//------------------------------// // Training, Begin! // Story: Unicorn In Training // by jim150454 //------------------------------// Knock, knock, knock. The rousing sound of a hoof on wood ripped Twilight from her book-induced stupor. She had taken to laying on her bed and reading on days like this, days when nopony came to the library, not that anypony ever came to the library anyway. She knew that the bed wasn’t the appropriate place for reading when she should be tending to downstairs, but sometimes she just felt an overwhelming desire to break the rules and be a bad pony. Knock, knock, knock. Someone was at the door. Sweat started to form on Twilight’s face, she had been shirking her responsibilities and now somepony had found out. What if it was Princess celestia? The Princess knew everything, how could she not know that Twilight was breaking the rules? Visions of punishments floated around in her head, banishment, imprisonment, forced relocation back to Canterlot. Twilight almost passed out from the sheer number of thoughts that were speeding through her mind. Knock! knock! knock! Twilight darted down the stairs in a purple blur, almost charging straight through the front door in her rush to get there. Using her magic, she promptly flung open the door and began grovelling. “I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to! I promise I’ll take my responsibilities seriously just please don’t banish me!” Sweetie Belle was frozen in confusion as she stared at the frantic mess that lay before her. “Um... Maybe I came at a bad time.” she said nervously. Twilight opened up one teary eye to look at the filly. Immediately, her stress and panicked thoughts subsided. It was only then that she realised how strange she must have looked. She picked herself up and smiled sheepishly. “Um, no I-I was just, uh... Never mind, come in Sweetie Belle.” After a brief moment of hesitation, Sweetie Belle entered the library. Twilight retrieved a towel with her magic and used it to wipe off a few beads of sweat that remained after her little episode. “So, how may I help you?” as she finished her sentence, a moment of realisation hit her. “Oh, are you here to borrow a book!” She said with an almost disturbingly large smile. “I have so many choices for you: fiction, pony history, romance, adventure. Which one!?” Sweetie Belle was caught off guard by Twilight’s overzealous attitude. “Sorry Twilight, but I’m not here to get a book.” she winced as she saw Twilight become instantly depressed. “B-but I came here to ask you for your help with magic!” Twilight immediately flipped back to the happy end of her emotional scale. She bounced slightly on her front hooves at the thought of imparting her wisdom onto a younger mind. “Really?! Well look no further because no matter what you want to know, I’m sure that I can teach you.” she proudly stated in an almost cocky manner. Her enthusiasm gave Sweetie Belle high hopes. “I want to learn how to use magic. I’ve never been able to do it before.” It was a simple request, a lesson in magic for a little filly, but the possibilities for teaching were endless in Twilight’s mind. Maybe some Teleportation spells? Or levitation? Even defensive and offensive magic, Though the last lesson wouldn’t end well for Twilight if Sweetie Belle eventually destroyed Rarity’s Boutique, it was probably for the best that she started small. “So you say you’ve never been able to do magic before?” Twilight said as she entered teacher mode. Sweetie Belle realised she was in a lesson and promptly sat down on the floor. “Nope, even Rarity says that she can’t remember me doing magic when I was a baby.” “Well, you’re not a baby anymore. Have you tried actually doing any magic?” with all of Sweetie Belle’s excitement about learning magic, it had never crossed her mind that she may be able to do some magic already. She shook her head. “Well maybe you should try it now, just try to see if you can successfully perform a spell.” Sweetie Belle tensed her muscles. She wasn’t sure what she was meant to be doing, and she had no idea what she was meant to feel. All she knew was what she learnt from her brief pony anatomy classes at school, Ms Cheerilee said that a unicorn’s horn is filled with magical receptors and nerves. This information did nothing to help the filly as she didn’t even know what magical receptors did. After a short while, it was clear that her current method of tensing every muscle in her body wasn’t working. She looked up at Twilight with a disappointed stare. “How can I use my magic if I have no clue what I’m doing?” Twilight smiled at her. “It’s fine, that was just a test to see if you had any innate magical talent.” Sweetie Belle perked up. “So do I?” “Umm... no,” Twilight said, hating the way that the filly deflated when she said those words. “But that’s okay! You can still learn how to use magic, it might just take a little longer.” Feeling slightly more enthusiastic, though not as much as when she came in, Sweetie Belle sat back down and looked to Twilight again for help. “So how do I get started?” Twilight glanced over her shoulder at a nearby bookcase. Immediately, a large book slid out of it’s place on the shelf and over to Twilight. The book floated in the air for a few seconds before falling to the ground in front of Sweetie Belle with a loud thud. Sweetie Belle examined the book, looking over its dull brown cover that showcased numerous scuffs and dents along its surface. In the centre of the book was a large title with golden, embossed letters which read, ‘The Complete Beginners Guide to Magic’. “This was one of the first books that I read when I started studying magic, I think you’ll find it really helpful. I found the chapter on acute magical proprioception to be extremely fascinating!” Normally, Sweetie Belle’s only use for a book this size would be as a doorstop or a shoddy roof in a pillow fort. She opened up the book and flipped through a few of the pages, trying to keep an interested face on as she looked at the bland rows of text. She looked back up to the eager eyes of Twilight. “So? What do you think?” Twilight asked. Sweetie Belle sighed in a less than joyous manner. “This book is almost as big as me! Don’t you have anything... smaller?” Twilight pouted, children just didn’t appreciate the joys of diving into a five-thousand page book these days. She walked around the circumference of her library, searching for any books that would be easier for Sweetie Belle to digest. After rapidly removing and reorganising almost every book in the library, she happily hopped back to Sweetie Belle with a much smaller green book in her magical grasp. “Here, I think you’ll find this one a little easier to read. ‘Magic: The Elusive Element’.” Sweetie Belle looked at this book with a little more interest. The front cover depicted a white unicorn using magic to levitate a dragon. images of an epic battle between her and a mighty beast raged in her mind. She couldn’t wait to see what was inside this book. “This book contains some helpful advice on how to begin performing some simple magical spells. I think you should study it, and then tomorrow we can start our real training.” Sweetie Belle looked up at Twilight in confusion. “Why can’t we start right now? I’ve only been here for a little while, and it’s still early.” Twilight smiled again, the thought of having a student that was so eager excited her and part of her wanted to teach her as much as possible today, but she had chores to attend to and since she had already faced the pressure of avoiding her responsibilities once today, she thought it would be best to pick it up tomorrow. “Don’t worry Sweetie Belle, there’ll be plenty of time for learning, but today, I want you to read the first chapter of this book and then you can come back at the same time tomorrow so we can review it.” “Homework?! I didn’t think I’d have homework for this!” Twilight giggled at the filly’s whining and slowly ushered Sweetie Belle towards the door. “Don’t think of it as homework. You’ll like the book once you start reading,” she opened the door and gave her student a small nudge. “I’ll see you tomorrow.” With that, twilight closed the door behind her, leaving Sweetie Belle outside, holding the book. Flipping through the pages, Sweetie Belle saw detailed pictures of spells and other forms of magic. Slowly, her disdain for homework turned into excitement about the possibilities of magic. She began briskly trotting back to the Carousel Boutique, excited about getting into her new book. The bell connected to the front door chimed as Sweetie Belle walked into the room. Rarity stood in front of a group of dress forms, using her magic to showcase a different dress on each one. She turned around as she heard the ringing of the bell, and was surprised to find her sister there with a book in her mouth. “Oh, Sweetie Belle, I didn’t think you’d be home so soon.” secretly, she had hoped that she didn’t home so soon as she still had work to be done. “Did you ask Twilight to help you learn about magic?” Sweetie Belle tried to speak, but her words were muffled by the book in her mouth. Spitting the book out, She tried again. “Yeah, I did. She gave me a book about magic to read and I’m going over there tomorrow for my first real lesson.” Rarity smiled at her energetic sister. “I’m glad you’re excited, just don’t forget about your school work.” she said in a motherly tone that was unusual for her. Her comment got a drawn out ‘yes’ from Sweetie Belle, who had already started to look over the cover of her new book. “I’m gonna go to my room and read this now!” She yelled whilst bounding for the stairs. When she was sure she was alone, Rarity sighed quietly. “Maybe I will get some more work done today after all.” Sweetie Belle shut her bedroom door and scrambled up onto her bed. Flicking on her bedside light, she opened the book, her breath stuck in her throat from excitement. She read slowly, her mouth moving slightly as she whispered the words that were on the page. “Introduction: The art of magic. Magic is a very strange and complex force. A unicorn that can successfully wield this force can use it to punish their foes, or help their allies. however, as with every skill, practice is the key to understanding. This book is designed to guide you through the mysterious labyrinth of magical discovery and teach you about the many ways that magic can be applied.” Sweetie Belle stared wide eyed at the book, enthralled by its captivating words. She flipped the page over, and was immediately drawn to a picture, drawn in the same style as the one on the cover. This picture showed the same white unicorn using her magic to make a large ball of light appear at the tip of her horn. The title of the chapter was above it, so Sweetie Belle once again focused on the words, this time, reading in complete silence. ‘Chapter one: Illumination Spells. An illumination spell is one of the most basic spells that anypony can learn. Often called a nightlight spell, it is often cast unwittingly by infantile unicorns in response to a fear of the dark. This spell is good for beginners since it is easy and mostly safe, though one must be careful as a powerful spell can daze onlooking ponies.’ “This is perfect!” squealed Sweetie Belle. ‘As with all spells, the illumination spell’s effectiveness is determined by the caster’s level of focus. It is also best to try this in a low light environment, as this will allow the caster to focus on creating their own light more effectively.’ Sweetie Belle rolled over to her bedside lamp, which was her only light source in the room with her curtains shut. flicking it off, the room was plunged into complete darkness; A pointless endeavour, as when she turned back to her book, she couldn’t see anything in the dark. She growled in annoyance and turned back on her light, continuing to read the rest of the page. ‘To perform this spell, you must first close your eyes and focus your mind. Try to imagine something that emits a bright light, such as a fireplace or a lantern. Now, capture every detail about that light, how warm it feels on your skin and how it reacts with the darkness. Focus on amplifying that light within yourself. Eventually, usually after a few minutes, your concentration will be so great that you will simply see a landscape of light in your mind, this is when you can open your eyes. If done correctly, your surroundings should be bathed in the lustrous glow emanating from your horn. After some continued practice, you will be able to summon a ball of light on command.’ This was it, her first spell. She turned off her bedside light once more and stood in the middle of the room, her eyes firmly shut. ‘Focus. Focus on something bright.’ An image of the sun appeared in her head. That was the brightest thing she could think of. She tried to imagine being outside on a hot sunny day, looking up at the sun, feeling the heat of it blanketing her body and comforting her. In the real world, her face scrunched up slightly as her concentration grew. Her sun grew bigger, gradually pushing past her internal field of vision. after a minute of it increasing in size, the sun had almost completely enveloped her vision, nearly overlapping the blue sky that surrounded it. Sweetie Belle could sense that she was so close to her first spell, which caused her to get excited and slightly lose her focus. Her sun shrunk back slightly and she fought hard to regain her composure and enlarge it once more. Again, she had nearly succeeded in painting her mind with light, when a knock came at her door. “Sweetie Belle, would you like some lunch?” Rarity asked as she opened the door. tendrils of light flowed through the opened door and latched onto sweetie Belle, cutting off her link to her imagination. In her mind, her sun disappeared and her dreamscape started to crumble while she desperately fought to bring it back. She opened her eyes, shooting a deathly glare at her intruder. “Rarity! I was practicing!” she yelled with surprising force, catching the larger unicorn off guard. “I just wanted to know if you were hungry.” Rarity mumbled in a hurt tone. Sweetie Belle responded by pushing her out of the room and slamming the door behind her. Rarity stared at the now closed door, still surprised at what just happened. “I guess that’s a no on the food then.” she huffed as she walked back down the corridor. Sweetie Belle tried again to bring back the visions of light that she had before, but every time, her world dissolved around her, leaving her with nothing. After multiple tries, Sweetie Belle screamed in frustration and turned on her light. “Stupid Rarity!” She sat back on her bed again and suddenly realised how tired she was. It seemed that all this concentration took its toll on her. Opening the book again, she tried to continue reading, but her efforts were in vain due to her fatigue. Her eyes slowly closed and she fell asleep with the book spread across her stomach. By now, it was dinner time. Rarity stood in the kitchen, removing a tray of hot food from the oven. She collected two plates and precisely added the food onto them, making sure that both had enough food on them, although Sweetie belle’s plate was smaller to accommodate for her stature. Her thoughts drifted away from the food and onto her sister. Not a single peep had been heard from her since Rarity had entered her room at lunchtime and as much as her sister annoyed her when she interfered with her work, she did miss her when she wasn’t around. She made a mental note to spend some time with her after she finished her order. In the mean time, she carefully tiptoed down the corridor that lead to Sweetie Belle’s room. With great care, she laid her hoof on the doorknob and opened the door, not wanting to disturb her again. She peeked through the gap in the door and saw the filly, curled up against her book in bed. Rarity continued to tiptoe until she was beside the bed. Part of her didn’t want to disturb her sister’s peaceful slumber, but Rarity knew from experience that she would just snack in the middle of the night if she wasn’t fed. Bringing up her hoof onto the sleeping filly’s shoulder, she whispered softly whilst rocking her. “Sweetie Belle, it’s time for dinner.” Her eyes opened slightly, and with them, came an adorable yawn. she focused on Rarity, looking at her confusedly. “What time is it?” “It’s six o’clock sweetie.” Sweetie Belle’s eyes widened. Had she really slept for that long? Before her training she had barely felt any drowsiness. Her stomach growled slightly, not allowing her to think about it anymore. She stretched out her legs and walked with Rarity to the kitchen.