//------------------------------// // The Bad Girl // Story: Double Vision // by EveningShadows //------------------------------// "That went surprisingly well," Twilight said cheerfully as she walked down a brightly lit Canterlot street with Spike and Sunrise in tow. They'd been able to spend most of the day hanging out and they'd just finished a wonderful dinner at the Sparkle residence. Twilight had been expecting to be continually embarrassed for her new sister but she'd been on her best behavior. Her parents had loved the new mare's company and, as an added bonus, her mom had only been a little sarcastic. The new member of her family was practically glowing with the feeling of acceptance. She just wished Shining and Cadence could have made it on such short notice. "Yeah, I thought it was gonna be a disaster," Spike added. "Oh, ye of little faith. I told you I was a people per-" Sunrise suddenly stopped and stared blankly at the twinkling stars, "a pony person- people pony- pony pony..." she trailed off. "Uh, Sunrise?" Spike asked, waving a claw in front of her. She just mumbled to herself with wide, unfocused eyes. "Huh? Oh, sorry I blanked out for a second there. I was just saying I'm good with ponies," she said letting out a prideful smile, which turned into a smirk, "unlike some ponies we know." The drake put a claw over with mouth to cover a guilty chuckle. "Huh?" Twilight looked back at the pair, "What were we talking about?" "Mmm, I was just wondering what we were going to do next," the unicorn said beginning to walk again, "I was thinking maybe you should take me out drinking." "D-drinking? Why?" Twilight sputtered. "What better way to get to know the city than a bar crawl? Plus we could use some one on one bonding time." "A bar crawl? Seriously?" she asked, distaste clear in her voice. "Aww.. You don't want to have bonding time with your little sister?" the mare widened her eyes and put a tremble to her lips. The effect was mostly ruined by her ears staying rigidly pointed upward before her brain caught up and she flattened them backwards. "You're really going to have to stop doing that," Twilight said blankly. "It's these stupid ears, you know? I just don't know what to do with them," Sunrise said as she looked up at them and flicked one with her hoof. "I meant lying with your face," Twilight said, twirling a hoof in a circle towards her twin's head. "But--!" "Hey, wait!" Spike interrupted, "How are we gonna have one on one bonding time if you're going to a bar!" "We're not going to a bar," Twilight said firmly. "Because it'll be after your bedtime and we'll hang out in the morning," Sunrise said, ignoring her twin. "Well I guess that's okay then..." Spike got a pat on his head from the unicorn. "I don't want to go to a bar. Couldn't we bond at the library?" Twilight said. Sunrise rolled her eyes, "How are we supposed to chat if we're reading? Besides I want to see your favorite drinking spot." "But I don't drink!" Twilight yelled, feeling like she was already being dragged to some skeevy tavern. Sunrise halted then. Her eyes were wide and she looked as though she'd been stricken. Twilight thought this was another pose but it displayed a genuine sadness. The new mare put a comforting hoof on her sister, "That's the saddest thing I've ever heard in my live, but don't worry, sis, I shall teach you the ways of the bottle." "You're not even a week old!" Twilight said in exasperation. "And how would you know--" "I guess we don't have to take a night on the town," Sunrise interrupted quickly, "we'll just go to the castle bar," She sighed and thought through how she'd enact what she was planning now that Twilight wouldn't be drunk... and now that they wouldn't have an alibi. She couldn't think of anything. "The castle doesn't have a bar!" Twilight said indignantly. "Of course it does," Sunrise said in a matter-of-fact tone. "Why would it have a bar? I mean I'm sure they have alcohol in storage for feasts and visiting dignitaries but I just don't see a need for a bar. Wouldn't that be bad for a soldier's discipline?" "The bar isn't for the soldiers, it's for Celestia." "What!" Twilight shouted indignantly, "Celestia doesn't drink!" "If our glorious ruler of a thousand years doesn't have a bar over flowing with the best booze money can buy I'll eat my tail!" Sunrise announced with a hoof held high in the air. "Hmph, I just can't see the princess anywhere near a bar," Twilight said, ignoring her sister's enthusiasm. Spike looked on in wide eyed fascination at this glimpse into the adult world. He, of course, knew about the bar and began to speak up but was silenced with a look from Sunrise. "Tell you what, if the castle has a bar you'll come drinking with me, and drink as much as I want you too. If it doesn't I'll give you one favor, absolutely anything you ask for," Sunrise smirked arrogantly in the hopes of projecting a foolish overconfidence. She figured it'd work better than a poker face since Twilight was smart enough to get fooled by a double bluff. If deceit was the only way she'd get Twilight to drink with her then that's the way she'd go. "Hmm," the alicorn carefully weighed the odds and her risk versus a priceless favor. To her, getting drunk at a bar would be a harrowing experience... But it couldn't be that bad if it was Celestia's bar. In the end she decided to side with her faith in her mentor's peerless character. "Alright, you've got yourself a deal!" Sunrise successfully resisted the urge to cackle maniacally and they shook on it. On their way to the castle Sunrise finally made up her mind on what she needed to do. There was just no way they'd be able to sneak out of the castle without being seen, she'd just have to convince Twilight while she was sober. She stopped the group, "Hold up guys, since we're not going out tonight I've got to make a stop," she said pointing to a nearby convenience store. "Err.. Okay," Twilight said. Sunrise jogged in leaving the other two in the street. "What do you think she's doing in there?" Spike asked. "I haven't the faintest idea. Restroom, maybe?" They were left to wonder until their companion jogged out of the store holding a small bag of goods. "What's all this for?" the other mare asked. "Well," Sunrise said, putting on a beatific smile. "I figured since we've just enjoyed a warm family meal, why not give thanks and feed a homeless pony? We should always help out those less fortunate than ourselves, right?" By this point Twilight had learned that whenever her sister started making facial expressions, or worse, poses, trouble was incoming. Spike had learned that fun was incoming. But having no argument she followed her sister's lead. "Now then, where is the nearest underpass on the way to the castle?" Sunrise said, looking like the very picture of innocence. Eventually they came to a stallion who looked to be in dire straights, "Hey, how about that guy?" Twilight asked, eager to get this escapade done with before her sister would do something the alicorn would regret. "Nah, he might just be a sad looking normal guy, to be sure we've gotta find somepony sleeping under a bridge or something," Sunrise said, trying to sound reasonable. "But he's wearing a potato bag!" Twilight whisper-shouted. "Besides, we don't want to be seen doing it. If we get credit for it then it's to our advantage and not a selfless act, right?" Sunrise gave the best excuse she could muster, hoping it wasn't too weak. "I- I guess," Twilight was a bit flabbergasted by this, she'd been expecting an angle but her suspicions were starting to make her feel guilty. Spike, who'd been wide-eyed many times tonight, was wide-eyed again, with admiration. "Wow, sis! You're so cool!" "I know," Sunrise smiled and waved a hoof in a modesty that contradicted her words. Twilight rolled her eyes. When they'd come to their underpass the unicorn carefully scanned the environment, "Okay, looks like we've got our stallion. Stay close you two and let me do the talking." The two natives followed behind the foreigner, looking nervous as new born rabbits. Sunrise adapted the countenance of a nun, the nice kind, as best she could. "Excuse me, sir?" "Hmf?" the stallion grumbled looking up, "This some kin'a hobo bash? Ya look like rich folks lookin' for a thrill," he said dryly. "Oh, no," Sunrise laughed lightly, Spike and Twilight looked aghast, "Just the opposite, rich folks looking to do some charity. I've brought you a meal." "Really?" the stallion sat up attentively, "Whacha got?" "I've got a burrito and a 40. What's your name, by the way?" Twilight pricked an eyebrow at that. "Ya? Ya know what a stallion needs," he said appreciatively. "And it's Thick Stew." Sunrise took something out of the bag and set it on the ground. "Here you are, Mr. Stew," she said giving the rest of the package to the stallion. "Thank ya kindly, Miss. Can Ah get your name as well?" "Oh I wouldn't recommend it," her smile was a bit tight. "The meal comes with some conditions. See I am a rich filly looking for a thrill, but more importantly I want to show my friends here a thrill." The stallion gulped audibly. She leaned forward and held a hoof close to her mouth, "You see, they're a bit new to the whole enjoying life thing," she stage whispered conspiratorially. Twilight's brain began spinning out of control. Was this some horrid scheme after all? Did Sunrise lead me out here to witness a-a hobo b-b-bash. And she brought Spike out here for it too, where there are no witnesses! Her rear legs began to twitch, trying to decide if she should grab Spike and flee before he could get traumatized or if she should pounce on her own sister. No! she thought, She'd never do something like that! I can't be that wrong about her... can I? Sunrise brightened back up, "So I would really appreciate it if you could find another spot to sleep for the night. I'd recommend you avoid the area for, say, a week, if you don't want eyes on you," she said glibly, "Oh! And if you were to witness, say, nothing I'd expect you to stay silent about said nothing, seeing as I know your name and am the sort of rich filly who seeks thrills," she finished with her best sweet smile. The stallion took a moment to ponder her words before nodding thoughtfully. "Understood, Miss. Pleasure doin' business with ya." "Oh the pleasure was all mine." The stallion quickly gathered his things and walked off the scene. "Have a good night, Mr. Stew!" she said as she waved him off. He grumbled something back which could have sounded vaguely like a good bye. "Well that was fun," Sunrise turned around to expressions of shock and relief, "always a pleasure to speak with the gemeine volk." She took a moment to stare at her siblings, "What?" "What! What do you mean what!" Twilight shouted, "F-for a second I thought you were going to hurt that poor stallion..." she finished meekly. Sunrise looked displeased. "I would never hurt Mr. Stew and I'm offended you'd suggest such a thing." Twilight wasn't having it. "Then what was all that about," she growled. "I was just making sure we wouldn't have any witnesses," Sunrise tried to say it in a calming manner. "W-witnesses!" Twilight voice echoed off the concrete around them. "Sssshhhh! You're going to draw attention," Sunrise held her hooves up in front of Twilight as if to block any more sound. Twilight growled. "Explain. Yourself." "Alright, Twi, I wasn't lying when I said I'd show you two a thrill but I'm afraid you won't like it." She held up a can of what was now revealed to be silver spray paint and shook it. "We're going to commit an act of petty vandalism." "P-petty what! Are you out of your mind!" "This is awesome!" Spike interjected. "Shush you too!" Sunrise shouted as quietly as she could. "You're going to get us caught!" She wiped a hoof across her face in exasperation. "Dear Celestia, you two are bad at this." Twilight glared. "Okay," she whispered, "why are we under a bridge with spray paint?" Sunrise resisted the urge to snark, barely. "Remember that bet I made with Luna?" "Go on..." Twilight growled. "Well, as it turns out, I didn't bet my bottom bit, I bet yours. So if you don't want to lose everything you own, Luna needs to see a certain sort of graffiti, and we're going to show it to her," Sunrise rushed through the sentence in a silly hope that she could mitigate Twilight's reaction. "You. Did. What." Twilight said as calmly as she could, which is to say, not calmly at all. "Look I'm sure we could take it to a court and get the whole bet overruled but that'll be expensive," Sunrise said in an attempt at appeasement, "I'd pay for it all, of course, but unless you want to be in debt while your penniless sister pays you back we have to do this." Twilight was too angry to even begin to articulate her feelings. "Hey, I'm not happy about this either. I was hoping we'd be good and plastered before we did this but I didn't count on us drinking at the castle. Turns out we'll be drinking away our nerves later. It should have been a fun moment of sisters bonding over adolescent trouble making, the kind we've missed out on. I wasn't planning on Spike being here either," she waved a hoof at the dragon, who'd somehow gotten his claws on a bucket of popcorn, "but I'm sure it'll be a good moral lesson for him when it all shakes out. Something about not being caught in your own web of schemes." Twilight put her sister-in-law's breathing exercises to good use. It took some time. "So you're saying you're doing this because we missed out on being teenagers together?" Sunrise shook her head all too vigorously. "Yes! Yes, that's precisely what I'm saying!" Her sister let out a long groan, "Couldn't you have just said that's what you wanted to do?" Because I wish I'd come up with that explanation myself, she thought. "We could've brainstormed over what we'd do," Twilight held a hoof to her chin and wore a thoughtful look, "Like... we could shelve a book in the wrong place! No... no, too much." Sunrise groaned. "See this is exactly why I planned it this way, we'd never have ended up doing anything fun if we'd talked about it." "Alright," Twilight conceded unwillingly, "I guess I see your point." "Great!" Sunrise picked up the can of spray paint and shook it. "Let's get this done!" Twilight groaned but capitulated. It took some time but eventually the words 'Princest is Wincest!' were plastered ten feet tall for anyone to see. Sunrise had made Twilight levitate her rather than the spray can in the hopes of reducing magic residue. She was certain Luna would pull out all the forensic stops for this one and she wasn't sure what tools Equestria actually had to investigate crime. She made sure Spike gathered up every stray kernel and crumb of popcorn and threw it away 6 blocks from the scene of the crime. She hid the spray can in a residential garbage can a few blocks away from that. They took a long route around the city so their trail of clues wouldn't lead to the castle. All through this Twilight was experiencing a criminal high, Spike was pretty pumped too. "Oh my goodness, I can't believe we did that!" Twilight shouted into the streets. "Me neither!" Spike was just happy to be included. "Me three," Sunrise said much less enthusiastically, almost sarcastically. "But you two did well! Especially you, Twi! I couldn't have done it without you." "Oh my goodness, I can't believe we did that!" Twilight screeched as terror finally found its way into her heart. "Aaaand here comes the crash," Sunrise rolled her eyes. "Nonononononono," the mare chanted to herself. She sat down on the curb and wrapped her hooves around her head. "Luna's going to find out and she's going to kill us. And Celestia... when she finds out she'll strip away my princesshood and send me back to magic kindergarten and..." She went on like this. "Is she always like this?" Sunrise asked Spike. "Yeah, pretty much." "Does... does it, like, peter out or...?" "Oh no, it gets worse." Spike held a thousand yard stare as his mind ran through a long line of bad memories. "We should probably do something." "Err. Right." Sunrise walked up to her panicking sister. She looked like she was falling down an abyss and wouldn't crawl out of it on her own. She began poking her. "Twilight. Twilight. Twi. Twilight. Twi. Twi. Twilight. Twi. Twi. Twilight. Twi. Twi." Spike wasn't sure if he was still witnessing the adult world. "What!" Twilight shrieked. "Chillax, dudette," Sunrise said with a breezy tone. "Ch-ch-ch-CHILLAX! How am I supposed to chillax when my life is falling apart before me and it's all your fault! And what does that even mean!" Sunrise glanced at the ponies who'd stopped to look at them. "It's fine, guys, she just has a condition." When they didn't disperse she shouted at them, "I said get, you damn lookie-loos!" That seemed to do the trick, along with a heated glare. She turned back to the panicky, angry mare on the sidewalk. "Twilight look at me. Your life isn't falling apart. Nothing's happened. Nothing will happen. Can you at least wait to panic until something bad actually happens, please?" "But it's already happened! And Celestia knows. She always knows. I don't know how she does it but she does!" Twilight was nearly hyperventilating. Sunrise rolled her eyes. "No, Twilight. She doesn't know, she's never known. Even when you were a filly she didn't know. The only thing she knows is what your guilty face looks like. Literally the only thing we have to do to not get caught is keep our cool and stay calm. The only way anyone could possibly punish us for this is if you confess." "That's it! We'll confess!" Twilight said with wild eyes. "If we confess then maybe Celestia will only take my princesshood and I won't have to go to magic kindergarten!" "Twilight, look at me. We're not doing that," she said as firmly as she could. "You're right! We can't do that. Celestia would never look at me the same way... I know! We'll have to clean it up ourselves and hunt down anypony who saw it and you'll talk to them like you talked to that hobo-" "Mr. Stew." "-and then they'll be too scared to say anything! It's the perfect solution!" Twilight's eyes were filled with a manic hope. Sunrise let out a long sigh. "Okay, Twi, so your plan to not get punished for petty vandalism is to walk around Canterlot intimidating random ponies who might be witnesses, which I'll remind you, is a real crime with real punishments." Twilight looked like a deer caught in headlights. Her eyes darted around as though they were looking for a possible solution but with each passing second it seemed further from her grasp. Then she focused on her sister's warmly smiling face and asked in a quiet voice, "What are we going to do?" "So glad you asked. But first, do you promise to do everything I tell you and nothing more?" Sunrise wasn't too worried about her sister spilling the beans but she was worried about her panicking and doing something crazy to avoid suspicion. "Especially nothing more," she reaffirmed. "Y-yes," Twilight said with hesitation "Okay, good. Now, what we're going to do is walk into the castle and pretend nothing happened. Then you'll put Spike to bed and we'll go drinking, it'll calm your nerves, and we'll continue to pretend nothing happened. And then we'll wake up and have breakfast with Celestia and Luna, and this is the most important part, we'll pretend nothing happened. Understand?" Sunrise said firmly. "Okay..." Twilight said, worry clear in her tone. "Good. Now let's go," Sunrise smiled at her sister. As they started their trek back to the castle Spike kept glancing over at the two. Sunrise noticed and winked at him. Twilight was mostly calmed down by the time they reached the castle but the moment she saw the guards her heart rate spiked. "Pretend nothing happened. Pretend nothing happened. Pretend nothing happened," she whispered to herself. "Greetings Princess Twilight, Princess Sunrise, Honored Spike!" A guard said. "Hello boys," Sunrise said as they walked by. "Keep up the good work." Once they got out of hearing range she said to Twilight, "See, nothing happened. And if we stay calm, nothing will." "Okay... I think I can do this," she said breathing slowly. "Good. I'll meet you outside your room. Wear something nice," Sunrise said and waved them off. The new mare didn't know how to do her own makeup, let alone how to do it on a pony's face, so she borrowed a maid to help her put on something light. She made her ad hoc stylist give her that wingtip eyeliner style that'd been popular on Earth. She also borrowed a fashionable cowl, the kind she'd seen women in starbucks wear. She took a moment to check herself out in the mirror before heading to meet Twilight. When she got to her room she found her sister nervously peering out from a proper formal dress. "Well you look... nice," Sunrise said slowly. "Y-you think so?" Twilight said, her nervous look turning to one of optimism. "Yup." "It's not too much?" "Oh it's way too much, you're going to have to change," Sunrise said, then added, "Still looks good though." "Err. Thanks." It took a while to get Twilight ready again but eventually she got her into a sundress. She also raided her sister's closet, which the always prepared mare had stocked nicely. After a brief chat about what constitutes lingerie Sunrise had to forgo the socks for a skirt and matching top. She didn't know why Twilight had brought something she couldn't wear in public and she didn't ask. After a half an hour of digging through the closet she was starting to understand why it took women so long to get ready. "More Mai Tais!" Sunrise said too loudly. She'd had a few and while Twilight wasn't keeping up she'd moved beyond her early hesitation. They weren't drunk yet but they were making progress. "Yes! More intoxicants!" Twilight said with red-cheeked cheer. When Sunrise got her new glass she leaned back in her bar stool and took a long draught. "So like, do you want to say big words all the time and you have to suppress it?" "Nope. I'm only sesquipedalian when I want to be," Twilight said with a smirk. "Boo!" Sunrise wrapped her hooves around her ears, "Your sissydandelioning is gonna give me a headache!" "You mean a neuralgia?" Twilight said, hiding her expression behind her drink. "Oh enough!" Sunrise said, throwing up her hooves in exasperation. "Lemme show you how it's done." "Oh, I've got to hear this," Twilight said in anticipation. Sunrise wiggled in her seat and fixed up her posture, sitting like a proper educated lady. She coughed into her hoof a couple times and then held it against her chest. She held her head high and projected a mockery of the prideful academic. "Allow me, dear sister, to spit a thesis," she spoke each word slowly and deliberately to suppress any slurring. "The mind is inherently capricious and malleable. All species under the heavens suffer from this same critical malfunction. A supposition can be so weakly held that it will shift with every new word spoken. In contrast, a conception may be so deeply adhered to that the psyche will not budge from its position, regardless of reason and logic, even in the face of physical danger the ego may remain intractable. Thus, all truth is derived non-rationally and is therefore relative. Absolute truth cannot be known, at least not with any veracity. Therefore we know that although we may seek authenticity in perspective, we are not capable of it. As per the context of the mind, only the narrative exists. The narrative is what makes sense of what is, the story that defines the world. We peer at reality, not clearly, but through stained glass. Each pane highlighting and obscuring what is. Thus, the great strength and great weakness of the mind is that we may not holistically know reality but must parse our way through it. And so I conclude that the mind is a post-modern institution in which fact can hold no fortification!" She finished with a enthusiastic flourish. "Bravo!" Twilight shouted and clapped, briefly piercing the din. "To counter your well put postulation, I shall propose two truths we can know with veracity. It is based on the evidence that I barely understood a thing you said!" she said with a laugh, "The first is that you made a proper speech, worthy of university. The second is that I have had too much!" The mares giggled and clinked their glasses. "So do you have any plans for the future?" Twilight asked after a short lull. "Bleh! I only just got here and you're already interrogating me on my future," Sunrise teased. Twilight rolled her eyes, "At this point I think I know you well enough to know you're not as impulsive as you act." "True, true," Sunrise said, "I've got a couple schemes in the pipe." "Oooh," Twilight said, her interest piqued, "do tell." Sunrise glanced around looking for curious ears. Whether this was more melodrama or genuine paranoia, her sister couldn't tell. "Alright, I'm thinking of establishing some guilds. Maybe start with the teamsters." "Guilds? Really?" Twilight gave a skeptical look. "Mmhmm, they're perfect. An excellent way to raise the common worker's wage," Sunrise said, or exploit them. "So you're all about the common pony?" Twilight said dryly. "Nah," Sunrise giggled, "they're a great way for me to gain influence. With enough work, anypony who wants to do business in Canterlot will have to go through me." "Sounds devious..." "I'll drink to that!" Sunrise chugged a quarter of her glass. Twilight sipped at her's with less enthusiasm. "That wasn't a compliment." Sunrise shrugged. "So why do you need influence?" "To get anything done, of course," Sunrise said, "Politics is a messy business no matter how you slice it. You're lucky that you only have to fight monsters," she laughed. "Uh huh... Truth be told," Twilight said while rubbing one hoof against another, "I'm worried I'll have to get involved with all that after I my coronation." "Mmm, I doubt it," Sunrise said. "Why's that," Twilight said then took a drink. "I think you're more of the warrior princess type." Twilight choked on her drink, "A wh--" She couldn't get the words out through her gagging. "You okay, hun?" Sunrise asked as she rubbed the alicorn's back. Twilight spend a few moments coughing and breathing. "What, uh, what do you mean 'warrior princess?'" Sunrise rolled her eyes, "Don't sell yourself short. You go around slaying monsters with your trusty companions. I mean, you're a national hero!" Twilight flushed, "Oh shush, you." Sunrise chuckled, "But seriously, don't worry about the political crap. Plus, I'll help you out if you need it." "Really?" Twilight's eyes twinkled. "That's a real load off my mind." "Course!" Sunrise said. And I won't even wrap my claws around your business. The mares chatted for a bit and got progressively more incapacitated until Sunrise spilled her drink. "Motherfucker!" She shouted as she scooted back in her stool. "Languash!" Twilight slurred. The barkeeper was on the mess with a rag in half a second. "Sorry 'bout that," Sunrise said. "Don't worry about it, sugar," said the orange mare with mint green mane. "Hey, what's your name?" "It's Mint Julep," she said with smile. "Ooh, cool name. I'm jelly," Sunrise said. I should've named myself Cuba Libre. "Well hi there, Jelly," Julep said. Twilight broke down into a loud giggle fit. Sunrise pouted. "No, no, I meant I'm jealous. Jeal. Ous." "Oh silly me," she said through a laugh. "What's your name then?" She briefly considered giving her full title with as much thespian flair as she could add but decided to keep it to herself. "I'm Sunrise and this is Twilight." "We're sisters!" Twilight added with enthusiasm. "Really? That's news to me," Julep said, straight faced. "Shush, you. She's usually really smart," Sunrise said with a huff. "Hey! What's that supposed to mean!" Twilight slapped her hoof across her sister's shoulder. "Youch! What was that for!" Sunrise said, rubbing the spot that'd been whacked. "I'm always really smart!" Twilight said and stuck her lip out. "Really? Say sissydalions," Sunrise smirked. "Sesquaydolen!" "Not even close!" The mares giggled, with Julep chuckling along, "You two are cute. I'll fetch you another round." "Danke schoen!" "Thanks!" The girls got their refills and took a synchronized sip. Twilight levitated her cup while Sunrise held her's in her hooves. "Ah! Rum is good for the soul," the unicorn said. "Mmhmm," Twilight hummed in agreement. "Say... Could you teach me to levitate stuff?" "Could I?!" Twilight's eyes sparkled with enthusiasm. She grabbed some nearby peanuts in her magic and placed them on the counter. "'Kay, 'kay. Try picking one of these up." "Alright." Sunrise held her hooves above the peanuts and waved them in circles like a psychic does over her crystal ball. "Abracadabra," she intoned, "Alakazam!" Nothing happened. Twilight burst out in giggles, "No, not like that!" Sunrise pouted, "Then teach me." "Okay, we'll go basic." Twilight broke down the process as simply as she could and after a few tries Sunrise succeeded. Cheers rang from the mares but the alicorn didn't let their accomplishment deter her from giving a full lesson on the basics of magic. By the end of the night Sunrise was flinging peanuts at the off-duty guards.