A Tale of One Heroby Eventide100ChaptersProloguePart One: Little StepsChapter 1: New DayChapter 2: Helping HoovesProloguePrologue Shining Armor's Point of View The sky's colours blurred with a hue of violet as dusk fell upon the enchanted world of magic. A world of ponies. In the land of Equestria, resting on the side of a regal mountain, was Equestria's capital city: Canterlot. Which was home to The Princess of The Sun herself. Somewhere in the city, lived a family of unicorns known as the Sparkle family. Usually the Sparkle family would be busy running their own business. But today was a day like no other. A very special one. One where a newcomer was soon to come to the world. 'Well, a newcomer that is kind of late,' Shining Armor thought impatiently. It was really all Shining could think about at the moment. He fidgeted on the chair he was seated on. 'Well it's honestly the only thing I CAN do other than wait here,' the colt thought grumpily. Shining looked up to find his dad, Nightlight, slowly pacing the length of the waiting room. "Dad? How much longer do we wait? I'm getting bored," Shining complained. Nightlight sighed and met his sons gaze. "Shining, haven't I told you that this takes time." Shining's response was a deeply flustered look. "Ya, like about a hundred times," he muttered. It happened so suddenly. Shining and his parents were at home just peacefully doing whatever they were doing when out of nowhere, his mother: Velvet Sparkle said that his sister was coming. Nightlight took them immediately to the hospital. 'Also. She's going to come.' Shining remembered telling his best friend Cadence a few days ago about his soon-to-be coming sister and Cadence was beyond delighted. She was so excited, that she had said that she would be coming to see the baby right the moment she'd be born. 'Which the moment is quite a weird one.' Yes. When did his sister decide that it's time for her to see the world? WHEN IT'S ALMOST BEDTIME!! Shining was fully aware that birth moments could happen at any time but the fact that his sister's happened so suddenly, and at a time when he was about to sleep, ya it was annoying. But only a bit. Shining still couldn't wait to see his sister. It was quite boring being the only child. He wanted to play with his little sister, and teach her things, and read books to her, and, and... 'About a million more things.' He thought with a smile. Even Cadence said she wanted to be the baby's foalsitter when her parents would be busy. 'And speaking of Cadence, I hope she got my message.' She told him to call her over when the baby would be born. "Sir?" The doctors voice brought Shining back to the reality. He looked up to find her standing near the hallway. Nightlight stopped his pacing and went over to Dr. Flower. "Yes, how is she? Is she alright?," he asked. The yellow earth pony smiled. "Congratulations sir. You are the father to a tremendously adorable and healthy foal." Shining's train of thought came to a stop. 'Wait. She's here? My sis is here!' Nightlight smiled as brightly as the sun. Dr. Flower smiled back. "What are you waiting here for sir? Come see!" Shining jumped of his seat and hurried moved to his father. "Come on dad! I want to see her!" Without another word Shining and Nightlight followed the doctor to where Shining's mother and his newborn sister would be waiting. Dr. Flower stopped before a door and pushed it open, leading the two unicorns inside. Inside Shining found his mother on the stretcher. She was cooing and smiling lovingly down at a small bundle in her hooves. When she noticed her son and husband, Velvet looked up and smiled through tears. "Come on and take a look at her," she said. Nightlight moved up and stood beside the patient bed. He gave his wife a nuzzle before looking down at the coal in her hooves. Shining watched with extremely curious nerves as tears of joy welled up in his dad's eyes. "She's beautiful Velvet." Velvet looked up to Shining. Who was standing politely to the side. The grey unicorn gave a warm laugh. "Shining, sweetheart, what are you waiting for? Come and see your sister." Shining relented and moved to the other side of the bed. As his eyes took in the sight of the tiny filly, he felt a feeling of warmth wash over his heart. His sister was, no doubt, the cutest filly in the whole universe. She had lavender fur and a navy blue mane with pink and purple highlights. But Shining noticed immediately that she wasn't like any foal he had seen before. Her horn was curved. And her mane had a bunch of sparkly stars within it. "Wow! Mom, dad, look! She has that sparkly thing in her hair. And her horn is bent. How did that happen?" Velvet's smile fell as she moved her gaze to her daughter. "I was actually wondering myself dear. But I don't know. The doctors said that nothing was wrong with her. They said that she was very healthy. So I'm not sure." "I know who might know." A new voice spoke. A voice that Shining recognized immediately. A voice that also made his heart flutter. The family looked toward the door and all there jaws dropped when Princess Cadence and Princess Celestia stepped into the room. "PRINCESS CELESTIA!!??" Velvet and Nightlight shrieked in unison. Shining cringed and turned his focus on his best friend. "Cadence? Why did you bring Celestia?" His mother froze before turning to the white colt. "Wait. Shining? You know why there here?" Shining stood there petrified for a minute, like a lost puppy. 'What should I say?!' He thought. Before he could answer, Cadence spoke up. "It's alright ma'am. I was the one that told Shining to invite me over the day his sister would be born. I just really wanted to see her. Please understand." Velvet exchanged a glance with her husband. "Princess, you wanted to see our daughter?" Nightlight asked. Cadence grinned. "Of course I do! I love foals! And since this one is my best friend's sister, why would I want to miss it?" Velvet smiled. "Thank you dear, I mean princess!" The pink alicorn giggled. "It's okay, you don't have to call me princess." Celestia chuckled. "And my apologies about the unexpected visit. When Cadence got her letter from her obvious crush...," she said while giving her niece a knowing look. Cadence and Shining both blushed. "Aunty?! I don't have a crush on him! How many times have I told you that were just friends." The sun princess gave a warm laugh. "Yes, and as I was saying. I asked Cadence where she was going before she left and she told me that her coltfriend's sister was born and-" "AUNTY!!??" Celestia laughed again. "Apologies my dear. I meant friend. Better?" Cadence gave her aunt a partially irritated look. "Yes. Much better." The monarch then carried on. "And when Cadence told me, I was quite intrigued myself. And since I had nothing else to do as I don't have much work to do today, I decided to come and check out this new filly as well." Celestia finished. Nightlight and Velvet exchanged a look again before they both smiled. "Well I suppose we'll let it go for today. If it is only for the happiness of our daughter." Nightlight said. "Few!" Shining sighed gratefully. Finally that problem was taken care of and he totally DIDN'T get busted for starting it. "And you mister, are grounded for a week." Velvet said a second later. Shining's heart dropped. "But mom!" He pleaded, turning to his mother only to find her giving him a sheepish grin. "Hehe, just kidding dear." Shining gave her a deadpan look. "Very funny mom." He heard Cadence giggle. Shining turned to look at her. When he brought his eyes to Celestia he froze when he found her giving a hearty laugh. "Really your highness. Your laughing at me too!?" Out of nowhere the foal in Velvet's hooves began to cry. Cadence placed a hoof on her cheek. "Awww, that sounds so cute." She shuffled forward to she the baby. "Wait for it..." Shining said knowingly. "OH MY GOSH!!! SHE'S THE MOST ADORABLE BABY IN THE WHOLE UNIVERSE!!!" Cadence cried. "Is she?" Celestia asked. "Yes she is aunty! Come see!" Celestia moved forward with Shining trailing slowly behind her. The monarch peeked at the purple filly. "Oh goodness! She is cute!" She exclaimed. The baby continued to wail loudly. Slowly the foal pried her eyes open. "Ooohh," everypony in the room exclaimed. The filly's eyes were a magical dark violet hue. "Shhh," Velvet said to her but the foal only cried louder. "Can I?" Celestia asked, sitting and reaching out her hooves to Velvet. Velvet glanced at Nightlight. He thought for a minute before giving his wife a nod. Shining watched as his mother carefully placed her daughter in Celestia's hooves. The solar princess held the small pony close. "Hush now my filly. It's no time to cry. Aren't you a strong filly?" Shining couldn't believe how soft and gentle but motherly her voice sounded. And mind-blowingly, the filly's crying stopped. Instead she let out a long but extremely adorable yawn. She then blinked her large eyes at Celestia curiously. "Awww, isn't she just the cutest! And have you named her?" Cadence asked Velvet and Nightlight. Velvet shook her head. "No actually. What should we name her?" They all thought for a minute. Then Celestia smiled. "Ms. Sparkle? Do you mind if I name her?" She asked the light grey mare. Velvet tapped her chin thoughtfully. "Hon' what do you think?" "I don't mind. I think we'd be quite lucky if the princess did name our daughter." Nightlight replied. Velvet sighed. "If you say so. Then... Alright your majesty. You can name her." Shining's eyes widened. "Wow! My sis gets to be named by the princess? That's lucky!" "But what are you going to name her." The younger princess asked the older. Celestia remained silent. She turned her head to look at the dusk outside the window. 'Whats she thinking.' Shining wondered. It was hard to tell with her unreadable face. Celestia turned her head from the window to Shining's sister. After a long while Celestia moved her eyes to the foals parents. "I know what to name her." They all looked at one another. "What?" Shining asked. The monarch smiled. "From now on forth, I hereby name the daughter of Velvet Sparkle and Nightlight: Twilight Eventide Sparkle." They all smiled. "Twilight Eventide Sparkle. I love it." Velvet said. "But I suppose Twilight Eventide Sparkle is too long of a name so we just shorten it to Twilight Sparkle right?" Nightlight asked. Celestia nodded. "That's right." Cadence grinned. "So it's settled then." Velvet smiled. A moment later it fell. "Wait. I have just one more question." Celestia chuckled. "Yes?" "Right, so you see Twilight's horn right? Why is it curved? And why does she have those marks on her?" Nightlight laughed. "Velvet? hon'! One at a time!" "No, no. It's alright." Celestia assured. "As a mother, it's understandable for her to be worried for her daughter." Celestia then craned her neck down to inspect Twilight. "Is she alright?" Cadence asked with sympathetic care. Celestia eyed the foal carefully before raising her head with a reassuring smile. "It's nothing to worry about. Your daughter is alright. The marks are just birthmarks. And the curved horn actually... Means something very special." "What?" Velvet asked. Celestia chuckled. "That curved horn makes your daughter, not only very unique, but also the first pony since so long to have a horn like that." "But what does it mean?" Velvet questioned. "Velvet," Nightlight hissed. "Please Nightlight." Celestia assured. "As I said before. Velvet has every right to be worried. But anyways. Curved horns, usually mean that the pony carries very, very powerful magic within her." "Really?" Shining asked. "Yes!" The sun princess answered. "Someday, I know your daughter is destined for something great. Something we've probably never seen before. Only time will tell." Velvet sighed. "Alright your highness. If you say it is that way. I guess I feel more assured." "Just wait Ms. Sparkle. Trust me when I say that your daughter will be given a future brighter then ever." Author's Note I finally decided to start an actual story. Since my gut finally decided that it is time to write. I thought of creating my own alternate universe so anything you've read in the story like Twilight's curved horn is... ALL A PART OF MY HEAD-CANNON SO PLEASE UNDERSTAND!! Hope you like it! Part One: Little StepsPart One: Little Steps Chapter 1: New DayChapter 1: New Day Twilight Sparkle's Point of View Hello world. How long was it? To her it felt like she was born and then just a second later she was already six. Twilight Sparkle always wandered about these type of things. She knew it was boring. But she couldn't get the topic off her mind no matter how hard she tried. What a thing for a filly to think about. Twilight looked up to the clock. "7:00" it read. The filly silently moved off her bed and wandered over to her desk. She paused when her gaze landed on her saddle-bag. She quietly stared at it for a while. Slowly she moved to it and packed it for school. Her life was pretty normal. Yet she thought about more. Was there more to her life? Ya, she was not like just any foal. She was the type that thought about things your everyday child usually didn't think of. She lifted her head to the window. She went to it and moved the curtain aside to peek out. 'It's so bright,' she thought. She than remained there for a bit. Just staring out the window. "Twilight!" Her mother's voice called out. "Sweetie, breakfasts ready." Twilight moved away from the window and made her way to the door. She descended the stairs and headed to the dining room. "Morning Twily!" Her brother said cheerfully. Twilight smiled. "Hi, big brother," she said quietly. "Come sit here," Shining said, waving a hoof at the empty chair next to his. Twilight moved to it. Shining reached his hoof down to help her up. "Thanks," she said. Looking around she asked Shining. "Where's mom?" Shining pointed to the kitchen. "Anyways though, you ready for school, Twily?" She gave a timid nod in response. "But I'm a bit nervous." Shining placed a reassuring hoof on her shoulder. "That's okay. Everypony feels nervous on there first day. I mean, I sorta was." "I am excited to learn things, but what if something happens?" Twilight asked with worry. Shining waved a dismissive hoof. "Come on Twily. You worry to much. Trust me, nothing's going to happen. The day will go as normal as any other." "But-" "Shining is quite right dear." Velvet said, interrupting her daughter as she entered the dining room with two bowls of cereal in milk levitated in her magic. Velvet came forward and set the bowls down before them. Twilight ignored her breakfast for a moment. "Are you sure?" She asked instead while carefully regarding her mother. "I mean, you never know. Nopony knows. What if something does go wrong?" Velvet sighed. She levitated a spoon and passed it to Twilight. "My darling, look at me. How are you going to learn anything if your going to be so anxious to go outside alone in the first place?" That was a good point. Twilight was going to have to face her anxiety if she wanted to find at least some courage that can help her move. Even with her fear,she knew she still didn't want to miss her learning opportunity. Besides. Anypony would want to get past even the slightest bit of there fear at some point right? Isn't that how life works? Is it? 'And like Shining said. This is my first day. I've just never experienced the world outside of my home before. Maybe I'll get used to it just like everypony else. Eventually.' "Twilight?" The filly's head snapped up as Velvet's voice brought her back to the reality. "Uh, ya?" She answered. "Aren't you going to eat? Your going to be late for school." "Oh! Right." She moved to pick up her spoon only to halt when a thought occured to her. Shining gave her a raised eyebrow. "Twily? Do you need to excuse yourself?" "Shining!" Velvet hissed. She turned to Twilight with a softer look. "Dear? What's the matter?" Twilight blinked. "Nothing." She said. "I'm just going to try something." With that she placed her forehooves on the table and squeezed her eyes shut as she attempted to light her horn. She tried and tried. "Come on. Light. Up." She muttered. Nothing came. Giving up on her failed attempt, she fell back on her chair in defeat. She sighed, keeping her head low and looking down shamefully. 'I'm hopeless.'Her thought grumbled. Twilight flinched when she felt a gentle hoof on her shoulder. She looked up to see her mother giving her a sympathetic smile. "Don't feel so bad, my love. Everypony makes mistakes and nopony starts out professionally. It takes practice. And just like other ponies, you'll get there someday too. Okay?" Twilight looked at Velvet with a sad look but still have a quiet nod. "Okay mom." Velvet gave her another warm smile. "Alright then. Eat up. You have a big day ahead of you." That being said, Velvet exited the room. While in the middle of another spoonful of cereal, Twilight felt a tap on her shoulder. She glanced to her left at her brother. "Ya?" "You know, something very special is going to come soon." He said between a mouthful. The white colt swallowed before continuing. "Something you might like." The filly stared. "What?" "What? Non other, than. The Summer Sun Celebration." He finished with an exaggerated flourish of his hoof. "The Summer Sun Celebration!?" Twilight parroted with extreme curiosity. "What is that?" Shining grinned. "It's the longest day of the year. You've heard about "The Mare in the Moon" right?" Twilight nodded. "Legends says. It was when Princess Celestia banished this evil legend who was about to bring eternal darkness to Equestria. Today we ponies celebrate this day by watching Princess Celestia raise the sun." Twilight blinked. "Wow. So, on that day, ponies get to watch the princess raise the sun?" Her brothers nod confirmed it. "Can I see it? When is it?" Shining tapped a hoof on his chin. "I think it's coming in a week. I don't know for sure. I'm going to have to ask Cadence." Twilight's look brightened. "Cadence." Shining nodded. Twilight loved Cadence. She was the best foal sitter a pony could have. And she's in Twilight's opinion the most prettiest pony Twilight had ever seen. Going back to the Summer Sun Celebration, Twilight really felt like she wanted to see it. She wanted to see the princess raise the sun. "Can I see The Summer Sun Celebration." She asked. Shining shrugged. "Dunno, your going to have to ask mom and dad for that." Twilight wanted to see it. She really, really did. She would ask her parents for sure. And if they don't agree, well, she'll just have to use her secret weapon: her cute face! "Got everything ready Twilight?" Velvet asked as she emerged though a doorway. Twilight nodded. She had already triple checked her stuff to make sure she didn't miss anything. She was going to try to make as little mistakes as she could. Velvet looked around. "Where's Shining?" "He's still up." The filly answered. "He's busy packing." Velvet glared sternly. "Oh that rascal. Your going to be late." "I'm here!" Shining's voice called just a second later as he rushed in the room. Velvet sighed. "Shining, next time, could you be a bit prepared?" Shining scratched the back of his head. "Sorry mom." Velvet smiled. "Perhaps you should learn from your little sister about how to be ready." "Come on mom! I'm not that stupid." His mother giggled. "Alright now, get going." She said before moving to open the front door. Twilight stared out. Her heart mixed with a feeling of both excitement and dread. She longer to learn and see new things but still felt like she wanted to run to her bedroom and never come out. Shining appeared next to her. "Ready to go sis?" He asked with a smile. Twilight glanced to the open door and then back to Shining's face. Was she ready? Or was she not. How are you going to learn anything if your going to be so anxious to go outside alone in the first place? She thought of what her mother said. It did make sense. How was she going to experience really anything if she was going to let her fear control her. Coming to a conclusion, she turned to her brother. She glanced to the side before lifting the sides of her mouth with the tiniest smile. "I'm ready." She didn't want to believe that she was, but said so anyways. Shining nodded. Velvet urged forward to give her son a quick hug and then turned to her daughter. Giving Twilight a loving smile she moved and enveloped her in an embrace. Which Twilight returned. Velvet moved her head back to give Twilight an encouraging smile. "You can do this." She whispered. Twilight nodded and looked forward before halting. "Wait how about dad?" Velvet raised a eyebrow. "Didn't he already leave for work. He has an early shift today." "Oh," Twilight said. "Alright, let's go." Said Shining. With that they trotted out the door and Twilight exhaled a breath she hadn't realized she had been holding as they stepped into the world. Author's Note Finally I got this done. Also filly Twi's character is a bit different in this universe of mine. Here, unlike the show, she's painfully shy and is filled to the brim with anxiety. Hope you like it! Chapter 2: Helping HoovesChapter 2: Helping Hooves Shining Armor's Point of View 'Feels good to be out at last' Shining thought. He glanced to the side at his sister. She was busy looking all around in such a way that it seemed as if she had been locked away somewhere underground for a long time and hasn't seen the world since. The thought made Shining laugh. Twilight was eyeing everything. After a while shining asked, "Twily what's wrong?" His sister snapped her head to him in surprise. "Uhh, nothing! It's just... so... big." Shining laughed. "Is that it?" Twilight shook her head. "No, I have about a million more question. I just don't know if I can ask all of them." Shining looked to the side. "Well, maybe you can ask me some major question then. You know, the ones your most curious about." He turned his eyes on her. "Okay big brother." She then remained silent for a bit to think before speaking. "Why are there so many ponies here?" She asked. Shining looked around. There were a lot of ponies. And all over the place. It explained why his sister was pressing so close to his side. Shining guessed she didn't like the crowd. "Other ponies are busy too, you know. Some have very important jobs to get to. And on days like today there's no exceptions. Does that answer your question?" Twilight regarded that, then nodded. "Okay, here's another question. Why are there pony statues wearing clothes behind those windows?" Shining glanced towards were Twilight gestured. 'They do look kinda weird.' He thought. He came up with an answer reasonable enough to convince his sister. "Those could be for just displaying things you know. In this case, do you know what a fashion designer is?" He said. Twilight nodded. 'She does?' Not sure of the fact that she does know he questioned her. "Oh ya, what is it?" He said, giving her a raised eyebrow. Twilight gave him a stare that seemed to say: are you stupid big brother. Outwardly she said "simple. It's a profession in which you stitch and make fancy clothes. Right?" Shining kind of felt as if he wanted to smack her for making him feel like an idiot. It was annoying having a younger sibling that's always smarter than you. "Uh, ya that's it. Anyways, as I was saying, that's a store where you can get fancy clothes so it's obvious that fashion designers work in there. And sometimes, when they create a new item and if it's good enough they just display them like that on a window so ponies outside can see them. You know, to attract them if there interested. Does that make sense?" He glanced at his sister and took a breath of relief when she nodded. 'Oh, good.' "But I have one more question." Twilight's voice shattered his three-second bliss. Shining smacked a hoof on his face. "Of course you do," he grumbled. "But this will be the last one okay? I mean, it's not like I know everything." She raised an eyebrow at him. Looking slightly disappointed. In the end, she relented with a BIG but SUPER cute pouty face. "Fine." 'Aww, she's so cute!' He thought. "Alright then. Ask away, Twily!" She opened her mouth to speak but then snapped it shut and folded into herself at the sound of a loud crash. Shining whipped his head towards the direction of the sound. Up ahead was what looked like a thick branch. It's side looked rough which meant that it snapped of the tree that stood just off to the side. Behind the branch was a filly who looked about Twilight's age. She clumsily moved to get up. Shining kept watching and nearly had a heart attack when he felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned to find his sister looking at him. "Do you think we should help her?" She asked. Shining's eyes went wide when he realized that he hadn't thought of that. "Uhh, sure, let's go." That being said, the siblings moved up to help the filly. As they got closer, Shining noticed that the filly was an earth pony. Scattered nearby was a scooter and a small saddle-bag. Shining decided to speak first. "Hey, are you okay?" The filly looked up when she noticed the duo. She sighed. "Ya, I'm fine." She said. Shining and Twilight exchanged a glance. Shining gave the filly a wary look. "Are you sure about that? I mean, you don't look okay. And your shoulder is... bleeding. If you didn't notice." The filly's eyes snapped open. "Seriously!?" She turned her head to her shoulder to see the red dripping slowly down her side. "Ugh, it must be the broken chip of my dumb scooter." She said, giving the scooter a scowl. Shining scratched his head. "How do we help her?" He whispered to Twilight. Twilight only blinked back with a look that said: how do you think we're supposed to help her? Big brother. Shining felt utterly helpless. Twilight's look almost seemed mocking. As if he were the worlds biggest, psychotic idiot. Twilight shifted to search for something in her saddle-bag. She shuffled around for a bit before pulling out a bandage. She held it out. "She can use this. I packed some in case we might need them." Shining felt all the more worthless. He glanced to the side. 'Honestly. Where did this pony get her brain from? She's even more mature than me for some reason.' Looking back at his sister, his eyes widened. Only then did his brain realize that she was waiting for his approval. "Uhh, ya! I think that sounds good. You can given it to her. Good thinking, Twily!" Twilight smiled at him. "Thanks." She said before moving up and nudging the earth pony filly to get her attention. She looked up at Twilight. "Here," Twilight said, holding out the bandage to the other filly. She took it with a smile. "Thanks." "What's your name?" Shining asked. While in the middle of putting the bandage on, the filly answered. "Eh, my name is Marigold. You can just call me Mary if you like." Shining blinked. "Uhh, okay... Mary. Wait, how did you end like this anyways? Something bad happened? You said your scooter is bad. Does that have to do with it?" Mary stood up with a roll of her eye. "Duuhh. My scooter sucks. I've even asked my parents like a dozen times if I could get a new one. This one..." She gave the scooter a kick. "Is like centuries old." Mary's eyes shifted over to Twilight. They widened slightly. "Wow, your hair is all glittery. Did you dye it?" She asked. Twilight eyes her mane. "Uhh, no. It's just like that." She said quietly. "Does it look bad?" Mary gawked at her. "Bad? No! It looks so cool! I wish my hair was like that." She said with a dreamy look. Shining raised an eyebrow at Mary. "Really?" He deadpanned. 'I don't want glitter in my hair. It would look so weird. Or are little girls just like that?' Shining fidgeted weirdly. "So! You were going to explain how you ended up like this?" Shining said loudly, while waving a hoof in Mary's face to snap her out of her daydreaming. Effectively, Mary straightened and faced Shining. "Oh, right! Basically. I was heading to school and decided to ride my scooter there. It was kinda fine at first but then I accidently missed stepped because obviously, my scooter sucks. So I came crashing down and fell right on the chipped side. And then that branch fell on me." She finished. Shining nodded with understanding. "Alright, makes sense." He glanced to the side. A short while passed when he felt Twilight nudge him. "Shining, we're going to be late. Let's go." She urged. Shining's head shot up. "Horse apples, I forgot! Come on Twily. Sorry Mary. I'd like to talk but we have to go. So I'm... See ya?" He said with an unsettling grin. Mary waved back. "Okay, bye. And thanks for helping me!" She yelled as Shining and Twilight trotted away. Shining fought to catch his breath as he slowed his pace. Finally. They were here. At the most boring place in the universe where all the teachers do is cram your head with things and give you a headache. What a place to get up for every morning. If Shining had an option, he wouldn't even think about getting up. "Good." He heaved. "We're here. On time. And we're not late. And mom won't kick my flank." Shining moved to the side and flopped down on the grass to breathe. Twilight watched him with curious eyes, but remained standing. Shining raised an eyebrow. "What? Aren't you tired after all that running?" Twilight nodded. "Yes I am. I've never exactly been this far out of home before." She said quietly while gazing at some daisies. Shining stared in confusion. 'You don't look tired.' He thought but then decided he didn't want to think too much before school started. Twilight silently moved to inspect a insect on the ground. Moments later, her ear twitched. She looked up to the source of the crunching sound and suddenly smiled. Feeling curious about what she had seen, Shining followed her gaze to whatever had made her smile. And then his heart leaped. From the distance approached the most beautiful thing Shining had ever seen. Well, it was actually a pony. A female. She was pink. Her mane had lovely shades of a deep pink, warm purple, and light goldish, yellow. It seemed to look even more nice tied up with the blue tie. Her eyes were comforting amethysts. Though not as magical and vivid as his sister's. They were gorgeous all the same. And to top it all of, she was an alicorn. Twilight grinned from ear to ear. "Cadence!" She cried. And trotted over to her. As soon as Cadence noticed Twilight, she beamed brightly and welcomed the filly in an embrace. "Oh just look at my favorite filly! Is she ready for her first day at school?" Cadence asked with a wink. Twilight nodded timidly. "Ya... I guess." Her smile fell. Cadence was quick to notice. "Oh dear, what's the matter? Are you not excited for your first day?" Cadence lowered her head to be leveled with Twilight's. Twilight shook her head. "Not too much." She admitted. " I'm really nervous. And kind of scared. I mean, I don't want to make mistakes." She said in a voice so low, that Shining barely heard it. Nodding understandingly, Cadence gently tilted Twilight's head up. "Come on, Twilight. That's okay. Every foal feels nervous on there first day. I'll admit I was. And you know it's fine if you make mistake. It's not like anypony is perfect. All of us make mistakes. But if you want to make me happy, you promise me that you'll give it your best shot! Okay?" She said. Twilight nodded slowly. "Okay. I promise. Thank you Cadence." She said. Cadence smiled warmly. "Of course! Any time for my favorite filly!" She and Twilight than moved to be side be side as they came forward. It took Shining all of his willpower to not fidget as Cadence got closer. Her eyes widened a little bit as her gaze locked on Shining's. "Oh! Hi Shining! Your here too!" At this, Shining smacked a hoof on his face. "Of course I am." He said flatly. "Twily couldn't have come alone. My parents aren't that dumb." Cadence giggled and Shining's stomache filled with butterflies. Once settled, Cadence spoke. "So, your just waiting for school to open?" Shining nodded. "What else?" He gave a look of boredom. Twilight grazed her hoof on the ground. "Do you think I'll make friends?" Her almost silent voice carried through the summer breeze. Cadence beamed at her. "Of course you will! I just know it!" To which Twilight gave a heartfelt grin. "You always say that you know." The filly said. Cadence simply rolled her eyes. "Trust me, Twilight." Shining blinked. And then gave an ENORMOUSLY, exaggerated, totally not fake yawn that startled both girls out of there moment. "Don't you think this is a bit boring?" He asked matter-of-factly. Cadence gave him a blunt stare. Twilight gave him one he didn't even want to make sense of. Thankfully, Cadence relented. "He is a bit right, Twilight. Perhaps we can wait at that playground over there. You guys still have some time, so let's go!" The pink alicorn went on ahead with the unicorns following close behind. Author's Note I suppose this was just a little slice of life moment I wanted to write. It was honestly pleasant. I have just one more chapter before Twi and Shining get to school.
ProloguePrologue Shining Armor's Point of View The sky's colours blurred with a hue of violet as dusk fell upon the enchanted world of magic. A world of ponies. In the land of Equestria, resting on the side of a regal mountain, was Equestria's capital city: Canterlot. Which was home to The Princess of The Sun herself. Somewhere in the city, lived a family of unicorns known as the Sparkle family. Usually the Sparkle family would be busy running their own business. But today was a day like no other. A very special one. One where a newcomer was soon to come to the world. 'Well, a newcomer that is kind of late,' Shining Armor thought impatiently. It was really all Shining could think about at the moment. He fidgeted on the chair he was seated on. 'Well it's honestly the only thing I CAN do other than wait here,' the colt thought grumpily. Shining looked up to find his dad, Nightlight, slowly pacing the length of the waiting room. "Dad? How much longer do we wait? I'm getting bored," Shining complained. Nightlight sighed and met his sons gaze. "Shining, haven't I told you that this takes time." Shining's response was a deeply flustered look. "Ya, like about a hundred times," he muttered. It happened so suddenly. Shining and his parents were at home just peacefully doing whatever they were doing when out of nowhere, his mother: Velvet Sparkle said that his sister was coming. Nightlight took them immediately to the hospital. 'Also. She's going to come.' Shining remembered telling his best friend Cadence a few days ago about his soon-to-be coming sister and Cadence was beyond delighted. She was so excited, that she had said that she would be coming to see the baby right the moment she'd be born. 'Which the moment is quite a weird one.' Yes. When did his sister decide that it's time for her to see the world? WHEN IT'S ALMOST BEDTIME!! Shining was fully aware that birth moments could happen at any time but the fact that his sister's happened so suddenly, and at a time when he was about to sleep, ya it was annoying. But only a bit. Shining still couldn't wait to see his sister. It was quite boring being the only child. He wanted to play with his little sister, and teach her things, and read books to her, and, and... 'About a million more things.' He thought with a smile. Even Cadence said she wanted to be the baby's foalsitter when her parents would be busy. 'And speaking of Cadence, I hope she got my message.' She told him to call her over when the baby would be born. "Sir?" The doctors voice brought Shining back to the reality. He looked up to find her standing near the hallway. Nightlight stopped his pacing and went over to Dr. Flower. "Yes, how is she? Is she alright?," he asked. The yellow earth pony smiled. "Congratulations sir. You are the father to a tremendously adorable and healthy foal." Shining's train of thought came to a stop. 'Wait. She's here? My sis is here!' Nightlight smiled as brightly as the sun. Dr. Flower smiled back. "What are you waiting here for sir? Come see!" Shining jumped of his seat and hurried moved to his father. "Come on dad! I want to see her!" Without another word Shining and Nightlight followed the doctor to where Shining's mother and his newborn sister would be waiting. Dr. Flower stopped before a door and pushed it open, leading the two unicorns inside. Inside Shining found his mother on the stretcher. She was cooing and smiling lovingly down at a small bundle in her hooves. When she noticed her son and husband, Velvet looked up and smiled through tears. "Come on and take a look at her," she said. Nightlight moved up and stood beside the patient bed. He gave his wife a nuzzle before looking down at the coal in her hooves. Shining watched with extremely curious nerves as tears of joy welled up in his dad's eyes. "She's beautiful Velvet." Velvet looked up to Shining. Who was standing politely to the side. The grey unicorn gave a warm laugh. "Shining, sweetheart, what are you waiting for? Come and see your sister." Shining relented and moved to the other side of the bed. As his eyes took in the sight of the tiny filly, he felt a feeling of warmth wash over his heart. His sister was, no doubt, the cutest filly in the whole universe. She had lavender fur and a navy blue mane with pink and purple highlights. But Shining noticed immediately that she wasn't like any foal he had seen before. Her horn was curved. And her mane had a bunch of sparkly stars within it. "Wow! Mom, dad, look! She has that sparkly thing in her hair. And her horn is bent. How did that happen?" Velvet's smile fell as she moved her gaze to her daughter. "I was actually wondering myself dear. But I don't know. The doctors said that nothing was wrong with her. They said that she was very healthy. So I'm not sure." "I know who might know." A new voice spoke. A voice that Shining recognized immediately. A voice that also made his heart flutter. The family looked toward the door and all there jaws dropped when Princess Cadence and Princess Celestia stepped into the room. "PRINCESS CELESTIA!!??" Velvet and Nightlight shrieked in unison. Shining cringed and turned his focus on his best friend. "Cadence? Why did you bring Celestia?" His mother froze before turning to the white colt. "Wait. Shining? You know why there here?" Shining stood there petrified for a minute, like a lost puppy. 'What should I say?!' He thought. Before he could answer, Cadence spoke up. "It's alright ma'am. I was the one that told Shining to invite me over the day his sister would be born. I just really wanted to see her. Please understand." Velvet exchanged a glance with her husband. "Princess, you wanted to see our daughter?" Nightlight asked. Cadence grinned. "Of course I do! I love foals! And since this one is my best friend's sister, why would I want to miss it?" Velvet smiled. "Thank you dear, I mean princess!" The pink alicorn giggled. "It's okay, you don't have to call me princess." Celestia chuckled. "And my apologies about the unexpected visit. When Cadence got her letter from her obvious crush...," she said while giving her niece a knowing look. Cadence and Shining both blushed. "Aunty?! I don't have a crush on him! How many times have I told you that were just friends." The sun princess gave a warm laugh. "Yes, and as I was saying. I asked Cadence where she was going before she left and she told me that her coltfriend's sister was born and-" "AUNTY!!??" Celestia laughed again. "Apologies my dear. I meant friend. Better?" Cadence gave her aunt a partially irritated look. "Yes. Much better." The monarch then carried on. "And when Cadence told me, I was quite intrigued myself. And since I had nothing else to do as I don't have much work to do today, I decided to come and check out this new filly as well." Celestia finished. Nightlight and Velvet exchanged a look again before they both smiled. "Well I suppose we'll let it go for today. If it is only for the happiness of our daughter." Nightlight said. "Few!" Shining sighed gratefully. Finally that problem was taken care of and he totally DIDN'T get busted for starting it. "And you mister, are grounded for a week." Velvet said a second later. Shining's heart dropped. "But mom!" He pleaded, turning to his mother only to find her giving him a sheepish grin. "Hehe, just kidding dear." Shining gave her a deadpan look. "Very funny mom." He heard Cadence giggle. Shining turned to look at her. When he brought his eyes to Celestia he froze when he found her giving a hearty laugh. "Really your highness. Your laughing at me too!?" Out of nowhere the foal in Velvet's hooves began to cry. Cadence placed a hoof on her cheek. "Awww, that sounds so cute." She shuffled forward to she the baby. "Wait for it..." Shining said knowingly. "OH MY GOSH!!! SHE'S THE MOST ADORABLE BABY IN THE WHOLE UNIVERSE!!!" Cadence cried. "Is she?" Celestia asked. "Yes she is aunty! Come see!" Celestia moved forward with Shining trailing slowly behind her. The monarch peeked at the purple filly. "Oh goodness! She is cute!" She exclaimed. The baby continued to wail loudly. Slowly the foal pried her eyes open. "Ooohh," everypony in the room exclaimed. The filly's eyes were a magical dark violet hue. "Shhh," Velvet said to her but the foal only cried louder. "Can I?" Celestia asked, sitting and reaching out her hooves to Velvet. Velvet glanced at Nightlight. He thought for a minute before giving his wife a nod. Shining watched as his mother carefully placed her daughter in Celestia's hooves. The solar princess held the small pony close. "Hush now my filly. It's no time to cry. Aren't you a strong filly?" Shining couldn't believe how soft and gentle but motherly her voice sounded. And mind-blowingly, the filly's crying stopped. Instead she let out a long but extremely adorable yawn. She then blinked her large eyes at Celestia curiously. "Awww, isn't she just the cutest! And have you named her?" Cadence asked Velvet and Nightlight. Velvet shook her head. "No actually. What should we name her?" They all thought for a minute. Then Celestia smiled. "Ms. Sparkle? Do you mind if I name her?" She asked the light grey mare. Velvet tapped her chin thoughtfully. "Hon' what do you think?" "I don't mind. I think we'd be quite lucky if the princess did name our daughter." Nightlight replied. Velvet sighed. "If you say so. Then... Alright your majesty. You can name her." Shining's eyes widened. "Wow! My sis gets to be named by the princess? That's lucky!" "But what are you going to name her." The younger princess asked the older. Celestia remained silent. She turned her head to look at the dusk outside the window. 'Whats she thinking.' Shining wondered. It was hard to tell with her unreadable face. Celestia turned her head from the window to Shining's sister. After a long while Celestia moved her eyes to the foals parents. "I know what to name her." They all looked at one another. "What?" Shining asked. The monarch smiled. "From now on forth, I hereby name the daughter of Velvet Sparkle and Nightlight: Twilight Eventide Sparkle." They all smiled. "Twilight Eventide Sparkle. I love it." Velvet said. "But I suppose Twilight Eventide Sparkle is too long of a name so we just shorten it to Twilight Sparkle right?" Nightlight asked. Celestia nodded. "That's right." Cadence grinned. "So it's settled then." Velvet smiled. A moment later it fell. "Wait. I have just one more question." Celestia chuckled. "Yes?" "Right, so you see Twilight's horn right? Why is it curved? And why does she have those marks on her?" Nightlight laughed. "Velvet? hon'! One at a time!" "No, no. It's alright." Celestia assured. "As a mother, it's understandable for her to be worried for her daughter." Celestia then craned her neck down to inspect Twilight. "Is she alright?" Cadence asked with sympathetic care. Celestia eyed the foal carefully before raising her head with a reassuring smile. "It's nothing to worry about. Your daughter is alright. The marks are just birthmarks. And the curved horn actually... Means something very special." "What?" Velvet asked. Celestia chuckled. "That curved horn makes your daughter, not only very unique, but also the first pony since so long to have a horn like that." "But what does it mean?" Velvet questioned. "Velvet," Nightlight hissed. "Please Nightlight." Celestia assured. "As I said before. Velvet has every right to be worried. But anyways. Curved horns, usually mean that the pony carries very, very powerful magic within her." "Really?" Shining asked. "Yes!" The sun princess answered. "Someday, I know your daughter is destined for something great. Something we've probably never seen before. Only time will tell." Velvet sighed. "Alright your highness. If you say it is that way. I guess I feel more assured." "Just wait Ms. Sparkle. Trust me when I say that your daughter will be given a future brighter then ever." Author's Note I finally decided to start an actual story. Since my gut finally decided that it is time to write. I thought of creating my own alternate universe so anything you've read in the story like Twilight's curved horn is... ALL A PART OF MY HEAD-CANNON SO PLEASE UNDERSTAND!! Hope you like it!
Chapter 1: New DayChapter 1: New Day Twilight Sparkle's Point of View Hello world. How long was it? To her it felt like she was born and then just a second later she was already six. Twilight Sparkle always wandered about these type of things. She knew it was boring. But she couldn't get the topic off her mind no matter how hard she tried. What a thing for a filly to think about. Twilight looked up to the clock. "7:00" it read. The filly silently moved off her bed and wandered over to her desk. She paused when her gaze landed on her saddle-bag. She quietly stared at it for a while. Slowly she moved to it and packed it for school. Her life was pretty normal. Yet she thought about more. Was there more to her life? Ya, she was not like just any foal. She was the type that thought about things your everyday child usually didn't think of. She lifted her head to the window. She went to it and moved the curtain aside to peek out. 'It's so bright,' she thought. She than remained there for a bit. Just staring out the window. "Twilight!" Her mother's voice called out. "Sweetie, breakfasts ready." Twilight moved away from the window and made her way to the door. She descended the stairs and headed to the dining room. "Morning Twily!" Her brother said cheerfully. Twilight smiled. "Hi, big brother," she said quietly. "Come sit here," Shining said, waving a hoof at the empty chair next to his. Twilight moved to it. Shining reached his hoof down to help her up. "Thanks," she said. Looking around she asked Shining. "Where's mom?" Shining pointed to the kitchen. "Anyways though, you ready for school, Twily?" She gave a timid nod in response. "But I'm a bit nervous." Shining placed a reassuring hoof on her shoulder. "That's okay. Everypony feels nervous on there first day. I mean, I sorta was." "I am excited to learn things, but what if something happens?" Twilight asked with worry. Shining waved a dismissive hoof. "Come on Twily. You worry to much. Trust me, nothing's going to happen. The day will go as normal as any other." "But-" "Shining is quite right dear." Velvet said, interrupting her daughter as she entered the dining room with two bowls of cereal in milk levitated in her magic. Velvet came forward and set the bowls down before them. Twilight ignored her breakfast for a moment. "Are you sure?" She asked instead while carefully regarding her mother. "I mean, you never know. Nopony knows. What if something does go wrong?" Velvet sighed. She levitated a spoon and passed it to Twilight. "My darling, look at me. How are you going to learn anything if your going to be so anxious to go outside alone in the first place?" That was a good point. Twilight was going to have to face her anxiety if she wanted to find at least some courage that can help her move. Even with her fear,she knew she still didn't want to miss her learning opportunity. Besides. Anypony would want to get past even the slightest bit of there fear at some point right? Isn't that how life works? Is it? 'And like Shining said. This is my first day. I've just never experienced the world outside of my home before. Maybe I'll get used to it just like everypony else. Eventually.' "Twilight?" The filly's head snapped up as Velvet's voice brought her back to the reality. "Uh, ya?" She answered. "Aren't you going to eat? Your going to be late for school." "Oh! Right." She moved to pick up her spoon only to halt when a thought occured to her. Shining gave her a raised eyebrow. "Twily? Do you need to excuse yourself?" "Shining!" Velvet hissed. She turned to Twilight with a softer look. "Dear? What's the matter?" Twilight blinked. "Nothing." She said. "I'm just going to try something." With that she placed her forehooves on the table and squeezed her eyes shut as she attempted to light her horn. She tried and tried. "Come on. Light. Up." She muttered. Nothing came. Giving up on her failed attempt, she fell back on her chair in defeat. She sighed, keeping her head low and looking down shamefully. 'I'm hopeless.'Her thought grumbled. Twilight flinched when she felt a gentle hoof on her shoulder. She looked up to see her mother giving her a sympathetic smile. "Don't feel so bad, my love. Everypony makes mistakes and nopony starts out professionally. It takes practice. And just like other ponies, you'll get there someday too. Okay?" Twilight looked at Velvet with a sad look but still have a quiet nod. "Okay mom." Velvet gave her another warm smile. "Alright then. Eat up. You have a big day ahead of you." That being said, Velvet exited the room. While in the middle of another spoonful of cereal, Twilight felt a tap on her shoulder. She glanced to her left at her brother. "Ya?" "You know, something very special is going to come soon." He said between a mouthful. The white colt swallowed before continuing. "Something you might like." The filly stared. "What?" "What? Non other, than. The Summer Sun Celebration." He finished with an exaggerated flourish of his hoof. "The Summer Sun Celebration!?" Twilight parroted with extreme curiosity. "What is that?" Shining grinned. "It's the longest day of the year. You've heard about "The Mare in the Moon" right?" Twilight nodded. "Legends says. It was when Princess Celestia banished this evil legend who was about to bring eternal darkness to Equestria. Today we ponies celebrate this day by watching Princess Celestia raise the sun." Twilight blinked. "Wow. So, on that day, ponies get to watch the princess raise the sun?" Her brothers nod confirmed it. "Can I see it? When is it?" Shining tapped a hoof on his chin. "I think it's coming in a week. I don't know for sure. I'm going to have to ask Cadence." Twilight's look brightened. "Cadence." Shining nodded. Twilight loved Cadence. She was the best foal sitter a pony could have. And she's in Twilight's opinion the most prettiest pony Twilight had ever seen. Going back to the Summer Sun Celebration, Twilight really felt like she wanted to see it. She wanted to see the princess raise the sun. "Can I see The Summer Sun Celebration." She asked. Shining shrugged. "Dunno, your going to have to ask mom and dad for that." Twilight wanted to see it. She really, really did. She would ask her parents for sure. And if they don't agree, well, she'll just have to use her secret weapon: her cute face! "Got everything ready Twilight?" Velvet asked as she emerged though a doorway. Twilight nodded. She had already triple checked her stuff to make sure she didn't miss anything. She was going to try to make as little mistakes as she could. Velvet looked around. "Where's Shining?" "He's still up." The filly answered. "He's busy packing." Velvet glared sternly. "Oh that rascal. Your going to be late." "I'm here!" Shining's voice called just a second later as he rushed in the room. Velvet sighed. "Shining, next time, could you be a bit prepared?" Shining scratched the back of his head. "Sorry mom." Velvet smiled. "Perhaps you should learn from your little sister about how to be ready." "Come on mom! I'm not that stupid." His mother giggled. "Alright now, get going." She said before moving to open the front door. Twilight stared out. Her heart mixed with a feeling of both excitement and dread. She longer to learn and see new things but still felt like she wanted to run to her bedroom and never come out. Shining appeared next to her. "Ready to go sis?" He asked with a smile. Twilight glanced to the open door and then back to Shining's face. Was she ready? Or was she not. How are you going to learn anything if your going to be so anxious to go outside alone in the first place? She thought of what her mother said. It did make sense. How was she going to experience really anything if she was going to let her fear control her. Coming to a conclusion, she turned to her brother. She glanced to the side before lifting the sides of her mouth with the tiniest smile. "I'm ready." She didn't want to believe that she was, but said so anyways. Shining nodded. Velvet urged forward to give her son a quick hug and then turned to her daughter. Giving Twilight a loving smile she moved and enveloped her in an embrace. Which Twilight returned. Velvet moved her head back to give Twilight an encouraging smile. "You can do this." She whispered. Twilight nodded and looked forward before halting. "Wait how about dad?" Velvet raised a eyebrow. "Didn't he already leave for work. He has an early shift today." "Oh," Twilight said. "Alright, let's go." Said Shining. With that they trotted out the door and Twilight exhaled a breath she hadn't realized she had been holding as they stepped into the world. Author's Note Finally I got this done. Also filly Twi's character is a bit different in this universe of mine. Here, unlike the show, she's painfully shy and is filled to the brim with anxiety. Hope you like it!
Chapter 2: Helping HoovesChapter 2: Helping Hooves Shining Armor's Point of View 'Feels good to be out at last' Shining thought. He glanced to the side at his sister. She was busy looking all around in such a way that it seemed as if she had been locked away somewhere underground for a long time and hasn't seen the world since. The thought made Shining laugh. Twilight was eyeing everything. After a while shining asked, "Twily what's wrong?" His sister snapped her head to him in surprise. "Uhh, nothing! It's just... so... big." Shining laughed. "Is that it?" Twilight shook her head. "No, I have about a million more question. I just don't know if I can ask all of them." Shining looked to the side. "Well, maybe you can ask me some major question then. You know, the ones your most curious about." He turned his eyes on her. "Okay big brother." She then remained silent for a bit to think before speaking. "Why are there so many ponies here?" She asked. Shining looked around. There were a lot of ponies. And all over the place. It explained why his sister was pressing so close to his side. Shining guessed she didn't like the crowd. "Other ponies are busy too, you know. Some have very important jobs to get to. And on days like today there's no exceptions. Does that answer your question?" Twilight regarded that, then nodded. "Okay, here's another question. Why are there pony statues wearing clothes behind those windows?" Shining glanced towards were Twilight gestured. 'They do look kinda weird.' He thought. He came up with an answer reasonable enough to convince his sister. "Those could be for just displaying things you know. In this case, do you know what a fashion designer is?" He said. Twilight nodded. 'She does?' Not sure of the fact that she does know he questioned her. "Oh ya, what is it?" He said, giving her a raised eyebrow. Twilight gave him a stare that seemed to say: are you stupid big brother. Outwardly she said "simple. It's a profession in which you stitch and make fancy clothes. Right?" Shining kind of felt as if he wanted to smack her for making him feel like an idiot. It was annoying having a younger sibling that's always smarter than you. "Uh, ya that's it. Anyways, as I was saying, that's a store where you can get fancy clothes so it's obvious that fashion designers work in there. And sometimes, when they create a new item and if it's good enough they just display them like that on a window so ponies outside can see them. You know, to attract them if there interested. Does that make sense?" He glanced at his sister and took a breath of relief when she nodded. 'Oh, good.' "But I have one more question." Twilight's voice shattered his three-second bliss. Shining smacked a hoof on his face. "Of course you do," he grumbled. "But this will be the last one okay? I mean, it's not like I know everything." She raised an eyebrow at him. Looking slightly disappointed. In the end, she relented with a BIG but SUPER cute pouty face. "Fine." 'Aww, she's so cute!' He thought. "Alright then. Ask away, Twily!" She opened her mouth to speak but then snapped it shut and folded into herself at the sound of a loud crash. Shining whipped his head towards the direction of the sound. Up ahead was what looked like a thick branch. It's side looked rough which meant that it snapped of the tree that stood just off to the side. Behind the branch was a filly who looked about Twilight's age. She clumsily moved to get up. Shining kept watching and nearly had a heart attack when he felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned to find his sister looking at him. "Do you think we should help her?" She asked. Shining's eyes went wide when he realized that he hadn't thought of that. "Uhh, sure, let's go." That being said, the siblings moved up to help the filly. As they got closer, Shining noticed that the filly was an earth pony. Scattered nearby was a scooter and a small saddle-bag. Shining decided to speak first. "Hey, are you okay?" The filly looked up when she noticed the duo. She sighed. "Ya, I'm fine." She said. Shining and Twilight exchanged a glance. Shining gave the filly a wary look. "Are you sure about that? I mean, you don't look okay. And your shoulder is... bleeding. If you didn't notice." The filly's eyes snapped open. "Seriously!?" She turned her head to her shoulder to see the red dripping slowly down her side. "Ugh, it must be the broken chip of my dumb scooter." She said, giving the scooter a scowl. Shining scratched his head. "How do we help her?" He whispered to Twilight. Twilight only blinked back with a look that said: how do you think we're supposed to help her? Big brother. Shining felt utterly helpless. Twilight's look almost seemed mocking. As if he were the worlds biggest, psychotic idiot. Twilight shifted to search for something in her saddle-bag. She shuffled around for a bit before pulling out a bandage. She held it out. "She can use this. I packed some in case we might need them." Shining felt all the more worthless. He glanced to the side. 'Honestly. Where did this pony get her brain from? She's even more mature than me for some reason.' Looking back at his sister, his eyes widened. Only then did his brain realize that she was waiting for his approval. "Uhh, ya! I think that sounds good. You can given it to her. Good thinking, Twily!" Twilight smiled at him. "Thanks." She said before moving up and nudging the earth pony filly to get her attention. She looked up at Twilight. "Here," Twilight said, holding out the bandage to the other filly. She took it with a smile. "Thanks." "What's your name?" Shining asked. While in the middle of putting the bandage on, the filly answered. "Eh, my name is Marigold. You can just call me Mary if you like." Shining blinked. "Uhh, okay... Mary. Wait, how did you end like this anyways? Something bad happened? You said your scooter is bad. Does that have to do with it?" Mary stood up with a roll of her eye. "Duuhh. My scooter sucks. I've even asked my parents like a dozen times if I could get a new one. This one..." She gave the scooter a kick. "Is like centuries old." Mary's eyes shifted over to Twilight. They widened slightly. "Wow, your hair is all glittery. Did you dye it?" She asked. Twilight eyes her mane. "Uhh, no. It's just like that." She said quietly. "Does it look bad?" Mary gawked at her. "Bad? No! It looks so cool! I wish my hair was like that." She said with a dreamy look. Shining raised an eyebrow at Mary. "Really?" He deadpanned. 'I don't want glitter in my hair. It would look so weird. Or are little girls just like that?' Shining fidgeted weirdly. "So! You were going to explain how you ended up like this?" Shining said loudly, while waving a hoof in Mary's face to snap her out of her daydreaming. Effectively, Mary straightened and faced Shining. "Oh, right! Basically. I was heading to school and decided to ride my scooter there. It was kinda fine at first but then I accidently missed stepped because obviously, my scooter sucks. So I came crashing down and fell right on the chipped side. And then that branch fell on me." She finished. Shining nodded with understanding. "Alright, makes sense." He glanced to the side. A short while passed when he felt Twilight nudge him. "Shining, we're going to be late. Let's go." She urged. Shining's head shot up. "Horse apples, I forgot! Come on Twily. Sorry Mary. I'd like to talk but we have to go. So I'm... See ya?" He said with an unsettling grin. Mary waved back. "Okay, bye. And thanks for helping me!" She yelled as Shining and Twilight trotted away. Shining fought to catch his breath as he slowed his pace. Finally. They were here. At the most boring place in the universe where all the teachers do is cram your head with things and give you a headache. What a place to get up for every morning. If Shining had an option, he wouldn't even think about getting up. "Good." He heaved. "We're here. On time. And we're not late. And mom won't kick my flank." Shining moved to the side and flopped down on the grass to breathe. Twilight watched him with curious eyes, but remained standing. Shining raised an eyebrow. "What? Aren't you tired after all that running?" Twilight nodded. "Yes I am. I've never exactly been this far out of home before." She said quietly while gazing at some daisies. Shining stared in confusion. 'You don't look tired.' He thought but then decided he didn't want to think too much before school started. Twilight silently moved to inspect a insect on the ground. Moments later, her ear twitched. She looked up to the source of the crunching sound and suddenly smiled. Feeling curious about what she had seen, Shining followed her gaze to whatever had made her smile. And then his heart leaped. From the distance approached the most beautiful thing Shining had ever seen. Well, it was actually a pony. A female. She was pink. Her mane had lovely shades of a deep pink, warm purple, and light goldish, yellow. It seemed to look even more nice tied up with the blue tie. Her eyes were comforting amethysts. Though not as magical and vivid as his sister's. They were gorgeous all the same. And to top it all of, she was an alicorn. Twilight grinned from ear to ear. "Cadence!" She cried. And trotted over to her. As soon as Cadence noticed Twilight, she beamed brightly and welcomed the filly in an embrace. "Oh just look at my favorite filly! Is she ready for her first day at school?" Cadence asked with a wink. Twilight nodded timidly. "Ya... I guess." Her smile fell. Cadence was quick to notice. "Oh dear, what's the matter? Are you not excited for your first day?" Cadence lowered her head to be leveled with Twilight's. Twilight shook her head. "Not too much." She admitted. " I'm really nervous. And kind of scared. I mean, I don't want to make mistakes." She said in a voice so low, that Shining barely heard it. Nodding understandingly, Cadence gently tilted Twilight's head up. "Come on, Twilight. That's okay. Every foal feels nervous on there first day. I'll admit I was. And you know it's fine if you make mistake. It's not like anypony is perfect. All of us make mistakes. But if you want to make me happy, you promise me that you'll give it your best shot! Okay?" She said. Twilight nodded slowly. "Okay. I promise. Thank you Cadence." She said. Cadence smiled warmly. "Of course! Any time for my favorite filly!" She and Twilight than moved to be side be side as they came forward. It took Shining all of his willpower to not fidget as Cadence got closer. Her eyes widened a little bit as her gaze locked on Shining's. "Oh! Hi Shining! Your here too!" At this, Shining smacked a hoof on his face. "Of course I am." He said flatly. "Twily couldn't have come alone. My parents aren't that dumb." Cadence giggled and Shining's stomache filled with butterflies. Once settled, Cadence spoke. "So, your just waiting for school to open?" Shining nodded. "What else?" He gave a look of boredom. Twilight grazed her hoof on the ground. "Do you think I'll make friends?" Her almost silent voice carried through the summer breeze. Cadence beamed at her. "Of course you will! I just know it!" To which Twilight gave a heartfelt grin. "You always say that you know." The filly said. Cadence simply rolled her eyes. "Trust me, Twilight." Shining blinked. And then gave an ENORMOUSLY, exaggerated, totally not fake yawn that startled both girls out of there moment. "Don't you think this is a bit boring?" He asked matter-of-factly. Cadence gave him a blunt stare. Twilight gave him one he didn't even want to make sense of. Thankfully, Cadence relented. "He is a bit right, Twilight. Perhaps we can wait at that playground over there. You guys still have some time, so let's go!" The pink alicorn went on ahead with the unicorns following close behind. Author's Note I suppose this was just a little slice of life moment I wanted to write. It was honestly pleasant. I have just one more chapter before Twi and Shining get to school.
