My name is Twilight Sparkle.
From a young age, I was always gifted in magic of all kinds. Levitation, teleportation. You name it, I could do it, and I loved it with a burning passion. A passion as bright and as hot as the sun. I'd practice it every time I could; I'd stau up late until my mother had to force me into bed, and the first thing I'd do when I woke up in the morning was practice, practice, practice, until my family would wake hours later. It came as a surprise to no one when I earned my cutie mark in magic by hatching a dragons egg; a beautiful, purple patch surrounded in leopard patterns of a simular colors, and the focus of it all a bright purple sparkle with six smaller sparkles surrounding it.
It wasn't long after that when somepony else took a particular notice of my skill.
Grey of fur and blue of mane, his cutie mark three spiralling swirls that made the figure of a clover, with a star in the center leading down into the darker stem. A mark of magic, like mine, but so much more powerful and beloning to one of the most powerful ponies in our land.
Starswirl the Bearded grew up with my father, and as a young filly he would oftentimes visit my family for dinner; he didn't have a family of his own, his parents long dead, no siblings to be found. No soulmate or children with which to share his fortune, so we made him a part of our family instead. When I got my mark, he was perhaps even more extactic than me, and immediately the coversations began. Hushed words in the dark, or snippits of coversation that didn't make sense to me at the time but now are as clear as the Crystal Empire. The whispers came true just after my tenth birthday: a tearful goodbye before I was whisked off to the cold north mountains, with nothing but what I could carry on my back, and that included Spike. I wasn't the only one to be chosen for such a destiny, however. When I arrived at the castle hidden deep in the mountains, there were four others waiting there, just as magically gifted as I.
There was Sunburst, a unicorn stallion from Sire's Hollow; orange and patched in cream, with green eyes like the grass in summer and a tangle of ginger that more resembled a briar bush than a mane. No matter how many times he combed it, it was never tameable, and the moment he'd stop brushing it would bounce back to its raggid, entertwining curls. His cutie mark was a pale splash of yellow on his flank, with an orangish-red sun glowing bright in its center. He claimed he earned it fighting off an Ursa Major, and though we all know that is a clear false account, he never did tell us the truth of it.
Then there was Trixie from the old forest of Dead Wood, or, as she called herself, The Great and Powerful Bellatrix, though there wasn't much so great about her. Her horn was of a normal size, and her magic just slightly below average. She was blue and silver, with silver eyes and darker blue freckles that could resemble stars if you squinted hard enough. She wore a purple cloak and hat, identical to the one worn by our teacher Starswirl except with altered colors. Her cutie mark was a pale gray patch, with speckles around it looking like a rocky path, and the mark itself a shooting star of blue with a pink, purple, and indigo trail behind it. Her story on how she got it was always ch anging; one day, it'd be from finding a fallen star in the woods, and another day it would be her fighting off a whole group of changlings by herself. I quickly learned never to believe a word that spilled off her venomous tongue.
There was Rarity from the Northern Aisles, and though she constantly bragged of her elegant and high-status background, she never truly mentioned her foalhood apart from the fact that it was 'simply devine'. Her pelt was a majority white, though flecks and patches of grey littered her flank and her hooves. Her curl of matching hair faded slowly into the palest of purple, and the curled tuft of her unicorn tail had the same coloration. As far as horns went, hers was the largest of the students, but when it came to magically ability, she just barely ranked above Bellatrix. Her cutie mark was a single, pale-blue diamond which appeared as if it had been stitched into her flank. Overhead on both sides were the faded colors of the Northern Lights.
The fourth, and last, of my peers was Luna; her pelt was black as night but her hair was a soft shade of cerulean blue. Her eyes were of a matching hue, and so were her hooves, and the tip of her tufted tail. As far as cutie marks went, her flank was as blank as the day she was born. There was no mark to distinguish her from the crowd, though it seemed as they all got older she seemed to stand out more and more. A teenage pony without a mark could mean only two things: A late bloomer, or a changling.
Under the watching eye of Starswirl and his magical court, all five of our magic's grew, and so did we.
"Very good Twilight.
Those words were the only words Twilight ever wished to hear. That she was good, and she did good, and that Starswirl thought so.
"Much improved."
The task had been a tedious one; not difficult, but still required a lot of focus. When she opened her violet eyes, her heart swelled with pride at the sight of the plant, grown three sizes as it fed off her magic, blooming beautiful pink flowers that towered just above her horn-length.
"Thank you Starswirl!" She said to her mentor through her breaths of exhaustion.
"You are dismissed."
"Yes Starswirl."
"I expect you back in here first thing tomorrow morning."
"Yes Starswirl."
Twilight took her leave. Only when she started to trot down the halls did she realize just how heavy her legs had grown as the energy had been sapped from them. Each step was difficult but she didn't show it as she left the exam room and passed through the Hall of Celestia.
It was a beautiful hall, windows of colored panes lining the walls and showing the greatest victories of their Sun. Her defeat of Discord, one of the seven monstrous mutants that used to stalk the land. Her conquering of Chrysalis, banishing the cruel queen far, far away where she could never bother ponies again. Her banishment of Sombra, the overthrowing of Terek, her destruction of Grogar. The raising of the sun. All of these powerful battles she had fought for all of them over her thousands years reign, and all she asked of them was to do their part. Raise the moon, control the weather, and tend the land.
Twilight came to her door and opened it. "What's going on in here?"
Luna was asleep on her bed, a steady line of drool pooling from her mouth onto the wet-stained sheets. Bellatrix was levitating a deck of cards, shuffling and shuffling and shuffling without stopping. The white unicorn, Rarity, sat at her vanity with her right forehoof held in one of the claws of Spike; stout, yet tall for his age, with purple scales and a green underbelly. His eyes were the same shade of emerald, and so were the spines on his head and long his back that had earned him his name. Two small fangs poked out on either side of his muzzle, though she only thing they were ever used for was eating gemstones.
"Spikey Wikey was just giving me a hooficure, dear." Rarity explained as the dragon temporary paused his task. "Darling, did I say you could stop?"
"Sorry Rarity!" Spike continued quickly.
Twilight sighed and rolled her eyes. In a moments notice, her magical aura surrounded Spike and lifted him away from the mare.
"Hey!" Rarity objected. "He's not finished!"
"Yes he is." Twilight sat Spike down on his bed; a small bed, hoof-made out of four planks of wood and a whole collection of blankets and pillows to make it comfortable. She stepped over him and onto her own bed, right beside his and pressed up against the wall. "It's time for Spike to go to sleep."
"But-"
"No buts, Spike. Young dragons need their sleep."
"But I'm not... even... ti...red..." Spike contradicted himself by falling asleep almost immediately following his words. Twilight pulled the blanket over him.
"Sleep tight, Spike."
"Well, now who's going to finish my hooficure?" Rarity pouted.
"Finish it yourself!" Twilight climbed into her own bed and pulled the covers over herself.
"You're going to sleep already?" Rarity asked, "Why, the moon isn't even out yet!"
"I had a busy day." Twilight said, "Some of us do more than worry about our hooves."
Rarity gasped in disbelief, "Hoof maintenance is a very serious matter!"
"Serious to you, maybe."
Rarity huffed. "I'm sorry if I like to keep a maintain and keep a certain appearance! You never know when we might get a visitor."
"Please don't let it be tonight." Twilight rolled over onto her back. "I'm exhausted."
"Oh, but you can't go to sleep!" Rarity objected.
"Why not?"
"You must watch the moon rise!"
"You mean the same thing we watch every night?"
Bellatrix groaned. "Watch! Always watching, watching, watching! When will we be doing?" She hopped off of her bed and looked out the window.
Twilight told her, "The raising of the moon is a really big responsibility."
"We can handle it!" Bellatrix objected.
"You can't even handle teleportation yet." Twilight pointed out.
Bellatrix scoffed. "That's beside the point."
"No, that is the point. And another point? Please be quiet."
Twilight was pleased with the silence that followed and allowed her to finally drift off into the warm confines of sleep.
Halfway to midnight, there came a sudden knock at the door.
"Huh?"
"What?"
"What's happening?"
"Come in!"
The door opened and in came a soft yellow glow illuminating a familiar face. "Sorry girls, it's an emergency."
"Sunburst?" Twilight rubbed her eyes and ignited her own horn light.
"What's wrong, darling?" Rarity asked, her white aura shining.
"The great and powerful Trixie needs her beauty sleep!" Trixie shouted.
"Do I need to be awake for this?"
Everyone ignored Spike.
"Uh, where's Luna? Starswirl wants us all to go to the courtyard now! Look outside!"
The three fillies and Spike gathered at the window. Twilight touched her muzzle to the window and immediately flinched away.
"It's... cold."
Spike wiped away the condensation.
"It's snowing!"
Rarity laughed. "I'm sorry Twilight, I could have said it was snowing!"
"She did." Bellatrix said.
"The first snow's not scheduled for another few months."
"Exactly!" Sunburst said,.
"But we're a mountain." Bellatrix pointed out, "Its super cold, and rain is scheduled for tonight."
Sunburst shook his head. "Starswirl's magical barrier is meant to melt it back into rain. It shouldn't be snow
"Maybe his magic failed?"
"Not likely. Come on, we've got to find Luna."
"Does this mean I can go back to sleep?"
Spike's question was answered when Twilight grabbed him in her magic and lifted him onto her back.
"Guess not."
The four unicorns ran from the room and through the halls.
"We'll go to Starswirl, you find Luna."
Sunburst nodded at Twilight's order and parted from the group the first moment he got.
"Can't we slow down?" Rarity whined, "I'm gonna mess up my hooficure!"
"Ugh!" Trixie groaned, "The Great and Powerful Trixie isn't build for running!"
"Come on!"
Twilight easily took lead of the other two and lead them out into the courtyard. When they busted out into the cold night, Twilight could count at least two dozen unicorns gathered there, and somewhere among the mix she was sure Starswirl was hidden. The sky was grew with clouds, and the snow fell in flurries around them, already covering the ground in a heavy blanket of white.
Rarity gasped the moment her hooves touched the snow, and she backtraced back into the building, and straight into Bellatrix.
"Ow! Watch it!"
"Ugh, it's all cold and wet out there!"
Spike clung tight to Twilight's back, digging his claws into her pelt and letting out a shuttering gasp. Twilight levitated him by his tail back into the warmth inside the castle.
"You stay here with Rarity."
"If you insist." Spike retreated deeper into the hall to escape the draft.
Twilight faced the brewing storm. "Whatever's happening... it isn't good."