Chapter 1: A New Generation
A new school. A new start.
This was so, so different from the life Spiritmoon had known before.
In the orphanage, it had been simple enough: get up. Chores. Lunch. Chores. Free time. Dinner. Bed. Now it was more like: get up. School.
Free time. Dinner. Bed. Spiritmoon wasn't sure if she was ready for that big change, but she would certainly try to fit in. She knew it would
be unlikely though. At first, her classmates would make fun of her. Then, they would see her wings and completely ignore her. Spiritmoon
sincerely hoped she would find at least one friend to help her move around and get used to the new enviornment. All she had known was
the orphanage.
Spiritmoon took a deep breath and scolded herself. She WOULD find a friend. That was the attitude. Still, she took an uneasy step
forward and immediately tripped over a small pebble. She splayed her legs out to keep from falling, then pulled them back towards her
body, embarrassed. She continued to walk slowly forward, feeling her way across the path, when when she felt the faintest vibration of a
trio of hooves coming towards her. She stopped and turned in the direction of it.
"Hey, why don't I know you?" Twinkle Sparkle asked. "You must be new. Welcome to Ponyville Middle. I'm Twinkle Sparkle!" Spiritmoon
shied away uneasily. The other filly was probably sticking out a hoof, but she couldn't see it. Luckily, (sort of) the filly noticed her milky
pupils and cocked her head. "Are you blind?"
Spiritmoon nodded quietly and she felt the other filly Twinkle put her hoof down. She's probably unsure now,Spiritmoon thought
miserably. Doesn't know what to do.Just wait until she notices my wings.
"Oh. Well, that's okay I guess. I was gonna introduce my friends Cam and Zany, but I guess it doesn't matter now." Spiritmoon heard the
light hoofsteps of another filly and the heavy prancing hooves of a colt. She took another step back, meaning to leave. She had never
interacted this much with anypony else before. This was a completely new thing for the blind pony. Suddenly, a thump sounded nearby
that a pegasus mut have just landed. Judging by the lightness of the sound, it was a young filly, around nine or ten.
"Oh, look, the cloud painter." Twinkle sounded sarcastic. Cloud...painter? Spiritmoon heard a huff and the small stamp of a hoof.
"You leave her alone!" Acrylic Dash cried. "Hey, new kid, you don't need a friend like her. She'll always come around to stab you in the
back." Spiritmoon could tell that the pony knew from experience that her words were true. She jumped as Twinkle's sharp voice rang out
on the lawn of the school.
"Okay, sure. Would you rather listen to Dipface here, or the DAUGHTER OF TWILIGHT SPARK- wait. You have WINGS?!" Twinkle's sentence
cut off abruptly and she stared at Spiritmoon, dumbfounded. How was this possible?! She herself was an alicorn, and she should have
been the only one. Beneath this blind filly was a world of mystery that Twinkle now had to solve. Twilight Sparkle's thirst for knowledge
started to kick in and she leaned closer to Spiritmoon.
"Who. Are. Your. Parents," she demanded. Spiritmoon's ears wilted. Now the most popular girl in the school knew her big secret. Of
course, it is hard to hide being an alicorn. Still, she never unfolded her wings. Ever. It made her feel always cooped up, but this was the
way.
As for her parents, of course Spiritmoon didn't have any. She and her twin brother Jinx had been dropped off at the orphanage when they
had looked around 12 years old. Of course, they were actually much older. After a year of living there without any school, she and her
brother had been accepted to come here. Strangely, Spiritmoon didn't have any memories of her childhood before coming to the
orphanage, so she had no idea what her parents looked like. Based on her brother's description, a strange pony in a black cape had
picked them up from a cave and take them straight to the orphanage.
It was a cloudy day, Jinx had said. I was feeling really confused, like I just just woken up from a really long sleep. We were in a cave that
had a lot of bats in it, for some reason. I looked over and saw you. You looked like you were dead. Your coat was dull and your mane was
spread out all around you. You've had your mane in a ponytail ever since. Suddenly a pony in this heavy black cloak came in and looked at
me, and for a moment I felt a spark, like the stars were trying to show me something. I knew I had a connection to this pony, but I didn't
know exactly what that connection was.
The pony didn't say anything, just lifted you and I up with it's magic. Your eyes opened and I saw you were blind, but your aura was
peaceful. The pony floated us out of the cave with him and we saw the night sky for the first time! It was beautiful. I remember looking at
the stars and just feeling right inside. Your eyes flashed turqoise for a second, and then you rolled over in the pony's magic and
whispered, "God." You closed your eyes and folded your hooves in prayer. Then there was a blue flash and the next thing I know there
was a brown cross on your flank!
All Spiritmoon remembered was feeling a presence near her, and the name just came to her. He wasn't just a god, he was God, and she
feared him and loved him at the same time. Someday, she believed that she would help ponies to believe in God too. Maybe she could
tell him through questions about her cutie mark! Jinx didn't have a cutie mark yet, but he was patient. He knew it would come eventually.
Speaking of Jinx; he had left to make friends almost as soon as they had arrived. He should have been back by now. Spiritmoon hoped he
was okay. He was really her only friend and stood up for her. Just thinking of him made her smile. If only she knew what her own brother
looked like, she could picture him in her head. Then Spiritmoon remembered she had been asked a question and snapped back to the
real world.
"I...I don't have any parents. I'm an orphan," she said shyly, tears starting to form in her eyes. Where was Jinx? He always had snappy
comebacks and answers when she didn't. Maybe if she had parents, everything would be different...
"Liar!" Twinkle Sparkle hissed. A crowd started to gather around the two. One by one, they glanced at Spiritmoon's back and saw the
wings that made her different, even more different than she would be just being blind. Supported by the bystanders, Twinkle stepped
forward, shook her hot pink and turqoise-striped mane, and growled, "You tell me right now, or I'll make you!" The ponies circling the
fillies gasped as Twinkle lowered her horn to point it at a frightened Spiritmoon. She lit it and sparks flew across the dark magenta
surface, lighting it up in a startling orange glow.
Miss Cherilee heard the ruckus from inside the classroom and peered out the window at the circle of students. "Already?...." she
mumbled, and steeled herself to stop the fight.
Jinx saw that awful filly Twinkle Sparkle light her horn. He wanted so badly to protect his twin sister. He could feel her pain like most
siblings couldn't; twins have a special connection. But this was Spiritmoon's fight, a chance for her to prove herself at this new school. Jinx
lit his black colored horn with a faint silver glow, sending her a telepathic message: You can do it. I'm here.
A blinding beam of light shot out of Twinkle's horn, straight for Spiritmoon. No pony could see what happened next; they all had to avert
their eyes. But the next thing they knew, the flash disappeared, being overpowered by a wave of bright blue magic. The magic was coming
in waves, blowing Twinkle back as well as shutting off her magic. The pulses were radiating from the purple horn of a certain blind pony.
Her eyes were shut in a calm, determined manner, her mouth set in a firm line.
"No," Twinkle whispered. "Impossible..." SHE was the most powerful one at this school! SHE ruled over all! Twinkle realized she didn't
even know the alicorn's name. But her fury blinded her. At that moment both fillies knew that they would be forever enemies.
The glow slowly faded, then stopped completley. Twinkle stepped back as Spiritmoon's eyes slowly opened once more, then widened as
she realized what she had just done. She had never really used her magic before, and certainly not like this. But beneath the surprise was
a new pony. A stronger one. No pony would make fun of her this year: she would show them all that she was powerful, she was good. As
the crowd of ponies cheered for the newest alicorn, Jinx and Acrylic made their way towards Spiritmoon.
Acrylic was gushing about how Spiritmoon had totally "shown that witch" and "kicked her butt". Jinx was quiet and telepathically
whispered, I'm so proud of you, Spirit.
