Before Show - Chapter 3
Two years passed, and things for Lysithea went rather smoothly. Her parents had been beside themselves with joy at the fact that one of their daughters would be the princess’ pupil, Twilight pushing aside her slight jealousy to join in the celebration. Even Shining Armor, whose relationship with Lysithea was rocky at best, came to congratulate her. It was, indeed, a moment to remember.
Yet, it was also the moment that Twilight had undergone a severe change in attitude. The filly for the first eight years of her life had been a ball of energy, outgoing and extremely talkative to those around her. Now, however, whenever Lysithea wasn’t home, she would shut herself away in their room. Only coming out whenever she had to, she would disappear completely unless Lysithea came back. Sometimes, depending on how long she ended up helping out Celestia, that could be days.
Days that, thank Sothis, were well spent. Celestia did fulfill her role as a tutor by filling in some of the things that Equestria’s school system didn’t teach, letting the less patriotic answers be told. She also spent time with the princess at day court, something that she had never seen even as the head of House Ordelia. The alliance’s political system was wildly different from Equestria’s, reminding her more of Adrestia or Faerghus than anything else.
Time went by and slowly Lysithea and Celestia unraveled the mysteries behind the unicorn’s surprising lack of magical ability. After only a year of hard work and dedication did they figure out a way to disguise Lysithea’s signatures as that of a normal unicorn in the form of an enchantment. Even then, however, even simple spells such as levitation seemed to be extremely weak compared to a normal unicorn.
The strange thing about it all was that reason magic actually had little to no interference for Celestia. While the princess had been a little apprehensive about using the magic after learning of it’s more common uses, once she had convinced herself of other uses for it she quickly got the hold. In fact, the princess had zero trouble being able to cast the spells herself, much to Lysithea’s surprise. It gave the two of them a question: why was it so much harder for a former human to use unicorn magic than for a pony to use reason magic?
The answer seemed like it would be simple to answer. It was not, mostly due to a combination of school, tutoring, and making sure her sister actually saw the sunlight from time to time, all taking time out of Lysithea’s schedule. That all led to today, a day that had left her nervous when her sister first announced it. A day that, if certain events hadn’t happened, would have made her confident in her sister’s ability.
“Wait, you mean you’ve been keeping this from me for how long?” Lysithea replied.
“S-sorry Thea. It wasn’t something I felt comfortable sharing is all,” Twilight responded, feeling a little hurt by her sister’s anger. “but can you believe it! I’m gonna take the test for Celestia’s school! I might be joining you there.”
“Please tell me that isn’t the only reason you are…” She sighed, realizing her sister would probably just avoid the question. “Never mind about that. Either way, are you really sure you’re going to be able to do this? We all know you don’t do well around strangers.”
“Well, you’ll be there, right?” Twilight asked, receiving a nod. “Then of course I’ll do well. I don’t need to worry about anyone hurting me with you around.”
Lysithea looked at Twilight in disappointment. “Why are you worried about someone hurting you, it’s just a simple test.”
“O-oh, did I say that?” Twilight replied. “I meant that I’m worried I would hurt myself. Yeah, that’s it.”
Lysithea didn’t push the subject any further, knowing that she wouldn’t get an answer. She didn’t need one specifically, of course. She knew where Twilight’s fear came from. It was those stallions, the ones that had tried to attack her sister. The ones that she had scared off. Lysithea thought about what to do for a moment.
“One sec Twilight,” Lysithea said, running out of their bedroom. She returned moments later with a piece of strawberry shortcake in her hooves.
Twilight eyed it. “Um… cake?”
“No, Twilight, it’s not just cake!” Lysithea said. “It’s the nectar of the gods! Able to provide strength and courage in your time of need, this wondrous sweet has gotten me through many tests in the past.”
Twilight’s eyes went wide. “You sneak food into class?!”
“Not. The. Point,” Lysithea replied, striking her sister on the head with the last word. “The point is that, while I’ll be there, this gift of kings and queens will keep your head level,” she cleared her throat. “Now then, gather your courage dear sister! If you wish to continue studying, then you must first defeat your fears in battle!”
Her sister didn’t respond, looking at her sister with a confused expression. Realizing she had just channeled an old memory of Claude, she cleared her throat again.
“Uh, ignore that. The cake thing still stands though.”
Twilight sighed. “Sis, I think you might be hanging out with Shining a little too much.”
“I said ignore it!”
--------
Twilight, though she didn’t really understand how it would help her, ate the cake as they traveled to Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns. Lysithea had been accepted into the school earlier that year, though she hadn’t undergone the test that most ponies tend to. Celestia, as it had turned out, had actually sent some of the research they had done to the school to show her skill. The discovery of a completely new field of magic was all it took for them to want Lysithea, though it would have probably been enough just being the princess’ apprentice.
When they reached the school, an older unicorn was there to show the family to the exam room. Said room turned out to be at the opposite end of the building, though it looked no different than any other classroom. They waited outside, Twilight tapping the ground nervously, though Lysithea couldn’t tell if it was fear or anticipation that had gotten to her sister. When the door opened the judges, who Lysithea recognized as some of the teachers, led them inside.
“Twilight Sparkle, I would assume,” One of the teachers said, watching as the family came inside. “Ah, and Lysithea as well. I did not expect to see you here.”
“Well, why wouldn’t I come to cheer on my sister?” Lysithea replied.
“Ah, Twilight is your sister. Then I’m sure this shall go swimmingly if you two are anything alike,” A second teacher replied. “Either way, Ms. Sparkle, would you please come to the center of the room?”
Twilight gulped, looking to her sister. Lysithea looked at her with a confident smirk on her face, a silent ‘you can do it’ if she was correct. Standing tall and trying to look courageous, Twilight walked to the center of the room. That courage lasted for all of four seconds as she found herself standing alone, family to one side of the room, teachers standing in front of her, and a door to the other side that anypony could come through.
“Ms. Sparkle, you test is one that, for the magical resume your parents submitted, should be no problem,” The first teacher told her. He directed her attention to the door, where a pony carted in a large purple egg. “This is a dragon egg. All you need to do is prove to us you have the ability to hatch it magically, but know that doesn’t actually mean you need to hatch it. Simply showing you have the knowledge and understanding to do so will be enough.”
Lysithea pondered what had been told to her as her sister stared at the egg. This was indeed a subject that had been gone over in class in some sense, but not greatly. Lysithea, though she wasn’t the one doing the test, thought about how she would end up going about it all. The method would be clear enough: use a specific set of spells to give the egg the sensation of that of one being incubated. Given how her unicorn magic was not as effective as that of a normal unicorn however, it might not have even been possible for her.
Her sister, however, should have been more than capable of doing just that. Yet as Lysithea watched her sister, she realized that the magic her sister was using wasn’t meant to keep the egg from dying. Twilight was actively trying to hatch the egg early, and in trying to do so was being extremely ineffective at it. Lysithea always knew her sister was an overachiever when it came to academics, but this seemed like it would actively hurt her chances more than anything.
By all means, if her sister couldn’t turn it around soon, she would likely fail.
That was before an earth shattering sound came from outside the building. Looking out the window, Lysithea’s jaw dropped as she saw a rainbow wave stretch through the sky. Her focus was so caught on it, that she didn’t watch Twilight, being just as panicked by the sound, focused a blast of magic onto the egg in front of her. The former human finally looked back as she saw a purple hue starting to cover the room, and looked behind her.
Her vision went out for a few seconds, leaving her unaware that she had momentarily turned into house plants. When she came back, she saw Princess Celestia in front of her sister, the former looking at the filly calmly. Twilight looked around the room, ignoring the fact that a baby dragon now sat in the middle of a now cracked egg. Before the princess could even get a word in Twilight shuffled back.
“I-I’m sorry. I’m sorry,” She pleaded, body shivering. Feeling the entire room on her, she turned out the door and ran.
“Twilight, wait!” Lysithea said, but Twilight was already on the other side of the hallway.
Celestia walked up to the filly, concerned being the main expression on her face. “Lysithea, go to her.”
She didn’t need to be told twice.
--------
As Lysithea exited the school building, she looked to see Twilight crying on the steps. The filly was trying to say something, but it was all coming out as a jumbled mess of syllables and sounds. Taking a seat next to her sister, Lysithea tapped her shoulder.
“Twi?”
“The princess was there. Of course the princess was there,” Twilight said, her words just eligible enough for Lysithea. “Sh-she saw the entire thing, didn’t she. Probably thinks I can’t control it and thinks I’m a danger to everypony.”
“Twilight, what are you talking about?” Lysithea asked. “Princess Celestia is not that kind of pony. She cares for ponies, and I know she cares for you too,” That got Twilight’s attention, though she refused to look at her sister. “Everyday that I come into the castle she asks me about you. I think she’s concerned for you more than anything.”
“Y-y-you say that, but what I d-did just now…” Twilight didn’t finish that sentence, instead lunging at her sister and gripping her in a tight hug. “Thea, p-please tell me you’ll always be with me. Ever since those stallions you scared off the whole world have wanted me dead and you’re the only one I trust to be there,” She looked to the steps. “You were the only who was there.”
Lysithea sighed.
“I should have known that this all looped back to them,” She muttered. “What happened Twilight? What did those stallions do to you?”
“I-I-I can’t tell you,” Twilight replied. “Th-they said they would kill you all if I said anything. No, I probably just endangered you by saying that didn’t I? Oh sweet Celestia what have I done?”
Lysithea was at a loss for words at the way her sister was acting. Even after two years, she had never seen her sister crack so horribly. Her body was a torrent of different emotions. Worry, anger, fear, and discontent all flooded her mind like a raging tsunami. Most of all though, she remarked on how familiar this all was to her. A name came to mind, one that had once spoken in this same horrified voice daily back in Fodlan.
“Twilight, listen to me,” Lysithea said as her hooves grabbed her sister’s face, forcing Twilight to look at her. “Whatever those stallions told you, whatever they did to you, I won’t let them hurt you. No matter what, I’ll make sure you are safe. Understand?”
Twilight’s only response was a nod, followed by two weak words. “Thank you.”
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Great work keep it up
This Twilight feels like a smart Bernie. Or Marianne. Either way, their "big sister" is Lysi.
But wait, did Twilight get her cutie mark?
10146045
She did, it's just not what everyone was focus on at the moment. I was going to mention at the beginning of the next chapter.
Amazing!!!
I don't know why but I keep thinking Lysithea birth name is Pink Velvet for some reason.