Thirteen years earlier
Twilight Sparkle paced anxiously around her room as she waited to receive her letter of acceptance to Princess Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns. It had been nearly an hour past twelve and with her thirteenth year officially here, she was racked with nerves and doubts that perhaps she did not qualify to study at such a prestigious school in Equestria. The mere fact that an entire hour had passed with no puff of green smoke from her newly hatched dragon only added to her worry. In all of the history of foals getting their acceptance letters to E.U.P.A, she had never heard of one who had received their letter late.
But just maybe she was panicking for nothing, surely she would receive her letter right? She had managed to hatch the dragon egg as instructed to do by the overseers who judged a pony's magical talent and decided if they truly were among the Animagi. There was no doubt that she was indeed apart of this breed of animals who could tap into the naturally occurring magic that resided within the world and having so uniquely shown that she could use magic in ways that no pony had ever done before was a guarantee that she would be admitted. But as an hour turned into two and then into three, her hope died and her fears took hold of her indefinitely.
I failed. I'm not an Animagi. I'm not getting in the school of my dreams, Now lying on her bed as she looked out the window of her room up at the moon that was hanging a tad bit lower than usual and glowing with a soft amber light indicating that the harvest season was here, she sighed and tried to keep her lower lip from trembling but failed as she looked over to see her baby dragon sleeping soundly in his basket having not stirred since her parents had put them both down for the night. Curling up in her bed while wrapping herself up in the comforting blankets that smelled of lavender, she allowed herself to cry as she realized that she would not be living out her dreams.
This is it, it's all over. I've gotta start looking at practical uses for my magic. I'm never gonna get the chance to study and find new ways to use it. I'm just— And then from where her baby dragon slept, she heard him stir and the sound of a small hiccup followed by a burp. Jumping from her bed to where the purple and green dragon sat in his basket obviously startled by what had just happened, in front of him sat a wrapped scroll sealed with the princesses red wax and sun-shaped cutie mark. Lifting the scroll in her magenta colored magic, she levitated it in the air and jumped around excitedly feeling all her doubts wash away. Bolting out her room and down the hallway to her parents room, she leap and found herself in their bed, trotting around happily trying to wake them so they could share her joy.
“You guys, you guys, wake up! I got it, I got it! I got my acceptance letter from Princess Celestia!”
Groggily as they were awakened by their foal jumping in their bed and shouting, Twilight Velvet and Night Light blinked trying to come to their senses after being woken up so abruptly from their sleep.
“Dad, I got my letter from Princess Celestia!” Came his little filly as the image of the scroll came into view wrapped in the magenta aura of his daughter's magic. Walking in after all the chaos was Shining Armour, Twilight's older brother who had received his letter five years prior. Hearing his foal sister having received her letter filled the young stallion with pride as he felt a bit of it leaking out from the corners of his eyes.
“Well, why don't you go on ahead and open it, Twily,” He said as he gave her a affectionate nudge on the rump.
“Yes, Twilight, go on and open it,” Came their proud mother as she too waited to hear the good news for a second time that one of her kids had been accepted into the acclaimed school that catered to young earth, unicorn, and pegasus ponies honing their talents.
“O'tay, here I go,” and with that said, the red, glossy ribbon was pulled loosened from the scroll without the wax seal having been broken by the young unicorn as she wanted to save it and add to her collection of priced possessions. The scroll floated over to her the young filly's face and with bright, violet eyes she read the letter as her heart fluttered with joy in her chest.
Dear Twilight Sparkle, as you are well aware, this is your thirteenth year and we are sorry to inform you that you have not been selected to attend The School of Magical Arts for Earth, Unicorn, and Pegasus Ponies due to not appearing to have any magical talents that can be honed by our professors or courses provided by the school itself. We apologize for any inconveniences this information may have caused. This letter will self destruct within sixty seconds after its opening.
The young filly re-read the letter a few more times making sure that she had read it correctly and each time her eyes glanced at the one would that had been bolded for clarity reasons, her heart sank deeper and deeper into her stomach as tears pooled in her eyes, threatening to spill.
“Twily?” Came her brother's concerned voice as he took the letter with his own magic aura the same color as his sister's and began to read the letter over as a look of shock crossed his face.
“What? What is it you two?” This time it was Night Light who took the letter in his magic and began to read only to have his reading halted with the scroll began to smolder at the corners. What he had read had been enough to understand the long face his daughter was now sporting.
“I'm so sorry, honey,” Twilight Velvet got from bed and went to her daughter's side and nuzzled her gently realizing that something hadn't gone as planned. While she wasn't upset, she felt for her little filly and knew that the blow would be one that would take time for her to recover from.
Nearly no one born in their family had ever been rejected.
“Better luck next year,”
“No dad, there won't be a next year. I turned thirteen today. Ponies only get accepted or rejected on their thirteenth birthday. I just don't—I just don't understand how this could have—” her voice broke as the sobs came relentlessly having the reality of what just happened sink in. The words flew around her head in a blur as her own inner voice mocked her by replaying the words over and over again. Her mind's eye had been seared with the image of that normally insignificant word that had made all the difference in her destiny.
“Chin up, Twily. Now you don't have to worry about taking O.W.L's—those things are driving me bonkers,” Trying to cheer up his sister by looking on the bright side, it was a vain attempt that did nothing but cement this moment and ground her to the fact that she has not been accepted.
“No, no, no, no, no, no!” Shaking her head as she repeated the word over and over not wanting to believe that this was happening to her, with the last word expelled from her mouth with a defiant shout, she bolted free from her brother's and her father's grasps and went for the door. Before she reached it, there was a flash of magenta light and suddenly the lavender filly was nowhere in sight, having simply disappeared right in front of their very eyes.
Running through the early morning hours as the moon made its way across the sky providing just enough light for the young filly to make her way through the empty valley's of the area surrounding her home, she ran trying to physically escape her fate not even realizing just yet that she had unknowingly teleported herself away from her family. The tears stung her eyes and blurred her vision to the point where she couldn't make out her surroundings but it wasn't like she cared about that right now. This had been the biggest blow to her self esteem and she had no idea as to just how something like this could have happened to her of all ponies. Her entire family had been accepted to The School of Magical Arts for Earth, Unicorn, and Pegasus Ponies in some shape or form, her own uncle and cousin being professors. All her friends...
She didn't exactly have friends being one who felt more comfortable with her head buried in a a thick book or tome than she ever felt trying to befriend anypony. She didn't mind what her parents would call loneliness as she found the extra time not spent in meaningless conversation and social interaction to be perfect time to use studying more and practicing. But now all of that came crashing down around her, her years spent in earnest study and sweat filled hours upon hours of practicing until her horn and body ached from sheer over usage were now in vain. She'd never get the chance to study magic with the greatest magic users in all of Equestria. She would never get the chance to spend her time talking and going over complex ideas or theories with the greatest minds in Equestria. And more importantly, she'd never have the honor to meet Princess Celestia.
Granted, no pony had ever met the princess considering that she stayed out of the public eye and was more than likely much too busy trying to keep things running as smoothly as possible in the land to have time to engage in personal appearances just to appease the populace, Twilight had had the dream that one day she'd make a discovery that granted her the privilege to at least share thoughts with her. Exchanging letters would be good enough for her. But none of that would be happening now.
My life is over,
“Oof!” exclaimed the lavender filly as she came crashing into something warm and furry.
“What in all of Equestria?”
“I um, I'm sorry,” Sniffled Twilight as she looked up at the cloaked figure she had just ran into.
“Well, well, what do we have here? Why are you out so late into the night, young one?” the voice, while gentle and non threatening, sent a chill up Twilight's spine but she brushed the sensation off to the early autumn chill that was already in the air.
“I-I...” her voice trailed off as she thought about what to say to the mare that looked down at her with eyes that were oddly colored. The parts that should have been white were green while her pupils where tinted a strange color that in the darkness, appearing a light yet deep shade of brown.
Or were they red? That's silly, Twilight, no pony has red eyes. Unless of course they happen to be vampire fruit bat ponies. Or batponies. Or something...else. Ears flatting against her head, she looked at the mare and started to rephrase her answer.
“I was just taking a stroll. I uh, had a lot on my mind you see and I just needed some air,”
“Ah, I see. Some air.” The mare looked up at the moon as its soft amber light illuminated her dark furred face.
“Tonight is the perfect kind of night to take a stroll but I do think that you should be on your way back home, Twilight Sparkle.”
“I was just about to turn around,” And that's when she looked around and realized that she didn't know where she was. She had never ventured this far from home before unaccompanied by her brother or her parents. That's when she also felt her stomach twist nervously as she realized that the mysterious mare had called her by name when she had not given it to her.
“H-how do you know my name? W-who are you?” That's when she saw the mare look down at her and gave her a closed lipped smile.
“Why, I know everypony, Twilight for I am the night. I know your biggest fears and your true desires.” Fear rose in her and she began to take small steps away from the cloaked mare just feeling some strange and unsettling vibe coming from her.
“Do not fear, I mean you no harm. All I want is what you want. The Princess of the Sun has mistaken your talents and dubbed them invaluable but I have seen you do great things and I want you to know that you deserve to placed in the grandest school to help with your unique gifts. You are special, Twilight Sparkle, and I can show you just how special you are if you come with me.”
Somehow hearing the mare's words made her feel better about not getting accepted into Princess Celestia's school. It didn't take the sting away entirely but it did lessen its potency just enough to where she felt her confidence in her talents return. Dropping her gaze as she thought about this, when she looked up, she felt her fear lessen a little bit to give way to curiosity as she noticed that the color of the mare's eyes had changed. They were now a friendly shade of light blue. Like twin oceans sparkling from the glittering light provided by the stars above. Then she spotted something metallic glinting from the exposed folds of her cloak and instantly found herself fixated with finding out what the object was. Following the filly's line of sight to the amulet around her neck, her smile widened as she now felt comfortable to open her mouth to show her teeth now that had returned to normal.
“Ah, this? This is an ancient artifact said to hold magical properties. Legend has it that it is able to grant a pony their greatest desire upon wishing it into existence.”
“Does it work?”
“Well, you are here aren't you? I wished to meet someone with enormous potential, skill, who was hardworking and committed to studying the ins and outs of the magical arts. I am in search of a new apprentice, you see.” Falling for the words just as the dark blue furred mare had hopped she would, Twilight Sparkle saw a new opportunity approach her; one she could not miss.
“I'll be your apprentice. T-that is if you want me to,” Smiling at the young filly, Princess Luna finally felt the world shift in her favor now that she had her in her hooves at last. Her sister would regret this day for all eternity.
“Well, would you look at that. I suppose this little trinket does in fact work after all.”