"Alright, so over the weekend, feel free to continue practicing with Class I levitation spells. If you get bored, and want a little bit of a challenge before we start Class II curriculum, juggling with your magic is a great way to hone your dexterity. Just, make sure it's with nothing fragile," Sunset said, looking out over her last class of the week as they returned her gaze with attentive eyes. "Lastly, before dismissal, I know I told you all if you had any questions about magic that you were afraid to ask face to face, to put them in the Anonymous Questions box by the door."
Sunset Shimmer lit up her horn, and detached the wooden slotted box from its spot next to the front door, floating it over to her desk, unlocked it, and lifted the hinged lid.
"Looks like just one today, and it is..." Sunset paused, floating the folded piece of paper up and unfolded it. "Is it true there is a potion that can turn a mare into a stallion?" Sunset had to take a moment and chuckle. "I see that stories of Princess Twilight have been starting to circulate around a bit. She apparently won a magic duel by using a spell to turn a mare into a stallion. I can tell you that it was almost certainly an illusion. While potions can be just as powerful as spells, to my knowledge, I don't believe there is such a thing as a 'gender fluid'. With that being said, please enjoy your weekend."
As the unicorns of her class began to put on their saddlebags and turn to the exit, Sunset turned to the light blue unicorn in the front row who was putting her Magic 101 into her saddlebags.
"Misty? Would you mind staying around a moment?" She said. Misty looked up at her and nodded as the tables started to empty out.
"I-I'm sorry, Miss Shimmer. I've been trying, I really have been," the mare told her as Sunset walked around the curved bar, which had been converted into her desk.
"I know you have been, Misty. I just wanted to come and make sure that you're not getting discouraged or anything as a late arrival. I wanted to make sure that I wasn't giving the impression that this was an elite school, because that's the only magic school experience I had in my fillyhood. Everypony has their niche in magic, and I promise that I will try my best to find yours."
Sunset's three classes had been of varying skill levels. The fillies and colts class was understandably more novice, and her two adult classes were still more geared towards beginner spells. But if Sunset was internally honest with herself, her newest student, Misty, was struggling with even the most basic levitation spells. To her credit, she had been sitting up front and paying attention to everything that she had to teach. The couple of quizzes that she had taken had received adequate scores. Knowledge wasn't the problem; in Misty's case is was sadly a matter of ability.
It had reminded her a lot of her brother, Sunburst.
"Thank you, Miss Shimmer. I promise I'll keep trying hard," Misty said as she got up, got her saddlebags strapped around her midsection, and turned to exit. For just a moment, Sunset curiously eyed her simplistic butterfly cutie mark as she made her way out of the school.
Sunset did a quick walk around the tables to make sure nothing got left behind or nothing was going to be left too messy or cluttered for the weekend. It hadn't been bad for a second week. Satisfied with the state of her 'classroom' for the weekend, she made her way back to her desk to begin getting things in order before she went out for dinner. She didn't even get a single folder put back together before her phone resting off to the right began to vibrate, and the screen lit up with an incoming video call. Sunset glanced over at it, and immediately smiled at the avatar on the screen. She picked up the phone, slid the tip of her hoof across the screen to accept the call, and held it up to her face.
"Evening, Sunny. How's it going?" She asked.
"Well, I've been wanting to call you all week, but I didn't want to interrupt the flow of your week," Sunny said.
"Why, what's going on?" Sunset asked, leaning back in her chair.
"Well... See for yourself..." Sunny said, and the feed from her camera was jostled for a moment before she got her phone turned around, and Sunset's eyes widened at what the earth mare was showing her.
"You did that in just the short time I've been gone?" Sunset asked, looking at a crystal and glass lighthouse that didn't look anything like Sunny's home had when she had left for Bridlewood a couple weeks ago.
"That's just it. We didn't do anything. This just appeared overnight a couple nights ago. Isn't it absolutely amazing?" Sunny asked, turning the phone back to herself. "And that's not all. Watch this..."
Sunset watched closely and quietly as Sunny set her phone against a fence post and stepped off into the grass. She looked back and made sure she could see herself in the camera, and then returned her attention to the grass in front of her. The earth mare took a deep breath, raised her hoof, and the very tip of it began to glow green. She placed her glowing hoof on the ground, and the grass around it began to glow, moments before a sunflower sprouted up from the ground, grew rapidly, and in a matter of seconds, was taller than Sunny, and was in full bloom by the time the mare took a breath and took a step back. She looked up at her work, before trotting back to her phone and picked it up.
"I mean, just look! Earth pony magic!"
Sunset was too stunned for words at the moment, and Sunny had to double check to make sure she hadn't accidentally disconnected the call.
"Sunset, you good?"
"That also just started happening in the past few days?" Sunset asked.
Sunny nodded on-screen.
"Everypony in town can do it to an extent! You should see how excited Sprout is, you know, because it's pretty much a namesake for him. Anyways, I was wondering if you knew anything about it."
Sunset quickly gathered her thoughts.
"No... I mean, earth ponies have historically had natural affinity for farming, flora, physical strength, and endurance. But what you just showed me? Sunny, earth ponies have not had that kind of magic in all of recorded Equestrian history."
Sunny's eyes widened along with her smile.
"Wow! Earth pony magic for the first time ever! This is so exciting!" Sunny nearly squee'd.
"I won't doubt that's it's very exciting, but don't forget to be careful. Just like unicorns and pegasi, if earth ponies have magic of their own now, they have to use it safely," Sunset advised.
Sunny nodded.
"Hitch has been brainstorming guidelines for the past few days. He's got a lot on his plate too. He found a huge egg on the beach a few days ago!"
"An egg?"
"Yup! Way too big to be a seagull or turtle. He's got it incubating at the station for now. But enough about our adventures over here, has everything been going good with your new school since we last talked?"
"Pretty good, yeah. We're taking things one step at a time. For now I'm doing three classes a day, four days a week. One for the fillies and colts, and two for older ponies. Things have been pretty smooth sailing, except... Well, except for my late arrival."
"Late arrival?"
"Her name's Misty. Showed up at the end of last week, after classes had gotten started. We had already drawn a lottery to see who would be in my first batch of classes, but it felt wrong to shut a newcomer out just because they were out and about, and I was able to squeeze her into one of the last available spots of my last class for the day."
"That's great, what's so strange about that?" Sunny asked.
"Well, I've been keeping my eye out for any naturally talented unicorns who can assist with teaching classes, like Izzy. But Misty has caught my eye because, well, I don't want to sound rude, and I really don't want to sound like a snobby supremacist, but it's because she can barely do anything. The unicorns who didn't get selected for my first set of classes, I handed out Class I books to all of them, I'm talking about the baseline stuff, the simplest of the simple stuff. Misty is having trouble even with that. I want to help her find what area of magic she's good at, but in the meantime, is it really fair to have her in my first set of classes when more able unicorns are stuck waiting?" Sunset asked.
"Hm. It's a valid concern, Sunset. You want to make sure all your students are good uses of your time. Maybe ask around town about her, find out what her hobbies are, what area of Bridlewood she grew up in. Maybe the better you get to know her, the better you can get to know the magic inside her," Sunny suggested.
Sunset smiled, and heard her stomach grumble for a meal.
"Thanks, Sunny. Well, I've got to go grab some dinner. Enjoy your weekend!"
With a smile and a wave goodbye, the call ended, and Sunset turned her screen off. Quickly organizing her desk before she got any hungrier, she got up, grabbed her keys, and before leaving her desk, turned to the back wall where she had put a filing cabinet under the counter, and pulled the top drawer open, running the tip of her hoof through her student files, going to the 'M' section and pulling a file folder out.
"Good idea, Sunny. I think I'll do just that over dinner."
I still remember about that theory that Sunburst and sunset are related
Unknown to everybody that cutie mark that Misty has is fake
I would say the unity Crystal did rebuild her house just like how the tree of Harmony build Twilight home into a castle
Earth ponies never had Active magic
I'm still kind of surprised that Earth ponies has other Earth Magic aside from strength that means my Earth OC Pony has powers cool
Death tag!!!
Yes, I wished that they pushed this as canon because it makes so much sense for the characters to be related to each other. Which is sad that Sunset lost her brother after the whole time of travel but hey maybe Misty is related? Would be funny for Misty to call Sunset “Great Aunty Shimmer”
First off, this story will be great because we get Sunset and Misty art from time to time. Now, it's going to be interesting for Sunset to learn about Misty since she never lived in Bridle Wood I wonder why Misty is here? Did Opaline send her to spy on Sunset or is she there to improve herself to help Opaline... Also, very surprised you posted the story today and now we get two stories of both having two different characters to star in their G5. It’s like having two versions of Pokémon games! Different Ponies with a different take on the story but with the same villain.
The more Sunset tries to dig into Misty's past, she will find more blanks
Good gravy, I love risky jokes.
Off to an excellent start. Can't wait for the mystery to deepen.
Is it only me that, even though I like for them to be related, I also like the theory of Sunset been an orphan as well?
11384606
Exactly. Until now, Earth pony magic was simply much more subtle than unicorn and Pegasus magic (with Pinkie Pie and probably Cheese Sandwich being the notable exceptions, but even THAT magic fell under the umbrella of "Cartoon Physics").
11384634
Oddly enough, I could see all of that. As for "spying on Sunset for Opaline" or "trying to increase her usefulness", I would say it could be an equal combination of both at least at first, before Misty's conscience eventually gets the better of her and she ends up befriending Sunset and her friends for real.
REALLY good job on the start of this story. Definitely liked the work that went into the exchanges, characterizations and future chapter set-up. REALLY appreciated Sunset's observations about Misty having the general knowledge but lacking the raw power for much of the material. And Sunny's reveal of the Crystal Brighthouse AND Earth pony magic (at least more obvious Earth pony magic than in times past; as Sunset pointed out, Earth pony magic has, until now, been much more subtle than with the unicorns and Pegasi) as well as the news about Hitch finding that egg. And, yeah, I'm guessing the "Death" tag is probably primarily for flashbacks, with the "Teen" rating being pretty much for safety because this is going to end up touching into more sensitive subject matter than the previous stories in this series as well as possibly a bit more action close to the end. But, yeah, I could DEFINITELY see where Misty could NEED the fluff that this story will MOSTLY still be.
VERY MUCH looking forward to more of this.
I like how you take new additions to G5 in stride, like you could've declared stuff like Misty and Opaline to be non-canon in your universe(s) but you add them in pretty flawlessly.
This is pretty good, I'm giving you six stars for doing a good job. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
I would say it probably happened when the magic started to disappeared when Earth pony started to discover their own Magic
Ohh Sparky this is where he comes in technically
Wow this was a pretty good start of a story so far so it looks like Sunset is getting a hang of this of becoming a teacher even though she probably still needs more ponies to help with the magic students but she still tried to keep an eye on Misty because she's having some trouble with her magic but after class Sunset got the call from sunny and told her about her Lighthouse has changed and not only that hitch also found an egg and also confirming that Earth ponies have magic which Sunset was pretty surprised of all this discovery but still a lot of things happening over there I wonder what else could happen guess we'll find out next time
Good start of the story! Poor little Misty! I do just have one quick suggestion though. I recommend editing this line here:
Because from the way you phrased it, it seems like Sunset is saying there's no such thing as being gender fluid, not that there's no such thing as a gender fluid potion.
...And I meant to put that all in spoilers, but for some reason that's not working when I hit publish. Sorry!
11384963
It was worded that way on purpose.
I'm a staunch proponent of risqué humor. My "Letters From a Disgruntled Friendship Student" parody series is filled to the brim with such humor.
11384984
Ah, okay. I was just worried you might accidentally offend people
11385017
No accidentally about it, most of the time. First dark joke I've made in this five-story series.
If a single joke personally offends them that badly, they can read something else.
11385031
Alright then, sorry
11385034
No problem. Never hurts to ask!
11385035
Okay then. Great first chapter!
This is gonna be good, I can tell!
I am looking at this fic with significant interest :O
I do wonder who the unfortunate pony or ponies will be meeting their unfortunate end?
Anyways a very good story to the first chapter and I'm looing forward to how the story will progress, keep up the awesome work!
11385283
I use the Death tag as a catch-all trigger warning. Doesn't mean that a character is going to die, but that a character may have died, and if so, the subject of death is discussed at the forefront of one or more chapters.
11385292
Gotcha, thank you for explaining why you added the death tag.
Oh! That was quick!
Welcome to the fold, Misty.
Yes! The sequel has begun. Off to a good start, looking forward to more!
It would be neat if Sunset tried having Misty hatch Sparky like how Twilight did with Spike
I wonder how many people will be set off by that or take it out of context.
11385292
and I personally appreciate it. I hate tragic stories, and sometimes I'm not in the mood for sad stories, and when those things go untagged its unfun
I love how both of your new Forgotten stories include elements from Make Your Mark. The Crystal Brighthouse, Sparky's egg, and Misty. I imagine we'll soon be seeing Earth Pony magic in the Forgotten story with Flurry Heart too, as well as Opaline in this one.
11385031
Doesn’t seem that dark to me.
That still makes me laugh whenever I hear about it.
Huh, wasn't expecting this to happen until in the Flurry Heart version as I thought the SS & FH ones were two separate stories and 2 different universes. And not in the same timeline too.
Nor was I expecting that either.
So does that mean while Sunset is in bridlewood, Flurry Heart is doing stuff in maretime bay. I'm trying to put the pieces together as I'm curious now if both stories are in the same timeline and not separate au's, if anyone understand what I'm saying...
It questions me a lot why Misty not once in mym chapter 2 or her 2 appearances in tyt she hasn't used her magic. Which makes me wonder why. 🤔
11387897
This is not the same timeline. Flurry and Sunset are separate versions of the story
11387905
got it thx
11387905
I see, thx for the clarification. It was getting me confused when the new bright house, earth pony magic and Hitch's dragon egg was mentioned.
11388421
I'm just getting my stories caught up with current canon as best I can.
11388424
👍
Yay, more best pone!
11388424
In that case, would that also eventually include the moped scooter that Izzy uses as her "unicycling cart"? As you might recall from the first episode of Make Your Mark Chapter 2, Izzy was going to Bridlewood when she discovered that old vehicle abandoned on the side of the road, which she then decides to fix up and rebuild for the purpose of making it easier to haul all of her junk around so she could bring her crafting and repair skills to anyone in town.
For this story, I think it would be nice if Izzy and Sunset both discovered that old moped scooter and then worked together to fix and rebuild it. Not only would it give Sunset an opportunity to make use of some things she might have learned about vehicles in the human world, but it would also make the journey between Bridlewood and Maretime Bay much quicker (though one thing I've always questioned is where Izzy managed to get any fuel to power that thing, so perhaps you might figure out how to explain that).
11391105
A great idea, I'll absolutely consider it!
Hope to see more of your chapters and remember: Writing our way through the doorway of experience and understanding.
11385031
AAWWW, how terrible. Someone not bending over backwards to not offend losers. Don't flush before you give them swirlies
11386098 It isn't but there's ALWAYS that one religious type, to ruin everyone's living a peaceful life
"Pretty good, yeah. We're taking things one step at a time. For now, I'm doing three classes a day, four days a week. One for the fillies and colts, and two for older ponies. Things have been pretty smooth sailing, except... Well, except for my late arrival."
Sunset's three classes had been of varying skill levels. The fillies and colts' class were understandably more novice, and her two adult classes were still more geared towards beginner spells. But if Sunset was internally honest with herself, her newest student, Misty, was struggling with even the most basic levitation spells. To her credit, she had been sitting up front and paying attention to everything that she had to teach. The couple of quizzes that she had taken had received adequate scores. Knowledge wasn't the problem; in Misty's case it was sadly a matter of ability.
Sunset Shimmer lit up her horn and detached the wooden slotted box from its spot next to the front door, floating it over to her desk, unlocked it, and lifted the hinged lid.
"Alright, so over the weekend, feel free to continue practicing with Class I levitation spells. If you get bored and want a little bit of a challenge before we start the Class II curriculum, juggling with your magic is a great way to hone your dexterity. Just, make sure it's with nothing fragile," Sunset said, looking out over her last class of the week as they returned her gaze with attentive eyes. "Lastly, before dismissal, I know I told you all that if you had any questions about the magic that you were afraid to ask face to face, to put them in the Anonymous Questions box by the door."
Super spy!