Pop
I'm practically vibrating as I'm led by a guard towards the royal gardens. Besides not having seen Cadence in what feels like ages, I'm also eager to see Twilight face to face.
The letters we've exchanged over the last couple years have been nice, and I honestly feel like we're more like true friends now than we ever were when she used to just sit quietly within our little group, but I'm looking forward to hearing her voice and having a conversation that doesn't happen over a week or more of correspondences. Really, I know she's a very busy filly, but one time it took her nearly a month to respond to one of my letters.
As great as she is with Blue and me, sometimes I worry Princess Celestia is a far less lax teacher than she is an aunt. It always seems like when Twilight does write a letter back, she mentions some big research project or test she's studying for. I've mentioned it to Moondancer, but she just nods her head as if it makes perfect sense. She's always loaded with work at Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns, so of course being the Princess' personal student would be even more challenging.
I don't think that should be the case, but it's also hard to openly question a mare you look up to so much. How exactly does one ask the ruler of a kingdom and one of their favorite ponies if they're overworking a filly without it sounding accusatory? I'm not sure yet, but hopefully after today, I'll have an answer.
"Princess Cadenza should be right ahead, Miss Pure. If you don't need anything else, I'll return to my post," the guard leading me says, stepping aside as we reach the edge of the garden.
I look up at the stallion and tilt my head. "Thank you, but aren't you coming with? Usually whenever I'm spending time with Aunty or Cadence, there's at least one guard not far off."
"Princess Cadenza has already chosen a guard to watch over your luncheon, insisting that Cadet Armor will be sufficient for the task," he answers.
It takes me a second to put a face to the name, but I quickly realize it must be Shining Armor and smile. No doubt he's really here to lend support to his little sister and I nod, and the guard returns the gesture before turning to leave. I hurry into the garden, quickly heading towards the center. Upon rounding a hedge, I see Cadence laid upon a red and white checkered blanket, forehooves crossed as she happily chats with an armored white colt.
I haven't seen Shining since the first time I tried to speak with Twilight after the accident, and he's clearly in the midst of his final growth spurt, standing on much longer legs that look like they haven't yet had time to thicken to match their new length. He's smiling and laughing along with the princess, but as soon as I call out, he jumps, the helmet held in the crook of one leg falling to the ground. He scrambles to pick it up and put it back on, doing so lopsided and earning giggles from both Cadence and I as I approach.
"Ah, Miss Pureblood! Hello!" he says in a forcefully deepened voice, fixing his helmet. "I was just... scanning the surroundings for danger!" He makes a show of looking this way and that, nodding. "Hmm, all clear. You ladies can rest easy and enjoy your picnic in safety."
Cadence snorts behind a hoof, a faint, "Such a dork sometimes," being heard among the giggles, causing Shining's face to burn a little brighter. "I'm so happy to see you, Pure," the alicorn continues once she drops her hoof. "Especially since it means I can finally dig into this picnic basket. I'm starving."
"I hope I didn't make you wait too long," I say as I look around, moving to sit on the blanket across from Cadence. "I know how hard it is to have delicious food right in front of you and not being able to dig in."
"It's alright," assures Cadence. "The wait makes the food taste even better."
"Heh, that's an optimistic way of looking at it," I say, looking around once more. "I guess we'll have to thank Twilight for making us wait a bit longer. It'll make filling our bellies all the more satisfying, right?"
The mood instantly changes as I say this, Cadence's smile drooping and Shining's eyes drifting sideways. My own smile begins to falter as I ask, "Um, where is Twilight, anyway? I figured she'd be here before me since, you know, she lives here. Is she in the little filly's room?"
Cadence sighs a little, smile falling away completely as she answers. "I'm sorry, Pure, but Twilight's... not coming."
Brow furrowed, I can't keep the hurt out of my voice as I ask, "Why not? She knows about this picnic, right? And that it's safe for her to be around me now that my leylines are stronger."
"She's... aware," Cadence begins uneasily.
I pout. "Does she... just not want to see me?"
"No, no-!" the alicorn starts as Shining speaks up.
"Twilight really wanted to come," he says. "She just has this big report she's working on over the last lesson she had with Princess Celestia before she went on her trip. Plus the spells she was shown that she wants to master before Celestia's return." He chuckles uneasily, rubbing the back of his neck. "She's... a really busy filly, you know?"
Pout turning into a full-fledged frown, the thoughts from earlier come flooding back. "That's wrong..."
"What was that, Pure?"
"That's wrong!" I say louder, stomping a hoof down. "Twilight's just a little filly, but she always has a bunch of work to do! She barely has time to even return my letters, and now Celestia is loading her with even more work when she's not even around? It's not fair!" I stand, tail whipping angrily behind me. "I don't care if she's a princess or my aunt, she can't be doing this to a filly! Twilight deserves to have a foalhood and friends and be allowed to play and have fun like the rest of us, and I'm going to tell her that as soon as she gets back!"
I grind my teeth, frustration overtaking me as I realize I've once again been unable to help Twilight Sparkle. That I've been stopped from doing so. Turning, I take a hard step towards the castle. "As a matter of fact, I'm going to go find Grandpa right now and have him help me send a letter!"
"Pure, wait!" Cadence shouts hurriedly, taking wing to vault over me and into my path. "It's not like that! Celestia isn't the one pushing Twilight this hard!"
I blink in confusion. "Then who-?"
"Herself," Shining says with a deep sigh, head bowed. "She's doing this to herself."
"Aunt Celestia knows Twilight's foalhood is being consumed by her studies, she's told me more than once of her worries for her," Cadence cut in. "But no matter what she does, Twilight would rather have her head in books or practicing magic or just doing homework she assigned herself."
"Princess Celestia didn't tell her to write a research paper while she was away," continues Shining. "She just decided to do it on her own because she says the princess wouldn't want her neglecting her lessons just because she's not here. She thinks it's what Celestia expects, and none of us can convince her otherwise. Like, she's got it in her head that, even if Princess Celestia tells her to not do any assignments and just relax, that it's a test to see how serious she's actually taking her apprenticeship. A test she'll fail if she actually does let herself relax."
"That... that's horrible," I say in disbelief.
"We know, believe me," Shining says, sagging a little more. "And we've tried to get her to stop. Even the princess has tried talking to her, but even when we do manage to get her to put the books down and focus on things other than practicing or studying, it only lasts for a couple of hours before she starts getting... twitchy."
"Foal anxiety and studyholism," says Cadence as she moves around me, gesturing for me to follow as she sits back on the blanket. "That's what the psychiatrist who talked to her called it... Not like they had a lot of time to work with her."
I eventually sit back down and tilt my head. "Why not? Couldn't the psychiatrist help?"
Shining shakes his head. "Seeing a doctor just made her anxiety worse. Ever since the accident, we've had to work hard to make Twilight stop believing she's some sort of danger to society, that she's just a filly who happens to have a lot of talent and not some sort of monster. As soon as she found out she was talking to a shrink, she thought it meant that she was crazy, which meant she was dangerous and would be locked up."
"That was a tough couple of weeks reassuring her that nothing like that was going to happen, and even then she doubled down on her practice as if to prove to herself that she could... fix herself," Cadence voice quivered for a second, but she clears her throat. "Regardless, she is getting better, just... slowly."
"Then why couldn't she come here today? Even if she thinks she needs to get this report done, she has plenty of time. More than enough to see a friend for an hour or two."
Shining rubs the back of his neck, looking rather awkward in response to my question as he answers, "In your last letter you wrote that your magic, uh, leylines? Were almost all better or something, right?"
"Yes? The walls of my leylines are a lot thicker now, so I can handle being around magic a lot better than I used to."
"Almost within range for a filly your age is what you wrote," Cadence says, wincing. "Almost being the key word. Twilight kind of fixated on that and was nervous that she'd do something around you that would set back your recovery."
I stare, stunned at that. Then, slowly, indignation began to bubble up inside of me. All this time, all the work I've put into getting better, improving myself, all so I can be less of an inconvenience, and Twilight still wants to treat me like that weak little foal I used to be? Like I'm still made of glass?
My anger must have shown on my face as Cadences reaches forward to place a hoof on mine. "I know, Pure, I know it's frustrating, but we can't push, even if we want to. I've wanted so many times to just drag that filly from her tower to go to the park, or see a show, or even just get ice cream. Shining feels the same, but even when we do manage, she's always so... agitated. Fidgeting, nervous, distracted, and clearly unhappy. Even if you were to march up there and make her come eat with us, she wouldn't enjoy it."
"We just have to take our time with her," Shining adds. "It's hard, but she is getting better. In foalsteps, but she is."
"How much time?" I ask with a bit more bite than I meant. "When we're all grown up?" Both older ponies wince at that, and I realize that's probably a real fear they have for Twilight. I close my eyes and take a deep breath, realizing that there's nothing I can do right now to help Twilight. "I'm sorry. Twilight will be ready when she's ready, and forcing things might make it worse... I'm still going to keep trying to help her though."
"You are helping her," Shining says, coming to sit on the blanket himself to pat my shoulder. "Your letters make her smile whenever she remembers to read them." He chuckles. "Then, ah, she kind of has a little panic attack when she realizes she got the letter weeks ago, then she ends up writing a hundred different drafts for the response trying to make it perfect for you... I love Twily, but she stresses over some weird stuff sometimes."
"Well, I guess that makes me feel a little better," I respond with a tired sigh. "Not knowing that she stresses over writing me back though." I shake my head and look over at the untouched basket. "There better be cookies in there. I need something to calm my nerves."
Shining snorts while Cadence giggles. There are indeed cookies, and the pair are gracious enough to allow me an extra share. It's an attempt to raise my spirits, but the thought of Twilight sitting up in a tower, head buried in parchment is hard to cover with sugary treats. Still, I paste on a smile and talk with Cadence and Shining, the latter having gone back to looking out for us despite a guard really not being needed in the middle of Canterlot Castle.
It doesn't stop him from eating a sandwich that Cadence levitates over to him or drink from the bottle of water she insists upon. "It's hot out and I don't want you overheating in that armor."
"I'm fine. Guards are made of sterner stuff, you know?"
"Yeah? Are they stronger than the sun?"
"Well-"
"Are you stronger than the giant ball of life-giving flame in the sky, Shining?"
"... No."
"That's what I thought. Now drink the water."
"Heheh, you two act like my mom and dad."
My giggles mingle with their red-faced sputtering denials. Oh, I'll definitely be writing about this to Twilight later.
After half an hour the food has been eaten and I've finished telling the probably-couple the last of my friends' cutie mark stories, just wrapping up my brother's. Shining looks intrigued as he rubs his chin in thought. "Hm, your brother sounds like he has a lot of promise. Does he plan on joining the guard? He'd make a good platoon leader, or maybe even a general."
"Don't let him hear you say that," I say in a faux-serious tone. "It'd go straight to his head, and believe me, it's already pretty big." A smile breaks through my grave expression as I add, "But no, he's pretty set on going into politics so he can help Aunty."
"And me," Cadence chimes in dramatically. "I'm only just dipping my hooves into princess work, and it's exhausting. I'll more than welcome your brother if he's willing to lighten my future workload, too."
"Well, what about you?" Shining asks. "Your grandfather is a legend in the guard, and from what I've heard, you're no slouch in a fight. The armorer mentioned you spar with his son and that you've really been pushing the colt to train harder to catch up. Sounds like you'd make a good guard."
I feel rather awkward as I answer, "Heh, Grandpa says the same thing, but I don't think I'm a good fit for the job." I chuckle sardonically. "He even thinks I'll get some sort of fighting cutie mark."
"You might," Shining says encouragingly. "You're good at it, right?"
"I guess, just because I've had a lot of practice, though. It's not like I'm a prodigy or whatever. That's sort of what a cutie mark is. Your special talent is usually something that comes naturally to you, right?"
Cadence frowns. "Not really. I mean, I guess that's part of it, but it's also usually something you're passionate about. Ponies are good at their talent both because they have a knack for it, sure, but also because they're driven to practice that talent a lot. It's not like when you get your cutie mark, you suddenly just become a master of whatever it is."
"She's right. My cutie mark doesn't just suddenly make an expert in my field. I've trained hard and studied every day since I got it."
Both intrigued and eager for a change of topic from my special talent or lack thereof, I tilt my head to get a better look at Shining's mark. "Studying... how to use a shield? Or protecting others?"
He follows my gaze and chuckles. "Actually, my talent is defensive magic. Shields, barriers, wards, that sort of thing."
That captures my attention instantly. I might not be going to Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns, but that doesn't mean I'm still not as intrigued by magic as I was when I was just a tiny foal seeing it for the first time. As a matter of fact, I've been learning everything I can on the subject over the last couple of years, even going so far as to read Moondancer's own textbooks she brings home from school. After helping my best friend with a few reports, she often says I know as much of the theory as she does on the subject.
Clear flattery aside, I'm eager to learn more when the opportunity presents itself. "Really? Can you show me some?" I ask.
"Um, maybe?" he answers uncertainly, sharing a look with Cadence. "It won't hurt you, right?"
My eye twitches, but I answer calmly. "I already said I'm a lot better. Unless you're going to be casting a shield around the entire castle or something crazy, I'm sure I'll be fine. Now come and show me something cool!"
He appears uncertain for a few seconds longer, but Cadence gives him an encouraging look, and he eventually shrugs. "Alright, fine, something simple. How about I show you the shield that got me my cutie mark to begin with?" I nod vigorously, earning a chuckle. "Okay then, here it goes."
Breathing through his nose, Shining ignites his horn in a magenta glow which matches the circle that forms along the ground around him. Over a little more than a second, a sphere builds up around him from this base, smooth and transparent, tinging everything within a pinkish hue. "Aaand there! My first shield," Shining declares, his voice slightly muffled behind the magic. He looks rather proud as he explains, "I made this to protect Twilight when she was a little foal. The whole family was at the park enjoying a nice summer day when a kickball some colts were playing with came flying right towards Twily. I didn't even think about it and just snapped this shield up around her, protecting her and earning my cutie mark at the same time. I hadn't even been taught how, I just did it to save my little sis."
As he explains, I'm busy walking around his barrier, examining it. Squinting my eyes, I lean close and realize the shield is actually two layers, an inner rigid layer surrounding by a lightly pulsing sheen of magic. "I'm not surprised you didn't get taught this one," I comment. "This is a shapeless spell, isn't it? No proper matrix?"
Shining blinks, but nods. "Ah, yeah. How'd you know?"
Cadence giggles as she watches us. "She's quite the little scholar, remember? I bet she knows as much about magic as you or me."
"And Twilight?" Shining asks absently as he watches me circle his barrier.
"I think there are professors who don't know as much as her."
While the two banter, I'm busy looking over the spell. Grandpa Shield isn't actually great at barriers as his talent is more in subduing criminals. Protection via removing the threat, he would say. As for Shining's talent, I'm honestly impressed, and maybe just a bit envious. The aether protecting the rigid dome of magic beneath is incredibly controlled, the undulations of its surface kept so minimal as to almost look like part of the hard barrier itself. It's also thin, meaning that Shining is expelling very little extra mana to maintain his aether, which is something I've been practicing ever since I learned of the theory.
I thought I was pretty good at it, better even than my parents or brother, but here Shining is doing it effortlessly while maintaining a conversation with Cadence. I try to soothe my bruised ego by reminding myself that this is his special talent and he's probably practiced this particular spell for years. "This is a pretty good barrier," I pipe up. "How much can it take without breaking?"
Returning his attention to me, Shining polishes a hoof against his chest. "Well, I don't want to brag-"
"And yet it sounds like you're about to," quips Cadence, which Shining ignores as he continues.
"-But I've got a bit of running challenge with the other cadets to see if they can manage to break this shield, and none have managed yet."
I ponder this answer and try to glean just how strong that'd make the barrier. Tough, sure, but how much? Well, there's only one way to find out for sure, and that's by testing it myself. Spinning on the spot, I buck the barrier with my hindhooves, really putting my back into it and following through. It's like kicking a wall, and the shock it sends up my legs leave them tingling as I nearly stumble upon placing my hooves back on the grass.
Shining gives a surprised shout and tells me to be careful, but I'm too focused on turning back around and looking at my handy work. There's two small spiderweb cracks the sizes of my hooves now on the surface of the barrier, but I can see the aether sinking into the hardened layer, filling the cracks to rapidly fix the damage.
"That is strong, and self repairing, too. This is a pretty good shield for how simple it is. I can't imagine what you can manage with a proper spell matrix."
"It is strong," Shining confirms with a frown. "Which is why you shouldn't risk cracking a hoof kicking it like that, You could have gotten hurt."
I roll my eyes. "Grandpa Shield has me practicing my bucks on a big upright log. If I can kick that a hundred times a day, I think I can manage this. Besides, it's strong, but not unbreakable. I could probably break it if I kept on bucking faster than it repairs itself."
"Yeah, how about we don't try that," Cadence says nervously. "I wouldn't want to risk you spraining an ankle just to prove a point. Your family would be furious if I let you get hurt."
"Seriously, the other cadets stand to win twenty bits if they break through, so if they can't manage when they're older and motivated, I don't think you stand as much of chance as you think."
Ears perking at Shining's mention of bits, I ask," Really? There's money on this? So does that mean if I break your shield, you'll give me twenty bits?" The thought is certainly tantalizing. Having bits of my own to buy my own sweets, or maybe I can order us pizza during the next sleepover at Moondancer's.
"If it means you're going to keep trying to kick your way through, then no," Shining says. "I'm supposed to be protecting you two, not letting you hurt yourself."
I look back at the barrier, thinking deeply about everything I know about how magic and spells work. Eyes narrowing, I hum and ask, "What if I get through without bucking?"
"Others have already tried magic from beams to fireballs. I don't think you'll have much luck if that's what you're thinking."
I smirk as a plan starts to form. After all, I'm more than aware of all the ways a spell can be broken after all my training. Or more accurately, all of my failures during training. "We'll see about that. So how about it? If I manage it, you give me the bits?"
Shining looks to Cadence who shrugs, which he returns. "Alright, bet. Let's see what you can do, Pure."
"Great!" I chirp back, then look at the rosy obstacle between me and tasty junkfood. I don't have a lot of magic, but then, when it comes to shapeless magic, it's never too much that's the problem. Igniting my horn in a long-practiced process, the aether flares for only a second before shrinking and smoothing around my horn, already less than half that of Shining's own horn.
From there, I start to form my own structure, a small ball with a bit of aether around it, and try to gently press it to Shining's shield. A frown tugs at my lips as his own aether washes away the lighter pink around my sphere before I can replenish it, causing the sphere to crumble. Shining chuckles at my first attempt, but I ignore him.
Distance between the caster and the effect increases the lag between action and result, usually not enough to really matter, but with the delicate work I'm trying to perform, it's enough. I'll need to be able to adjust the mana quickly in response to Shining's own magic messing with mine. I step closer and lower my head so my horn is a few inches away, then try again.
Even armed with the results of my last attempt, the small sphere still crumbles, lasting only long enough for me to start the second step of my plan of pinching a hole through the middle of my construct to form a donut shape. I form a third sphere and crane even closer, the distance almost nonexistent now.
As soon as the sphere makes contact, I flare the aether to protect it, but that's quickly being leeched away. I won't have enough time to proceed at this rate, so in a split second decision, I lean in the last few centimeters, spearing the sphere between my horn tip and rigid layer of Shining's barrier.
His mana against my horn is unpleasant to say the least, but compared to when the doctors were probing my brain to keep my leylines open, it's nothing and I instead focus on the plan. I hear the colt talking and Cadence's questioning, slightly shocked tone, but I ignore them as I quickly start to expand the ring of magic impaled on my horn. Like throwing a pebble into a lake, the expanding circle of my magic, small as it is, slides flush over Shining's barrier, pushing aether away from the center in a ripple that leaves the solid layer of magic exposed to the open air.
Instantly, the hard shell starts to destabilize and crack, far more so than my kick managed. Still, the aether still residing and protecting the inside surface of the shield is slowing the process enough that my magic will give out long before it does. Splitting my focus a bit further from maintaining the impromptu dam I've made holding Shining's aether at bay, I push as much magic as I can manage into the very tip of my horn and press forward hard, taking a firm step and straining my neck muscles. My spellwork crumbles half a second later, but it doesn't matter as I pierce the bubble of Shining's magic, sending huge cracks all throughout its surface.
Like glass, shards break off and begin to fall, dissolving into mist before they hit the ground, leaving the colt behind to stare in shock, white face finally unhued by the glow of magic now gone. "I... How'd you do that?!"
"Heh... just a bit of magic... applied just the right way," I manage between panting breaths, righting myself on shaking legs as I had nearly fallen on my face when I pushed through the shield. The whole process ended up taking at least a third of my mana reserves from the feel of things, but the sudden exhaustion I feel is nothing compared to the exhilaration of actually, miraculously besting someone else in a contest of magic. I beam up at the young stallion and say, "So... when can I expect my twenty bits?"
Cadence gasps and I chuckle. "Oh come on, a bet's a bet. He owes me that money now, right?"
"Pure! Y-your flank!" Cadence responds strangely, getting me to look over at her to see her shocked expression, her eyes glued on my back half.
Shining gasps too as I finally turn to see just what is so fascinating about my rump, only to gasp myself and nearly fall over. There on my flank, a few residual sparks just now fading, is a brand new cutie mark. I can hardly believe my eyes as I gape at the monumental image.
It's a light, almost translucent pink, six-pointed star. Unlike my brother's compass, it's all one solid color, and looks almost stretched out. The prongs are thin and sharp, a bit wider than you'd get if you merely drew three intersecting lines. It's the most simple cutie mark I think I've ever seen, and yet, as I stare with slowly watering eyes, all I can think is how beautiful it is.
My cutie mark. Cadence suddenly rushing to my side to give me a hug is all that keeps me from collapsing onto the ground. She's excitedly congratulating me and Shining is doing the same, but the words hardly register. I got my cutie mark. I finally got it.
A grin slowly spreads across my face as happy tears run down my cheeks. I can't wait to tell my family.
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Really loving the nuance in her cutie mark for magic.
Ha! Well done, Pure!
One correction:
You want glean, as in to understand, not gleam, as in to shine
Also, excellent distinction between her Talent and Twilight's, I like it!
Good to see this story finally updated and to see Pureblood finally get her cutie mark is wonderful.
Nice mark symbolism explanation there. Like using a scalpel instead of a hammer.
Even the literal size difference plays a part. When making eye contact kind of hurts your neck from how far you have to tilt your head upwards, you get understandably scared of what will happen if she disapproves of what you're saying.
I'm reminded of Starlight disintegrating Discord with such a beam and only minorly inconveniencing him in the process. Pure, by knowing what she's doing, might actually be able to kill him.
Just found this story and got caught up. Enjoying it so far. I am curious, you didn't mention Twilight getting her cutie mark. Did she not get it with the sonic rainboom? Or is Pure not aware or did I miss it?
Cool this got an update.
So nice to see that 2023 ended with another resurrection.
WOOO! She got her cutie mark! VERY nice
Also I can already imagine the guilt Twilight might feel once she finds out Pure got her cutiemark during a visit that she was supposed to be there for. Mmm, tasty drama.
Oh My gosh! Just noticed this on the Main page as being updated again. I AM SO EXCITED! I can't wait to start re-reading the old chapters (as Its been awhile) and get back into this. Praise Celestia for a revival of this story!
Whereas Twilight has Naruto-level mana reserves, but Sasuke-level focus. Pureblood has Sakura-level ones with extreme focus on what she is doing. She cannot afford to waste a drop since she doesn’t have the typical reserves of other unicorns. A precision-castor. Twilight is going to be both elated and sad she missed Pure earning her cutie mark. The studious filly was supposed to be there, but her own motivations had stopped her from witnessing it too.
A certain alicorn will no doubt notice the stars.
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Perhaps, to the point of being legitimately unsure whether she'd found the right filly and sending both to Ponyville just in case?
So she earns 20 bits, free pizza AND a cutie mark to boot. Well done, Pureblood! Well done, indeed!
And then the bad guy just flares his magic and Pure faints.
Discord... Discord is gonna probably kill her by accident.
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ohhhh. okay, that makes sense.
Perhaps I have poor skill at visualization, but from the given description, this sounds to me exactly like Twilight's mark sans the five tiny white asterisks that surround hers.
That aside, great chapter! Loved the explanation for Twilight's condition and Pure's growth and skill.
11788372
You missed it I guess. Remember when pure was hospitalized a few chapters back? That was twilight’s magic surge from the rainboom, and did earn her mark. She was horrified by the thought that her cutie was a result of hurting pure.
11788775
I knew she was horrified about what she thought she did to Pure, but I missed a mention of her cutie mark.
11788623
She's still improving. She started at literally zero, but was eventually able to be around Celestia.
She is also still a child, far away from any expectation of facing a serious threat. Who knows how much of a tolerance she could build up in the meantime?
Oh hello!
If the author decides to have a family drama in this story, I would guess the family paying more attention to Pureblood because of her talent and use of magic. Unintentionally neglecting Blueblood
wooo! so glad to see this come back :D nothing better for the new year then a revived story
Just binged this story over the past two days.
Newborn foals don't seem to have to worry about magic hurting them. It was a huge plot point in the early that foals have mana surges, and you had month-old Blueblood teleporting around, for example. So if Pure now has the almost the mana network of a filly her age...then presumably she's completely and totally past ever needing to worry about injury from other casters, right?
I'm unsure why that past several chapters have been so focused on Twilight. Again, from the point of view of somebody who binged the whole story, it seems like every chapter for the past...uhh several years worth of writing has been utterly fixated on Twilight. But I don't understand why Pure even cares. Twilight was never actually her friend until the story just suddenly decided to fixate on Twilight for reasons that have never been made clear. At one point you even had an author's comment pointing out that Pure wasn't friends with Twilight, and that she was friends with Moondancer instead. And when Twilight did show up, she was treated like background scenery.
Glancing back through the chapters, I find only a single line of dialogue from Twilight from her introduction up to her hurting Pure. But every chapter since then has been about Pure trying to reconcile with her, because why exactly? You never showed them being friends, so it's weird that Pure is so fixated on her.
At the same time, Moondancer, who's actually been Pureblood's friend, seems to have been cast aside. Her last appearance was in "Visits" where she herself points out that Twilight couldn't even be bothered to visit Pure and that she never tried to be their friend.
And that's the last appearance Moondancer makes over the next five years and four chapters. She's mentioned, but she never actually appears in the story ever again. Meanwhile, you have Twilight talking about reading with Pure "like she did with Moondancer" almost as if you're deliberately calling attention to how Twilight's replacing Moondancer as Pure's friend.
I'm guessing this wasn't on purpose. I'm guessing that with so much time between chapters, you sort of lost direction. But again, as somebody reading the whole story over just a few days, it's really weird how Moondancer gets tossed aside and replaced with Twilight, who literally had only a single line of dialogue over...quick count...ten chapters between her introduction as a background character and Pure being hurt in the exam.
Ten chapters of Twilight being an insignificant background character.
Why did Pure being hurt suddenly cause her to throw away her best friend and become fixated on Twilight instead?
Congrats Pure. I can't wait to see what comes next.
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She still has magic sensitivity, so Nightmare Moon, Discord, Shining Armor or Twilight Sparkle pulling big spells and Tirek can just faint her just by the power alone.
Finally caught up. Thanks for the chapters! Also welcome back!
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I don't think she is aware considering nobody mentioned it plus her condition made her pass out that day. She hasn't seen twilight face to face in forever since the accident. She knows that twilight didn't hurt her on purpose but twilight can't believe in herself enough to forgive herself.
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Pure isn't spending less time with Moondancer, we just aren't seeing everything they do together. Pure is only writing letters occasionally to Twilight right now. Over the course of the last two years, a grand total of a few hours have probably been dedicated to her relationship with Twilight while Moondancer and Pure are interacting on a regular basis. Having sleepovers and studying together. Characters exist off screen, as it were. We aren't following Pure and Moondancer in detail because nothing has changed in their relationship that requires a new chapter to show.
Well, except for Moondancer getting her cutie mark. That could have stood to be a chapter on its now, but too late now.
As for why Pure is so determined to help Twilight despite Twilight showing little interest in being helped, initially it was just to be nice, and after her injury, it's partially guilt as Twilight's currently racked with guilt over it. In general, though, Pure is trying to draw Twilight out of isolation because she knows from her first life how miserable it is to be alone with nothing but books to read. Having experienced the joy of friendship, she wants to show Twilight that same joy.
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Similar, yes.
Think Twilight's cutie mark, but more symmetrical (if you go with canon Twi-mark where the main star is kind of wonky) significantly thinner, no second big star behind the main one, and no smaller starts.
It's like Twilight's mark, but anorexic and in need of a tan.
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I did fail to mention Twilight getting her mark, but did go back and have her mention it while she and Pure are talking through the door. It was an oversight, and It's not the best patch, but yes, she did get her cutie mark that day.
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She earned 20 bits, which can be exchanged for pizza, but sadly not the bits AND the pizza. She'd have trampled Shining for both.
A certain blue unicorn gonna be soo bucked from right now
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I think you have a little too much faith in humanity- lemme break it down for ya in 2 words; Youtube, Twitter.
It’s alive~
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Maaaybe
It's a Shrek reference
Oh man, it’s cool to see this start updating again. I’m doing a reread so it’ll be a while before I get to the new chapters.
Just ran across this story recently. It's an interesting take. Definitely following this.
I hate you. I hate this.
I'll be honest I only watched the Tsukihime anime once or twice and didn't really like it enough to keep, or even bother reading the VN. Fate/Stay Night which occurs in the same set of multiverses on the other hand...
I guess there are two important side characters in Moon Princess that I can never keep straight while reading F/SN fanfics. But one of the sisters is a very subpar mage when it comes to prana capacity and output. But what The Blue can DO with it TERRIFIES the rest of the Moonlit World.
Rin Tohsoka can spend 200 units of Prana to fire a large magical blast equivalent to a a large RPG.
The Blue can do it with TEN.
Touko/Aouko is so scarily efficient she is considered to be the 6th True Magic sorcerer. There are only 5 True Magics.
And not only have you recreated her in MLP...you literally made her a BLUEBLOOD!!!
I lied, I'm not mad or anything. The note about her Cutie Mark just suddenly brought the above into mind and now it's too perfect not to be canon. I don't literally think she's Touko/Aouko, but the parallels are too good to be coincidence.
So pure is a lockpick not a bundle of thermite! Nice! So happy to see this story revive!
Oh man glad I decided to reread this thing. might've taken a bit of time to finish up what else I was reading, but it was worth it. And how Pure poped the bubble? Yeah, figured she'd actually pop it once it mentioned Pure could see the intricate workings of the double-layered shield. And as for how she did it? Yeah, I expected that too.
Unlike much older World War 2 era kinetic anti-tank rounds, sabot rounds are little more than extremely dense darts going several times to speed of sound. With so much energy being narrowed into a small, narrow point of impact, the penetration difference in millimeters goes from say the low hundreds to the staggeringly high hundreds from a 120mm gun against RHA(rolled homogeneous armor).
Ps: I am not, nor do I claim to be an expert in military history
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I know right? Weirdly this year had so many old stories resurrected from the dead all of the sudden... Not that I'm complaining :3
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How that is relevant or counters what I said? I just stated that a recorded medium allows cheapskate approach, that includes Youtube (you can edit and then upload). You can't do a double take in theater. And you know... whole area of technology came from theater. Foley Artists , i.e. sfx.
Or, how do you know that none of those yt streamers didn't had such background without research.
Actually a few YT streamers I know have relevant education, one got classic music one (and became somewhat famous singer).
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ngl lookin at my own comment idk what it was even tryna convey anyways i think you've got the wrong picture here video is not meant to be a replacement for uh all that convoluted stuff you mentioned it's supposed to be a cheaper or free more accessible variant and medium to be consumed by an ever expanding population who's demands will almost certainly never be sated without digitalization redistribution and creation in this is much more easy to work with medium, sure analog entertainment may not die but it sure as well won't be able to compete with the goddamn age of information, long live the 99% or something idk i am once again writing this in a sleep deprived stupor at 4AM, this has been da italian madlad signing out until peta sues me!
Enjoyed the chapter!
cool cool
Hm, Pures cutie mark, at least how you described it, painted a picture of a stylized caltrop.
We back
Hey, nice to see this is back.
I may need to re-read this story to remind myself of some things, but I neglected my followed stories this christmas and new years break, so I still have more new stuff to read.
I was picturing the mark as magic going along the x y and z routes on a grid for some reason??
I finally finished my re-read. It’s really good to see this back, I hope there’s more on the way. It’s good to finally see Pure’s cutie mark, I’m looking forward to what’s next.
I am happy to see this again, out of all the Fimfiction stories I had recalled from being left alone for so long, none- had my mind coming back to it like this one, Guilded Sister is truly a wonderful story!
May the wind guide your path, and the earth bless your steps. Till we meet again, farewell!