The air filled with the smoke of fireworks that dazzled upon the twilight. The newest Princess, Princess Twilight had just
brought out all the stars for the night sky. The most anypony could have ever fathomed. They dared almost to outshine the
moob.
"Dim them, just a bit.." said Princess Celestia as she bent down to the smallest Princess. "They are just tiny suns."
Twilight's eyes flashed to meet Celestia's. She stopped, and stared at her for a moment, and then it clicked.
Twilight turned to Princess Luna. She wasn't much taller than her now, but Luna always had the same presence. That same..demeanor but, now..She seemed almost annoyed, at Twilight.
"Luna, is there-" Twilight was cut off.
"Dare sayeth I have something against this?!" rang out of Luna's mouth.
"Selene, please." Celestia whispered.
Luna turned and looked to Celestia with a blank stare. Perhaps of shock, or disbelief.
"I-i..I-'m confused. Who is Selene?" Twilight turned to look at both her fellow Princess'.
"Her Coronation is over, beloved sister. Now you must tell her of thy truth." Luna stood, eyes to the stars. The stars that were once her's to bring forth unto the night.
"Celestia?" Twilight cooed, still respecting Princess Celestia as her teacher.
"It's Celeste, Twilight. I was once a young Unicorn mare such as you were once. We are not born Alicorn. It is our path." Celestia began exiting the balcony, her royals guards following behind her. Twilight stood there, in shock. She looked over to Luna, but she was gone, flying off into the night sky, towards the moon.
"Aren't you coming, Twilight?" Celestia's voice echoed through the hall.
"Yes, Celestia..!" Twilight teleported, and appeared next to Celestia. "That spell is so much easier now that I'm Alicorn!"
"Did you know that was once the most common form of Unicorn magic?" Celestia questioned Twilight. "It was simply known as, 'winking'."
"No, I never did.. I thought it was one of Starswirl's old spells!" Twilight beamed. Celestia let out a soft laugh, and then sighed.
"Dearest Twilight, if we are going to be ruling Equestria together, you must know all about the past, and the future it holds." Celestia's eyes gleamed off the reflection of the stained glass upon the walls of the castle as she peered into Twilight's eyes.
"Before the sun and the moon ruled
as one,"
"Dazzle, don't be ridiculous! There is no way I will allow you to perform a concert for FREE!!" barked a chartruese colored Unicorn mare with pale yellow curls. Her essence mark was that of a theatre spotlight, and was appropriatley named Spotlight. The young dark teal pony she was yelling at was, Dazzle.
"B-but, it's for the Hundred Years of Peace crusade!" Dazzle pleaded.
"I don't care if it's for the Queen of Dream Valley!" scolded the chartruese mare.
"It..it is..technically.." Dazzle said with sorrow in her voice.
"And she's an Earth pony!" Spotlight cackled. "Have you ever heard of that? An Earth pony, as Princess!?" She burst into a fit of laughter.
Dazzle was secretley the uber-famous pony Pop Star!, but was forced to hide her true identity as a Unicorn while on stage. When performing she would hide her horn, or disguise it. Which was strange, her mother seemed to despise Earth ponies, but forced her to be one.
"Earth ponies are the underdogs!"
"They're relatable."
"If you were a Unicorn performer, they would expect your stage presence to be perfection at it's finest. And we all know, perfection isn't your strong suit."
Spotlight's words rang through Dazzle's head. That tone, it was her tone she couldn't stand.
"I have half the nerve to show my true identity tonight. I'M the Pop Star! I am the one everyone is coming to see." Dazzle stepped toward Spotlight, glaring her into the wall of the trailer.
"You may be my mother, but you do not act like one. I don't think you even know what it's like to be kind. By the mark of my flank, I know my true essence, and I'm not going to let you make me feel as though I'm not good enough to be the star I am meant to be." Dazzle blew a white curl out of her hair, with pale pink and cerulean strands cascading throughout her hair. With a huff, she spun around, and walked over to her vanity.
"And if I want to show the world I'm a Unicorn. I will." Dazzle said aloud, as she began styling her hair in the mirror. This was different from any other Unicorn's hair styling though. She could change her hair color, and style on a whim. Anything she thought up, poof! It appeared. Dazzle's essence of magic was that of creativity. Almost anything she thought up, she could make appear. On stage she was notorious for strobe light hooves. Her essence was that of a simple white star, with three small white twinkles surrounding it. Though, when she was on stage, her essence mark was never white, it even doubled as a strobe light itself.
"Hmph." Spotlight moaned. "A unicorn, with a star as their essence. How..original."
Dazzle continued styling her hair until she decided on a look, still ignoring her mother, Spotlight. She finally decided on long, one length white hair, with a giant hot pink streak down the middle of her mane. She gave herself bangs, and teased them to cover up her horn. With hair now covering her horn, it still shone brightly as she put the finishing touches on her makeup, a giant cerulean star around her left eye. With one last burst of Unicorn magic, she appeared in a silver rhinstoned one piece, with an intricate pink tutu. Glitter fell around her as if they were rain drops as she batted her eyes. A glimmer of silver outlined her eyes. She walked to the wall of the trailer, there hung four golden horse shoes. They had once belonged to her Great-Grandmother, Mimic, a very powerful Unicorn. She pulled the string that tied each horse shoe to the wall, and one by one they fell to the ground. As Dazzle stepped on each golen horse show they magically adhered to her hooves!
"I don't need your approval anymore, I'm my own mare, now. And I'm more powerful than you think." With a flash of hot pink Unicorn magic, Dazzle had winked out of the trailer, and was making her way upon her stage.
********
"Oh, Princess Starbow, I'm so excited to see Pop Star! live on stage!" A lavender pegasi said bouncing around the ceiling of the Princess' thrown room. Her soft pink hair resembled cotton candy.
"Wind it down, Yo-Yo." A white earth pony giggled. She had beautiful tri-colored hair. Light blue, pale pink, and lavender. With a matching essence of that of a rainbow, with twinkling stars around the edges. All in according colors. She wore a bright red locket in the shape of a heart around her neck, and a golden crown a-top her head.
"Oh, I will!" Yo-Yo hovered in the air for a moment. Then burst with excitement. "I JUST CAN'T WAIT!" She buzzed around the room, jabbering to herself about all the awesome-ness of the concert.
"And, all the lights, with the music, and the way everything's timed so perfectly together. It's like.." Yo-Yo paused. "It's like magic!"
"It is almost like magic, isn't it?" the Princess said with a smile.
"What if it really is magic!? That would mean you weren't the only Earth pony to be able to use magic!" Yo-Yo smiled, then returned to her ramblings. The pegasus was right, though.
'What if I wasn't the only one?' Starbow thought to herself. She knew the truth though, the reason why she could use magic. It was because of the power she held in her bright red locket. The Rainbow of Light. It was un-questionably the most powerful thing in all of Ponyland.
"Oh, I just can't wait any longer!" Yo-Yo flew a backflip through the air.
"It's just a few more hours until the concert, it will come, dear Yo-Yo!" Starbow assured the lavender Pegasi. "Besides, good things come to those who wait." The Princess said with a wink.
********
"Oh, Celeste! Look at this one over here, it's HUGE!" A cornflower blue unicorn foal, with sky blue hair shouted towards her filly sister.
Her sister was a lanky Unicorn filly. Her coat was the lightest of pink, nearly white, with bright pink hair. Neither sister knew their essence. "Ah, yes, a lampyridae, Selene!"
"A..lampri..a lamp..a lalapoodle..Oh, just call it a Lightning Bug!" The little blue foal paused for a second. "And, call me..Luna! 'Cause it reminds me of lightning bugs and it's cute. 'Cause lightnin bugs only come out at night.." She began trotting again but stopped again. "And nicknames are cool!" She nearly sparkled as she smiled.
Her sister chuckled, realising her sister couldn't say her "L"'s too well. "Luna. La-la-la-lunaaa!" Celeste nodded her head. "I like it, too."
"What's yours, Celeste?" Luna bounced around her sister, just as the firefly's bounced about the meadow they played in. Celeste thought for a moment. She realised there wasn't one she could think up. Sensing her distress, little Luna chimed in.
"Celli, Celli, Celestial Celesta Celesti!" And as the small conflower blue unicorn bounced around singing her own little song, her horn began to glow a sky blue.
Celeste fluttered her eyes. Her little baby sister was doing her very first spell. But, what was it? Suddenly, her horn glowed with her own Unicorn magic, a soft yellow, and then that was it. Nothing more. Maybe she wasn't ready, just yet.
"What was that, Celli?" Luna pondered.
"Just a little magic, you'll get used to it, baby sister.." The older unicorn filly pulled the young foal close and nuzzled her.
"Will I be able to do magic like you one day?" Luna asked her sister.
"We will both learn our own magic one day, just be patient. Waiting for the mark of your essence is a gift. It teaches you all that you can do, and all that you can't, but when you do find that one thing.." Celeste giggled. "Then you're golden!" Luna snuggled close into her sister's side and yawned.
"I'm sleepy.." Luna whined. Celeste looked at her baby sister, and began focusing her unicorn magic upon her. A pale yellow glow encassed Luna. It was Celeste's magic. Her magic began to lift little Luna off the ground, cradling her with her magic. Celeste sighed, and relaxed, her sister still afloat in her magic. Her horn glowed a little brighter, and she began to "rock" Luna. Celeste stood up, and studied the spell she had put on her baby sister. Of course, Luna didn't care a bit, as she was already fast asleep inside her sister's spell.
Thunder cracked ahead, and Celeste lost her magic for a split second. Losing concentration, Luna began to fall to the ground. Suddenly Luna was re-encased in Celeste's yellow magic before she hit the ground.
"Close call, Celeste.." She muttered to herself.
Luna yawned inside her blanket of magic.
********
"Of all the things Hydia's asked us to do, digging up a dead person has had to have been the worst!" sqauwked a tall boney old red headed witch.
A short round one with black, and white hair burped in."I'd rather do that than get the Flume!"
"The kind of witches we are now, we could slice that Flume open with one spell!"
"REEEKAA, DRAGGLLEE!" screamed a wheezing old hag. It was their mother, Hydia. She had gone blind in both eyes, and wore an old ratted blonde wig, for she had no hair. Held by a chain around her neck was the Eye of a Dragon. The Dragon this eye belonged to is controlled by whoever wears his eye. Hydia is able to control him into doing what she wants. He circles the Volcano of Gloom most days, hoping for someone to give him his eye back.
"Get!" The old hag gasped for air. "Here!"
"Y-yes, Hydia!" Draggle ran towards her mother. Her wirey red hair flowing in a long braid. Her sister, Reeka, waddled over to them while munching on a bat wing sandwich.
"Whan schom?" She said chomping down on the bat wings.
"No.." Draggle replied disgusted by how much her sister eats.
"Did you find the body?" Hydia hissed.
"W-we hope so." Draggle hesitantly responded.
"Witches don't hope, Draggle!" Reeka said hitting her sister in the back. "Stupid." Reeka turned and looked in her mother's direction. "We got a sack full of a bunch of old bones." She belched.
"Fine, fine, that will do. You just better hope it's Somnambula." Hydia said as she struggled over to her cauldron. She held the Dragon's eye above her head, it came swooping in, screetching. It was a simple dragon, black with black spikes, and green eyes. It's wings were torn, and tattered. It hovered above her cauldron and gazed into it. Allowing her to see through it's eye.
In her cauldron appeared the beautiful Dream Valley, as the little ponies appeared to set up for what looked like a festival, or a concert. Hydia huffed out a laugh. "Oh, yes, today will be a perfect day.." The old witch lowered the Dragon's eye, and the Dragon flew back out the window, to circle the volcano.
"Give me the bag!" Hydia demanded of her daughters. Draggle walked over to her mother, and handed her the bag of dust, and bones. Hydia felt for her cauldron, finding the center she began to untie the sack. She opened it up, and chanted
"Unde Ade Ma Rah Uba Eppa.." The old witches glazed over white eyes began to glow a bright, flourescent green. The color shot from her eyes, and surrounded her body, lifting her into the air. She lifted the bag of death into the air, and then dumped it into her cauldron. Instantly, all the green energy dissapeared, and Hydia crashed to the ground. "No..Too old.." Hydia struggled to breathe on the floor. She looked up at her daughter's, and then pointed to Reeka. "Read from the book.." Hydia demanded with her soul-less eyes. Reeka hesitantly looked at her sister Draggle.
"You do it!" Reeka hissed at Draggle.
"She said, you! You're the more powerful witch, anyways!" snapped Draggle.
Reeka glared at her sister with her beady little black eyes, and then stomped over to the cauldron. She picked up the book hanging on the wall next to the cauldron, and flipped it open to the spot Hydia had marked. She looked around at all of her mother's ingredients. There was no way she'd know what to put in. As she read the spell though, she noticed it was rather simple.
"Three drops of blood.."
"A lizard's tongue.."
"Two pairs of moth wings,"
"One dead stone..." Reeka trailed off.
"ONE DEAD STONE!?" Draggled shrieked. "That's for necromancy magic!"
"I..I know.." Reeka sputtered. "Control over the dead.."
"This is too much, Reeka, you have to stop the spell!" Draggle pleaded with her sister, but something had sparked an interest in Reeka.
"No, Draggle! I'm going to do what, I want to do!" Reeka's eyes began to glow that intense color as her mother's did. "And you're going to help me!" She twisted her hands towards her sister Draggle as the green energy began to pulse around her, Draggle screamed.
"Won't you sister!?" hissed Reeka.
"YES!" Draggle shrieked.
"Good.." Reeka bent down and ripped the Dragon's eye from around her neck. The small black dragon flew to Reeka's side, she grabbed it by the tail, and pulled it down. "A lizard's tongue, a dragon's tongue, what's the difference?" Reeka said staring towards her sister. She grabbed the little dragon's mouth, and pulled it open. "Cut his tongue, sister."
"N-no!" Draggle protested.
"Ah-ah-ah!" Reeka said as her once beady little black eyes filled with the surge of green light. Before Reeka could inflict anymore harm on her, Draggle decided to do what she was told. She pulled a small knife from out of her shoe, and walked slowly over to the dragon. He squirmed and squeeled in Reeka's arms. "Come on, Draggle, faster!"
Draggle ran up to the dragon, and pulled on his tongue, stretching it out. She winced as she held it's squirming tongue in between her fingers. She peeked at the dragon, and with his one little eye he showed so much fear.
"DO IT!" screamed Reeka. Draggle flinched and instantly sliced the tongue off, the little dragon screamed in pain. His blood splattering out of his mouth, all over the witch's lair, and even into the cauldron, unbeknowst the two witches. Reeka snatched the knife from her sister's hand, grabbing her by the hand an dragging her to the cauldron. Reeka stabbed Draggle's finger with the knife, and squeezed out three drops of blood into the cauldron. It begin to foam, and churn. Reeka then snatched the poor dragon's tongue from her sister's other hand and dropped it into the pot. She threw a whole turtle in, and then paused.
"Where is the dead stone?" Reeka glared at Draggle.
"I-I don't know.." Draggle said cowering.
"Well, you better read up on some of dear old Hydia's books!" Reeka snapped her fingers and a book flew off the shelf, into Draggle's hands. "Now, read."
"Dead..death, death by fire, death of a merchant..Dead stone.." Draggle stopped as she read the words. She peered up at her sister, who seemed to have a sinister smile forming across her lips.
"Go on.." Reeka said, a drop of drool rolled out of her mouth, and hit the floor. She was salivating with excitement.
"A Dead Stone. The heart of the one you love most." Draggle read aloud, and then paused. She looked up to her sister that began to inch closer and closer to her. "Re-R-Reek-k-a.." She stammered out as she backed farther away from her sister.
Reeka let out what sounded like a laugh, but Draggle couldn't hear much over her heart beating in her chest.
"I wouldn't say that I loved you, perse. Though, it would probably be the closest thing to love.." Reeka's eyes glowed that menacing electric green color as she walked closer to her sister. Reeka had cornered Draggle into a corner. "Come now dear sister, give me your heart."
"Lemo pots raggle!" shouted Draggle shoving her hands forward. A small splat on water flew from her hands and hit Reeka in the face. Reeka wiped the water from her bloated face.
"The best you've got?" Reeka sneered. "Omnic rotich liminiznit!" Reeka said as she brought her fat little arms into the air. Out of the shadows of the lair, what appeared to be chains of darkness began surrounding Draggle.
"Mercy of Light!" Draggle shouted, as a burst of yellow light pierced through the chains of darkness.
"Hmph!" Reeka pouted. "Using fairy magic I see? You should know better sister.." Reeka lunged for Draggle. If magic wasn't going to help take out her sister's heart, she would do it with her bare hands. She grabbed the lanky red headed witch into her arms, and began dragging her towards the cauldron. They passed a table full of jars, and Reeka stopped. "Vinetio, rombula!" Reeka shouted, and her sister was froze in place. Draggle's eyes were the only thing that could move, and they darted frantically around her mother's lair searching for something to fight Reeka with. All the while Reeka was unscrewing a jar with dead moths inside. She tipped the jar over as a hanful of grey, black and brown moths fell into her hands. She shoved them into her mouth and began to chew. She bent down and grabbed Draggle by her read braid, and starte to pull her towards the cauldron again. When she came upon the cauldron she spit the chewed moths into it. She spit again, just to ge the taste out of her mouth.
As Reeka stood above her frozen sister. The cauldron began to froth and bubble even harder, as though the contents were boiling. Reeka peered down at her sister. On the wall beside the cauldron hung a row of knives. She tickled the blades of the knives with her finger tips, as though she was picking just the right one. Picking up the smallest of the knives she twirled it in her hands. "This one looks right.." Reeka grinned, and then began to raise her hands. As she did this, Draggle began to notice something rising out of the cauldron. She couldn't quite make it out at first, but as her sister's hands rose toward the ceiling, so did the skeletal remains they had put into the cauldron. Reeka smiled eerily at her sister, and just as she was about to plunge the knife into her own sister's heart, the corpse that had arose from the cauldron wrapped it's bony hands around her neck. Reeka dropped the knife onto the floor. The spell she had placed on Draggle had faded as well. Draggle scrambled to her feet, and raced to the corner of the witch's lair. Just a mere seconds before, Reeka was the spider, and Draggle was the meal in her web, but now the tables had turned. Reeka had become the meal for the corpse. Reeka screamed as the skeleton sunk it's rotten teeth into her neck. The more she tried to fight back it seemed, the stronger the corpse became. The skeleton dug it's finger bones into her arms, drawing Reeka closer. Draggle could no longer hear her sister's cries. She didn't know if it was because she was dead, or if this corpse had already devored her vocal cords. The skeleton glimmered in the blood of Reeka, and began to slowly pull her into the cauldron. Draggle was shocked.
"W-what.." Draggle said aloud to herself, pulling herself to her feet. She began to stumble over to the cauldron. The once boiling mess inside had seemed to calmed; A black murky liquid filling the insides of the cauldron. Ripples etched across the surface of the black liquid. Draggle stood in disbelief. She looked at her mother on the ground, and even though five minutes ago she thought her own mother dead, now she could see her mother was still breathing. "Mama, mama, wake up mama!" Draggle shook her mother with all her might, but to no avail was her mother waking up. Suddenly, her mother's hand shot into the air, striking Draggle against the face with backside of her hand.
"Don't.." weezed the old hag. "Don't call me, MAMA!" Hydia's eyes shot open, and she stared at Draggle. "Help me up, you fool!" Hydia shouted, as Draggle pulled with all her might to bring Hydia to her feet. Hydia grabed the blonde wig off her head, and flung it across the room. Her scalp looked like a rotten apple. Red, with brown and black splotches across it. A handful of red hairs sprouted atop her scalp. "It's too hot for that cursed thing.." Hydia leaned against the cauldron.
"Ma-I-I mean, Hydia, I wouldn't do that.." Draggle squeeked.
"And why's that!?" Hydia screamed, squinting her clouded eyes.
"Wh-whatever is in there..It..it..ate Reeka!"
Hydia's eyes fluttered with excitement. "It did!?" She screamed in delight.
"You're..happy?" Draggle asked confused.
"Well, not that Reeka's dead, no, not necesarilly.." A smirk rose across Hydia's face. "The spell worked.."
********
