All of the Above

by Wolftamer54

Chapter 1: Friends

Equestria. The realm of the ponies. Earth, pegasus, and unicorn alike. For some it is essentially the whole world, and for others it is just the beginning. Magic and mythology are science and history. And so it is that in an ancient city of dazzling white, built on ley lines and home to beings capable of moving the sun, there is also a pair of unicorns eating fast food and perusing comic books.

One a stallion, just on the cusp of puberty, with a shaggy blue mane that falls across his eyes, and a lanky frame covered in a gleaming white coat that shines in the sunlight. The other several years junior, still just a filly, with a purple coat and darker purple mane that has an edge as straight as a ruler. Together they laze about on a grassy hillside tucked away amid the towering buildings of the city. Each is snout-deep in a brightly colored comic book, their eyes glued to the panels detailing the adventures of Power Ponies and Daring Do. Despite the fries being levitated into their mouths, not a single crumb falls onto the comics’ pages. Every copy is immaculately clean, with not a single edge bent or page creased.

Soon enough, both reach the end of their respective comic, and gently set them down into a neatly stacked pile between them. With nothing left to distract them, they turn their attention to each other.

“So that was fun. What did you wanna do now Twily?” the stallion asked, giving the younger unicorn a playful grin. “I think we already cleared out the comic store enough for today.”

Twilight quickly leapt to her hooves and bounced over to her brother, staring up at him with big, sparkling, pleading eyes. “Ooh! Oooh! Can we go to the library? Please Shiny!”

With his sister so close, Shining saw an opportunity for some fun. He reached out and grabbed her with his hooves, rolling onto his back so she was on top of him. She squealed in surprise and delight, before giggling madly.

“Before we go, let’s have some fun! I’ll make you fly like Princess Celestia!” Shining said. He tensed up, drawing his hooves back with Twilight balanced on top. When he was ready, he pushed up with all his might, at the same time as she leapt off from above. The combined force sent Twilight flying into the air.

For a few seconds, a few glorious seconds, Twilight floated in a graceful arc across the sky. She closed her eyes, feeling the sun soaking into her fur, and the wind rustling by. And yet, gravity still won. As fast as she was up, she was down, crashing and rolling through the thankfully soft grass and soil of the hillside. She tumbled end over end, unable to tell which way was up.

Shining, seeing how his plan had backfired, quickly ran down the hill after her. He was still a few feet away when Twilight crashed through a wall of brush and hedge. Slowing down as best he could, Shining climbed through the hole in the leaves, looking around for his sister.

Twilight was on the ground in a jumbled heap, twigs and leaves clinging to her fur, grass stains all over, and covered in dirt. The force of going through the plants had broken her momentum, but left her a mess.

“Oh Celestia! I’m so so so sorry Twilight, are you okay? Hurt anywhere?” he fussed as he circled around her, looking for any injuries.

Twilight lifted herself off the ground, shaking rigorously in an attempt to rid herself of the muck. Then, much to Shining’s surprise, her face broke into a wide grin.

“I’m okay Shiny, that was so much fun!” she said with a giggle, throwing her legs open wide to emphasize her point.

“Oh thank Celestia,” Shining gasped, breathing a sigh of relief. He drew her into a hug, holding her close despite the dirt and debris now getting on his coat as well. As she returned the gesture, he continued to look her over for any scrapes, seeking to reassure himself of her safety. Once he was satisfied that she really was okay, he finally took stock of their surroundings.

Twilight had crashed right through a hedge into a little nook of sorts. The trees and bushes grew so close together that they had formed a natural wall, blocking off this small bit of the park from the outside. Only dribbles of sunlight managed to filter in through the tightly woven branches and leaves, giving the ground a dappled pattern between light and dark.

By now, Twilight too had started to look around, and immediately took a liking to the space.

“Ooh, it’s nice here!” she said excitedly, quickly darting around and exploring. She stuck her face into the hollow of a tree, and proceeded to test the acoustics. “E-cho!”

Echo… echo… echo… the tree sounded in response, earning a giggle that reverebated in kind.

Shining grinned at his little sister’s antics, and went over to pull her from the tree. Hooves on her shoulders, he managed to coax her back out, though she still wore a grin. Together, they set about exploring the rest of the grove. While not very expansive, there were still plenty of places to hide among the dense growth. Numerous burrow entrances could be seen dotting the ground, though their inhabitants were likely hiding inside. A number of bird nests could also be seen perched in the trees above their heads, many filled with peeping little chicks.

The two ponies watched as a parent bird returned to one of the nests, answering the screeches for food with a dead worm.

“Heh, they’re just like you when you were younger. Couldn’t stop crying and only thought about food.” Shining joked, earning an offended scoff and playful nudge from his younger sibling.

“Well I heard from mom and dad that you liked to test your magic by flinging peas across the kitchen,” she retorted with a smug grin, eager to inflict similar playful embarrassment. It worked, and Shining gave a conceding and slightly sheepish smile. Rather than issue a return jest, however, he returned his attention to the environment. Twilight did likewise, and they walked around in silence for a few minutes.

Shining had completed a full circuit of the grove and returned to the hole they had entered through when he heard Twilight call out.

“Hey, look at this!” she said, excitement plain in her voice. Shining looked over to where she was bent down, closely examining something. He quickly joined her, and at first saw nothing but a rock with some scratches on it.

“Maybe it’s the remains of an ancient civilization lost to time!” Twilight proclaimed in a grandiose manner.

Shining chuckled, but sought to correct her. “Nah, probably just a stone. Like every other one in existence.”

“Nay! This is a finding to be recorded in the annals of history! Ponies will forever remember this day as when Professor Twilight Sparkle made her first discovery, aided by her faithful assistant Shining Armor!” she continued to fantasize.

Shaking his head, Shining regarded the stone a second time, and was surprised. Upon closer inspection, it actually did appear to be more than just a rock. What he had seen as just scratches were inscriptions, forming pictures and words.

Moving aside a leaf obscuring the rest of the rock, they found that it was more of a slab, long and flat. And upon its surface were depicted several symbols that seemed very familiar. Six orbs, each adorned with their own unique marking, arrayed around the sun.

“The Elements of Harmony,” Shining breathed, amazed that such an artifact would be so randomly found.

“Exactly! The most powerful magic in Equestria, used by the great and powerful Princess Celestia to banish Nightmare Moon away!” Twilight explained needlessly. As she gazed at the slab, her features suddenly lit up. “Oh! I’ve just thought of a new game to play! We can’t do it here though, we’ve gotta go home!” she exclaimed.

“What happened to going to the library?” Shining asked, cocking his head to the side with a puzzled look.

“We spent all morning reading. But this is something we can do together! I love books, but I love you more Big Brother Best Friend Forever.” Twilight answered earnestly. Her response caused Shining to smile warmly and he gave a short salute.

“Then home it is.”

---

A short time later, the pair arrived back home. They trotted inside and up the stairs to Twilight’s bedroom. Twilight continued to chat away about all of the things that they would need to gather.

“I think I have some construction paper and markers in my closet, and we can probably use some old boxes for cardboard.” She paused in her list as they arrived at her bedroom door, opening it and stepping inside. Although relatively small, it was jam packed. Bookshelves lined the walls, a desk was littered with papers and ink stains, crumpled papers in a bin nearby, and a purple bed stood in the middle.

However, the siblings ignored all the mess and instead focused their attention on a small closet, recessed between two bookshelves. Opening the door, they found a clutter similar to the one afflicting the room. More books, clothes, toys, and miscellaneous items had taken up residence in the small space.

Still, there were items inside that they sought. So, with a grimace, Shining and Twilight plunged into the mess. Levitating item after item out, they eventually found what they were seeking. In the very back of the closet, a small collection of construction paper, markers, pencils, tape, and other such arts and crafts supplies. Collecting all that they could, they turned to leave, only to find that their spelunking had left no space in the room to work.

---

A short while later (though it felt much longer), and the non-essential items had been returned to the closet. Shining and Twilight quickly set to work, cutting, taping, and coloring. Their creations started to take form as curves became feathers, yellow became the sun, and white the moon. Soon, they had finished their work, and strapped the faux wings and cutie marks to themselves. Twilight adorned like Celestia, and Shining as Luna.

“You know,” Twilight giggled, “This is completely inaccurate. Celestia is the older sibling, not Luna.”

“Oh hush you. We’re just having fun. No need to ruin it with facts.” Shining retorted, booping his sister on the nose and causing her to scrunch up her face. “I bet Celestia will love to see a bright young filly dressed up in her honor for Nightmare Night.”

“True.” Twilight acquiesced. “And I suppose dressing like Luna may dredge up some painful memories.”

“Alright then. With that out of the way, let the battle commence!” Shining proclaimed in a grandiose voice.

“Avast sister! I shall not let you plunge the world into night!” Twilight cried, leaping up onto her bed.

“You can’t stop me! No pony will stand in my way!” Shining replied, shaking his hoof in mock anger.

“Then you leave me no choice. I shall use the Elements of Harmony!” Twilight exclaimed, simultaneously levitating cardboard replicas of the Elements and tossing them at Shining. The stallion jumped, dove, and twisted to avoid them. However, as he executed a pirouette in midair, he lost his balance and fell flat on his face. With an easy target, Twilight nailed her last shot perfectly, and the element of magic bounced off her brother’s face.

“Now I banish you to the moon for a thousand years! Let the sun shine on Equestria once more!” Twilight recited, rejoicing in her victory. Shining gave a mock gasp and death gurgle, sticking his tongue out with a bleargh. At this, Twilight leapt down from the bed and scampered over to Shining. She placed her hooves on either side of his face and leaned in close.

“You can stop now Shiny. I won. The game’s over, get up.” When he didn’t move, she pouted and started to poke at him with her hooves. “Come on. You’re not actually banished to the moon.” So preoccupied with trying to rouse her brother, Twilight was caught off guard when he reached out and grabbed her with lightning speed. Snatching her up, he ignored her cries of protest and blew a loud raspberry on her soft stomach, resulting in a ridiculous noise and riotous giggles.

“S-s-shiny! Stop! That t-tickles! Mercy! Mercy!” Twilight gasped, thrashing around to try and escape the tickle torture. Fortunately for her, the assault was over as quickly as it had begun. The siblings sat there, Twilight cradled in Shining’s forelegs, both panting from the sudden exertion. As their breathing slowed to a more reasonable rate, Twilight turned to face Shining, looking up at him with serious purple eyes.

“You know I’d never actually banish you to the moon. I couldn’t live without you,” she promised him, burying her head into his chest floof. Shining returned her affection by patting her gently on the head, and nuzzling the back of her neck. They sat like this for a while, basking in the warm glow of each other’s affection. Eventually, Twilight drew her head back, and before Shining could react, or point out how odd it was, she planted a quick kiss directly on his lips.

“I love you B.B.B.F.F. And I always will, no matter what.”