“All right class, hand in your assignments.”
Assignment? What assignment? I don’t remember having any projects. I’ve never missed a deadline in my life. What will this do to my GPA? I’ll never get into Canterlot Magic Academy now!
Wait a minute, I already applied. I sent in my application months ago. Why am I worried? Now that I think about it, I remember having all my finals too, and graduating. What am I even doing here?
It was that question that woke me up. I had to rub my eyes just to make sure it was a dream. But I was right; I was still lying in my bed in my own house. It was very strange. I’d finished Unicorn Primary school months ago, and I still have nightmares about homework.
I rolled myself out of bed and onto the floor, which felt as if it were ice. I don’t know why I woke up so early that day. It was summer after all.
It didn’t seem worth doing up my mane, but I decided to just get it to where I was presentable. A pewter mane on white coat was easy enough to work with, thank goodness. With no knots, I just had to brush the bangs together and I was ready for the day. It turned out a bit different today, but I think it turned out rather well. My mane tapered to various points, as opposed to the curls I normally did. I decided to give it a shot. I mean If everything else was changing, why not keep my mane in step?
I should’ve been less concerned with my mane, and more worried about my acceptance letters. I’d sent out five, and one had already come back denied. All of my friends had gotten accepted to theirs, and I didn’t want to be the odd mare out. My mother had always said it was because I aimed high, and she could’ve been right, but I began to wonder if I’d overestimated myself. I was biting my hooves when the mailmare arrived.
I was down at the mailbox before she could shut it.
“You expecting some acceptance letters today?”
It was like she was psychic. “How could you tell?”
“It’s all over your face. You have the exact same look as the last six ponies who waited at the mailbox. They all got letters from their schools. Hope you get in.” With that, she took off to her next delivery. Hope you get in? Did I need to hope?
My excitement soon gave way to dread. What if they rejected me too? I began to go through the envelopes. It felt like an eternity, going through all the bills, subscriptions, and everything else that had nothing to do with me.
Finally, I found one with my name on it. It was a letter from Canterlot Magic Academy, my number one pick. If I didn’t get accepted, there was no way I could get a good education. I’d have to go to the local school here in Trottsdam.
“Stardust! Time for Breakfast!” Mother was calling. I was so worried about the letter, I’d forgotten about the rest of the world. It wasn’t a long walk back to the cottage, but carrying that letter, it felt like a mile.
Once inside, I set the letter down in my father’s brass bowl and was immediately hit by the smell of my mother’s cooking, which as always, smelled like paradise. “That smells delicious mother. What are we having?”
Mother was busy as a bee working whatever was in the pot. “I knew you would be stressing a bit today, so I made your favorite, biscuits with daisy gravy.”
It was just what I needed to alleviate some stress. A warm, full belly would make any rejection easier to swallow, though I barely remember eating at all. That letter was on my mind the entire time, which was a shame. I do love that stew.
“Slow down, dear. It looks like you’re trying to breathe that stew.” I hadn’t even noticed, but I was on my second bowl. “If you eat like that at school, your food bill will be more than the tuition!” I guess nervousness makes you hungry.
“What if I’m not accepted anywhere? What will I do?”
I didn’t want to be so pessimistic, but it’s hard not to think about failure with stakes this high.
I thought about getting another bowl, but that was just going to prolong my anxiety. I decided that I couldn’t wait any longer. I had to know if I’d been accepted. This was news that would guide the rest of my life. It was too important to put off any longer. I dashed over to the bowl where I had placed the letter, but mother called out to me. “Hold on, Dusty. Don’t you want to wait for your father?”
I did feel a little guilty. After all, my dad was the one who helped me with school work when I needed it, it was only fair that he be here.
My father, as if by fate, chose then walk in the door. “Howdy. How’s everybody doing?”
I hadn’t done it in years, but I ran right up to him and gave a hug that nearly squeezed the life of him. He could barely talk until I released my grip. “Hello Stardust. I take it you had a good day?”
“I don’t know yet. I just got the letter from Canterlot Magic Academy and..”
He cut me off mid-sentence. He was always about getting to the point of the matter. “Well what are you waiting for? Let’s see that letter!”
He was obviously more confident than I was. Nonetheless, I slit the envelope as neatly as I could. For some reason, I thought it would increase my chances of getting accepted. Eventually I decided enough was enough, I whipped the letter out and folded it out fast as a wonderbolt. I could feel a bead of sweat roll down my forehead. At that point I decided to be like father, and cut to the chase; was I or was I not accepted?
The first paragraph was all about the mission of the school, why they research magic and other such things, but nothing about admitting a pony named Stardust.
Finally, halfway through that stupid letter, I found what I was looking for, and it was exactly what I was hoping for.
“Wake up Dusty, we’re almost there.” Normally when I hear mother say that, we’re almost to Grandma and Grandpa Shine’s house. Now though, I was going to a whole new world.
Trottsdam wasn’t that big of a town. It had its own University, but it was only for educating local ponies. No research was done there, and nopony came from out of town. In other words, I would have been stuck there for the rest of my life.
But my hard work had paid off. All of my work as captain of our Magic Duel and Magic Performance teams had allowed me to be accepted to the Canterlot Magic Academy.
Everypony knew about the Academy, but very few had actually been there. It was where all of the most advanced magic was researched and archived. Any spell from apperating to raising the sun could be found in their library.
When we finally arrived, it was like I’d stepped into another world. Trottsdam was a very small town, and although everypony knew each other, nopony lived very close to their neighbors. My nearest friend was a twenty minute walk. Once I set hoof onto the main campus, I was overwhelmed by the amount of ponies in one place. It did scare me, but at the same time, I was in awe of the sheer size and exoticism.
Father snapped me out of the trance.
“You okay, punkin? You look like you’ve seen the princess herself.” I only then realized how much of a fool I looked. “C’mon. Let’s go check out your room.”
It was a bit of a haul up the steps, but it was only the fourth floor. I’d get used to that walk. “12...13...14. Here we are.” I unlocked the room, and to my surprise, it was rather bare. The walls were plain white, and the only furnishings were the wooden bunk bed, a wooden desk, and a floor to ceiling bookshelf. There was also a closet that was barely big enough for my bags. Luckily, it was empty save for the hanger rack.
“It’s a lot less than I expected.” I couldn’t help but look disappointed in the accommodations.
“Oh Dusty, it’ll be what you make of it, and you’ll have plenty of time to work it up to something homey.” Mother, as always, saw the glass half full.
“If I’m not studying my plot off all the time.” A little joke went a long way to cheer me up. Of course I’d be able to work on this, I’m used to high workloads. How hard could it be?
“Well, this is it.” Mother began to tear up. “My little filly is going off into the world.”
“Mom, I’m not a filly anymore. I can handle this.” I said what we both were thinking, but I wasn’t entirely sure I believed it. I gave both of my parents a great big hug and watched as they walked out of my room. It felt like they were walking out of my life, but it was a good thing. Classes started next Monday, and I was going to start strong. Time to get down to business.
First day at the Academy, and was rearing to go. I felt like I could do anything. It was that feeling of having no idea what lay ahead, but you just don’t care because you are invincible.
My first class of the day was Transportation. The Academy didn’t bother with intro classes. If you needed to review, you didn’t belong in this school. The classroom was massive. It seemed like you could fit another building inside, but there were only a handful of ponies there. It seemed rather strange. As I walked over, they all noticed my staring at the huge interior.
“Hey there,” a blue maned unicorn called out to me. “You here for transport?”
I had to think about my situation for a second. I wasn’t used to strangers calling out to me. “Oh, uh, yeah. This is the right room, right?”
“Yup. Say, you look awful young to be in this course.” She then perked up, like she’d had an epiphany. “Are you a plebe?”
I didn’t have any idea what she was talking about. Must’ve been academy lingo. “A what?”
“That’s a yes. For the future, plebe is a term we use for newbies. From there it goes youngsters, juniors, and firsties.” This was something I’d have to remember. “So, if you’re a plebe, how’d you get into this class? It’s supposed to be for youngsters.”
“Well, the admission person said I could sign up for it, so I did.” From their expressions, you’d have thought I told them I owned the school.
“Wow, nopony gets to skip classes. I can’t wait to see what you can do here. Name’s Sol Ray.” She extended a hoof, and I gave her a shake back.
“Stardust. So, where’s the professor?”
She was about to laugh, but then realized who I was. “Oh yeah, that’s not really how things work around here. You see, I’m the JI, Junior instructor, and I’m in charge of making sure you follow the course. Basically, I’ve been taking this class ahead of you, but only slightly, so we’re encouraged to learn the material together. Make sense?” This was new; I’d never heard of students teaching a class.
It was confusing, but I gave her a nod. I wanted to get in and see how this works out. “OK then, first exercise will be partner levitation. Each of you will buddy up, and keep each other aloft as long as possible. Go!”
I looked around, but before I could even call out to anyone, I was already in the air. I noticed a unicorn standing a few feet below me. “Well, c’mon. Lift!”
Levitation was easy. Just imagine where you want an object to be, and it’s like a set of phantom limbs is at your disposal. I could have done it in my sleep.
I focused on the pony, and lifted her even with my height. Neither of us said a word. We were both concentrating on maintaining the spell. Eventually, my mind settled into a lull, and I could focus on other things. I began to wonder if all of my classes would be like this. Would I always be the plebe in a class of youngs, or youngsters, whatever they’re called. This was going to be a long year.
I must’ve been in my thoughts for a while. When I became aware of my surroundings again, all the others were focusing very intensely on their spells. I check the clock on the wall, and it had already been thirty minutes! From the looks of everypony else though, you’d have thought we’d been here since dawn.
Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed another pair going higher, way past the rest of the group. They climbed up until they touched the ceiling. They were ambitious for sure, but I knew how difficult it is to lift anything, let alone another pony that high. I started to worry about them.
“Hey, focus now. I don’t feel like falling.”
I looked back to my partner, and she was visually struggling to keep me aloft. I couldn’t understand why. I’m sure she’s lifted heavier things in her time here.
I couldn’t help but look back up, but I’m glad that I did. I could see the two ponies near the ceiling were beginning to waver. They were obviously struggling to maintain their height. Suddenly, they both started to drop.
I had to do something. If they hit the ground from that height, they’d probably never walk again, or worse. “Hey, let go.”
The other unicorn couldn’t even talk. She simply let go. I grabbed myself in my own levitation, and dashed over to where the others were falling. It was hard to catch them, moving targets always are, but I had to.
I managed to focus in on them both, and once I grabbed them, they gradually came to a stop just inches above my head.
“Whoa, who caught us.” The two looked down, and saw me.
“Holy cow, kid. How’d you do that?”
By this point, I was starting to feel the burn. I can levitate a lot at once, but it was still hard. “I’d rather just set you down.”
I lowered the two ponies, my partner, and myself onto the floor, just as Sol Ray arrived. “Stardust, what happened?”
I had to breathe for a few seconds. Even in Magic duels, I’d never been as worried as I had just been. “I saw these two falling, so I got over as fast as I could and caught them.”
Sol looked over and noticed my partner in a heap on the ground. “Who was holding you up?”
“I was. I needed to get over here fast, so I just told her to let go.”
Sol looked astonished. “Are you telling me you levitated your partner, yourself, and caught these two, all within a few seconds of each other, and after a half hour of partner levitation?”
I didn’t think of it, but the way Sol phrased it, it did sound kind of incredible. I simply nodded. She looked away to ponder, then beckoned me to follow her.
“Come with me. We need to get you somewhere better suited to your abilities.”
“Where’s that?” I had to ask.
“We’ll let the dean decide that.”