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// 11. The Final Duel Spell 
// Story: Magic Duel by Mail 
// by Lise 
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	The following day, on a lazy afternoon, a scroll appeared on one of Donut Joe's tables. There it was instantly spotted by a small dragon, who grabbed it before anypony could notice. From there, the dragon quickly ran to Twilight, who had taken the opportunity to relax in her room at the palace, rereading the latest Daring Do novel. Spending time with students aiming constantly to impress her had turned out extremely tiring. 

Initially Twilight did not believe Spike's story. The whole notion that Trixie had teleported to him in secret seemed far fetched. Although it did sound like her to claim the duel wasn't over. More annoyed than curious, she opened the letter. Surely enough, there was a mail duel spell there, the rune changer distorting the spell elements, so they weren't intelligible until casting. No accompanying letter this time. Apparently Trixie didn't bother pretending she was somepony else, now that her identity had been uncovered.

Warning Spike to move to a safe distance, Twilight surrounded herself with a protective magic vortex, then read the spell. Her expectation was that it would be violent, dangerous, breaking every rule they had agreed to abide by, out of pure spite. Nothing of the sort happened. Instead the spell started duplicating itself. Powered by Twilight's magic, five glowing orbs spun in the air, then without warning shot off in different directions. One stopped a few steps from Twilight, another ended in the office of the SGU's Headmistress, the third popped up in professor Scroll's class, the fourth - in front of princess Celestia herself. As for the final one it was reserved for Trixie, locating her thanks to the blue unicorn's aetherprint. Then, when all components were in place, the actual spell began.

"Hello, all," the orbs morphed into an image of Noonlight, her features clearly recognizable. "My name is Noonlight Bright, and I have been in the SGU ever since I was a filly. But that is not all I am. I am also Starry Sun, and a few months ago, with the help of my friend and former classmare Trixie Lulamoon, I challenged Princess Twilight Sparkle to a magic duel by mail. The spell you are now observing should be ample proof, that indeed I was responsible, and have used my theoretical knowledge to achieve that. Trixie was only involved in as much as to write my spells down on paper and send them to the princess."

A band of moving pictures appeared round the magic image of Noonlight, each representing a memory of her working with Trixie.

"But that is not all. Before the duel started I did something else. A dangerous artifact came to my possession - a tablet that contained a single spell that would correct any mistakes made by the caster. Trixie claimed she had used it on me. The truth is, she didn't. I cast the spell on myself!"

Twilight, along with a whole lot of ponies watching the spell, gasped.

"The temptation to be finally able to perform magic was so great that I didn't think of the consequences. As a result I put my fellow students in danger. Since then I have been forbidden to perform magic without supervision. As you can all see, I did not follow the rule."

The image of Noonlight took a deep breath.

"That is why I no longer consider myself worthy to be part of the School of Gifted Unicorns. In all likelihood this is the last spell I will ever cast, and it will mark the end of my magic duel, as well as my time in Canterlot. To all those, who considered me their friend, I apologize for everything I have caused. To the princesses, I simply ask that you release Trixie. She has done nothing wrong and mustn't be punished for my mistakes. Everything that she's said up to now was only to protect me and help me achieve my dream. And although it was only for a short while, I can say she succeeded. With this I bid you all farewell."

That was it. The magical image exploded in a ball of bright green fireworks, a fitting end to a great performance. 

Back in her room, Noonlight waited patiently. She had no illusions what would soon follow. Within minutes a knock was heard on the door. A pair of Royal Guard pegasi had come for her.

"Miss Bright," one of them said, "would you come with us."

No 'please' this time. After what Noonlight had done, she hardly deserved it. Nodding silently she left her room and went with them. Initially she expected to be taken to the Headmistress' office, but the guards turned in the opposite direction. Apparently the time for scolding had passed, now it was directly to princess Celestia, where her fate would be decided.

The Royal Guards silently escorted her to the palace and into a small antechamber. This was the first time Noonlight had ever been inside. Pity it had to be under such circumstances. The first few minutes she sat there patiently expecting to be called in. As time passed, anxiety started to kick in. What had she done? Probably the stupidest thing since the creation of Equestria. Interestingly enough, she had no regrets. Even if she had to start fresh, somewhere far from Canterlot, she felt she had done the right thing.

The minutes stretched like hours. Only the sound of distant noises broke the monotony, mostly doors opening and closing, occasionally accompanied by the clatter of hooves. Tired of walking around, Noonlight sat back on one of the chairs. Waiting was the worst part. After so much fearing the worst, she just wished they would get it over with.

Finally a door opened. A new pair of white Royal Guards, this time unicorns, entered. Without a word, they indicating to Noonlight to follow them. This was it - the final walk. The three went along a long corridor into the throne room, where everypony had gathered. Celestia was seated on the throne, her motherly expression masking any thoughts she might have. Next to her was Princess Luna, her dark blue mane contrasting with the whiteness of the hall. Unlike her sister she didn't seem pleased. Eyes glared at Noonlight, making the little unicorn feel insignificant. Twilight also was also there, a short distance from the throne, together with Spike. Catching Noonlight's glance she smiled uncomfortably, apologetically almost. And finally there was the Headmistress of the SGU, and she definitely didn't look pleased. Her expression of disapproval alone was enough to crush a student's body and soul, and right now it didn't look like she had the intention of going easy on Noonlight.

"Noonlight," Celestia said, "do you know why you are here?"

A good question.

"Because I lied," she began quietly. "Because I let somepony else take the blame for what I did. And also because I cheated, put members of the school in danger, and..."

"No!" Princess Luna's voice boomed, filling the room. "That is not why you are here!"

Startled, Noonlight took a step back. Fear was visible in her every move. Fear and doubt that she might have made a mistake, that she might have been too overconfident, that her actions would achieve a thing. 

"You are here because you made a choice," the Princess of the Night stated. "We are here to ask if you stand by it."

Slowly Noonlight nodded.

"Have you considered the consequences of your actions, child?" Luna made a step forward. "You will be expelled from school, never achieve the position you have been striving for?"

"Princess Luna, Princess Celestia, please," Twilight teleported in front of Noonlight, shielding her from them. "This was not her doing alone. If I hadn't accepted the duel, as I shouldn't have, none of this would have happened. Mistakes were made, but this is no reason she shouldn't be forgiven. You taught me the importance of friendship, and everyday I spent in Ponyville I learned more. Now I know I should never turn my back on a friend. And Noonlight has become my friend. We might have only met in person a few days ago, but we have gotten to know each other through our challenges and letters, and..."

Twilight stopped. Both other princesses were staring at her, baffled expressions on her face.

"Whatever do you mean, Twilight?" Princess Celestia asked. "She is not here because of your magic duel."

"She's here, because she's a complete idiot, who constantly acts as a filly!" a new voice sounded. Both Noonlight and Twilight gaped, as Trixie hopped out from behind the throne. "I told you the Great and Powerful Trixie would handle this," she started confidently, however, a stern look from Princes Luna made her quiet down.

"You are here because you made the other choice, child," the Princess of the Night said. "You could have blamed your friend, or done nothing, and you probably would have lived an accomplished life."

"But not a full life," Noonlight looked at the ground.

"If I may, Miss Bright," the Headmistress coughed. "Despite your misguided opinion, the SGU, has never put the establishment before its students. Do you think you are the first unicorn to do something unorthodox? Although, I admit few have gone to such lengths," she gave Trixie an accusatory look. "The fact of the matter is that all could have been avoided, if you simply had been more open about it. And in the end I trust this has also shown you the importance of proper spelling."

Noonlight facehooved mentally. No matter the circumstances, the Headmistress was a lost cause when it came to speeches. Her skill to inject boredom even in the grandest and most serious of occasions was unparalleled.

"Of course, there would be consequences," the old mare adjusted her glasses. "Although interesting, the type magic you have been developing could be quite dangerous. Further supervised study would be required in the matter before it could become public knowledge. And let us not forget your use of magic," she shook her head disapprovingly. "As has become obvious, you have performed it without supervision. For the moment nopony seems to have been hurt, yet that is not something that could be allowed to continue. Officially, from this moment on you will be given the role of faculty secretary. However, neither you nor Miss Lulamoon will be allowed on school grounds unaccompanied by a faculty member. Naturally it would be in everypony's best interest for all involved to be discrete. There is also the non-trivial matter of some sort of punishment."

So much news, so little space in Noonlight's head. For a moment she felt like she was being bombarded will all sorts of things that she had never considered before. The Headmistress continued enumerating all the responsibilities she would have, as well as the punishment she and Trixie would receive, but Noonlight wasn't paying attention. The change that had just occurred was so great it rivaled her receiving her cutie mark. So far Noonlight had always been safely tucked away from the real world. Her parents were paying for her education, and apart from occasional temp jobs involving the school, she had never actually held a job. Everything had been provided for her, and maybe for that reason she had never had to make any life changing choices. Well, she had just now and from this point on everything was going to be different.

"There's just one thing, I don't get," Spike broke the seriousness of the occasion. "Who won the magic duel?"

Everypony looked at one another. Despite not showing it they too were just as curious. All glances fell on Twilight. As the recipient of the final mail duel spell, it fell on her to determine the outcome.

"I guess it's a draw," she smiled placing a wing on Noonlight's shoulder. "Your truth spell caught me off guard. Although, before that, I did outdo 'Starry'," she chuckled as an annoyed Trixie snorted with anger. "I'm just glad it was so much fun."

Many more things were said that day, but in Noonlight's mind that was the phrase that marked end of the whole adventure. It had all started as a simple dual, a desire to match wits with the Princess of Friendship. In the end it had brought them closer together. Not only that, it had helped Noonlight grow. No longer the confused pony, she was ready to experience all that life had to offer, knowing full well that whatever decisions she made she would have to live with them. Frightening, but also liberating. What would happen to her in the future? Only time would tell. Yet there was one thing she knew for certain - the sun was indeed starry.