• Published 18th Mar 2012
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Magic Kindergarten - Ponysopher



Twilight goes to magic kindergarten after she sees the Summer-Sun Celebration

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Two Tests

Twilight continued to search for magic as the days passed and she began to undergo what she felt when at the Summer-Sun Celebration. The world seemed to be against her. Every factor of her life was structured to discourage her from accomplishing her dream. On the one hand, her days in magic kindergarten were passing agonizingly slow. Her desire for knowledge was like a ravenous hunger. She went to school so that she might be fed. Yet when she arrived, she found that the teacher dangled out little strips of food that she had to beg for like a dog. Each day when it finally came to learn something, her heart would leap up at the mention of food. Yet just before she could begin on anything other than the appetizer, they moved on. To make matters worse, when they did move on, she occasionally did not realize it. When Miss Selene happily exclaimed it was time for a snack she could not help but lose focus on the distant prize and favor instead the immediate one. It was like the educational system was designed to lead her astray from the straight path that she was walking.

On the other hand, when she went into the world of a good book and met once more with her teachers, the experience was like drinking water. If she drank a lot of it, she would be full for a little while, but soon she would feel hunger again. Yet despite this, it was all she had to fill herself. So she spent a great deal of time in her room studying; desperately trying to fill the rumbling stomach that was her mind. The problem was that while Miss Sandy was a very good writer, there were occasionally concepts that Twilight did not understand. There were questions that still lingered in her mind after reading a certain passage. Yet there was nothing other than what was written on the pages. She needed a physical teacher. That was why she wished so dearly that magic kindergarten was more challenging.

But her acquisition of knowledge was not only affected by internal factors. There were several other problems that she had to deal with daily. Very soon, Twilight started to feel a bit lonely. She started to realize that studying all day and sleeping all night would not do. She was not antisocial by any means and felt a need to be around other foals her age. So she had to return to her friends and spend time with them. This too was like a hunger that had to be satisfied from time to time. And as is this case with eating delicious food, playing with her friends was quite enjoyable. She did not regret that she enjoyed their company, but when the day had suddenly flown by, she felt a pang in her mind: She could have used that time to pursue magic. Again, everything seemed to be against her.

Yet as far as schooling went, she reminded herself that she was there not only to achieve inner success, but also gain outward credibility. She was there to pass the class. That was how she would show her future employers that she had the right stuff for the job. And that was why when Miss Selene announced that after the conclusion of the first month that they would have a test, Twilight became very excited. “This is my first chance to prove myself.” She said. “This is the reason that I’m here. Finally, all this is about to become worthwhile.”

The same could not be said for her classmates. When the test was announced, Twilight was the only one with a grin on her face. Everypony else seemed quite worried and moaned. Even Prince Blueblood, who seemed constantly overconfident, remarkably did not express his gladness that he would be able to prove his abilities. Twilight had a difficult time understanding this, yet she believed that the reason would make itself clear soon enough.

The content of the test would come as no surprise. Miss Selene announced in the preceding class that they would have to write down the first cardinal law of magic word for word as it was written upon the whiteboard. This brought another unexpected chorus of moans from everyone but Twilight. Though she already knew the law verbatim, she spent two hours the preceding night writing and rewriting it. She had to make sure every word was in its proper place and that even the punctuation was correctly positioned. Though despite her certain chance of earning a perfect score the night before, she was still worried. She went to the teachers of her mind and asked them, “What if I don’t pass?”

Star-Swirl the Bearded, now speaking not as a projection of the knowledge in a book, but as Twilight’s perceived notion of how he would answer such a question, answered, “But you most certainly will pass. How could you not? How could it be any simpler?”

“But what if I get nervous and somehow forget?”

“Twilight,” he said. “You know not only this, but the other six laws as though they were carved into your hoof. You will pass this with flying colors.” And hearing this assurance from her mentor, gave her peace of mind. She slept easily that night with the comfort that the next day would hold a brilliant future for her.

The time came. She sat at her desk in the classroom with a blank sheet of paper in front of her and a pencil in her mouth. Her task was to write a simple sentence. Never had such a simple thing seemed more complicated than now. With extreme care she began to write the sentence; making sure that every piece was exactly where it needed to be. When she was done, she began to erase portions of it and made them neater. She had to be absolutely certain that no letter or punctuation mark could be mistaken for another. With the skill of a calligrapher who has practiced his art for years, her muzzle traced the each letter onto the page. Focusing on each microscopic fragment of a letter, she did not allow even the tiniest stroke be anything less than perfect. When she was finished, she widened her field of vision once more to examine her work. She was satisfied:

Magic should always be used for the good of ponies.

In the end, when ten minutes had passed, everypony was done, and that concluded the actual work for the day.

That night she could not overcome her anxiety. She had done all she could to make sure she could receive a perfect score, but what if it was not enough? What if she had somehow overlooked the simplest and most careless error? The possibilities welled up inside of her. Those possibilities soon became fears. And those fears soon become very certain realities. What if that one little mistake through off her entire score? What if she even received a negative grade? She might have to repeat magic kindergarten. She might be stuck there for years to come. What if her parents finally gave up on her after her failing many times and sent her to normal school? What if she was unable to pass that too? The series of possibilities went on and on through her head. This continued throughout the night until the sun finally rose in the morning and it was time to go to school.

Before she knew it she was sitting in that desk again next to Prince Blueblood. She flinched as Miss Selene announced, “Alright, my little ponies, I’ve graded your tests last night and I’m going to pass them out now. Some of you did very well, and others not so well. But for those of you who didn’t get a perfect score, don’t get down. You’ll have plenty of chances to make up for it.”

Twilight could not hear her last sentence over the sound of blood pulsing through her ears. Her heart was beating like a jackhammer and she was sweating like a pig. “This is it, Twilight.” She told herself. “This is what’s going to determine the rest of her life. Get ready.” As Miss Selene passed out the papers, she seemed to be moving in slow motion. Each second that passed was an agonizing year. She felt also like a ton of weight was upon her shoulders and that she was going to have to bear it all this time. The lack of sleep made her weary, but the adrenaline rushing through her system did not allow for the comfort of sleepiness.

As the white, blue-maned unicorn neared, Twilight imagined that she was dressed in a black robe. What was visible of her her body was not covered in fur but was made of only bone. She approached her slowly; being in no rush. With her horn she carried a white piece of paper, but to Twilight it did not seem so. It was instead a black scroll sealed with a red seal from the princess herself. It was a notice of her impending execution. As the scroll was laid on her desk (in truth placed with the words down), she did not want to open it. She did not want to read the words that would herald her coming doom. But something compelled her to as though her hooves moved of their own accord. They broke the seal (turned over the sheet) without her command, and her head which was turned away involuntarily moved to gaze at the writing.

A fraction was written at the top of the page. The denominator, she knew, represented the standard. It was the number that was necessary for her life’s continuance. That her whole life ahead of her could be bound by something as small as a number fazed her, yet she brought herself to read it: One hundred. One hundred was the defining factor. She had to earn one hundred points in order to be deemed worthy. And the fact that she could do nothing about it made her feel intensely helpless. Her destiny had already been written before she came to read it. Her lifespan determined (by her own hoof) ere she arrived to hear it.

Her eyes moved slowly upwards; approaching the end result. How she wished her eyes would remain in the low depths and never ascend to the terrible truth that loomed above. How she wished that she could remain in the silent comfort of the grave. This idea of her present uncertainty brought back a memory. She thought about the chains that bound her inside the cave of ignorance. And though they were cruelly restricting, at the same time, now they seemed sympathetic. The chains kept her safe from the terror of the light; the light which revealed the unforeseen and unknown truth. Now, she thought that they seemed like they were kind. This made her consider for a moment never allowing her eyes to move above that line that separated her from the standard of perfection, and reality. She did not have to gaze upon the harsh light of reality. She did not have to leave the comforting dark of the cave that she knew so well and venture out into the light which held so many unfamiliar things.

Yet as the sweat poured down her body and her heart labored to pump fresh blood throughout her body, somewhere inside of her mind, a voice spoke. It was not any of her teachers, yet it was a voice that seemed so familiar. After a moment’s thought, she realized it was her own voice. Yet the voice was much deeper and more developed, as though she was as many as fifteen years older. At first it was quiet and she could not understand the words. But as the eternities passed, it became stronger. It increased several times in volume, and she heard her own words loud and clear. “The truth is worth it.”

These words were repeated so that she could hear them two more times. And they reverberated inside of her mind; echoing through the hallways of her soul. Hearing these words, her spirit was strengthened with a sudden mighty passion. For a moment she thought about doing all she could to break out of the chains; to fight and struggle with relentless passion against them until her unyielding spirit broke them. She thought about how great it would be to go into the world of the light and see more than just the shadows of truth. She dreamed that one day she would be able to break those chains which restrained her from being all that she could be and pursuing with all her strength the prize that she longed for. Just the idea suddenly filled her with a great strength. Thus in spite of all of her fear, she looked upwards and gazed upon the number above the line which separated the ideal and the reality. She broke the barrier and looked upon the truth: One hundred.

Time, which had slowed to a stop, suddenly quickened to its normal flow. Twilight was back inside of the classroom again. The massive weight upon her shoulders was lifted. Though in its place, a tidal wave of relief crashed against her and her head fell forward onto her desk. Her breathing and heartbeat slowing down, and being cooled by the ocean of sweat upon her, her racing body had finally come to an exhausted rest. After she left school, she went home and slept until evening. In her dreams, her teachers chided her for making the simple task of looking at her grade so difficult. Ms. Sandy said, “Mares entering adulthood sometimes feel stress on that level, but for a filly, it’s just unnatural. You really should take it easier Twilight. Doing well is important, but a small setback won't be the end of the world.” Though Twilight paid little attention.

Her first successful test by no means gave her incentive to take time for leisure. Instead, it reignited her already burning passion and strengthened her will to continue on. She had passed the first test, but maintaining her perfection, she thought, would still be difficult. So she continued to spend her days with her nose in her books; lost in the world that her mind had created for her. Her teachers, seeing the overwhelming effort that she was putting forth, praised her, but Platony and Ms. Sandy in particular took pains to try and convince her to lighten the load that she was placing on herself. “You don’t have to spend all day reading. Why don’t you go have fun?”

Twilight only responded, “I can’t do that. I have to keep studying as much as I can. Besides, this is fun.” The cycle in her class renewed itself. She and her classmates were still subject to the same daily activities, but now they were practicing memorization of the second law, which, of course, Twilight had already burned into her mind. Yet as with before, she did not take the task before her lightly. In addition to pursuing her studies personally, she spent about an hour each day repeating the law aloud and writing it down with the skill of a calligrapher in preparation for the upcoming test.

In terms of her personal endeavors, she had not yet begun traversing the matter of applicable magic, but was developing her understanding of it by researching theory. It seemed good to each of her teachers also to take time to instill within her the ethics of magic and well as philosophy. This kind of teaching was specifically interesting to Twilight. Hearing Day Cart and Platony debate with each other about the idea of perception was far beyond what her mind could comprehend, but it stimulated her to ask questions to which there were always answers.

So another month came and rolled by. Twilight went to the library to acquire a new set of books every week. The next test was approaching. She knew exactly what would be on it. She had to write down the second cardinal law of magic; however, once more, Twilight was becoming anxious. While the idea of the last test was dreadful for her at the time, this one was somehow even more maddening. Now, not only did she have to worry about passing the test, but she also had to worry about meeting the standard she had made for herself. By doing so well on the last one, she had boxed herself into a small claustrophobic cage, with little legroom. But she pressed on. She studied hard, and by the night preceding the test, she believed that she was ready. Though of course, sleep once more evaded her, and she was half exhausted by the morning of the second test.

Once more the classroom was silent as the test began. Once again, she sat there with a blank piece of paper which would determine her fate. As she traced out the glyphs of the Equestrian writing system, she felt it was necessary to erase and rework each one. Each symbol had to be perfect, lest it be confused for another, or worse, illegible. She was very careful not to let any of her sweat to fall on the page. The whole of the paper had to be flawless and without blemish. She was going to achieve perfection. While she worked, she noticed that she was not as nervous as she thought that she would have been. Rather, she was simple determined; absorbed in her work. This realization that she was not panicking further soothed her. So by the end of the test, she was confident that she had achieved the goal that she had set for herself. There was no error in her writing, be it of the identity of the law written on the page with respect to what it really was, or of the neatness of her muzzle writing.

The night came and she fell into a deep sleep. Yet her dreams that night were nothing like she had before experienced. Though they were usually very vivid, these dreams were filled with blurry images and faint, unclear noises rather than the usual distinguished words. At some point in the course of the dreams, she believed that she saw an image of herself. Yet she was much older; probably by about fifteen years. She was frowning as she looked at her younger self. The filly asked the phantom, “Why are you sad?”

The phantom answered with a question. Her mouth did not move, and the sound of her voice seemed muffled as though she were underwater. “Are you willing to do anything to learn magic?” She asked.

The little Twilight replied, “Of course. That’s why I’m working so hard.”

The elder’s eyes suddenly welled up with tears. Her voice came again faintly. “I know that you believe so, but there is a test coming up which will be unlike any you have yet taken.”

“What kind of test?”

Once more the mare did not answer directly. “I believe that your performance on your last test may have triggered a series of events which will lead to your doom.”

At this, Twilight became very nervous again. “You mean I didn’t pass?”

“On the contrary, your grade is perfect.”

She was taken aback. “Then why-”

The older pony cut off the filly. “That is why. Be prepared.”

Twilight awoke minutes before the sun rose. The dream troubled her, but she put it out of her mind. Maybe it was just something she ate, she thought. She went to school and the teacher handed back their tests. Twilight was not so unwilling to look at her grade this time and after a moment’s struggle with herself, she looked at the mark. She had once again received a perfect score.

After she had passed back all the tests, Miss Selene said, “Well, I just want to tell everyone that they did a good job on their tests. Yet they could have been better. I want to point out that Twilight was the only one of you to get an A. Good job, Twilight.”

Hearing this, Twilight suddenly was caught in rapture. Not only had she done well. But she was performing better than all of her classmates. Things were looking up for her. Maybe she would pass after all! As they passed through the day’s events once again, she entertained more thoughts of serving in the court of Celestia, and working alongside her. In fact, she was so consumed by her daydream, that she did not notice the obvious looks of contempt from all of her classmates towards her.