//------------------------------// // Chapter One // Story: The New Student // by TheTwelfthDoctor //------------------------------// The New Student by TheTwelfthDoctor Chapter One “Hey, ‘Tia,” Trixie announced casually, sauntering past the startled guards into Princess Celestia’s chambers. It was around three in the afternoon, and the School for Gifted Unicorns had just dismissed for the day. “Why, hello, my student. How was school today? Did you learn anything new?” Celestia asked with a warm smile as she turned from her desk to greet the small sky-blue filly with the silvery mane and magical wand cutie mark. “Yep! Tried my hoof at some conjuring during recess. I must say, I’m pretty good at it, too.” Celestia frowned a bit. “Yes, Trixie, but those are just stage tricks. What about your advanced studies on Starswirl the Bearded’s unfinished spells?” “Oh, that stinky old guy. I’ll do it later, I promise.” “Trixie! Starswirl the Bearded was one of the most powerful mages of the classical era! Don’t you think you ought to show him and his work a little more respect?” Celestia chided. ‘She’s such a doll, but she can be so ignorant at times...’ Celestia thought wistfully to herself. “Oh, alright, I guess. Seeya at dinner!” Trixie agreed, having reconsidered, not wanting to provoke her teacher’s ire much more. She strode out of the room and shut the doors behind her on her way to the tower that functioned as her living quarters. As the sun was setting over Canterlot a few hours later, testing for the new batch of entrants to Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns was just wrapping up for the day. The last one in line was a lavender filly named Twilight Sparkle. The examiners were not impressed. One of them yawned, half-hoping that the filly would burn out from magical exhaustion so that he could go home already. Twilight had been trying to hatch the dragon egg placed in front of her for half an hour now, and yet she was barely able to produce more than a few sparks from her stubby horn. “Well, Miss Sparkle? We don’t have all day.” A large explosion rocked the tower. Outside, a colorful shockwave filled the sky. That seemed to be all Twilight needed, as she was suddenly enveloped in a storm of magic, causing the egg to hatch and the dragon inside to grow so high that he smashed through the roof. Her parents and the examiners were quickly turned into cacti. Princess Celestia, just about to make her way to dinner with Trixie, was struck down by the strong field of magic. She struggled to stand, and immediately took flight out the window, making a beeline for the school. Teleportation was out of the question with the amount of power being released into the air. Inside the exam room, she was surprised to see Twilight Sparkle as the pony behind the tornado of magic. Her power index rating had only just been high enough to pass the requirements to be even given a chance at testing for entry to the school. But, there Twilight was anyways. Celestia struggled to move against the force of the field surrounding the poor filly, and was again thrown to the ground. She finally was able to lift a hoof and place it on one of Twilight’s shoulders. Thankfully, that was all that was required to shut her down. Twilight fell to the floor, trembling after noticing the pony towering above her. “Twilight Sparkle--” Celestia began. “Oh, I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean it!--” Twilight was quick to apologize. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen a pony with your raw ability,” Celestia continued in an attempt to reassure the filly. “Huh?” “You just need to learn to control it through some focused study. I’d like to take you under my wing here at the school.” “Really?” “Yes.” ‘Trixie has never been able to come close to doing something like that. Maybe Twilight can teach her a thing or two.’ Celestia smiled at the thought of the two fillies growing up together. Then she remembered she was supposed to be having dinner with Trixie right then. “Well, I have some business to attend to, but why don’t you come by the castle tomorrow and we can begin our first lessons, hmm?” “YES!” Twilight exclaimed, still jumping in circles. Her parents only whinnied. With that, Celestia’s horn flashed and she teleported out of the room in a bright flash of golden light. She rematerialized seconds later in the Royal Dining Hall of the palace, where Trixie sat on one side of the long table, wolfing down a daisyburger and hayfries as if she had never eaten anything before. “Hello, my student,” Celestia greeted, taking the seat next to her. A waiter soon ran up to her with a small milkweed and kelp salad, complemented by a glass of iced tea and a small slice of strawberry-and-chocolate buttercream cake. Her favorite. “What was that big bang I heard earlier?” “One of the new students. She lost control during her entrance exam, but she has quite a lot of magical power. I’m going to be working with her a bit.” Trixie spat out a limp, half-chewed hayfry covered in ketchup and looked over at Celestia. “I’m still your student, though, right?” “Of course you are,” Celestia cooed, rumpling Trixie’s mane playfully. “Gud,” Trixie replied through a mouthful of ground daisy patty. “‘Cause I just did sum readung on Starshwirl, an’ I found out he created the Advanshed Theory of Conjorung. Mmm, this is gud.” “You know better than to talk with your mouth full, Trixie, but I’m glad to hear you taking a bit more keen interest in your studies. Maybe you can help out the new filly a bit, show her the ropes.” “Sounds cool. What’s her name? When does she start?” “Twilight Sparkle. She’ll be over tomorrow afternoon for her first lesson,” Celestia replied, downing her tea. With the last of her hayfries eaten, Trixie stood up from the table. “Well, I’m gonna go read about some more spells! Seeya ‘round, ‘Tia!” For show, Trixie teleported a few feet away and put up a small smokescreen before racing out of the room at full gallop. The door to the dining hall closed with an abrupt click behind her, leaving Celestia all alone to her thoughts and the rich slice of cake. The princess smiled a bit at Trixie’s eagerness to actually sit down with a good book and read--an activity that she had never enjoyed--before licking her lips daintily, levitating the cake up to her mouth, and devouring the whole thing in one completely non-dainty bite. Sighing at the bliss the flavors of strawberry and chocolate left in her mouth, Celestia rose and made her way out of the dining hall.