She forced her eyes open. The light hurt. She was woozy, tired, and felt a mild sense of vertigo overwhelm her the moment she dared peak into the world. She felt as if she might throw up, and rolled to her side in the off chance she did. It hurt to exist right now.

Twilight Sparkle's vision began to focus, and the nausia began to fade. Before her was a small, purple drakeling, sitting on a stool next to the bed she was laying on. As she came to, she realized she was currently in the Apprentice's quarters - all around her were several other beds. There was very little privacy between Apprentices; perhaps an intentional design so that the Templars could keep tabs on them. Twilight remembered a time she lamented this fact, but after so many years, she hardly even cared - after all, they say no library is better stocked than a Circle library.

As the world made more sense around her, she sighed. "What happened...? I... ugh... I had the strangest...." Twilight's eyes shot open, and she sat up quickly. "The Harrowing! Did I pass!?"

Spike jumped a bit, waving his hand at her. "Whoa whoa, yeah, you passed. First Enchanter Nova Star said you passed with flying colors..." Spike shrugged. "I have no idea what happens in those harrowings, but I bet they're scary." Twilight wanted to tell him, but before she even opened her mouth she remembered the promise she had made; telling of the Harrowing was forbidden, and she was sworn to secrecy. She sighed and looked to the younger Dragon with a smile.

Twilight shook her head, slowly climbing out of bed. "Nope! A promise is a promise, and I don't intend to break mine!"

Spike crossed his arms, stuck his bottom lip out, and pouted. "Aww... party pooper..." Twilight giggled, shaking her head once more as she trotted forward. Spike quickly jumped from his stool and rushed to meet her. "Oh! Twilight! the First Enchanter wanted to see you; she said that she wanted to give you a reward for your spectacular performance!"

Twilight's ears perked and she looked to Spike. "Wh... really?" The dragon nodded, and Twilight turned towards the exit. "Huh... I didn't know we were rewarded!" She grinned the biggest grin she could. "And to think, I was afraid of going through with the Harrowing!"

****

Twiilight gently knocked with her hoof against the door. From inside, she heard a familiar, female voice. "Please, come in." Twilight's horn glowed with power, and slowly the door swung open, revealing a large, office-like room. The First Enchanters' quarters were something to behold; a small, self-contained library, not anywhere near as massive as the designated library but still big enough to make the young unicorn feel dizzy with love for knowledge. At the very end of the room was a desk, and behind it, a green unicorn mare. Her mane was bright white, and eyes a deep blue; her robes were black, as most First Enchanters' robes tended to be, and sitting perched behind her was a black staff, at the top of which was a single jewel with two dragons wrapping around it. Twilight had heard legends of that staff; they say that Nova Flare had pried it from the hooves of a Maleficar most fierce. Some stories say it was an abomination, others say it was a demon that had possessed a dead body, but in any telling of the tale, the battle was epic. "Ah, Twilight Sparkle. I see you're awake?" said the mare, her expression softening a little.

Twilight gave a gentle nod as she trotted into the office. "Yes, First Enchanter. I hope I haven't been out for too long...?"

Nova Flare shook her head. "Of course not, Twilight. I just-- oh! Just the pony I wanted to see!"

Twilight turned around to see a familiar face. A grey-coated stallion with a black mane that was brushed back, wearing gleaming silver armor with a breastplate that had a shield on it - and and that shield, a depiction of a sword with small, flame-like lines surrounding it. He nodded towards the unicorns. "First Enchanter. Twilight. I do hope I'm not late? I had not expected Miss Sparkle to be so quick in regaining consciousness after her trip into the Fade."

The First Enchanter nodded. "Yes, Shield, well, knowing my student, that she regained conciousness as quick as any other, but was particularly punctual in getting to me." She chuckled and shook her head. "Most of my students go looking for food after their Harrowings." At that cue, everypony heard the sound of a loud growling, and looked to Twilight, who blushed.

"Yes..." said Shield, his expression painfully trying to betray a smirk. Twilight knew that Shield was a wise one; while many Templars took their duty with some level of distrust and even downright hatred towards Unicorns, Shield was always something of a neutral force. He treated the Unicorns and his Templars with the same degree of sternness - while he seemed mean to some, they never could say he was a unicorn hater when they saw that he treated his own men with the same degree of harshness. Still, for those who knew him better, they knew that he often hid a softer side. "Well, Miss Sparkle, as you have passed the Harrowing, it is our combined duty to welcome you to full-fledged Magehood."

Nova Flare smiled and nodded towards her student. "Indeed. I never doubted you for an instant, child..."

"I admit I was worried..." continued Shield, "We lost a few to their Harrowings in the past month... I was afraid for a bit that there was some kind of curse on the tower, or Blood Magic at work in the shadows..."

Nova Flare grimaced, turning towards Shield. "Come now, that's no way to think. I have the fullest confidence that there is no trace of practice of Blood Magic in this tower."

The stallion sighed, shaking his head. "I do hope you're right, First Enchanter. The last thing we need is for such a thing to become an issue..."

Nova turned to Twilight once more. "Yes, well, back to the situation at hoof..." She smiled again and her horn glowed a soft blue color. A chest nearby opened up, and from it came a bundle of cloth that levitated before Twilight Sparkle. "As a reward, today you get to throw out those dusty old Apprentice's robes and get the real thing. Robes that will mark you as a true Mage, deserving of all of the benefits that entails." Twilight's eyes shone at the sight. "And..." Once more, her horn glowed and from behind her desk levitated a wooden staff that slowly drifted before Twilight. "This staff. I've no doubt you know this already, but a staff channels a Unicorns' magic to empower their spells or decrease the strength we must extend to cast them."

As Twilight took both items in her magical grip, she seemed ready to burst with joy. The moment she touched it, she felt... lighter. Stronger. Not by much, but there was a sensation that she could do more, even if just a little. She liked the feeling. She took the staff and placed it on her side, smiling and bowing to the elder unicorn. "Thank you, First Enchanter..."

Nova chuckled and nodded. "Now, Twilight, I suggest you hurry along and get to your studies. Idle hands are the demons of the Fade's play things, after all!" Twilight gave a nod and trotted out of the room, gently closing the door behind her. She was overjoyed, to say the least; she was a true Mage now. No longer just an Apprentice. Well, technically she WAS still an Apprentice... but with just a little less risk of being nullified. The very idea had been a fear for her for years - and it crept up her spine anytime she saw the unicorn running the cafeteria, in which she had just wandered to grab a meal.

Twilight cringed, staring at the poor unicorn. On his forehead, just beneath his horn, was a burn mark - the mark of the Chantry, a sun with a crescent moon in the center. She had read that the burn cuts Unicorns off from the magic of the world, renders their horns inert, and perhaps even severs their connection with their soul. To many, death was a far more merciful punishment. She couldn't help but feel pity everytime she saw the poor fellow...

"Coming right up" said the tan unicorn with no trace of emotion or life whatsoever as he leaned beneath the counter and produced from it a single fritter. Twilight placed a gold coin on the shelf, and she trotted to a nearby table and sat, munching on her snack. She was really hungrier than this right now, but she didn't want to eat too much before the dinner hour set in. She let her attention shift to her new robe and staff. She levitated her Apprentice's robes away from her body, pulling them up over her head and hooves, and then pressed the new robes down in their place. She did feel more comfortable in them - they marked a new stage of her life. A better level, a state of improvement. She couldn't help but smile.

Twilight turned around to see yet another familiar face. A massive red earth pony, adorning the Templar armor, with an orange mane. Ser McIntosh. He was a kind pony and very gentle, although he seldom spoke more than one word about anything to anypony. Twilight had talked to him a few times and was surprised to find he was quite intelligent - apparently, he had family that lived in a town to the south of the tower.

"Oh! Hi Ser McIntosh!" she said with a smile. "Did you hear? I passed my harrowing!"

McIntosh nodded. "'Yup." He then reached into his saddlebag, and produced from it an envelope, passing it to Twilight. She examined it as if it were a foreign object a few moments, before using her magic to open it. She took the envelope forward, and read it.

Dear Twilight Sparkle,

Come see me as soon as possible

Ser Shield

Twilight grimaced a bit. "Huh? But... I just talked to him a few minutes ago..." She turned to face the larger stallion. "What does he want?" Big Mac simply shrugged. Twilight sighed a bit and stood up, trotting away from the larger stallion and out of the cafeteria. He let his eyes shift towards the half-eaten apple fritter. He looked left. Then right. Taking it into his hooves, he shoved the fritter into his mouth and chewed, a silly grin on his face.

******

The door pressed open with magical ease, and Twilight peaked her head inside. "Y-you wanted to see me, Ser Shield?" Twilight couldn't help but compare Ser Shield's office with that of her own mentor. While they were similar in many respects, they had their differences; while the First Enchanter's quarters were more along the lines of a small, self-contained library and a haven for scholarly pursuit, Ser Shield's was what you'd expect of a war veteran. A Templar shield was draped on the wall behind him, with two swords crossing beneath it, a weapon rack was perched on either side behind that very desk, as if to allow him to arm himself any direction he went if he were suddenly attacked. There were but two bookshelves, and they seemed less full than a bookshelf should look; most of their contents likely being on war tactics, anti-magical combat methods, and similar things. A statue on a nearby wall held an ornate set of armor; not at all like Templar armor. It seemed somehow magical, though Twilight couldn't think why.

"Ah, Twilight Sparkle. Yes. Come in." Twilight obliged, stepping into the office and gently closing the door behind her. She made her way cautiously towards Ser Shield's desk - not that she had any reason to fear him, but most times when a Unicorn was called to see a Templar Captain, trouble was ahoof. "First off, I wish to congratulate you once again on your success passing the Harrowing..." he said without looking up at her from his papers. "I never doubted you for a second. As one of Nova's brightest pupils, I wasn't the least bit surprised to hear you had woken up as soon as you had."

"Thanks, Ser Shield..." she said with a hint of relief. 'Maybe he was just being nice?'

"... Being a Mage does not mean you're done. You still have responsibilities. And I was hoping that you might be able to help the Templars out?"

Ser Shield sighed and looked up to Twilight. His eyes seemed to be taking her in, sizing her up. Was he going to give her a dangerous job? "There are... rumors going about that there maybe Blood Magic practitioners among your collegues..." Twilight gulped a bit and began to sweat. "We have no solid evidence... but this is usually a quiet little tower, so when such rumors occur, I tend to take them seriously. We don't know where to begin, so the best thing to do is begin on the inside." Ser Shield never took his eyes off Twilight, a serious, grim determination in them. "Twilight. You're among the brightest of the Unicorns here, and perhaps one of the few I trust." He trusted her? Wow. Where did that come from? She supposed being a personal protege of Nova did set her closer to him than most, but still. "Nova Flare, bless her heart, loves all the Unicorns here, and I worry her kindness would blind her to obvious telltale signs. If you ever hear of anything, or find anything... would you please tell me?"

Twilight gulped and nodded. Could she say no? Would that hurt her? She wanted to so badly, and he seemed to notice it. "Twilight... if you don't want to do this, I understand. With Blood Mages, you're putting yourself in potential danger even if you overhear anything. You're effectively my ears on the inside. Can I trust you with this?"

Twilight nodded and turned, stepping out of the room and closing the door behind her again. It was at this moment she realized she was trembling. Why was she trembling? After all, it was only rumors right? Nopony had said anything concrete. But what if it was true? Could she be in danger?

She gulped and stumbled down the hall back to the Apprentice's quarters, while her stomach twisted and turned. She had a bad feeling all the sudden... something was amiss. It was a quiet tower. So if rumors were spreading... was it possible they were true?

Pony Age: Friendship is Magic

by PonyTom

The Unicorn Tower