The Everfree Forest is a place most would avoid. While the monsters are normally kept at bay by the Alicorn Guard, inside the forest they roam free, thirsty for blood. Most normal ponies would perish within minutes. Then again, Twilight and Cadance weren't normal ponies. They were alicorns.
Ponies had one in a million chance to be born alicorns, and blood alicorn sisters (like Cadance and Twilight) were even rarer. There had been around ten pairs of sisters in the whole of Equestrian history, and all of them had gained fame for their heroic deeds. All alicorns were bound to protect Equestria, and their cutie marks always had something to do with the well-being of the ponies. But to earn them, they had to undergo certain trials at the hoof of the Celestial Sisters.
The first Celestial Sister was Solar Flare, said to be the very incarnation of the sun. With a red coat and a flowing mane of fire, she appeared as almighty and powerful.
The second Celestial Sister was Nightmare Moon, said to have been born from the moon itself. Her black coat and her galaxy-like flowing mane matched her mysterious and towering attitude.
Legends tell that, long ago, unicorns used to raise the sun and the moon. But then, a war started between the griffons and the ponies. The unicorns, blinded by the chance to defeat one of their most prominent enemies, restrained themselves from raising the sun, causing not only pain and cold to their enemies, but also to their own kin. The pegasi, enraged by this, stopped controlling the clouds and the weather. The earth ponies no longer shared what little they had left of their crops, and so on. It continued that way, until one fateful day the moon left the sky and the sun took its place. The center of the city was filled by surprised pegasi, confused earth ponies, and enraged unicorns.
Suddenly, there was a flash of light. When it finished, two mares stood in the middle of the crowd. But they weren't normal mares. The first one had a bight red coat and a mane made from blazing fire, flowing without the need of wind. The second one had a deep black coat, but her flowing mane represented a galaxy instead of fire. Both of them had horns and wings.
King Emerald of the unicorns steped up and faced them. "What madness is this?! How dare you raise the sun and moon?! Who are you to stand up to us, the Royal Family?!"
The first pony looked at him with dragon-like purple eyes. "My name is Solar Flare. I am the incarnation of the shining sun."
The second pony had dragon eyes too, but they were teal in colour. "My name is Nightamare Moon. I am the daughter of the gleaming moon."
"We are inmortal, and we have always existed. We have protected you ponies for milennias." Solar Flare spoke.
"We have seen how the pride of the unicorns, the rage of the pegasi and the distrust of the earth ponies have almost lead you to extinction." Nightmare Moon added.
"We have decided to raise the sun and the moon on our own."
"You unicorns have been relieved of this task. Instead, your magic shall protect the kingdom and make it a safe place. The pegasi and earth ponies won't leave the unicorns behind, they will continue being one nation.
The non-unicorns in the crowd shifted unconfortably.
"But that is not all." Solar Flare declared.
"We shall give you another protection." Nightmare Moon declared.
They moved their heads close so that their horns were touching, at the same time the latters lit up with magic and they spoke. "A miracle shall happen, and in normal families, winged unicorns shall be born. They will live for the protection of Equestria, their lifetimes lasting a thousand years. But should their hearts no longer be pure, they shall become either one of the three races, and shall lose both their destiny and their powers."
A powerful wave of magic enveloped those present, and all of Equestria.
"Their talents shall not be like the rest. They will have to pass three tests, placed by our hooves, in order to gain them."
A bright light shone from the two.
"And when they need us, we shall be in the forest that will forever be free."
When the light dissipated, they had disappeared.
"Um, Twi? You there?" Cadance waved a hoof in front of her sister's eyes.
"Uh? Sorry, I was thinking." Twilight said, struggling to get back to reality.
A smile formed in the face of the pink alicorn. "Let me guess. Are you trying to remember the legend so that we'll get some sort of advantage?"
"How did you guess?"
"Well," Cadance started, bringing a hoof to her chin." Firstly, I'm your sister, so I know very well. SEcondly, I know you always think of some solution from the books. Thirdly..."
"I get the point, thank you very much." Twilight blushed, much to the amusement of her companion.
As they talked, they approached what once was a castle, but had been reduced to ruins. According to legend, the entrance to the Celestial Sisters' world was located there. When they were ready, Alicorns could enter them and gain their cutei marks. Cadance could have taken the trial much sooner, but she had decided to wait until her sister was ready, in order to accompany her. Twilight couldn't thank her enough.
It took a furious two-hours search, but they found two mirrors, one bright red, and one deep black. The sisters looked at each other and advanced towards the mirrors.
Twilight was te first to make a move. She touched the dark mirror, and her hoof slid trough it like it was water. She retreated her hoof and looked at her sister. She was surprised to find that Cadance had done the same thing, but with the red mirror. They looked at each other.
"Ready?" Cadance asked.
"How can you be ready for something like this?" Twilight seemed scared.
A soft chuckle escaped the pink alicorn's lips."When I say three, we enter at the same time, okay?" At Twilight's nod, she turned her head to the mirror. "One, two..."
"Three!"
Both sisters entered their respective mirrors at the same time.
Twilight found herself in what looked like the throne room of a magnificient castle. The windows allowed her to see that the outside was a grey wasteland that remembered her strongly of the moon. The castle itseld was madeof marble so white the young alicorn could see her own reflection on it.
"Finally, you are here."
Twilight turned. Behind her was an obsidian throne, decorated at the top with a diamond that resembled a moon. Sitting on the throne was a black-coated alicorn. Her starry mane seemed to move without the need of wind, and she had armor on. She looked threatening. The teal eyes with pupils like slits certainly weren't helping.
"N-Nightmare Moon?"
"Do not be afraid of me, child. I shall cause no harm to you, for I am here to help you gain your talent. Are you ready to take the first trial?"
A nod was all the response she could muster.
Nightmare Moon stood up and approached her. Twilight noticed that she seemed to be much taller than her. She stopped in front of her and lowered her horn until both were touching.
Then, may the trial begin! The taller alicorn's horn shone with a midnight blue glow.
Loud cheers, combined with chants of "Twi-light!" "Twi-light!" filled the young pony's ears. Suddenly, she realised she was in a enormous stadium. The terraces were full of ponies from different races, cheering and adoring her. Twilight basked in the love and affection they were emanating, until silence brought her back to reality. Queen Diamond stood before her, a smile in her face. "Don't bow, dear. With your talent, I should be bowing to you!"
Confusion appeared in Twilight's face.
"Confused, darling? You'll understand soon enough. You see, I wish to take you as my own personal student, Twilight! With you under my tutelage, you shall become the best of magicians! You'll live in the castle, study with me and reach your true potential!"
"Um, Your Highness? What about my family and friends? Canterlot's really far from my home." The alicorn spoke, nerves present in her voice.
The Queen's smile faltered a little."I'm sorry, Twilight, but in order to teach you properly, you'll have to stay at the castle. But don't worry, we can arrange visits once or twice a year. What do you say?"
"No."
Her Majesty's smile dissapeared completly."What did you say?"
Twilight ruffled her wings uncomfortably."I mean, It would be an honor to study with you, Your Majesty, but... I can't just leave my friends and family behind. They're my everything, I couldn't live without them."
"Loyal words for a loyal pony."
Twilight lay on the floor, awake. She hadn't even realised she fell asleep until she woke up. She got up, her memories slowly returning to her head.
"You have passed the Trial Of Loyalty. Well done."
The lavender alicorn looked up at the goddess. Nightamare Moon seemed pleased.
"Are you ready for the second trial, child?"
"Yes!"
Two horns touched.
"The second trial shall commence!"
Cold. It was so cold. She was in an alley. A cold alley.
It took Twilight three seconds to realize where she was. And two more to feel hunger beyond description. The hunger nullified her senses, and she felt like she could have eaten herself had she not used her strength to avoid doing so. Her next action was looking around for food, and she found it. Next to her was a cloth with a considerably large bread on it. The smell made Twilight drool, and she snatched it away with her magic. A sound made her stop with the bread inches away from her muzzle.
A few steps to her left was a little whimpering colt. His ribs were showing, and he looked like he was too weak to even look for food. He shrank at the alicorn's stare.
Twilight looked at the bread, then at him.What should I do? I'm really hungry, but the little guy's dying...She sighed, and handed the bread to the colt."Here, this is for you."
The colt looked at the bread, and then at her before slowly grabbing it. Once it was in his hand he looked carefully and smelled it a bit. He looked at Twilight again, before he looked down at the bread and snapped it in two equal pieces. He handed one to Twilight, who smiled.
"Aaaww, thank you!" She said as she grabbed it. It was delicious.
"Your generosity is notorious."
Again Twilight lay on the floor. She got up inmediatly.
"You have passed the Trial Of Generosity."
Twilight spoke before Nightamare Moon even spoke."I want to do the final trial!"
The goddess' lips curved in the slightest of smiles before she spoke."Be warned that the final trail is the hardest of them all. If you fail, you shall lose the chance to earn your cutie mark. Are you ready?"
Twilight felt excitement as she nodded.
The horns touched again.
A cave. That was the first thing Twilight's brain recognized. Before her was a beautiful tree made of crystal. Orchids grew around it, their stems tied around the tree. But at the tree's feet was a crystal case, shining beneath the moonlight. Twilight approached it, but what she saw sent a chill down her spine and mede her stop.
Encased inside the crystal was a pink alicorn.
She ran to the crystal and tapped it."Cadance! Can you hear me? Are you okay?!"
Her sister didn't respond, but Twilight noticed that, upon touching the crystal, a tiny heartbeat could be felt. The weight in her heart eased a bit, but it was still there.
She opened her wings and flew a few meters from the crystal. From there, she spent what seemed like hours shooting blasts from her horn at the crystal. But no matter how hard she hit, the crystal never shattered. She slumped to the ground in defeat...until she looked at the crystal closer.
Attached to the crystal were little roots, so small they disappeared unless you were looking closely. A little spell revealed Twilight that those roots were holding the crystal together, and they were also absorbing her attack spells. She sighed and prepared herself. She knew what she had to do, but it wasn't going to be easy.
She closed her eyes and reached out with her magic to the roots. Carefully trying no to hit them so that she wouldn't trigger them, she drew all the amgic they contained. The migraine apeared almost instantly, but Twilight did her best to ignore it. The pain continued, until she felt she would collapse. Thankfully, she finished moments later. She did her best not to collapse as she watched the crystal break into a thousand pieces. But before she could hug her sister, Cadence turned in the spot into a little ball of blue light, which then took the shape of a star. The star turned magenta and white, as five little more stars separated themselves from the original. The stars flew to Twilight, and they landed on her flank with a little flash.
"You have succesfully passed all the trails."
Twilight was in the castle again. Nightmare Moon's words made her uncertain. "Does that mean...?"
The goddess nodded, this time with a full smile. "Yes. Congratulations, Twilight Sparkle. You have earned your cutie mark."
The smaller alicorn looked at her flank. There rested a twelve-pointed star, magenta and white, surrounded by five more small white stars.
