Princess Skyla walked down the halls of the Crystal Palace with her father. She had never seen him so disheveled before. Nevertheless, he was smiling from ear to ear on account of the birth of her new sister. Skyla was excited to see her and almost raced ahead of her father to the nursery. She actually would’ve if she knew which room her mom and sister were in.
Shining Armor reached the doors of a room and said, “Well, sweetheart. Here we are.”
Skyla jumped up and down, chattering, “Yay! I can’t wait to meet my new sister! We’re gonna have so much fun together!”
He chuckled, “I’m sure you will.” He set his hoof on the door, but before he opened it, he cautioned, “But let’s just say she’s a bit different from you.”
When he opened the door, Skyla said as she walked in, “Oh, Daddy, I don’t care if she’s pink, blue, or rainbowy! She’s my sister and that’s all that matters.”
Cadance, who was beside the baby’s bed, lifted Skyla with her magic and placed her on the bed. She said, “Here she is, Skyla. Your new sister.”
Skyla practically gushed at the sight of her swaddled sister. The baby had a light magentaish gray coat and a light arctic blue-streaked mane that transitioned from light cerise to grayish violet. Skyla whispered to her sister, “Hi. I’m your sister Skyla.”
To Skyla’s surprise, the baby opened her light opal eyes and began fidgeting out of her blanket. Skyla’s heart skipped another beat when her sister spread out wings! The baby gurgled and cooed in excitement of seeing her big sister.
Skyla expressed her shock, “She’s…an alicorn.” She looked on her back and asked sadly, “Why does she have wings and I don’t?”
Cadance explained as gently as possible, “It’s just because you and your sister were born differently. All babies are different from other ponies, including their brothers and sisters.”
Shining Armor, trying to lighten the mood, said, “Mommy’s right. Each baby wants to stand out in their own way. Your baby sister, for example, might’ve wanted to use wings to stand out!”
Just then, the baby started to sneeze. When she did, however, she released a ray of magic so powerful that it tore a hole through several floors of the castle! A pony with a singed mane looked down from one of the floors in shock.
Skyla remarked, “And her magic.”
Cadance said, “We’ll work on that.”
When the Crystalling was to be held, the royal family soon realized just how powerful the infant’s magic was. Just before the ceremony could commence, the baby’s crying shattered the Crystal Heart! Without its protective magic to shield the Crystal Empire from the Frozen North, the kingdom itself would soon be buried under a blanket of snow. Luckily, Sunburst had come up with a few spells to save the Empire and control the baby’s magic. The royal family used the Crystalling to restore the Crystal Heart and save the Empire from eternal winter. In honor of the adventure they just had, Cadance and Shining Armor named their infant daughter Flurry Heart.
As Princesses Skyla and Flurry Heart grew, their parents and family members cherished them equally, but the same could not be said about the crystal ponies. Yes, the citizens of the Empire adored both princesses, but they admired Flurry Heart more than Skyla. Needless to say, it annoyed the elder sister that the ponies loved her sister more just because she was an alicorn. Flurry Heart wasn’t really enjoying much of the attention, either. As taught by her parents and family members, she remained modest and kind, the ideal princess. Skyla was also like her sister, but fewer ponies seemed to notice her for that. And it wasn’t just the lack of attention that got to her.
The sisters’ Crystaller served as their mentor, but Flurry showed more prowess in her strong magic. Soon, word began to spread throughout the Empire that Flurry Heart was more powerful than her sister. Skyla got really irked at that and a jealousy towards her younger sister began to grow…