//------------------------------//
// Books, Doors and Crowns 
// Story: Into the Light 
// by Marcato 
//------------------------------//

“TIAAAAAAA!!”
Celestia skidded around a bookshelf in a frenzy, her hooves fumbling across the floor in response to her sister’s screech. Her horn glimmered with energy, prepared to cast a defensive spell at a moment’s notice as she balanced herself, sprinting down the hallway towards her little sister. “Luna!? Luna I’m coming-!”
As she dove past a desk, however, Luna came into view running straight at here. The two princesses squealed as their hooves streaked across the tiles, before they collided into each other with a grunt. Celestia’s crown clattered to the floor as she collapsed, laying on her back for a moment and blinking up at the ceiling before springing to her hooves once more and whirling around frantically. “W-what’s wrong? Is there a monster? A rogue spell? Or-” she took in an enormous gulp of air, terror filling her massive eyes. “A book in the wrong section??”
Luna groaned as she rolled over, sprawling out on the reflective surface below. “Nngh… n-no… th-there was a spider…”
Celestia blinked for a moment, staring down at her sister incredulously as she panted. Like a match, fire ignited in the princess's eyes as she turned her attention down the hallway again, gasping. “That’s even WORSE!” she exclaimed. “Where is it?? I’ll… I’ll blast all six of its little legs off!” she growled, a violent twitch in her eyes as her horn sparked.
“S-spiders have eight legs…”
“I’ll blast all eight of its little legs off!” Celestia reprised.
Luna pulled herself up and staggered away from the bookshelf. “I-It ran away, it climbed up its web. All the way to the top.”
Celestia frowned and pursed her lips as she trotted over to where Luna had come from, looking up the towering shelves and glaring. “You better stay up there, you… you fiend!” she shouted. “Nopony scares my little sister!”
Luna strolled up alongside her sister, her eyes fixed anxiously on the bookshelf above, before she finally let out a sigh and clip-clopped on by. “Let’s just check the next bookshelf… the spider can have my crown if it’s up there.”
Celestia lowered her head, letting the flare of her magic dissipate as she galloped after her sister. “I didn’t see anything anyways. Didn’t you say it was somewhere around here in your dream?”
“Uhuh. I don’t remember which exact one… but it was somewhere in the archives,” Luna replied.
The elder princess rolled her eyes as they approached the next shelf, a massive “C” engraved into the side of it. “I still don’t think it would be here… there’s no reason for it to-”
“There it is!” Luna suddenly exclaimed, her eyes lighting up as she pointed with one hoof.
Celestia’s mouth hung open in disbelief, her gazing following her sister’s. Sure enough, upon the highest shelf and just below the top of the bookcase sat Luna’s small navy-blue crown. Celestia tilted her head to the side, squinting. “B-but… but that doesn’t make any sense…”
“I told you!” Luna scoffed, raising her head high and puffing out her chest. “It’s never just a dream!”
Celestia let out a disgruntled harrumph, before getting closer to the bookshelf. “How do I know you didn’t just hide it up there yourself?” she asked. “You know, just cuz you wanted to play with me.”
Luna glared. “Cuz I can’t reach that high! I’m not good enough with magic yet…” she countered, her horn adopting its signature sapphire aura as she stuck her tongue out.  
Celestia was still skeptical, but stared up at the top shelf as Luna’s magic attempted to retrieve the crown, crackling and fizzling as the crown jittered softly with a quiet ringing. Luna’s face contorted into a scowl as she tried her best, but Celestia could see that her little sister was indeed unable to reach her magic out that far.
“Alright, alright… let me get it for you,” Celestia moaned. 
Luna let out a breath she had been holding and slumped a bit, her magic fading away as Celestia’s own horn lit up. She kept her eyes locked onto the crown, a warmth trailing down her head from the radiance of her spell, before the crown began to float up high above them. Luna stood beside her sister as the crown slowly came down, before landing gently upon her head. Luna beamed, going cross-eyed as she tried to see it, swaying her head a bit as though to feel its weight. 
“Huzzah!” she declared loudly. “Thank you, dear sister!”
Celestia smiled warmly. “You’re very welcome, Luna! Now… we better pick out a spell book to look at!”
Luna nodded enthusiastically, a spring to her step now as she walked down the bookshelf. “Weeeeell, I bet the archives have some old spell books we could try!”
Celestia followed her, scanning the bookshelves up and down with curiosity. “I don’t think we’re allowed to take anything from the archives though…”
“Why not?” Luna glanced over her shoulder, looking genuinely perplexed. “We used to be able to…”
Celestia hesitated. “W-well… I’m not sure. Maybe they’re scared of things getting lost?”
“That’s silly. You never lose anything, Tia!” 
The elder princess let out a gentle chuckle at that. “Well… that’s true, I suppose!”
Luna’s magic seized a book from one of the lower shelves, pulling it out and sending a flurry of dust into the air. “Besides… the librarians haven’t been here for weeks now! It’s not like they’re gonna stop us…”
Luna opened the book she had retrieved while Celestia shook her head. “Just because there’s nopony here to stop us, doesn’t mean we should do it.”
Luna pursed her lips and turned her nose up. “Uuuu look at me, I’m Celestia, I hate breaking rules and having fun.”
“H-hey! I love having fun… I play with you all the time!”
The other filly let out a snort, a smirk on her smug little face as she returned the book to the shelf. “Yeah… if we follow the rules!”
Celestia frowned. “I don’t want to get in trouble.”
“How much trouble are we gonna get in for borrowing a book?” Luna scoffed.
Celestia brushed past her sister with an exasperated sigh, her tail drooping in defeat as she made her way down to the end of the shelves. “Ugh, okay, fine! But we bring it right back as soon as we’re done.”
“Yessss!!” Luna squealed excitedly, jumping into action and running out to the opposite end from her sister. “I’m gonna go check out some of the later shelves! I wonder if there are any spells in the ‘Z’ section!”
With Luna disappearing from her sight, Celestia couldn’t help but smile a bit at her sister’s enthusiasm, taking a deep breath through her nostrils as she walked down the hall.



The percussion of Luna’s excited little hooves echoed off the pristine white walls of Canterlot Castle, a comically large book floating alongside her, ensnared in the little princess’s magical deathgrip. Celestia trailed only a short distance behind, swaying to an unheard song within her head as she hummed along.
“Hey, Tia!” Luna called as she looked over her shoulder. “What chapter are you on in the Silver Scroll Saga?”
Celestia’s ears flicked at the mention of the story, grinning at her sister. “I stayed up late last night and got all the way to chapter 15!”
Luna smirked and looked forward again, raising her head proudly. “Ha! Still ahead of you! I’m on chapter 19!”
“That’s not fair, though, you’re always up later than me,” Celestia countered.
“I’m gonna finish before you!” Luna declared as she pranced side to side, her tail flicking and swaying.
Celestia galloped for a moment to catch up to her sister as they approached a door leading to the courtyard. “It’s not a competition! No need to rush… just enjoy the story!”
“But I am enjoying the story!” Luna said with a sparkle in her eyes. “Silver Tongue is soooo cool! I didn’t even know she could-”
“NO! No no no, not listening!” Celestia shouted loudly as she folded her ears back. “Don’t tell me ANYTHING about the story! I don’t wanna hear it until I read it myself!”
Luna snickered as she pushed the door open, letting sunlight wash over the princesses and prompting the two of them to squint. “I’m just teasing, silly! But hurry up, I wanna talk about it!”
Celestia pushed past her sister and out the door, trotting down the steps and onto the grass. “Maybe you should slow down, instead,” she retorted, looking up at the sky above.
As Luna joined her, the two sisters gazed up at an enormous crystalline dome that surrounded the castle, the light of the sun tinted orange as it shone through the fiery magic above. Celestia squinted a bit, faintly seeing the puffy rolling clouds brushing up against the mountain the palace sat upon. 
Luna’s joyful expression hadn’t faded one bit, placing the book down beside them as she admired the barrier. “Wow… mother’s magic sure is strong, isn’t it?” Luna exclaimed.
Celestia pulled her attention away from the clouds that were beyond her reach and gave Luna a painful smile. “Y-yes, it really is.”
“Ahh… I hope I can use magic like that someday!” Luna said through an exasperated sigh, sitting down on the freshly cut grass, the last traces of morning dew still wetting the turf. 
Celestia circled around her sister and opened the book, the leather binding caked in dust. “I’m sure we’ll both be there some day,” Celestia replied confidently. “But we gotta keep practicing!”
Luna nodded as Celestia began turning pages, various runes and patterns accompanied by enormous swaths of text decorating the interior of the book that Luna had picked out from the archives. “So what kinda spells does this book have in it?” Celestia asked.
“Dunno!” Luna chirped. “But the pictures look really cool.”
Celestia shook her head, stifling a chuckle as she began to scan the pages much more closely. “You should have at least read some of them before picking it out! These might be too advanced for us…”
The younger princess said nothing in response, not taking her eyes off the pages as Celestia kept sifting through the dusty old tome. “What about that one?” she said as she reached out, stopping Celestia from turning another page.
Celestia blinked as she looked closer, reading the heading. “You mean ‘Manipulating Light’?”
“Yeah!” Luna said. “That sounds simple!”
Celestia nodded in agreement, scooching in a bit closer to her sister as she leaned in. 
The section was littered with all sorts of complicated linework and arcane circles, the fillies both letting out a harmonic ‘hmmm’ as they tried to make sense of what they were looking at. The ink within was a vibrant silver colour against the otherwise dull parchment it had settled upon, catching the light and making the words within appear metallic. 
“This doesn’t look simple…” Celestia muttered.
Luna remained silent, still closely analyzing the calligraphy as her tongue peaked out of her mouth in concentration, her eyes darting side to side. Celestia could practically the gears grinding in Luna’s head, her focus unflinching. 
Biting her lip, Celestia forced herself to keep looking over the writing, struggling to make sense of the ancient tongue of thees and thous. Somehow, despite having no recollection of such a dialect, she found herself starting to understand and translate the text on the page. She tilted her head in fascination as she analyzed the diagrams of scrolls, seals and semi-circles, lines weaving between them and pointing to what appeared to be almost childlike doodles at times.
She returned her attention to the literature below, doing her best to absorb what it said.
At long last, I have completed my investigation into the starry seas beyond Cobnshire, despite my partner's incessant whining and anxious ramblings… though the Light that dances beneath the waves is of no threat, the magic within is remarkable. The rising falls far to the north do indeed seem to carry this power into the sky, painting the very heavens with life. I have a theory as to how we might call upon this power in order to bathe all the land in this Light. Within this chapter shall I detail this theory.
Celestia let out a breath as she digested what she had read, her mind still fumbling to make sense of it, save for one important point. “Luna… this isn’t a spell book, this is a journal!”
Luna’s focus broke immediately and she slumped, glaring at the book. “Mhmm… this book is weird. Whoever wrote it keeps capitalizing the word ‘light’!” 
Celestia scoffed. “Nevermind that, what are they talking about? I’ve never heard of this ‘Cobnshire’ place…”
Luna just shrugged. “Maybe somewhere super duper far away.”
“And all that fancy imagery and… and huge words! It was like reading a storybook…” Celestia mused. 
“There IS actual magic stuff in here! But it’s not any kind of magic I can understand…” Luna admitted, pouting.
Celestia joined her sister in her disappointment, but deep down she found herself only more intrigued. She could sense it; her sister felt the same way. Despite the defeated expression on her face, her face glowed with energy. 
“Luna, where did you find this book, anyway?” Celestia asked.
Luna faced her, a guilty look on her face. “It was uh… in another room at the back of the archives.”
Celestia narrowed her eyes. “Another room, huh?” she muttered. “Was the door locked?”
“No! Well… not really…” Luna replied. “There was a lock! But it snapped when I tried to open the door.”
Celestia’s mouth hung open in disbelief. “It… snapped?”
“Uhuh!” Luna said. “I gave it just a gentle tug and like… clink! The lock fell right off! It was suuuuper dusty.”
“Th-that doesn’t make any sense…” Celestia stammered. “You’re getting too into that story, you’re making this all up!”
“No! I’m not, I swear! Cross my heart!” Luna exclaimed, raising a hoof to her chest.
Celestia leaned in close to her sister, her magenta gaze burning into the moon princess’s soul as she leaned away. Luna blinked nervously, but Celestia saw no lie in her eyes. She sighed and sat back again. “Okay, I believe you… but if the lock was so weak how did nobody else accidentally break it? And all that dust… you’d think the librarians would have cleaned it! Well, before they all left…”
Luna nodded vigorously, still wiping the anxiety off her face. “That’s what I thought! The door also had this… this weird white-ish colour, almost like it was glowing!”
Celestia’s heart skipped a beat as something finally clicked. “Wait, glowing? Luna… I think you found a magic door!”
“A magic door??” Luna raised her voice, only for Celestia to immediately cover her mouth with a hoof, the little princess’s exclamations becoming muffled. 
“Shh!! We don’t wanna get in trouble…” Celestia whispered. “It might be an old magic door mother made…”
As Celestia took her hoof away from Luna’s face, Luna stared in confusion. “How come I was able to find it, then?”
“From what I know about magic doors, they are only revealed to ponies who the caster wants to find it…” Celestia explained. “But it was locked… meaning if mother made it, maybe we weren’t supposed to get into it yet.”
Luna frowned. “But then why would she let us find it at all…?”
“I don’t know!” Celestia let out a frustrated grunt. “This is all so… weird! This book, the door… maybe we should just… go return the book before we get caught.”
Luna looked crestfallen, her face drooping as she lowered her head. “A-aww… do we have to?” she whimpered. “It’s so cool…”
Celestia grimaced, glancing back at the book again. She couldn’t deny that her curiosity was beyond piqued, her heart begging to read more, while her head told her it needed to be returned immediately.
“Well…” Celestia began. “I uh… I guess we can hold on to it for a little bit.”
Luna perked right back up, beaming at her big sister as she jumped forward and tackle-hugged her, sending them both to the ground as Celestia sputtered. “Yessss! Don’t worry, dear sister, we’ll take good care of it and return it as soon as we’re done!” 
Celestia giggled as she shifted in the grass, Luna rolling off of her as she sprung to her hooves again. She closed the book while Celestia pulled herself up, sending another flurry of dust into the air. “Ohh this is so exciting, Tia! It’s like… our own little adventure right here in the castle!”
Celestia couldn’t help but grin at that, her heart swelling glee. “Yeah… you’re right! I wonder what other stuff we’ll find in this book...”
There was a resounding CLANG as metal ground against metal, prompting the filly princesses to turn towards the gate leading into the castle courtyard from outside. They both tilted their heads in unison as the doors slowly opened, revealing a pastel pink alicorn trotting through the gate.
Celestia and Luna gasped loudly and sprung into action, breaking into a sprint as they approached the new arrival. Luna tumbled on her way, slipping on the damp grass and eating some of it while Celestia only laughed as she passed her little sister.
The pink alicorn turned just in time to see the speedy little princess dodging through hedges before skidding to a halt in front of her, kicking up blades of grass on the way. The older alicorn stared in bewilderment for a moment, sizing Celestia up as she narrowed her eyes, mouth agape as she leaned away before relaxing again. Her mane was massive, curling at the ends, sporting streaks of yellow, purple and a much more vibrant pink, a tiny curved crown atop her head sporting a violet gem.
“Hello!!” Celestia said with a little more enthusiasm than she meant to. “I’ve never seen you around before! Are you new here?”
The alicorn mare stammered for a moment, glancing around as though for anypony else. “No, I’m not new. Though I can’t say I’ve met you before either, little one-”
“My name’s Luna!!” Luna suddenly jumped around the hedge and joined her sister, gazing up at their new guest. “And this is my big sister Celestia!”
The mare froze, her eyes wide with shock as she took a step back. “L… Luna? And Celestia?”
Celestia nodded so hard her crown nearly fell off her head. “Uhuh! We don’t see many alicorns around here… what’s your name?”
The little princesses grinned from ear to ear as they confronted the pale-pink alicorn, whose mouth opened and closed as she struggled to find her words. “I uh… please, call me Cadance… y-your majesties.”