“That will be all, thank you,” Celestia stated evenly, stepping into the large, indoor gymnasium.
The two white coated unicorn guards flanking her stopped, exchanging a glance before looking around the room they found themselves in. “Your Highness?” the first one asked. “Why are we here anyway?”
The second one nodded. “This old gymnasium hasn't been used in years, surely you could use the outdoor one. This dingy old thing doesn't even have any windows to speak of.”
The alicorn’s eyes narrowed, and she looked down on the guards with naked disdain, the shock of their backtalk stopping her from hiding her distaste. “I am here to go for a run with my student.” She leaned in close, nearly pressing her muzzle against the first guard’s face. “Is that a problem?”
“I, err.” The guard gulped, shaking his head. “No, of course not. Would you like us to wait outside or-”
“That will not be necessary,” Celestia replied, only now realizing how much her mask had slipped, prompting her to take a deep breath and a step back. “You are dismissed.”
The second guard blinked, about to say something, only to receive an elbow from his compatriot. “Right, sorry, Your Majesty,” he muttered.
The first guard bowed slightly. “My apologies. I let my curiosity get the better of me.”
“Make sure it doesn't happen again,” Celestia stated, in a tone that brooked no argument.
The two guards, not wasting any time, turned and left without a word, leaving a rather irritated alicorn to stand there and berate herself. You don't know if they were disloyal or just curious, she thought, shaking her head and stepping into the gym. Keep it together, Celestia, no need to tell them you know their plans quite yet.
The alicorn closed the doors behind her and looked around the room, the dim light of a half dozen lighting crystals doing a half-hearted job of keeping the room lit. The wooden slat floor was a dull orange, the bright gold it was originally painted fading into a cruel mockery of its former self. Lines were painted here and there, signifying numbered lengths for distance running, while others were for games which Celestia couldn't even remember the name of. The walls were much the same, with hoops placed on either end, as well as large targets painted in several colors below them. Only a trio of small windows near the tip top of the twenty foot walls allowed any natural light to enter, and the meagre amount that did come through created thin slats of light that barely reached the floor.
There was only one other door in the room, and it lead to a room that used to hold gym equipment of all shapes and sizes and now was used as little more than a storage room for old supplies bereft of a home. A quick scan told her that there was nothing magical within, but Celestia wasn't about to take any chances and a few wards now held the door shut and sealed firmly. A routine that she repeated on the rest of the room, ensuring no one could see inside without tripping her wards and alerting her to their presence. For extra flourish she enchanted even the tiny windows so that anyone who looked within would only see a line of magical text telling the viewer not to spy.
“You know for once I’m rather glad I didn't knock you down and put up that greenhouse like I wanted,” Celestia remarked to the empty room.
The room said nothing in response, though Celestia liked to think that the creek in the ceiling was a forlorn sigh of resignation.
With a chuckle, the mare turned and trotted a quick circuit around the room, tapping into her earth pony magic and getting a feel for the rarely used connections. Her morning workout routine simply wasn't challenging enough to make her need this aspect of her magic, and prolonged disuse made the magic slow to react. As she felt the magic stir and begin to fill her limbs with strength, the alicorn ruminated on the reason she was here, thinking back to several days ago when she had a rather interesting meeting with Silver Scalpel.
“It's as you predicted, Your Majesty,” Silver Scalpel remarked with a confused frown. “She has the extra connections exactly where you thought.”
“And her history? She has several earth pony ancestors, correct?” Celestia responded, tapping her desk impatiently with a hoof.
Silver Scalpel nodded again. “Yes, her family actually has a surprising number of earth ponies in it. I would have assumed that there would be less, considering her family’s propensity for magic. Then again, I am not a geneticist.”
Celestia smiled. “Me neither, but I had close friend who was, and he had some rather interesting discoveries. Namely that a good mix between earth pony and unicorn genes actually empowers the magic of both tribes. I couldn't even begin to explain to you the details, but apparently the two tribes’s genes work in concert, empowering one another. To the point that most powerful unicorns have a lot of earth pony ancestry, and vice versa.”
Silver Scalpel nodded slowly. “Fascinating.” She blinked suddenly, cocking her head and looking at Celestia in a different light. “Wait. You are not saying that those connections are capable of actually channelling earth pony magic?”
“I’m not so sure anymore,” Celestia replied. “A pony’s body is only supposed to be able to use one type of magic, without being an alicorn the second system some ponies are born with would simply not work and then be reabsorbed completely by the body after a number of years. This is usually where most ponies reach magical maturity as the body is able to focus itself entirely towards the remaining one system. This is of course rare to begin with, but not unheard of.”
“A number of… How old is Twilight?” Silver Scalpel asked suddenly.
“My thoughts exactly.” Celestia’s smile fell away, replaced by a grim look unfitting the normally upbeat or kind looking mare. “She is about the age that it would be reabsorbed and should have been significantly broken down by now.”
“Which would explain why those extra connections of hers look like one from an earth pony with thaumatic degeneracy syndrome,” Silver announced suddenly, standing up from her chair. “Her body didn't have any magic flowing through those connections so the parasite didn't touch them.”
“I need you to keep this between me and you,” Celestia stated. “I know your non-disclosure agreement already covers this, but I want to be perfectly clear that if any of this knowledge were to get out, things would not go well.”
Silver Scalpel gulped. “Is that a threat?”
Celestia blinked, cocking her head to the side only to burst into laughter. “Oh no, that's not it at all. It's just not something that's common knowledge, and the potential ramifications are unpleasant to say the least.”
The doctor breathed easier, falling back into her chair with a sigh. “Sorry about jumping to conclusions.”
“Don't worry about it,” Celestia remarked. “The last time I was less tight-lipped with a discovery on par with something like this we got the eugenics movement and I refuse to let that happen again.”
Silver Scalpel shuddered. “Agreed. But if you don't mind me asking, how did you know to even look for these connections?”
“Simple, she's heavy,” Celestia stated with a smirk. “Heavy in a way that only an earth pony can be.”
“Your Majesty?”
The alicorn shrugged. “If you ever have an earth pony foal you will understand.”
Silver Scalpel blinked. “I never knew you were a mother.”
“Oh dear, when you get to my age you are, or were a lot of things.” Celestia winked. “Now then, let's get back to the lab, I have a few tests in mind.”
“Err, right. Of course,” Silver Scalpel replied dutifully.
Celestia shook her head, her thoughts dominated by the tests and the strange results they gave. By the end of it was clear that Twilight’s dormant earth pony connections were not quite as dormant or as gone as they should be, and the fact that this angle went so long before being explored was a point of embarrassment for the alicorn who thought she had planned for everything. She sighed, letting out a long breath of air as her thoughts returned to the same sentiments of guilt and self-loathing as they usually did whenever she thought of the poor filly.
“No one could have predicted aliens, Celestia, cut it out,” she chided herself.
With a shake of her head she lit her horn and teleported a simple potted plant into her outstretched hoof. Placing it at the centre of the room, the alicorn took a step back and observed her handiwork. Everything seemed in place and ready for her student’s arrival, and something told her that same student was fast approaching.
Turning to the door, Celestia smiled widely, and a second later a grinning Bull pushed through the door. “-and then I said, that's not a chicken, that's my mane!” she exclaimed, bursting into a round of laughter.
The filly trailing behind her laughed along, but it seemed more out of politeness, as she wore a good amount of confusion on her face. “That's an odd story, Miss Bull,” Twilight pointed out.
The guard shrugged. “When you are an adult all your stories get a little weird.”
“I should hope that you have at least a few stories that aren't weird,” Celestia commented.
Bull chuckled awkwardly, rubbing the back of her neck. “Well you see, Your Majesty, she knows the rest of my stories by now. All I got left is the weird ones.”
The alicorn chuckled, looking down at the filly who took a spot to her right. “If you wouldn't mind I’d appreciate it if you remained just outside the door for the extent of the exercise,” Celestia commanded.
The guard nodded. “Don't work her too hard now. I don't want to have to carry your giant butt back to your room.”
“Hey!” Twilight yelled, cheeks puffed and face red.
Bull just snickered and left, taking position just outside the door.
Celestia smiled down at her student and pressed a hoof against her shoulder. “How was your weekend, Twilight? I heard you went home to visit your family again.”
The filly squirmed uncomfortably under the alicorn’s attention, staring down at the floor forlornly, her smile gone. “It was okay,” she whispered.
Celestia lifted an eyebrow, and pressed her hoof reasuringly against the filly’s shoulder. “Are you sure? It doesn't seem like it was okay.”
Twilight sighed, looking up at the alicorn with eyes ringed by dark circles. “Mom and dad are worried about me. Shining Armor disagrees and this caused some arguments.”
“Ahh.” Celestia sighed, making a note to speak to the parents when she had a minute. “I’m sorry to hear about that, my dear. Other than that I hope you had a good weekened.”
The filly shrugged. “I guess. I slept for like forever after using that spell.”
“Well that's… good.” Celestia shook her head. “Now then, I had a number of short tests for you today if you are feeling up for it.”
Twilight looked up at the older mare in wonder, eyes wide. “What kind of tests?”
“The physical kind.”
Instantly the wind seemed to leave the filly’s metaphorical sails and her features fell, a scowl crossing her face. “Physical education, my old nemesis,” she muttered, shaking her hoof.
Celestia chuckled. “Oh it's not so bad.” The alicorn squeezed Twilight’s shoulder reassuringly. “In fact it should be quite easy for you.”
“What are we going to do, exactly?” Twilight asked, looking around the empty room.
“We are just going to start with a little jog. Nothing too difficult. Think you can handle it?”
Twilight nodded confidently, spreading her legs slightly and getting into a battle stance. “I got this, Princess!”
Celestia did her best to hide the giggle that threatened to spill past her lips, only barely succeeding. “Well, if you are ready I thought a short one kilometer jog would be a good warm-up.”
“A whole kilometer?” The filly gulped. “I mean, I got this.”
Celestia pointed a hoof to the blue outline that created a tight circuit around the room. “We’ll follow this line and go around the room twenty five times which should be just about a kilometer.”
“Right. When do we start?” Twilight asked.
The alicorn suddenly leapt forward, yelling, “Right now!” as she did so.
The filly stumbled a moment as her hooves all tried to move at the same time, nearly making her land on her face. With her hooves now under her and her brain no longer fighting against her, Twilight was quickly able to catch up to the jogging alicorn, shooting her a disdainful look. “That was mean,” Twilight remarked.
Celestia smirked. “I’m sorry, it looked like you needed a laugh.”
Twilight hid her own budding smile, trying to hold onto the bitterness inside, only to fail, the edges of her lips rising into a slight grin.
The pair quickly fell into a routine of running the circle in slow, ponderous laps, neither going too fast or too slow while remaining quiet the entire time. Twilight kept her gaze forward, her thoughts focused on trying to figure out why she was suddenly being tested in such a way, while Celestia was busy keeping an eye on the filly, her senses keen to pick up any spike of earth pony magic.
By lap fifteen Twilight had begun to get winded, her breathing coming in harder and harder, until by lap eighteen she was audibly wheezing, barely able to catch her breath, with sweat pouring down her coat. Celestia frowned, noticing no rise in the magic she had assumed she would see by now. “Twilight, have you done any reading on how the other tribes access their magic?” Celestia asked suddenly.
Twilight blinked. “Not. Really. Just. The. Basics,” she replied between breaths.
“Really? I would have assumed you would be intimately familiar with how the other tribes’ magic works.” Celestia shrugged. “Would you like to know how they access it?”
The filly nodded, not trusting herself to speak while so short on breath.
“A pegasus must grasp onto their emotion, letting themself feel the right thing in order to complete certain tasks.” Celestia extended her wings. “The joy and freedom that comes from flight helps the pegasus to do just that by making their body lighter, and makes their wings grip the air better.”
“Grip the air?” Twilight asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Oh yes.” Celestia nodded, noting the way Twilight seemed to have gained a second wind. “It's why pegasi can fly with such small wings as their magic effectively makes their wings twice as large as they are. This gripping pulls the wind under their wings in whatever way they choose, allowing them to glide for far longer than a bird, or to go faster than the wind current should allow.”
“Wow,” Twilight muttered, watching close as Celestia summoned a small updraft of wind that caught her wings and held her aloft for over a dozen metres before she hit the ground jogging.
“Pegasus magic is difficult to master but not anywhere as hard to master as earth pony magic,” Celestia stated.
“Really? Why is that?” Twilight asked, keeping close behind the alicorn despite the fact that Celestia had picked up the pace considerably, approaching a running speed.
“It's different than the rest,” Celestia concluded. “While unicorn magic is made through logic, calculations and willpower, and pegasus magic is formed through emotion and the channelling thereof, earth pony magic cannot be called on in the traditional manner.”
Twilight watched her teacher closely, her attention held so clearly that she didn't even notice the fact that her hooves now pounded against the ground, keeping a close pace with the running alicorn.
“Only the masters of earth pony magic can call it to do something other than to help a plant grow,” Celestia remarked. “Earth pony magic is easily formed when attempting to help the earth, and in strengthening one’s body. But if you are a master, you can actually control this subconcious desire, and bring to bear as much strength as necessary at a moment’s notice.”
“Wow,” Twilight muttered, eyes wide. “Does that mean you could get like super strength or something?”
Celestia smirked. “Oh yes, and much much more. There were even rumours that the ancient earth pony republic had a whole school dedicated to teaching such subjects.” The alicorn’s tone grew low and she leaned in, Twilight unconciouslly mimicking the action. “Some legends say they could even control the very earth itself, making it rise, fall or bend to their will.”
“Whoah,” Twilight whispered, mouth hanging open. “Not even unicorn magic can do that.”
“Indeed.” Celestia smiled, her pace slowing and quickly coming to a stop. “And that's lap twenty five. How do you feel, Twilight?”
The filly skidded to a stop, only now realizing how fast she was going and once more nearly tripping over her own hooves. “What the-” Twilight stuttered, only to finally lose her battle against gravity when her hoof hit a loose board, tripping over her own hooves and tumbling ass over tea kettle.
Thankfully Celestia was close at hand and caught the filly in her magic, placing her back on all four hooves while giving her head a shake, a laugh on her lips. “You should watch where you're going little one, I won't be there to catch you every time you fall.”
“T-thanks,” Twilight muttered, her cheeks hot with a large blush.
“No problem,” Celestia replied, her mind still trying to piece together the strange bits of information that Twilight had incidentally given her.
She clearly was able to use earth pony magic, but had to be completely distracted in order for it to be even used, as her brain wasn't wholly sure it was even there. Something that although Celestia found strange at first, quickly realized made a lot sense, as that explained why the connections were very weak, but still present.
Twilight wiped the sweat from her brow with a hoof, looking up at Celestia with a smile. “That was awesome, Princess. I don't think I’ve ever ran that far before.”
“Then we will have to make sure to include a harder routine with your daily schedule,” Celestia replied, noting the way Twilight’s features fell slightly. “Now if you wouldn't mind holding still for a second I was hopping to test a quick spell.”
“Oh, of course,” Twilight replied instantly, her body becoming perfectly still as she waited for whatever Celestia was doing.
Lighting her horn, Celestia cast a simple, and secret spell, allowing her to see the remannts of magic like whisps of colored light that floated through the air. Tuning out the overwhelming presence of her own magic was an easy task, almost as easy as seeing Twilight’s own bright unicorn magic. Fascinating, your power seems to grow by the day, my young apprentice, Celestia thought, almost shocked by how much the filly had grown over the past several months.
Pushing that thought from her mind, the alicorn focused her sight deeper, tuning out the bright purple light that was the filly’s unicorn magic and instead focusing on the light whisps of green that clung to Twilight’s legs. Only for the color to immediately jump out at her as odd, as the light was a sickly purplish green, the sight nearly bringing a bad taste to the alicorn’s mouth. Well it's confirmed, though I can't even begin to imagine what that coloration means.
“Princess?” Twilight whispered nervously, looking up at Celestia with wide, panic-stricken eyes.
“Oh, I’m sorry, Twilight. I was caught in a thought.” The alicorn dismissed the sight and leaned down, hugging the filly tightly, ignoring the present sensation of sweaty fur. “Nothing to be alarmed about.”
The filly breathed easier, pressing herself against the mare’s stomach, the touch relaxing her significantly. “What did the spell do?” she asked quietly.
“Just checking your muscles to see if they are okay,” Celestia lied. “Turns out you are perfectly fine, even better than fine. Your diet must be doing wonders.”
Twilight’s smile grew and grew and she whispered a soft, “Yes.” under her breath, reveling in her apparent victory over the force of gravity.
This time Celestia couldn't resist giggling at the filly’s adorableness. “I’m glad you are excited, physical fitness is very important.”
The filly blinked, raising an eyebrow and looking the alicorn up and down in a long, drawn out look. “Ookay,” she muttered.
Celestia frowned, booping the filly on the nose. “Don't give me that look. I will have you know I am quite strong and these are just the curves of a full-figured mare.”
Twilight blushed profusely. “T-that's not what I-” The filly stopped and planted a hoof in her mouth.
The alicorn giggled, turning and trotting towards the centre of the room. “Come now, I have one last test for you before we are done for the day.”
“Done already? But what about my magic lesson?” Twilight asked, clearly hurt.
Celestia however, merely rolled her eyes. “We both know you've more than mastered that spell already, but I suppose if you wanted to reveiw it a few more times I could spare a couple minutes.”
The filly nodded eagerly. “Yes please. I want to make sure I’m getting the form right.”
“I have no doubt that you are,” Celestia commented before stopping and lifting up the small seedling. “Now then, I want you to hold this plant on your hoof.”
Twilight did as she was asked, levitating the small budding flower over to her outstretched hoof. “Now what?”
“Next I want you to try and make it grow, without using your horn.”
“I can't do that!” Twilight exclaimed. “I’m a unicorn, remember?”
Celestia chuckled softly, her laughter like the soft tinkling of chimes. “Twilight, Twilight, Twilight. Trust me. There is no way you can fail this, it's just a simple exercise.” The alicorn rolled her hoof in the air nonchalantly. “Think of it like a little fun. Just pretend you are an earth pony, channel the magic and imagine the great flower you would make if you weren't a unicorn but rather an earth pony.”
Twilight frowned, glaring down at the potted plant with a mix of disdain and confusion. After a long moment of silence she nodded. “Okay, what do I do?”
Celestia smiled serenely, leaning down and placing a hoof on Twilight’s foreleg. “Close your eyes, then hold out the plant, feel its weight, the way it sits heavy in your hoof, waiting for you.”
“Waiting for me?” Twilight asked, cracking open an eye and looking up at her teacher quizzically.
“Yes, it's waiting for you, a single mote of energy ready to be unleashed, to bloom and become more than what it could be on its own.” The alicorn leaned down. “All it needs is a little help from you. Focus, keep your eyes closed, extend yourself into the plant and then simply give it a nudge, a helping hoof in the right direction.”
Twilight’s face screwed into a frown for a moment, only for her to focus to win out and she pushed herself to do exactly as her teacher had commanded, her eyes closed tight.
Celestia didn't know what to expect, only a few days earlier she had assumed such a mixture of biology was impossible, half a year earlier she considered life beyond this planet to be a fool’s notion. Every day a new firmly held belief that had stood the test of centuries and sometimes eons, was shown to be that, little more than a belief that was as true as anything else that existed only because it was believed in.
What she hadn't expected to happen was exactly what was happening, which was... nothing.
The filly stood there straining herself, her leg muscles taut and her body strained, as if she was trying to push against something that wasn't there. Her face was twisted in deep concentration, prompting Celestia to apply her extra sight and gaze within the filly’s body, her attention seeking out the connections she knew existed yet didn't seem active anymore. What she found once more confounded her.
There was magic in her limb, but it was not the strange, sickly greenish color she had seen earlier, nor the distinct, crisp lavender of Twilight’s unicorn magic but a blending of them both, stemming directly from the filly’s horn and flowing down from there. Celestia sat there in shock, amazed that such a thing could even happen, once more proving that another long held opinion no longer held water.
Unicorn magic can't be forced through earth pony channels, this is… She wanted to say impossible, but the word that came to her mind was not impossible, but rather, amazing.
She stood there in stunned silence, watching as the filly pushed more and more magic through her hoof until after several minutes of intense concentration, something amazing happened. The flower bloomed, not only opening up, but also growing several inches taller, its stem widening considerably to hold up the bulb which had doubled in size.
Celestia took a step back, noting the way the small pot cracked along the edges and the dirt placed within heaved as thick cordlike roots emerged from the too small pot.
Then, just when Celestia thought she had seen it all, something truly disturbing happened.
The bulb twisted, shivering as something else rose from the base. A dark pulse of disgusting green energy emerged from the deepest points of its roots, traveling up the plant and causing rapid mutation the likes of which Celestia had never seen before. The stem seemed to hold its shape more or less, though it became far darker, gaining an almost brownish purple tinge to it. More disturbing than its change in color was the way it seemed to pulse and shift, writhing under the alicorn’s attention. The exterior also seemed to gain a slimy texture to it, its viscous external layer pulsing occasionally as it drew material out from the dirt, further enabling it to grow and change.
As it morphed and grew even stranger events occurred, with Celestia’s disgust and amazement peaking when the pulse reached the flower itself. Instantly the white petals were replaced by wide flat tongue like appendages of a slimy green-purple coloration, the petals being consumed by the strange appendages that replaced them. The center-most point seemed alive with movement, the stigma become a single tentacle nearly two inches long, its length twitching this way and that as if tasting the air.
Thinking quickly Celestia lit her horn, activated the teleport rune she had placed on the bottom of the pot, teleporting the plant away, the entire thing vanishing in an instant.
“What happened?” Twilight asked, opening her eyes for the first time. “Did it work?”
Celestia, not missing a beat, leaned down and smiled sadly. “Unfortunately not.” She sighed, running a hoof down Twilight’s face. “But that's okay. Like I said, it was just a silly test.”
“I felt...” Twilight frowned, looking down to where the potted plant had been a moment earlier. “It felt like something happened, like I could taste something weird for a second.”
For once Celestia was at a loss for words, though she recovered quickly, flashing the filly a wide silly smile. “I think someone worked a little too hard.” She stood suddenly. “How about we go grab a snack from the kitchens, I bet you worked up quite the appetite after our little work out.”
“Yeah…” Twilight muttered, looking to her hoof one last time before sighing and following her mentor. “I guess.”
“Now, Twilight, what did I say about those long faces,” Celestia admonished.
Twilight rolled her eyes. “That long faces are only for long days,” she droned.
“Exactly. And we are not even to supper yet.” Celestia smiled. “But I suppose it can't be helped, a little filly like you is probably right tuckered out.”
“I am nooot,” Twilight whined, trotting behind her mentor as they made their way to the door.
“So you don't want a piggyback ride there?” Celestia sighed. “That's too bad because-”
“N-no!” Twilight shouted suddenly, stepping forward. “I mean um, no. I would like a piggyback ride please.”
Celestia giggled and scooped up the filly in her magic, depositing her onto her own back in a single swift motion. “Well then, I think you've earned that much at least. Now come on, I think the chef was making stir fry today.”
“Mmmm, stir fry,” Twilight muttered, settling in between the alicorn’s wing joints.
The alicorn smiled with her usual serene grace, bellying a deep uncertainty that threatened to ruin the careful mask she wore.
I am so out of my depth, she thought.