On the highest peak of Paradise island, Princess Diana and a few of her fellow Amazons stare at the night sky for their study of the constellations, finding the absolute beauty in all of the night's stars. But Diana wasn't staring at the sky, but rather at the island shores where the moon's reflecting in the waters closet to their home. This wasn't unnoticed by her fellows.
"Just look up, Princess!" A violet earth pony yelled her instructions to the alicorn princess.
Diana doesn't look back at her instructor, but spoke back to her. "I've seen them before, Star Gaser." Diana replied as she continued to aim her scope at the beach.
"And so you've learned all there is to learn?" Star Gaser asked sarcastically. "The skies have revealed their mysteries to you, have they?
"You know that is not what I'm saying." Diana replied, putting her scope down with her magic. What she didn't see was her friend, Kasia, was watching the two ponies talk.
"What I know that every time you join us in our observations, you refuse to turn your eye up, but instead insist upon casting your gase out, Diana, and I don't understand why." Star Gaser pointed her hoof from the sky to the shore to visualize it to Diana.
Diana just smiled. "But you do, sister. You just don't feel it."
"That is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard." Kasia said with laughter, making herself known to the rest of the Amazons in the room.
Diana soon giggled with her. "I suppose it is rather silly." She replied to Kasia
Later, they were excused by Star Gaser to leave the mountain top after the end of class, leaving Diana and Kasia to walk down the stairs from the mountain to the arch at the bottom of it.
"You vex Star Gaser on purpose, Diana." Kasia told Diana about half way down. Diana could fly down the mountain with her wings, but since Kasia is a unicorn, Diana would rather walk with her friend.
Diana has a face of concern. "You know I don't, Kasia. I can see the beauty of the sky, I can see the poetry in it's motion." Diana takes a pause in her sentence as she and Kasia have to jump over a couple missing stairs that were still in reconstruction after Diana was knocked into them during a hour of flying last week. She then continued her conversation. "All of you remember before you arrived on the Island. You can recall the world you left, even if the memories of it bring you pain. On the other hand, I've never seen what lies beyond our shores." Diana said as soon as they reached the arch. "Have you ever wondered why my goes to the horizon instead of the skies?" She asked Kasia when she spotted the moonlight's reflection in the fountain at the island square, which is where they arrived.
In the cathedral square of the island, where a large majority of the markets are, the Amazons interact with each other as sisters in hooves. Diana and Kasia are at the lower left end of the square as Diana is heading back the her mother's palace.
On the way there, Kasia talks with Diana of the time before arrival on the island. "Anyway, I'd sooner forget what I remember, my friend. My life as a mare slain at the hands of the stallion who took offense at my refusal of him?" She shutters at remembering her painful past, Diana putting a hoof over her shoulder, Kasia then changes the subject. "That is the world beyond, Diana, and I doubt very little has changed. The Princesses of Equestria who have helped our Queen grant us eternal life and a thousand years of peace. They ask little of us in return."
"I know." Diana simply said to her best friend as they got closer to her home.
"You also know what was said about the empire that we, the Princesses, and their guard have endured when we fought the dark king who cursed the empire he ruled vanish from this plain of existence when he seemed defeated." Kasia reminded Diana with this information.
This information rang a bell to Diana. "I remember being taught this information from Antiope. She said when the empire vanished, the ponies who were its subject also vanished, never seen again." Diana could recall sitting in shock when she told this when she was a little filly.
"I know, I'm just afraid of that happening to you if you were to leave the island." Kasia said out of concern as they have reached the large and spacious palace where Queen Hippoltya resides when not interacting with her fellow Amazons. "Well, here we are."
"I wouldn't expect my mother to be home so early, especially with the upcoming games." Diana joked about her mother's lateness.
"Ah, I'm so excited for this year's games! I hope to compete this time, I have been practicing just as much as you do." Kasia squealed with excitement and anticipation.
Diana then had a giggling smirk. "You have been practicing alright, when you aren't spending time stuck in a book you have read hundreds of time." Diana said as she walked to the front door.
"You read some too!" Kasia giggled before she gave Diana a hug. "I hope you have a plasent sleep and have many great dreams, your highness."
"I hope the same for you." Diana said, then she and Kasia got out of the hug before she opened the gigantic doors to get inside the palace and she is in the great hall. The great hall was massive with many decorations to fill the massive room. It has statues of mares wielding spears, swords and, and bows in their hooves, medium size vases containing beautiful plants, tapestries displaying historic moments of the Amazons, including Diana's creation. The tapestry having a image of Queen Hippolyta holding the newly born Diana with her magic. Unlike many babies, Diana was sculpted from clay by her mother and brought to life by Celestia and Luna as a final gift for Hippolyta.
"Daughter." A voice is heard from the other side of the room, the voice coming from Queen Hippolyta herself.
Diana is shocked at seeing her mother at home rather early. "Mother, I thought you wouldn't be home from planning the games until 10:30."
"You sound disappointed." Hippolyta said as she walked to her daughter.
Diana looked nervous liked she believed she offended her mother. "Oh no, I'm not disappointed, I'm glad to see you home."
Mother and daughter stared at each other until they started laughing at what each has said in the last 30 seconds, until Hippolyta hugged her mother. "How was tonight's lessons?" She asked her daughter.
"Nothing out of the ordinary. I was just told that I stare at the sea more than I do the sky." Diana recounted the night's events.
"You must think the water is prettier then, though the moon does look beautiful in it." Hippolyta joked with Diana. "Tomorrow, I'm practicing my skills with my bow with Philppus and Antiope, would you join us? Or are you too fatigued from staying the night with your friends in class to go shooting with the Queen?" Hippolyta asked Diana.
Diana gave a reply. "I'm not much in the mood to shoot with the queen, but it would make me very happy to shoot with my mother." Diana let herself be kissed on the forehead by her mother, her mother making sure to not interlock their alicorn horns.
Author's Note
Welcome to chapter one of my first story, I hoped everypony enjoyed themselves with this chapter and wish to see more.
The next morning, Diana and her mother went down to the archery training fields of Paradise Island. The archery field was about the size of a football field that very suitable for long range shooting, very great for Amazons who want to hone their skills before their annual competition. The other Amazons with Diana and her mother were her aunt Antiope, a alicorn who looks nearly identical to Hippolyta, the only difference being her blonde hair that was slightly cut for combative purposes. The other amazon with them was Philppus, who has a darkened coat and blue hair braided into a bun. She was recognized as the greatest archer on the island despite her lack of lack of a horn to lift the arrow, she instead uses her mouth to pull the string back and opens to release.
After her aunt's round of perfectly shooting at the center of the targets, Diana was next. Normally, she has a lot of confidence in herself when it comes to her skills, but she usually has less confidence around Philppus as she is one of Diana's many instructors who taught her for almost entire life. Diana uses her basic skill of levitation to lift her bow and lifts a arrow to the bow, beginning to concentrate on hitting the center of the target.
"Release!" Philppus ordered Diana.
Diana released the arrow and it flew straight into the target, right in the red center, and leaving everypony in shock at the first shot of the her round. "Well, how did I do?" Diana nonchlantly asks her fellow amazons.
"Excellent, Diana." Hippolyta congratulated her daughter.
"Swift and beautiful form, my niece." Antiope told Diana as she felt proud of herself.
"Could use be a bit faster." Philppus told her and that made everypony look at her in a look that only describes "What the tartarus?". But then Phippus came forward and put her left hoof on Diana's back. "But can you shoot with three arrows?"
Diana smirks and levitates three arrows to her bow, lining all three on the string, and aiming at three of the four targets, one already taken by the one she already shot. She releases the arrows and each hit the center of a target, everypony cheering at this accomplishment. "That wasn't so hard." Diana told everypony.
"Commendable success, Diana, you absolutely amazed us." Hippolyta said as she hugged her daughter with one wing.
Antiope readjusted her tiara before her hugged her beloved niece. But then something unexpected, but sometimes expected, happened. "Now!"
Out of the bushes come out ten amazons, all different species, leap in front of Diana, catching her off guard. This usually happened to Diana once a week in order for her to maintain her training and skills, so what better to teach her to prepared for a attack then to do it once a week. But as she learned from these weekly attacks, she must always be quick on her hooves and she grabs her sword and shield with her magic and blocked the strike from a ginger haired Earth Pony.
"Huh you always knocked me down, Artemis, I'm impressed." Diana said to the ginger pony known as Artemis, her friend/rival when it comes to her lessons as Artemis was only a filly when Diana was brought to life. Since being brought together in lessons, Diana and Artemis were not only best friends, but also rivals when it came to physical and combative lesson, making it a competition between the two.
"Believe me, I don't want to kill you, but that doesn't mean I won't have fun in beating you." Artemis wise cracked as she attempted to slash at Diana again.
Diana dodged the attack and using her own sword to fight back, Artemis also dodging the attack and landing a controlled blow to Diana's chest, not enough to cut her. Artemis pushed Diana, but not enough of a push to knock her to the ground, and Diana retaliated with a mighty amazon roar. She slashed at Artemis and they didn't even hit her, Diana doesn't wanna kill anypony, but she wants to win this fight as much as Artemis. Slashing, dodging, kicking, swiping, all of that is what happened as Diana fought against Artemis and the rest of the ponies she had to face. This all concluded when Diana flew into the air, then straight down at Artemis, knocking her to the ground and creating a crater that everypony made sure to avoid or get injured in the chaos that a crater creates.
"Ouch." Artemis winced in pain. "I think that was a bit too far and excessive, Diana." She groaned in she got up.
"By Celestia's sake, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to do that." Diana apologized as she helped Artemis out of the crater and gave her to the amazons gathered at the edges of the crater, they lifted her and placed on a bench, everypony else looking at Diana.
"Diana...." One amazon that was part of Artemis's group started to say.
"That was..." Antiope said when she stepped closer to Diana.
"Powerful and irresponsible." Hippolyta said as she stepped closer to Artemis and looked over her.
After her mother said that, Diana had a look of shame and she looked like she could cry for what she has done. She turned around and ran forward into the forest's tall trees, vanishing from everypony's sight.
Hippolyta started to run forward until she was stopped by Antiope, who restrained her with her left hoof. "Sister, let her think things through. She doesn't know the full extant of her gifts." She said to Hippolyta.
"I know she doesn't know the full extent, Antiope. But she most never know for her protection, I made a vow to protect her since she brought to me by Celestia and Luna." Hippolyta argued with her sister, but not to hurt her.
"She can't be denied knowledge of her abilities, if she doesn't know anything about them, she may never be prepared for the day when she might need them. You know the day I speak of, you know?" Antiope questioned her sister.
Hippolyta looked at her sister. "She must not know of her full extent or what may come in her future that I'm trying to avert." She demanded.
Antiope looked down to the ground, then at Artemis. "As you wish, sister."
After running through the forest, Diana made to the beach on the west side of the island to think about what she has done. She looked at the bracelets on her front hoofs and moved her hooves to hit the bracelets against each other. They made a metal "clank" sound effect as metal should be be able to do. She thought to herself about what exactly was the deal with her creating that crater and nearly killing Artemis. "Just how strong am I." She asked herself. That was when she heard the oddest sound she ever heard, except for that Kasia made a sound that mimicked the call of a parrot. She traced the sound and looked to the sky to find something falling from the sky, the weirdest part was that was the area of the sky where the barrier that shields Paradise island from the rest of the world, making the island looking like another section of the sea.
Putting her focus back to the object falling from the sky. It wasn't even a object at all, Diana saw it was a pony, the wings giving it away to be a Pegasus, and a injured Pegasus judging by the crooked right wing on it's back. Diana immediately knew what to do and leapt into the waters where the Pegasus would land and swam to the pony as it crashed into the water. When she got there, Diana saw the pony was drowning and went underwater to grab the pony with her hooves and lifted the Pegasus back up to the surface, then back to the beach where she laid the most interesting thing about this pony, it was a stallion, the first one she saw in her whole life.
The stallion coughed a couple times after Diana pushed her hooves against his stomach, knowing that's one of the best methods to revive a pony after drowning. After his coughing, the stallion got up and up his eyes to see Diana, who is still wet from saving him. "Are you an angel?" He asked Diana.
She giggled at his question. "No, but are you a stallion?" She asked her own question.
He coughed again and stared in shocked at her question. "Don't I look like one? He asked another question before another. "Where am I?"
Diana replied with a answer. "Paradise island."
"Where is that?" He asked before getting up, then he winced in pain from his injured wing.
"Diana!" A voice called out to Diana and it came from Hippolyta, who run to the beach along with a few amazons including Antiope. "We saw something come through the barrier and feared the worst." She finished her sentence before she saw the stallion standing next to Diana, ignoring his injury and pulling out her sword to aim it against him. "Stallion!"
"No, mother, he is injured." Diana yelled an explanation to her mother. "He went through the barrier and crashed into the ocean, I had to save him."
Hippolyta went closer to her daughter and the stallion, examining him to see his injury and Diana was mostly proven right. But she needed more information before he can be proven innocent. She looked to the stallion's face and started to ask questions. "What's your name?"
"I'm afraid I can't tell you that, ma'am." The stallion replied and refused to give his name, something so simple.
Hippolyta did some quick thinking. "Looks like we might need to take the hard way."
"Sweet Celestia!" Diana mumbled to herself as she knew what that meant for the poor stallion.
Author's Note
Whoo! Chapter two to this story! Sorry for taking so long, I didn't have enough confidence in myself, but I do now.
So please wait for the next chapter.
