"Okay, Aurora. We're going to start with your magic today. I want to take one more baseline reading so I can make sure we use the right room. We'll then start with some basic mental exercises and then move on to actual applications of levitation. Depending on how you perform today, I can make a schedule for your magical progress!" Twilight gleefully exclaimed as I sat at the table, my muzzle nearly in the bowl of oatmeal that was in front of me.
Twilight had woken me up well before sunrise, claiming that there was just too much to do. When I'd raised the point of it being too damn early, not to mention the mess we'd made of the bed, she simply lit up her horn and performed a few spells before whisking us into the shower. I was still asleep when the first drops of cold water hit me, and I nearly screamed as I woke up against my will. Twilight was more than happy to help me shampoo and get clean, as apparently her schedule called for maximum efficiency today.
So, one shower later, and then a struggle with my mane and tail that ended with Twilight simply tying off the ends with golden bands, I found myself whisked around by her magic. Teleporting, it feels weird to say the least. One moment I was fuming at Twilight in the bathroom, the next I was fuming at her in a dining room that had a veritable buffet of food already present. Once there, I half-heartedly reached for a bowl of oatmeal, the same one I currently found myself contemplating in.
"Aurora? Are you paying attention?" Twilight's voice shook me from my thoughts, and I merely groaned in response. I was always the type to stay up late and then sleep in when work allowed for it, and even being turned into a damn pony wouldn't change that. Suddenly, the aroma of something familiar wafted into my nostrils, causing me to lift my head and look at her.
"Coffee! GIMME!" I scrambled with my hooves, grabbing the cup and almost burying my nose in the ambrosia set forth before me. "Ah, nice and black, the best way to have it." I let out a sigh, very carefully taking sips of coffee, the caffeine helping me wake up.
"Okay, so add to my checklists, Aurora needs coffee early in the morning." Twilight mumbled to herself, once more pulling quill and parchment from the æther to make some notations. She looked up at me and asked, "Aurora, do you also drink tea? Or is it just coffee for early mornings?"
I finished off the cup, looking around to see of there was more as I let out a sigh. "Preferably, I'll take sleep over either. Early mornings are a waste if you ask me; a waste of perfectly good sleep. However, if you must wake me up, then coffee. Never been a big tea drinker." My sight settled on a container of coffee, and I got up and grabbed it very carefully.
Hooves were interesting things, at least these were. I was actually able to grasp things within them, although I wasn't exactly sure how. Because of this, I now found myself slowly hobbling back to my seat on three legs, the fourth cradling the coffee as if it were a baby. In a way, it was; if one wanted to treasure and then devour said baby.
Twilight simply laughed at my attempt to get more ambrosia, using her magic to hijack the container and refill my cup before I could voice a complaint. "We've got another," she cast a spell of some sort, "ten minutes until I want to get you tested. So, go ahead and finish up breakfast if you would in that time."
I merely groaned, as it would most likely still be dark in ten minutes. However, I did have my coffee, and wouldn't have to do without while here. It's the simple things I find myself missing now. Destroying twelve year olds with a worse mouth than a sailor at Halo and Call of Duty, porn, driving... at least I didn't have to add coffee to the quickly expanding list now.
True to her word, exactly ten minutes later I found myself being drug through the castle, still only vaguely aware of where we were going. The place was a maze to me, and something in the back of my mind told me it'd take a long time for me to know where things were at. Probably because it was, well... a maze.
Opening a door, Twilight motioned for me to walk in. I got to the threshold, looked up, and immediately balked. It looked almost like Young Frankenstein's lab, just with more magic doohickies and thingamabobs scattered everywhere. I immediately dug in my hooves, bracing my two front ones against the actual door frame.
"No way in hell are you dragging me into some mad science lab, Twilight! Nuh uh!" I shook my head even as I felt her begin to push against me, trying to force me inside.
"Relax, Aurora! I just need to take some magical measurements, nothing else! I swear!" Twilight pleaded with me. However, I was wise to her ruse. She'd get me to lower my guard, and then bam! I'd find myself strapped down onto some metal table and she'd be lobotomizing me or something. Something involving science, anyways. No way in hell was I going to fall for that!
"Oh, fine then." I felt magic begin to constrict my hooves, removing my very weak hold on the frame, and Twilight floated me into the room. She set me down on a cushion in one corner of the room and floated over a helmet-like contraption that had wires running from it to another machine as she kept me held down with her magic.
"Rape! Rape! Rape!" I began to holler out, causing Twilight to look at me in bewilderment as she froze up for a few moments. Simply shaking her head, she strapped the helmet onto my head, being careful of my mane, before walking over to the machine it was attached to, making a point to ignore my calls. I decided there was no point in keeping them going, and simply let whatever was going to come next come.
"Thank you, Aurora. It really isn't that bad. All I need to do now is use my horn to spark yours, and the machine will take a magical reading. You weren't freaking out the first time I tested your magic levels; why the difference now?" She fiddled with one last dial, then walked back over.
"Well, last time it wasn't in this room. Looks like it was ripped straight from a 1960's horror film–" I abruptly stopped speaking as I felt a jolt of magic as Twilight's horn touched the tip of mine, and I momentarily whited out.
When my vision finally returned, I saw smoke rising from the machine Twilight had been fiddling with as she looked over a piece of paper. She noticed me looking at her and smiled. "Well, good news and bad."
I groaned and looked at her. "What is it?" I felt tingly all over, as if my body had fallen asleep and all the nerves were waking back up. It was somewhat disconcerting, and I made a mental not to never do science of any sort with Twilight.
"Well, you managed to completely fry the machine, that's the bad news. However, the good news is that I got a readout still, and it's what I expected. So, glyph enhanced, blast-resistant room it is!" She cheerfully began walking away, even though I was still trying to clear my senses.
"Uh, Twi... a little help here, perhaps?" I groaned, motioning a hoof towards myself. Her solution, as always, was magic. Lifting me from the heap I was in, Twilight set me down hooves first on the floor.
"Ooops, sorry about that... I'm just really looking forward to being the teacher for once!" She exclaimed, a giddiness in her voice that made me extremely nervous. "Oh, I also have a friend who'll be coming by. She's very good with the mental exercises, so she'll be helping out with those." Twilight pulled writing stuff from the æther again, scribbling a quick note before sending it, and the supplies, wherever in a puff of magic.
I followed Twilight around the halls, the only consistency being that the more we walked, the more stairs we descended. The fresh air began to give way to the somewhat musty smell of the earth, meaning we were underground or in the mountain now. We finally came to a stop in front of a massive metal barrier, which had two guards stationed in front of it.
"Ah, Princess Twilight, do go on in. Your friend is already awaiting within." One of the guards replied as their magic began to crank a giant handle, which in turn began to lift the sheet of metal. My jaw dropped when I noticed that it was at least five feet thick, and lead inside to a brightly lit chamber.
"Twilight, I must say... did you have to pick the chamber that had the most dank and musty smells to it? It was rather unbefitting a lady to have to walk through such a mess, I must say." Twilight simply laughed as I looked at this new pony.
Her coat was so white it reminded me of freshly fallen snow, and her mane and tail were both a deep and rich purple color. They were done in a style that I would rather be dead than seen having myself, and the way she carried herself just yelled pompous bitch. However, it seemed that my first impression was just her putting up a front, as she embraced Twilight as a familiar friend would in a hug.
Twilight pulled back form the hug, pointing at me. "Rarity, this is Aurora. Aurora, Rarity." she turned to address me, "Rarity has been a friend of mine for a long time, and she's going to help us today. While I'm good with brute force and larger magic usage, she's a master at fine manipulation of multiple objects, as well as the mental exercises you'll need to work on."
Rarity was circling me like a vulture circles carrion as she eyed me up and down. "Hmm, yes, I can work with this. Color scheme very much similar to Twilight, just with the pink more pronounced. Darling, I do love the dusting of pink on your feathers... Idea!" Okay, this unicorn was kinda crazy. She pulled a bag from the corner of the room and I watched in fascination, then horror, as item after item poured forth; all illuminated within her magical aura. She brought a measuring tape to me and began poking, prodding, and all around being a rather large pain.
I looked to Twilight for help, however she just sheepishly grinned at me and mouthed 'get over it' at me. I groaned and prayed for it to end, and quick. "And... that should do it! I must say, you'll be so much fun to make dresses for, I already have quite a few ideas in mind. Now, rubies or sapphires, hmm..."
Finally, Twilight came to my defense, walking over to Rarity and speaking quietly in her ear. The measuring tape finally removed itself from my body, joining the circus of objects she still held in her magic. "Ah, sorry about that, darling. I tend to get swept up at times, especially when one has such a build and complementary colors such as yourself. Twilight asked me here to help you with your magic, as you might have noticed," she dramatically swept a hoof towards her army of implements, "I have a knack for the finer control of things."
"Okay, now that you've finally given me a chance... Hi. I'm Aurora. It's nice to meet you; your craziness not so much." I sarcastically barked at Rarity, first impressions are important and she totally blew it. Still, she was going to help me learn magic, so I suppose I could be a little bit nicer. Plus, the fact it looks like she's about to bite my head off is another good reason to quickly speak up. "Thank you for coming to help Twilight teach me magic. So long as you keep those," I pointed at the wall of crap, "away from me, and ask me politely before violating my personal space, we'll get along just fine, okay?"
Rarity eyed me hesitantly, as if weighing me within her mind. "Very well, Aurora. And again, I do apologize. It's not often that I get to work with alicorns, you see. Not to mention your wings, they're magnificent! I suppose I'll just have to borrow you at some point in the future, I have the most darling dresses in mind for you... If that is fine with you, of course." she smiled at me, and somehow I could tell that the last bit wasn't a request for my consent so much as a statement that she would get it. I gulped and simply nodded my head.
"So, Aurora, the first thing we're going to do is rather simple. We're going to start with the first round of mental exercises. The first one is a simple meditation, designed to help you focus for when you need to call upon your magic. This one is only necessary until you can call up your magic without really thinking about it, as it also helps keep you from surging by working on your concentration." Twilight lectured, and I inwardly groaned at the word meditation. I was never very great at sitting or standing still for any period of time without doing something to occupy myself. Hell, it was rare when I didn't have my attention split three or four different ways.
"What exactly do you mean by surging, Twilight?" I was genuinely curious, she was making it sound like something negative, but I figured that more juice with magic was a good thing. There's no such thing as overkill, after all.
"May I?" Rarity asked, and after Twilight nodded, she began talking. "Aurora, a surge is when one loses control of their magic. Besides being highly embarrassing, there's the chance of it being highly destructive as well. Your magic begins to cascade, essentially building up without an outlet. When I last surged, as a filly I might add, I burned the curtains and nearly brought down the house as well. Twilight nearly destroyed a school, from what I understand."
"Actually," Twilight began, somewhat hesitantly, "I nearly took down Canterlot. Celestia didn't tell me this until much later, mind, but if it hadn't been for her intervention, I couldv'e brought down the caves underneath the city, destroying it in the process. Controlling your magic is very important. That's why we're down here... that surge was when I was a filly, and you have significantly more magic than I had then."
What followed next were a rather rigorous series of mental exercises. After each one, Twilight would make notations, and both her and Rarity would get more and more frustrated. Meditation, I failed miserably at just like I knew I would. The only thing I managed to surpass their expectations at was when Twilight had me answering a bunch of simple math problems as fast as possible. I saw some signs of relief evident after that exercise, but it went right back to frustration as I failed in their eyes at everything else. Hey, it's not my fault that I'm an impatient person!
"Do you need me for anything else, Twilight? I have some designs I must get down before I forget them." Rarity eyed me as she spoke, and I took a step back from her. That crazy mare isn't going to get me in a dress, no way in hell.
Laughing, Twilight shook her head. "No, Rarity, thanks for your help. Once Aurora can manage to do the exercises you prescribed and starts learning control and application, then we could maybe use your help again. For now, there's not much more you can do."
"Yes, very well then." Rarity glanced in my direction, eying me again. "I'll have some designs in place by tomorrow I'd say. Make sure Twilight frees some time for you to come and try them on, would you?" she turned towards the door, which began to slowly open up. "Now, I must get back to my room in the castle. I need to get this work done before the rest of the girls arrive this afternoon, after all. Ta ta!"
I simply stared at Rarity as she waltzed out, the door slowly closing behind her. "Twilight. She said 'rest of the girls...' Are all of your friends that crazy, too?" I shuddered, and then nearly jumped as I felt a hoof rest on my shoulder.
"Relax, Aurora, they're all good ponies. Well, you might have to watch out for Pinkie, but... I'm certain you'll like them all! We'll find out later today, either way." She pulled a small sphere from her bags, setting it down on the ground between us. "Now, this is a practice sphere, the standard one that all foals use when learning levitation. A common issue is the over-application of force, causing damage to whatever object is being held. So, we begin with this." she levitated it into the air, sending it into orbit around her head.
"This one is a bit special; it's extremely dense and therefore should hold up to your magical force until you get a firm grasp on control. Let's hope you're better here than you were with the mental part, shall we?" Twilight set the orb down in front of me as she walked over to my side.
"Okay, so... what do I do? Just point and think?" I lowered my horn towards the orb, willing it to move. It worked for Luke, it should work for me!
Twilight laughed again, gently lifting my head with her hoof. "No, Aurora. I need you to focus, then try to move your will and lift the orb. Your magic is a part of you, therefore using it is simply using a part of yourself. So, you don't have to move your head, point your horn, or anything equally silly." The orb lifted up and hovered a few feet in the air, then settled back down to the floor. "See? I could have been looking away from it, and so long as I could picture the action, I could move it. Go ahead and try."
As she moved to my side, I looked at the sphere on the ground in front of me. I wasn't entirely certain how to focus or extend my will, but I tried anyways. I sat there for a few minutes with nothing happening, the only thing changing being my mounting frustration. "Good, good!" I nearly jumped out of my skin as I turned to face Twilight.
"Good? I didn't do a damn thing!"
Twilight tapped my horn with a hoof. "Actually, you called on your magic, you just didn't extend it. Think a moment, did you feel anything new while you were focusing?" I thought a moment and realized that there was some odd, new nagging feeling in the back of my mind behind the frustration I was feeling. I nodded my head, and she continued. "Well, that's the feeling you want to think on. It'll help you call forth your magic. After that, you need to focus on trying to use it to manipulate the sphere. Now, try again."
Once more I set my gaze on the orb, pulling that feeling back to mind, this time at the very front of my thoughts. I noticed a slight glow from my horn this time, a pale purple color that complimented my horn and coat color. Ignoring that fact, I tried to picture it lifting the sphere, hoping that it would start to move.
Every so often I would hear Twilight hem and haw next to me, and the scribble of a quill taking notes as I continued to try and exert my will on the sphere. At the risk of sounding like a nerd, why couldn't it be as easy as good ole Obi Wan showed it to be? Sure, that was the Force, and this is magic, but all the same. It's purely mental. I continued to try and lift it, but the only thing I accomplished was sparks shooting out from the tip of my horn.
Suddenly, I felt something nibble on my ear, and I jumped into the air, wings flaring wide. I turned around and glared at Twilight, who was simply looking past me rather slack-jawed. I looked to where her gaze was, and noticed that the sphere was gone. In it's place was a pile of fine dust, and I simply tilted my head as I looked at it.
"How dense was that sphere, exactly?" I had to poke Twilight and repeat the question before she noticed me. She walked over to it and poked the pile with a hoof, confirming that it was indeed dust.
Using magic, she reformed the sphere then turned to me. "That's... wow. I had Luna make that one for you specifically, it seems you've got more brute strength than we thought. Try it again, this time without trying so hard. Just let it happen naturally."
The next hours were filled with attempts at levitating the sphere, all of them ending with varied results. I think the best one was when Twilight had distracted me again and I basically zapped her, causing all of her fur to stick straight out. Even her mane and tail poofed from it, and I spent well over five minutes laughing my ass off while rolling on the floor. I only crushed it another dozen times, and lifted it once. Progress, I suppose.
"Well," Twilight began, "I suppose it was too much to think you'd at least be able to handle levitation after a day. It's time to go get lunch though, so let's call it a day. I've got some friends I'd like you to meet, they're scheduled to arrive in a few hours." she packed up her supplies, notes last as she took one last look at them, sighing.
"Hey now, I lifted it once! Progress is progress, right?" Twilight just sighed again, using magic to send her bags to her room, presumably. The massive door began to open, and I walked up to her side as we waited for it to fully raise.
"Yes, Aurora. Once out of seventy-one times. Luckily you didn't surge once, but you did hit me thirteen times, the walls another twenty, and just sat there as if you were ready to soil yourself for the rest." Twilight was really big on the sighing today, rather melodramatic I gotta say. "There's hope for you, it's just going to take a lot longer than I was hoping for."
I merely shrugged my shoulders and followed her out of the room, lunch awaiting us. Something that'd been nagging at my mind since I turned pony came back up, and I went ahead and asked Twilight about it, as it'd also get her mind on something other than my repeated failures. "Twilight... do you know why I turned into an alicorn? From Celestia's reaction, it shouldn't have happened it seemed.
We left the room, the guards throwing a salute Twilight's way as we began our trek to lunch. "Well, as best as I can tell, it's mostly due to the sheer quantity of magic you got from me. It might also be why you are so similar to me in appearance. I mean," she stopped and stood right next to me, "we even appear to be the same size in just about every aspect. So, that's probably why. I'd have to do some actual testing to confirm it though, and getting you up to speed with your new body is more important right now."
"Wait, if I'm basically similar to you... does that mean you boning me is close to say, you having sex with a sister?" It's a fairly valid point, and should be well worth the reaction I'd get.
Yup, it was. Stopping instantly, Twilight gagged as her eyes crossed, and I started laughing. She tried to speak, but only coughs came from her throat. Finally, she managed to find her voice again, even as she fixed me with a death gaze. "Not. Funny. Not at all, Aurora. Just, eww. It was bad enough when my friends didn't realize the stallion I was hugging was my brother and they asked if he was my coltfriend. I do not need more imagery of me having sex with a family member in my life."
We began walking as I let my laughter die down. I remember Twilight mentioning a brother. Someone who was married to another alicorn, Cadance if I recall. I wonder when I'll get to meet them; I really need more methods to get underneath Twilight's skin, and if I didn't have to do the hard work to find it out the better. We silently navigated the corridors as I attempted to burn them into my memory for future reference.
Arriving at a pair of doors, Twilight opened them up as the aroma of food greeted us, and I happily followed her into the room. Lunch now, her friends later. I shuddered once more at the thought of Rarity, and hoped to whatever holy thing out there that she was the worst of them all. I mean, it couldn't be too much worse, could it?