Students To Power: The Prophecies

by Hyacintho Ignis

Chapter Two: As Allies Become Enemies

Students To Power: The Prophecies
Chapter Two: As Allies Become Enemies

Written by: Hyacintho Ignis
Edited by: Unknown

~~~(The first scene takes place at the same time as Chapter One's scene between Relius and Magellan.)~~~

A perfectly circular room was filled with the sounds of magic, pain, and fighting as two unicorns fought in the center. The domed roof warped the sunlight that pierced it, leaving it so that only the center was lit up. There were several families seated at the edge while two professors sat at a table, slightly closer to the action, writing down their observations of the current test.

Facing off inside the circle of light, a light blue unicorn faced a darker blue unicorn. They were both fillies and their uses of magic were jumpy, limited to telekinesis fights and throwing little balls of magic at each other. They each had several scratches and bruises to various parts of the body and it looked like the fight wouldn’t be over quickly.

Suddenly, the dark blue unicorn unleashed a flurry of magic, directing orbs towards her opponent. Dodging the attack, the other unicorn retaliated by attempting to grab her body with magic. The orbs hit a barrier that had been erected around the fight, some of them glancing off towards the light blue unicorn while the rest burst with various results of light, smoke and sound.

Caught off guard by the sudden changes, the light blue unicorn threw up a shield to cover herself, but the shield was pierced and she took several orbs to the chest and face. After the smoke has cleared and everyone could see what happened, they found the dark blue filly standing over her opponent.

A cough from one of the professors sitting at the table caught everyone’s attention as the green mare stood up and walked into the circle. “The winner of this test is Azhure Starsong. You will now proceed back through the doors and return home. You will receive a letter regarding times and dates. You may leave now.”

Azhure gave a nod to the professor and walked out of the circle, joining her mother who was crying in joy. After much hugging and congratulations, the two of them left the room and the professor turned to the crowd who were gathered in the darkness. “Would the parents of Trixie Lulamoon please step forth.”

The crowd shuffled around, looking at each other and waiting for someone to step forward. Finally, a stallion got up and staggered out to the circle. He carried a glass bottle that was corked and had a large label on the front. Walking was obviously a challenge for him as he stumbled several times. The professor deduced that the stallion was drunk and likely enough, did not want to be here. “Are you the father of Trixie Lulamoon?”

The stallion stared blearily at the ground, not even showing that he’d heard the professor. Mumbling something under his breath, the stallion uncorked the bottle with his magic before taking a deep swig. “Sir, are you the father of Trixie Lulamoon?”

“Sho what if I um. Huh? This good fur nuthin’ dau-, daugh-, pony, couldn’t even pass her exa-, ex… tesssstah.” The stallion took another mouthful at the end of his sentence and gave a loud belch.

“Yes, well. Your daughter has failed the entrance test; she is banned from ever trying again. Please, take your daughter and leave.” The professor placed a hoof to her nostrils, breathing through her mouth to avoid the stench of the uncouth father. With much grumbling about stupidity and drinking, the light blue stallion gathered up his daughter and proceeded to drag her behind him as he slowly made his way to the doors.

As the doors closed, the room was suddenly lit up by various torches that gave it a warmer and more welcoming feel. The two professors made their way over the group to select the next candidates.

“Welcome to PCSGU, I am Professor Seeker, I teach the finer point of telekinesis here. My associate is Professor Prismic and she teaches illusionary magic.” Professor Seeker spoke first to the assembled group. His coat was a chestnut brown while his mane and tail were a honey blond. Being the one who’d walked out into the circle to announce the end, Professor Prismic had an already recognizable green coat. In her brown magic, she carried eight silver bands that were worn by the testees.

“Could Amadeus Zero, Twilight Sparkle, Gemini Shine and Gemini Shadow please step forward. Your entrance tests have been changed from a simple fight to a teamwork exercise.” As Prismic spoke again, the four of them stood up and made their way to the front. As she spoke the second piece, they stopped, surprised at this piece of news.

“Hold on just a minute! Why should they be treated any different than all the others who’ve taken the test?” Nightlight’s outburst sparked mutters and cries f agreement from other parents at this revelation.

“Sir, this is not our choice. It is a command from the Headmaster.” This hushed all other conversations as they stared ludicrously at the four foals, knowing that only one of them had a chance of passing.

“Step forward and take two bands each. The teams are thus; Twilight Sparkle and Amadeus Zero against Gemini Shine and Gemini Shadow. Please take your places in the circle.” The four foals each took two bands, placing them on their forelegs before walking out to the circle.

“Listen Twilight, I didn’t come here to fail. I came here to give it everything I have and become a student at PCSGU. I won’t have it that you are the reason I am unable to achieve this dream.” Amadeus whispered to Twilight as they walked side by side. Across the circle, the Gemini Twins were conversing in whispers with their backs turned.

“Same to you, Zero. Let’s see which of us is better after we fight these two. Did you want Shine or Shadow?” Twilight’s voice was as terse as Amadeus’ had been. Neither of them particularly liked the other, but they both realized that they had to work together to defeat the Twins.

“Amadeus and Twilight, are you ready?” Professor Prismic called out from the table.

“Yes, we’re ready.”

“Gemini’s Shine and Shadow, are you ready?” The only reply from the twins was a nod from the two of them.

“Very well, you may begin.” The brown and yellow magic of the two professors flared up, extinguishing the torches around the room and leaving the four ponies in the spotlight.

The Gemini twins wasted no time as the two quickly created several orbs of light, half black and the other half white, consisting of pure magic. Shine then condensed his half, mixing it in with his sister’s to create several large black crystals. Without waiting for the other to speak, Shadow forced the large crystals at Twilight and Amadeus as Shine started to circle them.

Twilight saw the crystals flying towards them and threw up a shield, quickly adding three more layers to it. The crystals impacted, destroying the first two layers and detonating on the third. Smoke and darkness filled the air and Twilight extended the final layer, covering the two of them in a sphere to protect them from the effects.

“Thanks.” Amadeus gave a nod as well before clearing away the effects of the crystals. Spotting Shadow, he gathered his magic and created a dozen icicles before firing them. The razor sharp points glinted in the light as they sped towards the dark mare.

Rather than attempting to move out of the way, Shadow ducked down and into her very shadow, vanishing from sight and avoiding the attack. However, this was least of Amadeus’ concerns as Shine darted up from his blind side, horn lit with a white aura. Before he could react, it flashed with a wild bright light that blinded him just before a hoof met his face.

Just as Twilight saw this brutal trick, Shadow appeared in front of her, sending out a blast of dark energy that knocked her away. Slowly rising from her shadow, the darker filly stood in Twilight’s way, preventing her from helping her team mate.

“Stay down,” Shadow demanded in her monotone voice, “You’re not the target.”

“I’m not going to fail simply because you two got in a cheap shot.” Amadeus stood up shakily, blood running from his nose to drip onto the floor. Forming his magic again, he swung two tentacles at the twins. “Twilight, I could use some help!”

“Oh, right!” Marshaling her magic, Twilight created a swarm of brightly colored spheres. Some were transparent, others were multi-hued, but all of them targeted Shine as Twilight fought to keep an eye on the two of them.

Shine easily dodged the bulk of the attack with aerial spins, even bashing a few away with magically enforced hooves until coming to stand beside his sister who put up a barrier that countered the rest. The two tentacles swung around to crash into the barrier again and again. The barrier began to fade under the onslaught when the tentacles suddenly shattered.

“Damage assessment?” Shadow asked her brother calmly as she lowered the half used barrier.

“Less than twenty-three percent. That is not enough.” Shine replied, casting his gaze at Amadeus.

“Agreed. Let us continue.” Shadow responded. Without any further words, Shadow rushed forth at Twilight, building up a large dark aura over head as Shine darted at Amadeus, his own spell readying with an odd glow.

Being completely unaware of the twins charging towards them, Twilight and Amadeus were having a slight disagreement. Twilight wanted to go on the defensive, saying they had a better chance. Amadeus felt that offense was the key, catching them off guard with an unexpected attack.

“Twilight, we need to fight back!”

“No! We can’t expose ourselves!

“Twilight… Listen to m- Behind you!” At Amadeus’ panicked voice, Twilight turned to see Shadow closing in on her left side. Amadeus turned around as well to find that Shine had ended up on his right finishing the Pincer movement.

The two once more spoke, this time in unison, “Double Helix.”

Strands of magic shot out from their auras, binding their foes in a web of energy. It was too late for Twilight or Amadeus to move, being forced to the ground by the attack and held there against their will by the webs. With the first sign of emotion the two had shown the entire fight, they spoke again.

“Discharge.”

An electrical charge traveled through the net to Twilight and Amadeus. The juice surged through them, attacking the entirety of their body

Amadeus and Twilight screamed out from the searing pain that comes with being electrocuted. This continued for a full twenty seconds before Amadeus just stopped and regarded Shine with a coldly triumphant stare.

“Nice try.” Using his magic as a conductor rod, Amadeus drew the energy into a ball above his head. He threw the crackling orb at Shine who was unable to move due to his casting of the Double Helix spell. The pure white unicorn took the attack to the chest, sending him backwards and breaking the net.

Amadeus stood up and spun around, catching Shadow with a sharp backhoof. The filly was sent sprawling and Amadeus dropped the personal barrier he had erected when he warned Twilight. Looking down, he saw that the purple filly was still spasming. Her legs jerked in symphony and her neck and face were twitching.

“Twilight!” The call came from both Amadeus and Nightlight in the audience, but the professors restrained the distraught stallion, leaving Nightlight unable to help his daughter.

“Get up, Twilight! I can’t win without you, not against these two!” Amadeus kept tapping her on the cheek, trying to rouse her somehow.

Shadow quickly darted over to her brother, scanning over the injured body, “Shine, damage level?”

“Critical…” Shine replied, forcing himself to stand, “We must… end this.”

“Agreed.” Shadow nodded sadly. As the two of them stood side by side again, Amadeus could see that Shine was taller and bulkier then Shadow. As he watched, Shine seemed to shrink and Shadow grew, becoming a perfect copy of her brother except for the color. Twilight stopped spasming and her eyelids fluttered open to see Amadeus standing next to her. Groaning, she stood up and looked over to see what had Amadeus so enraptured.

The Twins bodies began to vibrate faster and faster and a swirling rainbow appeared between them. It seemed as though they were disappearing into the rainbows and Shine gave a sad smile to his sister. “Be well.”

The last vestiges of their bodies vanished, leaving the rainbow vortex facing Twilight and Amadeus. Looking over at her partner, she was surprised to find a single tear roll down his cheek. “Did we win?”

“...No…”

A form began to materialize from within the vortex. Stepping out, the vortex disappeared and a pony stood there that was the height of a full grown stallion. Half of its body was a startling white; coat, hair, everything. The other half was a pure black. The only place where the colors mixed was the eyes; A swirling mixture of black and white.

“Fusion complete. I am Gemini Shadine. I will not allow you to win.” The voice that emanated from this creature’s mouth was a mixture of Shadow’s and Shine’s. Amadeus cradled his head with a hoof, shaking it as tears ran down his eyes.

“Why? Why would you do something so foolish…”

“What is it? What have they done?” Twilight knew absolutely nothing about their new opponent and Amadeus looked at her with a sad and resolved stare.

“Gemini Twins are a rare subspecies of Unicorn. Born at the exact time, they usually rip the mother apart at childbirth. With their blood bond and coupled magic, they can give up their own bodies. They merge their consciousness into a single form that is as strong as its parts. The drawback is that you can only reclaim your original bodies if the single consciousness remembers its separate lives. Only two cases have been reported thus. Every other fusion has left a single pony in place of two.”

“So this… this is Shine and Shadow?” Amadeus nodded in reply and Twilight looked at the pony who had named itself Shadine. “We still have to win. Zero, we still have to beat them.”

“I know… but I want to save them.” Finished with the conversation, Amadeus wiped the tears from his face and charged Shadine, drawing upon every ounce of power that he could. As the Gemini fusion brought up a seven layered shield to block the attack, Amadeus formed eight copies of himself, using all his concentration to direct their attacks at the shields. As each one came in contact with the defenses, both shattered, leaving the next layer open to the next clone.

Finally, there was one layer left and as that shattered, Shadine saw the remaining clone flying towards him at high speed. Amadeus was lying on the floor, breathing hard as he struggled to keep the clone together. Taking the clone missile full in the chest, Shadine saw it disappear and ended up slamming into the barrier from the force of the attack. Twilight ran over to Amadeus and helped back onto his hooves.

“That was a very reckless thing to do. What would’ve happened to me if you’d been killed?” Twilight seemed to be concerned as she looked over his form, noting the cuts, bruises and abrasions that littered his skin.

“You may not care about what happens to them, but I do. They’re like us Twilight. Trying to realize their goal of becoming students at this school. But for them to go so far as to give up their individuality…” Amadeus and Twilight were staring deep into the others eyes. Both of them trying to figure the other out, and both of them failing by a long shot.

“What? You think that just because I’m some rich kid that I don’t care about anyone else? It was their own decision to do what they did. And it gives them, no, him a better chance of getting in.”

“See? Now you don’t even think that there’s two foals in there. You really are a stuck-up filly aren’t you, always expecting the best of life.”

“And what about you!? You just… just stand there, insulting me because you can’t have what I have! I have a loving family and a good life. What do you have, besides a mother who ran away and a father who isn’t even here?”

Amadeus bit back the angry retort that had sprung to his lips. He had never known his mother, only finding out her name and her gift a mere two hours ago. He looked out into the darkness, trying to spot his father’s steel grey coat but to no avail. He hung his head, tears coming to his eyes again. Here he was, fighting to be accepted into the best magic school in Equestria, and his family was not here to support him.

A fresh round of tears dripped onto the floor and Twilight stood next to the disheartened colt. She was still riled up at his insults about her life, but she knew she’d hit a deep point. It gave her a tingle of pleasure, knowing she had won an argument, but it also came with regret. The regret that she could never take back those words of anger. She placed a hoof on his leg, looking up at his partially hidden face. “Amadeus… I… I didn’t…”

He pulled away from her, raising his head to look her in the eye. His glaring eyes showed his anger and his body was tensing as he held himself back, not wanting to attack Twilight just yet. “Yes you did! You meant every word! You spiteful little female! After we have saved Shine and Shadow, you and are going to have to fight between us to enter PCSGU. I am going to give it everything to make sure you don’t win.”

“Fine! And I will do everything I can to make sure you get sent home, never to return.” Having finished their argument, they turned to regard the black and white stallion. Shadine was still lying there, trying to shake off the effects of the attack and his impact with the barrier.

As they moved towards him, he managed to regain his footing. Shadine turned his head in time to form another shield set as Twilight sent a flurry of magic bursts at him. The shields held, but barely. Shadine continued feeding energy to his shields, blocking the bursts from Twilight and the sneakier thrusts from Amadeus.

“Twilight, move away from Amadeus. He is our target, not you.” Shadine’s mixed voice sounded strained as the attacks kept whittling down his defenses. “This is your last chance fool, step away from the colt.”

“I! AM! NOT! A! FOOL!” Each outburst from Twilight was followed with a strike against the shield as Twilight just gathered the magic and threw it, not even bothering with using her aura to give it a form. On the final attack, the black and white construct fell, leaving Shadine wide open.

“Very well. I will just have to kill you both then.” He held his head high, looking up at the roof and spreading his hooves outwards. As he reached his limit and could not move any further, three words sounded from his mouth that boomed around the room. “Infinite Density Singularity."

The stallion’s legs seem to forcibly grip onto the ground, holding him in place as a black orb formed in the exact center of the fighting circle. His tail and mane were pulled towards his latest creation, ending up in straight lines pointing towards the orb. Its black depths pulsed constantly and it began to grow as if it were feeding off the air itself.

Amadeus and Twilight began to feel the effects of the attack as they slowly slid towards the growing ball. Turning to look, they tried to hold themselves down with magic, use covers to negate the effect and even attack the orb. But nothing seemed to work is it simply absorbed their efforts and continued to drag them in.

“An Infinite Density Singularity…” Amadeus gave a grunt as he turned around again and tried to walk away. His legs felt like they were covered in lead as he still drew closer to that pulsating orb. “Where did I hear about that? I know I read it-” Another grunt “-in one of those astronomy papers…”

“That one by Professor Stella Specto*?” Twilight slipped and ended up on her back, picking up speed as her resistance to the pull was lessened. She tried to get back up and think about what was in the paper, failing at the both of them. Behind her, Amadeus gave a gasp of horror as he remembered the only singularity to have an infinite density.

“Twilight! It’s a black hole!” Twilight’s reaction was a perfect mirror of his as she heard his message and she turned to look at him. Since they had both read the same paper, they both knew what was going to happen to them if they were sucked in.

“We can’t beat that!” Her voice was loud with panic and the two of them redoubled their efforts. Looking for a way to counter the attack, Amadeus thought about what made up a black hole.

'Mass… Gravity… Collapsing… Singularity Center… Event Horizon… The horizon!'

“Twilight, I’ve got an idea!”

“What!? There’s nothing we can do against a black hole!” Amadeus shook his head at her, thinking she’d given up.

“Trust me, alright!? Just fire a beam into the center!” Twilight stared at the pulsing orb, wondering if it would just feed off her energy or if they could actually win against a black hole.

“Fine, you better know what you’re doing…” Drawing her magic to the fore, she directed a single beam at the center of the circle. The energy seemed to twist and warp as it approached the event horizon. While it was piercing the horizon and continuing into the singularity itself, it looked as if it wasn’t. Time was slowing down due to the gravity dilation.

“It’s not working! Zero, what else!?”

“Hang on! Let me get into position!” Amadeus had walked around and to her left, still being pulled to his death but now he stood ninety degrees to her. “I want to you fire a second beam at me! Can you do that!?”

Twilight gritted her teeth and nodded, channeling a second beam at Amadeus who deflected it back at the black hole. The two beams formed a triangle and Amadeus readied his own beam.

“I’m going to destabilize the horizon! On the count of three, I want you to send out a massive pulse along your first beam!” Time was stretching thin as they neared the pulsing orb. Another twenty seconds and they’d be gone.

“One! Two! Three!” Twilight gave a battle cry and pushed everything she had down her direct beam, forming a massive circle that traveled towards the black hole. Amadeus send out three very tiny beams that circled around, aiming at the exact point where Twilight’s discharge would collide on the event horizon.

As the three beams hit, they collapsed a miniscule portion of the horizon. It was enough for Twilight’s attack to widen and completely destroy the event horizon. No longer being contained, the singularity's gravity caused it to implode, sending out a massive shock-wave. The protective barrier was destroyed and the two foals, Shadine and the guards were all pushed back. Those affected connected with various walls and protrusions.

The fight was over.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Present~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The torches flared back to life as the professors ignited them, their brown and yellow magic mixing to give off a dull glow. Six ponies carried boxes filled with bandages and medical equipment over to the two exhausted foals on ground. Already beginning to apply their magic and their skills, the medical Pegasi and Unicorns handed the boxes to the only Earth pony in the group. The three Unicorns took Amadeus and Twilight in their magic, the Pegasi supporting them with their wings while their heavyset companion carried all the equipment.

The two professors walked over to Shadine, taking the four silver bands from his legs. Seeker looked over the body, discerning the damage that had been done while Prismic addressed the crowd. “Could the parents of Amadeus Zero and Twilight sparkle please step forward?”

Nightlight and Velvet rushed over their daughter, the first shaking with anger and the second crying from happiness. Amadeus looked around, hoping that his father would appear. “... Dad… Where are you?”

Seeker got up, finished with the black and white stallion. Catching Prismic’s glance, he shook her head and pointed to the group of medics who had surrounded the foals. Prismic once again addressed the room, her clear voice carrying to all. “The winners of the test are Twilight Sparkle and Amadeus Zero. Well done.”

Nightlight had heard the colt’s whisper and walked over to him. “I’m sorry your father wasn’t here to watch. I want to thank you, Velvet too. From the bottom of our hearts, we thank you for protecting our daughter from that horror.”

Amadeus managed a weak smile at his sincerity. “It was-” A violent coughing fit interrupted him and he waited until he had his breathing under control before continuing. “It was nothing, sir. Just… make sure she knows... next time.”

Before anypony could speak further, the doors leading into the testing room were pushed open as the room remained silent. A lone stallion walked in without a word, his eyes scanning around the room. One the doctors approached him.

“Sir, you can’t come this way,” he began, “we have injured and several possible casualties. So, please-”

“Stand aside.” Relius demanded, his eyes flickering with a black aura. Against his will, the doctor felt his body move, almost being forced to bow as he stepped aside. Relius did not bother to even look at him, walking inside and looking for his son.

With a momentary sigh, he spotted Amadeus and approached. There was something different about Relius, something that felt darker than he truly was. Nightlight saw him coming closer and felt a wave of anger at the steely stallion for not being there for his son. However, he could see the coldness in his eyes. Eyes that he knew were not of a father.

“Amadeus.” Relius spoke calmly, standing before his son, his face holding a look he was not known for having.

“Dad… where-” A sharp cough stole his breath. “-Where were you? I fought, thinking that you were here. Relius… what was so important?”

This was the first time Amadeus had used his father’s name when talking with him. The young colt’s faith in his father was shaken, figuring that Magellan meant more to Relius then his own son. A sigh escaped Amadeus’ lips and he rolled onto his back to allow the medics to finish their work.

Looking around them, Relius saw the medics that stood around them, the collective eyes staring at them. The black aura seemed to leap out, but slowly faded, leaving a figure that did resemble the stallion Amadeus called his father. His eyes became gentle while a soft smile formed on his lips.

“I’m so sorry, Amadeus…” He said with a soulful voice, hugging his son, “I wish I could have been here to see your victory. I could feel the displacement of magic in the air; I feared that something might have happened. Magellan held me against my will, trying to end your future here at the school… Please understand, I wanted nothing more than to leave to make sure you were safe from harm, I couldn't bear to lose you as well.”

Amadeus’ mouth fell open as his dad hugged him. It was always a pat on the head and ‘well done’. An awkward smile grew from the ashes as he patted his dad on the back, astonished to feel a single tear slide down that steel grey cheek.

“I… I didn’t realize. Dad…” Amadeus moved his father off of him, rolling so he could use his hooves. Standing up to face his father, Amadeus was at a loss for words as everything sunk in. His father had given up so much to see him safe, even keeping himself away so that he wouldn’t incur the Headmaster’s wrath. “Thank you… for everything. I thought… I thought you didn’t care. But I see you care about me more than anything.”

He embraced his father, hugging him as a child would. As they both drew back, they smiled at each other and the bond of family was restored.

Author's Note:

Stella Specto is Latin for Star Watch

Edit 24/10: So I realized after combing this chapter for any mistakes my editor and I might have missed after 16 separate checks that I didn't have one of my usual Author's Notes here.

Now, this makes me feel slightly silly because I haven't posted anything in a while, and because It means you fine people miss out on my ingenious insight and the feeling of writing such a story.

Thanks for sticking by me and for the views and the likes and the favorites. As for where Chapter Three is... I've not finished yet.
Yes, I know, long time to wait. But I've finished Chapter Five. How crazy is that?

So I'm doing my best to get these last two scenes done and start Chapter Four. Unknown is currently indisposed so I can't get my insane ramblings looked at until he comes back.

I've read this quote a hundred times, and I hope to Luna that I can find my way past it.

Indecision and delays are the parents of failure.
-George Canning

~Hyacintho Ignis

Comments

[Veyron]

That battle scene was amazing! keep up the great work.