A New Enemy?
Appletini should be finishing up her job now, and then she’ll be on her way home. No, wait. If I recall correctly, she’ll be stopping by Stitch N. Sew’s on her way back. I wonder what she’ll be making for dinner tonight. I’m in the mood for some crystal waffles myself, but-
“Ms. Will-o-Wisp!” Oh, is he done already? “Can you show me one more time? I think I’ve almost got it!” I guess not. Astral’s been making some fine progress, to be sure. At this rate, I have no doubts he’ll have the fireworks spell down before the end of today. Of course, it helped that I identified his real talent a few days ago…
“Oh, very well then. But this is the last time, so pay close attention.” Astral nods vigorously. I get up off of the bench that I was lounging on, and position myself right next to my pupil. “Remember, pay close attention to the way my aura shifts about.”
This would be so much easier if I could just show him my horn. But, even if he is just a kid, that is one secret that I must take to my grave. Thankfully, it wasn’t hard to divert his attention from Azure’s little slip up regarding my name a few days ago, but there’s no way I could make him forget about my horn if he ever saw it.
Instead, I must make do with trying to reproduce the aura around my horn when I cast magic, around my hooves. Because of this, it takes a little longer to build up my spell, but fortunately, I can pass this off as me taking it slowly, for Astral’s sake.
I point my hooves forward, but I’m not aiming at the ground directly in front of me. Instead, I’m aiming at the ground a good few feet away. Why? Because of Astral’s special talent: long-range magic.
At first, I thought that he was an illusionist, just like me. But that’s not true. He’s adept at all forms of magic, but only if they’re long-range. Short-range, I’ve found him to be less than competent at even the simplest spells.
That explains how he was able to perform astral projection through a solid object, yet was having so much trouble setting off illusionary fireworks right in front of him. It’s not matter of how long he had practiced the different spells. It’s just that his magic is suited to long-range, and through solid object, even if it’s just into the room right next door, is the same as a very long-range spell.
Many ponies don’t realise that there’s a difference between short-range and long-range magic. They think that, if a pony’s special talent is magic-based, then range doesn’t matter. But it does. No matter what your special talent is, range is always a key factor in any magic. Think about it like golf: long drives and short putts are two very different skill sets, and more often than not, ponies find themselves much better at one than the other.
As proof of this, the moment Astral began to perform the fireworks spell at a much longer distance – one that even I would have trouble performing at – he began to make rapid progress. I even asked him to try a few over types of spells, just to confirm that he wasn’t purely an illusionist, and sure enough, he revealed himself to be what is commonly referred to as an ‘omnimage’. As the name implies, he is a mage that can perform well in all disciplines.
Omnimages, however, are often limited in their capacity of each magical discipline. Simply put, they have a wider variety of spells, but less power attributed to them. He could easily become a master illusionist, but he’ll never be able to surpass somepony whose talent is dedicated to it.
The exception to this rule is for ‘special cases’. A rare talent that only very few magicians posses. Starswirl the Bearded possessed it, and so does… so does she. Unicorns whose special talent is raw magical power. They often become omnimages of great talent. A wide variety of magic, and plenty of power to back it up.
Hmph. Well, even if she is one of those ponies, she’ll never best me in a battle of illusions. She’s not the only pony brimming with energy. Just ‘cause she was in the right place at the right time, and made the right connections with the right ponies, doesn’t mean she’ll ever amount to my level of talent!
“Uh, Ms. Will-o-Wisp?”
Okay, so I can’t beat an ursa minor. Who can, to be fair?! But so what?! I’ve trained hard to get where I am today! I’ve pushed myself to the limit! Practised so hard that my horn bled (I don’t recommend it, by the way), and I am a great illusionist!
“Ms. Will-o-Wisp!”
You may be the Princess’ pet, and yes, you have talent. But that does not mean you are better than me! Could you survive living out in the streets all on your own, shunned by everypony you meet, and without your precious friends by your side? No! You wouldn’t have survived a week of what I endured, and-
“Ms. Will-o-Wisp!”
What the what? OH! I’m still doing my spell, aren’t I? … Ah, great. Her face made me increase the spell’s power too much. I think I scared a few ponies passing by. I stop the barrage of fireworks shooting out of the ground, and take a deep, calming breath. I have to forget about her… She’s not here anymore, and I’ll never have to deal with her, or that town, ever again. The ponies here love my shows, and accept me into their lives. So suck on that, Sparkle! You didn’t get the last laugh, after all!
“Relax. They’re only illusions,” I tell Astral. Okay, so illusions can be pretty lifelike to those not in the know, or who aren’t as experienced as the one who cast them. And I can totally understand why he’s so freaked out right now, since one of the fireworks seemed to have flew right by his head during my rage. Still, I gotta play it cool.
“Y-Yeah. I know that. I wasn’t scared at all.” And of course, he’s playing it cool, too. “I was just thinkin’ ‘bout the ponies around us, that’s all.”
Of course you were, Astral. I smile and reach forward to pat him on the head, but he immediately moves back. I still get him, anyway, causing him to cringe as I mess up his mane a bit. Yeah, he hates it, but he looks so cute when he’s cringing like that. “As expected of my number one pupil.”
“… I’m your number one pupil?” Well, duh. You’re my only pupil. “YES! I’m your number one pupil!” He starts to cheer and run around excitedly. Oh great, I’ve done it now. He’ll be like this for a while.
Hmmm… It’s getting pretty hot. “Hey, I’m going to go buy us some ice-cream. What flavour would you like?”
“Strawberry!” he shouts as he continues to run around.
“Alright. Make sure you keep practising while I’m gone.” I’m not sure if he actually heard me or not. Whatever, I’m sure he’ll get back to practising as soon as he’s calmed down a bit.
I begin to walk through the park, making my way to where I remember there being an ice-cream stall. I see a small filly walking towards me… in similar clothing to mine. That is to say, a cape and a pointed hat. The colours are different, though; they’re dark-green, instead of purple. And the patterns, too. Instead of a star pattern, she has what looks likes… mist? Steam, maybe?
“Excuse me, Ms. Will-o-Wisp?” the filly asks as we cross paths. I stop to answer her. Or, try to, at least. She continues before I can say something, however. “I’m such a huge fan of yours. Can I have your autograph please?”
A fan, eh? Yep, today is certainly shaping up to be a great day! “Why, of course you can! But, why didn’t you ask me during my show?”
She scoffs, and rolls her eyes. “It would be pointless then, since I’d just be getting the same thing as everypony else. I want something unique!”
“I see. You want to be individualised, is that it?”
“Pretty much. I like to stand out from other ponies. That’s why I always wear these clothes whenever I’m outside.”
“Yes, I feel much the same way. Very well then! I shall give you an autograph like no other!” And I have a fine idea of just what to give her. She takes out some paper and a quill from her cape, and presents them to me. “To whom am I making this out to?”
She grins, and jumps back… quite a good distance, actually. What, is she on the long-jump team or something. She raises her left forehoof, and touches it to the brim of her hat. “The Amazing Mist Veil, at your service!”
… Oho. I think I’m going to like this filly. “Very well then. To the Amazing Mist Veil…”
I finish writing down her ‘unique autograph’, and pass the paper and quill back to her. She studies the paper immediately. “… From the ‘Great and Powerful’ Will-o-Wisp?”
“A new name I am working on. What do you think?”
“… Hmmm… I dunno… Doesn’t really roll off the tongue that well. Maybe ‘Will-o-Wisp, the Great and Powerful’?” Yeah, she’s got a point. Maybe I should come up with a new title… Oh well, I hope she likes the autograph, at any rate. “Well, thanks for the autograph, Ms. Will-o-Wisp.”
She folds the paper up, and stashes it back into her cape. “No problem. I hope you have a nice day.”
“Say, is it true that Astral Projection is your student now?” Oh? I wonder if he’s been bragging about it in school? “He’s kind of a nuisance, isn’t he?”
No argument there. “Yes, well… Let me tell you, I was very much like him, at that age.”
“Seriously? You were like that numbskull?”
Something tells me she doesn’t like him. “Very much so. Very excitable, and eager to hone my magic skills. And, just like you, I liked to stand out, and not just copy everypony else.”
“I see… Tell me, how much do you care for him?”
What? What kind of question is that? “You mean Astra? I guess… Well, I guess I care for him like any other teacher would care for their pupil.”
The filly turns around, and lets out a quiet chuckle. “Then, you’d better keep an eye on him… Who knows when something bad might happen?”
… Uh, I’m not entirely sure, but… was that a threat? “I’ll keep that in mind. Right now, Azure Eminence is watching him while I go and get ice-cream.”
“Well then, there should be nothing to worry about.” The filly begins to walk away.” Ciao! And thanks for the autograph!”
… What a strange filly. Still, she’s a fan of magic shows, so she’s definitely not a bad filly. Trust me, that’s totally how it works.
I turn around, and continue my walk through the park.
I’m glad I didn’t have to queue very long for these ice-creams. Now to get back and see how Astral is doing in his training. Maybe I should have got something for Azure, too… Come to think of it, he’s been pretty quiet for a while now. I wonder what’s up with him?
I arrive back at where I had left Astral and Azure… and understand why he’s been so quite. “Of course,” I say to myself sarcastically as I approach the sleeping stallion. So, after all that asking to watch Astral’s training, he just dozes off part-way through. And as for Astral…
Where is he? I told him to keep practising. Could he have gone to the restroom? Well, he’d better hurry up, or his ice-cream’s going to… melt…
Is that… Is that a note sellotaped to Azure’s face? Did Astral leave it here for me? Seems like something he would do… Nah. On second thought, Astral would probably forget to leave a note altogether.
I rip the note from Azure’s face, causing him to yelp and wake up quickly. “GAH! What was that?!”
I ignore him, and just focus on the note instead…
Ms. Will-o-Wisp,
If you want to see you’re pupil reterned safe and sound, you will meet me at the top of the clok tower. Come alone.
The Ama
“… Hey, Azure. Take a look at this.” I hand the letter over to Azure, who studies it closely for about half-a-minute. “What do you think?”
“Well… It’s not from Crimson, that’s for sure.” He turns to me with a worried look on his face. “But, I don’t like the looks of this. Somepony’s kidnapped Astra, so that they can get close to you… They might know your secret.”
“That’s what I was thinking. Incidentally, Astra would still be safe, if somepony hadn’t fallen asleep, instead of watching over him.”
“Oh, right.” He laughs, and then stretches his legs as he yawns. “Guess the weather was just too pleasant, and I got a little lazy. But, what about you? Where did you go?” I hold up the two ice-creams in front of him. “Ah, I see… Well, for now, let’s think about how we’re going to approach this situation.”
“What are you talking about? The letter made it very clear that I should go alone. And we can’t really call in the Crystal Guard, now can we?”
Azure seems to be thinking deeply about our options. “Hmmm… I guess you’re right. An investigation could reveal your secret. And if we don’t follow the foalnapper’s demands, they might just blab your secret to the guards themselves.” He shakes his head. “But, I can’t let you go in alone, without any knowledge of what’s there waiting for you.”
We really have few options presented to us at this stage. We know nothing about this foalnapper, or what they might do not just to me, but to Astral, as well, if their demands aren’t met.
…
? Wait a minute. I know nothing about them… and chances are that they know nothing about me. Even if they do, the past two years of my life, I have been, for the most part, starved, dehydrated, and sleep-deprived. I was certainly not at my best for the past two years, so maybe…
“Tri- Will-o-Wisp? Is there something on your mind?”
… This might work. “Azure, I’m going to go in alone.”
“Like I said-”
“I want you to contact the Crystal Guard if something happens to me.” I reach into my cape, and pull out a small device. “Stand outside of the clock tower, with this in your ear. It’s a one-way listening device.” It’s how I time some of my tricks during my shows. “It’s range isn’t very far, but it should be enough as long as I’m only in the clock tower. If it seems like things are going bad, contact the guard. I’ll let you use your own discretion for that.”
“But, if the guard finds out who you really are-”
“It’s my fault Astra got caught up in this. At the very least, we should make sure he gets out alive.”
Azure shakes his head. What’s his problem? “I got a better idea. You go and rescue Astra, and I’ll be there ready to back you up. And I won’t lose either of you, you got that?”
… Pfft!
“Hey! What’s so funny?!”
Oops. Did I just laugh out loud? “You’re not usually so serious like this. It just… amused me a little bit, that’s all.”
Azure seems offended by my comment, but I’m too busy laughing to care. “Hey, even I shape up when my friends are in trouble!”
“Right, right…” I should save this for later. Right now is no time for laughing. “Well then… I guess it’s time I make my grand comeback.” He gives me a confused look, just as I had hoped. “Will-o-Wisp, the Great and Powerful, is taking the stage!”
I walk into the clock tower carefully. I have no idea what could be waiting for me inside, but nothing can catch Will-o-Wisp, the Great and Powerful, by surprise!
“BOO!”
AH! Okay, except maybe for a skeleton suddenly falling from above, and dangling before my face the moment I close the door. Of course, it only lasts a second. I can see now that the skeleton is only a fake. That isn’t to say that it’s a prop. Rather, it’s an illusion.
Any professional illusionist would have no problem seeing through this. There are small distortions in the air around it, and the skeleton itself just reeks of magical trickery. Of course, this is probably on purpose. Whoever is challenging me, I can’t imagine they would do so with so little talent.
I look around, and cast a quick spell to check for any illusionary traps that may have been placed. I detect none… Still, a talented magician can protect against such scrying spells. I shouldn’t assume that it’s safe just yet.
I start to make my way up the spiralling staircase. I’ve got to say, the interior to this clock tower is rather different than what one might find in Equestria. It seems that, in the Crystal Empire, everything has to look fabulous. Even the places that ponies may never see in their whole lives.
But, I’m getting distracted. I came here to rescue Astral, and that’s exactly what I’m going to do! … Still no traps yet. I’ve been walking up this for a few minutes, you’d think I’d have encountered something by now. Ah, I should probably let Azure know that things are going smoothly.
“Still no sign of Astra or the foalnapper. I’m almost at the top.” Of course, he can’t reply to confirm he got the message, so I can only hope that he did.
In any case, I am now at the top of the clock tower. Just beyond this door should be Astral, hopefully. But, I can’t just go rushing in there, totally unprepared. And so, I pull out a small mirror from my cape, and press my back against the wall, right next to the door.
I can’t hear any sounds from the other side. I open it, slowly, and then use my mirror to try and get a good look at what’s inside. It’s too dark, though. I can’t see a single thing. Well, guess I’m gonna have to go with plan B.
I toss the mirror inside, and wai-
ZAAAAAAP!
SMASH!
… Well, that confirms that my enemy is in there. Now what do I do?
“Just come in already!” a voice calls from the other side. A somehow familiar voice. “I wanna face you one-on-one!” … It can’t be. Only one way to be sure, though.
I push the door open completely, and walk inside. The room suddenly lights up, and standing in front of me right now is…
“Finally!” the filly shouts as the glow surrounding her hooves dies down. “I thought you were gonna keep me waiting forever!”
“… Mist Veil?”
The filly grins, and strikes the same pose from before. “The one and only! Oh, and don’t worry about Astra. He’s over there.” I follow her hoof to where she is pointing, and find Astral tied to a post, with some tape around his mouth… and looking rather angry. “Now then, Great and Powerful Will-o-Wisp! Time for you to meet your match! HYA!”
She charges some magic into her hooves, and fire a green blob of energy towards me. It makes its way slowly toward my body. Very slowly. Very, very slowly. Oh, crap. I forgot to tell Appletini about all this… Ah, I’m sure it’ll be fine. I’m a big girl, she knows I can handle things on my own. I think. Has that thing still not reached me yet? Come on already! Okay, here it comes. Three… two… one…
I charge some magic into my hoof, and swat the small ball away with a single strike. It flies into the wall on the other side of the room, and… goes straight through it. Holy… It didn’t have that much power in it, so it was easy to bat away, but… it would certainly be a dangerous spell if it actually connected with its opponent. Thankfully, this filly seems to just be an amateur with lots of potential.
“Not bad! As expected of my number one rival!”
“… Your what now?” What is she on about?
“But, I was merely warming up! Behold, the Amazing Mist Veil’s next spectacular attack!” She throws some smoke bombs onto the floor, and I can sense her charging up some magical energy. Though, it dies down, and only the sounds of her choking can now be heard. Heh, newbies. One should be careful with how much smoke they use to mask their presence, otherwise, it’ll just bite you in the flank.
“Uh, I don’t quite understand what’s going on, but, Astra has a lot of training to do, so if it’s all the same to you, I’m gonna go ahead and take him back now.”
“Impressive!” Mist shouts as the smoke starts to dissipate. “You managed to take my own attack and use it against me! I never saw it coming.” … I did nothing of the sort. You just messed up. “Well then! It looks like I’ll have to get serious!” You mean you there’s more?
“I won’t let you, Mist!” a voice shouts from my side. Astral’s voice. But, wasn’t he tied up?
“Astra, wait!” Azure’s voice? What the? When did he get here? Oh, I see. He must have decided to come on up after hearing that the ‘enemy’ was actually this filly… But, how did he get here so quickly? There’s more to this pony than meets the eye, apparently.
More importantly, I can see Astral’s hooves glowing… Is he charging up his magic? Wait. He’s not challenging this filly to a duel, is he?! Two inexperienced mages, duelling in such a confined space as this?! Bad idea!
“So you broke free, huh?! Well, take this!”
“You’re magic is nothing, compared to mine!”
“STOP!” I shout, but it’s too late. I use my magic to teleport in-between the two foals, just as they both fire beams of magic at each other. With one hoof, I stop Astral’s attack, and with the other, I stop Mist’s. “I said stop, both of you!”
They both seem taken aback, and it seems I may be able to reason with them now.
“Wow! Awesome!” Astral shouts, jumping up and down excitedly. “Oh man, I can’t wait ‘til you show me how to do magic like that!”
Mist harrumphs, and turns her head away. “It’s impressive, sure. But it won’t be long ‘til I will be able to defeat her.”
Okay, so now that the situation seems to be resolved, all that’s left is to try and make some sense of the situation. And I think I’ll start with the pony who’s currently laughing his flank off at my current dilemma. “Azure, can I have a word with you, please?”
“That’s it, Astral! Keep at it!” I shout as Astral manages to summon four fireworks this time around. “Get to five, and I may consider giving you a break.”
“C-Can’t I at least have some ice-cream?!” I shoot him a hard glare, and he seems to get the message. As it turns out, he wasn’t foalnapped at all… He simply accepted Mist’s challenge to a magic duel, and lost. And then, Mist decided that, since she had bested the pupil, her next step would the teacher: me.
“Don’t you think you’re being a little too hard on him?” Azure asks me, though he seems to be enjoying himself regardless.
“When a student cuts class, is it not the teacher’s job to discipline them?”
“Even so, at this rate, he’s going to have a magical meltdown…”
“He’ll be fine. He’s a lot more resilient than that, trust me.” And now, to deal with the other nuisance child. I turn around, and face the tree behind me… The tree that’s way too small to be a tree, and was not there ten minutes ago. She’s held it for pretty long. I’m impressed. However… “Are you going to just sit there and watch, or would you like to join in, too?”
Azure must not be able to see through it like I can, because he’s looking at me as if I’m crazy. So, I use my magic to cancel out Mist Veil’s illusion, and reveal the filly sitting where the tree was moments ago. She panics for a second, but then regains her composure, and walks up to me, her head held high.
“Yes?” I ask.
She kicks the ground, and seems to be shifting her gaze everywhere except at me. “Um… I was wondering… when your next show is…”
… Huh? My next show? “… Well, I guess, I can perform one two days from now, at, say, noon?”
“Two days from now, at noon. Got it.” She nods, and then turns around. “That is all. The Amazing Mist Veil will concede her defeat for now, but enjoy your stay at the top whilst you still can! For one day, the Amazing Mist Veil will surely-”
“It’s getting pretty late,” Azure says. And he’s right, too… I guess I didn’t notice, since it doesn’t get dark until much later here in the Crystal Empire than it does in Equestria. I still haven’t got used to that, huh? “Shouldn’t you be getting home to your parents?”
Mist clears her throat, and then reaches into her cape. “Well then, I bid you, adieu!” She throws a smoke bomb on the floor. Only one… she’s learning. Through the clearing smoke, I can see Mist Veil’s retreating form through the park.
“So, that’s the other magical pony in this district, huh?”
Azure nods. “Yeah. She and Astra have never really gotten along that well. They’re always picking fights with each other, and trying to prove who is the better pony. And it certainly didn’t help when they both found that their special talents were so similar. They both specialise in magic.”
Mist’s Cutie Mark, from what little I saw of it, seems to be a silhouette of a pony, shrouded in mist. From this, I can deduce that he talent is similar to mine. Whilst mine is illusions and enchantments, geared towards the theatrical arts, Mist Veil’s seems to be purely focused on illusions. I daresay she may even surpass me, when she becomes a fully-grown mare. That is, given she receives the proper training.
Unfortunately, she doesn’t seem interested in becoming my pupil. If what Azure said about her and Astral is true, then I can understand it, but… It seems like such a waste, to see a talented pony like her not nurturing her talent correctly.
“So, should we call it a day for now?” Azure asks. I turn my attention back to Astral, who seems to be reaching his limit. Yeah, I suppose that I should stop now…
“Astral, that is enough!” Astral stops, and faces me with a thankful look on his face. “We’ll pick up where we left off tomorrow morning! Until then, go home and get lots of rest!”
He seems disappointed. Possibly because I told him we’d continue in the morning… Heh, just a few days ago, he was practically begging me to take him on as my apprentice. It seems that now, he’s starting to understand what a rigorous path this is after all.
“Azure, can you take him home for me? Since you live in the same direction and all.”
Azure nods. “Sure thing. It’s been great spending time with you like this. I hope I can get more time off when things quiet down a bit.”
“Yeah. It was fun… whilst you were actually awake.”
We both laugh together, before saying our goodbyes, and taking off in different directions.
It’s quite peaceful at this time of the day. The sky is a beautiful orange colour, and the birds up in the trees singing a peaceful melody are the only sounds that can be heard right now, besides my hooves clopping on the ground…
Wait, that’s not just my hooves. I guess somepony else is out, huh?
“Excuse me, ma’am?” Hm? Who could that be? Another fan?
I turn around to see who just called out to me… N-No. Why? Could they have… B-But how?!
“Ma’am,” the white Unicorn before me asks, his stern gaze sending shivers down my spine. “I’m sorry to disturb you like this, but I’d like to ask you a few questions.”
P-Prince… Shining Armour…
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Oh snap.
cdn.themonolith.com/wp-content/uploads/Queen-so-it-begins.jpg?d9c344
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the-crusius.deviantart.com/art/Sweetie-As-Planned-349177438?q=gallery%3Amlpofficellfanclub%2F38919948&qo=0
Shit just got real.
This only really works if there is no one else alive who knows the secret.
Oh dear, she is busted. I am curious what will happen next. Shining Armor is still an equestrian pony, so he might be very shocked at how racist Trixie has become towards her own species.
Huh. Seems like March is a good month for updates, isn't it? I didn't expect three of them in a weekspan!
Also, an error:
Mist’s Cutie Mark, from what little I saw of it, seems to be a silhouette of a pony, shrouded in mist. From this, I can deduce that he talent is similar to mine.
I guess... her? Anyway, good job.
Yay for so many updates! ^-^ I wonder what will happen here, is Shining looking for her, suspicious, or wants to see if she'll do a show at the palace?
Duhm-Duhm-Dhum dramatic re verb.
I wonder what's going to happen next?
It seems some one's new life is mirroring some ones else.
Good luck and I hope the best for the future.
Nope. I bet SA is as oblivious to Trixie´s identity as Cadence. Fortunately, in this fic the Crystal Kingdom is more isolated from Equestria than in canon (where normal ponies arrive simply by train).
I must say I'm loving the apprentice arc. Very much indeed!
And that "ohshit" moment at the end...darn Trixie, you need to get over your phobia of equestrian ponies.
Your cliffhangers are going to be the end of me.
Also,
"...understand why he's been so quite."
I think you meant for "quite" to be "quiet".
I love Mist. :D
Yes, Trixie. I really do. She's so... you. :D
And uh, oh. Busted...
Fuck fuck fuck!
So Mist is a little crystal pony Trixie. Cute. Now let's see what Shinning Armor wants with Will-O-Wisp.