//------------------------------// // The Princess is Not in a Good Mood // Story: My Little Student // by Lets Do This //------------------------------// Celestia came awake with a start. She blinked in the light from the horns of the unicorn guards standing uncertainly beside her bed. Lifting her head, she gave them a stern look. "I look forward to a excellent reason." The guards looked at each other. The one who drew the short straw cleared his throat. "Please forgive this intrusion, your Majesty! But we heard you calling out! Something about Miss Sparkle?" Celestia sighed. "Then you acted properly, of course. It was an unsettling dream, nothing more. You may return to your posts!" "At once, your Majesty!" They backed away hurriedly and left, shutting the door behind them. The Princess of the Sun and Moon, ruler of all Equestria, hauled herself roughly to a sitting position. And shivered, tears welling in her eyes. Twilight Sparkle... alone, against her. And Twilight wasn't nearly ready yet. She wouldn't stand a chance! You foolish old mare! she told herself. You've left it far too late! Her head dropped back onto the pillows. Well, there was no hope of getting back to sleep now. Her staff noticed when they came to dress her for the Raising Ceremony in the morning. The Royal Chamberlain, when she was sent away with a flea in her ear about a change in the Audience schedule, she certainly noticed. Word spread quickly and everyone tread quietly as the golden shoes stormed through the palace. The Princess was Not in a Good Mood Today. She managed to get through a hurried breakfast without banishing anyone. A dark cloud hung over her as she strode determinedly through the corridors, heading for Twilight Sparkle's room. The guards outside Twilight's room hurriedly got out of her way as she flung open the door and stood gazing around the room, tense and stern. For a moment, she was balked. The room was empty, the bed made. She turned toward the door to Cadance's room... ... just as the door burst open and Twilight came charging through it, with Cadance right behind her. Twilight was giggling uncontrollably. "Gotcha! Do you give up yet?" Cadance called. "No!" Twilight called back. Both of them came to a halt as they noticed Celestia. "Auntie?" Cadance asked, worried. "Am I interrupting something?" Celestia fumed. "Princess!" Twilight raced over to her. "Cadance just taught me the most wonderful spell in the world! Can I show it to you?" Before either Cadance or Celestia could say anything, Twilight's horn flared. And every inch of the power of her magic was behind it, with perfect control. Celestia sat down abruptly. Hard. After well over a thousand years it took a lot to astonish her. This easily qualified. Her bad mood was gone. Erased, as if it had never been. She was still tired, yes, but she could see it for the simple fatigue it was. She felt at ease, completely calm, able to rationally approach anything she faced. And Twilight flung herself against Celestia, hugging her forelegs. "I see how to make my spells work! I see how to keep the magic from running away!" Weakly returning the hug, Celestia looked to Cadance. "Does she now?" "Near as I can tell, your Highness." Cadance said. "I only taught her a few comfort spells, nothing more. But Twi's always been a quick study. She used what you taught her about analyzing spells, and worked out what they had in common -- and from that, how to properly limit her magic to apply them. And it seems that now she can apply every ounce of her magic to her spells with perfect stability, if I'm any judge. Though I'd value a second opinion," she added quickly, still looking at Celestia with a worried gaze. Celestia avoided her eye and looked down at Twilight. "Then it seems I've arrived at the perfect time. Come with me, Twilight." - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - They strode into the Vault, and Twilight sat down in front of Celestia, ready for her lesson. But Celestia simply stood, looking at her thoughtfully, for a long moment. "Princess?" Twilight asked. "Is... everything okay?" "Hmm? Everything is fine, Twilight. You've simply reminded me I haven't been giving your abilities nearly the credit they deserve. I think it's time we moved on from simple spell-casting to something deeper -- to the construction of spells themselves. This is very advanced work but given that you can properly contain your magic, I think we can shift the focus now." "Cool!" Twilight beamed. "Also... I'm thinking we should look into booking you into the next semester at the School, so you can begin taking classes with the other students on a wider range of topics than we can cover here." "Does... that mean we won't be doing lessons together any more?" "Of course not! You are still my student, Twilight. We'll still have our one-on-one time on a regular basis. But you'll spend more time at the School, and I'll also give you lessons that you can complete on your own. How does that sound? Feel like giving it a try?" "Okay... sure." "Twilight, what is it?" "Princess... well... are you really sure I'm ready to move on?" "Well, why don't we find out? How do you feel about taking a complete, all-day examination? On every single thing you've learned so far?" "A final exam?" Twilight's eyes boggled. "YES!"