Chapter 14
“Lucid, what are you doing here?” Clarity asked, raising an eyebrow. “I thought mom said you were away on business until after we went back to school.”
“I was,” Lucid replied, grinning. “Dad and I were both working on the same show, actually, but we had enough ponies available to handle the last performance. Since they can get by without me on this one, I figured I’d come home early and see if I could catch you before you returned to Canterlot.”
Clarity blinked. “Then what was with the flashy entrance?”
Lucid giggled. “That was just me seeing if I could impress your friends.”
The mare turned to Dinky and the other foals. “Speaking of which, I don’t believe we’ve met,” she continued, waving a hoof at them. “I’m Lucid, new vice president of Mirage Effects Corporation, a company that uses magic to create illusions and other special effects used to enhance live performances or celebrations and ceremonies. I’m also Clarity’s older sister, of course. And you are?”
“I’m Dinky Doo,” Dinky answered with a nod, “and the ponies behind me are Honeydew and Scuffle.”
“These three have been hanging out with me pretty much since the year began,” Clarity admitted. “Dinky and Honeydew are also my roommates, so we’ve gotten pretty close.”
“And we’ve heard about you, of course,” Honeydew added, venturing out from behind Dinky. “A lot of ponies at the academy know you pretty well.”
Lucid blushed faintly and chuckled, rubbing the back of her head with a forehoof. “Well, I was last year’s valedictorian, so I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that the teachers bring me up now and then…”
“There are plenty of students who remember you too,” Scuffle said. “I’m sure you remember my brothers, Scorch and Frosty, in the year below you.”
Lucid rolled her eyes. “Oh, you’re their brother?” she asked, pausing to examine Scuffle again as if she didn’t believe it. “They were always a bit, um…”
“Yeah, they’re jerks,” Scuffle finished for her, laughing.
“You’re better than them, though,” Dinky cut in, giving Scuffle a friendly nudge.
“Marginally,” Honeydew added under her breath, earning an indignant yet playful glare from Scuffle.
Clarity, however, didn’t look as amused as her friends. “Yeah, everyone remembers you alright,” she said to Lucid, working a hoof against the carpet in agitation. “Hardly a week goes by where a professor doesn’t mention you at least once…”
Lucid raised an eyebrow. “You sound a little less than enthused all of a sudden, Clarity,” the mare said, concerned. “Is something wrong at school?”
“What? No, everything’s fine,” Clarity said quickly. “There’s nothing wrong with ponies remembering a successful student.”
Lucid gave Clarity a level stare. “There’s more to it than that. I can hear it in your voice.”
“No, really,” Clarity argued, “there’s nothing—”
Dinky nudged Clarity. “Now come on,” the purple filly interjected, “you can at least tell Lucid about what keeps happening with the professors.”
“You are the one who always supports talking things out,” Honeydew added, and Scuffle nodded in assent.
“It’s not a big deal though,” Clarity argued, turning back to her friends. “It’s just a little, you know, disheartening sometimes.”
“Oh, so there is a problem,” Lucid said. “Well, I know just what to do about that.”
Lucid’s horn glowed brightly, and suddenly, a big orange futon was conjured out of thin air. Dinky, who had never seen anypony but Twilight conjure large objects, raised her eyebrows, surprised.
Lucid sat down on the newly formed furniture, and patted the spot next to her with a forehoof. “Come on, sit down and tell me what’s bothering you,” she coaxed.
Clarity glanced between her friends, then gave an exasperated sigh and hopped up next to Lucid, flicking an ear and fidgeting uncomfortably. “I guess… your legacy at school is, well, making things a little tough for me sometimes.”
“My legacy?” Lucid asked, placing a forehoof on her own chest. “What do I have to do with this?”
“Oh, you know,” Clarity said a little bitterly, “just the fact that all the professors adored you and I’m stuck trying to fill your horseshoes all the time.”
There was a second of silence. Clarity bit her lip and looked up into Lucid’s surprised eyes. “Sorry,” she mumbled, looking away. “That was uncalled for. It’s not your fault; you’re just… so darn perfect that I can’t live up to you…”
“Now hold on a second here,” Lucid said sternly, gently gripping Clarity’s head and turning it back toward hers. “Are you seriously calling me ‘perfect’ just because I can do a hoofful of advanced spells?”
“W-well,” Clarity stuttered, “your grades were some of the highest the academy’s seen in the last decade, weren’t they? You even discovered a spell or two last year! Now all the professors think I’m gonna be able to do that…”
“And who says you can’t?” Lucid asked heatedly. “Of course I know more magic than you. I’ve had five years of schooling, and you’ve had less than one. By the time you’re my age, you could be just as accomplished as I am.”
“But what if I’m not?” Clarity asked. “This isn’t even about jealousy or anything. You’re super smart, and I’m really happy for you, but if everypony thinks I’m just as amazing, and it turns out I’m not, won’t I just look like a disappointment?”
Lucid frowned. “Only if you put all your self-worth in grades,” she answered. “So what if you get a B on an exam every now and then? It’s not the end of the world. You’ve got plenty of great qualities besides your smarts.”
Clarity thought about it for a moment. “But, if I’m not as smart as you, I’ll never be quite as good at magic, right?” she asked. “Dinky, what’s that line from your beginner’s magic guide that you like so much?”
“Magic is limited only by the strength of the mind and the passion of the heart,” Dinky recited.
“Exactly!” Clarity cried. “If my mind isn’t as strong as it could be, my magic is going to suffer.”
Lucid snorted. “If that phrase is true, Clarity, then you’re destined to be a much greater magician than I am, someday.”
Clarity blinked. “Wait, why?”
“Because I know you,” said Lucid plainly. “Even if you’re not a straight-A student, you’re plenty intelligent, but I think the more important part here is the other half of the phrase. The greatest unicorns of all time were not the smartest ones. They were the ones who set out with great enthusiasm to discover, and invent, and use magic however they could to make Equestria a better place. The passionate ones.”
Lucid paused and gestured to Dinky and the other foals. “Look here. You’ve already made three friends who seem to really care about you. Do you know how many friends I made in my first year at the academy? None. Because I was too busy being a boring little filly that did nothing but study all day. You, on the other hoof, are adventurous, outgoing… just a pleasure to be around, really. You’ve got this sort of fire in you when it comes to magic, and it burns brighter in you than in almost anypony I know. So don’t envy my smarts. I’m the one who should envy your spirit. You’re one of the most passionate fillies I’ve ever met.”
Clarity’s eyes were wide. Her ears were flat against her head, and her mouth hung open a bit, in an expression that could only be described as wonder. “Do… do you mean all of that?” she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.
Lucid nodded and smiled at her sister.
“She’s right,” Scuffle said suddenly, stepping forward. “You’re practically like the leader of our little group. We’ve all had our share of hard times, and somehow you’re always the one who knows how best to help each of us get through them.”
“If you hadn’t kept trying, I might still be how I was the day we met, trying to avoid everypony I meet,” Honeydew added.
“That’s kind of what I was hoping you’d realize if you talked to Lucid,” Dinky admitted. “You shouldn’t undervalue yourself, Clarity. You’re every bit as amazing as your sister, in your own ways.”
Clarity was not an easy pony to shake up, but for once, tears formed in her bright eyes. She squeezed them shut and snuggled into Lucid’s coat. The mare wrapped a foreleg around her little sister tenderly and nuzzled her mane.
“T-Thanks, sis,” Clarity managed. “Thank you all, actually. I won’t… I won’t let the professors get under my skin with that anymore.”
“Good,” Lucid said softly. “I’m glad I could help. And now I think it’s time for you four to hit the hay. You’ve all got a train to catch tomorrow, if I recall correctly.”
Clarity sniffled and hopped off Lucid’s futon. “Yeah, you’re right,” she said, wiping her eyes with a foreleg. “It’s a shame we didn’t get to see more of you over the break, though.”
“Oh, don’t worry,” Lucid said, swishing her tail playfully as she stood up and made the conjured futon vanish. “The term will be over before you know it. Study hard, but don’t forget to keep that passion alive while you’re at it!”
Grinning, Clarity rose to her hind hooves and hugged her sister. Lucid waved goodbye, lit her horn, and was gone in another flash of red.
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Dinky hadn’t thought it possible, but Clarity managed to be even more peppy than usual the following morning. Caught up in her good mood, the others found themselves extra excited as well, transforming their morning into a whirlwind of activity that left them all packed and waiting on the train platform with time to spare.
For whatever reason, the return trip to Celestia’s Academy seemed to take much less time. Dinky and her friends were even able to get a good night’s sleep during the overnight portion of the trip. The next morning, the foals watched as the mountain containing the Academy’s subterranean station came into view.
“Hey, it was great spending the week with you three,” Scuffle said as the time came for the ponies to head to their respective residence towers. “I’ll see you girls in class this week, okay?”
Dinky nodded. “Yep. See you tomorrow.”
The girls entered the tower and were immediately greeted by Sparkler’s usual glower. The overseer said nothing, but watched them pass by with a suspicious expression.
It was Sunday, so there were no classes. The fillies spent the afternoon playing on the grounds instead.
Upon arriving back at the dorm after dinner, Dinky noticed a sheet of smooth, professional looking paper tied up with a blue ribbon resting on her pillow.
“What’s this?” she asked aloud, turning to glance at her roommates as if expecting them to know. “Somepony must have dropped it off while we were at dinner.”
With a quick flourish of magic, she undid the little bow and quickly read the note.
“Honeydew, Clarity,” she called, “you might want to see this…”
To the esteemed Miss Doo,
I would like to commend you for bringing this new information about the pony you call Sunbeam to me. I have shared it with my sister, and we have expanded the duties and patrol routes of the guards on the Academy grounds. As of the date of this message’s writing, shortly before your return to the academy, no further evidence has been found, but the searches will continue regularly. I recommend you stay safe and report any further suspicious incidents.
~Princess Luna
“Well, that’s a relief,” Honeydew said. “The princesses are still on your side, Dinky. Hopefully somepony catches Sunbeam soon, so we can end this dark magic business for good.”
Dinky looked out the window at the stars. “Yeah, Scorpio’s constellation is drawing closer. Everypony needs to be on high alert, just in case.”
Clarity shrugged. “Even if he’s out there now, he can’t get in here. Let’s not worry about it and get some sleep. Classes start again tomorrow.”
Dinky nodded. “Good plan. Night, girls.”
“Night!” Clarity and Honeydew called.
Dinky took one more glance at the stars, not aware that far below, a familiar, sinister pony was watching them from his hiding place in the trees.
“Midsummer has passed, yes it has…” Sunbeam hissed in satisfaction. “The night sky is shifting. The first star of her constellation has moved into view just above the horizon, yes it has, and with it, things will begin to become more difficult for little Dinky Doo…”
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Something is wrong.
Dinky opened her eyes just a crack. Met with darkness, she cautiously opened them wider, but was unable to make out anything around her.
It must still be the middle of the night, she realized. But something feels… off.
Dinky shifted her weight, and suddenly realized the surface beneath her was not her bed, but a cold floor that felt like stone.
Wait, that’s not right. Where am I?
Dinky stood up, but hesitated to take a step; everything around her was still pitch black. “Clarity? Honeydew?” she called. Her voice echoed into the distance, much farther than it should have if she had still been in the residence tower.
The filly waited for a moment, but received no response. After a moment of silence, she lit her horn, and gasped at the scene that lit up around her.
It might have been possible to describe the room as a cave. It was, at the very least, a rough stone chamber carved out of the rock. However, the walls and floor seemed to be moving and shifting constantly, as if the stone were made of nothing more than mist. Dinky took a careful step, and a wave of fog radiated through the bizarre floor like a ripple in a shallow pool. However, ethereal as it looked, the floor beneath Dinky’s hoof felt quite solid.
Every surface in the room seemed to be reflecting the light from Dinky’s horn, which was equally bizarre. Tinted blue, the irregular surfaces filled the room with a cyan glow. The filly looked left and right, trying to make sense of the strange place.
“Hello! Anypony?” she yelled, starting to become frantic. “What is this place? Somepony must be here!”
The sound of hooves echoed behind Dinky, and she whirled around. A faint silhouette stood just beyond the reach of her light.
“Oh, thank goodness!” she cried, galloping toward the other figure. “I thought I was the only pony—”
Her light illuminated the other figure, and she stopped abruptly, her hooves sliding on the strange floor and kicking up a cloud of mist.
“You!”
Sunbeam stood a dozen pony lengths from the filly, staring, unmoving, at Dinky. Strangely, the colt’s body seemed to be shifting and changing constantly while still retaining its form, just like the walls of the chamber. The frightening colt hesitated a moment more, as if sizing Dinky up, and then broke into a wide grin.
“It’s so kind of you to join me, Dinky Doo, yes it is,” Sunbeam said, his voice just above a whisper. “I knew I would meet you here sooner or later, yes I did. You’ve come to help me, just as I said, haven’t you?”
Dinky shook her head forcefully. “No! I’ll never help you with… whatever you’re doing! You don’t have any power over me. I stopped using dark magic before it could begin to control me.”
Sunbeam raised an eyebrow. “Oh did you? I’m not so sure you know yourself as well as you think, no I am not. The darkness that grew within you is not so easily smothered.”
“You brought me here, didn’t you!?” Dinky accused. “Send me back to the Academy right now or… or…”
Sunbeam yawned. “So sorry, yes I am, but there’s nothing you can do, really. You can’t even keep control over your own will, much less over me.”
Dinky stomped a forehoof so hard that the resulting ripple of mist almost reached the edges of the chamber. “I am in control, you idiot!”
Sunbeam chuckled. “I’m afraid not, yes I am. Look at your horn.”
Dinky rolled her eyes up to glance at her horn, and gave a sharp gasp to see it surrounded by an angry black aura. She backed up, as if hoping to escape her own magic.
“You can’t stop it,” Sunbeam said. “My plans are not going to fail, no they are not. Stop fighting its power and submit, and you will help me finally open—”
There was a brilliant flash of light and a bang like a cannon blast. Dazed and briefly blinded, Dinky collapsed, blinking to try to clear her vision.
Sunbeam cried out. Another set of hooves, sounding like they belonged to a bigger pony, echoed around the chamber.
“Get away! She must not slip away, no she must not!” Sunbeam growled.
“Wake up, girl!” an unfamiliar male voice said.
“I am awake!” Dinky said, trying to get to her hooves despite her vision having gone almost totally white. “I didn’t get knocked out, I just can’t see.”
“No, I mean, this whole place is a dream!” the stallion’s voice said. “But that dark magic is not! Now wake up, so it can’t get into your head any worse!
“Wait, what?” Dinky asked, bewildered and still struggling to shut off her own horn. “But… wait, who are you?”
“There’s no time,” the newcomer grunted as another loud bang went off. “Just wake up! Wake up!”
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“Wake up!”
Clarity’s forehooves slammed down on Dinky’s stomach with all the force she could muster. Dinky was quite painfully jarred from her sleep, and she doubled over in her bed, coughing and clutching her gut.
“Dear Celestia, what was that for!?” she gasped between desperate breaths.
“Your horn!” Clarity cried. “Dinky, turn off your magic, now!”
Dinky forced one of her watering eyes open. To her horror, her horn was engulfed in black energy, just as it had been in the dream. This time, however, she was able to extinguish the dark aura as soon as she willed it. Still taking shallow breaths to try to recover the wind Clarity had knocked out of her, she slowly sat up. Clarity stood over her, concerned, and Honeydew stood back a few paces, trembling.
“I’m so sorry,” Clarity apologized. “You wouldn’t wake up, and you were mumbling and tossing, and your magic activated, and it turned all dark, and—”
“It’s fine,” Dinky said, still panting. “I would have done the same thing.”
“W-what happened?” Honeydew squeaked. “You didn’t do that purposely, did you?”
Dinky shook her head. “Of course not! I haven’t used any of those spells since I almost burned the tower down.”
“So… why did it happen now?” Clarity asked hesitantly, flattening her ears.
“I don’t know,” Dinky said, her voice quavering. “I had a really vivid dream. Sunbeam was there, trying to… to bring out the darkness that he says is still inside me. I couldn’t control my magic in the dream, and I guess when I generated the magic there… I must have generated it in real life too.”
“You couldn’t control it?” Honeydew repeated, frightened. “B-but what does that mean is going to happen to you? If you really are still slightly corrupted by dark magic, using more will only make it worse!”
“I know,” Dinky said, doing her best to remain calm. “I… I think I was helped by somepony, though. Somepony in the dream who kept me safe from Sunbeam’s control.”
“Princess Luna?” Clarity asked. “She patrols dreams. Maybe she fought off Sunbeam.”
“No, this was a stallion,” Dinky countered. “I never got a look at him, but he seemed to be on my side.”
“Then he must have been part of the dream,” Clarity concluded. “Nopony but Princess Luna can visit ponies’ dreams, right?”
“Unless that was the real Sunbeam, somehow using my dreams to get to me,” Dinky pointed out. “If he can get in, who knows, maybe other ponies can too.”
Honeydew shivered. “I don’t like this,” she moaned, slumping into a sit. “What if he really does find a way to get Dinky to use dark magic against her will?”
“Let’s not panic yet,” Clarity said quickly. “What we need is more information. Our textbooks don’t have any, but there must be a book somewhere in Equestria that actually has useful information about dark magic. We can’t fight it until we know what we’re up against.”
“If there is a book, it’s probably well guarded,” Dinky said. “It wouldn’t be something fillies like us would be able to just pick out of the library.”
Clarity nodded. “I guess you have a point. The only place that would have books like that would be the Canterlot Archives.”
Dinky’s ears perked up. “The Canterlot Archives?” she parroted. “Miss Twilight has a license to use the materials there for research. Maybe she could get us in!”
Clarity grinned. “Dinky, you’re a genius! We’ll contact her tomorrow and see if she can take us there this weekend.”
“What should we do in the meantime?” Honeydew asked worriedly.
“Well, now I know to be wary,” Dinky said resolutely. “Hopefully that won’t happen again, but if it does, I think I’ll be able to force myself to wake up before anything bad happens.”
She rubbed her sore stomach. “Wake me up again if you have to, but… maybe you can find a less painful way to do it next time.”
Clarity grinned sheepishly. “Heh, yeah…”
Unsure of what to expect, the fillies cautiously returned to their beds. Dinky eventually fell asleep again, and dreamed no more that night.
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Fortunately, there were no more incidents that week. In order to avoid another investigation (and another push from the dean to get her expelled), Dinky decided to keep her brief lapse into dark magic to herself in the hopes that it had been an isolated event. She did promise herself, and her friends, that she would report the event to Twilight or to the princesses if it ever happened again.
Dinky did, however, tell Twilight about the latest run-in with Sunbeam, and was easily able to use that as an excuse to ask for Twilight’s aid in getting into the Canterlot Archives so she could learn more about dark magic. That Saturday, she and Clarity hopped onto the train for the short ride into Canterlot, where Twilight had said she would be waiting for them.
“So, what exactly are the Canterlot Archives for?” Dinky asked as the train chugged along the mountain path toward the capital city. “I get the feeling this place is not a normal library.”
Clarity shook her head. “No, the archives are the place where ‘intelligence’ is stored. A lot of it is just boring records and stuff, but it’s all guarded to some degree, since a lot of it is sensitive information.”
“But ponies’ files can’t be the only thing stored there, right?” Dinky asked. “I mean, we wouldn’t be going if they were.”
“Oh, of course not,” Clarity said. “It’s a place with a lot of information that is considered important to the continued safety and smooth operation of Equestria. A lot of it is totally harmless, but some of it is dangerous.”
“How do you know all that?” Dinky asked, raising an eyebrow.
Clarity smirked. “How do you think? Lucid has a special permit to access certain parts of the archives. Certain ponies can aquire a license to some of it, but it requires lots of paperwork, and even then they have to confirm that the pony plans to use the information for valid research purposes, and that the archives are the only way to get the research information they need.”
Dinky nodded. “Well, Twilight just uses it for her advanced magic studies,” she admitted. “But I guess that’s kind of what we’re doing, so she should be able to help. I know I’ve heard her mention having access to a certain archive named after Starswirl…”
Clarity’s jaw dropped. “Twilight has access to the Starswirl the Bearded Wing?” she asked incredulously. “Do you even know how important you have to be to get in there? Even Lucid can only dream of being allowed into that place. I don’t think most of the professors at school even have access.”
“Well, Twilight does, so as long as we stay with her, we will too,” Dinky said proudly.
Clarity rubbed her forehooves together gleefully. “Oh man, Lucid’s gonna be so jealous.”
The train soon arrived in Canterlot, and the fillies stepped off. Clarity spotted Twilight standing just beyond the platform, and she and Dinky quickly trotted over to her.
“Hello, girls,” Twilight greeted. “It’s great to see you two again. I wish it were because of happier circumstances than these unfortunate dark magic concerns, though.”
Dinky nodded. “Well, if there’s one thing you taught me, Miss Twilight, it’s that knowing about something is the best way to be prepared to handle it.”
“Right,” Twilight said, grinning. “I’ve never actually researched dark magic myself, but there are a small number of books in the archives that talk about its history and how it works. Usually I wouldn’t advocate looking into this stuff, but considering what’s been going on with that strange colt, I think a little more background will probably do us all some good. Maybe we can figure out just what’s going on at that school.”
“Dinky says you can get us into the Starswirl the Bearded wing,” Clarity said excitedly. “Is that really true?”
“It is, but we’re not going to the archives to browse,” Twilight said levelly. “We’re looking for information that may be relevant to dark magic, and that’s all.”
Clarity saluted. “Understood. Let’s go.”
The Canterlot Archives were not far from the royal castle. The building looked so similar, with its white, curving walls, and purple and yellow spires, that Dinky mistook it for part of the castle itself for a moment. Two tough looking guards, armed with spears, guarded the main gate, but intimidating though they were, they smiled when Twilight approached.
“Afternoon, Twilight!” one of the guards said cheerfully. “Got some research to take care of?”
“Yes, and it’s a matter of great importance,” Twilight replied. “I’ve brought these two fillies along. Neither of them has a license of their own, but I’ll be keeping them with me at all times while we’re inside.”
The other guard laughed. “We know you know the rules, Twilight,” he said, pulling the lever to open the front gate. “Hope you three find what you’re looking for!”
Twilight thanked the guard and stepped into the building, motioning for Dinky and Clarity to follow.
Even though it was close to midday, the interior of the building was quite dim. Windows were few and far between, with most of the light in the hallways provided by torches. The stone ceilings were arched and supported by columns, and shields and tapestries lined the hallway walls.
Dinky looked left and right. In both directions, sets of heavy wooden doors occurred at regular intervals, each with a nameplate above it, and many with guards positioned in front.
“This is so exciting!” Clarity said, struggling to keep her voice down. “Which one is the Starswirl Wing?”
“Ours is upstairs,” Twilight answered, turning right and trotting down the hallway. “You’ll probably know it when you see it.”
Silently, Dinky and Clarity followed Twilight to the end of the hall and up a tight stone stairwell. Dinky glanced at the second floor hallway as they passed by, which looked nearly identical to the first. Upon arriving at their destination, the third floor, it quickly became apparent that every part of the archives looked the same.
However, Dinky soon noticed one archive in the middle of the hallway that was different. Instead of wooden doors, the room was blockaded with heavy iron bars and a large, intimidating lock. A huge disc, carved out of some aqua colored gem and engraved with stars and a spiral pattern, hung above the entrance, and a guard stood diligently just outside.
“Good afternoon,” Twilight called as the ponies approached the stallion sentry. “My guests and I would like to enter the Starswirl the Bearded wing, please.”
The stallion nodded. “License, please,” he said gruffly. “I know it’s you, Twilight, but we can’t be too careful, especially with guests involved. You know how it goes.”
Twilight withdrew a small card stamped with the royal seal from her saddlebag. The guard took a glance, nodded curtly, and used his magic to unlock the door. As soon as the three ponies had entered, it clanged shut behind them again.
Dinky took a few cautious steps forward and took in her surroundings, amazed. “This definitely isn’t any old library,” she mumbled, getting only an awed nod from Clarity in reply.
The Starswirl the Bearded wing was a roughly circular room, with bookshelves forming a network of hallways all around the perimeter. The shelves were not organized in the way a typical library was; Dinky was surprised to see books shoved in at odd angles or stacked horizontally on top of the vertical rows. Scrolls were piled on tables and scattered in the empty spaces on the shelves. In the center of the room, a domed skylight illuminated an enormous hourglass, slowly depositing its sand from its upper chamber into the lower one.
“Well, here we are,” Twilight said slowly. “This place isn’t like the ‘magic’ section at most Equestrian libraries. There are spells and histories in here that have been otherwise totally forgotten to ponykind. And it’s in everypony’s best interests if we keep it that way. We’ll split up to try to find the book, and so I’m going to trust you two with something important: if you see a book or a scroll with a title that has nothing to do with dark magic, leave it be, okay?”
“Okay,” said Dinky and Clarity in unison.
Twilight smiled. “Good. Now, let’s see what we can find.”
Twilight set off down one of the aisles, and Dinky and Clarity trotted into the next one over. The whole chamber was fairly dim, but Dinky was still able to make out some titles on the books.
“Golem Technical Guide, Volume Three: Employing a Hive-mind System in Your Stone Army,” she read aloud, surprised at the dangerous-sounding title. “That doesn’t sound like a book we need…”
“That one’s not even that bad,” Clarity laughed, glancing through a hoofful of scrolls she’d pulled off the nearest shelf. “Here’s A Treatise on Manticore Poisons. Oh, and Abyssal Summoning and Binding Spells; Abridged Edition. And let’s not forget Elemental Emotions Part Four: Uses and Dangers of Projecting Soulfire.”
Dinky blinked. “I don’t even want to know what most of these are about,” she said, shuddering and tossing aside a worn copy of A Dissertation on the Potential for Magical Backfire Caused by Solar Radiation. "Let’s try another aisle."
The fillies rounded the corner and carefully examined another shelf of books. Dinky was just about to move on when one title caught her eye. She lifted it up with magic and examined it carefully.
Dark Arcana: Physical and Mental Effects of Dark Magical Corruption.
“That looks perfect!” Clarity exclaimed, giving a triumphant little hop. “Let’s call Twilight so we can—”
“Hush! Not just yet,” Dinky said quietly, putting a forehoof to Clarity’s lips. “Let’s take a look ourselves first. Twilight doesn’t know about what happened last week yet, remember?”
“Oh yeah,” Clarity said, nodding. “Although, if this book says something about it that proves dangerous, we probably should bring it up to her.”
“Of course,” Dinky said quickly. “Come on, let’s just check first.”
She set the book on a small, wobbly desk at the end of the aisle and flipped it open and turned to a random page.
“Chapter six: Regarding Corruption Irreversibility Thresholds,” she quietly read aloud. “With continued use of dark magic, a pony will eventually pass a tipping point where the mind becomes so prone to acceptance of dark magic that further corruption is self-perpetuating. At this point, barring an immediate intervention involving the forced ceasing of the unicorn’s ability to use magic via magically disabling, or in some severe cases, severing the horn, the dark magic user will descend into total mental corruption. The conscience is eradicated and replaced with only desires for personal power and the suffering of others.”
Clarity cleared her throat. “The pony… has to be displaying noticeable signs of personality change before that happens, right?” she asked nervously.
“I think so,” Dinky answered. “But Twilight said I used little enough dark magic that I probably wouldn’t need to worry. I’m sure Sunbeam has passed this threshold, though.”
Clarity nodded. “Keep reading.”
Dinky turned back to the book. “Dark magic also has a physical corrupting aspect; the corrupted individual ceases to be a regular pony as the magic infiltrates their body. Much like the mind, this process has a tipping point; both the mind and the body reach a point of no return at the same time. A unicorn who has become irreversibly corrupted with dark magic undergoes horrific mental and physical changes. No longer correctly called a pony, these creatures are known as wraiths.”
“But Sunbeam looks like any other pony, doesn’t he?” Clarity asked. “Does that mean he’s not beyond the point of no return?”
Dinky shrugged and continued, “A wraith is a strange and dangerous creature, with a body warped by magical corruption. Wraiths resemble unicorns, but their coat and mane colors are typically grey to black, and the whites of their eyes are often colored. Dark magic has a profound effect on the horn, usually curving or twisting it in unusual ways.
"The most significant power of a wraith besides their magic is the ability to ‘destabilize’. Their body structure has been so weakened by dark magic that they are capable of shedding a form entirely and becoming an amorphous cloud of darkness. They are capable of recreating their solid form again at will. Many wraiths can take advantage of this undefined form to re-assume the appearance of the pony they once were, making them especially dangerous as deceivers.”
Dinky stopped reading for a moment. “This sounds awfully familiar,” she murmured. “Let me check something.”
Dinky briefly checked the contents of the book, and then turned to a different chapter. After scanning the page for a moment, she found what she was looking for and began to quietly read again.
“King Sombra was one of the more notable wraiths to influence Equestrian history. His rise to power, sixty years before the banishment of Luna, was dramatic. Using dark magic, he was able to enslave the Crystal Empire in northern Equestria, of which he held control for a number of years until he was finally sealed within the earth by Princess Celestia and Princess Luna.”
“That name is familiar,” Clarity agreed. “King Sombra only very recently returned to the surface. We learned about the Crystal Heart in Magical Artifacts class, remember? That was how they stopped him.”
Dinky nodded. “So, a single pony can become that powerful just via dark magic, huh?” she asked. “If Sunbeam really is a wraith like King Sombra, somepony needs to do something about him, and soon.”
“Girls!” called Twilight from somewhere else in the archive. “Any luck yet?”
“Not yet, Miss Twilight,” Dinky lied back.
“Well, keep looking,” Twilight called. “I know there are a few books on the topic here somewhere.”
Dinky and Clarity exchanged a glance. “Just a quick peek to see if we can find anything about dealing with slight corruption, and then we go straight to Twilight,” Clarity whispered. “Agreed?”
“Agreed.”
Dinky turned to the relevant page and began to read.
“Chapter four: Effects of reversible degrees of dark magic corruption, and strategies for doing so. After a pony has had fairly significant exposure to dark magic, the body will cease to resist casting the spells. It is at this juncture that a pony can first be considered corrupted. This state is reversible, and corruption will fade if use of spells is ceased. However, completely swearing off dark magic after corruption often proves difficult depending on the pony, the degree of corruption, and other factors.
"Even if the pony is able to resist continued practice of dark spells under ‘normal’ circumstances, other stimuli may make the seemingly latent magic resurface. The most notable is direct, localized exposure to another’s dark spells, or objects imbued with dark energy. Time of year also plays a role, as Scorpio’s constellation not only increases the potency of dark magic, but—”
Dinky stopped, and swallowed hard. “—but also aggravates it within ponies in whom it may have otherwise been dormant. This effect is most intense at Scorpio’s apex on the seventh of November, but has some degree of effect as long as some part of Scorpio is in the sky, up to three months before and after that date.”
“August seventh arrived while we were on Midsummer Holiday,” Clarity realized. “Does this mean that burst of magic that affected your dreams was an effect of Scorpio?”
“Probably,” Dinky said nervously. “Let’s see what else it says.”
She turned the page and picked up again. “Presence of Scorpio in the sky is not an impossible factor for corrupted ponies to overcome. Especially if the degree of corruption is low, most ponies may not experience any effects at all. If they do, continued vigilance of oneself is usually sufficient to prevent unwanted episodes of dark magic. Dark magic may attempt to surface in highly stressful situations, as well as occasionally in dreams, and in these cases it is useful to have a non-corrupt pony nearby to help the corrupted get a hold of his or herself before dark magic is used in enough excess to further corruption. After a year or two of successful avoidance of excessive dark magic use during Scorpio’s presence in the sky, the corruption will fade to a point that the constellation’s presence will no longer be a concern.”
Dinky reached the end of the section, and closed the book with a sigh. “So that’s what it is. Sunbeam must be betting on Scorpio to finish the job for him.”
“That seems like a pretty risky move on his part,” Clarity said, raising an eyebrow. “He seems convinced that he messed you up enough with dark magic that he’s gonna win in the end, but it doesn’t sound like Scorpio is too big a deal if you’re careful.”
Dinky nodded solemnly. “Either way, we should show the passage about wraiths to Twilight,” she suggested. “That information could be useful in catching him, at least.”
Determined to overcome the influence of the dark constellation, Dinky grabbed the book and trotted off in search of Twilight.
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“So, had any more dark dreams lately?” Clarity asked under her breath.
Dinky shook her head. “Not yet,” she said proudly. “I had one where I found myself in that same weird place, but I woke myself up before anything bad could happen.”
Clarity smiled and offered Dinky a hoof-bump. “Great! Sounds like you got things under control, at least for now.”
About a week had passed since the fillies’ trip to the Canterlot Archives, and Dinky had taken the advice of the Dark Arcana book to heart. Spending a few minutes actively closing her mind to the dark magic lurking within her had helped her through several nights without further intrusions into her dreams.
Of course, Dinky and Clarity had also shown Twilight the passage the book held about wraiths, and though Twilight doubted a creature as powerful as a wraith was hiding on the academy grounds, she did send word of the theory to the princesses, just in case. Dinky had heard no further word on the topic.
Now it was Friday again, and the two fillies were waiting for Professor Flux to arrive and begin their Transformation and Conjuring class. The students hushed as the stern stallion marched in, carrying an unfamiliar book in his aura. He dropped it rather forcefully on his desk to get the attention of a few students who hadn’t noticed his entrance.
“Good news,” Professor Flux said gruffly. “We’re starting from scratch today. As I’m sure many of you have noticed, this class is called ‘Transformation and Conjuring’, and though we’re nearly three-fourths of the way through the term, we’ve explored only the first of those two topics. Time to start on the second.”
He trotted around to the front of his desk. “Define ‘conjuring’,” he commanded.
Not surprisingly, Clarity raised a hoof. “Conjuring is using magic to bring an object into existence from nothing,” she recited.
Professor Flux frowned. “Not quite from nothing. Be more specific,” he replied.
Clarity bit her lip. “Umm… I guess technically you can’t just create new matter, so it’s more like… assembling whole objects from… surrounding particles? So that it seems like it came from nothing?”
“Much better,” the professor said, nodding. “Merely by its definition, I’m sure it’s obvious that conjuring spells are some of the hardest spells for unicorns to perform. The amount of magic and degree of focus required to make an object materialize from microscopic component particles. It works, in a way, like transformation spells, but is vastly more complicated. Since this is a first-term class, there will be very little conjuring skill expected of you, but we’re at least going to learn the basics. Before we begin, I have to ask, does anyone know the single class of objects that cannot be conjured?”
Nopony, not even Clarity, had an answer this time, so after a few moments of silence the professor answered himself.
“It is not possible to conjure a living being,” he explained. “Unlike objects, living beings are dynamic, and can’t just be assembled from respective chemicals.”
Dinky raised a hoof. “But professor, I’ve seen my tutor use magic to make small creatures like parasprites appear,” she mentioned. “How is that possible if creatures can’t be conjured?”
Professor Flux gave a rare smile. “Good observation,” he said with another approving nod. “Some ponies can appear to be conjuring living things. In reality they are summoning, which is an entirely different type of magic closely related to teleportation in which a creature or object is brought to the magic user from another location. Professor Morningstar might teach you about summoning in a year or two.”
He stopped speaking for a moment, and scowled. “Speaking of summoning, it occurs to me that the princess lifted Nester’s probation yesterday. I suppose I ought to bring him here so he can get back to his job.”
The professor’s horn glowed, and a bright light flashed in the center of the room, quickly vanishing and leaving in its place a dripping, sudsy changeling. Nester quickly whirled around, startled and confused, while Professor Flux put a hoof to his forehead and grumbled.
“What’s the big idea, Fluxy?” Nester asked, arching his back and shaking off most of the suds, which drifted onto the desks of several of the nearby students. “Can’t a changeling even take a shower in peace these days?”
Professor Flux just grimaced. “Nester, your probation is over,” he growled. “You need to be available during work hours again, remember?”
“Oh, fine,” Nester sighed, quickly transforming rapidly between a pony and a changeling, taking advantage of the brief blasts of warmth the transformation produced to effectively dry his carapace. “I was about done anyway.”
He turned to the class and gave a fanged smile. “Hey, colts and fillies, good news! No more listening to boring old Professor Flux all day. Your favorite teaching assistant is back to stay!”
The changeling buzzed his wings happily and the students cheered for him. Dinky took the opportunity to whisper to Clarity again.
“I’m gonna talk to Nester after class. I owe him a bit of an apology anyway.”
Clarity nodded. “Works for me. There’s something I wanna ask him about, too.”
Dinky raised an eyebrow. “What’s that?” she asked.
Clarity winked. “You’ll see…”
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Conjuring proved every bit as difficult as Professor Flux had implied. Clarity had not managed a successful spell by the end of the class, but Dinky, to her own surprise as well as Clarity’s, had been able to follow the professor’s demonstration well enough to conjure up a small scrap of paper. In and of itself, it was an utterly uninteresting object, but Professor Flux seemed quite impressed all the same.
Dinky and Clarity waited until the other students had left before approaching Nester. The changeling took one look at Dinky and promptly backed up so far that he wound up standing sideways on the wall.
“Um… hello,” he said apprehensively.
“Hi Nester,” Dinky greeted. “Can we talk?”
Nester shook his head frantically. “I didn’t do anything, I swear!” he said in a panic. “I just got off probation! Whatever your problem is, it couldn’t have been me.”
Dinky was shocked by the changeling’s response. Here was a creature she’d been terrified of when they first met, now cowering in the corner where the wall met the ceiling like an oversized bug fearing being squashed.
“No no, it’s nothing like that,” she said soothingly. “We just want to talk to you. I’m not trying to get you in trouble, I promise.”
Nester vibrated his wings, producing a long chirp. “Er, well… there’s another class using this room in a minute. Meet me at my pod if you really have something to say,” he said finally. “It’s in the cellar beneath this tower. Bit dark, too. Might wanna light those horns.”
The changeling nodded curtly and scrambled away before the girls could reply.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“Are we even allowed down here?” Dinky whispered.
“The door wasn’t locked or guarded or anything,” Clarity said, kicking aside a cobweb draped over the step. “Then again, it’s not exactly a place that seems too hospitable.”
Dinky frowned. “You don’t think Nester has some malicious reason to ask us to come down here, do you?”
Clarity shook her head. “Nah, Nester seemed a little upset upstairs, but I’ve never gotten a mean vibe off of him, even though he’s a changeling,” she stated. “Besides, Nester wouldn’t try anything funny right after getting off probation.”
Dinky didn’t reply. Clarity waved a hoof in front of her face.
“Clarity… look,” Dinky mumbled, pointing.
Clarity turned, and both fillies stared at the unearthly object taking up most of the cellar. Easily four pony-lengths tall, the egg-shaped blob was primarily black and crusty on the outside, but slightly luminescent green fluid oozed from hundreds of tiny cracks in the exterior. Stretchy cables of the same green gunk tethered the pod to the ceiling, so that the bottom of it dangled a short distance above the floor.
“Well, we found Nester’s pod,” Clarity said finally.
At the mention of his name, Nester himself crawled around the exterior of the hanging structure from behind. He paused a moment to cover one of the larger cracks with a sticky secretion, and then turned and gave the fillies a somewhat nervous grin.
“So, you came to visit after all, huh?” he asked in his usual insectoid rasp. “Come around the other side of the pod and we can chat.”
He disappeared again. Dinky and Clarity exchanged a glance and trotted around to the back of Nester’s strange home.
The back of the pod looked much the same as the front, except for a large gash near the base. Nester beckoned the girls from within its depths.
“Well… come on in,” he said slowly. “It’s not as gross in here as the pod looks on the outside, I promise.”
Dinky hesitated a moment, then cautiously lifted a hoof and stepped into the crevice. The inside of the pod was very dim and glowed with the same green light that the changeling goo gave off, but the floor itself was made of a spongy yet solid material that was easy to walk on and not messy at all. Clarity followed Dinky into the pod, and the whole think sank a few inches under their combined weight. Nester seemed unconcerned.
Nester appeared not to be much for interior design. The pod held a small wooden table, and a shelf upon which several books about transformation magic rested. The rest of the odd oval space was bare, making the small chamber seem a bit bigger.
“So, what’s up?” Nester asked, letting his crest droop as low as possible. “You haven’t come back to yell at me again?”
“No, the opposite. I’ve come to apologize,” Dinky said.
Nester chirped, but said nothing.
“I was wrong,” Dinky continued. “I’m not afraid to admit it. You weren’t the one who was spying on me. You’ve never been out to get me, and I should have believed you. I made a mistake, and I’m really sorry.”
Nester’s big blue eyes remained fixed on the filly. “I’m… glad you figured that out,” he said finally. “I suppose no harm was done. After all, I was put on probation because of the dark magic incident, not because of you reporting me. Technically, that was also your fault, but it wasn’t directed at me, so…”
The changeling trailed off and flitted his wings thoughtfully a few times. “I understand, of course, that you were scared of me when we met,” he continued. “Heck, everypony was. After what happened with Her Majesty Queen Chrysalis in Canterlot last year, I don’t blame anypony for that in the slightest.”
He hung his head. “But what you have to understand is that it’s… well, just as scary for me! How would you feel if everypony you ever met wanted to kill you, and the only place you could find safe haven was in a changeling hive?”
Dinky shuddered. “That’s not a good comparison though. I don’t think a pony would last very long in a changeling hive.”
Nester chirped again. “They would if Her Majesty granted them amnesty in exchange for service,” he corrected. “But there would be suspicion and uncertainty among the changelings, for sure.”
He sighed. “That’s what it’s like for me. The changelings want me dead, and a school full of ponies with more magic power than I have is the only place I can be safe. So you have to understand, when a pony threatens to report me to Celestia, it’s just like a changeling reporting a pony in the hive to Her Majesty Queen Chrysalis. It’s absolutely terrifying…”
Nester sat down and stared at the floor, looking miserable. Dinky had never seen such an intimidating creature reduced to such a state. She gave Clarity a pleading glance, but the grey filly just pointed to the changeling and nodded. Almost silently, Dinky stepped forward and put a forehoof on the gloomy changeling’s shoulder.
“I never thought about it that way,” she admitted. “I should have been more sensitive. I guess I was looking for somepony to blame and you just happened to be… well, convenient.”
Nester nodded. “Well, no harm done, really,” he said, meeting Dinky’s gaze and giving a sheepish, fanged grin. “I wasn’t allowed to teach for a while, but Celestia certainly made sure I wasn’t treated cruelly. And no evidence against me was found, so as long as the students continue to like me as a teaching assistant, I should be fine.”
“You’re doing a great job, by the way,” Clarity added. “Professor Flux is smart, but his personality’s a little dry. Transformation class was so boring while you were on probation. Everypony’s thrilled to have you back.”
“Definitely,” Dinky said, swishing her tail delightedly. “So how about it, Nester? Do you accept my apology?”
Nester made a series of clicks that Dinky assumed was a chuckle as he stood back up. “Yeah, alright,” he answered. “Thanks for being so understanding. I’m just glad you ponies are compassionate enough to learn to see past what I am and look at who I am instead.”
The changeling used a cratered foreleg to ruffle Dinky’s mane affectionately, and then turned to Clarity. “So,” he said in a more conversational tone, “what was it that you wanted to ask me?”
“Oh, that,” said Clarity nonchalantly. “I just had a question about transformation magic that we hadn’t covered in class.”
Nester pranced in place. “And you wanted to ask me rather than Professor Flux? I’m flattered,” he said, making a face that Dinky felt sure would have been accompanied by a blush if not for the hard black cuticle covering his body. “What’s the question?”
“Well, I like to dabble in illusions,” Clarity explained, “and if there’s one thing that’s true about all illusions, it’s that there’s always a way to see through them if you’re perceptive enough to pick up on light distortions. I was wondering… do transformations also leave some kind of hallmark to make it possible for other ponies to realize they’re looking at a fake?”
“Ooh, interesting,” Nester said, tapping his chin thoughtfully. “Transformations, as I’m sure you remember, involve a physical change, not an illusion, so the method of spotting a fake is different. As far as I know, there’s always one trait, even if it’s only a tiny one, that doesn’t accurately reflect what the transformer has tried to become. For instance, when I turn into a unicorn, my magic is still acid green, and there’s nothing I can do about it.”
Clarity leaned forward, perking up her ears expectantly. “So, all transformations have an imperfection? Something that doesn’t look like the original?”
“Right!” Nester said, nodding. “That one detail can and will vary, though. Only a really perceptive pony will be able to pick it out.”
He skittered over to Clarity and gave her mane a ruffle like he had with Dinky’s. “If anypony ‘round here would have a knack for that sort of thing, though, it’s you, kiddo.”
Clarity smiled and playfully nuzzled Nester. This time, Dinky was convinced the changeling did blush, which she hadn’t thought was possible.
“So, while we’re on the topic,” Clarity said slowly, “I had one other question. I don’t know if you’ll know anything about it though.”
Nester flicked his tattered tail indignantly. “Oh, won’t I? Try me.”
Clarity paused a moment before continuing. “I’ve heard of a type of creature that wields transformation magic,” she said cautiously. “Do you know anything about… wraiths?”
All at once, Nester’s jovial, teasing attitude vanished like smoke. Stunned, he backed up several paces.
“Oh no. No no no no no,” he mumbled, looking between Dinky and Clarity nervously. “I don’t know where you heard about wraiths, but I can’t… I just can’t talk about that. There wouldn’t even be an investigation. If word got out that I talked to fillies about wraiths, I’d never be allowed in the vicinity of Canterlot again!”
“Okay, okay!” Clarity said, holding her forehooves out placatingly as she tried to calm the panicking changeling. “It’s not important! I’ll never bring it up again, I promise.”
Nester sighed, relieved. “Good. It’s not just for my sake, either. If you two want to keep yourselves out of trouble, you’ll get as far away from anything that has to do with wraiths as you can.”
“Noted,” said Dinky with a sheepish smile. “I guess we’ll be going now. See you next week, Nester.”
Nester waved feebly and breathed a long, concerned sigh as the fillies climbed out of the pod.
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As the month wore on, Dinky found herself paying closer attention to the stars. Leo’s reigning period ended in late August, and Virgo took her place, bringing Scorpio’s stars more fully into view. Worryingly, this had exactly the effect Dinky had feared; the dark magic’s attempts to resurface through her dreams were becoming more frequent.
Dinky knew that soon, it was likely she’d wind up bringing forth dark magic in her sleep, and would have to talk to Twilight or Princess Celestia or Luna for her own safety. Clarity and Honeydew checked on her regularly, but she continued to manage to banish the dangerous dreams as soon as she recognized them.
Dinky had other things to occupy her during the day, though. Sparkler, for instance, had not been quite the same ever since the day she’d joined Dinky and her friends in enchantments class. The overseer seemed, if it was even possible, even more guarded, as if (or so Clarity theorized) she was terrified of opening up a bit again as she had on that day.
However, although Sparkler still kept to herself whenever possible, her mean streak seemed to have slowed. Rather than greeting Dinky and her friends with grumpy remarks or threats of detention, she now opted simply to give them their space, saying nothing more than a muttered “hello” even on the best of days. Unsure of what else they could say, the friends usually kept quiet around the older filly.
There was, however, one pony that continued to try to reach Sparkler inside her antisocial shell, and Dinky and the other foals couldn’t help but notice whenever he did. One afternoon, Dinky and the others were on their way down a second-floor passage, when they heard familiar voices coming from the courtyard below. They peered out the open window.
“Come on, Sparkler!” Presto said urgently, following Sparkler across the gardens toward the front of the castle. “I’m not even trying to take you anywhere! I just figured we could save time and get lunch while we go over the latest orders from the dean. You have to eat, don’t you?”
“There’s nothing to discuss,” Sparkler said, refusing to meet her colleague’s gaze. “The dean’s latest updates to the rules were clear. Just enforce them for the colts while I do for the fillies and everything will be fine. Good day.”
She began to trot away. Gritting his teeth in frustration, Presto grabbed the filly’s tail with magic and yanked her back until she stood next to him, ignoring her cry of protest.
“Sparkler, listen to me,” he said sternly, leaning forward until his snout practically met hers. “I get it. You’re smart enough to know that we don’t actually have to talk about the dean’s stuff.”
Sparkler snorted. “Exactly. So what’s your deal?”
Presto sighed. “Sparkler, I… I think you need some help. You don’t attend any activities. You don’t hang out with friends. You don’t talk to anypony anymore except to discipline them! You’re retreating deeper and deeper into your own brooding, and it’s just… well, it’s not healthy!”
Sparkler rolled her eyes. “Oh please,” she grumbled. “Why should I bother? I’m not humoring anypony. I know nopony wants to talk to me.”
“Well, I do!” Presto yelled, catching the young mare by surprise. “I’ve known you for ages, and I refuse to let you do this to yourself because you think everypony’s out to get you. Why can’t you see that you are the one that’s making your life miserable!?”
There were a few seconds of stunned silence, and then, to the great surprise of both Presto and the foals spying from above, Sparkler’s eyes filled with tears.
Presto backpedaled immediately. “Oh what am I… Sparkler, you know I didn’t mean—”
“Stop,” Sparkler commanded, holding back a sob. “Just stop. Go back to your tower, do your overseer duty, and for Celestia’s sake, leave me alone!”
Knowing better than to try to comfort Sparkler, Presto hung his head and quickly complied. He teleported away, leaving Sparkler standing alone. Even from her high vantage point, Dinky could see a few tears hit the gravel beneath the overseer’s hooves.
“Even Presto…” the young mare mumbled, taking a long, shuddering sigh. “Why do I have to do this to him? If he’d just keep away from me, he wouldn’t get caught up in all this. I’m telling him that for his own good…”
Sparkler wiped her eyes with a forehoof and briskly trotted away, leaving the four foals in the hallway above alone.
“…What just happened?” Scuffle asked finally.
“I don’t know,” Dinky admitted. “It certainly didn’t end well, though. I’ve never seen Presto get so frustrated, and I’ve definitely never seen Sparkler cry.”
“I know she’s not very nice, but I’m a little worried for Sparkler,” Honeydew said, shuffling a hoof on the carpet. “Presto’s right. She behaves more like a machine than a pony nowadays.”
“Well, up until the end,” Dinky added. “What do you think she meant when she said she’s pushing Presto away to help both of them?”
Clarity, surprisingly, gave a tiny grin. “Well, it’s already kind of obvious that Presto cares about Sparkler. Maybe even, you know, likes her,” she began. “But I’m starting to wonder if, in reality… she’s got a thing for him too.”
Honeydew raised an eyebrow. “I… don’t see how that makes any sense,” she said slowly. “She wants nothing to do with him, doesn’t she?”
“That’s what it seems like,” Clarity said, her excitement growing. “But she always seems to get more emotional, for better or for worse, when he’s around. And you heard what she said, right? Why do I have to do this to him? What if the reason Sparkler’s upset is because she actually does like Presto, but whatever else is going on in that strange little head of hers is compelling her to push him away? I know I’d be upset if I felt I needed to treat a potential special somepony like dirt every time he talked to me.”
“I dunno,” Scuffle said skeptically. “I’m no expert on love, but that seems a little far-fetched.”
Clarity shrugged. “It’s just a guess.”
“Well, even if you’re right, we still don’t know exactly why Sparkler needs to distance herself from everypony,” Dinky pointed out. “If we could answer that one question, we could probably explain everything she does.”
“I still vote we let her deal with it herself,” Scuffle mumbled. “We’ve all been mixed up with Sparkler before. It never ends well.”
Dinky sighed. “I guess you’re right,” she said somberly. “Sometimes there just isn’t a good way to get through to somepony like that.”
Quietly, Dinky led her friends away from the window, wondering just what it was that had left the overseer in such a state.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mist.
Again Dinky was surrounded by mist. And again she knew what was going to happen.
A quick illumination spell revealed the same blue, reflective chamber she’d seen several times before. It stretched on in one direction toward total darkness, where she figured Sunbeam was waiting.
Just another dream, the filly thought, somewhat less concerned than she had been the last few times. Better wake myself up before Sunbeam shows up.
Hoofsteps echoed in the darkness nearby. “Sorry, Sunbeam,” she called mockingly. “I don’t have time to play today. See ya!”
The filly snickered as she willed herself to awaken. The hoofsteps vanished, as did the strange cave. Proud of herself, Dinky opened her eyes.
This time, however, she didn’t awaken in her bed in the residence tower. Instead, she found herself lying on a patch of thick moss in the middle of a dense grove of trees.
“W-wait, what?” she asked aloud, still groggy. Rubbing her eyes, she stood and looked around. Only moonlight lit the area, and with the shade of the trees, there was very little of that. But instead of the vague lines and muffled sounds of her dream world, everything here was worryingly sharp and clear, even in the dim light.
Dinky took a few steps, trying to orient herself. She recognized the area; she was in the forest outside the castle, a short walk from her hideout.
But how did I get here? she wondered. When I went to sleep, I was in the tower…
“Confused, are we?” a voice asked.
Dinky looked wildly around, quickly spotting two glimmering blue eyes connected to something hidden just out of sight in the darkness. Although she needed no further identification, she lit her horn for a better view, and sure enough, found herself staring at a very not-dreamed Sunbeam.
“You’ve got a surprisingly strong mind, Dinky, yes you do,” Sunbeam said, smiling. “I thought it’d be easy to take advantage of those dreams of yours, but so far, your resilience is proving surprising, yes it is.”
“So it was you!” Dinky snarled. “Did you bring me out here somehow? Send me back right now!”
“Relax, Dinky Doo,” Sunbeam hissed. “You’re in no danger tonight, no you are not. Why would I hurt the one pony who can help me with my plans, anyway?”
Dinky refused to show fear. “You know what? I’m tired of hearing that,” she said defiantly. “I’m sick of your riddles and guessing games, Sunbeam. I’m not leaving until I get some answers!”
Sunbeam chucked darkly. “I do so love how you act like you can still win this, yes I do. Ask away, and I’ll answer whatever I see fit.”
The colt sat down on the moss, looking expectantly at Dinky with his big blue eyes and wagging his bright orange tail playfully. Dinky found it unnerving that such an evil pony could look so harmless.
“Let’s start with the obvious,” Dinky began harshly. “How did I get outside? I was asleep in my own bed until just a few moments ago.”
“I brought you here, yes I did,” Sunbeam said matter-of-factly. “You’ve been doing strangely well trying to resist the dark magic. All fruitless in the end, yes it is, but an interesting display of will nonetheless. I decided it was time for us to chat, so I could show you just how small your hopes of resisting me really are.”
“Oh really,” Dinky said icily. “Well, we’ll get to that in a minute. For now, answer me something I’ve been wondering for a long time.”
For a second, the she took the harsh edge of her speech and flattened her ears against her head. “Why me, exactly? Out of all the ponies, why did you trick me into learning dark magic?”
“A boring answer to an interesting question, really,” Sunbeam said dully. “You were a filly with great talent, yet little knowledge of the path I was leading you down, yes you were. A shame, I suppose, for you, but on the upside, you’re doing what I want quite nicely so far.”
Dinky frowned. “Well, from the point of view of the bad guy, at least I can understand that one,” she grumbled. “But so far, all I know is that you decided to teach me forbidden, evil magic in secret so that I can ‘help fulfill your grand plan’ or whatever. When do I get to hear about the crazy, evil thing you somehow think I’m going to do?”
Sunbeam laughed, although the sound was more disconcerting than mirthful. “Oh, I just need an assistant to help me with one small spell, yes I do,” he chuckled. “If I were to tell you all about it now though, it’d ruin all the fun!”
Dinky snorted. “Then what did you want to tell me? Why drag me out here in the middle of the night if you’re not going to give me any more information?”
“To give you a taste of what to expect,” Sunbeam answered, less cordially. “As you’ve no doubt noticed, your dark magic is resurfacing on its own, yes it is. Do you know why?”
Dinky pointed at the sky. “Scorpio,” she mumbled.
“Very good, yes you are. Scorpio’s time at the top of the sky is but two months away, and as she draws closer, her power increases in me, as well as in you.”
“Well, I can still fight it,” Dinky said. “I’m not a wraith yet, and as long as I can resist the dark magic until Scorpio leaves the night sky, I’ll never be one.”
Sunbeam raised his eyebrows. “You know about wraiths?” he asked incredulously. “Somepony’s been doing her homework, yes she has.”
“Of course I know about wraiths,” Dinky snapped. “I still don’t know why, but it doesn’t take a genius to tell you tried to turn me into one. But I caught on before it was too late.”
“Oh no you did not,” Sunbeam cooed. “Perhaps you stopped before I could turn you into a wraith on my own, but Scorpio’s influence will make it possible for me to finish the job, yes it will. I may have been able to corrupt you further I first invaded your dreams, if not for that troublesome stallion who helped to awaken you.”
Dinky blinked. “So he wasn’t part of the dream either? Then who was he?”
“It doesn’t matter, no it does not!” Sunbeam said, advancing suddenly and snarling as he pressed his nose against Dinky’s, causing her to rapidly back away. “The point is, he cannot always be there to help you, and, strong though your will is, you cannot continue to resist Scorpio as long as I am there to fan the flames. The longer you fight, the harder it will become.”
Dinky was backed against a tree as the colt continued to push her. She gasped as black light surrounded his horn.
“I swear, yes I do, by the time Scorpio reigns over the sky, you will serve the purpose of darkness, yes you will!”
Wham!
Before she even knew what she was doing, Dinky had punched the advancing colt in the face as hard as her small forehoof would allow. Sunbeam’s horn went out as he reeled, stepping back a few paces and clutching his already swelling nose.
“Fine,” he said, his voice now muffled and nasally. “Run back to your friends. Tell your professors and precious princesses all about this. It won’t do you any good, no it won’t. But oh will it be fun to watch you try.”
He dove into the brush. Dinky gave chase, but by the time she’d pulled back the first bush, Sunbeam was already no more than a black shape darting off into the deeper darkness.
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Chp 14 needs more dragons.
Dark times indeed.....
Staaaaaaaaaaalkerpony~ Stalking all the Wee Little Ponies~
Yanno I never thought of Sombra's shadow state in a Mythological perspective. the Definition of 'Wraith' here really eases the pain of the Crystal Empire arc now. Thanks! :D
And Nestor is Best Changeling. So Cute. <3
it's times like this i wish this story updated more often
A great story as always, PRB. Keep up the great work!
Dinky really needs to let Princess Luna know about this. Luna guards the world of dreams, and may be the only one who can save Dinky from Sunbeam's dream world influence. Plus she knows about the constilations, including Scorpio.
Heck! Yes! Dinky deck that dude.
man I really love this story, your writing just works so well it makes me jealous my own story isn't nearly as polished. More like its ham handed and straight to the point, no sense of elegance *sigh*. Though I suppose that comes with practice.
Anyhow moving on, the only thing that kind of bother'd me was that the bit with Lucid in the beginning was so short I suppose that's the way you wanted it, but with the way the chapter before ended with her showing up from nowhere I was thinking we get something more climactic than clearing the air with Clarity (not that that's a bad thing) I was just thinking she could've shed some light on why Sparkler so freaking uptight, she knew her right? or knew of her or something?
Oh well its not my story and you obviously know what your doing thanks for the read,
can't wait for the rest
P. S. how much more of this do you plan to do? I don't know if like all the the Harry Potter comparisons, but if you plan to do a book per year of school like Harry Potter that'd be freakin' sweet
Well, there is one way for Dinky to win, cut off her horn. Drastic yes, but it would prevent Sunbeam from winning.
Do you know anything about... horcruxes?
I want moar. but quality takes time so I will wait.
3835781
more dragons in general.
3836234
Don't worry, Dinky's no fool. She'll be talking to Luna right away next chapter.
3836306
This story is only covering the first year. I have no plans to write about the 2-4 years, but I may write another book someday that continues the story of both "Shipping and Handling" and this fic, set several years in the future when Dinky is in her fifth (final) year at the Academy.
That's only an idea, though, I am not confirming the existence of another sequel yet.
3836476
Oh dear, was that really how it was worded?
Unfortunate unintentional comparisons to Harry Potter aside, I think we can at least agree that I'm not pulling something along the lines of Horcruxes with this story.
...And no, Dinky's not going to use a luck potion to get Nester drunk so he'll tell her about wraiths, either.
i almost think the stallion is who sombra used to be.
3835904 Kuno (An Affliction of the Heart) and Novel (A Novel Tale) are also good changelings, but Nester is the funniest. Even his name is a pun.
Hmmm, time for a Scientific Wild Ass Guess in regards to the stallion that aided Dinky in her struggle during the first dream. Now it is said to be a stallion's and unfamiliar, however I would wager an adult Pipsqueak conjured on the dreamscape would sound unfamiliar. (Not to mention as he seemed to have been among the first ponies to get friendly with Princess Luna, it is possible he has the knowledge of the dreamscape necessary to see either an idealized or rationalized version of his adult form.)
That or it's the spirit of Dinky's deceased father aiding her but seeing as that's the obvious cliché I put below my initial theory.
And of course I still have a case of "Just Doesn't Look Right" that makes me doubt both.
Don't take this the wrong way, because I loved shipping and handling, but I think I like this even more
If I were Dinky then when the first dark dream happened then I would have gone to a teacher and claim that I was having bursts of magic in my sleep and would request a magic suppressing thing (maybe an enchanted horn ring or something?) and wear it when she sleeps, problem solved! That aside, great chapter, I am loving the story so far and can't wait for the next chapter
3836866
I won't take that the wrong way at all! I agree with you, S&H may remain more famous but this fic is definitely my more well-written.
Dinky should get her mom on the Presto/Sparkler case. Loving thusnstory as much as Shipping and Handling, can't wait for next chapter. Just one question, why wouldn't Dinky tell Twilight about her dream? I think she would have learned that she can't handle this on her own by now.
And ScuffleDew ftw!
Y'know, it boggles the mind how this all started with a silly little dating service.
I feel like there's a "when" missing from that sentence. Right between "further" and "I".
So using dark magic actually turns ponies into their own separate creature. Huh! And although it's almost certainly forbidden knowledge (since wraiths are tied to dark magic and all) Nester seems to know a bit about them. I wonder, though. Can wraiths be summoned if one knows where they are? It's clear Sunbeam is in the forest, and they now know what he is... could they just summon him like a parasprite or a changling? Or does the dark magic prevent that, too?
I can't wait to see where you're taking this, PRB, no I can't.
3837691
Yeah, in light of Sunbeam's appearance at the end, Dinky's probably going to report the things that have happened to ponies who can help. To not do so at this point would be getting a little stupid on her part.
3837092 A regular magic surpresser probably wouldn't work on dark magic. And if Dinky blurted out she was using dark magic Sparkler and The Dean would crack down on her and throw her right then and there.
Nice to see Clarity work through some of her issues regarding her sister.
Hmn, I'm going to guess that the mystery stallion is one of the other zodiac ponies. Maybe Libra since that is the sign that proceeds Scorpio.
Oh good god, girls. Dinky is attacked in her dreams, this is literally a life or death situation where screwing up could be very permanent for her, they know Luna has dream related abilities, and do they ask her for help? Nope.
Nester is back!
Oh, I didn't realize we were that far away from Scorpio being dominant. Could have been Leo as the stallion from earlier then, assuming that I am on the right track.
Now that was satisfying to read.
I LOVE THIS!
3838485
my guess is it's her dad, the late Mr. Doo
And ever so slowly Sparkler's stony façade begins to crumble. I can't wait to see everything she's tried to lock away inside come out.
On another note, who is the stallion that rescued Dinky in her nightmare? The late Mr. Doo? Dr. Whooves? The penitent ghost of King Sombra? Place your bets, everybrony!
3836611
Or maybe who Sunbeam used to be.
This is a perfect example of why trying to hide or restrict knowledge because it is "dangerous" always backfires horribly. Seriously, if even talking about the end result of Dark Magic Corruption (aka wraiths) is a taboo subject, how the heck are you supposed to, I don't know, RECOGNIZE THE WARNING SIGNS?
Seriously, ignorance is always far more dangerous than any knowledge could ever be.
3840916
That's a deeper political question than this story is going to get into, I think.
Basically, Celestia and Luna have been trying for centuries to just squash dark magic entirely. If they can prevent the knowledge being passed on, eventually it will vanish from Equestria.
At the same time, they are too benevolent to do anything drastic to ponies who are semi-corrupted, like Dinky is, so they've had less success overall than they've hoped. Which brings us to the precarious situation that is the present day Dinky finds herself part of.
...Hey, you asked.
3840871
^
I think he's a disparate segment of his current self, the last little bit of 'humanity' he has left.
Not at all bad great continued development (the overseer relationship is nothing new but it is more intense then I first thought.)
its been said but some of the ideas this youngsters come up with seems a little advanced even for gifted filly's and a colt, more of the usual praise great (continuing) character development nice ideas on how magic works.
and also nice to revisit Nester noticed no misused words or grammar errors.
no plot holes all in all excellent work.
its predictable but I suspect Dinkly is about to have a (serious) "dark relapse" yet I could be wrong for if she did that would get her expelled and out of HIS plans however perhaps because of this they are reluctant to talk to the authority's (this plan I though was stupid from the start but I am not them) I am very surprised that for her OWN safety shes not talked to her mentor (none other then
posonal student) she let her into the national security archive and she still dos not return the trust?
what can I say as promised the development into the characters has gone very well and quite indeepth likelihood is what ever sparklers role is I bet its important but I do not think "ex dark user" is one for if that where so she would have turned under "high stress" situations as her job entails.
been awhile since we heard anything from her mom you know.
Nester's knowledge is not surprising to me as he is a informed outsider.
Seriously though I might just say that telling her superiors what up and then likely going into quarantine is a good call for her own good, however I am a very conservative fellow (in risk management anyway).
That was a really frikin long chapter, i like it
You know, you'd think Luna would be watching Dinky's dreams now and then, given the possibility of what Sunbeam is.
Or maybe have an agent watching Dinky secretly the whole time just in case the devil pony shows up.
The lack of precautions is staggeringly incompetent.
3836566
I should think so! Invading dreams is one thing, the guy just abducted her out of her bed in the dead of night! Never mind dreams, the dude could kill her if he wanted to.
Ironically, I'm convinced Sparkler and the dean aren't corrupted. If they were, they'd never try to expel Dinky.
3851554
I don't know if Clarity's mastered that yet. She can do it to herself, but I'm not sure she can do it to other ponies. And Dinky and Honeydew can't cast (well-done) invisibility spells at all. I suppose they should have considered the idea though,
3851687 I kind of knew they wouldn't be able to, I just thought it would make a funny scene. Love the fic, I was really excited when I found out there was a sequel to shipping and handling. And I like that while giving off a slight unavoidable feel of Harry potterishness you have the skill to stop it from being just "Harry potter but ponies"
3852417
Thanks! That's just about the best compliment you can give on this particular fic, since I'm trying really hard to avoid falling into that "Harry Potter but Ponies" trap, despite the theme.
What a responsible decision! I'm sure nothing can go wrong.
How many chapters are we to expect? By the sounds of it, you have the entire story thought out so thought I'd ask. Just a little curious
3871571
There are six more chapters on the way.
The story will be 20 when finished.
Ohhh this is getting good!
Even if it has a harry potterish feel to it, which as you said is unavoidable due to the layout of the story, you are avoiding the whole "Harry Potter clone" thing. Though, question, one thing I WOULDNT Mind you carrying over from harry potter is the number of sequels
Any plans for keeping this through other years? The world is just too big to drop it at the end of year one!
3873500
Hahaha, sorry but I just don't have enough creativity (or time!) to write five books of Dinky at magic school.
I'm writing this one for year one, and I MAY write a third book in the Shipping and Handling series that focuses on Ditzy and Dinky equally, switching between their perspectives. If I DO write that book, it will be several years later in the timeline, and Dinky and her friends will be in their final year at the Academy.
That sequel is NOT currently confirmed, and whether or not I decide to write it is based entirely on fan response once this book concludes.
For now, there are still six more chapters on the way! Hope you enjoy the rest!
Nester knows something critical but isn't going to open up without some serious leeway, and it's probably gonna have to come from Luna. There's a big difference between a kid asking you out of the blue and divorced of context about a beastie you shouldn't know about, and another reformed villain paying a visit to say said beastie is skulking around and they need help killing it and nipping another in the bud. Of course that's still going to be utterly terrifying for the poor guy and probably sour what tentative trust he has with Dinky for a while, but he'll come out of it with a friend in high places and a lot more confidence in his amnesty.
Either way it's probably gonna end in Luna-hugs.
It just keeps getting better!
A subsidiary of Industrial Light and Magic, I take it?
3909504
Don't worry, I talk about earth pony and pegasus magic a little later in the story.
3873611 please make it. It would be epic! Ps I really enjoy hocus pocus.
4037167
Yeah, but they all seem so....specialized. Like, that's all they CAN do. Again. Earth ponies do plants, Pegasi fly, and mess with air currents, Unicorns do whatever they put their minds to, of varying capabilities.
If an Earth Pony feels like learning some other type of magic, he's out of luck. Unicorns, on the other hand, can at least have the option to try and fail.