Lullaby for a Princess

Chapter Three: Gifts

The year after the War was a struggle. As was the next. And the next. The ponies returned to find their towns broken and burned, their rulers dead, and a strange, bitter cold beginning to pierce the air. The sun did not rise. Neither did the moon. Equestria stood still in gray despair, and the only thing felt was cold. Little by little, as the ponies began to rebuild their lives, they broke apart from one another. It was not a pleasant world for fillies, and Starswirl knew that. He tried to keep Celestia and Luna indoors, but his attempts were in vain. There was simply no stopping the small alicorns from being so...so..curious. Even in the constant chill, and the fillies' past, they were still so innocent. Starswirl envied that. To be untouched by care or malice; now that was a gift. Starswirl liked to watch Celestia and Luna play from time to time. It gave him a little hope for Equestria. As long as we have foals, there is a future, and there is hope. Yet he wondered if these two, alicorns though they were, would survive in such a world. Celestia was shivering slightly, though Luna seemed fine. Strange fillies. Starswirl couldn't put his hoof on it, but there was something about these alicorns. Something....glowing. A soft light that Starswirl had never seen before, not even from Sirius or Solstice. He watched them playing for about half an hour, then went inside. The fillies soon tired of their game and sat down. As they both looked up at the dreary gray sky, thoughtful looks came across their faces. Celestia shivered. "I wish the cold would go away." Luna nodded. "And I wish the gray would go away. I make better pictures myself!" It was true. Luna had an unexplainable gift for drawing skies. In all her pictures, though there may be only snow beneath, the sky was always colored in beautiful array. Celestia thought for a moment. When Mum and Dad were here, there was that thing. What was that? Celestia's earliest memory was the strange thing coming into her window as a tiny foal. Before the War. Before the gray. Celestia wished to bring it back. She wanted that thing. She didn't know it was called light, all she knew was that it made ponies happy. It had made crops grow and given the ponies a little joy. Celestia wanted light more than anything else. But she was only a filly. What could she do? Like a whisper, an answer came: Your horn. Magic wasn't something Celestia had been encouraged to do. Starswirl had said that using magic had "something to do with uniting a pony's mind and heart, and channeling it through and out the horn". Celestia closed her eyes. For the thing! No magic. For memory! Not a spark. Luna was looking curiously at her big sister now. "Tia, what are you doing?" "Trying to find what matters most to-" Celestia smiled. The true question had come, and the true answer was found. She had found what mattered most to her.

For Equestria!

A great tingling filled Celestia. Luna gasped. Celestia was only half aware. She didn't even know what she was doing. She let this love take over. The love for her ponies, the love for her sister, the love she had locked away for her parents. All overflowed. It was a glorious feeling. Celestia wanted to get closer. Higher. She rose up from the ground, flying slowly upwards. A strange feeling washed over her face. Celestia opened her eyes. There it was!

Light!

Light poured over the land, bringing with it the warmth Celestia had so desired. As the bright, burning sun rose for the first time in over two hundred years, Celestia felt a resolution inside her. Like a problem finally being solved. Destiny. The sun was up now, sending its rays across Equestria. Celestia slowly descended, landing quietly on the grass. Luna stood wide-eyed, but she was no longer staring at the light. She was staring at Celestia. "Tia! Your mark!" Celestia turned her head. Ah, so it was. The shape of a sun, forever etched upon her. A reminder of a destiny that would guide her hooves every day of her life. But Celestia realized that just as the sun healed, it could also hurt. This heat was making Luna uncomfortable. The blue filly was looking out anxiously at the horizon. "Make it stop, please." Celestia lowered the sun. But Luna wasn't satisfied. "Make the darkness beautiful." "I...don't know how." Luna looked up. A sudden sparkle lit her eye. Maybe that's my job. I can make the sky beautiful, just like I always wanted. Closing her eyes, the blue filly imagined where she would put each and every star, exactly what tone she wanted the sky. When she opened her eyes, it was more spectacular than she ever could have thought before. The deep indigo of the sky was filled with glittering stars, with the moon rising above Equestria. It was dark, but this darkness was safe and beautiful and it was hers. The mark of a moon appeared on Luna's flank, confirming what she already felt. The two sisters stood in awe of what feats they had just accomplished. A noise behind them made them turn. It was Starswirl. The look on his face told them that he had seen. What they couldn't see were the tears in his eyes. For the first time, he realized just who the fillies were destined to be. He looked down at them with a kind of respect he normally only gave to older ponies. "If Your Majesties will please follow me inside, I would like to begin our magic lessons now." The fillies followed without protest. Starswirl's mind was running faster than a pegasus could fly. They can raise the sun and moon. They are no doubt the rulers of Equestria. He heard a giggle behind him and turned to see Luna repeatedly poking Celestia with a hoof. At least, the future rulers of Equestria. Then and there, Starswirl became not only the mentor to the fillies of deceased friends. He became the mentor to the Princesses of Equestria. Their gifts, shaped correctly, could save Equestria.

Or destroy it.