Learning lessons
"What do you mean 'adjust the angle'? That doesn't even make sense, Twilight!" I wiped the sweat clinging to my brow, the cyan sheen of my horn reflecting in the bucket of water I was gazing into.
"You're not-" she sighed, rolling her eyes, unable to contain her annoyance any longer. "How were you even picked by Princess Celestia? It makes no sense."
"Ouch, Twilight," I threw her my own annoyed glare. "That kind of negativity isn't gonna help me understand this any faster," I tapped the bucket with a hoof.
I wanted to learn the barrier spell Celestia had recommended so first thing in the morning, I sought out Twilight. It was a long shot, but I figured if there was anypony who could help me improve, it was her. Surprisingly enough, she agreed to help, though right now she was being more of a nuisance than a boon.
"Look, if you're going to actually start casting barriers you need to be able to mold your mana around your body," she explained.
"Then what does this," I kicked the bucket. "have to do with that?" I lifted an eyebrow. Why weren't we working on controlling my magic? Why were we playing around with water?
"Ugh! Don't you get it?" her horn ignited in magenta energy as she moved the water in front of herself. "We have complete control over our mana, manipulating it is much easier than manipulating anything else." She created a wall with the water and held it between us. "Controlling something outside of our power is much harder to do. If you can master molding something like this water, you'll be able to do it much easier with your own mana." She moved the liquid through the space around her with perfect control.
"That... makes sense," I stared at her as she guided the water around herself elegantly. Her expertise was both a little annoying and kind of... hypnotizing, but I had to keep my eyes on the prize or I'd never become strong enough to deserve my position. "Then, what did you mean by 'adjusting the angle'?"
"Okay... so," she stopped playing with the water, melding it into a ball in front of herself. "Barriers are generally used for protection, correct? Well they use a lot of energy and keeping them operational for extended periods of time multiplies the amount of mana needed to maintain them."
"So it's best not to just use them willy-nilly." I whispered to myself as I listened intently, watching her change the shape of the water to something else. It became a large orb as she surrounded herself with it.
"This is the typical extent of a unicorn barrier," her voice was a bit distorted as it passed through the water, causing me to chuckle just a little bit. "I'd appreciate it if you took this seriously, Sunset. I am going out of my way to help you."
"Sorry, Twilight," I cleared my throat and stood up straight. "Please, continue."
"Very well, as I was saying, to produce this size and shape of a barrier takes the entire bucket of water," she pointed a hoof at the receptacle. "What's the problem with that?" she looked at me expectantly. I glanced at the bucket and then at the bubble surrounding her.
"It's way too much water." It took me a couple of seconds to figure out, but it was apparent that it was an excess amount of liquid.
"Exactly," she nodded, seemingly somewhat pleased with my quick apprehension. Maintaining that amount of mana for longer than a couple minutes would be impossible for me right now, which meant there had to be a smarter way of doing it. "If that's the case, then what would be your solution?"
"Well, you'd obviously have to make the barrier smaller," I answered eliciting another satisfied nod of her head. Her horn flared with energy as she poured some of the water back into the bucket about halfway to the top. The remaining liquid under her control coated her body in a layer so thin it was barely perceptible causing her coat to glisten.
To be honest it made her look a little more... Okay, a lot more attractive.
Get a grip, Sunset. Now's really not the time.
Twilight began to grind her teeth, the magical strain of keeping the water stretched around herself starting to become too much for the unicorn to handle.
"As you can see," she spoke through a clenched jaw. There was no longer a distortion to her voice. She must have left a space between the water for her to speak normally this time. "It's much harder to keep this shape while maintaining a good density with such little volume." With a long exhale she moved the rest of the water back into the bucket. She took a deep breath before speaking again. "What I meant when I was talking about angle adjustment is to make sure your mana doesn't take up more space than it needs to. Make the edges of your spell precisely molded... understand?"
"I think so," I lifted a little bit of the water with my telekinesis creating a thin sheet in front of myself. "If I just surround myself with a square or a ball, I'll use way more mana than necessary."
"Correct," she casted another spell, poking a hole in my water sheet with a sharp dagger of magic. "But remember, if your mana is too thin and not dense it won't protect you from anything."
I tried to make the water stronger, tried to solidify it without actually transforming it into ice or a similar mistake. If I made the energy too stiff, it would immobilize me if I tried to coat myself with it. As I pressed harder, I realized I was huffing, the effort more demanding than I thought it would be. She poked the sheet with the dagger again, easily piercing the water with no effort. With an irritated groan I allowed my spell to fail causing the water to fall to the floor.
"So you're telling me, I have to mold mana that's strong enough to withstand powerful spells that's as thin as possible, while being able to move and perform normal actions?" I was already rubbing my eyes with my hooves.
"If you want to be proficient then... yes," she replied bluntly. "It's not as hard as you're making it out to be."
"CAN YOU DO IT?" I blew up at her. I didn't mean to get so aggressive, but I was already beyond frustrated with my own lack of skill. Being as lame as I was felt like letting Celestia down, and that made me feel terrible.
"I-" Her magical signature sent chimes singing throughout the room as she lifted the water back out of the bucket. She coated herself in the liquid, gritting her teeth again. She attempted to take a step forward, but started trembling, her hoof staying in the air as she stared down at it with wide eyes. In an instant the water fell all around her wetting her and hitting the floor.
"You... can't?" I didn't expect that. Twilight could do anything, I'd never seen her fail. Tears began welling up in her eyes.
"I..." she lowered her head. I didn't mean for this to happen. I hadn't known. Now, I felt even more awful.
"It's because you're not putting your all into it." The calm voice drew both of our gazes.
"Starlight!?" I honestly thought she'd left. She greeted me with a lift of her head, a confident smile on her lips. Twilight and I must've been so focused on our task that we hadn't noticed her come in. She looked a bit different, but I wasn't sure wh- "Your mane!?"
"Thought I'd try a different style," she bounced her locks with a hoof. "What do you gals think? Sexy no?"
"What do you mean?" Twilight glared at her, completely ignoring her question. She was mad. Very mad. "I'm not putting my all in it? I-"
"You've got way more mana than that, Twilight," Starlight trotted up to us, looking down into the bucket with a frown.
"I suppose you can show us how it's done then?" Twilight challenged the lilac unicorn.
Without another word Starlight's horn shimmered a turquoise hue. The water flowed around her for a second before completely enveloping her and disappearing. She looked Twilight right in the eye before she disappeared and reappeared in a different part of the classroom. She repeated this process over and over before appearing before the bucket and dropping the water back inside.
"Good enough?" She wasn't smiling or proud of herself, she just genuinely asked the question with a slight tilt of her head.
"That's... impossible." I couldn't believe it. She'd done it and teleported at the same time? That wasn't just normal movement, that was multiple complex spells all at once.
How? How could she-
"How do I even know the water was dense enough?" Twilight nearly growled, not believing her own eyes. She wasn't happy about this at all. She'd never had another unicorn show her up like that, at least not to my knowledge.
"OH! Here," Starlight grinned, igniting her magic as she protected herself with the water yet again. "Go ahead, stab me."
"Stab you!?" Twilight recoiled at the request.
"Yeah, with your little knife spell," she bobbed her head. "That's how you were testing the strength of the water, right?"
"I'm not gonna stab you, Starlight!" she stared at the unicorn in disgust.
"C'mon! Don't be such a pansy. It's not like you're gonna hurt me," she drew closer to the obviously furious lavender unicorn, their faces inches from one another. "Not like you could... even if you wanted to," she smirked arrogantly.
"That's probably not the be-" Twilight cut me off, but this time it was the loud melody of her channeling her magic. Twilight's glowing knife shattered into hundreds of sparks of light as soon as it came into contact with Starlight's body.
"Geez," Starlight frowned at Twilight. The lavender unicorn was gaping at her lilac counterpart, obviously flabbergasted by the strength of her spell. I wasn't sure what to do. It was like the pair were in their own little world, about to kill each other... or at least Twilight was. Starlight was giddy with excitement. "Was that so hard?"
"How could y-"
"You're still not trying, Twilight." Starlight interrupted her, jabbing her in the chest with a hoof. Twilight's look of astonishment was swiftly replaced by rage. "No wonder that goof Luna d-"
Oh... Oh no...
Twilight's horn exploded with energy, the magenta mana mixing with a much darker tinge I'd never seen before. Her magic was so powerful, so tempestuous, I was nearly knocked onto my flank by the sheer force of it. She was gone, her eyes glowing white, an expression of unbridled fury on her face.
"Oops..." Starlight stood her ground despite the whirlwind, but looked positively shocked by Twilight's reaction. The lance of energy Twilight summoned was pointed directly at the lilac unicorn.
"I WARNED YOU, STARLIGHT!" Her voice was distorted and low, a sound I'd never heard come from the unicorn. As the lance flew at Starlight she was forced to stop it with a spell of her own. The crackling of mana against mana sent lightning coursing through the room.
"Alright, I GET IT!" Starlight fought to hold the lance in place, the tip of the blade gradually inching towards her head. "TWILIGHT, ARE YOU SERIOUSLY TRYING TO KILL ME!?"
"TWILIGHT!" I made an attempt to fortify Starlight's defenses with a spell of my own, but Twilight was completely overwhelming both of us. The lance pushed forward, even with our combined strength trying to hold it at bay. Was Twilight really this strong?
"TWILIGHT SPARKLE!" In a blast of golden sunlight the lance was consumed by blinding flames. Twilight's eyes immediately returned to normal as she was coated in the same sunlight as the lance. Thankfully, unlike the weapon, she wasn't incinerated.
The three of us turned to face Celestia, my mentor's expression unreadable as she stood at the door of the lab. Even after all the time we'd spent together, not even I could discern her emotions if she wished to conceal them.
"Your Highness!" Twilight looked like she'd just been caught committing attempted murder... which may not have been too far from the truth. Still, she bowed in respect to the Sun Princess.
"Twili-" Starlight's cacophonous laughter drew our stunned gazes, even my teacher whom she'd interrupted.
"You're crazy, Twilight," the Lilac unicorn's words didn't quite align with her jolly demeanor. She was smiling brightly and had moved to put her foreleg around Twilight's neck. I'm pretty sure I saw Celestia's lips lift a little at that. "Now that was trying, and honestly... you'd of had me if Princess Celestia hadn't cut in."
"I'd have... had you?" Twilight stared at the pony holding her, befuddlement dominating her features. "I'D HAVE HAD YOU!?" Twilight shoved Starlight away from herself, her look of confusion turning to one of horror. "Starlight I was going to... I almost... I..." She was definitely about to cry.
I had to do something.
"Twilight..." But I had nothing, save pathetically whispering her name. I looked to my mentor for guidance, but she remained unreadable.
"Twi-" Starlight stopped as Twilight shook her head at the lilac mare.
"I have to go." Her tears were coming and I was certain she didn't want anyone to see them. As she galloped by Celestia my mentor made no moves to stop her, but I think I detected a hint of sadness in her as well.
For the first time in a while, if ever, I genuinely wished there was something I could do to help my rival.
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I think I have a pretty good idea why Celestia didn't pick Twilight in this timeline, she's to easily controlled by emotions and makes rash choices based on how she feels, she's powerful but too rash. Sunset might be stubborn but she thinks carefully about the consequences of her actions although I think you might be downplaying her a little bit to much because in canon she is actually more powerful than Twilight and would have created a barrier no sweat please give us an explanation for that later on because I wanna see op Sunset Shimmer not one who holds back and wants to do the right thing all the time that is Twilight Sparkle not Sunset Shimmer.
Ok chapter (good chapter now)
I liked how Starlight is actually using her skills to help the others, also like how she doesn’t care that she almost died, since she succeeded in showing Twilight that she holds back.
Honestly, the character roster here is very good, everyone has their own personalities and they all seem to be pretty well written, good job writer, I’m interested to see if the Main (Mane?) 6 will be at all present in the story.
Why do I have a feeling that the Darkness that is the Nightmare has decided to get itself into dear Twilight's head.
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So Sunset here is growing. While Twilight is already at her strongest, (which is why Starlight can see she's not using all of her strength) Sunset hasn't reached her full potential yet.
Sunset will get stronger, but for her it will take time and effort.
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Lol, ngl, this one stung. Any particular reason for the lower score?
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Thank you! I'm really trying to distinguish their personalities and make them all likable.
Mane 6 appearances? Let's just say I have plans.
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Well well well, I wonder if you might be right. She sure seems to be acting out of the ordinary.
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I meant to change it but forgot since I re read it
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Lol, alright thanks. If you do have issues, feel free to point them out.
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I will I never lie when I say what I think of the chapter
11670903
Good to hear. Honesty is the best policy.
Been reading along with this story since it’s beginning, because 3 of my top five ponies in one story can’t be bad right?
Of course not, I was honestly a little excited to return to an antagonistic Starlight that was just past defeat, after reading so many pure Villain or well last reformation stories, and you nailed and are nailing it I think. Her attitude is refreshing, grating sometimes, and a perfect straightman to Sunset and Twilight, who you have dangled delicious history bits and secrets for to engage me in a story beyond the so far excellent character interactions.
This chapter I think is one of the best so far, and I loved it so much I just had to comment. All three of your protagonists are given time to shine here in how they are presented, and as the first time all 3 have been together since Starlight’s defeat, it’s a really good way to hint at how I think you’re playing them out, and, I hope you continue this style, because it is genuinely engaging in so many ways. Having a different pony’s first person perspective each chapter is also a phenomenal choice for developing each character’s thoughts beyond a general third person narration ever could.
Lovely story, I cannot wait to read more, and that’s the highest compliment I think anyone can give an Author 💜
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Thank you so much for such a flattering comment. It means so much that you commented and is so very motivating to know when people are enjoying the story.
I'm glad you like the format and how I'm handling the trio and I hope the story continues to live up to your expectations.
Okay, I have mixed feelings about this one. It started out very well with Twilight teaching Sunset about the barrier spell. I thought that was rather heartwarming and then Starlight showing them up with her skills was a nice touch too. But then Twilight had to go all psycho and about to murder Starlight? Was that because of her feeling of inferiority or her just because Starlight badmouthed Luna again? Or both? In either case, not cool, Twily. Not cool.
Reading on...
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Definitely not cool. It's explained a bit more in chapter 15. Starlight took it like a champ though.
I sorta forgot about this story (shame one me) I apologize.
Anyway, Twi being more powerful than Sunny and Star combined? YES!!! Finally, someone who doesn't underestimate her!!!! Twi was the Element Of Magic, after all. Speaking of Elements, will those or Twi's friends make an appearance in this story?
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Thank you for returning! If the appearance of the other elements can be done organically, I will definitely be including them.