With the rising sun, came a sudden brightness to the room where Shining Armor slept. The moon had been lowered and Celestia had brought another glorious sunrise to Equestria.
As Shining Armor opened his eyes, he stretched his legs before pushing back the covers and setting his hooves on the ground. One glance across the room was enough to notice the already empty bed where Star had slept. Perhaps she had gone to explore the castle; this was a completely new castle to her after all.
Leaving the room, Shining Armor found himself nearly colliding with another pony in the hall. In taking a step back, he found it to be Luna.
"Shining Armor," said Luna, as she raised a hoof elegantly, "good morning, I was just coming to see if you are Star were ready to speak of her enrollment in my sister's school." Luna smiled, but the look in her eyes was glazed with exhaustion after an entire night of standing guard over her subjects.
"We would be, but Star's gone off exploring I think. I'll find her and meet you back at the throne room." Shining Armor said with a small laugh.
Luna tilted her head, but nodded towards him.
"Gone off, alone? You don't seem worried about that."
"Not at all. Star's a smart filly. Knowing her, she's running around the halls or out in the gardens. She's been so excited about coming her that I'm not surprised. I'll find her, don't worry." Shining Armor gave a smile, and received a single nod in return from Luna.
"Very well. We'll wait for you," said Luna before she turned and followed the hallway back the way she had come.
Shining Armor waited for the princess to round the corner before he followed the halls out towards the Canterlot Castle gardens. If Star had been up long enough, without a doubt she had already run through every hall and was now thoroughly determined to explore every inch of the castle grounds.
"Star...? Starlight?" Shining Armor called as he walked onto the lush garden path, bordered by rose bushes and oak trees that housed a wide variety of fauna. No answer came to his call, but as he walked on he noticed tiny hoof prints in between the flat stones that formed the path. A smile came to his face as he continued following the little trail.
However, Shining Armor paused when he noticed the trail changed direction. It veered suddenly to one side and out of a gated exit. This exit he recognized as leading into the courtyard of the castle barracks; the exit made easy access to getting in and out of the castle between shifts. He sighed, hoping the filly was not getting herself into trouble or interrupting the work of the guard.
"So the proper way to march is with your head back, chest out, and eyes forward. Think you can do that?"
Star stood beside a large pegasus stallion, clad in Canterlot Royal Guard armor. He demonstrated the correct way to march by strutting his way down the cobblestone courtyard.
"Head back," Star repeated as she drew her head back as proudly as she could, "chest out," and Star thrust her chest out dramatically, "and eyes forward. Got it! Watch this!" Star took dramatic steps that looked robotic and heavy. She stumbled slightly over a larger stone, but quickly regained her footing and continued on with her march. Every step was echoed with a loud clop of the hoof until she reached the stallion at the other side of the courtyard.
"Hey, you learn quick, kid. Look-e-here lieutenant, looks like we have a future recruit here, hmm?" The stallion's embellishment went unnoticed to Star, who only beamed at her accomplishment.
"Looks that way, huh? Well hey, every new recruit needs a helmet." The other stallion, a unicorn, sent his helmet hovering towards Star with a wisp of magic. Star grinned widely as it set down on her head, and nearly touched the ground as it did. But the sudden weight caused her to fall forward slightly with an "Oof."
A simple spell unhinged the lock and opened the shining white metal gate for Shining Armor as he entered the back end of the courtyard. Here, the yard was surrounded on all sides. Four long units consisting of two lodging stations, an armory and lastly a blacksmith's forge made up the entirety of the barracks. Even while being in the Crystal Empire for so long, Shining Armor remembered it like the back of his hoof.
Then, breaking his attention from past memories, a small "Oof," caught his attention. There, in the middle of the courtyard, little Star stood nearly completely concealed under a guard's helmet. A pegasus stallion chuckled at the sight of the little filly who tried to stand tall under the clearly four times too big helmet, and swept it easily off of her with a stroke of his wing.
"I think you're just a bit too small right now. Maybe when you've grown up a little, hmm?"
"I'm not that little!" Star protested with a joking half smile.
"There you are," Shining Armor interjected as he approached the two ponies, "I was wondering where you got off too."
"Shining Armor, sir." The pegasus straightened up as the captain approached, "Welcome back."
"Thank you, it's good to be back. I hope Star here wasn't causing any trouble." As Shining Armor spoke, Star trotted over to him and politely stood next to him with her head held high.
"None at all. She found her way here between the changing shifts, she's looking to be a new recruit someday by how she catches on with a helmet."
"I only stumbled once!" Star proclaimed proudly.
Shining Armor raised an eyebrow but ended up shaking his head hopelessly at the overly proud filly. At that age, any accomplishment is multiplied by a million, and in a very charming way.
"Well, thank you for seeing that she didn't wander too far. Come on Star, Celestia's waiting, remember?" At hearing her father speak, Star's eyes suddenly shot open.
"Celestia, I forgot! Come on dad, we'll be late!" Turning on her back hooves, Star began galloping back towards the gate to the gardens. Shining Armor chuckled, and after a goodbye from the guard, he followed Star to the gate.
Star pranced back and fourth until her father unlatched the gate so they could pass.
"You think they teach guarding in Celestia's school?! That'd be amazing! There would be fancy helmets, oh, and marching! And-"
"Woah, slow down there Star," said Shining Armor with a soft smile. "You have to focus on your magic remember? You need to get the basics down before anything else. Then you have all your other practices to go through. Let's leave the guarding to the others for now alright?"
"But you're a guard! You could teach me, I'd be great!" Star jumped slightly as she trotted quickly to keep up with her father. Shining Armor looked over at the hopeful, wide-eyed filly.
"It's... more complicated than that Star. We'll see how things go with your schooling, then we'll talk about it, okay? You don't even have your cutie mark yet, there's endless possibilities when it comes to that, especially when it comes to getting into Magic Kindergarten."
Star tilted her head thoughtfully, even though most of what her father said seemed too complex to really grasp, she took it as a 'maybe', and that was good enough for her. Resuming her prancing step, she smiled and followed Shining Armor back into the castle. The two made their way through the elegant halls and finally came to the throne room.
There, atop a gold embellished throne, was Celestia. Her eyes were focused on a long scroll in front of her, but as soon as Shining Armor and Star entered, she turned her attention to them. The scroll disappeared with a blink of magic and she rose from her throne to greet them.
"Shining Armor, it's good to have you back again." Celestia said happily as she approached them.
"It's good to be back, your highness, and I'm happy to report that the Crystal Empire is prospering. The complete recovery seems complete."
"I had no doubt Princess Cadence would restore it's former glory, I'm glad that everything is going so well." Celestia's gaze found the tiny filly next to Shining Armor, and she smiled softly. "So this is our newest Princess."
"And hopefully newest student, Starlight. She's wanted to join your school ever since Cadence told her about Twilight and Magic Kindergarten."
"I had heard. So, Starlight--"
"Uh-m, Star is fine, I-I mean, if you like that, you highness or-uh, Princess Celestia." Celestia found herself laughing warmly at the filly's nervous voice.
"No need to be nervous, Star, and you're in luck. The newest additions to the school begin in just a few days. We can have your exam today and have you enrolled before the sun is set. Have you practiced at all?"
"M-my mom taught me a little! I can show you!"
"Better yet you can show your teachers, they'll by the ones who assess your strengths in magic. Come, Luna had them assemble before retiring for the day." Celestia gestured for the two to follow her with a careful wave of her hoof.
Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns, a school where every unicorn foal in Canterlot wanted to be. The school was nestled in the shadow of the Canterlot Castle, and praised a gorgeous campus where students would study various forms of magic and meet new friends.
Within the school, the room where Star now stood was a room that every student had come to before beginning their studies, even Princess Twilight Sparkle; the room where they held the entrance exam.
"The baseline test is one every unicorn takes before entering. Give it your best try, Star, and we'll see what the teachers think of you," said Celestia as she and Shining Armor stood off to the side of the room.
Star looked from Celestia, to the four teachers who sat together in a row of chairs at the back of the room. Their eyes were locked on her, as if sizing her up, or at least sizing up her potential. After a moment, the wide double doors swung open and through it rolled a cart pushed by a earth pony stallion. Resting in the cart, atop a small but elegant stand of ice, was a frosty blue egg. Star had never seen an egg like it before. The shell looked as if it were glass, shining brightly in the sunlight let in from the windows.
"Hatch the egg," said one of the teachers, a male unicorn.
Star looked at the egg, set atop its icy pedestal. It couldn't be too hard. All that was needed was the shell to be broken, but carefully. Setting her hooves firmly on the ground, Star lowered her horn and faced the egg. She narrowed her eyes as her horn illuminated in a blue aura.
The egg became surrounded in the same blue aura, its icy shell glimmering. Finally, with a firm stomp from her hoof, a beam of magic connected the two. The egg's shell formed a small crack on the surface, but almost as soon as it formed, Star's magic faltered. The aura faded, and Star gasped as she saw the beam fail. The loud scribbling of pencils on paper from the teachers made her gulp nervously, but the exam was not over yet.
Star quickly lowered her horn again and cast the spell. The beam extended again, and the crack in the shell's surface broadened more. Yet again, the spell broke and faded after a short duration.
"No, no, why won't it work..?" Star muttered under her breath as she watched the blue aura fade again. She took a step back from the cart, her head slowly dropping. Then, a sound caught her attention. Lifting her gaze, Star noticed the crack in the shell was slowly expanding downward.
Star took a small step towards the egg, yet as soon as her hoof touched the ground, the egg suddenly cracked in two. From the shell, a stalagmite of ice shot upwards, and collided with the roof with such force that the building shook and the roof was split by the sharp ice. Shining Armor quickly leaped forward and swept Star back behind him before the ice grew too far to reach her. He looked up in shock at the large tower of ice that now pierced the roof and covered a quarter of the room.
Awakened from her sleep by a sudden crash, Luna raised her head in surprise. Something that loud was always coupled with damage, and that couldn't be ignored. Quickly the princess rose from her bed and opened the doors of her balcony with a simple spell. Luna took flight only to see a large ice formation jutting out of the roof of one of the school buildings. Another entrance exam gone a-rye? Shaking her head, Luna glided down from the air and onto the school grounds to check on the damages.
"Was... that supposed to happen?" Star asked as she stood behind her father.
"Just wait." said Celestia, as calm as ever. As Celestia spoke, Luna entered the room only to be shocked into silence at the sight of the pillar of ice. She stood next to her sister with wide eyes, glancing from her to Starlight.
Moments passed in silence by the group of ponies. After a time, Star stepped out from behind Shining Armor's legs as the ice began to retreat back towards the shell. Star approached the egg slowly, but froze when she saw two gold eyes suddenly open from within the ice. The last pieces of retreating ice revealed dark and icy blue feathers.
"When a phoenix egg is overtaken by cold, their form shifts from fire, to ice. A rare sight, but very possible, and much easier to handle than the flames of a fiery phoenix." Celestia explained. Star grinned at the little phoenix who blinked back at her with brilliant gold eyes.
Luna shock turned to an impressed smile. Hatching a phoenix, fire or ice, was no easy task. Couple that with her nightly spectacle and this filly was true magical potential.
"Impressive indeed, Starlight. We'll be seeing you during classes beginning next week," said the same male unicorn in a satisfied way as his colleges nodded in agreement.
Star grinned happily, bouncing slightly in place as she looked from the teachers, to her father, and finally to Celestia. Her expression changed to surprise when she saw Luna standing there as well, but Shining Armor caught her attention before she could question when Luna had arrived.
"You hear that Star? You passed; you're a student now!" Shining Armor exclaimed as Star laughed and jumped in excitement. Smiling in a proud way, Shining Armor watched as Star bounced from him, over to Celestia and Luna.
"Congratulations Star, I look forward to seeing your talents grow here." said Celestia toward the happy filly.
"Yes, congratulations, little Star. You're quite gifted." Luna smiled as Star beamed at her with bright eyes. As Star basked in the feeling of being a new student, a falling roof tile caught the group's attention, the sound echoing throughout the room, and Luna chuckled. "And maybe this time we should build a higher ceiling. This roof can't take much more powerful magic."