Magic of the Heart

by Pegasus Rescue Brigade

Chapter 13

And then it was October. For the students of Celestia's Academy for Gifted Unicorns, finals were just a month away, and for Dinky and her friends, graduation was only a week or so beyond that.

Dinky and her friends, including Tango Trot, sat together in the hideout, protected from the nip in the autumn air by an insulating spell. It had been a busy afternoon; most courses featured some sort of final project that needed to be finished by the end of the term, and for fifth term students, such projects were especially arduous.

"Ugh. I need a break," Scuffle moaned, flopping on the floor next to Honeydew's bean bag chair. "Enchantments and Transformation both have essays due tomorrow. What a chore."

"C'mon Scuffle, some of the topics you're writing about are really interesting," Clarity encouraged. "Try to enjoy the challenge while you can. Like it or not, pretty soon our classes will be over for good."

"I don't wanna think about that," Honeydew moped, pulling an open book over her head as if trying to block out bad thoughts. "I love it here. I've been trying not to focus on the fact that it's almost over."

"It's not like we're all going to lose touch though!" Dinky assured her. "We've been through so much together, there's no way we'll stop seeing each other just because we're graduating."

"I know that," Honeydew said, smiling sadly. "You guys are the best friends I've ever had. It's just... I've spent just about every Midsummer Holiday and winter break in either Ponyville or Whinnychester, or vacationing somewhere with you all. Once school's over, I'm gonna have to go... back to the farm..."

Dinky, Clarity, and Scuffle grimaced in unison. Tango Trot looked rather lost.

"I'm sorry, I'm afraid I'm missing some important context here," the blue colt admitted.

Honeydew's tail drooped and she hung her head. "I grew up on a fruit farm in a tiny community of earth ponies," she explained. "I was the only unicorn for miles around, and my family... well, they hate magic."

She turned her head a bit and pointed to her horn so Tango could see. "See the notch in the back?" she asked. "My father once tried to cut my horn off. Luckily my aunt stopped him before he cut deep enough to affect my ability to cast spells. Since my first day at the Academy years ago, I haven't returned there for more than a few days at a time."

Tango Trot paled slightly. "M-my word, Honeydew, I'm so sorry. I had no idea..."

"You don't have to go back there Dewey," Scuffle insisted. "You're almost nineteen; legally, you're an adult, and you should take advantage of that and stay well clear of that place."

Honeydew shrugged noncommittally. "I don't really have any other plans," she mumbled. "Besides, I'm not in danger anymore. Father won't be upset as long as I don't use my magic. I just hate the idea of going back to a place where I have to keep all the wonderful things I learned here hidden away."

"I'm sure you can stay with me or Dinky for a while if you want," Clarity chimed in.

"And we've still got some time to figure it out," Dinky added. "There's a month of the term left. Our time here might be winding down, but it's not over yet. I'm sure there's still some good times ahead."

"Speaking of which..." Tango Trot said, "Clarity, we'd best be going. We have to make sure everypony is aware of the special meeting for the fifth-term students in the lounge. It's only about an hour away."

"Oh, that's right!" Clarity gasped. "Sorry guys, we gotta go. Make sure you make your way over to the residence towers soon, okay? You're not gonna want to miss what's happening tonight."

She got to her hooves, and the pair of Overseers hurried out of the hideout, leaving Dinky and the others alone.

"Listen Dewey," Scuffle said, taking hold of Honeydew's forehoof with his own. "You don't deserve to be treated the way your folks treat you. You're a talented magical biologist, not just some farmhand. We're gonna make sure you get the chance to live your life as the pony you really are, not the one they wish you were. Got it?"

Honeydew smiled weakly and leaned her head against Scuffle for a moment. "Got it."

"Good," Scuffle said, rising to his hooves. "Now c'mon ladies, let's go back to the towers and see what kinda special announcement the Overseers have cooked up."

---

The student lounge was packed. Every student in the graduating class was packed into the small space at once. At the front of the room, standing on a small bench to address everypony, were Clarity, Tango Trot, and surprisingly, Nester the changeling.

"Alright, quiet down everypony!" Clarity yelled over the noise of the milling crowd of fifth-term students. "We've got something important to talk about."

"As many of you know," Tango Trot began, "our beloved assistant transformation professor Nester also functions as the Academy's events officer, organizing most of the non-academic student functions, clubs, and events. He's got something special to talk to us about today."

"And don't worry, this isn't some boring spiel about exactly how to act and dress for graduation!" Nester chirped. "The dean handles all that. I'm in charge of the fun stuff!"

That comment got a few chuckles out of the students. Nester grinned a witty, fanged smile before continuing.

"Anyway, for the last four years, most of you have attended the Nightmare Night dance," he reminded them. "Held just days before finals, it's usually the big last chance each term for students to hang out and have fun. We always go really over the top with the decorations and costumes and food and everything. And I see a few of you in the crowd there who have been chosen to lead the slow dances from up on stage over the years."

Dinky grinned slightly as Honeydew and Scuffle exchanged a glance. The two of them had been randomly selected to lead the dance in Dinky's first year, and it was obvious they both remembered it clearly.

"So here's the thing!" Nester chuckled. "You've all probably noticed that there's never any fifth-term students at the Nightmare Night dance. And that's because you guys get something extra special that night instead. For many of you, the festivities of Nightmare Night will be your last chance to see some of your classmates before your time at the Academy ends, and you part ways for good. And we commemorate that bittersweet event with a little something called the Graduates' Ball."

A murmur moved through the crowd. Dinky recalled Sparkler once telling her that the fifth-term ponies had their own event on Nightmare Night, but she didn't know too much about it.

"The Graduates' Ball is quite a bit different than the Nightmare Night dance," Nester explained, giving his elytra a flick for emphasis. "It's a very formal event. Evening wear is encouraged for both mares and stallions. Food is provided from some of the finest dining establishments in Canterlot. It's a night of grandeur, class... and romance!"

Several ponies looked around nervously. Nester chittered playfully.

"That's right, this is the kind of dance you bring a date to, if it suits you," he affirmed. "It doesn't matter if they're a special somepony or just a friend, but I've seen more than a few ponies go from just friends to something a bit more around the time of this event each year. Your date doesn't even have to be a student; non-unicorns are welcome at the Graduates' Ball if invited by one of our students. And for those of you who have a potential special somepony here at the Academy... well, it's your last chance to ask out the pony you fancy! You've got nothing to lose; see if they want to be your date to the ball!"

The hushed discussions in the crowd grew louder. Nester seemed delighted at the reaction.

"So anyway, you've got a little less than a month to prepare," he reminded them. "The ball will be on Nightmare Night, at the same time as the other students have their dance. Since they'll be using the main hall, we'll be using the Academy's second biggest room: the battle magic arena. I know it's more or less a dungeon, but trust me, you won't even recognize the place once the professors and I are done with it."

"Please see me or Tango if you're bringing a non-student," Clarity cut in. "Almost anypony is allowed, but we need to account for any visitors so we can set up enough tables and order enough food."

"I believe that's all I have for you for now," Nester chirped. "See you in Transformation and Conjuring, everypony. Oh and... watch out. Ol' Fluxy's final exam for fifth-term students is a real doozy."

He skittered off, and the Overseers dismissed everypony. Dinky watched as most of the students made their way back to their respective towers, including Clarity and Honeydew. But Tango Trot, she noticed, made his way over to Scuffle. As the two of them stepped through the door to the colts' tower, through which she could not follow, she lingered as nonchalantly as possible on her side of the door, straining to listen though it.

"So Scuffle, my dear friend," came the voice of Tango Trot, "do you have anypony in mind to take to the ball? I certainly do."

"Yeah?" came Scuffle's annoyed reply. "And what makes you so sure she's gonna accept?"

Tango's melodious laughter echoed through the air. "Why Scuffle, the ball is going to be a truly grand and elegant event. Naturally, any filly would want their date to such a soirée to be a pony of class and sophistication. And, though I do truly hate to boast, I'm definitely one such pony."

Scuffle growled. "And I'm not?"

Tango simply chuckled. "Best of luck, Scuffle," he said cordially. "I'm sure you'll find somepony to join you for that resplendent evening."

Dinky sighed and trudged back toward the fillies' tower. C'mon, Scuffle... she thought. You've got to try something soon, or Honeydew's gonna slip away for good...

---

Dinky expected to listen to Scuffle's complaints again when Transformation and Conjuring class rolled around. Fortunately, next up was Advanced Enchantments, so Clarity and Honeydew were present as well, and Scuffle kept quiet.

"Well, it looks like I'm just about out of things to teach!" Professor Luster announced as she trotted to her desk at the front of the room. "Over the past five years, we've worked with just about every branch of the field of enchantments. Of course, there's tens of thousands of individual spells you can cast within the field, and new ones are being discovered every day. So today, rather than lecturing you all on a specific type of enchantment, we're going to talk about a novel way to use them instead."

She scanned the class and pointed at Honeydew. "Super easy question, Honeydew," she continued. "What's the basic purpose of an enchantment?"

Honeydew blinked in surprise. "Oh, um, they store a simple spell effect in an object so the pony using it can access it at any time," she recited, after just a moment's hesitation.

"Exactly. And in that basic definition is one of the biggest limitations of enchantments," the professor pointed out. "An enchanted object stores just one spell, with just one purpose. I suppose in rare cases with very enchantment-ready objects like gems, you can make two work at once, but only if the enchantments are cast by different ponies. Otherwise your magic will 'overwrite' the first enchantment with a new one."

Dinky glanced briefly at her pendant. While it was still working, it had actually contained two enchantments: one of her own, and one of Sparkler's. Only now did it dawn on her how unusual that was.

"Now, you've all been studying here for a long time," Professor Luster pointed out. "By now, I'm sure you know that there's one thing that's pretty constant across all fields of magic; whenever we run into a limitation, we set out to find some sort of loophole to get around it. In this case, that loophole comes in the form of something called enchantment arrays. In order to demonstrate, I'm gonna need help from a volunteer. Are any of you especially good at invisibility spells?"

Dinky, Honeydew, Scuffle, and a reasonable number of other students all pointed at Clarity. The grey filly smiled sheepishly. "Uh, yeah. I'm pretty decent at them," she admitted.

"Good. Come on up."

Clarity trotted to the front of the classroom. "Do you want me to cast an invisibility spell right now?" she asked.

"Yes, please. We're going to do a brief experiment. Disappear for us, and then move somewhere else in the room."

Clarity did as she was told, blending seamlessly in with the environment in an instant. The professor waited a few seconds while the students looked on curiously.

"Okay, the goal is to find Clarity," she announced suddenly. "There are plenty of spells that could assist with that. Use any one you like."

With a smug smile on her face, Dinky lazily let a magic-cancelling shockwave erupt from her horn. It swept across the classroom in every direction, bringing Clarity back into view immediately.

"As you can see, many spells can be easily negated with the right trick," Professor Luster said. "Enchantment arrays, however, can be much harder to deal with."

She opened a drawer in her desk and withdrew a silver tiara with five gemstones embedded in it, which she quickly placed atop her head. "I'm going to turn invisible in a moment, and I want you all to search for me like you did for Clarity, alright?"

She lit her horn. The tiara glowed briefly, and then the professor vanished from sight. Dinky, not sure what to expect, tried the same spell she'd used before, but nothing happened.

Over the next several minutes, the students collectively attempted dozens of ways to make their invisible target reappear, or at least detect her. Scuffle used a heat-seeking spell, but it didn't offer any clues, and Clarity's spell, which scanned for signs of magic rather than body heat, was similarly useless. The class tried every illusion dispelling trick or detection charm they knew, with no success. Finally, Professor Luster reappeared on her own.

"So, if you haven't figured it out yet, an enchantment array is a collection of enchantable units, which are often all part of the same object, that work in tandem to accomplish one goal," she explained. "This array, for instance, has one enchantment on each of its gemstones: one that causes visual invisibility, one that muffles any and all sound, one that allows for intangibility, rendering physical methods useless, one that masks the entire array's magical signature, and lastly, one that repels spells meant to cancel the effects of the other four. Good luck tracking down a pony wearing this bad boy."

"That's amazing!" Dinky gasped. "Is there any way around it at all?"

"Oh, there are ways, but you'd have to get pretty creative," the professor chuckled, tossing her silky pink mane proudly. "As you can see, enchantments in general are useful little stored spells, but enchantment arrays are used for much grander effects," the professor continued. "This is definitely one case where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. If you've got the wit to string together a number of complimentary enchantments, you can create some incredibly powerful objects."

After that, the professor gave the class time to examine the section on enchantment arrays in the textbook. "Boy, this sounds like the kind of thing you'd be able to put together, Dinks," Scuffle chuckled as he paged through it.

Clarity furrowed her brow. "Maybe, but these look pretty complicated to set up," she pointed out.

"Dinky's the only one of us who can self-enchant though. At least, without the aid of that crystal pony potion I made," Honeydew pointed out, glancing playfully at Scuffle. "Maybe she'd be just as good at these."

"Well, I have one idea, and it could actually be very important," Dinky said quietly. "After Inkwell recently found out my secret, I've been worried about all the magical possibilities that could easily reveal the truth to other ponies. What if I made an enchantment array that could further conceal evidence of my true form from?"

"That would be really useful," Clarity admitted, "but as you and Professor Surge have proved, finding regular magic that works against dark magic is really tough. Would enchantments even be able to help?"

"Perhaps normal ones wouldn't..." Dinky said slowly. "But if I can just figure out how to make them work... maybe dark enchantments would."

---

Soon it was the weekend, and a small but merciful lapse in major assignments gave Dinky the time she was seeking to do a little experimentation. She made her way through the trees at the edge of the Academy grounds, and carefully pulled the roots aside blocking the entrance to the hideout.

The little cavern at the end of the tunnel didn't seem as homey as usual, but then again, this had always been a place of togetherness for her and her friends, a space they could go for privacy they often couldn't enjoy from the student lounge, and without the gender restriction spells of the residence towers.

But today, she was here alone, and for good reason. As she'd proven last time, experimenting with dark spells she hadn't used before posed a considerable risk to anypony around her.

Making sure the roots were closed firmly over the entrance up above, Dinky began scraping gently at the earthen wall. Sure enough, another lump of quartz tumbled out of the loose soil after just a few moments of searching. She placed it in the center of the room and sat down beside it, flicking her tail nervously.

Okay, let's see if Scorpio's rune really does what I think it will.

The runecrafter's chisel levitated from Dinky's saddlebag. Working slowly and carefully, she began to carve the shape she'd seen so many times before into the surface of the crystal. The moment she finished, a strange feeling washed over her. The quartz, obviously, contained no magic yet, but the presence of Scorpio's rune seemed almost to tug at the darkness in her, coaxing her to bring it into her horn. She realized that, had she still been a corrupted unicorn, she likely wouldn't have been able to contain it, remembering the many instances where Antares' traps had forced the darkness to burst forth from her. Grateful for the control that her wraith physiology offered, she commanded the swirling energy inside her to be still, and it obeyed.

Sorry Scorpio, she thought smugly, I'm in charge of my inner darkness now, and I'll cast it when I'm good and ready.

The moment of triumph was short lived, however. She stared at the chunk of engraved quartz, silently wondering if the addition of the rune would give it the stability it needed to contain dark magic without being destroyed. She knew there was only one way to find out.

Cautiously, Dinky lit her horn, and let the golden aura darken into an inky black and purple one. Unfazed by the angry crackling it gave off, she slowly began to funnel the energy into the stone, poised to dematerialize into smoke if this one happened to explode like the last one had.

The spell she was attempting was extremely simple. The enchantment was meant to store dark magic within the stone so it could be expelled as an attack on command. Nearly useless for a wraith, and dangerous for anypony else, but if she couldn't make something that basic function properly, there was no reason to aim for anything more complex.

Scorpio's rune began to glow with a sinister purple light. The crystal vibrated as darkness flowed into it, but it didn't break apart like last time. Dinky ceased the spell and waited as the stone settled down again. After a few moments, there was no longer any visual sign of the magic.

"Did it work?" she asked under her breath, picking the piece of quartz up to examine it. She could sense her magic pulsing within the stone, and that alone was progress. Now it was a question of whether or not that magic would conform to the purpose she'd given it. All she needed to do was touch it with normal unicorn magic, and if it was successful, the enchantment would kick in and vent the darkness in one reasonably strong blast.

Dinky placed the engraved gem on the ground and backed off a few paces. Yellow light twinkled around her horn, and a moment later, extended to the gem.

Immediately, there was a bang like a small firework, and a big ball of dark energy rocketed out of the rune on the stone, colliding with the far wall and spraying soil across the chamber. Dinky grinned and shook the loose dirt from her mane as she trotted over to pick up her creation.

So dark magic enchantments are possible, she thought. Now I just need to come up with some that can help me, instead of just destroy stuff.

"Um, Dinky?" came a quiet voice from the top of the tunnel. "I hear some, uh, concerning noises down there. Is it safe for me to come in?"

"Honeydew?" Dinky asked, recognizing the sound of her friend immediately. "Yeah, it's fine now. Come on down."

The lean pink filly stepped cautiously into the hideout a few second later. "You were doing something with dark magic, I assume?" she asked, glancing worriedly at the small crater in the earthen wall.

"Testing an enchantment, yeah," Dinky confirmed, as she quickly drew all the remaining darkness out of the quartz and back into her horn. "It was just an experiment, but it looks like I can enchant things with dark magic after all. I just have to stabilize them with Scorpio's rune first."

Noticing Honeydew staring apprehensively at the stone, Dinky quickly carved several additional lines through the middle of the rune, rendering it useless, and tossed the now-harmless stone in the corner of the room. "Anyway, what are you here for?" she asked.

"Oh, I just needed to grab some of my notes," Honeydew explained, trotting over to the pile of binders and notepaper stacked next to her stuffed chair. "I figured I'd try just a few more things to see if I could find a way to upgrade the Lifesense spell to the form I originally had planned."

"Even if you don't succeed, the spell you've got is incredible," Dinky pointed out. "Did you see Professor Chestnut's face when you demonstrated? She's amazed at your progress. We all are."

"I know," Honeydew said with a smile as she scooped up the notes she was looking for and made for the exit. "But there's no sense in saying it's 'good enough' when there's a chance it could be better, right?"

"Right," Dinky agreed. "Let me walk back to the towers with you. You can fill me in on the latest hurdle."

The two fillies emerged from the hideout. Honeydew effortlessly willed the tree to conceal the entrance with roots as always before the two of them set off.

"Ever since Scuffle helped me make that last breakthrough, I've tested it out in all sorts of situations," she continued as Dinky trotted beside her. "It works wonderfully, but the limitations remain the same; I have to cast it on each individual I want to connect with. I can use it on each tree in a grove, but the information I receive is incomplete, because I still can't extend it to all the other living things beyond what I can see, like the living things inside the trees, or even beneath the ground."

"Right, it can't scan your surroundings for you," Dinky reiterated. "So what problem are you facing when fixing that?"

Honeydew sighed. "I'm not entirely sure," she moped. "That's why I'm going back over my old notes. It's just... frustrating. I'm so close, I know I am. I need to tweak it just a bit more, but I don't know what to change."

"In enchantments class yesterday, Clarity and Scuffle used those scanning spells to try to detect Professor Luster's body heat and her magical signature," Dinky pointed out. "Can't you do something like that, but tuned to detect life instead?"

"I thought of that," Honeydew admitted. "The spell already needs to be able to tap into the inner being of everything it connects with though, and filter that information so my mind can process it. I don't think I can add another layer to a spell that already does that much; I just don't have the raw magical power to cast something like that. There's got to be another way..."

"Wait, wait," Dinky said, holding up a forehoof to stop her friend. "You mean that strategy could work, if you just had the strength to cast it?"

"In theory," said Honeydew dully. "In practice, who knows, but it's not like I can test it."

Dinky stepped behind Honeydew and lifted the tip of her friend's tail in her aura, carefully examining the star sapphire affixed to her tail ring. "You never did carve a rune into this thing, huh?" she asked.

"Nope," Honeydew admitted. "I looked into some options, but each one seemed like it would've only been useful in enhancing part of the spell. If I use the wrong rune, I could throw the whole spell out of balance, and without the enchantment on it boosting my ability to maintain a connection, I can't even sustain the spell at all."

"And your spell..." Dinky continued, "...it helps you sense pretty much anything you need to know about the living things you're connecting with, right?"

"That's right," Honeydew said, nodding slowly. "It's pretty broad. Why do you ask?"

"Clarity and I recently learned about the runes associated with the Zodiac ponies in Dean Script's class," Dinky explained. "They're powerful but very nonspecific runes that enhance whole fields of magic. I was just testing Scorpio's out with some dark magic a few minutes ago. If your spell is really for detecting such a wide range of information... maybe Leo, creator of the magic earth ponies use to connect with the land, and the magic unicorns like you use in magical biology, could help you out?"

Honeydew chewed her lip. "I... guess that makes sense," she said. "If Leo's rune enhances the entire field of magic, it shouldn't disrupt the spell. I don't know if something like that will really make a difference, but... I guess it can't hurt to try."

She carefully unfastened the ring and passed it to Dinky, and the two of them sat down in the grass. "Careful with it, please," Honeydew pleaded as Dinky fished for her chisel. "I guess I could always make another if something happened to it, but it has... sentimental value."

Dinky closed a hoof around her dormant pendant for a moment. "Don't worry, I know what you mean."

The next few minutes passed in silence, save for the gentle clink of Dinky's tool against the sapphire. It wasn't unusual; Dinky had come to realize that Honeydew was quite a fan of silence, especially when out in nature. The pink filly swished her partially-unwound tail idly as she gazed up contently at the fall foliage.

"Dinky, can I ask you something?"

"Sure. Shoot," Dinky replied, continuing to engrave.

Honeydew pursed her lips. "Is... is Scuffle doing okay right now?"

Dinky looked up. "Huh?"

"I'm worried something's bothering him. At first I thought it was just me, but now that I've been paying attention, I'm starting to think it's not..." Honeydew admitted. "Gosh, I hope it wasn't something I did..."

"I'm sure it's not that," said Dinky quickly. "Scuffle's just... stressed. You know, with the tournament finals in just a few days and all."

"Maybe," Honeydew said, nodding slowly. "I can't help but think there's more to it than that. You know how he is though; he'll say everything is fine. He doesn't like to admit it when he's struggling."

"That's how he grew up," Dinky reminded her. "Remember what happened when Scorch and Frosty realized his tough attitude was all an act?"

Honeydew nodded solemnly. "Well, whatever's wrong, I want to try to help," she declared. "He always helps me when I'm anxious, and never asks for anything in return. Maybe I can help him feel better."

"Good idea," Dinky said, smiling slightly as she returned her attention to Honeydew's ring. "And don't worry, Honeydew. Scuffle will be okay. After all, he has a good friend like you."

"He knows how to be a great friend too," Honeydew giggled. "His actions say more than his words ever could."

Dinky carefully put a final curve into the symbol she'd been carving, completing Leo's rune. "That should do it," she said with a nod. "Try it out and see if the spells it works with seem any different."

Honeydew wound her tail back into the intricate braid she preferred to keep it in, and then slipped the ring into place near the end to hold it. She stared at Leo's rune for a few moments and then stood up and proceeded to the nearest tree. Dinky stepped up alongside her, curious to see what would happen.

"Okay, first we—"

Honeydew barely began to light her horn, and immediately stepped back, eyes wide. "O-okay, yeah, it's a lot easier to establish a standard connection with one target," she confirmed. "I barely started to cast the spell and tapped into all the tree's sensations almost immediately."

"Good, now extend it to the multi-target spell you developed," Dinky coaxed.

The magic around her horn began to slowly spin as Honeydew did so, and soon, a dozen trees were encircled in her aura. Honeydew gave a nod of her head, and all the trees seemed to bow a bit in reply, responding to the suggestions sent through her magic.

"Okay, that's a spell to connect with life around me, a modification to allow to extend to multiple targets, and a perception timing enhancer to let me process all that information, all rolled into one," Honeydew explained. "Now, I have to add another element to the spell that scans for life, on top of all of it?"

"That'd be my guess," Dinky said, nodding.

Honeydew glanced back at her tail and gave it a swish, letting the rune on the sapphire catch the afternoon light. "Well, let's see just how powerful you are, Leo," she whispered.

She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Dinky watched as the cone of pale green light around her friend's horn grew brighter, and the gently spinning aura grew into a dazzling, glowing vortex.

"Come on..." Honeydew grunted, as she shivered a bit with the strain. "It's such a complex spell. If I just had a little... more... energy..."

The spell suddenly fizzled out, and Honeydew heaved a sigh. "I can't do it," she groaned. "Even with some aid from Leo, putting all those effects into one spell is too much..."

Dinky put a hoof on her friend's shoulder. "Honeydew, a unicorn's magical ability is a product of their mind and heart," she said, giving the filly's coat an encouraging pat. "You're probably one of the most brilliant magical biologists in the nation right now, and your passion for the subject is unrivaled; even Scuffle's dedication to battle magic seems weak by comparison. Think about it: if one of the greatest breakthroughs in your entire field of magic is just one tiny step away, do you really want to give up now?"

Honeydew smiled weakly. "You and Clarity are both such optimists," she giggled. "I don't know where I'd be without you. I'll give it another try."

The spell burst to life again, spinning around Honeydew's horn like a tiny cyclone. She strained with effort, and the magical maelstrom continued to grow more intense.

"J-just... just a little... b-bit more..."

Dinky stepped back instinctively as Honeydew's horn and tail ring both created a blinding flash in unison. Some sort of grid, made entirely of interlocking lines of green light, extended outward from the filly and flickered on the surface of everything, including Dinky, for several pony-lengths all round their caster. The lines constantly moved and changed in thousands of ways, adjusting continuously to account for every tiny movement of the leaves and the bending of the blades of grass below them.

Intrigued, Dinky lifted her foreleg and watched the grid lines dance and reorganize to remain around it regardless of its position. "Whoa, what did you do?" she asked.

Honeydew did not reply. The huge spell on her horn had shrunken back into a gently spinning cone of soft light. She stood, staring off into space as if in a trance.

"Honeydew?" Dinky asked, poking her gently in the side. "You alright?"

Honeydew turned her head sharply, staring at one of the trees with a piercing gaze. Then her attention snapped to another one, and another after that. She took a few paces, and the glowing grid moved with her, spreading itself over new surfaces as she approached and retreating from the ones she stepped away from.

"Honeydew!" Dinky insisted, cantering around to the front of her friend. "Are you okay or not? And what's with the grid thing?"

Honeydew mouthed something. If any sound came out, Dinky couldn't hear it.

"Pardon me?"

"It... it... it works..." Honeydew said in the barest whisper. "It works. It works! Dinky, by Equestria itself and the heavens above, Lifesense works!"

---

In mere minutes, Clarity, Scuffle, Tango Trot, and Professor Chestnut had all been rounded up. The Professor hurried to the front of the group, panting from her jog down to the forest. "Let's see it!" she said excitedly, lifting a notepad and quill in her aura. "I want to confirm that the spell does exactly what you've told me it does."

Honeydew smiled gleefully and lit her horn again. Although the first few seconds of the spell were just as bright and dramatic as before, Dinky noticed her friend didn't seem to have nearly as much trouble casting it this time. Confidence in one's abilities seemed to go a long way. A moment later, the energy grid once again spread across her surroundings, and the spell calmed to a faint glow.

"I'm now mentally connected, on a very basic level at least, with every living being inside this grid," Honeydew proudly declared. "More specifically, all of you, as well as Cornelius on his perch on the professor's hat, the seven nearby trees, two squirrels in the tree immediately to my left, four hundred ants living at the base of the third tree to the right, two dozen earthworms somewhere beneath us, and 301,455 blades of grass."

Clarity quickly shook one of the indicated trees with her magic, and sure enough, two squirrels jumped out and hurried deeper into the forest. Tango Trot pawed at the dirt next to the other, and a small colony of ants hurried to the surface. "She's right!" he announced. "It would be difficult to confirm the numbers, but she's definitely detected the right entities."

"Wait, for real?" Scuffle asked. "So like, that's it? The whole thing is working how she hoped it would?"

"Forgive my skepticism, but I'm sure you know that, as an academic, I'd like to see a bit more of it in action before I believe that," Professor Chestnut mentioned apologetically. "You don't mind, do you Honeydew?"

"Not at all!" Honeydew chirped. "What do you need to see?"

Professor Chestnut consulted with Cornelius in a hushed whisper for a few moments. "Well, it's clear you can detect life forms, but I want to be sure you're actually receiving biological data from them. There is a small underground waterway that runs beneath the forest before ending at the pond near the castle. I know it's exact course, but not from visual observation. It's only apparent from years of study of the hydration levels in the roots of local plant life. If this is truly Lifesense, you should be able to trace the path of that waterway with ease, simply by following the trail of plants growing in the wettest soil.

Honeydew giggled. "Got it. Follow me please."

Dinky and all the others followed quietly behind Honeydew as she strode through the trees, following an ambling path only she could see. After ten minutes of pushing through brush in seemingly random directions, the group arrived at the pond.

"That... that was perfect," Professor Chestnut gasped, her quill falling to the grass below. "Every step followed the exact path I have in my diagrams."

"I can almost see the waterway in my mind's eye," Honeydew admitted, still beaming. "We passed by thousands of plants, but the ones along that path have access to the most water, easily."

"Does that mean what I think it means?" Clarity asked.

"It means... it means Honeydew has just created one of the most remarkable spells in the entire discipline of magical biology," Professor Chestnut breathed. "Do any of you really realize what a difference this is going to make? What was previously months if not years of work can now be accomplished in minutes!"

Cornelius whistled from his perch. "Kid, you just blew her mind," he chuckled. "It takes something pretty earth-shattering to do that to her, let me tell you."

"Honeydew, you did it!" Dinky congratulated. "We kept telling you all year that if anypony could do it, it was you!"

Honeydew wiped a few happy tears from the corner of her eye. "It's not like I could've done it alone, you know," she said. "Tango helped loads refining the spell, you're the one who encouraged me to use Leo's rune, and of course, Scuffle's responsible for solving the information filtering problem."

Scuffle smiled. "Hey, no sweat, Dewey," he chuckled. "So hey, now do you wanna—"

"Now you simply must show the professor and I how the spell is cast, and what other uses it has!" Tango Trot interrupted. "The more we can learn about it, the more useful it will be to others when your discovery is published!"

Scuffle stiffened. "But, uh—"

"Of course, let's go!" Honeydew sang, turning tail and trotting off with Chestnut and Tango. The three of them hurried deeper into the woods, leaving Dinky, Clarity, and Scuffle behind.

Scuffle's ears and tail drooped. "R-right. Later then," he mumbled, knowing full well his crush was already out of earshot. Ignoring the other two fillies, he turned away and slunk down into the hideout.

Dinky and Clarity exchanged a look. "Poor guy..." Clarity sighed. "He's really trying to find time to spend with her, and maybe even find the right moment to tell her the truth, but..."

"...But Tango Trot's one step ahead every time," Dinky finished, frowning. "C'mon, let's go talk to him."

She led the way down the tunnel with Clarity in tow. They found Scuffle sitting with his back to them, staring at the blank wall of the little chamber. "Go away you two," he grumbled. "I don't need a pity party. Go watch Honeydew test her spell some more. At least you guys might be able to ask her some relevant questions, instead of just watching uncomprehendingly like I do."

"Scuffle, Honeydew's not leaving you out on purpose," Clarity insisted. "I mean, come on; she just made one of the biggest discoveries in her field of magic. Of course discussing it with other scholars of the subject is at the forefront of her mind."

"Yeah, I know," Scuffle sighed. "And I'm happy for her, really. But, y'know... Tango's really good at magical biology too, and it seems like she favors a pony with those skills."

"And you think she's starting to care about you less as a result?" Dinky asked. "Scuffle, Honeydew was just talking to me an hour ago about how she's worried that you seem troubled lately. She was asking me if I knew how she could help. You're definitely still in her thoughts, trust me."

Scuffle looked at her skeptically. "Dinks, Dewey's great, but picking up on that stuff's never been her strong point," he pointed out. "Why would she suddenly realize it now?"

"Because Honeydew's a little innocently oblivious, not utterly blind," Clarity chuckled. "It's certainly not been hard for us to notice your demeanor lately. Now she's starting to pick up on it too."

Scuffle frowned. "I've gotten that bad, huh?"

The conversation was interrupted by soft hoofsteps in the tunnel. Cautiously, Honeydew poked her head into the room. "Ah, there you are," she said brightly.

"Dewey?" Scuffle asked. "What's up? I thought you were talking to the others about your spell."

"I was!" Honeydew said as she trotted across the chamber toward him. "I just needed to make sure I talked to you about it too."

"What is there to say?" Scuffle asked, genuinely confused. "I get what your spell does, but the details of how it works would be kinda lost on me."

Honeydew sat down beside the colt, and leaned back on her haunches a bit so she could place her forelegs around his shoulders. "I'm not here about that, silly," she giggled. "I just wanted to thank you. You're the one who solved what was probably the biggest puzzle I faced while developing this spell."

Scuffle shrugged. "I mean, it was no big dea—"

"It was a big deal," Honeydew persisted, pouting. "I guess... sometimes it seems like you downplay how smart and resourceful you are. I want you to understand how much I appreciate what you did for the my spell, and what you do for me every day. You're an amazing friend, Scuffle. Please remember that."

Scuffle blinked a few times and managed a surprised smile. Then, hesitantly, he leaned forward and gently nuzzled Honeydew on the nose.

Dinky raised her eyebrows. Scuffle certainly never objected to Honeydew's regular displays of affection, but this was perhaps the only time she'd seen him be so forward with initiating it himself. Fortunately, Honeydew seemed delighted, happily returning the gesture for a few seconds before removing her hooves from around him.

"Thanks Dewey," Scuffle mumbled, turning his head slightly to try to hide some of the color in his cheeks. "It means a lot to hear you say that."

Honeydew beamed. "So I helped?" she asked hopefully. "I was hoping I could make you feel better."

"Uh, yeah, you definitely did," Scuffle said awkwardly, rubbing the back of his head with a hoof. "And Dewey? There's something else I wanted to talk to you about too..."

"Sure, I'll have plenty of time to chat when I see you tomorrow," Honeydew chirped.

Scuffle's ear twitched. "Tomorrow? Not now?"

Honeydew glanced over his shoulder at the exit tunnel and gave Scuffle an apologetic smile. "Um, Tango invited me to go to Canterlot this evening with him to celebrate with some ice cream," she admitted. "I don't want to keep him waiting, but... well, is it something urgent?"

Yes! Dinky mentally screamed, although forced herself not to outwardly react. Yes, Scuffle, it's urgent! Don't let her get away again...

Scuffle paused for a moment. Honeydew waited politely for his answer, but, to Dinky, it was plain to see from her body language that she was ready to hop to her hooves and return to the other colt waiting somewhere above. She knew Scuffle could see it too.

"Well, nah. Just wanted to chat," Scuffle said finally. "Have fun in Canterlot, yeah? You deserve to celebrate after all the work you put in."

"I will!" Honeydew declared as she turned and quickly made for the exit. "Dinky, Clarity, I'll see you two back at the tower around bedtime."

"Bye Honeydew," Clarity called as the other filly's pale green tail vanished up the tunnel. Soon, the sound of her hoofsteps disappeared.

"...Why did you do that?" Dinky asked finally.

"She wanted to go," Scuffle grunted. "Couldn't you see it? She probably would've stayed if I asked her to, but it obviously wasn't her first choice. I don't wanna ask her to the dance, or even tell her I've got a thing for her, if her mind's elsewhere, y'know? It was just bad timing."

"Okay, so what now?" Clarity asked, nervously tossing her mane. "If this wasn't the right moment, then when? Do you have a plan?"

"The plan's the same as it's always been," Scuffle replied, rising to his hooves. "It seems like Honeydew still really likes me, so I'm not out of the race yet. I just need to get pretty boy to back off long enough to make a move."

Resolutely, he strode into the tunnel. "The duel's in two days," he called as he made his way out of the cavern. "I'm tired of staring at that smug stallion's grin day after day, taunting me when Honeydew can't see. It's time to humble him once and for all."

---

And so began what would turn out to be one of the most eventful days of our heroes' lives.

It was two days later, and exactly one month before the scheduled end of term. The battle magic arena carried the energy of a major sports stadium. Unicorns from every year packed the stands; it seemed that at least half the school had turned up for the tournament finale.

Dinky looked out over the crowd from her seat. A sea of small flags floated above them, held up in the auras of dozens of fans. It was easy to see who the favorite was; the number of brown flags bearing Scuffle's cage cutie mark paled in comparison to the vast amount of blue ones displaying Tango's castanets.

And Honeydew, wedged into her spot on the bleachers between Dinky and Clarity, held tightly to one of each.

"So who do you think will win?" Clarity asked.

Dinky shrugged. "Honestly? I have no idea," she admitted. "The first three rounds made it obvious that Scuffle and Tango are the clear-cut best duelists in class. But I have no idea which is better."

"Oh, I wish they could both win," Honeydew whined, clutching the tiny flags to her chest.

"Look at it this way: one of your friends is going to win no matter what," Clarity comforted. "Regardless of the outcome, there will be somepony to celebrate with. For now, let's just enjoy the show."

Honeydew smiled a bit. "I suppose..." she relented.

Down below, Professor Surge stepped up on a small platform, magically amplifying his voice to speak over the sound of the crowd. "Good afternoon, everypony!" he called. "We've had one dramatic battle magic tournament this year, but at last we find ourselves at its end. Let's meet the two colts who have fought their way into the final round. In the right bracket, we have a pony hailing from Fillydelphia, with some of the most forceful spells and cleverest defenses I've seen in a good few years. Let's hear it for Scuffle!"

The crowd cheered as Scuffle strutted into the arena, his head held high and horn already aglow. He wore a jeweled ring, doubtlessly enchanted, at the base of his horn. He faced the audience, giving them a confident smirk and a hoof-pump.

"And in the left bracket, we have a skilled duelist from Canterlot!" Professor Surge continued. "With more than a few tricks at his disposal that leave other duelists' heads spinning, and the ability to execute spells with immense grace and poise, give it up for your male Overseer, Tango Trot!"

The cheers doubled, at least, as Tango Trot stepped lightly into the arena, flashing a sparkling smile at the whole crowd before turning and giving his opponent a respectful nod. "Don't disappoint me, my friend!" he called. "We have quite the crowd to entertain, after all."

"Oh, we'll entertain 'em," Scuffle growled. "The same way a tragic stage play entertains ponies. I hope they're ready to see their hero get beaten into the ground."

"My, what confidence!" Tango laughed. "I do sincerely hope your magic can live up to the promises you make."

This is it, Dinky thought. There's a lot more riding on this duel than the crowd knows. Let's see how it ends...

"Contestants, are you ready?" Professor Surge asked.

"Ready!" Scuffle announced, scraping a hoof on the stone floor.

"Ready," Tango parroted, letting icy blue-white magic encircle his horn.

"Then it's time to bring this year's tournament to an end," the professor said. "Gentlecolts, prepare to fight."

The noise of the crowd dropped to its lowest. Dinky waited, watching Scuffle and Tango tense, poised to spring into action.

"And... duel!"

Neither colt moved, but the room began to rumble immediately. A series of fissures radiated through the ground around Scuffle, until finally, the section of floor beneath Scuffle wrenched free from the stone around it and began to slowly rise.

"Listen up, Tango Trot," Scuffle sneered as the platform below him grew into something like a butte overlooking the rest of the battlefield. "I've been watching you duel. You've got a lot of fancy little parlor tricks, but I've got the stronger spells. I've prepared for everything I've seen you do in the other three rounds. You're outmatched, and the quicker you give up, the less it's gonna hurt."

"My, how intimidating!" Tango chuckled, smiling broadly at his opponent. "I can't wait to see what you've got in store. Why don't you go ahead and show me?"

Scuffle shrugged. "Hey, your funeral, dude."

The rumbling began anew, and pillars of stone began to burst from the ground. The first ones were near Scuffle, but grew closer to Tango as more and more appeared. Each rose at a different speed.

"W-wait, I know that spell!" Dinky sputtered. "You girls recognize it, right?"

"How could we forget?" Clarity asked, watching the spectacle in shock. "Sparkler used that spell against us when we dueled her on Scorpio's Apex years ago!"

"And she would've beaten us with it too, if Dinky hadn't... um... intervened," Honeydew added timidly.

A moment later, a particularly violent stone spire launched Tango skyward. Rather than careen through the air toward a painful landing, he cast a self-enchantment at the zenith of his flight that allowed him to float gently down, as if he weighed no more than a feather.

"You're right!" he called in a genuinely congratulating tone, turning in midair to lay flat with his head resting on his forehoof, as if relaxing on a couch. "That was an impressive opening tactic. It would've been quite problematic for a pony with slower reflexes or less ability to compensate."

Scuffle rolled his eyes. "Oh, shut up," he mumbled, unceremoniously lobbing a fireball at his slowly descending opponent.

Tango rolled his body and spun through the air, deftly dodging the attack before his enchantment wore off. His hooves touched down on one of the rocky spires with all the grace of a skilled pegasus alighting on a rooftop.

Dinky recalled when she and her friends had faced this spell, and how the pillars of earth rising and falling beneath them had been impossible to navigate. Scuffle was casting the spell with the same degree of power that Sparkler had back then, so it seemed only a matter of time until the same fate befell Tango Trot.

What she, and Scuffle for that matter, hadn't counted on was the Overseer's almost supernatural agility.

Tango sprung from spire to spire, always able to adjust his course even when Scuffle changed the speed of his next destination. Scuffle continued to try to hinder his forward progress by arcing a barrage of fireballs over the shifting battlefield, but his opponent always seemed to be able to leap to a position that kept clear of the attacks. When he got within a few pony lengths of Scuffle's raised platform, he threw back his head and unleashed a magical blast of sound like a foghorn, blowing the other colt right off his perch and sending him crashing to the ground below.

"Ah, alright, I getcha," Scuffle muttered, shaking off the pain as he stood and pointing to the small jeweled necklace Tango wore. "Your enchanted item for this duel gives you exceptional agility. I'm sure I can work around that."

"Oh dear, Scuffle, I'm afraid not," Tango said apologetically as the undulating battlefield finally sank back down to a flat surface. "I'm simply well-practiced in the art of intricate hoofwork. Never fear though; I'm sure one of your other spells will require me to actually use my magic to respond."

Clarity gave a low whistle. "Man, does that guy know how to taunt," she commented. "He words everything like a compliment, but that just makes it more degrading."

"I think... I think that's actually part of his strategy," Dinky realized. "He knows how much that kind of thing gets under Scuffle's skin."

Scuffle's face flushed red as the other colt continued to grin at him. "Buddy, I am just getting started," he growled. "And if you think a little noise is all it's gonna take to win, you might wanna reconsider."

He launched a jet of fire at the pony across from him, but Tango leapt aside easily. "What do you think, everypony?" he called to the audience. "Surely Scuffle has something better up his sleeve, right? Let's give him a round of applause to encourage him!"

Much of the audience began to laugh, and a playful round of applause sounded out. Scuffle's face contorted with anger. "Stop mocking me!" he roared, throwing half a dozen fireballs within the span of a second or two.

Tango placed a shield to block several of the attacks, and obliterated the remaining ones with a few snipe shots of energy from his horn. "Mocking you?" he asked, feigning innocence. "I would't dream of it, my friend. Listen to them cheering for you. If I were you, I'd say something more like..."

He paused, clearing his throat. "Hey, thanks everypony!" he continued, now in a perfect mimicry of Scuffle's voice created by his sound magic. "All your confidence is encouraging me to put on a better show for you all!"

The audience roared with laughter. Dinky noticed even Honeydew crack a smile.

"Oh, I'll give 'em a show!" Scuffle cried, whipping up a wind spell and pouring so much fire into it that it quickly became a swirling, flaming cyclone. "Whatcha gonna do about this?"

Tango watched with casual interest as the firestorm surged toward him. A moment before he was engulfed, he simply teleported to the other side, watching the attack reach the far wall and fizzle out. "Impressive to look at," he admitted. "Not exactly... what's the word... especially strategically clever."

"He's gonna win in no time if Scuffle can't shake off the taunts and focus," Clarity grumbled.

"Scuffle!" Dinky called. "Chill out! Don't let him goad you into making stupid moves. Remember your strategy!"

Scuffle glanced into the crowd, his eyes meeting Dinky's for a moment, and then looked back to Tango just in time for the latter to release another blast of sound loud enough to send him flying.

This time, however, a slate-blue dome appeared just in time. Tango blinked in surprise as Scuffle remained standing.

"Shields are meant for stopping attacks," he managed. "What use is one here?"

"I dunno what you just said," Scuffle admitted. "But I hope you didn't think I'd come to a duel against a pony like you without figuring out how to soundproof my shields first. You can hear me, but I can't hear a thing."

Tango quickly released a deep, booming sound from his horn, so loud that the whole room shook and most ponies in the audience covered their ears. Scuffle's dome quivered, but its occupant remained calmly standing inside, unaffected.

At this, Tango paused, staring at Scuffle's smirk for a few moments. "Fillies and gentlecolts, I'd advise you to protect your hearing," he recommended. "I'd like to see just how durable that soundproofing is."

A huge spell formed around his horn. Dinky flattened her ears, preparing for a deafening sound.

And then, in a fraction of an instant, Scuffle removed his shield, inverted it, and placed it over Tango.

Dinky heard a very faint, but very deep, sound. Tango Trot however clutched at his ears in agony from beneath the wall of blue magic. Scuffle smirked as it faded away, leaving his opponent staggering.

"How's that?" Scuffle asked smugly. "Flip the shield, and instead of sound being unable to get in, instead it can't get out."

"C-clever indeed," Tango stuttered, shaking his head in what was clearly an attempt to lessen the ringing in his ears. "Underestimating your talents with shields was an error I won't make again."

Honeydew tugged on the dangling ends of her mane nervously. "They do this for fun," she mumbled, shaking her head.

"You mentally talk to plants for fun," Clarity pointed out.

"Oh, I wasn't judging!" Honeydew replied quickly. "Scuffle doesn't understand the appeal of my hobbies, but he's always supported them. I'll do the same, no matter how scary dueling seems to me."

Scuffle loosed a laser that tore through the air, but Tango evaded it with another teleport. "Soundproof shields are one thing, but your style still seems a bit... lacking in finesse," the blue colt chuckled. "Of course, I'd love to see you prove me wrong against something like, say, this!"

Tango's horn began to glow brighter, but unlike any other spell, it simply didn't stop. From her seat in the audience, Dinky found herself forced to shield her eyes as blue-white light completely engulfed Tango and much of the battlefield, shining like a star that had been somehow contained indoors.

"No spell charges up like that!" Dinky exclaimed.

"That's not the buildup for a spell," Clarity realized. "That's the spell itself! It's nothing but an incredibly powerful illumination spell!"

It was impossible to look straight at the battlefield, but the sound of spellcasting, followed by much swearing from Scuffle, was easy to hear. "Shield yourself if you wish," Tango suggested from somewhere in the radiance. "But I'm afraid there's little you can do to retaliate if you can't—"

Before he even finished his sentence, something changed dramatically. Every inch of the room that wasn't the battlefield itself was plunged into darkness so intense that Dinky couldn't see her own hoof in front of her face. In the arena, the brilliant light was replaced with something akin to the pale green glow of a foal's glow-in-the-dark toy. Scuffle and Tango became visible again immediately.

"Your tricks sure aren't as sophisticated as you keep claiming," Scuffle snickered. "I've been hanging out with Clarity for five years, dude. Did you really think I didn't have a counterspell or two for any kind of spell that manipulates light?"

Taking advantage of his opponent's momentary speechlessness, Scuffle stamped the ground, and a spire of rock burst up and smashed into Tango's underside. He was sent flying, and landed in a heap on the stone floor nearby. The lighting in the room slowly returned to normal as the counterspell wore off.

"Now," Scuffle continued, lighting his horn and pinning the still-winded Tango down with a gravity spell, "you got any more gimmicky little spells to show off, or should we move this along to your forfeit?"

"Forfeit, already?" Tango asked, shockingly calm despite the immense gravity pressing him into the floor. "But we're having so much fun, Scuffle. It would be a shame to quit now."

Scuffle had no interest in joining the verbal game. "A knockout it is, then," he chuckled, charging up a blast of energy in his horn.

Tango lit his horn, but with the inability to move his body, and Scuffle standing well clear of his line of fire, Dinky couldn't see any way the blue colt could retaliate. Scuffle reared up to deal a powerful blow, one that had the potential to end the duel.

...And then he stopped, returning to all fours and looking supremely bewildered. "W-what are you doin'?" he stammered, stumbling backwards a bit.

"What is he doing?" Clarity asked. "He's not using an attack spell. What's got Scuffle so flustered?"

To Dinky's surprise, Honeydew began to laugh. "Oh wow, is he really going that route?" she giggled. "Poor Scuffle's probably totally confused."

Clarity looked bewildered, but Dinky began to realize what her friend meant. "Wait, is Tango..."

"He's using a life connection spell!" Honeydew laughed. "You know how I use them to send suggestions to plants, like when I ask flowers to open or roots to move aside? Tango's sending signals like that into Scuffle's mind!"

Clarity blinked. "So can he like... control Scuffle with that?" she asked, shocked.

"Oh, no, that's not how magical biology spells work," Honeydew clarified. "You can't use them to command, but you can suggest. If Tango used that spell on me, I'd easily be able to just ignore it, but Scuffle has so little experience with magical biology that it looks like he doesn't know how to parse the second set of information Tango's implanting in his mind right now."

Scuffle finally tripped over his own hooves and landed on his rump. The gravity spell broke instantly and Tango was upright again just a second later. "I should actually thank you for inspiring that little trick," he admitted, smiling at his opponent. "It was you who suggested incorporating battle magic into magical biology when helping our dearest mutual friend. It occurred to me that there was no reason I couldn't do the opposite, and incorporate magical biology into battle magic as well."

Scuffle leapt up and prepared to attack again. "Weird tricks like that might draw this out, but you're not gonna beat me with them!" he yelled.

"I can see that," said Tango calmly. "And my sincerest congratulations for getting quite a few more hits in than any of my prior opponents. Perhaps it's time for a more direct approach."

With a bright icy blue flash, Tango's signature energy rapier extended from his horn. Scuffle grinned the second he saw it appear.

"Ah, finally!" he laughed. "The enchantment I brought along lets me copy one of your spells. I've been waiting for this one for a while!"

Scuffle's horn ring glowed, and a nearly identical blade of light burst from his own horn. "Ready to duel in a more old-fashioned sense of the word?" he asked.

"Oh, absolutely!" Tango replied delightedly. "En garde, my friend!"

Dinky placed her head in her hooves. "Scuffle, your confidence is gonna put you in hot water again..." she mumbled.

The two colts rushed at one another, and the electric buzz of magic on magic filled the air as their weapons collided. With quick, careful movements, both ponies swung their heads and sidestepped to block and parry each other's blows. Sparks in two different shades of blue rained down each time the blades met.

"Something's off..." Dinky said quietly. "Tango's really skilled at this, and Scuffle doesn't have much practice. Why do they seem so evenly matched?"

"Look at that grin on Tango's face," Clarity pointed out. "He knows that this was probably a bad move on Scuffle's part. As much as I hate to admit it... I think he's just toying with him."

"Oh dear," Tango crooned. "It seems you're having a bit of trouble landing any hits. Would you like me to show you how?"

Scuffle responded with an especially forceful swing of his head, but Tango easily parried the blow. Finally taking advantage of the opening he'd ignored the last dozen times, he flicked the sword upward. While the magic was unable to pierce flesh like a steel blade would, it did send Scuffle stumbling back.

Immediately, the battle became one-sided. Scuffle could barely stay ahead of the attacks, blocking only about half as he left himself open to some sort of counter each time he did so. In about two minutes, he was battered and shaky, soldiering on through sheer force of will.

Suddenly Tango jumped backward, out of the range of attack, letting his sword fade away. "Swordplay is good fun, but it seems awfully unsporting to win the duel when you've intentionally handicapped yourself," he said as innocently as possible. "Perhaps select a spell that better fits your style, and we can proceed."

Dinky could see Scuffle's temper control failing. "Don't patronize me!" he snapped. "It doesn't matter what spell I use! I'll still crush you like a bug! But if you want... I can do that a little more literally."

It was at this moment Dinky realized that Scuffle had been practicing a lot of spells she didn't even know he knew. Years of classes together were enough for her to know he had a decent grasp of transformation spells, but she was still caught by surprise when his next spell caused him to grow and grow until he was ten times his original size, towering over Tango like a mythical giant. Entirely unfazed, Tango chuckled softly.

"I know you can't maintain that for more than a minute or so," he pointed out, "but it should be a rather amusing minute."

The gargantuan unicorn fired a laser wider than the average adult pony from his horn, but Tango simply teleported away, appearing beneath Scuffle's body and shooting a small spell straight up into his stomach. Scuffle cried out and reared up instinctively, and Tango took the opportunity to strike at his hind hooves, and then vanished in another flash as Scuffle toppled, shaking the whole room as he crashed down to the floor.

"Tut, tut," Tango scolded as he teleported onto Scuffle's back. "Turning into a giant looks impressive, but again, prioritizes brute force over strategy. Do try and show me one more of the clever tricks I know you're capable of before we wrap this up?"

Scuffle ceased the transformation spell at fast as he could, returning to his original size in less than a second, which meant the place where Tango had been standing suddenly didn't exist anymore. The blue suddenly found himself falling a bit, and though he managed to land on his hooves, he needed just a second to regain his balance, and that was all Scuffle needed to blast him with a fireball that sent him skidding across the battlefield.

"Noticing a trend yet?" Scuffle asked, grinning darkly. "You brag, I make you eat your words. So by all means, keep it up; it'll lead to a knockout eventually."

Tango Trot dusted himself off. "Fine, fine," he said, shaking his head, "As grand of a time as this is, it's time to stop entertaining the crowd and actually try and finish this."

Scuffle flinched. "You... haven't been trying to win?"

"Well, it's not that," Tango explained. "The argument could be made that I'm not trying to win as quickly as I could be, though. I'd have hated for the tournament finale to be horribly anticlimactic."

Scuffle shook with rage. "I am not gonna let you treat this whole thing like some kind of performance!" he barked as his aura grew far stronger. There was the sound of rock being rent apart, and a huge, irregular boulder was ripped from the floor. Two more followed suit, and then three more after that. In a matter of moments, the surface of the battlefield was almost totally ruined, and the colt effectively had his own asteroid belt, with dozens of rocks lazily orbiting him in a powerful gravitational field.

"Scuffle's magic is so strong," Honeydew said breathlessly.

"His gravity control's always been great, but his earth magic's improved a ton in the last year or two," Clarity added. "I don't know if even Tango has a way around this."

"Give in. Now," Scuffle commanded, scraping a forehoof like a bull preparing to charge. "Unless you think you can withstand a meteor shower."

He began slowly advancing, and the asteroid field moved with him, beginning to revolve around him more quickly. Tango, who for once looked like he was actually taking things seriously, took a few careful steps back.

"Yeah, that's it," Scuffle hissed. "I can bury you under a mountain and you know it. You need to know when to quit."

"Ah, about that..." Tango replied, shaking his head sadly. "I'm afraid it's you, Scuffle my friend, who doesn't know when to quit. I see now that your tactics, as impressive as they are, can't overcome mine."

The rocks in Scuffle's orbit began to whirl around him far faster. "Yeah? Prove it!" he cried as one boulder was suddenly flung from the field directly at his opponent.

With unbelievable timing and grace, Tango leapt and landed on the rock as it continued to sail through the air. A split second later, he jumped again, even as the next boulder was hurled toward him. Scuffle launched each of his miniature asteroids one after the other, and the arena was full of the thundering sounds of them crashing to the ruined battlefield below.

But not a single one ever connected with Tango Trot.

Performing something like an aerial ballet, the Overseer skipped and bounded from boulder to boulder, unfazed as rocks the size of his body whizzed past him by mere inches. Once or twice, he even went so far as to add a twirl or backflip to his jumps, sending the wildly cheering audience a gleaming grin with each move.

"Stop it!" Scuffle roared, using less and less precision in his meteor attack in favor of ever-increasing force. "I'm not gonna let you make a fool out of me!"

Tango sidestepped a boulder flying past him like a speeding train, before jumping to a rock that remained suspended. "I'm doing nothing of the sort," he argued. "It's no fault of mine that you're making one of yourself, though."

Honeydew winced. "This is a verbal duel as much as a magical one," she whimpered. "I don't remember you and Scuffle exchanging insults this hard during your match."

"Tango just... knows how to get under Scuffle's skin," Clarity said finally. "And like we said earlier, he's used that to his advantage."

Soon, Scuffle's asteroid belt had depleted to just a few stray rocks. Tango merrily evaded one more attack and then took a totally unobstructed shot at Scuffle, sending him tumbling backwards and causing the last two or three rocks to fall back to the ruined floor. Despite looking quite battered, Scuffle leapt up instantly. Dinky got a view of his face and couldn't help but cringe; her friend had definitely abandoned all his cool at this point. He stared Tango down, practically boiling with rage.

"I won't let you win this," he snarled. "You've made a mockery of this whole match. What would it say about me if I let myself lose when all you're doing is prancing around the battlefield, showing off and using cheap tricks?"

"Ah, I'm sorry to disappoint," Tango replied apologetically, "but I'm afraid it's already too late for you to turn things around. It was a commendable effort my friend, but my victory over you is already certain... both on and off the battlefield."

For a moment, Dinky feared Honeydew would turn to her and ask what Tango had meant, but she didn't get the chance. Scuffle gave an almost animalistic war cry and reared up, his horn flaring brighter than ever. As he cast his spell, a series of explosions rocked the battlefield. With each swing of his head, his spell set another string of detonations off, quickly engulfing the whole arena in so much smoke and fire that both competitors disappeared from view.

Holding her breath, Dinky waited, listening to the cacophony of destructive blasts, and the occasional moment where they quieted enough to hear Scuffle's incoherent screaming. Beside her, Clarity leaned forward in her seat expectantly, and Honeydew watched in silence, searching for any visual sign of either pony, her eyes wide and her forehooves over her mouth.

And then Tango Trot appeared. Through means Dinky could only guess, he leapt into the air like a bounding deer, sailing above the smoke. He seemed to hang in space for a moment, as if moving in slow motion, and treated the audience to just the briefest of beaming smiles.

Then he unleashed a laser beam of such magnitude that Dinky could only recall ever seeing one like it: the one Twilight Sparkle had used to help hold off Scorpio on that fateful night years before. The impossibly huge spell was fired straight toward the floor, and actually propelled him further upwards from the force. It plunged into the center of the dark cloud, forcing the smoke outward over the rest of the room, including the audience.

"What happened?" Dinky asked, squinting to try to see through the smoke. "How did he even do that? I know this is a school for gifted unicorns, but nopony here can pack that much power into a spell..."

"For those fans who are curious," came Tango Trot's dulcet voice, "the enchantment I brought with me to this particular duel was a most interesting one. Throughout this battle, it has been absorbing excess energy given off by any attacks my opponent used, and adding it to my own energy stores. What poor Scuffle didn't realize was that the more brute force he put into his attacks, the more powerful he was making me, as I'm sure that last spell demonstrated quite clearly."

In the stands, the girls exchanged a shocked glance. "So he wasn't just taunting Scuffle to encourage mistakes," Clarity gasped. "His magic was actually benefiting from it!"

"Let's not blame Scuffle for his mistake though," Tango continued. "He couldn't have known what would happen. But unfortunately for him..."

The smoke finally began to clear enough that Dinky could make out two figures. Tango Trot finally came into view, standing proudly in the middle of the charred and broken arena, with a forehoof resting gently on the battered form of a very decidedly unconscious Scuffle.

"...it would seem that it was his undoing," the colt finished.

"Fillies and gentlecolts, we have a winner!" Professor Surge cried as much of the crowd erupted in cheers. "This year's top battlemage is none other than your beloved Overseer, Tango Trot!"

"Thank goodness it's over," Honeydew sighed, letting her guarded posture relax. "Come on, let's go congratulate Tango, and make sure Scuffle's okay."

She joined the bustling crowd making their way out of the stands. Dinky and Clarity lingered in their seats for a moment.

"Well... that's that I guess," Clarity said finally.

"Guess so," Dinky replied, watching the nurse sit down next to Scuffle's limp body and begin with tests and healing spells while dozens of fans crowded around Tango Trot. "But, well... I just don't know what'll happen next. Regardless of what we thought of it, Scuffle convinced himself he needed to win this. Now that he didn't... do you think he'll even have the courage to try to win Honeydew over anymore?"

Clarity frowned. "I wish I knew what to say to him when he wakes up," she lamented. "You know, help him see himself as having a chance, so he'll at least ask her out and see what happens. I don't know what other advice we can give."

Dinky gasped as an idea struck her. "Maybe we're out of relationship advice, but I know somepony who probably has a few tips," she said excitedly. "I'll meet you at the hideout later, Clarity; I've got a letter to write."

---

While the tournament was drawing to a close at the Academy, Ditzy Doo was dealing with a decisive event of her own. She paced back and forth in the vacant employee lounge at Equestria Speedy Shipping Services, waiting for Watt to bring the news she hoped to hear. Her ears perked up at the sound of unnaturally rapid hoofsteps on the stairs before the jittery earth pony scurried into the room.

"Cloudcover's got him," Watt declared. "They're on their way up."

Overcome with mixed feelings, Ditzy simply nodded. Her mission to reunite Sparkler with her long lost friend had gone well, but Watt and Cloudcover hadn't had quite as much luck with tracking down Breeze after he'd left on his leave of absence. It was only now, after nearly a month of searching, that her troubled coltfriend had finally been located and convinced to return.

"You might wanna sit down. Give him some space, y'know," Watt suggested, trotting in place anxiously. "Luckily Cloudcover's really convincing, and pretty good at conflict de-escalation. Breeze was uh... not exactly on board with coming back here when we finally found him."

Ditzy swallowed hard. "Got it," she said hoarsely, seating herself on the couch. "I'll let Cloudcover mediate. I'm on such thin ice already, I don't want this to get out of hoof."

More hoofsteps echoed from the stairs. Watt darted to the corner of the room and nervously ran a hoof over his spiky mane as if trying to flatten it down a bit. It had no effect, of course, but he seemed satisfied.

Ditzy sucked in her breath as Cloudcover stepped into the room, sending her a silent nod as he entered. And behind him, finally, came the stallion Ditzy both desperately longed to see and yet was terrified to speak to.

"Breeze," she breathed.

Breeze's intense green eyes seemed to bore into her. "Ditzy," he said, his expression remaining neutral.

"Breeze old chum, despite the situation, some information has come to light that we need to share with you," Cloudcover urged.

Breeze glanced at Ditzy briefly before turning back to Cloudcover. "Alright, I'm listening."

"This, um... situation the company's in, and also the one you and Ditzy are experiencing..." Cloudcover began, carefully monitoring Breeze's reaction, "It's not... well, not entirely, any of our fault. We've been the subject of a malicious act that was carried out quite well."

"In short, we've been bamboozled," Watt added.

Breeze frowned. "Regardless of what's happening with the company, I don't see how the second part of that statement could be true," he argued. "What happened on that assignment with Sparkler was the result of Ditzy's conscious decision."

"That's true," Ditzy admitted, feeling transparency was the best course of action. "But the assignment itself was a setup."

Breeze watched skeptically as she reached into her bag and withdrew an old book. "This is Dr. Candyfloss's journal," she explained, though Breeze's raised eyebrows made it clear he recognized it before she said anything. "We found it in Wishing Star's personal belongings. Read the final entry. It'll shed some light on things."

Breeze wordlessly took the journal and skimmed the final few pages. "What reason would ponies have to beware the wishing star..." he read aloud. "So wait, if he was talking about our Wishing Star, what did she do?"

"What didn't she do?" Watt muttered darkly.

"We're not sure why," Cloudcover continued, "but Wishing Star has been undermining us from the very beginning. When confronted, she admitted to intentionally ignoring calls from client, selecting only the ones we were likely to fail."

"What?" Breeze gasped, flaring his wings defensively. "And... the assignment that involved Sparkler?"

"Staged," said Ditzy bitterly. "Written Script had no interest in Sparkler. Wishing Star paid him to pretend, though."

"Sparkler made for a useful, unwitting pawn," Cloudcover elaborated. "Wishing Star realized how much you both cared about her fate, and correctly guessed that you'd have different ideas of how to help her. Then she forced you into a situation where those ideas would clash."

"She wouldn't tell us why, though," Watt added. "We don't have a clue what she gained from this."

Breeze looked between each of his three coworkers, speechless. "So, from day one, Wishing Star's been quietly destroying everything Candyfloss left for us?" he asked finally.

"I'm afraid so," Cloudcover sighed, "and if we want to try to undo the damage, we'll need your support. The first step, I assume, is to rebuild a certain damaged relationship that Candyfloss spoke so highly of. Now that we know that Wishing Star was the culprit, surely you can forgive Ditzy—"

"Now hang on."

It was Ditzy who spoke, much to the surprise of her companions. "While it's true we played right into Wishing Star's hooves, I still didn't have to make the choice I did during that phony assignment," she announced. "That was my decision, and as much as the consequences have hurt, I'm not going to use Wishing Star's comparably worse actions to pretend mine weren't my own fault."

Cloudcover stepped aside, allowing Ditzy to get to her hooves and move closer to her fiance. "Breeze, the reason Wishing Star was able to do what she did is because she knows how strongly we care for the important ponies in our lives," she continued, a bit more softly. "Sparkler was one of those ponies. I wanted so badly to do the right thing for her because... well, without her, I wouldn't have Dinky anymore. Dinky's been my whole life since I became a widow. So when I had to make a decision during that assignment, it didn't feel like I was choosing between you and Sparkler; in a way... it felt like I was choosing between you and Dinky. And I never, ever want to have to make that choice."

"I've had a lot of time to think about it," Breeze admitted, ruffling his wings restlessly. "And to be honest, I was so determined to do it my way for a similar reason. Just... just try to picture, Ditzy, that tomorrow, if you learned that somehow, some way, Dinky had a sister. Obviously that's impossible, but let's just look at the situation hypothetically. Imagine that until that moment, you'd never met that pony before in your life, but yet there was undeniable proof that you had another daughter you knew nothing about. How would you feel when you realized that filly grew up without you, and lived instead with a despicable witch of a pony?"

Ditzy winced. "I'd be devastated. And I know, that's exactly what happened to you earlier this year. I've had a lot of time to think about it this past month too," she sighed. "Looking at it that way, of course you'd want to do everything in your power to give Sparkler the things you couldn't give her when she was younger."

"Right," Breeze said. "So what we had here was... well, a war of parenting instincts. There was no outcome that wouldn't have left at least one of us feeling betrayed. Neither of us even truly know Sparkler that well; Dinky knows her far better than either of us. But we both felt responsible for her, for reasons that were different yet somehow very much the same."

Ditzy stared at the floor, her eyes welling up with tears. "Breeze, I'm so sorry..." she whimpered. "I should've kept trying to come to an agreement with you, but I was desperate, and I made a really bad decision. I never wanted to betray you."

Breeze paused, choosing his words. "On that afternoon, I said something really harsh," he muttered. "When I realized what you did, I compared you to Glow. But what I know for certain Glow would never do is show real remorse and give a sincere apology."

Ditzy sniffed, and let her bad eye swivel up a bit to look at Breeze uncertainly.

"So... I'm sorry too," the stallion admitted. "I overreacted and said terrible things and made the whole situation worse than it already was. Not to mention, in the long run, you were right; the assignment was a setup, so setting Written Script up with Sparkler would've been a waste of her time at best... or yet another thing to hurt her at worst."

Ditzy managed a tiny smile. "By the way, if it helps... I did continue with my effort to help Sparkler," she revealed. "Right now she's in Trottowa, renting a room at Presto's place and working in the admin building at the local university."

Breeze's jaw dropped. "You... you got them back together? Really?"

"Really!" Ditzy affirmed. "For the first time, she looked genuinely happy. Maybe things took a bad turn for us, but at least I was able to help her make it through all this."

She could see the wave of relief wash over her partner. His posture changed immediately, as if a weight had been lifted off him. "That's great news," he breathed. "At least Wishing Star's meddling didn't hurt her too."

"So..." Watt cut in, reminding Ditzy that he and Cloudcover were in fact still present, "I heard two apologies and an 'everything turned out okay' in the span of that conversation. Are you two back together or what?"

Cloudcover huffed. "All the subtlety of a parade in downtown Manehattan as usual, Watt," he grumbled.

Ditzy giggled. "Well, what do you think, Breeze?" she asked. "Watt has a point; we both made mistakes, but we owned up to them and we both apologized and want to do better. Do you think we can consider this a bump in the road and... you know, keep moving forward together?"

Breeze lifted a foreleg and pulled Ditzy closer to him. "That's what we should've done in the first place," he admitted. "I missed you, Ditzy."

The mare leaned up and nuzzled him softly. "I missed you too, Breeze."

After a few more quiet moments of closeness, Breeze took a step back. "Alright," he began, "the four of us are a team again, and the pony who's been hindering us is gone. The Sparkler situation is resolved too, so now we can focus all our attention on pulling Equestria Speedy Shipping Services out of this tailspin."

Ditzy and Watt gave him matching determined smiles, but Cloudcover didn't seem to share their enthusiasm. "That, in theory, is a wonderful idea Breeze, but I'm afraid we may be a bit too late," the older stallion confessed. "Even if we've removed Wishing Star from the equation, it doesn't change the fact that assignments truly have been coming in very slowly, and we've intermittently been closed or partially staffed for some time now. Equestria Speedy Shipping Services has been all but entirely inoperational during this past month, between Ditzy's trip to Trottowa and the efforts of Watt and I to track you down. Of course, we had to continue to pay the lease on the space we use, which has drawn nearly all of the meager remaining savings from our coffers."

"We don't have anything left?" Breeze asked, shocked. "Even if we take every assignment from here on out and somehow succeed at most of them, it's not gonna be enough?"

Cloudcover removed his beret and held it to his chest. "My friends, I'm afraid Wishing Star may have succeeded at one of her malicious plans," he sighed. "Dr. Candyfloss's beloved shipping company is now all but bankrupt."

"There must be something we can do!" Ditzy said urgently. "Dr. Candyfloss's only parting wish was to keep Equestria Speedy Shipping Services going after he was gone. Have we really failed him, barely half a year after his passing?"

"I wish we could continue, but I just don't see any other option," Cloudcover groaned. "Even if we keep the place open for another month or two with our personal savings, business has run almost dry. It's simply not sustainable."

"Then we have to get more creative!" Watt blurted. "We're four smart, resourceful ponies. Let's put our heads together and find a way to get some business back before we completely go under!"

The conversation was suddenly interrupted when a scroll bearing the seal of Celestia's Academy materialized in a flash of dragonfire. Ditzy, used to the event after receiving a few years worth of such correspondence, caught it in midair. "Strange, Dinky doesn't usually write in the middle of the day like this," she mused. "Let's see what she has to say."

The mare unfolded the scroll and read aloud, with her curious coworkers peering over her shoulder.

Hey mom!

Things have been unusually exciting at the Academy lately. I'll tell you about it in detail next time I'm home, but right now, I've got something a little more urgent to ask you.

Remember how I was telling you about Scuffle's efforts to overcome a rival who's taken a fancy to Honeydew? That plan of his hasn't been going well, especially after today. If he doesn't act soon, he's gonna lose his chance, but Clarity and I can't seem to help him work up the courage to try. You're a professional shipper; is there anything we could say to him to kinda help him along? Because today in particular, he needs help more than ever.

Ditzy paused, chuckling. "Ah, Dinky's friend is having some shipping concerns," she said. "I guess we can take a moment to send her some suggestions, huh?"

"What's the rest of it say?" Breeze asked, pointing to the remaining hornwriting.

Ditzy glanced down and continued to read.

You don't need to send anything right this second if you're still at work. We won't really have time to discuss it until this evening anyway; in an hour or so, we have an assembly about the schedule for final exams with Dean Script and Counselor Wishing Star. But I'm sure we can put some tips to good use after that!

Thanks, and love you,
~Dinky

"Wait, Counselor Wishing Star!?" Ditzy repeated, horrified. "Is that... is that snake-in-the-grass up to something at Celestia's Academy?"

"Don't panic," Breeze urged. "Names that have to do with light or objects that cast it are very common among unicorns. There are probably dozens of Wishing Stars in Equestria."

"And even if it is our Wishing Star, and she is up to no good, there's hundreds of ponies at that place," Watt added. "Dinky herself might not be in any danger."

"That's not to say we shouldn't take this seriously," Cloudcover quickly noted, noticing Ditzy's unconvinced expression. "What we need to do is quickly and calmly investigate the situation. If the Academy's counselor truly is the same pony that sabotaged us, then we need to inform somepony of rank within the Academy's staff."

"Right, come on," Ditzy said, already unfurling her wings as she made for the door. "Princess Twilight's castle is just down the road. She'll have the information we need."

The team of matchmakers hurried out of the building. The three pegasi took to the air, and Watt scampered along below, as fast on land as most pegasi were in the air.

We need to get to the bottom of this right now, Ditzy thought as she pumped her wings faster. I'm not letting anything happen to Dinky!

---

"Dude, can you even breathe like that?"

"Mmf."

Dinky and Clarity sat against the wall in the hideout. Next to them, Scuffle lay face down in the dirt, and didn't seem to have any plans to remedy that.

"Scuffle, get up," Clarity grumbled, lifting the colt in her aura.

"Put me down," Scuffle demanded, flailing helplessly in her reddish glow. "Just leave me in the dirt where I belong already."

Dinky rolled her eyes. "Scuffle, that's a bit dramatic," she groused. "You lost a duel. It's not the end of the world. You didn't even lose that badly, either; you dealt more damage than any of Tango's other opponents, for sure."

"Are you kidding?" Scuffle asked, his legs now hanging limply as he dangled in Clarity's aura. "He made the whole thing into a show for his adoring fans. Ponies are gonna be laughing at me for the rest of the term, Tango's gonna be cockier than ever, and Honeydew probably thinks he's better than me in literally every way now, not just in looks or smarts, but magical expertise as well."

Dinky scowled and opened her mouth to reply. However, Clarity spoke first.

"Then what have you got to lose?"

Scuffle blinked. "Huh?"

"You heard me," Clarity said, finally returning Scuffle's hooves to the ground. "If that stuff you just said about Honeydew is true, then you've already lost. Tango's clearly gonna win her heart, and that'll be that. But if you're not right, then you still have a chance too."

"You've got no more time to try to build yourself up," Dinky continued, building off Clarity's words. "Graduation's coming soon, and the Graduates' Ball is coming even sooner. It's clear you're not going to be able to make Tango Trot back off, so that leaves you with two choices; tell Honeydew how you feel and see what happens... or don't, and let Tango do it instead. But at this point, it's gonna be one of those two."

Scuffle stared into space for a moment. "...You know, you're right," he said finally. "It really is now or never, isn't it?"

"Well, prior to now would probably have been better," Clarity muttered. "But yeah, at this point..."

"Fine. Let's do this. Right now," Scuffle declared. "Where's Honeydew?"

Clarity's enchanted hair clip lit up, pointing with an ethereal arrow toward a deeper part of the forest above. "That way," she deadpanned. "We should go get her anyway; that assembly with the dean and Counselor Wishing Star is in like fifteen minutes."

The three friends left the hideout, following the signal from Clarity's barrette into the depths of the campus's small forest. "I'm not sure I've ever been to this part of the woods," Clarity commented. "I guess Honeydew probably knows her way around here though."

Dinky snickered. "Knows her way around? By this point, I'm pretty sure Honeydew's personally acquainted with every single tree."

The trio stepped into an unfamiliar glade and were greeted with a beautiful scene. A small pond reflected the sun off crystal clear water. The trees, decked out in fall colors, swayed gently in the breeze. And in the center of it all was Honeydew, lying in the grass with her legs tucked under her. Her eyes were closed, but a small smile was on her face, and she seemed to be softly humming to herself. Much of the glade shimmered under the ever-shifting lines of her latest Lifesense grid.

"Look at that," Scuffle whispered. "Sometimes I swear Equestria itself is determined to make Honeydew even prettier than she already is."

"Honeydew and mother nature are well acquainted," Dinky replied softly. "She interacts with life so much, maybe the world is just trying to return the favor."

Scuffle silently stepped forward. Cautiously, he placed a forehoof inside the boundary of the glowing grid.

"Hi Scuffle," said Honeydew immediately, without opening her eyes.

Scuffle smirked. "There's no hiding from you once I'm in range of the spell, huh?"

"Nope," Honeydew giggled, as the girls stepped inside the border too. "Oh, and Clarity too! Hello."

"And me," Dinky pointed out.

Honeydew opened her eyes, and her smile faded. "Oh, right," she said uncertainly. "I still, um... still can't detect you, Dinky, but I'll keep working on it."

Dinky felt the darkness inside her swirl in agitation. "Don't worry about it," she said dismissively.

"Honeydew, we have to head to the castle for that assembly," Clarity reminded her. "Wanna walk with us?"

The pale green grid faded away and Honeydew stood up. "Sure, let's go!"

The four ponies made their way out of the forest. Dinky gave Scuffle a discreet nudge, and then slowed her pace, letting Honeydew and Scuffle walk a bit ahead of her and Clarity.

"Scuffle, you're not hurt, right?" Honeydew asked suddenly. "That duel looked pretty serious."

"Me? Nah," Scuffle said coolly. "Scorch and Frosty have roughed me up a lot worse than Tango ever could."

Honeydew, closed the distance between them so her coat lightly brushed against his as they walked. "As long as you're okay," she replied, smiling a little.

After that, she was content to walk in silence. It was Scuffle's turn to act.

"Hey, Dewey? Listen, there's something I wanted to tell you about quick, while we have a minute."

Honeydew's ears perked up a bit, and she turned to the colt curiously. "Oh?"

"Yeah, um..." Scuffle continued, making fleeting eye contact. "It's been real great watching you develop that spell of yours this year. I always knew you'd figure it out, and I'm real proud of you."

Honeydew blinked in surprise. "That's so sweet of you," she said, beaming. "Thank you again for helping me with it."

"No problem," Scuffle continued. "You've always been smart, and now you're skilled and becoming confident too. And..."

He paused, glancing briefly over his shoulder. Dinky silently urged him to continue.

"...And for a while now, I've kinda been—"

Strummmm~

Clack-a-clack!

Never had Dinky been more disappointed to hear the fanfare ringing through the air. Tango Trot, appearing from Celestia-only-knows-where, fell into step beside the others. "I had a feeling I'd run into you four as I made my way to the assembly," he said, smiling broadly. "Scuffle, wonderful work in the duel earlier. I'm glad I got to face an opponent with such skill."

"You were both great," Honeydew chirped. "I know I couldn't do... basically all of that stuff you guys did."

"Ah, but you excel in your own unique set of ways," Tango countered. "And speaking of which, Honeydew, there's a pressing matter that I was hoping to catch you for before the assembly began."

Scuffle bristled, but it didn't matter; Honeydew's focus was on Tango Trot now.

"I have to admit, I've been absolutely marveling at your Lifesense spell since you completed it a few days ago," the Overseer continued. "My mind's been on the wonders of Magical Biology, and the talents and qualities of the pony who's mastered it, for some time now."

"Really?" Honeydew asked. "I'm glad you love the spell as much as I do but... I'm not that big of a deal, am I?"

"Honeydew my friend, you've proven to be one of the most brilliant ponies I've met here," Tango insisted. "And the more I thought about it, the more I noticed you really seem to have it all. Besides your impressive intellect, you're unfailingly sweet, tremendously passionate, and stunningly beautiful as well."

Honeydew's face went quite red. "Th-thank you," she squeaked, looking down but unable to hide a pleased smile. "I'm not used to so many compliments."

"There's more than just compliments in your future, Honeydew my dear," Tango continued. "During this term, your research may have been what brought us together, but your wonderful qualities have turned us from research partners into the very closest of friends. And that is why I simply must ask, Honeydew, if you'd like to let this wonderful partnership last much longer, and accompany me to the Graduates' Ball in a few more weeks, and many more events beyond... as my fillyfriend."

Honeydew's head shot up, her eyes wide and mouth slightly agape, staring at Tango. Dinky took a moment to take in the expressions of the others as well; Tango wore a calm, confident smile, despite the boldness of his question. Clarity looked quite torn, and slowly stepped back, not wanting to interfere with what was unfolding. And Scuffle slowly shook his head, wearing a vacant expression of utter resignation.

"It seems to me no two ponies could be more compatible," Tango said, extending a forehoof. "What do you say, Honeydew?"

Honeydew took a moment to get over the shock and find her voice. The tension peaked as she opened her mouth to reply.

"Oh, Tango Trot, I'm so flattered you feel that way! But, um... no."

The sounds of ponies nearby seemed to fade away. The rustling of the leaves went silent. The wind itself seemed to vanish, and for a moment, even in the middle of the busy Academy grounds, you could almost hear a pin drop.

"...No?" Tango asked, with a tone that sounded as if he didn't even understand the reply.

Honeydew smiled weakly. "Tango, you're wonderful," she promised. "Next to Professor Chestnut, I've never been able to work with a research partner as smart as you. And you're funny and exciting to be around and I wouldn't give away a moment of the time we've had together. But... well, that's where my feelings stop, I guess. I don't think you're the right kind of pony to be my coltfriend."

"Err... I-I see..." Tango stuttered, his usual bravado completely gone. "F-far be it from me, of course, to press the matter if your mind it truly made up..."

"I definitely want to stay friends though!" Honeydew announced, giving Tango a warm hug. "Just because I'm not interested in dating you doesn't mean I like you any less. Can we still hang out together?"

Dinky had to give Tango credit; he wrenched his attitude back to it's usual state almost immediately, or at least faked it very convincingly. "Why of course, my friend," he affirmed, patting her on the back. "Nothing I said a moment ago was meant to butter you up; I truly do delight in your company, in whichever form you choose to give it in."

"Great, because the success of Lifesense opens up about a thousand new avenues for research," Honeydew pointed out. "And I'm gonna need help from one of my best friends."

"And there will be plenty of time for that a little later," Clarity cut in. "But right now, we need to get inside before we're late."

Clarity, Honeydew, and Tango quickly trotted through the front doors. Scuffle hung back for a moment, looking a little shell shocked.

"Dinks, what just happened?"

"You got really freakin' lucky, that's what happened," Dinky replied. "Don't look a gift pony in the mouth, I guess. But we'll talk more about it later. Come on, the assembly's gonna start any second."

---

The five friends managed to get seats near the front of the mane hall. Honeydew, seemingly undeterred by what had just happened, happily tucked herself between Tango and Scuffle as usual, so Dinky sat off to one side with Clarity.

Up on stage, Spiral Script and Wishing Star waited for the last of the students to trickle in. The counselor caught Dinky's eye for a moment and sent her a cheerful smile and a wave.

"So you said they're just discussing the final exam schedule?" Dinky asked, turning to Clarity.

"Yup," Clarity responded, her curls bouncing as she nodded. "It's nothing exciting. It's important info, but we'll probably only be here for a few minutes."

"Alright, alright, quiet down," Dean Script called, amplifying her voice enough to speak over the entire student body. "I know you're all very busy at this time of year, so we'll make this quick. I'm going to discuss the schedule for finals this year, and Wishing Star will provide some study tips based on your year and current classes. Now, first we have to—"

The doors of the main hall burst open, slamming against the walls and creating a huge, echoing sound that instantly drew the attention of everypony in the room. Dinky turned her head to see what had caused the commotion, and was shocked to see a familiar, aging mare, with a yellow coat and small pair of glasses, standing triumphantly in the doorway.

Most of the students simply looked confused, but those in Dinky's year immediately reacted with varying degrees of outrage.

After all, it wasn't every day the disgraced ex-dean had the audacity to appear on Academy grounds.

"Bright Spark!" Spiral Script snarled. "How dare you show your face here? You were given clear orders never to set foot on this campus again."

"Such petty things don't matter when there's lives at stake, professor," Bright Spark replied defiantly. "Your students are in mortal danger, and the threat has been hiding among them all this time."

"What are you going on about?" Spiral Script replied angrily. "This has been one of the most incident-free years in recent history. What threat could possibly be so severe that you'd dare to violate royal orders and return here?"

"Oh, I'll show you the threat," Bright Spark hissed. "It... or rather, she, is right here!"

With a gasp, Dinky felt herself surrounded by an unfamiliar aura. After a moment, she realized it was Bright Spark's doing; despite her friends' outraged yells, the ex-dean lifted her out of the crowd and onto the stage.

Dinky stood, stunned, as the audience looked at her curiously. Could... could Bright Spark somehow know my secret? she thought desperately. But... no, there's no way she could, right?

"Dinky Doo?" Spiral Script asked, pulling off an excellent poker face. "And what exactly has you so worked up about a single teenage unicorn?"

"Unicorn?" Bright Spark scoffed. "Student's of Celestia's Academy, listen to me! The creature you see on stage is no unicorn. Dinky Doo is one of Equestria's most fearsome creatures: a crafty, vicious dark magical monstrosity! A wraith!"

Fortunately for Dinky, her look of bewilderment at Bright Spark's sudden knowledge could easily be mistaken as one of confusion at the accusation. Clarity, Honeydew, and Scuffle sat stone-still in the crowd, avoiding eye contact with the confused students around them.

"That's preposterous," Spiral Script said, still maintaining her composure beautifully. "It's true that there was an incident here involving dark magic several years ago, but it's a wild logical leap to assume a wraith is involved, especially if there have been no further incidents in the intervening years."

Dinky started as Wishing Star grabbed hold of her tail, with her hoof rather than her magic, and dragged her back a short distance so she could step defensively in front of her. "Besides, Dinky's sweet and harmless!" the counselor added. "I've seen her studying, spending time with friends, and helping out younger students all year. She's a model student, not a monster! Right Dinky?"

Dinky felt the darkness flare up inside her, as it always did in stressful situations, so as usual she silently commanded it to be still.

And for the first time since the day her unicorn body crumbled away, it did not obey.

Wishing Star turned her head curiously. "Dinky? You okay hon?" she asked. "There's no need to be nervous; nopony here actually believes the nonsense that old crone is spouting."

"I... y-yeah, I'm..."

She paused, feeling a familiar pounding in her horn. It was a sensation she hadn't felt for years: the feeling of dark magic fighting with her body to be set free. She concentrated on holding it back.

Muttering spread throughout the crowd. Dinky wanted to stand up straighter and answer the questions, but it was all she could do to keep the dark magic at bay.

"Is something wrong with her?" she heard one colt say.

"I think she's having a panic attack or something," a filly replied.

What's happening? Dinky mentally screamed, rooted to the spot by the effort of containing her magic. Why is the darkness growing? Wraiths are supposed to have control over dark magic, damn it!

"Dinky, you're not well," Spiral Script said suddenly, trotting in her direction. "Pay Bright Spark no mind. Let's get you to the infirmary."

Dinky's legs began to shake as the pounding in her horn became a deafening drumbeat. "D-Dean Script, I... I can't—"

Before the dean could reach her, her strength gave out. With an agonized cry, a churning black aura burst to life around her horn, forcing the dean and Wishing Star to take several steps back for their own safety. A collective gasp spread through much of the room, and from somewhere in the back, she head the sharp peal of Bright Spark's malicious laughter.

"Dinky!" Spiral Script cried, her enormous composure finally failing. "What are you doing? You must stop this at once!"

"Dean Script... h-help..." Dinky gasped, as violet wisps began to snake from her eyes, and dark tears seeped down her cheeks, staining the fur greyish-black. "I c-can't... w-why can't I h-h-hold it back!?"

The magic inside her body surged, ignoring her attempts to stem it completely. Smoke poured from her horn over her body. Helplessly, she watched her pale purple fur dissolve away like a layer of dust, leaving behind deep, dark violet. Her mane and tail blackened and lost their form until they were only slightly more corporeal than inky black smoke. She shut her eyes, knowing when she opened them again a second later, the normal irises and pupils would be gone, replaced by eerie yellow lights glowing from deep inside black sockets. And at last, her horn, warped and corrupted by the magic it channeled, morphed into the sharply pointed crescent she knew it would.

She felt the transformation cease. Gingerly, she opened her eyes, the lights within them casting a golden glow on the stage in front of her. The hall was utterly silent, save for the writhing and crackling of the dark magic still swirling around her horn.

As the entire student body of Celestia's Academy for Gifted Unicorns looked on in shock and horror, Dinky Doo, the wraith, stood for all to see.

The wraith revealed

Comments

[DreadedCandiru2]

Well, Ditzy's putting it all together.....but a bit too late to stop Phase 2.

[Bramzter]

Well.. she has been forced to reveal herself as a wraith but that doesn't invalidate all of the previous points made, If Dinky can manage to not freak out and go absolutely bonkers.

[Magthere]

10235095

But enough perhaps that phase 3 has now been put into jeopardy, Chaos Theory is now taking full effect because, "Wishing Star" decided to make the quasi reveal to the Shippers, who were thus left un monitored and thus now had unrestrained ability to act outside of any predictable perameters.

Such as one letter home mentioning one name.

[DreadedCandiru2]

10235193
Which means Bond Villain Stupidity is still in play.

[Emotion Nexus]

The next few minutes passed in silence, save for the gentle clink of Dinky's took against the sapphire. It wasn't unusual; Dinky had come to realize that Honeydew was quite a fan of silence, especially when out in nature. The pink filly swished her partially-unwound tail idly as she gazed up contently at the fall foliage.

"This, um... situation the company's in, and also the one you and Ditzy are experiencing..." Cloudcover began, carefully monitoring Breeze's reaction, "It's not... well, not entirely, any of our fault. We've been the subject of a malicious act that was carried out quite well."

Breeze frowned. "Regardless of what's happening with the company, I don't see how the second part of that statement could be true," he argued. "What happened on that assignment with Sparkler was the result of Ditzy's conscious decision."

"Err... I-I see..." Tango stuttered, his usual bravado completely gone. "F-far be it from me, of course, to press the matter if your mind is truly made up..."

Corrections.

Also there is a line at the start that seems odd but I didn't mention it because it might just be me.

The line about the nip of cold air.

[Emotion Nexus]

This... was a ginormous chapter.

First the SoL.

Honeydew is amazing in this chapter, I felt legitimately happy for her when she completed the spell. She just brims with so much joy that it's impossible not to be proud of her.

Also, take that Tango. HA!

Again, amazing action scenes. Really brings out the intensity of the magic in this universe.

Nester is funny as usual.

Now moving on, the reconciliation between Breeze and Ditzy was well done.

Ditzy especially handled the situation beautifully. And the emotions and motives for how the 2 went about things is really heartfelt and well done.

This is how a real married couple should act, it makes sense that they're ready for it.

And finally the reveal that has been building since the start. This is amazing, and the ponies watching show concern when Dinky responds with fear at the confrontation.

Really shows how empathetic ponies are. We'll see if it lasts though.

Let's hope that this problem can be resolved. If not well, Wishing will be capitalizing on a lot of fear and hate in a few moments.

Great chapter.

[Pegasus Rescue Brigade]

10235635
Honeydew is one of my favorites. I know I'm the one writing her, but I'm just so happy with how she's developed over the course of these two books.

We've now arrived at the turning point on the book. The slice of life stuff takes a bit more of a back seat in favor of the gradually escalating conflict that will peak in chapters 18-19. Though there will still be calmer character development moments for all of them. They're just sprinkled in more sparsely among a more generous helping of action and adventure from here forward.

As always, thanks for your comments.

[ShadowLDrago]

And then it was October.

Surprisingly ominous.

"Ugh. I need a break," Scuffle moaned, flopping on the floor next to Honeydew's bean bag chair. "Enchantments and Transformation both have essays due tomorrow. What a chore."

It gets worse.

"You don't have to go back there Dewey," Scuffle insisted. "You're almost nineteen; legally, you're an adult, and you should take advantage of that and stay well clear of that place."

I'm with Scuffle here.

"Alright, quiet down everypony!" Clarity yelled over the noise of the milling crowd of fifth-term students. "We've got something important to talk about."

Oh brilliant.

And we commemorate that bittersweet event with a little something called the Graduates' Ball."

Prom. Lovely...

The hushed discussions in the crowd grew louder. Nester seemed delighted at the reaction.

Well, it WOULD make for good eats.

"Yeah?" came Scuffle's annoyed reply. "And what makes you so sure she's gonna accept?"

Well, you haven't asked her out.

Tango simply chuckled. "Best of luck, Scuffle," he said cordially. "I'm sure you'll find somepony to join you for that resplendent evening."

I want to believe he's sincere. That he really is just a regular ass guy who likes Honeydew. But...

"This array, for instance, has one enchantment on each of its gemstones: one that causes visual invisibility, one that muffles any and all sound, one that allows for intangibility, rendering physical methods useless, one that masks the entire array's magical signature, and lastly, one that repels spells meant to cancel the effects of the other four. Good luck tracking down a pony wearing this bad boy."

Most impressive.

"Perhaps normal ones wouldn't..." Dinky said slowly. "But if I can just figure out how to make them work... maybe dark enchantments would."

Careful...

Sorry Scorpio, she thought smugly, I'm in charge of my inner darkness now, and I'll cast it when I'm good and ready.

About that...

but if she couldn't make something that basic function properly, there was no reason to aim for anything more complex.

Smart move. I however can't help but feel that casting Dark Magic when it's the time when that sort of thing is strongest might not be that wise.

Immediately, there was a bang like a small firework, and a big ball of dark energy rocketed out of the rune on the stone, colliding with the far wall and spraying soil across the chamber.

Interesting, so a dark enchantment CAN work. Wonder if it can be used for non destructive purposes?

Dinky quickly carved several additional lines through the middle of the rune, rendering it useless, and tossed the now-harmless stone in the corner of the room.

Smart.

maybe Leo, creator of the magic earth ponies use to connect with the land, and the magic unicorns like you use in magical biology, could help you out?"

Worth a shot.

Honeydew pursed her lips. "Is... is Scuffle doing okay right now?"

Define "okay".

Honeydew barely began to light her horn, and immediately stepped back, eyes wide. "O-okay, yeah, it's a lot easier to establish a standard connection with one target," she confirmed. "I barely started to cast the spell and tapped into all the tree's sensations almost immediately."

OK, so far so good.

Honeydew did not reply. The huge spell on her horn had shrunken back into a gently spinning cone of soft light. She stood, staring off into space as if in a trance.

I, think she got what she wanted.

"It... it... it works..." Honeydew said in the barest whisper. "It works. It works! Dinky, by Equestria itself and the heavens above, Lifesense works!"

Called it.

"That... that was perfect," Professor Chestnut gasped, her quill falling to the grass below. "Every step followed the exact path I have in my diagrams."

Well damn.

Cornelius whistled from his perch. "Kid, you just blew her mind," he chuckled. "It takes something pretty earth-shattering to do that to her, let me tell you."

Goddamn, Honeydew!

Scuffle frowned. "I've gotten that bad, huh?"

Yes. Now shut up, stallion up and ask her out.

Honeydew glanced over his shoulder at the exit tunnel and gave Scuffle an apologetic smile. "Um, Tango invited me to go to Canterlot this evening with him to celebrate with some ice cream," she admitted. "I don't want to keep him waiting, but... well, is it something urgent?"

Come on, come on...

"Well, nah. Just wanted to chat," Scuffle said finally. "Have fun in Canterlot, yeah? You deserve to celebrate after all the work you put in."

Dammit!

"The plan's the same as it's always been," Scuffle replied, rising to his hooves. "It seems like Honeydew still really likes me, so I'm not out of the race yet. I just need to get pretty boy to back off long enough to make a move."

Or, when you could be proactive, arrange a moment with her, and THEN ask her out. See shit like this is why I don't bother with romance.

Resolutely, he strode into the tunnel. "The duel's in two days," he called as he made his way out of the cavern. "I'm tired of staring at that smug stallion's grin day after day, taunting me when Honeydew can't see. It's time to humble him once and for all."

He's pissing you off. And that's going to destabilize you.

And so began what would turn out to be one of the most eventful days of our heroes' lives.

Joy. See, lines like this are why it takes me a while to mentally prepare myself to read this story. It always leaves me with this nervous ball in my chest, I both do and DON'T want to read more of it.

"Oh, we'll entertain 'em," Scuffle growled. "The same way a tragic stage play entertains ponies. I hope they're ready to see their hero get beaten into the ground."

He's absolutely doing this on purpose.

"I've been watching you duel. You've got a lot of fancy little parlor tricks, but I've got the stronger spells. I've prepared for everything I've seen you do in the other three rounds. You're outmatched, and the quicker you give up, the less it's gonna hurt."

You say that like he hasn't also prepared for you.

Scuffle shrugged. "Hey, your funeral, dude."

Dude, if the other guy is that confident, IT'S FOR A REASON.

"How could we forget?" Clarity asked, watching the spectacle in shock. "Sparkler used that spell against us when we dueled her on Scorpio's Apex years ago!"

Oh, how interesting.

"Oh dear, Scuffle, I'm afraid not," Tango said apologetically as the undulating battlefield finally sank back down to a flat surface. "I'm simply well-practiced in the art of intricate hoofwork. Never fear though; I'm sure one of your other spells will require me to actually use my magic to respond."

This should prove most interesting indeed then.

"I think... I think that's actually part of his strategy," Dinky realized. "He knows how much that kind of thing gets under Scuffle's skin."

And it works.

Much of the audience began to laugh, and a playful round of applause sounded out. Scuffle's face contorted with anger. "Stop mocking me!" he roared, throwing half a dozen fireballs within the span of a second or two.

He's getting pissed.

And then, in a fraction of an instant, Scuffle removed his shield, inverted it, and placed it over Tango.

Clever colt!

"Your tricks sure aren't as sophisticated as you keep claiming," Scuffle snickered. "I've been hanging out with Clarity for five years, dude. Did you really think I didn't have a counterspell or two for any kind of spell that manipulates light?"

I mean, guy has a point.

Scuffle had no interest in joining the verbal game. "A knockout it is, then," he chuckled, charging up a blast of energy in his horn.

Seems he's slowly learning to shrug off his taunts.

"He's using a life connection spell!" Honeydew laughed. "You know how I use them to send suggestions to plants, like when I ask flowers to open or roots to move aside? Tango's sending signals like that into Scuffle's mind!"

Oh. Oh that's devious.

Scuffle's horn ring glowed, and a nearly identical blade of light burst from his own horn. "Ready to duel in a more old-fashioned sense of the word?" he asked.

My guy? This is his signature spell for a REASON.

"Look at that grin on Tango's face," Clarity pointed out. "He knows that this was probably a bad move on Scuffle's part. As much as I hate to admit it... I think he's just toying with him."

About what I figured.

Dinky could see Scuffle's temper control failing. "Don't patronize me!" he snapped. "It doesn't matter what spell I use! I'll still crush you like a bug! But if you want... I can do that a little more literally."

Oh no.

"Noticing a trend yet?" Scuffle asked, grinning darkly. "You brag, I make you eat your words. So by all means, keep it up; it'll lead to a knockout eventually."

Scuffle, DO NOT get cocky.

"Well, it's not that," Tango explained. "The argument could be made that I'm not trying to win as quickly as I could be, though. I'd have hated for the tournament finale to be horribly anticlimactic."

That's what I was afraid of.

"Stop it!" Scuffle roared, using less and less precision in his meteor attack in favor of ever-increasing force. "I'm not gonna let you make a fool out of me!"

Too late, my guy.

"Ah, I'm sorry to disappoint," Tango replied apologetically, "but I'm afraid it's already too late for you to turn things around. It was a commendable effort my friend, but my victory over you is already certain... both on and off the battlefield."

We'll see.

"For those fans who are curious," came Tango Trot's dulcet voice, "the enchantment I brought with me to this particular duel was a most interesting one. Throughout this battle, it has been absorbing excess energy given off by any attacks my opponent used, and adding it to my own energy stores. What poor Scuffle didn't realize was that the more brute force he put into his attacks, the more powerful he was making me, as I'm sure that last spell demonstrated quite clearly."

Ah crap.

"Fillies and gentlecolts, we have a winner!" Professor Surge cried as much of the crowd erupted in cheers. "This year's top battlemage is none other than your beloved Overseer, Tango Trot!"

That's honestly how I expected this to go.

Breeze wordlessly took the journal and skimmed the final few pages. "What reason would ponies have to beware the wishing star..." he read aloud. "So wait, if he was talking about our Wishing Star, what did she do?"

Want a list?

"Right," Breeze said. "So what we had here was... well, a war of parenting instincts. There was no outcome that wouldn't have left at least one of us feeling betrayed.

Wishing Star played you both like fools.

"We don't have anything left?" Breeze asked, shocked. "Even if we take every assignment from here on out and somehow succeed at most of them, it's not gonna be enough?"

Maybe not.

"Wait, Counselor Wishing Star!?" Ditzy repeated, horrified. "Is that... is that snake-in-the-grass up to something at Celestia's Academy?"

Yep. Tell her. NOW.

"Then what have you got to lose?"

She's right. You have nothing left to lose. So go for it.

Strummmm~

Clack-a-clack!

He does it on purpose, I swear.

"Oh, Tango Trot, I'm so flattered you feel that way! But, um... no."

HAHA! SUCK IT, YA SMUG JACKASS!

"Dinks, what just happened?"

Exactly what you think. Now, TAKE. YOUR. CHANCE.

Dinky turned her head to see what had caused the commotion, and was shocked to see a familiar, aging mare, with a yellow coat and small pair of glasses, standing triumphantly in the doorway.

Oh, it's you.

"Oh, I'll show you the threat," Bright Spark hissed. "It... or rather, she, is right here!"

Oh, lovely.

She paused, feeling a familiar pounding in her horn. It was a sensation she hadn't felt for years: the feeling of dark magic fighting with her body to be set free. She concentrated on holding it back.

Oh this is bad.

"Dean Script... h-help..." Dinky gasped, as violet wisps began to snake from her eyes, and dark tears seeped down her cheeks, staining the fur greyish-black. "I c-can't... w-why can't I h-h-hold it back!?"

Because she did something to you.

As the entire student body of Celestia's Academy for Gifted Unicorns looked on in shock and horror, Dinky Doo, the wraith, stood for all to see.

[Pegasus Rescue Brigade]

10238390
I love these play-by-play comments you do.
Hope you're looking forward to chapter 14!

[ShadowLDrago]

10238447

Both anticipating it, and dreading it.

[Pegasus Rescue Brigade]

10238452
Also, good on you for remembering that it's getting to be the time of year where dark magic is the strongest. I don't think I mentioned that in the chapter, but as of the date of the scene at the end, Scorpio's Apex is approx. 3 weeks away.

[ShadowLDrago]

10238497

Lovely. And I'm willing to bet that the climax is going to happen during said Apex.

[Pegasus Rescue Brigade]

10248803
I don't think I mentioned it in here, but in my head I've always assumed that Dinky offered to enlist Ditzy's help somewhere in the intervening years between these two books, and Scuffle refused, probably through some combination of pride and hidden nervousness.

[Thought Prism]

I'm half expecting Honeydew to be into mares and have both Tango and Scuffle's efforts be comedically invalidated, but I don't think you're cruel enough for that. And don't think I haven't spotted the connection with the concept of enchantment arrays. Still, I'm sure Dinky will be able to salvage the situation. I mean, come on, both Discord and Starlight managed to find friendship despite their past actions, and they were way worse than Dinky ever was. She just looks dangerous. Also, if Honeydew doesn't end up using Lifesense to find the princesses, I'll eat my hat.

[Pegasus Rescue Brigade]

10250552
Well, you're all caught up now.
I hope Magic of the Heart is at least coming close to living up to the standard set by Hocus Pocus.

[Thought Prism]

10250558
Oh, for sure.

[ShadowsDarkHeart]

Ok I'm just going to say it, I didn't really like the dual, scuffle losing like that just kinda hurt, him losing his cool like makes sense I guess, but after his dual with dinky and how well he planned and strategized against her makes me think he could've done better.

I would have been okay with him losing to Presto if felt like he'd done his best, if it felt like Presto actully outsmarted him, but it didn't feel like he did, it felt more like he lost to himself, he built it up as the most important thing to him and he couldn't keep his cool. baa! It's just frustrating,

Good chapter tho can't wait to see what happens next

[Pegasus Rescue Brigade]

10259749
That was Tango's plan though, to make him lose his cool.
Unfortunately for Scuffle, it worked.

[SommeOne]

Joy. See, lines like this are why it takes me a while to mentally prepare myself to read this story. It always leaves me with this nervous ball in my chest, I both do and DON'T want to read more of it.

10238390
I feel this every time... It took me so long to get to this chapter... But, like always, I loved every second of it!

[Pegasus Rescue Brigade]

10266014
I'm sure it doesn't help matters that I (intentionally!) end every chapter on a cliffhanger.

[Emotion Nexus]

10248036
If there was ever a way to make an AU its in tandem with the only real AU material canon to the show.

Skijirama has a series of AU stories starting with a simple premise, and there are certainly changes, but it also follows big events in canon well.

Starlight messing with the universe can change things and it was handled well using lots of canon character in outlandish situations while still feeling like canon.

Just felt like saying my peice because sometime minor AU's can be well done and I also love the Little Flashes series.

[Pegasus Rescue Brigade]

10266415
Yeah AU's can definitely be well done, it's just my personal preference to try to stitch this story into canon, even if it doesn't fit perfectly. (Mainly because the first two books in this series were fit into canon, but there was a lot less canon content at the time and it's conflicted with a small number of things since then.)

This story doesn't rely much on canon anyway besides major things like Twilight's ascension to princess and the reformation of the changeling race, so it's not too jarring I don't think.