Chapter 15
Princess Luna towered over Dinky. The royal mare’s expression was unreadable.
“Calm down, young one,” she commanded. “Explain what has happened once more. Slowly.”
After Sunbeam’s disappearance, Dinky had done the only thing she could do upon finding herself stranded in the woods at night: approach the castle guards. Naturally, given that it was the middle of the night, she was taken to be reprimanded for breaking curfew. Luckily, the dean was asleep, so she’d been brought directly to Princess Luna instead. Now the two ponies stood in Luna’s odd little office, a moonlit room with little more to see than an old oak desk and various star charts pinned to the walls.
Dinky took a breath and tried to explain her situation less frantically. Wary of Luna’s stony, unchanging expression, she carefully recounted everything that had happened, from the dream to waking up in the forest to Sunbeam’s threat. Luna stood very still, waiting patiently for Dinky’s tale to conclude before replying.
“Young one, I hope you understand that the situation with this rogue colt is becoming quite serious,” she said finally. “There are a host of protective enchantments on the residence towers, so I find it very unlikely he teleported you into the woods… but it is possible he was able to will you to sleepwalk via your dreams, which is perhaps even more troubling.”
“Well… what can I do?” Dinky asked, flattening her ears against her head nervously. “Nopony’s managed to catch him yet. He only allows himself to be seen by me and my friends. Is there some way I can stop him from doing whatever he wants the next time he appears to me?”
“Dinky Doo, based on what you have told me, I do not think this colt wishes to hurt you,” Luna admitted, placing a forehoof gently on Dinky’s shoulder. “He does, however, seem determined to make you use dark magic, and it is there that his weakness lies. You must defy him; deny his commands, refute his claims, and be wary of his tricks. He cannot physically force you to use such spells without the use of powerful localized atmospheric spells, which are easy even for the inexperienced to detect and avoid. As long as you don’t allow him to lead you into a trap, I believe he is all talk.”
“Maybe face to face,” Dinky mumbled, looking at the floor and scraping a hoof sheepishly along the boards. “It’s a different story in my dreams…”
Luna raised a forehoof, surprised. “Dinky Doo, has the influence of these dreams of yours led you to use more dark magic?”
Dinky gasped quietly and put a forehoof over her mouth. She looked away, afraid and ashamed to respond.
The princess’s expression softened. “Young one, I assure you I am only here to help,” she said quietly. “Please, tell me the truth.”
“It… it did happen once,” Dinky said morosely, hanging her head. “And Sunbeam has tried again and again, but I’ve been forcing myself to wake up. I think Scorpio is gradually making the dreams more vivid, though. I… I’m not sure how much longer I’ll be able to resist him while I’m asleep.”
Again, Luna rested a tender forehoof on the filly’s shoulder. “You forget, Dinky, that I am also capable of entering ponies’ dreams. If this is what it has come to, I shall keep vigil over your dreams until Scorpio’s influence departs from you. A pony, even a dark magic user, would have to be clever indeed to gain the upper hoof on me in the realm of dreams.”
Dinky allowed herself to smile. “You’d do that for me?” she asked hopefully. “Thank you, princess. I’ll be able to sleep more peacefully knowing that you’re keeping an eye on me!”
The filly lowered her voice, rubbing one forehoof against the other awkwardly. “And, um… do you think maybe we could not tell the dean about this? She has enough of a grudge against me already.”
“I fear we must inform her about Sunbeam’s latest actions, but we can keep the bit about you using dark magic again between you, me, and my sister,” Luna said with a wink. “I suggest you tell Twilight Sparkle, as well.”
Dinky pranced gleefully in place. “That works for me! Thanks so much, Princess Luna!”
“You are quite welcome,” Luna said, smiling warmly. “Now, you should return to your tower. It’s quite late, and I must return to my duties here.”
Dinky trotted off, feeling quite relieved. Both she and the princess were unaware of the purple pony watching through the keyhole of the door across the room.
“Interesting…” Sparkler mumbled, scribbling something in a notebook and tucking it into her saddlebag. She hesitated a moment longer, and then trotted off silently into the dark.
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“…And so, as long as Princess Luna keeps Sunbeam out of my dreams, everything will be fine!” Dinky said proudly as the four friends made their way to Practical Magic class. “Turns out he was just blowing hot air.”
“Don’t get cocky, Dinky,” Clarity warned. “The only reason Luna's plan is a proper countermeasure is because Sunbeam’s trying to use you rather than hurt you.”
“Yeah, that colt’s bad news,” Honeydew chimed in, looking worried. “Even if he was trying to psych you out, he did teach you dark magic, and he seems like an expert on it himself. That makes him a threat to everypony, even the princesses.”
“Still, Dinks has a point,” Scuffle added. “This is really the first time she’s gotten to strike back against Sunbeam since he started trying to manipulate her. She’s got a right to be happy about that.”
“Right!” Dinky agreed. “And don’t worry, Clarity. Underestimating Sunbeam would be the worst mistake I could make at this point. But at least now I know there’s a way somepony can help me resist him until the guards or the princesses finally catch him.”
“He’s bound to try and fight dirty once he figures it out, though,” Clarity said warily. “Don’t forget, he knows who we are. What happens if he comes after us?”
Honeydew moaned and pinned her ears back against her head. “Ugh, please don’t even bring that up, Clarity…”
“I think if Sunbeam tried to do anything drastic, somepony would probably notice,” Dinky said. “He’s really intent on keeping a low profile, so I think he wouldn’t attack you three outright. Besides, he only seems to come out in the evenings or at night, so stay indoors and with other ponies, or just go to the residence towers, and you should be fine.”
“I guess,” Clarity said, sighing. “Still, the sooner this whole mess blows over, the better.”
The four foals ended their conversation there as they trotted into the Practical Magic classroom and took their seats. Professor Morningstar was waiting at the front of the classroom with an interesting gleam in his eye.
“Good morning, everypony,” he said cheerfully. “Can you believe it’s already the first of September? In barely more than two months, our term will conclude, and we have so much still to cover! Today we’re starting on a new topic: one that many of you have been waiting for all term long.”
The professor quickly wrote the acronym LIMIT on the board once again. “This entire course has revolved around this word,” he announced. “We’ve covered the topics in great detail. Every one of you has nearly mastered levitation and illumination, and many of you are proficient or better with manipulation of objects and illusion. But remind me, what does the 'T' in LIMIT stand for?”
“Teleportation!” said at least half the class aloud.
“Precisely!” Professor Morningstar replied. “Teleportation, as you all likely recall, is the most complex of the practical spells. There are many adult unicorns in Equestria who are completely incapable of this useful means of magical transportation. Lucky for us, this room is full of an up-and-coming wave of the most talented young unicorns there are! So, who’s ready to learn how to teleport?”
There were various cheers and cries of assent from the students. Dinky had seen Twilight teleport almost effortlessly around the library, and was totally enamored with the prospect of being able to do the same.
“Let me offer a word of caution before you get too excited,” the professor continued. “Teleportation, no matter how you slice it, is a difficult spell. So difficult, in fact, that many of you will not succeed today, or even by the end of the term. When it comes time for the final exam, you will be tested on your ability to produce the proper magic for a teleport. If you manage to do so successfully, it might be worth a few bonus points, but you certainly shouldn’t feel obligated to master the ability in just two months’ time.”
The professor waited for his message to sink in. The class quieted, and he continued.
“Nevertheless, you will all try. I’m confident some of you will succeed, and those who don’t will find it will eventually come to you with practice and time. You may find teleportation is helpful or even required in some of your upper-level classes in the future, so this course is certainly not your only chance to learn it.”
He gave the chalkboard a quick kick with one back hoof, flipping it over to reveal a set of diagrams of ponies suspended by magic, coupled with a set of equations detailing the magic output requirements. “On that note, let’s begin,” he said, pointing to the chalk drawings. “As you may remember from our first class, teleportation is a form of self-levitation, coupled with movement at a speed that transcends typical physics. At its core, it’s just a very, very advanced levitation spell.”
He swished his tail and glanced curiously around the room as if trying to guess the answer to his next question. “So, I don’t suppose any of you have ever attempted to self-levitate?”
No hooves went up.
“That’s probably for the best,” Professor Morningstar chuckled. “As I also mentioned on the first day of class, self-levitation is far more taxing on one’s magic reserves than levitation of another object. The first part of your training to learn how to teleport is to learn how to self-levitate. Don’t forget, you only need to maintain the spell for a second or so! Teleportation happens immeasurably fast, so spending just one second holding yourself off the ground is already a far longer time than a true teleport would take.”
He pointed to a nine-digit number written on the chalkboard. “Now, the other aspect of teleportation is the required speed. The number you see here is the speed of light, in standardized pony-lengths per second. Without the aid of magic, this is the fastest speed obtainable by physics. If you want to be able to teleport through solid objects, you must produce a speed with magic that exceeds this one.”
“Produce it? I don’t think I can even say it,” Scuffle whispered, earning a chuckle from Dinky.
“Now, fortunately, these speeds are the norm for teleportation,” the professor continued. “If the amount of magic produced is not enough to reach the required speed, the teleport simply fails to occur. Lucky for us, I might add, because the alternative would be hurtling into solid objects at near light speed!”
Dinky raised a hoof. “So, besides being kinda draining, teleportation is totally safe?” she asked, tilting her head.
“Er, that depends how you define ‘safe’,” Professor Morningstar replied, pointing his ears back and glancing shiftily around the room. "There is one annoying and sometimes mildly uncomfortable potential problem that can and often does occur.”
Scuffle gave a snort that turned into a chuckle. “You get roasted in the process,” he said, not bothering to wait for the professor to call on him. “I’ve seen Scorch and Frosty do it. It’s hilarious.”
“Roasted?” Dinky asked, slightly alarmed.
“Roasted is a strong word,” Professor Morningstar laughed. “In a way, though, Scuffle is correct. When teleporting, you are applying a tremendous amount of magic to your own body, and moving it at incredible speeds. The magic must be focused very carefully. If it’s not, it’s still possible to teleport successfully, but you will not be protected from the heat created by both the excess magic and rapid motion. Fortunately, exposure only lasts an instant, but it’s long enough to cause the mane and coat to be singed fairly significantly. Contrary to Scuffle’s less-delicate wording, it is not possible to cook yourself alive while teleporting. The only way to do that would be if you teleported a laughably massive distance, like to another planet, and in such circumstances you would run out of magic before the heat did more than just burn away some fur.”
“Is it likely that this’ll happen the first time we manage to teleport?” Clarity asked.
“Probably,” the professor admitted, shrugging sheepishly. “Like I said, it’s not really a big deal. If anypony manages it and gets a bit scorched, I’ll help you clean up. Now, your goal is to attempt a teleport by combining self levitation with the secondary rapid movement spell. Technical details are on the chalkboard and in your textbooks if you need them. Now get up and start practicing!”
The room immediately became a bustle of activity. Dinky, Clarity, Honeydew, and Scuffle quickly clustered together and headed to their usual corner of the classroom to practice.
“So, which of you is going to try it first?” Honeydew asked, looking back and forth between Dinky and Clarity.
“Why us?” Clarity asked. “You and Scuffle can try too.”
Scuffle rolled his eyes. “Yeah, right. Me pulling off a spell as complex as a teleport. You might as well ask me to sprout wings while you’re at it.”
“You two are the ones with the strongest magic skills,” Honeydew pointed out. “We’ll try later, but you’re the ponies who have a chance of actually succeeding.”
Clarity shrugged. “Well, Dinky, you’ve seen plenty of ponies teleport, and you do have that knack for picking up on the finer details of spellcasting after you’ve watched it happen a few times,” she began. “Just last week, you were the only pony who could perform a conjuring spell in Transformation class. You might have the best chance of teleporting too.”
“I guess I can try,” Dinky said, conceding. She thought back to Twilight teleporting around the library, and Lucid as she teleported out of Clarity’s room. Of particular importance was the time Presto has teleported and brought her along as a passenger in the spell.
The filly’s horn flared with yellow light, glowing brighter than usual as she pumped every bit of her energy into it. Focus the energy on moving to another spot, she thought to herself over and over. Let the magic pick me up and carry me there all at once…
Dinky’s friends stepped back, surprised, as her aura extended from her horn and began to surround her whole body. For a few seconds she stood, concentrating and quivering in place. To her own delight, she rose about a half a pony length into the air.
Almost immediately, maintaining the magic became monumentally taxing. Within a second or two, Dinky found herself too busy struggling to keep afloat to focus on actually moving. Barely another second later, the magical cost became too severe. Her concentration broke, and with a panicked squeak, she fell back to the floor in a heap.
Clarity giggled. “Well, that was certainly… something.”
Dinky rolled over and glared at her friend. “Help me up, would you?” she asked irritably. “I feel like somepony filled me with cement. That spell uses up a lot of magic.”
With Clarity’s aid, Dinky got back to her hooves and leaned against the wall, breathing hard. “Somepony else give it a try,” she panted.
Throughout the class, things seemed to be the same both for the four friends and all the other students. Now and then, a lucky colt or filly would manage a brief bout of self-levitation, but nopony managed to couple it with the secondary spell needed to teleport. Professor Morningstar continued to stress that the two components of the spell needed to be cast at the same time, or else the energy expenditure of the hovering would quickly make the other half impossible.
Soon, class had nearly concluded, and nopony had managed to teleport even a short distance. Dinky, who had managed to levitate herself more than once, sat slumped in the corner, too tired to give it another attempt. Honeydew and Scuffle, as they had expected, had both failed to do much, although Honeydew had lifted herself just a tiny distance off the ground for an instant with levitation, which seemed to be enough of an achievement in her eyes.
Clarity, panting hard from her own successful instances of hovering, trudged back out in front of her friends to give the spell one final attempt.
“Last shot for today,” Scuffle pointed out. “Make it count, Clarity.”
“You can do it!” Honeydew cheered.
Although Dinky could see in Clarity’s eyes that the encouragement was fruitless, the grey filly smiled all the same. Concentrating one more time, she lit her horn and surrounded her figure with a red glow.
Dinky forced her aching legs to support her, and began to trot toward her saddlebag, keeping an eye on Clarity all the while. For about ten seconds, Clarity remained completely still. She did not float into the air or adjust her position. She simply stood there, engulfed in her own magic.
And then, unexpectedly, she disappeared in a flash.
Dinky blinked. “Did she just—”
Dinky only barely had time to register Clarity’s departure before the grey filly reappeared overhead and crashed down on top of her, pinning her to the floor and knocking the wind out of her.
Immediately, the room was in an uproar. Professor Morningstar pushed past the other students and rushed over to the two fillies entangled in a heap.
“Bravo, Clarity, bravo!” he cried, stamping his forehooves in applause. “Your aim was a bit off, but that was an honest-to-goodness teleport! And on the very first day, too!”
Clarity coughed and rolled off of Dinky. Dinky got a look at her friend, and couldn’t help but laugh despite trying to catch her breath. Poor Clarity was terribly disheveled and covered head-to-hoof in soot. Black marks lined the edges of her mane and tail where the tips of a lot of the hair had burned away.
“Wait, I did it?” Clarity asked, disoriented. “I’m not even sure what happened.”
“You decided to teleport up to the ceiling and crush Dinks on the way back down,” Scuffle somehow managed, although he was doubled over with laughter.
Clarity shakily stood up and smiled, embarrassed. “Er… sorry Dinky. I wasn’t really sure how to control that.”
“Hey, I’m not the one coated in ashes,” Dinky responded, smirking. “Seriously though, awesome job, Clarity.”
“Awesome indeed!” Professor Morningstar agreed. “Class is dismissed. Dinky, Clarity, stay behind for a few moments. We’ll get you two cleaned up.”
The professor’s swift and clever magic quickly got the girls looking as they did before class. Her worries about Sunbeam temporarily forgotten, Dinky happily galloped off to celebrate with her friends.
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For late summer, it was unusually cold that night. Lighting the fireplace in the student lounge may have been overkill, but somepony did anyway, and the flames crackled away in the hearth, casting long shadows around the room.
Dinky was snuggled up contentedly on the couch, lazily paging through a list of star types she was supposed to be memorizing for Astronomy. Scuffle was nearby, lying quietly on his back on the floor and trying to balance a quill tip-down on the underside of his hoof. Honeydew was curled up near the fire, and appeared to be asleep. All in all, it was a peaceful scene.
And then Clarity showed up.
Considering Clarity chose to buck the doors open rather than use magic, it was pretty clear that, even hours later, she still hadn’t quite come off the rush from her unexpected successful spell earlier that day. The sound of the doors being thrown wide roused Honeydew from her nap, and she looked wildly around for a moment.
“’Sup, Clarity?” Scuffle asked, not looking away from the quill precariously wobbling on his hoof.
“I just got back from sending a letter!” Clarity announced, as if this was exciting news. “Lucid’s gonna lose it when she finds out I already managed to teleport!”
Honeydew rubbed her eyes. “I’m sure she will, Clarity,” she said, holding back a yawn, “but don’t you think maybe it’s time to calm down now? You’ve been celebrating for, um, most of the day.”
“Oh, sorry!” Clarity said, giggling. “It’s just… you guys know how much I love learning powerful new spells! I know a few, and usually, they take me weeks of focused practice.”
She carefully rose to her hind legs. “But look at me today!” she continued. “Just this once, I got to be really impressive! For once, I shined even brighter than Lucid!”
Clarity threw her forelegs out to her sides victoriously, which unfortunately caused her to lose her balance. Flailing, she squeaked as she tumbled sideways onto the couch, sending Dinky’s stuffed saddlebag toppling to the floor and spilling papers and quills everywhere. “Whoops,” she said weakly.
Dinky hopped off the couch to start picking up her scattered possessions. “It is exciting,” she agreed. “You just need to, you know, tone it down a little bit.”
“Yeah…” Clarity agreed as she stood up to help Dinky clean up the mess. She picked up Dinky’s saddlebag, dumping out the few odds and ends still inside so they could reorganize its contents. When she shook it, a white, spherical object dropped out and rolled across the carpet.
“What’s that?” Scuffle asked, tossing his quill aside and sitting up to look at the object.
“Oh, nothing,” Dinky said dully, turning back to her bag. “It’s just the pearl Sparkler enchanted for us last month. It’s damaged; I’ve been meaning to see if I could fix it, but I haven’t gotten around to it.”
Clarity lifted the large pearl in her aura and stroked the long crack in it with a forehoof. “I think the enchantment should still be on it,” she said thoughtfully. “I’d try using a transformation spell to try to modify the shape a little and then fuse the crack shut once you can get the sides to meet."
Dinky pondered the suggestion as she stuffed the last book back into her saddlebag. “Hmm, I hadn’t thought of that,” she admitted, taking the pearl and sitting back down with it. “Let me work on that.”
The filly lit her horn and began to move the pearl between her hooves as she delicately tried to ease the gap closed. Clarity leaned over and joined in on the effort.
Scuffle turned away from the two fillies and sat down instead next to Honeydew, who was still lying by the fire. “What kind of enchantment is on that thing, anyway?” he asked her.
“It reads your mood and changes color to reflect it,” Honeydew replied. “It worked pretty well before Sparkler broke it.”
She looked pensive for a second. “I wish we knew just what it was that makes her so guarded,” she continued. “You weren’t there, of course, but the day she enchanted that was the closest we’ve ever seen her come to opening up.”
“Yeah, I’d love to know what makes that mare tick,” Scuffle said, flopping down on the rug next to the filly. “I’m tired of being bossed around by such a grump.”
There was a short pause. Scuffle glanced in Honeydew’s direction and was surprised to see her staring at him apprehensively.
“…What?” he asked finally.
“You’re a little close,” Honeydew mumbled, making a halfhearted attempt to nudge the colt away with a forehoof.
Scuffle rolled his eyes. “Honeydew, I thought we sorted this out while we were on vacation,” he said, flicking his tail indignantly. “Are you still uncomfortable?”
Honeydew shrugged noncommittally. “Not really, I guess,” she said softly. “It’s just gonna take some time, I think, for me to adjust.”
“How much time?” Scuffle asked, twitching an ear. “It’s been a month, and I haven’t done anything particularly bad since we tried to resolve things.”
“You haven’t done anything particularly good, either,” Honeydew said simply. “You talk to me sometimes, and you attend class with me, and that’s about it. That’s all fine, but… well, there’s a difference between a polite acquaintance and an actual friend.”
Scuffle’s ears drooped. “A-alright, you have a point,” he stuttered, shuffling a short distance away to give Honeydew her wanted space. “I really do want the best for you, and Clarity and Dinky, too. I guess I’m just not too good at showing it. Having friends is a little new to me.”
There was silence for a second. Scuffle noticed it and turned to the couch, frowning at the other two fillies, who had ceased their hushed conversation about the pearl to listen in.
“What are you two looking at?” he asked irritably.
“Nothing,” Dinky said quickly. “Here, I think I fixed the crack in the pearl. Test it out for us.”
She tossed the pearl at Scuffle. The colt caught it, but it remained white.
“No luck, Dinks,” he said, casually tossing and catching the jewel. “Either the enchantment’s worn off, or you still have some repairs to do.”
“That’s a shame,” Clarity said, pursing her lips. “Well, we’ll mess with it more tomorrow. I guess it’s about time to get to bed.”
“Yeah, it’s been a long day,” Honeydew agreed, standing up and stretching for a moment.
Scuffle looked at Honeydew as she rose to her hooves. For just a moment, Dinky thought she saw a flicker of change in the pearl. It may have just been the colt changing his angle relative to the light of the fire, but for just a second, it seemed to shimmer pink.
Before she could investigate, Scuffle tossed the pearl back in her direction. She caught it with her magic and examined it closely, but it was the same dull white as usual. Wondering if she was imagining things, the filly returned the apparently still defective gem to her bag and trotted along with Clarity and Honeydew back through the hall to the fillies’ tower.
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Over the next few weeks, Dinky’s plan to counter Sunbeam’s invasion into her dreams seemed to be working. With Luna looming over the realms of her sleeping mind, Sunbeam dared not appear, even when Dinky found herself back in the strange, reflective cave. After two or three attempts, her dreams ceased to lead her there entirely. Dinky was satisfied with her apparent victory, imagining Sunbeam swearing to himself each time he tried to enter her mind and felt Luna’s influence there instead.
Heading into the forest was still safe during daylight hours, as far as Dinky could tell. About a week into September, the girls, along with Scuffle, headed for their hideout for the afternoon, as they often did after class. Dinky and Clarity were busy telling the story of Nester’s latest antics in Transformation class. Engrossed in her story, Dinky wasn’t paying attention and nearly tripped over the ball of orange fur curled up on the hideout floor.
“Whoops! Sorry, Trouble,” Dinky said, carefully walking around the fox.
Trouble, strangely, didn’t acknowledge the fillies. He shifted slightly and curled up tighter.
Dinky raised an eyebrow. “Lazy today, huh?”
Honeydew, in contrast to Dinky’s amusement, seemed concerned. She trotted over and stroked Trouble gently. The fox lifted his head for a moment, gave Honeydew a vague glance through bleary eyes, and lay back down again.
“Laziness has nothing to do with it,” Honeydew mumbled forebodingly. “He’s not well. Poor thing. I hope it’s not too serious…”
“What’s wrong with him?” Scuffle asked.
“How am I supposed to know?” Honeydew asked, delicately petting Trouble’s coat again. “I’m fairly good with plants, but I don’t know a whole lot about animals yet…”
Clarity lit her horn and carefully lifted the fox. He dangled limply in her aura, too drained to try to resist.
“Wow, look at him,” Clarity said, now sharing Honeydew’s concern. “He’s gotten really thin. Maybe he’s been too sick to hunt.”
Scuffle put a hoof over his muzzle. “And he smells, too,” the colt commented, agitated.
“What do you think we should do?” Honeydew asked. “Given the state he’s in, I’m not sure he’ll recover if we don’t try to help.”
Clarity turned to Dinky. “He’s always liked you best,” she pointed out. “Any ideas for how we can help him?”
“One,” Dinky admitted, “but you’re not gonna like it.”
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Perhaps it was fortunate Trouble was too weak to move very much. A bulging saddlebag attracted little suspicion, but a bulging, writhing saddlebag would have been harder to ignore.
Equally fortunate was the fact that the colt-proof shield surrounding the fillies’ tower seemed to only work on ponies. Dinky carried the saddlebag and its concealed passenger inside without issue.
“I’m not too sure about this,” Clarity whispered as the trio of fillies crept up the stairs to their dormitory. “It’s definitely against the rules to bring a wild animal in here.”
“I know!” Dinky hissed back. “But what choice do we have? Trouble’s become like our mascot; he visits all the time when we go to the hideout, and he hardly ever destroys my stuff anymore. He’s more pet than wild animal nowadays.”
“But what about Sparkler?” Honeydew asked, glancing left and right as if expecting Sparkler to burst through the wall and catch them at any moment. “If she catches Trouble, she’ll report you to the dean! I don’t know how many more rules you can get away with breaking in the same year, Dinky…”
“We’ll make sure we keep him secret, then,” Dinky said firmly. “We can’t sugarcoat what’s happening; Trouble is really sick, and if we leave him out there to fend for himself, he’ll die. Sure, he was a pain at first, but Trouble’s on our side now. He keeps us company when we visit the forest, and he helped Scuffle out of that bad situation the day before Midsummer Holiday. Heck, we wouldn’t have even found the hideout if he hadn’t stolen my pendant that day.”
“He did do all that,” Clarity agreed, “but… but is he worth risking another offense against the rules, and maybe even expulsion, over?”
“You two won’t be expelled,” Dinky assured her. “The dean only hates me, remember?”
“You’re dodging the question,” Clarity said crossly, stepping forward and blocking Dinky’s way. “Answer me. Is Trouble worth the risk or not?”
Dinky shrugged. “Maybe not,” she said, her tone surprisingly light. “But who ever said good deeds had to be repaid equally? My friend is sick and I want to help him. It’s as simple as that.”
Caught off guard, Clarity stopped walking for a moment. Then she smiled.
“Bighearted as ever, Dinky,” she chuckled. “Shame on me for questioning the very thing that makes you such a great friend in the first place.”
Dinky, Clarity, and Honeydew reached their room. The other two fillies looked at Dinky, awaiting instruction.
“Alright, here’s the plan,” she began, carefully lifting Trouble from the saddlebag. “Clarity, get a box or basket and some cloth or something and see if you can make a little bed for Trouble.”
“Roger that, captain” Clarity replied, giving a silly salute.
“Honeydew,” Dinky continued, “Trouble will need something to eat. Do you think Professor Chestnut could stand to part with a little bit of the meat-based feed for her animals?”
“She won’t mind at all. She has tons,” Honeydew replied, nodding.
“Good. I’ll take Trouble, since he seems to be the most comfortable around me, and get him cleaned up a little,” she added, picking Trouble up again and draping him across her back. “Somepony will notice the smell if we don’t. Not to mention, none of us want to live in a dorm with something that smells like he does.”
“So we’ll clean him, feed him, and give him a warm place to sleep,” Honeydew said, reiterating the checklist. “Then what?”
“Then I guess we just have to hope it helps,” Dinky admitted. “At least until we can figure out how serious his illness is.”
Undaunted, the fillies set off to begin their respective tasks.
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Trouble was quickly made comfortable, and seemed to be in stable condition. Much to Dinky’s relief, he stayed quiet and out of the way, making him surprisingly easy to keep concealed. The fillies simply had to make sure to close the door whenever they left the room.
More worrying, however, was Trouble’s condition. He didn’t seem to be getting worse as the days went by, but he wasn’t improving either. The girls kept him safe and well fed, hoping that he’d get his strength back.
As the month went on though, another even more unsettling event took priority in the filly’s mind. It was an afternoon like any other, and Dinky and her friends had just gotten out of Enchantments class. After meeting up with Scuffle, they headed to the castle gardens to talk.
“So, Dinks,” Scuffle began, “you know a little about counterspells, right?”
“Just one or two,” Dinky admitted. “That basic magic disruption spell was the first spell I ever cast, remember?”
“Yeah, that’s why I figured I’d ask you,” Scuffle continued. “I checked out a book on counterspells, and I—”
“Wait,” Clarity cut in, giving Scuffle an incredulous look, “you are going out of your way to learn magic we don’t need to know for class? Since when do you do that?”
“Since maybe they might be useful when I have two brothers who want to mess me up,” Scuffle said, rolling his eyes. “I was doing some thinking earlier this week, and I realized that counterspells probably fall under the umbrella of defensive magic. Maybe if I practice, I could get good enough at them to counter Scorch and Frosty’s attacks, instead of just shielding myself and running away.”
“That’s actually a really smart idea,” Dinky said, patting Scuffle on the back. “So, what have you found out so far?”
Scuffle shrugged. “I’m just trying to figure out which spells would be the most useful,” he said. “Scorch and Frosty like to use direct assaults, usually in the form of a fireball or a blast of freezing air. So I’ve been looking into that cancellation spell you use to cancel it before it’s cast, and also a couple late-phase cancellations to try to stop them once they’ve already been thrown at me. Trouble is, I don’t know if… uh, Dinky?”
Scuffle trailed off and turned around. Dinky had stopped dead in her tracks and was staring blankly ahead.
Clarity cautiously backed up and waved a hoof in front of Dinky’s face. “Equestria to Dinky. You okay?”
Dinky blinked several times. “Y-yeah,” she said weakly. “Sorry, just… a headache or something.”
“You were fine a second ago,” Honeydew said, trotting over and placing the side of her forehoof on Dinky’s forehead. “Are you coming down with something?”
Dinky gently pushed Honeydew away. “No, it’s… something else.”
Dinky took a few more cautious steps, and suddenly reeled as a powerful aura engulfed her. It felt like there was some kind of concentrated magical energy nearby, radiating from someplace she couldn’t see. Why then, she wondered, can’t they feel it? They’re unicorns too.
The sensation did not dull, and after a moment, Dinky sank down onto her haunches and shut her eyes, overwhelmed. Instantly, her friends were at her side.
“What’s wrong?” Clarity asked urgently, her voice tinged with worry. “Do you need us to take you to the infirmary?”
Dinky said nothing. The aura she felt hung in the air around her like smoke, attempting to muddle her thoughts. It felt oppressive, sickening, almost haunting, but strangely familiar.
“Dark magic.”
Clarity blinked. “What?”
“Something around here is giving off a ton of dark magic,” Dinky managed, forcing herself to stand. “But where is it? What is it?”
She teetered over to the side of the path, where the aura felt strongest, looking closely for any sign of anything out of the ordinary. As she stepped into the grass, her hoof brushed lightly against a smooth rock.
Suddenly, the sensation more than doubled in its intensity. Dinky cried out and was unable to prevent a blast of dark magic from firing out of her horn, which made a sound like a firecracker and produced a shower of black sparks. Terrified, she backed off and collapsed on the pathway.
Honeydew gave a sharp squeal and cowered behind the nearest large object, which happened to be Scuffle. Clarity, however, bravely galloped to Dinky’s side.
“Dinky! What happened?”
“It’s the rock,” Dinky mumbled, clutching at her aching head. “The rock’s full of dark magic.”
Clarity glanced at the unassuming stone and dragged Dinky a few more pony lengths away from it. Dinky felt her head start to clear as some distance was put between her and the stone.
Scuffle crept up to the rock like a cat stalking a mouse. Cringing, he carefully reached out and tapped it with the tip of his hoof. Absolutely nothing happened, and the colt breathed a sigh of relief.
“You sure that’s what caused it, Dinks?” he asked, poking the stone a few more times. “Feels like a regular old rock to me.”
“It shouldn’t feel unusual to you,” Dinky replied, standing and walking a few more paces so the aura faded from her senses entirely. “It’s not a specific spell. Just a whole bunch of dark energy poured into one object.”
“So you can only feel it because of all that dark magic in you?” Honeydew asked, still keeping her distance.
“Looks like it,” Dinky said frustratedly. “Sunbeam’s getting really clever. I hadn’t even thought about it, but exposing me to dark magic through remote sources is just about the best move he can make. Even the princesses can’t sense dark energy when it’s just radiating, but I’ll be affected whenever I get near one because of this dumb corruption. The rest of the school can keep functioning uninterrupted, while Sunbeam can specifically torment me.”
Clarity bit her lip. “Is there anything you can do about it?” she asked hesitantly.
“Avoid them, obviously,” Dinky said, snorting. “And start doing research about disenchanting spells. I don’t know if a spell used to dispel the stored magic in an object will work on dark magic enchantments, but I can certainly try them.”
“What about telling Twilight, or the princesses?” Scuffle asked.
Dinky looked at the floor. “I, uh… I will if I need to,” she said. “The more I make them worry about my dark magic issues, the more likely they’re going to intervene and do something drastic, like send me back to Ponyville. So I want to at least try to handle Sunbeam’s latest move by myself.”
Clarity hesitated, then nodded. “Just be careful, okay?” she asked as she led the group away from the stone. “Sunbeam’s not likely to make this an isolated event. Better start working on studying those disenchanting spells; I have a feeling that colt’s going to make a lot more of these awful things…”
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In the following weeks, Sunbeam did exactly that.
Much to Dinky’s discontent, the rock was only the first of many dark auras that cropped up around the school. Even more unsettling was the fact that they were also being removed as often as they appeared. Dinky noticed within a day or two that the stone she’d encountered first had returned to a regular rock. Sunbeam, or so she guessed, was probably trying to make it difficult to prove the auras existed by changing their locations under the cover of night.
The one silver lining was that the auras were not powerful enough to force Dinky to use dark magic, unless she touched the tainted objects. This made it pretty easy to avoid more corruption, but left the filly feeling anywhere from “under the weather” to “downright miserable”, depending on the exposure she received that day. Thankfully, the few additional bursts of dark magic that she did have were small, and happened in private.
Once or twice, poor Dinky was tempted to give in and let a little dark magic flow, if only because giving into an aura’s influence lessened the discomfort. But each time, she pushed the thought from her mind and focused on studying every resource in the school’s library on enchantment removal spells.
I can’t afford any more corruption! she told herself. Not with Scorpio getting so close. I have to grit my teeth and fight through this.
The residence tower, at least, remained a respite, and Dinky and her friends started spending more of their free time there, which, given the dropping temperatures, wasn’t too much of a tragedy.
Most weekdays though, after finishing her homework, Dinky would collapse onto her bed, exhausted from another stressful day of resisting auras. Thankfully, her sleep remained peaceful for the time being.
Each night though, Scorpio clawed her way higher up the night sky, and Dinky was left to wonder if the worst was still to come.
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Soon it was late September. Virgo moved from the top of the night sky, and Libra took her place. The Zodiac pony Dinky dreaded the most patiently waited her turn, next in line to become the constellation with the most influence.
One sunny Friday, Dinky and Clarity made their way down to the castle for Magical Artifacts class. Dinky kept her senses alert for the first prick of radiating dark magic; it had become a habit for her very quickly.
“You look peppy today,” Clarity observed. “What’s got you in such good spirits?”
Dinky grinned. “Remember how, on the first day of class, Professor Bronze suggested we have Miss Twilight as a guest speaker?”
Clarity’s eyes widened. “Is that today?” she asked excitedly. “I didn’t realize you’d actually been planning it!”
Dinky smirked. “That’s because it’s a surprise for the class,” she said slyly. “Keep it a secret. I want to see their faces when the leader of the Elements of Harmony walks in.”
Clarity giggled. “I’ve met Twilight twice and I’m still excited to see her! I can’t imagine how the rest of the class will react.”
“There’s also something I want to talk to her about while she’s here,” Dinky said in a more serious tone. “Maybe I can get her to help me with the latest dark magic problem without her finding out just how serious it is.”
Dinky and Clarity arrived at the classroom and took their seats. The rest of the class looked unaware of anything out of the ordinary, even when Professor Bronze entered the room wearing an unusual smile.
“Good afternoon,” he said energetically. “I know, it’s been a long week and you’d all very much like this class to be over so you can enjoy your weekend, but if I can hold your attention for just a little while longer, I think you’ll find today’s class to be very interesting.”
“Are you going to tell us more stories of your adventures?” one filly asked.
“Actually, I’m not going to say much of anything at all,” Professor Bronze admitted. “But our guest speaker will be happy to tell you all you want!”
He beckoned toward the hallway, and much to the disbelief of most of the class, Twilight Sparkle appeared in the doorway and cautiously trotted to the front of the room.
“Um… hello,” the mare said, rubbing a hoof against the back of the other and smiling sheepishly at all the astonished faces.
There was another second of silence, and then chaos erupted in the room. Almost all of the students leapt from their desks and crowded around Twilight, bombarding the poor mare with questions and shouts of admiration.
Twilight backed up a pace or two and slowly turned in a circle, responding to the foals’ outcries with halting, fragmented answers and nervous laughter.
“Alright, alright, settle down!” Professor Bronze called loudly. “I know you’re all excited to meet an Element bearer and extremely accomplished magic user, but there won’t be much of a point to her coming all the way here if you don’t give her a chance to talk, now will there?”
“I appreciate the enthusiasm,” Twilight added, raising her voice a bit and doing her best not to look overwhelmed, “but I’ve got a whole bunch of neat things to talk about and we only have a limited time to discuss them. The quicker you all get settled, the quicker I can share some amazing stories!”
It took a few moments, but soon all the excited ponies returned to their desks. Twilight took a moment to glance around the room appreciatively.
“Boy, I remember having class in here. It feels like yesterday,” she reminisced. “And look, that crack I made in the bricks is still here from when I tried to magically fuse two volatile enchanted orbs with opposite polarities back in my fourth year.”
She smiled dreamily for a moment, then noticed the surprised looks of many of the students and straightened up, once again looking nervous. She quickly looked for anything she could use to change the subject, and her eyes fell upon the only two ponies in the room she knew.
“Oh, hello Dinky and Clarity!” she greeted. “I spent so much time preparing a lecture I’d almost forgotten you two would be here.”
“Hello, Miss Twilight,” Dinky replied, noting the whispers of general awe around the room as her classmates realized that she was in fact a personal student of the Twilight Sparkle.
“Hey Twilight,” Clarity greeted smoothly, giving one forehoof a slow wave.
“You know Twilight Sparkle too?” the colt behind her asked eagerly.
“Sure, I’ve met her several times,” Clarity said. “I just saw her a few weeks ago when she took Dinky and me to the Canterlot archives.”
The colt’s jaw dropped, and Dinky had to put a hoof over her snout to stifle a laugh. In reality, Clarity was probably just as excited to see Twilight again as the rest of the students were to meet her, but her casual act certainly seemed to be fooling the pony behind her.
“You’re such a ham sometimes,” Dinky mouthed after Twilight’s attention had turned elsewhere again. Clarity simply smirked and chose not to reply.
“Now, I suppose we should get started,” Twilight said. “Dinky told me the class had invited me to give a lecture on the Elements of Harmony. I figured I’d bring one along to use as an example.”
Twilight opened her saddlebag and withdrew a golden tiara with a large, star-shaped, magenta colored stone adorning the top. “This is the Element of Magic,” she explained. “It’s the central element that ties the others together, but technically it’s not any more important than the other five. After all, none of them can really be used unless they’re united. This is because their magic draws on the power of the bond between their bearers and converts it into a formerly unobserved type of magical energy!”
Twilight seemed to overcome her nerves very quickly once her speech actually began, and soon she was rattling off facts, ideas, and theories about Equestria’s most powerful artifacts. Dinky, who had heard most of the lecture during her tutoring, found herself beginning to zone out a bit. Instead, she focused on deciding how she was going to ask Twilight for help with the dark aura situation without seeming overly suspicious.
Dinky only realized how far her mind had wandered when she realized Twilight’s ongoing explanation of the Elements had drawn to a close. She joined the class in a round of applause.
“Thank you, Twilight, for that presentation,” Professor Bronze said as most of the students made their way out the door. “It seems like the students really enjoyed your visit, and it seems like you enjoyed your visit to the Academy as well. I’m sure the other professors and I would be happy to have you again in the future to offer more of your insights.”
“Oh gosh, really?” Twilight asked, blushing slightly and giving an abashed smile. “I knew I was one of the Academy’s better students back in the day, but I didn’t realize my guest lectures were so sought after!”
Dinky and Clarity waited patiently as Twilight exchanged a few more words with the professor. As soon as the mare finished her conversation, she turned and smiled at the fillies.
“Hello, girls. Did I do okay?” Twilight asked. “I was a bit worried that I didn’t have enough to say about the effect, or maybe lack thereof, when the Elements are used with one or more bearers swapped out for somepony else. Then again, in my experience, that’s only happened once.”
Clarity waved a forehoof dismissively. “You did fine, Miss Twilight,” she insisted. “Keep giving lectures like that and I bet you’ll be a teacher here by the time we graduate.”
Twilight grinned. “I don’t know about that, Clarity,” she giggled. “I know a lot of magic, but I’m not sure my skills are focused enough in any one area to teach a whole subject.”
Dinky waited for Twilight to stop giggling, and then put on her most innocent, curious face. “Hey Miss Twilight, before you go, I had a magic question that I was hoping you could help me with.”
“Oh?” Twilight asked, looking quite interested. “Is it something complicated? I’d think you’d be able to find the answer in the school library.”
“Well…” Dinky began, shuffling a forehoof, “it’s uh…”
She lowered her voice. “It’s not about dark magic, but it kind of… concerns it.”
Twilight’s brow furrowed. “Dinky, you’re staying away from those spells, right?”
“Of course, of course,” Dinky quickly assured her. “But, you know, Sunbeam is still out there, I think. I was wondering, you know, as a precaution… is there any particularly powerful disenchantment spell I can use to dispel stored dark magic?”
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It was a weathered statue of a unicorn, standing unassumingly at one corner of a patch of begonias. It was ancient, clearly, as any details of the face and mane had long since worn away. Dinky had passed it hundreds of times and never given it more than a passing glance. Today, it pulsed with energy that made her horn throb and her legs shake.
It would be the perfect test subject.
Clarity and Honeydew stood nearby, watching with quiet interest as Dinky placed four gemstones she had enchanted earlier that day in a square pattern around the base of the sculpture. She lit her horn, and each of them began to glow with her yellow light.
“Here goes nothing,” she said, earning silent nods from the other fillies. Calling forth the spell she’d practiced many times in the few days since Twilight’s visit, she linked the gemstones with four small beams of light.
The instant the square was complete, the statue gave an alarming crackle, spitting black sparks in every direction. The reaction took only a second or so, and then the gemstones, and the statue itself, were silent.
“Did it work?” Clarity asked. “Can you feel anything?”
Dinky had been so surprised by the result of her spell that she hadn’t realized it right away, but upon stopping to check, she wasn’t met with any more unpleasant sensations.
“I… I think it worked,” she said breathlessly. “Let me check…”
Biting her lip, Dinky lifted a forehoof and gingerly moved it toward the statue, expecting the sensation to reappear at any moment.
Honeydew whined nervously. “Dinky, careful…”
Dinky squeezed her eyes shut and placed her hoof on the cold stone. Much to her relief, not only did she not reflexively shoot off dark energy, she didn’t feel any effect at all.
She sighed, relieved. “Yeah. It worked.”
“Haha, yeah!” Clarity cheered, stamping her front hooves several times. “Let’s see how Sunbeam deals with that one!”
“I’ve got to admit, you’re doing a really good job fighting back,” Honeydew added. “At this rate, you should make is past Scorpio’s Apex without too much trouble.”
Dinky smiled confidently. “I sure hope so. It’s not much more than a month away now, after all. Sunbeam would have to pull something pretty fantastic to turn me into a wraith by the end of term!”
“I wonder why Scuffle didn’t show up to see you test that spell out,” Clarity wondered aloud. “He seemed pretty excited about it when you described it this morning.”
Dinky shrugged. “I dunno,” she admitted. “Maybe he—”
Dinky was cut off by the sound of desperate yelling and harsh laughter not far away. The girls recognized one of the voices immediately. It was Scuffle, and he did not sound happy.
Honeydew put a hoof over her mouth, concerned. “What’s going on over there?” she whimpered.
Dinky swiveled her ears, listening to the continued laughter growing louder as Scuffle’s cries grew more frantic and outraged. “Sounds like Scuffle’s in trouble. And if that laughter is who I think it is, it’s not hard to guess why.”
“Well, come on, let’s go see!” Clarity commanded.
Before Clarity finished speaking, she and Dinky had already broken into a run. Honeydew squeaked in protest, but it had no effect, so she nervously dashed after the others.
A crowd had gathered around the back of the castle. Ponies watched either with morbid curiosity or sinister glee as the FrostFire Twins entertained their 'audience'.
Scuffle stood between his brothers. The colt had somehow been stained bright pink from head to hoof, and stood crying out in agonized protest as Scorch held him in place. Frosty was lazily conjuring a flurry of orange and yellow flowers, which drifted slowly down and adorned Scuffle’s mane and the ground around him.
“Stop it! Stop it! Let go!” Scuffle roared, wriggling in Scorch’s grip and firing off ineffectual spells. “What kind of sick pleasure do you two pinheads get out of this?!”
“Aww, come on, Scuff,” Frosty said in his famous mock-unhappy tone. “We’re just trying to help you fit in. A little lighter pink and a few more flowers and you won’t stand out as much from those three sissy fillies you like so much anymore.”
The older colt conjured one final flower and delicately placed it behind Scuffle’s ear. “There,” he said, grinning and admiring his handiwork. “Looks perfect, huh Scorch?”
“Really fits him,” Scorch agreed.
Many of the gathered ponies laughed. Scuffle, finally freed of Scorch’s grip, stared at his coat in horror. Gritting his teeth, he turned to his brothers, who were giving him smug stares.
“You…. you two… are the absolute worst excuses for older brothers I’ve ever seen!” he snarled, breathing heavily.
Scorch clucked his tongue and flicked one of the flowers out of Scuffle’s hair. “Is that so? Whatcha’ gonna do about it, bro?”
Scuffle snarled. “You wanna know what I’m gonna do? Do you?!”
Scuffle stood, panting hard and staring defiantly up as his brothers gave him identical bored looks. Everypony watched, waiting to see the young colt’s retaliation.
Nopony expected what happened next.
A change seemed to wash over Scuffle. His angry posture became more humble, his tail drooped low and his eye contact with his brothers was broken. The colt seemed to shrink down until he really did look no more threatening than the most harmless filly. With tears forming in his eyes, he collapsed on the ground.
“I’m gonna surrender,” he said flatly. “I’ve had it. You win. I just don’t have it in me to fight back anymore…”
Frosty laughed loudly. “I knew it! You really are a weakling!”
“You heard it here, everypony!” Scorch called to the onlookers. “Little Scuffle’s no tougher than the fillies he hangs with! Nothing but a no-talent shrimp!”
The brothers laughed and gave a triumphant hoof-bump as a thoroughly defeated Scuffle broke into quiet sobs beneath them. The crowd began to dissipate, save for a few of Scorch and Frosty’s 'friends', who stuck around to congratulate them on their fantastically cruel prank and the reaction it had caused.
“Jeez,” Clarity mumbled. “Poor Scuffle.”
“Yeah,” Honeydew agreed quickly. “That’s unfortunate. Now let’s get out of here before the twins notice us.”
“We can’t just go!” Dinky said, turning around to face Honeydew, who was already backing off. “Look at him! He needs us right now.”
Honeydew froze. “But, uh, we… um…” she stuttered, pawing nervously at the ground. “Y-you know we can’t stand up to Scuffle’s brothers, right?”
“Do you think they’re low enough to go after us if we stand up for him?” Clarity asked.
Honeydew glanced toward the twins were still chatting gleefully as they stood over Scuffle’s prostrate form. “Right now, I’m not sure there’s anything beneath those two…”
Dinky stamped a hoof. “Okay, I’ll go alone then,” she announced. “Scuffle’s suffering through this because of us, remember? I don’t know about you two, but I meant it when I said I was his friend, so if I have to endure his brothers’ spite too, at least he won’t be alone in his misery.”
Not waiting for further arguments, Dinky marched forward. When she got within a few pony-lengths of the three colts, she let a magic-cancelling shockwave burst forth, melting the enchanted color off Scuffle’s coat. The twins looked at her, surprised.
“And what do think you’re doing, small fry?” Scorch asked. “We don’t appreciate killjoys.”
“Leave Scuffle alone,” Dinky said levelly. “Look at him. He’s done. Why would you even want to keep bothering him?”
Hearing Dinky’s voice, Scuffle looked up and rubbed the tears from his eyes. “Go away, Dinks,” he urged. “This has nothing to do with you.”
“Yeah, buzz off, kid,” Frosty grumbled.
Dinky shook her head. “Nope. It’s time somepony stood up for Scuffle. And I’m gonna be the pony to do it.”
“You mean we’re gonna be the ponies to do it.”
Clarity arrived at Dinky’s side, glaring at the older colts. Scorch and Frosty exchanged a surprised glance.
“Maybe Scuffle hasn’t mentioned…” Frosty started acidly. “Nopony at this school talks back to the FrostFire Twins. So why don’t you two go mind your own damn business.”
“Go,” Scuffle pleaded. “Don’t make them mad, please. You’ll regret it. I’ll be alright without—”
He stopped midsentence, his gaze fixed on something behind the two fillies. For a moment, Dinky had no idea what had caught his attention, but when a third filly slunk forward to stand by her side, she quickly made the connection.
“I-I-I’d like to s-stand up for S-scuffle t-too,” Honeydew stuttered, shaking uncontrollably as she struggled to hold her ground in front of the older colts. “W-we’re not going to let you hurt our f-friend anymore…”
Scuffle twitched in surprise. Scorch and Frosty exchanged another glance, grinned darkly, and turned back to the fillies.
“Well now, that almost sounds like a threat,” Scorch said, taking a step forward. “What do you think, Frosty?”
“I think it was, Scorch,” Frosty said, in the same intrigued tone. “You know what that means, don’t you?”
“It means we might have to remind these three about the pecking order around here,” Scorch laughed.
Dinky and Clarity maintained their defiant expressions, but both fillies began to back off as Scorch and Frosty advanced. Honeydew’s pupils contracted and she stood frozen with fear. Frosty leaned down so his muzzle was only an inch or two from hers.
“Hey there, sweetheart,” he said, his voice dripping with malice. “Sorry to break it to you, but you and your friends are about to learn a very hard lesson.”
Honeydew opened her mouth, but no sound came. Scorch bore down on Dinky and Clarity in the same fashion, and together, the brothers’ horns sparked to life.
“Alright, that’s enough!”
Both colts stopped dead, extinguished their horns, and turned back around. Scuffle was on his hooves, hopelessness once again replaced with a burning rage.
“If you hurt one hair on any of them,” he threatened, “I swear I will march over there and rip you two apart.”
Scorch blinked and then burst into laughter. Frosty simply smirked.
“I admit, I’d love to see that,” he chuckled. “Care to back that claim up, little bro?”
“Sure,” said Scuffle, not missing a beat. “How about you two blockheads duel me? Unless you’re as spineless as you seem when you go after my friends like that.”
Frosty blinked. “A duel? You mean like, a formal one? With rules and restrictions?”
Scuffle nodded. “Yeah, that’s what I’m talking about. Or are you two too afraid to fight fair?”
Both brothers scowled. “You better watch that mouth, bro,” Scorch warned, scraping a hoof angrily in the dirt.
“Do we have a deal or not?” Scuffle asked loudly, ignoring the threats. “Are you gonna fight me, or go back to picking on three fillies with no real knowledge of battle magic?”
Frosty grinned. “Oh, no way we’re passing this chance up,” he laughed, tossing his mane confidently. “We’ve got a secret duel spot in the woods where we won’t be interrupted by any overseers. Follow us, and bring your sissy friends. It’s no fun if they don’t get to watch us turn you into a stain on the forest floor!”
“We’ll see about that,” Scuffle said. “Lead the way.”
Scorch and Frosty turned and made their way toward the forest. Scuffle glanced back at his three shocked friends.
“Well, are you coming or what?”
“Scuffle…” Dinky said quietly, stepping toward Scuffle. “You didn’t have to—”
Scuffle put a hoof on Dinky’s snout. “Dinks, shut up. We can worry about that later,” he commanded. “Now come on. I’ve got a bone to pick with those idiots.”
Without another word, he marched off, and the fillies followed.
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Dinky had never seen this part of the forest. Deep in its heart, the ponies emerged in a clearing just before the sheer rock face that made up the Academy valley wall. Large scrapes in the dirt and broken, overturned branches indicated this was not the first duel to be held here.
“Let’s decide the rules,” said Frosty, taking a quill and an empty template for duel parameters from Battle Magic class out of his saddlebag. “There’s no time limit. We fight until one side either forfeits or is knocked out. Anything goes in combat. Sound alright?”
“Anything magic goes,” Scuffle argued. “No physical contact.”
“Heh, works for me,” Frosty answered, scribbling the suggested rules down on the scroll. “If anything that’s gonna make this even easier.”
He held out a quill to Scuffle. “This form is a contract used in the upper level Battle Magic classes,” he explained. “By putting your signature on it, you’re magically binding yourself to stick to the rules written on it. You literally can’t break ‘em if you try.”
“And believe me, we’ve tried,” Scorch added.
“It also makes it impossible for bystanders to magically intervene,” Frosty added. “Any more objections?”
“Just one,” Scuffle replied. “You two are looking forward to beating me fair and square in a fair fight, right?”
Scorch rolled his eyes. “That’s the point of the contract, doofus. We don’t need to cheat to defeat our sissy little brother anyway.”
“Right,” said Scuffle. “So I get a partner too, right? Two on one isn’t fair.”
Frosty raised an eyebrow. “And where are you planning to get a dueling partner? You already agreed to this; if you don’t have one, you’ll be taking us on alone.”
Scuffle nodded. “Uhh, hold that thought.”
Scuffle backed off a few paces and then turned and trotted over to his friends. They all gave him uncertain looks, and he sighed.
“Okay look. I’ve been practicing those counterspells I mentioned, and I have a plan,” he whispered. “I’m almost sure it will work, but I can’t do it if I have to duel by myself. The strategy will totally work, though. You won’t get hurt, I swear.”
Clarity looked unsure. “How can you promise that?” she asked. “Your brothers are vicious.”
“Besides, if you’re only dueling them to defend us, why are you asking one of us to help?” Dinky asked.
Scuffle glanced nervously back at his brothers, who appeared to be growing impatient. “I don’t have time to explain!” he said urgently. “I know this plan will work, and if we win, it might get Scorch and Frosty off our backs forever. Although, I somehow doubt you’re gonna wanna go through with the duel, no matter what I say…”
Dinky rubbed her chin thoughtfully. “Well, I’ve got my magic cancelling spell. Maybe it’d be alright if I—”
“Er, no, it’s not that simple,” Scuffle said awkwardly. “See, I know we can win, but only if my dueling partner… is Honeydew.”
“I… what?!” Honeydew squealed. “No, no, no, no, no, absolutely not! What use could I possibly be in a duel? I don’t know any battle magic! Not only would I be in danger, it’d be a waste to have me there!”
Scuffle gently nudged Dinky and Clarity aside and stepped forward so he was face to face with Honeydew alone. “Right now, it might be a waste, yeah,” he agreed. “But maybe not if I do this.”
He lit his horn, and a silver ring with a dark blue stone attached emerged from his bag. It levitated through the air and snapped itself on near the tip of Honeydew’s tail.
The filly stared at the accessory blankly. “M-my spell enhancement ring…”
She turned to Scuffle, her eyes wide. “I thought it disappeared after I almost killed you with it. You had it all this time?”
“I knew you wanted to get rid of it,” Scuffle admitted, “but I figured it might be useful to hang onto it. You know, just in case we ever needed it again.”
Honeydew hung her head. “Scuffle, I’m… flattered, really, that you think I can help… but there’s no way I’m going to duel Scorch and Frosty. I’m scared of you most of the time. Against your brothers, I’d just be… paralyzed…”
Scuffle gave Honeydew a long look. “Honeydew, I can promise you won’t get hurt,” he said quietly. “I know how Scorch and Frosty are, and I think I finally know how to overpower them. Yes, it… it will be scary, but you’ll be safe. I need you to trust me.”
Honeydew flinched. “Scuffle, um, the trust thing between you and me has never exactly… worked…” she mumbled, avoiding his gaze.
Scuffle nodded. “Then how about this. If you help me duel, and you get so much as a single scratch, you never have to trust me again. I’ll stay out of your life completely if that’s what you really want.”
Honeydew raised an eyebrow. “You’d be okay with that?”
“I’ve told you before,” Scuffle said levelly. “Although I can’t seem to convince you, I honestly don’t want anything bad to happen to you, or to Dinky or Clarity. If you really, truly can’t see me as anything but a threat, and you trust me anyway today and I let you down, well, I’d want me gone too.”
Honeydew chewed her lip, and glanced at the other fillies. “Um… girls?”
“I don’t think we can help with this one, Honeydew,” Dinky said sympathetically, putting a hoof on her friend’s shoulder. “I know it seems like a no-win situation, but you’ve got to decide what you want to do.”
Honeydew looked back to Scuffle. There was silence for a few seconds, and then she sighed and turned away.
“Right,” Scuffle said finally. “I kinda figured you wouldn’t be up for dueling anyway. Can’t blame me for trying I guess.”
The colt waited a moment longer, and then returned to his brothers. Both of them signed their names on the contract, and then passed the quill to Scuffle, who signed his own.
“Alright,” he said. “Let’s duel.”
“Uhh… your partner has to sign too,” Scorch pointed out.
“But I don’t have a dueling pa—”
Scuffle stopped midsentence as pale green light surrounded the quill. Honeydew stepped forward, hesitated for a moment, and then slowly signed her name in delicate, looping script right below Scuffle’s scrawling hoofwriting.
Scuffle blinked. “Honeydew, that… that contract’s magically binding. You can’t back out now.”
“I know,” said Honeydew nervously. “I told you not too long ago that you’d never really done anything to prove I should trust you. I guess this is your chance.”
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Scorch and Frosty stood on one side of the clearing, both crouched low in identical battle stances. On the other end, Scuffle stood with his head held high, wearing a stern glare. Honeydew stood nearby, looking terrified and unsure what to do.
Dinky sat on the sidelines with Clarity, feeling more than slightly concerned. “I get the feeling this isn’t gonna end well,” she mumbled, earning a nod from the filly next to her.
“Ready?” Frosty called.
“Ready,” Scuffle repeated.
“R-ready,” Honeydew mumbled.
“Good,” Frosty said, grinning. “Scorch, go ahead and turn up the heat on our opponents, would you?”
Scorch lowered his head and conjured a rather large fireball on the tip of his horn. “Let’s see if your little shields are strong enough to stop us when we’re playing to win, bro!” he yelled, rearing up on his hind legs and then hurling the ball of flame forward as he fell back down to all fours.
Scuffle’s horn flared, and a smooth, translucent wall of cobalt blue erected itself in front of him. Scorch’s attack connected head-on, and the shield wavered, but the fireball fizzled out entirely.
“You’re gonna have to do better than that, Scorch!” Scuffle taunted. “I thought you weren’t gonna hold back.”
“You’re digging your own grave here, Scuff,” Scorch growled.
“Well come on, then! Try again!” Scuffle replied.
Scorch’s next fireball was much larger. With a roar, he tossed it across the battlefield. Scuffle stood his ground as the blistering orb flew toward him.
“He’s gonna get hit!” Dinky gasped.
At the last moment, Scuffle suddenly lowered his head and performed a spell Dinky had never seen. A piercing cone of blue light cut through the center of the fireball, blasting it apart into a few dozen tiny tongues of flame. The force of the counterspell threw the tiny fires back in the direction they came, raining them down on the twins.
Frosty reacted immediately. With pinpoint accuracy, he fired off dozens of jets of cold air, sniping and extinguishing each of the fires before they could burn the colts.
“…Wow,” Clarity said, stunned.
“I guess Scuffle has really been practicing counterspells,” Dinky said, swishing her tail excitedly.
“Cute,” Frosty said once the fires had been put out. “I wasn’t expecting that one, but it’s not like I’ve never seen it before, either. You’re gonna need something more creative to stop this!”
The colt conjured a swarm of tiny icicles in the air around him. The frozen shards swirled around him for a moment, and then his horn flared and they launched into the air, circling overhead like birds of prey searching for a meal.
Honeydew’s gaze flicked nervously between the brothers and the airborne icicles. “Um, Scuffle?” she asked, frightened. “Do you know how to stop that?”
Scuffle snorted. “Those things can’t get through my best shields.”
Frosty smirked and stamped his front hooves. The icicles turned and dive-bombed toward Scuffle.
Scuffle readied his shield, but the smug look on Frosty’s face concerned him. “Perfect!” Frosty laughed. “Now, Scorch!”
Another fireball blasted from Scorch’s horn and crackled as it blazed not toward Scuffle, but toward Honeydew. The filly cried out and threw a forehoof up to try to defend herself.
An instant before contact, a bright blue shield appeared, taking the full force of the fireball. Honeydew opened her eyes just in time to see Scuffle, now defending her instead of himself, be pelted with sharp icicles. He grunted in pain as they shattered against him, a few of them slicing small cuts in his back and sides.
“Told you you’re not getting hurt,” he panted, managing a pained smile.
“Oh, how noble,” Scorch cooed mockingly. “That partner of yours isn’t much use, Scuff. Keep taking hits just to protect that little waste of space, and this duel will be over in no time!”
Scuffle glanced in Honeydew’s direction. “I’ll keep you covered, don’t worry!” he urged. “You know what to do, right?”
Honeydew paused, glanced at the bauble on her tail, and then nodded slowly.
“Good. Then do it!” Scuffle instructed. “I’m counting on you.”
Suddenly, a patch of ice formed a ring around Scuffle on the ground. Shackle-like crystalline structures burst up, latching themselves onto his legs and around his midsection.
“Shouldn’t let yourself get distracted like that!” Frosty called. “Time to finish this.”
The icy chains on the shackles began to retract back into the ice on the ground, forcing Scuffle down with them, while Scorch prepared another attack. “Honeydew, now. Please!” Scuffle gasped as he struggled.
Honeydew watched the colt get pulled lower and lower to the ground, blocking attack after attack with his shields. Her eyes narrowed and the gemstone on her tail ring flashed.
On the sidelines, Dinky’s eyes widened. “Look at Honeydew,” she whispered to Clarity. “Something big is about to happen.”
Frosty chuckled. “Well, we’re about done here,” he said to Scorch. “Scuff can’t defend much longer. Just keep throwing those fireballs and he’ll— whoa!”
A small, rootlike tendril wrapped itself around Frosty’s forelegs and pulled. The colt collapsed, and his horn flickered out on impact. Scuffle quickly gained some more control, and pounded the icy shackles against the ground, shattering them.
“What?” Scorch asked, unsure what had happened to his brother. “Why’d you do that? We were winnin’!”
“It wasn’t me, you dope,” Frosty snapped. “It’s the pink filly. She’s got some techniques that are a little sneakier than Scuff’s are.”
Scorch scowled. “Alright, let’s get her.”
The brothers stood side by side. From below, Scorch created a pillar of flame, while Frosty added a column of ice conjured from above. They met at the center, quickly forming a sphere of boiling water.
Honeydew tried her best to animate some larger roots, but could only get small ones to respond, which the brothers continued to shake off. They tossed the steaming sphere toward their target just as Scuffle finished freeing himself. He leapt across the battlefield, placing himself directly in front of Honeydew, and lit his horn.
The ball of hot water changed course, was slung around behind Scuffle and Honeydew, and then hurled back at Scorch and Frosty with twice the speed. The twins didn’t even have time to dodge; only Frosty’s shield protected them, although it was weaker than the ones Scuffle tended to produce, splashing the pair of ponies with a few drops of hot water.
“What did you just do?” Honeydew asked, surprised.
“Who says gravity spells can only be vertical?” Scuffle asked, grinning. “I made a gravitational field around myself to slingshot the spell back at them. I can only maintain a gravity pattern that complex for a moment, but it works when I need it!”
“Oh really?” Frosty asked from across the field. “Let’s see how long you can keep it up then!”
Frosty began to hurl blast after blast of ice at his opponents, and Scorch began to alternate with him, tossing fireballs between each one. Panicked, Scuffle began to use the same gravity counter, but the complicated spell was hard to use again and again, and resulted in the attacks being tossed in random directions rather than hurled back at Scorch and Frosty. Honeydew cowered behind Scuffle, whimpering as fire and ice swirled around her and were thrown away.
“Honeydew,” Scuffle pleaded, struggling to keep the barrage away from the two of them. “I know you’re scared, and I know it’s hard, but you need to focus. There are trees all around the clearing; there must be some bigger roots you can use against Scorch and Frosty!”
Honeydew’s horn burned brighter and her tail ring glowed as she strained. “I’m trying! I just… I… I’m not sure I can!”
“You can!” Scuffle insisted, noticing his gravitational fields growing smaller, causing the edges of the attacks to singe the tips of his chest fur or chill his sensitive snout. “I believe in you. Keep trying!”
“Let’s see if this helps speed things up!” Scorch laughed. “You can’t block this one, Scuff!”
He pounded his forehooves for emphasis as his magic snaked through the ground of the arena, forming a network of cracks. He shot a beam of fiery energy into the crevice at his hooves, causing little jets of flame to shoot up from many of the cracks as they made their way toward Scuffle and Honeydew.
Scuffle gasped as the flames worked their way toward him. To his surprise, Honeydew seemed to brighten slightly.
“That was a bad move,” she whispered.
The filly squeezed her eyes shut and strained to make her horn flare brighter. Without warning, half a dozen huge roots, like fingers of a subterranean colossus, burst up from the ground weakened by Scorch’s spell, raining soil down on the surprised twins.
There was no time to react; three roots took hold of each brother, twirling and twisting to hold them stationary, immobilized in woody bindings. Scorch’s fire jet spell was interrupted before it reached Scuffle and Honeydew. The brothers dangled in midair in odd positions, tied firmly around the limbs and torso by the jutting roots.
“What in Tartarus?!” Frosty cried, wrestling fruitlessly against his bonds. “Is that filly doing this?”
“Don’t worry about it,” Scorch called. “We can fight our way out of these things in a minute. Right now, hurry up and finish off Scuff! He’s exhausted!”
Frosty nodded and fought against the roots to get into a slightly more favorable position, facing his horn toward his opponents.
“Now what?” Honeydew asked, sounding increasingly panicked.
“Stay on the defensive,” Scuffle replied. “My offensive battle spells are too weak to be much help, but as long as we keep them trapped, I should be able to counter their spells.”
“Oh, you think you’re a hotshot just because you can counter?” Frosty shot back, managing to turn his head to face toward Scuffle and Honeydew. “Well not every spell is so easy to counter, bro! I didn’t think we’d have to use these, but let’s see what you think of the spells Scorch and I invented ourselves!”
“Condensed Inferno?” Scorch asked.
“Yeah, and Condensed Blizzard!” Frosty replied. “Hit ‘em with both at once. They’ll wish they’d never been born!”
Something new began to form at the end of Frosty’s horn. It wasn’t the typical icy blast he usually cast. In fact, it didn’t seem to be made of snow and ice at all, but rather just bluish-white energy. A hissing sound filled the air, and droplets of liquid began to form all around the spell, freezing to ice before even hitting the ground.
He’s… he’s literally freezing the air around it, Dinky realized from her seat on the sidelines. That thing is dangerously cold!
Scorch formed a similar spell with his fire. Red and pulsing, it warped the air around it with an intense heat mirage, while the grass beneath it rapidly browned and withered.
Scuffle swallowed hard. “Honeydew, back up,” he commanded. “Don’t stop your spell, but make sure you keep your distance. Got it?”
Honeydew nodded, quivering visibly, and stepped back.
“Scuffle!” Dinky called. “If those things even get near you, you’re gonna regret it. Be careful!”
“No amount of distance is gonna save him, kid,” Frosty spat.
Scuffle responded by widening his stance and lowering his head, his expression determined.
“Now!” Frosty commanded. He and Scorch both launched their intense spells, causing the grass to either wither or freeze as the spells passed above it.
Scuffle threw back his head and launched a shockwave that, for a moment, Dinky thought might have been the magic cancelling wave she often used. But this wave was less easily seen; rather, it was felt.
A gravitational field almost as wide as the arena extended out from its center point on Scuffle’s horn. Both the huge spells were caught in it, and began to move along the outer edge like planets orbiting a star, not harming Scuffle at all.
The twins’ eyes widened. “I… how… what?” Frosty asked, incredulous that Scuffle’s control over gravity was so strong.
Keeping the two dangerous spells at a safe distance from himself, Scuffle brought them quickly together. The spells, surprisingly, did not cancel out; the Condensed Inferno worked tirelessly to melt the Condensed Blizzard, which in turn refused to give up on its efforts to freeze the Condensed Inferno solid. The result was a churning mass of competing energies, which crackled loudly and caused strange ripples in the air around it as it continued to orbit Scuffle.
Scorch gave Frosty a nervous look as he struggled against his wooden prison. “Uhh, is that supposed to happen?”
“Well, look at this,” Scuffle laughed, turning slowly around as he watched the sparking spell orbit him. “Looks like I’ve got a pretty powerful spell here. Let’s see what happens if I condense it further…”
The spell was encased in a blue aura. Scuffle applied uniform gravity to it, shrinking it down to a sphere no bigger than his own head. It began to hum, and the crackling became louder.
Scorch and Frosty now looked genuinely afraid. “Alright, hang on a second, bro,” Frosty said with a nervous chuckle. “I know we said anything goes, but now this might be going just a little too far…”
“Oh, so you forfeit?” Scuffle asked with poorly concealed glee.
Frosty scowled. “Not on your life, you little—”
“Okay then!” Scuffle laughed, launching the spell toward the entrapped colts.
The twins’ eyes went wide. “No, Scuff, wait—”
The spell collided with the ground between the two root prisons, and immediately burst. There were two shocked cries, one strained grunt, and several high-pitched screams, but all the sounds were drowned out by the thunderous roar of energy expanding explosively forth. Dinky didn’t have even a fraction of a second to react before everything went white.
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update quicker.i no like cliff hangers ;.;
4220401
I graduate from college in less than a month! Hopefully having all that work out of the way will mean quicker updates.
4220409 and i graduate in october. i know what you mean but i'm being sent to pixar animation on recomendation from school to intern for a job. so i'm going to be busier than usual trying out for story boarding.
I don't mind the speed of the updates. The content per chapter now it quite large. I only just realized that now...
Looks like this is the end to the twin brothers of ice and fire. The quaduplites win this battle!
Oh, boy. I know that I said Scuffle reminds me of one of the people from Yu-Gi-Oh GX but this is pushing it a bit far. Also, they should have asked Twilight about what Sparkler's deal is.
The wait for each amazing chapter is murder. Some times litterally
well ok not that bad. Keep up the excellent work.
If I had half the talent in writing you have, I'd be as good as the average fimfic writer.
4220872
Just out of curiosity, does that mean you didn't like the duel scene?
4220967
I liked the duel scene. I just don't like how they warped his personality to the point where he thought this was a good idea.
Choose wisely Sparkler, defy the ones who are actually trying to go against the one definitely using dark magic (not to mention sitting on the throne) or worry about one professor's opinion when he can easily become an ex professor.
... Why did I read Scruffles last 'powerful spell' line in a comdecing British accent?
Have fun graduating! We expected to see quicker updates afterwards :)
Karma is a bitch. The end.
Anyway, epic fight of the century. And a plausible cutie mark too. Nice done
Wow, Scuffle is a badass. No matter what happens next I don't think the twins will be bothering him again.
Let me guess... An overseer or whatever arrives just in time to see the spell hit Scuffle's brothers and they are the only ones not to get in trouble.
Oh, this was a great update... and well worth the wait.
Keep up the great work. They gotta fix that thumbs-up button... it only lets me click it once.
On a side note... Anypony else having trouble imagining the different voices for the cast in this story? For some odd reason, I keep wanting to give Dinky a voice like Applebloom... and I don't know why. I guess it might be because of the 'hard-worker' personality... but I'm not sure that's it.
More, this was awesome, I think I love you
Atta boy Scuffle, teach those two dunderheads a lesson they'll never forget.
condensed fusion!
when you mix uncoolable heat with unwarmable cold you get a fusion reaction, the power behind that spell would be insane if not completley eradicating everything in it's path, it would sure as hell hospitalize those two.
4221216 and if said professer did become an ex professer chances are sparkler would go down with them.
4222878 Assuming they don't turn chicken and run with their tails between their hooves.
4222909
They cant run, they're still trapped in Honeydew's root prisons.
4222938 Well then, sucks to be them. Hopefully they'll learn their lesson.
4222960 theoreticaly even if they could run it wouldn't be much good, fusion terminates into pure energy which when unstabalized results in a explosion, the whole arena would feel it.
Hah!
Sadly, I suspect we won't be fortunate enough for the two vermin to be vaporised into bloody fragments as they actually deserve, but maybe the solid beat-down might actually teach them a lesson.
If not, I can always hope they get accidently obliteraed along with the school's head when Sunbeam makes his final move...
'Hmmm troubles sick, honeydew, got to Professor Chestnut...'
'For help?'
'No for food! I mean its not like she works with animals or anything!'
Also.... a quiet place where you wont get interupted aii? Not so quiet any more aii Frost n Scorch.
Great chapter as usual and hope the next comes a little sooner, but hey, life, what ya gonna do aii?
4222938 he he he, that sounds wrong
Yay! An update! This made my day!
... although I'm still holding out for the major twist of Dinky breaking up with Pip and then Dinky x Shuffle Shipping
Because who doesn't like Duffle Bag shipping
4223092
Ya, you're probably right. It'd be really difficult to vaporize something and still have it turn into bloody fragments. Just can't get the best of both worlds.
Update!
Scuffle, Controller of Stars! I like.
This chapter gets five "Eeyup"s out of five
Oooh boy....
Good counter from Dinky, but Sunbeam is certainly saving the worst for last.
you must like change my theories on magic. i was hard set on teleportation working through wormholes. now i am not so sure. objects at ftl speds may phase matter as if it was energy. would teleportation of objects not attatched to the pony casting be possible?
chapter well worth the wait. and the twins got whats coming them.
4224096
What about if you vaporized everything except for a few bloody fragments? or say, just the feet, standing there, without owners....
4220401 for how well he writes i don't care if takes a year per chapter
Another great chapter! Sunbeam's new attempt at tormenting Dinky was a clever one, even though she found a way to counter it. The battle scene was quite entertaining, as well; interesting how you portray unicorn magic. I'm obviously curious as to how Trouble's sickness is going to be relevant, as well, for I highly doubt something like that has been brought into the story to end without consequence. I predict it will be used as a means to get Dinky into trouble with Sparkler and/or the dean... (Heh, 'Trouble'. [facepalm])
I'd say Scuffle's idiot brothers just ate crow, but somehow I doubt they'll be eating anything that solid for a while now.
4226937
I suppose magic could provide a very precise vaporization. If you vaporized everything but some chunks and maybe a few particularly high blood areas that'd work great.
4220419
...Dude, that is like the most awesome news I have ever heard. Congrats!
Also, awesome chapter! This was kickin!
Awesome chapter!
Thank you SO much for this wonderful chapter.
Need more... :D
Hmn, now that's a take on teleporting that I haven't seen before.
Oooo, that was a great duel. Here's hoping that Scuffle's brothers end up with frostbite over top of their
sunburns. Terrible reference, I'll go now.Well, Scuffle was just buffed. Scuffle OP plz nerf (just kidding).
I'm guessing Honeydew was too kind to use the roots to break a few of their bones?
Also, I know they said the duel was out of the way so that they wouldn't get interrupted by overseers, but I don't think Scorch and Frosty were counting on the duel getting as big and disruptive as it did.
And considering there are already guards on patrol for suspicious magic, I think somepony's going to notice what just happened.
4239757
That's a safe assumption to make, I think.
Details in the next chapter, as always.
4230000 Run some humble pie through a blender, they can drink it through a straw.
4226936 Teleportation clearly utilizes entanglement, which has been proven to be virtually instantaneous.
Like Goku's instant transmission!
4276140
I swear I've never seen it. I wrote that definition in my own words.
Weird that its so similar though.
Awesome duel scene, and another good chapter!
“Sure,” sad (said) Scuffle, not missing a beat. “How about you two blockheads duel me? Unless you’re as spineless as you seem when you go after my friends like that.”
An instant before contact, a bright blue shield appeared, taking the full force of the fireball. Honeydew opened her eyes just in time to see Scuffle, now defending her instead of himself, be(fore?) pelted with sharp icicles. He grunted in pain as they shattered against him, a few of them slicing small cuts in his back and sides.
Not bad wonder what sparkler up to?
Good of her to actually inform the princess but seriously she is far too "independent"
the entire thing with the dark energy rocks is very dangerous.
Now no ones perfect but this just screams for the lession learned at S1 ep4 (apple bucking season) all over it.
awesome fight but dang a colt and three fillys just go alone in the middle of a forest to FIGHT 2 older bullys?!
Scuffle used Bide!
Foe Frosty used Ice II!
Foe Scorch used Fire II!
The spells combined, creating the Antipode Bomb!
Scuffle used Graviga! The Antipode Bomb was crushed, forming Antipode Bomb II!
Foes Scorch and Frosty are confused!
Foes Scorch and Frosty are immobilized by Root Snare!
Honeydew is too busy to attack.
Scuffle uses Return! Antipode Bomb II is sent flying at Scorch and Frosty!
Critical hit! It's SUPER EFFECTIVE!
Kudos if you can figure out the games other than Pokemon that inspired the above report.
Oh nice to explore teleporting by the way.
Congrats Scuffle. You just learned how to make a thermal nuclear reaction. KABOOM!