Magic of the Stars

by CelestialHarmony

Starlight Swirl is a unicorn living in the shadow of her ancestor and namesake Starswirl the Bearded. She's horrible at magic though and a blank flank to boot. Kicked out by her over-bearing parents when she drops out of magical school, Starlight goes on a journey to find her destiny and who she is. On the way, she finds out much more about herself than she could have ever dreamed.

1. Prologue

Prologue

I am a shame to my family. When I was born, my parents named me Starlight Swirl for the great unicorn Starswirl the Bearded, a distant relative on my mother's side.

From the beginning the expectations for me were set very high. My mother used to tell me: "You'll be a great unicorn, too someday. You'll do so many spells and one day you will be the greatest magic user in all Equestria."

My father used to say: "Study hard and you'll be set for life. You're bound to be the best unicorn there ever was."

But I was never the best. I was never great. I wasn't even really good at magic. My brother and sister both were students of Princess Celestia's school for gifted unicorns, but I didn't pass my entrance exam. My parents paid off the examiners to get me in…but it wasn't where I wanted to be.

As a filly, everyone got their cutie marks in magical Kindergarten, but I was left with a blank flank and no clue how to find my mark or my destiny. It certainly wasn't in the pages of the magical history books we read or the practical exercises we did. The years passed and my grades slipped more and more, though I stayed afloat only because of my parents generous donations to the school. Other ponies began to talk though. I was a klutz, terrible at magic and at making friends. I couldn't even handle the simplest spells like teleporting. I was shy, especially of not having a cutie mark yet and the others never let me forget that.

I kept trying though, desperate to please my parents and to be accepted by those around me, even though I knew they were right when they whispered behind my back. I had no right being there…no talents. I was just a regular unicorn with no potential at excelling.

So, I dropped out of school, unable to cope with the more advanced spells that the others were doing and when I told my parents what I had done, that I planned to try other things in search of my talents, they packed my bag and told me that I was no daughter of theirs. I was sent off into the world as a pony with no path and no future.

I started looking for the path to take, where I should go, where I might belong. I hopped on the train with the few bits I had in my bag and that is how I made my way to Ponyville…