Author's Note

This is a reuploaded version of this story, so things read before I took it down might be different from the first time I uploaded it.

Either way, it is far from finished. So please tag it and I'll try and put out more chapters as quick;y as I can.

HB~

An Artist's Gift

Starlight Glimmer was dreaming. An ethereal plane stretched out infinitely before her. Points of light glinted and glistened in all directions like an endless night sky. For a long time she just walked. Her hooves coming down on a soft invisible surface as she made her way through the floating points of light that hung weightlessly around her. This was one of her favorite dreams, a seemingly endless space that stretched out eternally. The emptiness calmed her in a way nothing else could, the breaths she sucked in where always cool and refreshing.

But there was only so much fun one could have in silence. So as she normally did on her visits to the star-lit void.

She filled it.

Her horn began to glow as she drew on the seemingly endless supply of magics that always surrounded her in the recurring dream. She drew it into a single point, condensing the magic until it was about the size of a teardrop, so she was holding a speck of light in her magic. From there she carefully lowered it and pressed it into the dark surface beneath her hooves.

At first nothing seemed to happen, but it was always slow at first. Growing a forest was never a quick process after all.

Soon the first sprouts poked out from the dark soil, bright and luminescent. From there Starlight conjured up several more of the seeds, planting them and laying down to watch as her forest blossomed before her. Soon, glowing shoots of something akin to a blue-colored grass coated the ground. Trees loomed high over her head bearing strange yellow fruit that shown like lanterns, while their leaves provided the once empty space with a roof of pinks and violets.

Starlight lost herself in creation shaping the still abundant magic energy into increasingly complex shapes and sizes. Now there were creatures in the forest, flitting between the foliage of the trees and dashing through the underbrush. Larger creatures roamed between the glowing trunks, grazing on the grasses which had grown tall and untamed.

Sometimes Starlight would play with the creatures, racing through the forest with them at her side. However today she just watched. Once again her oasis from the troubles of life helping to ease her mind.

"Hello Starlight Glimmer."

The unicorn in question let out a yelp and leaped an impressive distance above the ground, her own magic encasing her and carrying her body higher than a simple jump normally would.

Princess Luna stifled a laugh, "I apologize Starlight Glimmer. It was not my intention to startle you." she stepped forward. Starlight sighed and drifted to the ground as Luna took a seat beside the unicorn. She lifted a hoof and gestured to their surroundings, "I presume that this is all your doing?"

Starlight squirmed uncomfortably beside the Lunar Alicorn, still more than a little embarrassed to be startled within her own dream. "I just figured that since it's just a dream, I should at least make it interesting. It's a weird dream that I have every once in awhile."

Luna turned to give her a surprised look, "You have been to this place before?"

"Umm, Once or twice... Is that bad? Did I do something wrong?", the unicorn replied hesitantly.

Luna shook her head, a small smile gracing her features, "No Starlight. In fact, this discovery could not have come at a better time". She turned away from Starlight, the trees and shrubs seemed to shift, creating a path through the forest for the Lunar Princess. "If you don't mind. would you care to walk with me?" Starlight could only nod as Luna stood and began to calmly start on the new path through the forest.

A few minutes passed, the only sounds the two could hear were the peaceful chirps and barks of the creatures in Starlight's forest.

Suddenly Luna turned her gaze to Starlight, "Did Twilight ever inform you as to how she became an Alicorn?"

Starlight put a hoof to her chin in thought, "No, not from what I can remember. But that's probably because I never asked. I've only known her as a Princess. So I guess it just didn't occur to me."

Luna nodded in understanding, "Well, In that case I believe it falls upon myself to inform you." She paused in her walk, lifting her horn to the sky. The trees and shrubs drifted outwards in a circle, creating a small, sheltered clearing filled only with soft grasses that rose only a few inches from the ground. Luna chose a spot in the clearing and settled down, motioning for Starlight to do the same, "The day before Twilight became an Alicorn, me and my sister sent her a riddle, something that only an Alicorn should have been able to complete.This riddle was, in actuality, an incomplete spell by none other than Starswirl the bearded, something he could not finish due to a lack of friends to assist him.", Luna smiled at the memory fondly, "In the end, Twilight rewrote and completed the spell with the help of the elements of harmony. This proved to both me and my sister that she was worthy of becoming an Alicorn."

Starlight paused, tilting her head and raising an eyebrow at the Princess, "Wait... So she... Fixed a single spell and you made her an alicorn? Just like that? I mean, putting aside all the times she and her friends have saved the world, is that really all it takes to become an alicorn?"

Luna chuckled, a small smile on her face, "I had a feeling that you would question our methods. After all, you switched me and my sister's cutiemarks to solve a friendship problem."

Starlight laughed nervously, "Yeah, sorry about that."

"Oh do not fear Starlight Glimmer, neither me nor my sister bear you any ill will.", Luna said. "We both admit to ignorance on each others part and have gotten along all the better because of it." She cleared her throat, "Now, It was not the spell that proved Twilight Sparkle was worthy of joining us. It simply proved to us that she had mastered all she could in her natural lifetime." She paused, "So we -or should I say my sister- brought her here..." Luna glanced out at the forest that surrounded them, the stars high above the canopy glistened as if they were returning the gesture. "She was summoned to the Ethereal Plane. A realm where magic is as abundant as the air you breathe." She turned to Starlight, "This is why it intrigues me that you seem to be able to come here so freely, and why I am glad to have found you at this moment."

Starlight glanced around at her forest, "Sorry I kinda made a mess."

Luna shook her head, her mane rippling in its nonexistent breeze, "Oh think nothing of it Starlight Glimmer. It is nice to have something truly beautiful within the Ethereal Realm for once, I regret that neither me or my sister have the time to make such improvements." Slowly her smile fell from her face, a slight sadness clouding the mirthful sparkle in her eyes. She brought a hoof to Starlight's face and pulled it to face her, "There is something that you must know, Starlight. Something known by nopony but my fellow Alicorns...", she hesitated, mouth open as she tried to get the words out. "This is more difficult to say than I had previously anticipated..." Luna pulled in a breath and slowly let it out, allowing the ambient magic to calm her nerves before continuing, "My sister and I, like all things, are not eternal. Like the phases of the moon, we wax and wane until a new moon comes to begin the cycle again." She sighed, "I apologize, Starlight. I am afraid I am not being very straightforward about this."

Starlight smiled and nodded, "It's ok Princess, take your time. I know how it feels to have something you need to get off your chest."

Luna sighed, "Me and my sister are dying, Starlight."

Starlight's eyes widened and she struggled to pull together a response, "W-what do you mean? Alicorns can't die! They're eternal beings that represent some of the most important things in the world! You and Celestia change the time of day for crying out loud!"

Luna held up a hoof to silence her, "Please be calm, Starlight Glimmer. I realize that this may not be something you want to hear, however I cannot think of any other way to say this. My sister and I are not eternal. We age and die, as all things should." She took another deep breath, the solemn note of the conversation taking a visible toll on her, "Me and my sister realize how much Alicorns mean to Equestrian society. Without a Princess controlling the sun and the moon we feel that most ponies would be lost. This is why ponies like you and Twilight Sparkle are very important to us."

"Me? Why would I be important to you?"

"Is it not obvious?", Luna replied, once again casting her gaze at her surroundings, "You are able to walk in the realm of Alicorns in your dreams, and also have displayed an impressive talent in using your magic. That is why I have chosen you to be my successor, Starlight Glimmer. Just as Celestia has chosen hers to be Twilight Sparkle."

Starlight was speechless. Her jaw hung open until she shook her head to clear it of the shock. "Wha- No! I'm sorry Princess but I don't think I'm worthy to be a... a... Princess. Not like you or Celestia, or Twilight even." She looked away, studying her hooves, "I've hurt ponies, a whole village of them. No matter how many friends I make or how many times they say they forgive me..." She noticed that Luna was shaking. "Princess are you-?"

Luna suddenly lifted her muzzle skyward and burst into a laughter that spread through the trees and wildlife around them, the grass around Luna's hooves seemed to glow a bit brighter in response, "Starlight Glimmer you only succeed in proving that my choice was the right one." She wiped a joyful tear from her face, "Forgive me, I do not mean to jest at your past. However humility is one of the most important qualities of a good ruler. As a Princess of Equestria you must understand the outcomes of your actions and learn from your mistakes. No matter how many there might be."

Starlight gave her an uneasy smile, her shock slowly fading as she saw the joy begin to return to the Lunar Alicorn's eyes.

"I'll do my best not to let you down."