“Seeing as you are already familiar with logical thinking, we shall be able to squeeze in one more lesson tonight.” Luna said, gazing into the distance as she ran over several lessons in her mind. She smiled as the perfect spell drifted to the front of her thoughts, a plan forming around it.
“Watch closely Trixie. Your lesson’s will not be able to continue until you manage to cast the spell I am about to show you.” Luna explained, leveling Trixie her most serious look.
“Trixie is the gre-greatest magic user ever born!” She said, stuttering as she puffed her chest out. “She can do any spell you throw at her.” Trixie ignored the strange look Luna threw in her direction, focusing on her mentors stance and copying it.
Luna closed her eyes, her chest rising and falling as she forced deep even breaths through her nose. Magic appeared at the tip of her horn, spiraling slowly down its length as it dispersed into the air like smoke. Luna’s horn shimmered, slowly losing color until the appendage had vanished entirely, followed soon after by the top of her mane and head. Within moments, her chest and forelegs had vanished leaving Luna’s flank and tail visible from Trixie’s viewpoint.
Trixie leaned forward, pressing against where she knew Luna’s forelegs to be. She could feel Luna’s fur under her hoof, even if she wasn’t able to see it at the moment.
“Invisibility spell?” Trixie said, poking Luna as she watched the last bits of the alicorn disappear from view. From start to finish, the spell took nearly four minutes to render her invisible. “Trixie doesn’t understand how this spell is so important. There are plenty of other invisibility spells around.” She pointed out, gazing just above her mentors head.
Luna chuckled, sending a shiver down Trixie’s spine. Her mentor slowly bled back into view, starting at the tip of her horn. “That is true. There are many other spells that render the caster invisible. But,” She said, drawing a small tome from her bookshelf as she spoke. “This one is undetectable. You would not have been able to detect me magically, even if you had tried.” Luna passed the book to Trixie, holding it open with her magic. “Take a moment to examine the spell, and cast it when you feel you are able to.”
Trixie took the book in her own magic, glancing at Luna over the edge of the tome. She lowered her eyes to the pages, examining the spell. Her jaw slowly opened as her eyes scanned over the difficult spell, a stunned expression on her face as she looked up to Luna. Luna stared back at her with a smile on her face, almost as if challenging Trixie.
Trixie took a deep breath, setting the book aside as she closed her eyes to concentrate. She dug deep into her core, pulling and pushing at every ounce of magic she could find, attempting to power the spell she had been challenged to cast.
Sweat beaded at her forehead, slickening her coat. Spots appeared at the edge of her vision, blurring the room before her. She could distantly feel herself swaying as she pushed more and more magic into the spell, a slow headache building at the base of her horn.
“Trixie!” A voice rang out, nearly drowned out by the loud ringing in her ears. She gasped, coughing roughly at the dryness in her throat. She felt her forelegs slipping, her chest roughly hitting the ground as her magic suddenly died. She panted, sucking in deep breaths as she forced herself to lift her head and focus on Luna.
“Di…Did I… do it?”
“Not quite... A for effort though. Stay still for a moment. This should help you wake up a bit...” Luna said, patting the exhausted mare on the shoulder. She lowered her head, touching her horn to the tip of Trixie’s horn, dark blue magic already bubbling at the tip. Magic coursed down its ivory length, arcing from her longer horn to Trixie’s. Trixie sat up, gasping for air as lightning flooded through her veins. Her eyes went wide, her heart pounding furiously against her chest. She stared at Luna in amazement, before frowning as she dropped her gaze.
“Why didn’t it work? What kind of bull headed unicorn made this stupid spell!” She exclaimed, a slight whining tone behind the disappointment in her voice.
“Because it was not supposed to.” Luna said, lifting herself to her hooves. She leaned down, stretching her forelegs as Trixie cocked an eyebrow at her. Luna turned, her tail darting out to tap Trixie on her nose as she walked toward her bed.
“What do you mean it wasn’t supposed to?” Trixie demanded, rubbing her nose and glaring at the retreating form of her mentor. Luna’s horn lit up dimly, the covers on her bed shifting to the side as she climbed onto her mattress.
“It was not supposed to work. If you had been able to cast that spell right off the bat, you would have astounded me. Quite simply put, My sister and I are two of the very few alive who have enough magical power to cast this spell correctly.” She explained. “Think on the purpose of the spell, think about how it works. Imagine the parts that have to happen to make it perform, and ease it along. Now, if you will excuse me, I am going to bed. ” Luna explained, horn flaring as she snuffed out the lights around the room. The light dimmed, a silver glow cast across the room by the full moon hanging just outside the window.
“Wait!” Trixie said, stomping a hoof as she glared at the lump beneath the covers. “I don’t understand!” She huffed as Luna moved, but only to grab a pillow and pull it over her head.
“Trixie does not need your help anyways! She is sure she can do this…” She said, trailing off as she scooped the book up in her magical grip. She stepped quietly across the room, fumbling with the book and door in her telekinesis. She groaned lightly, stepping forward to grab the door handle between her teeth haughtily.
“Hey Blue!” A voice called out, startling Trixie. She jumped, her ears pinned back as she glared into Quickshot’s smiling face.
“My. Name. Is. Trixie!” She said, glaring at the bat stallion. Beside him, Silver wing sat calmly against the far wall, a smile on his muzzle as he observed the two.
“Oh come on Blue. Everypony needs a nickname!” Quickshot exclaimed, sliding up to her with a wing extended. He put his wing around her shoulder, pulling her close to him as he gazed into the distance. Trixie glared at him through the hat scrunched up against her cheek.
“Wha’ about… Luly? No.. that’s too close to Luna… Trickster? That’s longa’ than Trixie..” Quickshot said, mumbling to himself as Trixie struggled in his grip. She shot a glare in Silver’s direction as he laughed.
“I got it! Mirage!” Quickshot exclaimed, throwing a hoof in the air suddenly. Trixie yelped as the support she had been fighting against vanished, leaving her to tumble to the floor unexpectedly. She rolled onto her back, glaring at the stallion as he stood above her with an ear to ear grin.
“Mirage! Cause you like illusion magic!” He said, holding out a hoof to help the mare up. Trixie batted his hoof away, pulling herself to her own four hooves. She dusted herself off despite the lack of dirt on her coat, slowing as a thought entered her head.
“How did you know I like Illusion magic?” Trixie asked, glancing between the two stallions.
Quickshot hesitated, glancing at Silver than to Princess Luna’s bed chambers. “Um.. I don’ think I’m supposed tah tell you just yet. Night Mother would want to be the one to tell yah.”
Trixie opened her mouth to question the two further but decided against it with a weary sigh
“Very well. Trixie shall head to the library to work on Princess Luna’s lesson.” She turned away from the pair, bidding them goodnight as she started down the staircase. She had just wound her way around the corner when a thought entered her mind.
“Um... Quickshot?” She said, slowly walking back up the staircase. She cleared the top of the stairs, biting back a groan as the stallion stepped toward her.
“Could you show Trixie how to get to the library?” She asked, grimacing as a large smile appeared on the stallions face.
“Trixie?” A familiar voice called out, slowly drawing the unconscious mare back to the land of the living. Trixie opened her eyes slowly, slamming them shut as Celestia’s cursed ball of fire drilled into her cornea. She lifted her head, wiping away a string of saliva that had leaked from the corner of her mouth. She risked opening her eyes again, finally able to take a look around.
She sat in the library, a large table before her with dozens upon dozens of books stacked high around her. The tome Luna had lent her sat before her, it’s cover spotted with the unicorns drool. She blinked a few times, lifting her eyes to take in Princess Luna sitting across from her, a bemused smile on her muzzle.
“Did you come here and read until you passed out?” Luna asked, glancing up at the tall books towering around Trixie. “How many of these did you read last night?”
Trixie looked down at the book before her, before looking to her right and left.
“Um.. Including this one?” She asked, indicating the book before her.
Luna nodded eagerly, clearly impressed.
“Um… One.” Trixie confessed, blushing as Luna’s jaw dropped.
“What is with all these books around you then?”
“Trixie used them to… hide… from the librarian…” She said, avoiding Luna’s gaze. “To be fair, Trixie did study the spell.” Her shoulders slumped as she pushed the book away. “But… I don’t understand it. Trixie has never been good learning from books…” She said, trailing off as her cheeks heated up.
“I think I can help you with this.” Luna said, smiling as her horn flashed.
Mist coiled out of the air, collecting in a rolling and twisting mass just above the table. The fog darkened, slowly spreading across the table until it spilled gently over the edge, small dots of light appearing in its depths. Swirls of light and color appeared in the strange creation, slowly swirling and twisting in the dark nether.
“Is that... the night sky?” Trixie said, eyes narrowed as she studied the magical construct before her.
“It is. I use it to help me make sure my stars are in their correct places. It is not necessary for me to control the night sky, but I find a closer visual is a great aid when I have changes to make.” Luna explained, absentmindedly scratching at her chin as she gave a quick once over to the model before her. She reached across the table and nudged a single star to the side, smiling at the action.
“I do not know what it is, but Polaris does not like to stay in place.” She chuckled at Trixie’s awed expression. “Now. This spell does not just model the night sky, that is merely what I use it for the most nowadays.” Trixie tore her eyes away from the model, shaking her head as she refocused on Luna.
“Imagine the spell as… More like a giant… Hmm.” Luna said, trailing off quietly. Her ears laid back against her head as she thought.
“I got it. Imagine this spell as a meal.” She said, drawing a skeptical look from the unicorn before her. “Just listen. Meals have many ingredients. You would have to be a master cook to be able to take a single glance at someones cooked meal and know exactly, in that moment, how to cook it yourself.” She explained, smiling as Trixie nodded.
“This spell is similar. To understand how to cast it, you must take it apart and view it from it’s ingredients.” Her horn flared as the model condensed into mist once more, before expanding outwards to several arcane symbols, each glowing with a different form of magic. Trixie reached out slowly running a hoof through the mist, shuddering at the strange feeling.
“To cast this spell, just imagine taking apart the spell in three dimensions. Imagine being able to turn and roll it around in the air, to be able to examine it from a different point of view.” Luna waved a hoof through the air, dispelling the magic as she leveled an expectant gaze at Trixie.
Trixie took a deep breath, nodding as her horn sputtered to life, a violet glow surrounding the appendage as she copied Luna’s instructions. A moment passed without any results, but slowly light blue mist formed in the air above the table, swirling and twisting over each other like Luna’s had done. It spread out slowly, taking up only half of the table unlike Luna’s previous model. The mist condensed into arcane symbols once more, thin trails of colored smoke linking them together.
“Good job Trixie.” Luna said, smiling at her student. “First try.”
Trixie nodded, flipping her mane over her shoulder as she reared onto her back legs. “Of course Trixie performed on the first try! Was there ever any doubt?”
Luna shook her head, smiling despite herself at the unicorns actions. “If you will excuse me, I am heading to meet Celestia for lunch. If you would like to join us, you are more than welcome to.” Luna said, turning and waiting for Trixie to decide.
Trixie bit her lip, running a hoof through the mist from her new spell idly. After a moment she passed a hoof through the spell, dispelling it into magical contrails.
“Trixie will honor the princesses with her presence.” The mare said, arranging her features into the definition of a haughty smile. If Luna had not been waiting for a response from the mare, she would not have noticed the slight quiver in Trixie’s voice, or the way Trixie’s eyes were widened just a bit too big for a natural smile.
“Very well. Come along then.” Luna said, her gaze lingering on Trixie for a moment longer than necessary. She finally turned, winding her ways between bookshelves back toward the open lobby. Trixie ran after her, skidding to a stop as she returned for the book Luna had loaned her.
She finally caught up to Luna outside the library, the book hovering just behind her as she ran. Luna smiled as Trixie fell in place beside her, speed trotting to keep up with Luna’s longer gait. The mare stuck close to her mentor, not quite familiar with the castle just yet. Luckily for her, the dining hall was quite close to the library.
“Trixie.” Luna said suddenly, stopping just outside the doors with her horn aglow. She remained quiet until Trixie focused on her, glancing toward the doors uncertainly. “You will sit beside me, which will place you between Celestia and I. There will be other ponies dining with us, but they should… well, ignore you. If anyone speaks to you, just answer their questions and… try to mind your manners.” She said, pleading with the unicorn.
Trixie lifted a hoof to her chest, an affronted look on her face. “Trixie is the very picture of eloquence. She can have these nobles twisted around her hoof in seconds!” She said, stomping past Luna with fire in her eyes.
She turned around, bucking the doors wide open with her rear legs. She spun in place as the doors opened, rearing onto her back legs as she dramatically flapped her cape behind her.
“THE GREAT AND POWERFUL TRIXIE HAs… arrived.” She said, trailing off as she took in the ponies before her. Dozens of nobles sat in the large dining hall Trixie had been taken through earlier that week, each staring at her with a mixture of confusion, arrogance, and disgust. Behind her, she could hear Luna’s hooves shuffling nervously.
“Sister…” Luna said, speaking to the large white alicorn at the far end of the table. Celestia had a bemused smile on her face, a hoof over her lips as she held back a musical laugh. “Trixie... as everyone can now see…” She said, mumbling under her breath. “Has decided to join us for lunch.”