What is this? An update you say? Grad School didn't eat me? Nope! As always, the ponies are not mine. If they were, they would be free and everyone would have one. Enjoy!

Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy's Quest

Fluttershy struggled to keep up with her rainbow haired friend as the pair flew toward the majestic cloud city of Cloudsdale.

"Hurry up, Fluttershy!" Rainbow Dash called, looping in place.

"I'm coming." Fluttershy called back patiently. She took a moment to look at the skyscrapers of clouds that made up the beautiful floating city. "Don't get too far ahead."

Rainbow Dash slowed and started trotting on the clouded streets. "So where is this Oracle anyway?" She asked.

Fluttershy shrugged. "Oh, I don't know. My mother used to tell me about her when I was a little filly. Maybe we should ask the mayor?" She suggested.

Walking down the fluffy streets, the pair made their way toward the mayor's home.

"Are you sure the Oracle is still alive?" Rainbow Dash asked, shifting back and forth impatiently.

Fluttershy looked thoughtful a moment. "Hmm, well..." She trailed off. "I know that someone always carries on the storytelling traditions of the pegasus tribe. My mother said there has always been an Oracle who passed down our history from times of old."

Rainbow Dash looked confused. "Why did everypony tell stories? Couldn't they have written them down in a book?"

Fluttershy rolled her eyes. "Oh, Dash. How many clouds do you know of that keep ink well?"

The rainbow haired pegasus looked pensive a moment. "Oh! None! Huh, I guess I see your point. So where is this Oracle supposed to be anyway?"

Fluttershy chuckled politely. "I don't know. We were going to see the mayor?"

"Oh, yeah. I knew that. Come on!" Rainbow Dash replied, launching herself once again the direction of the town centre. Fluttershy followed dutifully behind.

Reaching the steps of Cloudsdale town hall, the pair made their way up toward the great cumulus doors. Or rather, Fluttershy made her way up the stairs as Rainbow Dash flittered her way to the top and waited for her friend. They were just about to go through those massive doors when, to their surprise, they opened. A dusky blue stallion nearly ran them over as he raced out.

"Oh, sorry girls!" He said, narrowly missing Rainbow Dash. "Are you two here to see the mayor?"

Rainbow Dash frowned. "Yeah? What's it to you?"

The stallion coughed. "The mayor's out at the moment. What did you want to see him about?" He asked. "I'm his secretary."

"Oh," Fluttershy said breathlessly. "Um, well, we... er..."

Rainbow Dash put a hoof on Fluttershy's shoulder. "We wanted to see the Oracle. We don't really know where she is, but we're on a mission from the princess."

The mayor's secretary looked surprised. "The princess you say? Well, I'm assuming you two know where the weather factory is, right?" The pair nodded. "Next to the factory is a small cloud temple. It's easy to miss. That's where the Oracle lives," he explained, starting off toward the stadium. "Just be polite, ladies. Sorry, I have to meet up with the mayor."

"Thank you!" Fluttershy called after the secretary softly.

Rainbow Dash sighed. "Well, ready to get this over with?"

Fluttershy nodded as she followed her friend over the town toward the weather factory. Flying overhead, the two pegasi were able to see the small temple that the secretary told them about.

"That's the temple?" Rainbow Dash said incredulously. "It's so..."

"Little," Fluttershy finished for her, gracefully floating down toward the humble building's steps.

Compared to the majestic stadium and the Parthenon-like beauty of the mayor's home, the small temple was nothing impressive. However, it did contain a small garden of blooming balloon flowers, which attracted a few brave butterflies. The exterior resembled Fluttershy's country cottage more closely than it did any temple that Rainbow Dash had ever seen. Fluttershy, on the other hand, was more awed by the butterflies than by the relatively meek appearance of the temple.

"Oh, aren't those butterflies just fabulous?" Fluttershy asked, trotting over to the balloon flowers. "I've never seen butterflies this high before!" She exclaimed.

Rainbow Dash snorted. "Yeah, well, let's find this Oracle so we can ask her about the Princess and her people. I wonder if we should just knock."

"Knock ye may, Loyalty, but one merely needs to look around to see what is being sought." A voice answered.

Fluttershy looked around the balloon flower plant. Before her stood a silver mare with a golden mane. Her cutie mark was that of a scroll sealed by a golden pocket watch. But most unusual about her was the eyes. The Oracle's eyes were the colour of the rainbow, but contained no pupils.

"She's blind!" Rainbow Dash blurted out before silencing herself by covering her mouth with her hooves.

"I'm sorry," Fluttershy said in response. "I thought... maybe... if you could... that you might be able to tell us about something."

The Oracle turned her blind eyes toward the yellow filly. "Kindness Fluttershy: I do have some answers you seek. But I fear that not all of your questions will be answered here. You seek knowledge on the alicorn: the great ones among ponies. If you have time, I will tell you a tale,"

"Oh, we have time. Thank you very much, Miss Oracle," Fluttershy replied.

The Oracle turned to Rainbow Dash. "Loyalty Rainbow Dash, you may want to get comfortable. While your flight skills are the stuff of legend, your attention span requires some growing up."

Rainbow Dash pouted slightly, but settled down at the Oracle's feet. "I don't mean to be rude, but why did you call me Loyalty?"

The Oracle looked down at the rainbow haired filly. "Loyalty is the element of harmony that you are connected with. Kindness is connected to Fluttershy. I am addressing you by that which I see."

"That which you see?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Not all things blind are without sight." The Oracle explained. "I may not see the figures of ponies, but I can see their hearts, and the magic that lies within." She cocked her head to the side slightly. "Does that answer your question?"

Rainbow Dash looked confused. "I guess. So you see magic?"

"Yes, Loyalty. I see the magic in all ponies. The magic within you and within your friends burns quite brightly, however. Suffice it to say, you two are torches in a world of candles." The Oracle said cryptically. "Now, you sought the tale of the Alicorn. Shall I begin?"

Fluttershy nuzzled herself into the clouds a bit. "Yes, please."

The Oracle nodded. "Alright, our tale begins..."

Long ago, before Equestria formed, as you know, Discord ruled the world. This was before Princess Celestia and Princess Luna began their rule. In those days, all of pony kind had barely resolved their issues that we hear about on Winter Hearth's Eve. You see, despite the fact that the ponies learned to work together, they still lived somewhat separate lives. The Unicorns founded Canterlot, the Earth Ponies still wandered the land not settling anywhere, and the Pegasus, Cloudsdale. There was little intermingling between the tribes, and, as a result, some bitterness and frustrations still existed between ponies. This problem, combined with a poor harvest, is what allowed Discord to thrive.

The fiendish Discord twisted the land into an abomination. The pegasus tribe could no longer control the weather. The unicorn's magic no longer worked to manipulate the elements of nature. And the earth ponies, their harvests could no longer sustained the ponies. As you may have seen when you faced Discord yourself, the entire world was turned upside down.

After a five hundred year reign of suffering, two unicorn sisters were born. These two sisters you know as the Princesses. But they were not always Alicorns. Earth Pony and Unicorn legend tells that the two princesses saw the suffering of the ponies and came to rescue them. However, the tales of these ponies seem to have lost some details along the way.

The elder sister, Celestia, was an honest, generous pony whose kindness knew no bounds. The younger, Luna, was loyal to all her friends, as well as her sister, and provided many a laugh, despite the dark times of Discord. As you may have noticed, these two sisters possessed within themselves the 5 best known Elements of Harmony: Honesty, Generosity, Kindness, Loyalty and Laughter. But, alas, they were missing a crucial component: magic.

The two sisters spent their early years secretly seeking knowledge of the flame of friendship. They talked to the oldest, wisest, and most knowledgeable ponies they could find, but none seemed to know exactly what caused the flame of friendship that thawed the land. It was not until they came to Moondancer, a brave unicorn pony, that they got their first lead.

Sage Moondancer directed them to the Oracle at the time. She taught them the spell to create wings, and the pair of sisters flew off to Cloudsdale. The Oracle told them that it was the fires of friendship that sparked the flames. Puzzled, the pair left the Oracle with their answer, but not the knowledge to understand it.

It was then that the pair heard of an attack by Discord on Canterlot. Discord was furious that two ponies were seeking a way to overthrow his rule, and had somehow learned that Moondancer was behind it. In a rage, he began to attack the fair city of Canterlot, and set the inhabitants against one another.

Distraught, the sisters flew back home. The pair used their magic to attack Discord, but to no avail. Each sister fought by themselves, but the powers within them weren't enough. Discord dealt a severe blow to Luna, causing Celestia to protect her younger sibling. Luna begged for Celestia to save herself, but Celestia refused.

"I will not abandon my sister, my friend!" Celestia declared.

Discord towered over the two ponies, about to deal a final blow to the pair of them when a bright light shown from their horns. The Princesses used their magic to attack Discord, and turned him into stone. Incapacitated, Equestria began to return to normal.

But the battle had taken its toll on Luna. The younger sibling was gravely wounded, but Princess Celestia refused to give up. She realised that the Elements of Harmony had appeared around them. Drawing on all her strength, she used her magic to infuse the Elements within herself and within Luna. Their wounds healed, but other changes took place as well.

The pair grew taller. They sprouted wings. Their horns and magical abilities enhanced. The other ponies took this to be a sign, that something magical had happened to the two of them. They immediately crowned them Princesses of the land. The rest, as they say, is history...

Rainbow Dash looked puzzled as the Oracle finished her tale.

"Wait," she said. "So, the Princess became what she is because she took the Elements of Harmony into herself? Why didn't anything happen to us when we got them?" She asked.

The Oracle turned her sightless eyes towards the rainbow haired filly. "That, Loyalty, I do not know. As I said, I have answers, but not all. What I do know is this: you and your friends are interlinked more deeply than you know. However, you all will have to make a difficult choice in the coming days." She said cryptically. "Now that my tale is complete, you should return to Ponyville." The Oracle finished, turning and walking toward the temple's door.

"Thank you," Fluttershy whispered to the Oracle's retreating back.

Rainbow Dash shook her head. "I wonder what she meant by that. Come on, let's get back to Twilight's." She said, darting around and blazing down toward the earth.

Fluttershy glanced on last time at the butterflies around the balloon flowers, and then dutifully followed her friend.

Twilight Sparkle and Applejack's Quest

"I'm sorry Granny Smith wasn't much more help, Twilight," Applejack said sullenly as the pair hiked their way through the Everfree Forest. Much to her chagrin, Applejack's kindly grandmother didn't know much about the alicorns or the magic behind the Elements of Harmony. However, the sandwiches were quite delicious.

Twilight smiled back at her blonde maned friend. "Your Grandmare always seems to know just the right things to say. Besides, lunch was delicious," she admitted. "And I'm sure Granny Smith is right: Zecora will probably know more than she would."

Applejack looked uncertain. "If you say so, Twi," she said, frowning. "I know that Zecora's got all sorts of Zebra magic and stuff that we ponies don't quite understand, but I don't know how much her people know about pony folk. Princesses or otherwise."

"Oh, nonsense," Twilight replied. "The Zebras may be from far away, but they've always had ambassadors in Canterlot. At least, as far back as anyone can remember. I'm sure she knows at least something."

Applejack didn't look convinced as she dodged around a patch of poison joke. No need to get into that mess again.

"Well, what if the Zebra folk don't know much more about magic than us Earth ponies?" Applejack asked again.

Twilight looked thoughtful a moment as the pair walked. "Well, the Earth ponies always depended on the Unicorns and the Pegasus to take care of the magic. The Zebra's didn't have that luxury, so a lot of their magic depends on potions. And maybe more. I've honestly never asked Zecora," Twilight admitted. "And there's very little in my books about it, either."

Applejack smirked. "Whoa Nelly. Heaven forbid you can't find something in them there fancy books of yours."

Twilight chuckled politely as the pair reached Zecora's hut. As usual, the place was covered with all sorts of free growing plants, and an ominous odour wafted around the place.

"Is she cooking dinner or doing the wash?" Applejack asked.

"Probably a potion for something," Twilight replied, knocking on her friend's door.

"Ah, I hear a knock of three, and I wonder who that could be?" Zecora called from within her hut.

"It's me, Zecora. I brought Applejack with me," Twilight replied as the zebra opened her door.

"Twilight Sparkle, it's good to see you," Zecora replied. "And of course, Applejack, too. Why don't you come inside, and with me you can confide the tale that has brought you here. I'm always free to lend an ear."

Twilight smiled as she glanced around Zecora's mask decorated abode. "The Princess asked us to learn what we could about her people," she explained.

Applejack nodded. "Yeah, we're supposed to learn something about them so we can report our findings to her."

Zecora raised an eyebrow in surprise. "By the Princess with her wings and horn, you seek the tale of the alicorn!" She exclaimed. "Though limited my knowledge be, I shall recount my knowledge to thee."

Twilight smiled at her friend. "Thank you very much, Zecora. We don't know much about the alicorns themselves. Honestly, I don't even know if there are any books on th subject!"

Zecora nodded sagely. "The tale I'll spin is not new, but it is the tale I know to be true. The Alicorn is far above most pony folk, within them deep magical powers awoke. But their powers are limited by the stars, you see. For the alicorn is granted immortality. Hence why Princess Celestia has had a thousand year reign, without a break or heirs to claim the throne that is hers, as well as that of her sister."

Applejack scrunched her nose up. "Stars? What do the stars have to do with it?"

"Oh, I know. A lot of unicorn magic is tied to the ways the stars are aligned. Starswirl the Bearded was one of the first to discover that unicorn magic follows the patterns of the planets. His studies in astrology helped provide many theories as to why our magic sometimes feels stronger during our birth month," Twilight explained. "I mean, stars have always had an impact on our lives. Look at the prophecy I found that proved that Princess Luna would be released from her imprisonment on the moon. That was a Starswirl prophecy that was based on his astrological studies."

"So you're telling me that somehow the way the stars and planets are aligned affects our lives?" Applejack scoffed. "That seems like a bunch of hooey to me."

"Do not be so quick to scoff at that which you don't understand," Zecora cautioned. "You never know when that knowledge will be useful to have in hand." The zebra turned and nodded sagely to Twilight Sparkle. "Look to the stars for answers to the quest that the princess gave, for I fear her reasons for this quest may be quite grave."

Twilight frowned. "Thank you, Zecora. I'll make sure to do that once I get back to Ponyville. Come on, Applejack,"

"Thank you, ma'am," Applejack said, nodding to Zecora as the pair of ponies made their way out of Zecora's hut and toward the path to Ponyville.

Applejack blew her blond forelock out of her eyes. "I still don't get what's so important about the stars. I always thought that astrological stuff was just a bunch of nonsense," she admitted.

"Hmm, well... how do I explain this?" Twilight asked, looking pensive. "Your birthday is in May, so that makes you a Taurus."

"Uh huh," Applejack replied. "And this affects me... how exactly?"

"Well, at the very least, it means that you're very loyal, somewhat possessive of those who are close to you, rather stingy, but quite honest." Twilight replied, smirking.

Applejack gave her friend a puzzled look. "Now are you just saying that because you know me and you're pulling my hoof, or is that supposed to be true of every Taurus?"

"Well, there are major variations based on where the moon and other planets were when you were born, but essentially everypony born from late April to early May is sort of like that. But the stars only tell you what your most basic self is like. It's up to you and your life experiences to shape who you really are." Twilight explained. "You and I are rather special in our group of friends because we both were born under Earth signs."

"You mean there's some sort of pony sign associated with that?" Applejack asked. "I think your fancy book learning is going to go over my head."

Twilight pursed her lips as she thought of a way to explain basic astrology to her friend. "Well, there are four elements in astrology: Earth, Air, Water, and Fire. Because we have 12 months in a year, there are three signs in each element. You are a Taurus, and I'm a Virgo, which are both earth signs. Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie and Rarity all have fire signs. Heh, oddly enough, they form a grand Trine together. Actually," Twilight said, putting a hoof to her lip. "I think that you, Spike and I also make one, because he's a Capricorn. Fluttershy is sort of the odd pony out because she's a Pisces. It's a water sign, and one which really precludes ponies to be quite shy."

Applejack chuckled brightly. "So there's a reason the filly's afraid of her own shadow? The poor dear."

Twilight smiled. "Well, like I said, not everything has to do with one's planets. Life also effects you as well,"

"I know that, Sugarcube," Applejack replied. "Now let's head back home. I can't wait to see what everypony's learned!"

The next morning...

Twilight Sparkle had just finished washing her face when the first knock on her door happened.

"Spike, can you get that?" she called down the stairs from her loft.

"Just a minute!" Her dragon helper called back.

Spike opened the door and smiled at Fluttershy.

"Oh, I hope I'm not too late... or early... um," the yellow pegasus said, biting her lip.

"Nope, you're right on time, Fluttershy. Come on in," Spike replied, standing aside to let his friend in. "Twilight'll be down in a minute."

Fluttershy settled herself down on the cool wood floor of Twilight's library. "How was your search, Spike?" She asked.

Spike chuckled. "It went pretty well. The hardest part was putting the library back together, but I had Rarity to help me. That was nice. We found one book, so Rarity took it home last night to read. But, from what I could tell, it was rather short."

"Oh, well, that was very nice of Rarity to help you," Fluttershy replied. "It's so nice that she makes time for you."

Spike blushed and scratched the back of his head. "Aww, shucks. Well, how was your trip to the... the...?"

"Oracle?" Fluttershy asked, helpfully.

"Yeah. That."

Fluttershy flopped her bangs out of her eyes. "The Oracle was very nice. She apologised a lot for not being able to help us more." She sighed. "But she did have a lovely garden."

"A garden? In the sky?" Spike asked skeptically.

Fluttershy nodded. "Mmhmm. Balloon flowers grow on the clouds, and she had a lovely little garden near the temple she lived in. I've never seem butterflies fly that high before."

Spike's reply was interrupted by another knock at the door. Spike got up to let Rarity, Pinkie Pie and Applejack in.

"Morning, Spike," Applejack greeted. "I brought us some of Granny's apple fritters for breakfast!" She said, pulling the satchel off her back and tossing it on the floor.

Rarity winced slightly at Applejack's lack of propriety, and quickly used her magic to lift up Applejack's satchel. "I'll go grab a plate from the kitchen," she said, trotting off toward Twilight's small kitchen. "Oh, and good morning all."

"Did everyone learn something? Oo! Apple fritters! I think I learned a lot about acorns! Mrs. Cake is an amazing teacher!" Pinkie Pie started, rambling as she was wont to do.

"Twilight and I learned a lot from Zecora," Applejack said, looking puzzled. "What do you mean you learned a lot about acorns?"

By this point, Rarity had returned with the plate of apple fritters, and Pinkie's attention was directed elsewhere.

Rarity smiled as Pinkie scarfed down on the plate of fritters. "Pinkie, dear, do remember to leave a few for us," she said, moving a book table to the middle of the room and setting the plate down.

Pinkie looked surprised. "OMIGOSH!" She exclaimed. "I forgot, be right back!" She said, darting out of the Library.

Applejack shook her head. "Where does she get all that energy?"

"It's the sugar," Spike deadpanned.

The ponies laughed together as Twilight Sparkle made her way down the stairs to the study.

"Good morning everypony," she greeted. "I saw Pinkie Pie left, but do we know where Rainbow Dash is?"

The ponies looked around at each other and shrugged.

Rarity sighed. "She probably slept late again. However, we have Fluttershy here to report for her," she added, putting a hoof around the yellow pegasus' shoulder. Fluttershy blushed slightly, and said nothing.

"DOOOOOOOOOUGHNUUUUUTTSSSSSSS!" Pinkie Pie called from outside before barrelling into the study with two boxes of pastry treats.

"Ooh! More breakfast!" Twilight replied, magically summoning a doughnut and an apple fritter. "So... what have we learned?"

An hour later, the ponies all looked confused. Aside from a slight interruption by Rainbow Dash crashing into the library, they'd all covered what they had learned on their quests.

"Ulg, I feel like we didn't learn anything," Rainbow Dash moaned.

Applejack rolled her eyes. "We learned something, sugarcube. It's up to us to figure out what it all means," she replied.

Twilight Sparkle nodded. "I just feel badly that we didn't learn more. All we know is that the alicorns are somehow linked to the stars and the Elements of Harmony."

"Which, of course, makes sense," Rarity added. "The Princesses have always been rather powerful practitioners of magic. And from what the book said, there have only been two of them in recorded history."

Fluttershy nodded. "Um, yes. Or... well..." she trailed off as the others looked at her. "Um... the oracle didn't mention anything about other princesses..."

"What about my information on acorns?" Pinkie Pie asked. "Wasn't that helpful?"

"Um, Pinkie? We were supposed to be learning about alicorns. Not acorns," Rainbow Dash replied, face hoofing.

Pinkie looked slightly disappointed, then brighten just as quickly. "Oh well, at least when we report to the princess, I can bring her a wonderful acorn souffle!"

Twilight smiled. "That'll be lovely, Pinkie." She turned to Spike. "Spike, take a letter. I have a feeling we'll be having a meeting with the princess soon."

"You got it," Spike replied, grabbing a quill and piece of parchment.

Dear Princess Celestia,

As you predicted, we learned a lot about the alicorns on our mission. But, like you said, there were still more questions that need to be answered. We know that the alicorns are somehow linked through magic to the Elements of Harmony, and that the stars affect their powers and how they came into being. I wish we could have learned more. Your faithful students,

- Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy and Spike.

Do you know how hard it is to write when every line has to rhyme! I'm going to do my dardest to stay away from Zecora from now on. Also, apologies for how long it took me to update this. It's Granny Smith's fault. I had to rewrite an entire section because of the new episodes... *Sigh* As always, hope you enjoyed it!