The sacred grounds so few were allowed into had been trodden upon. A quiet apothecary filled with shelves, tables, samples of various materials from bones to metals and sealed jars of liquids, two occupants crisscrossed the aisles of content while gathering up some of it. Notebooks only two had ever read through, their author and one Clover the Clever, were scoured through. Two fillies who’d suffered a string of bad luck had broken several unspoken rules in the last hour with a goal in mind. A simple successful spell cast and potion creation. And surely, they thought in youthful mind and lack of wisdom, if making a simple, easy spell from the public library’s spell and alchemy books would net them favor to make up for past blunders; than successfully mastering a combination potion and spell from such a master as Starswirl the Bearded’s research would engender even more favor!
“Are you sure about this, Celly?” a petite blue filly muttered as she paced over on her hindlimbs. Held in her forehooves, she carried over a stone table ten times bigger than she was by its leg. The fact such a feat should have been impossible for her was all too known to the young alicorn.
“We blew it with Hurricane and Pansy’s test earlier!” her larger, white-bodied, pink-maned sibling yelped while getting the brewing stand ready and testing vials for the alchemy, magically flowing over several books at once to the precise right pages.
Luna put the fifty kilogram table down casually as a normal toddler would place a toy, wiggling her tail before hopping up and grabbing the edge with her forelimbs and kicking her legs to find a purchase to haul herself up, “Ney-ph! I thought we were supposed to make lighting come outta those c'wouds?”
Celestia didn’t face her, only passively using her telekinesis to lift her baby sister up onto the table while mixing and churning multiple ingredients together, nose deep in a book.
“And we made twenty come out at once! Lightning isn’t supposed to strike twice, let alone ten times that much, Lulu,” Celestia frowned as she found the right page, “Ahah!”
She mixed the contents, various powders, liquids, dissolved solids, and uncorked misting gasses; while pouring them into the central brewing bowl. It bubbled, toiled, and troubled with sparks of light and glowing mists seeping out; taking a distinct pinkish color.
“Ooooooh!” Luna’s eyes widened and her mouth drooped agape, buzzing her little wings to hover and watch, “My turn! My turn! What’s next?”
“Ready then? On three, we turn this hunk of lead into gold!” Celestia grinned as Luna tilted her head and looked about.
“What hunk o’-” she was cut off by her big sister levitating over a piece of raw lead approximately twice the size of both fillies put together, dipping the tip of the jagged hunk of ore into the bubbling, glowing mixture. The lead sparked and started to dimly pulse with pink light, ready for transmutation. Luna’s eyes sparkled at the test before them as Celestia grinned. This was sure to make their caretakers not so scared about their magic! If they could pull this off, they’d be set and everypony would be happy!
“Oooone!” Celestia started with a grin.
“Twoouuoo!” Luna continued, wagging her tail.
Blue and golden magic ignited two horns and white light overtook their eyes, “THREE!”
The lead, or at least what was pure lead in the ore, did transmute into a new element. But massive amounts of unicorn magic bolstered by earth pony constitution, and the typical youthful surges one would expect for infants of any three races being exacerbated and prolonged tended to lead to… unexpected events. Like shaving and rearranging too many electrons and protons.
The twin brilliance of magical rays worked with the potion and did succeed in turning several dozens of kilograms of lead into gold… and potassium… and hydrogen… The shining piece of alchemy promptly did what two of the most explosive and flammable elements on the periodic tables did. Eyes widened, magical shields were thrown up, and the two alicorn sisters were promptly sent pinballing across the lab as a fiery geyster blasted a hole clean through the roof.
=========
Commander Hurricane was both surprised and not. Not surprised to find archmagus Starswirl the Bearded buried in a book, surprised to find him not fretting or coordinating over the smoking ruins of his laboratory that had figuratively and literally gone up in flames.
“What seems to be the problem, Commander?” the old unicorn noted dryly as he turned another page and read on while jotting down some notes on a card.
“Thankfully none, the fire wasn’t very big and is under control. I’m just surprised you didn’t rush down there and snuff the flames instantly yourself,” Hurricane lamented with pursed lips.
The powerfully built pegasus stood up straighter when Starswirl shot up from his seat but didn’t move past it until he calmly closed his book and stuck a note into the pages like a place marker.
“Hmm, good, good. Inform the others not to start repairs until I return. I want some of the damage apparent for tonight,” Starswirl nodded sagely while starting for the door, calmly passing by the still confused Hurricane, “Good day, Commander!”
Hurricane watched the archmagus go, half wondering if something was wrong in that the once grouchy, sour sorcerer he once knew had some particular reason he wasn’t flying off the handle at the lab he let so few enter without a tirade being on fire not fifteen minutes ago. Deciding the best course of action as to glimpse the reasoning was to look into what had the old unicorn’s attention most recently, he paced over to Starswirl’s book. Knowing the near suicidally dedicated to detail Starswirl would notice if he moved it as much as a millimeter, Hurricane leaned over and inspected the cover.
He expected it to be some new spellbook, perhaps some elaborate conjuring tome Starswirl the Bearded intended to use to completely replace his laboratory. Or maybe a reverse spell book that could literally rewind the damages and that’s why he didn’t want anypony moving or starting repairs? It was completely packed with written notes and scribbled-on cards to imply heavy use.
The cover however made Commander Hurricane’s brow try to stick into his scalp.
".... ‘Even dummies can be Parents! Easy Child Theory’...?”
=========
Two hours later, a quiet Starswirl the Bearded was pacing to a remote glade on Canterlot mountain, moving underneath the shadows cast by trees in the setting sun. With him were two little forms, one walking beside him to his left and the other buzzing little wings to hover at his right. They’d kept moving until twilight had come, the sun wasn’t setting just yet and the moon hadn't risen. In bygone days it would take teams of unicorns to move the celestials; and even then the strain of such actions would burn out their magic in a few tries.
They stopped on the edge of the glade, the clearing where the trees stopped and a small lake sparkled in the edge of the light. A silence passed for a hot minute, Celestia and Luna warily looking to Starswirl and then the sky.
“Go on,” he noted calmly, in a tone they had been so braced for shouting.
Looking at each other, the alicorn sisters moved forward; Luna landed on her big sister’s back as both of their horns ignited with glimmering magic. The spells that could permanently burn out the magic of a seasoned unicorn were cast as easily as breathing. Reflecting in the pool of the lake, the sun eased into setting beyond the hills as the moon rose above the mountains. All done by beings who looked barely 8 and 5 years old respectively, despite being less than half that age.
It was, perhaps, another reminder of remarkable circumstance. A reminder of how Starswirl initially treated the situation with tact, sternness, and most of all; guilty as the lamentation was in how it formed a cold pit in his stomach, fear. If such beings weren’t disciplined, made to fear disorder and to an extent, fear normal folk, what might they do when they’re older? Could such power be contained when they became adults, or would they be gods amongst the trodden world? Yes, Starswirl was once very afraid of such a potentiality, and that made him almost treat disciplining the sisters like a lion tamer might discipline a dangerous panther…
But the little eyes and flopped-down ears were an ever present reminder to him of just what he was dealing with.
Not goddesses, not potential disasters. But a blessing. As all children were. All the more reason the dour looks and frowns on their faces tugged at the old stallion’s heart. Celestia was trying to maintain eye contact while Luna nervously brushed her forehoof back and forth on the grass, looking down and away while letting her sister tug a wing around her.
“We’ll s-send mail from.. Wherever we go,” Celestia sniffled while trying to stay strong for her sister.
Luna shrunk back even more, hiding behind Celestia's wing and leg, “Even if we have to make the m-mailbox…”
“What are you talking about?” Starswirl hummed with a perked brow and tilted head.
The sisters glanced about and frowned, Celestia continuing as a shaking Luna hugged her leg, “You’re sending us back to the woods where we c-came from. Getting rid of us.”
“J-just wike mommy and daddy must’a,” Luna whimpered while a heartbroken Celestia tried to nuzzle her.
This wasn’t Everfree Forest, but they didn’t know that. Their mother hadn’t abandoned them, but they didn’t know that. And Starswirl did.
Oh how the pain in his chest pushed to the front, demanding release. He wanted to tell them what he suspected, almost being certain of, but couldn’t and wouldn’t speak of it. He knew there were forces in the world beyond mortals, one that reached out to him and his friends once. A plea for aid that six heeded, and only one lived to remember it. Starswirl knew a name he yearned to tell the girls, but many a reason made him bite his tongue.
Besides, treating this matter as a business of gods wouldn’t solve it. He needed to treat it as it was. A matter of scared children who needed their father.
Before any more words could be said, Starswirl stepped forth and gathered the fillies in his arms and held them. He held them through their shakes and shivers, for times unknown as the moon lazily inched across the sky.
“What were you doing in my lab anyways?”
Luna shook but held to his beard, burying herself in it as she often did for comfort, “We were trying to- to- be mages-.. Er…”
“Like you!” Celestia yelped while trying to hold onto the archmagus, “Trying to be normal, good ponies who er-... don’t… blow things… up… Or have scary magic.”
“... Who called your magic ‘scary’?” Starswirl grumbled defensively, inwardly at his past self.
“Well… we do often make a mess of things,” Celestia’s ears flickered awkwardly as she pouted, lamenting their past excursions with the Founders.
Making plants all but explode out of the ground when Smart Cookie mentored them in agriculture, accidentally causing a small twister during weather trials with Commander Hurricane, and now all but exploding half of Starswirl’s lab. The same lab he did make them see before they came here, having held off on having repairs done for that exact reason. These magical accidents were bound to happen, but a certain helpful book had given him some pointers on how to use it. And what to use with it.
Two years ago, if it had been a new apprentice who’d destroyed part of his laboratory, he’d have launched into a tirade, ranted, and been the jaded old wizard he’d been. That was probably what drove a rift between himself and Clover that took years to patch up.
They’d seen what could go wrong if they weren’t careful, they’d learn. Pressing the issue now would only work to make it worse… Page 57 of ‘Even dummies can be Parents! Easy Child Theory’...
“And what, praytell, is so wrong with being abnormal!” he griped with a faux anger while making a frankly silly pout across his muzzle, “Why, if I had two heads but was still me, would I be any lesser because I wasn’t ‘normal’?”
His tone was jovial, his pitch carried with a chuckle, and his eyes beamed. To Celestia and Luna, it was a joyous sight to behold. Luna’s mouth dropped agape and she giggled, curling up in the old beard she loved to snuggle up against and letting it almost swallow her up.
“Hehe! Noo! You’d have double the beardies then!” the blue filly squeaked while almost engulfed in the white mass. She had such a ball and felt so comforted within the silly act.
Starswirl crackled a toothy smirk and stroked his mane sagely, patting Luna across the back, “Hmm well with you getting bigger, I just might consider an investment to increase volume! You won’t fit in there much longer with how you two grow.”
Luna snickered a mewling ‘Nyo!’ that was muffled by her laughter, as Celestia smiled a bit sheepishly and tilted her head.
“S-still sorry about the lab, we promise to fix it though!”
“Aye, that you will. That you will, but that’s not all you’ll do or fix,” Starswirl nodded while patting her head, “With my help you will, as you will use your powers for what’s due to you… Did you two ever hear about how we knew of alicorns before you arrived?”
Luna blinked in clear confusion and stayed quiet as Celestia shook her head, pursing her lips.
“I mean, they’re... us... kinda… are on the flag,” she shrugged while fluttering her wings.
Starswirl nodded approvingly while looking to the sky and fancying the constellations, “Alicorns symbolized our kinds’ new unity. That the old racial hierarchies or segregations, or multiple origins by evolution or creation were all wrong. That pegasi, earthen, and unicorns were not separate species and folk; but one. Equestria was forged by unity, the knowledge that being together made us all stronger, safer, and happier. Alicorns represented that ideal, enhancement through unity. When you two were born…-”
He contemplated on how to word it, knowing and hypothesizing the truth, but wanting to articulate it in the best way possible. Simplicity and the truth was, in essence, the best way to do so.
“When you two were born, your family,” he didn’t say ‘parents’ on account of any unknowns he wasn’t privy to, “Your family must have seen it as the good omen it was. That you were two very special little girls, and ones with a special destiny ahead of you.”
He put a hoof around either alicorn assuringly, conscious of their strong frames, broadening wings, and pointed horns, “Maybe they knew what kind of unity you represented and thus, wanted to give you the chance to be around a lot of ponies to teach you it.”
“So we could be good ponies?” Celestia noted with only a slight frown, one ear perked and the other flopped.
Starswirl patted her head, “So you could learn how to be you… Nopony is asking you to be any more, or any less… And, who knows? Maybe being you means you two might be the best out of all of us. My generation was another in a long line that kept our kind segregated, isolated, and weak. I know you two can do worlds better if us old folk could shape up!”
“So-So we’re staying?” Celestia beamed as Luna eagerly clapped her hooves.
Starswirl felt his eyes water as a deep sigh he hadn’t known he’d been holding it finally let itself free of his lungs. He’d never gotten serious with anypony before, so family life was something totally new to him. But then again, so had been the unity alicorns embodied, and so far that had worked out pretty well for him.
The old stallion let out a hearty laugh like he was Santa Hooves and hugged his girls to him, “Girls, nopony who loves you would ever truly want to see you go.”
He beamed at the encouragement, feeling the weight the sisters had been carrying on their shoulders drop off their backs. He meant every word after all. All parents strive to see their children happy, and all can hope what comes next will only get better. He didn’t at all resist the girlish squeal Luna let out as she pounced and seeked his belly to ‘attack’ his ticklish spots. Celestia soon joined in on the assault and the trio were rolling about, Starswirl hopelessly outmatched as roars of laughter rang into the night.
Ten minutes later, they stayed to watch the stars more, Luna curled up on Starswirl’s head and back and Celestia nestled up against his belly.
“Well, if we’re gonna be the best; we’d better not set the lab on fire for at least another year!” Celestia piped up, head half-obscured by Starswirl’s hat which she was now wearing despite it being too big for her.
“Ye! Gotta wait 364 days!” Luna agreed with a chirp, pawing at her favorite beard in the world.
“Now why would you be that specific?” Starswirl grunted with a perked brow.
Celestia stuck her tongue out, “Cus Miss Clover told us how you managed to do it twice in one year, and we gotta do better!”
“Ye! You just said we gotta out-do you old ponies!” Luna agreed.
Starswirl never felt more content with life than he had there, fancying the stars above looking down on him with the face of departed old friends. Them, and perhaps an onlooker from the Everfree watching with approval. He took it all in, and sighed, closing his eyes.
“Heh, trying to surpass me already…”