//------------------------------//
// 6 Back Where You Began 
// Story: Finding The Magic (Discontinued) 
// by Astral_Spectrum 
//------------------------------//

	Astral and Twilight exchanged a quick glance and turned to look behind them. Standing in the doorway of the secret room was a rather tall pony, at least twice as tall as Twilight who only came up to Astral's waist. Her coat was as white as a fresh snowfall and her mane seemed to drift on its own much like Luna's did, except this pony's mane was a striped series of blues, greens, and pinks. It reminded Astral of the various hues the sky takes on during sunrise and sunset. This mysterious white pony was also wearing regal golden jewelry and horseshoes, both adorn with purple gemstones.
“I am surprised you found this room. It has been sealed for over four-hundred years.” The white pony said as she entered the room. Her voice was soft like a teachers and almost seemed to emit an aura of calm. “Tell me, Twilight, who's office do you think this is?”
“It has to be Starswirl the Bearded's office! This is his wing of the library after all.” Twilight replied with authority.
“One would think, but Starswirl had not even come to be when this office was constructed. This office-” The white pony turned to look at Astral and the book she held, “and this journal, belong to me.”
Astral looked closely at the tall mare before her. Everything began to fall together now, “Wait a minute. You're Princess Celestia then?” Astral exclaimed.
“Indeed I am. I built this office centuries ago as a place for me to go when I needed time away from running the kingdom. Equestria was not always the peaceful land it is now, and my position often became very demanding. Here, I could study magic and other interests in peace, away from the outside world and my responsibilities.” Celestia let out a sigh. She appeared lost in thought of a time long since past.
Twilight spoke up, “That's why we're here! You see-” Twilight once again began to recount everything that had happened, explaining Astral's appearance here and why they needed Celestia's help.
“Hmm...”, Celestia muttered as she levitated the book from Astral's hands. “Well, I know the answers you need are not in this journal.” Celestia placed the tome on a shelf behind her and turned to Twilight, “Twilight, could you go let Luna know I have returned so she can go to bed? I'm certain she is exhausted from being awake for so long. I will handle things from here with your friend.”
“Certainly!”, Twilight replied to the princess with respect as she trotted off towards the door.

“So how can I regain my magical ability then, Princess?” Astral asked Celestia. She was out of options now and clearly Celestia knew something about what had happened.
“Not regain, relearn. Twilight was partially correct. Your magic cannot be removed or lost. You have had your magic this entire time.” Celestia replied as she began to charge her horn with magic.
“What do you mean? I knew how to use my magic like a master before I ended up here in Equestria.” Astral replied in confusion.
“Allow me to show you.” Celestia said as she released the magic held in her horn. 	The room began to glow a blinding yellow forcing Astral to cover her eyes. When she could see again, the pair stood in a starry void that seemed to have no end in any direction. All around them seemed to float windows in time of Astral's past. Every event of her travels in Azeroth played out before her eyes. It was like looking into countless mirrors that showed back every minute of her life.
“How?” Astral was speechless. She didn't understand how this could be possible.
“You see, from even the first moments of understanding the magic you possessed, you only sought more power. Each new challenge was a way to advance your abilities further, to push you limits. However, your world works differently than ours, and in turn so does the magic here as well.” Celestia motioned a crystal-bound book towards Astral. It was bound with a nearly transparent blue crystal material and bore a single eight-pointed white star on its cover. “You mastered the art of war magic back on your world. Here, your magic has a new nature for you to learn and understand. Focus your mind and draw upon it to take this tome, and with it, start the next chapter to add to your story...”
Astral gazed at the crystal tome hovering between them. Light flickered off its bindings as it bobbed up and down in midair. Astral reached out her hand and began to focus. A faint cyan aura began to form around her outstretched hand. She could feel the magic dance around her fingertips. She continued to reach out towards the book as if trying to physically touch it. The cyan aura around her hand became clearer and began to look as if small stars danced around within it. Focusing her will, the aura began to surround the tome.
“Impressive. Now pull it towards you.” Celestia said from a distance. She was impressed by how quickly Astral was able to focus herself once she knew the goal.
Astral fixated her eyes on the book. In her mind, she could see herself already holding the book. “I've done this before, I can do it again.”, Astral thought to herself. With a sudden flick of her wrist the book shot through the air and landed gently into her grasp. Astral released her magic with a sigh of relief.
“Well done.” Celestia congratulated softly as the realm filled itself with that same blinding light once more.

As Astral's eyes adjusted once more, she found herself standing with Celestia and Twilight in the Castle's Throne Room where they had met Luna earlier.
“Whoa! Where did you two come from?”, Twilight cried out in surprise. Her eyes fixated on the book Astral was holding. “Wow. What's that book?”
Astral concentrated and levitated the book over to the inquisitive Twilight. The second time had been easier than the first. Astral could feel the magic flow from her mind and outward to where she focused it. “Already starting to get the hang of this.” Astral commented as the book lightly tapped Twilight's stunned face. It gently floated about in the air as Astral loosely kept hold of it with her magic.
“How...” Twilight was nearly speechless. Only a few minutes ago downstairs, Astral was unable to use her magic, and now she suddenly could levitate a book about with relative ease.
Astral pulled the book back over to her and held it at her side. “I just had to relearn how to draw on my magic. It was never lost, just different than it was before.”, Astral responded as she looked over at Celestia with a small grin of appreciation.
“So what will you do now?” Celestia asked Astral. “You can use your magic once again.”
“Well, I still have to find a way home. Now that I can use magic again I'll have to practice and get better with it, and then find a way to get myself back. I'm just unsure as to how long that might take me.” Astral explained as she thumbed through the blank pages of her new book.
Twilight came back from her stunned silence almost instantly, “I've got an idea! Why don't you stay in Ponyville? There's already a room in the Tree for you to stay in for now, and I can even teach you what I know about magic and help you practice. You could even teach me more about your world and such too even! It'd be like a really long slumber party!” Twilight became very excited at the thought of having someone to practice magic with.
“I think that's a wonderful idea.” Princess Celestia announced.
With that, it was decided. Twilight and Astral gave their thanks and said their goodbyes to the Princess before departing the Castle for the Train Station. Able to use her magic once more, Astral now had a goal in mind: practice and master the new form her magic had taken on and find a way to get back home. With Twilight's offer of assistance and a place to stay, Astral was certain that before long, she'd figure out the way back...

“Sister?” Princess Luna called out as she removed herself from the shadows.
“Hmm? What is it, Luna?” Celestia asked her younger sister.
“That girl has little understanding for those around her. She knows only how best to serve her own ends. I fear she will struggle in this world without understanding friendship and care for others. Was it truly wise to let her go with Twilight Sparkle?” Luna asked with worry as she looked out the window and used her magic to bring the moon into the sky.
Celestia walked up behind her sister and used her own magic to lower the sun to make room for the moon in the night sky, “Do not worry about her Sister. If anyone can teach her about the Magic of Friendship, it will be Twilight and her friends...”