Princess Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns

by enamis

Chapter 1 (Rewritten)

Author's Note:

So I did a little rewrite on the first chapter to make it a bit more engaging/ominous. Fixed up my language and added a bunch of details. Hope you like it!

A/N - Yes, Moonglow is Twilight's sister! No, it is not alt. universe, it will be cannon by the end of the story arc. She plays a very important roll in the entire story.

Chapter 1

…her raw abilities and power are unmatched. I must take her as my new private student, but that would mean Moonglow’s departure.

Though you must understand, she is old enough to know the truth and she must sacrifice her spot for her younger sister. I will personally explain it to her, but it would be comforting to know, that you’re there for her when she needs you the most.

~Kind regards, Princess Celestia

The letter seemed crumpled as a raspberry colored aura laid it on the table. The room was drenched in darkness, save for a single flickering candle. Two forms loomed over the parchment as they let the written words settle in their minds.

A silvery white unicorn mare with a white and purple striped mane sighed, nearly blowing out the small candle. She solemnly closed her eyes and slowly shook her head.

The midnight blue stallion by her side placed his hoof on the letter, making sure it wasn’t just a pigment of his imagination. The clock on the wall silently struck midnight.

A chilly gust of wind flew through the open window fluttering the curtains and making the two ponies shiver. Cold starlight mixed with the pale glow of the moon decided to help out the little candle.

“You know this would’ve happened eventually…” The stallion quietly spoke, his amber eyes lighting up in the dim shine. The mare stayed silent.

“Poor Moonglow…” After a long pause she uttered a whisper. A single tear escaped her eye and dripped onto the letter with a quiet plop. “She’s too young, Ivy… She’s only two years older than Twi’ for Cosmos’s sakes…!”

The blue stallion gently placed his hoof around the mare’s neck and pulled her to his chest. She was now quietly sobbing.

“She will understand, Honey.” He whispered as if not wanting to disturb the shadows around them. “She’s tougher than you think…”

The mare looked up at him with her teary blue eyes. He picked up a napkin with his amber magic and whipped his wife’s eyes before continuing with a small, yet encouraging smile. “She will understand. You did, so did your mother and her mother… we didn’t choose this but our bloodrights come with a price and we all know it… it’s her turn now…”

“It’s unfair… the Prophecy is just so unfair!” The quiet scream died in her throat as she burred her muzzle in her husband’s chest.

“I know…”

---------

“Yes. Yes! YES! All of my yes!” A small lavender filly with a neat sapphire blue mane bounced all over the sidewalk. The golden sun was shining brightly across the cloudless blue sky as pegasi raced to clear away anything that could obscure the great beyond of this wonderful autumn day.

A small crowd of unicorn ponies stood next to a golden sky chariot and an excited chatter filled the air around them.

“Calm down sweetie.” A silvery white mare giggled as the little filly stopped next to her to catch her breath.

“Yeah! Chill lil’ sis!” Another filly, this one graceful midnight blue with a long white mane popped up next to the two. Her flank flashed three magenta six-point-stars as she wasted no time to tackle the small one to the ground began to fiercely tickle her.

As the two squeaked and laughed as the oldest one was yanked away by a bright raspberry aura. She got plopped back on her hooves next to a white stallion with a bright, multi-hued, blue mane.

“Let her breathe, Moon.” The stallion smirked as he turned back to the lime pegasus, clad in golden armor, mounted to the sky chariot. “Girls, amiright?” The two laughed.

Meanwhile the lavender filly was once again on her hooves as the silvery mare fiddled with her hair. The three girls had the same manestyles, a simple bowl cut, except the younger two sported pink streaks lining the entire lenght.

A violet and amber gaze met as the two sisters grinned at each other. But the younger, lavender, one turned to the midnight blue stallion who had been staying to the side the entire time. She smiled as she saw the same amber eyes as her sister and bounced over to hug her father.

The blue stallion ruffled the filly’s mane as she hugged his leg with a smile. After a few moments, he nudged the filly onto his back and carried her over to the sky chariot, to which she gleefully jumped over. Her violet eyes were beaming.

“Stay safe.” He smiled.
“I’ll do my best, dad!” The lavender filly grinned as she took one last look at her family before heading out on her own. She looked at her mom who was still smiling that wonderful motherly smile, and then down at her older sister. The blue filly’s one ruby earring glimmered as it caught a glimpse of a single sunbeam casting a playful reflection on her cheek.

She’d be seeing her sister soon anyway.

“And you better take good care of her, ya hear?!” The filly looked at her brother playfully threatening the lime pegasus that would take her to her school. The two bucks were best friends from Stalliongrad’s Guard Academy, that much she knew.

“Well… I guess this is it.” Her dad spoke up with a smile. She took one final look at her family.
“Guess it is.” She squeaked, barely containing her excitement.

“Make me proud, Twilight.”

---------

The lavender filly trudged through the stone hallways of her new home. Her jaw was hanging so low it could have just fallen off.

The worn stone below her hooves was covered in a soft red carpet that was now occupied by dozens upon hundreds of tiny hooves. The filly had counted somewhere around seventy, maybe eighty, give or take, foals just as old as her.

She occasionally managed to peak her head above the masses, using the fact that she was a bit taller than the rest, to her advantage. She saw the same leafy green mare with two orange tails who had greeted them earlier, as she lead the group deeper into the school.

So the filly returned to being awestruck.

The ceiling was the highest ceiling she had seen in her entire life! Granted the day she took her Entrance Exam she had been in the auditorium of the Royal Palace and she thought something that was two Celestia’s tall was the highest it could get… Nope!

The thin windows let in an amazing amount of light, it was as if she was standing outside not in two-hoof thick stone walls. And the view was magnificent! She had seen the equestrian plains many times from the astronomy towers back at Central Canterlot, but never a view quite like this…

The lush green, rolling plans lay like a carpet underneath. Small towns littered the landscape and she could’ve sworn she even saw the ocean from here! It felt like she was flying over Equestria like a pegasus, how cool would that be?!

Paying more attention to the outside world than the empty hallways of her school, the filly was suddenly hit by a wall of warmth. An abnormous room stretched before her, the ceiling almost invisible from where she stood, lay covered in a thick layer of fluffy clouds. If it hadn’t been for the walls she could mistake this for the outside.

She continued walking with the pack of foals along the side of the massive room. Three large redwood tables stretched the entire way from the massive doorway to the other side, and all were covered with mares and bucks of different ages, each table wearing different colored cloaks - purple, yellow and green.

Momentum carried her forward and before the filly even realized, she ran right into the side of colt that was standing in front of her. Both managed to trip into a cluster of limbs until the colt managed to get up on his hooves. He looked back and extended his snowy white hoof to help the filly up.

As she shook off the little failure on her part, she noticed how the colt looked. He had a dark crimson mane, a stubby white horn and a blank flank. And eyes… the filly had never seen eyes like that before, sparkling and pure turquoise eyes looked back at her.

“You alright?” He asked with a concerned smile.
“I-I'm fine…” the filly mumbled. “Sorry…”

“It’s alright. Hi, I'm Starshine, nice to meet you, crazy-filly-that-runs-into-things.” The colt smiled and raised a hoof for a hoofshake. The lavender filly tilted her head a little bit before smiling and grabbing the colt’s hoof.

“Twilight, Twilight Sparkle.” She energetically shook his hoof that sent the colt into a few seconds of dizziness.

“No way!” Starshine grinned as he moved next to Twilight after a quick recovery. “My last name is Sparkle too!”
“Really?”
“Really! Starshine Sparkle!”

Twilight paused. “Are we cousins or something? I’ve never seen you before, but I have a big family so maybe-”

“Nah,” The colt shrugged it off. “I don’t have any cousins, both my parents were the only ones.” He cheerfully smiled, but after a few seconds that smile faded just a tad. “But we can still be friends, right?”

Twilight was taken aback by that question at first, so she froze up. She had never really needed friends, she was always studying and reading at school and she had an awesome sister at summer and an even better foalsitter the rest of the year! Her first friend… wow, whoever said making friends was hard was sure a dum-dum.

Twilight smiled.

“Sure!”

The young, snowy white colt smiled back at Twilight as they both turned to the far end of the large room. There stood a long table, with several seats in different heights resting on the top of a stone platform. Twilight figured that’s where the teachers sat.

Most of the seats were empty, the highest one, the one next to it and a few others. Twilight managed to catch glimpses of a faded red mare with a bleak black mane made into a bun on the back of her head and a pair of crest shaped glasses on the tip of her muzzle. She seemed to be arguing with a velvet black mare but she had her back to Twilight she the filly gave up looking for details. There was a large, white unicorn stallion with a cyan mane, sitting one tier lower than the two mares and blankly gazing forward with his cold-blue eyes. Twilight wondered if he’s personality was as cold as his appearance.

Next to him sat a timid, pink mare with a fiery orange mane and a small hat with a cross on it. Guess that was the school nurse. There was another, bright lime mare, on the other side of the tables along with a speck of light red but Twilight couldn’t see anything past that.

There were a few more but the lights of the massive room suddenly went dim as a gasp shot through the younger ponies.

From the clouds above, emerged a blinding white mare with enormous angelic wings. She gracefully fluttered down to highest seat at the teacher’s table as the last murmurs of the room died to a whisper.

It was as if she emitted light so bright it could cover all of Canterlot in a sheet of warmth and wonder. She gently smiled as her long, slick horn lit up in the most wondrous shade of gold and the lights returned to the atrium.

She closed her soft, feathery wings and spoke in the voice of every bird in the world joining into song, and every beautiful, most amazing sound happening at once, all together into her voice. And she spoke.

“My little ponies, I am most grateful for everypony that has joined us here today as we begin another exciting and wonderful year at this humble school. I ask all of you to take kindly to the younglings who will join your ranks and your lives this very day, and strive for the ones we have seen depart before summer took hold of us all.”

Twilight’s eyes glimmered as she looked up on this most amazing being in existence. The pure gracefulness and love and warmth radiating off the winged unicorn was overwhelming.

The pony she had admired for the better part of her young life… and she was going to be her private teacher… Squeeeeeee!

Twilight allowed herself a quick glance around. She wasn’t the only pony that gazed in amazement at this wonderful being. Even her newfound friend, Starshine, gazed at the alicorn who proudly stood there, emitting a calming warmth just by her presence. She continued.

“I welcome all of you back, just as much as I welcome our newest members to step forth and forever become a part of this school. Please, do not be afraid, this will be fun.” The alicorn smiled.

“But let me tell you this, my little ponies. The Stars have spoken, and the Void shuffles nervously. This year will be grand.” She spread open her massive wings. “And who knows what wonders it will hold…”

She took a step forward and stood on thin air like it was a floor. Her horn lit up once more with a golden light. Something somewhere sparked up with the touch of her magic, Twilight could feel it, the warm glow filling the magical leylines around her.

“I, Princess Celestia of Equestria, Shepherd of the Sun and Guardian of the Moon say - let the Ceremony… Begin!”

The princes flapped her wings once, sending a wave of air across the room. For a second her entire body lit up like the sun itself and when the foals were able to reopen their eyes a small stool and a ragged blue hat stood before the smiling princess.

As the princess took a few steps to the side, Twilight had a chance to scan the atrium for her sister. On the opposite side, there was a table that stood under a multitude of purple banners bearing a silver four point star.

It didn’t take long for the lavender filly to spot her sister’s midnight blue and white form. The older filly was sitting next to another, yellow filly with a frizzy orange mane, as the two whispered something to each other. Before Twilight turned away she saw an older, faded blue stallion with a white mane say something to her sister and the three laughed.

A strand of melody caught Twilight’s attention and she turned back to the alicorn princess and the weird blue hat. It looked horribly old and was covered in little bells and the pattern was a hoofful of stars and a pair of moons. It took about a second for Twilight to recognize the hat. It once belonged to none other than Starswirl the Bearded, one of the three founders. The filly squeaked in amazement. Such a relic!

And then… then, the unthinkable happened. The hat began pulsing with a brilliant glow of magenta and if Twilight could believe her ears, a melody began to play.

Her brother and sister had never mentioned something like this! And Shinning and already graduated from the school, too! Then again, most of the inner workings were kept secret, the school was even build like another, mini-Canterlot off to the side and isolated from the actual capital…

Twilight questioningly lifted her eyes, only to see the princess with a humored smirk across her muzzle, staring off into the masses of ponies before her. And then, out of nowhere, the hat began to sing…

I am the hat of Starswirl the Bearded,
Some will and some have always feared me,

It is me, who will choose your fate,
Just me alone,
It’s like a first grade date!

From around and inside of the magical item a large black twine shot out and across the massive room, followed by four others. The older students paid no mind to the craziness happening around them and continued to stare into the empty silverware on the table in front.

Meanwhile, all the foals around Twilight were quietly trembling, unsure what to expect next. And that moment, small balls of colorful magic shot across the thick, black lines that divided into five each. The little flames found their places and began to pulse, sending a wonderful lightshow across the whole atrium.

Twilight could now count the notes. She was never really into music but she recognized the few Cadence had taught her. The blinking lights were some amazing, the filly barely noticed the worlds that went with them.

You will be divided into three different towers,
Were you will spend most of your hours,

The stars of my tower will shine upon the brave,
But if your slick, you will see the mighty Naga’s wraith.

But if you’re too meek to be between champions,
The Puffle’s will make you into quite the darion!
Booksmarts is what will be rewarded there,
Nothing more, nothing less, just take care.

You will be picked out one by one,
Giver to a tower that will make you a neat bun,
There will be no re-picks,
There will be no excuses,
Because in the end there a~re no
Resets in lii~iiiiii~fe!

The melody suddenly stopped and that same second every colorful note exploded into a shower of sparks. The rooms stayed quiet for a few moments before exploding with cheers.

Twilight looked back at her new friend Starshine and the rest of the foals who were standing still, unsure what to do. Violet and turquoise eyes met as the two foals grinned at each other before joining the cheering by stomping their hooves in applause.

After a few minutes of cheers, Celestia raised her hoof into the air and everything fell quiet in a second. Twilight was eager to listen to what the princess had to say, but she felt a poke in her side and turned to see Starshine.

“You seem to know what’s going on…” He began to whisper. “So can you explain what that hat-guy was talking about? The towers, I mean…”

Twilight struck gold. The only thing better than learning new and amazing things was teaching them! This was an opportunity she couldn’t miss!

The filly cleared her throat and switched to bookworm-mode.

“Well, a long time ago, just after the era of Discordant, Princess Celestia and a pony named Luna came to power and made everything right in the world! So there were three very powerful unicorns at that time and they were so happy, they made a school in Celestia’s name and called the three Towers after themselves.
The Tower my older brother and sister are and were in, is called the Star tower named after Starswirl the Bearded and it’s a tower for super-strong and brave ponies! The next one is the yellow, or Puffle Tower, its where smart and enthusiastic ponies go, just like its founder Alexandra Puffle. And finally there’s the wicked Tower as I call it. Nagaraac, that’s what it is officially, founded by Naga Bezmos. My sister Moonglow says it’s where the wicked and mean ponies go, so you really don’t wanna end up there…”

Twilight smiled for a moment before her spirits dropped. She sighed as Starshine raised an eyebrow at her.

“I know which Tower I’m going to…” She looked at Starshine not exactly sure what to expect from the young colt. “My entire, humongous family has always been in the Star Tower… I doubt I’d even make a good Puffle…”

“Don’t worry then.” The snowy colt grinned back after a pause. “My dad’s a librarian so we’d probably be good additions to the Puffle flock.”

Twilight couldn’t help but laugh at that. She suddenly felt her spirits lift. She had a friend now, there wasn’t anything bad as long as they’d stay friends. Friends… weird word… it didn’t matter, because it mattered. Did siblings count as friends?

That thread of thought was interrupted as the leafy green mare marched through the flock of foals shoving fillies on one side and colts on the other, mumbling something along the lines of: “Now, now no pushing missy, you too yellow one, OH be careful, no-no-no you’re a filly, get on that side, HEY no magic allowed, your already breaking the rules and you’re not even sorted yet! OI! No hiding! I can see you over there! Get back in line!” and so on, and so on.

Twilight and Starshine could barely contain their laughter as they listened to the silliness the mare spouted. And then… then the two realized they were the first ones in both lines…

Oh horsefeathers…

“And now, we will begin.” Celestia spoke after all the foals were sorted. “Young filly,” Celestia looked straight at Twilight, “Step forth and be the first to be gifted to a Tower.”

And about a billion eyes began glaring at Twilight. And it was somewhat overwhelming… The lavender filly gulped as she took a few steps forward, hoofs trembling as she looked back at Celestia. And then she winked. The princess winked… the princess winked… at Twilight!

The filly felt a bit flustered and nearly tripped over her own tiny little hooves, but it looked like the Stars were looking out for her and she managed to regain her balance in the nick of time.

That gesture. That single gesture filled Twilight with so much confidence she was ready to burst. And with that, she stopped just before the stool and Starswirl’s hat.

Twilight paused, not quite sure what to do, until she felt a hood pushing her forward by her rump. The filly looked back to see the faded cherry red mare with her bleak black mane and crest glassed that hid unsettling, cold gray eyes, pushing her in the direction of the magical artifact.

Twilight wasn’t exactly sure where the weathered mare had come from, but at this point she didn’t really care. Only now the filly noticed the deadly silence that echoed throughout the entire atrium. With another gulp she stepped forward and somehow managed to scurry up the stool, Starswirl’s hat hovering above her.

After a few tries, Twilight managed to balance herself on top of the tiny stool, her face turned to the seemingly endless room before her, with hundreds of eyes staring down at her.

The red mare beside the filly coughed, sending an echo through the silence. “State your name, kid.” She spoke in an almost bored tone.

“T-Twilight Sparkle…” The filly shakily spoke as the hat gently positioned itself on her head, all on its own. And then black.

Twilight was thrown into a void of nothingness, her feeble scream never leaving her lips as she hurled downwards into the black surrounding her.

As she fell and fell, it was like all the air was getting sucked out of her lungs, but at the same time she breathed freely. It was like drowning, except there was nothing to drown in.

As she fell and fell, she suddenly slammed into the same black below her. Where pain should’ve exploded, it felt more like she was thrown into a tub of jelly.

Seconds later, Twilight rose up from a depression her small body had left in the blackness around her. Her head pulsed, but it wasn’t from the fall, it was from the absurd amount of magic around her. It was like she was swimming in pure mana, guess that explained the drowning feeling…

The filly got up on her hooves and stared across the endless abyss around her. It was almost moving… shifting, every single second. It never stayed the same.

And then Twilight felt… something from behind her. She didn’t know why or what or how she knew that, but she still tossed her whole body around to meet the shimmering form of grayish blue unicorn with a long and blinding white beard.

And the blue, bell ridden hat and cloak Twilight could recognize if she was blind.

“Oh! Didn’t expect to see you here so soon!” The wrinkly stallion spoke in a surprisingly young voice, his lips curing into a smile behind his white beard.

Twilight stood still, baffled by what was before her very own violet eyes that were twinkling in pure amazement. Her spectral jaw was hanging as low as ever.

“Oh, another fan I see, I get those a lot… read any of my books?” The old magician smirked as Twilight tried to get herself together.

“Y-y-you’re… y-y-y-” the filly stammered her moth spazing out as she tried to form words.

“Yes, yes, the all Great and Powerful Starswirl the Bearded, at your service young m’laidy.” He did a silly little bow, the shimmering, magical shadows of his bells jingling as he moved.

“But we should probably get down to business then,” He smiled at still baffled Twilight that had now fallen down to her haunches. “To be honest I wasn’t expecting you for another five or thirteen years at the least, how did that happen?”

No response.

“ … Well then, never mind, how about we put you into a Tower while were here and Tia hasn’t barged in yet? She’s one heck of a distraction, I tell ya’…”

“Y-y-y-” Twilight stammered, finally snapping out of her foallike wonder. “You live in your hat?!” She spat out with a raised eyebrow.

“Well, where else should I go then?” Starswirl smirked. “I like it here, I get to talk to all of you, I get to spend time in my school. Heck! I even get an entire universe to build if I want to!” His horn suddenly sparked with a bright lavender light and the never-ending void around the two shifted and turned to a sky full of stars.

And then Twilight found herself floating…

The filly squeaked, overtaken and frozen by a sudden vertigo as she began to float in the endless, starry sky. Starswirl however, began twirling as he launched himself across the abyss, already used to being weightless in a void of no gravity.

“What? Scared of heights?” The old stallion joked as he floated behind Twilight, warping his spectral hooves around the unmoving filly and dragging her down to a solid, crystal platform that had appeared below them.

As her hooves touched down in the glossy surface, Twilight finally exhaled.

“Now then. Back to business?” The old magician smiled. Twilight managed a small nod as she crept to the side of the pinkish platform and gaze into the starry-sky below.

“Pretty, isn’t it?” The stallion walked next to her and looked over the edge of the platform. His horn sparked once more as the stars below began to burn brighter and brighter until the two had to avert their eyes.

The little filly regained her sight she found herself standing on a cottony cloud. She looked forward only for her jaw to drop once more. The soft purples of twilight fell over the mountain as she saw light burst into existence all over the School and Canterlot itself.

The puffy cloud bolted forward as the school drew closer and closer. Twilight marveled at the golden spires and the gray towers crafted on the side of the mountain as she found herself staring through a tall window. As she gazed inside she saw the most bizarre thing she’d ever seen.

She saw herself… head completely obscured by the big blue hat. She saw the red mare glance at her frozen body as Celestia carefully stepped next to her, her horn lit with a small golden glow.

The school twitched like static, Twilight jumped and turned only to see Starswirl winching and pressing his hoof against his head.

“Alright, alright no need for that…” The old buck muttered just as the glow from Celestia’s horn faded. The magician suddenly turning to Twilight, his carefree tone gone. “Just give me a quick answer little Sparkle, which tower?”

The filly sighed, her body slumping forward.

“Just put me with the Puffle’s and be done with it…”
“It doesn’t seem you’d like it very much.”

She stayed silent.

“I know my place, I know where I have to belong even if it means letting my family’s old tradition down.”
“And what do you want?”

“… I wanna be with Moonglow.” The filly looked up and saw those familiar magenta eyes. The magician smiled. “But I'm not brave enough.” Twilight quickly added and the stallion’s smile faded.

“And what would you say if I’d ask you to explain bravery?”
“… I… I don’t know… I-I just know that it’s not me… I have fears…lots of em’…”

Twilight turned away, Canterlot fading into that familiar, vivid blackness. She didn’t look when she heard those soft hoofsteps echo before her as Starswirl stood before her.

“I'm going to tell you a little bit about bravery, little Sparkle. So listen up and remember this, bravery isn’t a lack of fear. Bravery is when a pony knows that something is worth so much, that she must push past her fears.” He placed a hoof under Twilight’s chin and lifted her head up so their eyes met.

“Bravery is the small things. Looking over the edge of the city, petting a fire salamander… applauding to my song even if the other foals didn’t.” Twilight couldn’t help but laugh at that. “It’s the little things that matter.”

The spectral form of Starswirl flickered as he began to fade, the darkness retreating into a golden glow. “It’s the little things that matter and I see big things coming your way…”

“Welcome to the Star Tower little Sparkle…”

Twilight’s eyes snapped open as she gasped, the air rushing into her lungs with such force it made her dizzy. As the blur faded she saw the slightly worried face of Equestria’s princess.

As the filly breathed, her silent gasps echoing against the silent atrium. Her scared eyes turned to the faded-red mare beside her, then to the princess. Just before she opened her mouth to say something, anything, she felt a small tingle of magic run through her horn.

As the filly looked up, she saw but a small lip of Starswirl’s hat change color and turn from blue to purple.

Within a heartbeat the silence broke. Figures from the purple-bannered table rose to their hooves and began to cheer, their thunderous stomping rocking the walls of the old structure.

Twilight couldn’t help but grin, her smile going wider than ever before as she looked around. Starshine was bouncing in place and Celestia was softly smiling. The red mare beside Twilight was somewhere between bored and annoyed. What gives?

“Are you alright my little Twilight?” Celestia leaned closer and whispered, not wanting to interrupt the other ponies as they kept cheering. The filly energetically nodded, almost shaking the hat off her head.

“Well good, Starswirl has a little nick for playing around with younglings that he deems intriguing, but he has a good heart, remember that.” The princess giggled as she straightened up. “Now how about we let the other younglings get sorted, hmm?”

At first Twilight was a little lost, but she quickly realized she was still wearing the hat that had returned to that familiar blue tone. It took a second and an odd little impulse and within seconds the filly had popped the hat off her head and placed it atop the red mare. The filly quickly jumped off the stool and ran past Celestia to the table under the purple banners.

She was warmly greeted by almost every other student in the approximate area. She had her mane tousled, horn poked, cheek pinched, back and shoulder slapped, hoof shaken and squeezed and pulled into an extreme amount of hugs possible in one day.

She eventually managed to limp to an open area on the never-ending wooden bench and turned her violet gaze to the front of the room just in time to see Starswirl’s hat atop Starshine turn purple.

The colt gasped much like Twilight as he opened his bright turquoise eyes. The Star Tower began cheering once more as Celestia levitated him off the stood.

After the foal got pulled through the greeting process, he finally ended up next to Twilight. His crimson mane was an even bigger mess than it was before, his eyes were rolling in whichever direction as he lightly swayed around.

Twilight smiled as she reached over and shook her newest friend making him snap back to reality. As he took a few moments to adjust Twilight already began to question him.

“So? How was it? Did you see anything cool?” The filly grinned as she leaned a bit closer. At first, Starshine gave her an unsure glace before clearing his throat and continuing in his usual, cheery voice.

“It was like this… light-blue haze with stars in it and stuff, and I stood there for a little while and then suddenly I was back here. Weird, huh?” He smiled as Twilight tried not to cringe, keeping up a fake smile that had appeared all of a sudden.

“Yeah… cool… so, no ponies there?” She tried to casually inquire but failed.

“Nope, that’d be kinda’ weird though…” He seemed oblivious to Twilight’s tone as he began looking around, his gaze racing over an azure blue filly with a snowy white mane that was put into Nagaraac, Starswirl’s hat glowing green atop her head.

Twilight stayed silent after that as she watched more and more foals getting sorted into their towers, her own mind milling about her encounter with the magical shadow of Starswirl. Was that even possible? She’d never heard about anything like that… Then again, the archmage could rival Celestia herself, so who knew what else he could do.

Twilight’s gaze traveled across the front of the atrium once more as her eye got caught on a pony getting seated atop the stool. The unicorn filly was a soft aquamarine with a faded cyan mane that was intercepted with a streak of white. Her eyes burned almost as bright and beautiful as Moonglow’s amber eyes.

Twilight had to pause, something in her mind sparking up, yet, she had no idea what. As she sat there she didn’t notice the same aquamarine filly shove her into Starshine and sit in her place.

“Hey, watch it!” The colt protested. Turquoise met yellow in the life or death stare-off. Twilight finally snapped back to reality as she looked at the two glaring at each other.

The filly suddenly closed her yellow eyes and faced the table. “Sorry, everywhere else is filled.”

And after that she ignored everything as she sat in a horribly awkward pose - her tail under her flanks as her back hooves hung limply under the table, her forehooves supporting her leaned-back body. Her eyes were still closed and face bearing a solemn expression.

Twilight and Starshine exchanged a gaze and agreed to wait it out.

---------

Just as the food appeared, it had vanished from the tables. Twilight let out a satisfied sigh and rested her chin on the table. That had been the best feast she had ever eaten, and she didn’t even know what half of the stuff was, but it tasted amazing! Starshine was quietly laying next to her, little snores escaping the foal as he napped on his plate. The odd filly sitting next to Twilight was just numbly staring at the stone wall in front of her.

Twilight heard a few of the Puffle’s chit-chat just behind them and a roar of laughter on the other side of the room where the Naga’s sat. She sighed again trying to force back exhaustion from being way-too-well-fed. Starshine shot upwards with a snort just as Celestia began to speak from her place at the teacher’s table.

“I hope you all have had a wonderful feast tonight, but now you must return to your Towers and settle down in your new homes for the next seven years of study. That is, if you last that long.” Celestia winked as a wave a giggled shot through the three tables.

“Your Tower Guardians will meet you in the common room and your Tower’s Watchers will take the new students there. Tomorrow your studies will begin. Good luck, my little ponies.” And in a flash of light she was gone. Teleportation. Amaaaaazing!

Twilight just gazed at the spot where the Princess had vanished soaking in her overwhelming awesomeness.

---------

As the tables slowly began to clear all the younglings just sat there not exactly sure what to do. Twilight was lazily staring at the same spot as the aquamarine filly. A large purple banner hung between the massive windows that portrayed the twilight sky outside.

A big, silvery, four-point star and two smaller ones under it were masterfully sewn into the violet fabric. As the filly pondered what did that mean she felt her shoulders being grabbed and her body pulled backwards. She managed to scream as she noticed the pair of midnight-blue hooves and amber eyes behind her.

“Moonglow! Sweet Celestia you scared my dinner out of me!” Twilight shouted as she recognized her older sister standing behind her. “What the hay are you doing here anyway? Where are our Watcher thingies?”

“Grabbing your shoulders, kiddo.” Moonglow giggled as she pulled Twilight into a hug that nearly choked her.

“You’re a Watcher? B-b-but Shining said you can’t be one unless your year four or higher! He said he was one himself too!” Twilight protested as she pushed her older sister off of her, the other younglings gathering around them.

“I have my ways.” Moonglow smirked. “But that’s not important right now, Mrs. Mandagor’e’s gonna’ have my head if we’re late!” She looked over her shoulder to a pair of ponies, Twilight recognized both, they were the two Moonglow had been sitting with.

A slightly buff, sky-blue stallion with a long, white mane and muddy-brown eyes stood next to a younger, yellow mare with a frizzy orange mane and bright alabaster eyes. They both were wearing purple robes, just like Moonglow and the other students Twilight had seen.

The youngling’s sister and the older buck each wore a necklace portraying the same silver star as seen on the Tower’s banners. Twilight remembered finding one of those in her brother’s drawer when she was snooping around for something interesting that one time.

“Anyway, this is Sky. He and I are the Watcher’s for this Tower, he’s starting his fifth year so don’t mess with his, l’right?” Moonglow giggled as the young stallion puffed out his chest even more. The white-mane’d filly turned her outstretched hoof to the yellow filly standing between the younglings.

“And that’s Aurora, she’s my eyes and ears in the school and the best friend I’ve ever had so you keep your hooves off her.” Moonglow playfully threatened the group. “But anyway, line up kiddos’, let’s get a move on.”

She, much like the two-tailed mare at the beginning of the day, began to shove the foals into two mixed lines. Twilight grabbed Starshine and hopped to the front of the line. She warmly smiled at the two elders before her and watched them exchange a look. Moonglow had probably told them about her little sister.

After all the shoving and the hustle and bustle, the foals stood in pairs in one long line. Moonglow and Sky nodded at each other and the filly, with Aurora by her side, began leading the line into the corridors, Sky making sure nopony got left behind.

Twilight felt happy. Her tummy was full, she had an awesome new friend by her side and she wasn't scared anymore. Her sister was a Watcher and Celestia of Equestria was her mentor. This couldn’t get any better!

And then they walked by the school’s library…