In the following weeks, Dinky’s life finally began to return to some vague semblance of normalcy. Just as Clarity had predicted, discussion of the fire in the tower declined when no new information came to light, and within a few weeks, most students had basically forgotten about the incident.
There were still a few things that refused to settle down, though. The terrible rift in communication between Honeydew and Scuffle remained. As usual, Dinky and Clarity stuck together whenever possible, but they quickly found that it had only become possible to hang out with Honeydew or Scuffle. Both of them seemed to be avoiding one another, Dinky presumed, until one or the other could muster up the courage to try to sort things out. On the positive side, Scuffle seemed to be taking an active effort to remain on Dinky and Clarity’s good sides, to prove that he deserved the trust they had placed in him.
Honeydew’s enchanted ring had somehow become misplaced after her clash with Scuffle. Honeydew was unconcerned, however; she had no plans to continue wearing the ring after having accidentally used its power to threaten somepony bodily. Nevertheless, Dinky and Clarity had returned to the hideout the next day to search for it, but the little bauble seemed to have vanished.
Honeydew and Scuffle’s attitudes weren’t the only things that were different. Dinky couldn’t help but notice that Sparkler seemed to be around more often. Whether the overseer was finally attempting to break her antisocial streak, or had some other purpose in mind, Dinky could only guess. Either way, given her past experiences with Sparkler, Dinky did her best to avoid any direct contact with the older filly, and was especially careful to make sure Sparkler didn’t catch her sneaking off to the forest hideout.
There were also a hoofful of small changes in the way the Academy operated. Against Bright Spark’s recommendations, Princess Celestia launched a program to keep an eye on the school in an attempt to catch it if any further evidence of dark magic use should arise. A small band of trained unicorn guards patrolled the castle, leaving the students alone but keeping a watchful eye on everything.
As another cautionary measure, Nester the changeling was suspended from his assistant role and put on probation while Celestia’s administration continued to investigate the possibility of Dinky having learned her dark spells from an outside source. Dinky, knowing Nester had, of course, nothing to do with the incident she’d caused, felt a little bad for him. However, she still hadn’t proven whether or not he’d been the one spying on her from the cover of the forest, so ultimately, her feelings were mixed.
And so, with the addition of these few changes, it became business as usual for the students at Celestia’s Academy. A hot, sunny July gave way to a warm and humid August. One evening, at the beginning of the month, Dinky met up with Scuffle as the two of them headed for Astronomy class.
“Hey, Dinks,” the colt greeted. “How’s it going?”
Dinky shrugged. “Alright, I guess. Things have been getting awfully busy lately, though. I’m worn out.”
Scuffle nodded. “You’re tellin’ me. Good thing Midsummer Holiday is coming up, huh?”
Dinky blinked and cocked her head. “What’s Midsummer Holiday?”
Scuffle raised his eyebrows. “You don’t know? It’s a week-long break from school in the middle of August,” he explained. “We've already been studying for months. I'm glad they give the students a chance to relax and recharge, before classes pick up the pace in preparation for final exams in November.”
Dinky grinned. “So it’s just some time off?”
“Well, that depends,” Scuffle said, smirking. “Most ponies go on vacation or something. My brothers are already planning a trip to some resort down to party the week away.”
Dinky laughed. “That sounds like them. As for me, I’ll probably just wind up going home for a few days.”
Scuffle shrugged. “I don’t actually have any plans either, as much as I might want to. Looks like it might be a boring holiday for both of us.”
“We still have a few weeks,” Dinky said. “Maybe some opportunity will turn up.”
Scuffle nodded absently. “So, uh… how’s Honeydew?” he asked, changing the subject abruptly. “We haven’t really, uh, talked much since that afternoon in the hideout.”
“She’s fine, I suppose," Dinky said slowly. "She seems to be back to her old self, except when you’re around.”
Scuffle grunted. “I guess it’s about time we try to patch things up,” he mumbled. “I don’t want her to have to avoid me forever.”
“Then maybe you should approach her about it,” Dinky suggested. “That might get things resolved much faster than if you wait for her to come to you.”
“I’ll talk to her soon,” Scuffle said, avoiding Dinky’s gaze. “I’m just still not sure what I can say to change her opinion of me.”
The foals turned the corner and arrived at the Astronomy classroom. “I guess I’ll worry about it later,” Scuffle decided. “Princess Luna said she had something interesting to discuss with us today, right?”
Dinky nodded, and she followed Scuffle into the classroom.
As usual, as soon as everypony was present, the entire room began to ascend up the inside of the tower. The roof opened up and the class was lifted up into the night air. Princess Luna appeared in the darkness and gracefully floated down to the platform.
“I bid you welcome once again, my students,” Luna said, folding her wings gently against her sides. “On this fair evening, we will begin study on one of the most important topics of astronomy: the influence of the stars on unicorn magic. You would all do well to take notes; it’s best to know if the stars are in your favor before casting powerful spells.”
Dinky wasted no time in preparing her notebook. Scuffle appeared to be zoning out; it took a nudge from Dinky to get him to retrieve his own notebook.
“But before we begin,” Luna continued, “please allow me to recount a bit of relevant history.”
Scuffle rolled his eyes. “Didn’t we get enough of this in Magic in History class?” he mumbled to Dinky.
“I heard that, my young colt,” Luna said with a chuckle, causing Scuffle to jump. “I can assure you, this is not something that would have been covered in the Academy’s history class. It’s not so much a list of historical facts as it is a simple story, and one I think you may all be very interested to hear, at that.”
Luna’s horn began to glow with bright blue light, and something curious started to happen. The stars seemed to flicker and begin to disappear, and the moon’s sheen dulled until it was hardly visible. Soon, the detail and color of the world surrounding the tower began to fade. It was as if everything beyond the boundaries of the classroom was melting into darkness, while everything within the circle, including the desks and the ponies sitting at them, remained brightly lit and sharply defined. The students looked around in untroubled curiosity; after all, spells like this were quite common for Princess Luna.
“Is this some kind of illusion?” Scuffle asked Dinky as the last traces of the world beyond the classroom were replaced with inky blackness.
“It’s gotta be,” Dinky concluded. “If it was a darkness spell or something, we wouldn’t be able to see ourselves, but I can see you clear as day.”
The circular classroom now floated in an endless void. Luna’s spell did not stop, however. Her horn brightened further, and suddenly the darkness was full of wisps of magic in a rainbow of colors. Satisfied, the princess began to speak.
“Long, long ago, in Equestria’s earliest days, magic did not manifest itself in the form we know today,” she began. “It has existed, of course, for longer than even the most ancient stretches of Equestria’s recorded time, but not in the way one might expect. You see, magic is a force that pervades everything, living or not, in the whole of our world. It is in the earth, in the air, in the seas, and of course, in everypony, unicorn or not.”
Dinky raised a hoof. “That’s why earth ponies have a special connection with the earth, and pegasi with the sky, right?”
“Precisely,” Luna said. “As you’ve all heard many times, all races of ponies have magic, even if it doesn’t manifest itself in the same way.”
The princess’s expression seemed to darken. “Which, coincidentally, leads me to the next part of my story,” she continued. “You see, in Equestria’s earliest days, that differentiation did not exist.”
That caught the attention of everypony in the class. Dinky leaned forward, curious to hear more.
“While magic still exists in everything even today, in the far distant past, accessing it was much easier,” Luna stated. “Energy practically flowed from every living thing, as abundant and free as the very air around us, waiting for living creatures to direct it however they pleased.”
Luna paused, and smiled at the wonder-filled faces of many of her students. “It sounds like a very different world than the one we live in today, doesn’t it?” she asked. “At that time, magic was so abundant and so malleable that earth ponies and pegasi could direct it to perform simple tasks just as easily as unicorns.”
“Why isn’t it still like that?” somepony asked. “Did the magic run out?”
Luna shook her head. “My child, as long as there is life in Equestria, there will continue to be magic. But, unfortunately, our fair world is far from a paradise. Change occurs, and it is not always good. As you know, unicorns are capable of wielding most types of magic, and pegasi and earth ponies can channel a few types that unicorns can’t. There used to be possibilities far more boundless than that, but alas, unfavorable events came to pass, and now the full palette of magic is inaccessible to any one race. But that’s a story for another time.”
Luna paused, puzzled, and tapped a hoof to her chin. “Where was I? Ah yes, while magic was freely accessible at the time, it was used only for the simplest of tasks: mere extensions of the abilities of the physical body. I was a mere child of only a few centuries when ponies began to try to release the potential of this magic, and use it to do great things. A particular group of especially powerful ponies went on to invent our modern day spells.”
“Why haven’t we ever heard of these ponies?” another colt asked. “Wouldn’t they be household names?”
“Oh, but they are,” Luna said, chuckling. “Although perhaps not in the way you think.”
Luna’s horn lit up again, and suddenly a crowd of ethereal ponies materialized in the darkness beyond the classroom. The holograms, unaware of the foals watching their actions, began to direct the colorful energy around the void.
Dinky recognized many of the holograms at once, but they were some of the last figures she had expected to see: characters from a storybook her mother used to read when she was little. Many of the ponies had strange and often comical features; one had horns like a bull, and another claws like a crab. Other ponies carried unusual items; Dinky spotted a bow and arrow, a jug of water, and a fishbowl with two goldfish. Still another pony was dressed in flowing classical garb that was common thousands of years prior.
Glancing quickly around the classroom, Dinky saw the other students having the same realization. They had all seen these ponies before.
“Surprised?” Princess Luna asked. “These thirteen ponies have been immortalized in legend that still exists today. We know them collectively as the Zodiac, and their representative constellations play an integral role in our night sky.”
“Wait,” Dinky cut in, “the Zodiac ponies were real?”
Luna nodded. “Yes, but they lived in Equestria so very long ago that all that remains of their legacy is the legends about their fantastic powers, and what little my sister and I learned in our interactions with them.”
The Princess turned back to the holographic ponies. “And now, an assignment,” she announced. “Observe the actions of the Zodiac ponies. See if you can determine which pony developed which field of magic. After all, every basic type of spell was first created by one of the thirteen you see here. The answers are available in your textbook, should you not be able to figure somepony’s specialty out. I shall finish the story surrounding them when we reconvene as a group.”
Luna motioned with a hoof for the students to rise, and everypony left his or her desk and trotted to the edges of the room to view the holograms. The holographic ponies had spread out around the dome of darkness, and were beginning to practice various spells.
“D’you already know all these ponies by name?” Scuffle asked Dinky, gesturing to the ethereal figures trotting around the room’s perimeter.
“Yeah, don’t you?”
Scuffle gave Dinky an empty stare. “I don’t read much. Shouldn’t come as a surprise, really.”
Dinky raised an eyebrow. “Uh… well, I guess I can teach you. But in exchange, you have to help me figure out which pony uses which magic. The stories never said anything about that.”
Scuffle nodded and pointed to a pair of stallions flinging spells at one another. “Those two are dueling. I say we start there.”
Dinky chuckled. “You always go straight for the battle magic, eh Scuffle?”
“You know it,” Scuffle replied, returning Dinky’s grin.
The two foals approached the edge of the darkness and watched the stallions. A bulky red earth pony with horns like a bull swung his head forcefully and conjured up a fireball, which he tossed at his opponent, a smaller and nimbler blue earth pony with curled horns like a ram. The blue pony responded with a shield spell, and after he’d diverted the fireball, he proceeded to cast a spell of his own, creating a cloud of swirling color that disoriented the red stallion.
“The bull-pony is Taurus,” Dinky said, “and the ram-pony is Aries. It looks like both of them know their battle magic pretty well.”
“Not just battle magic,” Scuffle pointed out. “Taurus is using offensive spells, and Aries is using defensive ones. Kind of like my brothers and me!”
At that moment, Taurus shook free of Aries’ trap and fired forth a great beam of energy, knocking Aries to the ground. The ram-horned pony attempted to rise for a moment, and then waved a hoof, conceding to his opponent. Scuffle frowned and heaved a sigh.
“They’re really like my brothers and me,” he grumbled. “My lousy defensive spells are just the coward’s way out. Offense always wins in the end.”
“Don’t talk like that!” Dinky scolded. “The pony who wins has either stronger magic skills, greater wit, or both. One type of magic isn’t inferior!”
Scuffle rolled his eyes. “Remember our duel at the beginning of the year, Dinks?” he asked. “Both of us used primarily defensive magic. And do you know what happened?”
“Sparkler caught us,” Dinky replied flatly.
“Before that,” Scuffle said. “We were stuck in a stalemate. Defensive magic can’t win a duel. It can only make it drag on longer.”
Scuffle kicked at the stone floor. “If I can’t learn some powerful offensive magic, my brothers are never going to think I’m tough.”
Dinky opened her mouth to reply, but Scuffle held up a hoof. “Don’t, please,” he said. “I already let myself get too sappy there. Let’s just—”
An arrow whizzed through the air. Although it was nothing more than an illusion, it passed right in front of Scuffle’s nose, causing the colt to jump back. The arrow sailed a few pony-lengths further and hit the center of an equally illusory wooden target.
“Alright, who’s the wise guy?” Scuffle grumbled, as he and Dinky turned to the pony who had fired the arrow.
An orange pegasus with a dark grey mane grinned as he prepared another arrow, let it fly, and smirked as it landed dead center, a hair’s breadth from the last one.
“Get a load of this guy,” Scuffle chuckled.
“That’s Sagittarius,” Dinky explained. “Even in the stories, he’s a famous archer. I don’t know what he knows about magic, though.”
“Magic or not, he’s pretty handy with that bow,” Scuffle commented.
Grinning to himself, Sagittarius turned around, facing away from his target, and drew his bow. He let the arrow fly, and the projectile changed course in midair, sailing over his head and sticking in the center of the target once again.
Scuffle blinked. “Maybe a little too handy.”
“Oh, I get it!” Dinky said, her eyes lighting up. “It’s not the pony, it’s the bow! It’s enchanted!”
“So, Sagittarius invented enchantments,” Scuffle said. “Should I be writing this down?”
“Come on,” Dinky said, ignoring Scuffle’s question. “Let’s take a look at the rest of them!”
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dinky quickly became totally engrossed in studying the illusory ponies Luna had conjured up. As promised, each one seemed to have a magical specialty.
Capricorn was a quirky little earth mare with horns like a goat, but a tail styled to look like a fish’s. Dinky was never quite sure what Capricorn’s appearance was supposed to represent, but her magic was easy enough to determine; the mare transformed herself into a fish that swam through the darkness, and then into a goat that seemed to bound up a shadowy crag, before returning to her curious pony form with characteristic of both. Briefly, Dinky wondered if Capricorn was responsible for the strange animal features so many of the Zodiac ponies bore.
Gemini turned out to be not one pony but two. Dinky, who had been trying desperately to understand why there were thirteen ponies but only twelve signs, sighed in relief when she realized the unicorn twins both represented a single type of magic. The Gemini twins seemed to do little more than take turns writing in a book, and it was only when one of them drew a familiar rune in the blackness that Dinky realized they must have invented the use of magical symbols and support spells.
The earth pony in silky, toga-like attire that Dinky had noticed earlier turned out to be Virgo, but there was no hint to the mare’s ability. Only when she and Scuffle looked it up did Dinky discover Virgo’s talents had lain in psychic and precognitive ability.
Cancer was the strange crab-clawed earth pony. She flickered in and out of view, and for a moment, Dinky was concerned that Luna’s illusion was fading. But when the other holograms remained intact, she quickly realized Cancer herself was using the spell. Light, and the illusions it could create, appeared to be her specialty.
There were also three ponies who seemed to be working together, and Dinky was able to identify them as well. The first was Leo, a powerful earth mare with lion-like features. The second was Pisces, the unicorn Dinky had observed carrying the fishbowl. The last was Libra, a slim, speedy pegasus who toted a golden scale. These three, according to the textbook, didn’t really invent specific spells. What they did do was unlock the potential of their surroundings. Leo learned to control magic of the earth, Pisces the sea, and Libra the sky above. Dinky supposed these three were the ones to thank for the special kind of magic that earth ponies and pegasi had.
Dinky and Scuffle were busy studying Aquarius, a sky blue earth pony with a jug of water, when Luna came striding up to them.
“Ahh, Aquarius,” the princess said as she too watched the hologram. “Truly, she was a wonderful pony in her day. Inspired by the ability of water to carry objects effortlessly along in its smooth flow, she began experimenting with magic to see if it could do the same. We owe our levitation and teleportation spells, some of the most fundamental magic there is, to Aquarius.”
“Princess Luna, did you personally know the Zodiac ponies?” Dinky asked, craning her neck to gaze up at the much larger pony.
“Only a few,” Luna admitted. “Alas, in that era, I spent far more time than I should have in solitary study. Sometimes I regret that I did not take the time to meet all the pioneers of modern magic, as sister did.”
Princess Luna seemed to become lost in thought for a moment, so Dinky took the time to observe Aquarius. As expected, the earth pony drew the water from her jug with a levitation spell and formed it into numerous intricate patterns in midair.
“Hey, who’s that pony?” Scuffle asked Dinky.
Dinky looked, and was surprised to see a pony she almost hadn’t noticed. Unlike all the others, this mare was standing far away from the border of the classroom, way out in the depths of Luna’s dome of darkness. There was little about her that was unusual, save for her tail, which was bent up so that the tip dangled a foreleg’s length above her back. The mare stood there, doing nothing in particular.
“I can’t tell, let me check,” Dinky admitted, opening her textbook. She glanced down the list, and at the very bottom, noticed one very short entry.
Name: Scorpio
Characteristics: Red mane, purple tail, earth pony.
Background: Scorpio’s contributions to modern magic are considered negligible.
“Scorpio didn’t invent… anything?” Dinky asked quizzically. “That can’t be right. Hey Princess, what did Scorpio…”
She trailed off. Princess Luna had wandered off and was now back at the front of the class.
“Class is almost over!” she called. “I know many of you have not had time to observe all of the Zodiac ponies, but I require you to return to your seats so that we may finish the lesson.”
Dinky glanced one last time at the hazy form of Scorpio, and then trotted back to her seat.
“Now that you are all familiar with some of the figures of the Zodiac, you are probably wondering what modern significance they hold. And for that answer, you need only to look to the stars.”
Luna’s enormous illusion dissolved instantly, bathing the tower in moonlight once again.
“Many constellations appear in the night sky, and twelve of them are representations of the twelve signs of the Zodiac,” Luna explained. "At any given time of year, we are under the power of one of these constellations. The cycle of twelve rotates just once per year.”
“What do you mean ‘under their power’?” a filly asked.
Princess Luna smiled. “Ah, and here we reach the key point of the lesson. It’s important to know which Zodiac pony is associated with which type of magic, because spells of that type are stronger when their representative constellation is directly overhead! For example, on this particular date, we are very near the middle of Leo’s portion of the cycle. Her constellation is about to reach its apex in the sky, and you can be certain that all around Equestria, earth ponies are finding their crops to be even more cooperative and bountiful than usual, thanks to Leo’s earth magic, which they channel. Unicorns can also use earth magic to bring themselves in tune with the soil and the things growing in it and living upon it.”
Dinky made a mental note to tell Honeydew, certain that the timid filly would be delighted to hear that her favorite type of spell was currently at the peak of its power.
“As you might imagine, spells that have a constellation on the opposite end of the cycle will be weakest,” Luna continued. “Right now, Aquarius has been away from her apex for six months, and it will be six more until she returns. As a result, her spells are weaker. For instance, ponies who can only just barely manage a teleport spell at other times of the year may find they simply cannot complete one right now. The overall effect is not terribly powerful; that is to say, when performing simpler spells, it’s not uncommon to not even notice a difference throughout the year. But when using a spell that requires all your strength, the Zodiac constellations are one force you most certainly want on your side.”
The Princess looked at the moon. “I believe our time is up for tonight. Study these ponies, young ones, and your future magical endeavors are sure to go more smoothly.”
With that, Princess Luna’s lesson concluded. The students packed their notes and textbooks into their saddlebags as the classroom began its descent back to the base of the tower.
Scuffle yawned. “Well, Scorch and Frosty should be asleep by now, so it should be easy gettin’ back to my room,” he said. “Wanna walk back to the towers with me, Dinks?”
“You go ahead,” Dinky replied. “I’m going to stay behind and ask Princess Luna a few things about that last Zodiac pony we saw.”
Scuffle nodded. “Let me know what you find out,” he called as he turned to go.
Dinky waited until the rest of the students left the room. She remained alone with Princess Luna, who was erasing a few notes about the Zodiac left on the chalkboard.
“Is there something you need, Dinky Doo?” Luna asked, without turning away from her task.
“I just had a question about the lesson, if you’re not busy,” Dinky admitted.
“I can spare a few minutes,” Luna said. “What is it that was not clear?”
“Well, I noticed the textbook talks about each pony’s contribution to the study of magic,” Dinky began, “except for this last one, for some reason. If Scorpio didn’t do anything important, why is she included in the Zodiac?”
Luna still didn’t turn to Dinky, but she did stop the eraser mid-stroke. Awkward silence followed. Dinky shifted her weight uncomfortably.
“An ironic coincidence indeed that you should be the one to inquire further about Scorpio,” Luna said, finally turning away from the board. “You are right to assume Scorpio is a notable magical figure, but the details of her ability are left out of the text for a specific reason.”
“Oh,” Dinky mumbled. “So… basically, I shouldn’t ask?”
Luna paused. “In all honesty, I probably should not continue to speak on the subject, but I am of the mind that, in an Academy such as this one, curiosity is a quality to be valued. I shall answer your question, but I suspect you will quickly understand why it is a topic not covered by the text, if you haven’t already.”
Dinky looked away. “I… already have some idea, I think.”
Luna nodded. “Scorpio was an intelligent pony, and perhaps one of the most gifted figures of the Zodiac. She had the potential to develop amazing spells, but her ideas about the uses and purposes of magic… differed somewhat from the others. While many of the Zodiac ponies found that magic could perform almost any task when properly channeled, Scorpio was convinced that the only way to unlock its true potential was to take control over it. She began to find ways to warp and twist the energy into the forms she desired.”
Dinky sighed. “What Scorpio invented was dark magic, wasn’t it?” she asked finally.
“Indeed,” Luna said, sitting down so that her head was closer to the filly’s. “It was immediately apparent to the other members of the Zodiac that Scorpio’s experiments were somewhat worrisome, but Scorpio had no interest in listening to their advice.”
“What happened?” Dinky asked anxiously. “Did the magic ultimately corrupt her?”
“There was little, I fear, to corrupt,” Luna admitted. “Unlike you, Scorpio knew her spells were poisoning the purity of the natural magical forces. But she aimed to use magic to gain power, and fulfill her desires.”
“Did the rest of the Zodiac stop her?”
“For quite some time, they did not,” Luna answered. “While her heart may have been wicked, Scorpio had a silver tongue. Despite the obvious atrocity of her experiments, she managed to convince many of her peers, both within the Zodiac and without, that what she was doing would ultimately benefit Equestria.”
Luna paused and took a long, slow breath. “Scorpio’s spells became more extreme, more horrific… and more powerful. Some ponies began to study under her, and her progress increased more quickly. These ponies, many of which were goodhearted and simply curious, gradually began to change under the influence of Scorpio’s spells. It was at this time that the rest of the Zodiac decided she had gone too far. And so, in order to quell the spread of darkness before it became too severe, they made a desperate decision. Combining their many magical talents, they cast a massive spell that spread to the whole of Equestria, making magic in general far harder to access. Unicorns can still summon it because of the properties of the horn, and pegasi, earth ponies, and perhaps seaponies if there are any left, can still use forms of magic their bodies are in tune with, but have lost access to the spectrum of spells as a whole as a result of this decision.”
“So that’s why only unicorns can study multiple forms of magic!” Dinky realized. “What happened then? Was it enough to stop Scorpio from corrupting more ponies?”
“It had a great deal of effect,” Luna said. “Many ponies were saved from the spreading darkness. But nopony realized just how Scorpio would react to the change.”
“Could she do anything about it? She’s an earth pony, so her magic was gone, right?”
“Incorrect,” Luna said. “The spell the Zodiac ponies cast made magic far more difficult to summon, but it was not entirely out of reach of extremely powerful ponies, and Scorpio, like her peers in the Zodiac, was one such pony. Outraged, Scorpio began imbuing the only remaining ponies capable of wielding her spells, the unicorns, with enormous amounts of dark magic, leading to the rapid disintegration of their morality and fueling a lust for power and dominance not unlike her own.”
“She built an army?” Dinky gasped, rocking forward on her hooves. “How did they stop her?”
“The rest of the Zodiac confronted her directly as soon as they realized what she was up to,” Luna said. “They were able to subdue the unicorns, but Scorpio herself was more than a match for any one of them alone; her spells, evil though they were, were greatly enhanced. And so they resorted to desperate measures. Pooling their magic, they created a great rift in space, throwing Socrpio as well as themselves, into a plane beyond physical being. And so Equestria lost all of the pioneers of magic in one fell swoop.”
“Beyond physical being?” Dinky repeated. “So… they ceased to exist?”
“Not quite,” Luna said. “They can no longer exist as we knew them, but they still exist now in another form. And interestingly, this form is visible in our night sky.”
Dinky’s eyes grew wide. “Do you mean that the constellations appeared when the ponies left Equestria?” she asked.
“Correct,” Luna replied. “It is impossible to fully understand all the implications, but we are left with little choice but to believe the twelve signs of the Zodiac are the ponies who lived here thousands of years ago, continuing their battle throughout eternity in the heavens above, and granting their power to the ponies below.”
Dinky slid into a sitting position, stunned by the gravity of Scorpio’s influence on Equestria. “So… Scorpio’s corrupted unicorns went on to pass knowledge of dark magic down in secret through the ages, right?”
“Indeed,” Luna said sadly. “Celestia and I did our best to help those who were not beyond help, and imprison all the rest where they could do no harm, but as you yourself have seen and, in fact, demonstrated, it has never been possible to eradicate it completely.”
Dinky nodded. “Thank you for telling me all this, Princess. And don’t worry, after what happened a few weeks ago, I promise you I’ll never use another of Scorpio’s evil spells.”
“That is wise,” Luna said simply. “Now return to your tower, young one. I am sure you are eager for your rest.”
Dinky said goodbye to Princess Luna and trotted off into the castle’s silent halls.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dinky’s friends were all interested in the details of the Zodiac, and equally shocked to hear the story of Scorpio. After class the next day, Dinky and Clarity trotted out to sit by the waterfall on the grounds and discussed it a little further.
“So dark magic becomes even more powerful around the beginning of November when Scorpio reaches the top of the sky?” Clarity asked.
“I guess so,” Dinky replied. “It certainly creates some worrying possibilities. Maybe it’s even the reason I haven’t seen Sunbeam since the incident. He could be waiting for Scorpio’s apex to get closer so his magic gets stronger.”
“Well, as far as figuring out what Sunbeam’s up to, we don’t actually have much to go on,” Clarity pointed out. “You’re still the only one who’s ever seen him. There’s always the possibility that you messed up his plan when you used dark magic in public before he wanted you to. I guess he could be waiting for Scorpio’s apex, but I think it’s just as likely that you’ll never see him again.”
Dinky nodded. “I really hope that’s the case. I still don’t know why he targeted me, but I think I might prefer it if I never find out.”
She tilted her head discreetly, indicating an all-too-familiar purple pony, who was lurking nearby. “For now, we have somepony else to worry about, I think.”
Sparkler was standing by one of the entrances to the castle, glancing repeatedly in Dinky’s direction. When she saw Dinky return the gaze, she frowned and looked away.
“Typical Sparkler, huh?” Clarity asked. “She still hates us.”
Dinky stamped a hoof. “I just wanna know why she hates us!” the filly grumbled. “Other fillies break the rules and get scolded or punished all the time, but once they’ve served their detention or whatever, Sparkler doesn’t treat them any differently. I don’t get what I’m doing that she’s so jealous of, but it’s kept us on her bad side for the whole term!”
Clarity furrowed her brow and did not immediately reply. Dinky could practically see the gears of thought turning in her friend’s head.
“So,” she said finally, “the issue here is that we’re stuck on Sparkler’s bad side, and we can’t get off it until we know why we’re on it in the first place.”
“Exactly,” Dinky answered. “And we can’t do that if she won’t open up and tell us a little about why she’s mad.”
A sly grin crept across Clarity’s face. “Well, that’s simple. If we don’t know anything about Sparkler, all we need to do is talk to a certain somepony who does.”
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Presto raised an eyebrow. “You want to talk about… Sparkler?”
Dinky and Clarity nodded in unison.
“Well, uh…” Presto stuttered, shifting his weight repeatedly between his left and right hooves and glancing nervously around the castle corridor, “why can’t you just ask Sparkler your questions? She’d be able to give a more direct answer, don’t you think?”
“Sparkler’s not exactly an open book,” Clarity said, sounding a tad exasperated. “But you already know that, don’t you, Presto?”
“And more importantly, you know why she’s like that,” Dinky added.
Presto sighed and hung his head. “Alright, alright, you got me,” he said. “I’ve known Sparkler since we both came here four years ago, and you’re right, she’s… reserved, at the best of times. What is it you want to know about her?”
“We’ve been trying to figure out why she’s been picking on Dinky, Honeydew, and me more than the other students,” Clarity explained. “She tries to keep that same coldness she shows everybody, but one time she said something about being jealous of Dinky’s knack for getting out of trouble, or something.”
“Do you know if there’s something going on in Sparkler’s life that’s making her act how she does?” Dinky asked.
Presto bit his lip. “Well, Sparkler and I have always been, err… ‘friends’ during our time here, but she’s never really poured out the details about her life away from school to me,” he admitted. “Rather, I’m one of the only ponies Sparkler has ever shown a hint of warmness to, but she tries her best to keep even that in check, it seems.”
“She hasn’t told you anything about herself?” Dinky asked. “Not even a little about her personal life?”
Presto shrugged. “Well, we used to talk a bit more when we were younger. Poor Sparkler seems to be growing more aloof as she ages, though. She never agreed to tell me anything about what she did while away from the Academy, but she did say it was ‘better for her not to get too involved with friends’. She seemed almost… paranoid, I suppose, as a younger filly. I can’t imagine what it was that made her so completely distrusting, even when she was your age. Nowadays, she focuses almost exclusively on her studies and her job as an overseer. I’ve been trying my best to get her to relax a little bit, to remind her that I haven’t given up on her, at least. But it almost seems like… like she wants everypony to give up on her…”
Presto stopped talking and glanced down at Dinky and Clarity nervously. “Er, perhaps I said a bit more than I needed to,” he said quickly. “What I’m trying to say is, Sparkler’s under a lot of stress, clearly. You’ve got two choices; you can leave her alone, and she’ll do the same to you, or you can do what I do and try to show her a little goodwill, even in the face of her attitude. Maybe if we keep at it, she’ll start to see…”
He sighed. “But then again, Dinky needs to stay out of trouble for a while, and poor Clarity has Lucid’s impeccable reputation hanging over her. The administration’s got its eyes on both of you for two different reasons. Sorry to say, that kinda puts you girls in a tough spot when it comes to that problem.”
“I get where you’re coming from,” Dinky said, pursing her lips thoughtfully. “As awful as Sparkler can be, she also seems… pitiable, in a way. We’d like to try to help if we could, but we don’t know what the problem is.”
Presto shook his head sadly. “Sorry, girls, if I knew more, I’d tell you. Sometimes there are ponies who keep their inner selves so guarded that nopony can reach them. I’ll keep trying, and you two… well, weigh your options, and do what feels right. That’s all the advice I can give.”
The overseer glanced at the clock. “And with that, I’ve got somewhere to be. Have a good day, girls!”
Presto gave a quick farewell nod and trotted off down the hall. Clarity turned to face Dinky.
“What do you think?” Clarity asked, perking up her ears inquisitvely. “Is there any hope of getting Sparkler to, um… not hate us?”
Dinky took a deep breath. “I think Presto had some good advice,” she admitted. “Let’s not do anything drastic. If we can’t get Sparkler to open up, at least we can say we tried.”
“That’s a good stance, I guess,” Clarity agreed. “I’m not getting my hopes up, but who knows. Maybe there’ll be some sort of miracle.”
I doubt it, Dinky thought as she followed Clarity to class.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Another week passed, but Dinky and her friends didn’t find any easy way to approach Sparkler. Once or twice Dinky attempted a friendly conversation, but this only served to confuse and further agitate the older filly. Dinky and Clarity agreed that for the time being, it would be best to return to their default plan and give Sparkler her space.
One Thursday evening, Dinky and Scuffle were sitting together on a big red couch in the student lounge area, working out the finer details of an Astronomy project, when Clarity came galloping up to them, looking quite excited.
“Hey you two, I have great news!” Clarity said breathlessly as she skidded to a halt on the carpet. “I just got a letter from my mom back in Whinnychester. It turns out our break for Midsummer Holiday falls on the same date as the annual summer festival we have back home, and she said I could invite you all to visit and join in the festivities! Anypony up for a trip to Whinnychester next week?”
Dinky clapped her front hooves together excitedly. “I’ve never been to Whinnychester,” she replied. “Let me just send a letter to my mom to make sure it’s ok. If she says yes, I’m definitely in!”
“Have fun,” Scuffle said. “I still don’t know what I’m doing for Midsummer Holiday myself. My brothers are going to Manehattan, but I sure as heck ain’t going with them.”
Clarity chuckled. “Did I sound like I was talking only to Dinky?” she asked playfully. “You’ve invited too, you know!”
“Oh!” Scuffle’s eyes lit up. “Well in that case, I’ll—”
He stopped, and his expression became concerned. “Wait… is Honeydew going?”
“Yep,” Clarity said. “Honeydew jumped at the chance to avoid going home to the farm. She agreed before the question was even out of my mouth.”
Scuffle frowned. “Uh, well… Honeydew might not be, um, totally thrilled if I decide to come along too. Maybe it’d be better if I sit this one out.”
Now it was Clarity’s turn to frown. “Scuffle, you and Honeydew need to sort this out eventually, you know…”
“I know!” Scuffle snapped. “I’ve been trying. I just haven’t quite figured out how to go about it yet…”
Clarity rolled her eyes. “Fine,” she said, flicking her tail dismissively. “If you change your mind though, let me know. This silly business is putting a big dent in your life and Honeydew’s. Consider the offer open up until Midsummer Holiday starts.”
Scuffle nodded. “Yeah. I’ll let ya know if things change before then.”
He turned to Dinky. “I think I can probably finish this star chart alone. You go and get a letter to your mom off to the mail dragon before he goes out hunting for the night.”
“Oh, right,” Dinky said, hopping off the couch. “Thanks again, Clarity! See you two later.”
Clarity and Scuffle waved goodbye as Dinky hastily trotted off.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
After a quick visit to Twinkletoes the dragon, and a brief exchange of letters with Ditzy Doo (who presumably enlisted Spike’s help, considering how quickly a response arrived), Dinky was able to confirm her trip to Whinnychester within a few hours. As the final week of classes before Midsummer Holiday arrived, students of all ages began to become restless. Luckily, several professors had developed a few tricks to keep their students engaged in class, even in the shadow of impending vacation.
Dinky could immediately tell Professor Luster had something out of the ordinary planned for Enchantments class that day. The mare had an almost teasing grin on her face, as if she could hardly contain her own excitement about the surprise that was awaiting her students.
“What do you think she’s so excited about?” Honeydew asked, her head cocked a bit.
“No idea, but I bet it’s something awesome,” Clarity said, wagging her tail impatiently. “Professor Luster’s one of those teachers who really connects with the students. If she’s excited, it’s probably worth being excited about.”
Professor Luster glanced around the room one final time to make sure all the students had arrived. “Good morning, everypony!” she called cheerfully. “Who’s ready for Midsummer Holiday?”
The mare was met with a dozen different expressions of approval from the students. “Good, so am I,” she chuckled. “And I know the last thing you want just a few days before vacation is a lecture on non-sustained permanent levitation enchantments, so I’ll save that for when we get back. Instead, I’ve prepared a little treat for you all today.”
The professor opened the door to an adjacent classroom, and a half a dozen fourth and fifth-term students entered the room. The elder unicorns lined up in the front of the room, smiling at the younger students.
“These are some of my Advanced Enchantments students,” Professor Luster explained. “Each of them has had Enchantments class every year since they were your age. I’ve brought them here today because, for quite some time now, I’ve been planning a day where I’d allow each of you to try out some new and possibly complex enchantments that we don’t cover in class. The problem is, there’s no way I’d be able to help each one of you learn a different enchantment. There are lots of you, and only one of me. So, since I can’t do it myself, I brought in some ponies that can!”
She gestured to the older students. “Now, if each of you can help out one table of foals, we can get a lot of different spells going at a time,” she told them. “Go on, spread out.”
The group of older unicorns trotted among the desks, each one taking a seat in front of some of the younger students. Dinky watched in anticipation as each one came toward her table, only to ultimately turn and stop in front of a different group. When all the ponies had distributed themselves, each table had an older helper, except for the one where Dinky, Clarity, and Honeydew were seated. Professor Luster noticed immediately and trotted up to them.
“Uh-oh, there’s nopony for you three!” she said. “I know I scheduled enough volunteers for the whole class. Maybe somepony’s missing.”
The mare bobbed her head as she took a quick inventory of the helpers that were present. After a moment, she nodded.
“Ah, I see, we’re only missing—”
“Sorry I’m late, Professor.”
The three fillies and Professor Luster looked toward the doorway, where a pink and purple filly was standing.
“Sparkler! There you are,” Professor Luster said, relieved. “It’s not a problem, we were only just getting started. These three fillies still need a helper. They can be your group, ok?”
Sparkler looked at the trio. Her gaze came to rest on Dinky, and a brief expression that Dinky couldn’t quite read flickered across the overseer’s face.
“Of course, Professor.”
“Good! I’ll be around if you need me,” Professor Luster called as she trotted back to her desk.
Sparkler stood still for several seconds. Eventually, she slunk forward and planted her rump on the carpet in front of the desk.
“Dinky, Clarity, Honeydew,” she said mechanically, nodding to each in turn. “How are you?”
“Fine,” Dinky answered, not sure how to respond to Sparkler’s complete lack of inflection. “And you?”
Sparkler replied with a noncommittal grunt. “I’ll go get some stuff for practice,” she said, returning to her hooves and trotting away.
Dinky looked at her friends and gave a bewildered shrug.
“Let’s try to talk to her when she comes back,” Clarity said. “I know she’s… Sparkler, but she’s stuck with us for the next hour or so. Maybe we can get her to open up a little, since she can’t shoo us away.”
“And how would we do that?” Dinky asked.
“It sounds like Sparkler’s got a lot of experience with enchantments,” Honeydew pointed out. “You’re the best at enchantments out of the three of us, Dinky. Ask her some questions and… maybe you can form some common ground?”
“It’s worth a shot,” Dinky admitted as Sparkler returned with an aura full of gems. The overseer dumped the stuff she was carrying on the desk, and then sat back down.
“There we go. Pick a spell. I’ll wait.”
“Uh… ok,” Dinky replied awkwardly. “Any ideas, girls?”
The fillies opened their books and began to page through, but Sparkler staring at them made it hard to concentrate. Dinky bore the silence for a few moments longer before deciding to speak up.
“Sparkler, you have lots of experience. Do you know any cool enchantments we could try?”
Sparkler raised an eyebrow. “That’s not the point of the exercise,” she mumbled. “You’re supposed to pick out something you’ve wanted to try, and I’ll help you cast it.”
“But that’s the thing,” Dinky said. “I don’t know what to pick. I wanna try almost everything in this book, honestly.”
“Don’t play the overachiever card with me,” Sparkler growled. “I’m not a professor. You don’t need to impress me. Pick a spell and let’s get on with it.”
Dinky snorted. “Sparkler, come on, you’re in the highest level enchantments class the Academy offers! I don’t think you’d be there if you didn’t like the subject an awful lot. Why is it so hard to believe that I like it just as much as you do?”
Sparkler opened her mouth to respond. She hesitated a moment, and turned to Clarity and Honeydew instead.
“What about you two? Do you have any specific requests?”
“I’m… content,” Honeydew said shyly. “Enchantments aren’t really my specialty. I, um… I’ll trust Dinky’s judgment on this one.”
“And I like learning just about any magic!” Clarity announced. “Besides, you’re older, and you have more experience. You know plenty of spells that are cooler than anything we could request, right?”
Sparkler looked at the floor and sighed. “Well, there are a couple, yeah…”
“Ok, so pick one!” Dinky encouraged.
“Oh, fine,” Sparkler grumbled, grabbing a pile of gems with a forehoof. “Here’s a neat little trick that’s not too hard.”
The older filly lifted a stone in one hoof, lit her horn, and turned the gem about 90 degrees. She then gave it a sharp tap with her other hoof, and a clear, high note hung in the air for a second. When she set it down on the table, it played the same note again, albeit softer.
“They call these Gemtones,” Sparkler said, picking up a second gem and enchanting it as well. “I suppose a clever play on words is befitting of a clever enchantment.”
Sparkler set the second gem down, and Dinky’s ears twitched when it played a noticeably lower note than the first. “How do you control the tone?” she asked.
“It has to do with the angle the gem is turned relative to your horn,” Sparkler explained. “After you start the spell, any rotation will decrease the pitch. So a small turn will play a high note, and a greater turn will produce a lower note.”
“Can we try?” Clarity asked.
Sparkler sighed. “Yeah, go ahead. This one’s simple enough that you three should be able to manage.”
Clarity grabbed a stone and proceeded to attempt to enchant it. As soon as she gave it a tap though, a displeasing note like a piano out of tune played, causing her to cringe.
Sparkler flattened her ears against her head to try to block out the sound as she hastily removed the spell. “You gave it a little too much magic, there,” she said, shaking her head to clear the ringing in her ears. “You need to use delicate magic to make a pure sounding tone.”
Dinky grabbed one of the stones and turned it in half a circle, while allowing the spell to just barely penetrate the gem. She gave it a careful tap, and while the note that played was a little softer than the Gemtones Sparkler had made, it was crystal clear and sounded lovely.
Sparkler blinked, surprised. “Not bad, actually,” she commented. “You three can make more of those on your own time, if you want.”
“They’re really cool,” Dinky said, tapping the three properly enchanted gems in a row and drinking in the three different tones. “What other spells do you know?”
“Uhh…” Sparkler scanned the items on the table. “Honeydew, roll that pearl down to me. Pearls are soft gems, so they aren’t very good for enchantments, but there is one interesting thing you can do with them.”
Honeydew pushed the large orb toward Sparkler. The older filly stopped its movement magically, allowing it to remain still on the table in front of her.
“Pearls, because of their smooth, opaque outer coating, can be subject to some visual enchantments that are basically useless in clearer gems,” she explained. “The problem is, pearls don’t hold enchantments terribly well, so what I do is enhance them with runes.”
Sparkler grabbed a small metal tool that she’d brought along with the gems and carefully chiseled a small symbol into the pearl. “You three don’t have any experience with runic syllabary yet, do you?” she asked idly as she carved.
“No, not really.”
“Didn’t think so.”
When Sparkler had finished, she set the pearl back down and cast a spell on it. The chiseled lines glowed brightly for a moment. Sparkler set the pearl rolling again with a brief burst of magic, sending it in Dinky’s direction. As soon as the filly’s hoof touched it, the pearl turned bright purple.
“I thought it might do that,” Sparkler commented. “It’s got a mood detection charm on it. It turned purple, which is the color code for curiosity. And it really works, unlike the cheesy knockoff ones they sell in those seaside gift shops in Manehattan.”
“That’s really cool,” Dinky admitted. The pearl turned a sunny yellow before the words were even out of her mouth, and she grinned as she passed the pearl down the table to her friends. When Honeydew touched it, the yellow faltered and became tinged in some parts with pink.
Sparkler furrowed her brow. “You’re… nervous?”
Honeydew smiled sheepishly. “I’m always a little nervous…”
Clarity laughed. “Come on Honeydew, loosen up a bit! Maybe you can think of the next spell we can try.”
The tension seemed to be starting to break. Dinky, Clarity, and Honeydew started to discuss some possible enchantment ideas more actively, knowing that Sparkler would probably be willing to demonstrate them. Dinky glanced at Sparkler in the midst of the conversation, and for a moment, went silent with surprise.
Is that… a hint of a smile?
Sparkler still maintained her serious expression, but there seemed to be the tiniest bit of appreciation for the fillies’ vigorous interest showing on her face. One corner of her mouth seemed to turn up just a fraction of an inch.
Well, would you look at that, Dinky thought. Maybe we’ll get through to Sparkler after all…
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Class passed quickly. Although Sparkler’s attitude never became more animated, she did seem to recognize the girls’ curiosity enough to put some effort into a few more interesting enchantments. By the end of class, a whole collection of gems containing various spells was piled on the side of the table. Dinky and her friends, entranced like foals given a pile of new toys, experimented with each while Sparkler watched.
“It looks like we’re about out of time,” Sparkler pointed out. “Most of these gems belong to the professor’s practice collection, so I’m gonna have to start removing the spells now.”
Dinky nodded. “I sure wish we had some more time,” she admitted. “If we come by your room with questions when you aren’t too busy, do you think you could show us a few more examples?”
Sparkler hesitated. She looked back and forth between Dinky and her friends, biting her lip.
“Well… maybe. We’ll see. You three do seem to be really into this stuff, I guess…”
Sparkler lifted up the pearl to remove its enchantment. The pearl turned a very faint, yet still obvious, shade of yellow. For a moment, the older filly stared at it, clearly surprised. All at once, her expression hardened. “Wait, what am I saying? I’m a busy pony! An overseer! I don’t have time to babysit you three and teach you a bunch of novice spells!”
“But—”
“Don’t argue with me,” Sparkler warned, ignoring the pearl as it turned red. “I don’t know why I humored you three in the first place. All I was supposed to do was demonstrate your requested spells, and somehow I wound up doing a whole presentation.”
“And you kinda enjoyed yourself, I think!” Clarity argued. “We don’t have to stick to pure business all the time, you know. A little friendly teamwork never hurt anypony.”
“You three foals are not my friends!” Sparkler snarled.
The older filly pounded the table, and the pearl toppled off the edge. There was a sharp crack when it hit the ground, and the color vanished instantly, leaving the original soft pinkish-white. Honeydew squeaked at the outburst and slumped in her seat.
“Careful over there, Sparkler!” Professor Luster called from across the room.
Sparkler swept up all the gems that remained undamaged in her aura, and the other fifth-term students did the same. “We’re done here,” she said crossly. “You’ve tried more than enough new spells for today. Get going.”
Sparkler tossed the gems into the box and made for the door without another backward glance, leaving the three fillies a bit stunned.
“Wh-what just happened?” Honeydew asked. “It seemed like she was starting to enjoy herself, and then…”
“Then she realized it,” Clarity said bitterly. “I get it now. It’s not that it’s impossible to make her happy. She just forces it under a new layer of reservation and anger whenever something manages to bring it out.”
Dinky reached down and picked up the discarded pearl. She gave it a shake, and it feebly flickered a remorseful blue before losing its color again.
A potential for so many things, but it always returns to its original, dull form. Just like Sparkler herself…
Sighing, Dinky tossed the useless pearl into her own saddlebags, and followed her friends and the rest of the students out of the room.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“Eh, she ain’t worth the trouble,” Scuffle declared.
“I’m beginning to think you’re right,” Dinky said morosely. “If Sparkler keeps acting like that, we might as well give up on trying to change her. She doesn’t want to be changed.”
It was the evening before Midsummer Holiday, and for the first time in weeks, Dinky, Clarity, Honeydew, and Scuffle were all gathered in the forest hideout. Honeydew and Scuffle remained on opposite sides of the room, refusing to directly address one another, but both of them would occasionally chime in to Dinky and Clarity’s concerns.
“Hey, come on guys,” Clarity cut in. “Let’s not worry about Sparkler for now. If we have to give this more thought, let’s at least wait until after the break. Midsummer Holiday starts tomorrow!”
“My brothers are heading home over the break,” Scuffle said, frustrated. “That means, if I wanna avoid ‘em, I gotta stay here with the other ponies who don’t have anywhere to go.”
“Scuffle, my offer’s still open,” Clarity reminded him. “If you want to come to Whinnychester, you’re totally welcome.”
Scuffle made a somewhat pained face. “Clarity, I still think it’d be better if I just—”
The conversation was cut off suddenly when the illumination orb in the hideout was unexpectedly and completely extinguished. With very little daylight remaining outside, the hollow was plunged into near-total darkness.
“What the heck?” Scuffle asked aloud.
“Something’s wrong,” came Clarity’s voice. “I’m trying to relight the orb, but it’s not responding.”
“Everypony light your horns then,” Dinky instructed, allowing her own magic to flare. The other three foals followed suit.
In the quiet, there was the sound of somepony lurking at the hollow’s entrance. It sounded too big to be the fox who visited so often.
“Who’s up there?” Dinky called. “Did you put out or light?”
“Why, yes, Dinky. Yes I did,” a familiar voice replied.
Dinky bristled. “That better not be who I think it is!” she called threateningly to the unseen pony above.
“Oh, I’m so sorry to disappoint, yes I am,” came the reply. “It’s just been so long since we talked, yes it has.”
In the dim light of the foals’ horns, a yellow and orange colt stepped lightly down the entry tunnel and stood before them, smirking.
“Sunbeam,” Dinky said acidly.
“Sunbeam!?” Honeydew squealed, skittering behind Clarity to get out of view as best she could.
“That’s Sunbeam?” Clarity asked. “As in mister notorious, supposedly-long-dead, dark magic wielding Sunbeam?”
“Quite right!” Sunbeam declared. “And you three must be Dinky’s friends: outgoing Clarity, meek little Honeydew, and tough Scuffle. I’ve heard so much about you during the time when Dinky and I practiced together.”
“Leave them out of this,” Dinky commanded, stepping forward even as her friends retreated further. “And while you’re here, you’d better start giving me some answers. Why did you try to teach me dark magic? And more importantly, why are you here now? Your little plot has failed.”
Sunbeam chuckled. “I expected you to be feisty, yes I did. But you’re in no position to force answers out of me, Dinky Doo. I’ll answer what I want to, yes I will.”
Dinky scowled. “Well, go on then. What do you have to say for yourself?”
“I’ve simply come to deliver a message, yes I have,” Sunbeam declared. “You see, Dinky, in a way, you are correct. You did create quite a barrier to my plans when you went and set your tower ablaze with dark fire, yes you did. But you haven’t ended them completely, I assure you. Perhaps it won’t be in the way I anticipated, but you, Dinky, will help me reach the goal for which I am striving. That’s a promise, yes it is.”
Dinky gave a sharp laugh. “And how do you plan to do that? I learned what you were doing to me before it became irreversible. I haven’t been corrupted.”
“Oh, haven’t you?” Sunbeam snickered, grinning almost maniacally. “Perhaps you aren’t as in touch with yourself as you think, no you aren’t.”
Dinky recoiled slightly. “You’re just trying to get me flustered,” she said, her quavering voice unfortunately confirming that Sunbeam had indeed done just that.
“That’s it,” Scuffle grumbled, stepping forward. “Get out of here, freak. Dinky’s got nothing to do with you and your sick plans anymore.”
“Uh-uh-uh, Scuffle,” Sunbeam said, lighting a black aura around his horn. “You shouldn’t interrupt when I’m talking with dear miss Dinky, no you should not.”
At the sight of the dark magic, Scuffle backpedaled erratically and hunkered down near Clarity and Honeydew. Only Dinky remained in an opposing posture.
“Sunbeam, I don’t know who you are or what you want” the purple filly said defiantly. “I don’t know if you’re dead and reanimated or if you’re just not who you say you are. I don’t know what you’re trying to accomplish with those awful spells, and I don’t know why you’re so determined that I be a part of it. But no matter what tactic you try, you are not going to get me to use more dark magic!”
Sunbeam gave a high-pitched giggle. “Oh, yes, keep defying me, Dinky. It makes this business so much more fun, yes it does.”
Dinky, feeling there was no need for a further response, simply growled.
“Anyway, that’s all I really had to say, yes it was,” Sunbeam admitted. “Do think about continuing to practice with me willingly, though. It will make things so much easier on you, yes it will.”
“Get out!” Dinky bellowed.
Sunbeam shrugged, and keeping his horn aglow to make sure he wasn’t followed, he slowly walked backwards up the tunnel and into the twilit forest, leaving Dinky and her friends standing alone in the darkness beneath the tree.