Princess Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns

by enamis

Chapter 7

A/N - This chapter may not be up to quality since my dearest and most fateful editor Midge Mannequin simply left. I do not know the reason but I think that we should all still thank him for the wondrous work I was incapable of doing.
Thanks Midge, I'll miss ya' buddy...

Chapter 7

After a quick lunch and a panicky running around looking for Spike, when he had managed to chew through his crib and go visit Cluster’s dragon - Coco, Twilight could finally take a breather. And then that breather ended.

The bell’s chimes dug into Twilight’s ears as she dragged herself towards more unpleasantness in the form of Mrs. Mandagor’e. She’d let Starshine lead the way as she battled exhaustion. How could a ten-year-old possible have the strength to do SOOOOOOO much in a single day?! Not to mention tonight was her first lesson with Celestia regarding dragons. Twilight heavily sighed and dragged onwards.

“Come on Twi’, quite being a slowpoke!” Starshine playfully scolded his filly-friend and began walking backwards along the hallway.

“Why must I be enthusiastic about my demise, Star?” Twilight grunted.
“Oh come on Twilight, sure Mandagor’e’s a bit mean and she hates you for no apparent reason, and has the strictest teacher in the world award, but she’s not that bad!” Starshine smiled while Twilight gave him the ‘are you kidding me?’ look.

Twilight sighed once more and her friend lost his smile.
Starshine slowed down and began slowly pacing next to Twilight.

“It’s not going to be so bad… ok? Just don’t be… you know… you, and everything will be fine.” He pushed out a fake smile. Twilight gave him a look and kept sighing.

“Thanks for trying to cheer me up Star, but it just won’t work and I have to face it. Me and Mandagor'e just aren’t meant to mix, it’s one of those universal truths thingies.”

“Why think that?”

Twilight looked up into his clear turquoise eyes.
“The princess sorta’ told me not to tell anypony, but you're a friend so I guess I can tell… She says me and Mandagor’e are really alike, and from what I’ve read about physics, plus and minus come together and plus and plus run away from eachother… Guess that explains that…”

“Yea I guess…” They walked in silence.

“Hey, we’re here.” Starshine got back to his old self in a matter of seconds. He ran up to the door and looked at Twilight. She hadn’t moved.

“Well?”
Twilight shook her head.
“Ok, I’ll go first and cover you ok?”
A small smile returned to the filly’s face and she followed her friend through the door to Tartarius itself.

---------

Twilight was greeted by the sight thirteen more times terrifying that pony hell itself… pale gray eyes.

“Mandy…” Twilight hissed under her breath. She kept in Starshine’s shadow until they reached the third row of seats.

The room itself reminded Twilight of the History classroom. Only this one had decent sized desks and they were aligned in two columns three seats per row.

Just as Twilight was about to sit down in the middle seat she heard a loud cough. She looked forward and saw an icy gaze staring into her soul once more. Mrs. Mandagor’e tapped the front row seat and nudged her head. Twilight got the signal. She shakily walked down in-between the two columns to her new, and probably permanent, seat.

“Both Sparkle’s.” the teacher spoke. For a pony whit a meteor for a cutie mark, she was truly a cold one. Starshine gulped and joined Twilight in the silent walk of shame to the front and in front of the entire class.

After Twilight was seated in the middle of the front row, Starshine next to her and Lyra out of nowhere, Mandagor’e gave a happy grin of victory and went behind her desk.

She loudly slammed her hooves on the poor, worn oak table and took a stance as if she was about to give a speech. Only now Twilight noticed that a single peep hadn’t been uttered the entire time.

“Now.” She spoke. “Since somepony...” She gave an icy stare at Twilight. “Wasn’t present I will once more explain the basics of practical magic.”

Mandagor’e cleared her throat and began to circle her desk like a hungry manticore.
“Magic is the only thing that separates ponies from the other races. Though it’s arguable that dragons and griffons posses magic, they have next to no reliable way of using it. By far, the only thing surpassing unicorn magic is alicorn magic, but there is only one of them in existence. I'm sure you’re not that dumb to not know who it is.”

“Celestia…” Twilight muttered under her breath, it seemed that the teacher was just a bit deaf so Twi’ could use that to her advantage if necessary.

Mandagor’e glanced at Twilight. For Celestia's sake leave me alone! Twilight screamed in her head. There was a long silence.

“Well then. It looks like you are pretty thick then, but nevertheless, magic is all about imagination. If it weren’t for that, magic as we know it would be as basic as it could get. A perfect example was the one and only Starswirl the Bearded, after all, he created at least a 1000 spells in his lifetime, most of which we use today that have branched off in their own unique ways.”

In a flash of rusty red magic, above all the stools a flock of hoofball balls appeared. They slowly lowered themselves in some kind of metal holders (that reminded candle holders) in front of every single foal in class.

“In the first semester I want you to absolutely master levitation because without it you will have a very hard time.” Mandagor’e stated as Twilight eyed the ball. It was a ball.

“Though, the fact that you got into this school without knowing levitation is well… astonishing to say the least.
Though, I do know the students that come here. Rich nobles who think they are the best in the world only because daddy got them a pretty new diamond necklace!” Another cold glare at Twilight. Jeesh…

“But at the same time there are those go got in because of actual skill.” For once she didn’t look at Twilight. This time it was bad thing…

Twilight wasn’t rich! She got into the school only because she almost leveled the entire place! That’s skill right?! Right? But… she knew… Twilight knew it was true, she didn’t get a scholarship, she was a nopony, money was what gave her a crack at the exam, she would’ve never even made it to that point on her own!

Twilight grunted at the thought. She had skill, money only helped her out a tad… She sighed. Wrong time for questioning her presence in this place. She looked up at her teacher.

“Your first exercise will be to levitate this hoofball ball. Plain and simple. Remember, imagination.” Mandagor’e spoke in an almost bored voice. Guess she wasn’t very enthusiastic about teaching younglings, which by the way, what was a youngling? Twilight thought she’d otta’ ask Moonglow about that.

Twilight sighed again. Time for magic!

Twilight placed her hooves on ether sides of the small holder and leaned above the ball. With massive concentration her horn sparked and slowly enveloped in a purple aura.

Just as slowly she felt her magic grasp the ball. Once it was entirely glowing purple she realized that she could feel the weight of the ball as is he was holding it in her hoof. That realization was mindboggling. Almost… Magical…

Twilight snickered. The thought of a world without magic was hilarious. How can there be a place without it? She continued on her exercise.
The ball was at her extended magical grasp, she felt it like it was another shapeless hoof that could reach and extend far beyond the horizon with ease.

Twilight slumped back down on her chair. The deed was done. The ball was hers now, glowing in her signature reddish-purple. Twilight smiled.
She looked to her side. Lyra was still struggling with her yellow magic, it was almost as beautiful as of Moonglow’s amber magic. Almost.

Starshine seemed fine though. He held the ball in his pale blue, magical grasp. He smiled and turned his face to Twilight. Just as he was about to do something the thread connecting his aura to his horn broke and the ball dropped to the floor and rolled away. Twilight couldn’t help but giggle at the colt that frantically skidded around the class chasing his ‘equipment’.

Twilight felt confident for a second. She began to slowly move the ball around. From left to right, slowly but surely. Twilight smiled, she never knew she was this good!

Her moves became more confided. Faster, sharper turns and stops. Twilight played with the ball within her magical grasp, she couldn’t feel the weight anymore, it felt like she could lift a mountain on the spot!

Sharper. Faster. The ball circled around her head, weaving between the desks and around her two classmates. Twilight never noticed that the others had stopped their exercises just to gaze at her skill, for a foal, she could be called a master.

Faster. Slicker. The ball twirled in circles around Twilight in speeds unmatched. She giggled at this amazing display of her own unknown power. Just as that, she heard a cough from in front of her. Pale. Gray. Eyes.

Twilight let out a squeak of fear and the ball rocketed skyward on its own. Both, she and her teacher looked up just in time to see the ball burst through the ceiling with an audible crash leaving a hoof-sized hole at its exit point.

Mandagor’e looked down on the filly with no expression. Twilight put up an awkward smile as her ears dropped and she shrank in fear. The teacher tilted her head but before she could do anything she was interrupted by a voice from above.

“Good day to you Julia.”
Mandagor’e looked up. From the hole a yellow pony was looking down. Pink mane, mustache, none other than Twilight’s history teacher.

“Oh. Hello Amenix. A good day to you too.” Mandagor’e simpily replied.
“Indeed a good day, yes… Not to impose or anything but may I ask why is there now a hole in my floor?”

“Magical accident involving hoofball balls.”
“I see.” The History teacher fell quiet. “Well then… Let’s continue about our day shall we?” He smiled.
“Agreed.” Mandagor’e smiled. It was the first time Twilight had seen a genuine and unfake smile on the face of her teacher.

“Oh, one more thing.” the yellow stallion turned just before he was out of field of view. “If you go looking for that ball I suggest the fifth floor not the third.”

“I will keep that in mind.” Mandagor’e giggled. The sound was alien to Twilight’s ears.

“Um, Amenix?”
“Yes?”
“Would you mind going out and getting Nightshade to fix the ceali-eee-floor?”
“Not at all. But if you’d excuse me Julia, I must.”
“Go ahead. See you at dinner.” Mandagor’e gave him an awkward smile.

The historian smiled and vanished just as the bell rung rather loudly.
“Class dismissed.” Mandagor’e spoke somewhat warmer than usual and trotted over to the door, opening it with her magic.

The foals slowly streamed out of the door. Just as Twilight tasted freedom, she felt a hoof on her shoulder. She looked up and saw. You guessed it. Mandagor’e.

Can’t a pony have a break…? Like, seriously? Twilight grunted. She looked out the doorway, running away would do her no good.
Starshine stopped next to her, as if waiting for something.

“Go ahead, I’ll catch up…” Twilight muttered and watched her friend exit before the door slammed shut.

She took a deep breath and looked up.
“I'm sorry for the ceiling. I know I shouldn’t’ve messed around with magic like that, and I can-well my parent’s can- pay for the damage.” Twilight stated in a cold tone, like she was reading off a list.

At first the teacher didn’t react. But then a few chuckles escaped her lips. They sounded sarcastic, defiantly mean-spirited and maybe even somewhat evil.

“Oh, please, this is but a scratch compared what students muster up in their later years. Why do you think the Combat class in the West wing doesn’t have a second floor? Well it did when I was young, but some featherbrain accidentally burnt it down…”

Twilight looked puzzled.

“I see your confusion.” Mandagor’e smirked. “Actually I held you back for a word because… I needed to say I'm sorry for how I acted before.”

Twilight wasn’t buying it. She was pretty sure that was a fake frown and a forced apology.
“She asked you to do it. Didn’t she?” Twilight skeptically stated.

“Yes.” The teacher grunted in annoyance. Twilight cracked her like peanut butter.

“For Celestia’s sake… apology accepted. Now if you would be kind enough to let me go get ready for my next class…”

“Yea whatever. Scram.” Mandagor’e opened the door for Twilight. “Oh and don’t think that I like you in any way. I'm just not going to punish you this time. Clear?”

“Crystal. Good day headmistress Mandagor’e.” Twilight tempted faith before running off and hiding around the corner. She didn’t understand what made her talk back so much but it felt good.

Twilight smiled. Maybe dealing with her most-hated teacher just became much, much more easy. Fear had turned to confidence and with that newfound confidence she strutted all the way to her next class.

Comments

[Starlight Fire]

Celestia's evil uncle? Reading.