Boop.” Celestia gleefully said as she poked Entropy's nose with a hoof, his nose wrinkling at the sensation before bursting in laughter. It had been a few weeks since the announcement, and Celestia had been up to her horn in letters ranging from congratulations to party invitations. She, however, would much more like to spend time with her new son than go to a party. And that is what she was doing right now. She was in her bedroom early in the morning playing with Entropy on the bed, sunlight lit the room up with its warm glow, the light rays bouncing off of the white marble walls. A golden tapestry with a yellow sun emblazoned across hung above the bed and gently swayed in the breeze caused by the the open window.

“Come on, come over here,” Celestia patted the mattress in front of her with a hoof, “you can do it!” Entropy got on his hands and knees, trying to crawl over to his mom; succeeding for a few moments before falling on his face. “You're so close.” Celestia encouraged him further as he did the same again, this time actually making it to hug her neck. “Yay! I'm so proud of you!” Celestia hugged him back, her hoof stroking his hair and giggling as he nuzzled into her furry coat. A warm smile graced Celestia's face as she lifted him onto her back and climbed off of her bed to walk toward her dresser. Donning her regalia, she walked out of her bedroom and down the hallway, her metal hoof coverings tapping along the stone floor. This has pretty much become a routine; waking up, playing with her son, putting her regalia on and walking to the dining hall to eat.

But this time, it was different. Waiting in the dining hall was a small unicorn, no more than five or six, tapping her hooves together in nervousness. Her coat was a very light amber, her eyes were a nice shade of aqua blue. Her mane and tail held two colours, yellow and red, and strangely enough, her mane and tail looked like an open flame. The filly caught Celestia's gaze and straightened up, puffing out her chest, her chest fluff bouncing slightly.

“Calm down, Sunset. It's alright.” Celestia smiled, the young filly let out some air, resuming the tapping of her hooves. Sunset Shimmer had caught her eye a week ago, her prowess in magic at such a young age impressing her greatly. Celestia had never heard of a young filly who could bend a thick metal beam with little to no resistance, and yet, there she is, sitting not too far away from her.

“Have you eaten yet, Sunset?” Celestia asked, sitting down at the head of the table and placing Entropy down on a foal eating chair next to her, obviously modified so that he could sit comfortably.

“N-no your majesty, I arrived a few minutes before you.” Sunset said as her stomach chose that time to growl at the mention of eating, causing a furious blush to spread from ear to ear.

“Well that won't do, will it?” She asked-rhetorically-as she rang a bell on the wall directly behind her with her magic. Shortly after, a caterer entered through a side door to the left of her, a notepad held within his arctic-blue aura. “Two plates of pancakes please, and two glasses of freshly squeezed orange juice.” The caterer bowed, writing her order with a quill before leaving back through the same side door.

“The reason I brought you here, Sunset, is because I want to discuss with you about joining my school for gifted unicorns.” Sunset choked, not expecting Celestia's reason for bringing her here. Nonetheless, Celestia continued. “Forgive me for sounding like a broken record but, as I said before, I've never seen magical abilities so strong at your age. And I believe that, with proper guidance, you could become one of the greatest unicorns of your generation.”

“I...I don't know what to say, princess. I…I mean, thank you for the offer but-.” Celestia raised a hoof, silencing the young filly.

“I don't need an answer now. I know it's a large and difficult decision to make and I'm not going to force you to decide right this second.” The side doors opened once again, with a white pegasus, his cutie mark hidden by his uniform, lifting two plates of stacked pancakes along his wingspan. Hot steam leaked out of the air pockets within the doey pancakes. The whipped cream and various berries scattered throughout the dish created an alluring scent. As if practiced, the pegasus placed the dishes gently in front of the two, along with the glasses of juice without any spillage.

Bowing, the pegasus left the room, shutting the door. There was a short pause in the room before Celestia began to eat, followed shortly by Sunset, who was rapidly growing more and more nervous as she thought about Celestia's offer.'This is a once in a lifetime offer. I would be a fool not to accept it.’ She thought, as she forked another mouthful. Her thoughts were turned momentarily to Entropy, who seemed to be enamored with a silver spoon, mushy paste-like stains where smeared over his table. Sunset giggled, her small hoof covering her mouth.

Sunset layed in her bed late that night, sleep eluding her as if she were a disease. She tossed and turned for hours, her mind plagued by thoughts that should not have befallen her. She sighed, focusing on the clear, star-riddled night sky; Her view only slightly obscured by the frost growing on the window, closing in from the edges. Three days and nights she had been like this, thinking on the princess offer. Yet, strangely enough, her thoughts at some point or another would turn to the young prince. She had only met him once, and yet that particular memory of him playing with that spoon had always derailed any line of thought. It had never failed to bring a smile to her face. She groaned, grinding her head into the pillow in an attempt to get comfortable before flipping the pillow and doing the same to the cooler side.

“Gah, ponyfeathers.” She cursed, laying a leg over her eyes to block what little light there was. “Normal fillies don't have to worry about this stuff.” Then again, she isn't a normal filly. At least by societal norms she wasn't. Normal fillies would be having fun with other foals, laughing and prancing around and hating the very thought of school or learning. Not her though. She loved to study and learn, her books within her bookcase well beyond worn and used from repeated reading and re-reading. Sunset, for her age, was more mature than any other foal she met, even rivaling most adult ponies, and was even teased for this by the common bully. But she never let it bother her. Not by much, at least.

She grunted as she opened her eyes to the blank, dark ceiling of her room. A light hung from the centre by a thick, white wire; It's crystal hidden from sight by a golden shade. She concentrated on the flow of magic in the wire that was diverted from the house’s magical leyline. For some reason, it helped her relax when she got stressed or was unable to sleep. Like the current problem she was having right now. However, it wasn't the case this time.

“Alright,” she said to herself. “I’ve decided. I'll enrol in Celestia's school. I'll become the greatest 3 unicorns out there!” She launched out of her bed like a catapult, standing on her mattress with two hooves, somehow keeping her balance as she pointed to the ceiling with another hoof. “I'll learn everything about magic, every secret, every spell! I'll be so powerful I'll be stronger than the princess herself!”

Two loud thuds echoed from the wall behind her, surprised by the sudden noise she lost her balance and landed face first into her pillow.

“Keep it down in there!” A male voice said through the wall, irritated about being woken up so early.

“Sorry dad!” Sunset said, a small blush of embarrassment spreading across her muzzle. “I'll become the greatest mage in existence.” She quietly said, her mind made up and no longer bothering her. Sleep finally got her in its clutches as she smiled, determined in her path to greatness.

Sunset trotted through the streets of canterlot, a little skip in her steps as she made her way to Celestia's school. Almost two months of preparation, and ruthless studying of what she already knew, have come down to this. The entrance exam. Something that every young unicorn had to go through to show what they could bring to the table and how effective they could perform it. Sunset stopped just before the threshold of the school grounds; the golden emblem above the door practically glowing in the sunlight. Releasing a breath of air, Sunset did a final check of her belongings inside her saddlebags.

“Books, check. Blank scrolls, check. Quills, check. Extra quills, check. Ink pots, check Snacks, check. Thank you mom. Alright, everything is with me.” She breathed in and out one more time, calming herself before trotting onto the school grounds. Excitement welled within her as she got nearer to the main section of the building, golden-coloured steps leading up to the white and purple building. The pink, brown and purple swirls on the roof held a nice contrast to the original black roof. Two towers sprouted from either side of the building, both of them connected by a golden rail that ran the length of the roof and connected to a much larger tower at the back of the school. The cone-shaped roofs of the small side towers tapered off into a bulbous-like spire while the main tower’s roof led into a sharp point.

Sunset entered the building, marveling at the ancient building’s interior. Paintings depicting great and powerful unicorns, each with varying titles and trophies. The most famous of course being Star Swirl the Bearded. White marble pillars and support beams sprouted out here and there, as if they were trees in a forest. A mahogany desk, previously unnoticed by Sunset, sat in the back of the room, with two slightly ajar side doors sitting on either side of the desk, light from the rooms beyond spilled out like a cracked water pipe into the main room.

“Ahem.” Sunset heard from behind her, startling her and making her spin around. Before her stood an old unicorn mare, her face slightly wrinkled, displaying her age out to the open. Her faded pink bushy mane held a flower within close to her ear. The flower, red like a rose, wafted a pleasing scent in the air. Her coat, similar to her mane, was a faded purple, silky and smooth. Her cutie mark was a plain white quill, writing on a blue clipboard.

“Are you Sunset Shimmer?” The mare asked her, pushing up a pair of red glasses.

“Yes, I am Sunset, miss.” Sunset confirmed, nodding as she puffed out her chest, her chest fluff bouncing.

“Alright then, my name is Velvet Serenity. I, along with two others shall be evaluating your entrance exam today.” The pony droned on as she began to walk, opening the door that was on the left side of the desk with her magic, motioning Sunset to follow, as she did so. “Unfortunately the participant before you has, uhm, well, blown up the examination room.” Velvet said, passing by the destroyed room as she did so. Sunset could see the charred remains of desks and chairs, the room was chipped and broken, coloured black by the smoke and ash. The only part of the room that wasn't black or destroyed, and remarkably preserved, was a small circle in the centre the room, to which Sunset could only guess was the epicentre of the explosion. Behind Sunset was the remains of the door, having be blown off its hinges and shattered into many pieces along the ground.

“Fortunately, the princess has allowed us to borrow one of her rooms to take the exam, not to mention personally being there to watch over it.” Velvet opened the closest door, which happened to be on the left, revealing a mostly-empty room. A small table and chair sat in the left corner of the room followed directly by a bookcase filled with various books. In the centre of the room was a circle drawn out of chalk with runes and other lexicons of a language she had never seen before. She could only tell that it had a powerful and potent magical signature. “The other two who will be evaluating you are already there waiting for us, so when you are ready, please step into the circle.” Velvet trotted over onto the circle, to which the circle responded by glowing a blinding white. Taking a deep breath, Sunset trotted over beside her future mentor. The blinding light shifted a few colours, matching Sunset’s fur and teleporting the both of them into Celestia's castle.

“Come on, you can do it. Say my name. Cel-es-tia.” Celestia encouraged Entropy, spelling out her name. She held onto his hands, helping him stand up on his feet. Still, even with Celestia's help, Entropy struggled to stand, wriggling his butt back and forth doing whatever he thought could help him stand.

“C...C...Ce.” He struggled with the words, rolling the syllables over his small tongue. Celestia stared at him with stars in her eyes, barely holding back her excitement. “C...c. Chaos!” He shouted in childlike glee, his hands springing into the air in victorious glory, before promptly falling on his butt with an 'oof.’

“I suppose it's better than nothing.” Celestia sighed, rubbing up his hair with her hoof and a smile as she grabbed him with her wings and hugged him with them, the tips of her feathers tickling him and making him laugh. “Although, what you said does concern me a little.”

“You can't decide what a child's first word is princess, he'll say your name eventually, it just takes time.” A stallion said, sitting down next to Celestia. His steel-plated blue armour covered most of his body, his gray fur sticking out from under it. He had a scar over his left eye, dragging down over his muzzle and stopping at his nostrils. His dull blue left eye stared at Celestia blankly, the pupil barely reacting to her. His left eye, however, remained focused on her, watching her every move. His mane was hidden by his helmet, but from what could be seen from his tail, it would be a rather deep shade of navy blue. His cutie mark was a sword and shield, the shield held in front of the sword.

“That is true, Captain Cross. I suppose he must have heard that word from one of the guards.” Celestia said with a smile and a shake of her head. Entropy repeated the word over and over, with varying levels of volume and inflection, as if questioning how he should say the word.

“Have you figured out how old he is yet?” The Captain said, looking at the child in front of them, smiling as he caught his gaze, if only for a moment. Celestia shrugged her shoulders as she looked back over to the Captain.

“No, but since he can, sort of, walk by himself and he responds to me whenever I talk to him, and listens to me almost intently as I talk, I would make a guess of being around four or three years old. However, I'm not certain.” Celestia looked around the room, briefly looking at the other two ponies in the room. The both of them were unicorn stallions, and from what she could see, one station had a brown coat with a caramel mane, while the other was maroon with a black mane. Other than the colours, she couldn't tell what other features they had. The circular room they were in was mostly cleared out, a single lone blackboard sat in the back centre of the room, pressed up against the wall and full of calculations. A chalk circle was drawn directly in front of the blackboard, filled with runes and ancient lexicons that only she truly understood. Two clipboards were levitating in front of the unicorns, however they were to far away to read the words.

Suddenly, the circle glowed before flashing brightly, revealing two unicorns, both of which she knew before the test. Sunset shook her head, clearing the daze from her mind after the teleportation spell. The other unicorn, Velvet Serenity if she recalled correctly, simply walked over to her fellow lecturers, also levitating her clipboard.

“Sunset Shimmer,” Velvet spoke with authority in her voice, looking down at Sunset through her glasses, “today you will show us why we should let you into Celestia's school. Use whatever you have learned to show how effectively you can put your knowledge into action. Begin when you are ready.” Sunset nodded, breathing in and out, closing her eyes in concentration. A cyan aura surrounded her horn, the hum of magic heard by all. Sunset furrowed her brow, struggling with all her might. Slowly, she rose into the air, her aura spreading throughout her body, wisps of magic sparkling over an invisible dome created to protect Sunset. The magical exertion causing an unbelievable strain on her. Multiple chairs and desks began to levitate and were drawn towards Sunset, slowly flowing around her in circles, getting faster and faster. One by one the furniture was enveloped in a brilliant flash that changed them. Each and every object was constantly changing, never staying the same, and with time became nothing but a blur as they span around Sunset at intense speeds.

Then, the objects started to slow down as she descended from the air, returning to their normal shape and floating back over to where she picked them up. As her hooves touched the ground, her magic cut off, dropping the chairs and desks onto the ground with a hard thud. Gasping and with sweat dripping from her forehead, she looked up to her examiners, smiling softly at their shocked faces. She looked over to Celestia, who was also shocked, and her smile grew wider.

“I...Uhm, ahem. As shown from your… demonstration, you have proven your worth, and will be joining Celestia's school as of next semester, which also happens to be next week. We hope to see you there. Oh and, don't be late. I'm sure the princess would like to talk to you, so we shall show ourselves out.” With that, the three ponies stood from their seats and trotted over to the chalk circle before vanishing.

“I must say, well done Sunset Shimmer. That truly was quite the display you showed us.” Celestia said, sitting Entropy down on her barrel in-between her wings as she walked towards Sunset. “What do you think Entropy?” She asked with a gentle smile.

“S…. Sunset!” Entropy shouted, stretching his arms towards her. Celestia, like a child who’s lost a toy, pouted, emotionally deflated at Entropy's choice of words. “Sunset!”

“I wanted to be your second word.” She said sadly, rubbing a spot on the ground, her ears folding back. Sunset blushed a little as he reached out to her, trying to grab her. “Would you like to hold him Sunset?” Celestia asked after a short while, tilting her head.

“Uhm, sure. I guess.” Without another word, Celestia lifted Entropy from her back with her magic and into Sunset’s awaiting hooves. Immediately, Entropy wrapped his arms around her neck in a hug. Stars flashed in her eyes as she hugged back, supporting his back. “Ooh, aren't you just the cutest thing?” Sunset cooed, feeling a warm flurry in her heart that slowly spread to her cheeks.

“I can only hope that the next word he says is my name, as is every mother's best dream.” Celestia said, her hopes quickly dwindling down an invisible drain. “But alas, congrats on passing your entrance exam. I'm sure your parents will be beyond delighted upon hearing the news, as only a select few have made it in this year.” With a stretch of her wings, Celestia lifted Entropy and placed him back on her barrel, who promptly began playing with her hair, and placed one of her wings on Sunsets back. “Come Sunset, there is a lot we must discuss before the end of the day.” With that, the two walked out of the room.

Celestia sat alone in the dark, a single candle illuminating the desk that she was sitting at, the flickering light prancing over the various documents and papers that were scattered across the wood. She sighed as the dipped the tip of a quill into the inkpot, letting the left over ink drip back into the pot before making the quill dance over the many many papers. She shuddered as a cold wind blew through out the room, blowing out the candle. An ominous laugh drifted by, no louder than a whisper, but loud enough for Celestia to hear.

“I know that laugh.” She said silently, dropping the quill onto the desk and standing from her cushioned seat and flaring her wings slightly. The door creaked open, directing Celestia's gaze to the slowly opening door, her horn lighting up as she prepared a spell. However, as it finally opened, it revealed a sleepy Entropy crawling on the ground, causing her spell to fizzle out completely.

“Oh, what are you doing up so late little prince?” She said, lifting Entropy in the air and hugging him with her wings as she sat back down. “Couldn't sleep either, huh?” She asked rhetorically, resting her chin on his head. “I suppose I've done enough work for tonight, how about you and me sleep together, hm?.”

Receiving a nod from her son, she teleported the both of them into her room, levitating her regalia off and placing them on a nearby stand before snuggling in bed with Entropy, wrapping a wing tightly around him. She stared at him as he hugged her tightly, falling asleep in seconds. A beam of moonlight touched her face as it poured through the uncovered window by her bed. As she looked at the moon, dread filled her heart as the stars around the moon inched once more, getting ever closer to the celestial body. The image of the Mare in the Moon sent tears to her eyes as she closed the blinds tightly, her breath hitching. With the room fully consumed by shadow, Celestia nuzzled her son, fear and sadness clear on her face. She stayed like that for what must have been hours, simply cuddling her son and breathing in his scent, sighing in delight each time. Entropy grumbled in his sleep, burying himself deeper into Celestia's chest fluff. Rubbing his head with a hoof, she cooed, trying to relax him.

“Shhh, it's okay. Mommy is here.” Curling around him, Celestia nuzzled his hair with her chin and tightening her wing's grip of him.

“Mommy.” Entropy murmured softly as he settled. Silence rained within the room, a rather large smile dawning on Celestia's face before they fell into a deep sleep.

Author's Note

so hey hope you all enjoyed chapter 2 sorry for the long wait for this chapter leave your thoughts and feeling below