So, how would things change for Equestria, if Twilight wasn't there, and instead, a certain moody girl was given a chance to discover the magic of friendship in a world of true peace and harmony? Lets find out, shall we...
All her life, a certain girl always believed that she didn't need friends. She studied for years to master the awesome powers within her. She turned to books to escape the world she lived in and the destiny that awaited her. That girl isn't Twilight Sparkle, her name is Raven. And now, she's in Ponyville... although, why is she waking up as a rabbit?
(I'll be honest, this idea came to me mostly because Tara Strong voices both characters. However as I took it into my mind and developed the idea, it just struck me that it might actually be a more interesting story than I'm giving it credit for. Also, if anyone can find a good cover-art for this story I'd appreciate it. The cover-art for this story was drawn by me!)
Many worlds exist, some we know, others we don't. So what happens, when two worlds collide, and a great change occurs? One where, instead of Twilight Sparkle, a certain moody Teen comes to save Equestria? What differences would there be? What similarities? Who knows, but, lets find out...
A Titan in Equestria...
Or...
Shadows of Friendship...
She was so tired, yet she knew that she had to get up, something wasn't right. Her body felt unusually heavy, and as she slowly opened her eyes, everything seemed far too colorful. 'Ugh, what happened?' She inwardly questioned, and slowly began the arduous task of simply keeping her eyes open. The bright colorful terrain struck her first, and did a remarkable job of confusing her beyond belief. 'I must be having a nightmare.' She decided with a shiver, and finally took notice of how the world looked as if it was much bigger than she was used to.
'That... can't be a good sign.' She decided internally and slowly rose up to her feet, only to lose her balance and fall back to the ground. Balling her fists in the unusually large grass she pushed back up once more, only to wobble as she couldn't find her balance. 'Why can't I stand up?' The moody girl inwardly questioned, and then fell forward onto her face, a deep frown across her face. 'Today is really not my day.' She decided with a slight snort, and took notice of a pair of floppy white flaps hanging in front of her face.
Reaching out for the flaps, she instead found a pair of pure snow white paws and arched a brow. 'Okay... I have paws... when did that happen?' The moody teen mentally questioned before tugging down the white flaps, which caused her to wince and realize it wasn't a flap, it was an ear... 'Floppy white ears and white paws... so I'm a bunny.' The moody teen realized and mentally groaned while bringing a paw to her face. 'How and why did I turn into a bunny?' The moody teen had to wonder, and then sighed tiredly and turned over to lay on her back.
She raised her paws up to push back her hood, and then felt around for what further changes had occurred to her face. 'Lets see, cute button nose, check...' She thought with a frown as her paws came into contact with the tiny pink nose at the center of her face. 'Buck teeth, of course I would have buck teeth...' She thought with a mental scowl as she tapped a tooth with one of her claws. 'My eyes are kind of small, and I don't seem to have any whiskers, that's kind of odd...' The moody teen noted before moving her paws to the center of her forehead and felt a wave of relief wash over her.
'Well at least my Chakra is still there.' The moody teen noted with a slit glimmer of happiness when she found the tiny gem, which she quickly beat down and forced into the back of her mind. 'Remember your training, find your center, control your emotions, never let them control you.' The moody teen though to herself while closing her eyes, and internally reciting her Mantra as she doubted she could as a bunny. 'Azaroth, Metrion, Zinthos... Azaroth, Metrion, Zinthos... Azaroth, Metrion, Zinthos...' The moody teen inwardly recited until she felt calm and serene within herself.
The moody teen leaned up to look down at her body, fully confirming that she had somehow been changed into a snow white bunny rabbit. 'Well, at least my clothes are still here.' She mused while looking at her shrunken Leotard, jewel incrusted chain belt, and blue hooded cloak. 'Wait, where are my boots?' The moody teen wondered to herself as she raised her large floppy feet and wiggled her toes. 'I guess they don't make boots that fit a bunny... but then, why are my other clothes still here?' She wondered with a hopelessly confused expression on her face.
A sudden gasp alerted the moody teen that she was no longer alone in the grassy field. She leaned her head back and was surprised to find herself staring at the single most horrifying thing she could imagine. An adorable yellow pony with a pink mane and tail and bright innocent blue eyes. Sadly, this pony was too adorable to be a real pony, they didn't look this cute. 'It's official, my father has finally dragged me into a nightmare realm.' The girl turned bunny decided before the pony galloped over to her. "Oh dear, are you alright little bunny?" The pony questioned, throwing the dark teen for quite the loop.
'She can... talk?' The moody teen questioned while staring at the yellow pony in disbelief, not really sure what to make of her situation. "Oh my, where did you get those cute little clothes?" The pony questioned with a smile, a pair of wings flapping at her sides happily. 'And she has wings... so, she's a Pegasus? Can a pony be a Pegasus?' The moody teen wondered to herself before fidgeting as the Pegasus somehow lifted her up with her right forelimb. She then sat back and held her up with both forelimbs before smiling brightly, ignoring the growl the moody teen was sending her way.
"Oh you are just so cute!" The Pegasus declared and hugged the moody bunny to her chest, said moody teen glaring up at her with a scowl. 'Let me go...' She thought angrily and yet of course the pony didn't know what she was thinking as she lifted her up and looked at with a frown. "But I wonder just who you belong too, I can't think of any pony who would make tiny clothes for a pet and not keep her." The Pegasus thought aloud, the moody bunny growling at being called a pet. Yet the Pegasus ignored the growls and instead focused on the gem on her forehead.
"Oh my, do you belong to the dressmaker at Carousel Boutique?" The yellow pony questioned and then looked at her chain-belt, and the broaches on her cloak and sleeves. "Well with so many pretty gems I'd have to think so, and I can't think of any pony else who would make a bunny clothes." She admitted while the moody teen inwardly plotted her doom as she was held in the crook of one forelimb. However her eyes then widened as a nearby tree was suddenly encased in a black force and then split down the middle.
'Oh no...' The moody bunny thought as her heart dropped into her stomach, the Pegasus jumping back with a startled yelp, looking more than just a little frightened. "O-Oh m-my. Is S-Some Pony th-there?" The Pegasus squeaked quietly while falling into her mane and tail and allowing them to nearly cover her entire body. "U-Umm, excuse me... but uh, if you are there, I-I'm just going to, um, take this cute little bunny and leave... if that's okay." The timid Pegasus stuttered while shaking like a leaf, the moody teen feeling a pang of guilt for frightening her.
'She's cutesy, but she seems... really shy, I can relate.' The moody bunny admitted before taking a few breaths and began to calm herself and regain control of her emotions. 'Azaroth, Metrion, Zinthos... Azaroth, Metrion, Zinthos...' The snow white bunny thought to herself while the timid Pegasus slowly left her mane and tail to look around. "W-well it seems like no pony is here... so, um, lets go. I'm sure if you are the seamstress's pet she'd want you back." The yellow Pegasus noted while looking down at the bunny, who was trying desperately to center herself and regain control of her emotions.
The timid Pegasus expressed no more words as she left the clearing and made her way onto a beaten path. The moody bunny soon regained some semblance of control of her emotions and took a cursory look around. 'Seems she lives in a really rustic place. Lots of bright sunny fields and little happy trees... some one please wake me up...' The bunny mentally pleaded while she was carried towards town, which caused the bunny to twitch dangerously. 'Oh you have got to be kidding me!' She mentally groused as she was carried into what could only be her worst nightmare made reality.
The town was small, brightly lit and cheerful, it's buildings had thatched roofs and more than enough love hearts to make the moody bunny feel physically ill. The color pink was also extremely prevalent in the town, which caused her yet another bout of nausea, but the absolute worst part were the people... because, they were ponies. There were ponies, ponies everywhere. Pink Ponies, Blue Ponies, Orange Ponies, there were ponies of just about every color she had ever seen and a few she hadn't imagined!
There were more Ponies with wings, Pegasi she internally corrected, as well as some with horns, which she assumed were ugh... unicorns... and even normal ponies with neither horn nor wings. But they were all cutesy and adorable looking, large eyes, stocky body's with long legs that didn't look weird, a rounded head and short snouts, and ears that were put almost at the sides of their heads rather than the tops. And their manes, if their coats were colorful, then their manes were like looking at a massive rainbow! She saw some of the ponies even had multiple colors in their manes!
'I... I don't even know how to react to all this...' The moody teen thought to herself with her mouth agape and eye twitching wildly. She also noticed that the ponies were working, some watering plants, others bartering wares, and still more were just trotting around like it was the most normal thing in the world. 'Please, if this is a nightmare, then let it end soon.' The moody bunny mentally begged while the yellow Pegasus approached a large building she thought resembled some kind of Carousel.
'This must be Carousel Boutique... I guess these ponies haven't heard of being subtle.' The teen turned bunny though with a flat look as the yellow Pegasus carried her to the building, and then knocked on the door with a hoof. 'How did she balance holding me, and knock on the door?' The moody bunny inwardly questioned while looking to the door as a voice carried through the door. "Just a minute!" The voice singsonged and the moody bunny scowled, she already felt like she was going to dislike this new pony...
A moment later, her suspicions were confirmed.
"Welcome to Carousel Boutique, where every garment is Chic, Unique, and Magnifique! I'm Rarity, proprietor of this fine establishment." The marshmellow white unicorn declared with a smile, a swirled indigo mane on top of her head matched by a swirled tail, her eyes bright and blue with obviously fake eyelashes and what seemed like pale blue eyeshadow. 'Why would a pony even need makeup?' The moody bunny had to wonder as she stared at the white unicorn, who seemed more surprised to see the yellow Pegasus than the bunny wearing a set of clothes.
"Oh dear, I believe you are... Fluttershy correct?" The white unicorn questioned curiously and the yellow mare blushed and looked down timidly. 'Seriously, Shy is actually a part of her name?' The moody bunny questioned with a mental shake of her head, while the timid Pegasus shuffled on her hooves.
"Oh um, y-yes. I-I'm Fluttershy." The Pegasus said in such a tiny voice that even the moody bunny could barely hear her, and she currently had massive ears!
"Err, yes of course Darling, so what brings you by my humble establishment?" Rarity questioned of the butter yellow mare who shrunk for a moment and held up the moody bunny.
"U-Umm. I was j-just wondering if th-this cute b-bunny belonged to y-you?" The timid Pegasus questioned while the moody bunny in question shot "Rarity" with a rather disinterested stare. However that ended as soon as she was encased in a strange aura that was also emanating from the unicorns horn. 'Is she using magic? Okay, now I'm a little more interested.' The moody bunny admitted even as she was pulled out of the butter yellow Pegasus grasp and held aloft before the white unicorn.
"Well, I must admit I'm impressed by the detail of her clothes..." The white unicorn began before bringing the moody bunny close and looking at her broaches / belt. "Oh my, are those made from real gold and rubies?" The white mare questioned and the moody bunny mentally shrugged. 'Technically yes, my last teacher thought I deserved at least one good birthday present before I left Azaroth.' The moody bunny mentally admitted to no one, though idly dared the white unicorn to try and take her belt / broaches... it would not end well for her.
"Oh, so she isn't your bunny?" The timid yellow Pegasus questioned of the white unicorn and Rarity slowly shook her head.
"No darling, but I have to say whoever she does belong too would most likely be looking for her." Rarity replied and deposited her back onto the ground in front of Fluttershy. That was all the prompt the moody bunny needed, as she focused inward and called upon the well of power inside herself. A split second was all it took as she formed a black disk beneath herself and flew away from Carousel Boutique and the two ponies.
"W-wait!" Fluttershy cried out in clear concern before giving Chase while Rarity frowned.
"Dear, wait!" The white unicorn shouted and then closed the door to her shop and galloped after Fluttershy to lend a helping hoof. The two ponies chased after the bunny flying on a black disk, both hopelessly confused by this unexpected turn of events and wondering what in Tartarus was going on. The little bunny's disk moved with disturbing speed and agility, twisting and turning around every obstacle in it's path and always keeping just out of reach of the two ponies. "I say, what is going on?!" Rarity demanded as she galloped beside of Fluttershy, the timid Pegasus shaking her head.
"I-I don't know! But a tree was t-torn in half by that s-same magic wh-when I found her!" Fluttershy replied and Rarity's eyes bolted wide open.
"Oh my, we have to save the poor little dear! There's no telling who or what that magic belongs too!" The white unicorn cried before taking a quick breath as she gained a surprising burst of speed while chasing after the bunny. Said moody bunny widened her eyes as she looked back to find both ponies chasing her, the unicorn quickly gaining on her. 'Ugh, would you both just leave me alone!' The moody bunny mentally demanded, her temper flaring and eyes widening as the ground beneath the white unicorn was encased in black for a moment, before suddenly splitting.
'Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!' The moody bunny thought inwardly even as the white-unicorn fell into the crack, she would have went to save hew, however a rainbow streak beat her to it. 'Uhhh... what just happened?' The bunny mentally questioned before falling back as the rainbow streak shot out of the crevice and revealed a teal rainbow maned / tailed Pegasus was now carrying a shaking Rarity on her back.
"Woo! Now that was one seriously awesome save, if I do say so myself." The cyan pegasus stated self-appreciatively, the moody bunny rolling her eyes. She then concentrated on the crevice and forced it to close while no one was looking her way, too preoccupied with the pegasus and unicorn. "Hey, are you alright back there?" The boisterous Pegasus asked the unicorn with a grin, yet she merely narrowed her eyes on her savior.
"Darling, I'd be more than happy to answer your questions... but only when you put my hooves back on the ground!" Rarity cried out and the rainbow maned Pegasi chuckled nervously before lowering down and allowing Rarity to slide off of her back. Taking that as her cue to leave, the moody bunny shot off on her black disk.
"Oh no, oh no, oh no!" Fluttershy said as she rushed after the bunny, the rainbow Pegasus frowning while Rarity sighed.
"Okay, what the buck is going on here?" The cyan pegasus all but demanded and Rarity sighed.
"Fluttershy is chasing a bunny who's been abducted by a black magical energy which not only split a tree in half but also split the earth under my hooves." Rarity explained quickly and then sat down to catch her breath, the rainbow Pegasus letting out a snort before shooting off after her old friend and the bunny.
The said moody bunny found her heart thumping in her chest as she glanced back to see the yellow pegasus was still chasing after her. 'Ugh! I just want to find some place to be alone and figure out what's going on here!' The moody bunny roared inwardly and a tree was suddenly uprooted and tossed into the sky. The moody teen mentally groaned and took several deep breaths while trying desperately to calm down. 'Azaroth, Metrion, Zinthos... Azaroth, Metrion, Zinthos...' The moody bunny thought to herself and then yelped and moved to the side mere seconds before the Rainbow Pegasus would have grabbed her.
"Hey! Hold still you crazy bunny!" The rainbow maned Pegasus shouted while the moody bunny had to take several long calming breaths as she felt her temper flare. She knew that the pony didn't know about her... problem, with her magic, but that didn't give her the right to call her crazy! However looking back the moody bunny found The Pegasus hot on her heels and actually gaining. 'Okay, so this one is really fast...' She thought to herself for a moment and then turned and raised her little arms, a black shield of magic blocking another dive from the rainbow-pegasus.
"What the Hay was that!?" The Rainbow pony demanded with a gaping jaw while the bunny was spirited off, Fluttershy, and surprisingly enough Rarity, passing her and still giving chase. Growling low in her throat the Rainbow Pegasus shot off of the ground and then after the three, her wings beating a mile a minute as she raced to catch the runaway rabbit.
The Moody Bunny herself was almost desperate by this point, looking everywhere she could for a haven to escape the crazy ponies and be alone. Looking all around she eventually noticed a tree with windows, and beyond those windows she saw dozens of books. 'Oh thank Azar, Sanctuary!' The moody bunny thought to herself before shooting in the direction of the tree and circling around it in search of an entrance. She had hoped that she could simply slip inside through an open window or door, however it seemed as if the place was either out of business or without any current residence.
'Perfect.' The moody bunny thought and opened a window on the second floor of the tree before darting inside and slamming it closed behind her. Once she was inside the moody bunny allowed her disk to dissipate and landed on the ground where she began to pant for breath. She soon breathed out and took a moment to calm herself and her now highly agitated emotions. 'Now then, maybe I can figure out what's going on around here.' The moody bunny thought before looking up at all the books.
Forming another disk beneath her feet the moody bunny used her magic to raise herself up and pulled out several books from the shelves. 'Strange, these don't appear to be written in any language I know of... but I can still read most of them.' The moody bunny noted with a frown, then shook it off and looked at the tittles of the books for a moment. 'I don't need a history book.' She thought while sending the book back onto the shelf, while she wanted answers she was not going to just toss books around.
'Hmm, an introduction to magic?' The moody bunny noted and looked at it with interest, thus put it aside for the moment and looked at the next book. 'The Elements of Harmony, a Reference Guide.' She mentally read aloud and then put it aside as well, idly wondering what it was about. She then waved her hands and brought several more books from the shelves and brought them close. 'Predictions and Prophecies...' She noted with a mental twitch, having never had much luck as far as Prophecies went, but still put it with the rest of the read later books.
'There has to be something that can help me...' The moody bunny thought with a frown, looking through several other books before returning them to the shelves with a sigh. 'How am I supposed to change back if I don't even know what turned me into a bunny?' The moody teen mentally questioned before a frown crossed her face and she considered her options. 'I could possibly overload the spell with raw power, but then I don't know how my body would react to that.' The moody bunny considered and then went silent at a noise from below.
"Would you hurry up and open the door! I want to know what is up with that crazy rabbit!" The tomboyish voice of the Rainbow Pegasus nearly shouted and the moody bunny felt her eyes widen.
"C-Calm down Rainbow-Dash, I th-think she's frightened enough, and I don't think a little bunny can even use magic." The voice of Fluttershy echoed and the moody bunny frowned. 'Her name is Rainbow Dash... really?' She mentally questioned with a sigh and a shake of her head. She had to wonder how all the ponies could possibly have such appropriate names, but that wasn't quite as worrying as them catching her would be.
"In any case darlings, I simply hope to get to the bottom of all this, the ground does not simply split open and I've never seen trees fly from the ground, strange disks whisk helpless bunnies away or magical shields form out of mid air. And if the Mayor hadn't had a key to the Library we wouldn't even have this chance to investigate." The voice of Rarity echoed alongside the sound of a lock being undone, the moody-bunny's eyes widening as she realized that her pursuers were now in the library.
'Why now? I still haven't figured out how to change back to normal! Or get out of this crazy pony filled world for that matter!' The moody teen thought with a scowl as he powers caused a nearby chair to bubble and then melt down. Mentally groaning she took several more calming breaths and tried desperately to get her powers back under control. The sounds of hoof steps echoed as the three ponies entered and began to search through the library, the moody bunny looking all around for a place to hide.
"But I'm telling you Rarity, that bunny rabbit waved her arms and formed the shield herself!" Rainbow all but shouted, the moody bunny grimacing as she realized at least one of them had her ousted as a less than typical bunny. 'Well so much for hiding, I doubt that rainbow pegasus is going to let me go Scott free until she gets her answers... she seems like the stubborn type.' The moody bunny thought to herself, and knew that even if the others didn't believe the other Pegasus, she likely wouldn't be able to do anything without her watching her.
'Which means I have to overpower whatever changed me into a rabbit.' The moody teen thought resolutely and sat down, brought her hood over her head, placed her fore paws on her knees and her eyes closed. She took in several controlled even breaths, she concentrated only on her mantra, and she brought forth the power within her. She felt it ebb and flow, still roaring and raging like a hurricane as it often did, but for now she needed it to do so. Using her senses the moody bunny felt through her entire body before eventually finding a strange spell she had never encountered before.
Whatever the spell was actually wasn't quite as powerful as she would have expected. But that didn't matter at this point, she just wanted it gone! With that thought in mind the moody bunny opened her eyes, both of which began to glow a brilliant white just as Rarity, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash entered the room. "Ha, there it is!" Rainbow cried out only for all three to rear back as a flash of dark magic suddenly surged forth to encompass the moody bunny. The black magic then circled all around the tiny creature as she forced more and more magic to break the spell holding her as a bunny.
Mere moments later, the spell was utterly shattered and her body was completely consumed in black magic that expanded outwards. Soon enough the magic dissipated and the moody teen fell forward, panting heavily and trying desperately to keep her emotions in check. "Ugh... well... there are worse ways to break a spell..." She noted in her usual monotone, then slowly rose a hoof to her... wait, that wasn't right. The moody teen felt her eyes widen and she slowly looked at where a hand should be, but found a pallor grey colored hoof instead.
"Oh you have got to be kidding!" She cried in disbelief before looking around and fell forward when she tried to move. 'Four legs, you now have four legs.' She told herself and growled while shakily rising up onto all four of her legs, stumbling for only a moment as she trotted carefully towards a nearby vanity mirror. She wasn't sure what she would do, she clearly wasn't human, but the idea of being a pony was about as ridiculous as she could stand. Being a bunny had been bad enough, did she really have to turn into a cutesy pony as well?
However one look at herself showed that yes, the universe officially wanted her to suffer.
She was a pallor grey unicorn, however after feeling something itch at her sides she shifted for a moment and a pair of pallor grey raven wings with onyx tips opened and stretched out from her sides. Ignoring that and the shocked looks on three certain ponies faces, she pulled her hood back, thankfully her violet hair had returned and looked to be the same style and length as it was when she was human, the gemstone upon her forehead was also present though now half-imbedded into the base of her horn, and her eyes were the color of amethysts.
Frowning the now very grumpy unicorn... pegasus... thing, tried to remove her still blue cloak to check the rest of her body, yet her hooves proved to be difficult to work with. "I officially hate having hooves..." The new pony declared with a snort before her horn was encased in black magic and she threw off her cloak. What she found was a more or less average pony body, perhaps just a bit on the curvy side, with her golden jewel incrusted chain belt hanging around her waist, the tassels she used to tie it hanging at her left side.
She then took notice of her tail, which was every bit as violet as her "mane", and matched it perfectly. However strangely enough her leotard had been lost, and in it's place she seemed to have some kind of sleeves on all four of her limbs. They were black and reached up to her "thighs and biceps" of her legs, yet had blue cuffs around where her "ankles and wrists" would be on her new body, on top of the blue cuffs were golden jeweled broaches, much like the ones that had been on her leotards sleeves. All and all, the sleeves resembled her leotards sleeves, yet were altered to fit on her new pony body.
"Okay... so I'm a pony now... great..." The new pony noted sarcastically before glaring to the side where Rarity, Fluttershy, and Rainbow-Dash were still staring at her in shock. Her eyes hardened and her wings flared at her sides as she looked at the three now utterly trembling in fear ponies. "Get out." The moody teen growled out as a black energy formed around her horn, then wrapped around the three ponies before somehow depositing them outside the front door of the library. A moment later the black energy grasped the door and slammed it shut while the curtains were drawn closed as well.
"Uhh... what just happened?" Rainbow questioned a moment before a shield of black energy formed around the tree encasing it completely. The rainbow-pegasus idly reached out a hoof to touch the shield and frowned when it held her back as firmly as any wall.
"I... I think we just saw a bunny turn into a Princess... a very ahem, moody princess." Rarity replied with a slack jaw, Fluttershy slowly nodding her head while a mass of ponies approached the shielded library...
Raven let out deep panting breaths, her heart raced and thundered in her chest. She could barely comprehend what she had just done. She took a moment to collect her thoughts, then sighed tiredly. 'What did I do to deserve this?' She questioned and then had a self depreciating thought hit her. 'Oh right, daughter of Trigon,' She ignored the thought and trotted shakily to the curtains and closed them. She closed every curtain she could bathing the inside of the tree into a comfortable darkness. That done she found some candles and lit them to provide herself a descent amount of lighting.
It wasn't much but it was more than enough for her. She preferred muted colors and dark spaces. All the bright sunny colors hurt her eyes and left her feeling ill. She admitted that was a bit of an exaggeration but she didn't particularly enjoy bright colors. Yet with the tree bathed in shadow, she sat down and looked around the bedroom she'd found. It was dusty and old so no one had been inside for quite some time. She remembered the books she'd seen through the window and frowned to herself.
'It's an abandoned library...' She realized with a slight frown. She didn't understand why people, and apparently ponies, didn't like to read. Reading had always been something she did for fun when she was little. The world within books allowed her to escape her world and go to new places. But she knew that not everyone liked to just sit down and read. She didn't like it, but she knew that it was a fact of life. 'Well since no one was using this place, I might as well take it,' Raven rationalized as she looked around the library.
She knew some one would eventually come and attempt to evict her. She expected it to come and she would of course be sad to have to leave. But it was something that had to happen. Regardless of the fact the place was abandoned, some one would eventually inhabit the place legally. Unfortunately, she was tired, and her emotions were out of control and bouncing off the walls of her brain. Her new form, this new place, and especially the fact she had no idea how she got here had left her more emotionally exhausted than she had ever been in her life.
She stopped for a moment, her meditations could wait as a sudden thought prickled at her brain. 'My mirror.' She inwardly mumbled and closed her eyes and spoke softly. "Azaroth, Metrion, Zinthos." She waved a hoof and a black portal formed before a small hand mirror fell out to the floor. 'Good, I don't want to think of what might happen if you fell into the wrong hands,' The grey winged unicorn thought while picking the mirror up with her magic. She then trotted over to the vanity and left it to sit there, before turning away with a soft sigh.
'Now that I don't have to worry about anyone wandering around in my mind. Maybe I can to try and get my emotions back under control,' The violet maned pony thought before making her way to the center of the room. Looking down at her new body, she found a new problem she hadn't expected. 'Uhhh... how do I meditate with reverse jointed limbs?' She wondered while glancing back at her hind-legs and then lifted her forelegs. She was surprised to find her forelegs could actually reach a range of motion roughly the same as her arms.
'I'm no expert on horses or ponies, but somehow I have a feeling that that isn't normal.' The little pony decided while looking back to her hind-legs and clicked her tongue. She idly leaned back and lifted each leg before she started to test their range of motion as well. A frown crossed her lips as she found that, unlike her forelimbs, her hind-legs seemed to have a limited range of motion. 'Well I guess I should have expected that much,' She decided to herself with a sigh and rose back into a sitting position.
Taking in a breath through her nose the violet maned pony sighed and closed her eyes. She needed to calm down and focus. Her emotions had been running her ragged today and she didn't need anymore incidents like earlier. She could hopefully figure things out later, but for now she really needed to calm her emotions. 'Azaroth, Metrion, Zinthos... Azaroth, Metrion, Zinthos...' She repeated again and again in an attempt to regain control of her wild emotions and the awesome powers that they fed...
Princess Celestia, ruler of Equestria wasn't quite sure what she should make of her current situation. Not only had a mare burst into her castle in the middle of court. Admittedly she saved her from having to listen to a pony drone on and on about something. But now she was hearing a claim that a strange Alicorn had overtaken a library in Ponyville. 'It couldn't be Luna, there's still over a month before she should arrive,' Celestia reasoned with a frown as she continued to listen to the cyan pegasus ramble on and on.
'Ponyville is closest to the Everfree and the old castle. So if Luna were to have escaped I suppose that would be her first target,' Celestia reasoned with a frown. The idea that her sister had somehow gathered the strength to escape early was very worrying. 'That would mean she's far more powerful than I had anticipated,' Celestia thought with a grimace. The princess then shook her head. She reminded herself that all she knew was that an alicorn had appeared in the ponyville library. It didn't have to be her sister, it could just as easily be a new alicorn.
Much like how her niece Cadence had appeared nearly out of thin air.
Thus the princess decided to get some more facts and returned to listening to a still blathering Rainbow Dash. "... and she like totally has this awesome black magic stuff that's made a shield or something and no pony can get into the library and..." Clearly the mare had a lot to say. Though the fact she hadn't stopped for breath even once was worrying. 'Is she breathing through her nose?' Celestia wondered and hoped as she watched the rainbow mare silently. She also thought about the strange magic the pony had mentioned and frowned.
'Black magic?' she considered and hummed as she realized what the pony meant. 'She likely means a black magical aura,' the princess reasoned and a smile crossed her lips. 'Luna never had a black aura, not even as Nightmare Moon, so it cant be her,' the solar diarch noted with a minor nod of her head. However that also opened a new can of worms as she knew there was a pony with a black aura. 'Mort,' she thought with a mental scowl and tried not to growl in front of her little pony subjects.
"... I mean really! Who's ever heard of a bunny rabbit changing into a princess! And Fluttershy and Rarity... " Celestia was surprised by how much this pony liked to talk. Of course at least she now knew the alicorn was female, so at least it definitely wasn't Mort. 'Not like anypony would have noticed him anyways. So that leaves only one logical explanation... there's a new Alicorn,' Celestia reasoned and then sat up as that thought registered in her brain. 'There's a new alicorn!' she thought with no small amount of hidden excitement.
Alicorns, like herself, were exceedingly rare. As of this moment, she was almost certain that their numbers were limited to single digits. It wasn't unexpected given what their lifespan was looking to be. She for instance was over a thousand years old and going strong. If every alicorn had such a lifespan then it would be very bad for them to be too numerous. But that also meant that things could get very, well, lonely. Knowing few ponies for what felt like only a few decades tended to leave her sad.
And she didn't even want to think about how their foals worked.
The old alicorn was thus very excited by the news of a new alicorn. If nothing else it meant that she had one more pony she wouldn't see die of old age. That was all she needed to decide that she would handle this new alicorn herself. "... and so I thought I should come here and tell you what's going on so you can do something!" the cyan pegasus, Rainbow Dash if she remembered correctly, finally finished. The mare panted with exertion and sat back, her breaths short and quick. The solar princess briefly looked to her with concern, but her growing curiosity about the new alicorn won out over it.
"Thank you, my little pony, for bringing this incident to my attention," Princess Celestia offered and rose to her hooves, idly stretched out her hind-legs. Sitting on that throne was honestly getting to be more trouble than it was worth. She made a mental note to find some cushions or something to soften it later. She then looked around the court. "Court is adjourned," She stated in a tone that brokered no chance for argument. "I shall see to this incident in ponyville myself," The solar alicorn stated as she trotted passed Rainbow Dash and through the throne room.
Celestia just hoped she didn't look too happy or excited as she left. She cared very deeply for her ponies, she was just very eager to meet the new alicorn. She trotted out of the throne room at a brisk pace, out into the courtyard. Her captain of the guard approached but she quickly assured him she would be fine and opened her wings. It had been quite some time she last she had flown, but not so long that she couldn't fly on her own. That was doubly so when the place she was going was relatively close to Canterlot.
As such the solar princess quickly shot in the direction of Ponyville. It'd been quite some time since she last felt the wind against her wings. She honestly preferred to trot or ride a carriage, but this was not a matter she could wait on. She was too eager to simply sit around and wait for her guards to get a ride. Besides that, she was significantly faster than her little ponies knew. Which is why she inhaled a breath and then shot off at break neck speed. She used her magic to teleport as well, going several times faster.
In nearly an instant she appeared in Ponyville out of a brilliant flash of light. Almost instantly the ponies of the small village bowed before her. She honestly wished they wouldn't do so, but they had done so for so long that it was unlikely to stop. Her wings shifted at her sides and she approached the blackened dome of magic. She frowned as she looked it over, only idly noticing as an older mare came to her side.
"P-Princess Celestia, w-what an honor to have y-you visit us," the mare stated nervously. Celestia nodded her head and hummed quietly. She stared at the dome of magic and library beyond it for several long moments, internally trying to reason out how she would enter. 'I suppose I could force my way through, but she might try to flee if I did that,' the alicorn mare noted to herself. She didn't want to scare the new alicorn, merely greet her and potentially make a new friend. But first she would have to figure out how to go about meeting with her.
"Has any pony tried to enter the building?" the solar alicorn questioned and looked to the older mare. The grey maned mare merely shook her head in response.
"N-no, every p-pony is too fr-frightened to try," the mare replied honestly. Celestia hummed and nodded her head in understanding. It was good that they were erring on the side of caution. A startled or hostile alicorn was potentially the most dangerous thing one could meet. She knew that from personal experience on both instances. She clicked her tongue and stopped in front of the dome of magic. A single golden shoed hoof reached out and tapped at the magic around the tree. The alicorn princess was surprised, she could feel so much magic, yet it was strange.
It was wild and chaotic with barely any signs it was controlled, not at all like she expected, and yet also unlike that of Discord.
"I would like to ask that you keep every pony back, I'm going to try and enter," Celestia urged with a kind smile. The mare quickly nodded her head and raced to keep the ponies of the little town back. The alicorn princess merely rolled her eyes and then looked at the building with a frown. She focused on following the flow of the magic, and quickly realized that the shield only covered the tree.
"Does this building have a basement?" Celestia asked over her shoulder. The older mare from before quickly nodded her head while urging the ponies back. The alicorn princess gave her thanks and then closed her eyes and focused on her magic. With a flash she vanished, only to reappear in the basement below the tree. Blinking her eyes open Celestia slowly made her way out of the basement. She made certain to make as little noise as possible, as she still didn't wish to startle the alicorn too badly.
She mentally cursed her size and weight as a floor board creaked. Blowing a breath into her bangs she stopped and considered her options. She could simply 'Wink' up to the alicorn, but that would likely startle her. Her other option was to release the power of the sun and return to her original size. Not only would she be smaller, but she would seem far less intimidating to the new alicorn as well. In fact, the only real downside she could think of was that she was so used to her current size.
Well, that and she had always hated her mane when it was totally pink, she had never really been fond of the color pink. Even though her mane had always been pink it was still her least favorite color.
"I suppose it is a minor inconvenience at best," the alicorn princess admitted to herself and closed her eyes. Her body gave a brief glow and then shrank down. Her mane fell flat and cascaded down the side of her head / face, and her coat took on an even more noticeable pink hue. As soon as she finished shrinking, her regalia fell on her smaller frame, bringing a frown to her muzzle. Letting out a sigh the alicorn princess lifted her crown and then focused on her regalia. A flash of her horn and they shrank down to suit her new size.
"I actually forgot how small I really am," the alicorn admitted, then blinked. "Do I really sound like that?" she asked and giggled, her voice seeming somehow younger and more girlish. Smiling to herself, the alicorn princess slowly trotted up the stairs of the tree library. Her ears swiveled and listened as a soft voice echoed down from upstairs.
"Azaroth, Metrion, Zinthos... Azaroth, Metrion, Zinthos... Azaroth, Metrion, Zinthos..." the voice came in a dull drone. Celestia raised a brow and couldn't help but wonder about the words. She'd never heard them before in her life, and she'd heard a great many languages over the course of her life. A frown tugged at her lips as she slowly entered the upper floor of the library. She used her magic to slowly and quietly open the door and get a look at the new alicorn. She really wasn't what she'd expected.
She was tiny in comparison to most alicorns, being no bigger than an average mare though perhaps a bit more curvy. She had a very soft pallor grey coat, with a horn and wings and tiny red gem at the base of her horn. Her violet mane was parted and fell down on both sides of her head almost like wings. Her wings were like that of a raven, her feathers darkening until they turned black at the tips of her wings. She also wore some kind of clothes on her legs and a chain belt around her waist. A glance around showed a blue cloak hanging nearby that was clearly hers as well.
What shocked her however, was the ponies complete lack of a cutie-mark. The solar diarch had always assumed that only ponies with a cutie-mark could become an alicorn. At least as far as she knew no pony without one had ever managed to become an alicorn. The fact that most alicorns had to basically 'master' their special talent also made becoming one without one unlikely. Yet somehow, this little pony had managed to do what no pony else had ever managed before.
'Definitely not what I was expecting,' Celestia admitted to herself as she slowly entered the room. She listened as the alicorn continued to chant, though the solar princess still wasn't able to discern what the words meant. A moment later she noticed a nearby mirror and raised a brow. It was a hoof mirror that seemed very unusual looking, having gems and spikes coming off of it in a noticeably demonic fashion. 'That is a very strange mirror,' Celestia thought to herself and quietly made her way over to it.
She looked at the mirror for several long moments. Her mouth twisted into a frown as she tried to see what felt so strange about it. It almost looked like a normal mirror, however something about it set her off, making her feel more than a little uneasy. 'Just what are you?' the alicorn princess questioned while lifting the mirror with her magic. She narrowed her eyes and stared into the reflective surface of the hoof mirror. A second later, the princess let out a yelp as four crimson eyes opened within the mirror.
There was a sudden swirl of magic as the alicorn princess was pulled into the mirror. The object fell to the ground with a quiet clatter. A second later the other alicorn opened her eyes and looked around, only to widen her eyes upon seeing the mirror. "No," she whispered with wide and frightened eyes. She knew that this couldn't mean anything good.
Celestia frowned as she found herself in a place she could hardly comprehend. Instead of a world, there were only patches and paths of land hanging in an endless expanse. The only thing that grew on these sparse patches of rock and dirt were old dead trees. The mare found herself shiver as she then gazed up, and then even down, to see a strange sky. It was as if she were looking into the distant heavens at night. Nothing like Luna's night, this was the baren expanse of space, visible only by use of powerful telescopes.
"Where am I?" the solar alicorn questioned under her breath. The place unnerved her, for it was far too quiet. There was no life in this place, only endless silence. A shiver raced down her spine but she suppressed it. The alicorn trotted forward a moment later, towards what looked like a building in the distance. The mare watched her surroundings, even expected something to come out at her. But whatever it was that she expected, a child like voice certainly was not it.
"Go back," the voice called. Celestia turned and looked for the source of the voice. However all was quiet once more, not a soul was around. "Go back," it came again. The mare turned all around searching for it's source, a nearby tree catching her eye. She looked to the tree and then glanced upwards. In the trees branches sat a strange creature, it resembled a raven but it's head was large and large red eyes looked upon her.
"Who-no, what are you?" the solar alicorn questioned. The little raven merely hopped from it's perch and opened it's wings. It gently soared down to land in front of the solar princess and spoke once more.
"Go back." Celestia frowned at the simple, yet equally bizarre message from the little bird.
"I can't. I don't know how to leave," she admitted warily. The tiny creature hopped forward several times, Celestia took steps back. The bird unnerved her greatly. The eyes it possessed were strange, looking at her so innocently, yet with something only just hidden within their depths. Something that was dark and sinister. Something that wanted desperately to claw its way to freedom. Something that Celestia did not want to see.
"Go back, go back," the little bird called, "or else!" it crowed and it's demeanor changed. Sharp teeth opened as it lunged at the princess. There were now four glowing slits for eyes glaring at her. It tried to bite her but the solar mare opened her wings and shot into the sky. The raven opened it's own wings, flapped them for a moment and shot after her. It changed along the way, becoming a true raven rather than the childish parody it had been mere moments ago. The fiendish bird chased after the princess, it's eyes locked onto her with a single minded determination.
Celestia however, merely wished to escape from the horrid creature. She flew through the endless void and approached a strange arch. She glanced back at the raven and then turned to the arch and went through. There was a sudden flash of light as the solar mare appeared somewhere new. Instead of an endless void, she was now in a massive city. She took a moment to search for anymore ravens, and then lowered to the city streets. She glanced around and blinked at what she saw. The city was clean and perfect, towering buildings that made even Canterlot look tiny by comparison.
Yet still, at the same time the city scared her. It's sky was red like blood, dark storm clouds moved without a Pegasi to push them, and far too quickly for one to have done so. The silence also unnerved her, yet was broken by disjointed noises that sounded almost like words or even a ghostly tune. As she looked around, she noticed from the corner of her eye a shadow of a hooded figure which promptly drew her attention. It seemed to sway for a moment and then dart off, moving through throngs of other strange apparitions.
Celestia didn't know why, but she felt the urge to follow the figure. She slowly trotted in it's direction. Her eyes wandered about to see the shadowy apparitions of tall slender creatures. All of them appeared to be hooded, but were white rather than the single black one. Her hooves clopped against the stone streets heavily as she followed the shadow. It soon approached what appeared to be some form of temple. The solar alicorn frowned to herself as she approached it as well. She noticed tiny apparitions near the temple, but paid them no heed as they ignored her.
The gates to the ancient temple opened at her approach. The long low creak echoed far louder than she would have liked. She shook her head of such thoughts and continued onward into the temple. Yet stopped short and looked to the side. The shadowy apparition returned, huddled down to the side. Tiny appendages were out and seemingly grasped the bars of the gate. Celestia tilted her head and noticed that the shadowy apparition seemed to be watching the ones that were outside. She also realized the shadowy apparition itself was no bigger than those small ones.
"A child?" she questioned under her breath. Then glanced to the other apparitions and frowned. "An isolated one," she amended. She frowned and approached the apparition. However as she approached the world changed, the red sky became a beautiful blue, endless and free without a cloud in sight. The stillness was replaced by a cool breeze that blew through the city. Then, all at once, the apparitions suddenly changed into something else.
The little one she had approached wore a ragged black cloak, far too large for it's tiny body. She could barely see any of it, the cloak concealed all from view save for it's arms. It's arms were clothed in white, ending with a pair of strange appendages that vaguely resembled a dragons claws. These tiny claws were currently wrapped around the bars of the fence. Celestia glanced to see the other small apparitions were also like this one, some in cloaks, but most in some kind of robes that left most of their bodies covered.
Celestia silently watched as the children played with a ball. Strangely, the child in black was simply watching them from behind the bars of the fence. A moment later the solar mare watched as the ball the children were playing with bounced away and rolled towards the child in black. The child watched the ball for several moments as it approached, then timidly reached out for it. However she backed down as one of the children in white picked it up.
"Oh great, the Ghost-Girl," the child muttered. He then quickly turned and scurried away. Celestia frowned and watched the little on in black lowered her head and leaned forward.
"Hey is that the Ghost-Girl?" one of the children asked.
"Isn't she supposed to be haunting the temple," another whispered.
"My parents told me to stay away from her," a filly stated.
"Yeah, she's supposed to be really dangerous," the final child noted. As one all five children walked away. The little filly in black lowered her head and brought her arms back into her cloak. A soft frown crossed Celestia's face as she watched her sink into herself.
"I'm n-not a ghost," she whispered meekly, her voice was a whisper, quiet and gentle. However what surprised the solar princess was that the tiny creature vanished. It did not wink like a Unicorn, no, a black raven formed behind it and wrapped her in it's wings. The raven then lowered into the ground and slid away like a ghostly wraith. Once it was gone the world shifted around her, the city falling away and leaving only the temple behind. With no where else to go, Celestia turned on her hoof and approached the temple.
As she entered the building, she saw the shadow move into a room. Celestia silently followed the shadow into the room, and frowned. Within the strange room was a massive circular portcullis from which yellow magical energy bubbled, around the room were many statues that seemed to be hooded, while upon the ground was the image of a golden raven. Soon this scene changed, and the solar princess saw a familiar black cloaked child. She was now sitting in the center of the room, across from her was a much taller and older creature.
The creature wore no hood however, her long white mane cascaded down her form in waves, while a tiny red gem was inset into the center of her forehead, and a pair of small dark eyes glanced down at the cloaked child. The creature had no muzzle, it's face seeming almost 'flat' in comparison, with barely any fur to speak of save for it's brow. It was also wearing a large amount of clothes, a black nearly skintight outfit with golden bangles over her left arm, and a long crimson colored robe that wrapped around her body and formed a high collar.
"Now Raven, do you remember the story of Azar?" the mare's voice was stern, powerful, and ancient. Celestia also noted that something about the ancient creature was off. She couldn't put her hoof on it, but something about the strange mare-like creature just struck her as odd.
"Y-Yes, Azar is the name of our l-leader, and for whom our land is named, she who has pr-protected the people of Azarath for centuries. It all started se-seven hundred years ago, you gr-grandmother, Azar the F-First, convinced the p-people to l-leave the w-warlike ways of Earth, and h-help her establish a nation of p-peace and prosperity. It was th-those humans who f-founded Azarath. She was the one wh-who taught them m-magic and guided them for t-two-hundred years," the child replied meekly, head bowed. The mare nodded curtly and placed her hands into her lap, over top an odd scepter.
"Indeed Raven, but what is it that you are hear to learn?" the now named 'Azar' questioned of the filly. Said child shifted in her spot several times and then lowered her head.
Finally, the little child replied, "C-Control, be-cause I'm dangerous." A frown marred Celestia's face at the reply. As of now she had seen very little of this child. However she had also yet to see anything that would suggest the filly was dangerous. In fact, all evidence thus far seemed to point to quite the contrary as she seemed quite timid. Azar however quietly hummed, which drew Celestia's attention back to her.
"Indeed you are," she replied and reached into her robes, "but until such a time where you can do so safely, I want you to wear these," the mare ordered and held out her hand to the filly. Raven slowly opened her hands and held them out to the ancient mare. Azar turned her hand and dropped a pair of golden rings with red runes into them.
"R-Rings of Azar?" the filly questioned. The old mare merely nodded her head gravely and sat with a stern expression. "B-but I don't understand, why...?"
"Your powers are dangerous little one," Azar interrupted crisply, "those rings will contain your powers while you sleep," she explained with a nod. It was obvious to Celestia that the filly was confused, after all, she was just a child.
"But, if they contain my powers, why can't I just wear them all the time?" Raven inquired timidly. Celestia mentally frowned and shook her head. Loath as she was to admit it, that would be an even worse idea. If she were to wear those rings at all times and never learn control, the possibility of losing control if the rings failed was almost assured. The old mare known as Azar merely tilted her mouth into a frown, her hands folded on her lap once more.
"Because then you would never learn control," the ancient mare stated sternly. "And without control, should ever the power of the rings fail, you would cause great harm to those around you," Azar stated simply, a single opened eye trained on the violet eyed filly. The little filly shifted and sunk in on herself, pulling her hands as well as the rings into her cloak. The stern tone caused Celestia to glare at the old mare. Though it was true the filly needed to learn control, being so cold to her would hardly help any pony. More over, she was just a child, and all children need patience when you teach them.
"O-okay," Raven whispered timidly. A second later the scene fell away, and the word 'Azaroth' echoed in the mind of the solar princess. 'Azaroth is her home,' Celestia noted to herself. She then turned and watched as the shadow from before wandered out of the room. She quickly followed after the shadow, the room that Azar and the filly had been in fell away as the city had before them. The solar princess frowned and briefly wondered why the world fell away after she saw the visions of the filly. However she had more pressing matters to attend and so returned to following the shadow through the strange temple.
She also noticed the shadow seemed to grow, only a little bit, but it was definitely bigger than it had been before. The solar alicorn wandered up a flight of stairs behind the shadow. Soon seeing the area turn into a new scene, the black clad filly down the hall and looking out a window. The alicorn mare slowly approached, and discretely glanced out one of the nearby windows. She saw another of the strange creatures, this one the age of a mare. She was speaking with Azar at the front gate of the temple, while the filly silently watched on.
"You should be in class Raven," a sudden voice came and startled the filly. She quickly turned around, and Celestia instantly followed her gaze. She saw yet another of the creatures, this one dressed in long brown robes with a hood. Like Azar and the creature below, this creature was female. Though it seemed as if this one was older than the one speaking with Azar, yet still far younger than Azar herself.
"I-I'm sorry," the now named 'Raven' whispered quietly. Celestia couldn't help but find the mare's name a tad strange. Then again, 'Azar' wasn't what she considered normal either. It didn't help that much of this strange world was so completely alien to her that she barely recognized anything. "It's j-just that, I was hoping mother would v-visit," the little admitted. It even seemed that her 'stutter' was starting to pass. Though the solar alicorn felt a frown cross her lips and glanced out to the two creatures outside once more.
'What is going on here? Is that-is that really her mother?' the solar princess questioned with a frown. She gazed at both mares for a long time, then shook her head. She then turned back to 'Raven' and the other mare in the hall, perhaps she could even learn something from them.
"Raven, we both know that Mistress Arella was advised against interrupting your training," the creature stated pointedly. The filly silently nodded her head in understanding. Celestia instantly felt her temper flare up and glared at the mare. Much as control was important where magic was concerned, family was just as if not more important. This 'Raven' seemed horribly isolated from her own age-group. Isolating her from adults and family as well was the last thing that they should be doing. The filly needed to learn how to be a person, not an emotionless machine!
"I know, I just," the filly whispered, then looked up as the robed creature put a hand on her shoulder.
"Come, I have much I need to teach you Raven," the mare stated. The filly silently nodded her head and looked up into the shadowed hood of the mare.
"Of c-course Lady Metrion," the filly replied and followed the mare through the temple. Celestia followed behind the two, only to halt as the world returned to the distorted world from before. A frown marred the face of the solar princess as she thought about the little filly and her past. 'She didn't need to be isolated, what they could've caused was the filly never learning to care for any pony but herself,' the ancient alicorn thought with a frown.
'Metrion, hmm?' Celestia noted with a frown, then widened her eyes. 'Azaroth, Metrion... the alicorn in the library was whispering those words,' the solar alicorn realized. She then turned as the shadow moved once more, this time larger than before. The alicorn princess quietly followed the shadow once more, back through the temple until the world changed around her once more. This time the filly was clearly older and walking down a hall in the temple. She was still dressed in the same ratty old black cloak. She was also nose deep in a book and not paying attention to where she was going.
A moment later the filly walked into another creature. She fell back and quickly gathered her book and rose up. "I'm sorry, I was just," she started to say, only to stop at a good-humored chuckle.
"Quite alright little bird, there no need for you to fret," the soft voice of an elderly male came. Celestia blinked and looked to this new creature. Much like the one before it was dressed in a long concealing brown robe with a hood. A beard hung from it's hood down its torso, a rope tied around its waist. The solar mare tilted her head as the older male crossed its forelimbs within the sleeves of his robes. "Now then, what exactly kept you so entranced that you'd run into an old monk?" the older creature questioned while stealing a quick look at the filly's book.
"Oh it's nothing!" the filly stated urgently. The old stallion merely chuckled and reached a hand out to pat her head.
"Calm down now, no reason for you to be so secretive," the old stallion stated and Raven shifted nervously.
"Y-yes, but I have t-to get to my studies with lady Metrion," the cloaked filly stated and rushed off.
"You know, I actually find that particular series quite exhilarating," the old stallion stated. Celestia raised a brow as the filly halted and looked back at the older creature over her shoulder.
"R-really?" she asked quietly. A good humored chuckle and a nod was the only answer she received, the older creature turning and wandering off down the halls. The filly watched him go, far longer than she needed, then slowly turned and made her way back through the temple. Celestia watched both leave and then looked around as the world shifted once more, then turned as the shadow reappeared. The solar mare frowned and followed after the shadow once more. Her wandering soon bringing her to a room.
The room soon formed into an alchemy lab, the old creature from before wandering around, while the filly sat in a chair nearby. "Are you sure it's alright to be teaching me about alchemy?" the filly questioned, far less timid than usual, "I've heard it can be quite dangerous." The old creature chuckled and nodded his head. Then brought down a couple of books from the walls around him.
"Of course little bird, the Lady Azar asked me to do so herself," the old stallion replied and then hummed as he placed the books in front of the filly. "First of all, you'll need to understand the fundamentals and then we'll actually work on alchemy," the old creature stated while sitting down in front of Raven. She silently nodded her head and opened the first of the books, while the older creature hummed and stroked his beard. 'He almost reminds me of Star-Swirl, well, if Star-Swirl had been more jovial,' Celestia noted with a fond smile.
"So then Raven, care to tell me about yourself?" the old stallion questioned and the filly's head shot up. She then looked down and shuffled in her seat uncomfortably. While it was certain that she was more at ease around him, even that seemed to have its limits.
"W-well there's re-really not much to t-tell," she stated softly. However the old stallion merely scoffed and leaned forward.
"Now that certainly can't be true, it isn't everyday that Azar takes on a student you know," the older creature reminded. The filly merely shifted in her seat with a nod of her head. Celestia however got the feeling that the old stallion was right, but had yet to see anything truly 'remarkable' about the filly. 'I haven't even seen her powers yet, whatever they may be,' she noted inwardly while frowning.
"I kn-know, but with my powers," the filly tried to say and the older creature snorted.
"Bah, your powers shouldn't dominate your life Raven," he stated with a nod. "If you do, you'll end up all alone someday, and I'd rather that not happen," the old stallion stated kindly. The filly tilted her head, while Celestia smiled, thankful that at least one of these creatures wasn't cold to her. 'Maybe she'll actually learn to care for something other than herself,' she mused to herself with a soft smile.
"B-but, if I lose control, p-people could be hurt," the filly replied worriedly. The old stallion nodded his head, then leaned forward.
"True Raven, but I ask you this, is a life devoid of any enjoyment or friends even worth living?" the old creature inquired wisely. The filly merely sat there, unmoving and unsure of how to answer the older creature. Celestia however nodded her head in agreement with him. A life devoid of enjoyment or friends, wasn't really any kind of life at all. Yet the filly remained silent, and then as it had happened before, the world changed yet again. The solar alicorn turned just as the shadow shifted out of the room and quickly followed it. The temple started to fall away into the void, only the shadow and it's path left in the endless expanse.
'What is going on?' the solar alicorn questioned inwardly. She knew that Azaroth and Metrion were words used by the alicorn she'd seen earlier. But why she had used them was still a mystery to her, as was how she had arrived in this strange place. 'Whatever this is, I hope it ends soon,' the alicorn mare mentally pleaded. She continued to follow the shadow, her eyes darted here and there as a horrible chanting sounded in the distance. She tried to listen to it, but it sounded so far away that she couldn't make it out. The chanting aside, Celestia turned to the shadow as it moved into a new room.
The solar alicorn followed and found a small and sparsely furnished bedroom. A bookcase, a bed, and a large trunk with a familiar mirror were all that was held within. The window was large and the bed turned away from it. But what drew Celestia's attention was the filly from before. This time she was much older, and much bigger than your average pony. In her hands was a large box and standing in front of her was the elderly stallion from before. He chuckled and knelt down before the filly, motioning for her to open the box.
"Well, go on then," he urged and the filly slowly looked to the box before opening it up. She gasped quietly as she looked to it's contents and looked to the elder stallion.
"I-Is this really for me?" she asked softly. The elder creature merely nodded his head, while the filly seemed to choke for a moment. She then pulled out a familiar blue cloak and jewel incrusted golden chain-belt from the box. She was silent for a long while, then lunged at the elderly creature with a cry of thank you, arms wrapped around his neck. The elder creature chuckled and patted her back as she hugged him. "Thank you master Zinthos," the filly whispered quietly. Celestia's eyes widening as the last word finally made sense.
'Azaroth is home, Metrion is teacher, Zinthos is family,' the solar mare thought to herself. 'It's a mantra, a way for her to calm down and maintain control of her emotions. The words are the three things most important to her, home, teacher, and family,' the solar alicorn realized. She then narrowed her eyes, recognizing the cloak and belt from when she saw the alicorn in the ponyville library. 'The alicorn I saw and this filly, they're one and the same... but how?' the solar alicorn wondered to herself.
"Your welcome little bird, I just thought you might like a real birthday present for once," the elder stallion admitted. As the scene came to a close, and much like before, the world vanished from around Celestia. Soon all that was left was the floor on which she had been standing. However now something more ominous was occurring, the chanting from before far louder this time. The chanting echoed out in the distance, flames rising up and surrounding the solar mare. The chanting boomed loudly, the voices dark and cold, they chanted continuously without pause, a grim chant of doom.
The Gem was born of evils fire...
The Gem shall be his portal...
He comes to claim, he comes to sire...
The end of all things mortal...
The chanting echoed in the solar princess's ears, her eyes widened as a ghastly figure rose up from the flames and stood. It towered over her, like a bug was tiny in comparison to her own size, this being however dwarfed the size of even the tallest of the towers of Canterlot. It's four eyes glowed an eerie yellow, and what seemed like antlers grew from it's head. As Celestia looked at the monster with wide frightened eyes, the eerie chanting continued to sound all around her.
The Gem was born of evils fire...
The Gem shall be his portal...
He comes to claim, he comes to sire...
"The End of all things mortal!" the massive being declared, it's voice causing the stone upon which Celestia to rumble and shake. Soon the floor shook even more as a single clawed appendage lifted her up, flames dancing as a wicked grin stretched across it's face. The chant did not stop even once, repeating itself over and over again. The creature looked down on Celestia, that same sinister grin stretched across its face. The solar alicorn felt echo in her mind, whispers of doom and tragedy.
However as the voices became too much for her to bear, a familiar shadow formed out of the hand holding her. It rose up and then spun until it became a familiar blue cloaked filly. Its back was to her, but she could practically feel the glare it had leveled onto the creature before her. The creature's grin turned into a frown as it gazed at the filly, however the world rapidly changed. The creature roared and vanished, a bright light nearly blinding Celestia. The ancient alicorn soon opened her eyes to find the world she had been in before had returned.
The many disjointed or floating paths, the eerie void. She hated to admit it, but she preferred this to the thing she had just escaped from. However a voice broke the solar mare from her thoughts, "You should just... just go," the filly stated quietly. Celestia blinked and noticed there was now a strange portal nearby. She assumed that that was what the filly wanted her to go through. However she looked pensively to the blue cloaked filly for a moment. The ancient alicorn then slowly approached her.
"I said go!" she shouted without ever looking at the alicorn mare. There was a flash of her black magical aura, it rose and loomed over her. However Celestia didn't listen and continued her quiet approach, then sat on her haunches beside of the filly. "Just leave me alone," Raven pleaded softly. However Celestia nuzzled her side instead, then looked up as a pair of violet eyes looked to her from the shadows of her hood.
"Being alone won't make things easier for you," the solar alicorn told the girl with a small smile. Raven turned her head away then sighed tiredly.
"If I'm alone, no one will get hurt," Raven retorted. Celestia nodded her head, but still sat beside of the cloaked girl.
"Yet he didn't want you to be alone, did he?" Celestia reminded and watched the girl's shoulders slump.
"No," she admitted quietly. The solar princess looked up to the sky and sighed as she saw a bright moon above. The cloaked girl was silent for a moment, and then sighed tiredly. "But why would you want to help me?" Raven inquired of the mare. Celestia merely smiled and brushed some of her mane out of her face, then gazed at the sky.
"Because," she began, then smiled softly, "you remind me of my little sister," the solar alicorn admitted. Raven looked at the alicorn strangely for a moment, then turned to look back into the distance. Much as she would have liked for the mare to just go away and leave her alone, that didn't seem likely to happen.
"I could hurt someone," Raven reminded weakly. Celestia merely smiled and nuzzled her side once more.
"I'll help you get control, I'll teach you, you could even be my student if you want," the solar alicorn suggested. The cloaked girl merely raised a brow and shot her a strange look.
"No offense, but what can a winged unicorn possibly teach me about control of enough magic to destroy entire cities?" she questioned incredulously. The mare in question merely giggled and then smiled at the girl. Clearly she had no idea who it was she was talking too.
"If you must know, I am not only a 'winged unicorn'. I am also the ruler of all Equestria, over two thousand years old, taught some of the most powerful mages in history, defeated a god of chaos, among many other feats," the solar alicorn told the now stunned girl with a smirk.
"Okay, that is quite the resume," the cloaked girl admitted.
"I also command the power of the sun," Celestia added with a smirk. The 'filly' at her side blinked for a moment and then sighed tiredly.
"You know, with that big sun on your butt I really should've seen that coming," Raven admitted with her head tilted to one side. The solar mare merely shot the young 'filly' a look for a moment, then rolled her eyes.
"First of all, it's on my flank, not my butt," Celestia began pointedly, "second, it's called a cutie-mark and it appears when a pony finds what his or her special talent is," the royal alicorn explained with a nod. Raven raised a brow at that tidbit of information, then thought back to the ponies she'd seen earlier. They all had had those weird pictures on their bu... err, flanks, but she'd just thought them a weird form of tattoo or something. She'd even entertained the idea that they were there as some form of right of passage or something.
The idea that they were some kind of magical representation of a ponies destiny was... troubling.
'I am so not looking forward to finding out what mine looks like,' the violet eyed lass thought with a shudder. She then frowned and crossed her arms over her chest. "So, what are you going to tell all those ponies outside of the library to explain who I am?" the dark teen questioned pointedly. The solar mare hummed lightly and tapped at her chin thoughtfully. She couldn't say that Raven was her sister, or niece, without some pony questioning how they were related. It'd been enough of a hassle explaining how Cadence was her niece, especially since she was several dozen times removed.
However one idea did seem possible, and amusing...
"How old are you?" Celestia questioned with a smirk. The violet eyed girl raised a brow. Somehow, she had the distinct feeling that this was not going to end well.
"Fifteen," she replied honestly. She noticed the solar mare was more than a little surprised by the admission, thus took it she appeared older. "I'm just very mature for my age," the moody teen explained as she crossed her arms over her chest. Celestia merely nodded her head, though mentally chuckled as the particular idea she had was a bit of a prank in and of itself.
"Okay, I think I have an idea on how to explain things then," Celestia assured with a wave of her hoof. The girl raised a brow, clearly not all that convinced. However, they had been in her head for far too long, and she really didn't need the mare meeting one of her emotions. Especially not the pink one. So it was with preventing that in mind that Raven opened her cloak and spread her arms out to her sides.
"Azaroth, Metrion, Zinthos..." she stated quietly, her eyes turning a molten white. A moment later both she and Celestia were covered in black, and then pulled through the portal and out of the strange world...
Celestia felt a fog lift from her mind as she slowly woke up. She let out a quiet groan and shook her head to clear it. Blinking her eyes open and closed for a moment, she then took stock of herself. Thankfully she was no worse for wear, and a quick glance around found Raven sitting nearby. The pallor grey alicorn had a dull frown on her muzzle as she stared at one of her hooves. "I really miss my hands," the little alicorn filly stated flatly.
Celestia giggled dispite herself and smiled kindly. "While a bit different to what you're used too levitation can work just as well, if not better, than 'hands'," the princess of the sun stated. The pallor grey filly blinked for a moment then looked to Celestia with a frown. She'd been lifted up by that 'Rarity' pony when she was a bunny. But that seemed far closer to telekinesis than levitation, if only for the fact a pony was concentrating to accomplish it.
'Then again, levitation 'is' known as any force lifting an object against gravity. So technically speaking you could call it levitation,' Raven noted inwardly. She then hummed and brought he cloak off of it's hook and threw it over her shoulders with her magic. Snapping her broach closed with it as well she then looked to Celestia. Said pale pink alicorn frowned to herself. She'd taken that moment to study the 'black' aura Raven's magic had. Contrary to belief, it actually had a white border to it. Thin yet still there.
"Is that what you meant?" she questioned casually, "Cause I've been able to do that for a few years now," the pallor grey filly stated simply. Celestia silently nodded her head to the fillies question. Putting her thoughts on the color of Raven's magical aura away for later. Instead she wondered why beings with 'hands' would learn such a spell. Ponies learned it, well Unicorns did, so that they could pick up or move objects. A creature such as Raven once was had hands for such manipulations. Were they just lazy?
"I see," Celestia murmured thoughtfully. Aside from wondering why the creatures knew levitation, it still seemed strange, she also wondered about Raven's teachings. Aside from being horribly isolated, having lessons in control and apparently levitation, she had no idea what she knew. It was as such that Celestia looked to Raven thoughtfully. That 'world' she had visited was also worrying as she'd never encountered something like it.
"If you don't mind my asking Raven, but what was that world we were in just now?" Celestia questioned curiously. The pallor grey filly sighed and brought her mirror over from the vanity.
"It's a mind scape or mental plane. I created it to sort out my thoughts and emotions and keep them in check," the filly replied. Celestia hummed and tapped her chin, deep in thought. That certainly did explain a few things, though why her mind was so bleak was worrying. Not to mention those evil ravens and the enormous beast within it. 'Clearly there is more to this filly than I can possibly imagine,' the pale pink alicorn thought to herself.
"I see, so I would have to assume you've primarily had mental training then?" Celestia questioned. Raven frowned deeply for a moment then nodded her head. She could admit that while she had learned some magic, her mental training had always been far more prevalent. She also pulled her hood up and over her head to shadow her features. Due to the fact she now had a muzzle she was only half successful.
"I did learn a few spells, but you're right. Azar felt that learning control was more important than teaching me spells," the pallor grey filly replied. Celestia looked pensive for a moment but nodded all the same. She hated to admit it but she could see where 'Azar' had been coming from. Learning control was always important, even to an average unicorn foal. Their own magic could be wild and dangerous if not properly looked after.
"Then what else have you learned aside from your mental exercises?" the pale pink alicorn questioned curiously. Raven frowned and brought a hoof to her chin. Celestia inwardly smiled at how cute the filly looked. Sure, she was the close to the size of a grown mare, but she was still a filly in age.
"You do realize that the moment I figure out a way off of this world that I'll take it, right?" the pallor grey filly questioned seriously. Celestia rolled her eyes and smirked despite herself. Although she could tell that Raven was very reserved, she hoped she was at least curious. If she was curious then Celestia felt she could keep her around for quite a while.
"Please humor me," the pale pink alicorn pleaded teasingly. Raven rolled her eyes and then let out a sigh as she considered her training for a moment. While she had extensive mental training and conditioning her knowledge of magic was actually significantly less. The monks had felt it more prudent to teach her control. She knew enough magic to defend herself, but that was pretty much it.
'Well it's not like I'll be in too much danger on this strange world,' she admitted to herself. That in mind her list of powers and abilities wasn't all that impressive. "Well, first of all telekinesis or levitation," the pallor grey filly stated. Celestia nodded and motioned her to go on. "Mistress Metrion taught me healing spells... of a sort," the moody alicorn noted cautiously.
"What do you mean?" Celestia questioned. She also admitted she knew next to nothing of healing magic. She had never been injured to such a degree she would need it. She was also virtually immortal so had never seen much of a point. The few times she caught the cold such magic would be useless anyways. Added she only knew of typical white magic healing. Though she had a feeling Raven's was different. Thus she was curious about what Raven had meant.
"Err, besides my healing trance which puts me into a coma and allows me to recover from most injuries I know two other spells. I can cast a basic healing spell with white magic that can deal with cuts or minor broken bones. Anything serious can only be made less serious," Raven began then frowned. "I also have an ability based around blue magic Mistress Metrion referred to as 'empathic healing'," the pallor grey filly finished.
"Blue magic is the school in which you duplicate and absorb spells, energy, or objects correct?" Celestia questioned with a frown. Blue Magic was, unfortunately, very rare in Equestria. The one place she knew it to be prevalent was in Neighpon to the far east. She had only gone there once in the years since her sister was lost. Besides making a friend in the form of an immortal wolf, and an enemy in an equally immortal fox, Celestia had still learned very little about Blue Magic.
"It is, but I only learned a relatively small amount from that school," Raven admitted.
"I see, now, what exactly is empathic healing?" Celestia questioned with a growing sense of worry. Raven fidgeted in place for a moment and looked away from the far older mare. She and Mistress Metrion had discovered the power. It was unusual in that it came in tandem with her empathic abilities. It essentially meant she felt all the pain of someone else and caused their body to heal rapidly while she dealt with the pain for them. As of yet, she'd never had cause to actually use the ability.
"Well I essentially absorb all the pain of someone else, say they broke their leg and couldn't do anything cause of the pain. I would basically use my abilities to feel that pain for them, their body would also heal itself faster as a result," the filly explained. She then looked away at the shocked look on Celestia's face. While she could of course see the merit of quickened healing. It was that the spell made some pony else experience the pain that shocked her.
"Who in there right mind came up with a spell like that?" she all but demanded.
"Uh, Mistress Metrion had a patient and I wanted to help, I think I just did it without thinking," Raven admitted sheepishly. She wasn't embarrassed that she saved someone, just that she had had a case of accidental magic. Her control of her emotions had still been tenuous at the time. So her powers randomly activating hadn't been surprising... the sudden surge of pain and then the amount of destruction her power caused because of the pain however...
"I see," Celestia stated drawing Raven from her thoughts. She looked to the older alicorn and saw the mare frown deeply. The said pale pink mare tried to calm herself down. She could understand the benefit of such a power, if she had it she'd likely use it as often as she could. However, using it herself and allowing some pony else to use it was entirely different. Or at least she felt it was. 'Don't be a hypocrite Celestia, just let it go,' the old alicorn thought with a sigh.
"Anything else I should know about?" the pale pink mare questioned. Raven silently nodded her head.
"I can teleport, use astral projection, create a 'soul-self' of sorts, I have some minor precognition, and I'm empathic," the pallor grey filly replied. Celestia frown as some of those abilities she'd never heard of before. Astral projection sounded strange, and she wondered if it was similar to dream walking.
"Would 'Astral Projection' entail some form of meconomancy?" Celestia questioned curiously. Raven blinked and then raised a brow as she mentally examined the world. Meconomancy referred to 'dream or sleep' divination or magic. While she could in fact enter and exit dreams with her astral projection, that was not the full limitations of that ability.
"In a way, however I can also explore the conscious mind or even an area with astral projection," the pallor grey filly replied. Celestia hummed and nodded her head in understanding. She then tapped her chin as she returned to the list of abilities Raven had mentioned. Precognition was something that no pony could really teach, you either could or couldn't do it. Empathy however...
"I assume the Empathy is why you were so isolated?" the pale pink princess deduced. Raven nodded her head and closed her eyes with a sigh.
"Yes, the longer I spend around people the more their emotions affect me. While I lived on Azaroth the only people I was really around were Lady Azar, Mistress Metrion, and Master Zinthos. Even the other monks were given the suggestion to keep their distance. Though when I slept my mind was less guarded so their emotions could more easily slip in," Raven explained. Celestia hummed and nodded her head in understanding.
"Hence the rings 'Azar' gave to you," the pale pink princess assumed. Raven merely nodded her head. "I see, but what of what Master Zinthos taught you?" Celestia questioned curiously. She knew 'of' alchemy, but it had been a long time since it was considered practical. Alchemy in this age was now considered more of an obscure form of chemistry.
"He mostly taught me Alchemy, so I'm well versed in it, but it was sort of an umbrella term for potion making. Besides that he was the one who taught me how to perform a few rituals," Raven admitted. Celestia nodded her head and then frowned. Potions was still a very well respected form of magic even in this age. However the amount of potion masters in Equestria was always on the short side. Although Zebra's were well versed in potion making having some pony close to call on for potions would be nice.
That in mind Celestia hummed and considered what Raven could still learn. Besides getting the filly to come out of her shell that is. First of all, Celestia needed to help the moody alicorn with control of her emotions. Celestia had been dealing with delicate situations for centuries. She'd long learned how to keep herself calm and collected even under stress. That would have to be the first thing she started training Raven on.
"Is that everything? If so I think I have a rough idea of what I can teach you," the pale pink mare questioned. Raven clicked her tongue and then twitched. She did have another ability, but it wasn't exactly something most would consider good.
"Umbrakinesis," Raven stated. Celestia blinked and then tilted her head.
"Excuse me?" Celestia questioned. Raven sighed and closed her eyes.
"I have an ability to control and manipulate darkness," the pallor grey filly explained. Celestia made an oh with her mouth then shivered. That was basically the exact polar opposite to her own magic. Luna's magic, while geared toward the night, was still based on luminance. Raven's was therefore the exact opposite in that it blocked light. 'Unfortunately the only pony with an ability like that was Sombra,' Celestia noted to herself.
"I see, how much control do you have over darkness?" Celestia questioned. Sombra, in the days of which he ruled, had only a limited control of darkness. Besides essentially changing himself into a living shade, not to mention shunning the light, he'd never shown much else in terms of ability with the dark.
"I can basically turn the darkness into a weapon I can control," Raven replied. Truth be told though, no one on all of Azaroth had powers like hers when it came to umbrakinesis. She'd had to learn what she could do with it on her own.
"That is, impressive," Celestia admitted softly. Truth be told she was deeply impressed, and a little scared. Sombra had powers of darkness, but it seemed Raven was far more proficient. Had the unicorn king had the ability to turn shadows into weapons she and Luna would have had far more trouble with him. When Luna was Nightmare Moon she also had powers of darkness, but they were all still linked to the light of the moon.
'I'll likely leave that one alone. Not only do I have absolutely no idea how to work with it, but she's clearly learned enough on her own. For now I'll concentrate on control since it's clearly what she has the most trouble with,' Celestia inwardly decided. The pale pink princess then took a moment to consider how she was going to explain the fillies sudden appearance. Her prior idea was unfortunately the only one that made sense at this point.
Not only that but she could have Raven close at hand with what she had in mind. It was then that Celestia heard a sigh and turned to the filly in question. She had to admit that she found it strange to think of her as a filly, considering her size. Anypony else her age would've been smaller, meaning Raven was exceptionally tall. Then again, her niece Cadence had also been quite large at that age, so perhaps it was an alicorn thing.
"So do you have any more questions?" the filly in question queried with an arched brow. Celestia hummed for a moment and considered what she had thus far. Celestia mentally noted the filly still hadn't learned to mask her body language. 'That wouldn't help more mundane ponies understand her though,' the solar alicorn admitted to herself. Few ponies knew how to properly read body language as she did.
"No, I believe that is everything I'll need to know for now," Celestia finally replied. Raven nodded her head and then sat back on her haunches. A frown crossed her features as the position felt rather awkward to her. "Now then could you please lower your shield so we can explain to my little ponies that you're not an evil alicorn come to destroy them?" the pale pink alicorn questioned teasingly. Raven frowned and mentally groaned at the 'my little ponies' bit. She just hoped the mare didn't talk like that all the time.
She also wasn't quite so used to peo... er, 'ponies' being so friendly. 'Then again, most ponies I know aren't sapient,' the moody teen thought with a roll of her eyes. She then inhaled and exhaled a breath, the shield around the library melting away. With the shield out of the way Celestia smiled and closed her eyes in concentration. Raven watched her only to take a step back as the pale-pink alicorn began to glow as brilliantly as the sun.
The moody alicorn raised a wing to shield herself from the intense light. As the glow soon came to an end, Raven lowered her wing to see what had happened. However her eyes widened at the sigh before her. Celestia now stood at least double her size. Her wings were being fluffed while her regalia were sized to fit her larger frame with a quiet spell. Strangely, her mane and tail now sported multiple pastel hues to resemble an aurora, and her coat had paled to near white. Both her mane and tail also billowed in an ethereal wind that wasn't really there.
However while the physical changes were certainly surprising, it was her power that truly caught Raven's attention. It was unlike anything she had ever felt in her life. Azar had been powerful, true enough, and wise as well. But compared to this mare she was like a candle compared to the sun. Pun aside, Raven now truly understood just what kind of power this mare contained.
'Okay, now that is more like what I'd expect from someone who controls the sun,' the pallor grey filly admitted to herself. That wasn't to say she hadn't believed Celestia when she said she controlled the sun before. But to be fair, before she hadn't been nearly as impressive as she was now. Not only that, but Raven felt the right to be susceptible of a 'pretty pink pony princess' controlling the power of the sun.
"Much better," Celestia stated with a smile. Raven raised a brow as she heard the mare's voice. It sounded deeper and more wizened in some way. As if she had suddenly aged several years. 'Even her voice is more impressive now,' the pallor grey filly thought to herself. "Come now there is much to be done." With that said, the solar alicorn trotted off down the stairs. Raven frowned but quickly followed behind her. She grabbed her mirror along the way and put it into a pocket dimension.
Trotting down the stairs of the library, Raven took a moment to look around. Much like the loft upstairs the main part of the library was covered in a fine layer of dust. The pallor grey filly mentlally sighed and shook her head. She also took a moment to glance out one of the windows. As such she saw throngs of ponies outside all trying to get a glance inside. The moody teen raised a brow and frowned at the sight.
'Uh, is a winged unicorn really that important?' she wondered to herself. She kind of got that they were special in some way. However she'd never considered just how special they could be. As such she considered what little she knew about Celestia. She was a princess, extremely long lived, had control of the sun, her mane / tail looked like an aurora, and she was physically bigger than any other pony. Taking all that into account, Raven felt a frown cross her features.
'They see her as some kind of goddess, don't they,' she mused to herself. She also kept a step behind Celestia. She honestly wasn't too eager to meet with all the ponies outside. She wasn't really too much of a people person after all. Or, pony person... or whatever they called it.
"You ready Raven?" Celestia questioned. The pallor grey filly merely nodded her head. She was as ready as she was going to be. The solar alicorn nodded her head and opened the door of the library. Almost instantly several flashes from cameras attempted to blind her and Raven. 'Well, the news ponies certainly didn't waste any time getting here,' Celestia noted to herself. She then stepped out of the library, while Raven hung back in the shadows.
Celestia glanced back at the pallor grey filly and noticed how she seemed to stick behind the door frame. 'She's still shy,' Celestia mused to herself, 'I'd say one pony is fine, even if it is me, but a large group makes her nervous.' That in mind Celestia turned to face the mass of news ponies and curious towns ponies who had gathered around the library while she was inside. It seemed that the ponies present during her court had informed the press. She also assumed the ponies who discovered her had mentioned Raven around town as well.
"Greeting every pony," the princess of the sun stated warmly. She ignored the groan from Raven for her choice of words.
"Princess Celestia! Princess Celestia!" one of the reporter ponies questioned eagerly. The solar mare nodded her head his way and sat back. "Is it true that there was an unknown Alicorn inside the library?" the little pony questioned. Celestia merely nodded her head as her answer.
"Princess!" another news pony cried. Celestia inclined her head and raised a brow in her direction. "Is it true that the alicorn was actually a bunny before returning to her true shape?" the mare questioned. Celestia mentally giggled, then nodded her head. She still wondered what was up with Raven turning into a bunny of all things.
"Princess!" yet another reporter pony declared while all but shoving his way forward. "What did you do with the intruding alicorn?" the news pony questioned rapidly. Celestia felt a slight frown tug at her lips but exhaled through her nose and smiled calmly.
"I merely greeted and calmed her," Celestia calmly explained, "she was quite shaken from an unknown assailant turning her into a rabbit." Yet another reporter pony barreled his way through the mas to come forward with his question. Celestia idly hoped that no pony got hurt to get through.
"Princess Celestia, what about the black magic that split the ground in ponyville?" the stallion questioned. Celestia hummed and tapped her chin for a moment. She wondered whether she should be totally honest or try to hide it. However a lie could have problems later on. With a nod she decided it was better ponies knew that Raven was powerful.
"As I said before, she was quite frightened and confused, she did that in order to evade her pursuers. Once she reached the library and calmed down for a moment she broke the enchantment placed upon her. While still confused by what happened she took refuge in the library in order to try and figure out what happened," the solar princess explained calmly. It wasn't a lie exactly. In fact it was more or less all true. She just took the liberty to omit a few rather crucial details.
"Princess," a news mare called and got close to her, "when will she be coming out of the library?" Celestia smiled and turned to the door of the library. Raven was trying her hardest not to be noticed by any of the news ponies. The fact she was succeeding was a testament to her ability to hide herself. 'She does seem to represent the dark, so I suppose hiding herself would also be a talent of hers,' the solar princess mused to herself. That aside she backed up and leaned down next to the pallor grey alicorn filly.
"Ready to come out now?" Celestia questioned softly. Raven immediately shook her head. "I see shyness hasn't left you," she noted with a smile. Raven however shook her head and looked outside the door warily.
"No... well yeah, that's part of it, but there are just way too many reporters out there," the pallor grey filly replied nervously, "I don't want to be mobbed." Celestia blinked and idly nodded her head in understanding.
"I understand, however you have to come out eventually," the solar princess intoned. She then smirked and nudged Raven's side almost teasingly. "Better sooner than later, no?" Raven merely glanced at her for a moment then let out a soft sigh and nodded her head.
"Fine, but I won't be held responsible if I freak out," the little pallor grey filly grumbled. Celestia giggled and then trotted out of the library with Raven at her side. Coming out of the library, Raven winced at several bright flashes of light. Although she also wondered how they could use cameras with hooves. As such the blue cloaked filly pulled her hood down to block out the bright flashes of light. Upon seeing how the filly struggled, Celestia cleared her throat and brought the attention back onto herself.
"Please calm down my little ponies, I'm afraid she's a bit shy," the solar alicorn pleaded. The reporters heard and obeyed their princess. The flashes stopping and allowing Raven to look out from her hood. Glancing around the pallor grey filly resisted shivering. There were far too many eyes on her, it caused her to shrink back behind Celestia despite her calm. 'Calm down, find your center and remain calm,' she inwardly ordered and recited her mantra internally.
"Princess! What's her name? Where does she come from? Does she speak our language? How old is she? Does she have a favorite color? Ooh ooh! Does she want to be friends? Can I throw her a party?" a pony suddenly questioned quite rapidly. The rapid fire questions caused both Celestia and Raven to find the pony in question. Raven felt physically ill just looking at the mare in question. Cotton candy mane and tail, bright blue eyes and a wide smile, pink coat and three balloons on her flank... it was like she had found her happy side if it weren't trapped in her head.
"Er, hello my little pony, just who are you?" Celestia questioned with a raised brow. She had expected questions yes, but the pink pony had just asked everything in the span of a few seconds. Though that last one was a bit unusual, and she doubted Raven would appreciate her enthusiasm.
"Oh, I'm Pinkamena Diane Pie, but every pony just calls me Pinkie Pie the party pony and unofficial welcome wagon here in ponyville," the pink pony stated with a smile. Raven blinked and then raised a brow. She really had to wonder what was with all the horse puns? Celestia merely nodded her head and then thought to the mare's questions. Most of them were fine, but again, that last one would have to be denied. 'I should let her down easy, Raven will have enough trouble adjusting to Equestria as it is,' Celestia decided.
"Her name is Raven. She comes from..."
"That's kind of a weird name for a pony isn't it?" the pink pony questioned. Celestia blinked and then considered it for a moment.
"Err, I suppose so, but it is her name, and as I was saying she's from far away but does know our language."
"Wait, if she's from far away how can she know our language? Oooh, did she take classes?" Pinkie Pie questioned. Celestia raised a brow and stared at the pony for a moment. 'I have the strangest feeling I know who a new element of laughter would be...' she thought with a slight smile. If any pony embodied laughter, it was definitely this pony. Regardless she cleared her throat and got back to the mare's questions.
"She only lived far away miss Pie, she didn't need lessons as she already knew our language. She's a filly, and..." Celestia tried to say only for Pinkie to interrupt her again.
"Wait, she's still just a filly, at that size?" the pink party pony questioned seriously. Celestia sighed but nodded her head.
"Yes, yes she is," she stated flatly. Pinkie hummed, then shrugged her shoulders and motioned for Celestia to continue. "Anyways, I assume her favorite color is blue." Celestia glanced to Raven for confirmation. The pallor grey filly merely shrugged her shoulders as her response. Her 'favorite' color actually just depended on her mood. Typically it was blue. If she was happy it was pink. Feeling confident it was green. Angry it was red. Etc, etc...
"Yes, now I can't speak for her on if she wants to be your friend. However I'm afraid Raven is rather shy and a party wouldn't be the best idea for her right now," Celestia told the boisterous pink pony as gently as she could. Pinkie hummed and tapped her chin for a moment, then nodded her head.
"That's fine, I kind of figured she was shy with how she kept every pony away," the pink pony admitted. "But do you think I could throw her a party later? I throw every pony in ponyville a party at least once?" Pinkie questioned then smiled widely and loudly declared, "it's a tradition!" Celestia giggled and smiled toward pinkie calmly.
"I'm certain that could be arranged miss Pie, but perhaps at a time when she's more comfortable around other ponies," the solar princess suggested. 'And until she gets used to being a pony,' she added in her thoughts. Raven highly doubted that but chose not to voice her thoughts on the matter. She in general wanted to keep as far from the pink pony as she could. 'I can't take so much pink, it's practically nauseating,' the pallor grey filly thought with a shiver.
"Okey dokey Loki princess," Pinkie declared and bounced off. Literally bounced off. Raven stared at the pony as she did so with confusion etched across her features. 'How in Azar's name does a pony bounce?' she wondered internally. Celestia wondered about the bouncing as well, however turned to Raven. Celestia merely turned to Raven with a wink and a smirk. The look did little to put the younger alicorn at ease.
'I've got a really bad feeling about where this is going,' the pallor grey filly thought to herself. "Now then every pony, while I am certain you all have more questions," Celestia began. Raven could practically feel the mischief coming from the older alicorn at this point. 'Scratch that, I know I'm not going to like where this is going,' she decided. "But sadly, my daughter and I must return to Canterlot," the alicorn stated.
Raven looked at her incredulously just as the older mare cast a spell to take them away. The reporters, and other townsponies, gasps and looks of shock the last sight she had before seeing a golden light. A moment later they appeared in a large wide open castle. Celestia snickered and trotted off, while Raven frowned and gave her a look.
"Your daughter, really?" the pallor grey filly questioned with a frown. Celestia merely smiled and nodded her head. "I reiterate, really?" the moody alicorn questioned flatly. The older alicorn giggled to herself at the statement. Aside from the slight emphasis on the 'really' part, she had been spoken in a dull monotone. Much as Raven obviously tried to make some kind of point, she just amused the older mare.
'She really is quite amusing for some pony so dull,' the solar alicron noted to herself. She then smiled and motioned for the moody teen to follow her. The filly sighed tiredly, shook her head, and followed behind the older pony. As they trotted through the castle, Raven took note of all the wide open corridors, not to mention windows all around them.
"I felt that the best way of explaining you is that your a 'secret' daughter I had some time ago." Raven was broken from her observation by Celestia herself. Glancing at the older pony she couldn't help wondering what she meant.
"How would me being your daughter explain me existing?" the pallor grey filly questioned seriously.
"Alicorn's are the rarest beings on the planet, those currently alive are all related to me in one way or another. Saying you are a distant relative would be hard to explain, my niece Princess Cadenza was hard enough to explain," Celestia began with a tired sigh. "I ended up having to look up dozens of records in order to find even the slimmest relation to her, she is my niece but my family disowned her own when my great great nephew married a pegasus over a thousand years ago," the solar princess continued.
"So, rather than try and go through a very convoluted plan that would entail forged records and such, I'm taking a quick route to explaining your existence. You have no parents in this world, no records of your birth, no records of any kind of schooling. This is highly unusual and I foresaw a great many ponies going in search of such records the moment you were introduced to Equestria," the older alicorn continued.
"Now if you're my daughter who has been abroad for some time now, and if I just so happen to have kept your existence a secret for your protection, no pony would question it," Celestia stated. She then glanced to the pallor grey filly and nodded her head. "Your schooling will be explained that I home schooled you, not a lie as I will be doing that, your cloak actually helps the story, when you're wearing it you don't appear to have wings. This means you were masquerading as a unicorn for years, or at least that is how the story will go," the solar alicorn explained with a nod of her head.
"I see," Raven replied. She was admittedly impressed with the amount of thought the mare had put into this idea. However there was one thing that still confused her. "So, why did you have to explain your niece's relation to you?" the pallor grey filly questioned curiously. Celestia clicked her tongue and looked to Raven with a serious expression.
"Princess Cadenza has power over love, as such I made her a princess of love," Celestia began, then blew a breath into her bangs. "Unfortunately, the nobility were more than just displeased when I did and demanded to know how I could grant a 'common pony' even an alicorn the tittle of princess," the solar alicorn thought with a shake of her head. However this only mare Raven groan and bring her hoof to her face.
"So you have even more nobility here, great, now I get to play politics," Raven grumbled sarcastically. Celestia gave an apologetic look to the young alicorn, then turned stone serious.
"Yes, I'd assume you will as technically you would be the 'alicorn of darkness' with your powers," the solar mare informed. Raven blinked and then shivered at the title. She wasn't exactly comfortable with the idea of being considered a goddess of darkness after all.
"Does that mean I'll have to be a princess at some point?" the little pony questioned. Celestia merely nodded her head and the pallor grey filly groaned. "Ugh, can't I be a duchess or a something less cliche than a princess instead?" the moody teen pleaded. Celestia chuckled and smiled to Raven fondly. She could already tell that things were going to be a lot more interesting with her around.
"Perhaps, but listen Raven, while you're here I'll be teaching you primarily about control. I will also have tutors instruct you on the history of Equestria, and the laws of the land. I'll attempt to keep you out of any politics, but you will be expected to appear at most royal functions. On the flip side you will have near unlimited access to the royal library in your free time to search for a spell to leave if you so desire," Celestia began to explain. Raven silently nodded her head in understanding.
"Now, asside from that your lessons in magic will be minor at best until you have your control down," Celestia stated firmly. Raven merely nodded her head, in full agreement with the older alicorn. Her lack of control was dangerous, she'd seen what it could do first hand and so had no delusions about just how dangerous she was. "Good, now I also have a more personal request to make while you are staying here," Celestia admitted.
"And that would be?" Raven questioned with a raised brow.
"A few years back my guards located a dragon egg on a nearby mountain," Celestia began with a sigh, "they brought it to me in order to find out what to do with it. I had it sent to my school for gifted unicorns as a test to see if any pony could hatch it," the solar princess stopped for a moment. 'I had also hoped I would find an element of magic when I did,' she mentally admitted to herself.
"Now then, no pony ever hatched it and so I did so it wouldn't rot out and the dragon inside die. Ever since I've taken care of him, but my duties to my little ponies often require my attention. As such my nephew, Prince Blueblood, has often looked after Spike in my absence," Celestia explained. Raven frowned and had a feeling she knew where this was going.
"Okay, so what did you want me to do?" Raven questioned. Celestia shifted nervously for a moment and came to a stop. Raven noticed they were in yet another hallway. Again like the one they were in before, it was wide open and had several windows and openings throughout it. 'I'm gonna take a guess that someone is a bit claustrophobic,' the pallor grey filly mused inwardly.
"AllI ask is that you look after Spike while you're here, Blueblood can only do so much and I'm a little afraid of his worse traits rubbing off on him," Celestia requested. Raven frowned for a moment and considered the request. She admitted, if only to herself, that she was not exactly a patient person. She highly doubted that she would make a good babysitter. She also realized that this was only a request from Celestia. It likely had no standing on her training with the older alicorn.
On the other hand, it sounded like she was more worried about this 'Spike' ending up too much like her nephew. Celestia also had taken her on as a student without even knowing her. If it had been anyone or pony else they likely wouldn't have been so quick to help her. Even less so if they knew just who her father happened to be. As such the pallor grey filly finally sighed and looked to the older alicorn.
"Fine."
"Excellent, then let's go introduce you to Spike then," the solar alicorn offered chipperly. Raven merely rolled her eyes and followed behind the older mare. Their continued trip through the castle was mostly in silence, however that was fine as far as Raven was concerned. Although she admitted she'd have to learn more than a few things soon enough. Not the least of which was the specifics of her new species and race.
Aside from the obvious perks of being an alicorn. Immortality though she was already long lived, being a demon's spawn she had no idea the upper limit she could age to. Unsurpassed magical potential, though again as a demon's spawn she already had nigh unsurpassed magical potential. Wings for flight, though yet again she had no need for the wings as she could fly with magic before. Actually, now that she thought about it, being an alicorn didn't really change much of anything.
'Except the part where I'll have to be a princess, not to mention how the nobles will probably hound me,' the pallor grey filly thought with a frown. However, she also admitted that this was all based on her casual observations thus far. Whether or not there was more to being an alicorn would have to wait until she had a chance to speak with Celestia. 'Although I guess I could do that now,' the moody alicorn admitted to herself. That in mind she hurried to fall in step beside of the older alicorn.
"Celestia," Raven began, gaining the older alicorn's attention, "I'm a bit curious about Alicorns, as you know I'm not normal. Nor was I normal compared to most people on Azarath. What little I've guessed doesn't seem all that different to my already unusual traits. So I'm wondering if I became an alicorn because it was the only form my body could take because of those unusual traits," the pallor grey filly explained. Celestia blinked and then nodded her head in understanding.
"I see, well first of all we're very long lived. We also have a great level of magical potential in our chosen field, like how I am able to control the sun. Princess Cadenza can control love. Or... others," Celestia ended with a strangely vague tone. "We also have the ability to fly with our wings of course, and use pegasus magic to control storms and the weather. Finally we have earth pony magic, which typically pertains to physical endurance and strength as well as an affinity for plants. Though the latter is less prevalent for some reason," the solar princess finished.
Raven frowned, idly noting that most, if not all of that was similar to being half demon. Though she assumed that it was far less 'unholy' to be an alicorn than it was to be a half demon. 'Okay, so Given I changed after overloading a spell I'd have to assume this was the only form I could take aside from my normal one,' the pallor grey filly mused inwardly. 'Now then, where does being royalty fit into all of this?' the moody teen wondered with a frown.
However before she could ask about that, they arrived at their destination. Raven merely glanced at the doors and then to Celestia with a flat expression. Celestia's horn gave a golden glow for a moment before the pair of doors were opened. Inside Raven found a rather sparsely furnished room, though she idly noted a great deal of gems and gold lying around. 'From what little I know about dragons, they are typically drawn to shiny things,' the pallor grey filly inwardly mused.
That in mind, Raven scanned the room for this 'Spike' dragon. She idly wondered how old he was as Celestia had been pretty vague on that front. Aside from the gems, gold, silver, an old basket, and a few other nicknacks around the room, she didn't see anything too strange. Wait...
"Do gemstones normally breathe in this universe?" Raven questioned. She did so upon spotting a pile of gems that were rising and falling. Celestia groaned and trotted over to the pile with a shake of her head. A frown marring her features, the solar mare kicked the pile lightly. Instantly several coins and gems were knocked off of a purple scaled blob. Raven blinked and then raised a brow as she saw the creature.
"Kind of small for a dragon," the pallor grey filly noted.
"He's still just a baby," Celestia replied. She then shook her head and lifted the baby dragon with her magic. Raven idly took a moment to examine him. He was small, a bit chubby, with purple scales, green spines and underside, he was really rather short, had small yet sharp looking fangs, and a barbed tail. All and all, he looked as far from threatening as physically possible. 'This is supposed to be a dragon? Baby or not, this is pathetic,' Raven thought with a shake of her head.
"Spike, wake up, you have a visitor," the solar princess urged. However the baby dragon merely yawned and curled up into a ball. He muttered something unintelligible and yawned before his snores sounded anew.
"Certainly does like his sleep, doesn't he," the pallor grey filly noted with a slight smirk. Celestia sighed and frowned down at the snoozing lump of a dragon.
"Perhaps I've allowed him a bit too much freedom around here," the older alicorn grumbled. She then shook the baby dragon trapped in her magical grasp. The little fellow yelped and then shook his head and looked around. His eyes first landed on Raven and he raised a brow.
"Huh, who are you?" he questioned. The moody teen rolled her eyes and replied in her usual dull monotone.
"Raven." Spike scratched at his head for a moment and stared at the pony with clear confusion.
"Then why are you in my room?" he questioned suspiciously. Instead of answering, Raven pointed behind the baby dragon with a slight smirk. Blinking for a moment, he turned around and gulped at the sight of Celestia. "Eh he he... hi mom," the baby dragon offered with a nervous grin. The solar princess merely shook her head and trotted over to Raven with Spike held firmly in her magical grasp.
"Hello to you as well Spike, allow me to properly introduce you to your new caretaker and technically sister, Raven," the solar alicorn reported and placed Spike beside of the pallor grey filly. The purple lizard blinked for a moment, then looked over to the pony in question. He frowned, then lifted Raven's cloak to see her wings, before he seemed to turn sheet white.
"Uh... hi sis," the little dragon offered with a nervous grin. Raven merely rolled her eyes and looked to Celestia.
"So what do I have to do to take care of him?" the pallor grey filly questioned.
"Wait, what's this about her taking care of me?" Spike interrupted with a frown. Celestia smiled to the baby dragon and answered calmly.
"I've asked Raven to look after you while she's staying in Canterlot, I thought you could use a friend close to your own age and she's still a filly. Raven also needs a friend so it seemed like the best option available," the solar alicorn replied. Spike however stared incredulously at the said filly with wide eyes. The moody teen shifted uncomfortably under his gaze and narrowed her eyes.
"What?" she questioned sternly. However Spike ignored her comment, pointing at her and then turning to look at Celestia with wide eyes.
"That is supposed to be a filly?" he all but demanded. Celestia giggled for a moment, then nodded her head with a smirk. "Uh wow, she's really big for her age then," the Baby dragon mumbled with wide eyes. Rolling her own, Celestia quickly regained her composure and looked back to Raven to finish answering her question. Celestia picked up a few gems off of the ground with a frown, then showed them to Raven.
"Now then Raven, most dragons eat gemstones, however he can metabolize most pony foods as well," Celestia began while she also picked up the coins littering the floor. "And aside from keeping him out of trouble, he is allowed a few gems to eat a day, but not too many or he'll remain pudgy until he's full grown," the solar mare explained with a nod. Spike huffed indignantly at the accusation. He wasn't pudgy at all! Raven mutely nodded her head in understanding, idly sweeping a mass of coins and gems together with her own magic.
"Anything else?" the moody teen asked with a bored tone. Celestia hummed while depositing the mass of gems and coins into a large pile next to Spike's basket. She then tapped at her chin for a moment while considering anything else she might have to tell the filly.
"Well, when Spike was young I worried about ponies kidnapping him so I imbued him with a spell that allows him to send me messages and vice versa. So really if you have any questions about him you can just use the 'dragon mail' to send me a letter and ask," the pale pink princess replied. Raven raised a brow and tilted her head in confusion at the admittance. Spike however was glad to be forgotten by the two as he was not looking forward to where things were going.
"How did you put a spell like that on a dragon?" the pallor grey filly inquired, "I kind of thought they were resistant to magic," the pallor grey filly admitted. Celestia nodded her head, that was actually a common misconception. Although not entirely untrue it wasn't entirely accurate either. Spike on the other hand scoffed and glanced at the pallor grey filly.
"We are when we're full grown, but baby dragon's have thinner scales and lack the magic resistance until were a few decades or so old," the baby dragon responded with a frown. Celestia sighed and nodded her head. This was a bit of a sour subject for the little dragon. Ponies generally knew very little about Dragons as few ever took the time to learn about them. Well, aside from 'run away before they eat you' that is.
"So then baby dragons aren't as resistant to magic as adults?" Raven questioned curiously. The solar alicorn nodded her head. The fact Spike was hatched with magic also had to do with it, but she didn't feel like explaining that to the filly for the moment. However she did feel she should explain how the message system worked. Just to be on the safe side.
"Yes. But the spell I put on him is actually a two part spell, Spike is registered by a 'burn away charm' which allows him to receive messages after I burn them. The second part of the spell is based on magical dragon fyre which burns away a message and brings it to me in the same way a burn away charm works," the solar alicorn explained. That done she trotted off and waved a wing to urge Raven and Spike to follow. The two glanced at one another for a moment, then followed behind the older mare.
"Now then Raven, since I'm sure you'll want to start your studies as soon as possible," the alicorn began then shot Spike a stern look, "and since a certain baby dragon needs to work off a little excess weight." The said dragon chuckled nervously and rubbed the back of his head. Raven felt oddly jealous of the tiny fellows little claws when he did. "I'll show you both to the royal library where Spike can assist in your studies," the princess stated with a nod of her head.
Raven looked down at the baby dragon with a frown. Spike looked back with a confused expression. Once they felt they were finished looking at one another, they turned back to the princess.
"How is he supposed to 'assist' me exactly?"
"Better question, why do I have to be her assistant?" Celestia merely rolled her eyes and glanced at them over her shoulder.
"Because you know next to nothing about how we arrange our books here Raven," the ancient mare stated seriously. The pallor grey filly blushed and looked away from the older alicorn. That done, the solar princess looked at Spike with a deep frown. "And as for you my dear little dragon, you've been getting lazy and eating your weight in gems. So I think it's time you earn your gems for a change," Celestia stated with a nod of her head.
Spike scoffed and crossed his arms over his chest. He didn't see why he had to 'assist' this new alicorn. Although if she was his sister he was honestly curious about her. Mostly because he'd never heard about her from any pony before. Though after looking at her, he did not she had similar eyes to Celestia and Cadence. 'Maybe purple eyes are some kind of a family trait or something,' the little dragon considered. Shaking such thoughts from his mind for the moment, Spike took a better look at Raven.
The cloak made it all but impossible to see much of her. Her horn was somewhat short for an alicorn, she was around the size of an average pegasus mare, what little of her coat he could see was pallor grey, and her eyes were violet. The rest of her was covered by her cloak, but he did recall she had a purple tail and wings with feathers that darkened until they turned black at the tips. 'Pale coat so I guess that's also kind of like mom,' the little dragon thought to himself.
"Here we are," Celestia stated suddenly. Spike came out of his thoughts and looked up as they entered into the royal library. He'd seen them before so he didn't really feel anything other than boredom from the sight. Raven on the other hand widened her eyes and looked around with a small ghost of a smile. The pallor grey filly trotted forward and pulled a story from one of the shelves. It was from the fiction section but she still sat down on her haunches and began to read it. A moment later she looked to Celestia and nodded her head.
"I think I could learn to like this place," she declared. Celestia chuckled in her throat and smiled to the little alicorn. Spike on the other hand tilted his head and raised a brow.
"Why is her voice so dull?" the baby dragon questioned with a look to his mother figure. The older alicorn rolled her eyes and patted the baby dragon on his head.
"Raven is a very reserved and shy pony," the solar alicorn offered in explanation. Spike crossed his arms and mumbled that that didn't explain anything. However he decided he'd ask about it later on once he got to know the young alicorn. While she seemed pretty dull, but perhaps she would turn out to be more interesting later on. 'At least I hope she'll be more interesting than a book worm,' the purple dragon hoped.
Celestia looked to Raven and saw that the filly was deeply engrossed in her book. The solar alicorn only hoped that it would be so easy to get the filly to come out of her shell. 'Her empathy is the problem with that, she feels the emotions of others, so if those around her emotional, her own emotions go out of control as well,' the older alicorn thought with a frown. That would clearly be a problem for Raven wanted to learn control. She would need to think about how she would be able to work around it.
"Now that you're situated Raven, I need to attend to some duties and so leave you to your own devices," Celestia stated. Raven merely nodded her head and waved a hoof. Spike snickered and took a seat next to the purple pony as she read her book. Celestia smiled and hoped that the two would take to one another. She felt that Raven needed a friend, and knew that Spike could really use some pony his own age to hang around. It was mere coincidence that putting them together solved both problems easily enough.
"I'll send a guard to bring you to your room later, until then please enjoy yourself," the solar alicorn said and Raven silently nodded her head. Seeing as the pallor grey filly was obviously engrossed in her book, Celestia bid Spike farewell and was on her way. Once she was gone, Spike idly looked to the book that Raven was reading. It was an old adventure story, he'd read it once out of sheer boredom. Raven seemed to be enjoying herself though if the slight smile was anything to go off of.
That said, Spike frowned and wondered what he should be doing to 'assist' the quiet pony. As he couldn't come up with anything himself, he looked to the pony in question for answers instead.
"So what should I do to 'assist' you?" the baby dragon questioned curiously. Raven hummed and turned a page of her book with her magic, then looked at Spike from the corner of her eye.
"Just be quiet and I don't care what you do," the pallor grey filly replied. She then frowned at Spike's surprised look. "No really I mean it, just be quiet, don't annoy me or destroy anything and we'll get along just fine," she intoned seriously. Spike blinked and grinned despite himself. Stretching out his limbs for a moment and letting a yawn pass his lips. Spike then proceeded to lay back and rest his head on the fillies flank like it was a pillow.
"Sis, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship," the little purple dragon declared happily. Raven shot the purple dragon a brief look, then returned to her book. As she told the baby dragon, so long as he didn't bother her, make noise, or get into trouble she was fine with whatever he did. She would watch him to be sure, but she really didn't think she needed an assistant. Besides that, she didn't think someone as lazy as Spike would be of much help in her research...
'Which I'll get started on after I finish this book,' the pallor grey filly decided to herself. Giving a glance to the now sleeping baby dragon, Raven sighed and shook her head. 'Something tells me that this is the start of the worst headache of my life,' the pallor grey filly thought to herself. She also couldn't shake the feeling that things were going to be really interesting from now on...
The Canterlot Library was, honestly, impressive. It was a vast collection of knowledge of the world Raven had found herself in. Every shelf seemed to have some new information to offer her. Not only in terms of history, but culture, fiction, magic, everything she could imagine. She had, for the passed hour now, perused the many shelves to find books she would want to read. Unfortunately she had quickly run into a bit of a snag...
For some reason the books were arranged alphabetically.
It was a jarring difference compared to what she was used to. It had made it more than a little difficult for her to find anything in the place. She'd looked for a reference of some kind to find anything useful, but had turned up with nothing. Thus far, she'd managed to locate a few useful books through sheer stubbornness, but it was a slow process. She had had to weed out what she didn't need by reading the first page of each of them first. She would teleport each book to her table once she decided it was useful.
She continued through the library and idly noticed as she passed by a sleeping Spike and rolled her eyes. The baby dragon had been snoozing ever since Celestia left. The pallor grey filly had felt no compulsion to wake him, instead having draped her cloak over him as a makeshift blanket. At some point he'd curled it around his tiny body like a cocoon. He looked rather peaceful like that. She found the peace and quiet agreeable. But at this point his assistance would've been useful...
'Probably should've thought of that before I let him go to sleep,' Raven admitted to herself with a frown. She usually had more foresight than that, but she had assumed that Equestria would have a more recognizable system to organizing their books. Thus far the only organization they had seemed to be based on the first letters or something else she just wasn't seeing. She'd found several books on history mixed up with books on legends and arts. She honestly missed the dewey decimal system at this point.
"Um, excuse me," a quiet voice beckoned. Raven paused her thoughts and glanced to her side to see an older wo... 'mare' staring at her. She was a unicorn, glasses on the bridge of her nose, bushy brown hair, dull colors, and a book for a cutie-mark. The pallor grey filly stared for a moment then raised a brow, 'So, she's a librarian with a talent for books... wow, this world is pretty destiny driven,' she thought to herself. The older mare shifted on her hooves nervously under her scrutiny and then cleared her throat.
"M-may I help you find something?" the librarian, she assumed she was a librarian at least, questioned. Raven took only a moment to consider the question then sighed. She really did need some help finding useful books after all. Sure she could probably continue on as she was, but that would just lead to her wasting time. The librarian would know where everything was already, which would speed things up, which would let her actually get to reading things sooner rather than later.
"I'm looking for history books to brush up on my history," 'more like to learn it,' "books on the different cultures around and across equestria so I don't insult anyone," 'that one is true,' "spell books pertaining to teleportation or portals," 'I'll need to figure a way off of this world at some point,' "a few on myths, legends, or old stories," 'might as well find out which of them will likely wake up to try to kill me while I'm here,' "and a few fictitious stories for light reading," 'even I get bored sometimes' the pallor grey filly finished.
The librarian blinked rapidly and then slowly nodded her head. The mass of books was going to be quite a tall order. Not only because of how they were fairly spread out. But because the filly wanted such a diverse collection. She paused to consider what she could find for her for a moment and hummed. The fictitious books would be easy. She'd just recommend the popular Daring Do series for that. The stories on myths and such would be a bit harder, though Predictions and Prophesies would definitely be among them, and she knew of at least one book that had the legend of the mare in the moon.
The other books seemed a bit odd, not that she would question an alicorn of course. One did not simply question the desires of nigh immortal all-powerful beings after all. It also did make a bit of sense with her being the Princess's daughter that she'd want to brush up on such things. The librarian finished her thoughts as she shifted on her hooves and then smiled nervously at the 'filly' alicorn. "Alright, just follow me," she offered nervously. Raven merely shrugged and followed behind the librarian.
"So is there a reason all the books are in such disarray?" Raven questioned curiously. The librarian idly nodded her head and answered as she pulled a book from the shelves with her magic. Raven casually examined the magical aura of the unicorn and hummed. 'Given their lack of any appendages to manipulate the world around them, I'd say that at least the Unicorns that they use telekinesis on a fairly regular basis,' she mused to herself. 'Though how do the other ponies get by without it?' she wondered to herself.
"We're in the process of updating the library to the Donkey Decimal system," the librarian finally replied. Raven came out of her thoughts and blinked, then just stared at the older mare for a moment.
"Donkey Decimal System, really?" she questioned flatly.
"Yes, it's a system created by Dewey Donkey," the librarian replied helpfully. Raven just fixed a flat look onto the mare.
"You mean to tell me they named it after him, but rather than 'Dewey Decimal System', they called it the 'Donkey Decimal System'?" Raven questioned with a frown. The mare merely stopped as she was pulling a book from the shelves. She blinked and turned to look at her in confusion. Clearly she didn't see anything wrong with the name.
"Yes," the librarian replied. Raven quietly groaned and placed her hoof on her face. She then motioned for the mare to continue gathering books. The librarian mentally shrugged and continued to gather what books she could find that would fit the list Raven made for her. The pallor grey filly in question just grumbled under her breath about bad puns. The amount of bad puns in this world was simply amazing. It was also starting to become more than a little irritating. She had to wonder just how many puns she'd have to deal with before this was all over.
'Somehow I just know I won't like the answer,' she admitted to herself. She inwardly wondered what else she'd be seeing as a pun. She also wondered if the ponies around her might get her talking like them with their puns. 'Oh sweet Azar I hope not,' she thought with a mental shudder. However that was really just a minor concern at best. She could live even if she ended up talking like the ponies. For now her main concern was finding the books she'd need and studying. Finding a way off of this crazy world was one thing she needed of course. Though she also admitted that she wanted to stay long enough to train with Celestia.
'One doesn't live for hundreds of years without picking up a few tricks after all,' she admitted to herself. That and she hated to admit it but she was curious about this worlds magic. While it was clearly different to what she studied on Azarath, it would be nice to know a few more spells. Especially since this world seemed to have a more dominant magical force in it without the semi-religious way that the people of Azaroth looked at it. That was definitely a plus in her opinion. She just really wasn't in to religion.
"Alright I think this should be enough to start you off," the librarian suddenly stated. Her voice effectively knocked Raven from her musings and back to the real world. With a blink she looked to the mass of books collected for her. She found a small tower of books stacked beside of the librarian and hummed. She casually grasped the top most book with her magic and brought it down to check it. She groaned when she saw the tittle, 'Predictions and Prophesies, of course,' she thought with a shake of her head.
"Alright thanks, I'll handle the rest from here," Raven stated with a wave of her hoof. The librarian blinked and then set the books down. Raven merely formed a portal and sent all the books to her table.
"Um, where did they go?" the librarian questioned. Raven idly thought she needed to learn the mare's name, but decided it'd be pointless. Hopefully she wouldn't be on this world long enough for it to matter. While she wanted to learn from Celestia, she was more interested in getting to Earth. She had reasons to be there, and this world wouldn't survive if she stayed here too long...
"I sent them to the table I was sitting at, I figured carrying them all would be a chore," the pallor grey filly replied. The librarian blinked for a moment then nodded her head. She could understand that, she also appreciated it. She wasn't exactly a very powerful spell caster after all. Her talents really only pertained to the maintenance of books and knowledge. Keeping a bunch of books held aloft for too long would put a strain on her.
"Alright, well if you need anything else I'll be at the front desk," the mare offered helpfully. Raven made a noise of acknowledgement as she trotted away. She meant nothing against the older mare but she really wanted to get to work. She had quite a few questions about this world she wanted answered. Most of them revolved around the 'cutie-marks' these ponies had and how they could possibly just appear one day and represent their destiny / special talent.
'It seems absurd, even from a magical standpoint,' the filly noted with a frown. Magic didn't determine destiny, it was merely a part of all things. If Magic had the capability to brand these ponies with their 'destiny' then it begged the question of what her own would look like. Given she already knew what her destiny was, and she was fairly certain that she didn't want to know.
She shook her head of such thoughts as she approached her table. However she slowed when she saw a pony sitting at the table and going through her books. He was taller than her, which was impressive to say the least given her abnormal height, with a copper coat and brilliant blue eyes, a long fluted horn with a green gem at the tip, a pair of large wings folded against his sides, and his main and tail were black with streaks of gold.
Unlike most ponies she'd met thus far this one actually wore clothes. First was a white button down shirt with the sleeves rolled up, a simple black tie, a black waist coat with a chain hanging from one pocket, likely leading to a watch, a pair of welder's goggles over his forehead, and brass hoof covers. Raven also noticed his cutie-mark, which appeared to be an hourglass with turning gears and machinery inside of it. 'How does a pony get an animate cutie-mark?' the filly wondered to herself.
"Rubbish, rubbish, complete and total rubbish," the stallion muttered while tossing books into a pile. She instantly noted what sounded like a British accent of some kind. How a pony could have a British accent, well that she didn't really know. He stopped briefly and examined one for a moment then nodded his head, "This one's good," he stated with a nod. He then placed the book into a significantly smaller pile before he returned to his 'sorting'. "Rubbish, utter rubbish, they're allowed to print trash like this?" Raven could only wonder who the strange stallion was.
'Not to mention why I can't sense him,' the filly admitted to herself. Truth be told it was more than just a little unnerving. It was almost as if the stallion wasn't really there at all. However considering the fact that she was looking right at him, it was clear that he did exist. That in mind the pallor grey filly let out a breath and approached the strange stallion as he continued to sort books.
"'Ello there Raven," the stallion stated without looking up. Said filly blinked and stared at him, wondering how in the name of Azar he knew her name. "Sorry 'bout this, just thought I'd pick out the accurate books from the rest," the strange stallion stated as he tossed more books into what amounted as a 'reject' pile. The much smaller pile of 'acceptable' books was to his other side. Raven glanced to either for a moment, before she settled her eyes on the strange stallion.
"Who are you?" she questioned plainly. The stallion finally turned to face her and she found her violet eyes drawn to his lightly glowing blue orbs. Something about them seemed strange to her, almost artificial in a way she couldn't quite explain. Yet she also noticed something else about his eyes. Eyes that were old, ancient really, eyes that were filled with both experience... as well as what could only be a deep loneliness.
"I have been known by many names and tittles," the stallion began. "The Traveler, The Doctor, Alicorn of Time, Time Lord, Professor, The Oncoming Storm, and a great many more still," he said seriously. The strange stallion smiled cheerfully and gave a rather grand and overdone bow. "But please just call me, Clockwork Gears," he declared with a grin. He quickly cleared his throat and schooled his features. "Sorry 'bout that, I tend to be a bit 'eccentric from time to time," the strange stallion noted.
"I see," Raven replied slowly. Though honestly, how was she supposed to react to that admission? Well that, and his eyes seemed to want to tell a story far different to what he was saying. "So you control time then?" the pallor grey filly questioned. Clockwork merely nodded and tossed a few more books here or there as he continued his 'sorting'.
"I can, but I'm more of an observer really," the time stallion replied casually. He also picked up a history book, flipped through a few pages and groaned. "I really must question some of these authors," he muttered under his breath. With that in mind he tossed the book into his 'reject' pile. Raven glanced at the ever growing pile for a moment then turned back to Clockwork with a frown.
"So then you've seen my future?" the filly questioned. The slight tinge of worry that slipped into her tone did not go unnoticed. Clockwork didn't seem to react however, still sorting through the books.
"Indeed I have," he replied. Though he said that he did nothing more than return to the books and sorted them.
"And you don't have a problem with it?" Raven questioned. The pony lord of time merely shrugged and continued to sort through the books. The pallor grey filly felt her eye twitch, then let out a breath. Clearly he wasn't going to answer her question so she decided to move on. "So why are you here?" she questioned flatly. The time stallion halted in his sorting and hummed. He tapped his chin for a moment then turned to her with a grin.
"I wanted to say hello," he replied, then scowled at the reject pile, "But then I saw these books and figured I could sort out the good from the bad," the time pony admitted. Raven silently nodded her head. Although to be honest, she could think of a million better ways to use his powers than just dropping by to say 'hi'. However she then narrowed her eyes on the strange stallion.
"So then would you know how I got here?" the filly questioned casually. Clockwork however grumbled and tossed another book to the side.
"Really, do these ponies have nothing better to do than make history as inaccurate as they can?" he demanded angrily. He liked playing with history as much as the next pony, but this was just absurd! More than a third of the books had more errors than not. If he hadn't picked out the good ones, Raven would've been dealing with more inconsistencies than anything else. However he then took a quick breath and exhaled. He idly tilted his head to one side and then turned to Raven.
"I do know how you got to this world, but..." he began then smirked, "No Spoilers," he stated with a nod. The pallor grey filly shot the time stallion a look. If that was supposed to be funny then he'd failed spectacularly since she really wasn't amused.
"Then don't you have somewhere else you need to be," she muttered grumpily. The time stallion snickered for a moment then tapped his chin in thought.
"Not really. But I did have a message for you," he admitted with a click of his tongue. "Now le's see now what was it?" he wondered with a click of his tongue. He fluffed his wings every now and then, then brought his hoof down against the floor in a rather loud clop. "Oh right that's it! I wanted to tell you that you should 'look to the moon'," he replied with a nod of his head. Raven merely stared at the stallion for a moment, then raised a brow in question.
"Why?"
"No spoilers!" he replied with a grin. Raven frowned and felt her eyebrow twitch. She felt a sudden urge to strangle this irritating stallion. However, he thankfully got up and started to leave before she could be swayed by her murderous impulses. "In any case, I really must be going," the stallion noted then turned with a wave, "have fun with your books, Taa taa!" he declared then galloped out of the library.
Raven took a moment to stare at where the strange stallion had been. She then turned to her significantly lighter pile of reading material. The filly clicked her tongue for a moment then trotted over to the table. She grasped a book in her magic and then sighed. 'I should just get to work, trying to make sense of that pony will probably drive me batty,' she decided then set to work. So with a goal in mind she began to immerse herself in study...
Princess Celestial Majesty, ruler of Equestria, and Alicorn of the Sun trotted the halls of Canterlot castle tiredly. She had just come from a meeting to explain Raven to her staff. Before that she'd spoken with her guard captain, and before that she'd spoken with the nobles. Needless to say it'd been an exercise in her patience to deal with the nobles. They were, as per usual, utterly and completely annoying.
The guards hadn't been too bad. They merely questioned about the kind of detachment she would need for any excursions. Celestia had been doubtful Raven would appreciate or need such a thing. The filly was to independent to appreciate something like that anyways. The staff had only wondered how they could better accommodate the 'filly' alicorn. Celestia had to admit she wasn't sure about that sort of thing, and merely told them she was a very independent minded filly. That had all been easy to get over, the Nobles however...
They had asked her how she could have a filly, to which she reminded them she was indeed a mare. They asked for her filly's age, Celestia responded with fifteen. Asked who the father was, to which she stated an 'old friend' and left it at that. They had asked her why she kept it a secret, she replied that it was for her protection. They asked her how powerful she was, to which she stated still hadn't found her special talent yet. Then came questions of what the filly's future would be. Then propositions for marriage...
In short, it'd been a very long and trying experience.
The princess of the sun sighed and bright a hoof to rub at her temple. A glance out a nearby window showed it was close to sunset. Soon she'd have to set the sun, eat dinner, manage her paperwork shortly after, then she'd need to get to bed so she could wake up early enough to raise the sun, prepare for the rest of the day, etc etc... 'I need something to calm my nerves,' Celestia decided. Her days were always a bit too 'cramped' for lack of a better word.
Fortunately she had some cake in the kitchens all but calling her name. Sure it might spoil her dinner, but right now she needed the pick me up. So with that in mind Celestia turned at the next hall and made her way into the castle kitchens. She looked around to ensure that her head chef wasn't present. The old stallion was a former guard, and very strict. Every time she came into the kitchen for a pick me up, he usually stopped her. He always got inventive with it too.
'The time he used tapioca pudding as a weapon still gives me nightmares,' Celestia admitted with a shudder. No pony should be able to use food in such a frightening way. She quickly made sure none of his staff were nearby either. The kitchens were fully manned, however the ponies had breaks just like any pony else. She just happened to know when they were and came on one of them. Once certain no pony was around she grinned and slunk over to a refrigerator, opening it she found a piece of cake stored within and licked her lips.
"Aunty are you in here?" the voice of her nephew questioned. Celestia yelped and threw the cake into the air. The solar princess quickly caught the cake and plate in her magical aura before it could hit the ground. Releasing a sigh of relieve she turned to see her nephew Blue Blood standing in the doorway. 'Oh great,' she thought with a frown. Blue Blood wasn't the worst relative she had, but he was certainly a little annoying at times.
"Yes Blue Blood, what did you want?" the pale pink alicorn questioned tensely. Not to say she didn't like her nephew, just that he had horrible timing.
"Aunty I was looking for young Spike, however I haven't been able to find him anywhere," the blond stallion replied. "Normally I wouldn't worry but we usually head out to get him some gems about now," he explained. Celestia blinked then let out a tired sigh and sat on her haunches. She also closed the refrigerator door and sat her cake down on a nearby counter. She had a feeling this was going to take a while.
"He's fine Blue Blood," she began, then fixed her nephew with a frown, "and I think he needs to cut back on sweets and gems, he's getting pudgy." The unicorn blinked for only a moment before he idly nodded his head.
"Yes I can see that. I suppose too much of a good thing is just as bad for a young dragon as it is for a young pony," the blond unicorn mused to himself. Celestia merely sighed and glanced at her slice of cake, then back to him.
"Indeed, but did you need anything else Blue?" the solar princess questioned tensely. She tried not to let any irritation slip into her voice, Blue Blood didn't mean to be annoying after all. He just had really bad timing for some reason.
"Yes actually," the young unicorn replied, "I was curious as to his whereabouts, I don't mean to worry but he is still a baby dragon after all." Celestia blinked for a moment then sighed tiredly.
"You don't have to worry so much Blue, I have some pony else who'll be looking after him from now on," the solar princess explained.
"Who? Not one of your students I hope," the young stallion questioned with a frown, "I swear that last beastly mare wasn't fit for maid service, let alone to be your personal student," the stallion stated with a huff. Celestia frowned and shot her nephew a dark look for the slight. Sunset Shimmer had been a gifted pony, and once her student in magic. Abrasive as she was, she was also a highly competent student and a powerful mage. But the last any pony had seen of her had been years ago. She still wondered what had happened to her.
'I hope she's calmed down, maybe even made a few friends,' the solar princess admitted to herself. She also wondered where she had disappeared to. But that wasn't in the here or the now. Whether or not Sunset was still out there was a problem for later. Right now she had a nephew who was worried about a baby dragon to deal with.
"I haven't taken on a personal student since Sunset left us," Celestia assured the young stallion. He visibly calmed and then stopped to rub at his chin thoughtfully.
"Well then, who is looking after little Spike then Aunty?" the young stallion questioned curiously. Celestia rolled her eyes then stopped as a thought came to mind. Again, her mischievous side was starting to show.
"I've decided to let my daughter look after him for a bit," she replied dismissively.
"Oh well I suppose that would be make sense," Blue Blood admitted with a nod of his head. He then got up and trotted to the door. "In any case Aunty, I suppose I should be off then," the stallion declared as he left. Celestia snickered to herself and then began to mentally count down. 'Five... four... three... two... one... and...' she thought as a voice sounded out from the hall. "WHAT!!"
Celestia snickered and had to resist all out laughter. While she normally tried to reign in her impulses, that was just too good an opportunity to pass up. Not a moment later Blue Blood stormed back into the room with wide eyes. "Excuse me aunty," he began, seeming a bit disheveled, "but did you say your d-daughter!" he demanded with wide eyes. Celestia raised a hoof to her mouth and snickered into her hoof. Ah yes, this was the reaction she'd been waiting for!
"Yes, my daughter, I explained this to the nobles not ten minutes ago Blue," she replied as a matter of fact.
"B-but how, who, where," the young stallion tried to ask.
"A few more words and I think you might have a sentence," Celestia noted cheekily. Blue Blood blinked owlishly and then shook his head. The poor stallion was clearly close to having a conniption. 'Maybe I'm being a bit too mean to him,' Celestia considered for a moment, then mentally shrugged, 'Nah, after all the mares he's insulted he needs to get taken down a peg or two.'
"Aunty you never told me that you had a daughter before," the stallion stated. He then stopped and his eyes seemed to widen as that thought registered. "Dear sweet you! She's never met her cousin Blue Blood!" the stallion declared. Celestia merely wondered if that was really such a bad thing. "How ever has she survived, and why does no pony know about her?" the pale stallion questioned quickly.
"I wanted her to study abroad, she wore a cloak to hide her appearance, and I didn't want her to be hounded by any pony so I kept her a secret," the solar mare explained with a shrug. She then smirked as Blue Blood proceeded to do a rather accurate impersonation of a fish.
"She's been alone this whole time!" he demanded with wide eyes. "B-but aunty Celestia, what if some pony tried to do something to her?" Blue Blood asked incredulously. Celestia merely rolled her eyes and let out a sigh.
"She was fine Blue, she may be a filly but she is still an alicorn," the older mare told him seriously.
"An alicorn filly?" he questioned quietly. Celestia merely nodded her head, then watched as Blue Blood seemed to daze out for a moment. 'I have a feeling this isn't going to be funny anymore,' the solar alicorn noted to herself. "Unacceptable!" he screeched loudly. Celestia flattened her ears and brought her hooves down over them with a pained grimace. For such a prim and proper stallion he sure could screech.
"Blue Blood calm down!" Celestia insisted only for the stallion to stamp a hoof down.
"No! An alicorn filly, all on her own for only you know how long! Unacceptable! She should've had guards to ensure her safety," he began to rant, only to stop and tap his chin, "No guards can be bought, they are a liability to the safety of my little cousin!" the solar alicorn felt her eyebrow twitch and then shot the stallion a flat expression.
"She's the size of a full grown mare Blue Blood, no pony knew she was still just a filly," she told the stallion, however that didn't quell him in the least.
"That's even worse!" the stallion declared. "What if some unscrupulous ponies tried to," he started only to stop as Celestia slammed her hoof into the ground. There was a sudden thundering clop that echoed across the entire castle. It served to silence Blue Blood and draw his attention to his now highly irritated aunt.
"Calm down blue! She's just fine," Celestia assured her nephew. She then took a breath and composed herself, "She's going to be staying in Canterlot for the foreseeable future, and for now she's studying in the library," the solar alicorn explained. That seemed to calm Blue Blood down for a moment before he tapped his hoof manically. A moment later he galloped out of the kitchen. Celestia frowned, then watched as he stuck his head back through the doorway.
"I'm just going to make certain she's alright," he insisted and then bolted off. Celestia groaned and brought a hoof to rub her face tiredly. The one pony who could tire her out was her nephew Blue Blood. He meant well, unfortunately he was a bit... off. But at least she still had her cake to look forward too. However, just as she was about to take a bite, she heard some-pony clear there throat. With a low groan she closed her mouth and turned to see the head chef.
"Now I know y'all weren't about to ruin your dinner," he stated flatly. Celestia grinned weakly then hung her head, it just wasn't her day.
Raven idly walked through the halls of the castle. She had pulled her blue cloak back on, and placed Spike on her back. She had expected it to be uncomfortable to carry the baby dragon. However it wasn't at all. The baby dragon, while a bit pudgy, weighed too little to really burden her. 'I wonder if horses are the same way, they just don't notice,' the filly wondered to herself, then shrugged.
She was currently trying to find her way to the kitchen. While she loved to read, the dryness of the books had eventually bored her. Thus she had started reading Daring Do and the Sapphire Stone. It was the first in a lengthy series of books about an adventurous pegasus pony. The book was strangely enthralling, especially considering she preferred fantasy. Though Daring Do book had just enough fantasy to keep her interest. At least she assumed that it was all fantasy and a work of fiction.
'In a world like this, you can never be sure,' the pallor grey pony admitted to herself. However that wasn't the point and Raven quickly put her mind back on track. She had, after reading a hefty bit of Daring Do and the Sapphire Stone, began to feel the pangs of hunger. As such she'd decided to leave the library in search of the kitchen so she could grab a bite to eat. Unfortunately, she'd forgotten she didn't know where the kitchen was...
'I really should've thought this through,' she admitted to herself. She couldn't even turn back at this point since she didn't know the way back to the library either. All she could really do was keep trotting and hope she ran into some one to ask for help or directions.
Honestly though, she didn't mean that to be literal.
With a grunt she and another pony knocked into one another. She fell back on her haunches, Spike rolling onto the ground. The baby dragon groaned and sat up with a claw to his head. Raven turned from the waking baby Dragon to see the pony she bumped into. Judging from her 'body' it was a mare, though younger than most. She was a unicorn with a curly bright red mane and tail, white coat, red eyes, and her cutie-mark depicted a red starburst.
'Okay, who is this then?' Raven wondered to herself. The unicorn shook her head then rushed to her side.
"Oh I am most sorry, please allow me to assist you," the white mare pleaded. Before Raven could form a reply she was hoisted back to her feet via a green glow. The strange unicorn then offered a sheepish smile as she dusted Raven off for a moment. "Forgive me for my carelessness, I am afraid I am a bit scatter brained at times," the unicorn admitted with a nervous smile. The pony seemed to have an accent, Raven idly tried to place it, then blinked in surprise.
'French?' she inwardly questioned. Did the ponies of this world even have a french language? If so what did they call their version of France?
"Pardon, are you alright?" The white unicorn questioned. Raven shook her head of her errant thoughts. She hoped that this wasn't going to become a habit for her.
"I'm fine," Raven replied quietly. She'd normally be a bit more vocal, but Celestia had been correct about her being a bit shy. She wasn't good around new people, er, ponies in this case. It was partly because she could feel their emotions and it was jarring with someone she wasn't used to. It also had to do with being afraid of connections. Azar had believed becoming to attached would be a bad idea. The unicorn breathed a sigh of relief, Raven could easily tell that she was merely relieved she hadn't hurt her. 'Probably a very compassionate pony,' she noted to herself.
"Well I'm a bit dizzy," Spike stated from behind them. Raven glanced back to see the baby dragon shaking his head to clear the fog. The unicorn however merely blinked then scrunched up her face.
"Zat wouldn't happen to be Princess Celestia's pet dragon, would it?" the unicorn questioned. However that was possibly the worst thing to say in Spike's presence...
"My name is Spike, and I am not a pet!" Spike all but snarled out furiously. Raven raised a brow at the vehemence coming from the little dragon. Clearly that was a bit of a hot button better left untouched. The white unicorn seemed to realize she offended the dragon. Though that wasn't too hard to be honest. She quickly bowed her head to the little purple drake with an apologetic smile.
"Oh, I am sorry, I did not mean to offend," the unicorn said quickly. Spike snorted a puff of smoke from his nose and then crossed his arms.
"Yeah yeah, who are you anyways?" the little dragon asked rudely.
'I'm going to have to break him of that,' Raven thought with a frown. Being angry with her for the 'pet' crack was no reason to be rude. Especially when the unicorn was being so polite and courteous, not to mention apologetic for her slight. However the young unicorn ignored his hostilities. Instead she gave a slight bow and a brilliant smile.
"I'm Starlight, Student at Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns," the mare replied cheerfully. "I am talented wit' Astronomy and Astrology," the unicorn stated with a bright smile. Spike and Raven glanced to one another, unsure of what to make of the unicorn. She seemed nice enough, though Raven felt she was a bit too nice.
'I have the feeling I'm not going to like her,' the pallor grey filly thought to herself. "So what is a student doing wandering around the castle?" Spike questioned with a frown. He knew for a fact Celestia's students didn't live in the castle, and only rarely visited. Raven was not privy to such information, but was curious so merely listened attentively.
Unaware of the baby dragon's thoughts, the white unicorn grimaced. She scuffed her hoof along the ground and let out a sigh. "Oh, I am most sorry," she apologized once more, "I actually came here wit' my cousin Fluer, then got a little lost when I asked to use ze little fillies room," the white unicorn admitted.
"Why was your cousin here?" Spike continued to inquire. Raven arched a brow in his direction. She was beginning to think the baby dragon was overly suspicious of ponies he didn't know or wasn't introduced too. 'I can't see why that would be,' the filly thought to herself. Thus far every pony she'd met seemed nice enough. A bit too friendly and tactile for her liking sure, but nice enough.
"Well, she and sir Fancy Pants wished to show me ze castle. But I am not good with directions and so got a bit," she stopped and considered her words for a moment, "turned around," she finally decided. Raven however blinked when she heard the name Fancy Pants. A smile threatened to stretch across her lips as a result, 'Someone who is actually named Fancy Pants, heh. Alright that one is a little funny'
"Wait a minute, Fancy Pants..." Spike mumbled for a moment before realization dawned. He turned to Starlight with a wide eyed gaze, "are you telling me that you're Fluer De Lis's cousin?" Raven looked to the baby dragon with a curious gaze. Seeing the look the baby dragon let out a sigh and explained, "Fluer De Lis is a famous model. Fancy Pants is her agent or husband or something. Either way you see 'em together a lot."
Raven made an oh with her mouth and nodded her head. While she didn't understand why ponies would need models, she did get what he meant. The baby dragon then walked around the white mare, a claw lifted to his chin. He circled around her a few times. Starlight watched him curiously as he turned around her. The young drake soon came to a stop and nodded his head slowly.
"You don't have any of Fluer's colors that's for sure," the baby dragon noted to himself. He then took another trip around the pony and nodded his head. "But otherwise I can totally see Fluer in you," Spike admitted with a nod. Starlight giggled and then smiled brightly.
"Oh zat it is just ze family resemblance," Starlight assured. Raven merely rolled her eyes and picked up Spike with her magic. She set the baby dragon onto her back and inclined her head in Starlight's direction.
"Anyways," the pallor grey filly murmured, "we should really be on our way." With that the filly started walking back through the halls of the castle once more. However Starlight quickly fell into step beside her, still smiling.
"Oh? Might I ask where you two are off to?" Starlight inquired. At the reminder that they weren't still in the library Spike shot Raven a look.
"Say yeah, where are we going Sis?" the baby dragon questioned with a frown.
"I was trying to find the kitchen," Raven admitted with a sigh, "I can only study for so long before I get hungry." Spike merely nodded his head. He could understand being hungry better than most. Though he wondered why the filly hadn't woken him up. He was supposed to be her assistant, not to mention her brother. He could have just given her directions if she had just asked.
"Oh, would you mind terribly if I came wit' you? I do not know my way around ze castle and would not wish to wander into someplace I shouldn't," the white unicorn admitted. Raven glared at the other pony, mentally telling her no. However Spike didn't seem to mind.
"Sure you can, I know the castle like the back of my claw," the baby dragon responded with a dismissive wave. Raven shot him a look as well, however he just seemed to ignore it. With a sigh the pallor grey filly had a feeling this was going to become the norm for her. 'Great, now I have to deal with ponies just butting into my life, wonderful,' she thought sarcastically. As they wandered through the castles halls, Raven and Starlight stopped as a white stallion approached.
"Watch it, out of my way!" he cried out loudly. Raven and Starlight quickly stepped to either side to avoid him. The two silently watched as he galloped down the hall and turned down a corner. Once he was gone, Raven turned to Starlight with a frown.
"Uh, who was that?" the pallor grey filly questioned. Starlight blinked for a moment and then raised a brow.
"It looked like Prince Blue Blood," she admitted. Spike snorted and then leaned forward on Raven's back.
"Yeah, but don't worry about Blue, I bet mom just told him about you sis," the baby dragon explained. Raven wondered why that mattered. However at a growl from her stomach she decided that it didn't really matter. As far as she was concerned she really didn't need to know who he was or why he was galloping through the halls.
"Whatever, now which way is the kitchen?" the filly grumbled irritably. Spike snickered and pointed a claw in down the hall. Not wasting a moment longer, Raven was off with Starlight following close at hoof. As she approached a turn, Spike pointed the direction she'd need to go. Soon enough Raven didn't even think as she glanced back whenever she reached a turn. She just hoped they had herbal tea in this world. She had a feeling she was really going to need it...
Princess Celestia wasn't having a good day. Not only had the nobles bothered her, but her prank on Blue Blood had led to a headache rather than amusement. Then to top it all off, her head chef had taken her slice of cake away. 'It was just a piece,' the solar alicorn thought with a scowl. True she was being childish, but she didn't think a single slice was going to ruin her appetite for dinner. 'It wasn't even a big piece,' she added to herself, ears flattened back.
Although disappointed that she wouldn't be having a snack, the Solar Alicorn didn't allow it to bother her. Well, not too much at least. She knew that eating sweets all day would be bad for her. She also knew that her sweet tooth had gotten her into more than just a bit of trouble when she was a filly. 'Like the time I turned myself pink,' she recalled with a light shudder. Truly though her coat had always been pink, she was simply such a pale shade of pink that every pony thought she was white.
'A notion I never correct, because I hate pink,' the princess admitted to herself. She hated it because her sister had teased her relentlessly when she became a darker shade of pink. 'Pinklestia' became her favorite mocking nickname for her sister for decades to come. Needless to say, after being ribbed by her little sister for decades, the color pink gained her undying ire.
As she made her way through the castle she twitched her ears when she heard voices. 'No pony should be in this part of the castle at this hour,' she noted to herself. A frown crossed the elder alicorns lips as she trotted closer to their source. As she did she saw a familiar stallion talking to a beautiful though frantic mare.
"Please let her be alright, auntie would kill me if somezing 'appened to Starlight," the mare stated. Worry was clear on her face, her gentle colt friend placed a hoof on her withers soothingly.
"Calm yourself Fluer, Starlight will be fine," he assured her. The mare didn't seem convinced if the way she was trying to calm her breathing was of any indication. "Now we'll just find some guards, explain what happened, and they can help us find her," the stallion told her with a nod. Celestia hummed and trotted towards the two, a little curious about what had happened. She took a moment to study the mare and raised a brow. She was a curvy and beautiful white unicorn mare with a pink mane and tail, purple eyes and eyeshadow, with a fluer-de-lis cutie-mark.
'So this is the famous Fluer de Lis, she really does resemble me,' Celestia admitted if only to herself.
"Excuse me my little ponies, but what seems to be the problem?" the solar alicorn questioned. The mare let out a yelp and nearly jumped behind the stallion. The stallion sighed and shook his head, as he did Celestia studied him for a moment. He was a unicorn stallion with a white coat, electric blue eyes, blue mane and mustache and tail and hooves, while his cutie-mark depicted three crowns. He was dressed in a black suit coat with cufflinks, blue waist coat, and a white dress-shirt with a purple bow-tie.
'Ah yes of course, mister Fancy Pants,' Celestia noted to herself.
"Forgive Fluer milady," Fancy pleaded with a slight bow, "she's a bit out of sorts since we lost track of her cousin."
"Really?" Celestia questioned then turned to Fluer, "If you don't mind my asking, but how did you lose her?"
"Well you see Fancy came for ze meeting you held earlier. I had thought bringing my cousin to ze palace would be a nice trip for 'er. When we arrived I had intended to show 'er ze gardens, but she needed to use ze little fillies room after a time and zo I asked a guard and he told her how to get zere," Fluer admitted and then sighed. "But I'm afraid she has ze worst since of direction and has likely gotten herself lost." Though Fluer tried to remain calm, it was clear by her increasingly erratic breathing that she was far from it.
"Calm down my little pony," Celestia urged kindly, "I'll help you find your cousin, I'm sure she's fine," the elder alicorn offered with a smile. Fluer gave a weak smile in return while Fancy Pants cleared his throat and trotted forward.
"Indeed your majesty," the stallion stated and made his way to a hall, "now might I suggest we locate one of the guards and ask if they've seen Starlight?" Celestia merely nodded her head and beckoned Fluer to follow her and the blue maned stallion as they trotted into the castle. Celestia soon trotted passed Fancy and turned down a hall to see a unicorn guard in front of a door.
"Guard," Celestia called out. The guard blinked and turned her way. He stood straight and waited for her orders. "We seem to have a young unicorn lost in the castle and were wondering if you'd seen her," Celestia questioned. The guard blinked for a moment and then frowned.
"What did she look like exactly?" the stallion questioned. Celestia idly noted a sort of 'surfer' accent to his voice before looking back to Fluer and Fancy. In turn Fancy looked to Fluer, the white unicorn shifted on her hooves for a moment before responding.
"She has a white coat with a red mane and tail, a red star-burst cutie-mark and red eyes," Fluer stated quickly. Celestia stopped and then frowned at the mention of a 'star-burst' cutie-mark. That was a symbol for magic though it could also have many other meanings. 'Well that would be a bit too much to ask,' she admitted to herself, then turned back to the guard.
"Actually ma'am, I saw her a little bit ago, she asked for directions," the guard admitted. Celestia blinked for a moment then nodded her head. She almost felt like this was too easy, but didn't want to risk jinxing it. 'Not everything has to end in some long drawn out quest after all,' she decided inwardly. Though in all honesty, it seemed like everything was a long drawn out quest when she'd been young. 'Fighting Discord, finding the elements, defeating Sombra,' she mentally recalled with a sigh.
"That's all well and good, however she apparently has a horrible sense of direction," Celestia explained. The guard frowned for a moment then nodded his head. He had to wonder how a pony could have a sense of direction that bad. It wasn't normal to get lost so easily, even in the palace. 'Is her special talent getting lost or something?' the young guard wondered to himself with an internal smirk.
"In any case, we should be off. Thank you for your assistance," Celestia stated with a nod. The guard gave a stiff salute and then returned to his station. With a new goal in mind the trio then made their way into the castle once more. As they walked through the castle, Celestia stopped upon seeing Blue Blood heading there way. The white stallion came to a skidding halt, Fancy Pants taking the liberty of quickly stopping him with his magic.
"Let me go you oaf!" Blue Blood shouted at the other stallion. Fancy raised a brow and then rolled his eyes derisively. Blue Blood was the only 'oaf' he could see nearby. Regardless he released the other stallion from his magical hold and lightly wiped his monocle.
"Excuse me Prince Blue Blood, I just assumed you'd prefer not to bowl over the princess," the proper stallion noted pointedly. The other stallion blinked for a moment then turned to see his aunt had been in his path. He mentally grimaced as she looked at him with a stern frown. Noting the look, Blue Blood quickly turned back to Fancy Pants and cleared his throat.
"Er yes, quite right my fine fellow," Blue Blood replied stiffly. Fancy Pants simply shrugged his shoulders.
"Blue Blood," Celestia called. Her nephew slowly turned to her with a gulp upon seeing her stern gaze, "why are you galloping through my palace like a race horse?" She wasn't 'angry' per say, more annoyed than anything else. Blue Blood knew this, he knew the way she looked meant she was irritated. He also knew he caused that look more often than not. He tried not to, honestly he did, but it seemed like anything could annoy his aunt. So to quickly stave off further irritation from his loving aunt he quickly got back to his hooves and brushed himself off. Once he was back on his hooves he took a quick moment to compose himself.
"Forgive me auntie, I wasn't paying attention to where I was going," the stallion admitted. Celestia arched a brow and continued to stare at her nephew. He shifted on his hooves nervously under her gaze. Not that any pony could really blame him for that. Better stallions than he had wilted under their rulers eyes.
"Why is that Blue?" the pale pink alicorn questioned flatly. The stallion gulped and rubbed the back of his neck for a moment.
"Well I went to the library to see my little cousin, b-but she wasn't there," he explained, a bit of panic creeping into his voice. Celestia merely rolled her eyes and let out a soft sigh. Sometimes she really wondered about her nephew...
"Did you ask the librarians where she went Blue?" the solar mare questioned.
"Well no, but I just thought," he began only to be interrupted by his annoyed Aunt.
"Listen Blue, I understand that you're worried about her, but I can assure you that Raven is fine. She has Spike with her and he knows the halls of this castle better than I do," the solar alicorn stated with a look that brokered no argument. Although it seemed like Blue Blood wanted to argue with her, he wisely kept his mouth shut. "Now that that is over and done with, lets see about finding Starlight." With that the solar princess stated.
"Um, is she a white unicorn?" Blue Blood questioned. Celestia silently nodded her head with a raised brow. "Oh, well I think I saw her heading for the kitchens with a mare in a blue cloak," the stallion admitted. Fluer breathed a sigh of relief knowing her cousin was alright. Celestia however brought a hoof to her face and shook her head. 'He galloped right passed Raven,' she thought with a mental groan. 'Then again, I never got to tell him what she looked like,' the solar alicorn admitted to herself.
"Good, now we at least know where she's going," Celestia noted aloud, "better yet Raven is with her so likely Spike is there too."
"Wait, the mare in the blue cloak was Raven?" Blue Blood questioned. Celestia silently nodded her head. "But I thought she was a filly, an alicorn filly but," Blue started, only to be interrupted by Celestia once more.
"What part of 'she looks like a mare' or 'wore a cloak' didn't you remember when I told you about her Blue?" Blue Blood had the decency to look sheepish at her comment. He also couldn't help but feel like an idiot. The looks he was getting from his aunt and Fancy Pants certainly weren't helping matters either.
"Excuse me princess, but might we hurry to find Starlight?" Fluer pleaded. Celestia smiled to the mare and nodded her head. With that in mind she trotted off towards the kitchens for the second time that day. Fluer and Fancy Pants following as she went. She idly noticed Blue Blood was also following them now. She just hoped that Blue Blood didn't leave too bad an impression on Raven.
The Canterlot Castle kitchens were abuzz with activity. The staff therein are preparing dinner for her most esteemed royal majesty, Princess Celestia of Equestria. Each dedicated chef is at his or her station working on only the finest of cuisine for their honored monarch. All that is save for the head chef. He is currently seated to the side where a table has been set up for three visitors to eat a light, not to mention healthy, snack.
"Thank you for the salad sir," Raven stated quietly as she casually munched on a simple leafy salad with dressing. She used a fork grasped in her magic to do so. No offense to the ponies, but she just wasn't ready to start eating like a normal pony. She also had a glass of herbal tea nearby. However she couldn't help a few nervous glances at the other chefs every now and again. She wasn't really sure she'd ever get used to being around by so many peop... ponies.
Thankfully they had given her no small amount of space. Starlight sat across from the young alicorn, she idly munched on a few apples the old stallion had lying around. Spike was seated next to Raven, pouting as he wasn't given any gems or sweets, since Celestia had all but decreed he was on a diet. The old stallion merely waved a hoof in response. Though admitted to himself that it was nice to be thanked for once. "It's no problem," the stallion assured with a smile.
"No problem, but what are y'all fillies doing here anyways?" the stallion questioned with a frown. Raven merely glanced down to her salad with a pointed look. "Well, aside from eating that is," the stallion amended. Spike decided he'd be the one to answer, since Raven obviously didn't want to.
"Sis just wanted something to eat and we found Starlight wandering around lost," the baby dragon explained. His explanation caused Starlight a moment of pause. She recalled Spike calling the pallor grey filly 'sis' a few times now. She supposed that it was only a term of endearment, as the filly and little drake were clearly not related. 'At least I don't think they are...' Either way Starlight didn't know, and the older stallion didn't seem to think it strange.
Thus she shrugged and returned to her apples.
"I must admit I am most grateful to Raven and Spike. Had zey not found me I am sure I would've been wandering for hours," the white unicorn noted aloud. The head chef merely rolled his eyes. Then turned back to Raven as she finished her salad. The pallor grey filly pushed her bowl to him and then sat back.
"Thanks again, that was probably the best salad I've ever had," the filly admitted. Though the chef wasn't sure if she was being sincere or not. Her neutral expression made it more than a little difficult to read her but he could tell she put an effort in being neutral. 'Wonder why that is, not like she has something to hide,' the older stallion noted inwardly.
"So how are ye liking the palace so far?" he asked the two ponies cheerfully. Spike had lived here his entire life so he knew how he liked the place. But he didn't know about Raven's thoughts on the palace thus far. Though he honestly felt that she didn't seem like the type to enjoy living in luxury. The filly in question merely shrugged her shoulders noncommittally. The chef felt it a rather flat answer, but he wasn't so disappointed with the other pony's reply.
"Oh it has been quite wonderful," Starlight started cheerfully, then sighed, "well aside from getting lost zat is." The chef mutely nodded his head in understanding. The crimson eyed mare then smiled and looked over to Raven. "However, had I not gotten lost I wouldn't have met miss Raven and little Spike," the white unicorn stated cheerfully.
"I suppose making a friend would make things like being lost bearable," the chef admitted. He also noticed Raven suddenly twitch at the word 'friend'. He briefly wondered about it, but the happy smile from Starlight distracted him from it.
"Oh indeed, I was actually hoping to introduce her to my friend Moon Dancer," Starlight happily chirped. The chef grimaced as he recalled who 'Moon Dancer' was. She was a filly with special talent in sleep and dream magic, she was also very lazy. Added to that was a temper and a willingness to cast sleep charms on ponies who wronged her. She had even once poisoned an apple with a sleep charm and gave it to a filly who had taken her dessert...
Needless to say, he was a bit worried about her meeting the Princess' Daughter.
"Moon Dancer... Moon Dancer..." Spike mumbled for a moment then widened his eyes, "Wait I think mom mentioned her, isn't she's that one pony who put Sunset Shimmer under a sleeping charm for a week?" the baby dragon all but demanded. Raven blinked then looked to Starlight curiously. She hadn't heard of any ponies with such a mean streak to them. Starlight chuckled nervously and scuffed her hoof along the ground.
"Well yes, but Sunset did take her cake and she hates it when ponies touch her sweets," the white unicorn replied. Spike merely shook his head while Raven raised a brow. Was it normal for ponies to be so... 'protective' of their dessert?
"She overreacted if you ask me," Spike grumbled, the head chef nodded his head in agreement. Spike hadn't known Sunset Shimmer, but he didn't think it was right to be put to sleep for a week like that. The Head Chef however, he had known Sunset. She was more than a little arrogant to be honest, but he still wouldn't have put her under for a week. It was only a slice of cake after all. 'Then again, no pony ever tried to mess with Moon Dancer ever again afterwards,' the older stallion admitted to himself.
The old stallion noticed Celestia and a trio of other ponies entering the kitchen from the corner of his eye. The old stallion instantly decided it was time for him to go. "Well anyways, I best take this off to be washed," the old stallion decided as he picked up Raven's plate. He then trotted off as the princess and her group approached the pair of ponies.
"So here you are," Celestia noted as she approached them with a smile. Fluer quickly dashed passed her and wrapped her forelimbs around Starlight.
"Starlight, oh thank Celestia you are okay," the mare exclaimed. Raven idly examined the mare and frowned. The 'fluer-de-lis' cutie-mark instantly told her who she was. Starlight's older cousin, Fluer de Lis. 'How do these ponies have names so perfect for their special talet?' the pallor grey filly wondered with a frown. None of her research into cutie-marks had told her how that was possible.
However that was a thought that was dashed when she saw the next two ponies. One was 'Blue Blood' whom she'd seen before. His cutie-mark appeared as a compass rose. The other stallion she assumed was Fluer's friend 'Fancy Pants' who had three crowns as his cutie-mark. Neither of which went with their names in any way. 'Okay never mind,' the filly mentally decided. Apparently not all ponies had an appropriate cutie-mark to go with their name. Ignoring Fluer and Starlight as they hugged, Raven instead looked to Celestia with an arched brow.
"So you were looking for me?" Raven questioned flatly.
"No, but your cousin Blue Blood was," the solar princess admitted. Raven blinked then turned to see the blond pony in question. The prince cleared his throat and smiled at the filly.
"Greetings little cousin, it is my esteemed pleasure to meet you. But allow me to introduce myself, I am..."
"Blue Blood, I know," the filly replied with a bored expression. The stallion sputtered for a moment and seemed a little lost with how to respond. "You might want to close your mouth before something makes a roost," the filly idly commented. Blue Blood instantly closed his mouth, blinked, then looked to his aunt. Celestia hid a snicker behind a hoof then smiled at Raven.
"I see my little ponies are going to have to become accustomed to your razor wit," the solar monarch noted playfully.
"No comment," Raven replied flatly. She was then grasped by Starlight, the young unicorn smiling brightly.
"Raven please come so I can introduce you to my cousin Fluer," the white unicorn cheerfully chirped. 'It can't be normal to be so happy all the time, can it?' the pallor grey filly wondered as she was pulled over to the pink unicorn. The color of the mare caused the filly to twitch in irritation. 'A pink pony, not only a pink pony but a pink unicorn pony... really?' she thought with a mental groan. 'I now stand before the living incarnation of all things girly and sweet,' she thought with a frown. If starlight noticed the look she didn't pay it any mind, instead turning to Fluer with a happy smile.
"Fluer, zis is Raven, she helped me when I was lost," Starlight introduced. Fluer nodded her head to the young alicorn, though shifted nervously on her hooves. Mostly because she was speaking with Princess Celestia's daughter, and her cousin wasn't aware of that fact.
"Hey, what about me?" Spike questioned with a pout as he walked over to the three ponies. Starlight smiled and picked the little drake up in a hug.
"Oh of course, and zis is Spike, he was the one who lead us to ze kitchen," the white unicorn explained as she put the little drake back down.
"Yes of course, and thank you both for looking out for my cousin," the pale unicorn stated with a slight bow. Raven merely rolled her eyes and sat back on her haunches. She frowned as it felt uncomfortable for a moment, then shifted until it wasn't so odd feeling. Spike drank up the praise and grinned at the, admittedly, very beautiful mare.
"Aw, it was no problem at all," the purple drake stated with a wave of his claw. Raven glanced at the baby dragon and rolled her eyes. She knew that wasn't the total truth of the matter. Spike and Starlight hadn't had the best of introductions. But she also didn't feel like 'rocking the boat' as it were. Thus she fluffed her wings and turned away from the baby dragon and pony.
"Whatever," she mumbled. She then noticed Celestia standing behind her and frowned deeply.
"Oh, so you've made a friend already Raven?" the solar pony questioned. Raven twitched, violently, at the mention of friends. She then turned with a stern glare leveled onto the alicorn mare. Unfortunately, before she could say anything to the princess, Starlight suddenly grabbed her in a hug. 'I can see we're going to have to have a discussion about personal space,' the filly noted with a frown.
"Starlight, do I really need to explain personal boundaries," Raven growled at the unicorn. The red head merely smiled and released the younger filly from her hug.
"Forgive me, I am merely happy to have made a new friend!" the older pony declared. Raven suppressed another shudder at the word and narrowed her eyes on the mare.
"Yeah, I'm so excited..." the irritated filly grumbled sarcastically. Celestia rolled her eyes, amused as she was she still felt Raven needed more time to get used to her new surroundings.
"In any case, I must ask you to release my daughter. It's getting late and she's had a very long day," the solar pony noted. Starlight blinked at the query, looked to Celestia for a moment, then to the grumpy pony she was hugging. She frowned in confusion for a moment then lifted the young mare's cloak to see a pair of wings at her sides... how she hadn't felt them was any ponies guess.
"Oh my!" she declared and immediately released the filly. "I am so sorry, I had no idea you were," Starlight began only for Raven to shove a hoof in her mouth. The young pony had a look that just seemed to promise pain if she didn't do as she said.
"Just stop talking," she pleaded with a sigh. The red haired pony blinked and then nodded her head. With that Raven removed her hoof and shook it for a moment. "Now then, don't apologize for anything. I really didn't mind helping you," the filly stated pointedly. Starlight breathed a visible sigh of relief and then smiled. Fancy Pants chose that moment to clear his throat and draw the attention of the mares in the room.
"Yes, well I really must agree with her majesty," the stallion began as he trotted over to Starlight, "it is getting late and we could all due with some rest," he noted with a glance to his pocket watch. Fluer nodded her head in agreement and Blue Blood still seemed a little lost for words. Clearly the stallion had never met someone with Raven's brand of wit... Celestia decided she was really going to have fun with this. Starlight turned to the princess with a pleading look.
"Oh um, but might I see Raven again?" Starlight questioned hopefully.
"Hey, what about me?" Spike grumbled. Starlight smiled and scooped the baby dragon up into a hug.
"And of course you as well, little Spike," she replied cheerfully. Spike grinned and leaned into the hug, Raven merely rolled her eyes. 'Since when do dragons crave affection?' she wondered to herself. She idly contemplated the possibility that it was due to being raised by ponies. If that was the case then it could also mean that most dragons learned to be cruel around one another. If that was the case, the greed could have been a learned trait, potentially stemming from other dragons attempts to steal from their fellows. Then came their territorial nature, though that was likely just a instinctual action at best...
Celestia, unaware of the thoughts going through Raven's head, smiled at Starlight. While she wasn't apposed to Raven having friends, the filly had only just arrived in Canterlot. "I suppose you could in a week, until then, Raven will be settling in here in the castle," the solar mare explained. The white unicorn merely nodded her head and released Spike from her grasp. The baby dragon walked over to sit beside of Raven as the pony continued to contemplate the possibilities of dragonic culture.
"In either case princess, we'll be on our way, good night," Fancy offered with a curt bow of his head. He then turned to the still lost Prince Blue Blood and smirked. "Prince Blue Blood, could I trouble you to escort us to the door?" the proper stallion began, "I'm afraid I don't know my way around the palace as you do," he admitted. The other stallion blinked for a moment then puffed out his chest in pride.
"Of course, please follow me," he stated and trotted off. That done, Fancy chuckled for a moment before he Fluer and Starlight trotted from the kitchen and followed behind the prince. Once they were gone, Spike turned to Celestia.
"So now what?" the baby dragon questioned curiously.
"Now you two are going to bed," Celestia replied with a nod.
"And why would we do that?" Raven asked with a frown.
"Because it's late," the solar alicorn replied. The pallor grey filly glanced to a window and noticed that the sun had set and the sky filled with stars. She then turned back to Celestia with a flat look.
"Really, I hadn't noticed," the young alicorn noted neutrally. Celestia rolled her eyes and then picked up Spike with her magic before depositing him on her back.
"Oh c'mon Raven, don't be so grumpy," the baby dragon chirped. Raven merely snorted and shifted her wings.
"I'll be grumpy if I want to be grumpy..." the filly grumbled in reply.
"Well be that as it may your still going to bed," Celestia stated while picking the filly up with her magic. Raven frowned and glared at the older pony angrily.
"Put me down," she growled lowly. Celestia merely smirked and trotted into the castle. Spike snickered as he rode on the princess back and watched his 'sister' hover at their side. "This is humiliating," Raven muttered with her ears flattened against her head.
"Well next time don't argue," Celestia replied.
"I can take care of myself," the filly replied with narrowed eyes.
"Perhaps, but while you live here you'll abide by my rules," the solar princess replied in kind. Spike snickered as Raven grunted and crossed her forelimbs. To be perfectly honest he found this whole situation quite amusing.
"So where is Raven going to be staying?" the baby dragon asked his 'mother' with a grin. The solar princess tapped her chin in thought for but a moment before she nodded her head.
"Since you and Raven are getting along so well I thought you could share your room with her," Celestia replied. Spike lost his grin instantly and gaped.
"What! But it's my room!" he all but shouted. Celestia nodded her head, then looked at Spike with a pointed stare.
"Indeed it is, however there is more than enough room for Raven to stay there as well," the solar mare stated. Raven snorted and shot the princess a withering stare.
"Some of us like our privacy," Raven noted flatly.
"Yeah!" Spike obviously agreed.
"Too bad," Celestia replied. "You need to learn to get used to being around other ponies," the solar mare stated while looking to Raven, "and you need to learn how to share," she stated with a glance to Spike. Both filly and drake frowned as Celestia opened the door to 'their' room and trotted inside. Raven instantly took note that a four poster bed and new nightstand had been brought into the room. If Spike noticed he didn't say anything, merely frowned deeply while Celestia deposited him onto his basket bed. "Now if you're both done arguing," the solar alicorn began while depositing Raven onto the bed, "good night," she said with a motherly smile. With that and a kiss to Spike's forehead she turned and trotted out of the room and closed the door behind her.
For a moment, all was silent, both pony and dragon merely sat where the princess had placed them. "I don't like this," Spike stated in the darkness. Raven rolled her eyes and pulled her cloak off before sending it to her nightstand. While she could try to defy Celestia, she wasn't in the mood to get dragged back to this room. 'I just know I'm really going to regret agreeing to all this, and this whole 'daughter' thing isn't helping either,' the moody pony noted to herself.
"I'm not too happy about it myself," the filly replied while removing her belt to put it away as well.
"I'm losing my room," the dragon reminded. Raven rolled her eyes and removed the first of her sleeves.
"No, you're being told to share it, big difference," the pallor grey filly replied in kind. She removed the next of her sleeves and put it away with the first.
"Not really, you'll want to change everything," Spike grumbled irritably. Raven frowned and removed her next sleeve, though wondered if you called it a sleeve seeing as it was on her leg. 'Sock maybe?' she considered before shaking her head.
"No I won't, I'll only be sleeping in here," the filly replied flatly. Truth be told she had no interest in personal possessions. So long as she had something to read and a quiet place to meditate she was fine. The library would probably be where she spent the bulk of her time, not only for the books but because with how quiet it was she could meditate in peace as well. If not there she could also go to the garden she'd heard about for her meditations.
"How do I know that?" Spike grumbled. Raven twitched her ears as she heard shuffling and assumed the baby dragon was getting into bed as well. She had only just finished removing her last sleeve and put it away on her nightstand with the rest.
"Because I promise not to do anything to your room," the pallor grey filly replied as she slipped into the bed. "Celestia on the other hand, she kind of owns this place," the filly added.
"Oh right, I forgot about that," Spike admitted. He'd never considered the fact Celestia technically owned the whole mountain, not to mention the palace.
"I'm not surprised, in any case let's just agree that we both dislike this situation, suck it up, and go to bed," the pallor grey filly grumbled as she slipped under her covers. It was a bit difficult to do so with her new body, but she eventually managed to get somewhat comfortable.
"Okay," Spike replied with a tired yawn. Soon he was softly snoring and Raven sighed, closed her eyes, and waited to slip into the land of dreams as well...
Raven was an early riser most days, often getting up alongside the rising sun. She did so because when she lived on Azarath she would often be woken up early to begin her lessons with Azar. The ancient sorceress was nothing if not overly punctual and when she wanted you up by the crack of dawn, you were up by the crack of dawn or she dragged you out of bed. Raven couldn't count how often she'd been dragged out of bed by the older woman, but she knew that it was a steep number.
Still, the habit was ingrained and she kept to it zealously.
She blinked her amethyst eyes open as the first rays of morning light touched her flesh. It glinted off of the gold and jewels scattered about the room. She idly yawned and sat up with a frown. She had had a bit of trouble sleeping. The new bed was the problem, back on Azarath she'd lived with monks. The monks hadn't been the kind who had soft comfortable beds as a priority. That in mind she'd never slept on a bed as soft as the one she'd been in. While it might've been nice for others, she found it uncomfortable.
She was in a new place on an unfamiliar bed though, so of course it was expected that she would be mildly uncomfortable at first. She mentally reasoned that if she stayed long enough she wouldn't even know the difference. But she didn't plan on staying in 'Equestria' long enough, at least not if she had anything to do with it. With a shake of her head Raven rolled out of bed, literally, and fell to the ground with a yelp. She sat up abruptly and glared down at her changed body in irritation.
While she'd mastered walking about, to some extent with the aid of a bit of levitation when needed, it seemed other movements weren't so easily mastered. She blew a breath up her forehead and then got back to her hooves. She shook the covers off of her hind leg and idly picked up her belt and leg 'sleeves' from her bedside table with her magic. She slipped the sleeves on and the belt around her lower barrel, then tied the tassels at her flank loose enough to be comfortable, while still tight enough that it wouldn't fall off.
That finished Raven walked... err... trotted to the center of the room. She sat down and then frowned. 'I can't cross my legs,' she noted to herself. Her eyebrow twitched and she exhaled a breath through her nose. 'Living like this is going to be annoying,' she grumbled to herself irritably. With a wave of her hoof her mirror was brought to her and placed onto the ground. Her reflection greeted her in its depths and she sighed. She got into as comfortable a position as she could and closed her eyes.
She blanked her mind completely, ignored all outward distractions and focused inwards. She inhaled through her nose, then exhaled the breath from her mouth. She repeated this process several times as she set about to control her breathing. The reflection within the mirror changed to a creature with crimson skin, black hair, and four glowing yellow eyes. She didn't see it but she knew it was there all the same. She concentrated on banishing it from the mirror, and hopefully from her mind... for the moment at least.
The sad fact was that the creature was a part of her, a part she despised with every fiber of her being, but still part of her. It was for this fact that the creature would, inevitably, reform in the depths of her mind and she'd have to banish it once again. When she'd been little she'd hoped, desperately hoped, that she could be rid of it someday. However Azar had dashed that hope when she told her that it would be a constant struggle to contain the creature within her mind, likely for as long as she lived. Needless to say, she wasn't particularly happy to know that she'd be in a constant power struggle with another part of herself...
"Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos," she whispered then lightly exhaled. Her body was surrounded by an ebony aura which twitched and writhed around her. "Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos," she whispered then exhaled through her nose. The shadows around the room grew darker and almost seemed to reach out for the 'filly' alicorn. "Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos," she continued in a mantra with another soft exhale of breath. Her body started to float upwards without the use of her wings, rising roughly a foot off of the ground.
"Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos," she continued to whisper and exhaled soon after. She idly bobbed in the air as she continued to chant her mantra, eyes closed and mind cleared. "Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos," he mantra continued followed by an exhale of breath. The eerie ebony aura faded slowly, soon it vanished and the shadows waned around her. "Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos," once more the words were spoken and the alicorn exhaled. As she did the 'bobbing' she did ceased and she hovered in the air gently.
As she did, the creature in the mirror shifted, now mirroring her exactly as if it had always been her within its depths and not something else instead. She went silent as she finished, a sense of calm and quiet wrapped around the 'filly' alicorn. Her breathes were soft and measured, her eyes closed. The ever warring factions that made up her emotions were stilled and her mind was left silent and tranquil. She felt completely at peace, there was nothing to...
"Morning Sis," Spike yawned in greeting. Raven briefly twitched and opened an amethyst eye to glance at the baby dragon as he stretched his arms into the air. The eye was then closed and Raven's only acknowledgement was a brief hum. Spike however yawned and then took notice of the 'filly' as she hovered in the air. Spike briefly blinked and then padded to the end of his bed to stare at the 'filly' as she hovered and took note of several things.
One, Raven's horn was completely dormant, so she wasn't using magic. Two, even if she had been her body also lacked the tell-tale luminescence of some-pony using magic. Three, she was hovering steadily and was a foot off of the ground on top of that. Four, her wings were still folded against her sides. And most importantly of all, he had no idea how she was doing that without magic! So being the dignified and cleaver dragon he was he decided he'd ask her in the most subtle way possible.
"What are you doing?" Or just be completely blunt... well, his dragon ancestors would be proud anyways. Raven gave a soft hum as her only answer and continued to hover. "Is it some ancient pony technique passed down by the most ancient masters of the mystic arts?" the tiny dragon questioned. Raven blinked and looked at him strangely. "I saw it in a comic-book," he admitted with a shrug. Raven looked at him with a flat expression, then turned away and closed her eyes once more.
"Are you ignoring me?" he questioned. Raven didn't dignify that with an answer, but yes, yes she was. "C'mon what are you doing?" Spike pleaded as he hopped from his bed and pulled on her hind hoof. Or she was really trying to ignore him anyways. "Is it like an Alicorn thing or something? You can tell me, if it's a secret I'll totally keep it!" the purple menace declared. Raven snorted and continued to try to ignore him. However, let it never be said that a baby dragon likes to be ignored...
"C'mon!" he cried as he climbed onto her back and leaned over her head to stare at her. She opened her eyes to glare at the baby dragon who grinned and waved at her while upside down. "Hi," he offered. She felt her brow twitch and inhaled a deep breath to calm her emotions before something bad happened. She wasn't sure how durable a dragon was, or how magically resistant for that matter, but her particular brand of power was likely a lot more than he could handle.
"Get off," she growled. Spike merely crossed his arms.
"Not until you tell me what you're doing, and how you're floating without using magic," he replied. 'Are all the creatures of this world this annoying? Or is he just a special case?' Raven wondered to herself. She then narrowed her eyes and Spike yelped as an ebony aura yanked him from the 'Filly' alicorn's head. Unfortunately he grabbed her ears and she yelped as she was pulled down to the floor by his weight as she dropped him. She glared at the dragon when she landed and he smiled sheepishly.
"Uh, oops." Raven narrowed her eyes and then vanished in a flash of black only to reappear over her bed, where she silently pulled her cloak from its place and wrapped it around her body.
"Someone's coming," she intoned just as the door opened. In trotted Celestia, who paused at the sight of Spike on the ground and raised a brow in question.
"Did something," she began only for Raven to cut her off.
"He decided to pester me with questions while I was meditating," she grumbled. Celestia frowned and looked at Raven sternly.
"That's no reason to throw him," she remarked bluntly. Raven rolled her eyes.
"I didn't, I was sitting there and I pulled him off my head, then dropped him," she stated. Celestia raised a brow and then looked to Spike.
"What?" he asked with a shrug, "She wouldn't tell me why she could float without magic," he stated with a nod. Celestia stared at Spike for a moment and then brought a hoof to her face.
"Why did you think pestering her would make her tell you?" she questioned. She had a theory on why he thought that might work, but she really hoped she was...
"It works on Blue Blood," he replied. Celestia groaned and then brought a hoof to her face. 'Of course it does, there's a reason I don't tell him state secrets,' she thought to herself. Blue was a good pony, but he was a bit... well, she couldn't think of a good word for it. He was insanely loyal and loving to his family, but he had a certain level of disdain to other ponies, especially if he thought they meant him or his family ill-will of some kind.
'There's also a reason he's still a bachelor at his age,' she thought with a shake of her head. Someday she really needed to sit Blue down and try to find out what he thought he accomplished with his antics. if it was driving off gold-diggers, well she could understand that, if he just hated 'peasants' then she needed to correct his attitude, if it was something else, well, she'd decide what to do when the time came but until then she had a dragon to correct.
"Spike, no pony likes it when you annoy them," she told him flatly.
"Oh I know that," he replied dismissively, "I just really wanted to know what she was doing," he stated with a nod. Celestia felt the makings of a migraine start to form. 'Ugh, he's taking too much after Blue,' she internally decided. That meant he was spending less time with the stallion. Even if she had to send Blue on a diplomatic mission all the way to Neighpon again! 'Although he seems to like going to Neighpon for some reason. Not to mention he gives Spike those comic books from over there,' Celestia noted to herself.
"Spike, annoying ponies won't get you what you want," Celestia stated. Spike just rolled his eyes.
"Well what else should I have done? She wouldn't tell me even when I asked her," he grumbled. Celestia glanced at Raven for an explanation and the 'filly' snorted.
"I was meditating, which requires absolute concentration," she stated flatly, "he was being annoying," she remarked. Celestia frowned.
"So then you tried to ignore him," she guessed.
"Eeyep," Raven bluntly responded. Celestia resisted the urge to face-hoof. 'I have the feeling these two will actually manage to give me gray hairs,' she thought to herself. She then shook off such thoughts and looked at Raven sternly.
"Raven you don't just ignore some-pony when they ask you a question," she scolded. Raven arched a brow while Spike snickered. The solar princess rounded on the dragon with a frown. "As for you Spike, you don't pester someone when they don't give you what you want," she told him sternly. Spike frowned and crossed his arms with a murmur of annoyance. Celestia just picked him up with her magic and placed him onto her back. "Now then, lets all go have some breakfast," she offered with a brilliant smile.
Raven just frowned in annoyance...
Canterlot Castle was a vast and beautiful structure. Though if you asked Raven she'd say it was a bit too extravagant. Then again, she'd been raised by monks, so it was to be expected she didn't see the point in such things. Not to say Aazarath wasn't a beautiful place, it was a literal golden city after all, but that the way the palace was built seemed... well, too big really. The halls were monstrously wide open and their seemed to be doorways or windows everywhere you looked. It was a bit strange in Raven's opinion.
Well, at least till she got a bead on Celestia's emotions that is.
The older alicorn had incredible control over her emotions for the most part. She kept a calm and cool facade on at most times, though Raven could cheat with her empathic abilities and pick up on things that others likely wouldn't. On their trip through the palace the alicorn 'filly' had noted how Celestia was more uncomfortable in enclosed spaces. Mostly it was when she was in Spike's room, but she'd noticed it when they passed through a few small corridors as well.
Raven had concentrated her empathy on the older Alicorns emotions when she noticed it and then realized that she was likely mildly claustrophobic. With that in mind all the wide open halls and large rooms actually made more than a little sense. Basically, the palace wasn't built to be extravagant for the sake of extravagance, but because the solar monarch wasn't comfortable in small places. Not to mention at her size any 'wide and open' spaces would have to be very wide and open compared to the much smaller ponies around her.
The ability to sense and feel emotions, typically called Empathy, was a natural ability of hers inherited from her father. Needless to say, that Empathy was her greatest gift, and at times also a curse. She could instantly understand what a pony was feeling. Yet at the same time she drew those emotions within herself, which in turn, made her own emotions wild and unpredictable. It was part of the reason the monks had isolated her, and she had a feeling Celestia wasn't aware of this. She also had a feeling Celestia didn't really agree with the way that the monks had raised her.
Of course that was because she didn't understand how dangerous her powers truly were, and how dangerous losing control was for her. Further, it was very clear to her that 'Ponies' were an extremely extroverted species. Maybe some were more introverted, but the norm appeared to be extroverts. Part of it was likely due to their evolution, if their ancestors were anything like earth-born wild horses anyways, although clearly it had simply become a part of their normal society by this point.
Raven shook such thoughts from her mind as they entered a large room. She instantly knew it was a dining hall, because no mere 'room' was so big, with a long table in the center. She noticed a pair of ponies already seated at the table. One a white unicorn with a blond mane and blue eyes. He had a symbol on his flank that looked like a compass rose and wore a fancy jacket with an odd regal flair to it. 'Why do I feel like I've met him before?' she wondered to herself. She then shook that off as she glanced at the other pony.
The other was also a unicorn, also white, but this time it was a mare with a dark brown mane pulled into a neat bun. She wore a white collar with a red tie hanging from it, a clipboard and quill grasped in her magic as she scratched words onto a piece of paper, with an odd symbol on her flank that resembled an ink-pen and inkwell. 'Something about her,' Raven thought to herself with a frown as she gazed at the odd white pony.
"Ah Blue Blood, Raven, I'm glad to see you both," Celestia stated.
"Good morning auntie," the blond pony, probably Blue Blood, stated tiredly. The other mare mutely nodded her head. Meanwhile Raven glanced at the mare who paused. Celestia looked from Raven to the white mare and then giggled behind her hoof.
"Oh dear, that might get confusing," she admitted then cleared her throat, "Raven," she said with a look to the cloaked 'filly' with a smile, "Meet my most trusted royal aide, also Raven," she stated with a smile as she waved a hoof to the white mare. The white mare and 'filly' alicorn turned from Celestia and stared at one another. A beat passed before 'Raven' cleared her throat.
"If it helps ma'am," she began, and Raven noticed she had a slight accent, "My parents always called me 'Pen' when I was little," she admitted.
"Because your sister was Inkwell," Celestia guessed. Raven, err, 'Pen' nodded her head with a smirk.
"So how often do two ponies have the same name?" Raven questioned. Celestia tilted her head and hummed in thought.
"Not very often," she admitted, "typically ponies have a difference or two, like if two mares were named 'Starlight', one of them would likely have a second name added to it," she replied. Raven blinked and then frowned.
"Did you mention 'Starlight' because of the pony I met yesterday?" she questioned. Celestia neither confirmed nor denied and was instead saved by Blue Blood.
"Ah, my dear cousin," the stallion declared as he hopped from his seat and approached her. "I am Prince Blue Blood," he stated with a bow, "it is a pleasure to finally meet you," he declared with a smile. The 'filly' in question arched a brow and glanced at Celestia. The solar alicorn smiled patiently.
"Blue Blood is another member of the family, though in his case through adoption," she explained. Raven made an 'oh' with her mouth and then turned back to the stallion.
"Hi," she stated crisply. She then hovered passed the stallion to sit at the table. Blue Blood blinked and then scratched at his head.
"Is she short with every pony?" he asked his aunt. Spike popped up from her back instead.
"Pretty much, yeah," he stated with a nod of his head. Celestia sighed in response.
"It certainly appears so," she replied with a shake of her head. "Although granted she is an empath so being around others isn't," she paused to consider her words, "Well, it isn't fun for her," she finished. Blueblood looked to the filly and then hummed.
"Empathy, so she can feel emotions then?" he questioned. Celestia nodded her head. "Ah, that will be most useful in keeping her safe. Even if people can hide their thoughts, their emotions are much harder to hide," the stallion noted with a nod of his head. "That will be especially helpful when she has to meet with the other nobles or even the press," he remarked candidly. He then made his way back to his seat while Celestia arched a brow and blinked owlishly.
'Is blue always this perceptive? Or is it just when it will surprise me most?' she wondered to herself. She then shook such thoughts from her mind and walked to her place at the table beside of 'Pen'. She place Spike in the other seat beside her while Pen showed her her pad and began to detail her day for her. At the same Time Raven glanced at Blueblood and tilted her head with a curious frown.
"So what exactly do you do?" she asked the blond pony. Blueblood smiled and puffed out his chest.
"I am a diplomatic envoy to the nations outside of Equestria," he replied. Raven arched a brow.
"Forgive me for being blunt," she began, "but you don't look it," she stated. Blueblood inclined his head.
"You're not the first to say that," he admitted, "more than a few ponies seem to think I like to stay at home or work in politics," he remarked with a frown. He then glanced around and stage whispered to Raven, "To be honest I find politics to be far too cutthroat," he remarked. Raven smirked in response.
"I personally hate politicians, so that's a point in your favor," she quipped. However Blueblood looked at her strangely.
"Why do you hate politicians?" he questioned. Raven's eye twitched in response. Back when she was just baby, a politician in Azarath had felt she needed to die to prevent Trigon from rising to power. The head monk at the time, aside from Azar herself, had been Master Metrion who had been against it saying it was not the ways of peace. Eventually Azar had mediated and taken her mother as a student, yet still, the politician didn't let up, believing his way to be the only way to truly protect Azarath from the eventual rise of Trigon.
In the end he had stolen her from her mother and then whisked her away so he could 'dispose of' her so that 'Azarath could be safe'. Her mother had pursued him, but had been unable to protect her. The only reason he'd failed to kill her was because her 'father' had plans for her and had had enough of a link to the world through her to disintegrate the man. Even so, Raven had been further feared for it, many in Azarath afraid that Trigon would use her to harm them if they so much as talked to her.
Well, there was that and how the politicians had made it there mission to make her life as miserable as possible...
The blue cloaked 'filly' felt her brow twitch and her teeth start to grind. As they did they slowly started to sharpen and she sucked in a breath through her nose. 'Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos, Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos,' she thought in a calming mantra, eyes closed as she calmed herself down. While she had managed to calm herself down, that didn't mean she wasn't still very annoyed. Finally, she looked back to Blueblood with a deep frown.
"No comment," she grumbled irritably. The unicorn stallion raised a brow and looked to Celestia for an explanation. However the solar mare was engrossed in whatever it was that 'Pen' was telling her. With a sigh, Blueblood turned back to the table and shifted uncomfortably for a moment. "So what's for breakfast?" Raven suddenly questioned to break the awkward silence. Bluedblood offered the 'filly' a grateful smile and then hummed thoughtfully.
"To be honest, auntie likes it when the chef's surprise us so it could be anything," he admitted. Raven arched a brow in response. As if waiting for their cue, the chefs approached with a set of covered trays. Raven frowned slightly in distaste at the sight of the silverware, literal silverware in this case. Being raised by monks had its advantages in her opinion. One of the many, she didn't have much of a desire for wealth or riches, and instead saw things like gold or silver as shiny rocks and metal. Pretty, but pointless...
Clearly Celestia didn't share the same view.
She watched as the chefs, or servers or whatever they were, placed the trays in front of the assembled ponies. Blueblood had a strange dish that looked, oddly, like soup of all things. 'Why soup?' she briefly wondered then watched as a salad was placed down in front of 'Pen' who turned from her clipboard to eat. Celestia smiled as her own breakfast was placed before her, some kind of flat pastry she believed, while another salad was placed in front of Spike.
"Hey!" the baby dragon complained. However a sharp look from Celestia silenced him.
"Your getting pudgy Spike, no gems or sweets till you lose the extra weight," she stated flatly. Raven arched a brow as she glanced at the baby dragon out of the corner of her eye. 'Is he really pudgy or is she just seeing things?' the purple haired maiden wondered to herself then blinked as a tray was set down in front of her. She then arched a brow as the lid was removed to show a plate of flat pastry like Celestia had, only in a perfect circle and with a square pattern in them.
"Y'all like waffles right?" the chef, server?, behind her questioned. Raven glanced at him with a lidded expression.
"More than life itself," she deadpanned. The pony clearly didn't notice her sarcasm as he bowed to Celestia then trotted off. The solar alicorn herself giggled behind her hoof. It seemed she'd been right, her little ponies weren't ready to deal with a pony like Raven quite yet. All that sarcasm just went over their heads with her monotone drawl. 'I really should tell Raven she shouldn't use so much sarcasm,' the alicorn admitted to herself. However she then paused as Raven took a bite of the waffles.
"Huh... seems like I really do like waffles," she remarked blankly. Celestia resisted the urge to face fault and stared at the 'filly' as she shrugged and continued to eat her waffles. Blueblood glanced at the 'filly' curiously as he continued to eat his soup. He had to wonder how a filly, especially Celestia's daughter, had never had waffles before. Celestia herself loved to have pastries for breakfast, whenever she could get away with it that is. Her chefs were thankfully wise enough not to let that be a daily thing.
"You've never had waffles before?" Blueblood questioned as he took slow bites of his soup. Raven shrugged.
"I lived with monks," she responded. Blueblood made an oh with his mouth and then shrugged. That explained a lot in his opinion, why he'd never seen or heard of her for example.
"Where?" Spike questioned curiously. Raven glanced at him and smirked.
"Not in Equestria," she remarked dryly. Spike pouted and crossed his stubby arms.
"So where then?" he questioned. However Celestia fixed him with a look.
"Spike, need I remind you of our earlier conversation?" the solar mare questioned. Blueblood raised a brow and looked to the dragon curiously. 'What happened earlier?' he wondered to himself. However Spike just winced and started to mutter under his breath. He picked at his salad while Raven returned to her now half eaten waffles. "You know those are really good with some syrup," Celestia casually offered. Raven glanced at the pale-pink pony out of the corner of her eye.
"What syrup?" she questioned. She then blinked as a bottle of some brown substance was placed before her. "Ah," she remarked and then poured a little on her next bite of waffle to try it. She then paused and hummed. 'Way too sweet,' she thought and pushed the syrup away. "Too sweet," she stated as she continued to eat her waffles, sans syrup. Spike snickered to himself.
"We sure she's your daughter, mom?" he quipped with a grin. Celestia shot a deadpan stare at the dragon. He chuckled and then turned away to stare at his salad with a frown. Celestia lightly shook her head and regarded Raven with a smile.
"Enjoying your breakfast?" she asked. Raven mutely nodded and then sighed.
"So when are my 'lessons' going to start?" the pale pony questioned.
"What lessons?" Blueblood asked curiously. If it was how to deal with nobles then he could help with that! The best way to deal with them, and gold diggers, was to ignore everything they said! He should know, he'd had to deal with both for decades now.
"Raven has... tenuous control of her magic," Celestia admitted. Raven snorted in response.
"My magic is powered by emotion, the more I feel, the more power I unleash, and being an empath I feel all the emotions of those around me making my own emotions even harder to control," she explained in a deadpan. Blueblood's brows arched in surprise, then he tapped at his chin. After a moment he clopped his hoof on the table and turned to his aunt.
"Isn't dear cousin Cadenza similar?" he remarked, to Raven's surprise, as Celestia nodded with a smile.
"Yes, but her magic only gets stronger with the more love she feels," she reminded, "Raven's magic can be set off by any emotion," the solar mare explained. Raven's eyes narrowed dangerously as she decided to correct Celestia.
"While that is true, in particular are anger, jealousy, greed, and pride," she remarked.
"That seems kind of specific," Spike noted with his head tilted. And was it just him or were those all supposed to be sins? Wrath, Envy, Greed, and Pride to be specific... what? He'd read it in one of the 'Manga' style comic books Blue Blood liked to give him!
"I felt jealous of a few kids I saw with friends once," Raven admitted with a grimace. That had not been a good day, the kids in question had recovered, but it hadn't been pretty... she'd also been barred from going outside when children were present from then on. "On one of my birthdays one of the monks gave me my belt, but another tried to take it away, I didn't react well," Raven admitted. The monk in question had also lost his hand. Raven had vehemently clung to her gift with the zeal of a girl possessed. 'Not one of my better moments,' she admitted to herself. She wasn't sure if it was anger or greed, but she leaned more toward greed.
"My anger is so obvious you'd have to be stupid not to notice when it starts showing up," she stated bluntly. The number of times she had ever been angry she could count on her... hooves, but it still counted. When Azar had died the 'respected council' of Azarath had thought it would be a good idea to have Master Zinthos return to his duty as head of the temple. Normally that'd be great, but it also meant Raven wouldn't see him much... if ever. She had reacted very poorly to that idea.
Thankfully Azar had already made her mother the head of the temple, and the monks wouldn't allow the politicians to have their way.
"What about Pride?" Celestia questioned. That one seemed... strange. She'd never heard of a pony who couldn't be proud of themselves before. Certainly not for fear of their magic going out of control anyways. 'Though that might explain a few things about her,' she admitted to herself. However Celestia noticed a strange expression cross Raven's face at the question. It was somewhere between disgust and self-loathing...
"There's a reason my father named me 'Pride'," she responded softly.
"So wait," Spike mumbled, "then wouldn't your name be 'Proud Raven?" he questioned. Raven's brow twitched and her eyes narrowed.
"No, my name is Raven, just Raven," she all but growled. Blueblood looked at her curiously.
"Personally I wasn't aware you knew your father," he admitted, "what was he like?" he asked. Spike leaned forward, curious of his 'sister's' other parent, he knew their shared 'mother' but he wondered about the girl's sire. However he yelped as Raven's eyes narrowed and flashed a bloody crimson. Then black tendrils of magic seemed to form around her and lash out violently before she took a sudden breath. She then closed her eyes and exhaled through her nose, then looked to Blueblood with a frown.
"He's the devil," she stated bluntly. Blueblood recovered from the sudden, not to mention terrifying fit, and then raised a brow with a low gulp.
"C-come now, s-surely there's no n-need to exaggerate," he said carefully. However Raven just pushed her seat back and walked off.
"I'm done, I'll be in the library if you need me," she stated and vanished into a black disk shaped portal. As she left those present turned to Celestia who shrugged.
"I had very little contact with her sire for a while, he might have left something of an..." she paused to consider her words, "an impression," she finished. Although she'd have to ask about the girl's father herself at a later date. Hopefully after a few lessons on keeping her powers under control. A random surge like that was impressive, but also terrifying. 'To think she's been like this all her life,' the alicorn noted to herself with a frown. She honestly couldn't imagine being so powerful and having no way to control it.
"Raven, cancel my appointments, I think I need to speak with my daughter," she ordered her aide. The white mare didn't question her, instead she nodded and swiftly went off to do as bade. As she did Celestia returned to her pancakes with a frown. 'Now I just need to figure out how I can help Raven... Cadence has the most similar power, but her power is hardly as violent as Raven's clearly is,' she noted to herself. 'When Cadence gets back, I really should have her help with Raven's training,' she decided with a mental nod...
There was a reason Raven liked libraries. They were quiet, they were still, and most often they had no one around. Even on Azarath few willing ventured to the library in the temple. They were all too busy basking in the golden warmth of peace that seemingly poured out of every facet of their world. Azarath was a world of peace and harmony, eerily similar to this equestria if the history book was to be believed. Then again, unlike Azarath, Equestria still had some form of military.
'But ponies are technically a prey species, so with things like Chimeras, Manticores, Dragons, Hydras, and all these other monster's around, I don't blame them for at least keeping some form of military for their protection,' she admitted to herself. Azarath had been a world that preached pacifism to the point of impotency. They would not fight anyone, it was against what they believed in to ever fight or harm another living being, even if someone wanted to take over Azarath or kill their people...
'I agree with Equestria's views a bit more,' Raven admitted to herself. She didn't like the idea of people being hurt, especially if they had the power to protect them. She supposed it was partially due to the stories she used to read when she was little, but a much larger aspect came from the visions she'd seen of her mother's home. A world of true heroes and villains the likes of which she could scarcely believe was really real... she actually wanted to go there someday, maybe after this detour in Equestria she would.
"Something troubles you," came Celestia's voice yet Raven didn't turn around. Instead she focused on the book grasped in her magic. She loved books, they weren't filled with emotions that bounced around in her head. They didn't talk and try to annoy her. They didn't judge her for powers she'd never asked for. Instead, they just let her forget her worries and travel to other worlds, seeing things she wished she could actually see or do. Equestria had books, and she was thankful for that, she just wished she had hands so she could hold them like she used too...
"Raven it's better that you don't ignore me and bottle everything up," the solar alicorn reported. The younger of the two snorted in response and shot a glance back at her.
"You clearly don't know me then," she remarked and turned back to her book. Celestia mentally groaned and then breathed out a sigh and trotted over to the girl. She sat down next to her and saw that she was flipping through a book of the creatures that inhabited Equestria and its neighboring lands. She spotted the one Raven seemed particularly interested in and smiled softly.
"Tirek the Terrible, he was imprisoned in Tartarus ages ago," the pale pink princess remarked. Raven mutely acknowledged that but stared at the picture all the same. It was a red skinned creature, big and burly with studded bracelets, with a long black beard, black fur and centaur style legs, with massive horns, and bright yellow eyes. What interested the filly was how similar he appeared compared to her 'fathers' true form, albeit much smaller and much less imposing... not to mention judging by how he did things, her father would likely eat this moron if they ever met...
"He's still alive then?" Raven questioned without looking away from the picture. Celestia shrugged in response.
"I've never ventured down to Tartarus to check, we leave Cerberus to guard it and he's quite good at what he does," she responded. Raven felt her brow twitch and then turned to stare at the older mare.
"So you're telling me you have a functional gate to the underworld, and you never make sure nothing comes out of it?" she all but demanded. Yet as she did her mind whirled with possible explanations for her presence in Equestria. If she'd somehow been in her fathers realm it was possible it linked to this 'Tartarus' and had been how she wound up in Equestria in the first place. Although... that still wouldn't explain why she'd been a rabbit when she did...
"Technically, we mostly just use Tartarus as something of a prison for beings we cannot contain or reason with," Celestia admitted after a moment of thought. "And as for anything getting out, it's as I said, Cerberus is very good at what he does," she noted with a nod of her head. She also saw Raven flip through the book and stop on an image / description of the three headed beast itself. She gave a hum of acknowledgement and then returned to flipping through the pages of the book curiously.
There was silence between them for a short time, Raven flipped through pages, and Celestia rested beside her until finally Raven sighed and then looked up at the pale pink pony.
"What do you want?" she questioned. Celestia smiled softly in response.
"Among a few other things, to help you of course," she responded. The amethyst eyed pony hummed in response and turned away.
"Why?" she questioned.
"Do I need a reason to want to help some pony?" the solar monarch responded. Raven snorted and narrowed her eyes.
"No one does anything for nothing," she responded bluntly. Celestia's ears folded back and she looked at the smaller alicorn sadly.
"That's a very grim belief," she remarked. Raven rolled her eyes in response.
"You don't deny it though," she reminded. Celestia acknowledged that much and sighed.
"I am somewhat troubled your 'monks' taught you to be so cynical," she murmured and Raven scoffed.
"The monks only taught me a bit of magic and how to keep my emotions in check," she responded bluntly.
"So then this pessimistic worldview wasn't shared by them?" Celestia asked curiously. Raven mutely muttered to herself and then pulled another book her way and started to read through it. It was a book of legends with a golden horse head on the front cover that had grasped her attention the day before. "I am somewhat troubled that you think ignoring everypony will make them go away," the solar alicorn noted and Raven grunted.
"Weren't you the one who told Spike not to pester other ponies?" she grumbled irritably. Celestia sighed at that and then looked at the littler mare with a stern expression.
"Yes, and I also distinctly remember telling you that you can't just ignore ponies," she reminded her. Raven grumbled quietly, her ears folded back and she narrowed her eyes. Celestia sighed at this and unfolded a wing to gently lay it across the smaller alicorn's body. "Raven, given your powers I can understand how wary you are of others, but I can assure you that I only want to help you be a better po... person," the alicorn stated softly. Raven sighed in response and then looked at her with a bored expression.
"Fine, so what's our first lesson?" she questioned. Celestia smiled and then tapped her lower lip with a curious hum.
"I believe we should start with the basics, that way I can properly gauge where you are compared to a normal filly your age," she responded. Raven frowned but nodded her head nonetheless. It was a sound plan, unlike Azar or the monks of Azarath, Celestia hadn't lived with her for years. Being told what abilities she had was different from actually seeing them. So Raven could understand why it was that the older pony would choose that as their first 'listen' together.
"Right," she responded and then hummed. "And where are we going to be doing these lessons of yours?" she questioned. Celestia smiled in response.
"A little known room in the palace," she responded, "it was designed for me to practice spells of my own, but given your power I think it could easily serve as a training room," she explained. Raven slowly nodded her head and then closed the book before her and set it off to the side. She could look through the book later, when she had the time, hopefully it didn't have any nasty legends or prophecies set to occur while she was still in Equestria. Either way she stood and looked to Celestia blandly, while the older alicorn stood and lead her out of the library and into the depths of the castle...
"Oh," she paused as they walked and then the older mare smiled down at her, "and I've suggested that Blue takes you out through Canterlot later," she remarked, "to show you around and get you used to your new surroundings of course," she stated with a nod. Raven blinked at that and then shot a dark look at the older alicorn. 'Of course you did,' she thought sourly, 'cause heaven forbid you not meddle in my life,' she internally grumbled as they continued on through the palace. Somehow Raven had the distinct feeling this would be something of a theme to her 'relationship' with the much older alicorn from now on.
She also had the funny feeling that this was what having a normal mother was like... which was somewhat ironic, and she wasn't sure if she entirely hated it quite yet.
