//------------------------------// // Assignment // Story: The Element of Magic // by PlutoMilo //------------------------------// Her son slammed the door open, making its top corner crack against the wall with a deafening sound. Twilight almost flinched, but her claws remained steady as she poured the single drop of concentrated cloud vapor into the beaker. Gently placing a stasis spell over her work, she craned her neck around to level a disapproving glare at Spike’s suddenly sheepish face. His excited expression froze rather comically on his face when Twilight calmly asked, “What did I say about slamming doors in the house, Spike Sparkle?” “Not to,” Spike trailed off sullenly, scuffing a hoof against the rug. “And why did I tell you not to?” “Because you might be doing something important.” He winced, seeing all her equipment spread out on the table and the soot from the previous experiment painting her white lab coat. Twilight sighed. Spike was usually good about following rules. “So what has caused your excitable behavior? Something pressing?” It was a constant wonder to Twilight that anyone could understand her spoken words. Not even her parents could understand her clearly, but somehow Spike managed to. A dragon’s mouth wasn’t meant to formulate the sounds ponies made. Twilight usually forwent speaking altogether in public to save herself the embarrassment. She was working on a spell that could display words in the air like a chalkboard, but no such luck. Most beings weren't capable of reading at speaking speed and most spells of the kind she wanted needed verbal prompting. As such, Twilight wasn't able to do the verbal part with much success. It was one of her pet projects she was rather excited about. Speaking of excitement… Spike regained his energy, beginning to bounce in place as words rushed out of his mouth in an incomprehensible jumble that no one but her would understand. The special pin on his brown vest marking him as an authorized pony to enter the guard’s quarters jangled as he continued his word vomit. Twilight’s face became fond as she peeled off her goggles from her face, wincing as the pony-sized rubber squeezed her in a way that probably wasn’t safe. Her son wasn’t like her regarding books. She made sure his vocabulary was well above his age group and that he could keep up in a high society party without Twilight Velvet making a scathing comment and that was about it. He wasn’t like her where she could sit down with a book and promptly forget the world existed. To hear Spike go off about a book he had read wasn’t new, but it was a rare enough occurrence that Twilight would look forward to such occasions. She nodded along as she cleaned up the table, vanishing volatile substances with but a thought and putting the more dangerous fluids in her subspace to deal with later. She almost broke her favorite beaker when Spike reached the end of his recount, his voice going shrill enough to hurt her ears. Twilight frowned, setting the beaker on the table with her claws rather than risk her Magic reflect her emotions and shatter it. She wrestled her Magic back down, pushing and shoving it back into the recesses of her reserves so nothing broke or, the Stars forbid, hurt Spike. Not here, not now. Later. Deal with it later. Sometimes being a Magical dragon was troublesome, but all the same, it was far more comfortable than being a wobbling unicorn with stick-thin legs that looked like a strong wind would blow them away and a superiority complex to match. And she got thumbs. She was thankful that Spike was an Earth Pony, stocky and built like a brick. The Mare in the Moon didn’t sound like a school assignment, much less whatever the Elements of Harmony were. Spike didn’t recoil from her frown, only anxiously waiting for her reaction. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she cackled knowing she could send an entire street of Canterlot fleeing for their lives the moment she so much as snorted with a hint of flame, and here Spike was, staring down a frowning dragon. “I don’t remember off the top of my head, but you can go through the library-” she couldn’t even finish that thought before Spike was again sprinting through the house like his life was on the line. “Spike!” A tell-tale thump told her that her child had tripped on the top step and she withheld a good-natured sigh. She finished cleaning up before flying up to the second floor. Her landing had dust scattering from the tops of the bookshelves and she made a mental note to add dusting to the list of chores to do. Spike was hunched on the floor, a papercut on his nose from where he’d turned the pages too fast, reading intently. “I knew it!” Spike's shout made her startle, wings flaring out in an instinctive urge to appear bigger. “The Summer Sun Celebration! Nightmare Moon is coming back! It’s going to be the thousandth year since she was sealed away. ‘The Stars will aid in her escape and she will bring about Nighttime Eternal!’” “Spike, it’s a myth,” Twilight said gently, “Nightmare Moon isn’t real. Nobody is coming back during the Summer Sun Celebration.” Spike whined, but Twilight was suddenly more focused on the catch behind her throat. She clamped her teeth down, not now! Not Spike! Not the books! Twilight dove over the second-story railing, landing with a ground-shaking thud into her lab area, green letter fire already licking at the edges of her mouth. The research paper she spent all morning working on went up in flames as the letter finally escaped the confines of her fire chamber. She hissed in annoyance at the swirl of Alicorn Magic that permeated the room. As useful as the letter fire was, Twilight detested the scent of unfamiliar Magic in her living space. The rolled scroll landed innocently on her desk, sitting in the ashes of her research paper.  Canterlot’s Leyline pulsed with her anger, rattling her measuring instruments in their places. Taking a deep breath to center herself, Twilight focused on the tangible things around her instead of the power deep below the bowels of Canterlot.  She was tempted to set that damnable scroll on fire just for all the trouble she went through, but knowing her mentor, the repercussions would be far worse than the short-lived satisfaction of burning parchment. “Mom? I think you broke the banister again.” Twilight clamped down viciously on the impulse to burn the letter again. She took the scroll in her claws and made her way upstairs to survey the damage. There wasn’t anything on the outside of the letter that told Twilight it was an urgent message. In a split-second decision, Twilight shoved the scroll into her subspace. It wasn’t going to be her problem if she couldn’t find it again. (She would; she was too organized for her to lose something so simple.) The top of the railing had been completely decimated. Twisted wood and splinters littered the floor and Twilight winced. Spike nudged one of the particularly sharp edges with his hoof, “Can that be fixed?” “Maybe. I might need to bring more wood and transmute it to completely fix it.” She carefully lit her horns and reassembled the wood pieces into something that vaguely looked like how it was before. Her annoyance made it hard to keep her focus on limiting how much energy she outputted. A headache pounded to life behind her eyes as the wood slowly slotted together. A simple spell to stick it all together finished the job and Twilight snorted in satisfaction, “That’ll do for now.” The door to her tower opened again, far more gently than Spike's entrance. A tall pale unicorn haughtily lifted her head to look for Twilight. The dragon forced a smile to form stiffly on her angular face. A few stray sparks escaped her horns. "Mother. What a surprise." "It shouldn't be a surprise," Twilight Velvet said sharply, "Have you already forgotten the party I am to take Young Spike to? Miss Moondancer specifically invited House Sparkle to attend." Her mother's voice could've speared a pony to a wall and left them there for hours. Good thing she wasn't a pony. Spike fidgeted under her, subtly seeking shelter under her massive form. Twilight Velvet was tall for a unicorn. Twilight Sparkle was tall for anything. It shouldn't have given the dragon such pleasure to peer down her nose at her own mother. "Did you want to go, Spike?" Twilight asked, bending down to sniff gently at her son. Spike rumbled back, an imitation of the sound she made when she was particularly pleased. "A little bit." Twilight nodded, nudging him forward with her snout, "Go on. Get changed into something presentable. Grandmother will wait in the foyer, alright?" Silence reigned in the room as Twilight descended the stairs. Both she and Velvet pretended she didn't almost miss the first step down. Privately, Twilight bet it wouldn't even take her to the count of twenty before her mother commented. Velvet hated silence with a passion that Twilight just didn't understand. "Have you gone to the speech therapist I recommended? It doesn't sound like you've improved." And there it was, fifteen seconds wasn't half bad. "Mother, going to a speech therapist won't change the fact that I don't have front lips," Twilight slurred in a fashion specifically designed to annoy her mother, “If I go slow enough I can speak fine.” She demonstrated by slowly enunciating her Ps and Ms, delighting in the somewhat awkward expression that appeared on her mother’s face. Velvet sniffed, remaining prim and perfect in her pearl necklace and extravagant gown, "It wouldn't hurt to try, my dear. Why, even poor Young Spike has been struggling with some words. It isn't ideal, Twilight. I don't see why you won't let the poor dear stay in the Manor and learn to be proper." Twilight shook her gigantic head, long since used to rehashing that argument, "He isn't in line to be Heir. Shining Armor's future child will be." Her mother's stink eye was what Spike walked in on. Twilight automatically reached out to straighten the crooked tie and smooth out the slight rumples on his silk vest. The disapproving tut was ignored as Twilight continued to fuss over Spike's pin that just wouldn't lay straight. She smoothed out Spike's mane one last time before nudging him toward Velvet. "You're a Daughter of Magic, Twilight Sparkle. You're not a common Earth Pony." Twilight rolled her eyes as her headache grew. This time, it had nothing to do with her Magic, "Have fun, Spike." Spike bounced on his hooves, excitement radiating from his eager face, "Thanks!" Some half an hour later, Twilight was again looking morosely at what was once her almost completed paper. With a sigh, Twilight whisked away the ashes and finished disposing of the last of her equipment used. When that was all said and done with, she finally reached back into her subspace to get the scroll. Nearly brushing against the transmuted gunpowder while getting the scroll made Twilight more careful as she finally extracted it. It was fairly plain, but that didn't mean much. Queen Celestia used plain parchment for tea invitations as well as urgent summons. She’d long since stopped caring if she were late or not, and in turn, the Queen didn’t scold her… much. Twilight gently broke the wax seal and unfurled the paper. My most faithful and dearest student Twilight, the letter began. The dragon pulled away to snort a puff of smoke. The alicorn wrote as if she had more than one student. It is with great joy to announce this year's Summer Sun Celebration Location: Ponyville, a quaint village founded by a branch of the Apple Family on the fringes of the Everfree Forest. Twilight frowned at that. Why would her mentor choose a small town like that for the Celebration? Judging from the sound of it, Ponyville would hardly be able to house the surely astounding number of ponies that would be traveling to see the Queen. You, my student, will be in charge of the preparation. I have set aside the local library for your accommodations. It is ready to receive you whenever you choose to arrive. I have also arranged for a guide to take you around the village. You will find her in a cottage near the tamer parts of the Everfree. She dearly hoped the library in question was out of the way in a quieter part of town. It would be easier to fly there without half the village fleeing for their lives and the other half taking up arms. With it being a village so near the dangerous forest, Twilight wouldn't be surprised in the least if ponies tried to storm the library to be rid of her.  Her mentor oftentimes forgot many ponies weren’t ever prepared for a fully grown dragon taller than two Earth ponies combined to swoop down on them. Twilight could only guess Celestia had forgotten what fear felt like in her eons of existence. Enclosed is a checklist of items that need to be completed. I know how you love your lists. I dearly hope this year's Summer Sun Celebration will be one to remember. Ponyville will recall it for years to come. Perhaps you will find friends there. Good luck, Twilight Sparkle. Queen Celestia, Head of Day Court, Head of Night Court, Raiser of the Sun and Moon, Archmage of Canterlot, Headmaster of the School of Magic, Reigning Monarch of Equestria, Head of the Equestrian Negotiation Delegation, Commander of the Canterlot Royal Guards, Bearer of Magic, Bearer of Loyalty, Bearer of Generosity, Bearer of Kindness, Bearer of Laughter, Bearer of Honesty Twilight had gotten very used to the impersonal touch at the end of her mentor's letters. In fact, the dragon suspected that Celestia used an automated spell of her own creation to sign all of her letters instead of writing them out every single time. Twilight wasn't sure since horn writing from one unicorn to another was completely indistinguishable. Everyone used the same spell after all. Meanwhile, she was in her tower writing notes and papers by hand simply because she wanted to. Her tutor called it chicken scratch but to each their own. There were two weeks until the Summer Sun Celebration happened. That left her with about ten days to get to know everyone in the village and help set things up. A day for filling out the appropriate paperwork to have Spike take an extended Sun Vacation and pack, another day for travel and settling in, and a few days to get to know the ponies and the overall layout of the town. Verbally, it sounded doable. Twilight stretched, humming in satisfaction when her back popped. Time to get to work. When Spike came back, his face was twisted in a snarl and the floor trembled in tune with his hoofbeats. Twilight raised her eye ridges in surprise. The last time Spike had been angry enough to invoke his Earth Magic was when someone spat at her on the street. He kicked the door closed so hard the tower shook and dust trickled from the ceiling. He crumbled like a house of cards once he caught sight of her. His eyes went wide and tears spilled over his cheeks in rivers. Something hot ignited in Twilight’s chest. It made her want to roar with fury and tear a being apart for even daring to look at her child. Abandoning her packing for the time being, Twilight quietly walked over and folded Spike up into her arms like he was still a toddler. His sobs made his small frame shake and shudder against her chest plates. It wasn’t difficult to rumble soothingly and run her claws through his mane. Her sharp ears heard movement by the front door and her eyes narrowed to slits as it cracked open. Twilight Velvet’s face was severe as she politely poked her head in, but even she quickly recoiled at the murderous look the dragon shot her. She wanted to snap and snip at her mother until the unicorn provided answers. As it was, Twilight only let her forked tongue make a snake-like appearance before her attention was back on Spike. Eventually, his sobs evolved into hiccups and he finally got to speak haltingly, answering Twilight's unasked question, "There was a pony at the party that started to talk bad about you. Miss Moondancer told him to leave. Grandmother stopped me from saying anything. When he passed by he called me 'the monster's child'. I bowled him over and Grandmother yelled at me." Twilight made another mental note to get something nice for Miss Moondancer. Most ponies wouldn’t be caught dead defending a dragon, Student of the Sun or not. Twilight swiveled her neck to glare angrily at her mother. To her credit, the mare didn't recoil like last time. Instead, she raised her chin higher and spoke. "House Sparkle is refined. Revenge comes when they least suspect it-" "It didn't look like he suspected it then!" Spike said shrilly, tears leaking from his eyes in his anger. "A noble does not interrupt his betters!" Velvet snapped back, "Canterlot is a city of unicorns. Act like it Young Spike. You still have much to learn." In return, Spike growled back, raising his lips in a snarl. Pride fluttered in Twilight's chest. "I expect better from your son, Twilight. He is a pony, not a beast." And wasn’t that just dandy? Twilight Sparkle, the former pride of and Magic Prodigy from one of the most brilliant Houses Canterlot had to offer: a dragon - or as her mother liked to say, a beast. For the longest time, the rest of her family couldn’t leave the house without getting food and verbal insults pelted at them from all directions. It was a wonder that Twilight Velvet and Night Light hadn’t been kicked off the Canterlot Council. Her brother took that time in his life personally, for some reason. Shining Armor liked to pretend he rose through the Royal Guard ranks legitimately, but Twilight knew better. Twilight knew of the first few failed physical fitness tests in the beginning and the money paid to ensure Shining Armor got a second chance. Twilight wasn’t going to lie and say her brother didn’t deserve his rank of Captain; he did, in some capacity.  Her brother specialized in shielding. He’d crafted his own shield spell at the age of twenty-two that could withstand the highest of pressures. That alone saw him promoted to lieutenant. Perhaps it would’ve been fairer if he were promoted in a few more years, not at such a young age. But things tended to happen to the ponies that come from the best Houses. His title of Captain of the Canterlot Guard said enough. Her eyes hardened and her resulting growl made the floor vibrate. Velvet wisely took a step back before she remembered herself and raised her chin impossibly higher. Twilight couldn’t wait until she graduated from the Queen’s apprenticeship and she could finally move away from Canterlot. At least with this coming assignment, they would be away for a while. "Get out." Twilight muttered, a hair's breadth away from roaring, "Now!" "Ponies these days," Velvet huffed, but leaving all the same, "Manners are nonexistent." That brought to mind her first few days as a dragon. A being already bigger than a grown unicorn, with wings to match, still shuffling along like they were still the size of a large dog. Scratched floorboards and destroyed doorways were a common sight inside the Manor. The maids couldn't clean away the debris before Twilight ended up in another accident. If she thought about it hard enough, she could remember the sting of the metal rod used to correct her posture and the headaches that came with the punishments of fidgeting. She could almost hear her old tutor screaming in frustration as her overpowered magic crushed her twentieth quill into nothing but dust. Oh yes, Twilight did indeed have manners. When she used them, however, it was completely of her own volition. "Not a pony," Twilight sighed bitterly, magicking the door Velvet left open, closed. "Why do I keep thinking she'll get better?" Spike asked petulantly, eyes glued to the door, "She acts like it sometimes and I believe her." Twilight sighed. Her only offer to that was, "Habits are hard to break for nobles." And despite it all, Twilight could tell her mother was trying. But as she said, old habits die hard. Spike hummed, wiping away the last of his tears and shucking off his vest at a speed that left Twilight worried that she would need to pick Spike off of the floor. “When are we leaving? Where are we going?” Twilight chuffed in amusement, patting his mane one last time before going back to the bag she’d discarded earlier. The subtle tremor that always came from the Leyline reacting to her emotions finally faded, to the relief of probably everyone in the city. “Tomorrow, hopefully. I’ll need to check in with your uncle first, and it really depends on his schedule. You’re too perceptive for your own good sometimes.” Her child threw his vest down to the ground before shaking out his pressed fur. Deciding not to scold him and following his example of pretending his breakdown didn’t happen, Twilight picked it up in her claws to deposit in the hamper as she walked past the wardrobe to see what else needed to be packed. "What do you mean you're leaving?" Shining Armor asked angrily, "You can't just leave Mum and Dad to get to that hovel themselves. I have work to do, I surely can't do it!" Twilight shoved the Queen's instructions into her brother's face with a little more force than necessary. Satisfaction burned bright when Shining Armor stumbled back with a muffled sound of protest. It would be so easy to just push her older brother over. He was strongly built for a unicorn, thanks to his training in the Guard, but an average Earth pony could shoulder-check him and he would probably go flying. "Her Majesty put you in charge of this?" Incredulity bled thick from Shining Armor's voice. Twilight heard the unspoken, "And not me?" loud and clear. "Of course, my Lord," Twilight enunciated slowly and clearly (lest he ridicules her like the many times before), "I am her apprentice in all things Magic." The scroll was tossed back by a careless twist of his magic, "Well, don't want to disappoint the Queen. As she wishes. Off you go, Scion of House Sparkle." Oh, how his eyes burned. She couldn’t tell if it was from jealousy or something else. His smile was faker than his royal blue mane, which was honestly saying something. She could see his light blue roots starting to grow out and the tensing of his shoulders as he waited for her expected response. Twilight should've thanked him politely, according to etiquette. She should've bowed her head and thanked the Lord of her House like a sensible pony. But Twilight was neither sensible nor a pony. She grabbed the scroll and turned on her heels, ignoring his shout of anger.  With every interaction they had together, Twilight grew more and more convinced her childhood memories of a kind, protective older brother were nothing but wisps of smoke. These days he treated her cooly, like a stranger whom he had heard a disturbing rumor about but still had to be polite. It infuriated her as much as it hurt her. Spike hummed under his breath as Twilight reread the letter of confirmation from the Ponyville mayor, Mayor Flitter Mare. As Twilight suspected, the Queen had neglected to mention that the taskmaster from Canterlot would be a dragon. Thankfully, Mayor Mare had assured Twilight in the letter that a general notice had already been put out and no being would be attempting to bludgeon her with torches and pitchforks.  The use of the word "being" piqued Twilight's interest, but the letter did not elaborate on that matter. Apparently, the town square had been vacated as a landing pad for her and her belongings, as Twilight voiced she would be flying there. Speaking of flying, Twilight snapped her improvised transfigured flying harness on and attached their luggage to said harness with a stupidly strong sticking spell. She stretched her wings as far as she could, feeling the joints crackle and pop. Spike jumped excitedly, nearly vibrating in place before he finally leaped up to the seat nestled between Twilight's wing deltoids. His goggles were already on and his winter jacket was making him sweat. Twilight huffed a small laugh, unable to speak through the enchanted bit that would clip onto the back of Spike's clothing. Twilight would be taking no chances for a flight this long. The most inconvenient thing about being a Magical dragon was that she couldn't teleport. Her sensitivity to Leylines, and Magic in general, was so great that even a short-distance teleport would leave her in a state of disorientation for days on end. Most unicorns had a built-in limiter in the horn that prevented them from overloading their senses when casting spells. Unfortunately for her, Twilight was no unicorn - at least, not anymore.  As brilliant as she was in logistics and theory, she actually wasn't able to cast anything more than the classic telekinesis spell without knocking herself out of commission. And even then, detailed and focused telekinesis oftentimes gave her a headache. She was still a little dizzy from the harness transmutation which had been done yesterday morning. She double-checked all of the straps and buckles, making sure Spike couldn’t be knocked loose from his perch, “Are you ready?” she mumbled around the bit. Spike was so excited he couldn’t even give a coherent answer. His answering squeal of joy made Twilight laugh, “Hold on tight!” She threw open her wings, relishing the breeze that passed under them, before jumping clear of the balcony. Spike whooped as she finally achieved liftoff. She circled her tower once before flying down past the crowded streets of the city. Even from the great height she was at, she could hear the screams as her shadow fell over them, however brief it was. The temptation to exhale fire just for the heck of it was strong, but did she really want that letter from the Queen admonishing her for causing public terrorism? With that in mind, Twilight banked toward the south, setting her sights on the distant Everfree Forest. Here’s to a new adventure, she thought as Spike ooh’ed and ahh’ed as she climbed higher into the clouds. Something told her that this assignment would be a lot more interesting than any other she’d ever done before.