//------------------------------//
// Episode 7: Twilight Sparkle 
// Story: A Bond Across Dimensions 
// by AuraMastermg 
//------------------------------//

Aura stood in front of the mirror in his pony form, checking to make sure that his wings were hidden well enough.

"I can't believe I did something so stupid. I should of just made myself a Unicorn but no, I just had to make myself look cool and chose an Alicorn form. Real smart there Kaiser."

The God tucked in his undershirt and put his glasses on, making sure that he looked presentable for his first day as a professor. He then heard a knock on his door. "It's open!"

The door slowly opened and Mystic came in looking like a nervous wreck. Poor colt was shaking like a leaf and had beads of sweat rolling down his face. "I-I-I-It's ti-time to g-g-go." 

Aura straightened his jacket and patted it down. "First day jitters?" 

Mystic answered with a nod. "I've never been to a school before. What if I say the wrong thing or make a complete fool of myself in front of everypony?"

"I hardly think that's going to happen little buddy." Aura kneeled down to Mystic's level and patted his head. "I'm sure that you'll do great once you get there."

Despite his words of encouragement, Mystic still felt like everything was going to go horribly wrong today.

"Nothing huh?" Aura sighed, he then took a comb and brushed his mane until it looked presentable. "Look, I know that the first day of... well anything can be scary. But that is just anxiety and fear controlling your brain, and that is perfectly normal. But trying to make today perfect will only end in disaster, what you need to do is just be yourself and make the most of today."

Now Aura put the finishing touches by adding a single spritz of cologne on his neck and patted it down. With his preparations done he levitated his new saddlebag on his back and tightened the strap.

"Now I recommend you get all your things. We only got half an hour before the train arrives."

Mystic calmly took a deep breath and relaxed his nerves. "Okay. And..." He looked down and smiled slightly. "It's reassuring that you are coming with me. At least I'll have somepony to talk to when I'm feeling overwhelmed or scared."

Aura smiled back and patted the younger colt's back. "Anytime." 





One long train ride later the pair stepped out of the train, luggage in tow and looked up at the city in awe. This was Aura's first time in the city and he couldn't help but notice one thing.

"There are a lot of Unicorns here. Is there a reason Mystic?"

The young colt seemed to dissapear from Aura's side. "Mystic?"

"Behind you."

Mystic peaked out from behind Aura's hind leg with a scared look on his face. "I've always hated this part of Canterlot. It's full of rich nobles and snobs who only care about their status. And look down on anypony with judging eyes."

All that information alone was more then enough to paint a picture for the God. No wonder why Mystic was scared, he might as well be surrounded by different versions of his father. It comes to show that every place has some kind of darkness. And If there was one thing that he hated most, it was beings who were so full if themselves that they think that they're perfect.

Heck, if he saw just one doing that to anyone, he would march over and give them a dose of reality. But as much as he would love nothing more than to punch a stuck-up noble in their stupid face, he rather not get into trouble the on his first day as a professor.

"Alright then." He patted Mystic's head to comfort him. "Just stay close and if any noble does try to start trouble, I'll handle it. That okay?"

Mystic nodded and went back to hiding behind Aura. Who took out a map and muttered to himself as he tried to find just where the school was located.

"Excuse me sir?"

Hearing the voice, Aura turned towards it and saw a pair of Royal Guards. "Are you two Aura Kaiser and Mystic Knight?"

"That is us." Aura answered as he folded his map and placed it back into his bag. "Is there a problem?"

The guards shook their heads. "No. We were asked by the Princess to escort you two to her majesty's school. If you'll follow us and please stay close."

Aura and Mystic looked at each other and shrugged. "Well, I guess we don't have to worry about being late." Aura pointed out as he and Mystic followed the guards.

Which didn't take long as the two found themselves in front of a large and regal building with many young Unicorns coming in.

"Wow. That is one fancy looking school." Aura stated.

The two guards took hold of Aura and Mystic's luggage. "We will take these to your living quarters."

"Thanks." Aura took out his wallet and gave the guards some bits. "Something to treat yourselves with. Take care."

With the guards gone the two walked inside the building and saw that it was much larger then what it looked outside. Mystic started to see so many Unicorns and gulped as his anxiety grew.

"Mystic." Aura softly spoke. "I'm going to need to see the headmaster to solidify my position as professor." He kneeled down to the colt's level. "Students aren't allowed where I'm going, so you should make your way to the classroom."

Hearing that instantly made Mystic grow pale. "What!? By myself, alone!?"

"I know I know, and trust me, I don't want to do this either. But you know that I can't be your shield. You have to be brave." Aura comforted the colt and handed him his school bag. "You remember the room number?"

Mystic took the bag and nodded. "Yeah. Room 302. Should be close by."

"Good." Aura patted Mystic's head and went the other direction. "You got this."

Now Aura was out of Mystic's sight. It was just him... alone... in a place he's never been to... and surrounded by many unknown ponies.

His mind instantly rang alarms telling him to run straight to Aura but he took a deep breath and calmed down. 'You got this Mystic. Just go down the hall and locate the classroom.'

He took a small step forward as he made his way to his destination. 'Just don't pay attention to the others and focus on your goal. Treat this as a normal day back home. You can do this. Right?"

Though with the way he was walking he was drawing a bit of attention to himself as the number of eyes grew. Each one feeling like they were piercing Mystic's skin.

'And now they're all staring at you.' He quickly fixed himself and was walking normally. 'Remember what Aura said; don't let fear and anxiety take over. Just do what you normally do and everything will be okay.'

He turned and saw a door with the number '302' on it and quickly went through it and took the seat that was given to him. He started to rapidly breath heavily as he felt his heart beat so hard that it might just burst out of his chest at any moment.

"*HUFF HUFF HUFF* I did it." He leaned into his chair and took a sigh of relief. "That wasn't so hard."

He looked around and saw that there was hardly anypony here at the moment. There were a few, but they were mostly the ones who prefer to get here early just incase.

But 5 minutes later more and more Unicorns came in until each seat was taken. And right as the bell rang, Aura came in.

"Good morning class." He said as he walked in and analyzed his surroundings. It seems like most of the students were the same age as Mystic. "I am your new Alchemy Professor Aura Kaiser. Now before we start class..." Aura placed his bag on his desk and sat down. "Who here can tell me the first thing about Alchemy?"

Even though Mystic wanted to answer, his nerves got the better of him as he didn't want to be the center of attention. That and he's heard of several scenarios where many kids would pick on the smartest student or what is called "the Teacher's pet".

Aura started to look around and wait for somepony to respond. "Anypony at all?"

"That would be the law of Equivalent Exchange. In order to obtain anything, something of equal value must be given."

The source of that voice came from the young filly next to Mystic. She had a lavender coat with a dark purple mane and tail that had a single magenta stripe running down them. Her eyes were a deep shade of violet and her cutie mark was a purple star with smaller stars surrounding it.

"Very good. You're..." Aura looked at the sheet given to him. "Ah, so you're Twilight Sparkle." He placed the sheet down and looked at her. "The Princess has told me about you. If I recall, she said that you're her protege, or her prized Student as she says."

Aura gave her a joking smile. "Now don't expect me to give you some kind of special treatment just because your studying under the Princess."

"Of course professor Kaiser." Twilight bowed her head.

Aura hummed as he analyzed the filly. 'So this is Celestia's pupil. At first she looks like any normal filly but after looking at her soul I can sense powerful magic coming from her. But if what Celestia said is true, she would never be able to realize her true potential if she stays by herself. Luckily that is where my little protege comes in.'

He then looked at the rest of the class. "And that goes for the rest of you! I personally don't care how skilled you are or what your status is, I will treat you all equally and fairly!"

He then lifted up a textbook and opened it. "Now take out your textbook and open it to chapter one. In order to learn Alchemy, we will have to start with its history."





One history lesson and visual example later, Aura got ready to start teaching about the science of Alchemy when...

"Um, excuse me Professor?" One of the students raised their hooves up. "Isn't Alchemy supposed to be potion making?"

Aura chuckled and took out some chalk. "Well that is one part of it." He started to write down on the chalkboard. "You see the reason why Celestia chose me to be your professor was because I know the 'True' way of Alchemy, or what is now called 'Lost Alchemy'."

Intrested, Twilight wrote down in her notebook and paid close attention to the lesson.

"As you know, there are two types of magic: Internal and External. Now normally when one were to use magic, they would have to use their own internal pool of magic within them." He pointed to a drawing of a Unicorn with a glowing core that connected to the horn. "This is why you can feel tired or overloaded when using magic to much and too fast.

Aura then pointed to the next drawing, which was a flower, boulder and leaf, each one had small stars around them. "Now I'm sure you've seen examples of external magic before, such as in crystals, but in truth, magic exist everywhere, even the very aur we breath. And Alchemists..." He clapped his hooves and placed them on the desk, making it sprout branches and grow leaves. "Can be able to use those traces of magic."

Aura reverted the desk back to normal. "Now while this version is far more limited then the traditional way, it does have some unique traits such as using alchemic spells. Spells like barrier creation, elemental spells, healing, conjure tools and many more. But it take a lot of time and training to master that form. But more on that subject later."

Aura looked up and noticed the time. "Well look at that, we're almost out of time." He levitated some assignments and handed them out. "There is a reason why each desk fits two. Whoever is next to you will be your partner for the rest of your time in this class. As an Alchemist is not just a mage, but a researcher as well."

Aura returned to his desk and turned to the class. "Your assignment this week is to create a circle that would work with the items listed on the sheet that I gave each of you. Use your textbook and work together to finish it." He then took a bow. "And thank you for letting me be your teacher. I'm looking forward to the rest of the year!"

With that the bell rang and the students went out to either their next class or to work on their assignment. Mystic walked up to Aura with the sheet.

"I'm guessing that I have to do the assignment too?" He asked. It wasn't that he didn't want to do it, but after looking over it, it all just seems too easy for him as he has done this before.

"Yes Mystic, you too. Many Alchemist work in pairs. So far you've mastered solo Alchemy, now you must learn to work with others." Aura replied and saw that Twilight Sparkle was next to him.

"Professor Kaiser. If it's alright with you, can you tell me more about 'Lost Alchemy'?" She pulled out her book and quill with starry eyes. "I really want to know more about it!"

Aura chuckled. "Wish I could, but my next class is going to start soon." He then scooted Mystic closer to her, causing the colt to stiffen up. "Why don't you ask Mystic? He was my first student and memorized everything I taught him piece by piece."

Twilight was a bit unsure about that idea but went with it anyway. "Okay then. Come on Mystic, I want to get a headstart on our assignment." She then grabbed Mystic's hoof and dragged him out of the room, with poor Mystic looking terrified.

Aura just sighed and leaned back into his chair. "I just hope that she can learn to cooperate with Mystic. Or that Mystic can have the courage to work with others outside his comfort zone."





Out in the courtyard both Mystic and Twilight were working on their assignment. Or at least, they are trying to.

"Aren't you going to chip in and help or are you just going to sit there and stare at nothing?" Twilight asked. "Cause if you are, then I can do this assignment myself."

She was starting to get a bit irritated. This was supposed to be a group assignment but her partner hasn't said a single word, or at least one that she could understand.

While Mystic felt a bit intimidated by Twilight. Who knew that a filly like her could also be terrifying. And it wasn't that Mystic didn't try to speak, it's just everytime he tries he gets cut off by Twilight groaning in frustration.

"This doesn't make sense! I made the circle that labels the items on the sheet, but it just doesn't activate! What is this?!"

Her shouting made Mystic jump and shiver with fear. Maybe he should just give up, it was clear that Twilight wanted to do this on her own, but since this was assignment was supposed to be done as a team, he had to contribute somehow.

"Um... Twilight."

She let out an annoyed sigh. "Now you decided to talk?" She turned to face Mystic. "So are you ready to help with this assignment now?"

"Y-Yes. And first thing..." He pointed to the inner circle. "You're using the wrong alignments. You've aligned the circle for 3 items. But we have four, and because of that, we will have to place the points in between each rune."

Mystic then redid the inner circle and added the four runes then created a line for each point between the runes. Once he was finished the circle started to give out a faint blue glow, signifying that it was complete.

Twilight looked at the circle, then to Mystic then back to the circle. "How did you know about that?"

Mystic tapped his hoof on his head. "I memorized many of the Alchemy books that Aura, I mean Professor Kaiser gave me."

"That's right, he said that he taught you before Princess Celestia asked him to teach. Wait minute." It was then that Twilight got uncomfortably close to Mystic with starry eyes. "You said that he lent you books right? Can I see them?"

Feeling uncomfortable, Mystic backed up, cleared his throat and hid his blush. "Well they are all in my home back at South Canterlot. And... i..."

Twilight then stared at him with puppy dog eyes, her lips quivering as her pupils dilated.

'Huh. So this is what it's like to be on the receiving end of this trick.'

Mystic eventually gave in and slumped down. "Alright you win. I'll take you to my home so that we can get them."

Twilight squealed and much to Mystic's surprise, hugged him. "Thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you!"

"Um, Twilight." Her grip startened to tightend around Mystic's neck. "You're... blocking my... air way."

Twilight opened her eyes and quickly released herself from him and saw Mystic taking deep breaths as he held his neck. Her cheeks red with embarrassment and her head lowered. "Sorry about that."

Once Mystic was done refilling his lungs with air he shook it off and gave her a friendly smile. "It's alright. You were excited, I get it." He grabbed his bag and checked the time. "I think I can get my brother to retrieve the books for us. He is about to take his break anyway. And knowing him he was going to head back home because he forgot something, again."





When the school day was over Aura was in his new office planning for the tomorrow's lesson. He had received some praise from the students on how engaging and exciting his class was, even some of the other teachers agreed. So this time he wanted to do an outdoors activity to show off some examples of terraforming, as long as he gets permission from Celestia that is.

Suddenly he heard a knock on the door but continued his work. "It's open!"

The door slowly opened and Celestia walked right in. Realizing who came in, he placed his quill down and gave her his full attention.

"Princess Celestia." He cleared his throat and straightened his jacket. "I didn't expect you to visit. Is something the matter?"

"Oh no, not at all." Celestia giggled as she closed the door behind her. "I just came to ask how your first day as professor was. From what I've heard so far, you've seen to intrigue the students."

"Oh. Well that us true. All I did was try to make it interesting for them. Find something that catches their attention and go on from their."

"On the contrary, I believe it is more due to your nature rather then your methods. You give off this feeling that makes you easy to approach."

Aura blushed and scratchy his mane. "Well my team always say that I'm usually the first they go to if they need to talk." His smile soon fell as he let out a sad sigh. One that Celestia noticed.

"Is something troubling you Aura?"

Aura shook it off and tried to put on a fake smile. "It's nothing. You shouldn't worry about me."

"Aura." Celestia gave him a stern stare. "I know a troubled soul when I see one." She walked over to him and sat down. "Tell me what's on your mind. Who knows, maybe talking about it will help."

Aura sighed and sat down next to her, reverting to his normal human form and placed his hands together. "It's just, I sometimes wonder if I'm even a good leader for my team." He looked at his hands as they glowed a purple energy. "I've made many mistakes with these powers. Mistakes that I wish I could go back to and fix. Even more than that, I feel like I can never amount to the previous leader." The glow on his hands stopped as he clenched them. "I just don't want to let them down."

Celestia hummed then draped a wing over Aura to comfort him. "I know how you feel. The weight of a leader is indeed a heavy one."

Aura curled up and hugged his knees. "You too huh?"

"Well, it was originally me and my sister, until..."

Aura notice that Celestia was about to cry, so he gently patted her back to soothe her. "Hey. You don't have to finish that if it's too painful."

She quickly pulled herself back together and took a deep breath. "Thank you." She wiped her tears away. "Anyway, after that I found myself becoming more overwhelmed. Not only did I have to keep my duties, but I also had to do my sister's. And I won't lie when I say that I made many errors during those 1000 years. But everytime I had to remain strong for my little ponies."

She looked out the window and saw a couple of young foals with their parents. "They look up to me, I give them hope. And if I breakdown in front of them..."

"Then all that hope would be lost and replaced with despair." Aura finished.

The two stayed quiet for a moment.

"You know, it's nice to finally get this off my chest." Aura said. "The only other being I told this to was my second in command, who just so happens to be my student long before I became leader."

Celestia smiled. "Well I am glad to be one of the few."

Aura got up and stretched, loosening his stiff joints. "Well I appreciate you coming to see me. I have to get my lesson plan for tomorrow all planned out, and you don't mind me giving the students an outdoor explanation do you?"

"Not at all. In fact, I think it would be enlightening for them."

"Awesome." Aura grabbed his bag and changed back to his Pony form. "Well night."

"Good night Aura."





An hour after Aura left the building he and Mystic were being lead by a pair of Royal guards to their new living quarters. And from Celestia's request, the two would get a quarters in the castle so that she and Aura could record all knowledge of true Alchemy so that the rest of Equestria can learn.

When the royal guards stopped. "This here will be your living quarters." One of the royal guards opened the door and revealed a spacious chamber built with a kitchen, bathroom, bedroom with two beds and a grand balcony with an amazing view.

"Thank you two very much." Aura bowed and gave the guards a couple bits for their services.

The two entered their new home and placed their luggage by the couch. "This place is big. It was nice of Celestia to let us use this guestroom." Mystic said.

Aura closed the door behind him and locked it before changing back to his human form and letting out a tired sigh. "Well don't forget, the only reason why the Princess gave this to us was so that it be easier to trade information on my Alchemy. Not to mention to keep my real form a secret." Aura walked over to the balcony and looked down at the nobles. "Doubt the high and mighty nobles would like the idea of a human living amongst them."

"Knowing them you might be right." Mystic yawned and rubbed his eyes.

"Feeling tired?" Aura asked as he checked what was in the fridge and pulled out a bottle of spring water.

"Little bit." Mystic admitted. "Twilight had me study with her for our project. And let me tell you, she is more of a bookworm then me, and that's saying something."

Aura chuckled, prompted himself on the couch and put his feet up. "So she's an even bigger egg head then you. Seems like you two would make great friends."

Suddenly Mystic let out a sad sigh and slumped next to him. "But what if she finds out that I don't have any magic powers. All she talks about is how she wants to improve her magic and I could tell that she worked her hardest to get into this school, and if she found out that a magicless colt like me got in so easily..."

Aura lightly tapped the colt's forehead. "Kid, I can smell the smoke from the gears in your head. You are clearly overthinking this."

He emptied the bottle and used his Alchemy to turn the bottle into a sapling. "You can use Alchemy just fine, so that does not make you 'magicless'. If anything, it would make her more interested in you. As long as you are the one who tells her, cause if she finds out on her own then you will be in trouble."

Mystic thought about if for a moment and nodded. "I see. But when would be a good time to tell her?"

"Try a few weeks to build up more trust between the two of you. Then when you are comfortable, tell her your condition. And if she accepts you for who you are, then it's clear that she sees you as a friend."

"And if she doesn't?"

Aura thought long and hard about that and gave Mystic a straight answer. "Then it's clear that she doesn't deserve to be your friend." He said bluntly. "A real friend accepts those around them regardless of their faults. But as long as you show her who you are, you should be okay."

Mystic smiled and pulled out one of the books that Twilight let him borrow. "I see. Thank you for the advice Aura." He let out another yawn. "Well I'm tired. I'm going to hit the hay now so that I can get up early tomorrow for classes. Good night." Mystic walked towards the bedroom and closed the door.

"Yeah, good night."

Aura sighed softly and stared at his hand, making it glow as he looked at it with remorse. "I really need to follow my own advice. Maybe then I wouldn't of..."

He gripped his hand and stopped the glow. "No. That is all behind me now. I swore that I wouldn't let all that get to me anymore. I've changed since those days."

But dispite all that, his head started to get filled with past memories. Memories that he regretted deeply and wished that he could forget.

He let our a growl of frustration and went to the balcony. "Maybe a walk around the castle can clear my mind."

So he jumped off the balcony and landed in the garden, turning into his Pony form and began his walk.

And it turned out to be a good idea. The garden was quite beautiful with the array of flowers and fauna, it was as if a piece of heaven made it's way to the land of the living.

Letting out a content sigh he fell back and landed in the grass, looking up at the stars he felt as if he was the only one in this piece of heaven and started to drift off into sleep.





Aura felt a warm feeling on his face as he tried to get some shut eye. He could swore that he hears a small voice speak his name but his brain craved sleep so he didn't care all that much.

"Mr. Kaiser!"

He turned to his side and let the gentle breeze brush his coat, comforting him even more.

"Mr. Kaiser!"

To Aura, all his troubles melted away. No worries, no pain, just the gentle embrace of nature soothing his soul.

"MR. KAISER!!!"

Aura's eyes shot open as he jolted up and breathed heavily. "What's going on! Are we under attack?!"

He analyzed his surroundings and found that all was peaceful, but beside him was his student Twilight Sparkle with a confused look and a book in her hooves.

"Mr Kaiser. Why are you sleeping in the garden?"

Aura checked and he was indeed still in the garden, he must of dozed off last night during his walk.

He chuckled and rubbed the back of his head. "Well I guess I fell asleep while star gazing. But enough about me." He got himself back up and dusted the grass off of him. "What are you doing here so early my dear?"

"Oh, I was just going to do some reading in the nice weather. Your books are very engaging."

"My books?"

Aura checked the book in the filly's hooves and saw that it was indeed one of his books. His guess was that Mystic lent her that book.

"I see. Well to be honest it was just something I threw in together so that Mystic could learn on his own." He yawned and stretched as he shook the drowsiness out of him. "On a unrelated note, what do you think of Mystic so far?"

"Well," Twilight thought about it for a moment so that she could come up with a reasonable answer. "He's a bit different then the rest of the students. I mean, he's quiet, shy and very insecure about himself compair to the other colts, but there is just something about him that makes it easy to talk to him. Normally I don't feel comfortable around anypony else besides my family and the Princess. But for some reason I feel like I can, confide with Mystic about anything, even though we've only met just yesterday. I just don't know how to explain it."

Aura smiled and patted the little filly's head. "Best to not over think things. Doing so will only hurt you." He took a deep breath and smelled the fresh air. "Well I don't want to bore you any longer then I already have. I have a class to prepare and I hope your excited about it."

Twilight smiled brightly. "I'm looking forward to your class Professor. I never knew that there was another form of Alchemy before, so learning something new is always exciting."

That answer made Aura's smile grow bigger. "As a teacher, that makes me happier then anything else in the world. I'll see you in class Twilight. And if you ever have any questions about my books, my doors are always open."

"Thank you Mr. Kaiser."

With that Aura went back inside and Twilight sat down and continued her book on Alchemy.