//------------------------------// // Chapter 1 // Story: Academy // by Terrasora //------------------------------// Twilight Sparkle was not in the best of moods. This was, admittedly, not a particularly surprising occurrence. She was out in public at the time, and Twilight Sparkle was not fond of being out in public. Public was a very noisy place, filled with hooves clacking against the ground and laughter and talking and ponies shouting "All aboard! All aboard the train to Ponyville! Please have your tickets at the ready!" Which was actually rather considerate of them as Twilight had lost track of time, but rather inconsiderate in that it forced her to briefly interact with the ticket taker at a time when she would have preferred wallowing in anger. As fortune would have it, the earliest train to Ponyville from Canterlot was almost entirely empty. Twilight tucked herself in the furthest corner seat, killing whatever hope her fellow passengers had concerning friendly conversation. She sat in silence, staring out of the window and stoking the small flame of indignation in her chest. Friends. She was supposed to go make friends. Personal student to the single most powerful being in all of Equestria and, quite possibly, the entire world, sister of the youngest Captain of the Guard in Equestrian history, whose special talent lay in not a single branch of magic as most unicorns' did, but in all of magic itself, was being sent to go make friends at some school. And she hadn't even gotten a goodbye! Just a letter of admission, a few written instructions, a ticket to Ponyville, and a poster with the school's crest and an overhead shot of campus. It may as well have been an eviction notice. Yes, there were worse things in the world than being accepted into the Princess' Academy for the Advancement of Equestrian Society without so much as writing an essay, but Twilight actually quite liked writing essays, so even that stung a bit! And worse yet, she'd only been allowed two suitcases! Hardly enough for her favorite books, let alone her second, third, or fifty-sixth favorites! A whole book ranking system gone to waste over Princess Celestia's random whim! What was the point of personal lessons with the Princess if Twilight was just going to end up in a normal school?! Twilight sighed, her head thumping dully against the window's glass as the flame in her chest began to cool. It just didn't make sense. And now she was off to a town she'd only heard about in passing. Twilight had cracked open her Equestrian history books as soon as she'd seen Ponyville printed on her ticket, but they didn't tell her much. A wholly unremarkable little hamlet that wasn't old enough to have any real history. Just a pit-stop on her way to the Academy. To her new home. "How did this happen?" she muttered from her corner of the train. But nobody heard her. *** Rarity was practically bouncing as she made her way through Ponyville. The freshly risen sun seemed brighter, the birds sang a little bit sweeter, and the overloaded cart she pulled along in her magic rolled just a tad more smoothly than normal despite being topped with the equivalent of a small home. The only dampener on Rarity's mood was the quiet, unassuming nature of the day. She knew that there were dozens of reporters all across Equestria at that very moment, snapping pictures of the next Class of the Academy, clamoring for interviews as students prepared to depart on the next leg of their life. Especially this year, if the rumors were anything to go by. But Rarity was in Ponyville, a town that had largely fallen off of the Equestrian radar. Why would any reporter waste her time here when Canterlot was a brief train ride away? And Canterlot was undoubtedly the place to be. Well, no matter. There may not have been any reporters waiting in Ponyville Station, but it was no skin off of Rarity's back. They'd all be knocking on her door soon enough. Rarity pressed foreward, straining her magic slightly to get her luggage through the door. There weren't many ponies in the station, which wasn't entirely a surprise; Ponyville Station wasn't exactly the busiest location in Equestria, but Rarity huffed at the fact that there was nopony at all to see her off. Reporters were one thing, local well-wishers were another matter entirely. She pushed the thoughts from her mind. The ponies of Ponyville could do whatever they wished, after all, and it wasn't as though Rarity had asked anypony to be at the station, so there. Matter handled, no more thinking about it. Focus on the luggage cart, the top case looks a little precarious. It certainly didn't help that the floor was so uneven. This place really needs some remodeling. Where is that blasted mirror? Ah, there it was. A large, rectangular sheet of glass framed in silver, a mirror big enough to reflect two ponies standing side by side. There were various markings and symbols carved into the frame, but their meaning escaped Rarity. Nor was she particularly interested in their meaning. Her eyes were drawn, instead, to the purple unicorn seated a few feet from the mirror. The unicorn's head was stuffed into a book, so no help there, but there were two cases of luggage by her seat, and she must have been around Rarity's age. Rarity had never seen her before, which meant that she probably wasn't from Ponyville. All the signs pointed to one possibility: Rarity was about to make her first friend in the Academy. She fixed her friendliest smile onto her face, putting an extra spring in her step as she approached the oblivious unicorn. "Good morning!" Rarity greeted brightly. No reaction. The other unicorn continued to read, as though she hadn't heard Rarity's enthusiastic greeting. A few awkward moments passed, then she sighed, lowering her book. "Can I help you?" she asked, not quite making eye contact with Rarity. "Not quite," Rarity began, rather unnerved by her potential first friend, "I couldn't help but notice your bags and current location in the station; are you a student at the Academy?" "I am." "Oh, fantastic! Do you mind if I join you?" "I have no control over where you sit." She turned back to her book. A pause. Rarity eyed the empty seat next to the unicorn. Maybe the early hour wasn't the only reason she had been sitting alone. Well, Rarity was too far-gone to turn around and leave. "My name is Rarity," she said, filling the empty seat. "Twilight Sparkle," replied Twilight, reluctantly looking up from her book. "So! First year at the Academy! Isn't this exciting?" "I suppose so." "I certainly think so. I just about died when I got my acceptance letter; nopony could believe it. I'm only the third or fourth pony in recent memory to make it into the Academy from Ponyville!" "Really?" Twilight asked politely. "Indeed," Rarity replied with a thoughtful nod. "I think there were three from last year, which is impressive in its own right for Ponyville, and there's two this year including myself. Pinkie Pie is the other pony. She's very nice, if a bit energetic. I'm actually rather surprised she isn't here yet." Twilight smiled in reply, giving a sort of noncommittal grunt. Her eyes darted towards her book. "What about yourself?" Rarity asked. "What brings you to Ponyville?" "My mother wanted me to see her hometown at least once before leaving for the Academy," Twilight lied with practiced ease. It was exactly what the Princess' notes had told her to say. Rarity fell for it. "Really? Where did she move to?" "Manehattan." "Oh, that's a gorgeous city! I've been there once or twice myself and I absolutely loved it." "It's a nice place." "I've actually thought of moving there permanently! Well, either there or Canterlot." Twilight shrugged apologetically. "I've never really visited Canterlot." "It's a truly lovely city!" Rarity said excitedly, placing a hoof on Twilight's shoulder. "They have the most incredible shops and the most beautiful buildings. The Princess' castle is stunning, just absolutely stunning." Twilight twisted away from the hoof. "I'm sure." Rarity, lost in her excitement, didn't even notice Twilight's discomfort. "Oh, and did you hear the rumor? Apparently, the Princess' own student is coming to the Academy this year!" "Really?" asked Twilight nonchalantly. "Yes! It's been in every tabloid for the past month! The Princess has always been so secretive about her student; we don't know the slightest thing about him! I honestly have no idea how Princess Celestia did it." "It's pretty amazing." "And then we find out that the Princess put somepony in without so much as an entrance exam! Well, all of Equestria knew that that was her student, but it's rather strange, isn't it? Suddenly sending the student the Princess tried to keep away from the public eye right into the Academy of all places!" "Yeah. Pretty weird." "Well, we'll just have to keep an eye out at the Academy, won't we?" Twilight nodded. At that moment, a thin humming filled the air, originating from the mirror. The mirror's runes began to glow with a soft golden light. A unicorn stepped out of the mirror, grey and thin enough to look almost sickly. Too thin indeed for the white, official-looking jacket he wore, which hung low enough to cover his cutie mark. His black mane was flecked with the grey of age and brushed up and out of his face. He scanned the train station, golden eyes eventually settling on Twilight and Rarity, regarding them through a pair of rectangular glasses. "Students?" he asked. "We are!" answered Rarity brightly, practically jumping out of her seat. Her magic flared, enveloping her mountain of luggage once more. "I'm Rarity, and this is Twilight Sparkle." "Do Rarity and Twilight Sparkle have their admittance letters?" Rarity nodded, opening the top suitcase with her magic and floating a piece of paper towards the stallion. He took it in his own aura, giving it a cursory glance. "You may leave your luggage here, Rarity. It'll find its way to you in the Academy." Rarity glanced back towards the mountain, then towards the stallion. "If it's all the same to you, sir, I'd much rather keep it with me." The stallion raised an eyebrow. "Seems pretty heavy for a carry-on." "I've carried it this far." "This Looking Glass only reflects students," said the stallion, gesturing back towards the still-glowing mirror. "I can send your luggage to where you'll be reflected, but you can't go through with it." Rarity thought for a moment, then nodded reluctantly. "That'll be fine. Thank you." The stallion's magic flared, a soft golden aura enveloping Rarity's luggage. The light flashed, and the luggage disappeared. "Who's powering that Looking Glass?" Twilight asked, gazing intently at the glowing ruins. "I am." answered the stallion. Twilight blinked. "That's impossible." "Is it?" the stallion asked with a half-smile. "I wish somepony had told me." "You're holding open a Looking Glass?" "Correct." "But you levitated Rarity's acceptance letter! You teleported her luggage!" "Correct. Do you have your acceptance letter, Twilight Sparkle?" Twilight stared at the stallion, not breaking eye-contact as she produced her acceptance letter. The stallion's smile widened slightly as he took Twilight's letter in his magic. "Would you like me to do the same to your luggage?" His smile had definitely widened then. "No. I'm fine." "Then pass through the Looking Glass whenever you're ready." Twilight stepped forward, keeping her eyes on the stallion. He held his smile, inclining his head slightly as she stepped through the Looking Glass.