Destruction Magic.
There was still much debate among thaumatologists when it came to categorizing many spells and general sub branches of magic.
While there had been no changes or additions to the main branches of magic, it wasn't a surprise to see a new sub branch of magic being created every few decades, and Destruction Magic was perhaps one of the most recent sub branches to pop up in the last forty years or so.
Celestia, of course, always had the first and final say in what new magic was to be sanctioned and used by the masses, but generally many types of magic made it into one category or another.
The problem was that there were always arguments over the misplacement of a particular sub branch of magic, and among one of those sub branches that were the subject of intense debate was Destruction Magic.
Dark Magic was fairly easy to categorize all things considered. If it had a clear visible negative effect on a pony's own morals or behavior, then it was generally considered Dark Magic, Mind Magic aside.
Destruction Magic however, was a bit harder to place. Some thaumatologists believed that prolonged use of Destruction Magic made ponies more prone to violent behavior and thus, deemed that it belonged as a sub branch of Dark Magic.
Still, others believed that the rather unstable nature of Destruction Magic was to blame and that it belonged under the branch of Soul Magic. Ultimately Celestia had ruled in favor of making it a dangerous sub branch of Dark Magic, and that was that.
It did nothing to stop the debates, and every so often a pony from the Institute would petition the Princess to have sub branches like Destruction Magic reconsidered for another main branch.
Fia had only recently come across Destruction Magic in her studies, and was intrigued by what she read. After some critical thinking on the subject, the filly was of the opinion that Destruction Magic was closer to Soul Magic than Dark Magic.
It seemed to Fia like several thaumatologists, as well as much of the average student of magic, often confused Destruction Magic with Combat Magic, which itself often got mixed up with some of the more explosive Elemental Magic spells.
Magic could be a very complicated thing indeed.
Nevertheless, from what Fia had read, Destruction Magic at its core was as its name suggested—magic that existed for the sole purpose of destruction.
Physical, magical, spiritual, and in some cases, even conceptual—everything reduced to nothing, It was due to this that Fia could see where those who wanted to lump it in with Dark Magic were coming from, but destruction in and of itself was not evil.
It wasn't something that corrupted a pony—rather, it was something a corrupted pony might cause, but that wasn't the same thing. The filly suspected Celestia already knew this, but chose to categorize it as Dark Magic anyway.
Once Fia had come to the conclusion that Destruction Magic had been incorrectly categorized, she felt a lot more comfortable working with it, after all, no corrupting effect meant she could use Destruction Magic for as long as she needed, given she was careful about it and didn't cast anything beyond her ability to control.
It may not have been Dark Magic in Fia's opinion, but it was still dangerous.
The reason for the black filly's interest in Destruction Magic had everything to do with the aspect of breaking down and eradicating other spells, something Destruction Magic would allow her to do thoroughly.
To that end, she had grabbed an apple from the kitchen and Transmogrified it into an orange. It was so simple for the filly at this point that she was able to do it almost without conscious thought.
The Transmogrification spell wasn't the important part however, it was merely cast in order to test out the much more complex Mana Disintegration spell.
As far as Destruction Magic went, it was a fairly tame—if deceptively difficult—spell, causing no great or lasting damage if it failed, so that's what she would start with.
Then she'd move on to the spells that actually deserved to be placed under Dark Magic.
Fia had meant to stay on the platform to test out her spell, but realized it would be too risky, so out of a fear of getting caught in the act, she had opted to sneak out of the caravan entirely.
There was still a bit of time left before the Sun completely made it over the horizon, and Fia was glad of that as she trotted into the thicker part of the forest a little ways from the clearing where the Vardo was parked.
Satisfied that she was a reasonable distance away and well out of sight of the caravan, she sighed and turned her attention to the transformed apple in her magic.
"Okay... here goes..." Fia muttered nervously.
Figuring it would do no good to delay, she immediately got to work. She set the orange on the ground and stared at it for a moment, her brow creasing slightly.
She had read that the Mage Sight spell was highly recommended for this particular spell, as it allowed a unicorn to 'see' the mana holding a spell together.
Most unicorns studying magic learned this spell at one point or another, as it was a useful spell for those who wanted to see their work on a fundamental level. On top of that, it cost almost nothing to use when it came to mana.
Despite the spell's simplicity—or perhaps because of it—many unicorns took it for granted, largely abandoning the spell once they had gained enough confidence to cast spells without it—Fia herself having been guilty of this very thing.
In fact, the only ones that really used Mage Sight beyond their foalhood were those whose jobs required it specifically.
Fia herself had stopped using the spell some time ago, opting to trust her own knowledge and memory to cast the spell properly.
The Mage Sight spell also provided to a certain extent, the ability to see a pony's magical signature, and it was this fact that made Fia remember just how useful—and relevant—the spell could be.
To her credit, Fia hadn't even needed to use it past her first six months studying magic on her own. She wasn't sure about Trixie, but being Celestia's student, Fia was almost certain Corona knew the spell, though she hadn't seen her use it either.
Fia then made a mental note to ask Trixie if she learned the spell and if not, to teach it to her. She also made another mental note to use the spell more often in the future.
In any case, this type of spell required an extremely delicate touch. After one more quick read through, the filly set the book containing the spell aside.
For the sake of safety and time, Fia cast the Mage Sight spell for the first time in she didn't even know how long.
All color around the filly became dull and faded save for the 'orange' in front of her. With her Mage Sight activated, she could see the countless 'threads' of mana wrapped around the apple.
The filly furrowed her brow in concentration and lit her horn once more. This time she focused on removing each and every thread from the apple—a rather slow and grueling process for somepony that wasn't used to casting the spell.
She watched intently as the threads began to lift and dissipate one by one—slowly at first, but quickly picking up speed as the filly became more comfortable with the spell.
She didn't know how long she spent removing the threads of the Transmogrification spell, but she finally finished her task some time later, panting from exhaustion as the magenta light from her horn died down.
Tired, but happy with her work, she picked up the apple with a hoof and took a large bite. As she ate, she took a look around and frowned.
It had gotten late.
While she was distracted, the Sun had made its descent below the horizon and the forest was bathed in the soft glow of the light from the rising moon.
Fia's eyes widened in alarm and her heart began to beat a bit faster. She hadn't meant to be out this long, and the other adults were most likely back by now and looking everywhere for her.
But... she wasn't all that far from the camp, and judging by how high the moon already was, she had to have been out here for at least an hour or two.
She wasn't that well hidden... was she?
Realizing that Ancient Scroll or the others should've found her by now, Fia began quickly trotting back in the direction she had come, an increasingly worried expression making its way onto her face.
All the satisfaction she had gained from casting her spell successfully evaporated in the face of her mounting worry.
Both the book and the unfinished apple lie forgotten far behind her. She had nearly reached the clearing once more when she suddenly heard commotion from up ahead.
Her eyes widened in fear and her canter became a gallop. Her ears twitched as she tried to make out what she was hearing, but she couldn't from where she was... then she saw them.
Royal Guards.
With a surprised yelp, she scrambled to a stop just before the clearing and hastily hid in the underbrush. With a shaky breath, she peeked her head out and scanned the camp with wide, horrified eyes.
Fia looked on as dozens of ponies in gold painted armor swarmed the clearing. They moved about the camp with purpose, sweeping their sharp eyed gazes over every nook and cranny.
One pony covered from head to hoof in wicked looking gold and violet armor barked out some kind of orders the filly couldn't quite make out from where she was.
Nevertheless, the soldiers scrambled to obey, the unicorns lighting up their horns as they trotted around the camp, the path, pegasi taking to the skies and flying off in different directions, and earth ponies simply continuing to search the area on hoof.
Fia looked upon the scene with both fear and confusion, her heart now hammering in her chest. One single prevailing thought filled her mind. One very important question she desperately needed to know the answer to...
Where was the Vardo?