Noblesse Oblige
"NO!!!"
The usually calm and collected Princesses' shout pierced the air, ringing through the stadium. The spectators went quiet as the alicorn teleported next to her battered student, twitching faintly on the ground. The pegasus tilted his head in confusion, creaking sounds coming from him as the ice he was covered in from hoof to ear formed cracks along his neck.
"That... That's enough. You won. She is defeated. You can stop now," The Princess declared, carefully examining Twilight while keeping one eye on her competitor.
The pegasus snorted in disdain, steam wafting through the sides of his icy helmet. "Really, princess, what is this statement even supposed to be? This was a contest, not a fight to the death. Are you implying that I forgot that in the heat of battle? Or that I am so undisciplined that I'm unable to control myself? This is just an insult, plain and simple."
Celestia opened her mouth, before closing it again and recomposing herself. After making sure that Twilight really was fine and her tournament amulet indeed protected her from any kind of permanent harm, she offered a small bow to the stallion.
"I apologize. That was the most intense magic duel I have witnessed in... Centuries, if not longer. You have fought with a ferocity I haven't seen in a long, long time, and I was worried that your last strike might have even broken the amulet. Twilight is very capable academically, but in applying her knowledge practically, she is still a novice, and I grew concerned she wouldn't manage to protect herself from getting harmed. I got... A little overexcited, I suppose. Congratulations on your victory."
The pegasus cracked a smile - literally, as a horizontal crack ran across his helmet along his mouth, several pieces of ice falling off and exposing a grinning mouth. He slowly began laughing, quietly at first, but the volume of his jubilation kept rising until the entire stadium was echoing with his laughter. Slightly wobbly, he rose on tattered wings, raising his hooves up and celebrating his victory.
"Oh yeah! Oh yeah! You hear that, everyone? Who's the baddest badflank in town? Well, not me, 'cause I'm the damn best! Ha! Whoooooooooo! Bet all those unicorns who were betting against me are quite sore now, eh? Haha! That's right, the best mage around is a pegasus! How'd you like them apples?!"
The stands erupted in cheers, the loudest coming from the gathered pegasi and earth ponies, though most of the unicorns cheered as well, acknowledging his impressive victory over the Princesses' personal student in a climactic magic duel. He circled the arena a couple times, hitting various points on his body with his hooves and shedding his frozen armor piece by piece. Chants of "Hurricane, hurricane" were soon started up by a few enthusiastic pegasi, the sound carried across the stands by their powerful lungs.
Meanwhile, Twilight Sparkle groaned, opening her eyes. After a minute of waiting for her eyes to refocus, she saw the face of Princess Celestia, who managed to look both concerned and amused at the same time. Trying to raise her head, she hissed as various points across her body throbbed painfully.
"And here you were saying how you didn't want to participate because being my personal student gave you an unfair advantage and you'd wipe the floor with the competition," Celestia said in her amused/concerned voice.
Twilight flinched, lying back down and groaning again. "Yeah, there was some wiping of the floor with the competition done, alright... Not by me, though... Ow. I think I learned a lesson about humility somewhere in there, but I don't think I can properly formulate it right now. Oooh, that smarts. I'm going to feel that in the morning. And for the next week, probably."
Celestia chuckled, gently lifting the unicorn up with her magic and carrying her off. "Don't sell yourself so short. You fought him to a standstill several times, and almost took him out before the end with that beam attack."
Twilight cringed, remembering how the stallion twisted out of the way the last moment, taking the hit on his wing instead of his chest like she was aiming for. He was unharmed, but almost all the feathers on his left wing got disintegrated completely. Even though she knew that causing lethal damage was impossible due to the tournament amulets, she still had trouble using her full power to attack ponies like that, especially after she saw the effects on her opponent's wing. It was hard to overcome her instincts and go all out, despite the intellectual knowledge that it was safe to do so.
The stallion had no such issues. He flung hail, lightning, water, wind, clouds, and everything else he could think of at her with wild abandon. As her shields were worn down, she began to have serious doubts that she would win against him even if she did go all out on her attack.
"Yeah... Almost. He still won, though, and it wasn't a fluke. He beat me, Princess, fair and square. That... Princess, that was amazing! Who - what - how - where'd he even come from?!" She babbled, her academic curiosity instantly overtaking any concerns about losing the tournament, the entire matter already forgotten.
The Princess chuckled again, looking fondly at her ever so predictable student. "All good questions, Twilight. Ones which I would like to ask him myself, in fact. I'm afraid I haven't the foggiest about any of the answers, though. Naturally, I went to the ponies who admitted him into the tournament, but they couldn't tell me anything, either. "Stormsinger" seems to be an alias, a stage-name of sorts, not his real name. He passed the entry test effortlessly, but was rather tight-lipped about how, where, or from who he learned to do what he does. He was only interested in the competition, and didn't stay around to chat after his matches."
Twilight furrowed her brows, dredging up every tiny tidbit she could remember about the pegasus mage that she learned while observing his duels. There wasn't much. Plenty on his abilities, but practically nothing about the actual pony. She only came out of her deep contemplation after Celestia set her back down on the ground, standing up on shaky legs.
"Everything alright, Twilight?" The Princess asked.
"Hrrrg," Twilight grunted, stretching out her limbs like a cat. "I'm fine. Just sore all over. And tired, but I'm fine now," she reassured the Princess, looking around.
She was standing on a platform next to the judge's podium, where Celestia observed the competition and where the final trophies were going to be awarded to the winners. The pegasus - Stormsinger - touched down close by, landing a tad heavily, but with a huge smile on his face.
She took the opportunity to examine him more closely, now that he wasn't covered in ice any more. That ability of his still baffled her immensely - in unicorn duels, freezing your opponent was an incredibly effective tactic to shut down the fight almost instantly, while he somehow managed to flip the whole thing on it's head completely. Somehow, he'd pull moisture right from the air, and craft incredibly durable and strong armor that also managed to remain flexible.
It made perfect sense, in a way - pegasi were well known to be able to manipulate moisture, cold, heat, ice, and all sorts of weather effects, but to combine those skills into freezing yourself while simultaneously imbuing the armor with pegasus magic to make it near indestructable was an application of skill that was completely unheard of, along with many of his other tricks.
"Not tricks," She reminded herself. "Magic. All pegasus magic, yet applied with such skill and creativity, everyone was left stunned."
He could summon lightning from thin air, shooting absolutely massive bolts of electricity from any part of his body (she learned that when she teleported behind him in hopes of surprising him, and he blasted her with a bolt from his tail), instantly freeze everything around him, hold the very air in front of him like a shield, or even pull the air from your lungs.
Twilight shuddered. That one was terrifying.
Shaking her head, she came back to the present. Examining the stallion again, she didn't find anything out of the ordinary. In fact, he was almost aggressively average - his coat was a slate gray, with a white mane and tail, mimicking the cloudy coloration of many pegasi. The only outlier was that he was quite tall, matching her brother in stature, though not in physique - he still had the sleek pegasine build, making him look a bit lanky with his height. She grimaced a bit at seeing his torn up feathers.
Princess Celestia gave a polite "ahem" into the microphone near her stand and spoke, addressing the crowd.
"It is my great pleasure to announce the winner of this year's Canterlot Grand Mage tournament, master Stormsinger of Cloudsdale!" Waiting for a moment for the applause to die down, she continued. "And what a victory it was! It has been some time since a self-taught mage managed to become the champion of this ancient competition, and it is certainly the first time in the entire history of the tournament that a pegasus even applied, let alone defeated every challenger that stood before them. I don't think I need to tell you how truly impressive the last mage duel was - you all saw it with your own eyes. And so, I am proud to present the first place prize to this year's champion!"
She levitated a small box from below the podium, opening it and holding out the object inside. Stopping before the stallion, Celestia hesitated, evidently having forgotten one tiny, crucial detail - the trophy was a golden horn ring, engraved with the year's date and the tournament's symbol. And the pegasus didn't exactly have a horn.
"Ah...."
Seeing her hesitate, Stormsinger put a hoof on his mouth, trying not to burst out laughing. After getting his mirth under control, he grabbed a stray piece of ice still stuck in his coat, licking it and forming it into a long icicle. With a *splop*, he stuck it on his forehead where a unicorn's horn would be, freezing it in place.
"There we go. Problem solved," he spoke, puffing up his chest and standing proudly like a peacock.
There were a few snickers from the spectators. With a smile, Celestia stuck the horn ring right on the icicle, stepping back a moment later. Retrieving another ring, this time a silver one, she stepped towards Twilight.
"And for the second place, the one who gave it her all, Twilight Sparkle!"
There was plenty of applause for Twilight as well, though slightly less than Stormsinger received. Closing the box, Celestia stepped away from the two tired, bedraggled, but proud contestants. There was no third place in these competitions - in the first years, there wasn't even a trophy for second place. When competing in olden times, unicorns really tended to only praise the very best of the best.
Having stowed the box, she approached the pair again, her eyes firmly on the pegasus. He was fixing up his wings, creating new feathers from fluffy hoarfrost and ice where he had gaps in his plumage. Marveling at yet another display of his fascinating magic, she cleared her throat, which had the effect of both getting his attention and snapping Twilight out of staring at the stallion in open-mouthed wonder.
"So, master Stormsinger, you certainly were the wildest wildcard I have ever seen in any of these tournaments. I have never seen nor heard of anything like your magic, ever. Before you leave us, would you kindly join my student and I for a cup of tea?"
The stallion grimaced a little, attaching another feather to his wing. Being covered in frost really didn't seem to bother him in the slightest. "Eh... No offense, Princess, but tea doesn't sound like the kind of drink you'd go for when you're celebrating a grand victory in battle. Now, a mug of cider or ale... Heh. Also, most teas don't really agree with my stomach."
Celestia chuckled, giving him a diplomatic smile. "Oh, believe me, I'm used to entertaining all kinds of guests, master Stormsinger. I certainly have some good cider, ale, and all kinds of drinks in my cellar. I think I can break out the "good stuff" in light of your amazing show of skill."
"Master... That's like the wizard thing, right? Haven't really studied the whole unicorn mage hierarchy."
"Yes, an accomplished wizard is often called a master, even if the exact qualifications for that title are a little foggy. The title tends to get awarded to ponies that are respected by their peers, but there have been instances of all kinds of hedge wizards no one ever heard of showing up from the wilderness to test their mettle against their "civilized" counterparts, and winning. Any unicorn - or any pony, I suppose - that won a tournament like this instantly earns the title."
The pegasus considered her offer for a moment, before giving a shrug and a nod. "Oh, I could stay to catch my breath before I fly off, I suppose."
This made Twilight squee in delight, trotting in place excitedly before her sore muscles made her stop. "Oh my goodness, this is so amazing! I thought that maybe this was some kind of lost ancient pegasus fighting art, but if even Princess Celestia never heard of it, you must have come up with it all by yourself! Oh, I can't wait to hear all about it!"
Stormsinger shrugged, making a "so-so" gesture with his foreleg. "Mostly on my own, though there were some old texts I read... And really, I'm not overly surprised that the princess of unicorns hasn't heard anything about it."
The casual remark had a sudden and immediate effect. Twilight stopped, looking at him in confusion. Celestia's expression changed as well, though she was wearing a slight frown. Pursing her lips, she addressed the stallion.
"Master Stormsinger, I assure you, I care about all of my little ponies equally, not just unicorns. I really don't know where you got such strange ideas."
That made him let out a massive, long-suffering groan, his whole frame sagging. Standing up again, he muttered through gritted teeth. "This is why I keep to myself..." Louder, he spoke. "And have I said you care about unicorns more than other tribes? No. No, I did not. I just stated the obvious fact, and it has nothing to do with tribalism. Obvious for me, at least - I've long since got used to the fact that my observations are never understood correctly by ponies and are considered either inappropriate, nonsensical or crazy. Such as my ideas for improving my magic," He explained, snorting bitterly. "Since my wild, outlandish thoughts clearly don't interest you any more, I'll be taking my leave. Good day, your Highness."
He gave her a short bow and was about to take off, before Twilight recovered her wits and jumped in front of him. "Wait! You can't just leave! Not after... After that! You can't just accuse the Princess like -"
"What Twilight means," Celestia interrupted, draping her wing across her student's back comfortingly. "I am sorry if I offended you with my misunderstanding. Judging from your reaction, this seems like a sore topic for you. However, I must insist that you see it from my perspective, as well. I don't really see how I could have misconstrued your statement. If I love all my ponies equally, then how can I be a "Princess of unicorns?"
Celestia's tone wasn't overly apologetic, and it was obvious that she was using her vast experience of diplomacy to remain polite, though she was quite curious, as well. After a pause, Stormsinger huffed, before sighing. "How in the world are you not?"
Trotting closer to the pair, he turned towards Twilight. Looking the unhappy mare in the eye, he asked her. "You are her student, yes? So, you would be rather well suited to answer this question, I think. Miss Twilight, what is a Princess?"
This stumped the unicorn, so she turned towards Celestia, examining her. "Well... Alicorn? Though not historically. Um, ruler of a nation? The highest rank of nobility?"
"All correct," he nodded. "Though, where does it come from? Where does the idea, the notion, the word, the concept, the context of a princess comes from? As you said - historically, alicorns weren't the first princesses. Those were the unicorns, and ONLY the unicorns. Did pegasi have princesses? Uh, no. We had senators, legates, and so on. The Earth ponies had mayors, chancellors, and other elected officials. The whole structure of the nobility was the exclusive domain of unicorns."
Twilight was frowning, and opening her mouth to protest, before Stormsinger wagged a hoof in front of her face.
"Ah ah ah! No interruptions. Let me finish, please, or I'm leaving." After a pause, he continued. "So, the very idea of a princess comes from unicorns. That includes, as I said, the context of what a princess is. Observe - she's wearing a crown," He said, pointing to said article on Celestia's brow. "Again, neither pegasi nor earth ponies ever did that. The way a princess is "supposed" to be - from what she wears to how she behaves - comes entirely from unicorn traditions. Having a throne, holding court, "proper", "ladylike" behavior, and so on. "
Celestia listened to him talk with rapt attention. She had to admit, she never actually analyzed her station like that, despite being a princess for so very long. She ascended the throne somewhat young, and over time, the habits of how a princess was supposed to carry herself just got ingrained into her behavior. Meanwhile, the stallion continued, walking around to her side, pointing at her flank.
"Secondly... Her talent. Raising the Sun? Think about it. What used to be the unicorn's ancient duty, before she took it over? Raising the Sun and Moon, shepherding the day and night cycles. Her special talent literally encapsulates the duty of the entire unicorn tribe. It is quite obvious that she is a master of unicorn magic, and unicorn magic only. She has a school for gifted unicorns, for goodness sake. Any schools for gifted pegasi, or earth ponies? No, not really. The simple facts speak for themselves."
Twilight was looking more thoughtful than angry now, examining Celestia's cutie mark with some interest, her mind obviously somewhere else. Meanwhile, Stormsinger pointed at her wings.
"And those... Princess, with all due respect, you wear those wings like you wear your crown - as a right to rule."
That made Celestia open her mouth, though she didn't know what to say. Slowly, she closed it, looking at the pegasus with an unsure expression, wondering how to even answer to such an unusual remark. It appeared that he still had more to say on the matter, though.
"Really, when was the last time you went flying? Let me guess, it's "inappropriate" for a princess to get sweaty and use her own limbs to move around instead of being dragged around in a carriage, like a proper noble of such high rank? Once more, unicorn traditions lead the way. Do you know how pegasi leaders lead, though? From the front. They lead the charge, cleaving through the wind and air, while the others form up in a wedge behind them, following the leader in their wake. For a healthy, flight-capable pegasus to get carried around in a carriage, like you do when you arrive in Cloudsdale - well, even in these modern times, any pegasus attempting to show off their "status" by having other ponies fly them around would get laughed out of town."
It took all her willpower for Celestia not to fold her ears in embarrassment as she heard quiet mutters of approval from some of the pegasi spectators.
"So, to summarize... I never said you're a bad pony. I never said you favor unicorns over the other tribes. You're a fair leader and you do the best you can for Equestria, and every pony in it. The way you do it, though? All unicorn. All your knowledge, your skills, your style of governing... Everything is built according to old unicornian traditions."
Everything was dead quiet. You could hear a pin drop.
The silence dragged on for a while.
Eventually, Twilight shuffled in place awkwardly, scuffing her hooves against the floor.
Celestia blinked, then coughed, turning her head towards Stormsinger, who was still standing by her side.
"That... That was a fascinating perspective you presented me with, master Stormsinger. Thank you. I think... I think I need to think on this for a while."
"Heh. Blew your mind a little, huh?"
Celestia let out a light, airy laugh, smiling at him. "You could say that. Thank you again, truly. After living for so long, it is very rare for someone to... Pull the rug from right under me like that, in a manner of speaking. Are you... Still up for drinks?"
"Well, isn't that something, I'm not getting yelled at or banished. Lead the way, I suppose. Fair warning, though, if you really want to keep talking to me, be prepared for more unusual observations and statements. My thoughts wander through strange paths."
"If that's the case, then I highly look forward to our future conversations."
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Just a stupid thing I had to get out of my head. I'm still alive, and haven't abandoned my main story, life's just been very busy and annoying lately.
He has a point though. Minus the tournament, Celestia is exactly like this in canon. Celestia favors unicorns, and nopony says a thing about it. Stormsinger might not hate her. But he just defeated her worse than any villain ever has.
Great story by the way 😊.
*reads story *
This would make an epic series! Love seeing authors expand on natural magic. Not to mention the political breakdown.
Bonus thoughts:
Celestia's special talent alone has all sorts of implications. We're introduced to the three tribal duties during the Hearth's Warming episode: The heavens for unicorns, the weather for pegasi, and food for the earth ponies. This is a lot like agriculture/hunting for humans in primitive times: everyone had to participate in it, until people got better and better at it, which eventually allowed enough food to be produced for people to have free time.
Once they had free time, they could do other things, like invent things and build more elaborate buildings, create better tools, which allowed even more food to be grown, and so on. We can assume that the same happened with the other tribes - in modern Equestria, there are dedicated weather teams for pegasi, and farmers for the earth ponies, but we see plenty of those ponies in all sorts of professions - artists, builders, entertainers, etc.
But what about the unicorns? Celestia is ancient. So she just showed up with Luna one day, and went "Alright, we're taking over the whole day/night thing, you kiddos go off and do whatever." So the unicorns suddenly had loads of free time on their hooves, while the other two tribes still had to perform their tribal duties of managing the weather and growing food.
How is that fair?
Kind of explains the uselessness of the Canterlot nobles... Way back when, they might have had the duties of keeping the day/night cycle going, but when Celestia showed up, they had lots of riches and entitlement with no more actual obligations to their fellow ponies. Some might have went on to be great pioneers in inventing, exploration or other fields, but it seems rather obvious that most of them just did the same thing human nobility did - roll around in their accumulated wealth in a circlejerk with the other nobles, telling each other how much "better" they are than the unwashed masses.
I remember only one fic that explored the concept, one where Celestia vanished, and the unicorns had to re-learn how to raise the Sun again, restoring their spiritual connection to Equestria and other ponies. It's been a LONG time since I read it, though, and I forgot the name...
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Thanks, glad you liked my obsessive deconstruction/analysis of the show's lore. Some people actually make fun of authors that like to pick apart the tiniest lore details, but then, what do they think fanfiction is for?
Small bonus here:
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I might slap on an extra chapter or two someday, but for now, the story is complete. I've got too much to deal with in RL, and then there's my other story I should be working on.
a part of me want my O.C. FlashTruth
it have a friendly magic Duel with that pegasus
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As decent as stormsinger might be in his reasoning, his attitude was awful and careless.
And as a devils advocate, one might argue that the whole of Celestia is basically “for her station”. The only time we really see Celestia do anything is during fights and even then she is not really that good compared to what you would expect while watching the show.
I think it’s pretty clear from celestia and Lunas retirements that they’re not really part of the “nobility” either. At least in their hearts otherwise all of that pomp and circumstance would have followed them into retirement.
And finally, I think that while Celestia could have done better at being a princess of all, instead of just the unicorns, during her time on the throne, I think it is unfair to criticise her in such a fashion for where she came from. As far as I remember, in the show the only race that has something like this competition above is actually the Pegasi with the wonderbolts and the young fliers competition, which Celestia herself attends. Unicorns do have Celestias school but afaik they don’t have anything like the aforementioned in the show itself. Imho earth ponies are the most ignored. The Pegasi were decently treated by “the government” in the show.
The story wasn’t bad and an interesting perspective of things but I think it could have been presented without being so rude to Celestia like that.
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And Stormsinger is immediately proven correct as people misunderstand him :P
See
I think that sums it up quite adequately. Yes, she's obviously a person of her own, and not a two-dimensional stereotype like how some nobles seem to be; However, given how everyone tends to immediately bow down to her whenever she shows up, and they all act shocked when she gets caught doing something "casual", it's pretty safe to assume that:
A) There are certain protocols on how to behave around a Princess, and how a Princess is supposed to behave;
B)She rarely deviates from those behavioral guidelines - otherwise ponies wouldn't act like that around her. She had over a thousand years to slowly enact any changes she could possibly want, after all.
It was specifically stated that Stormsinger doesn't think she's a princess of unicorns in the way that she favors them; just in her style of ruling and behavior, nothing more. It was not a moral indictment, just an observation that the entire idea of a "princess" is a unicorn thing, and she fully behaves like one, with no elements from the other tribe's styles of leadership.
One big difference: Pegasi schools are ran by pegasi. Celestia's school is personally sponsored by Celestia, with the Princess herself showing up to give lessons, and sometimes picking out personal students. She attended the flier's competition only as an observer/judge.
Hence the AU tag.
Entirely true.
Thanks for the critique.
Uhhh…
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...yes?
I'm... conflicted on this story. While the critiques in isolation aren't exactly wrong, to use Celestia as scapegoat for the show creators' lack of developing the magics of the other tribes doesn't sit well with me. Yeah, sure, I would have loved to see wirlwind throwing pegasi. Hell, give me earthbending earth ponies while we're at it. But that the show staff didn't put those in the show, and instead made Twilight the magic problem solving mcguffin, is hardly a mark against Celestia.
On a side note, Celestia does fly. The chariot is mostly seen during the earlier two or three seasons, but in the later seasons it has mostly disappeared and Celestia flies around herself.
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On the Canterlot nobility, while they are a mainstay in many a fanfic, it's interesting to note that as far as the show goes they are entirely non-canon. There's certainly an upper class in Canterlot, and many of those are unicorns, but in terms of actual nobility there's really only Blueblood and the Duke and Duchess of Maretonia, with the Duke himself being an earth pony rather than a unicorn.
Well, that's mostly because it's kind of hard to incorporate those elements. Pegasi society pre-Equestria was a military society, they didn't have Princesses (or senators and legates, really) they had commanders and generals. The only time that kind of leadership would move to the forefront would be during wartime. Which we actually did see during the Crystal War timeline, where Celestia take on a commander style of rulership and led from the front. Heck, even in the main timeline, when Chrysalis starts her invasion the first to move into action was Celestia. Earth ponies, meanwhile, were a representative democracy. Representative democracy and royalty are kind of incompatible, though Celestia does let most of the nation's local government affairs be ruled through earth pony style representative democracy, rather than crown appointed officials.
Well this presents a certainly....interesting perspective on the whole thing. Certainly one that makes you stop and actually think. I enjoyed the read, you've given me something to at least keep in mind.
11279046
Not really what I was aiming for. My answer to the lack of other tribe's magics is creating Stormsinger, not scapegoating Celestia. Which part gave you that idea, the one about the school? When he points out that Celestia has a school for unicorns, it's about the fact that even her special talent is an entirely unicorn one (One princess used her unicorn magic to raise the sun, while the other...), and it ties back to the fact that he's not surprised she doesn't know any pegasus magic. Not just her special talent, but her entire magical knowledge is pretty much that of a unicorn.
Putting the blame at Celestia's hooves would be rather dumb. It's like saying that she's responsible for the magic education of the entirety of Equestria, for every single pony tribe, and it would all fail without her.
11279057
Glad you liked it.
11279067
It's mostly the part where the story notes Celestia has never heard of Stormsinger's techniques. Sure, the show has never shown any proper pegasus magic, but the step from "the show never did anything cool with pegasi magic" to "therefore, Celestia is mostly ignorant of this kind of magic, and Stormsinger get to lecture her on that" feels like she is turned into a stand in for the creators to critique.
11279046
I guess that means Stormsinger got to her, eh? :P Given that this is set pre-S1 (I know I didn't make it obvious, but it's implied by the fact that Twilight's still a unicorn, and her friends are nowhere to be seen), that makes his argument still valid.
Also, we have seen how pegasi do magic all the way back in Winter Wrap up: by forming flocks in the sky, and flying in formation, projecting an "aura" of sorts, and their combined power is enough to completely change the weather in their wake. But during the Crystalling epsiode, we've seen Celestia and Luna trying to stop the blizzard that was engulfing the Crystal Empire by simply flying out to it and zapping it with their horns, which... Didn't really seem to be having much of an effect. Guess that despite flying around by themselves a little more, they never got around to really learning pegasus magic, hm? Heh.
11279090
Well, that's funny... My second reply to your comment is rather a fitting reply to this one, as well.
In my opinion, the show did demonstrate that Celestia doesn't really know much about pegasus magic at all.
And...
Well, yes, she didn't. I don't see how it implies she's ignorant, though? I never said there were more pegasi mages running around Equestria. Thing is, Stormsinger really is the only one in Equestria who figured out how to use pegasus magic like that, so he's a genuine novelty rather than just something Celestia managed to miss for a thousand+ years.
With all this discussion I'm having in the comments, I might as well write a second chapter of him having a discussion with Celestia, instead...
11279093
Oh it worked just fine. Initially. Then the storm grew to a strength where it couldn't be pushed back anymore. Rainbow Dash was even worse off, she barely got through a half a dozen clouds before her wings were too frozen for her to even fly (while Celestia and Luna were still flying even after having been up there for far longer, how's that for pegasus magic? :P).
But it's really more the show's tendency to put unicorn magic over everything else. Even Cadance uses unicorn magic whenever she can, and that mare was born a pegasus and raised by earth ponies!
11279100
I know I wouldn't mind. More food for more discussions!
I think also a part of Celestia's lack of knowledge on Pegasus magic is that her and Luna were taught a decent chunk, if not most, of what they know regarding magic from Starswirl, the greatest unicorn mage.
This story may prove useful to me as a game-master for Dungeons and Dragons 3.5 . I have struggled with providing enough options while also keeping the races feeling highly distinct. This story gives me some ideas that may be worth pursuing, although I already have them shooting lightning from their hooves, obscuring their bodies with clouds enough to make their opponents miss a significant portion of the time (see how a flowing cloak could be used as a functional thing to confuse ones exactly body positioning in a sword fight IRL I think?), and, when they have some prep. time, wearing small stormclouds on their hooves that function as single-user tasers. (spoiler to share world-building thoughts while hopefully not being rude by distracting from the story.
11278752
Your last link of the three is broken for me.
Hmm, this reminds me of the comic I'm writing. There are some great points that I may use in the future, the way the system is structured and all that. How all traditions are unicornian. Great fic.
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PAGE 6-15
https://sta.sh/02d07jtqkro9
.
.
and Tails of Equestria
it is for all
images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca887773594c2.wixmp.com/f/42a1b24e-374b-42c4-975a-f17471e364fe/dd72m58-74d4eac9-d792-49e5-b608-b032cd233ef6.jpg/v1/fill/w_1192,h_670,q_70,strp/flashtruth_by_niclove_dd72m58-pre.jpg?token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJzdWIiOiJ1cm46YXBwOjdlMGQxODg5ODIyNjQzNzNhNWYwZDQxNWVhMGQyNmUwIiwiaXNzIjoidXJuOmFwcDo3ZTBkMTg4OTgyMjY0MzczYTVmMGQ0MTVlYTBkMjZlMCIsIm9iaiI6W1t7ImhlaWdodCI6Ijw9NzIwIiwicGF0aCI6IlwvZlwvNDJhMWIyNGUtMzc0Yi00MmM0LTk3NWEtZjE3NDcxZTM2NGZlXC9kZDcybTU4LTc0ZDRlYWM5LWQ3OTItNDllNS1iNjA4LWIwMzJjZDIzM2VmNi5qcGciLCJ3aWR0aCI6Ijw9MTI4MCJ9XV0sImF1ZCI6WyJ1cm46c2VydmljZTppbWFnZS5vcGVyYXRpb25zIl19.qgpIkpmeO5jYzwN_x-lfm5lfRwNp9O1nj75_8u50xn4
11279347
Those are indeed, excellent suggestions for most people.
Tails of Equestria is MAYBE something I could play and enjoy, but I would have to look into more than I have the energy for this minute, and I suspect it would not fit my goals. From the minute or two of play I watched it might actually model the Ponies well, but I also suspect it lacks the room for tactical depth that I happen to ALSO enjoy.
The other thing you linked to seems to be based on 5e, and I think I have even tried an earlier incarnation of that specific interpretation. It did not feel right at all to me based on either of those metrics I mentioned. To elaborate (in case anyone happens to care) :
Again, good on you for providing two of the several more general-purpose answers that might interest those who read these comments.
I feel like the main challenge that Stormsinger faces is not that his ideas are especially outlandish, but that he's terrible at communicating them.
That was a good story.
11279282
Guess I should write a second chapter and add more details.
11279330
Glad you liked it.
11279445
Thank you.
And someone's downvoting a bunch of comments. Guess I went against someone's headcanon, or something.
11278840
Dude, relax.
He wasn't being rude, he was stating his observations. The facts that he has seen and experienced as a pony from Equestria. He never actively attacked Celestia in anyway, voluntary or otherwise. Celestia was actually the one who asked him to elaborate on his thoughts and observations, so he's in the clear no matter how you swing it.
All he did was explain that the foundation of Celestia's station is unicorn in origin and nature.
That's it.
So relax, my dude
. Don't let you emotions get the better of you before looking at the bigger picture. Not knocking, happens to all of us. 
Caveat:
It's actually StormSinger who was insulted. He was dismissed multiple times by his peers for having "outlandish" and "brash" ideas that break the mold. You can tell that he heard enough for one lifetime during his magic studies.
I love stories like this. The kind that get you thinking. Everything brought up in the story was ridiculously valid in the show and IRL! So well done!
Side note:
Out of curiosity, I wondered what the scenario would be like if I superimposed StormSinger with my own OC, Pure Spirit (Profile Pic, FYI). Conclusion? He probably wouldn't have bothered entering though there's good chance he'd have made similar observations, though not as detailed or deep as StormSinger.
11279804
I’m sorry but this was rude and uncalled for. Celesta was not rude towards him and even went and referred to him with proper mage titles. This kind of came out of nowhere.
If I said something like that to someone at work they’d consider my attitude hostile, and rightfully so. It also sets a sour tone for the rest of his monologue.
And I am relaxed
just chilling in bed before sleep pondering on a story. We are allowed to critique, that’s an enjoyable part of reading stories!
Thank you so much for writing this.
I have neither the courage, or patience needed write a story of my own, but one idea I have had floating around in my head for a while was.
What if Sunset Shimmer had a friend like this? An unusual Pegasus who wanted to learn about other forms of magic, and the two of them bonded over there mutual love of the subject. Magic.
I'm just glad to see someone who has a similar thought process to my own.
Again, thank you for writing an awesome story.
11279850
I will concede your point to an extent.
This is one of the sad truths about humans. When we experience something outside the norm, we interpret it in a negative light initially. The truth of the above statement is that he didn't mean that as an insult. He's being objective here where as everyone else, in the story and IRL, perceived it subjectively. Not knowing is negative. Apply it to someone and you're being negative about them.
Actually, a better way to describe "Princess of Unicorns" is to look at it backwards. Let me explain. When SS said "Princess of Unicorns", A lot of people probably thought he meant "Princess for the Unicorns". Instead, look at it as "Princess by the Unicorns".
Unicorns give princess, not unicorns take princess. Get what I'm saying?
Still with me?
My point is that it sounds insulting but it actually isn't. It's a perspective that requires a bit more open-mindedness than we're used to.
...
BTW, was it you who down-voted BOTH my comments and not just the first (long) one? Or was that someone else? Kinda curious TBH.
11279067
Let's not forget how they also don't know anything about dragon culture either. So this isn't exclusive to ponies.
11279978
See, this guy gets it. There's nothing rude about observing things as they are or stating facts. If people choose to get offended, that's their choice.
11279850
He wasn't even addressing Celestia, though. He was talking to Twilight. She gushed about how if even her beloved mentor didn't know about it, the one that clearly must know about all magic, then that meant Stormsinger created something new. He replied with a simple observation that he's not surprised, since she's actually entirely focused on unicorn magic, and wouldn't know much about pegasi. If implying someone is not omniscient is rude, well... Can't help you there.
11279965
You're welcome. Glad you enjoyed it.
11279978
There's one more interesting thing to note about the "Princess of unicorns" title. It implies, as so often is assumed, that Celestia is a Princess of ponies. But while she is a Princess of a lot of ponies, it's more accurate to say she's the Princess of Equestria. The pre-Equestrian Pegasi and earth pony nations might have had different governments, But Equestria has had royal leadership almost since its inception. And be they unicorn, pegasi, earth pony, or even donkey, minotaur or cow, as long as they are citizens of Equestria, Celestia is their Princess.
11280090
Smack me stupid, that is a massively good point. However, I must make a counter-point. As far as I know (feel free to correct me) it is unconfirmed that non-pony nations (Griffonstone, YakYakistan, etc...) are a part of Equestria, outside of immigrants. This should mean it's safe to say that, especially back then, the unicorns held majority ruling, and seeing how the nobility act, it's a safe bet they probably didn't bother taking the perspectives of non-ponies (or even earth and pegasi ponies for that matter) into consideration.
We wouldn't be having such an intellectual discussion about it if they did. Go figure.
11280090
11280100
I think there's a fundamental misunderstanding of the whole thing going on here, exactly like in the story. The "Princess of unicorns" - I already explained to death what it actually meant. No, Stormsinger wasn't even remotely insulting Celestia, and that's a fact. She completely misunderstood what he was implying when he said that, extrapolating an entirely different meaning than what he actually meant, which would have been an insult, and her reaction would have been entirely appropriate if it was. IF. This is all literally part of the story. However, she was diplomatic enough to let him explain himself.
He then proceeded to explain what he meant, and she understood that it wasn't meant as an insult.
A few other people already pointed out that he might have problems communicating his ideas, which is true and also part of the story.
11280116
Hey now,
in my defense, I understand SS fully because I'm on the same boat as him. I know what it's like to A) have my ideas dismissed for being unorthodox and B) people don't see where I'm coming from, misunderstand me and/or misinterpret what I say.
I was just explaining to Keroko that despite there being other races besides ponies, the unicorn nobility didn't give a hoot about them when the role of princess was originated.
11280100
Oh there are absolutely nations independent of Equestria. That Yakyakistan closed its borders to Equestria is irrefutable proof that they are independant (can't close borders that don't exist, after all), but there's also non-ponies who live in Equestria. Cranky and Mathilda come to mind, as does Gustaf le Grande and Applejack has a whole herd of cows as friends and neighbours. And of course I'd be remiss if I didn't mention Spike, the number one non-pony character of the show.
11280116
Oh I know, I'm mostly running down a tangent the discussion had been drifting towards and nitpicking Stormsinger's statement in the process.
Well...Color me impressed....Rare it's to see Celly get that out of the game....and those were good points that Storm made, while keeping it so that it did not made Celly looks like Unicorn Supremacist...or at least tried to....very well made...let'see next chappy.....and wait possible Sequel? ;)
Judging by the comment ratios, this story really peeved off some people