Crystalline Destiny - MLP Fanfic

Prologue

"Come on, Irradiance!" Moonshine called from a few steps ahead, giggling as he stumbled further toward the dark forest, the path lined with thorns. Sunny Daze laughed along, illuminating the path with her glowing horn, orange magic providing minimal comfort in the otherwise pitch-black location.

"You guys are walking too fast!" The purple Unicorn called from behind the pair, huffing heavily as he trotted to catch up to the other two ponies. "You know I exceed in magic, not physical activity, right?"

As students of Princess Celestia's Magic Academy, the trio of ponies had grouped themselves together soon after starting. Each of their parents were professors at the Magic School, so it made sense that they'd eventually socialize their children with each other.

Moonshine, daughter of the Associate Dean of the Magic Academy, was a pretty white Unicorn with long blue hair, which never got tangled no matter what shenanigans the young filly got into. The other pair of Unicorns suspected her mother had placed some sort of enchantment on her mane.

Sunny Daze, the son of one of the scribes for the school, was a pale blue Unciorn with a short, yellow, pink, and cyan mane. He was often referred to as the "Teacher's Pet" because of his intense attentiveness in class, always jotting down exactly what the professors said. Like father, like son, the students supposed.

Irradiance was a scholarship student, transferred from Phillydelphia all the way to Canterlot to attend the magic school. His mother, a magic professor at a neighboring private school funded by Celestia's flagship university, had earned the right to send her son to the official Magic Academy for free. He was a purple Unicorn with a curly turquoise mane and tail. Unlike Moonshine, his antics always ended with twigs and knots all up in his mane, a nightmare to brush out at the end of the night.

"Hurry up, Irradiance!" Sunny Daze called back, finally approaching the goal destination: a crumbled castle, with sun and moon decals lining the walls. This was the fabled castle where Celestia and Luna had once lived ages ago, long before Princess Twilight took over Equestria.

"Woah," Moonshine gaped, blue eyes gazing longingly up at the torn banners above her, awestruck at the evidence that the previous leaders of her country once lived here. "Sun and moon, Sunny Daze! Just like you and me!" The Unicorn giggled, pointing to herself and her friend in reference to the old Princesses.

Irradiance huffed loudly as he finally caught up to the other pair of Unicorns, looking around at the castle and then back at the trio. "Wait," He furrowed his brows, lifting a hoof as he thought. "If you're the sun and the moon, then what am I?" The trio was silent for a minute before Moonshine erupted into laughter.

"You're Nightmare Moon, of course!" The white filly levitated an old staff, holding it out toward Irradiance as if it were a sword pointing toward an enemy. "We must defeat you so that nighttime never rules Equestria again!"

"Yeah!" Sunny Daze grabbed an old tablecloth, tearing it so it looked more like a net, "I'll kidnap you, Nightmare Moon! Don't think you can get away!"

Frozen in place as he smiled at the sudden creation of a game, Irradiance's happy expression soon fell to confusion and fear as his friends began racing toward him, chasing him out of the castle as they spoke to him as if he truly were Nightmare Moon, the enemy of Equestria.

"We'll get you, Nightmare Moon!" Moonshine shouted eyes narrowed as she tossed a staff toward her classmate, earning a shocked scream out of him. Was she trying to impale him for real?

"Stop!" Irradiance shouted, running as fast as he could away from his friends, and he wasn't sure if he should be friends with them after this! "Guys, I can't run very fast! Stop chasing me!"