The summer flowers bloomed in the Royal Canterlot Gardens, bursting in an array of bold colors. Hedges and flower beds lined grassy walkways, masterfully groomed to look both lovingly crafted and completely natural all at once. Sweet scents wafted on the breeze, the heady mix of beauty and life. Insects buzzed from bulb to bulb, only occasionally silenced by the snapping beak of an attentive robin. And in a grassy opening amidst the perennials, two alicorn mares came upon two unicorn colts.
"Hey, Auntie Luna! Look! Isn't it cool?" Onyx bounced around his mentor's hooves, a broad smile dominating his face. "We made a pattern! I did the dark ones, and Noble did the white ones! I had to help him, though."
In the middle of a clearing sat a half-buried group of lustrous crystals. They alternated between stones of deepest black and brightest white in a small circle that was barely wide enough for a newborn to lie in.
Luna smiled at the bouncing colt. "It is indeed 'cool,' but I wonder how you found the time. You didn't skip out on your reading, did you?"
"Uh…" Onyx's face scrunched up. "No?"
Luna frowned for just a moment. "Auntie always knows when you're lying, dear. You shall complete your assignment before dinner." She looked back to the stone circle. "Alas, your work is still most impressive. Not many unicorns your age can manifest crystals with any accuracy." She chuckled. "Though the gardener may not appreciate having to restore this patch of grass."
"Uh-oh," whispered the other colt. The whiteness of his coat surpassed even newly fallen snow, and his mane and tail shone a dazzling silver with streaks with blue and pink. Though smaller in stature than his companion, his chest was broad and his face was handsome, all very becoming of a young prince. With wide eyes, he looked up at the pink alicorn. "He's not gonna be mad, is he, Mommy?"
Princess Cadence smiled warmly and shook her head. Her voice was as delicate and sweet as the flowers that surrounded her. "Remember, Noble Shield. What do we do when we make a mistake?" Cadence cast a narrow, sideways glance to Onyx, and for a moment, she ceased smiling.
Noble Shield nodded. "We make it better." He turned to Onyx, who was nuzzling Luna's foreleg. "We hafta dig them up, Onyx."
Onyx's head stopped moving, and he rolled his eyes. "Aw, really?" He looked up to Luna, who nodded her head. "Okay, but you gotta see the thing first." He bounded to one side of the circle of crystals. "C'mon, Noble!"
Noble Shield grinned up at his mother, then raced to the opposite side of the circle. He took a wide stance and lowered his head. "Ready. Just go slow, okay? It's harder for me."
"No. You gotta keep up." Onyx lowered his head as well. "Ready? Go!"
The tips of the colts' horns sparked to life, and after some grunting, two of the crystals in the circle began to glow: a red light flickered within a black crystal in front of Onyx, and a silver light twinkled in a white crystal near Noble.
Cadence's voice became more wooden. "That's very nice, colts, but it's time to clean up."
"We didn't do it yet," whined Onyx.
The colts grunted and strained, and the lights jumped from one crystal to the next. Then, with more effort, the lights jumped again. Then again, and again, and again, chasing each other around the circle in a clockwise pattern. Onyx and Noble stared intently at their work, smiles breaking onto their faces as their magic trick worked before their eyes.
"Faster!" Onyx shouted, smiling and pumping more energy into his horn, which glowed a stronger red.
"O-okay," replied Noble, teeth clenched and sweat collecting on his brow.
The lights danced around the circle, around and around and around, but to all who observered, it quickly became clear that the red light raced faster.
Onyx furrowed his eyebrows. "You gotta go faster!"
"I'm trying, Onyx!"
Cadence took half a step forward. "Alright, I think that's en–" The motion of a dark blue hoof stopped her in her tracks.
The lights each moved faster, but as time wore on, the gap between them closed. Inch by inch, the red light chased the silver like a predator after its prey.
Noble's legs shook. "Onyx, you have to stop!"
"No! I'm gonna go faster!"
Onyx poured more power into his horn, and the sparks collided.
A brilliant crimson light flared from the circle. Lightning arced between the crystals and the ponies, and a crack as loud as thunder split the air as a magical pulse of energy threw the two screaming colts backwards. The smell of singed fur tainted the sweet smell of the flowers. The air grew burning hot, then miserably cold as the two colts landed on their backs in the grass.
Cadence rushed to her son's side. "Noble!"
Onyx sat up quickly, tears in his eyes and feeling like a wedge had been driven through his skull. He swiftly shook his head and looked to his friend, but his view was obscured by the pink wing of Princess Cadence.
Cadence turned her head towards him, her mouth agape and her face twisted in a sneer that made Onyx's chest feel like it had collapsed. It was the same expression she always seemed to wear around him.