It was another typical, uneventful day at Celestia's School of Magic. Wandering the halls, you hear the whispers and murmurs of those you pass. After twelve years of your fellow ponies treating, you with indifference for being the daughter of the one they call crazy. The ruler of Equestria, Twilight Sparkle. Everypony scoffs at you when you walk by. Your grades are average, and you don't have the magical aptitude like the rest. Maybe if you had any kind of motivation... Who knows maybe you are a magical prodigy like your mother...
Fuck that!
You were content with being average. As long as you weren't failing you were left to your own devices, the way you liked it. Every day was the same. Sleep through Theoretical Physics; bell rings. Time for Magic Studies; Sleep, wake up. Advanced Application of Magic; repeat. This is how your weeks progressed. The only wrench in your perfect world was the last class of every Friday, Astrology. For some reason you were drawn to the stars like a moth to light. Everything about the glittering motes in the sky had you giddy like a child in a candy store. When the bell rang you were always the first to arrive at the Tower of the Stars. Upon entering you were greeted by a familiar voice. That of you cousin Flurry Heart. Only a few years older than you Flurry had been hired on as the new Astrology teacher. Replacing the stuffy old nag who taught it last year.
"Good afternoon Miss Rain."
"Heya Flurry."
Your cousin scoffs.
"Nova how many times must I tell you to call me Miss or Professor Flurry Heart while we are in school?"
"Pft! I lost count after the first time you rambled on."
"Sigh! It's only proper etiquette Nova."
"Come on Flurry. Who has time for shit, like that when the stars a calling?"
Flurry cannot help but chuckle.
"If you spent as much energy with everything else in your life like you do with astrology then you could be so much more. Not to mention your life would be so much better."
Your head droops from her words.
"You make it sound so easy... It's not like you have ever felt like an outcast... or like you have never belonged ... In Equestria..."
Your voice cracks.
"Being one of a few naturally born alicorns. Nope I have no idea whatsoever."
"Don't play semantics with me Flurry Heart you know what I mean."
"Your mother loves you very much Nova! Who cares what others think."
"That's easy for you to say Flurry she's not your mother..."
"No, but she is my aunt and everypony in Equestria knows it... I get the same treatment as you do whenever the Canterlot Tragedy is brought up... My opinion of Aunt Twily hasn't changed. Ever!"
"But..."
Flurry interrupts with a wave of her left wing.
"Listen Nova neither you, I or any of those other blowhards were there... Celestia knows what your mother endured during that incident..."
"You know something don't you Flurry?"
"It's not my story to tell."
Before you could say more the second bell rang signaling the start of class. Students filed in sitting at their assigned desks. Flurry Heart turned away signaling the end of the conversation. The afternoon passed in the blink of an eye and before you could confront your cousin again, she had vanished.
Damn it Flurry Heart!
Stepping outside the front doors you noticed your shadows waiting for you. Normally your assigned royal guards were supposed to remain by your side, but you quickly threw that into the grinder like a slab of beef. Not wanting the burden, you duck back inside, sneaking out the upper balcony of the Tower of the Stars. Your flight home was peaceful. Your thoughts all your own. The blue sky faded to yellow then orange and finally to violet. Dusk arrived by the time you landed on your balcony. Your parents would be furious for ditching your guards again but that didn't deter you at all. Discarding your backpack on the stone masonry, you turn towards the waning sunlight, gazing longingly into the sky. A slight breeze flows by billowing your golden mane. The stars appeared dotting the darkening sky. Millions of tiny motes glittering in the heavens. For a brief moment in time all was perfect with the world.
********************
The morning sun rises on a new era. Golden rays pierce through the opening in the curtains, assaulting your sleeping face. You wince in pain at the sudden brightness. Your lips part slightly as a hiss escapes. raising your head just a bit off your pillow you notice a purple blur through slitted eyes.
"Good morning sleepy head!"
Your eyes focus on the sound of the voice, you know so well.
"M... Mom?"
"That's right sweety."
"What are you doing in my room at this hour?"
"This hour? Do you know what time it is, Nova Rain?"
"Time for you to get the fuck out of my room so that I can sleep."
Your mother remains unphased by your lack of morality. Her amethyst eyes sparkled as she smiled with glee.
"Nope! Try again."
You groan in frustration, burying your face in the pillow. Your muffled voice escapes from beneath.
"Go away!"
"Not going to happen."
Your mother's purple horn glows with a violet aura. The pillow you are using for cover is ripped from your grasp by her spell. Your head bounces off the wooden headboard with a thunk.
"OUCH! DAMN IT MOTHER!"
With your right hoof you begin to rub the painful, growing bump on your head.
"Sorry sweety. Are you alright?"
Your mother's expression softens to worry as she rushes over to you.
"Other than this throbbing headache, I'm just dandy."
Your voice drips with sarcasm.
"I'm so very sorry Honey. Sometimes I forget, even my little spells have some kick."
You glare skeptically at the purple alicorn.
"You're the most powerful creature in Equestria. There are no little spells with you... Otherwise Canterlot would be finished with the repairs wrought by your magical devastation!"
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"You are a reckless loose cannon and a danger to everypony around you."
Your mother scoffs.
"I most certainly am not!"
"My throbbing head and the Canterlot ruins say otherwise."
"When you say it like that, I sound like a crazed lunatic that just uses magic on a whim."
"If the shoe fits!"
"Where would you ever get a crazy idea like that?"
"Do you really want to go there mother?"
Twilight's expression hardens. Her amethyst eyes glare down at you.
"Please, enlighten me Nova Rain!"
You return the glare and coldness.
"I don't know mother. It may have something to do with everypony at that stuffy old magic academy, who always talk about the crazy princess who snapped and leveled Canterlot and the surrounding area."
"It doesn't matter what everypony else thinks of me. I only care about how you feel."
You turn your head away. Silence hangs in the air like a choking fog.
"Do you really think so lowly of me? ..."
"..."
"Nova?"
"... Y... You're not the one who has to deal with being an outcast... The daughter of... Twilight Sparkle..."
Your mother turns her head away, ashamed.
"That... That was an accident. I had no control over that."
"Like that even matters. Whether bouncing my head off the headboard or destroying a city, your magic causes pain for everyone!"
Your irritation seeps out like a festering wound.
"I can't believe you would throw that back in my face. We can' t control who we fall in love with... That same love you were created from."
Tears dotted Twilight's cheeks her jaw clenched.
"Maybe not mother, but you had control over the situation then as you do now and could have saved everyone the pain!"
Your mother remains silent, tears pattering on the marble floor from your hurtful words. Feeling guilty only agitates you more. You run your forelimbs through your mane in frustration. Twilight remains quiet. Finally, you explode, your emotions, a raw torrent.
"Grrr... It's too early for this shit. I'm tired and not in the mood for all of this drama. Tell me what you want or begone!"
Twilight flinches from your outburst. Your chest heaves from exhaustion as you glare at her.
"Nothing to say? ... Then leave!"
Defeated, your mother opens the door. She speaks, words barely a whisper.
"Happy eighteenth birthday ... Nova..."
With one final tearful glance towards you, Twilight exits, gently closing the door.
Wait! What did she say?
You glance over at your calendar where a bright red circle encircles the thirteenth of May. A day you don't remember marking. Not that you ever remember your birthday anyways. Only your parents make such a big deal about it. You attempt the rub away the soreness of your headache, pondering.
Servers her right for waking me up... It's not really her fault I stayed up all night, stargazing... DAMN IT! DAMN IT! DAMN IT!
Begrudgingly you sit up in bed, throwing you covers to the floor. Your blonde mane and tail cascade around you, a disheveled mess. Wings extended you stretch like a cat, relieving your stiff joints. Slowly you canter to the vanity you received for your birthday two years prior. You gaze at the reflection. Staring back from the smooth surface was a mocha colored alicorn with emerald, green eyes.
You can be such an ass Nova Rain!
You lick you right hoof, using it the smooth out your mane, failing miserably. You sigh in defeat. Accepting your fate, you make for door. The refracted light from the stain glass windows assaults your vision. Flinching from the new sensation you cover your face, blinking away the blurred colors.
Fucking Tartarus!