//------------------------------// // Beginning // Story: Ascension // by King Ice //------------------------------// Snowy Dawn proudly exited the throne room, still inspecting her wings. She… really did it. It was said that by being the Queen’s student, it would be possible to become an alicorn. She honestly thought it was a myth, but this just proved it wasn’t! She felt much different from before. Her power was greater, but she had better control of it than when she was a foal. Unfortunately, it looked like she still didn’t get her cutie mark. After all these years, the spots where it should remain blank. Did that mean she had no talent? It was a question that always remained in her head since she was a small filly. They were still there, but she wouldn’t be able to deny that accomplishing so many things under the Queen’s guidance gave her some confidence. She knew what being an alicorn entailed. She would probably be chosen to rule one of Equestria’s districts, and if something were to happen to the Queen, then she would take her place. Equestria was composed of a single huge city that covered most of its territory. The more time passed, the more space they needed for habitations, forcing them to expend each city until they were all connected. Now, all of Equestria was separated into districts while at the very center of it laid Canterlot; the capital and also where the Queen’s castle was. Knowing that she would be responsible for some of those areas made Snowy shiver. Canterlot was the embodiment of peace and order; the place in which the Queen’s eyes were said to be everywhere. Her presence was enough to fill any potential criminal with fear, making the capital very peaceful. However, that wasn’t the case for the rest of Equestria; and to think she would have responsibilities in these districts made Snowy shiver in fear. Luckily, the moment she stepped out of the castle, someone she knew very well was here for her. “Snowy!” A unicorn with an orange coat and a blonde mane suddenly embraced her. “I got out of my training the moment I saw that light! Are you alright? What happened?” She inquired while holding her tighter and tighter. “C-Can’t breath… Rune…” Snowy managed to breathe out before being released and catching her breath. Now that her friend wasn’t just an orange blur assaulting her anymore, she could also see that she wore a golden armor while some kind of small halberd was strapped on her back. “Sorry, he he. You look like you’re fine! You had me worried there,” Rune chuckled as she rubbed the back of her head. “I didn’t notice…” Snowy whispered while a smile crept up her face. “Anyway, I’m better than fine! Did you notice anything different?” She asked while blushing as Rune looked at her from head to toe. Suddenly her eyes widened in shock. “A-Are those wings?!” She shouted as she ran up to her and lifted her wings, checking them over. “You’re an alicorn! A-And you’re all white!” “Now you notice my coat isn’t of the same color?” Snowy asked while chuckling. Rune could only blush in embarrassment. “I noticed! I was just… joking. Anyway, I can’t believe it! My friend is an alicorn! Take that Midnight!” Rune shouted as she jumped on her alicorn friend again. “I can hardly believe it, too! Hahaha, you’re going to make both of us fall down at this rate,” Snowy laughed as Rune let go of her. “We have to celebrate that! Come on, let’s call the others! I bet they won’t believe what they’re seeing!” Rune exclaimed in excitement as she started running ahead only to stop in her tracks and turn around. “Unless you want to tell your mother first?” “N-No, my mom can wait. I’ll let her know tonight,” Snowy answered, her mood dropping quickly the moment her mother was mentioned. “Anyway, I’m all for celebrating it. But don’t you have duties as the captain of the royal guard?” “Pfft, those can wait. I don’t have anything important today, so I can get some time off for my best friend!” Rune replied, which brought a smile upon the alicorn’s face soon enough. “Alright, I guess I can’t really refuse then,” “Great!” Rune’s horn lit up as green smoke came out of it until it turned into a screen and faced the unicorn. They waited a few seconds until a face suddenly appeared into the smoke. It was a purple unicorn with a pink mane and a wide smile. “Rune! It’s good to see you! You don’t call me out of the blue like that usually!” The mare greeted Rune. Her name was Mirage Dreamer. “I know, but something we have to celebrate happened! Are you at your apartment right now?” “Celebrate? Now this couldn’t be a better reason to cook some good cupcakes! And yes, I am!” Mirage answered, looking more excited than ever. Snowy couldn’t help but smile at this sight. “Great! I already have Snowy with me; we’re coming right away. Call Azure and Blueberry, alright?” Rune asked as Mirage nodded. “I’m doing it right away! See you soon!” Mirage replied as the green smoke vanished from Rune’s horn. “Let’s go, Snowy! The sooner we get there, the quicker we’ll taste her cupcakes!” Rune licked her lips as she trotted down the castle’s stairs, closely followed by the new alicorn. As Snowy and Rune walked through Canterlot’s streets to their friend’s home; she looked around. Not much has changed since she started learning under the Queen Twilight. The buildings were numerous and tall enough that they disappeared through the clouds. The sky, as usual, was darkened by gray clouds, blocking most of the sunlight. There were rare days when pegasi and unicorns managed to get rid of most of them. Unfortunately, today wasn’t one of these days. Although there were many pegasi flying above them; Snowy honestly wondered how there could be so many of them flying up there without any accidents. Granted they were experienced, but still. “So… Did anything happen lately?” Snowy asked, breaking the silence between the two of them. “You’d think being the captain of the Royal Guard would be hard, but honestly I don’t have that much to do,” Rune admitted as they walked through a huge crowd of ponies, some throwing glances at Snowy’s wings. “Canterlot is pretty peaceful, and unless something really serious happens in one of the districts, then the regular guards over there will do the work,” Rune explained as Snowy nodded. “Well, it’s good if it’s easy then,” “I mean... becoming the captain took a lot of work, but yeah it’s pretty much a job without many difficulties. Although I would rather want it to be hard,” “Really?” “Yep! Right now, it’s a bit boring. Besides, a lot of civilians think that we’re pretty much useless because of how little work we do,” Rune sighed as Snowy placed a wing over her shoulders. “Sometimes, I wish something would happen,” “I thought you didn’t care what other ponies think of you,” Snowy smiled. “W-Well… I don’t. It’s just that I wouldn’t want you to believe what everypony is saying,” Rune blushed in embarrassment as Snowy moved her wing away. “You know me. I would never listen to somepony badmouthing one of my friends,” The alicorn smirked, making her friend smile. “Yeah, it was a bit stupid worrying about that now that I think about it,” Rune admitted as she laughed softly. “It’s okay; I know what it’s like,” Snowy replied softly as they continued on their way. It didn’t take them long before they finally arrived in front of the building where Mirage’s apartment was. Thankfully, she lived on the first floor, so they didn’t need to take the elevator. “Wait! Before we go in!” Rune stopped her from going in before looking around. Snowy raised an eyebrow as her friend ran inside a store nearby, and came out a minute later with a cloak in her magic grab. “Here! Wear this!” She handed it to the alicorn. “Okay… But why?” “We’re going to hide your wings and your coat, too. When everypony is there, you’ll take it off! It would be hilarious to see their reaction!” Rune explained as Snowy put the cloak on. “Oh! I get it! It will be a surprise!” Snowy nodded, effectively hiding her body under the cloak. Realizing her head and horn could still be seen, she cast a spell, making her coat darker. “That’s perfect! Let’s go!” Rune jumped to the building’s entrance in excitement as Snowy followed behind. When they arrived in front of Mirage’s apartment door, she opened it immediately the moment they knocked. “You’re already here? You really couldn’t wait to taste my cupcakes, could you?!” She exclaimed as she let them in. Her apartment was certainly colorful. Although the colors were a bit too… bright for most ponies’ liking. “You said it!” Rune answered before leaving her halberd against the wall and looking around. “Oh! And what happened to you, Snowy? It’s not every day that I see you wearing cloaks,” Mirage pointed out as Snowy waved with her hoof. “It’s nothing; don’t worry. I just wanted to test something new. Her Majesty actually suggested it,” Snowy lied as she stepped inside. “Well, if it’s Queen Twilight’s suggestion, then it probably is a good one!” Mirage smiled before turning around, seeing that Rune was already at the table where the cupcakes were. She was staring at them while drooling, clearly about to gulp all of them down. “Don’t you touch those, Rune! The others aren’t there yet,” Mirage said, then looked at Rune’s pleading eyes. “A-Alright, you can take one I guess,” “Ha! Works every time!” Rune muttered to herself as she took a bite of one of the cupcakes. “Here! Take one, too, Snowy,” She handed one of them to her alicorn friend. “Thank you,” She replied as she bit down on it. “So, how did your day go, girls?” Mirage inquired as she walked up to them. “Nothing special,” Rune answered before swallowing the last piece of cupcake she took. “It was great; Her Majesty congratulated me on some of my assignments!” “That’s amazing! I’m sure Queen Twilight will reward you with something soon! Maybe a party? We could have a lot of fun; although I’m not really sure about what you can do at a party…” Mirage thought out loud, putting a hoof on her chin. “I’m sure she will, and I can tell you if there’s a party, you could always bake something. Working with Her Majesty’s personal chefs would be something,” Snowy pointed out. “That would be a dream come true!” Mirage squealed in excitement while Rune snickered. Suddenly, a knock on the door was heard. Mirage jumped up to the door as if her home was on fire and quickly opened it. “Oh, you’re there! Come in, Azure!” She welcomed the pony happily as they came in. “Looks like… ah... I’m not the last one… ah... to arrive,” Azure commented while she was catching her breath. Azure Glow was a pegasus with a dark red coat and a white mane. “Um… You alright?” Rune inquired as Azure collapsed on one of the chairs. “Yeah… ah… It’s… I had to-” Azure started explaining, still catching her breath before Mirage suddenly threw a cupcake in her mouth. “Take this; I’m sure you’ll get better in no time!” She guaranteed as Azure gained a dreamy look while eating the cupcake. “Hmm. That’s delicious. Nothing better than your food to get myself back on my hooves!” Azure complimented as she licked her lips. “What I was trying to say earlier was that I ran all the way here. Since I was all the way in district A, I was scared I would be late if I didn’t hurry the fuck up,” She explained before getting slapped on the head by a journal. “Language, young mare!” Mirage scolded her while the pegasus rubbed the back of her head. “Y-Young mare? We’re the same age!” Azure replied while looking angry; even though she was pretty much used to it. Snowy was sure she didn’t mind those remarks anymore. “Why didn’t you use your wings?” Rune raised an eyebrow as Azure rolled her eyes. “And get myself arrested by a wonderbolt again because I was flying without a license? No, thank you!” Azure crossed her front legs in annoyance as she remembered the last time it happened. “What are you waiting for to get one, then? Weren’t you taking lessons?” Rune inquired as she grabbed another cupcake. “I took the test once; and even after I had done everything perfectly, I still failed!” Azure complained while Snowy raised an eyebrow. “Perfectly? Didn’t you make one mistake?” “What do you mean?” The pegasus asked her only for Rune to answer instead of her. “She means you probably failed because you crashed through a window,” She harshly said as Azure jerked back. “W-Well… I was distracted for like… a second. And… that was because there were pegasi everywhere. It was the end of the day, so I think it was pretty unfair!” She explained while the three other girls simply stared at her. “Besides, the old lady living there gave me a cookie, so I consider that a win,” “I can’t really blame you for failing since my mom got it on her second try…” Rune started before slowly snickering. “But you really should think with your head instead of your stomach sometimes,” “H-Hey, I don’t eat THAT much! Tell her, girls!” Azure spun around to look at the other ponies in the room. Snowy awkwardly looked away and avoided eye contact. “Don’t look away! What is that supposed to mean?!” “Now, no need to get worked up about this. If it makes you feel better, you didn’t eat as much lately,” Mirage pointed out. “That’s-” The pegasus started only to be interrupted by the rumbling of her stomach. She quickly blushed in embarrassment while the others couldn’t help but laugh. Soon enough, she joined them, too. “Okay, I admit it. You win,” Soon enough, another knock was heard, making them all turn around to look at the door. Unlike the previous times, Mirage wasn’t rushing to open it. Instead, she looked at the girls. “Alright, that must be Blueberry. Now, as you all know, her work puts a lot of stress on her. Fortunately, this week is a free one during which she can rest as much as she wants to. So try not to mention her work or the factory, got it?” She explained as they all nodded in reply. Satisfied with this, she went to open the door. Blueberry was an earth pony with a dark brown coat and a yellow mane. She had bags under her eyes, and her mane was… a mess. She looked quite dirty, too. “I’m happy to see you, Blueberry! Come in! Everyone is waiting for you!” Mirage greeted her as Blueberry’s eyes widened. “Work?! W-What are you saying?! Do I have to be working right now?!” She asked while looking around in a panic until Mirage quickly put her front hooves on her shoulder. “No, no! I said, ‘Everyone is waiting for you’! You must have misheard it or something… Anyway, come in! There are cupcakes for everyone. I’ve got even some cookies ready!” Mirage clapped her hooves in excitement while Blueberry came inside. “Oh, right. Yeah, I probably didn’t hear it right… I’m kinda tired, but that’s okay,” She said before going to greet the others. They were pretty much all used to her being so… tired as she put it. “So… Since everyone is here, take as many cupcakes you want while I bring cookies!” Mirage exclaimed as she trotted in the kitchen. The moment she came back, Azure flew above her head and grabbed two of the cookies before throwing them in her mouth while Blueberry took small bites of one of the remaining cupcakes. Rune snickered as she grabbed a cookie while Mirage had to hold the pegasus back from throwing herself on the entire plate. “What are we celebrating, by the way? It must have been something to call us out of the blue like that. And I was enjoying a nice nap at that,” Blueberry commented as Azure stopped trying to steal all the cookies. “Right, I totally forgot why we were even there,” She said as she landed back on the floor. “Snowy and Rune wanted to keep it a surprise until everypony was there. So what is it, girls?” Mirage explained before looking at the two main guests. “W-Well…” Snowy started, slowly getting a bit embarrassed by the sudden attention directed at her. “It has something to do with that coat! Come on, show them!” Rune interrupted as she sent her an encouraging smile. “Oh, yeah! I was wondering why she was wearing that. It doesn’t suit her at all,” Azure commented while nodding. Snowy took her time and breathed out, then lit her horn and threw the cloak away as she also revealed the true color of her coat. All the other ponies in the room, except Rune, widened her eyes as they got a good look at her new appearance, and more specifically, her wings. “W-What the hell? You have wings!” Azure flew at her to inspect them. Snowy was barely able to keep her balance as the pegasus landed on her back and looked at the wings closer. “And you’re all white, too!” “When did you become an alicorn?” Blueberry inquired with raised eyebrows. “Just today!” Rune was the one to reply as Mirage walked around the alicorn. “Oh, you’re so pretty! I guess all alicorns being elegant wasn’t just a myth after all!” Mirage pointed out as Snowy blushed. Azure finally flew off her back and landed back on the floor. “Screw the cupcakes and cookies! We got to have a real party! Bake a cake, Mirage!” Azure said while drooling. “Right now? But it would take some time… Besides, I don’t have anything here for a party…” She answered before Rune placed a leg over Azure’s shoulders. “It’s alright, Azure and I will go out and buy everything we need,” She said. “I can help you bake the cake if you want,” Snowy added with a smile. “And I can sleep on the couch!” Blueberry said excitedly. “If you’re all for it, then let’s do it!” Mirage giggled as she walked to the kitchen, followed by Snowy. Meanwhile, Azure and Rune exited the room while Blueberry collapsed on the couch as if she hadn’t slept in years. In the meantime, deep in the dungeons under the Canterlot’s Castle, small clouds of dark magic escaped a very special cell.