The Northern Crown

by CoronaBorealis

Chapter 8: A show of bravery

Celestia and Corona wait outside her mother's chambers with Celestia feeling a large sense of nervousness to meet her new younger sibling, wondering if she will have a little sister or brother. Starswirl looks down at his students and he smiles, "Do not worry little one, you will meet your sibling soon, the mares inside only need to make sure that the foal and Virgo are ready to see you. Maybe you and Corona can practice your magic while you wait."

"O-Ok mister Starswirl" Celestia says with a nervous voice as she stands up with Corona. Corona feels concerned for her and moves to give her a hug to try and cheer her up, "Just imagine how amazing it will feel to have a little brother or sister Celestia!...." Corona says softly to her, wanting to lift her spirits back to her contagious cheerfulness.

Celestia looks at Corona for a few brief moments and nods slowly, "Your right... how about we go outside to practice?" she pitches to him. Corona nods slowly and they both leave the room to go out to the castle garden where they always practiced. Corona looks at her and notices her nervous expression hasn't changed which makes him realize what it is really about.

"You're nervous about tomorrow aren't you..." he says to break the long silence, the sudden statement making Celestia perk up in surprise.

"So you figured it out... Guess I shouldn't be surprised with that brain of your's..." she states and takes a deep breath to let out a hefty sigh. "You're right... I'm not nervous about my little brother or sister's birth at all... in fact I don't think I could be more excited about it. But tomorrow.... I'm not just nervous about it I'm.... scared...." she admits as she stops and lowers her head and ears in sadness.

Corona stands in front of her and lowers his head to be on her level, "Tia... you are the best most talented magic wielder I know, I'm sure you're going to smash tomorrow's trial into a million pieces! besides... mister Starswirl is the wisest mage in all of Canterlot, he wouldn't have signed you up for it if he didn't believe you couldn't do it Tia..." he says as he lifts her chin up and gives her a happy and warm smile. Celestia look up at him in surprise with wide eyes and after a few moments her frown morphs into a big smile and she quickly wraps her hooves around his neck and squeezes him tightly, making him gasp as he falls down with her. She grins from ear to ear as she hugs him, pressing her cheek on his mane, "Thank you... I really needed that.

Her warm words brings a smile to Corona's face and he lifts his hoof to hug her as well, glad that his kind gesture was able to reach her and pull her out of the depression she was in, "Of course Tia... I'm your best friend, I'll always be there to cheer you up, as you did me. You're going to smash that test tomorrow no sweat ok?"

Celestia nods slowly and after a few long moments she gives him a quick kiss on his cheek which makes him blush in surprise, Celestia then lets go of him and stands up, "Right! Well if I'm going to do well tomorrow we need to practice! come on Corona!" she proclaims with a big grin as she runs off to the garden. Corona remains stunned for a few seconds but soon shakes his head to snap out of it when she runs off, he quickly gets on his hooves and chases after her, "Hey wait for me!"

*****

A golden glow forms around Celestia's horn as she lifts up a few really large and heavy stones and floats them above her, spinning them around in a circle slowly and she opens her eyes to see her work, Corona watches and feels amazed as ever, "And to think it's only taken you seven months to pull this off, you really are amazing Tia" Corona says with a smile.

"It's been a lot of fun learning to harness magic! and it helps a lot that I've had my best friend there to support me" she says as she looks back at him, grinning jovially.

"Haha and don't forget me!" a voice says which makes Celestia break her concentration and drop the stones, all of them putting dents in the ground and making a rather loud boom when they land. Corona looks around for the source of the voice and soon looks up to see a brown colt with a short but thick mane of black sitting on a tree branch, "Hi down there!"

"Topaz!" Corona exclaims as he sees his other best friend, "What are you doing here??"

"I came to see my friends of course!" he says as he opens his wings and glides down to them, having a little running landing before stopping in front of them, he flaps his wings and then folds them after giving them a confident and happy smile.

"Oh great, now I have to babysit another foal" Celestia says with a smirk on her face as she rolls her eyes. Her comment makes the other two laugh and Topaz looks at her with a devious grin, "Oh yeah?? Think cause you know a few magic tricks you think you're the best in the group??"

"Well... yeah! If I'm the best that means I'm in charge!" Celestia says as she meets his confident gaze with her own, feeling a sense of competition in the air.

"Oh yeah well I'm an ace flyer! the best in my class!" he proclaims with fortitude. "And I'll be an awesome royal guard like my daddy one day! And all of Equestria and the Crystal Empire will think I'm the greatest hero ever!"

Corona gives a grin and closes his eyes a little nervously, "Well... you have a bit of ways to go before then Topaz, you haven't become a squire yet" Corona states to bring a level of realism which makes Topaz's head fall, groaning as he says that. Topaz quickly lifts his head up to face Corona, "Come on Corona I'm trying to be cool here! And I'll be a squire really soon! And what about you!? Celestia's been smoking you with magic hasn't she!" he states with a pout on his face, annoyed with his friend for popping his ego like a balloon.

Corona lifts one of his back legs in surprise and backs up a step, "W-Well yeah... but I've learned a few new spells!..." he stumbles to say to try and defend himself.

Topaz moves his head back and he smiles happily, "Lets see them!" Celestia nods and looks at Corona with a grin, "Yeah! Show him what you've been practicing!"

Corona closes his eyes and smiles with a nervous bead of sweat going down his head, "It's nothing special... but I'll give it a shot." Corona takes a deep breath and lets it out as he starts to channel magic to his horn, white light begins to shine around him and he soon vanishes and appears about ten yards away from that spot, his mane and tail are singed and his eyes spinning as he falls to the ground, he hears tweeting birds, "Oooohhhhhh....... still haven't perfected.... that yet" he says with a very dizzy voice.

Celestia giggles at the state of her friend, "Good job Corona! I think that is farther than last time!"

Topaz grins from ear to ear as he moves his head down to Corona's to look him in the eyes, "Wow Corona that was really cool! Daddy says the teleportation spell is hard to learn but is very useful for getting out of sticky situations!"

"Yeeaaahhh..." he replies as he shakes his head to try and be rid of his dizziness, "But Celestia mastered that spell a month ago, I try my best but she's always ahead of me" he says with a soft chuckle.

Celestia turns her head and blushes shyly, "I wouldn't say that... You're really good at figuring out how spells work!..."

"Right... it seems I fit in well in the support role..." he says as he stands up slowly, brushing off his fur. Topaz looks at his friend with concern and moves a hoof around his shoulders, "Hey... there's nothing wrong with that right?"

Corona looks at him with his ears down and nods slowly, "Right..." he replies with a voice void of enthusiasm, "You seemed to be in a more energetic mood than normal."

Topaz looks confused for a brief moment but his eyes soon grow wide and he has a shocked look, "Oh my gosh I can't believe I forgot!" He soon grins with confidence and he throws off his cloak and turns so they can see his side, Corona and Celestia look at him curiously firstly noticing a wooden shield on his back, "Oh that's a cool wood shield Topaz!"

Topaz looks at them in confusion but then sinks when they don't notice, "Guys not the shield!" he says with a dumbfounded voice as he turns so they can see his flank, displaying the symbol of a shield there when it used to be blank.

Corona's eyes light up at the sight of it as does Celestia's, "Oh my gosh you got your's! That's amazing Topaz! How did you do it?" Corona asks in a louder tone.

"Yeah! Yeah! Tell us Topaz!" Celestia says in concurrence with Corona.

"It was incredible!" Topaz says as he remembers the recent event that showed him his destiny.

*****

"Alright what are the rules?" a young filly's voice says to a group of other young ponies as they gather in a circle in the woods outside of Canterlot, the overall brightness in the trees being lower than the outside of the woods. The smell of the oak trees and pine needles brings a pleasant outdoor smell to the young foals.

Topaz grins at his friend, "It's very simple Cirrus! One person is "it" and has to tag somepony else to start the next round, and the pony that is it has to count to ten so the rest of us can hide!"

The white and sky blue filly nods quickly, "Alright Topaz counts first!" she says as her and the rest of their friends run off to hide behind trees or in bushes. Topaz rolls his eyes and begins to count with his eyes closed against a tree.

Cirrus runs far away from where he is counting and she opens her wings to glide over a few rocks to hide further down the mountain and hides on a ledge and rock, she giggles with confidence, "he'll never find me!"

Topaz soon stops counting and he cackles mischeviously, "Ready or not here I come!" he says as he opens his wings and flies around the forest to try and find one of his friends. As he makes his way through the forest he notices that it is unusually quiet, "Well this is something else... didn't think everypony would take the game this seriously" he says to himself as he lands after a few minutes of searching. The wind blows through his mane and tail as his only company in the ominous silence, "U-Umm... Guys? If this is a joke it's not very funny..." he says as he looks around, feeling alarmed from the feeling of being alone, thinking he would have found one of his friends by now. The whispers of the wind in his ears make him think he is hearing one of his friends but soon comes to realize it is only the wind. He starts to walk through the forest and looks around at the trees and shrubbery, "M-Maybe this wasn't such a good idea..." His body starts to shake from his loss of nerve. The loud crack of a branch makes his ears shoot up and his pupils shrink as he looks around frantically for the source of the sound, he slowly backs up away from where he think's he heard the sound only to bump into someone which makes him yelp in surprise and jump away from it, only to see it's one of his friends.

"Don't scare me like that Vulcan!" he yells with a visible look of frustration in his eyes. His expression soon turns into that of concern when he sees an alarmed look on Vulcan's face.

Vulcan's pupils are small with fear, "Topaz a mountain lion is attacking Cirrus on the cliffside! we need to run now before it get's us too!"

Topaz's eyes widen in shock when he hears she is in danger, "Wait did she fly away?!"

"I don't know! all I could hear was her screaming for help!" he says as he continues to pant heavily from running so far.

"If she needs help we need to help her escape!" Topaz says as he runs through the forest to where the cliffs are without a second thought, using the beams of sunlight to tell him where the sun is and thus which direction is the right way, adrenaline pumps through his blood as sprints over fallen trees and rocks. The end of the treeline soon comes into his view and he skids on the ground as he stops by the cliff.

"CIRRUS!" he screams out and his voice echos echos down the mountain, he looks around frantically and he soon hears the scream of his friend from higher up on the mountain. His eyes shoot up to see an upper ledge where a mountain lion is prowling on her, baring it's teeth as it corners her, "CIRRUS FLY!"

"I can't it hurt my wing!" she says as her back hoof knocks a few edge rocks off and down the mountain, three deep claw marks are in her side and the blood stains her feathers.

Topaz flies up quickly and he hits the lion in the head which stuns it long enough for her to jump to a ledge behind her, Topaz quickly runs to her side and they run up the ledge to try and make it back to the forest, Topaz looks at her and moves a wing under her to help her keep her balance, "Come on we're almost there!" He turns his head to see the lion running at them as fast as it is able to, but the small ledge keeps it from going at it's full speed. They turn a corner to climb down the ledge but Topaz slips on a loose rock and falls down about 20 feet to the ground below, when he sees that Cirrus falls with him he grabs her and turns so his back is what hit's the ground and they land with a hard thud, small rocks fall and hit them as well, a cut goes across the side of his forehead, the blood flows down his eye and he cringes as he slowly sits up when she gets off of him.

When Cirrus sees him and his bad condition tears run down her cheeks, "I-I'm sorry... I shouldn't have...." the sound of low grumbling stops her words as she slowly looks in front of them to see the eyes of a predator staring them down. Her pupils shrink in fear as she slowly backs away while pulling Topaz with her, Topaz weakly lifts up his head and sees the lion as they are backed into the rocky wall. The lion growls in frustration and lunges at the two foals to devour them to satisfy it's hunger. Topaz perks his head up at the sight of it and he feels magic radiate through him as he picks up his wooden shield with his magic and puts it between them and the lion. The shield shines with Ivory runes and the shield suddenly strengthens as the lion collides with it, Topaz gasps in surprise as the magic runs through him stronger with his adrenaline and he grits his teeth with his eyes closed as he uses his instincts to slam the shield into the lion after it was blocked. The shield hits the lion and sends it flying back, rolling limp on the ground as the sudden force knocked it unconcious. Topaz's eyes are wide as he breaths heavily in confusion and shock at what just happened.

"T-Topaz what did you just do!... That was incredible!" she says as she admires the look of the shield which continues to shine with magic. After a few moments the magic from the shield slowly begins to fade away and appears again like his normal wooden shield.

"I-I don't know!... I just... thought about protecting us and... it happened!" he states with confusion as he turns his shield to look at it, "I... I need to ask father what I just did, I'm sure he will know..." He thinks about it for a moment but his deep thought is cut off by the grunts of pain from his friend and he shakes his head, "We need to get you help..." Cirrus nods slowly as he stands up, limping a little as the fall hurt him quite a bit but his shield took the brunt of the impact since it was on his back. Cirrus soon tries to stand up as well but whimpers in pain and collapses as her wounds bring a heavy dose of pain with them.

Topaz looks down at her with a look of concern and worry as she collapses, "I... Can't leave you by yourself... I'll carry you back to Canterlot..."

Cirrus looks up at him in surprise when he suggests that, "But y-your leg is hurt too!.... there's no way you'll be able to..."

Topaz puts his hoof on her mouth to keep her from finishing her sentence and he gives her a comforting smile, soon turning into a happy grin, "Are you kidding me? I've taken way worse than this! You should see what happens when I make Celestia mad!" he proclaims with confidence as he slips under his friend and lifts her up. Topaz immediately feels a sharp pain in his front hoof as he stands with her on his back, he puts the shield on her back and he begins to walk back to where the path to Canterlot is, carefully trotting past the lion so as to not wake it up which would mean death for both of them.

*****

Corona and Celestia stand speechless as he finishes his story and they have eyes wide with wonder when he finishes his story. Their jaws drop a little as well, "Y-You did all of that?..." Celestia says in amazement and a little disbelief.

"Yeah... I was shocked when she later pointed out to me that I got my cutie mark, it was right when a doctor took us to patch us up," he says in a calm voice as he looks down with a look of regret.

Corona sees this and his heart sinks a little, "Nothing happened to Cirrus... right?" he asks in a worried tone, fearing the worst had happened.

"Oh no she's fine!... she just needs some time to recover... I visited her today and she was resting..." he quickly says to reassure his friends.

They both sigh in relief and Celestia looks back at him, "Then... what's the problem?..."

Topaz takes a deep breath and breaths it out to try and calm himself, "Nothing I just... wish she didn't have to get hurt like that... it was my idea to play in the forest... It was foolish of me to think doing that without a grown up pony there to watch us..."

Corona steps towards his friend and puts a hoof on his shoulder, "Topaz... you mustn't think of it like this... you saved her life from a mountain lion!... I couldn't imagine doing something like that..."

Topaz chuckles softly and looks up at him, "You underestimate yourself Corona, you'd be surprise what you are capable of when you need to need to protect your friends...."

"Heh... maybe you're right... but this day you're the hero, I'll bet your father was super proud of you..." Corona says as he feels down inside, wishing he could say the same for his father but he does well in keeping his sadness from showing.

"Yeah... he was mad at first but mother made us a big dinner for us to celebrate me getting my cutie mark, so it actually was kind of nice!" he says with a more enlightened smile. He then turns his attentions towards Celestia, "You've got your big test tomorrow right? maybe tomorrow you'll discover your special gift!"

Celestia giggles and nods quickly, "Yeah that would be amazing! but I can't help but feel really nervous about it" she says while rubbing the back of her head.

"You'll do well Celestia I know it," Topaz states with confidence. Topaz soon looks up at the sky and notices the blue sky has turned into a beautiful amber color as the sun shines on the clouds and sky as it moves slowly under the horizon to rest itself and make way for the moon. "Well... it's time I go home" he says while putting on his cloak and waves at them with his bandaged hoof, "Good luck tomorrow Celestia!" With that Topaz opens his wings and flies off to leave them alone.

Celestia waves at him as he flies off and she smiles warmly, "He's such a happy bubble of energy... it's quite infectious" she states and looks at Corona to see if he agrees, only to see a look of depression in his eyes despite the smile on his face.

"Yeah... Topaz is an incredible colt... he's already found his gift and it's one of a hero, to protect like a shield," Corona states while he sees his friend disappear over the castle walls.

Celestia's smile starts to lower when she sees his lack of happiness. She tries to think of a way to lift his spirits, "How about we... practice some more before we leave for dinner?"

Corona looks at her and slowly nods, "Sure... we want to have you at your best for your big day right?..." he replies with a tone that sounds like he is trying to lift his spirits but is having trouble.

Celestia smiles and moves to hug him, "Thank you... I'm sure I'll do well with your help..."

Corona feels her hoof around his shoulders and it brings a visible smile to his face as he lifts his hoof to hug her back, "It's the least I could do for my best friend."

Author's Note:

Well chapter 8 is finally out! Hope everyone enjoys our good friend Topaz! I hope everyone is staying safe and healthy (And finding ways to alleviate the unbearable boredom ) Let me know what you think and maybe tell me what you'd maybe like to see in the future! I was thinking of maybe writing fun short stories of adventures with Corona, Celestia and their friends that don't have much to do with the main plot of the actual story, just some fun slice of life stories!

Anyways that was enough rambling, let me know if you like the idea or any ideas that would improve the story!" Stay safe everyone

Comments

[Idoubledareyou]

So yeah, I binge the whole thing in a day. Interesting setup.

'Origin' stories are always fun to read (that's how I call pre-canon fics) and give room to some headcanon and world build-up by the author and I just love that.
Plot-wise not much is going on, but as I said before the setup is genuinely interesting to me so I'll keep an eye open for the direction of the story. Plus those tags only make it better? Tragedy and death? I can already speculate.

As for what I like to see in the future... not much, really. I don't know how long is the story going to focus on Corona and Celestia as foals, hopefully not too long. Is not that I dislike it, it is just a preference of mine, I think the plot can advance more with them being a little more grown-up since their impact in the story would be bigger. If the slice of life stories you have in mind bring some character development and worldbuilding then add them, I'd gladly read them.

[CoronaBorealis]

10200785
Thank you for the feedback and the favorite! I'm glad to see that you have enjoyed it so far, I was thinking the same thing in regards to them being foals so things were sped up towards the later chapters with a slight jump ahead in time. I just need to have a strong foundation for the setup and I'm still trying to figure out how to setup a few things for the future of the story, but the ideas I have will make for a very interesting read I think, lots of world building! But to give you some insight as to the future chapters, I would say I will have about two chapters left with them as foals, three at the most, and then something will happen that will really set the plot into high gear! Thank's for the read man and I hope my future chapters don't disappoint!

Thanks for the favorite again!