The lessons had continued along with Sunset relaying the filly's progression in magic after each of them to Princess Celestia, and within only a year of lessons between the two mares, Twilight had become attune with her magical abilities. The following lesson had focused on Twilight channeling her magic from her core to her horn, and while it did take a few hours, the filly had finally achieved the goal of the session. After that, the lavender unicorn had begun to grow into a master.
Sunset was amazed at Twilight's progress seeing she had achieved her goals rather quickly, something that not most unicorns accomplish so easily. It had taken her years to get to where Twilight had grown within only a few months, but she didn't see it as abnormal or anything to get jealous over. If anything, she was more proud than anything else, especially considering how the two had met, and now they were nearly inseparable as mentor and student.
Sunset had learned much in her time teaching Twilight as well, both about her student and herself. She had learned what Celestia had intended from the start; there's more to life than just studying on something she had become a master at, and in her time with Twilight, she had come to see that mentoring others in something and guiding them to become masters at it was a thrilling sensation that she couldn't explain. It was a wholesome feeling and over the time that she had been teaching Twilight, she never thought that she would come to develop such a close bond with a filly nearly half her age.
All she knew was one thing; her student and friend would grow to be a master of sorcery, and she couldn't be more proud. However, there were some that saw Twilight's learning progression as something more malevolent and potentially a sign of danger.
Especially after what had happened when Twilight earned her cutie mark.
Celestia had grown curious on just how advanced Twilight's magical abilities had become, so she decided to test them. Sunset saw it as odd, but figured it was also a good way to see for herself just how far her student had come in her lessons, and as a good mentor would act, encouraged her student to take on the challenge. The whole endeavor was pretty simplistic; all Twilight had to do was perform spells accordingly, the range of spells going from simple to more advanced. Depending on how high Twilight's experience was determined just how good of a magician she was at that current time.
The result was unlike anything Equestria had ever seen.
"I'm not sure if I can do this, Sunset," Twilight said with worry in her voice. "I've never had to perform spells in such succession before and with the princess watching, it just... it just makes me more nervous!
Sunset stood before he antsy student trotting in circles in a frazzled manner. She could feel where Twilight was coming from in the moment, seeing she had been here before. It was nerve-wracking to be put in such a position, so she knew she had to reassure her student for her to succeed.
"Twilight, look at me," Sunset said with a mild sternness, catching Twilight's attention. "You need to calm down if you even want to have a chance at succeeding. Remember our first lesson together?"
Twilight nodded.
"Good," Sunset assured. "Then what is the main thing that you need to be in order to cast spells accordingly?"
Twilight let out a long breath she had been holding unintentionally. "I need to be calm both in my body and mind."
"Correct," Sunset confirmed, then smiled down at her student. "Don't think of this as a challenge but more as any other lesson with me. Just picture yourself in the courtyard with me guiding you on how to cast the spells. I'll be watching you from the stands, and if anything goes wrong, then just yell something as an alert and I'll get you out, okay?"
Another long sigh escaped Twilight's mouth as she looked up to her best friend and mentor with all the confidence she could possibly have expressed.
"Okay," she muttered softly with a slight shakiness in her voice. "I'll do my best!"
"Now there's the Twilight I know!" Sunset stated with confidence. "Keep that attitude in mind and you'll succeed with no trouble!"
Twilight smiled and hugged Sunset as an assurance before they parted ways. Sunset returned the hug, then with one final smile, she left Twilight to go join Celestia and company within the stands. With a deep breath in and long exhalation, Twilight walked forward into what seemed like a massive collosseum. She eyed the stands as she walked to the center of the massive structure, noticing Celestia, Sunset, and some other fellow company with clipboards and pencils placed behind their ears seated.
Once she was in the center of the room, she stopped and waited for any further instructions. Silence filled the sound waves for a moment, before she was addressed by Princess Celestia herself.
"Twilight Sparkle, you will be tested on your magical knowledge starting from the simplest of sorcery to some of the most advanced and difficult of spells that most unicorns cannot handle," Celestia confirmed, continuing. "Your magical ability will be judged by your response time to the spell you are tasked with, and your mental and physical state inbetween casting these spells. If at any time you feel like you are unable to perform or hold a spell, alert us immediately, and we will stop the challenge. Are you ready?"
Twilight nodded as response, signalling for the challenge to begin.
"Very well," Celestia assured. "We will start with a simple spell. Please perform a general light spell."
Twilight didn't see this as a challenge, and with a flicker of magical energy upon her horn, she cast a light spell with ease, holding it just in case it was necessary to impress what she assumed were judges.
"Well done, Twilight," Celestia said nicely. "Please release the spell."
Twilight followed, suppressing her focus and allowing the light spell to shimmer out. She didn't get comfortable though, knowing that this challenge was far from over and the spells were only going to get more hard as she continued forward.
"Your response time was excellent, and your current state is stable," Celestia said. "We will now proceed to the next spell. Please perform a levitation spell on the objects that will be presented to you. The timing will start once the spell is cast."
Twilight awaited the objects to manifest before her, but was surprised to see them being wheeled in on a long cart by another unicorn. Upon the cart were three objects; an apple, a table, and a large boulder twice her size. She grew nervous about the boulder, wondering if she even had the strength to lift something of that size and weight. Sunset saw this too, finding it strange that for a level two spell challenge it was something of this magnitude. She didn't say anything though and only watched in anticipation as the challenge started.
With careful focus, Twilight engulfed the apple in a magic aura and levitated it with ease. It remained airborne for a few seconds, then she released the delicious fruit, settling it back on the cart gently. Next came the table, which she quickly blanketed with her magenta magic and proceeded to lifting it from it's surface upon the cart. Upon lifting the wooden table Twilight had begun to struggle, having never lifted something of this size in any of Sunset's lessons regarding levitation. She had only ever lifted simple things like sticks and small rocks, never something of such heft like a solid wooden table.
She was about to call it quits, up until she just remembered what Sunset had told her before entering the room.
Don't think of this as a challenge but more as any other lesson with me. Just picture yourself in the courtyard with me guiding you on how to cast the spells.
While it costed her time, she didn't have any other choice, closing her eyes and putting herself in a setting of the Canterlot Courtyard with Sunset's voice guiding her in the spell. It worked perfectly as she felt the table start to lift from the cart, increasing the heft by a ton, but she just kept her focus and kept her mindset within the same setting of the meeting place where she and Sunset engaged in magic lessons. The table remained airborne for a few seconds, then with ease, Twilight placed the table back upon the cart.
Her success had caught the attention of all in attendance, shocked that a filly of her size had succeeded in something that most fillies would never be able to do. It wasn't easy in the slightest, but regardless of the difficulty, Twilight remained focused on the task at hoof. Her gaze turned to the massive boulder that she had yet to lift, trying to keep her breathing and body calm. She knew it was going to take all of her strength to accomplish this feat, so she just focused her magic on the boulder, quickly becoming encased in her magic aura, and lifted.
Immediately, the magic aura shimmered out, and Twilight fell back on the ground with a grunt. The weight of the boulder had caused her to lose focus almost immediately, feeling as if her magical energy had ricocheted backward and hit her with a force so powerful that it had caused her to lose nearly all of her physical strength. Sunset became worried in the mix of the challenge and eyed her student, struggling to get up from the ground from the result of the impact she had taken.
Sunset wanted to say something, but she didn't want to jump to expectations and gave a moment to see what would happen next.
"No!"Twilight chastised to herself. I can't give up now!
Regaining her balance and breathing heavily, Twilight once again focused her magic on the boulder. The massive object grew closed in a magic aura once again, and with all of her focus, Twilight proceeded to lifting the giant rock. The monolith shook upon the cart, the magical energy fading in and out inbetween Twilight's groans and heavy breaths. The shaking suddenly began to cause the audience to stir in bewilderment, looking upon a filly on the verge of performing a task no filly had ever succeeded in. But just as soon as the awe and shock came, it left all the same, Twilight falling back on her flank once again.
The boulder had become unstable, and as a result, the monolith had begun to fall from the cart right in the direction of Twilight, unstable and physically unable to respond. The horror had begun to unfold at a fast pace, as the scene played out like a culmination of creeping death. Sunset saw it first and didn't hesitate to act in response. She attempted to focus her magic on the rock, but for some reason, found her magical energy blocked off. She tried recasting multiple times, but it was no use, and in the stir of the moment, all she could do was yell.
"Twilight!" Sunset shouted as loudly as possible. "Get out of the way!"
Twilight merely heard the words and only managed to turn and see the inevitable end for her. The giant beast of a rock creeped downward, closing in on her like a giant maw of a beast engulfing her. She wanted to scream, but found she couldn't, and only one thing came to her mind in a sudden onset of memories; she had to save herself.
The boulder was inches from killing her, when she acted in quick succession, and in one last ditch effort, focused her magic again on the object that filled her vision. The magical energy stirred around the giant maw, and Twilight pushed as hard as her body's strength could muster upward. The boulder didn't seem like it was even going to budge, but Twilight didn't give up and just continued to push with all her might.
The audience had come to terms that the filly was doomed, and Sunset had fallen to tears, but upon a glance, her tears receded, watching in unbelievable awe and shock at the sight of the boulder airborne. Engulfed in bright and luminescent magenta light, the monolith that was moments away from ending Twilight's life remain in the air, a struggling filly holding her own in a mix of unlimited drama, horror, and sadness.
But this wasn't the same as any other time Twilight had cast a spell. This was different.
Her horn was aglow with unbelievable fiery magical light and her body surrounded by a light unlike anything ponykind had ever saw. She was still in control, and the boulder only continued to levitate higher and higher. Sunset and the others could only watch the phenomenon in complete shock and fear at what they were witnessing, and it only grew more and more astonishing as the light engulfing Twilight grew brighter and brighter.
Then it happened. Magical surges began to pulsate from the filly's horn, each of them resembling an aftershock of an earthquake. Fiery beams shot outward as well, striking the stands and slowly but surely destroying them. Everypony within the stands didn't hesitate and quickly evacuated their seated areas, running to the nearest exit. All except Sunset, who took the liberty of running to her friend's aid.
She just ran endlessly, until she was at Twilight's side and only placed a hoof upon the filly's shoulder within the aura of emblazoned light. She didn't care if she got hurt anymore, she just wanted her friend and student safe. Upon the contact with Sunset's hoof, Twilight turned to face her mentor and immediately calmed releasing the boulder from it's magical prison and the magical light fading away.
Sunset worked quick to get Twilight out of the way of the descending boulder, not risking her magic not being able to save them. She grabbed the filly and trotted quickly out of the way of the monolith, hearing it hit the ground with a massive boom. Both mares breathed heavily in fear and relief, standing up and looking back at the massive object that had collided onto the surface of the collosseum. It would've easily crushed both of them had it not been for quick action in the moment of impact.
Neither of them spoke and only hugged in relief that the horror show was over, but knew that there was many questions needed to be answered. The whole endeavor only grew more mysterious upon one glance upon Twilight's flank where a cutie mark now resided.
Instead of celebration, all that followed was looks of absolute confusion, horror, relief, and wonder. It only grew worse upon Celestia's intrusion on the moment of many mixed emotions.
"I'm... I don't know what to say," Celestia muttered.
Sunset eyed Celestia with fiery eyes knowing that there was more to this than Celestia was saying. A number of things didn't make sense, and she intended to find out the truth behind said matters.
"Twilight, you go with the guards," Sunset ordered. "Princess Celestia, I'd like to speak with you in private."
Celestia winced at the command. "Very well, Sunset."
Twilight only shivered in fear. "I'm sorry... I-I didn't mean to...
Sunset hushed Twilight. "We know Twilight, and none of this is your fault. Go with the Royal Guard. They'll escort you to safety."
Twilight bowed her head, then proceeded to following the Royal Guard out of the building. Once the coast was clear, Sunset turned to Celestia with a look of rage.
"Mind explaining why this happened, your highness?" Sunset questioned indignantly.
Celestia jumped at the accusation and followed up. "I-I don't understand, Sunset."
"Don't lie!" Sunset snapped back. "Who else can block magical energy from being cast?!"
"What are you talking about, Sunset?" Celestia replied with slight hurt in her voice.
Sunset drew in closer to further express her current emotions. "I tried to save Twilight from the boulder by lifting it with my own magic, but for some odd reason, my magic was blocked, and if it weren't for Twilight's will to live, she would've died!"
Sunset paused before continuing further with more accusations.
"Another thing, who the buck gives a FILLY a boulder to levitate?! You knew very well that Twilight was still lifting small objects, because you read my reports!"
Celestia's tone grew more firm in her response.
"It was to push her harder, Sunset. A filly must be pushed if she's ever going to succeed."
"You NEVER pushed me that hard!" Sunset exclaimed. "I don't know what kind of sick game you were playing today, but I know it was you! Nopony else in the room was capable to block spell casting, except you!
"Did you ever stop to think that Twilight's sudden "magical surge" may have had something to do with it?"
"Twilight wasn't even in that state when I first tried to save her! Stop making excuses and admit that you planned all of this! Are you jealous that I have my own student?! Is that why you tried to kill her?!"
A pause followed those words, and in that time Celestia's demeanor had changed and Sunset felt a chill go down her spine at the sight of her once-mentor.
"You must understand, Sunset," Celestia started. "I never intended to hurt you. I had set you up with Twilight to extinguish a problem that I had seen coming for a long time. Twilight is powerful. Too powerful. We all witnessed it today. She is a threat to Equestria, and I would've hoped you would have seen it before this all happened. Her power exceeds my own, and that is just simply something that I cannot condone within my kingdom. It's the same reason why I killed my sister."
That quote made Sunset's blood run cold. For the longest time, she had thought that the tale of the Mare in the Moon was true, but now hearing this, she was speechless and baffled in complete horror. It only got worse as Celestia continued.
"Luna had hidden potential, and I had seen it from day one. The whole story of the Mare in the Moon is just a cover up for what really happened that night. Starswirl had always looked upon Luna, and was even going to work on helping her unleash the full potential she had hidden inside of her. I was always the failure, the one could never get anything right, the one who always slaved over their wants and needs. I grew tired of it and got rid of the only obstacle in my path of becoming a ruler."
"H-how could you do t-that?!" Sunset's voice had fallen to a near whisper. "S-she was y-your sister!"
"I did what I had to do to rule!" Celestia's tone had gone more malevolent. "Nopony, especially a filly, is going to destroy what I've worked to become. That's why I needed you, Sunset. You and I are not much different, so I figured you'd see the danger that Twilight threatened in OUR rule. You saw it for yourself. Her hidden potential has been realized, but she has no idea how to harness such power. We must stop her from becoming greater than both you and I!"
Sunset shivered in absolute fear and disgust. She had no idea what she was witnessing, and just wanted to wake up from the twisted dream she had fallen into. She blinked multiple times, but nothing happened. Celestia only capitalized off of that.
"My dear protege, why do you resist?" Celestia cooed. "Don't become one of them. Not when we're so close to ridding a threat to our rule!"
Sunset's voice was shaky. "W-what are y-you talking a-about?"
Celestia followed up with a giggled that made every speck of fur on Sunset's body stand up straight.
"Do you think that you are my first and only protege?" Celestia said mockingly. "Dear Sunset, I've had many other proteges in my time as the ruler of Equestria, but unfortunately, they all were the same in the end. They all resisted me, and I had to rid the problematic unicorns that have found their way into my school on my own. Don't be like them, Sunset. Take your place by my side on the throne, and destroy Twilight Sparkle!"
Sunset had no idea what to do. She knew she couldn't run, use magic, or resist. She just stood in absolute horror at the realization that her former mentor was a crazed murderer and didn't hesitate to bring anypony down to keep her title as "Princess Celestia" clean. She was in a temporary state of shock and fear, and all she could do was stand in absolute horror.
"So, my dear, what will it be? You know you can't use magic, because I can block it with ease, and you can't outrun me or outsmart me, because I taught you everything you know. So, will you become one with the other proteges that have failed me, or will you be smart and follow through with killing Twilight Sparkle?"