Author's Note:

This story is a collaboration with one of my best friends, Ashy. Unfortunately, she does not have an account here on FF, but she was okay with me sharing our project on here for all of you.

Buckle up guys! We're in for a long and emotional ride.

"Astral! Come on down, honey!"

Waking up, I stretched out my hooves, cracking them a bit. I looked over towards the clock and saw that it read "08:03 A.M." I yawned slightly again and then lifted myself out of bed.

"Just a minute, Mom!"

I walked towards the full-length mirror propped against the corner of my room, kicking a few astrology books out the way. I stared at the butter yellow unicorn that was in front of me for a few seconds, taking notice as to how exhausted she looked.

"That's the last time I stay up late reading on a school night." I chuckled, knowing that it certainly wasn't going to be the last time.

Lighting up my horn, I grabbed my brush from across the room and brought it closer towards me, gently brushing out the knots that I had acquired in my few hours of sleep. Once I was satisfied, I put the brush down and lifted my signature dark purple beanie in my aura, placing it on top of my head.

Taking one last look at my appearance, I walked out of the room and down the stairs into the kitchen. Once I stepped into the kitchen, I turned to my mother, her pastel yellow mane tied into a messy bun, and smiled happily at her.

My mother is my best friend. Ever since my father left us, I decided to become closer to my mom. She never deserved to be left alone like that, so I took it upon myself to get closer to my mom and keep her company. Mom has always been by my side and pushed me towards pursuing my education and studies and I feel that if it weren't for her, I don't think I could have gotten stronger with my magic; I owe her a lot.

Forgive me for forgetting this, but my name is Astral Flare. I've been studying at the local academy for a few years now and mainly stay at home, studying and helping my mother with a few of her things. My mom is a lavender unicorn by the name of Aurora Flare. Her magic was starting to deteriorate slightly, but it's mostly from older age. I've read in a book once that magic starts becoming harder for unicorns like ourselves as we progress onward in our lives.

"I made you your favorite, sweetie." Mom told me. "Blueberry pancakes and a cup of orange juice."

I smiled more. "Thank you, Mom. It looks really good!" Using my magic, I cut off a piece of the pancakes and took a bite of it. "Scratch that, they're extremely good, Mom."

"Thank you, sweetie." Mom replied.

"You know just what to do to make things taste great." I giggled, taking another bite out of the pancakes.

Mom sat down next to me at the table and started eating her pancakes as well. The table was located just to the opposite of the window, giving us a beautiful view of the town. We lived in Whineysota and there was some snow on the ground from yesterday's passing flurries. I loved the snow very much and always took comfort when I saw some.

I finished up my pancakes and helped Mom clean the dishes and the table before setting off for my classes for the day. I grabbed my books and placed them in my saddlebag, leaving the house with my snow boots on my hooves and my jacket on my back. Turning around, I smiled at Mom and waved goodbye.

"Don't stay out too late, Astral." Mom told me.

"I won't, Mom." I answered, giggling just a bit. "Love you!"

"Love you, too!" Mom responded.

Exiting the house, I walked through the snow and towards the schoolhouse. It was the largest building in the town and typically was one of the quietest places in the town, in terms of ponies that visit it per day. I spend a lot of time at the library in the school and focus on my studies there since my room back home can't really hold so many books. I usually take whichever books focus on my studies for the day. Today's focus were the astrological signs and constellations in the night sky.

The snow itself wasn't particularly deep – there was about two inches of snow on the ground presently – but it was enough to keep ponies on the inside today. Snow is such a fascination to me. I'd sometimes imagine what it would be like to be a little snowflake falling down gently from the sky and landing on the ground on top of other snowflakes that were as soft as you were.

As I got closer to the schoolhouse, I saw a few other ponies walking inside. I saw them talking and laughing with each other, but really paid no attention to that. Friendship was something that was very common in the town, but honestly, the only friend I'll ever need is my mother. She gets me and understands me so well, I don't think anypony else could ever come close to that kind of relationship. Besides, I've tried friendship before, but it's not for me. The only time I've given it a try, my so-called "friends" ended up abandoning me when they found somepony they thought was cooler. That kind of separation hurt me very much, almost the same as when Father left Mom and I, and I vowed that I'd never feel that kind of pain again.

Entering the school, I made my way towards the classroom and took my seat towards the back of the room. I placed my books by my side and waited for my teacher, Aroofa Minda, to arrive. She was a very knowledgeable pony that traveled all around Equestria, spending a lot of time in her hometown of Baltimare. After a couple of minutes of waiting, the school bell had rung and Aroofa came inside from the hallway. She placed a few things down on her desk and turned her attention to us all.

"Good morning, class." She smiled. "Glad to see that a lot of you made it today, despite the snow on the ground. Today, we'll be learning mostly about the constellations and, if time permits, some of the astrological signs as well."

I saw somepony raise their hoof in the air. "Ms. Minda, about how many stars are in the sky?"

"Well," Aroofa replied, "there are an infinite amount of stars out in the universe, many of which are very far away from us. Stars, like us ponies, go through life cycles of their own as well. They are born through an explosion, age like us, change colors throughout their lives, and, when they get close to the end of their lifecycle, they either explode and form newer stars, or collapse on themselves and form a black hole in space. A lot of stars usually explode and form newer stars and usually never collapse within themselves. It does happen, yes, but it is very rare and nearly always too far away to affect Equestria and the world."

I took down a lot of notes and focused on everything that Aroofa told us. My cutie mark was a rainbow colored moon and focusing on something that revolved around my special talent was amazing, it allowed me to show off when we were to be tested eventually. Aroofa smiled, then turned to me and called on me.

"Astral," she said, "you're a pony that is fascinated with the stars and the night sky. Would you care to share with us some of your knowledge?"

I blushed, then shook my head nervously. "N-no, ma'am."

"Are you sure?" Aroofa asked me. "I'm sure the knowledge you have will be more than suffice to the other ponies."

I shook my head again. "N-no thank you."

Aroofa nodded. "Okay then, Astral. No worries."

I felt a little embarrassed and continued taking notes on the subject. I waited for the class to end, which allowed us to have a little free time before the afternoon classes began. It felt like an eternity, but when the bells rang again, I packed my things up quickly and made my way towards the library the school had inside.

Approaching the library, I saw one of the librarians, an orange pegasus, entering the room. Her name was Cathral Alog, but I usually call her Cat Alog, since she knows where everything is in the library. She knew me well since I came here a lot during the free period and usually smiled when I walked through the doors.

"Good morning, Astral." Cat beamed. "I have the newest edition of Stars: What We Know right here for you."

"Thank you, Cat." I replied. I took control of the book with my magic and felt giddy. "Ooh, this is larger than the last edition!"

"Don't study too hard now," Cat chuckled, "you hear?"

"Thanks again, Cat." I told her, grabbing a few more books before taking a seat in the corner of the library and studying some more.

I studied everything about the unknowns of space for the period that we were allotted. Discovering new planets and moons and asteroids in this universe and in neighboring universes was fascinating. I loved learning about the cosmos and celestial bodies that were out there in space.

The book that Cat gave me revealed that there was a new planet that was discovered between this planet and Mares called Ceres and that there was a quasar that was discovered on the outermost part of the universe. The book had very important and historic information that really made the mind think about how small we really are in our lives when compared to how gigantic the universe and galaxies really are.

When I completed the book, I closed it up and set it to the side, grabbing another book with my magic. This book, entitled Supernovas, Red Giants, and Dwarfs, focused on stars in the different periods of their lives. The ponies that wrote the book focused on a supernova that was coded as SN1987A, a red giant that was named Alpha Taurus, and a white dwarf named Sirius P, with the "P" standing for "pony," according to the authors. They focused on each of their differences and how far away they all were from us.

Reading up on the three stars, I giggled to myself a few times, seeing how some of the information was so specific that regular ponies would not be able to understand some of it. I continued reading, getting startled by the ringing bell. I looked over towards the clock on the wall and was astonished to see that it said "01:30 P.M." already. Time flew by today. Putting all the books back in their respective places, I packed up everything and made my way back towards the classroom, ready for the short afternoon session before we could go back home.

The class continued discussing about certain constellations that were in the sky during the night, such as the "Plough," the "Lodestar," and "Poneareis." Aroofa pointed out where each star was located in the sky and told us to study up on them, since there would be a test on the constellations in a couple of days, on Friday.

When the afternoon bell rang, I packed my things up and started heading on home for the day. I was excited to continue my studies about the galaxy, deciding to focus on the different types of nebulas there were out there.

Outside, some more snow started to fall from the sky, prompting me to rush home. It was not wise to be outside while it was snowing because up here, some flurries could turn into a blizzard in a very short amount of time. Once I reached home, I said hello to Mom, then made my way upstairs to continue my studying for the evening. I smiled, knowing that everything was perfect right now.

Looking out of the window, I saw that the snow had started to pick up a bit. The wind outside was getting fiercer and stronger, blowing over snow drifts from the roofs to the paths and streets in the town. I raised my eyebrows as I witnessed the snow fall more rapidly now.

"Sweetie," I heard Mom calling from downstairs, "can you come downstairs for a second, please?"

Reluctantly, I closed the books I was reading and exited my room, making my way downstairs. The only light was coming from the living room, where Mom just so happened to be. She was sitting on the couch and motioned for me to sit down next to her. I obliged to the request and took a seat next to her, smiling at her in the process.

"You know," Mom began, "your school called earlier."

That made me blush slightly. "Y-yeah?"

"The storm is supposed to have a lot of snow accumulation overnight." She said. "The school called to let you know that you won't have school tomorrow."

I sighed out of relief. "Thank Celestia, a snow day."

Mom giggled softly. "You know, your studies are very important."

"I know, Mom." I responded.

"You know what else I think is important?" She asked me.

I tilted my head, slightly confused. "No, what?"

"Friendship." Mom told me.

I scoffed. "You're my best friend, Mom. I don't need anypony else."

I saw Mom rub the back of her neck with her hoof. "Well, yes, and while I appreciate you being there for me, just like I;ll be there for you, what will you do when you get older and live on your own one day?"

I shrugged. "I don't know, but I know that that day probably won't ever come."

Resting myself against Mom's side, I smiled as I watched the snow fall out from the window, ready to continue my studies in the morning.

I had no idea that everything was about to change.