Twilight's life takes on a different tint when she fails to pass her entrance exam for Celestia's School. As it turns out, there are other ways to serve her princess and country.
Not that Twilight minded too much. Just because something worked didn’t mean Twilight enjoyed days and days of hardtack biscuits among other, redder, less polite things the military was given to eat when out in the field. Protein was protein, after all, and with enough salt, anything could be palpable…
You're probably thinking of "palatable" although I'd go with "edible"
“Well, if you want to put it like that . Trixie prefers to like it to you being Trixie’s magical assistant. The pony who does the backstage work before a magic show, so that show goes smoothly.” Twilight’s deadpan look must have conveyed her feelings, because Trixie hastily added, “And the thing about assistance (assistants) is that they know all the magician’s tricks! You can feel how Trixie casts, since it is your magic Trixie is using. Watch.”
10241840 Danke danke danke. I stayed up to 2 in the morning writing this because I just had this creative outpouring, and I'm still pretty dead right now. Proofreading is a bridge too far for me at the moment. I was just really excited to get this out.
Well that was all kinds of creepy. Gotta hand it to the things, they've got a prime setup going for themselves. Booze and narcotics everywhere, lots of out-of-towners stumbling around, a really excellent perception filter, a sense of moderation, they've got it all planned out.
Twilight almost missed the flicker. It was so very subtle, the illusion so very perfect, that unless the sun had been sitting just so she probably wouldn’t have seen it. And it could only mean one thing…
Ah, you spotted the maskirovka. Most excellent, you should keep that in mind. The best deceptions work on assumptions, be sure to maintain that suspicion.
All Trixie’s teasing nearly made Twilight want to dig out the bottle glasses she’d been issued at medical all those weeks ago, but that would only give the azure unicorn more ammunition.
Work on your detection spells and that won't be as much of an issue. You should be doing it anyway preparatory to fighting in dim light or other situations of limited visibility.
But then there was that look from her. Considering. Weighing options. Seeing exactly what Twilight was thinking. Trixie was far from mastering it and she came off as looking more “haughty” than “wisened magister”, but it still made Twilight squirm a bit. She wondered if it was something they actually taught at the Spire.
Actually yes. Information control and misdirection is a vital part of magical combat. While mental defenses are the first thing to be addressed, poise and bearing are quite valuable both in shaping your enemy's perceptions and in maintaining focus.
Before Twilight could get a word in edgewise, Trixie had already teleported away.
Twilight let out a huff. “I have to learn how to do that,” she grumbled as she started gathering up pots and plates.
You really do. The value of teleportation both in and out of combat simply cannot be overstated.
Twilight stopped in her hooves; right where she was about to plod through was a very purposefully-chalked line.
Chalk? Really? you'd trust a volatile ritual to something so easily disturbed? I always recommend good quick-drying water-soluble paint. Easy to use, easy to clean up, and it won't scuff if someone brushes up against it.
"Now, come stand over by Trixie - and watch the chalk."
Yes, do watch the chalk. Since we're using the stuff you don't want to find out why we don't use the stuff.
“You stole my magic?!” Twilight demanded.
Borrowed. Borrowed without permission. But with every intention of giving it back.
It's an impressive feat, and a good lesson as well, you should only do something like this with people you trust, as there is quite a bit of vulnerability involved. Verra useful though, Twilight makes an excellent anchor.
Her mind wanted to skitter off into a million different directions, but Twilight forced herself to imagine each line, each rune, folding and deforming into the shape she wanted. Then she added the rune circle for the teslavolte to the sphere, taking up the other hemisphere.
There you go, it's about balance. Balance and an ordered mind.
The hiss of fire made Twilight’s eyes fly back open, and she saw that Trixie’s concentration had been interrupted as well. The white chalk on the ground was turning into a burning rune wheel, like it had been a line of kerosine instead of just chalk. The fire leaped from rune to run, circle to circle, until both Twilight and Trixie were surrounded.
But it didn’t burn.
Midday in the desert began to bleed away as the white fire sucked the sunlight out of the world. The ground jerked, hard enough that Twilight nearly toppled over. She braced herself and looked to Trixie, trying to figure out if this was part of the spell, but Trixie was staring at her. Fearfully.
Now this is what happens when you don't put limiters on your spellform. Trixie's lucky she didn't just burst into flames, and Twilight's lucky she didn't cripple herself signing her magic away In its entirety. I swear, every time students get ahold of runic magic they do something idiotic like this. What is it about runes anyway? The alchemists and the diviners don't have to deal with this...
Trixie blinked back and that small, bashful, tooth-filled smile she would give him whenever she had messed up slowly blossomed on her face.
10241932 It's fine, I've just to up my horror game to give it all the impact it needs.
I'm probably going to be using a lot of DnD monsters in this fic. I don't play, but looking through the monster manual is probably one of my favorite things.
Alright, so this chapter was definitely worth the wait. And it was definitely worth Trixie acting all superior for a handful of chapters. Now we get to see some real shit go down! Woo!
Trixie was a stepping stone. Twilight knew that. Everyonewas a stepping stone. Bay Orchid, Trixie, the ponies at Fort Dressage - all of them. They were all there just to get Twilight to one place, to one pony. Nothing else mattered. Not a single thing. Not one single pony had ever believe in her, so-
I really do feel sorry for Twilight. Everyone, even Celestia, views her as a tool to be used or a threat to be managed, if they think she's worth anything at all. At least her family care about her, but even they can't help trying to hold her back. It's pretty believable that she wouldn't have any real friends.
Yay, more fire Twilight! I don't know what exactly it is about Twilight getting all fire-y, but I love it. Glad to see it's not a one-time-only thing like in the show.
Seeing all these ponies act haughty over Twilight's lack of education, as if that was her fault (hint: it wasn't). It makes me wonder what they'd act like if canon!Twilight ever came into contact with them? Probably break their tiny, prejudiced minds.
That monster reminded me of some of the creepier monster/cryptid stories I've been listening to on YouTube lately. Definitely seems like a genuine threat.
10243150 Trixie will have you know that sympathetic magic is a perfectly legitimate field of study, designed to assist teams of unicorns with higher level castings. It is in no way associated with the vile dark magic you are acusing her of practicing, Sir.
The second part was very interesting. I enjoyed the back and forth between The Great and Powerful Trixie and Trainee Twilight. I really felt sorry for the two guards on leave that became lunch, though. Nobody should die like that. But it shows how dangerous a foe our two intrepid heroes are going to be facing so yea!? So I appreciate that for what it's worth. Looking forward to more 'cause this is good!
10241936 I never heard of a False Hydra and wondered what the heck was with Smokey just not reacting to Roy's untimely and gruesome demise. You might consider a horror tag if you're going to up it more than this, though. Just a thought.
I'm not sure I get that. If it was fanon I'd understand, but that's literally how they talk in the show. Some, like the 'anypony', aren't strictly necessary, but others are needed to just make sense. 'Not having X handy' for example, ponies don't have hands so they'd logically not speak like that.
Eh, like I said, it's not a big deal, just a pet peeve. If it's too weird for you then it's too weird for you. Don't mind me.
I'm a bit confused; it sounded like the one pony escaped being eaten, and didn't care his friend was eaten.
Inb4 she runs out of room on a sphere and learns about hyper dimensional objects to get more space onto a cast.
Not one single pony had ever believe in her, so-
Should be "believed" instead of believe because past tense. Kinda sad but also untrue. Her parents and siblings believed in her, but maybe not in her ability to majick. Still though, I'm confused how she even managed to weld that locker shut. Was it something along the lines of basically infusing kinetic energy with levitation to cause the metal to heat and fuse? I never did get how she managed to do that.
A hundred miles from Las Pegasus still; they would be stuck out there forever if Trixie didn't scrape magic from Twilight to portal over. Neat how the teleport stole all the color from the regions they went from and into.
This story is hecking good
10251027 Clearly this is an AU of which pony ethnocentrism did not bend their speech in this universe yet
There's definitely some AUing going on since both television and radio have been mentioned and canon Equestria has neither. That's a good enough reason as any. Like I said before, it's a very minor issue at best. I just happen to like them for exactly the reason you said, 'pony ethnocentrism'. It's one of the few pony flaws, that ponies are low key racist.
10251311 Well if you consider that one of the few pony flaws -- of which I feel there are many more obvious and blatant ones -- I feel like you haven't seen the entire series, but then again I am considerably on the negative side, so I'm probably just biased. 'S just more presenting a joke answer that is also valid since the story literally has the AU tag stamped on it
Plus there's plenty of other issues they seem to have still, such as bad administration, speciesism, and the other casual junk like religion cults that may or may not practice sacrifice and casual monster murders, youknow, casual problems.
When I say pony flaws I mean as a society. There are plenty of individuals with different flaws. But as a whole it's really just the racism/speciesism that stands out to me.
10252858 Lol, and I've only just seen how much negative reaction my first comment got. Jeez, it was a joke, nothing more, apologies for offending anyone.
10253405 Its not your problem that people can`t get a joke, its theirs. Secondly, all three of those things are exactly what Trixie did regardless of how much people want to try and defend it.
You're probably thinking of "palatable" although I'd go with "edible"
10241840
Danke danke danke. I stayed up to 2 in the morning writing this because I just had this creative outpouring, and I'm still pretty dead right now. Proofreading is a bridge too far for me at the moment. I was just really excited to get this out.
A false hydra. That's going to be unpleasant.
When Twilight catches up, she's going to be an Archmage.
10241888
I was hoping I had a little longer before someone figured it out. :(
I really like how you incorporated Twilight's fire? form. I always wondered why it wasn't seen more in the show.
Well that was all kinds of creepy. Gotta hand it to the things, they've got a prime setup going for themselves. Booze and narcotics everywhere, lots of out-of-towners stumbling around, a really excellent perception filter, a sense of moderation, they've got it all planned out.
Ah, you spotted the maskirovka. Most excellent, you should keep that in mind. The best deceptions work on assumptions, be sure to maintain that suspicion.
Work on your detection spells and that won't be as much of an issue. You should be doing it anyway preparatory to fighting in dim light or other situations of limited visibility.
Actually yes. Information control and misdirection is a vital part of magical combat. While mental defenses are the first thing to be addressed, poise and bearing are quite valuable both in shaping your enemy's perceptions and in maintaining focus.
You really do. The value of teleportation both in and out of combat simply cannot be overstated.
Chalk? Really? you'd trust a volatile ritual to something so easily disturbed? I always recommend good quick-drying water-soluble paint. Easy to use, easy to clean up, and it won't scuff if someone brushes up against it.
Yes, do watch the chalk. Since we're using the stuff you don't want to find out why we don't use the stuff.
Borrowed. Borrowed without permission. But with every intention of giving it back.
It's an impressive feat, and a good lesson as well, you should only do something like this with people you trust, as there is quite a bit of vulnerability involved. Verra useful though, Twilight makes an excellent anchor.
There you go, it's about balance. Balance and an ordered mind.
Now this is what happens when you don't put limiters on your spellform. Trixie's lucky she didn't just burst into flames, and Twilight's lucky she didn't cripple herself signing her magic away In its entirety. I swear, every time students get ahold of runic magic they do something idiotic like this. What is it about runes anyway? The alchemists and the diviners don't have to deal with this...
Hooray, your apprentice didn't kill herself!
10241926
Sorry. I can delete my post to prevent spoilers.
10241927
This is... the third time it has showed up now? It's going to be a big part of the story.
10241932
It's fine, I've just to up my horror game to give it all the impact it needs.
I'm probably going to be using a lot of DnD monsters in this fic. I don't play, but looking through the monster manual is probably one of my favorite things.
10241933
Oh yeah, that's right! It did show up in the story before. I completely forgot about it. Sorry about that!
10241860
No problem. I could proofread for you or you can get a FREE proofreader here
https://www.fimfiction.net/group/27/]The Proofreader Group
When getting a proofreader check "last online" to make sure they're still current
10241954
GAWD AS MY WITNESS KING, THAT REVIEW HAS BROKEN HIM IN HALF.
Shades of “It”.
Alright, so this chapter was definitely worth the wait. And it was definitely worth Trixie acting all superior for a handful of chapters. Now we get to see some real shit go down! Woo!
I really do feel sorry for Twilight. Everyone, even Celestia, views her as a tool to be used or a threat to be managed, if they think she's worth anything at all. At least her family care about her, but even they can't help trying to hold her back. It's pretty believable that she wouldn't have any real friends.
Yay, more fire Twilight! I don't know what exactly it is about Twilight getting all fire-y, but I love it. Glad to see it's not a one-time-only thing like in the show.
Seeing all these ponies act haughty over Twilight's lack of education, as if that was her fault (hint: it wasn't). It makes me wonder what they'd act like if canon!Twilight ever came into contact with them? Probably break their tiny, prejudiced minds.
That monster reminded me of some of the creepier monster/cryptid stories I've been listening to on YouTube lately. Definitely seems like a genuine threat.
Huh, so what do we class what Trixie did as, rape, theft, vampiric.
"Those dancers at the Palace were to die for!"
Weren't they just talking about a different casino?
"thundering across the dusty bottom of the cavern like"
When did they get underground?
"the Teslavolte’ rune"
It looks like last chapter it was "Telsavolte’". Was that in fact a typo rather than a deliberate spelling?
"cast the teslavolte at"
"cast the Teslavolte' at" or "cast the Telsavolte' at"?
"Some earth ponies villages raise"
"Some earth pony villages raise"?
"but she supposed that it would"
"but she supposes that it would"?
"prefers to like it to you being"
"prefers to liken it to you being"?
"conjured the telsavolte’ spell at"
See above.
"skitter off into a million different"
"skitter off in a million different"?
"for the teslavolte to the sphere"
See above.
"but stand here like some"
"but standing here like some"?
"than some no-knowing pony from"
Was that supposed to be "know-nothing", or a deliberately different phrase?
"both the crystals and the two unicorns"
"both the crystal and the two unicorns"?
Well. :D
I did enjoy the chapter, and it sounds like we have a number of new questions in want of answering. :)
10243150
Trixie will have you know that sympathetic magic is a perfectly legitimate field of study, designed to assist teams of unicorns with higher level castings. It is in no way associated with the vile dark magic you are acusing her of practicing, Sir.
10243490
Did you ask permission before violating Twilight?
Gotta love tapping into that deep magic.
Following, this story is quite interesting
The second part was very interesting. I enjoyed the back and forth between The Great and Powerful Trixie and Trainee Twilight. I really felt sorry for the two guards on leave that became lunch, though. Nobody should die like that. But it shows how dangerous a foe our two intrepid heroes are going to be facing so yea!? So I appreciate that for what it's worth. Looking forward to more 'cause this is good!
10241936
I never heard of a False Hydra and wondered what the heck was with Smokey just not reacting to Roy's untimely and gruesome demise. You might consider a horror tag if you're going to up it more than this, though. Just a thought.
10250941
I'm not sure I get that. If it was fanon I'd understand, but that's literally how they talk in the show. Some, like the 'anypony', aren't strictly necessary, but others are needed to just make sense. 'Not having X handy' for example, ponies don't have hands so they'd logically not speak like that.
Eh, like I said, it's not a big deal, just a pet peeve. If it's too weird for you then it's too weird for you. Don't mind me.
I'm a bit confused; it sounded like the one pony escaped being eaten, and didn't care his friend was eaten.
Inb4 she runs out of room on a sphere and learns about hyper dimensional objects to get more space onto a cast.
Should be "believed" instead of believe because past tense. Kinda sad but also untrue. Her parents and siblings believed in her, but maybe not in her ability to majick. Still though, I'm confused how she even managed to weld that locker shut. Was it something along the lines of basically infusing kinetic energy with levitation to cause the metal to heat and fuse? I never did get how she managed to do that.
A hundred miles from Las Pegasus still; they would be stuck out there forever if Trixie didn't scrape magic from Twilight to portal over. Neat how the teleport stole all the color from the regions they went from and into.
This story is hecking good
10251027
Clearly this is an AU of which pony ethnocentrism did not bend their speech in this universe yet
10251149
"I'm a bit confused; it sounded like the one pony escaped being eaten, and didn't care his friend was eaten."
Because that's exactly what happened. Mwhahahaha.
10251149
There's definitely some AUing going on since both television and radio have been mentioned and canon Equestria has neither. That's a good enough reason as any. Like I said before, it's a very minor issue at best. I just happen to like them for exactly the reason you said, 'pony ethnocentrism'. It's one of the few pony flaws, that ponies are low key racist.
10251178
Hahaa, amazing
10251311
Well if you consider that one of the few pony flaws -- of which I feel there are many more obvious and blatant ones -- I feel like you haven't seen the entire series, but then again I am considerably on the negative side, so I'm probably just biased. 'S just more presenting a joke answer that is also valid since the story literally has the AU tag stamped on it
Plus there's plenty of other issues they seem to have still, such as bad administration, speciesism, and the other casual junk like religion cults that may or may not practice sacrifice and casual monster murders, youknow, casual problems.
10243150
How about all the above?
10251425
When I say pony flaws I mean as a society. There are plenty of individuals with different flaws. But as a whole it's really just the racism/speciesism that stands out to me.
10252858
Lol, and I've only just seen how much negative reaction my first comment got. Jeez, it was a joke, nothing more, apologies for offending anyone.
10253405
Its not your problem that people can`t get a joke, its theirs. Secondly, all three of those things are exactly what Trixie did regardless of how much people want to try and defend it.
10253487
Thanks, glad someones got my back.
10253628
Agreed
Holy hell, a False Hydra... This ain't gonna be good.
10253487
ok theft yea vampiric sure but how is it rape?