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Arrival1,938 words
First Day1,574 words
Cupcakes and Cutie Marks1,475 words
The Journey1,228 words
True Form1,572 words

First Day

Twilight awoke to the aroma of breakfast. Confident that Spike knew what he was doing, she began planning the day. It was only when the smell of burnt toast reached her that she properly awoke and remembered her new student.

“What is Mysteria doing?” she grumbled aloud, as she quickly made her bed. “Her first morning here and she decides to experiment in my kitchen.”

Quickly trotting downstairs, she beheld a mess worthy of Pinkie Pie in her normally pristine kitchen. Spike stood in the middle holding a book open for the grey filly working furiously at the counter. Dough and flour covered the floor and Twilight had a sinking feeling that they had redecorated the ceiling with icing.

“What in Equestria are you doing?” She screamed, taking in the mess and the filly responsible. “All I did was fell asleep, and now I wake up to find that my student has decided to emulate the craziest pony in ponyville! And could you please explain how I smell burnt toast when you are clearly making cupcakes!”

Mysteria looked down at the floor blushing furiously,

“I just wanted to make something nice for you. I thought I could make some delicious cakes so you would be happy in the morning.”

Spike glanced at the two of them and sighed. He put the book away and went to fetch a mop. As he left, Twilight stared thoughtfully at Mysteria with a calculating look.

“Well, never mind,” She suddenly said brightly “You meant well, and now we can practice some basic magic”

Mysteria nodded happily but soon her face was screwed up in concentration as she tried to force the magic into her horn. Twilight glanced askance at her as she easily created her aura. She tried to remember the lessons she had been taught at Magic Kindergarten about basic magic.

“Try finding the source of magic inside you” she instructed, holding a cleaning cloth steady in the air in front of her. “The most important thing about magic is finding out where it belongs within you. Once you have found it, focus it through your body - imagine it travelling up into your horn and gathering there.” As she spoke she projected lines of glowing purple light on floor. They fizzled and crackled with energy, but exuded no heat.

A spark of red light appeared at the end of Mysteria’s horn and slowly began to cover the rest of it. Then, the light flared and she cried out. Instantly, the light was gone. Clutching her head, Mysteria fell to the floor. Twilight glanced at the lines on the floor: only four of them had changed colour. That was average for a unicorn of her age. Sighing heavily, she began clearing up the mess by herself, barely thinking whilst manipulating dozens of objects.

“Hmmm, you have some magic”, she told Mysteria. “However, you appear to be of an average power level, and have the abilities of a newborn colt when it comes to controlling it.” Frankly, I don’t know how to work with your abilities. Why don’t you read a book and take notes? I am expecting a letter from the princess which will straighten this whole mess out.” With that sweeping statement Twilight turned on her hooves and strode off into the library proper.

Mysteria buried her head in her hooves - why couldn’t she please her teacher? Why did everything seem to count against her? Sniffling slightly, she went for the book that Twilight told her to get, and placing it on her back climbed up to the top of the tree.

Moments later Spike waddled up to Twilight and handed her a scroll.
“The Princess responded, Twilight.” He told her smiling slightly. She eagerly levitated the scroll in front of her and opened it.

“My faithful student Twilight, I am glad to hear that Mysteria has arrived safely. I would like to add that I have complete faith in both her ability to learn and yours to teach. I am sure you will become close friends just as we have.” Twilight read aloud. At the end she turned the parchment over, frantically searching the other side.

“Where is the rest Spike?” she demanded urgently.

“There isn’t any more” he responded, looking very confused.

“The princess didn’t answer my question! In fact, she said nothing useful at all. Oh Spike, what am I supposed to do now?” Twilight moaned.

Meanwhile, at the top of the tree, Mysteria was desperately trying to get engrossed in a book. However, the open air and laughing ponies below made it difficult to get into the dusty old tome. The words spiralled off the page, and try as she might Mysteria could only appreciate snippets of the lecture. After what felt like an age, she realised that she would get nothing new from this book. Sighing, she picked it up and came downstairs, attempting to memorise the facts she had just learnt.

When she entered it was immediately noticeable that Twilight was concerned about something. Her eyes were flickering quickly from side to side and her mane had become a little scruffy. Though normal for a pony, for Twilight this showed she was stressed and concerned.

Gulping, Mysteria cleared her throat and set the book down on a table. Twilight turned to her with a tight lipped smile.

“Done already? You must be very confident in your abilities.” She asked with a strongly condescending tone. “Well, let’s see what you chose. Hmm, Star Swirl the Bearded’sElementary Magical Elements ? An ambitious choice to be sure.”

For a second, Mysteria was sure she saw a flash of pride cross her teacher’s face. However, it was almost instantly replaced by a cool impassive mask.
“Well, let’s see if this advanced text held any meaning to you, shall we?”

Again, Mysteria gulped, a slight sweat making her forehead shine. She nodded, and Twilight began to question her.

“What is an IME?

“Individual Magic Effect.”

“True. How did Star Swirl theorise magic was linked to a unicorn’s connection to the Elements of Harmony?”

“He said that all unicorns are connected to the metaphysical aspects of harmony, and so examples of those will strengthen or enhance a unicorn’s magic.”

Twilight smiled. “Correct again, Mysteria. Well remembered. How does a cutie mark affect a unicorn’s IME and power?”

“The magic a unicorn can perform is constrained and focused by their cutie mark. Their IME represents the colour of their magic. Stronger magic will result in a more vibrant colour.”

“Well learned. That information should be widely known, but relatively few unicorns actually know it. What age do unicorns first gain the ability to utilise magic?”

“Umm, four?” Mysteria guessed, suddenly uncomfortable being questioned in this manner.

“No, the correct answer is anytime older than a month.”

The barrage of questions felt inexhaustible, but eventually Twilight held up her hoof. They both fell silent. She stared at her student for a time, and once again Mysteria felt as though she were being judged, evaluated as one would a bushel of apples or a cart.

“Well, you did better than I expected” Twilight grudgingly admitted. Mysteria beamed, that was what she’d wanted - praise from her teacher.

“But...”Twilight continued, her smile evaporating.

Of course there wouldn’t be praise, she had made mistakes. How many she wasn’t sure, but she knew with a certainty that it was enough to warrant a lesson.

“But, you only achieved a ninety percent success rate. For my student, this is unacceptable.”

Mysteria almost felt her jaw drop - she stared incredulously at her teacher.

“But, ninety percent is excellent, isn’t it?”

Twilight snorted, levitating the blue tome back into it’s place.

“Ninety percent means that you were ten percent wrong. Out there in the real world, this means you will fail to be of help in one out of ten accidents. Ponies will get in trouble, maybe even hurt, because you weren’t good enough!”

Shaking slightly, Mysteria took another book from the shelves and walked slowly back to her room. Brushing the tears from her eyes she shut the door. A moment later, Spike came in.

“What’s with the raised voices Twilight?” He asked glancing at the closed door - he could tell something had just happened.

“Nothing happened, Spike.” Twilight responded, briskly pulling out a few books and transporting them to her desk. “Mysteria is just overreacting to her own failings, that’s all.”

“Twilight...that’s a horrible thing to say.” Spike said quietly. Stunned Twilight looked up at him, he wasn’t looking at her but he looked determined.

“Sure she’s not as powerful as you, or maybe even a bunch of other fillies.” He continued, his voice cracking slightly as it grew in volume. “She’s just a filly, Twilight.” he said more softly, turning back to look at her.

Twilight stood still for a moment, then walked over and put her hoof on his shoulder.
“I know she is, Spike, and I know she’s trying. I just expected a bit more from her, that’s all.” She turned around “I guess I’m disappointed.”

The purple dragon opened his mouth to say more, but seeing Twilight’s face closed it slowly and watched as she left the room.

Spike shook his head sadly and walked away.

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