• Published 31st Oct 2018
  • 571 Views, 2 Comments

School Stories - Visiden Visidane



A new student to a very old school goes exploring with friends.

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Last Test

"I'm done," Sleet Fall said to Snow Shine. "Initiation or not, you're not getting me into anything remotely similar to what happened last night. Ever."

"It wasn't that bad," Snow Shine replied. She tilted her head slightly as she stared at him.

The scrapes along Sleet's forelegs still stung. So did his left hind fetlock as he had apparently strained it during that last frantic gallop. His right eye was partly swollen as he had crashed into the King's Mirror's statue face first. It was a small miracle that he completed a light spell after that. He rubbed his neck as he thought back to that incident. He supposed that he should just be thankful that he hadn't lost his head. Whatever it was that chased him disappeared when he made it to the statue.

"They're not going to like that, you know," Snow Shine continued. "Especially Flame Froth. He's very popular in Evocation School. He can make your life very hard if you're going to sign up with them. I've heard that his father is an assembly leader for the Western Legion."

That would be a problem. Sleet had thought about it some more and Evocation School was a very attractive prospect. If he did well, he could easily transition into the Legion with some rank. Of course, if Flame Froth started going around saying he was too frightened to complete some initiation for newbies, the Legion wouldn't exactly look at him with any favor.

He looked to Snow Shine, only to find her face uncomfortably close. "What?" he asked.

"I can help you out, you know," Snow Shine said. "I know somepony that can keep ghosts from coming after you."

The dragging whine of an axe still weighed heavily in Sleet's mind. He should refuse. Getting outside help was likely frowned upon. The throbbing ache in his eye gave a pretty good argument. Nopony said anything about taking some extra measures. "I'm listening," he said.

"Then listen closely," Snow Shine said. "Let's meet tonight. I'll take you to him."

That should be easy enough. Thanks to his scrapes, Sleet did get to postpone his last night. "What's the catch?" he asked. "Money? I just paid tuition, Snow,"

"No need," Snow replied. "Just keep an open mind, Sleet. Just remember that it's for your own good."


Once more, Sleet found himself roaming the campus in the dead of night. This was the third time now, and he was starting to worry about sleep patterns. Ahead, Snow Shine led him through the underground hallways beneath the main building; the former palace itself. Underneath the finery and grandeur were the somber, gray-white tombs of the Unicorn Kingdom's rulers, as well as exceptional subjects who were granted the honor of being buried here. Most of the tombs were open to the public, with appropriate spells to keep them from being disturbed and all the valuable items kept under lock and key in the museum building. There was a lower section as well, where the Bloodied Circle was maintained. That part would obviously have very tight security, but it didn't look like Snow Shine was heading there. Instead, they stopped by a relatively small tomb, probably a favored servant's or something.

"What is this place?" Sleet asked. "Your contact wants to meet us in a tomb?"

"He has to," Snow Shine replied. "I'll teach you a spell to summon him in this tomb."

"Snow..." Sleet lowered his voice. "Who is this pony we're meeting?"

Snow Shine let out an exasperated sigh. "Isn't it obvious? Sass Thyme. Don't laugh. I'm serious."

"I'm not a necromancer, Snow," Sleet snapped. "Nopony is! Sass Thyme is long dead, and there is no Necromancy School!"

"But there can be," Snow replied. "We can start it up. If we do this, you don't even have to do the initiation. You'll be part of founding a new school of magic. Think about it, Sleet!"

Sleet could only stare silently for a while. "Snow," he said softly. "What's this about, really?"

"I asked you earlier, didn't I?" Snow asked, her smile trembling, and clearly forced. "Would you like to join Necromancy School?"

"Why?"

Her lips twisted and the smile finally failed. "So you can come up with something, or he could. Something so I can...you know..."

"Snow, I won't do this."

Snow's face contorted angrily. All of a sudden, the already chilly tomb grew even colder. "Why not?" she asked. "You can still sign up with another school." She took a step towards him. Sleet instinctively took one back. "This is just so we can keep our promise! You remember that, don't you? It's just one spell!"

"No."

Sleet couldn't help but cringe. It seemed as if Snow was growing larger as she went on. He shivered, and pulled away.

"This ends here, Snow Shine," somepony suddenly spoke. Sleet brightened and looked towards the newcomer. Lily Gild! And, behind her, Flame Froth.

At the sight of them, Snow Shine fell back and crouched defensively.

"That spell you know will not contact Sass Thyme," Lily Gild said. "Divination School keeps it around to draw ponies of ill-intent. This isn't even the correct tomb."

"I have no ill intents," Snow Shine hissed. "I just want a second chance, to fulfill a promise with Sleet!"

"You have held on for too long, ghost," Flame Froth said. "You will get worse as time passes. We will be forced to abjure you. Now, while your grudge has not bound you to the school like so many, you can let go, and be happy. I am sorry that the promise of your future was snuffed out so abruptly."

Ghost? Sleet stared incredulously at Snow Shine. She was a ghost? How? Why? He thought back to meeting her as soon as he arrived. Then, when she was just standing there when Lily Gild and Flame Froth entered his room.

"No!" Snow Shine shouted. "I can still complete my studies together with Sleet! I just need to find the right spell and the right tomb!"

"Snow..." Sleet said. It did make sense...though he wished so hard it didn't. His voice was choking up. This was not how he wanted this news to come to him. Yet, at the moment, all he could think of was that he didn't want Snow turning into those entities he had encountered the last couple of nights. "I don't know what happened, but you don't have to go through all this over a promise."

Snow Shine's face softened and tears ran down her cheeks. "Sleet," she said. "I had so much to tell you when you got here, I was looking forward so much! It's not fair to lose it all over an accident!" Even as she spoke, she was already losing substance, becoming more translucent with each word.

"Good, Sleet Fall," Lily Gild said. "You can help her by releasing her from old bonds."

"Don't worry, Snow," Sleet said. "I'll graduate, for both of us. I'll never forget you."

"Sleet..." Snow shut her eyes tightly, wringing out a few more tears. Finally, she opened them with a smile. "Tell me all about it one day." And then she was gone.

Sleet stared at the empty tomb. "I didn't know she died."

"The Atheneum informed her closest family," Flame Froth said. "Why they did not tell you is between you and them. You did well here, Sleet Fall. An excellent show of principle."

Sleet's brows furrowed. "How did you two know to come here?"

"I had my suspicions when you kept looking at nothing when Flame and I came to you," Lily replied. "A tracking spell was easy enough. This is not the first time the Atheneum has had to deal with this. We apologize for the deception, Sleet Fall, but we did want to see if you were the sort to actually jump at the chance delve secretly into dangerous magic."

"Welcome to the Atheneum," Flame Froth said.

They started to leave, and Sleet was right behind them when he cleared his throat to get their attention. When they looked back, he spoke. "Is there an actual spell to do what Snow wanted?"

Lily smiled wryly.

"Sass Thyme is long dead, and there is no Necromancy School."

Comments ( 1 )

Took me until now to realize why your necromancer/ litch was named Sass Thyme :moustache: I'm guessing he wore red?

Nice twist at the end. :twilightsmile:

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