//------------------------------// // Twilight's First History Lesson // Story: Ace's Spell Shop // by Aceofgods //------------------------------// Chapter Eleven: Twilight's First History Lesson Ace and Twilight were nearing the library, both of them running the whole way through the nearby market and the short distance between the two. 'First one inside wins!' Twilight said through their magical bond, her voice echoing in Ace’s head now that she had deciphered the way to manipulate her magic to send the message. 'I’m already half way there!' Ace messaged back to her, being at least three meters ahead of his student. 'Remember, we said no magic.' In reply to his simple reminder, Twilight’s laugh echoed through his mind. Ace made it to the door, and as he was attempting to open the door, he realized it was locked. Turning, smiling at his student’s clever trick, he noticed she was heading to the side of the library-house rather than the door. Pulling just ahead of her, he noticed a window that was ajar that would lead into the study area by the desk on the first floor. 'A brilliant trick, and it almost won the race for you!' Not even a meter ahead of her now, Ace turned and vaulted through the window, being sure to leap out of the way when she came through as well. 'Okay, okay; you win. Good race.' The two sat and laughed amongst themselves when Ace realized that Spike, upstairs, was not the only other presence in Twilight’s home. “Hoo?” Ace turned to visually see the light and dark brown owl who sat on a perch in the midst of the library. Ace dipped into his normal bow, “Call me Ace, though my name is Ace Deus Fenrir. I am Twilight’s new magical tutor. Might I ask who you are?” Twilight smiled as Ace tried to hold conversation with the owl when Spike came down the stairs to contribute as well. “Don’t worry about him, he only asks questions and rarely answers or acknowledges anything you ask him. Besides, I’m Twilight’s Number One Assistant, and he’s just number two.” Ace rose an eyebrow as he and the owl both looked at Spike before turning to each other again. The owl seemed to mimic Ace’s introductory gesture, bowing in the middle as he held a wing in front of himself. “My name is Owlowiscious, and I help Twilight at night when Spike needs to sleep. A pleasure to meet you, and please do take good care of Twilight.” Twilight’s mouth hung open, never having heard her nocturnal assistant speak before. “See? All he says is ‘hoo hoo hoo, hoo,’ no matter how many times you remind him ‘hoo’ you are. Clearly I am the superior assistant.” Ace laughed at the young dragon’s boasts as he explained to Twilight through their magical bond. 'It’s called the Sense of Tongues, and it’s one of the magical senses I employ. Boosted by some of my magical power, it even works on critters, while the normal sense only works for ponies.' “Pleased to meet you as well, Owlowiscious, and I always take great care of my students, rest assured,” Ace said in response before turning to speak to Twilight as Spike went to the kitchen with a shake of his head while he muttered to himself. “Which reminds me; what would you like to do? We’ve already went around Ponyville, which was what you were meant to do today: ‘Check around Ponyville to be sure that everything is perfectly fine.’ Celestia’s day still has an hour or two before it relinquishes the sky to Princess Luna’s Night.” Twilight thought about the question before coming to a realization, “Because we’re bonded to one another, we can’t do a magic lesson because I’d only be using your magic, not my own…” Ace nodded, glad his student understood the new concept so well. “Well, I still know so little about you, and I’m not quite sure how much you know about me. I guess that’d be a good start, if it doesn’t make you feel uncomfortable I mean.” Ace nodded as he sat at the table and closed his eyes, a magical representation of himself appearing alongside the table as well, motioning for her to join him. Even though she was using his magic and not hers, she was able to create an avatar in her own image by sculpting the magic before manipulating it. Ace’s avatar smiled at how well his student was adapting to using magical senses, even if she was currently borrowing from his own power. “As I said, most of our lessons will take place in the magical realm, rather than the physical. As much as I trust you - not only for you are my student and a trustworthy pony, but also because Celestia has placed a modicum of trust in you herself, - I do not wish to speak of my past in the physical world, where spies such as Rainbow Dash might attempt to hear us. "Now, surely you must have had at least a few questions prepared, what’s on your mind?” Twilight’s magical avatar, lit up in Ace’s dim-black glow rather than her own purple one, began to ponder what questions she should ask now, and what ones should wait until Ace was more comfortable to speak about them. “Your name is really strange for a pony, does it have any meaning other than the Latin and mythological ones?” Ace nodded with a smile as he spoke through her, rather than moving his mouth to speak in their magical forms. “Yes. My true name, the name given to me at birth, is Ace,” Ace explained, using the odd pronunciation. “You see, in Al Bhed culture, you are given a name by your family, and then as you age you are given a title by your hometown. "For a magically inclined Unicorn, these titles are often insulting or derogatory, granted to the pony as they are forced to leave the settlements. However, as the act that led to my removal from the settlement actually saved hundreds of lives, they made an exception at least as far as the title was concerned, though I was still forced to leave.” Before he continued, Twilight felt something in her mouth and ears, a tingling as though she had just had something taken out, but couldn’t tell what. “Without the Sense of Tongues, it would be Ace uv dra Kutc, or Ace of the Gods. That is where the name Deus comes from, because I would get funny looks if I introduced myself as Ace of the Gods, or Ace Gods or Ace Gods Fenrir, though the Fenrir bit came later. “For a time, I was known as Ace Deus to those who were not of Al Bhed descent, which there were a few when I first left the settlements; ponies who had left the tribe, but still wandered or stayed in towns nearby. I, however, wanted to put as much distance between myself and them as I could so that I may practice my magic unhindered. "In my travels, I stayed with a shamanistic tribe of ponies, most of which who were Unicorns or one of the magical sub-races. There were few who were not able to use magic, as often the ones who could not perform magic left of their own accord, but it was not a rule, and those who left were still regarded as family to the tribe. “Needless to say, this tribe was much different from my own, and it was a welcomed change. There was a translator among the tribe who spoke both Al Bhed and Common Equestrian, and I was so gratefully blessed at this. I stayed with the tribe, who I had learned called themselves the Watchers of the Stars. "I spent many years with them, and it was they who taught me to speak Common, and how to use my magic to sense the entire world around me, no longer needing to rely on my eyes, ears and hooves to be a part of the world. Before I came of age, they had accepted me as a part of their tribe with open hooves, and I embraced them as my new family. When I had come of age, they sent me on a ritual to find my guiding force.” Ace motioned Twilight’s avatar over to him as he pointed to the flank of his physical body. When she came over, she saw he had been pointing to his cutie mark. The mark she knew from memory, a hoof that matched Ace’s grasping the hoof of a white-coated pony as though the other had fallen and needed a hoof to get back up, with a full moon framing the hooves in the background. Twilight nodded to Ace’s magical projection, waiting for him to continue. “Naturally, a pony earns their cutie mark when they learn their special talent, and their cutie mark reflects that talent. As you know, my special talent is to help other ponies. Thus, my Cutie Mark is that of a pony giving aid to another. Tell me Twilight, what does the glowing full moon behind the cutie mark mean?” Twilight looked at Ace’s cutie mark as his physical form sat before her. Never having thought about it, she really didn’t have much idea as she looked to the dim-black cutie mark on dark-gray coat as she felt the cutie mark with their magic more than her sight. “I’m honestly not sure. Are you better at helping ponies at night?” Twilight, accepting that the cutie mark wouldn’t tell her more no matter how much she stared at it, looked into Ace’s magical eyes for an answer instead. A soft laugh echoed through her before her mentor spoke. “Well, yes, but that is not the purpose. There are conditions that, when met, can alter a pony’s cutie mark in certain ways. The Watchers of the Stars had taught me much in the time I spent with them, and this was one of those lessons. "I left their small village at night to wander the forest to find what my destiny was. Many ponies believe that their cutie mark reveals their destiny, but the mark that most ponies bear is only their talent, not their destiny. To find your destiny through your emblem, you must find all three conditions: The first is your talent; second is your objective, your means, or your motive; and third is achieved when your destiny is within your grasp. The moon is my second mark.” Twilight’s magical being shifted as her face became painted with shock at the mention of the true meaning behind a pony’s cutie mark. Ace only nodded that it was true before he continued. “You see, when I was in the forest that night, the whole day having passed as I sustained myself upon the bountiful gifts of the forest, I ascended a cliff so that I could watch as the moon ascended its throne in the sky. "Having no destination to go, not wanting to return to the village so shortly after beginning my journey, I sat upon the cliff, contemplating my life and what my goals were. The longer I sat, watching over the forest that surrounded me, I realized that, though I helped other ponies with their goals when I could, I myself had no goal beyond helping ponies. Helping others is a reaction, an act, not a goal or worldly endeavor. “When the moon reached the apex of its journey through the nighttime sky, amongst its millions of brilliantly shining children, I looked up to it pleadingly as I spoke, hoping but not expecting an answer. "‘Tell me, O God who controls the nighttime sphere of the moon,’ – this was before I had ever met or heard of Celestia and Princess Luna, - ‘if there really is a meaningful place for me in this world, what is it? Make me thine servant, thine messenger, and I shalt sing of thou and thine graces if only for but a sign of my destiny.’ "Well, I learned that day to always ask for more precise answers when bartering with Gods, as the only reply was this mark upon my emblem and nary an answer beyond the image. “Blessed, but not enlightened, I returned to the village with a… um, bit of food in my maw with the red… juices staining my coat, my head hung low as I reflected upon my trial. The elder of the village greeted me with a smile, asking how my journey had fared. "Not wishing to drop my food, I merely showed him the image that graced my emblem, and he stared in shock before bowing low in the bow that you see me perform when I greet somepony new. ‘Thou hath received a mark most holy to our people, and hath earned thine name,’ the elder said as others who saw my emblem bowed as well. ‘Thou shalt be known as Fenrir to thine subjects, but there is nothing more that our humble tribe can offer you, noble Wolf of the End.’ “After a few days, I could no longer take being bowed to every time I would pass somepony. These ponies whom I had considered family, brothers and sisters all of them, now treated me no longer as an equal, but as though I were a God given physical form upon the dirt. "Taking only a few provisions, I left their tribe with only a farewell. The whole tribe, even the hunt- I mean even the foragers who were meant to go and gather food for the tribe that day, had gathered to bid me farewell, not with waves or hugs or tears at my departure, but with that customary bow that they always greeted me with. "Normally when a pony left the tribe, they were given hugs by those who were closest to them, which would have been my adoptive mother and father from my younger years, but even they only bowed. They called in unison after me as I left, ‘Fenrir, the Wolf of the End walks among us, and we are graced with his blessing. Be well on thine journey, valiant Wolf.’ I left, and I never returned.” Twilight stood dumbstruck even in her magical body, her mind knocked ajar no longer only by the secret of the cutie marks, but also by how Ace had earned his name, and mostly by how anypony could be so cold to one who was a part of their family. "Twilight, unable to contain herself, embraced Ace’s avatar in the hooves of her own. Surprised by the contact, Ace was shocked at first before he embraced her back, a tear running down the cheek of his physical counterpart. After several comfortingly long moments, Twilight finally let go of her mentor as she backed away, Ace’s physical self wiping away the tear as Twilight spoke. “I’m sorry… It sounds like you’ve had terrible luck with families…” Ace nodded, agreeing that nopony he had ever called mother or father were ever what he pictured they would be in the end. “It’s… It’s fine, Twilight, it’s something I accepted a long time ago and moved on. Are there any other questions that you’d like to ask?” Twilight nodded, still unclear on a part of the story of Ace’s name that wasn’t mentioned, but she was unsure if that was intentional or not. “You said that you had done something to save hundreds of ponies, but you didn’t explain what it was.” Ace thought for a moment, and for a second Twilight thought he wasn’t going to tell her. “I skipped over it for a reason, but not for what you would think. As I mentioned before, the Al Bhed are a race that prefer technology over magic, and to power their technology they developed a generator that creates electricity without magic using a turbine to gather power as it rotates within a cylinder. "However, like magic, if you put too much power in one place, it overloads and explodes. Somepony was experimenting in harnessing larger amounts of power using a stronger turbine. The method was successful, but the machine didn’t have any way of storing all the excess power, and the failsafe that was implemented was for the device to use the extra energy itself. "With the turbine spinning faster and faster as it generated more and more energy each second, it was soon going so fast that it melted the casing it was held within. The pony fled, screaming, as the generator started to wildly arc electricity through the building and around it. “Everypony around the settlement started to flee, screaming and yelling, but they wouldn’t have been able to make it through the narrow gateway that led out of the town. I knew that there was no chance everypony would make it out before the town, contained within a cave within the side of a mountain, exploded and was crushed in the resulting cave-in. "Instead of making my way toward the gate, I ran for the malfunctioning turbine generator, gathering as much magic as I could manage in my young age in my horn. Using one of the only spells I knew, I shielded the generator, and for the first time changing a spell, I turned the shield to be inverted, focusing all of its strength to prevent escape, rather than entrance. "Every moment I had before the generator went up, I put every ounce of magical energy I could recover in reinforcing the shield. After what was likely the longest fourty-eight seconds of my life, the generator exploded. My shield shattered, the trauma of the shield bursting sent me sprawling as metal and rock flew through the town like streamers at one of Pinkie’s parties. Something must have struck me on the head, because I lost consciousness. “When I regained my senses, I laid in the infirmary in town with a medical machina and several ponies standing over me. My mother and father looked over me, with the strangest mixture of both pride and disgust that I will never forget. "The high elder of our settlement pulled them aside so that he may speak to me amongst the number of ponies who watched in wonder. 'Fa femm hajan vunkad fryd oui ryja tuha vun ic, Ace uv dra Kutc,’” Ace started, speaking in the Al Bhed language as Twilight’s face contorted with confusion. “Oh, right. Sorry.” Ace’s physical horn lit up for a moment when Twilight felt a small tingle in her mouth and ears for a moment before Ace continued, “’We will never forget what you have done for us, Ace of the Gods, but as is our tradition, you will still be removed from our settlements. "In light of your courageous act, you may rest until your wounds have healed, but as soon as your Yevon touched blood is cleansed from the bed-lining, you are to take what is yours and leave this town. May your gears be moist in your travels, young one.’” "Ace paused only long enough to admire his cutie mark once more. “That was how I got my cutie mark, and was thus removed from my birth home in the Al Bhed settlements, and the last time that I had seen my birth mother. Two days later, my injuries – a few cuts and scrapes – were healed and I was sent away from the settlements, fortunate that a pony gave me some bread to last me on my journey.” Twilight was again pained by what little she knew about Ace’s past, completely unable to fathom just how much it must have hurt to be shunned or treated with such prejudice by not just one, but two different families. Twilight started to feel angry for Ace, angry that everypony he ever knew as a colt seemed to treat him unjustly, judging him by things that were beyond his control, when Ace shook his head at her. “I hold no contempt or ill-will towards those who have shaped my past, Twilight. Were it not for leaving the Al Bhed, I would never have developed my magic. Were it not for the Watchers of the Stars, I would not have learned to speak Common. Everything has reason, purpose, and everything that happens in our lives shapes our futures. I would never wish to change my past, because I am happy with who I am at present. Would you like me to be different, Twilight?” Twilight’s face deflated back into her calm, studious look, losing any trace of the anger she had been working towards. “No! I mean, no, I think you’re wonderful just the way you are. I don’t think you should have to change anything just because other ponies don’t like it.” Twilight was glad they were having their talk through their magical senses, or she would be visibly blushing again. Ace smiled as he nodded, “Our present selves represent the summation of our past, and our future self is a variable, ever changing with every step we take. "To alter even just one thing of a pony’s past is to change who that pony is, and who they will be. ‘Tis why I refuse to create Time spells that could cause a pony to change. Speaking of difficult magic, why did thou learn that Chaos spell to revoke a Pegasus’s wings? I was not aware you knew any level 7 spells.” Twilight shied away slightly at the question. “Well, it actually wasn’t my own spell. I watched Discord cast the spell before, and I was able to mimic it with your power, but I was never able to cast it on my own.” Ace looked thoughtful for a moment, as though he were trying to recall something. “Discord… Discord… If I recall correctly, he’s the Draconequus who bested Princess Luna and Celestia in multiple duels, until Princess Luna cast an inverted reversal shield on him without his knowledge, and a reflection spell on a statue in town. "She challenged him to a dare, saying that if he could turn the statue to flesh and bone, then the princesses would leave him be for a century, uninhibited. When Discord struck the deal, he cast the spell and through the shield, it became a petrification spell instead, then rebounded from the shield on the statue back to him and turned him to stone. How would you have seen a statue cast a spell? Or perhaps you know somepony named Discord?” Twilight, having been told that the Princess used the six Elements of Harmony – special relics able to harness the power of friendship and certain elements within their wearers to perform otherwise impossible feats of magic, - to turn the Draconequus to stone, not trickery, was quite surprised at the retelling of the historic event. It was the defeat of Discord that led to Princess Celestia and Princess Luna becoming the princesses, rulers of the very Equestria everypony knew today. “How do you know about the way Princess Celestia and Luna defeated Discord?” Twilight asked. Ace’s magical representation raised a singular brow as he looked at Twilight as through she asked why water was wet. “’Tis history, and one that surely has been retold for many years, I daresay.” Twilight just shook her head as she replied, “No, I’ve never heard the story told like that before. The way we retell the battle, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna bore the Elements of Harmony, and used their magic to defeat the spirit of Discord and Chaos using Order and Harmony.” Ace’s look changed from incredulity to disbelief. “The way you tell the story, one would think the Elements of Harmony were not involved at all.” Ace shook his head. “Of course not, for they were still known as the Elements of Disharmony. Discord bore the elements into each of his battles against Sol Light, now known as Celestia, and Moonlit Embrace, now known as Luna. In each of their battles, Discord overpowered them and laughed at their efforts to thwart him while he wore the ancient relics. "He wore the Chaos Crown upon his head, the Amulet of Tears upon his neck, the Bracelets of Lies and Treachery upon his wrists, and the Anklets of Theft and Cruelty upon his feet. When Discord turned himself into a statue, he also turned the relics to stone as well. The spell, affected by the reversal shield’s effect, also reversed the relics, turning them into the Elements of Harmony. "This was not realized until Sol Light hired a craftspony to remove the relics without harming the statue, and a Unicorn whose talent was to analyze artifacts of magical nature. After they had learned of the change to the relics, they undid the petrification spell, and started to study the elements more closely. What happened to them after that, the history books do not say, I am afraid.” Twilight sat in shock after hearing the origins of the Elements of Harmony that her and her friends used. After a while of letting the history lesson soak in, Ace cleared his throat – or rather, he made the sound of a throat clearing reverberate through Twilight, - as he queried the question again. “So I must ask, how did you learn that Chaos spell, Twilight? If it is a secret or something you wish not to speak of, simply say so.” Twilight hastily answered so as not to be misunderstood. “No, it’s not a secret. It truly was Discord, who is alive again now. He came back one day and stole the Elements of Harmony from my friends and I, forcing us to become the opposite of what each of our elements represented, and using the spell to make sure nopony could escape his maze we were forced into. "Eventually, I was able to break free of his magic, and used my own to bring my friends to their senses as well, and together we used the Elements of Harmony to turn Discord back into stone. However, we later brought him back to life, as per Princess Celestia’s orders, and Fluttershy helped him realize that he needed friendship as well. The last time I saw him, he was staying at the castle and taking remedial lessons under the Princesses.” For the first time since she had met him, Ace finally was truly shocked and surprised by something, even rendered speechless. Ace appeared to be lost in thought for quite some time, as though he were trying to solve a great mystery that only he knew the clues to. “So what you mean to say is that Discord came back to life, had the Elements of Harmony, played a game with you, lost, and was turned back into stone?” Ace paused for a moment, looking to Twilight for a reply as she nodded. “Then, not long after Discord was once more imprisoned, Princess Celestia ordered you to free him and befriend him?” Again, Twilight nodded, making Ace focus his thoughts once more. “You said you’ve seen him since then; did he have anything different on? A necklace, or bracelets, or maybe something on his horns?” Twilight shook her head this time, as Discord was just as he always was. Ace pondered for a moment, before coming up with a theory. “Celestia knew that the Elements of Harmony, once obedient to Discord as the Elements of Disharmony, would be unable to hold him for long. Knowing that she and Princess Luna would be unable to fight him, she instead attempted to befriend the Draconequus. Discord, having already attempted to steal and reconvert the relics back to the Elements of Disharmony and failed, must have accepted the friendship as a truce.” Ace nodded to himself as he thought out loud through their magic. “Now, for the motive… Celestia wouldn’t go so far as to befriend an old enemy if she didn’t have something to gain as well… Certainly Discord is a powerful opponent and must be monitored, but there must be something further, something she would gain more directly from the endeavor… You mentioned that Discord was taking remedial lessons from the Princesses, is this true?” Twilight nodded as Ace’s eyes regained their focus on her before fading away again as he thought. “If Celestia is personally reeducating him, then that would attest that she is monitoring him… Perhaps she is in need of Chaos magic more powerful than she and Luna can do themselves… Unless, she needs to do the spell without Luna knowing about it, in which case she would not be able to join her magic with her sister’s… "Alternative: Perhaps Celestia merely wishes to expand her power, either physically or magically, and seeks to learn Chaos magic from the very embodiment of the element…” Ace’s face contorted in his concentration before he sighed and shook his head with a shrug. Ace bowed as he spoke, though not as deeply as his normal bow, “My apologies, Twilight, I seem to have gotten quite distracted. Certainly you must have a number of questions for me, and here I am rambling on about conspiracy theories.” Rising up after voicing his apology, Ace awaited to hear the next question Twilight would give voice to. Twilight looked bashful as she tried to word her question carefully. “Well, you haven’t had much sleep the past few days, and I know you didn’t sleep at all last night, - I can sense it through your magic when I look at the pillow and blanket I left you, - so I was thinking maybe you would like sleeping upstairs, with me, a bit better? I-in a different bed, I mean!” Ace smiled kindly at the offer as Spike came into the room, appearing to walk terribly slowly through their magical senses as he carried a tray of tea. “Thank you, Twilight, and I will certainly accept the offer. ‘Tis true, it has been at least three days since last I’ve slept, and it certainly would feel nice to sleep on a bed after so long.” As Spike neared the table, Ace’s magical avatar walked into his physical self and merged with it as he brought his physical senses to the forefront once again. Twilight mimicked the motion, coming back to her physical self bringing about the blush that was concealed on her magical form, but all too clear in her physical one. “Thanks for the tea, Spike, I can certainly see how you would be Twilight’s Number One Assistant.” Spike visibly beamed at the compliment. Ace took a silent sip of the tea using his hooves, keeping the saucer just below the cup as Twilight used their magic to manage the warm beverage, blowing at it lightly to dispel the steam and cool it down enough to take a sip. “Oh wow, Twilight! Your magic looks just like Ace’s now! What happened?” Ace stifled a laugh as he set the saucer and teacup down on the table. Before Twilight could do the same so she could speak, Ace had beat her to it. “Well you see, Spike, when two Unicorns become a mated pair, for a time after the act, the female’s magic will take on the appearance of the male’s magic.” Spike and Twilight both blushed deeply as their jaws dropped, Twilight looking at Ace as Spike moved his gaze between both of them. Ace kept a straight face the whole time, taking another sip of his tea without cooling it first. “Wait, so the two of you are-“ “No! We didn’t do anything like that, he’s just joking! That’s not even true, anyways!” At this point, Ace could no longer hold onto his laughter as he set the cup back upon the table again. When the laughing stopped enough for him to reign it in and speak, Ace couldn’t help but push the joke further. “But Twilight dear, I thought we were having such a good time together…” Twilight didn’t think her cheeks could get any pinker as he looked at her. “We were! I mean, we are! But we didn’t! I, you, we… Ugh! Please stop doing that!” Ace resumed his laughing as he sat back again. Once the laughing had died down again, Ace spoke once more on her behalf. “I’m sorry, you just look really cute when you blush. Even more so when you get tongue-tied or don’t know what to say or do. "No, Spike, Twilight and I had perfectly chaste fun today as I met a few of her closest friends. Her magic looks like mine because it is mine. Twilight exhausted her reserves of magic during our lessons, and then something happened that pushed her magic over the limit, so she’s borrowing my magic power for the evening. "She’ll be fine after she sleeps tonight.” Spike nodded at the explanation while Twilight sighed, the color leaving her cheeks as Ace’s tricks came to an end. “But you really are pretty, Twilight.” Ace smiled sincerely as Twilight’s cheeks turned pink once more, bringing both him and Spike into a fit of laughter one last time. The day came to a winding end as Luna’s moon took claim of the sky while Celestia’s sun slept beyond the horizon. After their tea, Twilight and Ace explained their day’s events to Spike, and later used some spare pillows to transfigure into a bed the shape of the full moon for Ace to sleep on next to Twilight’s bed upstairs, the three of them retiring for the evening.