Placidia and Twilight were all smiles while the three of them were heading to the market, but Alena couldn't shake the feeling that something bad was going to happen; it wasn't on the level of mortal danger, but it wasn't a pleasant feeling either. Alena could've sworn that she'd felt someone eyeing them just then, but as she turned around. nothing was there; neither Twilight or Placidia seemed to notice what was up, which left Alena to prepare for whatever was going to happen by herself. Just as they were about to enter the market square, Alena's hairs stood up on end, and adrenaline shot through her whole body. Her eyes changed color to blue, and time seemed to slow down before her eyes... Yet Alena felt as if she could move normally, so she used it to her advantage - by jumping between their pursuer and the intended target: Placidia.

As Alena faced the attacker, she noticed that it was Rainbow Dash, though given the circumstances, she couldn't blame her. Taking up a defensive stance that allowed her to keep her footing, Alena waited for the impending impact from the prismatic mare. Alena stared hard at Rainbow, as time came back to normal speed. Rainbow, quite obviously was not expecting the other monster to jump between her and the one she had targeted, but she was already committed in the attack, and couldn't exactly swerve away with how close she was. As soon as Rainbow came within centimeters of reach, Alena took hold of her forehooves, rolled onto her back, and gave a good kick to her barrel, knocking the wind out of Rainbow. Said pegasus was flung about ten feet away from the three girls, and landed on her back.

Twilight looked between both her friend Rainbow Dash and Alena, without the slightest clue of what to say. Fortunately, it was Alena that broke the awkward silence.

"Hey Twilight, I can sense that this one here is your friend," Alena said as she got up from the ground, "but since when does she attack people you're walking with who haven't done a single thing to you that warranted an unprovoked attack, and I wasn't even the target!" Alena finished her point by bringing the attention of both ponies to Placidia, who just sat down in shock that she was almost attacked without provocation, and could've been severely injured. "I doubt that you guys have government-provided universal healthcare, do you? Cause at the speed this one was going," Alena jabbed a thumb over at Rainbow, "Placidia could've been injured, probably breaking quite a few bones. We're pretty squishy when it comes to blunt force attacks."

It was a moment before Twilight's brain rebooted, and as soon as it had, Rainbow knew she was absolutely screwed beyond belief. The look on Twilight's face was priceless, and if it were any other pony, there would've been pictures galore; no one dared to take a single photo of their newest princess about to yell another pony's ears off.

But instead of yelling, Twilight simply brought a hoof to her barrel as she inhaled, held her breath, and then exhaled while she extended her hoof outwards; obviously it was a calming routine, and one that worked very well. Twilight looked over at Rainbow, and simply shook her head.

"Rainbow, haven't I already explained that I can handle myself when it comes to my well-being? If I sensed that I was in any danger around these two," Twilight gestured a hoof over at Alena and Placidia, "that I would have probably just put them in an enhanced anger dome, and floated them off to the castle where they would wait until I could think of what to do with them."

Rainbow didn't really take this well, and already had a response to Twilight's argument, "Twi, I get it, you're an alicorn, and you have insane amounts of magic - not that you needed it, cause you were already crazy powerful before. Anyway, these two beings are seriously dangerous; hasn't Princess Celestia told you about humans? Come to think of it," Rainbow looked over at Alena, "you, what's your name?"

Alena got up, but was stopped by a death glare from Rainbow, "My name is Alena Noel, and the one you almost injured is Placidia Shores. Why do you ask?"

Just as Alena revealed that tidbit of information, a nearby guard's ears twitched, 'Princess Luna's going to want to know about this...' A second later, the guard vanished out of sight, and no one was the wiser. No one even knew that a Night Guard had been in the nearby alleyway in the first place, and that suited Midnight Blossom just fine.

Princess Luna was in her bedchambers, as she sat on her bed with her eyes closed, encased in a magical aura as a result of intense concentration and meditation; she was in her center, and was at peace. The few ponies that were asleep still all had pleasant dreams, though this was not why she was still in the dreamscape. Late the night before, there was a great discharge of energy that she could've sworn had only belonged to a race she once knew, but had left some time ago. Shortly after that blast though, two new creatures had entered the realm of dreams that Luna seemed very familiar with, but didn't want to get her hopes up in case it wasn't a couple of humans.

Now, usually while Luna is in the dreamscape, it is a very bad idea to distract her from it... But, seeing as she had requested her most faithful Royal Night Guard, Midnight Blossom to go and investigate in the morning - something which would be rewarded for later, as the thestrals are not usually morning ponies - and then to immediately report back to her, Luna wasn't in as deep as she usually would be. She had hoped that the creatures would've slept in and let her observe them from within their dreams, but it seemed as though they had awakened before she could arrive to either dream.

It was a couple of moments later that Midnight had entered into Luna's chambers, through the use of a special trinket given to her that allowed passage through any distance as if it were a few steps away, provided that the starting point and destination had a shadowy area to enter and exit. She placed the trinket onto Luna's desk, before coming up to the princess, and lightly booping her nose, "Boop."

Luna scrunched her face as an initial reaction to the boop, though she shouldn't have been surprised - the Thestrals seemed to be even closer to her than her own sister, and she was glad to have other ponies looking out for her and keeping her company while her sister could not. Luna got up off of the bed and stretched, before she addressed her guard captain.

"Midnight Blossom, I take it that your little information gathering trip was successful?"

Midnight nodded, "Yes, and it is as you have suspected, we now have a couple of humans in our midst; one Placidia Shores, and one Alena Noel."

Luna had to stop all of her mental facilities to process the information just given to her. 'Noel? A member of the Noel clan is here, in Equestria?' Luna stared at Midnight Blossom with a face that made the guard slightly uncomfortable, "Are you absolutely sure that the person had said that their name was in fact Alena Noel?"

Midnight shook her head up and down as if to emulate a jackhammer, "Yes, she had said that her last name was Noel; on top of this, the two humans were being escorted towards the market square by Princess Twilight and Rainbow Dash. Rainbow had initially gone to attack the other one, but Alena must have subconsciously activated some magic, because she was a blur for about a second, and then was seen in a defensive stance between Placidia and Rainbow Dash that allowed her to use Rainbow's momentum to kick her and send her sprawling across the ground about ten hooves away from the group."

Luna wasn't very surprised by this, as Rainbow always had a habit of acting first and thinking second; it's both saved her from and put her into quite a few tricky situations. The subconscious magic activation also wasn't really a surprise either, as ponies sometimes cast magic without even thinking about it; according to Celestia, Twilight had often gone around the palace with a couple of books being levitated by her, though she would not notice until it was pointed out for her, much to her embarrassment. The surprising thing was that the human which had stepped between Rainbow and the intended target had managed to not only sense Rainbow's attack before it happened, but also knew how to set her off balance and toss her like a salad.

"Midnight," The guard looked up at Luna expectantly, "you have done a great service for your country. Take tonight off, you could use some rest after being out most of the day scouting." Midnight gave a salute, which was returned by Luna, and the guard left the room as she headed off to the barracks to put up her armor and then head home; no doubt her family would be happy to see her.

With the guard gone, Luna was alone in her room; this wasn't a problem however, as she used this time to compose a letter to Twilight, giving her instructions on what to do within the next couple of hours...

Twilight, Alena, Placidia and Rainbow had already been to the market, met up with Twilight's friends, and said hello to some other ponies that were out and about late in the afternoon. Twilight got her books and groceries, Alena and Placidia had gotten a welcome from Pinkie. After that whole ordeal, Twilight had elected that they all head to the Golden Oak Library so she could put away her groceries, and they could all celebrate the coming of two new friendly faces in Ponyville. Eventually the party came, and Fluttershy was not only not hiding under a table, but the first thing she had done was give both Alena and Placidia a hug. Fluttershy, a pony who is afraid of her own shadow by her own words, just hugged the two humans, out of nowhere. There was being brave and assertive, then there's what Fluttershy did. Twilight and the rest of her friends couldn't believe that it had happened, but it did. The only one that didn't have a look of shock on their face was Pinkie, but then again, it's Pinkie. When asked, Fluttershy didn't go very far in explaining, but had just said that 'They looked like they needed a hug.'

After the initial shock of Fluttershy giving the two girls a hug that neither wanted to end had tapered off, Twilight decided to ask her friends for some privacy with the two of them so they could get to work on getting control of their magic. Twilight brought out a cushion for each of them to sit on, Alena and Placidia beside each other, with Twilight in front of them. Placidia crossed her legs as she sat down, as did Alena; the latter almost immediately placed her arms in a relaxed position on her legs, and had closed her eyes. Twilight opened her mouth to speak, and as soon as she drew a breath, Alena commented.

"I figured that we were going to do a meditation exercise as soon as you brought over the cushions and yet left the books alone. Seeing as it is a new energy that we aren't used to, we're to find our center, correct?"

Placidia snickered, commenting a "Smartass," under her breath; Twilight musn't have picked it up, as she paid no attention to Placidia. "Yes, we're going to find your center. I am going to guess and say that neither of you will need any help in this exercise, right? All I will say, is that you will know when you find it. That is all. Just close your eyes, clear your mind, and focus inwards."

Initially, as soon as both girls closed their eyes, nothing happened for either of them; the only sound was of the three girls breathing, and their own heartbeats. Placidia had a bit of trouble keeping her mind clear, whereas Alena had no such trouble... It helps when you deal with a bunch of little kids yelling at you over in game chat, whether it's on PC, Xbox or Playstation. Alena had just found a good rhythm with her breathing, and was well on her way with getting into a trance where she could traverse her mind, when there was a soft 'pop' noise that went off between them all.

Twilight took the scroll that had appeared in front of them, and rolled it open, to reveal not a message from Princess Celestia, but Luna. Alena ignored the noise and went back to the exercise after she had encouraged Placidia to do the same. Twilight took this time to read the scroll quietly.

'Twilight Sparkle, as you are no doubt aware, you have found yourself in the company of a couple of humans; this may be most exciting to you, but I assure you it is anything but. I wish to speak with these two at the earliest convenience; you do not need to bring them to Canterlot however, as I have deduced that you would have them start out with an exercise that would involve them finding their center - an exercise which is crucial to most unicorns just coming into their magic. I will come and talk to them within their minds after they enter the dream realm, as most novices do after an intense experience such as what they will encounter. You may wish to sit in on these proceedings, and I invite you to do so. We also implore you to not tell Celestia about what has, is, and will transpire; I have no doubt that Celestia would bring them to harm, at the very least. She was never trusting of them. Be warned.

Luna'

Twilight magically folded the letter, and floated it over to a nearby end table which she stored all her other letters; just as soon as she looked back from placing the letter in the drawer, Twilight beheld a sight all too common with those that have found their center - both were afloat in their respective auras.

Just after the noise had interrupted the exercise, Alena had silently bugged Placidia to ignore the message and get back to the task at hand. The two of them closed their eyes, and started a steady breathing rhythm almost immediately. Both girls had entered a trance state, and Alena stood inside her mind, in awe of what she saw - her core was pretty massive, though it was just a little larger than Twilight's own power. She could sense Placidia's as well, which seemed to be around one third her own power. But what really surprised Alena, was that she could see her own soul... and what looked like a magic seal placed upon it.

"I wouldn't touch that, at least not yet anyway."

Alena didn't know where the voice had come from, though it seemed to her that it had come from the glowing ball of magic... which was her source... which meant that her magic was sentient... and that didn't make a whole lot of sense, though she tried to roll with it.

"I have no idea what the heck is going on, but I really don't think that having sentient magic is that common."

There was a chuckle, "You would be right in assuming that. I am not just magic, but a mirror of your own soul. Tell me, do you know why you have red eyes?"

"No, I can't say that I do. All I know is that every so often, a true Noel is born, with red eyes. Not much else other than that was touched upon."

"You are correct in stating that the true Noels are born with red eyes, but that is not all. Every Noel born with red eyes were born with two souls. They walk the line between life and death like a roller coaster, putting themselves at risk so no one else must."

"Something tells me that this didn't happen on its own though..."

The "other Alena" nodded, "Right again. Back, during the times when the human colony first settled upon the land far east of the Crystal Empire, right here on Equus, there were two powerful families that sat in the center of everything. The Winters and the Noels worked together for countless ages, but sometimes it wasn't enough. There was as much peace as there was turmoil, citizens worried for their safety. Near the city, was a gathering of Foxes, strong in the ways of magic that governed over nature and souls. An injured one had wandered into the city, and a member of the Noel family had nursed it back to health. When the Fox's family was found, its father was beyond grateful; so much so, that it had asked for the head of the Noel family.

"The family was skeptical, but the head agreed to meet with the elder Fox. It was then that the Fox granted upon the Noel family a boon: every generation, one Noel will be born with red eyes, shall have a Fox soul inhabit their body as well, and granted a drastically increased pool of magic."

"So, what was the purpose of the Fox soul?"

"To guide the person granted this power, and make sure that they stay true to themselves. We have been referred to as sisters, teachers, and many other terms that fall within the frame of companion."

"Well, if what you say is true, then you kind of are more like a sister to me than anything else. But what wasn't explained however, was why you haven't revealed yourself until now."

"The answer is simple: you never asked, nor have you come here until now."

"What about you knowing all that stuff that happened way back when?"

"Whenever someone such as you are born, all history from the last person born with this gift is given to the next, and so on. It has been like this for generations."

Alena was about to say something, when there was a beeping noise, similar to a pager, which was both heard and felt by the two of them. Alena's 'sister' spoke up, "Well, it seems that someone is attempting to catch our attention, though I would assume that it is Princess Luna. If it is indeed her, then she will probably want to speak with Placidia as well."

Alena raised an eyebrow, "And you know these names, because...?"

"I know these names because I have access to your memories. Think of me as a tulpa, except for the fact that I have not been created through your own intentions. Now, I will bring you into a dreamscape, and trigger a spell that will do the same to Placidia, which will bring her to the same one, so Luna can talk to the two, or three of us really, a little easier."

Just after that was said, Alena felt a funny sensation, as if there were static in the air, and she could faintly smell the telltale scent of ionized particles; this action got Twilight's attention as well, as she not only detected the spell, which wasn't one that could be cast by any amateur unicorn, but also dragged her into the dreamscape as well. It was another minute, before Placidia and Alena met up within the dream, and just in front of them, was the silhouette of a pony. The two couldn't exactly make out who it was, until there was the telling glow of her starry mane. Alena and Placidia both stared in awe, as right in front of them, stood none other than Princess Luna...