//------------------------------//
// A Test of Magic 
// Story: How the Night was Lit Up 
// by Sunset_Sparkles 
//------------------------------//

When she was in the human world, she never had to worry about someone waking her up. Because of Celestia, she always liked to wake up early to see the sun rise. Even after all that happened, she couldn’t drop that habit. But apparently there are some ponies who like to get up earlier than the sun. And trying to ignore the childish voices calling her name wasn’t working that well. “I give up,” she said as she went downstairs, without even brushing her bedmane. Opening the door, she saw three fillies.
“Hey Sunset. Got some time to answer some questions for us?”
“If it will make you three stop shouting my name, I’ll do anything. What do you want to know?” Sunset started pondering if this was her best option, but she couldn’t do anything now.
“First of all, let us introduce ourselves. I’m Apple Bloom, Applejack’s sister. This here’s Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle. We’re the Cutie Mark Crusaders, and we’re on a crusade to-”
“I know, I know. Just get to the point already. Crusading for Cutie Marks. It’s kind of obvious based on the name. I guess you want to know how I got my Cutie Mark then.” Seeing the three fillies nodding with excitement, she continued. “By using magic. Is that all you want to know?”
“Well, we actually wanted to hear some… in-depth information. What kind of magic was it? Were you already Celestia’s student? Is it because of her?”
“Yes, I was already Celestia’s student, but it wasn’t because of her, which is actually weird, seeing as it is a sun. It just happens that I had… some affinity with Fire spells. Want me to demonstrate?” Preparing her horn, she started focusing on a twig near Sweetie Belle.
“Actually, that’s enough. Haveagooddaythanksbye!” All the Crusaders simply ran away, probably because of the fire.
“Hm. Should have tried that from the start. Now, since I probably won’t be able to sleep again, I guess I should get ready. Twilight didn’t say what time we should meet, so I guess she’ll just message me or something.”
Looking through the window, Sunset saw the sun was rising, and decided it was a good time to get ready for the day. “Let’s see if I still remember how these things feel as a pony.”
After a bath, she picked up her Magic Analyzer, put it inside her saddlebag and left her house. “If I’m going to get used to walking in this body, I’d better practice.” After walking for a while, she found herself in front of Carousel Boutique. “Well, since Sweetie Belle was awake, I guess it’s safe to say Rarity’s also awake by now.” After Sunset knocked on the door, she saw Rarity opening it.
“Oh, hi Sunset. Twilight told me you arrived yesterday. Sorry for not going to your party, but I had to take care of my sister and her friends. They’re not easy to deal with.”
“Yeah, they came by my house earlier. Also, if Sweetie ever tells you I tried to burn her, it’s a lie.”
“Oh... I see. So, how does it feel to be a pony again? Is it hard to walk?”
“Kind of, but not too hard, just takes some time to get used. Do you have any news about Twilight? She didn’t mention what time I should go meet her yesterday.”
“Actually, yes. She told me that, if you came by, I should tell you to go there at… 7:02.” Looking at the clock over her head, Rarity continued. “And it looks like you must run, it’s already 7:00. I still don’t know why she picked such a random time.”
“No idea either. Wait, I have two minutes to get there? It was good talking to you, but I gotta go. Bye Rarity, I’ll come by later.” After running for a while, Sunset remembered something. “Wait a minute, I’m a unicorn. I should be able to teleport to her castle.” Channeling her magic, Sunset disappeared and reappeared in front of Twilight’s castle. “Well, I still have four hooves and my mane, so I guess it all worked.” Opening the door and entering the castle, she saw Twilight waiting.
“Hi Sunset. I guess Rarity found you.” Twilight walked towards Sunset and hugged her. “And, from the energy around you, I guess you teleported. Pretty impressive.”
“Thanks Twilight, it means a lot. Also, you could have left a note under my door. The chances of Rarity finding me in time were pretty low.” Looking over Twilight, Sunset saw Spike reading a comic. “Hey Spike, what are you reading?”
“Huh? Oh, hi Sunset.” He put down the comic and got up from the chair. “It’s nothing special, just a new issue of ‘Power Ponies’. Picked it up yesterday at a store in Canterlot.”
“Wait a minute. Did you say a shop in Canterlot?” Twilight looked worried, which confused Sunset. “It wasn’t the House of Enchanted Comics, was it? Please tell me you didn’t go back there.”
“No, I got it from a normal store this time. That time was already enough adventure.” Sunset still didn’t understand anything, so Spike explained. “Once, I bought an edition of the Power Ponies at that store, and we all ended up entering the comic. In the end, we managed to come back, but it was pretty hard.”
“Oh. Anyway, Twilight, I know yesterday you said I needed to practice my magic, but seeing as I teleported here, I guess there’s no need to go back to the basics. Can we just skip to learning new things?” Sunset was as excited as a filly who had just gotten her Cutie Mark.
“Actually, I had something else in mind. I know you think you’re already good at magic, but I have a test for you. Can you try teleporting to Canterlot? If you manage to do it, we can start going through something more advanced.”
“All the way to Canterlot? But where, specifically? It’s a big city,” said Sunset.
“You have a point. Do you know where Donut Joe works?” When Sunset nodded, Twilight decided. “Then, try teleporting there. I’ll be waiting for you.” And, in less than a second, Twilight wasn’t there anymore, and neither was Spike.
“Okay. Now, let’s go through everything once again. Concentrate, focus on the place, and unleash the magic. I should be able to do it. Let’s hope I have enough magic power for it.” What she didn’t see was that the Analyzer she was carrying was somehow feeding her magic. “Let’s do this!”
After that, Sunset appeared in front of Twilight and Spike. “Well, I guess you passed the test, Sunset. Did you have any difficulties? Let me check your magic reserves for you.” After saying that, Twilight’s horn lit up and scanned Sunset. “How weird. This shouldn’t happen.”
“What is it? Am I out of magic? Is the spell not working? Tell me already!” Sunset was nervous because of those words she just heard. “Be honest with me, Twilight, what happened?”
“Calm down, Sunset. You won’t die, and you’re definitely not out of magic. It’s the complete opposite, actually. Your reserves are still at 100%, even though you teleported all the way here.”
“How is that even possible? Could it be a side effect of my transformation in the Human world?”
“No, that’s not it. I think something, or maybe somepony, fed your spell, so you ended up not using anything. What could have done that, though? Few ponies know about Magic Essence, and even fewer about how to channel it.”
“Magic Essence? What is that? Some kind of new spell developed while I was in the Human world?”
“Later I’ll tell you. Let’s just eat some donuts now. After all, you passed the test, even if not with your own magic. That proves you still have the abilities you need for being my student.” Entering the establishment, Twilight ordered some donuts and a cup of hot chocolate for each of them. “Now, what did you think about teleporting to such a distant place? Was it hard focusing?”
“No, it was really easy. That Palace is a really quiet place. Still weird seeing it in the middle of a small town like Ponyville.”
“Yeah, I know. By the way, have you ever met Princess Cadence in this world?”
“Actually, yes, but I never talked to her. Didn’t think she would be as skilled as I was with spells. How is she doing? Is she at Canterlot?”
“No, she’s in her castle at the Crystal Empire, along with Shining Armor. After we beat Sombra, the curse was lifted and she became the Crystal Princess.”
“So, let me see what I’ve gathered so far. The Crystal Empire’s back, and you also beat King Sombra? How many super villains have you and your friends beaten while I was out?”
“Well, there was Nightmare Moon, Discord, the Queen of the Changelings, Sombra, the Plunderseed Vines in the Everfree Forest and Tirek, so 6. Not counting the parallel versions of Celestia and Luna from another world. Also, you and the Sirens.” As Twilight said that, their order arrived.
“Gee, thanks for calling me a super villain, much appreciated. Thanks for the donuts though, these look really good.” Taking a bite of one of them, she continued. “And taste really good too.”
“Sorry. Anyways, let’s eat fast, I still have something else for you today.”
After the three finished eating, Twilight paid Joe and they all left the shop.
“You said you still had something planned, are we going to do it now?” Sunset asked, wondering what it could be.
“Yes. It’s kind of another test. First, give me your saddlebags.” Confused, Sunset stopped for a while before taking them off. “Great, now, we already know you can teleport to specific places. But can you teleport to somepony? I’ll go somewhere random around Canterlot and you’ll have to track me. Then, just cast a normal teleportation spell, focusing on me instead of a place.” Sunset agreed to those terms, and in a flash, Twilight had disappeared, along with Spike and Sunset’s things.
“She said I should track her. I guess that’s why she took the Analyzer with her. First, focus on her essence.” When her horn lit up, a lavender aura appeared on the air, going to random places. Suddenly, Sunset could hear Twilight’s voice inside her head, saying ‘I told you to track me, not my magic.’ “How in the world did she do that? And how am I supposed to track her without tracking her magic? Wait, that’s it! I should try a sonar spell.” Casting that spell, Sunset scanned the whole city, and she found Twilight’s location. “There she is. Now, focus on her and teleport.” Sunset vanished from the shop and reappeared in front of Twilight.
“Amazing, Sunset. You managed to do it. Let me check your reserves once again.” Once again casting the spell, Twilight’s face was filled with confusion once again. “This is getting weirder. First, you didn’t spend any magic power. Now, you did. We’ll have to study this later. Here are your things,” said Twilight as she gave back Sunset’s saddlebags.
“Thanks, Twilight. Wait a minute, I think I recognize this place.” Looking around, Sunset’s eyes opened more than they should be able to, and she saw somepony from her past. "Princess Celestia..." That was all she could say, looking at her former mentor.