radical, wears white. Although I love doing what I love, teaching and researching, it's a huge burden to do. The parents continue to teach the children to hate instead of love. They might be smart enough not to accept the thoughts of those religious baboons, but not smart enough to see that we need to unite ourselves in order to advance!

...I need to remind myself that this book is for you, Twilight Sparkle. For you to know all about me instead of my own thoughts. I'll try to keep my thoughts about my past to a minimum. Here below, I have drawn a map of the Crystal Empire, so you have an aerial view of where things were.

On this day, I leave the building of the C.P.E.S.A., which you know as the Library in which you visited, on the beginning of twilight; no pun intended. I walk down the streets of the fourth quarter, toward the castle of the whole empire. Its sight was a beauty to behold. Four supports under it so ponies pass under it. A spire that shot straight into the sky. Under it's beauty was the crystal heart, the source of our protection from the forces of the dark, necromantic magic. It even repelled the harsh cold winter that plagues the surrounding area around the empire. Holding onto my rucksack, I walked by the castle and into the sixth quarter. I ignore the glares and cursing that some of the earth and pegasus ponies give me. I questioned my friend's placement in residence, in which he continues to tell me that if he were to be a member of the council one day, he'd have to gain the respect of everypony, even if he had to cut off his own horn. But I digress; I walked into his modest two story home. It wasn't grand, like the Council-Ponies' home. He got rid of the grand designs of his building and gave it a nice color that reflected the surrounding buildings. He sold the luxurious furnishings to buy the ones the commoners used. I didn't mind, at all.

Entering his abode, I see different ponies working on their projects. These ponies worked tirelessly to organize their campaign for my friend. The more I see it as I write this, the more I believe that he used religion for his cause. That darned fool. You know him as King Sombra. But to me, at the time, he was Bene Umbra. He was a sweet and loving pony. His green eyes showed it, despite that somber gray fur. But his black mane, pulled back with blue streaks complimented him so well. He was compassionate about his fellow ponies, no matter how much animosity they openly displayed to him. Oh, the many mares and even stallions that fell for him!

"Radiance! So good to see you!" I smiled at his gentle welcoming. He trotted over and we shook hooves. "How were the lessons and research at the facility?" Like him, many of the ponies here, they took it upon themselves to call our schools and research labs just facilities.

"Slightly better. The new foals look forward to next day's assignment." My eyes gaze the posters and my eyes widened. "I thought you were running for being one of the council. Not ruler!"

"Change of plans, my good friend!" From his tone of voice, he seemed indignant. "The Council invited me to their castle and they grow tired of the same traditional events. Such things to say!"

"How could they say such things?!" I was surprised, actually. In the time we lived in, we needed to unite more than ever. It was folly for the Council to say they grow tired. "I agree. The last event was dull, but for them to say they grow tired of these events..."

"Don't remind me! Th-They want me to replace them. As a whole! I've told every pony in this 6th Quarter and most of them seemed happy. A few of them disagreed with this, which I wholeheartedly understand!" He shook me with his hooves as he told me everything. My eyes whirled around before I shook my head.

"Umbra, for all the time I've known you, you and your extroverted self, you look fit to rule. I concur, the idea of a monarchy that the Council brought up is sketchy and sudden. But think of the things you can do." I wrapped a hoof around his neck and walked toward the window, careful as to where I was stepping. "You shared with me ideas that would be considered heresy back in our day. Unity, passion, chivalry, all the ideas you spoke came true. The Council made it happen. But you..." I placed a hoof on his chest. "You can make these advance even further."

Umbra smiled and chuckled a little bit. Slowly, it turned into laughter. I was sure he didn't believe the faith I had in him. I would've given him a glare if he hadn't hugged me tightly. "Ahh, Radiance. There is never a day in which you remind me of my goals. I thank you." He grinned and let go. "Care for some wine? It's fresh! Just got it the minute it came out of the cellar of the Halcyon Brewery from the 1st Quarter."

I agreed. After a few hours of helping around and talking with Umbra about some more researching of mine, I left his humble abode and walked back toward the 4th Quarter. There were some sketchy looking ponies that hadn't noticed me yet. I took a slight detour into the alleyways. Twilight, don't think of me brash, but I wasn't the smart pony I became later in my life. I know I shouldn't have taken that detour, but Fate, if this ponification of an idea exists, weaved some pony to be my companion by this event.

The alley might have been dark, but there was a back door that led to my apartment block. I didn't have the same wealth as Bene Umbra, but I lived modestly. As I held my rucksack to check if it was still there, I heard a slight flapping of wings. My ears perked up and I examined the area around me. Garbage cans stood upright, fires burning in them for some of the homeless. The pavement desperately needed renovation and so does the buildings adjacent to my apartment block. Gulping, I walk further into the alley, giving a few bits to some of the homeless. They were a nice bunch. After a few minutes, I trot up to the back door of my apartment and open up my rucksack.

I wasn't safe, as you would obviously think. A hoof slammed against my head and knocked me down as soon as I had my keys. My rucksack flew in the air and on to the hooves of a different pony. If I were to describe her, I would say oxymoronic. Her rust color fur did blend in with her electrifying mane and tail, which was a mix of blue and yellow. Her mane and tail were blown back, which gave me an inkling that she was flying around a lot. Her cutie mark looked like a sun, with rays shooting out of the big circle in a zig zag pattern. What made my heart give in was how dirty she looked. Matted fur, tangled mane and tail, dirt on her cheeks and her neon green eyes were filled with some sort of pain.

"Wait...you don't have to do this." My voice was weak. I didn't register how weak I felt because I was more concerned for my attacker. She looked down at me and snorted.

"Hafta. I'm hungry." It was all she said. She dug into the rucksack as I slowly got up on my hooves. I could hear the clinging of crystal shards that were in my wallet.

"No, ow, l-let me help you." It wouldn't occur to me until later on that I was bleeding a bit profusely at this point. She looked down at me and glared at me. I could tell that some ponies have helped her, but betrayed her trust. She shook her head and backed away. I stepped forward, but she took off. My magic reached out and held her by the tail. It took a lot out of me to drag her back.

"Let go!" She struggled to get out of my grasp, but the closer she got, the more easier it was to keep my magical grip. Her wings flapped harshly. She continued to flail herself to break out of my magic. "Dumb unicorn! Magic muncher!" She continued to insult me about my race as I hold her above me. I was waiting for her to tire herself out. But she seemed to have limitless stamina. It took ten minutes until she was finally tired. Her pants signalled me that she gave up on fighting her way out.

"So here's what I propose: I will let you in my house. I will let you bathe, comb, and eat, but I am cooking. You will not raid my pantry of foods nor will you steal from my rucksack. I'm letting you in my house because you need it. You look worse than the homeless." As I read this, I feel as if I must've sounded harsh to say that. But no, she really did look weary and torn by the environment. She stared at me confused as I said what I said. It must've been weird to have somepony force her in their home so she could shower and eat. But what she said next confused even me!

"What does that mean?" How could anypony not know what I meant from my own statement? She didn't understand what I was saying, from the looks she gave. I sighed and rubbed my head, noticing the blood on my hoof. I looked down and saw the small puddle of blood that was dripping from her blunt hoof attack. I really had to usher her in.

"I'm being nice. Just be calm and come with me. I'm going to let you go so you can clean yourself." I said as simply as possible. She nodded, seemingly understanding what I was saying. I let her go and unlocked the back door of the apartment. I let her in and locked the door behind me as I trotted in. The white halls greeted us as we walked into the main hallway. Luckily, there was no pony around. Walking down the corridors, I stopped in front of a door that labeled 34. I opened the door and was greeted with the sweet smell of fresh winter. A red two-pony couch sat against the wall, with the view of the beauteous streets out in the window. Two tables, an oak end table that held various books and items, and a mahoghany rectangular table, sat adjacent to the couch. My bed, with thin linens wrapped around the mattress and a thick blanket folded on top, sat in the right corner of the room. There were two halls. One that led to the bathroom, which was closest to the door, and the other that held the kitchen.

"What is your name?" I ask the troubled mare as I walk in the kitchen, grabbing a cloth to wet and wrap around my head. She looked at me with those eyes again as I looked back at her after a few moments. "Uhh, words ponies call you?"

"Memory Sparks."

"And your cutie mark?" Again, she looked at me with those eyes. I shook my head and led her to the bathroom. "My name, as I am called, is Radiance. Come, I'll prepare your bath." I smiled as her eyes looked around with curiousity. That look was something I always seen in the foals at my classes. I turned the nozzle, letting the water fall into the bath basin. As soon as the water was at a respectable height, I used my magic to make it warmer. I showed her the tools to clean herself: a loofa, a comb, and some scented soaps and shampoos. I taught her how to use these instruments and...hahaha, sorry, kind of a nostalgic memory for me.

"And the towel there is used to get the water off of your body. Now, I'll be in the kitchen where I will cook dinner." I strode out of the bathroom and into the kitchen, making sure to clean up the blood that was on the floor.

I sighed and looked into the pantry. There were a plentiful of foods that were in the little shelved cubby hole. Many oats, wheats, and various spices that we had. I decided to make some hay noodles with some carrots. Getting a pot, I walk over to the stone stove and throw some coal in, lighting it with my horn. I placed the pot on top of the stove and boiled some water for the noodles. As the noodles cooked, I used my magic to grab two plates to put on the table in front of the couch. Placing them together, the carrots were deemed next. I smiled as I took out the carrots and drained the noodles, using the magic that I had.

I could hear the pattering of water as she came out of her bath. A few minutes passed until she came out, having many tangles and knots in her mane. I quickly split the noodles and put them in the dish before cantering toward her. "You still look like a mess with that frizzy mane of yours. I'll help you here."

My magic wasn't as great as it will be later in my life, but it would made some ponies talk. My magic reached on to each strand of hair and they untangled her moist mane, weaving around as if she were a gorgon. "How do you like your hair? Think you can style your mane?"

"Style? You mean the way it looks?" She asked. I nodded and she took a hold of her hair. I discontinued my use in magic and she flung her head back. She looked refreshed and way better. She smiled and opened her mouth to say something, but couldn't bring the words to say them. She looked away and looked at me sadly. "I...I...thank you...unicorn."

I simply hugged her. "You're welcome. Now, I have your plate on the table. Just ta-" She rushed by me and started stuffing her mouth with food, taking all of it from both plates. I stared and contemplated what I was seeing. I couldn't understand why she was eating like such a ruffian. Clearly, I was angered. "D-Do you not have manners or how to eat properly, like a normal pony?"

She glared at me when I said that. I stood my ground and she still gave me that look. "Wait, don't tell me you don't know what manners are...have your parents taught you something?"

"Parents?" I sighed at that response and clopped a hoof on my face. But then, I felt pity for this mare. She probably had no one to call mother or father. She lived her life up to this point, having no one to rely on. She was a confused mare that desperately needed my help. I nodded on for her to continue eating. Grabbing two carrots from the pantry, I ate them singularly. I just watched as she continued to devour the food I made. She needed it more than I do.

After washing her face and washing the dishes, I prepared my bed to sleep. I had lessons to do tomorrow and I couldn't tarry any longer. I looked over at Memory Sparks as she sat on the couch, gazing outside the window. "You can have my bed." She looked at me and looked at the bed. She felt disoriented. I really had to deduce that no one gave her the luxury of generosity.

"You're not gonna call the blue ponies, are you?" She asked, her trust in me fading.

"I won't, I'll even use magic to zip my mouth shut if I have to. Here." I let her lay on the bed and I placed the thick blankets on top of her. The weather ponies were planning on making the night cold. Grabbing a blanket of my own, I sat myself on my couch and used the couch pillows as a place to lay my head. They weren't as comfortable, but the bed belonged to her for the night. "Good night, Memory Sparks."

"Good night...unicorn..." And with that, she was swept away into slumber. I continued to ponder the events of the day in my head as my eyes closed. I also pondered about the choices I made in my life. Meeting Bene Umbra when we were foals, excelling at the top of my classes in private schools, watching the development of politics via the Council, and being one of the first to be part of the C.P.E.S.A.?

I can say that for the first time in my life, at this point and as I grinned, I finally felt proud for what I've done.

Author's Note

Ponycode for Radiance:

3C2X1G710000D8B5FFC49D00600AF2525UN183740010000190FE9340FF7FFF1E107F3FCC004CB2

Ponycode for Memory Sparks:

3J3P0J00108E4A1DFFC49D0010170BA49UO1837000000002F10099BFDFFE8021107F3FCC004CB2

For easier reference as to what or how they look like. Comments and criticism are appreciated!

~Sketchy

Act 1 Chapter 2 - Helping Hand

The Season of Snow

Day 58

Year 5 B.E.

I expected it to happen, obviously.

I woke up to see the bed she rested upon absent of her form. Getting up, I see that she rummaged through my rucksack. I pulled it toward me and dug in to find my wallet. I gripped the instrument and opened it, finding only green crystal shards. Rolling my eyes, I grab what little foods she had left in the pantry and whipped something up to eat. I was angry at Memory Sparks for doing what she did, for taking advantage of my generosity. But I felt that I can't be mad at her. Why should I be mad, I wondered to myself. She was doing what she had to do to survive.

Bah! Forget about it. What's done is done! You have a job to do, Radiance! My mind reeled me back to reality. I needed to go back to the C.P.E.S.A. and continue the lessons for the little foals. They would've had a fit if I were absent and not give them their lesson. It would be a simple arts and crafts lesson in which they would make their own hypnotizing instruments and use it to play tricks on each others' eyes. I know these fillies and colts would enjoy it. Checking my rucksack, I sighed in relief to see that none of the lesson plans for the school year weren't tampered with. I threw it over my back and opened the door, only to find Bene Umbra about to knock.

I could see the fear in his eyes. There was a C.P.S. guard behind him, examining the blood on the floor. Umbra got on his hind legs and held my head, looking at the bandage that I wrapped myself. I grew agitated at the action, but no words would be told. I couldn't tell him I got attacked. But those homeless ponies in the alley probably saw what happened. They probably confessed. I frowned a bit when Umbra got back on all four hooves.

"Who was it? Who attacked you?" He asked. His tone was gentle, but he was stern. "Ponies in the alleyway told us some mare attacked you and...Wh-Why were you taking that kind of a shortcut to begin with!?" He lost his patience and could tell that he's actually asking, Did you want to die?!

"Well, I don't know. I just wanted a quick way home. Those homeless ponies you asked didn't come to my aid when it happened, now did they?" I retorted. I know for Umbra for looking out for me. But I was on the clock now. I didn't want the foals to be disappointed.

Umbra had his eyes slit as he looked at me. He was trying to see any cracks that were in my fortitude; any signs of me that would give him a message that I truly needed help. But I held steady and calm. Both our eyes locked on for what seemed like an eternity until he eventually gave up.

"Radiance, you know I'm always here for you. You don't have to keep secrets." He said calmly. I really wanted to tell him. I should've. But I didn't want to be in his way. He had many things to do for his campaign and I don't want to be the one to stop him.

"Umbra, don't worry about me. Think about it this way: I'm not dead."

It was an attempt to make him laugh, and it worked somewhat. I could see the little giggles he was trying to hold back. I guess it was the tone I said that in. I started laughing at the way he was laughing. I tried to tell him it wasn't that funny, but I couldn't. We both started to laugh ridiculously.

"Radiance, that was a stupid thing to say but it worked." Umbra managed to say through the little chuckles that were dying out. I beamed and admired the way he accepted that.

"Well, you know me. I'll use any kind of humor to help cheer a pony up." He stuck his tongue out at my statement. I looked over myself and blinked, forgetting my cape. I lit up more horn and an aura came out of it. The aura sought out the cape throughout my apartment and when found, it lifted its way toward my back, where I knotted it up.

"That still freaks me out every time I see you do that." My friend chuckled a little bit. "You have a talent of magic, perchance!"

"Nonsense. If I did, I would've had my cutie mark. Not that I mind, though. I'd rather have none than one. I'm always open to the possibilities of the world." I smiled. I then turned to looked back at Umbra. "Want to walk me to the Facility? I'm sure you have time."

He nodded and walked me out of the apartment. As we walked, he continued to eye the gauze that was on my head. "I'm still confounded that you were attacked. Of all ponies! This irks me and the feeling is troublesome."

"Umbra, I'm fine." I stubbornly said. In truth, I was getting a slight migraine. It could've been his nagging and constant reminders of his worries. "No need to enslave the whole empire to try and find the culprit."

Twilight Sparkle couldn't help but giggle at that statement. Just as she was about to continue, Spike knocked on the door. "Oh, come in!" With that, he opened the door and brought in a tray with an assortment of foods. A simple daisy sandwich with some hay fries and a glass of apple juice. She smiled at the chivalry that Spike was displaying and giggled. "Oh, Spike. If Rarity were to see this, I'm sure she'd fall head over heels for your manners." She teased him. He beamed.

"Well, I tried and she was gushing a little bit before she went back to her dresses. She looked like she needed it." He commented. He sat on the bed and ate some of the hay fries. Glancing down, he saw the book and cocked his head. "What's this? Came back with a souvenir?" Twilight stopped and quickly took the book and threw it over to the book shelf nailed to the side of the window.

Giggling nervously, she replied, "Ahhaha, it's not for your eyes." She smiled nervously. Spike shrugged and ate some more.

"Don't see the big deal. A book's a book. It's not like I'm hiding my gem pile from Rarity." He said metaphorically. Twilight wanted to tell him. Tell him that this book is all about the life of Star Swirl, but she was conflicted. Would Princess Celestia let her share this information with her friends? She decided to be careful and not tell Spike.

"Don't worry about it. Something from Princess Celestia." Twilight simply answered.

She looked outside her bedroom and saw that it was night out. The azure night brought out the stars, aligned in many intricate patterns for this time of season. She could imagine the prayers that were sent out to both of the Princesses as the ponies readied for bed or readied for a night of parties in the big cities. The buildings that she could see were had their lights slowly dwindling. As much as she wanted to sleep herself, she couldn't. Both hunger and her curiosity needed to be satiated; more so her curiosity.

In five minutes, Twilight Sparkle finished her sandwich and kissed her young dragon good night. She crawled on the bed and shuffled herself under the covers. She laid there for what seems like forever, wondering if the draconic tyke was sleeping. She would usually hear him snore, which signaled to her that he was asleep.

Just as she was about to check up on him, he started to snore loudly. The kind of snore which would wake someone up...if they were on the bed. She grinned and grabbed the book, continuing her reading.

"You accuse me in that way? Oh, I'm shocked you have high hopes for me!" Umbra faked his distress as he continued to walk me. I chuckled at his theatrics and turned to him, staring at him closely.

"Of course I do! You're the least likely pony that any pony would accuse of such action!"

"I would never do anything of the sort!" Umbra nudged my face away from his. "And don't do that. Ponies would think dangerously." He looked away, slightly embarrassed.

Knowing myself, I pinched his cheeks with my hooves and wiggled them. "Umbry wumbly!"

"You're bloomin' for a doomin', Radiance!" He yelled as I ran into the school doors. I waved and yelled my goodbyes boisterously as we both went our ways. I glanced at the clock and smiled, being only a minute late. With that, I ran into my classroom. I could already hear the protests of kids, asking why I was late.

Smiling, I brought out some arts and crafts instruments. One by one, the foals were smiling and shaking with suspense. I clopped my hooves together, asking for silence. "Alright, every pony! Listen up! I have a neat and simple lesson for today, as you all know. This is going to be a lesson about our eyes." I took out a little stick that held a circular paper, with black and white swirling together infinitely in a certain pattern. I could hear the oohs and ahhs already. "Now, there are many different styles to this. But this is the simplest one I could find. But, watch what happens when I spin it."

As I spun it, the foals were wowed and amazed at the sight they saw. "It looks like it's going on forever, right?" I obtained a couple of agreements as I continued to spin it. "Now, look what happens. Stare in the center of it. I promise, this is not a hypnotizing trick to keep you quiet." I chuckled a little bit at their uncertainty. But they looked into the center. "Stare until I tell you to look up and at my head."

I knew what was to come. It was a trick of the eye that would make their vision go awry. There was even a spellbook that let the unicorns cast an illusion spell that would show a moving picture of these patterns. A simple trick for us to remember where the pattern goes and how long to hold it. It was really mystifying.

"Okay, ya little tykes! Look up!" I put the instrument down and watched their little heads look up at me. They saw my head grew bulbous in their eyes. I put on different expressions as they laughed or gasped. My lips puckered at one point and most of the kids were on the floor laughing.

"Radiance, do you have..." one of my co-workers walked in and saw me doing a puckered face at the foals. I looked back at her and blinked. They looked at her and laughed harder, falling over or banging hooves on their desks. She slowly walked out and closed the door. I couldn't help but laugh at the awkward scene.

As soon as I was done, I gave them instruction books on how to make these simple tools. I giggled a bit as they inspected the contents of the books and picked out which illusion they want to make. These little children were adorable to have. Such a pleasure to see their faces smile as they learn something new.

Then, a screech brought me out of my thoughts and I looked at the source of the scream. A little magenta filly looked up to me as I spotted her at the window, pointing outside. "Somepony is running away from mean ponies!"

I quickly trotted over to the window and looked outside. My mouth hung agape as I saw Memory Sparks, holding some sort of jewel, running away from the three ponies that I saw yesterday. Looks like they found a pony to make trouble with. With a serious look on my face, I open the window and my horn started glowing. It was a distance! I have never tried to reach that far in my life with my magic. But I had to do it, lest my recent friend would get hurt.

My horn started to gush with an overflow of magic. "Glow-Heart! White-Veil! Go to the office and tell them the situation! Tell them to get the C.P.S. on the west side of the building!" I ordered two of the little tykes. "Her life is in your hooves!" They nodded and quickly ran out of the room. My magic tried to quickly weaved together a magic barrier that would trap the three ponies that was chasing after her.

"MEMORY SPARKS! GIVE US OUR JEWEL BACK!" I heard them yell. They sounded almost synchronized as they said that. It gave me the creeps as I continued to pour my magic in the barrier.

"THIS WAS MINE TO BEGIN WITH! YOU STOLE IT FROM ME!" She yelled back at them. So it was either an act of thievery on her part or an act of assault on their part. As I created the barrier in time, I had to choose in a few seconds who to trap. Many scenarios and questions ran in my mind. Who would the C.P.S. arrest? Who are those three ponies? What was the item that Memory Sparks had in her mouth?

"Teacher! Do something! They're almost catching her!" the shouting of the foals broke my concentration and the barrier fell. It took me a split second to gain my concentration, but it managed to hold steady as it hit the ground, having the three ponies in its grasp. I sighed and sat on my haunches as the children cheered.

Memory Sparks looked back to see the barrier surrounding her hunters. She stopped and trotted up to them, looking in confusion as to how they were captured. They were banging on the barrier with great rage. I could read from their mouths the harsh obscenities that were directed to her. I was thankful that the children and I were far enough not to hear what they were saying. She started making funny and taunting faces at them. She would spread her mouth apart with eyes crossed, blew raspberries at their faces, and lastly, mooned them.

Having enough of her taunting, I yelled, "Memory! Run now! The guards are coming!" She was startled at the voice and looked around for the voice.

"Unicorn? Is...Is that you?" She yelled back, still trying to find the source of the voice.

"Memory, I am holding these bad ponies! Do you want the bad ponies, or as you know them, the blue ponies to come and see you!?" That prompted the reaction I was hoping for. She started to run away again, flying off into the distance.

I will leave out the details of the C.P.S. gathering eyewitness accounts, but needless to say, those three ponies were ominously silent when the blue caped ponies came and arrested them. The foals told them about how I saved the mare from getting hurt. I hoped that this would be an example of helping each other out instead of growing up to hate each other. The C.P.S. guards congratulated me in a job well done and went on their way to put the three convicts into the dungeons.

Though I wondered about Memory Sparks. I was having her in my mind, hoping that she was alright. The more I thought about it, the more I came to see that she was just misunderstood. Remembering the way she looked last night before I gave her the bath put a somber thought in my mind. She was all alone. Worse than any of the ponies around here. She needed somepony to keep her company and help her.

Thus ended the day. I was given an early dismissal from work due to my 'heroic deeds' and the injury on my head that still needs healing. They said they're giving me a week vacation, saying I earned it. I didn't mind it, as long as I still had access to their research rooms. As I walked out of the facility, I hummed a little song, forgetting most of the lyrics, but remembering the melody of the song. Well, with the spell I'm under to write this whole diary of my life, I remember them, but back then, I didn't know until somepony sang the lyrics.

I looked back to see Bene Umbra, happily singing the chorus of the song. Smiling, I suppressed a chuckle as he hit that high note in a falsetto. It's strange to hear a stallion sing that high. It always made them sound like a mare. I opened the door to the building of the apartment and started breaking down into laughter as he finished the song.

"What? Can't I sing about a song that reflects my views?" He bumped me on the back as I walked through the foyer of the building, toward the mailboxes. The attendant looked up and saw me, giving me my mail.

"Nothing wrong with a bit of singing. I just find stallion voices funny when they hit high notes like that. They sound like a filly squealing when they have a special somepony." I responded, holding the mail in my mouth.

"Speaking of ponies, there's somepony in your apartment, Radiance. She told me she was here yesterday. A relative of some sort." The attendant said, reading the local newspaper. Both Umbra and I looked at her in confusion. All of my relatives disowned me when I joined the C.P.E.S.A., much to my chagrin. I trotted toward my apartment block and fumbled for my keys.

"Radiance, tell me now. Was this the pony that attacked you?" He stared at me, angrily. "You showed generosity to the pony that attacked you?"

"Well, when you put it that way, I look like a dunce. But the mare really needed the hospitality." I responded, finding the keys deep within my rucksack. Umbra snorted at my response and stomped on the floor.

"You didn't try and kiss her, did you?" I blushed at the comment and stared at him with a crazy face. I shook my head and tried to ignore the comment.

My keys open the lock and the door swayed open. Inside of the house was neatness. Everything was scented with eucalyptus leaves and baby's breath flowers. The bed in the right corner was neatly made and had everything back in its place. The couch held Memory Sparks, wrapped up in a small blanket as she snored lightly. Umbra was stunned at the scene he saw in front of him. I, also, was stunned as well. I looked at the table and saw the many crystal shards that she took from my wallet. "She gave my shards back..." I was surprised beyond belief. I trotted toward the pantry and saw that it was stocked with fresh foods. I counted my money and saw that there was 3 red crystal shards missing.

"Huh...are you sure she hit you on the head?" I nodded at Umbra's joking question. I walked back in the living room and saw the jewel that she had on her when she ran from those ponies. I walked at the table and held the jewel in my hooves. It sparkled like twinkling lights of the rainbow in a heart shape. I continued holding it in my hooves until I felt a hoof on mine.

"Unicorn...I'm sorry for...what I did." She said tiredly, but in a tone that revealed her sincerity. I smiled and laughed a little.

"Which one? Hitting my head or stealing?"

"Those two. I know it was bad, but I want to live. I don't want to die." Memory sniffled. She was guilty and she knew that with what little intelligence she had.

"This is how they lure you in, Radiance. I don't trust her." Umbra gave his opinion to me in a hushed tone. I looked back at him and my mouth was hanging. "I know it's against what I believe, but she's a criminal. She attacked you for personal gain. Yes, she stole from you and gave back the money, but-"

"Enough of that, Umbra!" I yelled, seeing the despair that Memory was showing in her eyes. "I understand where you're coming from. But think about it. Those criminals that come out of jail sometimes never turn good. They continue their activities and hurt other ponies. She is no better, but not if I can help it." She looked up to me and wiped her eyes. I looked back and sat next to her.

"I'm going to help you. I know there are...things you don't know or understand, but I will help you. It will be hard, I won't lie. Because you weren't taught at a young age, it's gonna be harder to teach you the things needed to survive in this nation. Are you willing to be my pupil?" She looked up at me and cocked her head. She stared at me with those teary eyes, confused but understanding. I was afraid that I had to re-do my whole speech there until she spoke.

A simple word uttered from her mouth, "Okay."

Act 1 Chapter 3 - Lesson

The Season of Bloom

Day 5

Year 4 B.E

The days I taught Memory Sparks the necessities of life passed by. She was slowly getting a feel for proper etiquette in society, which surprises me. A grown pony would have a considerable amount of time to learn something new, as their minds aren't as apt as a foal's. See, the mind of a foal are like sponges. They absorb in all their information and they retain all that information, even if it's pushed back in their mind. But Memory was taking in all this information. I was giving her a feast of knowledge.

The warm weather was soon to come upon us. The ponies were opening up their stalls to sell their sweet flowers and fruits that will grow in time. Foals were out playing their little games and sport. I've let my student play with the foals, as many of them recognize her from previous encounters, from what I suspect. The way she interacted with them, using the skills I taught her...the children loved her all the more when she spoke about me. They constantly teased her that she had a special somepony. I giggled a bit, but as I write this, I can't help but let loose a tear.

But one of the things that irked me about her was her open-mindedness and the questions she asked. I mean, I understand that it is amazing to expand your mind, but she asks questions like why we communicate the way we do or the origins of the etiquette that I present her. I wish I knew, but these were things that were present in our past. If recorded history were to begin a bit further in our history as ponykind, we would know a great deal of many subjects. Gah, I'm digressing.

Another thing at the time was her belief in the doctrines that the ponies in white spoke about. These ponies would talk about Faust, a pony in the sky having the fur of the sleekest marble and a flowing mane of deep rubies, that created our fair land, the sun and moon, and the far beyond. She had the wings of the pegasi, horn of a unicorn, and endurance of an earth pony. She created two daughters, named Day-Herald and Night-Dreamer as they were called in this religion, to take on the task of moving the two celestial bodies of the sky. There is more lore into the religion, but you could already guess the rest.

As I cook breakfast on this day, Memory awakes from her slumber, beaming with full joy. Bouncing off of the newly bought bed, she stretched and zipped toward me. She was clearly ecstatic.

"Luna visited me in my sleep!" She barked happily in my ear. I almost fumbled with a carton of orange juice before I placed it back right-side up.

"Who now?" I breathed a breath of relief as I calmly poured orange juice in two glasses.

"Night-Dreamer! Her real name is Luna and she visited me when I was having a nightmare." She looked abashed and away. This nightmare seemed to have bothered her, but this...Luna...has soothed her. "I know you don't like my religion, but..." Her hooves used her mane as a away to assuage herself. "...she's always been there for me."

At the time, I didn't believe in such thing. How could I? They used stories and fabrications in order to explain the natural order of things instead of admit that they lack the knowledge of their surroundings and pursue the means of how it works. I smiled nonetheless and hugged her. "Memory, if it's something that helps you, then I don't mind." I soothed her with kind words. But what I said next, I should've kept my mouth shut. "Just don't push it upon me." I said with a stern look. She looked up and me and pouted a little.

"But she is real!" She whined. "One day, I'll show you and everypony else!"

"I will believe it when the evidence is provided. Now, let's go to the facility." I calmly murmured, not wanting to elevate her contrition. She slowly nodded, having a small stream streaming down her face. I gulped and sighed. "Hey, maybe she'll visit me along with her sister."

"Celestia doesn't come into dreams. She controls the Sun and leads while Luna controls the Moon and helps keep nightmares away." She looked up at me.

Rolling my eyes, I hoofed over her orange juice to her and took a swig of my glass. The tangy taste of the juice hitting my tongue. I liked it, somewhat. It was simply a means for me to wake up or quench my thirst when I ran out of apple cider.

My mind went off to dwell on Memory recalling her dream and statements. The names of Celestia and Luna, much to my chagrin, sounds a lot better than Day-Herald and Night-Dreamer. Those phony names sounded like they were made up on the spot. Whatever her mind was doing, it was working and making sure Memory Sparks stayed true.

"We'll grab a bite to eat. Prepare for the day. Bring your bag and make sure the jewels and crystals are in there." I commanded with purpose and intellect. She nodded and rushed to the bathroom. As she zoomed around the complex of my home to gather herself, I tied my cape in a knot around my neck slowly, making sure it was correctly at length. Once I was done, Memory stood by the door. Grinning, my bag found its place on my back, signalling that we were ready to go.

Walking out of the apartment, we quickly grabbed some blueberry sandwiches and a small block of cheese for when we get hungry before lunch. We walked into the 3rd Quarter of the Empire, seeing the birds flutter by towards a small puddle of water. A large portion of this quarter was dedicated to preserve the natural forest that used to be here, but not having the harsh winter colors. The evergreen leaves with a serrated pattern made some ponies steer clear of this part of the forest, believing something deadly awaited in there. Umbra and I examined the area and found nothing, but kept the fact secret.

"Alright. I'm going to teach you about the gem and jewelry of the empire. As you no doubt know, our crystal shards are set up in different colors to differentiate between what's more valuable. Can you take out the shards please?" I asked, placing a picnic mat against the dewy grass. Ceremoniously, she dumped all the contents of the back out onto the mat. "Or...take the rest of the jewels out. That's marvelous, too."

"I'm sorry." she squeaked bashfully.

"It's not a problem." Putting my hoof forward, I swipe away the rest of the gems, leaving these shards shaped in a small elongated rectangular prism. They were dense and difficult to break, not even a hammer could break it. They were enchanted to be that way, so merchants wouldn't be fooled by counterfeit clones.

"I always wonder why they make money like this..." Memory muttered. I chuckled at the sentiment.

"It's a complex reason. The currency back in the day was just trading something more or equal in value to get what you want. It started to become a worthless way of trading until they found that this area was full of jewels and crystals. To diminish the value of these items, our ancestors used them as homes, tools, etc.. One day, a pegasus, with his hammer and chisel, created a few crystals in these shapes." I held up the crystal shards. "...and used them to trade. Then, he worked with a unicorn to enchant them to make it official; creating a banking system. I won't get into it, but that's the start. One of the greatest history of this empire, though. So!" I took each colored one and sorted them out.

"Which one is which? There were days where I'd get some back when I give one red. Some days, they reject the money." She sniffed at them to take in its scent.

"The green ones is just 1 C.S., meaning one crystal shard." My hooves started to point to each colored shards. "This blue one equals to 5 C.S. and yellow ones are 10 C.S." I pointed to the red one. "Can you guess how much this is?"

"Umm, 20?" She spoke with a hunch.

"Correct! You're getting a hang of this. Maybe one day, you'll be as smart as me." I beamed at my compliments to her. I pointed to the purple shards. "And this?"

"30?"

"Nope. Sorry, it's 50." I chuckled. She fumed a little from that.

"That doesn't make any sense! Why would they skip 30 and 40 all the way to 50?!" She was a little irritated, but kept her cool. One thing I had to learn was to keep my patience, lest I incur her fury. I didn't want to repeat the first day of my teaching her.

"To keep it simple. Don't want too much of everything. They're simple numbers that can go up to 10...or 100. With the number one, you need ten of the green shards in order to have their value equal to the yellow shards. With the blue, just two. You'll get the hang of it later on as the years pass."

"Okay...it hurts my head to learn all of this. This is a lot of stuff to learn. I bet it's easier to just live calm and happy...like you do." Memory grumbled annoyingly. I raised my eyebrows at her. I understood her contempt, but she didn't know a lot about me, besides that I was a unicorn that had magic and was nice enough to give her a home.

"Well, I can't complain about my life. I teach ponies of all ages and live comfortably. But recent days like when you attacked me are ones I like the most." She looked up at me in disbelief.

"Why? I knew you were a crazy pony, but why would you like that?"

"It breaks the cycle." I beamed, the wound becoming less apparent as I inspected it with my hooves. "I eat, go to teach, converse with Umbra, eat, sleep, and repeat. It gets dull. So when something breaks that cycle, I treasure those moments. Think of it as a wheel. A perfect circle that keeps going and going until a rock bumps it, making it topple." I blushed a bit and stuttered for a moment. "That sounds more of a downfall than my own process of life. I doubt anything like that could happen."

"So...you're saying that..." She started to blush a lot. "...you like me?"

"I just met you a week ago! Feelings of love don't happen that quickly!" I managed to stammer. "You are my student, and as such, I'm dedicated to help you off your hooves. How did you interpret my metaphor as such?!"

"You said you treasure moments that break your wheel." I stared at her before giggling at the statement. It was humorous to hear her speak. She tries to copy the things I say without knowing the meaning of the words or the sentence. "What's so funny? Did I say it wrong?" She mumbled loudly, shying away slightly.

"No! No...well, yes, but you're still learning." Putting away the crystal shards back in her bag, I stopped to see the glimmering jewel in her bag. It was in the same shape as the Crystal Heart, but gleamed in an aura of rainbow instead of shining white like the aforementioned gem. Fixated, I brought it out of her bag and placed it on the picnic mat. Her eyes widened, but she restrained herself from taking it.

"Memory Sparks, please tell me how you obtained this jewel. It looks as if some pony tried to create the Crystal Heart." I inquired. She smiled and held it.

"Luna told me to bring it to you, saying you can learn about it!" There she goes about Luna. But what sent chills down my spine was the fact that Luna, the pony that I believed was in her head, told Memory to give it to me in hopes I learn about it.

"Well, tomorrow, we can go to the facility and you can look through the learning books while I research this. It is amazing. I never seen the Crystal Heart shaped in such way. What do you say?" I asked, continuing to inspect the Rainbow Heart, as I called it. She beamed and nodded, getting up to stretch. "Then it's settled. Let's pack up and eat. Tomorrow, we go."

Author's Note

This was only to give more insight of the two characters.

Comments and criticism is appreciated! :3

Act 1 Intermission 1

"Where...Where am I?" was the first thought that went through Twilight Sparkle's mouth as she slipped into dream land. Her voice echoed into the black void. Completely lucid, her first command was to transform the nothingness. The void turned, blinking into the Canterlot landscape, with her on the balcony of the castle. She heard the flapping of wings and turned, gazing at the presence of the lunar princess.

"Welcome, Twilight Sparkle, to my realm of dreams." She gracefully welcomed the purple alicorn.

"Princess Luna!" Twilight Sparkle bowed in her presence.

"Rise, Twilight. No need for formalities. I hast seen thy dream before thou awakened, so to speak."

"You mean dreaming lucidly? I was dreaming before? I don't remember what I was dreaming." Twilight got up and looked into the eyes of the princess. Her night-sky eyes showed a little worry, but masked in joy that the two conversed. She pulled her starry flowing mane away from her face and looked toward the city.

"My dearest sister gave...you his memoirs, didn't he? You had him in...your dreams, the seafoam stallion along with the rustic mare. Their names escape me." Twilight saw that Luna attempted to drop the old pronouns of their language with hesitant precision.

"Radiance and Memory Sparks, your highness."

"Thank you. They were in your dreams. Along with Sombra, who was Umbra, at the time. A petty change, as their names are one and the same." Luna chuckled a little in spite of the corrupt ruler. "They hold a significance to you. I know not how, but they do. Their fate intertwines with yours."

Twilight Sparkle put a hoof to her chin and began to think. She wasn't as great as a dream interpreter as Princess Luna, who knows just about anything and everything when it comes to dreams. But she guessed that today would be a good to start interpreting these dreams. She couldn't remember what happened in her dreams, but if what she says is true, then they might have left her a message within the contents of the pages in which she's reading. She wasn't a cipher of some sort, but she has seen messages within horror books. Maybe those messages would come in time. But there was an off-chance that she could be interpreting that statement wrong.

"Still there, Twilight? Trying to understand what my interpretations with your own?" Luna snapped her out of her thoughts with her questions.

"I'm here. Yes, Princess. I'm thinking that they've left a message in the book I read. Radiance has interacted with me in those books. He knew I would read the book. He knew how I would react. Could he have had a spell in seeing the future?"

"Clairvoyance? I doubt that he had such power. But, I understand your thoughts." Luna saw the dreamscape crumbling and wobbling slightly. She turned to Twilight Sparkle and spoke, "Listen to me, history has changed his views on Star-Swirl. Cross-examine the facts and believe what you believe. We must part."

"Luna, wait!" Twilight held her hooves out, only to feel air and see wood. She was back in her bed, with the covers thrown over Spike's head.

"Wha, huh? Who turned out the lights!?" Spike panicked, his claws pushing at the blanket. A few tears from his claws formed on the blanket, making Twilight gasp.

"Spike! Stop! That's my blanket!" Her magic reached out and uncovered the panicking baby dragon. He breathed slowly, seeing the damage that he inflicted on the comforter. He blushed in embarrassment and scratched his head.

"Uhhh...hehe, sorry." He stammered.

"It's fine. I guess a trip to Rarity's won't hurt. This book deserves a break from my reading." Twilight decided on part of the day's events. Folding up the torn blanket, she opened the door and trotted down the stairs. Her stomach started grumbling for sustenance. "Let's get some food, first. What would you like?"

"Cinnamon toast with a ruby on top?"

Twilight Sparkle nodded and cooked what they desired. Spike obtained his cinnamon toast with a shining ruby and Twilight Sparkle cooked herself some pancakes with some fruits on the side. The tastes of both dishes satisfied their taste buds and their stomach, respectively. Though, for Spike, he saved the best for last. He chomped on the ruby and smiled at the metallic taste of cherries, red apples, and strawberries. It was delicious for him.

"Can I still ask what's in that book?" Spike asked, feeling a bit confident that he'll get his answer. Twilight Sparkle put down her orange juice and sighed, contemplating whether to tell him or not.

"Do you promise not to speak a word of this? Not to any pony at all?" She gazed into his eyes sternly.

"I promise." He responded. She nodded and smiled at his enthusiasm.

"A book about the origins of Star Swirl the Beard, written by himself. No edits, nothing omits, just him retelling his tale and thoughts." She grinned and continued to shake like a little filly who has a crush.

"Isn't that the clown you dressed up as on Nightmare Night?"

"Spike!" Twilight coughed up her drink and glared at her assistant. "You didn't read the books he read?"

"Well, I can't cast magic." He shrugged. "And anyway, it seems really archaic. Anyway, Princess Celestia gave you his diary, basically?" He jumped off his seat.

"Well, not really. He basically wrote the autobiography himself. From what I gathered, he probably gave it to Celestia to keep. But then made sure it was given to me." Twilight took the blanket and put it in her saddlebags.

"Why's that? You came here by teleportation. Did the princess do it?"

"Yes. It seemed strange. But I read it. It was directed to me!" Twilight saw Spike look up at her with an incredulous look.

"That's impossible. He can't have seen the future, can he?" Spike didn't want to believe it, but Twilight was going to be sure that he knows. She ran up to grab the book and flew downstairs, handing him the book with the first page opened. He glanced through it momentarily, his eyes opening wider as he read through.

"Whoooaaaaaa...this is...have you checked if there's any magic that's in the book?"

Twilight took the book and scanned it for any foreign magical signatures, making sure that it was not tampered with. She grinned when she found none. "This is the real deal." She placed the book on the main table, telling her pet, Owlicious, to put it back in her room and to stretch her wings outside.

Walking out the door, she and Spike walked through the town, taking in the comfortable day that was taking place. The sky was dotted with bits of clouds and sunshine. The birds chirped and bathed in the fountain in the town square as they passed by. Vendors sold their items and conversed with their customers and friends about daily news. It was a normal day in Ponyville. Everything was how it was supposed to be, according to Twilight Sparkle.

Walking through the park, Spike looked to Twilight, "Are you going to tell the gang about it; you know, about Star Swirl being a pony named Radiance?"

Twilight contemplated the decision. She realized that out of every endeavor she had, rainbows were linked to her, her friends, and some artifacts that she'd come across. Luna's voice entered through her mind, reminding her that the fates between Radiance and Twilight Sparkle were linked. She nodded at his question, "Yeah. It seems plausible, but maybe coincidental, but there's a possibility that the seven of us are linked together with him. I might be wrong...I hope I'm not wrong, but it seems likely."

"How are we linked with him?"

"Well, Luna came to me in a dream and told me that. And that history changed our views on Star Swirl."

"I kinda believe it. It's just...you never know, right?" He looked up at Twilight. She nodded and opened the ringing door to the Carousel Boutique.

"Just a moment, darling!" the voice belonging to Rarity was heard coming from upstairs. Sitting down, Twilight Sparkle took a gander around. The mannequins wore floral-designed dresses, with a few materials littered around the base of the statue. Despite that one area, the rest of the place was spotless. The clopping of hooves became apparent and Rarity appeared from the stairwell. "Ooh, Twilight! To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Hey, Rarity. I just came to see if I can get this fixed up." Twilight opened her saddlebag and hoofed over her blanket. Rarity inspected the rips and tears from the blanket and nodded.

"I can do this in five minutes. Company me, darling. We haven't talked in a while! How was the trip to Canterlot?" Rarity asked, taking a thread and needle to fix up the blanket.

"Well, I went there to visit the princess. We conversed a bit but...just as I was given a book, she teleported me back home. It was odd to see her act like that."

"Huh, well, maybe she was on a tight schedule. You never know. The nobility is a drag to maintain, even with her expertise. It could probably be that." Rarity started to focus on one of the tears that happened to be proven difficult. "How did this happen, if I may be so bold as to ask?"

"I...woke up, threw the blanket on Spike thinking I was dreaming and he panicked, clawing his way out.."

"Hey!" Spike pouted when she mentioned him panicking.

"Oh, well, that answers it. Never mind me mentioning it. Voila!" Rarity opened the blanket. It looked good as new. There was no sign of it ever being torn up. Twilight grinned and held it in her hooves.

"Thank you! Here, 10 bits for your troubles." Twilight placed ten round coins in Rarity's hooves.

"Well, if you say so. You know that I do these things for free when it comes to my friends." She reminded the alicorn.

"No, I insist."

"Okay. I suppose that would be it? Don't want to accompany me and Fluttershy to the spa?"

"I have something important that's come up. How about you take Spike?"

"Wait, huh?"

"Oh, I'd love to!" Rarity giggled. "I do need help with a new dress that's come up."

"Oh, anything for you, Rarity!" Spike smiled when she mentioned needing help. Having things settled, Twilight bid Rarity and Spike goodbye before walking back home to continue reading Radiance's adventures.

Author's Note

This was a quick thing the make because now I'm working on two fanfics. This one and my glorified Doing Hurtful Things To Your Waifu: Fanfic Edition.

Hope you enjoy the read here.

~Sketchy

Act 1 Chapter 4 - Crystal

The Season of Bloom

Day 6

Year 4 B.E

I don't need the power of memory that my companion is bestowing upon me at this moment. I remember this day so vividly, like a dream becoming lucid when realized.

Memory Sparks and I left to visit The Facility after a nice morning breakfast of oatmeal and apples. We gazed around the environment for a while, seeing the crystal castle that I'm sure Umbra will have once he's claimed the throne that the Council is developing. We eventually stopped looking in the distance as we neared The Facility. Walking into the building, I walked toward the receptionist, a yellow mare with a sleek lavender mane that are pulled into pigtails.

"Hello, Radiance. You don't come back in another two days, right?" She inquired. "I see the wound is almost disappearing. That's great to see you're almost in perfect health!"

"Thank you, ma'am. Umm, my room is open today, right? I have something of research that needs to be investigated. I also brought along a companion of mine." I spoke. The tone of my voice, although authoritative, was soft and unwavering. She was an earth pony, which was a rarity when it comes to C.P.E.S.A., as most earth ponies are into farming lands and helping growth. In fact, you, Twilight Sparkle, already met her when you visited the Library. Her name, I believe, is Amethyst Maresbury. She has a lot of respect, from the foals to the superintendents, as she promotes growth in our young ones.

"It's open today. The foals are located in a different room, much to your good fortune." She grinned. "I wish you two good luck in your endeavors."

Nodding at the compliment, I introduced Memory Sparks around briefly as we walk toward the second floor stairs. As we trotted up, she looked around with curiosity. "This is also a school?"

I nodded toward her and opened the doors to the second floor. "It is. It's the main building of the C.P.E.S.A., though we have at least three schools open to spread knowledge around."

"Is it also for convenience to have three schools open, including this one?"

"Yes, actually. That's...quite insightful of you." I was surprised that she said this. She's getting the hang of things now. I couldn't be any more proud in that moment. I opened the door to my room and smiled at the emptiness of it all. The desks were aligned perfectly in a 5 x 5 fashion, 25 chairs in all. The desks had books, parchment, and a stick of charcoal with a safety wrap on the end for the earth ponies and pegasus.

"This is an amazing room." She complimented as she galloped around the room, looking at all the work that the foals have done. She saw the work papers stuck on a wall for the foals who have gotten high grades, remembering some of the work that she's done. "So many ways to work around these math problems. So many ways to look at literature...what's that word...interpret!" I grinned as I sat down at my desk. Her fascination on such things were adorable.

I sat her down after she placed the Rainbow Heart in front of my desk. I placed a book on the desk and asked her to read to herself the contents of the literacy work. I took a history book out and took a gander at the facts about the Crystal Heart that resided at the castle. There were differences between the Crystal Heart and Rainbow Heart. The obvious difference being the colors. The Crystal Heart was more abstract in design, having sharper edges and shined significantly. The Rainbow Heart, however, had more edges to look more like a heart. The edges were hard, but was smooth that it wouldn't cut the hooves of a pony. The texture, though, was really sleek, like rubbing your hoof against glass, but not leaving any stains.

"This is fascinating. I wonder..." I tried to pick it up with my magic, but the stone refused to budge along with my magic. "Ngh...what the...?" I was honestly surprised. I never seen such thing happen. Everything was possible with magic. Mountains could be lifted, if enough unicorns were there, but never an item such as this. "This gem is impossible to...wait!" I took the gem in my hooves and easily lifted it. I was baffled! I was able to carry it like a normal item, but I couldn't lift it with my magic.

Memory Sparks looked at my predicament and got up from her seat. She trotted over to me as I struggled to lift the gem with all the magic I can muster. "C'mon, Radiance. You can do it." She tried to instill some confidence in me as I gritted my teeth. My horn began to glow significantly as I tried harder and harder to lift it up. I gasped and let go.

"It's not moving. What the hay is this?" I was frustrated, but decided to jot down some notes on a scrap of paper. I hypothesized that the Rainbow Heart wasn't moving because the gem itself is a magical item. But that wouldn't make sense, as the Crystal Heart is also a magical item. So I scratched that out and came up with many other scenarios, only to scratch all of them out.

"Maybe a unicorn enchanted it?" Memory's thoughts made me think for a moment. I've never heard of a unicorn enchanting an item back in those days.

"That's impossible. No unicorn or anypony can enchant an item. It's an impossible feat." I said that with uncertainty. She gave me a look of disbelief and shook her head.

"I thought unicorns could enchant things. They are magical, right?"

"We are, but that kind of art is impossible. We would've known something about this."

"Then why can't you lift up the darn thing?"

"Because, pegasus, this thing..." I was at a loss for words. I tried to come up with a conclusion as to why the Rainbow Heart won't let me lift it. Memory smirked and turned away, her nose into the sky. I grew a little frustrated at the look.

"I thought you were supposed to know everything. You unicorn magic-munchers are-"

"Hey! I don't know everything, neither do my colleagues! We may have discovered a lot but, hay, I'm not the one with my head in the sky, literally!"

"What?" Her nose was right up to mine as she continued to get angry. "I'm sorry you're stuck on the boring ground!"

The string of insults we gave each other had an effect on the Rainbow Heart. It seemed sentient. It heard our fighting and decided to intervene. It floated up and caught Memory's gaze, making her stall in the middle of her yelling. I followed her eyes and saw the jewel shine brilliantly. The noise it created made my heart jump. It sounded like it would hurt us. I did what I thought was the best course of action and jumped toward Memory to block out whatever it was going to do. But when it shined brighter and it blasted magic toward us, I feared for my life. My eyes shut tightly and I tried to touch Memory Sparks, to at least know she was there with me. I fell on the ground and rushed to where I last saw her.

Nothing.

My voice was lost in my throat as I felt around. My eyes were a bit blurry when I opened them, looking at the ground. I was sure she was here. Expecting the worst, I weakly cried out her name. "Memory...please...say something. Tell me...tell me you're here..."

"Awesome!" She yelled. I looked up and moved my hoof to my eyes before I were to be blinded. When my eyes adjusted, I put my hoof down and stared at her. She was...radiant, for lack of better words (Excuse my own pun). Her body became the paragon of what you imagine a crystal pony to be. Her whole form looked the part of a statue made out of garnets, for her body, along with a stylish mane made of topaz and sapphires. I looked down at my hooves and saw that I was made out of fluorite. Looking up at my mane, I saw topaz curls. Feeling my hooves, I felt soft, yet hard at the same time. It was indescribable.

"No! No no no no no!" I muttered in rapid succession. I stared at the Rainbow Heart and picked it up, and with ease with my magic. I glared at the gem and slammed it on the desk. "You weren't supposed to do that! Whoever enchanted this, I hope they're happy!" It didn't make sense at all! The more answers I gained, the abundance of questions replaced those answers. What exactly was this Rainbow Heart?!

"Radiance...chyehehehe...it's not that bad! I feel awesome with this kind of thing!" She flapped her wings and flew around. That disproved one of my thoughts. We still retained our normal functions when we had normal forms. But I could see through her. It's as if she didn't have any organs. My face held disbelief and I felt myself getting nauseous.

"This is no time for such pleasantries! Something has happened to us and if other ponies see this, how will be explain this?! The variables of how society will view us! Oh sweet Celestia...oh no, I'm using that term." The world was ending for me at that moment. I wouldn't imagine myself to use that term. I fell on the ground and started to hold myself. Nothing was making sense at this point.

Memory shook me, trying to break me out of my stupor. I couldn't understand her willingness to accept the fact that she's made out of crystals. She continued to shake me, trying to get me to come to reality. With nothing working, she flew out the window and flew toward the sixth quarter, leaving me to lay on the floor. I was mumbling like a mad pony, trying to come up with different conclusions to what has happened. Some pony from the future, maybe? No, nopony has that kind of power, right? I tried thinking of another way to explain the artifact's abilities to transform ponies. I couldn't find any conclusions at all. Everything seemed impossible to accomplish. The Rainbow Heart, at this point, was alien to me.

A half hour have passed. The door slammed open, with Bene Umbra and Memory Sparks coming through. He suspected that I was hurt, but when he heard my mumbling and hushed ranting, he felt concern. He knelt down and put himself under my forelegs, carrying me up so I could stand.

"Radiance, Memory told me everything and...this is a weird predicament that you've put yourself in." Umbra stared me down and looked at the Rainbow Heart that rested upon the table. "Crystal ponies...that actually sounds really amazing. I don't know how you two done it, but it reacted to the both of you."

Memory harrumphed and turned away. "He's just mad because he can't figure out a way how it works." I ignored the comment, still trying to explain how the Rainbow Heart resisted my magic. I looked at it and brought it over with my magic. I tried to look for any abnormalities or scratches in its texture, but found nothing. It was a perfect gem.

"There must be some kind of theory. Maybe some pony unlocked the full potential of unicorns. Some kind of new magic. Has to be!" Umbra added in his two bits. I began to process this information in my mind.

"You mean whoever this pony is, they aren't from around here?"

"Haha, you make it sound as if it came from some pony outside the Crystal Empire. The nearest kind of settlement is 100 miles away. That's to the Earth Pony capital. They wouldn't even give lodge to a unicorn, even if they had all money in the world. It would take at least two to three days from the nearest unicorn settlement to here."

The more they talked about their own theories, I gasped. Remembering the day that I saved Memory Sparks from the three ponies, I created a bubble shield, weaving magical threads together to create a firm, compact shield that held strong, even from the harsh banging from the three of them. I didn't know how I created something like that, it came to me as I was focused on saving her. I went as far as to say that the feat felt natural.

I walked out of the room and trotted to the library, unaware of Umbra and Memory Sparks following me. I looked around for anything related to magic and how to use it. Aisle through aisle, book by book, I was desperate to find something about the usage of magic. At least thirty minutes passed by and I was making a scene. Books were littered upon the floor, no doubt causing a lot of my colleagues a bit distress as they tried to calm me down.

"There is nothing of use for my research!" I declared out loud. Memory Sparks and Bene Umbra flinched at my sudden anger. The light coming from the ceiling didn't do much as make me look like a holy being, causing the researchers and librarians to shudder in awe. "Memory, Umbra, we have discovered something new. Two things, to be exact!"