//------------------------------// // Year One: Prologue // Story: Equestrian Education: Year One // by ChaoticHarmony //------------------------------// Special Thanks to AssasinMonkey for the amazing coverart! ----Equestrian Education---- Year One: Prologue – Midnight reading “Is she sleeping?” Crescent Moon’s gruff whisper trailed down the hall as he peaked around the door to the unicorn colt’s bedroom. A brief bobbing of the purple and white mane told him the answer to his question. “That’s nice, so is Shining.” He stepped into the hallway, his hooves making faint clicks against the wood as he approached the pony that was peering into the other room. He lifted his hooves to rest on the mare’s shoulders, rubbing lightly at the slight tension that was building there. The grey unicorn looked up to him with a grateful smile that was tinged with fatigue as she leaned into his side. “Thank you, dear, I’ve been feeling a tad bit sore.” Star Sparkle’s hair bobbed as she shook her head. “It must be those mares I have to work with. Oh you would not believe how upset they get when I don’t make their dresses the exact way they wanted them to be.” She rolled her eyes before continuing. “Why, just yesterday one of my clients came up to me and complained about a single stitch being a sixty-fourth of an inch off!” Crescent Moon, eager to avoid spending time with an upset pony, began working his hooves harder into her back. “It’s all right, Stars, just remember who it’s all for.” As one, they both looked into the dimly-lit room of Twilight Sparkle, her blanket rising and falling lightly as she breathed in her sleep. Star Sparkle let out a small sigh, turning to peck her husband on the cheek before turning to walk back into their bedroom. Alone, Crescent Moon looked once more into the filly’s bedroom, smiling again as he watched her sleep with a smile of her own on her face. He grabbed the door with his magic, pulling it nearly all the way shut. “Good night, Twilight.” The mechanism clicked as the door was finally closed, its sharp snap sounding louder than it normally would in the silence of the night. The purple unicorn filly listened intently to the sounds of her father’s hooves fading away as he walked away from her room. The smile on her face was in-fact a symbol of mischievous glee rather than peacefulness. Another door snapped shut, causing her to nearly fling her covers away before her mind caught up with her body. It was only Shining’s door, not her parent’s. She froze halfway between pushing away her magenta blankets as the sounds of hooves filled the silence again, eventually letting out a sigh as they faded completely behind another sound of a shutting door. A small giggle bubbled up in her body and released itself on its own accord as she leapt from her bed and onto the floor. Bending down, she reached with a hoof below the bed to pull out a large volume of mathematics, her sense of excitement making her hooves shake as she read the stamped letters on the cover. ’Calculus for Beginners’, this looks interesting! I bet I picked a really good one tonight! Without wasting another moment, she dove under her sheets and opened the book. Her horn glowed purple as she dragged out her ragged doll and pulled it close to her side. “All right, Smartypants, let’s see what this book is about!” Her excited whisper was muffled as she nuzzled the toy affectionately. With doll by her side and with a light coming from her horn to illuminate the words, she began to unlock the secrets that were contained within Calculus for Beginners.