//------------------------------//
// I'm Not the Only One 
// Story: Trapped in the Mirror of Worlds 
// by Silver_Wing 
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I had not moved from my spot in front of window all night. I was still practically drowning in my own thoughts and concerns. And little beyond what I should do next crossed my mind.

Before I had even realized it, the sun had risen up before me. It seemed to happen in a matter of moments, right before my eyes. I shook my head to wake myself, assuming I had dozed off while sitting there. 

"Guess I can sleep while sitting up now." I said to myself with a chuckle. 

I stood up and stretched as best I could. I still wasn't used to the new body I had come to posses, so I tested my flexibility since I was alone. Stretching much like a cat would, I arched my back high and then extending my front legs forwards as I lowered myself back down. Mid way through my decent, the wings I had forgotten I even had abruptly unfurled. The dusting sheet I had been wearing as a form of clothing flew off my back as my wings opened themselves. I jumped backwards in startled surprise as I was reminded of these new feathery attachments. 

"Right... Wings..." I said to myself as I looked back at them. 

I rolled my shoulders in an attempt to figure out what muscles actually moved them. I tried moving this way and that, but my wings seemed to have a mind of their own and remained effectively motionless. 

I spent several minutes trying to figure them out before I finally gave up. Then I spent several minutes more trying to tuck them back against my sides like they had originally been. Eventually, after resorting to manually closing each wing with my hooves, I finally had them both closed again. 


Dropping onto the large bed with a sigh, I caught the sound of soft knocking at my door and groaned. I rolled off the bed and got to my feet once again. The door handle was a lever style like the others I had seen in the halls, so even with my lack of fingers, I opened the door easily.  

Looking out into the hall, I found one of the armored guard ponies standing outside. He was white in color with a blue mane and eyes.  

"Uh.. Can I help you?" I asked, hoping I hadn't done something wrong.

"Princess Luna has requested your presence in the dinning tower. If you are rested enough." The guard said sternly, but politely. 

"Oh, right." I said with a slight start. I had entirely forgotten that Luna had said she would summon me in the morning.   

"This way then please." The Guard said, gesturing down the hall. 

I headed the way he had gestured, and about halfway down the hall I froze. I had forgotten my sheet and was once again walking down the hall completely naked.

The guard looked at me with a confused expression. "Is everything alright?" He asked.

"Uhh..." I began slowly. I wasn't sure what to say or do now. The guard didn't seem to care that I was naked. And aside from the armor he was wearing, he didn't have much on either, nor had Luna the night before for that matter. 

Taking a breath I asked him outright. "Should I wear anything specific for breakfast? Or is it fine to be seen in.... Nothing?" 

He glanced at me rather quizzically, then gave a shrug. "You look fine to me." He said, clearly not understanding my concern.

"So it's normal to walk around with nothing on then?" I asked.

The guard stared at me, his confusion clear on his face. "I don't understand what you're asking." He said slowly.

"Never mind, I think that answers my question." I said quickly, trying to laugh it off as nothing. 

With the guard reacting to my question as he had, I felt decently safe in my assumption that I was alright to be seen as I was. After all, what guard would let a visitor greet royalty in something inappropriate? At least, that was my hope anyways. 

The guard half frowned at me, then continued on with a slight shake of his head.

I followed close behind, still self conscious, but a little more relaxed. 


After a while, I caught sight of Princess Luna in the corridor ahead. She seemed to be waiting at the base of a staircase.

"Good morning to you, Silver Wing," She said as we neared her, "We trust your rest was pleasant?" 

I nodded, though I refrained from telling her that I sat by the window all night instead of sleeping in the bed. "I hope you had a decent sleep as well." I said, trying to be polite. 

She smiled oddly at me for a moment before she spoke again. "We are the keepers of the night," She said, "As such, we do not sleep until the light of day covers this land." 

"Oh," I said in surprise, "So then... Would this be your dinner time?" 

"Indeed," Luna said, "Now come. We shan't keep the others waiting."

"Others?" I repeated curiously. 

Luna nodded at me, then addressed the guard that had brought me to her. "Thank you," she said, "You may return to your post."

The guard gave a bow, then left with a stern "Ma'am."

I followed Luna up the stairs as best I could. I found I had to watch and place my feet down carefully to avoid tripping. Before I had realized it, she was already a fair ways ahead of me. And by the time I reached the door to the dining room, Luna was already seated and waiting for me. I found it terribly awkward to be the only one entering the room at that point and quickly took in my surroundings to change my thoughts.

I saw three other ponies sitting around a large, round table. Luna was already sitting off to the right. Across form her, sat a green colored pony. She looked a little smaller than Luna, and though she had a horn, she had no wings. It took me a moment to recognize the pony as the one I saw a guard with the night before and I couldn't help but wonder who she might be. Clearly someone of importance to be having breakfast with Luna. Glancing to the third pony, I noticed quite quickly that it was larger all of us. This one was a pure white in color, with a shimmering mane of blue's and greens. As I looked her over, I noticed that this white pony possessed both a horn and wings, just like Luna. I had to assume to that this must be the Princess Celestia that Luna had mentioned the night before. Though I couldn't be certain. 

After a moment of pause, I quickly made my way to the nearest cushion and found myself sitting across from the larger white pony, with Luna to my right, and the green pony to my left. 

"And who do we have here?" The white pony asked. She turned her head towards Luna, but her eyes stayed fixed on me.

I felt my stomach tense as she clearly surveyed me.

"A new guest, sister." Luna replied with a small smile.

“Oh really? And what is your name then?” She asked, turning to face me directly.

“My name?” I replied, momentarily caught off guard by her speaking to me, “Chr- uhh... Silver Wing.” 

I glanced at Luna, hoping the name I used was the right one.

“Hmm, a fine name.” Celestia said with a nod. She glanced over at Luna and echoed herself a second time. After a moment of thought, she returned her gaze me to me and introduced herself in turn. “Well then, I am Princess Celestia." She smiled for a moment, then gestured towards the green pony to my left. "Have you met our other guest before?” She asked.

I glanced over to the green pony, not entirely sure what to say. I hadn't met her before, no. But I saw her in the halls last night while I was sneaking around. I'm sure that would go over well... 

Thankfully, the green pony managed to speak before I could hang myself with my own words. 

"Oh, I'm..." She started slowly. She seemed to be just as nervous as I was, and it took her a moment to finish introducing herself. "I'm Meadow Dawn." 

She gave a slight bow of her head, and I couldn't help but smile slightly. At least I wasn't the only one who was nervous here.

Before I could say anything, yet another pony came in from outside the doors behind me. He trotted up to the table and bowed politely.

"And what would you like to have today?" He asked, looking to Celestia. 

“I'll have some warm oatmeal please.” Celestia said, a kindly smile seemingly etched onto her face.

“We would enjoy the apple salad with tea this morning.” Luna answered next. 

Of the two, Luna seemed to be more distant and correct with her speech than her sister, and I couldn't help wonder why. 

Before I knew it, the order pony was staring at me rather expectantly. I had no idea what they had to eat here, so I went with the easiest choice. “Uhh... I'll have the apple salad too please.” 

“Did you want a drink as well?” He asked.

“Sure, tea'll be fine.” I said quickly. I caught a hint of a smirk from Luna and glanced at her, wondering if I'd done something wrong by ordering as she had.

The server moved on and cleared his throat to get Meadow Dawns attention. Apparently, she really was as nervous as I was. 

“Whatever works best for breakfast here then.” She replied quickly. 

The server hesitated, clearly unsure what he was supposed to jot down. Thankfully for Meadow Dawn, Celestia chimed in for her.

“Oatmeal would be a fine start for her then as well." She said, "We'll fetch you if we need anything more thank you.” 

“Of course Princess!” The server replied. He bowed respectfully, then headed back out the door with our orders.

A momentary lul of silence passed over the table. I glanced from one pony to the next, unsure what to say or do. 

With a slight sigh, Princess Luna eventually broke the silence. “It would seem you both are here not by your own choice, and I will say again how sorry we are for your trouble.” She lowered her head in pause, seemingly saddened by the situation, then continued. “It would be our hope that you both find happy and productive lives here in Equestria.”

I looked over at the green pony named Meadow Dawn and stared at her in surprise, my mind racing anew at what Luna had just said. 'She's not from here either?' I thought, 'So is she from my world too then? Or does Luna mean from outside Equestria?' 

I found Meadow Dawn to be staring at me with a similar expression and I quickly came to feel both relieved and hopeful. After all, if she was from my world, then maybe I could get back the same way she got here. 

“So you came through the mirror too?” I asked, trying to hide the shock I knew was clear in my voice.

“Yes..." She said slowly, "And my home was locked.” 

I faltered for a moment as I caught the accusation in her words, but before I could say anything, Princess Luna defused the situation.

“Do not be hasty Meadow Dawn,” She said sternly, but softly, “There is more than one mirror that is connected to Equestria. And more than your two worlds share that connection.”

Meadow Dawn seemed to mumble a little, then I heard her issue an apology. 

I was a little annoyed with the accusation, but I let it slide. I could see how she might have thought I broke into her place, even if I didn't. 

“No worries,” I said, “But why can't you go back? Did your mirror break too?”

“Too?” She repeated in surprise, “No, no, I'm afraid it's a bit more... Complicated. I'm being blocked. Something's blocking my way every time I tried to step toward the mirror.”

“You could say that, though it is not quite right.” Luna said, nodding thoughtfully.

“What do you mean?” I was confused now, and couldn't help but ask Luna what she meant.  

“I am afraid that is something Dawn will need to find for herself.” she replied quietly.

“Though that does not mean she will be without help.” Celestia added.

I half frowned at the lack of information, but I wasn't going to press royalty if they weren't willing to speak.

“What kind of help then?” Meadow Dawn asked after a few more moments of silence passed between us.

“I'm glad you asked.” Celestia said with a growing smile. She paused as the sound of hoof steps rose up the stairwell. A moment later, the server who had taken our orders appeared.

“Breakfast is served!” He said cheerfully. He used his hooves with surprising dexterity, and gently placed everyone's meals onto the table in the order we had spoken to him.

I thanked the server and then proceeded to stare at my meal unsurely. There were no forks. Or any silverware for that matter, so I was at a slight loss as to how to go about eating this meal without being rude.

I heard a squeak from my left and saw Meadow Dawn wiping oatmeal off her nose. It took me a moment to notice, but in the air just before her, I saw a spoon. It was just... Floating there. It seemed to have the faintest shimmer of green around it, and as I tried to understand, I quickly noticed the same shimmer around Meadow Dawns horn. 

I watched in amazement as the spoon lowered itself into the bowl of oatmeal, then rise back up on its own. The spoon hovered before Meadow Dawn as she blew on it, then it slowly drifted towards her open mouth. Only it just missed, and instead poured its contents onto the tip of her nose, prompting another squeak from her. 

“Wait," I said aloud, my thought escaping before I could contain it, "How are you doing that?” 

Meadow Dawn glanced over at me, embarrassment clear in her green eyes. “I... I don't really know.” She said with a faint shrug.

“Unicorns often can use magic Silver," I heard Celestia explain as she paused eating, "Just as Pegasi like you can fly.”

'They can do what!?' I thought in surprise. 

"They... They can?" I asked, not entirely believing her. I mean, I knew I had wings now, but even so. To actually fly with them? It seemed an impossible thought to me.

“Yes, you can.” Luna said. 

She fluttered her own wings for a moment and I couldn't help glance back at my own. I remembered the difficulty I had in getting them back by my sides earlier, but I attempted to flutter them as Luna had anyways. I failed miserably in my attempt, barely succeeding in making them quiver. With a frown I look back at my salad and try to eat it as best I can using only my mouth.

I caught Meadow Dawn lean over her oatmeal and begin drinking it from the bowl in a manner similar to how I was trying to eat my salad. I wasn't sure if she was doing that to make me feel better since I couldn't use magic, or because she was annoyed with burning her nose. But for the moment, I was glad I wasn't the only one eating this way.

I was hungrier than I had thought, and I made short work of my salad. I was never a big fan of salads, but this one was surprisingly good. After finishing, I found myself staring at the tea cup I had ordered. Its contents had cooled significantly by now, but I wasn't going to be rude and let it go to waste. 

I tilted my head this way and that as I tried to figure out how to safely drink from this cup. I had hoped to find out the trick to it by watching Luna, but she had a horn. And that allowed her to use magic like I would have used a hand in my world. 

Finally seeing no other option, I tried to emulate what I saw the server do. I gently placed the inner parts of my hooves on either side of the cup and carefully lifted it to my face. That part of my hooves seemed far softer than the hard shoe area in the front, so it wound up working decently well for me. It was a great deal like trying to drink while wearing oven mitts. A little awkward, but doable. I finished the tea before I placed the cup back down, not wanting to press my luck lifting it more than once. Finally done with the meal, I let a soft sigh escape me and sat back a little more relaxed.

“I know it may be difficult to adjust," Celestia said softly, "But you'll come along just fine I'm sure.”

'Difficult?' I thought, fighting the urge to frown, 'You have no idea...'

“Now, you must realize that very few ponies know that other worlds exist.” Luna began to explain.

She seemed far more serious than I had seen her before, so I listened to her words carefully.

“As such," She continued, "It would be greatly appreciated if you did not speak of this to anyone.”

I could understand what she was getting at. I know how such claims would be taken on my world and I had no desire to be treated like a crazy person.

“Naturally, this means we'll need to find you both a way of getting along here in Equestria," Celestia stated, "So what sorts of things were you two good at where you were from?”

“You mean like... My job?” I asked, “Or my hobbies?”

Luna nodded at me in response, so I took that to mean 'Both' and continued. 

“Well, I was in law enforcement...” I said. Then I paused as I caught both Luna's and Celestia's gazes narrow slight.

“I was in customer service," Meadow Dawn said, taking the pause to start her turn, "But I always liked technology, or games. I didn't have the talent to put my imagination to work in other ways.” 

“I also always liked sword fighting, writing, video games,” I let out a slight chuckle hoping nothing else I said would seem to strike a nerve, and added “Old history, and mythology too.”

“And what brought you to that line of work?” Luna asked me. Her voice held a notable air of caution to it, and I immediately regretted saying anything.

All I could do now was just be honest, and hope my answer was to their liking, so I took a breath to calm myself and explained as best I could. “Someone has to uphold the peace and keep people honest. If not, there wouldn't be anything worthwhile to come home to.” 

Luna nodded me, seeming to either understand or accept my statement. I held in a sigh a relief as she finally turned her attention to Meadow Dawn.

“I just like helping people,” She said with an honest shrug, “I didn't have the ability to make anything anyone liked so I just worked on helping people be happy, or understand something they didn't before.”

"You both seem to have very helpful pasts," Celestia said, seemingly accepting of our answers, " I'm sure you'll fit right in here in Equestria. But first... I think it would be best if the two of you learned how to be yourselves here."

She looked at Meadow Dawn and spoke with a seemingly parental tone. “A Unicorn isn't a Unicorn unless she can use the magic her horn grants her." She said. Then she turned to me. “And a Pegasus that can't fly simply will not do.” She said in the same tone.

Looking to Luna, she continued. "My dear sister, where do you think they would be best off learning about themselves?"

Luna seemed to grow thoughtful for a moment, then looked right at me again. "I believe learning with the Aerial Pegasai Guard would be best for this one. We are curious as to the techniques used in his world. But as for you...” she said, turning to face Meadow Dawn, “It is probably best if you learned the basics of magic before we taught you how to handle bigger magics such as your other self. A visit to magic kindergarten perhaps.”

'The Aeriel Pegasai Guard?' I thought, 'So what am I going to then, boot camp?' I lost myself in my head for a moment as I dwelt on the prospect of actually flying freely through the skies. The thought was appealing to be sure. I had always dreamed of flying through the open skies, but surely something like that was impossible, even here...

Movement finally caught my attention and I noticed that Princess Luna and Celestia were getting to their feet.

'I have to stop zoning out like that!' I mentally yelled at myself, 'I hope I didn't miss anything they may have said to me...'

“But, why kindergarten?” I heard Meadow Dawn ask, and I tilt my head curiously.

I definitely missed something that was said. Why was Meadow Dawn going to kindergarten?

“It is the place that all unicorns have to learn their trade," Celestia explained to her, "And you may yet learn other things there that we might not think to teach.” 

'So we're going to different places...' I thought, 'I'll have to speak with Meadow Dawn afterward then. I need to know if she's from my world or not. If she's in the same boat as I am, we might be able to figure a way out of this together. Hopefully...'

Straightening myself I look to the Princesses and ask the question I figured was on both mine and Meadow Dawns minds. "So when do we begin?"

“Right away," Celestia said, "Both of you should start your schooling as soon as you can.”

“Might as well start now, I guess,” I said with a shrug, “Nothing else to do really.” I let out a laugh and smiled as confidently as I could.

“Well, nothing else that we know of anyway.” I hear Meadow Dawn add.

I glanced over at her and smirked.

“I'll take you both there myself," Celestia said, "Come along, it's not far. And if we go now, you'll arrive right at their play time.”

'Playtime?' I thought, 'She must mean the kindergarten.. At least, I hope she means the kindergarten' 

“I hope you rest well then Luna.” Meadow Dawn said as she followed Celestia out of the room.

"Good night Luna." I add in turn, before following after Meadow Dawn. 

"Enjoy learning to fly, Silver Wing," I hear Luna say softly, "I am certain you will come to enjoy the freedom it brings." 

It was an appealing thought, even though I still found it highly unlikely that I could ever fly. I glanced over at Meadow Dawn and took this time to ask her thoughts on the matter. “So, what do you think of all this Dawn?” 

“Well,” she said, “It's definitely strange to be walking on four legs. I miss my hands. And my books, and my games.” She paused for a moment, seemingly lost in thought, then continued.“I'm still trying to figure out why horses, or ponies or whatever, and I don't know what to expect... I'm scared...”

I noticed her grow a little more tense and cursed myself mentally. I hadn't meant to make her feel bad, I was just curious to see if she felt how I did. Which it seems was the case. 

“It'll be all right," I said softly, trying to make her feel better, "Just try to roll with it. Besides, by the sounds of it, you'll be able to get home eventually. So just try to stay positive till then." I laughed reassuringly and added, in an attempt to make her smile, “Though I don't know if I'll ever get used to not having hands.” 

“And by the sounds of it,” she said softly, “It's unsure whether I'll end up wanting to go back.”

“If that were the case, wouldn't that mean you would be happier in the end?” Celestia asked, clearly having overheard our conversation.

“I suppose so.” Meadow Dawn answered. After a moment, she looked back at me curiously. “What about you?" She asked, "What would you do since you can't go back then?"

“I-I'm not sure...” I said slowly. Her question caught me off guard for some reason. I had been thinking about this all night, but to have it directly asked of me shook me harder than I'd have liked.

“I think both of you will find more here in Equestria than you will have bargained for," Celestia said comfortingly, "Then again, what you two do with yourselves now is another story.”

As we neared a large pair of doors, Celestia's horn began to glow a yellow golden hue. The doors shimmered the same hue, then they both swung open effortlessly.

'That's a helpful trick.' I thought. 

Celestia led us away from the palace, down a road into the city. There were ponies everywhere. Unicorns, normal looking ponies, and other Pegasai like myself. None were flying though. And I frowned at that. 

'Yes... Clearly they can all fly...' I thought sarcastically. 

Before I had realized it, we were walking up to a larger building that was on its own. There was a fenced off area filled with grass, and very small ponies were playing front. 

'This must be the school.' I thought. As I scanned the small army of children, I found myself at a loss. Amongst the children, there were several Pegasus running and hoping about. And amongst them all, there were two that were flying in circles around the rest.

My jaw literally fell open. There were two very small Pegasai flying with their wings as easily as a bird. At this sight, I came to a very startling realization.

“Will I be able to walk to my school?” I asked Celestia quickly, hoping the concern in my voice was not nearly as prominent as it was in my mind, “I mean, I can't fly... I don't even know how to open my wings yet!” 

Celestia chuckled at me for a moment, then smiled. “Don't worry," She said, "You can use the stairs.”

I sighed in relief. Then cursed myself mentally for not believing them that Pegasai could fly from the start. I knew they had no reason to lie to me, but some things you really do have to see to believe.

“So just what kinds of things can magic do?” Meadow Dawn asked, catching my attention.

That was something I was curious about too. I knew it could be used to open doors, and move spoons. And even to make magic mirrors that lead to other worlds, but what else could it do?

“A great many things," Celestia replied, "It was magic that brought you here. And various magics are used to build our homes. Clean our waters. Even control our weather... The bigger question to ask, I think, is what do you want to use your magic to do?”

Meadow Dawn paused at that. “Well, I don't know yet..." she said. 

There was the faintest shake to her words, and I couldn't understand why. 

"Perhaps I'll find my own way to use it to help people..." She said, "Somehow.”

“Take your time," Celestia stated, "Not every pony knows what they will do, or how they will do it. Some of the latest bloomers of magic have done the greatest of things.” She smiled at Meadow Dawn, then looked ahead to the happily playing children.

“So, flying huh?" Dawn said to me thoughtfully, "Think you'll have the hang of it by tonight?” 

She grinned at me, but the prospect of flying was more than a little concerning to me. 

I let out a heavy sigh and half shrugged in response. “I'm not really sure to be honest,” I said, “But I guess I'll find out soon enough.” I forced as confident a laugh as I could, then looked back to the young pegasai flying nearby.

“Don't worry,” She said reassuringly, “We'll stick through this, and we'll try to figure something out together. Who knows, maybe I could figure out a way to fix your mirror?” 

I glanced up at her in surprise at that thought, but before I could ask Celestia if that was even possible, a yellow and orange pony trotted up to us from the school.

“Celestia!" she exclaimed cheerfully, "How wonderful to see you! The children will be so excited to see you too!” 

“I am sorry, but I'm only able to spare enough time to introduce you to your newest pupil, Meadow Dawn." Celestia said, giving a nod towards the green pony beside her. 

“H-hi...” Meadow Dawn says shyly, giving a polite bow as she spoke.

“She's new to Equestria," Celestia explained, "And comes from a village where she was the only Unicorn. She'll need to be taught how to use her magic, since they did not understand it where she is from.”

“I understand," The yellow pony said with a smile, "Say no more. Come with me... It was Meadow right?” 

“Y-yes ma'am," Meadow Dawn replied, "Meadow Dawn, but Dawn is fine too.” 

'Dawn,' I thought, taking note of the offered abbreviation, 'I'll have to use that in the future instead of Meadow Dawn. It's less of a mouthful.' 

Celestia gave a nod for me to follow her, and, after a glance back at Dawn, I obliged.

She led me back towards the Palace, and I couldn't help but grow confused. 

"I thought I was going to a school too?" I asked.

Celestia chuckled a moment then smiled back at me. "You are," She said, "Look up there, above the palace." 

I did as told, and what I saw left me momentarily speechless. 

A great many clouds were arranged in what looked to be a floating military camp of sorts. I could see several building shaped clouds, and a great many rings and other obstacles in the air all around it.

"That is the Aerial Guard Academy," Celestia explained, "It moves around Equestria with the seasons to offer a variety of training area's for practice. You're fortunate that it's so close by." 

"I see..." I said slowly, surveying the Academy, "I uh... Thought you said there were stairs...?"

"There are indeed," she said with a chuckle, "You see that tower there? The tallest one of the Palace? You can reach the Academy from there." 

I sighed to myself, a little relived, until she spoke again.

"But I don't think you'll need them." She said.

"W-what do you mean?" I asked quickly, more than a little concerned.

"You'll see soon enough." she said, a parental smile becoming clear on her face.

I groaned, and followed after her with a slight slump on my shoulders.


Celestia led me to a large, open field behind the Palace and paused. 

"Wait here a moment, if you would." She said. 

I nodded, and watched in awe as she opened her large white wings and, in one powerful flap, took off into the sky like a streak of light. She soared through the sky and climbed higher and higher until she passed beyond my sight above the Academy. 

'Can I really do that too?' I thought. My stomach knotted in a mix of fear and excitement at the idea. If I really could fly like that, soar the skies under my own power, then maybe being trapped here wouldn't be so bad after all

As my mind raced with the possibilities, I couldn't help but try to open my wings and experiment with them. 

I failed several times to open my wings at first. Then, remembering the events of this morning, I stretched the same way. Lowering my front end and stretching like a cat would, I felt a strong shift in the muscles of my back. I paid close attention to every shift and sensation, and with a strong flex of my back, I felt my wings shoot out proudly. 

"Yes!" I exclaimed with no small degree of pride. 

Rolling my shoulders, I again payed careful attention to the new muscles I could feel. It didn't take me long to get them moving, and very soon I was flapping my wings. Though not nearly with enough strength to lift myself off the ground. 

I played with them like that for a while, flapping and moving them in any way I could before I found myself flapping harder and harder. I could feel the immense strength of my wings, and as I continued to increase the force of my wing beats I came to realize that they weren't even trying.

I looked skywards and began to flap even harder, I could feel the wind rushing all around me in great gusts. Feeling the power of my body like that, I didn't take me long to work up the courage to try something a little more challenging.

I stopped my flapping and took a quick glance around to make sure that no one was watching. Content that I was still alone, I raised my wings up high. With a grunt of exertion, I forced them down as hard as I could. 

The effect was instant, and far more direct than I had anticipated. My wings sent me straight up into the air, and almost before I could blink I had cleared nearly twenty feet. The sensation was exhilarating and time seemed to stop for a moment as I reached the crest of my lift. All to soon however, gravity won over and sought to return me to the earth once again. 

I flapped again. Softer than the first time, but still far to hard I realized with a yelp. I flew backwards like a bolt, instead of up like I had intended. I flailed aimlessly for a moment, then threw my head to turn myself in the direction I was moving. I flapped again, hoping to slow myself but I only succeeded in propelling myself even faster. Looking ahead, I found the side of the Palace racing towards me and I lurched to the left, trying to move myself as I knew a plane would to steer. I veered at the last second, but I knew I was going to hit the wall anyways, so I did the only thing I could think of. I reached out with my legs and used them to cushion the impact and guide myself out of the way. The impact was rough, and I barely managed to keep my footing, but four feet proved to be very adept at running at speed. I ran along the wall for several seconds, grinning widely before I leaped off with another hard flap. I laughed victoriously as I moved away from the wall, then I looked forward and shrieked in panic. Ahead of me was a large stand of trees, and I knew I could not avoid them. They were too close, and I was too inexperienced. "Crap, crap, crap!" I cursed aloud as I sailed towards them. I flapped my wings wildly in an attempt to save myself from the abrupt stop I was rapidly nearing, but I only succeeded in speeding myself up once again. 

I closed my eyes and braced myself for the impact, folding my wings against my sides and crossing my arms before my head. But much to my confusion, I felt nothing.

I opened one eye, expecting to see the unforgivingly solid trunk of a tree about the meet my gaze, but I found myself to be floating in place some feet from the tree. Greatly confused I tried to move, but I found that I was unable too. It was then that I noticed a faint golden shimmer surrounding me. The shimmer was like a field of tangible energy and it held me firmly in place.

I felt the shimmering barrier lower me softly until I was barely a foot above the ground, then it vanished like a wisp of smoke. I plopped onto the grass with a startled yelp, then looked around in confusion. 

It took me a moment, but I eventually caught sight of Princess Celestia hovering high above me. She had a wide grin on her face and she looked to be rather pleased about something. 

Floating beside her, I saw Pegasus. Light blue in color with a whistle hung around his neck.  

After a moment, Celestia and the blue pegasus descended towards me and landed softly nearby. 

"I see what you mean," the pegasus said to Celestia, "He's got some potential alright. He got higher in one flap than most, and he's got some speed to those wings. But his control needs some serious work. He almost painted the palace with his face!"

"As I said," Celestia said to him, "Young Silver Wing here has been unable to practice flying until just today. He was the only Pegasus where he is from, as such, he never had a proper teacher." 

"Still odd he didn't try to figure it out on his own when he was younger," the blue pegasus said, frowning at me slightly, "But I'll leave it be as you asked, Princess."

Celestia nodded at the pegasus, then introduced him to me. "This is Blue Breeze," she said, "He's been teaching the advanced flight classes at the Academy for almost fifty years now." 

"Too long," Blue Breeze said with a scoff, "But seeing as no else has the patience for it, I'm stuck with the job." 

It was then I noticed the signs of age on this pony. He had a pale beard along his chin, and streaks of white were present in his lightening blue mane and tail. 

"He may sound gruff and grumpy," Celestia said with a chuckle, "But he actually loves to teach young ponies like you to fly. Though he'd never admit it" 

Blue Breeze frowned at her and looked away with a snort.

Celestia chuckled at the older pony then looked up at the sky as if seeing or hearing something I couldn't. "I'll leave you two to it then." she said thoughtfully.

She glanced at me with a smile, then took a step back. "You're in good hooves with Breezy, Silver," she said, "He'll have you flying in no time." 

With another powerful flap of her wings, Celestia took flight once again and sailed off towards the palace like a great bird.

I grinned after her as I thought about flying like that again, then I remembered that someone else was with me. Now alone with the old flight pony, I found myself incredibly nervous and rather embarrassed. It was one thing to mess up trying something on your own, but it was it another thing entirely to mess up while someone was watching. And by the conversation he and Celestia had just had, they both saw everything I did...

The old pony cleared his throat and looked at me sternly. "Alright young'n," he said, "The Princess's asked me personally to get you airborne. And that's exactly what you're gonna be by the time I'm done with you!"

I couldn’t help but smirk a little at the old ponies speech. It was comforting in a way. It reminded me of when I first singed up to be an officer a few years back. It was also nice to see some pony with a little bit of attitude. As nice as it was to be treated politely, it got a little weird if that was all you ever encountered.

"And what's got you grinning, huh?" Blue Breeze barked. 

"Uh, sorry," I said, wiping the look from my face, "You just reminded me of someone is all."

"Uh huh," he said, "Well don't expect to be reminded of nothin' but training for the rest of the day!"

I sighed internally and resisted the urge to chuckle as I was reminded of my earlier days as an officer even more.

"Understood sir." I said, shifting to attention.

"That's better," he said, "The Princess told you my name, but you'll call me Breezy. Everyone else does."

I nodded in understanding.

"Now, I saw what you could do from up there," Breezy said, "You got some power, I'll give you that. But power is worthless if you don't got control! That little wall trick you pulled may have saved you from becoming an addition to the paint job of the palace, but you won't make it in the world of the Aeriel's with sloppy moves like that!" 

He spread his wings out and began to tilt them in shifting degrees and angles. "You see my wings boy?" he said, "Watch em closely. These here are the most important positions for keeping yourself up in the air outta the dirt." 

I watched his wings closely and didn't need to wait for him to tell me to try and copy him. I immediately spread my wings and began to figure out how to mirror the positions he was showing me.

Breezy smirked as he found me to be copying him. "I usually gotta tell new fliers to copy what I show em. I'm impressed," Then his smirk faded, "But don't let that go to your head! You still ain't doin' it right!"


I spent the better part of the next few hours simply learning how to move my wings into the various positions Breezy kept showing me. He was stern, but I could tell he had a real passion for teaching. He seemed to hold an enormous love for flying, and it didn't take much at all to get him talking about it.

"Alright Silver," he said, grinning at me, "I think you're about ready to try it for real again." 

"What?" I gasped. I didn't feel ready. I had most of the positions he had shown me down, but it was always harder to put practice into play, especially for the first time.

"You heard me," Breezy said, his grin growing wider, "Don't make me repeat myself boy." 

I hesitated and looked out at my wings. I wiggled them a little and felt the wind flow around the many feathers as they moved. I swallowed hard and took a deep breath, mentally preparing myself for my second attempt.

"Nice and easy now," Breezy said, "Get yourself off your hooves, then go to position four and hold it."

"R-right..." I said nervously.

With a hard flap, I leaped into the air in much the same manner as the first time I had tried. I felt my stomach tense as I reached the height of my ascent and I shifted quickly into position four. I tilted my wings slightly and locked them in place. I lurched forwards rather abruptly as my wings caught the air and I tensed visibly in response.

"Easy now boy!" I heard Breezy call from below, "Relax those muscles a little and ride the glide!" 

I wobbled horribly as I found myself gliding away from Breezy, and I couldn't help but flail my legs in a a vein attempt to stabilize myself.

"Keep it together now!" Breezy yelled, "Now flap again! Harder this time! Get yourself some air!"

I did as I was told and flapped hard. I felt the strong sense of lift in my shoulders and I rose several more feet with ease. 

Breezy gave a quick flap of his own wings and leaped into the air after me. 

In only two flaps he was right beside me and I couldn't help but be impressed with his wing strength. 

"Doing good boy!" he called, "Now, time to steer back towards the palace! Position twelve!" 

I faultered for a moment as I tried to remember which position twelve was and I shifted my wings. Abruptly, I tiled downwards and I yelped as I found myself careening towards the grass bellow.

"That's seven not twelve!" Breezy yelled, "Back to four! Quickly!"

Unfortunately for me, I was too flustered to remember which position was which anymore. I plummeted to the earth and tumbled hard as I slammed into it. I rolled to a stop a few feet away from my impact site and groaned aloud as I felt my head spin.

Breezy landed beside me and shook his head with a frown. "Shake it off now," he said gruffly, "Or are ya gonna quit on me after one miss flap?" 

I tried to shake my daze off and barely managed to get to my feet. I stood shakily for a moment, eying the ground beneath me as I tried to regain my balance.

"Well?" Breezy said, sounding rather annoyed, "You gonna go back home now, or get back to it?"

I knew what he was trying to do. Motivation through pressure. But that didn't mean I liked it. I shot a glare at him and snorted. 

"What's that look there boy?" he barked, "Either get back in the air or go back to your home where not flying’s the way to go!" 

His words struck a rather sore nerve to me. 

"I'd love to go home, but I can't!" I barked back. 

Before Breezy could could say anything more, I crouched down low and I raised my wings high. I leaped up as high as I could into the air and flapped my wings with all my might. I took off straight up, and I didn't stop. I flapped again and again, and again. Each beat testing the strength of my wings as I vented out my irritation. 

"Hey now!" I heard Breezy yell after me, "Don't push your luck! If you take a tumble from that height you're likely to break something!"

I was too annoyed to listen, and by the time I finally stopped flapping, I could see the flight academy far beneath me. My stomach knotted hard at the great height I found myself at and I felt my entire body freeze up in response. I started to fall, fast. I began to panic as I saw the academy rising up to meet me and I flailed about wildly in an attempt to get my wings working again.

From out of nowhere, I saw breezy fly up beside me, a glare of concern clear on his face. 

"Flap those wings boy!" he barked, "Now!"

His tone struck me like a bolt of lightning and my wings shot out to wither side of me once again. I felt an enormous pressure on my wings as they fought to counter my rate of decent. 

I grunted as I fought against the pressure, but try as I might, I was unable to flap my wings. The pressure was too strong.

"If you can't flap free of the fall, then dive into it!" Breezy yelled, "Position nine, now!"

I shifted my wings and tilted into the fall enough to catch the air currents. My speed picked up sickeningly fast and in a matter of seconds I was going triple the speed I had been falling at. 

I was having trouble seeing, but I knew I was heading straight for the academy. I tried to flap my wings to slow myself, but I quickly found myself locked into the dive. 

"Position four Silver!" I could hear Breezy yelling from behind, "Position four!" He was falling behind fast and the howl of the winds as they passed by me made it increasingly difficult to hear him.

"Feel the winds boy!" I heard him yell faintly, "Let em flow and glide out!"

I shifted my wings again and gritted my teeth as I felt a growing wobble of turbulence begin to overwhelm my wings. I thought I would loose it at any moment, but I forced myself to hold the position. I saw the academy ahead and threw my head to the side like I had done to avoid hitting the palace. I veered hard to the left in an attempt to avoid it, but my wings gave out at the abrupt change in pressure. My adrenaline kicked in to overdrive and I shot my wings out again. I was just able to recover and barely avoided crashing headlong into the academy. I felt my front hooves graze the clouds that made up the ground of the floating school, and a moment later I found myself under it. I saw the palace far bellow, and Canterlot around it. The view was amazing and I lost myself in it for a moment. Shifting my wings slightly as I relaxed, I leveled out my decent, then began to gain altitude again, slowing myself in the process. I settled into a stable gliding position and drifted in a wide circle above Canterlot. I sailed lower and lower, lost in the wonder of flight until I finally neared the ground. 

Turning my attention to my feet, I glided a few feet above the grass in preparation to touch down. Unfortunately, I was so focused on landing like Breezy had taught me, that I missed a familiar set of trees racing to greet me once again. And before I new it, I saw leaves, branches and then nothing.

I woke up a few minutes later, on my back, and on the ground. Leaves and scattered twigs were laying all around me, and I could hear a deep howl of laughter from somewhere nearby. I rolled over with a groan and looked around in a daze until I found the source of the laughter. 

Breezy was trotting towards me, nearly out of breath from the apparent entertainment. "Well done Silver!" he gasped between bouts of laughter, "Well done indeed! I thought you were done for a minute there, but you managed to pull through just fine! Until you found that tree a course!" He burst into renewed laughter and sat himself down beside me to check me over. He poked me here and there with his front hoof, then seemingly content with his findings, began to shake his head at me. 

"I'm glad you're alright Silver," he admitted, "But a stunt like that coulda gotten you killed. Be more careful next time, ya hear?" 

His voice was softer than it had been all day, and I felt more than a little stupid for getting so worked up.   

"Yeah..." I said slowly, "I hear ya. Sorry..."

"Well, you ain't hurt," Breezy said with a chuckle, "So don't you fret none." He smiled at me for a moment, then looked up at the distant academy. "Besides," he added, "I ain't seen the other flight instructors dive for cover like that in years!" He laughed again, "So the way I see it, it was a great first day!" 

"If you say so," I replied with a weak chuckle, "But if you don't mind, I think I'ma just... Lay here for a bit."

I was exhausted. My wings felt like they were made out of lead. And so did my legs for that matter. And on top of it all, I had a splitting headache. No doubt from my using it to land on when I hit the tree. 

"You take the rest a day off and rest those wings," Breezy said, "No doubt they need a bit of break after that."


I laid there for nearly an hour, half dozing as I relaxed in the sunlight and caught my breath. Breezy had departed for the day some time ago and had flew off back to the academy, so I was left alone to my thoughts. 

Eventually, I heard the clearing of someones throat and I looked around for the source of the noise. I saw a palace guard standing nearby, so I quickly got to my feet and bowed politely.

The guard wore the standard armor I had seen the rest wear. His coat was white and his mane and tail was a comprised of varied shades of blue. 

"Hello," I said, "Can I help you?"

"Are you Silver Wing?" he asked.

"Yes, I am." I answered.

"I am Stalwart Shield," he said, introducing himself, "And I am here to escort you and miss Dawn to dinner with the Princesses." 

"Oh," I said, slightly surprised, "Is it that time already?" 

Stalwart nodded and motioned for me to follow him. 

I gave a quick stretch and folded my wings against my sides before following after him. I had gotten the hang of moving my wings over the course of the day, and as simple as it likely was to other Pegasai, I felt very proud to be able to close them without the use of my hooves.


Stalwart led me through the maze like halls of the palace. I knew I'd get the path down eventually, but for the time being, I was very glad to have a guide. 

"So, are we meeting up with Dawn on the way, or is she already waiting with the Princesses?" I asked, hoping I wasn't going to be last one to sit down again. 

Stalwart slowed his pace and glanced back at me. His look was friendly, but I could see a question lingering in his eyes. 

"We will be picking up miss Dawn shortly," he said, "I will be taking you both to the dining tower." He paused for a moment then asked in a more serious, but still friendly tone. "So how do you know miss Dawn, if I may ask?"

I chuckled and gave an honest shrug. "I don't really know her," I explained, "We're both from another... Place. And we're both just as lost as the other. But aside from that, I haven't even had a chance to really speak with her." 

"I see," Stalwart said, giving a thoughtful nod, "Thank you."

Stalwart seemed to lose himself in his thoughts, so we spent the rest of the walk in silence. While we walked on, I noticed an odd marking on his flank. It looked like a tower of some sort. 

'That makes five now,' I thought, 'The Princesses have marks, but I thought that was a feature of royalty. Their country's symbol or something. But Breezy had wings now that I think about it. And even Dawn had a tattoo or whatever there too, didn't she?' I glanced back at my own flank, but I didn't see anything but my wings. I don't know why, but I was unsure if I wanted to check under them or not. With a frown, I eventually lifted my wings and saw a mark, clear as day, on my own flank. It looked like a shield, with a sword sheathed behind it, and what looked to be a quill in the center. Though I was having a hard time seeing it around my wings at the angle I was at. I had no idea what it meant, and before I could think to ask Stalwart, I found myself tumbling over someone. 

Evendentaly, Stalwart had stopped and I had been too focused to notice, so I had walked right into him, and we both yelped as we found ourselves on the ground.

My face flushed with embarrassment and I clambered off Stalwart, apologizing quickly as I moved away from him.

He frowned at me, then giving himself a shake, he returned to his guard like stature. 

"Accidents happen," he said, "Just try to be more careful next time, alright?"

"Yeah..." Was all I could manage to say. I felt incredibly stupid. I was just glad no one else had been present to witness that.

Stalwart turned his attention to the door before us and raised a hoof, before knocking on the door a few times. 

A moment later, I noticed a green shimmer on the door handle and watched as it started to open. I glanced at Stalwart, but he didn't have a horn, so I assumed it must be Dawn, using her magic. 

Stalwart took a step forward as the door opened and called into the room softly. “Time for your dinner with the Princesses, Dawn,” he said, “Are you feeling any better?”

"Yes," I hear Dawn say from around the corner, "A bit, Thank you."

A moment later, she came out and smiled at me for a moment. "Oh hi Silver! Did you... Well..."

She fell silent as she looked at me and abruptly turned her gaze to the floor. 

"Are you alright Dawn?" I asked, growing concerned I may have done something without realizing it.

“Y-yeah, I am," she replied, returning her gaze to me, "I just couldn't go to a school in the clouds... Way too scary for me.” 

I started to smirk at her, but she quickly turned her focus to Stalwart. 

“Should we get moving?” she asked. 

“Knowing my luck today," Stalwart replied, "I'll be quite early yet again. But we could always wait there if we need to.”

He smiled a moment, then started off towards the dining hall.

Dawn didn't follow after him, so I couldn't help feel she was still dwelling on something. My only thought was her comment about school in the clouds being scary. 

"Hey, it's not too bad once you get used to it," I said with as confident a smile as I could manage, "Though, to be honest, I still haven't set foot in the academy yet. Though I did almost crash into it." I laughed loudly as I recalled the incident. But cut myself short after a moment when I noticed the shocked glance I was met with.

I felt doubly stupid now. First I walk into Stalwart, and now I mortify the only person in Equestria who knows what I'm going through. Smooth...

After an awkward pause, Dawn finally seemed to notice that Stalwart had departed and dashed to catch up with him. 

She waved for me to follow and I couldn't help but smirk at her.

“So how was your day Dawn?” I asked, keeping up with her as she walked behind Stalwart.

“Well,” She said, “I learned there's a lot of spells... And I'm better at moving things than I am lighting things, or making music.... Definitely nothing that Starswirl's done yet.” 

She  seemed to pause out of frustration, then continued on in a softer tone, “Yet... It's only my first day after all... Even they had to practice and learn, so I shouldn't be so upset.”

I smiled at her, and had I my old hands back, I would have patted her on the back comfortingly. "I'm sure you'll get the hang of it in no time." I say, trying to reassure her.

“First day?” I hear Stalwart chime in, “Didn't you practice even a little bit as a foal?”

I groaned slightly at that but I left it be. After all, being in school all day, I'm sure Dawn's got her story down pat by now.

“I... No, I,” Dawn said slowly before trailing off.

I glanced at her, rather confused. 'Surely she's thought about an answer to that question by now?' I thought, 'I had mine before I even left the palace this morning!'

“It never worked for me as a foal," She finally managed to get out, "So I just gave up on trying.”

“Shame..." Stalwart said thoughtfully, "Still, I'm sure you'll make great magic one day.” 

I chuckled to myself as I watched Dawn glance away from him, shaking her head in polite disagreement.

The conversation died off after that and we soon found ourselves at the dining tower once again. Stalwart nodded for us to go ahead, and I nodded back in thanks before heading up.

Celestia and Luna were already waiting for us by the time we arrived, both already seated in their respective places.

“Good evening students," Celestia called with a smile, "How did your days go?” 

I took the seat I had this morning, and Dawn did the same. Normally, I would let others speak first, but I couldn't help but chuckle anew at the Princesses question.

“Well, I made Breezy laugh.” I said, unable to hide my grin.

“Did you now?” Celestia asked glancing at me, “And how did you manage that?”

I dropped my head a little and let out an amused sigh. 

“I may have almost crashed into the academy and made some of the other instructors dive for cover.” I said. I wasn't sure if I'd be in trouble or not, but no one got hurt, so I figured I'd be alright. Or at least, I hoped I would be.

“Yes," Celestia said with a chuckle, "I heard about that. You seem to have a knack for those wings of yours after all!”

I felt a little relieved and smiled back at her. I noticed a faint smile on Luna's lips as well, though she kept herself from laughing. 

Celestia turned her attention to Dawn, and waited patiently for her to speak of her day. 

Dawn seemed to be lost in thought again, as she had seemed to have been since I met up with her a few minutes ago. 

“Dawn?” Celestia called softly.

“Oh, right!” Dawn said, finally returning to the moment. She looked at me and smiled. "Congratulations." 

I smirked widely at her and nodded my head slightly in Celestia's direction. 

It took her a moment to realize it was her turn to speak, then she glanced at Celestia and spoke quickly. “Well, I didn't expect to need to go to school again, but I learned a little bit about someone named Starswirl the Bearded and Crescent Bell.  Then we just spent most of the day practicing magic.” She shuffled her feet shyly then seemed to regain her composure and went on, "I can move things around easily enough, but I can't make them turn, or make my horn give a light yet.”

“Sounds like you're getting it down though,” I stated with a smile, “I still can't fly.” 

She glanced at me in surprise and I smiled wider at her.

“And you need to remember,” Luna chimed in, “Most fillies struggle to do even the most basic magic. And light magic is not the easiest spell. Practice will ease your struggles.”

“I will try.” Dawn said softly. 

She seemed to drift off into thought again and I shook my head.

A moment later, a serving pony entered the room. He had  a cart in tow with four meals already loaded onto it.

'I guess they ordered for us?' I thought, 'I hope they weren't waiting for us very long... We came straight here though, so maybe they're just in a hurry tonight?' I wasn't sure, but I figured if it was important, they'd let us know.

The server dished out a large apple fritter, a small bowl of carrots, and a salad to me, Dawn, and Celestia. Then placed a casserole looking dish before Luna. 

The apple fritter smelt amazing, but I knew I'd need to let it cool some before i ate it, so I started on my salad. I watched the others at the table as they ate with their magic, and I couldn't help feel a little jealous of the ease in which they ate compared to me. 

Moving on to the next of my dishes, I tentatively picked up one the carrots with my teeth. Being careful not to crush it, I held the carrot in place with my hooves before taking a bite. It was sweet, and it had a spectacular crunch. It smelled of fresh earth and I savored the taste. I hadn't had good garden fresh carrots like this one in years!

“Mmm!” I couldn't help but mumble out, “These carrots taste great!”

I quickly devoured a second carrot, then a third. Finally finishing off the last of my surprisingly good carrots, I turned my attention to my apple fritter, but it was gone. It took me a moment to find it again. It was floating, just before me on the table. I was stunned.

"H-how...?" I said aloud as my brain tried to understand.

Then I noticed a faint green shimmer encircling my fritter and I looked to Dawn with a joking frown. 

I dropped my shoulders a little as Dawn lowered my fritter and went back to eating her own. Apparently, she missed the jest in my frown and I sighed to myself. 'I need to look myself over in a mirror tonight,' I thought, 'What I know as a joking frown face must not look right anymore thanks to this new one...' 

Finishing my thought with a shake of my head, I went back to eating my meal, though a little less enthusiastically. 

“Dawn,” Celestia said softly, “Usually it's polite to ask a pony their permission to play with their food.”

I shot a glance up at her concerned, then I noticed her smile. 

Dawn on the other hand, looked very embarrassed. And I couldn't help feel sorry for her. Had I not tried to mock frown at her, she wouldn't be in the hot seat right now.

“On the other hoof,” Luna said, “You've demonstrated significant improvement since this morning.”

“Yes," Celestia agreed, "And it'd be a terrible shame if Silver here continued to ignore a Sweet Apple Acres apple fritter. Some pony else might snag it for themselves at this rate.” 

I glanced at her in surprised, quickly noticing the playful smirk she had on her face. 'She wouldn't.' I thought slowly, trying to guess if she were joking or not.

Abruptly, I saw my fritter once again start to rise off the table and I gasped. 'She would!' I realized, and quickly grabbed the fritter up with my hooves as gently as I could.

“No one's snagging it today but me!" I said with a laugh, before taking a decisive bite from one of the corners, "I don't know how much energy it takes to learn magic, but I know how much it takes to try and fly, and I need all the food I can get!” I took another bite and chuckled over at Dawn, hoping she saw the humor in this expression at least.

My efforts seemed to pay off, as Dawn was now laughing at me.

“It's true, it does take more energy to fly than to simply levitate food,” Luna stated, “Perhaps we should make things a little more fair?” 

A smirk reminiscent of her sisters crept onto her face and I caught the familiar glow of magic flow over her horn. I couldn't tell what she was doing at first, but a gasp from Dawn clued me in. 

Two of Dawns carrots were drifting away from her, seemingly in my direction. 

“Oh no you don't!" Dawn said with a laugh, "I need energy too you know!”

I watched as her horn began to glow and turned my attention to the carrots. The dark purple sheen they were surrounded by became mixed with a rich green, and for a moment, the carrots stopped in mid air. Then the darker colored magic grew brighter, and a game of magic tug of war ensued. Luna was clearly  stronger, but Dawn seemed to be doing alright for herself considering her opponent. 

Without warning, Luna released her hold over the carrots, and I winced as they both flew straight at Dawn like a pair of loosed bolts. Thankfully, Dawn was able to slow them before they got to close, but I still felt a soft sigh of relief escape me. 

“You've got a better grip on magic than you give yourself credit for Meadow,” Luna said with a smile, “Trust those instincts, and we shall see how far it takes you.”

I was glad for Dawn. She was seeming to get her magic down pat without too much trouble.  And she was a great deal more relaxed now than she had been this morning. So was I for that matter. 

I sighed a little as I recalled just how nervous I was this morning, but before I could dwell on it any further, I found a carrot to be floating before my face. With a second below it, just above my plate.

It took me a moment to realize that Dawn seemed to be offering me the carrots, and I smiled over at her. 

"I thank you for the offer Dawn, but I'm sure you're hungry too.” I said, politely declining her offer. 

The truth was though, that even after eating all I already had, I was still very hungry. And the carrots here, as simple a thing as a carrot is, were amazing.

At my words, one of the carrots Dawns magic held sway over shifted to attention. It moved back a foot or so and spun around, so the tip was pointed at me. 

“Nope, you've gotta eat," Dawn cooed, wiggling the carrot before me with her magic, "So either you eat, or you face the wrath of my carrot-point! Take up your carrot if you dare, en garde!”

I almost burst out laughing, but I held myself together, but only just. I had been an avid practitioner of swordsmanship and martial arts since I was a kid, so it always made me laugh when someone challenged me to fight. Even in jest.

I reached for the carrot that still hovered above my plate and paused as I was once again reminded of my new forms hand held limitations. I had no fingers to hold onto the carrot with. All to quickly I realized how useless I was about to be in a fight. All my weapons training was worthless without hands. I was mortified. I loved swordplay, but like this, it was quite literally something beyond my grasp.

I forced myself to regain my composure. I could be depressed later. For now, I had to do what I could to keep the humor in the air.

Carefully, I used the softer inner parts of my hooves to grasp at the carrot and fumble it in Dawns general direction.  I knew this was going to end poorly, but I was committed. I gave as decent a cross slash as I could manage at the carrot floating before me. I swung softly, but even so, halfway through the motion my carrot pooped out from between my hooves and tumbled through the air towards the floor. 

My eyes followed that delicious carrot as it fell and I mentally scolded myself for wasting such good food. 

Luckily for me, and for the carrot however, the table was surrounded by Unicorns. The shimmer of Luna's magic washed over the carrot and carried it back over the table.

“That's quite enough here tonight children,” Luna said sternly, though she spoke through a smile, “Now I know what it's like to have fillies at the table.”

“I try to remind myself what that's like from time to time," Celestia said, "But I agree, that is enough for tonight.”

Luna started to return the carrot to Dawn, but she held up a hoof and gestured to me. 

With a parental shake of her head, Luna redirected the carrot to my plate. 

The carrot Dawn had been using as a sword a moment ago settled along side it and I smiled at the both.

“Well, seeing as I kinda lost that duel,” I said, wanting to be fair, “But you're so adamant that I have a carrot anyways, how about we share the spoils?”

Dawn gave a polite shake of her head and smiled at me. “I'm fine thank you. I'm not nearly as hungry right now, and I still have plenty left.” 

I half sigh and finally give in.

“We are not able to keep having these meals both morning and night.” Luna said, catching my attention,  “We feel it would be best if we met in the evenings instead, so that we may hear of your progress throughout the day. Then as time passes and you grow more accustomed to life here, you may venture forward into the world on your own. Or, if preferred, remain in Canterlot were we could better assist you in locating a suitable calling.”

It made sense. They were both royalty after all, so of course they'd be too busy to share every meal with us. As out of place as we were, it would be stupid not to think there were more pressing matters somewhere in this country.

“If I may,” I caught Dawn start to ask, “I'd like to see about maybe trying to fix people's magic things... To see how hard it is, and if I might be able to help Silver's mirror be fixed eventually.”  

I eyed Dawn in surprise. I didn't think my mirror was repairable, after what Luna had said. 

“That is a calling few even dare to attempt,” Luna stated, “Tampering with another pony's spells, no matter their intent, poses great risk. Yet, for those few who are suited to the task, their talents are revered far and wide.”

Celestia seemed to grow thoughtful for a moment. And I watched as the corners of her ever present smile seemed to fade a little.

“Should you do well on your studies, Meadow Dawn, I may have a few such items you could test your skill with.” She had spoken slowly. Clearly emphasizing that it wasn't going to be as easy as it sounded.

“I understand I may fail," Dawn said, "But I'm used to seeing how things work, and at least trying to redo what others have done... I learned a great deal of moving things from school by watching the... Fillies? And it is my hope that I can do the same here.”

“You certainly do have an appropriate Cutie Mark, Meadow Dawn,” Celestia said thoughtfully, “May it serve you well.”

I watched in confusion as both Celestia and Luna lowered their heads in a respectful bow to Dawn. 

I didn't want to interrupt their moment, but I needed something the said explained to me.

I raised my hoof stupidly and tried my best not to seem rude by changing the topic of their conversation. “Uhh, stupid question I'm sure," I said, "But... What's a Cutie Mark?” 

“Oh my," Celestia gasped, surprise clear on her face, "I had explained what a cutie mark was to young Dawn when I first met her, so I'm afraid it slipped my mind. I'm sorry Silver."

“No worries,” I said, dropping my hoof quickly, “It's not a big deal, really.”

“We had not thought to explain either,” Luna stated, “But we will rectify that now.”

Celestia nodded, and Luna began to speak.

“A "Cutie Mark" is a special mark that every pony gets when they realize their own special destiny," she explained, "It is a visual representation of that ponies inner most passion and drive. Most ponies get their cutie marks when they are very young, though some do not receive theirs until they have matured.”

I looked back at the mark on my flank and scrutinized it. “And everyone gets one?” I asked.

“They do.” Luna said.

“Where do they come from," I asked, looking back to her, "And how come I have one already?”

“They come from within,” Celestia answered, “And you have one because at least some part of you knows what you desire to do.” She smiled wider at me and titled her head, seeming to glance at my mark. “And if I had to guess, I would say that your calling is to protect those that cannot protect themselves.”

I glanced back at my mark and frowned thoughtfully. I had always been first to step into trouble if it meant helping those in real need. Always. That's why I first got into law enforcement. To help those that really needed it. And there was nothing I wouldn't do to save someone I cared about. But to have that branded on me for everyone to see? I wasn't sure how to feel about that. 

“And me?” I hear Dawn ask after a moment.

I glanced over at Dawn and looked closely at the mark she had. It looked like a sun, rising over a hill of grass. I had no idea what it could represent though, aside from maybe... Morning light? 

“What I see in your Cutie Mark,” Celestia said, “Is why I named you Dawn.  The light of Dawn is a light of hope. The hope that a new day will bring an even better and brighter day than the last. You said so yourself that, even in your own world, you sought to shed your light on the lives of others and help them as best you could.”

Dawn seemed to be as taken back as I was by, but before either of us could ask any more, Celestia rose from the table.

“Now, It's time for bed," she aid softly, "Lest you be late for school tomorrow you two. We've covered a great deal tonight, and if you have more questions, you're welcome to bring them to us next time.”

I had a great many more questions to ask, but for the moment, I was satisfied. 

A guard came to lead us back to our rooms and I bowed politely to Celestia and Luna. They nodded their heads in farewell, and I left with Dawn and the guard. 

I hadn't been tired since my lessons with Breezy some hours ago, but the moment I set foot in my room, it was like a wave of exhaustion hit me. I don't know if it was the food, what I learned tonight, or what. But I was so tired I almost laid down right there on the carpet. With great effort, I dragged my feet to the bed and groaned at how high up it seemed to be. I gave a flap of my wings and leaped into its comfort, falling asleep before I even had time to retract my wings.