As the sun rose above the horizon, the land was bathed in it's warm glow. Trees, fields, rivers, homes. All were illuminated by that bright orb, heralding the arrival of the new day. But, by far, the greatest sight in this early morning was the grand city of Canterlot. The ancient capital of this land and it's people, built into the side of a huge and imposing mountain, with it's spires of white and gold glowing in the light of the sun, served as a shining beacon to all who may have seen it from afar. It was a beautiful sight, and one that remained to be witnessed by all of it's denizens, many of whom now arose from their slumber, ready to meet the day and busy themselves with their trades and livelihoods. By the time the day had been alight for an hour, the city was abuzz with activity, with men, women and children all going about their business, happy and content.

But, within the walls of that city, there was one place where there was instead a sense of worry and hesitancy. In one of the many ivory towers of Canterlot, in one of the highest floors, there was a girl. Bearing dark-purple hair tied up in a bun, with thick black-rimmed spectacles upon her eyes, and clad in the simple brown robe of an acolyte, this young lady was at a simple desk, adorned with nothing more than a small flower pot, and an open book. The latter object was currently the focus of the girl's attention, as her eyes read the current passage over and over again. She was focused, and very nearly obsessed with what was written there, and yet, through it all, she bore a degree of nervousness to her. However, after several minutes of this, she finally looked up, gazing upon the small flower within the pot before her, before letting out a deep sigh.

"Well, Twilight...here goes nothing," she whispered to herself.

Closing her book, the girl, Twilight, slid it to one side for the time being, her eyes never leaving that small flower. Leaning forward, she raised her right hand, bringing it closer to the unmoving plant. But, before anything else could occur, she was interrupted by the unmistakeable creaking sound of her chamber door. Turning, she looked upon a new arrival to her room. A boy, younger than her by a year or two, with a lavender skin tone and bright green hair. It was a colour matched in his fine-looking clothing. But by far, the most notable thing about this youth was his eyes. They too were green, but bore the look of a serpent. A far cry from the regular human eyes of Twilight. And yet, besides that, he was, by all appearances, another of her people, smiling to her and giving a brief wave.

"Morning, Twilight!"

But Twilight herself was less than happy, adjusting her glasses slightly before replying.

"Spike! What have I told you about barging in during my practise sessions?"

Realising he'd made something of a blunder, Spike chuckled nervously, before closing the door behind him, again causing a creak as he did so. But it seemed as if Twilight could not stay mad at him forever, and after shaking her head at him for a moment, got back to work. Yet again, her eyes focused on the flower, causing Spike to take a keen interest in what was happening. He watched as Twilight once more raised her hand, taking a few calming breaths before, at last, starting in earnest. Her raised hand began to glow a bright purple shade, and as this occurred, she started to look strained, with beads of sweat rolling down her forehead. But, not long afterwards, the flower too began to glow, leading to a small smile on Twilight's part.

"That's it...come on...come on...bloom!"

The glow intensified as the seconds rolled by, but, when the spell reached it's apex, Twilight found, to her dismay, that the aura around the flower simply vanished, as if there were no spell there at all. And the flower itself remained as it had been the entire time; just a bud. Seeing this, Twilight simply stared at the thing for a minute, saying not one word. Spike watched, now starting to seem a little worried about the girl. His fears were soon justified, as Twilight let out a loud groan of annoyance, slamming her head down against the wooden desk.

"It's hopeless! Why doesn't it ever work?!"

Spike watched her for a while, seeing her repeatedly bang her head against the table, before taking a few steps forward. Raising his own hand, he gently placed it upon her shoulder, gaining her attention. When Twilight looked to him, she saw him bear a friendly smile.

"It's still early days, Twilight. I mean, you only learned that spell, what, a week ago? Give it time."

The look on Twilight's face made it clear that she was unconvinced, prompting him to continue.

"Come on, Twilight! You know you're a good mage! Everyone at the school thinks so, remember?"

To that, Twilight rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, at essays and studies. But at actually practising it? Ugh!"

Again, her forehead made contact with the table, causing Spike to shake his head at this sight. Under normal circumstances, he might have spoken further to her, but, mere moments later, he was prevented from doing so, as the creak of the door could be heard yet again. Both youths turned, and both gained a look of surprise when they saw who it was. A man, older than them by at least five years, entered the chamber, bearing a mop of somewhat unkempt blue hair, and clad in bright and shining golden armour. This garb was adorned with the emblem of the sun, and as he entered, it glistened in the morning rays that still poured through the chamber window. Before this newcomer had a chance to say anything, however, Twilight leapt from her chair, rushed forward and embraced him in a tight and unexpected hug.

"Shining!"

Although he took a moment to recover from this, Shining quickly broke into a smile, embracing the girl in return.

"Yeah...it's good to see you too, sister."

After a while, the two finally parted from this, and it was here when Shining finally noted Spike's presence. The moment he caught sight of the youth, the golden-clad man stood at attention, giving a slight bow to him.

"My Prince. Greetings."

Spike rolled his eyes at that.

"Seriously? How many times, Shining?"

Standing normally once more, Shining cleared his throat a little before replying to that.

"Apologies. Old habits and all that."

The chuckle Spike let out after that made it clear that no offense was given, and so Shining turned his attention yet again to his sister, who was still smiling eagerly towards him. It was a sentiment reflected in her tone as she finally spoke up.

"So, how's the guard so far?"

Shining smiled back as he answered.

"It's going great, Twily. There's always something to do. A difficult profession, to be sure...but worth it."

A happy squeal escaped the girl, and she reached forward, grabbing hold of her brother's hand and starting to pull him further into her chambers.

"You've got to tell me all about it!"

Unfortunately, her enthusiasm was short-lived, as Shining stood firm where he was, resisting her tugs. This caught her attention immediately, and she turned to him, tilting her head in confusion. A silence followed, and Shining, just for a moment, seemed almost concerned about something. But, in the end, he steeled himself, letting out a sigh before speaking up again.

"Twilight...I'm afraid...I didn't come here just to catch up."

Upon hearing that, Twilight let go of him, looking to him with curiosity, as did Spike. As before, Shining struggled to get his words out, but, when he finally spoke, there was a clear tone of discomfort to him.

"Sister...I've been ordered to escort you. There has been a summons. You are required...at the palace."

Silence fell yet again as Twilight stared at her brother. The way she looked at him made it clear that she was expecting this to be a jest on his part. And yet, as the moments continued, it became all too obvious to her that her brother was being serious about this. Turning, she looked upon Spike, who seemed just as dumbfounded about this as she was, before looking back to Shining.

"The...the palace? But...why?"

Frowning slightly, Shining gave his answer, his voice one of seriousness.

"Twilight...you've been asked for...by the Queen."