Serenity’s Tale- Chapter 8: Making a Good Mark (Part 1)
On the way to her room, Serenity introduced Wonderwick to Tranquility.
“It’s nice to meet you,” said Wonderwick.
“Likewise. What’s wrong with your eye?”
“There’s nothing wrong with her eye!”
“Well it’s weird how it’s looking in a totally different direction. Besides, I was just wondering.”
“It’s okay if she was just curious. My left eye has always been like that.”
“Does it hurt?”
“Nope, not a bit. I can make it look straight if I concentrate.”
Wonderwick scrunched her face and her left eye centered itself, looking straight forward. A few moments later, it veered back to the left.
“It kinda hurts to keep it straight for long, though.”
“Huh. Still a little weird, but in a neat kind of way.”
As Tranquility began to leave, Serenity invited her to study with them.
“Hey, that’s a great idea! She could help us with stuff we have a hard time with!”
Tranquility glanced at Serenity, scowled slightly and turned away. “I’m sure you two can figure it out.”
“But sister…”
Tranquility ignored her and strode away.
Why didn’t she want to study with us? Serenity thought as she pouted and her ears drooped. It would’ve been nice to study with her and Wonderwick.
“What’s wrong, Serenity?”
“I just wish Tranquility would study with us. She’s a little annoying sometimes, but she’s a nice sister.”
“Maybe she can study with us tomorrow. Hey, why don’t we practice multi-object levitation? I’ve always wanted to get the hang of that!”
They galloped to Serenity’s room and levitated objects around the room. Dolls, sheets, the lamp, even each other—anything either filly could lift with relative ease. After setting everything down, Serenity took out her copy of “Good Night, Ursa”.
“Let’s work on reading next.”
“Do you have anything else to read? I’ve already finished ‘Good Night, Ursa’.”
“You did? But it’s such a long book! We’re not even done reading it as a class!”
“Remember the time I forgot to do the image duplication spell for homework?”
“Yeah. You said you spent the whole night reading ‘Good Night, Ursa’.”
“That’s what I had been doing all week. I just finished it that night.”
Serenity’s jaw hung open. “Do you remember everything from ‘Good Night, Ursa’?”
“I sure do.”
Wonderwick recounted the events of the entire book with perfect detail. Her eyes were almost glowing with passion as each word left her mouth. The hours whittled away as Serenity listened intently until Wonderwick finished the story.
“Wow. That’s incredible, Wonder! You’re like a super-reader! Is that what you’re Cutie Mark means?”
Wonderwick looked at the book and quill pen on her flank and then shrugged.
“I don’t know. I’ve always liked to read. The things I see written on paper just make more sense to me, I guess.”
Serenity touched her chin in thought, her gaze drifting upwards. Maybe Ms. Fortuna can tutor her even better knowing that.
Before she could utter a word, Summer entered the room. “Sorry to end your study session girls, but it’s late. It’s time to go, Wonderwick. Though I hope you can come by again soon.”
Both fillies bade each other farewell and good night and then parted ways.
The next day, Serenity told Estrella Fortuna what Wonderwick told her.
“Thank you for informing me of this, Serenity. I think I can have some adjusted material ready in a few days.”
At her desk, Wonderwick tilter her head and flicked an ear. Adjusted material? What does she mean by that?
Three sessions later, Estrella wrote on the chalkboard.
“One night, a young filly gazed up at the sky,” she read. “In the sky, she saw an eagle made of twenty-nine stars. Suddenly, half the stars vanished. How many stars were left in the eagle, Wonderwick?”
“Fourteen and a half stars, Ms. Fortuna. What happened to the eagle? Why’d it lose some of its stars?”
Whoa. She answered that question in a flash! Serenity thought. Estrella continued writing and reading the story on the chalkboard. Each time she wrote a math problem into the story, Wonderwick immediately answered with enthusiasm.
At the story’s conclusion, Estrella put down her chalk.
“That concludes the mathematics portion of today’s session. Excellent work girls, especially you, Wonderwick.”
Wonder and Serenity both beamed at the praise. They were then each given a worksheet with instructions for a conjuration spell.
“Okay girls, now follow the directions on the worksheets. Feel free to ask questions if anything’s unclear.”
Wonderwick quickly read her worksheet, activated her magic and cast the spell. With a light green flash, a hardcover book appeared on her desk. Fortuna walked over and touched the book with her hoof.
“Very good, Wonderwick! You’ve just performed a successful conjuration. How are you doing, Serenity?”
“I was just reading the instructions a few times first, Ms. Fortuna.”
After reading the directions five times, Serenity closed her eyes and imagined a beautiful necklace made of silver with emeralds and a ruby. She concentrated hard on the mental image and channeled her magic to give it substance. A soft jangle prompted her to open her eyes. On her desk was the very necklace she imagined. The colors and luster was a bit off and the shape wasn’t quite right, but it was close.
“I did it!” she squealed.
“Excellent work, Serenity! Great job, girls. Let’s do two more conjurations and then we can work on color changing spells and texture changing spells.”
“Yes, ma’am!” both fillies exclaimed. Serenity and Wonderwick worked with diligence and enthusiasm, Estrella encouraging them all the way. In no time, it was time to go home and the fillies bade their teacher farewell.