Author's Note: This prologue is a written version of a Canon event. It sets the theme and focus for the rest of the story which, I can safely say, is original. There will be several chapters to come.
Shine A Light – Prologue
"Excuse me, pardon me, sorry!"
The tiny voice came from an equally tiny filly, gently pushing her way to the front of a crowd in Canterlot, apologising profusely while doing so. Reaching her goal, Twilight Sparkle stood amongst those at the front and looked up with an expression of pure awe and adoration as her idol Princess Celestia trotted slowly up the altar.
While the little foal watched, the Princess reared herself on her hindlegs and spread her wings, pushing herself into the sky. As she rose higher and higher in front of the traditional effigy of the sun, she tilted her head back, moving in line with the centre. There, she spread her wings to the fullest and the entire crowd was bathed in the bright golden-white light of the sun that their magnificent princess had just raised. Gasps rippled across the audience before they all broke into applause and cheers, stamping their hooves on the ground in delight.
For the rest of the crowd, this was a beautiful event of watching their Alicorn princess raise the sun, but for Twilight Sparkle, it was the start of her journey into the learning of magic.
-o-
"Well, Miss Sparkle?"
The harsh, upper-class voice pierced through the young filly's ears like a needle through fabric. It made her flinch as she stared at the spotted purple dragon egg. Legs trembling, she approached the egg and focused on it. By Celestia, what an advanced entrance exam! She had struggled with turning the page of a simple book so the mere idea of hatching a dragon egg was frightening. All those nights of staying up and reading book after book on magic seemed pointless and useless now! Biting her lip hard enough that it hurt, Twilight tilted her head forwards and scrunched up her eyes. A faint glow of a light materialised at the tip of her horn but all that happened were a few pathetic sparks and not much else.
"We don't have all day!" came the sharp voice again.
Frantic, the young filly started focusing harder, desperately willing her horn to do more than sparkle and sputter like an elderly firefly. The moment she tried harder, the light went out. Throwing herself into a panic, she started putting herself into different positions around the egg, trying to find some way of getting the magic to work. She even rose up on her hind hooves and waved her front legs madly at the egg, hoping that it would cause some kind of reaction, but to no avail. Defeated, she backed away and lowered her head, fighting the urge to burst into tears. As the uncaring eyes of the four judges looked down, quills moving back and forth – scribbling what was, undoubtedly, harsh notes, she spoke in a voice filled with shame.
"I'm… sorry for wasting your time."
Before she could shuffle back to her parents, who looked devastated at how miserable their daughter was, a sudden explosion in the distance made her jump. Staring out the window, she saw a colossal circular wave of colours erupting from somewhere in the sky, the brilliant display of colours sweeping the air majestically. Entranced, she stared at it for a few seconds before the impossible happened: her horn started to glow. But it didn't just glow, it shone with an effulgent light that dazzled even her. Her body was suddenly lifted a little into the air, surrounded by a blazing purple aura. A bolt of energy fired away at the egg, splitting it open and letting the new-born purple and green dragon flop onto the hay.
Before the judges were allowed to express their amazement and applause, they were struck by another offshoot, causing them to float into the air as well at various uncomfortable angles. Boom, a third shot hit her parents, turning them both into cacti. Another strike hit the baby dragon, forcing him to age to a colossal adult in a matter of seconds. His head burst through the roof, the surprise making him freeze up and look around Canterlot in shock while his body crackled with purple electricity. Panicking, Twilight began to scream in fright, looking around at all that was happening. Before anything else happened, however, a hoof was placed on her shoulder. A gentle hoof. Looking up, she gazed into the eyes of Princess Celestia herself, looking down at her with an expression, not of anger or disgust, but of warmth and kindness. Feeling herself instantly calm down, the inadvertent spells reversed: her parents returned to normal, the judges dropped to the ground and the dragon became a baby once more, promptly starting to suck on the tip of his tail like a pacifier.
"Twilight Sparkle.." began Princess Celestia, speaking in that powerful, yet still calming voice. Twilight hung her head and sobbed.
"I'm so sorry! I didn't me-" she half-wailed but the Princess cut across her.
"You have a very special gift! I don't think I've ever come across a Unicorn with your raw abilities!"
"Huh?" interjected the young filly.
"But you need to learn to tame these abilities through focused study."
"Huh?!"
"Twilight Sparkle, I would like to make you my own personal protégé here at the school!"
"HUH?!"
"Well?"
The Princess gazed eagerly down at the dumbfounded Twilight. Mouth agape, she looked over at her parents who were nodding frantically and looking ecstatic.
"Yeeeees!" squealed the little filly, throwing herself up in the air.
"One other thing, Twilight." Celestia held up a hoof, sounding amused. Twilight dropped to the floor in a heap, looking worried. The Princess trotted forwards and pointed to the little foal's flank. Twilight looked. There, shining brightly on her flank was a bright pink star surrounded by little white stars.
"My Cutie Mark!" she squealed again, throwing herself up and bouncing around in circles around her new mentor, repeatedly yelling "Yes yes yes!" at the top of her lungs. In her mind, she thought to herself One day, I will be as powerful as you, my Princess. I'll make you proud of me.