Academy

by Terrasora

Chapter 2

The Academy, the Princess' notes had said, was in a rather strange relationship with the rest of Equestria. It was surrounded by wards and illusions meant too keep any wanderers, pony or otherwise from walking in of their own accord. The only reliable way to get onto or off of campus was through the Looking Glass system. There was a Looking Glass in nearly every train station in Equestria, each one reflecting into the Academy's Hall of Mirrors. As long as a student could find a pony capable of and permitted to reflect them through a Looking Glass, they were free to travel anywhere they desired.

The Hall of Mirrors itself, as Twilight found, was an immense round room with dozens of mirrors identical to the one in Ponyville Station set up in rows. These mirrors periodically glowed, a different colored glow for every mirror, signaling the arrival of another student.

Twilight noticed all of this in passing, preoccupied as she was with the room itself. The Hall of Mirrors practically hummed with magic, the force of it all nearly knocking Twilight off of her hooves. The Academy's admission pamphlet had touted their magical studies and the Princess' notes had mentioned them in an effort to calm her student's anger; Twilight thought that they were merely playing themselves up. But she had never felt a ley line like this.

"Twilight?"

Twilight jumped. She'd forgotten about Rarity almost before they'd left Ponyville Station, preoccupied as she was by the stallion and the Looking Glass. And now Twilight had lost her chance to lose her companion. Joy.

"I'm so glad you waited for me, dear," Rarity said. "I have a terrible sense of direction and I've heard that the Academy is absolutely immense. Do you have any idea how to get to the orientation hall?"

"Pamphlet has a map," Twilight muttered.

"Does it? Then I'll have to trust you to lead the way; my pamphlet is rather buried at the moment." Rarity glanced meaningfully at her luggage.

Twilight sighed, her head still buzzing slightly and less than capable of finding a way out of this situation. "Okay." She reached into a suitcase, drawing out the pamphlet and folding out its map. She held it in her magic, trying to get her bearings.

Rarity, meanwhile, was engaging in a bit of pony-watching. It was still very early in the day, so there weren't many ponies filtering in, but there were still quite enough to occupy her time. A pair of earth ponies walked passed, wide-eyed and staring at their surroundings. They would be from a small town. Perhaps smaller than Ponyville. Were there any towns smaller than Ponyville? She should ask them about it. There, a pegasus stepped out of the portal, not taking three steps before taking to the air, her yellow mane little more than a blur as she careened out of the Hall of Mirrors. From Las Pegasus, then. Rarity wasn't too acquainted with pegasi outside of Ponyville, but she liked to imagine that a pony from a city in the clouds like Cloudsdale would carry themselves more properly. Was Twilight still looking at that map? She was. How strange that she could sit there staring at a piece of paper. She did have fantastic posture, though. Very regal. Rarity, on the other hoof, felt fantastic, as though she could run a marathon. Not that she would ever put herself through that kind of torture. But it was the thought that counted.

Rarity's eyes brightened as they fell on a group of unicorns with a fantastic sense of style, if looking a bit frazzled. Canterlot, no doubt. Frazzled by the teams of reporters trying to find the Princess' student. It wasn't one of them, though. They lacked the aura of someone raised by royalty. Rarity was sure that she'd be able to pick the Princess' student out of a crowd of hundreds of other unicorns.

Twilight clicked her hooves against the polished floor, and Rarity turned towards her newest friend.

"This way," Twilight said, gesturing towards the door the pegasus had flown through.

Rarity nodded, taking her luggage in her magic. "Lead on."

Twilight did, floating her map in front of her as she stepped out of the Hall of Mirrors and onto the campus. The buzz of magic diminished slightly, still present in Twilight's mind, but no longer painful. They were outside now, walking along a single cobbled path among a sea of grass, the sun steadily climbing upwards.

"Twilight, may I ask you a question?" Rarity asked.

Twilight arched an eyebrow, her eyes focused on the map.

"Why were you so disbelieving of the stallion at Ponyville Station?"

"He was holding open a Looking Glass portal on his own," Twilight explained.

Rarity waited for further explanation.

None came.

"Right," Rarity said. "I'm aware of that. Is it really so surprising? Teleportation is not unheard of."

Twilight stood a bit straighter. "Teleportation and the creation of portals, while ostensibly similar branches of magic, are entirely different matters. Yes, they are both magical forms of transportation, but they go about it in fundamentally different ways."

"Really?" Rarity asked.

Twilight nodded. "Teleportation isn't instantaneous, it's a process by which an object is converted into magic and transported to a location, where it reforms. Portals forcefully bend space, forcing two entirely separate locations to join together."

"Ah, I see," Rarity said unconvincingly.

"To use an analogy, imagine that you wanted to make a rock touch a mountain. You could use teleportation and toss the rock at the mountain, or you could use a portal and move the mountain towards the rock."

"That sounds impossible."

"It isn't if you can gather a group of powerful unicorns or tap in an area's ley lines. I think most any unicorn could tap into the ley lines at the Hall of Mirrors and open a Looking Glass. Assuming, of course, they're willing to risk spontaneously erupting into flame from the magical rebound."

Rarity, who had been rather interested in Looking Glasses until that moment, decided not to ever make direct contact with one.

"And yet," Twilight continued, "that stallion held open a Looking Glass from Ponyville Station and cast magic on top of that! There's no substantial ley lines within five miles of that place! It defies logic!"

"How incredible. Where did you learn all of that, Twilight?"

Twilight Sparkle felt herself deflate. Curse her lecturing tendencies. "In my studies," she mumbled.

"It's fascinating."

Twilight nodded and shifted her attention back to the map.

***

The orientation hall was in Pansy Student Center, a rather expansive building standing roughly in the center of the Academy. The lower floors housed various restaurants, a well-stocked grocery store which, despite the early hour, was already open, and a common area painted in calming colors and full of comfortable-looking chairs. The upper floors housed offices for some student organizations and larger meeting rooms, one of which had been appropriated for the orientation.

Rarity, unwilling and unable to carry her luggage to the upper floors, stayed in the Pansy Student Center's first floor, in a rather comfortable common room, leaving Twilight to trek up two flights of stairs. The pastel colors of the lower floors faded to neutral gray and beige tones.

Twilight followed the many signs guiding new students to the orientation hall, eventually finding her way into a large and mostly empty room. A long table had been set up on one side of the room. There were only two ponies standing behind the table, both of them wearing matching white vests, the same color as the jacket the stallion in Ponyville Station had worn. One of them, a light blue pegasus with a multi-colored mane, was snoring softly, her head rested on a pile of official-looking papers. The other, an orange earth pony, her yellow mane largely hidden under a stetson hat, smiled warmly as Twilight walked hesitantly into the room.

"Morning," the earth pony said in a pleasant accent Twilight had never heard in Canterlot. "New student?"

Twilight nodded.

"And what's your name, sugarcube?"

"Twilight Sparkle," replied Twilight Sparkle.

"Nice to meet you Twilight, I'm Applejack." She turned towards a large box of files, flipping through the names. "And snoring beauty over there is Rainbow Dash. No need to worry yourself over her, though."

Rainbow Dash gave a particularly loud snore in place of a greeting.

"Huh." Applejack tugged at her hat. "I can't find your file here. Twilight Sparkle, right? What city are you from?"

"Manehattan."

"Manehattan," Applejack muttered, going through the files again. "Twilight Sparkle..."

"She won't be there, Applejack," said a voice from the doorway. The stallion from the station walked into the orientation hall. "I have her file."

Applejack knit her brow. "Now Professor Pen, you know that that just makes my job harder."

Professor Pen chuckled. "She's one of my newest advisees! Forgive me for being curious." He turned towards Twilight. "It's good to see you again, Twilight Sparkle. Am I still a monster?"

Twilight didn't respond. Portals bend space. Sound travels through space. She'd called him a monster while standing right next to the Looking Glass. Stupid genius unicorn, stupid!

"Professor Pen, you're scaring the poor thing!" Applejack exclaimed. "Don't you worry about him, he likes acting all scary, but he's a real softy. He was my advisor first year too! And Rainbow's. Ain't that right, Rainbow?" She punctuated her question by jamming a hoof into Rainbow Dash's side.

The pegasus woke with a start, an official-looking paper stuck to her cheek. She looked around the room, blinking slowly. "We finished?"

"We haven't even started, feather brain," said Applejack.

Rainbow Dash yawned, unsticking the paper from her cheek. "Then wake me up when it's over."

"Fill out the paper before you head to sleep, Rainbow. Twilight Sparkle from Manehattan."

"Yeah, yeah."

"No need," Professor Pen interjected. "I've handled the paperwork for Twilight Sparkle, Rarity, and Pinkamena Diane Pie."

Applejack's eyes widened. "Rarity and Pinkie Pie? No kiddin'!"

"Yes," answered Professor Pen. "Twilight Sparkle came in from Ponyville as well."

Applejack's wide-eyed stare shifted to Twilight. "No kiddin'!"

Twilight mumbled something about just visiting the town.

"So I can go back to sleep, right?" Rainbow asked.

However, the orientation hall had begun to slowly fill up with other first year students. Applejack gave a hurried goodbye to Twilight and the professor as Rainbow Dash struggled to keep her eyes awake long enough to write on the piece of paper.

"May I speak to you for a moment, Twilight Sparkle?" asked Professor Pen, leading the way out of the orientation hall.

Twilight didn't respond, but followed as Professor Pen turned a corner and stepped into a quieter hallway.

"I'd just like to formally introduce myself," Professor Pen said with a smile. "I am Pen Umbra, a professor here at the Academy, teaching in multiple departments. My focus, however, is Magic."

Twilight raised an eyebrow.

"That's hardly important, however; I doubt you'll take one of my official classes this year. What's important is that I am serving as your advisor this year, so I hope that we can get along."

"Likewise."

"I'm glad to hear that," answered Pen Umbra, smiling. "Now, this goes without saying, but don't tell anypony that you're the Princess' protégé. There are five other students in our advisory; if you must confide in somepony, confide in Fluttershy, she wouldn't tell a soul."

Twilight struggled to keep a passive face. "How did you know that?"

"It's rather obvious. Fluttershy is, surprisingly, very shy." Professor Pen chuckled.

Twilight didn't.

Pen pulled a face, awkwardly clearing his throat. "But of course you meant the whole 'secretly learning from the single most powerful pony currently on this planet' thing. I am proud to say that I am in Princess Celestia's good graces. We are dear friends."

"I've never heard her talk about you."

Professor Pen winced. "You wound me, Twilight Sparkle. But the fact remains."

"Okay."

Pen Umbra deflated. "You don't believe me. Well, that's fine. It's the privilege of the young to know everything there is to know, after all. May I state the obvious, however?"

Twilight frowned.

"You know a few things, Twilight Sparkle. More than most ponies in this school. But do not think, for even a moment, that you know everything."

Twilight Sparkle scowled. "I've never once thought that I know everything."

"That's the spirit," Professor Pen said with a smile. "Now, I believe you have a friend waiting for you downstairs. Best not to keep her waiting."

Author's Note:

Laptop was in for repairs, so most of this chapter was written on a cell phone. Spellcheck says everything's find, but I trust you guys more than I trust myself or a computer, especially when it comes to pointing out mistakes.

Comments

[Twilight978]

I thought this story was dead but it was a good chapter and I like how you're able to explain all the magic stuff on a way that everyone can understand

[Sumiye]

This story is off to a very nice start. I like how you can still take Twilight's actions for her new friends seriously while also making them fun to read. Keep up the good work and have a like!

[Dustchu]

Loving how this is starting off so far, going great if i do say so myself.
Good job!

[Dustchu]

Loving how this is starting off so far, going great if i do say so myself.
Good job!

[dragonjek]

Professor Pen chuckled. "She's one of my newest advisees! Forgive me for being curious." He turned towards Twilight. "It's good to see you again, Twilight Sparkle. Am I still a monster?"

Twilight didn't respond. Portals bend space. Sound travels through space. She'd called him a monster while standing right next to the Looking Glass. Stupid genius unicorn, stupid!

But she never actually says that. The word only shows up in these two paragraphs out of both chapters. Is he interpreting her explanation of how impossible he is to be an accusation of monsterhood, or is there a missing sentence somewhere?

Now I wonder even more about what he did to hold open the portal. We now have a good reason for why he shouldn't be able to do that (a fairly simple matter of power), but how did he? If it is only "risking" bursting into flame from backlash, could it be that he has a method of tapping into the leyline on the other side of the Looking Glass without needing to be there himself?
I would think it to be something he created himself, or that is taught to teachers at the Academy. Twilight appears to have put no small amount of effort into researching Looking Glasses (or perhaps simply their similarities to teleportation?), and unless it's some secret art hidden away somewhere or is randomly written into some spellbook where nopony would have thought to look, it probably isn't something she could have learned at the Library back home... probably.

We are dear friends."
"I've never heard her talk about you."
Professor Pen winced. "You wound me, Twilight Sparkle. But the fact remains."
"Okay."
Pen Umbra deflated. "You don't believe me.

How pleasant. Now, when she finds out that Pen Umbra is one of Celestia's friends, that Celestia has talked to him about her but had never told Twilight he existed (even (especially?) when she was planning to banish her off to some far-away school with him as the one knowing her secret), Twilight will be even more upset about being banished from the Princess's side, except now she'll think the Princess cared even less about her than Twilight thought she did.

I don't think the good Professor is quite on the money when it comes to Twilight's "friend". Looks like Twilight is still just putting up with her. Still quite a lot of quiet resentment here, and not much cause for it to leave. My guess is that eventually confiding in Fluttershy when bottling up her anger gets too much will help with that, but it's difficult to imagine what would happen from there this early... if it happens at all.

I have to wonder--what was Celestia thinking when she sent Twilight away? Is it an attempt to push the Bearers-to-be together? Is Celestia too overwhelmed with work/preparations to teach? Has Twilight reached the point that Celestia can't keep up with her questions (not that she doesn't know the answers, there's just too much for her to teach and not enough time)? Is this just supposed to get Twilight to get friends? Or socialize at all? Is Twilight like a mother, sister, or just a friend to Spike--and how does she feel about leaving him behind?
If Celestia ever sends a letter to Twilight... that would be interesting. It would either give Twilight her long-awaited explanation, or avoid what Twilight wants to know entirely, prompting a cold or angry letter in return. Dear Princess Celestia...
I again admit that I'd like whatever Celestia intends to do to initially fail so we can watch her try to fix what she messed up (but with added feels. Preferably good feels, at least after the initial conflict).
I might be interpreting the story more emotionally than it actually it is, though.

Also, how old are Twilight & co. in this story? I'm inclined to say preteens, but I can't tell. Are Applejack and Rainbow Dash other students, or are they staff members? If they're students, how many in the staff know Twilight's secret?

I like Rarity commenting on Twilight's regal posture just a paragraph before saying she could spot the student in an entire crowd of unicorns.
Also, props to you for that. For whatever reason, the "lived in a castle" part of her background doesn't get addressed much, even in simple ways (such as posture and body language).

6149791
... dead?
The first chapter was posted less than two weeks ago. That's not nearly enough time to be called 'dead'.

[Daedalus Aegle]

Spellcheck says everything's find,

I see what you did there

[ididntthinkidlikethis]

COOL! Update!

Professor Pen chuckled. "She's one of my newest advisees! Forgive me for being curious." He turned towards Twilight. "It's good to see you again, Twilight Sparkle. Am I still a monster?"

Twilight didn't respond. Portals bend space. Sound travels through space. She'd called him a monster while standing right next to the Looking Glass. Stupid genius unicorn, stupid!

Um... when did that happen? I went back and checked, and I can't find what he's referring to.

So, when will nightmare moon show up so the six of them can get teleported to Zordon as 6 Overbearing and Overemotional Ponies to become the Element of Harmony Rangers.

That is where this is going, right?

All joking aside, this was a nice chapter. My only complaint is that I'm still not quite sure where this story is going, but I'm content to come along for the ride.

PS. Pen Umbra is still voiced by Tom Hanks.