The Forgotten Sisters

by Flaming Pulsar

Chapter 3--Princess Animia

Author's Note:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-B84t4XpLiz09AP0zBUiRd6WResCcaHN_w5HKjyPSkQ/edit?usp=sharing

Oh, the joys of coming up with names. This one was fun because the portion of dialogue where Animia is trying to think of a name is the exact conversation I had with my sister up until Ani gives a big long list which is when I just went online to look for firey words.

Also, you may have noticed that all the spells have a level amount. This is just my way of explaining how difficult the spell is and it would also make sense for a responsible magic teacher to know the difficulty of spells before they teach their pupils.

Chapter 3--Princess Animia

“Well Animia, are you ready for your final lesson?” Animia’s teacher, a unicorn stallion named Wild Beast, asked her.

“I’ve been waiting for his since you stared training me,” the alicorn student replied.

“Good. Now, thus far you have been practicing the simple manner of calming a creature who has been set to a rage and taming a creature that is wild. However, there will be times when you come across a creature that will not willingly be tamed. In this situation you must perform the mind meld with that creature.”

“The mind meld? I wasn’t aware we were in some sort of science fiction novel.”

“Yes, it shares the same name as the practice in the science fiction novels but that is merely because magic researchers are not very good at coming up with original names. Now then, to perform this spell, you must become one with the beast. Your mind to its mind, your thoughts to its. Once you do this you will be as one and you will be in complete control of the beast. However, I must warn you of the dangers of this spell. While you are in the mind of another, your own body will remain stationary. If your body is killed while you are in another’s mind, you will cease to exist.”

“So if my body dies while I’m in the mind of a creature, then I die?”

“No, this will be much worse than dying. It will be as though you never existed.”

“So don’t do that. Alright, if you don’t have any other warnings then I’m ready to begin.”

“Your spirit is feisty as always, my dear. Now, I shall bring out the beast that I am going to have you meld with.” He whistled and a manticore came out of the nearby forest.

“A manticore? But you know I have always had trouble taming manticores.”

“Precisely why I have chosen him to be your final test. Not many know that manticores actually contain some amount of sentience. They may be unable to communicate with us verbally but they still understand every word we say. This particular manticore is a dear friend of mine. I’ve known him since I was little and he has always been a great deal of help to me. But I’m afraid that’s all I can tell you. In order for this to give the best results, you are to know as close to nothing about the beast as possible. The more you know, the easier it is to meld with him. It will be your task to learn everything there is to know about him while you are inside his mind and it will be his task to try to prevent you from gaining that knowledge. The more you learn about him, the more easily you will be able to control him. If you no nothing, you will not be able to control him at all; if you know everything, he will be at your will. You already have a slight advantage because you know that he is a dear friend of mine. I want you to try to use this knowledge against him. Use what you know about me to get inside his head. If you can control a manticore, you can control almost anything. Are you ready?”

“I’m ready.”

“Then I shall show you how to do the spell. I must offer another warning, this is a Level 5 spell so it will drain a good portion of your magic energy. Once you are inside, your own body will be down to about a quarter your magic energy. This means that should you have the need to return to your own body, it will be in a weakened state. Now that all the warnings are out of the way, let’s learn that spell.”He taught her the spell and she cast it and felt herself being pulled into the mind of the manticore.

“Animia, are you inside the manticore’s mind? If you can hear me, try to blink his eyes.”

Animia tried with all the force she could muster and made the manticore blink.

“Good, now until you learn more about the creature, that will be all you can do. What you need to do now is create an avatar for yourself inside his mind to wander around and learn about him. Go ahead and do this and blink twice when it’s done.”

She used all of the imagination power she had and created an avatar to wander through the manticore’s mind. She blinked twice to signal that she was ready.

“Good, it seems as though you’re already getting better. Now you need to wander through his mind. he will be throwing obstacles at you left and right so make sure you’re ready.”

Animia began to wander through the mind of the manticore but she couldn’t see anything. She started blinking ferociously to get her teacher’s attention.

“Ah, you must have noticed the first obstacle. It’s dark in there isn’t it. Remember, you are in the imaginary world, anything you think of will become reality while you are in there. Try to think of something to overcome the darkness. Blink at me if you encounter anymore problems.”

Animia thought for a second and then came up with an idea. She used her brain power to create a sun that shone over the landscape. She observed what looked much like Canterlot. She thought for a moment, Where in Canterlot would I go to find information? She thought and quickly realized that it was the library. She walked to where she knew the library to be but when she got there, it wasn’t there. She blinked some more to request assistance.

“Although the mind may look like a familiar scene, do not be fooled for the layout may be different. Try going through a door, you never know what you might find.”

Animia consented and decided to walk 20 paces, turn left and go through the first door she saw. Inside, she saw the manticore with a family. He had a mate and two kids, one girl and one boy.

“With each piece of information gained, you will be able to control more of the creature with more ease. Once you learn something, try to move a toe.”

Upon learning that the manticore had a family, she put forth her effort to wiggle its toe.

“Very good, you are progressing quickly. I’m going to leave you alone for now. I’ll only tell you which body part to attempt to move next. At this point you can move the eyelids and one toe at a time. Next, you should try to move a full paw.”

She continued to wander through the mind, overcoming obstacles, learning about the manticore, and controlling more and more of him. Eventually she had gained full control and the image of canterlot disappeared and was replaced by a control room of sorts. It had a window to see through the creature’s eyes and a full body suit to control his movements.

“Good job, Animia. You have gained full control of everything. It only took you 5 hours, that’s a new record for a first timer. You’ll find that the more times you do this, that faster it will go. Also, once you have gained total control of a creature once, you will be able to have full access at will. And remember, the more intelligent the creature is, the harder it will be to control it. Now, to return to your own mind, simple imagine an exit and walk through it.”

She did so and returned to her own mind.

“Now, do you have any questions?”

“How long can I control a creature?”

“That depends upon how much strength you have left once you reach the control room. In theory, you can control a creature indefinitely but you must remember to never leave your own body unattended. Furthermore, your own body would still require nutrients and eating with the creature’s body would not supply that so you would have to somehow give your own body the nutrients it needs.”

“You said that manticore have some amount of sentience, does that mean that if one desired, one could control a someone with full sentience?”

“You mustn’t speak of such things. Yes it is possible but the act of doing so is highly treacherous. Only one unicorn is known to have done so and he will forever be regarded as the most terrible pony ever to have existed. Controlling other sentient life would make someone immensely powerful. Even controlling one at a time, you could create an army out of fear of your power. Icy Blood had an army and it took the combined forces of every sentient life on the planet to stop him. However, if the need should arise, you could control a sentient lifeform.”

“I see. Well, thank you for teaching me everything.”

“Oh, please. It was a pleasure to teach you. I need some way of keeping myself occupied in my old age.”

“Old age? But you’re only 950.”

“Ah but you're forgetting that normal ponies only live to be 1000, unlike the alicorns who can be 3000.”

“Oh yeah, I forgot.”

“Don’t feel down, child. I may only live a third the life you do, but I’ve lived it to it’s fullest.”

“Well, thank you again, Wild Beast.”

“Hold on, aren’t you forgetting something?”

“What could I be forgetting?”

“As I recall, when I first agreed to mentor you, I promised that once you learned all that I can teach, I would give you an animal of your own to keep.”

“Oh yeah, I forgot all about that. So which one do I get?”

“That’s for you to decide, my dear. You can have any animal you wish.”

“Oh, thank you so much, but I don’t know which one to choose.” Animia looked at all the animals before her. “Which one of you wants to be my pet?” She watched as the most majestic phoenix she had ever seen leapt through the crowd of animals and landed right on her back. “Oh wow, I’ve never seen a phoenix like this one!”

“Ah, yes. She is quite the rarity. A pure-white phoenix is very rare to see. Its flame burns hotter and brighter than a regular phoenix, even hotter than dragon breath. They are also very loyal. They never leave the side of anyone they see as their friend. I think this little darling is the perfect pet for you.”

“Oh thank you, thank you, thank you! I promise to take good care of her. What’s her name?”

“She doesn’t have a name yet. Perhaps you’d like to give her one.”

“How about Ed?”

“...It’s a girl.”

“Oh, right. What about Taylor?”

“It seems a little too ordinary.”

“Oreo?”

“No thanks, I’m trying to cut out on sugar.”

She gave him a blank stare. “I meant as a name.”

“Oh, well I don’t think you should name her that.”

“Pablo?”

“Again, it’s a girl.”

“Blaze, Bonfire, Heat, Ember, Inferno, Tinder, Spark, Pyre, Phlogiston, Conflagration, Combustion, Luminous, Sauna, Saharra, Ezalb, Erifnob, Erifpmac, Taeh, Rebme, Onrefni, Rednit, Kraps, Skraps, Eryp, Notsigolhp, Alba, Noitargalfnoc, Noitsubmoc, Suonimul, Anuas, Arrahas, Erif, Fuego, Ogeuf, Feuer, Reuef, Mirajane, Miraj, Bob, Manny, Rex, Draco, Qadir, Qenehelo, Qimat, Quahhar, Quain, Quay, Quin, Quiqui, Quirino, Ignis, Char, Moltra, Rosie, Liz, Lisana, Anasil."

“My word that’s a long list. Of those, I like Alba and Ignis the most.”

“I kind of like them together. Alba Ignis.”

“That sounds like a wonderful name.”

“Come here Alba Ignis,” she called to the phoenix.

The bird came immediately to the call. “It seems she knows her master.”

“I don’t have mastership over pets. I consider all animals as friends. In any case, she seems to like her name.”

“Indeed. And she seems to like you as well.”

“That she does. Oh, I can’t thank you enough Wild Beast. I can’t wait to show my family on Saturday.”

“Why do you have to wait until Saturday to show them?”

“Because as I’m sure you know, my parents are very busy with their royal duties so we only have so much time to spend as a family. This Saturday is our family dinner that we had planned.”

“I see. Well, before you leave, I should tell you a few things about phoenix care. The first thing you need to know is that every once in a while, a phoenix will molt its feather and burst into flames to be reborn in the ashes. This is a normal process for a phoenix so you shouldn’t panic when it occurs. Furthermore, phoenixes are predatory birds and they prefer to hunt for their food. You’ll need to let her fly around to get her food. Lastly, regarding her flames, you may have already figured this out but a phoenix is able to control its flames including who they affect and who they do not. Thus, she may have flames while on your back but others should be careful when reaching to touch her unless they have already made friends with her.”

“I’ll be sure to remember all that. Thanks again,” she called as she left with her new best friend.