Chapter Four : Part-2 B : Two Unexpected Twist and Meeting My Father's Friend
By : The Eternal Star

It's been a few hours since my family and I worked collectively to subdue my brother's friends who visited our house and erase any memory they had regarding what had occurred previously to ensure my unique circumstances remained a secret. My father returned soon after and informed us that the extraction was a success.

By then, the sun had fallen over the horizon, and darkness befell the land as day was replaced by night. In its stead, the moon rose steadily as it cast its white radiance over the darkened land. Its light served as a meaningful reference that even when everything around you is dark, a glimpse of hope awaits you.

Currently, my family and I were sitting on sofas with books in each of our possessions as we waited for the airship that would transport us and our belongings to Alavis to arrive. The book I was currently reading is about magics, titled 'A Guide to Refine Your Spellcasting' and as the name implies, its content is about how Alicorns can improve the flow of their magic.

Interestingly enough, as I was reading over one of the pages, I saw a description that stated if an Alicorn is powerful, experienced, and has continuously used certain types of spells for a prolonged amount of time.

When casting those certain spells, said Alicorn may not be required to conjure up the spell patterns or build up the necessary amount of magic when said spells, as the spells have been ingrained into their mind and magic exponentially. Thus, the caster can cast the spells based on wills and thoughts.

'That's certainly an interesting fact about Alicorns, although it makes me wonder that both my parents were certainly exceptional spellcasters and were masters of the arcane arts. I mean, both of them can easily cast long patterns or high built-up magic spells within a blink of an eye.

And yet, the facts stand that they didn't put up any blockages, traps, or otherwise spells that could hinder or catch me when I was slipping out of my foal cage. From their perspective, it is clear that before my secret was discovered, they thought that the malevolent being was up to harm me. So again, why?'

I asked in my mind as I put up a hoof on my chin and wondered for the next one minute the possible reason, yet in the end, my mind came up with blanks or far-fetched theories that didn't make sense with the family social dynamic. I then remembered that my parents were right across me and I could ask them about it.

I face hoofed at my apparent need to solve things on my own when I could easily ask others for help or answer. Unfortunately, my face hoof was loud enough that my family's attentions were drawn to me, each of them had a worried look and my mother asked me with clear concern in her voice.

"My filly, are you feeling alright? Did you feel something was wrong inside you and was causing a lot of pain? Or is your head hurting and the pain is unbearable? Do you need me to carry you to a hospital?"

I put my hoof and book down as I moved my face to meet my mother's worried gaze, she had put her book down as her body went tense in preparation to catch me if I was to fall down unconscious with her eyes fixed at my form and never darting. Seeing this I just shook my head and said with assurance.

"Don't worry Mom, I neither felt that something was wrong inside me and was causing pain nor did my head hurt in any way, so there was no need to bring me to a hospital. It just, something occurred in my mind and I was just criticizing myself for my foolishness in the way I handled the occurrence."

Hearing my assurance, my family let out a relieved sigh as their body relaxed itself after hearing it was a false alarm. My mother took several deep breaths to calm her racing while chanting, "Be calm, be calm." Before she looked at me directly in the eyes and asked with a questioning tone.

"You scared your family and especially your mother here for a few seconds there, my filly Critic. I thought that the injury you still sustained and exhaustion from today's packing and hauling just caught up to you, now what was on your mind?"

Seeing that my mother now adopted a neutral-curious expression and her attention focused on me, I decided to ask her the question, "Mom, Dad, both of you were a master when it comes to the arcane arts right? Then why did none of you put up any blockages, traps, or otherwise spells that could hinder or catch me inside the house?

I mean, it's very obvious that before my secret was revealed both of you fully believed that there was a 'malevolent being' that was out to hurt me. So again, why no extra attempts at ensuring security inside the house, what if I were an actual intruder?"

After hearing my question, silence filled us for a few seconds until my father let out a laugh as he said with an amused expression and lips upwards, "As if any real intruder could even get into our homeyard in the first place, you see my filly, your mother and I did put up a lot of security measures around the house.

As a matter of fact, we cast and placed a lot of blockages, alarms, and even bind-kill trap spells. It just, we placed it outside the house and not inside it. At the time, we thought that the malevolent spirit originated from outside the house as there is no way, cause, or otherwise reason for a spirit- especially an evil one -to originate and able to manifest inside the house, I had ensured that twice every year."

Upon hearing my father's answer, it now made some level of sense as I nodded in acknowledgment. But it also raised another question that I immediately asked after I met my father's gaze, "Now that makes a certain level of sense, father, but I have to ask.

What do you mean a spirit has to have a way, cause, or reason for it to be able to manifest? Alongside that, are there types when it comes to spirit? I recall you said previously about a spirit and especially an evil one, to originate and able to manifest inside our house."

My father must have known just how deep the hole he would fall into if he was to answer my question, because after hearing it he turned to my mother sitting beside him with slightly widened eyes and grimaced lips as he silently pleaded to her for help.

My mother, seeing my father silently pleading for her help in answering my question, let out a chuckle as she shook her head in amusement a few times before she glanced at me and said, "My filly, spirits indeed require reason, cause, or otherwise way from them to be able to manifest.

For example, in an area where there is a concentrated amount of magic for a prolonged amount of time, then spirits will start to appear around it with said spirits becoming stronger the closer you are to the concentrated points, spirits that originated and manifested in this way usually remain dormant for some time, but they will eventually go rogue."

Hearing my mother's answer, now I'm genuinely interested in learning more about this spirit. I turned my head to meet my mother's gaze and asked with a tilted head, "Are there any other reasons or ways for them to be able to manifest Mom? I would like to know if there are."

My mother nodded at my question before saying, "Yes my filly, another example is when a spirit is summoned and this can be done by performing certain circles, symbols, and rituals but this way of manifesting is very dangerous and I wouldn't allow you to even learn about it so don't even think of trying to do it, okay?"

My mother's expression suddenly hardened and her eyes narrowed coldly at me, her eyes directly met mine and I wanted to flinch yet couldn't even blink before I nodded my head multiple times in confirmation as I quickly said, "Yes, yes, yes mom, I wouldn't dare to learn or even try to do it."

My mother continued to stare at my eyes for a few seconds with a stern expression before her eyes went back to normal, her expression softened and her lips went up in smiles as she said, "Now that's my good filly, know when to not overstep herself, let's get back to the main topic.

Another reason spirits may appear is when those spirits were another Alicorn's soul that can't leave the living realm and reincarnate because they either have unsettled deep hate, unfinished crucial tasks, or are bound by a malevolent force.

These former Alicorn spirits usually manifest around those who loved them and asked for help to be able to peacefully reincarnate, however, if the Alicorns they were before are powerful and have unsettled deep hate for another Alicorn, then they will manifest as evil powerful spirit that sought for vengeance."

My mother then glanced at my father who was listening to the conversation alongside my brother, my mother let out a proudful smile as she said, "And that is one of the main tasks of your father here, he has protected well over three thousand Alicorns in the line of duty, several of them were even Imperial Nobles, from the onslaught of evil spirit and never failed even once."

My father blushed a little at hearing my mother's praise and he turned his face away as he said warmly, "Nah, it is not all that impressive nor was even quite hard, I just need to contain the spirit, weaken them, and brought them to the face of the one they sought vengeance at and settle the deep hate peacefully."

My mother did not relent in her show of appreciation, instead, she began showering my father's neck with kiss after kiss as it trailed higher onto my father's cheek, before she used her right wing to pull my father's muzzle in her direction and swiftly proceeded to kiss him tongue to the tongue for as both of them moaned softly.

Meanwhile, I was watching the intimate scene in front of me with slight twitching in my right eye as I resisted the urge to face hoof so hard, that I thought if I were to do it my skull would break from the impact. After a few seconds, I decided to just settle with an annoyed sigh, you see, this is what I had seen multiple times every day.

I turned my gaze to my right and saw my brother's head moving toward me, then at the shameless display of affection in front of us, then back at me. This happened continuously as I wondered why would he be like this until I saw his unfocused eyes and a slight smile on his face as I realized, he was dozing off again.

'Okay that's it, brother, you had dozed off four times this day while looking at me. Obviously, something about me or related to me that's bothering you a lot, for I had never seen you doze off multiple times in a day like this before, I wonder what is it?' I asked in my mind as I got closer to him and he still didn't notice me closing in.

As I was sitting right beside him, his head kept moving front and toward me, before I brought my face close to his and used my right wing to stop his head, then brought my hoof up and knocked his head three times before asking, "Hello? Is my brother Ethern still inside that head, or was he missing again? Seriously, what's been bothering you since this afternoon?"

After I said that, my brother's eyes suddenly went back to focus as he immediately saw my questioning and slightly concerned face in front of him, before proceeding to flinch backward as he was taken aback by my sudden appearance close to him. He quickly recovered from the shock and shook his head a few times before he answered nervously.

"Huh, oh yeah, yeah I'm here inside my head little sis. Now, what brought you here to sit right beside me? Judging by how I see you talked and acted in the last two days, you didn't strike me as the social Alicorn who likes to be in the company of others."

I raised an eyebrow at my brother's response to my question, it was obvious by how he tried- and failed -to change the topic of conversation since I wasn't the type to be easily dissuaded from a topic. So I brought back the original topic of conversation by hardening my face and narrowing my eyes as I questioned him in a stern and cold tone.

"Don't try to deflect and change the topic of the conversation, Ethern my brother. You had dozed four times in less than a day since this afternoon after we finished packing items in our parent's room, and it happened while you were looking at me for more than a few seconds.

It is very clear that something about me or related to me is bothering your mind a lot, tell me, and don't lie to me, brother. Is there something about it that is bothering you? If it is, then tell me for it's started to annoy me whenever you doze off while looking at me."

My brother must haven't expected me to confront him as he wavered slightly under my scrutinizing and cold eyes, his eyes widened in both surprise and fear but he was unable to move his gaze away from mine. His body shook slightly as he stayed silent in shock for a few seconds before he managed to gather up the courage to answer in a stuttering voice.

"I-it's n-nothing that you s-should be c-concerned off, j-just whenever I-I was looking, talking, or otherwise i-interacting with you f-for a prolonged a-amount of t-time. Something inside me clicked and I f-felt... happy? Y-yeah, that's how I-I would describe t-the feeling I-I felt, especially when w-we packed and haul crates t-together since t-this afternoon."

Hearing my brother's stuttered response, I was about to press him more about it until my mind processed what he just told me. I stayed silent for the next few seconds until my eyes widened in complete surprise as it occurred in my mind that something I had not given much thought to must have started to take effect.

'I-it couldn't be, could it? The second I started to have two-sided interaction with somepony, my third drawback that I had almost forgotten would immediately begin to take effect. I certainly didn't expect that it would be this fast to take hold! I could be mistaken though, I need to press him for more information about this.'

My face hardened and my eyes narrowed again, but this time I tilted my head and asked with a stern yet questioning tone, "Brother, could you explain more about this... 'happy' feeling you felt when looking and interacting with me? Also, how you're feeling right now, and did you feel this 'happy' feeling again? Answer in order."

This time before answering, my brother was able to close his eyes as he took several deep breaths, no doubt to control the nervous feeling he felt. After a few seconds, my brother opened his eyes and he answered in a calm voice, "Well, the happy feeling I felt made me somewhat want to be around you and interact with you more.

Whenever I was gazing at you, something inside my heart flickered similar to how I care for you as you are my siblings, yet the feeling is... stronger is the right word I suppose. The feeling didn't happen often enough to be a bother, yet happened enough for me to notice it."

My brother then let out a sigh as he moved his gaze upward and stared at the night sky for a few seconds in silence, before he looked down and locked his eyes with mine as he confessed, "As for whether or not I felt the happy feeling again... the answer is somewhat, the happy feeling returned yet it comes alongside unknown guilt as if I had done a mistake."

Okay, this confirms it, my third drawback indeed started to manifest and it's obvious that it didn't care about blood relation if anything my brother had just confessed was in line with what I had concluded of it. My face softened as I shook my head in surprise and disbelief as I thought.

'Okay, I'm walking on thin ice of unexpected emotional development that I need to be careful not to slip, this is worse than I anticipated. I mean, it just takes less than a day with just a few un-romantic repetitive actions for a pony to start developing feelings for me, just what sort of mess I had gotten myself into!'

The next several minutes were spent in silence, at least on my part as my mind found itself suddenly in a trance as it went over and over proceeding with the new information and revelation, and how best I could handle it. My body felt paralyzed and my eyes widened to their fullest in shock, my breath was slightly ragged and my lips opened widely in silent shouts.

My wings flared out to their fullest in alert, my horn lit up in crimson magic yet no spell was being cast as my mind was in a trance, the result was that my horn continued to build magic until it was released in a crimson flash that blinded me and warm magic enveloped my body.

I was broken out of my trance when I felt a hoof gently knocking my forehead thrice followed by my ability to hear returned as I heard, "... Little sis? Little sis? Little sis! Are you there? Please be okay, I-I don't mean for my confession to have that effect on you, please be alright, Critic!"

Upon hearing my brother's plea, my lips closed and my eyes returned to normal as my vision returned, I saw in front of me my brother holding my body with his hooves, a worried expression plastered on his face as his eyes gleamed with slight tears like, his lips curled down in panic, and his body is shaking with fear.

Behind him, I saw my mother looking at me with clear worry on her face, her eyes gleaming with tears of worry, her body tensed as it prepared itself for sudden swift movement, and her horn lit up in blue magic in preparation to cast teleportation spells and wings flared fully in preparation to take off.

It seemed the only thing stopping my mother was my father who placed his right wing in front of her chest in a silent gesture for her to wait. His expression is also worried with him having to withhold his protective and caring instinct from taking over, but it seemed my father wanted my brother to try to break me out of my trance first.

My eyes blinked for a few seconds as my mind proceeded with the new sight I was seeing in my vision before I realized that my family still had their attention on me and were waiting for the change in my expression. Unsure of what to say, I asked questioningly, "Uhhh, can somepony fill me of what had happened to me?"

Hearing my question, my mother quickly went over to me before she hugged me to her chest with her wings as she said in a relieved and happy voice, "My filly, I'm glad you're okay! I-I thought I was gonna lose you for a few minutes there when your body did a sudden magical refinement, Critic!"

My mother continued to hug me close to her chest as if she was afraid I was gonna disappear from her grasp, she cried tears of relief as she continued to nuzzle my head and cheeks gently. I did not understand what just happened, completely confused by my mother's reaction but I decided to wait until she finished crying.

After about five minutes, my mother's cry had subsided and she brought me back onto the sofas before releasing her hug, I then glanced up at my mother to see her eyes letting out tears slowly but her smile was one of relief and pride as she panted softly. Seeing that her crying was finished, I tilted my head and asked in confusion.

"Mom, Dad, brother, what had happened to me? Why was my body paralyzed and won't heed my command, why was my mind stuck in a trance despite my best attempt to break out of it, and last but not least, why was my magic act up as it flashed crimson light that blinded me for a few minutes?"

My mother wiped off the tears residing on her eyes and cheeks with her wing before she took a deep breath and answered my question in a calmer tone, "My filly, what you had just gone through is something that every young Alicorn would eventually go through while they grow up.

It's called a magical refinement and it's uncontrollable meaning it would happen regardless if you know, will, and are ready for it. In most cases, it would happen twice while growing up somewhere on your eight to twelve cycles and thirteen to seventeen cycles, although it seems you would have more than two since the first happened so much earlier."

Hearing my mother's answer, I'm genuinely interested in what this would-eventually-occur occurrence is since the name is already interesting, magical, and refined. This time I glanced up at my mother with a raised eyebrow as my eyes gleamed with interest before asking.

"A magical refinement? Mom, could you please elaborate more about this occurrence that every Alicorn goes through during their youth? Also, could you please tell me what do you mean before when you said you're afraid that I'll die, is this magical refinement deadly in any way?"

Upon hearing the barrage of questions directed at her, my mother let out a chuckle as she shook her head several times with a knowing smile on her lips before she answered, "My filly, I'm gonna have so much fun home-schooling you after we settled into the new house in Alavis, for your curiosity remains even after a near-death incident.

As for your question, the magical refinement is an occurrence where your magic took notice that your current body was unable to adapt and keep up with the exponential growth of magical affinity and energy for a prolonged amount of time, and decided to take matters into its hoof and changed your body to suit you and your magic better."

My mother then opened up the same saddlebag she was wearing this morning and floated out a half-meter transparent crystal ruler, before closing the saddlebag and bringing the ruler to my horn as she got closer to properly align and measure it. After a few seconds, she let out a giddy giggle before saying.

"Well, isn't that quite an exponentiate horn growth, a five centimeters increase from the original of three? Now that's almost triple the previous length and," My mother lit up her horn to lighten up the dark surrounding, then tapped my horn a few times with her right hoof ", Not only that, but this horn width is slightly bigger than before and by the sound of it, more durable too."

My mother put her hoof down and before I could ask anything, she grabbed my wings with her magic and began flaring it out my wing to its fullest. She then brought the ruler onto my wings and began measuring its length from my wing joints, before she let out another giddy giggle as she said, "Alongside an increase of wingspan by seven centimeters from the original of five, now that is more than double increase.

Your wings are fully healed and also multicolored now, as there's an additional color on each tip of your feathers, with the color corresponding to one of your manes color which is magenta, yellow, or purple. Oh my filly, I'm glad and proud that your magical refinement certainly changed you for the better."

After saying that, my mother hugged me to her chest again before I could ask about my previous still unanswered question, after a few seconds I just sighed and resigned my fate of being the current target of my mother's very affectionate personality. While I was still being hugged, I heard my father chuckle upon seeing me and said in an amused tone.

"Aeterna, could you please stop hugging our filly here? I'm pretty sure that I just recalled how you told me that you didn't like it when your parent hugged you and congratulated you on your first magical refinement before they answered your question about it, Critics here assimilate personalities similar to yours so you know what I meant."

Hearing my father's words, my mother opened her eyes as she realized something and quickly released her wing around me as she said apologetically, "Oh right, I did say that I didn't like it when my parent did that yet I just did it before with my filly, I think now I know what my mother meant when she said that one day I would understand."

Upon looking down at me and noticing my frowning lips alongside narrowing and slightly closed eyes directed at her, my mother had a sheepish smile on her face as she apologized, "I'm sorry my filly, it just, a magical refinement is a very dangerous occurrence if it were to occur on a young, unprepared, and unexpecting foal.

Especially a foal as young as you which practically never happened in history and shouldn't have been able to occur in the first place, the closest ever recorded case was about five cycles ago of a three cycles old colt and the results were... less than savory to put it lightly. So I'm glad that despite you being much, much younger, you didn't suffer the same end as him."

After hearing my mother's reasoning, I just sighed in acceptance as at least I got the answer as to why my mother was glad that nothing was wrong after my unexpected magical refinement. However, there were still some questions lingering in my mind as I looked up at my mother and asked.

"Okay Mom, now could you tell me what are the effects of this magical refinement other than the one previously stated? Alongside why does my magic put my mind in a trance, paralyze my body, blind my vision, and obstruct my hearing during the process?"

My mother put up her right-wing on her chin at my question for a few seconds, before she brought it down and answered while looking at my horn, "Well, the effect of successful magical refinement is a massive increase over the attributes of the body that are related to magic.

For example, your horn is longer, sharper, and bigger which allows your magical pathway to draw mana into it and convert it to magical energy faster. You would also find that conjuring up symbols in mind would be easier as your magic will automatically conjure common symbols that correspond to all spells you have learned, so you just need to conjure the unique and distinct one."

My mother then looked over to my wing and the rest of my body from my head to my hooves, before glancing at my brother beside me and ordered, "Ethern, Critic, could you please stand next to each other on the sofas? It would be easier to show side effects of magical refinement that aren't related to magic this way."

My brother and I followed our mother's order as we got up and stood next to each other, and I could already notice one different thing, my height, now I reached my brother's upper chest while previously I only reached my brother's upper hooves. My mother must have noticed my discovery of one of the side effects as she chuckled and said.

"As you can see my filly, magical refinement also does additional changes to the body. The one you have noticed is your height, now you are a head taller than you were before. Another change is in your wings as now unlike your brother which is still his original dark violet, your wing end-tip is multicolored in corresponds to your mane color, this is mostly cosmetic and had no real effect on the body."

My mother then lit up her horn as my brother's left wing was encased and opened fully by her magic, she then brought her ruler and began measuring his wings for a few seconds, before she giggled and then said in an amused tone, "Well, well, well, aren't your wingspan twenty percent bigger than your brother's now?

It seemed that your magic noticed the amount of magic you used yesterday to do a sonic boom and decided that rather than taking the risk of you injuring your wings again after a successful sonic boom, it increased your wing span so that you would be able to gain more lift and push every flap."

My brother's expression quickly turned into one of annoyance as his lips curved down in a frown as he said, "Oh come on! I'm starting to notice that more and more good news comes over to my little sis over here, couldn't some come to me as well? I'm the older sibling and I have no natural magical talents, damn, my luck sucks!"

Sensing my brother's envy toward me, I decided to do something that I rarely did in my previous life, trying to comfort and assure him that good things don't always come to me. I put my wing over his back, turned my face to meet his, and said in an assuring tone.

"Hey, Ethern, the good things don't always come down to me, and remember that I have to keep my unique circumstances a secret from other ponies so they don't leak it out to imperial ministries. My high magical prowess comes at a high cost and responsibility.

My vision is permanently impaired and I have to be careful of how I act around others as I don't want imperial ministries agents to come knocking on my door. Alongside that, there are many other flaws about me that none of you had seen yet, mostly emotional ones and... other things I rather not speak about."

Hearing my assurance, my brother's head turned toward me as his eyes shined with curiosity and lips curved up in surprise, I locked eyes with him and continued, "The point is, just because day by day I was receiving good news, doesn't mean I didn't have burdens to carry as well.

Sure I may have higher natural magical affinity alongside heightened intelligence, but all of that is nothing compared to direct experiences, something that I have little of while you have cycles of it. So don't be disheartened at your lack of natural lack of magical prowess, for I'm sure when things become real, you're the one who is gonna outshine me."

My brother's eyes widened in surprise upon hearing my words and tears of happiness started to leave his eyes as he asked hopefully, "Really? You believe that experiences are worth a lot more and that I shouldn't be ashamed of my lack of natural magical talent?"

I responded to him with a nod and my lips curved up in a smile of assurance at him, my brother saw my assurance and let out a smile too before he brought me into a hug with his wings before saying in a thankful tone, "Thank you for your assurance little sis, I certainly feel better about it now."

We stayed there in each other embrace for a minute, before he let go of his wings to wipe the tears flowing down his cheeks and glanced down at me with a warm smile. We then heard a wing clapping beside us and our heads turned to look at my Father clapping his wings as he said in an impressed tone.

"My colt, Ethern, you need not to feel ashamed or disheartened at your lack of natural affinity. I too lacked any natural magic mastery, yet you see now I was a master of the arcane art and was a respected high-rank protector, what your little sis stated is correct, experience values a lot more than any natural talent ever would."

His head then turned toward me as he continued, "My filly, Critic, I'm impressed that you managed to break through your cold personality barrier and empathized with your brother alongside reassuring him that your natural magical affinity meant nothing without any direct experiences.

I have seen many others with natural magical mastery like yours, yet only a hoof full of them know how and when to show any real empathy and understanding toward others, you and your mother here are certainly among those hoof full, a great exception among the crowds."

I didn't know how to respond to my father's praise and neither did my brother seem to know to as he kept gazing from our father to me, after some thought I decided to settle with a normal thanks and said, "You're welcome Dad, I just did what I think I need to do as indirectly I was the cause of my brother's envy and disheartened feeling.

Anyway, now Mom, could you tell me why the magical refinement only happened just moments ago and not earlier? Alongside why does it decide to put my mind in a loop to distract me, paralyze my body so I couldn't move, blind my vision so I couldn't see, and obstruct my hearing to prevent my ability to hear, all almost at the same intervals?"

The warm and heartfelt setting was quickly cut down by my question, my father responded to my question by rolling his eyes while shaking his head before he sighed and said, "Like mother, like daughter. Critic certainly exhibits your personality of how not to maintain heartful moments, she's your loved filly Aeterna so answer her question."

Seeing her husband respond to my question, my mother just giggled before she looked my father right in the eyes before saying in a half-playful half threatening tone, "Well, you're the one choosing me to be your wife and have foals with, obviously some of it will have my personalities so sorry but you're stuck with me forever and don't even think of betraying that."

My father flinched in fear upon hearing my mother's claim and threat, he was unable to move his gaze away from my mother's stern eyes for a few seconds, before she glanced at me and said with a smile on her lips, "My filly, let's start by answering your second question.

The reason your magic did all of that is not known even after cycles of continuous study that still researching about it today, but there's a popular hypothesis that in a way makes sense with the rapid change of body, it is theorized that your magic did all of that as a ponane countermeasure to ensure that you neither felt pain, left traumatized, or stop the process."

My mother's lips then curved down in a frown and her eyes locked with mine in a stern gaze as she continued, "As for why it happened moments ago and not earlier, that's because your magic sensed that something overwhelmed your mind while you are in a safe environment, and used the opportunity to broke through it blockade then proceeded with the magical refinement.

Hence why now I'm wondering my filly, just what kind of information, revelation, or something else overwhelmed your mind and put your guard down significantly to the point that it allowed your magic to break through its blockade? Does it have something to do with what your brother said to you? Maybe I should ask him?"

My eyes widened as my lips frowned down in a grimace as I knew where this was going, and I couldn't let my parent know about it. My mother and father raised an eyebrow at my silent response and contemplating expression, the former then glanced to my brother and asked, "Ethern, just exactly what did you tell your little sis here?"

Before my brother could open his lips and answer her question, I clamped his muzzle shut with my wings while crying fake tears as I knew the only safe way out of this was by playing the low but effective emotional card, I then said in fake sorrow, "Please, don't say it, brother... It... it makes me recall something, let's just say worse in my previous life."

I glanced up at my parents who now had their attention directed toward me in both surprise and wonder, I wiped the fake tears off my cheeks as I said with a slight stutter, "M-mom, D-dad, could w-we just sob please forget about this? I sob rather not recall it if I sob could."

I can see from my mother's eyes that her maternal instinct screamed at her to comfort her filly, and she comforted me. She hugged me to her chest with her wings as my cry intensified and she let out a soothing tune while caressing my back gently with her wings.

This continued for the next few minutes until my cry began to subside, my mother kept pressing me to her chest until my sobs had ceased. She then released her hug and held me in her wings as I looked up at her frowny down and sorrowful face, she then said in a reassuring tone, "My filly, I wouldn't press you or your brother for what he said that shocked your mind."

My father walked to her side before he continued mother's reassurance, "For it is clear that whatever he told you, it is something that makes you recall some deep past traumas, and I had promised to you that I shall never allow you to endure any trauma again, especially an emotional one."

I then heard my brother stand up behind me as he finished our parent's reassurance, "And I promise that I would never tell anypony or anything about this unless I had a clear allowance from you, little sis."

I wiped the last fake tears off my eyes with my hooves as I said with a hopeful smile, "Really? You all wouldn't press me or my brother about this and forget about all of this?"

They all responded to my question with a smile of assurance and raised an eyebrow before saying in unison, "Forget about what, Critic?"

Hearing it, I smiled in happiness as I hugged my mother's face and said, "Thank you all, I love you all."

They responded by hugging me too as they returned my love for them in unison, "You're welcome and we love you too, Critic."

This heartful moment was cut short as we heard a loud honk sound followed by us moving our heads upward to the sky, then we spotted it, a very huge airship spanning over one hundred meters in length and tens of meters in width, flying hundreds of meters above our home.

The airship was certainly unlike what I had seen, instead of a huge balloon full of lighter-than-air gas, it was a massive cloud that packed tightly and neatly with one another, forming the shape of the zeppelin balloon as it left an almost transparent white mist behind it's trail.

Its deck was directly connected to the huge clouds by several grey steel pillars embedded directly into the lower side of the cloud, the deck itself is also purely made of steel gray metals with multiple transparent crystal windows sprouting on each of its sides.

On top of each side of the starboard and port, there seem to be huge folded grey steel staircases that lead to the top deck of the airship. On the left and right side of the ship, is a sign that reads 'International Transport Service Airship'.

(This is the closest image I can get regarding the appearance of the airship)

All in all, it makes a great airship as it is not only fast and carries a lot, but it might as well be a flying fortress with all those armored plates, and if it were to be equipped with several cannons, maybe even howitzers, autocannons, machine guns, and anti-aircraft battery if I ever managed to re-invent all of it.

'You know, now that I have a direct look at just how magnificent, huge, and hardy the airship is. I'm starting to wonder if instead of affording a new house in Alavis, we could buy this airship directly from the manager as it would be hard for the imperial ministries agents to track me if I was always on the move.

Alongside that, we could go everywhere we wanted at any time we wanted as considering the amount of space the airship gonna have, we would be able to haul months if not years of supply for our journey while living as if we were still on our old home on the ground with all the furniture, rooms, library, and even my mother's lab.'

I thought in my mind as I stared with slightly widened eyes and dropped jaw at the airship above us, I was so focused on it that I didn't realize that my family had released their hug of me. When I snap out of my stare I find myself to be atop my mother's head as she tried her best to glance up at me with a smile on her face as she said excitedly.

"My filly, I know that look of wonder and surprise on your face, I too had the same look when I first looked at one of the most finest and advanced combined magical and technological inventions a.k.a magicatechno. It is one of the wonder creations of Alicornkind, one that my mother had a proud and crucial role in its development."

We watched together as the airship began to descend and close in on us for the next few minutes until it stopped just about fifty meters above our home gates, I watched in awe as a machinery and metal clanking sound was heard, followed by one of the grey metal staircase folding down to the ground in just under a minute.

During this, my family had lightened up their horns as all of the huge furniture and half of the crates were enveloped in magic and floated behind us. I then face hoofed as I remembered that I had to carry my share of the crates which is the other half.

I put my hoof down and glanced behind me at the still-on-the-ground crates, I was about to conjure the telekinetic spell symbol alongside some additional order pattern when my horn lit up instantly in crimson magic as I watched in surprise and widened eyes that all of the targeted crates were encased in crimson magic at the same time then floated in unison.

Beside me, I heard my father chuckle upon seeing my reaction and say in an amused tone, "My filly, that is what your mother means when magical refinement makes your horn able to cast and flow magic more efficiently, your horn requires a very short amount of time to cast spell you already familiar with.

You mastered type two telekinesis spells from level two Force/Telekinesis magics and have used them continuously every day, your mind is already familiar with the spell pattern and just automatically conjures it whenever you will to cast the spell."

Hearing my father's answer, I just shook my head in disbelief as I certainly never have lifted so many things with my magic at once and didn't feel even a single shred of pain. I turned my head back to the front and watched as now two adult Alicorns, one male, and one female, descended the staircase.

The male Alicorn on the right had a deep maroon coat with a yellow crossed orange mane and tail, his face had a warm smile upon seeing us and his purple eyes gleamed with excitement and surprise upon seeing me on top of my mother's head.

He is wearing a deep purple crossed-blue uniform with various symbols and some medals on the chest, alongside a white-blue cap on his head similar to one you would see in an army naval officer back on Earth. The cap had a symbol made of gold and was shaped closely to resemble Empress Kinersia's appearance.

On his left, is a blue Alicorn mare with a white crossed cyan mane and tail that is proportioned similarly to waves on a beach shore. Her head is positioned slightly lower as it seems she's trying to avoid looking at us, until her cyan eyes met with my mother's red eyes and her head went back up as a shy smile was now seen on her lips.

Unlike the male Alicorn beside her, she doesn't wear anything but I suppose it is the norm here since all the time I have lived and seen here, an Alicorn or more only worn clothing when it was either armor or uniforms that defined their occupation or status, rarely an Alicorn would wear clothes because preference and likeness.

After the two Alicorn finished descending the staircase, my family walked up to them and my father was the one to break the silence and start a conversation with a warm smile on his face, "Hey Firais! It's been a long time since we have met with each other, little bro. How's your work been doing? Seems good to me as you are a manager now."

The maroon Alicorn, whose name is Firais and my father's little brother, responded to his question by spreading his wings and hugged my father as he answered warmly, "All good on my side here big bro, what about you? I heard that last year you were promoted to a gold class protector. Congratulations really, it's quite a hard thing to reach that far high."

While my father and uncle were continuing their exchange of information and stories of each side since the last time they met, my mother walked up to the blue Alicorn and greeted her with a hug as she said, "Hello there Nevalis, how have you been since the last time we met with each other on your wedding with Firais two cycles ago?"

The blue Alicorn mare named Nevalis was taken aback by my mother's hug but eventually recovered and responded to my mother's question in a shy, small happy tone, "I have been doing very well since my wedding big sis, he's certainly much more than capable to satisfy all three of my physical, emotional, and companionship needs."

My mother released her hug and looked down on each of her sides before her lips curved down in a frown as she asked with a raised eyebrow, "Still no nephew or niece for me, little sis? Is there something wrong with you or him when both of you are trying to conceive a foal? I could maybe find a way or solution to the problem."

Nevalis, who was my aunt, looked to the side with an obvious blush on her muzzle upon hearing my mother's question and offer as her lips curved up in a shy smile before she responded, "No, there's nothing wrong with him or me, it's just.

Both he and I want foals, yet I just can't shake up the feeling of unpreparedness inside me no matter how much I had prepared or planned for it, I want to have a foal yet I felt like I wasn't ready for it. It's something that I will deal and overcome with eventually, Aeterna, so you don't need to help me on this."

Upon hearing her answer, my mother just chuckled as she shook her head a few times before placing one wing on her shoulder and said in assurance, "Little sis, Nevalis, you don't have to be so shy around us and it's normal for you to feel unprepared to have foals.

But it is a fact that you would always never be fully ready for something especially as big as having foals, and no amount of preparation could change that. The best way is after you have planned your best, don't look back and consider, instead go right away then improvise your plan along the way."

My mother motioned to my brother right next to her, "I mean, just look at my first foal Ethern, his coming into the family is unexpected and unplanned so it's practically a trial-by-fire experience for me as I have no plan to fall back on. Yet, you see that with my husband's encouragement and indefinite continuous support."

She then gently nuzzled his forehead a few times and my brother responded in kind as he nuzzled her cheek back several times before continuing, "I was able to both raise him as best as I could and become a great mother figure for him to lean on, am I right my colt, Ethern?"

My brother responded to her with a nod but he remarked with annoyance, "Yes Mom, you are certainly a great mother and mother figure for me as you have countlessly supported me everywhere in my learning. But, sometimes I felt you're physically more affectionate than what was needed to show love and care."

My mother stopped moving her body as she proceeded to what he had remarked about her, while my aunt let out a small shy chuckle upon hearing it. After a few seconds of silence, my mother's head went back up as she said, "Right... I suppose that I can be more physical than what was needed, but."

My mother glanced up at me before she grabbed me with her wing and brought me down to her chest level, she then held me there for a few seconds until my aunt took notice of me before saying with a smile, "This here is my second foal, her name is Critic and she's very unique and unlike any other foals you have seen."

My aunt then slowly glanced at me before moving her head closer until it was in front of my face, her lips then curved up in a smile as her eyes gleamed before she said, "Hello there, my new niece Critic, I'm your aunt here Nevalis and by Kinersia, you're indeed an unusual one as I felt a sizeable magic radiating from you, even though you're a foal."

Responding to her introduction in kind, I smiled back at her and spoke, "Hello to you too my aunt, Miss Nevalis, I didn't know that my mother had a little sister who married my father's little brother. As for sizeable magic coming from me, that's probably because I'm casting telekinesis on multiple crates floating behind us."

My response was followed by the whole family going quiet as all conversation immediately ceased, I saw my uncle and aunt looking at me with widened eyes and jaw-dropping in shock at my ability to speak coherently. The first one to recover was my uncle who shook his head before walking up to me and said in a surprised tone.

"Well, well, well, aren't you a very unusual foal? I can see what your father meant that your 'unique circumstances' would gather unnecessary and dangerous attention, being able to speak so swiftly and coherently at such a young age is a sign of heightened intellectual capability and potential."

He pointed at my horn glowing in crimson magic with his wing as he remarked, "When I first saw that, I thought it was just an accidental magical burst that frequently happened to young Alicorn foals and will go on its own within minutes, and yet."

He pointed to all the crates floating in crimson magic behind us as he stated in bewilderment, "All of those crates were encased in the same crimson color as your magic, and were floating as a result of being encased. Which means your magic is causing all the crates to float at the same time."

He then glanced at me with an incredulous look as he took a deep breath before finishing, "And that requires you to know how to cast spells and their patterns, both of which shouldn't have been possible as it is a fact that Alicorn foals are unable to control their spells until they are at least three cycles old."

In response to his words, I put my hoof in my chin as I recalled what Doctor Clean said to me when I was just born, before putting it down and stating, "I suppose I was unusual as I already had consciousness since my birth, as for magical talent... that probably because my biology was made to support it, a lot more than what was normal."

Hearing my response, my uncle raised an eyebrow while my aunt had just recovered from her shock as she shook her head, the former then asked with curiosity, "Hmm? Your biology is made to support casting magic a lot more than the average foals, how so?"

Before I could answer his question though, my mother put me back on top of her head and motioned for me to keep silent as she took the lead of the conversation, "Before we answer that, can I trust you two to keep all of the things you have just saw and heard to be a secret alongside what will come? I hate having to administer amnestic to both of you."

The one to respond this time was my shy aunt who had been quiet since she saw me able to speak swiftly, she answered my mother's question with a small yet reassuring voice, "You could trust both of us to keep this a secret since I'm sure it would be quite disastrous if anypony else saw her natural magical affinity and plan to exploit it, and we don't want that to happen to her."

My mother, however, seemed to still be unconvinced if they would keep quiet about this conversation as her lips kept frowning and her eyes narrowed at them. Seeing this, my uncle was the one to respond as he said in a determined tone, "I see that my wife's promise wasn't enough and It's understandable since what's at stake is delicate.

Very well, then by Empress Kinersia," His horn lit up in purple magic while my aunt's horn lit up in cyan, as they combined their magic to create a symbol that looked similar to a star with a lock above them ", We swear an oath that whatever we have seen or heard alongside what will come in here remain hidden and unrevealed. If one of us were to break this oath willfully, then may Her Imperial Highness be the one to correct our mistake and slay our throat."

Right after he finished, their horn stopped glowing and their eyes closed as the symbol above them kept sparkling until it suddenly burst into a white light, it was split into two beams one purple and the other cyan, each of the beams then entered the horn of their respective color.

After a few seconds, both of their eyes opened and my uncle asked, "There, we have sworn an oath of secrecy, was that enough to convince you that we will keep this whole thing a secret?"

My mother responded with an affirmative nod yet she had a surprised look on her face with eyes widened and jaw dropped, my father instead was looking at them with concern as his lips curved down in a grimace as he asked worriedly, "Firais, Nevalis, are you sure both of you are okay with using such high type oath keeper spell on yourself?"

My aunt was the one to respond to his question as she glanced at him and said in a more loud and reassuring tone, "Don't worry dear Arcane, or any of you in this matter as we can guess and know just how disastrous if it was to be revealed and how many will plan to exploit her on it. Now, may we continue the main topic of the conversation?"

Her question was answered with another nod from my mother, her expression turned into one of relief as her eyes gleamed with happiness and her lips went up in a smile before saying in an affirmative tone, "Very well, you see my filly here has magical pathway consume a fourth of space in her head and is capable of adapting rapidly.

Because of this, her vision is impaired as the necessary nerves that allow for clear vision were blocked by it, but she doesn't suffer from any neurogenerative issue nor was her intellect lessened, if anything it makes her process information and act based on it faster alongside making rational and information based decision more efficiently and accurately."

My uncle was the one to respond with his eyes widening and mouth slightly agape in surprise, "By Kinersia, her magical pathway consumes a fourth of space on her head yet she suffers no neurodegenerative issue? Now I have seen a lot of wonders, but this is certainly gonna be among the top ten, please continue."

For the next few minutes, my mother continued telling them of my unique circumstances and everything about me, with my father and brother, sometimes interjected to add provisions and opinions of their own. Knowing that this discussion and exchange wouldn't stop for hours if I didn't do something, I let out a growl of annoyance that quickly gathered their attention.

My mother, being the always so watchful and caring mother she was, was the first one to react by raising an eyebrow as her lips went down in a frown and asked worriedly, "My filly, why are you growling? Are you feeling any pain or unexplainable after-side effects of magical refinement?"

I just looked down at my mother's face with narrowed eyes and lips curved down in annoyance as I growled again before pointing with my right hoof behind us and at the airship before saying, "Look everypony, I don't mean to offend any of you but could we just get into the airship and place all of this packages, furniture, and crates behind us inside the airship first?"

I closed my eyes and rubbed the side of my forehead with my hooves as I felt wave after wave of headache and nausea incoming before I pressed the base of my horn gently at the pain slowly rising around it. After that, I opened my eyes and stated with irritation, "I don't know about any of you, but I can only handle conversation between so many ponies at once for so long.

Not only that, but I started to feel a headache in my head and slowly raising pain in my horn, I have never held these many crates at once for a prolonged amount of time so please, could we just continue this conversation on the airship after we secured all of our belongings in it?"

My uncle was the first to respond to my irritation as he clapped his wings and stated in realization, "Ah right, my wife and I were here because you and your family asked for an airship that could transport all of you alongside your belongings to Alavis, yet we spend almost half an hour just conversing on the ground."

My aunt and his horn then lit up in their respective magic and soon I felt the magical strain on my horn lessen as my aunt with a smile on her face, took half of the crates I was holding in my magic and brought it forward as she said, "Let me help you carry those crates, my niece, now let's get into the airship and quickly finish storing all of these so we can continue our conversation."

And just like that, all of us began walking up the staircase and into the airship with all kinds of stuff following behind us, it's gonna take a while to store all of these items.

After three hours of grueling tasks of navigating through the inside of the airship which was also made of reinforced steel, alongside hauling all of our belongings and sorting them appropriately based on their tags, we finally finished storing all of it and just needed to do some other things first before the airship is ready to fly.

However, I didn't want to know what those other things were and did not want any part in it, for right now I had gone to one of the airship bedrooms, went straight to the bed, and then planted my face straight onto one of the pillows. After a few seconds, I turned my head sideways to face the door with my eyes still closed.

After another several seconds, I opened my eyes slowly and let out a yawn as I started to feel sleepy and my body felt exhausted from all of the things I had done in just a day, apparently, my previous hours of sleep weren't enough to replenish my energy.

I stared into the interior of the room, which was quite a contrast to the more mundane and boring grey steel walls of the corridor outside. The walls of the room are still made of steel but the one I'm in is covered in crystals that seem to illustrate the view of the outside world in the current hour.

Why would I say that, because all of the walls in the room look like a green field that is three dimensional and seems to stretch far toward the horizon, I could even see there are some rivers and lakes alongside some fireflies that looked so realistic in the way it moves from one plant to another.

The floor seemed to be covered in grass, but whenever I touched the ground to see if it was true I would just hard crystal board, signaling that the view I was seeing was an illusion from the crystal magic. The ceilings are even more beautiful as it had illustrations of beautiful night skies with shining crescent in the middle, surrounded by sparkling stars and almost transparent cloud mists.

All in all, the room looks surreal and I would have thought I was outside and not inside an airship room if I didn't know that what I was seeing was just an illusion. Alongside here there's some furniture like tables, chairs, mirrors, and even two bookshelves full of books on each side of the walls.

This room certainly is much bigger on the inside than what was seen from the outside, another wonder of magic that I need to learn someday. The illusion is also a wonder as I didn't notice any lamps or lightning source, yet I was able to see just fine as it seemed that the crescent moon and sparkling stars on the ceilings could radiate light.

If I were to guess the size of the room, I would suggest it to be around seven meters in length, five meters in width, and probably two and a half meters in height, certainly much bigger than what was looked from outside the room. There are only two doors in the room one brown wood that leads outside the room with a grey lightweight steel that leads into the bathroom.

Now that I have observed the interior of the room for the past few minutes, my eyes began to close slowly, and just as I was about to drift off to sleep. I heard hoof steps coming from the door and into the room, followed by my father's relieved voice as he said.

"Ah there you are my filly, you had us worried there for fifteen minutes when none of us saw you leaving and know where you had wandered off. Now come on let's get to the outboard side with others, I'm sure you don't want to miss seeing this magnificent airship ascend to the sky."

In response to my father's words, I just opened my eyes and looked up at him dead in the eyes as I groaned before stating in irritation with my lips almost growling, "But dad, my social battery had gone dead already and my body felt exhausted after all I had done this day, so please just let me have my sleep as I can watch the airship ascend anytime next."

Hearing my words, my father furrowed his eyebrows as his lips went to a frown before he stated a bit threateningly, "My filly, don't fall asleep and get out of bed quickly now. Then follow me to the outboard of the airship as trust me, you won't regret it. Or, do I have to carry you there little missy?"

I just ignored his warning, put my head back onto the pillows, and closed my eyes as I began drifting off to sleep, after hearing seconds of silence answer and seeing my eyes were closed. My father just sighed and shook his head before lit up his horn in red magic.

Soon enough, I felt warm magic enveloped my body and I was suddenly floated up quickly to be on top of my father's head with a yelp as I was rudely awoken from my sleep. After he put me on top of his head, he clicked his tongue once before began walking out of the room and through the corridor toward the outboard, all the while ignoring my growl and groan of irritation.

After a few minutes, we finally saw an open door which must be the way my father got inside and began searching for me. My father walked through the door and closed the door shut after we went past by with his magic, I glanced in front of me and saw my brother and mother sitting alongside my aunt on one of the steel benches on the left starboard of the airship.

By the looks of it, they were having a great conversation. I saw my brother's eyes widen in awe while listening to my aunt's tale. On the center of the outboard, I saw my uncle who was waiting patiently as he stood before the steering of the airship, he then saw us walking closer and said.

"Ahh I see you have returned with your filly big brother, we can get on starting to ascend the airship then," He looked at me and saw my annoyed face as my eyes were narrowed at him, "I'm sorry for having to disturb your sleep little niece, but I assure it's worth it."

In response to his assurance, I just grumbled quietly and threw a few curse words at him until I stared him directly in the eyes and stated with irritation, "Just get this airship running and ascend to the sky quickly already, so I can go back to my bed and have my sleep I needed so much."

My uncle nodded at my irritated statement as he turned to face the rest of my family and his wife conversing, he took a deep breath before shouting, "Aeterna! Ethern! and Nevalis! We are about to get this airship to ascend so make sure to hold on tight to not slip or fall onto the floor."

My family and aunt responded with an affirmative nod as they corrected their sitting position and put their seatbelts on around their body... okay that's new but I suppose it's similar to flying an airplane as it is hard to walk without stumbling while it is ascending or descending rapidly.

My father then quickly walked over to our family and joined them in sitting on the bench while putting his seatbelt on, after that, he grabbed me from atop his head with his wings and carried me over to my mother, who quickly snatched me from his wing grip with her wings before putting me on her lap.

This time, she kept pressing her wings around me as she bit and pulled my right ear slightly, I hissed from the pain of my sensitive ears being bitten and pulled. She then released her bit and then nuzzled on the bitten ear for a few seconds until she said in a stern voice right on my ear.

"Here you are now my filly, you have a habit of making your parents worried over your well-being very often don't you? If only your wings were still wounded, I maybe would clean your wounds in a more 'efficient and faster' but more painful method as punishment.

I'm certainly glad that the magical refinement healed that, just make sure to try not to disappear from our sight again without telling us first my filly, Critic."

I had lost my sleepiness due to the pain from being bitten and pulled on the ear, so I nodded twice in response as my lips were still grimacing because there was still lasting pain in my right ear. My mother saw my pained face and gently nuzzled my right ear until the pain went away.

After that, my mother and I just waited patiently as we watched my uncle pulling some levers near the steer, I then heard a clanking sound followed by the staircase folding back up alongside the multiple anchors used for landing. A few minutes later, all anchors and staircase had been pulled up and there was no more obstruction for ascending the airship.

My uncle then turned to face steer and pulled the lever on the right side of it upward, what happened next was something I didn't expect. After my uncle had pulled the lever, I heard a slow clicking metal sound from above as I looked upward to see in both surprise and amazement, that eight holes were slowly sprouting on each below-edge side of the huge cloud.

I watched with further amazement as all of the holes slid open and it beamed a cyan light, followed by the visible burst of winds pushing the cloud upward. Slowly but surely, the airship began to ascend and off the ground as it went higher and higher, going faster by the seconds as the burst of wind intensified.

'If I could get my hooves on whatever is causing those bursts of winds, then perfect it alongside making a proper airframe that fit, I would be able to make a crude but functional airplane! Obviously, it would be a long and hard process, but I can see how that could revolutionize aspects of Alicornkind, I'll put it on my list of considerations.'

I thought in my mind as I continued staring at the visible burst of wind with amazed widened eyes and a dreamy smile on my face, my mother must have seen my expression as I heard her chuckle before saying in a knowing tone, "Now you know what do we mean it's worth it to lose more hours of sleep, my filly."

My mother then pointed at one of the visible bursts of wind with her hoof as she showed a proudful smile on her face as she said, "My filly those bursts of winds over there are created by multiple precisely cut one-meter by-one-meter pure wind crystals that are modified significantly, and are in the shape of a perfect sphere with not a single dent or weak spot.

You know what's even better? My mother was the one leading and perfecting the development of these wind flow crystals, which means she had a crucial role in the development of the airship. I had also done some great inventions but it wasn't related nor was in the scale like this, so I hoped that you would be able to surpass me and invent greater things for the benefit of Alicornkind."

While I was hearing my mother's words, I was looking around at the sky and saw that we were already on cloud level, even higher as I watched that the cloud disappeared below the airship because we went higher than it. My attention was then drawn back to my uncle, who now was holding the steer steady with his wings to keep it balanced.

After another minute, he then pulled the lever on the left side of the steer downward until it reached the middle, and now I saw that the flow of the wind burst slowed as the airship neither went higher nor lower. My uncle then pulled both levers right below the steer to its fullest and soon the airship began going forward faster by the seconds.

' So the steer wasn't the only part controlling the airship, but alongside some levers that decided the altitude, wind burst, and if the airship was going forward or backward? Kind of makes sense now that I think about it, but how would those levers be directly connected with the airship engines?'

I asked in my mind as my uncle turned the steer right and the airship followed, then continued on a straight course as he looked at us with a smile before shouting, "The airship has finished ascending and has stabilized its course path! All passengers now are permitted to release their seatbelts and thank you for your cooperation."

Hearing that, my mother put me atop her head before began putting their seatbelts off, and with a click of metal, my family was free of it and got out of the bench before walking toward my uncle. My father was the fastest to stand next to him as he asked, "So little bro, how long would you think it would take for us to get to Alavis?"

My uncle met my father's face and answered after putting a hoof under his chin, "Hmm, in the best scenario which is rare, it would only take about one week to get there. In the worst scenario then it's gonna be a month, assuming that the bad comes to worse which is very unlikely. So approximately in two or three weeks of flying with every three days stop at airship field to resupply."

Upon hearing his answer, my father let out a drawn-out sigh as he said with dread, "Of course, considering my luck then it's most likely be the latter rather than the former," His face quickly turned into one of familiarity as he smiled at something on his mind before asking, "Firais, you still remember the song we used to sing when we were still together as protector and on an airship toward another quest?"

My uncle laughed hearing father's question before he said happily, "Of course big bro, how dare you think I had forgotten the song we used to sing together. Nevalis, prepare the musical sphere, both my brother and I here have got a song to sing."

Right after my uncle said that my aunt lit up her horn and soon a cyan sphere appeared floating in front of her, she then tapped her right hoof on the sphere and soon music was heard.

Right after the music was heard, my father was the first one to sing, "Tell everypony we're on our way. New friends and new places to see."

My uncle continued, "With blue skies ahead, yes we're on our way. And there's nowhere else we'd rather be."

They sing in unison, "Tell everypony we are on our way. And we are loving every step we take."

My father faced my uncle before continuing, "With the moon shining bright, yes we're on our way. And I can't keep these smiles off our faces."

My uncle met my father's gaze and continued, "Cause there's nothing like, seeing each other again. No matter what the distance between."

They then sing unison, "And the stories that we tell, will make you smile. Oh, it really lifts our hearts. So tell them all we are on our way. New Friends new places to see."

My uncle then looked up at the night sky before continuing, "And to sleep under the stars and could ask for more. With the moon keeping watch over us."

My father then motioned as if there were two things on his wings, "Not the snow nor the rain, can change our mind. The sun will come out, wait and see."

My uncle continued, "And the feeling of the wind in your face can lift your heart."

My father continued, "Oh... there's nowhere I'd rather be."

They sing in unison, "Cause we are on our way now. Well and truly... we're on our way now... we're on our way now... we're on our way now... we're on our way now."

The music just played for the next few seconds as they stayed silent, until they sang in unison, "Tell everypony we're on our way. And we just can't wait to be there."

My father then pointed at the sky with his wing, "With blue skies ahead, yes we're on our way. And nothing but good times to share."

They sing together, "So tell everypony we're on our way. And I just can't wait to be home."

My uncle then pointed at where the sun was if it was daylight, "With the sun beating down, yes we're on our way. And nothing but good times to show."

They sing together, "We're on our way. Yes, we are on our way."

As they continued to sing again, my mother just smiled and shook her head as she said with nostalgia, "Those two... well, it seemed that this journey wouldn't be a boring one my filly. For we are indeed gonna have a good time ahead of us."

Just like that, another day was spent in the land of Equinera. Well even in the darkest hour, there's always light somewhere else waiting to be discovered.

Author's Note

Critic will need to be more careful in choosing her next step, as now she knows just what is at risk...

Anyway, I did say last week that it makes me wonder how I write a 10k word-long chapter, well this one is even crazier and makes me question how the number could reach this much

This is gonna be another hard chapter for me to edit, if anything I remember from editing the last chapter will apply to this one and worse

On another note, this story finally reached over 1k views! I thank you all for supporting my story from the start and for being willing to let me grow and learn from my mistakes.

Really, it's quite fun to write and I'm glad I got support for some ideas for this chapter from my good friend Luckyfanisaac, he's the one suggesting the image and the song in the story so thank's for the help my friend

Next chapter, there's gonna be quite a deviation from my original plan as there's a new one that makes you and I explore this world together alongside Critic and her always supportive- if not a bit overprotective family

See you all next week and once again thanks for making this story reach over 1k views