To Be a Princess...by akajulesterChapters... PrologueA Slight Magical MishapFlying Free... PrologueOnce upon a time, before Equestria was even founded and called that, there were many alicorns. They ruled over day and night, plants, insects, love, and even the elemental forces. They were led by two extremely powerful alicorns, Emperor Astro and his bride, Empress Solara. The alicorns of Equestria combined all of their forces to keep the universe in check, making some of the rules of nature we use today. Eventually, Astro and Solara were blessed with two fillies, each born within the length of three years. The elder sister was a very pale pink, with a pink mane and tail. Her name was Celestia, and she would be a shining light throughout the day. The younger sister was darker, with a light navy blue coat and a blue mane and tail. They called her Luna, a bright star to guide ponies throughout the night. And so, Equestria was blessed with peace and prosperity for a decade. The alicorn sisters played with each other, often causing slight magical mishaps throughout their castle in the Everfree Forest. Often, powerful alicorns who were close friends of Astro and Solara would visit, preforming magic tricks for the fillies and sharing stories of their wonderful kingdoms. Once, when the fillies had gone into the woods, they had gotten lost, and fell asleep by a large oak tree. When they awoke, they found that their manes and tails had been swapped! Celestia looked odd with Luna's blue hair, and Luna felt ugly seeing the contrast of blue and pink on herself. Hearing snickering, they looked up to see a small, strange creature floating above them. He was a cross of many creatures, and appeared to be around the same age as them. He called himself "Discord," and he traveled the land on his own, playing pranks on unsuspecting ponies. With a snap of his eagle claw, they were back to normal, and he dissappeared. The alicorn fillies never did remember what had happened. Celestia and Luna, confused as to why they were in the forest, flew above the trees to their castle. One day, however, Celestia and Luna were not allowed to go outside. They were locked up in their room, with the curtains drawn and the windows shut so tightly with spells that they were not able to open either. Servants would occasionally teleport in, bringing hot food and water for them to eat and drink. The doors were never opened, as to keep the fillies from finding out what was happening. Luna, being nocturnal, usually stayed awake at night, listening at the door and windows for any sign of life. At the door, she heard nothing but a still quiet, but at the windows, she would sometimes hear moans and whispers. An icy cold would seep through the windows into the curtains, chilling Luna. She would often feel extremely sad and disheartened when the cold came, though she never knew why. She would snuggle up to Celestia, falling asleep in the warmth of love. A few weeks after they had been locked up, the spells on the curtains fell, leaving only weak spells on the doors and windows. When Celestia drew back the curtains to let the sunlight stream in, she was shocked to find the gardens and castle grounds outside covered in snow and ice. Large snowflakes and pieces of hail were flung through the air by a strong wind. The cold seeped through the windows once more, and Celestia shivered with fright. She backed away, going back to the bed, trying to latch onto any positive emotions she could. Her mind rested upon how much she loved her sister, Luna, and how she would do anything to protect her from the icy grip of the cold. A slight hissing sound came out of the light blue shadow that had not been visible before, and it slithered through the window. What the sisters did not know would have terrified them: the windegoes, the creatures of despair and hatred, had shown up. The pony tribes to the Far North had accidentally caused this by their distrust of one another, and had fled to near the Everfree. The creatures had followed them, and now, a blizzard of hatred blew almost every good feeling out of its path. Not only that, but the chaos bringers had also decided to attack, preying upon the weak and almost powerless alicorns. the Crystal Empire had already been cut off from all outside forces, as King Rubinous tried to shield his empire. The insect queen, Queen Chrysalis, had been corrupted by one of the chaos bringers, and had enslaved her entire nation. Astro and Solara were one of the few who had enough power to attack, but they were just barely evenly matched with the forces of chaos and disharmony. The alicorns had been able to kill off the last of them, but at the cost of their lives. One fateful night, however, the fillies saw something in the distance. A flash of pink soared through the sky, coming from a large mountain many miles away from the castle. Celestia barely made out what it was: a glowing pink heart. Screams of pain were heard, as the windegoes and snow were melted. The sun burst through the clouds, shedding its warm light upon the land. Eventually, the other ponies came to the new land that the leaders of the tribes had claimed. Nopony knew that they were technically trespassing on the Everfree Kingdom, which was now ruled over by Celestia and Luna. They set up a town where they placed their first flag, calling it "Ponyville." ////\\ A group of unicorns, still haggard and tired from the events of the past weeks, pooled their magical energy to raise the sun like they had learned to do. Their magic was weak, however, from their experience with the windegoes. They fell down, one after the other, as they fruitlessly tried to raise the sun off of the horizon. They were so focused on their task, they did not see the alicorn filly hiding in bushes of the Everfree behind them. Luna and Celestia had escaped from the empty castle as soon as the sun had come back, playing in the forest like they usually did. Celestia and Luna were both curious as to where their parents had gone. Celestia was extremely nervous, piecing together that the long blizzard and her parents disappearing had to be connected somehow. Luna, on the other hoof, was still young, carefree, and innocent. She only thought that her parents were visiting some magical, faraway land, and they would return with pretty presents and enchanting tales of the other alicorns. Wanting to think to herself, Celestia had left Luna in a clearing near the castle, and trotted off to the edge of the forest. She had been lost in thought over how to care for her sister with no servants around, when she heard the sounds of ponies talking. Excited to see somepony other than her sister in a few days, but cautious about being seen by strangers, she clung to the shadows of the forest edge. She overheard them talking about raising the sun, which interested her. She had always thought that it was her mother's job. Solara had been in charge for a reason. The sun was really supposed to be raised by an alicorn, but when a large group of powerful unicorns got together, they could just barely raise it. Solara had never intended for unicorns to raise the sun; she had only taught them the spell in case something happened to her. They followed her instructions for a while, but eventually became power-hungry after the pegasus tribe insulted them. When Solara found out, as she saw the sun slowly rising on the horizon, she realized the mistake of her actions, and decided that it was impossible to erase the spell from their memories or to forbid them from doing so. However, she eventually started wake up earlier to raise the sun, which caused some minor repercussions to the sleep schedules of the ponies. Astro decided that nopony but him or one of his daughters would be allowed to be in charge of the moon. Astro had been right to not trust unicorns to be able to handle the sun and moon. Even when an alicorn was extremely weak, they could still handle both. Unicorns, who were not built that way, had only about a fifteenth of magic compared to alicorns. Sure, they could pool their collective energy to work together, but they were extremely weakened, both physically and mentally. Celestia watched in slight horror as they started to collapse, one after the other. She felt a sudden shiver, as she heard a slight whisper on the wind, "This is your destiny... take this chance..." Without even thinking, Celestia burst from the foliage, and her horn was enveloped with a golden shimmer. She did not know how she knew the spell to raise the sun: it just suddenly came to her, like second nature. The last unicorn stared in awe and utter confusion as he witnessed the little filly raise the sun effortlessly, until he noticed the little pair of wings on her back. Celestia stared at the horizon in disbelief and child-like wonder, shocked that she knew the spell and was able to raise the sun without any help on her first try. Suddenly, she saw a flash of white in her peripheral vision, and she felt a warmth on her flanks. Turning her head around, she saw upon her flank an golden sun. She suddenly squealed with joy and starting bouncing around. "Sister? Why art thou jumping around?" Luna, who had left the clearing, trotted out of the forest. She either was ignoring or didn't see the unicorns, because she walked right past them. "Thou knoweth what Mama would say if she -- YOU GOT YOUR CUTIE MARK?!" Luna suddenly stopped speaking in her archaic tongue as she looked quickly at Celestia new cutie mark, and then to her sister. A blinding smile came to her face as her sister nodded, and she jumped to hug her. "Ow... my head..." Celestia and Luna stopped short as the unicorns began to rouse themselves. The male unicorn who had witnessed Celestia raise the sun was frozen, still staring at the risen sun. His fellow unicorns mumbled incoherently as they tried to shake the after-effects of the powerful spell failing, not yet seeing the alicorn fillies. The male unicorn must have snapped out of it because he suddenly said, "But... but... you are only a little filly..." He stated this weakly, his brain still trying to comprehend what he had witnessed. Celestia frowned, insulted. "I'm not little! I am thirteen years old, and the Princess of the Everfree Kingdom! Does size matter in terms of one's power?!" She let out an angry growl, as Luna fearfully looked at Celestia. Luna had never seen her elder sister so upset, and was afraid of what might happen to her. Their Mama had often told them stories of warning, one of which being that they should never lose control of their emotions. If an alicorn lost control, they would become corrupted, and would have to be fought. One of the unicorns, a mare with a sky blue coat and a mane and tail of faded red, yellow, and blue, gasped. She frantically whispered something to the mare next to her, a dark gray unicorn with a jet black mane and tail. "Did... did you just say that you are the Princess of the Everfree Kingdom? The one that was ruled by Emperor Astro and Empress Solara?" The gray mare began to pale a bit as she continued. "Could it be that you are one of the daughters that we have heard about?!" Luna cocked her head in confusion. "Of course we are. Have thou seen our Mama and Papa?" Celestia gathered her closer, wing around Luna's back. "And have thou seen our servants? We have been alone for a few days." One of the unicorns suddenly cried out, "Charcoal! These fillies before us are alicorns! We must bring them to the Council!" Charcoal, the leader of the group, looked towards the mare who had cried out. It was the blue mare, her right-hoof mare. "Very well, Palate Swatch. Everypony," she called out to the group, "we must bring these fillies to the Princess, the Commander, and the Chancellor." ////\\ "I see. And they say that they have not come into contact with other ponies in a few days? And that the elder one raised the very sun by herself? Hmmm..." Celestia and Luna sat before "the Council," which was only composed of six members, two of each Pony Tribe. The sisters felt very bored, Luna especially. Being only a baby filly in alicorn terms, she had the mindset of a six-year old, and was easily distracted. Celestia, on the other hoof, grew annoyed. She was still insulted by the stallion who had called her "little," and she knew that Luna was hungry like she was. The ponies seemed to fail to notice that the fillies had not eaten in days, their alicorn powers barely sustaining them. "Commander Hurricane," said one of the pegasi, "may I interrupt?" She was light blue, with curly, light-gray hair. She looked timid, and seemed to not have much of a presence in the Council. The other pegasus looked up. "What would you like to say, Private?" "Well, if these fillies have not seen other ponies, and their servants were the ones bringing them food-" she paused for a minute, and then turned towards the fillies. "Children, are you not hungry?" Luna nodded quickly, snapping out of her stupor. "Private" looked at them pityingly. "I'll call for somepony to bring you fillies something to eat." She smiled at the two alicorns kindly, and flew off. When "Private" flew off, one of the Council members called break. As she said, they could hardly continue without one of their members. Soon, "Private" returned with another unicorn. He was levitating two plates of food, and two glasses of water. The fillies were brought to the Council's table, and the food was set down beside them. Celestia, expecting her sister to eat like she usually did, was surprised when Luna calmly picked up her fork and knife, and began to eat like a pony her age. Usually, she levitated the pieces of food into her mouth and ate very sloppily. Celestia smiled, and turned to her own food. It was a salad, with a very sweet smelling salad dressing on it that reminded her of the rose gardens. There were also bits of croutons in it, which she loved very much! The fillies were so hungry and so absorbed in their meal, that they did not notice the Council members looking at them and occasionally whispering to each other. All was peaceful and quiet. Until-- "GAAAAHHH! LULU!!!" Commander Hurricane suddenly flared out his wings, years of military experience preparing him to fight. However, he backed down when he saw what had truly happened. Luna, bored with the quiet meal, had flung a bit of her salad at Celestia's face. She giggled as her sister picked up the lettuce and cucumbers on her face, but stopped when Celestia shot her a glare. Celestia calmly cleaned her face off, relishing in Luna's uneasiness. As soon as she noticed that Luna had dropped her guard, she conjured up a large feather, and began to tickle her. All royal dignity was forgotten as Luna began to snort and laugh hysterically, her eyes watering. Celestia snickered evilly, and momentarily stopped. Luna took her chance and tackled her, the fillies rolling about in a sisterly fight. The Council looked at the fillies, the tall unicorn mare with a small tiara shocked at the way these alicorns were acting. Her fellow unicorn wasn't even paying attention, merely scribbling down upon a long scroll with her trusty red quill. Hurricane watched proudly, thinking that it was good for young ponies to get their pent up energy out in healthy ways. Private watched nervously, not knowing that they were only play-fighting, scared that they would end up hurting each other. Lastly, the two Earth Ponies giggled slightly. They had grown up hearing about how regal, majestic, and sophisticated the alicorns of the land were. "Ahem." The unicorn scribbling down upon her scroll immediately looked up. "Star Swirl! We did not expect you to come so late!" Star Swirl the Bearded smiled, and then his gaze fell upon the sisters. He chuckled in spite of himself, and he lit up his horn. He pulled the two fillies apart, each looking nothing like he had expected an alicorn to look. Celestia had salad dressing in her hair, and her usually groomed tail was incredibly messy. Luna had a cucumber slice impaled on her horn, and there were bits of her salad on her face. She started to giggle again, looking at her sister, but Celestia was not amused. She realized what they had been doing, and her face turned beet red with embarrassment. She praised the stars that her parents were not around to witness their daughters behaving in ways like a princess never should. "I see that you two have a healthy relationship?" Star Swirl smiled at the two kindly. Luna nodded eagerly, while Celestia hung her head in embarrassment. "Now, now, no need for any reddening, my dear," he continued, "as it does not suit your complexion." Celestia looked up, still ashamed of her actions. She had expected harsh words of disappointment, not kind words of one who was amused. She glared at Luna, who had started this whole mess. Luna, who had been smiling sweetly at her sister before, began to look guilty, and grabbed a wet cloth that a pegasus had brought in to clean them up. She levitated the cloth to Celestia, and dropped it onto her face by accident. Celestia gave Luna a look, and proceeded to clean herself up. Luna picked the cucumber off of her horn, and placed it into her mouth. Star Swirl looked to the unicorn with the tiara. "What do you think of these fillies, Princess Platinum? Do you think they will be able to rule kingdoms?" Princess Platinum looked at the fillies for a while, and her expression softened slightly. "I think... I think I may have a tough job ahead of me, Star Swirl." A Slight Magical MishapLuna fidgeted as the lesson endured. She was tired of sitting up straight in her chair, and listening to the pretty unicorn lecture about the importance of manners. She looked over to her right, and became even more annoyed as she saw Celestia quietly taking notes, her posture a picture of perfectness. Luna looked back to her parchment, and winced slightly as she saw what she had scribbled there. She had written down notes at the beginning of the lesson, but had quickly lost interest. Doodles filled the page, and she could just barely read her horrible penmanship. She glanced up at her teacher, who thankfully had not noticed the inattentiveness of one of her students. Princess Platinum was a very beautiful princess, with her long, silky, blue-gray hair, and her silvery body. Her eyes were a lovely shade of blue, and her eyelashes were long and curled. She wore a small golden tiara with a small sapphire in the middle, a golden necklace with another sapphire, and golden shoes. She had conjured up a projection with her magic, her horn shimmering with a light blue. She pointed to her diagram of posture, showing how slouching was uncomfortable and unappealing. Luna looked once more at her sister, who was listening to Platinum. She could barely see Celestia's notes, but she did see the third long roll of parchment that had been finished. "... and since you two have been listening so politely, you may go to lunch. Meet me back here tomorrow afternoon, after your magic lesson with Clover." Luna sighed in relief, and guiltily packed up her parchment. Celestia, however, still was in learning mode. She looked over her notes, crossing out things and scribbling words into the margins with her quill. Her tongue was sticking out, and she flicked her ear a bit. "Um... Tia?" No answer. "Tia, we can go to lunch now!" Luna was still left with no answer. She walked over to Celestia, and prodded her back. Tia fidgeted slightly, but she paid no mind to Luna, who began to frown. Luna looked at her sister's pot of ink, which was right next to the parchment. Grinning evilly, she reached out towards it with her hoof to knock it over. Tink! "Aaack! Do not startle me like that, Luna!" Luna blinked for a seconds, first looking at the barely moved pot of ink, and then to her sister's annoyed face. She rolled her eyes, and galloped of to lunch. Celestia, shaking her head, packed up her things and followed Luna to lunch. ////\\ As Luna quietly sipped her water, she looked out the large window to her right. She could just barely see the Everfree Forest, her forest that had been her life before coming here. While she was not neglected, and was treated like a real princess, she still longed for her parents. She wanted to be held protectively under the wing of her father, as he taught her about the night sky and all of its wonder. She wished to see once more the breath-taking beauty of her mother's mane flowing like a river in the early sunlight. But most of all, Luna wanted Celestia to stop being so irritable and fussy all of the time. Before they had come to Ponyville, Celestia had been as fun-loving as Luna, if not more. She had often gotten into mischief, especially when practicing her magic. Luna smiled as she recalled a particularly mischievous time, when Celestia had attempted to raise the sun without adult supervision. Solara had been attempting to teach her how to do so for a couple of weeks. Celestia had nearly incinerated herself with the magic and power of the sun, and after that event, Solara decided that Celestia would have to wait until she was older. Most of all, Luna was upset about how the adult ponies treated her. They had instantly made up rules after hearing Luna proudly announce that she had mastered the "Royal Everfree Voice" in the Royal Everfree Voice. Clover had also made the rule about not using the "Royal We." She had said something about it not being grammatically correct or something like that. Luna had been most upset, and almost threw a temper tantrum before Celestia gave in and agreed to give Luna her desert for a few nights. Though she had asked and asked, the grown-up ponies refused to give Luna any information about her parents. She often pelted Celestia with her unanswered questions, but the only response that she got was that Celestia was in the dark as well. Luna was becoming rather annoyed, both at her parents and her teachers. She had been waiting for almost a week, and she had recieved no word of her beloved parents. The truth, of course would have devastated the sisters, Luna especially. The Council members were very nervous and unsure of how and when to tell them the whereabouts of Astro and Solara. Hurricane argued that the truth was always harsh, and it was better that they were told sooner than later. Pansy worried about the reactions the two would have, given that the fillies' parents had been their world. Both Puddinghead and Smart Cookie, having never had foals of their own, were unsure about how deal with such a blow to Luna and Celestia. Platinum offered that the two could be even better well kept, being given more attention and gifts to ease the blow, and Clover agreed that it could work. In the end, it was agreed by all Council members that the girls would be given until next week. They all felt guilty for prolonging it so much, but the fillies would need to become comfortable and trusting of them before they could say such a thing to the girls. If they just suddenly dropped this heavy information on them, and since Luna was so little and still unsure about them, the sisters might overreact. It was best to ease it onto them, so as not to crush them from the weight of the tragedy. ////\\ "That's it... almost there and... Yay! You did it!" Clover beamed with pride as she watched Luna easily create a small cloud, which began to snow very slowly. She had created a cloud not quite the size Clover had been hoping for, but it was an excellent start. Celestia, however, was having problems. Nopony knew this, not even Celestia, but there was a simple explanation to it. Being an alicorn of the sun, which is very hot, Celestia would of course have difficulty casting spells dealing with cold, snow, and ice. Celestia narrowed her eyes as a bead of sweat rolled down her cheek, her horn encased in a golden glow. After several seconds of just standing there, she let out a triumphant shout as a cloud appeared in front of her. Luna giddily raced over to hug her when she abruptly stopped. "Tia? Is it supposed to be dark and scary looking?" Luna took a step back, cowering slightly. Celestia, confused, turned to her cloud. Her eyes widened in fear as the cloud swelled and let out a menacing rumble of thunder. Clover, however, did not seem very worried in the least. "Oh, you must have created a small electricity cloud,' she exclaimed, obviously delighted. "I'm impressed that you are still keeping it going! They take up a lot of magical effort." Celestia suddenly noticed that her horn was still glowing - and she could not stop it. She panicked, and frantically tried to stop her horn from keeping the spell going. As the cloud began to get slightly bigger, and she began to hyperventilate, while Luna hid behind Clover. Clover sighed impatiently. "Girls, there is no need to worry! Celestia, please turn off the spell and I will help you create a small snow cloud." "I-I can't!" Clover's eyes widened. "Um... WHAT??" Luna began to panic as well, and asked, "Should I get help from Mr. Star Swirl?" Clover nodded frantically, and Luna raced off down the corridor. Clover attempted to contain the massive cloud inside a shield. It worked, but just barely. The thundercloud continued to expand, and it would break through her shield soon. The cloud was also filled with electricity, and any physical contact with it would get them zapped. Clover shoved Celestia behind her, while she hastily enlarged the shield. Meanwhile, Luna frantically cantered to the only unicorn who could know where Star Swirl was - Princess Platinum. "Princess Platinum!!!!!!!!" Platinum turned with a jolt as Luna skidded into her room. The little filly nearly crashed into the wall, as the hardwood floors had just been polished. "Good heavens, child!" Platinum exclaimed, startled. "You mustn't be running about this citadel as if the Gates of Tartarus had been opened!" Luna completely ignored the unicorn princess. "B-but *pant* Tia and Cl-clover *cough* big ELECTRIC CLOUD!!!" Platinum started back a bit at the filly's sudden yell. However, she knew it must be important, if Clover had let Luna out of her sights during a lesson so willingly. "Luna," she calmly stated. Luna stopped freaking out (only a little bit), and as she looked up, Platinum could see the fear in her eyes. "Luna, I am not good with magic. Shall I call Star Swirl?" Luna nodded frantically, and Platinum quickly sent a quick, mental message to Star Swirl. It was quiet for a few seconds, until-- Pop! Star Swirl calmly dusted his shoulder with a hoof. He quickly turned to Luna, asking, "Luna, Platinum-" he nodded towards her "-has told me about some sort of electrical storm. Can you lead me to it?" Luna nodded, and raced out of the room, Platinum and Star Swirl not far behind. They were lead to Clover's lesson room, and Star Swirl cautiously opened the door. Clover was backed up against a wall, with Tia cowering behind her. The cloud had swelled enormously, and Clover appeared to be extremely strained. "Clover, I shall take over from here. Show me the filly." Clover revealed the terrified Celestia, her horn still shining with her golden aura. Tia looked up at the cloud, her face filled with horror. "Magic surge," Star Swirl mumbled to himself, "must not be too powerful." His horn lit up with a light blue glow, and an energy seeped from his horn. It wrapped around the massive cloud, encasing it until none of the dark gray could be seen. Pop! The swirling blue energy swirled into a whirlpool, disappearing in a dot with a pop. The cloud was nonexistent, and Clover let out a breath that she did not realize she had been holding. She lifted her hoof away from Celestia, who cautiously peeked up at the ceiling. Her horn no longer shimmered with a golden aura, but she was obviously shaken from the ordeal. Luna rushed over to her sister, throwing her hooves around her. Tears streamed down the filly's face, as she buried her muzzle into Tia's chest. Tia herself broke down, almost going into a hysterical crying fit. "Clover? Platinum? What is going -- woah, what happened??" Smart Cookie had just stuck his head into the room, with Pansy, Puddinghead, and Hurricane behind him. Pansy immediately shot in upon his statement, and saw the two girls crying. "Oh, you poor dears!" Pansy dashed over to them, wrapping her large, graceful wings around them. She had become something of a mother figure for them, a stand-in for Solara. While she was nothing like their real mother, she was caring, kind, and just. Pansy favored none - like Solara and Astro - and treated everypony equally. Pansy faced the three unicorns, her mouth set into a stern frown. "What happened here?" Clover scratched the back of her head and smiled nervously. "Eh heh, just a slight magical mishap?" Flying FreeAfter the disaster of a magic lesson with Clover, Celestia feared her magic. She almost stopped using it entirely, trying to use her hooves to pick up her quills, parchment, and eating utensils. Tia only stopped after Pansy encouraged her to use her magic slowly and sporadically. She began by only using her magic to write and eat. Sometimes, she would look enviously at Luna during magic lessons as she mastered her snow cloud, while Celestia was stuck doing simpler spells. This was actually not the work of Clover, or Star Swirl, but of Celestia herself. She had insisted on doing these spells out of fear of her own power. Now, she began to regret her choice. Even though Star Swirl had explained to her that a magic surge did not happen often, and that one so powerful such as hers were extremely rare, she was still shaken by her experience. Tia paused her spell for a minute as she glanced over at Luna again. Her younger sister was receiving praise yet again from Clover, who was impressed with her snowpony. The snow creature moved of its own accord, though it was clearly the work of a foal. The body was shaped oddly, its movings sluggish and awkward. But it was still impressive for Luna, who was only ten years of age. Tia felt jealousy course through her veins, clouding her mind as she gazed upon the pitiful snowball that she had amassed. It was small, and starting to melt in the firey grip of her magic. With a small, evil grin, she squinted and stuck out her tongue, hurling the watery snow with all of her strength. Splat! It hit its mark perfectly. Luna cried out in shock as the cold, wet snow hit her in the ear, a sensitive spot for the filly. Celestia's ill-found happiness soon faded, however, as Luna suddenly faced her. Her eyes were filled with hurt and confusion, her mind searching for an answer to what she asked. "Why?" Clover noticed Tia's guilty face, and marched up to her. Tia shrank slightly, averting her eyes, as soon as she saw the stern expression. She looked past Clover, and at Luna's hurt face. "Tia," Clover began, "explain to me why you have hit your sister, Luna, with a snowball that I wished to examine?" Her no-nonsense voice ensured Celestia that she would not be allowed to utter a lie. Celestia hesitated slightly. "I-I wa-was jealous." "Is that a proper excuse for attacking a pony, with any kind of weapon?" "No, ma'am." "Look me in the eyes, missie." Celestia raised her eyes to Clover's stern ones. Clover continued. "You may rule our new land some day, Tia, with Luna at your side. I do not care if you are an alicorn, or a princess. Apologize, immediately." Luna shied away slightly as Tia approached her. Before Tia could utter a single word, Clover interrupted. "A sincere apology." Tia took in a deep breath. "Luna? I am sorry, little sister. It was wrong of me to take out my jealousy on you." She smiled apologetically, kneeling down to Luna's eye level. "I guess that I am still afraid of my magic, Lulu. Can thou forgive us?" She added a slightly archaic sentence to the end, knowing that Luna missed her old speech. She did not care that Clover muttered something about proper grammar under her breath. Luna gazed up hesitantly. There was silence until Luna spoke. "Life is about taking risks. Make a snowpony, NOW!" She erupted into giggles as she saw Tia's smile fail slightly. "And I won't forgive you until you do," she added. Tia stuck her tongue out, and cautiously lit up her horn. Her golden aura returned, as snow began to form in front of her. Tia must have still been nervous, as the snow suddenly expanded. It exploded with a loud POOF! Tia coughed, waving away the powdered snow in the air. When she opened her eyes, she saw that Clover's classroom had been turned into a winter wonderland. Not an inch of the room was left uncovered, and the bucket filed with water in the corner turned into a bucket of ice. Clover was covered with snow, and she shook herself to rid of the cold whiteness. She shivered, and her own horn lit up with a green glow. Suddenly, with a slight flash, a warm scarf and jacket appeared on herself. The two fillies did not care about the cold, as Luna began to romp around in the snow. Their alicorn blood protected them from extreme temperature (to a certain degree), so they had nothing to worry about. Celestia began to collect snow, shaping it into a snowpony. Her work was better than Luna's, as she did not make the head as big, nor the legs different lengths. When she had finished, Tia stood back and admire her work, but her proud smile soon turned into a frown. Sure, she had made the snowpony, but it would not move around like Luna's. Speaking of which, Luna's snowpony had just dug itself out of a pile of snow, and it slowly ambled over to the new one. Tia glanced at Luna hesitantly, and Luna gave her a reassuring smile and a nod. Tia lit up her horn, and a ring of gold appeared around her snowpony. The ring flashed three times, and whirled rapidly around the snowpony. Suddenly, there was an even brighter flash of gold light, and then nothing. Tia waited with bated breath, until something extraordinary happened. It moved. It actually moved! Tia let out a whoop of joy, as Luna watched in wonder as the two snowponies examined each other. Clover was clearly impressed, and she wrote down something on a roll of parchment with her red quill. Tia's snowpony moved far better than Luna's did, but it was even more impressive that a filly of thirteen had been able to animate a life-sized object without any trouble. Calm yourself, Clover thought. She is an alicorn, one who has been handed down the authority to raise the sun. She glanced over to Luna, who still bore a blank flank. Clover had a feeling that she would be the one to rule over the moon, but Luna did not want to attempt this. She had said something about it being Astro's job. Secretly, Celestia would raise the moon at night, after noticing that her father was not doing his job. She was becoming more worried everyday, and she searched the night sky at night for the star. ////\\ Two large alicorns sat on a balcony under a blanket of stars, the full moon shedding a pale light upon the castle and forest. The female alicorn lifted a wing, and two younger alicorns peeked their heads out. "Do you see the night sky, my little fillies," Solara asked them. After they nodded, she continued. "Even though the day is for playing and working, always remember that the night is here to watch over us when we sleep. Do you see the moon? She is our guardian. She allows us ponies to look upon her face, unlike her sister, the sun." Before Solara could continue, Luna started to tease Celestia. "We are named after the moon! Mama said that thou will be the one to rule over daylight when thou hast gotten older! We always KNEW that we--" Luna was cut off by Astro picking her up in his dark blue magic, levitating her over to him. She giggled and shrieked as he tumbled her into his lap. "Never assume that thou are more important, Luna. To do so is to forget what thou and thou sister are here for." He lifted her head to the stars. "Doest thou see the North Star?" He lifted her head towards the north, so that she could see the North Star: Polaris. "It guides ponies, especially ones at sea. Whenever thou art lost at night, all thou needest to do is to find it. That is why thou are named after the moon. Thou will be the guiding light in the darkness for those who are lost." "But do not think that you are named after nothing, Tia," Solara said to Celestia. "Your sister may be like the North Star, but you will be a helping light during the day. The sun can also be used to tell where East and West are. Though it burns our eyes when we look at her, that is because she must work hard to create light bright enough to sustain us during the day. You will be a shining light to help shed light in the day, where darkness attempts to leave its allotted time and place." Solara smiled as she placed the two fillies next to each other, wrapping a wing around them once more. "Always remember, that in order to have harmony, there must be a balance in the world. There must always be bad behaviors along with the good. Nopony, or any living creature, is perfect. Celestia, you will bring light and happiness to your subjects when you lead your kingdom-" Solara turned to little Luna. "-and you, my Luna, will bring darkness at night so that ponies may sleep and regain their strength. Never become jealous of either's position. Even though it may seem like ponies hate the sun because it blinds, or always spend the night sleeping, always remember that the farmers need sunlight to grow their crops, and that there will always be stargazers in the night." The two sisters snuggled close to each other, looking at the countless stars in the sky. Astro smiled at his daughters, as he draped his right wing over Solara and the girls. "We will always be a family, my fillies. Never forget that. Even after arguments and fights, sadness and misery, Mother and I will always be with you." He lit up his horn. "But whenever you find yourself alone, seeking guidance, look up to the stars." A ball of light appeared at the tip of his horn. It was extrmely bright, but it became dimmer as it ascended into the sky. Celestia and Luna waited, until there was a sudden twinkle of light next to the moon. A star that had not been there before had appeared, almost as bright as Sirius. Solara smirked at her husband. "You always were the show-off, Astro." ////\\ Celestia's head sank to her chest as she shut her eyes tightly, for they were welling up with tears. I must be brave, she thought. I must be brave for Lulu, and believe in my parents. They are not gone, merely hiding. She sniffled slighly as she wiped her eyes with the back of her hoof. She slowly lifted her head up to search for the bright star next to the moon. It still hung there in the sky. Celestia stood up slowly, and spread her wings. She took off from the balcony, soaring into the night sky. She rose quite high, until she was amongst the fluffy clouds that hung high above the town of Ponyville. She hovered close to the surface of a cloud, skimming her hooves against the coolness of it. It felt good to be flying again, without any limits or restrictions. She was not allowed to go too far from any of the Council members, and they had restricted her and Luna from going outside of the makeshift fortress and into the town. Celestia closed her eyes in complete bliss as she flew freely through the crisp night air. She did not care if she got in trouble for breaking the rules. After all, was that not what rules were for?
... PrologueOnce upon a time, before Equestria was even founded and called that, there were many alicorns. They ruled over day and night, plants, insects, love, and even the elemental forces. They were led by two extremely powerful alicorns, Emperor Astro and his bride, Empress Solara. The alicorns of Equestria combined all of their forces to keep the universe in check, making some of the rules of nature we use today. Eventually, Astro and Solara were blessed with two fillies, each born within the length of three years. The elder sister was a very pale pink, with a pink mane and tail. Her name was Celestia, and she would be a shining light throughout the day. The younger sister was darker, with a light navy blue coat and a blue mane and tail. They called her Luna, a bright star to guide ponies throughout the night. And so, Equestria was blessed with peace and prosperity for a decade. The alicorn sisters played with each other, often causing slight magical mishaps throughout their castle in the Everfree Forest. Often, powerful alicorns who were close friends of Astro and Solara would visit, preforming magic tricks for the fillies and sharing stories of their wonderful kingdoms. Once, when the fillies had gone into the woods, they had gotten lost, and fell asleep by a large oak tree. When they awoke, they found that their manes and tails had been swapped! Celestia looked odd with Luna's blue hair, and Luna felt ugly seeing the contrast of blue and pink on herself. Hearing snickering, they looked up to see a small, strange creature floating above them. He was a cross of many creatures, and appeared to be around the same age as them. He called himself "Discord," and he traveled the land on his own, playing pranks on unsuspecting ponies. With a snap of his eagle claw, they were back to normal, and he dissappeared. The alicorn fillies never did remember what had happened. Celestia and Luna, confused as to why they were in the forest, flew above the trees to their castle. One day, however, Celestia and Luna were not allowed to go outside. They were locked up in their room, with the curtains drawn and the windows shut so tightly with spells that they were not able to open either. Servants would occasionally teleport in, bringing hot food and water for them to eat and drink. The doors were never opened, as to keep the fillies from finding out what was happening. Luna, being nocturnal, usually stayed awake at night, listening at the door and windows for any sign of life. At the door, she heard nothing but a still quiet, but at the windows, she would sometimes hear moans and whispers. An icy cold would seep through the windows into the curtains, chilling Luna. She would often feel extremely sad and disheartened when the cold came, though she never knew why. She would snuggle up to Celestia, falling asleep in the warmth of love. A few weeks after they had been locked up, the spells on the curtains fell, leaving only weak spells on the doors and windows. When Celestia drew back the curtains to let the sunlight stream in, she was shocked to find the gardens and castle grounds outside covered in snow and ice. Large snowflakes and pieces of hail were flung through the air by a strong wind. The cold seeped through the windows once more, and Celestia shivered with fright. She backed away, going back to the bed, trying to latch onto any positive emotions she could. Her mind rested upon how much she loved her sister, Luna, and how she would do anything to protect her from the icy grip of the cold. A slight hissing sound came out of the light blue shadow that had not been visible before, and it slithered through the window. What the sisters did not know would have terrified them: the windegoes, the creatures of despair and hatred, had shown up. The pony tribes to the Far North had accidentally caused this by their distrust of one another, and had fled to near the Everfree. The creatures had followed them, and now, a blizzard of hatred blew almost every good feeling out of its path. Not only that, but the chaos bringers had also decided to attack, preying upon the weak and almost powerless alicorns. the Crystal Empire had already been cut off from all outside forces, as King Rubinous tried to shield his empire. The insect queen, Queen Chrysalis, had been corrupted by one of the chaos bringers, and had enslaved her entire nation. Astro and Solara were one of the few who had enough power to attack, but they were just barely evenly matched with the forces of chaos and disharmony. The alicorns had been able to kill off the last of them, but at the cost of their lives. One fateful night, however, the fillies saw something in the distance. A flash of pink soared through the sky, coming from a large mountain many miles away from the castle. Celestia barely made out what it was: a glowing pink heart. Screams of pain were heard, as the windegoes and snow were melted. The sun burst through the clouds, shedding its warm light upon the land. Eventually, the other ponies came to the new land that the leaders of the tribes had claimed. Nopony knew that they were technically trespassing on the Everfree Kingdom, which was now ruled over by Celestia and Luna. They set up a town where they placed their first flag, calling it "Ponyville." ////\\ A group of unicorns, still haggard and tired from the events of the past weeks, pooled their magical energy to raise the sun like they had learned to do. Their magic was weak, however, from their experience with the windegoes. They fell down, one after the other, as they fruitlessly tried to raise the sun off of the horizon. They were so focused on their task, they did not see the alicorn filly hiding in bushes of the Everfree behind them. Luna and Celestia had escaped from the empty castle as soon as the sun had come back, playing in the forest like they usually did. Celestia and Luna were both curious as to where their parents had gone. Celestia was extremely nervous, piecing together that the long blizzard and her parents disappearing had to be connected somehow. Luna, on the other hoof, was still young, carefree, and innocent. She only thought that her parents were visiting some magical, faraway land, and they would return with pretty presents and enchanting tales of the other alicorns. Wanting to think to herself, Celestia had left Luna in a clearing near the castle, and trotted off to the edge of the forest. She had been lost in thought over how to care for her sister with no servants around, when she heard the sounds of ponies talking. Excited to see somepony other than her sister in a few days, but cautious about being seen by strangers, she clung to the shadows of the forest edge. She overheard them talking about raising the sun, which interested her. She had always thought that it was her mother's job. Solara had been in charge for a reason. The sun was really supposed to be raised by an alicorn, but when a large group of powerful unicorns got together, they could just barely raise it. Solara had never intended for unicorns to raise the sun; she had only taught them the spell in case something happened to her. They followed her instructions for a while, but eventually became power-hungry after the pegasus tribe insulted them. When Solara found out, as she saw the sun slowly rising on the horizon, she realized the mistake of her actions, and decided that it was impossible to erase the spell from their memories or to forbid them from doing so. However, she eventually started wake up earlier to raise the sun, which caused some minor repercussions to the sleep schedules of the ponies. Astro decided that nopony but him or one of his daughters would be allowed to be in charge of the moon. Astro had been right to not trust unicorns to be able to handle the sun and moon. Even when an alicorn was extremely weak, they could still handle both. Unicorns, who were not built that way, had only about a fifteenth of magic compared to alicorns. Sure, they could pool their collective energy to work together, but they were extremely weakened, both physically and mentally. Celestia watched in slight horror as they started to collapse, one after the other. She felt a sudden shiver, as she heard a slight whisper on the wind, "This is your destiny... take this chance..." Without even thinking, Celestia burst from the foliage, and her horn was enveloped with a golden shimmer. She did not know how she knew the spell to raise the sun: it just suddenly came to her, like second nature. The last unicorn stared in awe and utter confusion as he witnessed the little filly raise the sun effortlessly, until he noticed the little pair of wings on her back. Celestia stared at the horizon in disbelief and child-like wonder, shocked that she knew the spell and was able to raise the sun without any help on her first try. Suddenly, she saw a flash of white in her peripheral vision, and she felt a warmth on her flanks. Turning her head around, she saw upon her flank an golden sun. She suddenly squealed with joy and starting bouncing around. "Sister? Why art thou jumping around?" Luna, who had left the clearing, trotted out of the forest. She either was ignoring or didn't see the unicorns, because she walked right past them. "Thou knoweth what Mama would say if she -- YOU GOT YOUR CUTIE MARK?!" Luna suddenly stopped speaking in her archaic tongue as she looked quickly at Celestia new cutie mark, and then to her sister. A blinding smile came to her face as her sister nodded, and she jumped to hug her. "Ow... my head..." Celestia and Luna stopped short as the unicorns began to rouse themselves. The male unicorn who had witnessed Celestia raise the sun was frozen, still staring at the risen sun. His fellow unicorns mumbled incoherently as they tried to shake the after-effects of the powerful spell failing, not yet seeing the alicorn fillies. The male unicorn must have snapped out of it because he suddenly said, "But... but... you are only a little filly..." He stated this weakly, his brain still trying to comprehend what he had witnessed. Celestia frowned, insulted. "I'm not little! I am thirteen years old, and the Princess of the Everfree Kingdom! Does size matter in terms of one's power?!" She let out an angry growl, as Luna fearfully looked at Celestia. Luna had never seen her elder sister so upset, and was afraid of what might happen to her. Their Mama had often told them stories of warning, one of which being that they should never lose control of their emotions. If an alicorn lost control, they would become corrupted, and would have to be fought. One of the unicorns, a mare with a sky blue coat and a mane and tail of faded red, yellow, and blue, gasped. She frantically whispered something to the mare next to her, a dark gray unicorn with a jet black mane and tail. "Did... did you just say that you are the Princess of the Everfree Kingdom? The one that was ruled by Emperor Astro and Empress Solara?" The gray mare began to pale a bit as she continued. "Could it be that you are one of the daughters that we have heard about?!" Luna cocked her head in confusion. "Of course we are. Have thou seen our Mama and Papa?" Celestia gathered her closer, wing around Luna's back. "And have thou seen our servants? We have been alone for a few days." One of the unicorns suddenly cried out, "Charcoal! These fillies before us are alicorns! We must bring them to the Council!" Charcoal, the leader of the group, looked towards the mare who had cried out. It was the blue mare, her right-hoof mare. "Very well, Palate Swatch. Everypony," she called out to the group, "we must bring these fillies to the Princess, the Commander, and the Chancellor." ////\\ "I see. And they say that they have not come into contact with other ponies in a few days? And that the elder one raised the very sun by herself? Hmmm..." Celestia and Luna sat before "the Council," which was only composed of six members, two of each Pony Tribe. The sisters felt very bored, Luna especially. Being only a baby filly in alicorn terms, she had the mindset of a six-year old, and was easily distracted. Celestia, on the other hoof, grew annoyed. She was still insulted by the stallion who had called her "little," and she knew that Luna was hungry like she was. The ponies seemed to fail to notice that the fillies had not eaten in days, their alicorn powers barely sustaining them. "Commander Hurricane," said one of the pegasi, "may I interrupt?" She was light blue, with curly, light-gray hair. She looked timid, and seemed to not have much of a presence in the Council. The other pegasus looked up. "What would you like to say, Private?" "Well, if these fillies have not seen other ponies, and their servants were the ones bringing them food-" she paused for a minute, and then turned towards the fillies. "Children, are you not hungry?" Luna nodded quickly, snapping out of her stupor. "Private" looked at them pityingly. "I'll call for somepony to bring you fillies something to eat." She smiled at the two alicorns kindly, and flew off. When "Private" flew off, one of the Council members called break. As she said, they could hardly continue without one of their members. Soon, "Private" returned with another unicorn. He was levitating two plates of food, and two glasses of water. The fillies were brought to the Council's table, and the food was set down beside them. Celestia, expecting her sister to eat like she usually did, was surprised when Luna calmly picked up her fork and knife, and began to eat like a pony her age. Usually, she levitated the pieces of food into her mouth and ate very sloppily. Celestia smiled, and turned to her own food. It was a salad, with a very sweet smelling salad dressing on it that reminded her of the rose gardens. There were also bits of croutons in it, which she loved very much! The fillies were so hungry and so absorbed in their meal, that they did not notice the Council members looking at them and occasionally whispering to each other. All was peaceful and quiet. Until-- "GAAAAHHH! LULU!!!" Commander Hurricane suddenly flared out his wings, years of military experience preparing him to fight. However, he backed down when he saw what had truly happened. Luna, bored with the quiet meal, had flung a bit of her salad at Celestia's face. She giggled as her sister picked up the lettuce and cucumbers on her face, but stopped when Celestia shot her a glare. Celestia calmly cleaned her face off, relishing in Luna's uneasiness. As soon as she noticed that Luna had dropped her guard, she conjured up a large feather, and began to tickle her. All royal dignity was forgotten as Luna began to snort and laugh hysterically, her eyes watering. Celestia snickered evilly, and momentarily stopped. Luna took her chance and tackled her, the fillies rolling about in a sisterly fight. The Council looked at the fillies, the tall unicorn mare with a small tiara shocked at the way these alicorns were acting. Her fellow unicorn wasn't even paying attention, merely scribbling down upon a long scroll with her trusty red quill. Hurricane watched proudly, thinking that it was good for young ponies to get their pent up energy out in healthy ways. Private watched nervously, not knowing that they were only play-fighting, scared that they would end up hurting each other. Lastly, the two Earth Ponies giggled slightly. They had grown up hearing about how regal, majestic, and sophisticated the alicorns of the land were. "Ahem." The unicorn scribbling down upon her scroll immediately looked up. "Star Swirl! We did not expect you to come so late!" Star Swirl the Bearded smiled, and then his gaze fell upon the sisters. He chuckled in spite of himself, and he lit up his horn. He pulled the two fillies apart, each looking nothing like he had expected an alicorn to look. Celestia had salad dressing in her hair, and her usually groomed tail was incredibly messy. Luna had a cucumber slice impaled on her horn, and there were bits of her salad on her face. She started to giggle again, looking at her sister, but Celestia was not amused. She realized what they had been doing, and her face turned beet red with embarrassment. She praised the stars that her parents were not around to witness their daughters behaving in ways like a princess never should. "I see that you two have a healthy relationship?" Star Swirl smiled at the two kindly. Luna nodded eagerly, while Celestia hung her head in embarrassment. "Now, now, no need for any reddening, my dear," he continued, "as it does not suit your complexion." Celestia looked up, still ashamed of her actions. She had expected harsh words of disappointment, not kind words of one who was amused. She glared at Luna, who had started this whole mess. Luna, who had been smiling sweetly at her sister before, began to look guilty, and grabbed a wet cloth that a pegasus had brought in to clean them up. She levitated the cloth to Celestia, and dropped it onto her face by accident. Celestia gave Luna a look, and proceeded to clean herself up. Luna picked the cucumber off of her horn, and placed it into her mouth. Star Swirl looked to the unicorn with the tiara. "What do you think of these fillies, Princess Platinum? Do you think they will be able to rule kingdoms?" Princess Platinum looked at the fillies for a while, and her expression softened slightly. "I think... I think I may have a tough job ahead of me, Star Swirl."
A Slight Magical MishapLuna fidgeted as the lesson endured. She was tired of sitting up straight in her chair, and listening to the pretty unicorn lecture about the importance of manners. She looked over to her right, and became even more annoyed as she saw Celestia quietly taking notes, her posture a picture of perfectness. Luna looked back to her parchment, and winced slightly as she saw what she had scribbled there. She had written down notes at the beginning of the lesson, but had quickly lost interest. Doodles filled the page, and she could just barely read her horrible penmanship. She glanced up at her teacher, who thankfully had not noticed the inattentiveness of one of her students. Princess Platinum was a very beautiful princess, with her long, silky, blue-gray hair, and her silvery body. Her eyes were a lovely shade of blue, and her eyelashes were long and curled. She wore a small golden tiara with a small sapphire in the middle, a golden necklace with another sapphire, and golden shoes. She had conjured up a projection with her magic, her horn shimmering with a light blue. She pointed to her diagram of posture, showing how slouching was uncomfortable and unappealing. Luna looked once more at her sister, who was listening to Platinum. She could barely see Celestia's notes, but she did see the third long roll of parchment that had been finished. "... and since you two have been listening so politely, you may go to lunch. Meet me back here tomorrow afternoon, after your magic lesson with Clover." Luna sighed in relief, and guiltily packed up her parchment. Celestia, however, still was in learning mode. She looked over her notes, crossing out things and scribbling words into the margins with her quill. Her tongue was sticking out, and she flicked her ear a bit. "Um... Tia?" No answer. "Tia, we can go to lunch now!" Luna was still left with no answer. She walked over to Celestia, and prodded her back. Tia fidgeted slightly, but she paid no mind to Luna, who began to frown. Luna looked at her sister's pot of ink, which was right next to the parchment. Grinning evilly, she reached out towards it with her hoof to knock it over. Tink! "Aaack! Do not startle me like that, Luna!" Luna blinked for a seconds, first looking at the barely moved pot of ink, and then to her sister's annoyed face. She rolled her eyes, and galloped of to lunch. Celestia, shaking her head, packed up her things and followed Luna to lunch. ////\\ As Luna quietly sipped her water, she looked out the large window to her right. She could just barely see the Everfree Forest, her forest that had been her life before coming here. While she was not neglected, and was treated like a real princess, she still longed for her parents. She wanted to be held protectively under the wing of her father, as he taught her about the night sky and all of its wonder. She wished to see once more the breath-taking beauty of her mother's mane flowing like a river in the early sunlight. But most of all, Luna wanted Celestia to stop being so irritable and fussy all of the time. Before they had come to Ponyville, Celestia had been as fun-loving as Luna, if not more. She had often gotten into mischief, especially when practicing her magic. Luna smiled as she recalled a particularly mischievous time, when Celestia had attempted to raise the sun without adult supervision. Solara had been attempting to teach her how to do so for a couple of weeks. Celestia had nearly incinerated herself with the magic and power of the sun, and after that event, Solara decided that Celestia would have to wait until she was older. Most of all, Luna was upset about how the adult ponies treated her. They had instantly made up rules after hearing Luna proudly announce that she had mastered the "Royal Everfree Voice" in the Royal Everfree Voice. Clover had also made the rule about not using the "Royal We." She had said something about it not being grammatically correct or something like that. Luna had been most upset, and almost threw a temper tantrum before Celestia gave in and agreed to give Luna her desert for a few nights. Though she had asked and asked, the grown-up ponies refused to give Luna any information about her parents. She often pelted Celestia with her unanswered questions, but the only response that she got was that Celestia was in the dark as well. Luna was becoming rather annoyed, both at her parents and her teachers. She had been waiting for almost a week, and she had recieved no word of her beloved parents. The truth, of course would have devastated the sisters, Luna especially. The Council members were very nervous and unsure of how and when to tell them the whereabouts of Astro and Solara. Hurricane argued that the truth was always harsh, and it was better that they were told sooner than later. Pansy worried about the reactions the two would have, given that the fillies' parents had been their world. Both Puddinghead and Smart Cookie, having never had foals of their own, were unsure about how deal with such a blow to Luna and Celestia. Platinum offered that the two could be even better well kept, being given more attention and gifts to ease the blow, and Clover agreed that it could work. In the end, it was agreed by all Council members that the girls would be given until next week. They all felt guilty for prolonging it so much, but the fillies would need to become comfortable and trusting of them before they could say such a thing to the girls. If they just suddenly dropped this heavy information on them, and since Luna was so little and still unsure about them, the sisters might overreact. It was best to ease it onto them, so as not to crush them from the weight of the tragedy. ////\\ "That's it... almost there and... Yay! You did it!" Clover beamed with pride as she watched Luna easily create a small cloud, which began to snow very slowly. She had created a cloud not quite the size Clover had been hoping for, but it was an excellent start. Celestia, however, was having problems. Nopony knew this, not even Celestia, but there was a simple explanation to it. Being an alicorn of the sun, which is very hot, Celestia would of course have difficulty casting spells dealing with cold, snow, and ice. Celestia narrowed her eyes as a bead of sweat rolled down her cheek, her horn encased in a golden glow. After several seconds of just standing there, she let out a triumphant shout as a cloud appeared in front of her. Luna giddily raced over to hug her when she abruptly stopped. "Tia? Is it supposed to be dark and scary looking?" Luna took a step back, cowering slightly. Celestia, confused, turned to her cloud. Her eyes widened in fear as the cloud swelled and let out a menacing rumble of thunder. Clover, however, did not seem very worried in the least. "Oh, you must have created a small electricity cloud,' she exclaimed, obviously delighted. "I'm impressed that you are still keeping it going! They take up a lot of magical effort." Celestia suddenly noticed that her horn was still glowing - and she could not stop it. She panicked, and frantically tried to stop her horn from keeping the spell going. As the cloud began to get slightly bigger, and she began to hyperventilate, while Luna hid behind Clover. Clover sighed impatiently. "Girls, there is no need to worry! Celestia, please turn off the spell and I will help you create a small snow cloud." "I-I can't!" Clover's eyes widened. "Um... WHAT??" Luna began to panic as well, and asked, "Should I get help from Mr. Star Swirl?" Clover nodded frantically, and Luna raced off down the corridor. Clover attempted to contain the massive cloud inside a shield. It worked, but just barely. The thundercloud continued to expand, and it would break through her shield soon. The cloud was also filled with electricity, and any physical contact with it would get them zapped. Clover shoved Celestia behind her, while she hastily enlarged the shield. Meanwhile, Luna frantically cantered to the only unicorn who could know where Star Swirl was - Princess Platinum. "Princess Platinum!!!!!!!!" Platinum turned with a jolt as Luna skidded into her room. The little filly nearly crashed into the wall, as the hardwood floors had just been polished. "Good heavens, child!" Platinum exclaimed, startled. "You mustn't be running about this citadel as if the Gates of Tartarus had been opened!" Luna completely ignored the unicorn princess. "B-but *pant* Tia and Cl-clover *cough* big ELECTRIC CLOUD!!!" Platinum started back a bit at the filly's sudden yell. However, she knew it must be important, if Clover had let Luna out of her sights during a lesson so willingly. "Luna," she calmly stated. Luna stopped freaking out (only a little bit), and as she looked up, Platinum could see the fear in her eyes. "Luna, I am not good with magic. Shall I call Star Swirl?" Luna nodded frantically, and Platinum quickly sent a quick, mental message to Star Swirl. It was quiet for a few seconds, until-- Pop! Star Swirl calmly dusted his shoulder with a hoof. He quickly turned to Luna, asking, "Luna, Platinum-" he nodded towards her "-has told me about some sort of electrical storm. Can you lead me to it?" Luna nodded, and raced out of the room, Platinum and Star Swirl not far behind. They were lead to Clover's lesson room, and Star Swirl cautiously opened the door. Clover was backed up against a wall, with Tia cowering behind her. The cloud had swelled enormously, and Clover appeared to be extremely strained. "Clover, I shall take over from here. Show me the filly." Clover revealed the terrified Celestia, her horn still shining with her golden aura. Tia looked up at the cloud, her face filled with horror. "Magic surge," Star Swirl mumbled to himself, "must not be too powerful." His horn lit up with a light blue glow, and an energy seeped from his horn. It wrapped around the massive cloud, encasing it until none of the dark gray could be seen. Pop! The swirling blue energy swirled into a whirlpool, disappearing in a dot with a pop. The cloud was nonexistent, and Clover let out a breath that she did not realize she had been holding. She lifted her hoof away from Celestia, who cautiously peeked up at the ceiling. Her horn no longer shimmered with a golden aura, but she was obviously shaken from the ordeal. Luna rushed over to her sister, throwing her hooves around her. Tears streamed down the filly's face, as she buried her muzzle into Tia's chest. Tia herself broke down, almost going into a hysterical crying fit. "Clover? Platinum? What is going -- woah, what happened??" Smart Cookie had just stuck his head into the room, with Pansy, Puddinghead, and Hurricane behind him. Pansy immediately shot in upon his statement, and saw the two girls crying. "Oh, you poor dears!" Pansy dashed over to them, wrapping her large, graceful wings around them. She had become something of a mother figure for them, a stand-in for Solara. While she was nothing like their real mother, she was caring, kind, and just. Pansy favored none - like Solara and Astro - and treated everypony equally. Pansy faced the three unicorns, her mouth set into a stern frown. "What happened here?" Clover scratched the back of her head and smiled nervously. "Eh heh, just a slight magical mishap?"
Flying FreeAfter the disaster of a magic lesson with Clover, Celestia feared her magic. She almost stopped using it entirely, trying to use her hooves to pick up her quills, parchment, and eating utensils. Tia only stopped after Pansy encouraged her to use her magic slowly and sporadically. She began by only using her magic to write and eat. Sometimes, she would look enviously at Luna during magic lessons as she mastered her snow cloud, while Celestia was stuck doing simpler spells. This was actually not the work of Clover, or Star Swirl, but of Celestia herself. She had insisted on doing these spells out of fear of her own power. Now, she began to regret her choice. Even though Star Swirl had explained to her that a magic surge did not happen often, and that one so powerful such as hers were extremely rare, she was still shaken by her experience. Tia paused her spell for a minute as she glanced over at Luna again. Her younger sister was receiving praise yet again from Clover, who was impressed with her snowpony. The snow creature moved of its own accord, though it was clearly the work of a foal. The body was shaped oddly, its movings sluggish and awkward. But it was still impressive for Luna, who was only ten years of age. Tia felt jealousy course through her veins, clouding her mind as she gazed upon the pitiful snowball that she had amassed. It was small, and starting to melt in the firey grip of her magic. With a small, evil grin, she squinted and stuck out her tongue, hurling the watery snow with all of her strength. Splat! It hit its mark perfectly. Luna cried out in shock as the cold, wet snow hit her in the ear, a sensitive spot for the filly. Celestia's ill-found happiness soon faded, however, as Luna suddenly faced her. Her eyes were filled with hurt and confusion, her mind searching for an answer to what she asked. "Why?" Clover noticed Tia's guilty face, and marched up to her. Tia shrank slightly, averting her eyes, as soon as she saw the stern expression. She looked past Clover, and at Luna's hurt face. "Tia," Clover began, "explain to me why you have hit your sister, Luna, with a snowball that I wished to examine?" Her no-nonsense voice ensured Celestia that she would not be allowed to utter a lie. Celestia hesitated slightly. "I-I wa-was jealous." "Is that a proper excuse for attacking a pony, with any kind of weapon?" "No, ma'am." "Look me in the eyes, missie." Celestia raised her eyes to Clover's stern ones. Clover continued. "You may rule our new land some day, Tia, with Luna at your side. I do not care if you are an alicorn, or a princess. Apologize, immediately." Luna shied away slightly as Tia approached her. Before Tia could utter a single word, Clover interrupted. "A sincere apology." Tia took in a deep breath. "Luna? I am sorry, little sister. It was wrong of me to take out my jealousy on you." She smiled apologetically, kneeling down to Luna's eye level. "I guess that I am still afraid of my magic, Lulu. Can thou forgive us?" She added a slightly archaic sentence to the end, knowing that Luna missed her old speech. She did not care that Clover muttered something about proper grammar under her breath. Luna gazed up hesitantly. There was silence until Luna spoke. "Life is about taking risks. Make a snowpony, NOW!" She erupted into giggles as she saw Tia's smile fail slightly. "And I won't forgive you until you do," she added. Tia stuck her tongue out, and cautiously lit up her horn. Her golden aura returned, as snow began to form in front of her. Tia must have still been nervous, as the snow suddenly expanded. It exploded with a loud POOF! Tia coughed, waving away the powdered snow in the air. When she opened her eyes, she saw that Clover's classroom had been turned into a winter wonderland. Not an inch of the room was left uncovered, and the bucket filed with water in the corner turned into a bucket of ice. Clover was covered with snow, and she shook herself to rid of the cold whiteness. She shivered, and her own horn lit up with a green glow. Suddenly, with a slight flash, a warm scarf and jacket appeared on herself. The two fillies did not care about the cold, as Luna began to romp around in the snow. Their alicorn blood protected them from extreme temperature (to a certain degree), so they had nothing to worry about. Celestia began to collect snow, shaping it into a snowpony. Her work was better than Luna's, as she did not make the head as big, nor the legs different lengths. When she had finished, Tia stood back and admire her work, but her proud smile soon turned into a frown. Sure, she had made the snowpony, but it would not move around like Luna's. Speaking of which, Luna's snowpony had just dug itself out of a pile of snow, and it slowly ambled over to the new one. Tia glanced at Luna hesitantly, and Luna gave her a reassuring smile and a nod. Tia lit up her horn, and a ring of gold appeared around her snowpony. The ring flashed three times, and whirled rapidly around the snowpony. Suddenly, there was an even brighter flash of gold light, and then nothing. Tia waited with bated breath, until something extraordinary happened. It moved. It actually moved! Tia let out a whoop of joy, as Luna watched in wonder as the two snowponies examined each other. Clover was clearly impressed, and she wrote down something on a roll of parchment with her red quill. Tia's snowpony moved far better than Luna's did, but it was even more impressive that a filly of thirteen had been able to animate a life-sized object without any trouble. Calm yourself, Clover thought. She is an alicorn, one who has been handed down the authority to raise the sun. She glanced over to Luna, who still bore a blank flank. Clover had a feeling that she would be the one to rule over the moon, but Luna did not want to attempt this. She had said something about it being Astro's job. Secretly, Celestia would raise the moon at night, after noticing that her father was not doing his job. She was becoming more worried everyday, and she searched the night sky at night for the star. ////\\ Two large alicorns sat on a balcony under a blanket of stars, the full moon shedding a pale light upon the castle and forest. The female alicorn lifted a wing, and two younger alicorns peeked their heads out. "Do you see the night sky, my little fillies," Solara asked them. After they nodded, she continued. "Even though the day is for playing and working, always remember that the night is here to watch over us when we sleep. Do you see the moon? She is our guardian. She allows us ponies to look upon her face, unlike her sister, the sun." Before Solara could continue, Luna started to tease Celestia. "We are named after the moon! Mama said that thou will be the one to rule over daylight when thou hast gotten older! We always KNEW that we--" Luna was cut off by Astro picking her up in his dark blue magic, levitating her over to him. She giggled and shrieked as he tumbled her into his lap. "Never assume that thou are more important, Luna. To do so is to forget what thou and thou sister are here for." He lifted her head to the stars. "Doest thou see the North Star?" He lifted her head towards the north, so that she could see the North Star: Polaris. "It guides ponies, especially ones at sea. Whenever thou art lost at night, all thou needest to do is to find it. That is why thou are named after the moon. Thou will be the guiding light in the darkness for those who are lost." "But do not think that you are named after nothing, Tia," Solara said to Celestia. "Your sister may be like the North Star, but you will be a helping light during the day. The sun can also be used to tell where East and West are. Though it burns our eyes when we look at her, that is because she must work hard to create light bright enough to sustain us during the day. You will be a shining light to help shed light in the day, where darkness attempts to leave its allotted time and place." Solara smiled as she placed the two fillies next to each other, wrapping a wing around them once more. "Always remember, that in order to have harmony, there must be a balance in the world. There must always be bad behaviors along with the good. Nopony, or any living creature, is perfect. Celestia, you will bring light and happiness to your subjects when you lead your kingdom-" Solara turned to little Luna. "-and you, my Luna, will bring darkness at night so that ponies may sleep and regain their strength. Never become jealous of either's position. Even though it may seem like ponies hate the sun because it blinds, or always spend the night sleeping, always remember that the farmers need sunlight to grow their crops, and that there will always be stargazers in the night." The two sisters snuggled close to each other, looking at the countless stars in the sky. Astro smiled at his daughters, as he draped his right wing over Solara and the girls. "We will always be a family, my fillies. Never forget that. Even after arguments and fights, sadness and misery, Mother and I will always be with you." He lit up his horn. "But whenever you find yourself alone, seeking guidance, look up to the stars." A ball of light appeared at the tip of his horn. It was extrmely bright, but it became dimmer as it ascended into the sky. Celestia and Luna waited, until there was a sudden twinkle of light next to the moon. A star that had not been there before had appeared, almost as bright as Sirius. Solara smirked at her husband. "You always were the show-off, Astro." ////\\ Celestia's head sank to her chest as she shut her eyes tightly, for they were welling up with tears. I must be brave, she thought. I must be brave for Lulu, and believe in my parents. They are not gone, merely hiding. She sniffled slighly as she wiped her eyes with the back of her hoof. She slowly lifted her head up to search for the bright star next to the moon. It still hung there in the sky. Celestia stood up slowly, and spread her wings. She took off from the balcony, soaring into the night sky. She rose quite high, until she was amongst the fluffy clouds that hung high above the town of Ponyville. She hovered close to the surface of a cloud, skimming her hooves against the coolness of it. It felt good to be flying again, without any limits or restrictions. She was not allowed to go too far from any of the Council members, and they had restricted her and Luna from going outside of the makeshift fortress and into the town. Celestia closed her eyes in complete bliss as she flew freely through the crisp night air. She did not care if she got in trouble for breaking the rules. After all, was that not what rules were for?
