//------------------------------// // Training and Tests // Story: Luna's Apprentice // by ScientistTrixie //------------------------------// “Trixie?” Luna repeated, waving a hoof in front of the unicorn’s vacant eyes. When this proved ineffective, she gave Trixie’s side a poke. “Equestria to Trixie!” “Hu- What?” Trixie said, shaking herself as Luna prodded her side. “S-sorry. I just have a lot on my mind... at the moment.” She trailed off, looking at the covers before her as Luna cocked an eyebrow. “Would- Would you like me to come back later?” “No!” She coughed, embarrassed at her sudden outburst. “Stay. Please.” “Alright… Are you feeling okay? You seem a bit flushed.” Trixie didn’t quite trust herself to speak, and settled for a nod. Luna waited a moment, slightly confused at her usually over talkative apprentice’s behavior. When no words were forthcoming, Luna sighed. 'Figures she would not make this easy on us to bring up.' “Well-” Luna shifted her eyes to the side slightly, beginning to lightly tap the floor with a hoof in agitation. “ I wanted to... to apologize for being a poor teacher up to this point. You’ve been living in the castle for about a month now, and I have failed to teach you a single spell-” “Thats not true!” Trixie interrupted, throwing the covers off of her as she got to her hooves. ”You did teach me one spell!”She trotted a few feet away, a slight frown on her face as she slowly called her magic forth, causing a soft hum to fill the bedroom. Trixie’s horn flashed brightly, leaving Luna blinking in surprise. She rubbed the spots from her eyes and peered about the room, her ears flattening against her head at the sudden lack of a certain unicorn. Seconds later, a disembodied voice spoke from near her side. “Ta… da…” Trixie panted, smiling triumphantly as she faded into view beside Luna, and reared onto her back legs in triumph. Luna put a hoof up to her muzzle, but couldn’t help letting a few giggles escape at Trixie’s ridiculous looking pose. Though it was difficult, and took longer then Luna imagined, she finally managed to direct her face into a small scowl. “Ta da indeed. It amazes me how little regard you give to a doctor’s orders to not overexert yourself. Then again, you rarely listen to mine, so why should I be surprised?”. She gave Trixie a slight smile, which quickly went to a frown as Luna went back to the previous discussion. “One spell, Trixie. I should have been focused more, but… other things have gotten in the way so far. For that, I apologize. As your mentor, I should have focused on making sure you were learning, instead of letting our personal drama get in our way.” Trixie shook her head, putting a hoof on Luna’s shoulder. Or, at least, as close to her shoulder as her reach allowed. “Stop. Alot happened, and we both had some things we needed to work out before we could really get anywhere with each other, okay? It needed to be aired, so don’t beat yourself up over it.” Trixie smiled warmly. “We have all the time in the world for Trixie to resume her role as the greatest magician to ever live.” She lifted her nose in a faux pout. Luna rolled her eyes, smiling at the mare’s continued antics. “Well, be that as it may. I have spoken with your doctors, and despite your hasty magic use a moment ago, they have cleared you to use high amounts of magic sparingly. As such-,” Luna continued, despite the gleeful expression on Trixie’s face. “As such, I want to give you a few simple tests, so that I may better gauge your magic. But, after that, I would kindly ask you to wait a few days before using any more strenuous magic.” Trixie nodded, patting Luna’s shoulder/leg with her hoof dismissively. “Can we not go ahead and add my perfect scores to the test already? It’s just a formality at this point after all..” Luna looked at the hoof on her, directing a raised eyebrow at Trixie. A slight reddening of her cheeks, and Trixie quickly removed her hoof. “I see you have gained some of your trademark confidence back, but you would do well not to underestimate these tests.” Trixie narrowed her eyes at Luna, but nodded seriously, a thoughtful expression on her face as Luna exited the room. She returned a moment later with a transparent pouch holding a few small crystals inside, each about a hoof length tall and a third as wide. Luna avoided levitating them, and instead used her magic on the very lip of the pouch. She flipped the bag upside down, rolling several crystal’s out onto the bed. “This is a very magic sensitive crystal. The lightest brush of magic is amplified ten fold. I want you to levitate one for now.” She said, smiling serenely at Trixie. She raised a hoof, halting Trixie from speaking. “However, the test is not to see if you can lift it, but how well you can control its movement. Any unicorn can use her magic, but I want to see how much control you have. So lift this crystal, and keep it as steady as you possibly can. Like so.” She said, closing her eyes and taking several deep breaths. A blue haze appeared around one of the crystals, causing it to very slowly lift into the air and levitate before her. It stayed perfectly still, not even moving an inch in any direction. For all intents and purposes, the crystal could have been firmly anchored in that spot, and it would not have moved any less than it currently was. Luna smiled triumphantly, releasing her hold on the shard as she turned it over to the showmare. Trixie switched her gaze to the crystal, eyes narrow as she studied its sharp angles. Her horn sparked to life as she grazed its surface with a tendril of magic, sending the crystal shooting across the bedspread. She jumped back in surprise, withdrawing her magic tendril from its surface. She grit her teeth, tongue poking out between her lips as she very lightly touched the crystal with her magic, working to levitate the crystal into the air. It quickly shot upwards, exploding against the ceiling like a recklessly thrown glass cup. “Ha!” Luna giggled, horn already alight as she floated a new crystal over to the bed spread. “Easy does it, Trixie.” Trixie gave a brief glare at Luna, before turning her full attention to the crystal, a single thread of magic circled the tip of her horn as she attempted to levitate the crystal once more. It quickly jerked upwards, coming dangerously close to crashing against the ceiling before she was able to lower it to an acceptable hover before her. Her cheeks puffed outwards as she concentrated, snarling each time the crystal bobbed up and down. Despite her best effort, the shard moved by a good two to three foot margin, bobbing up and down like a lure in a rather violent storm. Trixie sucked in a deep breath, eyes closed as a vein appeared upon her forehead. The crystal began shaking spastically, growing further unstable as it matched her frustration. It snapped to a stop suddenly as Luna’s magic surrounded it, halting its movement immediately. “That’s enough, Trixie. I just needed to know how good your control was.” She held up a hoof, ignoring the sweat covering her face. “W-wait! Trixie was just getting a feel for the crystal! She was just warming up! She-” “-Was about to burst a vein in her head, resulting in an angry doctor and another few weeks of bedrest. Yes, I am aware of what she was about to do.” Trixie blushed, partly in embarrassment, and partly in anger at herself. Despite her redness, a scowl was on her face, along with a defeated look. “So.. How bad was I?” “Well.. I have seen worse..” Luna replied slowly. “But, you should truly look at this as a good thing, Trixie.” “How is this possibly a good thing?” The mare crossed the room quickly, staring dejectedly out the far window. “I apparently have the magical control of a snub horn.” Luna cocked an eyebrow at the term, but chose not to award Trixie a remark. “Because, if you can do the level of magic you're currently doing, imagine how much you will improve after a few simple control exercises. Now, if you are done pouting we can move on with the next test.” “Trixie was not pouting… Trixie was… contemplating ways to improve her magic.” The mare defended, sticking her tongue out at the night princess. Luna merely cocked an eyebrow at her again. 'I should have her read a few of the history’s on me. It would be rather amusing to see if she changed at all after reading what I supposedly did to ponies in the past for far less.' “For your next test, I want you to levitate this crystal for as long as you can. It will steadily float in your grasp until it can no longer draw power from you. Once you can’t hold onto it anymore, we will move onto your final test.” Luna explained, gesturing to the next crystal, a slender blue one lying among the others on the bed. Trixie eyed the crystal for a moment, before she took a deep breath and summoned her magic. She levitated the crystal into the air, brow narrowing at the lack of activity from the shard. Just as she began to open her mouth to question Luna, she felt a slight pull on her magic as the crystal grew warm in her magical grasp. Moments passed in silence, with only the sound of Trixie occasionally shifting to banish the minor discomfort of the constant magical drain. It felt uncomfortable, and a little creepy even, to feel her magic slowly being leeched away like this. As Trixie grew weaker, the crystal grew heavier. She guessed the shard had to weigh just over 100 pounds at the moment, but it was starting to feel like an immense pressure against her forehead. Sweat beaded on her brow as she grunted, face scrunched up in concentration. Pain began to wrack her head, and she could feel the muscles in her neck and barrel beginning to burn. Gasping, she struggled even harder as the shard began to slip from her grip. N-No! Trixie will not look like a foal in front of her again! J-just have to hold on a f-few more minutes. A-and- Trixie’s thoughts were interrupted when she felt something sharply impact her horn, causing her to lose what little control she still had on the shard. The crystal promptly crashed to the floor with a loud thud. Opening eyes she didn’t realize had closed, Trixie found herself looking at a irritated Princess. She was about to ask why she was interrupted, but couldn’t quite manage a word due to her heavy panting. Trixie held back a moan at how badly cramped the muscles in her body were at the strain she had placed on them seconds ago. She was also pretty sure the heat radiating from her horn could have melted stone. “I don’t know why I am surprised. Trixie, I am not going to continue these tests if you are going to keep showing me how eager you are to injure yourself again.” “B-but Trixie is just doing her-” Luna stamped the ground with one of her hooves loudly. “There is a difference in doing your best for a test and burning yourself out!” She looked to Luna, a bit confused. “That doesn’t make any sense. You should do your best for a test, and worry about the pain afterwards. It’s like running from a angry crowd, you don’t care what part of you is injured while escaping, just that you escaped.” Shaking her head, Luna looked down at Trixie in disbelief. “Those two are in no way linked.” “Of course they are. The goal is to pass the test and worry about what you injured after you succeed.” Luna gave an exasperated sigh and mumbled “....How did she manage to get through school with that kind of attitude?” “She didn’t.” Apparently Trixie had heard her. Luna cursed herself for forgetting how unnaturally observant her apprentice was at the worst times. “Sorry...I didn’t-” “Forget it. It’s fine.” Trixie said unemotionally. For a few seconds, Luna saw a eerie void present in the unicorn’s eyes, the frown Trixie wore told Luna that it was in fact, anything but fine. Before Luna could react, the expression disappeared underneath a fake grin. “So, how was she on this one?” 'Yet another mystery about my apprentice. Do I stick my hoof in this one as well, with what happened last time?' “Actually, you did well, up until you nearly injured yourself. I believe the test ended around one hundred and twenty pounds or so. Not an easy feat for even a trained unicorn to achieve.” Trixie’s grin became much more real after that, to Luna’s relief. She had seen her student depressed much more than she liked lately. 'Though she has the cutest pout when things don’t go her way, if-' “So, on to the next test then?” Luna nodded, horn sparking as she hefted the blue crystal in the air, before turning and suddenly smashing it against the wall. Trixie jumped a little at the impact, a gasp of pain emitting from her mouth as her body protested the quick movement. A magenta colored swirl of magic erupted from the shattered crystal, and launched itself at Trixie. “Umm…” “It’s fine, Trixie.” The magic circled around her, slowly soaking into her fur as she looked on in concern. After the first few seconds of this, her horn began to feel better, that hollow feeling of her magic nearly being drained was disappearing. She was still covered in sweat, and her muscles still ached, but magically? She felt ready for whatever Luna threw at her. So long as she didn’t have to dodge it, at least. “What just happened?” Trixie asked, glancing at the shards dully sparkling on the ground. “I released the magic you put into the crystal back to you. No need in having you tired before your final test.” “Which is what exactly?” “This test will be to see how much power you have, so that we can set a baseline for your training.” Luna explained, motioning for the mare to follow her. Trixie followed behind Luna sullenly, head low as she dwelled on the results of the last two tests. Despite Luna’s kind words, she couldn’t help but punish herself. She was the self called “Great and Powerful Trixie”, and yet she couldn’t help but see her first result as a failure. “Ahem.” Luna coughed quietly, a small grin on her face as Trixie finally looked up. “I thought we were going to the roof?” Trixie said, glancing left and right. She often got turned around in the castle still, but she was fairly sure this was not the entrance to the roof courtyards. “We are. I wanted to show you something first.” Luna explained, pushing the door open quietly, and trotting into the room without a backwards glance. “Okay..” Trixie sighed irritatedly, but followed without argument. She sat down beside Luna, who seemed at ease peering at the ceiling aimlessly. She looked around the room, finding it sparsely decorated. Only a few pieces of furniture adorned the room, leaving a large cleared space in the center. “What did you want to show Trixie?” “What do you notice about this room Trixie? The ceiling in particular..?” Luna prompted, beckoning upwards with her hoof. Trixie followed her gaze, confusedly searching for what was snagging her mentor's attention. The ceiling was relatively plain, except for dozens upon dozens of small splotches of discolored paint throughout the room. Trixie lost count at 70 patches before growing bored. “The paint used here is sub-par?” Luna giggled, mane flowing quicker with her laugh. Trixie found a sincere smile appear on her face as Luna laughed. Despite her best attempts, Trixie felt her cheeks burn ever so slightly at her response. “No, not quite. This was where my sister trained her previous student.” Trixie ‘s gaze darted to Luna, brows narrowed. “Twilight was trained here? What does that have to do with me?” “Well, once upon a time, she was a filly. A filly with terrible control of her magic.” Luna explained, turning to face her student fully. “Did you know she became my sister’s student due to her magical outburst?” Trixie nodded slowly. “Yes. Trixie was in Canterlot that day to try out for Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns. I was attempting to get a scholarship so I could attend.. My parents were not the most wealthy..” She trailed off, rubbing at the back of her neck uncomfortably. “A baby dragon broke through the ceiling of the testing chamber however, and my application was canceled.” “Surely they rescheduled it?” “They did.. Tri-Trixie couldn’t make the next appointment.” Trixie explained emotionlessly. “So Twilight was just as bad at control as me..?” Trixie prompted, her meager attempt at changing the topic not going unnoticed. “No.” Luna said, grinning at Trixie’s sudden frown. “She was much much worse.” Luna waved a hoof upwards, gesturing to the mismatched paint spots once again. Trixie studied the spots once more, eyes widening as it finally clicked in her head. “These were Twilights attempts with the crystals?” “Yes. As you can see, it took her much longer to even reach the stage where she was not breaking the crystals. To be honest with you, she still does not have perfect control of her spells. She tends to overcharge them most times.” Trixie lowered her gaze, smiling finally. “Thank you Luna.” Together, Trixie and Luna stepped onto the roof of the palace, hoofsteps echoing across the rooftop. Trixie cocked her head to side, eyes darting toward the large crystals set at the far end of the roof courtyard. “So… Target practice?” Trixie asked, glancing toward her mentor skeptically. “Not quite. Your goal is to hit the crystals, but you need to weave as much power as you possibly can into your spellwork.” Luna explained, beckoning toward the shards. “They will let me determine your power.” “Ah.” Trixie remarked, stepping closer to a small line Luna apparently had drawn on the roof. “What spell should I use..?” She trailed off as Luna shook her head. “No spell, just concentrate energy at the tip of your horn, and release it in the direction of the crystal. They are enchanted to draw energy toward them, so you only need to get your magic close to them.” Trixie closed her eyes, slowly pooling magic at the tip of her horn. She could feel the pleasant wash of her magic as it raced through her veins, crackling loudly. After a little less than a minute of gathering her energy to the tip of her horn, sweat was beading her forehead. A headache began forming at the base of her horn as she attempted to summon yet more and more power. She could just make out a pale magenta light through her eyelids before Luna spoke. “No Trixie. Your funneling your magic into a light spell, but you need to clear your mind, and keep the magic from becoming visible until you release it. Focus on only summoning the magic, not on a light source, and once you’ve gathered every ounce of magic you can, release.” “Trixie will try.” Uncertainty colored her voice as she took a deep breath, releasing as she slowly pooled magic into her horn. A stray sparkle of magic appeared for a moment before quickly losing color once more, fading from view as quickly as it appeared. Her back legs began to shake as she drew power from deep within herself, using the power in her muscles to fuel the spell. Just as her back legs began to give out, she thrust her horn forward, releasing the spell with a strangled cry. She collapsed to the floor, eyes half lidded as she watched the ball of magic soar down the courtyard, slamming into the crystal with a low pitched ring. It began glowing a pale magenta, magic swirling back and forth soundlessly as the crystals greedily absorbed it. Luna strode across the rooftop, horn flaring as she gazed deep into the crystal. A few moments passed, in which Trixie forced herself to roll onto her back, chest heaving. She wiped sweat from her brow, before slowly pushing herself onto her hooves unsteadily. Another moment passed as Luna looked through the crystals, inwardly frowning. 'This...well..maybe I missed....no, no...that's all of it...' "Soo....how amazing is Trixie?" '...How do I put a positive spin on this?' Luna coughed embarrassingly, hiding her face. "S-so, that's enough for today. Let's head back." "Really? W-well, Trixie feels up to another test or two still, but if you are tired, that’s fine. Let’s head back once you confirm for Trixie how good her score was.." "Ya know-" Luna started "Perhaps this was a silly idea, we should not be concerned about 'scores' and 'tests', its not like they can really measure a ponies..ummm...inner strengths, right?" Trixie's panting slowed drastically, and her ears started to sink against her skull. "W-well, perhaps ‘powerful’ isn’t the most honest part of her title, but impressive is pretty close still, right?” “I-I’m not so sure I would use ‘impressive’ to describe your results on this test. It is rather impressive that you have managed so well despite-er...I mean…” Trixie turned away from Luna, her voice coming out heavy, and a tad strained. ”B-but, Trixie's meant to be ‘Great and Powerful. W-what is she supposed to become if she isn’t… I-I’ve worked hard to earn that title….” Sniff. “a-and-” 'Crap...spin it better, spin it better!' "Look-" Luna said, taking a few strides to Trixie and giving her a smile. "I didn't look to train you because I thought you were powerful,-" Trixie looked back over to Luna again, eyes widening as Luna continued. "-Or because I thought you would be a good apprentice at all-" Luna could see Trixie's sad expression start to take on a crushing look "-I decided to train you because you were interesting, because your actions that night with saving that filly showed me you were a much better pony than all the rumors I had heard of you. So what if your magic is only slightly above average? That's still more powerful than half the unicorns in Equestria, right?" "S-so her title is...is Trixie the Average and Interesting...?" 'Yeah, those are tears. Oh Discord why didn't I pay any attention to those empathy classes Celestia insisted on!?' “Of course not! I said above average! Trixie, above average!” “R-right…” Trixie woodenly stood up, and started making her way to the stairs. “W-well, I-I shouldn’t take up anymore of your t-time…” Luna was bad at understanding others, but she knew enough about Trixie by now to understand that she was perhaps minutes away from seeing her apprentice trying to bolt out of the castle again. '….Buck it, I wasn’t Honesty, that one was Tia’s burden.' Luna trotted over to Trixie, placing herself in between the staircase Trixie was slowly heading towards. With a regal hoof, Luna gently, but firmly forced Trixie’s head up, just enough to look into her eyes. Trixie’s eyes were teary, and a few slid down her cheeks even as she tried to hold them back. “Trixie, listen to me but a moment more.” Growling with frustration, Trixie tried to back out of the hold Luna had on her. She felt ashamed and embarrassed at her performance. Not to mention the grip Luna had on her kept reminding her of what Dusk said the night before. Still, Luna refused to let go, forcing a slightly flushed Trixie to remain in place for the moment. “Trixie-” She started, bringing her muzzle down to briefly nuzzle along Trixie’s hair. A strong desire to breath in Trixie’s scent made its way to the front of her mind. Why do I get so easily distracted around her? Focus Luna! “I was the same at one point. Even now, if I were to try to move both the sun and the moon for more than a few years I would burn out, where my sister did it for a whole century. I know the frustration of feeling weak.” “But, power can be gained. Twilight didn’t start with much control, and you are not starting with alot of power. Given time and training, you could even rival her in your own way.” “R-really..?” Luna nodded, letting go of Trixie’s muzzle and going back to lightly nuzzling her hair again. It was surprisingly nice for Luna, much like when she did it with Celestia, but different in a way she couldn’t quite place. 'Now, Please don’t ask me how you could rival her. I haven’t worked that part out yet.' “You are Trixie, The student of Princess Luna, and the first dream walker, besides myself, in a thousand years.” Luna smiled. She mentally cheered as Trixie perked up, chest puffing out slightly at her words. “And, once your training is done, you will be Trixie, the great and powerful, protege of Princess Luna, and controller of dreams!” Trixie wiped the tears that had been forming, a broad smile on her face as she giggled a little. “I look forward to the day I can call myself that, though I may have to shorten the title a bit. I would like to be truly powerful, to show other ponies wonders they’ve never seen before. Just think, to be able to walk onto any stage in the world and be welcome. To have fillies and colts be amazed, knowing that Trixie is going to give them a show…” She trailed off, a spacey look in her eyes as she imagined some unknown scene. “Why stop there?” Luna asked, sitting down beside her as she gazed across Canterlot’s gardens, the magic orbs sparkling in the garden below them as the sun set. From so high up, the slowly twinkling orbs resembled stars, lighting the path of the various garden bound ponies. “What do you mean?” The unicorn asked, shaking herself. “What would be better than that for an entertainer?” “Why stop at the stage? Yes, bringing wonder to other ponies is admirable, but you could make a huge difference in the world, if you tried. With a gift such as yours, there are many ways in which you could help others.” Trixie stayed silent for a few moments, contemplating what Luna said. “...Like what?” Luna shrugged, turning to face her student. “I believe that is for you to discover.” Trixie stared at her for a moment before looking out over the gardens, brows knit. “Trixie believes you are correct.” They sat in a companionable silence for a moment, before Luna perked up suddenly. “By the way, we have an outing tomorrow. Our first one, as student and Mentor.” “Oh? What will we be doing?” Trixie asked, peering curiously at the alicorn beside her. “That would be telling.” Luna said teasingly, booping the mare on her snout. “How will I know what to bring?” She stomped, voice raised in protest. "Just wear something comfortable, but fancy enough to be around a princess in public." "Got it." "But not too fancy, else you may look too good compared to everypony else, and in turn, make me seem like I am too good for normal ponies." "R-right.." "Oh! But you should definitely try to look impressive at the same time, you are my student after all! But don't look intimidating." "W-what?" "And I would recommend some kind of make-up. Like, a casual date look, almost. But a casual date you would have with a Princess. I'll see you early tomorrow night." With that, Luna stood up, briefly giving the dazed unicorn one more nuzzle before heading down the stairs. Trixie remained lying there for several minutes, trying to wrap her brain around Luna’s recommendations and failing. ".....HOW DO ANY OF THOSE GO TOGETHER!?"