Race to the Finish!
On the second-to-last day of summer, and two days before the exam, Twilight fidgeted a little in her dress. The discomfort of having to cancel training early with so little of the Everfree left combined with the strained trappings of the dress. All her new muscle did mean a bit more weight.
She made a mental note to take her measurements. It was too late to change what was on her admission forms, but she could always ask Celestia. That might be too suspicious though. She recalculated and decided to look into the staff at the School and see if she could contact the Costuming Department.
A clink broke her rambling thoughts. She blinked and realized everypony else at the table had raised their glasses. Her own glass shot up and crashed into the other three, sending shards and cider onto the table. Twilight turned beet-red. “Sorry!”
Shining stared at his broken glass and then chuckled. “Geez, Twily, this was supposed to be the nice dinner, not the brawl my mates are planning.” He set the glass down and helped Night Light and the waiter that had rushed over clean up the mess. While he picked up the shards and dotted the soaked tablecloth with a napkin, he said, “Honestly though, I’m glad to see all that training you’ve been doing at that lab has paid off. You’re looking more like a true hero every day.”
“It has been good,” Velvet mused. “Though they really misrepresented how intense it would be. It’s not exactly hard to count the amount of times you’ve made it to your room on your own this summer, Twilight.”
Twilight kept her gaze lowered. “It isn’t that bad.”
“Ah, don’t be too hard on her, mom,” said Shining. “It sounds like she’s really put her all into this and getting the hang of her cutie mark. Practically feels like this dinner is as much for her as it is for me.”
“Shiny, stop it.” Twilight gave him a jab to the shoulder. “You’re the one making lieutenant.”
~~~
It was the last day of summer. The day in the fashion district felt like a millennium ago. The morning air was cooler now and carried faint scent drying leaves on it. Spike, Twilight, and Celestia stood before the edge of the Everfree. All around them was scorched earth and pits where trees and boulders had once rested. The true interior of the Everfree was a thick green and blue backdrop to the barren landscape. Only one extension burst out of it: an area laden with boulders the size of small hills and thick trees. One towered above the rest and matched the columns that supported parts of Canterlot Castle in size.
“Is it weird that I kinda miss the Everfree a little?” Spike asked while scanning over the blackened ground. “Don’t get me wrong, I love the training, but this just seems a little desolate.”
“Yes, it would be a shame to leave the land in this state. That’s why, when knights normally do this work, they reseed the area once they are finished clearing it,” said Celestia. The grin that sent chills down Spike and Twilight’s spines appeared. “So, you have your work cut out on your end, and so does the squadron coming this evening. Though, if you finish up, they’ll be heading in quite early as well.”
“You’re sending a squadron here?” Spike asked while a lump formed in Twilight’s stomach. “You aren’t worried about them seeing you like this?”
“Oh, I’ll make sure to keep myself concealed if you aren’t finished by the time they arrive.” Celestia raised a hoof to her chin. “You know I’ve always wanted to see the look of pure catharsis on a new lieutenant’s face when he’s the one finally giving orders.”
Under the hot sun, Twilight felt the world turn to ice. “You didn’t.”
“Consider having to explain things to your brother that last bit of motivation you need to finish the task.” With a chuckle, Celestia turned and strutted over to the last remaining bit of extra Everfree. “Don’t get too riled up though. You both still have an exam to take tomorrow.”
~~~
Twilight and Spike worked like fiends. The former’s horn and the latter’s throat burned through the day. Boulders were sliced into manageable chunks and trees were felled at an astonishing speed. When a spot was finally clear of both rock and foliage, Spike sent out a blast of flame to scorch the earth and remove any roots he or Twilight might have missed.
By the late afternoon, the boulders were gone, and ash blanketed the ground. Only the single behemoth of a tree remained. Its roots alone were as thick as a regular tree’s trunk, but only the uppermost ones broke through the surface. How deep the rest of its roots went was anypony’s guess.
“What’s the plan?” Spike glanced at the sun as it dropped westward. “Should we burn it?”
“Can you?”
Spike brought a claw to his throat. It was hot to his touch and would have burned a hoof. Inside, he felt how dry it was. Swallowing was getting difficult and even breathing stung a little. “If we didn’t have the exam tomorrow, I’d be willing to do it.”
“We’ll dig it out then.” Aura swirled around Twilight’s horn and seized a block of dirt from under the tree. The force of the spell yanked at Twilight’s skull, cracking a few vertebrae on her neck. With a huff, she undid the spell and let the dirt drop to the ground. “Expose the roots, disconnect them, and then let gravity handle the rest. Once its connection with the Everfree is gone, it will be a lot easier to manage. Sound like a plan?”
“And I just wanted to burn the damn thing,” Spike quipped before he bent down and raked his claws through the dirt. Dragons were built to burrow through mountains in search of gems and spaces to guard their hoards, so the damp dirt of the Everfree was no match for Spike’s claws.
At least, if his claws were pristine, but the work of slicing both wood and rock had left them dulled and sore, slowing Spike’s work. The fervor that had taken hold of him and Twilight in the race to finish clearing the sector was fading with the day, and the ache and stiffness in his arms was growing.
The same could be said of Twilight’s horn. It constantly throbbed now. The heat coming of it forced more sweat onto Twilight’s brow.
Yet, neither let up. They dug deeper, scooping mound and mound of dirt away from the tree and exposing more and more gnarled roots. Celestia observed them from atop a charred piece of rock, but also kept an eye on the advancing trail of dust coming from the direction of Canterlot. She smiled when Twilight and Spike shoveled out dirt and found only more dirt below. Her ears then perked up when the wind carried the echoes of hoofbeats and the clinking of armor.
“They’re getting close!” Celestia called out.
“Twilight, get back!” Spike barked, inflating his chest. “I’ve got t—”
“No.” Past the sweat and labored breath’s, Twilight’s eyes were focused and fiery. “You are not blowing it here and failing the exam tomorrow. What’s one tree compared to a manticore? Just stay calm and we can do this.”
“Heh, looks I’ll be the brash gruff one in our partnership then.” Spike turned away from Twilight and unleashed a concentrated jet of flame at a root. Over the summer, Spike had gotten more precise in controlling his flames, and was now able to send them out in a variety of ways. When he focused them down into a thin beam, the flames glowed white with a brilliant green outline. Instead of crisping the root, his flame sliced it clean apart.
As more roots blackened and spewed blue fumes, the sounds of the squadron reached Twilight and Spike. They were still too distant to make out individual voices, but they were growing louder. Spike blew more flames while Twilight tore out the roots.
Just as they finished separating all the roots, Celestia poked her head in. “You’ve got five minutes at best. This is a particularly difficult tree, and you’ve done well, so let’s call it a win.”
Twilight stared up at Celestia and then shook her head. “Thank you for the heads up, Princess, but we can do this. Five minutes is just what I need for my escape plan.”
“Oh?” Celestia grinned. “You had time to come up with an escape plan through all this work?”
“A hero always thinks on her hooves.”
“Excellent. I leave it to you then.” Celestia pulled back from the hole. With a flash, she assumed her empowered form. A quick zap of her horn and her body blended into the air.
“Just keep an eye out for us!” Twilight called out. “This plan is really only good for short distance retreats right now!”
For a moment, Celestia pondered Twilight’s words. Then, her invisible eyes widened. When did she learn that?
A glow enveloped the tree. Light poured out the hole underneath it. Underground, Twilight closed her eyes and focused on the spot in the grassy plain she had marked and rechecked throughout the day. In total, she was now a little less than five hundred feet away.
Some of the boulders had been closer, but their mass would have put too much strain on her. The time constraint made it so that carving up the boulders and handling the smaller trees first was the most efficient plan. Plus, it allowed Twilight to conserve a portion of her strength. Factoring in her and Spike’s exhaustion, leaving the tree for last had seemed like the most practical choice. Now she just had to use what strength she had left to draw her trump card.
As the spell grew brighter, she felt a bit of pride in having kept her ace a secret from Celestia. If Celestia had known she had a way to escape with the tree at the last second, she may have made the situation a bit more challenging than it already was.
“Spike?” she asked. “We got all the roots, right?”
“Yep!”
“Then hold on to me,” Twilight ordered. Spike listened and grabbed onto Twilight. “This may be a little rough!”
~~~
Shining fought with all his might to contain his grin. Everypony knew freshly-minted lieutenants derived a comedically sadistic pleasure from the first time they got to lead greenhorns into the Everfree, but he was still a commanding officer. He had to be a strong example to his men, no matter what the task was.
The instruction of his drill sergeants and his own commanding officers still rang clear in his mind: even the best knight falters under a weak lord. True, the aristocracy had long since ceded personal armies to a national force, but the saying was still instilled into every cadet and remembered by those who wanted to do more than just grunt work.
Yet, it was entertaining to watch the bravado of the greenhorns fade away as they advanced closer and closer to the Everfree. This was the real deal. A tame introduction compared to dealing with rogue buffalo or securing trade routes up north that more seasoned knights handled, but the Everfree was a whole different league compared to Basic.
When the tips of the trees came into view, the greenhorns’ steps grew shorter and their jokes drew chuckles rather than guffaws. Shining had considered teasing them with a few stories of cragadiles or ursa majors, but those were just tales used to throw greenhorns off-balance.
On their first day, Shining wanted them to get used to the work and how the Everfree resisted magic. In Shining’s view, it was much more fun to wait until they were comfortable working in the Everfree to leave a few scratch marks on the trees and snap some twigs. The “Manticore on the Prowl” prank never failed, even if greenhorns knew it was coming.
A blaze of purple light broke Shining out of his mischievous planning. He gave an order to halt and watched whatever the light was blast into the sky and then vanish. It almost looked like a spell, but the size and intensity of the aura could only have come from an expertly trained mage. Faced with a variety of unexpected factors, Shining recalled his training, and he tightened his muscles.
“Men,” he said. Gone from his tone was the put-on harshness he had based off his drill instructor. Now, his words came out clear with precise pronunciation so no meaning could be lost or misunderstood. “That was an unknown. What do we do with an unknown, Brick-a-Brack?”
“I, uh,” Brick-a-Brack stuttered before finding his voice. Straightening up, he answered loudly, “Report to the commanding officer and then wait for orders, sir!”
“Correct.” A sheet of paper and a ballpoint pen flew out of Shining’s bag. He scribbled out a note and then sent it off with a spell. “And I then send a report to my commanding officer back in Canterlot. As a lieutenant, I then have a choice: wait for orders if possible or take the initiative and investigate further.
“On assessment, I have with me a squadron of combat-ready knights with full provisions and gear. Our squadron includes all three races with various talents that have been honed through Basic. Were we at the end of our first day, the former option would be my choice, but this is now your chance to make your first ‘trimming’ interesting. So, we will take up a reconnaissance formation and advance on the unknown.”
“Yes, sir!” the squadron replied in unison.
The squadron’s close-knit square dispersed into a diamond with unicorns at the four corners. The knight at the back corner cast a spell so his vision reversed and he once more saw Canterlot in the distance. The other unicorns, with Shining in the lead, cast enhancements on their eyes so even the distant mountains’ rocks and crevices appeared defined.
The pegasi in the squad quietly launched off the ground and kept to a low hover. The earth ponies of the squad filled in the gaps in the perimeter while a few remained in the center with everypony else’s gear on their backs. A faint outline of magic covered those in the center, rendering them and the rustling from their bags silent.
When the formation was secure, Shining cast another spell. The squadron felt a tingle at the back of their minds and then Shining’s voice resonated in their heads. Be ready with evasive and defensive maneuvers. Advance.
The order was met with a slow uniform trot by the ponies on the ground and an in-synch flap of the wings by the pegasi in the air. When the grass ended, Shining halted the group again. He bent low, scooped up a part of the blanket of ash on the ground and let it slip from his spell and back into the dirt. As it passed through his magic, he faintly sensed that two other types of magic had left a trace on the ash. One was certainly from a unicorn, but the other thaumic trace was unfamiliar. Combined with how much time had passed since the ash had been created, the traces were a dead end alone.
Given the uniform desolation around him though, a picture of what had happened started to form. His jaw clenched. He was certain he had not misread the map or his orders. Still, the situation and ensuring his squadron’s safety took precedence over covering up a mistake if he had made one. Night Owl, repeat our assignment orders.
The voice of one of the pegasi chimed in Shining’s head, Orders were to clear sector zero-six by thirty-two, sir.
Confirm our location.
Zero-six by thirty-two, sir.
Something was amiss. An error in orders was not unheard of, but Shining had been extra diligent in reviewing his assignment and studying the maps. There was no indication that another squad had been anywhere close to this sector. Yet, here he was, amidst a razed but unseeded forest. The thaumic trace and the uniform row of trees in the distance were clear signs that a forest fire was not to blame.
His horn glowed and his vision shifted from enhanced and turned the world into one mainly comprised of black. Around him were pony-shaped masses of mostly green energy with wings, horns, and hooves painted purple. A kaleidoscopic mishmash of color swirled in the distance. Blue spots dotted the void underneath him. Scanning over the area, he noted pits of green and even purple here and there.
He did his best to get a general sense of the thaumic imprint on the land before he turned his attention to where he had first seen the flash. With regular eyes, that area was just empty space now, but under his spell, it was like a blinding beacon. Spots of purple and red eveloped in a field of green surrounded it. The imprint itself was red on its edges and white in its center. The magic was so intense that when Shining acclimated to the glare, he could see that a tree had once stood there based on just the outline of energy. However, the magic was so concentrated at its base that he could not even stare at it let alone make out its shape.
Canceling the spell, he stared at the spot. To the naked eye, it was just a hole in the ground. With a raised hoof, he ordered an advance. Close up, he saw there were blackened roots poking out of the hole. They still smoked.
“What in Tartarus…” he muttered.
As if in response to his confusion, his horn suddenly lit up with golden aura. A letter popped into existence that Shining grabbed with a spell. His eyes widened when he saw the that letter was not sealed with the Guard’s stamp, but with the royal emblem. With care, he broke the seal and pulled out the letter.
To Lieutenant Armor,
My deepest apologies. There has been an oversight regarding the training of my personal students and your orders. I have informed your commanding officer of the situation and told him to relieve you of duty for today. Please return to Canterlot. Again, my apologies.
Her Majesty,
Princess Celestia
Shining reread the letter three more times. He did a thaumic scan to be extra sure it was genuine. When the scan revealed a trace that was gold in color, he canceled the spell, carefully folded the letter back up, and placed it in his saddle bag. With the letter secure, he made a mental note to get it framed. Twilight would not believe it when he showed it to her on his next break.
“Men,” he said, bringing his attention back to the present. “I have just received an explanation from the Princess herself. There is no mention of security or classification of this communication, but since there has been no official word from the Castle on this matter, I want our lips sealed. That being said, get a good look around you. What we’re seeing is the work Princess Celestia’s newest students.”
Shining smirked watching the tension evaporate from his squadron and give way to admiration and wonder. One of the earth ponies remained alert and drew closer to Shining. His name was Ironside, which fit well with his silver mane, dark grey coat, and massive frame. Given that he hailed from the frontier, Shining had to wonder if Ironside’s size came from at least some buffalo ancestry.
“Sir? If I may?” he asked.
“Yes, what is it?”
Ironside bent down and ran a hoof through the ash. “I’ve seen this kind of ash before. Regular fire can’t create something so fine and uniform. We could find ash like this near the mountains back home, but, if we ever did spot any of the stuff, we turned tail as fast as we could. There’s only one creature in Equestria the creates ash like this.”
“Hmm. That would explain the other thaumic trace. Makes sense that the Princess’s students would be training to deal with dragons after that incident a few months back, and this isolated area makes for a safe training ground.” Shining scooped up some ash out of the hole and cast a spell on it.
The trace was clearer now. Unlike the chaotic magic that flowed from the Everfree or the simple outlines pony magic left, a fresh trace of dragonfire appeared to Shining as crackling embers. It glowed the same colors as pony magic though. The warm ash floating before Shining was a collection of reds and purples. A few spots were already turning green.
“It is a little odd,” Shining mused. “This trace has to be fresh, but I’m getting a read from whom I’m guessing is Lady Ember and only one other trace. I was sure the Princess said stude—”
Shining paused.
“Sir? Ironside moved a little closer. “Is everything okay?”
With a blink, Shining canceled his spell and let the ash drop back into the hole. “Er, sorry. Ironside, let’s go off record for a minute, okay?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Well, I think the unexpectedness of this all might be messing with my head.”
“Sir?”
“Nothing serious, so no need to worry. It’s just the strangest thing. If I have misread anything today, it must be this, but I know this trace. Or, at least I know one like it, but it can’t be. The last time I did a trace on her was years ago and that was when I was still a colt, just messing around.”
Ironside raised an eyebrow. “Are you saying you know who one of the Princess’s new students is?”
“No.” Shining shook his head and laughed. “That’s what I mean when I say something must be up with my head. I’m probably just remembering things wrong. That makes a whole lot more sense than me being right.”
“And why is that?”
“Because,” Shining chuckled, “it would have to mean my sister, who just got her cutie mark, was out here, training with a dragon, clearing this entire sector, casting what I can only assume was a teleportation spell, and is Princess Celestia’s new student. I’ve hauled off vagrants spouting less gibberish than that.”
Ironside tried and failed to restrain a laugh. He then stiffened. “I apologize, sir. I’m sure your sister is quite talented. You just made it sound very funny.”
“No worries.” Shining glanced at the hole and then at the first stars of the evening. “My little sister has done well training this summer from the looks and sounds of things. I’m sure she’s gonna be a great hero, but that’s in the realm of reality. Her being here is just…”
Shining’s brow furrowed for a moment, but Ironside’s words pulled him out of his thoughts. “Best of luck to her.”
“Okay then, enough chitchat.” Shining strode away from the hole and faced his squadron. “Men, prepare to return back to Canterlot. Don’t think you’re getting off easy. Every mile on the way back, we will circulate between a march, a buffalo run, and leap frogs. Am I clear?”
“Yes, sir!” they all responded.
“Then move out!” Shining ordered.
~~~
Spike watched Shining from afar. He remained crouched behind the felled tree, praying for Shining and his squadron to not advance any closer. Twilight lay beside him, letting out small snores.
As soon as they had reappeared, Twilight had displayed a giddy grin. Then, she had collapsed. Her horn was neither smoking nor blackened though. When Spike had pressed a claw to her chest, he had felt a steady heartbeat. Biting his claws, he opted to hunker down and wish with all his heart that Celestia would show up and get him and Twilight out of there.
Thoughts ran wild in his head when Shining approached the hole he and Twilight had been in just minutes beforehand. Twilight had told Spike about him. Spike chalked a bit up to familial admiration, but it was clear from all the stories Twilight told him that Shining Armor was intelligent, strong, and an adept magic user. Seeing him in the flesh, casting spell after spell, and handling a squadron and a bizarre situation with ease assured Spike that Twilight was not exaggerating when she had gushed about how Shining was set on being the Captain of the Guard.
It also assured Spike that Shining probably knew trace and tracking spells. While Twilight slumbered as if back in her bed, Spike was at full attention. He knew a teleportation spell left a huge thaumic trace, but he also knew the trace was so intense that, close-up, it was near-impossible to track. His heart still caught in his throat when he saw Shining pull some ash out of the hole.
Then, he saw a flash of gold from Shining’s horn. Spike watched him read the letter, talk with another knight for a second, and then round up his squadron. When they turned back towards Canterlot, Spike let out his breath and slumped down next to Twilight.
“My goodness! You made it just in time!” The air parted like a curtain, revealing Celestia standing right by Spike. He yelped and launched into the air, only to fall and bump his head on the tree. Celestia chuckled. “Sorry, thought one surprise deserved another.”
Rubbing his head, Spike looked down at Twilight and then up at Celestia. “Princess, I think we need to get Twilight some help. She passed out as soon as we got here.”
“I noticed.” Celestia bent down and scooped Twilight onto her back. “Ever have that woozy feeling when you stand up too fast?”
Spike nodded.
“Magnify that by a hundred and you have teleportation sickness. If I had known Twilight was already capable of self-teleportation, I would have warned her. Quite the little trump card she had on me.”
“So, she’ll be okay?” Spike asked.
“After a good night’s rest, which is well deserved.” Celestia beckoned Spike closer. As she lit up her horn, she glanced back at Twilight slumbering atop her back and smiled. “She’s done better than even I anticipated. As for you, Spike, your control of dragonfire is something to be very proud of at such a young age.”
Spike blushed and grinned. The glow from Celestia’s horn spread down her body and enveloped Twilight and Spike.
“No matter what happens tomorrow, know that you and Twilight are destined for great things,” Celestia continued. “Everything you two have endured this summer is a testament to that.”
“Couldn’t have done it without Twilight,” Spike replied. “When she sets her mind to something, she can really pull through… after babbling about all the different plans and scenarios for five minutes.” Spike glanced up at Celestia. “Don’t tell her I said that last part.”
A laugh rang through the field and then a flash illuminated it.
~~~
A knock at the door summoned Velvet to the front of the house. When she opened it, her eyes narrowed at the sight of Hoofenbacker with Twilight on his back. Before either anger or concern could fully manifest, confusion came to the forefront of Velvet’s mind when she spotted a familiar purple and green dog beside Hoofenbacker’s leg.
“Good evening, Ms. Velvet,” said Hoofenbacker.
“Is it?” Velvet asked, eyes centered on Twilight. “My daughter doesn’t look so good, and this isn’t the first time.”
“My deepest apologies.” Hoofenbacker bowed his head, allowing the locket around his neck to swing towards the ground. “Oh, but Ms. Velvet, if you had seen Twilight today, you vould not believe your eyes. She’s not only made great strides over zis summer, but she’s helped so many of our other patients improve as vell… including my daughter.”
Velvet glanced down at Spike, then at the familiar lockets. The dots connected and her anger waned. “You’re Sunny’s…” She coughed into a hoof and collected herself. “That’s all well and good, but then you should also understand why I am not pleased seeing Twilight like this almost every night.”
“I know,” Hoofenbacker sighed. He raised his head and displayed a small smile. “Twilight has given it her all zis summer. I could not be prouder of her. Again, my apologies if zis training has worried you, but I doubt Twilight vill ever need our services again. Best of luck to her tomorrow.”
Hoofenbacker lit up his horn and transported Twilight over to Velvet. As Velvet secured Twilight onto her back, Hoofenbacker turned to leave.
“Wait,” Velvet called out. Hoofenbacker stopped. “I know this hero business is dangerous, and with the way Twilight has been for most of her life, I’ve always worried about her. I may not have appreciated having to lift her up the stairs some nights, but you’ve helped her more than anypony else has to achieve her dream. Plus, Twilight has always had a bit of trouble making friends, so seeing her bond with your daughter meant a lot.”
“It meant a lot to her too,” said Hoofenbacker. Velvet did not notice his accent had vanished. “Sunny may appear very energetic, but these last few years have been hard on her. Despite that, Twilight inspires her to work hard. Even without magic, Twilight has given her a place in this world.”
Velvet looked back at Twilight slumbering away. “You should really tell Twilight that sometime.”
Hoofenbacker grinned. “She already knows.”
~~~
Twilight opened her eyes. Her head then shot up as she recalled casting the teleportation spell. She was certain she had made it to the field, but then she everything had blurred before going black. A myriad of reasons for the sudden loss of consciousness flooded her mind, but a chill brought her attention back to the present.
When she took in her surroundings, her stomach dropped. She was in the void, swirling with that inky substance that shifted between appearing like a liquid, a gas, and a solid. Twilight took up a battle-ready stance.
The harsh clink of armored horseshoes striking each other rang from behind Twilight. She spun. The mare sat before her, as imposing as she had appeared before and in Twilight’s meditations. She rested atop a throne of the amorphous substance, but her relaxed posture did not quell the terror her eyes provoked. “Congratulations on finishing your ‘training.’”
The mare's words made Twilight’s skin crawl. Her legs grew weak, her breath quickened, and her body barked commands to run. With a snort, she slammed a hoof down and glared at the mare.
“So, you do have a spine,” the mare mused. She stood up, throne fading to the void. “Without the Elements though, you’re still just a foal playing hero.”
“I…” Twilight raked what passed as the ground with a hoof. “I’m not afraid of you.”
“Everypony is afraid of me,” the mare hissed. “And they have every right to be. I am more powerful than you could possibly imagine. So, save your false bravado, Twilight Sparkle.”
“I know this is a dream.” Twilight dared to grin. “The meditation helped while I was awake, but I read up on lucid dreaming too! Let’s see how you like me as strong as Princess Celestia!”
Twilight closed her eyes and envisioned herself taller, her horn longer, with wings on her back, and the sun itself at her beck and call. When she opened them again, the mare was still standing before her, still forcing Twilight’s rationality to fight against her baser survival instincts. The mare’s lips sharpened into a scowl while Twilight’s grin evaporated.
“Are you done playing make-believe?” she growled. The mare zoomed forward in a shroud of smoke. A hoof caught Twilight in the ribs and sent her flying. While Twilight lay coughing on the ground, the mare advanced over to her. “Your mind is weak, your body is untrained, and your magic is pathetic! It’s time to stop dreaming, Twilight Sparkle, and face reality.”
Twilight managed to suck in enough air to hack, “The Princesses wi—“
“The Princesses are not here now and they will not be here forever!” the mare roared, causing the entire void to shake. The smoke rising out of her helmet grabbed Twilight by the throat, just barely loose enough to still allow Twilight to breath. Pulling Twilight close, the mare bared her fangs. “And their legacy is you, a foal who cannot even summon the faintest glimmer of the Elements’ magic. I’d laugh if it wasn’t m—”
A blast of magic slammed into her left eye. With a pained hiss, she dropped Twilight and stumbled back.
“I’ve been hearing stuff like that for years,” Twilight huffed. “And even if I can’t active the Elements right now, Princess Celestia chose to believe in me. Spike believes in me. I believe in me! No matter what you do, I’m going to be the hero that inherits the Elements! You can’t change that, and whatever you have planned, I’m going to stop you!”
“Foal!” the mare hissed. Removing the hoof covering her damaged eye did not reveal a wound but rather a normal eye with a round pupil. Blue fur instead of black lined it. Sensing the change, the mare turned to hide the transformed side of her face. Her still-slitted eye glared at Twilight. “You and your teacher have no idea what you are doing. That School is useless now! You will learn nothing about wielding the Elements there!”
Twilight’s chuckle made the mare snarl. “Princess Celestia was right, you really do know nothing about the Elements.”
“Do not speak like you know anything about the Elements!” The mare crouched, ready to launch herself at Twilight, but the echo of something ringing invaded the void. The mare’s slitted eye twitched. She jabbed a hoof in Twilight’s direction. “You know nothing, Twilight Sparkle, and I will not rest until you are made aware of just how out of your league you truly are.”
The ringing grew louder. The void brightened to blue and the mare’s limbs turned to smoke.
“I still have a lot to learn, but no matter what, Elements or not, I’ll be here to protect Equestria from evil like you!” Twilight proclaimed.
“Evil?” The mare smirked. Even though Twilight had managed to keep it together, there was something about the mare’s grin that shook something deep in her core: even with fangs, it bore an uncanny resemblance to Celestia’s. The mare’s lips curved further upwards. “See? You know nothing, Twilight Sparkle, and you can do nothing without the Elements. Your exam will be the ultimate proof of that.”
As the mare dissipated into mist, the ringing grew deafening. The space around Twilight went white.
~~~
A purple leg flailed off the bed out of instinct and shut the alarm off. The leg immediately retracted and went to Twilight’s chest. Closing her eyes once more, she sat up and focused on her breathing. The mare and the nightmare faded away. With unclouded eyes, Twilight looked out the window at the sun rising over Canterlot.
The day of the Entrance Exam had arrived.
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I like the anime, I like the cartoon. So a combination of the two should actually be very exiting. But after reading the available chapters I'm left with the fear that this is more a retelling then a new story. Just swapped the characters from the anime with the ponies and so on. Because so far, the only thing new was Nightmare Moon in the dreams. All the other stuff I already knew.
Sometimes the most ridiculous answer is the correct one.
Good on Twilight for keeping her cool against NM.
Ha. Twi's definitely like Izuku
I think this is a pretty fresh combination of pony and BNHA! Familiar plot points but with new reactions and situations based on the characters- good show! Super excited to see how the rest of Twilight's class turns out
and maybe see Sunset finally chill just a little bit come on best girl you can be better than thatWait a minute... if Shining didn't know who the Princess' student is, why would he want that letter in frame?
8417969 Because he got a letter from the Princess? Even if he doesn't know about Twilight's connection, it's still effectively an autograph from the ruling authority figure and Equestria's greatest hero!
> Sees clear evidence that morning that Twilight's magic has gone through the roof
> Has noticed her physique also getting much better than it ever was
> Knows she's been coming back so exhausted she couldn't even move on her own
> Sees a magic trace that feels identical to Twilight's
Yet Shining still doubts that Twilight is responsible for the clearing. I mean it seemed like he might have been caching on at the end but I do hope he at least asks her about it. Though I do agree her getting so strong so fast is pushing it a little bit at least without having to tap into the Elements of Harmony is a little much, but then it is Twilight. A Twilight that had a genetic condition preventing her from having magic until a few months ago but Twilight nonetheless
Not gonna lie, the scene with Velvet and Celestia was pretty good, as was the confrontation with Nightmare Moon who is just as stupid a villain here as in canon. She really should have waited until she was actually ready to kill Twilight before making her existence known, she's acting more like Shigaraki than All For One and may not exactly be a good thing. Hopefully she gets better, want to know why she thought Twilight calling her evil was funny?
Training arc could have been a bit shorter but I'm still enjoying it, now on to the entrance exam.
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The clearing was something that would be cleared by an entire squadron of knights, and the magic traces showed a highly trained mage's markings.
He isn't used to Twilight being great at magic all her life. He just couldn't connect those dots in good conscience with what he knew from before.
What is this word you keep using, "Men"?
Aw, no Celestia going...
"Oh my... Oh my... GOODNESS!!"
How very, VERY interesting.
8580743
Maybe she IS Shigaraki? All For One isn't the only villain connected to All Might.