Part 1: Chapter: 1

“Ugh come on! Concentrate, concentrate, concentrate!”

The Earth Pony stared at the candle at the edge of his bed, he placed his hooves on his head and struggled to focus his thoughts. All the while, a white haired cyan unicorn stared with a guilty smile.

“Are you still trying to make that candle float?” asked the cyan unicorn as she let out a playful laugh. “Come on Silverlight you’ve been at it for hours, don’t you think you should take a break?”

“No, I just need to concentrate a little more and…” Silverlight stopped when he noticed a magical aura surround the candle as it began to rise. “No way! I did it! Hey Astral are you seeing this?”

Silverlight looked over at his friend and lost his look of accomplishment. He watched as it was her that levitated the candle with a guilty grin.

“Like I said, you should really take a break,. You work your flank off everyday, slow your pacing a little and realize your limits.”

“Come on Astral, you know I gotta work harder than anypony if I wanna be at the top of the class,” Silverlight got up and took the candle in his muzzle as he gripped it with his teeth and placed it on the night stand next to his friend’s bed.

“Yeah, I guess your right,” the cyan unicorn replied as she glanced at a clock which hung in their room and gained the appropriate time of the day. “Come on, we better get to class, don’t want to be late again and have to trot the track,” the unicorn teased as she levitated her and Silverlight’s books into both of their saddle bags and then placed them on their respective owners.

The classroom seemed to come to life as unicorns of all shapes, sizes, and colors filled the room and conversed with one another about their daily lives and studies. It wasn’t until Silverlight entered the room that the eyes of everypony fell on him and Astral as they made their way to their seats.

“Look, it’s him, that’s the earth pony who wants to learn magic.”

“He’s so dumb, doesn’t he know that only unicorns can learn magic? How did he even manage to get into this school anyway?”

“I heard he flunked the entrance exam and his parents begged and pleaded for Principal Solar Wind to allow him in.”

“Really? Wow, now that’s pathetic,”

Seeing the despaired look on her friends face, Astral stood up from her seat and confronted the two unicorns who had been talking out loud.

“Hey, you know what’s really pathetic? Two prissy unicorns who can’t seem to mind their own business and pick on other ponies. Maybe if you two put half as much thought into your schoolwork as you do your insults than you’d both be passing” Astral glared at the two females as they scoffed in her direction.

“Hmph, whatever,” one of them stated as she threw her hair back.

The two unicorns than walked off and took their seats on the other side of the classroom as they stared at Astral who glared back until they sat down. Astral took her seat once the two stopped staring and began to converse with each other once more.

“Don’t let those two get you down, you got in here on your own; and if you keep worker hard like you always do, I’m sure you’ll be twice the wizard than either of them will ever hope to be,” hearing the comforting words of his friend, Silverlight shot back a smile in Astral’s direction.

“Yeah, your right I’ll be a better magic user than them, better than anypony,” Silverlight declared as he sat straight up from his slump. “I’m gonna graduate from this academy and become a member of the Equestrian Arcane Agency, just wait and see!”

“Oh please, listen to yourself.”

The earth pony was suddenly face to face with a lavender unicorn with green eyes who glared back at him.

“Do you really think YOU of all ponies will graduate? You were lucky enough to even be allowed in the academy,” the unicorn brought his face closer to Silverlight’s, his eyes unblinking and unwavering. “If anypony is going to be a member of the Equestrian Arcane Agency it’s going to be me, not an earth pony like you.”

Silver and the unicorn locked their glares upon each other as neither pony dared to move. After a few moments of silent mental warfare, both ponies lost their serious looks as the both broke into laughter.

“Don’t think I’ll let you outshine me Silver, I’ll be an agency member before you,” said the lavender pony with a playful grin.

“Oh yeah Moongazer? If keeping up with you is all I gotta worry about than I think I’ll be fine.”

As Moongazer took his seat next to his friend, a tall, thin and brown unicorn walked into the classroom and set a briefcase on his desk with his horn.

“All right students, everypony settle down and find your seats,” said the brown unicorn who stood in the front of the room.

“Um, Professor Light, are we going to be doing a review of last semester?” one of the students called out, anonymously hidden among the sea of students.

“Ah, but of course. I’m sure you all grasp the concept pretty well, but we’ll be double checking on it to make sure you all have a hoof down on it. So,” Professor Light levitated a piece of chalk as he began to write on the board. “Who can tell me what kind of classes students at the academy fall in to?”

All the ponies stared on in silence as no pony said anything. As a hoof shot up in the air, the silence was broken by a certain somepony who was in class to learn.

“Ah yes, Miss Astral,” the professor said as he pointed a hoof in unicorn’s direction.

“Students fall into classes of 1 through 4 with students taking on various assignments with differing ranks,” replied Astral cheerily with a smirk of satisfaction on her face.

“And what are the different ranks of each assignment?”

“Assignments are arranged from rank D through S. Rank D being the easiest involving task such as recovering missing items and helping others with daily routines. And rank S being the hardest with tasks such as…”

Astral was interrupted by the classroom door bursting open. Standing in the doorway was a gray pony wearing a black saddle bag. His jet black hair covered up one side of his frowning face, exposing only one of his yellow eyes. His cutie mark was a falling black star with a yellow outline and smaller yellow sparkles around it.

“S rank tasks are the most difficult assignments one can take on at Arcane Academy. They involve taking on tasks such as dealing with monsters, rigorous magic training, or even,” the unicorn pulled off his saddle bag which he tossed on professor Light’s desk spilling out the contents of several assorted rubies and gems. “Recovering gems from the horde of a dragon, or in my case, dragons.” At the sound of this, several students in the classroom gasped and began to murmur amongst each other.

“Ah, mister Midnight Star, how nice of you to grace us with your presence. Unfortunately your late and I’m afraid you’ll have to trot the track after class,” replied professor Light with an annoyed expression. “Now, if you could please find a seat, we were in the middle of a lesson.”

“Sorry professor, but I’ve got another assignment to take care of.”

“Your assignments are to be done on your own time mister Star, NOT during my instructional time,” professor Light only grew more irritated with Midnight’s attitude.

“I’ve been studying magic since I was a foal, I’m sure there’s not a lesson in your brain that I don’t already know professor.” As he turned to leave the room, Midnight Star’s path was blocked by a rather ill tempered earth pony.

“Hey! What’s the big idea Midnight!? You never show up to class and when you do, you only stay long enough to remind everypony how much of a jerk you are or turn in assignments, sometimes both. You study the same things we do and you’re even in the same class as the rest of us, yet you act like your better than everypony else,” Silverlight was face to face with the unicorn, a contortion of anger on his face as he awaited a response.

“Well, only two things of what you said are correct. Yes, we study the same things; and yes I do think I’m better than everypony in this room; however, you are nowhere close to being on the same level as me. As a matter of fact,” Midnight Star turned back and faced the other students, “No pony in here is close to being on the same level as me, your all 3rd class students or below. The only one who has potential is your girlfriend over there,” Midnight said as he pointed a hoof towards Astral.

“She may be a 3rd class student but she demonstrates the qualities of a 2nd if not a 1st. You however, well, you’re an earth pony with no magical training or abilities whatsoever and yet you decided to enroll in a unicorn exclusive magic academy. How you even made it past the entrance exam is beyond me, perhaps principal Solar Wind took pity on your poor excuse of an attempt and permitted you passage.”

Silverlight was now practically seething with rage, his face red with anger at the words of the unicorn. Midnight Star turned back to face him as he made his way towards the door once more.

“Now if you’ll excuse me, I have 7 other assignments I have to complete by the end of the day. 2 of them are S rank, something you know nothing about,” with those words, Midnight Star gave Silverlight a shove as he made his way past him and shut the door on his way out.

“Can you believe the nerve of that guy?” Silverlight said as he returned to his seat.

“Don’t worry about him, he’s just a stuck up 1st class student who doesn’t have any respect for others,” Astral replied as Silver sat next to her.

“If that’ll be all the distractions for the morning, let’s continue the review,” said professor Light as he refocused the students attention to the chalkboard. “Now then, who other than miss Astral can tell me the difference between magical ability and magical potential?”

After the bell had rung indicating the end of the class, most students left in groups or lingered around the classroom to converse amongst each other. Silverlight turned to his two best friends as they each packed up their belongings.

“So, Moongazer, Astral, what’s on your agenda’s for today?” asked the white haired pony with an eager expression.

“I got a B rank assignment that I gotta get done, shouldn’t be nothing too hard for me ya know,” replied Moongazer with a grin.

“I’ve got two C’s, a B, and an A that I have to turn in before tomorrow afternoon. And of course I still gotta help you with your assignments,” Astral teased as she finished packing up her bag. “Can’t leave my best friend hanging,” she continued as she gave Silverlight a playful shove.

“Yeah I got a couple D rank assignments, gotta start somewhere right?”

The three friends laughed at Silver’s mention of this. Though he was laughing on the outside, Silverlight’s thoughts were not on joy, but elsewhere as he remembered back to what Midnight Star had said to him. He was right, no pony was even close to being on the same level as him, no pony except Astral. Since the first day he met him, Silverlight could always tell that Midnight meant business and preferred studying over making friends. He talked a big game, but his bite was just as devastating as his bark, if not deadlier.

17 C’s; 25 B’s; 34 A’s; and 12 S rank assignments and counting. Within a month of enrollment he had already been appointed to the position of 1st class student, yet still, with each passing day the unicorn’s numbers continued to rise. It only discouraged Silverlight even more knowing that after four whole months in the academy, he was still stuck struggling with D rank assignments while his friends continued to surpass him just like Midnight.

He was surprised he hadn’t dropped out yet, but it was his determination and persistence which kept him going; that, and a little encouragement from his friends.

“Helloooo, Equestria to Silver, are you even listening?”

Silverlight snapped back to reality as Astral waved her hoof in front of him, attempting to draw him back from his thoughts.

“Oh yeah, assignments, gotta get ‘em done,” Silverlight stuttered as he tried to jump back in the conversation. “Hey, Astral, I appreciate the help and all, but I think I can tackle my assignments on my own.”

“Oh…..okay, are you sure Silver? I don’t mind helping you out, actually I like being around you,” Astral replied blushing slightly as he spoke.

“Nah, it’s okay, you got your own assignments to take care of. Speaking of which, I better get a head start on mine. Catch you guys later!” Silverlight called out to his friends as he took of in a quick gallop out of the classroom.

“Huh, that’s funny, he seemed a bit odd today,” said Astral as she watched her friend leave. “Don’t you think so too Moongazer?.....Moongazer?” Astral looked around as she was left standing alone in the classroom. She noticed a note on her friend’s desk and decided to read it out loud.

"Dear Astral, sorry to ditch you, but I can’t let Silverlight get ahead of me on my assignments. You should get started too before me and Silver outshine you.

Best of luck to you, Moongazer.”

Astral was a bit astonished as she read the letter, however, her astonishment was soon replaced by a look of annoyance. She crumbled up the letter and threw it in the trash as she walked out the door muttering to herself.

“Ugh, boys.”

“You want an S rank assignment? Are you out of your mind?”

“Please professor Light, I won’t be able to test my abilities to the fullest unless I challenge myself.”

The brown unicorn placed a hoof under his chin as he pondered the young pony’s request. Silver’s grades were mediocre at best, but he was determined to prove something to his fellow classmates; that being said, without proper caution, the earth pony’s tenacity could get him hurt or even worse.

“Silverlight, you know I have faith in you as I do all my students,” professor Light placed a hoof on Silver’s head and brushed his hair as he tried to explain to his student. “But I just don’t think your ready to take on such a difficult task. The only experience you have are 20 D ranks and a few C’s, tackling an S rank is a really big leap up for somepony like you.”

“I got it, I got it, I’ll be extra careful. As a matter of fact, Astral is going with me, come on teach, just give me a chance.” Seeing the eyes of the student, the elder unicorn gave in to Silverlight’s request.

“Oh fine, if Astral’s going with you at least there is a lower chance of you getting yourself hurt,” exhaled the professor through a defeated sigh. “I’m sure this is about what Midnight said to you earlier, you know, you really shouldn’t take what he says to heart. Alright, I’ll give you the same assignment he had.”

“Thanks professor, I’ll be safe, I mean, me and Astral, I promise!” Silverlight called back to the teacher as he took off in a dash.

“If you don’t think you can complete it you can always return to the academy, I promise I won’t fail you!” shouted the professor as he watched the earth pony gallop away. ‘Astral, Silverlight, please be careful,’ he thought to himself as he returned to grading the assignment’s on his desk.

Silverlight read through the details of his assignment written on the scroll his teacher had provided for him. “Retrieve stolen gemstones from Argon the Dragon’s den. Dragons sleep during this time of the year, no wonder Midnight completed this assignment so easily, this’ll be a piece of cake. Lets see, should the dragon happen to wake please take the necessary measures as stated in….blah, blah, blah, I got it from here.” Silverlight rolled up the scroll using his nose, grabbed it with his mouth, and returned the scroll to his saddle bag on his back. As he continued on his way through the court yard, Silverlight noticed a certain gray, dark haired pony walking in his direction.

“Hey Midnight, guess where I’m off to.”

“What makes you think I care? You loser,” replied Midnight as he continued past the white haired pony.

“For your information,” Silverlight continued as he turned around to catch up with the unicorn. “I’m on my way to retrieve the gemstones that Argon the Dragon has stolen, an S rank assignment,” Silverlight said with a huge grin on his face. “Pretty cool, huh?”

“You’re even more of fool than I thought if you think Argon is just going to hand his gemstones over to you. If I were you, I’d return that assignment and choose something that better fits your skill set, something…...easier,” replied Midnight Star as he continued on his way.

“I’ll show you,” said Silverlight as he turned to face the large mountainside that surrounded the school, awaiting for him at the top was the den of Argon. “I’ll show you and everypony, I’ll complete this assignment and get promoted to a 1st class student, than everypony at the academy will stop looking down on me and give me the respect I deserve.” Having said that, the pony charged toward the mountain, bracing himself for the challenge that was to come.

“Too bad I won’t be there to see you screw this up personally Silverlight,” as he spoke to himself, a rather evil smile began to form on Midnight’s face. “That gives me an idea.”

Astral walked along the hallway of dorm rooms with her saddle bag thrown over her back. She had completed all of her designated assignments and wanted to check up on her friend.

“Silver, I finished up my assignments for the day, I’m free to help you now if you want,” Astral called out as she entered the room. She looked around at the empty room as she was met with silence. “Silver? Huh, guess he’s still off doing his assignments. I didn’t think a few D rank tasks would take him this long,”

“Astral!?”

The cyan unicorn turned around to be faced with the worried expression of her teacher, visibly sweating as his face was devoid of color entirely.

“What are you doing here!? Why aren’t you with Silverlight!?” Astral was confused as she listened to the words of her professor with a confused expression.

“With Silver? Sweet Celestia, what has that dummy gotten himself into this time?”

Silverlight approached a large opening in at the peak of the mountainside he had climbed. Seeing that Celestia’s Sun was beginning to set, the earth pony knew he had to enter the cave now if he wanted to finish his assignment on time.

“So, Argon is in there huh? Alright then, here I come!”

As he charged headfirst into the cave, Silverlight began to notice the light from outside the cave quickly begin to fade. While running through the tunnel, Silverlight saw a strange light at end which shined with glimmer and bright vivid colors. The cave’s tunnel exited into an opening, all around different assorted gems and rubies shone in the faint rays of the sun through a giant opening above, casting a beautiful array of light from its reflection.

“Whoa, this is amazing, look at all these gems. There must be at least thousands of different gemstones here,” Silverlight’s awestruck expression quickly changed into a serious one. “Right, no time to admire the scenery, I just gotta get a few of the gemstones into my saddle bag and I’ll be on my way. Funny, this is a dragon’s den after all, than where in the world of Equestria is the—”

Silverlight was interrupted by a loud roar which reverberated throughout the cave and shook the very earth beneath his hooves and the heavens over his head.

“Dragon!?”

The pony turned around and was face to face with a large black dragon with glowing purple eyes and dark smoke emitting from his nostrils. The dragon was glaring angrily at the small creature and clearly wasn’t fond of visitors.

“Who dares steal from the Black Dragon Tenebris!?”

“Tenebris!? I thought this was the cave of Argon, the Gem Thief Dragon?” exclaimed Silverlight as he took a step back from the approaching behemoth.

“You insolent creature!” the dragon boomed furiously, “You break into my domain; call me a thief; and even attempt to steal my jewels!? You shall not leave here unscathed!” With a furious roar, the dragon shot a fireball in the direction of the earth pony. The pony was able to dodge it by rolling out of the way, but as he attempted to recover from the first fireball a second hit him directly and sent him flying across the cave. Silverlight landed in a pile of gems with a rather hard thud, he let out a cry of pain as he attempted to move.

‘My body’s gone numb, darn it, I can’t move.’

“Fool, maybe if you had been a unicorn with some magic, you might have actually gotten away. But instead you’re a useless earth pony with no magic experience whatsoever, coming here was your greatest mistake.” Tenebris only drew nearer to the pony as he said this, nostrils flaring and his massive jaw locked into a carnivorous smile.

‘He’s right,’ Silverlight thought as doubt began to creepy into the back of the earth pony’s mind. ‘I’m a useless earth pony with no magic whatsoever, what was I even thinking of enrolling in this academy? A pony like me will never be an agency member, I’ll be lucky if I even graduate. Oh, that’s right, I won’t do any of those things, because I won’t make it out of here; I won’t become an agency member; and I won’t see my friends again. This is where my story ends, the story of greatest wizard in Equestria…..or at least, what would have been,’

The earth pony closed his eyes and indulged himself in his final thoughts as he felt the warm of the dragon’s fire draw evermore nearer.

“Silver!”

Silverlight’s eyes shot open at the scream of a familiar voice. He saw a small cyan colored unicorn running towards his direction in the distance, it was his best friend Astral.

“You dummy! What were you thinking taking on an S rank assignment all by yourself!?” Astral screamed as she ran underneath the dragon’s massive structure, anger and concern did battle within her tone of voice trying to decide which would lead.

“What’s this? Another equine dares to enter my domain!? All you ponies are the same, you never learn!” Tenebris let out a breath of flames in Astral’s direction, however, his blaze failed to find it’s target who had teleported out of the way with her magic. While Tenebris was lost in the confusion, Astral was able to make her way to Silverlight’s location.

“Hold on, I’m gonna get you out of here,” said the cyan unicorn as she attempted to levitate her friend who still failed to move on his own. Just then, the unicorn’s tail was pulled by a large claw as she was thrown across the cave clearing. Silverlight quickly scrambled to his hooves as he witnessed his friend getting tossed aside like a rag doll.

“You ponies sure are a pesky bunch, you’ll go first, then the white haired one,” said Tenebris with an evil smile as he slowly slithered to Astral who lay limp where she landed.

‘Even though I’m able to stand I still can’t move,’ as Silver thought to himself, he glanced over at his friend who lay unconscious. ‘Astral, since I first enrolled at Arcane Academy, you have always stood up for me. Whenever I was bullied; whenever I failed; whenever I made a complete fool of myself; even now your willing to put yourself in harm’s way just to stand up for me. I guess I really am a useless earth pony……..no, I don’t want to be useless anymore!

I enrolled in this school to learn how to defend myself with and against magic. I want to be the protector, not the one being protected. That’s why I joined this academy; that’s why I wanna graduate and become a member of the Equestrian Arcane Agency that’s why I wanna be the greatest wizard in Equestria.’ Silverlight abandoned his thoughts and rejoined the fray of reality.

“To protect everypony I care about!”

In a mighty roar, the once lifeless body of the earth pony took off in a blinding dash, heading straight for Astral. His speed far surpassed the dragon’s bulky figure and he was able to grab his friend and toss her on to his back as he made his way toward the cave entrance through the endless tunnel he had entered.

“No way I’ll let you escape!” roared the dragon as he inhaled, preparing for one final breath of flames. Spewing a great fireball almost the size of the dragon himself, Tenebris let out a mighty victory laugh.

“Come on, just a little more, just a little bit further. Concentrate, concentrate, concentrate!” the white haired pony said to himself as he felt the heat of the flames catching up to him. “It’s no use, at this rate I won’t reach the entrance in time.”

As Silverlight closed his eyes and prepared for the inevitable, he felt a strange tingling sensation overcome his body. When he opened his eyes he saw that he and Astral were both outside of the cave and the entrance was collapsing underneath falling rocks. Silverlight gave out a sigh of exhaustion, it wasn’t until a familiar voice chimed in that the earth pony even remembered he was carrying another.

“You…..dummy,” Astral spoke threw tired breaths as she regained consciousness. “The next time you do plan on doing something this stupid, give me a heads up will you?” Astral said as she laughed softly and nuzzled into her friends neck.

“Will do, though, I don’t see myself tackling anymore S rank assignments anytime soon. Besides, I lost my saddle bag that I carried the gems in back there so I’m pretty sure I failed.”

“Are you sure about that?” asked Astral as she hopped off her friends back and threw a hoof around his neck to support herself. When she managed to stand, Silverlight noticed that his friend had a blue saddle bag on her back; his saddle bag.

“Hehe, have I ever told you how awesome you are Astral?” Silverlight asked with a smile as he began to walk with his friend down the mountain and toward the direction of the school.

“I don’t think you tell me enough,” replied the unicorn with a laugh as she clung to her friend’s side. “Anyway, just shut up and get us to the medical wing already. The sun’s almost down and I don’t want to trot the track for being caught outside our dorm rooms after hours.”

Part 1: Chapter: 2

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The white haired pony gave out a loud tired yawn as he stretched his hooves and sat up in his bed. He adjusted his eyes only to realize he was alone in his dorm room, it was then he noticed a note sitting on his nightstand. He rubbed an eye with one hoof as he grabbed the note with the other and then read it’s contents out loud.

“Dear Silver, I tried waking you up several times this morning but you wouldn’t budge. When I asked you if you wanted to be late, you simply stated ‘yes’ before laying back down. I’m still not sure if you were awake at the time, but I have to get to class before I’m also late. If it’s any consolation, I’ll inform Professor Light that your still recovering from your S rank assignment. Hope you wake up soon sleepy head, your best friend, Astral,”

Silverlight gave out another yawn before placing the note back on his nightstand and returning to bed.

“That was kind of Astral to leave me a note about being late,” he mumbled to himself as he closed his eyes. It only took him a few moments before he realized what he had said, when he did, the pony’s eyes shot wide open as he jumped out of bed.

“Mother of Celestia! I’m late for class! I can’t trott the track again, my legs are still killing me from last time!”

In a panicked frenzy, the earth pony brushed his teeth; combined his mane; grabbed his materials; put on his saddle bag; and ran out the door.

“I can’t be late! Not again, not like last time. Hooves don’t fail me now, high ho Silver, away!” said the pony as he ran down the hallway of the dorms and made a sharp right as he headed out a door frame and into the courtyard.

Not a pony was in sight, seeing this, Silver only began to worry even more and began to gallop twice as fast now. Once out of the courtyard and back inside one of the main buildings, Silverlight made his way down a corridor with several classroom numbers on them.

He frantically looked for his professor’s room number, scanning all along the walls of each door sign. When he noticed that his classroom was directly ahead of him at the end of the hall, Silverlight charged forward ahead with all his might. He knew he would probably slam the door open but he didn’t care, all that was on his mind right now was being on time.

“I’m here, I’m not Light professor late! I mean, I’m not late professor Light,” said the pony as he slammed open the classroom door.

The eyes of everypony fell on Silver, however, this wasn’t the usual glare he got from everypony. This look, the one he saw on all their faces right now, was a look of fear and concern.

“What? Was it something I said?” he asked with a puzzled expression.

“Um, Silver, the uh….door,” replied his friend Astral as she pointed a hoof in his direction.

“Hm, the door? Why what’s wrong with it?”

Silverlight closed the door only to see that there was a dark haired grey unicorn glaring angrily at him from behind it, he had unknowingly slammed the door into the face of somepony. Realizing who it was, Silverlight lost all the color in his face as he became pale. He shot a nervous smile in the direction of the unicorn who glared back at him.

“H-hey Midnight,” the white pony stammered.

“How long have you been there?”

“Long enough for you to slam a door in my face,” the unicorn growled through gritted teeth.

“I’ll deal with you later, for now, I have an assignment to take care of,”

With that, the unicorn exited the room, slamming the door behind him, and leaving the classroom in awkward silence once more.

“So did you hear about the new rule?” asked Moongazer as he packed up the rest of his materials in his bag.

“What new rule?” replied Silverlight with an interested look upon his face.

“Due to your little stunt from the other day,” Astral interjected.

“All students must now be accompanied by a partner of equal or lesser status when taking on an S rank assignment,”

“You can’t be serious?”

“The ruling came from Principal Solar Wind herself, so yeah, I’m serious,”

Silverlight gave out a laugh as he placed his saddle bag on his back.

“Trying to take extra safety precautions huh? Fine than, I’ll just bring you along next time Astral,” said the pony as he looked in his friend’s direction.

“Besides, taking on another S rank would feel a lot less stressful if I have you in my corner,”

“Really?” asked the female unicorn as she tried to hide her blushing face.

“Unless you wanna be my partner Moongazer?,” Silverlight looked over at his friend as he said this and noticed he was gone; in his place was a note.

“Really? Another note? Can’t he just tell us when he’s leaving like a normal pony?”

“This is Moongazer we’re talking about, you know he’s got his own way of doing everything,” Astral commented as she packed the last of her class materials into her bag.

“So, you wanna help me out with a B rank assignment?”

“I’m afraid Silver won’t be able to join you today Astral,” said professor Light as he walked up behind the earth pony.

“I thought I was excused for my tardiness professor? Didn’t Astral tell you I was recovering?” asked Silverlight as he turned to face his teacher.

“Yes and I am willing to dismiss your tardiness, however, lying to me about Astral going with you on your last assignment isn’t something I can forgive lightly. If Astral hadn’t showed up when she did, who knows what could have happened to you?”

It was true, ever since him and Astral had returned to school after escaping Tenebris, no pony believed it was Silverlight who had bested the dragon. When professor Light saw the saddle bag of gemstones, he was convinced it was Astral who had retrieved them for Silver and she was promoted to a 2nd class student.

Even when she continued to deny it all and tried to give credit to Silverlight, no pony in the academy believed that an earth pony could have escaped from the dragon’s den. Truth be told, Silverlight was envious of his best friend’s promotion; but he couldn’t help but be happy for her as well. He just used this as another obstacle in his way, something that only made him even more determined to prove himself.

“I think an afternoon trotting the track should suffice as reasonable punishment,” said the professor as he returned to his desk.

“Ugh, what I drag, I don’t like trotting the track; especially when my hooves ache,” Silverlight let out a sigh of defeat as he turned to exit the classroom.

“Hey, Astral, I’ll catch up with you when I’m done, alright?” called out the white haired pony as he dashed out the room.

“Alright, and don’t you go running off doing another S rank assignment without me, you hear!?” shouted back Astral as she poked her head out of the classroom doorway.

“Better get started on my assignments then,” Astral said to herself as she walked in the opposite direction.

“Last lap,” Silverlight said as he gasped for air as he rounded the end of the academy track.

“Concentrate….I have to concentrate. I can see the finish line clearly,”

Silverlight threw a hoof in the air as a sign of his victory, after several hours he had cleared his 300th (and final) lap. As he attempted to catch his breath, Silverlight noticed a figure watching him silently from the bleachers.

“Midnight Star?” asked the earth pony as he rubbed a hoof over his eyes as he tried to focus his vision.

When he opened his eyes, Silverlight jumped back startled as the grim face of his classmate was now only inches away from his own.

“What the hay do you think your doing watching me like some weirdo?” asked Silver as he watched his classmate continue to glare at him.

“Fool,” replied the unicorn casually.

“What did you call me?”

“Not you, me,” continued Midnight.

“Earlier today, you made a fool out of me, when you slammed the door in my face. I told you I’d deal with you later, and now,” a rather evil grin formed on the grey unicorn’s face.

“4th Class Academy Student Silverlight, I hereby challenge you to a Magic Duel,”

The white haired pony had heard these words uttered before, but never to him. At Arcane Academy, students are permitted to have friendly magic duels against each other to test their abilities and strengthen their bonds.

However, when challenging another student, it was seen as more than just a friendly sparring match when a student states the full name and class rank of the other. To be challenged as Silverlight was, was considered a great dishonor and disrespectful at Arcane Academy. What’s worse of all, if the match were to be refused or declined, the loser would be shunned by everypony in the academy; and that was the last thing Silverlight needed.

“Are you kidding me? Now?! I’m too tired to deal with you, I’m heading back to my room,” Silverlight turned his back toward the unicorn and began to slowly walk away.

“What’s wrong? Are you going to rely on Astral to protect you again?” asked Midnight Star as he watched Silverlight stop and slowly turn around.

“What did you say?”

“You can’t always depend on her to protect you, but I don’t blame you; after all, your just a pathetic earth pony who has pathetic dreams. How do you expect to graduate from the academy if you can’t do it on your own?”

“Just shut up already!” Silverlight turned and faced the unicorn with a look of rage.

“I’ll show you that I don’t need to rely on anypony, I can fight my own battles! You want your magic duel, then fine,” the earth pony backed away and assumed his battle stance.

“1st Class Academy Student Midnight Star, I accept your challenge!”

'Hehehe, he’s so gullible. In his fit of rage he discarded his reason, he has no chance against me. And with no pony around to serve as a witness, I’ll finally able to destroy this nuisance in my academy, for good’ Midnight Star thought to himself before assuming his battle position.

Both ponies stood glaring at each other as still as stone. Then, as if on cue, they both yelled out in unison the traditional phrase that combatants would to signal the official start of the battle.

“Let’s duel!”

“Hahaha, all right, that’s 4 B rank assignments back to back,” said Moongazer as he tossed a scroll into the air and then caught it in his saddle bag.

“Soon they’ll be calling me 1st Class Academy Student Moongazer. Then I’ll be a member of the Arcane Agency for sure,”

As the lavender pony made his way back toward the academy, he took a look at the Sun and seen it was setting quicker than expected.

“It’ll be getting dark in a few hours, guess I better turn these bad boys in if I wanna make the deadline. After all, I’m sure true agency members never turn in late assignments,” the unicorn stopped for a moment on a hillside and stretched his hooves from a hard day’s work.

“I wonder how Silverlight and Astral are doing? If those two begin to team up for S rank assignments they could really give me a run for my money,” Moongazer laughed as he spoke these words.

It was a bright flash of light that diverted the unicorn’s attention toward the academy track. He was too far to see who the combatants were, but he was certain that a magic duel was underway.

“Sweet, a duel! Been awhile since I’ve seen one of those,” Moongazer glanced in the direction of the Sun and then back to the track.

“Well, I guess I have a little time before the day is up,”

Astral walked down the hallway with a happy grin on her face as she made her way to her classroom.

'I’ve got all my assignments turned in for the day, Silverlight should be done soon and I’ll finally get to spend some time with my best friend,’ Astral thought to herself as she entered the classroom.

“Professor Light, I have some assignments to turn in, I hope I'm not late,” chimed the cyan colored unicorn.

“Ah Astral, it’s always good to see a student of mine making great progress. I’m sure you’ll want these to appear on the next progress report so I’ll get them graded at once,” said the brown unicorn as he straightened up the scrolls that Astral placed on his desk.

“I’m sure Silverlight has recovered from his last assignment, so do make sure he is on time for class tomorrow,”

“Um, professor, could I ask you about….somepony?” asked the female unicorn with a nervous expression.

“Is it about Silverlight?” asked the professor with a kind smile.

“What!? No! It has nothing to do with him, I mean, not like I don’t think about him, I mean I do think about him but not like that! I mean, how else would you think about a friend?” Astral began blushing and stammering in response to the professor’s question.

“Calm down Astral, I’m only teasing,” replied the professor through a laugh.

“So, who was it you wanted to talk about?”

"Midnight Star," the cyan unicorn replied.

The professor placed a hoof under his chin as he pondered the girl's request, after thinking for a moment, he shook his head at Astral.

"I'm sorry Astral, I do try my best to familiarize myself with each of my students, but I'm afraid I don't know much about Midnight Star seeing as he never really attends class. All I know is he's a genius and a 1st Class Academy Student with too much pride and a huge ego. If you want to know more perhaps you could ask principal Solar Wind, after all, she is-" the professor stopped speaking as he gazed out the classroom window and noticed several bright sparks of magic light in the distance.

"Hey, Astral, why don't you go check on Silverlight at the track," said professor Light with a concerned expression.

"I have a feeling he may have gotten himself into yet another mess"

The earth pony rolled out of the way swiftly, dodging a bolt of magic in the process. He recovered from his roll in just enough time to avoid another magical bolt which almost hit him. In an effort to gain the upper hoof, Silverlight took a large jump backwards, putting some distance between him and his unicorn opponent.

‘Darn it, his casting speed is quicker than I anticipated. I’m moving as fast as my body will allow and yet he can still keep up with me without breaking a sweat’ Silverlight attempted to catch his breath as he focused his thoughts and stared down the unicorn carefully.

‘So this is the strength of a 1st Class Student? It’s….overwhelming'

“Are you just going to keep running away from me like a coward?” asked Midnight Star as he glared back at Silverlight.

“Do you even intend on fighting back or are you just waiting for Astral to show up and save your flank like she always does?”

Silverlight grew infuriated by the unicorn’s comment and charged forward at him with a mighty roar. Midnight waited until the earth pony was within hoof length before he hit him with a direct repulsion spell, sending him flying across the track and onto the football field.

“Please, just let me help him, just this once!”

The lavender unicorn only ignored Astral’s plea and continued watching the battle below him.

“Fine then, if you won’t answer me then I’m going to help Silver-”

“Astral!” Moongazer boomed as he interrupted her.

“Silver wouldn’t want you interfering with his battle,”

“Well he wouldn’t want me to just stand back and idly watch as he gets his flank kicked!” Astral now had tears beginning to form in her eyes as she spoke.

“Moongazer, just what kind of friend are you!?”

“The kind of friend who wants to see my other friends succeed no matter what they have to endure!” replied Moongazer with a loud roar that made Astral go quiet. The lavender unicorn gave out a sigh before he continued.

“Look Astral, you know I want to go down there and stop this just as much as you do, but we have to let Silvelight do this on his own,”

“What do you mean?” Astral asked with a dazed look.

“He always does everything by himself already,”

“Let me ask you something Astral,” Moongazer said as he now stared into his friend’s eyes

“When was the last time you didn’t help Silver and you let him solve his own problems?”

The question had caught the cyan unicorn off guard, she stood frozen as she didn’t have an answer to her friend’s question.

“I know Silver, he’ll be able to beat that stuck up 1st Class Midnight, don’t you worry,” continued Moongazer with a gentle smile.

“If it gets too serious I’ll intervene and stop the match,”

“Come now, don’t tell me your finished already? I’ve only just begun to show you what a 1st Class Academy Student can do,” teased Midnight Star as he stared at the beaten pony.

“You can endure, I’ll give you that much, but I’m afraid this us where the battle ends,” as be said this, Midnight used his magic to lift up the earth pony and tossed him aside like a rag doll.

“Hmph, pathetic earth pony with a pathetic and unobtainable dream, that’s all you are and that’s all you’ll ever be. You’ll never be a wizard, an agency member, or graduate from this academy. To be honest, with the beating I just gave you, you’ll be lucky if you can even move,”

‘He’s right’ Silverlight thought.

‘My body feels almost completely numb, I can’t go on…..not like this. Why? Why can’t I get stronger? I worked so hard, to get into this academy, to tackle all the challenges that have ever been thrown at me, I’ve faced them all…........No, that’s a lie, Astral has always solved my problems for me. It’s no wonder I’m not getting anywhere, if I keep letting her tackle my challenges for me, than I’ll never grow…..I have to do this on my own,'

Silverlight gathered what little strength he had left and managed to roll over on to his back. As he did, he felt something hit his face. He opened his eyes to see rain clouds beginning to form overhead of his battle.

“So, even the clouds are crying for me huh? I guess I really am-”

Silverlight stopped in mid sentence as he looked over at the bleachers by the track. Sitting in the bleachers, watching the duel were his two best friends Astral and Moongazer. He couldn’t hear her, but Silverlight swears he saw Astral say something to him. The earth pony gave a faint smile in their direction as he laid in the rain which was beginning to come down harder now.

‘She believes in me, she’s willing to let me fight my own battle now. Then, that means,
The earth pony managed to get to his hooves and stand once more but in a groggy fashion.

“Hey! Midnight!” he called as he watched the grey unicorn turn around and face him.

“This duel…isn’t over!”

“Well, I commend you for being able to stand, but your efforts will only be wasted,” Midnight said as he assumed his stance.

“But what the hay, I’m down for a good laugh. Go ahead and give me all you got left,”

Silverlight assumed his stance and charged headfirst toward the unicorn once more, however, his movements were different this time. As he kept running, Silverlight appeared to be gaining speed at a considerable rate, he almost appeared to be a white blur instead of a pony.

“You may have gotten a bit faster, but there’s no way your faster than lightning,” as he said this, Midnight Star used the rain clouds to generate bolts of lightning which he fired at Silver. Sure enough, the earth pony couldn’t outrun the bolts, instead, he faced them head on and appeared undaunted by the attacks.

‘Impossible! He could endure before but this is unbelievable, it’s like my magic isn’t working against him. And his eyes,’ thought Midnight as he made eye contact with Silver.

‘That look in his eyes, it’s determination, it’s like he’s telling me he’s going to win. This can’t be the same earth pony from earlier, is it? No! It’s impossible!'

As he was lost in thought, Midnight Star wasn’t aware of how close Silverlight had gotten in such a short amount of time. When he refocused his attention, the earth pony’s face was already inches away from his own. In a mighty cry, Silverlight threw his head forward, connecting it with the unicorn’s in a quick motion. The force of the blow sent the unicorn flying in the opposite direction and rolling to the ground just as Silverlight once had.

“Tag Midnight, your it,” with his last comment, the earth pony collapsed face first to the ground and laid in the rain.

‘It may have taken a lot longer Then I thought, but it’s over. Hehe, I win Midnight,’

“How…..how DARE YOU!?!?”

The white haired pony picked his head up enough to see the unicorn was now standing back on his hooves, with a look of pure unadulterated rage on his face.

“FOR THE LIKES OF YOU TO DO DAMAGE TO ME, LET ALONE TOUCH MY FACE!? I WILL HOLD NOTHING BACK!” as he screamed at the downed earth pony, Midnight’s horn began to glow immensely and though he no longer yelled, Silverlight could still feel his rage.

“It’s against school regulations for me to use this spell so feel privileged, it’s not often I break academy rules. While this may drain me of my magic for awhile, I can at least be certain that it’ll destroy you,”

As he prepared to cast his spell, the unicorn was interrupted by another’s presence that he hadn’t realized till now. Recognizing who it was, Midnight’s horn began to dim as it reverted back to normal.

“Oh, it’s you,” Midnight said to the tall figure in an annoyed tone.

“I figured you’d show up sooner or later, Principal Solar Wind,”

Silverlight looked over beside Midnight Star to see a large yellow and white alicorn standing next to him. Silverlight gave out a faint sigh of relief as he realized it was the principal herself who had stopped the battle.

“1st Class Academy Student Midnight Star, you know the spell you were about to cast is forbidden under any and all circumstances. You are to leave now and wait for me in my office so we can discuss your punishment,” said the alicorn in a kind yet powerful tone of voice.

“Yeah, yeah, I’ll do that,” Midnight replied as he stared over at Silverlight who managed to stand once more.

“Just as soon as I’m done here,”

As the unicorn attempted to move forward, Principal Solar Wind threw up a mighty wing, blocking Midnight’s path.

“This duel is done here, now report to my office at once,” repeated the alicorn.

“I already told you I will, just let me-”

“Midnight Allister Star!” the principal interrupted with a powerful voice.

“I am commanding you as more than just the principal of Arcane Academy, go wait in my office, now!”

Midnight had donned another look of rage, however, with a sigh of defeat, his expression returned to his usual angry glare.

“Yes……..mother,” he mumbled through gritted teeth before using his magic to teleport himself out of sight.

The principal then looked over at Silverlight who was now accompanied by his two best friends.

“Now then, let’s see about checking you into the medical wing for tonight, shall we?” the alicorn asked with a warm smile.

Part 1: Chapter: 3

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Astral had a smile on her face today as she walked down the corridor passing several identical doors with numbers and red crosses on them. The smile was not due to her useful cheerful nature, but instead, because her best friend whom she had been worried about for a whole week is finally going to be able to leave the medical wing.

After his battle with Midnight Star, Silverlight sustained several injuries and had to be hospitalized for a whole week. And even though the injuries were not life threatening, Astral still stressed and blamed herself for her friend's condition which is why she could only bring herself to visit him once since he's been recovering. Astral stopped in front of one of the doors which had a red cross above it and a designated room number next to it, she exhaled a sigh, and opened the door. What she saw next was a sight that filled her with joy and glee.

"Concentrate, concentrate, concentrate"

The cyan unicorn stared on as she watched her friend lay in bed with a focused expression and a milk carton in his hooves. Just as he once attempted with the candle in their room, Silverlight struggled to, from what Astral can tell, levitate the carton with his mind; which to her sounded more like telekenisis than it did real magic.

'Typical Silver, always working and never relaxing' Astral thought to herself as she entered the room and closed the door behind her. She levitated the milk out of the earth pony's hooves and olaced it on the nightstand next to his bed as she approached him.

"Can't you ever just relax like your supposed to?" Astral asked with a slight touch of umbrage.

"I won't be able to rise up in academy ranks if I don't work hard," replied Silverlight.

Any annoyance that she felt towards her friend was immediately washed away by the comforting warmth of his smile, the smile that Astral had been waiting to see. She made her way towards Silver's bed and pulled out a bottle from her saddle bag and placed it in his lap.

"What's this?"

"Just a little bit of a get well soon present" Astral teased with a wink.

The earth pony held the bottle with his hooves and twisted the cap off with his teeth. Once open, Silverlight took a small sip of the liquid, then within seconds, chugged the bottle until it was empty. He gave out a small belch with a satisfied expression which caused Astral to giggle.

"Apple Cider, mother of Celestia I love that stuff. How in the wide world of Equestria did you manage to get your hooves on that Astral? I know the cafeteria doesn’t have any,”

“I got my sources,” she replied with a grin. “So, you finally get out of here today huh?”

“You bet, and I can’t wait to hear everypony talk about how I kicked the cutie mark off of Midnight’s flank,”

Astral gave him a nervous smile which the earth pony stared at intently.

“Actually, everypony is saying you got you're flank kicked and worse would have happened if principal Solar Wind hadn’t intervened,” Astral explained with nervous laughter.

“No way! I totally won that fight!”

“Think about it,” Astral began. “You were the one who got hospitalized for a whole week while Midnight Star is out doing assignments still,”

The white haired pony gave out a nervous yet defeated laugh as he scratched the back of his head in a nervous manner.

“Yeah, I guess you got a point there. Speaking of assignments, I’m guessing Moongazer isn’t here because he’s off on one of his own?”

“He left you a get well soon note,” Astral giggled in response to his question.

“Typical Moon, and you say I never take a break?” Silverlight laughed.

The two ponies’ conversation was interrupted by a loud sound which at first seemed slightly distorted. It took some time before they realized it was the intercom system coming to life for an announcement, however, the voice they heard sent a chill down the back of both ponies.

“Good afternoon fellow students of Arcane Academy, this is your newly elected student council president, 1st Class Academy Student Midnight Star; and as council president, I’ve been given the honor of delivering a special announcement for you all. As many of you know, the academy helps to promote the magical abilities of all students, even if some of you don’t have any whatsoever,”

The earth pony had an annoyed expression as he knew exactly who the stubborn unicorn was talking about.

”Up until now, you’ve all been taking on assignments of differing difficulty in hopes to hone and better your skills. But now the time has come to prove your worth and show that your time here in this precious academy wasn’t wasted. One week from today, the academy will be having a special exam take place known as the Arcane Trials. These trials will consist of 3 separate sections that test your intelligence, skills, and of course, your magical abilities.

You may be asking yourself, what’s the big deal? It’s just another test right? Wrong! Those who qualify to take the test and score high enough will have a chance to study under the great and knowledgeable mind of her majesty Princess Celestia herself,”

“What!? Seriously!?” Silverlight exclaimed with excitement upon hearing the words of Midnight Star.

”However, you must first qualify to take this exam by completing at least 10 B rank assignments and 5 A rank assignments. The exam is NOT mandatory and can be refused by any student who doesn’t want to delve into this opportunity. Feel free to exempt from the exam and go about doing your usual assignments, you’ll only improve my chances. Anyways, that is all the announcements I have for today. Those who wish to participate don’t forget to check with your teacher before the day of the exam to be eligible; and don’t forget to train your flanks off. 1st Class Academy Student Midnight Star, signing off.”

With a static like noise, the intercom died once more and left Astral and Silverlight sitting in silence. Astral looked at her friend and saw that he had the widest smile across his face, a smile she’d seen before when he was determined to get something done.

“Aw yeah!” Silverlight blurted out as he jumped out of his bed with excitement. “Studying under Princess Celestia!? I’d be able to learn some crazy powerful magic no doubt!” the earth pony charged toward the door in confidence. “Come on Astral, let’s go check with professor Light right away!”

“Just one problem,” Astral interjected before her friend made it out the door. “You need to complete 10 B and 5 A rank assignments,”

“So what? I helped you do some before, I mean, don’t those count?”

“Yes, you have,” Astral started with a touch of sympathy in her voice. “Unfortunately, unless you were a 3rd class student or higher when you helped me, than the assignments didn’t register as you participating in them. Furthermore, you can’t request any assignment above the rank of C if you’re a 4th class student,”

The earth pony’s joyful and excited face was devastated upon Astral’s mention of this. She was right, academy rules dictate that the only assignments 4th class students like himself could request were D or C ranks. He’d have to be a 3rd class or higher to take on anything past C.

“Oh yeah, you're right. Darn it!”

“If it’ll make you feel any better, I won’t participate in the trials if you don’t want me to?”

Silverlight gave his friend a faint smile at her attempts to comfort him.

“Thanks Astral, but you don’t have to do that just for my sake. If it’ll improve your chances, than you take the exam and further your skills. Don’t let yourself get held back because of me,”

Both the ponies left the medical wing and made their way back to their dorm room.

The two ponies walked back to their room from the medical wing without either of them saying a word. Though he had a smile, Astral knew her best friend well enough to know whether that smile was genuine or not, she could tell that unlike Silverlight’s usual warm smiles, this one was cold.

When he opened the door to their room the earth pony walked to his bed and stopped in his tracks. Astral followed in behind him and decided to empty out her saddle bag and prepare for what she’ll need for tomorrow.

“Hey, Astral, I understand your trying to cheer me up and all,” Silver picked up a wrapped up box which was on his bed. “But you didn’t have to get me something else,”

The pony watched as Astral’s face contorted into a dumbfounded one as she stared at him with the round package.

“Uh…Silver, the only present I got you was the cider. I honestly have no idea where that came from, does it have a tag or something?”

Silver began tearing off the wrapper with his teeth quickly sending bright colorful wrapping paper scattering all over the room.

“My bad Astral, did you say something?” he asked as he stared back at the unicorn who was covered in vivid paper shreds. Before she could respond Silver opened up his box and spilled out the contents which was a card. He opened up the card and read what was written inside in fancy writing.

”Dear Silverlight,
I understand that you’ve been working extremely hard at Arcane Academy and you truly enjoy being a student. In honor of your ability to hold your own against 1st Class Student Midnight Star, I hereby present to you your new 3rd Class Student identification card. Now as a higher ranking student, you may request higher ranking assignments and even participate in the Arcane Trials. Best of luck to both you and Astral.

Signed, principal Solar Wind”

He than opened up the small fold in the back of the card that revealed his new I.D. card which had his name and new rank on it.

“So, does this mean?” Astral began as Silverlight shot her another warm smile. He jumped up and down on his bed in excitement and delight.

“Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Thank you principal Solar Wind!” he stopped his shouting and bouncing and glanced in Astral’s direction. “Just you wait, we’re gonna train hard and then we’ll both be studying under Princess Celestia. Man oh man I can’t wait!”

Astral let out a sigh of relief, now she could rest tonight with an easy mind knowing that her best friend would be there to help her get through this new endeavor.

Astral awoke as she did every morning and stretched out her hooves with a yawn. She turned to roll and get out of her bed but hadn’t realized how close she was to the edge and accidentally rolled off, hitting the floor with a thud. As she let out a moan of pain, Astral shifted her gaze over to Silverlight’s bed; she had expected him to still be sleeping, instead, he was reading through a spell book with several other books scattered across his bed and a tall stack sitting on his nightstand.

“Silver?” Astral asked the earth pony who turned his head once he acknowledged her presence.

“Oh, good morning Astral. Sleep well?”

The unicorn didn’t respond at first, thinking that she was still asleep and that the image before her was just a dream. She rubbed her eyes in a further attempt to grasp reality, it was than that she was sure she was awake and that the sight before her was not part of her imagination.

“Are…are you reading, spell books?”

“Not just spells, I have another book here that’s got a whole catalog of thousands of different magical terminology; I just call it the Magictionary,” Silver said as he closed the book.

“I didn’t think you could ever sit still to read, you know, given your hyperactive nature,”

“Yeah it’s true, my active personality makes it difficult for me to actually sit down and read but that wasn’t my real problem,” the white haired colt got up and put the book he was reading on the nightstand and stretched his legs. “My real problem was that all the books on magic I wanted to check out could only be done by a class 3 or higher student so I never had the time to read them,”

“Couldn’t you have just asked me to check them out for you?” Astral asked with a giggle. There was an awkward moment of silence for a few moments as the pony wore a blank expression.

“How could I not thought of that before!? Ugh I’m so dumb!” Silver face hoofed himself when he realized his mistake, then, he let out a sigh and made his way to the door. “Hey Astral I’ll be back, I still got a couple more books I want to check out. Be prepared because when I get back our training for the Arcane Trials begins,” Silverlight shot his friend a smile before bolting out the door.

’He’s so determined to take this exam. Though he may not seem like it on the surface, I can tell that he’s really serious about this, more than anything else he’s ever done.’

“Alright Silver, I better get ready too,” the unicorn said to herself.

Astral jumped onto her hooves and began to emit a glow from her horn. She began fixing her bed perfectly while simultaneously combing her mane and brushing her teeth.

"I don't think I fully understand, can you explain it one more time?"

Astral gave out a sigh and shook her head as she began to repeat herself once more.

"Pay attention Silver because I'm only going to tell you one last time," Astral declared with annoyance. "We have to practice intensely and we have to go by the instructions on the assignment scroll or we won't be able to leave."

Silverlight stared at the large magical bubble which surrounded him and the unicorn with a a low hum and a deep pinkish purple glow.

"This barrier which surrounds us uses a very complex magic spell which will only lift once the designated assignement on our scroll is completed, which means, we both have to do what's on the scroll in order to leave,"

"Wait, I can't perform any magic spells yet! Does that mean we'll never be able to get out of here?" Silver asked in a panicked state.

"No dummy," the unicorn laughed. "Did you really think I'd choose an A rank that difficult for you? The assignment I chose is," Astral turned her head toward her friend with a determined smile as she prepared her stance. "A mock battle"

Silverlight wore a face of astonishment when he heard his friend utter her words.

"Mock Battle!? You mean like a duel? Astral I can't fight you. Your on a whole different level than I am, on top of that your my best friend, I couldn't forgive myself if anything-"

The pony's plea was interrupted by a pink bolt of magic which knocked him off his hooves and right on his flank. Silverlight shook his head in disbelief as he stared at the unicorn.

"Silver, your going to have to take this serious, this barrier can detect our emotions and abilities. If you don't come at me with everything you got than we'll never get out of here. Come on, your not dealing with Midnight your dealing with me so try to have a little fun," Astral took her stance once more before proceeding. "So, best friend, are you ready or what?"

The earth pony brought himself on his hooves once more and now assumed a stance of his own, donning his trademark grin of confidence that Astral loved to see.

"I'll show you that I don't need you baby sitting me anymore, best friend,"

After only a few moments of the wind's whispers, Silverlight dashed toward his friend to begin his attack, however, Astral was already used to her friend's reckless nature and fired a bolt of energy in his direction. The attack knocked the pony off of his hooves once more, but he recovered faster this time and dashed forward again. He was met with another beam that sent him back the same distance as before; he got up again, and continued his rush only to be knocked back for the third time.

"What are you doing Silver? Try a different approach because if not than I'll keep hitting you," the unicorn warned as her friend stood up. She could see he was already getting a few scratches from sliding across the ground.

“5 seconds,” he muttered through huffs of breaths. He then took off toward Astral again. Her horn hummed with a glow as she prepared another knock back spell until she saw the pony turn instead of coming straight at her.

She countered him easy enough and he was knocked down as usual. He repeated this pattern as he did with the first which led to him getting injured even more. Astral let out a sigh as she was beginning to get annoyed by her friend’s repetition.

“Why do you insist on being so stubborn,” she said as her face was beginning to turn a shade of red with anger.

“Alright, I’m ready to start for real,” Silverlight said as he stomped a hoof into the ground. “Now, I can guarantee that you won’t be hitting me with another spell for the rest of this duel,” He took off towards Astral again as he did originally, running head first straight to her.

’Come on Silver not this nonsense again’ the unicorn thought. She fired another beam from her horn and expected it to hit, however, her target was not originally where it had been. She looked and noticed her friend was now charging at her from the side instead of straight ahead again. She prepared to counter and fired another beam which failed to hit its target. ’What? There’s no way I missed a second time, he can’t be that fast’.

Astral attempted to hit her friend with a spell as he maneuvered around her like a white serpent slithering out of harm’s way. He charged at her straight on but no matter how many spells she casted, none of them seemed to hit anymore. Before she knew it she realized Silverlight was only a hoof length away from her as he attempted to tackle her.

’hehe, sorry Astral, but I win,’ the earth pony thought as he felt his body connect to his friend’s. He expected to see her roll across the clearing, however, he found that she was no where in sight and Silver could no longer move his body.

“You know, you actually almost had me there,” Astral said as she came up from behind the now paralyzed Silverlight. “However, a simple teleportation and paralysis spell are what won me this duel,”

“That’s what that was? I thought something felt a bit odd,” Silverlight laughed, his face seemed to be the only thing he could move at the moment.

“I’m curious though, why did you keep rushing me with the same attacks if you knew you’d be hit by my spells?” the unicorn asked as she released her friend from the spell.

“I was checking your casting speed, every unicorn has one. I rushed you forward at first and realized your casting speed was 5 seconds, but I wanted to be sure. So after a few rushes, I realized your speed hadn’t changed. I then repeated the process by rushing you from a different angle, that time your casting speed was 6 seconds,” Astral listened on intently with a intrigued expression.
“That meant, if I wanted to dodge your attacks from both angles than I’d have to be faster than a total of 11 seconds. Since I knew that, dodging your spells became a piece of cake since I knew I could beat your casting speed’s time by 3 seconds,”

Astral stared on at her friend’s smiling face, she couldn’t believe how much he’s changed since she first met him at the academy. Both the ponies noticed that the barrier which once surrounded them began to deteriorate until it was gone.

“Well it looks like we completed this assignment successfully. Come on let’s go find another,” Astral said as she turned to leave, however, she was stopped when she felt a hoof placed on her shoulder.

“Hey Astral,” Silver said as he grinned at his friend. “This was fun, promise me we get to have a rematch, though next times, without the bubble,”

The unicorn giggled in response to her friend’s request before giving him an answer.

“Yeah, I promise,”

“You best friend promise?” Silverlight continued as he outstretched his hoof. Astral gave him a smile before interlocking her hoof with his and gently bumping her head against his.

“I best friend promise,”

“Alright, come on then!” the earth pony exclaimed as he pulled Astral by her hoof and bolted toward the school. “Let’s go get as many of these assignments out of the way as soon as possible. I hope the princess is ready because she’s about to get the two best students at Arcane Academy!”

The white haired pony burst through his classroom door dragging his friend behind him. His abrupt action startled the light brown unicorn who was grading papers at a desk.

"Professor Light, me and Astral are here to register for the Arcane Trials!"

"Please mister Silver, there's no need to yell. I may be getting old but my hearing has been superb for years," the professor replied as he let out a sigh and readjusted his glasses. "You two wanted to sign up for the trials hmm? Sorry mister Silver, but I'm afraid that only miss Astral is qualified to-"

"Here" Silverlight said as he slapped his and Astral's student I.D. cards on the desk. Professor Light just stared at the earth pony's card that had his new rank on it.

"My word, I thought you were a 4th Class Student, where in Equeastria did you get this?" The unicorn asked as he removed his glasses as though he was inspecting a diamond.

"He got it from my mother,"

The cold voice echoed through the room and still made Silver annoyed at the very sound of it. Everypony in the room turned their heads toward Midnight Star who was entering the classroom.

"She felt sympathetic for him after the injuries he sustained, he only got ranked up because she felt sorry for him," Midnight said as he approached the desk that the ponies were huddled around.

"Actually, she gave this to me because I was able to land a blow on your precious little head, I'd say she was glad I kicked your flank," the white pony responded with a grin.

"Speaking of, we never did finish our duel," Midnight appeared to prepare his battle stance as he said this.

"Mister Star, magic duels are not to be done inside the school unless it's in the dueling arena. Furthermore, I've been instructed by principal Solar Wind herself that you are to not engage yourself in anymore duels until after the trials are over," professor Light fixed his glasses once more before finishing his statement. "So, unless your here to turn in assignments I'd suggest that you be on your way,"

"Yeah," Midnight snorted at the teacher. "I came to get another S rank assignment,"

"I'm afraid I have no more to give you mister Star," the unicorn said as he shuffled through a stack of papers. "It seems as though you've completed all 40 S rank assignments that the academy had to offer at the moment, I'll have to talk with the principal to see if she can register some new ones for you,"

Midnight Star noticed the shocked expression on the earth pony's face and than donned a smile of his own.

"Oh really? That's a shame, and none of them were even a challenge. I guess I'll be on my way then," the dark haired unicorn made his wa toward the exit but not before letting out one last comment. "Astral, Silverlight, I can't wait to see how you two will fair in the Arcane Trials. I can assure you, the third section will be one that I can guarantee at least one of you will fail," and with that, the unicorn disappeared out the door.

Silverlight still had a shocked expression frozen on his face even after the unicorn left. '40 S rank assignments and he's completed them all? How am I even still alive after our duel?'

"Hey, Silver, don't dwell too much on what he says. He's just trying to psych you out before the trials, that's the only real reason he was here," Astral said as her words brought her friend back to reality. "I'm sure he knew darn well that there were no more assignments for him to do,"

"If it's any consolation mister Silver, I've successfully registered you and miss Astral for the Arcane Trials," the professor stated as he handed back their cards. "I wish you two the best of luck,"

The earth pony shook off his worried thoughts and wore his usual smile that Astral favored.

"You bet we will, me and Astral are both gonna be proud students of Princess Celestia. And then she'll teach us wicked cool spells that'll help us graduate and become members of the Equestrian Arcane Agency. You'll see,"

Part 1: Chapter: 4

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"This is it, once we pass through this door, the real challenge begins. Are you sure your ready for this?"

Silverlight gave Astral his smile of determination and nodded his head.

"You bet, I'm ready for this just you watch!"

"All right then, here we go," Astral said as she pushed open the door to their classroom. Unlike before, the two ponies would be attending class on this Friday morning for a different reason other than their usually scheduled activity. Today was the day of the Arcane Trials, a special set of exams which would allow a high scoring group of students to study under Princess Celestia herself.

When the door was open, Silverlight could see everypony who would be participating today; and what he saw suprised him. Aside from Astral and himself; the participants consisted of his friend Moongazer, Midnight Star, and about six other unicorns. Moongazer was dashing over to Silver and Astral while Midninght Star just sat in a seat in a corner of the room with his hooves crossed and his eyes closed. Silverlight noticed that Professor Light, their usual teacher, was not present today; the room consisted of only students.

"Finally glad you two could make it!" Moongazer exclaimed in his usual upbeat tone. "I was beginning to think you'd both exempted,"

"And turn up a chance to pe a student of Princess Celestia? As if," Silverlight replied as the three ponies made their way into the classroom and took a seat in their usual spots. "You know, I honestly thought you'd send one of your notes to take the exam in your place,"

"Yeah, yeah, we'll see how big you can talk when I score higher than you and I become one of the princess' students," Moongazer chortled at his friend's remark.

The room soon became quiet as two large alicorns took to the front of the classroom, without saying a word, they commanded the attention of everypony present. Everypony immedietly recognized both figures which stood before them and bowed their heads in respect, even Midnight Star lowered his head in respect to the large white alicorn who stood before him.

"Greetings to all of you fine students, I'm sure your all aware of who I am but allow me to formally introduce myself. I am Princess Celestia and I just wanted to come watch all of your performances in this exam personally," Princess Celestia seemed to have a smile which brightened the whole room. Everypony in the room sat quiet respectively and listened to the words of the princess intently. “There will be three parts to this exam, and as you all know, the highest scoring students will have a chance to be one of my personal students,” Celestia than turned her gaze to principal Solar Wind who was standing beside her, she gave her a nod and than spoke.

“Allow me to explain the procedures for the first exam. The first exam will consist of an obstacle course through the Everfree Forest,” the principal paused as she noticed a curious hoof shoot into the air. “Yes Astral?”

“Excuse me for interrupting ma’am, but how are we supposed to have an obstacle course in the Everfree Forest if it’s nowhere near us?”

“Good question, the answer is simple; we brought the Everfree Forest here,” the alicorn watched as Astral still stared on in confusion. “Using some complex spells regarding imagery and illusion, we’ve been able to create a replica of the Everfree Forest at this academy where the track used to be. Now the rules are as follows, there are three gems hidden in this forest which you will try to retrieve: a ruby, a sapphire, and an emerald. A ruby is worth 20 points; a sapphire is worth 30 points; and an emerald is worth 50 points. Once you’ve obtained a gem, your next problem will be to make it out of the forest with that gem. Is everypony understanding so far?”
Each student nodded their heads in response to the principal’s question before she continued.

“You will have to act fast because there are only a limited amount of gems and you’ll only have three hours to find enough gems and make it out of the forest,” principal Solar Wind gave a smile to the princess who smiled back. “Oh and we’ll both be watching, so try your very best during this section; and remember, this IS a competition,”

“Well than let’s get started,” Celestia stated as her and the other alicorn’s horn began to glow immensely. In what appeared to be a matter of seconds, all the students were transferred into the center of a dense dark forest. There were faint traces of light seeping through the lush leaves of the tall trees and noises of strange creatures could be heard in the distance. Then, two loud voices which seemed to generate from every area in the forest boomed and echoed, signaling the start of the exam.

“BEGIN!” the two voices commanded in unison.

Several students took off in various directions of the forest when the signal was given, Silverlight on the other hand, just remained standing in his spot with a grin on his face. Astral turned to follow Moongazer who had already began trotting to the North when she realized Silver wasn’t moving.

“What are you doing Silver? Moongazer already-” Astral’s statement was interrupted by her friend’s excited laughter.

“Hahaha, I’m so psyched! I can barely contain my excitement!” the earth pony then raised his hoof as though in victory. “Just you wait princess, me and Astral will find those gems and than we’ll be your students for sure!”

“What about Moongazer?”

“He’ll catch up to us eventually,” Silver grinned as he said this. “He always does, now come on Astral!” the pony declared as he charged forward into the forest at an incredible pace.

“Hey! Wait for me you idiot!” She called back in annoyance as she chased after the white haired pony.

“That son of yours has really grown into a very skilled magic user, he’s well on his way to becoming a member of the agency,” Celestia said as she walked with principal Solar Wind.

“Yes he is, I only wish he interacted more with the other students,” Solar Wind replied.

“Come now Solar, I remember you being a bit antisocial when you were my student. It took you quite some time before you made any friends,”

“Yeah, however, Midnight is different,” Solar Wind replied with a chuckle and a nervous smile. “He used to be so loving and care free, I remember he’d always greet me with a smile; but now….” The two stopped walking as the principal exhaled a sigh and collected her thoughts. “Now, all he does is keep persuing as many assignments as possible, his school work comes to him before anything else. As far as I know he has little to no friends and he doesn’t even refer to me as his mother anymore unless it’s with an angered glare,”

“Perhaps you should try rekindling the bond you and Midnight Star had before you became the principal, try showing him that your title of mother comes before superior,” Celestia gave a smile to her former student who returned one. “Now then, let’s check on how the students are doing,”

“Sweet, I found an emerald!” the mint green unicorn called to his hot pink colored companion.

“Than that makes two, now we each have 50 points for a combined total of 100,” she called back to him. “Still, we’d have more if you hadn’t lost both the ruby and sapphire that we collected. Anyways, let’s hurry up and find the exit of this forest so we can-”

“Chip and Cherry, how nice of you two to find the emeralds for me,

The two unicorns turned around to be see a grey unicorn with jet black hair materialize from the dense underbrush of the forest, his single golden eye glowed in the dim lit woodland.

“Mi-Midnight Star?” stammered the mint green unicorn with a slight sense of fear in his voice.

“Princess Celestia doesn’t have time to waste teaching you 3rd Class Students. She’s better off teaching a 1st Class who actually has some magic ability to them,” Midnight laughed softly to himself as he said this. “No offense,”

“If you think we’re just going to hand these over than you got another thing coming!” the pink unicorn now yelled in anger. “We worked our flanks off to prepare for the trials, if you want these gems you’ll have to take ‘em by force!”

“Yeah!” added the other unicorn who now stood by his friend with an angered glare of his own.

“You want me to take it? Very well then,” Midnight said with an evil smile as he prepared his battle stance. ’Are you watching mother? I’ll show you how much I’ve grown-up; I’ll show you how much I’ve learned without your help; I’ll show you and the princess, that there is no pony else more qualified to be Celestia’s student than I am’
“I’ll show everypony that my magic knows no bounds!!”

Silverlight and Astral trotted along the forest avoiding several cobwebs and tree stumps which could trip them. Astral began to stall her movements as she was beginning to grow tired from the constant running her friend had subjected her to for an hour.

“Hold on Silver,” Astral panted as she attempted to catch her breath. “I need a moment to rest,”

“Ah come on Astral, we haven’t found a single gem yet and the sun is beginning to set, I think,” Silverlight trotted forward with a hoof above his eyes as he attempted to get a better look at the Sun which was hidden behind the thickness of the forest. In his attempt to determine how much time he and Astral had left, Silverlight tripped over a rock and rolled into a bush, his moan of pain was soon replaced by an excitable cry. “Hey, hey Astral, guess what I just found?”

“Please tell me it’s a way out of this place,” the unicorn groaned as she approached the talking shrub. She than witnessed her friend poke his head out with a coy grin on his face, then, he stuck out his hooves to reveal two vivid colored objects.

“Ta-daaah! Am I awesome or what?”

“Th-those are-”

“Yup,” the pony said as he exited the bush. “A ruby and a sapphire, with these we got a combined total of 50 points,” Silverlight said as he tossed the sapphire to his friend. She stared back at him with a puzzled expression as to why he did this.

“No Silver, it’s alright, you found them so you should keep both. I’ll find my own,” the unicorn replied kindly.

“Oh come on Astral, you’ve always had my back since I joined the academy, now it’s time for me to have yours,”

“Then why not take the sapphire? I mean it’s worth 30 more points than the ruby,”

“True,” the earth pony responded as he put the gem in his saddle bag. “But I prefer the color red,” he laughed. He then noticed a bright opening at the end of a pathway through the forest which he had no doubt led to the exit. "Hey it's an exit, now we can wrap up this exam and-"

Silverlight’s speech was interrupted by a blood curdling scream which rang throughout the forest; the sound startled both ponies and sent chills down their spines.

“Wh-what in the wide world of Equestria was that?” Astral stammered as she forced out the question.

“It sounded like another student, come on!” the earth pony turned to where the scream came from only to be blocked by his friend. “Astral, what are you doing?”

“This is a competition remember? We have are gems, the exit is in front of us, Silver, we won’t get this opportunity again,” Astral watched as her friend’s gaze shifted back and forth between the exit of the forest and than back to her. “Don’t you want to be Celestia’s student and achieve your dream?” Silence befell the forest as Silverlight just stared at the ground, contemplating his decision.

“Yeah, I wanna be Celestia’s student,” he replied still staring at the ground.

“Good, than let’s g-”

“But,” the white haired pony began as he looked up at his friend with an expression of determination. “My dream is to become a powerful magic wielder so I can protect everypony I care about. That said, I couldn’t live with myself if I turned my back on somepony who needed help, no matter who they are!” having said that, Silverlight bolted past his friend and headed toward an unknown threat. After a few moments he noticed that his best friend was galloping beside him.

“You tend to do stupid things when you run off alone,” Astral teased as she attempted to maintain her friend’s speed. “Plus, you made a best friend promise to our rematch and you know as well as I do that you can’t break a best friend promise,”

“Alright then,” the earth pony nodded as he agreed with his friend. “Let’s do this Astral!”

“It seems as though no pony has made it out of the forest yet,” Celestia said as her and the principal stood outside of the dense woodland illusion. “Perhaps we made it too challenging for them,” she giggled.

“I’m certain Midnight will find a way out, him and Astral are two of the top students in professor Light’s class,” Solar Wind replied with a grin.

“And what of that earth pony?” Celestia asked with an intrigued expression.

“Silverlight? He’s an interesting one, he failed the entrance exam three times; I admired his persistence and determination and permitted him entry. Even though he’s an earth pony, something about him just seemed….magical,” Solar Wind responded with a curious look of her own. “Why are you so interested?”

“His bonds with his friends are strong, possibly even strong enough to be considered magical; wouldn’t you agree?” Celestia chuckled her question out. Her former student however just stared on, curious as to what the princess was implying. “If you don’t mind, I’d like to call in a friend to help me perform a little test of my own,”

“What exactly are you trying to say?”

“I just want to see how strong his bonds truly are, and I know just the kind of creature to test him with,” Celestia answered as she began to write a note on a scroll.

“Oh man, what happened to these guys?” Silverlight asked as he and Astral stumbled upon two unicorns who stood completely still. Their colors seemed a bit off and had a deep shade of blue envelop them and their bodies emitted a chill.

“There’s no mistaking it,” Astral began as she placed a hoof on one of the frozen unicorn's body. “This is a freezing spell, this is supposed to be a top tier spell if I recall correctly. As far as I know, the only ponies who know it are teachers and….” the unicorn became silent as a look of terror creeped onto her face as she let out the ending of her statement. “and 1st Class Students,”

“I knew you were always smarter than I gave you credit for Astral,”

The two ponies turned around to face a frowning grey unicorn who’s expression they knew all too well. A single yellow eye showing while the other remained hidden behind a lock of black hair as it always did.

“Sorry Astral, but our conversation doesn’t involve you,” as he said this, Midnight Star fired a quick ice like beam which paralyzed and froze the cyan unicorn where she stood.

“Astral!” the white pony called to his friend as he ran over to her side. She was frozen with an expression of fear on her face, seeing this, Silverlight redirected his gaze to the unicorn responsible. “What’s the big idea Midnight!? What are you doing running around freezing people like their your own personal sculptures!?”

“You and I have still have a score to settle,”

“Sweet Celestia is that what this is about!? Okay fine, you win, okay? Now just please unfreeze everypony right now,” Silverlight pleaded as the anger in his voice began to grow.

“Look at you, your pathetic. Even now you stand helpless, unable to save your friend, unable to save anypony. All the while, the fear in your voice begins to become more and more discernable,” the unicorn now stared at the ground with what looked to Silverlight like a heart broken expression. “Why is mother so interested in you?” he mumbled the question under his breath.

“What are you talking about?” Silver asked as the anger in his voice began to die down.

“I’m the top student in Arcane Academy; I score the highest; aim the highest; and completed the highest number of difficult assignments. But still, after all that, mother doesn’t even bat an eye my way,” Midnight now stared back up at Silverlight with his usual reckoning glare. “But you, you’re an utter failure and yet you seem to draw in the most attention from her,”

“I still don’t-”

“Don’t you see!?” Midnight now began to express anger, however, this anger was different from the side Silver had seen before. This anger was combined with another emotion which made it difficult to determine what he was truly feeling, was it sorrow? “You’re the reason for it, for everything! The reason my achievements are so easily overlooked! So now,” the unicorn stomped his front hoof in the ground as though preparing to charge Silver. “I want to see what it is that makes you more special than me!”

The unicorn charged in Silver’s direction however, rather haphazardly. His unusual frontal assault made his movement predictable and easy to dodge as Silverlight rolled out of his way with ease.

“Hey, what’s with you!? Knock it off already!” Silver said as he attempted to talk some sense into the unicorn. The more Midnight rushed recklessly, the more Silverlight began to think that this wasn’t the usual confident, powerful, magical unicorn that he was used to seeing.

This Midnight Star, fought physically with nothing held back in a fit of rage, but mentally, he wasn’t focused at all. Running towards a tree with Midnight right behind him, Silverlight used a tree as a springboard and kicked off of it sending him hurtling toward the unicorn. “I said knock it off!” the pony roared as he felt his head connect to Midnight Star’s body with a powerful impact. The force made Silverlight’s head hurt, but it appeared to knock some sense into his classmate who stopped his relentless rushes as he stood dazed by the blow.

“Good, now your taking me seriously,” Midnight stated as he rubbed away sweat from his face.

“What’s your deal? I know this isn’t just about our fight,” Silverlight replied annoyed with the words of the unicorn. Midnight stared back down at the ground as he dug his hoof into some dirt and kicked it up lightly.

“I already told you, it’s because of you,” Midnight said as he sat down and donned an expression of despondency. “When I was younger, my mother would always have time for me. She would teach me new spells, play with me, or even just walk me down to the beach by the school. However, all of that changed when the school was founded, it seemed like mother grew more and more busy being the principal and our time together diminished,” Midnight glanced up slightly but then returned his gaze to the pile of dirt below him once he noticed Silverlight was listening intently.
“I began to see her less and less frequently as she was constantly upholding her new responsibilities. I eventually enrolled in the academy myself to win my mother back, however, it was than that I realized why my mother stopped caring for me,” the unicorn furiously wiped away tears as they began to form and now returned his usual grumpy gaze at the earth pony. “My mother stopped caring for me because she was too busy worrying about every other student in this academy. That’s why, that’s why I hate you and everypony else at this stupid school!”

Midnight seemed to be huffing in a fit of rage now as he stared down the white haired pony who no longer returned his gaze. After awhile of no sound except for the breeze in the wind, Silverlight began to laugh, first softly than uncontrollably. Seeing this, Midnight only grew even more infuriated.

“Now you mock me!? See this is why I hate you! This is why I must become a member of the Arcane Agency, then mother will have no choice but to acknowledge me and-”

“Is that really what you believe!?” Silverlight’s sudden outburst silenced the unicorn and gave him an opportunity to speak. “Your mom hasn’t stopped caring for you, in fact, I’m sure your what’s always on her mind every time you go out doing an S rank assignment,” a look of sudden shock enveloped Midnight’s face as Silver continued on. “Why do you think that rule of 2 ponies per team when tackling an S rank was created? It wasn’t because of me almost getting myself seriously injured, it was because your mother feared for your safety as well as everypony else’s. She was worried that you’d be just as likely to get injured as me. Sure I’ll admit, your one heck of a magic user and your really skilled too, but there are just something’s you can’t do alone no matter how strong you are,” Silverlight walked over to Astral and placed a hoof on her.

“There’s something that the teachers her can’t teach you; something that only you can learn on your own if your willing to take the lesson; something only friends can help you realize. Maybe you should try making some,” he laughed as he slowly approached the unicorn, when he reached him, Silver extended a hoof and smiled kindly at Midnight who stared back with a confused expression. “So, whaddya say, 1st Class Academy Student Midnight Star?”

Midnight Star looked down at the earth pony’s hoof and than back at his kind smile which he was giving him.

“You’d really offer me your friendship, even after putting you in the hospital wing for a week?”

“Don’t worry about that, I don’t hold grudges, unlike a certain grey unicorn I know,” Silverlight teased.

The unicorn raised his hoof with hesitation, but just as he was about to accept his first friend, a snake like figure slithered around the two ponies and yawned with a claw over it's mouth.

"Excuse me fellas, but can we skip the whole 'power of friendship' nonsense and get back to the fighting? This love feast is beginning to bore me,"

The two ponies jumped back startled out of the creature's clutches. Silverlight stared at the creature with a dumbfounded look, he had never seen anything so strange looking in his entire life, the creature had many mismatched body parts which didn't seem like they belonged.

"Whoa, somepony didn't know what he wanted to be when he grew up, right Midnight?" The earth pony laughed and noticed the look of shock on the unicorn's face. "Hey, Midnight, snap out of it," he said as he waved a hoof in front of Midnight's unwavering face. "what's wrong with you?"

"Paw of a lion; claw of an eagle; leg of a lizard and the other of a goat; those mismatched horns; that snake like tongue and those yellow and crimson eyes. There's no doubt about it, the creature standing before us is Discord, the spirit of choas,"

"Ah, somepony who actually knows about me, I'm flattered," Discord said as he bowed his head before the two ponies. "You must be quite the knowledgeable one,"

"So I'm probably gonna sound like an idiot for asking but-"

"Discord is the living embodiment of chaos itself," Midnight interrupted, as he shot Silverlight a glare. "His magical powers know no bounds and it took princess Celestia as well as princess Luna to seal him away in stone. As to what he's doing way out here in our neck of the woods is beyond me,"

"Just taking the opportunity to spread a little chaos while performing a favor for an old friend," Discord snapped His fingers and poured himself a floating glass of chocolate milk. "Anyways I'm supposed to evaluate the skills of a certain somepony and blah blah blah,"

"As much as it pains me to say this," Midnight said through gritted teeth. "Discord is far too powerful for even a 1st Class Student like myself to take on alone, so, I'm going to need your help,"

"Fine by me, it doesn't matter who it is, anypony who dares drink chocolate milk in front of me with not a dollop of whipped cream in sight shall feel the wrath of Silverlight!" The pony screamed as he dug a hoof into the ground.

"My, my, two for one? Why it must be my birthday!" Discord said as he put on a party hat and threw out confetti which seemed to appear out of thin air. "Your the second pony who recommended whipped cream with my chocolate milk, perhaps I should look into it"

"All right earth pony, pay close attention, as long as you follow what I say we might actually stand a cha-"

"You just try to keep up with me!" Silverlight cried at as he rushed Discord head on.

"You idiot!" Midnight called back to him as he rushed Discord along with Silverlight.

Part 1: Chapter: 5

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“You idiot!” Midnight called back as he rushed Discord along with Silverlight.

“Well at least the both of you aren’t sticks in the mud, at least not yet anyways,” Discord said as he snapped his fingers and turned the ground underneath the hooves of the unicorns to mud which caused them to slip. Midnight used a spell to teleport himself to solid ground to safety while Silverlight got caught in the mud slide and slammed face first into a tree.

“Fool, what are you doing!? You have to stay on top of your game for this one,” Midnight said to his classmate in a fit of annoyance.

“Ah be quiet already I know what I’m doing,” Silverlight replied as he sat up and shook off the mud which was in his mane. “Why didn’t you teleport the both of us!?”

“Why didn’t you follow my instructions instead of rushing him head on!?”

Discord simply sat in a recliner which floated in mid air wearing a pair of 3D glasses and eating a bag of popcorn. He watched silently as the two ponies bickered and argued amongst each other.

“My, my, you two truly are a very unusual pairing. Your both total opposites and on top of that one of you has superb magical skill while the other seeks to gain magical skill,” Discord’s popcorn bag was turned to ash by a small ball of fire which had come from Midnight’s horn. “Well, that wasn’t very nice,”

“Just shut it already, you don’t know anything about us,” Midnight told Discord as he glared at him the way he did everypony else.

“Oh really,” Discord began with a sly grin as he snapped his fingers and brought up a magical panel. “Because I just heard you tell your entire life story so I’d say I know you pretty well, wouldn’t you agree Midnight?” Discord snapped his fingers once more and a replay of Midnight’s confession to Silverlight looped over the panel. “My favorite scene of this movie is when you begin to tell your friend over there how much you hate him and everypony else,”

“He’s not my friend,” Midnight Star corrected. “I simply needed assistance in aiding in your defeat, nothing more, nothing less” the earth pony glanced at Midnight with an angered stare and then smiled.

“Hey Midnight!” Silverlight called as he watched the grey unicorn’s gaze shift over to him. “It doesn’t matter what you say, it was obvious to anypony before Discord showed up that you were going to except my friendship. So stop talking like we’re not friends already,” Silverlight shot the glaring unicorn a smile which only seemed to irritate him more.

“Ah shut it! You really think a 1st Class Student like me would be friends with you!?” The unicorn gave out a faint huff and looked away from the pony as if trying to hide his expression.

’Interesting, I’m beginning to see why Celestia called me here, that earth pony’s body seems to be taking in magic from around him without even knowing. Well in any case,’ Discord snapped his fingers and made another glass of chocolate milk appear, this time with a dollop of whipped cream on top. “At least you two won’t bore me,” Discord sipped the brown liquid from his glass giving him a whipped cream mustache as he smiled in delight. “Hmm Pinkie Pie was right, it is better with whipped cream,”

“What is HE doing here?” Solar Wind asked as her and Celestia flew above the area where Discord had appeared. “Quick, we have to help the students-”

“Calm down, he’s the friend I was referring to,” Celestia said as she placed a hoof in front of the principal. “Thanks to a student of mine and her friends, Discord has been reformed and now uses his magic for good. I asked him to come her so he could test the power of Silverlight’s magic,”

“You really think he has magical potential?” Solar Wind asked the princess with a confused expression.

“I figured you of all ponies would remember what I taught you,” Celestia teased with a laugh. “All ponies, no matter the race, have magic present within them. However, unicorns perfect magic of the mind which is why they display the most magic ability,”

“Yes and pegasi have wings and earth ponies utilize the magic of the earth and body; but what’s different about Silverlight?”

“Why don’t you watch and see for yourself,” Celestia said as she and Solar descended behind trees and made themselves invisible, preparing themselves for the battle that was to come.

“Idiot! I said rally on me, why do you continue to rush him head on?” Midnight questioned with an angered face.

“Well I was trying to figure out his casting speed, but it’s his movements that are impossible to predict. They're all erratic and all over the place,” Silverlight rubbed his head after running into yet another tree that was beside Midnight Star. “How could something so disharmonized be so powerful? Some of his movements don’t even make sense,”

“That’s because there’s no fun in making sense,” Discord laughed as he still sat upon his floating red recliner. “You’re an odd one yourself, the only earth pony in a unicorn academy, your not really trying to practice magic, are you?”

“You bet I am! I’m gonna graduate from this academy and become a powerful wizard one day, just you watch!” the white haired pony gave a determined grin to the draconequus. “And that starts by me taking you down and finishing this exam,” Discord erupted in laughter as he said this.

“How are you going to pass without these?” Discord asked as he wore a necklace around his long neck which was made up of several assorted rubies and gems of different colors. “Oh these gems are just dazzling, perhaps I’ll give them to Rarity,” Silver and Midnight both began to search their saddle bags frantically in hopes to find their own gemstones.

“What!? My emeralds are gone?”

“Same with my ruby,” Silverlight looked the draconequus over carefully. ’He’s just been playing with us this whole time and we have yet to even get a hoof on him’. Silver than turned his gaze upwards, even though he couldn’t see past the thickness of the forest, he could still tell that the sun’s rays were beginning to fade. ’At this right we’ll run out of time and no pony will make it past this first exam. Come on Silver, you gotta think of something; concentrate, concentrate, concentrate,’ Silverlight’s eyes widened as a light bulb went on in his head. “That’s it, hey Midnight, I have an idea but in order for it to work you have to set the others free,”

“No way any plan of a 3rd Class Student like yourself will work, I refuse to-”

“Would you just put your stupid pride aside for once and just listen to me!?” Silverlight’s command seemed to silence the unicorn who just nodded in agreement with his question.

“Y-yeah, whatever, this plan will fail anyway,” the unicorn replied as he walked over to the frozen ponies who began to thaw rapidly as the warmth of Midnight’s flame spell melted the ice.

“Poor Midnight, how about some pepper to go along with all that salt you have there?” Discord laughed as he transformed himself into a giant talking salt shaker, mocking the unicorn.

When the other three unicorns were free, Astral and the others joined Silverlight but continued to glare at Midnight.

“Just letting you know, while we were frozen, we could hear everything so we’re already up to speed,” she said to her friend as they all stared down Discord.

“Yeah, now I know why Midnight was always such a sourpuss, it’s because he’s a mama’s pony,” the mint green male unicorn laughed as he teased Midnight.

“Do you wanna get put on ice again!?” the unicorn snapped with fire in his eyes. “The only reason your free in the first place is because your useful,”

“So what’s the plan Silver?” Astral asked her friend as her horn began to glow. The white haired unicorn brought all of the ponies in for a group huddle so as to discuss his idea.

“Ooh a secret, I want to hear, I promise I won’t tell anypony,” Discord said as he attempted to hear what the group was talking about by cupping a paw around his ear.

“Alright then, does everypony know what to do?” Silverlight asked as he watched all his classmates nod aside from Midnight. “Alright then, Astral and Midnight, you’ll be up first. Chip, Cherry, you two will move when I move, got it?”

“Roger that,” Chip said as he raised a mint green hoof and saluted the earth pony.

“We’ll be right behind you,” the pink female unicorn chimed in with a sing song type of tone.

“Good, then let’s go!” at his command, Astral and Midnight rushed forward toward Discord as Silverlight and Midnight had done before, this time with both Astral and Midnight firing a combined beam of ice like magic. Discord side stepped the beam as he yawned with a claw over his mouth as the beam hit a tree and created a large piece of ice around the base of it.

“Now Midnight!”

“I know!” the unicorn replied as he fired a fire ball at the ice block and began melting it rapidly. The steam filled the air around Discord with a thick dense layer of mist that made it almost impossible for Discord to see the ponies. All he heard was the commands that Silverlight was giving to the others.

“Alright, Chip, Cherry, now it’s our turn!” Silverlight yelled as the three ponies ran through the mist with magical bubbles surrounding them which the two unicorns provided.

“Another head on charge, you can’t be serious?” Discord questioned as he could now see the ponies charging him. He was about to snap his fingers again when he noticed that his body would no longer respond to his commands. “What in Equeastria!? Why can’t I move my-?” Discord’s question was interrupted by a strong head-butt which connected firmly to his body. He let out a moan of pain as the force knocked him into the mud which he had created earlier. “Good thing the mud broke my fall,”

“Midnight now!” Silverlight cried as the unicorn fired another ice like beam from his horn. However, his target wasn’t Discord, but the mud which he was covered and laying in. The mud quickly turned to ice and began freezing the draconequus’ entire body where he lay. Unable to move his body, Discord only let out a defeated cry as his head began to become frozen like the rest of his body.

When the mist began to clear, the ponies let out cheers of success, all except Midnight who just stared at the frozen creature. He then noticed the gems of everypony, rather than take them for himself, he levitated the stones in mid air and walked over to where the rest of his classmates were.

“Here,” Midnight began as he tossed each pony their respective gems. “You all deserve these, you may not be 1st Class Students, but you all demonstrate some sort of skill appeal,” Midnight than looked at Silverlight with his usual glare. “Well, some of you at least,”

“I’ll just take that as your way of saying thanks,” the earth pony laughed with a grin. Silverlight then noticed a patch of orange light which was shining dimly at the end of a pathway through the forest. “Hey there’s a way out! Come on everypony, let’s go!”

Each pony, including Chip and Cherry who had their emeralds returned from Midnight, placed their stones in their saddle bags and began to run toward the light, with the white pony leading the pack. When they all finally managed to make it out of the forest’s exit, the five ponies were greeted by principal Solar Wind and princess Celestia smiling back at them.

“Congratulations my little ponies, you successfully made it out if the forest before the time limit expired,” Celestia congratulated the group with a warm smile as the evening Sun’s rays shined behind her. “But now to see who scored the highest number of points, please show principal Solar Wind and I the gemstones you collected,”

All at the same time, the ponies dumped out the contents of their saddle bags to see who scored highest, however, what they found shocked them all. The contents of their bags did not reveal any gemstones, instead, the rubies were replaced by apples; the sapphires with blueberries; and the emeralds with green granny Smith apples. The ponies all stared at their items with shocked expressions, even Midnight Star who had gathered one of each gem stared on in astonishment.

“Well, these don’t look like the gems you were supposed to bring,” Celestia laughed. “I guess Discord pulled a fast one on you ponies,”

“Indeed I did Celestia,” Discord said as he now appeared behind the five ponies with a satisfied grin on his face. With elastic like outstretched arms, he pulled the five together and brought them close for a group hug. “Want to know a secret?” he whispered to the ponies. “I’m still here,

“But how?” Silverlight questioned the draconequus with a confused demeanor. “We froze you solid?”

“Come now, it took the Elements of Harmony and the combined magic of both Celestia and Luna to seal me in stone. Did you really think you five with a mist paralysis combination spell could really seal me within ice and expect me not to escape?”

“Hehe, we still did a good job at kicking your flank though,” Silverlight laughed in response to the draconequus’ question.

“So does this mean we all lose?” Midnight asked the princess with a concerned expression.

“While it’s true none of you returned with any gemstones, I believe you all may have found something more valuable,” principal Solar Wind said with a smile as she stared at Midnight. “You all managed to put aside your differences to cooperate and succeed at a common goal. And that, is what this first exam was originally for, if you had managed to actually find all the gems in the forest, you would have noticed that there were plenty for everypony if you had all just worked together,”

“But what about Moongazer and the other five participants, does this mean they fail?” Silverlight asked the principal as he and the other ponies were released from Discord’s vice grip.

“Actually, Moongazer and the other five participants worked together to find an equal number of gems and made it out of the forest within an hour of the start of the trial,” princess Celestia answered. “They have all completed this exam and have returned to their dorms to rest up for tomorrow’s trial, it's all here in his note that he left,”

“Darn!” Midnight grumbled as he stomped a hoof on the ground. “How could I have been so careless? I should’ve have just taken the emeralds I got and ignored Discord. Instead, I was wasting valuable time which could have been better used to find the exit,”

“Yeah, but than you wouldn’t have made so many awesome friends,” Silver said as he smiled toward the angered looking unicorn.

“Friends? Please, you were all only needed to aid me in stopping Discord,” the unicorn let out a sigh as his anger began to die down. “Whatever, I’m heading to bed,” Midnight called back as he stomped off toward the school dorms.

“You should all rest up as well,” the principal began. “The last two trials will only be even more difficult,”

The ponies grabbed their saddle bags and began walking in the direction that Midnight went, leaving the two alicorns and Discord standing outside the illusionary forest. The two alicorn’s horns began to glow but their brightness dimmed down as Discord raised a paw.

“Allow me,” Discord said as he snapped his fingers and watched the forest deflate like a balloon as it slowly shrunk and became wrinkled up. “Now if my services are no longer needed I really must be going, Fluttershy invited me to a tea party this afternoon,” Discord said as he put on a green Mad Hatter like hat and a monocle before disappearing in an explosion of confetti.

“I think I’m going to rest up tonight as well,” Celestia said as a group of royal guards approached her. “What about you, principal Solar Wind?”

“I have a very important talk I must have with Midnight Star,” Solar Wind replied with a gentle smile. “It’s been awhile since I spoke with him as his mother and not his superior,”

“So he just attacked you guys and tried to take your emeralds?” Silverlight asked the two unicorns who walked along side him and Astral.

“Yeah, he scared me at first but after hearing how much of a mama’s boy he is I think I fear ‘1st Class Student’ Midnight Star a bit less,” Chip laughed along with his friend Cherry.

“He’s just confused that’s all,” Silverlight said with a faint smile. “He just needs some friends that’s all,”

“You really try to see the best in everypony don’t you Silverlight?” Cherry asked as she and and Mint stopped in front of a dorm door.

“That’s Silver for you,” Astral laughed as she and the earth pony opened the door and entered the room. “Whether he’s fighting against impossible odds both in and out of the classroom, Silver always looks toward the brighter side of things,”

“I’m glad I’ve got two more friends now aside from Astral and Moongazer,” Silver said as he stood in the doorway of the room. “Anyways we all better get some rest for tomorrow, who knows what principal Solar Wind and princess Celestia have in mind for the exam,”

“Alright, see you guys later,” Cherry called back as her and Chip galloped down the hallway out of sight.

The soothing sound of shifting waves; a gentle breeze of salt water in the air; and the beautiful reflection of Luna’s moon that was casted across the moving surface. Midnight Star hadn’t visited the school’s beach in a long time, and it had been even longer since he’d gone alone. He stared out at the open ocean with calm eyes and began to speak in a soft comforting voice, though the words he spoke seemed as they though they were from another world.

“She protects him with unyielding spirit, like the calm before the storm,
Fates intertwined since before he was born
The warmth of her touch, caresses him evermore,
Yet, he is lost, drifting further and further away from she who had promised his very protection
Her guidance he seeks, more now than ever,
He pleas for the serenade of her comforting voice, but she sings not to him, not now, never more,” Midnight let out a sigh of defeat as he looked out at the ocean. “It’s useless, the poem is incomplete without a second speaker,”

“She appeared before him, like an angel with wings spread wide,
To comfort her child, for she doesn’t like the sight of his cry.
Infinite is the gift which she has blessed upon him, her feelings true to the end,
She’s with him in spirit, body, and soul; at his highest high, or lowest low.
This is what they both share; this is what bonds them even in absence; this, which can never be severed, no matter how far they drift,
This is the power of a mother’s love, the ultimate parting gift,”

Midnight Star didn’t even turn his head to acknowledge the soft voice, because he knew there was only one other pony who knew that poem other than he.

“Good evening, principal Solar Wind,” Midnight stated without even turning to face the alicorn which had snuck up on him. “Tell me, what brings you down here on this fine evening?”

Solar Wind watched as Midnight continued to stare out into the ocean, and even though he spoke in a resentful tone, something about how peaceful he looked, the calmness in his eyes, made her smile.

“I just wanted to talk to my son,” the principal replied with a smile. “I knew you’d be here as well, after all, this is your favorite spot in all of Arcane Academy,”

"Yeah, there’s an abundance of memories here, that I cherish,"

"Memories of your childhood?" she asked as she sat down next to the young unicorn. "Midnight, when Princess Celestia and I watched your fight with Discord, I heard why your so resentful of me and why you don't cooperate well with the other students; and I just wanted you to know, I understand completely,"

Midnight now turned his glare toward his mother, she had his attention but he still didn't speak a word.

"I know your mad because you feel like I've abandon you, and your jealous of the other students because you feel like I acknowledge them more than you,"

"I'm not jealous!" Midnight interrupted as he turned his head away trying to hide his pouting red face.

"You never could lie to me, you give yourself away," Solar Wind chuckled lightly. "What I'm trying to say Midnight, is," she paused as she put a hoof under her son's chin and turned his eyes to meet hers. "I couldn't be more proud of you,"

Midnight's usual glare began to fade away as a look of shock filled his face, this wasn't at all how he expected his mother to react towards his true feelings.

"Re-really?" the unicorn asked as his single eye stayed locked on his mother's golden eyes.

"Of course, your one of the top students; your currently the only 1st Class Student registered at the academy; and on top of all that, you’ve proven to wield magic better than myself when I was your age,” Solar let go of Midnight and brushed his hair to the side exposing his other vibrant yellow eye. “I’m telling you this as your mother and not the principal of the academy, I couldn’t be more proud of you. However another thing you must understand is that I have to watch over the academy and tend to my responsibilities as the principal before I can act as your mother. It is my duty to help every student here to strive to do their best as I have helped you in the past, in a way, your all my children, and I would do anything to protect everypony at this academy no matter what,”

Midnight’s eyes turned back to the sea as he replied with a half-hearted ‘Oh’ to his mother. Seeing that he was still distraught, Solar Wind knew exactly what would comfort her son.

“Guardian to all, ones which she smiles upon, her very life she’d throw on the line for him,
And though there were many to count, one sole spirit stood out without discretion,” the alicorn outstretched her wing as she wrapped Midnight in it and drew him nearer to her. “His spirit was the brightest among many, the star which illuminated over all,
It was him who she protected above all others, for he was her life; he was her soul; he was her first; he was everything; her true child,” when she finished her poem, Solar Wind stared silently out at the ocean with her child, it wasn’t until he finally spoke that the silence was broken.

“I understand what you’re saying,” Midnight began as he nuzzled into the alicorn’s fur. “But I think it’ll still be awhile before I can work with anypony, I need time to think,"

“I understand my son, take it at your own pace, just know there are some things you can’t do alone, no matter how skilled you are,” a curious look formed on Solar Wind’s face now. “How did you all manage to beat Discord anyway?”

“It was all Silverlight’s idea, he had Astral combine a paralysis spell with my ice spell to form a giant piece of ice. Then, when I set it on fire, the mist it created had remnants of the paralysis spell in it and it shrouded Discord so he couldn’t move,” the alicorn still listened intently as her son spoke. “Then he rushed Discord with Chip and Cherry surrounding them all with a magical shield so they wouldn’t be affected by the paralyzing mist and Silverlight delivered the blow which knocked him in the mud which Discord had made earlier. It was then that I was to freeze him since mud is still a form of water,”

‘Even without magic he still managed to form a winning formula and coordinate everypony without any issues. Celestia was right, I guess he is magical in his own way.’ Solar Wind thought to herself before replying to Midnight.

“Sounds like you have some competition,” she laughed as she held Midnight closer to her.

“He has potential, but he’s not on my level,” Midnight laughed as he dug his face into his mother’s fur. ‘At least, not yet anyways,’

Part 1: Chapter: 6

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“Silver, it’s time to wake up,”

Astral trotted over to her roommate’s bed with a smile. She watched the covers of the bed shift as though her friend attempted to hide from her.

“Come on Silver, you know the 2nd Trial starts today. We should head out at least 20 minutes before the exam starts to be prepared,” she laughed as the pony let out a groan from under the covers.

“No mom, five more minutes,” Silverlight replied with a yawn.

“I’m not your mom you idiot!” Astral said with annoyance. She then began smiling to herself as she stalked her friends bed. “I know what will get you up,” as she said this, Astral jumped into the air over Silver’s bed and curled up into a ball. “I warned you!”

The cyan unicorn crashed down on the bed with a thud, however, on impact, she could have sworn she had seen a faint light from under the covers. It took Astral a few moments before she realized she hadn’t landed on her friend, but instead, she landed on only the bed itself. She heard a thud and then a moan of pain which came from under the bed she was ow on.

“Okay, okay, I’m up,” the white haired pony said as he poked his head out from under the bed. “Do you have to make so much noise?”

“How did-, but you- And how the-” the unicorn stammered in a confused demeanor. “Silver, did you just teleport?!”

The earth pony came out from under the bed, then, after a bit of stretching, looked his friend in the eye. He stared solemnly as his eyes locked with hers, however, the staring contest soon ended when Silverlight exploded with hysterical laughter.

“Oh, that’s a good one Astral. Nothing like a good morning laugh to jump start the day,”

“So….you didn’t?”

“Come on Astral, I’m an earth pony. The most magical thing about me is my awesome speed and strength,” Silverlight laughed as he ran in a circle as if showing off his speed. “Well that and my amazing good looks,”

“Hey, Prince Charming, we got someplace to be if wanna get it in gear,” Astral laughed as she placed Silverlight’s saddle bag on him.

“Geez what are you, my mother?”

“Nope, best friend, much higher ranking,”

“Says who?” Silverlight teased as he opened the door of their dorm room. As soon as he set hoof outside the door, he felt his body collide with another pony’s. After recovering from his dazed state, Silverlight noticed a mint green unicorn staring back at him as the both lay on the floor. “That’s some way of saying good morning Chip,”

“I could say the same to you,” Chip said as he helped up Silverlight. “Didn’t think you were even up this early,”

“I don’t usually but Astral wanted to be ’prepared,” Silver said as he watched Astral exit the room and shut the door behind her.

“Yeah I feel you, Cherry made me get up early too for the same reason,” Chip said as he looked back at the pink unicorn who was trotting in his direction. “Man girls are such a pain some times,”

“You said it,” Silverlight chimed in as he and Chip connected hooves in a fist bump type manner.

“Good morning Silver, Astral,” Cherry said cheerily as she caught up with her friends.

“Well whaddya know, the gangs all here,” Astral said as she greeted the other two unicorns. “Well since we’re all together we might as well walk tog-”

“Race to Professor Light’s room?” Chip interrupted as he looked at Silverlight with eager eyes.

“Your on!” Silver replied in confidence. “Earth pony vs a unicorn in speed? I got you beat hooves down,”

“Yeah we’ll see about that!” Chip said as he dashed forward in a quick sprint. “See you at the finish line!”

“You better enjoy that head start because your gonna need it,” Silverlight called back as he chased after the unicorn.

“Ugh, typical boys,” Astral said as she watched the two ponies speed off. “I’m surprised either of them has this much energy so early in the morning,”

“Yeah no kidding, I can understand Silver but Chip usually hates mornings,” Cherry laughed as her and Astral walked down the hall. “But they can’t help the fact that their immature,”

The unicorns stopped walking for a few moments and stood still in complete silence. It wasn’t until Astral dashed forward that the silence was interrupted.

“Last one to Professor Light’s room is a smelly dragon egg!” Astral yelled as she bolted forward similar to Chip.

“No fair, you got a jump start on me!” Cherry laughed in response as she took off in the same direction as her friends.

When they entered the room, the four friends found that Moongazer and the other five unicorns who were participating we’re already present. Another thing that Silverlight noticed was the fact that no pony was sitting down and all the seats had numbers on them. Moongazer shot a smile in his friends direction before he joined them.

“Typical Silver, always behind me no matter what huh?” Moongazer glanced over at Chip who smiled back. “And I see your starting to add more members to your posse,” he outstretched a hoof to greet the unicorn respectively. “I’m Moongazer,”

“Names Chip, Mint Chip,” Chip replied as he connected his hoof to Moongazer’s as he did Silverlight earlier. “Me and Cherry met Astral and Silver during the last exam, he saved us and we helped him defeat Discord,”

“Discord?” Moongazer asked with a face of astonishment. Just then, a bright light flashed from the front of the room. Standing where the light had flashed were principal Solar Wind and Midnight Star. “That’s a story for another time, I think we’re about to begin the second trial,”

“Everypony, please listen up!” Midnight commanded as the eyes of every student in the room fell on him. “I hope your all prepared because the second exam of the Arcane Trials will commence immediately. Please, everypony step forward and draw a slip of paper from this box,” Midnight pointed a hoof toward a box which was laying on a desk to the front of the room. “In this box is are slips of paper with numbers on them, these numbers will determine where you sit for this trial,” a curious hoof shot up which halted Midnight’s instructions. “Yes Astral?”

“I’m just curious, what exactly do you mean by ’where we’ll sit for this trial’?”

“It’s quite simple,” Midnight said as a smile began to form on his frowning face. “The next trial will be a written test,”

’What!? I was expecting something TOTALLY different. No not a written test! I’m doomed! Doomed!’ Silverlight began to panic when he heard these words. “Hold on, when you say a written test…..you mean-?”

“Precisely what I said!” Midnight snapped at the white haired pony. “Written test mean written test, now, are there anymore idiotic question I can clear up before continue?” The silence that Midnight received as a response was his cue to continue. “Now, please take a slip of paper from the box and take your seats,”

Everypony in the room stood in line on front of the box as they each drew a slip of paper with a number on it. When Silverlight received his, he noticed he had #1B and promptly found his designated seat. Ironically enough, he was sitting in his usual class seat but wasn’t accompanied by any of his friends.

“I’ll let you take over from here ma’am,” Midnight said respectfully to principal Solar Wind as he took a seat of his own.

“Thank you Midnight, now then,” the principal smiled kindly to everyone that was present. Her horn began to glow and in a matter of seconds thick stacks of stapled papers appeared on the desk of every student, most gasped in shock at how many papers there were; even Midnight Star was taken back at the thickness of the test. “The procedures for this exam are relatively simple: eyes front at all times; no cheating whatsoever; and you’ll have an hour to complete all 347 questions presented before you,”

’WHAT!? Sweet Celestia please tell me she’s joking,’ Silverlight thought to himself as he sunk even lower into his seat, as if trying to hide from the world.

“For those of you who seem skeptical let me reassure you,” the principal now dropped her gentle smile as it was replaced by a look of intensity. “This is no joke, you all entered the trials knowing it was going to be extremely difficult. And furthermore, not just anypony can be princess Celestia’s personal student you know?” principal Solar Wind cleared her throat before donning a smile once more. Her horn glowed once more as a maroon envelope appeared before the desk she was standing beside. “These are the answers to the test, when your finished, bring your test up to me for grading and then return to your seat quietly,”

’When we finish? More like if we ever finish,’ Astral glanced over at Silverlight as she saw him silently panic. ’Calm down Silver, just breath and remain calm. This test shouldn’t be that hard, just do your best,’

“Lastly, any of you who cheat or don’t finish the test in time will fail automatically; furthermore, if you fail by either of these two ways then you will be forced out of the trials and you will not continue on to the final trial. Also, your scores from the first trial will be rendered null and void,” principal Solar Wind as she smiled at the students who’s faces appeared to be frozen in terror.

’Geez, that’s the last thing he needed to hear right now,’ Astral stared at her best friend who was now practically a pile of goo in his seat. ’It’s okay Silver, I believe in you, you got this,’

“Well then, you all seem confident in yourselves,” Solar Wind laughed and teased. With another flash of her horn, a quills and ink appeared next to every students test in a quick flash. “You may now begin!”

Every unicorn levitated their quills and turned to the first page and began their test; except for Silverlight the earth pony who just sat quietly and contemplated his failure.

’Okay Silver, concentrate, just…concentrate. There may be a lot of questions but that doesn’t necessarily mean their hard. I’ll just go through the questions and find the easiest ones I know I can solve,’ Silverlight turned open packet to the first page of the test and read the first question in his head. ’Okay, Friendship Problem #1: You receive 2 tickets to the Grand Galloping Gala for you and a guest of your choosing, However, 5 of your best friends find out and they all wish to go. Each of your best friends give a very reasonable claim as to why they should go and why you should pick them, how do you find out which friend gets the ticket? Take into consideration each reason that each friend has given you and calculate how much time (in minutes) that you have if it is currently Wednesday 9:34 AM and the Gala is on Friday at 8:00 PM.’
Silverlight picked up the paper with a grin and brought it extremely close to his face as he reread the question over and over again. Though he was grinning on the outside, this wasn’t at all how his feelings reflected on the inside. ’Hehehe, I can honestly say without a doubt that if the rest of the questions are like this then I’ll fail for sure,’

“You have 40 minutes remaining!” principal Solar Wind called from the front of the classroom with a smile. “Please remember that you are timed,”

’Yeah, how could we forget?’ Astral thought as she glared in annoyance at the principal’s comment. ’That smile of hers may seem kind, but right now, it’s pure evil. She gives us an hour and then she puts us up against such impossible odds. What does she expect us to do? Astral looked around and noticed that several students appeared to be blazing through the questions fairly easy, one in particular was Midnight. She then looked over at Silverlight and realized that Cherry was sitting beside him and was trying to get his attention. Her efforts were rendered useless though as the earth pony only sat in his chair and wallowed in self pity. ’Come on Silver notice her, she’s trying to help you’

Silverlight picked himself out of his slump and wiped away the sweat which was beginning to form on his brow. 'Hehehe, I’ll just skip that one. Okay, Friendship Problem #2: As a student of princess Celestia, it is your duty to inform your studies to her at least once of every week for every month of the year, however, it’s Tuesday around 2:40 PM and you realize you haven’t reported to the princess today since the week before which would make you tardy. She expects a report at around the same time all the time, if princess Celestia expects your report by 6:00 PM but you haven’t found anything yet to write about; write a paragraph explaining what you should do in this situation and how you should handle it. Take into account the time you last wrote a letter to the princess and what the letter was about. Silverlight slowly lowered the paper back on to his desk as he felt himself getting light headed.

Man who wrote these things? My head is beginning to hurt just reading them. Hey, wait a minute, the earth pony looked back at the question and skimmed over it rather quickly. That last question wasn’t even a friendship problem! Or….maybe it was? It depends, if I become the princess’ student does that make us friends? I mean, we’d have a teacher student relationship but I don’t know if that actually qualifies as a friendship,'

“This is your 30 minute reminder, I repeat, 30 minutes left to finish your tests,” the alicorn said in a tone of delight. “No pressure, take your time and answer the questions to the best of your ability,”

’What!? Are you kidding me!? This test is practically impossible to finish unless you have the answers, Astral’s eyes widened as this thought crossed her mind, it was then that she noticed the maroon envelop which sat on the principal’s desk. ’She doesn’t seem to be paying much attention, maybe I could use a teleportation spell to….no Astral what are you thinking? You can’t cheat, especially not on a test as important as this one,' it was then that Astral’s gaze turned toward Midnight Star who now appeared frustrated with the test himself. Ha-ha, not so easy anymore is it Mr. 1st Class Academy Student?

’Okay, this is it, this question can’t be hard like the others’ Silverlight closed his eyes and let out a sigh before he continued to read the question. ’Friendship Problem #224: What is the square root of Pi*7.3 to the diameter of the sun?'

............................

The white haired pony sat in complete silence as he stared directly ahead of him with a blank expression.

“Umm….Silver?” Cherry whispered as she tried to get the pony’s attention.

“Who in the wide world of Equeastria made these QUESTIONS!?!?” Silverlight’s yell drew the attention of everypony in the room, including principal Solar Wind. “I mean seriously, half of these questions don’t even sound like friendship problems at all!”

“The questions for this exam were created by one of princess Celestia’s former students, she is quite the bookworm which is why she was the perfect candidate for creating the questions,” principal Solar Wind stated as she brushed her hair to the side. “If you feel the questions are too difficult for you then feel free drop out of the trials at anytime,”

“Wait, you mean we don’t have to take this test?” Silverlight asked as he stood up from his seat.

“Of course, dropping out of this current trial would count as a disqualification and you will be asked to leave the room and you will not continue on to the final trial. Remember, the Arcane Trials are not mandatory, the only pony keeping you here is yourself,” the principal eyed the earth pony who only glared back at her with a serious look. “If you wish to leave simply bring me your test,”

Silverlight stared down at his paper as he contemplated his decision. ’Oh great, if I don’t finish this test than I’m disqualified and if I answer the questions incorrectly than I’m disqualified. There’s no way for me to win….unless…. Silverlight picked up his paper in his mouth slowly and hesitantly, complete silence befell the room as he slowly maneuvered out of his seat.

“S…..Silver?” Cherry asked as she watched her friend slowly pass by her and toward the principal’s direction.

“Silver what are you doing? What about-?”

“Silence please! There are still tests out so the testing rules still apply,” Astral was interrupted by Midnight Star’s abrupt remark. “Furthermore, I’m enjoying the show,” he added under his breath so as not to let anypony hear.

’Come on Silver, your better than that. Don’t do it, don’t give in, Chip thought as the earth pony slowly trudged by his desk and closer to the front of the room.

’Well, well, you’ve disappointed me Silverlight,’ Moongazer continued to do his test as he heard the slow hoofsteps of Silverlight who had finally approached principal Solar Wind.

The alicorn simply stared at the white earth pony who gazed at the ground in silence. She let out a bit of a defeated sigh as Silverlight slowly began to lower his paper on to the desk.

'How unfortunate, princess Celestia is going to be very disappointed when she finds out her favorite candidate was disqualified' the principal thought to herself as she watched Silverlight’s paper rest on her desk. “Very well, 3rd Class Academy Student Silverlight, I hereby disqual-”

“Pardon the interruption ma’am,” an armored pegasus said as he burst through the classroom door. “But princess Celestia would like a word, she claims it is an emergency,”

“Now? Of all times?” Solar Wind asked the guard who nodded in response to the principal’s question. ’You timed your interruption perfectly Celestia, and I’m kind of grateful too; if I had disqualified Silverlight here the rest of the trials would have been rather dull.' “Yes, I understand,” the alicorn let out one final comment before exiting the classroom and closing the door behind her. “Oh, and just a reminder, you all have 15 minutes left to finish your tests, have fun,”

Again, silence fell across the classroom as the door shut behind the principal who had exited, it was Astral’s annoyed voice which brought every student back to reality.

“Hey Silver, what do you think your doing giving up so early you idiot!?” Astral let out a sigh of exhaustion as she calmed herself. When she had finally regained her focus, Astral’s eyes locked on the maroon envelope which still rested upon the front desk where principal Solar Wind was at. Now’s my chance to grab the answers and pass this test She wasn’t the only pony to think about getting the answers because the envelope began to float away as it landed in front of Midnight Star. Although, rather than immediately copying the answers, he stood up and turned to face his fellow classmates.

“Listen up, all of you, I’m sure your all aware that this test as intricate questions which are almost impossible to answer without the highest level of comprehension. This would require us to consume more time than we’ve been given, ultimately making the test impossible to pass, however,” the gray unicorn levitated the envelope as he began to open it and pulled out a single slip of paper. “I have here the answers needed to pass this exam, I’m going pass this document around so everypony has a fair chance to look at it and copy the answers. There’s no telling when principal Solar Wind will return so be as quick as possible,”

“Hold up, since when did you care about anypony else passing other than yourself?” Astral asked as she slammed her hooves down on her desk and rose from her seat. “What are you planning?”

“Well my answer is quite simple,” Midnight began to say as he passed the scroll to another student who quickly began copying down the answers. “While it’s true I originally only sought for myself to succeed, I’ve come to realize that the final trial will be more interesting with every candidate present. That’s why I want as many as you to complete this trial with the best score possible,” Midnight’s looked at Silverlight and then turned his gaze to Astral. “Especially you two, I can’t have my fun if you two specifically don’t make it to the finals,”

The answer sheet had quickly reached Astral, she was reluctant to take the paper after hearing what Midnight said; however, she knew if she didn’t take this chance then her failure was eminent. She quickly glanced at the paper and scribbled down the answers in a blink of an eye and passed the sheet onwards. It only took several minutes before the sheet made it back to Midnight. The dark haired unicorn then turned to Silverlight who stared at him puzzled.

“Everypony else has gotten the answers except for you Silver, hurry up and copy them before principal Solar Wind returns,”

The earth pony stared at the sheet, his face wearing an expression as blank as his test answers. All the other students stared on with anticipation and anxiety, all except for Midnight who was only getting frustrated with the pony’s indecisive attitude.

“Well? What the hay are you waiting for? Take it!” Midnight now commanded as he used his magic to toss the answer sheet to Silverlight. Time seemed to slow as the sheet flew in mid air and slowly and landed in the earth pony's mouth. “Go on, principal Solar Wind hasn’t disqualified you yet, so hurry up and-”

Midnight Star was interrupted by a loud tearing sound, a sound which seemed to reverberate all throughout the classroom and demanded gasps of shock from every student. Midnight watched as the piece of paper which was once in Silverlight’s mouth quickly turn into ribbons and confetti as pony tore it up with his teeth, gnashing the answer sheet furiously between his teeth.

“Are you dense!? That was the key to you passing this exam! And you just ate it like a mountain goat!”

After his outburst of anger, Midnight and everypony in the room became confused as Silverlight began laughing before hopping onto the desk at the front of the classroom and demanding every students attention.

“Look at all of you, I can honestly say without a doubt,” Silverlight now glared out at everyone. “Your all pathetic. You’ll all pass this exam by doing whatever means necessary, you’ve all casted aside your integrity. Did you all forget who’s student your attempting to be?” the earth pony stomped a hoof on the desk in a fit of outrage. “Princess Celestia wouldn’t tolerate such tactics just for you to achieve your own personal goal!” everypony’s eyes stayed locked on Silver as they listened to his speech intently. “Listen up, I'm gonna graduate from this academy, become a member of the Arcane Agency, and I'm going to become the most skilled wizard in Equeastria; but I'm not gonna take the easy way out of things. If becoming a great magic wielder means that I have to take the easy way out, than I'd rather remain a 3rd Class Academy Student for the rest of my life!"

“Just the response I was hoping to hear,” a disembodied voice said as a bright light engulfed the room in seconds. Standing in front of Silverlight and the rest of the students was now both princess Celestia and principal Solar Wind. Both the alicorns turned around and faced Silverlight with beaming smiles, then, they both spoke in unison toward the earth pony.
“Congratulations Silverlight, you’ve successfully passed the 2nd exam of the Arcane Trials!”

The look of astonishment on everypony’s face, Silverlight included, was serious when they all heard what the two alicorns said. Midnight Star simply chuckled to himself and smiled on with a grin.

“He’s not the only one,” Midnight laughed as the two alicorns now turned to face him. “If I remember correctly I stayed within qualified bounds of testing procedures; meaning, I also pass this exam. Right, mother?” The unicorn spoke in a triumphant and cocky tone, as if he had just won the race of the century.

“Hold on, what’s he talking about!? Can somepony please explain to me what’s going on?” Astral called out as she now practically climbed over her desk.

“Allow me to explain,” Celestia began as the students listened intently. “This test was indeed designed to be practically impossible for anypony to complete. From the number of problems; to the intensity of the questions; to even the designated time that you had to complete the test. What’s more, this test encouraged for you to cheat, it was the only way you’d pass. That’s why principal Solar Wind left when she did, so we could see what students would make the right choice,”

“But why design a test which encourages us to cheat?” Cherry questioned. “I still don’t get it,”

“The way the test was designed was it made it seem as though cheating was the only way and therefore only desirable option. However, this test was about a pony’s integrity; to see if we’d discard our facades when the chips are down and to also see if our natural states would be altered whilst in a state of panic and desperation,” Midnight Star grinned confidently with himself as he saw Celestia’s eyes widen in surprise. “I could easily see through the test from the moment principal Solar Wind handed them out, that’s why I chose not to make such a careless move,”

“Hey wait a second!” Astral shouted as she pointed an accusing hoof at Midnight. “You cheated too so your also disqualified!”

“Actually recall back to my actions after principal Solar Wind left,” Midnight began as who turned to face Astral with a smile.

“Yeah I remember, you passed around the test but-” Astral gasped once more as she realized what the male unicorn was implying. “N-no way…”

“Precisely,” Midnight’s smile only broadened as he said this. “I passed out the answer sheet around and told everypony to copy the answers down quickly. However, I never once wrote the answers down myself, in fact, I never even glanced at a sing answer,"

"Wait....does this mean we're all disqualiified?'

"Of course not," Celestia interjected with her usual smile on her face. "Silverlight and Midnight Star simply scored slightly higher thsn the rest of you. Your all still wonderful candidates to be my students and you'll all continue to the finals,"

Astral and several other students all let out sighs of relief when they heard the comforting words of the princess. Astral's eyes then turned to Silver who wore a blank expression on his face.

"Thats a relief, huh Silver?" she watched puzzled as her friend hadn't responded to her question and simply gazed on. "Silver are you-?"

Astral watched as the earth pony collapsed on the desk he was once standing on. She became worried, however, when the sound of snoring begam to fill the room, Astral discarded her worryment and began to laugh.

"Perhaps you should all head to your dorms and catch a nap, you'll need to prepare for the final trial as well," Celestia began said as she made her way to the exit. "I hope to see just as much excitment from all of you during the next exam as you displayed in this one,"

Part 1: Chapter: 7

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“This is so lame,”

“Stop complaining Silver,”

The earth pony sat at his desk with both of his hooves under his chin with a frown in place of his usual smiling face.

“I wanted to find out who won! I wanted to take the final trial already but princess Celestia had to return to Canterlot for ’royal business’ and now we have to wait,”

“Don’t be such a baby you know she’s a princess and she has things to attend to besides watching us!” Astral snapped as she hit the pony on his head with a hoof. “You should be grateful she’s even giving us an opportunity to be her student you idiot, she said she’ll be back in three days so instead of complaining you should take this time to prepare for the final trial!”

“Yeah I guess your right,” Silverlight rubbed his head as his injury from Astral began to swell up quickly. “But I’m still concerned about what Midnight said,”

The two ponies turned their heads toward the dark haired unicorn who sat in his high corner seat of the classroom with his nose buried in a book.

“Yeah, there’s no doubt in my mind that he has something fishy planned for it. I’m not too sure yet but we should be careful during the final trial,”

Every student turned their heads toward the front of the classroom as their usual teacher entered the room. He took a seat in his usual desk and smiled back to his students with his dark brown eyes.

“I hope you all njoyed your weekend, before I continue on I’d like to take a moment to acknowledge several of the students in our very class which have participated in the Arcane Trials,” professor Light picked up a piece of chalk and wrote down several names on the board. “Midnight Star; Silverlight; Astral; Mint Chip; Cherry Berry; and Moongazer. All of these students have participated in the trials and have completed both the first and second of the three exams. Let’s all have a round of applause for these six and their outstanding performances,”

The sound of stomping hooves quickly filled the room as cheers of applause exploded from the other students in the classroom. Though he was annoyed at first, Astral could see Silver’s expression quickly change to a smiling face as he heard the cheers of appreciation from the other students.

“Okay, okay, settle down everypony, settle down,” the students listened to their professor respectively and did as he had instructed, the classroom once again fell silent. “Now that we have that announcement out of the way, I have another I’d like to make. I’m happy to say that our class is going to be accepting another student into our ranks,” as the professor said this, the classroom door slowly creaked open and a pony entered drawing the attention of everypony present. She was a light beige unicorn with cream white hair which slightly resembled Silverlight’s and her cutie mark appeared to be that of a puppet controller with strings hanging down from the cross like object. Her expression seemed rather blank and the head of what looked like a creepy wooden doll was sticking out of her pink saddle bag. “This is miss Mary Anette, she just recently enrolled in Arcane Academy just the other day. I know you’ll all do your best to make her feel welcomed amongst us,” professor Light then turned his gaze toward the unicorn and smiled warmly. “Please have a seat wherever you’d like miss Anette,”

Mary nodded weakly as the professor said this and then slowly made her way to the back of the classroom and took a seat where no students were seated.

’Talk about a gloomy pony, she doesn’t even look remotely happy, and she decided to sit away from everypony else. What’s her deal?’ Silverlight glanced back at where the unicorn was sitting only to see her playing with something. A wooden doll which seemed to be in the figure of a pony, it took him a few glances before he realized what she was playing with was no ordinary doll, but a puppet. “Okay, now that’s creepy,” he whispered to Astral as he pointed a hoof in Mary’s direction.

“So what? She likes puppets, what’s so creepy about that?” Astral replied in a whisper with annoyance in her voice. “I used to be into dolls too when I was a filly,”

“When you were a filly!” Silverlight replied trying to keep his whisper down to a minimum. “She seems about the same age as us and she still has hers,”

“Well, you saw her cutie mark,” Astral said quietly as she glanced back at the unicorn who continued to play by herself silently. “Maybe she’s really good with puppets, that’s probably her special talent,”

“Miss Astral! Mister Silver!” the professor snapped as he looked at the two ponies. “Perhaps you’d like to share what it is your talking about with the rest of the class?”

“S-sorry about that teach,” Silverlight said with a nervous smile. “We’ll be quiet now,”

“Yeah,” Astral agreed with a fake smile of her own.

“I should hope so,” the brown unicorn cleared his throat before continuing with his lesson. “Now, let’s continue on about how best to treat a case of Poison joke,”

Several students exited the classroom as soon as the bell rang in a fit of murmurs and chatter. Silverlight and Astral both looked over at Mary who was still playing with her puppet instead of preparing to leave.

“Soooo, still think she’s not creepy?” he asked Astral as they made their way to the front of the classroom.

“She’s just…..different,” Astral said as she laughed nervously to Silverlight. “Anyways, me and Cherry are going to the school spa after class, what about you?”

“Probably get in some training before the final trial, I’ll have to hit up Chip and see if he wants to help me,” Silverlight replied with a determined grin. “I gotta be ready for anything,”

“Mister Silver, I’d like a word,” professor Light said as he stopped the earth pony at the door.

“Guess not,” the pony snorted in annoyance. “I’ll catch up with you later Astral,”

“Alright, see you later Silver, and try to stay out of trouble,” Astral disappeared out of the classroom as she said this.

Silverlight slowly walked to the teachers desk slowly as he let out a sigh, preparing himself for whatever was to come.

“Your not in trouble Silver so lose the worried look,” professor Light laughed. “I simply need you to show miss Anette here around,” he said as he pointed a hoof to the unicorn who was now standing next to Silverlight. He jumped back, startled as to how she appeared to materialize out of nowhere; she was still playing with her puppet as she levitated it with her magic. “She’s not familiar with the campus and I figured you could show her around,”

“Seriously!? I gotta focus on my trraining and I only have two more days before the princess gets back I don't have time to be a tour guide!" Silverlight could see the look on his teacher's face meant he wasn't getting out of this one. "Oh fine, come on Mary"

“Before you go,” the professor said as he handed Mary a stack of several papers before she left. “Here are the assignments you requested miss Anette, are you sure your ready to tackle these tasks, perhaps you’d like something….easier?” the unicorn shook her head as she placed the papers in her saddle bag and continued out the door following the earth pony.

Silverlight and Mary walked down several doors before heading downstairs and entered a set of large double doors.

“So, where do you wanna start first?” he asked. Mary only continued to stare at her wooden doll in silence. ’Man, this girl is weird; she hasn’t said a word since she’s been here and the way she stares at that doll is beginning to creep me out,’ he let out a sigh as he continued to walk in silence with the unicorn. ’Easy Silver, just because she seems weird doesn’t mean she is weird; maybe if I just keep trying to talk to her than she’ll open up to me,’ he thought as they continued their walk in never-ending silence. “So, what brings you to Arcane Academy?” the white haired pony’s question was met with silence; but he didn’t give up and he continued his questioning. “Where you from? Baltimare?; Las Pegasus?; Fillydelphia?; Manhattan?”

Still silence, Silverlight was beginning to get annoyed with the responses that he wasn’t getting. He kept up with his barrage of questions, he was determined to get at least one word our of the pony.

“You got any hobbies? Any friends? Anything you do or don’t like? Any family that live close by?”

The unicorn stopped after Silverlight’s last question, he stared at her puzzled as she continued to stare blankly at her doll.

“Puppets,” Mary mumbled under her breath. She then turned her gaze to Silverlight who still looked confused.

“Excuse me?”

“You asked me if I had any friends; any hobbies or any likes; I like puppets,” Mary now turned her gaze to her puppet once more. “My father, he was a carpenter, he made me this puppet and a few others,” she returned her magenta eyes back to the white pony. “Would you like to see them?”

Silverlight was hesitant to respond at first, but he thought he saw a bit of hope in the unicorn’s, like she desperately wanted to show him her dolls. He finally let out a sigh as he gave in to Mary’s request.

“Sure, lead the wa-” Silverlight was interrupted as the unicorn began pushing him towards the door they had entered. He was stopped shortly after running into a very familiar face.

“I suppose your showing the new student around?” Midnight Star said as he circled around the two ponies like a hungry vulture. “You don’t seem that skilled, in fact, you seem rather fragile, delicate, like you would crumble at even the slightest touch,” he said as he stared at Mary.

“Mary, this is Midnight Star,” Silverlight began as he pointed a hoof at Midnight. “He’s a 1st Class Student with pride that exceeds even his own skills,” he laughed as he watched the dark haired unicorn don his look of annoyance.

“Shut up, you’re a 3rd Class who can’t handle anything above C rank; speaking of which, since you’re a new student Mary, you start at the bottom of barrel like this reject,” Midnight now pointed a hoof at Silverlight. “You don’t seem like you’ll make it to my level, but maybe you won’t be as big a loser as this reject,” Midnight laughed as he continued down the hall.

“Don’t mind him, he may seem like a jerk but deep down he’s just a big mama’s boy,” the earth pony laughed as he and Mary continued down the hall. “So, where were you taking me again?”

Silverlight stood frozen with a frightened expression on his face as he looked around the room he was standing in. Hanging from the ceiling and on the walls were what appeared to be hundreds upon hundreds of different multicolored pony shaped marionettes; some of unicorns and earth ponies, others of alicorns and pegasi.

“This is my collection, my father made every marionette in this room,” Mary used her magic to retrieve one of the puppets hanging from the ceiling and placed the one she was playing with on a shelf nearby. “Every puppet here means something special to me,” she continued as she nuzzled with a wooden pony with a half-hearted smile. “I’ve made several of my own puppets but they never seem to come out as good as father’s,”

’Astral was totally wrong! This. Pony. Is. Weird!’ the earth pony thought to himself as Mary continued to tell him more about her collection. “Oh hey, Mary?”

“Yes?”

“Don’t you think we should continue with your tour?” Silverlight asked with a nervous smile. Mary stared blankly straight ahead before putting away her puppet and unloading her saddle bag on her bed.

“I’m afraid well have to postpone that,” the unicorn began as she gently pushed Silverlight out of the room. “I’m sorry but I really must prepare for my assignments.; but don’t worry Silverlight, I promise that we will see each other again,”

As the unicorn’s door slowly shut, Silver could have sworn that Mary winked at him before closing her door. A chill was sent down his spine as the thought crossed his mind and he began to shudder; something about the unicorn’s words assured him that they indeed would meet again.

“Something about her really makes me uneasy,” Silverlight said to himself as he walked away from the door. “Whatever, now that I got free time, I gotta get started on my training. I should probably stop by the library first though, I need to look more into……..that”

“Now this is a training session I could get used to,” Astral said with a sigh of relief. Her and Cherry were both sitting in the bubbling warm hot tub that that the school spa provided.

“Shouldn’t we actually be training?” Cherry asked as her face also held a relaxed expression. “The final trial is in two more days, what if we’re unprepared?”

“What’s there to be prepared for?” Astral laughed as she splashed her friend with some water. “Knowing princess Celestia, she may throw a curve ball our way; but in the end, we’ll just have to give it out all,”

“Yeah, I guess your right,” Cherry laughed as she splashed Astral back. “So, what do you think of that new girl?”

“Mary? Well, Silver called her weird but I don’t think she is,” Astral placed a hoof under her chin and thought to herself for a moment. “Then again, I don’t really know her yet so I guess I can’t say much,”

“Speaking of, where is Silver?” the pink unicorn asked as she ducked her head in and out of the water.

“Knowing him, he’s either getting himself in trouble, off doing training, or both,” Astral laughed as she weaved her own head in and out of the water

“Pegasi utilize magic of flight and speed; unicorns magic of the mind; earth ponies magic of the body; each race of ponies has magical abilities, some of which are only revealed to them when certain conditions are met,” Silverlight lowered the book and scratched his head in confusion. “When certain conditions are met? What the hay is that supposed to mean? Why don’t these old books ever give specific information?”

Silverlight closed the book and placed it on a stack of other books he had laying on the table he was at. He gave out a sigh and lowered his head slowly to the desk with a yawn. It wasn’t until a cold voice crept up behind him that he jumped out of his chair in fright.

“Hello Silverlight,”

The earth pony jumped back frightened at the unicorn who had caught him off guard, his sudden reaction caused him to fall out of his chair and to the ground with a thud. After picking himself back up, Silverlight himself shiver again as he recognized the unicorn who stood before him.

“Oh, Mary, hey wassup? I thought you had some assignments to do?” Silver asked as he sat back down in his chair and stared at the unicorn who sat across from him. He noticed that she still carried with her a puppet, however, this one was different than the one she had before. But it didn’t surprise Silver whatsoever, after all, he had seen her collection.

“I already got them all done, all seven of them,”

“Really, it’s only been an hour since I seen you last?” Silverlight asked with a nervous smile. “Must have been some pretty easy D ranks huh?”

“No, in fact, they weren’t D ranks at all,”

Silverlight noticed that another unicorn was approaching him and Mary, another familiar face which he was glad to see.

“Hey Chip, what are you doing here?” Silverlight asked

“I was actually looking for you, I wanted to see if you wanted to train with me for the final trial?”

“Would I!?” the earth pony exclaimed with excitement. He then looked over at Mary who stared at him blankly with her puppet in front of her. “Hey, Mary, we’ll uh, catch up later okay?” Silverlight quickly hopped out of his chair and quickly made his way toward the exit of the library with Chip. “Thank Celestia for you Chip, that pony is a freak,” he whispered to his friend.

Mary hopped out of her own seat and watched Silverlight and Chip walk away briskly, her blank eyes watching the earth pony’s movements carefully, as if analyzing him. She brought her wooden unicorn puppet close to her and spoke as if to the puppet.

“I’m not too sure yet Sir Trottsalot, he thinks I’m a freak just like everypony else,” Mary turned her head to the side slowly, like she was staring at something puzzling. “I like him, we’ll keep our eyes on you Silverlight, all of our eyes. Right Sir Trottsalot?”

“Now that was relaxing,” Cherry laughed as her and Astral walked down the hallway after exiting the school spa. “We should, ’train’, like this more often Astral,”

“I’ll say, it was invigorating. In my opinion I think it’s the only way to train,” Astral replied as she and Cherry began laughing. Astral’s friend then began eyeing her with alluring eyes.

“Soooooo, Astral, I’ve been meaning to ask, what’s the deal with you and Silver?”

“I’m not sure I follow,” Astral replied with a confused demeanor.

“Oh come on, is he your, ya know?” Cherry leaned in closer to her friend and placed a hoof next to her mouth as if trying not to let any words escape. “Your special somepony?” Hearing her friend’s personal question, Astral’s face began to turn a shade red which was easily visible when compared to her normal cyan color.

“What!? No! We’re just close friends, best Friends at that. I mean, sure we share a dorm room and all but-” Astral’s nervous stammering was interrupted by a sudden outburst of laughter from Cherry.

“Wow, you should have seen your face, it was as red as an apple,” the pink unicorn wiped away a tear of joy before she continued. “I know you guys are close and all, but I get this feeling like there’s more to it with you,”

“Well, when I first came to Arcane Academy, I wasn’t too sure I’d make it here on my own. But all that changed when I met him,” Astral’s blushing face was gone and now replaced by a look of admiration. “He convinced me not to drop out and since then, we’ve been the best of friends. While its true I do care about him deeply that idiot is so dense he never knows when I’m expressing my true feelings to him; so I’ve always been more of a big sister image to him than a special somepony,”

“Can’t say me and Chip were any similar, we’ve been best friends since magical kindergarten; our families grew up together and we continued on the tradition,” Cherry began smiling as she spoke. “We both wanted to hone our skills better so our parents managed to get us both in Arcane Academy together,”

As the two friends reminisced about their first moments at the academy, they were completely unaware that a third unicorn had approached them and stared on silently like a ghost. It wasn’t until Mary spoke that either pony knew she was there.

“It must be nice to have friends,” she began as she carried with her one of her puppets. “The company of others must make you feel so……alive,”

“Hey, aren’t you-?”

“I just came to observe, but I’m done now,” Mary turned her back on the unicorns as she began walking away but still talking. “Come on Sir Trottsalot, it’ll be announced soon, let’s go see mother and father to celebrate,”

Astral and Cherry watched with dumbfounded expressions as the unicorn disappeared after turning a corner, she had left as quickly as she had appeared; and just as mysterious.

“Okay, now that, was really weird,” Cherry said as her and Astral continued to walk down the hallway. “What do you suppose she meant by ’it’ll be announced soon’?”

“I’m not too sure, but I think I’m starting to agree with Silver,” Astral shuddered slightly as her and Cherry continued their walk. “That pony is pretty weird,”

Silverlight and Chip walked slowly as they rounded the bend of the school track for their last time. Both ponies were tired and gasping for air, their bodies were covered in light scratches and bruises from the training they had gone through.

“Man, for an earth pony you sure can put up a fight. You may be ranked as a 3rd Class Student but I’d put you at 2nd ,“ Chip laughed as Silver caught up to him in a quick trott.

“Well I did manage to figure out a way to beat the spirit of chaos, AND I landed a decent blow on Midnight in a battle we had so I guess you could say I’m pretty awesome,” Silverlight laughed as he stopped trotting to pose heroically.

“Yeah I heard about that duel, you got your flank kicked and worse would have happened if principal Solar Wind didn’t show up,” Chip teased as he watched the earth pony as he stopped his posing and looked annoyed.

“Ah shut up, I totally won that fight!”

Silverlight’s ranting was interrupted as a loud noise echoed throughout the campus as the school PA system came on.

“Greetings my wonderful students, this is principal Solar Wind here to bring you all a special announcement.”

“Principal Solar Wind giving a special announcement? Last time I ever heard those words was when Midnight first became a 1st Class Student,” Silverlight pondered as another thought crossed his mind. “Hehehe, maybe principal Solar Wind has finally recognized what an awesome student I am and ranked me up to 1st Class?”

“As if,” Chip interjected. “I’m a better candidate for 1st than you are,” he teased as he gave the earth pony a friendly shove.

“The announcement I’m making is to recognize a student’s tremendous growth in the short time that she’s been here at our academy. In only her first three days at Arcane Academy, 4th Class Student miss Mary Anette has proven that she has earned and deserves the rank of 1st Class, congratulations Mary. Unfortunately that’s all the announcements that I have for today, good luck again to those who are participating in the trials, and all of you have a wonderful day!”

The speakers which were outside made a static like crackle noise before dying down. Chip and Silverlight seemed as though they were frozen where they stood, with differing expressions on both of their faces. Chip’s face was one of astonishment, he couldn’t believe that there was actually somepony who was on the same level as Midnight, especially not one as quiet and awkward as Mary had shown to be. Chip then turned his gaze to Silver who’s look was definitely not one of astonishment, but fear.

’How? How could she have become a 1st Class Student? She’s as delicate as a flower that would wilt away if somepony so as much even touched her. And this feeling,’ Silverlight began to shiver as he stood petrified staring blankly ahead with wide eyes. ’Why am I suddenly overcome with so much dread and apprehension?’

"Hey, Silver, you okay man?" Chip asked as he tapped the pony on the shoulder to gain his attention. "You look like you just seen a ghost,"

"Nah, I'm fine, just... Just a cold breeze caught me, that's all,"

"Cold breeze?" Chip looked around as if trying to find any source which may have caused a temperature change. "I didn't feel any-"

"Race ya back to my dorm room!" Silverlight interjected as he took off down the hall.

"Hey! Get your flank back here you cheater!" Chip laughed back as he chased after his white haired friend.

Part 1: Chapter: 8

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“Unfortunately that’s all the announcements that I have for today, good luck again to those who are participating in the trials, and all of you have a wonderful day!”

Principal Solar Wind took her hoof off of the intercom button after making her announcement. She let out a sigh before speaking to herself out loud. “five….four.…three….two-”

Before she finished her countdown, the principal’s office was bursting with a vivid yellow aura as a golden sphere appeared in a flash of powerful magic. When the light diminished the principal smiled at an angry frowning unicorn, his single golden eye locking with hers.

“Principal Solar Wind, I need to speak with you,” Midnight said as approached the alicorn’s desk.

“1st Class Academy Student Midnight Star,” Solar Wind chuckled as she came around her desk to greet the unicorn with a hug. “I half expected you to show up after that announcement, so, what does my 1st Class son wish to speak about?”

“Cut the act mother, you know exactly why I’m here,” the unicorn snapped as he glared at the principal who only continued to smile at him. “I want to know how that weirdo with the dolls became a 1st Class Student,”

“Why, the same way you did sweetie,” Solar Wind trotted to a file cabinet and pulled out a rather thick manila folder and placed it on her desk, spilling out its contents before Midnight’s gaze. “She completed a total of 7 S rank assignments in under an hour, furthermore, she’s schedule to complete 12 more by the end of tomorrow’s date. She’s managed to do all this in the course of three days since she’s been her, you however, did the same thing in your first three months,”

“Are you implying that I, Midnight Star, have been outshined by a 4th Class reject!?” Midnight’s face was now a combination of frustration and astonishment. “Is that what your saying? That there’s a pony at this school better than me?”

“Of course not Midi,” the principal approached Midnight and attempted to place a wing around him. “You know there’s no pony at this school better than-”

“Hang on!” Midnight exclaimed as he rushed out from under his mother’s wing toward her desk, ignoring her words. “These side notes on all of her assignments say the same thing. Apparently Mary returned from all of her assignments without a single scratch, but, that’s impossible! Even I have to visit the medical wing after several assignments, especially if their S ranks,” Midnight stared at the notes he read as he attempted to contemplate what was going on. ‘There’s no way! There’s just no way in Equeastria that she’s that skilled! Even I’m not capable of returning from my assignments without at least suffering from a sprain! How!? How can she be so much better than I am!?’ The unicorn slammed his hoof on the desk in a fit of outrage. ‘First the earth pony and now her!? No! No! No!’ “I will not stand for this,” Midnight growled as he stormed out of the room.

“Midi, where are you going?”

“Off to my dorm to get some rest, and then tomorrow,” the unicorn glanced back at his mother. “I’ll prove that I’m the one and only 1st Class Student in Arcane Academy,” Midnight disappeared in a similar fashion as to how he showed with his golden sphere surrounding him before he vanished.

“Sweet Celestia he’s off again isn’t he?” the principal laughed to herself after the unicorn teleported away. ‘I know exactly what your about to do my son, be aware that just like you, Mary has earned her title of 1st Class; meaning, she is a force to be reckoned with.’

“I win!”

“No way! Even with you getting a head start I still beat you!”

“Hehe, in your dreams Chip,”

“As if YOU would be in my dreams Silver,” the mint green unicorn laughed as he tried to catch his breath. “Why don’t we ask Cherry and Astral,”

Silverlight looked up to see his two friends rounding the corner of the hallway approaching them.

“What are you two doing?” Cherry laughed as she and Astral stopped in front of the room door with the rest of their friends.

“Just beatin Silver’s flank in a race,” Chip laughed as he gave his friend a nudge. “Why don’t you catch yourself a goodnight’s rest and we’ll pick up where we left off tomorrow, okay buddy?”

“Aye, aye, coach,” Silverlight replied as he rolled his eyes and raised his hoof in a salute. “Only next time, maybe you’ll win,”

“Yeah! Whatever!” Chip yelled back to his friend as he bolted down the hall with Cherry giggling and following closely behind. “Your mine tomorrow earth pony!”

Silverlight watched as the two unicorns rounded the corner of the hallway and disappeared out of sight, as they’ve done before. Silver entered the room and collapsed on his bed with a sigh of exhaustion, Astral followed behind him and shut their door.

“With all those scratches and bruises you’ve got, I figured you’d head to the medical wing right after training,” Astral said as she approached the pony who laid on his bed and had his face buried in his pillow.

“Well I was on my way but-”

“Hold still,” Astral interrupted as her horn began to glow and an aura of blue magic surrounded the earth pony. In a matter of seconds, his wounds and bruises were healed and he felt a better as he picked his head up and stared at Astral in confusion. “I’ve been practicing some healing and medical spells on my free time, you never know when you might need them,” she giggled. “Anyways, continue,”

“Well I was on my way, but then I heard principal Solar Wind’s announcement about Mary and,” Silverlight wrapped himself in his cover as he began to shudder. “Oooh, just talking about her gives me a weird vibe. Hey, is it cold in here to you?”

“Hardly, are you running a fever or something?” Astral asked as she placed a hoof on Silver’s forehead. “No fever, and now that I think about it, you’ve been acting strange since your meeting with Mary. She can't be that weird.”

“Weird!?” Silverlight jumped out of his covers as he stood on his bad looking back at his best friend. “Astral, that pony is a huge freak! She invited me to her dorm room and-”

“She did what!?” Astral interrupted as she jumped on her bed opposite of Silverlight’s and began to stare him down. “She invited you to her dorm room!?”

“Yeah, but that’s not the freaky part, the freaky part was when we got in her room there were all these-”

“And you went!? Willingly!?”

“Yeah, I mean, she had this look in here eye, like she really wanted somepony to be with her,”

“And you made eye contact,” Astral mumbled as she appeared to hang her head low.

“Hey, Astral, you alright?” the earth pony questioned as he watched his friend’s face turn a shade of red from anger. “You sure your not the sick one?”

“What!? I’m not!? But you!?,” Astral’s face turned another shade of red before she threw her blanket over her and turned her back to Silver. “Whatever, I’m going to bed. I’ve got some training to focus on tomorrow and so do you, so I advise you to do the same,”

“Um….okaaay?” Silverlight turned out the candle which provided light as he threw his own blanket over himself and closed his eyes. “Man, girls are weird,”

“Excuse me sir, but the library is currently closed for the night, I’m afraid you’ll have to come back first thing in the morning if you want to check out any books,” the lavender unicorn librarian said as she was in the process of shelving some books.

“I’m afraid it can’t wait, this is an urgent matter,” Midnight said as he placed his student ID card on the checkout desk. “I need access to the arcane archival records of dark magic and historical practices, I’m a 1st Class Academy Student,”

“Oh, I’m sorry dearie,” the unicorn said as she put on her glasses. “I’m afraid it doesn’t matter what rank you are, the archival records of the dark magic aren’t even allowed to be checked out by teachers. Only the principal and a very small select few may do so,”

“Perhaps you’d like to take another look at my card,” Midnight chuckled triumphantly. When he said this, the librarian readjusted her glasses and glanced at the back of Midnight’s ID which exposed a special deal which was only used by principal Solar Wind. Seeing this, the lavender unicorn let out a gasp of surprise.

“Oh, my dearest apologies sir, I had no idea you were the son of the principal. I’ll go get the records you requested,” after saying this, the librarian retreated to a large set of book shelves which were located behind the checkout desk.

’If I’m going to be going up against that freak tomorrow, then I’m going to need everything I got. If that means reading up on a forbidden spell or two,’ a sadistic smile formed on Midnight’s face as he thought this. ’Then so be it,’

The earth pony awoke with a yawn as he raised himself up and hit his head hard on an object. He let out a groan of pain as he crawled out from under his bed and shook himself awake.

“Twice that’s happened,” Silverlight said aloud as he rubbed his face gently. “Man, if only I can recognize when it happens and actually control it,”

Silverlight’s eyes lingered over to Astral’s bed as he noticed that the unicorn was missing. He caught a glimpse of something resting on her nightstand and went over to investigate. He found a letter written in his friend’s elegant yet boyish hoof writing which gave him a run down of where she disappeared to.

“Dear Silverlight,

I got a jump start this morning and decided to head to the library to research some more healing and medical spells. I’ll be there for a few hours if you wanna come join me for a little best friend study session. See ya around.

Love, Astral,”

Silverlight shook his head once more as he was now fully awake.

“I guess I can join Astral for a few hours before I get my physical training done,” Silver began as he walked to the door. His out loud thoughts were interrupted by the loud growling of his stomach which seemed to echo in the room. “Hehe, maybe bi should grab a bite to eat before I begin studying. I should head to the cafeteria before they run out of muffins!”

Silverlight now rushed to the dorm room door as the thought of his favorite food being taken from him crossed his mind. He swung open his door only to be faced with the love of his life. His face was a mixture of confusion and admiration.

“Blu-Blueberry muffins?” Silverlight shook his head in disbelief at the bountiful basket of muffins that sat before him. It wasn’t until the levitating basket lowered that a familiar face was exposed from behind it.

“Good morning Silverlight,” Mary as one of her puppets sat on top of her head like a hat. “I thought maybe you’d be hungry, so me and Sir Trottsalot decided to bring you this basket of muffins,” the unicorn said as she gave him a half-hearted smile.

“Really? For me!?” Silverlight took a muffin out of the basket and tossed it in the air. He caught it in his mouth as he began to chomp down on the blueberry and sugar coated pastry. “Phanks a bunch Mary, I’m forry I called you a freak,” he said through muffled bites of muffin.

“What was that?” Mary asked as she stared puzzling at the pony.

“Oh, uh, nothing,” Silverlight laughed as he finished his last muffin. “So, you just stopped by to drop off the basket or was there something you wanted?”

“Actually,” the unicorn began as she shifted gently in her position, almost nervously. “I was wondering if you’d like to join me for a picnic on the beach?”

“Wha!?” Silverlight exclaimed as he listened to the words of the unicorn. It was then that he noticed Mary had a second basket behind her, this one filled with several assorted blankets; more muffins; several jars of apple cider; and a two containers which had wheat sandwiches inside. “As tempting as that basket you have there looks, I’m afraid I already made arrangements to study with Astral in the library,”

“Astral? She’s the unicorn I first saw you sitting with you, right? Is she your special somepony?” Mary asked as she raised in eyebrow at the earth pony.

“Whaaaa!? No, no, no, she may be my roommate and all, but Astral’s my best friend,” Silver said nervously with a laugh, his face had a slight shade of red as he spoke. He cleared his throat before he continued. “Anyways, I may care about Astral but she’s more of a sister to me than a special somepony,” Silverlight glanced at the clock in his room as he took noticed of the time. “Whoa! It’s getting late and I’m burning precious training time!” The white haired pony quickly shut the door behind him and took off towards the library. “See ya around Mary, oh, and you too Sir Trottsalot! Thanks again for the muffins!”

Mary watched as the happy pony dashed off on the opposite direction of her.

“Astral? Perhaps we should keep an eye on her too, huh Sir Trottsalot?” She asked as her eyes shifted up toward the puppet which rested on her head. She then began to levitate her picnic basket and made her way down the hall. “Well, we better not let this food go to waste. Should we ask mother and father if they want to come? It’s been awhile since we’ve all gone out together as a family,”

“Several origins of dark magic and it’s practices date back to the ruling period of King Sombra during his tyrannical rule of the Crystal Empire. King Sombra was a unicorn who’s heart was as black as night filled with evil and hatred. It was said that this was the source of his power and-”

“Midnight Allister Star!”

The dark haired unicorn let out a sigh as he realized he was going to be in a bit of trouble.

“What in Equeastria do you think your doing!?” principal Solar Wind questioned with a loud voice to Midnight who sat at a desk reading the large tome in front of him.

“Studying, isn’t that what students are supposed to do?” he replied with a cocky grin. “I’m simply researching a subject which has piqued my interest, that’s all,”

“Indeed students are to study subjects which pique their interests,” the alicorn began as she lifted the back away from her son. “But I won’t allow a son of mine to study something as evil as dark magic,”

“I was just conducting a small history lesson on it’s practices and origin-”

“I don’t care what kind of lesson it was!” Solar Wind snapped as she interrupted the unicorn. She let out a sigh as she allowed her anger to simmer down, her tone of voice shifted from loud and powerful, to calming and comforting. “Just the thought of my son being interested in something like dark magic worries me,” the alicorn then approached Midnight who was standing beside the desk he once sat in and wrapped herself around him as she embraced him with a warming hug. “You’ve read for yourself what King Sombra and his magic was like, I don’t want you to be a replication of that whatsoever. That’s why I’m always encouraging you to make some friends, I don’t want you to walk a dark path like he once did,”

Midnight Star stood frozen in his mother’s embrace as he let the wisdom of his mother sink into his mind, then, his stoic look was replaced by a determined smile.

“Don’t worry so much mother, those records don’t nearly contain enough information for me to become so indulged in dark magic,” he laughed. “And besides, as long as I have you supporting me than there’s no way I’ll ever end up like King Sombra, right?”

“Yes, yes, you may have my support now, but I won’t always be around for you Midnight,” the two locked eyes as the principal continued. “Just remember everything I taught you, and Midnight, do try to make some friends. If you really wish to get stronger, then allow your friends to give you strength,”

Midnight looked past his mother and noticed the time on the clock on the wall. He than realized he had an extra ’special’ assignment he had to get done.

“I’d love to stand here and get lectured by you mom, but I got an assignment to do before the day is up,” Midnight teased as he dashed toward the exit. “See you later mother, I’m off to make my first friend,”

“She did what now?” Astral asked her friend with a dumbfounded expression.

“Yeah, she invited me to a picnic on the beach, it seemed rather nice of her,” Silverlight laughed as he put down the book he was reading.

“Yeah, she’s a real element of generosity,” Astral said sarcastically as she rolled her eyes. Her annoyed demeanor was soon replaced by a gleeful grin as she stared back at her friend. “But it doesn’t matter because you chose to be with your best friend instead; but still, I’m surprised at how nice she’s being to you. Don’t you think maybe it’s kinda weird?”

“If her being weird comes with more muffins then she can be as weird as she wants,” the pony laughed as he grabbed a muffin from his saddle bag he had saved. “Maybe I’ll go see how she’s doing later on, you know, just to check up on her,” Silverlight looked over at his friend and noticed her expression was quite grim. “You know, there was a time when you and I were alone, so we of all ponies know what it’s like not to have any friends,” Silver broke off a piece of his muffin and offered it to Astral who only stared at it before returning her gaze back to him. “You and me, we got friends; Midnight; Moongazer; Chip; and Cherry. But Mary doesn’t have anypony, know what I mean?”

The earth pony's question came out as more of a laugh then anything else. Astral took the offered muffin piece and at it with a smile.

“Yeah, I know,” Astral laughed as she swallowed her bite of muffin. “But I’m coming with you this time,”

Mary sat on a cobalt blue blanket with her puppet across from her. There were two cups of cider and two plates of wheat sandwiches in front of both Mary and her puppet who were facing the ocean. She watched the tide come in and out as it dragged away bits of sand and small seashells with it. Mary’s blank expression watched as the sun was beginning to set against the orange sky.

“Would you like some more cider Sir Trottsalot?” Mary asked as she began pouring the liquid in the cup.

“Mind if I have a cup?”

Mary turned her head to see a dark haired grey unicorn making his way slowly across the beach in her direction. Though he carried a glare on his face, Mary didn’t detect any malice in his presence.

“Your 1st Class Academy Student Midnight Star, right?” Mary asked as she sipped on her cider.

“You’re a 1st Class Student as well now, so you can just call me Midnight,” he replied as he stood before the sitting beige unicorn.

“So did you really want some cider or-?”

“No, not really,” Midnight interrupted as he cut off Mary in midsentence. “I came to relinquish you of your position in the school hierarchy,”

“Relinquish…..my position?” Mary asked as she cocked her head to the side, confused at Midnight’s words.

“You don’t deserve the rank of 1st Class!” Midnight now snapped on the expressionless unicorn. “I don’t know why mother is so interested in rejects like you and Silverlight, but I’m the only true 1st Class Student at this academy and I’d prefer to keep it that way,”

Mary sat up from her blanket and teleported all the contents of her picnic back into her basket. She picked up her puppet and placed it on her head, wearing it as she had done before. She than let out a sigh and turned to face Midnight who was standing a good distance away from her now in a battle ready stance.

Without any hesitation or warning, Midnight levitated a seashell and tossed it toward the unicorn. He then shot beam of magic which quickly caused the shell to increase in size at an alarming rate as it landed on the spot the unicorn once stood. The giant shell’s crash caused sand and dust to fly in the air, altering his vision as he attempted to see through the cloud of dust.

‘I gotta stay on my guard, this girl isn’t like Silverlight. She’s no earth pony, she’ll actually use magic, and if she’s as good as me, then I gotta be extremely cautious,’ Midnight thought to himself as he stared at the dust cloud with his horn glowing.

“What the?”

Midnight watched as the giant shell began cracking slowly, within seconds, the giant shell shattered like glass as the small pieces scattered all around the beach. The dust cloud was beginning to settle and Midnight could now make out the silhouette of a pony, however, when he finally saw the blank expression of the pony, it was not one he recognized.

“You ruined our picnic,” Mary said as she stood behind a brown earth pony who also wore a blank expression. “And even though he may not look it, Sir Trottsalot is very, very, mad,”

“What-What is that thing?” Midnight stammered as he stared at the finely carved wooden pony in front of Mary. Aside from several distinct markings on its body and the wooden joints, as well as it’s glowing eyes, Midnight would have mistaken the puppet for an actual earth pony at first glance. ‘That can’t be her puppet, it was only the size of a apple before. What the hay is going on?’

“To answer your conflicting thoughts, yes, this is indeed my puppet. By using a special spell known only by puppet masters, I can produce magic into a puppet and control it as well as increase its size and even alter its appearance,” Mary walked forward and stood beside her puppet who now stood slightly taller then her. “Don’t be fooled by his appearance, he may just seem like a normal puppet now, but I’ve specially fitted this puppet for combat and he can make things very difficult for you,”

“Woods still wood no matter what size, I’ll just burn that thing!” Midnight yelled as he shot a ball of flames at the puppet. The spell connected to the puppet's wooden surface, however, the fire disappeared on impact and didn't even appear to singe the wooden earth pony; not even a simple burn mark was detected.

“Sorry, but that’s not going to work,” Mary began as she placed a hoof on her puppet and gently stroked it’s wooden mane. “My puppets aren’t made from normal wood; their made from Cumaru, a very unique and rare wood which is known for its incredible durability. This wood can easily withstand rot and decay; and is as dense as steel and concrete making it almost impossible to shatter. Oh, and I'm sure you've already picked up on the wood's durability against fire as well. So you see, nothing you can do will penetrate, break, or even burn Sir Trottsalot,” as her hair fell in front of her face, Mary brushed it aside and placed her picnic basket on her back. “I still have six assignments due before the end of the day, so I’ll let you play with Sir Trottsalot while I’m gone,”
The puppet looked down at the unicorn as if with a concerned look, Mary nuzzled next to it and Midnight witnessed something he had never seen the unicorn do before, she actually smiled. “Don’t worry about me big guy, mama and papa will protect me, you know they always do,”

“If you think I’ll let you just walk away then your crazy!” Midnight roared as he charged the unicorn and her puppet. The puppet opened its mouth to expose a round hidden compartment, in quick burst, several sharp pieces of wood came shooting out of the puppets mouth at great velocity. Midnight teleported himself out of harm’s way and behind a large rock formation to reassess the situation. ‘I guess she wasn’t bluffing about that thing being fitted for combat. I need to be careful, that puppet of hers makes her one really dangerous character. From what I lnow so far, she excels at long range combat, controlling and manuvering that puppet of hers from a distance. I see, so that's why she always comes back from her missions without a scratch, unlike me, she never has to actually go into battle. She just sends that puppet to fight for her, in fact, I would't put it past her if that puppet spell is the only one she knows.’ Midnight’s eyes widened as an idea popped in his head. ‘That’s it!’

Midnight prepared to jump out from behind the rock formation as he heard the strange sound of clicking wood approaching his hiding spot. After jumping backwards to safety, Midnight watched as in almost an instant, the formation began to crumble as the puppet tackled it and reduced the large rock to a pile of ruble.

‘For a dense piece of timber that thing sure is fast, and it seems like Sir Trottsalot packs quite the punch!’ Midnight glanced over at Mary who’s horn was glowing brightly, he then returned his gaze to Sir Trottsalot who was now approaching him once more at incredible speed. Midnight teleported and transported himself behind the puppet as he fired another ball of flames. However, his target wasn't the puppet, but the water which was behind it. Due to the intensity of the fire, the ocean water evaporated in seconds and quickly filled the battlefield with a thick, dense layer of mist.

‘He used the intense heat from his fire spell against the water of the ocean to create mist for him to hide in. Guess there's a reason why he holds himself above everypony else.' Mary withdrew her puppet back to her location as she tried to make out anything which may be hidden in the mist. “Come out, come out, wherever you are Mr. 1st Class,” Mary teased as she attempted to lure out Midnight. ‘Figured he wouldn’t be swept up by his pride in the heat of battle. Guess we’ll just have to wait this out.’

“Its pretty late in the afternoon, are you sure she’s still at the beach?” Astral asked as her and Silverlight exited the front of the academy main entrance.

“She should be, I’d hate to get there only for her to be-”

Silver was interrupted as an explosion rang throughout the land. The two ponies could feel the ground shake under their hooves and they could see a large sand cloud forming in the distance.

“What in the name of Celestia!?”

“I’m not sure, but it looked like it came from the beach,” Astral replied as the two ponies began galloping to the cloud at full speed.

“The beach? Then that means….” The earth pony donned a worried expression as he and Astral continued galloping. 'I got a bad feeling about this,’

Mary watched carefully as the mist Midnight had created began to grow thin, she could now clearly see the unicorn standing several meters away from her.

“Finally you reveal yourself, now, let’s wrap this up. If this goes on any longer then I won’t be able to complete my other assignments,” Mary said as her horn began to hum with magic which caused the empty sockets of her puppet’s eyes to glow once more. Sir Trottsalot began galloping in Midnight’s direction, preparing to hit the dark haired unicorn with a full power tackle.

Midnight stood still as the puppet quickly approached him, all the while, he wore a satisfied smirk on his face, as though he had already won the battle. At the last second before impact, Midnight side stepped the puppet as it was sent skidding forward across the beach surface. He stared at Mary with a cocky grin as she stared back with an astonished expression.

“Well, well, so you actually DO have emotions,” Midnight teased in a fit of laughter. “Tell me, does a freak such as yourself experience fear?”

“What’s going on? Why won’t Sir Trottsalot responded to my control?” Mary now glared angrily at Midnight who continued to smile back smugly. “My puppets can’t be destroyed so easily,”

“Hmph, you said it yourself, there’s no way for me to destroy or burn your puppet due to it’s dense properties; however, my target wasn’t the outside of your puppet, my target was it’s core,” as he said this, Mary noticed hat there was a sudden chill in the air as she began to shiver. “You assumed the mist I created earlier was to hide in, but that wasn’t the case at all. Even if only the slightest amount, there are still traces of water found within mist, the moisture of the mist seeped into your puppet’s moving joints and sockets,”

Mary listened intently to the words of Midnight as she stared on with a shocked expression, she could feel the air around her growing colder; it wasn’t until then that Mary realized what Midnight had done.

“Judging from your expression I'll assume you already know what I'm getting at. You see, though I can only control fire and ice right now, the truth is, I can manipulate several elements aside from those two. I was easily able to freeze the moisture which had gotten into your puppet’s joints to stop it’s movement, and now your defenseless,” Midnight let out a laugh as he said this and began charging toward Mary who still was frozen in a state of shock. “A unicorn with a gift like mine only comes around once a generation, and now that this battle is practically won, I’m gonna turn you into a popsicle! My aim isn’t always true, but if I stay close to you then I’m guaranteed a hit!”

When he was close enough, Midnight fired a powerful beam of ice which was guaranteed to win him his match, that is, if his attack wasn’t intercepted by another unicorn who appeared alongside a pegasus in a flash of white light.

“What in the name of Celestia!?”

Standing between Midnight and Mary were two ponies, a beige black haired unicorn; and a light grey white haired pegasus.

“Now you’ve done it,” Mary said as she laughed at Midnight. “Mama and papa don’t like it when you threaten their little Mary,”

“Wait! You mean to tell me,” Midnight stammered as he tried to force out his question. “Those two are puppets!?” Unlike the other puppet that Midnight had seen before, these two were even more lifelike, even their eye sockets had what appeared to be moveable wooden eyes which glared at him.

“You should feel honored,” Mary began as the two ponies stepped slowly forward. “Mama and papa are part of my special private collection and I only bring them out for emergencies when things are getting really tough,” Mary said as she giggled to herself. “You’re the toughest pony I’ve ever faced before Midnight Star, but this puppet show is over,”

The wooden unicorn rushed Midnight and turned it’s body around as it bucked him with incredible force that sent him spiraling out of control into the air. The blow dazed Midnight and it took him a few moments before he could see clearly. When he did however, he realized that the pegasus puppet was immediately above him. In mid air, the puppet delivered a destructive hoof punch to Midnight’s mid section which sent him crashing toward the sand.

‘A fall from this height could do some serious damage to me! Maybe, if I try to stick the landing…’ Midnight attempted to outstretch a hind hoof to catch himself, but instead of landing, Midnight felt a surge of pain ring throughout his entire body. He let out a scream of agony as he landed hard on the beach sand. 'I-I can’t feel my back leg!'

“You’ve caused me to exhaust myself,” Mary said as she approached Midnight with her usual blank stare. Her puppets were no longer life size but now small once again as she placed them in her basket on her back.

“Stay away from me!” Midnight yelled as he attempted to stand again. He let out another painful scream as he collapsed again after applying pressure to his leg.

“I wouldn’t if I were you. You’ve seriously sprained your hoof, if you don’t want to injure yourself any further then I suggest you stay down,” Mary stopped in front of Midnight and stood over him as he huffed and puffed like a wild animal. “Midnight Star, I’m no longer interested in Silverlight; I like you better,”

Mary was knocked back as a large pillar of black ice shot out of the ground near where Midnight laid. He was growling with anger and his eyes appeared to have a shade of green in them. Midnight closed his eyes and let out a sigh as he lost consciousness, when he did, the pillar began to recede quickly back into the sand until it was gone completely.

“Yeah, I’ll definitely keep my eye on you,” Mary said as she stood back up and turned to leave the beach. When she began to leave, she could see a pair of ponies galloping in her direction at full speed. It didn’t take long before she had an exhausted Silverlight and Astral standing before her.

“Mary are you alri-”

“Your friend needs immediate medical attention,” Mary interrupted as she brushed past Silver and Astral and continued her walk. “Make sure he doesn’t put anymore pressure on his back left leg,”

“Friend?” Silver questioned as he looked past Mary to see Midnight collapsed in the sand. “Midnight!” he cried out as he and Astral rushed over to the unicorn’s aide. “Okay Astral you’ve studied healing stuff, is he gonna be alright?”

“He’s fine, but his leg is hurt pretty bad. We’d better get him to the medical wing, quick,” Astral replied as her and Silver gently lifted the unconscious unicorn on their backs and carefully carried him. ‘I can’t believe Midnight’s been beat so badly. Mary couldn’t have done this, could she?’

“I can tell what your thinkin,” Silver began as the two ponies now exited the beach. “Just remember, Mary is a 1st Class Student now so it makes sense that she’d be a match for Midnight,” Silverlight let out a sigh as he and Mary made their way up a pair of stairs which led to the front of the Academy entrance. “I just hope he wakes up soon,”

Part 1: Chapter: 9

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“After reviewing his wound over night, I’m afraid what you thought was a sprain is actually quite worse. He’s suffered a pretty severe fracture and it’ll be several weeks, maybe even months before his injury has healed. All he can do now is get some rest,”

“But doctor, what about the Arcane Trials!?” Silverlight questioned the light blue unicorn with a look of concern on his face. “Princess Celestia gets back tomorrow and that means we move on with the final trial. Midnight’s a participant, you mean to tell me he won’t be able to compete?”

“I’m afraid that’s correct,” the light blue unicorn adjusted his glasses as he said this. “He must rest up and allow his bone some time to heal. If he tries to perform any physical activity in his current condition, it could lead to him further damaging himself,”

“Astral,” the earth pony said as he turned to his friend who was standing beside him. “You’ve studied up on this stuff, can’t you help him?”

“Oh yeah, because I have a PhD in healing fractures after just reading a couple of books!” Astral replied in a sarcastic annoyed tone. She hit Silverlight over the head in a fit of anger. “Use your head you idiot or you’ll be the next one lying in that hospital bed!”

“Now, now, Astral, I don’t want another one of my students to be unable to participate tomorrow,”

Astral and Silverlight swirled around to be greeted by the warm smile of a large golden alicorn whom they recognized right away.

“Principle Solar Wind,” Silverlight exclaimed as they made room for the principal to enter.

“I’ll give you all some privacy,” the blue unicorn said as he exited the room and shut the door behind him.

“He can still compete tomorrow, right ma’am?” the white haired pony asked as his face held a hopeful expression.

“I hate to say it, but tomorrow’s trial will be a physical test,” Solar Wind said as she moved closer toward Midnight who was asleep soundly in bed. “Midnight Star will not be able to take the final exam,”

“Then….then that means-?”

“Yes, Midnight has no chance of becoming princess Celestia’s student now,” the alicorn nuzzled against Midnight’s face as she continued. “I had only wish he had listened to me and had not challenged Mary in the first place. Now, I’ll have to disqualify him and-”

“No!” Silverlight screamed as he interrupted the principal who looked back at him with shock. “He wanted to be Celestia’s student more than anything, and now, he’s getting his opportunity taken away just like that!? He’s worked hard to get where he is; to become a 1st Class Student and partake in the trials; and now your telling me that everything he did was for nothing!?” The earth pony turned his angered glare away from the Astral and principal Solar Wind who watched on in aghast. “I’ll find Mary, and I’ll make her pay for what she did to Midnight!”

“Silver!” Astral cried out as she watched her friend storm out of the room. “principal Solar Wind, I-”

“No, I understand, go and find Silverlight. If she can take down Midnight this easily, I can only imagine what will happen to Silver,” a worried expression overcame the alicorn’s face as she said this. “You must find Silverlight before he finds Mary. Fighting her could get him severely injured……or worse,”

Principal Solar Wind exited the room as she watched the cyan unicorn gallop fast out of sight. It was a voice which emitted from behind her that startled the alicorn.

“Hey, Solar, long time no see. Is that position you offered me still on the table?”

Solar Wind turned around only to see a unicorn whom she hadn’t expected to see anytime soon.

“Y-you!? What are you doing here?”

Silverlight pushed through a crowd of other students as he galloped ahead at full speed. Amongst the crowd, a familiar face appeared to be caught in the wave, one that stood in Silverlight’s way.

“Hey Silver, what’s u-?”

Moongazer was cut off as he felt the head of his friend connect to his body. The blow of the head-butt sent the poor unicorn skidding out of Silverlight’s way.

‘Sorry Moon, but I have more important things to deal with and right now, your just in my way. Silver thought as he galloped past his knocked down friend.

"Well, that’s one way to say hi," Moongazer said as he slowly picked himself up.

"Sorry Moongazer," Astral said as she galloped past her friend and after Silverlight. "He didn't mean to do that I swear,"

"What the hay is going on!?" Moongazer called back to his friend as he watched her gallop out of sight.

"I'll explain later!" Astral yelled as she turned the corner and continued her pursue after the earth pony. 'I've got to hurry, if Midnight was taken down by Mary, Silver won't stand a chance! He has no magic to counter act her spells, and whats more, we still don't know how she fights.'

'Rest up Midnight, and don’t you worry about Mary.' Silverlight's eyes began to emit a slight shade of light cyan as he rushed forward. 'What's this? Can I...can I finally feel it?' The light in the earth pony's eyes died down as rapidly as it had arrived, all the while, Silver's angered expression was now replaced with a confident grin. "Well alright then, now I'm really psyched!"

"So, that's what you've been up to all this time," Solar Wind said with little enthusiasm as she rolled her eyes. "Still pursuing that 'Great Expedition' of yours I see,"

"Hahahaha, you know it! I'm just simply doing my research as a scientist and historian!" the orange unicorn laughed full-heartedly.

“Science and history have nothing to do with it Ignis!” principal Solar Wind’s face was now contorted into a frown. “Your just a big old perv!”

“Shhhh, you hear that,” Ignis said as he raised a hoof to silence the alicorn. His Orange ears perked up as he attempted to hone in on the sound. He walked closer to the window and pulled a pair of binoculars out of his red saddle bag as he looked out the opening at what was below him. “I was right, that’s the sound of beautiful mares!”

“Don’t you sit there and drool over my students!” Solar Wind snapped as she took the binoculars away and hit the unicorn over the head with them. “Now tell me what business you have here or I’ll escort you off campus myself!”

“Geez, you were always so uptight, can’t you take a joke?” Ignis said as he rubbed the throbbing wound on his head Solar had left him. “I really was doing historical research though, I’ve been just about everywhere in Equeastria and decided to pop back in for awhile and see how you and the kid were doing,”

“And what are you, his father?”

“Not really, but I am the closest thing to it,” the unicorn laughed. “Anyways I’m here to offer you the help you asked for before,”

“You think I need help with my son?” the principal asked as she raised a curious eyebrow.

“Once again, no, but you know as well as I do that a single principal cannot keep up with all the duties of such a prestigious academy such as this one,”

“So…you mean-?”

“Yes my dear friend,” Ignis said through a smile. “It’s time I donned my role as Arcane Academy’s vice principal,”

There were a few moments of silence, however, it didn’t last long when a exhausted moan from Midnight’s body aroused some more conversation. The dark haired grey unicorn woke up with a yawn as he stretched forward and rubbed his eyes until he was fully awake.

“Mother? Where am I?” Midnight asked as he sat up in his bed. He then noticed that his left leg was covered with a heavy amount of bandages. He then acknowledged the x-rays which were displayed on the opposite side of his bed. “A fracture? I thought I just had a sprain?”

“So did Silverlight and Astral when they brought you in here, but that doesn’t appear to be the case,” Solar Wind began to explain. “Your injury as you can tell, was a bit more severe,”

“Hey Shadow long time no se-” Ignis was interrupted as Solar Wind gave him a very forceful nudge.

“We don’t call him that anymore, his name is Midnight now,” the alicorn whispered in Ignis’ ear with a cupped hoof.

“Err-uh, right. Midnight. My bad.”

“I don’t recall who you are so I’ll assume your no pony important,” Midnight stated as he glared at the orange unicorn. “Anyways, mother, when do I get out of here? Princess Celestia gets back tomorrow and-” Midnight stopped his speech as his bed was surrounded by a golden magical force field bubble. “Mother, what is this for?”

“Midnight, son, I have some very unfortunate news,” the alicorn spoke in a sincere tone of voice now. “Due to the severity of your leg, I’m very sorry to say that you won’t be able to take the final trial tomorrow,”

The unicorn’s face became a stoic blank expression as he listened to what his mother said. The temperature in the room became abnormally cold and then warm. Ignis took notice of a thermostat which was located near the doorway. The thermostat kept rising and dropping strangely, it was a phenomenon Ignis had never witnessed before.

“It’s been ages since I’ve seen him get this mad,” Solar Wind whispered as she motioned for Ignis to back away from the bed. “When he gets this angry, his magic becomes highly unstable,”

“Oh I get it, you put up the force field, to contain his magic, right? That bubble’s for his own protection,” Ignis asked as he watched Solar Wind’s horn begin to glow.

“Not entirely,” Solar laughed nervously as she gave her old friend a half-hearted smile. “That force field is for OUR protection,”

The calmness of the sea was a wondrous sight to behold; the sound of gentle waves as they crawled on the beach surface and the sight of the sun disappearing behind a cloud as it hovered overhead. Mary stood with her usual blank stare as she watched the white haired earth pony who stood several hoof lengths away. He was breathing heavy as he glared at the unicorn who only returned her usual gaze.

“Hey! Mary! Your gonna pay for what you’ve done to Midnight!” Silverlight demanded as he dug his hoof into the sand.

“I didn’t do anything, he brought that injury upon himself. He was the sole instrument of his own destruction—"

“Shut up!” the earth pony barked. “Sure he’s got a temper, and I wouldn’t put it past him if he was the one who started the fight between you two,” Silverlight paused as he was still trying to steady his breathing from running so fast. “But that didn’t give you the right to do what you did! Now because of you, he won’t be able to perform in the trials tomorrow!”

“Oh, I see, that’s rather unfortunate,” Mary levitated Sir Trottsalot out of her saddle bag as she spoke. “So what? Why should any of that concern me? While it’s true I find Midnight interesting because of how powerful he is,” Mary’s horn began emitting a bright light, and within seconds, her miniature puppet had transformed into a life size one. “But still, that doesn’t mean I care for him or anything that happens to him. You should feel the same, he holds himself above everypony else including you; claiming that no pony is on his level. Yet, here you are preparing to fight for his honor, and all I can ask is: why?”

Mary’s face finally showed a sign of emotional distress as the unicorn hung her head low with a saddened expression. Seeing this, Silver lost his own glare and now wore a concerned face.

“Why do you care for somepony who doesn’t even accept your friendship? Ponies are all the same, once they’ve made up their mind on how they see you than there’s nothing you can do to change that,” Mary’s puppet began nuzzling next to her as she spoke. “Ponies see you and they judge you, they may not say it out loud, but deep down you know it’s true. They call you names like ‘freak’ or ‘weirdo’ and they say such hurtful things. Then when you actually try to extend a feeling of friendship, they reject you and theirs nothing you can do to change that!” Silverlight listened intently as Mary’s tone and expression changed rapidly. He could now easily make out a faint stream of clear liquid sliding down the side of the unicorn’s face. “I’ve always been picked on or judged just because I’m good with puppets. It’s not my fault that my special talent is so weird, why do ponies have to be so cruel just because of how you act or what you do?” Mary’s faint steams of tears only became more visible as the unicorn now began weeping.

“That’s….that’s why my only friends have always been my puppets that papa made me. Puppets don’t make fun of you because your so distant and antisocial; they don’t call you names or make mean jokes about you and your special talent; and above all else,” the unicorn choked at her words as she tried to finish, however the last bit of her statement came out as more of a whisper. “And above all else, puppets don’t abandon you,”

Silverlight stared on as Mary began sobbing uncontrollably. The earth pony’s face was a sympathetic one, instead of his angered expression he originally arrived with. A light tap on Silver’s head made him look up to see several rain clouds forming overhead, the rain fell gently against the face of the pony as he slowly walked toward Mary.

“Midnight is no saint; he’s rude; stuck up; inconsiderate; has way too much pride; and I’m even sure he tried to kill me once. And yeah your right, he constantly rejects my friendship, but it doesn’t matter to me what he thinks. Because I know that’s just how he is and I can’t change that, but what I can change is my approach to offer my friendship,” Silver stopped a ways away from Mary as he watched her puppet wrap around her, as though it were defending her. “I know what you did to Midnight was an accident, and to be honest, I’m still a bit ticked about it; but that won’t change the way I view you. In fact, now I feel like I understand you better. Not all ponies are the same, yeah there are some real nasty ones out there,” the earth pony paused as he crept ever closer toward the crying unicorn. “But there’s also ponies out there just as good who can’t wait to be your friend, all you have to do is give ‘em a chance,”

“How do I know they won’t abandon me?” Mary still chocked at her words as she tried to calm down and wipe the tears from her eyes. “How do I know they won’t just abandon me like all the other important ponies in my life who left?”

“I’m not all that great at giving advice, but I do know a little something about accepting the fact that somepony is no longer in your life,” Silver was now able to make eye contact with the unicorn, though the now pouring rain made it difficult for him to keep it. “Ponies will leave your life eventually, but that’s in the future. What you should do is just enjoy the moments your sharing with them now. Sometimes, ponies will walk out of our lives or some other uncontrollable factor will take them from us, that’s out of our hooves and we have to learn to accept this change and move on,” Silver paused as he closed his eyes and gave Mary a smile which seemed to lighten the tension between them. “Sometimes the only thing we can do when it’s raining is to just let it rain; so why not go outside and splash in the puddles?”

Mary’s eyes widened as she stared at Silver’s grinning smile, in return she gave him a faint one back. She decreased Sir Trottsalot’s size and rested him upon her head once more.

“Now come on, let’s had back to the academy. If we stay out here we’ll catch a cold and I got a super important exam I gotta take tomorrow; I can’t afford to get sick,” the pony said through a laugh.

“Oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no. I’ve searched everywhere and there’s still no sign of Silver or Mary anywhere,” Astral thought out loud while she galloped through the halls of Arcane Academy. Astral stopped all her galloping and ducked down as she placed her hooves over her head. “Oh Silver, where in Equeastria are you?”

“Well I was on my way to the dorm room to catch some rest,”

The cyan unicorn stood up and turned around when she heard the familiar friendly voice. Walking down the hall towards her with his usual grin was her best friend.

“Sweet Celestia Silver! I’m glad to see you,” Astral said with a sigh as she rushed her friend and embraced him with a hug. “You had me worried when I lost track of you, I thought you were dead,”

“Nope, still alive and in one piece,” the earth pony turned in circles as he said this. “At least I think I am”

“Soooo….your alright then?”

“Yup, never better,”

“Good,” Astral replaced her smiling face with an angered one. She hit Silver over the head with her hoof and glared at the earth pony. “How dare you run off on your own like that you idiot! You could’ve been seriously hurt, or worse! Mary could’ve-” Astral’s expression was now one of fear and concern as she remembered the reason why her friend had ran off in the first place. “Mary! Where is she!? Did you beat her, if so, how!?”

“Geez, aren’t you jumpy?” Silver asked as he pushed his best friend away in a friendly manner. “I didn’t have to fight her, we just had a bit of a heart to heart conversation,”

“You two just…….…..talked?”

“Yeah, she’s not all that bad when you get to know her,” Silver and Astral walked down the hallway continuing their conversation on their way to their room. “And her puppets are actually pretty cool, it’s no wonder she’s a 1st Class Student now,”

“Well that’s nice and all, but I still have one question,” Astral said as her and Silverlight rounded the corner. “Where exactly……...is Mary?”

“Oh she’s fine, she’s off righting some wrongs, correcting some mistakes,” the white haired pony replied with a nervous laugh. “What I mean is, she’s off apologizing to a certain somepony,”

“Okay, it’s taken me a few hours but I’ve finally managed to calm myself down and get my magic under control,” Midnight said to himself as he sat up in his hospital bed and looked around at what he had done earlier. The window of the room was frozen over which kept the sunlight from coming in and the room’s floor was covered in ice and and faint remnants of snow. “And to think, all it took for me to calm down was a little peace and-”

“Excuse me Midnight Star,” a voice said as a knock came at Midnight’s room door. “You have a visitor here to see you,”

“Well so much for peace and quiet,” Midnight said with annoyance in his voice as he rolled his eyes. “Alright, let ‘em in!” ‘It’s probably just mother checking up on me again.’

The frozen door cracked as the ice broke off its hinges and slowly crept open. The door was left ajar for a few moments before a violent force slammed it open.

“There’s no need to be so forceful moth-” Midnight immediately cut himself off as he stared at who was standing in his doorway. However, his curious stare turned into one of extreme intensity as he immediately recognized who had come to pay him a visit. “You!....you’ve got a lot of nerve for showing your face to me after what you did!”

Mary entered the room cautiously and even though Midnight’s rage was almost palpable, the beige unicorn had no puppets with her, simply a basket of muffins and a jar of apple juice. She closed the door behind her and continued to stare on at Midnight who’s eyes were burning with rage, she could have sworn she could almost feel the flames.

“Midnight, I’ve come to reconcile our differences,” Mary said as she slowly lowered the basket in front of her. “I have some muffins here I thought you’d-”

“You FRACTURED my hind leg and now I won’t be able to perform in the trials tomorrow!” Midnight growled through gritted teeth. “My only opportunity to be Celestia’s student is ruined and you expect to ‘reconcile our differences’ by bringing me a basket of MUFFINS!?” Midnight could feel the room growing colder as he raged on. ‘Calm down Midnight, remember what mother said. The last thing you want is to freeze yourself to death.’ Midnight exhaled a sigh as he attempted to calm his nerves, his facial expression however, was unwavering. “Make no mistake about it Mary, when my injury has fully healed,” the dark haired unicorn locked his eyes on Mary’s as he finished. “I’ll destroy you!”

‘Silverlight said that this wasn’t going to be easy,’ Mary thought to herself as she let out a sigh and watched Midnight glare back at her. ‘But…I have to try,’

“I know what I did was wrong, and I didn’t intend for things to go the way they did; but I just wanted to let you know I’m sorry. Words cannot begin to express how sorry I am, so,” Mary reached into her picnic basket and pulled out a small piece of wood which had a fine sharp point carved into the edge. “So I’m willing to give you what it is you want most,” Mary walked closer toward Midnight who was now confused by the words of the unicorn. She placed the wooden instrument on the bed in Midnight’s lap as she stared at him blankly.

“What is this for?” Midnight asked as he was still confused by Mary’s actions.

“You said that it’s all my fault, and this much is true. You wish to destroy me when your healed so,” Mary now pointed a hoof at the sharpened wood. “What you have before you is the instrument of my destruction. If your greatest desire right now is to destroy me, and that is the only way I can obtain your forgiveness, then so be it,”

Midnight’s demeanor shifted dramatically as he began to understand what the unicorn was saying. Midnight levitated the piece of wood as he began contemplating his decisive decision.

‘What is she saying? She would offer up her own life just to seek my forgiveness? Why? Why does it mean that much to her? “I just have one question,” Midnight began as his face was still lost in confusion. “Why does my forgiveness mean so much to you? Why does it matter whether I forgive you or not?”

“It’s because,” Mary paused as she began to do something which made Midnight open his eyes wide with shock; the unicorn who never showed any signs of her feelings, was smiling at him. Not a fake smile, not a half-hearted one, but a genuine emotional smile. “Well, it’s because I wanna be your friend,”

A look of astonishment overcame Midnight’s face as he hung on to the last words the unicorn said. Time felt as though it slowed in the few moments that Midnight watched the unicorn’s smile and tried to understand her words.

‘She…….She kind of reminds me of him, of Silver. She’s changed, that much I can tell, but I still don’t understand why? Why is everypony so obsessed with making friends? What is the purpose of making friends? What is the reason behind it?' As his own thoughts began conflicting with one another, Midnight remember the words of his mother only a few days before.

“You’ve read for yourself what King Sombra and his magic was like, I don’t want you to be a replication of that whatsoever. That’s why I’m always encouraging you to make some friends, I don’t want you to walk a dark path like he once did,”

“Just remember everything I taught you, and Midnight, do try to make some friends. If you really wish to get stronger, then allow your friends to give you strength,”

‘Is there something I’m not getting? What good does having friends do? I’ve trained all my life solely by myself and I’m already so skilled, could having friends really make me stronger? I don’t know, there’s so much I still don’t understand.’ Midnight shook his head gently, as though trying to clear his mind. ‘Well, I guess there’s only one way to find out.’

After putting in enough thought, Midnight felt as though he had finally come to his conclusion. A golden aura formed around the carved wooden piece and levitated until it hovered above Mary’s head. Her face was now an expression of sadness as she had realized what this meant.

“Oh….….I see……...I guess you’ve made up your mind?” Mary questioned as she stared at Midnight who didn’t dare look in her direction anymore.

“Yes, I have, I’m sorry Mary,” as he said this the dagger like piece of wood came shooting down in Mary’s direction. Fearing The inevitable was about to occur, Mary closed her eyes and prepared for her departure from Arcane Academy, from this world.

It seems as though the wood took an eternity as it neared closer to Mary’s head, at such close range, missing was impossible, and no pony was around to intervene; certainly this was Mary’s final hour. As she waited patiently for her end, Mary remembered what Silver had told her on the beach.

‘I’m sorry Silverlight, she thought. ‘I guess changing my approach to offer my friendship didn’t help me at all. In fact, it only made things worse. A tear gently rolled down the unicorn’s face from under her shut eyes. ‘Grandma, I’ll be with you soon, and then, you can show me all the puppet spells that you were supposed to show me before you passed. I’m sorry I didn’t become a skilled puppet master like you wanted.’

Mary waited patiently, however, her patience turned into curiosity when she noticed something strange. She did not feel her life slipping away; she didn’t feel the pain of the object she had carved stabbing into her; in fact, she felt as though nothing happened. She opened her eyes to be greeted by a frightening sight to behold. Inches away from her face was the sharp edged wood, floating safely in mid air and not heading her way. She watched as the wood began smoking and then quickly burst into flames, reducing the object to ash before her eyes. She then looked at Midnight who still didn’t look at her, instead, he looked out his frozen window; though he still spoke aloud without facing her.

“I’m sorry, but my forgiveness will not be earned so easily,” Midnight cleared his throat before he turned his usual glare towards Mary and continued. “It’s gonna be some time before I’m up able to do any physical work, so, until then I want you to take care of both my assignments and your own. You put me in here so I guess its only fair that I ask you for this favor. I can’t afford to fall behind or I’ll lose my 1st Class position; and besides, we’re in the same class students so odds are we’ll be doing the same exact assignments. You’ll be knocking out two task simply by performing one,”

“Ye-Yes, I understand. The day is still young so I better get started right away,” Mary turned to face the door as she said this.

“Hey, Mary, one more thing before you go,” Midnight stared back out at his window as he continued. “It would be nice to have a little bit of company every once in awhile. Silverlight is obnoxious and principal Solar Wind will be busy, so I was wondering if you’d visit me from time to time? Things will get pretty boring around here and it’d be kinda nice to talk to somepony, ya know what I mean?”

“Y-yeah….you got it!” Mary exclaimed with a smile. She opened the door to exit the room, but not without expressing her gratitude to Midnight. “Hey, Midnight, thanks…..you know….for giving me a chance to be your friend,”

“Whatever,” Midnight scoffed as his face flooded with red. “Don’t get the wrong idea, I never once said we were friends,”

“You didn’t have to,” Mary laughed as she continued out the door. “Your actions speak for you,”

“Get outta here before I change my mind!”

Though his last remark came out strong, Mary didn’t sense any true hostility or anger within it. Mary shut the door which was still covered in ice, then, she put on a warm smile as she galloped off to retrieve her and Midnight’s assignments from their classroom.

‘Thank you Silverlight, because of you I was able to change my own view of others and start anew. And thank you too Midnight, because of you I have an amazing opportunity to make my first friend.

Part 1: Chapter: 10

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Silverlight jumped out of bed and stretched a bit before letting out a yawn. He noticed his roommate was already up and staring his way as she held a book in hoof.

“Today is the big day, you ready for this?” Astral laughed as she closed up a book she was reading and placed it on her nightstand where several others were located.

“You kidding? I’m always ready,” the earth pony replied back as he made his way to the door of the room. “I gotta be at my 100% best so I’m gonna get some breakfast, wanna come with?”

“Sure,” Astral responded cheerily as she hopped out of her bed and followed her friend out of their room. “I could go for a bite,”

“Well, well, if it isn’t the competition,”

Silver and Astral turned their heads to see two familiar figures trotting their way. The mint green unicorn had a determined grin on his face which rivaled Silver’s and the pink unicorn seemed to be filled with just as much glee as Astral.

“Good morning, to you both,” Cherry stated through a smile. “You guys heading to breakfast?”

“Yup, I have to get myself a blueberry muffin before the cafeteria runs out if ‘em,” Silver chimed back as the two unicorns now merged into his and Astral’s group.

“Yeah, I gotta get something to eat too if I’m gonna do my best,” a smug grin formed on Chip’s face as he began. “But of course, this’ll be my last day eating school cafeteria food. Once I’m Celestia’s student, I’ll be eating nothing but the best food at Canterlot castle,”

“I wish that were true,” Silver fired back rapidly. “But we all know that I’M the one who’s gonna become Celestia’s student,”

“Oh yeah? Well how are you gonna do that if there are no more muffins?” just as he said this, Chip took off forward into a quick gallop as he ran down the hall.

“Don’t you dare lay a single hoof on my muffins!” Silver roared followed by laughter as he galloped after his friend. “I’ll make your life a living Tartarus if there are no more muffins Chip!”

“Oh brother, those two idiots are at it again,” Astral sighed as she face hoofed herself.

“You think we should remind them that it’s Saturday and the cafeteria doesn’t open this early?” Cherry questioned with nervous laughter.

“Nah, let them figure it out on their own,” Astral laughed as her and Cherry continued down the hallway. “I heard princess Celestia should be arriving anytime now, you wanna come with me to greet her?”

“Yeah, let’s go!” the pink unicorn laughed as the two galloped in the opposite direction of where their friends had went.

“I still can’t thank you enough for being present for every trial princess,” the yellow alicorn said as she lowered her head in a bow. “However, today will be the last and final test,”

“Yes, and I can’t wait to see every student put forth their best effort,” Celestia said as she beamed a warming smile towards principal Solar Wind’s direction.

“So, how was the crystalling ceremony?” Solar asked as Celestia exited her golden pegasus drawn chariot. “Did it go well?”

“There where some complications at first, but in the end, the ceremony was completed and now princess Flurry Heart is officially a member of the Crystal Empire,” Celestia now had a bit of a nervous expression as she laughed. “The young one’s powers are overwhelming, but what’s most puzzling is the fact that the baby was born an alicorn,”

“What!?” the astonished alicorn gasped. “The princess was BORN an alicorn!?” Celestia’s nod reassured her statement which only drew more questions from Solar Wind. “I thought alicorn wings had to be earned?”

“As did I, a phenomenon like this has never been seen before in all of Equeastrian history,” Celestia’s intense look soon faded as her warm smile had crept back onto her face. “But enough of that, how have your students been doing?”

“Unfortunately, Midnight Star got into a bit of an altercation with another student and has suffered a fracture in his back hind leg,”

“Oh dear, that is unfortunate. I hope he has a speedy recovery,”

“He is in no condition to partake in the last exam today,” Solar began as her and Celestia entered through the school’s front entrance. “But it’s not all that bad, he and the student have apparently reconciled their differences and even have become friends,”

“It’s always good to hear of a new friendship being formed,” Celestia laughed. The two alicorns stopped for a moment with several royal guards surrounding them. “So, where shall the final test be held?”

“There’s a special arena which was designed for students who wished to duel and spar together on the top floor, I figured there is no better stage,” Solar Wind smiled as her and Celestia now made their way up a set of large prestigious stairs.

There was a loud static like noise which rang throughout the school as the school PA system rekindled once more.

“Goooooood morning Arcane Academy! This is Vice Principal Ignis Umbra waking you all with a few morning announcement’s. So perk up those ears and get yourselves ready everypony!”

“I wasn’t aware you had a Vice Principal Solar? He certainly sounds energetic,” the white alicorn laughed as the group if ponies made it to the top of the stairs.

“He only recently came into his position,” Solar Wind sighed as she face hoofed herself. “Ignis you feather brain, you weren’t supposed to give the announcements until I gave the word,”

“First off, I’d like to apologize to princess Celestia as I could not greet her in person, but I had some ‘research’ to take care of. In other news, students who aren’t participating in the Arcane Trials will be able to watch the final trial in the upstairs dueling room. Students, come and show your appreciation to your fellow classmates who have made it this far. There will be free drinks and food, as well as some…..entertainment. That’s all I had to say, hope to see you all there! This has been Ignis Umbra and I’m out!”

“The dueling arena? Is that why you want to see the final trial so badly?” Mary asked with her usual expressionless demeanor as she stared at the dark haired unicorn who was lying in bed.

“Yeah, there’s one match I want to see the most, and that’s why-” Midnight winced in pain as he made an attempt to get out of his bed. In his haste, he hadn’t realized how close he was to the edge and fell out of the bed.

“Midnight!” Mary exclaimed as she helped catch the unicorn at the last moment before he hit the floor. Midnight landed rather softly on Mary’s back as she helped him back onto the bed. “You shouldn’t try to do something so reckless, you could’ve further injured yourself,” the beige unicorn said with a mixture of concern and annoyance in her voice.

“Hmph, whatever,” Midnight scoffed as he sat back up on the bed and turned away.

“Wait here, and don’t try getting off on your own anymore,” Mary commanded as she exited the room in a haste.

“So, the time has finally come?” Midnight chuckled menacingly to himself as he spoke quietly. “Now I get to watch that reject fail once and for all,”

Mary entered Midnight’s room once more with a bright lavender earth pony who wore a white hat with a red cross on it. With her, she pushed a wheelchair which must have come from the medical wing’s supply closet.

“I thought I wasn’t allowed to leave until tomorrow?” Midnight questioned as he raised an eyebrow at the nurse earth pony.

“Your not,” Mary said through a chortle. “But what the doctor doesn’t know won’t hurt him,”

“But…..the nurse?”

“Remember what I said before about being able to transform my puppet’s size and appearance?” Mary asked as she smiled at Midnight and gave him a wink. In the process of explaining, Mary helped Midnight out of bed and into the chair. “Sir Trottsalot is really good at disguising himself as somepony else,”

“Impressive Mary, though I’d expect nothing less from another 1st class student such as myself,” Midnight sat in the wheelchair carefully as he attempted not to place pressure on his wounded leg. “Alright then, let’s be on our way. I want to get a good seat before the matches start,”

"All students who are participating in the final and last trial, please report to the dueling arena located on the second floor of the academy. I repeat, all students participating in the final exam of the Arcane Trials, please report to the second floor dueling arena."

"Bit of a drag that we had to skip breakfast," Silverlight laughed as he and Chip galloped down a long hallway and made a right turn.

"Yeah, but I only wish Cherry and Astral could have told us the cafeteria wasn't open today!" Chip demanded as he and the earth pony made another turn. "Next time I see them, I'ma give them a piece of my mind."

"Well get ready then," Silver laughed as he and his friend slowed to a trot as they approached a group of unicorns who stood in front of two large double doors. Two of the unicorns that Silver and Chip could visibly see were the cyan unicorn Astral and her pink friend beside her.

"So, is everypony ready for this?" Astral laughed as Silver and Chip approached them. "Rumor has it, the final trial will be done in the form of a tournament, which means-"

"We may even have to go up against each other," Chip interrupted as he tapped his hoof against his chin. "Which means you all better bring your A game."

Out of nowhere, a giant explosion of smoke appeared before the large double doors, the smoke startled the students and sent several stumbling backwards. Some students were coughing, others tried to see what had caused the smoke to appear, perhaps principal Solar Wind? As the smoke began to thin out, Silver and his friends could see a large unicorn standing before all the students, with a grin on his face.

“Remember this day students, because it is the day you were blessed by the presence of none other than he himself,” now the smoke was gone and the unicorn was completely visible. He was a light orange, almost tan. His mane was a burgundy with some light pink and red within it; his eyes appeared to be reptilian green and appeared different from the usual eyes of a unicorn. “Behold! It is I! The noble and honorable; the great and powerful; the mythical and legendary, one and only, Ignis Umbra! Also known as one of the four legendary shadow guardians!”

The unicorn stood frozen in a heroic pose which only seemed to leave several student’s nerves unsettling. Some students seemed confused, others seemed frightened, eventually the unicorn dropped his head low as he realized he wasn’t as famous as he had thought.

“Never heard of you!” a student from the crowd called out.

“Yeah I thought so,” Ignis mumbled as he hung his head in despair. He then shook off his negative thoughts, clapped his hooves together and once again spoke with energy. “Well, with that aside, it’s time I give you all the run down of how things are going to play out here.” Ignis made a scroll appear from a small puff of smoke. He used his magic to enlarge the scroll and opened it to help elaborate the rules of the final exam. “As I’m sure you’ve already heard, this final trial will be done in a tournament style free-for-all.” The large scroll which was blank only moments ago now flashed with images of each student on a tournament tree. “Now, because we’re short one entry, one of you lucky buggers will get the opportunity to battle not once, but twice.”

“Excuse me,” Astral began as she raised a curious hoof. “If this is done like a tournament, than doesn’t that mean that only ONE of us will become Celestia’s student?”

“Well your only half right,” Ignis began as he made the scroll disappear with a puff of smoke. “Princess Celestia herself will be watching everypony’s battle, it’s up to her to decide among all of you who she wants to take as a student. However, the more matches you win than the better your odds are; but getting busted out the first round or two isn’t as bad as I make it out to be. Two competitors can show exceedingly impressive skills and still have a chance, in the end, it all just comes down to giving it your all and trying your hardest.”

Ignis could see the look of concern on the students faces, of course they’d have to face off against their closest friends, he knew this will be the hardest part of the tournament.

“Listen up, all of you,” the unicorn dispatched his goofy grin and now had a smile of appreciation on his face. “You’ve all made it this far in the trials, do you know why? Its because you all show characteristics of an amazing student. Remember, the trial wasn’t mandatory, meaning you all knew how difficult it was going to be and yet you still chose to compete.” He turned his back to the group of students and looked over his shoulder as he let out a final comment before disappearing in a flash of orange light. “Your all magical, whether you’re a unicorn or not.” Silver felt Ignis’s eyes lock on to him as he said this. “I’d be proud to have any of you as my pupil, and I’m sure Arcane Academy is just as proud.”

Just as the unicorn disappeared, the large doors before the nine students began to slowly creak open. Sounds of chanting crowds and roaring students could be heard in the distance, of course everypony decided to show up, free food. Several students, Silver and Astral’s friend Moongazer included, began to trot through the doors and towards the arena. The four friends of Astral, Chip, Cherry and Silver, stayed behind; with looks of determination on all of their faces.

“Hope you guys are ready, cause I’m going to take first place!” Chip laughed.

“You might’ve if I wasn’t here,” Silverlight replied back. “No way am I letting any of you guys outshine me, that stage and first place is mine.”

“Let’s make a promise,” Astral began as she stuck her hoof out and gestured for the others to do the same. The other ponies nodded and placed their hooves on top of Astral’s. “No matter what happens; no matter which of us we have to face; no matter who wins and gets to be Celestia’s pupil; we will remain friends till the end.”

“Yeah!” Silver screamed with enthusiasm.

“You got it!” Chip followed up.

“Of course,” Cherry sang in her sweet voice.

“Alright than, let’s get this thing started!” Astral said as she galloped past her friends and into the now fully open large doors.

“Hey! That’s my line!” Silver laughed as he followed after her.

“Hey now! Don’t forget about us!” Chip and Cherry called out in unison as they dashed after their friends, giggling in the process.

“So it all comes down to this?” Celestia questioned as she stared out at the roaring crowd of students. “I don’t know who’s more excited, me or them?” she laughed as she waved to some students who looked in her direction.

“Indeed,” Solar Wind added as her and Celestia stood in a private section of the dueling arena which was reserved for important visitors for occasions such as this. “I share your enthusiasm as well.”

“Your not the only one.”

The two alicorns peered over their shoulders to see three ponies, one was wearing a smile in a wheelchair pushed by a nurse earth pony and the other stood beside them like she was a form of security; her blank expression only made her all the more intimidating. Celestia’s guards quickly approached the three but a wave of her hoof assured them that there was no danger.

“Of course it would have only been even more of a spectacle if I was participating, but I digress,” Midnight paused as he gave a sigh and waved a hoof in the air. “I’m still very excited to see how my classmates will fair in this trial.”

“Midnight!?” Solar exclaimed in confusion. “Your supposed to be resting.”

“Dearest apologies mother, but I feel as though I’ve rested enough. You of all ponies know I get fidgety when I remain inactive too long.” Midnight grinned happily as he turned toward Mary. “And with assistance from my new friend here, I feel like I’m recovering at a much faster rate.”

“You just said we’re friends.” Mary gasped in surprise as a smile formed on her face.

“Don’t push it,” Midnight mumbled through a gritted smile. “You’ll lose your new title before you’ve even had a chance to embrace it.”

“I believe the tournament is about to begin,” Celestia added as she watched the entrants make their way to the center of the round arena. “You are staying for the tournament, correct Midnight?”

“Well I hadn’t planned on it, but who am I to refuse an audience with the princess?” Midnight lied coyly with a faint trace of a smile. Sir Trottsalot, in his disguise, pushed Midnight over to the side of where the princess was sitting. “Very well than, let the games begin.”

“Guess we all managed to make it here,” Moongazer laughed as he was joined by his friends. “So, you guys sure your up for this? I mean, if you quit now it only improves my chances.”

“Yeah right!” The white haired earth pony snapped with a grin. “I haven’t lost to you yet Moon and I’m sure as hay not gonna start now.”

Another large cloud of smoke erupted from the center of the arena where the combatants were located. Silence befell the arena as a familiar voice reverberated off the walls and commanded the attention of every student watching.

“Ladies and gentlecolts, I hope your all ready!” the crowd of students began to clamor with cries of excitement as Ignis levitated a microphone only inches away from his face. “Than without further ado, let’s get this tournament underway!” Ignis’s horn emitted a bright flash of orange light once again ,which teleported all nine participants to the outside of the arena which left only Ignis standing in the center. “Now than, the combatants have already been chosen for the matches, each match will continue until one of the two participants is no longer able to battle. I will be providing a magical force field around the arena to contain any spells performed from within, meaning, students will be allowed to go all out without concern for anypony else’s wellbeing.”

“Just what I wanted to hear,” Moongazer mumbled with a rather deviant smile. “Lord Ventus will be pleased, just as long as I fight my target than everything will go as planned.”

“You say something Moon?” Astral asked as her and Silver walked over to where the unicorn was waiting.

“Hmm, oh it’s nothing, just giving myself a few words of motivation,” he laughed through a fake smile. “Just really excited ya know?” Moongazer wasn’t paying attention to what Ignis had said because he only just now realized there was one pony who wasn’t present. “Say, where’s Midnight? I know he of all ponies wouldn’t show up late.”

“Actually, he won’t be participating today,” Astral began to explain. “He injured himself two days prior and won’t be able to perform for awhile.”

“Wow, that is rather unfortunate. I hope he’s back on his hooves soon.” Moongazer lied as he tapped a hoof on his chin. ‘This isn’t good, Lord Ventus ordered me to fight Midnight Star only……guess I’ll have to go with plan B.’

“For the first match, we have Moongazer vs Silverlight! Will the contestants please step forward and prepare for battle!” Ignis’s words were soon drowned out by the outbursts of excitement and ecstasy emanating from the crowd of students.

“Right off the bat huh?” Silver galloped in place in a fit of excitement. “You ready for this Moon-”

“Proctor!” Moongazer yelled to Ignis as he attempted to get his attention. The roaring crowd now fell silent, silent enough that everyone could hear Moongazer’s next words carefully. “Proctor! I withdrawal, I forfeit the match!”

“Moon….what are you-”

“This whole tournament thing is just a bit too much for me,” Moongazer laughed as he scratched the back of his mane nervously. “The pressure's really getting to me. I’m so nervous right now I can’t even think straight, guess I’m not cut out for the position of Celestia’s student after all, hahaha.”

“A forfeit? That’s unusual,” Midnight pondered as he tapped his chin with a hoof.

“What’s that?’ Mary questioned quietly as she leaned in closer to Midnight. “Is something wrong?”

“Well it’s just Moongazer,” Midnight began as he crossed his hooves and stared below at the lavender unicorn. “He usually appears really lax and hyperactive, though we’re not seeing that right now. Right now he’s calm, collective, almost as if he’s analyzing something.”

“Well he did mention the tournament leaving a nervous impression on him, maybe his nerves are getting the better of him.”

“That’s just it,” Midnight continued as he uncrossed his hooves and adjusted himself in his chair. “Underneath his childish exterior is a pony who strives for success and a sense of accomplishment. He’s taken on a few S rank assignments more difficult than this; and yet here he is, forfeiting his match all on the account of a little bit of stage fright?” Midnight shook his head in disbelief. “Something just doesn’t seem right.”

“For a pony who didn’t have any friends, you sure seem to know a lot about him,” Mary giggled softly to herself as she was met with Midnight’s usual glare.

“I had no friends to keep close, so I studied my enemies,”

“Yet you went in blind against me?” Mary raised an eyebrow as she watched Midnight’s gaze trail away from her. “So what did that make me than?” Midnight continued to watch the arena as he attempted to ignore Mary’s question. But no matter how much he did, his face betrayed him as it flushed with a bright shade of red.

“So yeah, I guess I give,” Moongazer laughed with a hoof behind his head. “So I guess I should leave than?”

“Yes, anypony who gets eliminated is to leave the arena.” Ignis said with little enthusiasm, he cleared his throat loudly before bringing the microphone back to his muzzle. “Due to a forfeit on his opponent’s part, Silverlight wins the first match and will continue onto the next round!” Ignis spoke proudly but the arena still rung out with ‘boo’s’ and jeers from the onlookers.

“Hey what the hay!”

“That wasn’t even a real fight!”

“I came here to see Midnight fight, not these losers!”

“Yeah! Bring on a real fight!”

“Oh my,” Celestia gasped with more laughter than concern. “The students appear to be getting lively, and from some of the comments I’m hearing it sounds like most of them came to see Midnight’s performance.”

“Hmph, of course,” Midnight said as he closed his eyes. “It’s not often they see a 1st class student fight with his full potential. My fight would truly be a spectacle to behold.”

“Ponies, ponies, please. With all this aside we’ll just proceed on to the next round.” The vice principal’s word’s seemed to hush the angered students as they all began to simmered down.

“Moongazer!” Silverlight called after his friend as he watched the lavender unicorn trot toward the arena exit. “Where are you going!?”

“I thought you heard me, I forfeit, you win. I think I’m gonna catch some shut eye in my dorm.” Moongazer threw his friend a faint smile before he disappeared out the large set of double doors. “Consider it a congrats present.”

“Wait Moon, what are you talking-” Moongazer dashed out the exit before he could get out his question. “About? He seemed a bit off today.”

“Well he did say the pressure was getting to him,” Astral giggled nervously as she ushered Silver’s attention back to the arena. “Anyway, you should keep your attention focused on the tournament.”

“Yeah, your right,” Silver grinned with with determination as a fire lit on his eyes. “Alright then, bring it on!”

Moongazer entered the outside courtyard of Arcane Academy as he let out an exhausted moan. He sat in the center of the yard and released his transformation to reveal his true grotesque features after a flash of brilliant green magic. His arctic blue eyes; his greenish black coat which was littered with several holes around his forelegs and hooves; his curved horn which protruded out of his forehead and his sharply carved fangs which hung from his muzzle.

“Ugh, I’m so tired of having to play this role,” Moongazer said to himself as he collapsed on his stomach. “Sigh, and than the fact that the love here is limited only makes it more difficult.”

“Now, now, you know it’s not the best idea to drop your transformation, especially in broad daylight like this.”

The changeling hopped to his hooves and turned to face a red velvet pink haired unicorn. She had an evil grin on her face as she slowly approached the changeling.

“My apologies Lord Ventus,” the changeling transformed into his unicorn disguise in another flash of green light. “My transformation isn’t as easy to control as yours, I need a steady supply of love to maintain this form.” Moongazer shifted uncomfortably in his position as Ventus now stood before him. “And that stupid name, ugh, I hate it.”

“Patience now Sidewinder, you’ll only have to be here until you can guarantee me Midnight Star,” the velvet unicorn licked her lips as though she was licking the remnants of frosting leftover from a cupcake. “With a conduit of dark magic like him by my side, I’ll be one step closer to my king,”

“Unfortunately that’ll take even longer now that he’s injured,” Sidewinder realized that his back hoof still looked like that of a changeling, he quickly shook it which transformed it into the leg of a lavender unicorn. “With all do respect Lord Ventus, I'm tired and must replenish my magic supply, I’m heading back to my dorm room.”

“Of course, I won't stop you,” Ventus disappeared in a quick bolt of red magic, leaving behind a faint trail of velvet smoke and her last echoing words. “Do keep an eye on dear Midnight for me though Sidewinder, I’d hate for him to be led astray.”

Part 1: Chapter: 11

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“Moongazer!” Silverlight called after his friend as he watched the lavender unicorn trot toward the arena exit. “Where are you going!?”

“Wait Moon, what are you talking-” Moongazer dashed out the exit before his friend could get out the last of his question. “He seemed a bit off today.”

“Yeah, your right,” Silver grinned with determination as a fire lit on his eyes. “Alright then, bring it on!”

“Let’s continue right on the next round. Due to us having one less participant than originally, Silverlight will be performing once again.” Ignis cleared his throat loudly again before he proceeded with his statement. “Alright than, Dexter and Silverlight, please step forward!”

A sphere of blue light was followed after Ignis’s announcement, it appeared in a corner of the arena and brought with it a light brown unicorn with finely combed dark brown hair. He wore nerdy glasses, had buck teeth, and a face full of acne which showed he wasn’t going to the Grand Galloping Gala anytime soon.

“That’s my opponent? Even by unicorn standards, he doesn’t seem like much.” Silver gave Astral a nod and than proceeded to the arena, however, he was soon accompanied by another unicorn, one who helped usher him to the stage.

“Silver, do you have any idea who your up against? Your opponent is Dexter, the most intelligent student in all of the academy.” Chip was attempting to offer his friend some advice but it didn’t seem like he was paying much attention. “You fought Midnight right? Well I heard Dexter’s IQ far surpasses that of Midnight Star.”

“So what he’s an egghead? I mean just look at him, he’s all scrawny and weak.”

“Physically yes, mentally no. He couldn’t handle much physical punishment,” Chip stopped his friend before they reached the small set of stairs which led to the top of the arena. “He doesn’t know many magic spells, but the ones he practices rely on sheer brain power; he studies in mind games and the art of psychological warfare using Illusory Spells, don’t let your guard down.”

“Man, you worry a lot,” Silver laughed as he ascended the small stairs. “Just watch, this match will be over in no time!”

“Well, it appears as though both competitors will ACTUALLY be performing this time.” Ignis posed his comment in the form of a joke; however, the students didn’t share his sense of humor because silence was the only response he got. “Huh, tough crowd. Well than, let me explain the basic rules. Both participants will duel until one of them is no longer able to battle; a barrier will be placed around the combatants so they may demonstrate the most of their abilities. Keep in mind, this barrier is NOT for the duelists to abuse. Arcane Academy Dueling Regulations are still strongly enforced; meaning, forbidden spells shall not be tolerated whatsoever. Do I make myself clear?”

“You got it!” Silver replied with full-hearted voice.

“Of course,” Dexter nodded in recognition of Ignis’s demands.

“Alright than, let’s get this thing underway!” Ignis transported himself outside of the arena, his horn began to emit a green glow and eventually a large green bubble surrounded the two ponies; trapping them within. “Duel!”

“Alright egghead, time to get cracked!” Silverlight took off in a gallop toward the nerdy unicorn. He appeared to have his hooves clapped together, his horn glowing, and was muttering some unknown gibberish that for some reason Silver could hear clearly. Even though Dexter was far out of his range, Silver could hear loud whispers ringing through his ears. ‘Hehe, I’ve got him beat, it doesn’t matter what tricks he tries to pull. With the arena being so big, I have a lot of space to run freely. My earth pony speed will give me the upper hoof in this one.

“Ugh, typical idiot.” Midnight let out a sigh as he closed his eyes and face hooved himself. “He doesn’t even try to analyze his opponents fighting style, he’s eager to get started and doesn’t even think.”

“That reminds me of a certain somepony who once threw a seashell at me,” Mary teased, once again Midnight’s usual glare met her nervous smiling face.

“I guess you could say that,” Midnight admitted sheepishly; he quickly returned his gaze back to the battle. “Silver’s different though, he won’t give up when attacking head on. In the long run, a fighting strategy like that could cost him his life. He better wise up soon or this match will be over before it’s even started.” Though he wasn't looking her direction, Midnight could feel Mary's expression of curiosity beaming his way; so he continued his explanation. "That student, Dexter, studies the illusory arts and techniques of trickery. Spells of that caliber can effect an opponent through any of the five senses; be it sight; taste; touch; sound; or even smell."

"Very impressive Midnight," Celestia chimed in as the unicorn gave her a nod of acknowledgment. "Do you know how to break such an illusory spell?"

"If somepony were to find themselves caught in such a technique, they could recover from it in one of two ways. They could easily break the spell by performing a cancellation spell which renders other spells and forms of magic useless. However, there is one major problem with dispelling the illusion this way." Midnight used his magic to retrieve four glasses of lemonade which were located on a table nearby next to several assorted pastries. The cups leveled in front of his mother, princess Celestia, Mary and himself; the Alicorns and his friend thanked him for the beverages before he continued. “The only problem with that is the cancellation spell is very difficult to perform; next to the age spell, it’s reserved only for the highest level unicorns. I myself can’t even perform it yet.”

“So then, what’s the other way?” Mary asked after taking a sip of her lemonade. “Wouldn’t somepony be able to dispell it the second way?”

“Well yes, in fact, the second option is the easiest.” Midnight now took a sip of his own lemonade as he held it in his hooves, then continued. “When trapped in an illusion spell, it’s almost like your asleep, like your dreaming. So if you had somepony wake you up then the spell would be broken; however, in Silver’s case, it’s impossible.”

“How come?”

“It’s true a partner could wake you up from the spell, however, your partner must make physical contact with your body in order for it to be successful.” Midnight chugged the last of his lemonade as he licked the tip of his muzzle to retrieve any liquid particles which remained. “If he gets caught in one of Dexter’s spells, then it’s game over.”

“He really is quite knowledgeable isn’t he?” Celestia asked, her question in the form of a whisper as Solar Wind leaned in to hear. “He’s a bit of a bookworm, much like my last student.”

“Midnight has always been one of the academy’s brightest. Apparently he avoids class because he feels that the teachers have nothing left to teach him, he also said it is one of the reasons he wishes to learn under you.” Solar Wind finished her lemonade but brought another cup to herself as she was still thirsty.

“Well, there is ONE lesson I can think of that he hasn’t learned yet,” Celestia took another sip of her glass with a sense of grace. “But I’m afraid it’s a lesson he must learn on his own.”

Midnight was right, Silverlight attempted to charge the unicorn, but every attempt appeared to be met with the same failure. Every time he got close to Dexter, he would only teleport farther away out of harm’s way. The earth pony was beginning to grow tired of the cat and mouse game that Dexter had him playing.

“Hey, Poindexter, are we actually gonna fight or are you just gonna keep running away from me!?” the white haired earth pony was huffing and puffing as he began to tire. It felt like he had been running for quite some time now; minutes?; hours?; why did it seem this way? “What’s your schtick anyway? I heard you were smart, but you seem like a pea brain to me.”

“Your assumptions lack evidence, you have yet to contemplate my mind power.” Dexter’s voice sounded deep and didn’t appear to match his looks. Silver had expected to get a weak and raspy voice; instead, the one he got was one of power, a voice which commanded attention. “By my calculations, your chance of victory has decreased by fifty four percent and the longer this battle drags on, the more my chances of victory increase."

"Oh yeah? Then come on and fight me then!" Silverlight charged Dexter once more with a mighty roar, however, as soon as he was within striking range the unicorn vanished once again. 'Hayseeds! I should've known that would happen! Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!' Silver thought as he face hoofed himself for every word he that ran through his mind. 'Alright Silver, focus, I have to focus. Maybe.....maybe I can actually us IT now. If i can just--'

"Hey! Get on with the fight already!"

"Fight!? Its not even that!"

"Well maybe if that egghead didn't tun away all the time!"

"Maybe if that earth pony wasn't so useless!"

"Hey! My sister is an earth pony!"

"Yeah I know I've checked her out a few times hahaha!"

"Why you little!"

"So much for staying focused, I can hardly concentrate with all this yelling," Silver let out a sigh as he was beginning to get annoyed with his match. "This is not how I thought this battle would play out. Ugh, everypony just shut up!” Silver exploded and dashed off in full gallop toward the unicorn again. However something was different this time, Dexter’s horn no longer held its hue of blue as it did moments before. Silver thought nothing of it and continued his charge, as he neared closer to his target, Silverlight could now see Dexter closed his eyes, as though he was taunting the earth pony. “Why you! Get a load of this!” Silver jumped above the unicorn and came soaring down with a kick, it connected, but not the way he thought it would. Silverlight’s kick connected firmly against the muzzle of Dexter, but the unicorn appeared to disintegrate and disappeared in a puff of smoke.

“Silverlight, let the mind games begin!” a loud voice boomed as it echoed throughout the stadium.

“Hey Midnight, how come the two of them are just standing there like that?” Mary leaned closer to Midnight with a curious look, hoping her friend could provide some answers. Midnight just sat quietly for a few moments before he began chuckling softly to himself, almost evilly.

“This battle……is over. Silver has already been caught in Dexter’s illusion, meaning, he’ll be subjected to whatever Dexter wants.”

“Are illusion spells really that powerful?”

“Allow me to demonstrate,” Midnight said as he took Mary’s glass of lemonade which she was drinking, he poured it onto the floor and levitated it in front of him. Before she had a moment to complain, he replaced her now empty glass with a full one that he retrieved from the nearby refreshment table. “Here is a simple drinking glass, but if I do this…” Midnight’s horn emitted a glow as he waved a hoof in front of the glass. When he revealed it once more, the glass was now full.

“What?....but…..” Mary stammered as she stared at the glass. She couldn’t believe how only seconds ago it was completely empty, and now it was full again.

“This spell simply requires a bit of trickery and misdirection,” Midnight quickly chugged the glass of lemonade before he said another word. “This is one of the more simple illusion spells, it’s not very powerful and is usually used for pranks or to deceive somepony. But if I activate one of the more powerful spells known only by a few….…”

Midnight’s horn began to glow golden once more, he motioned for Mary to bring her face closer to his. She was hesitant at first, but a quick glare from Midnight showed that he needed her for this demonstration. Midnight placed a hoof under Mary’s chin and brought her in close, he moved his hair out of his face and his eyes locked onto hers and their muzzles almost touched with how close they were. Mary felt her face getting warmer as she stared into Midnight’s golden eyes, had he not been looking at her eyes, Midnight would have seen the hue of red which overwhelmed her face. He then let go of her and returned his gaze to the arena without saying a word.

“I—I don’t understand…..what exactly did you—?”

“Mary, what is one of your favorite places to go?” Midnight asked as he looked back at the beige unicorn; the look on his face was one of curiosity. “It doesn’t matter where in Equeastria it is…...just close your eyes and envision it in your mind.” Midnight could see confusion hidden in Mary’s expression, but she closed her eyes and thought of a her favorite place in Equestria. In an instant, the two unicorns were on a beach with a beautiful orange sunset off in the distance. “A beach huh? Not a bad choice.”

“I…I don’t believe it. This is the beach that my grandmother used to take me to when I was a foal. She would take me for long walks, tell me stories, and even show me a few puppeteering spells here.” Mary shifted her gaze over to Midnight, who was watching the oceans horizon, a sense of happiness overwhelmed her as a faint smile formed on the unicorn’s usual frowning face. She had wonder in her eyes as she stared at him in admiration. ‘I knew Midnight was powerful, but I never would have imagined he could do something like this…....its almost like this is a dream. Yet, it still feels so real; the sound of waves; the smell of the sea; even the warmth of the sun and the gentle touch of the breeze.

“But of course, the caster of this spell will be able to control everything in this world, for instance,” Midnight hopped out of his chair and began to trot on all fours even though his leg was covered in bandages. “In the real world, my leg isn’t even close to being healed; but in this world, my injury no longer exists.”

As Mary was just beginning to take in the illusive world that her and Midnight were in, she blinked her eyes and found them back at the school in their original positions. She was standing beside Midnight who was sitting in his wheelchair with his eyes locked on her own and his hoof still under her chin, it was the position they were in when Midnight had casted the spell. He released the unicorn and shifted his focus back to the match.

“The one who is the caster can also peer into the victim’s mind if they’re powerful enough and locate personal information which would otherwise be impossible to access such as fears; memories; or even hopes and dreams. This certain illusion spell is known by very few and is rather powerful, it also requires an extreme amount of focus and mental conditioning. Moreover, it drains the user's stamina and magic the longer its used; its not necessarily the perfect spell for battle. ” Midnight looked away from his companion before he finished. “You know, I could’ve had a look inside your mind Mary, but that would’ve been rude. Don’t you think?”

“Where are you!? Are you just gonna keep hiding from me the rest of the fight!?” Silverlight received silence as a response and only became more irritated with his opponent. It had been only a few moments since Dexter had…..disintegrated, and he began to tire of the cowardly tactics of the unicorn. “Come on out you chicken!”

“Now is not the time for anguish, that comes later.

The powerful voice seemed to come from every direction all around Silverlight. He looked to his left, then to his right, he didn’t see a single pony in sight. In fact, he had only just now realized that the stadium seats were now completly empty and a sudden chill hung in the air.

“Welcome to my world. Here, you have no power, you have no chance, and your defeat is eminent. You can surrender now and admit your failure, or you can continue on with this little charade and I’ll end up destroying your mental state."

“Hehe, no way! I said I was going to graduate from this school and become the most powerful wizard in Equestria and that’s just what I’m gonna do!” A fire ignited in the eyes of the white haired earth pony, and he shot off in a quick gallop toward the force field which bound him. He head-butted the green dome only to be sent flying back; Silver hopped right back on his hooves and ran again only to be knocked back once more.

“Your not very bright, are you? Don’t you know when to give up?”

“No way! I never give up! I never have and I never will!”

“It’s never too late to start, I mean, listen to yourself. You say you’ll graduate and become a powerful wizard, YOU, an earth pony? Unobtainable dreams are said to be the best."

“Listen up egghead! Don’t you dare underestimate me! I'll never quit and I’ll never run away! You can try to act tough and play your mind games but your not gonna scare me off! I’ll show you! I’ll beat you, I’ll win this tournament, and I’ll become Princess Celestia’s student! I promise not only to myself but also to my friends! And I never break any of my promises! Ever!”

“It seems like my calculations were a bit off, you won’t succumb to my words. Your words are admirable, but in the end, they’re just words. Well than, lets have a looksee into your mind."

The arena quickly filled with a dark blue smoke which seemed to pour in from everywhere around the earth pony. The smoke soon took the form of two four fingered smoky blue claws; one picked up Silver with ease and the other reached into his ear and appeared to rummage around in his head for something.

“Hey! What do you think your doi—”

Silver’s words were interrupted as the claw pulled out a strange white smoky sphere of light. Then it dropped the earth pony who hit the ground with a bit of a hard thud. Silverlight felt his body rattle a bit as he recovered from the fall, then he looked up to see the smoking sphere overhead.

“What in Celestia’s name is that!?”

“This spherical object which I am holding is a representation of your subconscious. In simple terms, it’s a piece of your mind. Fears, hopes, dreams, even memories; I can see them all. There was a slight moment of silence as the sphere began glowing brightly, it’s light soon enveloped the entire area and surrounded Silverlight in a seemingly never-ending realm of white. “Lets see what we have here….........your afraid of snakes, the dark, and being left alone for long periods of time. Your also afraid that you won’t be able to protect the ponies that are closest to you and—”

“Shut up! Stay outta my head!” Silverlight attempted to jump up and reach for the sphere but to no avail. When his hooves touched what he thought was the ground again, his hooves felt something slither past them; he looked down only to see one of his greatest fears. “Sn— sna—snakes!” Silver stammered as he stood petrified with fear.

“Lets see what else…......oooh, arachnophobia, that’s a common one.” Several small spiders now rained from above Silver's head which caused him to cower with his hooves over his head, his eyes were full of utter horror. "Look at you, how do you expect to protect the ponies you care about when you can't even save yourself? You have no magic, no power other than your speed and strength, but I digress. Let's see what else we have here...........how about we take a trip down memory lane?"

Several large screen like panels now appeared all around the white abyss, displaying several images which Silver remembered fondly. There where memories of when he first came to the academy; when he fought Tenebris; when he fought Midnight; from his sixth birthday party; even older memories from when he was a foal, memories he thought were lost to him.

"Look at how cute you were when you were a foal, and look here, you fought a dragon; well sort of. If Astral hadn't shown up, you'd probably be dead, same thing with your fight with principal Solar Wind and Midnight Star. It seems as though this is not the first time you are powerless against an opponent." Silver began to grow spiritually weak, he was allowing the words of his opponent to seep into his mind.

'So this is what Chip meant, I underestimated him and now I’m about to lose. He’s right, how am I ever gonna protect my friends if I can’t even help myself. I can’t even move with how frightened I am! Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! Why can’t I do anything right!?' Silver was now cowering more than ever, however, it wasn’t just from fear, but also from despair.

“Big brother? Will I ever grow up to be as good at magic as you?

The voice of a young colt seemed to echo all around Silverlight’s head as it ran through his ears.

“I don’t know, I’m not sure if you’ll be able to. I mean, I’m a unicorn after all and you’re an earth pony.

“Whaaat? You mean earth ponies can’t learn magic?”

“Well, they can, but not in the same way as unicorns.”

Silver stopped his cowering for just long enough to see the memory which appeared to rest right on a floating panel in front of him. A young white haired earth pony was being carried on the back of an alabaster unicorn who’s hair was also in similar color to the colt's. They appeared to be conversing to each other as they made their way down a dirt trail to a house in the distance. It was a memory that Silver knew all too well, one of the few memories of his childhood he didn’t like talking about.

“You see, earth ponies have magic which helps them grow crops and other things which involve the earth. Unicorns on the other hoof, have magic which can be used for all sorts of different things, like levitation and teleportation. The unicorn held a warm smile and his orange eyes carried with them a hint of courage and honor.

“Can’t earth ponies learn all that stuff too? I mean, I’ve practiced with you a bunch of times and seen you do all sorts of spells, some of them don’t seem that hard.”

“That might be, but earth ponies lack one of the most fundamental things that unicorns have,” the unicorn now pointed a hoof toward the horn on his head. “It might be very difficult to perform magic without one of these bad boys and besides, an earth pony learning unicorn magic has never been done before."

Watching his brother laugh as he used to brought a tear to Silver’s eyes, he now stood up and watched the memory play out, completely disregarding the snakes and spiders which fell off him. Dexter wasn’t paying the earth pony any mind, he was too busy commenting to himself about another memory he was apparently watching.

“Big bro?”

“Yeah Silver?”

“I’m gonna practice magic and become a super important powerful pony just like you! You said it’s never been done before, so then I’ll be the first one ever!” The young colt climbed on top of his older brother’s head as he proclaimed his statement loudly. “To be the greatest wizard in all of Equestria, that is my dream! Just you wait and see!” Silver’s brother stopped walking as he levitated the colt in a light green aura and brought him around until they were face to face.

“Silver, embrace your dreams, and never give up on them. If you want to be the greatest wizard in Equestria,” the unicorn paused for a moment and nuzzled himself into the colt who began giggling. “Then go for it little brother! As long as you believe in yourself and embrace your dreams, then you can do anything you put your mind to.”

“Stop bro! You know—hahaha—you know I’m ticklish! Hahaha!”

The earth pony watched as the memory just started over again as if on a loop function. He didn’t watch it the second time though, he couldn’t bring himself to. He could already feel the streams of warm liquid running down the sides of his face; he was weeping softly, but just loud enough that Dexter could hear him.

“What are you crying for?” A pair of eyes formed out of nowhere and was hovering next to Silver who was looking down. “Oooh, a childhood memory, mind if I watch?” The pair of eyes moved forward to watch the panel as Silverlight went silent.

“Embrace your dreams…….” Silver whispered to himself as he wiped away his tears. “Embrace your dreams and never give up on them.” The earth pony shook his head and regained his usual demeanor as his face now wore a glare of determination and a burning fire of desire lit in his eyes ‘Thank you bro, even now, your still helping me. But now it’s time I take charge and help myself. Silver stomped a hoof on the ground and became engulfed in a flame like cyan colored aura, his eyes held a hue of similar color and no longer resembled their usual yellow.

“Hold on, I’ve seen this unicorn in your memory before. But where was it? Where was it?” The two floating eyes became extremely wide and the pupils shrank in astonishment. “Wait! I remember now! I can’t believe I didn’t recognize his face before! He’s—“

“Hey! Dexter!” The pair of eyes turned around to see the earth pony inundated with a cyan magical aura. “You’ve over stayed your welcome in my mind, in fact I’m tired of all your illusions! It’s time I end this here and now!”

“I don’t know what got you so fired up, but it doesn’t matter. I’ve already calculated all possible endings to this match and none of them result in your victory; my calculations have never been wrong.”

“Well it’s never to late for them to start!” Silver fired his aura at the pair of floating eyes and made them disappear in a puff of smoke. “It’s time you were brought back to reality Dexter.” Silver began levitating as his aura exploded and flew in every direction, the white abyss he once stood in was now gone and the arena appeared to be normal once again. Across from him Silverlight could see his opponent staring with a frightened expression, he was frantically looking around as if for help.

“How? How are you doing this?” the nerdy unicorn asked in his normal voice which sounded nasally and had a bit of a lisp. “Earth ponies shouldn’t have unicorn magic, how are you using magic!?”

“I wouldn’t necessarily call it magic, but anything is possible if you stand by your dreams,” the earth pony chuckled softly to himself. “Now, lets jump back to reality!” Silverlight let out a scream as his body began emitting a bright white light. The flash seemed to engulf both of the ponies along with the stadium and all it’s empty seats.

The two combatants who were standing a good ways away from each other now appeared to come back to life; though Dexter was the one to fall slightly and be the more exhausted one of the two. Every student stared on silently as the two let out gasps and exhales which showed they were fatigued.

“How!? How could you—?” Dexter’s question was cutoff when he saw his opponent running straight at him. “How can you still even move!?”

“It’s time I pay you back for treating my mind like your own little personal journal you creep!” Silver was galloping at full speed toward the unicorn who hopped up and ran in the opposite direction. “Hey! Get back here!”

“V—vice principal Ignis! Help! I forfeit! I forfeit the ma—“

“Too late for that!” Silver yelled as he felt his head connect with the unicorn’s body. “Take this, Silverlight’s full body tackle!” Throwing all of his momentum at his opponent, Silverlight sent the unicorn rolling and skidding across the stadium, it was the green barrier which encased the combatants that stopped the unicorn from going any farther. Silver was breathing heavy and he appeared to be worn out even though he hadn’t a scratch on him. The earth pony let out a sly remark before he collapsed. “It……was super effective.”

“It appears as though both competitors are unable to battle. However, due to rules and regulations which regard knockout policy, Dexter was rendered unconscious first. Meaning, Silverlight wins!” Ignis had expected his statement to be drowned out by the roar of the crowd, but this wasn’t the case. Murmurs and whispers came from the students, it was as though no pony believed what they had just witnessed. Ignis lowered the barrier and raised a hoof which signaled four unicorns from the medical wing to bring in two stretchers.

“Silver!” Astral cried out as she ran toward the arena now that the barrier was down; she was soon joined by Chip and Cherry who watched as the earth pony was lifted into the stretcher. “Is he going to be alright?”

“Don’t worry about him, he’s just a bit fatigued. Physically he’s fine, but mentally he’s exhausted; nothing a little rest can’t fix.” The blue white capped unicorn replied merrily.

“Will he still be able to compete?” Chip asked with concern in his voice.

“Of course,” a light pink unicorn added. “He’ll be rested up and back on his hooves in a little while.”

“Is it alright if I go with him?” Astral asked as she and her two friends followed the medical ponies. “I just want to make sure—”

“Well now that the earth pony is out of the way, lets keep this momentum going with a real match!” Ignis’s sudden announcement interrupted Astral and erupted chatter from the surrounding students. “Then let’s go! Round 2! Astral versus Cherry! Please proceed to the arena at this time!”

Midnight watched on enraged at what he had just witnessed, Mary’s face held a concerning stare as she watched her friend’s glare intensify; his jaw was clenched tightly and the air around him hung a bit colder than usual.

“That truly was a spectacle to behold!” Celestia exclaimed with a bit more enthusiasm than was necessary. “He was able to cast out the spell through sheer will power alone. I’ve never heard of anypony performing such a feat.”

“Well you said yourself that he was magical,” Solar Wind added, a slight pinch of surprise could be heard in her voice. "So, Midnight, is he on your level yet?"

The two Alicorns looked over to see a mist forming around Midnight, the temperature in the room was steadily declining and everypony could feel it. Several of Celestia’s guards carried concerned expressions themselves, fearing for their princess’s safety, the armored pegasi neared Celestia and Solar Wind. Knowing already what the temperature drop meant, Solar Wind's horn began to glow, however, a raised hoof from Mary made her stop.

"Midnight," Mary began as she placed her hoof on his. Her actions awarded her Midnight's intense expression of rage, the look in his eyes appeared similar to the ones she had seen when he was mad at her for his leg. She didn’t let it bother her, she simply smiled kindly at him as she stared into his single exposed golden eye. "Come on, it’s nothing to get worked up over, Silver just got lucky that’s all. He's nowhere close to matching you, I mean, your the strongest pony I’ve ever met, possibly the strongest in all the academy even." Midnight closed his eyes and let out a long sigh, then, he gently brushed off Mary’s hoof from his own.

“Mother, it’s not nice to tease me like that,” Midnight’s glare now shot over to principal Solar Wind. “You of all ponies know how short my temper is; and Princess Celestia,” Midnight lowered his head in a bow toward the Alicorn. “Please forgive my not so subtle transgression.”

“It’s quite alright, your temper kind of reminds me of my own sister’s when she gets hungry for sweets,” Celestia laughed as she gave Midnight a nod. She then turned to Solar Wind and began speaking in a low whisper. “You felt that too right?”

“Yes, his emotions felt as though they were almost palpable, strictly his anger,” Solar Wind glanced over at Midnight to see him speaking with Mary, a smile formed on her face as she did. “It’s alright though, I don’t know what it is, but something about that mare seems to keep him in check. I think there’s more between the two of them than meets the eye. As long as she’s by his side, she might be able to suppress his true magical powers.”

“You do realize this is the true reason why I’d never be able to be his teacher, don’t you?”

“Of course,” Solar nodded, still keeping her voice inaudible to Midnight. “It’s better if he remains with me anyway, I’ve monitored his progress all these years and I’ve managed to keep his magic contained. No offense Celestia, but I think I’m more qualified to watch over him, he is my child after all.”

“I couldn’t agree more,” Celestia replied with a smile.

“Mary?”

“Yeah Midnight?”

“Thanks for what you said and all,” Midnight shifted his usual glare towards Mary, though this time with a small chuckle and a faint smile. “But next time you probably don’t want to touch me. Due to my profound magical abilities, my body temperature drops rapidly when I get too distressed or enraged. Meaning, I could freeze you to death unintentionally and I don’t want to be blamed for that. I don’t think I’d be able to live with—” Midnight cut himself off before he said anymore, another small bit of red developed on his face and he desperately tried to shake it off.

“What was that you were saying?” Mary asked with curiosity on her face.

“N—Nothing….just forget I said anything” Midnight stammered slightly. He heard a giggle come from the unicorn who was next to him, he cleared his throat loudly and stared down at the arena below. “Anyway, this next match will make for an interesting one. Astral is almost on the same level as us and Cherry, well, I haven’t had the pleasure to watch her perform. Needless to say, I’m sure Astral has this one in the bag.”

“Wow Midnight, it’s not like you to speak highly of somepony else other than yourself,” Mary laughed.

“True, however she is quite powerful in her own right and has displayed exceptional capabilities on several occasions.” Midnight narrowed his gaze as he watched two unicorns enter the arena. ‘I also need her to win if I want my plan to continue, it’s the second set of rounds I feel I’ll enjoy the most.’

Part 1: Chapter: 12

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The green magical spherical barrier arose and surrounded two unicorns who stood at opposite ends from each other. Ignis simply stared on at the two, there was a feeling of intensity in the air, he knew this match was going to be one that the crowd would adore.

“I’m sure your both aware of the rulings for the duel?” Ignis asked, the microphone still in front of his muzzle as he spoke. Astral and Cherry simply gave him a nod of recognition and continued to stare at each other. “Well then, I guess there’s only one thing left,” Ignis transported himself outside of the arena once again and signaled for the match to start. “Duel!”

“Remember, just because we’re friends doesn’t mean I’m holding back,” Astral laughed through a serious smile.

“I wouldn’t have it any other way, it’d be bad if I beat you when you weren’t trying your hardest,” Cherry retorted back with a giggle. Her horn soon began to glow a bright magenta as she said this. “I may not be a 2nd class like you are, but I promise I won’t be a pushover.”

“Neither am I, I’ve got a couple of new spells I’ve been dying to test out, now’s a good a time as any.” Astral’s horn now hummed with a blue aura, the two unicorns fired direct beams of magic towards each other. Surprisingly, they both cancelled out and magical sparks flew everywhere. The two fired another set of blasts only to be met with another cancellation.

There was a moment of rest before both combatants exhaled and ran around the arena in a counter clockwise direction. They started slow, then, their trots turned into full speed gallops, all the while, they continued firing volleys of magic back and forth. The intense action was drawing cheers from the crowd, Ignis even found himself intrigued in the match as well. The cheers of the onlookers only grew louder when the two participants stopped and then began galloping in the opposite direction, still releasing magical blasts as they did.

“I see what you mean about Astral being skilled,” Mary started as she watched the duel continue. “But it looks like Cherry is pretty good to”—

“It’s already over, Astral has won,” Midnight said as he cutoff Mary.

“What are you talking about!?” Mary snapped. “Cherry is giving it everything she’s got and you mean to tell me that Astral is still going to win?”

“Can you not see it?” Midnight asked as he glanced over at Mary and then back to the battle. “Perhaps I gave you too much credit.”

“What do you mean?”

“You said Cherry is giving her all right? Well the same can’t be said for Astral. I’ve seen her give her all before….she’s holding back. Whether it’s because their friends or another reason, she’s still holding back.” Midnight tapped his chin. “I’d say she’s only displaying about a fraction of her true strength.”

“You can tell?” Mary asked quizzically as Midnight stared back at her.

“Of course I know what it’s like to hold back against somepony. Also, I’ve had somepony hold back against me before.” Midnight’s words seemed to imply something though Mary couldn’t tell what at first. “Princess Celestia,” Midnight began as he bowed his head humbly and motioned for Mary to do the same. “I apologize for having to leave so abruptly, but I’m afraid I have some matters to tend to, and then afterwards I wish to check on Silverlight’s condition.”

“Midnight,” Solar Wind began with a ‘You better not’ tone of voice. “I will not have you making trouble for Silver,”

“Relax mother, I’m willing to give this friendship thing a chance as you can see. I won’t cause trouble, I just wish to know how he escaped from his illusory prison.” Midnight motioned toward the door and Sir Trottsalot began pushing his wheelchair in the direction he specified. Mary trotted ahead and opened the door for the two to exit before she followed out behind them.

“Maybe he’s learned the importance of having friends after all, though it’s a bit early to jump to conclusions.” Solar Wind shifted her expression back to Celestia for answers.

“Don’t fret for Midnight’s sake, he will learn the importance of his friends,” Celestia said with her usual warming smile. “He just needs time, you’ll see.”

“Your not going to try to do an assignment are you?” Mary questioned as she walked beside Midnight’s wheelchair. “Your still in no condition to—”

“I’m not doing such a thing,” Midnight began as he attempted to make himself comfortable in his chair. “We’re going to visit an old friend of mine, I’m going to need your help though. He stays in one of the caves on the mountainside that overlooks the school.”

“Wait!” Mary exclaimed as she stopped in front of Midnight and narrowed her gaze, she blocked his path with a confused expression. “First, I thought you didn’t have any friends? And second, what do you mean he lives in a cave? There is a lot your not telling me here Midnight!” The black haired unicorn closed his eyes and let his thoughts do battle for a few moments, he let out a deep breath as he opened his eyes once more.

“Well, I guess we are friends now, so I’ll tell you.” Mary moved out of Midnight’s way and they continued down the hallway toward the front entrance of the school. “First off, I didn’t have any friends, however, the one we are about to see is an old friend of my mother’s. Second, he lives in a cave because he’s a dragon…anymore questions?” Mary continued to walk by Midnight’s side without saying anything else, she was too shocked to form any words.

“Okay….I’ll admit, you’re a lot better than I originally thought,” Cherry said through quick pants of exhaustion.

“Come on Cher, you know I’ll win. Why don’t you just forfeit now and we can both go check up on Silver?” Astral rolled out of the way of a magical bolt of pink as she finished her question. “Persistent to the end, your like Silver in a way.”

“Come on Cherry! You got this!” Chip called out from the sidelines. It was almost hard to hear him with several others in the stands making equally loud noise.

“Chip, what the heck?” Astral questioned with annoyance as she rolled out of harm’s way again. “Who’s side are you on anyway?”

“Sorry Astral, but she’s best friend status so she’s got you beat by a long shot!” Chip cried back with a laugh. “No hard feelings.”

Astral took a moment after dodging another attack to realize the distance which was put between the two unicorns. She then prepared for her final attack, one she had prepared for just an occasion. She took her stance as her horn began to glow, she took notice of Cherry who drew nearer with her horn also embedded in a glow.

“Let’s wrap this up,” Astral taunted with a laugh.

“I couldn’t agree more,” Cherry replied as she fired a rather large sized blast in Astral’s direction. Rather than fire back, Astral conjured up a glass like rectangle which appeared before her. Cherry’s blast hit the mirror like object only to ricochet back to it’s sender, hitting Cherry with a direct shot. It sent the unicorn sliding across the arena, however, she recovered and was even able to stand on her hooves once again before she hit the barrier which surrounded her. “What….was…that?”

“Magical Reflection Spell, it takes whatever form of magic is being thrown at it and returns it back to it’s sender with five times it’s original power.” Astral teleported to Cherry’s location in the blink of an eye and was now standing right in front of the badly damaged unicorn. “You might want to get those healed up before they get any worse,” Astral chimed with a smile.

“Ye— yeah, I guess your right,” Cherry replied with a slight bit of hesitation.

“It appears as though Cherry is unable to battle, meaning, Astral wins!” Ignis hadn’t expected to receive the reaction that he did, the stadium like arena erupted with cheers and hoof stomps of applause. ‘I guess seeing a real fight really got this crowd going. I have to say, that was an impressive display, truly.’ Ignis released the barrier and allowed for the two combatants to exit the arena, though he wasted no time moving on to the next match. “Let’s keep blowing through these matches! Next is Mint Chip versus Lucky Charm!”

“Well it’s about time!” Chip said as he made his way to the arena. “Time to give this crowd a real show!” As he moved from the sidelines to the arena, Chip ran into his two friends who, oddly enough, both of them wore smiles.

“Good luck in your match Chip,” Astral said

“Your not gonna stay and watch?” Chip asked with a grin. “It’ll be one heck of a show.”

“I’d love to, but I want to check on Silver’s progress.” Astral gave Chip a wink and teased the unicorn. “Sorry Chip, he’s best friend status so he’s got you beat by a long shot.”

“Pfft, your loss,” Chip scoffed before continuing toward the small stairs and ascending to the arena.

“I’m going to stay and root for Chip,” Cherry said with a laugh. “Give my regards to Silverlight.”

“But what about—?”

“I’m fine, these scratches will heal on their own.” Cherry’s smile made it clear that she wasn’t going to miss her best friend’s match even if she did need medical care.

“If you say so,” Astral gave her friend a quick nod before she dashed to the giant double doors and turned right.

“I hope Silver is awake already, but right now, my best friend needs me.” Cherry turned her eyes toward the dueling arena as she watched the green dome cage in two more combatants. “Come on Chip! Show him that it takes more than luck to be a great wizard!”

“Whoa, that’s….that’s a lot of gems!” Mary exclaimed as she stared at the horde of assorted gems and rubies which resided in the cave. Thousands of gems; rubies; emeralds; and sapphires all lay scattered all over the cave floor with a single large mountain sized pile resting in the center of the cave.

“Avoid touching any of them at all costs,” Midnight warned with a stern expression. Just as he said this, Mary stopped moving all together. “He’s eaten his fair share of ponies before so you wouldn’t be the first.”

“What the hay Midnight!?” Mary’s face now carried an expression of worry. “I thought you were friends!?”

“He’s friends with my mom, me and him are more like acquaintances,” Midnight admitted with a slight laugh.

Mary would have continued her questioning if it wasn’t for the heaven shaking roar which reverberated throughout the cave and shook the unicorns to their cores. Both ponies looked around for the owner of the cry, instead, they found two large, purple reptilian eyes which watched them from the safety of the shadows; angrily glaring at the three intruders which have infiltrated his domain.

“Well, hello to you too,” Midnight retorted to the eyes as he glared back.

“Midnight Star? Is that you?”

“Unfortunately it is.”

“What’s with the get up?” A large black claw emerged from the shadows and pointed at Midnight’s chair.

“It’s called a wheelchair. I suffered my first defeat, my first EVER need I remind you, and sustained a fractured hind leg.” After hearing the unicorn’s words, another claw emerged, followed by a head and the rest of it’s body. Mary could now see the rest of the dragon’s black scaled body as he towered over the ponies as though they were ants.

“The mighty and prideful Midnight Star bested in combat?” The dragon laughed at his own question as he watched Midnight grow irritated. “Who could it have been, I wonder? Was it possibly that white haired earth pony you once sent to my den?”

“Tch, don’t you chastise me Tenebris. When was a the last time you did battle with any dragon?” A dark scaled claw slammed down in front of Midnight, startling the unicorn and causing a tremor on the cave floor.

“Quite recently as a matter of fact! Tenebris boomed, clearly annoyed with Midnight’s recent remark. “Not too long ago I traveled back to The Dragonlands to participate in The Gauntlet of Fire.”

“Midnight, what’s the Gauntlet of Fire?” Mary whispered as she made an attempt to hide herself behind her friend. Tenebris now narrowed his eyes as he took notice of the other unicorn. Unlike the one standing behind Midnight and pushing his wheelchair, this pony wasn't stiff as a board and even appeared to shake at the sight of the massive dragon.

"You brought another? Here? Midnight, I don't necessarily care for you and trust you very little as it is. And then you have the audacity to enter my den with another one of your kind without my consent? I think I’m starting to dislike you even more."

"The feeling is mutual,” Midnight said as he narrowed his glare towards the dragon’s eyes.

"Midnight!" Mary exclaimed as she cowered behind her seating friend. "I thought you said you two were acquaintances?"

"Oh, please, we may not even be that.” Tenebris refocused his eyes on Midnight before he continued. “The only reason I allow you to return to my den is because you’re not ecstatic or wanting to make friends like most ponies. Your cold, distant, and care only for yourself, and I like that. You remind me a lot of myself; I also can't eat you because your mother would, as she said, 'tear me scale from scale, turn me into a pair of boots and then sell my hoard'." A slight hint of fear shone in the deep violet purple eyes of the dragon as he mentioned the last phrase. "Anyway, the Gauntlet of Fire is a trial that is held once a new Dragon Lord needs to be crowned. I might have participated if I had made it."

"You mean, you didn't make it? How would you have known then?"

"I've been around for longer than you can comprehend, I know what it means when my scales start glowing, that, and this isn't my first gauntlet that I was summoned to. Though I never made it to the Gauntlet because I got into a skirmish with several other dragons. Apparently I was flying in restricted air space, so, I rendered seven of the ten into piles of ash and left the other three as warnings for whomever it may concern. After which, I got bored and decided to return to my den, my scales stopped glowing shortly after so I can only assume that the gauntlet had begun." Tenebris let out a yawn which almost seemed to resemble a wind current. "I'm growing weary of our conversation and need to rest soon. So, Midnight, what have you come to me for? You know I don't like it when you show up unannounced, so this better be good."

"I simply came to check up on you, last time I came here you were gone; guess now I know why." Midnight's horn hummed with a golden glow and made a large saddle bag materialize before him. "Here's a gift, consider it a sign of our new formed friendship." Tenebris's claw reached out and scooped up the bag quickly; he then dumped out its contents to reveal several varieties of gemstones. "Come on Mary, we have to check on Silverlight next," Midnight stated as he motioned for Mary's puppet to push him toward the tunnel which led to the mouth of the cave.

"Make no mistake Midnight Star, a small offering like this doesn't mean I'll be your friend." Tenebris's voice echoed throughout the cave even though he was physically no longer in range. "Though, its always nice to receive donations for my hoard."

“Of course Princess Celestia…..I’d gladly accept the key to the city for being the greatest wizard ever.” Silver’s words came out in the form of several mumbles and snores as he lay in bed asleep. “No ma’am, there’s no need to pay me in bits. I’ll just take chocolate milk with a dollop of whipped cream and all the blueberry muffins you can give me.”

“Typical,” Astral laughed as she sat at the side of her friend’s bed. “Even in your dreams all you can think about is food, you eat a lot too. How come you never put on any weight?” Astral’s eyes stayed locked on Silver who now appeared to be wrestling a pillow, but she greeted somepony who she thought was her friend as they opened the door and entered the room. “You feeling better? Or do you want the nurse to check you out?”

“I’m grateful for your concern, but I think I’ll be fine.”

Astral quickly diverted her gaze to the doorway as she recognized the cold voice which spoke those words. Sitting in a wheelchair in the doorway was Midnight Star wearing his usual glare which Astral assumed by now was just his normal facial expression. Astral jumped to her hooves and assumed a defensive stance as she shielded her best friend with her own body.

“Midnight, I should have known you’d come. What? You thinking of attacking Silver now that he’s weak?” Astral’s horn began glowing as she shot a magical bolt straight at Midnight. It hit him directly, at least, it would have if another figure wasn’t blocking Astral’s way upon impact. Standing before her was a beige white haired unicorn with a glaring expression which seemed similar to Midnight’s.

“I won’t allow you to bring any harm to Midnight,” Mary said as she stood before the crippled unicorn, practically being a shield for him.

“Ma—Mary?” Astral stammered in confusion at the unicorn who appeared before her. “What are you doing here?”

“Protecting my friend,” the unicorn replied sternly with intensity in her eyes. This certainly wasn’t the same creepy Mary that Astral had met before, something about her was different, that much was obvious.

“Mary, there’s no need to be so reckless, I could have easily taken that and not sustained any injuries. But if that blast had been any stronger than you could have been seriously hurt.” Midnight’s tone was also one Astral had not heard before. It was his usual annoyance with somepony, but Astral could detect another tone hidden within it. Was it concern? Worry for another pony’s well being? If so, it confused her because for as long as she had known him Midnight gained the reputation of caring only for himself. “Why didn’t you use Sir Trottsalot?”

“Casting the spell for my puppets is easy, but prolonged use of the Puppet Master Spell will drain my magic. I had to put him away for the time being.” Mary paused for a moment as she returned to Midnight’s side, though she kept her eyes trained on Astral who’s horn was still glowing.

“Can we all drop the hostility for Celestia’s sake, if you both insist on keeping this up than I’ll put the both of you on ice.” Both unicorns felt no true malice, but the stern expression on Midnight’s face begged to differ. Astral hesitated at first, but after a few silent seconds she gave in to Midnight’s demands.

“Why are you the both of you here,” Astral practically spat out her question. Mary assumed another defensive position but a raised hoof from Midnight made her ease off.

“I’ve recently made a bit of a reformation and decided to give this…..‘friendship’ ordeal that my mother has spoken about a chance. So, I’ve come to reconcile our differences and—”

“Reconcile our differences!?” Astral snapped at the unicorn. “You almost KILLED my best friend! I’m sure you wouldn’t understand because you’ve never had one, but he’s my best friend and he’s very special, and I wouldn’t know what to do if he was taken away from me.” Astral placed her hoof on Silver’s as she stared at him with hope in her eyes, she then looked over at Mary. “And why is she here?”

“As I said before, I’ve recently turned over a new leaf and decided to,” Midnight let out a sigh like what he was about to say disgusted him. “Make friends. I’ve been lead to believe that friends will aid me in my quest for strength; so, I recruited this puppet wielding mare as my first friend. So far she’s annoying and our relationship has been a bit…..bumpy, but I’m hoping that our friendship will strengthen.”

“I don’t think that’s how your supposed to talk about your friends Midnight,” Mary huffed in annoyance as she rolled her eyes.

“How would you know? Have you ever had any friends?” Mary opened her mouth as if to respond to Midnight’s question but he cut her off before she could do so. “Puppets don’t count.”

“I see what you mean about a bumpy relationship,” Astral giggled to herself. However she quickly ditched her façade as she remembered who stood before her. “So what? You think I’m still going to accept your friendship that easily?”

“I don’t see why not,” Silver laughed as he sat up on his hospital bed and stretched out. Astral let out a sigh of relief and embraced her friend in a hug. “So, Midnight, you finally decided to try having friends huh?”

“Yeah, and he thinks we’re just going to be friends just like that,” Astral scoffed as she stared back at Midnight. “That’s a crazy idea, huh Silver?”

“That is a crazy idea,” Silver laughed as he hopped out of bed and continued stretching his hind legs. “Because as far as I’m concerned me and Midnight already are friends.” Silver took notice of Mary who was standing at Midnight’s side. “Hey Mary, long time no see.”

“Nice to see you’ve recovered Silverlight, I half expected you’d be out longer.” Mary had replaced her stern demeanor with her trademark blank one; her Midnight glare had faded and she stared at Silver with an expressionless face.

“Nice to see that everypony except Astral is getting along, but friendship isn’t the only reason I came here,” Midnight said as he narrowed his eyes at the earth pony that stood before him. “Silver, how do you manage to escape Dexter’s illusion spell? Surely you didn’t perform the cancellation spell because that’s reserved for high level unicorns and you’re an earth pony.”

“To be honest with you, I’m not too sure myself.” Silver began laughing and placed a nervous hoof behind his head. “Let’s just say I took charge for once instead of waiting for somepony to come to my aid.” Midnight continued his glare at Silver, as though he was analyzing him; but not just him, but his words and actions too.

“I see, perhaps there is more to you than I originally thought. Very well than, good luck in your next match, I’m sure you’ll do the right thing.” Midnight glanced over at Mary who immediately knew what he wanted. She stepped behind Midnight’s chair and pulled him out of the doorway of the room. “You both might want to return to the arena soon, the next set of matches will begin shortly.” A smug grin formed on Midnight’s face as he and Mary left.

Almost as if on cue, Chip and Cherry came dashing in the room with both of them carrying concerned expressions.

“What the hay was HE doing here? Did he come looking for a fight?” Chip hopped on his hind legs and brought up his front hooves as he began shadow boxing with himself.

“Actually, it was quite the opposite,” Astral began as she looked towards her friends; a confused look frozen on her face. “He actually…..came to wish us luck.”

“Is this the same over confident, prideful Midnight Star that we’re talking about?” Cherry asked quizzically. “I hardly think that’s something he’d do.”

“Guess you guys just don’t know him then,” Silver laughed as he rolled his neck which gave a loud ‘crack’. “Now come on, let’s all head back to the arena and get in our second set of wins.” Silver looked at Chip and Cherry who’s expressions were filled with disappointment.

“Actually, only you and Astral made it to the semi finals,” Cherry began with a tone of gloom. Both her and Chip lifted up their faces toward the earth pony and gave half-hearted smiles. “We gave it out all, but we both lost.”

“Guess there was a reason behind that unicorns name of Lucky Charm after all,” Chip attempted to joke. “But we can still cheer for the both of you from the sides.”

“Thanks guys, but I don’t want you two to feel bad,” Silver now took a saddened expression himself. “You guys don’t have to come if you don’t wanna.”

“Silver,” Chip placed a mint green hoof on the shoulder of Silver and gave him a genuine smile. “It’s not your fault, maybe our destiny doesn’t lie in being Princess Celestia’s student. And besides, we’re gonna cheer on the both of you still. I mean, we’re friends after all, and we all made a promise to remain friends no matter what happened in this tournament.”

“Yeah, your right.” Silver’s sad face was lost and quickly replaced with his determined grin. He eyed Chip who apparently was thinking the same thing because he took off out of the medical wing room. “Hey no fair! You didn’t even give me a heads up time!” Silver laughed before chasing after his friend.

“Can’t you push a bit faster?” Midnight asked as he and Mary turned a corner. “At this right the semi finals will be over by the time we get there.”

“Your not as light as your figure leads you to believe,” Mary stated, a tone of annoyance hidden in her words. “And with my magic supply running low, I have to exert physical stre—”

“Wait!” Midnight exclaimed as he raised a hoof. Mary obeyed the unicorn’s command and brought his wheelchair to a halt right away.

“What now?” Mary questioned, her annoyance beginning to show. “First you want me to hurry and now you want me to stop? What is your prob—”

“We’re being followed,” Midnight gave a slight hesitant pause. “No. It’s more than that. We’re being stalked.” Midnight soon began yelling to whoever was following him and Mary, though Mary didn’t seem to see anyone in sight. “You have five seconds to come out from where your hiding or I’ll find you myself! Trust me, I’m not in the mood for games.”

“Okay, okay, geez. No need to be so hostile,” a familiar voice echoed through the hall. It wasn’t until the unicorn undid his transparency spell that Midnight caught sight of his and Mary’s stalker.

“And what do you want?” Midnight asked with a curious raised brow at the lavender unicorn who stood before him. “Moongazer, right? Tell me, why are you stalking me like some snake in the grass?”

“It’s quite simple really, I’ve come because my Lord wishes to make you an offer,” the unicorn began to wrinkle his nose in disgust. “And please, call me Sidewinder.”

“I don't need any charity handouts from anypony. Your just wasting my time, come on Mary lets g—”

“Dark Magic,” Sidewinder blurted as Midnight made an attempt to leave. Hearing his words, Midnight shifted his gaze back to the lavender unicorn, curiosity in his eyes. “We know you’ve always been interested in Dark Magic, Lord Ventus could teach you; she’s very skilled in the dark arts of magic.”

“Midnight, I got a bad feeling about what he’s say—”

“Hush Mary,” Midnight said cutting his friend off in mid sentence. “I’m interested in this little offer Sidewinder is extending. I’d like to hear more about it.” Midnight stared intensely at the lavender unicorn, eyes hungry for knowledge. "Please, go on."

Part 1: Chapter: 13

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“For many years, Lady Ventus has been studying dark magic and it’s many forms. Recently, she has finally come to the conclusion of how to control and manipulate the dark art and the power which comes with it.” Sidewinder took a moment to let his disguise falter and reveal his changeling form. “I was sent as a spy to monitor you and your actions, that’s the only reason I enrolled in this academy in the first place.”

“But why me? Why not somepony else? Out of everypony in this school, everypony in Equestria, why choose me?” Midnight questioned as his brow raised with curiosity.

“Need you ask? You’re a 1st class student; you’ve mastered countless spells at such a young age; you’ve completed the most assignments of the hardest difficulty and have demonstrated remarkable magic abilities. There is no pony who would…….no…….should deserve such power other than yourself.” Sidewinder paused a moment and eyed Midnight carefully before allowing a smile to creep onto his face. “And because of your past……….Shadow.”

Midnight grew confused for a moment as his thoughts began to form in his head. ‘That’s the second time I’ve heard that name. The first was when that stallion who apparently knew mother visited me in the medical wing; mother tried to play it off like it was an accident, however, this puts doubt to that theory. Shadow, why does that name haunt me? Who could they possibly be referring to? What could they be referring to?’ Midnight refocused once more and let the question that had been bugging him slip his mind. “What do you mean…..what could you possibly know about MY past?”

“Heh, heh, more than you obviously.” Sidewinder laughed as he recast his transformation.

“Are you trying to piss me off?” Midnight shot the disguised unicorn a death glare with great intensity. “Your not giving me much to go on, what’s the catch? Surely this offer is not being done out of pure generosity.”

“Your just as smart as I’ve been led to believe,” Sidewinder laughed. “Of course, there is something you’d have to give up; and that’s this stupid academy. Leave this academy and join Lady Ventus, she will teach you all that you need to know. Well, that’s not all, your friend here knows too much; she’ll have to be eliminated should you choose to come.”

“Midnight, you can’t be seriously thinking about going with him…….right?” Mary asked with eyes of worry. “You have friends here now, and besides, what would principal Solar Wind think?” Midnight stared blankly at the ground, the tension was thick, one could cut It with a knife if one was present.

“So Midnight,” Sidewinder began as he extended a hoof. “Are you going to continue playing make-believe friends with these pathetic fools? Or……..”

Midnight watched as Sidewinder’s eyes shifted to Mary then back to him. He didn’t have to think about what he was going to do, he had already made up his mind the moment Sidewinder told him what he had to get rid of; whom Sidewinder told him he had to get rid of. “Mary, close your eyes, and turn around.”

“Midnight?” Mary began with a confused face. “What are you do—”

“It won’t hurt, and it’ll be quick. You trust me, right?”

“Midnight….how could—” Mary choked on her words and couldn’t get out the rest of her question. She had finally made her first friend ever, even if he wasn’t the nicest pony in Equestria, she still couldn’t believe that their friendship was about to be terminated so easily. “I thought we were friends? I—I thought our friendship meant something to you?” Mary stammered, a hint of tears beginning to form in her eyes.

“Mary, friends have to learn to trust each other, so I ask again: do you trust me?”

“I……….I did.”

“Then as your friend, I am speaking the truth when I say I must do whatever is necessary for my own ascension.”

“After our little intermission, it appears as though we’ve finally made it to the semi finals of the third trial!” Ignis’s voice was quickly drowned out by screams of excitement, the students attitudes only became more hectic as several unicorns began throwing popcorn and other refreshments which were handed out earlier that day. “Settle down everypony, settle down, I know your all rearing to keep this show going but you must all bring the savagery down a skosh.” Strangely enough, the students listened to Ignis and calmed themselves so he may continue his announcement. “We started off with nine competitors and now we’re down to just four! Who will be the victor and claim the spot as Princess Celestia’s personal student? We’ll find out now!”

“This is it! Everything I’ve done up till now has been to prove that I will be Princess Celestia’s student and there’s no way I’m gonna stop now!” Silver yelled drawing some attention to himself.

“Calm down you idiot, your drawing unnecessary attention to us,” Astral said as she gave the earth pony a shove.

“I know, I know, but I’m just so psyched. I’m so close to being Celestia’s student I can practically taste it.”

“And what exactly does it taste like?” Chip teased as he laughed at his ecstatic friend.

“Not sure yet, I’ll let you know when I win,” Silver replied with closed eyes and a wide grin.

“Shhh, he’s about to announce the first match of the semi finals,” Astral added.

“I’m sure your all just about as ready as I am, however, a new rule will now come into effect for the remainder of the trial. That ruling is: any student who loses from this point forward shall be expelled from Arcane Academy immediately and shall be asked to leave campus.” There was silence after the words of Ignis, a silence which lingered longer than it should have.

“What the heck are you talking about!?” Silver yelled, breaking the extensive silence. “You mean if we lose we’ll be EXPELLED!? What kind of crud is that!?”

“Hey, squirt, I don’t make the rules, I just announce ‘em,” Ignis laughed as he continued on. “For the first match of the semi finals, we have a rather unlikely pairing here: Silverlight versus Astral! Hey look, the earth pony made it to the finals, hopefully he actually gives us a good show this time.”

Both Astral and Silver locked eyes and stared at each other with astonishment; the color had disappeared from both of their faces and their eyes were filled with a mixture of fright and uncertainty. Only one of them would win their match, that pony would continue on in the tournament; the other would be expelled from school.

“It looks like your little twist certainly has everypony on edge,” Celestia chimed as she watched the silence below her and Solar Wind’s position. “Do you really mean your going to expel them if they lose?”

“Of course not, I simply threw it in for a little psychological twist; much like the rules I made for the second trial.” Solar Wind watched as both Silver and Astral hesitantly made their way into the dueling arena. “Though I’m sure the students are taking it seriously, I wonder what will happen now.”

“He’s going to lose.”

Both Alicorns turned their eyes to Midnight who had just entered the room, however, he was alone this time. Mary wasn’t by his side, both of them found this quite odd; Solar Wind began the questioning. “Midnight, where’s Mary?” Midnight sat in complete silence, looking at the ground and not meeting either Alicorn’s gaze. Solar Wind questioned him again. “Midnight, where is your friend?” Just as the last word of the question was asked, Mary entered the doorway with a yellow saddle bag with a black star on it.

“Here she is,” Midnight replied with a smug grin. “Anymore questions?”

“I brought the books you wanted Midnight,” Mary said as her aura enveloped the saddle bag on her back and moved it into Midnight’s lap.

“Good, thank you Mary.” Midnight’s golden eye glanced at principal Solar Wind as Mary pushed him to her side. “Have the semi finals started yet?”

“Your timing is rather impeccable,” Celestia replied as Midnight watched the barrier rise around Silver and Astral. “The first match is just about to start.”

“And here I thought that little distraction we encountered would have made me miss it.”

“Distraction?” Solar Wind blinked her eyes with a bewildered expression.

“It was nothing really,” Midnight lied. “Just had a short conversation with another student about……...’advancing my studies’.”

Mary watched Midnight, a combination of reverence and acclaim on her face for the dark haired unicorn. She couldn’t explain it, but there was another emotion she was feeling; one that had been pestering her since moments before, when Midnight made his decision.

“Mary, friends have to learn to trust each other, so I ask again: do you trust me?”

“I…….I did.”

“Then as your friend, I am speaking the truth when I say I must do whatever is necessary for my ascension.”

Midnight’s golden aura covered his horn and then began to spread all over Mary’s body. She felt a strange sensation, her body became numb; nevertheless, she closed her eyes as Midnight had instructed and prepared for the worst. The beige unicorn disappeared in an instant and only Midnight and Sidewinder were left standing in the hall.

“That’s cute and all, but I know you didn’t kill her, simply teleporting her away won’t do. If your trying to play me for a fool then—”

“Shut up and listen well,” Midnight commanded as he interjected Sidewinder’s rant. “I’ve taught myself nearly everything I know about magic and have obtained my skill and power with my own two hooves. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again once more, dark magic or not, I don’t take handouts or charity from anypony.”

“I thought you wanted the power of dark magic?”

“You misunderstand,” Midnight’s aura surrounded Sidewinder’s body and brought him up close and personal in a matter of seconds. “I WILL obtain the power shrouded in dark magic, however, much like with most spells I’ve learned; I shall do it on my own without any help from you or anypony else. Now, leave my sight and don’t let me catch you snooping around the academy anymore. Oh, and giv your Lady Ventus my regards on your way out.” Midnight tossed Sidewinder rather violently across the hall. After skidding across the floor, the lavender unicorn recovered and was on his hooves once again; this time with an angered face.

“You’re a fool if you think you can obtain the power of dark magic on your own! Without the proper teaching or guidance, the darkness will be too much for you to handle. It will consume you, and then, you’ll be nothing but a memory; nothing but a shell of your former self, because all that remains is the hatred and fear that consumed you!” Sidewinder closed his eyes, let out a sigh, then regained his composure. “Lady Ventus said you’d be a stubborn one, so I shall leave it up to her personally another time.” A bright red flash caused Midnight to shield his eyes, when he looked back Sidewinder was gone and a mare’s voice lingered in a soothing whisper.

“I apologize for Sidewinder’s outburst, Midnight Star. Next time, I’ll be sure to cutout the middle mare. Au revoir.”

Midnight waited quietly as a long silence befell him, he kept searching for any evidence of life all around the now empty hallway; even when he found none, he never faltered in letting his guard drop. “Well, now that the nuisance has been taken care of, I better check on Mary.” Midnight began wheeling his chair toward the direction of the dueling arena, all the while, his horn began emitting its golden aura and emanated several small sparks as it hummed.

Mary found herself surrounded by several tall shelves of books, each with varying heights. She began trotting down an aisle only to find herself in a labyrinth of book shelves and casings now. After several twist and turns Mary had exited the bookshelf maze which entered into a large open building with several assorted wooden tables and chairs; it was then that Mary recognized were she was at, the school library. The library was barren and devoid of any life giving it a creepy atmosphere. As if she wasn’t creeped out already, a loud commanding voice startled here from behind.

“Mary,” Midnight said rather loudly, startling the mare. She whirled around to see Midnight standing on all fours to greet her.

“Midnight? But how—”

“I made a duplicate of myself, however this one can walk.” Midnight looked around and was glad to see that the library was empty. “I’m already on my way to the dueling arena, before you join me I need you to grab a few books for me.”

“What about Moongazer…..or, Sidewinder?”

“Don’t worry about him, I declined his little offer and sent him on his way.” Midnight’s trademark glare returned with a bit more intensity than usual. “I don’t need help when it comes to magic, whether it’s dark or not. Now then, I want you to grab me a few books by Starswirl. However, there is one book I need you to get in particular, a special one called the ‘Arcane Archival Records of Dark Magic and Historical Practices’.”

“Dark Magic?” Mary questioned as she raised a brow. “That doesn’t sound like normal Arcane Magic and it sounds a bit…..dangerous.”

“Must I repeat myself?” Midnight asked as he approached Mary and placed a hoof on her shoulder. “As my new friend, you should learn to have more faith in me, especially when it comes to magic. Trust me, I know what I’m doing.”

“Not this again!”

“Boooooo!

“Somepony hit somepony already!

“This always happens when that earth pony goes to fight, it’s his fault!”

With both ponies wearing discouraged countenances, Silver and Astral stood in the center of the dome cage which imprisoned them, neither of them spoke a word. They had been in this position for going on a total of ten minutes since their duel, if you could call it that, began. Both friends knew what was on the line, however, it wasn’t so much as the prize that was on their minds as it was the punishment for losing. The spoils of victory were simple: the winner of the match got to move on with a chance to become Princess Celestia’s pupil. The loser, on the other hand suffered severe negative repercussions with the expulsion of said loser and immediate ejection from the academy.

‘Darn it! Stupid rule had to go and complicate things. I could understand if you were dropped from the trials, but expulsion? That’s crossing the line majorly.’ Silver began gritting his teeth in frustration as he became more and more annoyed with his own thought process. ‘Come on Silver, think! Concentrate, concentrate, concentrate. What would big brother do? Who am I kidding, he’s probably never had to make a decision this difficult.’

‘Silver looks like he’s really beating himself up over there, I don’t blame him, even I don’t know what to do right now.’ Astral closed her eyes, then she inhaled a deep breath while bringing a hoof to her chest, then extended her hoof as she exhaled. ‘I wanted to have our rematch, but not like this. I could’ve taken on anypony else during these semi finals and probably would have one easily. But to have to face my best friend, the pony who’s had my back since day one, since I first set hoof into this academy? And to top it all off an expulsion is rewarded to the loser. I wonder if it would had been different if I had gone against Midnight.’

Just then, Astral opened her eyes wide, not to look, but due to shock. She had finally realized what all of Midnight’s subtle hints meant; all the sly remarks and slight teasing, even the ‘good luck’ that he had extended to Silver and Astral just before their match. It was all leading up to this moment.

‘It can’t be……he couldn’t have predicted every single outcome that would lead up to this……..could he? Damn him! I can’t explain it and I may not have any proof to back my claim, but I just know Midnight was behind this whole thing. But he couldn’t have just predicted this match, in order for him to make an accurate prediction he would have had to take in each variable into account—’. Astral’s train of thought was quickly derailed as the gears in her head began to turn. ‘During the first trial, we were all outsmarted by Discord and everyone left with the same score. But ever since the written exam, Midnight has always appeared to know what each trial was about and how to pass it appropriately. No doubt about it,’ Astral thought as she gritted her teeth in anger now. ‘This is all his fault’.

“Astral,” Silver mumbled in an almost inaudible voice. Astral snapped out of her trance like state even though her friend’s tone was low. “I know we promised to have a rematch, but I want you to know that this doesn’t count.”

“Shut up you idiot,” Astral laughed lightly after hearing her friend’s obvious attempt at a joke. “This is serious. This match can only end with one of us winning, and in order for there to be a winner, then there must also be a loser. Look, Silver, your dream is to become a powerful wizard; your journey can’t stop here.”

“Astral, don’t do that!” Silver snapped, drawing a look of shock from his friend for his outburst. “Astral, ever since we became friends you’ve always stood up for me, backed me up, even protected me.”

“That’s what friends do you idiot. We help each other out.”

“I know and I couldn’t be more grateful, but I rely on your help too much. I have to learn to do things myself and not rely heavily on others, I must take responsibility for my own wellbeing.” Silver gave his friend a warm smile which was combined with a dash of confidence. “A pony grows up when they overcome hardships. Protection is important and all, but there are some things that I must learn on my own; in this case, do on my own. I want to take this risk so I can grow, if I don’t, I’ll never learn anything.”

“Silver,” Astral locked eyes with her friend, still confused and worried. “What exactly are you saying?”

“Vice Principal Ignis?” Silver peered at the orange unicorn who stood on the other side of the barrier. Once he had Ignis’s attention, Silver continued with his request. “I withdrawal from the match.” There were numerous gasps of surprise mixed reactions amongst several jeers and spiteful comments in the wave of students who looked on.

“Silver, you can’t! You’ll be expelled! And what about your dream and your promise you made to yourself!?”

“I know I’ll be expelled, but that doesn’t mean I still won't be able to learn magic elsewhere."

"What about being Princess Celestia's pupil? I thought you wanted that more than anything?"

"I still do, but I'm not getting my best friend expelled over my own selfishness, besides, your already a 2nd class student and your more qualified." Silver looked into the eyes of his friend, his look was genuine sincerity. "You'll make a proud student of the Princess."

"So are you bluffing here or is this the real deal?" questioned Ignis who watched on from behind the green dome. "Do you really mean you forfeit? If so, I'll drop the barrier and end the match."

Silver looked back at Astral, then back to Ignis; after closing his eyes for a few brief seconds, he sighed and replied with a laugh. "Yeah, I give up, Astral wins."

"Very well then," Ignis added as he materialized a microphone out of thin air while simultaneously dropping the green barrier which held the two ponies hostage. "Due to a forfeit on her opponent's part, Astral is the winner and will be moving on to the finals. Silverlight on the other hoof must-" Ignis was soon interrupted as the microphone was pulled away from him, Silver brought the device close to his mouth to make a statement. Because Ignis' green aura still held the object, Silver needed only to speak.

"Listen up, every last one of you. I don't care if I lose, I don't care if I get expelled and I don't care if any of you doubt that I should even be here. You wanna know why?" The earth pony was practically radiating with charisma and a strange sensation hung in the air, every student who was insulting him before was now listening to him intently. "Because I'm gonna be the greatest wizard in Equestria, the greatest in history even; and it doesn't matter if any of you doubt me, because as a wise pony who's very close to me once said: ‘As long as you believe in yourself and embrace your dreams, then you can do anything you put your mind to’. So yeah, I’ll get expelled and some of you may laugh at me for doing so; but when I become a member of the Equestrian Arcane Agency and prove that I’m not your average earth pony, then you’ll all have no choice but to start showing me a little respect! ”

After his short speech, Silverlight returned the microphone to its owner and began trotting to the large double door exit, however, his demeanor was not one of a pony who just got expelled, but one who just stepped into a new chapter of his life. He held his head high as the echoing announcement of the Vice Principal starting what he could only assume was the second match began to fade into the distance. Reality hit Silverlike a freight trian a few moments later as he walked down the hall and felt his stomach began to hurt; if expulsion is what he just received, the only thing he could do now is to gather his belongings from his dorm room and say goodbye to his friends.

“You know I never realized how little I own until now,” Silver said to himself as he placed several quills and notebooks into his blue saddle bag. He hadn’t brought much to the academy when he first enrolled except all his supplies he’d need for the school year. “Hehe, well, look on the bright side; at least my saddle bag won’t weigh so much.” Silver gave himself a pity laugh as he grabbed a hefty bag of bits and threw it in his saddle bag. “Good thing I saved my allowance I’ve been getting from mom and dad, though I really thought Astral would say goodbye. Well, she’s probably already won the tournament and is on her way to Canterlot, she’ll be a good student for Princess Celest—”

“3rd class academy student Silverlight, please report to Principal Solar Wind’s office. 3rd class academy student Silverlight, please report to the Principal’s office.”

“Should’ve guessed that specific announcement was coming,” Silver sighed as the threw his saddle bag on his back and exited the room, shutting the door behind him. “Well, better get going, at least mom and dad will be happy to have me back.”

Silver stared at the door, the door which had a golden plaque on it and a name and occupation engraved on the plaque. ‘Principal Solar Wind’; Silver never would have thought that he would end up in her office, especially not for getting expelled. He was sweating nervously and held his hoof only inches away from the door, he knew his fate was sealed, so after much hesitation, he opened the door and entered.

The room was dark aside from the hallway light which only shone enough to expose an empty desk in the back of the room. Silver stepped forward and was consumed by the darkness as the door behind him slammed shut. Just then, the lights cut on and Silver was graced with the presence of his friends along with two large alicorns.

“What’s going on? Shouldn’t you all be wrapping up the tournament and announcing a winner? And why is everypony here for my expulsion?” Silver had many questions and not yet a single answer, his friends just eyed him and began laughing amongst themselves. “What the heck!? Getting expelled isn’t something to laugh at!”

“Your friends aren’t laughing at you for being expelled,” Celestia began as she approached the earth pony. “As a matter of fact, I’d say their happy for you.”

“Would somepony please explain to me what the heck is going on?” Silver began to question, a confused gaze locked on his face. “Why would they be happy for me?”

“Wouldn’t you be happy to if your friend was chosen to be a Princess’ pupil?” Celestia asked the pony with a raised brow. Silver looked up and locked eyes with the majestic Princess, his eyes filled with so much wonder and splendor; Celestia could have sworn she saw tears begin to form.

“You…….you mean—”

“3rd class academy student Silverlight, I’d like you to come with me to Canterlot and study under me personally.” Celestia paused and gave Silver a kind smile before continuing. “That is, if you’d like to come.”

“Yes! Yes! Yes! YES!” Silver shouted as he jumped in the air and began hopping around in excitement. “A million times, yes! Thank you Princess Celestia, thank you, thank you, thank you!”

“You needn’t thank me young one, it was you who proved your worth to me; I simply provided the opportunity.” Celestia noticed that Silver had his saddle bag packed and on his back. ‘Did he truly believe he was getting expelled? Silverlight. You’re an odd one, no, your more, your…….unique.’ “We shall make our departure soon, though I’m sure you still have a few goodbyes you have to say.”

Silver gave the mighty princess a nod and trotted over to his three unicorn friends who were waiting by Principal Solar Wind’s desk. All of them had smiling faces, all except Astral who was on the verge of tears.

“Congrats buddy,” Chip said as he and Silver connected hooves together. “Ya know, when I first met you during the first trial, I would have never imagined you’d win it all; I expected you to give up. But you know what? I’m glad you proved me wrong. I know it’s not much, but I want you to have this.” Chip levitated a muffin in front of Silver’s face who’s eyes began tearing up.

“A blueberry muffin?” Silver quickly ate the muffin in a single bite, gave a belch, and then wrapped a hoof around his friend. “You know me so well, I’m gonna miss you man.”

“Silver, I never did thank you for saving Chip and I from Midnight during the examination trial, so….” Cherry beamed a smile at Silverlight who met it with one of his own. “Thank you for saving us, and helping us get through the forest, I doubt we would have even made it as far as we did if it wasn’t for you.”

“No problem, what are friends for?” the earth pony laughed. His laughter was cut short as he heard light sobbing; he continued down the line of his friends and stood in front of Astral. “Hey, you ok—” Silver’s concern was casted aside as he felt two hooves wrap around him and embrace him tightly. Astral’s hug was firm, yet comforting to the earth pony all at the same time.

“You better not give Princess Celestia a hard time,” the cyan unicorn began as she attempted to keep her sobbing to a minimum. “And I want you to write to me often, don’t you dare forget about me and—” Astral stopped as she felt Silver embrace her, his hooves wrapping around her just as she did.

“You really think I’m gonna forget about the one pony who’s been by my side since I first came here?” Silver chortled softly as he tightened his hug. “I figured you of all ponies would know me better than that. Plus,” the earth pony gently pushed Astral away and interlocked his hoof with hers and gently bumped her head with his own. “I made a promise for a rematch, and not just any promise, but a best friend promise. And what do I always say?”

“You…..you never break your promises.” Astral wiped away her tears with one hoof as she tightly gripped her friend’s, she then returned the bump that he gave her a few moments ago; her eyes gazing into his as a smile formed on her face. “You….you better keep your word. We will have our rematch, and you better write….you big dummy.”

“Silverlight,” the Principal began as Silver took notice of her after his moment with Astral. “I have something for you, consider it a congratulation present,” Principal Solar Wind said with a smile as she made a small card like object materialize before Silver. Silver’s eyes widened and filled with fascination at the I.D. card which floated before him. “Congratulations, since you are now the disciple of the princess; you are hereby acknowledged as a 1st class student, same as both Midnight Star and Mary Anette.”

“What!? You….you mean it?” Silver continued to stare at his I.D. card, he was now one of the top academy students.

“Of course, however, in order for you to maintain this new position in the student hierarchy, you’ll have to stay on top of your assignments which will be delivered to you via mail while your in Canterlot.” Principal Solar Wind move the card into Silver’s saddle bag and then turned her gaze to the princess standing in the doorway. The two locked eyes and gave one another a nod before principal Solar Wind turned back to the earth pony who stood before her. “Now then, I believe your new teacher is waiting for you.”

Silver slowly marched his way to Princess Celestia, when he finally stood by her side he turned back to acknowledge his friends one last time. “Hey, don’t any of you ponies forget, we made a promise to remain friends no matter what; you can ask Astral, I don’t take my promises lightly, but when I do I take 'em seriously so everypony better keep to their word.” The three unicorns all gave the earth pony a comforting nod, Silver just gazed at them, attempting to paint pictures of their smiling faces in his mind where they would remain for as long as he lived. He then turned to Princess Celestia and smiled a broad smile at his new teacher which was accompanied by giggles of excitement; he gave her a salute before he spoke. “Ready when you are.”

“Then come my faithful student, the new chapter in your life awaits you.”

Part 2: Chapter: 14

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Silverlight looked down at the land below him, he couldn’t believe the beauty of Equestria from so high up, the lakes and forests all looked relatively small; though he couldn’t see it all because of how fast the pegasi pulling his chariot were going. They were no Wonderbolts, but the speed of the Royal Guard pegasi was staggering, Silver felt the wind in his mane as he closed his eyes and imagined himself as a pegasus soaring through the sky. He imagined himself diving in and out of clouds, seeing the land through a new perspective, his fantasy was cut short however, as he heard an elegant voice beckon his name.

“Silverlight,” Princess Celestia began as the white haired earth pony turned to face her. She was sitting in her own chariot, though not very far from Silver’s own to the point where she needn’t to speak any louder than she already did. “Are you enjoying yourself?” the Alicorn laughed out her own question with a giggle.

“You bet! I’ve never been this high off the ground before, actually, I’ve never even flown before. Now I kinda wish I was born a pegasus,” Silver laughed as he switched between staring at Celestia and staring at the land below him. “Is this what it’s like when you fly Princess?”

“Not entirely,” Celestia giggled at the earth pony’s curiosity. “I don’t fly on my own very often, but when I do, I don’t think I’d fly at this speed.”

“Now that you mention it, we are going pretty fast aren’t we? Why the rush? I mean, I know Canterlot’s a good ways away, but it seems like we’re going a bit faster than necessary.”

“Your familiar with my duties as Princess, aren’t you?” Celestia asked, almost as if she was testing the knowledge of her new student.

“Well, aside from being Princess of all of Equestria, I know you raise the Sun and the Moon, right?” Celestia gave him a nod.

“That is correct, however, I no longer raise the Moon. That responsibility has fallen back onto my younger sister, Princess Luna. I now only have to raise and lower the Sun.” Celestia took notice of the lowering Sun in the distance and then returned her gaze to Silver who appeared to be grasping the idea of what she was saying.

“Oh, I get it, we’re rushing to Canterlot so you can lower the Sun so Princess Luna can raise the Moon for the night.” Celestia gave him a smile and a nod which was recognition that he was correct. Silver turned his eyes ahead of him and noticed that the two chariots were heading straight for a mountainside, but his destination soon came into view the closer they drew near. He could see the rather large regal looking buildings which appeared to resemble miniature castles brimming with gold, blue, and several unique patterns of shades and shapes. They had finally reached their destination: Canterlot, the capital city of Equestria. “Man, those buildings are huge.”

Celestia watched the earth pony carefully and began examining him and his demeanor. His eyes remained filled with fascination and excitement, he reminded Celestia of Twilight when she first heard she would be the princess’ student. With Twilight taking on Starlight Glimmer as her own pupil, Celestia missed teaching an eager mind, this loneliness is what lead her to search for a new student. Most of her students had been gifted through brains, however, something about Silverlight drew Celestia toward him and piqued her interest. It wasn’t the fact that he was an earth pony who wanted to learn Arcane magic, while this was an oddity in itself, it was Silver’s determination and persistence which the princess admired and his ability to draw others to him.

“Princess Celestia?” Silver began as a curious look crossed his face, “How come…..how come you chose me? I mean, Astral if anypony would have been the perfect student, but instead you chose me.”

Celestia laughed softly, and gave Silver a loving smile, “Your character is the most valuable trait that you have, your integrity and tenacity are admirable, and you never ceased to amaze me.” Silver had a puzzled expression which showed he still wasn’t gripping all of what Celestia was saying, so she further elaborated. “If you recall, in the middle of the first trial you charged in headfirst to save ponies who you didn’t even know from an unknown threat even when the exit was just before you. You were willing to risk your own team’s victory for the sake of saving another. During the second exam, rather than succeeding through cheating you decided that you’d fail with honor; it is not very common to find a pony with your level of integrity.” Celestia gave a soft chuckle as she watched Silver’s face light up with a grin, the earth pony was enjoying the compliments he was receiving.

“During the final exam you knew of the dire consequences that would befall you should you or your friend lose, yet you acted selflessly and accepted your loss rather than allow your friend to get expelled; you never faltered, even when you knew your choice was to surrender your dream. Far better that I have a student who understands the meaning of self-sacrifice, then one who only looks out for his own best interests.”

Silver gave Celestia a nod with a toothy grin before returning his sight to the rapid approaching capital city. Celestia just watched him, she couldn’t explain it, but she felt something stir inside her as Silver appeared to glow with charismatic determination. He may not be a magical genius like Sunset Shimmer, or even as book smart as Twilight Sparkle, but his ambition was unrivalled by any other student she’s ever had. However, as much as he was willing to learn, Celestia still had to find a way to teach Silver through different methods; after all, he was no unicorn.

******

Silver stepped out of the chariot and began to stretch, then he noticed the numerous guards who had apparently been waiting for Celestia’s return. They all bowed their heads humbly as the Alicorn princess exited the chariot with grace.

“Greetings your highness,” an armored white pegasus said as he approached the princess. “We’re glad you’re here, Princess Luna has been awaiting for the lowering and raising of the Sun and Moon.”

“Thank you, I shall see to the matter as soon as possible.” Celestia noticed several confused glances from the guards who kept eyeing the earth pony who stood beside her. “Allow me introduce my guest here—”

“Nice to meet ya! I’m 1st class Arcane Academy student Silverlight, I’m also the princess’s new student and I’m gonna be the greatest wizard in Equestria someday!” Silver seemed to practically shout in a loud charismatic and enthusiastic tone of voice. Realizing what he had done, he quickly apologized to the princess for his rudeness. “Oh, sorry Princess Celestia; I didn’t mean to interrupt you.”

“It’s quite alright,” Celestia chimed back with her traditional warming smile; she then returned her attention to the guards and declared loudly. “As of today, Silverlight is my new student and will be residing here in Canterlot Castle. I hope all of you can make yourselves familiar with his presence and help him feel at home here.”

“Yes ma’am!” the guards all cried in unison as they gave the princess a quick salute.

“Silver,” Celestia placed her hoof gently on the pony’s head and stared down at him charmingly. “I’m going to tend to my duties, why don’t you grab your things and get settled in your room for the time being?”

“Got it!” Silver replied with a teeth filled grin. He watched as Celestia trotted off past the guards with several following closely behind. He was left with a trio of pegasi ponies who appeared to await a response; all the while, in awkward silence hung in the air. “So......do any of you know which room I’ll be staying in?”

“Right this way sir Silverlight,” one guard said as he made his way toward the castle entrance. Another grabbed Silver’s saddle bag from the chariot and carried it for him. He followed the guards into the castle with glee, he had finally made it to the first step of his dream.

The castle was just as regal and fancy as Silver had always heard it was, stories from his parents about his father’s proposal to his mother on the night of the Grand Galloping Gala talked of a castle with breathtaking architecture and design. It was just as large on the outside as it was on the inside, the halls were riddled with countless doors and a labyrinth of passage ways which would only confuse Silver if he attempted to memorize where they lead. The lead pegasus stopped in front of a large dark oak door with a golden handle. The pegasus opened up the door and allowed the earth pony to enter.

“This is your room, apologies for the bed sheets being pink. We shall look into getting that fixed for you,” one of the guards said as he followed behind Silverlight and placed his saddle bag on his bed.

“It’s cool, it won’t bother me none” Silver told the guard as he looked around the room in awe.

Though the bed sheets and wood pattern had several pink heart shapes, the bed looked comfortable and Silver actually thought about collapsing on it; however, he still wanted to check out the rest of the room. There was a round mirror which doubled as a dresser where one could put their clothing or other belongings and a nightstand with a lamp on it that rested by the bedside. There was another door which piqued Silver’s curiosity; without hesitation, he trotted over to the door and opened it only to find himself on a balcony.

The balcony overlooked some mountains with several carvings in it which were linked by what looked to Silver like a railway system. He then took notice of the setting Sun and watched as it faded over the horizon and the Moon took its place high above the sky. Silver never paid much attention to the rising and setting of the Moon and Sun, but seeing it now, before his very eyes and knowing what powerful forces were behind it; stirred a feeling inside the earth pony. It wasn’t until one of the guards spoke up that Silver snapped out of his trance.

“We shall leave you to make yourself comfortable,” an armored pegasus stated as he and the other two exited the room; before he left, he poked his head in the doorway one last time. “If you need anything, you need only to ask, and welcome to Canterlot Silverlight.” With that, the guard shut the door behind him as he departed, leaving Silver to do as he pleased.

“Okay, enough sightseeing for now,” Silver said to himself as he entered the room and closed the door to the balcony once more. He then trotted over to his bed and emptied out the contents of his saddle bag onto it. “Alright, better get to putting this stuff away.”

******

Midnight sat on his hospital bed carefully so as not to apply any pressure or weight to his injured leg. Numerous opened books floated around Midnight’s head in a circular motion as the pages turned by themselves, Midnight’s eyes danced rapidly over the pages as he switched his gaze from the books floating around him to several he had in his lap. Mary watched on, her blank expression had returned and she fiddled with a small wooden pegasus puppet as she watched Midnight float books around him with a more agitated glare on his face than usual.

“Midnight,” Mary began, her voice a cold emotionless tone as she spoke. “It appears as though your distraught.”

“What ever gave you that idea?” Midnight asked, his question drowned in a sea of sarcasm as he said it. He tossed a book across the room in a fit of agitation, “Damn it! It should have been me!” Midnight continues reading the books floating around him but he seems to be talking more than reading. “I’m the one who’s studied magic and advanced arcane techniques since I was a foal; I’m the one who should obtain the power which comes from Celestia’s teachings!” Midnight’s nostrils flared as the air temperature around him dropped rapidly causing Mary to take a step away from his bed. “I’m the one who’s read all 10,872 books in the academy’s library 234 times, each time reanalyzing what I read and comparing it to other literature works; and yet an earth pony, with absolutely no idea how to use magic whatsoever has usurped my opportunity from me!”

Midnight froze several of the books he was reading as his aura dropped them to the ground, the ice around them not even receiving a scratch from the height that it fell. Midnight shifted his eyes toward the other pony who was present in his room, “You realize I still place blame on you for this? After all, you’re the one who put me in this condition.”

“If you want to be fair than I’d say you injured yourself,” Mary fired back without hesitation, her tone still emotionless. “I didn’t ask you to fight me, you rushed in recklessly and in doing so suffered your injury.”

“Yes, I was reckless,” Midnight growled through gritted teeth as he tried to contain his anger. “Is that offer still on the table? The one were you offered up your life to me as forgiveness?”

“Nope. We’re friends now,” Mary played with the pegasus puppet with her magic, levitating it and making it take to the sky. Mary watched as Midnight gave a sigh and continued to read, when he did a question came to her mind. “Midnight, how come your so obsessed with power?”

“I’m not obsessed with power, though I’d be lying if I said I didn’t crave it,” Midnight begins as he sighs once more, this one was different this time, it sounded saddened to Mary’s ears which perked up to hear better. “Power is necessary in this world if you want to move forward in life, and not get left behind having to fend for yourself and practically raise yourself from foalhood!” Midnight realized he began to raise his voice louder than was necessary, he then glanced over his shoulder at Mary while he continued. “What I mean is…..oh who am I kidding? It’s not like you want to hear me rant anyway; none of this interests you.”

"Yes it does, besides, isn't that what friends do?" Mary asked as she continued playing with her wooden doll, now making flying noises as she did. "Friends tell each other their problems, then the listener comforts the speaker, at least, that's what me and Sir Trottsalot do."

"Why don't we start with you then?" Midnight shifted carefully in place as he turned to face Mary, curiosity burning in his eyes. "I don't know very much about you, what you like, where you came from, or even why you enrolled in the academy."

"I like puppets," Mary replies in a low tone without even glancing in Midnight's direction.

"And that’s another thing," Midnight's face looked as though he was pondering the answers of life and the universe as he studied the mare and wondered why he (or even Principal Solar Wind) had little to no information on her. "I've seen other unicorns use puppets but never in the way you do, your spell, whatever it is, makes your puppets practically come to life; its almost as if they are alive. Where did you learn a spell like that? Did perhaps your parents teach you?" Midnight watched as Mary dropped her puppet she was playing with as the color drained from her face at the mention of her parents, he could see something in her eyes, a glint; even though her face was frozen in an expressionless manner, he could tell that she was uncomfortable for some reason. Mary quickly turned to face the door and glanced over her shoulder before exiting.

"I'm going to get something to eat before the cafeteria closes, would you like anything?"

"Sure, surprise me." Mary gave her friend a nod before exiting hastily out of the medical wing door. 'Well, that was certainly something. She sure is a mystery, then again, she may be thinking the same thing about me.' Midnight closed the book in his lap as he levitated it over to the top of a stack he had next to his bed, still pondering the mare's strange behavior. "I guess her parents are a touchy subject, but still, that look in her eyes, I can't explain it but I've seen that look before......but where?" The unicorn's gaze was quickly diverted to the glowing tome which rested on his nightstand, the book which he had almost forgot he had; he brought it on to his lap as he rested his back against a pillow he had placed against the wall to use as support for occasions as such. "Well, even if I was Celestia's student, I'm sure this isn't something she'd be teaching." Midnight flipped open the book and stopped on the last page he left off on. "Here we go, the triggers behind dark magic and what empowers it are…..."

******

“Alright, that should do it,” Silver said to himself as he put his now empty saddle bag away in his nightstand drawer. Next to the candle lamp on his nightstand was his journal that his parents had given him when he was a colt, he still wrote in it from time to time, though not as often as he used to. He trotted over to the mirror and placed several quills and scrolls away in the drawers, afterwards, he took a moment to look at the small blue framed picture in front of the mirror. In the picture were two ponies, a grey colt earth pony with white hair who was on the back of a large cream white unicorn stallion who’s hair was a light shade of grey with pale white streaks mixed in. His orange flamed eyes seemed to burn into Silver’s soul, this feeling made him smile. “I did it bro……I’m on my way to being an awesome, important wizard just like you were.” Suddenly, there was a knock on Silver’s bedroom door, soon followed after by a gruff voice.

“Sir Silverlight, the princess has asked that you join her and her guests in the dining room for dinner,” the guard said through the door, just as he did, Silver’s stomach began to growl loudly. “Shall I take that as a yes then?” he laughed.

“Hehe, yeah just give me a sec,” Silver replied with a chuckle as he examined himself in the mirror. “Knowing Princess Celestia her guests are nobles of some sort so I better at least look presentable.” Silver eyed himself in the mirror long and hard before, smiling with his teeth and playing with his hair. “Aw who am I kidding? I’m already as presentable and handsome as is, I’ll be fine.” Silver galloped over to the door and opened it, when he did, he was greeted by the presence of a pink mare. Her mane was violet and rose with pale gold streaks that ran down both her long mane and tail. Her eyes were light purple and seemed to mesmerize Silver the longer he stared into them.

“Oh, what perfect timing, I was just about to knock,” she said with a gentle smile as she stared at Silver’s surprised reaction. The mare waited for a response, but Silver was still captivated by her beauty. “You must be Silverlight, Princess Celestia speaks very highly of you, saying you’re the most ambitious student she’s ever had. Allow me to introduce myself, I’m Princess Cadence of the Crystal Empire, nice to meet you.”

‘Come on Silver, think! Sure she’s really, really pretty, but you have to focus.’ “Sweet Celestia your really pretty,” Silver cried out without thinking; he quickly face hoofed himself after he did this. Cadence just let out a laugh as he did.

“You remind me of my Shining Armor when we went on our first date,” she laughed at Silver’s nervousness. “Come on, Princess Celestia is expecting us, I’ll show you the way to the dining room.”

“You know your way around this maze of a castle?” Silver questioned as he shut the door behind him and followed Cadence. “I got confused just on the way in.”

“I was once a pupil of Celestia and I stayed here in the castle, It can seem confusing some times, but you’ll get used to it.” Cadence and Silver rounded a corner and made a right. Cadence decided to strike up small talk to try to kill the silence between the two. “So, Silverlight, your Princess Celestia’s newest student hm?”

“You got that right!” Silver laughed, “Princess Celestia hoof picked me personally among several others students from my school.”

“Oh? You went to Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns?” Cadence questioned, a look of confusion struck her.

“Not exactly, my school is called Arcane Academy, only the best of the best are allowed in. Its located just past Griffonstone if you follow the Guto River, head over the mountains and a bit to the North, you’ll eventually get to the school.” Silver followed as he and Cadence made another turn. “But originally my parents raised me in Fillydelphia for a couple years and then we moved to Manehatten after……” Silver stopped walking for a few moments and then let out a sigh, Cadence stopped to see what was wrong, but the earth pony was walking once more when she did. “So, Princess Cadence—”

“Please, just Cadence will do,” Cadence said humbly as her and Silver stopped in front of a set of blue doors with golden handles. “Oh, we’re here.” Cadence opened the doors using her magic and they both entered.

Silver took notice of the large, long, rectangular table in the center of the room. It was a dark blue with a large pink banner laid spread out over the top of the table, the banner had what resembled Princess Celestia’s cutie mark on it. Silver also noticed he and Cadence weren’t the only ones in the room, waiting by the large table was Princess Celestia and another dark blue and black Alicorn whose mane seemed to flow just like Celestia’s; standing in front of them was a white, blue streaked haired unicorn who Cadence trotted over to and greeted with a kiss.

“Nice of you to come Silverlight,” Celestia said as she greeted him with a smile. “I trust you got settled in without any problems?”

“Yeah, there’s plenty of room, and I love the view from the balcony.” Silver watched carefully as he was approached by the other dark blue Alicorn, her eyes seemed to scan the earth pony and examined him thoroughly.

“Sister, is this the one you speak so highly of?” she asked as she began to circle around Silver as if a predator stalking it’s prey. She picked up one of Silver’s forelegs and tapped it with a hoof, then she continued her circular movement before returning to Celestia’s side.

“Everyone, this is Silverlight, my new student from Arcane Academy,” Celestia announced to the members of the room.

“Tia, surely your not serious…....right?” Luna looked Silver up and down before she continued. “He’s an earth pony, earth ponies aren’t meant to wield arcane magic……you’d be wasting your time sister.”

“Hey! I may be an earth pony, but don’t you doubt what I can do. And if she wants to teach me then fine, let her. What she does in none of your business.” Silver’s outburst was met by the Alicorns own look of annoyance.

“Mind thy tone when you speak to us!” Luna snapped back. “Don’t you know who we are?”

“No and I don’t care!” The argument between the two was interrupted by a pair of large white wings wrapping around the both of them; Celestia stood between the two ponies and prevented anymore quibbling.

“Silver, this is my younger sister Princess Luna.” Silver’s whole demeanor changed at the mention of Luna being a princess. Unlike her sister, Celestia knew how to calm and deescalate a situation, especially an argument. “Luna, Silver is my new student, and will be staying here, I would hope that you two could get along, .”

“I….” Silver managed to utter the beginning of his plea. “I’m sorry for raising my voice against you Princess Luna.” Silver lowered his head in a humble bow as he spoke. Luna looked at her sister who had a ‘be nice’ look on her face.

“Apology accepted,” Luna said in a flat tone as she rolled her eyes. Celestia gave her a slight nudge which made her sigh and rephrase her words. “I mean, I accept your apology and forgive you Silverlight.”

“Now, with that out of the way,” Celestia began with a smile as she retracted her wings from Luna and Silver and walked over to where Cadence and the stallion were standing. “Silver, this is Princess Cadence and her husband Prince Shining Armor, they will be our dining guests for tonight.”

“Nice to meet you,” Shining Armor said as Silver approached him. The two extended hooves and shook them, a common greeting in Equestria. “Funny, you seem familiar…..but I’m sure we haven’t met before.”

“Well, let’s all prepare for dinner, shall we?” Celestia asked as she Luna sat down in a pair of chairs at the end of the table and motioned for the others to do the same.

******

Silver watched on as the other members at the dinner table at their soup with levitating spoons; he was unsure how to approach this matter for he had no magic only his hooves, and as one knows, hooves cannot grip a spoon. Silver was hesitant on how to handle the problem, he was having dinner with royalty and he wanted to appear at the very least that he had some manners about him.

‘Okay, maybe if I just try hard enough I can levitate the spoon.’ Silver calmed his thoughts and focused solely on the spoon which rested next to his bowl of hot soup. His face contorted into what looked like a struggling expression, doing this drew out several giggles from everyone present except for Luna; after, Silver just stopped as his face flushed a shade of crimson. ‘Come on Silver, think, there’s got to be something…..’. Silver’s eyes lit up as though a light bulb turned on in his head. He picked up the bowl and began to sip from it, however, the heat from the soup caused him to burn his tongue which in turn made him drop the bowl.

The bowl feel and spilled over onto the area of the table Silver sat at and onto his lap, he jumped up from his seat and out of his chair.

“Ah! Son of a—” Silver stopped himself before he finished the last of his remark. He gave a guilty laugh with a faint smile to match his red face before expressing his apologies. “Ummm…..…hehe…….sorry bout that.” Without a command even being given, a pink unicorn came out from a doorway, cleaned up Silver’s mess with a cloth, and replaced his empty bowl with a new one before disappearing to the doorway again. Everyone present seemed to be retaining laughter, everyone except for Luna.

“Sister, thou traded Twilight Sparkle for this?” Luna spoke in a whisper to Celestia who sat on her right. Celestia, still keeping her smile and eating, simply giving Luna a ‘Not-while-we have-company we’ll-talk-about-it-later’ look, however, Luna was persistent. “So, sister, how did you go about obtaining Silverlight as your student?” Luna’s question was purposefully loud and practically begged for the attention in the room.

“You remember that private school run by an old student of mine, correct? He was attending the academy and he just happen to catch my eye.”

“If I remember correctly, that school was a unicorn exclusive one,” Luna shot a stare at Silver though he couldn’t tell exactly what it meant. “Tell me, how does an earth pony manage to enroll in such a school? If memory serves me right, the entrance exam was a series of spells that one must perform in a given sequence.”

“Why don’t we allow Silver to speak for himself,” Celestia said with a gentle laugh. Everyone at the table turned their heads at the earth pony who appeared to be enjoying the attention he was getting.

“Well, I didn’t necessarily pass, but Principal Solar Wind had a talk with my parents and I guess they convinced her how determined I was to enroll.” Silver picked up his bowl once again and take a sip, now that his soup had time to cool, he was able to avoid burning his tongue. “My parents and my friends know how much I wanna become a powerful wizard.”

“Interesting, and why is it that you wish to become a wizard or even learn magic in general?” Luna continued with her questioning. She was no longer annoyed with Silverlight from their earlier problem, in fact, she was genuinely interested in what he was saying. “One does not carry an ambition as…….unique, as yours without a cause.”

“Well, you know how when you graduate from the academy you have a chance to become a member of the Equestrian Arcane Agency?” Luna gave a slow nod to Silver’s question as she recalled what little she knew of the agency and the academy he spoke of; sure she and her sister kept tabs on the agency, but it was Celestia who knew more about it then Luna. “Well, my older brother was a member, probably the best member of them all. He was really strong; and wise; and super crazy fast; oh and he was pretty famous. I mean, not Starswirl famous but—”

“Pardon for the interruption, if you don’t mind me asking, was his name Lightray?” Luna watched the white haired earth pony’s reaction to her question; Silver looked as though he was going to hop over the table at the sound of his brother’s name.

“Yeah! Ya see, you DO know about him!” Silver exclaimed with excitement. “I knew he was famous among other members of the agency but I didn’t think the princesses knew him!”

“Not personally mind you, but my sister and I would always be present when an award was given out for a member’s achievement and I remember your brother receiving many on several occasions.” Luna glanced in her sister’s direction to catch a glimpse of her grinning. ‘So that’s why Tia chose him. If he’s related to Lightray….then…..’

“I recognize that name and now I know why you looked so familiar,” Shining Armor chimed in as he wiped soup away from his muzzle with a napkin. “He’s assisted the Royal Guard before on several occasions and boy was he something,” Shining turned to Silver, “Honestly you look just like him, your brother is a very skilled magic user.”

“Was….…..” Silver mumbled, though loud enough that everypony present heard. There was some heavy silence in the room before he continued. “That’s why……..that’s why I wanted to join the academy, and why I wanted to become Princess Celestia’s student so badly and learn magic. I wanna become stronger so I can protect those I care about, not just my friends and family, but all of Equestria just like my brother once did.” Silver lost his saddened expression and replaced it with one of burning passion. “To be the greatest wizard in Equestria, that is my dream, and as long as I work hard at it, I will make it a reality someday. Just you watch!”

The room hung with a bit of silence, aside from Silver’s slurping of his soup. Celestia smiled at her sister who began to understand why she chose Silver. It was eventually Celestia herself who killed the silence in the dining room with a change of subject.

“Cadence, Shining Armor, how is Princess Flurry Heart?” the large Alicorn princess asked with a smile.

******

Silver was escorted to his room by another armored guard, he would have indulged in conversation along the way but he didn’t know the guards name and they all appeared the same to him. So to keep from sounding like a racist or saying something else stupid, he just kept his mouth shut. The two finally stopped in front of the same dark oak door that Silver was brought to earlier.

“The princess has asked me to inform you that your first lesson begins in the morning.” The pegasus opened the door and allowed Silver to enter. “8:00 AM, sharp.”

“Thanks for the heads up,” Silver replied as he slowly closed the door. Afterwards, he galloped over to his bed and collapsed on it, stretching and moaning with pleasure as he did. “Aaaaah, this bed is more comfortable than it looks. I think I’m gonna like it here.” The earth pony quickly sat up in his bed. “Right, better get to bed, my lessons under Princess Celestia begin tomorrow.” With that, Silver threw his blanket over him, blew out his candle lamp, and closed his eyes.

Part 2: Chapter 15

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Silver woke to several knocks on his door, not hard, but just loud enough that it woke him up. He thought he heard a voice followed after the knocks, but it sounded muffled as he wasn’t wide awake. He picked up his head only to smack it against something hard, the pain made him groan and only disoriented him further. After rubbing his eyes and a few long yawns, the earth pony recognized exactly where he was.

“Under the bed?.....again?” Silver crawled out from under the wooden bed and shook his head gently, further waking his senses. “Man I’ve got to see a doctor about this crazy sleep walking I must be doing.” Silver’s thoughts trailed off as he heard the knocks at his door which was once again followed by a voice.

“Sir Silverlight, it’s time for your lesson with the princess,” the earth pony recognized the stern tone of the guard, also, who else calls him ‘Sir Silverlight’? “I don’t mean to alarm you sir, but I think your behind schedule.”

It took Silver a few moments before what the guard had said registered in his mind. “Wait, what!? Quick, what time is it now?”

“It’s currently 9—”

The door to Silver’s room slammed open and hit the guard directly in his muzzle, causing him to stumble back. “Darn it, I overslept and now I’m late! Crap, crap, crap, crap, crap, crap, crap!” Silver bolted down the right hallway, not even letting the thought of him not know where he was going cross his mind.

“But sir..…” the guard moaned weakly as he lay downed on the floor from the door incident. “The princess’ throne room is……….the other way.” The guard closed his eyes and blacked out from his injury.

******

“Great, first day as Celestia’s official student and I oversleep.” Silver rounded a corner. “Come on Silver, you gotta get your act together. I wonder what my first lesson is gonna be? Levitating objects?; teleportation?; Duplication spells?” Silver stopped his galloping and came to a halt as an idea crossed his mind and filled his head with excitement. “Or maybe even…time travel?”

“Sir Silverlight,” the earth pony turned around and faced a guard. “Are you perhaps looking for the princess’s throne room?”

“Didn’t……didn’t I hit you with s door?” Silver questioned, he quickly shook his head and rephrased his words. “I mean, yeah. I’m kinda lost.”

“I can see that sir, the throne room is actually in the opposite direction.” The guard turned to point Silver in the opposite direction of where he was going. “If you continue down this hall and make a left you’ll come to a narrow passageway, continue straight ahead and you should come to a hallway which splits in two; from there, go down the right hallway and enter the first hall on your left, it should be a straight shot to the throne room from there.” Silver stood frozen with a deadpan expression as he became confused with the guard’s directions. “Would you like me to show you sir?”

“Huh? No, no, I got it,” Silver lied with a nervous smile and a laugh to match. “Besides I gotta learn my way around here eventually.”

“If you say so sir.”

“Well, thanks for the directions. I have to get going, I’m already late as it is.” Silver had turned around and began galloping once again, hopefully this time, in the right direction. He continued down the seemingly endless hallway and made a left. Just as the guard had said, he came to a narrow passage; the hallway had no visible exit points, it just went straight ahead. "Okay, so now I should come up here and make a…….right? No, left! Or was it right? Dang now I can’t remem—”

“Silver? Are you lost?”

The white haired earth pony quickly spun around to face the sound of a familiar voice. Standing before him was Princess Cadence and another younger, smaller Alicorn. Her coat was a light violet with her mane being a moderate sapphire blue with violet and brilliant rose streaks. She stood at a smaller height than Cadence and was about as tall as Silver himself.

“Me? Lost? Hahahaha of course not………..well, maybe just a little.” Silver took notice of the young Alicorn standing next to Cadence. “So who’s she?”

“Oh, of course, you two haven’t been acquainted yet. Silverlight, I’d like you to meet my sister-in-law, Princess Twilight Sparkle.”

“Nice to meet you Silverlight,” Twilight said as she gave him a forced friendly smile.

Silver gazed long and hard at Twilight, his eyes narrowing as he examined the mare. “So you’re a princess?” he asked, sounding rather doubtful in the process. “You don’t really seem like a princess.”

“Excuse me?” Twilight questioned with a raised eyebrow. “And what is that supposed to mean?”

“Well, Princess Celestia is kinda, ya know, Princess of the Sun; Princess Luna of the Moon; and Princess Cadence of—” Silver paused and tapped a hoof on his chin, he didn’t have the answer to the last princess. “Actually, I don’t really know. Cadence what exactly are you the princess of?”

Cadence gave the earth pony a soft chuckle at his curiosity. “Well I’m the Princess of Love, and Twilight here is the Princess of Friendship.” Silver gave a nod as though he knew what the princess was talking about though Cadence could tell he wasn’t exactly hanging on every word. “Silver, weren’t you on your way somewhere?”

“Oh crap baskets! How could I have forgot already?” Silverlight face hoofed himself several times at the error of his mistake. “Cadence quick, which way is the throne room? I’m already late for my lesson as it is.”

“Lesson?” Twilight asked as her face contorted into an expression of confusion.

“I’ll do you one better,” Cadence laughed as her horn began to glow brightly. “This may tingle just a little bit.” Silver was surrounded with an aura which matched that of Cadence’s horn, and in a quick flash the earth pony vanished. “There, that should do it. If I had given him directions he more than likely would have just ended up lost again.”

“Cadence,” Twilight began as she tried to make sense of what Silverlight had said to her. “What exactly does he mean by ‘late for his lesson as it is’?”

“I’ll tell you later, but right now we better hurry.” Cadence and Twilight turned and walked down the hall. “Your brother is waiting for us at the donut shop.”

Silver had closed his eyes when he felt the tingling sensation that Cadence spoke about. He wasn’t exactly sure what she did, there had just been a bright flash of light before he closed his eyes; when he opened them, he found himself in a large room with a pinkish-red rug that led to a large regal throne. Upon it, sat one of the rulers of Equestria and also Silver’s new teacher.

“Practicing teleportation spells already?” Celestia laughed softly as the earth pony galloped her way in a hurry. “It’s best that you take filly steps with magic or you could hurt yourself or those around you.”

“Yeah sorry I’m late princess, I overslept…..like, I really overslept. And then I got lost on the way here and ran into Princess Cadence and she helped me get here.” Silver stopped talking and allowed himself to breathe before he let out a sigh and cleared his throat. “Now that I’m here, what’s my lesson? Levitation?; speed acceleration?; teleportation?; how about time control?”

“Your lesson for today is rather a simple one,” Celestia spoke with grace and Silver listened intently as he watched the princess’s smile linger. “Seeing as this is your first time in Canterlot, I want you to explore the city for yourself and see what it has to offer.”

“Come again,” Silver deadpanned as he lost his eager smile. He gave himself a quick slap and brought back his hopeful smile, hoping he could convince his teacher to teach him something magic related. “I get it, Canterlot is Equestria’s capital and all, but I thought you were going to teach me something having to do with magic.”

“Much like you and Canterlot, a good wizard learns to open their mind and explore everything it has to offer.” Celestia rose from her throne and approached Silver, she placed a hoof gently on his shoulder before she continued. “Opening your mind gives you near limitless possibilities for you to explore, both in magic and in the real world.”

“I….I guess I kind of understand.” Silver was silent for a few moments as he allowed his mind to process the words of his teacher. “Alright, I’ll open my mind and see what awaits for me in Canterlot.” Silver turned to leave when the princess’s voice beckoned his name, which in turn caused him to face her once more before he left.

“Silver, there is also one other requirement for this lesson.” Celestia waited until her student was intently listening before she finished. “I want you to make yourself a new friend out on your exploration today.”

“Alright,” Silver gave the mighty Alicorn a salute with his hoof, “you can count on me Princess, I can make friends easy.” Silver continued out of the throne room but stopped and lingered in the doorway; he turned back and gave Celestia a nervous smile followed with a laugh. “Hehe, this may sound crazy, but is there any chance that you can have a guard escort me out of the castle?”

The streets of Canterlot were lined with ponies with well combed manes and outfits which displayed their vast wealth and social standing. Every building looked pristine and yet each seemed to shine in its own way; not to mention the streets practically glistened with cleanliness, not a single piece of stray trash was in sight. Silverlight trotted down the pavement of the bustling city with eyes of wonder with a toothy grin to match, smiling at each pony he happen to pass by.

“Whoa, this place is more upscale than I thought it was,” the earth pony stopped and rolled his eyes for a minute. “Then again my school was supposedly the most prestigious and private school in all of Equestria.” Silver shook his head as he remember he was here on a mission, “Okay, if I ask somepony for directions, than that’ll give me a reason to strike up conversation. Than I’ll have a new friend to tell Princess Celestia about and I’ll get somepony who knows the city to give me a tour; I’ll be able to kill two birds with one stone.” The white haired pony trotted up to a crowd of passing ponies to begin his questioning, which in turn didn’t go the way he had hoped. “Excuse me, can you—?”

“Terribly sorry, I’m rather busy right now,” a well dressed light gray unicorn with a finely combed mane responded before trotting off without so as much as a glance in his interrogator’s direction.

“Hey, I’m new around here,” Silver began as he moved down the line to a white long haired pink earth pony mare. “I was wondering if—”

“Sorry but I must be on my way,” the mare replied before briskly walking off and disappearing into another crowd of ponies.

“Third times the charm I guess,” Silver sighed as he continued his questioning. “Hello, I—”

“I have errands to run.”

‘Somepony will offer to help me.’ “If I could just~”

“Very busy.”

“I need just a moment of your time—”

“Well my time is far to valuable to be spent on an out of town tourists like yourself,” a black suited stallion said before a large regal carriage appeared and carried the stallion away.

“What the hay!? The city sure is nice but the ponyfolk around here sure don’t match it.” Silver sat on a curb as he let out a sigh of irritation. “At this rate I won’t have anything to tell the princess, how am I ever supposed to make any friends with these stuck up ponies. What does Princess Celestia think? That a friend is just gonna fall right out of the sky—?”

Fate is a strange thing, it can be cruel, sad, happy; or any other word on the emotional spectrum; in the case of a mare falling on an innocent earth pony, it was hilarious. Silver let out a groan of pain as he felt something laying on top of his stomach, he was on his back when he felt pressure being applied to his midsection; followed by a sweet and apologetic voice.

“Oh my goodness, I’m so sorry. I’ve been trying to practice my landing but I don’t think it’s improved much.”

“I—you—midsection—pain—please,” Silver wheezed through gasps of breathe as he struggled to form words.

“Oh, oh my goodness! I didn’t know,” the pegasus pony exclaimed with surprise as she stepped off the earth pony who exhaled deeply. “Are you alright?”

“I just had a pegasus crash on top of me and then stand on my groin, I think I’ve had better days.” As Silver managed to stand he took notice of the pegasus’s features: her mane was a pale blonde and her coat was a light grayish-blue, but what Silver noticed stood out the most was her eyes, each going in a different direction. “Hey, what are these?” Silver picked up several envelopes from the ground. “Mail?”

“Yup that’s me, I’m Derpy Hooves the mailmare of Ponyville. Nice to meet you.” Derpy gave a cute quick salute to Silverlight who couldn’t help but let out a giggle as she did.

“I'm 1st Class Academy Student Silverlight, oh and I'm the protege of Princess Celestia herself," Silver replied with a smug grin, happy with the title he had given himself. "Anyway, nice to meet ya."

"Oh! Your Silverlight? Hold on." Silver watched as Derpy stuck her head into a mail bag she had been carrying around her neck. He watched as she rummaged around before pulling out a rather large tan colored box and holding it in her mouth with a grin. "Dis if fur you," she tried to say but the box muffled the pegasus's words.

"For me?" Silver took the box from Derpy and placed it on the curb before him as he gave the sender address a glance, "Manehatten? Hey! This must be from my parents!" Realizing who had sent the package, Silver quickly began to tear into the box with his teeth and as he flipped open the flaps; after some digging in the styrofaom 'peanuts', he found a letter which would hopefully make more sense of what his parents had sent him.

"Dear Silver,
Your father and I can't even begin to express how happy and proud we are that your now the student of a Princess! That means your in Canterlot right? Oh you should really take the time to explore there when you get a chance, the town is just gorgeous oh and don't even get me started on the castle architecture it's simply to die for. Ahhh, I still remember the night your father proposed to me at the Grand Galloping Gala, he looked so handsome in his tuxedo that he bought.

Anyway sweetie, I'm getting off topic, your friend Astral told us about your exciting move and told us where we could send a letter to you; but we didn't get a large box just for a letter. In this box you'll find a scarf, it was Light's, I knitted it for him myself. He wore it all the time, never once took it off, said it brought him good luck wherever he went. We just know he would’ve wanted you to have it. Sweetie, please be careful on your journeys, and don’t forget to write.

With much love, Mom and Dad.”

Silver dug into the package even more to pull out a large green scarf which appeared to be in good condition. He grinned happily at the piece of clothing, without hesitation, he threw it over his shoulder and wrapped around his neck. He didn’t care that it was nowhere close to being winter, nor did he care that the scarf drew aghast stares from the ponies around him; the scarf was memorial of his older brother and he cherished it so.

“Wow, that’s a nice scarf,” Derpy commented as she placed a hoof on Silver’s shoulder. “Did somepony buy it for you as a gift?”

“Actually, it belonged to my brother,” Silver placed a hoof on the scarf and smiled softly. As he stared at the scarf in admiration, he felt something stir inside him; he began to notice himself become enveloped in a light green aura which matched the color of the scarf. The aura was faint and surrounded every inch of his being, it soon faded as quickly as it came, leaving Silver in a state of shock. “Uhh, Derpy, did you just see that?”

“See what?” she asked, her muzzle scrunched up as she stared in the earth pony’s direction.

“Um, nothing. Must have been seeing things. Anyway, it was nice meeting you Derpy, but I gotta find somepony who can show me around town and—”

“Why didn’t you say so?” Derpy exclaimed with a cheerful crooked eyed smile as she took Silver by the hoof. “I’ve delivered mail all over Ponyville and Canterlot, I know my way around both of them.” Derpy was now practically dragging Silver behind her as she hovered above the ground and made her way down the street. “Come on, I’ll show you one of the best places in Canterlot.”

Twilight sat across from Shining Armor and Cadence in their booth as she struggled with something on her mind. Each pony had a multicolored milkshake in front of them which matched each of their color pallets specifically and a large saucer of donuts sat in the center of the booth’s table.

“Twily, you haven’t even touched your shake. Is something wrong?” asked Shining Armor as he raised an eye at the young princess, it was not like his sister to turn down her favorite donuts or milkshake.

“No, I’m just….thinking.”

“Are you still stuck on what Silver said?” Cadence asked, her tone saying she had hoped the mare had put the thought out of her mind.

“What did Silver say?” Shining asked, upon doing so, Twilight’s eyes lit up and grew wide.

“You know him?”

“Well yeah, he’s—” Cadence gave her husband a nudge with her wing, her expression made it clear he was about to make a mistake; however, Cadence forgot how observant Twilight was, and observe she did.

“What was that?” Twilight asked, "Is there something you two aren't telling me?" Cadence and Shining exchanged nervous glances, Twilight had been Celestia's student for so long and even though she was now a princess herself with her own student; it still didn't change the fact that Twilight always admired Princess Celestia, she was practically a second mother to her. If she found out Celestia had a new student, how would she take it? Could she take it?

"Twilight, Silver is......" Cadence was hesitant, she didn't want to see Twilight distressed, if she heard this news, that's all she would be, nevertheless, a comforting hoof being placed on hers by Shining was a sign that it was okay to tell Twilight about Silver. "Twilight, I know this may sound hard for you to believe.....but Silverlight is.......Silverlight is Celestia's new student." Twilight's eyes widened as her pupils shrank to the size of pins, she was indeed surprised by the news.

"So that's why?.....and the lesson?.....and why we saw him at the castle?......." Cadence waited for the inevitable, she waited for the tears to pour from Twilight's eyes like rain; she imagined her and Shining Armor trying to comfort her as she did, saying whatever they could to calm the young princess from being hysterical, that never happened though. Instead, Twilight's face lit up with a wide smile from ear to ear. "Of course! How could I not have figured that out? He's obviously a student from Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns who decided to visit the castle and receive a lesson in pony. But what I don't understand is how he got into a unicorn school when he's an earth pony."

“I still wonder that sometimes myself.”

The three royal figures cocked their heads to see the familiar face of an earth pony, though this time he was wearing a green scarf around his neck. He rubbed the back of his neck nervously as he let out a chuckle.

“Though at this point in time I just chalk it up to determination, guess that can get you anywhere,” Silver finished his statement before facing Twilight. “Hey, Twilight, sorry about what I said earlier, you seem pretty cool.”

“Oh it’s alright,” Twilight began as she smiled at the pony. “I didn’t know you were one of Celestia’s students. You know, I went to the same school as you when I was younger.”

“Really? I thought it was a really exclusive private school?”

“Well, kinda, but my parents got me in. But I’ll admit, the entrance exam was a bit tricky,” an embarrassed blush crept onto Twilight’s face when she said this.

“Right!?” Silver exclaimed with a laugh, “To be honest with you, I didn’t necessarily pass the first time around, but I kept trying and I guess that’s what got me in.”

“You didn’t pass the first time either?” Twilight hadn’t thought about her question, of course Silver wouldn’t pass because he’s an earth pony. But she wasn’t giving it much thought, she was just happy to know someone who went through the same tribulations that she did; or so she thought. “I thought I was the only one.”

Cadence and Shining Armor watched on, neither of the speakers knew that their conversation was all a product of miscommunication; but they still rambled on as though they were speaking of the same school. Shining and Cadence wanted to correct the two ponies, but Twilight and Silver were genuinely enjoying their conversation; on top of that, Twilight wasn’t distressed as they had feared, they decided to allow the charade to go on a bit longer.

“But yeah, school has been more bearable with the help of my friends, but I’m always looking to make more.” As Silver said this, Derpy returned with a saucer of donuts balanced on her nose, Derpy not being the most well coordinated pegasus probably shouldn’t have been doing that. “Speaking of which, I met Derpy today. She’s showing me around Canterlot.”

“They may not be muffins but these donuts sure are the yummiest ones in Canterlot,” Derpy placed the saucer down on the table in front of Twilight and gave a crooked smile. “Would you like one princess?”

“Actually, me and Cadence have to get going,” Shining Armor commented as he and the his wife rose from the table. “Don’t wanna miss our train back to the Crystal Empire.”

“I’ll walk you guys,” Twilight chimed in as she brushed past Silver and Derpy. “Sorry Silver, we’ll have to talk again some other time. You should stop by Ponyville sometime, it’s just a train ride down the mountain from here.”

“Sure, I think I will,” Silver returned Twilight’s smile as he watched her exit the donut shop along with Cadence and Shining Armor. He then sat down in the booth and motioned for his pegasus tour guide to do the same. “Well, can’t let these donuts go to waste,” Silver reached for a donut and took a bite, his mouth began watering once the donut touched his tongue. It was soft, warm, sweet, and delicious all at once. “Now I see why this is your favorite place in all of Canterlot, this is the best donut I’ve ever eaten.”

“Maybe when you go to Ponyville I can show you Sugar Cube Corner, they have the best muffins in all of Equestria.” Derpy sat down and took a bite out of a donut as well, seeing that the trio before had left milkshakes at the table, the two decided not to let the sweet beverages go to waste.

Principal Solar Wind finished sorting a large stack of papers that were on her desk, she had been working all morning and decided she needed a break. She reclined in her chair as she closed her eyes and enjoyed the quiet silence which fell over her office, she felt her eyes grow heavy, but just as she did there came three raps at the door.

The Alicorn let out a sigh, ‘So much for peace and quiet’, she thought to herself. “Come in!” The door was practically slammed open by an orange unicorn with a grin on his face.

“Well, well, your still just as hard a worker as ever,” he laughed before slamming the door shut behind him.

“And your just as obnoxious and annoying as ever,” Solar replied as she rolled her eyes and let out another sigh. “What do you want Ignis?”

“Well you’ve been really working hard lately and I figured I could take you someplace nice as a reward; plus, there’s something I want to talk to you about.”

“Ignis, I’ve told you, for the umpteenth time I will not go out with you.” Solar Wind sat up and began to continue going through the large paper stack on her desk. “Besides, I’m too busy for that sort of thing, I have to review every student’s recent assignment completion and check to see if there are anymore 1st class candidates, these ponies are the agency’s future. So if you have something you want to talk about then say it.”

“Actually, that’s what I wanted to talk to you about,” Ignis changed his expression to that of a solid stern face, he looked as if he were facing down with the most fearsome criminals in the deepest depths of Tartarus itself. “I’m sure your aware that the agency is under a considerable amount of stress lately, with the recent passing of Director Goodwing, the EAA will be looking for a new director to take charge.”

“Let me stop you right there,” Solar began as she raised a hoof toward Ignis, she then began to levitate a quill to her muzzle and started chewing on the tip. “I have no interest in becoming the Director of the EAA, I have far too much on plate with the academy as is.”

“Solar, your one of the best candidates to become the new director: you’re an Alicorn, a former student of Princess Celestia, you know what its like to be in a position of power and can handle the responsibility. If you don’t choose to be the Director, then naturally you know that Frostbite will try to seize the opportunity.”

“Then let him, Goodwing was his brother, besides, he actually wants the position.”

Ignis walked over to Solar’s desk and took notice of a framed photo. In it was Solar Wind cradling a small colt in her hooves, frozen expressions of playfulness and glee on both their faces. “Hard to believe he actually smiled at some point in his life huh?”

“He used to smile all the time,” the Alicorn began as her magic died down and she stopped sorting papers to look at the photo. “Now, all he does is glare at me, resenting me, hating me.” A tear snuck it’s way out from Solar’s eye but she quickly wiped it away before Ignis could notice. “Sure, he may seem like he isn’t fazed by it anymore, but I know, deep down, he still hates me.”

“And it’s the agency’s fault right?” Ignis made a large chair materialize behind him before plotting down to sit. “In all fairness to the agency, they told you Solar, they gave you fair warning and Goodwing was always very lenient with you. But he’s gone now, you can change everything that’s happened to you, everything that’s happened to him, you can get back your son.” Ignis turned his voice to a whisper as he leaned in closer to the principal. “You can discontinue Project Umbra Corde for good.”

“SHHHH!” Solar hushed Ignis by leaning up and placing a hoof over his mouth, silencing him immediately. “You know full well that we’re not to talk about the project outside of the agency HQ!”

“Then,” Ignis’s words were muffled until he removed the Alicorn’s hoof from his mouth. “You can end it,” Ignis returned to a whisper. “We know about all the shady acts that Frostbite has performed under his brother’s nose, we can bring them all to the light but only if you become the director.” Ignis watched as Solar reclined in her chair and looked down, avoiding his gaze. “I understand, you barely see enough of Shadow—”

“Midnight!” Solar corrected with an angered snap.

“Sorry, Midnight. You barely see him as it is and if you were to become the director then you’d see little to none of him anymore.” Ignis rose from his seat and made it disappear he made his way to the door and paused as he looked over his shoulder back at the Alicorn. “He’ll have to learn the truth eventually, you won’t always be there to protect him.”

“I know,” Solar mumbled to herself as she watched Ignis exit before lowering her head slightly and continued working. “I know.”

"Well, it's been fun Silver but I'm still on the job. Maybe we can meet up in Ponyville sometime?"

"Sure thing Derpy, thanks for giving me the tour, I mean, even if we didn't cover every thing," Silver replied with a smile as he waved and watched the pegasus take to the air. "Be safe on your fly back."

"Don't worry about me," Derpy laughed as she waved back with a crooked smile that made the earth pony giggle. "I'm like a professional Wonderbolt when it comes to flying......well, except when I have to land."

Silver chuckled as he watched the pegasus mare disappear out of sight, he then turned his attention back to the direction of the castle that he now called home. "Lesson number 1: aced it! Better get back and report to the princess." Silver began to trot down the street, making sure not to bump rudely into any of the higher class pony snobs who roamed the town; doing so would net him a rude remark and possibly an insult about how out of season his scarf was or how it didn't compliment his coat. While keeping his eyes transfixed on the road Silver caught a glimpse of a pony struggling to move a package inside of what he assumed to be a clothing store; the poor mare looked as though she was having a minor setback due to the weight of the box. Feeling something inside him tell him to do it, Silver decided to see if the mare needed a helping hoof.

"Need any help?" he asked as he approached the mare who Silver could now see was a pale white unicorn with a well curled dark purple mane which seemed to compliment the beauty of her eyes and features; while his eyes don't normally look there he could see that her flank sported three diamonds which served as her cutie mark.

"Oh but of course, I mean if its no trouble?"

"Even if it was I'd still offer to help," Silver placed his head against the box and began pushing it through the store doorway; it was heavy, but bearable. He stopped when he had pushed the box in the center of the store room, he took notice of the surrounding dresses and other outfits and confirmed in his mind that this was indeed a clothing store. “Man, that thing sure is heavy for just clothes.”

“They're not just clothes,” the unicorn chimed in from the doorway. “They're everything I need for my spring lineup, I have an idea for an ensemble that I know will just—” She stopped when she eyed Silver’s scarf and rushed over to his side. “Goodness darling! What are you doing with such a thing around your neck? It’s nowhere near Winter to be wearing such an attire.”

“Yeah, yeah I know. But this isn’t—” Silver stopped and took a step back, a serious glare forming on his face as the unicorn tried to reach for his scarf. “What in name of Celestia do you think your doing!?”

“I was just going to get you another scarf that complements your eyes. You can’t possibly want to wear such a—”

“This isn’t just any scarf, and yes, I do want to wear it.” Silver placed a hoof on the green attire around his neck and began stroking it, as he did, his intensity calmed. “It’s very special to me,” he locked eyes with the unicorn once again, “I’m sorry but I gotta go. You're welcome and everything.” With that, he exited and continued on his way to see his teacher.

Silverlight entered the throne room accompanied by two guards as he did, he spotted two figures standing in front of Celestia’s throne. Hooded cloaks of pristine bright white with golden lining and stars spotted over the cloaks. The earth pony watched as Celestia spoke a few inaudible words to the two figures, then they made their way toward him for the exit. As the figures walked by, one of the hooded unicorns glanced over at Silver. Though their faces were obscured by the darkness of the hood blocking away light, Silver could feel this unicorn staring at him, hard. The figure’s partner turned to him and motioned for it to follow, the hooded unicorn eventually did but not before letting a whisper slip as he exited.

“Sorry………You just look so much like him.”

Silver stood frozen at the word’s of the cloaked pony, he knew exactly what the stallion was talking about just from that simple phrase. It was obvious that they knew of his brother, and their outfits brought back memories of when Silver’s brother would leave for a mission and sometimes be gone days at a time. They were from the Equestrian Arcane Agency. Silver was about to ask them several questions but when he whirled around he quickly noticed the two ponies were gone, like silent ghosts that flee in the wind. Silver turned around and made his way back to the throne where Celestia was waiting for him with her usual smile, warm and inviting.

“You were gone for quite some time, it’s almost dusk.” Celestia raised a brow at her student and gave a soft chuckle. “I hope you weren’t wandering around town lost this whole time.”

“Not at all,” Silver laughed as he rubbed the back of his neck with a tooth filled grin. “I completed your lesson just as you asked, while I didn’t necessarily get to see every inch of Canterlot, Derpy showed me quite a bit around town.”

“Derpy Hooves? The Ponyville mailmare?”

“Yup, she was dropping off this scarf that my parents sent me,” Silver now gesturing to his winter ware wrapped around his neck, he rested a hoof on it and gave Celestia an even bigger smile. “It used to belong to my older brother Lightray, mom said that it always brought Light good luck so I’m sure it’ll do the same thing for me.”

“I see, I’ll have to have your parents visit sometime, I’d like to see the parents who raised two of Equestria’s best wizards.” Celestia’s comment made Silver blush as they both let out a laugh.

“Oh that reminds me princess, I met one of your old students earlier today.” Silver witnessed something he didn’t think was possible, he witnessed Celestia, the princess of Equestria, express a look of worry and concern. It only appeared for a brief second, but Silver was sure that he saw it. “Twilight Sparkle, the princess of Friendship. She seems pretty cool, she even invited me to come visit her in Ponyville sometime.”

"Perhaps I'll consider sending you there for a lesson in friendship, I'm sure you could learn a few things from Twilight," Celestia watched Silver give her a nod in response to her statement. "Now then, it's almost time for me to lower the sun," an idea formed in the alicorn's head as she placed a pondering hoof under her chin, "Silver, how would you like to get a first hoof account on the raising and lowering of both sun and moon?"

"That sounds awesome!" Silver exclaimed as he hopped excitedly in the air, "Can I really?"

"Of course, follow me," the earth pony practically bounced behind his teacher as he followed her out of the room, excitement taking over every fiber of his body and making him act like Pinkie Pie with a little too much sugar.

Bonus Chapter: Midnight's Nightmare

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“I’m having it again.”

“That dream.”

“The dream which has tormented me since I was younger.”

“No.”

“That’s not it.”

“Dreams aren’t this painful; dreams don’t hurt you or cause you to suffer.”

“This isn’t a dream.”

“This is a nightmare.”

“My inconceivable, inescapable, eternal nightmare.”

Midnight Star had a smile on his face as he looked at what he had managed to do in such short time; the house was spotless, dinner was cooked and prepped for eating, and dishware had been neatly cleaned and put away. He had managed to do all this as well as study his magical history lessons in under 25 minutes, he should know, he timed himself; and with 15 minutes still left, Midnight wondered how he’d spend it.

Being a young colt he couldn’t necessarily leave the house lest he run into trouble, it’s not the fact that he’d not be able to fend for himself, it’s the fact that he didn’t want to worry his mother. With nothing better to do, Midnight levitated a book of poetry his mother had read to him before and began to read, waiting for his mother’s return. He wasn’t very far into the his first poem when the door to his home opened, quickly placing the book back on its shelf, Midnight rushed to the door to grace his mother as he always did when she arrived.

“Welcome home mom~~,” the young unicorn sang as he hugged the alicorns foreleg with a giggle. “I did all my chores and worked on my studies just liked you asked.”

“You never cease to amaze me Midi,” the alicorn chortled as she enveloped the small unicorn in magic and blew a raspberry on his small stomach forcing him to erupt with laughter.

“Your going to be staying for dinner this time, right?” Midnight asked in a soft tone as he stared into Solar’s eyes, his golden eyes locking with hers.

“Of course, I’m all caught up with the work at the school so I’m all yours.” Solar’s nose began to twitch as she smelled the mouthwatering aroma which snuck it’s way out of the kitchen. “My, my, somepony has certainly cooked up something delicious, what’s for dinner?”

“It’s a new recipe for spiced dandelion soup,” Solar lowered the unicorn back to ground level and watched him scamper away into the kitchen. “Come on! you gotta try some.”

“Oh alright, but let me just—” a knock on the door to the cottage intervened with the alicorn’s statement, her comment now became a question as a puzzled look crossed her face in the process of opening the door. “Now who could that be?”

Midnight watched from the kitchen as the door opened slightly, he couldn’t see whom his mother was talking to, nor what they spoke of, but somehow, Midnight knew. He felt his stomach tighten into a knot, whenever his mother received a knock at their door, he knew what it meant. She gave a nod and a sigh before looking back at him and trying her best to give him a comforting smile.

“Sorry sweetie, but apparently there’s some work that I have to finish at the academy so—” Solar Wind couldn’t even get out the last of her statement before she felt the tightening grip of a small pony wrapping himself around her leg.

“Please mom, don’t go, it’s been so long since we’ve sat down and had dinner together. I made the spiced dandelion soup because you said its your favorite,” Midnight looked up at his mother with tears rolling down his cheeks as he began to sob, he begged, pleaded for his mother to stay. “Why do you have to leave anyway? Can’t you just stay here, with me? Just this once?”

“Sorry Midi, but my responsibility as the principal outweighs my responsibilities here,” Solar said as she shook of the small unicorn and made her way out the door, but not before poking her head in again and muttering one last comment. “Sorry Midnight, but you just don’t interest me like you used to, not when I have an academy teeming with ponies who are far more special than you.”

The door shut, leaving a sobbing young colt staring at the entrance. He quickly jumped up and made a run for the door, upon opening it, he found no grass teeming with life; Celestia’s sun wasn’t setting as it should have been; his mother wasn’t present; nothing, nothing was present. Midnight found himself staring into a dark abyss, an ever-expanding black void; it was so immense, Midnight couldn’t tell where it began or where it ended, if it ended for that fact. Midnight quickly realized that the door he had been staring out had disappeared, turning around he found his home had done the same, only the dark void remained.

Midnight continued his quiet sobbing as he drifted in the empty vacuum of darkness. He was alone, no matter where he turned, no matter where his gaze drifted, all he found was nothing, nothing but himself lost amongst the sea of black.

‘It’s always like this,’ the young colt thought to himself as he curled into a ball and clung to his tail for dear life. ‘She’s always gone, and I always end up alone. Mom…mommy? Why did you have to go? Couldn’t you have stayed for just a bit longer?’

Midnight felt his stomach tighten, more than it did earlier; he quickly grew noxious but was unable to vomit. His head soon began to hurt with each sob, and he soon found himself light headed. Then, he felt cold. Not the cold he usually felt when he grew angry, it was a different cold, a lonely cold, a somber cold. He clung tighter to his tail for warmth but to no avail, the cold started at his lower half but now enveloped his entire body. Midnight’s small colt figure was shaking violently, trembling, his tears continued to follow through, never faltering in their task.

‘Mom, I’m scared. Somepony, anypony…..please.’

“There, there,” a voice cooed softly, somehow calming the unicorn. “There’s no need to tremble, everything is going to be just fine.”

Midnight immediately recognized this as not being apart of his usual nightmare, there was never any comforting, only suffering and sometimes potential self loathing due to his powerlessness. He looked around but couldn’t find the source of the voice, it somehow felt familiar to him, yet, it’s soothing sound was also new.

“It’s okay, I’ll stay by your side until your all better, I’ll be here all night if I have to.”

Midnight realized that the voice was not a creation in his dreamscape, but instead was a voice coming from the outside world, something he didn’t expect. Nothing had ever stopped him from this nightmare that plagued him every night, and here it was, coming to an end. The darkness began to retreat back to the corners of Midnight’s subconscious as a blinding white poured in all around him; all he could do was shield his eyes.

Midnight’s eyes struggled to open, but even when they did they still struggled to see in the dark of his room. He could see the small rays of Luna’s moon shining through the shutters of his window, the only source of light in the room. Midnight couldn’t shake the feeling he was alone, he couldn’t explain it, but he felt like he was being watched. He closed his eyes, stalled his breathing, and listened carefully; silence surrounded him, not a single soul was in the medical wing this time of night which made the silence all more easier to hear. Suddenly, Midnight’s ears perked up, it was only for a brief second, but there was no mistaking it: someone exhaled, it was light, barely audible, but someone exhaled a breath.

Only two responses clicked in Midnight’s head: one, he was suffering from a hallucination due to a recent lack of sleep and the pain reduction medication that his doctor proscribed; or two, someone or something was here to threaten his life, an assassin of sorts. He felt something touch his horn. That confirmed it, someone was in his room. Knowing he wouldn’t reach the light switch in time, Midnight lit his own horn to better see his intruder; he was more than a little surprised.

The dark gray unicorn’s horn hummed to life as his golden light lit up the dim room, staring back at Midnight with one hoof on his horn was a very familiar face; this was probably the reason why he didn’t fear for his life or move in for the kill against his would be assassin.

“Mary, what in Luna’s night white moon do you think your doing here?” Midnight deadpanned as he stared at his friend’s expressionless face.

“Oh, I’m sorry. It’s just, I like watching you sleep.” Mary began stroking Midnight’s horn with her hoof, “You just seem so peaceful when you sleep, at least, you usually do.”

“I’m not even going to begin to tell you how messed up that is. And stop,” Midnight knocked Mary’s hoof off of his horn, “Stop touching my horn, it feels, weird. So, what, you came here to watch me sleep?”

“Yeah, I usually only come in and watch you for a little bit before returning to my room. But,” Mary tried to touch Midnight’s horn again but he slapped her hoof away before she could do so. He than sat up with his back against his pillows so she couldn’t try again. “But, tonight, you were talking in your sleep, whimpering and moaning too. I couldn’t really tell what you were saying, but you seemed distressed. So,” Mary pointed a hoof at her friend’s horn once more, “So I started stroking your horn to calm you down, my grandma used to do it when I had a bad dream, it always soothed me.” Mary cocked her head sideways at Midnight like a curious dog, “Did you have a bad dream?”

“It’s none of your concern,” Midnight replied coldly as he fluffed his pillow.

“Aren’t friends supposed to talk about any problems that either of them might be dealing with?”

Midnight stopped his fluffing for a moment and glanced back at his friend’s blank gaze before returning to his pillow. “If you must know, yes, I had a nightmare. But it’s nothing you should concern yourself with, I’ve had the same recurring nightmare for years now and trust me it’s not going away.” Midnight shifted himself around and laid his head back on his pillow and adjusted himself. “Mary, it’s late. Please, just go back to your room.”

“Okay.”

Midnight pulled the blanket of his bead up until it was under his neck, he let out a sigh as the light on his horn died down and consumed the room in darkness once more. He closed his eyes and prepared to drift off to sleep when another magical aura illuminated the room a second time, this time however, not coming from Midnight.

“Goodnight, Midnight,” Mary said blankly.

The hospitalized unicorn exhaled a vexatious sigh, “Goodnight, Mary.” The light in the room died down again, only for Midnight to feel something touching him again. Lighting up the room himself, again, Midnight stared at the light brown unicorn who had a hoof on his horn. “Your not going to leave my room for the rest of the night are you?” he asked in a deadpan voice.

“Uh-uh,” Mary replied innocently as she kept her hoof on her friend’s horn. “I told you, I’m going to stay by your side until you get all better, even if I have to be here for the rest of the—”

“Okay, fine you can stay,” Midnight snapped as he slapped Mary’s hoof away once again. “Just……stop touching my horn, it’s making me uncomfortable and also, it’s kind of creepy.” With that said, Midnight threw the blanket over his head and tossed and turned himself until he had his back to his intruder. He closed his heavy eyelids and felt himself begin to lose consciousness, however, it was not to be.

“Goodnight, Midnight,” Mary chimed, lighting her horn once again, causing Midnight to let a growl escape from his throat.

Midnight looked over his shoulder at Mary who’s horn hummed with a glow. “Goodnight, Mary,” Midnight hissed through gritted teeth. He waited for patiently for the light to dim, when it didn’t he turned back to his friend once more, “Aren’t you going to get some sleep?”

“I’ve suffered from insomnia for a few years now, I don’t really sleep.”

“Of course you don’t,” Midnight groaned as he kept his back to his friend. He grabbed his pillow and wrapped it around his head followed by digging under the covers of his bed to further encase himself in darkness. It was going to be a long night.

Part 2: Chapter 16

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Silver strolled down the halls of white marble as he rounded another corner, he had a wide smile on his face as there was a certain trot in his step. Celestia had given him a few days to get accustomed to Canterlot before continuing his lessons; in the time he had, Silver chose to invest his time in exploring the castle and its plethora of rooms and passageways. He could now easily make his way around the labyrinth of a castle without the need for an escort of guards.

Turning yet another corner, Silver acknowledged the presence of the two guards which were stationed outside of the princess’ throne room with a smiling nod.

“Good morning sirs, how are you two today?” in response to his question, the guards gave him a solemn nod before opening the large double doors that lead into Celestia’s throne room. The princess sat upon her massive throne as Silver approached her, neither of their smiles faltered in the least. “You were right to give me a few days off princess, I know this castle like the back of my hoof now.”

“Wonderful to hear Silver,” Celestia eyed the earth pony carefully, something about him was different today. He didn’t know it, but the earth pony had a magical sensation radiating off of him; It made Celestia want to try out….that. “Tell me, are you ready to begin your lesson?”

Silver’s head nodded violently, he made no attempt to hide his excitement. “Yes, yes, what is it? Yes!” The earth pony practically bounded toward the throne as though he were hopped up on sugar, “Am I gonna teleport? Are you gonna teach me how to fly? AmIgonnabecomeaprincess? Becausethat’skindaweirdbutit’dbesupercool! Oooh! AmIgonna—” A silent raised hoof from the mighty Alicorn stopped Silver’s mouth from running a mile a minute, he let out a sigh before allowing his teacher to speak. “How about you take it from here?”

A giggle escaped the princess, “It’d be my pleasure.” Celestia cleared her throat, and while her smile still remained, it was a bit more stern than the her usual that Silver was used to seeing. “As I’m sure you’re aware by now, you are not an ordinary earth pony. Your body is a unique one that allows itself to take in magic from not just the surrounding land but also from animals, plants, trees, even magic from other ponies.”

“What!? I’m stealing magic from all those things?” A worried expression crept itself upon the face of Celestia’s pupil.

“Not necessarily, you see, everything from a single blade of grass to every pony in Equestria is magical and therefore retains magic no matter how small the amount. What your body does is allow you take in magic from these things at will, granting you unique albeit unknown abilities.” Celestia arose from her seat and slowly trotted in the direction of the earth pony who was listening intently. “You can produce some sort of magical prowess, I’m just not entirely sure on how you do or how it is triggered.”

“So then my lesson for today will be finding out how to trigger my untapped potential…err, magic?”

“Precisely,” Celestia replied as she gave Silver a nod, “Once we figure out what it is that triggers your magical abilities to activate, then we can focus on controlling them at will.”

Silver began hopping with a grin that spread from ear to ear at the sound of Celestia’s words. “Sweet! So how are we gonna do it?”

“With a meditation spell I know. Please, calm yourself and close your eyes.” Silver did as he was instructed, Celestia’s horn came alive with a hum as a soft gold glow emanated from it. “Now, clear your mind of all outside distractions and focus solely on my voice. Tell me, do you see anything?”

“Yes,” Silver replied in a flat monotone voice as though he were under a trance. “I see a bright light.”

“Good, now we’re going to delve further into your subconscious. There is no need for fright, as long as you hang on to my voice everything shall remain fine. Understand?” A slow nod from Silver was all the reply that Celestia needed. “Very well then.”

Silver found himself inside a white void, devoid of any other ponies from himself. The ground, or where he was standing on, radiated with what looked like wisps of white smoke or mist. “Hey, I recognize this place. It’s my inner sub sandwich.”

“I believe it’s pronounced ‘inner subconscious’.”

“Princess Celestia?” a shocked cry and gasp from Silver rang out. “Is that you? Where are you princess?”

“I am not physically there, mind you. But I am still right here by your side, so please do not fret.”

“This is so awesome!” Silver squealed with delight as he began to trot around the void looking around at nothing in particular. “This is just like that time during the Arcane Trials when I went up against Dexter only you didn’t forcibly invade my mind with an illusion spell, and force me to relive some of my most painful memories.” Silver gave out a nervous chuckle with a smile to match, “Hehe, your not gonna make me do that princess….are you?”

“I’m afraid we are going to have to go through a similar process. But there is no need for despair, I will not force you to relive any memory you choose not to. Now, let us begin with a few simple questions to push us in the right direction: can you tell me what your happiest moment of your life is at the current time?”

Silver tapped a hoof on his chin, pondering what memory he could think of, when it suddenly hit him like a freight train. “I’d have to say that the happiest moment I’ve had so far is when you accepted me to become your student. I still can’t thank you enough Princess Celestia.”

“No need to thank me, you earned this opportunity. Moving on, can you tell me any times when you might have felt a strange sensation overcome you?”

Silverlight scratched the back of his neck as he tried to think of what strange sensation the princess could be referring to. As he pondered in silence, a panel like rectangular shape appeared before the earth pony, Silver immediately recognized it as a memory. In the current memory, the earth pony was carrying an unconscious unicorn mare on his back; upon closer inspection, he recognized His best friend Astral as the unconscious pony.

“Well, there was this one time with Astral,” Silver began to explain as he unknowingly pointed a hoof at the panel. “It was an S-rank assignment that I took, Astral tried to save me but ended up getting hurt herself. I remember we were trying to escape the cave and then….” Silver watched his memory replay, he couldn’t remember much, luckily that’s what his brain was for, it stored away things that the earth pony couldn’t even believe were memories; and what he saw surprised him.

As Silver galloped away from Tenebris’ fiery attack, he noticed that the large sphere of fire was drawing dangerously close to him and his friend. Just when it seemed like neither of the two would make it, Silver’s body had shrouded him and Astral in a cyan colored aura; when it did, Silver’s speed seemed to gain an increase as he was now out running his pursuing attack which collided with the cave entrance causing it to crumble.

“Wait, so is that how?...” Silver began as he watched the memory do what it had done before and replay as though on a re-loop function.

“Most interesting,” Celestia’s voice echoed all around the void, “You had no control over your ability even back then, and yet, it seemed to activate on the perfect time. Perhaps…” The voice of Celestia paused for a brief moment, as of pondering further about Silver’s unique ability. “As odd a request as it sounds, can you remember any other times your life was threatened?”

“How about my first fight with Midnight Star?” Silver chuckled as several memories now descended upon him, though the one with Midnight seemed to be the largest one which stood out the most at the moment. As it currently was, Silverlight’s memory was playing at the point where Silver made a last ditch effort to combat Midnight Star.

“Hey! Midnight!” he called as he watched the grey unicorn turn around and face him.

“This duel…isn’t over!”

“Well, I commend you for being able to stand, but your efforts will only be wasted,” Midnight said as he assumed his stance.

“But what the hay, I’m down for a good laugh. Go ahead and give me all you’ve got left.”

Now watching his memory from a whole new perspective, Silver was able to make out the faint cyan glow which was now surrounding him in memory once more. This time, not only did he receive a slight speed boost, but the aura was now shielding him from Midnight’s magic weather based attacks.

“Hey, now that I think about it, this glow also appeared in my mind when I was going up against Dexter.” Another panel appeared before the earth pony as the previous one floated away with several others. “It’s how I forced him out of my head, he was getting really annoying.”

“Tell me, was the trigger as life threatening as the others?”

Silver shook his head. “Uh-uh, it happened after I relived a memory from my childhood,” Silver’s usual upbeat demeanor broke slightly. “It was about my brother, but strangely enough I was actually able to control the sensation that time."

“Interesting, perhaps if you could recall that exact memory, we might get a trig—” Celestia’s voice was halted as every memory in Silver’s mind simultaneously shut off like a television set, leaving nothing in the void except the earth pony. “Is something wrong, Silverlight?”

Silver looked confused, unsure of what had just happened. “I’m not exactly—” Silver stopped as he began to drool, a look of bliss replacing his confusion. In front of his face, only inches away from his muzzle was a massive panel which had a basket of blueberry muffins with sprinkled sugar on top.

Quickly to the left of him spawned another panel, this one of blueberry pancakes now, then another of blueberry waffles. This trend continued until Silverlight was surrounded by several breakfast delicacies, most associated with a certain blue ball of a fruit. “Man, blueberry muffins sure sound good right now,” Silver said as he wiped the drool from his mouth. Then he felt a strong sensation become to him from his midsection, “Uh-oh,” he remarked as he felt himself waking from his meditation.

Silver’s yellow eyes shot open wide as he stared at his teacher standing before him, his face getting flushed with a shade of crimson. He let out a hearty laugh as he rubbed the back of his neck and closed his eyes. “Hehe, sorry about that Princess Celestia, I kinda skipped breakfast this morning, I was too busy exploring the castle and didn’t even think to drop by the kitchen before I came to see you.”

Celestia continued to smile. “It’s quite alright, why don’t we head to the kitchen? I can have the kitchen staff prepare us a little snack and then we can continue with your lesson.” Celestia made her way to the exit, “Sound good?”

Just as Celestia had opened the door leading into the hall, a white and gray blur rushed passed her, only one word escaping from his mouth. “FOOD!” She giggled warmly at Silver’s new demeanor and watched with a smile as he rushed down the hall in the direction of the kitchen.

Celestia watched Silver finish off the last of his pancakes with wide eyes, then he gave a satisfied belch before apologizing to his teacher. “I had never expected for you to have such an appetite,” Celestia laughed warmly to herself as the earth pony finished off his seventh stack of pancakes. “I take it you like blueberries, hmm?”

Silver washed down his final bite with a glass of milk, “Heck yeah! Blueberries are my favorite fruit hooves down, and there are so many things you can make with them. Like blueberry muffins,” Silver began to drool again even though he had just finished his pancakes.

“I’m sure I can have someone whip something up,” Celestia’s eyes narrowed with interest as she arose from her seat and walked to another area in the dining room out of Silver’s sight. “Give me a moment Silver, I’m just going to check something. I hope you don’t mind.”

Silver chugged more of his milk unceremoniously, some of it dripping down the side of his muzzle and on to the table. “Not at all, I’ll just be here.” He picked up another plate of stacked pancakes and brought them in front of him and devouring them just as he did the ones before. ‘This. Is. Heaven.’ Silver thought to himself as he began thinking out loud. “I’m finally a 1st Class Student, I’m Princess Celestia’s personal pupil, and I’m studying magic under one of the most powerful and influential rulers of Equestria.” Silver paused and looked down at his green scarf and cleaned his mouth with a napkin before nuzzling into it and letting out a warm sigh. “I’m on my way big brother. I’m on my—”

CRASH!

Silver’s head perked up, his ears narrowed towards the room in which the sound shattered of porcelain was heard. “Princess Celestia!?” Not receiving an immediate response, the only thought running through the startled pony’s mind was danger. Silverlight jumped out of his seat and rushed into the room Celestia had entered only moments before, a look of determination mixed with a stern gaze on his face. He entered the room, and without even thinking, started shouting off threats. “I don’t know who you are, but you got a lot of nerve to be skulking around here of all—” Silver stopped with his words and looked around the room only to notice Celestia as the only creature in his sight. “Places?” he finished of confusingly.

A pair of pegasus guards rushed in shortly after Silver, their expressions a mix of disarray and seriousness.

“Princess, is everything alright?” the first guard questioned.

“We heard a loud noise, sounding like a crash,” the other guard added after his comrade.

Celestia let out a sigh as her gentle smile returned to her facial features. “It’s quite alright, I simply dropped a dishware, no need for concern.” Hearing her words, both Silverlight and the guards took notice of the now shattered plate on the floor, scattered around Celestia’s hooves. “No need to inform the maids I can clean it up myself,” the princess nodded to the pegasi, “You two may return to your posts, we’re fine here.”

“Yes your highness,” the armored pegasi said in unison as they gave the princess a nod. They then turned to the earth pony, “Sir Silverlight,” with a final nod, both guards exited the room and left only the princess and her pupil.

“Well if everything’s alright, I’m going to—”

“Wait Silverlight,” the white haired pony turned around to meet his teacher’s gaze only to find it frozen in a stern expression, one that Silver hadn’t seen before. “I didn’t want the guards to know, but something is amiss.” Celestia’s gaze softened slightly as she attempted to put on her usual poise. “Something has been taken from me, something that your going to get back for me.”

Silverlight rushed over to Celestia, sliding across the marble floor until he stopped after bumping into Celestia’s hooves. He gave her a salute. “1st Class Arcane Academy student Silverlight reporting for duty ma’am, I am ready when you are.” His smile was a cross between determination and complete glee, it was a somewhat odd sight that the princess had never seen before.

Celestia suppressed a giggle and managed to keep her somewhat serious tone as she continued to address the young stallion. “It seems that Princess Luna has taken something which is very precious to me, something which cannot be replaced easily. What I need is for you to gather the required items on this list,” the mighty princess paused for a brief moment as her horn made a small parchment appear before Silver. “Once you have all those items, I need you to take them to the designated location in Ponyville, ask for the “The Gala Special” and you will receive a package. You must bring this package back to me here in Canterlot in one piece. This will be a very important mission, one who’s details you are not to disclose to a single soul.”

“That’s why you didn’t want the guards to know,” Silver began bouncing up and down excitedly. “Wow! If it’s this secretive, it must be something really, really important!” Silverlight stopped bouncing and a touch of seriousness came to his face. “But the fact that it’s so important means that I can’t mess up, not one bit! Alright then Princess Celestia, as your pupil and friend,” Silver took the parchment in his mouth and spoke (though his words were muffled), “I won’t let you down!” The earth pony quickly scurried to the door, but not before the princess gave him one last warning.

“Silverlight,” Silver turned to meet Celestia’s slightly stern eyes, “I wouldn’t put it pass Luna to try to intervene with your attempts, stay weary for any sign of my sister.”

A final nod with a quick salute to follow left Silverlight as he dashed out the dining room and rushed to his own, he quickly packed his saddle bag for what he’d need for his “mission”.

“This is so exciting!” Silver practically squealed to himself as his train came to a stop at the Ponyville station. “I’m on a super, secrete mission sent by Princess Celestia herself. I wonder what’s so important that she doesn’t want me telling anyone about? Well whatever it is, it’s obviously important enough for Princess Luna to try to intervene.” Giving himself a quick slap, Silver’s demeanor changed drastically. “Get a grip Silver, this is really important to the princess so you can’t screw up.”

Hopping out of his coach seat, the earth pony exited the train to another station similar to the one he was at when he was in Canterlot. After leaving the station, Silverlight found himself amongst several other friendly looking ponies who appeared to all have smiles plastered onto their faces. “So this is Ponyville? Well, it sure seems friendly, I’m sure I could make a couple of new friends easy here. Let’s see, what we have here,” the stallion reached into his saddle bag to grab the parchment his teacher had given him, written on it were several items and at the bottom a single address.

“Well, the list says the first thing I need to get is cherries.” A perplexed Silver just scratched the back of his head with a hoof. “Cherries? That’s odd, but it’s what the princess wants, and who am I to question her judgment?” Rolling up the parchment and placing it back into his bag, Silver continued walking with his head held high, after realizing he had no idea where he was going, he began to laugh nervously to himself. “Forgot, this isn’t Canterlot, I don’t know these streets.” Pondering his thoughts, a light bulb lit up in Silverlight’s head. “Oh! Of course! I’ll ask Derpy to help me,” a sigh escaped the pony, “But she’s probably working and I’d hate to interrupt her work for a tour.”

Now rubbing his head with his hooves, the earth pony struggled for an idea as to what to do next. “Come on, think. Concentrate, concentrate, concentrate,” and then, as his gaze trailed off, he took notice of a large crystal structure in the distance; then it hit him. “Princess Twilight! Duh! I almost forgot she stayed in Ponyville. I’m sure she wouldn’t mind helping me with my missi—” Silver stopped speaking as he recalled Celestia’s words. “I can’t tell Twilight, Princess Celestia specifically said to not disclose any information to anyone.”

Dragging a hoof down his face, Silver stopped his worrying. “Why am I getting so worked up by this? Twilight invited me to come visit her. So as far as she’s concerned, that’s what I’m here to do.” He patted himself on the back, “Silver, you’re a genius.” And so he made his way to the large crystal styled castle off in the distance.

Silverlight approached the castle with an expression of pure awe on his features. ‘It may not be as big as the castle in Canterlot,’ he thought to himself, ‘But it sure is just as beautiful’. On that thought, the stallion trotted up to the stairs to the golden doors of the castle and knocked several times. After several moments of silence, Silver seemed a bit confused. “Have I got the wrong place?” he thought aloud to himself as he tilted his head to the side. “If Twilight doesn’t stay here then I don’t know who—”

Before he could finish rambling to himself, one of the golden doors before Silverlight opened up. Out poked the head of a unicorn mare with a curled mane of purple with aquamarine highlights that accented her brilliant blue eyes which sparkled like diamonds before the earth pony. “Yes?” she questioned as she examined the earth pony which stood before her.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” Silver apologized as he rubbed the back of his neck nervously now. “I guess I have the wrong castle, I was just looking for Princess Twilight Sparkle, this wouldn’t happen to be her home, would it?”

“Oh, you’re looking for Twilight,” the unicorn’s gaze seemed to wander elsewhere, not meeting Silver’s eyes anymore. “She’s currently not in at the moment.”

“Really? What a drag,” Silver turned his back to the unicorn but still remained in front of the door, mumbling to himself. “What am I gonna do now? Princess Celestia is counting on me.”

The mare cleared her throat, drawing back the stallion’s attention. “Well, if that’s all you need I’ll let her know you stopped by.” She went to close the door, however, a well placed hoof stopped her from doing so.

“Wait a sec, you live around here, right?” Silver questioned as he attempted to open the door slightly. “Do you think you could show me where to get some cherries? It’s really important.”

“W-what? But I—”

“Oh, where are my manners? I almost forgot to introduce myself,” the earth pony scratched the back of his mane as he smiled warmly at the mare before him and extended a hoof. “Names Silverlight, I’m a 1st Class Student of Arcane Academy. Nice to meet ya!”

The unicorn looked curiously (and confusingly) at the odd earth pony who was sitting on his haunches with his hoof extended toward her in a greeting manner. After shaking off some hesitation, she opened the door more and exited to shake the strange pony’s hoof. “Starlight Glimmer.”

“Starlight Glimmer?” Silver’s head tilted slightly to the side as his eyes met hers. Starlight stared back as the earth pony appeared to analyze her. Silver gave her a nod with another warm grin. “I like that name.”

Starlight’s cheeks began to glow a shade of red at the comment, her confusion growing all the more. “W-what?” she stammered at the odd pony’s remark.

“Wow, usually I’m the nervous one when I talk to pretty mares,” Silver laughed as he gave the unicorn a light nudge, then he proceeded to clear his throat. “So, Starlight Glimmer, are you Twilight’s sister or something?”

“What!?” Starlight exclaimed with a small chuckle. “Oh, no, no, no, no, no, Twilight’s my um….she’s sort of my teacher.”

“Huh, so you’re her student?” Starlight gave a singe nod in response and Silver’s smile beamed. “Oh cool! Then we already have something in common! Well, except I’m not Twilight’s student.” Silver’s eyes found Starlight’s once more as an intrigued look picked up in his features. “So what’s it like? Being Twilight’s student I mean. I know she’s the princess of friendship, so I can only assume that’s what she teaches.”

Starlight’s demeanor seemed to loosen up slightly as she now spoke. “It’s a bit of challenge, I suppose. Twilight’s really organized and tends to do everything ‘by the book’ as she puts it.” A small giggle escaped the unicorn, “It’s when things don’t go as she plans that it becomes a challenge though. I’m still learning my lessons about friendship, I didn’t have friends for the longest…” Her gaze became somewhat somber as her voice trailed off at the last few words she spoke.

Noticing this, Silver put on the friendliest smile he can muster and gave Starlight another small nudge. “Well you have friends now and that’s what counts. As a matter of fact I think you just made a new one.” Starlight, still slightly pink, looked up at the earth pony’s warm gaze and locked eyes with him. “So whaddya say? Wanna be friends?”

Starlight’s blush seemed to deepen after Silver’s question, she swallowed and nodded her head. “Yes, I think I’d like that,” she replied somewhat quietly.

“Then it’s settled!” Silver said as he turned away from Starlight. “From this day forward you and I are friends.” He glanced over his shoulder, “All jokes aside though, I did come to Ponyville for a very specific reason. You see I hav—” Silver stopped as he caught himself before he revealed the list that Celestia had given him. ‘Almost slipped up about my mission there. I know the princess said not to say anything about it….but it couldn’t hurt to just mention the items that I need. Starlight won’t know what they’re for.’ Silver scrunched his nose at his current thoughts. ‘To be honest, even I don’t know what they’re for’.

“Silverlight? Are you okay?”

Snapping back to reality at the mares question, the earth pony let out a nervous giggle. “Oh yeah, just got lost in my own thoughts for a sec. Now, what was I talking about again?” A few silent seconds later and Silver’s eyes brightened as he raised his head triumphantly. “Cherries! That’s what I gotta get.”

Starlight just looked on, small dose of confusion on her face. ‘This pony is really weird, was it really a good idea making friends with him? Still, I guess if he knows Twilight then he can’t be all bad’. Starlight cleared her throat. “Well, good luck with the…er, cherries. I’m sure you’ll find everything you need in the Ponyville market district.”

“Well…wait!” Silver exclaimed as the unicorn made an attempt to retreat back into the castle. Hearing his plea, Starlight looked over her shoulder back at him with a raised brow. “Well, ya see, I’m not from around here. I stay up in Canterlot so everything in this town is new to me. The whole reason I came here was to get a sense of direction from Twilight but she’s not here.” Silver paused for a moment and hesitated as he and Starlight’s gaze met once again, this time his gray features becoming a shade of scarlet. “So…uh, I was wondering if…if maybe you could show me around, or at least until I get to the market district.”

Starlight’s expression softened and her own blush returned slightly, Silver quickly noticed this and changed up his approach. “O-or not, I mean you don’t have to. I-I just thought that….” The white haired pony let out a defeated sigh and turned away. “Never mind, you don’t have to. I mean, it is pretty sudden of me to ask seeing as we did just meet and all.”

“Well, wait a second,” Starlight called to the earth pony as he began to walk away from the castle. “I never said that I wouldn’t show you around, and besides, if we’re friends now then there’s no way I could turn my back on a friend in need.” Starlight’s smile was warm but did nothing to help hide her still rosy cheeks.

Silverlight ran right back up to her and began shaking her hoof haphazardly. “Thanks a bunch Starlight! This really means a lot to me.” Silver stopped and then took a few steps away from the mare before performing a mock salute which caused a small chuckle to escape the unicorn before him. “You’ve got the lead ma’am.”

The streets of Ponyville’s market district were bustling and teeming with life, Silver noticed that unlike the streets of Canterlot each passing pony all held smiles of glee and genuine happiness. He was glad the glares of high society and stuck up demeanors from Canterlot were nowhere to be seen.

Silver exhaled deeply and took it all in. “This place is just so…peaceful, I just love this environment.”

“It’s nothing special, really.” Starlight shrugged. “Is it?”

“You don’t understand, when your surrounded by nothing but upper class ponies who seem to think you’re beneath them; it’s nice to be around ponies who seem to at least value your existence.” Silver stopped walking and looked to his left were Starlight was. “Its beautiful out here and the atmosphere is awesome! So what were you doing cooped up in a crystal castle for?”

Starlight looked away and shuffled uncomfortably in her position before answering Silver’s question. “I don’t really…have many friends, aside from Twilight and her friends and Trixie. So I tend not to leave the castle without someone with me.”

“Aw, come on,” Silverlight nudged Starlight. “Its not that hard making friends, at least not with friendly ponies all around you here. Making friends in Canterlot, now that’s a challenge.”

“Well, I…” Starlight hesitated before clearing her throat and continuing. “I-I haven’t had the best experience in the past with making friends, I wasn’t always the nicest of ponies.”

Silver could sense how distressed and uncomfortable his new friend got on the current topic, so he mustered up all of his kindness and gave her the warmest smile he could as he gently placed a hoof on her shoulder. “Starlight, it doesn’t matter what kind of pony you were in the past, all that matters is the kind of pony you are now. I’m not sure what you’ve done before, but everyone makes mistakes; none of us are perfect, you just gotta learn to move on from the bad of the past and focus on the upcoming good.”

Starlight tried to hide the crimson hue which had once again returned to her facial features, now deeper then before. “Now come on, those cherries aren’t gonna find themselves!” With a hearty laugh he zipped off into a group of other ponies, soon out of Starlight’s sight.

The usual expressionless look on Mary’s face helped to keep other students from talking to her as she walked through the academy. She never did like socializing, she had learned that already and did her best to avoid contact with her fellow classmates. However, there was one stallion in particular that she didn’t mind being around, frankly, she enjoyed his very presence. Something stirred inside her and made her feel different when she was around him. Though she couldn’t tell what, she was sure it was a feeling she had never felt before; even then, it was just a small nagging feeling and never too serious.

“It’s been some time now since Midnight’s been kept in the medical wing, he should be allowed to leave now and rest in his own dorm. Maybe he’d like to come to our next family picnic on the beach?” Mary stopped her trotting and talking for a moment and stared blankly into space. “I know our last one didn’t turn out the way we expected, but it’ll be different this time. I mean, we’re all friends now. Right Sir Trottsalot?”

Mary sought confirmation from the wooden puppet which sat atop her head, curled up in her white mane; yet all she got as a reply was silence. “I think he’d like it, he has been complaining about how he hates being stuck in his room. And now that he’s healed up enough to leave, I’m sure Midnight would enjoy the fresh air.”

Mary stopped in front of Midnight’s door and prepared to knock, but a peculiar noise made her ears rise and fall as they made an attempt to tune in on the sound. The sound was soft, feminine, and wasn’t very audible from Mary’s side. Curiosity getting the best of her, she gently pushed open the door to the dim lighted room. The blinds to the window were shut tightly stopping the sunlight from penetrating any further; after scanning the dark room, Mary took notice of the large alicorn by Midnight’s bed. She immediately recognized it as Principal Solar Wind, she was humming softly while Midnight lay in deep slumber on his bed.

The unicorn couldn’t make out the song she was humming, but it sounded like a nursery rhyme that parents would sing to their foal. The principal’s voice was soothing, bliss to Mary’s ears, she couldn’t help but let out a blissful sigh.

“No need to hide dear, I’m sure Midnight wouldn’t mind you paying him a visit.” The golden and white alicorn looked over her shoulder at Mary and gave her a gentle smile. “He likes you, ya know?”

The unicorn hadn’t known it, but a distinct blush now overcame her and her light brown coat did her no justice in helping hide it. “Re-really?” she questioned as she trotted over to the side of Solar Wind, her expressionless gaze softening ever so slightly.

The principal gave a single nod in response. “If he didn’t like you, he certainly would’ve made it known by now; I think being the only other 1st Class Student at the time helps him relate to you. Trust me, he may not tell you or even admit it to himself, but you’re special to him.” Solar let out a sigh and fixed her gaze on Midnight’s resting form. “I know what you’ve been doing, completing his assignments for him so he doesn’t lose his title as a 1st Class Student. I’ll admit, while what you’re doing is very kind and sweet, you are under no obligation by the school to do so. So my question is: why do you continue to do them?”

Mary watched as the alicorn continued to stare at Midnight, then she began to do the same thing. “At first, I was only doing it to make up for his injury, seeing as I’m the one responsible for it. But as time went on and I talked with him, I genuinely got used to his company, I didn’t feel that alone here anymore. I guess now I keep doing them because I want to, and because it gives me a reason to see him everyday. I’m not sure what I feel, it’s complicated for me to explain.”

“I see,” were the only words which had escaped from Solar’s mouth and found themselves entwined in reality. A lingering silence befell them, the only sound being Midnight’s steady snoring as he still lay in slumber. She turned her gaze to the unicorn who was beside her and gave Mary a slight nudge while keeping her voice down. “I’m so very glad that my son has someone like you in his life. Ever since he was younger, he’s never had much luck in making friends, frankly because he didn’t want any. But as long as you’re by his side, I’m sure he’d be willing to open up more.”

Glancing at a clock on the wall, she let another sigh exit her. “Well, I must get back to my office, there’s so much for me to do. Feel free to stay as long as you like, Mary.” The principal departed quietly so as not to wake the sleeping unicorn, leaving only Mary now as the only one in Midnight’s room.

Silverlight wasn’t a patient pony, and having to wait in line for cherries wasn’t helping. But these cherries were important, Silver had to get them no matter how long he had to wait. He had lost track of Starlight after he dashed off, hopefully he’d be able to find her afterwards. After the customer in front of him was done, Silver rushed to the front of the stand.

“Finally,” Silver exhaled overdramatically, “I need fifty cherries, stat!”

“Fifty!?” the stall owner practically choked on his question when he heard the earth pony’s order. “You sure you got the Bits to cover that, kid?”

“Kid!? I’m Princess Celestia’s personal student!”

“Yeah right, and I’m Princess Mi Amora Cadenza,” the owner scoffed with a laugh. “So you gonna buy some cherries or not? You’re holding up the line.”

Silver was about to reply with a sarcastic remark but decided against it. “Yeah, whatever,” Silver pulled out a sack of Bits from his saddle bag and tossed it on the stall counter. The stall owner’s eyes widened at the sight of the large sack of Bits. “I save up a lot of Bits seeing as I never really go anywhere to spend them, plenty where those came from.” Seeing the owner still mesmerized by the sack of Bits in front of him, Silver nonchalantly just reached over the stand and grabbed the sack of cherries he had purchased. With a smile of accomplishment he exited the line where a yellow mare pegasus now approached the stand.

“Funny, I thought there'd be more, but it looks like that's the only item on the princess’ list, now I have to head to…” the earth pony pulled out his scroll and glanced at the address written on the bottom. “Sugar Cube Corner, wherever that is. Now, where did Starlight run off to?”

“Oh, but are you sure that you don’t have just one more cherry left?”

Silver couldn’t help but notice the very soft and gentle voice, it was barely audible and he couldn’t exactly make out what it was saying but he was sure it belonged to a mare. A strong reply from the stall owner he had just left caused Silverlight to glance over his shoulder.

“I told you! Someone already came through and bought the last of my cherries!” The stallion behind the stand was now raising his voice at a frightened looking yellow pegasus with a rather long pink mane and tail. “Now, stop pestering me and go find your cherries somewhere else!”

Turning his back to the mare, the owner placed a large “SOLD OUT” sign on the top his stand before trotting away; leaving a deflated looking pegasus sitting on her haunches with an expression of disappointment.

Silver glanced at the sack of cherries he was still carrying and then back at the distraught mare. ‘Fifty cherries huh? I’m sure whatever Princess Celestia needs them for doesn’t require that many’ he thought to himself. Giving himself a moment of silence to figure out his conflicting thoughts, Silver let out a sigh before trotting over to the mare and making conversation.

He cleared his throat which seemed to startle the poor mare. “Oh, sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you. I just thought you might have need for some of these.” Silver grabbed his sack which rested on his back and poured out several cherries, seeing this the pegasus’ eyes widened slightly though she still tried to hide behind her mane. “I couldn’t help but have overheard you, and I do have a lot of cherries; I don’t think I’ll be using all of them anyway.”

The pegasus stared at the cherry pouch, then back to Silver, she did this several times before finally speaking in a low, gentle tone. “Oh, um, I-I couldn’t possibly ask you to—”

“You’re not asking, I insist,” Silver interjected with a warm smile, trying his best not to seem rude.

“Oh, but I-um, I don’t have any Bits to pay for them,” the pegasus replied shyly still trying to hide behind her mane.

To this remark, Silverlight gave a gentle laugh which seemed to surprise the mare. “You don’t have to pay for them, you can just take as many as you need. My brother once told me; ‘A single act of kindness throws out roots in all directions and the roots spring up and make new trees’. I always figured he meant spreading kindness isn’t a bad thing to do, ya know?”

No longer was the mare exhibiting signs of shyness, she was now wearing a grateful smile with a small blush making itself known on her features. “O-oh, thank you very much, Angel Bunny will be so happy.” The pegasus took the cherries she needed and then gave a nervous nod. “I-I’m Fluttershy.”

“No wonder you’re so soft spoken,” the earth pony laughed as he scooped up his cherry sack before returning it to his saddle bag. “Nice to meet you Fluttershy, I’m 1st Class Arcane Academy Student—”

“Silverlight!?”

The stallion’s introduction was interrupted as he heard the sound of a familiar unicorn voice. “Well, that saves me the trouble of having to find Starlight.” Returning his attention to the mare of front of him, Silver gave her a gentle laugh and a nod before leaving. “I gotta go, but maybe I’ll see you around sometime.” Heading through a group of ponies, Silver eventually found his way back to Starlight.

Finally catching a glimpse of the white haired pony heading her way, Starlight let out a sigh of relief. “There you are, do you usually just run off like that?”

Silver gave the unicorn a shrug in response followed by a laugh. “Yeah, sorry about that. But I did manage to get everything I needed, so I’m pretty much done here.”

“Oh, really?” Starlight’s gaze feel to the ground as her voice got lower. “I guess you don’t need me anymore then…”

“Starlight!” Starlight jumped at the sound of Silver’s voice which had dramatically increased in volume. “I may have only just met you, but I can see what you’re doing, and it’s not good. Look, I’m not sure what you did in the past that makes you so self conscious, but just let it go. I don’t care about what you’ve done before, I only care about the Starlight Glimmer in front of me today. You gotta stop beating yourself up like you don’t deserve any happiness or any friends, cause that’s not right.” Silver gave a sigh and put on his trademark grin before continuing.

“And besides, nothing you could do could ever make me dislike you. Whether you were a bad person in the past or just made bad decisions, it doesn’t matter to me; because I’m already your friend, and nothing could ever change that, and that’s a promise.” Silver turned his back away from the unicorn and didn’t notice her eyes now glistening the faint hint of tears. “And if it’s forgiveness you’re looking for, don’t worry about what others think. What’s most important is that we learn from our mistakes and do better by them. You can strive your whole life to get other ponies to forgive you, but none of that matters; the only pony who’s forgiveness you have to worry about is your own. If you can’t learn to forgive yourself, then how can you expect everyone else to?”

The market district was not as packed as before, so when these two ponies remained standing where they were in silence for a good moment, not a soul questioned it. Starlight wiped away the tears before they had a complete chance to form and before Silverlight could notice them. “Thank you,” she mumbled softly as Silver now turned to face her again. “That’s one of the nicest things anyone has ever said to me.”

“Aw, it was nothing,” Silver laughed somewhat nervously. “I’m not too good with heroic speeches or giving advice, that was always my older brother’s field.”

“Well he seemed to have taught you well,” Starlight giggled as it was now Silver’s turn to don a shade of crimson on his features. “So, where exactly did you have to go next?”

“Oh, right!” Silver quickly snapped out of his embarrassed stupor and remember his task that was at hand. “Some place called Sugar Cube Corner. Sounds like some sort of pastry shop or something.”

“Sugar Cube Corner? What are you making, a cake?” Starlight laughed as she made a motion for the earth pony to follow her.

“Not that I know of,” Silver muttered quietly to himself so as not to allow the unicorn to hear. “Now that I think about it, Princess Celestia never said that the fate of Equestria hung in the balance, I just assumed that. But she did say it was a very important mission and that I shouldn’t disclose any information to a single soul.” Silver continued walking, but now his thoughts wandered elsewhere as he took a moment or two to think about his task carefully.

‘What exactly is so important that Princess Celestia wants that I can’t tell anyone? I’m supposed to go to Sugar Cube Corner and ask for “The Gala Special”, whatever that means, and receive a package that I’m supposed to bring with me back to Canterlot. And then there’s Princess Luna…’ Silver’s eyes scanned the passing streets and found no sign of an alicorn, another scan of the sky overhead only revealed a sky blue pegasus with a rainbow mane resting peacefully on a fluffy cloud.

‘Why would Princess Luna want the package? And why would she try to stop me if what I’m doing is so important’ The white haired stallion exhaled deeply, “My brain hurts.”

“Well, here we are,” Starlight said as she gestured with a hoof to a large building which seemed more like a dessert then an actual establishment. “Sugarcube Corner.”

The stallion earth pony took notice of the gingerbread house structure, it was covered in frosting with a giant pink cupcake resting on the very top. Unbeknownst to him Silver began drooling at the sight of the frosting covered building, giving himself a quick slap he was back to his senses and remember his task at hand.

The inside of Sugarcube Corner was just as colorful as the outside, images of candy and other assorted sweets were finely carved into the gingerbread like boarding along with candy cane pillars which seemed to help support the building. Silver was truly beginning to think that the wood (if not the whole building) was edible; wiping away some more drool, he and Starlight approached the counter where a tall yellowish Earth Pony with an Orange mane who sported a peppermint patterned bowtie and hat to match along with an apron.

“Hey there,” the older Earth Pony greeted both Starlight and Silver with a gentle smile. “What can I get you folks?”

Silver reached into his saddle bag and pulled out his sack of assorted cherries, then leaned in close and tried to keep his voice low as he spoke. “I’d like ‘The Gala Special’.”

“Err, The Gala Special?” the pale yellowish stallion scratched under his chin as he pondered the white haired pony’s request. Then suddenly, something in his head clicked as his eyes widened greatly and his pupils shrunk. “The Gala Special!?” the earth pony now removed his hat and gave a slight bow in Silver’s direction. “My apologies sir, I didn’t know she sent you, I’ll be right back.” Taking Silver’s sack of cherries, the older stallion disappeared towards what Silverlight could only assume was the kitchen.

“And now we wait,” Silver let out a small huff adding under his breath, “As if I haven’t done enough of that today.” Turning his gaze back to Starlight, the stallion took notice of her confused yet surprised expression. “What?” he asked.

“What exactly were you doing in Ponyville again?”

Silver shrugged with a tired sigh, “I’m not entirely sure, Princess Celestia wasn’t too keen on the details.”

“Wait, Princess Celestia sent you?” a bit of surprise was detected in Starlight’s voice.

‘Damn it!’ Silver screamed internally as shock overcame his features. “Umm, yeah, ya see, we were in the middle of a listen when—”

“A lesson? Wait, Princess Celestia is your teacher!?”

‘DAMN IT! I cannot shut up when I'm nervous!’ Silver’s internal screaming continued. “Ugh, I’m such an idiot!” the white haired pony gave himself a face hoof.

“But…how, I mean, no offense but you’re an Earth Pony. How does an Earth Pony become Celestia’s student, and why did she send you down to Ponyville?”

Starlight was spitting out more questions than Silver had expected, he became overwhelmed by his slip up. Just as his brain was beginning to fail him, the Orange stallion from earlier returned with a large brown colored box. “Here you are sir,” placing the package on the counter he gave a nod of his head that Silver almost mistook for a bow. “Do give our regards to Princess Celestia, will you?”

Silver took the package and gentle placed it in his saddle bag before returning the nod. “Will do, thanks for everything.” Turning back to Starlight, Silver let out a sigh, “I wish I could explain and or answer your questions, but as of right now I have to get back to Canterlot. Mind walking with me to the station?”

“If only you’ll answer my questions,” Starlight replied, a hint of annoyance in her words as her and Silver exited Sugarcube Corner. “What are you, bound by silence?”

“Not exactly, but..” Silver’s words trailed off as before giving up and exhaling a defeated sigh. “Aw to heck with it!” he kicked some dirt in the road. “I’ve already said too much as it is, might as well tell you everything, plus I trust you.”

“But I have no idea what the cherries were for or what’s in the package that I’m supposed to deliver, but Princess Celestia made it seem really important.” Silver had just finished up the last of his story as he and Starlight arrived at the Ponyville station. “And that’s pretty much how I became Celestia’s student and what I’m doing here in Ponyville.”

“Celestia’s new student is an Earth Pony, who woulda thought?” Starlight laughed as the two proceeded further into the station where a train rested on the railway. “Sooo, I’ll be sure to let Twilight know that you stopped by. Maybe I’ll see you the next time you come to visit Twilight again.”

“Nah, probably not,” Silver smiled at the confused expression which now rested on Starlight’s face. “Twilight is pretty cool what with being a princess and all, but I think I’d rather pay you a visit instead. Next time I’ll be sure to stay longer, my time here was short lived and I’d really like to get to know you better.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, actually Starlight, I was wondering if—”

“Now boarding to Canterlot! All ponies heading to the Canterlot area please board now. Please make sure you keep track of all belongings which you bring with you as Equestrian Railroads are not liable for any stolen or misplaced luggage.”

“Yikes, better get going! Wouldn’t wanna miss my train.” The Earth Pony hopped aboard the coach, but not before saying his goodbye to his new friend. “See ya Starlight Glimmer, thanks for showing me around. Maybe next time we can take a whole tour of the town?”

“I look forward to it Silverlight,” the mare called back giving him a wave of goodbye.

Setting his saddle bag down next to him, Silver took a seat and prepared for his arrival as the train underneath him began to come alive and motion forward.

Solar Wind trotted along one of Arcane Academy’s many halls, this one would lead her back to her office. After a nice lunch consisting of a roasted carrot and celery salad, she had to return back to her workplace to continue her daily duties as principal. “One of these days I really should take a day to myself and go to the school spa, it’s been quite some time since I last pampered myself.” Allowing her magic to turn the knob and open the door, the Alicorn was surprised and annoyed with the unicorn who sat at her desk reclined in her chair.

“Your office is a lot nicer now that I actually get a moment to see it from your perspective, Solar. Tell me, seeing as I’m vice principal now, when do I get my own? I mean, it’s only fair.”

A sigh was the only thing that exited Solar Wind as she entered the room and shut the door behind her. “Can’t I have at least one moment’s peace when you’re not intruding on my work, Ignis?”

“If eating a salad counts as work to you then we should swap jobs, you can get back in the field and take a shot at doing the work I have to do.” Ignis arose out of the seat as his old friend was now only inches from reclaiming her “throne”.

“Running around gawking at mares all over Equestria in that pathetic helpless romantic style you have?” Solar laughed as she sat at her familiar desk; she then proceeded to levitate a stack of papers out of a nearby filing cabinet and onto the desk before her. “Asking out single mares left and right isn’t a job last time I checked.”

“Oh hardy, har, har,” Ignis scoffed as he sat before the Alicorn’s desk on his haunches. “I’ll have you know that besides trying to find a mate and being a flirt every once in awhile what I actually do is important. As I said before I’m a historian and gatherer of information, I travel to the far reaches of Equestria to record data for the biggest or even the smallest of things.” The orange unicorn’s horn lit up and made a large tome spawn in front of him on the desk. “I’ve written everything down and I plan on publishing the data I’ve compiled over the years as an all-in-one encyclopedia when I’m done.”

Solar turned the books many pages and began scanning the text, her eyes widening after the turn of each new page. “Ignis, this is incredible! There’s history and information about not just pony culture, but even Griffins; Dragons; Timberwolves,” the principal came to a halt as her page turning stopped at a “unique” diagram in question. “You even have information on Changelings? And how did you come about that information?”

“Oh yes, that, well,” Ignis diverted his gaze away from Solar as he outstretched a fore hoof and began examining it as though it were the most interesting thing ever. “Years ago I encountered a Changeling hive on one of my travels south into the Badlands. I was brought before their queen, after striking a bargain with her she remained my associate just for a small amount of love to keep her and her subjects fed.”

“You…feed a Changeling hive love in exchange for?...”

“Information about anything pretty much, but mainly about their history and background, in addition to her informing me about the actions of any criminals the agency sends me after. You’d be surprised how well Chryssi’s drones are at reconnaissance, they’ve encountered and studied so many creatures in their lifetime.”

“Chryssi?” Solar Wind asked as she raised an eye at the unicorn who has now decided to meet her gaze.

Ignis cleared his throat rather loudly as he straightened up his slouching position. “I mean Chrysalis, never mind that, I seem to have strayed off topic. However, even after compiling information for so many different species and life-changing events, there is still one place I haven’t recorded any information for; the Crystal Empire.” Ignis levitated the book back over to his person before making it teleport away. “And that’s why I’ve come to you today.”

Solar Wind kept looking over her documents but still replied to the unicorn’s request. “You’re a grown stallion Ignis, you don’t need my permission to venture off to the Crystal Empire.”

“You’re right, I don’t, but I decided to use my new position to help appeal to the student body.” The mare now stopped shuffling her documents and looked at her friend before her, interest plastered on her expression. “Since this journey was gonna be related to studies, I thought it might be a good idea for the Students to learn in a hooves-on manner about the Crystal Empire and its history as well as its culture. Shining Armor owes me a favor and he was able to convince Princess Cadence to give a tour of the castle as well as some history and cultural background info.”

“Ignis, that’s a splendid idea! Its nice to see you taking your role as vice principal seriously for once.” Searching her files for a blank document, Solar began writing upon it quickly before handing it over to Ignis. “Here, make some copies of this sign up list and post them around the school. I’ll be sure to make an announcement about your little field trip later on, you’ll have to wait before you leave though, I think Princess Cadence would enjoy a heads up so I’ll send her a letter just to be sure. After a couple of days of preparation, you’ll be able to take leave with whomever decides to go.”

“Yes ma’am, I’ll get started on it right away.” In a flash of brilliant green light, Ignis was gone and left the principal to continue her work.

Now with a moment to think with her loud mouthed vice principal gone, Solar pulled out a blank parchment and began writing while speaking to herself out loud. “Dear Princess Cadence…”

Silver’s happy grin picked up on both sides of his face, he had his eyes closed as he walked and hummed to himself but still managed not to bump into any locals, lest he be ridiculed for having bad coordination. He had spent a few days exploring the capital so he knew exactly where he was heading, but he didn’t mind if he ended up wandering around town for a bit; reason being, he had done it. He had accomplished what his teacher had sent him out to do, while he was still unsure exactly of what he did, he was certain he had done it correctly.

She had put faith in him to carry out an important task, though hesitantly at first, he had eventually done it without question. He could already hear Princess Celestia praising him on his hard work and dedication to the mission, such thoughts only made him evermore proud that things had gone off without a hitch. So lost in his own thoughts, Silver was unaware of the figure which crept in the shadows and watched his movements carefully.

"I can already hear the praise now," Silver said to himself as he paused (unknowingly) by a dark alley. "I'll walk into the castle, hand her the package, and she'll say—”

"Good evening Silverlight."

"Good evening Princess Luna,” Silver replied nonchalantly. It was at that moment he knew, he messed up. He slowly turned his head to look into the alley to see the Princess of the Night watching from the shadows. “Princess Luna!?” he finally exclaimed in shock. “I know what you’re here for, and I won’t give it to you!”

Luna raised a brows at her sister’s pupil, “We commend thee on your loyalty Silverlight, but do you think it wise to disobey your Princess of the Night?”

“If it means completing my mission and not failing Princess Celestia,” Silver faced the alicorn head on, a glare forming on his face. “Then yes, I’d even stand against you Princess Luna. Please forgive me.” There was a silent face off as the two ponies both donned expressions of uttermost seriousness, a silent tension hung in the air.

“One last chance Silverlight, hand over thine package to us,” Luna demanded as she stepped forward slowly.

“Well, since you asked so nicely,” Silver let out a chuckle before he slowly backed away from the creeping Luna. In a matter of seconds he had bolted away from the alleyway without further words. With his hooves hitting the cobblestone as hard as his legs could take him, Silver’s speed was incredible as he weaved in and out between groups of Canterlot ponies; nearly running into a few in the process. Making a sharp right turn, he found himself heading down an unfamiliar street, as soon as he turned around however, he was faced with a familiar alicorn blocking his path.

“Wait a sec, doesn’t sunlight, like, hurt you or something?” Luna raised her horn, seeing it begin to glow proved to Silver that she meant business. “Wait! Fine….you win.” Silver practically deflated as he lowered his head in defeat, slowly he trudged over to face Luna. He reached into his saddle bag and pulled out a brown box and placed it at Luna’s hooves. “I’m tired, I need a nap and definitely something to eat too. So you win, take it, I give up.”

“A wise decision on thou part Silverlight, perhaps we may even share the spoils of victory with thee,” Luna offered, however, the dejected earth pony just trotted by the princess before he began to pick up speed.

“Well, I’m heading to the castle to get some rest, see ya later Princess Luna!” It was at this moment that Silver took off into a full on gallop once more. ‘Go, go, Silverlight, go!’ he thought to himself as he looked back and no longer saw Luna begin to shrink in the distance..

Luna thought the pony’s behavior odd, but quickly dismissed it as she remembered what sat before her. Finally, what she has wanted all evening, it was finally in her grasp and she couldn’t wait to savor every bit; she was so impatient in fact, that she removed the lid to the box so she could begin her celebration early. This, however, was not meant to be; when Luna opened the box, she only found emptiness, pure and utter emptiness. Her nostrils flared as she thought back to how quickly her sister’s student had retreated after his so called ‘surrender’; now she knew why.

“Who knew that saving the box that Light’s scarf came in would come in handy?” Silverlight snickered to himself as he saw the castle was now within his sights. “Hehehe, Silver 1; Luna 0. Now to wrap up this mission and grab some lunch, I’m starving!”

Celestia Sat upon her throne as she watched a couple of soon to be wed ponies leave her court; they had ask that she attend their wedding which she graciously agreed to. The last wedding she had gone to was that of her niece Cadence and her husband Shining Armor, she enjoyed attending and knew she wasn’t going to let the opportunity waste itself. Besides, it would be quite sometime before Twilight decided to get married, and very few couples were getting married in this day and age; so she knew it would be awhile before she’d go to another one.

Celestia’s attention was brought to the doors of her throne room which had been forced open; her smile picked up greatly at what she saw. In trotted her pupil Silverlight, panting Like a tired dog and clearly out of breath; but still with a smile plastered on his face.

“Silverlight, my faithful student,” Celestia cooed as the pony proceeded further into the throne room. “I trust your mission was successful?”

“You betcha!” Silver exclaimed as he carefully took out the proper package from his saddle bag. “The Gala Special, just like you wanted.” For a split second, Silver thought he witnessed something odd; he thought he saw his mentor, a wise and powerful alicorn, begin to drool like a young colt in a candy store.

“Splendid job Silverlight, can you perhaps, bring it over here?” the sun princess asked of the earth pony.

“Sure, but princess,” Silver started as h began to push the box slowly over to Celestia’s throne. “What exactly is in this package that you had me get? I mean, it must be important with badly Princess Luna wanted it, right?”

“Indeed it is!”

The white haired stallion stopped pushing the box as he heard an all too familiar voice generate from behind him. Craning his neck around, Silver caught sight of the other princess which was hot on his trail moments earlier; Princess Luna.

“Silverlight, hand me that package,” Luna began as she stepped forward confidently. “You know not of its contents, the truth is—”

“Silverlight, listen to your teacher’s wisdom,” Celestia interjected causing the earth pony to shift his stare back to his teacher. “This is the last step to your mission, have you intention of failing?”

“Tia, I believe you’ve tortured the young stallion enough,” it was now Luna’s turn to counter her sister. “Silverlight, for our sister’s sake, you must hand us the package.”

“Are you really to sway loyalty from your teacher so easily?” Celestia countered back, her tone picking up a bit in sternness.

Silver did a double take on both princesses, here he was, standing in the middle of the throne room in the middle of two of Equestria’s rulers; his only thought: What was in this box that made two of the oldest and most respected beings in Equestria bicker like little foals over a turn on the swings? There was only one way to find out. With not a moments hesitation, Silverlight opened the flaps of the rectangular shape to see what sacred artifact was contained within.

There was a small collective gasp that came from who Silver could only assume was his mentor and her sister, meanwhile, he just stood there silently, silently eying the carefully prepared delicacy that sat staring back at him. Whipped cream topped the cake, followed by a distinct amount of cherries, he should’ve known at the cherries.

He looked to Luna who gave him a knowing nod before slowly shifting his eyes toward his teacher. “Is…is this what you sent me after?” Celestia’s warm smile just remained, Silver on the other hand wasn’t smiling back. “I DID ALL OF THIS FOR A CHERRY CAKE!?”

“Not just any cherry cake,” Celestia began as her eyes hazed slightly. “A Manehatten style Cherry Cheesecake!” the mighty princess exclaimed with glee.

The earth pony looked back to the other princess, “So then when she said that you took something very important to her, she meant you ate her cheesecake?”

“Tia is supposed to be on a diet,” Luna said as a devilish smirk came upon her features. “I thought it only fair I dip into her stash, Celestia never lets me have any cheesecake.”

“So my lesson…” Silver continued as he turned back to face Celestia who had risen from her throne and crept up silently behind him, waiting to pounce on the cake. “Was postponed on account that you wanted cake? Not only that, but you sent me grocery shopping for most of the day just to get it!?” Silver was now annoyed with what he had gone through, his lesson had been tossed aside simply because his teacher wished for him to run an errand for her.

“You still underwent a lesson though,” Celestia continued as she wrapped a large wing around Silver and brought him in for a hug. “Even when unclear of my intentions or what you yourself were doing you still followed my instructions and stayed loyal to what I asked, I’m so proud of you.” Silver blushed slightly at the compliment while Luna rolled her eyes; she had to hand it to Celestia, she could make a lesson out of anything.

Silver’s happy demeanor only lasted for a moment though before he let out a sigh, “You know what, I’m tired and hungry. I’m heading to the kitchen, getting something to eat, and then going to my room to practice my meditation.” The stallion pulled himself away from his mentor’s embrace and made his way to the exit of the throne room. “If anyone needs me I’ll be learning how to tap into my power on MY OWN,” Silver placed emphasis on his last two words as he exited the large double doors.

The two sisters sat in awkward silence, Luna being the first to break it, “Sister, I think Silverlight is upset after the so called mission you sent him on.”

The white alicorn sighed heavily, “You’re right Luna, perhaps I shouldn’t have sent him, I just thought he may enjoy getting out of Canterlot while on his mission. I will have to make it up to poor Silverlight.” Celestia’s eyes returned to the cheesecake which still rested on the floor, “But first.”

“I’m beginning to feel claustrophobic,” Midnight spat as he sat in his bed with a book floating in front of his face. “I’m telling you, if I don’t find something to do or somewhere to go I’m going to put this room on ice.”

“What would you like me to do?” Mary questioned as she played with one of her many puppets from her large collection, this one being a light brown oak alicorn. “Students aren’t allowed to be wandering the halls this time of night so we can’t go to the beach, also I haven’t been able to sneak you another wheelchair yet.” Mary’s expressionless face meet eyes with Midnight, “Not only that but you slept through most of the day, so that’s your fault.”

“You know, I’m pretty sure normal friends don’t usually want to kill each other, and right now, I really want to deprive you of your existence.” Midnight glared at the mare who still appeared unfazed by his words.

“It just means we’re more than normal friends then,” Mary replied nonchalantly, as though her friend didn’t just threaten her life.

Midnight sighed in defeat, it was as though nothing fazed the mare, even a death threat; or perhaps it was because Mary felt that Midnight didn’t mean his words. While he didn’t necessarily mean anything by what he said, Midnight still wasn’t fond of Mary, still harboring hate for her after his injury; but the mare did prove useful, far more than Midnight originally intended. All that aside, Midnight definitely didn’t consider her a friend, not because of his feelings toward her, but because he though that he needed no one.

“Honestly Mary, sometimes I really—”

“Good evening students, this is principal Solar Wind coming to you all with a very special announcement.”

“The principal?” Midnight mused as he sat up straighter in his bed. “A special announcement this late? Wonder what it’s about?”

“Perhaps if you listen you’ll know,” Mary said, earning her another, albeit, now familiar death glare from the stallion.

Midnight growled like a ravenous Timberwolf, “My patience with you grows thinner everyday, one of this days I’m going to keep my promise about destroying you.”

“Like I’d make it easy for you,” Mary uttered under her breath as the two listened on to the announcement.

“A special field trip to the Crystal Empire will occur in two days time. Those students interested can find the signup sheet posted outside of my office, but act fast, the positions are limited to thirty students only. That is all for now, goodnight to all of you, may Luna bless you all with sweet dreams.” A quick pop from the PA system caused it to lose life, leaving the two unicorns in silence.

“Crystal Empire? As in, former King Sombra’s Crystal Empire?” a genuine smile crossed Midnight’s face after his question. “We have little history books that speak about the Crystal Empire, this’ll be the perfect chance for me to learn more about its history as well as the period when Sombra ruled.”

“What’s your obsession with King Sombra?” Mary asked, the first emotion of curiosity finally crossing her feature. “This doesn’t have to do with dark magic again, does it?”

“You misunderstand,” Midnight elaborated further as he closed his book. “King Sombra was a very powerful being, when he was defeated the was able to make the entire empire vanish along with him. Power like that is legendary, but that’s where my admiration for him ends, I still acknowledge all the bad his done; believe me, I know Equestria is better off with him gone.” Midnight placed his book on his nightstand by his bed, “Still, the Crystal Empire is a mystery that I wish unravel, this field trip will help me learn even more than I could ever hope to know from just studying the few books and scrolls the school has on it.”

“So, you want me to sign us up first thing in the morning?” Mary asked as Midnight dimmed the firefly lantern in his room, changing the bright light down to a warm, soft orange glow.

“There’s no rush, regardless if the spots are limited, I’ll still be able to get two for us,” the stallion replied as he lay back in his bed and gave a sigh. “Now I can’t wait, I’m excited.”

“A field trip to the Crystal Empire, how fortunate for us,” Ventus smiled warmly as she sat on her haunches in the comfort of a dorm bed. “This could prove to be quite the opportunity for us, Sidewinder.”

“How so?” the changeling questioned, he often dropped his disguise around his mistress, she would be able to handle any company should someone enter their room without permission. “Midnight Star is still injured, you said you were going to wait for him to heal before making your next move.”

“Ahh, I did say something of the sort didn’t I?” the unicorn mare chuckled softly. “Well as you already know I’m quite the impatient mare, so I figured why not speed up his recovery by giving him a small sample of the dark magic that dwells within his soul.”

Sidewinder stared at his mistress with an incredulous look, “You’re going to undo one of the seals?” Sidewinder inched toward the mare with a concerned expression now, “But won’t that cause even more damage to him?”

Another chuckle from the mare, “Oh Sidewinder, I lack the necessary power to undo the seals, but if I put the key in the lock I have no doubt that Midnight will turn it of his own free will, thus saving me trouble.” The mare rose from her spot on the bed, “Furthermore, if Ignis will be there we can’t afford that buffoon mucking up the plan, I got lucky as it is with Solar Wind not going. Now then, I have to meet up with Chrysalis about a rogue changeling that may have wandered into the Crystal Empire.”

The changeling scoffed, “Has that fool a death wish? Why venture to the Crystal Empire alone after everything that’s transpired?”

“Quite simple really, ever since Princess Flurry Heart has been born the empire us overflowing with love.” Ventus fixed a stern expression on her face, “That being said, when we go I expect you to behave, understood?”

“Of course malady, I can contain my hunger unlike most drones,” a knowing nod told Ventus that’d she’d have no trouble with her most loyal of spies.

“Alright then, for now I am off to speak with the queen, however when I return be expected to take leave.” The unicorn mare disappeared in a red flash of light, leaving the changeling alone with no one to accompany him but silence.

Arcane Academy: Celestia's New Student

by TheDimensionRift

Part 1: Chapter: 1

Part 1: Chapter: 2

Part 1: Chapter: 3

Part 1: Chapter: 4

Part 1: Chapter: 5

Part 1: Chapter: 6

Part 1: Chapter: 7

Part 1: Chapter: 8

Part 1: Chapter: 9

Part 1: Chapter: 10

Part 1: Chapter: 11

Part 1: Chapter: 12

Part 1: Chapter: 13

Part 2: Chapter: 14

Part 2: Chapter 15

Bonus Chapter: Midnight's Nightmare

Part 2: Chapter 16