Jupiter, Bringer of Jollity
Today was the day there was no denying that, for years Star Bolt and his brother, Alpha Bolt had studied at the small school in Dodge Junction. It was a small school with only a single 30-pupil class, which on most days was lucky to be half-full. , but today was the day where everything changes. Star Bolt awoke and skipped with glee, he wrenched open the door and thundered down the small staircase. Today was the day that his and his brothers’ exam results would arrive and ultimately decide their future. As Star Bolt arrived at the front door he couldn’t see any letters on the doorstep, so he decided to take a stroll outside to pass the time. The weather was hot as it usually was for this early in the morning and as the excitement and anticipation filled Star Bolt up he felt like singing.
“Morning in Dodge Junction shimmers,
Morning in Dodge Junction shiiiiiiiines!
And I know for absolute certain.
That everything is certainly fiiiiiiiiiiine.”
Star Bolt passed the small railway station where Dodge Juction got its name from.
“There's Cherry Jubilee enroute to farm her cherries
There's the conductor selling some tickets
My Dodge Junction is so gentle and still
Can things ever go wrong?
I don't think that they will
Morning in Dodge Junction shimmers
Morning in Dodge Junction shines
And I know for absolute certain
That everything is certainly-”
Star Bolt was abruptly stopped as a rotten tomato slid down his horn. The unicorn stopped in his tracks and turned to face whoever had thrown it. An elderly stallion with a walking stick was the only pony around.
“You young whippersnapper, don’t you know its seven AM? This is no time for singing!” He shouted while waving stick.
Star Bolt blushed heavily, he hadn’t meant to wake an hour early.
***
An hour had passed since the lavender unicorn with the electric yellow mane and trio of lightning bolts for a cutie mark had been humiliated by an elderly pony. Now Star Bolt sat at the kitchen table nursing a cup of coffee in the time since he’d returned he’d showered and then finally at exactly eight o’clock; two white envelopes dropped onto the doorstep.
Star scrambled from the table and ran straight for the door, he dived for his long awaited prize. As soon as he was a hoofs’ width away from them they were snatched away in a light blue aura, Star stood up and faced the owner of the aura; his younger brother, Alpha Bolt.
“Come on Alpha Give it here, its mine,” Star tried to grab it out of Alpha’s hooves as Alpha kept ducking and weaving.
Alpha was eleven months younger than Star Bolt but like his brother Alpha had inherited the purple fur, although his was a far lighter shade, they also had same colour eyes, teal. That was where the similarities ended, unlike his brother, Alpha had a mid-shade blue mane and an atom for a cutie mark. Alpha looked at his brother over his glasses and reluctantly gave him his envelope.
“I don’t see what you’re really excited about we both know we have high grades since we started, and the Baltimare University of Science and Advanced Magic wouldn’t have given us conditional offers if they didn’t expect us to pass.” Alpha explained.
Call it a bad habit but Alpha was incredibly good at explanations which also meant he had to explain absolutely everything. Both the unicorns ended up being in the same grade so naturally this meant they would study together and once they’d started studying they eventually found their talents. Star Bolt earned three lightning bolts when he discovered he had a talent for advanced magic, namely electrical magic and how it could be converted to power things. He wasn’t the first pony to discover this, even at that very moment ponies were trying to develop new ways to harness electricity that didn’t require pegasi intervention.
Alpha however had a different story when it came to cutie marks, he’d found his while reading an ancient text book on a visit to Canterlot. His parents were worried sick when the atoms formed on his flanks to the point where they’d event taken him to a doctor to find out what it was. It turned out the book was about cells, which was completely new to their parents both of which had worked the land around Dodge Junction and hadn’t benefitted from an advanced education.
Star Bolt ripped open his envelop and began reading.
“The Dodge Junction School for… Yada yada yada… The Grades in this document blah, blah, blah… Ahah!” There was a pause as he scanned the letter. “Language - A, Mathematics - B, Magic and magical theory - A*, Physical education - D, Advanced Magic and Magical Theory - A*, Home Economics C. Alpha?”
Alpha scanned his paper more slowly than Star then he looked up. “Looks like we’re going to the BUSAM” he said as a wide grin formed on his face.
They reared up and hugged and span around on the spot chanting.
“We’re going to BUSAM, we’re going to BUSAM!”
***
It was several days later that the colts found themselves on the long train ride to Baltimare, it was past tea time and the moon was slowly rising into the night sky. Alpha stood on his hind legs looking out at the moon when he called over to Star.
“Star! Do you even wonder why there is always that shadow in the moon?”
Star was sitting on the lower bunk of the beds that lined this carriage he was reading a book on magical theory which he set down to speak to Alpha.
“Heard some old ponies tale that there was a Princess banished there,” Star offered.
“Ha! Can you imagine that? Two Princesses!” Alpha laughed to himself as Star eyed him cautiously.
There journey was overnight and most of their luggage was stored further up the train, they were lucky to find themselves in a relatively empty carriage. They’d chose to head to Baltimare a few days before they’re course actually started so they could get a room and settle in before the real challenge started. Star lay back on his bunk and sighed.
“Missing Ma and Pa?”
The thought had never occurred to him, the two of them had spent so long living with their parents that they longed for their own place. It had never crossed Star Bolts’ mind that he’d actually miss them, he pondered on this for a moment and wondered why he’d sighed.
“I guess I’m just all over the place just now, I mean we’re starting a new school, moving to a new city, making new friends and leaving our parents. I guess its just the excitements died down now and I can reflect on it.”
Alpha rolled his eyes, “Geez, trust you to be a downer. C’mon I brought a hoofball we can play a little game just like old times.” And with that Alpha brought out a round black and white ball.
They kicked the ball for some time as the train trundled through the night as they quietly played Star Bolt reflected on how short his life really felt. It felt like only yesterday that he was greeting his brother into the world or when they first played their first game of hoofball. He remembered it well:
It was nearing Hearths Warming and the weather in Dodge Junction was getting colder as the days passed. The two unicorns were too young to work so they sat idly on the main street waiting for something to do, there were a few other colts and fillies in town but they’d exhausted all the good games to play. It was funny how it started: it began by Alpha kicking a glass bottle from their local bar on the street. As Alpha kicked it past their friends they too wanted to join in. Each pony wanted the bottle not for any reason just so they had it. One pony managed to take it from Alpha and Star Bolt had swept in to steal it back. The colt ran the other way kicking the bottle as he ran, Star slid in front of the colt and caught the bottle out from under him. They ran in the opposite directions and soon enough each pony had formed a team of the local children, eventually goals were made and the game began.
From that day forth on Hearths Warming Eve the local children would get together for a four hour long game, thankfully the glass bottle was replaced for an actual ball and the yearly tradition continued. That was until today when two of the colts who started the game were now on a train to a new place.
Eventually the game stopped and Alpha climbed into his bunk, Star Bolt returned to his and marked his book for tomorrow.
“Hey Star?” Alpha called after a while. “You know we’re going to be okay right? As long as we have each other we’re unstoppable.”
Star smiled at this, when they were together they truly were.
“Yes we are Alpha, yes we are. Goodnight.”
“Goodnight.”
***
“Hmmm five more minutes…” Star said as he felt a prodding in his side.
“Star we’re here, you need to get up,” the voice of his brother said.
Star Bolt slowly opened his eyes, his brother stood in the gangway between the two rows of beds wearing his saddlebags. The early morning light drifted lazily into the carriage and slowly crept up the beds. Star Bolt and shifted out of his bed, he stretched and then yawned. His brother was a far better at organising than Star Bolt so it was no surprise that Alpha levitated Stars’ saddlebags onto him. As the pair filed out of the carriage they were greeted by the cooler climate of Baltimare.
It was a crisp autumnal morning, few ponies were out and about; other than the steam engine quietly hissing at the head of train, it was a peaceful morning. There was a thud to the right of the pair, the porters were unloading the larger luggage from the train. The two unicorns trotted over and found their two large trunks, they both lifted them with ease. Having worked for the railway in Dodge Junction, both the unicorns had trained their magic to lift heavy loads such as connecting rods and cylinders, so two trunks were nothing for the duo.
They walked along the long platform to the bridge that connected the two island platforms to the main station. The station was an impressive structure with two wings and a clock tower in the centre, the two wings were roughly three stories tall with the clock tower being even taller. The station boasted five platform faces under a great metal and glass arch, and a green, metal bridge ran along the width of the station connecting the two island platforms to the main building. Baltimare Central prided itself on being one of the largest stations in Equestria, even Canterlot only had the one platform.
As the two walked along the bridge to the main building you could easily make out the chisel work on the sandstone that lined the corners of the largely granite building. It was no surprise that hardly anypony was about at this time in the morning, this meant that there was no rush to avoid as the pair walked into the main building. They waited for a few moments to admire the grand building, its domed ceiling which was painted to show the expansion for the railways across Equestria. After they pleased their eyes, the two walked to an opening cafe within the west wing to grab breakfast. They set their trunks down, placed their orders and passed over a few bits.
“So what, its about half an hour from here?” Alpha asked as he reclined into the seat.
“Probably forty-five minutes with our trunks,” Star mused.
He had a great knack for predicting and estimating, this was partly why he was so good in magical theory. That and the fact he was a great magician, even if he did say so himself. The food arrived quickly closely followed by their drinks, Star could never understand how ponies functioned without coffee, worst of all was the fact his brother was one of those ponies. He’d opted for just plain water and a cheese croissant, Star who was known for having a sweet tooth had ordered a short stack of pancakes as well as an espresso.
With their bellies somewhat full, the two ponies found a map of Baltimare in the centre of the station concourse. Alpha studied the map, locating BUSAM on the outskirts of the city. He used his magic to scan the map; committing it to his memory, then projected it midair. Star watched as his brother plotted a course on the projected map.
“Are you ready Star?” Alpha asked.
“As ready as I’ll ever be,” Star replied, as the two set off through the glass doors of the railway station.
Baltimare was built not far from a range of dormant volcanoes so it was unsurprising to see that nearly all the buildings they passed were made from granite. The main road was completely cobbled and the pavements were approximately ten feet wide, a few ponies were now beginning to stir and make their way to their jobs. They passed an area which was some sort of small park a couple of street performers had awoken early to gain money from the early morning commuters. One of which appeared to be a young teenage light blue filly.
“Behold for I am the Gweat and Powafull Twixie!” she boomed in a squeaky voice.
Had it not been for the fact that a firework had shot out and exploded in front of the pair they would’ve completely ignored her. The filly stood on her hind legs on an upturned orange box and was wearing an oversized cape and hat, which kept slipping over her eyes. Star and Alpha were still a bit shocked from the firework that exploded that they didn’t hear her speak.
“You havva pay now,” she said again as she held out her hat in a weak magical grip.
“Pay you for what, you could’ve killed us!” Alpha snapped.
“Bu’ did I?” the filly was quick on the spot, Star would give her that.
“... No!” Alpha replied somewhat confused.
“Then you havta pay the Gweat and Powafull Twixie.”
At that moment a stallion grabbed Trixie in his magic. For a brief moment Star thought she was being foalnapped, but she was turned and forced to stare at the stallion.
“Is that what I told you to do?” He spoke in a calm tone
The filly whimpered, “... no.”
“Then my apprentice, clearly the Great Hoofdini hasn’t taught you well enough,” he turned to the unicorns, “my apologies dear sirs, please take these tickets as an apology.”
“What tickets?” Star asked.
The stallion leaned in towards Star and raised a hoof behind his ear, he pulled out two tickets and handed them to Star Bolt. Then quick as a flash the stallion threw something to the ground and a smoke screen formed in its place. Once the smoke had settled there was no evidence that the filly or the stallion had been there. Star turned to Alpha with a dumbfounded expression.
“Are things always going to be this weird?”
“Who cares? free tickets.”
The two walked onwards to the university, the sun had now fully risen and a gentle breeze swept through the streets. It was still brisk but the two unicorns welcomed the change in climate, the walk took longer than the forty-five minutes Star Bolt had said it would take, this was on account that they’d never been away from Dodge Junction, absolutely everything fascinated them.
There journeyed crossed a canal in the industrial district and they spent some time watching a large stallion pull a barge filled with timber along the towpath. They twisted and turned through some narrow streets but because the university was nearby most of the roads ended up being wide and filled with distractions. They stopped on a bridge to watch the steam engines leave the engine shop, they window shopped and pretty much every shop they passed, and as they approached the university they took some time to watch some mares.
Roughly two hours since leaving the railway station they found themselves at the main gate of the university. The university was more beautiful than the railway station. The grounds of the university were vast, from the main gate a path lead to the main building, smaller paths drifted off to either side some led to a lake on the eastern side of the university while others led to small buildings on the campus grounds. The building was made completely made of granite and dominated the landscape. The main building was square in design with five towers, four in each corner and one being the main entrance. The tallest tower was the main entrance it had five spires at the top and had a clock on all four of its faces, the other towers had four spires, but one tower stood out and this was the nearest one on the right. About one level below the roof there was a great wooden ring that ran around the building, when Star Bolt was about to ask what it was for he watched as a pegasus landed on the balcony.
Star Bolt and Alpha were impressed by the large archway on the main entrance as they walked up to the building. They had only ever heard of the building and knew where to find it but now that they were here they were beyond impressed. They opened one of the oak door and entered, once inside they found themselves standing on a black and white checkered marble floor. There were two oak counters on either side, one marked ‘Registration’ the other ‘Inquiries’. They stepped over to the registration desk to be greeted by a mare.
“Hello, how can I help you?”
“My name is Star Bolt, I’m here with my brother Alpha Bolt, we’re students here.”
She looked at them blankly.
“Well I mean we’re aren't students here now, we’ll becoming students here when term starts.” Star Bolt quickly explained.
“So you’re here to register?” The mare offered.
“Yes that’s it!” Star Bolt said.
“Smooth,” he heard his brother say behind him.
“You said you were Alpha and Star Bolt?”
“Yes.”
She opened a drawer and search through it, she then pulled out an envelope and two folders. She set them on the counter.
“These are your room keys and introduction folders, if you lose your keys its five bits to replace them, all the doors are magically enchanted so don’t try picking them because you lost your keys. Go through the main doorway and then left into the Celestial Suite, that is where you can register and from there you’ll be shown to your rooms.”
Star Bolt took the supplies and tossed a folder to Alpha who caught it in his magic.
“Thanks.” They said in unison.
***
“So Star Bolt you’re studying Advanced Magical Theory?”
“Yes.”
“And Alpha Bolt you’re studying… radioactive.. materials?”
“Yes, the class is called Manipulation of Natural Elements in Magic.”
The stallion pegasus who was registering them flicked through a bunch of folders. He then pulled out a file.
“Ah yes here it is,” he said the refined Canterlot accent.
The file was old and dusty and some of the pages were yellowing in colour.
“The subject is rarely studied, a lot of ponies drop out,” the pony looked off in thought. “Infact the last pony to study it is your tutor and that was nearly ten years ago now,” the pony explained.
The folder was enough to put somepony off studying the course, the pages looked old and uncared for and it was a surprise that the course hadn’t been simply dropped altogether.
“So I understand that you’re coming here for the final years of high school as well?”
“Thats right” Alpha replied.
“So you’re both prepared to stay here for seven years.”
“Correct-a-mundo.” Star said with a smile.
“Well you’ll both have some shared classes for the first two years, after that you’ll be split up for your specialist subjects. Both of you will have Professor Lutece, he’s an expert in advanced magic provided you can get past the accent. Now! I take it you’re looking to share a room?”
“Yes.” They both said.
“Right. Oh Miss Sunshower Raindrops, if you could?”
A jasmine coated pegasus turned to the group and hovered over. She looked a few years older than both the Bolts. She had a tiffany blue shaggy mane, turquoise eyes and three rain drops as a cutie mark.
“Can you show these two gentlecolts to their dorm please, room three-oh-nine Southern Dorm.”
“Sure Professor Lancie.”
The two unicorns followed the pegasus out of the room and back outside. She spoke to Alpha mainly as she directed them along a path two a small group of buildings. The buildings were arranged in two circles one within the other with a path bisecting them both, the path changed to a small paved area with large trees every so often. The pegasus directed them unto what was called the ‘Upper Circle’ Eventually they found what looked like a townhouse as she led them inside. The house was three stories high with a corridor running along the centre of the two upper floors, the rooms were off at either side of these. The lower floor consisted of the common rooms and recreational area.
“So? Will I see you around?” The pegasus asked in a sultry tone.
“Well I’m sure you’ll see me at some point.” Alpha replied completely oblivious to the blushing pegasus.
“Well actually…” Star Bolt said rectifying the mistakes his brother was making, “he has two tickets to a show tonight and well… I’m not feeling up to it.”
Alpha stared at Star Bolt blankly as if to ask What are you doing?
“I think its at eight tonight,” Star checked the tickets, “Yes it is.”
“So can I pick you up at five?” Sunshower asked, “seeing as you’re new here you’ll need to know the good places to eat.”
“Five… sounds… good?” Alpha replied completely unsure of the events that were unfolding around him.
“Great!” she exclaimed as her wings jolted back in joy, “See ya then.”
She left and a few moments passed, Star Bolt closed the door with his magic and was about to start unpacking when Alpha turned to him.
“What just happened?”
“Trust me, you’ll thank me later.”
***
Star Bolt smiled to himself when he awoke alone in his room the next day, he hadn’t gotten up to much last night, only noted down what textbooks he needed to buy. Dodge Junction lacked from having any bookstores, and all his school books had been hoof-me-downs or delivered by train, which was expensive. It was 10 A.M when his brother tried to quietly enter the room, Alpha knew there was no point as he and his brother were used to waking a six, but part of him felt bad. His brother looked up from his book when he entered, Alpha tried to style out what he’d gotten up to last night but the goofy smile gave it away.
The two brothers spent that day buying supplies some of it was useful things like books, quills and compasses while others were just things to decorate the room. The two brothers didn’t spend the day just buying things, they took the time to look around and get their bearings of the local areas. Soon enough they were able to navigate the entire campus without help and the immediate area surrounding the university. The brothers weren’t stupid either, some of their bits went towards food which they could chose to store community or keep in their dorm room, luckily Alpha had learned a spell that kept cold food cold so they’d never face having to share milk and finding none.
***
In the week that past the two brothers had met a few of the other ponies other than Sunshine, it was good to meet some of their fellow students even if they were a few years younger than most. In the same week both brothers had been fortunate enough to find jobs, Star had managed to find work at a local groceries while Alpha had found a job as a lathe turner at a factory on the other side of the city. The commute was long but Alpha enjoyed it and it would work around his studies. Soon enough term was about to start and Star was excited, Alpha had some enthusiasm but not the level of Star Bolt.
Star awoke at seven the following day and he leapt of bed, his first lecture would start in an hour and he couldn’t contain his excitement. He threw a pillow at his brother who just snorted and rolled over.
“Five more minutes,” he whined.
“No brother, today is a new day, today is the day the Bolt brothers begin their long journey into the unknown.”
Alpha merely snored in reply. Star rolled his eyes and pulled Alpha from his bed.
***
Even as they walked into the lecture hall, Alpha still stared daggers at him, but Star couldn’t care less, he practically skipped into the hall. It was exactly as he pictured it. There were several large blackboards that spanned the width of the room, the seats were in a crescent style and each row was higher than the one before it. Star gawked in awe as the large lecture hall began to fill, he then sat at one of the desks closest to the front, Alpha reluctantly followed. Star continued to be amazed by what he saw, he looked towards the professors desk. The desk itself was littered with papers, books and various other writing equipment, but what stood out most was what looked like a birdcage.
As the class filed into the hall they chatted amongst themselves, unsurprisingly the entire lecture hall was filled mostly with unicorns, a few pegasi were dotted here and there. Star Bolt kept looking around in excitement, it was then that a unicorn stallion entered the room, he was tall with light blue fur, a brown mane and an hourglass cutie mark. He coughed loudly and the room went silent. He then levitated a piece of chalk and started writing on the board.
“Good morning fillies and gentlecolts,” he spoke in the refined accent of Buckingham, “first of all let me welcome you to the Baltimare University of Science and Advanced Magic, I am your tutor, you may call me Professor Infinity Lutece. As you know this is Advanced Magic, so if you’re in the wrong hall, now is your time to leave.”
A embarrassed pegasus flew up from her seat and flitted over to the side door.
“Well there’s always one.” Lutece said.
The class chuckled quietly in response. Lutece turned and the chalk scribbled his name on the board.
“Well today class is your first step into the unknown as this is Advanced Magical Theory, over the next five years, seven for a few of you.” Star could’ve sworn Lutece directed this statement at him. “I will teach you all there is to know or what could be known about magic. So why not get your textbooks out and we’ll begin.”
The room filled with sound of clasps being opened and heavy textbooks hitting the desk, the sound peaked and then slowly trailed off into silence. Lutece smiled to himself.
“Can everypony hear me at the back?”
There was a murmur of yes’s from the very back row. Lutece began to walk around the front row, he started to address each wing as his chalk darted around the board.
“Now everypony, what is the first law of magic?” He addressed to the right wing.
A few ponies raised their hooves. Lutece pointed to somepony near the very back.
“You do not talk about magic!”
A few ponies braved and laughed but Lutece had a look on him that was not of amusement. The pony who had raised his hoof began to look nervous. The tension began to build as the silence increased and then it happened, the one thing Star hadn’t anticipated, Lutece laughed. It was a short laugh but one that made the atmosphere change so rapidly.
“Well somepony was bound to say it,” he seemed to address this to the to other wings before turning back. “Now would you kindly give me the real answer?” Lutece asked in a more serious tone.
“Everypony has magic.”
“Yes and no.” Lutece replied.
He trotted over to the left wing as his chalk wrote “Everything has magic” on the board.
“Every living thing has magic, but what is magic? Well magic can be defined as science. Everything is made up of atoms, science is about how you can convert or change these atoms and how those changes affect the structure of the item. Take a flower for example, it grows from a seed into a stem, then the bud forms and then the flower opens, after some time it dies and seeds fall to form new flowers. This entire process happens because of science, not magic! But magic is also about the manipulation of atoms, take a levitation spell for example. All that one is really doing is altering the atoms around the levitated item. So in summary, magic is science.”
He walked back to the central wing.
“Now! Who knows how magic is made?”
Silence was his only answer.
“Well yet again atoms are the answer, every spell in existence is created by changing the properties of atoms. All ponies are blessed with the ability of magic but unicorns are able to manipulate atoms and form new spells, this is caused by the strength of the spell which is powered by energy or as its more commonly known, Mana. A Mana reserve is a power supply for a spell, summon a hard spell and it drains Mana, have a short rest and the Mana reserve fills. Now every unicorn has a different level of Mana depending on how hard they train and what aspect they use their magic in. Look at our Princess, she is an alicorn, this means she has more magical powers than us unicorns, this level of magic requires extensive knowledge on how to cast spells and a large Mana reserve. But! At the end of the day it all falls down to our friends the atoms.”
Lutece looked to the blackboard where his chalk had been furiously writing down notes as he spoke.
“Now how do we cast spells?”
A few hooves went up Stars’ included.
“Yes?” Lutece said to Star.
“Spells are cast when a unicorn thinks of a certain word, phrase or image. These are what we call runes, learning a new spell requires a unicorn to learn new runes and the order in which to think of them.”
“Well you’re half right which is good for a unicorn at your age, however the real answer is yup, you guessed it; atoms. Now our brains work by transmitting electrical impulses along a synapse, think of it as a pathway. These pathways form in our brains when he think of something or learn new something new. When you cast a spell your brain sends a signal to your horn about what spell to cast, which atoms to change and where to cast it. When you learn a new spell its hard, because the synapse doesn't yet exist. So what do you do?” He addressed this last part to the right wing again.
“You… practice?” somepony offered.
“Yes! You practice. Why? Because each time you cast the spell the synapse starts to form and it gets easier for the spell to be cast. This means that every spell imaginable can be cast by a single pony but the only variable between everypony is the Mana. In magic there are constants and variables between each race, which unicorns benefit in by having large Mana reserves.”
As Star listened to the professor he had forgotten one simple task; he'd forgotten to write it all down. He kicked himself as he levitated up the quill and furiously wrote, unfortunately by the time he’d caught up, he’d missed most of what Lutece had explained.
“Now before you leave bear this in mind; over the next few years you’ll be studying magic in greater depth than what can be offered at the Canterlot School for Gifted Unicorns so remember everypony, in your third year you will start a project and what you have learned over the previous term. So if this subject isn't for you, don’t waste your time because you are certainly not wasting mine.”
Star smiled to himself, this was exactly what he wanted to do.