Discovery
Chapter 10: Discovery
Princess Twilight Sparkle stretched her back on that Wednesday morning, clad in a robe and her mane haphazardly tied back behind her head, still waiting to be brushed into place. She let out a yawn, before settling into her seat at the breakfast table.
Her favorite mug, a white one labeled "I love books" with a heart for the word love, was already filled with rich, dark coffee. "Thanks Spike," she told her assistant through another yawn, right before taking a long sip of the steaming liquid.
"No problem," replied the dragon, still in the middle of making a stack of pancakes for himself and Starlight, the latter of which had yet to come down.
Twilight levitated the box of Tasty Oats cereal waiting for her, popping open the box and pouring out some of the contents into the bowl Spike had left for her, catching the little prize advertised on the box as it tumbled out, a little plastic Celestia doll.
She rolled her eyes. The cereal had been a favorite since fillyhood, and their prizes hadn't changed all that much. She'd gotten this exact same figurine countless times. At least they'd incorporated Princess Luna, Cadance, and herself in the last few years. And speaking of additions, there was one very recent change advertised on the box, Elements of Harmony marshmallows.
Twilight sifted through the bowl, sorting out the little sugary apples, butterflies, diamonds, balloons, stars, and lightning bolts. It was so strange, being honored in cereal treats of all things. Pinkie had been ecstatic over the idea, giggling like mad as she found every little balloon in Twilight's last box.
Though, the cereal company hadn't actually asked any of them about it. It seemed to her that they should have at least contacted them before releasing it, just as a courtesy. But then, she supposed it was still better than those ugly imitation figures that minotaur Well-to-Do had wanted to pass off for that horrible amusement park.
Adding a healthy dose of milk, she took a few spoonfuls, letting the oats slide over her tastebuds. Lighting up her horn, she picked up the waiting newspapers, flipping through the articles. The Ponyville Chronicle was a fine paper, but it didn't span much beyond local affairs, so Twilight subscribed to multiple, like the Daily Corral and the Equestria Daily. The latter had her attention right now.
"Let's see," she said as she swallowed another bite of oats. "New petition against tax... another one? That's got to be the fifth one this month. Building code under fire in Seaddle. Marina lawsuit drama drags on in Baltimare."
She quirked an eyebrow. "Marina lawsuit drama?"
"You didn't hear about it?"
The sound of hooves on hard floor caught Twilight's attention, and she looked over to see Starlight walking into the dining room. "The ponies at the hotel were talking all about it while we were waiting to check in." She rubbed an eye with a hoof, taking a seat at the table as Spike placed a large plate of pancakes in front of her, along with a bottle of syrup. "Thanks Spike."
The little dragon set down his own plate. “Welcome.”
"I don't remember hearing anything like that," answered Twilight, slipping another spoon of oats into her mouth.
Spike sprinkled gems onto his stack from a small jar. "That's because you were buried in maps and charts."
"W-Well," blushed Twilight, "um, let's see what I missed," she answered quickly, hiding her reddened cheeks behind the paper as she scanned the lengthy article.
It seemed that some time back, a prize winning racing ship called The Emerald Mare was stolen from its resting place at Marina's Marina. The Emerald Mare was known for its distinctive emerald green sails and haul, not to mention a small but intricate sculpture of a mermare fixed to the deck.
The article included a photograph of the sculpture, and despite the size of the picture, Twilight could still tell the amount of skill that went into it, from the expression to the flowing mane to the tiny scales carved into the lower body.
The ship's owner was a local celebrity, Weigh Anchor, a long time boat racing champion. The article provided a photo of him as well, and it showed him to be a very gruff looking tan earth pony of advanced age, marked by his weather beaten face and coarse white beard. Combined with his long coat, white hat, and the anchor and chain decorating his flank, he was the very picture of an old sailor.
The thief had made off with his prize vessel in the dead of night, despite the owner having security guards on the premises. A long and intensive search followed, but nopony had managed to find it. The furious sailor pony had responded by filing a heavy lawsuit against the marina.
The argument itself was causing a local commotion, since Marina, the owner of the establishment, was a well-loved fixture of Baltimare herself. Her picture revealed her to be something of an opposite to Weigh Anchor, a fairly young teal pegasus with a long, green wavy mane and tail, and a boat-shaped cutie mark.
Weigh Anchor was claiming that there should have been more than one guard on duty that night for The Emerald Mare, and was calling not only for heavy monetary compensation, but for the offending guard to be fired.
Marina had countered that Night Stick was a veteran that had been watching over the boats when her father had been in charge, and refused to fire him on any grounds. The dispute continued on day after day, week after week, and had now evolved into a civil suit so vicious that it had caught the attention of the national papers.
Just reading the quotes from the two litigants made Twilight wince, the phrases peppered with redacted words. The alicorn shook her head. "I can't believe things got so out of hoof. Can't they just calm down and resolve their differences peacefully?"
"You can't blame Weigh Anchor for being angry," said Starlight in between bites of her own breakfast. "From what I heard, it cost him a fortune to put together."
"I suppose you're right," conceded Twilight. "But he seems to be taking out all his aggression on ponies that didn't even steal his ship." She pursed her lips in thought, letting the taste of milk-soaked oats tingle across her tongue. "I wonder if this might have been something the Cutie Map would've called us to deal with."
"Maybe," said Spike as he chewed on a piece of topaz. "If it wasn't broken, anyway."
".... It's broken?" whispered Starlight, anxiety spreading across her now paler face. "I broke a mystic artifact?!"
Twilight looked up from her paper, panic shooting through her. "Well, it... hasn't exactly been working quite right since your spell." She watched the unicorn's face grow even more anxious. "But I'm sure there's a way to fix it," consoled Twilight. "I just haven't had enough time to research it yet."
Starlight seemed to relax a little at that, and Twilight struck upon an idea. "Why don't we both work on it together?"
"You sure you want me helping you?" asked Starlight. "I did break it after all."
"I can't think of a better pony to help me," replied Twilight with a smile. Finishing off the last of her breakfast, she dabbed her mouth with a napkin and got to her hooves. "We can start with pulling together all the relevant material we can. And..." the gears in her brain turned. "I'd be interested in any notes you had regarding your time travel spell." Knowing how the temporal magic had been used would provide key insights into fixing the map.
"Notes?" Starlight fidgeted in her seat as she faced her mentor. "I, um, didn't really have any. I kind of kept it all in my head."
Twilight's face fell. She hadn't taken any notes at all? That was definitely going to change if Starlight was going to be her student. "Then you can tell me everything you remember. Let's go to the library. I'm sure we'll find a few books to help."
As the two started to trot off down the hall, Spike had busied himself clearing the table. "Hey Twilight, are you going to need my help?" he asked.
"I don't think so," replied Twilight. She glanced back at the unicorn, before giving her assistant a smile. "Between Starlight and myself, we should be fine. If we need anything, I'll let you know."
The baby dragon was already carrying away the syrup-stained plates. "Good. I've got some serious comic reading to catch up on."
Twilight hummed to herself as she led the way to the private library. She had the feeling that this was going to be a great day.
Sunset Shimmer stretched her long legs as she sat at her desk, before placing her feet back on the metal basket fixed to the underside of the seat in front of her. It was the last class of the day, literature to be precise. But rather than her teacher's lecture, the class was filled with the constant chatter of the students.
Ms. Paige Turner had been called to the faculty office for some sort of issue, so the class had been made to read while she was away. But of course, it seemed like the class had developed temporary deafness when it came to that order, and broke out into conversations the minute the door closed. It was, she found, yet another of those strange constants across the multiverse.
As for Sunset, she'd chosen to go over her notes for the day. Ms. Turner had an enthusiasm for her subject that could be seen by a blind man, and her tests and quizzes delved into the details of every text they went over. Combined with her friendly personality, there was no denying she was an excellent teacher who challenged her students to excel.
Unfortunately, that same enthusiasm was also one of the problems with her class. When she really got into something, her lectures accelerated, gaining momentum with every single sentence. It was difficult to take proper notes whenever that happened. Even Sunset, who'd been instructed by professors from the most prestigious school in Canterlot, and Princess Celestia herself, had trouble keeping up with Ms. Turner when she got rolling.
As things were right now, her notes were mostly just a mix of shorthand and abbreviations, the best Sunset could manage against the deluge of words and ideas Ms. Turner had thrown at them.
Adding in a few proper sentences, she gave another stretch and looked up at the rest of the class. It seemed there were actually a few students that had chosen to read rather than talk. A couple rows over, Sunset spotted a girl with her nose buried deep into the same fantasy romance novel she'd seen at the grocery store last week.
I should really write Twilight. Even if she was busy, it wouldn't hurt to leave her a message. Sunset really was missing talking to her. She hadn't waited for Twilight to respond like this since the Friendship Games, though at least this time lacked the same level of stress.
A light buzzing from her jacket pocket caught her attention. Surprised at the interruption, she pulled out her phone to see an incoming text.
Rainbow: Don't 4get about band practice 2day. Got awesome new song I want 2 try out!
The message was followed by a guitar emoji. Sunset let out a chuckle and let her fingers glide over the keys.
Sunset: I'll be there. But you really shouldn't text me. Do you WANT Doodle to take your phone again?
It was a well-known fact among her circle of friends that Rainbow Dash frequently had her phone confiscated in Cranky Doodle's class. Not that it seemed to do any good, since Rainbow still texted in his class undaunted. It honestly wouldn't surprise Sunset if, at some point, he'd just take her phone before class even began.
Rainbow: Don't worry. He's not even looking this w
When nothing else followed, Sunset put her phone away, giving her head an amused shake. Looking back over her notes, she smiled in satisfaction as she made one last addition. Slipping the pages into her bag, her thoughts turned back to Twilight, and her hand moved over to grab her journal.
Opening it up to a blank page, she twirled the pen between her fingers before pressing the tip gently into the page, already composing the first few sentences in her head. Dear Twilight, I'm doing just fine with Celestia, though it's definitely been weird having her around. How are things going with Starlight?
With a bang, the door to the room swung open, jolting the teenager in her seat. Her hand pulled away from the page, the pen not even leaving a mark on the paper's surface. The noise of the classroom vanished, students desperately scrambling back to their desks as Ms. Turner stepped back inside.
"I can't believe I had to deal with that," she muttered irritably, turning to look at her pupils. The teacher forced a smile over her disgruntled expression. "Sorry about that. Now, where were we?" She picked up the book on her desk, opening it up to where she'd left a tasseled bookmark. "Right, chapter five. Now up to this point, we've seen the protagonist-"
Whatever she'd meant to say was cut off by the shrill ring of the bell. Heaving a sigh, she closed the book back up and set it on her desk. "Rats. Alright everyone. I want you to read all of chapter five before the next class. I'll be giving you a quiz to make sure you've properly digested everything."
Several students broke into groans as they packed away their belongings, filing out the classroom door. Returning the journal to her backpack and throwing the bag over her shoulder, she joined the river of bodies down the hall, moving to the staircase that would make the shortest route to the rehearsal room.
If Rainbow had a new song she wanted them to try, that meant not being late. They'd be doing more repetitions and adjustments than normal as they got into the rhythm. Playing with the Rainbooms was great, but there were times when it blurred the line between hard work and fun.
Walking through the countless bodies, she readjusted the strap on her shoulder. I'll just write Twilight after band practice.
And who knew? Maybe Twilight would answer her before then.
Spike walked down the halls of the castle, letters carefully held in his claws as he made his way to the door of the private library. He'd been in the middle of a gripping issue of Power Ponies when Ditzy Doo crashed into the front door.
Twilight got most of her letters by dragon fire, but some still came by hoof, along with packages, magazines, and other such things. Though Spike would have preferred it if it'd come around at its usual, earlier time. They'd been eating lunch together then, the two ponies emerging to take a short break from their research.
Annoyance buzzed in his head. He didn't blame Ditzy. Mail delivery always varied. But six of the Power Ponies' greatest enemies had banded together to defeat them, and Spike had just been turning the page to find out what they had planned. It really was the worst, being interrupted right when you were getting to the good part of the story.
Though perhaps his soured mood also had to do with how he'd jumped and nearly torched his comic at the loud bang Ditzy had made.
Reaching the library, he tapped his free claw against the wood. "Twilight?" Not getting a response, he opened the door and poked his head inside. "Twi-WHOA!"
A book hurtled across the room, coming dangerously close to his face. Spike stumbled backwards onto his back, his tail curling under him. The mail he'd been holding spilled itself all over the floor.
"Spike!" In an instant, Twilight was hovering over him, lifting her assistant off the floor with her magic. "I'm so sorry. Are you alright?"
"I'm fine," replied the dragon with a groan. An aching sensation made itself known from his tail, but he ignored it, instead dusting himself off. On the far side of the room were stacks and stacks of books. Starlight sat at a nearby table, a thick tome set before her and similar books to her left and right, though right now her attention was on Spike.
"I really should have been more careful moving the books around," continued Twilight, inspecting the little dragon for injuries.
"I'm fine, Twilight," he repeated. "It's okay."
"Sorry," said Twilight. "Did you need something?"
Spike picked up the mail he dropped, noticing the other piles of books scattered all over the room. Twilight had said during lunch that while they hadn't found too much that was useful, they'd been making great progress through the library. The raw number of books pulled from the shelves attested to that fact.
"The mail came," he answered, holding the items out to her.
"Only now?" asked Twilight, raising an eyebrow. "A little late today. But you didn't really need to bring it to me now, you know."
"I thought you'd want to see this," he replied, holding out a particular envelope. The return address read "Dean Strawberry Moon, Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns".
"Oh, I see," Twilight whispered conspiratorially. "Thanks Spike." Taking the envelope and everything else in her magic, she set them on a nearby table. "I'll take a look at them the next time we take a break."
"Hey Twilight," called Starlight. "I think I might have found some passages that could be helpful." The unicorn held up a book titled Interactions of Magical Forces.
"That's great! I'll be right over!" Turning back to Spike one more time, she smiled. "Why don't you get back to your comics? If we need anything, I'll come ask."
"Sure." Giving his tail a stretch, he was about to turn around, when a little flash of red light caught his eye. Turning around, he saw the magic mirror, and the journal on the stand.
Had... had the journal glowed? Was there a new message inside?
Watching it for a little bit longer, the journal remained totally still. Glancing back at the two ponies in the room, he saw that they were totally preoccupied by the contents of the book.
The little dragon shrugged his shoulders. He shouldn't bother Twilight about it. It was probably just his imagination. And he did have a dream about rubies last night. Walking back out the door to the library, Spike made his way back to the throne room to read. He needed to see what happened to the Power Ponies.
"We're the Rainbooms! Oh yeah!"
Sunset strummed the last notes on her guitar as Rainbow's voice carried through the rehearsal room, rising over the fading sounds of their instruments. Once everything quieted down, the jock turned to them, a beaming grin threatening to leap from her face. "That was great!"
Pulling her guitar over her head and setting it beside her, the fire-haired girl nodded in agreement. "Definitely better than the first time."
"Yeah," chuckled Rainbow with some embarrassment. "Those changes you made to the chorus really rocked, Fluttershy."
"You're welcome," replied the pink-haired girl, giving her own gentle smile as she slipped Angel a carrot.
"And thanks again for catching those bad notes Twi," continued Rainbow, turning to look at the girl who had been serving as an audience.
The initial run of the song had gone wonderfully, filled with energy and vigor, until they got to the chorus, that was. Sunset's part of the song had sounded flat when she'd played it, and the lyrics took a rougher turn. With similar mistakes from several of the others, it had created a cacophony that ground their practice to a halt.
Arguments had broken out immediately, before Twilight stepped in and pointed out notes on Rainbow's music sheets that looked to be in the wrong places. A few small corrections from her, and some lyrical fixes from Fluttershy, and the song had blossomed to new life.
"It was nothing," she replied, averting her eyes from Rainbow's.
Applejack lightly elbowed Rainbow Dash in the side. "That should teach you to write songs while watchin' a soccer game."
"Who wants snacks?" called out Pinkie, holding out a box of homemade cupcakes. She always brought some kind of snacks to band practice so everyone could have a little boost in between songs.
Rarity took a small pink one. "I'm surprised you know how to read music, Twilight darling," commented Rarity as she took a bite. "You seemed so focused on academics. Do you play an instrument as well?"
"Not at all," answered Twilight, "I just learned a lot about musical scales and notes while I was doing an extra assignment for math class back at Crystal Prep."
"Math?" Rainbow did a double take. "What's that got to do with music?"
"Quite a lot actually," stated Twilight, slipping into a lecturing tone as she found a moment to share her vast knowledge. "Mathematicians in ancient Greece used ratios of string length to create the musical scale."
Rainbow's shoulders slumped. "Are you serious?" She looked down at her guitar in dismay, like a kid who'd just discovered her chocolate was mixed with spinach.
"Ooh, I remember that from some really old Elmer Eagle cartoon I saw once," declared Pinkie. "It was really weird now that I think about it."
"Absolutely correct Pinkie Pie."
Sunset turned to see the music teacher entering the room. Ms. Mi was a short woman, standing just a hair over five feet tall, with peach-colored skin and large, apple red eyes matched by equally red hair that she always kept in a pair of buns atop her head, and bangs held in place by a clip in the shape of a simple musical note. "Music isn't completely mathematical, but there's a lot of overlap. Though trust me Rainbow, I had the same thought at your age."
"Hi Ms. Mi!" cried Pinkie, waving to the teacher. "What are you doing here? Did you forget something again?"
The teacher took no offense at the comment, merely laughing in flushed embarrassment. "Unfortunately. I hope I'm not interrupting you girls."
"We're taking a break," said Sunset as she gave her fingers a stretch. "What did you forget? Maybe we can find it."
It was well known around CHS that Ms. Mi was a terribly forgetful woman, and this wasn't the first time she'd interrupted their practice sessions to look for one item or another either. During Sunset's eighth grade year her fellow classmates had celebrated Ms. Mi's birthday, and Principal Celestia came by to give the woman a watch with programmable reminders.
"I think I left my purse somewhere in here," she answered back, stepping around the instruments to search the room. "It has to be here," she muttered, more to herself than the teens. "I already checked everywhere else."
There was a knock at the door, and Applejack turned her attention away from the apple-flavored cupcake in her hands. "This room's turnin' into a real party today, ain't it?"
Beside the farmer, Pinkie Pie shot up to her feet. "Today's supposed to be a party? Why didn't somebody tell me? I could have brought cake!"
AJ put a hand on her shoulder, pulling her gently back to her seat. "I didn't mean a literal party, sugarcube."
'Awww, but I love cake," lamented Pinkie.
"I'll get it," offered Sunset, getting up from her own seat. To her surprise, she found Sunny standing on the other side of the doorway. "M-Mom," she staggered. "What are you doing here?"
Ms. Mi's head popped up from the collection of instruments she'd been searching. "Are you Sunset's mother?" Straightening her back, she walked over to Sunny, holding out her hand in greeting. "I'm Dorey Mi. I'm the music teacher here."
Sunny took her hand, giving the woman a polite smile. "It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Sunny Skies."
Ms. Mi took a moment to regard the woman in front of her. "I've been rather curious to meet you. Sunset's certainly made life here at CHS... interesting."
Sunset looked between the two adults, nervousness growing in her stomach. Of course Ms. Mi was curious. Here she was, meeting the mother of the girl who'd turned into a demon, and whose friends sprouted wings and tails. With all the teachers that had been witnesses to the outbreaks of Equestrian magic, which of them wouldn't be curious?
And she wasn't alone either. After the Fall Formal, Principal Celestia had told all the teachers present not to harass Sunset, or the others, with questions. All of them complied, though some just seemed happy with reassurances that Sunset wasn't doing any further harm.
There were others however that desperately wanted to ask. Sunset had seen the questions brimming in their eyes in those first few weeks after the Fall Formal. And Ms. Mi was in that latter set.
She was certain there was nothing malignant in Ms. Mi's intentions. But all the same, her full origins were on an absolutely need-to-know basis.
Sunny gave a hearty laugh. "Yes, I've heard all about it."
The music teacher just raised an eyebrow. "Even the Fall Formal last year?"
Sunny nodded. "In full detail. Quite the momentous night, I'd say." She chuckled. "Though not something to put in the yearbook."
"And it doesn't..." Ms. Mi paused, licking her lips. Whatever she'd been expecting, nonchalance clearly wasn't it. "It doesn't bother you at all, hearing about what happened?" The real, unspoken question hung in the air: Does it bother you to know your daughter has magical powers?
"Well I was sorry to hear about the damage to the front entrance," answered Sunny, as if she were simply talking about the weather. "But why would it bother me?"
"W-Well, I..." The red-haired woman seemed taken aback by Sunny's calm demeanor. Thinking for a moment, she let out a long sigh. "Nevermind," she muttered. "She's been a great student for me though," she continued, clearing her throat. "Your daughter is quite the capable musician."
It was only then that genuine surprise spread over Sunny's features, and the look she gave Sunset radiated skepticism. "You play a musical instrument?"
Sunset pointed over to her guitar. "You didn't notice that sitting in my room?"
Sunny laughed sheepishly. "I thought it belonged to one of your friends."
Ms. Mi's eyebrow shot up again. "You didn't know she was in my class? She told me she practiced quite a bit at home."
Sunny shook her head, brushing a lock of pink hair back over her shoulder. "No. I've been away for quite some time." She let her eyes float upwards to the ceiling. "To be honest, Sunset never showed any interest in music that I recall, unless you count the time she disassembled my Victrola."
The other woman let out a horrified gasp. Her eyes snapped to look at Sunset with sharp disapproval, and her next words were slow and measured. "You disassembled a Victrola?"
A tiny bead of sweat formed itself on Sunset's face. "I-I wanted to know how it worked," she sputtered. The woman's expression darkened, and the former unicorn's hands flew up in a defensive position. "But I put it back together and it worked fine, I swear."
That was basically the truth. It wasn't long after she'd come to stay at the palace. Her parents had never been interested in Victrolas, so it had been the first time she'd ever seen one. And she had put it back together successfully, with Celestia's help that is, and only after a scolding.
Though as far as her involvement with music, Sunset did recall the time she'd sabotaged the performance night for the CSGU orchestra. She'd done it to get back at a stallion named Woodwind after he'd startled her and ruined a personal experiment she'd been laboring over for weeks.
It was a disaster for Woodwind. She'd enchanted his flute to play by itself, which it did the moment he was on stage, in front of parents and faculty. To all in attendance, it appeared as though he'd failed to get down the song he'd been meant to play and tried to cheat his way out. He'd been totally humiliated, and nopony, not even Princess Celestia, ever discovered it was her.
What happened to Woodwind anyway? Had he graduated? Her prank would have left a mark on his record for sure. She'd have to ask Sunny... later that is. Now wasn't the time or place to bring that to light. Not with an angry music teacher standing so close.
Ms. Mi's body relaxed, seeming satisfied with the answer as she drew Sunny back into normal conversation. "Sunset and her friends have formed a band you know," she said with no shortage of pride. She'd been rather taken with them after the Battle of the Bands. "They've got some real talent too. If they'd wanted, I'm sure they'd be able to get a recording contract." She paused, putting a finger to her chin. "Although I guess there'd be a problem with their... special effects."
"So I may have a star for a daughter one of these days, hmm?" The pink-haired woman laughed again. "I'll have to be careful of incoming paparazzi then." She paused, lips turning upwards. "Not that she isn't the biggest star in the world to me already."
She looked over to Sunset, her voice turning so sweet it could induce diabetes. "Isn't that right my little sun?"
Sunset glanced away, trying to hide her now pink-stained cheeks behind her hair in a decent imitation of Fluttershy. "M-Mom," she groaned, sounding every bit like the teen she appeared to be. When some muffled snickers floated her way, she shot her friends a glare.
"Hey, she's nowhere near as bad as my parents," argued Rainbow as she took a sip from a can of soda, the only one among them not laughing at all.
Ms. Mi, however, didn't bother containing her robust laughter. "I know the feeling. I have a daughter of my own actually." She pulled her phone from her pocket and flipped through several pictures, before presenting one to Sunny. It showed a little redhead with braided pigtails dressed in a pink witch's outfit, and holding a plastic, jack-o-lantern shaped bucket.
"She's adorable," cooed Sunny.
Ms. Mi beamed. "Her name's Lottie Doe. This is from Halloween last year. That poor costume took so much abuse. I love her to pieces, but unfortunately for both of us she's as klutzy as I was at that age."
Before Sunny could somehow embarrass Sunset any further, Applejack mercifully spoke up. "Ms. Mi, ain't that your purse under the piano?" The farm girl squatted on the floor before holding up a small leather bag.
"Ah!" cried the teacher, taking it from Applejack's waiting hands. "Now how did you end up under there?" She brushed several pieces of dust that clung to the strap before putting it on her shoulder. "Thank you Applejack."
Walking back over to Sunny, she shook her hand one more time. "I'd better be off. It was wonderful meeting you Miss Skies. I hope we run into each other more often." She turned to address the assembled teens again, giving them a final wave. "Goodbye girls. Keep up the good work."
And with that, she was off, the clicking of her heels on the floor rapidly fading away. A relaxing quiet fell on the music room, one that lasted a fleeting five seconds before being completely shattered by a cry of "AHA!" from a certain pink drummer, causing Sunset and everyone else to jolt from the raw volume.
The curly-haired girl hopped up from her seat. "Now I remember!"
Nearby, Rarity frantically got a grip back on her compact mirror, nearly dropping it from the blast of noise. "Remember what, darling?"
"The Victrola! Great Granny Pie had one too!" exclaimed the energetic girl. With a single bounce, she was in front of Sunny. She would have been nose to nose with her if not for the height difference, though her constant hopping continued to challenge that fact.
"I got a question," piped up Rainbow. "What's a Victrola?"
"It was the brand name of an old type of phonograph, or record player," answered Twilight. "The company that made them was eventually bought out, and the name ended up being used for a lot of phonograph products, but those weren't proper Victrolas."
Rainbow pondered that for a moment, before turning back to Pinkie. "Didn't you tell me your great granny was born before 1920 or something?"
"Uh huh, July 27, 1915. That's Great Granny Pie. And she told me Great great Grandpa Pie bought hers when she was a kid. She used it a couple times when we visited. It was fun. It looked just like a piece of furniture, but it played music!"
"That's about right," commented Twilight. "From what I read, proper Victrolas were only made from 1906 to 1929."
"Whoa." Rainbow looked at Sunset with a little bit of awe. "You took apart an antique?"
"I've sort of done worse actually," admitted Twilight quietly. "When I was nine, I took apart Dad's computer. You wouldn't believe how angry he was." Her face took on a horrified expression. "I couldn't read anything for three days."
"Oh my," gasped Fluttershy.
"But on the bright side," she added with a shaky laugh. "I did learn how to build a computer."
"Where did you get yours?" asked Pinkie excitedly, undeterred by the conversation's detour. "Garage sale? Antique store? Did your great granny give you one too? Huh? Huh?"
"Actually Pinkie, it wasn't an-" Sunset began.
"It was brand new," finished an abashed Sunny. "Victrolas are quite popular in Equestria."
An uncomfortable silence followed, and even Pinkie had stopped bouncing as it dawned on her how she'd inadvertently put her foot in her mouth.
Sunset cleared her throat. "Not that I mind, but what are you doing here anyway, other than embarrassing me in front of my teachers and friends?" She gave her pseudo-mother a pointed stare. "And did you really need to do that?"
The question appeared to pull Sunny out of her embarrassed thoughts, because she began to chuckle lightly. "I was only staying in character, Sunset," she said innocently. "It's just the way I decided Sunny to be."
Sunset rolled her eyes. Yeah, I'm sure it's not also because you just enjoy messing with me. Princess Celestia always did have a prankster's sense of humor, her and Philomena both. Sunset could still remember the time the princess had her act as a distraction while she put itching powder in her guards' helmets. Sunset had felt sorry for them, even if it had been pretty funny to watch.
"I actually came by to return some things to your principal," continued Sunny. She reached into her purse, pulling out a small dark brown object. "And I wanted to give you your wallet. I found it on the floor after you left."
"My wallet?" Immediately, her hand shot into her pocket, finding it empty. Looks like Ms. Mi isn't the only forgetful one today. "Thanks," she said, taking the little object and returning it to its rightful place, right before another thought cropped up in her brain. "You came here all by yourself?" Worry nagged in the pit of her stomach. The last thing she wanted was Princess Celestia wandering around the city alone.
"I have a firm grasp of the way from here to your apartment by now," replied Sunny confidently. "And I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself." She looked past Sunset at the assembled teenagers, still munching away at the remains of their snacks. "I didn't mean to interrupt your rehearsal however, so I think I'll head back now."
Sunny turned for the door, only to be stopped by Applejack's voice. "Actually, I don't think it'd be a bother havin' you sit in."
"Are you sure?" asked Sunny. "I don't want to intrude."
"I'm already sitting on the sidelines," said Twilight. "I don't mind having somebody next to me at all."
Applejack turned her attention to Sunset. "You mind havin' her here?"
Sunset blinked in surprise, but shook her head. The idea of performing in front of Princess Celestia... she'd never even considered it as a possibility. It had been years since she'd ever shown off in front of her mentor. Memories of various tests and magical feats flashed through her brain, feelings of accomplishment transitioning to arrogant self-assurance. And here she was again.
Finishing off the last scraps of their snacks, the six girls picked up their instruments. "So," asked Sunset, plucking the chords of her guitar, "are we doing another run of the new song?"
"I'm feeling rather nostalgic at the moment," said Rarity as she lifted her purple curls over the strap of her keytar. "Why don't we play an old song?"
"You gotta point Rare," agreed Applejack. "We did skip that part today." They usually played an old song first as a warm up. Rainbow had been so excited for this new one that she'd insisted they jump right into it.
"How about the one from the Battle of the Bands?" suggested Fluttershy.
"I love that one!" declared Pinkie, drumsticks fidgeting in her hands. "We were all pow! Zap!"
Sunset smiled at Pinkie's enthusiasm. "I say we do that one." A round of agreements followed.
Rainbow took her usual stance, fingers resting on her guitar. "Okay, one, two, three."
Sunset took the mike in her hand, feeling the beat of Pinkie's drums as she sang the words that had been burned into her memory. "You're never gonna bring me down. You're never gonna break this part of me."
On the sidelines, Twilight and Sunny were bobbing to the music. A familiar warmth flooded Sunset's body, a mix of pure joy and Equestrian magic. The odd but not entirely unpleasant feeling of pony ears coming into being against her head made itself known just as they reached the song's chorus, music and magic rising up together.
"We've got the music in our hearts..."
Twilight Sparkle was in a good mood.
She and Starlight had found a few good resources that would help them to unravel what happened to the Cutie Map. It wasn't a complete solution, not by far. But it was a promising start, and being able to accomplish that with her new student had made the princess of friendship feel great.
She'd even get to reorganize all the books afterwards, and her sharp mind was already debating what system to use. Should it be by publication year, or by title? Should it be A to Z, or Z to A? Or perhaps she should just sort them by subject matter like last time.
As of right now however, the two of them were on break. Starlight was off to the kitchen to get herself a snack. Twilight, meanwhile, was going to sift through the mail.
Sitting down at a table and humming to herself, she started by sorting the letters and magazines into separate, orderly piles before picking out one letter in particular, the one from Strawberry Moon. She hadn't expected the dean to get back to her so quickly, but it was a welcome surprise all the same.
"Let's see..." she said, scanning the elegant writing. "Dear Princess Twilight... I told her not to call me that... Sunburst did indeed graduate. Most recent address we have is... The Crystal Empire?"
According to the dean's letter, Sunburst had been an incredibly studious pony, which lined up with the impression she'd gotten from Starlight. Once the Crystal Empire had reappeared, he'd been eager to move there and observe the lost part of pony history.
Twilight smiled at that. He sounded like somepony after her own heart. If anything, the antecedent made her want to reunite him with Starlight even more.
Speaking of the Crystal Empire, another letter caught her eye, one with equally flowery writing, but far more familiar. Shining had mentioned that Cadance's pregnancy had been interfering with her ability to use Spike to deliver mail.
Breaking the envelope open, her little smile from before broke into a huge grin. Cadance was writing to remind her that the foal was due soon. Had that much time really passed since their last visit?
"Actually, this is great," she remarked, an idea forming in her head. "I can have Starlight meet Sunburst at the same time we go to see Cadance's baby." She was still debating on whether it would be Starlight's first lesson, but the timing was too perfect to ignore.
Reading the letter further, she raised an eyebrow. "What the hay is a crystaling?"
Whatever it was, the crystal ponies were talking about it. Cadance wasn't sure about the details herself. Twilight had borrowed a few books from the Crystal Empire Library a few weeks ago by mail. Perhaps they might have something?
Her head shot up, ready to start searching, only to remember the piles upon piles of books scattered across the room. She frowned in disappointment. That particular line of research would have to wait until after everything had been cleaned up.
The rest of the mail was fairly standard. Magazines, subscriptions to academic journals, and a catalogue of laboratory equipment, a must for the number of experiments she did. Then there was a letter from Moondancer, telling her all about what she and Minuette had been up to in the last week.
Gently folding the letters back up, she got to her hooves, walking around to improve circulation to her legs. So many letters, from friends and family alike. Reading them sent a warmth through her chest. To think that there was a time when she'd barely gotten any letters like this.
The glimmer of the afternoon sun on the mirror caught her attention. Come to think of it, she hadn't heard from Sunset Shimmer in weeks, not since before her vacation. It was an unusually long span between contact.
Maybe I should write her instead? Sunset usually initiated their conversations, so it would be a nice change of pace. It was always interesting to hear back from her, not just as a dear friend, but as one living in a different universe, not to mention a fellow pupil of Celestia, even if Sunset didn't talk much about those days.
"She should be out of class by now," she realized, looking at the nearby clock. It would be the perfect time to send her a message.
Trotting over to the stand, she flipped through the pages, searching for a blank one, before stopping at a page with a date she didn't recognize. "Huh?"
This was from when she was on vacation. Why hadn't the journal been glowing? No matter, she'd figure that out later. Right now, she was very late in answering back.
Moving onto the message proper, she began to read.
Starlight was headed back to the private library, a pair of daisy sandwiches and plates held tightly in her magic, one for her, and one for Twilight. It seemed like the right thing to do since they were on break.
Friends did that sort of thing, right? She vaguely remembered making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for Sunburst once, and never again because she'd gotten the contents more on her than the bread. But she felt like she needed to do something for Twilight for letting her help fix the map.
Spike was sitting on her back, helping her to navigate in between telling her about some of the various adventures from the comics he'd been absorbed in. She'd never been into them herself, but Spike certainly was. She'd stumbled onto him in the throne room, curled up in his chair and surrounded by piles of issues the same way Twilight would surround herself with books.
After noticing the issue with the insane-looking earth pony mare, her curiosity had been piqued. Thus, she'd gotten a lesson on the history of the Power Ponies, and then a bizarre adventure inside a comic.
"You really went into the story?" she asked in disbelief. "Wasn't that dangerous?"
"I guess so," admitted the dragon. "But it was sort of fun too. I got to beat the Mane-iac and see the Power Ponies in action, sort of. Though it would have been nice to have real super powers." The dragon lit up as an idea struck him. "Like maybe super strength. Or maybe flight. Ooh, that would be good."
Starlight shook her head, letting Spike lose himself in his daydreams. "You guys go on so many weird adventures." How did you go from cleaning an old castle to getting sucked into an enchanted comic in one day?
She'd already heard all about various disasters that had struck the town alone, from paraspites, love poisons, and bookworms, to Ursa Minors, Cerberus, and Discord. The more stories she heard, the more she was starting to feel that her own escapade through time with Twilight was just par for the course.
Spike shrugged. "You get used to it."
As they reached the door, the two heard a high-pitched shriek. Starlight's magic tensed, crumbling the bread as she reached out and threw open the doors. "Twilight? Are you okay?"
The purple alicorn was fumbling with the machinery around the mirror, muttering to herself the whole time. Strands of her mane had popped out of place in a frazzled mess.
"Twilight," asked Spike, hopping off of Starlight's back. "You okay?"
Twilight's head twirled around, her neck practically making a snapping noise. "Can't talk Spike. I need to go. Sunset might be in serious trouble." She whirled back around to mess with the machine. Was she inserting that book into it?
"Come on, start up. Start up! Oh this is bad. Celestia, this is bad. How didn't I see the messages?!" Twilight hopped on her hooves, the look on her face making it seem like she was about to strike the equipment. Suddenly the mirror glowed with light, and Twilight turned around again. "Spike, Starlight, stay here and watch the castle. I'll be back later!"
Starlight wanted to interject, but before she could, Twilight darted straight into the mirror before disappearing from sight.
The machinery powered down, and Starlight just stared straight ahead at the mirror. The mirror through which one of the rulers of Equestria had just vanished. ".... Spike? Did Twilight just go through the mirror?"
"Yup."
She pivoted her head to look at the little dragon, who seemed completely unfazed by what had just happened. "Shouldn't we be worried?"
"Nah." Spike waved a claw dismissively. "She actually did something like this right before you moved in." He took a seat at one of the tables, munching on an emerald he brought along. "Besides, she'll write us if she needs us."
"R-right," she stammered, looking back at the mirror machine. "So..." she started slowly, "where does it go?"
"A parallel universe," replied Spike casually. "I can tell you about it. It's a long story though."
Starlight took a look at the two sandwiches still locked in her magic, and found them to be woefully inadequate for this situation. "... I'm going to go back and get something else to eat."
Spike leaned back in his seat, polishing off the emerald. "Need me to go with you?"
"No, I think I'll try it myself this time." Walking back out the doors, she felt her whole body slump as she made her way to the kitchen.
"I am never, ever getting used to this place."
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8536465
Should I take that as a good reaction or a bad reaction? I'm not entirely sure.
Sweet new chapter, I wonder what will happen if Starlight goes through the portal this early instead of like the time she went through with Sunset during that EqG short episode.
I can already feel the awkwardness when Twilight meets Princess Celestia and Sunset and Sunset gets to know that her mom didn't inform Twilight about anything at all.
8577969
A good question. I've already sort of hinted at this in some of my details, but basically, I decided that CHS is a combined middle school and high school, so 6-12th grade. That's why I placed the CMC as eighth graders (which is still probably a few years older than their Equestrian counterparts).
As far as how long Sunset's been an actual student, my view in this story is that she didn't enroll as a student immediately upon arriving in the human world. But when she did, it was to enter the eighth grade. This is presuming of course that the Fall Formal is open to all grades or at least to the eighth. And if the CMC are in that grade, it would have to be open to them anyway.
I'm glad you're enjoying the story. Don't forget to press the like button if you think it deserves it. :)
Shit about to hit the fan.
Welp. Luna got her wish, as if there was any doubt.
jfc Celestia's gonna get knocked hard off that pedestal both students have her on.
I can't wait :3
Great writing as usual, still such an interesing story, and I am also kinda hoping that Celestia gets young!Sunset pictures to show off. Ah well.
Thanks for writing :)
Victrolas, huh... I'm pretty sure that ponies sound technology are far more enhanced that this. Coloratura concert IIRC included radiomic, really powerfully soundspeakers and advanced floodlights plus Vinyl DJ thingie definitely based on solid state electronic or magical analogue, but in the same time ponies technology in the show are tend to be weird. Like Ponyvile definitely have a power grid, but Twilight use candles in her castle for some bizzare reasons.
8579698
Not Victorian. The Victorian era only lasted until Queen Victoria's death in 1901. The Victrola brand phonograph was made five years after that.
The name came from The Victor Talking Machine Company. As I stated, "Victrola" was the brand name for a type of phonograph they made which was designed to have the turntable and amplifying horn inside a wooden cabinet. This was intended to make it look more like a piece of furniture than a phonograph.
Pony tech is all over the place, varying from category to category. And in the last issue of MLP Friends Forever, Celestia is shown to have a record player she calls a "Victrola" that she used to listen to a jazz record. Though in hindsight I'm not sure if that was an actual Victrola or if they were just using it as the name for a record player, period...
8579722
It's a autocorrection at work.
Well, there is a big chance that it have some sentimental meaning for Celestia and not actually a cutting edge.
Vinyl DJ table have a place for records and it definitely connect directly to soundspeakers.
But oh well, they fairly often use old stuff even when in the show itself better options exist.
And just in case. Oliver make a pretty cool pony tech analysis.
Oh boy, Twilight on the freakout is never good.
LOL, poor Glim Glam is so confused right now. Must be a Tuesday.
8583240
I disagree. I find her freak outs to be utterly epic. Noone freaks out as epically as Purple Smart.
Oh, boy... Celestia, you are in for a hurricane of trouble now...
Welp
8579735
After deleting a serious wall of text post (one of those days), I'll boil it down to stating that I suspect cutie marks multiply the effects of education by providing an intuition which allows specific ponies to skip over a lot of experimentation, design phases, or testing in specific areas, to the point of casually customizing or selecting a product to match a customer. Our factories and assembly-line processes are basically a way to reduce the need for the higher support costs and lower output level of an artisan class. And because mass production is more practical, many of our cultural expectations have shifted to fit with that. Equestria is a place where schizo tech actually wins out because there isn't going to be a standardizable "best" way to make anything, or even a best type of technology to use, and even without using magic as a power source magic removes most of the logistical problems with this.
Oh you will starlight all it takes is time.
Aaaand here's where Luna's warning is gonna bite Celestia in the flank
10365028
And followed by Twilight going twileynanas again