//------------------------------// // Trial of Departure // Story: Seven Princesses of Light // by TundraStanza //------------------------------// The heart is a mysterious thing. What makes it shine? Deep down there is a little light that never goes out. Hearts are unpredictable. Chapter 3: Trial of Departure The elemental Key bearers have already been through here. It is this world in which the last three shall begin their trials. Are they ready to take up the Mark of Mastery? --- Sleep that night came easily to the sun Princess of Equestria. Rest, however, proved to be more elusive. Her somewhat lucid dream led her to fly through a fairly vibrant mountain range. Within them rested a castle that held similar magnificence as Canterlot's, yet relied more heavily on structural chains rather than external beauty. Her landing led her into a slowing gallop before stopping her motion entirely. She was somewhere in the valley regions behind the castle she had seen earlier. Strange hanging balances were suspended from various mechanical contraptions. Something in Celestia urged her to take a swing at them. She focused her energy and her sun-filled Keyblade appeared in her grasp. She took a wide sweep and hit the first of several balances. The carousel-like balance swung around in a rotational fashion. Celestia felt a hidden instinct focus in on the balance she just struck. With a small jump and another swing of her Keyblade, she managed to hit it again. --- Princess Luna didn't stay at that station for long. She took flight, while staying relatively close to the ground. As she continued on her way, a box that resembled a treasure chest appeared some yards away. She flew over toward the box and tapped it with her night sky Keyblade. It opened upon the touch of the Keyblade, granting her a health potion to be carried in a safe-dimension inventory that she could call on at any time. With this new item in possession, Luna carried on along her path of flight. The day seemed to pass by rather quickly in this foreign land. A starry night had already taken over the view of the sky. Arriving near the top of a cliff's edge, Luna landed on her hooves and tucked her wings. Looking up she saw a shooting star. It was quickly followed by another and another. It was clear that it was a meteor shower. The freely flying stars looked beautiful to the Princess of the Night. She observed the shower in a silent bliss for a few more moments. She then yawned having exhausted herself from a exciting day. For the first time in a while, Luna took a short nap during the night. --- Princess Cadance slowly crept up on her snoozing aunt. Though her flight was still limited, her light hoof steps were practically impossible to hear. She hovered her face just a few inches above Aunt Luna's. The night alicorn opened her eyes slightly before jumping and standing up in surprise. Cadance laughed at her auntie's reaction. "Canst thou give us a break, Mi Amore Cadenza?" inquired Luna. The slight slip into the Royal "We" made the dawn alicorn laugh even more. The sight of her niece so delighted made Luna sheepishly chuckle as well. They shared a laugh before returning their gaze to the meteor shower in the night sky. They both sat down to watch this masterpiece in motion. "Hey, Aunt Luna," asked Cadance out of the blue, "What are stars made out of?" "There's a legend that says that each of the stars is another world," said a voice that was not Luna's. The two sitting alicorns turned around to face the newcomer. Auntie Celestia continued to speak as she walked toward them. "And each of those worlds sheds light as they watch over us. In other words, they're just like you." "I don't understand," said Cadance with an eyebrow raised. "You will eventually." "Why can't you tell me now." "You're still young, Cadance." "I'm not a child anymore." The night alicorn giggled at the sight before her. "What are you laughing at?" queried Celestia. "It's just," paused Luna, "You two would make a perfect mother and daughter." She giggled even more. The sun and dawn alicorns looked at her with blushes on their faces. Then they joined in the fits of laughter. The meteor shower had finished and now the only sights were the stationary stars. --- Her laughter came to an abrupt halt. Celestia sensed a strange presence just behind her. Her instincts told her to be prepared for battle. The feeling summoned her Keyblade for her as she turned around to face the unknown threat. Her instinct was well placed, as her blade swiped through a fiery orb that was just inches from her head. More orbs of flame and spherical levitating rocks hung suspended in mid air. They were dancing around like a viper before striking its prey. Celestia swung at a few of them, but then more appeared to take their place. --- Luna quickly stopped laughing and her expression changed to shocked and then defensive. Strange spheres appeared around her that seemed to hold the four winds of Anemoi themselves. The spheres threatened to sting her with wind that could pierce flesh. The night princess would have none of that. She summoned her Keyblade and began counter-attacking the spheres of gales and breezes. However noble her intentions were, new spheres were quickly replacing the ones Luna had just broken. It seemed this mysterious threat was not yet out of breath. --- The joke was instantly forgotten. Orbs that seemed to be made from Poseidon's water circled above and around the young princess. Cadance may not have known what they were, but she knew that they were not friendly. She released her Keyblade on instinct and began performing sweeping motions against the liquid orbs. The water seemed to hesitate after the backlash, but then it resumed closing in on its target. Cadance couldn't keep up this dance forever as the orbs of ocean kept circling and swinging. --- Princess... Focus. --- Celestia heard the voiceless phrase and immediately obliged. As the orbs of fire and earth continued shaking, she could feel some of her energy 'lock on' to each of them. The group of orbs never saw it coming. The sun alicorn felt her body accelerate at supersonic speeds. She struck through all of her attackers within a couple seconds, not even experiencing whiplash from all of her sudden turns during the attack. Her threat had dissipated. --- Luna didn't understand the message she had just heard, but her instincts seemed to get the gist of it. She stood stock still and let her energy 'tag' each of the windy spheres that were coming closer. They did not stand a chance. The night alicorn felt a clenching around her Keyblade as it seemed to charge up momentarily. In the next instant, the blade fired several darts made of moonlight. They crashed into the spheres, calming the gales into stilled air. Luna took deep, easy breaths. --- Cadance reacted to the foreign advice within a split second. Her sudden impulse of energy allowed her to 'see' all of the watery orbs around her. What the orbs did not know would cost them their existence. The dawn alicorn started spinning around in place, causing a spiral of wind and light to encircle her. The liquid orbs got caught in the spiral and evaporated on touch. Within seconds, Cadance was free from her trouble. She did not feel dizziness, only fatigue. --- Well done. You three performed commendably and you have shown signs of the Mark. You are ready. After hearing that voiceless praise, the Princesses started waking up and left this plane of departure. --- A/N: Looks like I tried using Birth By Sleep components in this chapter. I'm not sure how often that will happen. Thanks for reading so far.