Dreaming of Destiny
Chapter 4: Dreaming of Destiny
Twilight tossed and turned underneath her blankets, her eyes still closed as she pulled them tighter about herself to try and lull herself into sleep. Unfortunately, even though she was tired, the meeting with Elderflower had taken a lot out of her, sleep eluded her grasp. After dinner, she'd relaxed a little more with Arkenstone, enjoying the feeling of his presence as they read in front of the fireplace. But, all too soon it seemed, Arkenstone had to return to his own quarters in the teahouse and was time for Twilight to go to bed, Spike having already turned in an hour earlier.
However, the doubts that Twilight had managed to shelve during the evening returned in full force when she laid down and closed her eyes. It wasn't so much that it was undermining her faith in her relationship with her friends, rather that the answer to her conundrum, the refutation of what Baron Elderflower had argued, refused to let her rest. It was probably one of Twilight's greatest vices that, when she had a puzzle to ponder or a conundrum to consider, her mind just would not rest until she'd analyzed the issue to her satisfaction.
Still, exhaustion and the darkness of night took their toll and Twilight finally felt herself slipping away from the waking world. Unconsciously, she already realized that it would be a rough night for her. Falling asleep when she was so agitated rarely resulted in pleasant dreams. They weren't out and out nightmares. But often, the dreams that came to her when she was in such a state tended to be bizarre beyond reason, deliberately tormenting her with their illogical nature. It always felt as though she was trapped in a state halfway between being awake and asleep. It was never very restful.
However, as the waking world faded away, a shimmering blue light washed through her mind and drew her into darkness.
The scenery was familiar. Looking around, Twilight saw that she was now standing in a dark void. All around her, countless points of light glowed like stars dotting the night sky. Immediately, the answer came to her. After all, she had been here once before.
"Good evening Twilight Sparkle. How do you fare this night?" The starscape before Twilight's eyes swirled, seeming to come alive until a dark-blue hoof stepped out from within, followed by the rest of the alicorn's slender body. Princess Luna now stood before Twilight, standing tall and proud, her mane and tail blending seamlessly with the tapestry of stars around them while her crescent moon cutie mark shined, almost like the real thing, through the darkness.
Reflexively, Twilight bowed before Luna, who sighed. "You need not observe such formalities with me, Twilight Sparkle; especially here of all places."
Rising up, Twilight looked up at Luna, feeling a bit confused. "But why am I here?" she asked.
"I was hoping to speak with you," said Luna, "I heard that you had a busy day and that something was bothering you."
"You...did?" Twilight blinked and tilted her head.
Luna coughed awkwardly and rubbed her foreleg, averting her gaze. "Your coltfriend and young assistant may have sent Tia a letter expressing their concerns about your anxiety."
That made Twilight frown at the realization that Spike and Arkenstone had talked to Princess Celestia without asking her about it. Still, what was done was done.
Luna continued, apparently ignoring the slight agitation the facts she'd just revealed had caused Twilight. "Of course, my sister is not adverse to talking with you and is more than happy to listen to your troubles. She wouldn't be able to come to you directly for a while, as busy as she is and I don't think that you'd want to come back to Canterlot so soon."
Twilight nodded. Of course, she and Celestia could always speak through letters. But that would be a stilted, drawn-out conversation, even factoring in the fact that neither of them would have to worry about waiting for delivery, thanks to Spike's flame. But it would strain the poor dragon something awful to send and receive so many letters over such a short period of time. Spike would do it in a heartbeat of course, but Twilight didn't want to abuse her Number One Assistant's dedication like that.
"Thus, I volunteered to visit you in Tia's place, which I can fortunately do without leaving the comfort of my audience chamber," said Luna, her eyes glittering with amusement.
"I thought you couldn't hold an audience with a pony unless they were in your immediate vicinity," Twilight pointed out. After all, she'd had to come to Canterlot herself in order to speak with Luna like this before.
Luna shook her head. "To put it specifically, a pony must come to me if they seek an audience with me. However, I can seek out another pony in the dreamscape with perfect ease. The fact that your rest was troubled by your anxieties only made your presence all the more visible to me."
"I'm grateful," said Twilight, "But are you okay with taking time away from your duties to do this?"
"Who says I am neglecting my duties?" asked Luna with a sly smile, "I watch over the dreams of all my little ponies. Surely, I would do little good if I could only help them one at a time."
That made sense when Twilight considered it. Even if only a few ponies out of every thousand were having particularly troubled dreams that might require Princess Luna's intervention, the millions of ponies that made up Equestria would mean that there were hundreds, if not thousands who needed Princess Luna's attention every night. She certainly wouldn't get much done visiting each pony one at a time.
"That's amazing," said Twilight, "Princess Celestia sure can't be everywhere at once."
"Well..." said Luna, blushing from Twilight's praise, "It's not quite the same thing. The rules of the realm of dreams are different from those of the waking worlds, so I am not as limited in my options. It's nothing like omnipresence rather...it's more like..." Luna tilted her head and rolled her eyes upward in contemplation. "What is that word the hip modern ponies use...? Oh! That's right! I'm exceptionally good at multitasking...when I'm asleep, at least."
"I wish I could multitask in my sleep," said Twilight with a wry smile, prompting a giggle from Luna.
"Now then," said Luna, "Let us return to the subject at hoof. What has you so worried, Twilight Sparkle?"
Twilight sighed and turned to look at the tapestry of stars drifting around them. "Well...I had my meeting with Baron Elderflower today."
Luna nodded slowly. "Yes. Tia was quite worried about that. I trust that he did not try anything untoward."
Twilight shook her head vigorously. "No! Of course not! He wouldn't do anything that blatant. We had a nice, civilized discussion and tried to completely undermine each other's belief systems through reasonable argument."
Luna stared at Twilight with a blank expression. "That does not exactly sound like the definition of civilized conversation to me."
Twilight sighed. "For the nobility, that's what qualifies as civilized," she answered with an angry snort, "I had to be prepared to go blow for blow just to keep up."
"And...how did your...contest pan out?" asked Luna.
Twilight's ears drooped down. "I guess it was pretty much a draw," she said, "Neither of us conceded and neither of us left the table happy with the outcome either."
"It has always been said that the hallmark of a good compromise is that no one is happy with the result," mused Luna.
"Uh...that's not relevant," said Twilight, "We didn't compromise on anything. This was a philosophical slugfest where neither of us really got the upper hoof. So we've just retreated back to our corners for the next round."
"I rather like that metaphor," said Luna with an amused smile, "But I get the feeling that, in spite of your admission that it was a draw, that the Baron of Dream Valley got in some fairly substantial blows, as it were, over the course of your contest."
"You could say that," said Twilight.
"And what is it, exactly, that he said that vexes you so?" inquired Luna, leaning in closer.
"Well...Baron Elderflower researched the pasts of my friends and I," explained Twilight, "And he used that information to point out how we were all connected to each other before we even met, how our meeting was practically destiny."
Luna gave Twilight another blankly confused stare. "I am not certain that I understand how this is a blow to you," she said.
"It's just..." Twilight took a deep breath. "The Baron's philosophy is rooted in his belief that everypony has a predetermined purpose in life and that ponies straying from what their purpose is meant to be is placing Equestria in danger. He isn't just talking about cutie marks either. He believes that ponies roles are further predetermined by their tribes."
"That is...an incredibly archaic point of view," said Luna thoughtfully.
Twilight nodded her agreement. "Which explains why the plan he outlined to me was the first step to winding back the clock on the past few centuries of Equestrian social development.
"The point is that, to support his position, he used my friendships to show how my path has been determined by destiny. The Sonic Rainboom that Rainbow Dash performed was a catalyst that lead to the discovery of all of our cutie marks. Then we met in Ponyville and together we...gained the Elements of Harmony and defeated you as Nightmare Moon."
Twilight had been afraid that the reminder of her dark aspect would make Luna flinch. However, the alicorn merely nodded her agreement to Twilight's words.
"I remember when we all told the Cutie Mark Crusaders the stories of our cutie marks, how we came to realize the bond that we had." Twilight sniffed, her eyes tearing up. "I was so proud of it at the time. I even wrote a friendship report to Princess Celestia about it.
"But...now...What Elderflower said, what he insinuated...that our friendship was born from destiny, that we were meant to be together, that none of it was really by our choice, that we were just pieces in a puzzle being put in our proper places...
"I thought I'd understood the Elements of Harmony, what it was that allowed us to use them. But now..."
A hoof gently found its way beneath Twilight's chin and lifted her eyes to meet Luna's. That same hoof gently traced under Twilight's eyes, brushing away her tears as Luna smiled fondly down at her. "My dear little pony," she said, her voice as soft as the whisper of wind through the grass on a clear summer's night, "You are such a wonderful mare to think about such things."
"I don't..."
Luna's smile widened. "That Elderflower's words have caused you so much distress is a sign of how much you truly love and treasure your friends and the bond you hold with them. That is no mere construct of destiny."
"But...Isn't what Elderflower pointed out true?" asked Twilight.
"It is, somewhat," answered Luna, "And yet, you know that his argument is lacking somehow, that there is a deficiency in his reasoning. That is the real reason this conundrum troubles you so."
"But I can't figure out what it is," said Twilight, once again lowering her eyes as her mind ran through the question yet again, "It can't be that destiny is a false idea."
Luna let out a loud, bellowing laugh that echoed through the empty space around them. (Which should have been physically impossible since there should have been no objects for the sound to rebound off of, but Twilight forced herself to remember that this was a dream and conventional physics did not apply.) "Oh no," said Luna, "Destiny certainly does exist. I have known its power and felt its presence. It was destiny that led Tia and I to first stumble across the means to defeat Discord. Millennia later, you would discover those same means and use them to save me from myself. You met Tia by destiny, met your friends by destiny. However, Elderflower grossly overestimates destiny's importance."
"What do you mean?" asked Twilight.
"Let me pose it to you this way," said Luna, a merry twinkle in her eye, "What did you think when you first met the ponies who would become your closest friends?"
Twilight blinked. "Well..."
She paused when Luna held up a hoof. "When I ask, I mean, what was your first impression? This may be somewhat difficult, but I need you to strip away the layers of depth and insight added by hindsight and a greater understanding of who your friends really are. Set that all aside for a moment and give me the completely unvarnished first impression you had of each of them."
Twilight thought about her answers and...slowly looked away, feeling guilt and shame beginning to pile up in her gut.
Luna sighed. "Let me take this moment to remind you," she said, "that what is said betwixt us within the world of dreams remains in the world of dreams. Naught that you say and do here can follow you into the waking world by my actions. Remember, I have a geis that forbids me from using the knowledge I gain from the world of dreams in the world of the waking. What you say here stays here, even when next we speak again when we are both awake.
"Now...starting with the first pony you met, what did you think of them?"
"Well..." Twilight thought about it for a moment. Technically, the first pony she'd met had been Pinkie Pie. But that had been so brief it didn't really qualify as a meeting. So she went on to the next viable candidate.
"The first pony I really met was Applejack. When I met her, she was hosting a family reunion at her farm and preparing the food for the Summer Sun Celebration. When I met her I thought..." Twilight swallowed nervously. It was extremely difficult for her to imagine herself thinking of her friends this way after all that they had been through together. "I thought she was pushy, did way too much talking and not enough listening. She latched onto me and forced me to meet all of her family, even though I couldn't have cared less at the time. Then she basically force fed me a small feast of apple confections until I was almost too full to walk back to town. By the time Spike and I were done up at the farm, I just wanted to get away from her.
"Then I met Rainbow Dash. At first, I thought she was just a braggart, a pony who loved to talk big and show off. She was more interested in lazing about and fantasizing about the Wonderbolts than actually doing her job. Sure, once she got started, she did it ridiculously fast, but then she just had to rub it in...
"After that was Rarity. Just like Applejack, I thought she was way too pushy. She wouldn't let me get a word in edgewise and just dragged me back to her boutique and started planning to dress me up like I was some doll and not a pony. Even more annoying was the way that Spike completely latched onto her. I swear that crush of his was one of the biggest causes of my stress for a long time while I stayed in Ponyville. Ugh! We had to sneak away before Rarity wasted any more of my time on a game of dress-up.
"Fluttershy was next. When I first tried to talk to her, the first thought I had was that she was...weak. She couldn't even tell me her own name for Celestia's sake! I wasn't even trying to be intimidating. If anything, I was trying to be nice and avoid scaring her, but she acted like a damn coward anyway. The way she cringes when you've done absolutely nothing to deserve that behavior, slinking about like she's terrified of you even when you haven't tried to scare her...It makes you want to give her something to actually be afraid of. To make matters worse, then she noticed Spike and then I couldn't get her away from me. She tailed us all the way back to the library because she'd never seen a baby dragon before.
"And then there was Pinkie Pie. I...I just don't have the words to really describe her. I thought she was the worst. It was like important things like logic and reason didn't matter to her and she just did whatever she wanted. She went and shoved her welcome party down my throat even though the last thing I wanted to do at the moment was a party. I had important things to get done and she just wouldn't shut up about having fun and making friends!
"They, all of them, they absolutely drove me up the wall. They were nothing like me. They didn't understand me at all. Those ponies were completely crazy!"
Twilight finally settled down out of her rant, panting for breath. Digging up her memories of those first impressions had also allowed her to re-experience the all the anger and frustration the events themselves had caused. Those feelings had been unpleasantly vivid. Perhaps that vividness was due to the fact that Twilight was recalling those memories in the dreamscape.
She looked up hesitantly at Princess Luna, expecting an angry frown. After what she said, Twilight wouldn't have been surprised to see Luna being upset with her. However, when her eyes met Luna's, all she saw was calm acceptance, as though Luna didn't mind at all what Twilight had said.
"In other words," said Luna, "Your first impression of those five was that you wanted nothing to do with them. They were simply items to be crossed off your checklist so you could get back to what you really wanted to do."
Twilight sniffed and nodded. Luna strode forward and placed herself alongside Twilight. She spread a wing and laid down, the pressure from the appendage resting across Twilight's back forcing her to lay down too. Luna's wing curled inwards, pulling Twilight up against her side. For a moment, they simply lay there, Luna gently nuzzling Twilight's mane, as though she were a mother comforting her foal.
"You need not be ashamed," said Luna finally, "Because, in a way, that was the entire point of this exercise."
"What do you mean?"
"When you first met those five, you could not possibly imagine them being your friends at all. In fact, you could not imagine having friends at all, because you had far more important things to do than simply making friends."
Twilight's head sank, a blush of shame covering her features as Luna tittered lightly. "Tia told me a great deal about what you were like before you'd gone to Ponyville. I don't doubt that your first feelings regarding those five were echoed by them. They probably found you to be arrogant, condescending, and completely dismissive of the things that mattered so dearly to them."
Twilight shivered against Luna's side.
"And yet," continued Luna, "When I returned from the moon and you set out to stop me from bringing about Night Eternal, they came with you. They followed you into one of the most dangerous and treacherous places in all of Equestria, even though they didn't like you. And then, when you confronted me at the old palace, you recognized the things that drew you to them. You identified what bound you all together and affirmed those feelings within your heart. That is what allowed you to call forth the Elements of Harmony and use them to best me.
"Your meeting with the ponies that would become your friends may have been predestined. But the friendship that actually resulted was most certainly not. It may have been fate that you six met. However, it was your insight and your willingness to look beyond the flaws that stood out so starkly to you the first time you met them that allowed you to fully realize the bond between the six of you and what allowed you to wield the Elements. Destiny could not do that for you. Only you, Twilight Sparkle, could take that next, crucial step."
"What are you saying exactly?" asked Twilight.
Luna smiled. "That is how I understand destiny. It rarely works the way we think it does and almost never works the way we want it to, because it can only take us so far. Ponies like Elderflower want destiny to do all the work for them, to decide everypony's path through life so that they do not have to agonize over their own choices or doubt their own decisions. But, if you ask me, destiny cannot do that."
"Then what is it?" asked Twilight.
Luna laughed, much more quietly than last time, but a merrier sound. "Destiny is merely the starting line. It brought you and your friends together, but the rest was up to you. They could have easily chosen not to follow you into the Everfree Forest and merely looked to their own. You could have ignored the virtues that they showed through the challenges that you overcame and focused upon your own actions."
Twilight thought about Luna's words, turning them over in her head. She remembered the irritation she'd first felt about meeting those five. She then contrasted it to how her feelings had changed after everything they had faced together in their journey to acquire the Elements, a journey that had ended with Twilight not wanting to leave them. There had been no grand revelation, no magical switch that had been thrown that made her suddenly like those ponies. Even now, the faults that had been so glaring to her when she first met them still persisted. Applejack was still prone to being unbearably stubborn. Rainbow Dash was still something of a braggart and an attention hog. Rarity was needlessly overdramatic. Fluttershy was still far too retiring at times for Twilight's tastes. And Pinkie Pie...was still Pinkie Pie, completely unpredictable and illogical, a pony who frequently failed to understand that not everypony liked to have fun the same way that she did.
But, through her experiences, Twilight had come to understand what lay beneath those flaws, the things that had reached out and drawn her to them. Applejack was dependable and reliable when it really counted. Rainbow Dash never left a friend hanging, even if it meant losing the chance to advance towards her dreams. Rarity would drop everything in a heartbeat to work on a request for a friend. Fluttershy was endlessly caring, kind, and gentle. And Pinkie Pie...was still Pinkie Pie, utterly dedicated to making each day an experience new and fresh, always seeking to brighten the lives of others. They were her friends, the ponies she held closest to her heart, along with her family and coltfriend. They were her anchor of sanity, even if they were the cause of much of the opposite. She could no sooner consider breaking things off with them than she would tearing off one of her own limbs.
Luna was right. Their friendship had been born from their shared experiences, their willingness to look beyond one another's faults and embrace the things that made each of them different as something precious and special. Such a bond couldn't be attributed to a simple concept like destiny. It was brought about by understanding of each other, acknowledging one another's flaws and accepting each other as friends in spite of or even because of those very same traits.
"How do you feel now?" asked Princess Luna, smiling down at Twilight, who was now smiling back.
"Much better," said Twilight, "Thank you for your wise counsel, Princess."
"You are most welcome," said Luna, once again leaning down to nuzzle Twilight's mane, "When next you and the Baron come out of your respective corners, I suspect that you will have the edge over him."
"I'll give it my best," promised Twilight.
Luna nodded. "I shall take my leave of you now. I wish you pleasant dreams, Twilight Sparkle."
"Good night Princess Luna," said Twilight.
Luna's body once again dissolved into a mass of stars and swirled away. The stars around Twilight faded away into a warm darkness that enveloped her. Soon Twilight's dreams were filled with the warmth, affection, and colors of the ponies she held dear.
Twilight felt the sun's warmth across her face before her eyes opened and she saw the light streaming in through her library curtains. Reflexively, her mouth opened in a yawn and she stretched underneath the blankets over her bed. Given how troubled she'd been when she'd first gone to bed, she was amazed that she'd just woken up from one of the most restful sleeps she'd ever had the privilege of having. Maybe I should get more sleep counseling sessions from Princess Luna, she thought with a giggle.
Rolling out of bed, Twilight noted that she'd risen a little earlier than normal. That was fine. She spotted Spike, still curled up in his basket, snoring away. I'm going to have to get him a proper bed soon, she thought. The little dragon was getting larger quickly now. She estimated it wouldn't be long before he reached pony-size or bigger. She certainly hoped the predictions she'd made about his growth were accurate.
If her assessments of Spike's nature were correct, his growth was actually being guided by subtle and slow shapeshifting magic that would allow his body to better adapt to his surroundings. That meant that there was a likelihood that he wouldn't grow beyond a pony's size because that was the size best suited for living amongst ponies. If that was true, then all of her previous worries over what to do once Spike outgrew the library would be meaningless. It would be the best for Spike, given that he was now Apple Bloom's special somepony (Somedragon, Twilight amended). It would be much easier on their relationship if Spike remained in the same size-class as his fillyfriend.
Twilight decided to leave Spike alone for now. Just because she'd woken up early, there wasn't any reason that Spike had to as well. Besides, she had some things she could take care of on her own before her Number One Assistant woke up.
"So how does this work?" asked Dawn, eyeing his mother curiously. The two of them stood in the basement of Town Hall. Before them laid a trio of boxes about three-quarters the colt's size. They were just a few of the many boxes stored down in the basement. However, each one of this trio of boxes was marked with a border of green tape around the top of it.
"It's simple," replied Fluttershy with a smile, her silky pink locks bouncing slightly as she turned to look at her adopted son, "We just need to inspect the bells we're using for Winter Wrap-Up so that we can wake up all of our animal friends after their hibernation."
"That sounds rather easy," said Dawn, "Is there any particular reason that we need to do it so far ahead of time?" After all, Winter Wrap-Up was over a month away.
"If there are any problems, we may need to order new bells," said Fluttershy, "Twilight's always talking about how important it is to plan ahead for problems like that so that we aren't scrambling to do everything at the last minute."
"She would," said Dawn with a shrug and an amused smirk. He'd heard that, before Twilight's arrival, the ponies of Ponyville had rarely, if ever gotten spring to come on time. Once Twilight Sparkle had taken the reins of Winter Wrap-Up, she'd managed to change things around so that spring now arrived on time routinely.
Given how much Twilight valued proper preparation and pre-planning, it only made sense that she was also behind the little aspects of the work, such as the errand he and Fluttershy were running now.
As his mother opened the first of the boxes, Dawn was surprised to note that the bells were all different shapes and sizes...well, not all of them. But there was a surprising variety. "So many different ones," he said.
Fluttershy nodded. "The important thing is to wake up all the animals gently and considerately. But many animals have different ranges of hearing, so a snake might react differently to a particular sound than a bear. We have to check and make sure that they're all in working order."
Dawn frowned as he looked down at the bells. "How do we do that?" he said, "I remember you telling me that some of the sounds certain animals respond to are out of the range of equine hearing. Can we actually test the sound of something we can't hear?"
"We don't need to worry about that," said Fluttershy, her wing dipping into a saddlebag and pulling out a crystal of the same lavender color as Twilight's coat, "Twilight made this for us to test the bells with. you just ring the bell by the crystal. If the tone is correct, then the crystal turns blue. If it's wrong, then the crystal will turn red and the bell will have to be fixed. Luckily, Miss Vinyl Scratch is good at that sort of thing."
"And how does it know which bells are supposed to make which sounds?" asked Dawn.
"Magic."
"Oh..." Dawn decided to leave it at that. When it came down to magic, he tended to believe that he was better off assuming that Twilight knew what she was talking about. Fluttershy had evidently performed this task before, so it was at least fairly reliable. Dawn also noted, perhaps with a certain degree of cynicism, that Twilight seemed to be making use of a loophole in the rules that forbade the use of most kinds of unicorn magic to assist in Winter Wrap-Up.
During the time he'd spent traveling with his Master, Dawn had seen similar events in other towns they had passed through during the transition between winter and spring. It appeared to be a common fixture in many towns where unicorns were a minority of the population, particularly agricultural communities, like Ponyville. In all of those communities, it had been the same. Unicorn magic was mostly forbidden. Dawn had always been curious as to why.
Maybe Arkenstone would know the particulars, he thought, resolving to put the question to the Knight at the next opportunity. However, that would come later. Right now, what was important was helping his mother with her task. Together, the two of them began to sort the bells, separating them out according to which animal they were supposed to awaken, so that each group could be tested efficiently.
The work was pleasant and Dawn was more than happy for the opportunity to spend time with his mother. Ever since he'd gotten his job at the teahouse, he'd begun to spend less and less time with her and more with his friends. Dawn supposed that it was the norm for ponies his age. But he'd gone so long without a real parental figure in his life that he felt that every moment he got to spend in Fluttershy's company was something to be cherished.
So he worked and listened as Fluttershy cheerfully explained about which bells woke what animals, sometimes listing various interesting facts about them. He marked it as a day well spent.
“How're ya doin' kid?" asked the mare as she grinned down at Sweetie Belle, a twinkle in her magenta eyes.
Sweetie's pink and purple mane bobbed up and down as she jumped excitedly. "I'm doing great, Miss Scratch," she chirped back, her own pale-green eyes sparkling as she gazed up at the mare in front of her.
The mare and the filly shared the same white coat, but that was where the resemblance ended. Vinyl Scratch's mane was a tousled electric-blue mess that ended in uneven spikes that draped down the sides of her neck. Her tail, both similarly colored and unkempt, kept twitching back and forth to some soundless rhythm that seemed to exist only in the back of Vinyl's mind. Her flank was decorated by a cutie mark in the form of a pair of eighth notes. Her face was practically glowing with energy and enthusiasm as she grinned down at her young protege.
In contrast, Sweetie Belle's own mane and tail were much more well kept, having been curled into something something similar to her elder sister's style. At present, her flank was still quite blank, a fact that had caused no end of frustration to the filly, seeing as she was one of the last of her immediate circle of friends to obtain her cutie mark. Still, that frustration took a backseat to her enthusiasm as she grinned back up at Vinyl with a smile that simultaneously contained all the innocence that a foal could convey, along with the potential for mischief that had always made the Cutie Mark Crusaders a name that caused fear and dread in equal parts with the amusement it inspired in those who heard it.
"Ready to get started again?" asked Vinyl, already turning around to lead the filly into her house.
Not bothering with a verbal response, Sweetie merely nodded eagerly and pranced in after her new mentor. While she had been in Canterlot with her friends and family for the Hearth's Warming holiday, a certain cellist had suggested to Sweetie that she seek Vinyl's instruction when she got back to Ponyville.
Given that Vinyl Scratch was better known to Ponyville and Equestria at large as DJ-Pon3, Sweetie hadn't exactly expected a warm or enthusiastic welcome. Celebrities who might relish attention while on stage tended to react less positively to such attention when they were simply trying to live their lives. Sweetie had very much doubted that Vinyl would be excited at the prospect of having a novice filly underhoof during times when she wasn't working.
So it was something of a surprise to Sweetie when she found out that her initial expectations had been very wrong. It had taken all of a few seconds for Vinyl to warm up to her and, once Octavia's name came up, she'd immediately agreed to teach Sweetie the rare form of magic that she practiced. Not that Sweetie had taken Octavia's word alone on Vinyl's qualifications. She had also asked Twilight about Vinyl. To her surprise, Sweetie learned from Twilight that, aside from being a successful DJ, Vinyl had also graduated from the Equestrian Academy of Arts and Sciences with a degree in sono-thaumaturgy.
"Okay then," said Vinyl, leading Sweetie into her house. She led Sweetie into her studio, where a seat and a stand were waiting. Sitting on the stand was a piece of simple sheet music. Once Sweetie was in place, Vinyl stood back, still grinning. "Okay kiddo, start tuning up."
Sweetie nodded and ran through her warm-up exercises, which consisted of producing a full scale of notes with her magic. She started low and worked her way up to the highest notes on the scale before working her way back down to the low ones. Vinyl had been impressed by both Sweetie's range and accuracy, suggesting that the filly might actually be capable of accurately producing notes in the infrasonic and ultrasonic ranges in addition to those in the normal range of pony hearing.
Next, she and Vinyl worked their way through some simple sheet music, with Sweetie reproducing the notes with her magic. They were basic pieces, considering that Sweetie was only just starting to learn how to read notes, but she was learning fast. The two of them experimented with some rhythms and different sounds. Sweetie also practiced producing more than one sound from her horn at a time. She even practiced singing at the same time she used her horn to produce notes. The results were often nothing short of amazing to the filly and she was shocked whenever Vinyl would play back the brief recordings she made of some of their sessions.
Once the lesson wound down, Vinyl and Sweetie adjourned to Vinyl's living room, where Vinyl put out tea for them. It surprised Sweetie to see that Vinyl even owned a tea set, much less the charming white porcelain one decorated with pink flowers growing from green vines. It seemed very out of place with the somewhat untidy image that Vinyl herself presented, especially on stage. Admittedly, Sweetie hadn't had much experience with Vinyl's stage persona. Many of Vinyl's "gigs," as the mare referred to them, were held at venues that Sweetie wasn't quite old enough to enter yet. Thus, she was limited to the few larger public performances that Vinyl was occasionally invited to do. However, there was no question that the image of Vinyl on stage, laughing, yelling, bobbing, dancing, and working her sets was a very different image from the calm, relaxed mare sipping tea in front of her.
"Why are you so different on stage?" asked Sweetie, a bit nervous, wondering if she was traversing on territory too personal for discussion.
Vinyl shrugged. "Well, a mare on stage has gotta maintain a certain image if she wants to hold her audience. But, the truth is, I sorta feel like a different pony on stage. Standing up there, in front of the crowd, feeling their excitement, it just makes the blood start buzzing in my veins and I get into the groove."
"Oh," said Sweetie, her ears going back slightly as she tried to picture herself up on the stage like she had seen Vinyl doing. Instead of exciting her, the image of countless ponies staring up at her, watching her every movement, taking in everything that she said or did, made her skin crawl.
Vinyl seemed to notice this and gave Sweetie a small smile. "It's not for everypony, I know. You probably aren’t the sort to go up there and knock their socks off with the power of rock."
"I...I guess," admitted Sweetie, "B-but what's the point of me learning this then?"
Vinyl shrugged, as though this very important question was actually rather minor. "You have a knack for it, that's for sure. You have a really good ear for music and I can see you going far at the Academy. Both Octavia and I went there, though we were in different years and different fields. I'll have you know that I hardly had any recitals or practical demonstrations."
Sweetie cocked her head slightly to the side. "Huh? Why?"
"'Cause what I was doing were a lot of advanced theoretical courses; lots of experimenting with sound and magic. That's what sono-thaumaturgy's about after all, using music as the basis for the structure of magic and its properties."
"But why did you become a DJ then?" asked Sweetie. It sounded like Vinyl had more in common with a scientist like Twilight Sparkle than an artist like Octavia or Sweetie's own sister.
"'Cause I thought that was the best way to put what I'd learned to use," said Vinyl, rising to her hooves, grinning widely, "It's the ultimate frontier, the crossroads between science and art, studying the impact of music and how it affects the pony who hears it, how certain sounds produce certain reactions and learning to put all those together into a symphony of sensation! When you understand it, you have the power to make ponies dance in joy, you can make them laugh until their guts ache, or you make them sob like babies! It's the ultimate combination of causation and creativity, ever changing, ever expanding, always overflowing with unlimited possibilities! That is the power of music!"
Vinyl froze, one hoof pointing to the ceiling, her eyes wide as she panted slightly after her extended diatribe, only to realize that Sweetie was now staring at her like she'd grown another head. "Sorry," said Vinyl, settling back into her seat and taking another sip from her tea to calm herself down, "I get kinda carried away sometimes."
"I'm used to it," said Sweetie with a small shrug. She'd borne witness to similar outbursts from her own sister after all. What was more, she felt like Vinyl's words had ignited a spark of...something...inside of her. Her mind, instead of turning to the vision of herself on the stage, instead conjured images of Sweetie making new discoveries of her own, blazing new paths with music and the way it interacted with the hearts of minds of ponies. Those images made her pulse quicken.
Vinyl couldn't help but grin, as though she could see that faint spark in Sweetie's eyes. "You're worried about performing, but that's only one thing you can do with music," she said, "That's just how almost everypony tends to think about it because the musicians your average pony is going to know about are performers. We put our talent and skills front and center for everypony to see, so that's what they think about when they think about musicians.
"But for every performer, there's maybe half a dozen other musicians that nopony knows about. Take my friend, Buzz Skill. He's the guy who built the equipment I use in most of my performances." Vinyl jerked her head in the direction of the music room, where her turntable set and its associated speakers rested. "He and I worked together to build that beauty. It took a lot of work with applied magitech and other sciences to put that together. But we couldn't accomplish that if he wasn't almost as much of a musician as I was. The same goes for the ponies who make the other instruments we use. They're all as much musicians as we are, in their own way."
"Wow," gasped Sweetie Belle, "I had no idea there was so much you could do with that."
Vinyl nodded. "Yeah. There's a whole world of possibilities out there. You have a gift. It's just a matter of finding out what you want to do with it. That's the reason I'd like to have you learn about producing infrasonic and ultrasonic sounds."
"But I thought ponies couldn't hear those sounds," Sweetie pointed out.
"Oh we can hear them," replied Vinyl, "It's just that we can't hear them the same way we hear normal, audible sounds. They can still produce a reaction from the pony that hears them and they can have all sorts of interesting effects, depending on what sounds or what combination of sounds you might be using."
"Oh," said Sweetie, her mind already trying to come up with possibilities, though she didn't know enough to really figure what such sounds might be capable of
"We'll think of something," said Vinyl, "But not until you really have the basics down."
Sweetie nodded, looking forward to her next lessons under Vinyl.
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Beyond some typos this one has the same greatness as the other ones. This is such a great series. It is always worth the wait for your stories.
damn. another great read. i will never say that i waste time reading your work. to me, it is time well spent
This reminds me of the Cutie Mark story Red River told the CMC when they asked him how he got his... all a compass and a starting line, and thus choice is the ultimate factor in life
I like to know the ban because frankly Ponyville's winter wrap up wouldn't have been late all those years if unicorns could use their magic.
I'm so glad that Vinyl is in this story. You have combined my favourite pon3 with my favourite series
I have to admit Luna's explanation of Destiny is one of the best ones I have ever heard of anywhere. Very well done and I loved it. And I believe that your representation of Vinyl is a lovely spin on her away from being constantly party hard type of mare. I loved this chapter and I cant wait for tomorrows!
I fully support epic Rarity.
You actually can learn to trigger Lucid Dreams (dreams where you are aware that your dreaming) every time you sleep. I can almost do it but I still have trouble with waking up when awareness is triggered.
You know. Now I want to see Sweetie Bell beat Terra Heart.
Using the power of emotional tones and resonance, she will make him feel how important Dawn is to all of them
. (And getting her cutie mark in the process
)
Now I'm imagining rarity in full body armor, waving a battle ax with her magic
OMWHP!
LUNA CAN SPLIT HER PERSONALITY!
Replace Baron Elderflower with:
A delusional idiot who comes up with semi-logical arguments, but says them in such a condescending way that after winning an argument will be deemed a delusional, idiotic jackass who doesn't deserve to live, but we'll keep around for laughs.
And this obviously has nothing to do with the fact that he is delusional as fuck.
And not the good kind.
thewhineseller.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/PirateCode.jpg
Same thing for Destiny!
It's to remind the unicorns that in the end, they're the same as everypony else.
Sadly... Canterlot doesn't have much in the way of spring? Maybe that's why they have a jackass, err, excuse me, Noble problem there.
Vinyl Scratch has controlled split personality.
Now that I think of it, everypony has a split personality!
Vinyl Scratch is a mad scientist!
Yup, that's pretty much what I thought about destiny and said as much in my long-ish rant earlier - it may provide you with specific opportunities, but it's up to you and only you to actually reach out, grab them and make anything of them. It's opportunity and potential, but without active effort on your part, that's all it will ever be.
It was nice to see Luna again considering how little "screentime" the Princesses have, and having her play the role of counselor. Though I'm not necessarily sure Twilight will get to use her newfound confidence in a debate with Elderflower - she certainly isn't going to seek him out in order to continue their discussion, and given how things went the first time around, I very much doubt the baron will either - I expect him to turn to "alternate" means for the purpose of influencing Twilight now. Means like Coco - after all, that's the reason he arranged for her to stay in Ponyville.
And I'm looking towards how you will explain the "no unicorn magic" thing during Winter Wrap-Up - because that always struck me as odd in the show, so I'm interested to see what you will do with it. Because, ironically enough, for all that the fandom often likes to portray unicorns as racial supremacists, in-show it's actually only Earth Ponies (or at least Ponyville) who practice traditions that could legitimately be classified as being racist.
Yeesh, that was kind of depressing when she was remembering her thoughts about first meeting her friends. Or at least some kind of feeling. Like damn. Talk about looking back at yourself. Though can't tell if it's how she really felt or it's like the more she thought about or got into it, the more she got angry. That sure happens a lot to me. Regardless, at least that's not the case anymore.
Rarity doing something epic... I'm going to say it has to do with Coco and Baron. Maybe.
And just waiting to see that favor being called in by Baron. Because yeah, that's going to prove he's nothing like his fellow nobles. Though, curious how his partnership with the other noble is going to play out.
Sweetie Belle learning infra-and ultra-sonic sounds?
Sounds only other animals can really 'hear'?
After a conversation between Fluttershy and Dawn about wakeup bells?
...Winter Wrap Up is about to be epic, isn't it?
with a degree in sono-thaumaturgy.
I can't help but think this part was inspired by the 'ask Canterlot musicians' tumblr, seeing as that's the current part of the storyline there.
Well... DT and SS better look out, or SB will use the 'brown note' on them!
so much to think about in this chapter.
and this is the kind of chapter you just want to stop and think about.
Harts Fire
After reading all previous 6 stories, and the 4 chapters of this one over the course of just a few days... I must say... I enjoy your work, you've cost me many hours of sleep, yet I have no regrets. I'd like to see more progress on Twilight's training and any actual results... seems like she's coming close to Still Way understanding without any real attempt at it, but maybe not. I wonder if end of Season 3 events will ever take place, plus there's Cadence's ascension, I'd expect the Noble Court would have gone utterly insane over that.
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I heartily agree that I would like to see results of Twilight's training at some point in the near future, but what I like so far is that Twilight has not expressed any interest in personally learning the Still Way - given what we know of it, it would be a very not-Twilight thing to do.
After all, Still Way is a discipline of abandoning conscious thought and "going with the flow", so to speak, passing from one moment to the next without pondering and just going by what feels right and natural. And that's very much not Twilight - thinking is what she does, it's one of the deepest and most defining features of how her mind and personality work and one of her greatest strengths.
Trying to mold Twilight for the Still Way would feel very much like trying to hammer a square peg into a round hole - it's not meant to fit and would just look awkward and wrong as the result. For Twilight, there is no additional strength to be found in the Still Way, it's like the very anathema of her person.
Really? You really used this phrase, and on the most well-read and pedantic pony? The phrase "could care less" means that you are able to care about something less than you do now, which would imply that you do care somewhat. Some don't care about the difference, but I doubt obsessive-compulsive Twilight would be one of them. The correct phrase is "could not care less" or "couldn't care less".
You need to get rid of that line break. Also, I'd like to point out that Luna was able to do just that with Sweetie Belle in one episode. That's a possible plot hole there. However, that takes episode is in Season 4, and I don't know if you ignore post-Season 2 stuff or if the events simply haven't happened yet.
"Way" should be "away".
"with a degree in sono-thaumaturgy".
5785186 - I thought this variant of Still Way was more about becoming one with magic? That sounds like a very Twilight thing. She's a bit more analytical than most, but she's very attuned to magic. I always assumed her 'rage shift' which has been alluded to in fic was something more in line with Still Way practices. Sunset's magic seems somewhat similar.
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From what I remember of how it was described in the previous installments of this story, a major part of Still Way indeed is the abandonment of conscious thought and going with the flow, so to speak - this part doesn't sound like Twilight at all.
Twilight indeed seems very attuned to magic (her ability to simply look at a spell being used by another and then almost immediately replicate it seems almost one-of-a-kind), but I'm not sure if that would help her with attaining the state of mind needed for Still Way.
It's not all bad though - it's not like the Still Way is the be-all, end-all of magical expertise. I don't believe it's strictly better in all ways than "regular" casting, just offers some unique ways of applying your magic (at the cost of losing your previously known spells - as was noted, once you go Still Way, you can no longer perform "normal" magic).
Just like Mountain Root isn't necessarily the pinnacle of Earth Pony magic, for example - Arkenstone abandoned it after all in favor for his own custom style, simply because he stumbled upon one that suited him better. Same with the Still Way - they are powerful techniques no doubt, but it's the practitioner itself that makes them work, not the technique that makes the practitioner. And some ponies are better off forging their own path, rather than trying to conform to something they aren't comfortable with.
Much like how Mountain Root wasn't the best way for Arkenstone to become the strongest he personally can be, same can probably be said for Twilight - that Still Way isn't the answer if she wants to reach her own pinnacle, and that by going about it her own way she will eventually become stronger and more comfortable than she could ever be by trying to squeeze herself into Still Way's mold.
Wow. The exposition trains really are hitting us full-force, aren't they?
Good thing I'm strong enough not to be affected
Sweetie belle used Brown Note. Sorry, ultrasonics and subsonics, that's the first thing I thought of.
I can't wait to see what you do with Sweets. You usually have a way of taking Special Talents, and various skills and making them extraordinary. And while I hope she isn't going to go the cliche'd singers route. With what you're setting up, with a pony that's a mash up of Rares whom Sweets admires, and Twilight that Sweets connects with on the show. As her teacher.
This should be interesting. And yeah, Infrasonic / Ultrasonic can do so much (scientifically shown). From increasing intelligence / brain processing power. Causing hallucinations. Triggering various neurological events. Even being a huge trigger for emotional reactions. When Sweets hits the Infra and Ultrasonic ranges. She's going to have some super epic spells and tricks up her sleeves.
And with what you've done with 99.95% of the story so far. I'm certain that she's going to be epic.
I said it before and I shall say it again now, TEA! Why does everyone drink tea XD Are there no other drinks left in ponyville anymore? Perhaps it is all part of Arkenstones secret plot to overthrow equestria with His teahouse. Yes, soon we shall see him revealed as the true secret villain all along.
Okay, goofy rant about tea out of the way... that diatribe about music was... Something I was starting to believe I was the only person who understood. There is SO MUCH to music that is just beyond us, Beyond even musicians who create it. And it's amazing.
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What's wrong with tea? When brewed right, it's actually pretty decent.
It also happens to have a far wider range of tastes than what coffee or cider do.
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7263413
Well there are 3,000 different types of tea in the world, and that's not counting herbal infusions. Which ups the number quite significantly.
And tea drinking is quite common place in canon and fanon. So I guess it was a pretty simple leap to make ponies super-british when it came to their drink of choice.
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But when it's brewed wrong, or you get a substandard batch, or a batch that wasn't packed right so it aged (and wasn't Pu-erh, thus loosing taste, and potency). Then you're left with something worse than swill.
But yes, Tea is more varied than coffee and cider. But that's mostly do to the many different cultivars of tea that exist, as well as ways those cultivars can be prepared / served ^_^.
The part with Luna and Twilight really works for me. I believe certain things, the Big Picture stuff, is predetermined in our lives, but the small day to say stuff is our own choices. And that being Destined for certain things doesn't make you a robot blindly following your programming. Your choices help lead down the Destined path, but whether it goes smoothly or in another direction albeit ending up at the same goal is up to you. If that makes sense.
Twilight and the other girls didn't automatically become BFFs at the end of the first episode. It took severalepisodes for them to find a rhythm with each other to become super tight friends thru thick and thin. The best example I can think of is the episode "Look Before You Sleep". It clearly shows that Rarity and Applejack knew each other pretty well before Twilight moved to Ponyville, but they were not friends and probably never would be if Twilight and Nightmare Moon hadn't happened. And I bet Fluttershy would never have been friends with anyone outside of Rainbow Dash if, again, Twilight and Nightmare Moon. And even then, her relationship with Rainbow Dash was either acquaintance or childhood friend depending on your headcanon.
Point is, You're fine Twilight and don't worry about Destiny. It doesn't mean what Elderflower means and you're getting the better end of the Destiny deal.
3rd time reading this series and somehow I have never noticed before how much Luna's explanation of Twilight and the rest of the mane 6 destiny supports Elderflowers side of the argument.
Luna's point is that Twilight became friends with the others because she chose too, yet everything Twilight says shows that it was more destiny then her. By Twilight's own words she disliked the girls and didn't want to spend time with them. It was only because of a shared traumatic experience that they became friends. A traumatic experience they survived because they happened to have someone with skills very well suited to handle the obstacles put in their way.
On top of that is pointing out just how OOC (in the show not this series) it was for Fluttershy (and to a slightly lesser extent Rarity) to be willing to go into the Everfree forest to look for the Elements of Harmony while something as scary and dangerous as Nightmare moon was around, but destiny needed her there to get the EoH to function.
Also remember that the Elements of Harmony are supposed to work based on the friendship of the ponies wielding them. The girls hardly knew each other yet somehow were good enough friends to use the most powerful magic there is. It all comes back to it being destiny for them to do so many of these things.
The following episodes clearly show that the girls didn't spend much if any time together before NNM and it was only because Twilight worked so hard so resolve their interpersonal problems they remained friends. Which leads to the fact that Twilight worked so hard, at least subconsciously, because Celestia had 'assigned' her to learn about friendship. Given Twilight's personality she would likely not have remained friends for long without that push from Celestia.
Or maybe I just don't 'get it' and it makes perfect sense to other people.
PS. I don't agree with Elderflower's views on how Equestria should be governed, elected leaders might have some problems but nothing compared to the ass-hattery that comes with leadership by birthright.
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In a way. We see in the show that Cutie Mark Destiny does have a magical effect on a ponies life. To the point that stripping them of that Cutie Mark actually stands to weaken them to degrees way beneath what could be attributed to simply loosing a proficiency in a skill.
And we see that if the Rainboom never happened, Equestria would be doomed.
But on the other hoof. Destiny set things up for Twilight and the others, a nudge as Luna stated. But there were plenty of times that, that success was a near miss (such as when Twilight needed to get the Crystal Heart. Things were set up for Cadance to get the heart, but if Twilight didn't bring Spike along, or didn't send the heart to him. She would've failed.).
But in a way. Elderflower was also wrong. We see plenty of times in the show that races can transcend the archiac pigeonholes of pre-Equestria. Earth Ponies can be good at governance; Pegasi can be good with animals; you even have Unicorns capable of cultivating the land / protection. Destiny, while a thing, never is as clear cut as he wants it to be.
Wait wait wait...she's gonna learn the brown note isn't she?