A Sky of Light

by Starlight_Flight

Observing From the Outside

Observing From the Outside

When morning had come, and my sister and I had exercised our powers as duty demands, I asked to speak with her privately.

"Sister," I said, "Your professors sent a student to me, one Hidden Spring. She has the ability of dreamwalking, yet this specific ability does not seem itself to be her special talent. May I inquire further as to her nature and disposition?"

"Luna," my sister replied, "I am not familiar with Hidden Spring, but she is known for being extremely aware of how ponies are feeling around her. Her magic itself is nothing unusual, but I felt that she has power within that has been waiting for some moment to reveal itself, thus the invitation to her family asking if she would take the entry test for my school. I can provide the monthly reports on the student body if you wish to read about her background and how she performs in her classes."

"I would be pleased to read these reports, as I will be teaching her myself," said I. This startled my dear sister, causing her breath to catch very slightly, though nopony could have noticed but I, so familiar and intimate to her bearing.

"Then I will arrange for you to see them," said she. And the matter was so arranged.

It would be one week before the first lesson with my new student, so I had time to engage the documentation between private activities, observatory lookouts, court sessions, and other such things. Hidden Spring, it was reported, was quiet and exuberant by turns, with few close friends and many acquaintances. She was enthusiastic and capable in classes concerning art, divination and psychology, and argued with her professors over the philosophies of Immanuel Kanter and Brohoof Campbell. However, her grades in more concrete classes, such as Theory of the Abstract Spell, Second-Form Chemistry and Alchemy, and Physical Engineering and Energy, were spotty; she paid attention to some parts, and was confused by or apparently ignored other parts, leading to poor test scores and an overall low grade; yet the papers she wrote were not a mere Babel of words, but coherent and brilliantly argued, even leading some professors to new enlightenment and the improvement of her grade.

It seemed clear that somewhere within this pony was a frustrated soul waiting to leap forth into full prominence. I swore I would do my best by her, whatever it took and whatever that meant, even the discarding of my traditional duties if necessary. So I spent what time I could after reviewing the reports to read a short treatise on modern education. Sadly, it confused me so terribly that I had to send it back and dunk my head in a mountain spring to clear my mind of the strangeness. I resolved after that to use the old form of master and apprentice, if I could. We would have two nights each week to study, and I could waste no time on endless bureaucracy or useless forms of interaction. I supposed the Dean of Students would be displeased, but that was politics, and thus manageable.