//------------------------------// // The Test of Magic // Story: Wool of Magic // by Zeprto678 //------------------------------// “Stop!” shouted Solight. “Huh?” They noticed something was off and looked around.   Solight noticed that they weren’t in Ponyville anymore. “It looks like I’m in some kind of a forest, and a dark one too,” observed the alicorn. “I wonder where in Equestria I am?” All of a sudden, Solight held their head like they were in pain. Inside Solight’s Mind There are two sides to the alicorn’s mind, the alicorn hybrid side, Solar Solight, and the unicorn hybrid side, Twilight Solight. Right now, the alicorn hybrid side was trying to calm her down as the unicorn hybrid side was panicking. “Twi, calm down. Please, we need to get through,” begged Solar Solight. Twilight Solight shook her head. “Solar, I don’t know what to do. It’s so dark,” said the unicorn hybrid side, worried. “I’m worried that I don’t know if we can do this on our own.” He looked determined. “We can do this because we are one and the same,” said the alicorn hybrid. Luckily, it worked as Twilight Solight had calmed down a little, realizing that Solar Solight was right. She looked at the alicorn hybrid side. “You are right,” said the unicorn hybrid side. “Breathe in and out. We are one and the same,” he advised. Twilight Solight decided to do as Solar Solight said, and breathed in and out. After a few seconds of doing it, she was now completely calm. Outside Solight’s Mind Solight let go of their head as it felt much better.  “That was weird. Maybe some tea will help?” said the alicorn. “I’ll have some after we take care of Nightmare Moon.” Suddenly, Solight held their head again. “Not again,” complained the alicorn. Inside Solight’s Mind Again The unicorn hybrid side was now having a mental breakdown as soon as Nightmare Moon was mentioned. The alicorn hybrid side was trying to once again calm her down. “Why would Jasper do this? Why would he face Nightmare Moon on his own?” questioned Twilight Solight, worried. “Calm down, Twi. We can ask him this after we find the others,” reassured Solar Solight. “For now, we need to get out of this forest.” The unicorn hybrid side realized that he was right once again. “Sorry. You’re right,” she said. Twilight Solight had calmed down once more. Outside Solight’s Mind Again Solight let go of their head once more. “Ugh. Okay, I am going to need a lot of tea after this,” said the alicorn. Solight started trotting aimlessly through the forest as there was only one path, and lots of trees surrounding both sides of the path itself. But then, something gained their attention. “Huh?” said the alicorn. Up ahead, there was a crossroad where there were only two paths. One that went to the left, and the other went to the right. “I guess I’ll go…left,” they said. The alicorn took the left path and trotted on. Solight didn’t even notice that the forest around them had gotten a little darker. After trotting for a few seconds, the alicorn had reached another crossroad, but this one had five paths. That made them confused. “Another one? But this time it’s five?” questioned Solight. “Uh…okay. Which one should I choose now?” After making a quick decision, seeing as how they were in an unknown forest, the alicorn decided to choose the middle path. A few seconds later, Solight finally noticed something was off as they looked around. “That is strange. This part of the forest is even darker than the other two paths I took,” observed the alicorn. “I should just turn back and choose one of the other paths instead,” said the alicorn. Solight turned around to head back in the opposite direction, but stopped themself. “That is even stranger,” said the alicorn. The path Solight originally took was inundated in darkness. “Looks like I can’t go back once I've chosen a path. I guess that means I’ve got to continue forward instead,” observed the alicorn. Solight turned back around and continued on forward. “I hope I’m going the right way,” they said. Five Minutes Later Every path that the alicorn chose, the forest seemed to get darker as the remaining light disappeared little by little. Right now, there was only a tiny bit of light left, allowing Solight to barely see the six-path crossroad up ahead. They groaned. “Ugh. I need to do something, or else I’ll be stuck in this forest forever!” said the alicorn. “But what?” An idea had come to Solight. “Instead of trotting through the forest, choosing the wrong paths, I should just fly above. Then, I can just fly around and look for the others from up above,” they said.  The alicorn started flapping their wings and was only a few inches off of the ground, but… ZAP!!! “Ow!” exclaimed Solight. The alicorn stopped flapping their wings and landed on their hooves. “What was that? It felt like something zapped my wings,” said Solight, surprised. The alicorn checked their wings to see if it was intact, which it was. Solight sighed. “Phew. Nothing’s wrong with them,” they said, relieved. The alicorn looked confused. “That was weird. The moment I was a few inches off of the ground, I got zapped.” They thought about it. “Is it possible that flying above the forest from either side of it, or even going from trotting to flying while in the middle of this forest is prohibited, and if so, is the forest itself somehow punishing me?” The alicorn was planning on testing that theory. Solight shook their head. “Nah, I don’t want to get zapped again. That was just painful,” said the alicorn. “I guess for now, I’ll stick to the ground.” The alicorn tried to think up another idea, and after a few seconds, once came. They smiled. “Ah-ha! I’ll just teleport myself out of the forest high up into the air, and then fly,” said the alicorn. “That’ll work. I just know it.” Solight concentrated their magic into their horn for a teleport, but then… THWACK!!! “Ouch!” exclaimed the alicorn. The magic in Solight’s horn was canceled and the alicorn fell onto their plot. They rubbed their horn in pain. Solight looked left and right. “What just hit me in the horn?! That was painful!” exclaimed the alicorn. They saw only the forest, the trees, and the paths, nothing else. Whatever impacted the alicorn’s horn was gone, including whatever threw it. Solight groaned. “Ugh. I guess teleporting out of the forest won’t work if the forest is stopping me from doing that too,” they guessed. Once their horn stopped hurting, the alicorn slumped. “So now what? I can’t fly, and I can’t teleport, which means that-” Then, the alicorn had another idea. Solight stood up. “Wait. ‘Teleport’, they said. “Maybe I can’t teleport out of this forest, but maybe I can use Jasper’s own teleportation magic to help me. All I have to do is use my magic to lock on to each of my friends’ teleportation signals, and then head straight in their direction.” The alicorn looked hopeful. “Though, I hope this is something that the forest will allow me to do.” Solight concentrated the magic in their horn as the alicorn began to use their magic to focus on the magic signatures of the nearest pony. The alicorn waited a few seconds for the impact on their horn, but when it didn’t happen, Solight continued with the spell. After a while, Solight’s horn started pulling the alicorn in a certain direction. They opened their eyes to see that their magic was pulling them to the right, but it wasn’t in the direction of the sixth path. It was in the direction right next to the path itself, causing a new path to suddenly appear. The alicorn smiled. “It worked. I’m coming everypony,” they said. Solight trotted on the new path. As soon as they had done that, the light in the forest had increased a little. The alicorn noticed. “Looks like I’m on the right path,” said Solight. After reaching a new path, the alicorn would have the spell guide them onto a new path each time, causing the darkness in the forest to lift little by little every time. Six Minutes Later Solight was amazed. “Whoa. Where am I?” they asked. One minute the alicorn had gone down a path that led to a clearing. The next, Solight had ended up in a hallway, standing in front of a door. They read the plaque and were surprised. “Dr. Hope? As in, ‘Gentle Hope’?” asked Solight, very hopeful. “She’s here. I just know it.” The alicorn then tried to open the door by twisting the doorknob, but it wouldn’t budge at all. So, Solight decided to do the next best thing. KNOCK!!! KNOCK!!! KNOCK!!! They knocked on the door with their hoof. “Gentle Hope, are you in there?! It’s me, Solight!” shouted Solight. “I’ve come to rescue you!” After a few seconds, the door unlocked, and Solight went inside. They would have said more but stopped when the alicorn saw two Gentle Hopes who waved at them. The psychiatrist pony smiled. “Glad you could make it, Solight. Me and myself were waiting for you,” she said. “We passed the time by chatting about some things.” Gentle Hope got off of the couch and looked at her look-alike, smiling. “It was really fun having those discussions with you, me. Hope to have some more later.” The psychiatrist pony trotted over to the alicorn while looking at Clone Gentle Hope. She smiled back. “Same here. Also, remember what we talked about before?” said Clone Gentle Hope. “As long as you remember them, then everything will be okay. Okay?” Gentle Hope nodded. “Okay. Thank you, and goodbye,” said the psychiatrist pony.  The look-alike smiled even more. “Goodbye,” said Clone Gentle Hope. The whole office, including the look-alike, started to fade away and was being replaced by the forest until, eventually, it was gone. The two were on some random path in the forest, which had a bit of sunlight poking through the treetops, shining onto the forest floor. Gentle Hope was surprised at where they were. “We ended up in some kind of forest this time?” she questioned. They nodded. “Yeah. It seems that we need to find the right paths,” explained Solight. “It seems that each of our friends are in some kind of place like you were, and the only way to get to them is to choose the right paths.” The alicorn would’ve said more, but then they noticed the necklace around the psychiatrist pony’s neck. Solight really liked it. “Beautiful necklace. It even has your Cutie Mark,” they complimented. “Where’d you get it from?” She smiled. “I got it from myself as a reward for completing the Test of Honesty,” said Gentle Hope. That confused the alicorn. “Hold on. ‘Test of Honesty’?” they asked, raising an eyebrow. “You had to do a test where you’re honest?” The psychiatrist pony shook her head. “Kind of,” said Gentle Hope. After that, she told Solight about the Test of Honesty, while not telling the alicorn about what the psychiatrist pony and Clone Gentle Hope talked about, both of their friends taking tests as well, and the Element of Honesty that Gentle Hope had gotten as a reward. Solight looked fascinated. “Fascinating. It seems that the Element of Honesty must be one of the things that Jasper wanted us to get,” said the alicorn. They smiled. “Not only that, but I bet all of our friends must’ve passed their tests by now as well, which means that there’s a chance that they’ve gotten something too as a reward. Once we all meet up, then we can get out of this forest and head back to Ponyville.” The alicorn trotted forward, while the psychiatrist pony went after Solight, trotting side-by-side with them.  She looked a little bit confused. “But what about your test, Solight?” asked Gentle Hope. Now it was Solight’s turn to look confused. “My test?” questioned the alicorn. The psychiatrist pony nodded. “Yeah. If each of us has gone through a test and passed, then what about you?” she asked. “Have you completed your test yet? They shook their head a little. “I haven’t done my test yet, which is strange since everypony did their test, including you,” answered the alicorn. Solight felt left out since everyone has gone through a test except the alicorn themself. Gentle Hope had a theory that came to mind. “Well, what if this forest is part of your test and you’re supposed to solve it somehow? Not only that, but what if it involves all of us and these paths as well?” guessed the psychiatrist pony. The alicorn thought about it, and then realized that she was right. “If all of this is part of the test, then that means that in order to pass it, I need to find all of my friends and get us out of this forest,” thought Solight, determined. The two of them stopped at a five-path crossroad. The alicorn focused the spell in their horn again, and this time, Solight’s horn was pulled in the direction that was in between paths three and four. “Follow me, Gentle Hope. I’ll get us to the others,” instructed the alicorn. The psychiatrist pony nodded. The two ponies trotted in between the two paths and continued on. Four Minutes Later They now found themselves in the lobby of a luxurious, tropical-themed hotel. “Where are we now?” asked Solight, both confused and amazed. “It looks like we’ve arrived at one of our friends’ tests, but I wonder whose test this?” asked Gentle Hope. As if to answer her, a voice sounded off. “Hello there, you two. Are you here to see your friend, Melon?” greeted a female voice, in a cheerful tone. They looked up ahead to see Coconut Sunshine, smiling at them. “Looks like our question was answered,” remarked the alicorn. Solight and the psychiatrist pony trotted up to the front desk. “Did you just say Melon was here?” asked Gentle Hope. The cheerful pegasus nodded happily. “Yeah! She’s been waiting a long time for you two,” she informed. “Hold on a sec.” Coconut Sunshine cleared her throat. “Melon! Come here! Some ponies want to see you!” The two ponies winced at the volume and would’ve said something, but then an equally loud yet familiar voice shouted back at the cheerful pegasus. “Who is it?!” shouted a female voice. “Ugh. That is definitely Melon,” thought the alicorn. “Your friends are here! The real ones this time!” shouted Coconut Sunshine. She then looked at them before shouting again. “There’s only two of them though! That unicorn stallion who’s new to your town and is also actually an alicorn in disguise, and the other is a light blue unicorn mare with one yellow eye, and one purple eye!” As soon as the cheerful pegasus shouted that, instead of the voice shouting back, there was now the sound of hooves galloping over to their location. She looked at Solight. “What did she mean by ‘alicorn in disguise’, Solight?” asked the psychiatrist pony, confused.  That made Solight worried. They were planning on telling everypony, just not right now but later. “Well…” said the alicorn. Before Solight could continue, Melon showed up in the lobby. The melon pony smiled. “Guys, you’re here!” she said. The melon pony galloped over to them. The alicorn and Gentle Hope smiled, happy to be reunited with their friend. Coconut Sunshine smiled. “I’m so happy that you’ve been reunited with your friends, Melon. I hope you’re reunited with your other friends too,” she said.  Melon looked at the cheerful pegasus and nodded. “Thanks. I hope so too,” she said. Then, the entire world around them started to fade like what happened before with Gentle Hope’s office and was being replaced with the forest, which was a little brighter than before.  Coconut Sunshine was fading as well. Before she was about to fade away, the cheerful pegasus decided to say something while smiling. “And I hope you pass your test too, Solight the Alicorn,” she said. Hearing the ‘alicorn’ part shocked both the melon pony and the psychiatrist pony, while making Solight even more worried. The alicorn turned to say something to the cheerful pegasus, but Coconut Sunshine was gone before they could say anything. Solight looked back at their friends to see the two looking at the alicorn, unhappy and needing an explanation. Solight knew that both the alicorn and Jasper were in trouble after this was all over. For now, an explanation was needed. Twenty-Three Minutes Later During the time that had passed by, Solight, Melon, and Gentle Hope had gone through different hidden paths, and had been reunited with Cinna and Banana Pie, who the three had found out were also wearing Element necklaces too. The pegasus and the unicorn stallion had also been informed and were shocked as well to hear about the alicorn being royalty since Solight’s wings weren’t there, which was explained. The forest now looked like a peaceful forest now that it was full of light. The alicorn knew that the only thing left to do is make it to the end. “Making it to the end will clear the test, thus allowing us to acquire the Element of my test, but what Melon told us is concerning. Without the pony or creature who’s taking the Test of Generosity, Jasper’s plan will fail unless he can get the most generous pony or creature to take the test,” they thought. “Hopefully, he can find them before it’s too late.” She looked worried. “I’m worried about Jasper. So much time has passed by,” said the psychiatrist pony. “I hope he’s okay.” The melon pony grinned at Gentle Hope. “Don’t worry. Jasper wouldn’t allow himself to be defeated by Nightmare Moon,” she reassured. “I bet he’s still fighting her, waiting for us to return.” She nodded. “Melon’s right, Gentle Hope,” agreed Cinna. Banana Pie nodded as well. “Banan!” he agreed. Hearing that calmed the psychiatrist pony down. “Yeah. You’re right,” said Gentle Hope. Meanwhile, Solight was focusing on the sheep’s teleportation magic in order to guide everypony to his location. As soon as their horn started glowing again, it then started pulling the alicorn in the opposite direction behind the group, which could be seen. Solight turned around in the opposite direction, causing everyone to stop in place. They were confused. “Wait. What?” said Solight.  “What’s wrong, Solight?” asked the pegasus mare, confused. “I used the spell to track down Jasper’s location, but it’s taking me back in the opposite direction where we came from, which means that going down this path will take us back to Ponyville,” answered the alicorn. Everyone turned around to face the path. “That means that once we do this, the test will be over and we’ll be back home where Jasper and Nightmare Moon is,” said Melon. “Well, what are we waiting for? Let’s go.” Solight nodded. “Yeah. Let’s go, everypony,” said the alicorn. The entire group then galloped/flew down the path. A few seconds later, they all arrived in the center of Ponyville. Cinna gave off a relieved sigh, happy. “Ahh, back home at last,” she said. The pegasus looked back at their friends, smiling, but noticed something new about Solight. “Nice crown, Solight.”  The others looked at Solight in response. She chuckled. “Yeah. It really goes great with you being royalty,” agreed the melon pony. That confused the alicorn. So Solight reached up and felt a crown on top of their head. The alicorn then used magic to levitate the crown off of their head in order to get a look at it. “Interesting. I wonder what these things can do and-” thought Solight, before shaking their head. “There’s no time to think about that. Jasper needs help.” The alicorn placed the crown back on their head. “Come on, everypony. Jasper needs our help.” Everyone cheered in agreement and headed off, all of them wanting to go help their friend.