Twilight was alone in an infinite realm of absolute darkness, everywhere she turned there was simply nothing. The filly looked down at her hooves, noticing that not only could she see her body, but it also seemed to look and feel exactly as it should. She lifted a hoof up to her eyes, noticing the soft orange glow that illuminated her hoof. With a shrug, she began walking in a random direction, her luminous orange gaze inspecting her odd surroundings.
She frowned, noticing that the endless expanse was just that, endless. No matter how much she walked or in what direction, it earned her nothing but exactly the same darkness without pause or change. With a sigh she sat down on what felt like a hardwood floor and tapped her chin. “Where am I?” she pondered aloud.
“Think Twilight, what happened last?” Her face screwed up into an expression of concentration before her orange eyes suddenly snapped open. “I was in bed, which means this is a dream!”
She looked around, expecting something to happen, only for the darkness to remain unchanged. “A really boring dream,” the filly lamented.
With a shrug she focused, trying to remember what that guide to lucid dreaming had told her to do. Imagine what you wish to happen and realize that you can simply make it happen. The filly blinked, shocked that she had actually remembered the line she had been trying to think of. She pushed a little harder into her memory, finding that she was quickly able to recall the entire page that sentence had been on.
“Weird.” The pony had a good memory, but not an eidetic one. Well, until now it seemed. “Maybe it's a dream thing?” she wondered aloud.
She sighed, vaguely aware that she would normally be terrified of such empty void like this, but something about it didn't feel oppressive though, it felt almost homey, in a way. More than that, she also felt oddly warm, as if there was a blanket wrapped about her shoulders and tucked tight around her body, which helped stave off the fear and confusion.
Even the endless darkness and oppressive nature of such a void didn't seem to bother her, Twilight was simply annoyed that there was nothing there. “Well, what the hay am I supposed to do now?” Her eyes went wide and she covered her mouth with both hooves.
Only to realize that with nopony around, and this being her dream, she could swear as much as she wanted. “Hay hay hay! Pony feathers!” the filly burst into a fit of giggles, grinning like a child that had just gotten away with pilfering the entire cookie jar.
She looked around, as if her mother may burst from the darkness and stuff her mouth full of soap at any second. When such a thing didn't happen she giggled and whispered the worst word she could think of, “Shit.”
When nothing continued to not happen, she burst into another round of giggles, enjoying the fact that she could say the only swear she knew with complete impunity. “Shit shit shit!”
Another round of giggles saw her tumble to the ‘ground’ in a heap while clutching her sides.
Then a change, and the sound of strange clicking noises in the distance drew her attention, making her laughter die in her throat.
The pony jumped into a standing position, looking around the dreamspace curiously. “H-hello?” she whispered.
The chittering stopped, only to start up again a second later, this time far more excitedly.
Twilight frowned and tried to turn to the source of the clicking speech, only to find that no matter which direction she faced, it always felt as though the sound was coming from behind her. Such a sound should be scary, Twilight was vaguely aware of this fact, yet she couldn't shake the feeling that whatever creature was making the odd clicking speech was very happy.
“Is anyone there?!” she yelled, pouring power into her horn with the intent of casting a light spell.
Her immediate surroundings lit up, illuminated by the magenta light of her magic, only to reveal absolutely nothing at all. The ‘ground’ she was standing on did not seem to have any form whatsoever and the darkness quickly swallowed the light of her horn, ensuring she couldn't see for more than a few feet.
With a sigh she stopped the flow of magic and strained her ears, trying to find the source of the chittering sounds, only to find that it had stopped completely.
“Are you still there?” Twilight asked. “Mister buggy?”
The chittering returned, this time punctuated by what sounded like scratching, squelching and the odd squeak, ending with a slightly higher pitched squelch that made the entire thing sound like a question.
Twilight blinked. “Uh, I’m not sure I understand, Mister buggy… thing. Was that a question?”
The weird garbled speech was punctuated by an excited screech at the end of its sentence before babbling away in an excited, rapid fire tone.
“If you are talking, I can't understand you. Do you speak standard Equestrian? Or Prench? I know a little Prench,” Twilight offered, wincing at the confused squelch sound that followed her question.
“Hrarrghur?” the voice asked, having become strangely clearer and less nonsensical, but still complete gibberish.
“That's better, can you say pony? Poe-nee?” Twilight asked, clearly enunciating the word to ensure that she wasn't misunderstood.
Several excited squelching sounds punctated by a screech, then skitter followed the filly’s question, making her sigh in annoyance.
Then all of a sudden the voice spoke once more, this time in a strangely familiar tone. “Poe-neeee.” Granted, it was punctuated by a series of clicks and warbles, but the voice had managed to say its first Equestrian word.
“Yay! Good job! I am a pony.” The filly smiled. “My name is Twilight Sparkle, what is yours?”
The voice made more garbly noises, but it was quickly fading away, as if the being speaking was disappearing down a long tunnel. “Wait, where are you going!” Twilight called, her head turning this way and that, trying to figure out where the other being had went.
A light grabbed her attention, emerging from the darkness before her and drew closer with each passing second.
“Oh poo, I never found out her name,” Twilight remarked dryly before the light suddenly overwhelmed her.
The filly blinked owlishly, noting that she was no longer in the endless expanse of light and darkness, her room having replaced the featureless void she had been in a moment earlier. Her mouth hung open, a huge yawn causing her jaw to creak in protest. She looked up, noticing that the sun had only barely begun to crawl up the roof, indicating that it was still early. Around seven thirty if she had to guess.
“What a weird dream,” she whispered.
The filly pushed herself out of bed, landing with a thump on the cool ground. She let out another long yawn as she walked over to where her end table was in order to grab the glass of water she always left out for herself. Only for her hoof to pass through the air the glass usually occupied.
Twilight opened her eyes and looked around, only now realizing that she wasn't in her room at home, but rather the castle. “Oh yeah,” she mumbled, looking around at the much, much larger space she now occupied.
With a shrug the filly trotted over to the bathroom and pulled out a small stool that she had brought with her. With the advantage of a little height she was able to look into the mirror and thus was able to brush her teeth, provided she remembered where she put her toothbrush. “Duh.” She knocked a hoof upside her head and gently pulled on the massive ornate mirror, revealing an extra dimensional space behind that was easily large enough to fit the filly’s entire wardrobe into.
Which made it seem kinda weird that she really only stored a single cup with her toothpaste and a toothbrush in, but Twilight was sure she could think of something to help fill up that space.
With a clank the door shut and the filly smiled into the mirror, trying to find any stray bits of food that may still be stuck in her teeth. She didn't find any food, her smile slumped, but she kept her lips pulled back, her gaze glued to the pair of pronounced canines that stuck out from either side of her lips. When she closed her mouth she noticed that if she didn't take care to close her mouth perfectly they would poke out the sides of her lips, still visible.
Well that would explain some of the looks I was getting, she thought morosely.
The filly poked her right canine with a hoof, finding that it was indeed real and attached to her jaw. She closed her lips and frowned, noticing the way the twin spikes of pearly white poked out. She had been told it was part of her flare and that they might just fall out, but Twilight didn't really see the big deal. Sure, pointy teeth were for meat eaters, but the dragon she hatched was cute and he had pointy teeth and he wasn't a bad pony, err dragon, right?
She looked up to her eyes, gazing into the pupilless orange void that stared back at her. With a sigh the filly opened her lips once more and grabbed her toothbrush.
A few minutes later and she tromped out of the bathroom, tossing the door closed behind her.
As soon as all four hooves were back in her new room she felt her stomach rumble, reminding her that she had yet to eat anything today. The filly looked around the room, hoping to find something to fill the growing void in her midsection. The closest thing there was to food was a package of tea leaves that she hadn't noticed before and something about eating a bag full of dry leaves wasn't very appealing to the filly.
Remembering the words of one of the guards she had met, she walked over to the door.
If you ever need anything just ask a guard and they will be more than happy to help you.
The filly’s smile faltered somewhat when she remembered the rather gruff look that same guard had given her a second later when she asked a question.
Ultimately the filly decided to brave the potentially gruff guard once more, determined to find something to eat lest she be forced to possibly ruin her first lesson with Celestia by being too hungry to pay attention.
With a gentle tug of her magic, the orange eyed filly pulled open the door and peered outside, noticing a rather bored looking unicorn mare clad in gold armor already looking down at her. “Eep!” Twilight cried, pushing the door closed and hiding behind it.
The guard, rather than seeming annoyed, laughed at the sudden disappearance of her charge, catching the door before it could close all the way. “What is the matter, young miss? Is there something in my teeth?”
The filly blinked, this didn't seem like one of the grumpy guards from before. “Umm. No, I don't think so,” she whispered.
“Did you have something to ask me, or were you just trying to scare an old mare?” asked the guard.
“I was wondering where I can get some breakfast…” Twilight muttered.
“Do you mind if I come in?”
The filly gulped and released the hold her magic had on the door, allowing the guard to open it the rest of the way and smile down at the filly. “There we go. Now what would you like, young miss?”
“Umm... cereal? Please?” Twilight asked nervously, unable to meet the guard’s friendly gaze.
The older mare laughed and shook her head. “This is Canterlot Castle, you can have whatever you want and you choose plain old cereal?” She blew a raspberry and laughed. “You gotta think bigger!”
Twilight gasped, looking up at the guard in wonder. “Anything?”
The guard nodded. “The princess told me you can get anything you wanted so long as you don't eat just cake.” The filly’s eyes lit up both figuratively and literally, which made the guard raise an eyebrow. Now that's the strangest pair of peepers I ever saw, thought the unicorn guard.
“I want pancakes! And hay bacon and and an apple and, and orange juice!” yhe filly announced excitedly.
The old guard chuckled once more. “Is that everything, young miss?”
“Yup!”
The guard nodded. “I’ll be right back with your food, you just sit tight now, alright?”
The filly nodded. “I will, guard lady!”
“It's Silver Bulwark ,but you can just call me Bull, everyone does.” The guard threw the filly a wink and turned and left, leaving Twilight alone and excited.
Wow, she was nice. Maybe they aren't all bad, the filly thought to herself, trotting over to the small table and plopping down in her seat and levitating a book over from the shelf. With a book in one hoof and a glass of water in the other the filly looked out the nearby window, gazing out over Canterlot.
Maybe this all won't be so bad after all.
Twilight groaned, lying on her bed with her limbs splayed in all directions. The food in her belly turned, threatening to come up again, causing a second groan to spill from her lips.
“Sooo full,” she whined, painfully aware of the feeling of a half dozen pancakes, fruit bowl and several cups of orange juice rolling around in her stomach.
The guard had mentioned that the chef was so thrilled to finally be cooking for more than just Celestia that he had gone all out on her dish and Twilight couldn't just not eat it. Her parents had raised her better than that after all. Though after eating all that, she just might have to disappoint her mother if the chef kept this up for lunch.
She shook her head and heaved her body onto her side now that the gurgling and the pain had died down somewhat. A quick glance at the clock told her that she still had about twenty minutes to walk to the space that Princess Celestia had simply referred to as the magical training room. It didn't take a pony with an IQ like Twilight’s to figure out what that meant for her next lesson. Despite the excitement that built in her chest, the filly still felt a little… off. Like she had forgotten something, only she wasn't sure what.
Now that she thought about it, it felt more like that time her older brother had convinced her that fruit had feelings and she had nearly gotten scurvy because she had learned how to teleport the food out of her mouth and into a hole in the backyard. It was like she was missing something important that her body needed but wasn't getting...
But what?
She had pancakes with blueberries in them and on them, plus syrup and an entire fruit bowl with lots of orange juice! The filly shook her head, deciding that she was probably just a little homesick. The castle was nice after all, but she still missed her family intensely and all the pancakes in the world couldn't smother that feeling.
Or could they?
The filly shrugged and hopped off the bed, the grumbling in her stomach having died down enough that it at least was no longer audible. She may very well be capable of filling the void her family left behind with pancakes, but the more she thought about it, the more she was sure that she didn't want such an experiment to succeed anyway.
She trotted around the room, trying to get her stomach to settle completely before she had to leave for the first real lesson from Princess Celestia. She shrugged again and continued her slow pace, feeling the lethargy from her meal slowly lift.
With nothing else to do for the moment, she simply thought, her mind going back to the crazy events of the last few days. It had been quite the life changing week to say the least and the filly smiled as she glanced out her window. In a way that view was like a physical embodiment of those changes, which served as a bittersweet reminder of the things she gained and lost.
Sure her family was further away, but that wasn't so bad, right? They were still in the city, they would be coming to her room tonight, then in a few days she would be back home for the weekend.
Her smile faltered as she realized just how strange that entire thought process had been.
Normally she would have freaked out over being late and would have shown up for lessons at least a half hour early. Yet here she was, waiting for her stomach to settle before she left, burning valuable minutes. Even still, with the possibility of angering Celestia dawning on her, she still couldn't muster the urge to really act on that, or feel anything other than a slight agitation.
Emotional response is unneeded, we know the walk will take only two minutes at most, she thought to herself.
The cold logic of it all did wonders to assuage her nerves, but she couldn't help but wonder why she felt so different lately. She wasn't even overly bothered by the fact that her family was so far away, despite the fact that she had never left home for more than a single overnight sleepover a year ago.
She glanced down at her hooves, her thoughts wandering aimlessly until finally she gave her head a shake and trotted off towards the door. It was probably just her getting older, her mom did say she was going to start changing pretty soon. The filly was just glad that the weird hair and hormones part hadn't started yet.
The more she thought about it, the more Twilight thought that maybe staying for a few more minutes wouldn't be that bad of an idea.
The filly turned back to her bed and slung her saddlebags over her back, feeling the familiar weight of the notebook, quill, ink, extra paper, and a few other things that she may need for her first real lesson. With a nod, the filly reached her hoof up and pushed open the enormous wooden door.
Two minutes and eight seconds later, Twilight was standing in front of the doors to the magical training room, which were a pair of large iron clad sentinels that were almost as intimidating as the guard that stood next to them. The guard himself was thankfully not the kind that glared at her, nor was he the type that seemed to shrink from her gaze. Rather, he took one look at her and just seemed to shrug before turning back to his job of looking stoic.
Something that Twilight was immensely thankful for as she was beginning to dislike the way some of the guards looked at her. The thought was strange in hindsight, she was hardly even intimidated by most of them and she hadn't exactly lived here long. The filly reached up and pushed on one of the large doors, which did not so much as budge even when she threw her weight against it. She was about to light her horn and try to move the door but before her horn could light, the door opened, as if pushed by the mere force of her will.
She blinked and looked up, to notice that the guard had opened the door for her, and quickly shuffled back to his position, flashing the filly a small smile before turning away and returning once more to his silent stoicism.
“Thank you, sir,” Twilight whispered
The guard spared the filly a brief glance before nodding once more in turn, gesturing inside the room.
The filly did as she was told and scuttled inside, the heavy iron door booming closed behind her. With wide, inquisitive eyes she stared around the room, noting that it felt larger than the exterior would indicate.
“Hmm,” she muttered to herself, her gaze drawn up the walls, across the ceiling before finally back down the other side.
The walls themselves were simple white stone, with lines painted at what seemed like random angles, circles here, squares there, it all appeared deliberate but Twilight wasn't sure what any of it meant. The roof was made of the same stone, and was adorned with far less paint, with only a few dots marked here and there. The floor was marked similarly and other than a set of small unassuming wooden doors, the room was completely empty.
“Stone ceiling, feels larger on the inside…” the filly muttered to herself before tapping her hoof a few times and listening to the echoes. “Chamber seems out of place with the rest of the castle. Curious. Either the door is a subtle teleportation anchor or the room itself is an extra dimensional space,” Twilight wondered aloud, her tone becoming strangely devoid of emotion.
“Actually, it's a bit of both, I’m afraid,” announced a voice from behind her.
Twilight spun around, her eyes going wide. “Princess Celestia!” The filly stumbled into a hasty bow, nearly toppling to the ground when her bags fell forward and smacked into the back of her head.
Celestia sighed and rolled her eyes. “What did I tell you about bowing?” she asked, a hint of annoyance edging into her tone.
Twilight looked up. “To… not?”
The alicorn chuckled. “Exactly, so please rise.”
Twilight silently did as she was told, allowing her the first real look at the princess.
She seemed off to Twilight, as if she wasn't getting a good sleep, or ate something funny, or perhaps had heard one of Twilight’s father’s jokes. Beyond that her entire body seemed to glow more than usual and the longer Twilight stared, the more she realized that this was not the warm glow Twilight usually saw coming from the alicorn, but rather the golden light of spellform that clung to the monarch. She wasn't sure what the spells were or did, but they seemed complicated and powerful. Something niggled at the back of her mind, making Twilight think the largest, brightest spell was the mysterious and unheard of type of spells that were referred to as runic magic. Either way, Twilight decided that it was her job to cheer Princess Celestia up by being the best student ever!
The filly flashed the alicorn a wide smile, something that didn't quite have the effect she wanted, as the filly’s canines seemed to glint in the light, making Celestia frown slightly. “What do all those spells do?” Twilight asked happily, gesturing to the glow that enfused the princess.
Celestia smiled. “As sharp as ever I see.” The alicorn spread her wings, making the spells fan out and become more visible to the inquisitive filly. “What do you think they do?”
“Umm…” Twilight tapped her chin and strained her memory, searching for anything that resembled the strange circles and glowing symbols that floated around the alicorn’s body. “Scanning spells, and runic magic that protects against something?”
Celestia seemed about to say something, only to stop when she heard Twilight’s answer. “You are half-right, they are mostly there for our protection. They will stop harm from befalling anyone I’m in the room with.” Where did she learn about runic magic? The alicorn thought to herself.
“Ooooh,” Twilight murmured.
Celestia nodded, oddly uncomfortable by the entire interaction. “Now then, we have a good idea where your normal schooling is. But we have yet to really test your magic, which is what we will be doing today.”
“But I already got my yearly magic check up a month ago,” Twilight whined.
“That may be, but those tests have to be redone when something big happens, right?” Celestia said with a smile.
“My cutie mark!” Twilight squealed, her eyes lighting up at the realization.
Celestia was barely able to stifle a giggle at the sight of her student’s eyes glowing more intensely, the image of a mood ring coming unbidden to her mind. “Exactly. As you know a cutie mark can sometimes boost or change a pony’s magic. Especially when that pony’s special talent is magic itself. So today will be exclusively magical testing.”
“Daww.” The filly looked down at her bags, all her enthusiasm suddenly bleeding away.
Celestia raised an eyebrow. “Is something wrong?”
“I was so excited for a real lesson and now I won't be able to take any notes.” She dug through her bags, pulling out her favorite quill complete with a tiny charm shaped like a fish that was held magically in place at the end. “Mister Swimmer loves taking notes.”
Only the decades of politicking with some of the best poker faced ponies in history stopped the princess from erupting in giggles, the sheer adorableness being nearly too much to handle. “Unfortunately that's true, but if we finish early I promise to give you and Mister Swimmer something to take notes on, okay?”
The filly jumped into the air. “Yippee!” she cried, earning a small chuckle from the alicorn.
“Why don't you put your bags and Mister Swimmer by the door for now? Wouldn't want to accidentally break such a wick quill.”
Twilight’s face screwed up for a second and she looked up at Celestia in confusion. “What do you mean by wick? What does a candle have to do with anything?”
“Err...” Celestia scratched the back of her neck, blushing awkwardly. “Is that not how the youth refer to something that is neat?”
Twilight shook her head. “No, we usually say something like cool, or awesome! We also don't call ourselves ‘the youth’.”
The older mare coughed awkwardly. “Good to know. It's been a long time since I’ve taken a student, sorry if my vernacular is not up to par.”
Twilight shrugged. “No biggie.” She trotted over to the door and deposited her bags, allowing Celestia a blessed few seconds to gather her wits and reform the mask she usually wore.
“We are going to need a few things to properly do this test, so while I acquire them, please do a few warm ups to make sure your magic is acting normally,” Celestia remarked before turning towards one of the wooden doors.
The filly straightened her stance, setting her legs far apart in order to allow her magical pathways to flow unhindered. Next she lit her horn and cast a small light spell, the magic glowing the familiar magenta that it usually did, save for the addition of a few flecks of orange that the filly didn't notice. With her attention focused on her light spell, she began to go through the usual motions. Moving the spell up and down, left and right before centering it once more and focusing intently on the glow, forcing it to grow brighter and brighter until the strain became too much to contain.
So focused was the filly that she didn't notice Princess Celestia watching her from the sidelines, a bag of bright orange balls on one side of her, and several larger heavier ones that grew in size from roughly the size of a medicine ball all the way to a beach ball. The princess watched as the filly’s oddly colored magic dimmed and brightened several more times until finally she seemed to catch sight of the alicorn and let her horn shut off completely.
“Ready!” she announced enthusiastically.
“Good, first we are going to test your multitasking skills as well as your ability to spread your magic out.” The princess hefted several of the small bright orange balls in her hoof. “To do that I am going to toss these balls on either side of you, right or left. I won't ever throw one at you, so don't worry.”
Twilight’s hoof shot up, making Celestia blink. “Uh, yes? You don't need to raise your hoof, Twilight.”
The filly blushed. “Oh um. I was just wondering why this time the test is different. Usually they just make me try and lift a bunch of blocks and stuff.”
“That is a good question. While that test is accurate in regards to seeing how well you can lift stationary blocks, this method tests your speed and accuracy as well.” She smirked. “Plus it's way funner than playing with blocks.”
Twilight nodded. “Do I toss them aside afterward or?”
“Try and put them in a pile in front of you, if you don't think you have the speed to do that then just do the best you can.” The alicorn smiled warmly, beaming down at the filly. “And don't worry, I called this a test, but you can't fail it so don't worry and try to have some fun.”
Something irked Twilight about being told to have fun while taking a test as she felt as though fun would get in the way of potential testing, but she brushed these thoughts aside for now. Her eyes narrowed and her horn lowered, her attention focusing to a razor’s edge. “Ready!” Twilight called.
Celestia nodded once before taking the balls in her magic and levitating them above her head. The first ball she tossed was low, and slow, little more than a test to make sure that there was indeed a small orange light that flickered inside the glow of the filly’s magic. Sure enough the filly caught it and confirmed that it wasn't just a freak occurrence and that her magic was indeed flecked with orange. The alicorn frowned, staring at the filly’s horn until she noticed Twilight looking up at her with a confused expression.
Celestia shook her head and grabbed the next two balls and chucked them one after another, each at a different side. They were spaced out slightly, allowing the filly to grab them one by one if she wished. Yet the filly didn't bother, simply grabbing both of them about midway between them and depositing them in the growing pile in front of her.
The elder mare nodded knowingly, happy to see that the notes taken by the filly’s old doctor were indeed correct. Next she grabbed four balls and tossed them two at a time, varying their speed and path slightly in an attempt to throw Twilight off. The filly was anything but surprised by the sudden jump in difficulty and instantly grabbed all four at once before depositing them in the pile.
She would have to up the ante a little if she was going to have a hope of grasping the depth of the filly’s skill it seemed. Next she grabbed ten of the balls all at once and noticed that instead of intimidation in the filly’s face, Celestia saw determination. With a smile she threw the next set of balls, and was instantly met with surprising turn of events.
Back and forth they went, with Celestia eventually having to drag the pile of testing balls back over to her in order to continue. Over the course of several minutes it quickly became apparent that the filly was well beyond that of her old classmates. Her connection was solid, as was her reaction time and speed which were well above the norm, able to multitask with an ease that would make a full grown adult green with envy. Though she faltered occasionally, Twilight didn't seem to get too down from it, focusing instead on what she did wrong and how to improve and over the course of ten minutes of testing most of the curve balls Celestia threw no longer caught the filly off guard.
Her mind was evidently quick to change and adapt to new situations, with analytical skills well above her grade level. All that adaptation wouldn't help her on the next test however, as it was focused on one thing and one thing only, power.
The alicorn levitated all the orange balls back to her side and smiled down at the panting filly. “Great work Twilight. You did far better than even a month ago.”
The filly beamed, her grin showing off her teeth. “Thanks! Shiny and I practice every summer!”
The princess chuckled, watching as the filly quickly got ahold of her breathing and brought it back under her control, no longer panting. “That's wonderful to hear. Now, this next test is going to have a lot less finesse than the last. I’m going to toss these weights at you one at a time and I want you to catch them, if you can't, don't worry. They won't hit you.”
Twilight looked from one weight to the next until her gaze lingered on the largest of which. “A-alright,” she stuttered.
“Relax Twilight. If you can't catch it, then let it fall, it's okay. Remember there is no winning or losing.” The filly nodded. “Are you ready?” Celestia asked, grabbing the smallest weight and easily levitating it above her waist.
Twilight took a deep breath. “I’m ready.”
Celestia nodded before gently tossing the weight at the filly’s right side, sending it in a slow, simple arc.
The filly stared intently, and when the weight reached the apex of the toss she grabbed it, her magic wrapping tightly around the heavy weight. Her teeth clenched and she was forced to pour a little extra magic, but she caught the ball and gently brought it down to the floor in front of her.
Celestia nodded, hiding the small sliver of worry that wormed into her thoughts.
She brought the next ball up, and sent it into a similarly gentle arc.
And again the filly caught it, only to waver briefly before pouring more power into her spell.
Was her control hampered in some way? Celestia pondered, before tossing the third weight.
Again the filly caught it, but this time with much more struggling, the ball nearly slipping out of her magical grasp before being placed gently on the ground in front of the others.
“Remember Twilight, if you can't catch it just drop it, it's not worth hurting yourself,” Celestia reminded.
Twilight nodded, but didn't seem to be listening, her gaze focused on the second last weight that was held aloft in Celestia’s magic.
The alicorn sighed, mentally preparing herself for the possibility that she may have to stop the filly lest she hurt herself or perhaps worse still, flare. The last one didn't seem as likely but the filly was awfully focused on completing the test and it certainly wasn't out of the realm of possibility.
With one last hesitant look, the alicorn tossed the weight in the same gentle arc as the last.
Twilight’s face screwed up into a tight, if adorable, mask of concentration, her horn glowing brightly as she wrapped her telekinetic aura around the weight. The glow faltered almost instantly, slowing the descent slightly but flickering in and out as she struggled to control the weight’s fall. The weight dipped a few inches before the filly’s magic was able to slow its fall.
“Come on…” Twilight groaned, gritting her teeth tightly as her magic grew to the point that it very nearly blinded her.
The weight shifted this way and that, her magic unable to encompass it entirely, making it tumble out of her grip constantly. It was near the ground now, mere inches from the stone floor yet Twilight couldn't quite seem to get a handle on it. Then when it was a mere inch from the ground she pushed one final time.
Her horn sputtered, small jets of orange light shooting out before dissipating almost instantly. Despite stumbling up until that point, the additional effort seemed to work and she managed to gain control of the weight long enough to set it down in front of the others.
The filly nearly collapsed from relief, panting heavily, her legs shaking. “Yay,” she muttered weakly.
Celestia hid her disappointed frown and eyed the filly with concern. How could she have that much skill, yet lack strength? Her flare should have been all the evidence Celestia needed to conclude that Twilight was a powerhouse of mana, yet here she was, struggling with a weight that she should be able to lift. Yes it was a bit above her grade level, but compared to her other test this was a clear failure.
The filly’s eyes began to water and she looked up at Celestia. “Did I fail?”
“No, of course not, child. Like I said you can't fail this test.” Celestia tucked the weights back beside the others.
Twilight didn't seem convinced though and glanced forlornly at the last unlifted weight. “I should be able to lift it though, right? I mean I did super good with the last test! Maybe if I try again?”
Celestia stopped where she stood, noting the curious choice of words. “The test is over Twilight. You did well, remember that.”
The filly pouted. “But I lifted a weight like that before! I can do it, Princess, just let me catch my breath and I’ll-”
“You will do no such thing,” Celestia cut in, giving the filly a stern glance. “Magic changes, it fluctuates, I'm sure this is just a minor bump after getting your cutie mark. We can try again later.”
“I-...” The filly sighed. “Okay.”
The alicorn turned to put away the equipment, only to glance over her shoulder, her gaze lingering over the sad little filly. She sighed, and turned back, using her magic to pile the equipment next to the door.
As she approached she noticed the filly’s chest heave with a barely contained sniffle, prompting the alicorn to trot a little faster, fearing the worst. Sure enough the filly was on the verge of tears before Celestia got there. She wanted to reach out and assuage the filly’s worries but something held her back, making the alicorn hesitate.
The filly may still be contagious, and Celestia did not have the necessary spells to ward against such a thing. Sure she had some minor anti-infection enchantments to fight airborne pathogens, but she hadn't planned on getting close to the filly, meaning she didn't have anything prepared for potential contact. One look at the sniveling face of the downtrodden filly was enough to blow away such fear though and she reached down and scooped the filly up into a tight hug.
“There there Twilight, everything is fine,” the alicorn cooed, hugging the filly tightly against her chest.
Twilight tensed for a moment before awkwardly hugging the much larger pony back. She tried to speak but her tears always seemed to get in the way and eventually she gave up and cried into the alicorn’s shoulder.
The matronly alicorn sat patiently as the filly cried into her fur, until eventually her sniffles died out.
Celestia smiled gently and nuzzled the filly. “Are you okay, Twilight?”
“Mmhmm,” the filly whimpered back.
“Would you mind telling me what was bothering you?”
Twilight tensed for a second before relaxing once more, burying her face in the larger pony’s shoulder. “You aren't going to send me home, right?”
“I would never do that over one silly little test,” Celestia replied instantly.
The filly relaxed even more, pulling back from Celestia’s shoulder, prompting the alicorn to pull her back, while still holding her close. “Now tell Grandma Celestia what was bothering you.”
The younger mare slowly smiled as she looked up at the larger mare, a giggle slipping past her lips. “I was worried you would send me home since I am not as powerful anymore.”
The filly’s chin dipped and she started to look down, only to be caught by Celestia’s gentle hoof. “Excuse my language, but that's bull cookies.”
Twilight’s eyes widened with shock and she covered her mouth, stifling a laugh. “You are not supposed to say that!”
“Well it's true. You are already my student, Twilight, and unless you want that to change, it won't,” the alicorn stated.
Two glowing orange orbs looked up at the alicorn, searching her face for something in the alicorn’s expression. After a tense moment in which Celestia felt an odd tickle at the back of her mind, Twilight’s smile grew to encompass her face and she wiggled out of Celestia’s grasp. “Good! Because you promised something I could take notes on!” the filly announced proudly.
The alicorn chuckled and lay on the ground across from the excitable filly. “That I did, didn't I?”
“Mmhmm!” Twilight beamed.
“Well then, how about a story?”
The filly pouted. “I was hoping for a lesson.”
Celestia rolled her eyes. “Stories can be lessons, and they can have facts, you just have to find them.”
At that, the filly seemed to regain her lost excitement and in a flash her bag was beside her, her quill, ink and paper all set out. “Ready!”
“Once upon a time, in the magical land of equestria, there were...”