Eclipse's First Lessons with Twilight
When they got back to the library they went straight to the library. In the library were a variety of chalk boards at on one side of the room with a desk facing it and notebooks with quills and ink and freshly sharpened pencils next to said desk. “Well,” said Twilight with a smile, “looks like Spike finished his errands, which means your designated room should be all ready for you. Before we get to that, it's lesson time. Go to the desk and sit quietly while I decide on what lesson to start with.”
Eclipse Touch gave an excited nod and rushed to the desk, earning an even bigger smile form Twilight. The filly didn't just share her love of books, she had the same eagerness to learn that Twilight had. Thinking things over quickly Twilight decided to start with the basics.
“So where we starting?” asked Eclipse with an eager voice.
“The basics,” said Twilight.
Anticipating a groan, which she always got from Pumpkin when she said they would be reviewing the basics she was pleasantly surprised when Eclipse said, “yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay,” and clapped her fore-hooves together in excitement, “I've read up on all manner of magical theory in Bridleton, but I never got a lesson on the practical use of everyday magic.”
Twilight stared at the filly trying to fully process what she had just been told. If Eclipse had read up on varying levels of magical theory, but hadn't even managed to get the basics of magic as an actual practice down that would mean she had a scholarly mind that had no chances to exercise those theories. Twilight was immediately worried about what kind of harm those texts could have done to Eclipse's perceptions of how magic operates. “Okay the first step to learning the basics, at least for you,” she said, “is to forget everything you ever learned about magic and magical theory. No offense to the top minds for magic in Bridleton, but I'm worried that those texts might contradict the understanding of magic we have in Equestria. So your first task is to forget everything you ever learned about magic, I know how counter-intuitive that might sound.”
“That,” said Eclipse with a pause as if thinking over her next words carefully, “actually makes sense. Do you have a spell for removing those memories from my mind? I don't think I'll be able to get them out of my head.”
“No,” said Twilight, “such spells are viewed as taboo in Equestria. Wait a moment, the mind magic spell book had a spell for memory removal, I am not removing your memories. You just have to lock those memories away until you've become familiar with the Equestrian philosophies regarding magic. Then after you've learned the Equestrian equivalents of those theories you can open the vault and pull them out for comparison. Actually, when you do I insist you write as much as you are comfortable within a comparative essay for me to read, and I might pass it on to my fellow princesses. Oh what am I saying? I'll share everything with everypony willing to listen. You're a sweet filly, you just need to get past a few things.”
“Thank you, Miss Twilight,” said Eclipse with a bright blush, “so, what's the first lesson?”
“The basics,” said Twilight, “we need to establish a baseline for your lesson plans, otherwise it'll be a big problem for both of us,” with that Twilight floated a feather, a wooden block the size of Eclipse's horn and a small crystal square pyramid about the size her own hoof. “The block and the feather are for levitation and the crystal is for testing a light spell, you can choose where to start. Most unicorns go for a levitation exercise, but it's still up to you to decide. I decided that you could choose between those two because they're both the easiest to learn, even if they are a bit difficult to fully master. Everything has a balancing factor, there is no ultimate spell.”
Eclipse stared at the items before saying, “I want to try the light spell, it could be more useful than I've been lead to believe.”
“What do you mean by that?” inquired Twilight.
“Great Spell, that mare that calls herself my mother, stated that anything like a light spell or detection spell is next to useless,” said Eclipse with drooping ears and a sad voice.
“Detection spells are a bit more complex than most ponies think,” said Twilight, “we might get to them by the this time next week if you show a great level of progress. Now to start things off I would like you to first imagine the whole room is pitch black and look for a light inside yourself, once you've found it try to send it to the tip of your horn as comfortably as you can, don't try to rush it. If you try going to fast the first few times without a little practice you might end up with a headache or blackout from the strain, that's true with all spells. Place the tip of your horn on the crystal ”
“Alright, I'll try the spell now,” said Eclipse as she placed her horn's tip on the side of the crystal pyramid closest to her and started doing the practice that Twilight told her, she gasped when the room went dark and she saw her inner light and Twilight's as well, the loss of focus caused the crystal to emit a blinding flash in the room.
Twilight blinked a few times to return her vision to normal before saying, “and that is what happens when we lose focus prematurely. What caused you to lose your focus?”
“I saw the light inside me like you said it would be, but I also saw the light in you and it overwhelmed me,” said Eclipse with a disheartened tone.
Twilight just smiled and said, “you were sensing my magical energy, it's rare to find a pony so sensitive to something like... your ability isn't a canceler type magic,” said Twilight with excitement, “it's a meta counter-spell, a lot of great ponies have been trying to figure out how do that. Starswirl and me included, you have a natural talent that has alluded many great spell casters for a very long time. I doubt even Princess Luna or Princess Celestia has been able to achieve something like that yet, you're ability is,” Twilight noticed the uncomfortable fidgeting that Eclipse was doing, “only part of what makes you special, it's what you do with your gifts that defines you and not the gifts themselves. A powerful spell can be learned, but a powerful friendship has to be earned and nurtured. I've learned time and time again that friendship is the kind of magic that can overcome any other kind of magic. It's stopped a lot of dangers to Equestria. It freed Princess Luna from the hold of Nightmare Moon, it bested Discord on more than one occasion in more than one way, it defeated Tirek and a host of other dangers to Ponykind.”
“But will such accomplishments be enough against...her?” whispered Eclipse to herself as she stared at the desk she was sitting in.
“Your mother, or Grandmother?” said Twilight, “I'm sure things won't come to that.”
Eclipse stared at Twilight before saying in a disapproving voice, “that mare lost all right to me calling her any variation of the word mother and lost all right to calling me any variation of daughter before I was even born,” then in a worried tone said, “I was talking about Great Spell or Grand Charm, I was talking about... Still!”
“Who's that?” inquired Twilight than with a worried look and voice said, “somepony dangerous?”
“To everything,” said Eclipse as she fidgeted with the pyramid and block in her hooves, “she's... the spirit of stagnation and she...”
“Ooh, another aspect creature,” came Discord's voice, “do go on, I want to hear about this! Forgive me, It's been a long time since I heard of any other aspect entities beyond myself or the Princesses here,” with that he flashed into the room in his own little desk (which looked more like a toddler's play area if the clutter of completely random items on it).
Eclipse stared at the draconequus for several minutes, she had never seen such a mishmash of body parts before she continued by saying, “Still makes it so a nation never changes. Everything is made to remain as something she can regulate. No new spells are devised or written down, no new dishes are created, fashion and technology don't even move past a certain era It's horrible, and the worst part she got her hooves on the place I just ran from. This nation is incredible, it's so vibrant and full of changes that...” the sound of something popping and a nose blowing caused her and Twilight to look over at Discord whom was now holding bunch of balloons with the faces of Twilight, her friends and his (one of the balloons of with his face had popped) and in addition a silk handkerchief with the sun, moon, a crystal heart and six pointed star was to his nose with what looked like the most unappealing mucus that she or Twilight had ever seen.
“Is there something you want to say?” inquired Twilight to Discord.
“Yes,” said Discord, “that is one individual I have no intention on meeting, she's my polar opposite. I like causing chaos, granted my antics have gotten a bit more subdued in recent years, but...”
“Your turned the homes of me and my friends into one of the most disorienting maze last week,” snorted Twilight, “thank Celestia the effects of your little...stunt were gone the following day. What part of that is subdued.”
“It could have lasted much longer,” said Discord with a smile, “honestly miss Sparkle you and your friends stopped being interesting almost a two years ago now, your new little pupil and you are the most interesting thing I've seen since you and your friends got all boring. Why this little tyro pulled off something amazing and you haven't even properly congratulated her. In fact,” he snapped his lion paw only to have Eclipse's horn glow in response, also Twilight's began to light up. What followed was Discord's magic failing, which surprised the draconequus greatly just before he was hit with a ranged teleport via Twilight and deposited outside the at the train station.
“Well, it looks like your ability works on Discord's magic, that's nice to know. Sorry if that came out sounding like I was taking advantage of your ability, it's just...”
“That was very rude,” came an amused Discord's voice before he flashed into the room, “now as I was saying,” he snapped his talons and Eclipse's horn glowed again and a mug in the shape of Twilight's cutie mark filled with a warm green tea appeared in front of Eclipse, “that's odd I was going for an award ribbon on her horn,” came a surprised Discord.
“I think that my ability adjusted the spell somehow,” said Eclipse in a timid voice with worry, please don't do something like that again.”
“And she just went from you to Fluttershy in the blink of an eye,” said Discord, “that's the most interesting thing about her I've seen yet. Of course adjusting my spell is a close second.”
“I met miss Fluttershy, she's a nice pony.”
“And my best friend in a very long time,” said Discord, “now what she needs is something to show she's officially your student, Twilight.” With that he snapped his taloned hand, Eclipse's horn reacting again. This time a throw pillow with Fluttershy's cutie mark dropped onto the fillies back, “not what I was going for,” the draconequus mused, “but it works too. You my dear are a wonderful agent of chaos,” with that he materialized a blue ribbon with his face on it, without moving anything, and slapped on Eclipse's chest, “congratulations, you've managed to converge aspects of Twilight, Fluttershy, and myself into who you are.”
“M-m-m-my ab-b-bility is supposed to neutralize other magics,” said Eclipse, who then had a thought dawn on her, “but maybe the way ability reacts with his chaos magic...”
“restructures the spell to something that is potentially less imposing,” completed Twilight, “you are a smart girl.”
“And pretty,” said Discord before disappearing.
Eclipse just stared at where Discord had been for moment before saying, “I'm familiar with being complimented, I've been called smart before, but that was only because I ended up solving problems faster than my siblings.”
“Who's idea was it to make a run for Equestria?” inquired Twilight.
“Mine,” said Eclipse, “a few months ago something caused me to believe in the existence of Equestria. I've known about Equestria for the past 3 years, but I kept on being told a nation like it was nothing more than an ideal. Then a few months ago I got it into my head that Equestria really was real, and somehow I had a feeling of what the geographic coordinates were to the boarder we met the Princesses at.”
“That's something we can look into at a later date, for now I think we should get back to the lesson plan. You showed some wonderful magical ability with the exercise, let's continue.”
“Okay,” said Eclipse getting back to her desk.”
“We'll break for a snack in an hour, trying new spells can be exhausting. Now, back to practice.”
Half an hour later Eclipse was floating a little ball of light around her head and giggling with glee, despite the look of minor exhaustion that her body displayed. Twilight just smiled and told her they would be taking a break earlier than she had planned. There snack, as prepared by the castle staff, was daisy-daffodil sandwiches with a glass of strawberry lemonade. After giving the food a cautious sniff and bite Eclipse grasped one of the sandwiches with her mouth and chewed it with delight (she spent a full three minutes, and 64 chews of the piece she bit off before swallowing), much to the amusement of Twilight. Before taking another bite Eclipse said, “all the food here is yummy.”
“I'm glad you think so,” said Twilight, “but there has to be some dish from your parent nation that you enjoy.”
Eclipse's ears went flat and she looked longingly at her sandwiches and lemonade before saying sullenly, “all Dream and I were given was lemon grass and mineral water. It's good for maintaining your magic levels, but bad for helping your magical abilities develop. Sunshine Bottle, our elder sister got more options from the manor kitchen. We could only have lemon grass and mineral water until we improved in our lessons.”
“Where'd you learn that tidbit about lemon grass and mineral water?” inquired Twilight, deliberately choosing to not bring up many of the other less than favorable cultural points Eclipse had mentioned.
Eclipse gave a weak smile to Twilight before saying, “a book on dietary supplements and practices in the manor library, it was a few weeks after I formed the resolve to make preparations for our escape to Equestria. It was almost like a fire hungry for any kind of knowledge I had ignored because I was told not to pursue it burned up from my core. I... I felt like I was breaking down a wall somepony decided to put inside me. Great Spell and Great Seal don't like it when somepony has questions. And Grand Charm doesn't like it when anypony tries to change how things are, not just in magic or scholarly pursuits, but when I say anything I do mean anything. Bridleton hasn't advanced at all because that's also the nation's policy.”
“That's a terrible policy,” said Twilight, “you make amazing discoveries when you ask questions then follow through on them, I mean those journals you brought are practically begging me to read them,” at that last part she used a giddy voice, “so many questions that can be answered.”
“Not about the present Bridleton,” said Eclipse as she gingerly sipped a portion of her lemonade, “Myrraldin was a pony from around five thousand year ago, the only reason those journals are in such amazing condition is because of the spells he placed on them to prevent damage or aging effects. As far as I can tell he never wrote down the spells he used for preserving the journals themselves within said journals, but I've only read snippets of some of the journals.”
“I do enjoy a good puzzle every once in a while,” said Twilight, “keeps the mind fresh and encourages you to reexamine what you're looking at, I'll do some light reading of them tonight.”
“I suggest you check the spines first,” said Eclipse, “Myrraldin left marks on the spines for all the journals. I think it's a numbering system, but I'm unfamiliar with how it operates.”
“Thanks for the heads up,” said Twilgiht as she sipped her lemonade, “we'll leave the light spell for later, I think it would be good idea if you got some levitation spell practice in.”
“Okay,” said Eclipse as she grabbed another sandwich piece with her mouth.
*************************************
Snack time had ended almost two hours prior and Twilight was staring in astonishment, all she did was explain the basic principles behind levitation magic to Eclipse and in just a few minutes the filly had picked up on some executable applications for the spell, she was going on a full half hour of orbiting all the practice items (the crystal pyramid included) around Twilight and was once again giggling with joy. After a full minute of surprise she just smiled at Eclipse, whom was taking a great amount of joy in something so simple, and couldn't help thinking about how nice it was that this was her first official student. Other young unicorns like Sweetie Belle and Pumpkin Cake she had been acting as a sort of tutor, this was a case her taking a full teaching role. She was enjoying the feeling being an official instructor for a moment before she asked Eclipse to gentle put everything down.
Eclipse gave a tired yawn which prompted Twilight to say, “Alright that's enough practice today, how about you go take a nap.”
“Will you be close by?” inquired Eclipse.
“Of course,” said Twilight as she floated some of the journals over to her from where Spike and decided to organize them. Taking a quick look at the spines she saw what Eclipse had meant, each was marked with an old unicorn numerical symbol from a system that Twilight knew predated Equestria. Thinking back in her studies for a moment Twilight recalled what the symbol for one was (a spiraling line that mimicked the spiral like pattern of a unicorn horn). After grabbing volumes two and three as well (a pair of intersecting spirals that made a stylized X formation and three straight lines making a cross with a diagonal through it respectively) the lavender alicorn mare and black unicorn filly made their way up to the sleeping chambers.
Eclipse was still preferred sharing a bed with Twilight, the lavender mare didn't mind it so much and settled down to start reading, before she cracked open the cover of the first journal Eclipse was fast asleep against her and what the filly said in her sleep surprised, warmed her heart and worried her. While fast asleep Eclipse was saying things like, “mommy is soft, gentle and warm. Don't leave me mommy.”
Not sure of what to do Twilight quickly thought, this could be a sign that she's emotionally immature, she did latch on to me like sort of surrogate mother. Looks like I'm going to be getting to those journals a bit later than I hoped, I suppose I should play along with this to see just how far can go, in her best maternal sounding voice (she tried emulating her mother's tone from her younger days) she said, “why do you think mommy is so nice?”
“You're better than my other momma, she's not nice. No, momma I've been a good girl please let me be with my sister,” at this point she started crying in her sleep, “Dream's on the other side of the wall, we're so close yet so far. I promise you Dream we'll never be separated like this again, we're going to get out this horrible place, all of us,” Eclipse's demeanor returned to the happy filly on Twilight's upper torso and she said (while still asleep), “mommy treats me right, I don't ever want anypony to say she's wrong for me, she's more like a mother than momma that's why I call her mommy.”
She's showing signs of being emotionally stunted, thought Twilight, that's why she's been treating me as surrogate mother, she calls me Miss Twilight when she says my name while awake, but when she's asleep she calls me mommy. I'm not just some second maternal figure, like Celestia was to me, I'm the legitimate maternal figure she wants to gain approval from. Something just doesn't add up, her ability hasn't acted up since Discord's unannounced arrival, it didn't seem to affect our lessons in any way, maybe she can control it but on a subconscious level. Maybe the Journals hold more answers than she thinks, the way Myrraldin was described he's a unicorn with magical prowess akin to Starswirl the Bearded. With that she floated the first journal up to her face again and cracked it open.
Twilight's eyes almost popped because the first words she read were, “To ensure the safety of my knowledge there is an enchantment on my journals that ensures they are kept safe. For those who lust for power they read what they need to know, but are unwilling to fully accept; for those that are still innocent, but alone with maybe one other nearby, they read what they need to in order to keep their inner strength; but when the magic of all three pony tribes is close enough what is truly written in these journals will be revealed. Since I highly doubt a true alicorn will ever end up reading these journals after my time has passed I believe this to be an effective safeguard,” Twilight quietly giggled to herself thinking that if she hadn't ascended in the years prior to reading the journal she would have read something quite different, “I have only written a single spell in these journals, a spell for allowing a pony to summon me from the place in which I have placed myself in an enchanted slumber that exists in a place outside of time as we know it. The spell is powerful, and potentially dangerous and should not be attempted without assistance. I have placed these safeguards on my personal accounts because a potentially dangerous force will one day destroy all the work Artanus and I have done to build up Bridletonia, a nation built on the principles that all beings are equal. Artanus is a fine Earth Pony, with his talent for leadership he has shown what a true leader can accomplish. My mother was a pegasus, and to be honest Myrraldin is merely a pseudonym I took to using to make my name sound more imposing than it really is. My wife is a pegasus our daughter is an Earth Pony, my little sapling is one of the most beautiful and charming fillies I have ever encountered (of course that could just be my parental instincts swaying my thoughts). I chose to name her after the most sacred of lands, the mystical island I visited many a time in my youth. I have all my journals after devising the safeguard spell, with this opening for those who hold a truly united power.”
Twilight smiled to herself, even if she hadn't become an alicorn she would still have wanted to share these journals with her friends and mentor. She took a double take then reread the opener and gave quiet gasp, she didn't want to wake the sleeping filly next to her. He came up with spell for hiding his works in plain sight, he probably used himself and his family as the test for the fail safe, after all he said he had an Earth filly with a pegasus. Wait a minute he called her his sapling, that could be a clue. I'll ask Eclipse Touch about this mystical island mentioned in the journal, after I gather everypony up for a meeting about this. It might be something minor, but I want everypony to be present for the discussion. Twilight read through the rest of the journal, learning things that even the ponies of Bridletonia were unaware of.
***********************************
It was almost four hours since Eclipse ended up taking her nap, Twilight was almost an eighth of the way through the second journal (despite their appearance the journals were actually quite dense with material and more pages than could be seen at first glance, Twilight figured it was a spell on the journals that allowed their author to keep writing without running out pages when he was in the middle writing what he intended. “Come on, time for lessons,” said Twilight as the filly roused herself from slumber.
“Okay, miss Twilight,” said Eclipse as she slid from the bed.
“Eclipse,” the filly stopped short of the door, “do you think of me as a maternal figure or a mother proper?”
Eclipse was caught a bit off kilter by the question and thought about it a few minutes longer than she intended before saying, “both, but I don't want to call you any variation of mom, it wouldn't be proper.”
Twilight blinked a few times before saying, “were you aware you talk in your sleep?”
Eclipse shook her head and said, “I was not prone to that quirk before arriving in Equestia, as far as I knew I was a very quiet sleeper.”
Twilight just nodded before getting out of the bed and setting the journals on her nightstand before saying, “sometimes ponies develop new quirks when they experience a big shift in their lifestyle, you probably developed it after arriving here. You didn't show signs of that quirk on the train ride after you fell asleep en route to Ponyville.”
“We should be going now, miss Twilight,” said Eclipse, “you must have other duties to attend to.”
“Not for a few days,” said Twilight, “but the sooner we get back to your lessons the more spells you could end up learning.”
A smile showed on Eclipse's face before she said, “learning spells is nice, but I just like learning unto itself.”
This caused Twilight to smile as she followed Eclipse down the stairs. Once Eclipse was situated in her desk chair Twilight said, “since you got a good grasp on both levitation and basic light magic I want you to practice them as much as possible, we'll try tracking and location spells next, while quite simple in theory they do require a bit more focus than most other spells, a considerable ignition to start things off and a just hints of a bit of the magic to maintain the spell. Once you completely lose focus you usually lose the spell, with practice that stops being as much of an issue. I've used these kind of spells numerous times, although admittedly it was usually to find a book I was having trouble locating. After Rainbow Dash gets back to Ponyville we can start practice on cloud walking, or something else if you prefer.”
Eclipse's eyes went wide then she said, “we don't have spells for walking on clouds in Bridleton, miss Twilight,” Twilight had a feeling this would be a trend with Eclipse, not that such a thing was bad (Rarity would definitely enjoy the formality of Eclipse when addressing other ponies), “I actually asked if we had any a few months before setting out away from Bridleton. Great Spell said that a spell that enables a unicorn to emulate a lower class of pony has no business existing, granted she said in a far more condescending manner with a bit more aristocratic flair, but...”
“It's fine Eclipse,” Twilight said cutting her off, “I'm sensing a pattern here. You need some fresh air, so after these next exercises we'll head on over to Sweet Apple Acres, I also have something to talk to Applejack about.”
“Really?” inquired Eclipse as she took a look at the chalk board, “so what will I be doing today, miss Twilight?”
“Taking notes,” said Twilight with a bright smile, “you need to get a better handle on your levitation magic, and taking notes will help you with some of the finer details of the magic. It is a basic skill for unicorns. I hate saying it, but a unicorn that can't do basic levitation is like pegasus with a broken wing or earth pony with two broken legs. They can still do things, it's just a lot harder for them than it would if they were in a much healthier looking condition.”
“Oh,” said Eclipse, “you don't mind me calling you 'miss Twilight' do you? I feel like it's appropriate.”
“It's fine,” said Twilight, “but I would prefer if you just called me Twilight, calling me miss makes feel very formal and I would prefer you refer to me in an informal manner.”
“Okay, I'll try,” said Eclipse as she floated some quills, ink bottles and parchment from where Twilight had placed them and started to copy what was on the chalkboards down (of the stack of 30 or so pages she had grabbed the first twelve were rather sloppy in terms of penmareship). Twilight smiled and summoned the journal she had been reading before and settled down on the floor to begin reading.
A couple of hours later Twilight pulled herself away from her reading, something that is very rare and difficult for her, to check on Eclipse's progress. What greeted her was some very beautiful writing and Eclipse Touch mumbling to herself about how she hadn't copied Twilight's writing properly. “You know,” said Twilight, prompting Eclipse to look at her only to see a set of sparkling violet eyes on a smiling mulberry face, “you don't have to copy me exactly, in fact you should never try to exactly copy anypony at anything. Everypony has their own style, flair, and way of doing things. Your writing is beautiful, not the same way I think of when I look at Princess Celestia's letter work, but beautiful in its own right. Your Cs look a bit like crescent moons, the only other pony I'm aware of that does that is Princess Luna; your Ys end with what look like little dragon tails, no other pony does it that way; and your Ts have little curls at the tips, just like me.”
“You also make Cs that look like crescent moons,” said Eclipse after a moment of staring at her new mentor, I've always imagined doing my Ys that way. This is my first time actually writing.”
“I noticed,” said Twilight looking at boards before looking through the pile of neatly sorted pages that amounted to almost half of the pile she started with, “So does Princess Celestia, I was her student some years ago and I tried to copy her writing exactly, just like you're doing with me, and I told you what she told me when she saw that. Of course,” Twilight gave Eclipse a soft smile, “I couldn't provide any other examples and just pointed that she did that in her writing, like you just did.”
“Miss Twilight,” I said Eclipse, “You mentioned a meeting with your friends next week, is it really okay if I'm there with you?”
“Of course,” said Twilight as she looked through the sheets of written work, “you know, despite not having done this sort of thing before today you have really beautiful penmareship. Now, let's get you in on one of my little habits.”
“What's that?” inquired Eclipse.
“Checklists,” said Twilight with a smile “you write down a list of everything you have to do for the day or task and check it off when it's completed.”
“That sounds fun,” said Eclipse with a hint of excitement in her voice, “but I haven't seen you doing any of that, miss Twilight.”
“I've mostly gotten to the point where I can properly run through the simple tasks with just visualizing a checklist in my mind,” said Twilight, “but the really big or pressing matters I write a physical one. Since you're such a big part of my routine now I have a checklist written up just for the lesson plans, you really have a talent for magic. Okay, first part of a checklist is a piece parchment and a writing utensil,” Eclipse floated a blank sheet and quill with ink bottle in front of her (with a great level of ease Twilight noticed with smile), “then write each task you have before you in a descending order, remember to give yourself enough space on either the right or left to place a check mark.” Twilight smiled when she saw Eclipse write up a short checklist, then raise her hoof. “Yes, what is it Eclipse?”
“What's a check mark?” asked Eclipse with a voice that indicated she really was not sure.
Twilight cleared one of the boards and said, “this,” before drawing big check mark on the board with one of the chalk pieces. Turning back she saw Eclipse make two checks on her list. Twilight trotted over to see what had been written.
Twilight saw, “ask about check marks, practice check marks,” both with little checks to their right, “have lunch, ?” Twilight assumed the question mark meant Eclipse wanted to ask something, but didn't know what the question was or how to ask it.
“Not bad for a first list,” said Twilight, startling Eclipse, “I had the opposite problem my first time, my list took up both sides of my practice sheet. When my mother saw that she gave a little giggle, I got my passion for checklists from her. Dad was always the more practical one, my brother got that from him.”
“You sound close to your family,” said Eclipse, “I wish I had that, if we had that I wouldn't have devised a plan for making our escape. I wanted my sister to come, but she decided to stay behind. Storm said that she did it to run interference. I'm not sure about it, he seems to have faith in Sunshine Bottle, so I'll trust his judgement on it.”
“I thought your sister's name was Dream Step,” said Twilight with a hint of confusion.
“Dream's my twin sister, Sunshine Bottle is a little older than Storm Walker. She's a unicorn, and Great Spell keeps calling Sunshine her little prodigy, to her muzzle anyway. Behind Sunshine's back she calls my sister an empty headed mare that will never amount to anything more than a pretty face.”
“A parent has no right to say that about their child! Wait,” said Twilight, “how do you know this?”
“That mare doesn't know how to put a filter on her insults when around my siblings or me, I heard her say that more than once the very moment Sunshine was out of earshot,” replied Eclipse, “at least I try to regulate what I have to say; and I never try to speak ill of anypony, even if they deserve every mean word I'm aware of.”
“You're already a better pony than most of Canterlot's nobility,” said Twilight, “ugh, I'm going to have to attend the Gala this year, they made my presence mandatory somehow, and the worst part is now that you're my student they'll be tacking on that you attend as well.”
“I don't feel comfortable at formal events, Great Spell always had my siblings and I attend the functions as nothing more than set pieces. We weren't allowed to talk, move past a set point or even write a note to the waiting staff to bring us so much as a glass of water.”
Twilight stared at Eclipse in a horrified surprise, which only deepened when she realized how her quick complaint about the Gala had just come off. She quickly amended it all by stating, “you'll be able to move around and get refreshments when needed, but I recommend you remain close to me because the moment you leave my side you'll be practically mobbed by Canterlot nobles that want your input on truly frivolous things. Yes, you'll be expected to talk and when you speak it would be best to try and minimize your apparent ignorance of politics.”
“But, I could care less about political climates,” said Eclipse, “what I was able to catch about them back in Bridleton told me it was something I wouldn't want to get involved in. A great philosopher from an ancient civilization in the far west once said that 'politics is game for idiots and fools', that is not a game I wish to be involved in.”
“Same here,” said Twilight, “who said that, I'd like to read up on their works.”
“Socsrates, (author's note: pronounced Socks-Ra-tees)” said Eclipse, “I read some of his collected works a few months before the events that lead me to my planning to escape from Bridleton.”
“And I'm kind of glad you did come,” said Twilight, “even if I don't like the circumstances that lead to you being dropped in my lap, well all the parts before you met the Princesses.”
“I don't like those parts either, I really wish we hadn't been exposed to circumstances that would lead to the decisions I made. The plans for escaping to Equestria were all me, I found the works that lead me to charting our courses for the each day, I'm the one who begged the manor's kitchen staff for their assistance in providing the provisions that would spoil slower than other foods, I'm the one who had to convince my siblings,” she started breaking down before saying, “why did momma have to be so mean? She treated us more like tools than ponies, that's wrong she treated tools better than us, more than once she said straight to my muzzle that I was just a means to an end and a tool for the advancement of the family's political aspirations. From this point on I will no longer associate her with anything motherly, she lost that right a long time ago and it is time I stopped diluting myself with false hope that she might become truly motherly. From this point on she will only be called Great Spell, and my father will only be called Great Seal.”
“Don't you think you're being a little harsh on them?” said Twilight.
“I love my sisters and brother,” said Eclipse, “we all feel like family, but the ponies that are supposed to be our parents the only thing I've felt from them is contempt for my lack of magical application. I could barely turn the pages in books with my magic, but now I can lift a variety of things and do things with my magic I only dreamed about until today, that is when I didn't have bad dreams.”
“Your sister is a dream walker,” said Twilight, “she could have helped.”
“Dream is untrained in the art, a novice dream walker can end up doing more harm to themself than they know possible without the proper guidance. At least that's what I read.”
“Well, Princess Luna basically told me the same thing when I asked about dream spells,” said Twilight, “where'd you read that?”
“An old tome called Dreams: How to Exert Your Magic Through Them, I hid the book someplace nopony would think to look after I read the introduction, for some reason it felt the right thing to do. That was... a little over a year ago... it was reading that book's introduction that started my forming a resolve to leave Bridleton, before that moment I was to scared to even consider doing anything that would take me outside the manor. Why was it the introduction chapter of that book that started all this? It's like somepony gave me a nudge in the direction of the path that lead me here.”
“One of the mysteries of the world,” said Twilight, “let's get lunch. We can talk about this more when you meet your sister and Princess Luna again, by that time they might not recognize you.”
“What do you mean, miss Twilight?” responded Eclipse with confusion.
“You were really shy when we met, and when Discord dropped in and we visited the Apples, but now you're being very forthcoming.”
“That's because... you make me feel safe,” said Eclipse as they sat down a the table.
A pink unicorn mare with a the image of a white clay teapot came out to take their orders. “So, what do want today?” asked Twilight.
“Um, if they have it a daffodil and rose petal sandwich with mint tea, I would like that,” said Eclipse, “I read that it's very good for helping with what we're doing.”
“That sounds good,” said Twilight, “two of the sandwiches that Eclipse mentioned and two mint teas, miss White Tea, if you please.”
“Of course your highness,” said the unicorn, “anything else while I'm here?”
“Yes, have the staff on break try some of newer recipes that were brought in or requested in the past month or so, we really don't want quality to suffer and I'm sure they would appreciate being able to try some of the refreshments that are served in the castle, I would like to hear their input on such things when they are able to speak with me.”
“Very good ma'am,” said White Tea, “your meals should be out shortly."
“Miss Twilight, you're so nice to your staff,” said Eclipse, “Great Spell, Great Seal, and Grand Charm were all rather mean to their staff, rather abusive in some cases. The only reason they still worked for the manor was because of the threat that loomed if they disobeyed.”
“I take it they had a rather harsh punishment for staff that stepped a little far out of line, or what they perceived as to out of line anyway,” said Twilight.
“The punishment was execution,” said Eclipse in almost hushed tone with a her ears flat against her head.
Twilight was silent for a moment before saying quite loudly, “that's horrible! Why would anypony ever consider such a thing.”
“I don't know,” said Eclipse, “Dream and I will probably get a punishment far worse than death when they drag us back to Bridleton. There are things far worse than death, and Grand Charm is a fan of many of them.”
“That... sounds horrible,” said Twilight in a much more subdued tone with a look that said she couldn't believe what she was hearing.
Eclipse gave a drawn out breath before saying, “as the saying goes, 'you would be surprised what you can live through' and Great Seal has a particular level of expertise in executing such punishments,” she lowered her head with a sad face before saying, “I don't want to think about it anymore, that place has all of my worst memories. My only good memories of that place involve my siblings.”
“I've already met Dream Step and Storm Walker,” said Twilight, “I can talk with them about those sorts of things later, maybe you could tell me about Sunshine Bottle.”
“Sunshine Bottle is a unicorn like Dream and I,” said Eclipse, “she tries to be genuinely nice, but Great Spell and Grand Charm deliberately prevent her attempts from going anywhere. She has a spell that's supposed to filly you up with happiness and joy, but since she doesn't fully understand those much the result you get is a false version of those emotions.”
“Why do you say that?” inquired Twilight.
“Because when the spell fades all that's left is what feels like a hollow pit where the the emotions felt like they were coming from. I felt it once, my ability nullified it after a few seconds and that's what I felt when I removed the spell. I've been immune to it since then, Dream and Storm have a resistance to the spell and can shake it off after a few seconds when it's cast on them. We're the only three with a known resistance to the spell, Great Seal and Great Spell don't seem to have that property. I've tried using that as proof that they aren't our real parents, but I can't explain why I've been doing that, I never tried to rationalize why they aren't my parents until the moment I started planning and preparing for our escape from Bridleton.”
Shortly after their less than uplifting conversation White Tea brought out a tray with their orders. Just as Eclipse was about to take a bite into her sandwich a knock sounded at the door. “I'll get, ma'am,” said White Tea as she headed for the door.
After a few a minutes, their meal temporarily forgotten, Twilight and Eclipse heard a prim and caring voice say, “Oh, Miss Tea, is Twilight in?”
“Yes, lady Rarity,” came White Tea's voice, “she's having lunch with her new student at the moment.”
“Oh, I didn't mean to intrude,” came Rarity's voice, “but since I'm here would you mind getting me what Twilight is having, I think would like to join them for their meal.”
“Of course ma'am,” said White Tea, the sound of the two coming to the dining area was heard as she said, “I'll inform the kitchen right away.”
A rumble from her stomach had Eclipse decide to return to her sandwich, as the black filly was in midst of her third delicate bite of her food a white unicorn with purple mane and tail trotted in gave a smile and sat down next to Twilight before saying, “looks like I'm joining you a few days early darling, who's this lovely young filly?”
Eclipse had set her sandwich down and ran to hide behind Twilight the moment Rarity had taken a more noticeable glance at her. “This is Eclipse Touch,” said Twilight, “she's my new student, a request from Princess Celestia is what brought her into my life. The poor dear has some social issues, I think her upbringing before arriving here could have stunted her emotional development. It's good to see you Rarity, how did you end up getting to be early? I thought you were backlogged at your Canterlot boutique.”
“As did I,” said Rarity, “but the strangest thing happened, all of my remaining orders were completed and ready to go yesterday. Before you say anything there were so many that it would have run into the middle of next week if I got into not getting much sleep. I asked Discord when he came for a visit yesterday and...”
“You too,” said Twilight, “He dropped in on us earlier today.”
“Well, he was brutally honest with me in stating that he did nothing fashion related the whole month.”
“That's interesting,” said Twilight, “well, since you are earlier than expected you can get to work on our Gala dresses, they made my participation mandatory this year and I'm expecting they'll send me an amendment stating Eclipse has to join me at the Gala.”
“She's a little filly,” said Rarity, “does she have her cutie mark yet?”
“No,” said Eclipse in a timid voice, “I'm still learning, and I...” she ducked under one of Twilight's wings.
“She's been like that with all the new ponies she meets,” said Twilight, “Applejack, Fluttershy, and half the castle staff here all had her using me as some kind of cover.”
“As adorable as that is,” said Rarity, “what is it you're having for lunch today?” After her statement her sandwich and tea were set down in front of her by a unicorn's hazel colored aura levitation spell before the sound of somepony trotting away was heard.
“Eclipse's request,” said Twilight with smile, “daffodil and rose petal sandwiches with mint tea.”
“I, um, don't really know proper tea etiquette all that well,” said Eclipse, “Great Spell always went on about how it was important, but she never taught it to me. Even though she kept drinking tea in front of me with her meals, mine weren't as appetizing as hers looked.”
“She and her sister were only permitted to have lemon grass and mineral water until they improved in their studies. It's great for maintaining magic levels, but terrible for improving your abilities.”
“A proper mare should always take as duty to pass on proper etiquette to others,” said Rarity, “I'll give you a few lessons on being proper tomorrow, for now don't worry about how you eat or drink. We'll address those matters, then they become part of the lesson plan. I gave lessons to Sweetie Belle on proper etiquette, of course the dear didn't pay them much mind until she had gotten her cutie mark. You might do better.”
“Of course I will,” said Eclipse, “I want to know the proper way to behave around other ponies, then maybe I'll feel better about being in social situations.”
“Eclipse,” said Twilight, “Rarity and I need to discuss a few things in private, so as soon as you're done with lunch go and find a book on beginner's magic and take notes on it. I left a few notebooks in the area we're using as a classroom, you should be fine with all that.” Eclipse nodded and returned to her sandwich. After Eclipse was finished with the sandwich she floated her tea over and took a few faint sips before gulping the the warm liquid down and giving a nervous smile to Rarity before apologizing for any actions that might have offended the alabaster mare as she got out of her seat and trotted away.
“There's a good chance she'll take to her lessons well,” said Rarity, “she has enough decorum to apologize for her lack of knowledge regarding etiquette. So, what is it you meant when you said you thought she might be emotionally stunted?”
“She's treating me like a surrogate mother,” said Twilight, “while it is endearing it's also a bit disconcerting. She called me mommy in her sleep last night and this morning before waking up, when she's wide awake she just calls me 'miss Twilight' and I'm worried that she might do it again if that's the case it might indicate that her emotional development is stunted. I'm aware that I might not be able to teach her much beyond magic, I really appreciate your offer to instruct her.”
“No problem darling,” said Rarity, “and if she is as underdeveloped as you fear I think the best cure would be some proper education.”
“You're right,” said Twilight with a smile, “a good education can clear a lot out.”
The two giggled and went to check on Eclipse, what they saw was a small stack of books with a stack of notebooks forming a sort of nest around Eclipse. Eclipse herself looked like she was close to nodding off. I think she's on a good start to emulating you,” said Rarity with a playful giggle, “she looks like you after a long study session, minus the crazy ranting of course.”
“So... many books I want to... read,” said Eclipse as she fell asleep with a small forelegful of books.”
“Actually, I think she is becoming like me,” said Twilight in a hushed voice, “I used to do that in the library, mom had to carry me home after check out the books I had curled up with. But that makes no sense why would she...”
“No, give me back my sister, leave Dream alone,” came a shout of fear from a sleeping Eclipse. Twilight rushed over and scooped her up in her forelegs and held the filly close, Eclipse smiled and said, “Dream is back, thank you mommy.”
“This is...” Rarity said in a hushed whisper, “probably just as you feared. I wouldn't say she's emotionally underdeveloped, but she is indeed seeming to lack something that helps distinguish between you and a mother while she sleeps. Maybe the Apples, Fluttershy or Princess Celestia can help with that.”
“Applejack and her family most definitely,” whispered Twilight, “they're big enough that they probably have experience with similar problems. I'm not sure about Fluttershy, she may be good with foals, but she's not so good with dreams. Princess Celestia would probably have some words of advice. However, the one to consult on this is Princess Luna, but she's busy with teaching Eclipse's sister Dream Step. I don't want to send Princess Luna a note with a mixed message, Eclipse is a wonderful student, but she's developed a new quirk that tells us her dreams are problematic. She seems to have good dreams when she's in close proximity to me, I'm finding this very disconcerting.”
“To her you're a safety blanket, maybe if she had facsimile of you to comfort her she would be able to... idea,” Rarity practically sang the last word, nearly waking the sleeping filly.
Twilight gave the white mare a stern gaze before whisper shouting to her, “she needs her sleep, she keeps pushing her magic far too close to the burnout point than I like, it's a wonder she hasn't been having magic bursts yet with the way she seems confused about some of the more advanced basic terms.”
“She's young, and confused about what is being asked of her,” whispered back Rarity, “what has she told you about her lessons prior to you.”
“She had nothing asked of her,” whispered back Twilight, “she says that everything was demanded of her.”
“Well,” whispered Rarity, “we're both in agreement that is a method terrible for instructing in magic. That might work with training guards, but there is no way such a method can prove effective in the training of magic.”
“Mommy,” murmured Eclipse Touch as she affectionately nuzzled Twilight while sleeping.
“And to think,” said Twilight, “I thought hardest part of all this would be teaching her magic.”