Twilight Sparkle was not in the best of moods. This was, admittedly, not a particularly surprising occurrence. She was out in public at the time, and Twilight Sparkle was not fond of being out in public. Public was a very noisy place, filled with hooves clacking against the ground and laughter and talking and ponies shouting "All aboard! All aboard the train to Ponyville! Please have your tickets at the ready!" Which was actually rather considerate of them as Twilight had lost track of time, but rather inconsiderate in that it forced her to briefly interact with the ticket taker at a time when she would have preferred wallowing in anger.
As fortune would have it, the earliest train to Ponyville from Canterlot was almost entirely empty. Twilight tucked herself in the furthest corner seat, killing whatever hope her fellow passengers had concerning friendly conversation. She sat in silence, staring out of the window and stoking the small flame of indignation in her chest.
Friends.
She was supposed to go make friends.
Personal student to the single most powerful being in all of Equestria and, quite possibly, the entire world, sister of the youngest Captain of the Guard in Equestrian history, whose special talent lay in not a single branch of magic as most unicorns' did, but in all of magic itself, was being sent to go make friends at some school. And she hadn't even gotten a goodbye! Just a letter of admission, a few written instructions, a ticket to Ponyville, and a poster with the school's crest and an overhead shot of campus.
It may as well have been an eviction notice.
Yes, there were worse things in the world than being accepted into the Princess' Academy for the Advancement of Equestrian Society without so much as writing an essay, but Twilight actually quite liked writing essays, so even that stung a bit! And worse yet, she'd only been allowed two suitcases! Hardly enough for her favorite books, let alone her second, third, or fifty-sixth favorites! A whole book ranking system gone to waste over Princess Celestia's random whim! What was the point of personal lessons with the Princess if Twilight was just going to end up in a normal school?!
Twilight sighed, her head thumping dully against the window's glass as the flame in her chest began to cool. It just didn't make sense. And now she was off to a town she'd only heard about in passing. Twilight had cracked open her Equestrian history books as soon as she'd seen Ponyville printed on her ticket, but they didn't tell her much. A wholly unremarkable little hamlet that wasn't old enough to have any real history. Just a pit-stop on her way to the Academy. To her new home.
"How did this happen?" she muttered from her corner of the train.
But nobody heard her.
***
Rarity was practically bouncing as she made her way through Ponyville. The freshly risen sun seemed brighter, the birds sang a little bit sweeter, and the overloaded cart she pulled along in her magic rolled just a tad more smoothly than normal despite being topped with the equivalent of a small home. The only dampener on Rarity's mood was the quiet, unassuming nature of the day. She knew that there were dozens of reporters all across Equestria at that very moment, snapping pictures of the next Class of the Academy, clamoring for interviews as students prepared to depart on the next leg of their life. Especially this year, if the rumors were anything to go by.
But Rarity was in Ponyville, a town that had largely fallen off of the Equestrian radar. Why would any reporter waste her time here when Canterlot was a brief train ride away? And Canterlot was undoubtedly the place to be.
Well, no matter. There may not have been any reporters waiting in Ponyville Station, but it was no skin off of Rarity's back. They'd all be knocking on her door soon enough.
Rarity pressed foreward, straining her magic slightly to get her luggage through the door. There weren't many ponies in the station, which wasn't entirely a surprise; Ponyville Station wasn't exactly the busiest location in Equestria, but Rarity huffed at the fact that there was nopony at all to see her off. Reporters were one thing, local well-wishers were another matter entirely.
She pushed the thoughts from her mind. The ponies of Ponyville could do whatever they wished, after all, and it wasn't as though Rarity had asked anypony to be at the station, so there. Matter handled, no more thinking about it. Focus on the luggage cart, the top case looks a little precarious. It certainly didn't help that the floor was so uneven. This place really needs some remodeling. Where is that blasted mirror? Ah, there it was. A large, rectangular sheet of glass framed in silver, a mirror big enough to reflect two ponies standing side by side. There were various markings and symbols carved into the frame, but their meaning escaped Rarity. Nor was she particularly interested in their meaning. Her eyes were drawn, instead, to the purple unicorn seated a few feet from the mirror. The unicorn's head was stuffed into a book, so no help there, but there were two cases of luggage by her seat, and she must have been around Rarity's age. Rarity had never seen her before, which meant that she probably wasn't from Ponyville. All the signs pointed to one possibility:
Rarity was about to make her first friend in the Academy.
She fixed her friendliest smile onto her face, putting an extra spring in her step as she approached the oblivious unicorn. "Good morning!" Rarity greeted brightly.
No reaction. The other unicorn continued to read, as though she hadn't heard Rarity's enthusiastic greeting. A few awkward moments passed, then she sighed, lowering her book.
"Can I help you?" she asked, not quite making eye contact with Rarity.
"Not quite," Rarity began, rather unnerved by her potential first friend, "I couldn't help but notice your bags and current location in the station; are you a student at the Academy?"
"I am."
"Oh, fantastic! Do you mind if I join you?"
"I have no control over where you sit." She turned back to her book.
A pause. Rarity eyed the empty seat next to the unicorn. Maybe the early hour wasn't the only reason she had been sitting alone. Well, Rarity was too far-gone to turn around and leave. "My name is Rarity," she said, filling the empty seat.
"Twilight Sparkle," replied Twilight, reluctantly looking up from her book.
"So! First year at the Academy! Isn't this exciting?"
"I suppose so."
"I certainly think so. I just about died when I got my acceptance letter; nopony could believe it. I'm only the third or fourth pony in recent memory to make it into the Academy from Ponyville!"
"Really?" Twilight asked politely.
"Indeed," Rarity replied with a thoughtful nod. "I think there were three from last year, which is impressive in its own right for Ponyville, and there's two this year including myself. Pinkie Pie is the other pony. She's very nice, if a bit energetic. I'm actually rather surprised she isn't here yet."
Twilight smiled in reply, giving a sort of noncommittal grunt. Her eyes darted towards her book.
"What about yourself?" Rarity asked. "What brings you to Ponyville?"
"My mother wanted me to see her hometown at least once before leaving for the Academy," Twilight lied with practiced ease. It was exactly what the Princess' notes had told her to say.
Rarity fell for it. "Really? Where did she move to?"
"Manehattan."
"Oh, that's a gorgeous city! I've been there once or twice myself and I absolutely loved it."
"It's a nice place."
"I've actually thought of moving there permanently! Well, either there or Canterlot."
Twilight shrugged apologetically. "I've never really visited Canterlot."
"It's a truly lovely city!" Rarity said excitedly, placing a hoof on Twilight's shoulder. "They have the most incredible shops and the most beautiful buildings. The Princess' castle is stunning, just absolutely stunning."
Twilight twisted away from the hoof. "I'm sure."
Rarity, lost in her excitement, didn't even notice Twilight's discomfort. "Oh, and did you hear the rumor? Apparently, the Princess' own student is coming to the Academy this year!"
"Really?" asked Twilight nonchalantly.
"Yes! It's been in every tabloid for the past month! The Princess has always been so secretive about her student; we don't know the slightest thing about him! I honestly have no idea how Princess Celestia did it."
"It's pretty amazing."
"And then we find out that the Princess put somepony in without so much as an entrance exam! Well, all of Equestria knew that that was her student, but it's rather strange, isn't it? Suddenly sending the student the Princess tried to keep away from the public eye right into the Academy of all places!"
"Yeah. Pretty weird."
"Well, we'll just have to keep an eye out at the Academy, won't we?"
Twilight nodded.
At that moment, a thin humming filled the air, originating from the mirror. The mirror's runes began to glow with a soft golden light. A unicorn stepped out of the mirror, grey and thin enough to look almost sickly. Too thin indeed for the white, official-looking jacket he wore, which hung low enough to cover his cutie mark. His black mane was flecked with the grey of age and brushed up and out of his face. He scanned the train station, golden eyes eventually settling on Twilight and Rarity, regarding them through a pair of rectangular glasses.
"Students?" he asked.
"We are!" answered Rarity brightly, practically jumping out of her seat. Her magic flared, enveloping her mountain of luggage once more. "I'm Rarity, and this is Twilight Sparkle."
"Do Rarity and Twilight Sparkle have their admittance letters?"
Rarity nodded, opening the top suitcase with her magic and floating a piece of paper towards the stallion. He took it in his own aura, giving it a cursory glance.
"You may leave your luggage here, Rarity. It'll find its way to you in the Academy."
Rarity glanced back towards the mountain, then towards the stallion. "If it's all the same to you, sir, I'd much rather keep it with me."
The stallion raised an eyebrow. "Seems pretty heavy for a carry-on."
"I've carried it this far."
"This Looking Glass only reflects students," said the stallion, gesturing back towards the still-glowing mirror. "I can send your luggage to where you'll be reflected, but you can't go through with it."
Rarity thought for a moment, then nodded reluctantly. "That'll be fine. Thank you."
The stallion's magic flared, a soft golden aura enveloping Rarity's luggage. The light flashed, and the luggage disappeared.
"Who's powering that Looking Glass?" Twilight asked, gazing intently at the glowing ruins.
"I am." answered the stallion.
Twilight blinked. "That's impossible."
"Is it?" the stallion asked with a half-smile. "I wish somepony had told me."
"You're holding open a Looking Glass?"
"Correct."
"But you levitated Rarity's acceptance letter! You teleported her luggage!"
"Correct. Do you have your acceptance letter, Twilight Sparkle?"
Twilight stared at the stallion, not breaking eye-contact as she produced her acceptance letter. The stallion's smile widened slightly as he took Twilight's letter in his magic.
"Would you like me to do the same to your luggage?" His smile had definitely widened then.
"No. I'm fine."
"Then pass through the Looking Glass whenever you're ready."
Twilight stepped forward, keeping her eyes on the stallion. He held his smile, inclining his head slightly as she stepped through the Looking Glass.
The Academy, the Princess' notes had said, was in a rather strange relationship with the rest of Equestria. It was surrounded by wards and illusions meant too keep any wanderers, pony or otherwise from walking in of their own accord. The only reliable way to get onto or off of campus was through the Looking Glass system. There was a Looking Glass in nearly every train station in Equestria, each one reflecting into the Academy's Hall of Mirrors. As long as a student could find a pony capable of and permitted to reflect them through a Looking Glass, they were free to travel anywhere they desired.
The Hall of Mirrors itself, as Twilight found, was an immense round room with dozens of mirrors identical to the one in Ponyville Station set up in rows. These mirrors periodically glowed, a different colored glow for every mirror, signaling the arrival of another student.
Twilight noticed all of this in passing, preoccupied as she was with the room itself. The Hall of Mirrors practically hummed with magic, the force of it all nearly knocking Twilight off of her hooves. The Academy's admission pamphlet had touted their magical studies and the Princess' notes had mentioned them in an effort to calm her student's anger; Twilight thought that they were merely playing themselves up. But she had never felt a ley line like this.
"Twilight?"
Twilight jumped. She'd forgotten about Rarity almost before they'd left Ponyville Station, preoccupied as she was by the stallion and the Looking Glass. And now Twilight had lost her chance to lose her companion. Joy.
"I'm so glad you waited for me, dear," Rarity said. "I have a terrible sense of direction and I've heard that the Academy is absolutely immense. Do you have any idea how to get to the orientation hall?"
"Pamphlet has a map," Twilight muttered.
"Does it? Then I'll have to trust you to lead the way; my pamphlet is rather buried at the moment." Rarity glanced meaningfully at her luggage.
Twilight sighed, her head still buzzing slightly and less than capable of finding a way out of this situation. "Okay." She reached into a suitcase, drawing out the pamphlet and folding out its map. She held it in her magic, trying to get her bearings.
Rarity, meanwhile, was engaging in a bit of pony-watching. It was still very early in the day, so there weren't many ponies filtering in, but there were still quite enough to occupy her time. A pair of earth ponies walked passed, wide-eyed and staring at their surroundings. They would be from a small town. Perhaps smaller than Ponyville. Were there any towns smaller than Ponyville? She should ask them about it. There, a pegasus stepped out of the portal, not taking three steps before taking to the air, her yellow mane little more than a blur as she careened out of the Hall of Mirrors. From Las Pegasus, then. Rarity wasn't too acquainted with pegasi outside of Ponyville, but she liked to imagine that a pony from a city in the clouds like Cloudsdale would carry themselves more properly. Was Twilight still looking at that map? She was. How strange that she could sit there staring at a piece of paper. She did have fantastic posture, though. Very regal. Rarity, on the other hoof, felt fantastic, as though she could run a marathon. Not that she would ever put herself through that kind of torture. But it was the thought that counted.
Rarity's eyes brightened as they fell on a group of unicorns with a fantastic sense of style, if looking a bit frazzled. Canterlot, no doubt. Frazzled by the teams of reporters trying to find the Princess' student. It wasn't one of them, though. They lacked the aura of someone raised by royalty. Rarity was sure that she'd be able to pick the Princess' student out of a crowd of hundreds of other unicorns.
Twilight clicked her hooves against the polished floor, and Rarity turned towards her newest friend.
"This way," Twilight said, gesturing towards the door the pegasus had flown through.
Rarity nodded, taking her luggage in her magic. "Lead on."
Twilight did, floating her map in front of her as she stepped out of the Hall of Mirrors and onto the campus. The buzz of magic diminished slightly, still present in Twilight's mind, but no longer painful. They were outside now, walking along a single cobbled path among a sea of grass, the sun steadily climbing upwards.
"Twilight, may I ask you a question?" Rarity asked.
Twilight arched an eyebrow, her eyes focused on the map.
"Why were you so disbelieving of the stallion at Ponyville Station?"
"He was holding open a Looking Glass portal on his own," Twilight explained.
Rarity waited for further explanation.
None came.
"Right," Rarity said. "I'm aware of that. Is it really so surprising? Teleportation is not unheard of."
Twilight stood a bit straighter. "Teleportation and the creation of portals, while ostensibly similar branches of magic, are entirely different matters. Yes, they are both magical forms of transportation, but they go about it in fundamentally different ways."
"Really?" Rarity asked.
Twilight nodded. "Teleportation isn't instantaneous, it's a process by which an object is converted into magic and transported to a location, where it reforms. Portals forcefully bend space, forcing two entirely separate locations to join together."
"Ah, I see," Rarity said unconvincingly.
"To use an analogy, imagine that you wanted to make a rock touch a mountain. You could use teleportation and toss the rock at the mountain, or you could use a portal and move the mountain towards the rock."
"That sounds impossible."
"It isn't if you can gather a group of powerful unicorns or tap in an area's ley lines. I think most any unicorn could tap into the ley lines at the Hall of Mirrors and open a Looking Glass. Assuming, of course, they're willing to risk spontaneously erupting into flame from the magical rebound."
Rarity, who had been rather interested in Looking Glasses until that moment, decided not to ever make direct contact with one.
"And yet," Twilight continued, "that stallion held open a Looking Glass from Ponyville Station and cast magic on top of that! There's no substantial ley lines within five miles of that place! It defies logic!"
"How incredible. Where did you learn all of that, Twilight?"
Twilight Sparkle felt herself deflate. Curse her lecturing tendencies. "In my studies," she mumbled.
"It's fascinating."
Twilight nodded and shifted her attention back to the map.
***
The orientation hall was in Pansy Student Center, a rather expansive building standing roughly in the center of the Academy. The lower floors housed various restaurants, a well-stocked grocery store which, despite the early hour, was already open, and a common area painted in calming colors and full of comfortable-looking chairs. The upper floors housed offices for some student organizations and larger meeting rooms, one of which had been appropriated for the orientation.
Rarity, unwilling and unable to carry her luggage to the upper floors, stayed in the Pansy Student Center's first floor, in a rather comfortable common room, leaving Twilight to trek up two flights of stairs. The pastel colors of the lower floors faded to neutral gray and beige tones.
Twilight followed the many signs guiding new students to the orientation hall, eventually finding her way into a large and mostly empty room. A long table had been set up on one side of the room. There were only two ponies standing behind the table, both of them wearing matching white vests, the same color as the jacket the stallion in Ponyville Station had worn. One of them, a light blue pegasus with a multi-colored mane, was snoring softly, her head rested on a pile of official-looking papers. The other, an orange earth pony, her yellow mane largely hidden under a stetson hat, smiled warmly as Twilight walked hesitantly into the room.
"Morning," the earth pony said in a pleasant accent Twilight had never heard in Canterlot. "New student?"
Twilight nodded.
"And what's your name, sugarcube?"
"Twilight Sparkle," replied Twilight Sparkle.
"Nice to meet you Twilight, I'm Applejack." She turned towards a large box of files, flipping through the names. "And snoring beauty over there is Rainbow Dash. No need to worry yourself over her, though."
Rainbow Dash gave a particularly loud snore in place of a greeting.
"Huh." Applejack tugged at her hat. "I can't find your file here. Twilight Sparkle, right? What city are you from?"
"Manehattan."
"Manehattan," Applejack muttered, going through the files again. "Twilight Sparkle..."
"She won't be there, Applejack," said a voice from the doorway. The stallion from the station walked into the orientation hall. "I have her file."
Applejack knit her brow. "Now Professor Pen, you know that that just makes my job harder."
Professor Pen chuckled. "She's one of my newest advisees! Forgive me for being curious." He turned towards Twilight. "It's good to see you again, Twilight Sparkle. Am I still a monster?"
Twilight didn't respond. Portals bend space. Sound travels through space. She'd called him a monster while standing right next to the Looking Glass. Stupid genius unicorn, stupid!
"Professor Pen, you're scaring the poor thing!" Applejack exclaimed. "Don't you worry about him, he likes acting all scary, but he's a real softy. He was my advisor first year too! And Rainbow's. Ain't that right, Rainbow?" She punctuated her question by jamming a hoof into Rainbow Dash's side.
The pegasus woke with a start, an official-looking paper stuck to her cheek. She looked around the room, blinking slowly. "We finished?"
"We haven't even started, feather brain," said Applejack.
Rainbow Dash yawned, unsticking the paper from her cheek. "Then wake me up when it's over."
"Fill out the paper before you head to sleep, Rainbow. Twilight Sparkle from Manehattan."
"Yeah, yeah."
"No need," Professor Pen interjected. "I've handled the paperwork for Twilight Sparkle, Rarity, and Pinkamena Diane Pie."
Applejack's eyes widened. "Rarity and Pinkie Pie? No kiddin'!"
"Yes," answered Professor Pen. "Twilight Sparkle came in from Ponyville as well."
Applejack's wide-eyed stare shifted to Twilight. "No kiddin'!"
Twilight mumbled something about just visiting the town.
"So I can go back to sleep, right?" Rainbow asked.
However, the orientation hall had begun to slowly fill up with other first year students. Applejack gave a hurried goodbye to Twilight and the professor as Rainbow Dash struggled to keep her eyes awake long enough to write on the piece of paper.
"May I speak to you for a moment, Twilight Sparkle?" asked Professor Pen, leading the way out of the orientation hall.
Twilight didn't respond, but followed as Professor Pen turned a corner and stepped into a quieter hallway.
"I'd just like to formally introduce myself," Professor Pen said with a smile. "I am Pen Umbra, a professor here at the Academy, teaching in multiple departments. My focus, however, is Magic."
Twilight raised an eyebrow.
"That's hardly important, however; I doubt you'll take one of my official classes this year. What's important is that I am serving as your advisor this year, so I hope that we can get along."
"Likewise."
"I'm glad to hear that," answered Pen Umbra, smiling. "Now, this goes without saying, but don't tell anypony that you're the Princess' protégé. There are five other students in our advisory; if you must confide in somepony, confide in Fluttershy, she wouldn't tell a soul."
Twilight struggled to keep a passive face. "How did you know that?"
"It's rather obvious. Fluttershy is, surprisingly, very shy." Professor Pen chuckled.
Twilight didn't.
Pen pulled a face, awkwardly clearing his throat. "But of course you meant the whole 'secretly learning from the single most powerful pony currently on this planet' thing. I am proud to say that I am in Princess Celestia's good graces. We are dear friends."
"I've never heard her talk about you."
Professor Pen winced. "You wound me, Twilight Sparkle. But the fact remains."
"Okay."
Pen Umbra deflated. "You don't believe me. Well, that's fine. It's the privilege of the young to know everything there is to know, after all. May I state the obvious, however?"
Twilight frowned.
"You know a few things, Twilight Sparkle. More than most ponies in this school. But do not think, for even a moment, that you know everything."
Twilight Sparkle scowled. "I've never once thought that I know everything."
"That's the spirit," Professor Pen said with a smile. "Now, I believe you have a friend waiting for you downstairs. Best not to keep her waiting."
Twilight Sparkle's room was, of course, meant for only one pony. It was the one mercy Princess Celestia had allowed her faithful student during her banishment from Canterlot Castle. As it stood, the room had only a bed, a desk and seat, and an empty bookshelf as furniture. A single window, currently obscured by a set of blinds provided a view of the Academy campus. If Twilight ever bothered to open those blinds and gaze out the window, she'd find that she had a clear view of the Sea; an open expanse of green grass separating the dorms from the rest of campus.
There were, according to the pamphlet, a total of four dorms in the Academy; one for each of the current class years. In order of first year to final, it goes Star, Heart, Moon, and Sun. Each of the four dorms has, to borrow a word from the pamphlet, an "eccentric" design, growing in complexity as the students living in them gained experience. It was almost certain that magic, and very strong magic at that, was involved in their creation, to the point where the Academy had a dedicated rescue team for students who ventured into an unfamiliar dorm without the proper preparation. That being said, there was no set rule preventing students from coming and going from the dorms as they pleased and the Sun Rescue Team in particular always had its hooves full.
However, none of this particularly mattered to Twilight Sparkle at the moment. She only knew it because the Academy's pamphlet was, in the loosest sense of the term, reading material, and Twilight Sparkle never turned down any reading material that found its way into her hooves. Her only immediate concern was the Star dorm; a large lilac building with an 8-pointed star emblazoned above the entrance. Twilight hardly paid took a second glance at the building, but Rarity gushed about it, going on and on about the flowers planted all around the outside, the 'modern' look the building had, its setbacks and cantilevers. Twilight humored her, nodding when appropriate, knowing full well that the dorm could have looked any way the Princess wanted it to. As far as she could tell, the dozens upon dozens of enchantments heaped on the Star dorm meant that the dorm changed its outward appearance daily. Whether or not it actually did that could be tested tomorrow, but it didn't seem outside the realm of possibility.
The inside of the Star dorm was just as opulent; a rather plush lilac carpet coating the floor and leading up to a front desk, where a smiling pegasus mare asked their names and provided them with a room key and very specific instructions on getting to their rooms. Twilight and Rarity, as it turned out, had rather distant rooms. They said their goodbyes there in the lobby with Rarity drawing Twilight into a hug that just left both of them feeling awkward.
And so Twilight climbed the stairs to her room, alone for the first time since arriving at Ponyville Station that very morning. It was, in Twilight's opinion, a very liberating sensation; she even allowed a smile at the way the stairs glowed different colors when she stepped on them. And once she did smile, she couldn't stop!
There was such magic here! Less magic than in the Hall of Mirrors, but that simply meant that Twilight could actually breathe without experiencing a stabbing pain behind her eyes. The enchantments weaved together, one upon the other, rearranging the entire world as it suited the Academy and Twilight Sparkle, lonely and separated as she was, couldn't help but admire the way it all fit together.
By the time Twilight had made it to her room, however, her smile had worn itself into a slight frown. She was acting childish and she knew it. Yes, she'd been sent away, but she hadn't been abandoned. Princess Celestia had made sure that Twilight's travels would go without a hitch, had probably been watching in some way the entire time. And there was Pen Umbra! If the stallion had not lied, then he'd probably be reporting to the Princess about her arrival at the first chance he had. Twilight even had the opportunity to make a friend before she'd so much as arrived at the Academy! Not that she'd taken that opportunity.
Twilight's shoulders slumped as she unpacked her things, her luggage having found its own mysterious way to her room. She'd blown that. The one instruction Twilight had gotten from the Princess—Make friends—and she'd ignored it! She probably hadn't said more than twenty words to Rarity outside of her rant about magic back in the Hall of Mirrors. There went that chance.
Twilight sighed, looking around the sparsely decorated room. The books she'd brought with her hadn't been enough to fill even half of the provided bookcase, and she hadn't brought much with her outside of her books. Just a dress in case of a formal event and a few other bits and bobs she'd gathered in a haze of anger and hurt. Princess Celestia had insisted that she pack light in her letter, but she'd probably expected a bit more than two hastily packed suitcases. Just another in the long list of mistakes made by Twilight Sparkle.
A wave of exhaustion washed over Twilight; the accumulation of nights of poor sleep and the fact that she'd traveled so far in so little time. She practically collapsed onto her bed, her eyes closed before Twilight's head hit the pillow. It wasn't long until she was asleep.
***
Twilight's head was throbbing and in pain, as if a giant claw were gripping it and trying to cave it in. It was pitch black here in _____. She couldn't see where she was going, but she could feel the solid ground beneath her hooves and the steady sound they produced as Twilight galloped towards—away—towards _____. The pressure only grew worse as she ran, as if the air itself were malevolent. She didn't know how much longer she could last.
BAM
Twilight bounced backwards, rubbing at her muzzle. It hurt—didn't hurt anymore. She'd run into something very solid. A wall. Yes, a wall. Or, at least, she hoped it was a wall. Twilight climbed to her hooves, turning to the right and running again, not intent on finding out whether it really was a wall or something far less friendly.
She ran on and on for what seemed like miles. Her legs never failed her, carrying her faster than she'd ever gone before and she didn't feel the least bit tired. All the pain Twilight did feel was directed at her brain. The ever-present pressure and pain of something pushing and pushing until she could hear her blood pumping in her years, feel her heart beating behind her eyes. She shut her eyes tight to fight off the pain and found that they were already closed.
BAM BAM BAM
No pain this time, the sound had come from somewhere else, she didn't know where.
BAM BAM BAM
That sound again, louder this time, more clear. But there was another sound just behind it, a rattling, mettalic sound.
BAM BAM BAM
But there was something beneath that too, something that she could almost understand. Something that she should be able to under—
"Hellooooo, is anypony home?"
Twilight Sparkle woke with a start, breathing heavily as the pain in her head disappeared suddenly. She'd been dreaming. A nightmare. The kind she always had when she was feeling particularly stressed. That somehow didn't make it any easier.
"Huh," came the voice from the other side of the door. "Could've sworn she'd already checked in. Must have missed her." A pause. "Well, might as well try one more time!"
BAM BAM BAM
Twilight sighed, dragging herself out of bed and straightening her mane with her magic. She opened the door. And crashed face-first into a pink and poofy mane.
"You're here!" said the hair. "Well, I knew you were here, but I stood out here knocking and knocking and you didn't answer, so I didn't know if you were here and it's so good to see you!" She ended with a squeak, tightening the hug she had on Twilight.
"Do I know you?" Twilight choked out, struggling against the vicegrip she was in.
"Nope!" The mare tightened her hug further before springing away from Twilight and grinning. "My name's Pinkie Pie, what's yours?"
Twilight rubbed at her neck, taking deep breaths and trying to regain her composure. "Twilight Sparkle."
"It's great to meet you Twilight!" Pinkie reached into her mane, producing a covered basket. "I made you cupcakes!"
Twilight eyed the basket.
"Here you go!" Pinkie shoved the basket into Twilight's face, forcing her to take the basket in her magic or get cupcake all over her room's floor. "I know, I know, I totally should have thrown a party or something for everypony on our floor, but my room's a lot smaller than I thought it would be and the school doesn't let us have cannons."
A pause. "What?"
"I know! I was shocked too, but it's right there in the pamphlet! 'No cannons!' Crazy, right?"
Twilight shifted her gaze to Pinkie Pie. "Crazy. Yes."
"Well, it was really nice talking to you, Twilight, but I've gotta go give cupcakes to everyone else in Star! I'll see you later!" Pinkie had pulled Twilight into another hug before she'd finished speaking. A moment later and she was literally bouncing down the hallway.
Twilight Sparkle stared after her, basket of cupcakes still floating in the air before her. She'd read about characters like these in the past. They were never her favorite characters, but they were amusing enough when they were within the pages of a book. But Twilight never thought that a pony like Pinkie Pie would actually exist.
A chill went up Twilight's spin. Nothing good would come of this, she was sure.
A grumble went through Twilight's stomach and the first snippets of the cupcakes' aroma reached her nose.
Well, maybe one good thing.
Twilight Sparkle turned around, shutting and locking the door behind her. She carried the basket over to her desk, uncovering three carefully decorated cupcakes, two made with blue frosting and one made with yellow. She then walked to her newly stocked bookcase for some light reading to go along with her snack. After a brief internal debate, Twilight drew out a thick leather tome titled Predictions and Prophecies, settled herself at her desk, took a bit of a cupcake, and began to read.
Orientation week proved to be something of a trial for Twilight Sparkle. Her dorm room was, thankfully, in one of the corners of Star so she hardly ever had to deal with ponies passing in front of her door and making unnecessary noise. It did happen every once in a while, but it normally passed after a few moments. There were, however, a few times where Twilight's door was besieged by the poniefied battering ram that was Pinkie Pie.
At first, Twilight had attempted to ignore the mare, making full use of the earplugs she had brought over from Canterlot and reading whatever book she happened to be reading with a particular intensity, but Pinkie Pie was unrelenting in her assaults. The only way to appease her, as Twilight quickly learned, was to open the door and talk to her. Surprisingly enough, Pinkie never forced Twilight out of her dorm room, only asked whether she'd like to help Pinkie bake or take a tour of campus or walk through the stalls that various student groups had set up out on the Sea. Twilight would decline. Pinkie Pie would ask if she was sure. Twilight would say that she was sure. Pinkie Pie would respond with a cheery "Okie Dokie Lokie" and bound away from Twilight's room only to return the next day and go through the entire routine once more.
Twilight, meanwhile, would sit in her room and read or otherwise try to ignore the internal roller coaster she was riding. There were times when she could sit for hours and study the magic that permeated Star and the Academy in general, uncovering things she hadn't noticed before and realizing that she hadn't even scratched the surface of the layers upon layers of enchantments placed on the school. Other times she would think of her home in Canterlot, of the family she'd had to leave behind without so much as a goodbye and the mentor who had sent her away in the first place, and she'd feel herself fill up with loneliness and sadness and just the slightest bit of anger. Then Twilight would reach out with her magic and float a book, sometimes at random, sometimes not, out of her poorly stocked bookcase and lose herself in the words until the loneliness and sadness and anger receded. They too would return the following day.
The worst parts of the week were meal times. The dining hall in Star served breakfast, lunch, and dinner for a few hours every day, so if Twilight wanted to eat she was forced to interact with other ponies. She cheated slightly by showing up early to breakfast while most other students were still sleeping, having her breakfast before the dining hall got too full, and stowing away a few apples to eat later on. She was, in this way, sometimes able to skip lunch entirely. Dinner was another matter entirely.
The dining hall filled up quickly during its evening hours and stayed full for the three hours when it was open. Twilight, unaware of this on the first day the dining hall was open, walked into a hall positively teeming with students. Gritting her teeth and cursing her hunger, Twilight shoved her way towards the food, disregarding the chefs taking orders in front of warm stoves and making a beeline for the already prepared cold salads. She swooped up the first fruit salad she laid her eyes on and rushed towards the eating area.
"Twilight, dear!" Rarity called, waving from a nearby table.
Twilight Sparkle cast a quick glance around the eating area and, mentally resigning herself to having an eating companion, painted a smile onto her face and joined Rarity.
"I'm glad I found you, Twilight," Rarity said. "I thought that I would have to eat alone this evening."
Twilight shrugged in reply, stabbing a fork into her salad and delivering a slice of cantaloupe to her mouth.
"How has your first day on campus gone?" Rarity asked. "I haven't had much time to explore; unpacking has been such dreadful work. Another hour or so should do the trick. What about you?"
"I finished pretty quickly."
"How fantastic! I was never quite able to wrap my head around the concept of 'packing lightly'," said Rarity with a small laugh, "though I'm sure that it's freed up a fair amount of time. Have you gone out to the Carnival yet?"
"I haven't left Star."
"Ah." A pause. "Yes, travel certainly does take a lot out of a pony, doesn't it? I myself am planning on at least eight hours of beauty sleep once I finish unpacking. Would you like to head out to the Carnival with me tomorrow?"
Twilight, chewing through yet more melon, shrugged again.
"Well if you find the time, I'll be out there for most of the day. I'm sure that there's a few theater groups who could use a new costume or two. Have you thought of any groups you'd like to join?"
"I haven't really thought about it."
"You seemed to have quite some knowledge in magic. Have you thought about joining one of the Teams?"
"The Teams?"
Rarity nodded, evidently delighted that Twilight was actually taking part in the conversation. "I don't know the specifics, but there are competing teams on campus. I think there's four for each pony race, so twelve total, though I suppose you'd only concern yourself with the unicorn teams. I believe they're the Meadows, the Comets, the Swirls, and... the Clovers! Yes, that's it. They all have a booth out in the Carnival."
"And... What do they do?"
"Exercise their magic, I suppose. Compete against each other. I'm not too familiar with it; it's not really my forte."
"I see."
The rest of that dinner passed in polite, if a bit one-sided, conversation. Twilight did not venture out into the Carnival with Rarity but when dinner arrived the next evening, Twilight found herself with an eating companion once again.
***
The final day of Orientation week began with a note slipped beneath Twilight's door.
"Dear Twilight Sparkle," it read. "I trust that you've made the most of Orientation and have already begun making plans for the rest of the school year outside of whatever classes you choose to take. Unless, of course, my first impression of you was correct and you did nothing of the sort, which is also fine in its own right. Whatever the case may be, our advisory group will be holding its first official meeting in room 3-777 of building Platinum at 5:00 this evening, though I am sure that at least one of the three second-years have already informed you of this meeting as I instructed them to do. It is not through lack of trust that I send this note to you in the dead of night, but through my own paranoia and attention to detai1. Best wishes, Professor Pen Umbra."
Twilight read the message, then turned the card onto its back. Nothing written there, save for what seemed to be a serial number: VXTYIQWIL-6.
Twilight yawned, carrying the note to her desk and extracting a quill and inkwell from one of the drawers. She made a few quick marks on the back of the card, gave everything a once over to make sure hadn't made a mistake, set the quill aside, and headed down for breakfast.
***
"Are you ready to head out, Twilight?"
Twilight blinked, glancing around her dorm room in confusion, her copy of Daring Do and the Masked Thief of Marapore still floating in the air before her.
Rarity knocked on the door, and her voice floated through once more. "Are you in there, dear?"
"I'm coming," Twilight called, reluctantly stowing away her book. She ran a hoof through her mane, more out of habit than out of any actual attempt to tidy it up, glanced at the note Pen Umbra had left her, and exited her room.
Rarity greeted her with a smile, leading the way as they walked down the hall.
"Are you sure that I can't convince you to actually visit one of the Carnival's booths?" Rarity asked. "We'll have to cross the Sea anyway."
"We'd be late if I did."
"Oh come now, one or two minutes won't make any difference."
"It's the difference between being on time and being tardy."
Rarity waved to the pegasus working at Star's front desk as they passed. "It's an advisory meeting, Twilight, not a class. We could spend a full ten minutes at the Carnival and nopony would actually care, least of all Professor Umbra."
Twilight squinted slightly against the first proper rays of sunlight she'd seen that week. "I'd care."
Rarity huffed in equal parts amusement and annoyance. "It's the last day of the Carnival and this is literally the first step onto the Sea you've taken since we made it to campus. With all due respect, you're doing this wrong."
Twilight shrugged. The first booths of the Carnival came into focus, painted every color of the rainbow and plastered with photographs of smiling students. Those same students stood behind the booths, chatting with each other or with the first-year students who scurried around the booths like worker ants.
"If something catches your eyes, we're immediately stopping and I'm forcing you to talk to them," Rarity promised, leading the way into the Carnival.
The Carnival was aptly named. Ponies weaved in and out of booths, conversing loudly with their friends and clutching bags full of buttons, candy, and whatever else the student groups had decided to hand out to potential recruits. The booths were arranged in orderly lines, forming clear paths and intersections, but the sheer mass of bodies in those paths forced Rarity and Twilight to weave in and out of the crowds in order to make any progress. This also made it nearly impossible for Twilight to actually follow Rarity.
"Twilight?" Rarity called. "Twilight, over here."
Twilight spun in place, trying in vain to locate the other unicorn.
"Pardon me, excuse me. Twilight! This way!" Rarity materialized out of the crowd, sticking close to Twilight and forging a path. "Here we go, we wouldn't want to miss it."
"Miss what?"
"Ah, here we are." Rarity came to a sudden halt, forcing Twilight to stop with her. They had somehow forced their way to the front of a thick crowd of ponies forming a loose circle. Unicorns wearing a deep purple, almost black, uniform stood at the inner edge of circle, standing at regular intervals and keeping the crowd in check. Another pony, wearing the same uniform and a visored helmet of the same color stood in the center of the circle.
"Rarity, we're going to be late."
"We'll be fine. I'll take full responsibility."
Black boxes stood at opposite ends of the circle. Two unicorns stood by each box, one of them watching the crowd, the other casting some kind of magic. Twilight only watched them for a few seconds, however, as the casters finished their spells and stepped away from the box, nodding to the other ponies. The nod rippled down the uniformed unicorns. They all began casting, their horns glowing with their respective aura colors. A transparent bubble formed at the edge of the circles, slowly building upwards until it formed a complete dome separating the crowd from the unicorns.
A pause.
The black boxes exploded, sending porcelain disks flying inwards, converging on the helmeted pony in the center. Twilight began to cast a protective spell out of reflex, but the helmeted pony was faster. A line of fire burst into existence by the pony, whipping around and burning the disks as they flew towards her. After a second or so of activity, the whip came to a rest, then burned out entirely. The transparent shield came down and the crowd immediately stamped their approval.
Twilight kept her eyes fixed on the helmeted pony. The helmet was enveloped in a light blue aura and pulled off of the pony, revealing a golden mare with a red and yellow mane and a very self-satisfied smile.
"That's Sunset Shimmer," Rarity explained. "She's beginning her third year, but I've heard that she's already the Swirls' best caster."
"That was very impressive," Twilight admitted, her eyes still on Sunset Shimmer. Sunset, on her part, was looking around the crowd, accepting their cheers with a proud look. Her eyes met Twilight's and held there for a time. Twilight looked away and, when she looked back, Sunset had moved on to another part of the crowd.
"Well?" Rarity asked. "Did this peak your interest?"
Twilight shrugged. "I'm not good with teams. We're gonna be late." She turned away, heading across the Sea and towards Platinum.
Twilight and Rarity were, despite Twilight's worries, the first to reach Room 3-777. It was a relatively small classroom, a single blackboard dominating the front-most wall, a small platform and podium set up where it was easiest to see the professor. Seats, comfortable by classroom standards, filled the rest of the room, going up in tiers. Platinum 3-777 would have probably fit around 100 students at its maximum capacity.
"This is a nice room," Rarity remarked as they entered. "I wonder what they teach here. Do you think Professor Pen would know?"
Rarity laughed lightly, taking a seat at the front row of the classroom. "Well, then I suppose there's nothing for it but to wait until he arrives. Have you met any of the other seminar students?"
Twilight thought for a moment. "There were the two ponies checking in first-years during orientation. I think Professor Pen said they were part of the seminar. And there was somepony else he mentioned. Fluttershy, I think."
"Fluttershy?" Rarity asked in surprise. "I haven't seen her in a year. She used to live in Ponyville; I visited anytime I needed help with Opal."
"Opal?"
"My cat."
"Ah. I didn't know you have a cat."
"Yes, her name is Opalescence and she's such a dear. She's staying with my parents for now and they're absolutely delighted to have her." Rarity sighed wistfully. "It broke her little heart when I told her that Star didn't allow any pets."
Twilight knit her brow in confusion. "Your mom's heart?"
"No, Opal's!"
"What are you doing out here?" came a muffled voice from outside.
A pause.
Muffled laughter, then: "C'mon, Shy, you're a second-year now. You have to be an example! Like this!"
The door to the classroom burst opened. Rainbow Dash led the way inside, a cocksure grin on her face and saddlebags balanced on her back. Applejack followed, smiling lightly and equally laden. A third pony, whom Twilight correctly assumed to be Fluttershy, brought up the rear. Fluttershy gently closed the door behind her, glanced around the room, and promptly covered as much of her face as her mane could reach.
"Hey girls!" Rainbow Dash greeted, dumping her saddlebags on the first seat she reached. "I'm Rainbow Dash, second-year, and the lead student advisor for Pen's seminar." Her eyes met Rarity's. "Hey, Rarity! I didn't know you made it to the Academy."
Rarity nodded. "I would have greeted you earlier, but I didn't have the opprotunity. Twilight had to check me in as my luggage was a bit too heavy to carry upstairs."
Dash laughed. "'Course it was."
Applejack, relieved of her saddlebags, tipped her hat to the first-years. "Evenin' Rarity, Twilight. To officially introduce myself, I'm Applejack, second-year, and I'm lead student advisor for the seminar." She threw a glance at Rainbow Dash.
Dash stuck out her tongue.
"How's the Academy treating you?" Applejack asked, turning back towards the pair of first-years.
"Lovely," Rarity replied, "though I'm told that will change once classes begin."
"True enough," Applejack admitted with a chuckle. "But hey, you've gotta take the good with the bad." She looked around, eventually spotting Fluttershy awkwardly standing by the doorway. "You wanna come introduce yourself, Fluttershy?"
Fluttershy hesitated, her eyes widening slightly in some semblance of fear. She stepped forward nonetheless.
The door burst open once more, and a pink blur rushed into the room. "Oh my Celestia, everypony's already here!" Pinkie Pie said quickly. "I'm so so sooooo sorry for being late! There were all these booths selling cupcakes and cookies and I just had to stop by and see what was happening and then I lost track of time and before I knew it, I was late and—" She stopped, catching sight of the pegasus gasping for air beside her. "Oh, hi Fluttershy! I didn't see you there."
"It's alright Pinkie, the Professor isn't here yet," Applejack said. "Just, uh, sit down for now. Rainbow Dash and I brought some snacks for y'all to munch on while we wait."
"Okie dokie lokie!" Pinkie said happily, hopping over to a seat.
"You wanna try that again, Fluttershy?" Applejack asked.
It took Fluttershy a few moments to compose herself, but she nodded, only slightly shaking as she began to introduce herself. "I'm Fluttershy," she muttered. "Second-year." Then, as if those four words had taken all of her energy, she escaped to a seat besides Rainbow Dash.
Dash lightly punched Shy's shoulder. "See, I told you practicing would help!"
Fluttershy nodded, smiling slightly as she rubbed her shoulder.
"Now," Applejack began, "normally I'd ask y'all to introduce yourselves too, but it looks to me like we're already pretty well-acquainted. Help yourselves to the snacks. Professor Pen likes running late, so we've probably got a good five minutes before we can start doing anything."
The door opened for a third time, revealing the thin frame of Pen Umbra. He'd traded his ill-fitting official jacket for a garish multi-colored tie and white collar. "Don't think I didn't hear that, Applejack. I'm as punctual as any other pony."
"Just tellin' it like it is, Professor."
Pen smiled, crossing over to the professor's platform and sitting on the hardwood. "I'm glad you're all here. Please, feel free to eat while I'm speaking."
"Way ahead of you!" Dash said, an empty wrapper already held in her hoof.
"This shouldn't take very long, I just wanted all of you to meet each other before classes started. I trust all of you sent in your letters before you got to campus?" Pen paused and, seeing nods from all minus Twilight, continued. "Good. You should be getting your schedule before the day is up. If you don't, come see me immediately. My office is in Starswirl 5-564; if I'm not there, then I'm teaching a class and you should check back in after an hour or so. If you forget, find one of these three in Heart and they'll be able to help you out; Celestia knows they've bothered me enough."
Pen Umbra smiled lightly at his own joke, cleared his throat lightly, and conjured up a glass of water. He sipped at it, then set it on the platform. "Now, what will we be doing in this advisory? Well, there's no set syllabus, it's more a way to get you all comfortable within the Academy. We'll meet once every week just to check in on each other and we'll go on a field trip every once in a while. You all came in through the Hall of Mirrors; we have access to just about every city in Equestria as long as I'm around to open up the Looking Glass."
"The Wonderbolts are in Cloudsdale in two weeks," said Rainbow Dash. "Just sayin'."
"We'll discuss the specifics later," Professor Pen promised. "For now, we're just going to talk."
***
The first seminar meeting lasted a little under an hour. Twilight got a small glimpes into the lives of the second-years. Applejack and Rainbow Dash had entered the Academy with the mutual goal of advancing their respective careers. Applejack was simultaneously networking with the professors, many of whom had connections throughout Equestria, and picking up farming techniques. The Academy, according to Rainbow Dash, was the best way to catch the Wonderbolts' attention as both Captain Spitfire and Lieutenant Soarin were recent graduates of the Academy and frequented the races and flight shows held by the Academy's students. Fluttershy was of much the same mindset, briefly muttering something about 'learning about animals' before turning bright red.
Professor Pen did not ask the first-years to share their reasons for choosing the Academy as, in his own words, "Mindsets tend to change very rapidly at the Academy. However, I expect an answer from everypony by the time the school year is up."
When the hour came to a close, everyone gathered their various wrappers and bottles and headed out of the classroom.
"I'm going to head back to the Carnival," Rarity said. "Would you like to join me, Twilight?"
"I actually have a few things I need to ask Professor Pen," Twilight responded. "It might take a while."
"Oh." Rarity seemed slightly taken aback by this. "Well, if you need me, you know where to find me."
"Can I join in, Rarity?" Pinkie Pie asked.
"Of course, I'd be glad for the company."
"Are you looking for any group in specific?" Applejack asked.
"Not necessarily. I'm just looking for a way to continue practicing my art and..." The conversation trailed off into the distance as the group of five turned a corner. Twilight watched them go and, when the coast was clear, turned around and reentered room 3-777.
Pen Umbra stood at the podium, a piece of parchment laid out in front of him and a quill floating in the air. He seemed surprise when Twilight reentered. "Did you forget something, Twilight?"
"I got your message."
"I have no idea what you're talking about."
"'Stay after'. The keyword was detail; the L wasn't an L, it was the number one."
Professor Pen smiled. "Yes, my mathematics teachers hated that. Ah, well, too late to fix that now." He wrote something on the parchment, rolled it up, and vanished it quickly. "I wanted to talk to you in private."
"I gathered that. Was the cipher really necessary?"
"No it was not, but I wanted to make sure you were awake. Honestly, I'm surprised you bothered to learn ciphers."
Twilight shrugged in response. Boredom was a fantastic motivator.
Professor Pen stowed away the quill and inkwell. "No matter. I wanted to speak about you're rather... special circumstances regaring lessons. I've been in correspondence with Princess Celestia and we both agree that even the education provided at the Academy does not quite match up to private lessons with one of the single most powerful beings in Equestria."
Twilight felt a twinge in her chest. She nodded.
"With that in mind, we've decided to take an unorthodox method regarding your lessons. You're free to attend any class you wish to attend provided that you'd be able to blend in with the crowd, I just need to be informed of the class ahead of time. Is that okay with you?"
Twilight nodded again.
"Second decision: you'll be receiving private tutelage from me."
Twilight's face betrayed her surprise, her eyes widening slightly at the news. Pen Umbra laughed lightly at the sight. "I'm not exactly a Princess, but I am a very powerful caster in my own right, as I'm sure you're aware. I also have my own classes to teach, so I won't be able to devote every day to you, but I have agreed to teach you what I know. Fair enough?"
"Princess Celestia suggested this?"
"I propositioned it and she accepted."
Twilight bit the inside of her lower lip in thought. Then: "If it's what the Princess wants."
"Fantastic! I'm sure she'll be happy to hear that. I'm rather busy as it's the beginning of the semester, so we'll have to wait a few days before our first lesson. Give me, oh... three days. Yes, come to Starswirl 2-153 on Thursday. I'm teaching a sort of basic thaumatology class from 3:00-4:00pm, feel free to attend that, but make sure you're there by 4:00. Any questions?"
Twilight shook her head.
"You're free to go. I'll see you on Thursday. Oh, and Twilight? Do make sure you get out of your room every once in a while. I'm sure Star is fascinating to study, but there are far greater things on this campus. The Hall of Mirrors, perhaps? Moon is also interesting in its own right."
"I'll think about it."
Pen Umbra smiled. "Please do."
Twilight nodded her goodbye and walked towards the exit. As she reached out to open the door, however, she felt someone else open it from the outside, nearly crashing into another unicorn.
"Ah, Sunset," Professor Pen said from his place at the podium, "you're early. The mare you almost killed his Twilight Sparkle; she's a first-year in my seminar. Twilight, that's Sunset Shimmer; she's the current captain of the Swirl Team."
"Vice-captain," Sunset said, looking right past Twilight.
"Forgive me, vice-captain."
Sunset turned towards Twilight. "Nice to meet you," she said, as though it were an afterthought.
"Nice to meet you too," Twilight muttered in response.
"Sunset, did you bring the textbooks I asked for?"
Sunset Shimmer nodded, adjusting the saddlebags she wore. "I did."
"Thank you for that. And Twilight, I'll see you on Thursday."
Twilight nodded again, carefully stepping around Sunset Shimmer and out of Platinum 3-777.
Twilight Sparkle spent the first day of classes flipping through the rather hefty catalogue of courses offered by the Princess' Academy for the Advancement of Equestrian Society. Given the Academy's goal of honing the special talents of its students, it was no surprise that the offered lessons spanned a wide range of subjects. If Twilight wished, though she'd never imagine wishing for it, she could attend an Introduction to Acting class, then immediately hightail it across campus and arrive just in time for a course on Solid-State Chemistry, a subject more relevant to her interests. However, that subject conflicted with the equally interesting-sounding Ritual Magic lesson.
Of course, Princess Celestia had already gone over ritual magic and Twilight had read a few choice books on the topic, but a refresher course couldn't hurt. Twilight dipped her quill into an inkwell, adding "Ritual Magic" to a list of about twenty other lessons. Most students at the Academy only took four or five classes during any given semester, but Twilight was discounting that at the moment. By the time Twilight had gone through the entire catalogue her list had over seventy entries, she'd broken a quill, and she was absolutely famished.
Twilight stowed away her list and writing materials, pushing away from her desk. She stretched lightly, her neck and back sore from poring over the catalogue for so long. It was, however, a very productive day and the soreness came with a certain sense of accomplishment.
There was a knock at Twilight's door, quickly followed by Rarity's voice. "Twilight, are you in, darling?"
Twilight crossed her room, opening the door and finding Rarity accompanied by Pinkie Pie.
"We're heading down for dinner," Rarity said, "would you care to join us?"
***
Twilight silently thanked Past Twilight for skipping lunch. Rarity and Pinkie Pie passed most of dinner discussing their respective classes, comparing professors and bemoaning the way classes were spread throughout the Academy. Twilight was able to excuse herself from the discussion by constantly shoveling food into her mouth and occasionally leaving the table to gather more food. This inevitably led to Twilight eating far more for dinner than was strictly necessary, but she was able to avoid the brunt of that particular conversation.
"Twilight," Rarity asked towards the end of dinner, "we were looking for you at the Carnival last night, but we couldn't find you anywhere!"
"I walked around for a little bit when I finished speaking with Professor Pen, but I was pretty tired by then."
"What were you and Professor Pen talking about, Twilight?" Pinkie Pie asked between bites of her third slice of pie.
"Oh, you know..." Twilight waved her hoof dismissively, trying to buy time. Lies were so much easier when Princess Celestia told her what to say. "Just... magic, mostly. I, uh, I met Sunset Shimmer."
"She came to bring something to Professor Pen. Sunset came in just as I was leaving."
"What did you two talk about?"
"We didn't really talk. I was already leaving."
"Oh." Rarity seemed slightly disappointed by this. "Well, it's something, I suppose. You know, if Princess Celestia's rumored student wasn't a first-year, I would place good money on Sunset Shimmer being that student."
Pinkie Pie polished off her dessert, then used her fork to get the last few bits of pie filling stuck to the plate. "I heard that there's a few ponies saying that they're the Princess' student."
"Really?" Twilight asked.
"Yeah, but nopony believes them. I mean, if they were gonna reveal themselves on the first day of classes, what's the point of being a super-secret super-student?"
"My thoughts exactly, Pinkie Pie," Rarity said enthusiastically. "Which means that the student is still hiding somewhere."
"It might just be a rumor," Twilight said, not quite liking the gleam in Rarity's eyes. "There's no real proof that the Princess sent her student here."
"Well, no," Rarity admitted, "but then how do you explain Princess Celestia's last-minute admittance of a pony?"
Twilight shrugged. "An application mistake?"
"I thought about that, but application mistakes would be handled by the admissions department, not by the Princess herself."
"She's got you there, Twi," Pinkie Pie added. "Do you think asking for another slice of pie is too much?"
"Not at all, dear," said Rarity. "Aren't you interested in this, Twilight? A student hidden from the rest of Equestria for Celestia knows how many years suddenly being thrust into the Academy! There has to be a reason behind it, don't you think?"
If there is a reason, then I haven't figured it out. "You said the same thing at Ponyville Station."
"Yes, well, the reasoning still stands."
"I got another slice of pie," Pinkie said happily, returning to the table though neither Twilight nor Rarity could remember her leaving.
"And," Rarity continued, "I'm not the only pony who feels this way."
Twilight knit her brow. "What do you mean?"
"Well, we, by which I mean the ponies in Professor Pen's seminar, spoke about the student during our final foray into the Carnival."
"And?"
"We're going on a treasure hunt!" Pinkie Pie answered around a mouthful of key lime pie.
"What she means is that Rainbow Dash suggested that we all go searching for the mystery student and everypony present agreed."
Twilight nodded. "Good luck with that."
"Oh come now Twilight! Surely, you can't be entirely disinterested in this!"
"I'm busy enough with classes, I don't need anything distracting me." That was a good one. I'll file that excuse away for later.
"Applejack said that Professor Pen might help us. Apparently, he enjoys activities like this."
Somehow, Twilight wasn't surprised by this new information. It was, however, a step in the right direction; Pen Umbra had warned Twilight against revealing her position as Celestia's student, he wouldn't easily divulge that information. Best possible scenario, he'd talk the other five out of their search.
"What are you thinking, Twilight?" Pinkie asked.
"I don't know..."
Rarity saw her chance and leapt on it. "It's just a bit of fun, Twilight. We're not really expecting to find the Princess' student, though that would be an added bonus. Applejack is treating it as a chance to show us around campus."
"Rainbow Dash isn't!" Pinkie added.
"Well, no, but that's besides the point."
"Why is that besides the point?"
"Because it's Rainbow Dash, dear."
Twilight bit the inside of her lower lip, thinking quietly. The chances of them working out that Twilight was Celestia's student were already low; Celestia had doubtlessly put forth precautions against that. Those chances were lowered further if Pen Umbra was involved. And... and what? Hadn't Twilight been told to make friends? Was this a chance to make friends? Did ponies normally make friends by heading out on ill-conceived adventures? All of Twilight's fantasy books would have said yes.
Twilight nodded. "Okay. I'll help."
"Yay!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed, bounding out of her seat. "This calls for another slice of pie!" She hopped away in search of said pie.
"So how is this working?" Twilight asked.
"Well, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and Fluttershy are supposed to meet us in about, oh, two minutes."
Twilight's eyes widened. "Two minutes? We can't even get to Heart in two minutes!"
"Heart?" Rarity asked. "No dear, they're meeting us here in Star. What better place to look for a first-year than in the first-year dorm?"
"Oh. That makes sense."
"Thank you. I spent about ten minutes talking Rainbow Dash out of her original plan, but I think it was well worth it."
"We're still doing that," came Rainbow Dash's voice. The pegasus herself shortly trotted up to the table, closely followed by Applejack and Fluttershy. "If we don't find the student in three days, we're going with my plan."
"We're giving it a week, Rainbow," Applejack said. "Evenin' Twilight, Rarity. Pinkie Pie ain't with you two?"
"I'm here," Pinkie said sadly, her mane slightly less poofy than normal. "They're out of pie."
"I'm sorry about that, sugarcube."
Pinkie Pie hung her head.
Dash rolled her eyes. "Who cares about pie? We're going hunting! Who's room is closest?" She glanced between the three first-years.
Pinkie looked up. "Mine?"
"Perfect! Lead the way, Pinkie."
Pinkie broke out into a grin, her mane poofing up instantly. "Hurray, room party! Let's go!" She hopped her way out of the dining hall, leaving the other five to follow behind her.
***
Pinkie Pie's room was, in a word, colorful. Streamers hung from the ceiling, seemingly without any kind of outward support; balloons flew from every surface a string could be tied around; multi-colored confetti was strewn across the floor, and framed pictures seemed to cover every inch of the wall.
Pinkie led the way into her room, bouncing cheerfully forward. "Sit down wherever you want! Sorry that it's such a mess; I haven't had time to set everything up yet."
"I'm not sure how much more you'll be able to fit in here, dear," Rarity noted, lightly batting aside a balloon to make her point.
Rainbow Dash glided over to the bed, making herself comfortable without a moment's hesitation. "She just needs a bigger room."
Rarity sighed. "If it were only that easy."
Twilight was thoughtful for a moment, but before she was able to say anything Dash let out a low chuckle. "Here, let Professor Dash teach you something."
Rainbow Dash got off of Pinkie's bed and strutted her way to the far wall. She inspected it for a moment with her hoof on her chin and many "hmmms" and "hahs". Then, with an exaggerated "Ah-Ha!" she placed a hoof on one of the few empty patches of plaster and pushed the entire wall forward. Dash extended the room by a good four or five feet before coming a stop. "There," she said, panting slightly, "now we're comfortable."
Rarity blinked in surprise. "How did you... Is that possible?"
"You kidding?" Dash replied. "Changing a size of a room's like the easiest thing ever! You should see my room back in Heart; I turned everything into cloud. Only took me a week too!"
Applejack chuckled quietly. "I remember that week. How's your wing healing up?"
"Yeah, whatever," Dash said, snapping a wing towards AJ. "You fall through one wall and you never hear the end of it."
"Could I turn my room into cotton candy?!" Pinkie asked excitedly.
"Sorry Pinkie," Applejack said. "Star's pretty strict on room transformations, with it being a first-year dorm and all. I mean, it's possible, but it'd take a lot more magic than it would in the other dorms."
"How does that work?" Pinkie asked.
"There are limiters weaved into Star's magic," Twilight explained automatically. "Anypony who attempted a transformation beyond their ability would lose their grip on Star's magic and take a bit of backlash. Nothing too serious; at worst, they'd be unconscious for a few minutes and wake up with a bit of a headache. Enough to teach them..." At this point, Twilight realized that every eye in the room was currently fixed on her "... their... limits," she finished with a mutter.
"Huh," Rainbow Dash said after a pause. "That's pretty much how Professor Pen explained it."
Applejack nodded. "That just about covers it. As you get on in the years here at the Academy, the limiters weaken and you can do more with your room. By the time you get to Sun, there are promoters instead of limiters so you can do things you wouldn't be able to do anywhere else."
"And then there's Moon," Dash said. She and Applejack shared a knowing look.
"What's special about Moon?" Rarity asked.
"See," Rainbow Dash began, "there's kind of a system to the dorms. Star's supposed to teach you your limits the way egghead over there," she nodded at Twilight, "explained. Heart's trying to get you to reach out a bit. It builds up your confidence because now you can actually do things, you know? And then you get to Moon. Moon tries to push you past your limits, force you to use everything you've learned every day that you live there."
Applejack took up the thread. "Moon moves on its own. You open up a door that lead to a bathroom five minutes ago and it's a broom closet. Open it again and you're looking at the main lobby."
"I know a colt who fell asleep in his bed and woke up on the Sea," Rainbow Dash said.
"I heard that you can fall asleep in your bed and wake up in the Everfree," Applejack added.
Fluttershy let out a squeak; the first noise she'd made since entering Pinkie's room.
"It's just a rumor, Fluttershy," AJ said comfortingly. "There's no way we'd just randomly end up in the Everfree like that. Point is, everypony in Moon has to constantly use their magic. It's a good learning experience."
"I thought Sun was the most difficult dorm to navigate," Twilight said.
Dash shook her head. "Nah. I mean, yeah it's confusing, but it's not changing every second; you can kinda figure it out. It's gotta bring out its rescue team more than Moon, but that's because the desk worker at the front of Sun doesn't make visitors fill out liability forms."
***
Twilight was exhausted. She'd spent a good four or five hours in Pinkie's room, chatting with the other five members of Professor Pen's seminar. Rainbow Dash had insisted on going through every room in Star dorm and interrogating the most suspicious first-years on the spot. They'd spent half an hour convincing Dash that this was an invasion of privacy and another forty five minutes convincing her that invading privacy was a bad thing, even when the ponies in question had "nothing to hide". At this point, Pinkie had produced a batch of cupcakes seemingly without any kind of preparation and declared a snack break. This pattern continued until Applejack had declared it time for the second-years to head back to Heart. Twilight, carrying a basket of pastries forced on her by Pinkie Pie, had trudged back to her dorm room, set the basket on her desk, and collapsed face-first onto her bed.
At the end of the day, the only thing the six mares had come to a consensus on was that the search for Princess Celestia's student would be called "The Mystery Student Hunt" and that asking Professor Pen Umbra for help under the guise of a team-building exercise was probably a good idea. Overall, the meeting could have gone far worse for Twilight Sparkle, but that degree of forced socialization had taken a toll on her.
Pinkie was a force to be reckoned with, high-pitched and excitable and providing a never-ending stream of sugary treats that made Twilight's head hurt. Applejack and Rainbow Dash bickered endlessly, not to mention the fact that this whole Mystery Student Hunt business was their idea. Fluttershy was too unwilling to share her thoughts and too quiet when Rainbow Dash forced her to speak. Rarity was too caught up in the romance of it all to provide meaningful help. They were loud, bothersome, and had deprived Twilight of precious hours of her sleep. She was tired in a way she'd never been before.
For the first time since she'd left Canterlot, Twilight Sparkle fell asleep with a smile on her face.
