Emptiness.
That was all she could think, as the wind whipped across the ground that was stained with the blood of so many lives that had been lost. The silence of the bodies that lay on the ground contrasted with the loudness of the screams and yells of all those who had been fighting for their lives. They had rung out across the battlefield only a few hours beforehand. Combatants from both forces lay on the blood-stained ground, some of them bleeding red from their wounds while the other side bled green. Both ponies from the Royal Canterlot Army and changelings from the Changeling Empire lay unmoving on the battlefield, along with the spears and arrows that had been discarded during the fight when those who wielded them had fallen. Vultures circled overhead of the silent battlefield, smiling to themselves as they saw the feast that had been given to them.
Lives had not been the only loss during this battle, as the burning buildings behind the pony's army would show if any were alive to witness it. Fire had nearly consumed the whole town, but the buildings that were left standing showed that it was once a glorious town full of ponies that enjoyed all that life had to offer. The town had been the center of Equestria and was mostly known for the love and kindness that they showed to all who entered their town. This made them the prime target for those who fed off of love and kindness, the Changeling Empire. On a beautiful afternoon, a cloud of darkness had swarmed over the city as the changelings began to feast upon the love that this town held. Ponies had run for their lives as the changelings began to take the ponies home. A resistance had been formed to try and fight back against the swarm, but their numbers were not enough as they were quickly overrun by the swarm.
But when all hope had seemed lost for the ponies, a horn sounded through the air and gained the attention of all the changelings, as well as the ponies that were under assault. They all looked towards the horizon to see a majestic sight greet their eyes. On a hill just on the edge of the town stood the Canterlot Army, thousands of ponies that were the most well-trained and skilled fighters in the land. The changelings had to shield their eyes from the light reflecting off their armor as the commanding general let out a cry to the heavens while he charged into the town, his soldiers following with yells of their own as they raced after him. The changelings let one massive hiss ring out in return as they started to charge towards their foes, fangs bared for battle. And just on the outskirts of the small town, the two armies collided.
Most survivors said that the ground shook when the two forces collided and the fighting started, with magic being hurled at both forces, while pegasi and changelings grappled in the air. Soldiers screamed as they charged forward to plunge their spears into the foes before them, screams that turned to gurgles as the changlelings started to go for the throats of the armored ponies, one of the few exposed areas on their bodies. Town ponies fled in terror as a wild fireball struck the side of a building and set it ablaze, with the fire already leaping to another building as well. The captain of the guard yelled once again as he and a few of his men charged into the heart of the changeling forces, slashing and firing away at everything they saw in the sea of darkness. They were met in return with equally sharp fangs and powerful magic with which the changelings were so skilled. But a cheer rang out from the changeling forces as a massive black beast emerged from its ranks, wielding a black battle axe in its jaws that ran red with the blood of those who had already fallen under its might. The changeling titan spotted the captain of the guard and screamed at him before rushing forward with the axe held high, swinging with all his might towards the captain.
As the blade headed for the golden-armored crown of the captain, who was fighting off two changelings at once, a younger recruit leapt through the air and tackled the captain out of the way of the blade, screaming with agony as the axe cleaved him in two. The captain watched in horror as the twin halves of his soldier's corpse fell to either side of him, and he looked up with wrath in his eyes at the laughing changeling. With a roar of fury for his fallen comrade, the captain grabbed his blade and drove it up with all of his rage-filled fury, sending the tip of the weapon through the bottom jaw of the changeling and out through the back of his skull. The changeling's laugh died in its throat and it fell over without a sound, leaving all the other changelings around it to stare in disbelief as the ponies began to cheer, believing that they had won the fight. But the changelings never entered a battle without a backup plan and they had decided if they couldn't win the battle, they'd simply 'nuke' the field. So just as the Army began to push the changelings back, the changelings unleashed their ultimate weapon...a magi bomb, designed to wipe out all life in a three mile radius. The army could do nothing as the massive flash went off, followed by a storm of magic that killed everything it touched. Changeling and pony alike was caught in the blast that spread for miles, leaving only a giant sphere of death.
When the blast finally died down, all that could be seen for miles was destruction and bodies, just mere skeletons after the blast was done with them. All the buildings in the surrounding area had come down from the force of the shockwave and those ponies that hadn't been caught in the blast were crushed by the raining rubble. This was the sight that greeted one Princess Celestia as she landed on a nearby hillside, realizing that she had arrived too late to help.
"No..." the white alicorn with the majestic mane said as she looked around at all the destruction, tears brimming in her eyes as she saw the skeletons of what used to be her loyal soldiers laying scattered. "No, this can't be happening! I can't be too late!" She ran through the graveyard, looking for any signs of life, be it changeling or pony, yet all that greeted her was the smell of death and destruction. With there being no chance of any of the warriors surviving, she headed into the remains of the town in hopes of finding survivors. "Hello!? Anypony there?!" she called into the town, but only the wind answered her. She began to cry as she continued to run through the streets, wondering how it had come to this. The changelings were supposed to be peaceful with the ponies, that's what their king had said the last time he and Celestia had met.
'But with his daughter taking the crown now, I guess that peace is no more,' she thought to herself as she came to a stop in the middle of the town square, looking with regret at the bodies of her subjects. In one last desperate attempt to find survivors, she cast a life seeking spell across the town, praying that it would detect somepony. And it did. "There, in the distance, two small signs of life," she said to herself with joy as she raced off towards the place where the spell had detected. She found a building that had been overturned by the explosion, yet she could still feel the faint traces of life underneath the building. Using her great alicorn magic, she lifted the building and threw it to the side, revealing a pair of corpses that had covered two terrified fillies. Both of the fillies looked up at Celestia with tears in their eyes, one of them looking to be around the age of ten while the other seemed to be closer to six.
"Do not fear little ones, you are safe now," Celestia said in as comforting a tone as she could while- she took a step forward, but the older of the two shielded the littler one with her body. "Do not worry, I am not here to hurt you. I am Princess Celestia, ruler of Equestria," she said as she showed them the crown, watching as it seemed to calm them down a bit. "Come, let me take you somewhere safe." The two looked at each other before offering their hooves to Celestia, who gently lifted them with her magic and placed them on her back. She spread her wings to ascend into the sky after casting one last spell to make sure no pony else was alive, then looked back at what she assumed where the two's parents with a small shake of her head. Then she flapped her wings and sailed into the sky.
====TL====
Celestia slowly paced outside of the door of the office where the public records were kept, waiting to hear if the two fillies she had saved had any place to go. While she waited, she thought of what she had heard about the ponies that had died during the battle with the changelings. She had not only lost the captain of her guards, but a large number of her personal guards as well. She would need to see if any of her other guards were skilled enough to protect her all the time.
'I should have been there,"' Celestia thought to herself with a sad shake of her head. Her attention was broken when she noticed that one of the office workers had come out, motioning for Celestia to join her.
"How are they?" Celestia asked.
"It's been a week, so they have recovered from their wounds, but the both of them are still feeling the emotional effects of the attack."
"What did you find out about them?" Celestia asked the pony, who looked down at her notes with a shake of her head.
"I'm sorry to say this, Princess, but these two have no other family besides each other. In fact, they were both adopted into the family at the house you found them at only a few days ago. They have nowhere to go but the orphanage."
"Do you mind if I talk to them?" Celestia asked her, despite not needing to. The pony nodded and moved aside, letting Celestia into the room with the two ponies. They were both sitting in a pair of chairs with their heads down, the smaller of the two looking up at Celestia when she entered, but the other's head hung low. "Hello there, you two," Celestia said with a friendly smile, but neither of the two returned it. "Are the two of you alright?"
"Y-yes we are, Princess," the smaller one said after a minute of silence. Celestia looked at the little filly with a small smile, noticing that she had no cutie mark on her yellow coat, but she seemed to shine like the sun despite the dust covering her.
"That's good. May I ask your names?"
"I'm Sunnysmiles," the yellow earth pony with the orange mane said with a thin smile, while her sister said nothing. Celestia looked to the older sister with a sad look, knowing that she shouldn't press the issue.
"Well it's nice to meet the two of you," Celestia said with a smile, trying to be positive. "I'm glad to see that the two of you are-"
"Where were you?" the older sister asked. Celestia and Sunnysmiles both looked at her as she lifted her head, allowing Celestia to look into her eyes that held no sorrow or fear. They only held rage. "Why weren't you there to help us? The princess is supposed to protect the ponies of Equestria, yet hundreds died. Where were you?"
"I was staving off an attack inside of the city by the changelings," Celestia said as she lowered her head. "It was only after I had dealt with the problem here that I heard of the attack on your town, but I was too late to stop it. I am sorry." The older sister lowered her head again and didn't speak for a few minutes.
"Radiance."
"Excuse me?" Celestia asked.
"My name...Radiance," the unicorn repeated as she indicated her coat, which was a pure white with bits of silver mixed in. Her mane was yellow with a streak of silver going down the center of it. Her cutie mark was a bolt of magic spiraling into the air. "I was the one who used my magic to stop the building from crushing my sister and me."
"You did that without any training?" Celestia asked, intrigued by the skill that one so young could posses. After Radiance nodded, Celestia lowered her head and began to think until she reached a decision. "I know that the two of you are still grieving over the loss of your home, but I was wondering if...you would like to live with me."
"Really?" Sunnysmiles asked with wide eyes. "We could live in the palace?"
"Why would you do this for us?" Radiance asked, suspicion in her tone.
"Because the two of you have nowhere else to go, and I would like to train you, Radiance, in the ways of magic. I can see that you have potential," Celestia said with a smile. "Plus...I also lost a member of my family a long time ago."
"Luna," Sunnysmiles said, with Celestia nodding in response.
"So what do the two of you think? Will you agree? You don't need to answer right now, if you don't want to." Radiance was hesitant about it, but as she looked to her little sister and saw the sheer joy in her eyes, she knew that she had to.
"I'll do it, but with one condition. You have to train me to be strong, so strong that I won't have to rely on you to save me the next time danger strikes." Celestia agreed to her terms, so both she and Sunnysmiles both agreed.
"Very well, I will go speak with my assistant about getting the two of you transferred to the castle. Please wait here." Once Celestia left the room, Radiance looked to her happy little sister with a confused look.
"How can you be so happy, despite everything that just happened?" Radiance asked, knowing that the only reason she had agreed to stay was to keep her sister safe.
"It's like mom and dad used to say: the past is the past and all that matters is the future," Sunnysmiles said with a smiles that made her sister's heart feel warmer. "So I'm going to focus on the brightness of the future instead of the darkness of the past." Radiance sighed and wrapped a hoof around her sister.
"You really fit your name, you know that?" Radiance asked with a smile as her sister giggled, both of them looking up as Celestia entered back into the room.
"Everything has been set up. The two of you will move into the castle tomorrow," she said with a smile, moving aside so that one of her guards could enter. "This is my bodyguard. He will take the two of you shopping for any supplies that you need. I will pay for whatever you buy, but please don't get what you don't need." The two of them shot out of their chairs and ran off into the castle, leaving the guard to chase after them as Celestia's assistant entered the room.
"Are you sure you want to do this Celestia?" the pony asked her. "Taking on the responsibility of fillies is a tough task, and after everything that happened..."
"It is my fault that they no longer have a home or a family," Celestia said with a sad sigh. "This is the least I can do for them. Besides, the upper chambers have been empty for so long, I figure that they could use a bit of energy." The pony looked up at Celestia with uncertainty in her eyes, but she sighed and watched the fillies run off with the guard.
"As you wish, princess."
===TL===
"Is this really going to be our room?" Sunnysmiles asked as she looked around the circular room with the paintings of pegasi on the ceiling and the giant window that led to a balcony. "It's a lot nicer than what we used to have."
"It will do," Radiance said as she set up what she had bought on the table in the center of the room, which consisted of only a book of spells and some parchment. "So when do we start with the magic training? I want to get stronger."
"Your training will begin in the morning, but for now the two of you must rest," Celestia said as she stepped onto the balcony, letting the wind flow through her mane before she focused her power into her horn and let loose a beam of magic into space, watching with a smile as the sun began to set on the horizon.
"Can you teach me that too?" Radiance asked as she joined Celestia on the balcony, Sunnysmiles running up to her sister's side.
"I am sorry, but only alicorns and other magical beings that rival our power can do that," Celestia said as she turned and headed back inside, looking around the room to make sure that all their requirements had been met. She then sat down at the center table and motioned for the two to join her. "Now then, I would like to get to know the two of you a bit better and give you the chance to get to know me, so feel free to ask any question you want."
"Ooo! I have one!" Sunnysmiles said quickly. "How much of the castle are we allowed to explore?"
"You can go anywhere except for the dungeons and the war room," Celestia answered.
"What is the proper way to enchant ones horn so that it can deflect any projectile?" Radiance asked, causing Celestia to sigh at the fact that all she was concerned about seemed to be fighting.
"That is a question for tomorrow, but I will ask you both a question now. What do the two of you like to do for fun?" Both sisters looked at each other before they answered, Sunnysmiles going first.
"Well, I really like to play tag and run through a field of flowers and sing..." she began, mentioning more and more things until she started to cough a little, causing her sister to look at her with concern.
"She's always been a little sick," Radiance explained as she placed a hoof on her sister's back, sighing in relief as she stopped coughing. "I enjoy reading and writing mostly, but studying can be fun too. I also like to pull pranks, so watch out."
"I'll keep that in mind," Celestia said with a joking tone as she watched the two of them begin to yawn. "Alright, the two of you should probably head off to bed. It will be a big day tomorrow." The two started to complain, but Celestia gave them both a look that told them she wasn't to be argued with. So they begrudgingly got up and headed to the two beds that had been prepared for them. Radiance laid down in her bed and fell asleep almost immediately, but Sunnysmiles hopped on her bed a few times before Celestia picked her up and placed her under the covers.
"You should probably get some sleep," she said as she turned off the lights while tucking the filly in. Sunnysmiles yawned and finally seemed to submit to the weariness, but before Celestia could go she asked one more question.
"Hey, Princess, if we're living with you, does that make you our mommy now?" she asked. Celestia looked at her with raised eyebrows for a minute before a smile broke out on her face.
"Yes, I suppose it does," she said as she gently leaned over and kissed Sunnysmiles on the forehead, before standing up and walking over to her sister, but Radiance had covered herself up completely. Celestia just sighed and walked to the door, looking behind her one last time before she closed it.
"Goodnight...my daughters."
===TL===
In no time, a week had gone by and in that time Celestia had learned a lot. Mostly it was about how hard it actually was to raise two fillies, but she had also learned a lot about the two of them. Sunnysmiles, for instance, had a habit of chasing after any butterflies she saw and she shone in the sunlight, whereas her sister seemed to prefer being in the shade and reading instead of doing physical activities. The two girls had also become accustomed to the layout of the castle rather quickly and had a habit of vanishing on Celestia. So today she had decided to take them out to the royal gardens and let them roam around while they got used to their new home.
"How are the two of them doing?" she asked Golden Sword, the guard that had been assigned to watch over both of them.
"They are doing fine, but Sunny just poured some dirt on her sister a while back," he said as both he and Celestia watched the two roll around on the ground, Radiance grabbed a hoof-ful of mud and dumped it onto her sister's mane, while Sunnysmiles shrieked in protest. "They can be hard to deal with, but it seems that they are starting to get used to life here. What do you think?"
"They're doing better, but neither of them has really broken out of their shells yet," Celestia said as she watched a muddy Sunnysmiles chase her sister around the yard. "So far the only pony they trust is each other. It will take time for them to become a part of society again. I know the feeling, I was the same after I lost my sister."
"Hey Celestia, what's this?" Sunny's voice said from the area where the statues were kept. Celestia opened her wings and flew over to them, landing in front of a statue that she didn't enjoy looking at.
"This is Discord," Celestia said to the two fillies, who looked up at the strange statue with intrigue. "He is the Lord of Chaos and an old foe of mine, who sought to throw the world into chaos. However, my sister and I stopped him using the Elements of Harmony, which were lost to time later."
"So why do you keep him in the garden?" Radiance asked. "Wouldn't it be better to keep him locked up in a dungeon or something?"
"Probably, but it's so nice and peaceful here, he's probably hating it right now," Celestia said with a thin smirk as she turned the two away from the statue. "Now come on, let's go-"
"Princess! Something's heading towards the planet!" one of the guards yelled out. Celestia and the fillies had just enough time to look up at the strange meteor before it came crashing down into the garden with a sound like thunder. Immediately a number of guards rushed around the crater and pointed their spears at it, waiting for any sign of movement. When there was none, Celestia moved past them and descended into the crater, letting out a gasp when she saw what was at the bottom. It was a pale skinned creature it a white robe of sorts, and it had a black mane only on its head. Yet, while the guards were confused by what it was, Celestia knew enough about the ancient myths to know its name.
"A human?"