> For My Beloved: Sunshine.
>  by ZaDrEx
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Chapter I: Self Control.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

There was something in the distance, calling me.

I didn't want to wake up. I wanted to sleep, my eyes didn't want to open anymore.

However, the calling didn't stop. It pulsed through me, like some sort of force, pushing onto my very existence.

My mind was fighting, it would kill me soon.

I was forced to act.

Having no other options I decided to open my eyes. And that's where it all hit me.

The first thing that came was the scream. Then flashes of light, different colors passing, and some sort of fluid blurred my vision. I was feeling like a dead man. I couldn't feel my toes, nor could bend any of my joints. I felt weak and fragile. Something in my mind went blank for a second, and then I was back again.

The scream that alerted me, died out. Then, out of nowhere, some sort of cloth thing enveloped my whole body. It was a weird, unnatural sensation. My body brushed against it, I could feel all my muscles. But there was something horrible going on. My body felt wrong, then I felt something inside me start to work properly, my heart perhaps? I could feel my limbs, but after I started to bend them I definitely knew something was wrong. My body wasn't human anymore. It was... Something alien, something mushed together. I started to grasp everything around me instinctively, to hold onto something other than the cloth. 

For a second I thought that my hands and toes were simply numb, but it wasn't the case. They were gone. Replaced with a solid frame of skin. I felt sick, It felt wrong on every level possible. 

I asked myself for the first time. 

'What was going on?'

Then I heard something. My head spun out to the source of the noise, but my eyes were still blurry. I could only listen. Focusing on it I started to hear more clearly. What I heard confused and frightened me.

"Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Moonlight, it's a filly. Now, I know you are excited, but please, wait a moment. We will do some simple tests and give your daughter back to you in just a moment." I thought I didn't hear it clearly. 

'What does a filly, moonlight, and a daughter of someone have in common, and what is currently happening so close nearby?' I asked myself. Confusion was rising with every second. Suddenly, I felt something lift me into the air. Something huge, my whole body felt tiny compared to what was currently holding me. It was out of a world sensation, still feeling numb I couldn't do anything to protest.

"W-What... D-Does she looks like... Feather... T-Tell me... " A hoarse voice called out a moment later. Definitely female, but sounding very tired and in a lot of pain.

"She has grey fur, Pearl, she is a unicorn... And she has... R-Red... Yes! Red eyes!" The second voice called after the first one. This one was male, very excited and happy.

"A-Are you sure? W-We don't have... But... Maybe her... Grandparents?" A hoarse voice spoke again.

'What was that supposed to mean? A unicorn? A real unicorn? Nearby?' I asked myself, my thoughts didn't connect to anything though. I couldn't hear anything after that only whispers and some things rushing past me.

'Ouch!' Something suddenly coined me on my side before flipping me upside down and starting to move the cloth I was in up and down on my skin. I felt incredibly sick and nauseous. The whole thing lasted a couple of seconds.

'The voices... The weird feeling of being weak and fragile, inability to see or feel properly... Oh my god... If what I'm thinking of is happening right now... No. It just can't be...' I thought. Every fiber of my being protested. I tried to speak. To make any sound at all, but try as I might, nothing came out.

'I wasn't in hell? Right?' I asked myself.

The thing holding me started to hold me tighter, placing some weird things on my back and belly. It felt cold. Then the cloth returned, and this time, the thing rubbed it on my face, clearing my vision a little bit. Then it took me back to the source of the voices.

What I saw next shocked me. Four blurs of colors turned out to be some kind of equines, I didn't dare to clarify them as real animals though. They were... Weird. Cartoonish looking. With unmatching colors and horns, spouting from their heads. But where were the voices coming from then?

I also discovered that I was in some sort of hospital. Everything was white and the pony-looking thing lying on the bed... Oh god, it's all covered in blood and strange fluids... Was she giving birth? Gross...

'Wait.' I suddenly realized.

'Oh no.' I said to myself as I looked down and saw my small weirdly shaped body.

'No.' I said as I saw my form of a small equine, with the grey fur the voices were talking about, my mind didn't want to accept that idea.

'I do not believe it.' I repeated multiple times before the realization finally settled in. 

'Surely this can't be happening!' I added before starting to twitch violently, desperately trying to somehow wake up from this nightmare or get out of the grasp of this thing.

Before any more of my protests, however, the voices started to sound around the room again. I stopped moving and fell completely silent, not that I could make any noise apart from grunts and whines right now...

"Doctor. She is conscious alright, and her vitals are stable, but... She doesn't cry. She just twitches, or was, a second ago." I heard the thing holding me say. It was a woman's voice, but when I turned my head up, the silhouette of another pony appeared in front of me. A white pony with a nurse outfit and a nurse hat. She looked to the other side of the room where the brown pony with a clipboard was standing, still holding me in her hooves.

"It's quite alright dear. Foals sometimes don't cry after birth, it happened a few times in my career, now, please, take her to her mother. I'm sure Ms. Pearl is eager to hold her." He said in a clear, loud voice as the pony holding me moved towards the group.

My mind suddenly found itself blank. Apart from the constant question of what was happening, I was feeling a particular sensation of emptiness. I felt like my memories were not quite there. I could say that I was a man and I was 20 years old, but apart from that there was nothing. No family, no friends, no home. Just... Random memories of things I knew how to do, or which I liked...

The pony gave me to the snow-white unicorn mare that looked at me with sparkling eyes. She instantly started to cry as she grabbed me, holding me closer to her. I felt her warmth, she was also very sweaty and covered in goo and blood. I didn't want to be held like that, but my body was too weak to do anything against it. I looked around the room once again, this time spotting a pony right beside the bed. He was tall, with grey fur and a black mane. He smiled at me when I looked at him. His expression flashed with something else, a tall man with a long bushy beard and bald head, with the exact same smile. A memory perhaps...?

As she held me I felt rather happy for some reason. Note that the whole situation was so bizarre that I actually stopped trying to do anything. She is clearly very tired and in a lot of pain. Still...

I couldn't believe that I was an equine. It didn't make any sense. My lack of memories didn't help either. The only thing I could think of at the moment is to play along. Nothing could come out with me starting to panic right now. This is clearly something bigger than I'm able to deal with this level of information.

I relaxed, looking down and placing a hoof on the unicorn mare's chest I felt safe, I felt like I was at home... 'This feeling... Did I get reborn? Does this mean... It's my... Second chance?' I thought. My eyelids started to get heavy all of a sudden. This warmth started to make me drowsy, and my... 'New body', was in clear need of energy right now...

Yawning I pressed myself gently onto the furry embrace of my Mother's chest... Maybe... I will be able to... F-Figure out... This... Tomorrow...
> Chapter II: Stayin' Alive.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Three years later


Three years. Three years passed since the 'incident' that led me here. And I was on the same start line I was on the fabled day that I was born. This didn't make any sense whatsoever. Either the time is passing too quickly for me to acknowledge my surroundings properly, or my mind is on autopilot when I wasn't focused.

Most of the time I felt like being in a cut scene in some strange game, looking but not actually playing. The only thing I could do was gather information. And oh boy, I did gather a lot of information.

But let me start from the day I was taken from the hospital.

When I finally woke up, I was no longer in my mother's tight embrace, but rather in some sort of care unit. I remember being eager to run away instantly, but the nurses were also very persistent about me staying in my crib/bed. It took my mother two days to rescue me from their clutches. I remember exactly how much they LOVED to hug me, feed me, and change my diaper... Oh, did I not mention that? I HAD TO WEAR A DIAPER! The most shameful moments of my life yet. I'm sure that's why babies don't remember this stuff...

Side note. I'm a mare. Yeah, not only I was blasted into this world as an equine, but also a fucking unicorn mare. On the plus side, there are unicorns and pegasi here. But more of that later.

My appearance is quite uncommon as I learned, most ponies (yes they are ponies.) Are brightly colored with mixed mane and fur. Me on the other hand... Well, let's just say that I'm mostly gray. My fur is gray, and my mane is black, with some lighter shades here and there. The same goes for the tail. But my eyes are absolutely gorgeous, big bright red eyes. My mother tells me that I got them from my grandpa. I also learned my new name. Aurora Moonlight. And I must admit, a pretty cool name.  Having no real connection to the actual aurora, I think it was just chosen at random.  And from what I learned later, that's the most normal-sounding name I would have a chance to get here. Here, I mean Equestria. Land of magic, ponies, dreams, and wishes. I say this because I truly believe I'm in some sort of heaven or cartoon for kids. Everything seems too good to be true though.

Let me tell you about my parents and siblings. Because they are quite a bunch of different traits.

My whole family consists of five unicorns. Four mares and one stallion. I'm the recent addition to the family and most likely the last. I have twin sisters. Shine and Sunset. They are both teens, or rather teen foals because it appears to be some sort of very fast aging around here that I can't keep up with. They are both identical, two pearl-white unicorns with bright blue eyes and stunning bright blue manes. They are quite agile and very energetic which they often show when they play with me in the backyard. The only thing that tells them apart is their stance. Shine has a very proud trot and menacing stand, and Sunset has a very relaxed one. At least when it comes to appearance. Their personalities are completely different. Sunset is a nerd, and she's into board games, and Shine is into clothes and fashion.

Next is my mother. Another white unicorn mare, with a long bright blue mane, and stunning green eyes. Her name is Pearl Moonlight. And that's where the naming ponies in this world is introduced, they are mostly named after their parents, something that happened when they were born or how they looked at first glance. Back to my mother.

She is quite small for a pony, my father is almost a head taller than her. She also has a cutie mark, a tattoo on her flanks that represents the thing you are good at or something, I didn't listen when they were explaining it. It's basically a coffee mug. And, you guessed, she works as a barista at her own cafe down the street.

Then comes my father. Feather Moonlight. He is a tall greyish unicorn stallion with a black mane and an axe as a cutie mark. I guess I inherited most of his appearance while my sisters took it from my mother. I would love to tell you more about him, but he rarely is home. He works in the royal guard. Some sort of military or police in this world. Or rather... Ponice, as they call it here. I'm seriously done with those puns... Seriously, the language is called Ponish, the capital, which I also live in right now, is called Canterlot, and the whole fucking dictionary is filled with puns, places are called similarly to those I remember from my old life, and quickly answering the question, no I do not remember my life, only pieces of information and places. Sometimes even what I like or not. So my preferences are mostly the same I guess.

Anyhow, my father is... okay? I don't really feel as attached to him as my mother or sisters. He is absent most of the time. But when he is at home, he spends 90% of his time with me, and my sisters. Usually plays or tells stories about his job and his adventures. I can tell he is a proud man, just trying to make a living. Which I can respect.

And that's my family in general. We live in a moderate-looking house on the end of the quiet street, with few neighbors. The view from here is amazing. We live on top of a freaking mountain, and there is a cozy little village named Ponyville on the horizon, with vast farmlands and this creepy old forest. You can even see lake formations in the distance and vast grassy plains. I guess this country is mostly countryside with wild areas. And I absolutely love it.

Talking about weird things, there is quite a bit of them here honestly. From the moment I saw the sunlight my eyes were glued to everything around me, luckily my mother was quite fond of talking about things that such a young foal like me surely would understand... Well, I did. And I did start to develop a certain fondness for this world too. I mean, how could I not when there is so much stuff to explore and see? I guess I had to lack it from my old life because I feel like I'm doing something I never did before almost every single day. Yeah, I guess being an equine in another world explains that well, but still. This is an adventure for me.

I got most of the norms and social policies right after a couple of months, later on, I started to understand the written language and even got to read some bedtime stories with my sisters and mom. My whole panic thingie died out and got replaced with curiosity and an adventurous spirit. I loved to learn new things and discover new things, and this world was full of mysteries and magic, ready to be revealed as soon as I was able to stand on my own. Which I did eventually.

My progress in learning stuff sparked much interest in both my sisters and my mother, after a while they assumed I was an early bloomer and moved on. But do not be fooled. My mother taught me quite a bit more than my sisters, seeing that I might have a big potential later on. I learned to speak properly when I was three years old, which is pretty impressive. Most foals can't talk till they are at least four. But that's because they didn't train in front of a mirror. Like me.

Later on, I also stopped stressing about my gender. Sure, it wasn't pleasant to switch from he to her, but hey, I was born female here and I can't change that. At least yet, maybe with some magic later on in my life? I don't know, this stuff is confusing.

Magic was both weird and awesome. I found it to be awesome when you could teleport, vanish into thin air, move stuff with your horn, and fire lasers but found it weird when I didn't get a clear answer to what actually was it made of, how it worked, and why without magic, most creatures simply couldn't live.

You see, here magic is everything. You change the weather with it, create things, move objects, write, trade, paint, eat, and work. Magic is also instrumental as a means of defense. So I'm very glad I was born as a unicorn and not an earth pony, which doesn't have a horn nor wings, or a pegasus which only has wings, but with great disadvantages. Like smaller, lighter bones, and very fragile bodies. Earth ponies have the strongest bodies of the three with a considerable amount of muscles, especially in their legs, but they are unable to fly or use magic. Pegasi can fly, but once they are unable to because of injury or sickness, they are defenseless, and even unicorns can easily overpower them. There are however exceptions here and there.

It's mostly about how much effort you are willing to put into learning and training, the sky is the limit as they say.

Social classes are weird here, there are nobility and middle class, but there aren't really many poor ponies, which once again, is kind of nice, it means the government is working, and ponies care for each other.

There are also two princesses here, which also happen to be the only living alicorns and royals. I had never seen them, but from what I gathered, one is very tall, with rainbow mane and white fur. She rules Equestria alone. The other, a pink one, is a fairly recent addition. She was once a pegasus who did something awesome a couple of years ago and got a horn in the process. Do not ask me how, I do not know. Nor is it stated anywhere... Mysterious...

I will definitely learn more about that later on, but that's the gist of it for now. I know how this world works and how to adapt to live in it peacefully. And that's what I'm planning to do. Because let's be honest. I don't have a choice.

Moving back to my life after I left the hospital. It was quite a headache to keep up with everything around me, but I managed. I learned, started to understand, and even enjoyed myself. I always kept in mind the fact that I'm not a pony, but rarely made an effort to find a way 'home'. Seriously, this place is amazing, and only a fool would want to go back to earth and do their regular job as a cashier or something.

My mother introduced me to a few neighbors and threw a party on my birthdays, she was quite keen on getting me a proper education once I hit the age of 6. Magic kindergarten or whatever it is called here, only for unicorns though. Shame, I would love to meet some pegasi or earth ponies and have a chat about their traits. That being said, I think 6-year-olds apart from myself, can't really tell me much about their race special abilities, and whatnot, and in general, kids are quite... Stupid. And durable, surprisingly...

A great example of this is when I was taken to the park to play with my sisters, we saw an earth pony colt try doing a backflip and hit his head several times in the process. Then he proceeded to stand up and try again. All this, when his mother was having a panic attack trying to get to him from the parent's group.

Maybe it's just my imagination, but I think this world is too peaceful. Nothing happens, like, no murders, no robberies, no war. Nothing. And it's quite boring if you ask me. Sure, war is never a good thing, but the days are very predictable. Rarely does something huge happen, and most of the time when it does, it's about some celebrity getting pregnant with someone or some less interesting thing. My source of information about Canterlot nobility is my mother's neighbor friend Grace. So I'm probably listening to gossip.

So, the days passed quite fast, and as my sisters and I grew, we got more freedom from our mother. Only a little bit, since she doesn't trust us very much and is very protective. One day in particular, when my sister Shine was doing the dishes she insisted on using magic to do them, which resulted in four broken plates and two broken glasses. The next day, my mother stated that they could not use magic to do the chores from now on, and they were forced to do them by hoof. Which annoyed them quite a bit.

Still, we get to play in a nearby park by ourselves now. My sisters keep an eye on me, which is quite funny considering I'm the wisest and oldest around here. I met some unicorn foals too, they are not quite there yet, in terms of communication, they can't speak, and they didn't want to play with me. Mostly because of my dark appearance. I noticed that most ponies were not really... Fond of me.

But besides that, there is the magic kindergarten. It is said that you don't actually need to use magic to join it, only be a unicorn. And it makes no sense to have a kindergarten with only one race. It's a bit of a segregation, but what can you do? Also, kids roam free most of the time when they turn 6 or 7.

That's what bothers me the most, it's quite common to have your kids running around and playing, which creates perfect opportunities for kidnappers, or oh god... Foalnappers as the dictionary suggests. And not have problems with it. But, since we live in... This world. I guess that sort of pony is quite rare. Or the punishments are severe. I wonder how would pedophilia or murder be prosecuted around here. Would the court be able to punish them by death? Thought for later.

Since I'm not an ordinary mare, I do things that often spark either interest or worry, a great example of this was when I was in the park with my sisters, and randomly started to play chess with an old mare out of whim, which made my sisters very interested in how I knew how to play.

My mother worries about me being too forward about meeting new ponies. She often told me to not talk to strangers and to avoid making a scene, but I rarely cared.

And that's generally how my life has been these past few years. Now, at the age of four, I'm capable of understanding and analyzing books written in another language. Which is quite nice, considering I knew only English since my birth. Or at least that's the only language I remember.

But honestly, truth be told, I rather read a good book than go outside, at least for now. Another good thing is that my father has around a hundred books in his possession. I'm generally not allowed to borrow them, but they do not see one missing book for a day or two. They do not want me to read them since they are mostly history books with details about old ponies and war. Battles with Griffonian Empire and other pony countries, might not spark interest in fillies especially, but since I'm a wolf in sheep's clothing, I enjoy them very much.

There is also some stuff about magic theory, old runes, and so on, but they are too complicated for me to decipher on my own. Which left... Biology, and plants. Quite interesting, surprisingly.

Flora is quite similar to Earth's but with much more flowers, types of trees, and generally more edible food. There are for example seventeen different types of honey, which then split into the normal versions like flower or pollen, giving you multiple different flavors. As for biology, there are a lot of things I can understand. But also a lot that I cannot. Horns for example. They are keratin-based with actual nerves in them, they connect to your brain and eyes and they constantly grow to the age of sixteen. It would be rather painful to break your horn, and there isn't a possible fix for it either. But there isn't anything on how they came to be, no evolutionary process or anything.

I also learned a couple of things I would have liked to not know for now. Most of those things are centered around pony social norms and genetics. Mares and that includes me, have heat cycles. When I first read that out loud it made no sense, but once I read out everything it started to come together nicely and that scared me. Heat, start around the age of thirteen or fourteen. The first one is quite powerful and most mares need to be careful, it's not particularly painful, but quite unpredictable and rough. The textbook says that it makes mares act irrationally and makes them quite flirty. There is quite a bit about pheromones and genitals being involved, but I will skip it because I really don't want to think about it. It's disgusting. The only real good thing that comes from this is no period. Heat comes twice or thrice a year for some mares, spring, summer, and possibly winter. Pregnancy lasts 9 months, the same time as humans, and most of the time only one foal is born.

I do not like to think about being pregnant or in love with a stallion because quite honestly, I do not feel any real love for the opposite sex. Actually, it's the other way around, I still feel a strong love for women or mares, if you really want the correct term, and I could honestly say that when most ponies are naked it's quite hard not to stare. I once or twice glanced under their tails, and curiosity took the best of me. For a foal my age, it's quite normal, at least the 'pony biology 101' book says so. Still, sucking my mother's teat, and looking at the privates of other ponies is quite different.

But let's just stay out of love for now, I'm not sure my age is appropriate to describe it right now. And I'm also quite sure it will come naturally as I grow up. I just don't want to think about it constantly, reminding myself that I'm actually not a pony and I should be thinking about turning myself human or something.

'Do I even want to be human anymore?'

So... Books, yes, we were talking about books. Once I read all books available to me I found a certain lack of things to do when I was not playing, eating, or taking care of myself. I decided to start to learn magic. Most foals can't use it consciously, I was no exception. I couldn't bring myself to even light my horn. The whole struggle was quite tiresome, and in the end, I made no real progress. Deciding to wait until I grew a little, I moved on to different things, such as learning how to cook and clean myself properly without magic or anything else I would need. It was quite fun to do actually. I also did a lot of notes for later.

I also started to train my body, more out of boredom than anything else.

It's really not suitable for a mare to do squats or lift objects, but since I had nothing better to do, and I wanted to have a good fit body later on, I decided to keep a light amount of workout in my life from an early age. It proved useful quite fast, I could climb and sprint relatively quickly, and I had a good sense of balance. I could lift most things easily now using my back or mouth, which is still in my opinion disgusting. I even started to notice that my leg muscles, especially my hind legs, were quite thick and strong in comparison with my sister's legs which were practically marshmallows. Standing on them for minutes and then hours made me realize that holding my own weight by two, not four legs is not only a good way to exercise but also to train balance and pain resistance. Still, my body grows every day, and even without this training, I would be able to do those things. But what if I get into a fight or something?

And, without much of a warning, I was once again 'teleported' into the future, as time very quickly flashed past. My first day of kindergarten quickly approached, and with it, a slight worry. I was now six. Six years in this world, and I think I have barely scratched the surface of information and possibilities. Now my adventure starts, and hopefully, the kindergarten will be interesting.
> Chapter III: Lone Digger.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Right... I didn't quite expect that to be honest.

Magic kindergarten was... A kindergarten. Nothing interesting to be learned, and it was mostly playtime with some writing and speaking lessons in between. Very boring since I knew the language pretty well at this point. But it came with something else that I actually quite enjoyed.

Social interactions. I was in desperate need of them since I did not know anything about ponies' social lives and norms apart from the things I knew from the books and had gathered over the years. And those small notes or hints made no real difference really, it became real how much I needed them when I first spoke to another pony aside from my mom, dad, or sisters.

After the first lesson was over I decided to bravely introduce myself to the nearest pony available, she was quite brightly colored with pink fur and an even pinker mane. Walking to her from behind I introduced myself.

"Hey, Name's Aurora. What's yours?" I asked as she instantly spun around and looked at me with terror in her eyes. She backed away a few paces and made a gasping noise before disappearing.

Originally I thought that maybe it was because I did something wrong. But when I tried different ponies, colts, and fillies, it was possible that something else might be wrong with me. Every time I walked up to them they started to back away, and even look fearful. I reminisced about the thought when my mom dropped me here half an hour ago and everypony looked at me weirdly for a while before the teacher introduced herself.

I tried with different words and even smiled brightly at them, but that didn't seem to really help. And after twelve colts and seven fillies, I gave up. The only ponies I haven't talked to were the teacher and two fillies on the first bench. I didn't want to try them since by this point I didn't want to lose my last opportunity to score a friend. However, by going to the teacher and asking what might be wrong, it might be possible to see what the issue is. And with that, I checked my appearance once again and trotted over to the teacher's desk.

She was currently busy chatting with some colts I already tried to talk to, but when I approached they saw me and ran away. Ms.Bright was surprised to see them scared and looked in my direction. By that point, she didn't make any weird faces or said anything to me, but she definitely acknowledged my presence.

As I drew closer she replaced her confusion with a soft smile, which I really appreciated. I looked her straight in the eyes and made an attempt of a smile, which I must tell, wasn't very good.

"Ms.Bright?" I asked her once she leveled her head with mine.

"Yes? What is it? Was it... Aurora?" She guessed and then smiled a bit more cheerfully. I nodded.

"Why does no one want to talk to me?" I asked her with a look of both curiosity and determination.

"W-What? What do you mean no one wants to talk to you? Did you try to introduce yourself? Perhaps they are shy and a little smile will do the trick." She proposed as I thought about it for a moment.

"I tried that. It didn't work. Maybe it's because I'm very grey, and everyone has bright fur and manes?" I suggested as Ms.Bright looked around the room to see other ponies. They were mostly playing and not looking in our direction.

"Oh, No, no, no! Don't worry about that sweetie! It's not because you have a darker mane or fur... And those red ey- Never mind that. It must be..." She paused and thought for a moment.

'Yeah, definitely not that. But you can't really come up with anything else, do you?' I thought as I looked at her with a natural expression.

"Look, let me introduce you to someone. Here, come with me." She nudged me with her hoof to follow her. I didn't think that was a particularly good idea but followed her nonetheless.

Being an adult she seems to have a slightly better tolerance to different appearances and to not judge a book by its cover, but thinking about it clearly, I do look like a villain. Dark and mysterious with bright red eyes. That's the definition of a villain, and since it's kids we are talking about, they see me as someone dangerous and they simply fear me.

I do not know if that was on purpose or not, but she guided me to two fillies I haven't talked to yet. Two pink mares with green and sapphire manes. They looked at the teacher once she drew close enough, not really catching sight of me yet. They stopped talking and waited for the teacher to start speaking.

"Girls, would you be so kind to play with Aurora here? She is really nice!" Ms. Bright said in a cheery voice

When they acknowledged the request and looked at me their faces did the same thing as the other fillies and colts I approached. However, once they thoroughly examined me, they nodded to the teacher and smiled dimly.

"Great! Well then, go ahead Aurora." Ms. Bright instructed me to go forward and meet them.

I did so without much hesitation, feeling like it was coming better than I anticipated. But once Ms. Bright was gone and I turned to see the fillies she introduced me to, I was fairly shocked to see them gone.

'Oh, so that's what it is. I was going to be this one left out...' I thought before my emotions died out. 'Well, you can't have everything.' I added with a hint of resignation and sadness.

The rest of the day made it obvious to me that ponies simply didn't want to be friends with me. I guess you could call that racism or something similar. But since they are just kids, I do not see anything wrong with that. However... This might prove rather uncomfortable and it might develop into something that will put me in the wrong all of the time. There are two options out of this. The first is to 'force' a friendship and make allies so that I will not be bullied. The second option is to 'be' the bully or rather be strong enough to fight it and earn respect.

Rather grim prospects for a six-year-old, but since I'm actually older than that I will manage. Still, I should probably do my best to train myself properly in case someone actually tries to bully me into submission. While not perfect, it's good to cut the poison at its roots and do that as soon as the opportunity arises. I wonder why I'm feeling like something like this happened before?

Days passed. And was once again left to play alone, while everyone else had at least one friend they could rely on. The kindergarten will last for one or two years, so I need to make sure that I do everything I can before real school begins. By that time I should be able to score a sizable amount of knowledge to pass without much effort and focus on other things like...

'What do I want to do with my life actually?' I asked myself as I stared into the bright sky in the playground outside the schoolhouse.

That's... A good question. I do not really have a goal. At first, I thought it would be something like going back to earth or turning myself into a human. But once I discovered how this world works and how much there is to it, I really thought about staying and living here.

Where on earth could you perform actual magic or see dragons? I guess it's settled then. I stay, and perhaps changing my sex, later on, might be still valid, but I got used to those hooves and this body so much already that I do not think changing to human form is really what I want anymore. And since I do not even know how I look, it might be a gamble. What if I'm ugly? What if ponies won't accept me while I'm in my human form? Too many questions, and no answers.

Hmmm... Considering how little I actually know, and how vast and interesting this world is... I think the best thing I can do is to live, wait and see. Maybe I'm destined to do something great? Maybe, once my cutie mark is revealed, which intrigues me by itself, I will be able to tell what I'm good at, and what I want to do with my life. Yeah, I think that might be a good plan.

My mom actually nudges me towards trying to use magic now, which I still can't do, but I try nonetheless since I like when she is proud of me for trying. She also realized I was gaining some muscle from my workout and took me to a doctor fearing that I might be having some sort of strange weird mutation that causes those to grow rapidly. I then proceeded to lighten my workload a bit, since I didn't want her to panic about turning into a bodybuilder by the age of ten.





Months passed and nothing interesting happened, still no magic, and still in Kindergarten.

Today, however, someone actually talked to me for the first time. So that's a plus. The minus is that they tried to bully me.

I saw that coming and was prepared. A purple colt with two brown ones came to me when I was making notes on my study of pony weather and cloud forming, when they saw my notebook they guessed I was trying to make doodles or something along those lines. They approached me from the sides and snickered with wide grins.

"Nice clouds dork, give me that." The purple colt insisted as he drew closer.

"No." I replied without much hesitation.

"No? I want that notebook, and you will give it to me." He ordered as he moved ever so closer to me.

"If you come any closer I will break your nose." I informed him as I placed my notebook on the grass and moved up from the sitting position.

"It's three versus one! We have an advantage! Give me that." He ordered once again before coming close enough for me to hit him. Which I did instantly. Once he staggered and fell back, the other two colts jumped at me which I avoided by moving back a little and allowing them to hit each other. They fell to the ground as well.

"I warned you. Now, leave me alone." I said as I moved to retrieve my notebook.

I was too slow. Because the purple colt snatched it with his magic grasp. That shocked me a little bit since I didn't have any magic powers until that point to do anything against that. He snickered as a small bruise and a little bit of blood spilled from his nose.

"I will break it!" He said in a victorious tone. By his appearance and the way he is acting, I think it's not the first situation he bullied someone.

'Why it's always bad or good. No in-between...' I thought as I looked him straight in the eyes, while also observing the brown colts which started to stand up.

"Do it. I can make more notes. But if you do. I will break your nose, this time for real." I declared as his expression softened. It was a five-second pause between what happened next.

He has done it. He shredded it using his magic. The two brown colts laughed as he snickered and the notebook fell to the ground in two pieces.

"Now you are not tha-" He didn't have time to say anything past that. I calmly yet quickly moved in front of him and planted a mighty punch into his nose, with the sound of breaking bones. Two brown colts didn't have time to react either when I used my hind hooves to kick their faces once I was done with the purple colt. I heard them gasp and start to cry desperately.

A little bit of blood could be visible on my hooves which made me regret hitting them this hard, but since it's good to learn once you are young, I decided to not think about it and focus on the teacher who was practically rushing past fillies and colts whose watched out the struggle.

"What is happening here?!" She declared as she moved between me and my attackers.

"S-She... S-She attacked us!" Purple colt exclaimed while he held his nuzzle covered in blood. It was most likely broken since I heard some bone snap.

"What?!" She looked at me with a raging face. I knew that I might be pushing my luck by this, but I smiled softly.

"Aurora! Why did you attack them!?" Ms.Bright asked while shouting.

"Who said I attacked them?" That statement took aback Ms.Bright a little bit.

"Tender Seed! And those two are hurt as well!" She answered while advancing on me.

"Did you ask me what happened?" I replied with a natural expression as her face fell.

"What... What happened then!?" Her face came back to her original shape of anger and discomfort.

"I was making notes when those three came and insisted I give them my notebook. I said no, and then they tried to take it from me by force. I fought back." I knew practically well how a teacher would take that and I was going to be told that's not a reason to-

"That's not a reason to hit them! You should've come to me! Did anypony see what has happened?" She stared at everypony else watching.

No one spoke for a second before a single mare moved forward. She was the first filly I introduced myself to on the first day. With pink fur and a pinker mane.

"She... She started it!" She said with a squeak.

"What?" I said without thinking.

"Yeah! She... Hit them first." One colt added.

'Oh... So that's what it's gonna be... Well... It's one against everyone...' I thought as my mind filled with a desire to make those brats feel the hammer of justice... But then I remembered something...

'If you let your enemies anger you, you already lost' That statement was from someone I knew, but who? Can't dwell on it now...

You might expect what happened next. Ms.Bright took me to the schoolhouse and told me that she was going to speak with my mother and the same was told to the three colts. I already knew I was lost here, so without much of a choice I nodded and thought about what to do next.

While I knew something like that might happen, I was foolish to not consider it a little better, and maybe execute my plan a little more gently. But all in all, I achieved what I wanted from the original two options I had those months ago. Now no one should threaten me without preparation.

Once my mom came to pick me up from school Ms. Bright scooped her instantly to the side with the other foals' parents. Once they talked for a bit my mother called me to them. I obeyed and moved closer to the circle of death, I mean, parents.

"Aurora. Can you tell me what happened?" She said in a casual tone, which had a slight hint of 'I will be angry in a moment'.

"Sure. I was making notes in my notebook." I showed her the notebook which was broken in two. "And then the three colts approached me. Tender Seed said to give them my notebook, and I told him no. Once they moved closer I said that I was going to break his nose if he moved any closer. And he didn't stop. So I broke his nose." I explained before adding. "I know I should've gone to the teacher, but I didn't think about it then. I was scared he was going to take my notebook..."

'Maybe this will keep me from being punished.' I thought.

"Who broke the notebook then?" My mom asked.

"Tender did, to annoy me." I replied with a slight hope that it might work.

"Aurora... You can't just... Break ponies' noses because they annoy you... And even if they break your stuff." She said while frowning.

"I know. Sorry." I replied with a natural expression.

"She doesn't seem sorry at all!" One of the mothers of the colts implied as she moved forward. "She should be taught how to treat others, and this behavior!" She added.

"She doesn't show many emotions, but she means it. She is sorry, it's my daughter and I can tell. Now. As Ms. Bright suggested. If they apologize to her for trying to take her notebook, she will apologize for breaking his nose and kicking them. And!" Mom looked at me. "She will not do that again! E-V-E-R. Right?" She nudged me with her hoof.

"Yes. I will not hurt them. If they behave..." I replied as I felt my mother press her hoof more firmly at my horn. Which was most likely because she heard the last part.

Once the colts gathered we apologized to each other. I knew they didn't mean it and they would most likely try other stuff in the future, but now I knew what type of ground I was walking on and what to expect.

It's going to be hard, but I feel a little bit of excitement actually.
> Chapter IV: Come and get it.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Kindergarten has come to a finale, and my education in it was concluded, the only thing left was to take a test at the end of the month and go to the school of magic. I don't worry about the test since It's just basic calculus and spelling.

There are some different schools of magic I can take, however, and since I'm already eight years old, my mom decided to give me a free range of options. She decided since I couldn't satisfy my urge to learn new things and get myself into weird situations, she suggested Celestia School For Gifted Unicorns. Kindergarten in comparison is like an ant to a car. So there are a lot of things I need to learn before I even think of joining. Sure, there are some easier schools that teach basic magic and stuff, but Celestia School gives special scholarships and organizes different activities that might prove very beneficial in the future. The problem is... There is only a room for 24 ponies. So, my guess is that they will make some sort of a test before you can actually join.

Speaking of this School, Celestia is 'our' ruler, right? So there is a good chance that she might visit the school once or twice when I'm there. And I'm very curious about this alabaster alicorn, maybe, just maybe, she will be able to provide me with an explanation of why I'm here, being all this 'godly-like' pony I hear everywhere. Not that it really matters really. After all, I already decided to stay and live here, so knowing what happened to me won't change that.

As my thoughts mixed and produced different questions and answers, I felt rather a strange sensation of something being wrong. Today was nothing special, but since it was the last day before school ended and the test was I knew something was coming from Tender Seed and his gang. They never learned from their first lesson, but I did. I always knew where the teacher was so that they couldn't do anything to me if I was close by. Today however Ms. Bright decided to enjoy a cup of coffee in the schoolhouse, leaving us to play in the playground outside alone.

They were coming, and I saw them from a mile away, most ponies seemed curious about who would win today, me with twenty-two wins or them with zero, not that they cared honestly, they treated me the same, and always talked behind my back. Shame, but I tried being nice, and if that's not working you have to do with what you have.

Good thing I now know how to use basic magic. Oh, I didn't mention that? Well, it's my fairly recent development, and I guess my horn needed to develop some nerves or something for me to use it properly until now. It's great to grasp and learn stuff. Most of it came naturally, like learning how to use my new body again. Either way, I still lack mana to do it constantly. Daily training will fix that.

Now, let's see...

"It's the last day Umbra, you know what that means..." Tender said as his gang, which now consisted of six colts grew closer. The umbra he mentioned was a nickname they gave me, as black as a void, umbra... I love it. But don't tell them that.

"Yeah, expected to see you today. So, what part of your body are you willing to break today wimp?" I called out as I started to stretch.

"Oh huh, not today, this time he is here." He replied as a slightly large silhouette of a teen colt appeared from outside the kindergarten fence and climbed it.

I watched him as he drew closer to the Tender's gang and smiled widely.

"It's my cousin, Salt Split, and he is here to teach you a lesson!" He replied as the teen named Salt Split grew closer.

I must say, I didn't expect that. But I like the challenge.

"Come on then, show Umbra what you got." I said while walking towards him.

"You approaching me?" He snickered as everyone else laughed.

"I can't beat the shit out of you without getting closer." I replied while everypony gasped at me using a curse word. Even in this situation, everypony is so strict about cursing, it hurts them to hear them for some reason.

"Now I know why you described her as a monster Tender. Let's go then, you will regret making fun of my little cousin and his friends!" He exclaimed before rushing forward.

We hit each other with our bodies, me being much younger, I had a disadvantage, but since I had been training my forelegs and hindlegs for years now, it wasn't anything I couldn't handle. I threw all my weight into a powerful push which made Salt lose his balance, before he knew it, I attacked him with my right hoof and quickly stepped back before he could do anything. I knew that if he could somehow get hold of me, it was game over. But if I just score two or four more punches I might knock him out. If that won't work, there is always plan B...

"You... You will pay for that!" He roared as he sprinted back at me, I saw a flicker of immense anger inside his eyes. He was very stupid. Being an older unicorn than me, he should know some basic combat spells by now, but there he was, rushing at me like a madpony.

I didn't move till the last second before folding myself and placing a hoof for him to stumble on, which he did, planting his face into the ground. But then he instantly recovered which I didn't expect and he got a clean hit on me with his left hoof. I stumbled back and with great pain in my chest stood up quickly.

It was a rather intense interaction, normally it would be wise to wait out a few seconds before engaging further, but he was positively filled with rage. Thus his actions were unpredictable. He launched himself immediately at me once more, this time I dodged but only barely. Then with his two hooves in the air, I saw an opening. I spun around and kicked him as hard as I was able to, I felt an incredibly hard surface on my hoof before a sound of bones being broken followed suit. I thought I won, but I was wrong. He somehow managed the pain and took hold of my right hind hoof, smashing it to the ground with the rest of me.

For the first time, I felt something break inside me, I didn't know what yet, but my barrel and lower body were in incredible agony. I wanted to retaliate, but it was too late.

"Hold her!" I heard Tender Scream while more than four ponies grasped me by my hooves.

My struggle died out quickly as they were no way I could fight not only an older pony but six or more ponies my age. I heard them scream 'Victory!' Before they allowed me to see anything.

"Now... I will break every bone that you broke me!" I heard Tender Seed say as they held me on my hind hooves. I smiled.

"What so funny? Do you think I'm joking? You broke my nose, so I! Will break yours!" He punched my nose and for the first time in my life here, I felt differently... It was funny how much enjoyment one can get from being beaten up.

"Why! Are! YOU! SMILING!" He roared with every hit before he stopped to catch some breath.

"Y-You... K-Know why?" I mumbled as blood covered my muzzle.

"Why?!" He screamed.

"Because I have a plan B." I replied before using my magic to form a small shield to cover me. Seed hoof smacked into the shield, and it threw him off balance, causing him to fall back on everypony. And as others fall back I was free once more.

I stood up while shifting my body to a defensive position with a devilish smile on my face. Blood still leaking from my nose.

"Now... Who's ready for the second round?" I replied.





"Ms. Bright, I know, I'm so, so sorry. I just... Can't understand how a seven-year-old daughter of mine could've fought eight ponies, one much older than her, and won. It doesn't make any sense." My mother replied to the teacher, she was practically drilling a hole in the ground while she moved around the classroom.

"Mrs. Pearl. I said it multiple times. It doesn't matter who won or not, it should not happen at all. And it's not even the second time! It's the seventh time!" Ms. Bright said as I recollected that we were only caught fighting seven times...

"Yes, well, it's... It's the end, kindergarten is done so... Maybe we can just... Go, and forget this ever happened?" My mother proposed as she grinned at the teacher.

My bloody hooves and muzzle still itched and my barrel was burning hot with pain, I must've broken a rib or something...

"Leave then. Don't come back! I'm done with this... This behavior at my school! I'm done. You don't need to write a test anymore, you passed! You had the best results in class anyway...  Surprisingly..." Ms. Bright slammed the empty paper test with a stamp that said 'pass'.

'Dramatic.' I thought.

"Yes... We... Excuse us then... Th-Thank you..." Mom replied before taking me with her magic grasp and leaving the schoolhouse.

I waited for her to speak but she kept silent. "Mom?" I asked after twenty seconds of her holding me up to her chest in her magic.

"Not now. First hospital, then we will talk." She said. I knew she was very worried. When she saw me, all bloody and bandaged she almost fainted, but I guess I had that coming for a long time now, and I'm prepared to change my attitude starting from the new school year.

We arrived at the hospital and the doctor diagnosed me with one broken rib, one fractured, seven bruises, and four cuts. He healed what he could and changed the bandages, gave me some painkillers, and ordered me to stay for a few days.

After he left the room I was left alone with my mom who now started to cry. I didn't have the courage to speak to her, I only watched as she cried. Then the door opened once again, and surprisingly, my father came into the room.

"Feather... You're here..." Pearl stood up and walked to hug my father who looked at me with both worry and relief.

"Wha-what happened!?" He asked as he moved closer to examine me.

"Tell him, tell him what you did Aurora. Tell him everything." I heard my mother order while she once again started to cry.

"B-But I don'-" I tried to say but the gaze of my mother forced me to stop. "Yes, mother..."

"Who did this?" My father asked as he touched my bandages, making me feel a bit of pain.

"I had a fight with some colts..." I replied while I heard my mother sob.

"They did this?! I will nee-" He stood up but before he could say anything more I stopped him by grabbing his right hoof.

"It's alright... It's nothing serious. I have been fighting with them for quite a while now... Sorry..." I replied while my mother decided to finally stop crying. She grabbed my father by his other hoof and stormed out of the room, leaving me alone.

'I feel like shit.' I told myself. And it wasn't because I was beaten up, but because I made mom cry... I regret it...

After five minutes they came back, Mom drew closer and spoke with a soft voice.

"Aurora. I can't let you fight those ponies. You got to understand, you can't do that. If you have problems... You need to speak about them, not... Fight your way out of them... Alright?" She asked with a sorrowful face.

"Yes, mom. I'm sorry. I didn't want it to end up like that. I'm sorry. I promise to be good..." I replied with a very faint smile.

"Alright... I... I need to go back to my job now... But your father will be here with you... Try... Try to get some rest..." She replied before kissing my forehead and leaving the room, giving my father a nod.

There was a brief silence before he spoke.

"I think I don't need to tell you I'm disappointed with you... Do I?" He asked out loud.

"No." I replied.

"Good. Now... Tell me, what do the others look like?" His sudden question got me puzzled.

"What?" I asked confused.

"What did you do to them?" He asked more precisely.

"Emm... Tender had a broken rib and a left hoof, Salt Split had lost consciousness and he had a broken nose and a bruise on his left eye. The rest is in a similar state... I'm... I'm sorry dad..." I replied with a single tear rolling down my cheek.

"It's... Alright. I wouldn't think my own daughter would fight ponies, but then again, I would never expect her to fight all eight ponies and come out winning... And there was one older than you!" He grinned, which lifted my spirits a little.

"Aurora. Do not think I'm meaning this as praise though. You need to control yourself. And if you don't I will punish you, understood?" He explained with a serious face.

"Yes, Dad." I replied before he gave me a hug, which hurt a bit, but it was alright.

"And one more thing... I know your mother said you should go to Celestia School For Gifted Unicorns, but if you want to fight and challenge yourself, you can go to the Royal Academy, it's rough and you will need to go to a normal school for a bit and then transfer after three years, but I think it will suit you better. And I will be able to keep an eye on you." He proposed.

"That's... Something to think about... Right... Thanks, dad." I replied with a smile.

"No problem, now get some rest, you need it." He said before turning the light off and kissing me on the forehead.
> Chapter V: Hooked On A Feeling.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Today was fun.

After going out of the hospital and arriving home for a whooping lecture from my mom that lasted a few good hours, I decided to go out with my sisters. Since they were almost adults by now, they decided to take me to a Canterlot Grand Gallery. Which is simply put, a shopping spree.

My sister, Shine in particular had a great sense of 'fashion' which easily translated to her special talent, which is designing and creative work. She has a planning board with a few different tools a designer would use and a very bright red ribbon as a cutie mark.

That translates to me being constantly in one dress on another for her. She often snatched me from my room and put several collections on me before she decided I could go free. Today, she decided to buy me, herself, and her twin sister Sunset matching outfits. Pink dresses with several accessories, such as ribbons, ties, and a giant baby pink ribbon on top.

I don't need to say I looked like charcoal in a present box on Christmas, do I?

My other sister, Sunset, had a completely different approach, however. She is what's called a geek. A massive geek, and that with her 'dungeons and dragons' cutie mark of a campaign map, translates to...

"I can't believe they had this witch hat for only 12 bits! Aurora, you will look great in your wizard cosplay once we get to play on Sunday!" She said as we all strolled in unison.

"Don't... Remind me..." I replied, knowing fully well, that I will indeed look good as the character I will play "The Grand Wizard Of Destruction And Infinite Eclipse!".

I must say, even though most of her friends are her age, they do not mind me playing with them. I would even go as far as to say, they want me to play with them. Since I always seem to roll high, especially on my saving throws.

How she got me into playing with her and her friends, is a mystery. But I'm glad she did, they are my only real friends who don't care about how I look.

"Come on Aurora. You are healed by now, and you won't be getting into fights for a while, since you still have to pick out the school you want to go to. Go to a normal one, like ours."  Sunset suggested.

"I still need to think this through you know? Mom said I have to pick myself, and I really think I could achieve something nice if I went to Canterlot School For Gifted Unicorns, or like dad suggested, to a Royal Academy. Which I still can do after three years in any school, especially CSFGU." I replied as we descended the stairs to the Canterlot Plaza.

"As long as you don't make us worry about you coming back all bloody, pick whatever you feel is right." Shine added. Which made me feel a bit emotional for some reason.

I need to remember that they really think of me as their little sister, and they would jump in a fire to save me. Not that I wouldn't do the same... But... Do I really deserve such kindness? After what I had done to Mom... I can't solve every problem by force.

"Aurora, your ice cream is melting." Shine brought me back through the haze of my thoughts, indeed, we were eating ice creams along the way, and it melted, making my coat sticky and green.

"Great. Good thing the dress is intact." I replied, with a groan.

"So you do like the dress!" Shine interjected, making me blush.

"No! I mean... I don't mind it..." I replied, like a real tsundere, while blushing... Wait... What was a tsundare?

Anyhow. Since we were going for a walk, we decided to visit our grandparents, they lived down the main Canterlot road, in an old stone building, which was in rather pristine condition, surprisingly.

"Oh my! What a surprise, let me kiss you, my three little princesses!" My grandma, A earth mare named Blossom, opened the door and greeted us with kisses and hugs. She was quite small, just like my mother, and her appearance was similar to her daughter's unless you count the fact she has curly hair, which most older ponies have, weird...

"Are you done? I want to greet them too you old hag!" A horse voice replied behind her, which belonged to my grandpa. Named Ruby. He was a tall dark brown unicorn, with a very stoic face, and big red eyes, just like my own. His mane was a yellow glint of banana, and he moved closer to us once Blossom moved over.

"You crone! You should wait patiently, didn't you tell me you had no problems waiting for anything yesterday?" She asked in a bit angry, but mostly playful voice.

"That was yesterday." He replied before moving over and hugging us tightly.

Their relationship at first glance was not good, but once you got to know them, you understand that's the way they are expressing love to each other. And it's quite cute if you ask me. Cursing each other existence, and pulling each other sentences. Like an old couple indeed...

"Pink dress? On my lovely little demon?!" He scolded the choice of my attire.

"Yeah, complain to Shine for picking that one." I chuckled.

"If she picked it, it's alright. But you would look better in some camo or blood." He snickered, as he, the only one perhaps was proud of me beating the shit out of those colts a few days prior.

"Don't give her more ridiculous ideas! Don't listen, and be a good filly! Remember what your mother and I told you." My grandma sued.

"Yes, Grandma." I replied, with my casual 'no emotions' expression.

I was getting good at it. Even too good, considering my mom didn't know how I felt most of the time. Which made her constantly worry about me.

We talked over coffee, some cream puffs, and some radio. As usual, nothing new has happened, and the day has become stale and mundane. As we were leaving, however, my grandpa shoved me to the side and spoke quietly with me.

"Listen my little sparkle of darkness, I don't want to pick for you, but your mother probably didn't tell you that she was in fact one of the best students in CSFGU, did she?" He spoke as his head turned around to see if Granma was listening.

"No?" I replied, a bit curious all of a sudden.

"She was marvelous, but... She decided to pursue her career as a barista... I don't blame her, that was her cutie mark after all, but if you have as little as half what your mother was capable of... Let me tell you... Next time you get into a fight, there won't be anything left to pick up. Especially if Celestia teaches you a spell or two." He smiled broadly.

"Celestia? What does she have to do with the school? Isn't the school just na-" He cut me off.

"No! It's because she herself chooses her pupils! You can learn from an actual Princess! But I believe she will learn from you once you get there." He chuckled and smiled at me, but once Granma got close he brushed me off and just added. "Remember, it's your choice."

Once we departed from our grandparents, I felt a bit strange. Like there was something in me, that specifically told me to consider CSFGU for real. I knew it would be a pain in the ass, and I would need to work hard just to get accepted, but once I was there... I felt like I could achieve something beyond great.

My mind, once it accepted that I was staying here, was searching for meaning, and I believe I found my first goal in this new life. Try to be the best I can be at magic.

And don't make my parents disappointed in me.

So no more fighting. Only hard honest work, and if a problem arises... Clear thinking for a solution. That's the path I should follow from now on.

When we got home, my mother was making dinner. And my father was absent, most likely on a patrol or something.

"Mom we are home! Granma said hey." Shine said before she and her twin disappeared into the second floor of the building, going to their separate rooms.

"Okay, sweetie!" She replied. And I came to the kitchen to speak with her.

"Mom? Do you have a minute?" I asked and she slowly turned from the hot pan.

"Of course. What do you need honey?" She replied, still looking at the pan.

"Em... I was thinking about the school... And I think I finally decided..." I said with a bit of uncertainty.

"Oh really?" She turned her head and looked at me, in her eyes I could see myself, and deeper, I also could see her worry and pain. "What did you pick?"

"I... I know I don't show much emotion, Mom... And... I was thinking of what you told me once about CSFGU. And how proud you would be if I got in... So, once I talked to Grandpa, and he said you were in-" She cut me off with a hug.

"Sorry..." She mumbled while she sobbed into me. "I shouldn't... I shouldn't pick your future for you..." She cried into me. And I hugged her deeply.

"You didn't. I decided to go there on my own mom... And make you, and Dad proud. Since I have been so... Bad." I replied, and she just threw her head back and stared at me.

"Don't ever say anything bad about yourself! You are an honest, proud, and strong mare! And you already make me proud!" She replied before she hugged me even tighter.

"That being said... Don't make me worry about you sweetheart..." She added with a sad hint in her voice.

"I promise Mom..." I replied, with a similar hint of sadness.

We stayed like that for a while, and my mind flashed white before an image of a red-haired woman appeared in my head, she was looking like someone who lost everything and was living only because she had to. Then it disappeared.

Once the weird memory faded, my mom brought me back up, dried her eyes, and kissed me on the forehead. My mind did a reset, and I came back to reality.

"I still have my old books from school in the attic, I will look for them tomorrow. I believe you have a lot to learn in just two months before the entry exam. But I'm sure you will be able to do it. You are my daughter after all." She stated with a smile and a tear in her eye.

"Thanks mom. I love you." I replied and slowly made my way back to my own room on the second floor. Then a moment later when I finally closed my door, I heard a squick of happiness downstairs.

"I guess she really loves me... Huh?" I said, as my mind pondered, on what I would have to learn to get into this... "Elite" School...
> Chapter VI: Just the Two of Us
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

I had only two months before the entry exam. But as it turned out, most of the stuff I had to learn I already knew at this point. There were of course things I couldn't skip to expand on, such as pony history, and magic, but other than those two, there were not many things I had to worry about.

History is what I struggled with the most because of the amount of ponies and dates I had to memorize. My mom insisted I should learn as much as I could, because 'knowing your past is a key to the future.'

She also found her old books from the first few years of her school and gave them to me. The amount of actual relevant information in them was staggering. Apart from being old, I found few examples of actual spellcasting, alchemy recipes, and even descriptions of dark magic and how it can influence ponies. I guess I had to expect that from a more 'fine' school such as CSFGU to have such a diverse learning program. Mom also said she had a very difficult time getting in, and every next lesson was as important as the last one, it just shows how hard you need to work before and after you get in.

But truth be told, everything comes down to your magic ability. If I don't do a good job on the magic entry exam, I won't be getting in, simple as that. I had to start training seriously if I wanted to have a chance with all the other foals I would be competing for a spot. Who knows how powerful kids in this world could get? I only met a few so far, and they weren't anything special. But as they say, there is always someone better than you out there.

That made me feel a little down because, deep down I feel like I'm a lazy individual. But having a good-paying job or simply being a powerful unicorn later on in life pushed me past my laziness to do some actual heavy work.

I started to learn magic by lifting things and making small objects catch on fire (accidentally), but as I grew, I learned that the most important way of practicing is to actually focus and conjure your 'mana' properly. That way you are actually expanding your 'mana pool' inside you the right way, and thus, it becomes easier to manipulate it. The weird thing is, the books don't teach that, and they don't even mention anything about 'mana' either, they simply say 'unicorn ability to-' But deep down, I really feel like it should be called something along the lines of mana, or magical energy due to the fact that it feels like it's part of you. But I digress. 

My usual training routine consisted of lifting heavy objects such as my dad's dumbells, or furniture in the attic. I didn't want my mom to find out I was using furniture to train so I decided to use the spare one in the attic. That way I could relatively tell how much progress I had been gaining, and thus far, I had been able to lift up to one hundred kilograms of weight for at least three minutes. That result was satisfactory since I had started with only thirty kilograms for a minute or two a few months ago.

My 'mana pool' definitely grew, and I have been feeling much better because of it. I felt that simple tasks like opening a door and picking something heavy up from the floor didn't even scratch my reserves, unlike the time I had started to practice. I don't really understand it yet but I think my 'mana' works by expanding itself whenever I work hard or properly conjure it using my whole horn. It's important to use your whole nervous system in your horn because if you don't you can get a severe headache or you can faint while using more complex spells. Believe me, I experienced it enough times to take this seriously, the pain of your horn drilling into your skull is seriously painful, and not recommended. I am still to faint from it though.

Apart from magical practice and studies, I expanded my physical training again, this time, however, I decided that shaping my body, instead of gaining serious muscle was a way to go. I didn't want my mother to take me to the doctor again.

During those two months, I didn't really leave home often. My sisters had started to look seriously into finding a job since they were almost finished with their studies, and my father was stationed somewhere across the country for some reason, and I had no reason to leave home either.

What I did, however, was bond with my mom. Usually, I would keep to myself when it came to learning, but I started to ask for her help with different topics, and as it turned out, my mom still had a decent amount of memories from CSFGU, which resulted in a couple of guessing games and other fun activities, which I really enjoyed.

It was seriously fun to learn new stuff, since for over a year I did it mostly as a hobby, during my time in kindergarten. I was also relieved to not have to fight every ten days with Tender Seed. It was seriously getting out of hoof, and I think it wasn't good for my mental health either. This young body produced so many different hormones that recently I started to ask myself what the hell was I doing back in kindergarten. I feel like I'm repeating the same mistakes I did before, but I can't remember my old life, so I guess I have to trust that my judgment is good and I'm learning to avoid things I knew that will end badly.

Thus, after almost two months of practice and hard work, I became anxious about the approaching exam. My mom felt it necessary to go on a trip with me one last time before the exam. She decided to take me to the Canterlot Museum Of History.

I had always wondered what museums look like in this world, and this would definitely prove a nice experience before the examination, because who the hell knows what they will come up with. There is a hundred-question test, and a magical exam, so they can ask you to write anything, and do anything.

I also thought about how I was going to be treated at CSFGU, since my appearance didn't change much, with a slightly longer mane, and bigger frame, and some more muscle here and there. I was still that dark 'umbra' everyone feared in kindergarten. I was feeling anxious. But as the trip to the Museum began, my problems were replaced with curiosity and the need to learn new things.

"Now, don't lose me, stick close, and remember, we are in the museum, so don't touch anything Aurora." Pearl said to me as we trotted into the specious hall of the museum.

Nodding to her, I started to swing my head from side to side, to grasp everything that was currently in my field of vision. Apart from the magnificent gallery of architectural beauty and perfect symmetry on the walls and ceiling of the museum, there were also many sculptures, paintings, and items on display that I found just too pretty to not look at.

"I know. I had the same reaction when I got here the first time. Don't worry, we will start from the beginning and see everything, come with me Aurora." My mom said as she started to walk right. I followed her up close, there were a multitude of ponies around us, and a couple of tourist groups too.

"I didn't expect so many ponies to be interested in history." I said out loud, more to myself than anyone else.

"Well, yes, there are few ponies interested in ponykind history after all, but they are mostly here for art displays or sculptures in different sections, where we go, there usually are only a few ponies around." She said in a cheery tone.

As we went along the wall full of artworks and sculptures of old ponies and other strange-looking creatures, we were soon in a place where only a handful of ponies stood. And as we crossed one last section to the 'Ponykind history and culture' we were mostly by ourselves.

"There we are. Ponykind first records." My mother stood suddenly, her eyes on a tiny display board made of a brown stone plate. There were a few different symbols on it, which I didn't recognize. The description didn't provide me with much, only the age of the thing being over thousands of years old.

"Do you know what that is Aurora?" She asked, turning her head to me, with a very satisfied expression. Which I found rather funny, knowing how much my mother loves to talk about things she remembers from years ago from the games we played.

"No." I simply replied, watching the small stone plate with curiosity. Of course, I knew it was mostly like the stone age for ponies, but I didn't want to spoil the fun for my mom.

"It's a stone plate, with the most basic pony language from thousands of years ago. This one was found really deep in the Canterlot Mountains, and it has a few interesting things written on it. The first was a message to a pony named 'Sap Wood' it was most likely an invitation of some kind for a pony named 'Silver Stone'. The second is a trade between two brothers and a pony named 'Snap Syroup.' But what is the most interesting thing, is that the board itself shouldn't survive that long, but here it is. In the Canterlot museum thousands of years old later." My mother started to monologue about the plate for a good five minutes before we moved to another object of interest.

After a few more crude scribbles and stone plates, we finally found ourselves on something a little bit more interesting. Ponykind first summit painting. It was probably the first painting done professionally with brushes and paint, and it depicted a summit of three pony tribes discussing food shortages and war between them. Most likely even before Equestria was born.

"You saw that one in a book, right Aurora?" Mom said to me as she stared at the painting passionately.

"Yes. But I didn't expect it to be... This big..." I replied, looking at the massive wall of paint. It was so big, most likely twenty ponies could fit in the frame itself. I didn't understand why smaller paintings from that period didn't survive.

"We have this painting done by an anonymous artist, but we don't have anything similar in scale for another two hundred years." I said, to the astonishment of my mother.

"How do you know that?" She asked surprised.

"I read about it." I said in truth. Smirking, knowing that I spoiled my mother's fun trivia for me accidentally.

"Well, you don't know that there is actually a second painting like this that was found with this in old Hoofintoon several years later, it is a portrait of-" She started, but I caught her off.

"Princess Celestia." I said, watching as she closed her mouth in a pout.

"I shouldn't let you read all those books Aurora, soon you will outsmart your own mother! And what will I do then?" She smiled at me.

"There will always be something you can teach me, Mom." I replied, with a little blush. That rewarded me with a sudden hug from Pearl.

"Why don't you tell me what you know about the portrait as we go?" She asked, smirking.

"I only know what it is, but not what it looks like." I said, my mother frowned as we started to move.

"But it's a portrait of Princess Celestia. You should already know what she looks like." She questioned with a smile.

"Well, yeah, but I never actually seen a decent painting of her, only a few mentions with photos and such." I replied in truth. Which my mom found a bit strange.

"W-What? Really?" She said as she started to move across the gallery a little bit faster, me trying to catch up to her, with my little pony legs.

"Yeah. Why?" I asked while Mom trotted past another corner of the giant gallery.

"Well, there were so many paintings of her when I was little that there wasn't a day I would not see it at least once." She commented, stopped, and looked at me.

"I'm sure there was at least one decent painting of her right?" She asked. Which I replied by shaking my head.

"Impossible..." She repeated to herself as we started to walk again. Soon, however, we started to slow down, and my mother looked at me with worry in her eyes.

"My guess is that there were so many pictures of her everywhere at some point that she decided to hide them to not appear like she is connected to everything and everyone...?" She said to me as she stood in front of a few big paintings. And a larger one in the middle.

"Here it is, look." She motioned with her hoof to a very large portrait on the wall.

As soon as my eyes connected to the portrait, I understood why in every single book, that had any comment or mention of Princess Celestia, there was 'Striking Beauty.', 'Regal Look.', and 'The most beautiful pony Equss has ever seen.' written.

I could never imagine an equine could look so... Divine. She had perfect purple eyes that told you she was wise, a perfect sharp muzzle with shiny white teeth, big fluffy wings, a white tuff of fur on her neck one could probably drown in, and one of the biggest and pointiest horns I had ever seen. Her flowy mane was of course sparkling with different rainbow colors, and her pose told you exactly what kind of pony you were dealing with. Not to mention the fact that the painting itself was done masterfully, with gold segments and colors melting into each other perfectly.

"That's Princess Celestia, our ruler. And the most powerful and perfect pony in existence. Remember that Aurora. Treat her with utmost respect if you find yourself in the same room she is." My mother said that in a tone that got me thinking... Was it really true that she had the power of raising the sun and the moon then? That wasn't something they invented to make her more appealing? And she was supposedly as strong as to lift objects such as giant boulders and carve rivers with her magic power alone?

"How old is she then?" I asked my mom. But a sudden squeaky voice to my right answered instead.

"Most likely three thousand, one hundred and seventeen years old. But the historians argue about her actually being three thousand, one hundred and nineteen years old." She was a purple filly with a pink strand of hair in her mane. She was an unicorn and her eyes were deeply focused on the painting of Princess Celestia, she didn't even gaze at me as she answered my question.

Before my mother or I could react to the sudden appearance of a filly, another voice called out from behind us. Which made us both look back.

"Twilight! Twilight!" The filly didn't react as she gazed at the painting, but it was definitely her mother calling her. Soon, she appeared behind us and lowered her gaze to the filly named Twilight.

"There you are! I said, don't run off!" The mare quickly got to the filly, and then saw the painting she was looking at. She frowned.

"Celestia again?" She said in a deadpan voice, as the filly nodded. "I'm sorry about her, she runs off whenever she sees a painting or mention of Princess Celestia." The mare added in a tired voice, looking directly at my mother.

"Wait... Pearl Moonlight?!" She gaped at my mother. My mother raised her eyebrow and squinted her eyes, before gaining a huge smile.

"Twilight Velvet! I knew the name Twilight sounded familiar!" She extended her hoof to the pony named Twilight Velvet but was greeted by a hug instead. Which both me and the filly named Twilight, took by surprise.

"How many years?!" Twilight Velvet asked as she stepped back.

"Fifteen? Feels like twenty to me." They both started to giggle.

"Oh, sorry, that's my daughter Twilight Sparkle. I see you have a filly of your own now huh?" She commented not even looking at me. My mom blushed.

"Yeah, remember that colt that once fell from the third floor with the teacher's books in his hooves?" My mother asked with a little giggle.

"Yeah... It was... Feather... S... Sandstorm? Don't tell me..." She smirked.

"Yep. And we have three daughters. Shine and Sunset are both adults by now, and here, is my sweet little Aurora." She said as she brushed my mane with her hoof.

Until now, Twilight Velvet didn't actually look at me, but once she did, her smile fell and her eyes looked a bit terrified for a split second, before smiling once again.

"She is... Lovely." She commented on my appearance, as the young filly, finally decided to avert her eyes from her mother, looking at me too. The reaction was similar, and she hid behind her mother.

"I know what I look like, you don't need to remind me." I replied, which resulted in my mother's hoof being planted on my head rather quickly.

"Aurora!" She scolded, as I rubbed my head with a hoof.

"Sorry." I replied instantly.

"I'm so sorry. I didn't... I-" Twilight Velvet started to say but my mother cut her off.

"Don't worry about it dear. I keep reminding Aurora here that her appearance is nothing to be ashamed of, even if she looks different, she is still a good pony, but she doesn't seem to listen." She said as she glared at me.

If that was the first time this had happened, she wouldn't have hit me, but since it's most likely the fifth or sixth time that sort of comment slipped, she got angry. Not that it hurt or anything, but I still felt like she was getting there.

"It's okay, don't hit her Pearl. It's okay to be different, that makes us interesting." Twilight Velvet said as she sat on the floor in front of me.

"I know. I just...-" I started to say but then looked at my mother and decided to not say anything else. "Never mind."

"I think you look like a villain..." The voice of the filly named Twilight Sparkle made us all three snap to her.

"Twilight!" Her mother wanted to scold her, but I thought it was interesting enough to play with her a little.

"Yeah, but I'm not. What if you looked like that, would you become a villain because you were born like that?" I asked Twilight. Both mares were a bit stunned at my directness.

"N-No..." She replied, a bit ashamed.

"What about Princess Celestia? What if she didn't have her rainbow mane? Or her white fur? Would you like her then?" I asked, surprised I was a little... Intimidating.

"I w-would..." She replied a bit taken aback. I felt like I should take this conversation somewhere before my mom hit me again for making the filly feel bad. So I did the only thing that came into my mind at that moment.

"Good. That means we can be friends." I extended a hoof to her. "Do you want to be friends?"

She hesitently stepped further, looking first at my hoof, and then at me. Then she gently took my hoof into her own, shaking it. "Yes..." She replied, smiling.

"See Twilight, I told you you could make friends." Twilight Velvet commented. My mother was a bit shaken by the encounter. And so was I. Didn't expect Twilight to just accept my friendship.

"Do you like Princess Celestia?" She smiled at me as she asked the question. Which I found so funny, I started to giggle.

All four of us suddenly forgot about the whole situation, and soon, I saw that they were not scared of my appearance anymore, and Twilight Sparkle even started to smile while looking directly into my eyes. I was not expecting to make a friend, and I wasn't expecting to find a different foal who actually was into learning stuff either, but I think Twilight didn't have many friends before me, or even one friend. She was quite anxious about everything she said. And she kept thinking I was going to reject her after a while for some reason.

Our mothers talked among themselves as we all explored the museum, commenting on each piece, sculpture, and painting. And as it turned out, the whole reason for Twilight and her mom being here was the same as for me and my mom. They were applying to CSFGU, and they came here to learn for the tricky or hard questions that might involve the history of ponies.

We started to question each other, and soon I found out more and more about pony history, science, and culture, than from books I had this past two months. Which shows exactly how much you can learn from someone else rather than only from books. Having an actual conversation with a foal my age felt really fulfilling. Not having any friends made me hide all my emotions and interests in my own head, so being able to speak about them freely made me feel much better. Not that I shared much, but you get the idea.

The most interesting thing to Twilight however was Princess Celestia. She wanted to know everything about her. Her age, titles, spells she created, books she wrote, how she became a Princess, etc.  And I got her completely. Pony goddess able to lift a sun and moon, while also being thousands of years old is definitely something I wanted to learn more about myself. Not to mention how she did not turn into a tyrant or become evil after so many years of being in power.

As fun as the trip was. It was getting late and we had to say goodbye to each other, as our mothers clearly were exhausted already by all the knowledge we wanted to soak today.

"It was fun." Twilight commented as she smiled at me. Making direct eye contact.

"Yeah. I guess we will see each other at the entry exam, huh?" I asked, being curious about the unicorn filly.

"Yes. I can't wait! But I'm also scared..." She started with an anxious look on her face, I smiled knowingly.

"Me too, but if you are as good as a unicorn as you are a historian, you will pass." I bared my teeth out and squinted my eyes, in a funny manner. My mother was very surprised by this action, she had never actually seen me make any weird faces before, and it made me chuckle inside.

"You too." She giggled. "And... Thanks. Aurora." She said as she gave me a hoof bump. Right, there was the first time ever, that someone said thank you to me and hoof-bumped me. It was... Nice... Really nice.

Having my own very first real friend leave me, felt really bad, but I couldn't wait to see her again and I hoped that she would pass the entry exam with me, so we could be friends at the school too.

As I got home, I felt strange, like something that was taken from me just came back. And the feeling only intensified as I got ready for bed that night.
> Chapter VII: Here We Go Again... (Part One)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The day of the entry exam was upon me. Everything I learned for the last few months has led me to this point, I was feeling ready for anything the examiners might throw at me, be it magic or anything else. That being said... Why am I feeling so scared?

That was the first time in my life I had been so anxious, and I even spilled some milk during breakfast on Shine. I don't think I had been like this in the past, or at least I can guess I wasn't, my mind is somehow finding it difficult to cope with so many new ideas and morals all of a sudden. This might be because those things I do now, will impact me heavily later on in life, most foals probably don't think about that stuff now, but I'm not a normal foal.

Still, I had learned so much during those last few months...

My magic went from novice to more apprentice level one, with few simple spells and better magic handling at my disposal. I could use levitation with ease and hold many heavy objects in my magic grasp at the same time. With that in mind, I learned how to properly cast spells, and choose the most basic ones to work with for now, having only my mother's books as a guide, it proved to be more challenging than I originally hoped. I don't know why, but while the books mention spellcasting and spells in general, you can't really get much information on how you need to do it, once again they refer to 'unicorn ability to-' which makes me think that you can basically make a spell for anything you want, you just need to make it happen yourself. So... That's what I did.

The first spell I learned was the simple 'fire' spell, which at my current level only creates a small flame. I can fire it from my horn and aim at something to set it on fire as well. It was easy to learn because it only required me to intentionally put too much pressure on one point of my horn, to start the fire, and then just supply it with more mana. I did that before on several occasions while learning how to control levitation on a higher scale, so I got the hang of it after only a few tries.

The second spell I learned was a simple 'light' spell, which made my horn glow. It was also pretty easy to learn, due to the fact that you only had to supply the mana to your horn, nothing else. The light coming from it became as bright as my supplied mana could make it. Side note, you can very quickly run out of mana if you don't control how much you are putting out, so I had to be careful not to overdo it and blind myself while doing so.

The third, but not the final one was 'Untangle' a spell which objects untangle from all the knots and whatnot. I also learned it makes your mane incredibly flowy for a brief moment so it untangles from all the tangles and double ends. It was actually the hardest to learn because of the fact I had to use it on myself, but once I learned how to do that, it was easy to get it to work on a small amount of my mane. After a bit of practice, I could use it on my entire mane and tail. It's pretty useful, days of brushing my mane manually are over. And a spell that could untangle knots is nice to have too.

The last spell I learned before the exam was 'Water manipulation' which as you might have already guessed, is guiding water with your horn, great for practice, because water is much heavier than air, and moving even small quantities is difficult. I could of course use a simple levitation spell to move water, but this spell uses your body momentum to make the water flow better, making you use less mana. Not that useful generally, but over time it could prove essential if I want to learn to create ice or mist later. Also, I felt like an avatar while learning those spells.

I also remembered to practice my shield spell, or rather my 'put a bunch of magic in front of myself to block whatever comes in my direction' spell. Yeah, I guess I can't call that a proper shield yet. But it worked in the past, so I'm not complaining.

With magic out of the way, I focused on studies and physical training. I learned quite a few interesting things about pony anatomy and biology, and it proved to be very useful to me during my training sessions. My muscle tone increased, but I got more into shape rather than into bulk.

I did wonder how it compared to earth ponies at a few points. They are famous for their strength and vitality, but I didn't have anyone to compare to, so I settled on my father who is a unicorn, but he also works in the royal guard. After asking him to lift some dumbells with his hooves, and do some of the usual training he does in the royal guard. I didn't stand a chance, of course, him being an adult, and me being only a seven-year-old foal, but I managed to at least do one-fourth of what he showed me.

He did visit us three times during those two months and complained about being stationed somewhere at the border of the Griffonian Empire, which made me interested. As it turns out, the Griffonian Empire is the biggest and closest neighboring country to Equestria. Over the years, especially after the war two hundred years ago, the Empire became rather poor, which resulted in most villages and towns simply ceasing to exist. As a result, the griffon population declined. Now after so many years of peace and a few good years of prosperity, something new is happening with the usually calm atmosphere in the region of that country, and it made Princess Celestia worry about the security of the borders. At least that's what Dad has heard from officials and the General.

I really hope there won't be anything serious involved between us and griffons, but living here for seven years now, I think it's just going to pass, like always. The Canterlot News will print some garbage about being on the verge of conflict, Princess will meet with some delegation, and then everything will be as it has always been.

Back to the present.

Today my mind was somewhere else. As me and my mom walked to the higher district of Canterlot I felt different, a bit scared about the exam, and a bit lost about my place in all this. I actually never been this close to the castle and more 'elite' sections of the city. I would say that the word 'Rich' would describe the overall quality of life here pretty well. Everything is made of pure white marble, with even some gold and silver scattered here and there. Architecture is similar to the Romans with high roofs, columns, and pristine use of white. The brick roads themselves were quite wide and complemented by a wide variety of trimmed bushes, lamp posts, and stone benches.

I must say, that it impressed me how much detail and care was put into the place, but having so much gold and time, I wouldn't expect anything less from Princess Celestia. Canterlot is definitely something else when it comes to beauty and high standards. But what do I know? I have never been anywhere else than Canterlot, maybe it's like that everywhere and I'm just overreacting to all this.

Feeling a bit anxious about the upcoming event, I felt the need to slow down and appreciate the landscape I was put in those seven years ago. As far as my eyes could reach, there were trees, massive forests stretched across the countryside, and a large lake sprouted in several directions as the waterfall of Canterlot Mountain fell down to its depths, creating a stunning rainbow above the water. The small settlement below, Ponyville I believe it was called, was cast into a shadow of the mountain. I wondered how massive and grand the city itself looked from there, and how ponies lived in smaller towns like that. Maybe one day I would find out.

As we walked I also noticed ponies staring at me and my mom, but mostly at me. Those higher-class ponies, with a more fashionable sense of living, were most likely not accustomed to seeing someone like me. Some stared, but others gasped at my sight, to which my mother promptly responded with glares of doom and actual growls. I want to remind myself not to seriously anger my mom...

She made me pick up the pace, due to the fact that the examination starts early, and there would be a lot of applicants for a spot we had to hurry to sign in. Only twenty-four ponies could get in and if the concept of learning from Princess Celestia herself wasn't inviting, there was also the grand status of becoming one of the elite students of CSFGU. I felt like this was something I could actually achieve, something that even someone like me, a human from another world, could do, and then celebrate with my family.

My memories might be gone, but my spirit isn't. And deep down I know why I choose to stay here and do my best. Because I was always destined to do so, or so I hope...

...

Suddenly a high 'boom' made me jump, and my mother hovered over me. With it, a magnificent rainbow formed in the sky, not a second later, however, I felt the ground shake, and something on the horizon blocked the sun for a good ten seconds, forming a shadow. Then as it appeared, it vanished. I wasn't sure what the fuck just happened, and the whole street fell silent as we listened for anything else, but as the rainbow in the sky diluted, so did the noise.

"What happened?" I asked my mom, which made her blink.

"I...Don't know..." She replied as we stood there, with everyone else either hovering over something or hidden inside buildings. Either way, I think something just created a sonic boom, but what's with the rainbow?

Having no much time, we decided to move, and forget this strange event. My mom still felt anxious about it, making me stick close to her as we moved to the 'Culture and Science' district of upper Canterlot. After half an hour, we made it to the school itself.

It was big. Really big... With a multitude of white bricks and colorful windows, it had three levels with a magnificent round stone plate roof and a large equestrian flag on top. The school perimeter was full of beautiful gardens and fountains, with a large assembly in front, two large unicorn statues on the sides, and a high metal fence that consisted of different spiral shapes. The pristine and grandeur of this place could most likely only rival the Canterlot Castle itself with its design and finesse.

Moving past the open gates of the CSFGU I felt ready to face anything. Even with everyone staring at me along the way, I still felt good, I felt like I should be here.

"We are late. Look at that crowd." Pearl mentioned to the large group of ponies in the middle of the school entrance, many with colts and fillies with them. They stayed in line to speak with a pony in a black suit and a clipboard.

After coming closer and joining the queue, we continued to chat about the strange event and listened to others who talked about it. Turns out, something strange happened here too, but no one could see because it blocked the sun. As soon as it appeared, however, it vanished. Some said that the roof of the school was gone, but as we saw coming in, it was perfectly intact.

After a good fifteen minutes, we were finally in front of the stallion scribe.

"Good morning, name, age, and Identification please." The stallion said to my mom, glancing at me and raising an eyebrow.

I blinked at him, but he didn't respond, my mom gave him her ID, and then he casually eyed me with his tired glare.

"My name is Pearl Moonlight, and this is my daughter Aurora Moonlight, she is seven." The stallion scanned the ID card with his eyes before coming back to me, his expression still tired and lifeless.

"Everything is good, number one hundred twenty-seven, go in and wait for the examiner to call you in. Second floor, last door on the left." He said to my mom in a gentle, yet a bit resigned tone.

"Thank you." My mom replied as she gave me a nudge to go inside. As we entered, I found myself in a rather medieval-looking setting, with lots of mahogany wood furniture and showcases with vibrant scientific prizes inside them. With a large chandelier on the ceiling, and gold trimming on the walls, I held my breath as my mom started to smile. Most likely remembering her own years in here.

Two large staircases on each side made of the same type of wood spiraled to the second floor, and several doors on the first floor were open, letting me peek into entire classrooms filled with the same kind of detail and grandeur in mind. The large window frames made the whole place shine with vibrant colors. With how many ponies were currently inside the building, I assumed there would be a tight squeeze between us. But no, the entire first floor was almost empty, and as we walked into the second, very similar-looking floor, we saw a multitude of ponies, still able to wait in a more cultural way, with spaces between them on the benches.

I don't know how many ponies actually attend the school here, but it looks like it was designed with at least three hundred or more in mind.

Me and Pearl sat down, and the eyes of the group fell on me as per usual. I didn't have the energy to deal with this today, so I didn't even bother looking back at their faces. But I assume they were either scared or surprised. Nothing new.

What I haven't considered, however, was the fact that sometimes, life wants you to look.

"U-Umbra?!"  The same voice I heard not so long ago called... I frowned and turned to see the individual it belonged to.

"Not this clown again..." I said under my breath as my eyes fell on the small purple colt named Tender Seed. He cut his purple mane and grew a bit, but he was the same colt that fought with me all those times. I really didn't want to do this again...

"W-What are you doing here!?" He asked as he and his mother squared me with their eyes, drawing a glance from the crowd.

"Trying to apply to the school." I replied with a smile.

"YOU?! Why?! You want to bully my colt again?" His mother, which I found really ugly for some reason, fired on me. I simply frowned.

"Aurora didn't bully anyone! As if your colt is an angel himself." My mother struck back, which surprised me. And drew more glances from the crowd.

"Oh, please! Your ignorance is making me vomit." Tender Seed's mom spouted at my mother, which made her grow a shade red before she stood up and walked to her.

"Great. Just what I needed right before the exam... A fight..." I said to myself as I stood too. With everyone's attention on Pearl and Tender Seed's mother, 'he' came to me.

"You are a bunch of muscle anyway! You don't have the brains for a school like CSFGU, go somewhere else!" He stated to me, which I found silly considering that he had one of the worst grades in the class, while also being the one who started fights.

"You are one to talk, with a grade only comparable to a coconut, and no real magic ability." I replied with a smirk. Knowing fully well, that he never moved past levitation. It made him turn a shade of red too, just like his mother at this point.

"That's it!" He shouted as his body started to move to strike me.

I was prepared to fight him of course, but as everyone yelled and tensed, time stopped moving, and I was rooted in place, same for everyone else. I felt numb and confused.

"I think that would be enough." A voice as soft as silk made my heart jump. Into my field of view, behind until now closed doors, an alabaster pony moved with the grace of a true ruler. It was... her... Princess Celestia.

The time started to move again, but everyone was silent and tense. As soon as my mom and Tender Seed's mom saw who was talking to them, they immediately bowed deeply, as the rest of the parents and foals did. Even Tender Seed to my amazement.

I, however, stayed in place. Even though she is royalty and she obviously knows what she is doing, I won't bow before I know I truly feel like she deserves it. It's something my brain came up with on the spot, so please don't judge me. If my mom could see me from this point of view, I would most likely be already dead. Princess Celestia started to move through the crowd of ponies, stopping inches from my and Tender Seed's mom.

"We are so sorry Your Majesty!" Both mares apologized in an instant, their faces full of regret and shame. The princess simply nodded.

"I assume something bad happened between you two before, but considering we are in a school, I ask you to stay civil, especially when foals are around. You can come to my court if you need help with anything in that regard anyway." She said, in a tone, I couldn't really describe, she was teaching and scolding at the same time, but it didn't even feel like that. It was so weird. They both nodded and bowed even more.

"And who might you two be?" She asked, turning her head to Tender Seed on the ground, and me, still standing, looking at her directly.

She didn't flinch. She didn't even raise her eyebrow when she looked directly into my eyes. But I did...

"My name is Tender Seed! I'm sorry!" Tender Seed said in a squeaky voice. Leaving me to answer.

"My name is Aurora." I replied. Which then made her raise her eyebrow.

"You aren't sorry my little pony?" She asked, making my mother jump in place and me cringe inside at the words 'my little pony'.

"You asked about my name. Not if I was sorry." I did not care if my mom would ground or even yell at me, I needed to know... I locked my eyes into hers, searching deep inside them. I could drown in them, there was nothing I could grab onto, not even a spark of light.

Something. Anything...

"That's true." She replied. Forming a small smile, still no emotion in her eyes. "I must leave you now, I have some foals I need to speak with, please behave, or I will have to ask you to leave." She said as she averted her eyes and stepped back into the room, closing the door behind her.

Immediately everyone relaxed, but not a word was said as everyone took a seat. Even my mom didn't comment on my behavior. How one pony can change the room completely with her sole presence? It was amazing. For the first time, someone other than my mom looked at me for the first time and didn't react. And her eyes... Deep pink eyes... It was something else...

We stayed like this for a good three hours before my mom finally said something, more than three groups of ponies had already written the test and taken the magic exam. I still hadn't seen Twilight anywhere, which made me worry about her, but I didn't have time to think about anything other than myself now. I felt a bit bad about it though...

"You will be going inside soon, Aurora, remember, if you don't pass, it's perfectly fine." My mom said to me, not even mentioning our encounter with Tender Seed and his Mom. They left already with the last group. Tender Seed with a sad expression on his face, mumbling something about 'everyone failing' under his breath. Which made me smile.

"I know." I replied, with no expression. I was doing the last revisions in my head before going inside. With only one group left, I knew it would be tough, but I had to try.

"Good." My mom smiled softly as she cocked my head with her hoof. "I love you?"

"I love you." I replied, giving her a small smile.
> Chapter VII: Here We Go Again... (Part Two)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Stepping into the large medival looking room I felt the temperature drop a degree or two as my sweat started to form on my head. The first thing I saw was five stallions in official-looking suits and one mare with a clipboard and glasses. They were sitting behind a large wooden desk, by their expressions and tense glares I figured they were rather stern and harsh examiners. There was also the fact that we were the last group of foals, which meant that they were most likely also tired from grading tests and explaining everything over and over again. It was a mistake to come so late, but if that stupid rainbow didn't happen I'm sure we would be here much faster.

The room itself was essentially a big square, with two levels. The first level was for students, and the second was for the teacher. On the first one, they lined exactly twenty-four desks for us to sit, and on the second one, apart from all the examiners, there was something tucked into the corner and covered from view with a rag. I couldn't dwell on it now, whatever it was, it was not important right now.

I had been wondering where was Princess Celestia though. I figured that since it was a few hours later, she could be simply gone. Most likely she didn't have time to stay for all groups. It was both a shame and a blessing because I didn't know if I could actually write and focus when she was around. Why she came here in the first place I don't know. From what I heard, she didn't usually come to school on the entry exam day. Either it was something to do with the thing that happened here, or she had something she had to address to the teachers. Whatever it was I had to stop thinking about it, I had a test to write.

My eyes adjusted to the new light which was cast by the now high sun in the sky from wide windows. After everyone entered, the mare with a clipboard and glasses stood up and approached our entire group. She was in her thirties, and by her trot, I figured she was also a little bit tired.

"Good day to you all. My name is Strict Quill and I will be your instructor during the test. Please sit down in the empty chairs, and I will explain everything." She said, with a somewhat cheerful smile. Glancing upon the group we formed when we crossed the door frame. She didn't see me as I made my way to the back on purpose. The faster we do this, the better.

The foals started to move, and so did I. No one complained about where they would sit and picked seats at random. I could see that most of them were anxious, but there were some colts with excited or happy expressions too. I ended up in the last row in the middle. Considering that I wouldn't draw much attention, I figured it was for the best. After everyone finally settled, the mare spoke again, this time on the second level of the room, picking a stack of papers from the desk.

"Dear colts and fillies, the entry examination will consist of two parts, a written test. Which consists of a hundred questions about general topics our school teaches, and a magical test of your abilities. You will have one hour to write. Everything you need was provided on your desk, including parchment and two spare quills, the test will start on my mark. If you have any questions about the test, please ask now." The mare paused for anyone to ask questions, but no one even made a sound. I guess they were taught what to do multiple times beforehand by their parents or were so anxious that they wanted to get out as soon as possible. The mare seemed like she had done this hundreds of times.

"If you are feeling bad during the test or want to go to the toilet, please let us know by raising your hoof into the air." She paused once again to see if anyone would ask something. Once again, no one did.

"Very well. The test will start in thirty seconds after everyone gets their copy. Do not turn the pages before I say so." Strict Quill started to distribute a copy of the test to each foal, starting from the first row.

I glanced upon the the foals sitting next to me and in front, each face had a different emotion written on it, fear, curiosity, anxiety... as for the examiners, there was no change on their faces. They simply sat there and watched us from afar.

As Strict Quill finally got to the last row, her glasses fell an inch before she made a step to place a copy on my desk. After she did, she quickly glanced at me, and directly into my eyes, I felt her shiver, but she didn't say anything, she simply moved past me and dropped the rest of the copies before moving to the front once again.

I don't know what I expected, but I'm starting to feel like those reactions are getting worse by each day... Maybe I should really focus on my appearance to make myself more friendly-looking? Maybe try something different... Some more vibrant colors, or I could beg my mum to at least dye my mane a different color? Nah... She would never agr-

"Start." A sudden voice declared making my mind focus again on the task. Everyone started to turn their papers and I heard gasps and anxiety-filled voices, but they were quickly hushed by the examiner.

'Fuck! I was daydreaming! Focus Aurora! Focus!' I said to myself as I turned my copy in a similar anxiety-filled motion.

'Okay... Okay...' I tried to control my sudden breathing. 'Let's see what we are dealing with...'

...

....

.....

"Wait... What the fuck?" I said quietly under my breath as it relaxed. I couldn't believe what I was seeing... They have to be joking right? I flipped to the next page and another... There were ten pages of this?

...

'I... Thought... No...' My mind was confused. 'Two months... Two months of work for this?! What the actual fuck!? I didn't understand...'

I glanced upon the very first question once again.





Who raises the sun? (1p)

A: Princess Celestia.
B: Star Swirl the Bearded.
C: Dragon Lord.





I know this is meant for seven-year-olds, but what the hell?! My mom said it was difficult! And she was asking me questions about the history of how Equestria came to be! Has the level dropped so much over the years?!

I marked the first answer and moved to the second question. Maybe it will get harder?




What is a cutie mark? (1p)

A: Special Talent of a Pony.
B: Medicine for headaches.
C: A type of music.





"You gotta be fucking kidding me." I said it out loud, but it seemed no one heard. As I got to the twentieth question I felt cheated. I felt like everything that up to this point was for nothing. Why would they want us to learn all that stuff, just to shove some stupid quiz questions for babies?!





"Who controls the weather?"
"How many tribes of ponies are there?"
"What is the capital of Equestria?"





My mind was on autopilot as I worked on those questions, I just felt it didn't deserve my attention. Before I knew it, I was on the last page of this ten-page paper, and it had only been twenty minutes. Everyone else was either on the second or third page.

'You have to work faster guys. It's only sixty minutes after all. You lose points for staying on questions you don't know the answers to.' I thought, even though I didn't know how could you not answer those questions in ten seconds.

I felt lied to, and somewhat annoyed that I didn't get to use what I learned. I could've done that test a year after I got here. It had to be a joke. Even the math questions were basic calculus and geometry.

Then I flipped to the last page. Until that point, the test was super straightforward, and I could pick an answer in less than ten seconds, but looking at the next question...





Which is the correct formula for 'Drowning Fire'? (10p)

A: Salty water, Two burning lilies, Six petals of Blizzard Flower.
B: Water, Two Dragon Skitters, Six petals of Blizzard Flower.
C: Two burning Lilies, One Dragon Skitter. Magic. 





...

I blinked.

I read the question again.

Blinked again.

And then smiled. "That's just bullying at this point." I said to myself quietly. 

I started to remember if a potion like that ever crossed my mind. Finally, gears in my head started to turn and my mind found something.

I vaguely remembered some potion called 'Drowning Fire' which made you literally 'drawn' in fire from one alchemy book I read when I was bored of learning the history of Wonderbolts. The question was bizarre, alchemy was not only something they should expect from a foal my age but the questions until this point were child's play. I guess either someone had a good sense of humor, or they wanted to test us in the end after all.

The potion was usually used in combat in old wars by earth pony tribes and zebras. It also could be used in situations when you have had to burn something fire-resilient. Even if you poured water on yourself, it wouldn't save you, and whatever it touched, was burned to a crisp in seconds. Something similar to the fire the Vikings used back on Earth. A fire that can stay on top of the water and eat someone alive in less than a minute. Why they chose such a brutal potion for a question was something I might never want to find out.

I looked at the other questions on the last page, they were similarly difficult, but each one was from a different study group. There was Math, The History of Ponykind, Magic, Alchemy, Geography, Astrology, Biology, Equish, Culture, and Wonderbolt history. I looked at the time and found out I had only thirty minutes left, I felt like the real test just started. Before I was just playing, but now...

I also pondered about the fact they put so many high-scoring and hard questions in the end. Maybe it was some psychological type of test too? Ten questions were worth more than the entire nine pages before them combined. I think the idea was that you should first look at the pages and questions to figure out which scored the most. It's a time management sort of game. Very clever, and a bit misleading too. Because even if you knew that those questions gave you so many points, they were tough. You should really think before you commit to the idea of doing them first.

I was happy I stormed those first ninety questions and still had so much time to do those hard ones, because I'm pretty sure if I was a normal foal with no experience in basic topics such as math or biology, I would be screwed.

I thought for a moment... The fire would definitely come from Dragon Skitters fruits since they produce fire when squeezed, so 'A' is out of the question. Lilies have burning in their name, but that refers to acid burns they leave on the skin of the victim when you touch them. So, 'C' is also out...

Circling the answer B, I made it to the next question. Each one gave me a headache, but I figured that since I had only three minutes for each question I decided to leave math and Wonderbolts History for last, giving myself more time to do the rest of the tough questions without worry of losing points. And I'm glad I did it because I don't think I could figure out this complicated sphere radius calculation in three minutes. I did at least figure it was in two digits, giving me fifty/fifty chance at random since the other answers were in three digits.

"Ugh... I think I done it..." I said, finally relaxing for the first time since I sat down. This was a rollercoaster of emotions...

"And... Finish. Put your quills down!" The mare in the front stated before taking the tests from the first row.

"And what a timing! I wonder how others did." I said under my breath, looking to see others. All I saw was panic. I saw a colt on the fifth page, and a filly on the seventh. I think she started to cry...

I felt a bit bad about it now... I guess it was a hard test after all, just not in common sense. Who knew they would play mind games on foals before they even got in...

The mare with the glasses collected all the tests, somehow, making me the last one to give her my copy, even though I was in the middle of the row. I don't know why, but she gave me the impression of someone who despised things that looked even a little bit different than her.

'I don't care though! I did my best, and fuck you if you want to mess my mood up, you four eyed bitc-' The voice of an old stallion cut off my triumph speech in my head.

"Now, everyone form a line and stand in front of the chalkboard. I will be there shortly for your magic examination!" He said in a tone that was both excited and tired, either it was his age speaking up, or he had just woken up from a nap. The mare who took our papers went to the desk and divided them into four, giving the copies to the four stallions left, who immediately started to grade them.

As everyone got the the chalkboard, the old stallion smiled, his white long beard almost touched the ground as he spoke.

"My name is Orion Comet. As the teachers grade your work, I will be doing your magical examination. We had something else in mind today but..." His eyes swept over the object in the corner. "Weeee... had to change that for something else due to an accident happening. Don't worry, you will be still graded the same." He quickly added with a chuckle.

'Accident? Did someone blast something with his magic? There were ponies talking about the roof being torn apart, and something definitely happened here, but what? I started to wonder if it had something to do with the weird sonic boom and the rainbow I had seen with my mom. Maybe someone invented a rocket or blew himself out threw the school roof itself? Nah... It was definitely in the other direction...' I started to daydream again, but quickly snapped back to the old stallion in front of me.

"Anyone has any questions?" He asked, motioning with a hoof to all of us. No one spoke.

"Splendid! We-" He started to say but was cut off by a small unicorn filly with a pink mane and yellow fur.

"Umm... Can I go to the bathroom?" She asked while twitching her hind legs. Most likely embarrassed by the need.

He smirked. "Of course young filly. Anyone else?"

There were at least ten hooves in the air. "Oh golly..." He chuckled.

I guess the test really got to them.

...

....

.....

Okay... I had to go too...





After doing what god foretold, I came back to the class, with a somewhat mixed attitude, still thinking about the test and this weird accident that happened here. My mom wanted to ask me how it turned out, but Strict Quill quickly confronted all the parents saying that the examination wasn't over and we needed to get back inside. The old stallion patiently waited until everyone came back from their trip to the toilet, he then smiled at us once again, resuming his speech.

"Now fillies and colts, I want you to relax. The magic is a delicate subject, and you can perform it at best when you are at ease. Breathe and focus." He said in a very calm tone. He gave me the vibe of someone who was really old, but at the same time on mind with everything new and exciting. His head turned to the side and he produced a large jar with a multitude of small round balls inside. Their texture seemed to indicate that they were made of glass.

He then took one desk from the first floor we had used to write the test on, lifted it with his magic, and placed it on the second floor just before us. He opened the jar with his magic and placed it on the desk itself. Strict Quill also came back and stood beside him, nodding to him with a small smile and a clipboard in her hooves.

"Miss Strict Quill will assist me, to keep track of your scores. It's not a competition, so don't treat it like one. The task is very simple, lift as many glass balls from the jar as you can for ten seconds. Don't worry if you drop them, they won't break." He demonstrated by grabbing a handful of small glassy balls and holding them in the air for ten seconds before making them fall to the ground. He collected them again using his magic and placed them back inside. He turned towards us again with a smile.

"Now. Who wants to go first?" Immediately everyone backed into the corner of the classroom, against the chalkboard, leaving me buffled and alone in the front of the group. 

"W-Whe? Wha-at?" I managed to say before the stallion's eyes locked into me.

"Your name filly?" He asked. I did not feel him being scared, but he showed some signs of surprise in his voice as he examined me with his eyes carefully. I have seen older ponies react a bit differently than younger generations to me, surprise was more common than fear. And I couldn't read their faces as well as the others. Their eyes were a bit lifeless and constantly tired. I observed this very carefully when I was visiting my grandparents.

"A-Aurora Moonlight..." I said with a small stutter.

"Come on, don't be scared. You can take as much time as you need Aurora." He said, trying to sound reassuring and kind, which I found rather nice of him. At least not everyone immediately thinks of me badly.

I stepped closer to the jar on the desk, looking directly inside it, I could see at least three hundred balls or more, each one sized a centimeter or less in radius. I thought about how much one glass ball could weigh, and how much I could hold. The problem with the task was that there were multiple objects you had to control at once not that they were particularly heavy. Luckily I had practiced something like that with bits and other small objects. However, I had not been able to lift more than fifty objects at once before, due to having nothing else small enough in my house to hold. Everything else was either too heavy or too broad to hold.

I quickly figured that since I could lift more or less a hundred kilograms of furniture for three or more minutes, I could lift them all pretty easily, but I had to focus on multiple objects at the same time. I decided that the best way to do that is to group the objects in a semi-concentrated way, just like atoms of solid matter form. I imagined them floating side by side in nearly perfect space from each other in a sort of three-dimensional grid. That way, I could technically hold to the edges of the said grid, and only supply the mana to the middle making them all float. The problem was that if someone distracted me or made me lose balance, I would drop them in an instant. 

Alternatively, I could try to form a single entity to hold in the center of the mass, but that would require squeezing the balls. The problem with that idea was that I could use too much force and break them, or not form a perfect circle and lose control making them scatter in multiple directions. So the first option was much more stable.

I stepped a hoof back, and then ignited my horn, moving my body to relax I focused on the task. As the old stallion nodded, I started to pour my mana into the jar and surround its walls with my magic. I hadn't done something like this before, and I was feeling really excited about the idea, I had to ask Mom to buy me something like this to train on later.

Technically I could lift an entire jar up, but that wasn't what Orion asked for. So I started by lifting all balls from the button, and then gradually applying the same for the rest until I had control over all of them. My mana poured into the container, making the balls turn a bit red from my magic. I formed a rectangle and aligned the balls as they left the jar. I managed to lift them more or less one meter into the air before a sudden scream made me lose my focus and break the spell. The balls instantly fell onto the floor with a loud sound, none broke but there was a lot of noise for a moment before I actually opened my eyes to see what the fuck just happened. It was going so well...

The cause of the scream was Strict Quill as it turned out. She stepped back and held her mouth agape, as did the old stallion. They looked at me like I was some kind of alien... Well, I was, but that's not the point.

"W-What?" I asked, not really sure what I did wrong to cause that reaction... Did my horn produce some kind of evil magic? Was it the red color my magic produced? I knew it was assimilated with blood magic once, but there are multiple ponies with that color of magic too...

The old stallion closed his mouth and approached me, giving the mare a nod and motion to go to the desk where others suddenly stood up, looking alert over the sudden scream. The entire group of foals backed so far into the corner they were on top of each other.

"Your name was Aurora Moonlight little one?" He asked, bending to take a better look at me.

"Emmm... Yes? Did I do something wrong?" I asked Orion Comet. His face fell and I saw gears turning in his head.

"No. No... I'm just... Surprised you see... Who is your mother may I ask?" He eyed me, standing back up.

"My mom? Pearl Moonlight. Why?" I asked, hoping for even an ounce of information. He frowned at the name as if he was searching for it in his mind. Having not found it, he turned back to me.

"I will need to speak to her, would you mind going to her right now and asking if she would be kind enough to wait for the rest of the fillies here to finish their exam? And, could you wait outside too?" He asked, making me confused.

"Okay... Emmm... Did I pass then?" I asked, having no idea what was going on and why the commission on the desk was having a discussion right now with Strict Quill in front of them.

"Y-Yes. I think I can say you did pass..." He answered, glaring back at the commission and then back at me. "Don't worry about them for now." He added.

I didn't know how to react to that, so I did what I usually do when something weird happens. Went with it.

I stood straight up and went across the room to the wooden doors and opened them. I stepped outside and searched for my mom in the hallway. There were still a lot of parents waiting for their children, and as I started to go in the direction where I could see my mom's mane, I heard Strict Quill leave the room too. She whispered something to the parents who stood up to her and then trotted to the place where I was heading. My mom stood up, confused and scared, Strict Quill approached her before I could even say anything. Also whispering something into my mom's ear before going inside the room again, and closing the door.

My mom stood there, confused. I wasn't in better shape. Something strange had happened, and we were most likely going to be here for a bit more... I just hope this time it's not going to end up in a fight.

Maybe it's a good thing they want my mom to stay...

Yeah... Who am I kidding... It's never a good thing...

She turned to me and investigated my whole body with her eyes. She bent down and frowned at me.

"What happened?" She asked, scared, confused, and with worry in her eyes.

"I... Don't know. The examiner asked me to tell you to stay until everyone else finishes. He wants to speak with you for some reason." I told her, which made her frown even more.

"Did you do something? How was your test? And your magical examination?" Pearl asked in an anxiety-filled tone.

"The test went well... It was... A bit strange. But on the magical examination I was the first to go, and um... I don't know... The examiner said to lift glass balls from the jar, so I did just that. And then the mare who was here just now, Strict Quill screamed for some reason... Then they asked me to wait with you here..." I said, I started to get a bit emotional too, as my eyes started to water. I quickly reminded myself to not be a little bitch, and remember I'm a grown man for fucks sake. 

Those child hormones are going to kill me one day...

"Okay. Honey look at me." She said as I looked directly into her eyes. She was scared, I could feel it, I could sense it. But she didn't want me to feel it as well. She knew I looked like a monster or a villain. But she didn't care. And she didn't want me to care either. She wanted me to be happy. Each day she would tell me that, and teach me to love myself. She would do anything for me...

But why could I feel it? Why did I have this weird ability to see that?

I think I finally figured it out. I'm able to see what others feel because I took the time to learn that. Every time I saw someone look at me, I could read a little bit of emotion and body movement out of them. And now, as I grew a little bit, and learned pony physiognomy and psychology more, I think I can read emotions out of even simple gestures with hooves and eyes. It's not that ponies fear me more... They had always been scared of me, but I can read it better now! It's a very useful skill to have.

Well... At least one good thing coming out of this...

"Aurora! Focus!" I was taken back to reality by Pearl's voice.

"Sorry!" I said, looking at her, now fully focused.

"I said, don't worry about it. Understand?" She asked scared.

"I know Mom. And I wasn't worried about it. I promise." I replied as she closed her eyes and hugged me.





Half an hour later, the door opened and foals left the room. Guided by their parents, they soon left the floor, leaving me and my mom alone. Soon Orion Comet stuck his head out and motioned with his hoof to go inside for my mom. I followed, but he made a gesture for me to stay.

"I need you to wait here dear. I need to speak with your mom privately with others. Don't worry, it's nothing bad. I promise." He smiled, giving me a wink. Which not only surprised me but my mom as well. What did he mean by that?

Maybe is not as bad of a situation as I thought...?

So I waited as my mom went inside and closed the door...

I waited...

And waited...

After a good ten minutes of just sitting alone in the hallway, the doors opened, my mom went out of the room and bowed to Orion Comet as he gently smiled at me on the other side of the doorframe, before closing the door and leaving me with my mom alone. I quickly got up from the bench and rushed to my mom.

"What is it?" I asked, not being able to contain my curiosity.

"Aurora... I have good news and bad news." She said, eyeing me with mixed emotions in her eyes.

"I want bad news first." I replied. Taking a serious face.

"You have much more to learn." She said instantly, bowing her head in a sad manner. Making me feel once again like someone who doesn't belong.

My face fell a bit and I hung my head. "Oh... Um... What's the good news then?" I asked, knowing fully well that nothing could make me happy now, not even ice cream.

She frowned, and looked out of the window for a second, before looking at me with a wide smile and a sparkle in her eyes.

"You got in!" She said before taking me into a hug.

'What?!' I asked myself as I hugged my mom. 'No way!'

We stayed like that for twenty seconds before she finally let me go. She started to cry, and so did I. Every negative emotion flew out of me, replaced by a warm feeling of joy.

"But... But... What happened? How?" I asked confused. 'Why and how did I pass? Which place did I get? How many points did I get? Why did Strict Quill scream?'

"I'll explain on the way home. But first... Ice cream?" Pearl asked as a tear rolled down her cheek once again.

I was stunned. But also incredibly happy... I wiped her tear with my hoof.

"Yes!" I replied.
> Chapter VIII: The Wolf.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Interlude


'Dear sister... I want to see you so badly... You don't understand how I miss you...' I thought as the door finally closed. The mare finally left, and I was once again left alone with other teachers in the same kind of fashion as what happened earlier...

"May I ask, why do you think she can be trusted with this?" Orion asked me with his brow raised.

Why indeed... I think I don't have a choice right now, there are things in motion that might lead to something great... And 'this' happening was not one of them.

"Master Orion, I understand your concerns, but my decision is final. There are things I need to focus on, and that filly... Is not what I need right now, but I can't risk anything regarding this... Her development." I said, looking out of the window, observing the filly with her mother leave the premises of the school. 

'It's not always an easy choice, but always the right one...' I thought.

A thousand years of waiting... Why now?

"I will be leaving now, I think I already have twenty-four students selected. Thank you all for being so nice to allow me this, while I can't share details regarding this, it's really important." I said, looking at the teachers who even though they were tired, smiled at me.

Everything I do, I do for you... my little ponies.

"Emmm... Your Majesty, one last thing... Your appearance?" Crystal Glass, History teacher commented.

Oh, right. Old age finally caught up to me, huh? Or is it the rush of emotions today has brought?

"Of course. Thank you my little pony." I said, shifting the spell and dropping the illusion of Strict Quill.

Sometimes I wish I could stay like that... Be free to think, and act however I want... But alas... Being a princess comes with a cost, that cost is making the right decisions, and most of the time, it's the opposite of what you want to do.

"I will take my leave. I shall see you at the opening ceremony in a week." I smiled, as they bowed and collected their notes before leaving.

Do they really need to bow every single time? I'm a headmistress here... I should really think of a law that forces them to treat me like one... At least foals don't bow...

Right... Foals...

Now I have to sort their references and sign them into groups... If only I could just focus on Twilight...





After teleporting back to my room, I took the exams to my desk, making sure to separate them into three piles. First were those who were simply good enough. Then there were exceptions. And then... Those two... 

Everything needs to be perfect if I am to succeed in ten years... Twilight needs to learn, discover herself, and make friends. I have to see where I can find five potential candidates...

I dismissed everything and everyone for the evening. I want to make sure I have a backup plan, I don't want a second Sunset Shimmer... Even though I wish she would come back one day... It's been two years already...

No... I can't think of that right now. The plan was good, the problem lay in executing it. I already corrected those mistakes, and this time it will work... It has to...

Looking into the first exams, it became rather obvious that there were some more brilliant foals this year, but they lacked skill in time management, and only a few got to the seventh question. None however got any correct answers in the last ten, even if they cared to look there. Disappointing.

Every ten years, I change the format. Searching for some kind of basis I could grow another generation on, I want everyone to be brilliant schoolers and scientists, but often those who lack vision even at a young age, stay in the same place all their lives. I need to change my ways of teaching every so often, to make sure they expand their knowledge and use their creativity.

The last sixty years were... Not great... No major advancements, not a single new culture forming... Hopefully, this time there will be different results...

Who am I kidding... Every ten years, I make questions easier and easier... And somehow, the score stays the same... The last ten questions haven't been changed for the last hundred years, and no one could answer all of them even once since then.

I feel like I'm making my ponies more stupid... But at the same time... Safe...

It's just an illusion. A lie to make them think I'm making sure that they are all brilliant, cared for, equal... And while I'm trying to do that... It's still a lie.

I know I can't compare my ponies to those who lived hundreds or thousands of years ago but... They lack instincts. They live comfortably all their lives. But they don't realize the world hasn't changed that much outside Equestria.

Everywhere you look, North, South... Even across the sea in Griffonia(*) the world is still covered in blood and gore. Creatures live poorly and without the magic of harmony.

For how long can I keep this up?

What would I do if the Griffonian Empire attacked right now? They already showed their aggression in the past, raiding villages, making me sign treaties that don't benefit Equestria... And their recent actions towards border patrol...

How long can I hold the peace? How long till I have to take my spear in my hoof again, strike and kill...

No...

I can't think like this. Believe in harmony, believe in magic... Believe in Twilight...

She will succeed, she will defeat Nightmare Moon. And she will become a princess. I just need to stick to my plan. Everything will work out. I can delay, I can adapt. Everything will be fine.

I looked down at the 'exception' pile. Tender Seed, Shining Scarlet, Cloud Skip, Top Shot, Soft Hooves, Moon Dancer. Those few have either good scores or were clever enough to answer at least one or more questions for the ten points correctly. 

Tender Seed... Even though he has good magic handling and a decent score, he definitely has anger issues, his actions in the kindergarten speak for themselves. I will need to make sure he doesn't create problems during off-school hours.

Shining Scarlet... I feel like she doesn't want to be here... Perhaps her mother forced her to apply? I will try to make her plan easy so she can adapt well and learn to love being at CSFGU.

Cloud Skip is the only foal that managed to lift more than a hundred balls into the air. Definitely should keep an eye on that one. She could prove like a good asset later on.

Top Shot. Very cocky, and will need a lesson about losing early in his education. But other than that, he will definitely become one of the best students this year. If he is as good in magic as he is in alchemy, he will become one of the best in the field.

Soft Hooves... That filly has potential, but she is scared of others' opinion of her. I will need to reach out to her personally, invite her to speak up, and try to make friends, it would definitely be good to persuade Twilight to be her friend... Or is it still too early for that?

Moon Dancer... Dancer's family has been scientists for over seven hundred years, I believe that won't change since she had the third-best score on the test.

Stamping their files, I looked at the clock. It was already late, and I only had a little more time before I had to lower the sun, however... There's still one pony I need to... Inspect...

I moved the Twilight file to the side and focused on the one in front of me.

Aurora. Aurora Moonlight...

A flash of her face on the cover made me frown. Why does she look like that... Mutation? Perhaps... After all, magic can't exist without a rainbow...So she might have colors in her DNA, but her organism doesn't produce them for some reason. She has magic, definitely. But why does it feel... Different? Alien? I don't understand it...

If only Luna were here... She was always better at understanding such things...

I have to make sure that she won't grow up to be a problem. Even if it means that I have to lie and cheat to achieve that.





A few hours earlier...





'I can't believe my eyes!'

'What is this?!'

'This... can't be?!'

I had to make her lose connection fast!

"AAAAHHHHH!" I screamed, making her drop all the glass balls to the floor. I hoped that nothing bad would happen to them when they touched the ground. And to my relief, they simply bounced before settling down.

'That was close...' I thought.

I saw Master Orion look at me, he understood instantly what I wanted him to do. He approached the filly and started to talk to her while I moved back to the desk to inform the teachers what was happening. 

'I can't lose my temper. She can't be... his foal right? No... No, Sombra... Never had any children... But her eyes... So... Bloody... In all my years I never saw a filly look into my eyes, and try to penetrate them the way she did! I thought only brilliant strategists and leaders were able to do that on this level...' I moved to the other teachers to explain the situation, I didn't want them to panic over my reaction... They know I'm here in disguise, but they will protect me nonetheless if they need to...

'And that magic... Red, but that can be a coincidence. But that spell! I know that spell! That's not levitation! That's advanced object manipulation! She could tear those balls apart if she wanted to! Change them into any shape, mend, forge, and transform them! How did she learn that spell? Is it an illusion? No, can't be... I would know...' I thought as the filly began to move out of the room, Orion Comet instructing her to go to her mother and ask her to wait.

"Everything is alright, stay here, I will explain the situation to her mother. Continue with the examination." I whispered to the teachers. Moving to the hallway I explained to the parents that the exam was not over. Moving to the filly mother next... One of the two mares that caused chaos in the hallway earlier. That can't be a good sign...

"Please stay after we evaluate other foals please, I will need to speak with you and the other teachers." I whispered in her ear, feeling her shiver, panic... She nodded. I also asked about her name, but I haven't recalled anyone named Pearl Moonlight before...

I moved back into the room. Master Orion continued the examination as I stood beside him, keeping track of the scores, and observing the foals. In my mind, there were questions I wanted answers to, many questions...

'Who is Aurora Moonlight...? Or the better question is... What she is?'

'The only other ponies beside me that know that spell are a few brilliant scholars over the years, Star Swirl, and... Luna. While it's a simple spell once you know the basics of how it works... One mistake... And...' Images of the young colt trying to impress me long ago flashed in my eyes... 'So much blood...' I cringed at the memory.

Is there a possibility she could've learned the wrong spell by accident? No... It had to be a fluke, some kind of... Magic mishap... The only way to learn that is to use a levitation spell with two other spells together... 'Atomic Distribution' and 'Similarity'.

Both were created by Star Swirl during his studies on matter and anti-matter. But those spells are lost in time, there are no records left. The only logical answer would be she knew how to use both 'Atomic Distribution' and 'Similarity'. But how?

She is just a filly...

Right...?

...

I feel sick. Everything was going so perfectly... Twilight Sparkle proved that she is the chosen one, the sonic rainbow... Everything... Why then, do I have to watch out for this filly now?! Is this life's way of punishing me for banishing my sister!? Haven't I had enough!?

HOW MUCH MORE!?

*Crush*

The pen I was holding fell to the ground in two pieces. Master Orion's eyes became small pins in sockets as he looked at me. I felt fury in my body.

I wanted that filly de-...

...

...

No... Celestia... Stop...

"It's okay Master Orion, please continue." I said, trying to maintain my positive expression. Taking the pen back, and fixing it with a spell.

That was not only embarrassing but also immature of me. I can't let the same thoughts my sister had change and corrupt me. I'm better than this... I'm Princess Celestia. I will get my sister back, but not by sacrificing the lives of others.

...

It's just that sometimes... It's too much...





Fillies and colts finally left, and there was only 'her' to deal with... I noted the students that proved satisfactory so far, and reviewing their papers also made me sure that this... Aurora... Isn't a normal filly...

Eighty-nine percent... Either she cheated... Which I know isn't possible... Or she's hiding something. No one, not even Twilight Sparkle got past seventy percent... And she is the most brilliant foal I met in a few hundred years...

Opening the door, Master Orion invited Pearl Moonlight into the room. I felt mixed, but I had to make sure I knew exactly what I was dealing with. This can be dangerous if left alone.

"Please sit down, we will explain everything in just a second." I said, making Orion Comet move out of the way and stand behind me.

The mare sat down, not saying anything. But I sensed she was uneasy. I didn't want to resort to this again... But I had no choice... Everything.....

Needs....

To...

Be..

Perfect.

For her. For me. And for Luna.

I dropped the illusion of Strict Quill, making Pearl Moonlight's eyes shrink. Immediately she took off from the chair and bowed before me. 

Unnecessary, but a good sign. Maybe it's a fluke after all...

"I'm so sorry for my behavior earlier! Please! Please don't make Aurora pay for my mistakes! I beg you, Your Majesty!" She said with tears in her eyes bowing before me in such fashion she could hurt herself soon.

"Do not fret, my little pony. That's not why I called you here. It's about your daughter Aurora." I made her stand up, using my hoof to help her. "Please sit down Pearl Moonlight."

The room was soundproof and locked, so I didn't need to worry about the filly looking inside. But I still had a feeling that she might try to... So I went back to the form of Strict Quill... Just in case...

"Is it a-bout how s-she lo-oks? I swear she is a normal pony!" She asked frightened, stuttering.

"No..." I said, which made me frown internally. It was part of the problem, but I wasn't going to tell her that... "It's about her abilities."

"A-Abilites?" She asked, confused. "I don't understand Your Majesty..."

Taking the glass ball jar from the corner I took the balls out and explained. "Those are glass balls, normally, a filly should be able to lift twenty to sixty of them easily. A hundred means the filly is exceptional at magic handling and more means they are a protege. It is possible to lift all the balls of course, but it requires a great deal of magic." I showed her by making all the balls float. However, some on the edges started to either spin or shake.

"Three hundred and twenty balls being lifted into the air is something even I find hard to achieve. But there are ways to make it happen without raw magic." I explained while the balls got closer. "Spells like 'Entity Segregation' for example make them float in groups." The balls were segregated into four groups as I used my magic to sort them. 

"Or link them together using 'Chain Object'." I demonstrated by making the magic to chain them together in a way they stayed afloat even though I only used magic to lift ten of them.

"But your daughter used something completely different." The balls started to line up as I poured my magic into them, making them form the shape of a giant ball. 

With perfect symmetry and distance from each one they stayed in place, some might even say... In time. "She combined 'Atomic Distribution' and 'Similarity' to create a spell called 'Advanced Object Manipulation.' Which simply makes you change the way particles interact with each other." I made the balls form a single giant sphere. They changed shape to a triangle and then melted together. 

I dropped the melted glass triangle onto the table with a thud, making the magic disappear. That was the safe way of using the spell.

"While the spell is not complex and can be achieved with enough training... There is a catch..." I stated, grabbing the triangle glass shape again. "If I were to... touch something else than I intended" I demonstrated by making the triangle touch a chair in the corner of the room and using the same spells as before.

It instantly absorbed itself into the molten glass, and as I closed the connection, the chair had now a triangle of glass inside it, falling to the ground as it couldn't balance itself anymore.

"Do you realize what I mean?" I asked Pearl Moonlight, who by now had a terrified expression on her face.

"If... If that would've touched a living being..." She said, scared.

"Yes, it can be considered a dangerous weapon. But I managed to stop your daughter before she had a chance to touch anything." I said, still observing her reactions. She was on the brink of collapse, she was not only stressed to the bones but also terrified of what I showed her.

I moved closer and put my hoof on her chin. "My little pony. Please, calm down. I'm not here to take Aurora away or harm you or her in any way, I'm here because I need answers. How did she learn that spell?" I asked.

She was still scared, but by gesture definitely calmed her down a little bit. "I... I don't know your majesty! I swear I never thought of her anything like that! Even when I was still learning as a student here I didn't know such advanced magic!" She said honestly. I could feel her search for answers the same way I did.

"You were a student of CSFGU? I do not remember you, unfortunately, but I see that you are speaking the truth." I cooed, hoping for an answer regarding this.

"Y...Yes, I was, but well, I don't believe we had a chance to meet, I was accepted during a period when your majesty had been away. Annexation of northern Staliongrad I believe it was..." She answered, making me remember this pitiful place. Truly, if there was any other choice of saving those ponies from starvation...

"Yes... Yes. I remember. Let's... Let's go back to your daughter. Can you tell me more about her?" I asked, looking directly into her eyes. I hated to use that spell, but it was very efficient...

As she spoke about her daughter I could see everything from the past seven years from her point of view. Birth of Aurora, her first words, incredible learning potential, struggles in kindergarten, fights, her problems with appearance, everything she has seen her do, act, and say...

This foal was something else, something alien. Never did I see someone so young act so rationally and irrationally at the same time and in this way. She was full of surprises, but also incredibly protective and caring. Her strange appearance would normally make her rejected from social groups. A normal foal would just accept that, and close themselves to the outside world, but she... She kept on going... What kind of motivation did she had? Who inspired her?

The last time I saw someone so miserable and so motivated was... Was...

"Your majesty?" Pearl blinked, making me lose focus.

"Sorry, my dear... I was thinking about something..." I told her, moving back and looking out of the window.

I need to watch Aurora. Even if she isn't dangerous right now... Who knows where she might end up if I don't control her? I don't want another problem on my hooves right now. I want to focus on making Twilight my pupil. She needs so much work, and I can't let myself lose the only chance I have of making my sister return...

"Aurora will attend CSFGU." I said, looking at the mare on the chair.

Everyone else in the room was silent, so I spoke again.

"That way, I can make sure she doesn't harm herself, and others." I said, which was partially true, but it had to be enough to convince her.

"Thank you!" She said with tears in her eyes.

'Huh? That easily?' My little ponies really became rather easy to control over the years... "There is one condition though." I need to use this opportunity to make sure she doesn't suspect anything.

"Don't tell Aurora about me, this, or anything that happened in this room. She needs guidance and she has a lot to learn if she is to be successful." I said, making her nod.

"What should I say then?" She asked, confused.

"That we were simply surprised how well she did." I said, making Pearl cringe.

"I know that lying isn't what you want to do. But believe me. It's the only way for now." I had to use everything I could to make sure Aurora stayed in the same place she was. I won't harm her, but I cannot allow her to ruin my plans, and I will do anything in my power to make sure of that.

"Of... Of course your majesty." She bowed again.

Nodding I made a motion for her to leave, others seemed as confused as she was, but I didn't care. Nothing, and I mean nothing will make me lose my sister...

Again...
> Chapter IX: Livin' On A Prayer.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Pearl and I trotted down the Canterlot streets once again, this time we both ate ice cream as we went down to our home. I had a vanilla one, and Pearl had chocolate. Not that it's really important, but I wanted to address that fact nonetheless. Vanilla is the best flavor, and no one can tell me otherwise.

Anyway... I was still feeling shaken up from the exam, sure I made it in, but there were still things I wasn't so sure about. The reactions I got from everyone and this weird feeling of being the center of attention weren't what I really wanted.

My mom said the examiners were surprised by 'my magical abilities.' and 'my control over the spell' Which I found rather hard to believe. From what I could see they were scared and confused, not necessarily surprised, and what's more, they knew something, or rather they acted like something horrifying was going on.

I wasn't born yesterday to not see that, even though I have this weird ability to tell what ponies feel deep down, I'm pretty sure anyone could spot that something was definitely off with that examination.

I still don't know much about magic, it might be that I used something I shouldn't. But I can't think of any branch of magic that would cause such reactions, I mean, I did everything I did back home.

I lifted the objects using my levitation spell, granted, I had never used so much mana and lifted so many objects before, that's why I had to get creative. But surely the magic is the same as before right? I mean, I lift stuff into the air all the time, and no one, my mom, sisters, or my dad says anything. And while my magic hue is red, it still doesn't explain what I did so 'wrong' to get that reaction.

It's not blood magic because from what I gathered it would hurt me to use it, it's definitely not dark or forbidden magic, because it would definitely cause some chaos and most likely make me go blind or something. And it's definitely not some divine magic either, since from what I read, only Princess Celestia can use that branch of magic, which is linked to her controlling the sun and all.

Side note, I still don't believe someone can just 'lift' the sun, but time will verify that. There's something called 'Summer Sun Celebration' in a few weeks, and I intend to go with my mom and sisters.

But in conclusion, whatever I did, I have to find a way to replicate it. I can't just go around and pretend it didn't happen. I also think that it would be best for me to keep a low profile from now on since I sense that being someone who just 'happens' to perform magic on such a level that everyone panics isn't going to win me any awards but make me constantly watched by staff and teachers.

On our way home, I noticed that my mom really wanted to say more about it, but for some reason, she just brushed it off like it wasn't important.

I know I really wanted to get into CSFGU, but now... I feel like it will bring me more problems than opportunities, but I guess it's too late now, I have to drink the coffee I brew and live with the consequences of my actions.

Twenty-four foals and fillies got in. And I'm one of them, but how did I score amongst them? Mom said I had the best-written test in the group, so I guess somewhere in the middle.

That being said. I have now two options to adapt to this new environment.

Option one is to blend in, try to not stick out, and learn as much as I can. Which I tried before, and it didn't end particularly well. So my only option left is to 'force' myself into being friends with others and try to be active. It's completely one hundred and eighty from my usual character and appearance, and it will definitely be hard. But hey, I proved to myself that it's possible when I made Twilight my first friend. So I guess it's not impossible, I just have to try really hard. And who knows, maybe Twilight got in too, and we can be friends on a daily basis? That would definitely help make more friends too.

I just wish that there won't be more ponies like Tender Seed. While they are easy to deal with, they are such a pain in the ass.

I feel like this time I can really learn something useful, maybe some crazy spells that will help me earn some easy money later on in life, or some complex potions that would turn me back into a human. The possibilities are endless, and I can't wait to learn everything I can.

Even now, I still have such a need to learn, I figured I would get bored after a few years here, but the only amount of information I can get from books and ponies makes me want to achieve more and more. I just hope that I can find some solution to my appearance soon.

Since I think I look cute, there have to be some other ponies that think so as well, like my grandpa. He always comments on my appearance like it's something incredibly special and rare. It makes me feel special too, and I love him for that. Even though he is sometimes rather... Brutal, let's just say...

I remember Sunset telling me that one story about him...

One day his radio didn't work properly, so he took it to the repair shop. They couldn't repair it, because it was too old, and spare parts for such technology didn't exist anymore, so he decided to 'repair' it himself, in front of the staff in the shop. Long story short, he broke five different tools and destroyed a completely new radio. What's more, they said he had to pay for the damages and even sent an invoice to him, but surprisingly, two days later they came to his house and apologized like it was their fault.

Apparently, Sunset says that Grandpa has some 'influential' friends somewhere in Canterlot. I just hope he isn't part of some kind of mafia or something.

Coming back to my appearance. I hope I can find a solution to it. I don't want to change myself or dye my mane and fur, because not only a mom would not allow it, but I would also feel like I forced myself to fit society's standards, and I'd hate that.

I want to be me, Aurora Moonlight, a dark-colored unicorn mare with red eyes and a long grey mane. If not changing myself means others will treat me the same as they used to... Fine, I can adapt.

What matters is that I value real friendships, not those built on appearances and societal rules and trends. That's why I have to balance the line between making friends and making real friends. In the end, only real friends will remain, and that's what matters.





Seven days later.





Today is the day. First day of school. The Opening ceremony is where Princess Celestia will officially start the new school term. 

I feel anxious, knowing that today is really important. I need to stay cool, don't act irrationally, and focus on making friends. I will not fail, and I will prove that I can do this.

Moving for the first time on my own up the Canterlot districts fills me with a mixture of different emotions, but the main one is as always curiosity. I'm almost eight now, and that's the time I need to think about my future. I will graduate somewhere around seventeen, and I should really start thinking about what I will be doing.

As I cross the gate to the Culture and Science district I start to think about my cutie mark. I should be getting my own mark soon, and sometimes if not most of the time, it sets your future in place. Most ponies, like my mom, decide to pursue their mark with special meaning. Abandoning their current plans and making new ones.

Not that it's inefficient, but I think that's also very manipulative. Cutie mark roots are set deep in history, ranging back to the Stone Age for ponies, and the meaning of cutie mark was never truly understood. Some ponies directly decided to pursue the opposite of their mark meaning, and that didn't end well.

Still, there are instances where ponies with cutie marks indicating something very specific, can achieve goals in different fields, like science or sport. Take for example Clover The Clever from the beginning of Equestria. Her cutie mark indicates luck, as a clover. But she achieved many different things in her lifetime. She was the head of finances, culture, and science, not to mention her magic developments that made ponies understand how magic interacts with things and living creatures.

Or Star Swirl the Bearded. A brilliant scholar with an affinity for magic and astronomy. His scientific work did include things like gardening or alchemy as well.

That means your cutie mark boosts your natural affinity to certain things but doesn't limit you. You can be simply bad at bowling, and great at flying, but your cutie mark can tell you that you are the best at brewing tea.

It's very interesting to think what my cutie mark would be. So interesting in fact, that I didn't see a pole right in front of me and smacked right into it.

"Ouch!" I grumbled as I stood up, looking around me to see if anyone had seen that. The hit wasn't painful, but embarrassing. Luckily for me, the street I was on was empty. And it was really close to CSFGU too, so my daydreaming didn't lead me somewhere else accidentally.

Sometimes I like to overthink stuff, and it often results in situations like this. I just hope everything goes right today...

"Okay, here we go." I said moving past the gate to the school entrance, the opening ceremony will start in ten minutes, and I could already see fillies and colts going inside the school. Moving past the main square of the school front, I made my way to the staircase that led to the entrance.

I checked my appearance one last time in the crystal clear glass of the school doors before using my magic to open them. I wasn't sure what to expect, but the busy hall of the school caught me off guard. There were ponies on their last year, and first scattered around the main entrance, I could also see some teachers and staff members roaming around the room, trying to sort everyone.

I stepped inside, and decided to keep a low profile, moving to the shadowy corner I trotted past some teenage colts and a few mares before arriving where most of the first years were.

I decided to simply stand still, and listen to announcements as they were made. But at the same time try to see if I could spot Twilight or anyone I knew.

And to both my surprise and hatred I managed to not only see Twilight Sparkle in the first row but also Tender Seed, right behind her.

I wanted to scream at such cruelty of life, making me live with that bastard again, but also giving me a chance to finally have friends such as Twilight. I decided not to try my luck right now, because I could see that the teachers started to address each year individually.

"First years." A tall unicorn stallion with pink eyes and a silver mane stood in front of our group. "My name is River Song, and I will be your class guardian this year, I'm sure you are eager to learn. But before that, we will have an opening ceremony in the main hall, please follow me." He said, motioning with his hoof to our group to follow him.

Soon, everyone started to move, and we poured into the large hall in the center of the school. There were hundreds of ponies and everyone quickly took a seat. I managed to stick to the side, and I was pretty sure everyone was too focused on what was going on to see me.

As soon as the last pony took their place, a complete silence filled the room. The stage with a red carpet opened and a podium appeared. In the middle of the stage, stood Princess Celestia. And behind her twenty or so teachers. There were also staff members like cleaners, maids, and butlers in the corners of the room which made me think I was in Canterlot Castle and not in CSFGU, but I digress.

Princess Celestia smiled and looked around the room, emitting positivity and hope, her eyes were more lively than a week ago, and I could see she was really happy for some reason. Especially when she looked at the first row of ponies, where Twilight, Tender Seed, and other first-years sat. I was on the third row, but still in the same group. So I guess she really likes new students.

"Good morning students." She stated, her melodic voice brushing past everyone's ears. "It brings me great joy to welcome you new year at our wonderful school in Equestria. To all the new students who have just joined us, I extend my warmest greetings and I officially welcome you to our school. Your scientific journey begins here, and I am certain it will be a magical one."

She paused and then continued "And to our returning students, it's always a pleasure to see your familiar faces here in the 
school halls once again. I hope you're ready for another exciting year filled with learning and adventure with our staff. I would also like to remind everyone that inside those halls I'm your headmistress, not Princess, please remember that as you address my person in your work."

Some students signed at that, most likely due to the high amount of accidents when they addressed Headmistress Celestia as Princess in their work. "Now, let the new school year begin, and may it be filled with friendship, harmony, and endless possibilities. Have a productive and harmonious year, my dear students!"





I would say the assembly went well. Everyone quickly got over the fact that Princess was going to be teaching us from time to time, and we started to follow River Song once again, this time to our first class on the first floor.

I tried to stick close but out of sight, and so far I managed to do so flawlessly, even with Tender Seed so near. But as we finally got to the classroom itself I noticed that most of my fellow students were starting to look around and make small talk, which meant I would find myself in 'this' situation once again. I managed however to sit down near the corner of the room, and that brought me a couple more minutes until the inevitable actually happened and I had to introduce myself.

"Alright, everyone is seated? Good. Let me start by congratulating you on passing the examination, you are another generation of students that will make our country proud. Remember, you are the elite Canterlot students, and you should act accordingly." He smiled and paused looking around the room.

His eyes brushed past me, noticing me, but I didn't feel any change in his behavior or attitude, because he continued like nothing ever happened. Most likely he already knows what we look like and the surprise element is already gone, but I still want to know what he thinks of me since he is our guardian after all.

"Once again, my name is River Song, and I will be your guardian this year." He paused for us to register his name properly and then continued once again. "Now, I want you to introduce and tell three things about yourself. We will start from the first row." He motioned to a filly to stand.

As she stood I could see that she had a very long beautiful ruby mane and reddish fur. There were freckles on her face, and if I had to guess, she resembled someone ginger in appearance. Her eyes were deep royal blue, and from what I could see, she was a bit chubbier than most fillies, not by a lot, but noticeable on her flanks and legs.

Soon, she answered the call to introduce herself in the rather heavily accented voice of someone from Ireland 

"Shining Scarlet is ma name. I've been travelin' with ma pa and ma for a while naw. I've also got meself a fluffy dog named Vinna, and I've a bit of a knack for singin'" She said in a confident voice, before sitting down pleased with herself.

I was pretty sure that if she continued speaking I would have to check my sugar levels. That was so cute... I never imagined someone with such a strong and aggressive accent could sound so cute! But I guess I live in a 'magical pony world' so anything goes really...

I can't figure out why, but the fact that she spoke in perfect Irish, with Ireland not being anywhere to be found here made me once again think that this whole thing is some kind of joke. But I quickly remembered that it was not, as I lived for almost eight years now. She could probably tell me that she is from 'Irehoof' or 'Trotland', considering there are places like 'Prance' or 'Saddle Arabia' here.

Anyhow, other ponies stood up and introduced themselves. Names like: Cloud Skip, Clear Skies, Melody Blue, Fancy Silver, Shadow Heart, Sugar Fly, Pop Twist, Winter Coat, Fortune Favor, Top Shot, Soft Hooves, Moon Dancer, and others could be heard. There were a lot of fillies, eighteen, in fact, leaving only six colts in a total of twenty-six foals me included.

There was of course Tender Seed too. Apparently, his 'three things' about himself are 'running', 'magic' and 'learning' which with how he scored on every test in kindergarten, I find hard to believe.

Twilight Sparkle was buzzing with energy as her turn to introduce herself came, she shot up, and as if she practiced it, introduced herself too.

"My name is Twilight Sparkle. I love books, my family, and Princess Celestia. I can't wait to learn how to become an unicorn like Starswirl The Bearded!" She smiled and sat down, the teacher chuckled and moved on.

After a few more colts and fillies, it finally came to me, and I still don't know how I managed to stay hidden from sight all this time, but now, everyone's eyes were focusing on me as I stood up. Before I even said my name I could hear a gasp from Tender Seed in the third row, which made me smirk in his direction out of pure spite.

"My name is Aurora Moonlight. I like to learn new things and go on adventures, in my spare time, I train my body and mind. I hope I can be friends with you." I said, slowly sitting down.

The reactions were... Mixed. Suffice it to say, no one screamed or commented on my appearance, but there still is this dread in the air present from some students. However, I found that a couple of them actually didn't mind my presence, or didn't care if I was there. Either way, it's a plus in my book.

The only positive reaction was from Twilight, who smiled and waved at me from the third row. I waved back, trying desperately to appear as friendly and not dangerous. Hopefully, I can maintain that appearance long enough to be considered a 'normal' pony around here. Slim chances, but there's hope.

The 'lesson' was mostly about organization and school etiquette, with some questions about Princess Celestia and other teachers mixed in. I found out about a few different things I didn't know earlier and made a mental note to not appear like I knew everything, since it would make me the center of attention, and that is a very easy way to lose reliability with others. Especially when I look like this.

As our first lesson ended, we were given five minutes before the next one started, and we were also informed that this class with be our main classroom, with some subjects like alchemy or physicals in separate classrooms.

During that time when River Song left the classroom, we were free to chat for five minutes until the next teacher came. So I took that opportunity to get to Twilight. 

Moving past a few fillies and colts which made surprised head turns at me, I arrived at Twilight's desk.

"Hey Twilight. I guess we both made it in." I said, trying to sound cheerful.

"Yes! And I can't wait for the classes to start! You should come back to your desk, the next lesson will start soon!" She replied excitedly.

"So we talk later?" I asked, giving her a small smile.

"Yes, if there's time." She replied, shuffling her supplies on her desk.

"Okay." I replied, making my way to my own desk, but suddenly a whisper from behind me made my head turn.

"Trying to make friends now Umbra? Or looking for someone new to bully?" The voice of Tender Seed made my blood boil. Quickly remembering that I promised my mom and myself, I decided to only resort to calm and intelligent comebacks.

"If you are going to act the same, I won't have to do anything to you. You will kicked out in a few weeks. But please, go ahead, spread rumors about me being mean all you want, I'm sure that will help your situation." I replied, smirking at him, and making sure everyone nearby heard that.

I could hear his monkey brain smashing two plates for a comeback as I walked to my desk, and sat down. I could see in his eyes that he finally figured something clever to reply, but was unable to because the doors opened and the next lesson began...
> Chapter X: It's Now Or Never.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

As the next teacher went into the room, silence fell. Not because everyone was scared or anything, but because the pony who just went inside the room was none other than Princess Celestia herself. And while I knew I had to run into her this week, I never expected that she would be here so quickly, even though it was our only second lesson of the day.

"Good morning students. I'm sure you know me, but let me introduce myself properly. I'm Headmistress Celestia." She greeted as her body slowly made its way out of the doorframe. From this distance, I could see that she was absolutely massive. I mean, my dad is at least two times smaller than her, and he is considered tall for a unicorn.

Everyone of course went ballistic at her greeting, with 'wow's' and 'gasps'. But I wasn't really all that into her appearance, I was more concerned about what was going inside that head of hers. Since she lived for so long, I wanted to know how she operated, and that would allow me to assess the level I should actually show her and other teachers. Since I don't want to stand out, but a the same have good results, I need to make sure I don't slip any more of my human knowledge than necessary.

Even though I don't remember anything, I have some flashes of how things operate and images of things like planes, bombs, and other shit I want to take to my grave. On second thought... Building an economic empire with something simple like cola or McDonald's would definitely be a good way to earn some easy bits in the future...

As colts and fillies went quiet, she smiled motherly at us. "I assume River Song explained how our lessons will look like, but let me say it one more time. My goal is to get you closer to each subject individually, throughout the entire school you will have multiple lessons with me about many things, and by the end of each subject, I will grade you. Score well, and you will have a chance of becoming my star pupil." She concluded with a smile.

While the idea on paper seems good, the fact that her 'tests' will have a huge impact on each subject with a different teacher means if you fail her class, you essentially fail both. I don't even want to know how much you need to score on those to be her 'star pupil' or in my language 'ass licker'.

While thinking about it, naturally my eyes wandered to her rump, which at first glance was massive, but on closer inspection, she had a really good weight-to-height ratio, and of course tons of muscles on her hind and front legs. Alicorns sure seem powerful in terms of body physique. I can't imagine how painful it would be to get kicked in the gut by something like this. The closest thing I could compare her hind leg to is the T-Rex leg, and that's saying something...

"Now, today's lesson will be about magic. Some of you might already be familiar with the concept of magic, some use it naturally. Both methods are perfectly valid, however, to use magic safely and use as few resources as possible takes time, practice, and knowledge." She finished her explanation with a show.

She took a pencil from the desk and broke it piece by piece, only to glue it together once again in a second. I assume that's not something we will be learning straight away.

"But let's start from the beginning. I told you my name, and I would love to hear yours too. Please, stand and introduce yourself." She bowed her head to the first pony in the first row.

Once again everyone introduced themselves. Celestia would then comment on each filly individually. She seemed to know most of the students' family names, which wasn't really surprising considering rich and powerful elites ruled Canterlot, and taking an exam at the most prestige school in the country was a breeze to them. At least that's my take on this.

As Twilight began to introduce herself, I could see in Celestia's eyes that she was incredibly focused. It could be just my imagination, but I think Princess Celestia can see the potential of someone just by looking at them, considering she didn't even look directly at Tender Seed when he was introducing himself but only glanced at him once. Twilight on the other hand was in the center of her vision. And she sure looked happy about her for some reason.

"It's my pleasure to teach you Twilight too. I know you will become one of the best students in no time." She commented before moving to the next person.

I have high expectations of Princess Celestia. Being the ruler, immortal pony and someone who lived for over three thousand years makes her really good learning material. But I feel like I shouldn't just blindly copy what she says or does, because if my feeling is correct, after living for so long, you only get more miserable as the years pass... I can't imagine watching someone you love die... Multiple times...

When it finally came to introduce myself, I felt a shiver run down my back. Nevertheless, I stood and locked eyes with Celestia one more time. I didn't have to wait long for this weird feeling to envelop me again. She was staring through me, and her gaze told me only one thing, and it aligned with what my gut was telling me too. 

Don't mess with that pony...

"My name is Aurora Moonlight." I simply said I couldn't bring myself to stare at her any longer, so I broke eye contact. I instantly felt better.

"It's nice to meet you Aurora. I hope you will become a very good student." She said, with a bit less enthusiasm than for others.

'Huh? Good? I want to be the very best.' I thought. Her comment didn't have many emotions behind it...

It was a bit weird sure, but I didn't have time to think about it for long, because the actual lesson was about to begin, and I was pumped to finally know how to properly use my magic, from someone who is treated like an ideal role model in that regard.

"Now, could somepony tell me, what is magic?" A sea of hoofs shot up, knowing the answer, I decided to try my luck too, however, Celestia picked Twilight to answer.

"Magic is the essence that flows through every single thing in the world. It connects everything and allows us to bend the world around us to our will. There are six magic types known to ponykind, Unicorn magic, Pegasus Magic, Earth Pony Magic, Blood Magic, Forbidden or Dark Magic, and Alicorn Magic which can also be called Divine Magic" Twilight replied, making me take a double take. 

Was that the line from...

"Splendid!" Princess Celestia commented. "I see you read 'Magic Around Us' By Star Swirl The Bearded. Very good Twilight!" She added with the most genuine smile I had seen her give yet.

While I got the general idea, I would never learn the definition by memory. Nevertheless, it was impressive that she was able to remember that word by word.

"Can you tell me how we use magic?" Celestia shot back at Twilight. And I knew that the answer I would get was the same as I always received.

"We use magic by creating a spell and taking the magic around us to fuel it. The ability to do so varies depending on the pony, and his ability to form spells." She said, reciting the exact same line in the book.

"Very good Twilight! That's precisely right!" She said with a grin.

As soon as she was done praising Twilight my hoof shot up.

Princess Celestia frowned and composed herself before looking at me with a soft motherly smile.

"Yes, Dear?" She asked, drilling me with her penetrating eyes.

"But how do you create a spell? You can't just form it out of the blue. And I couldn't find anything about creating spells in the books." I said, making everyone stare at me with mixed expressions.

After a second, Princess Celestia gently smiled before giving me an answer.

"Creating Spells? My little pony. Creating a completely new spell is rather difficult and dangerous. You see, ponykind invented many, many spells, if you can think of a situation where you need a specific spell, it is most likely already known to us. To create a completely new spell is to create a solution to a new problem, and in the last two hundred years ponykind invented less than twenty spells." She stopped to catch her breath.

"Creating new spells became so difficult and dangerous that we don't practice that anymore. We learn already known spells, and we perfect them by training. Trying to create a new spell is not really needed anymore. And all of you should focus on making the most of what others left us." She finished with a deadly silence.

"But... Isn't this making ponie-" I tried to reply but was caught off by her.

"Now, please tell me Twilight how an earth pony would use his type of magic." She started to talk to Twilight again, leaving me with half a sentence still in my mouth.

Tender Seed smirked in front of me, mounting the words 'You are stupid! Loser!' which really made me want to punch him right now.

As the lesson progressed I could spot a trend going on. It seems like Princess Celestia really, and I mean really wants Twilight to answer most questions, and it seems like others are second matter to her. No one seems to care though, because 'Princess is here, yey! Let's not care she is focusing solely on one individual!'

'Whatever...'





The first day of school ended. And to be honest... I didn't expect that.

I tried on multiple occasions to have a worthy conversation with Princess Celestia, but she seemed uninterested in that sort of thing. At least with me.

I'm not sure if that's my appearance or the fact that she focuses on Twilight Sparkle heavily, but I have a feeling that I'm being fucked silly by some kind of system.

Oh... Yeah. I remember something like that... When I was still attending school as a human, one teacher told me "Listen, I'm here to teach, not make you understand." and I think that something similar is going on here. I got this feeling not only from Princess Celestia but other teachers as well...

And Twilight seems to gabble it all up without care in the world. She was so lost in Princess Celestia that she didn't even bother to check on me as the class ended. She went straight to the front door and left with Princess in tow.

She said that we don't need to create new spells because it's not needed anymore. And to be honest, I see why she thinks that. There are tomes with thousands of pages dedicated to every spell in existence. But... The problem is, that most of the spells are not available to normal ponies. And most of those texts are behind walls and bars. Only a small portion of general knowledge is shared, except of course public libraries, but still. Some books are only for certain individuals. I know this because I tried to rent a book about blood magic, and the librarian told me that I'm not allowed unless I have a permit.

I think there is a system where the government is teaching the basic spells to an unicorn, and everything past that is locked behind a key to not be used recklessly. But is that true? I don't know. But since I never saw a unicorn use a dangerous spell it could mean that something like that might exist.

But what would even be considered a dangerous spell? And why would there be a system that makes your own citizens defenseless against for example invasion?

Sure, it might be easier to control ponies if they are stupid, but it also means that the progress of the country is going nowhere. If you want to grow you have to dare and challenge yourself, so the fact that new spells are not invented means society stopped growing. Why someone so powerful, and apparently intelligent would go to such lengths for such a thing? Isn't the princess beloved by her subjects? Or is it all fake?

If I want to understand it I have to do it on my own. I need to investigate it, and since I now have access to a school library, I think that's the best place to start.





As I stepped into a large oval room I couldn't believe my eyes, books stretched from buttom to the top, everything about everything. The small unicorn librarian mare eyed me as I began to browse books on the first bookshelf. It was too good to be true, so many books!

And at least at first glance, it was good.

Instantly the sign 'First years' caught my attention. It was hanging from a bookshelf to the right, and as the rows of books went, the sections were cut by those signs. Indicating where one year of school ended, and where the next one started.

Naturally, something like basic guidelines for students wouldn't be a problem. You just skip ahead and take the book on the second bookshelf. But...

"I'm sorry little miss, but that's for second years. And these two books are for four and six-year students only." The mare said to my face as I frowned.

"Why?" I asked, she was obviously cautious of me. Better than being scared though.

"Well, naturally, someone who just started school isn't going to understand what is said in those books. I'm sure I could pick some books that would suit your needs better." She scanned my choices.

'Study Of Magic Theory' 'All About Alicorns.' 'Dangers Of Dark Magic'

"But I need those books. I read most of the first-grade books on that bookshelf." I said, trying to persuade her with the 'please' expression I was practicing at home. Making a bow to the right with my head and the sad expression of a puppy.

She frowned. "No. I'm not allowed to rent books above your grade."

'Fuck' I said to myself.

"Fine! I guess I will have to read them once again." I said, grabbing three books I was going to rent and pretending to place them on the bookshelves.

"There is no way I'm going home without answers." I told myself as I tucked the books inside my bag before attempting to leave the library.

As soon as my hoof touched the doorframe, however...

*DING* *DING* *DING*

"Fuck me..." I said as the alarm blasted above me.
> Chapter XI: Rockin All Over The World.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Do you ever get that feeling like no matter what you do, everything is going the same way it always does?

That's precisely the feeling I'm currently experiencing, sitting before the Headmistress's office, on my first day of school, with school librarian right beside me.

Yeah. Life could be a dream...

"Come in." I heard Princess Celestia's voice call out inside the office. 

Instantly the librarian mare got up and motioned to me to go inside. With feeling of dread and despair, I pushed the door open and stepped into the spacious room.

It was rather beautifully decorated with elegant ornaments and paintings on the walls. The furniture was stylized like the rest of the school, in semi-medieval shapes and proportions. Everything was spotless of course, and the small windows on the right gave the room a cozy, yet mysterious vibe. In the back, across the wooden desk with engraved corners sat Headmistress Celestia. She had a pair of small glasses on her nose and a stacks of papers scattered around her.

As soon as she spotted me and the mare who escorted me here, she smiled weakly.

"Thank you, Miss Novel, I will take it from here." She said to the mare, who bowed and left the room in a hurry.

I could practically feel the air around me sizzle as her gaze scorched me. With my current situation, the best outcome of this encounter is to not get expelled. Everything else like my mom finding out or being punished by doing work around school is secondary.

"Please sit down Aurora." She said, gazing downward at her papers.

I did what I was told, sitting on the chair provided, in front of her. Even though my situation was simply 'fucked' I was happy that I could finally talk with her one on one. How would that turn out, we will see.

She didn't say anything for a good minute or so, just glanced at different things on her desk, thinking how to start this conversation presumably.

"Aurora." She said my name in a way I could describe as both a question and a statement.

Not wanting to remain silent I decided to speak up.

"Yes?" I replied and instantly regretted that I assumed it was a question.

She giggled. Which... Scared me a bit.

"You are a... Special filly. Normally, most students that come into my office in similar situations start to cry first thing they cross the doorframe." I felt like I fucked up already as she said that.

I forgot I'm supposed to be a filly. An eight-year-old filly. I should cry, be stupid, and be reckless. And so far, all my actions towards Princess Celestia have been more mature than even adults show. It's no secret she thinks that I'm 'special'. I'm currently balancing on a fine line that can be cut at any moment.

"I... Don't cry." I said, having both internal struggles with myself and trying to come up with a story on why I did what I did on the spot at the same time.

"That's admirable my little pony. But sometimes crying can make you feel better, or relieve you of some worries, remember that." She said, gently smiling.

I could feel that she was filling the imaginary bucket with water, looking at when it would spill out. That bucket was me.

"I... Will. Thank you." I said, not daring to look anywhere else but at her. The first rule of talking to someone you want to lie to. Look directly into their eyes.

"Well. We should most likely talk about the situation you found yourself in today, don't you think so?" She asked, a bit teasingly.

"Yes." I said, my breathing a bit faster than usual.

"Is something wrong? Do you want me to open the window?" She asked, with the most curious expression I had seen on her so far.

"No. Thank you." I replied. My mind raced on the possibilities, stories, and everything else. I felt like I was interrogated and tested on every word, move, and thought right now.

"If you change your mind, just say so, my little pony." The use of her 'my little pony' two times already made my skin itch. My mind went blank for three seconds as she said that.

'What the actual fuck...' I thought.

"You are quite red, are you sure you don't want the window open? Or perhaps a glass of water?" She asked, with that same curious smile on her face.

My head was spinning, my mind racing. I couldn't think, I couldn't blink. Her eyes felt like blazes that burned my very soul.

"N...No..." I started to struggle to even stay put. This was one sided conversation. I felt like I was on fire...

"Very well. Let's start from the beginning then." She stated. Her gaze was on the three books on the desk I was going to rent or run off with.

"Could you tell me..."

"My..."

"Little..."

"Pon-"

I couldn't bear it anymore!

My eyes started to water.

'I can't! I just can't anymore!'

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Just please! Don't expel me!" I broke the gaze, started to cry, shake, and felt incredible pressure finally lift off of my chest.

I felt... Broken.

She didn't say anything. Just smiled. Then, she stood up and walked slowly up to me. From my right, a giant shadow made my vision dark, her giant frame towering over me. Crying and shivering beneath her. She will... She will...

"It is alright my little pony." She said. This time, the words she used were... calm, motherly even.

'Huh?'

She brought her right wing and gently tucked me in. I could feel her fluffy feathers brush my fur. They were delicate, yet sturdy and thick. This action was rather unexpected. Everything up to this point was unexpected, to be honest. I didn't know how to react.

My body knew though... As I cried, tucked in her feathers, and her giant fluffy embrace... I felt at peace. I felt finally free and safe... Was this the feeling I was missing?

Her right-wing retracted after I stopped crying. She smiled at me as she sat beside me on the fluffy red carpet.

"Better?" She asked. And I felt like this was the first real question she asked today.

"Y...Yes. Thank you..." I replied, a bit flustered at the thought I just cried.

She stood up and sat down once again behind her wooden desk before looking at me once again with a smile.

"I'm not going to punish you today Aurora. You may go, but remember, that I will not tolerate any more actions like this in the future." She said, gently reminding me that I should be careful.

"Th-Thank you... Pri- Headmistress Celestia." I replied, my face fully red from crying and embarrassment. I decided not to stay here anymore. I stood up and walked to the door. But before I left, I once again glanced at Celestia behind her desk, her eyes already on the documents before her. She glanced up at me.

"Yes?" She asked, smiling once again.

"I...I can't wait for another lesson." I said, giving her the most genuine smile I had in me. Before leaving...





Princess Celestia POV





I felt my head drop as she closed the door.

"That filly will be the end of me..." I signed deeply.

Aurora Moonlight... She is Both strange and brilliant, but I knew I couldn't be too good to her. Everything I had in me, I wanted to give Twilight. Maybe if Twilight didn't exist, then I would devote my time and effort to making sure that Aurora will succeed as an element, but with so little time, and Twilight already with a cutie mark... I think I made the right choice. After all. It's for my sister's sake, not mine.

I glanced at the books in front of me. Each is different but connected in one way or another.

'Of Magic Theory' 'All About Alicorns.' 'Dangers Of Dark Magic'

I could understand why she chose, Study Of Magic Theory and All About Alicorns. But the Dangers Of Dark Magic? It's highly advanced theory-based speculation. There isn't anything more in that book than any other about forbidden magic. I made sure of that.

My mind went to the lesson I gave today, and her question to me.

"She wants to know how to create spells..." I opened the book and scanned it's contents. I knew it by heart, but sometimes some lines slipped from my mind. Then, in the very last chapter, I saw a small description that made my ears perk up.

"Most spells created by Princess Celestia are based on dire situations Equestria found itself in. She shows the prime ability to create and manipulate magic from the very core of one being. Usually, it takes a unicorn a great deal of effort to create a new spell, but if the situation calls for it, even a weak magic user can create a powerful spell in an instant with sheer power of will. That's what drives Dark Magic. It consumes that essence along with sacrifice from the user to create a powerfu-" I stopped reading.

I couldn't believe I didn't see it sooner. The original text from this book was untouched, it meant for the last three hundred years everyone could see this line, and form a conclusion based on it.

I had to correct that. It was bad enough that some ponies made new spells from time to time by accident, but this... No, I won't let it ruin my country. I have to stick to the rules I set, it made Equestria peaceful, respectful, and safe for hundreds of years already. I know this works. I know this is better.

I can't go back to the bloody wars and daily executions. Not anymore, not with my sister back in a few years. I will show her that living in peace is possible...

I remember dear sister...





"You think you can create a perfect world where everyone is safe and equal?! I LIKE TO SEE YOU TRY CELESTIA! AFTER ALL. YOU COULDN'T EVEN MAKE ME EQUAL!"





My head started to hurt again...

Why... Oh, why dear sister... I was so clouded to see you suffer...





As I walked down to my home from the upper Canterlot districts, I felt a bit numb. Everything so far was pointing to Celestia being a tyrant who manipulated ponies. But now?

Now I'm just confused.

That... The genuine action she did after all that interrogation was... Nice. I don't know what to think anymore. I feel like I'm going to need to pay close attention to her once again. Maybe after taking each piece of the puzzle, I will finally figure out why she acts like that, and hopefully, I will find a way to learn 'real' magic soon too.

I couldn't get those books, but I glanced at their contents once or twice to check if they were even useful. And yeah, one had something really interesting about creating spells.

"It takes a unicorn a great deal of effort to create a new spell, but if the situation calls for it, even a weak magic user can create a powerful spell in an instant with the sheer power of will." I recited the text from my memory.

If that's true... Technically I should be able to create new spells while I'm in dange-

"Wait the fuck up!" I said stopping in the middle of the street. Some passerbyes stared at me with wide eyes when they heard me swear. Most of them were aristocrats on their way home.

I dropped my head and started to walk faster, luckily they were too stunned to go after me. And soon I was home already. That was stupid. I'm stupid. Never mind that though...

I greeted my mom and sisters, told them how was the first day of school, without more... unnecessary details, and went to my room.

I closed the door, took a few small yellow sticky notes, and started to pin them to my worktable.

I created a small board to investigate what was going on, in the middle of course was the picture of Celestia I quickly drew with a marker, and on the sides, I drew speculations.

The most important thing was of course what I learned today. I pinned the first sticky note to a line where Celestia was. It said:

"Celestia doesn't want anypony to be in danger."

Then I pinned this to:

"Libraries don't allow you to rent books about dangerous magic."

And I had my first clue. Celestia didn't want anypony to get hurt, so she made sure that there was a system where only some ponies were allowed to learn dangerous spells. I knew that already, but the fact that she made that system meant she did it to achieve some kind of goal. And that's what I'm after.

Maybe some kind of war in the past made her decide that it's for the best? Or maybe she is just testing the idea...

I placed a sticky note to Celestia, saying:

"Tyrant or Beloved Princess?"

I need to learn more, and if the library isn't the place to do so, there is only one other thing I can do...

Ask around.
> Chapter XII: Come And Get Your Love.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

My search brought out two things. First. Everypony around here is either stupid or blind. They do not realize that restricting knowledge from the public is a form of social degradation, and it makes ponies more submissive and easy to control with each new generation. Everyone I ask gives me the same answer. "Princess Celestia knows what she is doing."

That's a complete bullshit. And if you opened your eyes you could easily see that.

Luckily there was one pony I knew I could rely on...





"So...You are asking me... If I know a place where you can read books and access information that the government isn't sharing with most ponies?" He said, taking a long inhale from his pipe.

"Yes." I replied. Realizing just now that I'm only nine, and already breaking multiple laws. Not to mention that I most likely sound crazy to most adult ponies.

"Well, why didn't you say sooner?!" Ruby said, smiling wikedly. "I knew you had my eyes, but it seems you also have my spirit!" He added, blowing his pipe again.

I smiled, feeling a bit uneasy about how quickly he offered his help. "And... You are okay with this?"

He smiled and locked his red eyes with mine. "Listen here my little darkness. What I value about the Princess can be summed into one word..." He paused for a moment.

"Her royal behind." He finally stated, looking around to see if Grandma was somewhere.

"Well, that's three words, but you get my meaning." He smiled again at my confused expression. "You don't realize how happy I am right now.

"I... I'm not following..." I said, a bit taken aback by this.

"Well... Let me ask you something... Why did you want to learn something that isn't publicly available?" He smirked, taking his pipe out and placing it on the small table he had on his left.

"Well... Because I want to know more about how the magic and other things work." I replied truthfully.

"But why do you want to know more about it?" He asked, raising his eyebrow.

"I... Just want to... There's nothing behind it." I replied once again, this time a bit hesitant.

"Then, place yourself as Princess Celestia... You rule Equestria, and there is peace. But suddenly, somepony who wants to overthrow you is born. With free access to knowledge, that pony can get stronger and stronger and eventually become so strong that they start to hurt ponies and the government. That pony is you." He pointed his hoof at me.

"That's... me?" I asked, a bit confused, but seeing the point that he was making.

"Yes. I mean... Not you specifically, but you as the one who wants to learn everything without any restrictions. And that makes you dangerous to the princess. Do you understand?" He pointed at me again.

"I think so...? But what about scholars and scientists? The government needs them to function." I asked curiously. Forgetting that I was still a little mare who should be looking for friends and playing in the park right now.

"I'm glad you asked. Well, it's all about the bigger picture! She controls them like chess pieces! She selectively chooses the ones who fit her image of a perfect society and she brainwashes them! I remember! How the books and paintings started to change...When I was young there was this one little thing that annoyed me..."





Half an hour later...





"Finally!" I suddenly woke up as Ruby shouted to the ceiling, unsure how much time passed since I stopped listening.

"There it was... A place where I could find information! Where I could find how Equestria was really founded and all the knowledge I could ever dream of!" He finished with his eyes on the ceiling, like he was experiencing standing there right now.

"Yes?! Where is it?" I asked, my eyes about to pop.

"Where's what?" He replied, his eyes focused on me now, but distant, like he just forgot what he was talking about.

"The place with all the information!" I yelled, making him scratch his chin.

"Well... There is an old library that's hidden in the sewers... I have a map in my room lying on the second shelf..." He said, clearly not aware of what was happening right now.

"Thank you! Thank you!" I quickly came to his side and brushed my fur all over him. Making him smile.

"Oh, you are welcome my dear, even though I'm not sure what I did...?" He said, hugging me.

I must remember to keep him as much company as possible, it seems his dementia is setting in pretty heavily recently...





The map proved essential since I never even knew Canterlot had a hidden sewer system. But apparently, it was renovated a few years ago, and the old entrances were blocked. At least a few of them remained. Like the one I was currently using, In the low district, near the crystal mines.

If my mother even found out I was in the lower district without permission, she would definitely kill me, but hopefully, it's going to be worth it...

I followed the map path and arrived on the old street with broken houses and a lot of filth on the road and buildings. The mines were further down the road, but I saw that the hatches were starting to appear near the building that was once a clothing shop. Seeing that nopony was around I opened the hatch, and inspected the passage down.

The sunlight only illuminated the small portion of what was down the ladder, but from what I could see... There was a lot of filth and water down below...

Suddenly, my nose was hit with the most disgusting smell I ever experienced...

"Dear god..." I recoiled as the smell of grime and sulfur made my skin itch.

"What kind of world makes a nine-year-old go to sawers to search for a library?!" I asked no one in particular as I checked my bags.

Everything seemed to be in check. So with no time left to spare, I decided to go in.

As I closed my nose with a pair of plugs I started to descend the ladder. Soon, the only light I could find was from my own horn and the slow flow of water became much more clear to hear with each passing step.

The rest of the way should prove easy as long as I don't sli-

"Fuck!" I managed to say before I started to fall down the ladder.

*Bong* *Tink* *Bink* *Bom*

*Splash*

...

...

"Fuck..." I said as the water brushed over my body. It wasn't going to wash me away, but the fact that I not only fell but hit the ladder several times made my head spin and my hooves weak. I don't think I ever received this much pain from a fall...

If I didn't train daily, I think I wouldn't be able to stay conscious. My hooves felt the fall the most, but soon I was able to stand up. However, with no light, I wasn't sure where exactly I landed.

My horn lit up, and quite a large passage of the canal opened up in front of me.

"Holy... Shit... Princess Celestia could fit here..." I said as I saw the color of the water that was brushing over me. My right hoof was definitely dislocated, but most likely not broken. Still, moving it was painful.

"Yuck... I hope I don't catch anything... I need to take a shower as soon as I come home." I stepped over the pool that was draining in one direction and hopped into a step that was carved into the tunnel.

I opened my bag and unfolded the map I had taken from Granpa. It was a bit old, and since the renovations blocked a lot of tunnels, I had only two options either way to reach the market spot.

Right, and down the Canterlot walls. Or Left through the first and second civilian districts. I chose the first because I had a feeling that the passage through the districts might be already blocked, and Canterlot walls hadn't been touched in millennia.

"Here we go..." I said, moving up the stinky tunnel, and into the first right. My hoof was still itching with pain as I slowly made my way towards the marked spot on the map.

After some time I finally reached my first big obstacle which was a big step down, with a tunnel going vertically, lucky for me, there was still a portion of the canal with small steps to go down. Since I was most likely already descending from the Canterlot walls, down the mountain, I expected much more water since small pipes drained it all the way here.

I started to descend slowly down the steps, carefully placing my hoofs to not slip once again. Half the way down I noticed that the water was deeper than before, so my conclusion was proved right. I just hoped it wasn't bad enough to not be able to travel further.

After a good five minutes, I finally reached the bottom, and I started to test the water depth with my hoof. It came right to my forearms, which was good enough to continue.

I had to hover my bags over my head though, because they would definitely get wet, but other than that, the path seemed the same, just much more straight now. The water level didn't increase and the soft sounds of wind made me realize I was somewhere near the surface again, wherever it was...

"The map shows that there should be a small opening somewhere here..." I searched with my eyes, illuminating the bricks and pipes with my horn. Soon I saw a small opening in the wall, just enough to fit an adult pony hoof inside. I brushed my way near the opening, and pressed my hoof inside, however, whatever it was there, I couldn't reach it.

"Shit..." I didn't expect to come this far and not have anything to reach down this hole. I should've packed something long.

Suddenly, a distant noise of something in the pipes made me jump. It was like something was quickly pushing through the pipes and...

"You gotta be kidding me..." I said, as I realized that the pipes on the walls started to violently shake, the water that was dripping from the edges started to become more like little showers of water, and my mind started to search for anything I could find to open this passage before I got flooded.

"The fact that's sewage water does not help!" I shouted as my horn illuminated more, hoping that with more light I could find something to push into the hole.

With every second, the water kept going up, and it was starting to make me anxious, maybe it was better to just let go and go home?

As I weighed my options, the sudden noise of a metal breaking hit my ears. From the other side of the tunnel I came, the water started to splash on my torso.

"I'm fucked." I said, realizing I was most likely twenty meters deep underground with no help whatsoever. The adrenaline started to pump into my brain like the waves of water that were hitting me.

I began to think about everything I learned this far, and if there was a spell or trick to use here.

"The hole most likely has some kind of button in the e-end I need to press... The... The... The map shows that there's a hidden passage just behind this wall... I need to press this button, and it will hopefully make the water flow into the passage... BUT HOW?!" I started to panic at this point. Nothing I had on me could do anything.

"Emmm I have a map... Ugh... A rope... What else... What else... Candle... Water bottle... That's... That's it!" I quickly took the water bottle and wrapped the rope around it.

The water was starting to reach my neck, and the hole was not entirely submerged beneath the surface.

"Push the bottle inside the hole, use the untangle spell on the rope, it will straighten it out, and push whatever it is on the inside..." I said, taking a long breath and diving beneath the surface with my horn lit brightly. I instantly began to push the bottle inside, and when I finally pushed it as long as I could, I took the end of the rope I held in hoove and began to channel my magic, My horn glowed as brightly as a sun in that moment. 

The rope instantly began to untangle, which made me take a double take. I stopped instantly and resurfaced.

"But if I untangle it, it will untie the knot on to bottle! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!" I began to think about how to use this spell to straighten out the rope without making it untie the end of it.

The water started to reach my nose, I had to take the last breath and dive once again.

'I don't want to die here! I just want to learn! I just wanted to know! Please!' I began to cry internally as my hooves began to shake, the water completely blocked any air and I would soon drown.

With nothing else to do, I began to focus my magic on the rope.

'straighten out!' I cried.

'straighten out!' I pushed.

'straighten out!' I begged.

*Click*

As my eyes started to get blurry, and my vision began to fade, I saw the wall move, and twist, and the water began to filter out of the tunnel into some kind of large chamber.

I fell right into it as the water pushed my body. A weird flash of light from above and behind blinded me for a slit second.

I somehow managed to straighten out the rope without breaking the knot. The bottle fell into some kind of trench and the rope was pulled from my hooves. The fact that I just made that spell up was proving to me that the sentence of this book I read was not only correct but also a clear path of discovering new ways to cast magic altogether.

"Aaaaaaahhhhh" I took a long breath, barely making it in time, the water kept pouring inside as I lay there, feeling incredible amounts of adrenaline pass over my body. My hooves ached and my head was spinning. And for some goddamn reason, I felt something hot on my ass.

"I... Ugh... I fucking... Hate... Sewers..." I said, pushing myself up. I inspected my soaking bags and a map that was clearly beyond repair. Ignoring everything else, especially the pain...

"Great..." I said, making a mental note that I should probably remember how I got here if I didn't want to get lost. 

I finally glanced at the chamber I was currently in. There were a lot of small holes in the floor and the light shined from the surface. I looked up, seeing that it was clearly still middle of the day, I couldn't see anything either then sunshine cascaded down me.

I looked down, I felt a shiver run up my spine.

"Al-Alright... Now I know why that water didn't fill this room..." I said, looking beneath me, a space that I could only describe as a bottomless pit made my skin crawl with fear of falling down. The only thing holding me here were those metal bars on the floor.

I could hear the water hit the bottom of this pit five seconds later, and it was definitely a long way down.

"I...I think I should get going..." I said, making my way to the other side of the chamber where another passage started. It was much drier in here, and the lights from the surface made me think that I was under some kind of open space.

Walls began to open up more and sunlight flooded in.

"Kouuuu kouuuu" The sound of a bird made me turn my head to the ceiling.

"Uaaaau uaaaau" Another sound made me tilt my head.

I was beneath some kind of zoo?

Listening to weird animal sounds as I went down the tunnel made me realize I was most likely under the Royal Gardens and not the zoo. Since I couldn't find anywhere else I could hear so many animals in Canterlot. Not to mention there are no zoos in Canterlot, maybe some pet shops but nothing like that.

"Splendid! I'm most likely breaking another law by coming inside the Royal Canterlot area, I can't wait to hear my sentence when I get caught!" I said sarcastically. "There should be a list of things I didn't break instead of those which I did..." I began to frown at the thought of being caught, but so far I managed to escape death two times coming here, so my luck can't be that bad...

Moving past the small opening here and there, I began to see more greenery on the brick walls, the animal sounds became much more distant, and I started to feel the fresh air enter my nose after so many hours spent in the sewers.

Finally, I reached my mark. Or I would say that if I had my map and not a soaked mess of black lines on paper.

Two black wooden doors stood before me, there was nothing carved on them, and they looked as old as Celestia. I gently pushed the handle of one of the doors and with a croak, it began to open.

The light from the openings on the walls was vivid, but I could see everything inside fairly well. The large chamber consisted of a spiral staircase in the middle, that led to some kind of opening. It wasn't decorated, and there weren't any handles to ascend or descend. Brick walls and stony reflective surfaces reminded me of old souls-like games. On the first floor, I could see hundreds of bookshelves and old manuscripts, not to mention the smell of old ink in the air.

The second floor was a bit hidden, but I could see similar patterns to the first. Simply put, there were enough books to satisfy my need for knowledge for millennia. The whole place was dead silent and by the look of things abandoned. I was perfect for all my needs.

Sure it was old, hundreds of years old, but the amount of bookshelves, tables, and science machinery all around was past all belief. I couldn't wait to see what kind of things I could find here.

I quickly approached the first bookshelf with a wide grin on my face. I was just about to reach with my hoof for a book when I remembered something.

"I should... Probably see if they aren't enchanted like the ones in libraries..." I said, looking at the bookshelf for any symbols. With none found, I began to search for them in the book I was going to take, none found.

If they were enchanted by someone like Princess Celestia, I wouldn't be able to find them anyway, but anyone but her was definitely going to leave some kind of mark.

I gently hovered my hoof above the book, and slowly took the cover out of the bookshelf. It didn't make any noise, no lights, no sudden clicks or movements anywhere.

"Thank god..." I said, looking at the book I was holding. It was covered in so much dust I couldn't even see the color.

I brushed the book with my left hoof and saw the gold outline of a text appear on the cover.

"Magic Unbound. The complete list of unfinished and unnamed spells by Closed Book." I read the title out loud, holding the book close to my heart.

"Finally..." I said, tears streaming down my cheeks.





Later that day...




"I'm home." I said, moving swiftly to hide the books I brought back from the secret library with me inside my room.

I didn't reach the stairs however before a white hue of magic made me float into the living room.

"Shit..." I cursed beneath my breath as I came face to face with my mother.

"WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN!?" She shouted, making my head ring from the noise. "YOU REALIZE WHAT TIME IT IS?! I WAS PRACTICALLY GOING TO PASS OUT FROM WONDERING WHERE YOU ARE!"

"Sorry..." I said, trying to hide under my mane.

"Do not 'sorry' me young mare! Where-" She stopped, her eyes focusing on my appearance for the first time.

"W-WHAT! WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN!? YOUR ENTIRE COAT IS SOAKED AND IN GRIME, YOU LOOK LIKE YOU HAVE JUST BEEN TO THE SEWERS!" I felt that sentence sting...

"I..." I should probably invest some time to come up with stories for situations like this... "I... Fell into the moat." I cringed.

"Moat!? W-Did you have been to the Canterlot Castle!?" She said, her gaze furious.

"N-No... I fell into one of the rich ponies... In the higher district..." I begged that for some reason she would buy that.

"Aurora! Do you think I'm stupid?!" She recorded back, with me in her grasp. She brought me closer and smelled me, recoiled again, and frowned. "You smell awful! And you have school tomorrow!"

"Okay... I fell into the castle moat. But I wasn't going to sneak in! I promise!" I said, trying to ease the conversation, and somehow lie my way out of this.

"I... Ugh! What were you doing there then!?" She asked, taking me to the second floor, as my room came close, I threw my bags in, being floated to the bathroom.

"I... I was trying to impress some ponies..." I told her, which made her stop instantly just before the bathroom.

"Aurora..." She frowned.

"I know. I'm stupid. I will never do that again... I promise. I just... I just wanted to have some friends..." I was surprised at myself how well I managed to lie, making a point to 'make some friends' was definitely what she 'wanted' to hear right now.

"Honey... Listen to me..." She brought me closer to her. "If someone says that they will be your friend only if you jump into the moat, they are not going to be any friend you can value. You need to find ponies who value you for who you are, what you are... Do you understand?" She asked her eyes on the verge of tearing up.

"Yes, mom. Sorry, I know that... I just... I'm not going to do that anymore. I promise." I smiled at her, knowing fully well, it had nothing to do with where I was and what I was doing.

"Alright... I would hug you, but you need a bath first. And I will use the hard brush!" She said as she dragged me inside the bathroom.

"Not the hard brush..." I said, already being bombarded with hot water and soap.

Soon my mother began to scrub my grime away, and I began to look as grey as I should have. With all the brushing and soap, it didn't take long for me to be perfectly clean.

I stepped out of the bath into the polished marble, and my mother gaped at me.

...

...

...

'Why... Why is she staring at me like that?' I began to wonder. Her eyes fully focused on my flank. I took a look myself and nearly fell over. My eyes focused, and my head nearly exploded.

What I saw was a tattoo on my flank of an eclipse with a single shard of light in the middle of it.

I... I have a cutie mark now...
> Chapter XIII: Right Round.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

As soon as my bath was over, and my mother let me go, I rushed into my room, I quickly hid the books from anyone that could come into my room. I didn't have any more time to read today, I had to go to school tomorrow, and it was starting to get late anyway.

The excitement of my new cutie mark made me focus my attention entirely on the meaning of the eclipse. I have not been a good astronomy or astrology student, but I guess I have to pick up my pace from now on. Celestial objects and events such as an eclipse can mean different things depending on the context and culture.

What I usually found about Eclipse in my Equestrian books was that it practically never happens naturally. The reason, of course, is Princess Celestia controlling the movement of the sun and moon. Apart from 'normal' star movement, there's no chance of it happening here. As far as I know, Princess Celestia primarily takes the same route for celestial body movements each year, with only a slight degree of change to accommodate for planet rotation, distance, and other things.

With the knowledge I have right now in my hoof reach, I could most likely find a book about Celestial events. But that will have to wait until tomorrow or next week, depending if I will or not read the books I have now 'borrowed' from the secret library.

It would be stupid to come back there every single day and make my coat dirty, instead taking a few home is a better idea. Not to mention the instance of nearly drowning in the sewers made me a little bit scared to go there more than I had to.

Anyhow. Eclipse...

Mysterious, and grand I would say. Something rare, if that's not naturally possible in this world. And it could mean I have some dark thing ahead of me. Or I can predict the end of the world. That too.

Speculations, speculations...

Why couldn't it be straightforward? Like a magic arrow or something? Like Twilight cutie Mark or Princess Cele- Wait.

An eclipse is just a sun that's blocked by the moon.

The moon and the sun... Two opposite objects...

No, that can't be possible, I can't control the moon, right?

Right?

...

I looked out of the window, the crystal clear sky with sparkling stars greeted my vision. And the moon high, made me realize, possibly for the first time, how big it really is. I could never control something like that. I'm not even an alicorn, and I can only lift as much as a big rock...

The coloration of me and Princess Celestia clash, but I'm guessing that it's just a coincidence...

But then again... Nothing is a coincidence as they say...

'The moon. Is... So big...' I commented in my head as I tried to wrap my hoof around its sheer size. It was massive, beautiful and spectacular. The night sky in this world was nothing like on Earth, I know that by fact. Stars are bigger and shinier. While the moon is closer and more detailed, with all those deformations on the surface and...

'And the... What is that?' I squinted my eyes and looked closer. The moon had a carving on it.

I blinked, once and twice. But the image didn't change. The moon had a mare literally 'drawn' on it. I remembered that it had been there since my first day here. Definitely, as long as I've been here, it's been there too... But to this day... I did not question it. Only accepted that it's just there.

'Why...?' I began to wonder.

Maybe it was the fact that I had still been trying to understand how this world works or operates... Well, I still do, but the fact that I missed that for nine whole years was... Well... A bit off...

'A mare... on the moon...' I said, making my head do a double take on that sentence.

'A mare... And the moon...' Where did I hear about that... I stepped out of the window frame and went to my bookshelf. I knew somewhere that sentence was written down, and as always, if it's written, there's some story behind it.

I started to pile out my books, including those which I borrowed from the library. I started to search through them, but couldn't find what I was looking for. It was definitely something about that in pony legends and myths... But where...?

Then I remembered that my dad had a full section dedicated to old pony legends and myths. Which was more like fantasy to most ponies, but to me, it definitely had some real value to how the ponies operated in olden times.

It was very late, and I should have already been sleeping, but the rabbit hole made my skin tingle so much, that I had to go now. I quietly slipped out of my room, careful to not wake Sunset or Shine, and slowly opened the door to my father's study. There I navigated to his bookshelf and picked five books from the top shelf. After quickly glancing at their contents I found one that had some of the oldest pony legends.

I brought it back to my room and checked the contents, and there it was...





The Mare in the Moon.






"Once upon a time, in the magical land of Equestria, there were two regal sisters who ruled together and created harmony for all the land.

To do this, the eldest used her unicorn powers to raise the sun at dawn. The younger brought out the moon to begin the night. 

Thus, the two sisters maintained balance for their kingdom and their subjects: all the different types of ponies. But as time went on, the younger sister became resentful. The ponies relished and played in the day her elder sister brought forth, but shunned and slept in her beautiful night. 

One fateful day, the younger alicorn refused to lower the moon to make way for the dawn. The elder sister tried to reason with her, but the bitterness in the young one's heart had transformed her into the wicked mare of darkness: Nightmare Moon.

She vowed she would shroud the land in eternal night. Reluctantly, the elder sister harnessed the most powerful magic known to Ponydom... The Elements Of Harmony.

Using the magic of the elements of harmony, she defeated her younger sister and banished her permanently to the moon. The elder sister took on responsibility for both sun and moon and harmony has been maintained in Equestria for generations since."






I closed the book and stared at it for several seconds.

"Now... That's... Interesting..." I smirked.





Two weeks later.




So... My board with strings and notes to understand Princess Celestia grew a bit larger. A lot actually.

In all directions, unfortunately.

But, as I started to add things, I started to connect them too. There were things that led to others and made me understand more than a couple of weeks ago.

To summarise, my current concept of Princess Celestia is as follows:

'Princess Celestia is a sun and moon goddess who became an alicorn after defeating her evil sister thousands of years ago. She isn't evil but wounded for life because of her 'killing?' her own sister and she is paranoid inside. She has the power of some kind of stones called Elements Of Harmony, which is the ultimate pony power. So I'm guessing they can even kill alicorns. The mare on the moon is obviously her sister. There's nothing more telling me about their fight. Or why was she 'banished' to the moon itself. It might be that it's just a reminder of who won the battle.' But that's also just my speculation.

I tried to find anything on Nightmare Moon, but there's nothing past some old tales that are supposed to scare foals on Nightmare Night. What I could definitely assume is that she would look like the opposite of Princess Celestia, add evil to that and you have an alicorn that has a dark palette of colors in her mane and fur, maybe some red eyes, and sharp teeth.

It's not much, but a good start. A demon of a mare...

Huh, who does she remind me of... Maybe that's the reason everyone fears me? Book perfect villain in the making, I have the look, the only missing thing is some kind of dark magic power or something...

Elements of Harmony isn't even mentioned in anything besides this text. However, there is an illustration of some kind of stone pedestal with crystals on it. If I can find where that is, I would technically know where to find Elements Of Harmony.

Which brings me to my next question...

If Celestia is so powerful that nothing no one can destroy her, having an ultimate source of power of some kind. Why does she not want ponies to learn and grow?

Well, that could be her sister's memory giving her PTSD or some shit, and she sees everyone as a threat. But... It doesn't make any sense... She seems... Genuinely kind when I talked to her, given her enormous amount of pure power of will, and the fact that she emits absurd levels of wisdom and control, she seems... Caring...

No one bad could rule a country for generations and have such a good public standing. If I was really brainwashed, I would seen it from a mile away, so maybe Grandpa is really just paranoid after all...

And... I guess me too...

Back to the board.

I don't even know if Nightmare Moon can be linked to Princess Celestia really, it's an old pony tale after all... And there are countless layers of bullshit fanfiction about Celestia in books and myths.

"She does not defecate." "Her horn is made of Diamonds!" "Her regalia is made out of sun." And so on...

I visited the secret library twice now, and so far I have not found anything about Celestia particularly, but I assume after I check the records of historians it will change. As long it's not censored at least...

The biggest problem is... I have to take everything with a grain of salt, because of the constant information gaps and how much time has passed since those events. 

If... They really happened.

Focusing more on my studies in the magical department, I like to announce that I'm making steady progress. Elemental magic, especially fire is really growing on me. I feel like an Avatar! Whatever that... Means?

I swear there was this guy on earth... Or it was some legend...? I know he is definitely bald... Yeah...

Um... Yes! Fire, and elemental magic.

Simple set of spells that can be used in any kind of situation, which is the best thing I can learn now. The spells themselves are really simple, it's just that the movement and my concentration on things I need to focus in not mentioned anywhere in standard textbooks, only in the old tomes I find in the secret library.

What am I talking about?! There's not even a single page on how to conjure a fire spear or water slash! I really like to learn new things... And if the school won't teach me it, I will do it myself.

There are of course things I won't touch, like any spell from "Blood Magic Study" or "Dark Magic Secrets" books. Some of them are really dangerous for those who are not willing to pay the price.

A good example is a spell named "Twisted Path" Which is a blood magic spell that makes you able to pass through doors and walls, but the cost of using that spell is making your eyes bleed. So... Permanent damage to your eyes for the ability to go inside a room that is not open. Or passing through some secret passage.

The other spell I found was "Soul incineration" Which surprisingly doesn't do anything to your soul, but makes the target set on black fire, which won't go out until the enemy dies. It can't be put out with water and can't be extinguished by lack of oxygen. Brutal, and edgy. The price of using this dark spell is corruption and accelerated aging. But to what extent... I don't know.

Having no intention to either bleed from my eyes or lose several years of life, I decided to learn spells that suit my style of living. Spells that can hide and support me at night.

And some defensive spells.

That's why I made a run-through of the library, made a plan of studies, and built a training area there. The good thing is that the library itself is spacious, and hidden. I don't have to worry about blowing something up because in one corner I can practice spells, and in the other, I can read.

I also made sure to find anything I could on my cutie mark meaning. And to my surprise, there are instances of solar eclipses happening naturally, but the problem is, they are thousands of years old. So that's not going to help me.

Either way, going down the rabbit hole of Nightmare Moon and Elements Of Harmony led me to some interesting reads. Places such as Castle of the Twin sisters or Everfree Forest were mentioned a couple of times, which led me to believe that's one of the possible places where I could find more answers to where to find Elements Of Harmony.

Truth be told, I have no intentions of finding them really, but to understand Princess Celestia and this world, I have to go down every route I can.

It's just... So interesting! I wonder how they work! Maybe they give you immortality? Turn you into an alicorn? The possibilities are endless!

Knowledge is power, and I intent on making that power my own. Trought effort and pain...

That brings me to my final conclusion of the month... I really want to go on adventures.

I mean... Canterlot is nice and all... But the world is so vast and interesting! I could find so many artifacts and creatures mentioned in those books, so many adventures, in the desert, jungle, or even snowy mountains!

I'm guessing that my Mom would not approve of that. Not to mention I'm still a nine-year-old who barely started school...

Speaking of school...





Earlier...





"Twilight! Twilight! I got my cutie mark! Look!" I motioned to my flank, looking expectantly at the young purple mare deep in the 'Flora Of Equestria'.

"Oh, great Cloud Skip... I'm busy right now sorry." She said, taking her book and moving to a different part of the library.

"I'm... I'm Aurora..." I said, to the shadow she left in the chair.

I stood there, not sure why Twilight reacted like that... She seemed... Distant... Her attitude changed in the last few weeks... Did... Did I miss something?





Another time...





"Hey, Twilight!" I said, making her stop on the door frame of the classroom.

"Oh, umm... yes?" She replied, moving her notes from one bag to another.

"Want to study together?" I smiled, trying to sound casual, but also interested in her.

"Oh, no. Sorry I have to go now, Princess Celestia gives me private lessons now." She said moving past me and into the hallway.

Once again I stood there. Blinking, unsure why this was happening. I remember being so happy she became friends with me. And now... This? Like. She doesn't even remember my name anymore! She only comes to class, goes into the library to study, and off she goes home or to lessons with Princess Cele-

"W-Wait... Did you say you are having private lessons with Princess Celestia?!" I started, but she was already gone. I frowned and looked at the ceiling.

"I have to write that down..." I said, already making space for that note on my board in my mind.

A lot is happening right now. I found myself in a situation where I once again did not have any friends, and I was beginning to lose myself in my studies and training. I have to find someone to either share this knowledge with or make friends I can count on.

I will not make the same mistakes. Not again, one time, shame on you, twice... Shame on me.

...

Speaking of mistakes... Where the fuck is Tender Seed? I haven't seen him since... Like forever. Did he finally decide he was going to quit? I hope so.

"Can you move your flank out of the doorframe dork?" I heard the puny voice say behind me.

I turned around, and there he was. As stupid as always. I hate that when I only think of something it happens. I frowned and opened my mouth.

"Why? Are you scared of touching me?" I moved a bit to the right, even though I said what I said, I wasn't going to pick a fight. Not physically at least...

"As if. I'm just trying to not catch anything." he said, moving to the doorframe and stopping just beside me. "And how many friends do you have now huh? Twilight doesn't want to be friends with you Umbra. I mean, not that I blame her..." He smirked.

I rolled my eyes and tapped him on the shoulder. "Nice try, not today Tender. I have places to be. However, your impudence makes me think you are interested in me. After all, you still keep talking to me, even though you said you didn't want to waste your time on me." I smirked back.

To my astonishment... He actually blushed. Growing a new shade of pink on his purple fur.

"Wha-No! I'm just... Ugh... Reminding you of your place! Umbra! Don't be ridiculous!" He almost shouted, moving past me and disappearing into a corner in a hurry.

Making me flabbergasted as I stood still in the doorframe.

"Okay...? Now it's getting weird..." I said moving to the classroom to grab my bag.
> Chapter XIV: Destination Calabria.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Days seemed to pass like lightning. Many of which were filled with study and very hard work on trying to find any clues to only growing mysteries of Princess Celestia and Nightmare Moon. There was just so much to learn and find out about this that I just kept reading and reading until I couldn't stay awake any longer most of the time.

The days not filled with looking into books were rather slow and sad. But it's just life. You can't get good days if not for the bad ones, because if every day is a good day, none are.

What I'm talking about is of course Grandpa Ruby dying a few months after I visited him to learn about the secret library, and I'm glad I spent more time with him during those last few weeks of his life. Dementia and brain tumors made him forget what he was doing every ten minutes. Until finally he drifted up to another life in his sleep. I presume at least. My whole family was heartbroken for a good two weeks. I have always been more on the side of living in the moment, and I couldn't grieve for long, even if I deeply missed him already.

It was very quick, just like the funeral. Grandma didn't cry, she had a strange, yet beautiful relationship with Grandpa. Grandpa was always a mysterious and cunning stallion, making his funeral feel similar, to ponies I knew nothing of watching from a distance. He must have had many connections to ponies in his youth, be it bad or good.

Both of my sisters moved to Fillydelphia to work with my aunt on some fashion projects and other designing stuff, and my father visited more frequently now since the Gryphon Empire relations calmed down a bit. Grandma moved in with us when my mother insisted that she shouldn't stay alone in that big house. It didn't seem like life was ever going to stop, so I decided to not dwell on what I could or could not do with Grandpa in his last moments, but rather focus on making the best of what I could with my future.

That's why I started to study everything I could. Soon it started to pay off as I brought home A+ on every test and assignment. Even lessons with Princess Celestia became rather boring as I knew much more complex problems that she was teaching us. At least the stuff she was teaching the class, Twilight became her prize pupil and she didn't hide it one bit. She even openly commented on it on several occasions. Making me realize that she is teaching her spells far beyond what normal ponies use in their daily lives.

Understanding that I never had the chance with that sort of treatment, I decided to beat Twilight Sparkle at everything I could, be it the basics of alchemy, magic studies, or astronomy. However, I soon found out it was easier said than done. That mare, even without much Celestia's help, would crush any test, question, or assignment thrown her way. The only real field I had the advantage of was physical exercise, to no surprise really. Most unicorns had no real backbone in terms of running, climbing, or doing push-ups. So me and Tender Seed became the school's most prized athletes for obvious reasons. Our physical teacher, Mr. Sandgear even suggested that I should join the official sports team and become a professional someday. But I declined.

I just wasn't what I wanted. Tender however accepted the opportunity and soon he became rather a popular individual in school. He even created a new gang of his 'homies' and started to act like in kindergarten again... Well, maybe not so bad, but he definitely pushed the breaks down the line a couple of times with teachers.

Surprisingly, there wasn't much going on between us anymore, he just resorted to a comment or two every week, which I gladly accepted as more 'friendly' teasing. To think that we wanted to rip our hearts out a few years back is funny to me now. He is definitely a stupid mommy colt, but he isn't genuinely bad. Just really, and I mean really stupid.

There were days when I found myself lost without anyone to talk to, everyone had someone who they could rely on and chit chat, but me? I was starting to feel like it just wasn't meant to be. Sure I had my family, but they couldn't compare to someone whom I could tell secrets to. 

The incident with Twilight left me with a bitter taste in my mouth, and I didn't feel any particular motion to go and make friends, because if they turned out like Twilight, what's the point? 

At least that's what I said to myself in the beginning, now... Well... I changed my mind. I just wanted to have someone I could talk to about school and random bullshit going on.

So... I tried many times, be it at a party, or in the school library. But time and time again, I received the same reaction of either fear or disgust. I realized that with months passing, the fear was diluted a bit, and ponies seemed to treat me more like a freak than anything. Which I can say that's quite an improvement.

I did not have any luck even with my new age and slightly more teen look either. Well... Until one day that is...

After a rather exhausting lesson with Princess Celestia about Equestria's mystical plants, I was paired with Shining Scarlet to make a presentation about the flora of Equestria. I honestly expected to do all the work, since so far any assignment like that meant that the pony I was paired with would just decline to do anything with me, but I was pleasantly surprised when she not only came to me after the class had ended, but also started the conversation.

"Ah, you're Aurora, ya? I've been matched with you. We haven't had a chat, so I reckon you don't know me name..." She said a bit sheepish, but confident and warm nonetheless. Giving me once more her usual Irish accent.

She was the same looking pony as she was when I first saw her, but now she had much more muscle under her fur and a bigger frame than most. Her mane was now more curly and she had few braids on the sides of her head and in the tail. Her freckles gave her a rather childish look, but she was definitely growing each day, and that impression would soon vanish.

"You are Shining Scarlet. I know you, I tried to talk to you once, but you said you were busy, so I guessed you just didn't want to have to do anything with me and made an excuse." I said, and now that I think about it, I should've started that conversation a bit more warmly.

"Ah, shucks that's not it at all, now... I'm sorry if I made you feel that way, but I'm right busy helpin' me pa and ma with their shop after the classes." She said, a bit taken aback after my comment.

"I... See." I said, nodding, not sure what she wanted yet.

"So, do ya know anything about flora? I have no clue really, it's just gibberish to me." She said, now feeling a bit better.

"You... Want to help?" I asked confused, not sure about her intentions but pleased that she has so far been rather normal to talk to.

"It's only fair I guess!" She replied and took a seat in the chair opposite of me.

Since I decided that no one would help me, I headed straight to the library, thinking that I would do all the work today, and have a free weekend for myself. Shining was strange. Good strange...

"So... You know nothing about flora... Nothing at all?" I asked a bit curious all of a sudden. Not sure if she would be able to help me even if she wanted to. Not to be rude, but she isn't really a... Great. Student.

"Not a stick in a pile of gold horseshoe! You?" She asked with a smile. Making me facepalm internally.

"I know a bit I guess. I studied a few tomes and books on dangerous plants and medicine made of wildflowers and roots." I replied, giving her a small smile of my own, testing the waters.

"Um. So ya know how to make this presentation? I could present it ya know? And I know some nice flowers too! My Ma grows them!" She replied excitedly. 

That made me curious about Shining. I know she isn't from around here, but from where exactly she came, I have no clue. I decided to take the most basic route and just work on the project with her, slipping a question or two here and there. I made sure to give her some easy tasks like finding the names of flora Princess Celestia was interested in. Better safe than sorry, I like an A+ on this as well.

"So... Where are you from exactly Shining?" I asked, making her look at me from the book she was reading after an hour or so.

"Irehoof. Why ya ask?" She tilted her head.

I made a mental note that I should not question the naming of this world, and just accept it as a fact. 'Irehoof' Right... Also, how she can be so cute? I swear, those ponies never going to stop making my sugar level jump in the middle of nowhere.

"Just curious, you don't seem to mind me at all, unlike most ponies." I said, truth to the bone.

"Ya... I'm a bit different I guess. Some' Ponies tell weird stories about ya, ya know? But I don't believe until I see somethin' with me own two eyes." She explained, making me frown.

"W-What weird stories?" I asked, more annoyed than curious.

Why would someone make false stories about me? I mean... I know why, but who... No scratch that. I know exactly why and who. Fuck you Tender Seed.

"Everypony somethin' else I guess. That ya are evil, that ya ate a foal, that ya bullied a pony in kindergarten. That yar true name is Umbra." She said making me silent for a moment.

I couldn't answer all those accusations, but one struck me the most.

"I... ate... A foal? Like... A real living, breathing foal?" I stared at her with wide eyes.

"Ya, but I guess they could be dead to, I didn' listen." She replied. Making a frowning and confused face.

"I suppose I had to add some seasoning then, I don't think I would be able to swallow such atrocity without some extra flavor." I replied, trying not to laugh, but when I saw the expression on Shining's face I couldn't help myself.

We both started to laugh and twitch on the chairs we were sitting on. I'm guessing we would laugh lauder if we weren't in the library, and that bitch of a mare wasn't there to shush us.

"You know... I hope they come up with more ridiculous stories, I might even write them down and make a book out of it!" I said, making Shining grin at me with a chuckle.

"Ye! And I doubt you would bully somepony and actually break his bones!" She said, making me feel a bit bad about my past.

"Well... There was something similar going on with me and Tender Seed, but I didn't bully him, opposite actually." I said, making her stop giggling and look at me with a frown.

"Ya serious?" She asked, dead serious.

"Yeah... I broke his hoof, his buddy nose, his cousin's leg..." I should just... shut up.

"Really?" She asked. Eyes wide open.

"He showed up with a few years older cousin, I was protecting myself." I said, truthfully.

"That's neat!" She replied giving me a wide teeth grin.

"Wha?" I stammered out, my mind doing a one-eighty.

"That's cool! Ma Pa always says, that if somepony givin' me troubles I should fight for myself." She replied, making me speechless. Really? Do ponies who choose violence as an act of self-defense really exist?

"Well, he might said that I should not hurt anypony, but still!" She added, making my hopes sail away.

And so, my project with Shining became a base ground for our friendship. Maybe not quickly, but she started to open up more and more to me as the months passed. Which made me realize how much I needed someone like her in my life. It might not be perfect, because she is often busy with work in her parent's shop, but in school, we became good buddies, to the annoyance of Tender Seed and his gang of course. His comments had to adapt to my newly founded friendship.

And so, months of studying at CSFGU and working on the mysteries turned into years, and very soon I realized that I had spent fifteen years in this world already. It's seriously been happening all too fast, and from what I learned about ponies and their bodies. I would not grow much more than this, at least physically.

I could finally be considered an adult (physically), and let me tell you...

It's a nightmare...

Oh, well... Not really... But you will understand when I tell you how my day went two weeks ago.

I woke up, feeling refreshed, but very itchy for some reason. I felt sudden hunger, and nearly fell off the chair as I started to devour breakfast. My mother didn't comment on it, as she prepared to leave for work.

Since it was the weekend, I decided to study in the park, and maybe visit Shining in her family shop, which became rather popular in Canterlot by selling wooden carvings and furniture. What stopped me however was a sudden need for something sweet. So, grabbing my book and my favorite hoodie, I began to search for a snack to munch on, even though I just ate breakfast.

Trotting down the main street and into a more fine-class section of Canterlot I began to notice something strange. Everypony was glancing at me when they got up close, nearly bumping into me, especially stallions. And it made me feel really weird, usually, ponies avoid contact with me, but today I felt like I just didn't care about staying out of sight.

Finally, after a bit of hiking, I reached my destination. Joe Donuts. With the best sweets this side of Canterlot. I made my way inside and greeted Joe. The owner and baker of the hoof-licking goods. It was empty because it was still very early, which made me the only customer.

"Hey! Aurora! Long time no see. The usual?" He asked, making me think how many times I and Shining were here for him to know my usual.

"Not today Joe, I need something extra sweet today." I smiled, thinking back to the time that ponies in Canterlot avoided talking to me. It seems if you force your way into a conversation with adults, it's suddenly impolite to just go away. However, their feeling may be about you.

With Joe, it was different, he just seemed like a nice pony who didn't care about what others looked, as long as you said his Donuts were the best in Canterlot. And it was Shining who introduced me, which scored a few points as well.

"Got it. My Special Donut Hyper Combo then, want's six while you're at it? I made a fresh batch and they are steamy hot right now." He knew I wouldn't be able to resist buying even a thousand. I was one of his best customers after all.

"I take them." I said, taking sixty bits and placing them on the counter. Pricy as they are, I'm not sure you could find any other place in this world that sells that level of baking goods.

Even if I ate a hundred, it wouldn't make me fat because of my training and constant running to the Secret Library, which became my second home at this point, finding another entry much closer to the main street, I made a passage that was hidden in plain sight. Still, it was a bit of a trip every time, so I burned calories anyway. Not that spellcasting and working out weren't helping either.

"Fifty for you, you seem like you need it today." He smiled as he took only fifty. Making me confused.

"Like I need it?" I asked confused. Taking the ten bits back.

"Well... You will understand soon enough I guess." He replied, giving me the box of donuts and turning around.

"Thanks?" I replied, leaving the shop utterly bewildered.

It was starting to get sunny now, and I decided to follow my plan and read the book I brought with me to the park. On my way there I ate the donuts, which I must say, were the best Donuts I had eaten from Joe's yet. Filled with juicy mango jam, and covered in two layers of sweet blueberry icing on top, the donut melted in my mouth. It was the perfect combination of flavor and sweetness.

"Worth every single bit..." I muttered as I munched on one in my magic grasp. Moving ever so closer to my destination. I still didn't understand that discount, but as it soon happened, I would see for myself.

My favorite place was the bench right between two large oaks, the bushy leaves of the tree made the whole place covered in shade, but with one ideal place on the bench that received light from the sun. That was the place of my book, giving me perfect conditions for reading, and relaxing as I laid on the bench.

Today, however, I was utterly interrupted in those plans, because as I came closer, I realized that somepony was sitting there already. And not one or two ponies, four ponies.

I signed and shook my head, about to leave, but when I squinted my eyes, I could see Tender Seed and his gang there. Which was surprising. I had never seen them go to this part of Canterlot, usually, they would stay in upper districts, not come down into the middle one.

If it was any other day, I would just turn around and go home or to the Shining shop, but today... Today I felt... Different.

It was more out of emotion than any reason, but I decided to try my luck. Maybe today was going to be special? I didn't yet know how much embarrassment that would bring me in the near future.

I gathered myself and moved in for the kill. Instantly Tender Seed recognized me and stopped talking with his buddies. He took his hooves and laid them on the whole bench, smirking from a distance. As I got close enough for them to hear me, I stopped.

"Tender Seed." I simply stated, giving a small smirk of my own.

"Umbra." He replied, confident, and a bit pleased with himself.

"Mind telling me what you are doing in those parts?" I asked, trying my usual approach.

"Does a colt have to have a reason to go somewhere? We just chilling here because it's so hot everywhere else." He stated, motioning to his friends as they appraised me from the distance.

"No, I guess not. But why on my favorite bench? You know, there are other places with shade here." I knew the comeback to this already, but I had to start somewhere.

"Your favorite bench? Oh, I didn't know! I guess you are unlucky then, we have been first here. What you are going to do?" He said smirking.

I knew he would use that argument, and in this scenario, he was right, I couldn't just tell them to go somewhere else, because I would be the one who made them change locations. It was just rude to do so. So, I had to think outside the box. I had to do something that he wasn't expecting and something that would not start a fight.

"Oh, nothing really. It's a public place after all." I said, moving closer.

"That's right, you ca- W-Wait what are you d-doing?!" He started to say but changed his mind as I suddenly sat on the bench just beside him, and made two of his friends stand up and walk away from the bench while he blushed like a schoolgirl.

We were currently touching our hips and judging by his expression, he was utterly shocked, not knowing how to respond to such an act. It was really funny to see him unable to think straight. I personally didn't care that he was touching me, but it definitely made him uncomfortable.

"H-Hey! That's o-our spot U-Umbra!" He said, trying to make me leave.

"It's a public place, I can sit wherever I want." I replied, opening my book, and moving to a position where I could read better. A very bad choice.

Maybe not on purpose, but I definitely brushed my backside on him, making him shiver. And sniff the air.

Then, there was a great silence, which made me wonder what was going on. As I moved my eyes from my book, I saw him, and all of his friends just gaping at me.

"What?" I asked, trying to see what was making them so surprised.

"What!?" I asked once again, this time louder.

"You know what Tender, I forgot something at home!" A brown colt said, quickly running away.

"Y-Yeah! And I-I Didn't water my plants today so- Hey!" The other blue colt said running in the opposite direction.

The remaining two just vanished in a similar fashion without speaking. Leaving me and Tender Seed, alone on the bench.

He was still gaping at me with his mouth open, making me want to punch him. But the behavior of his friends made me wary.

"Can you explain to me what are you-" I started to say, but when I saw that...

That...

'Thing...'

I stopped. My eyes went wide...

I closed my book. And placed it in my bag...

Stood up from the bench...

And left...

No, sorry. I practically ran for my life.

I... I felt hopeless, I left violated and possibly traumatized for the rest of my life in this world. I never looked at Tender Seed the same way again...

Later, of course, I realized how the situation happened, and it was all my fault.

It was a flurry of emotions and a growing body that led to this horrible moment in time. Plus very bad angle to top it off.

But if you are still not sure what has transpired, let me break it to you...

Today, was my first heat cycle as a mare. And I didn't realize that nor did my mother. Which made me go into public, and show everypony that my body was 'ready'. I won't go into details because they are not important. Just imagine the situation, where the pheromones of a young mare body sitting close to you on the bench make you excited, EVEN if you don't want to do anything with the mare in question.

Yeah, no wonder every single book says that the first heat cycle is the worst one. Either it's because it's so strong, or it's because it's creating situations like this. It happens when you are ready, so it can happen any time of year, unlike the normal summer or winter cycles. For every mare, the timing is a bit different, and it's really early for me. It's still better than bleeding every month, but it explains what was happening today to me and my body very well. I just hope I can avoid situations like this in the future. I don't like men, and I think I never will...

Anyway... I stayed in my room for seven days after that, crying and eating ice cream.
> Chapter XV: Lose Yourself
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

After the 'incident' with Tender Seed I became more aware of my body and how ponies grow up. I started to invest a little bit more time in studying exactly how ponies work on a biological level and what exactly makes a pony a 'pony'. Much of it was spent figuring out different bone groups, muscles and how they react with magic. I also spent some time reading about what alicorns actually inherited from each pony tribe and studying the heat cycles of mares for good measure.

However, the main goal of my investigation stayed the same. I wanted to figure out what exactly was Celestia's goal, and her connections to those events that supposedly happened in the past. I made some smaller discoveries along the way, but nothing really groundbreaking.

For example, I found some interesting habits of Princess Celestia. Like going on a stroll down main Canterlot roads every few weeks or what she was learning Twilight. Both of those things I learned by following her around when she wasn't guarded. So mostly during school time and when I could spot her from a distance on her trips.

She didn't actually do much on those, just some light shopping, by shopping I mean sending a pony to grab stuff from a shop, and enjoying light conversation with ponies that passed her. She often likes to drink tea near the palace in the most luxurious cafe I could ever dream of affording, and surprisingly she often reads a book while doing so. I originally thought that she had memorized everything written in books over millennia, but maybe once something new appears she just reads it right away.

With Twilight, it was easier. I just asked what she was working on once in a while, and just matched it with correct books or tomes in the library. It seems that the rules about what we learn apply to everypony, except those whom Princess Celestia teaches personally. Twilight these days acted like a lonely nerd, she didn't come out of her studies, besides classes, and she often just disappeared before anyone could invite her to hand out. Not that I cared about her anymore.

I just wanted to know what Celestia thinks and does.

So far, the only real lead I had was the Castle Of The Twin Sisters in Everfree Forest and its history. I plan to go there in the near future. I had this idea a long time ago, but between studies and learning magic, there wasn't much time for traveling, not to mention my age at that time. Nothing more could be gained from observing her from a distance and it's dangerous if the guards spot me several times. I can't however shake off the feeling that the guards who usually stay beside her just don't give a fuck about what she does or where she goes.

Maybe because she is just that powerful, they think nothing can even scratch her, or they are just so bored while doing the same job over and over. I honestly can't imagine that the job is entertaining. However, they are in the royal guard, so it's their duty to protect the princess. Even if she can defend herself pretty well, if not better than them.

Going back to the topic of Everfree, and the Castle Of The Twin Sisters.

Since now I have much more free time and freedom than I had when I was younger I'm confident I'm ready to explore some world. I'm fifteen now, and I have my own savings from doing chores and helping neighbors. So a visit to Ponyville and then Everfree wasn't out of the window. At least financially.

That being said... The Everfree Forest isn't exactly a safe place to visit. There are few places in Equestria that are extremely dangerous, and Everfree is one of them. The most crucial points of danger in the forest are the fact that it lives its own life, the weather is unpredictable and monsters roam free. So, in order to prepare myself for this trip I had to do many important things.

First I had to secure a time period when I could go and do my research and come back before anyone figured out I was gone. That part was easy since there was the summer break coming up. So, after talking with Scarlet, I decided to form a plan. 

I would tell my mom that I was going to stay with Scarlet for a few days because I wanted to study for a summer assignment. Scarlet on the other hand was going to pretend that I was staying in her house. Which once again, was easy, since we had done a few sleepovers before, and our mothers knew each other now pretty well, so they were okay with us staying over, even without talking about it.  It's good to finally have a friend I can rely on. Even if Scarlet seems a bit weird sometimes, she is genuinely a great pony.

It was harder however to secure a ticket to Ponyville since they only sell to those who are sixteen plus, but I managed to buy one via an older pony who agreed to buy one for a bit of money for... 'An adult juice' let's say... So that was set.

I also had to prepare some food and tools I would need to traverse the forest and reach my destination. A compass, some water, rations, a flashlight, a small knife, and a sleeping bag. There weren't any maps of the Everfree Forest, so I decided to bring a paper and a quill to map the route I was taking. I even knew a nifty spell to map my movement! Those long nights in the library finally paid off.

Surprisingly, it all fit nicely inside my school bags. And with that out of the way, I was ready. I settled on a nice summer break morning, and as the train to Ponyville arrived, I hopped in. Put my bags on the early empty seat of the wagon, and smiled as the steam locomotive started to roll down the hill of Canterlot.

Of course, there was also one more thing I had to do before actually going into the forest which I didn't explain earlier. 

Magic Training.





Two months before the trip.





So, in order to survive in the Everfree Forest I had to learn much more aggressive spells than I normally learned which were more useful in my daily life than on the battlefield. My elemental magic fire and water, became the base for other spells I decided to learn at that time.

First I decided to learn how to properly control flames. So far, the only thing I did was to create fire with my horn and direct it on a target of my choice. However, a much more destructive approach of mine was to create a fire inside the thing I was targeting, to destroy it from within. Some kind of Amaterasu.

And let me tell you, easier said than done. The problem with that approach was that it's easy to create a fire where your magic currently is. But at long distances, it is almost impossible, since the distance increases the mana you need to pour to reach your target multiple times and the fact that it's so slow makes it a very hard task to do.

I found it much easier to just copy the elemental book approach, which was to strike the target with a little bit of mana and set it on fire by pinching the pressure into one small point. Not the same as making them burn from within, but definitely more efficient in terms of using mana.

All of my magic practices were conducted in the depths of the hidden library so that no one could see me, and report me for doing something dangerous or forbidden.

I started with a small wooden ball I bought at a toy store and focused my levitation magic on it. Pushing it far from myself to form distance between us. After a good ten meters, I decided it was enough for me to start testing.

I could feel the magic envelop the ball, so I started to apply more and more pressure and mana to one single point, it didn't take long to catch fire, and then burn to ash a few seconds later.

I tried this approach many times with different objects, and after a while, I got the hang of it. I also tried to put the object far away and shoot concentrated magic at it to achieve the same result. Why I was doing this? Magic beasts of course. Those monsters and beasts I can't grab with my levitation magic, due to either their natural resistance to magic or their size I decided to simply strike them with a clean magic missile.

Take for example timberwolves, the race of wooden wolves that live in Everfree Forest. Their bark is resistant to pulling and manipulating, but very easy to burn, that's why they do not like any light, and they run from fire. The same thing, however, wouldn't work on a manticore or hydra. This is exactly why I decided to learn some water and ice magic too. But that came with another series of problems.

Simply put, water is heavy. I can't hold it for long. So my plan was to either turn them into ice projectiles or focus on high-precision projectiles.

Having no idea how to push water faster than I could pull it with levitation, I decided to read some more books about controlling magic. The conclusion was simple, I had to learn how to control my mana better. That way, I can put more pressure on one end of it, and release it to create fast movement. A bit more tricky than just compressing it in place.

The best way to do it was by making ice apparently. At least that's what the elemental magic books recommended. It overlapped with my elemental studies, which was great.

Ice can be created by stopping the movement of mana inside the target. Basically by manipulating molecules. This however is a heavy task. I could definitely slow down my mana movement, but freezing it entirely required focus.

The books mentioned meditation a few times, so I gave it a try, even though I never meditated seriously before. I sat down on a rag and pulled some water from my bottle. Focused on moving it around me in a circle while trying to slow it down as much as I could. It was taxing, and I could only do so for a few minutes.

It took a few tries to slow it down, and even more to make water barely move. However, making it completely stop was hard. It required me to not only expand my mana pool to twice my original size via heavy magic lifting but also by making me think of every water molecule separately. It took me nearly a hundred hours to finally see some results of this training.

After one attempt I opened my eyes, and the water dropped to the floor with a splash, I breathed a long sigh since it was my last attempt of the day. I thought at the time that I failed once again, but to my surprise, one small clump of water turned into small ice shards that immediately started to melt on the floor.

I was shocked to finally see it work, and the meditation proved much more useful in making me control my mana better than I originally thought. So far those elemental sessions made me do more progress in my magic studies than any other spells I tried in the past.

I began to wonder if it was because it was high-level magic that the books mentioned, or simply the addition of making my mana flow better and stronger. Either way, that was really nice to see some results after months and years of dedication to the craft. I managed to create a few ice shards after another fifty or so hours, and by the end, I was able to make them in seconds.

The pulling and releasing high-density mana under pressure was another thing I practiced over and over, but eventually, I could quickly 'draw' an ice arrow and push it as fast as the real one.

The only things I wanted to practice some more before the trip were shields and barriers.

They were complicated too. Simple shields just require you to place your magic in front of you in a tight space. Ineffective and very easy to break by projectile and force. Those are the ones taught by the school. And even a foal could do those with enough practice.

The 'Art of Defence' By Starcoat Platinium showed me that there's much more to magic shields than I thought. Magic shields are a diverse craft and they apply to every magic differently. You can add almost any magic type to the barrier to repel the same or other elements, generally, it works best to apply the same element to the barrier you are creating, but for example, blood magic isn't going to be a simple feat to add without a price to pay, nor dark magic.

However, you can create different layers of magic barriers. Applying many different layers makes the barrier more sturdy and hard to penetrate, but also resistant to more elements.

Starting with your own magic, and mana, you create a thin layer in front of you. Then you apply another layer and another, so it forms something like lasagne.  The more layers, the better it is. But it's important to keep them as tiny as possible. The book mentions they should not be thicker than a parchment sheet. That's enough to stop at least an arrow with three layers stacked.

I once again found myself in deep concentration on making sure the mana was as evenly spread as possible, while the layer was as small as possible. I didn't know if I could actually do it before the trip, but I at least managed to get it as thick as two parchment sheets. Adding layers to that was simple for the first two, but hard for the third, taxing at the fourth, and impossible at my current level for the fifth.

I wasn't going to add any elemental enchantments to it because quite frankly, it involved making sure you can manipulate a few different elements at the same time, or one element a few layers at a time.

That's definitely something I will train some more but for now. That simple barrier should be enough to stand at least frontal attacks. Expanding on its size and strength would come naturally as I train.





Present





While the train rolled down the mountain, I started to wonder how my trip would go. There were things in this world that seemed completely out of control, but if I could figure out my place in the grand scheme of things, I could form a plan and prepare myself for the future to come.

My childhood wasn't easy. My teenage years seemed much more peaceful, but no one knows what the future holds. I want to become someone I can be proud of, be it a powerful traveling mage, or a simple mare with a lot of talents, living peacefully in some rural village.

I glanced out of the window. I could see the small town of Ponyville stretch at the horizon, with its vast open fields, apple orchards, and town square buzzing with activity. I wondered how that place would feel to live in. How different than Canterlot it would be, and how ponies reacted to me there.

I was much older now, it wasn't appropriate to call me out on my appearance anymore, even if most still gave me a side eye once in a while. I acted differently and the hormones of my young body finally started to mature. In the near future, when I finish CSFGU, I will need to think about moving out. Not that I don't like living with Mom and Granny, but when Sunset and Shine visit, I can see them much happier to be finally out of the Canterlot and its politics.

The city is great for tourism and business, but for living? Not so much in my opinion. And I could do much more research on magic in the field, than in a closed sewage-smelling library.

My thoughts however got interrupted as the train started to slow down with the audible sound of brakes rubbing against metal rails. I grabbed my bag, and as the train stopped, I hopped down the small wooden platform. Seeing the Canterlot from a distance for the first time in my life.
> Chapter XVI: Teenage Dirtbag.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The wooden platform I was standing on made me think of the more primitive style of living, and as the fresh summer air brushed against my fur and my muzzle lightly twitched I could smell and feel the countryside breeze, with all its unique scents and aromas.

Pulling out my side bags and inspecting their contents for the last time before going futher I saw the train begin to roll out of the station with loud steam locomotive sounds accompanying it. After a while, I started to go down the wooden planks which were a bit crude to be called 'stairs', more like crude steps.

When I finally placed my hooves on the dirt beneath the planks of wood, I felt the incredible sensation of finally touching the hard earth. It felt like it was the first time I actually done so, and in truth, it really was. I felt like it was the first step in the right direction.

I turned my head up, looking at the sunlit mountains in the distance. It was fun to look at everything from Canterlot, but being here felt more natural, more primal in a sense. I could feel the soil's hardness and texture, it was completely different than the soil in Canterlot Parks and in the small garden around our house, where the soil was always very soft and the grass was always cut down.

I scanned my surroundings, seeing a path directly to Ponyville, and a small sign saying 'Welcome!'. I could also see the looming forest in the background, just near the left side of Ponyville. I decided to not hop straight into the forest, and instead look around the village for any kind of helping tools or ponies I might find. After all, Everfree Forest is one of the most dangerous places in Equestria.

Picking my bags up I started to slowly make my way into Ponyville by the path indicated by the sign, it was a bit long to get from the station to the first bridge that crossed to the town itself, but once I got past it, I felt like it was worth it.

If I had to describe Ponyville from that point, I would say it was a quiet and very medieval-looking village, with wooden houses and straw roofs, and a couple more sturdy buildings that fit the aesthetic of the quiet and calm atmosphere. The main building, the Town Hall, was quite big, just like the main square around it. There was also a large clock tower in the distance. It was visible from the station too, however, I didn't actually see it that clearly to make what it was from there.

There weren't many ponies moving around at this time of the day, however, there's still was a pony or two in the distance slowly making their way to their destinations. It was making the place feel almost empty, but at the same time, cozy.

It felt to me like I could live here, unbothered, in peace and quiet for the rest of my life. I loved it. From the bottom of my heart. 

The buildings were scattered around town, but even from a distance, I could see a pattern in their placement and the roads that connected the resident's homes to the town square. It was like a large star or circle, with five roads going in each direction, and most important businesses mostly close to each of the roads.

It definitely was designed that way because everyone would gather in the plaza when the market was held, and the new buildings would usually be built around the main paths that connected everything. Or in the most essential places.

Ponyville was definitely special, it was close to Canterlot, the capital of Equestria, and mainly known for the farmlands that surrounded the town, from apple orchards to wheat and even farm animals for their milk or eggs. To this point, I still don't understand how a cow can be an intelligent being, with the ability to speak, and the chicken is the same as back on earth, but at this point, I don't question stuff. I'm living in 'dreamland' after all.





Anyway, coming back to Ponyville, I feel like living here could definitely feel special, the whole area feels cozy, and it feels like the residents of this place live close to each other in body and spirit. More natural, family-like even.

"I can't wait to meet the ponies who live here, I wonder how will they react to me and my appearance." I said out loud, moving a bit faster to the town square proper.

In the distance, I could see a board of some sort, with directions and messages on it, so naturally, the first thing I did was to walk to it and read what was written. It didn't disappoint.


[Ponyville board]

[Mayor Mare would like to inform everypony to remember that the next year Ponyville was picked as the host for the Summer Sun Celebration, the main event will take place in the main town hall. The residents will be obligated to help with the preparations via mail. In case of questions, please seek Mayor Mare in the town hall from 10:00-18:00. Mon-Fri.]


"Huh, I think this year it's in Manehattan, there was definitely one in Canterlot a few years back, but I don't think I went because I was in hospital at the time." I said to myself as I continued reading the information board.


[Mayor Mare would like to remind everypony to not get close to the border of Everfree Forest under any circumstances.]


"Great, I hope it's not a law because it would add another felony to the growing list of offenses I committed." I said a bit quieter in case somepony was listening.


[SUPER ULTRA DUPER PARTY PLANNER! NEED A PARTY?! I WILL GIVE YOU A PARTY! MY NAME IS PINKIE PIE AND I WILL PREPARE THE BEST PARTY FOR YOU! BIRTHDAYS! ANNIVERSARIES! WELCOME PARTIES! WANT A PARTY?! COME TO SUGARCUBE CORNER!]


"Alright, at least I know where to not get a party planned for me. Jesus, what's with the caps lock? And how the fuck is it even written in caps lock?" I felt like someone was just breaking a fourth wall or something.


[Job listing. Ponyville librarian. Competitive pay. Free housing. For further details seek Mayor Mare.]


"Competitive pay. With what other librarians I would compete? And what would that even look like? Throwing books at each other?!" I asked no one sarcastically.

Feeling like this information board would not give me anything useful, I decided to explore town on my own. The signs indicated that in front of me was the main road to the main businesses here in Ponyville, so I started with those.

Moving past a few smaller houses I arrived at a bit more cramped side of Ponyville, with few restaurants and businesses stacked together. And on the end of the road, few hotels with signs hanging from the doorframes.

I inspected the shops, and the variety of goods they sold was interesting, to say the least. 'Quills and Sofas' or 'Mr. Breezy's fan shop' was definitely the most bizarre one I had ever seen, however, there were places like 'Rich's Barnyard Bargains' which intrigued me to take a look inside. To be honest, it seems like Ponyville doesn't lack any particular item, but how it is presented to the customer is a completely different matter.

In Canterlot there are places that you simply cannot go to unless you have the funds to throw away. The upper rings of the Canterlot are filled with shops and whole galleries only for the rich and the nobility. Not that you cannot go there, by any means, but after seeing the price tags and attitude of ponies there, you will be quick to return to the middle rings quickly.





After an hour or so I decided it was finally time to check in the hotel. I felt like I had to at least wait one day until I made my way to the Everfree Forest since I wanted to see what I could find in Ponyville. So, staying one night wouldn't cost me much, and I could learn a lot about ponies and their culture here. After all, this expedition is not only to uncover the secrets of Princess Celestia but also to find more places I could potentially settle in or travel to in the future.

I managed to scup out a cozy-looking hotel at the end of the street I was currently on. It didn't look like anything out of this world, but I'm not here on holiday anyway. It was decent from the outside, and I decided to give it a try. After all, there are plenty of those around.

As I opened the door, I was greeted with a bell ring and a loud creek of the door itself. The mare sitting in front of the desk sheepishly looked at me behind her green mane.

"Oh! Hello! Um, are you looking for a room to stay in?" She asked, a bit hesitant.

I approached the desk and tried to sound casual. "Yes. I'm doing some business in Ponyville, and I will stay until tomorrow. How much for a single bedroom?"

"Y-Yes, um that would be... twent- No sixteen bits!" She boomed suddenly making me take a step back. I wasn't sure if she was excited or scared I was going to turn away. But I think it was the latter.

"Al... Alright." I put the bits on the counter and scanned the room. It wasn't special. Mostly made of wood, with few decorations on the walls and furniture here and there.

"Sorry if I sound a bit weird... Um, you are my first client since... like... forever..." She said, a bit defeated.

"So... The business not doing well?" I asked, even though I didn't exactly know why she was telling me this.

"It was... But... Well... There's not much going on right now. I'm hoping that next year when the Summer Sun Celebration happens there will be more clients and tourists." She said, taking the bits and counting them in her hooves.

"Well, I wish you luck. The Summer Sun Celebration is definitely bringing a lot of ponies in." I replied, not really knowing how to properly comfort the strange mare.

We stood there, in silence for a few good seconds.

"Ehem." I coughed under my breath.

"Oh! Sorry! Your key. Umm... Room number one. First floor." She apologized and gave me a key to my room. I took it and started to climb the stairs to the first floor.

After opening the doors to my room I started to pull out everything out of my bags. I wanted to see if there was anything useful I could find for my trip before tomorrow in those shops I didn't go to, and I wanted to eat something, even though it was still a bit early for Lunch. After forming the plan in my head, I went downstairs, nodded to the still sad mare sitting behind the desk, and went into town again.

My plan was to eat something first, and then ask around if there was some place that could sell me stuff like a map of the Everfree, or something that would help me get through the forest at the very least. I doubt I could find anything remotely useful, but still, locals might know something right?





The first place I went was the 'Café Hay'. I just hoped that it served things other than Café and Hay because both of those things I didn't particularly like. Apart from Hay fries maybe. But hay itself? Nope.

I sat down near an empty table, and a stallion unicorn wearing a suit quickly approached me. It surprised me a little bit since I didn't expect anyone to be this fancy in a place like this.

"Good morning ma'am, what would you like to order today?" He asked, his face almost stone-like.

"Could I get a menu?" I replied as the stallion pulled a menu and handed it to me.

I opened the card and almost fell down to the floor.

"Oh..." I simply said. Closing the menu and handing it back to the stallion who opened one eye before speaking.

"I sense ma'am won't be eating with us today?" He asked, in an almost mocking tone, which stung a little bit.

"No." I said, feeling a bit embarrassed and angry.

I stood up and started to walk down the road, feeling the gaze of the stallion just drilled into me as I imagined him laughing at my expense.

"I can't imagine anyone eating here with those prices..." I said quietly as I got a little further from the restaurant. Who would've thought that Ponyville could rival Canterlot with prices such as those...

I mean... 100 bits for a simple salad? 120 for two pieces of bread and some flowers?! Come on!

"gghlll" I heard my stomach rumble.

"I need to find something to eat quickly or I will eat my rations for the trip." I said to myself as I wandered around looking for somewhere to eat.





I don't know if it was hunger or simply sudden light that caught my eye, but I bumped into someone, making them fall to the ground.

"Oh sh- I mean. Sorry!" I put my hoof in front of me hoping they would grab it. The other pony giggled as they got themselves up with my help.

"Don't worry! I'm the same, not looking where I'm going! I mean, I have so much going on that I-" She stopped speaking suddenly making a weird face at me. The light from the sun was finally blocked by a passing cloud for me to see the mare in front of me properly. She was definitely an earth mare, but...

'Holy shit. She is so pink it hurts. If there was a war going on, she is the first one that the enemy spots.' I thought as she cocked her head and frowed her brows.

"Are you... New here?" She asked turning her head even further and making me uncomfortable with how her neck agreed to do that.

"I suppose I am. I'm not staying for long though. My name is Aurora. And you are?" I replied, not sure what to think of this reaction. Was it my appearance again?

What happened next could be only described as the sound of an eldritch god pulling all the air around the world in an attempt to kill the atmosphere. The mare in front of me literally not only just swallowed enough air to stay underwater for an hour, but also, by some miracle, managed to get off the ground like a balloon (And we are still talking about Earth Pony) and stay two meters above me for a good two seconds before literally just dashing over my head somewhere.

After turning my head, my eyes became pinpricks as I searched around to find her. My vision became blurry after a few seconds as I stood there, with no sign of the mare whatsoever.

"Am...Am I hallucinating? What the hell just happened...?" I put my head in my hooves and counted to ten. After not seeing any more weird things happening, I begin to walk, still a bit worried I just lost my mind for a split second.

"I know I'm living in a magical pony world. But there are things that truly are beyond that... That... Was one of them." I said as I turned my head once again to see if the mare was somewhere in the air.





After a good half an hour of searching, I finally found another place I could buy something to eat. It was a bakery. It was named The Sugarcube Corner. I walked in, pulling the small half door, that reminded me of those old western movies. The whole place looked like a typical local place where everypony would hang out between classes or during summer break.

The mare that worked behind a counter looked a bit chubby, and as I approached, her smile disappeared from her muzzle. Sending me a sign that she was definitely more sheepish than other ponies and that I should be careful with interacting with her.

"Good morning." I started, smiling a little bit and approaching only a little to not scare her.

"W-Welcome... Um... H-How may I help?" She asked, visibly torn by my unusual grey coloration and red eyes. 

"I would like to buy..." I inspected the various sweets they had on display. "Four cupcakes please."

The mare, still a bit hesitant, pulled out a small box and picked four cupcakes at random.

"T-That would be 25 bits..." She stated, placing the box on the counter.

I smiled again. "Great." I pulled thirty bits and placed them on the counter. "Thank you." I grabbed the box in my magic and pulled it alongside me as I was leaving.

"W-Wait! That's 30!" She called out after counting the bits. Still a bit hesitant.

"That's a tip." I replied, smirking, and making the chubby mare smile a little.

'Always works' I thought, leaving the shop.

That's a neat trick I learned from various interactions with ponies. If you can't win them over your appearance, try with some money. Just remember to do it subtly. Some might say it's a waste of bits. And I may not going to come back here, but life is unpredictable, and who knows, maybe that act of kindness will repay itself someday.





After eating, I decided to visit the library. It was located in the large oak tree near the north side of Ponyville. I could see it from the town square, so getting there wasn't really challenging. However, as it turns out, it was closed. I imagine that's because they do not have anyone to operate it since there's a job offer on the board, but a town without a single open library? Really?

Not that it really mattered, but I wanted to find out if the books offered here were different than in Canterlot. I imagined not, but it would be a good insight.

Seeing that I had nothing else to do since I basically went around town once in a circle and saw almost every shop here, I decided to go into my hotel to practice or work out, however, before I got there I saw a boutique in the distance that I hadn't approached yet.

"I imagine it sells dresses and suits, but maybe they have some kind of tarp or hood I could use in the forest as a protection from the natural elements." I said to myself as I trotted to the front door.


[Carousel Boutique]
[Open]


I pulled the door open, and the bell rang above my head. Before I could step in, I heard a voice call from the second floor of the shop. "Coooommiiingg!"

I stepped inside the spacious shop and inspected it closely with my eyes. There were many dresses in various stages of finishing on display, and a large number of empty mannequins. I couldn't see anything remotely close to what I had in mind.

"Hello!" A cheerful voice of a mare called as she came down the stairs. "My name is Rarity, welcome to Carousel Boutique!" She said.

Rarity was a unicorn with pure snow-like white fur and a gorgeous purple mane and tail. My first impression of her was that she was incredibly elegant and royal-like. Which reminded me of Canterlot nobles a lot. Not in a good way.

"Hi. Forgive me for asking, but do you sell anything else than dresses?" I asked as she stared at me with a curious expression.

"Mon ami... You have the most... Grey... collocation I have ever seen..." She stated, making me a little bit angry. And not answering my question.

"I'm sorry I'm not white and purple." I replied, making her gasp.

"Oh dear, I'm sorry, that's not what I meant to say..." She stopped and continued a second later. "What I meant was that you have the most unique coloration for a pony." 

I rolled my eyes. "I'm not... Eh... Never mind... I wanted to ask if you have any hoods I could buy."

"Hoods? You mean... Raincoats? I have few in stock..." She replied while feeling a bit bad about her comment earlier which she showed on her face.

"I need something more practical, something sturdy. A thick hood would be the best." I replied as she began to search through her clothes with my eyes, not seeing anything resembling the thing I needed.

"I... I don't have anything that would fit that description darling... Well... I could make one for you if you like." She asked, turning her head to me.

"How much and how long? I need one for tomorrow at best. And I don't have much bits on me right now." I stated, expecting disappointment or a very high price tag for this job.

"Hmmm... I could manage that. The money is not the question darling. The question is what color?" She asked, smiling.

"Grey." I replied with a grin. Trusting that she might actually create something useful, and not bankrupt me in the process.

"G-G-Grey... A-Are you sure?" She replied clearly not amused by my revenge act.

"Yes. Or should it be black?" I asked, scratching my chin.

"G-Grey it is! Please come back tomorrow, I will have it ready." She replied, bowing her head a little.

That honestly surprised me. She seemed impolite and self-aggrandizing at first but now she seems genuine and kind. So I decided to not dwell on her comment earlier and act like an adult. 

I bowed my head and smiled.

"My name is Aurora. Thank you miss Rarity." I said, making her smile and a little bit more cheerful.

"By the way..." I started to say.

"Hm?" She replied with a small nod and a confirmation sound that she was listening.

"Do you know anything about Everfree Forest?" I asked.

"..."





Let's just say she wasn't going to help me. Who knew that ponies feared that place so much? The poor mare almost started to cry after a while.

Leaving the Boutique, I made my way into the main road once again. With how it all played out with Rarity and the information about the Everfree, I decided to walk around town some more, maybe the first impressions with locals weren't as bad as I originally thought they had been, and I could find someone useful to help me. At least someone is not scared to talk about it.

Maybe I have to just- *BAM*

I fell to the floor with such force my body did a backflip and I landed on someone else, having no idea what just happened I quickly got on all fours and saw a blue pegasus mare with rainbow mane lying under me, covered in dirt. The smoke around us fell and her eyes opened.

"Wow... That was closer than I thought." She said, stretching her hind hooves and making me fall on top of her as she basically pushed my own hooves with hers.

"Oh, sorry!" She said. Not even trying to pull up.

"Are you done moving?" I asked, my muzzle on top of her head, and her muzzle on my neck. Not to mention our bodies in a very embarrassing pose in the middle of the road.

"Yep." She replied blushing a little bit.

I pulled my hooves up, slowly crawling to the side. "Are you hurt?" I asked, not sure if I shouldn't check myself first.

"Nope. I'm used to this by now." She said, pulling herself up and stretching her wings and legs. "Sorry once again, my training to become Wonderbolt is hardcore."

"Wonderbolt?" I asked a bit curious.

"Yep! I'm going to be the best Wonderbolt one day! First I have to impress them!" She replied, puffing her chest a little bit.

"Well, start with learning how to safely land." I retorted, making her snicker.

"Yeah... I'm still working on those." She smirked and then cocked her head. "Hey, I never saw you here. Are you new?"

"If I say yes, will you inflate and dash away like a maniac?" I asked a bit scared.

"Let me guess. Pinkie Pie?" She smiled.

"I don't know if that's her name, but if it is, I want to stay as far apart as possible from her." I replied smirking.

"She isn't all that bad you know? She is just weird. Like... Really weird. But in a good way!" The rainbow mare stated, standing closer to me. "Name's Rainbow. Rainbow Dash. What's yours?"

"Aurora Moonlight." I replied and pulled my hoof out for a shake.

She shook my hoof with a grin. "Nice to meet you! I have the rest of my training to do, but we can hang out later! You seem fun!"

I wanted to tell her that I would not stay for long, but she flew away before I could say anything.

It seems like I won't be able to find anyone who can help me with Everfree Forest. At least today.
> Chapter XVII: Gives You Hell.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The ponies here seemed nice. Yes some of them didn't actually like my appearance per se, but as far as I observed, they were relatively friendly and kind. While the weirdness of this place creeped me out a little bit, being not used to such energy from my home in Canterlot, I thought it was still a good experience for me to learn more about ponies in more remote or quiet places like this little village.

After cleaning myself up, being covered in dirt from this rainbow tomboy mare, I decided to take a longer walk through the road circling the entire village since I had to find a good place to enter the forest and I wanted to check out more of this place anyway.

That led me to an open path and a sign which indicated an orchard of some kind. And while it was on the other side of the town, not even touching the forest I was interested in, I still thought it would be nice to check it out. I always wondered how ponies managed to grow so many fruits and vegetables without chemicals. Even if the population here is much smaller than on Earth, it's still impressive without farm equipment such as tractors.

I couldn't tell where I would end up, other than an orchard that was on the sign, but very quickly I discovered that the beaten path led to a vast open field filled with apple trees and a farmhouse connected to a barn in the middle of it.

Upon closer inspection, the apples on those trees seemed almost too perfect to be actually real. But the smell lingering in the air and the rustling of the leaves that shook the trees and the apples seemed to tell me otherwise. It was incredible that something so bright and big could be produced by those small trees, either it was magic like always, or the trees themselves were of a special variety. I bet someone on Earth would pay a hefty price for the seeds of those trees.

Moving past them I felt like I could literally lose myself in those colors and the sheer quantity of the fruits. There had to be countless ponies helping to pick them up in the season, which could also mean that most ponies in the town were actually part-timers here as well.

While I was focused on the fruits and amazing scenery before me, I didn't acknowledge that someone was staring at me just beside the fence. And as finally saw the shape move towards me, I spun my head to see what it was.

"Mornin'. I take it you are lost, miss...?" A rather country accent greeted my ears as I eyed the mare in front of me.

She had stunning orange fur, a bright blond mane, and a cowboy hat on top of her head. Her eyes were adored with an emerald hue which made her stand out already as one of the most stunning mares I laid my eyes on. However, that wasn't all. Frakles gave her an accent of those country girls back home, and not only did she have a rather big frame for a pony, but she also had incredibly big muscles, especially so in her hind hooves and lower torso. 

Normally I could not see anything past that if a pony were speaking directly in front of me, but this mare had a backside that not only allowed me a glimpse of her rather... Impressive features, but also of her cutie marks. Three bright red apples on each side.

I considered myself tall for an unicorn mare, but in that moment I felt rather small compared to the size of the mare in front of me. And while I still believed that I shouldn't think of romance just yet, at that moment, I decided that I wanted a bigger partner.

"Hey? Are ya' there?" She asked a second time.

"Ugh... Sorry, spaced out a little there." I said, catching myself in the act of staring at her.

"What can I do for ya'?" She asked, smiling and leaning on one of the wooden posts around the gate of the farm.

"Umm, nothing really. I was just admiring the scenery, sorry if it's private property, I didn't know." I said, a little bit shyly. It was actually the first time in my life that I was intimidated by someone else.

...

Okay, Second time.

She giggled a bit and corrected her hat. "Nah' Sugar cube, it's a free road, you can be on it. The apple orchard is off limits though. So I woudn' recommend going past the fence, I might not do anything to ya' but Granny Smith... Well..." She once again giggled.

"Let's say the last pony that she got sneakin' in the orchard was in need of a shower... or two." She explained, giving me a friendly look.

"I... See... Well, I wasn't going to barge anywhere, just sightseeing. I'm from Canterlot, and those views aren't exactly... common there." I replied. Noticing that when I said Canterlot, the ears of the mare in front of me perked up.

I sense something is off.

"Did ya' say Canterlot?" She asked, a bit dumbfounded.

"Ugh... Yeeessss?" I replied questioning, not sure if she was going in a friendly direction.

"And... Ya' really wanted to see apple orchards? Seems... Excessive for somepony from there. I imagined ya' folk would be more interested in... I don't know, property or taxes?" She replied, making me smile and hard to laugh.

When I finally understood where she was coming from, I replied in the best way I could.

"Well now, reckon a fella like me might come off as slicker than a hard workin' pony to ya, but let me tell ya plain and simple, Canterlot ain't nothin' but a fancy facade fit for them city slickers and highfalutin' folk." I replied, giving my best impression of Scarlet when she is angry at someone and activates her Irehoof genes.

The mare in front of me stood there, in complete silence, her eyes frozen at me as she simply couldn't accept the fact that I said something in a language so close to hers.

Then, in this silence, I heard a harsh laugh and a very low tone from the farm window.

"Got ya' good Applejack!" A red stallion smirked in the window as apparently not only saw us talk but heard our exchange.

The mare, Applejack it seems, finally broke, and smirked, pulling her hat down a little bit in exchange for the stallion.

"Yep. That was a good one. There's no plain' with ya' is there?" She smiled at me.

"Sorry, I couldn't help myself, my friend Scarlet is from Irehoof and she is speaking very similar to you. I hope that wasn't offensive." I replied, giving the mare a simple nod.

"Nah, I'm glad ya' aren't some 'city slicker' and you can appreciate the beauty of the full apple harvest. Ugh, hey, sorry, the name' Applejack. Sorry for not introducing myself' earlier." She presented me her hoof for a friendly shake which I immediately took.

"Nice to meet you. And don't worry. My name is Aurora Moonlight." I answered, making sure to grip her hoof well to test if her strength was really what her appearance told me.

It turned out to be more than that when she smirked, almost crushing my hoof in the 'friendly' hoofshake.

"Well! I like ya'! Seems like we have ourselves a very nice neighbor!" She announced as the stallion in the window nodded. "That there is my brother Big Mac. Granny is in the cellar at the moment, and Apple bloom is in school, but come later and we can greet you properly." She exclaimed. She might thought that I was going to move in.

"I'm sorry, I'm not really settling in Ponyville, just... Visiting. But, ugh... Do you know anything about the-" I was just about to ask about the Everfree as I could hear an older mare shout from behind the barn.

"Apppleeejacccck! Come' here! Big Mac fell down the stairs... Again!" The voice almost rang in my head as Applejack grunted.

"Comin'." She replied to the older mare in the distance.

"Well shucks, Aurora, hate to say it, but looks like I gotta lend a hoof to my brother. Real sorry you ain't stickin' around, but who knows, maybe we will see each other again. 'Til then." She cocked her hat again, turning around and going up the small hill.

My attempt to answer was completely crushed by the sight of her 'other side' trotting up the path, giving my imagination a lot to look at and think about when I started to move back to the main road again...





As I traveled down the path, not really sure where it would lead me next, I started to wonder once again about my future in this world. It seems that interactions with ponies seem to trigger that in me.

What seemed to happen now, was a feeling of hope circling in my body. Maybe, just maybe, ponies didn't care what I looked like. And I can find ponies like Applejack or Rainbow Dash who don't immediately dash away or say things like 'Interesting color of the fur you have there'.

I still didn't know what caused this reaction, but from what I could see, it was mostly negative reactions from unicorns, casual from pegasi, and positive or neutral from earth ponies. Applejack didn't seem bothered by my fur and eyes, while Rainbow Dash simply didn't care. There were exceptions, of course, the mare in the sugar cube corner or this weird... Pinkie Pie? I think that was her name?

Maybe it's just that some ponies are kind and some have bad experiences with ponies that have dark fur or mane. I could speculate endlessly actually, but looking back I don't think it's as bad as it was when I was a filly.

"Hmmm... Maybe it's because I have a different vibe around me now?" I asked myself as I trotted down the small bridge that connected to a large open field and touched the clock tower.

It could be the fact that I took my mother's advice to heart and I don't bother now what ponies think of me. But could that really change how I look in the eyes of others?

...

I been so caught up in thoughts that I didn't notice the path end. Just when I brushed my hooves on the fresh grass, I noticed I was rather far from Ponyville and the main road. In front of me laid a single home, which honestly looked more like a cottage of sorts, supporting numerous birdhouses, creeks, and holes in the small hill it sat upon. Which made me think of some remote homes of those cat ladies and weirdos everyone avoided on Earth. Not that I didn't appreciate the scenery and the overall design of the place, it just seemed incredibly lonely being so far from Ponyville and other necessities.

From what I could however see, was a shadow dancing in the middle of the room of the cottage, the window bind made me unable to see what actually it was, but from what I could see... It...

... It was a bear.

'Bears... Weren't sentient here either... Right?' I asked myself as I recalled the lessons about animals and 'non-animals'.

I could see the shadow bend over and rotate its head a couple of times, making me stare at its antics in curiosity. Then something horrible happened.

The bear vanished, and in its place, the shadow of some kind of pegasus came place, quickly after however, the bear returned, opening his mount at the shadow flying in the air in the cottage, the shadow drawing a sharp object to defend itself from the attack of the monster.

"OH SHIT!" I instantly came to action, running as fast as I could to the front door and pushing on it hard, making the old wooden plank creak in agony as I literally blew it off the hinges.

I rushed inside, seeing the beast in front of what seemed a confused and scared little pegasus, holding something in her hoof. The bear was looking at me with its small eyes, which told me that it was surprised to see me.

Without any word, I grabbed the mare quickly by her torso and instantly dashed to safety placing her on my back while blocking the door with my magic by using the leftover door to slam into place once again.

I ran with the mare on my back as fast as I could, she didn't even say anything, most likely the shock of the encounter made her speechless.

As I finally made some progress from the cottage, I pulled into a bushy area and placed the poor mare on the ground gently,  which made her squeal a little bit.

"Huh... Huhh... A-Are... Are you... Okay?" I coughed out, trying to see if anything was running at us, luckily the bear seemed to not follow us.

"..." I didn't hear an answer, and that meant something might been amiss.

I quickly drew my head back to the mare who was still shocked and gaping at me, her eyes wide and her body frozen in place.

"Are you hurt anywhere? I don't see any blood..." I said, giving the mare a run down.

*Squeee* She simply squealed once again.

"I see... Well, don't worry, I'm sure the bear didn't follow us. You can relax now." I replied, giving her a small smile, which made the mare cry for some reason.

"Ugh... Are you alright?" I asked, still looking if the bear wasn't around.

"M-M-M-Mo..." She started to say, my head cocked to hear better, which made me realize that this motion was passed down on me like any other pony in history.

"MONSTER!" She screamed in panic as she pointed a hoof at me. Making herself more and more small in the bush we were hiding in.

"Hey! Hey! It's okay! I'm not a monster! Just a pony! Pony!" I replied, trying to calm the mare down as much as I could as she shouted over and over.

"Be quiet or this bear will find us!" I replied, seeing that the bear in question was following the path I escaped with her.

"Harry! Harry!" She changed her shouts from the 'monster'.

"You are not Ron for the love of..." I heard growling behind me.

...

'Fuck.'





Being pinned to the ground by a bear? Check. That bucket list is getting longer and I'm not even writing anything in it.

"And! That's what you have for trying to ponynap me! You bad! Bad monster!" The yellow pegasus constantly bombarded me with those comments as she hovered behind the mass of the bear who was pinning me to the ground using his butt.

"For the last time. I'm not a monster. I'm a pony. I might look different, but I'm not a..." I sigh. "You know what, I don't care. I just wanted to save you. I didn't know that this... Ugh... What it was again... Harry?" The bear nodded. "That Harry was your friend. I mean... I never seen a pony have a bear as a friend." I replied, making the mare slow down and pull down to the ground.

Lucky me. Trying to save a mare from a bear turns out into this. Luckily it seems like they are not violent.

"S-S-So... Y-You weren't going to ponynap me?" She asked, still behind the bear.

"No. As I said, I was only trying to help. I made a mistake, sorry, I just saw a bear, and I thought you were in danger." I replied, noticing that my forelegs stopped feeling.

'If I get out of this situation, I'll never help any mare during a bear attack again.' I thought as Harry scratched his belly.

"S-So... D-Do you promise to... Not harm me if I let you g-g-go?" She asked, moving past the bear.

"I promise." I replied, making the mare look at the bear and nod.

Harry stood up. And I could feel the blood coming back to my legs.

"Ugh..." I grunted as I pulled myself up. Noticing that the bear stood just beside the mare.

"W-What were you doing h-here then?" She asked, standing on the side of the bear.

"I was a bit lost, to be honest. Sorry about the whole situation." I replied, stretching my legs and making the yellow pegasus wince.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to do anything. I know what I look like, but I have no ill intentions." I reassured her, which seemed to partially work, but she still didn't dare to look me straight in the eyes.

"Okay... I see I'm making you uncomfortable, so I leave." I replied, starting to move in the opposite direction to her and the bear.

"W-wait..." She said quietly. Making me spin around and look at her.

"T-T-Thank... Y-you... For... Being concerned..." She said, hiding behind Harry who just shrugged.

I smiled and nodded, thinking that that was all.

"A-And... Ummm... C-Can... You f-fix... My d-door?" She asked. Still hiding behind the giant.

"Oh... Yeah, sorry." I replied, moving very slowly after them, to reach the cottage again.

It thankfully was a quick fix, and the door was only broken into two pieces, which could be easily mended using a simple version of the spell 'Reconstruct', which I used many times before on the furniture or broken props for my training area.

If it was broken into splinters, I wouldn't be able to do anything, but since I had not used almost any magic today, it was as easy as holding a small stone in the air.

After a quick flash of light and reattachment of the hinges to the wall, I mounted the door back. Nodding to the bear behind me, and the yellow mare standing on top of the nearby cloud.

'I never seen one on a cloud before... So that's how it looks like...' I thought as the mare flew a bit lower.

"T-Thank you..." She replied, as Hanry the bear opened the door and closed it to test it several times.

I decided that since I was back in square one with the mare I might at least try to ask her about the... 

'No... Maybe that isn't a good idea... Seeing how shy and scared she was during the incident.' I told myself as I pulled back from the door and reached the path once again.

"No problem... ugh...?" I replied, hoping I could at least get her name.

"F-Fluttershy..." She replied weakly.

"Fluttershy... My name is Aurora. And... Umm... I will go now. Sorry once again." I bowed and moved past the cottage bounds and into the main road again.

So that happened...
> Chapter XVIII: The Moon.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

After a good night's sleep, it was finally time to hit the road. It might be early, and I might be going into one of the most dangerous places in Equestria, but I don't have the luxury of waiting around. The max I could stretch my 'summer break work' with Scarlet was three days. After that, Mom would get anxious, and I don't want that.

I cracked my joints loudly as I stretched, bags secure around my barrel and all my tools and supplies ready. I quickly used the marking spell on the map to know where I was before I forgot, and I headed down the stairs of the hotel to check out.

There wasn't however the green mane mare behind the counter, so I placed the key on the wooden desk and went out of the door. I paid, so there wasn't any problem I hoped. It was still early, so I understood that she might not arrive for a few more hours.

When the doors opened, the morning summer breeze and the low sunlight from the horizon hit my cheek and muzzle. It felt like the beginning of a great journey and I couldn't wait to discover Princess Celestia's secrets any longer. The road to the Everfree was without any hiccups, the only ponies I saw were middling with the garden work or preparing for the day around their homes, nobody really bothered with me at this hour.

I also stopped by Rarity Boutique to get my hood. To my surprise, it was open, and the mare actually made a proper hood. More than that actually, the hood was more like a cape with a hood on it, it also had two large pockets. Rarity said she wanted to add even more stuff to it, but she finally decided against it, I think it was the right call. I paid her seventy-five bits total. She insisted it was too much, but I made her accept it anyway.

When I finally reached the edge of the town, and the small bridge that crossed the small stream to the Everfree, I stopped, checked everything one more time, and looked for the last time at the Canterlot in the distance. It was magnificent, the high castle and the morning sun reminded me of all the time I spent studying there and with my whole family. My mom, dad, sisters and grandparents.

"No turning back now Aurora..." I said, smiling to myself, as I passed the first trees of the Everfree.

What I could sense immediately was the temperature drop. It was much more chilly in the forest, but the hood Rarity made me was enough to keep me warm and protected from the tough terrain. Not to mention it covered all my features, so it was great for future adventures too.

I managed to stay around a beaten path, which went inside and outside of the forest, I do not know, but if I followed that route, I might actually stumble upon them. I just hoped it wasn't a pack of wild animals or monsters. But from what I heard so far, no one lived in the Everfree, the only times ponies ventured there were scientists and biologists, accompanied by a squad of guards.

I felt like the forest was more alive than most of the Equestrian flora, it made me come back to all the biology lessons from the CSFGU. Where we would discuss what plant could cure you, which one could hurt you, and which one was going to make you whimper in pain while it literally melted your skin.

'Good times...' I chuckled under my breath.





Two hours later





I made a mistake somewhere and strayed from the path. Either that or the path simply ended without me realizing it. So far the forest was quiet, but just recently I heard some long-distance howls. Most likely Timberwolves. They shouldn't be a problem, catching one on fire was easy. But if I stumbled upon a hydra or a cockatrice... Well, it wouldn't be so easy.

The general direction should lead me to the castle of twin sisters, however, given the nature of this place, how far it was was impossible to tell. Even from Canterlot, you couldn't see the castle, it was deep inside the forest, hidden by high trees, and heavy mist almost all the time.

Right now, I was on quite a large hill, the ground here was unstable, and it made me worry I could slide down below, and how far it actually reached, I didn't want to find out.

"Steady, slowly Aurora. You got this." I said, moving past the muddy ground, and into more stable footing.

"Huff, that was-" I got cut off by my hooves literally sinking into the ground, the whole shelf started to slide down, and I barely managed to hold onto a small vine that stuck out from the ground.

The landmass hit the ground after a few seconds, making me gulp loudly.

"Let's... Go even more slowly... From now on." I chuckled nervously as I pulled myself up. The hill was beginning to turn into more of a passage, where I could finally see something indicating that I was close.

"A bridge..." I blinked a few times, moving slowly to the edge of the wooden bridge.

I could see heavy mist on the horizon, and as I got closer I noticed the entirety of the bridge from the other side was covered in a thick layer of it. I could however make out a small stone structure on the other side. Either it was the castle or some kind of landmark.

I was just about to step on the first plank of the bridge when I stopped.

I inspected it a bit more seriously, this time checking the rope and the sturdiness of it by throwing a rock on the first few planks.

"To be honest... It doesn't feel like it's safe... But... I don't know if there is any other way around it." I said, thinking about what to do.

Finally, after a few minutes, I decided to simply untie the rope from the post, and attach it once more when I pushed it a bit deeper into the ground. I did that on both sides of the bridge, making sure to pull it as much as I could and push the posts as deep as I could with my strength. It still wouldn't work if the rope snapped from the other side or something, but it made me at least feel a bit more secure.

"Now if I die, I die by my own rules." I said, placing a hesitant hoof on the first plank. It didn't fall down, but it made a really noisy creaking noise. I hesitantly put my other hoof and started to move across the wooden planks, very slowly.

"So far so good..." I motivated myself, placing a steady slow hoof on another plank. I managed to move across what seemed twenty or so planks when I noticed there were a few missing from it.

I counted three missing and very carefully measured the distance to the nearest one. I made a quick calculation in my head and decided it was close enough. Pulling more of my weight on the last plank I was standing on, I jumped across the gap, the plank on which I landed protested with a loud wooden creak, but overall, it didn't break. I signed in relief as I placed my hoof on the next plank.

Immediately it fell down, alongside my front half, I gasped in shock and pulled myself up by the rope, looking down into the misty abyss as the wooden traitor dissolved into nothingness. A few seconds later I could hear a loud noise of wood striking a stone surface.

"L-Long way down... And... Not really pleasant landing either..." I replied, testing the next plank, and one after that with a steady hoof.

Finally, after a good twenty minutes, I managed to cross the bridge, it seemed small at first, but to be honest, it was much longer than I anticipated.

*SNAP* I heard the familiar snap of the rope behind me, terrified, I looked back, only to see the bridge I was just on, collapse into the abyss, the rope snapped from this side, and I was this close to potentially falling down that ravine.

"Oh... How am I going to go back now...?" I asked myself. There could be an alternative route from the other side or something, but for now, I need to keep going, I don't know how long till-

"Holy... Shit." I said, turning. The mist that covered the entirety of my vision just seconds ago, is now gone. In its place, are ruins of a once huge and splendid castle. The twin towers collapsed on each other, and the whole main gate was completely blown off, bricks, fragments of furniture, and who else knows lay everywhere.

I stopped for a few seconds only to grasp the sheer amount of history this place covered, the single wall of this castle was as thick as a cart, and the garden around the main entrance showed great detail to landscaping around the whole place. I would love to see this castle in its prime.

"But... That prime is a bloody grave. I assume." I said, frowning. The purpose of coming here was not to see ancient ruins but to actually find out what happened here. It's been almost a thousand years since the events the book mentioned. The... Elements. The Nightmare Moon. Everything...

"It started here." I said, moving onto the cobblestone path to the main gate. Large chunks of the wall and gate itself lay before me, and the huge opening meant easy access to the main castle.

"Here we go..."





Meanwhile...





It was rather a lovely morning if I can say so myself. I wanted to spend the day relaxing, for once at least. It was really beginning to feel like all the right pieces were in the right order on the chessboard. I didn't need to worry about Twilight for now, and everything so far was going according to plan, apart from...one pony.

I repeatedly told myself that I needn't worry, after all, all those preparations and careful planning wouldn't go to waste because of a single pony. Even if that pony was incredibly... And I mean incredibly persistent.

It annoyed me yes, but so far... I honestly thought it was for the best. Maybe, just maybe I was overreacting. Maybe it was all in good faith, the stalking, breaking into the library beneath the palace, the... Dangerous spells...

I... I know I should trust my ponies more than that... And I have been constantly assured that the obsession was only the product of curiosity, not anger, nor any kind of malice. That the genes were simply... like that.

Assigning a few more guards didn't hurt right? After all, what problem if it was twenty, or twenty-five at this point? Countless pictures... The... Privete... Investigations...

No... Surely. It was just my overreacting. It wouldn't... It couldn't happen.

Agai-

'DETECTED MOVEMENT' An alarm rang in my head like a siren, my magical signature picked up movement near the entrance to the castle in the Everfree.

I turned my head to the guard who was supposed to inform me about her movements today. He simply smiled like a fool.

"You don't know where she is." I asked, dead in my voice. It didn't even sound like a question, more like a statement. Feeling like the circle of Tartarus just opened up again to swallow me.

"We...Might have... Lost her in Ponyvi-" I didn't hear the rest as I teleported away.





"Fuck this place is huge." I said, brushing old cobwebs away, and turning the seventh corner. So far I found nothing useful, but I was moving in the main room direction, at least that's what I hoped.

The walls were covered in a thick layer of grime and several layers of old dust. Not to mention the amount of vegetation that grew from cracks and gaps in the bricks. This place was old, really really old.

The long hallway finally opened up after a few more minutes of walking, and as I predicted, two large doors stood at the end. I could see the cracks in the wooden structure on the left, so I decided to push the ones on the right. However, they wouldn't budge, so I tried the left side. 

The doors... Fell down with a very loud thud. Dust was thrown high into the air, and I began to cough as it got into my lungs. When it fell down, I could see the ceiling almost completely destroyed, bits and pieces scattered around the large room, which looked like a large throne room. Several flags were on the floor, they were grimy and old, but I could make out old equestrian insignia. The podium had a large crack that started from the top, making it look like it was made by someone.

"This is where they battled..." I said, moving around the debris and looking for anything useful I could find.

I could see a long hallway, just outside the podium, where I saw something sparkling in the darkness.

I followed it...

It leads me to another room, even bigger than the last one, with large stained glass windows, mostly broken. I also saw a large circular sphere, with several smaller spheres around it. It was covered in moss and dust, but I could see something carved into each sphere.

It looked like cutie marks of some kind. I felt like I shouldn't touch them... But...

I came closer, stepping over a few steps to get to the sphere... It felt like something was... saying I shouldn't...

When I was just a few inches before the sphere, I extended my hoof, slowly reaching...

"I command you to stop RIGHT NOW!" I hear a heavy voice boom behind me. I squeaked as I pulled my hoof back, looking at in the direction of the voice.

It was... Pr-

Princess... Celestia.

"P-Princess... Celestia?! W-What are y-yo" I got cut off by her stomping in my direction, her face looked... Livid.

"Now tell me, what exactly were you doing here?!" She asked, her voice loud, clear, and commanding. Her mature, motherly tone is now gone.

"I...I was..." I tried to find an excuse, but honestly... What could I say? She had to know what I was doing here. Playing dumb wouldn't help.

"If you can't tell me yourself, I will." She stated, standing just a few hooves before me, her face close to mine. "You were trying to find The Elements Of Harmony!" She stated, before adding "Why?!"

I felt her glare drill inside me. I wasn't a small filly anymore, but... I had never seen her so... Angry...

"I... Wanted to know more about them... About... You." I replied. Sitting down, trying to show her, that I'm not going to fight her.

"Hah! Do you think I'm going to buy that?! You think I'm stupid?! You think I didn't know about your obsession with me?!" She asked, half amused for some reason, half angry.

"O-Obsession? I... I'm not obsessing over you." I said it came out wrong, and it felt wrong, but... I couldn't deny the feeling that... I was somewhat interested in her being. Not obsessed, but definitely interested.

"Oh really now? Would you like me to tell you how many times you were spotted stalking me in broad daylight?" She asked, frowning.

"I...Ugh..." I didn't actually realize they spotted me.

"And how many years it has been since you first broke into the library in the gardens? Or how many times have you tried to sneak information from Twilight about what I was doing with her?" She added, making me start to sweat.

"I...Ummm... I didn't... I mean..." I tried to think of something, anything that could help in this situation.

"I hoped, I really did that all those times, you were just a curious filly. Against my better judgment, I decided to not intervene, to not do anything hasty, only to be proven wrong once again?" She stated, with sorrow in her eyes.

"I... I'm not an enemy." I said. Feeling rather attacked.

"Then what... What are you doing here? What? Tell me Aurora! What!?" She asked, in a serious and commanding tone.

"I..." I looked her straight in the eyes. "I wanted to find out if you were a good pony." I replied, making her blink rapidly and cough out the reply.

"A-A... A good pony?" She asked, her face mixed with emotions, she collected herself a second later. "W-What did I do, to make you feel I'm not a good pony?" She asked, confused, betrayed.

"W-Well... It's complicated... But... Umm... You have lived for a very long time, and... when I understood how much time it actually was... I have begun to think it might affected you somehow... Especially from... The Nightmare Mo-"

She blocked my speech with her magic, making me panic as she stared straight into my soul, her face an inch from mine.

"You have no right, not a single idea, how much struggle, how much pain, and how much sorrow I felt for the last thousand years. I have been ruling alone, without a day in which I didn't regret my decisions." She stated, pulling her magic back.

In fear I looked up, to see her still above me. Hesistant, scared I managed to whimper out. "B-But why are you pulling the rest of us with your sorrow?"

She staggered. Her eyes literally ignited, and then she looked at me with such ferocity I nearly had a heart attack.

... I was dead...

...

...

Then... 

She sunk down. Muzzle buried in her hooves. The whole atmosphere changed, and soon I could hear...

"*Sniff* *Sob* AHHHHH! AHHHHH! *Sob*" She wept. A grown alicorn princess. Wept.

I couldn't move a muscle. I saw her roll on the floor, her muzzle full of tears, her makeup smeared across her face. Her regalia flew from her hooves. She looked like a small filly, who had been taken from her mother.

She looked... "Lonely..." I said quietly to myself.

Oh... I do know that feeling...

...

I slowly approached. She basically pulled herself into a big ball, her hooves close to her body, she sniffed and sobbed beneath me. Her wings were outstretched like she wasn't controlling them.

"It's... Okay." I said, placing my hooves on her back. Her wings retracted slowly. I pulled her into a hug. Not sure what I was doing, or if I was even helping.

All this time I felt I wanted to find out more about Princess Celestia because I thought she was evil... But... She was... Just lonely... Lost... Sad...

"It's all going to be okay." I soothed. She didn't move, but her sobbing substituted. After a while, she pulled her face up from her hooves, and with teary eyes looked at me.

"I...I'm so... I'm so sor-" I cut her off by hugging her straight to my chest.

"It's okay. You don't have to apologize." I replied.

...

At that moment, I realized how bizarre this situation turned out to be. In fact, how the fuck did we end up in this situation?

She placed her hoof on mine, and pulled herself up, wiping her tears, with the tips of her wings she stood up to her full regal size.

"Thank you, Aurora." She said, looking at me with hopeful expression. "I... Needed that."

"We all need to cry sometimes. We just need to be reminded sometimes that it's okay to cry. Don't worry, I won't tell a soul." I said making her giggle, and then laugh.

"I... Appreciate that." She said, pulling me closer, and into an unexpected hug. "You remind me of her... A lot."

"Your... Sister?" I asked, not sure if I should.

"Yes." She simply stated, breaking the hug. "If...If you want answers... I will give it to you. But..." She looked around us. "Maybe not here..."

I nodded. "I would like that."