Chapters About the Story
A/N: This is the first book of a series of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic fan fiction epics. The first novel sized fanfic takes places thousands and thousands and thousands of years before the time of MLP:FiM. The main character is the young filly Princess Celestia, who learns things by her mentor. (who some might reconize as the ponified OC of Lauren Faust) The fanfic also has Princess Luna as a character, although very young. I can't really explain her earlier life's personality, all I can say is, expect Woona-ness. The fic also includes borrowed (with permission of course) maps of Equestria's planet and various OCs.(And yes, be forewarned, this fanfiction includes Alicorn OCs.) I can also say that you might find a bit (or a lot) of fictional universe expanding and maybe even some science fiction. In this fanfiction, I will also be treating the "ponies" (Earth ponies, Pegasi, Unicorns, Alicorns) and other sapient species (Griffins, donkeys, cows etc.) almost as extraterrestrials, since for all we know, (and maybe because we see no humans or earth like continents) the planet Equestria is on a planet in a far away star system. In fact, later on in the series, you might be seeing a already known species, person, or original race as an extraterrestrial invader or immigrant. This does not mean that I'm going to turn MLP:FiM into a science fiction, it's still going to be a fantasy with unicorn magic and castles and whatnot. Lastly, I can't guarantee that my novel sized fan fiction will end up being 100% canonical. Writing an mlp fan fiction is like making a comic book movie, only instead you have to adapt visual media to written media not the other way around. Also like a comic book movie, you have to combine several instances of Canon (is my case fan Canon) to make a complete story. If successful, the fan fic series will hopefully be to MLP: FiM what the Silmarillion was to The Lord of the Rings.
Title and Dedication
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic - Anthology
(An MLP Fan fiction epic)
By TheLordInsanity
Dedicated to Jonathan Smith,
Who not only converted me to bronyism, but also introduced me to a entirely different universe of "...so many wonders" and horrors.
Prologue
Prologue
Canterlot Castle, The Second Kingdom of Equestria
First day after Discord crisis
2 A.N.M.C. (After Nightmare Moon Crisis)
It seemed that no matter where Princess Celestia was in her thousands of years of life, she always had close friends for loyal subjects.
Yes, that had been true for all of her life, all the way back when it was just her and her parents Solaris and Artemis, to the coming of the "Mane Six" and the defeat of Discord.
Celestia looked around the expanse of the inside of Canterlot castle. In the room she was in was where the award ceremony had taken place the day before. Castle staff was still cleaning up from the almost Grand Galloping Gala sized event where 6 ponies, Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, and Rarity, where all given medals (except for Spike) for the saving of their planet, Equi, from the Tyranny of Discord. They had all worked hard to save their world, and had almost failed at doing so, but had all ended up succeeding based on the bravery on everyone of them, including her faithful student, Twilight Sparkle.
"I was just a student of magic once." Celestia reminded herself reluctantly. "Yes, never mind that I am a princess now and the twin head of Equestrian government, it was once just a young venerable filly who didn't know her right hoof from her left hoof." Celestia whipped her mane. "And I always had my friends too. Good friends, kind friends..."
Celestia looked up at the sun and thought bitterly, "Dead friends, gone friends, friends that-" Princess Celestia stopped herself. "No, I will not allow myself to go back into that mindset, I refuse. Today is a happy day, it ought to be about happy things. Although-" She looked out into a courtyard outside of the large ceremony hall, a local sundial read around midday with it's shadowy arms.
"Today might be a happy day, but that does not mean that it cannot be a day of respect." The Princess told herself.
Princess Celestia made her way out of the ceremony hall. As she passed through Canterlot Castle's anterooms and halls, she was reminded of the rooms and expanses of Gallopia Bastion in the First Kingdom of Equestria. The old Bastion's rooms would have easily dwarved the rooms found in Canterlot Castle a hundredfold.
"And to think I still remember that old castle even thousands of years later. I mean, well, I am an Alicorn, so my memory is better than that of a normal pony, but I can still remember..." Celestia started to reminisce. "It was such a beautiful place. My mother and father told me that the original structure predated both of their births. It had many a royal garden, and the guards were always polite, and there was the great observatory built for my mother Queen Artemis, and I remember hearing that the bastion was a fortress in the Dragon Wars I heard that from-" Celestia mentally stopped herself.
"...I heard that from my teacher." Celestia completed her sentence with a tiny warm tear streaming down her ancient long face. "Celestia, you are too old a mare for crying. You told yourself that you wouldn't cry after all these thousands of years, right?"
But Princess Celestia did not stop crying. In fact, as she made her way up stairs to one of the highest spires in Canterlot Castle, the remembrance spire, she was still sobbing over the memories that were going to come for her.
Here they are.
The remembrance tower was dark, very dark. The almost total darkness in the room was due to an old Equestria tradition of keeping sacred or special objects in a dark room. It was a slender hall of a room since it was the top of a tower, and the only natural light came from a window at the end of the room. In the room itself, the dark expanse was filled with relics of Equestria's planet's past, all neatly placed on museum-like square legless display tables. Everyone of these tables were placed near walls opposite to one another so a pony could walk up to the end of the room through the room's center. The window at the end of the hall-room shone it's light on the last square table: a pedestal with the remains of clothes and armor worn by some great pony of the past.
As Princess Celestia walked down that hall of a room, feelings welled up inside of her that could only be compared to that of when a stallion sees his mare-bride coming up to him in a wedding. Only the princess' feelings were that of bad nostalgia and anguish. She knew who's clothes and armor those were.
By the time Celestia had got to the table at the end of the hall-room, she was practically bawling overtop the outfit and metal armor. In fact, the clothes were now wet with the princess of the sun's tears.
"Why did it end this way? Why did it HAVE to end this way?" The Princess mourned. "It was so, so, long ago, but the pain is yet felt, my teacher. The days we spent together were so precious." Celestia was starting to calm down, and her crying was down to a couple of happy tears due to a focus on happier memories. "We used to play in the sun together, run along on the beach, tell me stories, teach me about magic..." Celestia's list of the great things she did with the pony whose clothes lay before her went on and on.
"If only..." Celestia remembered that time travel magic was forbidden in the cases of personal needs (this even included the personal needs of a princess) by the laws of magic. And another law of magic stated that time travel magic cannot be used to go back or forward more than 100 years unless in extreme conditions.
Celestia let out a great sigh. There was nothing she could do to bring her teacher back.
"I wish...I wish I was just...with you again." Princess Celestia kneeled all four of her legs to the altar like table.
And in Celestia's heavy heart, she made a wish that she could be with her old mentor:
In another place, in another time......
First Impressions on a new life
Part One:
Chapter 1: First Impressions on a new life
Equestria's planet: a world inhabited by several races of sapient species. Of the many races that inhabit Equestria's planet, the "Ponies" seem to make up the majority of sapient life on that planet, sharing the mossy green and blue sphere with Gryphons, Donkies, Mules, Cows, Zebras, and any other intelligent race that could think rationally and talk. They live in many different nations during this time of Celestia's youth. This is the time of the First Kingdom of Equestria, which wil also be known as "The Old Kingdom" or "The Pre-Classical Era". This is an era of prosperity and Alicorns. A time about 8,000 years before the coming of Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie, the "Mane Six". Although about 41% of the planet is dry land, almost all of the planet is unexplored and even unknown. Durning this time, more and more ponies become citizens and dwellers of organized coutries like the first kingdom of Equestria and the Crystal Kingdom, countries where rulers are alicorns instead of just normal ponies.
Gallopia Bastion, The First Kingdom of Equestria
The Fourth Month (Spring)
Approximately 8,000 B.N.M.C. (8,000 years Before Nightmare Moon Crisis)
Standing in a windowed alcove, the young Princess Celestia stared out, looking at the F class primary star of her planet. She was just taking a short break from her hard job of "princessing".
She got down off of the ledge that she was looking out on, her mother had told her what happens to mares or stallions who stare at their star too long. It was still the middle of the day, and Celestia had been told that a Duchess by the name of Goethe (who she heard a LOT about) was coming to her home bastion to be her mentor and teacher, and today was supposed to be her first day of school. Celestia got up and started to go down a hall in order to head to her room until Duchess Goethe came.
When she came to around to the hall leading to her room, standing on all four hooves down the hall was Celestia's mentor herself: Duchess Geothe. She was an Alicorn, just like Celestia, with all white fur and a Feather Pen and Ink quill cutie mark. Her mane was a dark red with a little bit of orange mixed in, and she had the usual long horn of an alicorn. Despite being Celestia's mentor, Celestia never asked her what her real name was, as some royal members are given a "royal name" as in her case: Duchess Geothe. But Celestia did know this: she LOVED sandwiches! Especially the long kind full of tasty extras. She walked up to her.
At this point, she must have sensed her, because a few moments after she came up to her, she turned around.
"WHY, HELLO LITTLE ONE, I THINK IT'S TIME TO START OUR FIRST ASTRONOMY LESSON!" Duchess Geothe shouted in the royal Gallopian voice.
Lesson Zero
Chapter 2: Lesson Zero
Celestia and Goethe walked into a big room with a telescope and row upon row of books. Most of the ceiling was a glass dome, and other parts were metal parts to support and help the telescope function. There was a small balcony with two chaires and two tables, one table was near the rail of the balcony and the other table had some books on it and was near a window and one row of the bookcase. Celestia was just astonished.
"So...so...this is where we're going to...I mean I'm going to be taught stuff like astronomy?" Celestia asked a obvious question.
Duchess Goethe snorted. "Why yes, we'll be learning "stuff" like the subject of astronomy." She started to walk up the stairs to the balcony, Princess Celestia followed her.
"So, this is lesson one?" The young Celestia asked.
"LESSON ONE!?" Goethe's royal Gallopia voice made Celestia jump out of her fur and mane. "Oh, I'm sorry darling, I should learn to control that. Our first lesson is really lesson zero. Every student of a Alicorn has a lesson zero at one point or another, you will see when you have a student of your own."
"And that would be...?"
"Well, Lesson ONE of astronomy..." Said Goethe while pulling a Astronomy book out of the bookcase and flipping through it with her Alicorn magic. "...is about the simple constellations as well as a simple explanation of Stars and Star types." She paused.
"But can you guess what star lesson zero is about? Even you I think won't guess correctly!" Duchess Goethe told her.
"Um...all the stars in our galactic arm?" Celestia's face was blank.
"No silly! The Sun! Our star system's primary star!" Goethe proudly told Princess Celestia.
"That's a star?" Celestia's tone could not have been more serious.
"It is the only star for a vast amount of distance, it is a class F star, is extremely hot, (ask any pegasi) and most of all, you are connected to the sun through your name."
The young princess celestia was confused now. "How?"
"Silly filly, your NAME means 'daughter of the sun'. And since it is a generally excepted biological axiom, a pony's name has to do with what her talent, which will eventually lead to him or her getting their cutie mark." Goethe fully explained to her.
"Wow! Imma gonna be a Princess of the SUN!" She said partially using her soon to be semi-frequent use of the royal Gallopia voice.
Duchess Goethe just laughed. "We'll see little filly....we'll see."
All throughout her little royal schoolday, Celestia learned all about the sun, to how scientists thought it worked, to the mythologies that surrounded it among the sapient tribes, and even star radiation and even it's proper name: Celion.
In fact, it was not just a little schoolday, it was a long night of questions and answers. About things Goethe couldn't and could explain and/or understand. But ultimately, it was a night that ended with Celestia falling asleep reading a book in that great telescope room with her now beloved teacher, a teacher that had now brought her to her bed and tucked her in.
"Rest up, silly filly, tomorrow is Lesson one, and all it's madness, in all it's madness." She left the room and peered in, just before she would leave. She nodded her head and whispered "You go on to do great thing you know not what."
The First Lesson
Chapter 3: The First lesson
Morning at Gallopia had arrived. Had this been a normal day where both of her parents, King Solaris and Queen Artemis (or Prince and Princess as they were known by the common pony tribes.) would be present at Gallopia Bastion and would have personally woken her up. So instead, Celestia and to wake up on her own merit.
Celestia's first meal was starkly usual: some kind of seedy red fruit with a side of eggs with either lobster or fish eggs cooked within it. A little after two-thirds of eating her well cooked but usual and normal meal, she noticed by way of looking at a court sundial that she was very late to her second (or is that first?) lesson with Goethe.
Celestia looked to the table's proper assistant, an earth pony, said, "I'm in a hurry. Just clean up anything I didn't touch or eat." Then Celestia sped away.
"Should have used the Royal Gallopian Voice." Celestia thought.
The Young Princess of Equestria sped down halls and corridors of the upper and lower parts of the Gallopia Bastion, trying to get to the court that Goethe had told her to meet her at during their "zeroth" lesson yesterday.
When she did get to the court the duchess was at, she was taring out beyond the bastion with her dark red hair flowng and with a stare that looked like it could see the very fabled Ti mountains.
"Duchess!! Duchess Goethe!! I'm so sorry, I'm sorry for being so late for our first lesson!!" Celestia hollered in the Royal Gallopian voice.
Despite Celestia's yelling, Duchess Goethe still didn't turn to face her to talk and start the lesson. Was she angry at the Princess?
"Goethe?" Celestia wondered out loud, referring to only her royal name.
At last, after what seemed like forever waiting, Duchess Goethe turned around and bent down to look Princess Celestia square in the face. At first young Celestia thought that she was in trouble with her, but that all changed after Duchess Goethe started to smile a little at her.
"Princess Celestia" She said. "The only reason that I had a set time I wanted to meet you here is because I didn't want you to just be running around all day or reading instead of learning things valuable to a Princess of Equestria."
"Oh, then you're NOT mad at me?" Celestia asked, still a little nervous and scared of the possibility of ridicule.
"No, I'm not." Geothe explained to her.
Celestia wiped the brow of her little head.
After a short bit of silence, Goethe said, "So, are you ready to learn what we have to do, and where we have to go for Lesson One?"
"Well..." Princess Celestia had no Clue.
"Today for lesson One we will experience the learning field of astronomy firsthand: on the very moon herself." Duchess Geothe said quite normally.
"Wait, the Moon?"
Before Celestia could even react with another sentence or action, Duchess Goethe's horn lit up crimson, and both Alicorns had disappeared magically. When they reappeared, the ponies were now on the service of Equestria's planet's only natural satellite.
"Ugh...ah...ump..." Celestia sounded like she was almost choking.
"What's wrong?" Duchess Goethe objectively asked.
"But we really are on the...m-moon...and our planet..." Her gaxe was not on the moon, Geothe noticed, but on her own home planet.
"It's so small, I know." She looked back to Celestia."Can you...FEEL the tremors?"
"What tremors, earthquakes, what?"
"Stop, listen." Celestia was nudged by Geothe to stop talking and walking.
After about what was probably 2 minutes, Celestia felt little shakes in the ground.
"What is it?" Celestia asked.
"Volcanic eruptions all over the surface. Our moon is unstable, and prone to volcanic eruptions ever since we started to teleport her with Alicorn magic, really as far as we as a species can remember. I want you to take in every minute of it as part of your royal education."
But things did not remain quiet as Celestia quickly asked, "The moon is lacking of an atmosphere, right? So as ponies, why or how are we-" Goethe cut her off.
"My Alicorn magic, " Goethe started, pointing to her Horn, glowing a faint red. "Creates a shell of breathable air via a spell I casted around us." Geothe guestered around them with her hoof.
"I...guess that makes sense..." Celestia muttered.
Goethe's educational remarks about the moon fascinated Celestia even more than her remarks about the sun, despite herself being named after the sun. Perhaps it was the smallerness and livable aspects of the moon she appreciated compared to the harsh sun's temperature and unlivability. Whatever the reason, she managed to take a moon rock home to put in her room.
After the last few footnotes were said concerning the science and geography of Celstia's planet's moon, Celestia asked if Goethe could expand the helium shell so that she could explore a little. When Goethe did, Celestia started to run away from Duchess Goethe, and start to climb the Lunar highlands. After a couple minutes of climbing the lunar hills, she started to get even farther from Duchess Goethe.
"Look at meeeee!!" Celestia said flying and floating around either out of flying with her wings, or taking advantage of the moon's much lower gravity. Just when she was about to take off again, Celestia struck a large lunar stone. In just a couple seconds, Celestia was bleeding with her body flat on the ground, then Celestia did something any filly would do, she started crying.
Goethe, who was no more than trying to get over the next hill, saw Celestia just lying their, and teleported to inspect her. When she had teleported to her, Goethe now saw that Princess Celestia was bleeding, and that the fun was now officially over. She teleported herself and young Celestia back to Gallopia Bastion.
When Princess Celestia open her tightly closed eyes, she was in a smaller bedroom with her open wounds being treated by Duchess Goethe herself. She really didn't have that bad of a scrape, but it knocked the breathe out of hrtr, and it was a bad enough scrape to garn herself medical attention.
Goethe noticed that that Celestia had opened her eyes now. "Oh, you're aware where you are now. How do you feel?"
Princess Celestia sniffed up some of her mucus that ran down her nose. "Fine, I guess, now that you put a bandage on mu cuts."
"You really didn't hurt yourself that badly, but, you have to rest now since you hurt yourself nevertheless. This is my own room." Goethe looked around her simple but decorative "lesser nobility" room. "I actually live in a sort of castle-mansion on the southern part of this continent."
"Where's that?"
"I'll tell you when we do Geography and History, silly!" Goethe told Celestia. "But really, my "real home" is kept and attended by many servants, why I even have my own-"
"Um, Madame Goethe?" A male voice came from behind her.
Standing behind Duchess Goethe was a Captain of the royal guard, a pegasi in fact, he had the normal look of soldiers about him.
Geothe glanced up and around to see him. "Excuse me for a moment." She said to Celestia. Goethe walked over to the Pegasus.
What the young Princess Celestia heard was just a few mutterings and a couple of noddings and groans from Goethe. Eventually they both nodded, and the Pegasus walked off.
After he was gone, Celestia said, "What did he say to you?"
Goethe came back to her bed with a neutral face "Well, your mother and father will be away longer then expected. And I've also been told that the problems going on with the unicorns is still at it's height, which means that the talks of secession and moving to another continent are still prevalent. And lastly...it has been reported that Queen Artemis might be very sick. She's been eating odd foods as of late, and her stomach appears to be very bloated, things do not look good." Princess Celestia frowned after this.
"Oh don't worry, things will probably be alright in the end. You really shouldn't worry about such things. What you need to do now is rest."
Celestia snuggled down into her regal blankets. "Alright. Nighty-night."
Goethe blew out the candles and started to proceed to the door, but before she shut it, she said, "OH! There's one last thing I forgot to tell you that that officer told me."
The Princess got up in her bed. "What?"
"Well, as much as I love teaching you, there is a certain Unicorn who I would love for you to meet, who could relieve me of my duties as teacher, so I can exercise my duties as regional Duchess, or governor of my part of Equestria." She glanced just one last look outside of the room. "Anyway, I need to get some rest in one of the guest room, so good-night."
"But WAIT!" Celestia called out, what is his name?"
"His name," Duchess Goethe said, just before closing the door. "well, he has many names, but the name I use to call him is Ridnarhtim."
StarSwirl
Chapter 4: Starswirl
After the passing of the equinox and couple of days, spring was now blooming in and around Gallopia Bastion. The Regal gardens now had many flowers and other plants in them. In fact, the gardens had more plants in them then any other garden. It was a place that the future Fluttershy would have loved with its twisting hedges and cute little animals. Even the future Canterlot during its greatest Grand Galloping Gala would never see such an elaborate and great assortment of plants and animal life.
Unfortunately, the young princess Celestia, who would have been greatly enjoying a day like that day was inside of Gallopia Castle, specifically in the telescope observation room, which was on a high floor, with her teacher Duchess Goethe. Goethe was about to complete her last lesson with Celestia about her planet's star system.
"Okay," Duchess Goethe said. "One last time, tell me the number of planets in our star system, what is in it, and the types of the planets. Just the number and what's in it dear, not the names."
Princess Celestia looked up at the ceiling, nodded, then looked at the Duchess. "We have our primary star, an- um, F-class star..."
"Go on." Goethe warmly urged her.
Celestia cleared her throat. "The fffirst planet...is a gas giant with a lighter hue of color...the second is planet is our planet, Equi...The third, fourth and fifth and sixth planets are Gas giants like the first planet."
Duchess Goethe gave her a hard stare.
"Oh! And there is a lot of stellar dust, and we have an asteroid field in our star system." Celestia finished.
"Okay, just name the name of our primary star and the six planets and we will be done."
The Young Princess Celestia cleared her throat and stood upright. "Well, first there's our primary star, Celion, then it's our system's first planet, Canis, our home planet, the only water/rocky planet, Equi, the third planet would be Ekron, the fourth would be Montas, the fifth, Aetena and the last one, Malduud. Oh! And they're all Gas giants except for Equi." Celestia ended.
Goethe smiled "Good job, you did very well! That ends lesson 10!" Goethe closed the textbook that was on the table and put it back into the shelf that it was originally in. "Now what little pony is up for a yummy lunch?"
"I am!" Celestia exclaimed.
After Goethe and Celestia were out of the observation room and began to go down the ramp-hall of that part of the castle. A burning question that Celestia had asked before suddenly came up again.
"Duchess, school is.....uh...fun and all, but when is that Unicorn guy going to come? Heck, when are my mommy and daddy going to come back from Unicornia, I really want them!"
Duchess Goethe snuggled Celestia under her light pink mane.
"The Stallion Unicorn known as Ridnarhtim is a very busy man. Not only does he have the worries of a advanced unicorn magic-weilder, but he also is living in the midst of a tribal crisis." Goethe calmly explained to Celestia.
"And another thing..." The Princess wasn't done her wonderings "if he's such a famous Unicorn and all, why haven't I heard of him before this month?"
Duchess Geothe Shook her long head and red hair, said, "Well, since you kind of live a Sheltered, protected life as a Princess and a semi-homebody, and since you are an Alicorn,you don't get to hear about people and things that are out of your Castle of sub-species. Now this is important, very important, being educated in this way does not make you stupid and/or ignorant, you understand? And plus, I took you out to the castle-town for lesson 4, where you and I talk about economics and trade and social studies, and everypony there knew and loved you as their very own Princess Celestia."
"Yeah, but...." Celestia started to look more and more gloomy as she spoke. "the ponies all in Equestria and the Crystal Kingdom only love me because I'm just a Princess, I wouldn't be treated as nice if I was just a normal Unicorn filly."
And Duchess Goethe smiled "And still not love you with your loyal and exceptionally polite attitude? I think very much not. And even if you are mean or rude or somepony misunderstands you or even disagrees with you, you will always be properly loved by somepony else."
They both stopped walking in a Anteroom, then there was a mediocre pause in that room.
Then, just as soon as the silence had started, Celestia holered in the Royal Gallopian voice, "RACE YOU TO THE MOST BESTEST MEAL IN THE KINGDOM OF EQUESTRIA!!"
Goethe actually was the one who started running first. "YOU ARE SO ON, BUT FLYING IS CHEATING IN THIS, YOU GOT ME!!?"
Eventually, Celestia won the two Alicorns' little "race", but this was only so because Goethe let the princess win.
The meal was set: Goethe's favorite of long sandwiches with smoked ham and goat cheese. Since they were the only nobles present in the bastion, they were the only ponies being served at the table, with the sounds of only the Duchess', the Princess', the servants' and the Royal guards' breathing and the sipping of drinks by the royalty could be heard. But a loud voice from the hall leading to the dining hall broke that silence.
"....and this...this...favoritism of color over design and defense found on this region of this contenet is absurd! Personally I don't think it takes a well versed Unicorn to see that! Even the Pegasi cloud city of Atkoptos does better in regards to battlements! How did even half of this structure survive the dragon wars!?"
Now there came from down the hall coming into the mess hall a Dark grey Unicorn with a white mane and a stringy underkept white tail. He looked quite a bot older then Celestia's Father, the King Solaris. He had a fur growth under his chin that turned less grey and more white as it went down. He also had oddly longer hair for a stallion that came out of his hat. Ah, his hat! His wonderful hat was all dark blue with just two stripes of light blue in the middle of the hat and on the brim. His cloak had the same exact print and color, but only with a golden couplet fastener with a blue diamond on it to keep his cloak fastened onto himself. As if he wasn't a noisy stallion already, he wore jingle bells on his hat and cloak. Although second Equestria was years from being founded, his persona and jingle bells would one day become holiday staples of the festival.
Next to the old stallion was his regal escort: the Captain of the Royal guard, Cyclone. He was a usual sized Earth pony with green fur and a dark green short mane.
"I think it would be considered polite to complement the design rather then insult it, as it is the palace where you might spend a maximum of several weeks at due to the Unicorn uprising nonsense." Cyclone pointed out dryly.
"Well at least Princess Platinum makes sure that her parents at leat try to have a least some respect to design, even if it is the regards of her tastes. Why..." The Old Stallion was about to start his "And that is what I love about Unicornia" rant again.
Cyclone thought, "Well, they never talked to us about anything about dealing with snarky old coots in basic training. When will he ever stop ranting so that we can get down to business on why you are here specifically!?"
After a couple minutes of the Stallion's rantings, Goethe put her food down that she was eating by using her magic, and came up to the Old Stallion.
She wanted to be blunt and quick about who he was, and why he was here. "Sir..." she started.
"...What? I said, you don't have to steal any sort of gemstone from the likes of the diamond dogs, all you have to do is take a caravan to the Crystal Kingdom in the North..."
Duchess Goethe attempted to get his attention again. "Sir, I-" She was cut off rudely by the old stallion again.
"Not right now! Anyway, as if get the materials wasn't hard enough, when we got back, Princess Plantinum was complaining all about-"
"SIR!!! WE ASK THAT IF YOU CAN ANSWER US SOME IMPORTANT QUESTIONS, DEAREST!!!" Duchess Goethe screamed in the Royal Gallopia Voice.
That seriously took the Unicron stallion back. "Y-yes, you may..."
"You are the Unicorn known as Ridnarhtim, correct?"
"And who wants to know!?" The old stallion impolitely asked.
"THE DUCHESS, THE REGIONAL GOVERNORESS, GEOTHE!!!"
"Well yes, Ridnarhtim is one of my many names and titles."
"And what is the full name of your most used name, and for what reason has a Unicorn of Unicornia come to Gallopia Bastion, and on what invitation.
"I assure you, my invitation is that of the Lord Solaris, and the Lady Artemis, King and Queen of Equestria. And my full name is Starswirl (sometimes referred to as "the bearded") and I am on a royal behest to educate the princess Celestia, which also is a break from the ruckus going on at Unicornia, anyway."
"So, the Unicorn uprising, you were a part of it and were sent here as a punishment for using your magic to aid in the Unicorn Rebellion, correct?"
"Why would you ever think such a thing like THAT!? I have been sent here because I am know throughout my tribe, and in other tribes, to be the greatest magic users in all of the Kingdom of Equestria! That's why I've been sent here. And besides, I don't agree with the Unicorn Uprising at all. And the only one who I know personally who supports the Rebellion is one of my most trusted former students, Clover the Clever, foolish boy...."
Duchess Geothe beckoned the Princess with her horn. "Celestia,I want you to meet Ridnarhtim, also known as Starswirl the bearded."
Princess Celestia, who was now done eating her lunch, trotted over to see StarSwirl.
"So this is the shovey Stallion Ridnarhtim, that's you've been talking about all this time?" Celestia didn't see the rudeness of her comment.
"Oh Celestia!" Goethe looked down at the Princess "Watch your young tongue! You must learn to respect StarSwirl the Bearded!"
"It's alright I guess." StarSwirl stretched. "I get a lot. I guess I better get myself unloaded and whatnot, no lunch for the weary." Starswirl started to walk down the hall again. when Geothe verbally stopped him.
"You are aware that her majesty Princess Celestia has a lesson tomorrow, correct?"
"So she does." StarSwirl blew her off.
"But her next lesson is her first in astronomy! Lesson eleven! Which means, I can't properly teach her about that subject, you are StarSwirl the bearded for goodness sakes! You can teach her first astronomy lesson better then I could ever! Please don't act and be like this, Ridnarhtim!!" Goethe begged the Stallion.
"ALRIGHT! ALRIGHT! Just not first thing in the morning...I need to unpack and whatnot to get situated in this ablasted place!"
And from that, StarSwirl the bearded went muttering down the hall with Cyclone, never to be seen the rest of the day.
After both were gone, and Ridnarhtim's wasn't heard anymore, Goethe turned to Celestia and said "He usually isn't like this, actually. The Unicorn uprising and his aging selse must be getting him worked into this...friendzy. I guess some people change from little circumstance..." Goethe trailed off.
Celestia just shook her main. "Well, since my lesson was short and since I got it down so quickly today I might as well head up to the royal pools and baths." Princess Celestia started to make her way up the steps found in the mess hall connecting the ponies to other floors, when she felt a slight tug on her back.
It was Duchess Goethe, she had a bright twinkle in her eye. "There is...something I have to tell you...about...Queen Artemis..." Geothe looked like she was either going to cry for joy, or have her heart explode.
"Is she still sick?" Celestia wondered.
"Yes, she is actually sick, but...there is one more thing..."
At that moment, Goethe looked out at the sky, and waited a moment, then she looked back.
"Do you know what? I better tell you tomorrow. Tomorrow with all it's talk of of the stars and...the moon..." Goethe let out a certain melancholy sigh at the word moon.
"Alright then." Celestia walked off then, not seeming to care.
But Goethe just couldn't stop smiling.
Celestia, Daughter of the Sun
"Only the Unicorns"
Chapter 5: "Only the Unicorns"
Unicornia Bastion, The First Kingdom of Equestria
Fifth Month (Spring/Summer solstice approaching)
Approximately 8,000 B.N.M.C.
Even though he didn't want to, King Terra went over to the bed to wake up Queen .Aeterna
"She needs the rest though, for obvious reasons." Terra thought as he looked down at Aeterna's dark blue belly. "The sacrifices we make for negotiations and diplomacy..."
He gently nuzzled her curly blue-ish white hair until she woke up, with eyes going from blinking to wide open.
They kissed a long hard kiss, the kind shared in secret between a husband and a wife.
"And what did you dream?" Terra asked in a hushed voice, continuing a royal Equestrian tradition.
Queen Aeterna answered truly: "I dreamed I was under a waterfall on a uninhabited continent drinking warm water from the fall." They kissed again, more deeply to each other this time.
"Emmm..." Aeterna groaned, looking down.
"I know. We will take negotiations slow for you, since that's what you would want. I'll even dispatch one of our soldiers to give you some blankets for yourself, maybe you can lie down..."
After King Terra was done his talking, Queen Aeterna slowly rose and got on all four of her hooves. She was a bit wobbly though: she was bottom heavy.
Soon after Terra commanded a royal guard to fetch his wife a couple blankets and pillow, Terra and Aeterna arrived in the inner regal halls of the Unicornia Castle.
Now, it is perfectly understood that ever since they agreed to join, the entirety of the Unicorn tribe has been under the Rule of the Kingdom of Equestria. Despite this, the Unicorn tribe was the only tribe to keep the establishment of a monarchy (and a king) despite being under the head of a united government. So whatever the reason for the tribe still having a king, he acted as chancellor to the capitol in Gallopia. And he started to come out of the throne room and into the secondary waiting hall, where Terra and Aeterna still waited.
He...was a normal sized stallion with darker grey fur and a strange assortment of hair growth: a beehive hairstyle and fur side growths, as well as fur growth around his all red horn. Now, if he was an ordinary stallion, anypony would have asked how on Equi his wife would let him keep himself so unkempt, but when the Queen was alive (and there was controversy regarding her death) she was totally okay with his dress, style, and...mannerisms. And lastly he was the father of Princess Platinum. He was a King, he was a father, he was a Husband, he was King Sombra, King of the Unicorn Sub-species.
Once he was about 10 feet from both of them, he stopped and stared at Queen Aeterna.
"I see that your wife is rather sick, so I'll make this quick for both of us then..." He then took shook his mane in haughtiness "So, let's chat."
"First," King Terra started. "what is this talk of succession and of moving the Unicorn tribe, no, the unicorn race to another barely explored continent? Don't act like I was born yesterday: I am an alicorn by birth and was alive during the day that the act was signed by the three tribes to form Equestria, we agreed to become one nation. This is an act of treason."
"And yet..." Sombra walked a bit away and turned his back away in pride. "I don't remember the act referring to any illegality regarding independence from this land...in fact, why would you care if we left anyway? Really, the three tribes barely live together, with the exceptions of the towns and middlesexes near Gallopia castle-town-"
"No, you stop. The reason why Unicorns and say, earth ponies work together in the nearby villages of Gallopia is because Unicorns and Unicornia hold the most abundant sources of crystal and other rare minerals." King Terra explained.
"Crystal..." Sombra Growled. "Maybe they can find some for themselves, or go to the wonderful Crystal Kingdom to go get some instead of going to have to see me..."
"Which brings me to an offer of sorts, I heard you and your daughter love gems..." At that moment a Castle guard came in with a Red special looking crystal on a purple pillow.
"A BRIBE!? The King of of Equestria presents to me a bribe? And it is not even a special crystal!" Sombra yelled.
"It is a token." With that, Terra hit the Crystal with a magical burst, revealing letters co the Unicorns' unity to Equestria. "It is to commemorate the Unicorns' place in Equestria, and it is made from the same magic that formed the Crystal Heart."
"It is magic? Then it- Then you- Then it would- Then it shall-" Sombra began to lustily come near to it, but the wise guard jerked it away.
"The way you earn it is by staying loyal to Equestria."
"When you put it that way, the colonies we will create on the new continent will outmatch any wealth offered today. You do not have my corporation."
"Then there is nothing that I can do. You are correct when you say that the old laws speak nothing of succession, there is nothing we can do."
Terra looked down at Aeterna. He signaled the Royal gurads that escorted them to assist Queen Artemis and they all slowly left.
"Only the Unicorns." Solaris breathed as he walked out of the hall.
In a dark forge room of Unicornia bastion, Sombra looked over the magical Red Crystal that was now his. The eerie glow of the forge-fires gave Sombra's face an even more wicked look.
"How can you be so stupid?" King Sombra whispered. "They know I am a Unicorn, how did they not suspect I replaced the real stone with a fake one magically?"
He set the Crystal down on the anvil and pumped air into the fire place and picked up a hammer with his Unicorn magic.
"I will have my power, absolutely." He struck down the hammer, sparks flying. "The Power of an Alicorn."
He stayed his Hammer for a moment. "Ah! I almost forgot the most important part of this forging!"
King Sombra went over to a harshly beaten cabinet and got out with his magic a jar of glowing green...something.
"There is so precious little left." He said as he sprinkled the jar dry onto the Red Crystal and started forging the Crystal again.
And, although Sombra wasn't aware of it, his eyes were starting to turn Green, and his horn was starting to bend and lose it's red hue.
Friendship IS Magic
Chapter 6: Friendship IS Magic
Gallopia Bastion, The First Kingdom of Equestria
Fifth Month (Spring/Summer Solstice approaching)
Approximately 8,000 B.N.M.C.
Today, Princess Celestia was very eager to start a new lesson with a very new teacher, Starswirl or the famous Ridnarhtim. She loved the way yesterday he wore his funny unicorn clothes and pranced around with his shiny golden bells. Even though he appeared to be a very grumpy old unicorn stallion, he looked like a great grandpony figure for her to tease and wear down.
He didn't seem the least bit angry with anything, he seemed to be writing with his magic in a old book with a engraving of a unicorn on wooden cover with wooden binding. But there was something definitely different about him today:
He was not wearing his cape today at all. He actually had quiet a few scars all along his back and some scars could be found on up his neck.
"Hello today, Grandpony!" Celestia came in to the observatory with her cheery Filly voice singing. "We're going to learn a lot today, aren't we? Learn about the Diamond dogs and alicorns like me and the great dragon slayer of old-"
Celestia gasped. She could now could see every scar that was on his body now that she was so close to him.
"Eh, what?" StarSwirl peeped, turning around with his odd looking unicorn made glasses on. "What? To what are you staring at?" He reacted to Princess Celestia's dumbfoundedness.
"You.......your...YOUR SCARS!!!" The Princess did not mean to shout out his problem with the Royal Gallopian voice.
"These things?" Starswirl asked, running his hooves through the scars' indents "They're nothing."
"No they are NOT!!" Celestia insisted "They're huge! How did you ever get such huge scars? Did you fall into a huge brier patch or something like that?"
"No..." Starswirl looked down at the scars very sadly. "Let's just say for now...it had to do with one of my first use of time traveling magic, a using of teleportation magic, and one of the oddest most frightening weeks of my life." Starswirl ended.
"So, you're not going to tell me how you really got them, are you?" The Princess asked, comically missing the point altogether.
"You see...just...look, I'll tell you about it later in your life, maybe. And that's a big maybe, young filly!"
Starswirl glanced down at his Sundial watch.
"Bah. We need to start school, anywho. Let's see we are in lesson-" he used his Unicorn magic to pull out a text book and then he started reading it "lesson, lesson..."
"Lesson 15." The Princess Piped up.
"Ah yes, thank you, and what lesson is that about?" The old stallion asked.
"It's a introductory lesson about magic, actually." Princess Celestia told him.
"Magic?" Starswirl let out a long, stressful sounding sigh. "Well...well, where do we even start now? We could talk about your...ancestors, your far ancestors or the first...being...now couldn't we? And we could as speak of complex things that would make a Alicorn filly get a bad headache like what the difference between magic and science/technology is, or the origin of magic, or what objects are considered to be magical."
"Won't I learn those things?" Celestia asked in a quieted voice.
"Perhaps. In further lessons at the end of your education when you shall be Queen of Equestria and must know all there is to know about magic in order to defend and rule properly. This is when you will have to (and I mean have to) learn the magic that is the most powerful pf magic: the magical ability to travel through time."
"What?" The Princess of Equestria was confused.
"Yes," the old stallion spoke to her. "There is even a type of magic (that I invented actually) that can cause a pony to travel through time itself. Oh, of course you might wonder how somepony can "invent" a magick, but that is also a footnote in yet another future lesson. But the bottom line is: Magic is a very complicated subject."
"Then how will I even begin to learn it?" The Princess asked openly.
"As long as you remember this simple ancient praise, you will know all of magic in a basic sense: Friendship is Magic."
"Friendship is Magic?" Celestia repeated.
"Friendship IS magic." Starswirl assured her.
"What does that mean?" Celestia lost the point again.
"It means this" The stallion said, getting out a textbook from a shelf and flipping to to first page. He pointed his hooh to the first paragraph, he read aloud: "Friendship can be described as greater or equal to magic because when magic is used properly (and when it is working at all) it works harmoniously like a friendship does. A friendship is a give and take relationship, just like magic is a give and take relationship. A good magic-user understands that with a great gift of using power, a pony must learn to control it as well. Now this is very important: magic isn't really good or evil or has an evil 'side', it can be used to accomplish either good or evil. It can either be used as tool to protect your friends and allies or turn onto them. Do you understand now?"
"Yes." The Princess of the sun told him.
"And that ends the lesson, gladly enough." He shut the book.
"Wait! That's it!? That's it of an entire lesson? Are just saying that to blow me off?" She gave Starswirl a stern look.
"Alright, I will admit it, I did leave out a couple of important notes so I could get back to my reading and writing." Starswirl pulled out the textbook and opened it once again.
"The first rule of magic is to never use it for evil of course."
"There are rules for magic?" Celestia asked.
"For it's proper use and not abuse, yes." After a slight pause of remembrance, he said "Now the second rule is interesting: All visible matter can be magically used or transformed. Now the third rule is-"
"Will this be on some sort of a test?" Celestia interrupted him.
"Yes, later." Starswirl told her. "The third rule is (anyway) that there are different forms and formations of magic, but it is all of the same magi. The fourth rule is only magic users can bestow magic abilities onto a user. And the fifth rule is like unto the fourth: any pegasi or earth pony can be bestowed with magical abilities by the magical giving of a horn. And really..." he closed the book and put it away "that is all you have of this lesson.
"Okay, well thank you." Celestia got slightly starry eyed "Can be with you at all grandpony? Maybe you can tuck me in and read me a story for bedtime." She snuggled up gently to the old stallion.
He had to push the filly softly away.
Starswirl tried to explain why he couldn't be with her other then being her teacher. "I, as much as I would want to, I can't, you see. I am like...the royal magician unicorn of Equestria let's say. And I am used to an environment that is always secluded and quiet. Now if you'll excuse me, I would like you not to be in my room anymore please."
After Starswirl's little speech to her, Celestia was walking down the steps leading to the observatory with a sad little trot.
After a couple short minutes of walking she literary bumped up lightly into Duchess Goethe's frontal sub-torso.
"Why hello little one, I've finally found you." She softly and calmly said "I was coming to you to tell you that the King and Queen will be back inside the walls of our Bastion perhaps in a couple of days or even tomorrow. And the best part..." Goethe broke a smile on her "You'll get to have a day-off tomorrow so I can give you...no, show you how to acquire something that will be useful for the rest of your life. I'll be seeing you, filly."
"I'll be seeing you too, Duchess." The Princess of the day told her.
Luna, Daughter of the Moon
Celestia, Daughter of the Sun
Chapter 7: Celestia, Daughter of the Sun
Gallopia Bastion, The First Kingdom of Equestria
The Fifth month (spring/summer solstice approaching
Approximately 8,000 B.M.N.C.
It was a light morning at the Bastion. Since it was the Princess' first day off, she naturally had nothing to really do. On this particular day, the golden light of Equi's sun, Celion, shone through the ancient stained glass windows. The expensive and large windows, which extended almost from the roof to the floor and made Celestia stop to look at them, were depicting great ancient things such as the great battles of the Dragon Wars, the birth of both Celestia's parents and of the great alicorn dieties of old. Celestia could only imagine what those ancient days must have been like.
Standing at his usual spot, Celestia's favorite royal guard Cyclone
"Whatsa day-off anyways?" The answer to Celestia's question did not seem obvious to a young filly like her, but to Cyclone, it was like explaining why the sky was blue. A royal guard like him didn't really cared, it was his job.
"Well, in regular school, it would mean that you get to take a day long break from doing any schoolwork (sometimes homework would be involved, though) but since your school is your home, it just means Goethe and/or Starswirl will not be teaching you today. " Cyclone reluctantly told her.
Celestia made am honestly blank face. "What?"
Cyclone just sighed. "It MEANS, no more being read at, and having to perform educational tasks or even-
"OH!" The Princess of the sun cut him off. A bit silly for such a smart princess to be so ignorant.
Cyclone looked on at Princess Celestia with a hopeful look as she wandered off into another room. She had so much potential, despite being so young a filly.
"She won't be the royal family's youngest for much longer, that's for sure." Cyclone thought, remembering the content of a letter given to him by a pegasus messenger. She told Cyclone not to reveal it's contents to Princess Celestia, because of it's subject matter, by decree of the King and Queen themselves. When Queen Artemis and King Solaris were away on Royal duty outside of Gallopia Bastion, Cyclone acted as first command and the head of all castle affairs, thus being the one that received all messages from the monarchy first. However, Duchess Goethe would have outranked him in the sense of royalty, but she never questioned his tradition position as acting first command.
____________________________________________________________________________________
The hard marble floor receded away from Celestia as she cantered to the guest room occupied by StarSwirl the bearded.
The unicorn stallion's guest room seemed to be simple on the outside, with a doorless undecorated portal leading into the main room, but complex on the inside of the suite with it's large Candelabra of a chandelier lighting away the dark of the windowless living room. The guest room was the perfect allegorical representation of the unicorn who stayed in it.
Princess Celestia entered the habitation. The Living Room was littered with books, scrolls, unwritten parchments, and other doo-dads haphazardly thrown around either by themselves or in small piles.
Also revealed by the light of the Candelabra was a writing desk with a wooden chair next to it and two doors on the right and the left of the room.
"And to think, all of this suite existed within the castle and I didn't even know it existed, and I've lived here my entire life!" Celestia mused.
The young Celestia noticed that the door on the right was cracked open a bit, and flickering light was pouring forth from that crack.
The room that Celestia entered was no larger than a good-sized bathroom. It contained only two pieces of furniture: one chair and one writing desk, identical to the ones in the living room, Gallopian originals.
Sitting on that chair was StarSwirl himself, writing in a large aged volume with a quill pen (similar to the quill pen that was Duchess Geothe's Cutie mark) with only the light of a dying candle to light his work.
Approaching him softly and slowly but surely, Princess Celestia approached StarSwirl....
....only to step and break a piece of old cracker, which at one time was probably part of StarSwirl's dinner.
"Is that castle keeping? Or room service?" StarSwirl asked not bothering to look up from his intense work.
Young Celestia made no answer.
"Well, if it's you, that quiet Room service mare, I demand a refill on my coffee," the unicorn magically lifted his coffee cup from his desk and onto Celestia head "and a restocking on all the depleted foodstuffs in the iceroom, this includes meats." After speaking, the old stallion resumed furiously written away in the book.
"Um, I hate to tell this StarSwirl, but I'm not room service or castle keeping." Celestia informed him, putting the cup down on the hard floor with her own alicorn magic.
"Miss Celestia? Is that you?" The Unicorn stallion asked.
"Y-yeah, it's me, Celes-tia."
StarSwirl turned around in his chair with a clearly annoyed look on his ancient face.
"Okay Princess, tell me what you want from me, and get out of my room, I need to do my writing work and read up on my spell work."
Princess Celestia stamped her hoof on the wooden floor quite hard.
"How dare you! That was very rude, I am an alicorn princess! Your supposed to serve me!" The Daughter of the sun exclaimed, with a dark aura about her.
"I'm...I'm so sorry Princess..." StarSwirl said with a cowering frown. "I just was so into me work, I forgot I was speaking directly to the Daughter of the Sun..."
"I guess that's more like it." The Alicorn Princess reluctantly stated.
"Your wish is my command, my lady." StarSwirl said, bowing. "What's been, as they say 'troubling you'?"
Celestia sat down on her plot. "Well, my mommy and daddy have been gone a long time, and I've even heard rumors from all around the castle staff that they're going to be gone for an even longer time than they planned so they can convince the Unicorns not to leave the continent."
Although Celestia had stopped, she seemed to have ended the sentence in the hopes that StarSwirl would provide an answer to her dilemma. But after StarSwirl saw a good-sized tear running down her cheek, he had to break the silence. "Why are you telling me this, child? Do you want me to do something about it."
"YES!" Celestia said, tears now fully running down her face, "I REALLY miss my mommy and daddy, and your the greatest magic user in all of Equestria, other than mommy and daddy, and I know that your powerful magic can teleport ponies and send them to different time points and-"
"WAIT." StarSwirl stopped her. "You want me to send you to the future so you can be with King Solaris and Queen Artemis?"
Celestia shook her head up and down, still crying. "Uh-huh."
"Oh, silly filly, I'm not supposed to do that! One of the rules of magic is to not use it for personal gain, or in other words, a magic user is only supposed to use any magic the betterment of his Kingdom, not for selfish reasons."
"Can I ask a question then?"
"Are the rules of magic, are they enforced like any other law in Equestria, like, if a unicorn uses magic to make an anvil fall on an innocent pony..."
"I see what you mean. Well, murder is illegal, as you know, but most magic 'rules' of magic are fundamental laws of how magic works, and others are the proper use of some spells that most unicorns and alicorns don't know. Like the time travel spell, for instance. I am probably the only pony in Equestria who knows how to cast it, but there still should limitations on it, to prevent every unicorn in equestria from using it and messing up the established timeline."
"So in other words...there's nothing you can do without breaking the rules of magic, and I'm just going to have to wait for mommy and daddy to come back just like everypony else?"
"I'm afraid so. That's just how it is. I can't break the magic rules held sacred to all great magic users."
Celestia stumbled out of the writing room StarSwirl was in with a heavy heart and a head hung low.
____________________________________________________________________________________
Princess Celestia crawled into the large pink and white bed of her bedroom.
"If I can't wait out my mommy and daddy coming back, I'll just sleep it out then."
The young Princess Celestia laid her head on the pillow, and about 20 minutes of laying there, she went off to a filly's sleep.
____________________________________________________________________________________
The moon. Princess Celestia was on the moon.
And there was no sun in the Sky.
How was she surviving like this in her dream? She knew it was a dream, she knew she had fallen asleep.
She was in a plate curved crater. It had many micro-asteroid holes in and around it.Again, just her and the moon, nopony else to help her.
Or protect her.
Celestia felt a sort of presence behind her. She turned around quickly, a full 180 degrees.
In front of her now was a slightly needle shaped mound of pure moon rock.
Then Celestia blinked.
And the mound came closer.
"What? That's not possible. It's coming closer now?"
She blinked again. It was even closer now.
"M-maybe if I close my eyes for a long enough time, it'll go away."
She then closed both of her eyes for a very long time. She only opened her eyes because she felt something brush up against her nose and her muzzle.
It was the needle shaped moon rock.
"No!"
Celestia was now so started, she tripped over her own hooves and landed on her back.
But that made her closed her eyes.
When she opened them again, she couldn't see anything. All was darkness. She couldn't move either, she was firmly embed in a small alcove the size and shape of her body.It was like being in her mother mare's womb again.
And she could feel the rock constricting against her fur. Trying to crush her.
"No, I can't let it take me!"
She tried to use her magic, but she couldn't. She tried to scream, but she couldn't.
There was nothing to stop what was happening now. Not magic, not assistance of any kind or even fate itself. She was going to be crushed to death in the moon.
____________________________________________________________________________________
Celestia woke up with her bedcovers wrapped extremely tight around her.
She was now hyperventilating fro the dream that she had.
She slowed her breathing and sat up in her bed. Sweat was all over her body.
She calmly got out of bed and made her way to her room's washbasin.
She splashed water on her face and even drank a little water. She looked in the mirror.
She was was the same old Celestia: uncrushed Celestia.
But what had that dream meant? Both of Celestia's parents had always told her not to look into dream interpretation, because dreams where just the brain's way of sorting out things during sleep, and following dreams would not be what the 'he' would want.
"Just got to calm it down." The Princess told herself.
Celestia's ears perked up.
"Are those..." She started to say out loud.
Bells. Welcoming bells.
"MOMMY!! DADDY!!"
She ran out of her room to meet them.
____________________________________________________________________________________
There they were, the King and Queen Terra and Aeterna with their only daughter Celestia. All in the grand hall that was the first room ponies saw coming in from the main front gate of the bastion.
The reunion was surely a happen one, as they kissed, hugged, snuggled and told each other what had happened in the weeks each other were separated.
"No daddy," Giggled Celestia. "I missed you more."
"Well, I missed you more than the sun." Terra told his daughter.
They snuggled again.
"Solaris..." Aeterna groaned.
"What is it, my bride?" Terra asked his wife
"It's...I-"
"So, mommy, why are you early in coming back to the castle."
"Well, honey..." Aeterna started to explain weakly.
"It's alright, let me try to explain to Celestia, dear." Terra reluctantly told his wife.
"King Sombra is embedded in his plans for succeeding from the Kingdom of Equestria. We figured the more we stayed and tried to coax him out of his plans-"
"Solaris!" Aeterna called agin, now laying on a dias given to her by Gallopian guards.
"I'll be finished quite soon." He reassured her. "We figured the more we stayed and tried to coax him out of the discussion, the more damage we did to our own plan of having him not to have the unicorn tribe succeed Equestria."
"That makes sense. At least we're allllll here and-"
"TERRA! Please! I'm going to labor!" Aeterna yelled.
"Labor? But you weren't due for about another week!"
"That...*huff*...doesn't change the fact...that my water just broke and I'm-" She made a loud painful moan and laid on her back, revealing the bloated state of her belly.
"I-I'm going to have a foal, Terra!"
"WHAT!?" Celestia yelled, her mommy had a foal in her stomach?
"Daddy, what's going on, you didn't tell me mommy was pregnant!"
"I know, but mommy has issues with keeping her foals, and we didn't want to get your hopes up, and we didn't know how you'd react to a new foal sister, and we were gone for more than a month, and-"
Terra gave a loud groan again.
"Oh, this isn't the time for explaining! Guards, I need the Queen taken to the chamber of the royal doctors, and need Celestia to be escorted to her room immediately!"
With many a "yes, sir"s Celestia was escorted away as she watched her mother being taken down the grand hall to the chamber of the royal doctors.
What was happening? She had a new baby sister coming, her mommy and daddy came back, and where was Goethe during all of this?
And what was ever going to happen to herself, Princess Celestia, Daughter of the Sun Alicorn Terra?
Luna, Daughter of the Moon
Chapter 7: Luna, Daughter of the Moon
Gallopia Bastion,The First Kingdom of Equestria
Seventh Month (Summer)
Approximately 8,000 B.N.M.C. (8,000 years before Nightmare Moon Crisis)
There she was! At just two months old, Princess Luna was a healthy little alicorn foal.
As the newborn Princess Luna sat in her royal crib, she looked up at the figure that was her older sister, Princess Celestia.
Princess Luna smiled at her older sister from the inside of her crib.
But Princess Celestia did not smile back at Luna.
It was the ages old story: now that Princess Luna had been born into the royal family, Princess Celestia was no longer the youngest or most cared for member of the royal family.
In the older days of ponykind, an event known as a "foal shower" was celebrated one month after the birth of a foal. The high foal mortality rate caused by a lack of advanced medical technology prompted family and friends to celebrate one if a foal survived more than one month after birth.
However, since Princess Luna was no ordinary foal, what she at her foal shower got was the royal treatment.
Royal, famous, and even some common ponies of Equestria came from near and far to see the new royal foal. They gave Luna and Queen Aeterna expensive presents as well as goodwill from their respective races and providences.
And then there was the attention. All that attention on one little royal foal for just being born on this planet.
"I guess she deserves all that attention." Celestia hoarsed to herself.
But all this attention towards just Princess Luna and just her only over the past two months made the young Princess Celestia sick!
What could be said that hadn't been already said? Celestia hated that she wan't the foal of the royal family anymore!
Terra and Aeterna, Celestia's parents, had hardly spoke more than 4 sentences to her all day!
And Solaris had never even told Celestia that her mother was pregnant with Princess Luna in the first place!!
She couldn't take it, she shouldn't have been allowed to bear it in the first place, her parents should have-
The whole planet seemed to stop an instant for Celestia, she seemed to have diverted her attention from her thoughts becuase of...what was that a wobbling noise?
Then she heard it: a distinct shatter. It made both of her ears stand on end like the tail of a cat when it becomes excited.
Even though Princess Celestia knew full well what that sound meant, she turned slowly, until- she- made- a- 360 degree- turn- and...
Every foal, filly and colt's worst nightmare was now before her: a broken ceramatics set, beyond hope of repair. It looked More than a thousand years old, probably from her father's side. What was she thinking initiating her anger into her body?
Celestia's Royal alicorn blood ran colder when she heard the approach of local hoofbeats coming in her direction.
"Celestia? Princess Celestia? I heard a loud noise just a second ago...are you alright little filly?"
It was obviously the voice of Duchess Goethe that Princess Celestia heard around the other hallway. Was she going to see the mess and punish Celestia? Dispatch a servant to quietly clean up the mess and remove the jar and never tell Celestia's parents? Wilfully ignore it out of love for her? Yell at her personally?
"Why hello my little filly." Duchess Goethe stated, while glancing down at the princess "Are you-"
At the very instant that Duchess Goethe saw the wreckage of the shattered vase, the pupils of her eyes shrank up and tightened. Celestia, seeing her mentor's reaction, took a hoofstep back in fear of her teacher's coming reply.
"C-celestia! You should be more careful! Don't you know you could have been hurt trotting around broken pieces of pottery?" Goethe inquired sternly.
A warning and a question? That was it? Did she even know that Celestia was the pony that broke the vase in the first place?
"I...um..." Celestia started slowly with her alicorn wings dropping down "I was kinda the one...to break the case in the first place..." Celestia admitted shyly.
"What!?"
Celestia's eyes widened and her ears drooped. The Princess was semi-aware of the kind of punishment she could expect from her parents, but not from her Mentor.
Feelings started to well up inside of Celestia along with her recent sudden memories of change and oddity. The vase. Her new sister that took the attention away from her parents. Her two new mentors. Her parents' several months abstinence due to the whole unicorn dilemma. She just couldn't take just couldn't...
The entire time Celestia was going over her memories, she didn't listen to the voice of her governess ".....I'm sure that it wasn't an antique vase anyway, little royal filly. All the old pottery and artifacts are probably kept along with all the other priceless ancient alicorn relics in the royal vault in the deep dungeons of Gallopia. I'm also sure--"
Celestia bolted away from Goethe with tears as hot as new tea bursting down her face.
"Princess! What's wrong, honey? I already explained to you that it was not a new vase at all!"
Celestia bounded past the royal kitchens and up the main stairwell two floors upwards. She knew where she was going, she was going to the hall of the alicorn ancestors.
The hall of the alicorn ancestors still took her breath away.
The hall of the alicorn ancestors was a huge domed room (if it could be merely called a "room") that would have dwarfed the largest domed rooms in the future Manehatten. The floor, walls and ceiling were all made up of polished white marble that broke only with the door leading in and the skylight (which was currently darkened since it was nighttime) at the tippy-top of the dome and eclipsed on the floor by a long ruby red rug.
On the white sides of the room were the statues of many an ancient alicorn, getting larger and larger as a pony would step down the narrow red carpet to the end of the room.
And what of the end to that room? Celestia was never told exactly what it was, that is to say, she knew that is was a casket, a containment device to keep the bodies of dead ponies, but to whom lay in it and for what reason it was put at the end of the room was never told to her.
Celestia came between an autumn-themed alicorn and a water themed alicorn and pushed the bare exposed marble wall between them with her horn.
Pushing gently but quickly, Princess Celestia pushed the wall back enough to open a door in the marble wall to reveal a long dark passageway that ked out of the hall of the alicorn ancestors!
When Celestia was younger, barely out of her own foalhood, she discovered the dark passageway while hiding from her parents for not eating all of her vegetables at dinner. Back then, she was scared of the pitch-black corridor, but now, it was her secret place of refuge that was now much less scary ever since Starswirl the bearded taught Celestia a illumination spell.
Nevertheless, there was much of the corridors that were unknown to Celestia and some parts that still frightened her. She assumed that it was once either old closed off servant's quarters, or some sort of weird archaic tunnel system used by the alicorns of old to spy on one another.
The ultimate advantage of the corridors and rooms was the secretive ability to spy on ponies in other known rooms of the castle Gallopia. Sometimes if Celestia was curious about something she wasn't allowed to be aware of, she would slip into the corridors and eavesdrop on unsuspecting ponies. This is how she would find out what she was getting for her birthday for example.
But today of all days she had one room she had in mind of overhearing into, the nursery of her sister Princess Luna.
Celestia dimmed her magic alicorn-light as she approached a hallway with the pink label that she had made herself of "sister's room" on the floor.
The hallway had two holes drilled through it, one for hearing and one for seeing. Celestia had not formed these holes, which added to her personal theories that the corridors were once used by alicorns to spy on each other.
She was taken slightly aback in surprise to find out that her parents were present below her talking amongst themselves. She figured before that the voices she heard were just some nanny-ponies for Luna.
".....good for her, and tell her, of course, that we still love her and that it isn't really any big deal." It was the voice of Celestia's father, King Terra, apparently talking to Queen Aeterna about the broken vase.
"I think her sudden disappearance might also be a, perhaps, predictable reaction to the new addition of her foal-sister." Artemis said, glancing over to Princess Luna in her crib.
"Speaking of little Luna," King Artemis started, turning to his wife "everything worked out for you to be with her for a whole day and tonight. I've taken care of everything, royal duties, royal work, traditions and rituals, you'll have your first full day with Luna in a long time."
"Oh, excellent!" Queen Artemis said while snuggling Princess Luna between her cheek and her pacifier.
"And I hope to the ancestors that you can have many more days such as tomorrow." He straightened himself on his hooves. "Duty calls, see you in the morning at breakfast." He said just before kissing the Queen. "And we need to tell Celestia why we didn't tell her about her sister's birth."
"That we do." Aeterna sighed. "See you in the morning, dear."
King Terra walked out leaving only Aeterna and Luna in the Nursery together with Celestia secretly above.
For the next couple of minutes, Queen Artemis just stared at the sickeningly adorable foal Princess Luna. While it may have disgusted Princess Celestia, she had to admit, the scene was cute and touching.
Finally, Aeternaspoke.
"How would you like it if mama sang you a lullaby?" Aeterna cooed to her foal.
Princess Luna did nothing except for sucking her moon-themed pacifier, but Queen Aeterna starting singing:
Oh sweet moon-foal of mine
sweet foal of Lunar kind,
rest your gentle starry eyes,
oh my precious foal of the night sky.
May your dreams be soft
in towering imaginations aloft
oh close your minute eyelids soon,
my dearest baby, Luna, daughter...of...the...moon...
After Luna had closed her heavy eyes, Queen Aeterna tucked a blanket over her, blew out all the candles in the room, and curled up besides Luna's crib.
The entire event came to Princess Celestia as infinitely sweet, and for the rest of that night, she forgot about her vase dilemma and her jealousy towards Luna.
After getting to the room that she always slept in the corridors, Princess Celestia curled up just like her mother, and went to sleep just like her sister.
Chapter 8: Little Sister Duty
Gallopia Bastion, The First Kingdom of Equestria
Seventh month (summer)
Approximately 8,000 B.N.M.C. (8,000 years before Nightmare Moon crisis)
The young Princess Celestia woke up to one of the most uncomfortable mornings in her life.
She woke up in an awkward position with her head up against a wall and between her two hooves.
She slumped up wobbly-like onto her four legs. After opening her eyes wide, Celestia squinted in the darkness as her eyes dilated to the pitch black.
The Princess flickered a little light from her horn via her alicorn magic, but being aware that such light would be too intense, she cast fire and lit a small candle that she stole from downstairs instead.
One of Princess Celestia longest stays in the corridors was 3 days, after that, things just got too weird, too scary, too boring or claustrophobic.
Despite the fact that nopony but Celestia was probably aware of the existence of the corridors, and despite the fact that Celestia was decently honest, Celestia would never be brutally honest enough to admit that she heard some kind of voices in the corridors.
The voices definitely were not pony voice from downstairs, since they sounded so much louder and close, and sometimes the voices didn't even sound like they came from a pony, but despite all that Celestia was reluctant to stay in the corridors.
And this also wasn't to Celestia didn't have logical explanations for the voices, after all, many could secretly be aware of the corridors, or the sound traveled up far enough.
So far the most supernatural explanation Celestia would be accustomed to believing would be the voices were the souls of the alicorn ancestors magically communicating to her from across the void of death, but it could be agreed that if Celestia had heard of any of the myths that were created about the corridors when they were common information, she might have not been even near the corridors at all.
So when Princess Celestia heard a voice down the all from were she had slept, she didn't pay much attention, until the voice said,
"Celestia."
That froze Celestia's royal alicorn blood. Now it wasn't because that the whispering voice uttered her name in darkness, since she had occasionally heard her name being called from the lower tiers when she had first hid in the dark corridors, but because the voice seemed shrill and unfamiliar, adult and feminine, but ultimately creepy and evil.
"It has been a thousand years, my sister." Celestia started to hear soft hoofsteps clopping down towards her.
As the young Princess' heart started to clutch and race faster and faster in minced silent terror as the form of a full-grown dark colored alicorn started to emerge itself from the shadows of the hall.
"Come out from the shadows, you are fully aware that I am the superior one. What you did to me was crime, and I have come back now to take the kingdom in my eternal night and raise up a great army once again." The mare in the shadows told her.
"What?" Celestia whimpered.
"Don't play stupid with me, we've been with each other far to long for you to use such a tactic on me." The mare titled the margin her head up in the darkness. "Gaze on my might, proweress, darkness and superiority!"
With that, the mysterious alicorn mare brightened her horn with a strange pale bluish-black emittance revealing her sinister features to Celestia.
As the alicorn-light waxed brighter and brighter, Celestia tried to make out the still-dark features of the mare.
Bluish-green eyes....
Dark coat....
Blue armor...
Bat-pegasi wings....
An adult mare alicorn....
"Luna?" Celestia speculated out loud.
"That name is dead!" The mare said, with the room fully illuminated with her dark alicorn sorcery.
***
When Princess Celestia awoke, she heard the noise of the servants and guards downstairs caressing the castle only, no dark evil mares.
"How long had I slept?" Princess Celestia thought to herself. But such questions were, in truth, irrelevant.
Since she had probably stayed in the dark corridors long enough, Celestia figured, her parents, Goethe and everypony else who might have been angry at her for breaking the vase were probably not angry anymore. After all, her hiding in the dark corridors waiting for her parent's anger to subside was nothing new to Celestia. Now all she needed to do is turn herself in to the castle staff and receive a proper scolding from her parents and whatnot about breaking the vase and being absent for so long....
***
Unsurprisingly, when Princess Celestia turned herself in to the castle guards, they all acted like Celestia had returned to them as a ghost and started calling for backup and yelled that they has found the Princess. Again, this was not a new experience to Princess Celestia. Like all of the other times, she just sat on her plot and waited until some really buff guards came to take her away to Aeterna and Terra.
But after when Celestia was taken to her parents in the throne room, Terra and Aeterna didn't seem to have the usual look of sternness upon their faces that they usually got when their daughter had disappeared for hours on end.
Celestia just stood in front of them below the elevated dias-space waiting for either one of them to talk.
"Celestia, honey," it was her mom, Queen Aeterna "While you were gone, we found out about the vase."
"And we would just like to inform you" It was King Terra now "that it was neither a expensive vase nor an old or ancient one, and all the true old relics are kept within a secure part of the castle."
"What your father is trying to say is," Aeterna said, half-interupting her husband the King "is that we still love you and you don't have to somehow pay or get punished because you broke the vase."
Celestia cracked a tiny smile from underneath of her brow. "That's good, I guess...where concerned that I was gone and stuff, I mean?"
Aeterna slowed nodded her head. "Of course we were, filly. But by now, after all the past disappearances that you made when we were angry or when you thought you'd get in trouble, we figured you were just fine. However, we might have a talk later on where you go in the castle or out of the castle when you hide from us."
After a brief notion of silence, Celestia's father picked up the conversation again.
"While you were gone, your younger sister, Princess Luna, said her first word. It was "light", a curious first word for a foal, especially for an alicorn of moon, but I wasn't there at the time." He glanced over at Aeterna for a moment. "And another thing happened to Luna while you were gone..."
Celestia leaned in, but her father waved his hoof in front of her.
"No, no, she didn't earn her cutie-mark in record time or anything. What happened was, or at least what happened according to Goethe and Starswirl, was our little princess has inherited one of her mother's sacred abilities."
"The ability to manipulate, enter, and ultimately control dreams." Aeterna revealed.
"Wait, how...how...how did you find out?" She looked over at Terra, "Dad, why don't I have a power like that?"
Aeterna shook her head and laughed. "A power such as that would never come to a sun alicorn, filly. Just understand for now that only I and Luna can control the dreamscape and that some of the ancestors had the ability as well."
"Um, again, how did you find this out again?"
Terra cleared his throat. "Both Duchess Goethe and Starswirl the bearded are both experts in the fields of magic, as you are no doubt aware. During the time you were gone, Celestia, Luna had been giving off magical signals that both Goethe and Starswirl detected. The same night that her magic signals were discovered, there was gossip and reports from the castle staff about having strange, almost manipulated dreams. After me and your father were informed about these dreams, we reported these findings to Goethe and Starswirl, who immediately locked themselves in their respective rooms. After a couple of hours of research, both Goethe and Starswirl came up with the same conclusion: that Luna had the magical gift-ability of dream manipulation."
"Of course," Aeterna started "This was already your father's and I's first guess. Not only do I already possess this ability, but some of the ancestors and Protogenoi even were said to have a form of that power. How can we both have the same ability at the same time, you might ask? Simple: we both have equal control and manipulation over the dreamscape (if a young filly as you can understand such concepts) but only Luna's power is unrefined and weaker at this point of her magical development. This is a much different thing than you earning your cutie-mark for, say, inheriting your father's power of raising and lowering the sun."
Celestia just stooped into space in the direction of her mother. "All this is making my head spin...so to speak."
"You don't have to understand, filly, we are just so excited for your new sister. Speaking of which, you aren't going to get off scot-free, I and your father (especially your father) know better than to let you run off like that and go unpunished."
Now Celestia was out of her comfort-zone "What? Why? This isn't fair, I've ran away before when you were mad, and you didn't punish me!" Celestia cried out in anguish.
"There are several good reasons." Celestia's father told her "One is that you have missed precious time with Goethe, who teaches your precious royal education. Another is that you stayed quite than 2 days..."
Celestia tuned out her father voice. More than two days? Is that what he said? I was in the corridors for more than 2 days? How could that have happened?
"..and the last reason is that we believe you ran away because you were jealous (and probably still are) of your foal-sister Princess Luna." It was her mother, Queen Aeternawho was talking now. "Which leads me to the subject of what your punishment is..."
"Uh..."
"Celestia, you're going to have to take care of your sister independently for a bit."
"What!?!"
"I've already spoken with your governess Duchess Goethe and she says that any school that you will miss will count as Home-ec. She said she had to do a similar thing with her siblings around your age."
Terra only responded with a graceful nod of approval.
***
Although many fillies and colts in the first kingdom of Equestria occasionally enjoy playing with and taking care of their younger siblings, Celestia, the Princess of Equestria, did not enjoy taking care of her younger sister.
There were several reasons for this.
The first reason was that when her mother said "you're going to have to take of your sister for a bit" meant "take care of your sister for 3 straight days." (The Nanny-mares were quite happy with their 3 days off by the way.)
The second reason was that after she was told she was going to have to take care of her sister for 3 days, she found out that she had to live in her sisters room for 3 days also, and share the same crib. This wonderful idea came to Celestia's mother's brain when strict Terra suggested that Celestia staying with Luna would not only give her life lessons on how to take care of a foal, but also strengthen her relationship-bond with her foal sister.
The third was that Princess Celestia was rather jealous of her sister. She came into her life and family without warning, and had bumped Celestia out of the "foal of the royal family" position.
And the last and possibly most important reason was the kind of games Luna wanted to play with Celestia were both tiring and embarrassing.
The first game that Luna wanted to play was something called "horsie". (please don't ask me where the concept or name of this game came from) After several (long) minutes of Princess Luna Riding on Celestia's back, Celestia began to feel tired and her legs became sore and semi-weak.
The next game was a bit better and more interesting, however.
Celestia always remembered playing long games of "house" with her mommy Artemis when she was little. Luna was the mom, Celestia was the aunt, and the little...wooden blocks....were the children, with the entire room as the "house".
Luna's last game before bedtime was the most embarrassing of all though.
It was a game of "mama and baby".
Celestia was told by Luna (indicated by gestures and directing Celestia by touch) to lay down. After Celestia was laid down, Luna walked out of Celestia's vision, when Luna returned, she came back with her blue moon-themed pacifier in her hooves. Luna walked up to Celestia and stuck in Princess Celestia's mouth. Princess Celestia, surprised by this, sucked on her sister's pacifier for good measure, knowing that this was a game. After sucking on her sister's pacifier for a while, Celestia noticed the taste of old stale peanut butter, Celestia assumed the taste was from dried peanut butter left on the pacifier after a couple hours or days.
After seeing her "baby" was happy, Luna sat Princess Celestia up and started to decorate her sister with pretty make-up and bows and glitter that made her look like a clown or something. Celestia was scared to think if Luna would do the same thing to a brother as she had done to her.
It got worse and worse, Luna fed Celestia with a bottle (Celestia just went along with it) and Celestia even got to try on her sister's clothes.
At the end of the day, at Luna's bedtime, Celestia put Luna in her crib, surprisingly to no complications. Celestia got some reading done in some of the hours between Luna's bed-time and her own. After all her hours of free-time were spent, Celestia joined her sister in her crib....
...and woke up the next morning with a pacifier in her mouth and wearing a diaper. Apparently nopony had told her that she was done playing "mama and baby".
And speaking of diapers, Celestia learned how to change one, but it was everything but fun.
Half the time, she tried to run-away when her sister was trying to change her, other times she tried to run away included when she was reading up on how to change a diaper, or anytime she took her eyes off of Luna.
The biggest headache of those 3 days was bathing and feeding her little sister.
Luna was a natural picky-eater, and the "here comes the pegasi" trick didn't really work for her. After a while she just gave up and asked Goethe (kindly) to do it for her.
And oh yes, bathing.
Luna was so stubborn not to take a bath, she even used her alicorn magic to try exempt herself from any bath-taking.
After what seemed like hours, Celestia had discovered the simple trick to getting her to take a bath: just cast easy counter-spells to disrupt her magic and force her body into the tub and magically cement her there.
And from that pint on, giving a bath to Princess Luna was easy...except the fact that Luna always shook the water out of fur (like dogs) which was a thing that Celestia had no counter-spells for.
The three days went by slowly, but when they were done, Celestia had, yes, created a stronger familial bond with Luna, and, yes, she had learned many important lessons concerning foal-care, but no matter how she squared it, Princess Celestia hoped that she would never get punished with little sister-duty again.
First Impressions on a new life
Dramatis Personae
Dramatis Personae
(WARNING: MAJOR character and story spoilers ahead, read at your own risk.)
Princess Celestia - Royal alicorn heir to the throne of the first Kingdom of Equestria. The first daughter of King Solaris and Queen Artemis. Apprentice of both Goethe and Starswirl the beared. Older sister of Princess Luna.
Duchess Goethe - The alicorn head governor (Duchess) of the mountains of Ti area. Teacher to Princess Celestia and nursemaid to Princess Luna.
King Terra - The Royal alicorn King of all the first Kingdom of Equestria. He is the alicorn currently responsible for rising the sun at daybreak. The husband of Queen Artemis and father of Princess Celestia and Princess Luna
Queen Aeterna- The Royal alicorn Queen of all of the first Kingdom of Equestria. She is currently responsible for rising the moon at night. The wife of King Solaris and the mother of Princess Celestia and Princess Luna.
Princess Luna - The Royal Alicorn foal-daughter of King Solaris and Queen Artemis and the younger sister of Princess Celestia.
Ridnarhtim - (Also known as "StarSwirl the bearded") The most well known magician in all of Equestria and Pre-classical era. The teacher of magic to Princess Celestia. He is known for his mysterious life and past and grumpiness throughout Equestria.
Clover the clever - A unicorn magic student of Starswirl the bearded.
Nanny Blackberry - The nanny to Luna and Celestia.
Cyclone - The pegasi captain of the Gallopia royal guard and friend of Princess Celestia.
‘Mister Chives’ - Is the personal bat-pegasi guard to Luna. (Is never addressed by his real name.)
King Sombra - The self-proclaimed "king" of the united unicorn tribe of Equestria. He is not widely trusted in Equestria, or by Solaris and Artemis.
Princess Platinum - The prissy and vain daughter of King Sombra.