Chapter 1:
The Entrance Exam
Today was the day and Sirius wasted no time getting out of bed early. He was up and was racing down the hallway toward the kitchen. The wooden floor of the home made the young pony's presence known with its light creaking. His mother, fixing a small breakfast meal, and his father, readying a small saddlebag with books and papers, all looked towards the open door as the noise of small hooves got closer and closer until the dark pony burst through.
"I can't believe it's here! The entrance exam!" Sirius yelled as he walked proudly around the room. His mother chuckled as she watched her son. He had grown up so much since that night many years ago and things had changed, although she did not know if it was for the better or worse.
She had found out she was pregnant some time before Midnight, her husband, had been assigned a special job. Over the course of many months, what appeared to be shadows were rising over the northern horizon, where the Crystal Empire was located, and even the princesses were worried. Midnight, being one of the lead astronomers and sky watchers in Canterlot, was sent to the Crystal Empire to survey these strange happenings.
With a cart full of equipment and books, Midnight trudged through the harsh northern landscape towards the empire with his expecting wife. He had urged her not to come and stay safe in Canterlot, but she had insisted, not wanting to be lonely during his long trip away from home.
A surprise awaited them that dampened their spirits. The Crystal Empire was nowhere to be seen. All that was left were snow and a perimeter of small, stone buildings. Confused, they were greeted by a royal guard pony that had just stepped out of one of the stone buildings. He was frowning. He told them that it isn’t safe here and that they needed to leave. Midnight urged him to let them stay, but the pony refused, telling them that even the guards were evacuating. Their long nights of travel were over and now they were going to have to make the long journey again.
Looking back, Pearl would not have changed her decision about going with her husband. Of course there was danger, but had she stayed, her husband would have never been present at the time of Sirius’s birth, that cold night so many years ago. She remembers clearly the first time he opened his beautiful blue eyes, his first laugh, and his first tears. She also remembers when they were told of the prophesy. Would their child really grow up to save Equestria? When the older pony had informed them of it, she laughed, but her husband’s face grew serious. He had studied it for long periods of his youth and it ultimately hooked his interest on astronomy and the study of celestial signs and bodies. He made it apparent that they would need to return to Canterlot and have some time to think about it.
Now he was here, happily bouncing around their kitchen. They had never told him about the prophesy and hoped to tell him when he got older. There was no time for that however, because today was the day of the entrance exam for Celestia and Luna’s School for Gifted Unicorns, and Sirius was more than ready.
“Sirius," Pearl said as she set down a tray. Sirius stopped his running and trotted over to the table. There was a small plate with some bread, an apple, and a wooden cup of milk. “You’ll need your strength for this test today sweetie.”
“He’ll be fine Pearl. Haven’t you seen what he’s been practicing?” his father said with a laugh. Pearl thought for a moment. Sirius had nothing to worry about really. Compared to some of the other unicorns in his previous classes, he’d always had a special magic ability.
He went through books like crazy too. Pearl had quite a collection and she could recall countless times she would wake in the middle of the night to find Sirius, asleep on a sofa with a book over his face.
“I’ve heard a lot about the exam in school and the teachers say it’s one of the hardest tests ever!” Sirius said, his eyes bulging with emphasis as he began to eat.
The breakfast was definitely good, considering how fast he ate it. In a short time, he'd finished and got down from the table. He once again raced down the hallway towards the bathroom to comb his mane and brush his teeth and things like that, leaving his parents behind for a quiet moment to themselves. Pearl looked at Midnight, "Are you sure he'll make it? What if he doesn't?"
"Honey I have no doubt that he's ready," Midnight spoke softly as he got up. He put his forelegs around his wife. "I don't think it's that you're afraid of him not passing, I think you're afraid that he will."
"What do you mean?" she asked.
"You don't want him to grow up. You don't want him to face his destiny. I know the prophesy sounds dangerous, but trust me, he's going to be okay. He'll always be our son." At this, Pearl nearly burst into tears. She hid her emotions as soon as she heard, once again, the tapping of little hooves on their hallway floor.
"I'm ready!" Sirius said with his almost white mane freshly combed and his teeth shining.
Midnight made his way over to the door where a small, green bag was waiting. "Here's your saddlebag son. I went ahead and packed it with some books you might need." Midnight helped slip the bag around Sirius's body and opened the door to their home. He stepped out and held the door open as his family made their way into the city of Canterlot.
At first, Midnight had thought about calling for a chariot, but they lived so close to the castle that he just decided that they would take a short walk through the city. Pearl wasn't too happy at the thought of losing some much-needed sleep, but now she was just happy that she could spend some more time with her family.
The glow of the morning sun had laced the city's buildings with a light orange hue and some ponies were getting an early start to their day. The pegasi had already arranged today's slightly cloudy weather. It wasn't too cloudy though and the warmth of the sun shone through.
Sirius looked up into the sky and felt something, something that told him that today would be a great day. Nothing could have made him doubt that.
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The royal castle was a hive of activity that day. Guards rushed around everywhere trying to get everything organized and leading families around the academy wing. They were all here for the same reason, and that was the entrance exam. Little fillies and colts, along with their parents, were paired with a guard and shown around the academy grounds until the scheduled time for their exam.
Through a large window, a pair of watchful eyes monitored the families. No, not just them. The entire city was being watched from one of the castle towers. Her dark blue body began to pace fervently. She was an alicorn, but not just any alicorn. She was Princess Luna, bringer of night and sister to Princess Celestia.
Her pacing stopped as she again took to gazing at the ponies outside. Their smiling faces lit by the warm sunshine. She watched as some were playing with their children, sharing a happy moment in the morning sun.
"Do they not appreciate the night?" she said to herself, with a hurt tone in her voice. "The majestic moon or the stars?" Luna's head dropped as she eyed her hooves. She was a princess, but didn't feel like one. No one played in the night. Each night, they slept through the beautiful masterpiece she had worked so tirelessly to bring. The night sky, in all its glory, and for what?
A knock appeared at the door and woke Luna out of her trance. She trotted through her watchtower room and put her hoof onto the door, opening it. Standing there was a royal guard.
He bowed, "Princess Luna," he said. She acknowledged his presence and he continued. "I have word from Princess Celestia that the exams for the young ponies are going to begin soon and that she would like you to join her in welcoming them."
Luna looked at him. "Tell her that I will be down as soon as I can."
"Yes, your highness." He left, closing the door behind him. Luna was alone again. She made her way to the window for one last look. She'd used this window thousands of times before, but never had it held such emotion for her. Her lengthy glance fueling those emotions until she couldn't bear the sight of even the sun anymore. She sighed as she left for the throne room of the castle, leaving her view of the unappreciative little city behind.
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Sirius and his family had now made their way to the academy building and were waiting to enter through a large, golden gate. Midnight led his son to a sign up booth to pick up their information.
"And who might this be?" the attendant pony inquired, looking at Sirius.
Midnight began to speak but was interrupted by his son. "Hi! I'm Sirius Charmer. I'm here for the entrance exam!" he exclaimed.
She smiled and looked over the large scroll in front of her. Her face lit up as she read. "There you are Sirius. I'll just need your father to sign a few things for me before you can go." Sirius stepped back, allowing his dad to access the booth. He watched as Midnight levitated a quill pen and signed his authoritative name on the documents.
Sirius began to look around at all the guards. Some had wings like pegasi, but others were unicorns. He had always thought of being a royal guard someday. He had dreamed of it ever since his school took a short field trip to the castle about a year ago.
As more families began to pair themselves up with a guard, one approached the sign up booth. He was a pegasus and had a light grey coat and a brown mane and a spear for a cutie mark. He leaned in and whispered something unintelligible into the attendant pony's ear.
She looked at him and asked, "Are you sure you want to? You haven't had a break from all this commotion." He nodded his head and the attendant shrugged. The mysterious guard stepped out and stood next to the booth as Midnight filled out the final page of Sirius's paperwork.
"All right Mr. Charmer, your son is all set. Stone, one of our night guards, has stepped in and decided to give you your tour," she said pointing her hoof toward the guard. "He will show you around until it's time for the exam, which is eleven o'clock."
"Thank you for your help," Midnight said as he left the booth. He led his family over to the guard. "Hello," Midnight said.
The guard smiled at them. "Welcome to Canterlot castle," he said. "I guess Marble got you set up alright? What time is your exam?"
"She said eleven," replied Pearl.
"Well in that case, we'll just go ahead and start the tour. We've got quite a bit of time before you have to be there." Stone led them all around the Academy, showing them the various sights and wonders that the School for Gifted Unicorns had to offer. First, they stopped at the location of the exam. They were held in large classrooms, plenty room for a pony to perform some magic. He showed them the archives and Sirius couldn't help being hypnotized by the large hourglass in the Starswirl the Bearded wing. He also introduced them to some of the teachers who happened to be in the academy that day. Pearl enjoyed their library and Midnight marveled at the learning observatory for young astronomers. The complex was truly magnificent.
As they went along their tour, Sirius became more and more comfortable in the setting. The environment was one he had always wanted to be a part of. The magic and learning filled him with excitement and he was now leading the group with Stone, his parents behind them enjoying some of the scenery of the academy's interior decor.
Stone looked down at Sirius. "So are you liking the tour so far," he asked the young unicorn.
Sirius turned his head. "I sure am. I'm just a little nervous for the exam."
"Don't be. I've watched quite a few and the tests are usually quite simple."
"What are they like?" Sirius asked, worried by what Stone might say
"Sometimes it'll be changing the color of something, teleportation, or even hatching a dragon egg."
Sirius was surprised. Those things didn't sound like anything he'd thought he had to do. "Oh. I guess those aren't too tough."
"You'll do fine." He was thinking about Sirius. Could he really be the prophesied child? He had been tasked by Celestia herself to guide Sirius, but he was still apprehensive about the prophesy. He thought back to that night many years ago. Did Cirrus really know what he was talking about? If not, Stone was about to find out anyway.
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Time had passed and the group was making their way back to the exam rooms. Once there, the families gathered together in a small auditorium as instructed by the guards. Idle chatter kept the air of confusion hanging over the small crowd until suddenly, music began to play. Ponies across the room quickly identified it as the royal welcoming orchestration and looked around eagerly.
They were satisfied when, from two large doors, walked in the princesses. Both Luna and Celestia made their way onto the small, wooden stage and smiled at their subjects.
The elder waited for the excitement to quiet down, then she spoke, "I would like to welcome everypony here today. I would also like to especially welcome the young students who have journeyed far in their education to these new heights. That is why we are here today. To welcome them to a higher understanding of their own magical abilities."
She now turned toward Luna, who seemed caught off guard by her sister's gaze, "Uhh...um...We will now begin the examinations. This test will tell if your child is ready to enter the school for the gifted" She turned and pointed her hoof toward a small door on the other side of the auditorium. There, a desk was set up with a pony and a clipboard. "Your child's name will be called in due time and then you will proceed with them into the testing room."
Young ponies everywhere were now either studying or nervously awaiting their number to come up. Celestia looked out over the sea of ponies and spotted Stone. He seemed to be doing his job alright and she could even see Sirius talking with his family. Celestia smiled and spoke to Luna. "There he is."
"Who? Do you mean the starchild?" Luna asked fixing her gaze on the family.
"Yes sister." Celestia turned toward Luna. "There may be dark times ahead and all I can ask of you is that you be watchful. Even I do not know where the darkness from the prophesy will come from."
"I will try my sister."
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"Sirius Charmer! Number seventeen! Sirius Charmer." The words echoed across the auditorium. Sirius shook. He knew that it was time.
He and his parents as well as Stone walked over to the desk. The pony at the desk motioned for them to go on in. Midnight went forward and opened the door. Inside, the room was still relatively empty, except for a few ponies in the classroom seats who Sirius identified as the judges for the exam.
Pearl turned to Sirius, "Listen honey. I know that you can do this. Don't be worried, you'll do just fine."
"Your mother is right son. We have no doubt that you'll succeed." Midnight pat his son on the head and Sirius was off, trotting to the front of the classroom. Stone had made his way into the audience as well.
One of the judges shifted in his seat and looked over his clipboard. His older appearance coupled with his white mane gave him a wise and serious look. "You are Sirius Charmer?" he asked.
"Yes sir." Sirius said.
"Are you ready for your exam?"
Sirius turned to his parents. They were smiling at him and motioning for him to go on. "Yes. I am."
The judge pony checked over a few things before calling out for exam number seven. In from one of the room's side doors, a pony pushed a cart. On the cart was a painting and a canvas. On the floor was a confused young unicorn.
"You will have five minutes to use copying magic to copy the painting onto another canvas. Do you understand?"
Sirius gulped. "Um...yes." he said quietly, his body shaking.
The judge turned to one of the other ponies and nodded. The other pony held an hourglass. With the flip of the device, the exam began. "You may begin," said the judge rather calmly.
Sirius was racking his brain. He was sure he'd learned copying magic, but couldn't remember it. His parents saw the confusion and began to grow worried. Stone watched in curiosity.
No matter how hard he tried, Sirius couldn't remember the spell and was begining to think he would fail. Just then a thought came into his mind. No, not a thought, a memory. He remembered sitting at home. His mother had secured coloring supplies for the young Sirius and he was drawing on pieces of paper. One drawing in particular he remembered his mother taking and placing in a frame. Sirius wanted to keep it but couldn't reach the frame. His magical ability wasn't the greatest at the time, but he clearly remembered using a copying spell to bring the picture down onto another piece of paper.
His strenuous thinking had now ceased and he was completely still. Everypony in the room watched in awe as his horn glowed its signature light purple. The painting was now glowing as well. He thought harder and harder until the colors seemed to jump off of the canvas. The original painting was still there, untouched, but the copy was glowing and floating toward the blank canvas.
Everypony was now leaning in, watching the sight of the magic feat, even Stone. With a sudden zap of energy, there was a flash on the canvas. Sirius's horn had stopped glowing but on the other side of the room, two identical paintings stood across from one another.
Sirius stood, his mouth open in astonishment as his parents rushed up to him, wrapping their forelegs around him and congratulating him. He was paralyzed from surprise. The judges were busy writing something on their clipboards and some were even clapping.
"He did it," Stone said under his breath. He sat back in his chair and thought to himself. "Maybe Cirrus had been right." If so, Stone realized, he was about to be in for the ride of his life.