//------------------------------// // Like rock candy // Story: Short stories about ponies and whatnot // by shutaro //------------------------------// Electric Sky loved the first day of school, but at the same time she loathed it. Every new class was like a box of the rock candy she loved. But sometimes you got an actual rock in your candy. All the new faces of young, hopeful unicorns. Entering Princess Celestia’s school for gifted unicorns was an achievement in itself. Many a pony had made her way in life without a diploma, just by being accepted into the prestigious institute. And so every year had one or two … overly ambitious ponies. Ponies with more sparkle in their eyes than in their horn, as the older teachers used to say. Electric Sky had only been a teacher for five years and had never met the mare, but the name Trixie Lulamoon still managed to make some of her older colleges cringe. Electric Sky had already found that pony in her new class: Comet Tail was quite big for his age, and the colt didn’t hesitate to push smaller ponies around. Electric Sky wasn’t sure if it was her experience as a teacher, or if he was really that rude. She would have to talk to him soon, before he managed to establish himself as the class bully. But first there was the traditional tour through the school. Where first-years were allowed, where only grown ups were allowed, the toilets, the schoolyard, the whole shebang. As every year, the last room of the tour was the famous auditorium six, the “room with no magic”. She gathered the dozen young ponies of her class around her and made them sit down. “Now, this is the last room for today, after this you can go home, and tomorrow we will begin with the real magic classes.” This got some cheers. “But this room is special: Who ever can cast a spell in this room is destined to become a great wizard and will surely get a summa cum laude diploma from the school.” Electric Sky felt quite guilty to subject those little ponies to this initiation. But it was tradition to remind everypony that the only way to become a great magician was learning, work, training, hard work, more learning, more training and even more hard work. No shortcuts, just hard work! Comet Tail shoved his way to the front and tried to cast his special spell, a comet shower illusion he had shown at least five times already in the last hour. After trying, trying and trying again, the colt broke out in tears and sobs. None of the other ponies fared any better, as expected. The last pony to give her “destiny” a shot was a small filly with a blonde mane and a gray coat. She hadn’t even gotten her cutiemark yet. Electric Sky felt another pang of guilt as she asked the filly to try some magic. The filly walked to the front, took a cape from her satchel and threw it over her back. That got her the attention of her classmates and  a raised eyebrow from her teacher. She smiled and bowed to her audience, followed by the traditional “nothing up my sleeves”-gesture, even though she wore no sleeves at all. This made some of the little ponies snicker. Then she walked to Comet Tail, stuck  a hoof into his mane and pulled a giant handkerchief out of it, almost as big as herself. She held it to the colt’s face, made him blow his nose, and wiped all the tears and snot away. Quite a number of foals made a disgusted face, but the filly folded the handkerchief, again and again, until she couldn’t any more. Up to now Electric Sky had managed to keep a neutral expression, but as the filly threw the dripping package into the air, she held her hooves over her head in fear like everypony else. Her eyes followed the projectile in morbid curiosity: Who would become the poor pony that would spend his or her school time as “snotty mane”? But at the top of its trajectory the package exploded with a small bang and released a cloud of confetti. As the paper chips flittered to the floor, the filly bowed again and got quite a round of applause. Even Electric Sky was impressed. Not by the sleight of hoof, but by the simple fact that this filly had managed to cheer everypony in the room up. Electric Sky walked up to the filly and smiled at her. “Great show, — Dinky? Right? Dinky Doo?” The filly nodded. “But that wasn’t magic,” Electric continued. “You didn’t cast a spell.” Dinky frowned at her. “Well duh!, miss! There’s a magical distortion in this room, from the way my horn tickles, I’d say at least fifty milli-thaum. Only one of the Princesses could cast a spell in here.” Electric Sky held her hoof in front of her face. This filly was going to be a hoofful. “Say, could this be the room where Twilight Sparkle had her entrance exam, got selected as Princess Celestia’s personal protégé and got her cutiemark?” Dinky’s eyes glowed with excitement. “That was a great story when she told it!” “You know Princess Twilight Sparkle?” Electric Sky already knew the answer, she didn’t even need to see the enthusiastic nods. Against her better knowledge she asked  “And who taught you that trick you just showed us?” “Don’t you know? Twilight Sparkle is good friends with the famous showmare, Trixie Lulamoon!” *** Electric Sky loved the first day of school, but at the same time she loathed it. Every new class was like a box of the rock candy she loved. But sometimes you got an actual rock in your candy too. But this time the rock had turned out to be a diamond.