The Opposing Sides Of Life

Chapters

Chapter 1: The Prologue
Chapter 2: The Next Day of The Past Night
Chapter 3: Knowledge Is Everything
Chapter 4: The learning of the land.
Chapter 5: The End Is Only The Beginning
Chapter 6: Moving Forward

Chapter 1: The Prologue

The Opposing Sides Of Life

Chapter 1: Prologue

Since the beginning of time the ponies all around Equestria have been hiding from predators. They hunt and have been hunted. Centuries before the reign of the two royal princesses, Princess Luna and Princess Celestia, Everypony was on their own. The Earth Ponies, Unicorns, and Pegasi had always stayed out of each others way. The Pegasi kept to the skies and Unicorns stayed hidden in Everfree forest and desert. The Earth Ponies stayed in lightest parts of the Everfree forest. Although they avoided one another, they still traded items. The Unicorns had potions and other magic things, The Earth Ponies had food and some building materials, and the Pegasi had minerals from the highest peaks of the mountains they lived near.

Ponies were always independent in Equestria. The different races of Ponies relied on themselves for the most part. Hundreds of different groups scattered Equestria. In the middle of the Everfree there was a village made by the Earth Ponies. It wasn't a big village but had all the basics for Ponies to live there. It was secluded in the under brush of the Everfree. In-front of that was a large field that filly's and colt's would play in. Mostly being farming area, the filly's and colt's were not allowed to play in parts of the field because there were scary monsters lurking in the tall grass.

It was late winter in Equestria with the smell of the fresh cold air amongst the forest. With the reflection of the snow the moon helped illuminate the Everfree a little. The village was made up of Tree huts. One of these tree huts in the village belonged to Nightlight and Sundance. There were many ponies there that night watching as Sundance gave birth to two fillies.

"Aren't they just beautiful?" Sundance asked Nightlight.

"Yes they are" Nightlight replied.

"W.. What is that on their heads!?" Sundance Exclaimed.

"I.. Its.. Its a Horn!" Nightlight said is shock and disbelief.

Among all the chatter one pony in the crowd started yelling "Look! They have wings too!"

Sundance and Nightlight looked at each other. They didn't know what to say.

They stared at each other for a moment and thought. "I.. I Guess we'll take them to Dr. Featherhoof then?" Nightlight asked Sundance

"Tomorrow we will, I think everyone needs time to figure out what is going on here..." Sundance said softly.

"ok sweetie" Nightlight said. "Everypony go back to your huts please we need to get rest and so do they. It's getting very late."

As everypony filed and left Night and Sun's hut, Nightlight turned back to Sundance. "Well that's that." he said with a irritated look. "Ponies sure get restless when something out of the ordinary happens."

"Yes, well what should we name them then?" Sundance asked

Nightlight paused and thought for a minute. "We will name that one Celestia. Her white coat is as bright as the sun just like her mothers and her bright pink mane is like the glow of a star. Her name will be Luna. Her coat is as dark as the night but her eyes are as bright as the moon and her mane is like the blue night sky."

"Yes, Yes those are wonderful names" Sundance replied.

Nightlight paused and laughed at the two fillies poking each other and giggling.

Happiness filled Celestia and Luna's eyes as they played and laughed at each other. There was nothing more heart warming than watching the two fillies play together.

"They are just so beautiful aren't they?" Sundance asked quietly

"Yes, They are very." Nightlight replied with a sigh.

He was looking at Celestia and Luna with awe and disbelief. He couldn't understand why they had wings and a horn. How was is even possible to have both? Were they Pegasi with a horn? Or were they a Unicorn with wings? He didn't have a clue. All he knew is that they were his daughters and he loved them no matter what they looked like or what they had. Having both wings and a horn made them feel even more special too him for some reason.

"What do you think about their wings and horn?" Nightlight asked.

"I think they are different... but yet beautiful too." Sundance replied with a happy sigh. "But I think it is time for some sleep." she said.

"Ya good idea." Nightlight replied with a grin.

Looking out the window into the cold dark, Nightlight thought about the Celestia and Luna. Were the wings and horn real? What's the reason for this. He decided to go and get some rest and sleep on it. But first he went and got some water from the stream in front of their hut. He was cautious while walking to the stream.He gathered his water and went back inside. When inside he turned and looked out the window. He saw a pack of Timberwolves off in the distance roaming. They didn't come near but he watched them. "How could there be such savage things in this world" he muttered to himself.

"Night. Come here!" Sundance yelled across the hut.

Nightlight walked into the room.

"The girls, Look they are both walking so good!" Sundance said excitedly. Luna and Celestia were walking across the room with little stumbling. "They two are something special aren't they?" Sun asked.

"Ya, They truly are." Nightlight said chuckling. "What are we going do with these two?" He said quietly with a smile.

Sundance laughed. "I don't know. I just don't know."

Chapter 2: The Next Day of The Past Night

Chapter 2: The Next day of the Past night.

The next morning it was sunny outside. The snow began to melt as spring soon approached. The warm rays from the sun were pushing their way through the tiny windows of Nightlight and Sundance's hut on the edge of the Everfree, Nightlight was on his way out to get food and water. It was quite and peaceful. The perfect morning that nothing could ruin.

*CRASH*

Nightlight snapped his head back towards the hut and ran towards it.

"What's all the commotion?" he called out.

"Oh Celestia just knocked the toy shelf over." Sun said as she cradled Celestia to ease her crying.

Luna sat up in her bed and blankly stared at her sister.

"Well its 9:43, shall we go and see Dr.Featherhoof now?" Night asked while looking at Luna.

"Yes we will go and see if he knows why it is that they have these wings and horns." Sun replied.

The family got ready and left their hut. While walking down the melting dirt road to the doctors office on the other side of the village, a lot of other ponies were giving them strange looks and staring at Celestia and Luna. They walked for a while. Night and Sun watched as their daughters tried to chase the butterflies and such but couldn't. Even though that they were picking up abilities faster than normal ponies and walking well they still needed some assistance. After about 10 minutes of walking they finally reached the doctors hut. They went inside and sat down.

A friendly face appeared in the archway. He was a slim pony with brown coat and grey mane. He had big glasses and a white lab type coat on. "Well hello. You must be Celestia and you must be Luna." He said with a smile. He then turned to Night and Sun. "My my have they ever picked up how to walk fast. This is astonishing." he remarked.

"Oh yes they have. They were walking around last night but still need just some help." said Night with a small chuckle.

"Really? This is interesting. I have never saw this before. I have many books on medicine but never heard of this sort of thing happening." He paused for a second with a puzzled look."Now that I recall there is one thing. It's only but a legend. It's called the. Hmmm. Let me find that book." he said.

"Do you really think that there is an explanation behind this Night?" Sun asked.

"Possibly, my parents told me a story long long ago about something called a Alicorn or something. It was a old folk tale though but maybe its real." he said while concentrating on his thoughts.

Five minutes later Dr.Featherhoof came back with a big brown book with old ancient style pictures and symbols on the cover.

"It's The Great Studies of The World. now hmm let me see." he said while flipping through the pages. "Ahhh yes here we go. The history of ponies. Chapter 6. Alicorns. Alicorns are a Special type of pony that have both wings and horns. They accelerate their learning and pick up on things so much faster than regular ponies. They also exceed in magic and can harness the Acrane magic from the stars or heavens. They typically have very good social skills and such." he flipped a few pages ahead. "Ahh yes the medical aspect. As the Alicorns are hurt they re-heal in half the time normal Ponies do. But have they exact same structure as a Earth,Pegasus, or Unicorn. Just all combined. "But why are they alicorns? why were they born like that?" Sun Questioned.

"Well it says here that in the past there was one Alicorn named Starshine The Great. He devoted his life to the study of his kinds exsistance. It says he found out that during his studies he realised that he is able to wield the power of the gods, They put him on this planet. He figured that since he was able to do this they must have placed his kind there to rule it over and make sure that the world is balanced." Featherhoof read aloud.

"So this is why my daughters are "Alicorns"?" asked Sun.

"I would assume....." Featherhoof stopped.

"What is it Featherhoof?" Night questioned.

"Ummmm..." he said in a flat tone.

"What is it?" Night asked

"Uhhh your not going to believe this..... It says in a personal journal entry by Starshine. "I have foreseen things nopony can imagine. It seems that I or any other Alicorns in this time are meant to rule and keep order in this world. But I know who will. Two Earth Pony's children. They will have the brightest colour of coats. The biggest eyes. They will be the true ones to rule this world. They will save it from almost certain doom. I have gathered my things. I do not wish to learn any more about this world. This will be my last entry..."

"That's all it says." Featherhoof said quietly.

The room was silent. No one said a word. Celestia and Luna looked at each other and made faces. The Silence was broken by their laughter. Then they stopped. Celestia looked at Sundance and yawned.

Sun looked at Celestia. "Are you tired already?" she said with a grin. "Oh I know. You havn't had anything yet. We will go in a few minutes."

Sun turned back to Featherhoof and stared for a moment. "So how long will they keep learning things at this rate?"

"It says. In the minds of alicorns they are able to pick up on things and learn a lot faster than other for the first few months. After that they slow down and learn at a normal pace. But there is some things they will accel at, Also I would recommend teaching them necessities as soon as possible so they can be better prepared to explore Equestria when the time comes." Featherhoof said.

"So its saying that Luna and Celestia will rule this world one day?" Sun asked.

"Yes that is correct. But I wouldn't tell them about this "gift" if you will, until they get older. By what these research papers say if word gets out that they have this kind of power they could be manipulated. That would mean potentially fatal consequences for this world. They must learn alot on their own." Featherhoof said with serious tone.

"Yes that make sense. We understand. Thank you for all the help Featherhoof." Night said.

"Ok let's get you two home now. I bet you're starving." Sun said to the two little fillies. They left doctor Featherhoof's office and had a nice walk home. It was warm out but there was still some snow left on the ground. When they got back home they sat down and ate. They had daisy sandwiches and straw for lunch. Luna and Celestia had started throwing food at each other while Night and Sun talked.

"So what do we do? Do we start teaching them? What do we teach them?" Sun asked.

"Well yes we should start, I think we should start with language they need to know how to speak." Night said. He turned to the girls.

"Celestia. Luna. Eat your lunch." Night said.

Luna gave him a pouting face and threw a bunch of straw at him. Night paused for a second. "What about you Celestia. Eat your lunch please." Celestia listened and Luna looked at her sister and soon followed. Night gave them a smile and continued to eat. Later on after lunch he went to the girl's room and sat down.

"Hi girls. Having fun playing dolls?" he asked politely. The two just stared at him blankly.

Night sat down and played dolls with the two little fillies for a while. Luna was making noises and pretending the dolls were flying and Celestia was making them walk and jump around. Night just laughed at the two little fillies playing. He couldn't ask for anything in the world but this.

"Suppers ready!" Suns voice came from the kitchen.

"Ok girls lets go eat." Night said happily as he stood up.

Sundance had made more dandelion sandwiches for supper. She was already sitting down waiting to eat. "so did you have fun playing dolls with the girls?"

Luna and Celestia weren't paying attention. They had food all over their faces and continued to eat. This cause a bit of irritation for Sundance as she sighed.

"Ya they are interesting to play with. They seem to just have so much energy and it just baffles me." Night said with a chuckle.

"Are they able to walk better?" Sun asked.

"Yes they can walk a bit better now." Night replied with a smile.

"well that's a good. So what did you want to do with them tomorrow?" Sun asked.

"I think we should go show them around the village. They could meet some other fillies and colts their age and not to mention get some fresh air. They were inside pretty much all day." Night said with a tired sigh.

Sun had nodded and looked back to Celestia and Luna's seats. "Wha.. where did they go!?" Sun asked in shock. She started frantically looking for them. She felt a sigh of relief as she saw Celestia walk out of the room.

"What are we going to do with those two?" Sun asked. With that Night had gotten up and went after the little fillies as they went up the stairs.

He picked them up and carried them off to bed. "Goodnight" he said as he left their room. Celestia and Luna turned and rolled in their sleep. The coming months were going to be very interesting.

Chapter 3: Knowledge Is Everything

11 months later- Spring

Laughter filled the hot spring air. Celestia and Luna were having fun playing outside chasing

each other along with other colts and fillies. In the past few months they have learned a lot about the way of life and everything they need to know. They learned how to speak and could walk very well. They also, in the past few month, had been getting more and more curious about exploring outside the village. Sun and Night told them about the monsters and dangers outside the village.

"Tia?" Luna asked.

"Yes what is it lil sis?" Celestia said with a smile.

"Can we go explore? Im bored." Luna mumbled.

"No Luna, Remember what mom and dad said?" Celestia said sternly.

Luna sighed, "Yes but I'm tired of running around here. We do it every day. Same thing one day after another."

Celestia stopped and thought for a second. "Yes I know but there's monsters out there that will hurt us. We have to stay here for now."

Luna moaned. "Your right Tia, lets do something else. hmm. Hey Tia?"

Celestia kept staring at her sister. "Yes Luna?"

"Do you know what these horns are for. Like we have talked about them before. But what are they meant to do? They have to do something right?" Luna asked with a puzzled look.

Celestia paused for a while and thought about it. "You know what Luna? I don't really know. Let's ask mom or dad."

Celestia and Luna ran into the hut. "Mommy! Daddy!" they yelled.

Nightlight was sitting in his chair reading a book. "Yes? what is it?"

Celestia looked at her dad. "What are these horns for? Like what do they do?"

Night stopped reading. He put his book down and turned his attention to his two daughters. "I suppose I could tell you. You two are Alicorns. You learned about Pegasi and Unicorns in school right? Well Alicorns are a combination of Pegasi and Unicorns. The horn on your head is for magic."

The look on the two sisters faces were of awe. "Do you mean.."

"Yes Celestia you can use magic and do what unicorns do."

"I didn't know this thing actually worked. This is awesome!" Celestia said excitedly.

"Except I don't know how you would use it because no one around here can teach you. The only one who can is...."

"Who is it dad?"

"Uhhh never mind they aren't around any more I forgot." Night said with a nervous smile.

Celestia didn't pay much attention to him she just sighed, gave a "oh" and went to her room.

Celestia and Luna's room was much bigger now that their baby stuff was still gone. They were only a year old. They still had some toys but mainly read books or played outside. Celestia sat on her bed. "I wonder what daddy was saying about that somepony that could help. I know he knew where that pony was." Celestia said quietly.

"I don't know Tia." Luna said.

"I got an idea but it will have to wait until mom and dad go to bed we will hear them talk about it with each other later.."

Celestia and Luna were playing with toys in their room when their dad came in.

"Celestia, Luna it's time for dinner come down stairs."

"ok daddy." Celestia said.

Celestia went down stairs with Luna close behind. They sat down and ate. It was their favourite. Grass and oat sandwiches with salad. They took their time eating.

"Wow you two are sure taking your time eating. Usually its gone within 5 seconds of you sitting down." Sun said with surprise.

"Ya we are not very hungry right now." Celestia said.

"Well maybe you two should go up stairs and get some rest. You have to go to school tomorrow."

After an hour or two of waiting Celestia finally heard her parents going up the stairs to their bed room.

"ok lets go Luna." Celestia Whispered.

They were sitting in front of their parents door listening.

"Did you tell them about the zebra in the Everfree?" Sun asked

"No I can't even remember where it is." Night Replied.

Celestia listened intently and gasped at what she heard. "Do you hear that Luna? There's a zebra in the Everfree! She can help us I bet." She whispered.

"Oh well you know its not to far from here. You go out the back of the hut and go straight until you meet up with the trail. Then you go right and follow the trail and it will take you there." Sun said.

"Oh yes i remember now. It's just so dangerous in that forest. It isn't a nice place."

"I just don't want to put our kids in any danger. I care about them so much." Night said.

"Yes I know Night. They are too young for this anyways. When they are a bit older we will tell them."

"Ok, Goodnight." Night said.

Celestia and Luna decided to go back to there room to talk and think.

"Did you hear that? There is a zebra in the Everfree that can probably help us with magic and show us how to use our horns. We will go after school tomorrow ok?"

"Uhhh Sure Tia sounds good..." Luna said nervously.

"Ok good. We need to get some rest. Tomorrow is going to be a very long day." Celestia said.

The next day Celestia and Luna awoke early. They were up before their parents. They went down stairs grabbed some food and went outside. It was dim out. The sun had just started shining over top of the far mountain to the east. Old tales say that there once was old dragon who lived in a cave at the tip of the mountain. But the Unicorns and Pegasi teamed up and eventually drove it away. They split the resources 50/50. This is what unicorns used to discover some types of magic and spells.

Luna looked towards the mountain in awe. Her jaw was open a bit as she looked at the mountain. The sun had cast a orange and pink glow over equestria driving the monsters away. Each time Luna saw the sunrise she thought of her sister. That color of pink almost matched her mane. The shade of pink wasn't as vivid as her sisters but it was close.

Celestia laughed at her sister. "What are you looking at?" she said with laughter.

"Huh? oh. I was just watching the sun." Luna said. She was mesmerized by it. Celestia looked too.

But Luna couldn't take her eyes off it. After a minute or so the the wash of colors went away. Luna blinked and brought her gaze back to her sister.

"Yes it is very pretty little sis but we must go to school soon. The sun is starting to move more." she said.

Celestia and Luna walked and talked for while before heading to school. They started talking about the mysterious Zebra that their parents were talking about the night before.

"So what do you think will happen when we meet her?" Celestia asked.

"I don't know. I don't think it's such a good idea to go. The Everfree is a very dangerous place."

They stopped walking. "What do you mean not go!? We could learn so much. We could learn how to fly or use really cool spells! Mom and dad would be proud of us!" Celestia said with a slightly irritated look.

"Do you think they will be proud?" Luna asked her sister.

"Yes they will." Celestia replied. "Now it's time to go to school. Come on we can't be late!"

And with that Luna gave a sigh and ran off after her sister who was running towards the school hut.

Later that day all the fillies and colts ran out of the school hut. School was out and Celestia and Luna emerged from the school hut tired and worn out. They stretched and look around with a yawn.

"So Luna are you ready to go see the Zebra?"

"I think so sis." She said with a nervous look. This caused Celestia to stare at her. She looked away.

"Alright lets go." She said excitedly.

They too fillies walked down the path to the Edge of the Everfree's entrance behind their hut. Celestia Looked around for the sign of any other ponies. If they were caught going into the forest they would be in trouble. "Ok coast is clear let's go." They proceeded into the Everfree. It was very dark in the forest. The two young fillies walked together with eyes peeled. They watched everything. They continued through the underbrush of the Everfree until it broke through and met up with a long

winding path. The canopy of the Everfree opened up in spots lighting the path a little. They continued on for sometime. As beautiful as it was in the Everfree they had the feeling something had started watching as they continued to walk. It was also very dangerous and they knew that too. As they kept walking Luna kept whimpering. "Shhh. You have to be quiet if we hear anyth.." Celestia froze. "What is it Tia?" Luna asked. Celestia didn't say anything. She craned her neck to the left. She screamed. Then everything went black.

Celestia woke up warm. She fidgeted and yawned. It took her a moment for her eyes to adjust. A smell hit her. Filling her mind with thoughts It was a pleasant smell. It was...Food. She come back to reality instantly. She sat up. "Wha. Wh. Where am I?" she said. Her mouth was watering from the smell of what ever was cooking. A tall dark figure came out of the corner. Celestia froze. The figure began to speak.

"Ahhh yes you are awake my dear. I have entertained your sister with my riddles. So why don't you sit down and take hear." The dark figured said as she moved into the light. She was a zebra. "A Zebra!?"

Celestia thought. She jumped to her hooves. "Your a zebra! where is Luna? I must tell her the good news!" Celestia said with excitement.

"Tia!" Luna said with a happy look. "You're awake!"

"Yes I am." Celestia said with a smile. Then turned and looked at the Zebra. Who was staring at her.

"My name is Recora." Celestia just stared.

"You must be the Zebra my parents were talking about. I asked them where I could learn to use this horn and they didn't want me to know you were here. I think they wanted me to stay away form the Everfree. That's why me and my sister aren't supposed to be here." Celestia said.

"Not telling your parents is bad. Surely they are looking for you and will be mad." Recora said. It was strange how she talked in riddles it put her mind at easy. It made her feel safe.

Celestia's face turned sad. "Yes I know but I really wanted to learn magic and we thought maybe you could help."

"Well if it's help you are looking for and not for greed, I will gladly accept your need. First we must gather plants and fruit. This will sharpen your senses and will later help you find the loot."

So Celestia and Luna set off into her garden outside. The tree house in the forest was in a clearing. The canopy of the Everfree had a hole in it to let light in Recora's yard. Celestia and Luna gathered fruit and plants and went back into Recora's house. "Recora we're back!" Celestia announced.

"Oh good, did you get the fruit for the soup? I hope so or it may turn into goop." she said with a chuckle.

"Yes we got all the fruit can we learn about magic now?"

"Yes why not? Just read this books and take a look." She said walking to her book shelf and grabbing some books from the shelf. She handed Celestia and Luna some books. Celestia stared at the cover and opened the book and started to read. Recora just looked at them and laughed. The books she gave them to read was a book for young fillies and colts which contained old stories and facts on the unicorns. After and hour or two of reading Celestia and Luna got up off the chair.

"All done I see?" Recora said.

"Yes, what now?" Celestia asked

"You will go home and rest. That will be the best.Tomorrow If you return around the same time there will be somepony who can show you how use magic using what you learned." Recora said.

"I guess my parents are probably worried..." Celestia said quietly. "Let's go Luna."The two fillies left for home. They started talking while they made the journey back home.

"What did you learn Tia?"

"I learned about how the Unicorns used their thoughts to visualize and summon magic.What did you learn?" Celestia asked.

"I learned about how emotion can affect magic and change it's outcome." Luna said happily.

They continued walking home silently. They kept thinking about what they learned and building upon it

in their minds. It was starting to get dark out so they picked up the pace. "How long have we been gone?" Luna asked. Celestia looked up at the sky through a hole in the canopy of the Everfree. "It's been about Four hours or so. We need to get home fast." Celestia said in a rush as her and Luna picked up speed and started to run as fast as their little hooves could carry them. When they arrived back home they Snuck in the back door. The lantern in the corner light up as they walked through the kitchen.

"Where have you two been?" Sun and Night were standing at the doorway infront of them with a suspicious and cross look on their faces.

"Uhhh." Celestia started to speak but was cut off.

"You went to see that zebra in the Everfree didn't you? We told you to stay out of there. It is so dangerous in the forest. Your uncle was killed in the that forest. You do not go in there. Now go to your room. I will come talk to you in a while. This is disappointing." Celestia and Luna hung their heads low and went to their room.

"I thought they would be happy that we are learning things for ourselves. I guess not." Celestia said with a sigh.

Just then her dad came in the room and sat on one of the chairs. He took a deep breath. "I know you are curious and like you so was I at your age. But you must realize your mother and I care about you to much to lose you. We are still both very much in our prime and two are still so young. We couldn't cope if we were to lose you. You both have to understand that you and Luna are very special and I know you have heard that before. This time when I say it... well. You both are destined to be a big part of this world and play a big role in Equestria. You are to young to understand right now but you will understand when your older. Your mother and I do not want to lose you. Lately you haven't seen her much due to her working but you must understand even if we are not there, we will always be in your hearts. So you must stay away from the Everfree's interior. Please just do this for us." He said in a sincere tone.

"We understand dad. But we are learning all about magic! Recora the zebra in the forest said if we show up there tomorrow there will be somepony that will help us learn magic. If you come with us there can we go?" Celestia asked.

He thought for a second. "I will to your mother. I will see what she says. Come back here after you get out of school tomorrow. "How do you feel about this Luna?" She sat in the corner and watched her dad. "Uhh I kinda want to learn more too. I like learning about this kind of thing." she said with a small grin. Nightlight sat for a moment and thought. He got up and began to leave. "Goodnight." he said with a soft tone as he shut to door behind him. "Goodnight." Luna said as her and her sister went to sleep.

The next morning Celestia and Luna awoke. The sun was shining in the windows and the smell of potato and carrot soup filled the air. Celestia and Luna got ready and went down stairs. "Good morning Mom. Good Morning Dad." They just looked at them and smiled. "We have decided that I will go with you to Recora's place in the Everfree. But you better be learning something because this isn't something I completely agree with ok?"

Celestia looked at her dad. "Ok, thanks so much dad." she said as she gave him a hug. Luna followed.The two fillies ate and left for school. It was going to be a long day at school. All they could do was think about going to Racora's place and meeting this pony who was going to teach them how to use magic. It was a long day. Following the routine of yesterday both Celestia and Luna emerged from the school hut with big yawn followed by a stretch. "Ugh I though I would never say this but as much as I love learning school is soooo boring." Luna said with a annoyed tone. "What about you Tia?" she asked.

"Likewise." she said. "Now let's go home so we can go learn more magic!" she exclaimed with excitement. With that the two sisters ran off for home excitedly. Neither of them could wait to start learning magic again. Luna and Celestia were not like normal ponies. well aside from being the only alicorns to inhabit Equestria in some number of years they Loved learning. Most ponies hated school but they didn't mind it. Even though it made them tired they still loved learning. When they got home they burst through the door. "Daddy it's time to go to Recoras! Celestia said with a raised voice. Night came out of the sitting room and got on his hat. "Ok let's go." he said

They walked for about Twenty minutes before arriving at Recora's house. They knocked on the door and a dark figure opened it. She removed her hood. "Recora!" Luna shouted as she ran in the house. Recora sat there speechless. She then turned her attention to Nightlight. "ahhh Nightlight long time no see?" she said.

"Why hello Recora, long time indeed. Place looks like it always has.

"Thank you." she said. "Night you always were so Polite if I recall."

Night just smiled and nodded.

"Who's this pony we are meeting?" Celestia asked.

Recora pointed to the blue and white pony sitting down and eating. She cleared her throat and stood up.

"Hello my name is Blue Twist." the Blue mare said. You must be Celestia and where's the other one?" She said in confusion.

Luna was sitting in the corner reading some old ponytales. "Ahh yes there's the other one. You must be Luna then?" she said with a light chuckle.

Luna looked up with a smile. "Hi. Are you going to teach us about magic?"

"Yes I am. Lets get started shall we?" she said with a smile. "Stand side by side in the middle of the room." Celestia and Luna did as Instructed. "Now Recora told we what you read about. I will teach you what I can. Close your eyes. I want you to think. Bring up your thoughts and think hard. Meditate on them. Now I want you to open them. Look at the small box on the floor. I want you to close your eyes and imagine that. Where it is, what it looks like and such. Now Celestia I want you to pick it up in you thoughts. Imagine picking it up. Now search your body for your horn and now try to take the thoughts and move them to your horn."Celestia's horn began to glow a bright pink. "Good. Now try pick it up again. Luna started to gasp. "Now open your eyes Celestia." She opened them and gasped. "Im doing it! Im lifting the box!" Celestia said with pure excitement. "Now Celestia imagine moving it up,down,side to side, or where ever." Blue Twist said this a smile. Celestia was now making the box do loops before she set it down. "That was amazing!" Celestia said with glee. "Now you try it Luna." Luna closed her eyes and did the same thing her sister did and when she opened her eyes the box was floating. "This is what we call Levitation. It can be used on objects as well as other things like ponies. You can only lift as much as your mind can comprehend. So don't try to over do it." she said in a serious tone. Celestia turned to her dad and her horn lit up. She just grinned. "Wha. Whoa!" Night said nervously. "Celestia put me down now!" He kicked and bucked so she set him down.

"Don't ever do that again ok?" he said, heart still racing.

Celestia laughed. "Don't worry dad I won't."

Blue Twist sat on the floor. "well uhhh. You must have strong, smart minds then. Well anyways, shall we learn some new spells?"

"Yes let's" Both sisters said.

After a few more hours of training it was time to go. "Let's go home it will be dark soon." Night said.

"Thank you Blue." Luna said.

"No problem come back some other time and Recora will call for me. I will be here in a flash. Literally." Blue laughed.

They said their goodbyes and started the journey home.

"What's your favourite spell Tia?"

"Well I like the Levitation one. Oooo. I also like the Teleportation one but it's really hard. My favourite one has to be the Listening enhancement one. I can hear anything. But we have to be careful because she said it takes a lot of energy to do magic." Celestia said. "But which spell is your favourite Luna?"

"Mine has to be the Levitation spell. I don't think dad likes it though." She giggled.

Night just shook his head with a sigh.

All three made it home and went to bed. Celestia and Luna had just gotten into bed. "Tia?"

"Yes Luna?" Celestia whispered.

"Can we learn to fly?" Luna asked.

"Sure. When we finish learning magic." Celestia said quietly.

"Awe but Tia." She whined

"One thing at a time." Celestia laughed. "Now let's get some sleep."

Chapter 4: The learning of the land.

Summer. 2 Years later.

It was a warm summer day out. It was beautiful outside. But the emotion in the air hung like a thick fog. Celestia and Luna had gotten up hours ago. They went to the Chapel hut with their parents to say goodbye to a friend. Lightning Bolt who was a colt the same age as Celestia and Luna was killed by a wolf. Celestia knew him but Luna always used to go out and play with him when Celestia was practicing magic or flying. Luna didn't say anything. She just kept a sad face. She stared at the floor the whole time.

"Luna? Are you ok?" Sundance said softly.

"N. No." Luna sniffled.

"Luna look at me." Sun said.

Luna looked up with a look of sadness on her face.

"I know it's hard to lose someone dear but that's how life is. Just remember they are still with you in your heart. Always remember this. You are never alone." Sun said with a heart-warming smile.

A few hours past as ponies from the village came to pay their respects. There was a heavy emotion in the air. Being around Luna made her sister uneasy. She felt bad for her sister. She had never saw her sister this way before. It pained Celestia to see her that way.

Luna looked up. "I think im done here. Let's go Tia." Luna mumbled. With that Celestia and her parents stood up and followed Luna out of the hut and back went back home. When they reached home Luna went to her room and laid down. She kept it a secret from everyone but she when she was walking home the night before. She had just finished a game of tag with Lightning Bolt and were going home. Luna turned around to look back. What she saw was terrifying. Lightning was just about at the front door of his hut when the wolf picked him up without a sound and ran off with him. She knew at that instant when the wolf pounced on him that he was gone. She didn't comprehend what happened until she was going to sleep. She ended up sobbing herself to sleep. Celestia slept to hard to be woken by this.

Luna was in her room sleeping while Celestia and her parents had some tea.

"She doesn't look to good." Celestia said quietly.

"Yes she is pretty upset. Why don't you go and try to cheer her up?" Sun said with a small smile.

"I guess it's worth a try." She said and proceeded to go to her room. She opened the door and went in. Luna was laying on her bed staring at the ceiling. Celestia sat down beside her. "Luna?"

Luna just sighed.

Celestia took a deep breath. "Luna I can imagine how hard it is to lose a friend but you need to move on. You still have me and mom and dad. I know it must be hard but you must stop doing this to yourself.

Luna looked at her sister. "I saw it." she said in a trembling voice.

"What?" Celestia said with a confused look.

"I saw it Tia. I saw the wolf pick him up and carry him away. It didn't sink in until last night. "I saw a

pony get killed before me." Luna said starting to tear up.

Celestia looked at her sister and leaned in to give her a hug. After a long hug Luna calmed down and

recollected herself. "Thank you for that Tia. I feel a bit better now. Just promise me one thing. You will

never leave me."

Celestia looked at her with a warm smile. "I promise" she said. They both laughed. "Now let's go have

something to eat shall we?"

Later that day after lunch, Celestia and Luna went outside and sat in the sun for a while. "Hey Tia?

Remember how long ago we went and learned magic? Well what about these wings?" Celestia froze.

"Oh my stars!" I forgot about them completely! Yes we should practice." Celestia said excitedly.Celestia had gone in the house and grabbed a book Recora had given to them when they finished learning magic. How the two managed forget was beyond them but they decided now would be a good time to start practicing. The two started by stretching their wings. The read the book while they practiced. Celestia extended her wings and started flapping. She wasn't going anywhere and continued to flap harder. She felt the weight continually disappearing on her hooves. She looked over to Luna whose smile was getting bigger. She continued to flap her wings and slowly started to hover above the ground a few inches then her wings gave out. She fell to the ground with a thud. Luna ran over to her.

"Tia are you ok?" she asked.

"Ya but my wings couldn't hold me up that long. They have never been used before, I should have expected that."

Celestia said with a short laugh. "You try now. Just spread your wings and try to keep your mine clear. Just flap them as hard as you can they aren't very strong so you will have a hard time hovering." Celestia said getting to her hooves.

Luna took a few steps back as she spread her wings. She started to flap them as hard as she could and in no time was ever so slowly lifting off the ground. She squealed with excitement as she rose a little further off the ground. She then started coming back down. She touched the ground gently and stretched her wings again. "Wow your right Tia flying isn't very easy. It takes alot of work." she said with a tired look. The two took a break for a while and went inside to eat. They didn't realise how fast time had gone by it was already Four o' clock. They decided to call it a day for flying. Even though it wasn't close to being dark out they had both had a long day and decided to call it a day. They went into the living room and sat beside their parents. They were both reading some old novels. Luna looked at her mother. "Mommy can you read us a story?"

Sun looked down at Luna and Celestia who were sitting on the floor. "Yes I suppose there's a few I haven't told you yet." She said as she put down her book. "hmm let me see. Ahh yes I know one. It is about the time when there was a great war between Two of the different types of ponies..."

"It was long long ago before you or I were born. The Pegasi, Unicorns, and the Earth Ponies all lived together. They grew jealous of Each other's abilities. Since the Unicorns were so smart they left and hid in the Everfree forest and some even went to the Desert. But the Earth and Pegasi ponies continued to live among one another. They grew more and more jealous of each other. It had gotten to the point that the Pegasi wanted the Earth Ponies to leave but since the Earth Ponies had no where to go they told the Pegasi to leave. The Pegasi agreed to be the ones that would leave after many years of arguing. But they swore they would be back and they did just that. Years later the Earth Ponies were attacked while in their sleep. The Pegasi came to steal all the food and resources the Earth Ponies had. But the Earth Ponies had prepared for this. At the many fallen to Protect and take they two sides finally tried to resolve the conflict. This is why the Pegasi give us Minerals from the mountains and we give them food. But it wasn't the end of the problems. The Unicorns wanted this too. But in return they had to give them the knowledge of making potions. They sat on the idea for a while. It took a few years but they came to a decision and would accept. So this is why we are separate from one another. Your father and I don't agree on this but are word doesn't mean much. Not to thousands of other Ponies."

Celestia and Luna were getting drowsy. It was getting late. "Good story mom but I think me and Tia are going to sleep. Goodnight." Luna said with a yawn.

"Ok goodnight." Sun said with a small laugh.

With that Luna and Celestia walked to their room and went to sleep.

The next day the two sisters woke up and went to go eat. They had a Daisy and honey sandwich for breakfast. They made small talk with their parents before they went outside. They decided that it would be a good idea to practice flying. Each time the two practiced flying they got a bit better. Their wings got stronger, their minds got more familiar with flying. They practiced slowly moving around their yard. "Look Tia it's not hard. You just have to point your wings and push. Then tilt them backwards to slow down! It's easy. Come on try it." Luna said while touching down softly.

"I don't know. Flying is kind of scary sis. I don't know if I want to do it." Celestia said nervously.

"Oh come on what's so scary? It's as easy as walking. You just need some practice." Luna said with a smile.

"I don't know Luna... I guess I could give it a try." Celestia said with a sigh.

Celestia spread her wings and began to flap. She started to hover then tilted them slightly. She started to move faster. "Look Luna! Im doing it!" Celestia said happily. She tilted her wings backwards and came to a stop. She hovered for a second then set her self down. "Wow that was actually pretty fun but my wings are super tired." She said as she stretched her wings out. Just then the two heard a older mare scream. She was running past them. "URSA!" the orange mare said running past. Just then a bunch of other village ponies started running out of town and into the Everfree with lightly packed satchels. The fillies and colts ran closely behind their parents in a panic. Luna and Celestia's parents came running out.

"What's going on out here!?" Night said in shock. Just then the ground began to shake. Night froze.

"Run." he said quietly.

Celestia and Luna looked at each other. They started to run. They looked back and made sure their parents were there. The four ran out of the village and stayed close to the edge of the Everfree. Luna looked back. She saw the Ursa behind them crushing the village under it's giant feet. It stomped on all of the huts in the village. She watched their hut get crushed and turned to look away. "Luna come on you need to hurry up or we will be under it's foot!" Celestia said in exhaustion. They continued to run until they found a small cave off to the side of the Everfree in a field. They ran inside. Luna and

Celestia lit up the Cave with their horns. It was a simple spell that Blue Twist had taught them. They all sat on a bench like piece of rock in the cave. All heavily panting from the run.

"W.. What was that thing? Somepony yelled Ursa." Celestia asked.

"That was a Ursa minor." Sun said still panting.

"An Ursa?" Luna asked. "Recora told us some stories about monsters that live here." Luna said.

They all fell silent. For a while. Luna thought about the village and remembered watching their hut get crushed by that Ursa. She broke the silence. "Where are we going to live now? Our hut was crushed.

"I don't know Luna. We will have to live hear for now. We will need to find somewhere else eventually.Luna do you think you could stay here with me while Celestia and your father go out and find some supplies?

"Sure mom." Luna said with a smile. Luna didn't like being in the cold dark cave. It scared her but eased her some to know her mother was there with her. She kept her spell up so the two could see in the dark cave. It was a few hours before Celestia and Night returned with some wood. Celestia was holding it in her levitation spell. They set down the firewood and started the fire. Night also came back with some food. They all ate and shared some stories.

"What if something comes in here during the night?" Luna asked.

Celestia turned and looked at Luna. "Remember what Blue Twist told us? We can create spells with Emotion, Knowledge, And our thoughts. She said something about combination magic but we never practiced that. I wonder if we could combine our spells and create a seal so nothing could get in."

Luna stared for a second. "But what spell is that?"

"I will create one a teach you it. This may take a while and alot of concentration." Celestia said closing her eyes. She sat in the same spot with her eyes closed for some time. Thoughts whirled around in her head and she conjured up a spell that would protect against anything but also keep in heat. After about an time her eyes opened.

"Ok I think I've got it. Now come here Luna I will send it into your mind."

Luna got up from her spot on a rock and walked towards Celestia. They had met face to face and their eyes closed. They had done this once before when they were taught how to transfer thoughts. This was like a sort of private form of communication. The two sisters horn's began to glow and in a few seconds they had stopped. They went over to the entrance of the cave and their horns lit up once again. They charged them for a few minutes.

"This will take alot of energy I don't know if this will work." Celestia said. After a moment Celestia's eyes looked at Luna. "Ok 3...2...1... Now." With that they shot at the floor and held the blast of magic like they were tracing the outer edge of the entrance to the cave. When they met at the top of the entrance their horns stopped glowing and they fell onto the ground. Both of them were panting with exhaustion. After a moment they got up and Luna went and tapped the shield. It made ripples like water in it's purple glow. Nothing would get in or out until the seal was broken.

"I think it is solid Tia." Luna said.

Celestia made a tired grim smile. "Well let's go to sleep then."

It was early the next morning. The sun had just peaked through over the mountains. Celestia and Luna were sleeping on the floor. It was warm in the cave. The fire had turned into a bunch of glowing ashes barley giving off any heat.

"Luna, Celestia. Wake up now. we have to go." Sundance said as she shook the two ponies awake.

"ww. wha?" Celestia said with a yawn.

"We have to go now. This cave isn't very safe for us. Take down the forcefield and let's go." Sun said in a rush.

Celestia got up and removed the force field from the entrance of the cave. She looked back at Luna who was now standing where she was just sleeping. yawned and nodded. "Ok let's go then." Celestia said.

The four ponies walked quickly along the edge of the Everfree. They had walked for sometime now and were all starting to get hungry. Luna especially.

"Mom, Dad when can we eat?" Luna asked.

"You father brought some food along in case we got hungry." Sun said.

Luna went over to her father who gave her some berries to eat. They continued on their journey.

Celestia and Luna wondered where they were going. Sun and Night knew exactly where to go. There was a large village of earth ponies. It was safe for all ponies. This is because it was the only place where there was Unicorns, Pegasi, and Earth Ponies all living in the same place. Alot of ponies who lived there were either outcast or seeking a new life or refuge. Also other reasons there were alot of ponies here. No creature dared to attack this place or they would be driven away. Some ponies there were masters in their culture and nopony dared question them or threaten them. The village was located at the base of the mountain and there were some paths that went to the middle of the mountain which was used as a lookout and sight seeing spot. Many ponies went up there in the mornings and evenings to watch the sun and astronomers went up to view the moon. It was a beautiful place at all times of day.

"Where are we going exactly?" Celestia asked.

"We are going to the safest place possible. We are going to Canterlot." Night said.

"Canterlot? How far is it." Celestia asked.

"It's just about a day away. We could make it there before sunrise tomorrow but we must keep moving." Sun said.

"What's Canterlot like? Have you been there before?" Luna asked.

"I was there when I was a colt a bit younger than you. I barely remember it. I was travelling along the trees just like we were. I saw alot of things on my way there but Canterlot itself was a whole new experience. It only may be a village but it was made out of stone and bricks. It looked fancy. Really expensive. All the ponies there were dressed nice. It was like a whole different world. It felt calm. Even amongst the chatter of ponies it felt calm and quiet. It was really nice. I hoped one day I would go back but not for this reason. But I am getting hungry and I see a pond up ahead maybe there's food there." Night said with a smile.

They all went to the pond and sat down. They ate some food and enjoyed the summer breeze. Luna was watching the animals play off in the distance and Celestia was watching the sky.

"Tia! Look at the size of this frog!" Luna said excitedly.

Celestia and her parents got closer and looked at the pond. There was a giant frog the size of Luna's head.

Night laughed. "Yes when you start to explore the land you learn things, see things and even get things.

Like for instance. Do you remember that old chair in out hut? My father hand made it. It was made with Mahogany I found a little ways out of the village. I have lived in that village my whole life. Anyways we better get moving, when we get closer to Canterlot we will stop at some of the farms and I will show you some things."

They continued to walk towards Canterlot. They walked all day and it was starting to get late.

"We are getting close the mountain is just ahead of us. The farms should be up ahead." Night said.

"What are you going to show us?" Luna asked.

"Well we had farms for wheat and vegetables right? Well here there's farms for eggs, meat, fruit and everything else. It's neat how they make this sort of stuff I think you will enjoy some of it." Night said.

"Now up ahead is the the first farm it looks like. This one is a fruit and vegetable farm. It's like the ones we all know but they grow more exotic fruit like watermelon, kiwi and others."

They stopped and watched as the farmer ponies were up late working on harvesting. They soon carried on.

"This one is a general farm. Over there is the Chicken coop where the chickens lay the eggs. Over there is the dairy part of the farm. They take the cows milk and bottle it. It was sort of like back home except instead of goats they use the cows. Im not going to show you the meat part of the farm because it is very... uhh different. You just don't want to see." Night said. "Let's keep moving though. We are all tired and getting close to Canterlot. I just hope my family is still here from last time I visited."

They continued to walk. Celestia and Luna asked questions about how everypony did their jobs and how everything worked. The two sisters had learned alot. How the land is set up for planting. Different species of animals and much more. It was a great they for them.The two took great interest in how everything was made.

"Well here we are. Canterlot. Just down the street is my family's place. Let's see if they are there." Night said.

Celestia and Luna looked in awe. Ponies walked about the large village without fear of anything. They were happy. The village itself was massive. It was bright and colourful. Weird looking buildings were there. Nothing like they had saw before. It was amazing. The four ponies went up to the a building. It was fairly tall and was blue. It was a nice building. It had fancy decorations all over it. Night knocked on the door. "Hello? Anyone home?" A pink and red Earth pony with a pink and white mane answered the door.

"Nightlight! It's been so long. Oh and who's this? Is this your family? Well come inside. They spent a while introducing themselves. "Welcome to my house. Im Strawberry Shake. Im Nightlight's brother.

You must be Sundance. He wrote about you once or twice. That was years ago though. And who are these? Are they your d.. are they your daughters? Strawberry said with a confused look.

"Yes they are. This is Celestia and Luna. We do not know why they were born like this but we read a bunch of books Starshine The Great had made. It was said that they were put on the earth by the gods and were meant to rule and watch over the land. I will tell you tomorrow. Do you happen to have some spare rooms we could stay in?" Night said.

Strawberry just smiled. "Yes I will show you to them."

"Thanks for the hospitality." Night said with a smile.

They all went upstairs and were shown their rooms and went to sleep.

"Tia?"

"Yes Luna?"

"Do you like it here?" Luna asked.

"Yes. I like it alot. It is so beautiful here." Celestia said.

"I like it too. And yes it is just wonderful isn't it?" Luna said. "Goodnight Tia."

"Goodnight Luna."

Chapter 5: The End Is Only The Beginning

The Next morning.

The smell of grilled daisy sandwiches filled the air. The smell of daisies was concentrated bye being the heat from cooking it. This was a smell that wasn't like anything that Celestia or Luna had smelled before. The aroma brought the two sisters from their sleep.

Luna yawned "Tia what's that smell?"

"It smells like daisies... But better." Celestia said.

"well let's go down stairs and get something to eat." Luna said.

The two sisters got out of bed and got ready. Celestia brushed Luna's hair and Luna had done the same for her sister.

"Tia you have such a beautiful mane." Luna said.

"Thank you. So do you." Celestia said as she started to brush her sisters hair. "We should go down and eat soon though."

After Celestia and Luna finished getting ready they went downstairs to see what was for breakfast. Strawberry Shake was in the kitchen talking with Sundance and Nightlight. "Oh look who it is. Finally decided to get up and come down to eat? It's almost Ten o' clock you know." Strawberry said with a smile. "Come take a seat there's a lot I with to talk about. Now what do you two want to drink? Lemonade or would you rather try my famous Strawberry Twist Shake?"

"Oooo I want to try the shake it sounds good." Luna said. As she took the shake form Strawberry. It was in a tall glass and was filled with strawberry ice water and kiwi with a slice of lemon on top. Luna had happily started drinking it with a smile on her face.

"So what do you two like to do?" Strawberry asked.

"Watching birds and butterflies. oh and flying too!" Luna said happily

"I like studying magic and playing games with Luna." Celestia said. "And flying!" Luna added with the smile.

"Oh that sounds like alot of fun. How do you like being able to use magic and fly?" Strawberry asked handing out the food.

"It's really fun. It feels so cool flying, The cool breeze and weightlessness of you feet. Me and Celestia and only move a short distance but it feels so cool. Magic is fun too. It's cool how spells are created and how they work." Luna said.

"Oh I bet. It must be so nice to be a Alicorn." Strawberry said.

"How did you know we were Alicorns?" Celestia asked with a questioning look.

"Oh. Your parents were telling me about it. It must be great knowing that you two will one day rule all of this land." Strawberry said with a happy sigh.

They all stopped eating and were staring at Strawberry.

"What are you all looking at. What did I do?"

Night sighed and looked at Celestia and Luna. " I suppose we had to tell you two someday. When you two were born everypony was shocked. Nopony had ever saw a pony that had not only wings but horns too. Also you came from earth pony parents. A lot of things were said about it. We took you to Doctor Featherhoof and he gave us a book. It was a book Starshine The Great the great had wrote. He was like you, an alicorn. His studies were interesting. He came up thought that Alicorn's were put on this world by the gods. He said that they were meant to rule this world. But he also said that it wasn't just any alicorn. It was the children of two Earth Ponies. It said they had the Brightest coats and biggest hearts. He wouldn't see them.Not in his lifetime. So everyone believes it is you. But you must not tell anyone about this. If someone heard about it and forced you to use power it in the wrong way it could be devastating. You must not let anyone know about this kind of thing. Don't even tell anyone about theory of Alicorns they may piece it together and word may get around." Night said finishing with a sip of Strawberry Twist Shake.

Luna and Celestia just stared at their father for a while. Celestia's mind was wild with thoughts and questions. She held them though. Luna was doing the same.

Celestia broke her stare. "We won't. Don't worry. We promise right Luna?"

Luna shook her head. "Yes we promise." She said with a smile.

"Good now let's go look around Canterlot. Strawberry is going to show us around today." Night said. Sun sat across from him and nodded her head with a smile. "Alright shall we go then?" Night said.

The five ponies walked around Canterlot sightseeing. They stopped at the sweets shop and had some cake. When they got inside Luna and Celestia's Jaws dropped. There was cakes, ice cream, cookies. They had tiny ones. Ones that were taller than them. You name it they had it. Luna was in paradise. Here and Celestia went around smelling all the cakes. They then spotted it. It was a table. A table full of cakes and fresh cookies that had a huge sign on the front that said. Free samples. The two ponies ran full tilt at the table and started eating everything in sight. Night and Strawberry ran over and started pulling Luna and Celestia off the table before they ate everything there was. Sun went up to the counter and asked the pony behind it for some treats to take with them. Strawberry and Night finally got the two sisters calmed down enough and they left. They all walked around Canterlot learning about the ways things are made and how Canterlot came to be. Celestia and Luna were having the time of their lives. They all came to a story tellers tent and went inside.

"This is Madam Star's tent. She is a psychic. Ask her a question or ask to see something and she will show you." Strawberry said with a smile.

They sat down around the psychic's table.

"Hello my name is Madam Star." A voice said coming out form behind a curtain. Madam Star sat in her chair. She was a short Unicorn with a dark grey coat and mane her voice was crackly. "What is it you seek my friends?"

"Celestia you go first." Sun said with a smile.

Celestia thought for a second. "Has Luna ever taken from my secret stash of cookies?"

At hearing the word cookie Luna's head snapped to Celestia.

"Ahh let me see." Madam Star said with her horn lighting up. The crystal ball in front of her started to glow too. It showed Luna hiding under Celestia's bed while she slept eating the cookies from the box that was under there.

Celestia just turned and stared at Luna. "So it was you. I didn't think I ate all those cookies." Celestia said with a irritated look.

Luna laughed and started thinking of a question. "Oh I have one! Will we ever find a new home and live with mommy and daddy forever?"

Madam star closed her eyes and her horn lit up like before. Then she shuddered. What she saw took the breath out of her. She heard the howl of a wolf and all that could be seen was blood. She had slowed her fast paced breathing and opened her eyes. They were all staring at her. "Well... Well it seems that is to far beyond my vision. I'm sorry I must go now." Madam Star said as she got up and quickly went behind the curtain.

Everyone just stared for a second then got up and left. Luna knew something wasn't right. She should have been able to see something like that. She had just shook off the thought and carried on walking. Strawberry had told them how Madam Star was one of the best psychics anypony has ever heard of. It would be dark in a while so they decided to go up to the mountain's overlook and watch the sunset. The road winded as it went out of Canterlot It followed a dark path lit by some lanterns hung by the trees of the Everfree forest. It was a fairly narrow path, made out of dirt until the base of the mountain then changed to stone steps. It fair walk from the outskirts of Canterlot to the base of the mountain.

"Strange.. Usually there's a lot of ponies on this path." Strawberry said but she couldn't lose the feeling that she was being walked but ignored it continuing to walk.

Sun and Night were walking behind the three others. It was a beautiful night out and they made some small talk and admired the night's sky. Celestia and Luna were talking to Strawberry about their adventures. Luna kept on looking behind here at the trees, she had done this a few times and was earning some strange looks from her sister. She paused for a second and so did everyone else. Something was watching them form the forest.

"What is it Luna?" Celestia asked.

"Uhhhh.. It's nothing I just thought I saw something." Luna replied.

"Oh.. well then Strawberry what did you do when you were a filly?" Celestia asked as they carried on walking.

"Oh let me think. Oh yes when I was a filly your father and I ran around and played in the village you grew up in. One day we got bored of the same thing doing the same things over and over again. We decided that we would go exploring outside the village. We went and looked at shiny rocks and ponds. There was one spot in a clearing not to far from the village that was just absolutely amazing. We sat there for a while and then our father came and found us. He was about to grab us and drag us back to the hut. We started to run. He chased us for a long time before we finally had enough. He ended up tackling us and we were honestly scared. He stared at us for a second then started laughing. We walked back to the hut but not without a lesson. He taught us about the evil things that were in the forest and that we should never go in there. It was just a ruthless place. There were beasts with fangs the size of a pony's leg. We never left the village again. Well that is until that we feared for our safety and I took my mother and father to Canterlot. This is when your father met Sundance. He decided to stay here with her. He wrote me letters and sent them. I don't know how he got them here. I think it was someone he met. Recora's friend that was a Unicorn. If I remember it right. I don't think he ever met the Unicorn but he knew Recora." She said with a smile. "Now tell me more about you two practicing magic and flying."

Celestia smiled. "Well magic is very interesting. You see..."

Luna's ears started to swivel again and she stopped to listen. Right before she turned around there was a horrific scream and the three whirled around. Sundance was gone. Night had a frozen look on his face. He was completely frozen with shock and fear. Seconds later there was a big grey flash and Night was on the ground. A grey wolf was on top of him biting at his fur. Luna stood with a horrified look on her face. Celestia and Strawberry started to scream at the wolf but it just kept biting at Night's hide.

"Get away."

Celestia's horn started to glow. "I said. Get. Away."

A blinding white light filled the sky. There was a loud fizzling sound and a few seconds later the white light dissipated. Celestia lay on the ground breathing heavily. Luna was on her knees trying to comprehend what had just happened. Strawberry was now on her knees at Night's side.

"Everything is going to be alright. Just keep calm." Strawberry said in a panic.

"N.. No. It's to late for me. It's my *cough* It's my time to go." Night said with a shrill fading voice. He was covered in blood. He was moaning with pain. His mane was matted with blood and dirt.

Strawberry looked over to see Celestia on her hooves and running over to them. She had a look of devastation on her face and Luna was right behind her sharing the same look.

"Daddy." Celestia mumbled starting to cry. Luna was just staring at the ground with her eyes starting to tear up as well.

"Daddy don't go...." Celestia said with what could barely resemble words.

"Shhhh Celestia. I have to. Just remember these two things. *cough* One. Always look after your sister. Two. Your mother and I will *cough* always be there. Just look up to the stars and talk. We will hear you. We will always guide you. You and your sister both have full lives ahead of yourselves." He said then moving his eyes to his sister. "Strawberry. You do the same and please..... take... take care of them...." Night whispered letting out a heavy breath.

Luna started crying into Strawberry's chest and Celestia did the same. Their crying muffled the sound of Strawberry's own quiet sobs.

"Shhh it's ok. I know how you feel. He was my brother. But you must remember he will always be there. For all of us." Strawberry said with a few sniffles.

The screaming and bright light Celestia had shot off had attracted a lot of attention from Canterlot. Ponies were all gathering around and to see what happened. A few ponies from the crowd didn't waste on anytime in helping. The others just stood around watching in horror. The three were all helped to their hooves and helped walk them home. A lot of ponies were taking Night off of the path and others were removing the now charred remains of the wolf.

Celestia just couldn't get the picture out of her head.She kept seeing the wolf tearing at her father's hide. "W.. Where's mother?" She asked one of the ponies from the crowd.

"I'm sorry. I haven't saw her. I don't think anypony has." The pony said.

It was the sound of his voice that made her fully realize what had just happened. She started to feel dizzy. There was a bunch of clatter from hooves hitting the stone path and voices yelling as everything went black.

Chapter 6: Moving Forward

Chapter 6: Moving forward

The next day it was dark where Celestia was. The sound of clattering of hooves rang through her head. She could see only her mother and father. Her and her sister Luna were both walking and talking to Strawberry. They were all on their way to reach the middle of the mountain above Canterlot. There was a plateau that overlooked most of the Everfree forest. On the other side of the mountain at the very top in the clouds a group of Pegasi lived there. They traded supplies in Canterlot. Strawberry made many things. She worked in selling goods. She also made them too. She'd met a lot of pegasi and most were from Canterlot but some were also from the Cloud above them. The name wasn't passed around much but it was mainly know as the cloud above Canterlot. They were talking about magic and flying. The Celestia heard a horrifying scream.

"Celestia! Wake up!" A familiar voice called.

Celestia jolted awake breathing heavily. She waited a minute and caught her breath. Strawberry was standing in front her. "Where are they? where's mom and dad?" Celestia asked. "Are they?"

"Yes strawberry said." She said with tears coming to her eyes.

"No.. No!" Celestia said starting to cry. "Where's Luna?"

"She's back home. She hasn't said a word at all. She will barely eat or drink anything and she just stares out the window and sleeps. I'm starting to get worried about her."

Celestia stopped crying for a second. "It must be hard for her. I know. It's hard for all of us but let's go home. I will try to at least get her to eat something."

They checked out of the little medical clinic and started walking home. It wasn't a long walk only a few minutes away. Celestia just stared at the ground as she walked. She occasionally glanced up to make sure she didn't walk into anything. "Why did it have to happen?" She asked.

Strawberry was silent for a second. "Well you see Celestia. Remember how you were told that you were sent here by the gods? Well everypony has their time. A time for them to leave and go to the heavens. They must have felt it was their time and maybe the start of a new time. It may have been that way because they chose you in the first place. You are two very different ponies, you and Luna. You must understand that they may have wanted this because now you will have to start the journey of your lives."

"But when is our time?" Celestia asked.

"Well your time.. Even though you two are so much different it makes it that much harder for anyone to tell when that is. We can hardly tell our own times but an Alicorn. Well only the gods will know and decide. Try not to think about it." She said with a hardly noticeable smile.

"Do you think Luna will be ok?" Celestia asked.

"Well we're here so let's go find out." Strawberry replied opening the door.

Luna was sitting on a couch in the middle of a big open room. She was staring out the window. Celestia walked over and sat beside her. "Luna? Are you ok?"

Luna sighed. "No Tia. Why did they have to go? I just can't get that picture out of my head. Dad was just laying there. He was covered in blood. Nopony could help him." They both shivered as the image returned.

Celestia cleared her throat. "Well strawberry told me that everypony has their time. It was chosen by the gods that it was their time to go and it could mean it's time to start our journey. We were put here for a reason. Maybe it is time to star our Journey. You must always remember. If we need guidance just look up to the stars and ask. Dad said him and Mom will always be watching and helping."

"I suppose, thank you Tia. It eases my mind a little." She said. The two sisters were laying side by side watching out the windows for a few hours. They made a few conversations but they were short. It was getting dark out. The sun was just behind the top of the mountain. They decided they would go eat. Strawberry made them some soup. They ate slowly and were silent. Luna couldn't finish her soup. "Tia it's just not the same without mom and dad. It doesn't feel right eating without them."

"I know, But there's nothing we can do. But it's dark and that stars are out so lets go outside." Celestia said. All three of them went outside and looked up at the sky. There were millions of stars but there was one start just below the Northern Star. Luna looked up. "Mom? Dad? Is that you?" Luna asked. Just then a butterfly flew down and landed in front of them. It had white with blue on it. These colors on this butterfly were not normal. It must have been there parents. "Mom, Dad what do we do now? It's hard to know what to do now that your.. gone." She said with her eye's starting to tear up. The butterfly started to flap it's wings and dust fell onto the ground below it as it flew away. The three looked at the ground with amazement. The butterfly left a message. "Dear Celestia and Luna. You must figure what you are to do by yourself. All we can do is give you a hint. Follow what your hearts say and what you believe in. We are not gone. Just Invisible. Take care." Luna looked at Celestia. "Tia did you see that?"

"Yes I did. Tomorrow we will go to the library and get some books. We need to start learning more magic and flying. Then we go and start our journey." Celestia said.

"What journey is that?" Luna asked.

"What ever one we choose." Celestia replied. "Now let's go to sleep."

The next morning it was early. The Birds were singing, there was a warm breeze, and there were a perfect amount of clouds in the sky. It was a beautiful day out and clearly was the work of their mother. Sun always had loved the mornings. She had liked them just like this and Night had always loved the night sky and dusk. He liked it clear and with a cool breeze. Celestia had tried not to think about their parents and what had happened. She barely got any sleep. Luna didn't do much better as she had cried herself to sleep. Even though Celestia and Luna knew that their parents were still there watching them it was still painful to know that they wouldn't ever see them again.

It was late the next morning almost 10:00 am. Celestia had got herself out of bed and woke Luna up. The two got ready and went to get something to eat. Strawberry was no where to be found but there was a note on the table though. Celestia read it aloud.

"Celestia, Luna. I have spent the morning preparing something for you both. On the way to the mountain there was a tall cathedral looking building. That is the College of Canterlot. Meet me there. Ask the mare at the front desk that you wish to see a pony called Star-Sparkle and Me. Come here as soon as possible. P.S. We will eat after." Celestia read then looked at Luna and paused for a second. "Well shall we get going and see what Strawberry wants us to do?" Luna nodded and they both set out of the college.

They had saw the college before. It was a really tall building. It wasn't made out of wood like the other places in canterlot. It was made out of stone. It looked really old. It had a welcoming feeling. When Celestia and Luna walked past it before they felt the magic. It made them wonder what was in the College. Celestia knew this feeling well. It felt like magic from Luna when she practiced spells but was a thousand times stronger. It was a ways from Strawberry's house. They were tired and hungry. It wasn't helping that they knew there would be food. They wondered what kinda of food the college had. It was for higher society anyways. Naturally Luna wondered if they would have cookies. Maybe magical ones that made them millions of times better than normal ones. When the two girls reached the front of the college they pushed open the giant doors and went inside. Both their jaws had dropped. Inside the walls were covered in white stone there was a small fountain in the middle of the room and everything else was decorated with brass. It was breathtaking. It was just as amazing as when they first saw Canterlot. The two looked around at the decorations and details. They awed at the sights. Then came a voice.

"Hello? What bring's you two here?" Asked a beige colored mare sitting behind a desk. She looked puzzled. Then her eyes opened wide. "You two are Alicorns!" The mare announced. "You must be the two that are meeting Star-Sparkle. You must be ecstatic about meeting him. Only a few have ever met him. I met him only a few times." The mare said in sort of a half pant from talking so fast. She then took a few breaths. "Pardon me. He's on the very top floor down the left hall way. Last door on the right." She finished.

Celestia and Luna just stared at her. "Uhhh thanks..." Celestia said before turning and heading towards the stairs.

"Tia. She seemed strange. Like she seemed friendly but she was acting funny." Luna said.

"Yes I know, It may be because that she saw that we are Alicorns. These ponies know alot about alicorns but probably have never saw one in real life, anyways let's just go to see Strawberry and this Star-Sparkle."

Luna nodded her head in agreement while they started up the stairs. There was alot of stairs and floor of the college looked the same except for some decorations. The first floor had a purple carpet and the second one had a blue one. They had mostly the same plants on each floor but the pictures were different. When they came to the top of the stairs they went down the hallway and looked at all the decorations. They were beautiful. Alot of them looked to be made out of a shiny metal. There were giant pictures of ponies and plants in shiny bowls. They just couldn't take their eyes of the decorations. They had finally come to the last door on the right and knocked. A familiar voice was heard inside.

"Coming!" It shouted. The door opened to reveal Strawberry behind it. "Oh girls! You made it. Well come inside and we shall get started." She said with a smile.

Celestia and Luna walked inside and stood in the middle of the room. There were bookcases everywhere. There were chalk board like the ones they had that school. Well what's left of the school hut. There was writing all over it. Complex math. Words. Everything. Every inch of the room was covered with things that covered related to math or sciences.

"What are we doing here? Where's the food?" Luna asked.

"Well we are going to do some studying on you and you are going to learn a great deal of magic. Think of this as school. Since yours was destroyed this is where you will be learning. Oh and i almost forgot. This is Star-Sparkle." She said pointing a hoof at a middle aged grey pony with a darker grey mane.

He chuckled. "Ahh yes. You must be Celestia and You must be Luna. Nice to meet you!" He said smiling. "Well I didn't believe until now. There actually Alicorns. I didn't think I would ever see one. I am very familiar with Starshine the Great's work. It is very interesting to be presented with this opportunity. Shall we begin then? Do you know any defensive spells?"

"Yes we were taught a couple." Celestia said.

"Ok well then I will put up a shield and hit me with one. As hard as you can. Don't worry if you break my shield I have a spell on it that will make the magic dissipate. Celestia you go first."

Celestia charged her horn for a few seconds then shot at Star-Sparkle with all she had. In an instant it shattered the shield and pink and blue sparks lit up the room in a frenzy. There was a loud bang as it happened. Strawberry and Luna had jumped behind a table in the corner of the room.

Star-Sparkle coughed. "Wow I underestimated you by a long shot. When you magic hit the shield I was able to read it as I planned and I have made a few interesting discoveries. When you charged your magic usually it would just build up. But it multiplied. For a normal Unicorn like myself to gather that much energy for that spell would have taken a minute or two. Not Five seconds. Also when it hit my shield it was very precise. Magic is naturally precise at that range but yours was almost like a pin. This are interesting discoveries for my studies. Anyways Luna why don't you come and try. We will eat after."

Luna's head popped up from behind the table. "Ok." She said trotting over to where Celestia was standing.

"I've made a new shield but this will take a few minutes. I am going to reinforce it alot more this time." Star-Sparkle said with a slight laugh. after a few minutes of silence Star-Sparkle cleared his throat.

"Ok Luna. You may proceed."

Luna closed her eyes and charged up her horn. She gave it a few seconds for the magic to build up then she shot her magic and made contact with the shield. Blue bits of magic went in all directions. Luna stood in her spot horrified. She calmed down as the thick blue smoke that had appeared from the magic meeting the shield disappeared.

"Well. This is interesting. Celestia do you practice magic more than your sister?" Star-sparkle asked.

"Uhh Probably. she usually plays with the other ponies. I like magic though." Celestia said.

"Well that's interesting. Luna is just as strong in magic as you are. These are very important findings. Anyways. Are you two hungry because I know that I am. After I will teach you some useful spells. Does that sound good?"

"Yes I think that would be good." Celestia said.

They all went over to the kitchen that was in Star-sparkle's room. It was a fairly big kitchen.It much nicer than Strawberry's kitchen. There was a box with a door in the corner. Luna stared at it. "What is that thing?"

"What? Oh yes. That is what we call a cooler. It uses a magic spell inside to cool the things. The cold air won't get out because the door seals and keeps it in. It helps keep food fresh." Star-Sparkle said with a smile while making some soup and salad. After they all ate they went back into the main laboratory.

"That was good food. What are we going to do now?" Celestia asked.

"Well we are going to teach you some new things with magic." Star-Sparkle said. "First since I have an idea of what you are both capable of I will start teaching you some things. You both seem to understand basic magic and even how to create basic spells. When I got you to shoot magic bolts it gave me a small mapping of your mind. Since magic is made up of emotions and thoughts what ever is in your mind will have a small trace in your magic as well. So let's get started shall we? Advance magic works a bit different than what you're used to. Basic magic consists of thoughts, emotion, attitude and a little will. Advance is made up of all those but more so the will and most important the soul. The stronger your will and your soul the more you can achieve. So try this. I want you both to close your eyes and concentrate. Just like when you learned basic magic you must find your soul. What makes you who you are, then when you find that create a simple spell like a light spell and use everything plus your soul to power it."

Celestia and Luna closed their eyes and began to search themselves for their souls. It took only a few minutes. Luna's horn began to glow and she let out a blinding light. Sort of like the one Celestia had done the other night. Strawberry stumbled and fell to the floor. Luna stopped and had ran over to her. "Strawberry im so sorry. Are you okay?" Luna asked.

"Yes im fine I was just startled that's all." She replied.

Luna started to get up when she was then blinded by a white light. She stumbled back and hit her head on something. Everything started to go dark.. Luna was in a dark world, sort of like a void. She was starting to get scared. A figure started to appear and Luna squinted her eyes to see. "H.. Hello?" Luna asked the approaching figure. It was a tall black mare with a purple mane and tail. She got closer to Luna and stopped. She was staring at her. The mare just laughed Maniacally and started to disappear then Luna shot awake panting heavily.

"Luna!" Celestia said. "Thank god you're awake. you've been out for hours." Celestia said with a Sigh of relief.

"Really? Oh..." Luna said still panting.

"What's wrong?" Celestia asked.

"Uhhhh. Nothing. Don't worry about it Tia."

Celestia raised and eyebrow. "Oh?" She paused for a few seconds. "Anyways, are you ready to learn some more magic?" She asked.

"Ya let's do it." Luna said returning to a happy looking state. But Luna wasn't scared for no reason. That mare she saw was giving off something. It felt evil and Luna didn't like it.

They continued the rest of the day learning magic like how to manipulate things and how to channel magic faster and such. It was a good day but by the end Celestia and Luna were fast asleep on the couch. Strawberry and Star-Sparkle had talked a little while longer.

"You know it amazes me how much they learned. They truly have remarkable power and skill. I just hope it doesn't fall into the wrong hands. But It's getting late. You better get them home now." Star-Sparkle said.

Strawberry nodded and gave him a kiss. "Yes I better. And it was nice to talk to you again. Sorry again I haven't been able to lately. I've been really busy. I'll try to stop bye more often. Goodbye." She said as she left the room with Luna and Celestia on her back.