Stranger in a Strange Land

by Andrew Joshua Talon

Twilight

Two Years After Entrance into the Academy, Three Years Before Nightmare Moon

Twilight had worked around the clock for a week, only stopping for some sleep and food, but she had done it! Her project for Enchantment Class was complete.

She strode into the classroom, trying very hard not to smirk at Prince Ryan. But she failed as he sat there with a plain cardboard box. She sat with her project at her desk next to Moondancer.

"I'm finally going to beat him this time, Moonie," Twilight whispered to her friend, "I've finally got him!"

"Seriously," Minuette, her other friend, groaned in the seat just behind her, "why don't you buck him already? This rivalry is getting annoying."

"I do not like him!" Twilight hissed.

"I'm just saying, your obsession with beating him is kind of weird," Minuette said, "and Moondancer has a poster of him."

Moondancer buried her face in her book to cover up a blush.

"That... Is just something my mother sent me. As a joke," she muttered.

"Class is in session!" Called out Professor Booming Blade. The unicorn eyed the class with a deadpan look.

"So... Who would like to present their project first...?"

Twilight's hand went right up. Booming Blade smirked a bit.

"Miss Sparkle, naturally. Come on up!"

Twilight practically skipped up to the front, and set her velvet covered project down. She dramatically pulled off the cloth, revealing a silver lined metallic hoop mounted on a small wooden pedestal. It glowed faintly with green light.

"Class... I present the Probability Ring!" Twilight announced. "Thanks to controlled chaos magic fields, you can adjust the Probability of any small scale event!"

Much oohing and awing ensued. Booming Blade raised a furry eyebrow.

"That's very advanced magic, Miss Sparkle. Chaos magic is something we don't cover until final year."

"I know! But observe!" Twilight stuck her hand through the ring, and showed off a coin in her hand. "Flip it once-Call it, Professor!"

"Heads," Booming Blade stated. It landed Tails.

"Call it again!" Twilight said, as she flipped the coin once more.

"Tails!"

Again it landed on tails... For twenty straight flips. There was much murmuring in the class as Twilight held up some charts and pictures of her previous experiments.

"As you can see, by merely adjusting the Hume fields with a bit of chaos magic," Twilight explained, "a simple binary action such as a coin flip can be manipulated! Thus demonstrating local Hume control!"

There was much clapping, and Booming Blade, notoriously hard to impress, was nodding after examining the ring.

"Excellent work, Miss Sparkle," he said, "you may sit down."

Flush with success, Twilight walked back to her seat with a big smile. Yes, yes! She was sure she would beat that arrogant Prince now!

She took her seat, grinning, as Booming Blade scanned the room.

"Well, let's not put it off any longer... Mister Ryan? Your Majesty? Go ahead."

Ryan stood up and walked to the front of the class, holding his cardboard box. As usual, his eyes were darkened from lack of sleep. His black hair was properly coiffed though. And he had grown taller and more muscular, from taking the physical education classes-

What? She didn't care about that!

"Thank you Professor," Ryan spoke with a nod. He set the box down, before opening it up like a flower. "My project was based on an issue plaguing our kingdom: Magical power generation."

There was a lot of gasping. It was a small Magicite crystal, held in a circular array of gold, silver, and other metals and materials.

"Now, this is only a scale prototype," Ryan explained, "but! Liberating energy from small magicite reactors has always been difficult due to the heat issues. However, the answer to this problem was found in the ancient writings of Starswirl the Bearded!"

Here Ryan smirked as he plugged in a light bulb, and hit the power switch. The small reactor glowed, as runes began to flash and pulse. Air banged softly, as Twilight realized the trick immediately.

"You're teleporting the heat away from the reactor with a runic teleport cantrip!" Twilight gasped. "But where?!"

Fireballs erupted outside the window, streaking up into the sky. This startled the class, but applause soon followed. Booming Blade clapped with them.

"Excellent work, Your Highness," Booming Blade said. He rarely used the honorific with rhe young Prince, and Ryan bowed gracefully. He deactivated his reactor, before talking to a crowd of excited students. Twilight scowled from her seat, as the Prince shot her a cocky smile.

"I create a device that alters Probability itself, and he just adds a teleporter spell to a power generator," Twilight growled. "Why are they so impressed?!"

"His does have explosions," Minuette said.

"Just because it's flashier doesn't make it better!' Twilght groaned.

---

The day had been difficult, Twilight wasn't going to deny it. But tonight would wash all that frustration away. Her mentor Celestia finally had time for another dinner with her!

She was practically giddy. She loved to spend time with Princess Celestia! Being her apprentice was the best thing to ever happen to her!

The ancient monarch was so warm, kind, even witty! Every moment they spent together was pure bliss!

She put on her best school uniform and was fifteen minutes early to the dining room doors.

Celestia opened the doors right on the dot, beaming at Twilight.

"Hello my student! I'm so glad you could make it!" She said.

"I-I'm so glad, too!" Twilight said happily.

Celestia stepped back, allowing Twilight to enter as she babbled excitedly.

"I can't wait to tell you about the ancient tome of the Neighcromancer... Uh..."

She trailed off. Sitting on the other side of the round table was... Prince Ryan. He had been looking over some paperwork... Which he dropped, when he caught sight of her.

His face became a very stony mask.

"Sparkle," he stated.

"Prince Ryan," Twilight returned, polite but cold.

"I thought that my son and my apprentice should get along and be friends!" Celestia said happily. "Why don't you sit and chat a bit while I get the food? The chefs are taking a while."

Twilight sat down in the chair opposite Ryan's, arms crossed over her chest. Ryan went back to his paperwork, ignoring her, as Celestia headed out of the room. The door shut. The silence continued.

Still... Princess Celestia had told her to be friends... So...

"So... What are you working on?" Twilight asked.

"Paperwork," Ryan deadpanned.

"For?" Twilight asked.

"Nunya," he said.

Twilight frowned, confused.

"Nunya-?"

"Nunya business, that's what," Ryan said. Twilight scowled.

"Do you have to be so immature?" She demanded.

"You asked. I answered," Ryan stated.

"Ugh, you're impossible!" Twilight huffed. "I can't believe you were raised by Princess Celestia! You're so irritating!"

"And who raised a know it all bookworm like you? Don't think I want to meet them," Ryan shot back.

"I am not a know it all!" Twilight insisted. Ryan held his hand up and waved it, smiling like a spazz.

"Ooh! Ooh! Professor! I know the answer! Pick me! I wanna perform like a trained seal!"

"I do not sound like that!" Twilight huffed. "And at least I don't make things explode!"

"At least I make things explode outside!"

"That was an accident! You do that intentionally just to show me up!" Twilight sneered.

"Oh yeah, like you don't do the same to me!" Ryan shot back. "I know you spied on my last project in Theory!"

"I did not!" Twilight protested. "It was sheer coincidence we both did a paper on Multi-stage Teleportation! You must have been spying on me!"

Ryan set his paperwork aside so he could give Twilight his angriest glare.

"Oh yeah, because I would waste my time watching what you do!"

"Well why would I waste my time watching you, huh?! Got you there!" Twilight challenged. "I bet you have some kind of weird obsession with me!"

Ryan coughed, and gaped in disbelief.

"I-WHAT?!"

"You clearly can't wait to one up me all the time, you must have it out for me!" Twilight sneered. "You creep!"

"Oh PLEASE!" Ryan huffed, "like I'd be obsessed with your skinny, bony plot!"

Twilight blinked... Then turned bright red in embarrassment and anger.

"I WASN'T TALKING ABOUT THAT-YOU WEIRDO! AND MY PLOT IS NOT BONY!"

Ryan gaped back.

"Wha-THEN WHAT WERE YOU TALKING ABOUT?!"

"NOT THAT! BUT NOW MAYBE YOU ARE THAT KIND OF WEIRDO! PERVERT!"

"I WASN'T-I DON'T KNOW WHAT YOUR PLOT LOOKS LIKE, NOR DO I CARE!"

In a nearby room, Celestia and Cadance spied on the goings on in the dining room via a scrying spell projected on the wall. Cadance already had popcorn out.

"Okay, you were right," Celestia chuckled, "this is a lot of fun to watch."

"Told you," Cadance grinned, "so... Care to place a bet on when I can get them to tie the knot?"

"As long as I get grandfoals? I'm fine with however you do it. No betting needed."

"Pity," Cadance sighed.

Author's Note:

A bit longer chapter. I'm doing shorter chapters as build up-Little experiment of mine. Let's see how it turns out.

Comments

[Soulless Soldier]

Aye, chief. I gotta tell ya something.....I am A FAN of this magnificent story 😂. Already loving the interactions between these two, and with Mommy Celly and Candy watching from the Bleachers? Priceless! I DEMAND MORE post haste

P.s. feel free to make these chapters AS LONG AS POSSIBLE. Won't hear me complaining. But real talk, good stuff u got going here. U have a reader in me

[Fluffy-Boi]

This is awesome!!

[SRY]

I'm with Cadence on this... there is an imminent hate fuck incoming very soon.

[The Ancestor]

"As you can see, by merely adjusting the Hume fields with a bit of chaos magic," Twilight explained, "a simple binary action such as a coin flip can be manipulated! Thus demonstrating local Hume control!"

"The device shares notable similarities with one housed by our Russian colleagues, although differences are present on account of its country of origin. Agents are reminded that any attempt to recover or destroy the device should only be attempted when the device is inactive. " - Daniel Miller, Site 11 Director.

[HumanSVD]

Awww, should have gone with Trixie. Or better yet, Moondancer. I personally would have babies with moondancer. Mmmmm, love that sweater wearing bookworm.

She likes Ryan anyway, why not give her a chance? Poor filly.

Wait, grandfoals?! So they CAN get pregnant from humans! Yes please!

[HumanSVD]

11420288
We can only hope. But I think Trixie 8r moondancer are more deserving.

[Fun1901]

They sound like angry couple

[redandready45]

Ryan stood up and walked to the front of the class, holding his cardboard box. As usual, his eyes were darkened from lack of sleep. His black hair was properly coiffed though. And he had grown taller and more muscular, from taking the physical education classes-

What? She didn't care about that!

Twilight is thirstiest pony!

[Andrew Joshua Talon]

11420160
As you wish! Check out the next chapter!

[horsepoweryt]

In a nearby room, Celestia and Cadance spied on the goings on in the dining room via a scrying spell projected on the wall. Cadance already had popcorn out.

"Okay, you were right," Celestia chuckled, "this is a lot of fun to watch."

"Told you," Cadance grinned, "so... Care to place a bet on when I can get them to tie the knot?"

"As long as I get grandfoals? I'm fine with however you do it. No betting needed."

"Pity," Cadance sighed.

Ah yes, A mother's gamble
No, seriously, that was funny.