//------------------------------// // Settling in // Story: The Schools of Stalliongrad // by Nadir //------------------------------// Luna really shouldn’t still be awake. By the time the morning rolled around, she usually had long since settled in for bed. Not today. Today Luna split from her routine to check in on her pet project. Sure, it had only been one night, but it had been an eventful evening indeed. So instead of heading to bed, Luna found herself marching down to her school in the glaring morning light. A scowl had seemingly taken up permanent residence on her face, the constant headache pounding against her skull setting her in a poor mood. She hadn’t even had the time to change yet, still wearing the same gown from the night before. But that was okay - it was a nice gown.  Yet, as Luna entered the grounds and saw the faces of her students, things changed. Not all of them smiled - no, quite a few of them looked like they were about to drop dead from lack of sleep, and some looked like they were about to fight anyone they saw. Yet just seeing their faces filled her with such joy. These were the people she really cared about - not the nobles, not the petitioners, these children with all their life ahead of them. Which really was why Luna was here today, at this time. She’d make her way over towards the dorms, giving little hellos here or waves there, greeting all the ones that she’d come to love. Up the stairs, finally stopping in front of the room of one Twilight Sparkle. She listened for a second, but heard nothing from within, despite the fact that the little thing should already be awake.  Without a sound, Luna picked the lock and pushed the door open with her magic. For a second, she just wanted to look at Twilight. In the bed, she seemed so small. Covers wrapped around her like a cocoon, horn barely poking out, waifish, with a coat that seemed to go every which way and a mane that somehow managed to be worse.  Was this the mare that was supposed to change everything? Was this the mare that supposedly would save her city? Laying there, drooling into the pillow? Luna didn’t feel impressed or particularly hopeful. With a sigh, she closed the door behind herself and stepped back out into the hallway before  knocking twice, loud enough to wake the dead inside the room.  A groan answered her, a groan and a sudden thump, one that Luna could only surmise was somepony falling out of their bed. It would take almost a full minute before the door opened in front of her, leaving Luna to imagine what exactly went on inside that room. She imagined it involved quite a bit of tripping and struggling to get to hooves, blankets wrapped around oneself and magic trying to tear them all off. Something like that.  Finally, the door would open, a sleepy, grumpy looking head poking out. “What-” Naturally, Twilight cut herself off once she saw who hid behind the door. “Oh! Your Highness!” Luna smiled, a teasing, playful thing that hid away just how tired she felt. “Yes, it’s me. And you are late for your classes.” Light chastisement and nothing more. “Then again, I suppose we can be lenient on your first day.”  Twilight blinked up at her, and Luna could practically see the thoughts etched on the pony’s face, running at a million miles a second. “Yes Princess,” the words finally came out. “I don’t really know what classes I’m supposed to be taking though. Nor where I show up for them.” “And that’s why I’m here, Ms. Sparkle. Come with me. Or… I suppose I’ll give you a moment to get ready. Join me downstairs when you are adequately prepared, Ms. Sparkle. We have a busy morning ahead of us before I can rest,” Luna reminded her.  An eager nod and another ‘yes Princess!’ would answer her, but Luna had already  started to head downstairs. The hustle and bustle had already started to calm, most of the students either beginning their morning classes, or in some cases, just now getting to sleep after night classes. Luna sat alone due to the lack of students. She didn’t mind however as it allowed her to ruminate on her decisions. The dream still haunted her, even now, lingering in the back of her head and threatening to come up at any moment. The same dream that told her to watch out for this mare. “Oh, Luna, you old mare. What’s with the obsession? It is just a dream,” she whispered to herself. Yet, she was the Queen of dreams, the Matriarch of the Night. If anyone should follow the call of the dreamscape, it should be her. Above her, she could hear a door open and close once more, and Luna settled herself in. Time for a lovely chat with the mare who would save her empire.  Twilight, as a rule, hated mornings. The sun was too bright, the food generally sucked, and her head pretty much always hurt. Granted, that last one might have had a reason, thatreason being staying up late studying and/or training her magic, but it didn’t make her headache any less painful, therefore, that made it the morning’s fault. Twilight made herself presentable as quickly as she could regardless, hardly expecting a morning visit from the Princess. A spell brushed her coat, styled her main, and even made her bed - how did ponies get around without magic? It made absolutely no sense to her, the amount of frustrations! Maybe she should have instantly gone down. She had literal royalty waiting on her, but she was so tired and achy, not to mention Twilight didn’t really know how to handle a princess, not like this. Yet, the day marched onwards and so would Twilight. Down the stairs she went, hooves clopping against each one of them. The light shone through the window, letting Luna’s mane sparkle in the morning light, showing off every star, every constellation within. With a newfound vigor for the morning, Twilight joined the Princess in the common room. “Your Highness,” she started, in a quiet tone. She’d stay standing, right by the couch until acknowledged. It was polite, wasn’t it? “Please sit,” Luna answered, looking towards her with a smile. “You’re looking more alive by the moment. I suspect you didn’t sleep particularly well?” Twilight sat as requested and took her spot on the couch opposite Luna. “Once I got there, it was fine. The room is nice, thank you for the accommodations,” Twilight bowed her head again.  The Princess waved a hoof, brushing away the compliment. “Think nothing of it. It’s standard for all of my students. Of course, I’m sure that Raven told you about the stipend, didn’t she?” Luna asked.  Another nod from Twilight, stilted and awkward just like the rest of the conversation. She’d keep silent for a second, before finally blurting out, unable to stop herself. “What are you doing here? Er, sorry,” she apologized, quite quickly. “It’s just that I didn’t expect the Princess to keep checking up on me. Aren’t you supposed to be asleep? I mean, the moon has already set and all.” Once the dam had broken, she couldn’t really stop herself. “Aren’t I supposed to have classes too? Raven didn’t really like, tell me where I was supposed to go or anything though,” she admitted. Finally, she managed to shut her damned muzzle, stopping the tsunami of stupidity that somehow managed to make it to her muzzle.  Luna looked on all the while, expression inscrutable to the smaller mare. “I should be asleep, yes, but quite frankly, I decided to take the time to speak with you first. That, and I prefer that you hear about your course load from me,” she added. The Princess locked eyes with Twilight, all the more serious before she went on. “In the mornings, you will attend the same classes the other students take. You’ll begin with an Intro to Thaumaturgy at nine sharp every day, and then spend two hours in various history lessons. After a short lunch break, you’ll finish your day with combat training.” “But,” Luna went on as she started to smile. “I expect you to rest afterwards, because at the stroke of midnight, you’ll have classes with me. I shan’t put any sort of label on them, because it won’t be any one thing. I will show you the secrets of the universe, I will help you master the arcane, and in return you will be my personal student. In time, I assume that you’ll be something useful to me. Nopony with your magic skill can be allowed to fester in their own mediocrity.” A scoff finished those words, as if Luna were disgusted at the simple concept of it.  Twilight took a moment to process. Like it or not, things seemed to keep escalating over and over again in her life. From prison, to a student, to the student of the Princess herself? “Princess, I…” she started, head just catching up to the last few words. “You don’t have to worry about that from me, I promise,” Twilight swore.  Luna arched an eyebrow up, looking over towards Twilight. “A thank you would be expected. As well as a title,” the Princess instructed, stiffly. Oh, right. “Thank you, your Highness,” Twilight corrected. Only for Luna to laugh. “Oh, you poor thing. I’m sorry, I’m teasing you. If we’re going to be developing such a close relationship, I’d like to do away with all of those titles,” Luna offered. “So, to me, you will be Twilight, if that’s what you prefer, and you will call me Luna. Princess is also acceptable if you aren’t comfortable with that, quite yet.”  Twilight’s tension melted away just as quickly as it’d come, the blush on her cheeks already starting to fade away. She settled back into her chair, and the nervous energy that had started to pulse through her faded away. “Oh,” she started, her mind taking a second to catch up. “Uh, yes Luna,” she added. A tentative smile now, making up for the clear worry earlier. “Good. I’m really glad we could have this conversation. I hope, in the coming days, to really get to know you better, Twilight. Our sessions will start on the coming Monday - even you get the weekends off,” she allowed, with another bit of light laughter. Every time Luna laughed, something in Twilight skipped a beat. It was so pure, so golden, so glorious that Twilight didn’t really know what to do about it. So instead, she tried to just… enjoy it. “Thank you,” Twilight said again, despite not really needing to. “I’m sure it’s going to be great!” she added, her smile growing all the wider.  Luna stood from her seat, letting her dress fall back around her hooves once more. “Now, you should be getting to class. If you hurry, you’ll be able to make the first of your history classes. If I recall correctly,” Twilight would later find out that she totally did, “your class should be on the second floor of the main building, room two oh four. I’ll have Raven come around this evening to help you get your stipend set up, until then, the common room will have lunch and dinner served at twelve and at six. Don’t be late, or there might not be enough for you.” Luna started to walk towards the door, each step graceful, fluid. She stopped near the door, looking over her shoulder with a smile. “And Twilight? Do enjoy yourself. A mare of your talents should thrive in this environment and relish the opportunity that she’s been given. I expect the best from you.” Twilight barely had a second to respond as Luna marched on out the door, a squeak coming from Twilight. “Yes Princess!” Twilight called after her, the blush somehow coming back even with the smile on her face. It was with a certain giddiness that Twilight stood up from the couch and started forward. The directions were stuck in her mind as she walked, tail swishing behind her. Into the sunlight she’d go, pausing as it damn near blinded her, but that wouldn’t stop the mare for long. Private lessons with Princess Luna herself. She’d thought that the introduction into the school had been enough, but then it’d gone even further. The Princesses were among the greatest mages in history, and certainly the most powerful ponies to have ever existed. Their long lives alone would have given them more than enough time to study and amass knowledge that nopony else could. They were walking miracles, talking universities, able to impart such wisdom that Twilight could hardly wait. It left Twilight with a spring in her step even as she stepped into the main building. The inside of it was nice. Quite nice, even. Wood floors, couches around the outer edges with their own end tables. Instead of typical lamps, swirling balls of energy floated above them, providing all the light that a waiting pony could need. Unlike the common room over in the dorms, there was no great staircase here, no obvious way up. No, it just looked like a sitting room, though a fireplace did roar in the center of it.  And above the fire, a portrait of Luna hung in all of its majesty. It looked of older days, days when she didn’t stand quite as tall, when her hair didn’t swirl with constellations. No, the Luna here had simple, light blue hair, and she wore… glasses? Yes, definitely glasses over the bridge of her nose, the outfit decidedly hundreds of years out of date - no one wore dresses with that many poofs anymore.  Part of Twilight wondered why the picture had been left up. They could have used a newer one, a more flattering one, but Luna had left it up regardless. Something about that amused her, and she couldn’t help but let out a little giggle. Her giggle would be absolutely drowned out by the sudden ringing of a loud bell, one that echoed through the halls around her. It was a simple dinging noise, a few times before it stopped. And before Twilight knew it, the halls to her left and right were suddenly flooded with students.  Ponies of all shapes and sizes flooded the halls, more than Twilight could see considering most were taller than her. She watched them move, watched them flow like a current through a sea of ponies. She pressed herself against a wall, trying to remember what Luna had told her. Two oh four, right? The mare just had to find a way to get upstairs!   She started to trudge forward, looking to go against the wave, the sea of ponies. Of course, she didn’t get far until she slammed straight first into one. Twilight yipped, staggering back and barely avoiding falling to her butt. The other pony she’d run into hadn’t been as lucky. Twilight saw them stagger back and fall to the ground. On instinct, her magic flared.  Amethyst magic surrounded the two of them in a flash, a small dome that protected the two of them. It, at least, seemed to divert the flow of traffic around them, enough that the mousy looking mare could start collecting her books. Now that they were closer, Twilight could see more of the one she’d bumped into. Purple and red hair intertwined together, pulled back in a messy updo that honestly didn’t do much to flatter the other mare. She had glasses on, held together by tape and mumbled something to herself while she magically collected all of her fallen books, of which there seemed to be way too much for just a few classes.   “You okay?” Twilight finally managed to askm looking over at the other mare with concern. For her part, the yellow mare pushed her glasses back up, getting them centered over her muzzle again, looking over at Twilight with contempt. “Yes,” she answered back, in a short, clipped tone. “Can you please drop your bubble? I need to get to my next class and this isn’t helping.”  Oh. Right. “O-of course. Sorry! I’m new here, my name’s Twilight Sparkle,” she offered, trying to get the conversation flowing correctly. She even dropped her bubble, horn light going out. By now, the crowd had started to thin, everypony getting where they needed to go, leaving just the two of them in the midst of the great hall.   “Moondancer.” The same, clipped tone as before. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I really must be going.” Before even giving Twilight a chance to respond, the mare had gone, already hurrying off to a class that Twilight had no idea about. She frowned, finding herself no better off than she’d been ten minutes ago. And what kind of pony hurried away like that? Then again, she likely would have to had she had someplace to go-  Wait, she did have someplace to go! Her class was starting soon and that knowledge kicked her rump into gear. Without any basis for it, the mare started her way down the left hallway, glancing between the doors. Each of them had a small plaque in front of them, denoting their room number: ‘101’, ‘103’, and so on.  Luckily for her, that meat she saw one labeled with ‘stairway’. Her magic would pull it open, and Twilight hurried her way inside. Up the stairs she went, going just as fast she could, skidding to a stop on the landing above. The hallway on the second floor looked nearly identical to the first. Utilitarian, straightforward with interspersed windows, and doors on the other side leading to classrooms. Her eyes searched for the number she’d been given, finding it after only a few more moments. Perhaps she shouldn’t have simply jumped her way into the class. She might have knocked first or made sure that she was allowed in, but no, the mare simply stepped through and into the room beyond. Really, she thought it’d be more impressive. But instead, it looked like any sort of classroom that she’d imagined. A single, theatre like room with maybe two dozen seats, all angled towards a teacher with a desk and a blackboard. A teacher who seemed to be gazing at her, in fact.  “You must be our newest student,” the stallion started. He gave her a warm smile and ambled his way over. It took her a moment to realize that he limped, one of his hind legs gone, replaced by something wooden and metal, something that she’d never seen before. His azure coat had grown out and looked a touch unkempt, and his gray mane went in all sorts of directions, none of them exactly making sense. “Twilight… Twinkle, is it?” Twilight suddenly had a couple of dozen eyes on her, staring her down, judging her. Why did her muzzle suddenly feel dry? Why did it seem hard to speak? Why was this so difficult? Every time. She hated being stared at, dammit! But something about the stallion before her let her focus in. The stallion smiled a kind smile at her, sweet enough to break the attention away from the rest of the world. “Twilight Sparkle,” she corrected, with a nod of her head. “A-and yes. I’m new here, just arrived this morning. I’m sorry to come late, I didn’t know where or when classes were until just before this one,” she tried to explain. Yet, another look out towards the class and that concentration broke once again. Unknowingly, her tail went underneath her rump, pressing against her stomach as her ears went back. Why were they all staring at her? It wasn’t all bad, not really. She could see a few smiling at her, even one that gave a wave - some silver haired mare in the middle of the room. The sound of the stallion talking brought her back to reality. “Well! Ms. Sparkle! Well met! I’m Dr. Livy, have a seat, anywhere that’s open. We are absolutely happy to have you here, take a moment to get settled in and we’ll get right back to the lesson!” he promised.  Twilight flashed her best smile towards the class and watched them as she walked. Hey, an open seat. And right next to the silver haired mare that had waved at her! Why not? A few ‘excuse mes’ and she’d find her way over, plopping down in the seat next to the mare. “Hi,” the mare whispered, holding out a hoof. She wore a black cloak for some reason, despite the warmth of the room, with a blue coat and that silvery main, slicked back and looking quite fine. Her cutie mark, which Twilight could just barely see, was a wand with a shimmer around it the same color as her mane. “I’m Trixie. Nice to meet you,” she whispered, offering out a hoof. Twilight took the hoof with only a slight bit of uncertainty, a small shake and back down again. “Do you need paper for today? Maybe a notebook?” The other mare asked, producing a small, leather clad notebook from within her backpack. And a spare quill too.  How absolutely nice! Twilight smiled a wide, happy smile, magic reaching out to grip the offered things in her magic. “Hey, thanks. I really appreciate this, I mean, I literally came in here this morning and I don’t have any of my things and-” she cut herself off, with a small giggle. “Sorry, I’m totally rambling.” Trixie reached a hoof out, gently patting at the top of Twilight’s. “It’s okay. We were all like that before. Why don’t I let you take some of my notes after class so you can copy them and maybe get caught up. How does that sound?” Trixie asked. Twilight’s smile grew all the more, and she nodded her head as fast as she could. “That would be great! Thank you so much, I really can’t say thank you enough! And-” A clearing of somepony’s throat brought the attention back to the center of the room. Dr. Livy looked at the two with an arched up eyebrow, though the smile on his face certainly lessened the severity of it. “Come on you two, class is starting. Getting to know each other is absolutely important, but you know what else is? The Fall of the Second Zebra Triumvirate!” He announced, talking long steps back to the board. Twilight and Trixie fell into silence once the lesson started in earnest. To be completely fair, Twilight had heard this a dozen times before. Well, not heard so much as read. She didn’t have many books back home, but a few were history ones, some fiction but all providing at least some truth to them. Granted, the empire of the Sun and Moon distributed what she considered propaganda about the whole conflict too. Regardless, Twilight took notes, she’d jot away against the notebook she’d been given, studiously doing all that she could because at the end of the day, all of this would be on a test. She knew how schools worked, even if she’d never been in one herself. The class felt like it went by in an instant, a second and then it was over. The bell had started to ring just as they entered the second Horsian wars, and Twilight had really gotten interested in the subject. She even stayed seated for a second, forgetting that classes were supposed to end. Only when  the other students started leaving was she keyed off, Twilight stood up quickly and nearly smacked face first into Trixie. The two of them giggled, ever so amused at each other. Trixie got herself under control first, hoof reaching out to rest against Twilight’s shoulder. “So! Seeing as you're new around here, I figured that somepony should be your mentor!” Trixie announced. “And I see no reason why that mentor shouldn’t be me! Unless… unless you’re against that?”Trixie added, with a bit of a feeble smile. “But! I have many fantastic qualities! My magic!” Trixie’s horny sparkled. “My intelligence. My friendliness! And coming from a great line of witches and wizards! I’ll get you settled in better than anypony else!” Twilight had already decided pretty much the moment the other mare spoke, but she let her go on and on just for fun, seeing how long she’d go. She’d finally stop her with an upraised hoof and a smile, along with a little giggle. “Yes, I’d really like that, Trixie. You’re the um, you’re the first student that’s talked to me since I came here, you know?” she asked. “It’s been really nice to have somepony to talk to. What’s our next class?” she asked.  Trixie’s eyes lit up with happiness, forelegs reaching out and wrapping up around Twilight in a quick, light hug. “Come on, it’s lunch time. I’m sure you’re going to love the food here. They make it fresh every day and it comes straight from the royal palace. It gets a bit crowded in the dorms, but if you know the servers - or know somepony who does-” Trixie bragged, with a bit of a gesture to herself, “then you can always get some of the good stuff!” They left the classroom and bagan moving out towards the outside of the building again, down the slightly musty stairs and over towards the door, chatting and talking all the while. “So are the lessons normally like that? And are the teachers normally that great?” Twilight asked. Twilight had already learned a lot of this stuff before, sure, but it had never been presented in this way, and she’d never found quite the thorough understanding of it. She glanced upwards, looking at the notebook that bobbed over her head with each step. “It’s hit or miss,” Trixie admitted. “Oh, did you want to stop by your room to drop your things off? There’s plenty of food, don’t worry. Twily, you definitely look like you need it!” Apparently they’d already made it to the nickname phase! “That’d be great but… but what do I call you?” Twilight asked, looking over at Trixie with a teasing expression. “Trix? Ixie? Something like that?” she proposed, before devolving into giggles.  “How about THE GREAT AND POWERFUL!” Trixie practically shouted the words, letting them echo through the courtyard and earning them more than one or two strange looks.  Twilight rolled her eyes as the two entered the dorm proper, back into the din of students. The common room had been packed full of ponies, crowded around a counter which Twilight couldn’t make out quite well from here. She could make out the ponies behind it, however, each of them wearing what she figured was servant’s attire - simple black suits, a nice black dress with an apron, that sort of thing. They chatted amicably with the ponies on the other side of the counter, everypony seemingly in quite the good mood.  “Come on, G and P,” Twilight teased, abbreviating the nickname. “Let’s go put our stuff down and get in line. Wow, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a place this crowded in my life,” she admitted, leading the way up the stairs. “It’s like this every day, you do get used to it after a while,” Trixie answered. The hallway on the second floor at least was shielded from most of the noise, and as Twilight unlocked and entered her room, the din died down until just the two of them remained. The notebook would be left against the bed, placed carefully along with her quill. Even Trixie shrugged off her saddlebags, leaving them close to the door for later. “Ready?” she asked. “You’re going to love this, trust me!”  Twilight, for a second at least, just breathed in, letting the reality of the situation sink in. She’d found herself exactly where she wanted. In the school of her dreams, with her own room, talking to somepony that might just be her friend. How had she gotten so lucky? “Yea, absolutely. Do you know what we’re having today?” Twilight asked, as the pair made their way back downstairs. Then again, did she really want to have the surprise ruined? Besides, it wasn’t far to the downstairs, the ponies already starting to thin out. They’d settled into their little cliques, gathering around tables and excitedly chattering with each other. Twilight tried to see if they’d fallen into certain categories, but really, the only consistent split that the mare saw was based around age. It made sense - each class would probably have more to talk about with each other than the others, but then again, there was still quite a bit of intermingling. Back where Twilight came from, you stayed within your family and your small clan of associated families. You didn’t mix with others, you didn’t go out of your way to make friends or anything foolish like that. In her mind, it felt stagnant, boring. How could she grow and learn when the only ponies she talked to were the same ones she’d always known? And when Shining had gone off to join the military when she was still young, she’d had even less of a chance to learn anything. After all, Shining had been the only one to challenge her, to let her grow. And now she had so much more. She could hear Trixie answering her, but her mind had fallen back into daydreams. Personal classes with Luna, so many students to learn from, classes every day, how could one ask for more? Only a jostling from Trixie brought her back into reality. “Twilight? You okay?” she asked, worry knitting the mare’s brows together.  Just like that, Twilight’s head came back down from the clouds and she gave a small nod of her head. “Yep!” she answered, leading the way down the stairs with a smile on her face that spread across the entirety of it. “You know, I just thought about how lucky I am,” she explained, leading the way through the crowd with a new spring in her step. “What do you mean?” “Well, two nights ago, I camped in the middle of the Tundra all on my own. I didn’t think I’d have a big chance of making it into the school and while I had my confidence from my skill, I knew it’d be an uphill battle. But here I am, just existing in space, making friends and already taking classes a few days after arriving in Stalliongrad, it’s amazing, isn’t it?” she asked. At some point, the two had started to make it closer to the serving counter, the scent of all sorts of goods wafting over her nose. Baked alfalfa lasagna, potatoes mashed and fried both, so many different kinds of sauces and drinks. Oh Princesses, her stomach growled with need. Trixie nodded along with her words, walking beside her as they got up to the front of the line. “Well, it’s certainly improbable,” Trixie agreed. “You didn’t exactly tell me how you ended up here regardless. But! That’s not something that friends have to say on the first day, is it?” Trixie asked, smiling wide enough to stretch her cheeks. “Besides, we absolutely have to get something to eat. Go ahead and tell them what you want,” she instructed. And eat they would. Good food, good friends, and a wonderful day ahead of her. Twilight couldn’t believe how lucky she got it.