//------------------------------// // Act 1, Chapter 1 - A Step // Story: Adventures in Magic // by Urist McWriter //------------------------------// One. Two. Three. Inhale. The silence of the room followed the sharply drawn breath. A stark change from the rushed breathing before. Twilight could feel the pressure in her chest, pushing against invisible hooves constricting her barrel and bringing peace to her mind. The feeling soon advanced to the next stage, the tightening of one's lungs when the body realizes it isn't breathing. Her thoughts began to feel light after some time of this self-inflicted deprivation. Three. Two. One. Exhale. The sound of steady breathing returned to the room of the ten year old filly as she opened her eyes to the familiar dark blue ceiling of her bedroom. Small white dots, seemingly splattered across it, all marginally unequal in size and to the laypony without a order. To Twilight however, it was the night sky from the roof of her home. Painstakingly reconstructed from her own drawings and diagrams at the age of five with the help of her dad. It brought her comfort. The gentle embrace of the starry sky always soothed her nightmares when she had them. She took a few moments to collect her thoughts before facing the the world between her bedroom and the front door. Before she got out of bed and performed her very late, very frequent routine; bathe, brush her teeth, read, and go downstairs for lunch. Before she went back to her room and pretended this wasn't the most important day of her life until 2:30 PM. One. Two. Three. This breath wasn't as deep as the first, but it had the intended effect. The tightening of her chest, her lungs clamour for oxygen, then the drowning of unwanted worries of the day to come. But only for a moment. Three. Two. One. A sharp exhale brought her breathing back to normal and the world back into sharp focus. Today she was taking the entrance exam to Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns. It will also be the first time she has ventured further than a block from her house in six months. A year and a half if she discounts the Summer Sun Celebration. The mere thought of the walk to the school makes her young body shiver. The crowds of ponies. The classrooms. The teachers. Twilight fought the fear as it threatened to grip her heart. I will do this. I can't give up after all the time Shiny spent helping her practice walking up and down the street. I will be a brave pony, just like Princess Celestia. Just like Starswirl the Bearded. Just like Shining Armor. I can do it and be a big pony. Just like mom and dad. Shiny won't have to take time off the guard just to help me  go outside. Then they won't have to cry when they talk about me when they think I can't hear them. I will not make anypony cry ever again! Blinking away the tears threatening to break free, her resolve firmly reinforced, she finally felt ready to face the of start another day. Twilight began the process of carefully getting out of her bed and starting her morning. After she hopped down from the bed that was almost as tall as she was, she began making it. Gripping the corners with her telekinesis and evening it out with a line of her magic pressing down along the top of the comforter once it had been secured. Sweeping over it much like how one might roll dough. Once every fold was fixed and every wrinkle smoothed, she nodded with satisfaction. The process doing wonders to settle her mind, falling into the routine of her mornings with mechanical ease and heading for the bathroom. While one dollop of toothpaste was carefully administered, her mind wandered to the books dad had brought her a few weeks ago. Magos Infinium, Primer. A Dozen Spells for Daily Life. Stargazing for the Enthusiast. A History of the First Equestria-Griffin War. They had, with the exception of A Dozen Spells for Daily Life, been shamefully left unread on her shelf, however. She had been non-stop studying for every possible question that could conceivably be asked of her on the entrance exam since long before the books were bought. In fact, she would be studying right now if Shiny hadn't taken her schedule away. It wasn't that she didn't remember every single detail of the page, as she did everything else, but that she couldn't check and mark her progress without it. Studying without a schedule was impossible. The toothbrush stopped two inches from her half-open mouth as the lavender unicorn considered the disheveled filly in the mirror. Her reflection shuddered with disgust in time with it's owner. The ungroomed mane somehow held little attention to the shame that burrowed into her own eyes. You're a coward. A weak little pony who's good for nothing but making her family cry. She was just a useless unicorn who couldn't talk correctly, walk by a crowd without having a panic attack or even make friends as the social norm seemed to demand. The only reason anypony has any hope for her at all is her brain. Twilight knew if she hadn't memorised Starswirl's First Circle at the age of six and learned algebra shortly after, they wouldn't have any reason to be proud of her. Much less keep her. Twilight lowered her eyes from the mirror, unwilling to keep staring at the failure in front of her as she brushed her teeth. The table was already set for a late lunch by the time Twilight made it downstairs, the wall clock ticking steadily toward 12:29. Taking in her family, she immediately shut down part of herself, hiding it far, far away. So she didn't have to think like a pony. She can just be an analysis spell; input data, output results. Her dad had a strained look on his face as he gives her a smile. The sort of smile he gets when he and mom had been arguing about her. Her father was almost as OCD as she was. His fork and knife had been reversed and were askew, along with the plate that was not centred perfectly in the circle on its dining mat. The sort of precision that made Night Light the head of the Royal Astronomy Society worked against him when he was trying to hide things from her. Mom was always more obvious about these things. Dad knew how to compose his posture and body, to control his face and give bright lies that pretended to be smiles. Twilight long ago deduced that it must be practice, dealing with budgetary councils and review boards. Mom could compose her face well enough, but being the lead artificer of the Center for Magical Artifacts in the Royal Armories did not develop the necessary expertise to even attempt to lie to the ten-year-old Twilight. If her slumped shoulders and tight expression wasn't enough, Twilight surely didn't miss the heavy air of strawberry coloured magic. Emotions were running high. Her mother couldn't be blamed for the stained air however. She might have had less control over her horn than her dad, but very few ponies in Equestria had Magesight, thus such intuition about the room as Twilight. Conclusion: Another conversation to deal with sending her to therapy against her wishes, and deciding whether or not to pry harder into the bullies Twilight blamed for her condition and request for homeschooling two years ago. Course of Action: Divert attention away from the topic at hand to something less likely to bring scrutiny to Twilight's deception by omission. Twilight gave a small, shy smile on reflex with their attention focusing on her. Quickly approaching mom first, she was always the most likely to speak directly and advocated for her to see a therapist with crusader-like determination. Even as she cursed herself for thinking like this, Twilight couldn't help but almost melt into the embrace of her mother. "Good morning, little star," her mother greeted in the hug, holding her close and tight. "M-m-morning mo-mom," Twilight replied, voice her usual hesitant, quiet stutter that had haunted her for more than two years. After enjoying the hug for a good few more seconds she broke away to go to her father for the same, only to be surprised when she is scooped up, unable to stop the little 'eep' from escaping her as her dad pulled her onto his sitting cushion and against him. After a second of tense surprise, Twilight relaxed back and leans her head into her dad, allowing the manipulations planned to fall from her mind. "Are you excited?" He asked, adjusting her to rest more comfortably. Twilight's heart lightened at the confirmation of love from both of her parents, banishing the mirror-thoughts that plagued her to the depths of her mind for now. "Y-yeah, I've b-been st-studying and - a-and reading a-a-," she had to struggle for several seconds to overcome her own tongue. "All of t-the books a-and sheets you got me. I c-couldn't get t-through t-t-the P-Princess P-P-Platinum," here, she really concentrated, unconsciously scrunching up her face to overcome the tongue-twisting third p-word in a row. "Paper. B-b-BB-ffff - Shiny s-stole my s-schedule." "Stole your schedule?" Dad said in mock offence, "When he gets here we can give him a piece of our mind, little Sirius." After a moment, "Have you been practising as I said? You did great with your Ps." Nodding vigorously, she couldn't help but feel happy that her dad was proud of her little accomplishment. Her father's hoof running through her freshly brushed mane helped her through the little speech more than a little. Her energetic response seemed infectious as his smile coloured his voice. "You make me so proud." Embracing in her dad's hooves, surrounded by the blueberry aura of his magic, Twilight couldn't have been happier. After a few more seconds, he gave her a soft kiss on the top of her head, far from her horn, and nudged her. "Go on to your cushion, your mom cooked up omelettes and broccoli." She took several seconds longer to enjoy the closeness before pulling herself off her dad's cushion and making for her own, settling in while her mom began distributing the food with her telekinesis. Twilight almost hated to interrupt the silence, but she knew if she let it fester then mom might ask how she was feeling and she hated lying to them. "W-when w-w-will Shiny . . . arrive?" The extra few seconds spent struggling with Arrive was worth it when the word came out clearly. Her mom's smile immediately brightened. "Oh, he said he'll be here just after one. He might have gotten out of training today, but apparently he still needed to be there for their morning exercises." Internally, Twilight's analysis pointed out that her mother was always brighter with Shiny around. She must love him more than her, not that Twilight could blame her. He was a better foal and not a lying failure. The thought of Shiny being there with them when she went down to the exam eased Twilight's mind, draining the fear that he would abandon her to walk there alone, with just her parents, anyway. He knew how scared she was of crowds. Despite the relief it brought, there was always a razor-sharp edge of fear when dealing with her brother. She wasn't scared of Shining Armor, she never could be. She knew he would never hurt her, not for anything. It was his mind that worried her. How he was both observant and a good liar, better than Twilight, and before he left for the Royal Armory two years ago to receive the preliminary education required to protect Princess Celestia, closer to her for more hours of the day than either of her parents. Every time he used that searching Royal Guard look on her she worried he would peel back the layers and layers of deception, and see her for the weakling she was and leave her. Twilight's mind conjured scenario after scenario, turning her own creativity against itself in a cacophony of imagined rejections and abandonment. She didn't speak again during her breakfast. "Princess, i-is something wrong?" Celestia looked up from an accepted application on her heavy rosewood desk, which was currently doing a good impression of a small castle. Towers of paper replacing stone, and ink being a suitable substitute for mortar. Not that this was particularly intensive paperwork. Anything relevant to the running of the state was completed in the early hours of the morning, long before Celestia left her suite. These stacks of paper were the 1,863 applicants to the 1,673rd Annual Entrance Exam for her School for Gifted Unicorns. Waiting for delivery to her in the following three weeks were similar stacks of reviews and reports from other schools she directly took a hand in. The Solarian Academy of War, better known as the Royal Armory, for their officer applicants to the Legion and a summary of the Royal Guard recruits. The West Wind Academy in Cloudsdale had its own day of review as well, being the premier training ground for high-grade Pegasus magic. Finally, the Manehattan Institute of Engineering and the Canterbury Agricultural University were their own beasts and going through their applicants was always worth it in the end. The slightly worried look of Inkwell, her post merīdiem secretary, was enough for her to calculate her response to the question. She allowed a small smile as her eyes strayed back down to the five applications she had picked out. The eager secretary was not as seasoned as her ante merīdiem counterpart, she was only hired sixteen years ago, and was prone to overaction at the slightest comment from Celestia. Perhaps overaction could be of use here, she privately mused. Mind analyzing the disturbing parity between these five applicants, and their one link. "Defiant Armet, Twilight Sparkle, Astral Sketch, Sunset Maille, and Silver Ember." Celestia eventually let out, allowing her voice to fall into its natural quiet, considerate meander through what she was saying. "I have noted something. Would you have someone take a look into High Street, please? Specifically homeroom 1A." Inkwell nodded vigorously, her russet brown mane bouncing with the motion. "Of course, Princess. Is there anything, in particular, you want to be checked?" Glancing back, she lets another easy smile with a small shake of her head. "No, just look at the records for odd students out." The secretary continued to nod, slipping out of the door to Celestia's study without a further sound. The Princess of the Sun could only quietly judge the overeager mare. She was capable but unfortunately failed in many respects that the Princess would have preferred over excellent organization. Talking with her was impossible on any level beyond that of a servant and Princess. Perhaps she will mellow in a few decades, Celestia, not for the first time, eventually concluded. She turned her attention back to the desk of papers. With minimal effort, she peered through the stacks of forms as if they were made of glass. Absorbing the information presented in the applications, searching for more discrepancies that require her attention. Checking off each paper internally over the span of a few milliseconds. Sunset Maille, a note for Professor Honey Mint to scan for long-term scarring and bruising. Amber Pearl, a note to change the final examination to the Ring Test. Silver Anvil, correction of his birth date and a note to scan for horn microfractures before the test. Mythic Spell, an addendum to usual examination and include tier-1 magic suppression field in the test. Twilight Sparkle, scan for scarring and add personality test to the written exam. Change final practical examination to the Dragon Egg. Add orb of observation. Princess Celestia smiled privately, a lopsided, genuine expression of pleasure as she made a few more corrections and notes. This is going to be a good year. Shining Armor took a deep measured breath standing outside the front door of his old home, excitement welling up in his heart, guided by worry in equal measure. Today was Twily's entrance exam to Princess Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns. She'd pass, of course. Any alternative was unimaginable, and if she did get rejected... well. Shining already decided he'd teach her himself with books from the Academy. He was more worried about getting her to the test. His sister hadn't been the same since he left for the first semester at the Academy. He left an excitable, open-hearted filly who could talk your ear off about her latest book or what she learned in class and came back to a desperately afraid homeschooled sister who had needed him. That thought seemed to hurt physically as his face contorted to anger. Whatever happened, whether it was bullies or not, he knew he could have helped if he was home. Done something, picked out her odd behaviour and tracked the source before she was made into this. 'You've tried!', the 17-year-old guard recruit had to remind himself. He talked to people at the school, to her teacher, to the principal, to the Sun-damned librarian even. Nothing. Oh, sure, his sister had bullies she had to put up with, and they even made her cry, but nothing of this severity. His psychology classes hadn't helped ease his mind either. His sister needs help, and he'd be damned if he didn't give it to her. How can you guard Equestria if you can't protect your own little sister? You can't! Teeth grinding now as his body poised for something rash, something violent. Another shakey deep breath for good measure came. The combat dummies had taken the brunt of his rare aggressions. He didn't need to do that here, not in front of family. I'm here now Twily. Nothing else matters. Nodding and readying himself again. His key, grasped by his telekinesis, unlocked the door and he made his way inside. The living room was immaculate as always, dad would never allow anything else. From the direction of the kitchen, he heard an excited gasp and a chuckle from his mom. Shortly after, a purple bolt rushed out to greet him, running forward to nuzzle him with all the affection she could muster, which was quite a bit. "Twily, you're getting huge!" Shining exclaimed, a grin overtaking his face, lowering his muzzle to return the affection. "How have your studies been? I know it's only been a week, but -" The lavender ten-year-old breaks away suddenly, taking several steps back huffing, her cheeks puffing in adorable anger. Her purple eyes glimmered, even inside. Small stars seeming to dance through her iris. The mark of magesight. "Y-you took my s-schedule!" The object of his thoughts accused. Shining widened his eyes in mock surprise, "Did I? Must have gotten mixed up in my assignments, Twily." His sister wasn't fooled of course. Before she could muster up her reply he cut her off, "Let me make it up to you. I have this book from the Academy Library on First Level Evocation spells . . ." Shining teased, feeling his heart lighten at the pure, unbridled joy in her eyes. He saw too little of that these days. To compound it, he floated the tome out of his saddlebag, waving it about slightly. He could see her eyes immediately lock on the title, Standard Book of Spells, Evocation, First Level. Not terribly imaginative, but it was descriptive. He was ready for what happened next, not that it mattered all too much. Twilight launched her attempt to wrest the book from his telekinesis with her own magic. Shining knew he was a strong unicorn, his shields were second-to-none, and he had refined it further over the last two years. None of that helped. If he were a flare, Twilight is a lighthouse, a small star. She had immense magical power at her beck and call and had outclassed him the moment it started developing at the age of four. He had hated it at first, envious of her strength. But now? All Shining could do is laugh as she wrenched the book from his grip, levitating it closer, flipping to the first few pages. Shining was spared from being the one to interrupt her by the arrival of his parents. His father taking up the duty while his mother rushed up to hug him, muttering in his ear about how big he is growing. "Twilight," his dad had a grin on his face almost as large as Shining's, affection practically radiating off of the older unicorn. "You can read it later, we need to leave or you could be late." The dreaded L-word, enough to get Twilight's immediate attention. With wide eyes, she blurted, "L-l-l n-no no no!" Scampering for the stairs, her hoovebeats could be heard as she turned out of sight. Shinings eyes followed as if he could see her still until they fell back to his mother's again. At least that word hadn't been tainted by whatever happened to her. Shining was finally released by his mother, noting the smile had somewhat faded from their faces. All of them lapsed into a moment of silence punctuated by the occasional shuffle from above, eyes collectively on the stairs. He was the one to break the silence. "How is she?" Dad let out a sigh, sounding tired. "She isn't getting any worse, I think. Velvet and I were talking about moving, but it would kill her to lose the chance to go to Celestia's School." Shining nodded in agreement, moving might help a bit, but tearing that dream from her would destroy Twily. "We'll see," his mother added after a second, "What the results are, I mean. What do we do if . . ." The silent fear passed between all three of them. What if she failed. Maybe not for her ability, but for some other reason. If she can't bring herself to even make it through the crowds, or she panics and is expelled from the process. All of these had crossed their minds multiple times. "She won't," his father said firmly without hesitation. "Our little Sirius is too good to fail, we know that." Shining and his mother nodded. He knew his sister was smart enough to pass, every rational part of his mind confirmed it. He just couldn't help but be afraid of the possibility otherwise. Twilight might never recover from rejection, even if she went into the Solarian Academy or some other prestigious school. To lose the opportunity to go to Celestia's school, her hero, the pony his sister so desperately admired and wished to emulate. He couldn't conjure the correct words to describe the picture of misery in his mind. Their quiet musing were interrupted by Twilight descending down the stairs, now equipped with her filly-sized saddlebags. One. Two. Three. Twilight held her breath, closing her eyes and drowning out the sound of the street, soaking the sensation of Celestia's rays shining down on her. Focus, focus, focus. She continued to hold the breath, ignoring everything from the sounds of ponies passing by on the sidewalk in front of their home to the feeling of the concerned looks of her family boring into her back. She felt her lungs start to burn. Remember, be brave. Be brave. Be brave. Three. Two. One. She exhales and greedily refills her lungs after, relishing in the sudden return to mental clarity until that clarity helpfully reminded her that she was outside with at least a dozen strangers nearby. Twilight conjured the image of the Summer Sun Celebration in her mind. Princess Celestia so effortlessly smiling in the face of so many, so unworried by the threat those around her might present. A picture of grace and wisdom. The power of the Sun might help with being brave, Twilight knew, but she couldn't imagine so many ponies staring at her, ability to move the sun or not. Thus, the Princess had to be the bravest pony in the world. She imagined that moment she locked eyes with her, from the front rows of the crowd waiting for the sunrise. The image of that kind, welcoming smile being directed at her and her alone was something she will never forget. It was the first time since she left school that she hadn't been afraid when she was outside or around other ponies. Finally, she opened her eyes, taken aback by the sudden bright of the world outside her front door. Taking in the sunlit street from ground-level isn't something she usually did anymore, not unless Shining dragged her out. The bright auras of the passing ponies colour the rays of sunlight further, leaving the sidewalks a mirage of yellows, greens, and browns. She can practically taste the cacophony of colours, it is nearly overwhelming. Be brave. Be brave. Be brave. Twilight finally looked back to her parents, "I-I'm r-ready." With a glance between themselves they smile, her father's encouraging, her mother's loving. Shining moved up to her side and nudged her with his shoulder, getting the immediate attention of those sparkled eyes that plague his thoughts so much. "Just like we practised, right Twily?" "R-right. L-let's do t-this," she said with a nod at each word. Twilight turned and took a step forward, going further from home than she had been in weeks.