Neither Shining nor Twilight moved for nearly a minute. The two were like deer caught in the headlights, frozen in the face of The Queen’s glare. Luna glanced between the two, a frown starting to overtake her usual serene expression. Clad mainly in travelling clothes made from thick, bulky cloth, she almost looked like she stood in armor, cutting an even more intimidating visage.
“Well? I didn’t fly three hundred miles just to be ignored by my own apprentice. Speak,” Luna demanded. She stepped closer, her mane flaring out as if the invisible winds themselves were angry.
The two siblings shared a look, Shining wordlessly taking a step in front of his sister and bowing his head. “Your Majesty, please forg-”
Luna held a hoof up, cutting Shining’s words short. “We do not care to hear you speak, trainee. We were asking our Student, and we believe that she can answer for herself.” Luna’s words were clipped, curt.
Twilight winced at the harsh tone and stepped forward with trembling legs. Without cueing her magic, she could feel the oppressive aura of Luna’s magic. Even after her adrenaline filled night, even after feeling refreshed, she was but an ant. “Your Highness,” she mumbled, dipping low in a bow. She glanced back towards Shining, seeking strength and finding none. “It’s… it’s nothing. My brother is worried about me that’s all. He thinks I should already be in bed and worries that I’m studying too much.”
Twilight, ashamedly, was quite good at lying. Undoubtedly, she told the lie to perfection, yet… “You lie,” Luna proclaimed. “Do you truly think we did not hear most of your and your kin’s argument?” she asked, voice pointed.
Twilight winced, instinctively taking a step back in the face of the angry goddess. Shining surged again, taking her place. “Your Majesty, please, allow me to explain,” he started, desperately.
Twilight’s eyes darted up enough to catch sight on Luna’s cold, angry expression. “We already told you, recruit. We do not care for your words. Begone.”
As soon as Luna’s words finished, the room flashed a deep azure. Twilight gritted her teeth, blinded for a second, forcing her to cover her eyes with a hoof. By the time she could see again, Shining Armor was nowhere to be seen. Luna had simply poofed him away.
Twilight whimpered and took another step back, her rear pressing against the railing of the balcony. “Your Highness... What did you do?” She asked. Surely Luna wouldn’t banish her brother for that? Surely it was just… She just didn’t know!
“Fear not, child. Your brother is safe back in his room, we merely removed him from our presence. Now tell us, what is this about the library?” Luna pressed on.
Twilight regarded the mare cautiously, though some measure of relief flowed through her knowing her brother was safe. The worry about her brother disappeared and refocused on herself. Luna was still angry, and she needed to find some way to appease her. A crazy idea popped into her head: why not just tell the truth?
Twilight pawed at the ground with a forehoof, slowly coming to terms with her words. “I snuck out, Your Highness. Well, it wasn’t really sneaking I guess? I teleported into the lower city, to go back and visit the library that we talked about a few days ago.” Simple explanation. No point in overcomplicating it.
“And why in Equestria would you want to go there?” Luna asked, exasperation clear in her voice. Really, from the outside, Twilight could see the irritation. With how much she had here, why would she ever want to return there?
Twilight sighed, finally looking up fully at Luna. “Well, that’s a little complicated.” She admitted, a faint blush turning her cheeks pink. She truly had no clue how to explain her mentor over the years, nor why she would go back to see her.
“For um, a couple of years now, I’ve been going to that library.” She took a deep breath before going on. “Every time I’ve gone, there’s been um, hints of different things.” Okay, she could very easily be phrasing this better. “Can I start over?”
Luna responded only with a nod, her anger seemingly cooling. Oddly, her mane seemed to calm down as well, returning to its normal, graceful waving.
“I’ve had a teacher before, though never one I’ve met in person.” Twilight started to explain, though she didn’t think that sounded any better than her initial rambling. “She’s always left me notes in the library, or marked pages and books to read. It’s always been consistent, always been at least once a week, and always led me along the path that makes sense.”
That last one may have been a bit of a fib. Twilight didn’t understand a lot of her teacher’s leadings, but that was likely just because she didn’t comprehend it yet. “Go on,” Luna urged.
“She always marked the books with the symbol of the plague. That’s how I knew which ones to read. Her last markings were on books about teleportation, so um, I kinda figured she tried to tell me to use that to impress you, and um, it clearly worked.” Twilight felt her anxiety grow with each word. Just listening to herself, this sounded almost like the rantings of a madmare. “Until this week. I didn’t find anything this week. I was hoping that she would leave something on how to deal with the nobility.”
Twilight, naturally, left out the part about worrying about Luna as well. Probably not the best time to bring that up.
“So, help us to understand this. For a few years, you’ve been simply following along with whatever a pony never met told you to read?” Luna asked, arching an eyebrow.
Twilight nodded, her blush deepening. Put that way, it did seem kind of foolish. But... But nothing really, she had no way to explain this. “Well, yes, in a way. But they never led me astray or anything!” Twilight tried to defend herself at least a little. This was not a good look for her in the eyes of her Goddess.
“Yet, she led you towards teleportation. We do not think you are a foolish pony, so you must realize how deadly teleportation can be when untrained, yes?” Luna asked.
Of course, Twilight had to nod. Her first attempt alone evidenced how dangerous teleportation could be, and she did way too much prep beforehand.
“Then you cannot truly say she didn’t put you in danger. Whoever this mysterious mentor of yours is, they took a gamble at best and tried to kill you at worst. Fortunately for you, it paid off, or else I would search for them myself and grind their bones to dust.” Luna went on.
For once, Twilight did not miss the subtle shift in Luna’s speech, shifting from the royal plural to a much more personal singular. “Well... she didn’t leave me anything tonight, if it helps, Luna.” Twilight softened her voice, the tension starting to melt away. It felt good to come clean, even if the circumstances could have been better.
“It does not. What you’ve been doing is incredibly foolish, and I would expect more from a student of mine. From now on, any trips to the library of yours will be during the day, and you will be accompanied by guards. Do you understand?”
“Yes Luna.”
“Good. You’ve been attacked, have you not?” Luna asked.
Twilight looked up in shock, eyes widening. “How did you know?” She asked.
“A couple of different things. Your cloak is ragged and torn, and while walking through the streets at night is dangerous, nothing natural would do that. Also, I can practically smell the phlegm on your clothes, you have blood on your muzzle.”
Twilight's hoof absently moved up, brushing against her muzzle and feeling the dried blood against it. She hadn’t even noticed that, but Luna could see it in the darkness against her darker colored fur as well. It made her wonder once more how far ahead Luna truly was compared to mortals like herself.
“Yes Luna. A stallion cornered me in an alleyway. I got away fine though, it wasn’t a big deal.” Once again, Twilight had her own foolishness thrust back in her face. She could at least try and brush this one off; nothing really happened.
“‘Not a big deal’? You could’ve very easily died, magelet. I don’t think I need to tell you how foolish you’ve been tonight. If that stallion hadn’t killed you, perhaps something from the plague might have. I do not think you’re truly aware of how luck you’ve been over these few years. Well, luck or skill, I don’t know which. The important part is that you’ll never do this again, am I clear?” Luna asked.
Twilight shrunk in on herself, trying to find some words to defend herself with. None came to mind; nothing could excuse her actions. She’d felt so... so justified before! Felt like she was on the right path. She had needed to read her mentor’s next steps, needed to know what to do, and for what? It almost implied she didn’t believe in herself. It almost implied that she didn’t trust herself.
And such foolishness that was! She became the Student of the Night based on her own actions. She had gotten to where she was in life based on her own studies, on her own merits. She no longer needed to impress anypony save perhaps Luna. She didn’t need to follow her old teacher anymore, not when she had a new one.
Which wasn’t to say she didn’t long for another note from that mysterious mare. If given the chance, she would take it in an instant, but she must stop obsessing over every scrap of marked paper.
“I said, am I clear, magelet?” Luna butted into her thoughts, bringing her back to the present.
Twilight blinked, gathering her thoughts once more. She slowly nodded, keeping her head bowed low. “Yes Luna. I won’t go again at night.” She promised. If Luna offered an escort there, she may as well take it, especially with the crazy stallion.
“Good. That’s not all. I want you to start training for combat as well. I will not make you drill with the guard, or ready for war, or anything ridiculous like that, but I do expect you to be able to hold your own in a fight if need be. I refuse to let a situation like that happen again. Any guard of mine should be able to easily overpower a stallion hobbling his way through the streets in the middle of the night, and I hold my student to the same standard.
“Furthermore, I do expect you to be able to duel as well. It’s an art form as well as a method of preserving honor, and I have no doubt that several nobles and their sons will challenge you. I would be remiss if I let you walk into something like that unprepared. Indeed, with your magical potential, anything but a resounding victory would be humiliation for both of us. You, because you lost, and me because they’ll assume I didn’t teach you well.”
Duels. Duels were another thing Twilight read on, but not to the extent in which she would need it. Ponies died in duels, ponies were seriously injured in duels. She had always pegged herself as something as a pacifist. Clearly, she would fight if she had to, but she avoided confrontation whenever possible. She couldn’t do that forever, not with the snake’s nest she found herself in now. Learning to duel would surely be helpful.
Perhaps she could use it as a way to learn more practical applications of magic.
Dueling wouldn’t be that bad. She could learn combat magic as well, even if the thought of hurting another pony scared her. She would simply have to find a way to incapacitate rather than maim. Duels ended when a pony either couldn’t continue or they acquiesced. She could learn how to make the latter happen.
“Understand?” Luna prompted, once more breaking her from her musings. Perhaps it was her fatigue, but Twilight found herself getting increasingly lost in her own thoughts.
“Yes Luna,” Twilight repeated, thoroughly chastised. Her ears had not moved from against her head the entire conversation, embarrassment flooding through her. Somehow, she had felt invincible in the lower city. Somehow, she thought herself untouchable. Now that she had time to actually sit and think about what she did, she realized the true danger of it. That stallion could have killed her. Her teleport could have gone wrong, especially the last one. All for markings from a mare that may not exist.
“Furthermore.” Twilight whimpered, hooves shuffling underneath her. She didn’t expect Luna to keep going on! “No more teleporting, not until I am thoroughly ensured that you can do it safely. Any teleporting you do will be under my supervision, and I’ll have a master instruct you in the deeper arts of teleportation. Any attempt is also restricted to the practice fields for now, where my sister and myself have set up safeguards for it.”
“As far as your combat instruction goes, a stallion by the name of Roamane will be taking over your lessons. Roamane will go more in-depth with dueling and will show you basic combat spells. For the most part, anything will go in a duel, but there are many conventions and nuances that he will show you. Unfortunately, I don’t have the time to teach you myself, as much as I would want to. In my stead, Roamane shall be a valuable teacher, and I expect you to listen to him as you would me.”
Twilight felt like melting into a puddle of shame…
“But, I think that’s quite enough tonight.” Luna finally finished. Her hoof moved forward, gently pressing Twilight’s muzzle up. As much as Twilight wanted to keep her vision from Luna’s, she wouldn’t resist the touch. “I cannot help but feel some responsibility for this. I believe I’ve neglected you these past few days. Can you forgive me?”
Luna let the question hang in the air. Twilight honestly couldn’t quite comprehend the question. Forgive Luna? In Twilight’s mind, she’d yet to do anything wrong. Admittedly, delaying their first lesson had irritated Twilight, yet Shining spoke the truth. Twilight couldn’t be the most important thing in Luna’s life, not when so much else went on, not when she had an entire country to run.
No, Luna had done nothing wrong. Only Twilight’s foolishness left her in such a horrible position. Ever so carefully, Twilight brushed Luna’s hoof to the side, keeping her own head up now. “No, Luna.” Luna’s hoof landed on the ground, concern etched across her muzzle. “But only because I have nothing to forgive you for. You are right; I was foolish tonight, and it won’t happen again, I promise.” Twilight finished. She met Luna’s gaze.
Slowly, Luna’s frown morphed, the corners of her mouth tilting up and the light coming back to her eyes. “Very well, magelet. I accept your apology, and the two of us should move on from this conversation, I believe.” Luna clapped her hooves together before sauntering her way over to the bed, motioning Twilight to follow her. “Let us talk in a more comfortable way, shall we? Perhaps you’d like to rid yourself of that disgusting outfit?” Luna asked.
Speaking of, Twilight very much would like to do that. The cloak, now that she had time to relax and wasn’t focusing hard on studying, could not be any filthier. Dirt, spit, and more awful fluids stained it all the way through. Honestly, Twilight could scarcely believe she didn’t notice it sooner; how could she stand having that on?
Twilight nodded, hooves and magic working at pulling her cloak over her head and off entirely. She let it fall to the floor, giving it a little kick to rest in the corner beside her wardrobe. Thankfully, the servants and maids took care of all her laundry as well as taking care of moving her clothes in the first day. Perks of being the Student.
However, Twilight didn’t dare to strip farther than that. Stripping to nude, or worse, her underclothes, in front of the Queen… that would easily be the pinnacle of humiliation. She would simply have to deal with being a little dirty for now; she was at least used to that.
“I can conjure a privacy screen for you, if you wish.” Luna spoke. Clearly, she must’ve noticed Twilight’s hesitance, and the purple mare couldn’t be more grateful. A simple night gown would make this conversation instantly easier.
Twilight nodded, and Luna’s horn flashed again, a bubble of darkness surrounding Twilight half of the room. Well.. not what Twilight expected, but it gave her privacy at the very least.
She hurried through the motions, shrugging her way out of the dirtied work clothes. Twilight briefly thought about getting a bath to work the plague’s fumes for her body, but she had no time. Instead, she ran a magic ‘comb’ across her body, scraping out the filth as best as she could. The spell could never come close to a real washing, but it would have to do for now. It rid the smell from her body at the least.
More carefully, Twilight donned one of her few nightgowns, this one a light purple garment, the fabric light and airy as well. Comfortable for the warmer covers of her nicer bed in the palace, instead of the threadbare orphanage.
Twilight also suspected the tower was heated somehow, but she hadn’t had the time to ask Luna about that yet.
Cautiously, Twilight magically knocked on the bubble, trying to let Luna know she finished. Instantly, the darkness disappeared around her, leaving her near muzzle to muzzle with a peering Luna.
The two stared at each other.
And stared.
And stared some more.
With a blush, Twilight broke first, eyes darting away from her mentor as quick as she could manage. Oh goddesses! What in Tartarus was that? W-what had she been thinking? So.. so close!
Luna laying down actually put them at nearly the same height, and to an outside it may have looked like they were going to kiss! Bleh! No way! Twilight did not want to start thinking about things like that yet! She was much, much too busy.
“Magelet.” Luna’s voice cut through her embarrassment, her tone clearly tinged with good humor. “Please come sit, there’s no reason to be embarrassed.” Her voice moved towards soft and comforting as she went on, trying to soothe Twilight into action.
But the last thing Twilight wanted to do was get on the same bed as that amazing, elegant, beautiful, perfec-
Huh.
Did she like mares?
Weird.
She never even considered it. “Magelet, please. I would like to talk about your studies tonight, while we have a few minutes together.”
Okay, that could entice her. Magic. Right. Yes.
Twilight climbed onto the bed, being careful to side as far away from Luna as she could manage. Unintentionally, she sighed in relief. The night took quite a toll on her legs, something else she’d failed to notice until now. After all of this, she would sleep like a foal.
“W-what’d you want to talk about?” Twilight asked, her voice cracking in the middle of her sentence.
Smooth.
“Your studies,” Luna gently reminded her. “More importantly, I’d like you to start thinking about what you’d like to focus on. All of my students have focused on one subject or another, ranging as wide as healing magic to necromancy, though... that last one turned out a bit sour, so I would be remiss to let you repeat that particular experiment. Regardless, you’ll certainly have a wide range of things to choose from, and as long as I can discern no true danger from them, you’re free to study what you wish,” Luna explained.
Luckily, necromancy would be the last thing she wanted to study. Then again, with so many options, narrowing down to just one would be difficult, if not impossible. Teleportation and aether manipulation always interested her, and with the advent of the plague, that weighed on her mind as well. Actually, the latter likely crested the ‘dangerous’ territory, but perhaps she could convince Luna into letting her do that.
Fire and the elements honestly were not her things. She also didn’t want to dive into the depths of divination. She’d seen that river and never wanted to experience it again. Once was plenty, thank you very much! Alchemy bored her and she would be remiss to take the arts of defense from her brother. Naturally, she dabbled in everything, but as a specialty? That would be harder.
The night sky always fascinated her, and as the student of the night, what could be better? But, that felt like a limited field. Perhaps something with gravity and the stars? That could be interesting. Or a lunar mage, drawing power from the moon’s light itself. Just so many options, and so little time to think of them!
Twilight scrunched up her muzzle, brain working into overtime. She looked up at the night mare, trying to think of anything to appease her. “Luna, could I perhaps choose multiple fields?” She asked, slowly. Would that be too much? Twilight had yet to get a real read on Luna, despite, or rather, because of their limited interaction.
Luna smiled down at her, the simple gesture alone enough to calm her rapidly beating heart. “Do not worry Twilight. There will be plenty of time for you to choose. I simply want you to start thinking about it as well, we can talk more about this tomorrow. I think you shall accompany through the castle again. We’ll wake at dawn to begin your first lesson for real this time, and then you may come with me through my day if you wish.”
As if Twilight could ever say no to that.
Twilight returned the smile, though hers wobbled. “I-I’d love to, Luna.” She bowed her head, a sudden fatigue rushing through her. She could certainly use the rest.
Twilight knew by the movement of the mattress that Luna stood again. “Until then, magelet. I bid you a wonderful night.”
“Always,” Twilight answered in return, eyes stealthily looking up to follow Luna’s departure.
With one last smile, the elevator stole Luna from her sight, leaving Twilight alone in her room with her thoughts. And many thoughts she had swimming around her skull. Whether it be the night’s events or thoughts on tomorrow’s plans, she couldn’t stop thinking.
Even as she tucked herself into bed, the thoughts jolted around her mind, simultaneously debating the merits of each research field as well as berating herself for being so foolish. But those thoughts would have to wait for tomorrow, as sleep claimed Twilight like an eager friend. It would be mere minutes before the mare fell asleep for the night, greedily taking the few hours given to her. Dawn would arrive in due time, but for now, Twilight rested.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Get up, magelet.”
The soft voice of her Queen woke Twilight up, her head pounding from a lack of sleep. She sniffed, cuddling the blankets around herself and mumbling something unintelligible. No… six A.M. Too early today, way too early. She needed at least two more hours of sleep, if not more. Carefully, Twilight huddled her head under her pillow, hiding herself away from the world as much as she could.
“Magelet. Up.” The voice came back, stronger this time. Yet, even the insistence in that voice didn’t make Twilight want to move anymore. Her mind remained muddled, sleepy. After her long night, she wanted rest more than anything in the entire world and by the goddesses she would get it.
“Last warning.” Pfft, warning. Whatever.
Twilight curled tighter, the coolness of the morning air a distance threat against her haven of blankets. No warnings, no waking up. Just sleep.
Speaking of no warnings… Twilight suddenly found herself suspended in the air by her cocoon of blankets, her eyes jolting open. With a yelp, her vision blinked away sleep, leaving her muzzle to muzzle with a very unhappy Luna. Her eyes burned with irritation, such close proximity letting Twilight feel the brunt of her frustration.
Oh. Maybe she should’ve gotten up.
“Are you awake now, magelet?”
Twilight timidly nodded.
“Good.”
Luna released the bundle of cloth, dropping Twilight roughly back to the bed. She landed with a groan, the blankets wrapping tight around her. They felt much more like a cage than a cocoon now, but Twilight slowly worked her way out of them. Stupid angry goddesses…
The younger mare smoothed over her nightgown, ensuring the skirts stayed down before crawling off of the bed. “I’m awake, I’m awake. S-sorry your highness.” Admittedly, Twilight still felt a bit miffed, but nothing woke you up quite like an angry goddess staring into your soul.
She might have exaggerated that a tiny bit.
Luna nodded her head in acknowledgement. “Very well. I trust you’ve given some thought on my question last night. Do you have an idea of what you’d wish to study yet? I’d like to know before we begin more seriously.” Luna explained.
Last night’s Twilight gave it though, and today’s Twilight thought she could remember most of it… She pursed her lips, struggling to remember everything. “Well, I did get to think about it a little. One of my ideas was to help research the plague and work with that. See how it got its’ magic element and all that.” Twilight explained, waving a hoof in the air as she spoke.
Luna frowned. Oof, now that was not a good sign… “I do not think that is a good idea, magelet. For a first study, the plague is incredibly dangerous. Obviously, we have ways of removing most of the contamination for study, but at the same time I would rather you not spend a moment around the stuff.” Luna explained. Her wings even fluttered, almost giving the impression she was uneasy.
The lunar goddess waited for a second, hoof tapping against her chin in thought. “Perhaps I can allow you to assist with some of Silverhorn’s studies. He has a group on the plague as well, but not as a main focus, understand?”
Twilight hadn’t expected anything at all, to even get a portion of what she wanted was a blessing indeed. She inclined her head in a small bow, smile gracing her lips. If she hadn’t been awake before, she certainly was now! “O-okay. For my main focus, what about teleporting? You talked about how it was dangerous and-”
“No!” Luna interrupted with nearly a shout. “No aether studies. Absolutely not. Don’t bring it up again.” Her eye twitched, her hoof stamping back on the ground hard.
O-oh. Twilight stepped back, ears pressing tight and tail tucking under her body. Out of all the possible reactions, she hadn’t expected that one. Luna’s horn even crackled with energy, bright sparks running across the surface without a pattern.
Luna cleared her throat, shaking her head and coming down from whatever went through her head. “Excuse me magelet. That is off limits, absolutely and totally. Please, choose another subject.”
Twilight would hardly try and disagree. She had a few more options, but after upsetting her Queen like that, Twilight would at least like to try and appease her. Besides, she liked her next suggestion. “Well, how about magic of the stars and gravity based?” Twilight proposed, offering a timid little smile.
Deep down inside, Twilight felt a little glimmer of... something. Something warm and calm.
At her words, Luna’s smile came back. “Well, now that sounds like a wonderful subject, my dear student.” Luna practically beamed now, her wings fluffing pleasantly. Or at least Twilight thought they moved in a pleased manner. She honestly had no idea how wings worked.
“T-then that sounds lovely!” Twilight smiled back, her confidence finally starting to recover from the veritable tongue lashing last night.
Of course, she just had to remember she only wore a nightgown…
“U-uh Luna? Could I have a few minutes to get changed?” she asked, blushing a light pink. Her tail, which had started to instinctively raised on its own at her happiness, quickly clamped down. Yes, she had only worn this last night too, but that was late and totally different! Totally, extremely different!
Her hoof pawed at the ground, looking up towards Luna as the Queen stared at her confused. It took a few seconds for her to realize what Twilight meant, but when she did, Luna burst out laughing. “Oh very well, magelet! Shall I meet you downstairs then? I believe we’ll begin our lessons out on the training field today.”
“O-oh, alright. See you in a few minutes.” Twilight couldn’t dare to look at her. She pointedly kept her tail pressed down very low, the light nightgown not feeling like it offered any protection at all. Goodness, at least she had been in the blankets when Luna lifted her up!
Luna chuckled again, but mercifully she disappeared with a flash. Oh, she got to teleport, but Twilight didn’t? So unfai-
Wait, Luna was a millennia old goddess. Of course she could teleport when the young Twilight could not. Don’t be silly, Twilight, she reminded herself.
Regardless, she needed to get dressed and prepare herself for the day. She hesitated for just a second, just a second to stare longingly over at her bathroom. What she wouldn’t give for the few extra minutes to take a shower, but no, she needed speed.
Twilight shrugged out of her nightgown but then struggled. What did one wear to their first training session with a goddess? She had gowns and dresses a plenty, but hardly any of them had the mobility she would need. Her one pair of pants were badly mangled from last night along with her shirt. She did have one or two dresses that were light and would give her a decent range of movement, but she couldn’t really stop them from blowing up and revealing herself.
Hm… Tough decisions. Finally, she decided on her plain brown dress again. She didn’t mind getting it messed up, and the thicker petticoats, while hot, would at least keep her modest. A little bit of levitation and some struggling later and Twilight finished donning her clothes, the warmth of the cloth already starting to get to her.
She could already tell it would be unseasonably warm today; she supposed she’d simply have to bear it.
Luckily for Twilight, the elevator remained on her level having been unused since her brother’s ascent. With only the lightest of magical touches, Twilight lowered the platform. Over the last few days, she actually grew to like these little trips. Something about them just felt sort of fun, though she truly had no idea what it was. Something about controlling her own speed, some indiscernible feeling she couldn’t quite hold onto. Admittedly, she’d probably taken it faster than she should’ve, but the guards didn’t mind and neither did she.
The simple joys of life, right?
As expected, Luna waited for her with two guards she didn’t recognize at the bottom of the elevator. Actually, where were Iridescence and Sunny? As much as she loathed to admit it, she liked the two, despite their constant teasing and joking. Though, the jokes about her brother’s ass admittedly got on her nerves, she was so damn tired of those by now.
Luna smiled and nodded once Twilight re-appeared, gesturing her two guards to step aside. “Guards, let my student through.” She commanded.
Naturally, the two obeyed, though not without minor suspicion. “We shan’t need you two today.” Luna went on.
The closest guard to Twilight shifted uncomfortably as Twilight passed. “Your Highness, with all due respect, we’re supposed to guard you.” He reminded her, head inclined downwards.
“We are aware, Lightning, just not for now. We shall come back past breakfast, we simply need alone time with our student, understand?” Luna asked. That seemed to placate Lightning. Just to know they wouldn’t be abandoned for the day had to be comforting, Twilight surmised.
Then again, what could a royal guard like that even do? If something could seriously challenge the Queen, the guards would simply be bowled over. Perhaps... Twilight actually couldn’t think of anything. Maybe they simply dealt with the annoyances. That made sense and would certainly help clear up Luna’s schedule. She’d never heard of assassination attempts on the Queen, but maybe that just meant the guard were good at their job. And after watching Sunny and Iridescence spar over several days now, Twilight was sure that the guards were competently trained.
A little thrill went through her as she realized she’d be going through similar training. Perhaps one day, she would be the one protecting the Queen rather than the other way around.
Nah.
Even in her daydreams Twilight couldn’t imagine herself as some protector of the realm. That would be her brother’s purview, not hers. Besides, she had her own training to do now. “Ready, Luna,” Twilight spoke, trying to keep the worries far from her mind and voice.
Luna nodded shortly, swiveling on her hoof to lead the way. Even today, after so little sleep, Luna looked immaculate, both in dress and countenance. She wore light blue breeches and a vest today, forgoing her regular dress in favor of lighter, more practical affair. Not only that, but the only bit of her regalia that remained on her was the crown.
She didn’t need any of it to look radiant.
“Then let us be off. The practice fields await us,” Luna proclaimed, leading the way with the same confident gait as always.
Twilight noticed, over time, Luna’s changing speech patterns. It struck her as odd, but Luna talked in plural when they were out, but singular when they were alone. Not only that, but her words were much more formal when outside, but she seemed almost like a friend rather than a Queen when alone. Twilight vastly preferred the indoors Luna, vastly preferred the Luna she had alone despite their limited time together.
She could only theorize why Luna did this, but Twilight was not a stupid mare. Quite the opposite in fact, and she firmly believed that Luna simply did not feel comfortable among the majority of ponies. Yet, Twilight couldn’t help but wonder what made her special. She couldn’t imagine why Luna would care more about her but not others, those some were of note. Sunny and Iridescence for example, or Cadance. Luna always seemed calm near them.
Twilight thought about it the entire way to the training field actually. With her mind sluggish from fatigue, she probably didn’t actually get much thinking done, but it at least kept her mind busy in the silence and helped to keep her alert and awake. More than anything, the walk woke her up, forcing her into wakefulness whether she wanted it or not.
At most, Twilight guessed that simply her position forced Luna into closeness. She was the only Student of the Night, after all. And while there would be a new one soon, Twilight held a monopoly over at least a portion of the Queen’s time. That would probably be the most regular interaction that Luna had with anypony save the ones she noted. There had been a history of Luna growing close with her students actually. Many were lifelong friends or protectors, something that Twilight could only hope for. The former, not the latter, of course.
In short order, the two stepped onto the cool dew stained grass of the practice field. At this Luna-forsaken hour, few practiced, one the bubbles notably blotted out entirely with a dark dome.
Luna led them towards a close by circle, stepping inside first with Twilight following close behind. “Careful, I’m going to raise the shield.” Luna warned. Apparently, being too close to the edge during the shield raising process could cause a fair bit of pain to a pony, an oversight during the whole process. Sunset had been the unfortunate recipient of that a couple of days prior, or else Twilight would have remained blissfully unaware. Mages worked on fixing that little defect, but it was a low priority at best.
In seconds, a glimmering blue dome surrounded the two, keeping their magics well contained within. “Very well, I have done a few first lessons before, but quite honestly I did not have time to read the report on you this year. Besides what you’ve shown me, I don’t exactly know what you can do.” Luna admitted with a small frown. “So, perhaps for the first lesson we should simply see what you can do.”
“I already know you can teleport.” Luna went on. “So that means you’re competent at the least in arcane magics, and your showing off at the school let me know about your mastery of thaumaturgy. What, if any field, would you consider your best?” Luna asked.
Oh, easy question.
“Arcane.” Twilight answered lightning fast. She always held the most interest in it no matter what she studied, and nearly everything came back to that in the end. The most elegant and refined, in her opinion. Arcane, by far, concentrated the most of runic spells as well. They could be inscribed in things or cast on the fly, either worked. It added a certain structure to the magic that Twilight enjoyed. Other spell schools were faster, but all of them lacked the raw power arcane could bring.
“Hm. Very well. Now I know why you wished to study the aether more at the least. I trust you can do all the basic things like minute levitation and simple daily tasks with your magic, no unicorn would make it here if they couldn’t. So. First test then.” Luna’s muzzle screwed up in concentration for a moment before a big ball of water appeared in the air beside her. “Make the light pass through the ball.”
Twilight looked over the ball, searching for some kind of trick. She knew invisibility spells were feasibly possible - indeed, she’d done one before based off a similar method. All she had to do was make the light connect to the other side, rather than going through it. But surely her Queen couldn’t give her a task like that! She knew the theory behind it, she could cast it, and it looked easy enough.
Yet, she couldn’t shake the feeling there needed to be something more. With determination, Twilight stepped forward, horn starting to glow as she wove the spell together in her mind. Water acted differently from anything else. Or rather, more accurately, liquids acted different than anything else when it came to light. It bended and turned, refracted inside the surface. Twilight needed to account for that as well, which meant an extra layer of complexity.
Her spell started to come together slowly. A rune meant for light, modified in a way that meant ‘passing’. She would mentally encircle the ball with one on each side for starters, though that would only make the light from the top instantly appear at the bottom. And more importantly, changing the rune for light was not so simple as simply thinking of it in different form. She had to meticulously re-write it with certain symbolism built in. In magic, the rune for light looked similar to a cross with the edges ending in points. To open it, to pass through, meant opening the center of the rune. Twilight drew the rune with a hole slotted through the center, her magic drawing it in the air.
This was one of the more esoteric ways to cast magic, but one that Twilight experienced the most. Earth ponies, pegasi, and even unicorns without their magic sight on would not be able to see her work. It helped that she did everything in a matter of seconds - no pony would wait minutes for simple runes. From here, Twilight started to ‘wrap’ it around the ball instead of leaving it at the top and bottom. She needed it to pass all the way through on each side, not just vertically.
Despite setting things up rather well for it, expanding her runes took a great deal of her magic. Shrouding the water was taking more out of her than she expected, and she had a sneaking suspicion that Luna either resisted her on purpose, or the water had a different structure than normal. Water refracted and reflected, yes, but not to the extent where she needed to burn this much power. She believed casting this spell would be no more difficult than levitated a globe of it, slippery that it was.
And so, she looked carefully each step along the way. Each time she stretched the rune farther, she kept a close eye out for the tell-tale signs of other magic being used.
Her diligence paid off as she caught the briefest flicker of azure magic. So Luna did resist her. So this was a test worthy of a student. With a grunt, Twilight let her magic storm out. Luna couldn’t be using all her power or Twilight wouldn’t even make a dent. She simply needed to overwhelm the fraction inside and...
There it was. With a pop, her rune sealed around the globe, removing it from all but their magical sight. Twilight breathed heavy, sweat already starting to stain her dress. Her horn glowed more dimly now as her magic started to settle out. She completed the spell and looked towards Luna for approval.
Only to find a blade at her throat.
To be specific, azure magic held the blade tight against it, though not quite tight enough to cut. The blade was colored a cool blue, a wicked curve running up its body. A silver hilt rested at the base, with filigree running up the beginning of the blade, showing it off as not just an instrument of war, but a decoration piece as well. For some reason, Twilight’s brain decided to focus on that rather than why in the world there would be a sword at her neck.
Slowly, she managed to break her attention away from it, up towards Luna’s serious expression. “B-bwuh?” She sputtered out, thoroughly and utterly confused.
Luna’s facial expression remained blank for a second. The blade bit against her skin, just enough to draw the lightest amount of blood. Instantly, her bubble popped, the water falling to the ground and splashing across the grass.
In one swift motion, Luna withdrew the sword, submerging it in a holster that Twilight hadn’t even realized was there. Twilight’s hoof gently, gingerly came up to her throat, touching carefully at where the sword pressed. She felt it grow wet with blood, the wound still leaking still. Slowly, she drew her hoof in front of her, only a few specks of blood actually coating it. But still Twilight blanched, her world growing pale and her mind growing dizzy. Admittedly, she didn’t do very well at seeing her own blood.
Yet, Luna wouldn’t leave her in such a state. Cool magic surrounded her throat, the cut closing up all on its own. The nausea and dizziness passed just as quickly. Twilight blinked her eyes, her full consciousness returning as she stared up at the Queen. Somewhere along the way, Luna’s eyebrows had knitted together, a sharp frown taking her normal smile’s place.
“Magelet, are you well?” Luna asked. Luna’s hoof rested on her shoulder, shaking her slowly.
“I-I’m fine, Y-Your Highness.” Twilight stuttered out. She shook her head, clearing the daze away from her mind, trying to shake the cobwebs free. “B-but why?” She asked. Normally, that would be a horrible way to ask that question, but now Twilight could barely think.
Luna looked away, mane covering her face for a moment. “Well… It was a test.” She turned back to face Twilight, sighing. “A test I stupidly assumed you would be ready for. Most mages, especially those participating in duels like yourself, need to be able to cast under pressure. Or, at the very least, not have their casting take the entirety of their attention.”
Twilight could see what she meant. “So, basically, making it so that I can actually tell what is going on around me?” Twilight asked. She had never even thought about that before.
“Exactly.” Luna nodded. “As is, anypony could come up and harm you while you concentrate on a spell. I thought that... Well, I considered that a shock like that would wake you up to it. And I must apologize for that magelet. You are intelligent enough to simply listen when I tell you things. I need not resort to such tactics.” Luna hesitated for a second, face lost in thought. “Perhaps you would like to learn a weapon as well? It would never be something of a focus, just a side project for you, I believe. There are several forms of magic that work better through an armament after all,” Luna explained.
Twilight knew that, or she at least knew the theory behind it. Naturally, defense attributed quite heavily to the martial arts, though arcane magic could channel much of its spells through a staff or basic weapon as well. The offer tempted Twilight. She knew she’d never be amazing at it, not like her brother and his sword and shield, but just being competent alone would be enough to help her magic.
Really, she had no choice but to accept. For her studies. Maybe it was the delirious paranoia talking, but she would much rather have something of her own next time a sword was at her throat! “Y-yes Luna. That would, um, be great,” she answered, disappointed even at herself with how lame that sounded.
Twilight was still out of sorts, okay?
“Hmrph.” Luna sat on the ground in front of her, gesturing Twilight to do the same. Twilight barely even realized how much better she felt sitting until after the fact, but just to be off her hoofs did wonders for her mind. Just... it really shouldn’t affect her that much! It was just Luna, she trusted Luna, yet her face was still pale as a ghost. “Tell me what you know about weapons then, or rather, what sorts you know of.”
Okay. Vague question. Well, generally that meant she could give a pretty vague answer. She bit her lip, thinking back to what her brother preached for years. “Well, I know there’s different sorts of swords.” Good start. Good enough. “Um, long and two hoof swords. Katanas from Neighpon. Broadswords. Uh…” She thought, none of the other types really coming to her head. She mostly watched her brother practice with a wooden long sword, the rest weren’t readily available in her mind.
“Oh, bow and arrow too. Crossbows of course. I suppose catapults and stuff don’t count right now?” Luna nodded. Of course, wasn’t like Twilight could use any of them. “Spears, daggers… slings?” She started to reach for some, mind running dry. Truthfully, everything she knew about the subject came from her brother or strategy books. She didn’t know the ins and outs of weaponry.
“A good start,” Luna acknowledged. “There are many more types, and perhaps later we’ll go see and find something that ‘fits’ you. For now, however those thoughts can be free from your mind. Now that we’ve started with the unconventional, I believe we should finish with a more conventional lesson. In that regard, why not begin with your chosen specialty?
I do not expect you to master this spell today. Some mages go much of their life without mastering it fully, but what I do expect is a good attempt.” Twilight perked up, her head finally cleared of its dizziness. Now Luna spoke her language. “It is both the most basic and complex of all gravity spells. While it seems simple at first, its possibilities can be near endless and have uses far beyond what many can understand. Simply put, it creates a gravity field.”
Huh. That didn’t sound so bad.
“But, the field can both increase or decrease gravity. It can be stretched or shrunk. It can be thrown or fixed. It can be attached to items and travel with them or float freely. It can even combine with another to create interesting effects. First, however, should be the easiest application of it. First, I’ll simply show you how to decrease the gravity in an area. Please watch carefully - with your magic.”
Obediently, Twilight lit her horn, enabling her magic sight to kick in once again. As expected, Luna already started to inscribe runes in the ground. Yet, Twilight had never seen something like this one before. Similar, yes, but not exactly the same. In a world of magic where a single line on a rune wrong can kill you, Twilight paid sharp attention indeed.
“This is the symbol for gravity in general. There are many specialized forms of course.” Luna explained. Her silvery-blue magic inscribed the rune into the ground between them, Twilight already able to feel the power radiating out.
To the relatively untrained mage, it looked like a short, fat T.
Easy enough to replicate, Twilight decided. With her own magic, she started to draw in on the field to the left of her mentors, being extra careful to ensure that each curve, each line was exact. A single, slight mistake would be enough to turn the whole spell upside down, sometimes with disastrous results.
Yet, Twilight didn’t make such a basic mistake.
Twilight felt the magic pulse between their two runes. Gently, Luna lifted a few rocks from the circle they stood in. Her magic aura disappeared as they floated above Twilight’s rune, the gravity spell from the rune easily keeping it up.
“Very good.” Luna said, nodding approvingly. “Now, to the other side of the circle before we continue please.”
Twilight nodded her head, trotting over to the edge as her lesson began in earnest.