From a Mirror to Canterlot High

by mattchilly

Chapter 9: A little training

The trees gave way to a large clearing, a round stone floor fifteen feet in diameter seemingly built into the ground as a massive oak tree well above eighty feet towered over the land. The sounds of explosions could be heard in the distance, though Azure and Veronica seemed to pay no mind to this.

"Well, why don't we get comfortable before anything major happens?" Azure asked as he set down a blanket he pulled from… somewhere as a pair of the forest wolves pulled out a wooden cart filled with a teapot, tea set, and various breads and cookies.

“So how are we going to do this?” Sunset asked as she sat down on a blanket.

"You just stay still while I place my hand on your head and enter your mind-scape," Azure replied, "Again, it should be painless."

“Well don’t blame me if you go anyplace you shouldn’t,” Sunset said, “With Midna as a roommate… well there’s a lot of weird stuff in my mind.”

“She’s not wrong,” Midna chuckled, “Then again we’re gamers so that’ll also have some weird stuff in there.”

Azure hummed as he pooled mana into his palm, "Hmm… might have to prepare a landing pad…" Gently, he placed his now glowing left hand onto Sunset's head as the world seemed to dissolve around him and teen.

Falling through a void, he landed on what looked like a thin sheet of glass that sealed in a rather large brain, "Hokay… now you should be somewhere…" Azure slowly began to look for Sunset, hopeful that she would be awake in her own mind.

“Yo,” Sunset said from right behind Azure, making him jump, “So where do we go from here?”

Taking a quick breath, Azure sighed and stretched, "Mm~ Here should be fine. Now then, I'll just be placing a small bit of my magic inside of you and see if I can get your core to wake up…" That said, he quickly formed a wisp of fire with a flick of his wrist and rolled it around until it became a bit more solid. Once the ball of flame had turned into what was essentially an orange marble, he let it drop as it phased through the glass, "Now we wait."

“How long does this normally take and what’s the sign it worked?” Sunset asked.

"Well, when I tried this with Twilight, her horn started to act up as bursts of magic just popped off randomly," Azure explained, "You were a unicorn once, I think, your magic should just flare up."

Moments later sparks and then gouts of fire erupted from Sunset’s hands, “You mean like that?” she asked as she willed the fire to stop.

"Yup!" Azure said happily, "Let's see… depending on how strong that was… well, Veronica and Midna are out there so it should be fine…" He muttered cryptically before brightening up again, "Ah well. Anything you'd like to do in here?"

“Hmm… I can’t think of anything at the moment… oh! Perhaps try to find out why I went all demonic in the Twilight Realm?” Sunset said, “Right now the current hypothesis is that because I spent so much time around Midna, her Mirror and Wards, I've absorbed some of her magic at a slow enough pace that I’ve adapted to it.”

"Ooh boy, that is a can of worms…" Azure whispered as he held his chin, "Well, in baseline, Sunset Shimmer became a demon after obtaining the Element of Harmony, Magic. It may be the same or it may be different in your case as, with enough magic… well, demon form."

“... Damn multiverse theory,” Sunset groaned as she rubbed her forehead while the image of her demon form appeared before the two, “Well I never stole the Element of Harmony. I at least know better than to go mucking about with magical artifacts that need to pick their user. Plus the portal closed this morning and I had more important things on my mind while in Equestria. Like trying not to die while in the Dungeon.”

Azure nodded at this, "That's… actually good to hear. It's good to know there are other Sunset's with a good head on their shoulders. Though… there are always those few…" The image of Sunset in her pony form appeared, the mare staring darkly at a mirror which appeared to show her with a pair of wings before it fades away, "I have a good feeling about you though."

“Oh I saw that too but… Well Midna being Midna helped get me out of that mindset,” Sunset shrugged, “Now I don’t give a damn… doubly so after what… The Princess said about her.”

"The Luna from this world will give you a whole list of reasons to not like Celestia," Azure commented, "Anyway, we could spend more time in here and I can show you a few spells, or we can go back out there and teach you those same spells at a… slower rate, but at least the others won't wonder if you're alright or not… or at least Midna? Veronica's hard to read sometimes…"

“I think Midna would be more likely to consider how to get payback on you if you mess with my mind,” Sunset said drily, “And she can get… creative. Still surprised I haven’t gotten her into my D&D group yet but Fluttershy is not going to stop pestering her to join at least once in a while once I tell her Midna made a D&D reference.”

"Heh, I D&D'd once… that was fun," Azure murmured in happy remembrance, "So, waking up then?"

“Yup,” Sunset said. Once more, the world turned dark as Sunset gasped, her first sight being Azure pulling his hand away.

"Ooh, and she left scorch marks~" Azure said with palpable excitement as he pointed at a pair of black marks upon the stone next to Sunset.

"So she can use magic now?" Veronica asked, skeptical of the success. Flames burst into life and danced around Sunset’s fingers while she smirked, "Okay… guess it worked."

"And with enough work, she can have that fire burn hotter until it becomes plasma…" Azure muttered with darkened glee before clearing his throat, "In time of course."

“Something to look forward to,” Sunset snickered, “Man those Twilit Lizalfos are going to hate me once I start casting Heat Metal on them.”

“... I think anyone would hate you if you do that,” Midna deadpanned.

"Ah, I heard slow cooking lizards offers the best taste~" Azure said jokingly while Nica seemed to salivate.

“Well they don’t leave corpses so sadly we’ll never know,” Midna said sarcastically.

“And unless you take their weapons before they die… well they don’t normally drop their weapons,” Sunset shrugged.

"So it's not like Wind Waker where the weapon drops regardless?" Azure asked, "I'm surprised you two are still alive."

“As we said, luck and knowing zelda tropes,” Midna shrugged, “Plus having my wolves helps.”

"Hey, if you need weapons, Dumbass here has a lot," Veronica commented as she poked Azure's face.

“I’d rather learn how to use what we already have,” Midna said with a shrug, “But weapon training later. Magic training now. Speaking off… How are you going to teach me Shadow magic?"

Nodding, Azure stood up and dusted himself off before pulling back his robes. Wind swept by as he seemingly disrobed to reveal… another set of robes. This new set was an onyx black, form fitting robe underneath a lighter, tattered charcoal black duster, dirty bandages wrapped around his forearms, a belt with a vibrant red jewel as its buckle, black sandals, a necklace with a tiny skull, and finishing off the look was a black tiara with a red gem and a flowing black cape that may or may not have been green at one point.

"Ah, much better…" He murmured as he began to will the shadows at his feet to rise and writhe.

“If you're trying to Cosplay as a Fire Emblem Dark mage I’d give ya a six out of ten,” Midna said then looked at Veronica, “Didn’t you say the costume party was next week? Why’d he break it out early?”

"Oh come on, I don't look that bad," Azure said with a jovial smile.

"You look like a dork!" Veronica shouted in response. Said response only caused the man to smile fondly, the blonde blushing and looking away.

"Anyway… these robes are a bit more in tune with the darkness," Azure explained, "These should help me, and by extension you, in understanding the Darkness itself."

“Well don’t go all ‘Heartless’ on us,” Sunset snickered, “You’re sounding a bit like Ansem Seeker of Darkness there.”

Azure chuckled at this as he began to form four palm sized ink black orbs, "Well, he was half right anyway… The Heart, not the Mind, is the wellspring of all magic. The greatest magicians of their times understood that it was love, not hate, that fueled their spells."

“The code of the Final Fantasy Black Mages,” Sunset chuckled, “Love not Hate… still odd how that ends up with Meteor and Ultima.”

"Or the Master Spark if you know about Touhou," Veronica added.

"All good examples," Azure stated solemnly, "Now then, I don't have very many spell scrolls for dark based spells so everything I teach you will have to be learned from this suit. As such, we'll start off with you getting a feel for its brand of magic."

Slowly, the orbs encircled Midna and began to hover around her, “... Feels different to my magic,” Midna shrugged, “Similar but still different.”

"Not surprised," Azure offered, "Your magic is… alien, for lack of a better word. Magic like this is more… human. Now, I'm going to cast a spell and you'll have a chance to familiarize yourself with its structure and composition before attempting it yourself. Sound good?"

“Works for me,” Midna said.

“And in the meantime,” Sunset said as looked at Veronica, “You mentioned being willing to teach hand to hand combat?” Veronica's grin slowly grew, her sharpener teeth glistening in whatever visible light there was.

"I won't make it easy~" Veronica replied.

Meanwhile, Azure had conjured a giant, torso sized fist made from shadows and let Midna examine it.

“You’re trying to see if I can get a Zant Hand with this aren’t you?” Midna asked with a smirk.

"A what now?" Azure asked curiously, "Oh! Huh… that's a bit of a coincidence… no no. This spell is, funnily enough, called Gybbi's Elemental Fist.”

After examining the spell for a few more moments Midna tried to cast the spell and while she succeeded her shadowy hand, had light blue lines and runes similar to her mirrors, “Huh… wasn’t expecting those lines.

"Not unexpected, however," Azure commented, "Shall we continue?"

“Alright,” Midna said with a thoughtful frown, “Though shouldn’t we test to see if it’s usable?”

"Of course!" Azure cheered, "Practicality is just as important as theory," With that, he poured magic into his shadow as a ragged tan robe rose from it, two thin arms reaching out before the left hand pulled out an aged umbrella and unfurled it, "Here, your target."

Midna focused for a moment, flicked her wrist and the shadowy fist shot at the umbrella… only to splash against it like water dealing no damage, "Well that's not what I wanted… ok next try."

Meanwhile, Veronica was taking her time to review Sunset's fighting stance, which were all basic and ineffective, “So where did you want to start?” Sunset asked.

"Arms up!" Veronica ordered as she swiftly tapped Sunset's left elbow with her index and middle finger, "Feet shoulder length apart," She continued as she slid the teen's feet in place, "Knees bent!" Another swift tap, "Chin down," She then slightly tilted Sunset's head down, "Not bad, but better… now throw a punch."

“Considering your… abrasive personality I was expecting more of a drill sergeant type of teaching approach,” Sunset said then threw a punch into Veronica’s open palm.

Catching it, Veronica gave her fist a tight squeeze before letting go, "Just because I'm pissed twenty four seven doesn't mean I can't focus, now throw another punch," Throwing another punch Veronica caught it again with a smirk, “Plus Azure would never believe you.”

“... You really are way too similar to Midna,” Sunset sighed, “Minus the whole being angry all the time bit.”

"Blame Flandre," Veronica replied dryly before her eyes thinned into slits, "DODGE!" Was all she shouted before she moved to tap Sunset on her forehead.

“You know that’s more distracting than helping right?” Sunset asked as she rubbed her forehead.

"Not unless you're paying attention," Veronica replied as she crossed her arms, "Actually dodge this time," With that, Veronica continued to take whacks at Sunset.

Time passed quietly for the pair, Veronica constantly pushing Sunset's limits in both offense and defense. Though, more time had passed than they thought as Midna, Azure, as well as a pair of wolves approached with a cart of food.

"Almost dinnertime, ladies!" Azure said cheerfully.

“Already?” Sunset asked, surprised at how quickly time had flown. Looking up she saw the sun nearing the horizon, “Huh. Would you look at that?”

“Hey Shimmy check this out!” Midna cheered as the shadows pooled under Sunset then formed a near solid disk which raised up lifting Sunset and Veronica a couple of feet into the air.

“Woh,” Sunset said as she quickly regained her balance, “You sure you should use shadow magic outside the forest?”

“It’s fine,” Midna said as Sunset lowered back to the ground, “This little bit of magic won’t cause any problems.”

"We can always say it was Luna," Azure offered.

"Where is Moon-Butt?" Veronica asked, "I don't think I saw her at all today."

"She's probably at Twilight's," Azure replied, "Other than that, who knows."

“So what’s for dinner?” Midna asked as the group started walking to Azure’s house, “And damn Shimmy you look exhausted.”

“She’s really thorough with making sure I know the basics,” Sunset shrugged.

"Gotta know how to fight if you don't want to die," Veronica said simply.

"As for food," Azure murmured as he pulled a sheet covering the cart, a baked cheesy smell immediately wafting outwards, "Looks like it's mac and cheese."

"Your ghost isn't usually that lazy," Veronica commented as she looked at the top of the cart, eyes widening slightly, "Okay, that looks good."

There were two glass casseroles, the left dish held a fairly standard made macaroni and cheese, yellow cheese and elbow macaroni. The right however consisted of a white cheese with conch shell macaroni.

“Either way they look good,” Midna said, “There the option of adding meat to these and making them a sandwich?”

A wolf gave a bark and motioned to a bottom compartment, opening it revealed a basket filled with breaded chicken filets and a loaf of bread.

"That answers that question," Azure said enthusiastically, "Ah… her cooking reminds me of home~"

“This is your home,” Sunset deadpanned, “Or do you mean before you got Isekaied?”

"Before…" Azure said wistfully, "Ah, but that's beside the point! A full belly makes a happy heart~"

After dinner the group went into the living room, “So what now… and how do we get back home?” Midna asked.

"I can send you back easily enough," Azure said as he put everything away, "I just need something from your world and I can send you on your way."

A single arrow rose from the shadows before Azure, “Would one of my arrows work?” Midna asked.

Taking the arrow, Azure inspected it before biting on the wood. Eyes closed, magic pooled in his hands before his hands became enlarged dark green claws, gold and black bracelets adorning them. With a swipe, a rift was open to reveal a kitchen, dirty plates sitting on a table.

"Ish dish ye hm?" Azure grumbled out, the arrow still locked in his teeth.

“Yup,” Midna said, “Give me a moment to go see how long we’ve been gone,” Ducking into the kitchen Midna quickly moved the dishes into the sink before moving out of sight. A couple minutes later she returned, “It’s only been a few minutes. I think given a little time I can figure out the time dilation.”

“I’ll get you some paper,” Veral said before ducking out of the room.

When she returned Midna went to work and some time later she put the pen down and rubbed her forehead, “Ok if I did this correctly I think that two days here is roughly one day in our world.”

“We’ll find someone to double check it,” Sunset said.

"Is that good?" Veronica asked as Azure nodded.

"Ish shouns gu," He replied, "Ken ah dro th'aro now?”

“Yup,” Midna said, “Worst comes to worst we’ll make something up about missing a day of school.”

Spitting out the arrow, the rift slowly closed, "Veral, please ready a room," Azure asked as the ghost gave a salute before flying off, "Not exactly a five star hotel, but I offer my home to you."

“It’s fine,” Midna said, waving him off, “Glad I took the time to grab my Mirror so I can get some practice with it in.”

"Mirror?" Azure asked, "Wait… you mean that mirror?"

The Mirror of Shadows rose from the ground and floated behind Midna, “This is my Mirror of Shadows. My main weapon when I’m not in my Imp form… though I haven’t had much practice with my weapons.”

"Well, once we have Twilight double check the time discrepancies, you'll have enough time to practice," Azure offered.

“... I’m guessing Twilight being important is common through the multiverse?” Sunset sighed, “Just like other versions of me going power hungry?”

"I think you and my Sunset would have a lot to talk about," Azure said with a sad smile, "But I do suppose Twilight is a rather important constant."

"Why is Star Butt so important?" Veronica asked curiously.

"Bah, questions for later~" Azure said with a dismissive wave and smile.

“So… How do you keep the… Sun Princess from finding you?” Midna asked, “Do you just… hide in the forest whenever she visits?”

"I can seal my magic," Azure replied, "Though… seal may be incorrect. It's rather complicated, but besides that, I used various methods before I got my hands on a mask."

"He doesn't like wearing it," Veronica added, "I don't blame him."

“Like a… Majora’s Mask kind of mask?” Sunset asked, getting a nod from Azure she said, “Who did you use the Song of Healing on to get that?”

"Queen Chrysalis," Azure murmured.

“Who?” Midna and Sunset asked simultaneously.

Azure blinked away whatever somber thoughts he held before brightening up in epiphany, "Oh! You must not have met her yet. She's the queen of a race of equine shaped, shape shifting insectoids. You'll find her kingdom nestled deep within Appleoosa's mountains."

“Something to keep in mind,” Sunset said while Midna scowled.

“What’s to bet that the Sun Princess is screwing them over too just because they’re ‘dark’?”

"Chrysalis actually has a body count," Azure replied, "Though, that may just be in the comics…"

“Comics?” Sunset asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I think I'll shut up now…" Azure whispered before chuckling awkwardly which was followed up by a hushed 'Dumbass' from Veronica.

"I brought Twilight everyone!" Veral shouted suddenly, Twilight walking into view along with a cream colored unicorn wearing a purple knit sweater with glasses who's mane was styled exactly like Twilight's, though colored a more oakish red, "Oh, and Moondancer."

“Hello,” Midna said, though it was clear she wasn’t happy to see Moondancer, her Mirror subtly moving closer to float right behind her left shoulder.

The unicorn blinked and looked at Twilight and then Azure, "Something I did? Though, considering I was holed up in Canterlot for so long I don't think I did anything…"

"Different universes, different dancers," Azure offered as the confused Moondancer slowly nodded.

Clearing her throat, Twilight stepped in, "So~ I'm told there were numbers that needed to be crunched. How may I be of assistance?"

Sunset handed Twilight the paper, "We just want to make sure that Midna did the math on the time difference between our worlds correctly."

Taking the paper in her magic, Twilight began to study its contents before a quill and parchment popped into existence next to her; the equations being repeated, "Let's see… if I'm right… Yup! Everything checks out nicely."

“Woo!” Midna cheered as she raised her fists, “First try!”

"Time dilation from separate faucets of reality…" Moondancer whispered in awe as she was handed the parchment while Midna was given the paper, "The studies we could perform together…"

Twilight giggled at this before bumping her cheek on Moondancer's, "Why don't we save that for later? We're currently guests after all."

“Hey Azure?” Midna said, “Do you have any books on shadow magic I can read?”

"Not anything for shadow magic…" He murmured before he pulled out a crystalline blue sword with a golden guard and hilt shaped much like a dragon's head. With a press against it's left eye, a blue screen appears with the image of a bag, "Let's see, let's see…" Pressing the image, he found a black tome with a skull on it, "I do however have a book on Necromancy. Would you like to take a peek?"

"Nah," Midna said, "I'd rather not be the one making Redeads… man those are going to be a pain to fight."

"I can imagine…" Azure murmured before he shivered.

"What's the problem? Aren't they just zombies?" Veronica questioned, more than a little disappointed.

"That have a scream which can paralyze you for a few seconds letting them either latch on and drain your life force or if it's a Redead Knight hit you with its heavy sword," Sunset explained.

Veronica blinked before looking at the floor and nodding, "Okay…"

"Well, we won't bother you while you sleep," Azure offered as he started to lead the blonde away.

"We should get home too," Twilight said, "Don't want to stay out too late."

"It was good to meet such… interesting outworlders," Moondancer added before looking at Sunset, "Why do you look familiar?"

"Because as someone once said.. Multiverse theory is a pain in the ass," Sunset said with a smirk, "Name's Sunset Shimmer."

"Why does that feel lik-" Moondancer went from curious to surprise, "Sunset Shimmer? I haven't seen you in… my gosh, ten? Ten years…"

"And not our Sunset," Azure said.

“So the me of this world knows you?” Sunset asked, “Huh. I never met you in my world. Then again different worlds, slightly different lives.”

The next morning found the four sitting at the table eating breakfast, “So what are we going to learn today?” Midna asked.

“I learn more about pyromancy and it’s your turn for Veronica’s lessons?” Sunset asked.

"Sounds good," Azure said happily, a glass of red viscous liquid in his hands.

"I won't go easy on you," Veronica added as she toyed with an equal, but already empty glass.

“...Uh oh,” Midna said.

“Have fun~” Sunset snickered.

"Vampires aren't exactly known for their kindness after all," Azure added, Veronica slowly smiling as the glass in her hand disintegrated almost immediately.

“Meep,” Midna said as she shuddered from Veronica’s intimidating smile.

Some time later deep in the forest Sunset said, “So… why are we training pyromancy… in the middle of a forest?”

"A magical forest," Azure corrected, "As to why, consider the alternative. Do you want Celestia finding out you're here?"

“Nope, wondering if being surrounded by flammable material is a good idea,” Sunset shrugged, “But I guess you know what you’re doing.”

"Don't worry, I can put out the flames if need be," Azure offered before once more changing his wardrobe. These new robes were colored a vibrant red with yellow lining and accents in a flame motif. The gem in his belt was an orange yellow and instead of bandages, black metal bands adorned his wrists and a black cape blew in the wind, "Nice and warm~"

"So what do we do first?" Sunset asked, "Go over what I know before moving on?"

"That would be ideal," Azure replied, "You can go ahead and aim all your fire at me," He stated as he took a grappler's stance.

The next few minutes saw a flurry of various fire spells fly at Azure, the robed man spinning to and fro as he dispelled the flames, the last spell Sunset cast surprised Azure as it wasn’t just pyromancy but mixed cryomancy spell. A large icicle with a deep purple flame caught in the center. Sadly the icicle shattered and the flame fell to the ground and went out, “Damn it,” Sunset grumbled, “I still can’t get that spell to work… not surprising since I haven’t had a chance to practice.”

"That… that was an Elemental Shaman spell!" Azure said excitedly, "Okay, okay… you probably have no idea what I'm talking about, right?"

“Nope… and I just started making that one day due to sheer boredom,” Sunset shrugged, “Took a while to get the fire the correct color let alone learning a single cryomancy spell.”

"Well, all magic is simply bending the world to your whims," Azure explained, "Agitating the hydrogen and oxygen in the air, warping it and changing its form…" His hands seemed to slide along the air as water formed at his fingertips before steaming and finally solidifying into icicles with visible wisps that looked like they would burn at a single touch, "Ah, but that can wait…"

“Alright,” Sunset said, “So by dumb luck I stumbled into something big…” A big grin then spread over her face “HA! Take that Sun Princess! She said that my experiment wouldn’t lead anywhere!”

Azure chuckled at this, "Experimentation is the base of all academic ventures. If we didn't have people thinking outside the box, we'd never be able to evolve as a species. But enough about theoretical dilemmas on the philosophies of Darwinism, let's learn you some magic!"

“Yeah!” Sunset cheered.

Author's Note:

part two of the collab. It ends next chapter

Comments

[Snow Storm1437]

Like it so far but why didn't Midna put the mirror in her shadow if it was stolen one's it can be stolen again

[mattchilly]

11080756
Mostly because she was exhausted when she got back and didn't think of it. Plus she did get a nice stand for it

[Kontaro]

Hope this updates again, it's a fun series, and it'll be sad if it dies.

[mattchilly]

11172833
I don't plan to quit anytime soon. I DO want to get back to writting this story and I do have an idea what I want to do. just no drive to do it and I don't want to force it. -_-

[Kontaro]

11173593
Fair enough, forcing it never ends well....ok USUALLY never ends well... Just kinda burned when i got a folder of stories i'm following that haven't been updated in YEARS

[mattchilly]

11173754
I know right?

[Kontaro]

11175539
Yeah, hope you can continue tho, cause this is a good one, and also, another 'dead fic' just posted for the first time in 4 YEARS! So, I have some hope :D

[Sylica telca]

11527874
Then you clearly haven't been playing Mario party correctly then

[Scorch234]

This is a great story