//------------------------------// // Part 6 // Story: Change in Plans // by jessekruz //------------------------------// Twilight was awoken by the sound of knocking on her door. Had she not been aware of her lessons with the princess planned for that evening, she probably would’ve been surprised at the sound. Twilight got ready faster than usual, eager to see how the spell was to be done. Once she’d freshened up, Twilight grabbed a few quills and scrolls and made her way out of her room. The Alicorn thanked the guard briefly, and was met with a polite smile that waved her gratitude away. Soon afterwards, she made her way to Princess Celestia’s private study for her lesson. When Twilight had finally arrived, she knocked on the door and waited for a response. “You can come in, Twilight. I was just preparing a few things for the lesson.” Princess Celestia had an amused grin plastered on her muzzle. “Good evening, Princess Celestia.” Twilight made her way over to the table laid out in the center of the study. Her expression was a mixture of repressed excitement and nostalgia as she recalled the last time she’d studied under Princess Celestia’s wing. It seemed like a faraway dream now, like it had happened decades ago. Somehow, the thought made her sad. “Good evening to you too, Princess Twilight. I see that you’re eager to learn the spell.” “Just a bit,” she smiled politely with a tinge of bashfulness, “After you wouldn’t tell me in the letter or at dinner, my curiosity got the better of me.” “Well, hopefully after tonight you’ll have a better understanding then.” Princess Celestia said with a small smile. “Now, about the spell… On the day I received your letter, I really didn’t know how to cure the disease. I decided to go to the library and see if I could find the book that you had come across. I was able to find it, but… it didn’t give me enough information to tell you how to perform the spell.” Twilight’s shoulders dropped at the news. She didn’t understand why the princess hadn’t just told her from the beginning that the spell was hopeless. Seriously, what was the point of coming all the way to Canterlot just to hear that? Then, she felt a hoof on her shoulder. Twilight looked up to see Princess Celestia with a warm expression. “Wait until I’m finished before jumping to conclusions. I believe that was the first lesson I taught you, Twilight.” The younger Alicorn’s cheeks turned bright red. Princess Celestia chuckled before continuing. “I noticed that the author of the book was none other than Galdr, whom I’m sure you’ve heard of.” Twilight’s ears perked and her posture straightened. She recited in an excited, unmistakably lecture-like tone, “I actually have heard of him! Galdr was a Unicorn that experimented with the matter of regeneration in missing limbs and broken bones. He was the first pony to heal a broken bone through the use of magic.” “Exactly.” A proud beam found its way onto the elder’s features, but it soon drifted away. “But what you may not have known was that he was also my sister’s student over a thousand years ago. I hope you don’t mind, but because of that, I asked Luna if she happened to remember anything about him. Fortunately, Luna was able to tell me everything about Galdr and what he did. I also requested for her to teach you the spell. I know that I am unfit for this task, and my sister will certainly fare better. Do you understand?” “I do.” Twilight replied with a nod. “Good. Now that we have that settled, I would like to ask you a few questions. At least, until Luna finishes raising the moon.” “Alright. What questions do you have for me, Princess?” "Well, first of all: Did you speak with Rainbow Dash?” “Yes, I did.” “What did she have to say?” “Basically, she told me that the only reason she didn’t tell any of her friends was because she wanted to wait until it was official. After the adoption fell through, she was too afraid to tell any of us because she didn’t want us to view her as weak. She also told me how much it would mean to her if Scootaloo could live with her and out of the orphanage.” “I see… So, did that meeting change any of your feelings on performing the spell?” “Honestly, it’s only strengthened my resolve. It’s made me realize how much Rainbow Dash loves Scootaloo, and besides… I know that if Rainbow Dash was in my position, she would do the same for me in a heartbeat.” “That’s good,” Princess Celestia’s eyes seemed to radiate warmth not unlike the sun she’d crafted herself. The corners of her mouth curved upward as well. Twilight suddenly felt like she was a filly once again, staring up in awe at the beautiful and breathtaking Alicorn as she raised the sun for all to see. But at the same time, Twilight felt almost as if her mother were in front of her, approval easily visible in her features. However, the door leading to the study soon opened and Princess Luna appeared, interrupting their conversation. Celestia looked over at the new arrival with a grace that came naturally. “Good evening, Luna. I hope everything went as usual.” “Good evening to you as well, and everything was fine.” Luna said as she made her way toward the other two mares. Princess Celestia turned back to her former student. “Now that Luna is here, I hope you don’t mind me leaving. Good night to both of you, and I will see you again soon.” Princess Celestia yawned effectively as she made her way out of the room. “Good night, Princess!” Twilight responded, bowing her head to Princess Celestia. She felt embarrassed that she’d just compared her mother to her teacher, and was glad she hadn’t mentioned it. They held a close relationship, but that kind of statement would’ve made things awkward no matter what. Though, Twilight figured, she could’ve just been over-thinking things. She did that a lot. “Now, Princess Sparkle,” Luna interrupted her thoughts, “I hope that you’re okay with me teaching you this lesson. I know that you’re used to working with Celestia.” Luna stated, taking a seat in front of Twilight. “It’s fine, Princess Luna, but would you mind calling me Twilight?” A wide grin that barely befitted that of a princess’s appeared on Luna’s muzzle. Approval and something else filled her voice when she spoke. Perhaps it was mischief. “Of course, Twilight. But in that case, I’d like for you to call me Luna.” “Okay, Prince—I mean, Luna.” Twilight blushed and scratched the back of her neck. Luna almost snickered, but stopped herself at an amused smile. “Great. I hope you don’t mind, but I would like to go over a few things about the spell before I actually teach you how to do it. Is that alright?” “That’s okay.” Twilight replied, though she didn’t really mean it. She was tired of waiting, but at the same time, was curious enough not to voice her displeasure. “Before I begin, I must tell you the story of how the spell came to be and about the pony who created it. As you know, the pony that wrote the book on Pegasus anatomy was none other than Galdr the Great, one of my students from before I became Nightmare Moon. What you don’t know is that Galdr the Great was also the one who created the spell.” “Wait, how is that possible? The book said that the disease could only be cured by an Alicorn, but all of the books about him state that he was a Unicorn.” “Now that’s where things get interesting.” Luna’s eyes caught all light in the study, making them resemble the stars she’d created. Twilight couldn’t help but wonder if she’d ever have that kind of natural beauty, or if the princesses had always been that way. “He was an Alicorn, but after he performed the spell his wings became so small that he had no use for them. So, he always wore a cloak to shield them from sight, and anypony who saw him just assumed he was a Unicorn.” “How is it possible for his wings to grow that small?” “Unfortunately, I will not be able to explain that until I tell you the story of Galdr. Are you prepared?” Twilight only nodded in response. Soon, the room was blanketed with Luna’s soft voice, which easily echoed within the spacious study. Her tone was laced with sadness, and Twilight found it ironic that only moments ago she too had been reminiscing about something that left her less than cheerful. “This tale begins with Galdr’s birth. His family was one of the wealthiest at the time, and he was able to enroll into a private school specialized in magic because of it. His marks were well above average, higher than any previous student in the institute in all its years. He was already making a name for himself at such a young age.” Luna seemed distant now, as if in her own world. Maybe she was. Either way, Twilight was not going to interrupt her. Memories were precious things, and she knew that all too well. “Soon, word of Galdr’s brilliance reached my sister and I. Back then, Celestia had been trying to convince me to take somepony under my wing and teach them what I know. I had not known of his Alicorn status, and was completely unaware of how powerful he really was. The second I’d seen him face to face I knew he was going to be capable of big things. “I immediately requested for him to be taken out of school so that I could teach him myself. His parents agreed and I took him into the castle where I began imparting my knowledge to him. After only five years, his magical prowess had surpassed that of any Unicorn alive at the time. However, he soon became distracted. His focus shifted onto something other than his studies, on something I had not been prepared for. Love. “It was a Pegasus that had seized his attention. Over time, it became clear that it wasn’t just a crush, and my suspicions were confirmed soon enough. He requested his studies be discontinued so he could court her. I was appalled, to say the least. I couldn’t believe he was wasting his talent on something that seemed less important. However, I allowed him to do as he pleased, but not without telling him I was disappointed.” A sigh elicited from the Princess of the Night. Bitterness dripped from her words, and it became clear these memories weren’t happy ones. Briefly, Twilight wondered if the two royal sisters had taken many ponies as apprentices to their knowledge. Thinking about it that way left Twilight feeling as unpleasant as Luna probably had been when Galdr was still around. “…Within a year, he married his Pegasus lover and they were expecting. The foal was a Pegasus like its mother, and the family rejoiced. However, their happiness was short-lived. As the foal grew, it became clear that it was unable to fly. Galdr was devastated. He returned to the studies he’d cast aside for the same reason he’d abandoned them in the first place: love. He scoured through book after book in hopes of finding a cure for his crippled son. Eventually, he reached a point where he was unable to get any more information on the subject. That was when he asked for my assistance. “I agreed to help without a second thought. He was my first and only student at the time, and to be honest, I was glad to see him again despite the circumstances. I told him that the best thing to do would be to experiment. He was unsure at first, but over time we were able to work together. The experiments revolved around finding a way to speed up the healing process of broken bones in a pony through magic. It was a success. We hit a breakthrough, but it wasn’t what he yearned for. “The spell did not work on his son. Galdr became distraught and obsessed in his studies, and neither his wife nor I could intervene. He pushed his loved ones away and never strayed from his personal study. Soon, different types of magic caught his attention—anything involved with Pegasi. He hypothesized that the reason his son couldn’t fly was because of a simple disease that crippled a Pegasus’ ability to create and store magic.” Luna paused. Her eyes lifted from their perch on the table and met Twilight’s for the first time since she’d begun her explanation. “As you know, this was not proven until a couple hundred years later. To Galdr, this was his last hope. He reached a breakthrough of his own soon enough—one that involved transferring magic from one pony to another. Galdr researched tirelessly, perfecting a spell he believed would be able to cure his son. He knew that he would only be able to cast the spell once, so he asked me to look it over before he performed it. When I inspected his work, I was only able to theorize. But everything seemed like it would work, so I told him there was a chance. Galdr asked me if I could stand by and make sure nothing happened and to intervene if it did. The next day was when we planned to pull it off. “He brought his son to the castle and we got everything set up in the Great Hall. We wanted to make sure we would have plenty of space if things did take a turn for the worse. We all went to our positions and Galdr began the spell. Immediately, his horn lit up and sparks flew. After a few seconds his horn was giving off so much light that I couldn’t even see. We knew this was going to happen, so I did nothing. Eventually, the light began to die down. I saw him standing there, but something was wrong. “His wings… They were the size of a foal’s. He was weaker than I’d ever seen him. But his son, on the other hoof, appeared to be better than ever. His wings had grown to the expected size of a Pegasus that age. Once the son saw his father’s condition, he ran over to see what had happened. Galdr told him not to worry, and that he just wanted to see his son fly. With a little encouragement, his son began to flap his wings.” A smile appeared on the older mare’s muzzle. “I’d never seen Galdr so happy. It seemed as if all his burdens had been lifted. I asked them to stay for a little bit so I could run a few tests to ensure they were okay, but Galdr only shook his head and said he’d rather show his wife their son’s new wings. The next day, Galdr returned to the castle and told me that he was done researching magic and would never come again. I understood, and didn’t try to hold him back. But as he began to leave, I asked him one last thing. I questioned why his wings had disappeared, but he didn’t respond. Galdr simply walked out, and that was the last I ever saw of him.” Truly, it was a sad tale. Twilight had tried to focus on the facts and not the emotions Luna had relived, and back before she’d met her five wonderful friends, she probably would have succeeded. But now that she knew what friendship was and how important these ponies were to her, she couldn’t ignore it. Her heart ached for Luna, for Galdr, and even for his son’s temporary misery. Luna snapped back to reality before Twilight had, though some sorrow was still evident in her voice. “As you can see, Twilight, this spell was created out of love. Galdr crafted this spell so his son would be better off even if he wasn’t.” “That’s an amazing story, Luna. I can’t believe he did that for his son.” Twilight said, stunned and inspired by what she’d just heard. “But I have one question… Did you ever figure out why the spell caused his wings to shrink?” “It wasn’t until Galdr passed away. His wife knew that I had been his mentor, so she sent me his research journal. When I got it, I immediately turned to the pages that held his research on the transfer of magic. I found the spell that he had cast and found that it’d been scratched out many times until only one formula remained. He never told me about anything other than the final product, so it came as a surprise to me when it was clearly stated that it was impossible to transfer enough magic to actually heal his son. That was when he came to the conclusion that the only way was to transfer all the magic in his wings—thereby giving up his Pegasus magic as a whole—and giving it to his son. In his notes, he wrote that he had no idea if it would actually work but knew that he had to try. That was why he decided to carry on with the spell anyway.” “That was an extremely risky maneuver… Who knows what could have happened if anything went wrong. He could have killed himself and his son.” Twilight pointed out. She couldn’t believe that such an educated pony would risk something like that. Luna agreed with her. “When I read that for the first time, I too was extremely shocked. I never would have figured he would try something like that. But after a few years I realized what the love of a family member can make a pony do.” “I guess that makes sense. I know I would do anything for my BBBFF. I have another question: Have any other ponies attempted this spell?” “Yes, actually. Another student of mine, before I became Nightmare Moon.” “Did the spell have the same side effect on her or did it work without changing the size of her wings?” Twilight hoped it was the latter of the two. “Unfortunately, the same thing that happened to Galdr happened to her. The only difference was she never hid the fact that her wings had shrunk.” “May I ask who she cast the spell on?” Twilight inquired, masking her anxiety behind questions the way she always did. “She performed the spell on her daughter.” “Oh, I see… So is she the only other pony to have attempted this spell?” “As far as I know of, yes. Regrettably, when I became Nightmare Moon I destroyed most of the papers pertaining to how the spell could be done, so it was almost impossible for a pony to replicate the spell.” “Wait. If that’s the case, how are you going to teach me the spell?” “Luckily, I didn’t lose the most important one; just ones that everypony else could use. Before I became Nightmare Moon I hid Galdr’s journal behind a bookshelf in the Starswirl the Bearded wing of the library. I’d forgotten about it until Celestia came to me asking about your letter. Thankfully, it was still there after all this time.” Luna then noticed Twilight’s half-lidded eyes becoming unfocused and her head swaying forward ever so slightly. She tried not to smile. “Twilight, I can see that you’re exhausted, so I think this is a good time to call it a night.” The younger Alicorn blinked and was about to say that she could stay up later, but a yawn escaped her. Obviously, her body didn’t agree with her. She frowned at her weakness. “I guess you’re right… As much as I want to start actually learning the spell, I probably should get some sleep.” Twilight yawned again. “Alright. Good night, Twilight Sparkle.” Luna bid as she stood up, Twilight following suit. “Good night, Luna. I’ll try to get some more rest tomorrow so I’m not this tired.” Twilight replied with a slight smile as she left Celestia’s study and made her way to her room. Once Twilight had finally made it to her room, she opened the door and went straight to bed. She was asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.