1: Maturity.
.
Careful, careful… okay, now around the molars… careful…
The toothbrush clattered into the sink.
“Fuck.”
Sunrise Shimmer sighed, then looked at her reflection. She’d gotten halfway through brushing her teeth before dropping the damn thing, which was a new record. And she knew she should be feeling accomplished.
And, in a way, she kinda was.
But, God damn it.
Sunrise took a moment, gathering her frustration and anger, stowing it into a box in her mind with practiced ease. Today was the day she started learning magic with Twilight. Sunrise had been studying metaphysical theory and history for the last several weeks, and now she was going to start putting it into practice.
Images of herself flying through the strength of her will, battling the forces of evil with bolts of mystic energy, pranced before her mind.
This was going to be a good day. The start of something important. She could feel it.
But first, the future scourge of all evil had to finish brushing her teeth.
Sunrise scowled at the sink, then sighed again, beginning the laborious task of picking her toothbrush up with her hooves. Maybe fate would be kind, and Twilight would start her off with telekinesis.
.
As Sunrise passed through the study’s entrance, she glanced up at the bird stand and the large owl slumbering there.
“Hey, Minerva,” she said softly as she passed.
The owl fluffled her feathers sleepily in reply.
Sunrise nodded to herself, and continued on. Animals were smarter in her new home than in the world she came from. It didn’t seem polite to ignore them.
Then she stopped, smiling again as she realized where her thoughts had led her.
Yeah. This was home.
Then, she took a deep breath. It would be okay. Looking at her surroundings, Sunrise deliberately allowed herself to be overcome by wonder.
It wasn’t difficult. Sunrise had never been inside Twilight’s study before, and entering her mentor’s sanctum was very much like walking into the world’s largest geode. The place was a huge, almost spherical room with a high domed ceiling, its surface knobbled with an assortment of swirls and facets of white, deep azure, and sky blue. The surface caught the gentle glow of the sun as it streamed in through the windows, scattering it across the walls and ceiling like handfuls of jewels onto a topaz sea.
It would have been a breathtaking sight even without its contents. But being the sanctum sanctorum of Twilight Sparkle it was, of course, full of books. Shelves and shelves of them. All colors and sizes of books, ranging from recent novels to ancient yellow-paged tomes, to massive, leather-bound grimoires. All of them meticulously organized and lovingly cared for, their arrangement occasionally complimented by small sculptures or other works of art, generally used as bookends.
For a moment, Sunrise just stood where she was, drinking in the scintillating beauty around her. The air was filled with the exhilarating scent of ancient tomes blending with well cared-for stone, and the musty fragrance seemed to swirl around her, welcoming her in.
The six round tables were heavy, dark oak, covered with different magical projects Twilight was working on here and there, or candelabras, or writing supplies, or, well, more books. Twilight was already there, reading some ancient tome or other. Spike was there too, of course, clearing off a table more removed from the rest. Waving to Sunrise, he placed an ornate candelabra of silver and onyx in the table’s center.
As Sunrise returned Spike’s wave, Twilight closed her book and trotted towards her.
“So, looking forward to this?” she asked after a quick embrace.
Sunrise raised an eyebrow. “Only all my life.”
“Great! I thought I’d start you off with basic levitation skills—”
“Yes!” Sunrise pranced about the study like a foal at a birthday party, while Twilight looked on, bemused.
“Yes, yes, yes, yes, YES!”
Twilight chuckled. “You know, I had a lot of trouble when I first arrived in your old world, too. Hands are… complicated. It took me a while.”
Sunrise gave a sheepish smile. “That obvious, huh?”
“Only if you’ve been there.”
Twilight’s grin was infectious, and Sunrise returned it.
“So, you starting me off with feathers?”
“You’ve been studying,” Twilight said with approval. One of her wing feathers floated gracefully to a nearby table, illuminated by her will. “That being the case, can you tell me why we start with feathers?”
Sunrise took a breath to dispel her nervousness. “The feathers used in early training are light and aerodynamic, and their texture allows for easier purchase by the mind,” she said. “They’re also associated with flight, both sympathetically and symbolically; and with pony magic, being from pegasi – or in this case, from an alicorn – which makes them ideal for beginners.”
On the table was a candelabra, devoid of candles, the narrow points of its drip pans easily visible. The feather alighted delicately on top of the center point while Twilight beamed at her pupil.
“Excellent.” She gave Sunrise a friendly elbow. “Not that I expected anything less.”
Sunrise grinned again. “Thanks.”
“So, that said, it’s time for the real lesson,” Twilight said. “Start out by extending your mind towards the feather. Close your eyes, if that helps. Good. Now, focus. Don’t strain, this isn’t a contest. At this stage, strain just blocks your talent. Just… flow. Your horn is the conduit of your will, and also of your mystic senses. Think of an antenna, where you’re from. Or a radio tower, actually.”
Slowly, a gentle glow began to form around the unicorn’s horn. A delicate cyan, the color of her eyes.
Twilight gave a delighted gasp. “That’s great! Now, reach out with your mind. Just… feel the feather. And, when you’re ready—”
There was a gentle fwuph! of flame, and the feather was nothing more than a few drifting ashes.
Twilight blinked. For a moment, neither of them spoke, simply staring at the table with eyebrows raised.
“Hm,” Twilight said.
“I… take it that’s not supposed to happen?” Sunrise ventured.
Twilight cocked her head, genuinely intrigued. “Never in my experience.”
For a little longer, the two of them considered the table and its tiny ashes.
“Well,” Sunrise said at last, “Long as it doesn’t mean I’m part of some dire prophesy or something...”
Twilight shook her head. “No, I think we’re pretty much out of prophesies. It probably just means that everypony learns differently. And after all, you’re only starting this now, with a young adult’s power. So, come to think of it, we should expect some unusual occurrences.”
Another feather drifted out from Twilight’s wing, taking the place of its sibling. “Besides, less than two minutes in, you’re already manifesting.” She gave Sunrise a confident smile. “You’ve got this.”
Just then, a buzzing sound was heard, further down the hall. It reminded Sunrise of a cell phone vibrating on a hard table.
At Sunrise’s quizzical look, Twilight smiled. “That’s the journal. Sunset’s writing me.”
“The journal?”
Twilight nodded. “The link between the books she and I have is what allows the trans-dimensional portal stabilization matrix to function.” She rose, levitating another feather next to the candelabra. “But, since I still need to read the book to know what she wrote…”
Sunrise nodded. “Go ahead. I’ll be here.”
As Twilight entered the hall, she could hear another fwuph! from behind her, followed by Sunrise’s verbal struggles:
“Oh, come on! Mother fu— feathering son of a… birch…tree…”
As Twilight re-entered the study a minute later, she could see Spike rolling on the ground, gripping his sides, helpless with laughter. Sunrise scowled down at him.
“You,” the unicorn said with mock severity, “are no freaking help.”
The young dragon looked at her for a second, eyes huge with barely contained mirth. Then he was off again, slapping the floor as he howled with laughter.
“Yeah, okay,” Sunrise said, rolling her eyes. “It’s not that funny.”
Twilight took in the scene as Sunrise turned to Minerva. The unicorn gestured at Spike, as if to say, See? See what I have to deal with? For her part, the owl sleepily half-opened one eye, ruffled her chest feathers slightly, then went back to sleep. Spike, meanwhile, would almost get the laughter under control… and then Sunrise would give him a Look, and then he would be off again, the original joke long since eclipsed by the current running gag.
“Even the wildlife is against me,” Sunrise said to the ceiling. “I have no friends…”
While Spike struggled to compose himself and Sunrise appealed to the heavens for justice, Twilight smiled. Friendships on-course and going strong, she thought. Good for you, Sunny.
.
As Twilight continued reading, her smile got wider and wider. Finally, grinning, she looked up at an expectant Sunrise and Spike.
“Well?!?” Sunrise practically exploded.
“Yeah, don’t keep us waiting!” Spike agreed.
“Sunset and Twilight from her world are getting mar-rieeed,” Twilight sang happily.
“Yes!” Spike cheered, pumping a fist into the air. “Woo-hoo! That is awesome!”
Sunrise stared.
“I know, right?” Twilight beamed. “And listen to this, ‘We would really love it if you and all our friends on your side of the looking glass could make it, so we’ve decided to get married twice… once in our world, and once in yours!’” She looked up again. “So, reading between the lines here, I bet Celestia will be officiating Sunset’s wedding.” She beamed. “Oh, my gosh, can you imagine how happy that will make her?”
“Yeah, especially after the way Sunset ran away into another world and became a bitter enemy of Equestria and stole the Element of Magic and almost destroyed both worlds and everything!” Spike cheered.
Twilight rolled her eyes. “Way to put it into perspective, Spike.”
“Hey, I’m just saying, things are better now.”
“Well, okay, point taken… um, Sunny?” Twilight frowned, noticing Sunrise’s expression. “What’s wrong?”
“Married?” Sunrise asked.
“Yes…” Twilight said cautiously.
“Married. As in, wedlock.”
Twilight’s caution increased. “That... is what the word means, yes.”
“At age eighteen.”
Twilight’s frown deepened. “Since that’s how old they are, I would presume so…”
“And am I the only person here who thinks this might be, I don’t know, a bad decision?”
Spike looked from Twilight to Sunrise and back.
“...Probably?” he ventured.
Twilight set the book on the table. “Alright, let’s take a minute. You obviously have concerns, and these are our friends, too… would you mind sharing them?”
Sunrise sighed. “Look, I know that ponies are considered young adults at fifteen, and all that. You’ve still got apprenticeships that start as early as nine. And, that’s fine. Humans used to do that too, hundreds of years ago. And maybe ponies just mature differently. Fine, cool, I get that. But eighteen-year-old humans aren’t done maturing.”
“The wise never are.”
Sunrise rolled her eyes in exasperation. “Urgh! You know what I mean.”
“Okay, but then what about you?” Spike asked.
Sunrise smirked. “Yeah, nice try, but I’m a pony now. And they’re both human. I don’t know about unicorns, but the human brain doesn’t even finish maturing until something like, between twenty-four and twenty-seven.”
“Sure, but then what about you and Luna?” He pressed. “You guys are dating, right?”
“That’s not the same thing! We’re not looking at forming a lifelong, legally-committed family bond at the age of… okay, my age of...”
Sunrise blinked. “Okay, that just got weird.” Then she shook herself. “But my point is…”
“Your point is?” prompted an increasingly amused Twilight.
“My point is, marriage raises the stakes. In everything.” She made a sour face. “And most high school marriages just don’t make it.”
“They’ve graduated,” Twilight pointed out.
“Only just! And there are a lot of hard feelings afterwards when those marriages don’t work. And besides, they’ve known each other, what, a year?”
Twilight nodded, still puzzled. “Well, sure. But most engagements are settled in a few months, unless the ponies meet when they’re still underage—”
“They’re human,” Sunrise said again. “Sunset is human now, like I’m a unicorn! Which is both a different society and a different species.”
Twilight looked at her quizzically. “So, you think they should…?”
Sunrise made a face. “I dunno. ‘Should’ is too strong a word. I mean, it’s their lives. I just…” She sighed, sitting down on the floor. “I don’t know. I want them to be happy, and I don’t want them getting hurt. That’s all.”
Then she sighed again, looking away. “Well, more hurt,” she added.
Spike, meanwhile, had been reading the book’s continuing red script. “Hm. Well, Sunset says it’s going to be a long engagement.” He blinked. “Wow. A really long engagement.”
“Oh? How long?”
Twilight read over his shoulder. “Um… looks like around nine years.”
Sunrise’s eyebrows rose.
“Yeah,” Twilight agreed. “Apparently Sunset raised some of the same concerns, and Twilight – her Twilight – cited something about, um, excuse me, Spike…” she flipped back a page. “Here it is: ‘positive correlative evidence supporting conditional increases in the neurological development rate of the frontal lobe when adapting to certain forms of survival-oriented environmental stress.’”
Sunrise looked upwards for strength. “Of course she did.”
“I wonder if she’d send me a copy of those studies,” Twilight mused.
Sunrise buried her face in her hooves. “Of course you do.”
“Well, anyway. Sunset says they’re engaged now,” Twilight went on, turning the page back as she refocused, “because their commitment is genuine. But they’re taking the actual oaths when they’re older, because they both understand biology. The initial estimate is about nine years – which would put them both at age twenty-seven – but apparently the final date is still open to negotiation.”
Standing, Sunrise took a deep, fortifying breath. Then, she let it out in the Sigh of the Eternally Enduring.
“Nutjob,” she said, shaking her head. “My otherworldly twin sister is a certifiable nutjob.”
Spike was vastly amused. “Uh-huh. And what does that make you?”
“The only non-delusional person in the family, obviously. Now, come on,” she nodded to the candelabra. “Let’s get back to my learning unicorn magic from a princess in a world full of talking multicolored ponies, so I can spend time later with my princess girlfriend who’s a dream-walking alicorn.”
“Marefriend,” Twilight corrected her happily. Held by her magic, another feather floated into place.
Unperturbed, Sunrise shrugged. “Whatever.”
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So no marriage in the near future? Awww.
And of COURSE she set the feather on fire.
"You sure about that?"
"I have a signed contract from Celestia stating that if anything foretold happens in the next two years, she's going to have to walk down the entire main thoroughfare of Canterlot while holding a sign that reads 'I'm a Naughty Filly Who Needs to Work on Her Communication Skills.' So, yes. For the most part."
I really hope Twilight has a source of feathers other than her own wings. Otherwise, she'll likely pluck herself bare before the week is out.
Also, Sciset wedding! At a reasonable timeframe given human maturation! Woo!
Looking forward to seeing where you go with this.
9638506
Is this a thing you have or are considering writing someday? Just, you know... someday? Because that is just too cool an image to leave floating about in conceptual nonexistance forever. And if you do write that, I will read the crap out of it.
I can see it now. Celestia, after foretold shenanigans come to fruit, bearing her sentence with Lady Godiva-like dignity and decorum, only occasionally looking to the mare beside her with uncomprehending penance...
I think this may be a moral imperative.
Meanwhile: yeah, a secondary source of feathers is definitely called for. Which won’t thrill Sunny much, but she’ll deal, I think...
9638493
No, no marriage per se, not for a while yet. But there are other thresholds waiting to be crossed, whether our heroes think they are ready or not...
9642073
At the very least, I'll see if Silfoe is taking commissions. This kind of princessly shenanigans seems right up their alley.
9642073
This kind of reminds me of a story I read yesterday--something about Captain Thunderhoof, the worst Wonderbolt ever--where Twilight actually shows some assertiveness in front of Celestia, 'requesting' a list of all potential enemies, threats, and whatever else, that was sealed away, banished, or otherwise could potentially come back for her to deal with. And she wants it by the end of the week. Celestia's response?
9749907
Bwahahahaha! Oh, that sounds marvelous!
Yeah, fair, marrying at 18 AND only knowing eachother for a couple months is recipe for disaster.