//------------------------------// // Chapter 2 // Story: A Very Gifted Alicorn // by RoyalPonySisters //------------------------------// Luna stood outside the doors to her sister’s quarters, feeling just a bit apprehensive. Intellectually she knew it shouldn’t matter, but she felt that stepping into this room would solidify her status as a novice. And she had never been the best student, why back in those days with Star Swirl.... “Oh! There you are, Luna. I like your punctuality,” Celestia smiled. Right. Celestia is just finishing her duties. She would not be in her room anyways. Feeling relieved that she had not tried to enter, Luna looked up and attempted to return the motion. She noticed Celestia was levitating a number of scrolls, quills, and inkwells. She must be taking this quite seriously. A pit formed in Luna’s stomach. As much she appreciated her sister putting in this kind of effort for her, it meant that Luna would have to make sure she measured up. And she wasn’t entirely sure she could. I am just ignorant of modern magicks, not deficient in skill, she reminded herself firmly. There is no reason that I would not master this once it is properly elucidated. Feeling more confident, she followed Celestia into the room. Celestia set her supplies down and sat down beside them. Luna sat down facing her. With the cozy warmth of the fire burning behind her in the fireplace, she felt nice in spite of herself. Perhaps I should get a fireplace for my chambers, she mused idly. She stopped when she noticed her sister staring at her expectantly. “So... how exactly do we do this?” Luna asked. “I think it would be best if we pick up from where you left off. What’s the last thing you remember about magical theory?” “Umm...” Luna racked her brains desperately for information she hadn’t thought about in a millennium. “Something about... wind, fire, water... oh, yes! All magic comes in four primeval forms, relating to the four natural elements of wind, fire, water, and earth. Every spell we do contains magic relating to these four elements, and the amount of each one contained affects the properties of the spell.” She looked up at her sister hopefully. Celestia had a flicker of surprise on her face, but it was quickly replaced by a wide smile. “Yes, Luna. That’s basic Elemental Theory. Of course, there have been major advancements in the precision of the theory itself. In the first Celestial Era, a Unicorn mage named Nebula Storm created a system for measuring and classifying the amount of each element in a given spell...” Luna tried her best to pay attention, and found that it wasn’t too bad. Celestia explained things to her clearly, and even took out a tool called an elementumometer to help her measure the elements contained in a basic levitation spell (three parts air, one part fire). Using the tool required a lot of measuring, writing, and calculations, but luckily Celestia had brought a lot of parchment. They measured a bunch of common spells, and then discussed the finer points of magical theory. All in all, it wasn’t easy, but Luna felt pretty good about what they had accomplished. “So... I think I understand this! Thank you, Celestia. We did a lot!” Luna said gratefully. “A lot? Luna, that was just surface level,” Celestia shook her head. “If you really want to understand Elemental Theory, you need to read this-“ she levitated down a book from the top of her massive bookshelves- “and this-“ she grabbed another- “definitely this- oh and probably this as well...” She unceremoniously dumped the collection of books onto Luna’s forelegs. Luna groaned under the weight. “Ow! Celestia, do I have to read all of this? Please go easy on me- I am your sister, not your student.” “I am going easy on you, Luna,” Celestia declared. “All I gave you are books. I haven’t even made you write a paper on them. Besides, a lot of these books are really old, so the writing style should be fairly understandable to you.” Luna moaned. “Do I have to?” “Of course you don’t have to, Luna, but if you don’t you’ll have a very hard time comprehending our next lesson. Ideally, you would do some of your own research to get a deeper understanding, but I think this should be sufficient for now.” Celestia yawned. “Forgive me for ending things so curtly, but am quite tired after doing this on top my full schedule- not that I mind!- and I think I am going to retire for the night. I will see you this morning, Little Sister, and we can have our next lesson at the same time and place, next week. How does that sound?” “It sounds good.” Luna agreed. “Thank you, Sister, and good night.” “Good night.” Luna trotted out of the room quietly. She hoped the dream realm wouldn’t be too busy tonight. Because she had a lot of reading to do.