Twilight stood there in the center of the room. Behind her was your typical blackboard. Various equations and formulas for magic were written on it in chalk. Off to the side were high-rise seats that curved around the room from one end of the chalkboard to the other. Rows of stairs separated the seats into three sections. And in each seat was a shadowy form of an authority figure.
In front of her was a stool just barely taller than her and on it was a cushion. And on top of that was a purple egg with dark purple spots all about it. And directly behind the egg was the only unicorn exarch, Diamond.
“Simple enough, you pass or fail. Hatch the egg,” she spoke in her stern voice.
Twilight gulped and approached the egg. Her whole academic future rides on this one feat. Taking a deep breath Twilight reached for her magic. Calling on everything she learned in her short life. Only nothing happened. It wasn’t there. Her magic was gone.
Twilight felt herself starting to panic. Her breathing increased as the Exarch started to tap her hoof.
“Well. we’re waiting, Twilight. Hatch the egg,” she spoke louder. Her voice almost boomed in Twilight’s ears.
Twilight bit on her lower lips and tried again. Lowering her horn to the egg, reached deep inside of herself only to find nothing was there. She looked up at the exarch who was now shaking her head.
“Pitty. I had such high hopes for you little girl.”
“No wait, please... I can do it.” Twilight felt herself shrink as the room itself seemed to grow.
“Oh please. Look at yourself. You can’t even bring a sparkle to your horn. It seems you fail not only this test but as a unicorn altogether.” The whole room erupted into laughter. Off to the side, Twilight saw her parents and big brother just shaking their heads in disappointment. Beside them, Pearl just sighed and looked away.
Twilight looked back at the Exarch. High in the shadows of the room a large pony started to move in closer. Her mane waved with stars moving within them.
“You Fail Twilight.”
“Fail, Fail, fail…” the words repeated by every pony in the room. Echoing in her ears making her feel even smaller. Forcing her to cringe up into a ball. Raising her hooves to try and fend off the ponies coming closer. In the corner of her eye, she saw. The mare with the flowing mane started to move closer.
“Hey Twilight.” a voice came from beside her. Twilight looked up and into the amber eyes of her best friend’s baby brother. “Gahh this is so boring. Come play with me. I found this really sweet area I know you’ll love.” Twilight blinked as the mare on the stairs stopped and stepped back. Almost in complete shock as Twilight was.
“Kohaku?” Twilight muttered as he nodded slowly.
“Yeah. I’m bored.” Kohaku muttered again as he kicked the stool at the exarch without seeing. The egg hit Diamond in the face and cracked open. Yoke slowly dribbled down her face and neck which made Twilight momentarily laugh before realizing who it was. She saw the wavy-maned mare giggle before leaving.
“Kohaku!! You just... She’s an exarch. You can’t…” Twilight looked at Kohaku and then back at the exarch who seemed to have vanished along with everypony else in the room. Shaking her head she looked back at Pearl’s little brother. “How? Wha… what’s going on? And why are you speaking better ponish than our teachers?”
Kohaku smirked and just shrugged. “Oh, I know. Let’s go out this way. I found a place where the clouds are made of cupcakes. And there’s this really interesting pink bouncy filly there too. She looked kinda lonely so I said I would bring some friends with me. I can’t find Pearl, but then i heard you and thought you’d want to come.” Reaching behind him he pulled out a blueberry cupcake for Twilight. “I even brought some of the cupcakes, here try one. They're really yummy.”
Twilight stood there muttering in gasps and huhs as Kohaku pushed her towards an open window.
“Twilight…” a voice to the side started to call to her.
“Twilight…” the voice started to get louder as she turned to look. Kohaku seemingly just holding the cupcake out for her.
“Twilight!” Pearl shouted as she shook her friend. Twilight gasped and sat up. She shook her head and looked around. “OH thank the empress. You were moaning and crying out for several minutes. You looked like you were having a nightmare.”
Twilight looked around. She was in her family’s yard. A book open under her hooves. Looking about she saw Kohaku off in the distance, sleeping peacefully under a tree nearby in her family garden. A few birds rested atop his head as he rubbed his nose and muttered something about cupcakes.
Pearl lay a wing around her friend. “The test again?”
Twilight nodded. “I haven't stopped thinking about it since I got the letter from Exarch Diamond two nights ago.”
Pearl sighed. “You’re overthinking this, methinks. If they flunked every unicorn who didn’t pass the test, don’t ya think they would have changed it by now? Doubt the dragon lord just hands over the eggs.”
Twilight shot her a look. “It’s easy for you to say that, Pearl. You’re not the one who has to do it! This test will determine my whole future! You’re set for life.”
Pearl groaned and rolled her eyes. “As if. I’ve already told Dad I don’t want his job. And mom’s job is just too stressful. And that’s just my observation of it.”
Twilight nodded. “That is still more than anything I have. I’ve been reading some of Sunset Shimmer’s work, and I think I know what I need to do.”
Pearl rolled her eyes. “You mean vanish from the face of Equestria? If even her family doesn’t know where she is… I don’t wanna be the one to tell your parents, Twily.” Looking over at her new little brother, Pearl tossed an apple at his head. “Hey, bird brain. What do you have to say on this?”
Twilight and Pearl watched as he lifted his head, and blinked before yawning at both girls. Looked down at the apple and went to eat it. Pearl just turned at Twilight and smirked. “He agrees. You’re stressing too much about it.”
Twilight blinked. “Oh, is that what he said?” Sighing softly she closed her book and rested against her friend. “How is life with your new brother?”
“Annoying. He has a bigger room than I do!” Pearl gruffed and laid down on her belly her wing around Twilight and cuddled close. “He took over Mom’s greenhouse. And she went all out and turned it into a full room just for him.”
Twilight smirked as she didn’t fail to notice the growl in her voice. “I guess we both have problems huh?” Looking off to the side she looked up at Pearl after a moment. “Do you really think I’m overthinking this?”
Pearl nodded. “I know so. But I’m also glad I won’t ever have to do one myself. Annoying as school is, I do like Miss Sunflower. Even Miss Cheerilee is pretty cool. Both so much more relaxed and fun than my old teachers.”
Twilight blinked. “Who?”
“Oh, she’s a tutor that’s been coming over to the house every day.”
“Oh, please tell me you haven't dropped off that far.” Twilight groaned.
“What? NO not me. Him” Twilight watched as Pearl just waved her wing over at her brother. “I did kinda ask her a few questions on your problem the other day.”
“What did she say?” Twilight sat up and looked down at Pearl.
“You really want to know?” Pearl smirked up as Twilight nodded. “Here’s step one.”
Pearl got up, picked up Twilight’s textbook with her mouth, and walked over to the edge of the yard. Flipping the book upward she turned and bucked it away and into the tall grass. “Close the books already and relax.” Pearl grinned as Twilight just stood there grasping her chest with a hoof, her eyes wide as if Pearl had just committed a murder. “Your test isn’t until this weekend. A full four days away. And Cheerilee said you can’t pass a test if you're overstressed for it.”
Looking at her brother under the tree, Pearl rolled her eyes. “Which explains why he gets better marks than I do. They’re almost at your level.”
Twilight’s eyes twitched. That was not possible. She was top of their class, and while none of the other fillies and colts were dumb, none of them were close to her.
Moondancer had always been her biggest competition, even though the two of them were great friends. But her fellow unicorn had joined the School for Gifted Ponies the year before. “You two will be the death of me,” she grumbled.
Pearl nodded proudly. “And don’t you forget it. Your brother and Princess Cadance are slacking off. Might as well be us.”
Twilight sighed. “Pearl. You know how much Cadance hates when ponies use her title like that.”
Pearl rolled her eyes. Did she know it alright. It was probably the only thing that annoyed the pink alicorn, and while she could sometimes be more strict than seemed necessary, Pearl genuinely loved her foalsitter. Much more fun than her old ones.
Twilight, though, frowned. “You are coming to the test, right?”
Pearl’s ears wilted. And there it was. The question she’d been dreading. “If mom doesn’t change her mind, I hope so. Though I don’t know why you’d need me, Twily.”
Twilight smirked, poking the Pegasus. “Moral support, Rosey. Don’t your parents have a meeting in the palace?”
Pearl snorted. “Yeah. No idea what it is about though. So I’m already going in that direction. I think they’re meeting with Exarch Moon Petal.”
This only made Twilight smirk harder, making Pearl groan. Somedays, she wondered how and why the two of them put up with each other.
Twilight had never been so nervous in her entire life. So far, everything had gone rather well for her entrance exam. She had aced all of the tests the proctors had given her. But now came the part she had dreaded.
The dragon egg sat on a cart in front of her. Purple with green spots scattered around it, it didn’t look like much. But to pass the final test, she had to hatch it. Fail to do so, and her life was ruined.
Crystal Clear glared down at the young unicorn with an unsympathetic look. “Well, Miss Sparkle?”
Twilight giggled nervously, while Arpeggio coughed and Top Marks yawned.
Only Exarch Diamond said nothing, but she shot a pointed glare at the other examiners. While a certain amount of disinterest was expected, they were toeing a fine line at the moment.
With no other option, Twilight began to throw every spell she knew at the egg. Even just to make it move. She groaned as she poured more and more of her magic into trying to hatch that damn egg, and still nothing.
How long this went on for, nopony knew. “We don’t have all day,” Crystal Clear said at one point, before wilting under the renewed glare from Diamond.
Finally Twilight all but jumped into the air, throwing literally all she had into one final blast of magic, only for nothing to change about the egg as she crashed to the ground.
Standing up, Twilight bowed her head in defeat, with nothing left to give. “I’m sorry I wasted your time,” she sniffed, as the examiners scribbled down their final thoughts.
Diamond’s heart broke seeing and hearing the broken heart and dreams of the unicorn filly. To the side, her parents watched with heavy hearts, unable to do anything.
It was all Diamond needed to hear, as she stood up. But before she could do anything, the sky outside exploded in a rainbow of colors.
Pearl was beginning to wonder why she’d bothered to come to this darn thing. Just sitting here with Twilight’s parents was driving her insane. She needed some action.
Watching her best friend trying her hardest to hatch the egg, and nothing happening, broke Pearl’s heart. She wanted to run over and crack the damn thing herself, but that would only make things worse.
Finally, Twilight stood up from her final attempt. “I’m sorry I wasted your time,” she sniffed. It was all Pearl could take. Damn the rules to Tartarus. Her friend needed her.
Before she could take more than two steps, however, the sky outside exploded in a rainbow of colors. But that was impossible, Pearl thought. The Sonic Rainboom was just a myth.
“Aah!” Twilight yelped, as her magic exploded outwards, sending bolts everywhere. Two hit her surprised parents, turning Velvet and Night Light into potted plants. Several more wrapped around the proctors and threw them around like rag dolls.
One beam, though, hit the dragon egg, causing it to crack open and hatch, revealing a wyrmling the same colors as the egg itself, who only yawned, before being suddenly grown to a full adult size.
Exarch Diamond rushed to try and curb Twilight’s magic surge. The filly was in more danger than anypony could realize. Twilight had somehow tapped into the Prime Magic itself. A power only the empress had ever been able to control. If she wasn’t able to be brought to her senses, Twilight could cause untold damage or worse. Through no fault of her own.
For a moment, Pearl relaxed slightly. If anyone could help Twily, it was Diamond. Who better than one of the empress’ Exarchs? But as she watched in horror, a bolt of magic slammed into the unicorn, sending her flying into a nearby wall.
Something broke in Pearl at that moment. Damn whatever happened to her. Twilight needed her help and now. Unnoticed, a red glow erupted around her body as she leaped forward.
Dodging magic beams faster than anypony could see, Pearl flew over to Twilight and placed a hoof on her shoulder. “Twilight! You have to stop!” she shouted, but Twilight only turned to look at her.
Pearl gritted her teeth. Whatever the hell was happening to her, it was draining her energy at an alarming rate. She couldn’t keep this up much longer. “Twily, please. Come back to me. I can’t lose you,” Pearl sniffed. “Don’t do this to your family. If not for me, then do it for them.”
To the surprise of everyone, that seemed to finally get through to the unicorn as her eyes returned to normal. As her magic began to die down, the dragon returned to being a hatchling, Twilight’s parents returned to normal, Velvet shaking off the lingering feeling of being a plant.
At the same time, the glow around Pearl’s body vanished, leaving her to fall to the ground with a thump. “Ow,” she grumbled. “Did somepony get the name of the battleship that ran me over? I’ll turn it into scrap!”
Twilight shook her head. Everything hurt too much at the moment. “Pearl. What did you do? You were glowing. Why were you glowing? Magic surges have to run themselves out.”
Pearl shook her head with a groan. “Hell if I know. All I know was that you needed help, and nopony else could get to you.”
“It is called Trans Am,” Diamond said, as she walked over, a look of surprise on her face. “You unconsciously released a flood of pure magic into every cell of your body, making yourself invincible in every way, as well as twenty times faster than normal. Very few ponies have ever done so, and even less have lived through the experience.”
Twilight bowed her head in shame, even as Pearl lay a wing over her friend. “Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean…”
Diamond shook her head and smiled. “It’s alright, Twilight. I know you did not mean to. You have more than succeeded in passing the test. You’ve made it pointless.”
Twilight blinked. “What do you mean?”
Diamond sighed. “Hatching the egg was never the point of the test. Only to gauge your reaction to the failure to do so. Not even Sunset Shimmer did this much, no matter how hard she tried.”
Twilight managed a weak smile at that. It made her feel a little better.
Diamond shook her head. “You have a very special gift. I don't think I've ever come across a unicorn with your raw abilities. But you need to learn to tame these abilities through focused study.”
“Huh?!” Twilight replied, her brain seemingly unable to process what she was being told.
Diamond smiled. “Twilight Sparkle, I'd like to make you my own personal protégé here at the school.”
“Huh?!” Twilight added, now even more confused than before.
Diamond waited a moment. “Well?”
Twilight looked over at her family and Pearl, who were all nodding excitedly. It was all she needed to hear as she leaped into the air. “Yes!”
Diamond giggled, before seeing something new on the filly’s hindquarters. “One other thing, Twilight.”
Twilight’s excitement fled as her eyes widened in worry. “More?” she asked, falling back to the ground. Diamond only pointed to her flank. Twilight grinned widely as saw the starburst surrounded by five smaller white stars. “My cutie mark! Yesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyes…”