Hocus Pocus

by Pegasus Rescue Brigade

Chapter 17

The latter half of October was an eventful time for the students of Celestia’s Academy. With final exams approaching in early November, most of the foals’ classes accelerated even further. For Dinky at least, it was a blessing; she was so busy that she had little time to worry about Scorpio as the constellation neared its apex directly overhead.

Princess Luna was surprised by the news of Sunbeam’s latest intrusion. Unwilling to risk the safety of Dinky or anypony else, she agreed to check in on Dinky’s dreams at regular intervals, whether one appeared to be in progress or not.

Despite the extra caution, Dinky could tell, especially as the end of the month grew close, that the darkened part of her was growing more active. The filly suffered from sudden, short-lived headaches and bouts of dizziness. Often it felt like the inside of her horn was one big itch needing to be scratched. Casting spells helped marginally, but Dinky knew the only way to achieve real relief was to use dark magic, which she stoically refused.

Fortunately, the symptoms seemed more annoying than dangerous. Although it took conscious effort, Dinky was still able to avoid actually using dark magic.

As if that wasn’t taking enough of a toll on the filly, Trouble’s illness led her to many more failed attempts at healing him. Each day she spent some time with the fox before trying to use the healing spell, but despite her best efforts, she was repeatedly thwarted by Trouble’s unwillingness to trust her. Honeydew offered tips passed along from Professor Chestnut, but nothing seemed to help.

Finally though, a welcome distraction appeared in the midst of all the stress, in the form of the Nightmare Night Dance.

On the evening of the event, Dinky and her friends finished their homework early and retired to their dorm to prepare.

“So, Clarity,” Dinky asked as she ran a brush through her mane, “did your sister ever tell you anything about this dance?”

Clarity chuckled as she affixed her barrette to her mane. “It’s just a big party to unwind and celebrate Nightmare Night before we have to deal with exams,” she replied. “There’ll be food, music, and plenty of Nightmare Night surprises.”

“I hope it’s nothing too scary…” Honeydew lamented, nervously rubbing the notch in her horn. “My home town doesn’t celebrate Nightmare Night. I don’t know what to expect.”

“Nightmare Night’s not scary, Honeydew,” Dinky laughed, patting her worried friend, “unless you’re scared of obviously fake vampires and werewolves and stuff.”

Honeydew giggled. “I guess that doesn’t sound so bad.”

Clarity trotted in place impatiently. “Well, c’mon, are you ready?” she asked the others. “It’s starting soon, and we still have to go find Scuffle.”

“I’m ready,” Dinky responded. “C’mon, let’s go!”

The fillies scrambled down the stairs and bolted for the tower door, practically tripping over each other in their hurry.

“Hey! Be careful you three!”

Dinky stopped abruptly at the commanding voice. Clarity and Honeydew crashed into her, causing the three fillies to fall in a heap.

“See?” said Sparkler. “You three are gonna hurt yourselves one of these days, I swear.”

Dinky took one look at Sparkler and was too surprised to bother to pull herself about from beneath her friends. The overseer was robed in a simple but elegant midnight blue dress, and her mane was intricately done-up.

“What’s with the outfit?” Dinky asked. “I thought this was an informal dance.”

Sparkler opened her mouth to reply, but Clarity cut her off. “The one we’re going to is informal,” she explained, “but the fifth-term students have their pre-graduation dance tonight. While all the other students party, the oldest ponies have a formal dinner and dance as a way to prepare to say goodbye to Celestia’s Academy.”

“Yes,” Sparkler deadpanned. “Now please get out of the way so I can go.”

The fillies got up and trotted outside. Clarity and Honeydew made their way toward the colts’ tower, hoping Scuffle would be waiting outside.

“Go ahead and find Scuffle,” Dinky called. “I’ll meet you at the dance.”

The purple filly fell back as her friends went on ahead. After a moment, she turned back to Sparkler, who was staring at her curiously.

“What?” the overseer asked finally.

Dinky shrugged. “Uh… I guess it’s not really my place to say anything,” she began, “but, uh, if I can make a suggestion—”

“If whatever you’re about to say has something to do with Presto, I don’t want to hear it,” Sparkler growled, scraping a hoof on the stone in agitation.

Dinky worked her tongue nervously and said nothing.

Sparkler rolled her eyes. “I can take care of myself, Dinky. I don’t need a foal telling me what to do.”

She turned away and began to trot down the path. “Have fun at your dance,” she said, her voice not conveying any real well-wishes.

Dinky sighed as Sparkler trudged away, and then quickly made her way to the castle.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dinky wouldn’t have recognized the room she was in was the dining hall if she hadn’t made her way there herself. Whoever had organized the Nightmare Night Dance had gone all out, covering the room with such a degree of decorations, both traditional and magical, that it looked more like a manifestation of an entire book of scary stories than a castle chamber. Dinky quickly located Clarity, Honeydew, and Scuffle in the crowd.

“Whoa, this is even more awesome than Lucid said it would be!” Clarity exclaimed, lighting her horn to see better in the dim, foggy atmosphere magically generated for the room.

“Good evening!” came a female voice. “Welcome to the celebration!”

There was a sudden puff of colored smoke, and a pony dressed as a hideous witch appeared as it cleared. Physically, the mare didn’t seem to be anypony the foals knew, but Dinky recognized the voice immediately.

“Professor Luster? Is that you?”

“Good guess!” the mare chuckled. “Hard to tell though, isn’t it?”

“That costume’s a lot more realistic than the ones I’ve seen back home,” Clarity observed. “How’d you make it so lifelike?”

“Oh, just a few illusions here and there and an enchantment or two,” Professor Luster laughed. “The other professors and I are providing such costumes for students who want them. Interested?”

Dinky opened her mouth to answer, but never got the chance. She and Clarity were both shoved aside as Scuffle wedged himself in between them and forced his way to the front of the group.

“Sounds awesome! Me first!”

The professor chuckled. “Relax, Scuffle. You’ll all get a turn. Now, hold still!”

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Raarrrarrgghh!” the mutilated, decaying zombie unicorn groaned.

Honeydew just giggled, her vampire fangs showing as she did so. “Sorry Scuffle, I know that’s just you!”

Scuffle pouted. “I’m still terrifying though, right?”

Honeydew looked her friends over. “We’re all pretty terrifying right now, to be honest.”

Dinky laughed at the comment, looking at the costumes herself. Scuffle’s zombie pony outfit was wonderfully convincing, right down to the chunks of rotting flesh that occasionally fell from his frame before vanishing in a flash of sparkles a few moments later. Honeydew’s vampire costume had turned her already pale pink fur almost white, and a few clever enchantments had equipped her with fangs and a substance that looked quite like blood that occasionally ran in tiny rivulets from the corners of her mouth.

“Stereotypical monsters, hah,” Clarity laughed. “My costume’s way cooler.”

Dinky looked at Clarity again and had to admit, she had a point. The front half of Clarity’s body looked exactly the same as always, but through some combination of illusions and enchantments Dinky couldn’t even comprehend, the back half appeared to have been transformed into an iridescent scaly tail, tipped with a double fin. If seaponies were real, Dinky was sure Clarity would be indistinguishable from them.

If choosing between the four, though, Dinky’s costume was perhaps the most striking of all. She wandered over to a mirror again to examine it. Her eyes glowed bright green from beneath a covering of sticks and leaves that formed together into a living body. Her shape, however, was still roughly pony, instead of canine.

“So you’re a timberwerewolf, instead of a regular timberwolf?” Honeydew asked, wandering over to the mirror where, delightfully, no reflection at all appeared. “That’s creative!”

“Come on, you two!” Clarity called. “Even monsters have to eat. Let’s get some food!”

Dinky ambled along after Clarity, listening to the clicking of her faux-wooden paws on the floor. Scuffle had already helped himself to the generous buffet and was eyeing up the treasure trove of Nightmare Night candy on the next table over.

“Hurry and eat up,” Clarity instructed as Dinky arrived at her side. “The dancing’s starting in just a few minutes. The professors are already getting everything set up.”

As if on cue, loud, upbeat music began to play nearby. “Meet me over there!” the grey filly called as she ran off.

Dinky nodded and helped herself to a heaping portion of food. Then, feeling especially glad to finally have a night away from stress, she trotted off to join her friends by the dance floor.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From Dinky’s perspective, time passed quickly that evening. Ponies dressed as all manner of Nightmare Night creatures partied on the dance floor until well after dark. Dinky’s thoughts didn’t turn to her dark magical troubles even once all night long.

It was nearly midnight when Professor Morningstar appeared on stage and called the colts and fillies to attention.

“Happy Nightmare Night, everypony!” the stallion called. “I hope you’ve all been enjoying the festivities, but it’s starting to get pretty late! We’ve got one more treat for you all, and it should be starting shortly. In the meantime, I need you to organize yourselves by gender! Colts on the right side of the room, fillies on the left, okay?”

Scuffle glanced at Dinky and the other fillies. “I guess I’ll catch up with you three a little later,” he said, trotting off to join the colts.

Dinky huddled together with the other fillies to wait for the event the professor had mentioned.

“What do you think’s gonna happen?” Honeydew asked, glancing around nervously and wiping another bit of fake blood from her lip. “And why did they have to split up the colts and fillies?”

Clarity shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe they’re going to—”

Clarity was interrupted by a huge crash as the stained glass window behind the stage shattered violently, and a huge, slavering beast leapt into the room. The monster, built with the body of a lion, the tail of a scorpion, and a pair of batlike wings, released a deafening roar, causing most of the ponies to fly into a panic.

“A manticore!” Dinky gasped. “How did it get onto the academy grounds?”

“Who cares, let’s get out of here!” Clarity replied, trying to shake off Honeydew who had instinctively clung to her.

Before anypony could flee the room, however, the manticore began to laugh. It wasn’t a deep laugh either. Instead, it was high pitched and raspy.

“Boy, I really scared the lot of you!” it announced.

Slowly, the shards of shattered glass rose into the air, drawing closer to one another as they made their way back toward the empty window frame. At the same time, a ring of green fire appeared around the manticore on stage. Within a few moment, the window had fully repaired and replaced itself, and the fire had faded, replacing the vicious monster with a familiar, quirky changeling.

“Happy Nightmare Night everypony!” Nester called, receiving a chorus of relieved laughter and cheers as a response. “Now that we’ve all had a good scare, it’s time for something of a slightly different tone. Oh, and we’re not gonna need costumes for this one.”

From somewhere, a familiar magic cancelling wave like the one Dinky had often used before burst forth and radiated over the crowd, quickly dissolving every costume and leaving a room full of normal ponies.

“Now, even though none of you are graduating,” Nester continued, flitting his wings, “after next week, it’s going to be a while before some of you see one another again. The Nightmare Night Dance is about having fun, of course, but it’s also about spending some quality time with your classmates. So we’re going to play a few more songs. Songs that are less about dancing and more about being able to take that time to renew those bonds.”

“So they’re slow dances,” some colt called, sounding a combination of annoyed and nervous.

“Yes,” Nester deadpanned, punctuating his answer with a loud chirp. “But I know what you’re thinking. Just because you ask somepony to dance doesn’t mean you’re gaga for them. Show some backbone and ask somepony to dance with you!”

A song began to play, but Nester didn’t leave the stage. “Getting this started is always a little awkward, so I’ve heard,” he chuckled, “but lucky for you, one lucky colt and filly will be chosen at random to come up here on stage and get us all started. Who’s it gonna be?”

A spotlight over the right side of the room suddenly flashed on, pointing at a specific pony below. Dinky couldn’t see over the heads of the older students, but a bunch of cheers and laughs rose up from the colt’s side of the room.

“We have our colt!” Nester called. “Now, let’s find our lucky filly!”

Another spotlight flashed on. Dinky squinted, and for a moment thought it might have pointed directly at her, but soon realized it had landed on the pony directly behind her instead.

“Oh gosh no…” Honeydew squeaked as the bright light poured over her body. “No, no, no, no, no, I don’t wanna…”

“Come on, Honeydew,” Clarity urged, pushing the filly forward. “It’s just a dance. Everypony else will be dancing in a minute too!”

Shaking, Honeydew slowly made her way through the crowd. She glanced back at her friends for a moment, looking frightened, and began to climb the steps onto the stage. Dinky glanced to the stairs on the opposite side and her jaw dropped as she spotted a familiar brown and tan pony ascending on the other side.

Scuffle and Honeydew reached the stage at the same moment. Their gazes met, and for a moment, both ponies froze in place. Next to Dinky, Clarity covered her muzzle with both forehooves, trying desperately not to burst out laughing.

Nester glanced between the two foals, neither of whom had moved since spotting the other. “Uh… go on, you two,” he coaxed. “Center stage, please.”

Dinky and Clarity pushed their way through the crowd toward the base of the stage as Scuffle and Honeydew began to move almost robotically towards each other. They reached the middle just as the fillies arrived beneath them.

“Uhh,” Scuffle mumbled, “you, um… you alright, Honeydew?”

Honeydew shivered. “No!” she squeaked. “I can’t do this with you! Not in front of all these ponies.”

“Think of it this way,” Dinky called. “If you had to dance with a pony you’d never met before, wouldn’t that be even scarier?”

“Yeah, you can trust me,” Scuffle affirmed.

“Everypony else will be dancing as soon as you two start,” Clarity reminded her. “And the longer you wait, the more awkward it’s gonna get to have the room watching you.”

Honeydew squeezed her eyes shut. Scuffle, who was clearly equally nervous but marginally better at hiding it, nodded. “So… ready?” he asked.

Honeydew took a step forward. Shaking, she raised a forehoof and placed it on the colt’s shoulder. Scuffle responded by placing one of his own hooves on her upper back. Looking terrified, but determined to do what they’d been asked, the two began to step in unison to the slow music.

Fortunately, it only took a few moments for other ponies to follow suit. Dinky and Clarity retreated back into the crowd as ponies teamed up to dance. Each of them found a random colt to join them for a dance or two, and then met up with each other again to watch Scuffle and Honeydew on the stage.

“What are the odds the two of them ended up leading the dance?” Dinky asked, smiling. “Honeydew didn’t seem too thrilled at first, but she’s starting to look more comfortable now that she’s been up there for a while.”

“Forget Honeydew,” Clarity snorted. “Take a look at Scuffle!”

Dinky glanced at Scuffle, but didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary, other than that he still appeared mildly uncomfortable.

“What about him?”

“You don’t see it?” Clarity asked. “Look more closely. See the way he’s moving? The way he’s holding her? Even just the way he’s looking at her? Does that seem like the Scuffle we know?”

Dinky looked again. Clarity had a point; Scuffle was not a fantastic dancer, but his movements, usually so exaggerated, were very controlled, almost graceful. He moved slowly and carefully, obviously trying to conform to Honeydew’s movements. And he kept his eyes on her, meeting her gaze whenever she overcame her nerves enough to look directly at him.

“Alright, I see what you mean,” she admitted. “But so what? It just means Scuffle’s capable of focusing on performing with finesse when he wants to.”

“I know he can, but why would he?” Clarity asked. “Scuffle doesn’t like to drop his tough-pony image for almost anything, but there he is, in front of all his peers, behaving like a perfect gentlecolt. I can only think of one reason he’d do something like that.”

Dinky looked at Clarity obliviously. The grey filly groaned.

“I think he likes her, you dolt!” she laughed. “I’ve been wondering about it for a while now, and with this evidence, it seems like it now more than ever.”

Dinky blinked. “She almost killed him earlier this term.”

“Hey, I’m just saying what I’m seeing right now,” Clarity said defensively.

Dinky looked at the ponies on stage again. Honeydew didn’t seem to notice the change in Scuffle’s demeanor. It was probably for the best for now; Honeydew didn’t need something else to stress about tonight.

“You may be right,” she admitted. “Come on, let’s let them do their thing until the dance ends.”

Clarity nodded and followed Dinky to another part of the hall, casting one last glance and a grin at the ponies on stage as they trotted away.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

By the time Dinky and her friends reached the residence towers, it was the middle of the night. Scuffle joined the others in front of the entrance to the fillies’ tower.

“Well that was awesome,” Clarity giggled. “I’m exhausted.”

“We should probably get some sleep,” Dinky pointed out, yawning. “After all, we have to spend the weekend getting ready for final exams.”

Scuffle nodded. “I’ll come and find you girls tomorrow. Dinks, d’you think you can help me study?”

Dinky nodded. Scuffle smiled and turned to Honeydew.

“Hey, uh, hope you had fun, Dewey,” he said, shifting his weight awkwardly.

Honeydew nodded emphatically. “I did! Thanks for dancing with me,” she replied, smiling cheerfully. “Dinky was right; the fact that it was you up there with me did make it a little less scary.”

“Oh?” Scuffle asked, blinking. “Uh, thanks.”

“Anyway, goodnight,” Honeydew continued. She stepped up to Scuffle and quickly nuzzled him, then turned and trotted inside, humming to herself and completely oblivious to the massive blush that crept over the colt’s face.

Dinky and Clarity grinned in unison. Scuffle noticed their expressions and snorted angrily.

“W-what?” he asked defensively. “You heard what Nester said. Dancing with somepony doesn’t mean anything!”

“Who said the dancing had anything to do with it?” Clarity asked in a teasing tone.

Scuffle fumed and looked away, which only caused Clarity more delight. “Goodnight, Scuffle,” she said in a singsong voice as she trotted inside.

Scuffle watched her go, and then glanced at Dinky, clearly exasperated.

“You two don’t really think that I… err, that me and Honeydew, um…”

Dinky shrugged. “I think the only pony who knows that for sure is you, Scuffle,” she giggled. “Although, for the record, Clarity tends to be pretty good at guessing these things.”

Scuffle snorted again and turned away, trotting back toward his tower. “Night, Dinks,” he called.

“Goodnight!”

Dinky chuckled to herself as she entered the tower. Clarity and Honeydew were nowhere to be found; most likely, they’d already gone upstairs. The filly made her way across the room, but paused at the foot of the stairs when she noticed Sparkler’s door was open an inch or two.

I wonder if Sparkler’s night went well?

Dinky crept toward the overseer’s door and peeked in through the small opening. She did her best to stifle a gasp.

It looked as if a tornado had blown through the room. Schoolbooks were strewn everywhere. The sheets and pillows were a mess, dangling half off the bed. The objects on the vanity were scattered, and there was a small crack in the mirror.

Most startling, however, was the dress Dinky had seen Sparkler wearing before the party. The garment was shredded almost beyond recognition, and what was left of it was dangling pathetically from the bedpost.

Sparkler stood at the far end of the room, staring out the window. Dinky watched her stand there, shaking slightly, for a few minutes. Suddenly, the young mare pounded the windowsill with a hoof so hard that Dinky swore she heard the wood crack.

“I can’t do it!” the overseer yelled to no one in particular. “Why can’t I do it!?”

She collapsed on the carpet. “Who’s right?” she moaned. “Is that filly the crazy one? Or am I?”

Dinky had a pretty good idea that she was the filly in question, but knew better than to interrupt Sparkler in the middle of such a fit. She carefully backed away and made her way upstairs, with new, concerned thoughts swirling in her head.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dinky spent most weekends either enjoying the weather on the castle grounds or visiting her home in Ponyville. However, this weekend was cold and rainy, dreary weather befitting the dreary mood of the colts and fillies desperately preparing for their final exams.

Dinky, Clarity, Honeydew, and Scuffle sat together at a small table piled high with books, surrounded by the tall bookshelves and vaulted ceilings of the academy library. Rain pounded on the arched windows, filling the room with its constant pattering.

Dinky set a transformation spellbook aside, sighed wearily, and took a sip of her hay shake. Her friends didn’t look much better. Honeydew had been nervously playing with her hair so often that her carefully tied mane was starting to come loose. Scuffle, on the other hoof, seemed to be growing more bored rather than more nervous; at the moment, he was attempting to balance his quill on its tip on the table.

“Ugh, it’s no use,” Clarity mumbled, setting down her book. “I just can’t remember the threshold equations for determining the magical power to size ratio in conjuring spells.”

Scuffle looked at her from across the table. “Gee, Clarity, that must be rough,” he said, rolling his eyes. “You might lose a whole percentage point for missing a question like that.”

Clarity scrunched up her muzzle. “What’s got your tail in a tangle?” she asked, miffed.

Scuffle sighed. “Sorry,” he muttered. “It’s just… I’m so far behind. I might not even pass some of my finals.”

Clarity’s expression softened. “Oh, right…”

“Well, I’m prepared for my Magical Biology final,” Honeydew pointed out. “Maybe I can review some points with Scuffle?”

Clarity snickered. “Honeydew, you’ve been ready for that final since the first day of class,” she commented. “And unfortunately, Scuffle doesn’t take that class.”

Scuffle frowned. “What about you, Dinks?” he asked, turning to her. “You busy? Maybe you can help me out?”

Dinky sighed and rubbed her temples with her forehooves. “I want to help, but I’ve got such a headache,” she admitted. “I can barely focus on my own—”

Dinky stopped mid-sentence. Groaning softly, she quickly held a book open over her head, hiding her horn from prying eyes as it became surrounded in angry black light. It only took a few seconds for her to get her magic back under control, and she lowered the book, cringing at the pages she had charred.

The other foals looked on with concern. “A-are you sure you have that under c-control, Dinky?” Honeydew stammered, holding up a book in case she needed to shield herself from an unexpected burst of magic. “I didn’t realize it had started happening on its own now…”

“Yeah,” Dinky grumbled, rubbing her horn with a hoof. “Princess Luna says there’s nothing I can do, and that I should just stop the magic as soon as I can whenever it starts. I don’t need to report it to her again unless I have to struggle to turn it off.”

“Isn’t that a little unsafe?” Clarity asked, her voice dropping to a whisper as a pair of colts passed near the table.

Dinky shrugged. “Do you have a better idea? There are unicorns and alicorns here who can help me. Sending me home to Ponyville during Scorpio’s Apex would only put me in more danger if it gets to be too hard to resist the magic.”

“Eh, she’s got a point,” Scuffle said, returning to his textbook. “Just uh, point that thing away from us if it gets out of control, okay Dinks?”

Dinky managed a smile and nodded. “Don’t worry,” she reassured her friends. “Scorpio’s Apex is less than a week away, and after that, it will only get easier.”

The purple filly scooted her chair closer to Scuffle’s. “Now, let’s try and get some reviewing done for Practical Magic. L.I.M.I.T. stands for…”

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

And just like that, it was final exam week.

Looking back, the term seemed to have flown by, at least to Dinky. And it was safe, she assumed, to guess that her first term at Celestia’s Academy had been packed full of more… extracurricular events (so she preferred to put it) than that of the average foal.

Because each student had a unique schedule, with classes in different orders, exams were scheduled in a way different than Dinky’s week was normally structured. On Monday morning, she and Clarity found themselves making their way toward their first exam, which was Transformation and Conjuring.

“How’s the dark magic?” Clarity asked under her breath. “Are your surges under control?”

“I haven’t had one today,” Dinky replied. “They’re under control… for now.”

“That’s good,” Clarity sighed, visibly relaxing. “Scorpio’s Apex is on Thursday night. That’s only a little more than three days away. If you’re still doing alright, there’s no way you’re corrupted enough to be in danger of passing some kind of point of no return, right?”

“I hope so,” Dinky agreed. “The princesses told me to report to them immediately if the dark magic starts to mess with my thoughts. As long as that doesn’t start to happen, I don’t have to worry too much.”

Clarity smirked. “Evil Dinky. Somehow I just can’t imagine that.”

The fillies arrived in the classroom. Professor Flux ignored the new arrivals as he sat at his desk, snorting gruffly as he struggled to arrange some papers.

Nester appeared in the corner of Dinky’s eye, strolling down the wall as if it was a normal floor. “Howdy, girls,” he said cheerfully. “Try not to stress too much about the exam, okay?”

He leaned in closer, continuing in a whisper. “I’ve taken a look at it. It’s very difficult, but ol’ Fluxy is planning to grade it very lightly. So the most important thing is to complete it to the best of your ability, not to do try to do everything exactly perfect.”

The changeling winked and wandered along the wall to comfort some of the other students.

“Alright, alright, quiet down,” said Professor Flux finally, tapping the desk with a hoof until the room fell silent. “The final exam is composed of a written portion and a practical one. Nester will be in here making sure you don’t cheat while I conduct individual practical exams across the hall. Any questions before we begin?”

There were none. The professor nodded once in Nester’s direction and left the room.

“Alrighty then!” Nester announced, levitating the stack of papers from the professor’s desk. “No point in wasting time. Let’s see if you all learned a little about transformation this year.”

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Two hours later, Dinky trudged from the classroom, her mind spinning from dozens of very specific questions. She hoped Nester’s advice would help; some partial credit on some of Professor Flux’s essays would probably help considerably.

When Clarity exited the room however, Dinky couldn’t help but frown. Her usually chipper friend looked upset and bewildered. The grey filly stepped slowly over to Dinky, tail tucked between her legs.

“What’s wrong?” Dinky asked. “The exam was hard, but it wasn’t that hard. Do you think you didn’t do well?”

Clarity groaned, hanging her head so her shaggy mane covered her eyes. “I did well enough on the written portion,” she mumbled, “but when we got to the practical bit…”

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A short time earlier…

“Clarity,” Professor Flux called. “Please put down your test and come next door for your practical examination.”

Clarity, feeling very confident despite the complexity of the questions, hopped out of her seat and strode across the hall to the small room where Professor Flux waited.

The stallion gestured to a table. On it were a dozen apparently identical clay plant pots, lined up in a row.

“Your assignment is this,” the professor began. “Eleven of these are normal plant pots, but one of them is actually a chalice, transformed to look like the others. Figure out which one is under the influence of a transformative spell, change it back to its original form, and then use alchemy to turn it to gold. Is that clear?”

Clarity nodded and approached the table. At first, there was no apparent way to tell the pots apart; the filly had a knack for spotting illusions, but transformations were harder to find evidence of. Keeping calm, she closed her eyes and reached out with her magic, testing the pots for physical irregularities or traces of magic.

Professor Flux stood by, watching silently with his usual austere stare. He didn’t interrupt, even though Clarity spent several minutes just standing still in front of the pots.

It’s got to be… this one, she thought finally, staring at the seventh pot in the row. It’s faint, but there’s something off about it.

Clarity lit her horn and began a reshaping spell. Sure enough, the pot changed form easily, as if it wanted to transform but was waiting for permission. The middle narrowed and the bottom widened and flattened. The color began to change from dull brown to brilliant gold.

Wait… gold?

That couldn’t be right. The assignment was to change the pot into a chalice, and then change the chalice into gold. If this chalice was already gold, did that mean it was the wrong one?

Clarity stopped mid-spell. The half-transformed object wobbled dangerously, frozen in a bizarre shape between the two objects it was composed of.

Professor Flux snorted. “Something wrong?”

“N-no,” Clarity stammered. “Just… just hang on, I’m thinking.”

Professor Flux shrugged and waited.

How could this be? Clarity again examined the other flowerpots, but didn’t come to any new conclusions about them. The only one that seemed to be unusual was the one she’d already started.

Sighing, Clarity did the only thing she could think of. Using a series of alternating alchemy and transformation spells, she slowly completed the chalice’s metamorphosis, alchemizing away the patches of gold whenever they appeared. When finished, she was left with an unimpressive clay cup.

Professor Flux raised an eyebrow, but still remained silent. Clarity performed one more spell, turning the whole cup gold in a second or two.

“There we go,” she said dully.

Professor Flux nodded curtly. “Back to the written exam then, Clarity.”

The filly nodded, scrunching up her face in frustration as she trotted from the room.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Back in the present…

“I must have picked the wrong one,” Clarity lamented. “I’m surprised Professor Flux didn’t say anything about Lucid not making a mistake like that…”

Dinky opened her mouth to speak, but a different voice replied to Clarity instead.

“It was a trick question, you know.”

The fillies turned to find Professor Flux standing behind them, looking stern as always. “Wait, what?” Clarity asked.

“The practical exam. It was a trick question,” Professor Flux repeated. “The correct pot was, initially, a golden chalice, but the instructions I gave led the students to believe otherwise.”

Clarity blinked. “Does that mean I chose right from the start?” she asked finally.

Professor Flux nodded. “You did, but the purpose of the test was to see if you could recognize that. Realizing which pot was transformed, successfully transforming it back, and pointing out to me that no further spells were necessary to achieve the desired form was the way to receive full credit.”

Dinky and Clarity exchanged a surprised glance.

“But…”

Clarity looked back to the Professor. “But?”

Professor Flux cracked a small smile, something Dinky was unsure she’d seen the stallion do even once all term long. “But your solution, Clarity, was creative. And I dare say entertaining, if nothing else. I can’t give you full credit, but you performed most of the right spells and ended up in the right place, so you shall receive the majority of it.”

“Oh!” Clarity brightened considerably, swishing her tail happily. “Well um… thanks, professor.”

Professor Flux took a step closer, leaning down so only Dinky and Clarity could hear. “Between you and me,” he continued, speaking directly to Clarity, “even your sister made mistakes. I myself tripped her up once or twice with similar quandaries. I don’t know where you got the idea that she was perfect at every subject, but keep doing what you’re doing. In a few years, I’m sure the professors will be telling stories of your successes to future classes, as well as your sister’s.”

He straightened up. “Now, I’ve got to go and prepare the exam for the higher level students, and you two should return to your studies.”

He trotted off down the hall. Dinky placed a forehoof on Clarity’s shoulder.

“Do you think you can stop worrying about what your sister did and focus on what you can do now?” she asked with a giggle.

Clarity blushed. “I suppose so,” she admitted, returning the chuckle. “But that doesn’t mean we can let up on the studying! Let’s go find Honeydew and Scuffle and get to work.”

The grey filly took off down the hall, and Dinky grinned and quickly followed.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Don’t let that magic get out of control, Dinky…

Any more dreams? Any bursts of dark magic you had to let loose?

Talk to the princesses if you need help.

The night is getting close. So close…

That night, just three days before Scorpio’s Apex, things started to go bad.

It started with soft hoofsteps. Soft, yet echoing. They stirred Dinky from a dreamless sleep.

Vaguely, her mind shuddered to life from beneath the pall of sleep. She tried to look around, but there was only blackness. She couldn’t see anything around her, or herself for that matter. The darkness was all-consuming, and the silence broken only by the hoofsteps, growing slowly louder.

Dinky cleared her throat. “H-hello?”

Promptly, the hoofsteps stopped. Dinky sat up and swiveled her ears, straining to hear anything.

Again, she tried to speak. “Is… is anypony the—”

Wham!

Dinky squeaked in surprise and pain as she was pinned against a wall with incredible force. As she collided, the pressing darkness and intense silence were broken, replaced all at once with a familiar cave of glowing blue rock and shifting mists. And immediately in front of her appeared Sunbeam, standing on his hind legs and holding her against the wall with a single forehoof, with strength far greater than a colt of his size should have been able to muster.

Dinky tried to cry out, but her voice turned into a cough as she opened her mouth from the pressure Sunbeam was applying to her chest. She flailed her hind legs frantically, trying to wiggle free.

“Impressive, isn’t it?” Sunbeam asked calmly, staring at Dinky with bright blue eyes accentuated by the cavern’s glow. “My power is reaching its fullest extent, yes it is. It’s become so strong, in fact, that I have shut that dreamwalking princess out of here altogether. No doubt she is on her way to your bedside in the waking world to wake you in person, but by then, the damage will be done, yes it will.”

Dinky’s pupils shrank to tiny dots, and she struggled twice as hard to free herself. Sunbeam, annoyed, only increased the pressure. Almost immediately, Dinky had to cease her movements, struggling just to take a breath with the weight on her chest.

“Now, I’d help you along,” Sunbeam continued, “but I don’t think I even need to this time, do I? As soon as you stop resisting its power, Scorpio’s glorious magic will flow from you, yes it will.”

Dinky’s only response was another desperate gasp for air. Her vision began to fog as her consciousness slipped away.

Can I even fall unconscious here? I’m dreaming, after all. I’m already unconscious!

Despite the logic, Dinky found it harder and harder to struggle or to focus on any one thing. Her sight was blurry, her ears ringing, and the sensation of magic in her horn had risen from a dull itch to a relentless pounding. Desperate to relieve at least one of the discomforts, she let some magic flow.

It was a bad move. Black energy poured forward from her horn in thick clouds, rolling down her body, melting into her fur. Helpless, she hung limp, covered in the veil of smoke-like magic.

Suddenly, relief. The pressure on Dinky’s chest vanished, and she dropped to the floor like a discarded rag doll. Groaning, she curled up and squeezed her eyes shut.

“How many more times am I gonna have to save you, kid?” a gruff male voice said, just inches from her ear.

That voice again. Dinky had never actually seen the strange stallion that kept fending off Sunbeam in her dream world, but she could barely move, so rather than lifting her head to search for her rescuer, she simply asked.

“Who are you?”

“Long story. Not important. Tell ya all about it another time. As usual, priority right now is waking yourself up.”

“You!” roared Sunbeam from somewhere across the room. “The filly would be another wraith by now if not for your constant intrusions, yes she would!”

“Stuff it, half-pint,” the stallion replied. “This game you’re playing with her is just getting tiring.”

“Half-pint!?” Sunbeam snarled. “You know full well that I—”

“I know full well you keep taking that form,” the stallion said, cutting him off. “If you’re always gonna make yourself look like a half-pint, I might as well call you one.”

Dinky had no idea what the stallion’s response meant, but she had little time to think on it. Through some force of will that wasn’t her own, she felt herself slipping out of the dream and back into reality.

“No!” Sunbeam yelled, his voice becoming more indistinct. “Not this time! Give her back to me!”

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dinky blinked several times, trying to focus her eyes. Her dorm room was crowded with ponies. Princess Luna was front and center, standing directly overhead, her horn still glowing with deep blue magic and her expression serious. Clarity and Honewdew stood to one side, looking terrified, and an apprehensive Sparkler stood on the other.

“Are you okay, young one?” Luna asked, running the tip of her hoof along Dinky’s sweat-soaked forehead.

Dinky’s mouth felt dry as a desert, but she managed a mumbled, “I think so.”

Luna nodded. “Somehow, I was caught off-guard. I was unable to step in and keep watch in your dream, so I came directly here. Your young friends had already alerted your overseer that you were experiencing a dark magic fit and were unable to be roused. She was on her way to find me when I arrived.”

Sparkler nodded curtly and said nothing.

“How do you feel?” Luna asked. “Have you had fleeting thoughts of violence, destruction, or manipulation?”

Dinky shook her head. “No, nothing like that. Just the urge to use the spells, to ease the annoying feeling in my horn.”

Luna breathed a sigh of relief. “This is fortunate. Considering the date, I had expected worse.”

She turned to Sparkler. “Thank you for your prudent response,” she said. “You may return to your room.”

“Yes Princess.”

“And Dinky,” Luna continued, looking back to the filly in bed. “Rest. The worst of your ordeal has nearly passed. You must be strong.”

Dinky nodded weakly. “I will. Thanks for saving me, Princess.”

Luna smiled and nodded once before slowly trotting from the room.

“You okay?” Clarity asked once everypony else had gone.

“Yeah,” Dinky replied. “I’ll make it. Somepony’s looking out for me.”

“Who do you mean? Me and Honeydew? Princess Luna?”

But Dinky had already rolled over and, exhausted and aching, fallen promptly back asleep.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The next morning was surprisingly normal. Dinky half expected to feel terrible, but she awoke not much worse for wear. Briefly, she pondered whether it was good or bad that dark magic didn’t seem to be taking much of a negative toll on her physique, but she decided not to dwell on it.

As usual, Honeydew was already awake and sitting on the bench in front of the window, her nose buried in a textbook. She looked up and smiled faintly as Dinky climbed out of bed.

“Hello, Dinky. Are you alright?”

Dinky nodded. “Fine for now. Are you ready for—”

A chunk of mud, propelled by magic, hit the outside of the window with a loud thump. Honeydew leapt from her seat like a scared kitten and cowered behind Dinky, shivering. Raising an eyebrow, Dinky trotted to the window and gently pushed it open. Peering downward, she spied a familiar brown colt, looking up from below.

“Hey!” Scuffle called. “Is Dewey up there?”

Honeydew trotted to the window and looked down. “Hi, Scuffle,” she called.

“What’re you waiting for?” Scuffle yelled back, tapping a forehoof impatiently. “I thought you were gonna bring Dinks and Clarity to go over our notes one more time.”

“But Dinky only just woke up, and Clarity’s still asleep,” Honeydew called, and Dinky noted that Clarity was, in fact, out like a light, despite the yelling of her friends. “Hang on, I’ll come down and we can go study, and they can join us when Clarity gets up.”

Dinky was positive, even from the great height, that she saw Scuffle blush at the proposition of alone time with Honeydew. “Hurry up, then!” he shouted, doing his best to appear indifferent to the idea.

Dinky closed the window as Honeydew rushed to grab her things. “If you don’t make it to the library in time, I’ll see you at the Practical Magic exam, okay?”

Dinky grinned. “Yeah, don’t wait for us,” she giggled, wagging her tail mischievously. “Clarity and I are probably gonna take our time.”

Honeydew blinked. “Uh… what?” she asked, flattening her ears nervously.

“Nothing,” Dinky laughed. “Get going. Scuffle’s an impatient sort.”

Honeydew nodded and cantered from the room, leaving Dinky giggling behind her.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sunlight poured in through the tall windows of the grand second floor hallway. Dinky and Clarity arrived outside the Practical Magic classroom to find Scuffle and Honeydew already there, both reviewing a lesson on illusions.

Scuffle looked up when he heard the fillies approach, and his tense demeanor relaxed a bit as he spotted Dinky and Clarity. “There you are,” he breathed. “It’s almost time. I’m still not sure I’m ready.”

“Why are you so worried about this exam in particular?” Dinky asked curiously. “Some of your classes must be tougher than Practical Magic, right?”

“Because this one’s got the highest stakes,” Honeydew suddenly interjected. “The magic we learn in this class is important, basic material that’s necessary in order to be proficient in almost all other types of magic, so if a pony does poorly on this exam, they might need to take remedial classes, or they might not even be permitted to continue studying at this academy.”

Noticing her friends surprised stares, she blushed and looked back at her book. “Or, that’s what Professor Morningstar told Scuffle, anyway…”

“So basically, I need to pass this test,” Scuffle said. “If I don’t… maybe I’m not ‘gifted’ enough to attend a school for gifted unicorns…”

Clarity patted Scuffle on the back. “Don’t panic, Scuffle,” she advised. “Maybe you’re not one of the most remarkable students at the academy, but I’ve seen you perform most of the spells we’ll need to know for the exam without much trouble.”

“Well… Dewey has been really great with helping me review…” Scuffle admitted, smiling weakly and glancing at Honeydew.

“Don’t mention it,” Honeydew said cheerfully, tossing her book into her saddlebag. “Come on, we should get to our seats.”

The pink filly led the way into the classroom. Clarity went next, and Scuffle moved forward to follow, but Dinky reached out and held him back.

“What’s up, Dinks?” he asked curiously, turning around at her touch.

“I have something for you,” Dinky replied, reaching into her own bag. “It’s just a little good luck charm, but I thought you might appreciate it.”

Dinky’s bag was so full of textbooks that it took her a while to unearth what she was searching for. Eventually, she pulled out a small, worn book, and passed it to Scuffle, who looked intrigued as he glanced at the title.

Simple Spells and Charms: A Handbook of Magic for the Beginning Unicorn.

The colt looked up, shocked. “This is… the beginner’s guide,” he stuttered. “The one I stole from you.”

Dinky nodded. “And now I’m letting you borrow it in good faith. Y’know, just till our exams are over,” she explained, smiling sweetly. “I know the book itself isn’t much help to either of us now, but you can hang onto it, as a reminder that your friends are here to offer their time and effort to help you, no matter what happens.”

Scuffle remained still for a moment, and then gave Dinky the most genuine, grateful smile she’d ever seen him produce. “Thanks, Dinky,” he replied, surprising the filly a bit by not using her nickname. “Let’s go ace this thing.”

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dinky quickly learned that the setup of her transformation exam was the norm for finals at the academy. The Practical Magic exam also consisted of both written and hooves-on portions. This time however, Professor Morningstar waited until all the students had finished the written test before beginning anything else.

“So,” the stallion began as the last of the papers were levitated to his desk, “the practical portion of my exam is a little different than the ones the other professors will give you. For this test, you need to work in groups!”

Excited murmurs spread throughout the class. Professor Morningstar chuckled and shook his head.

“Now don’t get too excited!” he interrupted, waving his front hooves. “I’ll be the one choosing the groups.”

There was a collective groan, which only seemed to delight the professor further.

“But…” he continued, once the sound had faded, “…to do well, cooperation is important, so I’ve chosen groups based on the ponies I’ve already seen each of you work well with!”

He gave the rolling chalkboard a kick, and it flipped over, revealing names arranged into sets of four on the other side. True to his word, they were grouped in much the same way the students usually grouped themselves; Dinky, Clarity, Honeydew, and Scuffle were assigned to work together.

“At each station, you will see a number of wooden blocks of various sizes, as well as some crafting tools,” he explained as the students made their way to the aforementioned stations. “You are not allowed to physically touch any of the materials or tools, and it’s all enchanted to change color if you do, so don’t try it. Using only magic you learned in this class, use the tools and materials to build a realistic replica of a young unicorn. I’ll be watching to make sure each group member is pulling their weight. Begin, and good luck!”

Dinky noticed Scuffle glancing between the wood and the fillies, looking panicked. “Build a unicorn using only practical spells? How the hay do we do that?”

Dinky had already started levitating some of the blocks. “Keep calm, it’s not hard,” she told him. “Help us pick up the blocks and arrange them into roughly the shape of a pony, okay?”

Scuffle shrugged and followed Dinky’s advice. Together, the four foals stacked a large, long block on top of four smaller ones, then added additional ones for the head and tail. Fortunately, even Scuffle had no trouble with something like levitation, and he completed the task as easily as his friends.

“I guess we need to carve it now, right?” Honeydew asked, inspecting the cubes. “Even stacked like this, it’s not shaped much like a pony.”

Clarity grabbed the tools in her aura and passed them along to the other ponies. “Right, Honeydew,” she replied, nodding. “It doesn’t need to be perfect; let’s just chip out a rough pony shape and do the rest with illusions.”

Dinky began to do her part to whittle out a pony from the wood. She grew concerned, however, when she noticed Scuffle beginning to struggle.

“C’mon you… piece of junk…” he grunted, fumbling with the chisel in his aura. “Just carve away that bit and… aw, darn it…”

Try as he might, Scuffle wasn’t terribly dexterous when it came to fine movements with magic. Again and again, his tools either made ineffective strokes, or accidentally lobbed off a portion of wood not meant to be removed. Dinky glanced across the room and noticed Professor Morningstar watching them. The extra pressure probably wasn’t improving Scuffle performance.

“Just slow down a bit, Scuffle,” Honeydew said gently. “We’re not in a big hurry. Focus on handling the tool carefully first, and carving the pony second. It’s just a manipulation of objects test; I’ve seen you do it lots of times.”

Scuffle chewed his lip and nodded. “Got it. I’ll be careful.”

The colt’s input to the statue’s final form slowed down considerably, but fortunately, his precision improved. By the time the wood was all carved, it looked reasonably close to the shape of a foal.

Clarity inspected their work. “It’s not exactly… delicate,” she admitted. “It’d probably be easier to disguise it as a colt than a filly. Scuffle, d’you mind if we use you as the model?”

Scuffle shrugged. “Go for it. I’m not very good at illusions though…”

“You gotta try,” Dinky urged.

Scuffle shrugged. “I’ll just mess it up, like I did with the carving.”

“We want you to get a good score too, Scuffle,” Honeydew said, stepping in once again. “You can do solid color illusions, I know you can. Clarity can handle the more intricate bits.”

Scuffle looked into Honeydew’s pleading eyes and sighed. “Yeah, alright. Let me see if I can get the coat color nice and even.”

Dinky cast a mirthful glance at Clarity and suppressed a chuckle. Scuffle’s infatuation with Honeydew was growing more apparent by the minute; now she was even managing to get him to contribute in ways she and Clarity could not.

Just as Honeydew had predicted, Scuffle managed a color change illusion that made the surface of the wood look like his own coat. It only took a few adjustments from the fillies to round out the shape a bit.

“Not bad,” Professor Morningstar commented, trotting over to the nearly finished replica of the colt. “Scuffle, why don’t you do the last bit yourself? I just want to make sure you’re up to par, after all.”

Scuffle blinked. “Err… didn’t I do enough to help?” he asked nervously, looking at the floor.

“Oh, you did enough today,” the professor responded. “In the past though, I’ve noticed your friends often did the lion’s share of the work on some of our magic projects…”

Scuffle took a step back. “Well, um—”

“Scuffle knows what he’s doing,” Honeydew said, her voice surprisingly firm. “He’ll put the last spells on the replica and show you. Right Scuffle?”

Scuffle seemed to inflate where he stood. “Right!” he replied. “Just watch.”

The colt lit his horn, and light began to flicker from within the sculpture. Eventually, it grew bright enough to illuminate the eyes, giving the statue a lifelike expression. And with a final flourish, slate blue magic appeared around its horn, mirroring the aura around Scuffle’s own. It was now almost impossible to tell the replica apart from Scuffle himself.

Professor Morningstar raised his eyebrows. “Very good!” he said cheerfully. “I’m glad you’ve been studying as hard as your friends after all. You all get A’s on the practical portion of the exam.”

Scuffle’s jaw dropped as the stallion walked away. “I got an A?”

“Of course you did,” Dinky giggled. “You did just as well as the rest of us. You deserve it.”

“I knew you could do it,” said Honeydew. Scuffle turned away to hide another blush, and Honeydew tugged on his tail with magic. “Now come on, now that the test is over, let’s go celebrate with some lunch.”

Scuffle smiled. “Right behind ya, Dewey.”

The two foals left the room, while Dinky and Clarity lingered behind.

“This is just adorable,” Clarity remarked, starry eyed. “How long do you think it’ll take her to figure it out?”

Dinky smirked. “It’s Honeydew. She might not figure it out until Scuffle tells her,” she laughed.

The fillies hurried from the room to catch up to their friends.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The celebration for Scuffle, while joyful, was short-lived. After all, there were three more days of exams still to come.

Dinky’s day after that was largely uneventful until after the sun had set. Once night fell, she set off for an Astronomy review Princess Luna was offering for her first-term students. Scuffle, who also had the class, begrudgingly tagged along.

“But I don’t want to go to extra class,” the colt grumbled, trudging along through the corridors behind Dinky. “This should be our time to goof off for a while…”

Dinky rolled her eyes. “Hush, Scuffle. Your Astronomy grade needs a boost. This’ll be good for you.”

Scuffle scrunched up his nose. “If it’s about improving grades, why are you going?” he asked irritably. “Your Astronomy grade is fine.”

“I’m just going so I can talk to Princess Luna. I’ve got something to ask her about.”

Scuffle ceased his whining and grew more serious. “Oh, about the dark magic stuff?”

“Well, Scorpio’s Apex is only two days from now,” Dinky pointed out as they reached the Astronomy room. “If anything’s gonna… you know, happen to me, it’s gonna happen soon. I need to be ready.”

Scuffle swallowed and stayed quiet as the floor of the tower began its ascent to the roof.

The evening passed quickly. Princess Luna appeared moments after the classroom emerged into the night air, swooping down from the dark skies in her usual dramatic fashion. Soon, everypony attending the session had focused one of the telescopes on whatever constellation they needed to review the configuration of, and Luna herself wandered from pony to pony, providing pointers.

“Good evening Scuffle, Dinky,” the princess said as she arrived in front of them, nodding at each foal in turn. “Have you two encountered any problems preparing for my exam?”

“Nah,” Scuffle replied, perhaps more casually than he should have when addressing a princess. “I just have a couple questions about some of the star charts.”

He turned away and peered into his telescope. “Talk to Dinks first, though,” he continued, waving a forehoof. “She’s got important stuff to ask you about.”

Princess Luna turned to Dinky. “I take it this has something to do with last night?” the alicorn asked.

Dinky nodded solemnly. “With Scorpio’s Apex so close, I thought it would probably be important for me to check in with you one more time, especially after what happened last night.”

Princess Luna smiled. “To be honest, I would probably have sought you out myself after this review, had you not come to it,” she responded. “I am, however, pleased to know you have the foresight to secure your own safety in these troubling times.”

Dinky looked up at the heavens, where the all-too-familiar stars of Scorpio loomed dangerously close to directly overhead. “If I can just make it a few more days, it will start to get easier,” she said, not taking her eyes off the sky. “I’ll do whatever it takes to make it there.”

“For your sake, I hope all goes well from here on out,” Luna agreed. “Now, what did you want to ask about?”

“It’s about the dreams I’ve been having,” Dinky said, shivering a bit at the thought of her latest terrifying experience. “Sunbeam said he’s found a way to… block you out?”

Luna looked grave. “Alas, I fear the scoundrel is not bluffing,” she admitted with a sigh. “Though it is not through his power that this has come to be. The power of dark magic users is increasing at this time of year, but in your dreams, you are still the most powerful. My inability to help is simply because the darkness inside you has become nearly impenetrable to forces such as dream intervention.”

“That’s what I don’t understand,” Dinky continued, cocking her head slightly. “You’re a princess, and even you can’t enter my dreams now, but… somepony else can.”

Luna stepped back as if startled. “And who is this pony?” she asked, puzzled.

“That’s the thing. I have no idea,” Dinky said. “All I can tell you is it’s a stallion. It sounds like he’s an adult, but it’s not a voice I recognize. I’ve never actually seen him, so I can’t describe him either.”

“And what is this stallion doing in your dreams?” Luna asked.

“Saving me!” Dinky exclaimed, hopping in place. “Each time you weren’t there to protect me, the stallion stopped Sunbeam instead. If it wasn’t for him, Sunbeam may have been able to… you know…”

She trailed off, but Luna seemed to know what she meant.

“Listen to me, young one,” the princess instructed. “I do not know the identity of this dreamwalker, but for now, I would consider it lucky that he is on your side. In these final days before the evening when the darkness is strongest, all I can ask is that you take great care during your waking hours not to be lured into any more use of dark magic. As for the night, I shall provide your roommates with a magical means of contacting me, so I can come to your aid in reality should you be attacked again in your dreams.”

Dinky let out a relieved breath. “Thanks. That’ll definitely make me feel safer.”

Luna was silent for a few moments. “…It pains me to see a filly your age having to suffer this ordeal,” she said finally, lowering her head slightly. “I have to say, I admire your strength, both physically and mentally. Prove to me you can make it the rest of the way through this trial.”

Dinky placed a hoof on her chest in a promissory gesture. “I will do my very best, Princess. I won’t let the darkness win.”

Luna nodded, clearly satisfied, and then stepped aside to tend to Scuffle’s astronomical questions, leaving Dinky gazing up at the stars.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The night that followed was mercifully uneventful. Dinky was thrilled to awaken the next morning without having any nocturnal interruptions on Sunbeam’s part. The familiar, rhythmic ache of dark magic inside her head was still as present as ever, but she’d gotten quite good at ignoring it.

Dinky and Honeydew had their Magical Biology exam next, a test both of them felt very prepared for. Honeydew knew every bit of the material like the back of her hoof, and the studying she’d done with Dinky in the preceding days had helped the purple filly to learn it almost as well.

The test itself wasn’t notable at all compared to the exams before it; Honeydew raced through both the written and practical test, completing it in barely a quarter-hour, and Dinky, although far behind her friend, was still among the first students to finish. She trotted out into the hall, where Honeydew was waiting for her.

“Wow, Honeydew, you blazed through that!”

Honeydew blushed and rubbed a forehoof against the back of the other shyly. “I wasn’t that fast…” she tried to argue. “I had to stop and think about… two or three of the questions, maybe…”

“Don’t be so modest, kid,” squawked Cornelius as he fluttered out of the classroom and perched on one of the buns in Honeydew’s mane. “Professor Chestnut’s been teaching this class for longer than you’ve been alive, and I don’t think she’s ever seen a pony manage that before.”

“Yes, you’re quite an impressive filly,” Professor Chestnut laughed as she too emerged from the classroom, causing Honeydew to blush and attempt to hide her face. “I can’t wait for next term; I can’t even imagine what you’ll be able to accomplish!”

Honeydew smiled meekly. “I look forward to it,” she replied. “I just wish this term wasn’t over so soon. I’m not looking forward to going months without Magical Biology.”

The professor chuckled. “Nonsense!” she proclaimed. “You can practice all you want over the break, and read up on new topics. I wouldn’t be surprised if you come to me at the beginning of next term with dozens of new questions.”

Honeydew shook her head. “No, that’s not what I mean,” she mumbled. “I can’t use any magic at home…”

The professor’s brow knitted beneath her wide sun hat. “What do you mean?”

“Can we, uh, go to your office and talk about it?” Honeydew asked softly. “Dinky can come too. She already knows about my home life.”

“I have to wait for the remaining students to finish the exam,” Professor Chestnut replied, “but you two can wait in my office. I’ll meet you there.”

Dinky waited until the professor and Cornelius left the hall before turning to Honeydew and asking an important question.

“Where is Professor Chestnut’s office, anyway?”

Honeydew giggled. “I’ll show you.”

Honeydew led Dinky up a flight of stairs and down a narrow passage the latter had never explored before. At the end of a hall was a simple wooden door bearing Professor Chestnut’s name. The fillies let themselves in.

At first glance, Dinky couldn’t be certain if the professor’s office was exceptionally small, or if it was simply so packed with objects that it appeared that way. The desk was cluttered with books, diagrams, potted plants, and clumps of seemingly random organic material, much of which was lying beneath mounted magnifying glasses. The walls were covered in maps of remote parts of Equestria and large, detailed posters displaying the anatomy and morphology of various plants and animals. The one corner that wasn’t stacked to the ceiling with boxes of dried plant material or empty animal cages held a small sink and stove, both of which were littered with glass vials containing liquids of various colors.

Behind the desk was a large window, outside of which hung several birdhouses. One of them, which Dinky assumed must have belonged to Cornelius, was notably larger and more ornate than the rest.

Honeydew sighed serenely. “Other than our dorm, this room is where I’m most comfortable,” she said. “Professor Chestnut is so brilliant; I just get lost in intellectual discussion and forget my cares for a while.”

Professor Chestnut arrived before Dinky could respond. “Hello girls,” she said, brushing a large pile of scrolls aside to reveal a pair of empty chairs. “Excuse the mess. Why don’t you sit down so we can talk?”

As the girls seated themselves, Cornelius strutted around the brim of the professor’s hat. “So, what’s all this malarkey about not using magic?” he asked, clicking his beak in agitation.

“Oh, right,” Honeydew replied. “I haven’t really talked about my life since I told Dinky and Clarity the details on our first day…”

Dinky watched the brief, peaceful mood drain away from her friend, quickly being replaced by concern. Honeydew recounted the entire tale of her discovery of magic and her unicorn-phobic family to Professor Chestnut, nervously touching the notch in her horn every few minutes.

“I’ve been trying not to think about going home,” she added, once her story was finished, “but the truth of it is, the term is just about over, and when I go home, I can’t be the unicorn I am here, and I can’t be an earth pony either, because I just wasn’t born that way. I’ll just be… useless again.”

Dinky realized somewhat shamefully that she hadn’t given much thought to what would become of Honeydew once she was forced to return to her magic-hating parents. She patted her friend on the back comfortingly while Professor Chestnut looked upon the morose filly with compassionate eyes.

“I’m so very sorry to hear that that’s what it’s like for you back home,” the mare began, shaking her head and causing Cornelius to wobble dangerously and utter a few quiet expletives. “But it seems there’s one part of your story that may offer you a chance to form a sort of compromise with your parents.”

Honeydew blinked. “How? My parents won’t allow even the simplest spells in their house.”

Professor Chestnut nodded patiently. “Honeydew, dear, how old were you when you first discovered how to use magic?”

“I don’t know, exactly,” Honeydew replied. “Probably five or six?”

“And how old are you now?”

“Fourteen.”

“In the intervening years, did you ever work in the fields with your parents?”

“Well, of course,” Honeydew said. “I enjoyed it, I suppose, but, well… back then, they were just plants. I didn’t really become interested in them until my tutor started teaching me magic.”

Professor Chestnut seemed pleased by this answer. Dinky had no idea exactly why, and judging by Honeydew’s expression, neither did she.

“Now tell me, Honeydew,” the mare continued, “what have you learned about those plants since your magic studies began.”

Honeydew raised an eyebrow. “More than I can say in the few minutes we have,” she replied slowly.

Professor Chestnut chuckled. “Summarize.”

Honeydew pondered for a moment. “Well, I guess plants, and all living things for that matter, are individuals just like ponies are. A lot of ponies kind of intimidate me, but many other living things aren’t quite so scary or judgmental or dangerous. Forming connections with peaceful life like plants is one of the only ways I can just relax and be happy.”

The professor was quiet for a few seconds. “So,” she said finally, “when you go home, I imagine most of what you’ll be doing is working with your family’s plants, right?” she asked. “Just because you aren’t using magic doesn’t mean each and every one of those plants isn’t an individual, just like you said they are.”

“But without magic, I can’t sense that individuality,” Honeydew argued. “I can’t connect with them.”

“Why not?” Professor Chestnut asked, looking genuinely curious. “The earth ponies do it.”

“We’re unicorns,” Honeydew deadpanned.

“True,” said Professor Chestnut, reaching up to idly stroke Cornelius, who had remained quiet for a surprisingly long time. “Connecting with Equestria’s other living things through simple, non-magical interaction comes more naturally to earth ponies than it does to us unicorns.”

She grinned. “But that just means you’ve got something new to try to master. Something I can’t teach you anyway. Maybe you can use this break from classes to study it yourself.”

“Can a unicorn really learn to connect to the earth without unicorn magic like that?” Honeydew asked, rubbing a hoof on the other uncertainly.

“With enough practice, it’s possible to learn to some extent,” the professor replied. “Especially when they’re a pony like you, Honeydew, with an earth pony lineage and a special talent in the subject. In your case in particular, it may be possible to do so, even without spells, very nearly as well as an earth pony could.”

“Think about it!” Cornelius added loudly. “Imagine if you became super-talented in understanding and connecting with life with and without magic! You could become the absolute authority in your field by the time you’re as old as this old bat beneath me!”

Honeydew giggled. “Well, I’ll certainly give it a try,” she promised, looking considerably brighter. “Maybe I can even learn some things I couldn’t have learned with magic.”

“I don’t doubt it,” Professor Chestnut laughed. “And when you return next term, you can tell me all about what you discovered.”

“And trust me, she’ll wanna hear all of it,” Cornelius said, rolling his eyes. “Every last pointless, inane—”

The professor cleared her throat loudly to quiet the bird. “Does that help?” she asked finally.

Honeydew nodded emphatically. “Yes, lots! Thank you, professor.”

“Good,” the mare replied. “And Dinky, you’ve got a really good friend here. Make sure you support her in this!”

Dinky laughed. “Of course, professor.”

Professor Chestnut smiled. “Excellent. Now, I’ve got to start grading, and you two should get back to studying. See you!”

Honeydew waved and practically skipped from the room, and Dinky followed, her own spirits lifted by Honeydew’s mood.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dinky didn’t allow herself any extended period of sleep that night to make sure she didn’t dip deep enough into dreams to allow Sunbeam to come after her. She managed a few brief naps, and awoke at dawn with Honeydew.

To most ponies, the date was Thursday, November the seventh. But this year, Dinky knew it as Scorpio’s Apex. Determined to keep her mind off Sunbeam, dark magic, or anything else associated with the foreboding occasion, she headed to the forest before lunch to try once again to help Trouble.

Trouble did not so much as look up as Dinky skidded down the dirt tunnel into the hideout. Despite regular feeding and near-daily attempts to magically improve his health, the poor fox seemed weaker and sicker than ever. The filly approached his cardboard box and stroked his head.

“Ready to try this again, Trouble?”

The fox’s eyes turned to look at her as she spoke, but he didn’t move.

“You know, in two days, the term is over,” Dinky said. “If I can’t help you by then… well…”

She fell silent. Trouble sneezed.

“Let’s just give this another shot,” Dinky sighed.

Yellow light radiated from the filly’s horn, and she let go of surrounding sensation, focusing only on Trouble. As usual, within moments she had slipped her consciousness into his, and only seconds later, was met with some resistance.

“Relax, Trouble, relax,” the filly cooed, hoping the soothing tone of her voice would calm her patient. “I’m here to help. I promise.”

They were basically the same words she’d said a dozen times before, but Trouble didn’t seem calmed. Dinky began to feel the sensation of being forced from his mind.

“Trouble, please!” she said, more loudly. “I can’t keep taking care of you! I don’t want to lose you! Please, please just let me help…”

Trying not to let a sob escape her, the filly concentrated all the harder, desperate to get her feelings across to Trouble. And then, very slowly, the resistance began to disappear.

Spurred on, Dinky deepened the connection as soon as Trouble allowed it. His sickness and pain flowed through her, causing her to wobble where she stood. Gritting her teeth, she ignored the discomfort and attempted to initiate the healing spell, quietly hoping that she’d created a strong enough bond with the fox to make it work.

For a while, nothing seemed to be happening. Dinky continued to send Trouble both feelings of goodwill, to keep the trust connection open, and the special waves of energy she’d learned from the professor.

Gradually, the weakness and aguish flowing between the filly and the fox began to fade. Dinky felt herself growing tired from the strenuous spell, but refused to give up now that she’d finally made progress. For several minutes more, the two sat in silence, and Trouble’s vitality slowly returned. The fox began to stir more and more with each passing moment, suddenly allowing Dinky more and more of his trust, strengthening the spell until it had completed its job.

Her task finally complete, Dinky collapsed on the floor and shut off her horn, panting hard.

“Does that… feel better?” she asked between breaths.

Trouble sat up, looking stunned. For a moment, the fox was still, and then he leapt out of the box and onto Dinky, licking her face and sending her into a fit of giggles.

“We did it!” she laughed, rolling around as Trouble nuzzled her. “You’re better! I’m so happy!”

“Yes, how touching.”

Dinky froze, suddenly silent. Her gaze snapped to the entrance of the hideout, where Sunbeam was leaning against the earthen wall, looking quite pleased with himself.

“Happy Scorpio’s Apex,” the colt said in a surprisingly good-natured tone. “Are you ready for tonight? I am.”

Dinky stood up. “You’ve got guts showing yourself today,” she said, working hard to keep her voice steady. “Everyone knows what today is. Everypony’s on the lookout for anything suspicious.”

Sunbeam scoffed. “The officials at this school are not very good at tracking me, no they are not,” he pointed out. “I’ve been right here, on the campus, all year long, and those guards have yet to notice any trace of me. You’re kidding yourself if you think today will be any different, yes you are.”

He had a point. Dinky said nothing.

“As I was saying, I’m so looking forward to tonight,” the evil colt continued. “By tomorrow, everypony will be acutely aware that they are living in one of the darkest new eras in Equestria’s history. I just dropped by to thank you in advance for helping me make it possible, yes I did.”

“I didn’t do anything!” Dinky snarled. “And whatever you’re planning, it’s not going to work. I can’t imagine how you’d get away with unleashing some kind of great darkness without somepony at the academy noticing.”

“Who said anything about the academy?” Sunbeam laughed, flicking his short tail back and forth in amusement. “I’ve already done what I needed to do here; corrupt an unsuspecting filly like you. The rest I can do slightly further away, out of sight of prying eyes, yes I can. And nopony will know anything is amiss until it’s much too late.”

Dinky, again, had no reply.

“Well, that’s all, really,” Sunbeam said with a noncommittal shrug. “Ta-ta, Dinky. I’m sure I’ll see you again soon, yes I will. As a valuable ally, of course.”

Chuckling, the colt turned away and trotted casually up the tunnel, leaving the stunned filly behind.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Neither of the princesses were present at the academy, but Dinky wasted no time in proceeding to the mailroom and sending a message via Twinkletoes about what had just happened. She received a reply within moments telling her that special precautions regarding Scorpio’s Apex had already been taken, and instructing her to stay in the castle or residence tower until the following morning. This offered her little comfort, though. After all, Sunbeam had been correct; the precautions in place to prevent him from causing further harm had been entirely ineffective in the preceding months.

Feeling a bit sick to her stomach, Dinky made her way through the castle to her Enchantments exam.

“There you are!” Clarity said, clearly relieved as Dinky arrived. “The test is starting any minute. Where were you?”

“I was at the hideout to—” Dinky began, but she was cut off by Professor Luster’s arrival.

“Exam time!” the mare announced. “I know it's Thursday and you’ve all been through quite a few tests already, but after tomorrow, you can all have a few relaxing months off. Besides, this one won’t be hard; I’m confident all of you have the skills to cast a few basic enchantments.”

As usual, gemstones were distributed to be the recipient of the enchantment. Each student received five similar stones and a piece of paper containing instructions.

“For the practical part of your exam, each of you has to perform five spells,” the mare continued. “Imbue your gems with the proper magic, and then place them in the bin on my desk. If you have trouble and need to start fresh, you can ask for a new gem at the cost of a few percentage points from your score.”

Clarity raised a hoof. “If we do create a botched enchantment but can manage to remove it, can we re-enchant our original gem and not lose credit?” she asked.

“Yes, you may!” Professor Luster replied. “Now, since you may need to test your enchantments, I’ll put up a soundproofing spell between the desks so you don’t disturb one another. Then, if there are no more questions, you can all get started.”

Nopony had anything to add, so Professor Luster lit her horn, and a blurry, translucent veil rose up between the individual desks. Dinky soon found herself in complete silence.

The filly tried to forget about Sunbeam for a few minutes and focus on her test. She picked up the first gem and glanced at the first enchantment on the list.

Blast-proof charm: Enchant one gem so that it will not chip or shatter when exposed to powerful energy blasts or concussive force.

Dinky looked at her choices. Obviously, there were no diamonds or other especially hard gems that would have a chance of withstanding force on their own. She picked up a smooth piece of turquoise.

Ok, this spell is easy, she realized. One strengthening charm, coming up.

Dinky’s yellow aura surrounded the stone for a few seconds. Once she was satisfied the spell had worked, she slammed her forehoof down against the stone. It didn’t yield, so she lifted high into the air with magic and brought it down against the wood with even greater force, but it remained perfectly intact.

Dinky smiled and sent the stone through the soundproof veil and onto the professor’s desk.

For a short time after that, Dinky worked efficiently on the assignment, satisfied with how her enchantments were turning out. In only a quarter-hour or so, she’d finished imbuing four of the five gems with magic. She glanced at the last enchantment on the list.

Sweet-dreams charm: Enchant one gem so that, when affixed to jewelry or another article of clothing, will give the wearer pleasant dreams.

Dinky smiled. Boy, I could use a charm like that, she thought to herself. I doubt something as simple as an enchanted gem would keep Sunbeam out of my head, but it’s a nice thought.

Dinky thought back to what Sunbeam had said to her not long before, and the brief contentment faded quickly away. I might not have any more nights of sweet dreams if Sunbeam gets away with whatever he’s planning… she thought, slumping in her chair. I have to put forth continuous effort to hold back my own dark magic, which means he’s probably just brimming with power.

As if sensing it was being thought about, the dark magic in Dinky suddenly decided to push forward. She groaned and lowered her head to the desk, placing her head between her forelegs to shield it from view as black energy formed around her horn against her will.

No! she thought angrily, trying to stem the outburst. I don’t care if it’s Scorpio’s Apex. I’m not letting this get the best of me!

Dinky grunted, tensing every muscle as she forced the magic flow to stop. The black energy gave a loud crackle, almost as if in protest, as it vanished. The filly suddenly felt especially grateful for the soundproofing surrounding her. Between her quick reaction to hide her horn and its muffling of the crackling sound the little attack had gone unnoticed by the rest of the class.

Her last gem, however, had not fared well. It had been lying in front of her when she’d lowered her head, and the dangerous energy had come in contact with it, warping and partially melting it. The pristine surface was now wavy and blackened, and Dinky suspected the gem itself probably contained some remnants of dark energy. Sighing, she tossed it in the trash, then stood and passed through the sound barriers to the front desk.

“Professor, I need another gem.”

Professor Luster looked up from her grade book and raised an eyebrow. “You? That’s a surprise; your enchantments are usually so well done. Are you sure the last one is beyond help?”

Dinky glanced at the trashcan, where a thin wisp of smoke was gently rising into the air.

“I’m sure.”

The mare shrugged and passed Dinky another gem, writing a small red “x” in her book with magic as she did so.

There’ll be time to worry about Sunbeam a little later, she assured herself as she returned to her seat. I have to focus and finish this up before something else goes wrong.

Forlorn but determined, the filly placed the new gem in front of her and set to work again.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dinky, Clarity, Honeydew, and Scuffle sat together at a corner table in the library. Late afternoon sun shone in through the windows, but despite the additional warmth, Dinky shivered.

Exams were over for the day. As usual, the foals had gathered in the library to study. But first, Dinky had explained what Sunbeam had said to her that morning, and what she intended to do about it.

“So what exactly are you saying, Dinky?” Clarity asked, concerned. “You don’t trust the princesses and the academy staff to keep the students safe?”

“It’s not quite that,” Dinky replied, running a forehoof along the tabletop absently. “It’s just… I feel like all that anypony wants to do is defend the school. Sunbeam has bigger plans than this place tonight. Plans that could be really bad for all of Equestria! To stop Sunbeam, they can’t defend. They need to attack.”

“How’re they supposed to do that?” Scuffle asked quizzically. “The guards have been searching for months; nopony can ever seem to encounter Sunbeam except for us.”

He looked thoughtful for a second. “Well, mostly you. Sunbeam’s only shown himself to us once or twice.”

“That’s my point,” Dinky said. “They haven’t found Sunbeam yet, and they won’t tonight, especially if they’re not even leaving the academy. He’s gonna march off somewhere nearby and do whatever horrible dark magical ritual he has planned, and nopony’s gonna lift a hoof to stop him.”

“Um, well…” Honeydew cut in softly, “once he does… whatever he’s going to do, don’t you think the princesses, or maybe the Elements of Harmony, will stop him?”

Dinky scowled. “Why does it have to come to that?” she asked, frustrated. “Ponies could get hurt, or worse, before the situation is resolved. If somepony would go out and confront him tonight, that could all be avoided.”

Clarity gently placed a hoof on Dinky’s shoulder. “Please calm down, Dinky,” she urged. “I know it’s stressful, and I know your personal situation makes it even worse, but… well, I’m sure the princesses would do something if they could. But, well… maybe they can’t. And since they can’t, they don’t really have a choice but to wait until Sunbeam shows himself.”

Dinky opened her mouth to reply to Clarity, but paused. A pensive look crossed her features.

“The princesses can’t track down Sunbeam,” she said slowly. “But I can.”

All three of the other foals fell silent, gazing at Dinky with shocked expressions.

“Dinks…” Scuffle said slowly, shifting nervously in his chair. “I really hope I misunderstood what you meant there. Don’t tell us you’re thinking about going out tonight to confront Sunbeam.”

Dinky sighed. “It’s stupid, I know. Really stupid. But it’s also the only way I might be able to stop Sunbeam before something disastrous happens.”

"Now hang on," Honeydew interjected, nervously wringing her forehooves. "Let's not be too hasty. Maybe it's true that you're the only one who can track Sunbeam, but can't you just lead a more capable pony to—"

"Nopony's gonna agree to that," Dinky interrupted. "The princesses won't want us to go out, even with supervision."

"Well, if you're gonna go, could you just sneak out, find Sunbeam, and then come back and tell somepony at the academy his location?" Scuffle asked.

"And how do you expect me to let somepony know without indicating that I snuck out and put myself in danger?" Dinky asked. "The dean will expel me, the princesses will probably punish me, and more than likely, nopony will go after Sunbeam until it's too late anyway."

She crossed her forelegs and snorted. "If I want to stop Sunbeam before he does something really dangerous, I'll have to do it myself," she grumbled.

“Dinky, you’re not going out there,” Clarity said firmly.

“Don’t try to stop me, Clarity,” Dinky warned. “Somepony has to—”

“I mean alone. You’re not going out there alone,” Clarity said.

Dinky blinked. “Wait. You’re coming?”

“Only because I know I can’t talk you out of going,” Clarity said. “I don’t care if he’s just a little colt. He’s still a wraith, and noble as your idea is, you’re not gonna be able to take on a wraith yourself.”

Honeydew looked distraught. “Are you two for real?” she whimpered. “You’re both gonna get killed!”

“They won’t if they have enough help,” Scuffle said. “D’you think you girls could use some extra defensive magic on this little adventure?”

Dinky grinned when she realized what the colt meant. “You can come too, Scuffle. Your help will be really valuable.”

Honeydew gave a defeated sigh. “So…” she grumbled, resting her chin on the table, “I can tag along and get myself killed, or sit alone in the tower and spend all night thinking about you three getting yourselves killed.”

There was a moment of awkward silence. The pink filly gave a defeated sigh.

“Fine. Count me in too. I hope death doesn’t hurt too much…”

“Alright then,” Dinky said, ignoring Honeydew’s rather dark comment. “Scuffle, meet us at the hideout after dark. We’ve got a job to do.”

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From the safety of her bedroom, Dinky watched the light gradually fading from the sky. The sun had already dipped completely below the horizon, and the darkness was beginning to set in, allowing some of the brighter stars to appear overhead. She squeezed her eyes shut tight, successfully staving off another brief dark magic attack, and then turned to her friends once it had passed.

“It’s almost time,” she said gravely. “Curfew is right about now, which means Scuffle is probably already out at the hideout waiting for us.”

Honeydew, who had wrapped herself tightly in blankets, squeaked fearfully. “Does that mean it’s too late to call this off?”

“That’s right,” Clarity replied as she put a few supplies she hoped would be useful into her saddlebag. “But it’s not too late for you to back out. Nopony’s forcing you to come along.”

Honeydew sighed and crawled out from her fortress of bedding. “No, I’ll come along,” she said softly. “We need to work as a team for this, don’t we?”

Dinky trotted over to the pink filly and placed a forehoof on her back. “I really appreciate it, Honeydew,” she said, giving her friend a smile and a soft nuzzle. “It’s amazing how much braver you’ve become since the beginning of the term, too.”

Honeydew chewed her lip. “You realize I’m still terrified, right?” she asked. “I’m just going along anyway.”

“That’s okay,” Dinky replied, managing a nervous laugh. “We’re terrified too. But maybe if we have each other’s backs, we can pull this off.”

Dinky placed a map of the region and a few first aid supplies in her saddlebags. “I think we’re ready to go,” she announced. “That is, if you two don’t have any objections.”

Clarity shook her head. Honeydew fixed her gaze on the carpet. Neither spoke.

“Alright, follow me. And be careful; we can’t let Sparkler catch us sneaking out.”

The three fillies silently closed the door to their bedroom and began to creep down the dark stairs of the residence tower. It sounded like a few fillies were still awake, but the halls remained empty. With nopony around to raise suspicious questions, the trio quickly reached the bottom of the tower.

“How are we gonna get outside, exactly?” Clarity asked. “There are guards everywhere tonight. We’d have to pass one just to go from the residence tower to the castle.”

Dinky grinned and led the way not toward the door, but toward the basement. “There’s another way out of this tower, remember?” she asked deviously, glancing over her shoulder as her plan dawned on her friends.

Soon, Dinky and her companions stepped into the dank basement beneath the tower. The grate in the stone floor had been fixed back into place, but a few quick, precise manipulation spells quickly removed the screws. Dinky set the grate aside as quietly as possible, and stared at the square shaft leading straight down.

“We’ll have to lower each other down with levitation,” Clarity pointed out. “None of us can use Scuffle’s gravity spells.”

“Right,” Dinky agreed. “Who wants to go first?”

“You’re leading this expedition,” Honeydew whispered. “Go on, we’ll carry you down.”

Dinky nodded and stood at the edge of the opening. A colorful mixture of two auras surrounded her, and she was lifted into the air and began to descend into the blackness below.

Ready or not, Sunbeam, she thought, as the moldy brick tunnel at the bottom of the shaft came into view. We’re coming to stop you.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Miles and miles away in Ponyville, a night such as Scorpio’s Apex wasn’t one of any concern. Most ponies weren’t even aware of anything out of the ordinary about this particular evening. The moon had risen, and most ponies had retired to bed for the night.

In a house in town like any other, a little pinto earth colt slept soundly. A pendant, embedded with a diamond shaped like a half-moon, sat on the nightstand, waiting to be placed around his neck the next morning like it was every day. The scene was peaceful. Nothing was amiss.

And then, for some reason, the little colt was jolted awake.

Pipsqueak sat up, groggily rubbing his eyes. “What time is it?” he asked nopony in particular. “Is it still the middle of the night?”

Blinking away the sleep, the colt looked around the room, trying to figure out what had caused him to stir so suddenly. Everything, however, was in its place.

Pipsqueak was just about to shrug it off and go back to sleep, when something caught his eye. Turning to the bedside table, he stared at his pendant as it began to glow.

Something was not right. When Dinky, far away at the academy, thought of Pipsqueak, the pendant would warm up and glow with the soft yellow light of Dinky’s horn. This time, however, the accessory radiated a soft, light purple shade that the colt didn’t recognize. Pipsqueak had heard the story of Dinky’s run in with dark magic, but this aura clearly wasn’t that either.

“Then… whose is it?” Pipsqueak asked aloud as he reached for the pendant.

The edge of his hoof had barely touched the rim of the metal when suddenly his mind was assaulted with a series of broken images, distant sounds, and feelings of dread and terror. It was impossible to decipher anything he was seeing or hearing, as it all happened in just an instant, yet somehow, its message was abundantly clear.

“Dinky’s in danger. I’ve got to help her!”

Pipsqueak leapt out of bed, slipped the pendant around his neck, grabbed his saddlebag, and promptly left the room. Careful not to wake his parents as he snuck past, the colt scurried down the stairs, flung open the front door, and cantered out into the moonlit streets of Ponyville.

Comments

[SuperPinkBrony12]

Not for nothing, but doesn't it occur to Dinky that perhaps charging out to confront Sunbeam is exactly what he wants her to do? I mean think about it, that mystery stallion kept thwarting his plans, but only in Dinky's dreams. If he could lure her out into the waking world, he could easily overpower her with little trouble.

[SolidBlackPanda]

That enchantment on Pip's pendant probably just saved their lives.

[G S tol Kriaal]

5189134 Well obviously, but bear in mind that Dinky's still a kid, and she's riding the high of finding a "flaw" in Sunbeam's plan and too stubborn to second-guess herself. She's not wired for deviousness

[Magthere]

“And now it begins,” said Ser Arthur Dayne, the Sword of the Morning. He unsheathed Dawn and held it with both hands. The blade was pale as milkglass, alive with light.
“No,” Ned said with sadness in his voice. “Now it ends.”

- Ser Arthur Dayne and Lord Eddard Stark just before the showdown at the Tower of Joy.

5189134
While I agree with you in the fact Dinky going to challenge him is no doubt a poor idea, the attempt to neutralize him before he can truly strike at all of Equestria is a good point. Had say the Allies failed to gain a toe hold on Normandy during D-Day it would have required time to gather the resources for a second attempt that would lack the surprise of the first. So Dinky has a genuine good idea save for the lack of firepower brought to execute that idea.

[Aariadon]

5189134 I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say YES that is probably what he wants to happen.

[SuperPinkBrony12]

5189715 I know, and the fact that such a thing hasn't even crossed Dinky's mind seems odd. If she actually considered the possibility, and then went through with her plan, at least she'd know what she's likely getting into.

[Blue Wolf]

*stops suddenly and thinks* ....wait...you don't suppose that it's been Pipsqueak's pendant that's been saving Dinky all this time? What if those pendants have been linking their dreams together - acting as a back door into Dinky's dreams? That might explain how Sunbeam was able to block Luna out but not the mystery stallion. So it's possible it was Pipsqueak in her dreams, dreaming himself to be older. Of course, it might have been somepony else using the pendant's link...

[Aariadon]

5189761 Dark magic is clouding her thoughts!

[SuperPinkBrony12]

5189931 I was thinking it was Dinky's father, even death can't stop him from protecting his daughter.

[Grif_Bladefeather]

5189931 this stallion seems to know sunbeam, my theroy is he is a wraith as well but not the same kind as sunbeam, some kind of light magic wraith.

[Shadow_Wolf]

Hoo boy... things are about to seriously go down. Great chapter!

[meerkat8472]

Alright two things:
One, I know it's been said already but damn it Dinky you're doing exactly what Sunbeam wants!
Two, Honeydew tells someone in authority about her father's serious abuse of her, and they don't tell the Royal Guard or someone like that?! What the actual flying feather is up with that?!

[Firebirdbtops]

Pirate to the rescue!

[Blaze Spectrum]

Man, I fist pumped upon seeing this update. I did so again upon seeing the size of it.

While I'd love to see Sunbeam's face smashed in, especially since his tone of voice gets on my nerves, he's probably ready.

[ShadowLDrago]

“I think he likes her, you dolt!”

Of course.

If you’re still doing alright, there’s no way you’re corrupted enough to be in danger of passing some kind of point of no return, right?”

You had to jinx it, didn't you?

“Happy Scorpio’s Apex,” the colt said in a surprisingly good-natured tone. “Are you ready for tonight? I am.”

Oh boy.

“It’s stupid, I know. Really stupid. But it’s also the only way I might be able to stop Sunbeam before something disastrous happens.”

Dinky, has it possibly occurred to you that that's exactly what Sunbeam wants? Since that stallion can save you in your dreams, doesn't mean he can in real life, not to mention Sunbeam may be able to affect you more directly.

"If I want to stop Sunbeam before he does something really dangerous, I'll have to do it myself,"

Has it occurred to you that it might be safer to simply continue with your studies and stuff so that that stallion in your dreams can possibly save you again if need be, and besides, if you stay safe past Scorpio's Apex, you might be able to thwart Sunbeam's plans better than any direct action could. Sometimes, the best offense is a good defense.

“Does that mean it’s too late to call this off?”

Unfortunatly.

“Dinky’s in danger. I’ve got to help her!”

Pip, I commend you for your Genre Savviness, but, like it or not, you're just an earth pony colt, you can't run all the way to where Dinky is, you can't teleport, you can't fly, you don't know how to fight, you have no offensive magic, you might even make things worse, Sunbeam is probably more than capable of using you as a hostage, threatening to kill you unless Dinky gives in to her dark magic, or kill you anyway and her subsequent rage and despair might make her lose control anyway.

[AlouetteSK]

Hahaha.
She's using the "Adults are Useless" tropes to justify walking right into Sunbeam's trap. Everyone seems to agree on calling it.
Guessing that the Dreamwalker is her pa, either dead or plane-shifted.

Nitpick: "Wer" in Werewolf means "Man". It is a connotated word for the transformed creature, but might I suggest changing it to be more contextually correct?

[Booster Spice]

Im worried about that dark magic gem left behind the wards inside the castle, just waiting to be called upon to start a meltdown

As for Dinkky not wanting to tell the Princesses as theyll stop her going, well thats what you get for having adults not show kids the remains of what happens when kids and adults dont talk with each other why its not a good idea to run into the middle of an eight lane highway while foggy.

I still suspect Foxy was used as yet another vector, get Dinky ill a certain way, weakens her no matter how strong she is. Also, sunbeam now has a fox to stole on her.

[mew3]

Here comes the swashbuckling hero to save his little princess, For he is a Pirate King.
I just hope, (General Ackbar appears from the closet) "Its a trap!", never mind.

[Always Breakfast]

Aw, man. Everypony was being refreshingly smart about taking precautions and stuff, but then Dinky up and decided to play stupidball on the last night.

[Pegasus Rescue Brigade]

5193037
Let's be honest though, what kind of good adventure story ends with "Let's stay safe and hidden and hope everything works out"?

[Page Turner]

5191660

Pip, I commend you for your Genre Savviness, but, like it or not, you're just an earth pony colt, you can't run all the way to where Dinky is, you can't teleport, you can't fly, you don't know how to fight, you have no offensive magic, you might even make things worse, Sunbeam is probably more than capable of using you as a hostage, threatening to kill you unless Dinky gives in to her dark magic, or kill you anyway and her subsequent rage and despair might make her lose control anyway.

But he CAN go to the library and tell Twilight about it, and she CAN do all of those things.

[howard035]

Overall a long but fun chapter that did a lot of different things.

but lucky for you, one lucky colt and filly will be chosen at random to come up here on stage and get us all started.

I call BS, way too big a coincidence. I bet all the teachers get together in the teacher's lounge the day before the dance and gossip about which fillies and colts seem to have crushes on each other, and then use the "random" pick to try and set two students up. Especially with Nester there, he has the means and motivation to encourage grade-school romances. I don't mind though, because ScuffleDew is adorable.

And yeah, I agree that Dinky is walking into an obvious trap, but come on, she's 11. Kids do dumb stuff like that all the time, even smart kids. She's not carrying the idiot ball, she's carrying the child ball.

My guess on the stallion is that he's nothing but Trouble!

I was sad that we didn't hear Presto's perspective on the senior dance, hope we find out more in the future.

Oh, and I hope you have Dinky planning to hijack a train, otherwise I don't see how Pipsqueak and Dinky could reach each other in a single night.

[Murgatroyd]

Dinky, you idiot. You're doing exactly what he wants.

[Pegasus Rescue Brigade]

5193986
Did I say Dinky's 11 years old somewhere? I've been trying to keep discrepancies with age from occuring. Currently, they're 14 (as Honeydew mentioned in this chapter) but I may have had a different idea about their age earlier and wrote it differently. If you know of some place where I said they were younger, let me know so I can revise it.

[howard035]

5194536 You didn't sorry, I just remembered they were 1st years at unicorn hogwarts and assumed that.

[Pegasus Rescue Brigade]

5194772
Haha, point taken.
But they're a little older than the starting age in Harry Potter. Hogwarts has 7 terms for ages 11-17, and Celestia's Academy as I've represented it here has 5 terms for ages 14-18.

[howard035]

5195256 That explains a lot more about why the dance for 5th years is because they are going to leave the school soon.

[Pegasus Rescue Brigade]

5195325
Yeah, I've mentioned a few times throughout the story that Sparkler and the other 5th years are the oldest students there. So in Dinky's second year, ponies like Sparkler, Presto, Scorch, and Frosty won't be there anymore. Theoretically of course, since this story won't cover any more years anyway.

[ShadowLDrago]

5193850

True, but at this hour?

[moguera]

5189134 Probably very true. However, this may also be the best chance to deal with Sunbeam for good. After all, if he doesn't succeed this time, all he has to do is slink away until the next time Scorpio's Apex comes around and then he'd have a whole year to work with continuous temptation to try and force Dinky to use dark magic. Going out to confront him may be risky. Heck, it may even be exactly what he's hoping for. However, it may also result in a genuine solution that will ensure that this doesn't happen again. In all honesty, this may be the only real chance that Dinky has.

[ferret]

5196009

"Dinky! I found a piece of Equestria! It's almost as big as my hoof! I think it might be close to that chunk that you found... oh hello Princess Luna."

"We can see what you are doing. Cease to propel yourself from my presence lest I grow even more irate."

"What?"

"She means come over here! And can you teach me that gravity spell? You're the only one who can move around. Just floating in one place is boring."

[ferret]

"So you see Princess Luna, you couldn't track down the wraith, and none of the royal guard could, and neither could the Elements of Harmony, but I can! So when he said he was going to destroy all of Equestria I had to go to stop him, because you all wouldn't go after him at all!"

"My little pony, please repeat for me why I, the guard, and the element bearers have not 'gone after him' and staged a direct assault."

"Because you couldn't find him!"

"And if we had some way of finding him, would we have staged a direct assault?"

"Of course but-"

"And if you had told any of us that you could find him, what would we have done?"

"You would have ... I'm in big trouble, aren't I."

"You have no idea."

[Blue_Paladin42]

>[FINAL BOSS]<

5191660
He could be going to the library.

[ShadowLDrago]

5196561

Twilight is most likely asleep.

[Alchemystudent]

My face during the dance

Me when Sunbeam showed up

Me now...

CONTINUE YOU MAGIFICENT WRITER YOU!!

[Alondro]

5191894 I am best adult. I can god-mode with STYLE!!

ppartchive.com/content/graphics/thumbs/gfx_b3rg_TheBoomoftheHeadshots%5Bthumb%5D.jpg

All the children beg me to accompany them to their final showdowns.

[djthomp]

Scuffle and Honeydew reached the stage at the same moment. Their gazes met, and for a moment, both ponies froze in place. Next to Dinky, Clarity covered her muzzle with both forehooves, trying desperately not to burst out laughing.

Ahh yes, "random".

Oh man, Sparkler is having some issues.

You know, I somewhat have to wonder if Celestia and/or Luna could have done something like temporarily petrify Dinky while Scorpio was dominant to pull her out of the line of fire . It would cause delays for her schooling, but surely that would be better than unrecoverably becoming a wraith. Probably just not possible for story reasons, but it's been something nagging at the back of my mind for a while now.

Alternate version of the above idea, why is Dinky still sleeping in her dorm room instead of in some sort of medical ward where she can be monitored while sleeping?

Random thought, the mysterious tuxedo man dream savior is an unconscious mental construct of Dinky's father, which is why he could get "in" when even Luna couldn't: he never actually leaves. Not sure it works with all of his appearances, though, I don't remember all of them offhand.

Dinky watched the brief, peaceful mood drain away from her friend, quickly being replaced by concern. Honeydew recounted the entire tale of her discovery of magic and her unicorn-phobic family to Professor Chestnut, nervously touching the notch in her horn every few minutes.

Well there we go, 'bout time Honeydew let an authority figure know. The professor's suggestion to try to build up her potential earth pony magic based on her heritage and special talent isn't a bad idea, but it would be nice if something about her situation could also be done through other channels too, like 'hey you, we know you tried to cut your daughter's horn off, don't try anything like that again'.

Dinky smiled. Boy, I could use a charm like that, she thought to herself. I doubt something as simple as an enchanted gem would keep Sunbeam out of my head, but it’s a nice thought.

Try it, Dinky. Couldn’t hurt, might help.

Wow, they planning on going on the counterattack.

“Fine. Count me in too. I hope death doesn’t hurt too much…”

Hah!

“Dinky’s in danger. I’ve got to help her!”

Go Pipsqueak!

[Pegasus Rescue Brigade]

5201395
Celestia and Luna are aware of Dinky's situation, and have been around long enough to recognize the stage of corruption she's at. She's not so far gone that she needs to be petrified or confined to a medical ward. She's safe in her dorm, and will begin to recover after Scorpio's Apex, provided she doesn't do something stupid.

Too bad they overestimated her judgement about that last part, huh? Better hope she gets lucky now.

[djthomp]

5201604 It doesn't really feel like they're taking all the proper precautions, though, since the only reason Dinky wasn't wraith-ified this chapter was due to her mysterious dream interloper. She isn't really safe in her dorm room at all given the avenue of attack and Luna's new inability to protect her dreams.

Well, assuming reliable narrators and all that jazz, Sunbeam could certainly have been overstating his chances of success in keeping Luna out, especially once she got to Dinky's bedside.

[Pegasus Rescue Brigade]

5201767
Also, I know I was making it out to be bad, but in actuality, damage from the dream alone wouldn't have turned Dinky into a wraith. It would have pushed her closer to it, yes, but it actually takes a lot more than that.
The fact that Dinky is still thinking clearly without fading conscience or violent thoughts means she's not on the brink.

[djthomp]

5202632 Ahh, gotcha.

[nemryn]

So, I'm guessing that Dinky accidentally used dark magic on Trouble somehow.

[silverMEGAlicorn]

5195256 Interesting. So I assume you're assuming that the ponies are the same ages as their Equestria Girls Counterparts? Referring to Sweetie, Apple Bloom and Scoots being around 13-14 years old in EG, so perhaps that's the same in Equestria

[kladdos]

Hi, I've read your previous story a couple of times and just found out there was a sequel to it. I LOVE EVERY BIT OF IT!
I was waiting for this chapter for a couple months now and am happy to see it released!
Talk about cliffhangers! I sure hope the next chapter will be coming rather soon :)

Keep up the great work!

[Pegasus Rescue Brigade]

5205680
The next chapter is more than half done! Glad you're excited for it.

[SommeOne]

I'm sorry to bother you, but in the line

The Practical Magic exam also considered of both written and hooves-on portions.

I believe that you meant to say consisted as opposed to considered
again, sorry for bothering you

[Pegasus Rescue Brigade]

5206875
You're not bothering me. You caught an error that I (and both of my editors) missed. Thanks for pointing it out! I fixed it.

[palmsparrow2014]

YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!it's here!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! by the way,what is it with you and cliffhangers?!?!and more importently,HOW THE BUCK IS PIPSQUEAK GOING TO HELP STOP SUNBEAM?!?!AND WHO'S THE MYSTERY STALION FROM DINKY'S DREAMS?!?! DAMN IT,I WANNA KNOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!...

...sorry,i had a bit of a freak out there...hehe...

[PegaSeraph]

This story is sooooooo good