Stand By Me

by Fifth Element

Book I: Twilight Sparkle: Chapter One

...Your faithful student,
Twilight Sparkle

Twilight set her quill down by the parchment, watching the ink dry. She flattened the parchment with her hoof, rereading the letter that she had written to Princess Celestia. Feeling satisfied, she glanced up, look around the tree house for her number one assistant.

“Spike!” she called out. “Spiiiike! Where are you?”

The unicorn got up from her desk, and trotted upstairs, where she found that the door to her room was slightly ajar, with faint noises coming from within.

“Spike?” asked Twilight, nudging the door open and peering inside.

Spike was sprawled out on his bed, passed out, snoring with one of his legs sticking over the side. Twilight noticed that he was holding a quill in his hand, and her giant daily checklist was rolled up next to him. She giggled softly, and draped a blanket over Spike. She quietly closed the door to the room and tip-hoofed back downstairs. She crossed the room, carefully avoiding the large stacks of books she had been reading earlier, to look out her window. Looking down, she saw the ponies in the market begin to close down their shops and stalls; she was a little surprised to find that it was her favorite time of day, and her namesake: twilight.

“Huh,” Twilight pondered aloud to herself. “It's a bit early for Spike to go to sleep, isn't it? I guess he must have just been tuckered out from helping me with all that studying today.”

Wandering back to her desk around the mounds of books, Twilight lit her horn, which fired a small purple spark at the wick of a candle on her desk, igniting it with a small sizzle. Her brow furrowed as she scanned her letter for the umpteenth time, checking it for errors. She wanted to get the letter to the Princess quickly. Soon Princess Luna would raise the moon, relieving Celestia of her royal duties until morn. It would be the perfect time for her to send her the letter.

But how can I get the letter to the Princess if Spike's asleep? Twilight wondered. Then an idea struck her. Why don't I just teleport the scroll? I can teleport myself easily enough, it should be the same principle, right?

She looked down at the letter, closed her eyes, and visualized an image of Princess Celestia in her mind. Twilight focused her magic on the letter, and a pink glow began to emanate from her horn. She was about to release the magic, when suddenly-

BANG. The front door to her house burst open, slamming against the wall. This was followed by a voice shouting “TWILIGHT!”

Startled by the abrupt noises, Twilight gave a loud yelp. The stream of magic that had been pulsating out of her horn erupted into a great radiance. The pure pink energy cascaded forth uncontrolled. Her eyes sprung open, only to be instantly blinded by a vicious white light, as bright as the sun. As suddenly as the white light blinded her, everything went black.

* * *

The light in her eyes was unfocused and blurred, and a faint ringing filled her ears. Twilight let out a low groan, and shifted herself slightly. She felt herself lying in a large pile of books. How did I get here? she faintly asked herself. Deciding she didn't care, she curled up to get into a more comfortable position, waiting to slip back into unconsciousness.

Twilight... whispered a voice. Twilight didn't respond, she thought she was imagining things. Arise, Twilight... it called out to her again. She pretended to not hear it, and placed her hooves on her ears, trying to block out any more sounds. She didn't want to get up. TWILIGHT SPARKLE! Wake up! commanded the voice, causing her to cringe.

Twilight grudgingly complied. She raised herself on her front hooves, causing the books on her back to slide off. As she raised her head, she felt a sharp jolt of pain from her horn down the back of her neck. She let out a small gasp, instinctively throwing her hoof up to her horn. This caused her to lose her balance and to topple sideways into the book pile, dislodging even more books. She felt as if a large book had slammed down upon her horn, which she guessed had probably happened.

“Twilight Sparkle, are you hurt?” asked a voice.

Her head emerging from the mess of books, Twilight shook her head and looked up to see who the speaker was. She saw a long, multi-colored flowing mane, sparkling in the soft glow of a bright white coat. There, standing in her full royal glory, was Princess Celestia herself, looking down upon her student with a worried expression on her face. Shocked, Twilight immediately jumped up; although this movement only made the pain coming from her horn even worse, and she fell back down onto her knees.

“Twilight, will you please tell me exactly what has happened?” asked Celestia.

Twilight looked around. She was in her study, which looked considerably more disastrous than usual. Books were scattered everywhere, some open, some closed. Torn pages and pieces of parchment dotted the scene as well. Larger mess aside, the only thing that seemed out of place was Celestia's presence.

“P-Princess Celestia! Wha-what are you doing here?” stammered Twilight.

“I could ask you that selfsame question, my student,” responded Celestia.

A blank look etched itself on Twilight's face. “What do you mean?”

“I would like to know exactly how you have brought yourself to Canterlot,” Celestia said.

Twilight frowned, unsure why the Princess would make such a ridiculous claim. “Your Highness, what are you talking about? We're in my house in Ponyville, we're not in Canterlot.”

Celestia raised one eyebrow and looked quizzically at her student. “Perhaps you ought to take a step outside.”

She lowered her head for Twilight to use as a support. Twilight leaned on Celestia, propping herself up. Although the sharp pain in her head had subsided to a dull, throbbing one, Twilight's movements were still quite wobbly and unstable. Celestia, noticing this, summoned her magic and levitated Twilight onto her back without a word. She proceeded to part the sea of books in front of them, pushing them to the walls of the room with her magic, creating a clear path across the room to the front door. Celestia approached the door slowly, careful not to let Twilight fall off, who was holding on by the base of Celestia's neck. As they approached the door, a golden aura enveloped it, causing it to swing open. Not knowing what to expect, Twilight raised her hoof, shielding her eyes against the bright light from beyond.

As they stepped outside, Twilight lowered her hoof to let her vision adjust. When she could properly see her surroundings, she was so stupefied by them that she lost her holding of Celestia and fell off. Celestia spun her head back, just in time to see Twilight get up. The unicorn shook herself off and rubbed her eyes with her hooves, too amazed to notice any pain that she might have received from falling off.

Of all the surprises that night, Twilight was least prepared for the one she now faced. Her eyes widened at the sight, and her breath sharpened. She stood in the middle of the Canterlot Castle courtyard. She looked up at the towering white walls around her, the ramparts flying flags of both the sun and moon. On her right was one of the many towers of the castle rising into the night sky, the tip seeming to touch the base of the slowly rising moon. Towards her left, she saw the entrance gate, leading to the rest of Canterlot. Behind her, stood her tree house, under which a pool of water had formed. Twilight guessed her tree was on top of the remnants of the grand fountain in the center of the courtyard. The entire courtyard was bathed in the delicate luminescence of the moonlight. As she turned back to face the Princess, she noticed all kinds of ponies from across the courtyard staring back at her, and then back at her tree, their mouths as agape as hers.

At first she did not understand what was going on. Then it struck her like a speeding Rainbow Dash. In trying to teleport her scroll to Princess Celestia, she somehow managed to teleport herself, along with her entire house, instead.

“This... this can't be possible!” exclaimed Twilight. “How did I do this?”

“I think that you would be the best pony to answer that question, my student,” Celestia observed quietly.

“I-I'm not sure,” said Twilight, rubbing the back of her neck. She recounted the story from the beginning, running the sentences together in her frantic state. “I had finished my letter to you, which I wanted to deliver right away, because I thought that this would be the best time to deliver it, but Spike was asleep, and I didn't want to wake him, so I decided to teleport the letter myself, and then, and then...” she halted. “I...I don't remember what happened after that. I just remember a white flash of light, and then nothing.”

Suddenly, Twilight felt a gust from above. Looking up, she noticed a dark blue alicorn descending from above, her mane sparkling like a belt of stars.

“What is going on here?” demanded Princess Luna with a whinny, landing gracefully, having just raised the moon. “Why is there a tree in the middle of our Courtyard?”

“It seems that Twilight Sparkle here has, in trying to teleport a letter to me, teleported her entire home instead,” answered Celestia.

Luna's piercing teal eyes turned to Twilight. “Twilight Sparkle, element of Magic. The one whom my sister has spoken so highly of.”

Even at a time like this, Twilight felt a small surge of joy upon hearing that her teacher spoke positively of her in private. “Yes, that is me.”

Luna asked, “Tell us then, how did you teleport your entire abode into our fair courtyard? You must be extremely skilled not only to be able to summon the magical energy required, but to channel it to an object of such size, moving it instantaneously across such a far distance. All this, while also managing to slip past the magical defensive barriers around our castle.”

Unsure of what to say, Twilight simply repeated her story for Princess Luna, ending with “so in the end, I don't really know how it happened. It just...happened, without me wanting it to.”

“Hmm,” said Luna, putting her hoof up to her chin and tapping it thoughtfully. “Would your friends perchance be able to provide any additional details about the matter?”

“I... I'm not sure,” replied Twilight. “Some of them might have seen something, I suppose.”

“In that case, summon them here, and we shall ask for ourselves,” the dark Princess urged.

Twilight looked back from once Princess to the other expectantly, waiting for one of them to conjure her friends. When Twilight's gaze was met with the Princesses' own expecting look, Twilight was puzzled, involuntarily raising an eyebrow. Then understanding seeped in.

“Wait wait wait. You want me to transport my friends from Ponyville to Canterlot?” asked an astonished Twilight, shaking her head.

“But of course. Was my request not clear?” asked Luna.

Twilight looked to Celestia pleadingly, silently begging for her to explain to Luna that she would be unable to fulfill such a request. When no help came, Twilight addressed Luna herself.

“I-I don't think I could do that Princess. I mean, what I did here was an accident. I've never conjured anypony, let alone five ponies! I don't think I could do that, especially over a distance of this length.”

“Nonsense,” scoffed Luna, gesturing with her hoof as if she were throwing the complaint away. “Just concentrate on the images of your friends, channel the magic accordingly, and release it.”

Twilight sighed exasperatedly. Knowing she was in no position to argue, she resigned herself to giving it a try. What could go wrong? wondered Twilight. She stopped herself there, not wishing to think about the possibilities.

She planted her hooves in the ground firmly, and shut her eyes tight. As she began to summon her magic, her horn glowed a deep pink. She gritted her teeth, forcing the magic out of her horn while picturing her friends. The ring of magical energy around her horn intensified, and expanded to create a faint aura around her entire self. Just as she felt she could maintain the magic no longer, she heard five distinct pops around her, and then five weights dropping to the ground around her, filling the air with grunts and groans of discomfort. She cut the flow of magic, sinking once again to her knees from the expended effort. She was sweating profusely, with the headache stemming from her horn intensifying once more into a sharp pain. Determined not to sink back into unconsciousness, she forced her eyes open to see the results of her effort.

Around her there were five new ponies, all lying on the ground, slightly dazed and confused. Each of them struggled up to their feet, shaking their heads, the white one playing at her disheveled mane. As they realized exactly where they were, audible gasps were heard from each of them. They turned their heads one by one from Twilight, to the Princesses, to the Courtyard, to Twilight's house, and finally back to Twilight.

“Hey, what gives?” complained Rainbow Dash, her mane messier than usual. “One minute I'm relaxing on my favorite cloud, the next moment I'm here!”

Twilight, amazed at the fact that she actually managed to pull off the magic, simply stared at her friends wide-eyed, unable to respond.

Princess Luna replied in her stead. “We had just requested that Twilight Sparkle summon you all. She was to ask if you had seen what had happened at her home earlier.”

“Uh, what?” asked Applejack, flicking her ears to make sure she heard correctly. “Are you saying that it was Twilight that brought us here?”

“Precisely,” declared Luna.

The five ponies turned to look at Twilight with incredulity, disbelief dancing in their eyes.

“My goodness Twilight, I... I had no idea that you could do something like that.” Fluttershy murmured, scuffing her hoof at the ground nervously.

“We all knew you were very magically talented, but this is something unprecedented,” added Rarity, so amazed that she did not even flit her eyes about in admiration of the castle. “By the way, how did your house get here? It really doesn't match the rest of the courtyard.”

Nervously, Twilight stammered “Ah, heheh... that was me too.”

“WHAT?!” her friends exclaimed unanimously, their jaws dropping.

“Woah woah woah, hold on a second!” Rainbow Dash interjected. “You mean to tell me you teleported not only us, but your entire house from Ponyville to Canterlot?!” She eyed her friend with something close to awe, and her wings were twitching nervously.

“Crazy, yeah! Heheheh!” replied Twilight, letting out an inane twitter of anxiety. “I don't actually know how it happened. Which is why I brought you guys here. I was hoping one of you might have been able to tell me if you saw anything that triggered this to happen.”

“Uhm, hehehe, I think I might be able to help answer that” said Pinkie Pie, who up to this point, had been uncharacteristically silent. “I had just gotten Gummy a brand-new outfit from Rarity, and I was just itching to show it to you Twilight. I kind of, ehehe, burst into your front door and called out for you. And then suddenly, 'BAM!' I was knocked back by something and the door slammed in front of me, and then your house was gone!”

“Pinkie Pie would be the cause of this,” muttered Rainbow Dash, putting her face in her hoof and grumbling.

“I remember now!” exclaimed Twilight, her eyes narrowing with comprehension. “Somepony had thrown open my door and shouted my name, which startled me. I think that was when I lost control of the magic, sort of like during my entrance exam into the Princess' School.”

Princess Celestia took a step forward and spoke up. “This is somewhat unsettling. The knowledge that Twilight might lose control of her magic so easily when startled does not sit well with me. We were fortunate enough that nothing more serious came of this, and that nopony was hurt.”

“Well, what do you suggest we do Princess?” asked Twilight.

Princess Celestia lifted her gaze into the distance, deep in thought. Twilight thought she noticed Celestia's face reflected something that it never had before; uncertainty.

At last, Celestia spoke, softly and deliberately. “I had hoped to wait a few more years before doing this, although it seems you are mature enough to handle this. It would seem that my seal is breaking.”

Twilight tilted her head to the side, wrinkling her brow. “Wait, what seal? And hoped to wait to do what?”

Celestia momentarily averted her gaze from Twilight's. “After you became my pupil, Twilight, I had secretly placed a seal on your magic. I had feared that you might lose control over your powers at a time when I was not close at hoof to help settle you down. The seal limited the amount of magic that you could call up, and it made it slightly more difficult to do so.” She hesitated. “I do apologize for not telling you about this, but I felt that I had to do this for your own safety.”

“So, all this time... my magical ability was limited,” murmured Twilight, warily eying her cutie mark. Still trying to grasp this, she met the Princess' gaze. “But you said your seal was breaking?”

“Yes,” replied Celestia. “It seems that these outbursts of monumental magical power have started to tear it off, and this brings me back to my first point. I had wanted to wait a few more years, but it seems now is the best time to start your advanced magical studies.”

“My advance-wha?” Twilight asked, unable to process this.

“Your advanced magical studies,” repeated Celestia. “I shall be personally training you in methods to help you better control your magic. I shall also help you learn how to prevent outbursts that can cause,” motioning her hoof towards the tree, “unwanted consequences.”

“You will not be the only one teaching her, Celestia,” announced Luna, taking a step forward to join her sister. “I, too, shall be guiding her studies, to help her when you are occupied with your royal duties.”

Princess Celestia raised her eyebrow at Luna for a moment in silence, but Luna made no reply.

Celestia turned her eyes back to Twilight. “Is that acceptable to you, my dear?”

Twilight looked up at both Princesses. Her eyes widened considerably at the opportunity to study advanced magic with both of them.

“I- I would extremely happy for an opportunity like that! Yes! I would love for that to happen!” Her ears perked up, and her tail began twitching. Twilight quickly forgot her weariness, overcome by her love of learning. “When can we start?”

Princess Celestia chuckled. “In due time, my dear. Although for now, I believe that you have had enough adventure for a day. Therefore, I shall send you all home now.”

Princess Celestia was about to invoke her magic, when Luna interrupted her by throwing a hoof in front of her.

“One moment, sister,” interrupted Luna. “I do not wish Miss Sparkle to go home until you first unseal her magic completely.”

Celestia gave another sidelong glance towards Luna. “What is your reasoning behind that, Luna?”

Luna said, “I think that it would be a good exercise for Miss Twilight Sparkle to send both them and her tree back home. And for that, I believe that she must be able to access all of her power.”

Celestia disagreed. “Luna, I doubt that putting Twilight through such an ordeal, after what she has already done tonight, is the wisest decision.”

“She must grow accustomed to dealing with all of her magic, not just a small reserve of it,” retorted Luna, placing her hoof down with a tone of finality. “Besides, from what you have told me about her, she should have almost no difficulty in doing what I ask of her, once all of her magic is available.”

“If I may interject,” interrupted Rarity, “I think that Twilight here is more than capable of accomplishing such an act.” She smiles at Twilight, whose ears perk up with happiness.

“Yeah! If anypony can do it, it's definitely Twilight!” exclaimed Rainbow Dash with a reassuring nod.

The other ponies nod and smile in agreement, looking at Twilight in a supportive manner.

Celestia once again turned to Twilight. “What say you, Twilight? Do you think that you would be able to perform such a spell?”

Twilight shuffled her hoof in the ground nervously. Her ears drooped and she looked down at the ground, unsure of what might happen should she accept. Suddenly, she stopped scuffing her hooves about, pricked up her ears, and stared determinedly at Princess Celestia. “Yes. I can do this.”

Celestia looked into Twilight's eyes for a moment, and held her gaze. “Very well then. If you feel that you are able to this, then we shall try it. Now, I must unlock the seal. Stand still.”

Twilight froze in place, looking up at Celestia. Celestia's horn glowed a deep golden color, and she lowered it to touch the tip of Twilight's horn. Twilight's horn began glowing golden as well. The golden aura seeped from Twilight's horn onto Celestia's, to be replaced by Twilight's own pink glow. The Princess then took a step back from Twilight.

“And there we are. Do you feel any different?” inquired Celestia.

Twilight wasn't sure how to respond. She felt a feeling similar to when one's leg falls asleep, prodding needles and all, except this she felt in her entire body. While feeling that, she also felt much warmer, and felt a strange buzzing going throughout her.

“I do feel different, although I'm not entirely sure how to describe it,” she replied.

“When you feel that you are ready, proceed indoors, and we shall follow,” said Princess Luna.

Twilight gave a glance to Celestia, and then to her friends, whose attention she had fully captured, as they were still getting used to these revelations about her power. She turned around and headed into her home. The other five ponies looked up to Celestia, who inclined her head to allow them to go in first. Once all eight of the ponies were inside, they circled around Twilight, waiting, the air tense with anticipation.

“Remember,” came Luna's voice, breaking the heavy silence, “do not force your magic, Twilight Sparkle. Let it flow out naturally.”

Twilight nodded, and then focused her magic. The speed at which it welled forth astounded her, and she almost lost control of it. She slowly summoned the magic, her horn igniting with the familiar pink glow. She focused on her home, and she focused on her destination. She began to draw more amounts of magic. Heeding Luna's words, she didn't aggressively pull on her magic, letting it flow out of her horn.

Her eyes closed, and so she did not see the magical pink aura envelope all eight of the ponies, along with the walls of the house. Applejack was frozen in place, her breath bated. Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie both had looks of wonder in their eyes, while Rarity eyed Twilight cautiously, with a faint hint of envy in the corner of her eye. Fluttershy ducked down and hid her face behind her hooves, shivering with fear. The two Princesses exchanged a quick glance with each other.

Suddenly, Twilight gave a big push to her magic. She felt herself lifted off the ground a short distance. The magic exploded out of her horn, causing a massive bang, and a blinding flash of light.

A moment later, Twilight opened her eyes. She shook her head to clear her blurred vision. Around her stood her friends and the two princesses, with disbelief in their eyes. Fluttershy looked up from beneath her hooves and let out a barely audible sigh of relief.

Twilight felt her knees buckle. Applejack and Rainbow Dash noticed this, both of them rushing to her side, propping her up. Twilight looked out her window, noticing the familiar view of Ponyville. I did it, thought Twilight to herself. “I did it,” she croaked aloud, smiling weakly.

Princess Celestia smiled. “Well done, my faithful student,” she said. “I shall be honest. I was prepared to assist you, in case you were to not succeed. However, you managed to get us all here by yourself!”

“Most impressive, Twilight Sparkle,” congratulated Princess Luna. “I, personally, cannot wait to begin teaching you. You have much potential. You could even become as great as Starswirl the Bearded had been.”

Twilight was far too exhausted for the words Luna spoke to fully sink in, managing only to mumble a faint “thanks” in response.

“And now, we shall leave you to your rest, Twilight,” said Celestia. “I shall send you a letter in a few days to inform you of the start of the studies.”

At the mention of a letter, Twilight suddenly remembered the reason behind this whole mess. She lifted her head a bit, and weakly summoned her magic, the pink aura around her horn being very faint. She drifted the letter from her desk over to Celestia.

“The reason why this whole adventure started,” Twilight mumbled, giving a weak laugh. “There is my report on the magic of friendship, Princess.”

Celestia's magic overtook Twilight's control of the scroll. “Thank you, my dear.” She smiled warmly, and Twilight felt a surge of affection for her teacher.

The two Princess sisters then simultaneously raised their horns, both glowing in a bright golden and dark blue colors, respectively. There was an abrupt flash, and the sisters were gone, leaving the six friends to themselves.

“Well... that was definitely one heck of an eventful night,” commented Applejack.

“Indeed,” replied Rarity. She looked at the clock on the wall, and her eyes widened with alarm. “Goodness, it has gotten quite late! I look absolutely ghastly if I don't get my full eight hours!”

“You're all free to...spend the night here if you...if you wish to,” mumbled Twilight, her eyelids drooping. She smiled weakly again. “It'll be another... slum...ber...” and then her head lolled to the side, as she surrendered unto sleep.

Author's Note:

Also on Equestria Daily: http://www.equestriadaily.com/2011/11/story-stand-by-me.html