//------------------------------// // Bonus Ch - Past and Memories ( updated ) // Story: Celestia's Tiny Student // by CommanderX5 //------------------------------// Celestia’s Tiny Student - Bonus Chapter Past and Memories Celestia stood at the doorway to her bedchamber and regarded the room anew. There had been many remodeling attempts over the years devoted to fulfilling the need for a room of just the right size for the Princess of the Sun, and for the last century, Celestia had considered this room to be as close to perfect as any four walls and a ceiling could be. Carefully arranged throughout the room were the most insightful works of art Equestria had seen, ranging from a faded oil painting of an ancient armored stallion to a childish scribble lovingly placed in a glass-covered frame enchanted with the most powerful preservative spell she knew. Each and every one of them represented a memory of a pony, including the thick oak bookshelves that took up so much wall space, crafted by a family of earth ponies over the course of centuries. Stuffed into those shelves in neat rows were books of history, philosophy, poetry that could bring tears to the driest eye and music to the roughest voice, each a beloved gift from one of her ponies throughout the years. Even the bed seemed to shift throughout the ages as generations of the finest artisans devoted their time to creating the perfect resting place for their princess. Huge blue pillows softer than any cloud sported golden embroidery in swoops and swirls, all resting in perfect harmony on top of star-strewn sheets, lit in the blaze of sunlight that poured through her open balcony. It was her private sanctuary in which few would disturb her, save for the filly she now brought in, still curled up on her warm back. “You deserve a solid rest, my little pony,” Celestia whispered, before releasing the ropes and levitating the filly onto one of the substantial pillows on her bed. She sat for a moment and gazed upon her future student, now sleeping peacefully on a pillow. I never realised that my pillows were so big; this one alone could easily serve as a bed for my new student. Celestia leaned in to take a closer look at the sleeping filly, her nose almost touching the tiny unicorn. So defenseless. So fragile. We can’t have that, now can we? Celestia thought as she lit her horn, charging a powerful spell. After half a minute of concentration, a small, yellow wave went through Twilight’s tiny body, and soon the aura disappeared. “That’s better,” Celestia whispered to herself. The protection spell would effectively double her student’s strength, endurance, and magical power to compensate for her small size, helping her defend herself from her now oversized environment. Celestia lit her horn again, and slowly the balcony door closed and the window curtains swept shut. After ensuring that Twilight was sleeping comfortably in the darkened room, Celestia straightened up and prepared to leave. Come on. It’s about time, Celestia. You have duties to attend and a lot of preparations to finish. Everything will be all right, she thought, but was still stunned as she continued to watch over the little filly in front of her. Move your flank already. Nothing will happen to her while you’re gone. A few more long moments passed before Celestia managed to turn and exit the room, still feeling uneasy about the safety of her little pony. I have always been so overprotective over my subjects, but I can’t let my emotions get in my way, she thought before closing the door to her bedchamber, her gaze now focused on the guards outside. “Guards,” Celestia ordered in a quiet but commanding voice. “Yes, Your Highness?” the royal guards asked as they turned to Celestia. “Many important events have recently taken place in the School for Gifted Unicorns. I will explain the details later, but the result is that I was forced to shrink a unicorn filly to a hundredth of her original weight. She is now very fragile and is resting after a very harsh day." The guards kept their full attention on Celestia as she talked, listening to every word without any signs of confusion. “Until I return, I want you to keep this filly safe. Understood?” The guards gave a sharp salute and replied in unison, “Yes, Your Highness!” “One more request. This filly is very tired and she is sleeping at the moment. Make sure that her rest is not disturbed by any loud noises… or loud guards.” Celestia smirked at her blushing guards before they straightened and gave a much quieter salute. Having much to do and very little time, Celestia decided not to walk or ride her chariot in favor of teleporting from meeting to meeting, foregoing her public appearances for speed. The first item in her itinerary Celestia visited was the Royal Hospital, where she asked surprised doctors to tend to her little student, giving concise details about what happened and making sure that Twilight’s condition would be kept a secret. Once Celestia was sure that her student was going to be checked by professional doctors, she teleported to the School for Gifted Unicorns, making quick repairs to the building itself with a few powerful restoration spells before entrusting the care of the newly hatched dragon to specialized caretakers. With the more evident issues sorted out, Celestia cast a quick spell to locate three select ponies. Plans had changed, and they needed to be informed. Even with no immediate problems, Celestia moved quickly as she led the last of her three ponies to their meeting place. She trotted down the winding steps towards the ancient shelter. This place was once a refuge during the Griffo-Draconic War so many years ago. After so long, my subjects have all but forgotten such a place even exists, Celestia thought as she led a silent Fancy Pants into the caves beneath Canterlot. A few minutes of walking later, Celestia stopped in front of an apparently featureless stone wall. She quickly located the hidden switch and activated it, causing a portion of the wall to shift and to move aside. She entered and swept her gaze over the two ponies already seated around a large circular oak table. “First off, I would like to apologize for gathering you all on such a short notice,” Celestia apologized as the ponies in the room rolled their eyes. “Your Highness, as Captain of the Royal Guard, I am always on duty,” replied an old pegasus stallion with two crossed blades as his cutie mark. Despite his age, he was still well suited for his occupation and a force to be reckoned with; however, Celestia mused, a new replacement would have to be found soon before his health truly failed him. “And I am your secretary. I meet with you every day to help you schedule. It is not like I have to go very far to get here,” added a mare with a scroll, ink, and pen as her cutie mark. “I am always glad to be at your service no matter what, Your Highness,” Fancy Pants proclaimed proudly before taking his seat. “Fancy Pants, Silver Scroll, Brave Blade… thank you,” Celestia said gratefully, as she took her seat at the table. “Brave Blade, what is the status of your guards? Is training proceeding smoothly?” Princess Celestia asked in a serious tone, her face carefully emotionless. “Yes, Your Highness. An elite company of one hundred pegasi, trained in capture and immobilization, is almost ready. Every pegasus is equipped with an enchanted sword capable of cutting through any barrier, or a hostile alicorn, if needed,” reported Brave Blade, using his wing to place a manila folder on the table and pushing it towards the princess. “In addition, fifty unicorns have been trained in stunning spells and are equipped with magic restraining rings,” continued Brave Blade as Celestia levitated his report open in front of her, this time placing one of the rings in question on the table. The restraining rings were created quite a while ago to constrain the magical abilities of any unicorn. At the very least, it prevented the captured unicorn from teleporting away. In this case, I hope that they’ll be enough to restrain Nightmare Moon until she can be contained where she cannot hurt anypony. She took a moment and reconsidered the ring, grasping it in her magic and turning it over, It’s a pity I can not use these on my new student. Even at her original size, I doubt that keeping that much energy restrained within her would be beneficial for her health. “Are... are those soldiers truly prepared? Alicorn magic is not to be trifled with, and even with my help, capturing Nightmare Moon alive will cost the lives of many good stallions in your army,” Celestia warned, the weight of her words evident. I truly do not wish to harm you, sister. It is selfish of me to sacrifice the lives of ponies for your safety, but without them, I fear the loss will be much greater. Celestia was deep in thought as memories flashed before her eyes. Celestia laid on the floor, scarred from her fight with her sister, or rather, the demon that had manipulated and possessed her sister. Nightmare Moon stood proudly over the Princess of the Sun with only a few scratches marring her black fur since Celestia had tried not to hurt her. “Cease this nonsense, Luna, before thou dost something thou wilt regret!” Celestia cried as she tried to rise to her hooves again, her wings spread to their full span to appear more intimidating. “We are no longer little Luna!” “Thou canst order me around no longer! Thy sole rule over Equestria ends here and now! From now on, thou wilt serve in the shadow of our moon!” Nightmare Moon exclaimed proudly, her voice booming with confidence. “We are not the sole ruler of Equestria! We rule it together with Luna!” Celestia shouted. Nightmare Moon’s mouth curled into a devilish grin before she laughed in her face. The door to the throne room burst open, and many of Celestia’s finest guards poured into the chamber. “You monster! How dare you lay a hoof on the princess!” the Captain of the Celestial Guards shouted as his fellows prepared to strike the demon. Nightmare Moon chuckled as she turned in their direction. “‘Monster’, you say? Is that what thou wouldst call a Princess of Equestria?” she asked calmly, with surprisingly little venom in her voice. “Princess of Equestria? Ha! You are naught but a demon that hath finally showed its true colours! If you won’t surrender, I shall slay you myself.” Celestia watched the scene with horror. “No! Tis not—” Nightmare Moon turned back to the sun princess. “We are equals, thou sayest? Ha! ‘Tis naught but a sweet lie to keep us on a leash! Remember that there is indeed a reason the Element of Honesty hath chosen me over thee!” With a snarl, Nightmare Moon blasted Celestia with a powerful beam, sending her crashing into the throne. Before Celestia could recover, her guards had already let out a battle cry, launching themselves at Nightmare Moon, their spells and swords ready. Nightmare Moon set up a black barrier around herself to parry the deadly spells sent against her. The moment the bombardment of spells let up, she turned into mist. Swords passed through her new form harmlessly as she darted up to the top of the room, rematerialising high up in the air. An aura of pitch black surrounded her horn, letting out a deadly blossom of spells that rained over the entire throne room, just as often hitting guards as destroying the chamber. The unicorn guards lucky enough to avoid the barrage of certainly fatal spells tried in vain to retaliate, firing off offensive spells of their own as the pegasi attempted to strike down Nightmare Moon with the swords in their teeth. Despite their best efforts, Nightmare Moon held her ground, cackling as the blades broke upon her flesh. Celestia tried to order her guards to cease their attack, to retreat, but they were more eager to kill her sister than she anticipated, and once the battle was over, she could only stare in horror at her sister’s triumphant grin as she glanced over the bodies of what had once been her Royal Guard, broken swords and armor strewn across the floor. “Luna, we—” “Thou hast stolen them away from us. Thou turnest all of our subjects against us! But today, We will take back what is rightfully ours!” “They are, Your Highness. You have been taking care of this kingdom and your subjects for hundreds of years. The least we can do is to assist you in your time of need,” replied the Captain of her Royal Guard proudly and taking Celestia from her deep thoughts back into the conversation at hoof. “Thank you, but it still pains me to risk their lives for personal gain...” Celestia gave a quick shake of her head to clear her thoughts and continued, “Now, the real reason I called you here... I believe the Elements of Harmony are restoring themselves.” A stunned silence descended upon the three ponies gathered before Celestia as they stared at her with eyes opened wide. “How… how do you know, Your Highness?” the captain asked, clearly in disbelief. It was no secret to those gathered here that Celestia and her sister had used the elements to defeat many powerful foes in defense of Equestria, just as it was no secret that they were currently useless hunks of stone in the Everfree. “Though it has been a thousand years since I last used the Elements of Harmony, I have not forgotten their aura. I haven’t forgotten the sensation of using them, and what I felt when that rainbow wave passed above me was unmistakable. I am certain that the Elements of Harmony are behind it,” Celestia elaborated confidently. She took a deep breath and paused before continuing. “The filly who was taking the entrance exam today had an uncontrollable magic surge immediately after the wave passed. I’m positive they are connected, and just as she earned her cutie mark during its influence, I am quite certain other bearers have also earned their marks much the same way,” Celestia added to the group at large, though her attention was focused on the confused officer in front of her. “Is it possible? Could the Elements have just chosen random ponies and give them their cutie marks? Would they really be able to wield the elements?” Brave Blade asked, uncertain and doubtful towards Celestia’s words. Celestia gave a shrug of her shoulders. “The Elements of Harmony work in mysterious ways, much like the source of their creation. Back when I was just a unicorn and my sister was a pegasus, we’d gone through countless books in search of powerful artifacts to use against Discord, though it turns out all we had to do was follow the powerful force that led us and many others to the cave that now lies under the ruins of our castle.” I wonder why nopony has ever encountered it before; it isn’t exactly in the most secluded area, even before the castle was abandoned to the Everfree Forest. Celestia sighed. “The Tree of Harmony tested us, and many of the ponies who accompanied us... did not survive.” Fancy Pants spoke up, curiosity evident through his refined accent, “Tested? You’ve already told us about your Elements, like generosity, kindness, and so forth, but you’ve never told us how the Tree of Harmony tested you and your sister.” Celestia sighed at the harsh times of her youth, “During our adventures pursuing this… mysterious force, we managed to pass many of the dangerous trials set up for us by the fruits of the tree, testing both our determination as well as how well we represented the Elements. Those trials tested the strength of my bond with my sister as well as the strength of my magic, generosity, and kindness. Likewise, it tested my sister’s loyalty, optimism, and honesty, though in the end, we were just two of many, most of which did not survive,” she said, as every pony in the room gave her their full attention. A group of tired, but determined, ponies walked restlessly across the mountain fields, an unexplainable urge leading them to past many of dangerous trials as they journeyed to a dark cave, unmarked on any map. “We’re here!” one of the ponies cried, a relieved smile on her face. “I can’t believe it! We’re finally here! C’mon, you guys. The artifacts of our salvation must be inside!” She eagerly ran into the cave before the others could react, vanishing into the darkness. A white unicorn with a pink mane exchanged an optimistic look with the weary dark blue pegasus beside her, though both of them stopped in their tracks when they heard a scream of pain and a loud blood-curdling roar. Everypony watched in fear and awe as a beast emerged from the darkness, a dead pony in the maw of one of its heads. Some of ponies in the group screamed and ran away, leaving those too desperate to flee or too paralyzed by fear to face the new monster. The white unicorn recognized the beast, her eyes widening in shock as she stepped back, almost falling over. “A-a-a chimera!” “We are the guardians of this cave, born of the Tree of Harmony,” the goat head stated. “Turn back or you will end up as my snacks, you brave, but foolish, creatures!” added the lion head through a mouth still dripping with half-chewed pony. “Only those proven worthy can pass,” the dragon head finished. “The Tree of Harmony?” the white unicorn murmured to herself before looking at her companions. There were many brave ponies who were determined to get the artifacts that could end Discord’s reign. One by one, they attacked the chimera with swords and spells, from ground and air, but despite everything they tried, they could not defeat the beast. It let out a roar as it shrugged off their attacks, batting away ponies with its massive claws and breaking weapons with a flick of a wrist. A night blue pegasus drew her sword, a determined look on her face as she spread her wings and prepared to charge, though she was quickly arrested by the levitation field of another pony. “Stay thy hoof, sister. Tis suicide to charge in!” The pegasus turned to her captor. “But sister, this beast is slaughtering our comrades! We cannot allow them die like this!” “I know, and we shall not let them, Midnight,” replied the white unicorn, before she lit her horn. A pony that was about to get flattened by the chimera was swiftly yanked away in an aura of golden magic. All the other fighting ponies were similarly pulled out of the fray as the white unicorn grabbed and placed them on the ground behind her, most of them falling into crumpled heaps due to the injuries they had sustained. The dragon head snarled, throwing a great fireball at them from his maw, but the attack was easily deflected by a golden force field. The chimera advanced on the white unicorn, though a strong golden aura levitated him from the ground and threw him back against the stones. “I do not wish to hurt you, but I will if thou shouldst continue to hurt my friends!” The creature shook his three heads, recovering from the impact. “Thou dost not wish to hurt us, even if we are in the way to thy goal?” the dragon head said. “I... I do not wish to take the life of any living creature, even from a murderous beast such as thee, but I shall use all the power at my disposal to obtain those artifacts thou art guarding, for they are our only hope!” the white unicorn said adamantly. The lion head snorted. “We shall let thee pass, but only if thou provest thyself worthy of it.” “Two trials thou hast passed, and four more are left for thee to overcome. Thou hast shown us kindness and magic, but still more, we demand,” the goat head added enigmatically. “If thou shouldst pass these trials, salvation for thy kind will be at hoof, but if thou shouldst fail to pass, then the artifacts shall be nothing more than junk for thee,” the dragon head finished. The white unicorn steeled herself, planting her hooves on the ground. “Very well. If there’s a chance we can solve this without more bloodshed, I shall accept.” “Thy first challenge will be to play a game of tag with us. Art thou brave enough?” the lion head asked with a menacing grin. The white unicorn stepped back hesitantly, as did the others, none of them brave or fast enough to play with the beast in a game like this, expecting only one outcome from participating. Everypony quickly turned to Midnight as she let out a loud laugh. “Ha! A game of tag? With a fat beast such as thee? This shall be easy!” she said as she darted forward to the front of the great chimera, too quickly for the white unicorn to arrest her movement in time. She flew circles around the chimera, making sure to bump each of the chimera’s heads as she past them, gleefully avoiding the furious swipes of its claws as they swept within mere centimeters of her dark fur. Her sister looked on in horror as she risked her life and limb to play games with the beast, the pegasus happily giggling at its attempts to hit her. The beast stopped, the lion head giving an amused smile at the flyer. “Congratulations, brave soul. It takes great courage to laugh in the face of death,” he replied as Midnight glided back proudly, a smile on her face. “Oh sister, thou shouldst see the look on thy face!” Midnight said, laughing hysterically at her sister’s expression. “Now, for thy next challenge, we shall ask thee a few questions. Thine answer will determine thy worth,” the goat head said calmly, before launching straight into the first question. “Am I pretty?” asked the goat head. “Yes, you are,” the white unicorn stammered. “Your beauty is really impressive and—” “Tia, stop talking nonsense,” Midnight said, cutting her sister off with a roll of her eyes. “The beast is both ugly and disgusting, except for maybe the lion head. I might find thee attractive if I were a chimera myself, but no promises.” Dragon head was silent for a moment, his face flushed red from anger. “We shall give thee one chance, pegasus. Take the example of thy dear sister and answer correctly this time, or face my wrath.” Despite pleading looks from the other ponies, Midnight planted her hooves solidly. “Art thou expecting me to lie?” she said fiercely. “What I said was the honest truth. If thou canst not take a bit of criticism, then I am sure a solid kick with my hoof will change thy mind.” The lion head smiled. “Honesty, even when it does not benefit you,” he said proudly. “I admire it.” “You’ve all undergone a lot of hardships to get to the Elements. How much are you willing to pay for the artifacts you seek?” the dragon head asked. There was a general hubbub as ponies in the group started to give offers in bits and food, but none of their offers seems to satisfy the chimera. “White horned one. How much art thou willing to pay for the elements?” the goat head asked. “Everything,” Tia replied, determination in her voice as she stood proudly in front of the mighty beast. “Wilt thou payest us with all thy food, all thy water, and all the riches thou possesseth?” asked the dragon head. Tia simply gave a curt nod as she continued to stare down the chimera. “Wilt thou givest us half of thy blood to drink?” Tia nodded again, though Midnight quickly drew her attention by bumping her on the shoulder. “Sister, please. Dost thou understand what thou art agreeing to?” The dragon head continued on relentlessly. “Wilt thou allow me to eat two of thy hooves?” Another nod. Midnight could not take it any longer and screamed, “Art thou insane, Tia? Thou canst not possibly consider it! We can just kill this beast here and now.” “Our creator shall only reward those worthy. If thou wishest to kill us, the way to defeat Discord will be forever out of thy reach,” the dragon head stated nonchalantly. “And why should we believe in the words of foul beast like you?” Midnight retorted, only to feel the hoof of her sister resting on her shoulder. “And what if he is telling us the truth, sister? We cannot risk the fate of the hundreds, even thousands depending on us. We must trust him, even if it means sacrificing our own lives.” Before Midnight was able to protest, the beast spoke once again. “Wilt thou give up thy freedom,” the dragon head said, “and serve us for the rest of thy life, perhaps even die at our claws if I give thy companion the artifacts thou seekest?” Once again, Tia bobbed her head, much to the horror of the other ponies. “The one called Midnight, listen well. Thou hast proven thyself worthy. The artifacts shall be thine own...” all three heads said in unison as everypony cheered, “but thy sister will become our sacrifice.” Tia replied before anypony could comprehend what he was asking for. “I accept.” “Art thou out of thy mind?” Midnight shouted. “I will not let thee die!” Tia wanted to respond, but the chimera was first. “Leave thy sister and take what thou camest here for. Save thy kind and be a hero. Refuse, and thou wilt share thy sister’s fate.” “I shall not let thee devour my sister!” Midnight shouted, shoving Tia back to stand between her and the chimera defiantly, despite her sister’s stammering to the contrary. “I will defeat thee and we shall taketh those artifacts together, thou hearest me?” “So thou wouldst choose to defend thy sister rather than attain power and fame. Very well, the time hath come for thee to accept the consequences of thy choices.” Tia and Midnight quickly steeled themselves for combat as the other ponies stepped back to a safe distance, but the fight never came. Instead, the cave lit up in a bright white glow. “Midnight... honest even when it is not beneficial, laughing in the face of death, loyal to your sister when abandoning her would give you victory... thou hast proven thyself worthy,” the lion head said firmly, looking at the proud, blue pegasus. “Tia, thou hast shown kindness to a merciless beast. Thou art willing to sacrifice everything, including thine own life for the greater good. Furthermore, thy magic hast made this journey possible. Thou hast proven thyself worthy,” the dragon head said, exchanging a look with Tia. “Go. Save your kind,” the goat head commanded as Tia walked closer. “We thank thee, but before we go back, we must rest and heal our wounds. Despite the lives thou hast taken today, I understand that it was thy duty as a guardian. I know a healing spell that can close some of thy wounds,” Celestia spoke with kindness in her voice. “That will not be necessary, kind one,” the three heads replied. To Tia’s astonishment, the chimera began to glow with powerful magic as it began to retreat back into the cave. In its former place, three large bulbs sprouted across the mouth of the cave. “Seeds?” Tia murmured in confusion as she and her sister walked past them into the cave. The ponies behind them let out a cry of fear, and both sisters turned around to see vines and roots lance from the bulbs to block the entrance to the cave, keeping their comrades at bay. Whatever that Tree of Harmony was that the beast had mentioned, it had to be very powerful. The sisters turned around, marching deeper into the cave and descending further and further underground. When they’d reached the end, they gazed in awe and admiration at a mighty tree waiting for them, glowing in a crystallic luminescence and reaching up to the distant ceiling of the cavern. Five gems grew on its branches and one star shaped symbol sat in the middle of the trunk. Tia walked towards the tree fearlessly, her horn lit as the star symbol called for her magic to be used. “Art thou sure…” Midnight began doubtfully. “We have discovered the only means with which we can defeat Discord,” Tia said as she levitated the gems from the tree, sending her magic into the star symbol to reveal the last element from inside. “This tree possesseth a powerful magic, and it hath set up trials to test whether we can represent its values of honesty, loyalty, generosity, laughter, kindness and magic. We have passed them, and so we shall wield its power to defeat the spirit of chaos, once and for all.” “When we finally tried to use the Elements against Discord, he took my horn and my sister’s wings away and teleported the Elements to random locations. He gave us a map and a riddle so we could search for them as he watched in amusement. Well, until he got bored and left us alone,” Celestia scowled as she recalled the dark times of early Equestrian history. “Losing our magic and wings did not grant us any of the benefits we had previously, and Discord made sure that nopony could aid us in our search. But despite all of the hardships we experienced, and all of the dangers we endured, my sister and I managed gather them all. The moment we had all of the elements, they activated and we were once again reborn as alicorns." After two years of hardship traveling all over the world, Tia and Midnight had finally approached the last Element inside a dormant volcano. Covered in wounds and scratches, Tia kept a tight bandage around her head to cover her injured eye, and Midnight had a splint for the broken bones in her right foreleg, held close to her body with a loop of ragged cloth around her neck. “We did it, sister, we did it!” Midnight said, doing a little celebratory dance before her injuries and exhaustion got the better of her. Tia looked at her and smiled. “Yes sister, now we hath regained the means with which we may defeat Discord and free the ponies from his cruel jokes. We shall no longer be his form of entertainment.” Midnight looked around, using her head to gesture back at the road from which they came. “It seems that we will have a bit of climbing ahead of us to get back, sister... and then another week-long walk back. I really miss my wings,” Midnight said with a mournful sigh, resisting the urge to burst into a fit of tears. For two years, she had to endure the worst fate any pegasus could face. “I miss my horn too, sister, and the uncomfortable feeling of my magic trying to find a way out is almost driving me crazy, but I shall endure... no, we shall endure. Together, there is nothing we cannot overcome,” Tia responded as she hugged her sister, closing her only working eye. The sisters were so focused on their embrace, they did not notice that elements had started to glow, surrounding them in a rainbow colored storm. It dissipated as quickly as it had formed, leaving only a pair of marks, one of the moon and the other the sun, burned into the solid rock inside the volcano. Little did they know, two similar marks appeared on the Tree of Harmony that day. Tia and Midnight opened their eyes, confused about what possibly had happened. They were surrounded by wonderful white lights in an endless space. Confused and curious, Tia and Midnight walked around. Tia called it the “ethereal plane,” for lack of a better term. Tia and Midnight were surprised at the multiple images of their past flashing before their eyes, all the challenges and hardships they endured together, the times they helped one another and other ponies endure Discord’s reign, and all the good times they had spent together. They looked around nostalgically, but the little show they watched didn’t last long as two orbs of magic escaped from their own bodies and began to fly around them. “Tia? What is happening, sister?” Midnight asked, her confident air betrayed by a trembling uncertainty in her voice. “Worry not, little sister. We have endured so much, and we shall endure this too. We can do this together, so do not lose hope.” Tia did not believe in her own words, but calming her sister’s fears was the best thing she could do, no matter what was going to happen. The orbs swirled around them faster and faster, lifting them up into the air as they seemed to multiply. They grew unbearably bright as they enveloped the two ponies, and with a flash, both of them disappeared from the plane. Tia opened her eyes—both eyes, she quickly noticed—as she slowly stood up, noticing her little sister doing the same in front of her, but she quickly noticed something was different. Her sister had both wings and a horn, and out of curiosity, she checked her own body to find both her original horn and her new pair of wings. Both of them had three crystals orbiting around them, harmonious power flowing from each shimmering jewel. “Bravo, bravo! Now that be a show one doth not see often! You both provided some truly enjoyable fireworks!” Discord said, laughing hysterically. With a smirk, he lifted his hand, revealing an ethereal rainbowlike tail in his claw. “How about we play ‘pin the tail on the pony?’” he said, though his amusement at having stolen Tia’s tail quickly turned into bewilderment when his prize reappeared in its original spot before the original owner could comprehend what had happened. “That’s new…” he murmured. “Discord!” Tia shouted as she aimed her horn in the direction of her and her sister’s tormenter. To Tia’s surprise, she had unexpectedly shot a powerful magical beam at Discord in her anger. Though the beam itself was not much stronger than the magical spell she could perform as an unicorn, unlike her previous attempts that did nothing to Discord, this attack actually hurt him. He hopped back with a yelp. “Okay, tis not fun anymore. A spell that can harm me? I do not approve,” Discord stated in annoyance as he snapped his fingers, causing both Tia’s and Luna’s wings and horns to disappear. They were gone for a whole second before they reappeared. He snapped his fingers again. And again. Tia smirked wryly at Discord as he continued to snap frantically, but to no avail. “Ooh, look at the time,” he said, looking at them nervously. “Gotta go.” He snapped his fingers to teleport away, but he reappeared in the same place he was a moment ago, captured in an aura of golden magic. With another snap of his fingers, he tried to teleport the coloured crystals flying around the two winged unicorns away, but when nothing happened, Discord smiled awkwardly at the winged ponies, who gave him a confident smile as they floated up into the air, glowing with power as the Elements began to revolve around them faster and faster. They crossed their horns, and from the contact, a brilliant rainbow beam flew straight up into the air, making an elegant arc above them before raining down on the panicked Discord. When the light had cleared, a statue of Discord remained, frozen in stone. Tia let out a triumphant laugh as she levitated the statue up to take back as Midnight began to fly happily in circles and loops above her, delighting in her returned wings. A few days after Discord’s defeat, ponies declared Tia and Midnight their leaders, both grateful for their heroic deed and respectful of their fearsome powers. Tia and Midnight tried their best to refuse taking any titles, but even though they realized there had to be somepony to take charge, to unite the separated ponies together as one, why should two ponies who haven’t even found their cutie marks take charge? The issue of proper leadership was shifted to the side as a more important problem presented itself. The sun was stuck in place, no longer controlled by Discord, and the fiery ball was starting to cause damage to the environment. Every unicorn in the land gathered together to rediscover the spell to move the sun and the moon, though when their efforts bore little fruit after a month, Tia and Midnight returned to the Tree of Harmony to seek aid and guidance. The mark of the sun and the moon on the tree flashed with power, and the sisters collapsed as they were guided from their bodies. When Tia opened her eyes, she was only by herself, floating without a body in front of the sun. Confused at first, she tried to move around and escape from wherever she was, but when she noticed the great planet behind her, she instead looked around in wonder at the enormity of space, entranced by the beauty of the sun and the earth. Celestia looked down at the parched tribes of ponies, reaching out to the sun to relieve the ponies of its scorching heat. Focusing her magic, Tia noticed that the sun began to move at her will. The magic she used felt odd, as if sun itself was giving her the energy to use so she could push it through the sky, almost as if she was the sun. The moon followed to take the position in the sky that her sun had occupied not long ago, bathing the land in its cool, silvery night. When Celestia opened her glowing eyes, she was lying on the ground again in front of the tree. She shook her head to clear her mind as she slowly rose to her hooves, though she got a real shock when her sister touched her flank. “Look sister! Thou hast earned thy cutie mark!” “And thou hast earned thine own!” Tia said, poking her sister’s cutie mark in return. Despite feeling drained and powerless, she beamed ecstatically at their newly obtained cutie marks. After being blank-flanked for over thirty years, they had finally found her destiny and moved the celestial bodies by themselves. They could no longer refuse the call for leadership when they had returned to the ponies, and with so many changes happening to them, they agreed that it was only suitable to change their names as well. Tia became Her Highness, Princess Celestia, while Midnight became the eminent Princess Luna. The royal sisters led their little ponies through hardships and formed the nation of Equestria, building the capitol on top of the cave where Tree of Harmony was located for its protection and guidance. Little did they know that powerful tree was not the only magical plant they would ever encounter. “We had wings and horns that Discord could not take away, and our harmony neutralized his powers. He failed to separate us from the Elements a second time and could not escape our combined powers. In the end, the Elements turned him into nothing more than a statue,” Celestia concluded, looking down with a well-concealed frown. The Tree of Harmony choose and gave us power that ponies could only dream of. But many friends died trying to pass the trials my sister and I would not wish on even our worst enemies. I wonder... will Twilight and the other Element Bearers also be forced to walk a thorny road? Will they manage to survive? “So why did they banish your sister to the moon rather than heal her or turn her to stone like Discord?” Silver Scroll asked, a pained look on her face. Celestia lowered her head before she morosely responded, “I was partially responsible for that. The power of the Elements came from our trials and bonds. My sister became less and less honest with me as I failed to listen to her, while her loyalty to the country that did not respect her started to vanish as well. Her laughter was replaced with sadness born from loneliness. And I was too blind to notice.” “Come in,” Celestia called out firmly, her full attention focused on signing or rejecting the various documents on the desk in front of her. Luna slowly opened the door to her sister’s bedchamber and gingerly took a few steps in. “Sister, we need to—” “Oh, tis only you, Luna. Wouldst thou be so dear as to help us with these tax laws? Thou hast been so good with numbers, and we are sure thou wouldst be able to handle this with ease." Luna sighed. “Tia, please, we need to talk with thee. Nopony seems to want to accept our proposal to organize a holiday where we can celebrate and display our wondrous nigh—” Celestia cut her off with a hoof. “This proposal again, Luna? We have talked about it before. Ponies truly enjoy thy nights, and there is no point to organize such a celebration,” she said, still focused on the paperwork in front of her. “But sister... nevermind,” Luna groaned, her head hung low as she turned to leave the room, though she momentarily stopped at Celestia’s voice. “Thou hast not planned to celebrate without consulting with us, right sister?" Luna clenched her jaw in anger, answering her sister without even turning her head. “Of course not, dear sister. We would never dare to do anything without thy permission,” she said caustically before she abruptly left the room, slamming the door behind her. She walked bitterly back to her own bedchamber, decorated with a multitude of stars on a midnight blue wallpaper and a silvery crescent moon at the center of the ceiling. “‘We rule this kingdom as equals.’ ‘Everypony loves our night.’ Tis naught but lies that our sister spinneth to keep us down!” Luna shouted in anger, lashing out at a nearby vase as her coat became a bit blacker and dark magic began to envelop her like a shroud. “We will no longer live in the shadow of our sister. No longer shall we be ignored. No longer shall we be the obedient little sister!” Meanwhile in the Royal Vault, the Elements of Harmony slowly began to grey, their bonds with the Element Bearers weakening as the bonds between the two sisters were slowly poisoned by jealousy and hostility. Even as Luna laid fitfully to rest that night, she had already begun to withdraw into herself, and the darkness responded, wrapping itself protectively around her, shielding her from the pain and the hate. “With only three of the Elements on my side and our broken bond, the Elements could not heal her. I still do not understand how the Elements work, but I believe that they probably knew my desire to protect my subjects, and to ensure that she would not harm anypony with eternal night, they banished her. The Elements themselves turned to stone, as they have remained to this day.” Everypony in the room was silent as Celestia shed a few tears, forgetting to maintain the confident composure she often kept in front of her subjects. After a moment of silence, Brave Blade gave a curt nod and confidently noted, “I will send my best ponies to search for the new bearers. If there are ponies who got their cutie marks when that strange rainbow wave passed, we will find them.” “I will try to assist as well. I know many influential ponies that can help without attracting too much attention,” added Fancy Pants. “Thank you all,” Celestia replied calmly, blinking away a few tears. “It’s our pleasure, Your Highness.” Confident in that aspect of her plan, Celestia turned to Silver Scroll. “Now, I also have a task for you, Silver Scroll. I wish to teach a candidate for the Element of Magic personally, and I need your help to ensure that I will have at least two hours of time with her every day. For now, I want to cancel all of my meetings for today. Can you arrange it?” “Right away, Your Highness,” replied Silver Scroll as she opened up a densely-packed calendar and began making the appointments, already working on her assignment. Suddenly her ears perked up, half closed eyes fully opening at the realization. “Please, forgive me for questioning your wisdom, Your Highness, but considering your busy schedule, wouldn’t it be wise to hire a foalsitter?” Celestia nodded. “You have a good point, however my student’s condition make this task nigh-impossible.” Silver Scroll raised an eyebrow, waiting for an explanation. Celestia rubbed her foreleg, feeling the metal scratch lightly against her fur. “In order to calm the filly’s surge and save her life, I–” the princess bit her lip, thinking over the words she should use next while three pair of eyes focused on the alicorn “–shrank her.” She held her front hooves very close together. “About this size.” Many times what a pony said was less informative than what they did not say. The silence that Celestia heard from her trusted staff was definitely one of those times. There was a resonant 'Yes, Your Highness' in the absence of noise, along with an undertone of 'Is this something we are better off not knowing?' and a certain degree of 'Don't you trust us, Princess?' After all, trust worked both ways, and it was time for somepony besides her to learn about the spell’s existence. "A long time ago, during the war with the griffins, I created several spells to aid me help my ponies win. This one had a lot of promise, though it was too difficult for almost any of them to cast." Celestia lectured with her hoof lifted above the table. “After the war, I tasked my most talented scholars with improving those spells for public and military use to ensure safety of my kingdom. Just imagine all hopes and possibilities that this spell offered.” Celestia stood up, her voice suddenly more enthusiastic. “Scouts and spies would be able to change their size at will, monsters and powerful enemies would no longer pose a threat, and shrunken prisoners would no longer needed huge prisons to house them. Even medicine would have benefited, since a shrunken surgeon would find most delicate operations much easier to perform than before. Noticing questions forming on her subject’s lips, she silenced them with one gesture of her hoof before shaking her head, enthusiasm dead in her voice, “Unfortunately, the spell turned out to be a complete disappointment.” “Just as many of spells I improvised, it had proved incredibly difficult to cast; only I and a few others had both the power and the skill to manage the feat.” Celestia let out a deep sigh, “ To make matters worse, it used the target’s own power as fuel. Unless the targeted creature was willing to cooperate, or was experiencing an uncontrolled magic surge, the spell would do absolutely nothing. The project had been abandoned since the spell really had no practical purpose… until today.” The silence lasted for a little longer as the rest of her staff considered the consequences of Celestia's action regarding the use of a spell which had been kept secret from them until just now. The princess broke the contemplative silence by clearing her throat, "I have no choice but to keep her at this size until she learns how to control her magic on her own. Although this is a drastic measure, it is necessary for the safety of my subjects as well as the young student. Any further surges could be lethal for such a young filly, and I will not risk her life or the lives of others by reversing the spell prematurely." “I see…” Silver Scroll murmured, before speaking up, “Although, I would think that because of her size she is going to need additional care when you are not present. Celestia shook her head lightly. “I doubt it will be that simple. First the poor filly needs to adapt to her new environment. She needs to get used to me before she can interact with other ponies. Furthermore, while royal guards can be trusted to keep it as secret, I will need to choose carefully who to tell about the filly’s condition so no rumors can spread.” Suddenly a wide smile spread across her face, “Though I know just the pony for the foal-sitting job.” Fancy Pants raised an eyebrow before chuckling. “Oh, right. She would do a fine job as a foalsitter, but tracking her down is going to be difficult. She is living among your subjects under an illusion spell after all.” Celestia turn her head to the side, her attention focused on a clock. “Hopefully we will find her, or else I will need to search for a replacement. Are there any other questions?” The group looked at one another before turning back to the princess, shaking their heads. “Very good. This meeting is adjourned, and as always, our discussions are not to leave this room,” Celestia finished in a serious tone, those around her giving their nods of assent. With the meeting over, her staff departed to their assigned tasks while Celestia went back to her new student. She soon found a honest smile working across her face for the first time in years, and she began to feel hope for the safe return of her sister.